Although the editor of Denison Magazine alerts me to articles planned for each issue, I don’t often take a cue for my column directly from what others may be writing. For this issue, though, I’ve made an exception. I noticed that one of the articles you’ll be reading is a light-hearted look at a Denison “bucket list.” While the idea of a bucket list is an old one, it gained cultural traction a few years ago when it became the title and theme for a popular Hollywood film starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It refers to the list of things you’d like to do before … well, before whatever comes next.
The idea of a bucket list, especially of a Denison bucket list, has resonance for me just now. As some readers already know, I announced at December’s faculty meeting–after consultation with the Board of Trustees–that I am planning to retire as Denison’s president on June 30, 2013, at the end of my 15th year. That seems just about right. Here at Denison, only President Knapp exceeded that length of tenure, serving from 1951 until his untimely death in May, 1968.
Across Ohio, I’m just about the senior-most president at any four-year college or university, public or private. But I haven’t served at Denison to set longevity records. The truth is that I’m proud of what we–not just administration, faculty, staff, and trustees, but also what all of you, the Denison family–have accomplished since 1998 that advances the college on a continuing path of excellence for the 21st century. And, at the same time, retirement in a couple of years gives my wife Tina and me the opportunity to share more time with our family and cherish our grandparenthood. For the college, this is also an opportunity to enjoy the different mix of experience, skill, personality, and enthusiasm that my successor will bring.
Now, I’m not offering a “goodbye” here. We’ve got more than two years of Denison excitement ahead. And I’m grateful that the Board of Trustees has insisted that I make the most of these years, not only completing important projects that we now have under way but also initiating new ones that will pave the way to the future. I’m energized! But once I had worked out this timetable, the Board and I concluded that there was no reason to keep it a secret. In fact, it should help the college undertake a leadership transition that is careful, thoughtful, and affirming. As an historian, I have to observe that Denison hasn’t had the luxury of such a “planned” presidential retirement since Avery Shaw stepped down at the end of the 1930s, more than 70 years ago. So this is a rare opportunity.
Back to that bucket list. Well, there are a few little things–fun things–I’d like to do before Tina and I leave Monomoy Place. I’d like to ring the Swasey Chapel bells–to my tune! I want to hike every trail in the Denison Biological Reserve. And I do want to swim laps in that great new pool now under construction. I would have added that I’d like to be in a student stage performance–but that was before I was plucked out of the audience last semester right in the middle of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
More importantly, I have a whole list of things I want to accomplish for our college–with the help of many– by June, 2013. Great teaching is at the heart of the Denison experience, and we are currently at work formalizing ongoing and innovative programs that enrich the skills of our faculty and put the most outstanding teachers and scholars in front of Denison students. We’re working to meld our adaptive liberal arts curriculum, our students’ rich co-curricular experiences, the availability of alumni mentorship, and exemplary faculty and staff advising to better prepare students for intellectual and material independence beyond college. We’ve labored hard to keep our campus not just beautiful but up to date and well equipped, with new laboratories, studios, and classrooms, as well as new facilities that support student activities and residential life. But it will take resourcefulness and planning to stay ahead of the curve and to make sure that we are providing the resources that our students and faculty need to be successful. On my bucket list is a careful review of our facilities master plan and a blueprint for the future. There’s more, of course, but that’s a start. Perhaps I can ring the Swasey Bells alone, but I can’t fulfill this more important bucket list without the collaboration of the entire Denison community.