Roger Hull announced on Jan. 10 that he will end his 15-year tenure as
president of the College and chancellor of Union University
on June 30. His letter to the Union community and related material are at the following web
sit: http://www.union.edu/hullannouncement/
The following is an account of his reception at a faculty meeting on
Jan. 11.
“That's not what it was in 1990,”
quipped President Roger Hull on Tuesday after the first of two standing
ovations at a general faculty meeting.
Hull, who on Monday announced the
end of his 15-year tenure in June, told faculty of his tumultuous first year at
Union, his reasons for making a long-term commitment and his plans to run a
foundation for at-risk youth.
The agenda for Tuesday's faculty meeting
was tabled to pay tribute to the president.
Cliff Brown, chair of the Faculty
Executive Committee, cited some of Hull's
accomplishments: buildings, campus beautification, community revitalization,
academics and student life.
“History will remember you for all
of these and for more,” Brown said to Hull.
“But I will remember you for a year and a half that we have worked together,
during which time you have conducted matters with integrity, with equity, with
decency and with a constant regard for the well being of everybody at this
College.
“I personally am very sorry to see
you leave, although I do look forward to working closely together with you
during the next six months. You have put a lot of good projects in motion and I
know you will not want to let them lose momentum.
“So, on behalf of the FEC and the
faculty, I thank you for a job well done and I wish you well.”
The first year
“For those of you who weren't
around then, my first year was really interesting,” Hull told the faculty. There was a deficit,
there were late-night meetings with faculty upset at not being consulted, and
the student speaker at graduation remarked that the trustees had made a mistake
in hiring the president, he recalled.
“So, I thank you for your
support,” Hull
said. “It's a different reception than it was then.”
The timing
There are two good models for a
college president, Hull said, one who serves between five and 10 years, as he
did at Beloit College, and one who makes a long-term commitment, as he did at
Union.
Hull
said he chose the long-term model for three reasons: stability for his
children, the enjoyment of working with the people at Union,
and seeing through some of the changes – CT and the Minervas – that were begun
in 2000.
“I didn't think it was fair to the
institution or to my successor to bail before those programs were well
implemented,” he said.
Hull's plans
“But I'm an educational
entrepreneur and as those things were winding up, it seemed to me it made sense
to start thinking about other things.”
Hull said it was a recent phone call from U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that solidified his decision to start a
charitable foundation aimed at getting at-risk high schoolers to enroll in college.
Thomas, whose philosophy Hull said he does not share, was instrumental in 1989 in getting
funding for a similar program Hull started at Beloit.
Thomas was then head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Several weeks ago, after Thomas
called to see how the Beloit program was going, Hull turned to a companion
and said, “That's it. That's the focus of the foundation. That's what I want to
do.”
The program claims a 95 percent success
rate. “If true, that's better than any high school that I'm aware of,” Hull said. “If not quite
true, it's still something worth doing.”
Hull
said he plans to make the program national starting with schools in California. “I think
it's the type of program that will change people's lives.”
Open style, no layoffs
Hull who said he always tried to be as open
as possible, said “I think that's the way a college like this needs to be run.
My hope is that it will continue to be run in that fashion.”
Hull, asked about his legacy on Monday by the
media, said, “It's not for me to comment. But I said that the things that we
have done together are things that I feel good about. I would not change any
decision. Every decision was made with nothing in mind but what I believe was
in the best interest of Union.”
“The things we have done together
have been done without any layoffs and that's what I feel best about.”
Before he goes
At the end of his talk, Hull surveyed the audience to find Hilary Tann, professor
of music, who has long asked Hull
about plans to upgrade the arts facilities.
“I intend to be the president of Union College
until June 30,” he said. “The budget going forward will be balanced. We will
get full enrollment. And, Hilary, I will get you your building.”
