They came from Tianjin, China, to stand alongside their fellow graduates at Trinity Western University’s School of Graduate Studies commencement ceremony, held Saturday, November 1, 2014, at Abbotsford Pentecostal Assembly. Among the nine students here to celebrate their achievement as the first-ever graduating class from TWU’s Great Wall MBA was valedictorian Artice Xie.
“The graduation ceremony was a spiritual, meaningful, and memorable experience,” said Xie. “It has been exciting to see the excellent graduates in different majors being awarded the degree on the stage, and fortunately I was one of them to celebrate our achievements with the TWU faculty, alumni, and my friends from China.”
Delivered by TWU in partnership with the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, the Great Wall MBA is an 18-month program offered executive-style, with classes held on specific weekends over the course of the program. Fully taught in English, the program allows business leaders to obtain their degrees while maintaining their professional careers.
“It is a proud moment for me, and for Trinity Western University, to have our Great Wall MBA students celebrate with us here in Canada,” said Program Director Murray MacTavish, Ph.D. “It has been a long journey, but these students rose to the challenge, working diligently to achieve this wonderful accomplishment.”
The Great Wall MBA is an integral part of the University’s MBA program, which offers four streams of specialization: Managing the Growing Enterprise, Managing Non-Profit and Charitable Organizations, International Business, and the Great Wall MBA program in Tianjin, China.
“TWU is pleased to be the last joint-venture, foreign-delivered MBA program approved in China,” MacTavish said. “We do not take this opportunity to impact the business and government leadership of China lightly. I have no doubt that our students—who work in a variety of contexts, such as, banking, industry, and government—have already had a positive impact in their respective workplaces as a result of their participation in the Great Wall MBA program.”
In all, 148 graduate students—including 20 from the Great Wall MBA program—earned their degrees. Over 100 of them walked across the platform to receive their diplomas at the commencement ceremony, at which the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, was conferred upon Liu Peng, a prominent scholar and expert on religions in the US, comparative state-religion relations, and religion and law.
“Over the next 20 years, how China will change and where it will be going are not only important for the people of China, but also significant in the theatre of world affairs,” said Liu. “In this era of rapid change and social transformation, as children of God and lovers of peace, what we need is knowledge; but more important than knowledge are truth, wisdom, and the pursuit of correct living.”