Welcome Alumni!

Welcome to our Fort Wayne Alumni and Friend Resource page!

This site will be used to communicate the next steps in our journey together. You will find many resources to assist you.

If our alumni team can assist or pray for you, please contact us alumnifw@taylor.edu or call 260.744.8790.

Hope to see or hear from you soon,

Michael D. Mortensen ‘91
Director of Fort Wayne Alumni & Friend Relations

Remembering One Year Ago Today

October 13, 2009

Today, we remember the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the closure of the Fort Wayne campus. As I walked the campus this morning, the leaves were falling from the back woods - even my favorite tree by the old baseball field was losing its radiant red leaves. As the clouds hovered the campus, I was sad.

However, I was buoyed by the signs and chalk drawings along Rudisill with messages and verses – see our Facebook page for more information.The walk brought so many memories of walking the campus with students and even back to when I was a boy being brought to campus by my dad.

Much has happened since a year ago today. God has proved Himself faithful in providing even in difficult situations. Perhaps you're struggling today, but let me encourage you "to press on toward the goal."  Find someone to encourage or to tell them how much they mean to you. Look for an alumna or alumnus to call or e-mail. Remember what God did in and through you at Fort Wayne. 

Shortly, all alumni will be receiving a letter from me sharing some of the plans we have for the future. Meanwhile, please continue to remember to pray today for the future plans of the campus. These are still unknown, but I will keep you posted as they are decided.   

---Michael Mortensen

 

Director of Fort Wayne Alumni & Friends Relations Named

October 13, 2009

Michael MortensonResponding to the Fort Wayne Alumni Council’s recommendation to continue alumni relations beyond the May 31 discontinuation of the TUFW undergraduate program, the University is pleased to share that Michael D. Mortensen (’91) is serving as Director of Fort Wayne Alumni & Friend Relations.

In this role, Michael communicates and cares for Fort Wayne campus alumni for the purpose of preserving their legacy of Christ-centered education received on the Fort Wayne campus.  He gives time to alumni relations, community relations, and donor relations, building bridges to Taylor University through meaningful experiences, events and contacts with Fort Wayne alumni and constituents.  Michael currently works from Brown Gables on the Fort Wayne campus, designated as the alumni center for Fort Wayne campus alumni.

Michael served TUFW, starting in 1997 (with the exception of a year and a half when he and his wife were short-term missionaries with World Partners USA), in various advancement roles, most recently as Director of Alumni & Parent Relations.  Michael and his wife, Christine (La Rue ’92), have five children, Ashlyn (14), Alli Rose (10), Anna Grace (9), David Taylor (7), and Jonathan (1).  The Mortensens reside in Fort Wayne.


 

TUFW Alumni Office Updates

Over 800 alumni and friends with their families returned for Heritage Weekend 09 May 8 and 9. Multiple activities allowed alumni to reconnect, relive and reminisce. During the Friday evening dinner, Taylor University President Dr. Gene Habecker announced the following items:

  1. Effective June 1 and at the recommendation of the Fort Wayne Alumni Council, Brown Gables will be utilized for service as the Fort Wayne Alumni Resource Center, and as a place to provide continuing alumni services, activities, and programs. As you know, Brown Gables has housed multiple Fort Wayne presidents and leaders.
  2. Michael Mortensen, current Director of Alumni and Parent Relations has agreed to serve as the new Director of Fort Wayne Alumni and Friends Relations effective June 1.
  3. Brown Gables will also serve as a place where Fort Wayne archival material will be preserved and displayed.
  4. The Fort Wayne Alumni Council will continue to provide service into the future. Two members of that Council will begin to serve on the University's Alumni Council.
  5. Plans for this campus after May 31? The University has partnered with Ambassador Family Enterprises to help determine the ideal scenario as to the highest and best use of this historic place. That kind of scenario, ideally, should honor the heritage of the campus even as it complements the neighborhood and serves as an anchor for the South side of Fort Wayne.


Ambassador and its leadership team are well known in the Fort Wayne community. Ambassador leadership is very familiar with Fort Wayne Bible College, Summit Christian College, and TUFW. Gary Cooper, parent of a TUFW grad and a former Taylor and TUFW professor, will be the point person for this important assignment. Ambassador has spent considerable time with the Fort Wayne Alumni Council.

There is no doubt in my mind that the legacy of Fort Wayne Bible College and its successors will be profound and massive in the coming decades. Because that legacy is you and also thousands of other Fort Wayne graduates, this legacy is living and active. Indeed, each one of you is part of this " vine of God's own planting." And it is for that vine's continued growth and sustenance that we continue to work, hope, and pray to the glory of God.