Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education

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Agnes Scott Library Student (Jeff Arnold)

Because our colleges and universities are Presbyterian-related, we value learning, faith, service and connection to each other, the Church, and the world, honoring the dignity and worth of every person.

We don’t value learning and all faith traditions represented on our campuses in spite of our church-relatedness. It is because we are church-related that we value and cherish all inquiry and welcome and encourage all faith communities.

Learning, faith, service — the order is important. We are schools, not churches, and our primary mission is education. Learning comes first. Nevertheless, as church-related institutions, we are concerned to educate whole people for the whole world. We strive to graduate students who are not only academically well-prepared but also spiritually and socially mature participants in the religious and civic communities of which they are a part.

We value our relationships with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and with other schools who share a similar relationship. We are not, and do not wish to be, identical institutions. Yet we appreciate our common connections and commitments. We benefit from our mutual relationship, we are all grateful for the historic and ongoing support of the Church, and we are committed to maintaining that relationship.

Our connection to the world is both social and environmental. We seek to serve the whole world through our service to each student. We understand ourselves to be part of a global community of teaching, learning and inquiry. We also work to exhibit, embody, and encourage environmental responsibility on our campuses and beyond. As stated above, we strive to educate whole people for the whole world.

Honoring our efforts to live out our commitment to learning, faith, service and connection takes place in the context of our ongoing and pervasive commitment to honor the dignity and worth of all people. Our schools are resources and instruments through which the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) serves the world as we serve each of our students in all their magnificent variety and particularity.

Jeff Arnold, Executive Director, Association of Presbyterian Colleges & Universities

Let us join in prayer for:

Barbara Betts, Manager, Presbyterian Distribution Services, Administrative Services Group
Beverly Bewley, Customer Service Representative, Operations, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation    

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we are grateful for the Presbyterian emphasis on education and for the many blessings that allow Presbyterian-founded colleges and universities to faithfully serve more than 140,000 students each year. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education

Image

Agnes Scott Library Student (Jeff Arnold)

Because our colleges and universities are Presbyterian-related, we value learning, faith, service, and connection to each other, the Church, and the world, honoring the dignity and worth of every person.

We don’t value learning and all faith traditions represented on our campuses in spite of our church-relatedness. It is because we are church-related that we value and cherish all inquiry and welcome and encourage all faith communities.

Learning, faith, service — the order is important. We are schools, not churches, and our primary mission is education. Learning comes first. Nevertheless, as church-related institutions, we are concerned to educate whole people for the whole world. We strive to graduate students who are not only academically well-prepared but also spiritually and socially mature participants in the religious and civic communities of which they are a part.

We value our relationships with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and with other schools who share a similar relationship. We are not, and do not wish to be, identical institutions. Yet we appreciate our common connections and commitments. We benefit from our mutual relationship, we are all grateful for the historic and ongoing support of the Church, and we are committed to maintaining that relationship.

Our connection to the world is both social and environmental. We seek to serve the whole world through our service to each student. We understand ourselves to be part of a global community of teaching, learning and inquiry. We also work to exhibit, embody, and encourage environmental responsibility on our campuses and beyond. As stated above, we strive to educate whole people for the whole world.

Honoring our efforts to live out our commitment to learning, faith, service, and connection takes place in the context of our ongoing and pervasive commitment to honor the dignity and worth of all people. Our schools are resources and instruments through which the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) serves the world as we serve each of our students in all their magnificent variety and particularity.

Jeff Arnold, Executive Director, Association of Presbyterian Colleges & Universities

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff:

Laura Bryan, Manager, Financial Aid for Service, Interim Unified Agency
Ray Jones, Director, Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Interim Unified Agency
Jeff Arnold, Executive Director, Association of Presbyterian Colleges & Universities

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we are grateful for the Presbyterian emphasis on education and for the many blessings that allow Presbyterian-founded colleges and universities to faithfully serve more than 140,000 students each year. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education

September 8, 2023

A student reads in the library at Agnes Scott College. (provided)

William Tennent probably never dreamed we would get to this point. The same could be said for John Witherspoon.

Tennent, some may recall, is considered by many to be the father of Presbyterian higher education in the United States. It’s been almost 300 years since this forward-thinking Presbyterian pastor established his ministerial Log College in Pennsylvania to educate and prepare commoners for ministry. The college was his response to the first “Great Awakening,” a revivalist movement in the early 18th century that aligned with the Presbyterian goal of “always being reformed.”

