The Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA) also called in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: Universite Adventiste d'Afrique Central is a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

institution of higher learning near two campuses in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system. AUCA is the largest Adventist University serving the French speaking parts of Africa. In 2015, it had about 4,000 students.

History

Adventist University of Central Africa was established in 1978, but officially opened on 15 October 1984. The school closed in 1994 due to political unrest, but was reestablished in 1996 in Kigali.

Mudende Campus

Initially the campus was located at Mudende, in Gisenyi prefecture (one component of the current Western Province). The University grew for 10 years until the start of

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

(April 94 – July 94). During the genocide there was a general breakdown in law and order, and the Mudende campus was looted by the local population, the military, militias, and even AUCA staff before they fled. After the killing stopped, the vacant campus became “a sort of no man’s land” for several years and the Mudende campus was stripped of anything removable. At the end of 1996, the campus became a shelter for the first influx of Zairian refugees from nearby Kibumba (DRC). Although a few months later the Zairian refugees returned home, a larger group of refugees took over the campus, further stripping it of salable items and destroying fixed assets like washrooms.

Conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

during the period 1997-99 saw additional looting. The University started negotiations with the Rwandan government in 1999 to sell the government the Mudende campus but it was not until 2003 that an agreement was reached. Finally in February 2006 the former campus the Government of Rwanda, represented by its Ministry of Defense, took over the old campus as a base for the Rwanda Defense Forces.

Gishushu, Kigali Campus

The University reopened in 1996 using modest buildings and with limited course offerings. The 1.7 ha campus was not deemed large enough for a proper university so a search commenced for a larger site. However the strategic location of Gishushu resulted in the school building a Science Centre and Technology there. Ground breaking occurred on March 8, 2012 with the Prime Minister of Rwanda and the President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in attendance. After a two and a half year effort, the science center was inaugurated on 11 February 2015 by the President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The new building contains 24 classrooms which can each hold 40 to 60 students, all with fully networked, digitally responsive whiteboards that facilitate presentations and the instant archiving of lecture notes. The university, is working to make all of its teaching materials available digitally. Even the library will be fully digitized, with e-books to students’ computers. features state of the art

Masoro, Kigali Campus

With proceeds from the sale of Mudende and church appropriations, a 22 ha site was secured for a new campus within sight of Kigali's International Airport. Construction of the new campus began on 12 May 2005 with ground breaking for the central academic block. Construction on a 2000-seat multi-purpose conference hall began in February 2009 and was completed in September 2011. Paving and other buildings followed.

Degree courses

As of 2015 AUCA offers both undergraduate and masters level programs in the following areas:

Undergraduate

* Faculty of Business Administration * Faculty of Education * Faculty of Theology * Faculty of Information Technology
School Of Medicine

Masters

* Master of Education * Master of Business Administration MBA * Masters of Science in Administration: International Development Program

Publications

A research center within AUCA publishes the ''Journal of Inter-Discourse Academia'' (JIDA).

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church