Marian University President Reflects After First Year

The “Believe” sign hanging above the door of Marian University President Aaron Sadoff gives a lot of the plot away.

Those who know the “Ted Lasso” series will probably recognize the font and color scheme of the sign that hung in the locker room where an American football coach used culture-building to inspire an English soccer club toward the top of their sport.

Sadoff, who had never run a college before, is taking Marian University in Fond du Lac on the same route after his first full year on the job.

He’s doing it by deeply leaning into what makes Marian what it is — its belief and culture, the university’s Catholic faith, lived through the prism of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.

“Culture. I love having a place where people feel that what they think and do matters … we’re going to be who we are. We’re going to lean into that.” said Sadoff.

He shares how the sisters and the university teach others to infuse that faith in everyday ways that uphold each person’s dignity, and mold its students into the best people as well as the best professionals.

“When I started to learn about the Sisters of St. Agnes and their charism, it was so reachable and approachable,” Sadoff adds.

“It’s just so refreshing to be in such a place where no matter who you are, all humans have dignity. These are things that I knew were part of the Catholic faith, but the sisters and Marian University really bring those out.”

The energetic Sadoff, a Fond du Lac native, was no stranger to Marian, having earned his master’s degree in educational leadership there as well as his superintendent licensure certificate through Marian’s educational doctoral program.

The former Marian trustee has more than 25 years of experience in education and nonprofit leadership. In addition to serving as a teacher and principal in the area, he served as superintendent of the North Fond du Lac School District and most recently as the executive director of the Fond du Lac Area Foundation.

Like Lasso in the series, he has had plenty of experienced guidance alongside him in year one as university president with Sr. Donna Innes, a trusted advisor who has spent most of the last 33 years in various roles at Marian.

“We have a long mission statement, but it ends with the singleness of purpose that among us and in our world, the risen Christ be discovered and revealed,” Sr. Donna said.

“We go where other people don’t go, and we’ve done that in lots of ways. That education that we give people here (asks), ‘How do you live your life every day, living the gospel message of the Risen Savior, Risen Christ?’”

“This year has really helped solidify ‘Being who we are,’” added Sadoff. “I think that’s where I’m really excited about.”

Sr. Donna has helped Sadoff lean into what makes him who he is and direct it toward that mission with his energy, and his ability to communicate and infuse culture.

“Aaron is terrific. With Aaron’s positive way of looking at life, I think the spirit and the people that are here are ready to make a community for people to come in. It’s not just learning but being a community of faith and people that care about one another,” Sr. Donna said.

“The day after Pope Francis died, Aaron sent out a message. What Pope Francis had done fit Marian’s core values, and Aaron took each core value and mapped the pieces together. From that, the campus minister, Dianne Vadney, and I put together a prayer service for Pope Francis. One of the liturgists in our congregation stopped me the next day and said, ‘Donna, that was a terrific liturgy.’ I replied, ‘It came from the base that Aaron did, how he looked at who we are in our five core values and our mission, and he matched that with Francis. And to have somebody do that, to me, was a real ‘God moment.’”

Sadoff shared how even as the university focuses on a four-pillar, data-driven plan for both economic success and financial strength — “My vice president of finance says, ‘Hey, Aaron, no money, no mission,’” he quips — mission still drives Marian’s bus, and Sadoff’s own life journey.

For even as his university teaches students to see Christ in the everyday, it constantly teaches him the same lessons.

“I’m seeing things a little differently and being more present,” Sadoff said. “That then translates to even the difficult conversations we have. I wouldn’t have been able to have that if I wasn’t here.”

His personal experiences of growth, the reminders of the presence of God in everyday moments and within every student, helps Sadoff ground himself into the mission of the Ted Lasso sign above his doorway, “Believe.”

“We’ve really leaned into faith, really leaned into our community,” said Sadoff.

“If people ask ‘Why Marian? or ‘What makes Marian different from a secular institution?’ We want you to be the best nurse, the best educator, the best business person, excel on the athletic fields or courts, but our goal is to make people best for the world and best for the community.”