2008 President’s Report Aurora University Letter E very now and then, someone asks me for the “Aurora University elevator speech.” I am never quite sure how to respond. There are so many good things happening at AU. How can I possibly provide a full from the account in the time that it takes to travel between floors? Ours is a university that grows stronger with President each passing year. Each fall, we face the challenge of describing the prior year’s achievements in a handful of pages for the annual President’s Report. It’s an “elevator speech” of sorts; one that I hope will help you - understand how good life is on our campuses in Aurora, Illinois and Williams Bay, Wisconsin. - Engage. Inspire. Transform. We’ve chosen to focus on these three words in this year’s President’s Report. Each has a distinctive significance for the work that we do together at Aurora University. Our faculty and staff encourage AU students to engage subject matter, to delve thoughtfully into questions of enduring meaning and to act accordingly. Our ultimate goal is, not simply to convey information, but to inspire our graduates to care deeply and to conduct themselves according to high moral values. If we succeed in achieving these two purposes, we believe that an Aurora University education truly has the potential to transform individuals, so that they may, in turn, improve our society. 1 On several occasions in 2007–2008, alumni enjoyed opportunities to return to campus to experience AU firsthand. We welcomed a large number of participants to both of our 2008 Homecoming celebrations and honored a long roster of distinguished alumni in Aurora and Williams Bay. Paul Atkins, GWC B.S. ’78, who hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin, was spirited in his praise of the George Williams College event, “It felt like coming home again to GWC! It was great fun to have a chance to reconnect with the old GWC and to see how it’s fulfilling its mission again through new academic programs.” It still had the old George Williams feeling, he concluded. Aurora College alumni expressed similar feelings last October, especially members of the Class of 1957 as they gathered for their Fifty Year Reunion. Eight months later, members of the university’s founding denomination, the Advent Christian Church, convened for their triennial conference in nearby Naperville, Illinois. More than 400 church members joined in our Heritage Sunday festivities by visiting the Jenks Memorial Collection of Adventual Materials and the college archives. In addition to participating in several class sessions, the enthusiastic group enjoyed a picnic on the Quadrangle and a hymn sing and concert in Crimi Auditorium. Report 2008 President’s As our Homecoming and Heritage Sunday participants discovered, sometimes an elevator speech, however persuasive, isn’t quite enough. We take pride in sharing 2008 highlights with you on the pages of this President’s Report, much as we are pleased to provide information about the ongoing success of our academic, student life, enrollment and advancement programs. But if your goal is to capture the real AU spirit or to reclaim the excitement you knew as an AC or GWC student, you simply must come for a visit. Walk around the Quadrangle or along the lakeshore path again. Talk with a favorite professor or swap stories with a classmate. We look forward to greeting you in person! Sincerely, Rebecca L. Sherrick, Ph.D. President Engage 2 - Report 2008 President’s - MyTime is one of the university’s most visible civic engagement programs, but there are many others that exemplify the university community’s commitment to the core value of citizenship. A t Aurora University, we encourage our students • For a sixth consecutive year, for instance, to understand education as an active, energetic process and accounting students from the Dunham 3 challenge them to invest wholeheartedly in the development School of Business prepared free federal of synergistic learning alliances with peers, faculty and staff. income tax returns for disadvantaged Our purpose is not simply to teach students about subjects. Instead our goal is for AU students to develop the families. The program, developed in skills, knowledge and perspective necessary to engage important issues and questions of enduring meaning. partnership with the Internal Revenue Service and guided by AU faculty, is one Some of the most valuable opportunities for engagement occur in off-campus settings. Last year, for example, of the largest in the State of Illinois. more than 120 AU students tutored middle school students enrolled in the MyTime after school program developed through our innovative Institute for Collaboration. The program draws upon commitments from • On our Wisconsin campus, meanwhile, a number of partners, including the City of Aurora and the nonprofit organization Communities In Schools, recreation administration graduate to provide students from seven area middle schools with productive after school activities. students work under the supervision