Asbury University Reflects on the Blessings of 2019
December 31, 2019
2019 was a year of abundant blessings for Asbury University! As we welcome a new year and new decade, we reflect back on the many blessings of 2019. Here’s a look at some of the exciting things that happened on Asbury’s campus this year:
Asbury students displayed academic excellence in 2019! Academic events like SEARCH 2019 posed big questions and provided space for students to present their research to the public. Exciting performances were put on by Asbury Music Department ensembles in 2019. Asbury’s Chorale performed with the Lexington Philharmonic and cellist and singer-songwriter Ben Sollee visited campus for an inventive performance in Hughes Auditorium as part of the Artist Series.
In 2019, Asbury’s Service Mounts Training Program was recognized for its excellence by multiple police departments across North America. Science majors demonstrated true academic excellence when they presented at the Kentucky Academy of Science (KAS) Annual Conference.
Media Communication students immersed themselves in excellence at Sundance Film Festival, and the campus came together to celebrate the hard work of art and film students at Engaging Culture Weekend.
In 2019, Asbury announced Dr. Kevin J. Brown as its 18th president.
Asbury had an action-packed summer in 2019! Over a thousand alumni returned to campus to reconnect and reflect on the theme of God’s faithfulness at Reunion 2019.
During Reunion, Asbury moved forward in faith by breaking ground on the Collaborative Learning Center (CLC). Upon completion, the more than 50,000 square-foot building will house the Howard and Beverly Dayton School of Business and the School of Science, Health & Mathematics.
The Merciful Class of 2019 graduated from Asbury in May, and, in August, Asbury welcomed the Surrendered Class of 2023 to campus for their first semester at the University. Archways celebrated its 20th anniversary with updates to the adventure pre-orientation program.
Asbury hosted community members for Faith & Family Night, an annual baseball game and concert at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in July. This year’s concert featured Christian rock group I Am They and a nail-biting game from the Lexington Legends. ImpactU academic camps provided a few weeks of fun for high schoolers.
Asbury students went out to impact the world in 2019! A variety of Asbury travel courses took students all over the world from the Human Dignity Tour of Germany to the Fringe Festival in Scotland to the television production trip to New York City. In 2019, 19 Asbury students traveled to Paris, France for Asbury’s Paris Semester, during which they took language, art and history courses and interned in the major metropolitan city for the duration of the fall semester.
Asbury honored tradition and spiritual vitality in 2019. Students took time to focus on spiritual vitality through Spiritual Life events such as the Great Commission Congress and the Faith & Culture Lecture Series. In 2019, hundreds of families visited campus for Family Weekend, where they took part in fun Asbury traditions like Goat Roast, Family Bash and Sibling Invasion.
Asbury students engaged culture in 2019. The second annual Embrace Conference was held in November and provided space for students to explore themes of mutuality and racial reconciliation. Asbury’s Marketplace Summit inspired students to dream big. The annual business plan competition was co-hosted by the University’s Dayton School of Business and Asbury Theological Seminary’s (ATS) Office of Faith, Work and Economics.
The University dedicated many projects this year. The Dennis F. Kinlaw Study Center, which houses a collection of literature from Dr. Dennis F. Kinlaw ’43, former Asbury president, was officially opened in November 2019. Asbury launched the Center for the Future of Work which aims to provide rigorous, relevant 21st Century education that uniquely equips students to navigate the present and future complexities of a dynamic, unpredictable global economy. The School of Education created a new partnership with local high schools. Imagine 2022, the University’s strategic plan, saw great progress in 2019, and the Dayton School of Business hosted its first annual Golf Classic in October.
The year wrapped up in a celebratory way with a Christmas concert from gospel trio Sacred Harmony.
These are just a few of the incredible blessings Asbury University saw in 2019. Thank you for your continued prayer and support of our students this year and beyond. We wish you a Happy New Year!