The Scout has said it many times before: change is coming. But this time, it seems like it is going to be a dramatic shift.
For the first time since 1982, we have a new general education curriculum that will be implemented by fall 2016.
Our president of eight years is moving on, and our athletic director has resigned.
A new registrar will take on position that will involve running two codes of general education courses.
Students of color, commuter students and transfer students are getting more attention now, as enrollment management trends are changing.
Finally, the provost, the engineering dean and the business dean have all been seeking employment elsewhere.
This is not a comprehensive list, and according to the 2012-2017 five-year Strategic Plan of Bradley University, there are still a lot of things on the list to do.
The groundbreaking of the Business and Engineering Convergence Center, the conducting of a study on the practicability of a law school, exploration of the feasibility of a doctorate in nursing practice [for the nursing administered anesthesia major] and an increase in a more diverse student body are just a few of the tasks we have yet to complete.
With all of these huge changes coming our way, it may appear as if the Hilltop is drowning in a sea of uncertainty. However, there is no time more perfect than the present to voice your opinion and get involved.
Regardless of pay grade, title, department, tenure or background, when everything is uncertain, the playing field is equal, and the goal is simple: focus on the future of the students.
Bradley got a physical facelift over the course of the last five years, but these next five should now be focused on the internal. Gen Eds are new. The leadership will be new. The athletics approach will be new.
During this time of widespread changes, we must look to the future and align our goals with the original intentions of our founder.
The best way to do this is to keep in mind the conclusion of the Strategic Plan, which states the challenge Lydia Moss Bradley posed to Board of Trustee Chairman O. J. Bailey on Oct. 8, 1897, as she handed him the keys to the university.
“I hope the trustees will carry out my will when I give into their possession these buildings,” she said. “I trust the learning imparted here will be of great benefit to the young people of Peoria and the vicinity.”
