Endowed by Our Creator

"Endowed by Our Creator: Walnut University Spring 2026 Presidential Address"

Overnight billionaires. That is how the founders of several popular online colleges described themselves after starting their own Internet-based institutions. This is not surprising. Consider the average cost of attendance for virtually every college in the United States and abroad. Then consider how easily prospective students can access six-figure federal student loans and grants. It's clear that the sky is the limit for most universities. The University of Alabama, Carnegie-Mellon, and Johns Hopkins, for instance, all have unrestricted multi-billion dollar endowments (savings) and free-flowing, multi-million dollar profits that are going up, and up, and up every year. Yet, many universities mismanage funds and find themselves barely able to keep their doors open. Supply and demand is not usually the culprit. There is no shortage of students to seeking a better life. The business of education appears immutable in the 21st century.

Still there is more to this university equation than meets the eye. Many college graduates can't find jobs or even build a professional network. Many colleges have become incubators of promiscuity, drugs, human trafficking, and alcoholism. Many college professors are spending more time strolling through their students' social media profiles than conducting penetrating analyses of their students' homework, essays, and tests. To add insult to injury, many university presidents are spending more time treating wealthy potential donors to expensive dinners than creating a university brand that will get better as their graduates get older, not worse.

How does all of this debauchery help people feed their families, create safer neighborhoods, obtain better healthcare, foster more Godly relationships with their family and friends, and just simply be happier?

At Walnut, though we have a vision of a university experience that is a real-life 'journey' and exploration rather than some type of bureaucratic "stamp of approval" 'destination'; accreditation and faculty recruitment are still key priorities. Academic quality assurance and financial due diligence are not optional. They are mandatory. How irresponsible would it be to deny students' grant and loan options simply because of a lack of attention to protocol by university leaders? Extremely irresponsible.

Yet, one still has to face the reality of changing views of education. Anyone can learn anything on the Internet. Anyone can meet anyone from all over the world with the speed of lightning on the Internet. Anyone can quickly acquire a lucrative certification in cybersecurity, pharmacy, business, or real estate in a couple of weeks, if not faster, on the Internet. Anyone can start their own business on the Internet. Anyone can build their own online library, and so on and so forth.

Thus, it appears that colleges born during the rest of this century will be called to do something radically different from those born in the most ancient of times in world history --- optimize, optimize, optimize. Just because we can learn anything, doesn't mean we should learn everything. Just because we can meet anyone, doesn't mean we should meet everyone. Just because we can get jobs without degrees now, doesn't mean there aren't such things as subject mastery, expertise, contributing to your community, and pure, raw talent.

Variation is real. There are good businesses. There are bad businesses. There are good books. There are bad books. Spanish will do more for you than Japanese. Culinary arts, nutrition, and hydrationology, will do more for you than dance, theater, and reading Locke, Hume, and Hobbes.

At Walnut, we are a community concerned with identifying valuable (high return-on-investment) knowledge, experience, and resources. That is what we are selective about, not being selective about who can learn and when they can learn and how long it takes them to learn. Here, we have milestones instead of commencements, engagement instead of admission, and demonstration instead of examination.

Finally, the athletic department has completed the first stage of planning phase and is proud to announce our sports teams will branded as "The Boom Squad".

Give the Lord a Praise,

Dr. Terrence L. Greer, Jr., MD-PhD

President of Walnut University

Distinguished Professor of Multidisciplinary Studies

"Where knowledge is for good works, and good works are for humanity".