This has been a wonderful year at our “academically demanding, enthusiastically Christian” institution. Our team has pledged to engage the Sterling College community in the three R’s: Renew, Recruit and Retain, which we like to refer to as SC = R³.

Joining us in the renewal effort, Jerrod Adair is the new chaplain, Anne Smith is the women’s chaplain, and our Prayer Warriors have each assumed the responsibility for the faith, academics and fellowship of five students. New faculty members in music, biology, biblical studies, mathematics, business (another endowed chair), education, forensics and psychology have enhanced Sterling’s programs, and forensic science has been added.

The college ended the year in surplus, with $3 million added to the endowment and a separate fund of $1,500,000 in place for improvements. The stadium and track renovation will begin in the fall. The freshman of the 600 students expected in the fall will be formed into cohorts guided in their academic and campus life by upperclass mentors.

For me, the opportunity to serve each individual student is the raison d’être (reason to be). The new strategic plan is in place for the next three years. Sterling College is committed to its role as the most innovative liberal arts institution in the country.