Dubuque's Future Is Already Here

Every generation inherits a different set of challenges.

Our grandparents built communities through hard work, sacrifice, and a belief that tomorrow could be better than the present. Today, our challenges include population decline across much of the Midwest, workforce shortages, growing demand for healthcare professionals and educators, and the ongoing challenge of retaining talented young people who often leave home in search of opportunity. These challenges are real. But so are the opportunities.

At the University of Dubuque, we believe positive future outcomes belong to communities that invest intentionally in people. That belief is shaping how we adapt to a changing world and how we envision our role within the community we call home. UD has educated leaders who have gone on to serve churches, schools, airlines, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits, and communities throughout the region. Today, however, the role of a university extends beyond educating students. Higher education must also help communities solve local problems, create opportunities, and develop talent needed to thrive.

Dubuque is more than a city. It is a Knowledge Town. A Knowledge Town recognizes that its greatest resource is not a building, a business park, or even a university. Its greatest resource is its people. More specifically, its future lies in the children and young adults who are growing up here today.

UD's mission is guided by a simple but profound motto: Many Gifts, One Spirit. These words remind us that every individual possesses unique characteristics, abilities, and talents. Some of our students will become physicians, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, artists, pastors, pilots, nurses, software developers, or community leaders. Their gifts may differ, but together they contribute to the vitality and flourishing of our community.

Given the challenges we face as a community, a valuable question we must continue to raise is whether we are doing enough to help young people recognize the gifts they possess and to help them imagine a meaningful future for themselves right here in Dubuque. A future physician who will care for patients across rural Iowa may be sitting in a fourth-grade classroom this coming fall. The engineer who will solve manufacturing challenges may be a middle school student who loves robotics. The entrepreneur who will create more promising jobs may be participating in a high school business club. The teacher who will inspire future generations may already be a student walking the halls of one of our local schools.

Much of the talent we need for tomorrow is already among us.

As a university, we are investing in programs designed to meet tommorow's needs. The John and Alice Butler College of Osteopathic Medicine will help address healthcare shortages in rural communities. Our expansion into engineering responds to the strength of Midwest manufacturing. Our aviation programs prepare students to lead in a growing industry. Our work in education, business, ministry, healthcare, and the arts continues to strengthen community wellbeing throughout the Tri-State region. These initiatives matter, but the buildings and programs themselves are not the point.

People are.

The ultimate goal is not to create more academic programs; it is to help young people discover their potential and prepare them to contribute meaningfully to society. But that responsibility belongs to all of us. Schools cannot do it alone. Universities cannot do it alone. Businesses cannot do it alone. Families cannot do it alone.

A true Knowledge Town requires what I learned from Dubuque's high school robotics team, Servos Strike Back FRC 7531. They use a term I have now adopted: co-opertition - the idea that communities, business, and people thrive best through both cooperation and healthy competition. In that spirit, we work together to cultivate talent, create pathways to opportunity, and help young people see a future for themselves here at home.

Imagine a community where young people grow up knowing that becoming a nurse, physician, engineer, teacher, entrepreneur, artist, pastor, or community leader is not an abstract dream but a visible possibility. Imagine employers helping students understand the opportunities available in their own hometown. Imagine a community that consistently communicates to its young people: We see your gifts. We believe in your future. We need you; and, more importantly, we want you.

Too often communities accept the idea that success means leaving home, but our future requires us to tell a different story. What if success also meant choosing to build a life in Dubuque? What if Dubuque became known not only as a place where talented young people are educated, but also as a place where they choose to build careers, raise families, start businesses, serve their communities, and invest their lives? What if we became a national model for how a community develops talent from within?

The future of Dubuque will not be built by someone else. It will be built by the young people who are already among us. Our responsibility as a community is to help them discover their gifts, develop their talents, and imagine a future where those gifts can flourish. Again, much of the future talent we seek is already here. It is sitting in our classrooms, playing on our fields, volunteering in our neighborhoods, and dreaming about what comes next. Our task is to help those dreams, their dreams, take root in Dubuque.

Originally published in the Telegraph Herald on June 21, 2026.