In his 36-year career, Steven Bridges’ résumé lists just two employers: Sureway grocery store in Henderson, Kentucky, and the University of Southern Indiana. He’d have it no other way.
Bridges, 59, was celebrated Oct. 16 as USI’s fifth president and first alumni leader. Sentimentally, he was invested by prior presidents H. Ray Hoops, Linda Bennett, and Ronald Rochon, all of whom he served under. Long an accounting and financial officer, his dedication to his alma mater led Bridges to be named interim president in 2024 when Rochon left for California State University in Fullerton after seven years helming USI. After a national search, USI’s board of trustees recognized Bridges’ longtime skills and devotion to USI and in April offered him the full-time presidency.
“Steve Bridges loves USI,” says Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeff Sickman, who has worked with Bridges since 2000. “His commitment to the university, its students, and its faculty and staff inspires the same commitment from others and creates a great environment in which to learn and work.”
Across campus, Bridges’ appointment has been morale boosting. “He consistently keeps students at the center of every decision,” says Michael Solliday, a junior computer science major who in July was appointed to a two-year student trustee term. “He cares so much for students because he’s been there himself. … Through his presence and integrity, students feel seen and valued, and that sets the tone for the culture he’s building at USI.”
Humble Roots
Bridges’ mother and father — who were one of 11 and nine children, respectively — did not give their only child an option about attending college: “From day one, they said, ‘We need you to get an education, to do the things we didn’t get to do,” he says. They used their savings to help fund his studies. Bridges spent much of his childhood helping his father on their Henderson County farm, opening seed bags on a flatbed truck and climbing around tractors. After graduating from Henderson County High School in 1984, he helped pay for his college studies by working at Sureway. Often, Bridges would wander into USI’s campus grill and feast on a cheeseburger made by the late Ida Layman while studying in one of the booths. “That’s when I started feeling the community of people here,” he says. “You felt like you were home.”
After he completed his studies in fall 1988, then-director of USI’s Career Services Office Marilyn Schmidt recommended Bridges for his first post-graduation job as a staff accountant in April 1989. Impressed by his work ethic, attention to detail and priorities, and commitment to his future career, Schmidt remarked at his inauguration, “Steve Bridges was the perfect candidate for that job 30-plus years ago, and he’s the perfect candidate now.”
“It was like a full circle,” Solliday says. “Seeing him on campus, but then knowing his background with USI, it honestly impacts my thoughts on my own career. (This) is exactly what it looks like to build a career in purpose, service, and long-term commitment, and seeing him model it so well has really encouraged me to think bigger about my own impact.”
As he joined USI as an employee in 1989, Bridges and new wife Rosemary were expecting their first of three children, all of whom have followed their father’s footsteps in attaining higher education — and two literally: His daughters both are USI graduates. Cory, Abby, and Emma grew up rooting for the Screaming Eagles, with Cory even serving as a ball boy for Bruce Pearl during the basketball coach’s nine-season tenure at USI. “We grew up on this campus,” Cory, a commercial loan officer at Field and Main Bank, said at his father’s inauguration. “… To see our father lead the university he loves is a real pleasure.”
Known for his humble, everyman nature, Bridges’ approachability has led to a deep connection with members of the university community. “I’d see him all the time as he made his way around campus, being very interactive with students and just in general,” says Solliday, a Switz City, Indiana, native who got to know Bridges while Solliday served as a student ambassador. “Even outside of campus, he’s so personable. He always asked how I’m doing, whether with classes or anything else. A few months ago, I was in a car accident back home, and he was one of the first people to ask how I was doing.”
Helping Bridges balance the rigors of the presidency is a loving home life. His family now has grown to include five grandchildren. Like his alma mater, Bridges is intimately connected to the Tri-State: Born in Kentucky, he owns a home on Lake Barkley in honor of his father, a native of nearby Cadiz. Bridges’ mother’s family — including his 81 first cousins: Son Cory joked that “every family reunion was a public speaking event” — is based in rural Southeastern Illinois at a farm Bridges frequently visits. And his professional life has been rooted in Southwestern Indiana, and soon his personal life will follow: Longtime residents of Henderson, Kentucky, Bridges and wife Rosemary will move into the president’s residence, a Colonial Revival with 8,552 square feet just off McDowell Road near campus, when renovations are finished.
His daily routine includes a coffee date with Rosemary, an office assistant at Henderson’s Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School. “Each morning, we have ‘coffee clique,’ and it’s our time together to relax, see what’s going on, talk about our day, what we have coming up,” he says. “The ‘coffee clique’ is the foundation of my day. It’s a bit of a zen and relaxation for me before I come in and life gets busy.”
Bridges is a long-time volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana, where he’s often worked on community projects alongside new CEO Mary Fee. “His leadership shines not only through his professional achievements, but in all he does,” Fee says. “He shares his expertise, wisdom, and discernment to help strengthen our mission and expand our impact. But above all, we are grateful for his steadfast commitment to this community and for the genuine friendship he extends to those he serves.”
The avid sports fan rests and recharges through fishing and quiet everyday pursuits like mowing the lawn or throwing meat on his beloved Oklahoma Joe’s smoker. “I do it the old way with wood. I don’t have the digital things where I can go do something else. I sit down and smoke the meat. And I enjoy that time with my smoker and make a point to relax and let things run through my mind,” he says. “It’s my opportunity to get away, and things come to my mind without me even trying.”
Meeting Successes and Challenges
Rising through the ranks, his work ethic has impressed many. “He has worked hard in every role that he has held,” Sickman says of Bridges, who in 1995 completed his Master of Business Administration from USI. “He adapts and rises to the occasion in whatever role he serves, and he applies what he has learned both as a student and through his various jobs to meet the needs of the university.”
