News & Events 

Download the Spring Newsletter celebrating the recent dedication of the Jim Tebbe Campus Center and the renaming of Hope Tower to Cheryl Burke Hope Tower. https://bit.ly/FFCC2023SpringNews These honors are well-deserved, as both Jim and Cheryl made multiple contributions to the life of Forman and its students.
“Education is the key to unlocking the world, providing a passport to opportunity, success, and freedom”. For nearly 160 years, Forman Christian College, A Chartered University (FCCU), has pursued these ideals with the added objective of making higher education available to as many people as possible, regardless of their social, economic or religious background. Against this backdrop, Forman’s financial aid programs play a key role, providing financial assistance to deserving students in ways that also help build and maintain one of the most vibrant and diverse campus communities in Pakistan.
This student at Forman Christian College is a living symbol of hope and opportunity for his entire village in Pakistan. Watch Haroon's story and see the impact a scholarship has on students, their communities, and beyond!
"By love serve one another" in the name of the Risen Savior! Happy Easter from Friends of Forman Christian College
Happy New Year, dear Friend of Forman Christian College! Executive Director Roger Dermody shares this 60-second video with a look at what you made happen this year. Watch here!
Merry Christmas from Friends of Forman Christian College and the students from campus!  (Please watch this 60 second video)
#GivingTuesday2022 results are in! And Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Roger Dermody Jr., gives a 2 minute video update from Pakistan on the Campus Center at Forman Christian College.
Your donations TRIPLED today! Connect. Convene. Collaborate. One facility where it all happens! Please help finish and furnish the FCCU campus center. 3X matching grant – YOUR GIFT TRIPLED for #GivingTuesday! https://friendsofforman.org/givingtuesday
Watch this short Thanksgiving video we just filmed on the Forman Christian College campus, featuring words of gratitude from students impacted by your gifts.https://youtu.be/Wd65PUw-deU From all of us at Friends of Forman, wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!
As you receive this letter, I am on the Forman Christian College (FCCU) campus in Pakistan, speaking with students and staff, exploring the buildings, classrooms, and grounds, and becoming immersed in the rhythms of this University. It is awesome to see first-hand how FCCU is making God’s love visible in the world’s fifth most populous and second largest Muslim country, living true to its motto, “by love serve one another.”
Click here to download your 2022 Friends of Forman Annual Report or visit: https://bit.ly/22FFCCAnnualReport
"The Friends of Forman board is delighted to call Dr. Roger Dermody to be our next Executive Director,” Chair Gaylen Baxter has announced. “We believe that the future of Friends and Forman Christian College will thrive under his capable leadership.”
Did you know? 27% of FCCU students needed scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Newsflash! In this newsletter, students returned to campus this spring, plus school sports, faculty, and a visit from Friends of Forman to FCCU.
After six years as the Executive Director of Friends of Forman, the Rev. Sam Schreiner will retire in the fall of 2022. “It has been a joy to serve Forman Christian College, and I’m glad that there is such a strong partnership between Friends of Forman and the university..."
Friends of Forman officially announces a national search for our next Executive Director...
Thank you for helping Forman Christian College bring peace and fulfill the educational dreams of a new generation of students in 2021. We join our Rector Jonathan and his wife Fiona in wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. -Sam, Susan, Sandy, Cathy, Gail, Pamela with Jonathan and Fiona Addleton
It is our great privilege to invite you to join Dr. Addleton and me as current-day pilgrims exploring Turkey and Greece’s Biblical and historical sites. Outstanding, first-rate guides will be with us to explain the historical backgrounds of these lands...
Thanks to you, on #GivingTuesday 2021 we hit our goal of $10,000 and earned the match for a total of $20,000! Your generosity over the last two days...
This summer I had a special chance to be a resource for some “unmet friends” from South Asia. A board member asked if I could find a translator for some Afghan minors who were landing in Washington, DC that week. Networking with both mission and government friends I knew, we found a volunteer who could help these refugees who were being flown to the US and needed help to hear words of comfort and welcome. It felt good to lend a hand in a small way. Being part of a network of caring people can change a life and brighten our world. I think many of you know that already because...
With the US withdrawal and instability in neighboring Afghanistan, your prayers and support for Forman’s mission in Pakistan are more important...
