WELCOME – Education Minister, the Hon. Desmond Bannister accepts a gift from Bakke Graduate University president Dr. Brad Smith during the launching of its Graduate Degree Programmes in The Bahamas at the Captain’s Charthouse Restaurant on Saturday evening.

Freeport, Grand Bahama - Education Minister, the Hon. Desmond Bannister officially welcomed Bakke Graduate University to The Bahamas on Saturday, September 25.

The launching of Bakke University Graduate degree programmes in The Bahamas took place during a special reception at the Captain’s Charthouse Restaurant in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Also joining Mr. Bannister for the occasion was the Minister of Housing, the Hon. A. Kenneth Russell and the Minister of State for Finance and the Public Service, the Hon. Zhivargo Laing.

A number of senior officials from Bakke Graduate University also attended the launching, including the University’s president, Brad Smith, who took note of the economic conditions being experienced worldwide and in The Bahamas, in offering some $1.8 million in scholarships to Bahamians.

The University will be offering a Master of Arts in Social and Civic Entrepreneurship programme and a Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership the Global City. Bakke is fully accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Mr. Bannister thanked Bakke University for selecting The Bahamas to expand its campuses.

“In this context, we welcome your visionary outreach to the Grand Bahama community. This initiative will provide students on this island with another opportunity to advance educationally and enhance their marketability by acquiring new skill sets that they can use to improve the quality of life for themselves and fellow residents of Grand Bahama,” the Minister said.

Continuing, Mr. Bannister said that what excite him and others about Bakke Graduate University is its efforts to ensure that students are cognisant of the world they live in while they are studying.

“You believe is a socially responsible approach to education,” he stated, adding that we know that the Bakke Graduate University student will appreciate that the acquisition of genuine knowledge must be done with awareness of the world we live in and its present condition.

“Students who enrol in this programme must therefore be prepared not only to learn from books but also learn first hand the lessons of poverty, human suffering, environmental degradation and other current issues which impact upon mankind everywhere because we will all be counting on them to help to make this world a better place,” he stated.

The Education Minister said that he was also certain that there are prospective students in Abaco and New Providence who are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Bakke Graduate University and the opportunity to excel through their experience in this programme.

“We are particularly impressed with the fact that the leadership of Bakke University has a strong commitment to biblical truth,” the Minister continued.

“We appreciate the fact that you have incorporated in the learning process a community project which will result in students gaining an appreciation for service and their civic responsibility towards the less fortunate in the society.”

He noted that although the programme will not get underway until January 2011, some students have already identified their community service projects, and according to the Minister of Education, some of these projects have the potential to greatly impact this island and our country in many meaningful ways.

“We expect that they will help to fill voids in areas where national resources are limited.Included in these projects are: a literacy mentoring project in the Eight Mile Rock Community to prepare students for BJC and BGCSE; an outreach programme to assist the homeless; a parenting programme and a programme to assist victims of substance abuse,” he informed.

Mr. Bannister also stressed that the launching of Bakke Graduate University here in The Bahamas bodes well for professionals interested in earning advanced degrees while remaining fully immersed in their own careers.

He said that is a wonderful opportunity to study in a global classroom where the successes of the students will be dependent on their discipline and on their commitment to making a tangible difference in our communities.

Mr. Bannister pointed out that the first group of students will be trailblazers and that many others are counting to them to succeed so they may follow in their footsteps.

“Let me remind those of you bold sprits who seek to be among the first to matriculate in this programme that talent alone will not get you through.

“In his book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell reminds us that achievement is talent plus preparation, and that when one looks at the academic success of those students to whom we often refer as being gifted, we see more and more that innate talent plays a much smaller role that we would have ever imagined.

“What is important is preparation; and consistently we find that the people who make it to the top are those who work much, much harder than everyone else,” he said.

Directing his attention to those who have already enrolled in the programme, the Education Minister said that “the question is whether you have the tenacity to doggedly pursue a somewhat non traditional course of study which may lead to wonderful feeling of achievement as well as an improved outlook for our local communities.

He said that they welcome Bakke Graduate University as a valued partner in education in The Bahamas “and we pray for your success, because your success will be our success.”