The success of Tennent’s Log College led directly to a broader effort by Presbyterians to formally train ministers in support of the Great Awakening. The first outcome of this effort was the College of New Jersey, which was founded in 1746 and would eventually be renamed Princeton University. In its early years, the College of New Jersey was led by another forward-thinking Presbyterian pastor with a passion for education, John Witherspoon. If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Witherspoon also served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and was the only active clergyman (and college president) to sign America’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

The contributions of Tennent and Witherspoon inspired a generation of Presbyterian missionaries and pastors who subsequently spread out across the emerging nation establishing churches, schools and colleges. Today, the 54 institutions of higher education that are part of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) not only stretch “from sea to shining sea” but wrap around the world, serving more than 140,000 students each year. They have played a critical role in the development of an educated American workforce and have also served as important economic engines for the communities in which they are located. More important, they have demonstrated the wherewithal and creativity to successfully navigate several major inflection points in the history of American higher education.

TJ Elliott, a Davidson College graduate, works with children. (provided)

However, we now find ourselves at yet another inflection point, one accelerated by social unrest, political turmoil and the lingering impact of a global pandemic that has further eroded the higher education ecosystem. This current inflection point is forcing nearly all of the nation’s colleges and universities to reinvent themselves.

In this post-pandemic era, the survivors will be those institutions of higher education that are able to adapt (or reform) themselves to the challenges presented by this inflection point while remaining true to their mandate and to why they were established in the first place.

The issues we are grappling with as a denomination — an aging membership base, declining financial support and a 37% decline in membership over the past decade — make this inflection point even more challenging for Presbyterian colleges and universities. Many of our schools have experienced decreases in church support at the local level as well as a decline in the percentage of Presbyterian students enrolled — from 18% to 6%.

A student reads next to stained glass at Rhodes College. (provided)

Our schools are doing all they can to control costs and ensure that education remains accessible to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly Presbyterian students. Their willingness to collectively commit more than $1.2 billion in institutional support each year has helped to hold the average actual cost of attendance at APCU schools to just under $22,000 per year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that $22,000 is still a lot of money, especially for many of the families we serve.

For this reason, the APCU is in the process of establishing the Fund for Presbyterian Higher Education. Dollars generated from the fund will eventually provide grants and scholarships to support Presbyterian students enrolling at APCU schools. Establishing such a fund is an ambitious long-term goal but one that must be realized if our colleges — and our denomination — are to remain vibrant for another 300 years.

In much the same way that Tennent and Witherspoon were instrumental in establishing a Presbyterian commitment to higher education in the early 18th century, the APCU plans to be instrumental in advancing this commitment for the 21st century and beyond. And we will be counting on prayers and support from scores of Presbyterians who have a passion for education and a concern for the future of our denomination to see it through.

Jeffrey E. Arnold, Executive Director of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities

Today’s Focus: Presbyterian Higher Education

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Lora Limeberry, Accountant, Financial Reporting, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Sara Lisherness, Deputy Executive Director of Mission Program, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Gracious God, we give thanks for all educators who are closing the gap between the promise of humanity and the potential of human beings. Help us to remember these words from the 16th Proverb: It is better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver. We ask this in the name of the one called “teacher.” Amen.

Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education

September 8, 2022

A student reads in the library at Agnes Scott College. (provided)

William Tennent probably never dreamed we would get to this point. The same could be said for John Witherspoon.

Tennent, some may recall, is considered by many to be the father of Presbyterian higher education in the United States. It’s been almost 300 years since this forward-thinking Presbyterian pastor established his ministerial Log College in Pennsylvania to educate and prepare commoners for ministry. The college was his response to the first “Great Awakening,” a revivalist movement in the early 18th century that aligned with the Presbyterian goal of “always being reformed.”

The success of Tennent’s Log College led directly to a broader effort by Presbyterians to formally train ministers in support of the Great Awakening. The first outcome of this effort was the College of New Jersey, which was founded in 1746 and would eventually be renamed Princeton University. In its early years, the College of New Jersey was led by another forward-thinking Presbyterian pastor with a passion for education, John Witherspoon. If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Witherspoon also served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and was the only active clergyman (and college president) to sign America’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

The contributions of Tennent and Witherspoon inspired a generation of Presbyterian missionaries and pastors who subsequently spread out across the emerging nation establishing churches, schools and colleges. Today, the 54 institutions of higher education that are part of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) not only stretch “from sea to shining sea” but wrap around the world, serving more than 140,000 students each year. They have played a critical role in the development of an educated American workforce and have also served as important economic engines for the communities in which they are located. More importantly, they have demonstrated the wherewithal and creativity to successfully navigate several major inflection points in the history of American higher education.

