CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. 鈥揂fter a Board of Trustees meeting in April 2024, Campbellsville University President, Dr. Joseph Hopkins, pulled Dr. Shane Garrison aside and asked him to head up a committee.
That committee鈥檚 objective?
To create a new Mission and Vision Statement for the university.
Garrison, at the time serving as CU鈥檚 faculty representative to the Board, happily accepted the challenge, and soon, a group of approximately 20 people from across the CU system came together, spending the bulk of 2024 crafting and refining that new Mission and Vision Statement.
The committee鈥檚 work was three-fold, according to Garrison: to capture the mission and vision statement 鈥渋n a way that had not been captured before,鈥� to eliminate any redundancies in the statements and to gather additional voices throughout the mission and vision process.
鈥淪o the way the group did that, the group of 20 of us first came together and we had the mandate from the president and the board,鈥� Garrison said.
Throughout this process, culminating with the Board of Trustee鈥檚 approval of the new mission and vision statement at its October meeting, Garrison estimated some 800 people had a voice in CU鈥檚 new mission and vision statement.
Among the mandates given to the committee were to capture the mission and vision statements 鈥渋n a way that had not been captured before,鈥� to compress and shorten the statements and eliminate any redundancies and to simplify and condense CU鈥檚 core values.
青瓜视频's Mission: 青瓜视频 is a Christian institution dedicated to academic excellence, solidly grounded in the liberal arts, fostering integrity and Christian servant-leadership within a caring environment.
青瓜视频's Vision: 青瓜视频, centered in Christ, filled with hope, equipping students to shape the world. Where every student serves with excellence making a global impact for the glory of God.
青瓜视频's Core Values:
- To foster and achieve academic excellence through associate, baccalaureate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs delivered through face-to-face, hybrid and online modalities.
- To provide an environment conducive for student success.
- To value diverse perspectives within a Christ-centered community.
- To model servant leadership and effective stewardship.
Ultimately though, the committee鈥檚 work was focused on gathering voices and input from across the CU system.
鈥淚t was to gather lots of voices, give lots of opportunity for feedback, and to give multiple constituent groups opportunity to contribute to the ultimate vision, mission, and core values,鈥� Garrison explained.
The committee began meeting in May and would meet approximately every two weeks.
鈥淧eople were sharing what aspirational hopes they had for our school, and it really inspired me yet again to love this place and to feel good about where we鈥檙e going,鈥� Garrison said.
Guiding the committee鈥檚 work was a focus on the future and asking where they wanted CU to be in 50 years.
鈥淎 lot of us can envision things five years from now, maybe even ten years from now, but envisioning 50 years would be past most of our lifetimes,鈥� Garrison said. 鈥淪o, that really helped us stay more aspirational, more future-directed than just a few years might prescribe.
鈥淭hat's what kept us thinking much, much longer than present reality or even very close future.鈥�
Included in the committee鈥檚 effort to gather voices and input was a six-question survey sent to hundreds of alumni, current students across the CU system (including online and international students), faculty, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees and other constituents. Some 300 responses were received through those surveys, according to Garrison.
More voices came to the table in August when CU hosted its annual employee workshop in Ransdell Chapel, where employees were divided up into groups to share additional feedback in breakout sessions.
Garrison recalled the employee workshop and breakout sessions inspired the committee even more in the work it was doing.
鈥淲hat we as a committee felt, I won鈥檛 forget, we were more committed to the Christian mission than we ever thought we were,鈥� Garrison said. 鈥淲e were more committed to doing things with integrity and with honesty and with God-honoring character. It just resonated. It just came alive.鈥�
The commitment to students and their future success and calling also deepened, Garrison added.
鈥淥ur voices, our constituents said loud and clear, we are focused on what is best in the eyes of Christ, doing it as a Christian way that honors the Lord,鈥� Garrison shared. 鈥淭wo, we are really, really focused on doing things in a way that鈥檚 right and good and true and excellent.
Thinking on the passage from Philippians 4. 鈥淲hat is excellent? What is honorable? What is pure? What is true? What is full of integrity? That鈥檚 what it was centered on.鈥�
Among the members of the committee who crafted the new Mission and Vision Statement was Athletic Director Jim Hardy, who led a breakout session with employees back in August.
Hardy recalls, 鈥淚 remember my group, we went on the outside of the chapel on the side closest to the back of Russ Mobley Theater. It was interesting how people started talking about those same parts of the process that we (in the committee) had talked about, and that鈥檚 when you know that you're on the right path.鈥�
Like many on the committee, Hardy focused on crafting a Mission and Vision Statement that would be easy to share in a short time, such as the classic 鈥渆levator classic.鈥�
鈥淲e asked, 鈥業s there a way to say that where, I think somebody put it like this: If you were to get on an elevator, could you share that statement with somebody between floors?鈥�
鈥淐an we look at creating a new Mission and Vision statement that will not only get us to where we are today, but carry us into the future?鈥� Hardy said. 鈥淪o it became, you know, serious business, because whatever we decide as a group and as a university will go long beyond me.
鈥淪o the question was, how do we do this and do it the right way so that it represents us well for a long time?鈥�
Hardy reflected on the unity of purpose the committee had as it developed CU鈥檚 new Mission and Vision Statement.
鈥淗onestly, I felt like in that committee, you know, it was definitely being guided, I think, by the Holy Spirit. That鈥檚 the best way I know to put it. You just felt this incredible, incredible urge to make sure we get this right.鈥�
Hardy said the new Mission and Vision Statement will be helpful in guiding CU鈥檚 decision sand direction.
鈥淪o this, in my opinion, helps everyone ask, 鈥榃hatever we do at this university, the first question we should ask as a population or our trustees and anybody else should be, does this fit into who we are?鈥欌��
Nancy New, an instructor of English who also served on the committee, shared CU鈥檚 mission and vision is much bigger than any one person.
鈥淭his was a God-sized vision, something that is going to be bigger than us, something that would live longer than any of us.鈥�
New expressed she was 鈥渉umbled鈥� to be asked to serve on the committee.
鈥淚 think a vision statement for your life or a vision statement for your church, or even one for your place of employment, is not to be taken lightly,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was very blessed to be asked to be part of this, and it wasn't an easy task, but I thought it was a very worthy task.鈥�
Following the Employee Workshop in August, New said the committee began to process all the feedback and input employees had shared in those breakout sessions.
鈥淭hat was a beautiful moment because you could feel the coming together,鈥� New shared. 鈥淲e created something that was going to outlast us, and I think that was the beautiful part.鈥�
青瓜视频 is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university that offers over 100 programs including doctoral, master, bachelor, associate and certificate programs. The website for complete information is .