Brethren couple to join faculty of North Korean University.

A Church of the Brethren couple from Kansas, Robert and Linda Shank, are to teach at North Korea's new Pyongyang University of Science and Techology. The university is opening this spring.

The Shanks will be working North Korea under the auspices of the Church of the Brethren's Global Mission Partnerships program and the church's Global Food Crisis Fund.

Their road to North Korea has taken the Shanks through a succession of agricultural assignments in developing countries: Ethiopia, Liberia, Nepal, and Belize. Robert holds a doctorate in wheat breeding and has conducted rice research. Linda holds a master's degree in counseling and learning disabilities.

In North Korea, the Shanks will work with both graduate and undergraduate students at the new university, which is funded largely by Christians in South Korea and the United States. The university is currently in the process of assembling a volunteer faculty of professionals in science, agriculture, and technology from around the world.

For more about Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, read a report on a visit to the school made by Global Mission Partnerships executive Jay Wittmeyer last September, at www.brethren.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9381. A photo album from the university's dedication ceremony is at www.brethren.org/site/PhotoAlbumUser?AlbumID=9373&view=UserAlbum.

Source: 2/11/2010 Newsline