News

Regent College, as a Christian academic community, takes relationships seriously, seeking to live in light of our biblical and theological commitments. We seek to be a college that embraces the vast implications of being the “new humanity in Christ,” including how we treat gender, ethnic, racial, denominational and theological differences (cf. Galatians 3:28).

As a community we aim not simply to be informed by study but also to be transformed by the Holy Spirit through study, to the end that we might become more Christ-like and therefore more fully human ... We are committed to a Christian vision of the human person, and this is reflected both in our curriculum and in our life together as students, faculty, staff, and governors.

—From Regent College’s Mission and Values
   

The College’s strategic plan calls for Regent to “establish a broad-based advisory council to address the experience of belonging and participation in a community that reflects the rich diversity of the Kingdom of God.”

Based in the President’s Office and developed in close collaboration with the Academic Dean and Dean of Students Office, the Belonging and Equity Advisory Council (BEAC) is composed of representatives from a cross-section of the Regent community: students, staff, faculty, administrators, Senate, and Board members.

“This new body gives fresh and focused expression to one of Regent’s deepest values—shared life in Christian community,” President Jeff Greenman said in his announcement. “We delight in the multicultural diversity of the Regent community, and the rich variety of backgrounds and experiences that our students bring. We strive for an ever-deeper sense of unity in Christ. Therefore, we are pursuing a biblical vision of a rich and vibrant communal life wherein everyone can experience a deeper sense of belonging.”

The advisory council’s specific objectives include:

• To articulate and convey to the Regent community a biblical, theological, and pastoral vision of our calling to become more fully the unified and diverse body of Christ, to which all members belong and are to have “equal concern for each other,” ensuring that honour is given to those whose voices have been neglected (1 Corinthians 12:22–25).
• To listen to and further understand students, staff, and faculty, in relation to how their life experiences shape our collective experience of community, considering factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic circumstances, and theological perspective.
• To listen to, further understand, and respond to students’ experience of academic life at Regent, so that it more fully reflects the breadth and richness of the global Christian faith.
• To cultivate an awareness of and sensitivity to the complex and diverse nature of our community so that we reflect more fully the body of Christ within our co-curricular life.
  
• To provide recommendations to the appropriate bodies about the communal experience of belonging and participation at the College, with respect to our programs, policies, procedures, and ethos.

The council has emerged from extensive dialogue within the College over the past four years, including two student surveys that focused on listening to students’ experiences of ethnicity and race at the College, both inside and outside the classroom.

“Learning to listen to diverse student voices has been an extremely valuable experience, and sometimes it has also been painful,” said Diane Stinton, Dean of Students. “Some students from outside the majority culture at Regent have courageously shared their experiences of feeling like they are less than full participants in our community. It has been humbling. We have learned how much we need to learn, and how much we need to grow so that our community more fully reflects the beauty and richness of the Kingdom of God.”

Richard Wu, a student representative on BEAC said, “It’s been encouraging to see the College embark on an intentional process of self-reflection around issues of belonging and equity. Such reflection is essential for theological education in today’s world—a world marked by deep divisions that are often rooted in painful histories of exclusion and injustice. I hope that BEAC paves the way for concrete, courageous, and long-term engagement with these issues, both for the benefit of our students—particularly those from marginalized backgrounds—as well as the global church.”

Commenting on the title for the council, Vice President and Academic Dean Paul Spilsbury noted, “The term ‘belonging’ is informed by the New Testament vision of the body of Christ wherein we belong to one another through shared faith in Jesus. Belonging to Christ enables participation in his body as people who are equal in worth and significance. For this reason, we aspire to be a community of faith in which everyone is able to bring their whole selves to our shared life. We wish for all voices to be heard and honoured, especially those from communities whose voices have been neglected.”

Paul continued, “The term ‘equity’ also has deep biblical resonances, even though the word might be used in different ways in our current public discourse. In biblical terms, ‘equity’ is often used to translate terms that express the concern for fairness within the broader notion of justice in both testaments. For instance, Psalm 99:4 says, ‘The King is mighty, he loves justice—you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right.’”

Jeff commented further on the significance of this word. “If equality refers to how individuals are treated so that everyone has the same access to the same opportunities, then equity refers to fairness rather than sameness. Equity acknowledges and seeks to address systemic disparities between groups with differing levels of social advantage.

“At Regent we are aware that our educational offerings can and should do more to reflect the myriad experiences and perspectives of God’s people around the world. While we recognize the valuable theological voices of women, underrepresented ethnic groups, and those from the Majority World, we have room to grow in how we seek to listen to these voices more meaningfully in our curriculum, assigned readings, and classroom conversations.”

We invite you to pray for the College, as together we seek to humbly listen and courageously grow in becoming more fully the people we are called to be in Christ.