Last spring, the greater Anderson University community learned of Launch 2040 – a long-term strategy plan for the future of AU. Its name comes from the idea that children born in 2022, the year planning began, will be choosing a college in 2040.
Launch 2040 is a multi-stage plan made of initiatives to better serve the student body and attract more students in the future. Phase one, Anderson University’s current phase, is projected to last three years ending in May 2026.
The heart of Launch 2040 is students. Its key themes are Christ-centered, intentional community, experiential learning and continual improvement and responsible stewardship.
Provost Courtney Taylor, Ph.D., said, “These four things are things that really are part of AU and they are really elevating what is best about AU… That’s a part of just the DNA of the institution.”
Within those themes, the university is actively planning 29 initiatives to impact different aspects of the school. Some of the initiatives are departmental, student development-focused or about mentoring, while others are focused on recruitment. Tri-S is an existing program that will have specific initiatives through Launch 2040.
“We have Illuminate here,” Taylor says. “It’s great for everybody here, but then let’s invite people– because what’s not to say that somebody who comes here at age three, that was their first time on our campus, and they had a really good time, so then they want to check us out some more.”
He extends the idea past existing community events to include academic lessons, concerts or other engaging activities, allowing people to “connect with AU in a positive way.”
The initiatives are broad and flexible at this time as Taylor points out that limitations of an unknown future exist.
Considering the mission, location and budget of the university, President John Pistole, JD, and his cabinet continue to prioritize the initiatives and put them in sequential order as they are able. These decisions run through two lenses: what do students want now and what can we predict they will want in the future.
Under this direction, the initiatives themselves are split among relevant groups and committees in the AU community.
The AU community may have noticed the university’s recent rebranding which includes updated visual and verbal communication strategies. More information about AU’s brand can be found here.
Taylor says the ongoing Launch 2040 plan can help AU remain relevant and “keep with our identity as Christ-centered and as a liberal arts institution.”
Learn more about the goals and objectives of Launch 2040 here.