Welcome to the August President’s Page, a quarterly news release directly from my desk to the friends of Andrews University.
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1.
This summer our Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, sponsored by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, partnered with Adventist World Radio for an international evangelistic campaign: “Christ for Zambia.” Fifteen MDiv students and six professors preached at 21 different sites from Friday evening, May 12, until Sabbath evening, May 27. The majority of these sites were open areas such as soccer fields or spaces near markets, schools or churches—and each evening 300–600 people gathered at each site. On the last Sabbath of the meetings, the evangelistic team was thrilled when over 1,500 people dedicated their lives to Jesus at a mass baptism. We thank God for the ministry of these students and faculty! (photo courtesy Jiří Moskala)
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2.
A team of our Andrews University students won second place in the 2023 Michigan Colleges Alliance’s College Community Challenge, in which students are given the opportunity to address unmet needs in their community, work with local business partners and compete for scholarships. Our four-person team included undergraduates Sofiia Ialysheva, Jack Proctor, Ifeolu Kolade and Ha Eun Park, and the team was sponsored by Matías Soto, director, Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The team chose to address the lack of advanced technological awareness among entrepreneurs in the nearby community of Benton Harbor and collaborated with Emerge Innovation Hub, a Benton Harbor-based organization, to identify solutions.
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3.
Our summer graduation took place Aug. 4–6. The programming included a Commencement service on Friday, a Baccalaureate church service on Sabbath, Sabbath vespers on Saturday evening and two Commencement services on Sunday as well as academic program-specific ceremonies and events throughout the weekend. I was proud to learn more about our summer graduates, and it was a privilege to meet so many of their friends and families. Our prayers now go with each new graduate as they move to the next steps of their journeys to become World Changers for God.
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4.
At Andrews, we have been recognized by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) as one of 62 universities, colleges or trade schools in the “Veteran-Friendly Schools (VFS)” category for the 2023–2024 school year. The VFS program recognizes academic institutions that are committed to supporting the needs of veterans and military-connected students. These institutions are awarded Gold-, Silver- and Bronze-level status based on their veteran-centric services and programs—and we are one of the 47 schools to earn Gold-level status this year.
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5.
We have collaborated with the Foundation for Adventist Education and the North American Division Office of Education so that this fall, students in every Adventist school in the North American Division will have access to the new “Andrews Bible Commentary.” The Commentary, which was released in a concise, two-volume form in 2022, is intended for the general readership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The announcement about the Commentary distribution was made to the 6,000 attendees at the Division-wide Educators’ Convention held in Phoenix, Arizona, Aug. 7–10.
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6.
The Educators’ Convention provided our Andrews faculty and staff an opportunity to personally connect with teachers in our partner unions, too. College of Education & International Services (CEIS) faculty spent time helping K–12 teachers sign up for classes for certification and master’s degrees. Griggs International Academy’s (GIA) booth had a steady stream of visitors learning how GIA supports schools and more. Faculty and staff from CEIS, GIA, the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Professions and the College of Health & Human Services offered breakout sessions on a variety of topics including digital citizenship, doodling, instructional coaching and school leadership. (photo courtesy Janine Lim)
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7.
Throughout the summer months our academic programs continue to thrive, including two areas which recently received good news. Our School of Business Administration (SBA) received notification from the International Accreditation Council for Business Education that the SBA programs are re-accredited through 2030. Then, our School of Population Health, Nutrition & Wellness received notification from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics that the Nutrition Science and Dietetics program and the Dietetic Internship program are also accredited through 2030. We are grateful to our faculty and staff for their dedicated service that makes these important milestones possible.
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8.
In 2020, Andrews University received a Title III Strengthening Institutions grant by the U.S. Department of Education which helped establish an endowment fund, success strategies for at-risk students, and enrollment of Native American and minority students. Earlier this month, Andrews was awarded an additional continuation grant of $449,643. Two new initiatives for 2023–2024 are planned: a BrainHealth project by Padma Uppala, project director, and innovative training at the Andrews University Museum of Nature & Science by Daniel Gonzalez, National Geographic Explorer. We are delighted to have this continued funding, which makes a difference in the lives of many students and surrounding communities.
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9.
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the 2019–2020 school year, 15 students from Andrews University went out to serve as student missionaries. This year we are excited to have more than 30 students who are now serving as dental assistants, medical assistants, Task Force deans, and teachers of PE, math, science and music. Our student missionaries are currently working in Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, Chad, Chile, Brazil, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Bolivia, as well as carrying out volunteer work domestically. We also have 22 students returning from the mission field to attend Andrews this year. (photo by Teela Ruehle)
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10.
In preparing for this new school year, it was an honor to interact with employees through Employee Institute, Faculty Institute and Fall Fellowship as we strengthened skill sets, focused on ways to improve the student experience and worshiped together. It was also exciting to greet our incoming students through this year’s Orientation Week and our returning students as classes began this past Monday here on our main Berrien Springs campus. I ask for your prayers for each person at Andrews University as we seek to daily carry out the mission God has for us in this 2023–2024 academic year.
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These are just a few of the wonderful things happening at Andrews University! We invite you to stay in touch, to stop by when you can and to join us in prayer for God’s guidance and blessing.
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