News

In the fiftieth anniversary year of the nursing program, Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) is proud to announce the launch of the Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN) program, an innovative and flexible option designed to meet the growing need for nurse educators. Texas is facing a shortage of nurse educators, with hundreds of positions still unfilled. SWAU's Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program equips experienced nurses with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach in clinical, hospital, and academic settings. This program addresses a critical gap in nurse education while also offering nurses an opportunity to enhance their careers and become leaders in the field. The program is set to launch in Fall 2025, pending full accreditation.

The Biology Department at Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) has been awarded two generous grants from Adventist Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) totaling $45,000. These grants are designed to further support the department’s research efforts, the Dino Dig scholarship program, and the educational experiences offered to students.
Dr. Art Chadwick’s Research Supported
The first grant, valued at $20,000, will support Dr. Art Chadwick, Emeritus Research Professor of Biology, in his ongoing research, travel, presentations, and publications. Dr. Chadwick is one of the leading authorities in the Adventist Church on Creation, the Biblical flood, and dinosaur theories. For over 25 years, he has led research efforts in the Lance Formation of eastern Wyoming, one of the world’s most productive dinosaur fossil sites. His work has resulted in the discovery of over 35,000 fossils, many of which are now housed in the SWAU Dino Museum.
The grant will also enable Dr. Chadwick to continue teaching his Philosophy of Science class at SWAU each spring, providing students with unique insights into both science and faith. “We are grateful to ASI for their ongoing support of this important research and the opportunity it provides for students to engage with the vast world of creation science,” said Dr. Chadwick. “This funding helps us continue to make significant contributions to the understanding of our world and God’s plan.”
The Dino Dig Scholarship Program
The second grant, valued at $25,000, will fund the Dino Dig Scholarship program, offering students the opportunity to participate in a one-month excavation experience at the Hanson Field Station in southwestern Wyoming. The funding will cover most of the expenses, including transportation, lodging, meals, and visits to historical and natural sites, while also allowing students to earn four semester hours of college credit.
This program provides students with practical, hands-on experience in excavation, along with lectures on dinosaurs and origins presented by Dr. Chadwick and other researchers. The Dino Dig scholarship is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in both scientific research and faith-based exploration of Creation.
A Continued Partnership with ASI
These two grants demonstrate the continued partnership between ASI and SWAU. The grants are a vital part of the department’s efforts to nurture the next generation of creation scientists, offering students opportunities to engage in world-class research while strengthening their faith.

Hello everyone,
 
This school year has flown by and we are already very near graduation and the end of our Spring semester. Therefore, I want to update you on the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) initiative with this year-end report. This will be a rather lengthy read, but the QEP is a vital part of our SACSCOC accreditation. Everyone on this campus, including students, staff, faculty, and administrators, must know about our QEP. Even some people not on this campus, the Board of Trustee members and alumni, must know about our QEP. Our SACS site visit occurs next February 16-19 and at that time we are going to demonstrate to our evaluators that SWAU is performing very well and deserves full affirmation. The QEP will not let you down, but we must all share in this effort by learning about the initiatives and we must each play our part in the endeavor.
 
At the end of the last year school year (2023-24), during April and May of ‘24, the faculty, staff, and the Board of Trustees separately voted to accept the topic of reading as the QEP initiative for the next QEP cycle, which begins next year in 2025-26. This year’s work on the QEP took place in what we are calling year zero, or a trial-run year, to work out any potential issues and to make sure we hit the ground running for next year, which is year one of our ten-year QEP cycle which will end in 2035. 
 
We could not really begin work on the QEP until the Board officially voted on the plan, which it did on May 5, the day of graduation. During the summer we selected people to join the QEP committee. They are as follows: 

We are living in strange times. Wars are taking place in various parts of the world, rebellions flare up and depose world leaders, but one phenomenon that may be even more far-reaching revolves around literacy. We may well have hit the high-water mark of literacy and we now find ourselves on the downward slope, heading into a less and less literate age. Books have been replaced by smartphones as the gateways to information and reading, but reading on a phone rates as the 14th most frequent thing people do on their phones, following texting, listening to social media, making calls, and playing games. Considering that reading is our main way of understanding our spiritual heritage and our Lord’s will, I find this move toward decreased literacy discouraging.
The SAT and ACT scores for 2023 were some of the worst on record, with college-bound students less prepared for college than ever before. A very large percentage of them do not have college-level math, reading, or writing skills, and many of them are not prepared for college in any of those three areas. According to a Pew Research survey, 25% of American adults haven’t read a book in the last year. These results are triple what they were in 1978. Something has gone seriously wrong.
At Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) we are taking on the problem of literacy with the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a ten-year drive to improve student reading performance. Every school accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) must create a QEP when approaching an accreditation visit. SWAU will face reaffirmation in accreditation next year, but we are already busy preparing. 
The QEP in reading, called Knight Readers, focuses on three goals: improving students’ reading ability, lowering students’ reading anxiety, and building up a culture of reading on the SWAU campus. To achieve these goals we are working with all classroom instructors, who will teach some reading techniques along with their course content. We are also promoting books clubs on campus with a wide range of topics, from great classics to the Spirit of Prophecy. We want to teach students that, as Cicero said, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”