Ella Simmons | |
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Born | |
Education | Indiana University Southeast, Andrews University, University of Louisville |
Church | Seventh-day Adventist |
Offices held | Vice President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists |
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Ella Simmons is a Seventh-day Adventist administrator and educator. As the only woman to be a vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, she is the highest ranking female official in the history of the denomination, with the exception of three woman treasurers in the pioneer era. [1]
Ella Louise (née Smith) Simmons was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She earned her Bachelor's in Elementary Education from Indiana University Southeast, a Master's in Education from Andrews University, and a doctorate in Education from the University of Louisville. She is married to Nord Simmons, a retired high school teacher, and the couple has two sons, Darryl and Christopher, also educators. [1]
Simmons served in various capacities as an educator for almost thirty years. For the first decade of her career Simmons was variously a high school teacher and principal in schools in Kentucky and Indiana. From 1988 to 1990 she was the chair of the Department of Education at Kentucky State University. She was an assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Louisville from 1990 to 1997, serving as associate dean of the School of Education in the last two years. [2] In 1997 she became the vice president for academic affairs at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. From 2000 to 2004 she was the Provost and Vice President for Academic Administration at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. [3]
At the 2005 General Conference session of Seventh-day Adventists Ella Simmons was elected a general vice president of the world church, thus becoming the highest ranking woman in the history of the denomination, with the exception of three woman treasurers in the pioneer era. [4] Simmons' tenure has been marked by her leading role in shaping the global educational system of the now 22 million-member church. [5] She has also become an icon for woman empowerment in a church grappling with the issue of the ordination of women, and is outspoken in favor of ordination without respect to gender. [6]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, its emphasis on the imminent Second Coming (advent) of Jesus Christ, and its annihilationist soteriology. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the mid-19th century and it was formally established in 1863. Among its co-founders was Ellen G. White, whose extensive writings are still held in high regard by the church.
Union Adventist University is a private Seventh-day Adventist college in Lincoln, Nebraska. Known as "Union College" from 1891 to May 5, 2024, it is owned and operated by the Mid-America Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is accredited by the Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA) and the Higher Learning Commission. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.
James Springer White, also known as Elder White, was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White. In 1849 he started the first Sabbatarian Adventist periodical entitled The Present Truth, in 1855 he relocated the fledgling center of the movement to Battle Creek, Michigan, and in 1863 played a pivotal role in the formal organization of the denomination. He later played a major role in the development of the Adventist educational structure beginning in 1874 with the formation of Battle Creek College.
Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. As of 2019, the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Its on-campus church has around 7,000 members.
Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day Adventist school system, the world's second largest Christian school system.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s to the 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, Ellen G. White, her husband James Springer White, Joseph Bates, and J. N. Andrews. Over the ensuing decades the church expanded from its original base in New England to become an international organization. Significant developments such the reviews initiated by evangelicals Donald Barnhouse and Walter Martin, in the 20th century led to its recognition as a Christian denomination.
Klabat University is a Christian institution of higher learning. It was established on 7 October 1965 by Gereja Masehi Advent Hari Ketujuh (GMAHK). At present, the university is run by Yayasan Universitas Klabat under the care of Uni Konfrens Indonesia Kawasan Timur (UKIKT) or the East Indonesia Union Conference (EIUC) of the SDA.
Simmons College of Kentucky, formerly known as Kentucky Normal Theological Institute, State University at Louisville, and later as Simmons Bible College, is a private, historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1879, it is the nation's 107th HBCU and is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
The theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church resembles that of Protestant Christianity, combining elements from Lutheran, Wesleyan-Arminian, and Anabaptist branches of Protestantism. Adventists believe in the infallibility of the Scripture's teaching regarding salvation, which comes from grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The 28 fundamental beliefs constitute the church's current doctrinal positions, but they are revisable under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and are not a creed.
George Raymond Knight is a leading Seventh-day Adventist historian, author, and educator. He is emeritus professor of church history at Andrews University. As of 2014 he is considered to be the best-selling and influential voice for the past three decades within the denomination.
Keene Adventist Elementary School (KAES) is a Seventh-day Adventist co-educational PK-8 elementary school located in Keene, Texas. The school is operated by the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church to make available Christian education. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.
Adventist University of Haiti called in French:Université Adventiste d'Haïti is situated some five miles (8 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince, in the Carrefour neighborhood.
Sir Patrick Linton Allen is a Jamaican statesman and former Seventh-day Adventist pastor, who has served as the sixth and current governor-general of Jamaica since 26 February 2009.
Tai Po Sam Yuk Secondary School is a co-educational Christian secondary school, located in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. The school is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Theodore Norman Clair "Ted N. C." Wilson is an ordained minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and currently serves as the President of the General Conference, the governing organization of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was first elected for the period 2010-2015, and was reelected for the period 2015-2020. During the 61st General Conference Session, on June 6, 2022, he was once again elected as president a term that would extend until the year 2025. He was chosen as one of the General Vice Presidents of the Adventist Church in 2000 during the General Conference Session in Toronto. His 36 years of denominational service include administrative and executive roles in the Mid-Atlantic United States, Africa, and Russia. Wilson is the son of former General Conference President Neal C. Wilson, who served in the position from 1979 to 1990.
Mary Virginia Cook Parrish taught, wrote and spoke on many issues such as women's suffrage, equal rights in the areas of employment and education, social and political reform, and the importance of religion and a Christian education. She was at the founding session of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 at the 19th Street Baptist Church in Washington D.C. She was an early proponent of Black Baptist feminism and founder of the National Baptist Women's Convention in 1900.
Mary Ellen Britton (1855–1925) was an American physician, educator, suffragist, journalist and civil rights activist from Lexington, Kentucky. Britton was an original member of the Kentucky Negro Education Association, which formed in 1877. She was president of the Lexington Woman's Improvement Club and later served as a charter member of the Ladies Orphan Society which founded the Colored Orphan Industrial Home in Lexington, in 1892. During her lifetime she accomplished many things through the obstacles she faced. After teaching black children in Lexington public schools, she worked as a doctor from her home in Lexington. She specialized in hydrotherapy, electrotherapy and massage; and, she was officially granted her license to practice medicine in Lexington, Kentucky in 1902, making her the first woman doctor to be licensed in Lexington.
Charles Henry Parrish was a minister and educator in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky. He was the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Louisville from 1886 until his death in 1931. He was a professor and officer at Simmons College, and then served as the president of the Eckstein Institute from 1890 to 1912 and then of Simmons College from 1918 to 1931. His wife, Mary Virginia Cook Parrish and son, Charles H. Parrish Jr., were also noted educators.
The Miraflores Adventist Educational Institution is a private co-educational Seventh-day Adventist high school located in the urban district of Miraflores, Lima, Peru. Established in 1919 by representatives of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Industrial College, the college is part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.
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