Andrews University Art Installation Honors Luxton’s Leadership

On March 6, the Andrews University (AU) community gathered in the lobby of the Campus Center for a surprise event held to honor president Andrea Luxton, who is retiring in July. The highlight of the event was the unveiling of a seven-piece mural series titled “Stories Set in Stone.”

Each of the granite images portrays a value important for the Andrews learning community — compassion, humility, integrity, justice, innovation, well-being, and trust.

Provost Christon Arthur hosted the event, which also included remarks from Artur Stele, Andrews board chair and General Conference vice president; Ted Wilson, General Conference president; Chip Meekma, AU vice president for financial administration; and Darcy de Leon, AU associate vice president for human resources. 

Students Grant Steinweg and Jamison Moore, recipients of the Dare to Dream Scholarship, entertained attendees with cello performances. This scholarship is a full tuition award given to undergraduate students with exceptional skills that will significantly impact the Andrews University learning community. 

Mark Hunt, the artist who created the series, explained that the images portray God’s presence through biblical and modern-day characters, demonstrating the seven Christlike values that Luxton has promoted during her tenure as president. The inclusion of modern characteristics with biblical perspectives is intended to help viewers see themselves in the installation. 

Luxton shared the significance of the values in her remarks of appreciation. “We felt that as a campus, through the eyes of our belief in who God is, these seven values were the things we needed to be in order to create that environment that would help us be successful and support each other.”

Arthur commissioned the art pieces to honor Luxton’s years of service at Andrews University, where she spent six years as provost and seven years as president. He chose Hunt to design and create the series because Luxton knew Hunt personally and appreciated his artistry.

Regarding his choice of granite for the project, Hunt shared, “Being a multimedia artist, I could have chosen any media, but the [medium] chosen is granite. These values are set in stone.” Hunt described the seven Christian-centered characteristics as ones that Luxton encourages the whole Andrews family to adopt as they become part of the Andrews story.

A plaque next to the display recognizes Luxton’s legacy of leadership and dedicated service as the first female president of Andrews University.

The installation can be viewed at the AU Campus Center. The facility hosts a number of services for students, including the Center for Faith Engagement, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, the Office of Student Involvement & Activities, and Dining Services.

Founded in 1874, Andrews University offers more than 150 areas of study, including advanced degrees. Its main campus is in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States, but the university also provides instruction at colleges and universities in more than 25 countries.

The original version of this story was posted by Andrews University.