Listen Here
By Victoria Hansen
On August 13, hundreds of new Oilers walked through the Griffith Memorial Arch for the first time. Among the crowd of bright-eyed freshmen, experienced transfer students, and hardworking professors, one person stands out: Dr. Richard Ludwick, president of the University of Findlay.
Both Ludwick and his wife, Melynda, hail from Union City, Indiana, a small city about 105 miles from Findlay.
“I grew up on a farm, and I think that many of the things I see here- the people, the values, the economy- it’s all pretty familiar to me,” Ludwick said in an interview. “It feels a lot like coming home.”
Already prepared for the Midwest winters, Ludwick left his role as president of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, to return to the Midwest and work at UF.
“The University of Findlay brought us back (to the Midwest),” Ludwick said. “My wife and I are both first-generation college students, and in many ways, a lot of the students that come to Findlay are in the same situation.”
While UF was searching for a new president, each candidate gave a speech at an open forum. At his open forum, Ludwick made a presentation entitled “The Future: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in the Next Decade.” In it, he focused on a four-fold approach for UF’s success: enrollment growth, distinctive excellence, financial strengthening, and innovation. Ludwick used these tenets in previous posts by increasing marketing, making decisions to let go of non-tenured staff, and creating a new insurance company to cut down on insurance costs for higher education institutions.
“I want us to be able to find the kinds of new academic programs and ways of engaging with partners that make the University of Findlay indispensable to the community and to its community,” Ludwick said.
Ludwick’s first dream as president is to see UF grow an agriculture program out of its preexisting science programs.
“It’s one of those natural extensions of our capacity within the sciences, and there’s a real connection to our economy,” Ludwick said. “I’m eager to explore and see how we bring that to fruition.”
Ludwick has been working in higher education since 1999 in varied positions, which he believes built him up for success at UF.
“I’ve led sectors of higher education, I’ve engaged in public policy, I’ve been a lobbyist for student aid, which gives me a lot of experience,” Ludwick said. “What’s more than that is the energy and wisdom, I hope, and the drive to serve my community and this institution that reflects my values.
In his open forum, Ludwick discussed how he believes that his Christian faith drives how he works in higher education.
“I am a person of deep Christian faith, and because of that, I sort of intertwine my professional life with my faith life, not in a proselytizing way, but in a way that informs a Christ-centered approach to leadership and to building communities,” Ludwick said. “Because this is a Christian mission-centered institution, I think that we are called to be Christ to one another.”
While Ludwick is excited to participate in his first Arch Ceremony, it might not be as unique for him as it could be.
“Well, today I was walking back from the Arch. I try to walk around it, but they set up barriers today so that students can walk through, so you had to walk through the Arch,” Ludwick said. “So, I’m like, well, okay.”
“I don’t know if it counts until it’s the Arch Ceremony, right?”
