Georgetown College Alumni Magazine | Special Edition

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THE

INAUGURATION OF DR. M. DWAINE GREENE

The GEORGETOWN COLLEGE Magazine

SPECIAL EDITION

magazine

PUBLISHER Jim Allison DESIGNERS Laura Hatton ‘02 Maddy Fritz ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jim Allison PHOTOS Paul Atkinson, Steve Hockensmith, H.K. Kingkade ‘83 FOR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION, CONTACT: Office of College Relations & Marketing 400 East College Street Georgetown, KY 40324-1696 502.863.7922 GC Magazine is published by the Georgetown College Office of College Relations & Marketing. © Copyright Georgetown College, 2014 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Office of College Relations & Marketing Georgetown College 400 East College Street Georgetown, KY 40324 FAX: 502.868.8887 E-MAIL: alumni@georgetowncollege.edu Georgetown College admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin.

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e are pleased to present this special edition of GC Magazine highlighting the events leading up to and including Dr. Greene’s Investiture and the text of his Inaugural address.

Above: Dr. and Mrs. Greene hold a quilt created by the campus community for display in their home. The design features fabric blocks representing campus organizations, programs and departments. Students Emily Metcalfe and Eloah Franca helped hold the quilt. They were joined by Dean of Students Laura Wyly.

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he ceremony featured an academic procession of trustees, faculty, administrators, students, delegates from 30 learned institutions from throughout the region and distinguished guests from the local community.

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Celebrating with Dr. and Mrs. Greene were alumni Randy and Ginny Fox. Mr. Fox has served with five GC presidents during his 40 years as a college trustee. During that time, he has been a member of four presidential search committees. Mr. Fox rotates off the board on December 31, 2014.

One of several events in the week leading up to the inauguration of Dr. Greene was the planting of a maple tree in the backyard of the president’s home by the student-led Georgetown Sustainability Initiative (GSI).

A maple holds special significance for the Greenes for it was beneath one in his native North Carolina that Dr. Greene proposed marriage. The ceremony included the dedication of a commemorative plaque on behalf of students, faculty and staff.

L-R: Mary Anne Carletta, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology and GSI Advisor; Meagan Henry, GSI Vice President; Braden Bocard, GSI President; Mrs. Greene; Dr. Greene; Jonathan Sands Wise, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Academic Success.

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Inauguration Week

For inauguration week, curatorial students prepared an exhibit tracing “The Roots of Our Foundation: Presidential Perspectives,” displayed in the Cochenour Gallery of the Ensor Learning Resource Center.

L-R: Dr. and Mrs. Greene, Jeanette Tesmer, Curator of Collections and Gallery Director, senior Mary Violet Woosely and junior Rachel Cook.

Left: Kentucky’s 6th District U.S. Representative Andy Barr was among the distinguished visitors to greet Dr. Greene.

Right: Alumnus Norman L. Brown ’63, newly-elected trustee, congratulated Dr. Greene.

Above: Dr. James D. Klotter, State Historian of Kentucky and Professor of History, traced the patterns in Kentucky and Georgetown College higher education and lessons learned over nearly two centuries, from the academies of frontier days to today. Looking to the future, he said, “Let us make Georgetown’s next century one marked by excellent students, superb administrators and outstanding teachers, who all see it as a place of prosperity, prestige and, most of all, great people.” Bottom: L to R: Provost Rosemary Allen, Dr. Klotter, President Greene.

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Inauguration Week

A Service of Commitment and Blessing was held at Georgetown Baptist Church on the Wednesday evening before Dr. Greene’s Friday inauguration. Bob Baker, Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Lexington, led the Laying on of Hands and Blessing.

Sonny Burnette, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Music; Pete LaRue, Professor of Music; Adjunct Vocal Instructor Ryland Pope, Staff Accompanist David Gierlach

At the Commitment and Blessing Service, the welcome was given by Frank Houston, pastor, First Baptist Church; the Litany of Commitment by Sheila Klopfer, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Religion and sermon by Alan Redditt, Pastor, Georgetown Baptist Church.

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A Celebration of Song at Georgetown Baptist Church featured a program of vocal performances by the Chorale (top right), under the direction of Brock Terry (left), and the Gospel Choir (second from top right), directed by Landon Wilson.

