After the elections that took place on the 17th of February 2016, Roxana Paraschiv, Associate Professor at the Romanian Adventist Theological Institute (RATI), was elected the Rector of the institution. According to the Romanian legislation, the Ministry of Education confirmed the appointment of the new Rector for the 2016-2020 mandate by the Order no. 3537/31.03.2016.
After graduating, in 2000, from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, assoc. prof. Roxana Paraschiv began working in the same university, first as an university assistant then as a lecturer. From 2012, she has been working at RATI as a lecturer and, since 2013, as an associate professor.
Professor Roxana Paraschiv is a SDA Church member, is married and has a 6-year-old daughter.
From the first impressions of the new Rector, we understand that even more than the administrative responsibilities, she is concerned about the mission of the Institute and the access to the Adventist education of as many young people as possible: ” I have received the appointment as the Rector of RATI with responsibility and prayer, aware of the permanent need of God’s support and guidance. The four years that are in front of us will be a challenging period of time for our Institute. Besides the fact that the reform of the Romanian educational system is not completed yet, and that we are expecting changes in legislation and in the educational environment, the Institute has a new status, as an accredited institution, a status that means both opportunities and the need to maintain and raise the academic standards. The development of our institution is not the result of one person’s work, but the result of team work and the small number of our academic personnel makes us all part of the team. I consider that for each of us God has a mission that we have to assume and fulfill. We wish the Adventist Theological Institute developed both spiritually and academically, and we wish that the Institute would be the place where many Adventist young people, and not only, should become good professionals as well as men and women reflecting God’s character.
Pastor Marius Munteanu, Education and Chaplaincy Director in the Inter-European Division, expresses his appreciation for the evolution of the only Romanian Adventist Institution of higher education and looks with faith and hope towards the future:
“The previous mandate ended in a trend of development, by reaching the most wanted objectives in the history of the Institute: the accreditation of all the study programs and the institutional accreditation. With the election, confirmation and appointment of the new Rector, preceded by the appointment of a new Chaplain and of a new Business Manager, and followed shortly by the appointment of a Vice-Rector and of a new Dean, RATI courageously walks towards a new stage in its development: the consolidation of a new institutional status, the extension of its academic offer, partnerships with Romanian and foreign universities as well as the servant answer to the Church’s needs. Professor Roxana Paraschiv contributes, in a distinct manner, to the academic and spiritual climate of the campus through her experience as a teacher in one of the most representative Romanian state universities, as well as through her qualities as a Christian leader. I’m glad and I’m praying for all the victories that God will offer to this new team. Vivat, crescat, floreat! ”
The appointment of a new Rector in the Romanian Theological Adventist Institute is another important moment of change in the recent history of this institution. But above the human contribution, efforts and sacrifices, there is the preoccupation that God will be present in all that is happening in the Adventist campus from Cernica.