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. The first was an employee who came from a terrible family background. He had thrived at Forman, but recently I was compelled to take disciplinary action, and moved him to less prestigious position. He was beaming from ear to ear at succeeding in his new job and the problem that led to the change had been completely dealt with. The second was a senior teacher from a large Muslim Sufi order. Representatives from this group have asked me how we maintain a peaceful atmosphere with so many different ethnicities and religious groups. He had enrolled his son in Forman Christian College because he so admired our values. The third was a brilliant faculty member whom I had fired for not showing up for classes some three years ago. In a long, humble letter he wrote of his struggle with a bi-polar disorder and begged me to reconsider. We gave him time off, and then on his return, set up an accountability plan for taking meds, etc. Prior to coming to us, he had bounced from University to University but with us he has stayed. These were all individuals whose lives FC College has touched. And that was just one walk on one day! There are thousands more. You, who partner with us, are part of this great institution.
Thank you.
Jim Tebbe
Rector, Forman Christian College