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Check out this month's Alumni Newsletter!
Sept. 2020
Happy Fall Ravens! 

We're full swing into the semester and, though masked and socially distanced, the campus community is doing an amazing job staying engaged with each other while still being safe and healthy amid college life during a global pandemic. We are so grateful for this extremely positive start! Lots of great stuff in this issue to see and learn about, so soak it up because for the next month we're going all-in on the StillAU virtual "stay at home-coming"! Look for a Homecoming Herald going into more depth with Homecoming festivities in early October but please save the dates (October 16-17) for a myriad of amazing ways to connect with fellow alums and campus personalities in this unique way. I am confident this once in a lifetime Homecoming can still get "all the feels" (as the kids say these days, haha) for remembering, reflecting, and reuniting with your AU family. Check out the website for the Homecoming schedule and the attached video to learn more about what's going on!

-Trent


God Bless, Go Ravens (GBGR)
AU earns top tier ranking in U.S. News and World Report

Anderson University has once again earned a place in the top tier among Midwest regional universities in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2021 guidebook. The exclusive rankings are available with the purchase of The U.S. News College Compass, or the 2021 guidebook. The full details of AU’s rankings can be found online.

Read the full article.
School of Music, Theatre & Dance's Live Performance of Goldrich and Heisler's Love Has Strings, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Tune in on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. for the School of Music, Theatre & Dance's live performance of Goldrich and Heisler's Love has Strings.

You can view this and previous performances of SMTD's musical theatre performances on their Youtube channel.
AU joins Acadeum

Anderson University has recently joined Acadeum, a course sharing consortium. This partnership provides flexibility for AU students to take classes from consortium universities that will allow them to stay on track in their major and provide elective course alternatives. AU is proactively responding to the challenges posed by COVID-19 by providing greater flexibility and options for students.

Read more about AU's new partnership with Acadeum here.

Anderson University has the biggest Honors Program freshman class ever!
Says Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji, Professor of English, Writing Program Director, Honors Program Co-Director: "David Murphy and I are excited to spread the word that for fall 2020, we welcomed to campus the biggest ever first-year class of Honors Program students in Anderson University's history.

We were proud to welcome 30 students, from 8 states, pursuing 24 different majors, with an average incoming high-school GPA of 3.9!

Most of the students cited the strength of their chosen academic departments and the welcoming AU community as reasons they chose to attend AU. Nearly half plan to participate in a university athletics team, and nearly half plan to participate in a choir or ensemble.

It is a testament to AU's academic reputation, community atmosphere, extra-curricular options, and financial aid offerings that we were able to grow this program during such a challenging time. We look forward to seeing how the students thrive and learn this year."
Commencement

Commencement exercises for the Class of 2020 will be held on Sunday, October 18 at 1:30 p.m. in Reardon Auditorium. With this being said, please understand that Anderson University is still governed by pandemic policies put in place by the state of Indiana and Madison County Health Authorities. If any notable changes are made by these entities, or by CDC guidelines, we will do our best to accommodate them, noting that flexibility on everyone’s part is necessary.

Please visit the AU website for information regarding space capacity and requirements.
Black Lives Matter series

Our fall campus series, “Black Lives Matter–How did we get here and where do we go?” will run over the course of five weeks, with one presentation per week. We are prayerful about this important AU campus conversation. Please visit the AU website to view the past sessions and watch new sessions as they premiere. This series is not an endorsement or subscription of the BLM organization but to provide a clear understanding of the BLM movement, the foundations of white supremacy, the history of African-American social protest, training in microaggressions, and produce engagement and action that can create a more just society. Read Anderson University's Commitment to Anti-Racism here.

The Pride of Anderson
Academic, author, and AU alum, Lerone Martin '02 found his love of history as a student at AU. Now, he shares his expertise and passion for history with his students at Washington University.

"When I got to (Anderson University in Indiana) and began to take classes, I really just realized how much I enjoyed history and asking questions and searching out the answers to those questions, particularly questions that pertained to how we arrived at where are, whether it was in politics, faith communities, popular culture — all kinds of questions," Martin said. "So, by the time I was finishing up divinity school, I kind of knew then that I really wanted to teach; I really wanted to go and to be a professor and help some students enjoy learning the way I did,"  said Lerone.

After graduating from AU, Lerone completed his masters of divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and his doctorate from Emory University.

Read more about Lerone's authorship and teaching career here.
Curious Connections

Interested in hearing from some of our most storied alumni? There's still time to sign up for the last two Curious Connections sessions!

