As a glimpse of a premature spring covers the Great Plains, I want to again wish you a happy 2005 and share some updates with you.
On Jan. 12, I welcomed you back for the new semester with the sad news of Janelle Hornickel’s fate. As a community, your outpouring of sympathy and compassion was noted by all of Omaha. Thank you for being the "caring community" I know Creighton to be. Janelle’s family is deeply grateful for Creighton’s response to their beloved daughter/sister’s death. May she rest in peace!
Our campus celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was very successful. Over 300 gathered in the Lied Education Center for the Arts for an awards ceremony and an informative and challenging talk by Dr. Joe White from the University of California, Irvine. On that occasion, we announced the inaugural recipients of the newly created "President’s Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award" to Dr. John Langan, long-serving president of the Omaha Public School Board, and to the Creighton Medical School students who established the Magis Clinic at Siena/Francis House. It was an impressive program and a suitable way to celebrate the legacy of a great American.
Undoubtedly many of you read about the wonderful Christmas present the University received on Dec. 15 from a grateful alumnus. This $50 million gift is the largest gift from a living alumnus to any Catholic university in the country. We are both grateful and humbled by the generosity, loyalty and enthusiasm of this anonymous donor. While historically the donor was generous to Creighton, the donor is now truly engaged in the east campus expansion and wants to accelerate development in that area, hence his recent largess. Who am I to say no?
Progress is being made on the two dean searches under way. We are presently interviewing candidates, both external and internal, for the deanship of the College of Business. At the same time, four finalists for the School of Dentistry deanship will be interviewed for a second time in mid-February.
On Jan. 25, the President’s Cabinet is having a retreat to update "Project 125," our strategic plan. The results of this gathering will be shared with the University community at the Founders Day convocation on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. in St. John’s. Several new campus initiatives will be announced at that time as well.
On Jan. 23, the University inaugurated the Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society. The Center, established in 1988, was renamed to honor Rabbi Kripke for his years of teaching at Creighton, as well as his generous benefaction of an endowment for the Center.
At the present time, undergraduate applications for the fall of 2005 look very promising. We are shooting for a freshman class of 950 first-time students; this is slightly smaller than our present freshman class. Enrollments in the professional schools are presently on target.
Don Bishop, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, shared with me an interesting statistic that I think you should know and share among your friends. The academic profile of the Creighton freshman class of 2004 ranked ninth among ALL Catholic institutions in the country. (Yes, we bettered some household names!) This same profile ranked fifth in the Midwest among ALL private schools with an enrollment greater than 3,000. That is rarified company! You have got to believe we are entering a new era! Much of this success is because of your efforts as faculty and staff. It is you who make it happen! Thank you!
Finally, I want to thank you for your support of the many relief efforts under way for the victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami. I know many of you have participated in fund-raising efforts in your parishes, churches, synagogues and relief agencies. Creighton-sponsored efforts have been very successful. Our donations will assist Jesuit Refugee Services in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Again, thank you for all you do.
John P. Schlegel, S.J.
President