Also featured was baritone Ryland Pope accompanied by pianist David Gierlach, the soprano saxophone of Sonny Burnette and trombone solos by Peter LaRue.

Faithful to its history and traditions, Georgetown College is to remain a Christian institution.

- From Dr. Greene’s Inaugural Address

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In a stirring ceremony marked by academic pageantry and a promising outlook, M. Dwaine Greene, Ph.D. was inaugurated on Friday, October 16, 2014, as the 24th president of Georgetown College.

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hairman Goode, Vice-Chair Blevins, Dedicated Trustees, Distinguished Alumni, Honored Guests, Students, Faculty, Staff, and Friends of Georgetown College, I thank you for your presence today. For you to have taken time away from your other interests and responsibilities for this occasion is something I deeply appreciate. For some of you, your presence here deepens a personal relationship which has extended many years. For others of you, it rekindles your love and devotion to the college which has long stirred a special warmth in your heart. Still for others, you may be fulfilling a requirement or, perhaps, were looking for a way to occupy a Friday afternoon, and you landed here. Whatever the case, do know that we appreciate your presence.

To some extent, words of thanks can express our feelings, but they cannot adequately describe how grateful Carolyn and I are for the wonderful reception we have received since arriving at Georgetown College. There is a genuineness about the College, this community and its people, which is welcoming and refreshing. We are enjoying being in the midst of many fine people, and we are most appreciative of the ways you have embraced us since our arrival a year ago.

I want to add a word of thanks to those who have made the events of this day possible. Ceremonies of this magnitude do not merely happen, rather they occur only with the hard work of many individuals. While I gladly acknowledge the efforts of many people, I mention one as representative of them all, namely, Mr. Robin Oldham, who has chaired the Planning Committee which ably shaped this inauguration. The tasks unfolded by the hundreds, and Robin and our colleagues handled them marvelously well. To all who were involved in any way, please receive our genuine thanks for the long hours and dedicated efforts which have led to the success of this day.

In four days, I will have occupied the presidency of Georgetown College for one year. As a part of this ceremony, I receive the formal symbols of the office, and I do so with humility, appreciation, and commitment. As for humility, it includes my tribute to those individuals who served over the course of 185 years as presidents of Georgetown College. Their names are engraved on the bars of the chain which I now wear.

In wearing this chain of office, I honor the devotion, efforts, and achievements of my predecessors. Every one of them faced challenges. But they stood with loyalty, boldness, and vision in the context of their days, and I am glad to honor them as Christian people of faith and courage.

On this inauguration day, we begin writing another page of

the Georgetown narrative which has extended over 185 years. But those 185 years signal far more than just the age of an institution. They are the foundation of a College that has been refreshed every single one of those years by youth and enthusiasm. Indeed, that energy is one of the most beautiful things about a college, and I love it! It keeps me young, and brings balance to my perspective. Students, young and old, thank you for that!

As one dimension of my appreciation, I want to thank the Board of Trustees for selecting me as president. There were others who might have been chosen, but the trustees turned to a seventhgeneration North Carolinian, and in doing so they placed their hope and trust in a man who knew little about Georgetown College or Kentucky. The path which led us here was more agonizing than most will ever know. But it is a path which we follow as guided by our faith in the Lord, and by our discernment of his will as best we understand it. I am here to serve the Lord in working toward the accomplishment of his purposes. In doing so from the position of president, it is my ongoing prayer that such will be for the good of Georgetown College.

I regard this presidency as the highest honor and most formidable challenge of my professional career. At the same time, I acknowledge the experiences of the years which have prepared me for these moments. Those experiences have shaped within me a driving passion to serve in pursuit of what is worthy, and to do so with all the zeal I can muster.

I pledge a commitment to Georgetown College as a community of learning and faith; that as long as I am privileged to serve as president, I shall endeavor to pursue the mission of the College, strive to uphold its ideals, and act responsibly in seeking its greater good. A portion of my daily prayers is entreaty for wisdom and strength. May God grant them to me in portions commensurate to my tasks and to his grace.