THANKS TO YOU, our fundraiser for COVID-19 relief in the FCCU community was a huge success. Through your thoughtfulness and generosity, the fundraising total thus far is...
THANKS TO YOU, our fundraiser for COVID-19 relief in the FCCU community was a huge success. Through your thoughtfulness and generosity, the fundraising total thus far is...
Friends of Forman is announcing a new COVID-19 relief and assistance fund for Forman Christian College. Our goal is to raise $15,000 for masks, sanitizer, plexiglass barriers, and vaccines for low income campus workers.
I want to ensure that others across Pakistan and beyond hear about the many positive things that are happening at FCCU, despite the challenges and inevitable setbacks that all of us will experience along the way. And that is one of my wishes for Forman in this New Year -- that such stories will not remain hidden, rather that they will be circulated, told, and described to others in ways that also help advance Forman’s wider educational mission in Pakistan!
As is often the case in January, the new year brings changes to the board of Friends of Forman. We hope you’ll join us in saying goodbye to the outgoing class and getting to know the incoming class...
New short history of Forman Christian College - Click Here
Thank you! December 1st was #GivingTuesday, an international day to celebrate the power of collective generosity.
Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) held an inauguration ceremony for its new Rector, Dr. Jonathan S. Addleton, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. Watch a recording of the inauguration and/or read Dr. Addleton's remarks in full...
Light of Hope, the elementary school on the campus of Forman Christian College, has three exciting pieces of news to share. Built primarily for the children of FCCU’s mostly illiterate lowest-paid workers, the first good news is that the 2020 fall semester opened in stages during the last week of September
Your gifts made a difference in 2020! We sincerely appreciate your incredible generosity in the last year.
If you recognize his name, it’s because Doug Trimble served at FCCU once before.
Friends of Forman is pleased to share with you that the Forman Christian College Board of Directors and Board of Governors voted to nominate Dr. Jonathan Addleton to the Governor of the Punjab as the next rector of Forman Christian College. The plans are for Jonathan and his wife, Fiona, to move to Pakistan in August 2020 and be installed as rector in November.
On Monday, May 4th 2020, the Punjab Government distributed food aid packages to 100 FCCU employees.
Thank you for your thoughtful question about how the Forman Christian College community is managing during this difficult time.
Watch the story of Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan as told by students at the school.
Pakistan first closed the universities, then the borders with Iran and Afghanistan. Now, international travel is banned.
Hope and Resurrection. The impact of Forman Christian College as told by our students in a recently filmed video. To be released on our website by Easter. ?
Hand-picked by Dr. Peter Armacost, Cheryl arrived in 2004 to head the Center for Learning and Teaching. It was just after denationalization, and the liberal arts Baccalaureate curriculum was so new there were no academic policies or procedures in place. Cheryl helped Dr. Armacost type and edit the first course catalog. That’s how new everything was.
In this digital age, an internet-connected library makes the most sense for a modern university like Forman. Work stations and periodical licenses will grant our students access to the best scholarship found all over the world. One book for 8,000 students to share can’t compete with this.
It was a sunny, warm day in February, and students were visible all over the cricket field at the center of campus. They played volleyball, sat in circles talking, some crossed from one building to another. Inside the red brick, multi-level classroom centers, hallways were jammed as students made their way to classes during the first week of the Spring semester.
FCCU MPhil student, Hamid, shares his brave story about being a student at FCCU. Hamid suffers from a debilitating eye illness but he is still bravely continuing with his studies.
POSTPONED UNTIL 2022 - Friends of Forman will host an inspirational journey that will follow the footsteps of the Apostles John and Paul. As pilgrims, we will visit important, well-preserved sites of the New Testament in Turkey and Greece. They will be the settings as we explore the arrival of Christianity and Islam into some of the most significant cities of the Roman Empire.
Dear Friends of Forman, I never tire of sharing the incredible work of Forman Christian College. People I speak with are surprised to hear there is a Christian college in Pakistan where men and women, Muslims, Christians, and others, learn in harmony and friendship. They can’t begin to guess what a western-style education might cost, and most agree that an average yearly tuition of $2,600 is a bargain – and they are right!
I was born and raised in a small village called Darkabad in the district of Muzaffargarh. From the very beginning, my life had been tough. We were raised in an unstable financial environment. My father was the only one in the family who was earning. He is an agricultural fieldworker, and, as you can imagine they don’t earn heavy sums.