Tune in to hear from Katie Edwards Hooten on Sept. 22 from 7-8 p.m. and Carl Erskine on Sept. 29 from 7-8 p.m. Sign up today as space is limited on each call. Sign up here.
Three AU Alumni recognized in TechPoint Honors Tech 25 Class of 2020

Indianapolis-based TechPoint, the nonprofit growth accelerator for Indiana’s tech sector, has announced the Tech 25 Class of 2020. The nonprofit says the awards honor 25 people who are "critical and exceptional performers helping to grow Indiana’s tech and tech-enabled companies."

Three AU alumni, Andy Kennedy ‘11, Lukau Matuka ‘12, and Eva Jackson ‘13 (pictured in order, above), were recognized in this group of 25 professionals in Indianapolis.

Read more about this amazing recognition here.
Tucker selected to D3baseball.com 2010s All-Decade Team

Anderson University baseball graduate Michael Tucker was selected to the D3baseball.com 2010s All-Decade Third Team.

Tucker was named as a D3Baseball.com First-Team All-American and was tabbed the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference MVP in 2011. He garnered all-region recognition and first-team all-conference honors during his junior and senior years. Tucker has totaled four all-HCAC selections, which includes being named all-HCAC Honorable Mention as a freshman and sophomore.

Read more about Michael Tucker's baseball career here.
ECHOES
Check out our September ECHOES:

Alumna Chelsa Lee-Samuels '15 BA in Business Administration and Management and '16 MBA in International Business is on the podcast sharing about how family legacy at AU, how directing the Gospel Choir in college prepared her to be a professional choral director for high school students, her growing family, and how she's teamed up with her younger sister to start up a cool new business! Check out her episode here.


Pastor Rolland Daniels BA '79 and MDiv '86 shares about his 40 years of ministry, his love for family and God, his new book Legacy Maker: Live a Life That Matters, and how so many Anderson University people helped shape who he is today. Tune in to Rolland's episode here. Check out his book Legacy Maker here.
Julie-Allyson Ieron '86 is an author, caregiver, worship leader and speaker. She credits her Anderson University experience to kickstarting what has been a career in ministry, most notably as an author where she's written over 40 books. We talk about her newest book "Don't Let This Throw You" which speaks to God's presence and grace in the midst of great crisis. Listen to Julie's episode of ECHOES here. Check out "Don't' Let This Throw You" here.

Todd Taylor '13 joins ECHOES to talk about his experience coaching and playing football, what it's like coaching a fall sport amid a pandemic, and how AU helped pave the way. Check out his episode here.

You can check out each ECHOES podcast here at any time. Stay tuned each week as we publish them each week on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Raven Spotlight Series- AU Athletics
Check out some interviews of our spring athletes with the Raven Spotlight Series.
Alumni Events
Recent Alumni Events

Even in times where gathering together in-person is challenging, we’ve managed to have a few, safe and fun, face-to-face events worth celebrating (pictured above). We welcomed alumni back with their sons or daughters starting as freshman continuing the AU legacy, convened in Goshen, IN for a coffee break, and finally celebrated our 2020 graduates with a “Not Back to School” event to commemorate, for most, that this August was the first time since age 5 they were not heading back to school!
Virtual Homecoming 2020: StillAU

Check out the AU website for an updated schedule of fun and engaging virtual Homecoming events! We are still AU, and this Homecoming, though we can't be physically together, will still be a fun way to connect to the university and fellow alumni in a new way! Here are some things to look forward to:
  • Three Faculty Webinars
  • Livestream Luminaries
  • Virtual Trivia Night
  • Collegians on a Computer Drinking Coffee (academic department reunions)
  • Virtual 5k
  • eSports Exhibition
  • AU Alumni Showcase concert featuring some of our amazing music alumni
  • Reunions for the classes of 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010
  • And more!
Stay Connected
It’s important for you to continuously update your contact information with the AU Alumni Network to receive important information from us.

Please keep your alma mater up-to-date when you:
  • Get a new mailing address, email address, or phone number
  • Get married (if your last name changes and/or provide us with the name of your spouse so we can link you in our database) or have a baby
  • Get a new job, job title, or promotion at your current job

Let us know about these important life changes here.
Contact Us
For questions, suggestions, and networking, contact the Alumni Office!

(765) 641-4100 OR alumni@anderson.edu

 
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Anderson University, 1100 E. Fifth St, Anderson, IN 46012, United States

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