USI students, faculty, alumni and members of the Board of Trustees, as well as general community members, will celebrate Steven J. Bridges, USI’s fifth President. Others in attendance include past USI Presidents, elected officials, including Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry, and other special guests.
The University will celebrate the Inauguration of it’s fifth President, Steven J. Bridges.
The event will take place at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, October 16. Doors will open at 9 a.m., and guests should be seated by 10:15 a.m.
Inauguration will take place in Liberty Arena, Home of the Screaming Eagles. Media should enter through the front doors of Liberty Arena and will be escorted to the media platform, section 104, accessed from the second level. Elevators accessing the second level of Liberty Arena are available.
Mr. Steven J. Bridges ’89 M’95 became President of the University of Southern Indiana on April 2, 2025, after serving as Interim President since July 20, 2024.
Bridges, a two-time USI alumnus, is the first member of the USI alumni to serve as President of the University. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1989 and master’s degree in business administration in 1995.
He joined USI as a Staff Accountant in 1989 and went on to serve in leadership positions with increasing responsibilities, including Controller and Assistant Business Office Director, Banner Project Manager, Controller and Business Office Director, Assistant Vice President for Finance and Administration and Assistant Treasurer, and an interim appointment as Associate Vice President for Operations and Assistant Treasurer. Since April 2015, he served as the Vice President for Finance and Administration (VPFA), the University’s chief business and fiscal officer.
During his 35-year tenure at USI, Mr. Bridges has demonstrated his dedication and service to the University community as both an employee and alumnus. In his financial leadership positions, he was responsible for business operations of the Finance and Administration function of the University, including the Budget Office, Business Office (Accounting, Accounts Payable, Bursar’s Office and USI Campus Store), Facility Operations and Planning, Foundation Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internal Audit, Procurement Services (Risk Management and Travel Services), and Public Safety. He also provided leadership for student loan accounting and collections, investment management accounting, debt management and accounting, auxiliary accounting, property accounting, completion of University financial statements and served as the business liaison for food services.
Major accomplishments during his role as VPFA included completing the largest single bond issuance in the history of the University and completing an auxiliary system bond issuance that was briefly the lowest rate in the history of state of Indiana higher education bond issuance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, decades of fiscal stewardship resulted in no layoffs or terminations at the University, when that was not the case for many in the higher education sector during that time.
Other significant accomplishments in various other leadership roles include implementing the campus wide Banner system, an administrative software application, on schedule, on budget and with very limited scope creep; and chairing numerous committees that advanced and supported the institution’s financial fiscal responsibilities.
He is invested in uplifting area youth and has been a dedicated supporter of Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana since 1999, serving as Finance/Audit Committee Chair, Long-Range Property Plan Committee Member and Treasurer. He also is a member of the WNIN Board, Ohio Valley Conference Board of Presidents, Evansville Regional Economics Partnership Board and Holy Name Church Finance Committee and Chair of the Central Association of College and University Business Officers Audit Committee.
Bridges resides in Henderson, Kentucky, with his wife Rosemary. They have three adult children and four grandchildren with a fifth on the way.
Education
Mr. Bridges received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern Indiana.
University Committees
Mr. Bridges has served USI in a variety of committee roles including USI’s President’s Council and President’s Cabinet, and Athletics Council and subcommittee chair. He has chaired and served on numerous additional USI committees.
Mr. Bridges received the Rising Star Award by the National Association of College and University Business Officers in 2007; the Thanks Badge, the highest honor for an adult volunteer, from the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana in 2008; and the Model of Efficiency Award from University Business Magazine in 2013.
