Julene Tegerstrand, the new Intercultural Studies professor, is going to help shape the new Intercultural Studies major here at ENC over the course of the year.
Tegerstrand served on the faculty at Korean Nazarene University and helped develop the student missions program at Northwest Nazarene University making her the perfect candidate to help build the Intercultural Studies major. According to ENC News, Intercultural Studies will prepare students for “local and global cross-cultural Christian service.”
The professor gladly accepted the title of Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies. In an interview, she stated, “It has been my dream to teach at one of our Nazarene colleges. When the Intercultural Studies position was brought to my attention and I learned about the vision ENC has for continuing to develop it’s identity as a college developing its students, staff and faculty for vocations that are embedded within intercultural settings, I became very interested in discerning a move to ENC.”
Professor Tegerstrand was also willing to give some advice for those of us feeling ENC is an “intercultural campus but not intercultural community.”
She says, “I think the first step to any community becoming an ‘intercultural community’ is saying we are not where we want to be. Getting real with each other, uncovering our fears, hurts, disappointments and asking forgiveness when we fail each other is some of the toughest work we will ever do.”
Tegerstrand has been ordained by the Church of the Nazarene.
She also has a Certificate in Spiritual Direction, a BA in Theology and Philosophy from Point Loma Nazarene University, an MDiv from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and is currently in a doctoral program to get her PhD at Gonzaga University.
Professor Julene Tegerstrand teaches World Religions, Introduction to Missions, History of Missions and Introduction to Spiritual Formation.