Olivet University is pleased to announce the formation of an educational partnership with the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the WEA Leadership Institute.  The WEA-LI Certificate in Association Leadership will be offered jointly for credit starting in 2011.  Olivet University students will be able use the certificate as a concentration in Association Leadership at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree levels. 

Dr. William Wagner, President of Olivet University commented, "We at Olivet University are excited to work with the WEA on building the Leadership Institute.  We think highly of the WEA and the great work it is doing around world.  The WEA Leadership Institute is about training leaders for the future and Olivet University is grateful to be a part of it."

International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance, Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe added, “We are most grateful for the partnership with OU with our Leadership Institute. The technological expertise of OU is a great asset and will assist in helping train thousands of leaders across the globe.”

Dr. Rob Brynjolfson, Director of the Leadership Institute, affirmed the value of this partnership stating, “We are excited by this development because participants in Leadership Institute courses may now be rewarded with internationally recognized credit for work completed through Olivet University’s professionally managed Internet learning platform.  We are committed to attaining the highest standards of training, while ensuring that the real world skills and qualities needed for effective National Alliance leadership are met.”

The World Evangelical Alliance is made up of 128 national evangelical alliances located in 7 regions and 104 associate member organizations. The vision of WEA is to extend the Kingdom of God by making disciples of all nations and by Christ-centered transformation within society. WEA exists to foster Christian unity, to provide an identity, voice and platform for the 420 million evangelical Christians worldwide. 

The WEA Leadership Institute was founded in 2008 with a vision to consolidate the work of the 7 regional and 128 national Evangelical Alliances by providing them with effective leadership development programs and resources.