From my perspective, there is so much about Georgetown College that is positive. Last year, in my first address to the College, I encouraged everyone associated with Georgetown to be proud, because Georgetown has earned that respect and affirmation. For many decades, Georgetown has lived in fulfillment of its Christian purposes while honoring the truest of Baptist traditions, it has maintained a strong faculty which has led a superb academic program, it has built and sustained an athletic program that has few equals among small colleges in this country, it has produced thousands of graduates whose successes stand on equal footing with those touted by the most prominent colleges and universities. On and on we could go

Georgetown has had a wonderful tradition of making education personal.

It is delivered by people who care, and who genuinely seek the quality of human interaction that makes learning exhilarating.

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I regard this presidency as the highest honor and most formidable challenge of my professional career.

A Presidential Chain of Office was presented for the first time in the history of Georgetown College. It recognizes Dr. Greene’s service as the 24th president and includes the names of each former president of the College. The Chain of Office will be worn at all formal College programs and ceremonies.

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As he was administered the oath of office, Dr. Greene placed his hand on the Bible held by Mrs. Greene which belonged to a former president, the late Robert L. Mills. Dr. Mills served Georgetown College from 1959 until his retirement in 1978.

Following the ceremony, Dr. and Mrs. Greene were joined by Dr. Mills’ son, Bob, and his wife, Maggie, both GC alumni.

in praising the College, and the praise would be well deserved.

Thus, I begin a presidency with great admiration for Georgetown College, and would encourage all of its constituents to stand with abundant pride on its behalf.

We turn now to the question, ‘where do we go from here?’ I begin with a story about Albert Einstein, as recounted in his biography written

by Walter Isaacson (Einstein: His Life and Universe, Simon & Schuster, 2007, p. 439). As some of you know from your studies, Einstein lived the last twenty-two years of his life (19331955) in Princeton, New Jersey. He had accepted a position at Princeton University’s Institute for Advanced Study, and he and his wife lived in a modest house at 112 Mercer Street.

Dr. Einstein loved to take walks through the town of Princeton.

Those were often quiet, rambling walks, the function of which was to provide opportunity for his deep, concentrated thinking. Many times he would be found at some unexpected location simply standing and thinking. One day the secretary at the Institute where he worked received a phone call from someone who asked to speak with a particular dean. When the

secretary responded that the dean wasn’t available, the caller asked if she could tell him Dr. Einstein’s home address, to which the secretary replied that she was not supposed to give out that information. The caller’s voice then quieted to a whisper, and continued, “Please don’t tell anybody, but I am Dr. Einstein, I’m on my way home, and I’ve forgotten where my house is.”

The reason I share that story is to illustrate the reality that institutions need to know both who they are and where they are going. In recent years, there has been some suggestion that the Georgetown compass may be tilted. On that matter I want to be especially direct and clear, and in doing so I believe that I represent the unanimous resolve of the Georgetown Board of Trustees. The first sentence of the mission statement of Georgetown College states it well: The mission of Georgetown College is to prepare students to engage in their life’s pursuits with thoughtfulness and skill by providing an exceptional educational experience in a vibrant Christian community. Faithful to its history and traditions, Georgetown College is to remain a Christian institution. This is

As an institution of higher education, Georgetown is to glow as a sacred flame kindled almost two centuries ago.

It is a light which has inspired thousands who have come this way and then stepped forward as radiance to the world.

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an abiding conviction and the ‘beacon to guide’ this college as it moves forward.

As an institution of higher education, Georgetown is to glow as a sacred flame kindled almost two centuries ago. It is a light which has inspired thousands who have come this way and then stepped forward as radiance to the world. Across this commonwealth, and far beyond, there are Georgetown graduates who bring light into fields of medicine, law, business, education, ministry, and many others, after having lived the Georgetown experience.

Georgetown’s is a way which seeks understanding through free and thoughtful inquiry, it welcomes diverse perspectives and traditions, it has the courage not only to reinforce convictions as appropriate, but to confront and challenge, so as to stretch minds and deepen faith. As a thinking person and as president of a college, I accord no credence to the defense of narrow religious tenets which are inconsistent with the findings of a critical mind or the spirit of kindness exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ. I recoil from perspectives which constrict, exclude, and alienate. The challenges of a troubled world will not be solved by narrow absolutism. To the contrary, they can most effectively be addressed by enlightened thinking, conditioned by intellectual honesty, flavored by a spirit of caring and service, and exercised with both freedom and strength. I am proud to stand as a Baptist and affirm the caring and intelligent quest for understanding lived daily at the senior Baptist College in Kentucky, and know that it is a quest worthy of our collective diligence and pursuit.

