December 7, 2004

Riverside, CA - After 20 and a half years teaching economics at La Sierra University, George Selivanoff, professor of economics and international business in the La Sierra University School of Business and Management, is retiring.

“George Selivanoff has devoted two decades to serving the School of Business and Management and La Sierra University,” says John Thomas, La Sierra University dean of the school of business and management. “We are grateful for his commitment to service, for his intellectual curiosity, for the range of his interests. He's been a thoughtful, capable colleague, and we will miss him.”

“I grew up in China and I always wanted to know what made countries rich and poor,” says Selivanoff. “When I came into the La Sierra department of economics and business administration there were seven or eight on staff, about 250 students and we were located in the Administration Building.”

Calling himself an “accidental” teacher, Selivanoff began his career consulting governments in Washington, D.C. and in Canada. “I started to teach because I wanted time to research and think about things,” says Selivanoff. “My first teaching experience was at Howard University in the law school during the Martin Luther King riots.”

Before coming to La Sierra University he taught at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was also an assistant editor at the Review and Herald in Takoma Park, Maryland. And on a part-time voluntary basis from 1986-1991 Selivanoff translated Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic documents into Russian.

“It was very exciting penetrating the Iron Curtain. I invited people in local churches to send Bibles and literature to Russia. After 1988 the Soviet Union allowed people to receive religious literature by mail,” says Selivanoff. “We provided the address, labels, Bibles and literature and the volunteers from all over the country paid the postage and mailing.”

Teaching himself the Russian language, Selivanoff spent many hours translating pieces of religious literature from English into Russian to include in his mailings. He also spent time as a pastor in Russia. He served as a Russian translator for Seventh-day Adventist officials including Neal Wilson, former president of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church. He also established an accounting system for the Russian Seventh-day Adventist local conference offices spending one year installing and implementing the system in offices throughout the former Soviet Union.

Looking ahead, Selivanoff plans to write Russian evangelistic books. He also plans to write two economic books for Russia. “They need an argument for the free enterprise system,” adds Selivanoff.

Selivanoff has three children and four grandchildren. He and his wife, Alice, enjoy amateur radio. He also likes sailing, canoeing, and camping.

“I will miss the students and faculty. Students keep you feeling young,” says Selivanoff. “You learn a lot from teaching them.”