President’s Report 2019-20
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
8 4
in the TOP 25 nationwide
th in the Midwest
US News ranking
ENROLLMENT First-year
1,048 5,929 Total
Student body
VERSITY DI
26
%
This has been an incredible year at Bradley, a transformative highlight being the opening of our new $100-million-plus, state-of-the-art Business and Engineering Convergence Center in November. This facility — and the concept of convergence — allows students to move beyond traditional barriers and collaborate across divergent disciplines to generate solutions for not only today’s problems, but those in the future. That kind of forward thinking isn’t new to Bradley. On the following pages you’ll learn about an alumnus who’s a mechanical engineer at NASA. With help from our students, he is developing a mechanical rover to use on Venus. One of our December graduates created a smartphone app that uses the phone’s camera to translate sign language into audio as well as reverse the process. Both these award-winning projects are terrific examples of the kind of education the university provides daily and showcase our successful track record of student engagement and faculty-student interaction. The year has not been without its challenges, however. Higher education continues to face uncertainty from a declining high school student population and the continued cost increases necessary to provide a quality education. Yet, these elements give Bradley the opportunity to take advantage of new career fields, such as health science or the accelerated nursing program we announced in November. We’re lucky to be in Peoria, which has an excellent health care infrastructure that makes programs like these a natural fit. Other programs slated for expansion include our highly ranked interactive media program and computer science. Since this is my last President’s Report, I would like to express my gratitude to the entire Bradley family. The support you have given Donna and me, as well as to this great university, has been unwavering. I hope you’ll continue to contribute in whatever way you can. I remain convinced that Bradley’s best days are ahead and that Lydia Moss Bradley would be very proud of her legacy.
Gary R. Roberts ’70, President and Professor
You’ll learn more about this incredible new building in the spring 2020 issue of Bradley magazine.
Taking on the Final Frontier Tackling problems in new ways leads to out-of-this-world experiences for Jonathan Sauder ’09. When Venus becomes the next vacation hot spot, getting around may be easier because of work by Sauder, a senior mechatronics engineer at NASA-JPL, and Bradley students. Sauder has worked on developing a mechanical rover for Earth’s closest planetary neighbor and on the deployable antenna for CubeSat, a smaller, cheaper satellite that’s part of the RainCube technology deployed from the International Space Station. That could lead to better climate science research and weather prediction. For these projects, Sauder was selected for a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the leading government award for those early in their research careers. “I think we’re in a really exciting time for space exploration,” he said. “It’s a quickly growing sector … which makes it probably one of the most exciting times to be in space (work) since the Apollo era.”
Inspired by entrepreneurship classes at Bradley, Sauder got interested in intrapreneurship or employees acting like entrepreneurs within an existing organization.
“There is a lot of opportunity (at JPL/ NASA) for early product development, looking at new technologies, creating new technologies to implement new goals.”
Student Project Bridges Language Gap For those who use American Sign Language (ASL), a simple pleasure like ordering at a coffee shop might not be so simple. So last fall, political science major Pierre Paul ’19 teamed up with students in data science to create “We Hear You,” a communication device that translates ASL into spoken language. With the device, employees can understand a customer’s order even if they don’t speak ASL. The project won Paul and the team first place in the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s Social Impact Challenge, which asks Bradley students to create innovative ideas to solve social problems. “We Hear You” excelled in the competition because of its collaborative nature. In addition to data science students, Paul worked with Bethanie Couri MBA ’19, as well as the university’s ASL Club to refine the app. He also asked graphic designer Ann Schnabel ’19 to create a striking logo. The team is consulting with several groups of deaf students to get feedback on the device’s usability. “After all,” Paul said, “We need to make sure the product we’re developing is best for the (deaf) community and others with hearing exceptionalities who utilize ASL.”
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Men’s basketball won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament for the first time in 31 years to advance to the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Kaboom! ranked as the tournament’s top mascot.
Bradley’s powerhouse speech team won its 42nd national championship, capturing the National Forensic Association title. The university launched its accelerated nursing program that prepares individuals with a bachelor’s degree to sit for the licensure exam in just 15 months. The National Whistleblower Center, the nation’s leading nonprofit advocating for whistleblowers and against corruption, established a research partnership with Bradley’s Center for Cybersecurity. Bradley dedicated its new state-of-theart, $100-million-plus Business and Engineering Convergence Center.
$700,000 in prize money for designing, building and testing 3D-printed buildings for survival at deep-space destinations like the moon and Mars. n
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Women’s basketball had more wins in three consecutive years, the first time in school history. The joint NASA/Bradley 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge returned to Earth in May with the completion of the final phase. Two teams — New York’s AI SpaceFactory and Penn State University Park — earned a combined
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The Homecoming parade returned, complete with decorative floats. Rhome Apton was named the 2019 Lincoln Student Laureate. Five women’s tennis players combined for seven all-conference awards, including the first-team recognitions in the program’s history. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot brought a message of integrity, equity and inclusion at the Peoria Women in Leadership luncheon held at Bradley in December.
