Anderson University freshman Nicole Shenefield wanted to say “thank you” in advance to the city she will call home for the next four years.

Shenefield, along with about 500 other students new to AU, worked Saturday morning to beautify the city, picking up trash, weeding, mowing, painting and doing other odd jobs as part of the second annual day of service partnership between AU and the city.

Nemo had survived the 2,200-mile trip from Arizona, but Anderson University freshman David Cox was worried that the shock of transferring the beta fish into its new tank in the AU dorm might kill the blue and red beta. With his things unpacked and set up in his new home, Nemo was one of the last first-day-on-campus tasks Cox had yet to complete.

Less than a year after it opened, the blue Kennedy Crossing bridge over White River has already become a victim of graffiti vandals.

The bridge is among a list of places in the city that are to be cleaned as part of an Aug. 29 effort to pick up trash and spruce up areas involving city officials and about 400 incoming Anderson University freshmen.

Anderson University and the Falls School of Business are always looking for new and exciting ways to pair faculty and students with community projects. This summer, Dr. Michael Bruce, Professor of Marketing, and senior Graham Brown collaborated to produce, “The Consumption and Consequences of Alcohol and Drugs in Madison County,” an epidemiological profile of the county and substance abuse within it.

Journalism. Computer Programming. Missions. All different career fields but each is utilized in diverse ways at the non-for-profit organization Word Made Flesh.

For the seventh year, Anderson University and Stretch Internet will be partnering to bring fans live audio streaming of athletic events for the 2009-10 season.  Click on the schedule for a complete listing of live audio events.

Twenty-four events will be held on Stretch in the fall, including all 10 Raven football games, including the season opener at rival Taylor University on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. The schedule will also include 10 soccer contests and four volleyball matches.

Soccer matches that will be carried include home men-women doubleheaders with Franklin (Sept. 30), Transylvania (Oct. 10), Rose-Hulman (Oct. 14), Defiance (Oct. 17) and Mt. St. Joseph (Oct. 31).

Volleyball matches consist of Marian and Earlham (Sept. 19), Transylvania (Oct. 3) and Franklin (Oct. 22).

To follow AU athletics on Stretch Internet go to the schedule link on the Raven athletic home page.

Members of Sidewalk Prophets (www.sidewalkprophets.com) recently visited WQME 98.7 FM and morning show host Matt Rust to talk about their Christian industry debut on Aug. 25 with the release of These Simple Truths. Sidewalk Prophets started garnering attention at Anderson University where frontmen, main songwriters, and AU alums Dave Frey and Ben McDonald met. The band has already shared the stage with gospel acts like Michael W. Smith, MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, and Audio Adrenaline before they signed with Music City label Fervent Records.

U.S. News and World Report has again ranked Anderson University among the best universities in the Midwest offering master’s level degree programs. Institutions in this category offer a full range of both undergraduate and master’s level degree programs. The magazine’s 2010 guide to “America’s Best Colleges” marks the sixth consecutive year that Anderson University has been listed among the best in its class.

For three days, Aug. 27-30, AU campus will be abuzz with incoming freshmen, fun and fellowship as part of New Student Orientation. This year’s campus theme, “Exercising Freedom,” is taken from Biblical passage, Galatians 5:13.

During his 40 years at Anderson University, Barry Callen served as a professor, college dean, and seminary dean at the School of Theology.

If that wasn’t enough to keep busy, he found time to become a published author of 34 non-fiction books.