Facing a courtyard full of the brightest academic performers of the incoming freshman class the afternoon of Sept. 15, President Barry Corey pulled out his hiptionary and told them to avoid becoming “slackademic[s].”

Corey and members of the President’s Administrative Council, as well as deans and other campus administrators, lunched with dozens of recipients of the newly named Presidential Scholarship.

Around 110 freshmen, or about 8 percent of the incoming class, received the scholarship, which is the highest bracket academic scholarship, according to Greg Vaughan, vice president for enrollment management. The scholarship is nothing new. Rather, the administration just placed a name on the top bracket of academic scholarships.

“Those who are gifted as you are have a responsibility,” said new provost David Nystrom, who said this responsibility demands for students to be humble and to think in unique ways. Nystrom said Christ would want students to have ever-curious minds and read “profligately” and “shamelessly.” But thinking isn’t enough.

“Jesus understood the holistic nature of education,” Nystrom said, calling on students to cultivate “patterns of heart, patterns of thought and patterns of mind” that reflect Christ.

Corey echoed the call from Leeland in chapel Monday to be a people of prayer, and encouraged the students present to pray to make a difference for Christ’s sake.
Corey emphasized the importance of pursuing academic excellence for Christ’s sake and exhorted students to take their 30 units of Bible seriously.

For freshman and Presidential Scholarship recipient Juline Hoffman, the Bible courses were an attractive feature of Biola when she considered colleges. Hoffman, a nursing major, said she wanted to learn the “why” and “how” of her faith. But Biola seemed a little out of reach until she was awarded the scholarship.

“Is that how much tuition will be or is that how much they are giving me?” Hoffman remembered thinking with excitement upon first seeing her scholarship.
Biola became not only a “doable” but a “viable” option at that point, she said.
Presidential Scholarships are awarded on the basis of test scores and high school GPAs, according to Vaughan.