Bradley’s incoming-president Stephen Standifird will assume the position early and join the current president Gary Roberts in dual-presidential duties in response to obstacles the university faces due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Trustees announced via an email on Monday afternoon.
Standifird was originally planned to take over the post on June 15, a date which later moved to June 1. The dual-duties will be assumed on May 1 and will continue until May 31, the end of Roberts’ term.
Roberts will oversee day-to-day university operations, while Standifird will focus on the university’s financial situation and “the planning for and implementation of its overall strategic transformation plan.”
“We are uniquely positioned for a seamless leadership transition to ensure Bradley University’s long-term success,” the email stated.
The Board of Trustees also announced that it will create a financial planning committee made up of board members in order to focus on adopting a two-to-three-year financial plan. The group will be in talks with Standifird and Bradley’s Chief Financial Officer.
Pratima Gandhi, the current chief financial officer, controller and treasurer of Bradley University, will leave the university on May 31. At the University Senate meeting on March 26, Roberts said Bradley will fill the position with a permanent candidate without a national search, due to the immediate financial challenges that the university is facing.
Standifird will also create an advisory group of faculty and staff that will focus on the role of Bradley and higher education after the pandemic subsides. The email stated that the next 24 months will be “very difficult for Bradley, higher education and our country.”
“While the burden of making decisions falls on the senior administration of the university, the input from this advisory group will look at where Bradley fits in the market, the students for that market and how these students want to learn, what changes to our academic programs are necessary to meet this market demand, and what growth and investments do we need to make to meet these changes,” the email said.
