“The classic theologians based their understanding of human excellence on knowing and loving God, [which] brings proper human dignity and flourishing.”

Ellen Charry, Margaret W. Harmon Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary 2014: A Blueprint for Excellence declares our intention to become a premier, national Christian university. Each piece of this bold aspiration is meaningful to us. We have carefully defined what we believe it means to be premier. We have clear strategies and targets to become more national. We have worked hard to define our unique Christian identity. And, finally, our commitment is to know what it means to be a university rather than a college.

For us, premier, national Christian university is the language of excellence. It is not the vision but the means to achieve our vision. Can a university change the world? Not with sloppiness or mediocrity or complacency, but with excellence. To assist us in setting these standards of excellence, we have benchmarked 91 comparison institutions, and we have set targets in all of the categories we believe critical for a premier university. We have a dashboard of indicators to monitor our progress.

We have determined that we must raise the bar very high, and then we must set out with determination and savvy and focused energy to achieve those standards.

But we also know that we are well down the road. We are reaching for high standards of excellence, but we build for the future on strong foundations of achievement by our people.

We are proud to celebrate some of our stories of distinction. These stories and more give shape to a clear and steady momentum toward being a premier, national Christian university.

Resource
• The University Scholars is a four-year program for academically gifted students at SPU. As a part of their University Scholars experience, Michael Seguin, Justin Peters, and Andrew Hays spent a semester studying at Oxford University.

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