Transformative Gift Supports Science Scholarships Bradley University will receive a transformational gift of $1 million annually in perpetuity through a multimillion-dollar commitment from the Earl and Evelyn “Lovie” Beard Trust. The Beards’ gift will drive innovation in Bradley’s sciences curriculum with a specific focus on scholarships. Bradley will further enhance research programs while increasing the number of students studying in these areas. “This gift will make a great impact on the lives and options available to young people studying at Bradley,” said Christopher Jones, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “It will fundamentally change the lives of many
“This gift will make a great impact on the lives and options available to young people studying at Bradley” students for years to come and help us continue to deliver a truly first-rate education.” A 1945 Bradley graduate, Earl Beard earned his medical degree from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He became a founding partner of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in 1954, where he was a pioneer in cardiac catheterization. Lovie Beard served as a surgical nurse at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. An accomplished tennis player, she ranked #1 in the state of Texas for her age bracket and won the National Championship in 2012 in the Senior Circuit division.
The Importance of Giving Back Growing up in the small town of Tonica, Ill., about 60 miles northeast of Peoria, Bob Clark ’67 didn’t have much. But that didn’t stop the lesson of giving back being instilled at an early age. “I remember watching my mother write checks for $2 to charities, so it was kind of something I grew up with,” he said. “Both my mother and dad spoke about the need to give back, and that it’s better to give than to receive. That just kind of stuck with me my whole life.” Clark gives Bradley a lot of credit for his success in business. An accounting major, he began his career in the energy industry. Clark started several highly successful natural gas exploration and processing companies and is currently chairman and founder of 3 Bear Energy, based in Colorado.
“ If we can help a young person understand the benefits and rewards of giving to a charity, I think they’ll take it and understand it’s part of their life to give back.” “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have the success I’ve had. It’s very humbling.” He and his wife, Kathleen, have remained connected to Bradley, helping establish the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center and the Business Analytics Lab in the new Business and Engineering Convergence Center, among many additional gifts. Last fall, the university awarded them the 2019 President’s Award for their inspiring commitment, which Clark said came as a surprise. He also saw it as a learning opportunity. “We really focused when we got into philanthropy, first with our children and then more importantly for our grandchildren,” he said. “If we can help a young person understand the benefits and rewards of giving to a charity, I think they’ll take it and understand it’s part of their life to give back.”
(Front row): The Clark family at the Business and Engineering Convergence Center dedication in November.
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Board of Trustees Officers The Honorable James E. Shadid ’79, Chairman, Chief U.S. District Judge, Central District of Illinois Ms. Kathleen M.B. Holst ’79, Vice Chairman, President, RCMS Inc. Mr. Jonathan E. Michael, Secretary Chairman and CEO, RLI Corp. Trustees Mr. David P. Bozeman ’91 Vice President, Amazon Mr. Gary A. Burk ’74 Retired COO/Vice Chairman, Duke Realty Corporation Mr. Calvin G. Butler Jr. ’91 CEO, Baltimore Gas and Electric, an Exelon Company
Ms. Anne Edwards-Cotter ’77 President, Cotter Consulting, Inc. Mr. Michael N. Cullinan Chairman, United Contractors Midwest, Inc. Mr. Melvin Flowers ’90 Attorney, Accenture The Honorable Robin L. Kelly ’78 MA ’82 HON ’14 U.S. House of Representatives Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat ’86 Superintendent, Peoria Public Schools The Honorable Ray LaHood ’71, HON ’11 Senior Policy Advisor, DLA Piper Former Member of Congress/Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Ms. Inga Carus Chairman, Carus Group Inc.
Mr. Gary M. Peplow ’62 Attorney and Retired Managing Partner, Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen
Ms. Michelle Mills Clement ’03 CEO/Chicago Association of Realtors
Mr. Gary R. Roberts ’70 President, Bradley University
Dr. Lindsey R. Rolston ’85 Orthopedic Surgeon, Henry County Memorial Hospital Mr. George E. Ruebenson ’70 Retired President, Allstate Property Liability Co. Mr. Kevin Schoeplein Retired CEO, OSF Healthcare System/Vice Chairman of the Boards of OSF Healthcare Mr. Michael Scimo ’85 Retired Global Managing Director, Accenture Ms. Debbie Simon ’89 Regional CEO, UnityPoint Health Ms. Tana Utley ’86 Vice President, Caterpillar Inc. Mr. Celso White ’84 Retired Global Chief Supply Chain Officer, Molson Coors Brewing Company
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Building Bradley, the university’s annual Day of Giving. We asked you to consider the impact Bradley has had on your life, and you responded in epic fashion. In a 24-hour period, nearly 900 donors gave more than $650,000. Bradley can’t provide education, access and opportunity without your help. Please save the date for the next Building Bradley:
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 Make a gift of any size, and let’s keep building. | bradley.edu/BB | #BuildingBradley