The Seventh-day Adventist Church has elected a new leader for its Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea-based tertiary institution.

Nemani Tausere says it will be an “honor and privilege” to serve as vice-chancellor of Pacific Adventist University. The “powerhouse of the mission field,” as he describes it, plays a “pivotal role in the development and progress of the church in the Pacific islands.” Tausere is currently the education director for the church in the South Pacific. He served as principal of the church’s Fiji-based tertiary institution, Fulton College, for eight years before accepting the position.

The current vice-chancellor of the university, Harold Peters, will retire at the end of the year. The announcement came during the church’s committee meetings, held in Wahroonga, New South Wales, May 21 to 23.