To Our University Community,
I want to thank you all again for the wonderful and humbling Inauguration events of last month. It truly is such an honor to be your President that, on some level, an actual Inauguration ceremony felt somehow superfluous. After all, we had all been hard at work on this transition since I arrived in June. Yet the opportunity to gather together was ceremony and sacrament at its very best; an outward and visible sign of an inward truth. As the Board affirmed in the Resolution read by Chair Edwards, together we renewed our commitment to one another and to the mission of Wittenberg University, even as we asked for the grace to “move forward in hope and confidence of our future.”
For those who were unable to attend, I encourage you to view the video, especially to listen to the remarks from Dr. Hugh Page at the 1:02 mark. A personal friend, scholar of Hebrew and the Old Testament, and a long-time university administrator himself, Dr. Page shared three key points in his address, "From Crisis to Hope through Love — A Paradigm for Presidential Ministry." He stated that first, leadership must be understood as a "collaborative ministry," second, that it is "everyone's responsibility," and "the third, and most important [point], is that effective leadership is perhaps best anchored in and animated by the great mystery of love." Dr. Page offered me and all of us a strong challenge to lead – together – in love.
Perhaps more prosaically, but with no less commitment to collaboration, I put forward what I believe to be the Wittenberg Way of learning, which engages students holistically, through academics, athletics, community leadership, and spiritual formation. As Samuel Sprecher, Wittenberg's second president, noted in his inaugural address, it is “proper…especially at Wittenberg College…to let the student inquire at the oracles of nature as well as those of revelation, to teach [them] to love all true knowledge.” This was his commitment to Wittenberg in 1849, and it is my commitment to Wittenberg in 2025.
There is much work to be done, and I am encouraged by how quickly, enthusiastically, and lovingly the Wittenberg community has come together. In the days following the inauguration, more than 600 donors contributed over $250,000 to ensure the success of our students. We are just at the beginning of our strategic planning process, and soon the faculty will bring forward its recommendations and suggestions on academic restructuring and their impact for the curriculum. All of this is rooted in our commitment to one another and to Wittenberg; together we lead.
Yours,
Christian M. M. Brady, DPhil (Oxon.)
President