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Bradley Hilltopics

Fall 2008 • Volume 14, Issue 4  

PRESIDENT'S PRELUDE

 

President Joanne GlasserIt is hard to believe that when Lydia Moss Bradley founded this great institution 111 autumns ago, she could not vote for her mayor, her senator or her president. But just because Mrs. Bradley never enjoyed America’s greatest right doesn’t mean she wasn’t a political force. She was.

honorable rita b. garman

Hon. Rita Garman
Illinois Supreme Court Justice, 4th district

 

dr. robin kelly

DR. ROBIN KELLY ’78 MA ’82
Chief of Staff to the Illinois State Treasurer

 

dr. sara rusch

Dr. Sara Rusch
Dean of University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria

 

tana utley

TANA ALLEN UTLEY ’86
Caterpillar Inc. Vice President, Chief of Technology

 

mary schmidt

Mary Schmidt
State Farm Insurance Vice President, Human Resources

 

karen jensen

Karen Jensen
Farnsworth Group President and CEO

By her philanthropy, by her community involvement and by the sheer force of her will, Lydia Moss Bradley was one of the most influential people — man or woman — in Peoria and the state of Illinois.

In a time when most women stayed at home, Mrs. Bradley also became a force in the business community. She was the first woman to serve on a national bank board. She owned vast acres of land. Indeed, Mrs. Bradley was one of the wealthiest people in America.

On Founder’s Day, October 3, we will bring to our campus six amazing women — three have had stellar careers in public service, and three have made their marks in business. They will appear at our inaugural Leadership Forum that will explore “Celebrating Women in Leadership.” That is a subject the women pictured at right know something about; each has carved her own special and unique niche.

Those discussing their careers in public service will be the Honorable Rita Garman, Illinois Supreme Court Justice; DR. ROBIN KELLY ’78 MA ’82, chief of staff to the Illinois state treasurer; and Dr. Sara Rusch, dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Speaking about their business experiences will be TANA ALLEN UTLEY ’86, Caterpillar, Inc. vice president, chief of technology; Mary Schmidt, State Farm Insurance vice president, human resources; and Karen Jensen, president and CEO of Farnsworth Group.

They will discuss key leadership principles and core values that have guided them in their professions, and answer our students’ questions. The event will begin at 2 p.m. at Dingeldine Music Center, with a reception following.

Developing future leaders in business, public service and every discipline is a high priority at Bradley University. The Foster College of Business Administration, through its Executive Development Center, and the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service, co-sponsors of the Leadership Forum, assist our students every day to become leaders. It is their mission, and they do it well.

Lydia Moss Bradley established Bradley Polytechnic Institute to provide greater opportunities for both men and women. Her successors have done so for more than a century. The women participating in this forum, both alumnae and our guests, continue to build on our founder’s vision and honor her legacy.

I’m looking forward to a fascinating and dynamic discussion. I hope you will join us for this enlightening presentation.

As you can tell, there is much excitement on the Hilltop, with students back on campus and the University receiving national recognition (see NoteBook). I hope you enjoy reading about the accomplishments of our talented faculty, students and alumni as we continue our journey toward being a university of national distinction. Go Braves.

Warm regards,

Joanne Glasser