Sickman notes his admiration for Bridges’ adaptability, especially as the university weathered the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. “USI did not experience layoffs as many others did, and we never missed a paycheck because his fiscal management ensured that we had enough reserves to weather any storm,” says Sickman, who served as Bridges’ Assistant Vice President for Finance and Administration. “USI remained financially healthy during that turbulent time due to his sound financial management.”
Displaying a leadership style that prioritizes teamwork, Bridges says he prefers to guide people toward results he would like to see while giving them the freedom to make it happen. “His empathy and vision, his ability to truly listen … it creates trust and fosters collaboration. He balances compassion with strategic thinking and planning for the university,” Solliday says.
Bridges gives credit to his alma mater for creating leaders, including himself. “We had lots of people that learned about the things that they needed to, to be ready for the next position,” he says. “Just like when I went to interview for those jobs — this put me in a position to be ready.” But staying out of the trenches has been tough. “One of the hardest things is not to be in the details,” he says, but he relishes having “faith in the people who do the detailed work. That’s been a culture for us, to prepare for the future.”
Bridges’ continued employment by USI means the colleagues he’s now leading have witnessed his professional milestones and missteps, a humbling position for any president. He remembers with pride a software installation that impacted record keeping from financial aid to registration. Bridges had to step away from his position as Controller and Assistant Director of the Business Office for the three-year transition. “It was a huge hit for our office to lose Steve, but in hindsight, it was for the good of the campus,” says Sickman, who as manager of payment services reported to Bridges. “It was a campuswide initiative, and they needed someone who could unify everyone, and that’s exactly why he was tapped. It showed what he could do.”
“I never took for granted the sacrifices people made and the way we went about it,” Bridges says. “It connected me to alumni, to financial aid, to payroll, to students, to finance — literally, they’re still helping me today.”
Conversely, Bridges learned a valuable lesson from an at-first bungled attempt to streamline students getting their books. He was put in charge of building the procedure, and he’s blunt about his initial missteps. “I screwed that thing up. I made it so accountant-oriented. It was a backroom disaster,” he says. “I could’ve just abandoned it because I was frustrated and embarrassed by it. But people stayed with me, and they fought through my mistakes. We came up with a better way to do it, and we achieved what we wanted to. But I had to fail. I had to figure out where I messed up to come back, let people who really did the work tell me where I was wrong. The next semester was night and day. The end result was invisible to students, but everyone else was much happier.”
The takeaway fed right into Bridges’ pathway to university presidency: “Pay attention to people that do the work. It doesn’t matter where they are in the organizational chart. Listen to them,” Bridges says. “You have to learn to be able to not give up on what you’re trying to do, to listen to the people that can help you make it better, and to adjust that path as needed.”
Has Bridges ever been tempted to leave USI? The software migration project Bridges led caught the attention of a company that wanted to hire him, but he stayed rooted to campus. “Why would I leave a place that I love? Where is it better than here?” he says. “And so, never did I seriously entertain it, but like anyone, it’s nice to want to feel wanted. But I felt wanted here, most of all.”
His appreciation for USI’s environment and his relaxed, humble nature are why long-time colleagues still grab Bridges’ ear as he walks through campus — “They’re like, ‘What do I call you now?’ and I’m like, ‘Steve,’’ he laughs — and he appreciated having that background as he assumed the presidency. “I think they would tell you that I’m a straight shooter, I’m transparent, and I think that’s maybe why there’s a comfort with me in this role. I hope that’s the case. I would consider that the biggest compliment.”
“People trust Steve Bridges and follow him because he is authentic,” Sickman says. “People do not always agree with him, but he is the most universally respected person that I have ever met. The positivity at USI is palpable, and it is a direct result of the hope that President Bridges has injected that USI’s best days are ahead.”
Not Blowing Smoke (online exclusive)
His son may have cracked a joke about it at his inauguration, but what helps keep Steven Bridges grounded? The Oklahoma Joe’s smoker waiting to feed a crowd at the family’s home on Western Kentucky’s Lake Barkley — a nod to Bridges’ father, who was born in the nearby town of Cadiz. Bridges takes smoking seriously and abides by strict rules. “Use real wood and indirect heat,” he says. “And make sure your temperatures stay constant. … I’m constantly watching it and I’m either closing the smoke off a little with my hammer because it gets hot, or I’m adding wood to it and, and going from there.” Another trick? “I put water on before, so it steams.” All that brings about his favorite dish by Oklahoma Joe’s: “Smoked salmon,” he says. “Salmon is my best.”
Steven Bridges’ Path to Presidency
1989: Graduated USI with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and joined his alma mater as a staff accountant
1995: Earned master’s degree in business administration
2000: Promoted to Controller and Assistant Director of the Business Office
2003: Banner Project Manager for software implementation
2006: Became Director of Business Office
2010: Named Assistant Vice President for Finance and Administration and Assistant Treasurer
2015: Advanced to Associate Vice President for Operations and Assistant Treasurer
2015: Promoted to Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer
2024: Named interim president upon Ronald Rochon’s departure
2025: Selected as USI’s fifth president and first alumni leader
Screaming Eagles Milestones
1965: The school is founded as Indiana State University-Evansville with 412 students.
1969: Campus moves to its current West Side location.
1971: The first class of baccalaureate degree students graduates.
1985: It becomes an independent institution named the University of Southern Indiana.
1995: The Bruce Pearl-coached men’s basketball team wins the NCAA Division II national championship.
2010: The baseball team earns its first of two NCAA Division II national titles in five years.
2015: The school marks its silver anniversary as USI.
2018: The softball team wins a NCAA Division II national championship.
2025: USI’s 60th anniversary as an institution includes enrolling nearly 9,400 students, inaugurating its first alumni president, and officially becoming a full NCAA Division I member.
