BY RICHARD OSBORN

RIGHT AND COLORFUL MEDIEVAL gowns with strangely shaped "hats," formal processions with organ and brass, banners on poles, and maces. Higher education loves this kind of pomp, but behind the outward façade of formality you experience, mostly at graduation exercises, a vibrant life on the campuses of the 15 Adventist colleges/universities in North America is focused on preparing young people for service to their church and society. Yes, a renewed focus on more than pomp typifies these campuses.

For 15 years of my professional career I served largely in a consultant's role as a union and division vice president for education, flying to college board meetings, giving some advice, expressing great empathy for the problems being experienced, and returning to the comfort of my home far away. I heard college and university presidents describe student life on campus, but never had time to actually experience the ups and downs of a college campus until I became a college president three years ago. The energy I draw from living day in and day out with college students and employees has renewed once again my confidence in today's young people and the future of the church.

Life Decisions
What is it like to actually experience what happens on a campus in this age of postmodernism? to feel the ebb and flow of a year? to see students struggling with the most important issues of life, with many making wise choices, and others trying to find themselves with the support of Christian peers and adults? Seventh-day Adventist campuses focus primarily on making a Christian worldview part of the inner core of their students' lives.

This reality is demonstrated as hundreds of students walk into church for Friday vespers, Sabbath services, a required weekly chapel program, or a Week of Prayer conducted by an adult or by fellow students. A vibrant song service brings students from the joy of singing together to the quiet presence of God. The reading of Scripture and the public prayers illustrate the continuing power of God's word. A public testimony or response to a call illustrates that God still moves on the hearts of young people. Some in the audience indicate neutrality toward the experience, but future events show that in many cases they were soaking in what they pretended not to hear.

There's another side to more circumstance. As faculty and staff members meet students on the campus walkways or in the classroom, knowing the greatest witness comes through the lives of adult mentors and student peers, efforts are made to greet and interact with students on a more interpersonal level. Sometimes it's talking about a specific personal problem before or after class, when a quick prayer can bring the comfort of finding a solution.

In the required religion courses, as well as in other courses, an attempt is made to give students the spiritual and theological foundation for integrating their chosen careers and personal lives into a Christian worldview. A work supervisor can also have enormous impact on the life of a student. A dormitory dean or student resident assistant serves as a special influence. At other times it might be a meal together in a faculty home or even at a noisy table in the cafeteria. More often than not, the greatest influence might be the interactions between students in a dorm room or in a small cell group focused on Bible study. You might see a group of students quietly praying together on campus and realize that a personal spiritual experience is more vibrant among more students than when many of us who are older went to college. These interactions often result in young people giving their hearts to the Lord.

Many students are trying to find their own identity as young adults in the more independent setting of a college. Part of that process might involve showing little interest in the church's teachings about lifestyle. However, being in a setting with adults and peers who are committed Christians enables many of those young people eventually to find a strong Adventist identity.

Life of Activity
More circumstance means taking what you are learning into the world of service. Last year more than 700 student missionaries left from Adventist campuses in North America for short- or long-term service. During the summer thousands were baptized in such places as Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines, Thailand, Togo, and Zimbabwe as a result of student-led evangelistic meetings.

Closer to home, other students conducted outreach activities such as feeding the homeless, visiting retirement homes, helping in soup kitchens, participating in Habitat for Humanity projects, or in tutoring students. Some helped plant new churches. On a typical Sabbath many students leave campus to help out in local church services. Through service the reality of the gospel takes shape in young adult lives that will last for eternity.

You might think this portrayal overly idealistic. Our higher education institutions don't minimize the trends toward secularization identified by recent General Conference studies or among the scholarly community. But being fully aware of these telltale signs, we work diligently to avoid these trends in North America. Adventist colleges/universities also do not minimize the challenges involved in making service to Jesus Christ a reality in the lives of students. They are buffeted by the same pressures of secularism and materialism as local congregations and families.

One of the purposes of our institutions is to provide a Christian framework within which young people can engage in normal explorations of their belief systems and lifestyle practices with the guidance and boundaries established by being in an Adventist setting. This exploration occurs within the context of public knowledge and learning that prepares students for entry into many exciting career opportunities.

Facing the Challenge
How are we working together to help students change their world? Seventh-day Adventist colleges/universities in North America have a reputation for being competitive, and not working closely together. Today these institutions are collaborating together at one of the highest levels of cooperation in the history of the church.

In November 2002, college and university presidents unanimously agreed to organize a 501(c)3 corporation called the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities. More than 30 years ago the church organized the Board of Higher Education in an attempt to create a more centralized system of higher education, with limited success. Eight years ago the Higher Education Cabinet was organized, but also with limited success in achieving significant accomplishments.

This new association has been formed by the colleges/universities themselves to come together collaboratively and voluntarily to work toward the mutual goal of broadening the base of Adventist education and further bolster efforts toward excellence. The association's board is composed of the presidents of each institution, with the constituency adding the academic deans and chief financial officers. The elected officers include four college/ university presidents, with Richard Osborn (Pacific Union College) serving as president, Gordon Bietz (Southern Adventist University) as vice president, Joseph Gurubatham (Home Study International/Griggs University) as secretary, and David Greenlaw (Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences) as treasurer.

The association is actively studying four possible areas of collaboration:

Marketing/Enrollment: The goal is to expand Adventist education to more students, rather than competing to get students from each other. Such efforts might involve a nationwide database of potential students, national marketing and branding, uniform scholarship policies, easy transfer of credits, and improved student retention. We want to share the value of an Adventist education with more students rather than just playing a "zero sum" game, in which we trade students.

Distance Education: Some students who cannot attend an Adventist college on a full-time basis would benefit from faith-based distance education courses. Collaborating to avoid duplication of courses might eventually create a seamless program between campuses where courses are "shared."

Job Placement/Church Planting: The time of greatest vulnerability for an individual leaving active church involvement is upon graduation from an Adventist college. All the good things on campus described in this article don't get replicated in many local congregations. We need to help find jobs for our college graduates in Adventist institutions, in Adventist businesses, or in the broader non-Adventist world. But local congregations must create a vibrant congregational life in which graduates find meaningful Christian community.

Human and Financial Resource Utilization: We are a relatively small church with a huge investment in education. If we share human and financial resources between campuses, we could offer an even more excellent program.

While these areas of cooperation are important, the association is most concerned about helping to renew the church for our young people in the twenty-first century.

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* The Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities includes all 15 colleges/universities located in the North American Division: Andrews University, Atlantic Union College, Canadian University College, Columbia Union College, Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Griggs University, Kettering College of Medical Arts, La Sierra University, Loma Linda University, Oakwood College, Pacific Union College, Southern Adventist University, Southwestern Adventist University, Union College, and Walla Walla College.

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Richard Osborn is president of Pacific Union College and of the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities.*