Millikin has lost a beloved member of the School of Exercise Science and Sport.

In an email sent out this morning, Millikin President Dr. Dean Pribbenow broke the news that Dr. Barbara Broadbear, Director of the School of Exercise Science and Sport, passed away on March 19, 2026. Dr. Broadbear had been battling cancer for the last few years, and although the news was perhaps not a surprise, it was still difficult news to receive.

“Dr. Broadbear was a dedicated educator, mentor and leader who made a significant impact at Millikin University,” the email said. “Known for her unwavering commitment to student success, she inspired countless students to pursue careers in health, wellness and sport.”

But Dr. Broadbear was so much more than a director, a professor, or a mentor. She was a guide, a sound giver of advice, and most importantly, a friend.

To Traci Hayward and Erika Bilger, Instructors of Exercise Science, Dr. Broadbear was a bright light, as she remained dedicated to her work in the midst of dark circumstances.

“She got diagnosed [with cancer] in 2023,” Bilger said. “You kind of forgot that she had it. She would be around here and you didn’t even know she had it. In the beginning of this academic school year, she had some pretty serious challenges. She hid a lot of her pain.”

When Dr. Broadbear became the interim Director of the School of Exercise Science in 2022, Hayward was her first hire.

“I was her first hire,” Hayward said. “So I said, ‘Man, you’ve got an eye for talent.’”

Although Dr. Broadbear was her boss, Hayward remembers several times outside of work where the two were able to connect and strengthen their already strong relationship.

“Even on our days off, we would go and hang out,” she said. “We really did love each other here. It wasn’t just like, ‘Hey, we work together and we never see each other outside of school.’ When we had days off, we would still get together and go do things.”

Although Bilger was only able to spend a semester with Dr. Broadbear, as she was her last hire, she realized how special her boss was.

“What underlies everything is that she was really about relationships with people,” Bilger said. “What was driving [her work] was how much she cared about the people here.”

As her cancer progressed, Dr. Broadbear remained committed to her work, and Bilger was able to witness that firsthand.

“She was pretty stubborn about maintaining her work and her role here,” she said. “She was not really ready to let go of that. Even though she’s been gone physically from this building for about a month, she was still trying to maintain pieces of her role and help us transition into what was going to happen, or who is going to take the ship next.”

Another colleague and friend of Dr. Broadbear, Dr. Joel Blanco, Associate Professor of Exercise Science, worked with Broadbear for ten years and remembers her incredible tenacity and commitment to her students.

“Barb and I started at pretty much the exact same time,” Dr. Blanco said. “We both came in in the fall of 2016. I was coming fresh out of my PhD. I learned so much from her just observing her and how she went about her business.”

A prime example of Dr. Broadbear’s tenacity is the carpet in West Towne’s office. Without her consistent push for a higher quality look, there wouldn’t be new carpet. Although this may seem insignificant, it highlights exactly the kind of leader Dr. Broadbear was.

“She decided our office needed new carpets,” he said. “It wasn’t cheap, and the University Administrations are notoriously stingy, for good reason many times. And it took her a year-and-a-half, but she got that new carpet. They did the entire office suite in it. We joke privately among the faculty that the carpet is going to be the monument to Dr. Broadbear.”

One of the primary lessons that Dr. Broadbear taught is a passion for students, not only inside the classroom, but outside of it as well.

“If you came into her class and you showed that you were willing to put in the effort, she was going to be there to make sure you got where you needed to be,” Dr. Blanco said. “If that meant she left work later than anticipated, she did it without a complaint.”

Although Dr. Blanco received his PhD and clearly had the content knowledge he needed, he lacked a certain type of knowledge, and that was interacting with students and faculty. Dr. Broadbear helped him to gain this special type of knowledge.

“When you get a PhD, you get a lot of content knowledge,” he said. “You take your classes, write your papers, and learn a lot of stuff, but there’s nothing that teaches you how to be a faculty member. She really taught me everything about this job; how to relate to students, to communicate with students, and how to work with students going through tough circumstances. These are things they never teach you in grad school.”

Admittedly, like so many other colleagues and students, Blanco found that Dr. Broadbear was a bit intimidating when they first met. However, after she said a certain four-letter word that starts with “f,” he knew that he could be himself around her.

“I realized that this is somebody I can relax around and relate to beyond a professional level,” he said. “This is somebody that I would count as a friend of mine, not just somebody I worked with.”

All three of Dr. Broadbear’s colleagues took away important lessons from their time with her, whether it was a semester or a decade.

“I’m sad that I didn’t get to know her in this capacity longer,” Bilger said. “In this short time, I learned so much from her. She was super gracious and let me sit in on one of her classes last semester, and I learned not just the material, but how to teach.”

“We could always go [in her office] anytime we needed her,” Heyward said. “It was great, unmatched. She made coming into work fun.”

As a way to honor Dr. Broadbear’s legacy at Millikin, the Barbara Carol Broadbear Scholarship in Exercise Science & Sport has been established to keep her memory alive and well.

I asked Bilger what she would say if a student asked her who the Broadbear Scholarship was named after, and her answer was quite striking to me.

“I had a conversation with a couple of students who know her really well, and we were talking abou the importance of saying somebody’s name when they’re gone,” she said. “I saw that the scholarship is like us being able to always say her name. Maybe someone will have to ask [who she is] in the future. But my hope is that they don’t because they’ll just know who she is because we’ll still talk about her.”

Dr. Broadbear will be missed by friends, students, and colleagues alike. A funeral mass will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Church of Merna in Bloomington. The School of Exercise Science and Sport will take the day off of classes, and there is no doubt that many students will be in attendance.

So, if you happen to walk into West Towne and you see the carpet in the office, remember Dr. Broadbear. After all, she did fight tooth and nail to get it.

Dr. Broadbear, during a ball drumming circle with faculty and staff.To keep up to date with everything Decaturian, follow the Dec on all socials.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Decaturian

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedecaturian/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.decaturian