Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) encouraged each of ACU’s nearly 5,000 students to “outlive your life” and learn to make a real difference in the world. He gave several examples of those who embody the attributes of servant leadership the university desires in its students, faculty, staff and alumni.
In his inaugural address, Schubert spoke of a transformational experience realized while greeting graduating students walking across the stage in Moody Coliseum at the recent August Commencement.
“I wasn’t prepared for how deeply it would move me,” Schubert said. “This time, I was able to look into their eyes and see the emotion and energy they brought to that moment. … There wasn’t time to do it, of course, but I wanted so badly to stop each graduate on this stage and ask, ‘Well, what’s next?’ ‘Where do you go from here?’ ‘Where is God leading you?’ and most important of all, ‘How are you going to make a real difference in the world?’ ”
The day began with a Prayer Breakfast featuring the comments of ACU trustee Dr. Eddie Sharp Jr., minister of University Avenue Church of Christ in Austin. An Inauguration Dinner on Saturday night opened the celebration of a new president’s tenure at ACU. Both events were sold out weeks earlier.
