“ It has been a delight and pleasure to return to the institution that started my passion for higher education . When I walk around campus , it feels so good to be home .”
MU | Presidential Reflections
It has been just over five months since taking office July 1 . Words such as surreal , challenging , exciting , intense , fun , and very busy all come to mind when I look back .
It has been a delight and pleasure to return to the institution that started my passion for higher education . When I walk around campus , it feels so good to be home . While some things are very much the same , others have changed . The first time I heard the bells of the Manchester Chime ring , I got chills as a flood of memories returned .
I have been incredibly impressed by the people who work at Manchester . Some have worked at Manchester for most of their careers , and some are brand new . For example , Jill Biehl , administrative assistant for admissions , has been at Manchester for 49 years , and I worked with her when I was a student employee almost 30 years ago !
“ It has been a delight and pleasure to return to the institution that started my passion for higher education . When I walk around campus , it feels so good to be home .”
Over the past few months , I have spent a good part of my time meeting with those who make Manchester University what it is today . This includes one-on-one meetings with faculty and staff , alumni , past employees , community members , and students . It is important to me to relate to our faculty and staff . We meet regularly to address concerns and celebrate successes , to keep our lines of communication open , to be transparent , and to make sure that we are all moving in the same direction .
Moving in the same direction is key as we implement our 2022-2027 strategic plan . My office made sure every faculty and staff member had a copy of the plan for their desk , and our marketing team created banners for the building entrances . Keeping the roadmap to our future in front of all our faculty , staff , and students is vital to making sure our plan is successful .
One highlight of my time as president has been MU ’ s recognition as Grow Wabash County ’ s Business of the Year . Of course , I knew immediately that I could not accept this award without Dr . David McFadden ’ 82 , president emeritus , who truly led Manchester during the time for which we earned this award . Dave and I accepted the award together .
Getting to meet alumni and hear their stories has been one of the biggest blessings . We have alumni doing incredible and inspiring work , including running nonprofits , giving medical care , practicing law , owning businesses , accounting ( all with stories about Professor Art Gilbert ), teaching , creating art , nursing , leading communities , and so much more . I did not know what a delight this part of my job would be .
As many are well aware , Manchester University Fort Wayne continues to grow . We are currently expanding to prepare for the growth of our health science programs . Each cabinet member and I go to Fort Wayne during the week to work with faculty and staff and talk with our students . A lot of my time over the past few months was spent doing painstaking work with our Doctor of Physical Therapy faculty and staff toward successful DPT accreditation .
Getting to spend time with past presidents Dr . Jo Young ’ 69 Switzer , Dr . Bill Robinson , and of course , Dr . David McFadden , has been a blessing . Hearing their words of wisdom and their stories is helpful and they have been extremely gracious with their time . It is not lost on me that I get to do this incredible job because of their work and dedication to Manchester .
On a personal note , returning to campus has so many perks — such as living in Tall Oaks . I also love my one-minute commute by car and five-minute walk when it is nice out . ( It is almost a half-mile from Tall Oaks to the entrance of Funderburg Library , where my office is .) I enjoy taking my family to all our favorite places , including dinner at Main View and Time Out / Sandwich Cellar . The local grocery store , now with a different name , still has the same look and feel that Lance ’ s did back in the day .
I absolutely love running on campus . I love the quiet , and have a lot of time to reflect on this great University . Often , I will go out for a run after work and see our students at practices , walking to dinner , or playing volleyball in the sand volleyball court ( This is a very popular activity ; they are always begging me for lights and a second court !).
I absolutely love attending student events , such as the annual costume BINGO event for Halloween . It was after 8 p . m . on a Friday night , so I dressed as a “ tired president ” in my pajamas , which was not a tough look for me , because that is literally how I spend my Friday nights ! I spent one evening playing board games , a Saturday attending an esports tournament , and many days attending athletic events . It was great fun to attend a concert with some of our music students .
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