Forman Christian College is leading the way as the first university in Pakistan to apply for accreditation through a United States regional accrediting agency. They are working with NECHE, the New England Commission of Higher Education, and are hosting a first site visit by the agency this November (2019).
Forman Christian College is leading the way as the first university in Pakistan to apply for accreditation through a United States regional accrediting agency. They are working with NECHE, the New England Commission of Higher Education, and are hosting a first site visit by the agency this November (2019).
If you are a "numbers" person, take a moment to read the Friends of Forman financials or FCC’s numbers. Because of you, Friends of Forman raised a record $6,603,826 last year in support of Forman Christian College. We are so grateful for your generosity and support for this one-of-a-kind mission...
This August, we planned to share the news about the arrival of Dr. Jonathan Mitchell and his family on campus in preparation to become Forman’s next rector. However, we received the unexpected news...
Being a woman in a third world country like Pakistan is a continuous struggle. You are forced to break the stereotypes to get a comfortable life in this patriarchal society. Since childhood, I had realized that I cannot depend on anyone but myself. And for that, my only way out was education.
This is Asad Javaid Warraich, a Proud Formanite. When I took admission at FCCU in 2006, I had a dream that one day I would join this prestigious University as a faculty member and my this dream came true when...
Studying any subject other than Natural Sciences or Mathematics was not less than a taboo, but deep down, I knew that they were not meant for me. I wished to study literature, history, political science and everything else that I could. As luck would have it, I eventually got in to Forman Christian College.
The Career Services Office held its yearly job fair to connect students and graduates with businesses trying to fill more than 400 positions. Dr. Tebbe reports that there were numerous young men and women manning the booths who the year before had been students looking for work.
Life at a brick kiln is tedious, dusty, and physically demanding, and like other jobs on this level, doesn’t pay very well. Workers can “borrow” money for one of a number of reasons – medical treatment, food, rent – and then agree to work to pay the loan off. Loans larger than fifteen days of work for payment were outlawed in Pakistan in 2013, but this is rarely enforced...
You may remember Shandana Waheed, the 2016 FCC graduate who received the Falak Sufi Scholarship awarded by the Hagop Kevorkian Center at New York University. Since completing her Master’s in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Shandana returned to Lahore to teach at the University of Management and Technology in Lahore. She is also a columnist for the Daily Times (Pakistan.) Her next accomplishment? In February, Shandana received the news ...
Light of Hope has now been open for three years. It was built through gifts from foundations, churches, and individuals in the U.S. At the beginning of the academic year, there were 275 children enrolled in...
We need to build better relationships between Christians and Muslims, Arabs and Jews. Too often in our ignorance we write off people as “enemies” or even “terrorists.” It takes work to break down prejudice and internal barriers we have silently constructed inside our heads. Peacemaking happens when we come out of our comfort zone and build relational bridges between divergent cultures and religious divisions in our world. Peacemaking takes more than wishes, it takes concrete actions.
On Pakistan Day, March 23, 2019, the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, bestowed upon Dr. James Tebbe the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award for meritorious service to the nation. The name translates to “Star of Excellence”...
FCC Student Profile: Rimsha - "FCCU has dragged me out of my shy shell and given me the confidence to be more vocal and strong...FCCU empowers the students in terms of their academic, moral, and personal growth."
On February 10th, ten visitors from the US met in Doha, Qatar to catch our flight together to Lahore and spend a week at Forman Christian College. We came from...
Friends of Forman is pleased to share the news that it’s Executive Director, Rev. Sam Schreiner, was elected to a three-year term on FCC’s Board of Directors.
It was a day of great pride and celebration as families, friends, and honored guests saw 895 degrees awarded to graduates. Please pray for our graduates' next steps.
Friends of Forman is pleased to share with you that the Forman Christian College Board of Governors has voted to nominate as Rector...
If you saw us on HGTV's show Fixer Upper, you learned that we recently transitioned from Forman to Baylor University in Texas and this has opened a way to tell many about our adventures and experiences in Pakistan...
We welcome to our board, Dr. Scott W. Sunquist, newly appointed President-elect of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, MA. Dr. Sunquist will continue in his current role as Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies and Professor of World Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, until early 2019, when he will then move to Gordon-Conwell.