TJ Elliott, a Davidson College graduate, works with children. (provided)

However, we now find ourselves at yet another inflection point, one accelerated by social unrest, political turmoil and the impact of a global pandemic that has further eroded the higher education ecosystem. This current inflection point is forcing nearly all of the nation’s colleges and universities to reinvent themselves.

In this post-pandemic era, the survivors will be those institutions of higher education that are able to adapt (or reform) themselves to the challenges presented by this inflection point while remaining true to their mandate and to why they were established in the first place.

The issues we are grappling with as a denomination — an aging membership base, declining financial support and a 37% decline in membership over the past decade — make this inflection point even more challenging for Presbyterian colleges and universities. Many of our schools have experienced decreases in church support at the local level as well as a decline in the percentage of Presbyterian students enrolled — from 18% to 6%.

A student reads next to stained glass at Rhodes College. (provided)

Our schools are doing all they can to control costs and ensure that education remains accessible to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly Presbyterian students. Their willingness to collectively commit more than $1.2 billion in institutional support each year has helped to hold the average actual cost of attendance at APCU schools to just under $22,000 per year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that $22,000 is still a lot of money, especially for many of the families we serve.

For this reason, the APCU is in the process of establishing the Fund for Presbyterian Higher Education. Dollars generated from the fund will eventually provide grants and scholarships to support Presbyterian students enrolling at APCU schools. Establishing such a fund is an ambitious long-term goal but one that must be realized if our colleges — and our denomination — are to remain vibrant for another 300 years.

In much the same way that Tennent and Witherspoon were instrumental in establishing a Presbyterian commitment to higher education in the early 18th century, the APCU plans to be instrumental in advancing this commitment for the 21st century and beyond. And we will be counting on prayers and support from scores of Presbyterians who have a passion for education and a concern for the future of our denomination to see it through.

Jeffrey E. Arnold, Executive Director of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Amanda Dunphy, Business Administrator, Finance, Board of Pensions
Sandra Duverge,  Associate, Equity & Mission Impact, Mission Personnel Team, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Gracious God, we give thanks for all educators who are closing the gap between the promise of humanity and the potential of human beings. Help us to remember these words from the 16th Proverb: It is better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver. We ask this in the name of the one called “teacher.” Amen.

Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education

September 8, 2021

Coe Fountain (Courtesy of the ACPU)

These are troubling times for higher education. With the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest further eroding an already fragile ecosystem, the challenges facing U.S. colleges and universities continue to multiply. In times like these, alliances that help institutions of higher education understand and manage these challenges are more valuable than ever.

The Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) is one such alliance. The 54 member institutions represent 54 distinct ways of interpreting their historical relationships to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — and that translates into a diverse set of academic, social and spiritual opportunities for the students they serve. The Rev. Dr. John Kuykendall, president emeritus of Davidson College, notes that this diversity reflects the “genius” of the Presbyterian approach to education because each institution is “free to seek its own way” and discover distinct ways to associate faith and learning.

Stretching across the continental U.S. and around the world, APCU schools serve nearly 150,000 students each year. Their shared commitment to making a college education affordable for all who seek it ensures that more than 90% of these students receive grants and scholarships to help offset their educational expenses. This generosity keeps the average cost to attend an APCU school well below $20,000 per year.

This is important when you consider that more than half of the students being served by APCU colleges and universities are the first in their families to attend college. In addition, 36% of the students enrolled at APCU schools are from underrepresented minority groups and nearly half are from lower-income “Pell-eligible” families. This year, six APCU member schools will be classified by the U.S. Department of Education as “majority minority” institutions, meaning that over half of the students being served are students of color.

To help create a rising tide that lifts all 54 of its boats, the APCU offers support in two critical areas: institutional health and spiritual vitality. With regard to institutional health, the APCU has:

• Developed a Peer Advising and Mentoring Network through which APCU presidents are able to work together to evaluate challenges, implement best practices and share success stories.
• Entered into strategic partnerships with a set of respected higher education service providers to offer APCU members exclusive benefits and discounted pricing that support operational effectiveness, enhance student services and increase educational value.
• Worked closely with the Presbyterian Board of Pensions, the Presbyterian Foundation, and the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program to bring their respective resources and support to bear on cost containment initiatives, capital improvement projects and socially responsible investment strategies.

With regard to spiritual vitality, the APCU has:

• Integrated the Presbyterian College Chaplains Association into the APCU to ensure that our schools continue to honor the dignity and worth of every person they serve, while emphasizing learning, faith, service and connection to each other, the Church and the world.
• Worked with students, chaplains, congregations and mid councils to develop and implement Matthew 25-related initiatives at nearly two-thirds of our schools.
• Partnered with the Interfaith Youth Core and the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education to advance interfaith understanding/appreciation and enrich the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among the students we serve.

