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ACU is exceptional because of the people
and the opportunities that it brings together for our students.
There a lot of colleges and universities
who have excellent scholars on their faculty,
and still others
who have a strong Christian faculty.
There are plenty colleges and universities who are
using state of the art technology in effective and inventive ways who have
beautiful campuses and a vibrant atmosphere of student life.
But, I don't know of one other
that combines all those things
in the way that we do here.
Let me tell you one thing that's exceptional
at Abilene Christian University. It's the faculty.
There is a difference, and it's here.
You've got to come see it. You've got to meet these people. You've got to meet these
scholars, these Christians, these people
who make this campus jump
and live during the semester to transform lives for eternity. It's real.
I believe ACU equips students to go out into the world
in a way that reflects Christ.
I think it makes a big difference for you to be an accountant
or an educator, but also to be a Christian. And to do those things as a Christian
so that "Christian" is not the adjective, it is the noun.
So you are a Christian who is
a teacher. A Christian who is an accountant or scientist or whatever it may be.
And I believe that Abilene Christian University does a wonderful job equipping students
for whatever profession, location it might be to do that as a Christian.
I think that the ACU graduates
seem to have that combination of work ethic,
honesty, and integrity.
Things that you would expect from a Christian.
And, then also the basic foundations
that we have in the science department at ACU.
Outstanding preparation.
And I think you put all that together-
the factual preparation, the information preparation, plus the integrity and work ethic-
and you have an outstanding product.
And I think ACU is well known for that.
The JMC department here is exactly the right size
to be very innovative.
When we saw an opportunity to be the university that would first put its university
newspaper on the iPad, we jumped at that.
We had been on the iphone ever since the iPhones came to campus as a part of
the university's mobile learning initiative.
And we have been very invested in the mobile learning initiative because we think
our students are going to live in the world where that's how
people get their information.
Not off a television set, not off the computer screen but off of some kind of mobile device
Now we're on the iPad and our students have to be prepared for that environment.
And I think that it's possible at ACU because innovation
is encouraged here, and because mobile learning is reality.
Well, I think the office of
multicultural enrichment is an innovative
feature of ACU because
it helps students to recognize
that culture is important.
And when a student comes to school and recognizes that his culture, where he's from,
what he believes in, what he's been about is important,
it helps him to approach education completely different.
There's a spirit of innovation on campus that pervades
all disciplines.
For example, in the College of Business,
we take education outside the classroom all the time. We take you to Oxford, England,
to Montevideo, Uruguay, Buenos Aires.
We take you in the College of Business to the mountains of Colorado every january.
A hundred-and-twenty students sitting at the feet of global world leaders that are Christians,
and then challenging ourselves to be God's person in the global marketplace.
An ACU education is not just about the classroom, and pencil, and paper.
We take you to the world, and then try to bring the world to you.
The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service
and leadership throughout the world.
They focus on real relationships,
getting to know the people around you,
getting to know your fellow students, as well as your teachers.
The spiritual aspect is really important,
and you know that the people here have similar priorities as yours. They want to be
successful, but they also want to minister to people. And so the relationships
are built in order to do that.
Life is only real when you develop
real relationships.
And that can happen here.
I think the size of the campus, and the size of the classes, and the nature of the relationships
that can happen here
make ACU a much more real place than most universities can hope to be.
I believe an ACU education is real because
we take it beyond the classroom.
I love to hear about our pre-med majors or our pre-dental majors going
into a medical mission,
and taking what they're learning in the classroom and starting to apply it.
Body and soul has enabled us to take the experience of learning
far beyond what we were doing before.
So, now we have a formalized program
where we can help these kids get experience shadowing doctors and dentists.
Actually going into hospitals, watching surgeries.
We give them practice interviews before they go to the health profession schools.
We'll be sure they have all these of experiences.
Encourage them to go on medical mission campaigns.
In interviews for medical school, they are
always asking, "Okay, what have you done hands-on?
How do you know you want to be a physician?"
And Body and Soul has helped me because it put me in the operating room, it put me in the clinic,
it put me with physicians who could help me better strengthen
my belief that this is what i want to do.
I've seen what daily life is like for a doctor, and it's something that I am
ready to commit to.
My professors have really made a difference in my life
by integrating their faith into the classroom.
My professors will pray over us before an exam, or before big events on campus.
And it has really just enriched my experience at ACU to know that they care about me
not only as a student, but also as a sister in Christ.
I think the main asset at ACU is the students and that they really are
very spiritual, and
I think they make space for god in their daily life.
Like, sometimes you'll see another friend praying for another
another guy. Just like,
in the library or somewhere in the mall in front the campus center.
And in ACU it happens. Like, everybody
comes here to expect to, you know, to meet
other great people that love Christ, and
just that the heart that each person has for God makes,
automatically, a very special thing at ACU.
ACU is a vibrant,
vibrant, innovative,
innovative,
Christ-centered community,
that engages students,
that engages students,
in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth.
Equipping them to make a real difference
a real difference.
Equipping them to make a real difference in the world.
We promise.
We promise.
That's our promise.