05 Nov Bishop Gregory Palmer, AU’s Newest Volunteer
“”With Africa University, its mission, and its execution of mission, you can see the impact in real time, the contribution it is making… I want to be a part of helping to grow that impact and multiply it even faster.””
November 5, 2024 – Nashville, TN—Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, the recently retired bishop of the West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church and current Council of Bishops Executive Secretary, is putting his considerable network, leadership acumen, and passion for capacity-building engagement at the disposal of Africa University.
“Bishop Palmer has been as supporter of Africa University since he cast an affirmative vote for the initiative at the 1988 General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri and I’m delighted he decided to volunteer his time and resources to assist the AUDO during this critical time in the life of AU and the UMC denomination,” said James H. Salley, president and chief executive officer of Africa University (TN) Inc.
“He has the distinction of spending the most consecutive days of any bishop on the Africa University campus when he helped build staff houses for the university,” said Salley. “The bishop lived in the dormitory and ate in the dining hall with students while volunteers in mission teams from the Iowa Conference shuttled back and forth helping the institution construct houses on the campus.”
As Bishop-in-Residence, Bishop Palmer’s contributions will focus on friend-making and fundraising efforts within Africa University (Tennessee) Inc. and the Africa University Development Office, located in Nashville, TN. In describing his new role, Bishop Palmer called it “a huge gift to me.
With Africa University, its mission, and its execution of mission, you can see the impact in real time, the contribution it is making… I want to be a part of helping to grow that impact and multiply it even faster.”
Across more than three decades of pastoral ministry and leadership in The United Methodist Church, Bishop Palmer notes that the rich legacy of United Methodist-related institutions has always been evident.
“When I pass through a school or see the name of a school that no longer has an identifiable affiliation, I have had the joy of knowing some of the roots and the history,” said Bishop Palmer. “In every annual conference I served, I think of the people that I worked with, lay and clergy, who were graduates of those schools and who made huge accomplishments professionally and otherwise. I am still very excited about our contribution to developing institutions that have aggregated resources, have blessed individuals, have blessed communities, have blessed nations. I am excited about our capacity to touch people’s lives through the institutions that we have developed and that we are developing.”
Advocating for Africa University and for unleashing Africa’s potential for revitalizing and growing the church worldwide are not new to Bishop Palmer and his spouse, Mrs. Cynthia Palmer. With every assignment—whether in Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, or West Ohio—Bishop and Mrs. Cynthia Palmer have consistently championed the ministry of Africa University and invited congregations and individuals to help resource the work of the institution.
“Mrs. Palmer, a friend and relationship person, is an equal partner with the bishop, and we are glad about that,” said Salley.
Following their January 2024 visit to the Africa University main campus in Zimbabwe, Bishop and Mrs. Palmer made a direct scholarship gift to fund the education of four Africa University students, leading to a matching gift from the West Ohio Conference in celebration of Bishop Palmer’s retirement.
Going forward, Bishop Palmer has this message for both current and new partners and friends of Africa University, within and beyond The United Methodist Church.
“Invest in Africa University, with yourself and with your resources, physical and spiritual, because, in turn, the outcome or the fruitfulness will be that the world is being transformed.”
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Contact:
Andra Stevens, Director of Communications
Africa University Development Office
Tel: (615) 340-7438
Africa University is a Pan-African higher education ministry of The United Methodist Church. The university opened in 1992 with 40 students from six African countries. It now has an annual enrollment of more than 2,400 students representing 25 African nations. Degree programs as well as short courses are offered in four colleges: Engineering and Applied Sciences, Health, Agriculture & Natural Sciences; Business, Peace, Leadership & Governance; and Social Sciences, Humanities, Theology and Education. More than 90 percent of Africa University’s 12,000+ alumni have remained on the continent of Africa. Graduates are in leadership roles in more than 32 African countries as well as in countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and North America. The university’s main campus is located near Mutare, in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe.
To learn more about Africa University, visit: www.africau.edu. To invest in the ministry and impact of Africa University, visit https://support.africau.org
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