Perhaps most importantly, the APCU has worked closely with the Presbyterian Mission Agency to increase support for Presbyterian college students. This past year, nearly $500,000 in grant and scholarship assistance was awarded to these students — more than triple the amount available just five years ago.

While the 54 schools served by the APCU may differ in significant ways, they remain bound by a shared commitment to learning, faith, service and connectivity. As a result, they strive to educate whole people for the whole world — people who excel in their studies and careers, and desire to use their talents to make a difference in our world.

Grounded in faith and driven by discovery. It’s a timeless Presbyterian theme that’s being developed in 54 different ways with a little help from the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.

Jeffrey E. Arnold, Executive Director of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Ashlee Thomas, Accounts Receivable Clerk, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Erica Thomasson, Help Desk Technician, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

Gracious God, we give thanks for all educators who are closing the gap between the promise of humanity and the potential of human beings. Help us to remember these words from the 16th Proverb: It is better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver. We ask this in the name of the one called “teacher.” Amen.

Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education

September 8, 2020

Coe Fountain (Courtesy of the ACPU)

These are troubling times for higher education. With the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest further eroding an already fragile ecosystem, the challenges facing U.S. colleges and universities continue to multiply. In times like these, alliances that help institutions of higher education understand and manage these challenges are more valuable than ever.

The Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) is one such alliance. The 54 member institutions represent 54 distinct ways of interpreting their historical relationships to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — and that translates into a diverse set of academic, social and spiritual opportunities for the students they serve. The Rev. Dr. John Kuykendall, president emeritus of Davidson College, notes that this diversity reflects the “genius” of the Presbyterian approach to education because each institution is “free to seek its own way” and discover distinct ways to associate faith and learning.

Stretching across the continental U.S. and around the world, APCU schools serve nearly 150,000 students each year. Their shared commitment to making a college education affordable for all who seek it ensures that more than 90% of these students receive grants and scholarships to help offset their educational expenses. This generosity keeps the average cost to attend an APCU school well below $20,000 per year.

This is important when you consider that more than half of the students being served by APCU colleges and universities are the first in their families to attend college. In addition, 36% of the students enrolled at APCU schools are from underrepresented minority groups and nearly half are from lower-income “Pell-eligible” families. This year, six APCU member schools will be classified by the U.S. Department of Education as “majority minority” institutions, meaning that over half of the students being served are students of color.

To help create a rising tide that lifts all 54 of its boats, the APCU offers support in two critical areas: institutional health and spiritual vitality. With regard to institutional health, the APCU has:

• Developed a Peer Advising and Mentoring Network through which APCU presidents are able to work together to evaluate challenges, implement best practices and share success stories.
• Entered into strategic partnerships with a set of respected higher education service providers to offer APCU members exclusive benefits and discounted pricing that support operational effectiveness, enhance student services and increase educational value.
• Worked closely with the Presbyterian Board of Pensions, the Presbyterian Foundation, and the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program to bring their respective resources and support to bear on cost containment initiatives, capital improvement projects and socially responsible investment strategies.

With regard to spiritual vitality, the APCU has:

• Integrated the Presbyterian College Chaplains Association into the APCU to ensure that our schools continue to honor the dignity and worth of every person they serve, while emphasizing learning, faith, service and connection to each other, the Church and the world.
• Worked with students, chaplains, congregations and mid councils to develop and implement Matthew 25-related initiatives at nearly two-thirds of our schools.
• Partnered with the Interfaith Youth Core and the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education to advance interfaith understanding/appreciation and enrich the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among the students we serve.

Perhaps most importantly, the APCU has worked closely with the Presbyterian Mission Agency to increase support for Presbyterian college students. This past year, nearly $500,000 in grant and scholarship assistance was awarded to these students — more than triple the amount available just five years ago.

While the 54 schools served by the APCU may differ in significant ways, they remain bound by a shared commitment to learning, faith, service and connectivity. As a result, they strive to educate whole people for the whole world — people who excel in their studies and careers, and desire to use their talents to make a difference in our world.

Grounded in faith and driven by discovery. It’s a timeless Presbyterian theme that’s being developed in 54 different ways with a little help from the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.

Jeffrey E. Arnold, Executive Director of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Carol McGinn, Board of Pensions
Donald McKim, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we give thanks for all educators who are closing the gap between the promise of humanity and the potential of human beings. Help us to remember these words from the 16th Proverb: it is better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver. We ask this in the name of the one called “teacher.” Amen.