Lipscomb University

Dr. Michael Adams (’60) President, University of Georgia; Former President, Centre College

The college or university presidency has been described as a role offering significant influence over a large number of people, one that is perhaps more relevant and important than ever but so frightening in its enormity that many who are well qualified for the role refuse to consider it.

Indeed, the implications of the role are enormous. Beyond the immediate responsibility for individual students and their preparation to live and lead well in the future that awaits, higher education is associated with lower unemployment, reduced crime and poverty, better health, higher levels of civic participation, and other positive impacts on society.

So, what universities come to mind as having a heritage of producing graduates with the leadership qualities and courage to take on the presidency?

Add Lipscomb University to the list. At least 16 Lipscomb graduates have served as college or university presidents and have strongly influenced the broader scope of higher education in America.

“I think one of the things about our church tradition is that we have been interested in education, interested enough to have thousands and thousands of people be sacrificial enough to start and maintain high-quality colleges and universities,” said Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry.

“To find that Lipscomb graduates have risen to the top of this profession and are leading or have led substantial institutions is impressive. It is important that Lipscomb is not only a higher education institution itself, but it has prepared people who have led higher education institutions around the country and their leadership has impacted generations of students.”

The significance of that impact is illustrated in the following brief profiles of Lipscomb’s seven living presidential graduates, including two sitting presidents – Michael Adams at The University of Georgia and Judy Hample at the University of Mary Washington.

Michael Adams ('60)

"I am honored to be included in this group of alumni,” Adams said of the graduates who have served as university presidents. “Lipscomb means a lot to me. I am grateful for the quality education I received at Lipscomb and for the exemplary lives of the people who taught me."

Adams is president of the University of Georgia and is former president of Centre College, Danville, Ky. He has led UGA into the top 20 among public universities U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” rankings. UGA has also become a national leader in study abroad programs, ranking fifth among doctoral/research institutions according to a national “Open Doors” report, among other, numerous advancements.

"I am grateful for the quality education I received at Lipscomb and for the exemplary lives of the people who taught me.”
- Dr. Michael Adams

Widely recognized as a leader in higher education administration, Adams is the only person to have served as chair of the American Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. He has been chair of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting body for higher education in the southern United States, and in 2005 received the agency's James T. Rogers Distinguished Leadership Award. He is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and chairs the NCAA Executive Committee.

Adams earned his bachelor’s degree in speech and history from Lipscomb in 1970, then attended The Ohio State University where he earned the master’s degree and doctorate in political communications, with the latter including an emphasis in educational administration. He was named a “University Fellow,” the highest recognition given by OSU’s graduate school. His education leadership roles have also included serving on the communications faculty at OSU and as vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University.

Judy Hample ('69)

Students graduating from public higher education institutions in Pennsylvania in recent years bear the imprint of Hample’s leadership whether they realize it or not. She served as chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education before becoming the eighth president – and first female in that role – at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Va., in 2008. UMW is a prestigious institution ranked fourth among peer institutions by U.S. News and World Report, and is in the top ten nationally in Peace Corps alumni.

Her leadership roles have also included serving as vice chancellor for planning, budgeting and policy analysis for the State University System of Florida Board of Regents, as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana State University, and as senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Toledo.

Hample earned the bachelor of arts in communication and secondary education/French from Lipscomb in 1969. She earned the master’s degree and doctorate in communications from The Ohio State University and has focused her scholarly work on the communication of protest and dissent and the relationship between history and rhetoric.

All of those experiences have served to inform her leadership priorities. “It is my belief that the role of a leader is to shape a shared vision for the future, engaging in that effort many key stakeholders – faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the university,” she said. “To prepare our graduates to live and work in a multicultural world and to engage in a global economy, they must experience living and working with individuals from many backgrounds and experiences. Diversity is a crucial element of educational excellence, and achieving a campus rich in diversity is an important goal.”

