Building Our ‘Willed Future’
Dear Creighton Friends,
When I returned to the University as president in 2000, it was apparent to me that I was returning to a university that was ready to consider fully its potential and strategically determine what it could become. I was standing on the shoulders of many remarkable giants, from the Creighton brothers’ creative and entrepreneurial spirit to the adventuresome spirit shown by our Creighton University leaders, faculty, staff and alumni throughout the decades.
We have engaged in a process that I have called our “willed future.” The opportunity is clear – Creighton University is poised to be one of the finest Jesuit, Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. We are on the path to assume national prominence.
We are sustained by our Jesuit, Catholic tradition, which seeks to educate women and men who are not only proficient in their particular profession but who are enlivened with a spirit of service and emboldened to create a more just world.
We are an ideal-sized comprehensive university in an ideal-sized city – supporting a rich and broad spectrum of academic, social, recreational and spiritual programs, yet retaining our sense of family and community. No other institution of our size has the full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. And few are located where the entire university can create a vibrant community in the heart of an urban center.
But seeking a bold tomorrow must proceed in a rational fashion. The analysis developed for our new strategic plan suggests four critical issues for Creighton University:
- Attracting and retaining the students who enable us to thrive as a university.
- Revising our business model to decrease dependency on tuition and clinical income.
- Ensuring that our existing and future infrastructures and support systems enhance our ability to fulfill our core purposes.
- Increasing our capacity for research to improve our national stature and enhance student learning.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY is absolutely essential to realizing each of these goals.
Its major initiatives are aligned with private funding for immediate University priorities – through endowments, capital investments and ongoing operating support.
Our endowment has historically been relatively low compared to other peer institutions, and, yet, our needs are even greater as we look ahead over the next 10 to 15 years.
The conclusion is inescapable -- we must continue to increase our private support to sustain and enhance our current strengths and secure our bolder future.
Creighton University calls upon its alumni and friends to become partners in fulfilling this vision and our leadership as a Jesuit, Catholic institution of higher learning, patient care and service to the world.
The Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J.
President