the pastor of his church, Millard Reed, was elected president of Trevecca in 1991, Skinner became Dr. 5HHG¡V XQSDLG FRQVXOWDQW DQG ÀQDQFLDO DGYLVRU VHUYLQJ XQWLO 'U 5HHG¡V UHWLUHPHQW LQ +LV HOHFWLRQ to and subsequent service on the Trevecca Board of Trustees in 1991 has meant that Gerald Skinner has always had some role* in the life and administration of Trevecca since 1969.
President Millard Reed and Gerald Skinner announce the successful FRPSOHWLRQ RI 7UHYHFFD¡V ODUJHVW HYHU FDSLWDO FDPSDLJQ
Three years later, Gerald and Eileen sensed God directing them to the University of Kansas, where Gerald enrolled in graduate school to earn an MBA DQG (LOHHQ WRRN D MRE ´,Q P\ Ă€QDO \HDU RI graduate school, Eileen and I were eating with a group of Nazarenes following a football game at the University of Kansas. In that group was :LOOLDP 0 *UHDWKRXVH ¡ . He asked me what my plans were after I graduated, and our conversation concluded with his invitation for me to teach at Trevecca,â€? recounted Skinner. Having never seen Trevecca, the Skinners checked out the school later that year when a trip took them near Nashville. And, as the saying goes, “The rest is history.â€? Gerald Skinner joined the Trevecca faculty LQ DQG VWDUWHG 7UHYHFFD¡V Ă€UVW %XVLQHVV Program. He taught, recruited students for the program, built the business department, UHFUXLWHG IDFXOW\ DQGÂłLQ VRPH FDVHV³´JUHZÂľ his own faculty by employing graduates of the program to teach in it after their graduation. The program thrived, and its graduates excelled. In 1978 Skinner and *HUDOG 4XLFN ¡ founded Compco, a software development and telecom data corporation. That company quickly became an industry leader, supplying software to an impressive list of customers, which included Rockefeller Center, the U. S. Department of Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, Time, Harvard, Yale, Brown University, and the University of Berkeley, among others. %\ 7UHYHFFD¡V 'HSDUWPHQW RI %XVLQHVV ZDV thriving, and Skinner retired from teaching in order to give more attention to Compco; however, his relationship with the University did not end. At the invitation of President +RPHU $GDPV ¡ , Skinner VHUYHG RQ WKH 3UHVLGHQW¡V $GYLVRU\ &RXQFLO :KHQ 16
Gerald and Eileen Skinner have always wanted to help young people, and they have invested in the lives of young people by establishing scholarships at 7UHYHFFDÂłWKH 6NLQQHU )DPLO\ 6FKRODUVKLS WKDW DVVLVWV ministerial students and the Gerald Skinner Accounting Scholarship for accounting majors. (See pg 14.) At Homecoming 2012 Trevecca honored Gerald Skinner for his then-43 years of service to Trevecca. The naming of the Skinner School of Business and
With President Boone, Eileen and Gerald Skinner sign the documents for their recent gift to Trevecca (See article on p. 15.)
Technology is a monument to the man who started 7UHYHFFD¡V %XVLQHVV 3URJUDP LQYHVWHG KLPVHOI DQG his assets in the lives of young people, and shared his expertise with this university. And it is a reminder of what God can accomplish through the life of a person *HUDOG ZKR ZLOO DFFHSW *RG¡V JXLGDQFH DQG D IDPLO\ member (Eileen) whose loving support enables that SHUVRQ WR IROORZ *RG¡V FDOO *Gerald Skinner served as chair of the $28.5 million capital campaign for the construction of the Waggoner Library and Center for Instructional Technology, 1997-2001; chair of the $.5 million Greathouse Scholarship Campaign, 1997-2001; chair of the Trevecca Board of Trustees, 2001-2004. In recognition of his service to Trevecca, in 1990 Trevecca awarded him an honorary doctorate and, in 2005, the second Lyla T. Mackey Diakonos Award for his outstanding service to Trevecca. In addition to his VHUYLFH WR 7UHYHFFD 6NLQQHU KDV VHUYHG LQ VLJQLÀFDQW UROHV LQ WKH denomination.
Treveccan Fall 2013