Muller's Musings

All of us at Bellevue University are always pleased to receive awards, recognition, and other praise from our peer groups and professional organizations within the learning community.

Recently, our own Pat Artz was named Technology Professor of the Year by the Applied Information Management (AIM) Institute, an organization dedicated to supporting and promoting business growth related to information technology. Also, Gina Ponce, Director of Outreach Services at Bellevue University, has been honored as a Heartland Hero for her efforts on behalf of advancing higher education within Greater Omaha's Latino community.

These accolades are the latest in a growing list that includes a Gold Award from the United States Distance Learning Association. It is a great compliment to be recognized for something our online students have long appreciated. Our proprietary Cyber-Active® Learning platform delivers the difference, and not the distance, of online learning.

While our faculty, staff, and operations are eminently worthy of these laurels, we view them as a "frosting on the cake" validation of our mission here at Bellevue University. Since our founding nearly 40 years ago, our mission has been to provide quality, cost-effective business and liberal arts degree programs that meet the needs of busy working students, employers, and faculty. The demand for what we offer was strong then, and it is stronger today.

The true measure of our worth manifests itself constantly in the legion of graduates who praise us for the difference Bellevue University has made in their careers – and their lives. Nearly every day we receive unsolicited testimonials from individuals who have entrusted us with their learning, because they believe in what we have to offer.

Be sure to read the particularly inspiring contributions from two of our graduates in this issue. Keith Dipple, armed with only a high school diploma, earned his Bellevue University bachelor's degree in just a little over two years, while Sam Poppleton's degree led him to an exciting new career with a major national company.

We appreciate the responsibility that comes with praise, and we work to ensure that we never take that quality for granted. We're constantly researching and implementing ways to make our product even more enriching, even more rewarding. Our goal remains to create bright futures for our students. And, if we inspire others to attribute high praise to us as a result, that is fine with us.