Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, March 30, 2007
Viterbo's new president sets a course for the future
When Rick Artman talks about his vision for Viterbo University’s future, he talks about people.
On the university and technology, for instance, he said technology’s “ultimate end is to serve the common good.”
Or on the university and faith: “It’s extremely important in this day that students and parents have a place where they can come that isn’t afraid to say, ‘We are about certain values, we believe in these values and we think these values are a great foundation for human interaction and peace and justice.’”
Or on the university and finances: “You don’t raise money by walking into somebody’s door and asking them for $100,000. You build a relationship.”
Artman, 58, will be inaugurated as Viterbo’s eighth president at a 2 p.m. ceremony today at the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre. The event, open to the public, is the culmination of a week of activities under the theme “Hope and Help.”
Artman said inauguration week is not about him.
“It’s a wonderful experience for a person to have the pomp and circumstance,” he said. “But the reason universities have inaugurations is for its community, to take stock, to sort of pause and recalibrate our hopes and dreams.”
In an interview with the Tribune, Artman talked about some of those hopes.
Artman officially started as Viterbo’s president on July 1, 2006. He said if you choose to do the inauguration immediately, “you don’t speak from any sense of reality.”
Since coming to Viterbo, he’s been meeting with faculty, staff, students and community members. He said if his inauguration speech today is a surprise to anyone, then he hasn’t been listening well.
When talking about the challenges he and the university face, he began by explaining Viterbo is twice the size of Siena Heights University in Michigan, where he was president for 12 years before coming to Viterbo.
“I’m a very engaged president,” he said. “So the challenge of getting to know everybody is taking longer than it took at Siena Heights.”
He said a major challenge for the university is growth. In five or six years, he’d like to increase full-time undergraduate enrollment from 1,400 to 2,000 students. He said that means more residence hall space, parking and athletics.
“Land is a premium,” he said. “That’s one of the important challenges.”
He also wants to grow the endowment from almost $20 million to $50 million in five years, in part to keep the school affordable and accessible.
“My dream would be that any capable student in this region who wants a private, Catholic, higher education ought to have a chance to come to Viterbo,” he said.
Artman isn’t going about his work alone. He called Joan, his high-school sweetheart and wife of 38 years, his “best friend,” and said she has supported him through his career.
“When we meet with a benefactor, Joan brings eyes and ears that I don’t,” he said.
The couple have two children and four grandchildren, and Joan is a nurse.
Artman also has found support from Bill Medland, his predecessor who increased the endowment fund from $2.7 million to $15 million, and under whom enrollment doubled since the early 1990s.
“I have great respect for Bill,” Artman said. “Bill has been very helpful in introducing me to the philanthropic community.”
Sister Mary Ann Gschwind, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and chair of the board of trustees, praised Artman for creating a “culture of inclusiveness and openness.”
“He’s involving so many people on the campus in so many things,” she said. “There’s an ownership and a feeling of ‘We’re all part of this decision.’”
Artman talked about building on Viterbo’s strengths, such as the arts and nursing, as well as masters and doctoral programs. He plans to increase international opportunities and work on getting students to speak Spanish.
While he said plans are in the works to strengthen Viterbo’s Catholic and Franciscan identity, that doesn’t mean advancing the Catholic religion but advancing the principles of gospel values.
“We’re in a collision of cultures,” he said. “What can the church teach us about justice and peace? I’d like to see us do more with that in terms of curriculum and speakers.”
He also spoke at length about technology, saying students have a wealth of online information available but instructors still need to provide “the wisdom” on best using that information.
“Access to information is just phenomenal,” he said. “But we’re not going to necessarily improve a student’s voice without that teacher providing the personalized instruction. I don’t think we’re going to teach ethical decision-making by sheer access of information. That loops us back into values ... how do you make life better for those who are disadvantaged? How do you help women who are abused? How do you help the poor?”
Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.
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