Wayne Baker ('60)

Dr. Wayne Baker is chancellor of York (Neb.) College, after serving as president from 1996 until January 2009. He went to York from Faulkner University, Montgomery, Ala., where he served in various administrative capacities. He has also served at Rochester College in Rochester Hills, Mich., and at Pepperdine.

During his tenure York College successfully advanced its number of four-year programs to more than 40 bachelor degrees and disciplines of study. Baker has worked closely with the city of York and the state of Nebraska to ensure the college’s success as a leader among higher educational institutions. The economic impact that York College has on the community of York alone is estimated to be $25 million each year.

Baker enthusiastically believes in the potential of young people and sees their affiliation with York College as an opportunity to become a part of a large network of faith-filled individuals. “This network is guided by our mission to provide students with the knowledge and ideals that lead to effective Christian service. This network also helps us with our purpose of sharing God’s message,” he said.

Jerry Hudson ('59)

“He understands the virtues of patience, continuous improvement and long-term relationships,” said Henry Hewitt, chairman of the Willamette University board of trustees, on Hudson’s retirement as president of that institution in 1997.

Hewitt could not have defined the exceptional leader more succinctly as he complimented Hudson, who served as Willamette’s president for 17 years after serving as president of Hamline University from 1975 to 1980. He rose to the presidency from a series of formative leadership experiences: earning his bachelor’s degree at Lipscomb in 1959, the master’s and doctorate at Tulane University, and serving at Pepperdine, where he was where professor of history, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and provost before becoming provost and dean of the university’s Malibu campus.

"I owe a great deal to Lipscomb. The education I received from Lipscomb left me well prepared to serve in higher education..”
- Dr. Jerry Hudson

“I think two aspects of my education at Lipscomb prepared me for leadership in higher education,” Hudson said. “First, the personal mentoring that went on at Lipscomb, and still continues, served me well. I received great deal of help from Howard White, my mentor at Lipscomb. He moved on to Pepperdine and offered me my first teaching job. The personal interest he showed as a faculty member at Lipscomb meant a lot to me. I didn’t go to Lipscomb with the thought of serving in higher education, but the example of Howard White and others from Lipscomb set a wonderful example for my career.

“Secondly, in going from Lipscomb to my graduate work at Tulane, I gained confidence in the value of my undergraduate education. I found myself competing with men and women from many different universities. I was able to compete with others in my field well. It was a validation of the quality of my education from Lipscomb.

“I owe a great to deal to Lipscomb. The education from Lipscomb I received left me well prepared to serve in higher education. It does speak well to the school to have this number of people who have excelled both in teaching in higher education and serving in the administration for colleges and universities,” Hudson said.

Hudson influenced higher education on a national scale as director of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He also served as president of the Oregon Independent Colleges Association and as chairman of the Educational Insurance Administrators Association. In 1987, Hudson became the executive vice president of The Collins Foundation, a philanthropic organization that works to improve and enrich the religious, educational, cultural and scientific endeavors in Oregon. He served in that capacity until 2007.

Dr. White’s mentoring of Hudson began a line of influence that continues at Lipscomb today, President Lowry said.
“Just as Howard White was his mentor, Jerry Hudson has been my mentor. In a very real sense I have received a Lipscomb education as the beneficiary of two generations of Lipscomb-educated leaders whose influence informs me daily as I serve this wonderful university,” said Lowry, who earned his bachelor’s degree at Pepperdine and the juris doctor from Hamline.

William Banowsky ('58)

The father of William S. Banowsky noted early his son’s propensity for leadership. That potential was more pronounced at Lipscomb, where he was a star baseball player and won the Founders’ Day Oratorical Contest in 1958. In 1971 he became one of the youngest college presidents in America. Banowsky began his career in higher education as assistant to the president at Pepperdine. By 1963, he had been promoted to dean of students at Pepperdine and completed his Ph.D. in speech communication. Banowsky became chancellor of Pepperdine in 1969 and turned his attention to raising money for the Malibu campus project. He exceeded expectations and ground was broken for the new campus at Malibu in 1970. A year later, Pepperdine College was elevated to university status and Banowsky was named its fourth president. In 1977, the 34-year-old chief executive was firmly on the rise when Time magazine named him one of America's two hundred leaders of the future.

