Robert R. Lindgren - Randolph-Macon College

The Inauguration of
Robert R. Lindgren
Fifteenth President
Randolph-Macon College
Ashland, Virginia
Friday, October 27, 2006

The Inauguration of
Robert R. Lindgren
Fifteenth President
Randolph-Macon College
Ashland, Virginia
Friday, October 27, 2006
2:00 p.m.
Frank E. Brown Fountain Plaza

Order of Ceremony
Prelude
The Richmond Brass Consort
Mr. George Tuckwiller, Director
*Processional
Marshal
Delegates from Colleges and Universities
Delegates from Academic Associations
Trustees of the College
Faculty of the College
The Simpson Mace
The Platform Party
*Invocation
The Rev. Darrell L. Headrick, Chaplain, Randolph-Macon College
*National Anthem
The Richmond Brass Consort
Welcome
Mr. Macon F. Brock, Jr. ’64, Chair,
Board of Trustees, Randolph-Macon College
Salutatory
Dr. Daniel H. Weiss
President, Lafayette College
Greetings to the New President
From the Former Presidents – Dr. C. Ladell Payne,
President Emeritus, Randolph-Macon College
From the Faculty – Dr. Brian C. Turner, Secretary of the Faculty
From the Student Body – Ms. Margaret E. Shamburger ’07,
President, SGA
From the Staff – Dr. Mary Polce-Lynch, Staff Representative
From the Alumni – Mr. Robert H. Patterson ’94, President,
Society of Alumni
From the Town of Ashland – Mayor Faye O. Prichard
From the City of Richmond – Mayor L. Douglas Wilder
From the Commonwealth of Virginia –
The Hon. L. Preston Bryant, Jr. ’86, Secretary of Natural Resources
From Higher Education in Virginia – Dr. Alan G. Merten,
President, George Mason University
From The United Methodist Church –
The Rev. Mark V. Ogren, Ashland District Superintendent
From The Johns Hopkins University – Dr. William R. Brody,
President
2

Anthem
Hold On (Spiritual, arr. Jester Hairston)
The Randolph-Macon College Concert Choir
Dr. Christopher O. Ryder, Director
Installation
Mr. Macon F. Brock, Jr.
Presentation of the Medallion
Dr. Roger H. Martin, President Emeritus, Randolph-Macon College
Dr. Luther W. White, III ’47, Former President,
Randolph-Macon College
Dr. William T. Franz, Interim Dean of the College and
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Inaugural Address
Mr. Robert R. Lindgren, Fifteenth President,
Randolph-Macon College
Concluding remarks
Mr. Macon F. Brock, Jr.
*Alma Mater
Bowered midst its oaks and maples
Beautiful to view
Stands our Noble Alma Mater
Randolph-Macon true.
Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Ne’er let praises fail!
Hail to thee our Alma Mater
Randolph-Macon hail!
*Benediction
The Rev. Darrell Headrick
*Recessional
Additional Information for Guests:
Restroom facilities are available in the Frank E. Brown Campus Center, Blackwell Auditorium and the
Thomas Branch building (handicap accessible).
*Audience will please stand
3

The Lindgren Family
Lindgren children on the front row are Jim, Greg and Andrea and
golden retriever, Brittany. Back row: President Lindgren and his wife Cheryl
Since his arrival in February of this year, Randolph-Macon College’s 15th
president, Robert R. Lindgren, has focused heavily on making connections with
students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and the surrounding communities. He has
immersed himself in the Randolph-Macon culture and has been warmly received by
all who have met him.
In particular, President Lindgren, who has focused on reaching out to students,
has become known as “the students’ president.” Within just a few months of his
taking office, he invited the entire freshman class in small groups to dessert at his
home; met with nearly every sorority and fraternity on campus; celebrated the
largest graduation in college history with more than 270 seniors; and helped recruit
the largest entering freshman class in the college’s history. And those personal
connections have only continued to grow.
President Lindgren also is making connections in the external community.
He has spoken to business and civic groups and met numerous Richmond leaders.
4