In speaking of the academic program of the College for the years ahead, I favor the terms ‘preserve’ and ‘progress.’

First, there is so much to be preserved. There is an academic quality and distinctive approach to learning at Georgetown that many other institutions would do well to emulate. There is an approach to learning, which is extraordinary. It begins with faculty who are dedicated to their students, and who utilize their command of their academic fields in the service of those students. Indeed, scholarship matters, and it is produced at a high level at Georgetown. But it is scholarship primarily in service to student learning and maturing. I commend my faculty colleagues at Georgetown, as I respect their preparation, their expertise, and their success.

What Georgetown College has accomplished through the preparation of students in the liberal arts tradition has few peers. I stand with my colleagues in being proud of that tradition. From my perspective, there is nothing impractical about preparing students to think clearly, analyze carefully, communicate well, and lead successfully. For a student to have an understanding of history, to develop an appreciation for fine literature, to be thoughtful in matters of religion while embracing advances in the sciences, to communicate well, to study languages, to understand mathematical principles, to be proficient in various technologies, and to have a discerning mind in matters of ethics and responsibility, these are all immensely practical dimensions to being a successful citizen in the world. I am a product of such training, I understand its value, and I stand here as an advocate for education in the liberal arts tradition.

When I see how well it is has been practiced at Georgetown College, I lift it up with even greater admiration. I intend to help Georgetown stay on the offensive when it comes to liberal arts preparation. Indeed, we provide a first-rate education, it meets well our students’ needs, and it has a currency which will remain in demand.

I have little interest in favoring only those students who will be the future elite in our society. The more worthy aim is to provide quality education for capable and motivated students at multiple levels.

Dr. M. Dwaine and Mrs. Carolyn Greene with daughters Meredith and Patricia and Meredith’s fiancé, Alex Rowe.

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Program participants surround Dr. M. Dwaine Greene prior to the ceremony inaugurating him as Georgetown College’s 24th President. They represented students, faculty, alumni, area churches, other independent colleges and universities, the City of Georgetown, the County of Scott and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Georgetown has had a wonderful tradition of making education personal. It is delivered by people who care, and who genuinely seek the quality of human interaction that makes learning exhilarating. It is delivered by great teachers who have something to profess. They are technologically skilled, but they do not use that technology to evade the human interaction which is so essential. A text, a tweet, or a post can all be useful, but they are incomplete if left standing apart from face to face communication. The beautiful M.C. Esher lithograph, ‘Drawing Hands,’ is wonderfully symbolic of the educational ideal, i.e., just as each of two hands draws the other, so professors creatively shape their students, while students as well help form their professors.

I have little interest in favoring only those students who will be the future elite in our society. The more worthy aim is to provide quality education for capable and motivated students at multiple levels. Georgetown should not strive to be elitist in preferring students from upper social and economic classes, or perhaps only from the upper tiers of IQ scores or standardized tests.

Rather, Georgetown should approach its admissions and educational resolve with regard to what it can do for all students. Our approach should be far more egalitarian than elitist; we should welcome various ability levels, and understand them as modifiable rather than fixed. We should certainly admit capable and motivated students, and move them through an education the Georgetown way; and in doing so, we must stretch our students intellectually, culturally, and socially, till at the conclusion of their time with us they are more intellectually

advanced, socially stronger, and morally responsible. At a minimum, the Georgetown motto ‘Live, Learn, Believe’ must include social, intellectual, and faith development.

On the academic front, a second term which highlights the years to come is the verb ‘progress.’ I begin here with another quote from Albert Einstein when, in a February 5, 1930 letter to his son Eduard, he wrote: ‘Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you have to keep moving.’ As I have already acknowledged, Georgetown College has had wonderful success in preparing students in the liberal arts, but what is needed now is ‘liberal arts – extended!’

As I see it, what is needed in the immediate future is for Georgetown to keep moving with an expansion of programs which point to professional and employment interests of students.

