TO CELEBRATE THE JOYFUL OCCASION OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF ANDERSON UNIVERSITY, AND TO CONGRATULATE AND COMMEND THE UNIVERSITY FOR A CENTURY OF SERVICE TO ITS STUDENTS, THE ANDERSON COMMUNITY, AND THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, Anderson University began as Anderson College in 1911 when public-minded business and community leaders in Anderson desired to establish a Christian university to educate young people from South Carolina and surrounding states; and
Whereas, the institution found a valuable partner in the South Carolina Baptist Convention, which has nurtured and supported it throughout its history; and
Whereas, Anderson College continued to adapt and grow through the years to meet the changing needs of society, becoming successively one of the first private junior colleges in the United States, a co-educational institution, a four-year institution, and eventually a university with a thriving graduate program; and
Whereas, leaders such as Dr. Annie Dove Denmark, South Carolina's first female college president, single-mindedly persevered through the difficult days of the Great Depression and other periods of economic turmoil to preserve and protect this fine university; and
Whereas, Anderson University has supplied South Carolina, the United States of America, and the world with well-prepared teachers, ministers, business leaders, doctors, and service-minded citizens grounded in servant leadership and motivated to honor their Creator and help their fellow men; and
Whereas, under the leadership of its current president, Dr. Evans P. Whitaker, Anderson University has become an emerging national force in private Christian higher education, with 2,500 students, several graduate programs, and an academic program recognized for its quality and the success of its graduates; and
Whereas, Anderson University provides hundreds of jobs to South Carolina citizens and between eighty and one hundred million dollars in positive economic impact to Anderson and the surrounding area; and
Whereas, now the home of Palmetto Boys State, the University offers a setting where nearly a thousand of South Carolina's top high-school students undergo transformational leadership training to assist them in becoming future leaders in our State; and
Whereas, Anderson University has been lauded by national magazines as "the top 'up and coming' college in the South," "one of America's 100 Best College Buys," "the 21st-ranked college of its type in the South," and "one of America's Best Christian Colleges," among many other encomiums; and
Whereas, the institution continues to hold to its Christian purpose, producing graduates with a sense of calling, a desire to serve, and the preparation to make a positive difference in their communities, their states, and the world; and
Whereas, it is appropriate in this its centennial year that Anderson University be recognized as a prized resource to the people of South Carolina, that its graduates be honored for their service to humanity, and that its administration be saluted for building and preserving this jewel of private higher education in our State. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, celebrate the joyful occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of Anderson University, and congratulate and commend the University for a century of service to its students, the Anderson community, and the State of South Carolina.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Dr. Evans P. Whitaker, president of Anderson University.