Celebrating alumni milestones is another fun part of the Anderson University experience. That said, several reunion events are being planned. Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Major Gifts Leah Clevenger and the AU Office of Development, along with a group of alumni, are working on expanding AU’s tradition of holding reunions. Clevenger says reunion events are being planned for graduates celebrating 5-year, 10-year and 25-year milestones. These reunions, taking place in September and October, will ride the wave of Trojan Football gameday weekend excitement.
This past May, AU welcomed back its 1975 graduates for a two-day reunion event coinciding with Spring Commencement. Approximately 40 members of the class of 1975 were treated to an alumni dinner and a tour of the campus. They were also inducted into the Golden Anchor Society in honor of their 50-year milestone and were honored guests at the morning commencement ceremony on Alumni Lawn.
David Southerland, who served as Student Government Association president while at Anderson, fellow graduate and class president Brad Steele, Clevenger and Anderson University Senior Vice President for Development and Presidential Affairs Wayne Landrith organized the reunion event.
Southerland looks back on the fun he had as a college student and playing on the baseball team as great experiences. He especially values the meaningful connections he made with Anderson’s administration, faculty and students as SGA president. A couple of years ago he began earnestly seeking ways to give back.
“It’s heartwarming to see the many successes that Anderson University has accomplished,” said Southerland. A retired executive who has served in healthcare leadership in California and South Carolina, Southerland is grateful for his alma mater’s continued commitment to Christ-centered education.
With both parents and a sister having attended Anderson and an aunt having served on the Board of Trust, Steele says he was destined to attend the same institution. He also met his wife Betsy here.
“While serving on the Board of Visitors, I have learned so much about the growth and expansion of facilities, curriculums, sports programs and online offerings,” Steele said. “It is truly amazing what the leadership has accomplished in 50 years.”
Despite the hurdles of reaching out to graduates who over 50 years changed addresses and phone numbers several times (and obviously email didn’t exist in 1975), Southerland did a little detective work, finding ways to connect through social media and other means.
According to Clevenger, this is one of the largest such reunion events to take place at Anderson.
Photos taken 50 years apart, from left, David Southerland and Harry Johnson.
Harry Johnson, one of the graduates who came to the reunion, is grateful for the opportunity Anderson gave him at a critical time in his life. Johnson, who was actively involved in the Baptist Student Union, Pep Band and other activities as an Anderson student, received the Annie Dove Denmark Award, presented to students demonstrating leadership, scholarship and character. He also interned for longtime U.S. Congressman Butler Derrick in Washington, D.C. and was named to Who’s Who of American Junior Colleges.
“The thing I like about AU now—it has grown tremendously, but it hasn’t lost what it had 50 years ago—concern for the students,” said Johnson, who went on to earn his Philosophy degree at Carson-Newman before entering the Air Force, where he served across the U.S. and in Europe and later worked as an educator in Anderson County. He’s grateful for the relationships he formed with President Dr. Cordell Maddox, Academic Dean Dr. Paul Talmadge, Religion Department Head Dr. Robert Burks and others. Johnson continues his involvement with Anderson by serving on the Alumni Board and with the Christian Ministry Foundation.
For details about upcoming reunion events at Anderson University, alumni can email alumni@andersonuniversity.edu or call 864-231-2102. The AU Alumni Engagement Office encourages all graduates to keep in touch, which can easily be done online.