President's Message
Dear Friends,
It is remarkable that our 190th celebration year has just ended and the spring semester
is under way. We are excited to share with you our annual President’s Report, which
contains information about our ongoing FORWARD campaign, and shares some of the other data behind the good work happening at McKendree
every day.
The challenges facing higher education today are significant in terms of enrollment
and retention of students, resource management, and constantly changing regulatory
requirements. We are grateful for the trust of families who send students to the University;
to adult learners who come to complete or continue their education; and to alumni,
parents and friends who make gifts to support our work. All of these things strengthen
the University for the days ahead.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE TRUST AND SUPPORT OF OUR ALUMNI, PARENTS AND FRIENDS, WHO
HELP TO STRENGTHEN THE UNIVERSITY FOR THE DAYS AHEAD.
Our cover story features some of our newest alumni and shares how they were able to
launch their careers with professional sports teams after graduating from our sport
management program. Through classroom instruction and internships, this program has
provided these students with the experience they needed to work in the sports industry.
Speaking of sports, please take a moment to learn about two groundbreaking coaches
at McKendree, each with a remarkable story and even more notable success.
Finally, you have heard me say that when asked about McKendree, the thing we most
often hear is that McKendree is like a big family. In this magazine, you will have
the opportunity to read about the thing we hear second most often—that we have a beautiful
campus. Adam Kasper and his staff are responsible for keeping the campus not only
green and blooming, but also free of snow, leaves and pests. He is one of the many
people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make our McKendree such a special
place.
I hope that your plans in 2019 will include a trip to the campus. If you are looking
for a reason to visit this spring, I highly recommend you consider coming on April
25 for Academic Excellence Day. Our students participate in scholarly presentations,
recitals, short theatre productions and an art show, and we celebrate their exceptional
academic achievements at our Honors Day Convocation. I hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
James M. Dennis
President
