The first students will graduate Dec. 18 from a DePaul University program in Nairobi, Kenya, designed to help graduates assume leadership and management roles in their African religious communities and social service organizations.

In partnership with Tangaza College, students in the 18-month program will earn DePaul bachelor of arts degrees, after getting the equivalent of an associate degree from Tangaza. DePaul faculty members from the School for New Learning (SNL) work in collaboration with Tangaza College faculty to design the courses and assess student work.

Representatives from DePaul will attend the Dec. 18 graduation ceremony at Tangaza College in Nairobi. Among those attending the ceremony will be the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul; the Rev. John T. Richardson, C.M., chancellor of DePaul; SNL Dean Marisa Alicea; Derise Tolliver, DePaul program director; the Rev. Timothy Redmond, S.P.S., principal of Tangaza College; Brother Dominic Ehrmantraut, F.S.C., deputy principal of Tangaza; and Sister Loretta Brennan, C.S.B., director of the program at Tangaza. Sister Marie Therese Gacambi, A.S.N., has been invited to be the commencement speaker. She is a leader of educational policy and reform in Kenya, having most recently been appointed by the Ministry of Education (Kenya) as a board member of Mangu Boys High School, and to the Constitutional Working Group on Wako and Boma.

Graduates of the DePaul University/Tangaza B.A. Degree Program approach their ministries in holistic ways that address spiritual, moral, intellectual, physical, familial, social, economic and environmental factors. They learn practical skills in areas such as information technology, professional writing, organizational development and financial accounting. The program helps students adapt to new challenges, understand their world from multiple perspectives, and minister effectively in diverse settings.

“This program truly speaks to the heart of DePaul’s mission and addresses a tremendous need for higher education for adult learners in Africa,” said Tolliver, an associate professor at SNL. “These are African-born adult learners, present and future leaders in their communities, for whom education is very important. We’re trying to make this effort something that will be mutually beneficial, while enriching their lives.”

Fourteen students will participate in the Dec. 18 commencement. About half of them are religious men and women, while the rest are laypeople.

Two religious brothers graduating from the program work with HIV/AIDS patients and youth in rural Kenya and in the slums of Kibera. One nun is studying how to improve job satisfaction among people who work with the needy at two retreat centers in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, while another nun is exploring how financial management can improve the sustainability of faith-based projects in Kenya. One student is a police officer who wants to improve the relationship between police and community residents. Another student hopes to expand her entrepreneurial skills as she develops her mushroom farm business.

Established in 1972, SNL is one of the first programs in the nation expressly designed to serve the needs of adult learners balancing work, family and school. It has earned an international reputation for its core-based approach to learning that offers innovative, adult-focused curricula and degree programs. The program is structured like the Chicago-based SNL program in which each student fulfills 50 competencies, including a service-learning component, senior project and research. One of SNL’s most unique features is that it allows students to receive class credit for prior learning. The students in the Tangaza/DePaul program also have received course credit for prior learning from their life and previous academic experiences.

DePaul received a $480,000 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to establish this academic partnership with Tangaza College. DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the nation and the eighth largest private, not-for-profit university in the United States. A diverse population of 24,352 students attend DePaul’s two city and four suburban campuses in the Chicago area.