President Gary Roberts to retire- search for new President begun

[Da Coach]

Bradley President Gary Roberts has informed the Bradley Board of Trustees that he will be retiring in 1 year (at the end of May, 2020.
The Board will form a search committee chaired by Board Vice-Chair Judge Jim Shadid. I believe Judge Shadid is the most capable person to lead the search. Other trustees and representatives, as well as a search consultant will assist in the search. This gives Bradley plenty of time to find the right successor to President Roberts. Pres. Roberts started his duties as President on Jan. 1, 2016.
Thanks President Roberts for all you have done!
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com...020/2014031810

[tornado]

Definitely, thank you!!
He practically saved Bradley from financial ruin that the previous president had caused
https://www.peoriapublicradio.org/po...-cuts#stream/0
https://www.bradleyscout.com/uncateg...n-budget-cuts/

[bradleyfan124]

What !!!! He just took the job. He is one of the reasons why and how Bradley clawed back out of the depths of depair. This makes me nervous. I don't want another JG hired

[tornado]

... I don't want another JG hired

it won't happen with Judge Shadid in charge...

[Wilbery]

I have really enjoyed his tenure as President but his retirement doesn't surprise me, I view him as Bradley's Cincinnatus in a way, he came when the University was in dire straits and now will leave having righted the ship and built on to it. I do hope that the next president is a longer term one who will be here for a longer amount of time than average and does not view Bradley as a stepping stone.

[Da Coach]

I have really enjoyed his tenure as President but his retirement doesn't surprise me, I view him as Bradley's Cincinnatus in a way, he came when the University was in dire straits and now will leave having righted the ship and built on to it. I do hope that the next president is a longer term one who will be here for a longer amount of time than average and does not view Bradley as a stepping stone.

That is a great analogy.

Here is what Dr. Roberts wrote in a letter sent out to Bradley students, staff, alumni, donors, and others-

"As most of you know, I was planning to retire before I accepted this wonderful position to lead my alma mater. All along it was assumed that I would have a limited tenure. Next year, I will be 72 years old, and Donna and I want to have some healthy years to enjoy life and check several items off our bucket list," said Roberts. "Also, I believe that many of the changes that need to occur at Bradley will take several years to implement fully, and having a president who can provide continuity of leadership throughout that transitional period will be a big plus for the University."

So apparently, this is not a total surprise, and I believe Bradley will respond appropriately and find a great replacement for Dr. Roberts.

it won't happen with Judge Shadid in charge...

And this I agree with. Judge Shadid is an extremely smart and dedicated Trustee whose loyalty lies with his alma mater, Bradley.
Recall that it was Judge Shadid, who was relatively new to the Board of Trustees back in early 2015 when he was named chairman of a Board subcommittee assigned to rescue the Athletic Department from oblivion. The work of Judge Shadid and the other subcommittee members lead to the hiring of Dr. Chris Reynolds and Coach Wardle, and was responsible for saving the Bradley Athletic Department and the Basketball program.

Shortly before that, the Board of Trustees was composed mainly of members who were loyal to the then-President, and who did not believe it was necessary for the Board to intervene in the failing and nearly bankrupt Athletic Department. But thankfully, Chairman Doug Stewart became convinced that changes had to be made. He and a few others persuaded enough Board members to proceed with replacing the President, hiring Dr. Stan Liberty as interim President, and eventually putting together the subcommittee that Judge Shadid chaired which lead to replacing the AD with Dr. Chris Reynolds, and bringing in Coach Wardle. It rescured the Bradley Athletic Department which was headed for disaster, and financial ruin.
There is more to the story, and it is too bad the local newspaper completely dropped the ball and never bothered to report any of this, other than to make excuses for those responsible for the failures.
But Bradley fans owe a debt of gratitude to the dedication and work of Judge Shadid and the others who saved Bradley.

[tornado]

...Chairman Doug Stewart became convinced that changes had to be made...... it is too bad the local newspaper completely dropped the ball and never bothered to report any of this...

Indeed, IMO the PJS made some form of deal with Glasser to help hide and never report on the literal scandal that was going on - deceptive reports given to the Board, extreme overspending in Athletics just to try to gets some wins and make Glasser's hires look good, then get the PJS to write a bunch of fantasy & history revision and claim all the problems were caused by stuff from 2008 & that she & Cross were doing so well that they deserved a raise and an extension that we are still paying for even today!

