“Surrounded By My Future”

Chancellor Hample, Governors, Trustees, distinguished guests, colleagues, students, alumni, and friends, I thank you for joining us on this day in the history of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.

What better way to serve the ideals of my family than to serve as the president of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania?

Arlena Seneca, a great aunt who was only able to attend college because immediate and extended family members pooled their money to pay her tuition. Thomasine Miller, who nurtured our close-knit family, including my brothers, sister and my partner in life, Nicolette.

Faculty, staff, students, and friends in this community,
your kindness has been inspiring, your advice has been enlightening, and your sharing has been humbling.
Thank you very much for all you have done these past
few months.

My predecessors at Lock Haven University were tremendous leaders who were right for Lock Haven University at that given point in time. They connected
higher education to the common good. They were outstanding. They energized the campus and consistently moved it forward.

My immediate predecessor is here this afternoon.
Dr. Craig Dean Willis, would you please rise so we
can show our appreciation to you for your tremendous contributions to Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania?

(applause)

On behalf of all of us, thank you for all you have done!

I am deeply grateful that so many friends and colleagues
are here physically as well as in spirit, from Arizona to New York; New York to Wisconsin; and Wisconsin to the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I stand here today as an accumulation of my past experiences.

I am not to be a man of achievement and accomplishment,
but rather an individual of service. Life is not about what you accomplish; but is about what you learn, who you help and how you live.

While today marks a presidential installation, this day
is really not for me personally. It is a day to embrace
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.

In our interdependent world, LHU has a long-standing history of international, domestic, and regional partnerships. Such goals as the eradication of poverty, respect for human rights, regard for gender equality, and consideration for cultural and religious diversity are important aspects of Lock Haven University’s being.

Values such as:

    - learning from our past but maintaining spontaneity

    - losing interest in judging others

    - having the ability to agree to disagree.

    - and constantly showing appreciation to and for
       our colleagues

       …are commonly accepted.

I am having great fun at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.  Contrary to popular belief, I think you can mix business with pleasure. I am doing it right now. 

Television personality Hugh Downs said, “The most creative people I know, and some of the happiest, mix business with pleasure.” He goes on to say, “I struggled with the business of broadcasting for more than a dozen years. I made neither a name nor any money in it until I started having fun with it.” He decided to have fun with it. He had fun with his guests and his colleagues.1

He hasn’t looked back since, and that’s the way it
should be.

It should be that way for all of us. Let’s have a good time with each other. Let’s have a good time doing what we do. Fun is a powerful motive.

I am enjoying this university and the Lock Haven community. I am having a great time with organizations
such as APSCUF, SPFPA, AFSCME, and SCUPA, among many others. It’s almost a “love fest.” Well, maybe that’s a stretch. Most of the time it is fun.

Years ago, I was sitting at lunch one day with three other faculty members and they were really speaking poorly of the university president. They were cutting him to ribbons. Finally there were a few seconds of silence as they had
to rest for a minute. Then one of them sighed. “I tell you, this president is a real menace. You don’t know him the way I do.”

“Oh, yes, I do,” countered another, “I know every bit as much as you do.”

“No way,” snorted the first man, “how could you possibly know him as well as I do? I’m his best friend.”2

Having a vision is an important part of institutional growth.
I will always have a vision for LHU and the Lock Haven Community. Let’s consistently work together to attain
this vision.

Vision is a crucial component in the formula for success. It holds the key to the future. The inspirational lives I look to for guidance remind me of this time and time again.

The following incident illustrates the point.

At Disney Studios in Burbank, California, Mike Vance, former Disney executive, could gaze out of his office window across Buena Vista Street, to St. Joseph’s Hospital where Walt Disney died. His death was preceded by an amazing incident that reportedly took place the night before in Walt’s hospital room.

A journalist, knowing Walt was seriously ill, persisted in
getting an interview with Walt and was frustrated on numerous occasions by the hospital staff. When he finally managed to
get into the room, Walt couldn’t sit up in bed or talk above
a whisper.

Walt instructed the reporter to lie down on the bed next to
him, so he could whisper in the reporter’s ear. For the next 30 minutes, Walt and the journalist lay side by side as Walt referred to an imaginary map of Walt Disney World on the ceiling above the bed.

