the interview
President, Sandhills Community College
John Dempsey s tory by greg gir ard
T
here’s probably a lot you already know about John Dempsey. After all, the president of Sandhills Community College has been a fixture in the community for more than a quarter century. He’s surpassed the founding president in longevity by a year already, and somehow his strong liberal tendencies in a conservative world under the pines haven’t been a detriment to his day job. But while we may feel we know John all too well from his position at SCC, involvement with several non-profit boards or reading his columns on travel and education, his greatest asset to the college and the community is his unwavering drive to improve lives. As John would put it, giving people the opportunity for a better life. John was born in Pennsylvania, the oldest of two boys to Jack and Rose Dempsey. He went to the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate degree, joined the Navy and served in Vietnam, went to graduate school at the University of Charleston and then earned his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He taught for a while at Charleston, transitioned into administration and then was offered a job as president of Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. He served at Belmont Abbey for seven years before coming to SCC. I sat down with John in his office on the SCC campus to talk about his life, his work and his vision for a school that has become a foundation of this community. So how did you end up at SCC? I always came here. I’ve always been a golfer and my wife has been a horseback rider, so I always came here on vacations. One Christmas, Bob Barrett, who owned the Pinecrest Inn, called me and said, ‘hey, you ought to come down here and become president of the local college.’ And I said, ‘there’s no college in Pinehurst.’ He said, ‘well, it’s the community college.’ I knew nothing about community colleges. I didn’t even know what they were. And I said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ And he said, ‘well come down and take a look at the place.’ So I came down and it didn’t look like any community college I was familiar with, so to make a long story short, I applied for the job and got it. And that was 26 years ago. It’s like this place was made for you. Yes it was! We have enjoyed living here immensely. Essentially, although it’s beginning to change a little bit, this 30 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
is a small town that’s full of interesting people and that is a very rare combination in life. So we’re thrilled to be here, love living here and love doing what we do. Take me back to 1989 when you first came here. What was your focus? I’ll be honest with you. I’ve followed two presidents. I followed the president at Belmont Abbey who was not successful. And I followed a very successful president here. And somebody told me [to] be sure to follow somebody who is unsuccessful because you’ll look like the hero. So I’ve had the experience of both and I’ve got to tell you, it’s much better to follow somebody who is good. And Raymond Stone, our founder, was very, very good. Essentially, all I’ve had to do is try to avoid screwing it up. He really set the tone. Sandhills has always sort of prided itself on being just a little different than most community colleges. We have a strong commitment to the arts. We’re the only higher education game in town – in a town that has pretty strong demands for culture and programming. And so our lecture series, our music series, those things are important in this community, perhaps to a larger extent than they are at most community colleges. Durham Tech can do all it wants to but it’s never going to be an intellectual beacon of Durham, North Carolina. Duke is going to play that role. So we play an unusual role in the community because of the nature of the community and it’s unusual because we’re an hour from any other college. So we’re a cultural center to a greater extent than is probably the case with other community colleges. But Raymond set this tone and it’s just been my job to preserve and enhance it where possible.