Carl Caldwell
Vice President, Academic Affairs

The spring time of each year is a time of contrasts for me.  On the one hand, I have the privilege of addressing prospective students and their families in our numerous opportunity day experiences.  Before I speak, the admissions staff asks the students to stand, introduce themselves, tell where they are from, and introduce anyone who came along with them.  The usual response is a fairly bashful student who is more likely to stare at the floor than at the listeners and mumble something like, “Hi.  I’m Ben and I’m from Bippus, IN and this here’s my Dad.”  You can practically feel their relief as they reclaim their seats.  Then it’s my turn to talk about the mission of Anderson University, hopefully with a bit more confidence.

Contrast that, on the other hand, with what I see of Anderson University students in a variety of settings in the spring of the year.  Sometimes this occurs when a senior art and design student reads a senior thesis, required for graduation.  Other times this occurs in the performance of a music major who has earned the right to perform with full orchestral accompaniment in the School of Music awards ceremony.  And then there is the annual spring Alpha Chi induction ceremony, led by Dean Blake Janutolo, in which junior and senior students are inducted into our most prestigious general honorary society.  Senior chapel is that time when three graduating seniors, selected in a blind process, are given the chance to address the faculty and their senior colleagues on the meaning of their time at AU.  Students in religious studies and history read sophisticated research-based papers.  Of course, I cannot leave out the annual Falls School of Business spring banquet or the School of Nursing pinning ceremony.  In all these moments, we see the end result of the transformation that occurs when dedicated faculty and staff invest their lives and energies in young people, and in turn young people begin the life-long process of discovering their God-given talents and callings through the arduous process of study, reflection and practice.

The transformation is truly remarkable.  These students, who only three and four years earlier, were so very uncertain and tentative, have a kind of presence that comes from self-awareness and awareness of others.  They have been involved in life-transforming Tri-S experiences.  They feel comfortable in discussing what a maturing Christian world view means for them.  They have acquired the vocabulary of their disciplines.  They speak thoughtfully and perform brilliantly.  And we are so proud of them.

If you could see all that we see at this time of the year, you would understand why we call the spring “pay back time,” because it is that time when we see in students the results of all that we are about here at Anderson University.  We continue to feel strongly that our mission, to educate for a life of faith and service in church and society, is more relevant and important than ever, and we thank you for entrusting your young person to Anderson University.