your journey is calling together we’re transforming the education experience
knowledge for the journey
from the Office of the President When the Anderson University faculty began working with a new president in 2003 on a strategic plan for the ten years that were to come, the challenge was to dream big. When finalized, the plan was indeed a big one, full of new programs, facilities, and a significantly increased number of students. As ambitious as those goals were, the university has since doubled in size, now serving more than 3,200 students. Facilities and programs have rapidly expanded and AU has built a reputation as one of the fastest rising schools in private higher education in the South, recently recognized as the 18th “Fastest Growing” baccalaureate college in the nation from 2003 to 2013 (Chronicle of Higher Education 2015 Almanac).
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.” Those words written by Ben Franklin describe our growth at Anderson University as we continue to make good on our promise to create one of the premier Christian academic institutions to the glory of God and service to mankind. The pages of this report reflect an institution that is growing, changing and building. I hope that you will take the time to learn about the transformation that has occurred at Anderson University as we seek to become even more effective in accomplishing the worthy goals outlined in our mission. Sincerely,
Evans P. Whitaker, Ph.D. President
Anderson University has been on a remarkable rise in recognition for its innovation and advancement, so much so, that for nine years in a row, U.S. News & World Report named to its list of the “Most Innovative” (formerly “Up and Coming”) universities in America that others should be watching, and the Chronicle of Higher Education identified it as the 18th “Fastest Growing” baccalaureate college in America from 2003 to 2013.
BEST
COLLEGES MOST INNOVATIVE
2016
Did you know? AU was the first school in the region to launch an iPad Mobile Learning Initiative (MLI) With Apple’s recognition of Anderson University as an Apple Distinguished School, this places AU in the forefront of educational institutions around the globe in the use of mobile technology as a central teaching and learning tool. According to Apple, this designation is reserved for programs - like AU’s Mobile Learning Initiative - that meet stringent criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and that demonstrate Apple’s vision of exemplary learning environments.
Learn more: andersonuniversity.edu/apple-distinguished-school
AU is the first university in South Carolina and one of the first in the nation where all incoming freshmen receive the latest iPad which will be used in specially designed courses.
Our Vision
Our Journey at a
Glance
For God and humanity, Anderson University seeks to be an innovative, entrepreneurial, premier comprehensive university where liberal arts, professional studies, and graduate studies thrive within an uplifting, welcoming, and distinctively Christian community of diverse faculty, staff and students dedicated to intellectually rigorous learning, a caring and hospitable campus culture, and personal transformation.
Our Students
Our Global Journey
We welcome more than 3,200 students from 38 states and 15 foreign countries and a wide range of denominations. Fourteen percent of our students are ethnic minorities. Approximately 72% of students live on campus.
During the junior year, qualified students take a three-credit course that includes a short-term, faculty sponsored study abroad experience (some recent trips include: Italy, Spain, Panama, Australia, China, the Galapagos Islands and Jamaica). Our students engage in approximately 10 college-sponsored mission and service trips each year and provide 15,000 hours of local community service. Anderson has been named to the “President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll” for the 10th consecutive year.
Our Campus Ideally situated on 271 acres in the elegant historical district of Anderson, South Carolina, Anderson University’s campus provides a definitively collegiate setting for our students educational journey.
Campus Expansions
Thrift Library Constructed in 2006, the $8.2 million Thrift Library is a 53,000 sq. ft. educational hub with over a half million volumes of books and eBooks and more than 100,000 streaming audio and video files. A growing digital collection is also accessible from any location at any hour of the day.
New Student Center The G. Ross Anderson Student Center (opening August 2016) is an 87,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility featuring a 400-seat movie theatre, Chick-fil-a, Einstein’s Bagels, dining commons, multiple office spaces, fitness center, and a banquet space.
Campus acreage increased from 68 to 271
Since 2003, the entering class has increased from 405 to 808
Athletic Campus Expansion The finishing touches to the new athletic facilities have recently been completed, a new tennis center with eight courts and a tennis tower, a new softball stadium with 200 stadium seats and the only synthetic surface in our athletic conference, and a massive new recreational swimming pool to accommodate students and the thousands of campers who attend various summer camps.
Academic Expansion
A Commitment to Lifelong learning Anderson University provides a rigorous and engaging learning experience that emphasizes the knowledge, intellectual skills, and conceptual frameworks central to each discipline. A central, cohering value of the Anderson University academic experience is that each field of study includes a rich core of liberal arts courses in the foundational fields of human knowledge and achievement.
