ORLANDO — Asbury Theological Seminary used two-way, audio-video technology to link its Kentucky and Florida campuses during a Sept. 7 joint convocation service that coincided with the opening of Asbury’s Florida campus.

Approximately 65 students are enrolled for the inaugural semester at the Seminary’s newly renovated facility in southeastern Orlando.

"The joint convocation between the two campuses is a visible witness to a new day in theological education," said President Maxie D. Dunnam, who delivered the convocation address to both campuses from Orlando. "It demonstrates the unity of Asbury Seminary between these two locations, but also models the fact that teaching for the total student body can take place from either campus."

Representatives of both campuses participated in the service, which included installing six new faculty members and Dr. J. Steven Harper, vice president and dean of the Florida campus, in his administrative post.

Following the convocation service, the Seminary dedicated its new distance-learning center on the Florida campus. The center is named in honor of Dr. Harold E. and Caroline S. Schmul of Boca Raton, who helped fund the facility.

Dr. Schmul, a 1970 Asbury Seminary graduate, is an elder in The United Methodist Church. He retired in 1997 after more than 25 years of pastoral ministry in New Jersey. Mrs. Schmul has also been an active member of the United Methodist Church and has served on numerous conference boards and agencies.

"The distance-learning center will be a key component in the delivery of courses to students on Asbury’s Florida campus," said Mr. Robert T. Bridges, president of the Asbury Foundation. "This gift provides a vital link to the distance-learning room on the Seminary’s Kentucky campus, enhancing the scope of course offerings that can be made available to Florida students and ensuring the same quality of education in Orlando that has been provided in Wilmore for more than 76 years."

Residential and adjunct faculty will also teach classes in Orlando, as well as commuting Kentucky professors.

Asbury Seminary is an interdenominational graduate school of theology that prepares men and women for Christian leadership in the Wesleyan-Arminian doctrinal tradition. With a fall enrollment of approximately 1,275 total students, Asbury is one of the nation’s largest seminaries.

Seventy denominations are represented among the Asbury Seminary student body, but the majority of students are affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the Free Methodist Church and The Wesleyan Church. Students come from 43 states, 24 countries and represent 475 colleges and universities.