Dear Alumni,
What an incredible first year at Azusa Pacific University! My calling remains just as clear, now matched with a deep sense of joy that our faculty and staff are in this work together—on a mission from God to help position APU for an even greater Kingdom impact.
God’s hand of blessing has been evident in remarkable ways:
With the announcement of Dr. Anita Henck as Provost on June 8, the newly formed President’s Cabinet is now in place. Praise God for building an executive team who loves Jesus and is here to serve Christ and His Kingdom.
We successfully refinanced our bonds and sold some underutilized real estate to provide working capital to invest in our future, including our faculty, staff, and students, our data and physical infrastructure, and our branding and student recruitment efforts. Pray for the work before us to implement these initiatives.
We also witnessed God moving in the hearts and lives of our students: 45 students were baptized, hundreds participated in D-groups, 300 engaged in global ministry outreach, and a renewed spiritual awakening swept across campus. Pray for the Spirit to continue to move in the hearts and minds of our students in the coming year.
Women’s Track and Field won the NCAA Division II National Championship and represented APU at the White House for College Athlete Day.
Earlier this week, we held our Faculty/Staff Kickoff event. With more than 600 in attendance, I called the community to recommit ourselves to our time-honored mission as a Christ-centered university. Together, we praised God for His faithfulness to APU for more than a century, and prayed for His continued hand of blessing.
With the academic year officially beginning Monday, the campus has once again come alive, bringing renewed energy and enthusiasm as we welcome new and returning students to APU. It’s extra special this year as we celebrate APU’s 125th anniversary—A Legacy of Transformation—and see how this university has been used by God to advance His purposes. Pray that this community would embrace each new opportunity to play a role in God’s transformative plans for our community.
Check out the Life After College podcast to listen to our alumni as they live out God’s call upon their lives. Be sure to visit apu.edu/125 to read about and mark your calendar to attend upcoming events, like Homecoming, February 22-24, 2024.
The mission of APU calls us to advance the work of God in the world, and we are doing this as we touch the lives of our students—inside and outside the classroom. God is on the move at APU, and I look forward to all He will continue to do in our midst as we seek to remain faithful to His call on this God First institution.
