La Sierra University’s remarkable and arduous beginnings in 1922, and its metamorphic growth over the ensuing century will be celebrated with a series of 100th anniversary events this year beginning in February.

The university hosted a Centennial Launch & Sculpture Dedication on Tuesday, Feb. 15, that began anniversary celebrations by commemorating the arrival of a new sculpture on campus. Titled “The Lost Sheep,” it is the third and final piece in a sculpture series illustrating biblical parables that portray God’s grace and compassion for humanity. The dedication event was held 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the plaza around the new sculpture, which is near the alumni pavilion parking lot. A complimentary lunch was provided with reservations required by Feb. 9. The event was originally planned for Jan. 18, but was re-scheduled as the university moved operations online during January amid the COVID-19 pandemic surge. In-person operations resumed Jan. 31.

Additional 100th anniversary festivities will take place during alumni weekend April 29 and 30, with events capped by a Centennial Gala scheduled for Oct. 3 at the Riverside Convention Center. The latter date is known as Founders’ Day due to the school’s opening on Oct. 3, 1922, as La Sierra Academy. A collaborative book on the history of the university and written by La Sierra faculty members will be released for the gala.

All four presidents who have shepherded the institution since its official designation as a university in 1990 attended the February sculpture dedication and launch event. These are current president, Joy Fehr, La Sierra’s first female president who is two and a half years into her tenure, and former presidents Randal Wisbey who led the university between 2007 and 2019, Lawrence T. Geraty who served from 1993 to 2007, and Fritz Guy who presided from 1990-93.

The new sculpture is contributed by the Hwang and Toh families in memory of their family members who led lives committed to the service of others. Sculptor Victor Issa will also be in attendance at the dedication event.

“The Lost Sheep” sculpture follows the installation in April 2017 of another biblical parable sculpture also created by Issa called “The Lost Coin” which is situated across Yaeger Way from the newest work. The first sculpted art work of the series was created in 2002 by the late Alan Collins, a former La Sierra University art teacher and noted sculptor. Titled “The Glory of God’s Grace,” it depicts the parable of the prodigal son. The iconic sculpted tableau anchors the main fountain plaza that fronts the university’s administration and dining commons buildings.

The idea to build a Seventh-day Adventist college in the rural inland region took shape more than 100 years ago. Formal plans ensued when in 1922, constituents of the Southeastern and Southern California Seventh-day Adventist conferences enthusiastically voted to develop a new farm-supported academy.

The decision paved the way for the purchase, following a difficult site search, of just over 316 acres in the town of La Sierra, previously part of Rancho La Sierra, a Mexican land grant. Shovels turned the earth in the summer of 1922 and construction began, bolstered by support from the Riverside civic community, private contributions and many volunteers — an advertisement in the 1922 July edition of the denominational Pacific Union Recorder magazine calls for women to join an association raising funds, canning food, and creating furnishings for the new school, writes La Sierra University Associate History Professor Katherine Koh in the first chapter of the book about the school’s history.

Classes began with 84 students on October 3, 1922. Conditions were initially less than ideal — while enduring scorching heat and no electricity, some students had to climb ladders to dorm rooms and sand blew in through unfinished construction.

Writes Koh, “A community with a sense of history was established on what was previously a watermelon patch. This community was ultimately strong enough to survive both the Great Depression and the bloodiest war in the world’s history.” The campus in 1927 became a junior college and in 1946 was accredited as a four-year liberal arts college. In 1990 the institution was re-organized as a university following a separation from Loma Linda University under which it had operated as its College of Arts and Science since 1967.

Now a nationally-acclaimed institution, La Sierra University’s faculty, the majority of who hold Ph.D.s, teach nearly 2,000 students from around the United States and more than 50 countries. The watermelon patch eventually became the current park-like expanse in the middle of campus lined by its early buildings and shaded by towering fan palms and sprawling Chinese elms. It is known as Founders’ Green.

For further information about La Sierra University’s centennial events and to register for the Feb.15 launch event, visit https://lasierra.edu/centennial/. Pandemic protocol is in effect for attendance at all events — face masks are required indoors and may be required outdoors depending on crowd size. Evidence of full Covid-19 vaccination including eligible boosters is required for entry via a CDC vaccination card or a California digital record at https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/.