Six years ago Wheaton College introduced a new set of strategic priorities. A year later we launched a capital campaign—From the Heart, For the Kingdom—in which we invited friends of the College to support these academic and spiritual priorities through generous financial giving.

With the campaign having ended in June, this is a good time to consider the progress we have made. How has our vision become a reality?

Wheaton has become more deeply committed to the liberal arts. At a time when many colleges are turning to more professional education, we continue to believe that we are called to lay a broad foundation for Christian leadership through excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. The centerpiece of this commitment is our new Christ at the Core curriculum, which gives our students a stronger introduction to liberal arts education, with shared intellectual experiences that shape their calling and enable them to understand themselves and their world in Christian perspective.

Wheaton has become a more diverse community, with more students of color on campus and more diverse leaders at every level of the College. We now have a Chief Inter-cultural Engagement Officer serving on the Senior Administrative Cabinet, a thriving Office of Multicultural Development in a new location in Lower Beamer, and a more coherent approach to understanding ethnic and cultural diversity embedded within our general education curriculum.

At the same time, Wheaton has become more globally connected. There are more international undergraduates on campus, and they are better supported through the new International Student Programs office. Our office for Global and Experiential Learning makes it easier than ever for students to study abroad, with fully portable scholarships. We also have new institutional partnerships with Handong University and Tokyo Christian University. The world is coming to Wheaton, and Wheaton is going out to the world.

Wheaton now has a new home for making music in the Armerding Center for Music and the Performing Arts. Our world-class music programs—and our whole student body—have ample studios and a state-of-the-art small recital hall for developing and sharing the gifts of vocal and instrumental music.

All of this has happened in the last six years—praise God! And it has all been generously supported by more than $187 million in total giving towards campaign priorities and over $225 million to all funds—another reason for grateful praise.