POSSIBILITIES

Deep Roots

By Dr. Susanna L. Baxter, 26th President of LaGrange College

In May I awoke to news no one wants to hear—two student-athletes involved in what we would later learn was a horrific accident that killed three people. As a mother and as a president, the news was just too horrible to comprehend. We all had just watched them win—forming a dogpile, celebrating baseball’s fifth conference title—full of life and future. And then suddenly, they weren’t.

While I have learned much about the LC community in my first two years, nothing solidified for me the specialness of this college more than the days and weeks that followed. We came together in our grief—students, teammates, parents, community, alumni, faculty and staff. We hugged. We cried. We comforted. We cheered through our tears. Even the bagpipers at graduation asked if they could help honor Stephen, Jacob and Rico by playing “Amazing Grace.” We represented the best of what being a part of a Christian community means.

Recently I talked at a summer orientation session for new students about the LaGrange family and what it means to be here. As I spoke, I noticed current students had tears in their eyes. Those tears told the story: Our connections with each other and this beloved college run deep.

I witnessed those deep roots in April during my COVID-delayed official inauguration as I saw so many alumni come home to the Hill as a demonstrative show of support for the college’s past and future.

On the very morning of the investiture ceremony, the Board of Trustees approved our new campus strategic plan. This document provides our roadmap for the days ahead.

Though filled with specific goals and strategies, the plan, at its heart, is a firm declaration of our commitment to the connections fostered by our studentcentered approach. And it points to what this historic institution can become as we continue to grow upward from the deep roots found here on the Hill.