Dear Millikin University Community,
It is with genuine pride and optimism that I greet you as I begin serving as the 17th President of Millikin University. Since being selected four months ago, I have looked forward with heartfelt enthusiasm to joining the Big Blue community.
First, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to Acting President Mary Black. She humbly accepted this important role because of her deep love for Millikin and its students, faculty and staff. During these last few months, she led with confidence and care as the University completed a successful spring term and planned for a productive summer. We wish her nothing but success and happiness in her new role at the University of Northern Iowa.
I also want to offer my gratitude to all of you, our faculty and staff. Millikin plays a vital role in the landscape of higher education as we meet the evolving needs of our students and society. I recognize that it is your efforts that create and sustain the culture that allows us to deliver on the promise of education to our students.
As I step into this role, I offer four “P’s” as my promise to you: Presence, Purpose, People and Partnerships. You can expect to see me actively present around campus in the places and spaces that you and our students gather. In my conversations with you, I want to hear your stories and understandings of Millikin’s purpose and your hopes for our shared future. We live out our purpose through our people, and so I will look for ways to challenge and support us to always be at our best for our students. And because I believe in the power of campus-community partnerships, I will be investing in relationships that serve our campus and the broader community.
I sense a genuine excitement on campus: we are preparing to welcome our largest incoming class of new students in over five years; this fall we will celebrate the opening the new David J. and Debra C. Rathje Athletic Center; and I already have myriad meetings scheduled with community leaders and alumni who are excited about our future. We have much to celebrate, yet we know that these are challenging, turbulent times for higher education. We will navigate these times together.
Thank you, once again, for your trust in me to faithfully lead Millikin University forward. I look forward to seeing you on campus as we prepare for a tremendous start to the 2025-2026 academic year.
Yours in leadership,
Dean
Dean A. Pribbenow, Ph.D.
President
Millikin University
President@millikin.edu
217.424.6207
He/Him/His