INTRODUCTION OF
DR. GERALD PILLAY, VICE CHANCELLOR AND RECTOR,
LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY, LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
BY
ALFREDO M. GONZALES
Hope College—11 April 2013
President Bultman, Provost Ray, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty
colleagues, students and honored guests:
It is truly an honor and privilege to present Dr. Gerald Pillay, Vice
Chancellor and Rector of Liverpool Hope University, in Liverpool, England, for
the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters.
Dr. Pillay was born in South Africa, is a citizen of New Zealand and is
now a permanent resident of the United Kingdom. The son of Indian parents, Dr.
Pillay found his vocation in charged days of apartheid and now uses his position
as teacher, scholar, and academic leader to advance God’s call for justice,
redemption, and hope through excellence in education, in a world that more than
ever requires the presence of the church.
He was awarded the Bachelor of Arts with Classical Hebrew, Hellenistic
Greek and Philosophy; a Bachelor of Divinity, and Doctor of Theology from the
University of Durban-Westville. He also received a Doctor of Philosophy degree
from Rhodes University.
Dr. Pillay began his academic work as a lecturer at the University of
Durban-Westville before his appointment as distinguished Faculty of Theology
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Introduction for Dr. Gerald Pillay
For Honorary Degree Doctor of Letters
at the University of South Africa in 1988 where he became Professor, then head
of the department of Ecclesiastical History and the vice dean. These were years
of unthinkable change in South Africa. At that time, divisions of race were
evident in all walks of life. Everyone not white—Black South Africans, Indian,
Chinese and those of mixed races—lived in communities set aside (apartheid) as
“control areas”. It was here, in the tumultuous times of apartheid, that Dr. Pillay
found the tenets of the Christian faith that today drive his vision of hope. During
this time of critical change, Dr. Pillay was asked to lead a university-wide effort
to promote equity and excellence, a university goal that sought to include those
who had been excluded under apartheid on the basis of race.
Countering hopelessness is the foundation Dr. Pillay has been building
upon since his days in South Africa. Dr. Pillay has made it a life-long goal to
widen opportunities for those on the margins—those within the university
setting but also those living in the margins of society.
Indeed, it is his Christian faith that drives his current work at Liverpool
Hope University. In his vision for the university he declares, “You cannot exclude
faith and religion from the pursuit of truth and meaning. Science, faith and philosophy
should co-exist in a broad sense of what the liberal arts should be.”
In 1997 Dr. Pillay was appointed Foundation Professor and Head of the
Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Otago University--New
Zealand’s oldest University in Dunedin.
In 2003 Professor Pillay was appointed the Rector of what was then called
Liverpool Hope University College. He became its first Vice-Chancellor
(President) when Liverpool Hope was given full university status in July 2005.
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Introduction for Dr. Gerald Pillay
For Honorary Degree Doctor of Letters
Liverpool Hope University is the coming together of three church colleges: two
Catholic and one Anglican. Today Liverpool Hope University stands as the only
ecumenical institution among all universities in England.
Dr. Pillay’s storied life of accomplishments is one that deserves our
admiration and gratitude. It is, therefore, because of his devotion to excellence in
international education, his unbending faithfulness to the Christian faith, and for
his belief that the church is the only hope for the world, that today I present Dr.
Gerald J. Pillay for the Honorary Degree Doctor of Letters. In particular, I want to
highlight the following major accomplishments:
●
His extensive record of scholarly publications and his distinguished
academic career.
●
His appointment, in 1997, as Foundation Professor and Head of the
Department at Otago University in New Zealand.
●
His appointment as rector and subsequently Vice Chancellor of
Liverpool Hope University, and his vision and leadership for
leading England’s only ecumenical institution.
●
The establishment of the Desmond Tutu Centre for War and Peace
Studies
●
For his philosophy that to be locally useful the University has to be
internationally credible. He has striven to make the University more
international and there is now a vibrant international community at
Liverpool Hope with world-ranking scholars from more than 30
different countries and the student body made up of over 80
different nationalities. There are strong links with partner
universities across the world including a host of Christian colleges
and universities in the United States, Mexico, East Africa,
Bangalore and Mumbai in India,and the Philippines.
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Introduction for Dr. Gerald Pillay
For Honorary Degree Doctor of Letters
●
His vision of creating at Liverpool Hope University a world class
institution that reflects God’s covenant community in word and
deed.
For these reasons, therefore, Mr. President, it is my honor and privilege to
present Professor Gerald J. Pillay for the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters.
Alfredo M. Gonzales
Associate Provost, and Dean for International Education
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Introduction for Dr. Gerald Pillay
For Honorary Degree Doctor of Letters