This year’s Founders Week was unlike any other in recent years. A down economy has raised many questions about Creighton’s future, but the Rev. John P. Schlegel, Creighton University president, said there is a plan in place to make sure Creighton continues to serve the members of its campus.

Schlegel delivered his annual convocation on the state of the university on Tuesday in the Harper Center Auditorium to a near-capacity crowd. In it, he addressed questions about Creighton’s economic future.

“Higher education, as we all know it, is changing dramatically, buffeted by external forces not of our making,” he said. “Creighton University has faced many challenges in the past 131 years, and each time, guided by its mission and animated by its people, it has courageously transformed itself.

“Knowing this, we face the future with strong faith, renewed spirit and bold confidence.”

Specific areas where Creighton has been hit include a reduced ability of many students to afford tuition and a $100 million dollar drop in the endowment fund since last year. Schlegel also said it has become more difficult to conduct clinical practice in the School of Medicine.

Creighton has taken steps to address these issues, Schlegel said. A financial-enhancement process asked each division of the university to adjust its budget by 10 percent through increased revenues and/or reduced expenses.

“It’s a rough haul,” Schlegel said on Monday, before the convocation. “Honestly, I’ve rarely had to deal with a budget quite this challenging, but we’re going to do it.”

Schlegel said, to help students, the undergraduate tuition rate will increase by 3.5 percent next year, the lowest rate of increase in 46 years. Also, $2.4 million will be added to financial aid resources.

Another way of reducing budget is by consolidating or, in some cases, cutting departments, though Schlegel said on Monday that, as of now, this won’t be necessary. Jobs would be cut only as a last resort, Schlegel said on Monday.

“I can’t sit here and honestly say to you there will be no pink slips, because that would be unreal,” he said. “I could not look you in the eye and say … we will not see some diminishment in force.”

In all, Schlegel said the university is close to balancing its budget.

“We’re just about there,” he said. “Right now, we’re about a couple million or five off the budget, so we’re making very good progress.”

In his convocation, Schlegel first talked about the progress being made in the University’s institutional strategic planning.

“Our commitment to planning, I believe, is well-placed in this time of economic stress and external challenges,” he said. “Renewing our understanding of who we are and where we want to take our collective enterprise gives us the strength to persevere and to thrive in the face of both anticipated and unforeseen events.”

One strategic commitment Schlegel talked about was strengthening and delivering transformative education. He said the university hopes to accomplish this by adapting educational processes to a changing world.

“To move this strategy forward, we are considering a greater integration of assessment activities across the entire university, continued focusing on our new student retention efforts, appropriate expansion of co-curricular activities beyond the traditional classroom, increased integration of technology into programs and pedagogy and maintaining and improving our physical environment,” he said.

Schlegel then addressed the economic issues facing Creighton and the university’s plan for dealing with them.

“Though we are all probably growing a little weary of hearing the constant drumbeat of negative news on the economic front,” he said.

“But the situation is real, and it has a real impact on Creighton.”

The third part of Schlegel’s convocation dealt with the “Willing to Lead” campaign, which raised about $400 million by Feb. 1. He also said the university’s next phase of fundraising will go toward endowment growth.

Even though the economy is the pressing issue of the day, Founders Week is about more than just the economy.

“I think the overarching objective is simply to reflect back on the legacy of the institution,” Schlegel said on Monday, adding the week presents a chance to think about the future. “That’s one of the reasons you do it: look back, look forward, and in the meantime, be pretty [reflective] of where you are at the moment, which is what we’re doing right now.”

The School of Nursing Retreat: “Living the Legacy” is scheduled for Friday from 1:30-3 p.m. and the Alpha Sigma Nu induction is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Harper Center.

This past Founders Week also saw some traditional events, including the Founders Week Mass in St. John’s Church on Sunday, as well as Schlegel and Creighton Students Union President Adam Hare’s Fireside Chat on Monday.

Founders Week is also a time when many faculty and staff are recognized for excellence and service to the university.

Following Schlegel’s convocation, numerous faculty were honored for 25 years of service to the university. Also, distinguished chairs were passed on to new holders.

One such passing was the A.F. Jacobson Chair in Communication, which went to Dr. John O’Keefe from the Theology Department.

“It’s actually really exciting. I feel really honored,” O’Keefe said. “There aren’t that many of these in the college, so it’s really an honor to get one.

“It gives me a lot of opportunity to pursue different research projects that I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to pursue, so I’m really grateful.”

Another winner was Dr. Bridget Keegan, professor of English and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Keegan received the Distinguished Faculty Service Award.

“I am truly honored and humbled by the recognition and I feel very blessed to work with such outstanding students and colleagues,” she said. “My students and colleagues always inspire me to work harder and to do my best for them.”