December 2025

During the most recent faculty/staff meeting at BJU, a member of the executive team revealed the long-awaited plans for the refresh of front central campus.  As you may be aware, during second semester of last year, the executive team made the decision to drain the fountain on front campus due to extensive leaking and significant cost. Toward the end of its life, the fountain was leaking thousands of gallons of water per day into the ground.  A task force was assembled to assess the situation and consider all the options in consultation with external experts in this type of design and construction. They, along with the executive team, established priorities to guide the research, the design and the decision.  In addition to maintaining a beautiful aesthetic, the central priorities are:

• Stewardship of resources

  • The best use of BJU’s financial resources should be primarily focused on directly meeting the needs of current and future students

  • The best use of BJU’s human resources must also be considered

• Accessibility for all students, employees and visitors

• A reasonably expedited construction process to reduce disruption during the academic year and be complete for the centennial celebration year

This project is especially complex because many within our constituency have such an affinity for this front campus garden area.  The complexity multiplied because of the extent of major electrical lines running around and underneath this area of campus—lines that must be moved and replaced.

After months of research, design meetings, re-design meetings, professional bids and price negotiations, we are pleased to present a representative rendering of the front campus garden refresh:

As mentioned earlier, BJU alumni and friends care deeply about this central area on campus—a tendency we greatly appreciate about our community.  But we also realize you may have questions, some of which we’ve tried to answer below.

• Will a water feature be included in the new front garden?   The task force is currently finalizing plans with the professional contractors we’ve hired to complete the project.  In an effort to be wise with our resources and the timeline, the installation of a large fountain is no longer being considered, but a smaller water feature is being explored. Alumni Relations will keep you updated when final decisions about the water feature are made.
• Will the “Bridge of Nations” be completely removed? While the bridge will be removed to make this front garden fully accessible, we are currently considering other locations on campus where the international flags can be prominently displayed. The Lord has blessed BJU greatly with opportunities for global impact—the countries represented within our student body need to be emphasized.
• Will there be more plantings in the final design for this central garden? Most likely, yes.  The photo above is just a representative rendering.
• How will this project be funded? Some of our financial partners are providing the funds necessary for this garden refresh.  We are grateful to the Lord for His provision through the generous gifts from members of our BJU community.  We are also grateful that the cost of deconstruction, the major electrical work and the construction of the final look will be less than a third of the initial cost projections.
• When will this project be completed? Currently, the projected completion date for the front campus garden is the middle of April 2026.

The BJU Marketing Department will be capturing the entire construction project on video to allow our off-campus community to follow the progress over the next several months.  In coming weeks, be watching on social media and in The Voice for links to see the new garden appear.