Joanne Glasser

During the eight years Joanne Glasser has served as president of Bradley University, she has led the 118 year-old institution through a period of growth and change. These included the completion of a successful capital campaign which brought raised $165 million, the construction of new facilities such as a $50 million sports facility that have changed the face of the university, as well as increased alumni and student engagement.

Yet, in this post-Great Recession era, Bradley University—like many smaller, private universities across the country—faces challenges that the next administration will continue to grapple with. Chief among them is stabilizing enrollment, which ultimately affects the university’s financial bottom line. While Glasser has moved the institution forward, she did so at the cost of administrative and faculty salary freezes, but not a freeze in her own pay. That has affected faculty morale.

Last August, President Glasser predicted a four percent decline in the size of the incoming freshman class. The drop in revenue from enrollments led to a projected $7 million in budget cuts. In late 2014, however, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Glasser’s total compensation for 2012 was $618,436. That figure is $128,169 more than the next highest paid university president at a peer institution.

Mat Timm, Vice President of the university’s Faculty Senate, could not be reached for comment this week.

Douglas Stewart, Chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, declined to comment on that report but emphasized, “The faculty is the heart and soul of academic delivery to our students and making students great. We need to make sure they are fairly compensated—not just the faculty but the staff as well.”

Stewart emphasized that input from faculty, staff and students will be solicited during campus forums over the next few weeks as the search committee develops a candidate profile for the next president. Additionally, three faculty members have been elected by their peers to serve on the 12-member search committee. The others include the student body president, an alumni representative to the Board of Trustees, and trustees – all of whom are graduates of Bradley. Stewart serves as a non-voting, ex officio member.

Meanwhile, the University continues to press forward to address the critical enrollment and financial issues. Three presidential advisory groups were established earlier this year to focus on the university’s finances and budgeting, enrollment management, branding and marketing and program review and delivery.

“There are a couple of things we’re doing that are bright spots, which will enable us to bring revenue back,” says Stewart. “One is that we have seen a resurgence in graduate school enrollment, particularly in engineering, science, and health science. And, we are launching a distance learning program in late summer at the graduate school level.”