University Theme 2009/2010

Biola University's Accountabilities

Our Aspiration

At the dawn of our second century, Biola University looks to the future with committed confidence in who we are and bold ambition for what we might become. This is our aspiration: that as a university we will make an ever more specific and significant impact on the world—an impact that has the potential to eclipse anything seen in our first century of higher education.

Biola University aspires to be a nationally recognized university with a global conscience, leading from a biblical worldview and serving the world with conviction, courage and compassion. We aspire that all Biola University graduates, from the baccalaureate to the doctoral level, will be equipped in mind and character to better fulfill the good works for which God created them. We aspire to be a university where education is about being a vital community of Christ-like scholars in which each individual is developed and nurtured not just intellectually but in all aspects of life. We aspire to be a university that channels its biblical passion, academic resources and collective strength into a Holy-Spirit-fueled engine that pushes forward the cause of Christ and changes the world for him.

At Biola University, we have the foundation and deeply ingrained convictions that will guide us forward in this new era, just as they did in our first century. We must cling to these, even as we explore uncharted territory and evolve in ways our founders might never have dreamed. We must push forward with a shared bravery and winsome spirit, meek but not timid, forceful but not combative. We must remember that we are for something greater than ourselves, not against something lesser. It is for Christ and his purposes in this world that we aspire.

All of our strivings toward this aspiration will have at their core a commitment to three directives:

Directives

1. We will be a university distinguished for upholding an integrated biblical worldview through our leadership, our teaching, our curriculum and our voice.

2. We will be a university respected for its high standards of academic quality, professional preparation and community vitality.

3. We will be a university intentional about Jesus' command to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor by serving the needs of our world.

Our Commitment to Economic Vitality:

We will be a university noted for sound and solvent financial management and will advance the educational enterprise through addressing head-on affordability and a comprehensive fundraising campaign to build out the master plan and resource the University Plan.

Strategic Initiatives

1. We will establish a Center for Christian Thought- engaging the world of ideas, which includes responding biblically to the major issues of our day;

2. We will expand the scope of biblically integrative teaching and living to all non-tenured faculty, helping us to attract, retain and develop exceptional and diverse faculty, so that Biola excels in integrative thinking;

3. We will take stock of the major challenges of our society and world and how as a community we may be positioned to serve the world more intentionally by launching new programs, and strengthening and expanding select existing programs

4. We will continue making decisions and setting goals that reflect the breadth of God's people in practical terms guided by our theological understanding of diversity;

5. We will expand access to Biola and work to increase affordability, without compromising the quality of a Biola education; and

6. We will begin a major comprehensive funding campaign to build out the master plan and resource the University Plan.