President's Message from Fall Portraits 2003

Dear Friends and Supporters,

It is my pleasure and honor to greet you as the third president of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. I assumed my duties in August, and I’ve enjoyed immensely every moment of my time here at the university.

As new presidents typically do, I’m spending a significant amount of my time learning about the history, traditions, and culture of our university and listening to our constituents, both on campus and in the surrounding communities, talk about their dreams and aspirations for the university. Each conversation I have with a faculty member, student, Advisory Board member, staff member, alumni or other supporter of the university fills me with enthusiasm and optimism about our future.

I am indeed fortunate to come to this presidency at a time when our foundation is firm and our future is bright. William Raspberry, the noted columnist, appeared to be speaking directly to me about the importance of history and predecessors when he said “Life is not merely a foot race, but a relay race. It matters a lot how much headway the previous runner has made when he hands you the baton.” I am grateful to have taken the baton from our former president, Dr. Richard McDowell, who shepherded this institution through 29 years of growth and stability in very difficult and turbulent times. I also thank Dr. William Shields for his valuable contributions during his year of service as Interim President.

I think that you will enjoy reading this issue of Portraits as it will focus not only on accomplishments and activities of the past year, but also feature milestone events and images of the past 40 years. This is a very appropriate time in our history to stop and reflect on where we have been as an institution of higher education and how we wish to shape our future as we advance into the fifth decade of our existence -- a journey into the future of higher education.

I’d like to thank all of you for the loyal support you have given to our university. Without that support, the university would not have been able to sustain its service to the people of Northwest and North Central Pennsylvania for 40 years. I invite you to continue your support of our faculty, staff, and students as we put our heads, our hearts, and our hands together to create the gem that will shine for the next 40 years.

Sincerely,

Livingston Alexander
President