Frank Bonner, Gardner-Webb's President, provides our first voice with his essay, Higher Ground: A Vision for Gardner-Webb University in the 21st Century.
A Vision for Gardner-Webb University in the 21st Century
Shaping Persons, Shaping Lives.
The role of Gardner-Webb University in this world is to advance the Kingdom of God. The University’s purpose goes beyond education. As important as education is, it is not an end in itself but a means to an even greater and nobler end—the task of shaping persons, shaping lives. The task, the purpose, of Gardner-Webb is to prepare—and to inspire—its graduates to make a good and positive difference in the world, to make the lives of others better and in so doing advance the Kingdom of God and fulfill Gardner-Webb’s motto, “For God and Humanity.” The Gardner-Webb experience means growing in Faith, responding to a call to Service, and developing Leadership abilities that enable service to succeed.
Our Vision: On Higher Ground—a Preeminent Christian University.
At Gardner-Webb University we seek a higher ground in higher education because we seek this higher purpose. On that higher ground is a combination rare in institutions of higher education: True Christian purpose and commitment, intellectual freedom, genuine academic excellence, and a comprehensive educational experience. It is on this sparsely populated higher ground that Gardner-Webb finds its place as a preeminent Christian university.
Gardner-Webb’s promise.
Gardner-Webb University promises its students learning and leadership for service for God and Humanity in a changing world.
Learning encompasses the total development of the person—spiritual, intellectual, physical and social.
Spiritual: Gardner-Webb students are encouraged to grow in their faith, and they are supported in their spiritual journey. They are taught by and interact with Christian faculty. Through truly outstanding programs of Campus Ministries they have innumerable opportunities for worship, study, and service.
Intellectual: Gardner-Webb strives to produce graduates who—
Think critically and independently.
Demonstrate a broad base of knowledge and skills.
Understand the interrelatedness of knowledge, and apply their knowledge, not just in career, but in
their personal lives and in citizenship.
And most important, understand the vital relationship of character and intellect.
Physical: Health and wellness are stressed not only in the curriculum but throughout campus life. Wellness is encouraged through state-of-the-art exercise facilities, intramurals and other activities, healthy nutrition choices, and a totally tobacco-free campus.
Social: Gardner-Webb University is truly a community and one that presents innumerable opportunities for positive relationships and social development.
Leadership: While there are different forms of leadership—civic, organizational, political, and military, for example—three skills are central to almost all forms of leadership. First is the ability to develop among a group of people a sense of purpose and a vision of a future that is in some way better. Second is the ability to communicate that vision and inspire the group to pursue it. Third is the ability to facilitate the group’s attainment of its vision, mission, or purpose. These are the skills graduates need in order to succeed in service.
Opportunities for leadership development are numerous at Gardner-Webb. The Center for Transformational Leadership provides continuing examination of the meaning of leadership and particularly its relationship to character. The Leadership Task Force works to develop formal programming in leadership development and to integrate leadership in the curriculum.
Students learn and exercise leadership in many informal ways as well as in organizations such as Student Government, Residence Hall Association, Campus Ministries, Verge (student-led worship), Student YMCA, intramurals, Student Activities, ROTC, and others.
Service for God and Humanity is represented in Gardner-Webb’s seal and is at the center of its identity. To serve humanity is a way of serving God. Jesus teaches us that “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt 25.40).
Gardner-Webb produces graduates in professions that are defined by service—teaching, ministry, and nursing. But service can apply in any profession, in any form of life’s work. Furthermore, meaningful service can occur in any area of life—family, community, church. It may be exemplified by a civic leader or by a Gardner-Webb alumnus and former NBA basketball player who operates a program for youth in a major city.
A commitment to service by Gardner-Webb’s graduates is foreshadowed by their experiences as students. Students engage in many informal avenues of service as well as service activities organized by the Office of Community Engagement. Service Learning is progressively incorporated in the curriculum. First Year students take part in organized service activities, as do athletic teams. Many students describe mission trips as some of their most formative experiences. In 2008 Gardner-Webb was listed on the President’s Honor Roll for Higher Education Community Service. Over 1,240 Gardner-Webb students documented approximately 13,000 hours of community service.
In a changing world. That we live in a global community—and one that is rapidly changing—is well-known. Gardner-Webb seeks to prepare students to understand, to work in, to serve in, and to navigate this changing world. Part of that preparation is the Interdisciplinary Studies Program, which enables students to see and understand the interrelatedness of knowledge and cultures. Students have opportunities to travel abroad and to study abroad individually at other universities and as part of a group in a summer term abroad led and taught by a Gardner-Webb professor.
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In sum, the Gardner-Webb experience is a comprehensive experience that develops the whole person. In contrast to the treatment of higher education as merely a commodity or a set of credentials, Gardner-Webb treats it as a true experience—an experience that shapes persons and shapes lives:
Our graduates must be people who are fulfilled as persons. People who exemplify genuine caring and citizenship, respect diversity, relate effectively to persons of all backgrounds, are at peace with themselves, at peace with their maker, and thus face successfully the challenges of life and succeed in family, in church, in community and in career (A. Frank Bonner, Inaugural Address, April 6, 2006).
Realizing the Vision.
The foundation for this vision of Gardner-Webb as A Preeminent Christian University is the Strategic Plan, On Higher Ground. There are six strategies for bringing about this vision.
1. Build Upon the Christian Foundation.
2. Strengthen the Academic Program.
3. Uphold a Student-Centered University.
4. Promote a Comprehensive, Reputable Athletic Program.
5. Embrace and Nurture a Culture of Service.
6. Plan for Growth and Cultivate Supportive Relationships.
Students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, and friends of Gardner-Webb are invited to be a part of this exciting future.
