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Preparing a place for international students

By Katie Johnson Winter 2023

Chenar E. E. Howard

Meet Director of International Student and Scholar Affairs Chenar E. E. Howard

In her first semester as director of International Student and Scholar Affairs, Chenar E. E. Howard and her team worked hard to make sure all of Luther Seminary’s international students felt welcomed and ready to pursue a dream long prayed for.

“When they landed, I wanted somebody at the airport to greet them and get them on campus,” Howard said. “I wanted them to walk into their dorm room with the bed already made and towels in their closets—something that says, ‘We’re so happy you’re here.’”

Howard’s ties to Luther Seminary run deep. Her family moved to St. Paul when her father, Dale Howard ‘93 M.Div., started his degree at Luther. As a 12-year-old, Howard spent weekends alongside her dad studying in the Gullixson Hall library. Her father, a child and grandchild of Methodist missionaries to India, naturally formed connections with the international community at Luther.

Howard has served the seminary’s international students for 16 years in various roles. She was recently promoted to director of International Student and Scholar Affairs upon Marie Hayes’ retirement.

On what to keep in mind when working with international students:

“For me, it’s just the knowledge of the huge sacrifice they have made to be here. And not just them, but their families and the churches or the institutions they serve. It’s a lot to get here, too—not just going through the admissions process, but being granted a visa has also become a whole lot harder coming out of the pandemic.”

On what international students bring to the Luther community:

“The richness of their experience and the leadership that they can bring to our classroom—you can’t measure that. Many international students have already been Christian public leaders for years. Many of them have already been ordained. They’ve already served as pastors; they’ve had congregations. Furthering their education is not for themselves, but for their own church bodies and communities. It’s about the connection of the global church.”

On the significance of Luther’s global reach:

“Our alumni community is so widespread. One of our students right now is Russian. With the war that’s happening, his ministry now is dealing essentially with refugees. If you talk with our Nigerian students, Muslim-Christian relations are their realities. When we talk about the global church to our students, the conversation becomes about who they sat next to in class. Many students return home after graduation, and some also end up staying in the United States and are called to immigrant churches. For some immigrant churches, to have a pastor from their own context who speaks the language and knows the culture is really significant.”

On what she’s focusing on in her new role:

“I would start by saying that I have such a strong, firm foundation that Marie Hayes created in the department and in mentoring me. An area of growth is building on the seminary’s work with new student engagement. That’s the communication time frame from admission to orientation to make sure new students start well. Also, I know people have really wanted to put together alumni gatherings in different regions of the world. I’d really like to find ways to empower them to do that.”

This interview had been edited for length and clarity.

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