World - Bucknell University

President’s Message
John Gardner
High and Worthy Expectations
We begin the 2006–07
academic year with an
approved strategic plan —
The Plan for Bucknell.
Thousands of you have
provided your feedback on
the process and informed
the content of The Plan. I
remain grateful for your
commitment to Bucknell’s
future.
As we implement The
Plan, our faculty, staff, and
students will develop and
shape ideas focused on
achieving the goals it lays out for the University. Our
new Office of Strategy Implementation, under the
direction of Mark Dillard, will centralize and focus
the prioritization and implementation of these ideas.
As energized as the campus is to take the next steps,
we must be measured in our approach. Good ideas
are plentiful; human, fiscal, technological, and space
resources are not. Generating and implementing
tactics will be an iterative process: We will act
upon proposals best aligned with The Plan and
for which resources are available and then, as those
tactics are implemented, turn our attention toward
new proposals.
The process of building The Plan afforded
Maryjane and me the opportunity to travel extensively
to meet Bucknellians, near and far.
Throughout numerous trips, we heard why people
love Bucknell. Our alumni have great memories of
friends, professors, and experiences that have
helped them personally and professionally. These
visits also gave us an opportunity to learn more from
alumni about issues that have splintered Bucknell’s
alumni population over the last decade. I have tried
to address these matters directly, with a focus on
creating solutions rather than dwelling on the past.
I enjoy participating in these candid discussions and
appreciate the willingness of alumni to share ideas
openly and with the great passion and respect for
Bucknell that binds all our alumni.
Back on campus, the new academic year will be
marked by significant organizational changes in
Academic Affairs and Student Affairs. Under the
direction of Provost Mary DeCredico ’81, this
restructuring will create a formal alignment of
Bucknell’s residential environment so that learning
and living are not separate endeavors. Operating
with the same principle of alignment and efficiency,
our admissions, financial aid, and registrar’s offices
have been brought together more concretely to
meet the needs of our prospective and current
students. In particular, we are exploring making
enrollment services a single organizational unit,
using models at other excellent institutions, such as
the University of Pennsylvania.
We are in the process of making administrative
changes in the area of Enrollment Management.
2 BUCKNELL WORLD • September 2006
BRIAN C. MITCHELL
Optimizing Mark Davies’ many years of experience
at Bucknell, we have appointed him assistant
vice president. Mark will manage a number of key
strategic projects for the division, including Posse,
a national college-access and leadership program that
identifies, recruits, and trains outstanding young
leaders from public schools in urban areas (see cover
story on p. 10), and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
community college transfer program. We are building
a new admissions and enrollment paradigm —
one that focuses on building and strengthening
our relationship with students — under the direction
of Kurt Thiede, Vice President for Enrollment
Management and Dean of Admissions. Along with his
responsibility for the strategic vision of these areas,
Kurt will be much more actively involved in the
division’s day-to-day operations.
The merger of Academic Affairs and Student
Affairs also has opened the door for Bucknell to
begin a formal, concerted external affairs effort
under the direction of Vice President for External
Relations Charlie Pollock ’70. Bucknell enjoys
positive relationships with the local community as
well as state and federal governments and has
opportunities to develop those relationships to even
better advantage. Charlie has been Bucknell’s liaison
to the community for the past eight years and had
extensive experience in external and community
relations before returning to Bucknell. Formalizing
his leadership role in achieving this objective was
a logical strategic move. Charlie will also have additional
responsibilities at the state and federal level
and in local and regional economic development.
Under the direction of our Chief Communications
Officer, Pete Mackey, we also have been
reorganizing certain staff to improve Bucknell’s
communications and marketing abilities and the
service this staff can offer across campus. We are in
the process of initiating an outside review of
Bucknell’s image and marketing opportunities with
the same general goal — to enhance and refine our
operations for the long-term benefit of Bucknell
and its students, faculty, and alumni.
Finally, we continue planning for the comprehensive
campaign with the guidance of our recently
selected campaign consultants, Grenzenbach, Glier,
and Associates. I expect we may well begin the silent
phase of the campaign in the summer of 2007.
The Class of 2010, as did those that preceded it,
will enter Bucknell with outstanding credentials and
promise and a great desire to become full-fledged
Bucknellians. For some of them, summer will have
included already such Bucknell traditions as Bison
Gatherings, Buckwild, or Building on Foundations.
Maryjane and I look forward to getting to know our
newest class.
Perhaps the best word to describe this progress
is momentum. We will continue to steward this
momentum as The Plan for Bucknell goes into action
and enables Bucknell to meet the high but worthy
expectations we all have for this great University.
BUCKNELL
World
Executive Editor
Pete Mackey
Editor
Gigi Marino
Contributing Editors
Sam Alcorn
Jennifer Botchie
Bob Gaines
Kathryn Kopchik MA’89
Ilene Ladd
Class Notes Editor
Jennifer Botchie
Class Notes Editor Emerita
Erma Gustafson
Editorial Assistant
Paula Bryden
Art Director
Ruta Karelis
Bucknell World Webmaster
Stephanie Zettlemoyer
Bucknell World Intern
Julia Lyons ’08
Published by
Bucknell University
Bucknell World (USPS 068-880,
ISSN 1044-7563), copyright 2006,
is published six times a year,
in the months of January, April,
June, September, October, and
November, and is mailed without
charge to alumni, parents, students,
faculty, staff, and friends of
Bucknell University.
Periodicals postage paid at
Lewisburg, PA 17837,
and at additional entry offices.
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email: bworld@bucknell.edu
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Cover Photo: Gene Maylock