Joy of Service

We believe!
Southern announces $50 million Campaign for
Excellence in Faith and Learning, the largest single
fundraising effort ever undertaken by the University.
Leaders break ground on Southern’s
new Bietz Center for Student Life
after the campaign’s public launch.
by lucas patterson
Southern publicly announced the
Campaign for Excellence in Faith
and Learning on April 28, 2016, at
the end of President Gordon Bietz’s legacy
celebration event in Iles P.E. Center.
Components of its $50 million goal —
nearly triple the amount of any previous
campus campaign — include construction
of a new student center and other facility
improvements, increased endowments for
scholarships and research, the continued
greening of campus, and annual giving.
Nearly $32 million in cash and pledges has
already been raised during the campaign’s
leadership phase, which quietly began in
2013.
Terry Shaw, executive vice president
for Adventist Health System (AHS), is a
Board of Trustees member and co-chair
for the Campaign Steering Committee.
His experience with AHS, which serves
nearly five million patients annually at
46 hospitals across the country, provides
an excellent framework for evaluating the
needs of Southern and its growing campus
with students from all 50 states and more
than 30 countries.
“If you look at where Southern is today
compared to where it was 10 years ago,
and if you take a look at where it could be
10 years from now, raising $50 million is
exactly what this organization needs to do
to continue to attract and promote Adventist
Christian education,” Shaw said.
After witnessing the support of initial
donors, Southern’s Board of Trustees voted
this past February to finalize the campaign
goal of $50 million, and fine-tune
the ideas originally envisioned. University
leadership is moving forward in confidence
that this plan addresses Southern’s
needs in a timely and cost-effective manner,
allowing for the greatest benefit to
students.
“The Campaign for Excellence in Faith
and Learning is mission-centered, and
Southern’s concern for student well-being
is deeply integrated within all areas
of the campaign, from endowed scholarships
to the increased greening of
campus and all aspects in-between.
The transcendent leadership of former
president Gordon Bietz, D.Min., seen
here at his retirement event which also
served to launch the campaign, positioned
Southern well for future growth.
10 SOUTHERN TIDINGS | June 2016