The Forman Photographic Society(FPS) is one of the popular student societies at Forman Christian College. This year we stepped up our relationship with the FPS by sponsoring Photomania, a photo contest open to all students. More photos are on their way, and we look forward to featuring them in upcoming newsletters and emails.
Every year FCC students travel abroad to continue their education and immerse themselves in another culture. In the last academic year, 17 spent a semester in other countries. Our students were in five countries at universities including...
Through your generosity, Friends received record-setting gifts in 2018 in support of Forman Christian College. Here is the Friends of Forman Christian College Annual Report for fiscal year 2018, which provides an overview of the work done through your gifts.
Join Dr. Jim Tebbe (August 5) or Rev. Sam Schreiner (August 12 and 19) as they share their inspirational experiences in Pakistan and the transformational mission of Forman Christian College. Please consult the individual church websites for the times of the services they will preach.
Please join us in congratulating a Formanite from the class of 2012, Hassan Mujtaba Zaidi, Founder and Director of Discovering New Artists (DNA). He is one of the recipients of the 2018 Queen’s Young Leaders Award.
On March 15, 2019, our 10-day tour will commence as we leave to explore the Biblical and historic sites of Jordan and Israel in a modern-day pilgrimage with Dr. Jim Tebbe and Rev. Sam Schreiner III...
Mr Jamshed Marker was a veteran diplomat, who served as Pakistan’s ambassador to more countries than any other diplomat, in a career spanning more than three decades. Mr Jamshed Marker also served as United Nations Under-Secretary General, as a special advisor to United Nations ex-Secretary-General Kofi Annan...
Some of you may have recently heard Forman Christian College mentioned on the popular television show called “Fixer Upper.” If you watched the show, you saw that we recently transitioned from Forman to Baylor University in Texas and this has opened a way to tell many about our many adventures and experiences in Pakistan. We are so thankful for...
Education is the ability to think, apply it in the world and to know the value of life. As a female, it is even more important to be well-educated to have stability, equality and to become independent and be financially self-sufficient. It is a necessity for me to be able to support my family. Education can help turn our dreams into reality and take us to the greatest heights of success and achievement...
Jonathan Addleton, Ambassador (Retired) to Mongolia and five-time USAID Mission Director, joined the Friends of Forman Board of Trustees in March. Recently retired from a 32-year career in...
My education means the freedom for me to pursue my dreams and ambitions and be an independent individual who does not have to depend on anyone. It was my elder brother’s dream to study at FCC and he did. He graduated last December in 2017, but as was the will of God, he passed away three months ago.
Forman Christian College is now tackling the renovation of its sixth and final 1940s era on-campus hostel. These long-awaited complete renovations have expanded housing capacity in each hostel from 94 to 141 students with a Faculty Guardian (residence director) and student RAs (one senior for every 35 residents) providing western style mentoring and community. These residence halls, along with Hope Tower for women built in 2014, allow Forman to house students from all over Pakistan.
A generous partner of Forman Christian College has offered a matching grant for up to $500,000 for new gifts for the Campus Center. Every new gift given to this important facility will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling your contribution.
Explore Israel & Jordan, the Crossroads of Jewish, Christian and Muslim Faith with Dr. Jim Tebbe and Rev. Sam Schreiner. March 2019...
In the final season of “Fixer Upper,” Joanna and Chip Gaines upgraded an 1880s farm home for Dr. and Mrs. Charles Ramsey who taught at Forman Christian College.
As of the end of February 2018, we can share that we have donations and promises of intended gifts totaling...
What every modern university has at its hub is a campus center and library for the 21st Century. This April, Forman Christian College will break ground on its new, 160,000 square-foot, four-story campus center.
Most of you know about FCC’s elementary school, Light of Hope (LoH). This school is for the children of the poorest workers who live on our campus. Now in its third year...
Inside this newsletter we share some big plans for the future as Forman continues to grow and is ready to flourish as an educational mission in Pakistan. Click here to read more...
We are pleased to announce two very exciting developments coming in 2018 which will greatly enhance the mission of the college...