of faculty mentors to operate the Williams Report 2008 President’s AU students who staff the MyTime program gain valuable work experience, strengthen their teaching and Bay Recreation Center. As a result of leadership skills and earn competitive wages. Middle school students, in turn, form bonds with positive this partnership, village residents enjoy a role models and explore a wide range of academic, artistic and recreational opportunities. It’s a powerful variety of recreational programs and AU partnership. Through this innovative community-based program, AU undergraduates literally put their advanced degree students gain valuable learning to work in service to others. hands-on managerial experience. Inspire 4 -- 2008 President’s Report 2008 President’s AU’s new graduate programs are evidence of the institution’s dedication to preparing graduates for meaningful careers in today’s increasingly complex society. Ours is a diverse and gifted university community: • AU has a long history of educating first generation college students. In recent years, we’ve extended this mission to enroll a growing number of Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students. Many come from communities P olicymakers, bloggers, and editorialists agree that the surrounding our Aurora campus. AU’s United States must improve mathematics and science Hispanic undergrads boast a high 5 education if the nation is to maintain its competitive edge in persistence rate and have joined together the global economy. Sadly, American elementary, middle and to create one of our most active student secondary school students continue to lag behind their peers in these crucial disciplines. Our challenge as a associations, the Latin American Student nation is to inspire a new generation of students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in Organization. Under the leadership of these fields. advisor Eva Serrano, the group hosts a wide range of cultural and service AU educators responded to this challenge with the development of a series of dynamic new advanced degree programs each year. Members also programs funded by grants from the Illinois State Board of Education. The university is one of a small participate in prestigious state, regional number of institutions of higher learning selected to participate in this vital educational initiative. Our model and national conferences. calls for drawing upon the expertise of scientists, engineers and mathematicians to help teachers deepen their own understanding of math and science content. • We are equally proud of the faculty Report 2008 President’s who join our teaching ranks each fall. Our partners in the $200,000 venture include the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Yerkes During 2007–2008, for instance, we Observatory, the Packer Foundation, SciTech Hands On Museum and the Robert Crown Center for Health welcomed new colleagues from such Education. Like Aurora University, all are committed to providing public school educators with the depth prestigious institutions as Harvard and breadth of knowledge necessary to inspire today’s students to establish and achieve ambitious academic University, Iowa State University, goals in mathematics and science. Loyola University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin. Tr ansform 6 - 2008 President’s Report 2008 President’s - We are proud of the many improvements on our campuses, but are even more thankful for the achievements of our dedicated faculty. During the 2007–2008 academic year, AU faculty published a number of important books: Sandra Alcorn, former GWC faculty O ur byword at Aurora University is “transform.” member and Dean of AU’s School of Social We take pride in making good things better. In June, for Work, wrote Strong Roots: A Group Memoir 7 instance, our expanded 2008 Music by the Lake season of George Williams College; Gerald Butters, opened to rave reviews in the stunning new Ferro Pavilion Associate Professor of History and Dean of on the George Williams College campus. The tensile, cedar and stone structure boasts excellent acoustics, a General Education, wrote Banned in Kansas: stunning lakeside setting and expanded seating capacity. It quickly has become a favored destination for the Motion Picture Censorship, 1915–1966; lake community. We are grateful for the generosity of Michael and Jacky Ferro and the many others who Martin Forward, Professor of Religion and made the new $1.5 million facility possible. Executive Director of the Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action, wrote The Nature and No sooner did one crew complete the pavilion than another launched construction of Vago Field, a Name of Love: Religion for the Contemporary new football and soccer complex on the Aurora campus. With its state-of-the art turf, high-tech sports World; Fred McKenzie, Dean of the College information center, and enhanced seating, the $3.5 million stadium will guarantee Spartan home field of Professional Studies and Director of advantage for years to come.