From the President’s Desk

SAFE and SOUND

Bruce Fawcett, PhD, President and Vice Chancellor

Well, we made it! We are more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and, as far as we know, this academic year there have been no cases of the virus on our campus. We are pleased and, I must admit, a little surprised, given the magnitude of the public health challenge across our country and around our world. God’s provision and protection has been very evident.

I am very grateful for the leadership of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Jon Ohlhauser, as well as his COVID Task Force who guided our community through the frequently updated public health guidelines and regulations, allowing us to keep our students and employees safe.

While the majority of student events were curtailed this year, we were pleased to have been able to offer an in-person learning experience to our undergraduate students while our graduate students, for the most part, attended classes online. Since the start of the pandemic, I have observed our students putting their concerns for the health of others ahead of their own desires, and the second mile spirit of our staff and faculty as they navigated through a very challenging year.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the COVID challenge, we continued to press ahead strategically to preserve our growth momentum. We are pleased to report that we recorded another new enrollment record by serving 948 students in this academic year. We also rejoice in having received a major donation from an individual – a significant gift designated to serve as seed funding to launch new initiatives that will allow us to serve even more students in the years ahead.

To support our growing student body, we’ve added more staff, and elsewhere in this magazine you will read about some of our recent top notch faculty hires. We are so pleased to attract highly committed Christian leaders with excellent educational and professional backgrounds who will join our team over the summer.

Thank you for your prayerful and financial support this year. Our team is a bit tired, and we are definitely looking forward to the rest that comes with summer vacation! We are so pleased that during this momentous year God has allowed us not only to be safe from COVID, but also to be fiscally sound as we grow a university where a transformative educational experience is offered in a Christian environment and students are valued and cared for.

Thanks again for standing with us!

Dr. Bruce Fawcett (‘88) has served as President and ViceChancellor since 2012. He is married to Penny (‘94) and they are the proud parents of two Crandall graduates.