This fall is like a new beginning for Viterbo University, full of change yet firmly anchored in tradition. Comparing the university today to what it was a year ago is a lesson in how much can change in a year, but the things that form the core of what Viterbo is remain as solid as ever.
One of the biggest changes comes at the top of the Viterbo leadership pyramid. With the departure of President Glena Temple this summer, Rick Trietley has taken on the mantle of interim president. Trietley is in good company as far as being new to his job. This fall, the Viterbo staff has more than 50 new faces, including Tonya Wagner, dean of the College of Business, Leadership, and Ethics.
Even the College of Business, Leadership, and Ethics is new this fall, the product of an academic restructuring process in which Trietley played a key role. In addition to the CBLE, Viterbo has four other academic branches: the School of Education; the College of Nursing and Health; the College of Engineering, Letters and Sciences; and the Conservatory for the Performing Arts.
The new employees also will soon include a new cabinet-level position: chief diversity officer and advisor to the president. The creation of the post is just one element of Viterbo’s effort to keep social justice and equity front and center.
The pandemic certainly has not gone away as a concern, but the university is in a much better position than it was a year ago. Compare, for example, the 63 active COVID-19 cases among Viterbo students on Sept. 14, 2020, to the four active cases on the same date this year. So far this semester, there have been only 14 students testing positive for COVID-19 and one employee case.
The indoor masking requirement has played a role in the low case count, but more important is how many in the campus community have been vaccinated. As of Sept. 14, nearly 80% of employees were fully vaccinated, as were 74% of students. Almost 6% of students were partially vaccinated.
The diminished spread of COVID-19 this year means students and staff are able to dine in The Caf again. And while the Mathy Center was closed last year for the last half of September to prevent viral spread, this year the campus community has full use of the facility for fitness and recreational activities.
Last fall, virtual gatherings were the norm and the usually bustling Fine Arts Center Main Theatre was out of commission. This year, though, Viterbo has returned to in-person events, including speakers in the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership lecture series and a wide array of entertainment, from student productions to touring acts to the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra.
This year, a year in which Viterbo celebrates the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Fine Arts Center, also marks the beginning of a new Fine Arts Center director. Dillon McArdle, who graduated from Viterbo in 2005, has taken on management of the FAC, taking over from another alumnus, Michael Ranscht, now Viterbo’s executive director of university relations.
Summer enrollment was up 4%, and the fall brought 270 new first-year students and about 80 transfer students to campus. While fall semester enrollment was down somewhat over the previous year, one bright spot was a significant increase in enrollment of military-aligned students, who now have a new lounge in the lower level of the Reinhart Center as a home base.
Financially, the university starts the new year in good shape. Thanks to federal pandemic aid, the university’s reserves rose from $9.4 million to $10.6 million. In addition, the university’s endowment has risen $13 million to $68 million.
At the University Forum for faculty and employees that kicked off the fall semester, Trietley expressed optimism for a successful year and appreciation for all the efforts needed to make that success happen.
“I want all of you to be proud of what you do here. I want all of you to feel valued,” Trietley told the forum crowd, an in-person event once again. “We have an opportunity for an amazing year. I like to believe our destiny is in our own hands.”