One of the things that I love about Anderson University is our commitment to excellence. 

There are many times in life as followers of Christ that we may feel like we are faced with a choice of a secular option or one with an intentionally Christian emphasis. We exceedingly find ourselves in a situation where we can bring ourselves down to the societal narrative that plays into this “less than” mentality. We further this lie in the world of higher education when we strive to only do things well within certain categories of institutions. I would argue that our directive is more imperative given our faith in Christ. 

In Colossians 3:23-24, we read, “Whatever you do, work heartily, for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” In my interpretation, that means every aspect of our lives demands a high standard of excellence as we seek to honor our Lord and Savior. And I am thankful that standard is an integral part of the mission and vision of Anderson University.

Anderson University’s vision statement reads: “For God and humanity, Anderson University seeks to be an innovative, entrepreneurial, premiere comprehensive university where liberal arts, professional studies, and graduate studies thrive within an uplifting and distinctively Christian community of diverse faculty, staff and students dedicated to intellectually rigorous learning, hospitable campus culture, and personal transformation.” 

I recently sat and listened to President Whitaker speak at a function about the amazing accomplishments of some of our Anderson University students and faculty.

As a staff member at AU, I hear of these accomplishments daily. However, this night as I found myself watching the reactions of a select group of friends and alumni, I realized that sometimes I have become dispassionate to the extraordinary breakthroughs and accomplishments that are realized on this campus regularly.

Our vision is not a passive thought that is written and discarded to the side. It is a reminder of what we are called to do as believers. I do not want to downplay the extraordinary accomplishments of our Trojan family. While we are called to do our best every day, we should stop to celebrate when God blesses our efforts.

It doesn’t take me very long to find examples of our students excelling in a very diverse landscape. I can look very quickly to five of our senior Kinesiology majors who received first place at the South Carolina Physical Therapy Association conference for their presentation of research on knee injuries. I am proud of the numerous education alumni who are recognized as “Teacher of the Year” in their various districts. 

Anderson University recently won seven awards in an annual competition that recognizes the best college or university advertising campaigns in the country.

One College of Engineering faculty member was recently the recipient of a National Science Foundation competitive research award. Our performing students in the South Carolina School of the Arts are consistently recognized in state and national competitions. Our Visual Arts students routinely do the same. Our latest Doctor of Physical Therapy class recently passed their boards with a rate of 100 percent on their first attempt.

Our Student Life program has been recognized as one of the most engaging in the country. Anderson University was recently ranked the number one institution in the southeast, and No. 5 nationally, in the National Cyber League fall 2023 games. Out of 7,930 students registered in the individual game, we had two finishers in the top 10. 

And I could go on and on…

(Notice that I have yet to mention athletics. There is a reason for that. I do not have the space in this article to mention all that is going on at Anderson University, and they remind me that I have space limitations. But we are seeing our student athletes perform and achieve at championship levels as well. Go Trojans!)

I appreciate that we are called to a high standard of excellence by our president, Dr. Evans Whitaker, and his senior leadership team. More importantly, I know we are called to do this by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Again, we are reminded in scripture: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

May we all, as part of the Anderson family, always strive for excellence in all that we do, to the glory of God.

LONG LIVE ANDERSON!

Written by Jason Rutland