In 1978, Banowsky left Pepperdine to take the helm at the University of Oklahoma, where he remained until 1985. Banowsky stressed academic improvement and is known for strengthening Oklahoma’s public/private partnership by obtaining substantial individual and corporate funding. He also drew together faculty, staff and alumni and asked them to embrace a new attitude and a new vision for both academic and athletic success for the university. Universities must never “settle for academic mediocrity,” said Banowsky.

Stephen F. Flatt ('77)

Dr. Steve Flatt served as a president twice at Lipscomb – the first being as president of the student body. Following graduation he served in a series of increasingly responsible leadership roles at the university, including director of admissions, vice president/business affairs and vice president/institutional planning. After serving as president of Ezell-Harding Christian School he was appointed president of Lipscomb University in 1997.

"I am forever grateful to mentors who saw more potential in me than I would have ever seen in myself.”
- Dr. Stephen F. Flatt

“I saw the cornerstones of leadership - commitment to mission, integrity, selflessness, and caring compassion-modeled in the lives of faculty, staff, and administrators every day,” Flatt said. “Some would say that Lipscomb sheltered students from the 'real world;' I believe Lipscomb helped me better see what God defines as ‘real’ - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Also, I am forever grateful to mentors who saw more potential in me than I would have ever seen in myself. These individuals encouraged me to broaden my horizons and prepare for opportunities I would never have imagined.”

Among advancements during his tenure were reorganization of the academic program, establishing an accredited engineering program, the nursing collaborative with Vanderbilt University, the master of business administration and master of divinity degrees, and study abroad programs in London and Montevideo. He transitioned the athletic program from the NAIA to the NCAA Division I and added the Allen Arena complex, Allen Bell Tower and the Ezell Center in addition to numerous renovations. Beyond campus, he served on the board of directors of NCAA Division I, as president of the Atlantic Sun Conference, and as chair of the board of directors of the Tennessee Independent College and Universities Association (TICUA). Students today continue to benefit from his leadership in that role to ensure that the Tennessee HOPE scholarship would be available to students attending private institutions as well as those in public schools. Flatt remained president until 2005 when he joined National Healthcare Corp., for which he now serves as president.

Harold Hazelip ('50)

Harold Hazelip served as president of Lipscomb University from 1986-1997 after 14 years as dean of the Harding School of Religion, Memphis. During his tenure David Lipscomb College became Lipscomb University following Level III, or master’s degree-level, accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Admissions standards were upgraded, and the business, music and social work programs received professional accreditation.

Other academic advancements included master’s degrees in religion and education, an adult degree program, and Lipscomb’s first semester-abroad program, in Vienna. Enrollment topped 2,500 for the first time and minority enrollment more than doubled. By example, he encouraged significant growth in the number of students participating in mission and service efforts, and Lipscomb was included in the John Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges. Construction and renovation totaled $20 million and included the addition of Beaman Library and one of the few campus-wide data networks in the Southeast. “His tenure has added greatly to the prestige of the university,” said Miles Ezell Jr., then chairman of the board of trustees.

“My years as a student at Lipscomb served to reinforce the principles of integrity and compassion and confirmed my devotion to Christian education by demonstrating the complimentary nature of faith and learning,” Hazelip said. “To return later and be able to make a difference for students, faculty and staff is one of the greatest feelings.”

After retiring from the presidency in 1997 he was appointed chancellor and today serves as president emeritus. His off-campus leadership roles have included serving as chair of TICUA, as president of the Tennessee College Association, which includes private and public institutions, and on the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

If you have served as a college or university president and are not reflected in this article or the accompanying list, please contact Chris Pepple at 615.966.6497 or chris.pepple@lipscomb.edu.

Sources: A Game of Uncommon Skill: Leading the Modern College and University by Gene Budig; Education Pays: Trends in Higher Education, Sandy Baum and Kathleen Payea, College Board, 2005.