Category: Student Success
Building Belonging Through the First-Year Experience
Moving into your dorm with help from the university president. Watching a West Texas sunrise while singing praise songs. Sharing a home-cooked meal at your professor’s house. These moments define the first-year experience at ACU, where relationship-building is as essential as class attendance. This intentional community-building begins on move-in day, when students are immediately welcomed … Continued
First Year to First Job: ACU’s Career Development Model Prepares Students for Success
Career development at ACU goes far beyond resume tips and LinkedIn best practices. Faculty, staff and alumni form a network of support for students that extends from their first course to their career launch. For Kyla Karleskint, associate director of career development at ACU, witnessing students’ progression is the most rewarding part of the job. … Continued
Research, Creativity on Display at ACU Research Festival
More than 140 students from Abilene Christian University and other nearby schools presented a variety of research findings and creative projects April 7 at ACU’s 18th annual Undergraduate Research, Creativity and Innovation Festival. A related event – the Excellence in Oratory Forum – took place the night before the festival, showcasing students’ public speaking skills. … Continued
ACU Presents Alumni Awards to Dude Perfect Editor, Medical School CEO
Abilene Christian University presented its two highest alumni honors at the annual Alumni Day Luncheon, Sunday, March 29, to John Warner, M.D., CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State, and to Tim Holt, vice president of post production for Dude Perfect. Tim Holt, Young Alumnus of … Continued
ACU launches inaugural Founder Awards honoring business, entrepreneurial leadership
The Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy at Abilene Christian University announced the launch of the inaugural ACU Founder Awards, a new annual tradition recognizing exceptional alumni founders and alumni-led businesses. Nominations are now open. “The ACU Founder Awards will spotlight the fastest-growing businesses, as well as emerging companies and founders from among ACU alumni,” … Continued
A defining ACU experience: Study Abroad in action
When Langley Smith boarded her flight to Uruguay to study abroad, she expected a semester of travel and new scenery. What she didn’t anticipate was how deeply the experience would reshape her sense of identity, community and calling. Smith’s first study abroad experience was to ACU’s hub location in Montevideo, Uruguay, in Fall 2023. Later, … Continued
Students find special community in ACU’s Honors College
When senior Abigail Countess arrived on the Abilene Christian University campus four years ago, she didn’t yet know where to find her classrooms or how to navigate college life. But she did know one thing: she wanted community. She found it in the Honors College, surrounded by classmates who shared her curiosity, drive and faith … Continued
Service learning at ACU challenges students to make a global difference
Service learning – a hallmark of the Abilene Christian University experience – is one of the many reasons U.S. News & World Report has again recognized ACU among the nation’s best in its 2026 rankings. For the seventh consecutive year, ACU earned top marks in the “Programs That Enhance Student Experience” category, including ranking #11 … Continued
U.S. News honors ACU’s student experience for seventh year in a row
For the seventh consecutive year, the student experience at Abilene Christian University is one of the nation’s best, according to the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. The university excelled in the categories of Study Abroad, Learning Communities, Service Learning and First-Year Experiences. According to U.S. News & World Report’s methodology, the … Continued