Today marks my final day as president of LaGrange College, concluding exactly 13 years of employment here. My first day - July 1, 1996 - was marked by many memorable events: a parking ticket, welcoming 150 South African Olympic athletes in downtown LaGrange in sweltering heat, and departing campus that evening with a janitor wanting to know if “Dr. Murphy (my predecessor) knew I had been in there (his office)?!”

The 4,745 days since my arrival have included moments of great joy: graduations, opening football games, significant donations to the College, dedications of new or renovated facilities, faculty accomplishments, improved rankings by outside observers, announcements heralding the growth of LaGrange and its downtown area. And there have been days of profound sadness and challenge: 9/11, Virginia Tech, personnel disappointments, student honor and social code violations, the deaths of beloved faculty members and friends.

Looking back, I don’t know of a college president who could have been more blessed nor more fulfilled than me. This community’s embrace of my family and me exceeded anything we ever dreamed we’d experience or that we deserved. LaGrange ingratiated itself on our hearts, and, in turn, a big piece of our hearts will remain here for years to come.

Max DePree, the retired CEO of the Herman Miller Company, once said, “The first responsibility of the leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the leader is to be a servant.” Only time shall tell how well I defined reality at LaGrange College and how well I served, but I would like this last formal communication through the LaGrange Daily News to be an expression of thanks for all that this community has meant to me personally and to the fortunes of LaGrange College.

Many colleges and communities across this land have adversarial relationships. Happily, not so LaGrange and LaGrange College. For over 178 years, this community has surrounded the college with care and concern. At points in its history, this school would have closed but for the generous outpouring of resources by citizens of this area. What the world knows of LaGrange College today is due in large measure to the efforts of this community. Thank you for being our steadfast partner, in times good and bad, for assuring that the College is not only viable but also valuable-even priceless-as an intellectual, cultural and athletic anchor for the community.

A new president has been chosen to lead LaGrange College into an even brighter future. Dr. Dan McAlexander and his wife, Celeste Myall, come to this community with considerable experience in church-related higher education and with a passion for LaGrange College to be the very best it can be. Embrace them, as you have the Gulleys, and the future of this wonderful institution will be bright, indeed.

Challenging the mind; inspiring the soul. Thank you for doing that for me for the last 13 years. May God’s richest blessings be on the community of LaGrange and LaGrange College for generations to come.