Again - notice that even when newsworthy reports were available and being reported by many other news sites - even some NATIONAL news outlets - about Bradley's horrific finances - the PJ Star still didn't think it was worthy of coverage...these links are NOT from our local newspaper...
http://chronicleillinois.com/news/pe...der-scrutinty/
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...788#post486788

thankfully that is all behind us now

[tornado]

There's an interview in the PJS with BU President Gary Roberts titled:
"Q&A with retiring Bradley University President Gary Roberts"

The first question is:
"What do you think your legacy from your presidency is?"

and Gary Roberts' answer is ...
"I think we've brought a level of stability and trust between the faculty and the administration. We've certainly got a huge, beautiful new facility for two of our five colleges that will be opening up in a couple of months. We've got in place an exceptional senior leadership team that I think can continue to implement the strategic plan and the blueprint and do the kinds of things that need to be done to transition Bradley to the new environment that higher ed is facing.

In terms of visibility, I haven't messed up the athletic department, so they've made a lot of strides. I think the president's role in athletics is don't screw it up. I've let our excellent athletic director bring stability over there. We've got a great group of coaches who are doing really well.

It's not something that's visible to people, but we've just created a lot of stability. In my four years here now, we've had nobody leave."

AWESOME!! Great answer Gary!! That accomplishment alone likely benefited Bradley University $30-40 million that was wasted, blown and negligently spent by the former administration.

[Da Coach]

He gets it. Here is my summation of Gary Roberts and his time at Bradley....
Smart guy.
No ego.
Self effacing and liked by everyone.
Loves Bradley.
Knows what a President's role is and doesn't screw things up.
Puts excellent people in roles to lead and let's them do their job.
Helped fix Bradley from the disaster that was left behind, and leaves Bradley in a far better place than it was.
He is everything Bradley needed, and everything the last President wasn't.
Thanks Gary.

[tornado]

Bradley President Gary Roberts has informed the Bradley Board of Trustees that he will be retiring....

Bradley has announced a big event and will likely honor Dr. Gary Roberts...in his final year as President.
Nice - Dr. Roberts deserves the honor, altho he is not conceited nor a publicity-seeker like some big-wigs we know - so I suspect he's a little
embarrassed and never wanted the publicity - all he wants is what's best for his University.

The PRESIDENT'S APPRECIATION DINNER will be Saturday November 2, 2019 at 6pm - further details TBA
Prior President's Appreciation Dinners have honored loyal donors and alumni as well (like Robert Turner)
...but the dinner also follows the new Business and Engineering Convergence Center Dedication which is scheduled for Friday afternoon, 2pm on November 1, 2019

[tornado]

nice interview with Dr. Gary Roberts

https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/wmbd-this-morning/gary-roberts-discusses-his-upcoming-retirement-as-bradley-university-president/2071226316

I am glad we have him in charge instead of the alternative...

[Da Coach]

[QUOTE]Bradley President Gary Roberts has informed the Bradley Board of Trustees that he will be retiring in 1 year (at the end of May, 2020.
The Board will form a search committee chaired by Board Vice-Chair Judge Jim Shadid..../QUOTE]

Bradley is starting their search for a replacement for President Gary Roberts. The Search Committee, chaired by Judge Shadid has aligned with R. William Funk & Associates of Dallas, Texas, an executive search firm specializing in colleges and universities, to work with the search committee and the board to assist in the selection of the new president.They have posted this announcement, and are seeking resumes from candidates.

https://www.bradley.edu/presidential-search

The list of university presidents and other high executives that R. William Funk & Associates has placed is impressive-

https://rwilliamfunk.com/

[Prexy IX]

Before you get too excited, remember that Bill Funk brought you Joanne Glasser...

[Prexy IX]

Funk was hired as the search consultant then as he is now. He brings the names of candidates to the attention of the search committee. They do the rest with his advice.

[Da Coach]

Before you get too excited, remember that Bill Funk brought you Joanne Glasser...

Yes, they did.
William Funk and Associates was founded in 2006, and one of their early major college President search jobs was for Bradley University when President Dr. David Broski announced in January, 2007 that he was going to retire. Funk & Assoc. recommended Joanne Glasser, among other candidates. In the end, it was the head of the search committee of the Bradley Board of Trustees that made the decision and advised the Board to hire Glasser.

I am confident that under the leadership of Judge James Shadid, the Board will not make some of the same mistakes that were made in 2007.