November 29th, 2017 will remain as another important date in the history of the Adventist higher education in Romania – as it masks the day when Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the accreditation law of the only tertiary institution of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Romania. Therefore, the Adventist Theological Institute becomes Adventus University. After gaining the institutional accreditation of ARACIS, the Romanian National Council of Academic Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions, in April 2015, in accordance with the legal procedures and at the request of the Adventist Theological Institute and of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Romania, the Romanian Government initiated the bill on establishing the Adventus University in Cernica. The bill was debated and passed by the two Chambers of the Parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and was then promulgated by the President and published in the official gazette of Romania from November 29th, 2017.
For the first time in its history, the higher education institution of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Romania is part of the national education system and enjoys the same rights as all the other Romanian accredited universities, including the right to organize Bachelor Degree examinations and to run Master programs, while the students of the Adventus University will enjoy the same rights as their colleagues from all the other accredited universities. The change in the name of the Adventist Theological Institute into Adventus University is in line with the educational offer of the institution which, aside from its pastoral theology program, also trains future social workers and kindergarten and elementary school teachers.
“In this meaningful moment our gratitude is directed towards God, who blessed us so much, but also towards the academic and administrative team of the Adventist Theological Institute who, through their efforts and commitment, contributed to this great achievement, as well as towards the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Romania and the board of the Theological Institute, who supported our efforts, towards the Romanian Union’s Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department, which persevered in their efforts of making the bill into a law, and towards the believers who make the Romanian Seventh-day Adventist church, who support us and keep us in their prayers,” said Lecturer Roxana Paraschiv, the University’s Chancellor.
