My little namesake
Founder’s Day is my favorite day of the entire year. I am humbled that so many people gather to remember me, but what makes this my favorite day is seeing our University honoring so many distinguished alumni and faculty. As an added bonus, yesterday’s festivities included the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center. I had a lump in my throat as I saw Kathy and Bob Clark ‘67 and Jerry ‘59 and Marilyn Keller Hayden ‘61 on the platform and listened to their speeches. I nodded in approval at the mention that their donations were not gifts, but rather investments in the future. That’s exactly how I felt when I founded Bradley Polytechnic Institute in 1897.
Besides the thrill of seeing Bradley continue to flourish as we begin construction on the Alumni Center, a tear came to my eye when President Joanne Glasser announced that the youngest person in attendance at the groundbreaking was none other than an 8-week-old baby girl named Lydia. Her parents, Brett ‘04 and Mandy Pierce Ellis ‘04 MA ‘07 of Dunlap, are dedicated volunteers at Bradley, and I am humbled that they chose to name their daughter after me. I was so touched to hear Mandy tell someone that after learning about my philanthropy and dedication to my family, she and Brett thought I would be a good role model for their Lydia to emulate. She even said little Lydia has a copy of Forgotten Angel, my biography written by Allen Upton, in her bookcase.
Everyone enjoys a love story, so I was curious how they met. It turns out they met during Welcome Week of their freshman year when they both attended the session, “How to Stock A Mini-Fridge.” They started dating a few weeks later and were married July 1, 2006. Lydia, who was decked out in her Bradley red for the groundbreaking ceremony, was born on August 4.