Robert R. Lindgren
He also hosted a series of receptions throughout
Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. for
parents, alumni and friends of the college, a
tradition he plans to maintain in the future.
He continues to declare his strong support
for the necessity and value of a liberal arts and
sciences education in helping students excel in
today’s world. President Lindgren notes this type
of educational experience is the best in the country
and in the world, particularly because of the
one-on-one connections made between students
and faculty, as well as the countless opportunities
– both in and out of the classroom – for students to
excel and grow, personally and academically.
President Lindgren came to Randolph-Macon
from The Johns Hopkins Institutions in Baltimore,
Maryland, where he served as vice president for
Development and Alumni Relations. During his
11 1/2 years there, President Lindgren headed
unprecedented back-to-back, comprehensive
fund-raising campaigns that generated nearly
$3.5 billion. Johns Hopkins was one of only four
universities to have ever raised as much as $300
million per year for six consecutive years during
his tenure. Acknowledged as a national leader
in the field of higher education advancement, he
headed a staff of 350, managed the department’s
$32 million budget, and led all fundraising and
alumni relations activities at Johns Hopkins.
Prior to joining Johns Hopkins in 1994,
President Lindgren served for 10 years as vice
president and chief development officer at
the University of Florida, heading a program
recognized as one of the top 10 of all public
institutions. He also served as the chief executive
officer of the University of Florida Foundation
and led and completed Florida’s first universitywide
campaign, the third largest ever conducted
by a public university at that time. While at the
University of Florida, President Lindgren also
served as an assistant dean for the College of Law
and earlier as the assistant to the president of
the University.
A native of Muskegon, Michigan, President
Lindgren is a 1976 graduate of the University of
Florida, and also earned his Juris Doctor there in
1981. He earned a master of philosophy degree
in management studies in 1978 from Oxford
University in England, where he was supported
by a Rotary Fellowship and where he currently
serves as a senior director of the Brasenose College
Charitable Foundation.
President Lindgren and his wife, Cheryl,
have three children: 16-year-old Jim who plays
football, baseball and jazz guitar; 11-year-old Greg
who likes gymnastics and basketball and excels in
art; and 6-year-old Andrea who loves swimming,
music and gardening. Cheryl, who also earned
her bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees from the
University of Florida – where the couple met
– dedicates herself full time to raising the Lindgren
family, which also includes Brittany, the family’s
golden retriever. The Lindgren family already
calls Ashland, “the Center of the Universe,” home
and looks forward to their future as part of the
Randolph-Macon family.
5

Guest Speaker
DANIEL H. WEISS
Sixteenth President of Lafayette College
Daniel H. Weiss assumed the presidency
of Lafayette College on July 1, 2005. Lafayette,
which is located in Easton, Pennsylvania, is a
highly selective independent, coeducational
institution enrolling 2,300 undergraduates. The
college offers programs of instruction leading
to the Bachelor of Arts degree in 32 fields of
study, including engineering, and the Bachelor of
Science degree in nine areas of science and four
fields of engineering.
Daniel Weiss came to Lafayette from The
Johns Hopkins University, where he was the
James B. Knapp Dean of the Zanvyl Krieger
School of Arts and Sciences. His duties as dean
included oversight of all departments and faculty,
graduate and undergraduate academic programs,
scholarly and scientific research, budget
and financial operations, strategic planning,
development and alumni affairs, housing and
student life, admissions and enrollment services.
Before being named to that position in 2002,
he was the Dean of the Faculty at the Krieger
School, with responsibility for academic and
budgetary oversight of 300 faculty within 30
departments and major centers.
A leading authority on the art of medieval
Europe in the Age of the Crusades, Weiss was
a professor of art history in the Krieger School
and chaired the art history department from
1998 to 2001. He earned his M.A. (1982) and
Ph.D. (1992) in art history at Johns Hopkins
and joined the faculty there in 1993. He also
holds an M.B.A. (1985) from the Yale School of
Management and was a consultant with Booz,
Allen & Hamilton, Inc. from 1985 to 1989. He
received his B.A. from The George Washington
University in 1979, with a double major in art
history and psychology.
Weiss has written or edited four books and
numerous articles on the art of the Middle Ages,
with a special focus on Romanesque, Gothic and
Crusader art and the interaction of Byzantine
culture with the Medieval West. He has also
published widely in other fields, including
American higher education and the Second
World War, and has lectured at many colleges,
universities and museums in the United States
and abroad. His research has been supported by
grants from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Harvard University, Yale University,
the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Centro
italiano di studi sull’Alto medioevo.
In 1994 he won the Van Courtlandt Elliott
Prize, which is awarded annually by the Medieval
Academy of America for a first article in the field
of Medieval Studies judged to be of outstanding
quality. He was one of the first art historians to
receive that award. He received three awards
for teaching excellence as a member of the
Johns Hopkins faculty and was the recipient of
the Aaron O. Hoff People’s Choice Award at
Lafayette College in 2006.
Weiss is on the International Advisory
Board of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore
and a member of the Board of Trustees of the
Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.
He is married to Sandra Jarva Weiss, a graduate
of The George Washington University and its
law school. A specialist in health-care law, she is
an attorney in the firm of Tallman, Hudders &
Sorrentino. The Weisses have two young sons,
Teddy and Joel.
6

