Bradley University President James Shadid says bold leadership will help the university and the Peoria community move forward as they face what he sees as “parallel challenges.”
“Attracting and retaining talent for the city, attracting and retaining talented students for the campus, I think these are parallel challenges that a lot of mid-size cities are facing, and universities our size,” said Shadid.
“In this case though, I call them parallel challenges because we’re different than other university and city relationships. Ours is intertwined like probably no other in the country, and our future and fortunes are tied to each other.”
Shadid, who became Bradley’s 13th president when he replaced Stephen Standifird in April, delivered the keynote speech Thursday during the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Thanksgiving Luncheon at the Peoria Civic Center.
Chamber president and CEO Jessica Linder-Gallo stressed the presentation’s theme of “Positive Peoria” in her remarks.
“Positive Peoria reminds us that optimism is powerful,” she said. “Positive Peoria is the small business hiring its first employee. It’s a major employer expanding its footprint. It’s a new leader emerging through community leadership school.
“It’s a developer breaking ground on a project that’s reshaping a neighborhood. It’s a startup taking a chance. It’s a community choosing collaboration over competition, and it’s all of us moving forward together.”
In his speech, Shadid reflected on the legacy of Bradley founder Lydia Moss Bradley, her dedication to Peoria, and her desire for “a living investment in people, in purpose and in possibility.”
“Bradley and Peoria are co-authors of the same story, a story written through the work of students, alumni, civic leaders, laborers and entrepreneurs who have shaped this community together,” he said.
“This is our calling. This is a vision that is not complex, to deliver a premier student experience for every student we serve — one that combines academic excellence with meaningful hands-on engagement in the real world. That’s what makes Bradley University distinctive.”
Shadid said the region’s need to bring in talented professionals and grow the workforce matches the university’s challenges with “the national headwinds of declining college enrollment, shifting demographics and questions about the value of higher education.”
“That is why our connection today matters more than ever. We depend on one another, not just in sentiment, but in substance,” he said. “Because when families see a city that’s full of energy and opportunity, they see a university worth attending. And when they see a university that offers a transformative premier student experience, they see a city worth calling home.”
The luncheon doubles as the chamber’s annual awards presentation. Dr. James McGee, president of the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute, received the Tom Connor Service Award, Prairie Home Alliance was honored with the Above and Beyond Award, and Peggy Maloof was chosen as Ambassador of the Year.
Chamber leaders were able to show off some hardware of their own, announcing that Peoria was selected as this year’s Large Chamber of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.
“I’ll be honest, it was hard to keep it a secret for a few weeks, but we wanted to really tell our community first and to share that with our business members,” said Gallo. “There’s just so much good work happening, and for our team to be able to take a moment and go, ‘Oh, OK, we are having an impact. We are on the right track,’ people see what we’re doing is hard to measure.”
About 600 guests attended the annual luncheon, a total Gallo considers encouraging.
“That number is tracking back towards pre-COVID for us, and I think more than the number, though — the energy in the room today, I thought, was really striking,” she said. “I think that says a lot about how many people in our business community are vested in what’s happening in Peoria.”
