For Professor Pam Burrus, purpose was never about position—it was about people.
“I never sought those things out,” she says of her decorated career as a teacher, principal, and national award-winning educator. “I just wanted to help take care of God’s children.”
That calling began at MidAmerica Nazarene College, where Pam arrived as a junior in 1970. Her fiancé, Alex, and her niece Patricia joined her. “I didn’t even consider another option,” she recalls. “It was Mid-America,” said the Iowa native. As a Nazarene teen, “That’s what you wanted to do.”
What she found here would shape the trajectory of her life.
“The professors were true to who they were—stable, knowledgeable, God-centered,” she says. “Their standards were high, and their commitment to us set the standard for how I was going to teach.”
That standard of authenticity, coupled with high expectations, carried Pam through a remarkable career in education—from the classroom to school leadership—where she was named Kansas Principal of the Year and later a National Distinguished Principal. Yet even with those honors, her focus never shifted.
“Schools are the one place we require children to be,” she says. “We need educators who lead with patience, understanding, and love.”
Today, as an adjunct professor at MNU, Pam continues investing in future teachers with the same clarity of purpose that has guided her for decades. She often shares the personal mission statement she developed earlier in her career:
“To facilitate the success of others.”
It’s a calling rooted in both faith and practice, and one she encourages her students to embrace in their own lives.
“You can have high expectations,” she tells them, “But you’d better move in as a servant to support students and help them succeed.”
For Pam, that servant mindset is where purpose begins—and where it continues to grow. “That’s what we are called to do,” she says. “To be a steward. To be a servant to one another.”
Looking back, she sees God’s hand in every step.
“MidAmerica set me up for life,” she says.
And today, through her teaching and mentorship, she’s helping ensure the next generation is just as prepared to live theirs with purpose.
Learn about MNU’s teacher education programs at mnu.edu/pgs-education.
