Alumnus, former SAU president Bietz reflects on higher calling

Now in retirement from the directorship of the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (AACU), Gordon Bietz recently reflected on the need for young people within Seventh-day Adventist education and church leadership roles, and shared his views on how Adventist higher education can best respond to ongoing enrollment challenges and thrive.

“There is a significant need for young people to consider the vocation of service to education and the church,” he said. “The opportunities are huge and the potential for personal growth as well as service to those in need is unlimited.”

He encouraged those entering the career field to pursue a vocation that “provides the greatest satisfaction of serving others and serving God” rather than chasing financial gain, he said. “In our more than 50 years of service to the church, we have always been well cared for and in our retirement, we are financially secure.”

Seventh-day Adventist higher education in North America has been struggling to gain enrollment as interest in Adventist education declines and general interest in a college education recedes among the populace, according to a report in Adventist Today. In 2023, the Adventist Enrollment Association, comprised of enrollment leaders from the denomination’s 13 North American higher education institutions around North America, sought to collaborate toward attracting more young people to their schools.

Bietz began his tenure leading AACU, a consortium of the 13 Adventist colleges and universities, while serving as president of Southern Adventist University (SAU) in Tennessee. He held the latter position for 19 years.

After retiring from the SAU presidency in 2016, he served part time until 2023 as an associate director of higher education for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. In earlier years, prior to moving to Tennessee, his pastoral ministry was in the Northern California Conference followed by positions as a pastor and then president of the Georgia Cumberland Conference. 

"There is a significant need for young people to consider the vocation of service to education and the church." -- Dr. Gordon Bietz, La Sierra University alumnus, former president, Southern Adventist University

To thrive and build enrollment, “It is important that Seventh-day Adventist higher education, unapologetically, maintain a positive focus on its church and biblical heritage,” Bietz said.

Gordon Bietz and Cynthia Botimer met and married at La Sierra University. Gordon graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology and Cynthia with an associate’s degree in secretarial science in 1967. In 2016, La Sierra University recognized the couple as Alumni of the Year during the April Homecoming weekend.

Gordon Bietz retired that May of 2016 from his presidency at SAU. Under his guidance, SAU’s enrollment and budget doubled, $80 million in construction projects were completed, and 13 master’s degrees and a doctorate rounded out the university’s academic offerings.

“I certainly was changed and challenged by my attendance at La Sierra University,” Bietz said during his award acceptance speech. He recalled a class with Fritz Guy, and studying Greek translations with classmates Charles Barber and Gary Case in a group that became famously known as the BBC. “The teacher suggested that was a pool of ignorance,” joked Bietz in his remarks, adding, “I think the most important thing I got from La Sierra College was my wife, Cynthia." 

He also attended the Adventist Seminary in Collonges, France through La Sierra’s connection with Adventist Colleges Abroad, Bietz said.