Erskine looks back on 2025 with gratitude
Erskine College received many blessings during the past year, including generous donations and a bumper crop of students. Initiatives such as the achievement of arboretum status and a Career Services reboot have contributed to a productive and exciting year.
The blessings began in January with the decision by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to reaffirm the institution’s accreditation through 2032. While the accreditor’s reaffirmation was a tribute to progress in Financial Stewardship—one of the four “pillars” of the strategic plan outlined by Erskine President Dr. Steve Adamson in 2022—it was also acknowledged as an answer to prayer.
“This is a watershed moment for Erskine College,” the president said when the news was released. “Let us remember this moment for years to come and continue to praise God for showing favor to Erskine.”
In May, the newly designated Janice Hamilton Haldeman Arboretum at Erskine was officially opened at the Flower & Garden Show, offering a potential boost in the areas of Academic Excellence and Expanding Reach, two more of the four “pillars” of the strategic plan.
“Our status as an arboretum provides publicity for the college as a place for research and scholarship for scientists and students and elevates our profile in the broader community,” Senior Gifts Officer Beth Boyd explained when Erskine’s arboretum application was approved.
The fall semester of 2025 started with a shower of 854 blessings—members of a student body that included Erskine’s third largest freshman class and the greatest number of incoming transfers in a decade.
Erskine students arrived in Due West from 24 countries and territories. Within the U.S., they came not only from South Carolina and neighboring states, but also from across the nation—from California to Maine, Indiana to Kansas, Washington to Wisconsin—31 states in all. About 40 percent of Erskine’s students represent minority ethnicities.
Healthy enrollment can be a testament to Financial Stewardship, Educational Excellence, and Expanding Reach, but the fourth pillar of the strategic plan, Missional Fidelity, is also a key element, as Provost Dr. Edward Clavell recognized when Erskine welcomed its new and returning students.
“It’s more than just new beginnings,” the provost said. “It’s the joy of a community united to learn, to serve, and to glorify God through the work before us.”
In late August, with the fall term just getting started, Erskine received an unexpected blessing: a $3 million gift from an anonymous donor. It was the largest unrestricted contribution in the school’s 186-year history. Once again, the Erskine community had reason to give thanks.
Relating the generous gift to Missional Fidelity, the president said. “It is a powerful reminder that institutions which remain faithful to their Christian mission continue to receive support and encouragement.”
Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations Paul Bell ’84 noted the impact of the landmark gift on Erskine’s Financial Stewardship. “It has certainly bolstered our financial position as we begin our new academic year,” he said. “We praise God for His goodness in providing so generously this way.”
Meanwhile, Erskine alumni and friends kept the institution in their prayers and offered faithful financial support throughout the year, with both prayers and monetary donations adding to the institution’s 2025 blessings.
A revamped Career Services Office, now housed in Advancement and Alumni and led by Andy Anderson ’93, is another blessing for Erskine. Aimed at “equipping students for lives of service and leadership,” Career Services works to encourage alumni and friends to share their experience and expertise with students and offers new ways of connecting students with alumni, including the network “Handshake.”
A $1.9 million bequest from the estate of longtime friend and benefactor Jean Kerr, the daughter of William Kennedy Kerr ’38, was announced in mid-November, within days of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Kerr bequest is an example of how alumni and friends have supported what are now called Missional Fidelity, Financial Stewardship, Educational Excellence, and Expanding Reach at Erskine over many years. The funds are designated for support of scholarships honoring Jean Kerr’s father and cousin, both alumni, as well as Kerr’s mother. The scholarships will benefit students for generations.
Recognizing the Kerr family’s legacy of commitment to education, the president said the generous bequest and other recent gifts “reflect a powerful vote of confidence in Erskine’s future.”
Director of Campus Ministries Dr. Jamie Williams cited in his Thanksgiving message the benefits of a grateful heart. “Healing begins with gratitude, and gratitude begins with recognizing the blessings given,” he told students.
Many alumni and friends will cultivate their own grateful hearts in these final weeks of 2025 by thanking God for the many blessings bestowed on Erskine.