• 2011 - Established the School of Nursing, offering BSN and RN to BSN degrees
• 2017 - The anticipated launch of the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with 17 available tracks to allow RNs to advance their credentials and practice in the
• 2011 - Established the Undergraduate Center for Cancer Research
areas of Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Education, and Executive Leadership (pending
• June of 2016 - A new College of Health Professions will emerge,
review and approval by the SACS-COC)
comprised of four distinct schools, including the existing School of Nursing, a new School of Human Performance, a new School of Allied Health, and a new School of Physical Therapy.
• 2018 - The anticipated launch of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at the University Center of Greenville (pending review and approval by the SACS-COC and The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education - CAPTE)
• 2011 - Created the Center of Excellence for Criminal Justice and
• 2013 - Launched the South Carolina School of the Arts
Homeland Security and the Command College of South Carolina • 2015 - Awarded a major grant from the State of South Carolina • 2011 - Added a campus presence in Greenville at The University Center offering over 25 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees
to create a “Center of Excellence” to teach K-12 schools how to integrate mobile learning in the classroom
Did you know? Anderson University was the only university in the nation to have two students win a Gold ADDY in graphic design at the 2012 and 2009 National ADDY awards (out of 60,000 total entries). The South Carolina School of the Arts was the first university in South Carolina to produce Disney’s and Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins the musical. The South Carolina School of the Arts production of Barnum was selected by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) to be showcased at the 2013 Southeast Region IV festival.
Š Jake Drake Photography
AU is home to the Palmetto Boys State summer program
South Carolina School of the Arts student, Kate Evans, recently won the top collegiate acting award in the State from the South Carolina Theatre Association.
Recent Student and Faculty Recognitions
Interior Design student, Sarah Wadding, won the American Society of Interior Design (ASID) 2013 “Student Design Competition.�
Biology major, Rakish Taylor, won 2nd place at the prestigious Ernest E. Just Science Symposium at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) for his research and presentation on Personalized Medicine, titled: Personal Genome Evaluation: Health Professions Student Attitudes Toward Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing.
• Nursing majors, Michele DuPree and Kathryn Garren, presented The Integration of Apple Inc. Technology for Mobile Patient Education on Water Sanitation in Nicaragua at the National Student Nurses Association Conference. • Graphic Design major, Mandi Wines was selected as a semi-finalist for the prestigious Adobe Awards. •C ommunication major, Chris Stiles, won the South Carolina Press Association’s (SCPA) prestigious Mundy Scholarship, one of the State’s top collegiate journalism awards. • Biology major, Georgia Harpe, won the 2013 South Carolina Academy of Science Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award for her research on Antiproliferative Activity of Raspberries on Two Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines. • Biology major, Eslie Aguilar, won a grant from the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) to further a Princeton University study on drought, entitled, Markov Chain Modeling of Drought: A Mathematical Comparison Among America’s Biomes.
Dean of the School of Interior Design, Anne Martin, was recently named “Faculty Advisor of the Year” by the American Society for Interior Designers (ASID).
South Carolina School of the Arts music faculty member, Dr. Richard Williamson, was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to work with a university in Peru, bringing to four, the number of Fulbright scholars teaching in The School of the Arts.
Theatre Department Chair, Dr. Deborah McEniry, won the 2016 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s (KCACTF) Region IV “Innovative Teaching” award for a NYC summer theatre immersion experience she developed
• Criminal Justice faculty member, Howard Murphy, worked with the Department of Defense to oversee the recent destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. • Associate Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Joanna Stegall, secured a $120,000 No Child Left Behind grant to help elementary school teachers strengthen their math teaching skills.
Did you know? Alumnus, Dr. Jeffrey Deal, was invited by the Liberian government to assist during the Ebola crisis, with his invention that kills the most resistant bacteria and viruses - the TRU-D disinfectant robot
Did you know?
Our Journey Has Just Begun!
Three AU graduates teach at the prestigious Ron Clark Academy, two of which received the designation of “Master Educator�
At no time in her history has Anderson University enjoyed more momentum, higher enrollment, or greater offerings in the academic programs. There is so much our recent success has made possible for us, but we feel the urgency that we must do all we can during this season of so much promise. We seek to make the journey richer for everyone we serve and we hope our transformation is inspirational for all who catch the vision for Anderson University.
BEST
COLLEGES MOST INNOVATIVE
2016
To learn more, visit: AndersonUniversity.edu
U.S. News & World Report recently selected AU as the #1 “Most Efficient” regional college in the South for academic quality combined with cost efficiency - meaning we’ve done an exceptional job in holding down cost while boosting the quality of the educational experience.
Did you know?
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