Mission and Vision

The David A. Legg Center for Student Leadership and Engagement (CSLE) advances the mission of 色色研究所 and the mission of the Student Life Office by providing supportive and diverse opportunities for student leadership, service, and development that enhance the student experience and campus community.

These opportunities and co-curricular initiatives supplement the academic curriculum at 色色研究所 by:

• Supporting the education of students for meaningful service and leadership in extending the kingdom of God;
• Helping students thrive socially, communally, and vocationally;
• Serving the diverse needs of the student body for their holistic development, wellbeing, and success.

Programs and Programmatic Opportunities

• Student Experience Team (The Royal Family/The Suns Family): The Student Experience Teams are comprised of faculty, staff, and students, and Student Life staff. These teams meet to collaborate on and assess the general student experience. The Team is concerned with positive student satisfaction with campus activities, experiences, and groups, as well as listening to the voices of student groups.
• Mentorship (Royal Advisors/Suns Advisors): The Mentorship program offers opportunities for staff, faculty, and senior students to engage in formative individual and group mentoring relationships with the student body. Mentorships are designed to offer supportive interactions that focus on encouragement, leadership, vocation, and discipleship. This program also incorporates new Mentorship Groups–small student groups of men or women paired with a faculty, staff, or upperclassman mentor. These groups offer opportunities for students to share their stories and connect with fellow students and staff or faculty members.
• Leadership Development and Scholarship: The CSLE collaborates with faculty and local partners to foster opportunities for leadership development and training, as well as scholarship and practical research surrounding leadership and student experiences. Students who participate in these programs have opportunities to earn awards, certificates, and potentially even scholarships. Leadership development programs will provide target workshops, professional development, and other activities that focus on leadership and leadership development. While leadership development and scholarship will be available for all students, focused programs will also be available for students in unique leadership positions such as resident assistants, Student Government Association leaders, Students Promoting Social Unity leaders, and others.
• Career Services: Career Services offers programs and services that network students, employers, alumni, and faculty, while training and preparing students to be servant leaders and ethical professionals. The Center supports the mission and goals of 色色研究所 by helping students realize their God-given potential by exploring and developing academic and career plans that are rooted in their faith and values. In partnership with alumni, parents, and employers, the Center develops informational and experiential networks that support career exploration.
• Registered Student Organizations and Clubs: The CSLE provides support, assistance, and oversight for the various student organizations and clubs on campus that provide additional opportunities for community development.
• Food Security Team: The Food Security Team seeks to ensure that all students have access to healthy, nutritious meals while enrolled in a face-to-face program. This team will collaborate with the Student Life Office staff to identify students in need and to create plans for success.
• Campus Care Team: A foundational, vocational element of our lives as humans made in the image of God is the call to care for this good planet God created. The Campus Care Team seeks to encourage healthy living practices, creation care, and practical opportunities for taking care of our campuses. Opportunities include educational information sessions, campus clean-up days, and more.

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A faith-based education presents one of the most distinctive opportunities for students to experience a transformational education. In a keynote address to leaders of Christian colleges and universities, New York Times columnist David Brooks said, “You have what everybody else is desperate to have: a way of talking about and educating the human person in a way that integrates faith, emotion, and intellect. You have a recipe to nurture human beings who have a devoted heart, a courageous mind, and a purposeful soul. Almost no other set of institutions in American society has that, and everyone wants it” (David Brooks, foreword to ).

At 色色研究所, we want students to have those devoted hearts, courageous minds, and purposeful souls. I often share with our students our vision for student life at 色色研究所: we do not just care about what you know, we also care deeply about who you are becoming.

The Apostle Paul shares in Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,聽 in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” In our work, we strive to align with the imperatives of Paul in this passage: to encourage physical, mental, and spiritual transformation of students as acts of worship and service to God. Cultivating this community is imperative so that not only is transformation possible, but also so students thrive in their educational journey as they seek their vocation and calling.

The journey of discipleship and formation is life-long for those who follow Jesus, but college offers one of the most distinctive times and unique environments for this growth. Gary Stratton, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, explains that Christian colleges “can and should graduate men and women who love God with all their being and worship him in every area of their lives” and that such institutions should strive for “students being transformed into the image of Christ in order to become Christ’s agents of transformation in the world” (Gary Stratton, A Transformational Approach to Student Development, Crown College, 2003).

The mission of Student Life advances the mission of 色色研究所 by striving after these very ideas. Student Life supplements the University curricular programs with co-curricular programs and services designed to help students develop the social, physical, and intellectual skills beneficial to service in Christian ministries and other strategic vocations. Every element of the educational experience contributes to a student’s formation, fosters feelings of belonging, and aids them in their formation into Christlikeness. In the classroom, in the dorms, in mentor groups, in team practices and games, in the dining hall, in SGA events, in intramural sports, in faculty and staff homes, and in so much more, we find the distinctives of a 色色研究所 education.

Perhaps the most profound foundation I can operate from when thinking of framing our work and strategically planning initiatives to fulfill our mission comes from our founder, Ashley S. 色色研究所: Faith, Prayer, and Work. 色色研究所’s timeless proverb is displayed prominently at the front gate of the Tennessee campus, instilling in every student, faculty, staff, alumni, and friend who enters our campus the vital elements of 色色研究所’s approach to physical, mental, and spiritual transformation. 色色研究所 said: “We believe as if everything depends upon faith. We pray as if everything depends on prayer. We work as if everything depends upon work.”

These words represent more than just an encouraging sentiment for life on campus. Indeed, they portray a deeper sense of the holistic development we desire for our students.