We’d like to thank Mrs. Jacquelyn Benjamin and First Presbyterian Church, Emmett, Idaho, for the generous gift given to Friends of Forman in memory of Dr. Immanuel Benjamin. This will be used as a matching gift for #GivingTuesday on November 28, 2017, providing the opportunity for you to double your gift as we remember Dr. Benjamin’s life and look to the future of Forman Christian College. Read more...
The Light of Hope School building expansion was completed this year, standing three stories tall. By November 2016, classrooms grew into the second floor, expanding classes to K-6, serving 242 students. Going forward, an upper class will be added each year, topping out in 2020 with the 10th grade.
We are excited to report the second-floor addition to Mercy Health Center on the campus of Forman Christian College is complete! The addition includes expanded space for the University Counseling Center (UCC), a dental clinic, and space for a future pharmacy to be offered in conjunction with the college's new Pharm D program.
Returning to Forman was like seeing a grown niece or nephew who you only remember meeting years ago as a child at a family reunion. The transformation from infancy to adulthood can be stunning. This is a bit of what I experienced as I returned to Forman; I recognized the place, but it had blossomed into so much more.
Plans are underway to address one of the biggest remaining needs for Forman’s continuing revival, a student center capable of addressing the current and future needs of this vibrant community. If FCC is to continue its transformation to a global liberal arts university, it must add these necessary services included in this campus centerpiece to serve both our residential and very large commuter student population...
Commencement, the most rewarding day of the year! A student is now able to bring transformational change to not just their own family but also generations to come. ?The huge tent accommodates 2,500+...
This Mother's Day, please consider donating to Friends of Forman Christian College in honor or remembrance of a woman who influenced your life. Your special gift will make it possible for more young women to be part of the changing culture of Pakistan through education at FCC!
At Forman, we are educating leaders for tomorrow’s Pakistan. We strive to have this education take place in an environment of Christian grace where human dignity is extended to every person regardless of his or her background. The testimony in this newsletter from one of our former students bears witness to this environment.Recently, I was struck with how our mission affects people as on my short walk home for lunch I was greeted warmly by three men.
Expansion construction for Light of Hope began in June. The original plan was to add one floor during summer 2016 and the final floor in summer 2017... The second floor addition to Mercy Health Care began in July and should be complete soon. The work is actually ahead of schedule, a most unusual phenomenon! This floor will provide dedicated spaces for a counseling center, a dental clinic, and a pharmacy...
Executive Director, Rev. Samuel Schreiner III, is traveling to Pakistan in November. He first visited Forman Christian College in 2007. Dr. Peter Armacost was then College Rector. This is what Dr. Armacost wrote to Sam about his new role...
On-campus hostel space is in great demand and is beneficial both to the students and the university. For students, living on campus provides great opportunity for them to see first-hand the diversity in faith and geographic regions represented at FCC... 
Click here to download a printable PDF of the Friends of Forman 2016 Fall/Winter Newsletter
FCC class of ‘16 graduate, Shandana Waheed, was granted the fully funded Falak Sufi Scholarship awarded by the Hagop Kevorkian Center at New York University. This prestigious award offers a Masters degree program in Near Eastern Studies. It is highly competitive as one student out of hundreds of applicants from South Asia is selected for this honor. She began her studies at NYU in September after spending some time this summer at Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, CT...
Dr. James Tebbe, College Rector of Forman Christian College, was interviewed earlier this year for an article for My Voice Unheard, giving insight into how his life and career path led him to Forman, his love of Pakistan, and the challenges the country faces today.
Beginning October 1, 2016, Rev. Samuel A. Schreiner III joins Friends of Forman as Executive Director. Sam comes to us from Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, CT, having served there as Senior Pastor since 2004.
In September, 2015 FCC opened their on-campus elementary school, the Light of Hope School, an initiative they began in order to educate the children of the poorest Christian staff. This part of the staff, mostly illiterate, live with their families in staff housing on campus.
From the humble beginnings of two storage rooms, Mercy Health Center grew to a small 8 room building, including a waiting area, two medical exam rooms, an office, a patient room with space for three beds and room for the counseling center. The second floor expansion began on July 1, 2016...
One of the important goals of Forman Christian College is to have a student body comprised of 50% women/50% men in the baccalaureate program by 2023. Currently at 36% female, a key item required to achieve this goal is the availability of safe, culturally appropriate housing for these young women.