President's Message from Fall Portraits 2004

Dear Friends and Supporters,

By any measure, the last academic year was successful beyond our wildest expectations. We began the year with an exuberant celebration of our 40 th year of service to the commonwealth and the citizens of this region. We ended the year with a vision for the future in clear focus and a strategic plan to guide us into the fifth decade of our existence. Optimism abounds as we now position ourselves to successfully implement the first year of our strategic plan.

The annual report of the president, which appears later in this publication, reflects the reason for our optimism. Through reallocation of existing resources and earmarking of new resources, we have implemented several of the proposed strategic initiatives and made considerable progress in advancing our major strategic directions. New opportunities appear almost daily. Even more important, the creative minds of our faculty and staff are churning out new ideas at a frenetic pace, forcing us to continually revise and update our “living” strategic plan.

At no time has optimism about our future been greater than during the recently concluded Alumni and Family Weekend. Highlighted by the annual return to campus of alumni from past years, the weekend featured the dedication of our newest campus facility, Blaisdell Hall, and awarding of an honorary doctor of music degree to international opera star and Bradford native, Marilyn Horne.

For students, this newest campus facility engenders possibility and opportunity. Blaisdell Hall is the ideal venue to promote student growth in the appreciation of the visual, performing, and fine arts and communication arts. It also becomes the only academic setting in our region that encourages the development of talent and empowers students to achieve their full potential in the arts. Embodying our vision to become fully engaged with our surrounding communities, Blaisdell Hall will soon emerge as the cultural center of northwest and north central Pennsylvania. Members of the surrounding communities will join members of our campus community to delight in a vast array of musical, theatrical, and fine arts productions.

Another important reason for our spirit of optimism is the recent designation of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as one of the 115 best colleges in the Mid-Atlantic region by Princeton Review’s Best Colleges: Region by Region Feature. The rating was based on a survey in which students were asked questions regarding three areas of college life – academics, student body, and campus life. We’re very proud of this designation and will continue to progress in our aspiration to become one of the best comprehensive undergraduate institutions in Pennsylvania and western New York.

We thank you for your continuing support of Pitt-Bradford. If you have not visited campus lately, we encourage you to visit us soon to see the many exciting changes taking place.

Sincerely,

Livingston Alexander
President