Cause for Celebration

Brian C. Mitchell
President's Message
Bucknell World
Summer 2007


The image of fireworks over Bertrand Library on the cover of the Summer 2007 issue of Bucknell World reminds us that Bucknell has much to celebrate. Maryjane and I congratulate all Bucknellians on their 2006–07 accomplishments, including the success of two recent flagship events.

  • Thousands of friends and family members gathered May 20 to celebrate the 820 undergraduate students and 25 graduate students receiving their Bucknell degrees. The first graduates of our new biomedical engineering program were among those receiving diplomas.
  • Reunion Weekend drew nearly 2,000 alumni and guests to campus for three days of terrific events. Our Reunion-year alumni classes shattered giving records by contributing more than $33 million in donations and pledges.

Other spring achievements

  • Other spring achievements underscore the breadth of the University’s successes.
  • Bucknell’s new Environmental Center received a $450,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Program in Public Policy and the Environment. This prestigious grant will support “The Susquehanna Initiative,” a new program that is building student learning, research, and community outreach activities around the ecology of the Susquehanna River.
  • On the strength of six Patriot League championships in 2006–07, Bucknell claimed its 13th Patriot League Presidents’ Cup in the 17-year history of the conference — a testament to the talent and hard work of our teams and coaches. In June, our women’s lightweight eight varsity rowing team won a national championship, capping the program’s most successful season ever.

Action in key areas

  • In 2007–08, look for students, faculty, and staff to turn plans into action in several key areas.
  • The community has begun to transform The Plan for Bucknell into specific initiatives that will strengthen every aspect of University life. More than 300 tactical recommendations are now in various stages of review and development. This fall, we will introduce a website database that you can use to track The Plan’s implementation and offer commentary on the tactical ideas designed to achieve its five core strategies.
  • The incoming Class of 2011 is one of the most competitive Bucknell has ever attracted. Consistent with previous years, the class will total 901, but this number is drawn from 8,945 applications, one of the biggest applicant pools in our history.

Campus master plan

  • The campus master plan is taking shape. Working with University representatives, the distinguished firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott has finished gathering data and begun refining the blueprint for developing Bucknell’s campus over the next several decades. During the next few months and into fall, we will ask constituencies across Bucknell to consider the firm’s recommendations and contribute to the establishment of a clear vision for the campus master plan, with the goal of initiating its recommendations in 2008.
  • This month we began the “silent phase” of the University’’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, which includes identification of preliminary campaign goals. Early enthusiasm has convinced us that Bucknell is capable of its largest campaign ever.
  • The new Bucknell Community College Scholars Program brings us 16 community-college transfer students from our partner schools this fall. In addition, Bucknell’s participation in the Posse Scholars Program has expanded to include students from the Boston area as well as Washington, D.C. Twenty-one new Posse Scholars will arrive at Bucknell this fall, bringing the total to 42.

Major cultural highlights

  • This fall promises several major cultural highlights, including anniversary celebrations for Bucknell Review and the Stadler Poetry Center, as well as an appearance by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, our 2007 Janet Weis Fellow in Contemporary Letters.
  • We’ll also inaugurate our new national speakers series, “The Bucknell Forum: The Citizen and Politics in America,” which promises to strengthen Bucknell’s rich extracurricular programs by drawing outstanding commentators and thinkers to campus for lively, multi-disciplinary discussions of election-year issues over the next 18 months.

Building on this momentum, the next academic year promises to be a great one. We are sure that with the continued engagement and support of our loyal alumni, the University will again have much to celebrate.