Westmoreland shares his calling to Samford

I feel called to be at Samford University.”
   
It was a strong statement coming from Andrew Westmoreland, who exactly a year before delivering his first report to the Alabama Baptist State Convention as Samford’s president Nov. 14, was digging his heels in Arkansas soil. He really didn’t want to consider leaving the presidency at his alma mater, Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark.
   
“About a year ago, I was in Arkansas and was about as happy as a guy could be,” he told messengers during the Tuesday morning session of the state convention annual meeting.
   
When the Samford search committee asked him to consider it, Westmoreland said no. They asked him to pray about it and he agreed.
   
“But I didn’t. I didn’t pray about it,” Westmoreland said. “My wife told me, ‘It’s clear to me that you are running from the Lord.’”
   
He finally gave in to praying about it and visited Samford — and his heart and mind changed completely. 
   
“They played me like a cheap fiddle,” he said with a grin. “And around Thanksgiving last year, I knew I was called to come.”
   
There’s something special about being associated with Samford, Westmoreland said. He noted the story of Samford’s band director who with a busload of band members recently stopped at a gas station during a long road trip to get gas for one of the vehicles in the convoy that ran out.
   
“As he stood there in line to pay for the gas can, the cashier saw his shirt and said, ‘Are you with Samford?’ He told her he was. She said, ‘If you’re from Samford, you know how to pray.’”
   
She told the band director of the recent loss of a loved one and asked him to pray with her. He did and when he got back on the bus, the students prayed for her, too.
   
“There are a lot of things … right about Samford. Please pray for our students, pray for me … and pray that God would move in an unprecedented way on our [campus],” Westmoreland said. “We need your prayers.”
   
According to the Book of Reports, many positive things have happened on Samford’s campus this year, such as the opening of new music and theater facilities, ongoing work on the new $32 million Pete Hanna Arena and  construction on a new four-level, 600-space parking deck. 
   
Hundreds of students have been involved in hurricane disaster relief projects and ongoing missions efforts.
   
And for the 17th consecutive year, Samford also ranked in the top 10 universities in the South, coming in fourth among master’s degree institutions, according to U.S. News & World Report. (TAB)