A Message from President Lenzmeier: An Inauguration Thank You
Inauguration was about so much more than installing the 19th President of Buena Vista University. Inauguration was about the students, the alumni, and the friends who make the University so successful.
I wanted to thank all of you for your support during a wonderful Inauguration celebration held on campus on October 8. I was formally installed as BVU’s 19th President in October 2020, but we decided to postpone the Inauguration ceremony for nearly one year due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
I was overjoyed as a number of my former students and BVU alumni came back to campus for the event or joined us online. I heard from so many of you who’ve made an impact on me during my career here, a time that stretches back to 2003 when I arrived to teach biology.
My wife, Betsy, joined me on stage and placed the President’s medallion around my neck, seconds before I was able to embrace her and our sons, Owen and Matthew. My parents, Wayne and Louise, both educators themselves, were in the audience, as was my brother, Paul.
Beyond my family, there’s my BVU “family,” who gives me such great joy, ranging from colleagues to members of the Board of Trustees, to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and a whole host of Beaver students whom, I joked, had nothing better to do on a Friday afternoon than witness a BVU Presidential Inauguration!
I reflected briefly on my upbringing and career while thinking more about BVU’s resilient course. During the Great Depression, after all, BVU had 31 cents in the bank and owed more than $300,000 in debt. As a “family” BVU overcame the loss of Old Main to a fire in 1956 and the closing of campus in 2020 to a fire of another stripe, the pandemic.
Because of alumni like you—those who saw BVU’s promise and attended school here and became graduates—we have both an incredible past and a bright future. I kept so many of you in mind as a I presented details related to my Inauguration theme: Celebrating, Evolving, and Transforming. The things you did during your time at BVU allow us to celebrate. The adjustments our students and staff made through the decades have allowed us to evolve to remain a leader in rural education.
How, now, can we continue to transform, or actively change our DNA as an institution, to keep us on the forefront of learning and access? Those aren’t simply my challenges, or challenges considered by the Board of Trustees. Rather, those are challenges we share with each one of you.
I thoroughly appreciate what you’ve done for BVU, how you’ve supported our staff, our students, and fellow alumni through your gifts, your time, your talents, and your continued thoughts and prayers for us and everything we strive to accomplish. Just know that a huge part of you remains with me as I accept the Presidential medallion and the charge to lead us forward.