With almost 20 years at the helm of Anderson University, James L. Edwards is currently the state’s longest-serving college leader. In the first part of a two-day installment, Edwards shares his views on where AU is, and where he believes it could be.

A: As the longest serving college president in Indiana at this time, do you have any keys to your longevity?

Q: “Our first president (John Morrison) was here 39 years, so I don’t think of it as one of those great world records. ... I think I understand why it’s often good for institutions to have shorter presidencies. Most public institutions do. It’s very intense, the energy that’s required is truly real, but there’s a great advantage to longevity as well. My hope is that as we layer on experiences and relationships through the years, we find ourselves in a place that really benefits what we do here. And when I feel that that’s not happening, I hope I’m the first to know.”

Q: What is the state of Anderson University?

A: “We’re in a very promising position at this juncture. We’re accomplishing things I’m sure our earlier leaders never dreamed of. I don’t think they could imagine multi-million-dollar gifts. In the previous campaign we had 22 gifts of more than $1 million. We’re in a current campaign where we have had significant gifts and commitments up to $10 million. That’s an extraordinary thing for a school like ours. While we’re all feeling the economic downturn — families are feeling it, they’re making hard choices about where their kids go to school — we’re feeling it in terms of slowing down some of our plans until we get through this. But this is in so many ways a remarkable time for the institution. ...

We’re sort of somewhere in the middle of a big turnover in higher ed, and certainly in Anderson, in that so many of our faculty and key staff came here about 30 years ago, and they’re retiring. We’re seeing that and we’re feeling on the one hand a bit of nervousness about this institutional history, and wondering, will all the assumptions that knit us together still be in place?

On the other hand, we have young, highly skilled, very prepared people who are eager for these opportunities. The youth movement looks really good. It really does. ...

Our facilities are at their peak right now. We have a couple of things we want to add to the campus, of course, but with renewed residence halls, high-tech classrooms ... you walk across this campus and I don’t remember it more beautiful.”

Q: How has the economy affected Anderson University?

A: “During this last year, like all of higher ed, I don’t think there’s any part of higher ed that didn’t have a write-down in values. Endowments tend to be investments we hold and never spend. So what got written down will get written back up again when the economy recovers. The losses we experienced were essentially paper losses, but they are values we have to pay attention to. The larger challenge has to do with the health and well-being of the families, friends and kids here and key donors who have been really hit in various sectors in the economy, and their plans to help us to hit our goals and accomplish the things we’re trying to get done here are simply slowed up. ...

We are trying to figure out how we can do more with less. One of the remarkable things about this place — I don’t know of a college that does more with less than this one does. These folks, you add this commitment, this devotion, this sense of calling to their work, and it is amazing what they are able to accomplish in quality, in excellence. ... Sometimes it’s very taxing, but they do it.”