History of FISC
Director’s Message • History • Mission and Vision
Courses Offered • Five-year Strategic Goals
Bill Kwon Teaching
The Fairbanks International School of Communication (FISC) began with the vision of communicating the Gospel by culturally relevant means. In 1988, Dr. E. LeBron Fairbanks, the second president of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS), proposed a Media Center to resource churches and districts by means of media and to provide a training facility for APNTS students in partnership with Media International (World Mission Communication) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Office of the Church of the Nazarene. It took more than six years to see the dedication of the Fairbanks Media Center (FMC) on April 2, 1994.
Alongside the development of FMC, various partners were involved in the birth of the Master of Arts in Christian Communication (MACC) program. In 1992, the academic dean of APNTS, Dr. Floyd T. Cunningham, proposed to Asia Theological Association (ATA), and later to Asia Graduate School of Theology (AGST) to partner with a new communication program which APNTS could host.
Yet the full development of the MACC program took several years from the first proposal. On June 13, 1992, APNTS invited various communication educators in the region for a Planning Committee Meeting to conceptualize curriculum for the MARE in Communication. The committee emphasized the integration of theology and communication studies to effectively transmit the Gospel in society. Various forms of media were proposed as the core curriculum with the presence of traditional forms of media which include theatre arts. The Commission on Higher Education Department (CHED) temporarily approved a Master of Arts in Christian Communication (MACC) degree in 1995, and a year later full recognition was granted. Dr. Carol Herrmann (from AGST) was appointed as the program director with the technical assistance of Doug Flemming. In 2002, CHED also allowed MACC to include the cross-cultural communication concentration.
Audio Editing Seminar
With Dr. Carol Herrmann’s academic guidance, Doug Flemming played a key role in the development of the MACC program with the growing facility and ministry of FMC. Through his ministry at FMC, he was able to promote some gifted students and, at the same time, provided handson working scholarships. Most MACC students were able to acquire their hands-on trainings through FMC and were able to receive work scholarships.
In 2003, a graduate of the MACC program, Mr. Dong Hwan “Bill” Kwon, received the faculty development scholarship from UBCHEA to develope regional full time faculty. Flemming proposed the scholarship to the United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) with the assistance of Fairbanks in 2002. The scholarship designated the doctoral program at the College of Mass Communication, in the University of the Philippines. Kwon was then appointed as the instructor of the MACC program in 2004 and soon became the only full time faculty member of MACC program in 2005.
When APNTS began to construct the Nielson Center for Education and Evangelism (NCEE), FMC agreed to equip the basement as a state-of-the-art media facility. More than two hundred thousand dollars were invested to complete the facility which turned out to be one of the best media production facilities in the Philippines. FMC changed its name into World Mission Communication Asia-Pacific (WMC-AP).The media center offers a significant opportunity for hands-on media education for FSC students.
Actual Film Shooting at APNTS Ground
In 2005, the MACC program unveiled a new phase of development under Kwon’s leadership. APNTS inaugurated the MACC program to be the second school, next to Donald Owens School of World Mission APNTS. The communication school was named after Dr. E. LeBron Fairbanks, who envisioned innovative media education at APNTS. Kwon was installed as the director of the school in the same year. The FSC committee has expanded to include half of its members representing WMC-AP. With equal responsibility and contribution to Fairbanks School of Communication, it has been the fruitful offspring of the partnership between APNTS and WMC-AP.
The New FISC Media Lab
In 2006, to secure media facilities for increasing student projects, a separate media laboratory was constructed on the NCEE ground floor. With the initial seed money donated by Dr. Fairbanks, various supports were raised through the leadership of Prof. Kwon. Several Korean churches began monthly funding for FISC since 2006 including Sangamdong Church of the Nazarene, Seoul, Korea, Anjung Church of the Nazarene, Pyung Taik, Korea, Juwon Church of the Nazarene, Incheon, Korea, and Manila New Life Church in Makati, Philippines. Dr. Geneva Silvernail, the coordinator of World Mission Literature Asia-Pacific, also donated three computers for the development of literature education and ministry in the region.
In early 2008, the latest development of FSC has been laid out with Dr. Fairbanks, who retired from the presidency of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Ohio, U.S.A. and was accepted as the vice president of institutional development of APNTS. He challenged FSC to face the globalized society and respond to the changing society in Asia and the Pacific region. With the extensive discussion of the committee, the new identity was proposed and renamed as Fairbanks International School of Communication (FISC).