Walt pointed out where he planned to place various attractions and buildings. He talked about transportation, hotels, restaurants, and many other parts of his vision for a property that wouldn’t open to the public for another six years.

A man who lay dying in the hospital whispered in a reporter’s ear for 30 minutes describing his vision for the future and the role he would play in it for generations to come.3

This is the way to live—believing so much in your vision that even under the worst of circumstances, you whisper it into another person’s ear.

I will not get into the specifics of my vision for Lock Haven University because many of you have heard it over and over again. For those who have not heard it, it includes enhancing the use of technology, turning academic excellence into eminence, and diversifying how we deliver the educational experience. There are other components
as well.

Beyond my vision, though, all faculty and staff at
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania are stewards.
We manage the academic and extramural affairs of the Commonwealth through Lock Haven University. The wealth of Lock Haven University is placed in our trust so that it may multiply. We, at the university, appreciate the confidence and trust in us displayed by the community, the state and our colleagues at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Much has been given to us in Lock Haven and therefore much is expected. We are the stewards of information; the stewards of knowledge. The talents we collectively have are to be used for the common good. And, to this end our work is never done.

Let’s think like a community.

Let’s turn our work into our cause.

Let’s turn criticism into collaboration.

We will share the fruits of our knowledge with the community, with the region, and with the state. It is our obligation, it is our duty, and it is our pleasure to do so.

Let’s set goals that are beyond our expectations. There is an old adage that goes like this:

 Bite off more than you can chew,

 Then chew it.

 Plan more than you can do,

 Then do it.4

The caveat is to do the right things and do things right.
A fellow president was once told: Adversity is something everyone will go through. How we handle it is what's important.

There are always reasons not to be happy or satisfied.
All of us have plenty of reasons to be unhappy, irritated
or even angry. It's easy to be angry at anything or anyone. It’s more difficult to let the anger go.   

Aristotle once said, “Anyone can be angry—that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree,
at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not easy.”5  He has a point.

Robert Frost once said: "Education is the ability to listen
to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."6 The ability to listen is so important in life.
But you really have to have confidence to listen. You
really have to be well on your way to having a world view, yet be open to suggestions, ideas and other perspectives. Listening is a learned skill and being educated helps. Hopefully, we can provide that type of education at
Lock Haven University.

Good listeners are not only popular everywhere, but after
a while they know something. Hopefully presidents are like that. Hopefully, this president is like that…listening to each other will be a permanent fixture at LHU.

Paraphrasing James Sizoo, he said: I will never forget that glamour is not greatness; applause is not fame; prominence is not eminence. The man of the hour is not apt to be the man of the ages.7  I believe this holds true for presidents.

It is what the students do and it is what the faculty and staff do, with some help from the administration, that determines the history of Lock Haven University.

The greatest forces in a university are never spectacular.

Part of my job is to get rid of the unnecessary barriers
for faculty and staff. Hopefully, I can help release some
of the talent and skill. I do know that there are enough
of the right people here at Lock Haven University and in the community to make this an incredible journey. My
job is to help make your dreams possible.

I am surrounded by smart people, people who are
making a difference. It is terrific to be surrounded by individuals who have contributed so much to our
university and community.

It is just great to be surrounded by my future.

What counts in a leader is action. One person put it
this way: “To look is one thing. To see what you look at is another. To understand what you see is a third. To learn from what you understand is still something else. But to selectively act on what you learn is all that really matters.8  This is leadership!

There will be a willingness to involve others and
elicit everyone’s participation. Power and control is
always shared.

Let’s work in such a way that we don’t chase every rabbit that crosses our path. Let’s not try to right every wrong or win every battle. Let’s always be focused on stewardship.

And to that end, I am proud and honored to be the thirteenth president of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.

As we move forward in our lives let’s remember this proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”9

Thank you for your indulgence! 

1  Gilbert, Rob (1997).  More of the Best Bits and Pieces. The Economics Press p. 77. 

2  Ibid, p. 76

3  Ibid, p. 256

4  Ibid, p. 80

5 Ibid, p. 11

6  Ibid, p. 53

7  Ibid, p. 93

8 Ibid, p. 6

9 Ibid, p. 4