With students officially back, Millikin’s campus is back to how it should be: busy.
Not only does campus feel busier than years in the past, but it quite literally is. The freshmen and transfer class is the biggest Millikin has seen since the pandemic, creating lots of excitement around Millikin.
No one, however, is more excited for this year than Millikin’s new President, arriving from Elmhurst University, Dr. Dean Pribbenow.
After serving as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Elmhurst, Pribbenow came to Decatur accompanied by his wife, Kris Mickleson. The couple has enjoyed the parks around town, along with trying several different food trucks, which can be found quite frequently in Macon County.
Pribbenow, who had been on the Millikin hype train long before his arrival on July 1st, has had his hair on fire since he actually arrived. He has been everywhere around town in the past few months, with many more opportunities for engagement awaiting him this year. If the Millikin and Decatur community is excited about his arrival, consider the President ecstatic.
“We set a goal of 30 meetings in 30 days, which we surpassed,” Pribbenow said. “Initially, my favorite part was getting out and talking to so many people and learning how much they love Decatur and how much they love Millikin.”
The Decatur community has welcomed Pribbenow with open arms.
“I was overwhelmed by the amount of genuine care for this place,” he said. “I found out that everybody in Decatur knows everybody, and half of the people are related to one another in some way. About every other person I met had some kind of connection to Millikin.”
Millikin’s campus is an amazing place, but it is nothing without the students, which Pribbenow realized quite quickly. One of his main goals was to spend as little time in his office as possible this summer and school year so that he could be out engaging with Millikin’s campus life whenever the opportunity presented itself. With the arrival of students, he realized how connected his new campus actually is.
“I was here for those first six weeks, and I was like, ‘Okay, I love this,’” Pribbenow said. “But, it didn’t feel quite right. When all the students moved back, it was like, ‘Okay, this is what was missing. The students.’ The students just breathe life into this place.”
Not only does Pribbenow serve as President, but he also wishes to serve as a friend and a mentor, someone who students can trust and enthusiastically engage with. He desires to be more than a face in the crowd.
“I love being able to walk across campus and have people wave and say hello and come up and share what’s going on,” he said. “You know, shake my hand. I love walking through the commons down in the cafeteria and greeting students. Students will continue to see me around campus in different places.”
Pribbenow’s wife, Kris, was extremely excited for the opportunity to be able to engage with the community as well. Transitioning to a town as small as Decatur was a new experience for the couple, but they have adjusted well, to say the least.
“Decatur is probably the smallest place that either of us has lived in during our adult lives,” Mickleson said. “We are pleased to say that we’ve loved it. The university has captured our hearts since March and May.”
Pribbenow and Mickleson have a very rooted belief in the benefits of a small, private liberal arts education, particularly when it comes to allowing students to be versatile with their studies. Being able to see students with such a diverse study focus is a unique experience that Mickleson has been able to witness firsthand.
“When we talk to so many of you about your personal lives, it’s ‘I’m this and I’m that; I’m a musician, and I also love physics, or I’m an athlete,’” she said. “That has been a super fun experience.”
Not only has Pribbenow been around Decatur, engaging with students and faculty, but he has also been engaging with Millikin alumni outside of the area. The most memorable opportunity he had was the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a Cardinals versus Cubs game at Busch Stadium. Millikin’s President is neither a Cubs nor a Cardinals fan, but his Wisconsin roots may have influenced his team of choice.
RJ Podeschi, Dean of Tabor School of Business, was there to witness Pribbenow’s athletic feat.
“Dean mentioned that he had two goals,” Podeschi said. “One of them was that he didn’t want it to bounce, and the second was that the catcher would actually be able to catch it, so throwing a pitch in a reasonably straight line. I think he accomplished that.”
The only issue with the event was that Busch Stadium spelled Millikin “M-I-L-L-I-K-E-N,” even though the spelling was provided several times by the Big Blue.
Podeschi has been extremely encouraged by the commitment that Pribbenow has shown to Millikin’s campus and students.
“Anytime an institution has leadership changes, there’s always a bit of trepidation, regardless, because it’s the unknown,” he said. “You don’t know who the person is. Dean, however, is very approachable. He’s very committed to moving Millikin forward, and I think he’s going to put together an aggressive agenda for us.”
The air of excitement surrounding Millikin’s campus continues to be tangible. With Millikin football winning big over Pribbenow’s alma mater, Luther College, the Big Blue’s momentum is starting to see a snowball effect. Our new President has arrived at an extremely exciting time for our university.
“If we could start next week, we’d be here,” Pribbenow said in an interview with The Decaturian last April.
Well, now he’s here. If you see Dr. Pribbenow around campus, be sure to say hello.
