Office of Intercultural Relations
The Office of Intercultural Relations (OIR) at Spring Arbor University is dedicated to fostering a Christ-centered community that reflects the rich diversity of God's creation. We believe that every individual is uniquely made in the image of God, and we strive to honor this divine creativity by promoting an environment where all students and community members can flourish.
The goal of OIR is to collaborate with students, faculty, staff, and external partners to:
- Celebrate Biblical Diversity: Embrace and appreciate the variety of cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives within our community, recognizing them as expressions of God's manifold wisdom.
- Promote Unity in Christ: Encourage a spirit of unity and love among all members of the university, understanding that our shared faith in Christ transcends all differences.
- Support Holistic Development: Provide programs and initiatives that nurture spiritual, academic, and personal growth, enabling individuals to fulfill their God-given potential.
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Build Bridges Across Cultures: Foster meaningful relationships that promote understanding and empathy across cultural boundaries through active listening, thoughtful feedback, and storytelling. These interactions create opportunities for shared learning and mutual transformation.
Our Approach to Diversity
Spring Arbor University is a community of learners committed to reflecting the Kingdom of God in the diversity of our students, faculty, staff, trustees, and other community members. Valuing the dignity of every human being is part of the historic legacy of our founding denomination. The University’s continued focus on creating a diverse learning environment reflects these values and honors our heritage.
This University is committed to being a place where ethnic and racial inclusiveness is a hallmark of the community we create. However, as an imperfect human organization, we must acknowledge and plan for the challenge such diversity brings. But we boldly embrace this challenge, because as Christians, we know it is right. Jesus Christ is the perspective for our teaching, and through him, we are called to move beyond mere tolerance of each other to genuine acceptance and mutually transformative learning.
Becoming a diverse community of learners is consistent with our liberal arts tradition. It facilitates a healthy exchange of cultural, economic, social, religious, philosophical, and political views within the classroom and in campus activities.
Further, as an educational institution, we know we will ill prepare students for personal and professional lives in a global society if we fail to expose them to the rich diversity of peoples and cultures. This exposure cannot solely come from books but needs to be tested and experienced through interactive and on-going personal relationships. By emphasizing the importance of bridge-building, listening, and storytelling, we aim to cultivate an environment where these relationships can flourish and lead to deeper understanding and unity.
Therefore, we will seek ways to invite and welcome diversity into our community. We will be proactive and creative in integrating different cultural perspectives into the curriculum and community life, and we will strive to be always a community of love and respect.