Bradley University administrators, alumni, faculty and staff gathered on campus Thursday to mark the 210th anniversary of founder Lydia Moss Bradley’s birthday.
“I think any time we can celebrate Lydia Moss Bradley, we should do so,” said Bradley President James Shadid. “We’re celebrating her vision — a vision that was not complex, a vision that is as relevant today as it was in 1897 when she founded the university.”
The free, family-friendly event at the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center featured a recital with actress Laura Keyes portraying Moss Bradley, delivering a hypothetical TED Talk modeled after the modern day lecture series.
“Living an industrious, independent and useful life should be the highest goal for all young people,” Keyes said in her role as Moss Bradley. “An education is one of the best tools one can have to become useful in one's community.”
Born on July 31, 1816 in Indiana, Lydia Moss married Tobias Bradley in 1837. The couple later moved to Peoria, where they prospered in banking and real estate.
Moss Bradley established what was originally formed as Bradley Polytechnic Institute in 1897, in honor of her late husband and six children who all preceded her in death.
“Peoria gave us much. I wanted to give back to the community that made our family,” Keyes said in her portrayal. “No community prospers unless its citizens are willing to contribute to its welfare.”
The first floor of the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center features a museum-like exhibit highlighting Moss Bradley’s life story and the history of the university.
Following the performance, guests enjoyed cake, refreshments, games and other activities on the Alumni Quad. The celebration marked the third straight year of the university holding a birthday party for Moss Bradley.
“She left us the greatest legacy in higher education,” said Shadid. “Our inheritance is to continue that forward.”
