For 31 years, I was privileged to serve as the dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, and worked closely with two extraordinary leaders, Presidents Thomas E. Corts and Andrew Westmoreland. Each brought to the university a remarkable set of gifts, exactly what was needed at the time. When Andy Westmoreland was inaugurated in 2006 as Samford’s 18th president, he pledged to deepen “a commitment to that excellence that honors God.” He spoke boldly about his vision for a Christ-centered university. Rejecting the dichotomy between sacred and secular, he believed that this goal could be accomplished without sacrificing the highest standards of academic rigor.
Growing up as the son of a small-town Baptist pastor in Arkansas made a deep impression on Andy Westmoreland. Dealing with cantankerous deacons and humiliating “annual calls” (or possibly re-calls) required great pastoral skill and sensitivity. About his father, Andy Westmoreland said, “He exercised extraordinary grace in dealing with people.” That kind of grace is evident in Andy Westmoreland’s own leadership style. His aim is to work with all kinds of people “where they are and how they are,” which requires the skill of taking people seriously and listening well.
As a lad of seven in his father’s church, Andy Westmoreland accepted Jesus Christ and resolved to follow him for the rest of his life. The trajectory of that decision eventually led to a career in Christian higher education and a life of witness as wide as the love of God. The gospel is not restricted to any one ethnicity or nationality, and Andy Westmoreland has led Samford to pursue global Christian commitments around the world through his involvement in the Baptist World Alliance and by building relationships with Christian institutions in Hong Kong and Indonesia, among others.
Andy Westmoreland once said that it was his desire for Samford to be a place of such spiritual warmth that people who just visited the campus would actually feel that reality. At the heart of such a community is the life of prayer. A season of intentional, earnest prayer was an important part of Andy Westmoreland’s discernment in considering his decision to move from Arkansas to Alabama. Prayer helps us to see one another—and the world—through the eyes of the Savior’s love. This is why, in one of his first acts as Samford’s president, Andy Westmoreland introduced what has now become a tradition: a time of corporate-collegial prayer for the entire community at the start of each new academic year.
As a student, Andy Westmoreland majored in political science, and he is quick to disclaim credentials as a theologian. Still, his vision for a Christian university is deeply rooted in the historic, trinitarian faith of the church: God-called, Christ-centered, Spirit-directed. When he thinks about how to cope with the pressures that perplex every leader, he is drawn back to the Bible and to three verses in particular. Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” This is a biblical call to humility. Then, Romans 8:26 speaks of the Holy Spirit helping us in our weakness, including offering to God the prayers of our heart when all we can do is sigh and groan. Finally, Colossians 1:17 speaks of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, “in him all things hold together.”
The preeminence of Christ gives meaning and coherence to every discipline taught in a university, to the moral texture of its commitments and to that love which marks a way of life for faculty, staff and students alike. Among the last words uttered by Jesus during his earthly ministry are these: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Andy Westmoreland embodies this principle in his personal and family life and in the contribution he has made to Christian higher education over a lifetime of discipleship and service.