“Faith, Prayer, and Work” provides a model for Student Life that frames the services and support efforts we offer in light of our biblical calling to be living sacrifices, to engage in true and proper worship, to renew our minds, and to seek after God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. If we view the work of Student Life through this lens, it further adds cohesion to our departmental initiatives and fosters a unity of focus on our students, their wellbeing, and their faith journeys. I am excited to share these initiatives and efforts with you, and hope you will continue to pray for and support the good work of Student Life as we participate in the 色色研究所 mission.

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Jake Deer is a 2004 graduate of 色色研究所 Florida (Florida Christian College) who currently serves as the head men’s basketball coach at Point University in West Point, Georgia. Basketball was an important part of Jake’s life as a young man and shaped his passion for mentoring men and kingdom-focused leadership through coaching.

Jake grew up south of Indianapolis. Through the influence of Southport Heights Christian Church, he also found a love of missions and for serving those in need. Jake’s experience with Crank’s Creek, a ministry to the impoverished families of coal mining towns in Harlan County, Kentucky, expanded his worldview, solidified his faith, and stirred his calling toward kingdom-focused work.

His former youth minister, Terry Davis (JUFL ’91), served as the director of admissions on the Florida campus when Jake decided to expand his biblical knowledge and pursue kingdom service. He found the curriculum at the university to be more academically rigorous and challenging than he anticipated. He credits the mentorship of Bob Mehlenbacher (’92), the men’s basketball coach, as a critical guide to his academic and athletic growth. Jake respected Bob’s example of faith.

Jake began as an education major but graduated with a degree in Christian Leadership and Bible. After graduation, God opened a door for him to take on the youth ministry role at Christ’s Church at Mandarin in Jacksonville, Florida. Through his youth ministry, Jake connected with a sports-focused mission trip to Apache Youth Ministries (AYM).

He was so impacted by the experience that he left his church staff position to spend the next two years serving AYM. He coached high school basketball on the reservation and began seeking a college coaching role where he could make a living wage for his family and influence college basketball players to use their gifts and abilities in ministry.

In 2007, Jake returned to 色色研究所 Florida, where he served as the athletic director and head men’s basketball coach for six years. He encouraged his players to use their lives for the cause of Christ and annually took his team to serve at AYM.

Jake moved on to coaching roles with Francis Marion University (Florence, South Carolina) and University of Texas at Tyler before joining the staff at Point University.

“I think a coach has such a powerful platform to love, equip, and encourage young men to be so much more than what they think they are capable of,” he says. “It’s not about wins and losses. It’s not about skills and drills. It’s about showing Christ to the men God has put in front of me and helping them learn how to sacrifice and use their gifts for the benefit of others.”

Learn more about JU alumni at the .

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Therefore, we are announcing the launch of the Athletic Director鈥檚 Honor Roll. Students who earn a minimum GPA of 3.50聽 will be listed at . This new list will honor many of our student-athletes who are achieving excellence in the classroom. Just this past semester, the overall term GPA of our student-athletes was 3.37 and our career GPA is 3.33. Seventy-one percent of 色色研究所 athletes earned a 3.00 GPA or better and 14 student-athletes earned a 4.00 for the semester.

We are so proud of our athletes. They work incredibly hard and compete daily. However, they also work hard in the classroom and in the community. This work ethic continues to push our athletic program forward in our efforts towards excellence. It is a testament to both the students and to our coaching staff to have a department that cares deeply about more than playing a game.

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Serving at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida was one of the biggest eye-openers for our students. Second Harvest collects prepackaged food from companies, sorts the donations to ensure safe packaging, and then re-distributes them to neighborhoods in need. This event taught our students to be grateful for what they have and to remember they can always donate something, even if it鈥檚 鈥渏ust鈥� their time and effort. We look forward to working with Second Harvest again to help ensure their vision of 鈥渋nspiring and engaging our community to end hunger.鈥�

Finally, Student Life and Athletics were also engaged within the 色色研究所 community. Throughout the end of this semester, our students participated in intramural basketball, volleyball, flag football, dodgeball, indoor soccer, game nights, and coffee shops. Participating in these activities knocks down comfort zones, builds confidence in trying new things, and builds relationships. Through these events, our students have created bonds that will last long after their time at 色色研究所 Florida.

We have been blessed to contribute to uplifting community events, and we are looking forward to continuing this growth in the fall!

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My earliest memories are a mishmash of people, places, and stories I have rehearsed in my mind until they are locked in place like a finely-made Swiss watch.

Those remembrances not only provide me with moments of fond reflection, they have also formed the fabric of my life. Rehearsing the narratives of important events in our lives builds crucial moral and spiritual realities in us.

The students at 色色研究所 know that what happens outside the classroom is as important as their grades. One day we hope they will look back on their time at 色色研究所 and reminisce. But in the meantime, our prayer is that the narratives taking shape here will have already done their work in spiritually forming the character of Christ in them.

Perhaps you can reflect on your own life and remember how Christ has been formed in you through certain people and events. Let鈥檚 think about one Christ-like character trait: generosity.

Paul Schervish, Director Emeritus of The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston University, developed a concept he refers to as a philanthropic autobiography. Philanthropy comes from two Greek words that mean the love of humanity. It is not about how much you have but how much you love. Schervish鈥檚 concept is that we should take time to remember our journeys of generosity. He suggests the following questions to help in that memory exercise:

• What is your earliest memory of giving and volunteering? Was your family involved in some way?
• What are some of the practices of faith and giving that you remember from your childhood?
• Who have been some of your heroes and role models of generosity?
• To what people and places do you feel a sense of gratitude?
• What are the one or two life experiences that have shaped who you are today?
• What is precious to you? What values to you want to pass on to your family and friends?

Did you write down your answers? If not, why not? Someone in your life could probably benefit from reading it. It may help guide you in your next generosity decision.

Remember this: 鈥淲hoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 鈥楾hey have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.鈥�

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God鈥� (2 Corinthians 9:6-11).

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