This is not to diminish the importance of liberal arts disciplines, it is simply to be realistic in facing the economic and employment realities of students and their families. What I am suggesting here is nothing new to Georgetown; it simply needs a renewed emphasis.

The College has had pre-professional and professional programs for many years, but in recent decades those have diminished in visibility, as the College has withdrawn a bit into itself. What we must do at this juncture is step forward once again with boldness and resolve. For example, Georgetown has only begun to touch what it can do in the fields of healthcare and business. We will seek to grow in these and other areas as the College propels its influence beyond its immediate borders. The concept of ‘career preparation’ needs to be trumpeted alongside training

As I see it, what is needed in the immediate future is for Georgetown to keep moving with an expansion of programs which point to professional and employment interests of students.

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Top to Bottom: Earl A. Goode ‘62, chairman of the board of trustees, welcomed guests for the investiture recognizing new leadership and direction for Georgetown College. In his remarks on behalf of the student body, Alumni Board President Melanie Ladd ‘92 expressed confidence that under Dr. Greene’s leadership “our beloved Georgetown College will continue its tradition of liberal arts education serving a diverse group of learners in a vibrant Christian community.”Student Government Association President Turner Altman expressed appreciation for the promise of a bright future for Georgetown College “with a leader who is pursuing perfection for every student.” Karyn McKenzie, Ph.D., Chair of the Faculty, declared “unwavering support” from faculty for Dr. Greene as he seeks to “renew and strengthen our beloved college.”

in the arts and sciences. We are, to quote the College’s Mission Statement, an institution which ‘offers excellent academic preparation in the liberal arts, sciences, and professions.’

We can take a Marketing major and educate that student in communicating, analyzing, and creating. Or we can take a Criminal Justice major and add to her preparation, skill in social analysis, mediation, and moral reasoning. We can shape a student majoring in Sports Administration so that the student’s preparation is not merely that of basic skills in managing within the sports industry, but also includes understanding of social and cultural issues affecting sports-related organizations. These are not novel ideas for the College, nor is this approach new to the liberal arts, it is rather merely a matter of emphasis. I recently heard Arthur Levine, President of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, say that ‘liberal arts has always had one foot on the street’ (February 17, 2014 at the Wabash College Center of Inquiry Conference on ‘Celebrating the Value of Liberal Arts Education’). He went on to articulate the approach I am espousing, namely, strength in the liberal arts and sciences extended into the practicality of professions. In other words, a type of ‘liberal arts – extended!’ For Georgetown College this approach is not only mission-consistent, it is imperative for a successful future.

It is also worthy of support. I stand here as your president, and now set forth a charge to every friend of Georgetown College, that you shoulder the full measure of your capability in ensuring the future welfare of this College.

On the shoulders of administrators, trustees, alumni, and friends rests the responsibility for determining whether the College crawls forward with a meagre existence, or whether it flourishes to the extent worthy of its ideals.

It is the latter which is our vision. It is the later toward which I encourage us all to strive with unbridled optimism.

Georgetown College needs now to flourish. There is a potential here which is bursting to be released. It is potential built on the honor of the Georgetown traditions, on the worthiness of its mission, on the many successes through its decades, on the commitment of its people, and now on the freshness of vision. Here sits a College which can transform lives beyond anything it has yet accomplished. The expertise and the commitment is here, but it will take financial resources to make it happen. And so, I extend to you this day, not merely an invitation for support, but an opportunity to stand strong for a cause you love. Let your dedication be a transforming dedication, one which is accompanied by assurance from our Lord that your care for Georgetown College is in his good will.

It is my honor to lead Georgetown College, and I thank you for entrusting me with its leadership. What I ask of you now is to join me in renewing Georgetown College. Join me in recruiting students to the extraordinary experience that is here. Join me in providing abundant financial support for the worthy purposes here. Join me in sharing the Georgetown story that has meant so much to you. Then hold these things in your heart, with the full assurance that what is unfolding at Georgetown College is renewal in the will of our good Lord, who is indeed our beacon, and our guide.

As I look forward to the years ahead, I thank you, again, for sharing these moments. May God bless Georgetown College!

Dwaine Greene

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