That exceptional relational style, along with proven planning and team building qualities, were high on the board of regents' list of priorities when it hired Anderson five years ago. Board members were looking for someone with a strong sense of vision, mission and action. They found it in Anderson. In fact, they've been so impressed with his leadership ability and work ethic, that last year they renewed his five-year contract a year early.

"During my tenure as a member of the board of regents, Dr. Anderson's many talents and skills have become readily apparent," said Connye Hartman '63, a past Montana state senator and a regent since 1987.

"Dr. Anderson has a fine sense of interpersonal relationships and is an extraordinarily skilled administrator who delegates responsibilities well. Under his direction, the university's financial status has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence. He is highly respected among the faculty, alumni and students. His talents are recognized by his peers within and without the state."

Anderson set high goals for himself and his staff. He instigated the completion of PLU's first comprehensive long-range plan, strengthened the university's financial base, helped map out an aggressive enrollment strategy, oversaw major curriculum changes in numerous areas, presided over the opening of a new music center, and issued a call for technology to play a stronger role on campus.
However, Anderson will be the first to tell you this isn't a one-person job.
He couldn't have done it without dynamic leadership from members of the President's Council, which include vice presidents Jan Brazzell, Bill Frame and Erv Severtson, Provost Paul Menzel, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Laura Polcyn, Director of Church Relations Rick Rouse, Assistant to the President Laura Majovski, and Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Programs and Student Activities Cristina Del Rosario.
"We have a strong leadership group, but way beyond that PLU is blessed with an incredibly gifted and dedicated faculty and staff," said Anderson. "The growth and well-being of our students is their primary focus and they regularly give service above and beyond the call of duty. They are the wellspring of PLU's excellence."

PLU 2000 - a Long-Range Plan

PLU 2000 - the university's long-range planning document - is a perfect example of everyone working toward a common goal. In the fall of 1992, a committee of faculty, staff and students was established to prepare a plan for the university that would address matters of institutional identity and priority.

Led by co-chairs Bill Frame, vice president for finance and operations, and Carolyn Schultz, professor of nursing, the PLU community engaged in hundreds of hours of discussion to determine what the university is today and what we want it to become. The final document was unveiled in January 1995.

PLU 2000 is, primarily, a statement of institutional vision and identity. Vision is found in a new goal statement, "PLU seeks to empower students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership and care - for other persons, for their community, and for the earth." Identity is addressed in five axioms:

• Strengthening the learning community
  
• Reaffirming the Lutheran tradition of higher education
  
• Emphasizing PLU's motto, "Educating for Lives of Service"
  
• Activating the commitment to diversity
  
• Supporting the enterprise
  

Focusing Academic Efforts

Though a long-range planning effort, PLU 2000 has provided for short-term planning as well. Among the issues needing immediate attention was the budget. PLU entered the '90s with fewer students than anticipated and found a need to trim the budget. However, rather than dwell on reducing costs in one area, or cutting expenses across the board, the administration decided to build on PLU's strengths.

Thus was born Project Focus. And, four years later, it has produced dramatic results. Faculty and academic leaders supported a strategic plan to close five programs as a means of "focusing" academic effort and resources. Extensive administrative reorganization facilitated gains in both effectiveness and efficiency. Over $3 million was saved for reallocation, and the university's employ was reduced by about 10 percent.

At the same time, additional resources were invested in instructional equipment, faculty and staff salaries, and in renovation and maintenance of facilities.

"The strength and courage of the PLU community has been evident throughout this period of economic recovery. All have been willing to sacrifice and, as a result, the university looks toward a very bright future," said Anderson.

The total impact of Project Focus is reflected in the bottom line of the university's budget. By the end of fiscal '93, PLU had accumulated an operating deficit of $4.3 million. The university had planned to eliminate that deficit by the year 2000. However, an aggressive asset management strategy, an operating surplus and gifts designated for that purpose helped erase the deficit in fiscal '96 - four years ahead of schedule.

Kit Spicer, dean of the school of the arts and a communication professor at PLU since 1978, said the road hasn't been easy but he has appreciated Anderson's candor about the university's future.

"One of the things I've admired about President Anderson is his openness, his willingness to share with the entire PLU community. At the first faculty gathering (five years ago), and since then, he has been very candid with us about budgets and the financial state of the university. I find that refreshing and helpful for us to understand the bigger picture," he said.

Campaign Tops Goal

With an emphasis on endowment, PLU launched a five-year, $52-million fundraising campaign called Make a Lasting Difference in 1992. Through extraordinary efforts on the part of key administrators, volunteers, the board of regents, alumni and others, the campaign has exceeded $64 million. With the endowment now nearing $25 million, PLU is more marketable among its peer institutions.

Other university accomplishments of the last five years include:

• A plan was developed to build enrollment by 10 percent, from 3,300 to 3,600, over a five-year period. At 3,481 students for the 1996-97 school year, the university is well on its way to reaching that goal.
  
• The staff in the areas of billing, financial aid and registration are currently streamlining those functions by creating "one-stop shopping" in a new combined Student Services Center. This effort is being evaluated and adapted to student needs even now to improve on the original idea and function of the center.
  
• PLU used to offer two student cafeterias, but closed one after research discovered the one on lower campus served only 20 percent of students yet used 50 percent of the dining services budget. PLU extended the hours of the main cafeteria on upper campus and remodeled the lower campus site into a late-night sandwich and pizza bistro. The move proved popular with students.
  
• Anderson was on hand in 1995 to dedicate Phase I (a music education wing and concert hall) of the new Mary Baker Russell Music Center. Thanks to the generosity of Mary Baker Russell and other key donors, construction begins this month on the completion phase of the building, which includes teaching studios and rehearsal and office space. The work should be completed by late 1997.
  
• All services and activities for international students and scholars, study abroad programs and on-campus academic international programs were brought under the Center for International Programs umbrella. A Center for Public Service was formed to accommodate volunteer and outreach opportunities.
  
• What was a decade ago a smoking lounge in the library is today a state-of-the-art Language Resource Center with computer-aided learning sites. The bowling alley of the '70s in the basement of the UC now sees popular use as a computer user room with both Mac and PC terminals.
  
• Classroom upgrades, residence hall renovations, a new track, swimming pool roof repair, the new Names Court basketball floor, landscaping, lighting and other capital projects have enhanced the quality of life at PLU.
  

The Academic Plan involves an effort to continually redefine PLU's academic mission. Two organizations, the Association of New American Colleges (ANAC), and the Pew Charitable Trust, will play roles in our conversations.

PLU recently joined ANAC, which is comprised of 21 colleges and universities across the country that are similar in size, structure and academic mission to PLU. New American universities are "dedicated to the integration of liberal and professional studies," and are considered somewhere in between a small liberal arts college and a large research university.

"The New American College has quickly become an important association for us," commented Anderson. "It helps capture our unique identity and build on our strengths in the company of a small group of like-minded institutions. It holds the promise of making us better."