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IMAGINING ourFUTURE Planning, Partnerships & Philanthropy Strengthening International Bonds Forging Meaningful Partnerships PLANNING Learning & Community 4 State of the University Faith & Service 6 Higher Learning Commission Discovery & Action IOWA WESLEYAN 8 Imagining our Future Courage & Passion AthleticsUNIVERSITY / Hall of Fame IS A PARTNERSHIPS Class Notes 9 TRANSFORMATIONAL Enrollment Partnership/Leadership 10 IW Online LEARNING 14 School of Record 15 First Global Center COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY WHOSE PASSION 16 Building on Legacy 17 IS TO EDUCATE, Greeks Give 18 Foundational Gift EMPOWER 19 Challenge Delivered AND INSPIRE IN EVERY ISSUE 20 Special Events STUDENTS TO LEAD 30 Campus News 32 MEANINGFUL LIVES Athletics 38 Class Notes AND CAREERS. MISSION VOL NUM WINTER In This60 Issue 01 18 TELL US WHAT YOU THINK 2 IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY | WINTER 2018 PRESIDENT Dr. Steven E. Titus [email protected] PROVOST Dr. DeWayne Frazier [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES Meg Richtman [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND TREASURER Christine Plunkett [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Dr. Nikki Fennern [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT Michael Heaton [email protected] DIRECTOR FOR ALUMNI AND PARENT RELATIONS Holly Jones [email protected] DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Lori Baerg [email protected] CREATIVE DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Amanda Rundquist [email protected] SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR Anna Jones Zander ’12 [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lori Baerg Anna Zander ’12 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Amy Becker Destiny Colon ’21 PUBLICATION MANAGER Lori Baerg STORY IDEAS? COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? CORRECTIONS? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! EMAIL [email protected] IW.EDU 3 PLANNING MAGIS: MORE. TOGETHER. Excerpts from the State of the University Address Dr. Steven Titus, President On August 23, 2018, President Titus presented the following State of the University Address during Iowa Wesleyan’s Opening Convocation and the start of a new academic year. Excerpts are included in this article of the address entitled: MAGIS: More. Together. It is customary at the start of each academic year that the • 75% of students will attend two or more institutions president gathers with the community to deliver the State of before they graduate, challenging retention and the University Address. The State of the University Address persistence efforts. is a brief pause to assess the general welfare of the university • 34% of higher education enrollment is online and that and to animate the year ahead. percentage will continue to increase. IW is prepared and positioned to respond to this trend. Last year, we reflected on the extraordinary state of • The adult degree completion market is now larger than momentum the University was experiencing. That the traditional age high school market. IW is prepared momentum continues as we grow in enrollment, programs and positioned to respond to this trend. and reputation. • Certificates and “stackable credentials” are becoming We acknowledged our vulnerability and financial challenges mainstream. IW is prepared and positioned to respond that accompany such turnarounds. to this trend. • Tuition discounting continues to increase at alarming However, to appreciate and apprehend the current state of the and unsustainable levels. IW is experiencing this trend. university, it is important to understand the state of higher • Just two years ago, one third of small private colleges education across the country and IW’s place within that experienced operating deficits, an increase of 20% over general context. three years. IW is among this group of small private colleges. The higher education environment is hypercompetitive. According to Teresa Sullivan, the recently retired president You get the picture. It is tough times for most colleges and of the University of Virginia, my alma mater, “universities universities and there appears to be no relief in sight. that are timid in the face of change will wither and die.” However, despite these alarming realities, IW continues to What are some of the changes she’s referencing? grow. Enrollment is up a fourth year in a row, retention is at OUR CHALLENGE: an all-time high, and housing is exceeding capacity. • This past December, Moody’s Investor Service I am pleased to announce the establishment of the National downgraded the higher education sector from stable Advisory Board for Diversity and Inclusion at Iowa to negative. They report that there are, on average, Wesleyan University. Our University is rapidly growing 11 private college closures per year and the number is more and more diverse. Our diversity is one of our greatest estimated to rise to 15 per year. Last year there were gifts as a community of learners. It is imperative that we 33 private college closures. honor that gift through dialogue, engagement, dignity, • The higher education market has contracted 12% respect and action. The National Advisory Board for since 2011. Diversity and Inclusion will advance and deepen our work • Only 34% of college and universities met their to honor this gift in intentional ways. enrollment goals in fall 2017. IW was among the 34%. • Total national student debt is double the total national I believe Teresa Sullivan was right when she said we are in a credit card debt. hypercompetitive environment. Though I can assure you that Iowa Wesleyan University is neither timid nor withering. 4 IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY | WINTER 2018 SPECIAL OUR SUCCESS: • received full membership into the ncaa; • the higher learning commission, our regional accrediting body, reaffirmed the university’s accreditation for another 10 years; Like many universities, our financial challenges are real. We have • received hlc approval of our second and will continue to address those challenges. The Business Model master’s degree; Task Force is examining how Iowa Wesleyan can sustain and • expanded our housing facilities to create thrive in this hypercompetitive environment. While enrollment an even more dynamic on-campus is up, revenues are flat because of escalating discount rates and student experience; alarmingly low estimated family contribution rates related to student financial aid. The launch of IW Online is a critical step • launched a new bachelor’s degree forward to sustainability. The Business Model Task Force will program in social work to help address continue throughout the year to explore a host of matters, to include the mental health crisis in our region; identifying and committing to an optimal enrollment size for the traditional undergraduate experience at Iowa Wesleyan. • formed a board of trustees led task force to examine the university’s overall This year’s State of the University Address is entitled Magis: More. business model; Together. Magis is a Latin word that means “more” or “greater”. Magis is an ideal that both permeates and animates some of the • branded and launched iw online finest universities in the country. It is a restless ideal. Magis is to significantly scale up our online restless because it is an expression of both aspiration and inspiration. programming and capacity; It is an ideal that calls us forth to a deeper and fuller life in God • launched the center for excellence in and in service of one another. Magis compels us to more, constantly teaching and learning; driving us to discover, to imagine, to desire deeply, and to reach out for more. Magis is a “Holy Boldness”, a way of proceeding in the • realigned and integrated intercollegiate world. It invites us to acknowledge and act upon our deepest desires athletics within enrollment management; for change, growth, and for a fuller life – as individuals and as a • and reorganized the university under a university community, because our deepest desires are what lead us new provost model that integrates and to become who we are and who we are meant to be. makes more seamless the curricular This is a courageous and passionate community. Together, so much and co-curricular student learning has been accomplished and achieved. You are to be commended and experience. appreciated for it all. And yet, we must constantly drive to discover more, to imagine more, to desire more, to risk more. An even deeper, fuller and prosperous institutional life is beckoning, but it will require our ongoing, wholehearted and collective “yes” to the Magis, “yes” to our more. IW.EDU 5 PLANNING ACCREDITATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVEMENT Higher Learning Commission Review Accreditation: The comprehensive evaluations of member campus that we don’t work within every day. The whole institutions to confirm pursuit of institutional improvement process is a very positive experience. There are areas that we and compliance requirements set by the U.S. Department of do really well in and areas we will continue to improve upon. Education. It’s a healthy process for any institution.” After a multi-year documented process that began in 2014, Both Kinney and Walljasper remarked on how collaborative Iowa Wesleyan hosted members of the Higher Learning the process was internally and externally. They were able to Commission on campus in February 2018 to review the reach out to colleagues at other universities for best practice overall documentation provided to the Commission. application. “The higher education industry benefits from a process like this,” remarked Kinney. “Our mission is to For accredited institutions, comprehensive evaluations occur educate students in the best