History & Distinctions
Founded in 1830 by the Methodists, Randolph-
Macon College is a selective, coeducational, national
liberal arts and sciences college with a mission of
“developing the minds and character of its students.”
Randolph-Macon achieves this mission by creating
unique moments of connection between faculty and
students. These one-on-one personal connections
are supported by a student-faculty ratio of 11:1 and
an average class size of 15 students.
With an extensive liberal arts and sciences
core curriculum and 29 majors, Randolph-Macon’s
academic program exposes students to broad
perspectives and specific concepts, and also provides
students the skills needed to succeed in their
academic quests, in their post graduate pursuits, in
their careers and in their lives. Randolph-Macon
graduates have excelled in virtually every career field
from business to science, law to medicine, education
to journalism, and beyond. R-MC offers a broad
academic foundation and numerous opportunities
for individualizing one’s education. Students have
the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking
programs such as the Summer Undergraduate
Research Fellowship (SURF) program; regional,
national and international internship opportunities;
R-MC’s extensive study abroad program; and the
college’s innovative First Year Experience (FYE)
program. These exceptional programs provide
unique experiences that expose students to career
opportunities, to other cultures, and to the rigors
of postgraduate education — experiences that have
placed our graduates a step ahead when they enter
the “real world” after graduation. Approximately 27
percent of R-MC graduates go directly to graduate
school, and 95 percent of those seeking employment
after graduation find jobs with career potential
within six months of graduation.
Located in historic Ashland, Virginia,
Randolph-Macon College is the oldest Methodistaffiliated
college in the nation. In the 1820s, the
Virginia Conference of the United Methodist
Church recognized the need to educate young
men for the clergy and also to provide additional
outreach opportunities for the church. In 1830,
the Virginia legislature approved a charter for
Randolph-Macon College, to be located in Boydton,
Virginia, near the border of North Carolina. The
college, named for John Randolph, a Virginia
statesman, and Nathaniel Macon, a North Carolina
statesman, was moved to Ashland, Virginia, in
1868 after the railroads to Boydton were destroyed
during the Civil War. While the move to Ashland
challenged the college’s spirit, it also stimulated new
growth. The students themselves raised most of the
funds for the first major building constructed on the
new campus — Washington and Franklin Hall. In
this century, Randolph-Macon’s campus has grown
to more than 60 major buildings — three of which
are on the National Register of Historic Places —
on 120 acres. Recent enhancements include a new
Peaks of Excellence center, the Brock Recreation
Center, a new Freshman Village complex and a full
renovation of the college’s Crenshaw Gymnasium.
Among its many distinctions, R-MC was the first
college in the nation to require laboratory work in
connection with science courses; R-MC founded
Chi Beta Phi, the national science honorary society;
Randolph-Macon has been a Phi Beta Kappa
institution since 1923; and it also remains the only
college in the nation with a direct affiliation to the
Agora Archeological Excavations in Athens, Greece.
Today, Randolph-Macon College continues
to attract and educate outstanding students of all
backgrounds and from all parts of the country and
the world. Currently, R-MC enrolls students from
Virginia, 30 other states and 22 foreign countries.
The college, which celebrated its 175th anniversary
in 2005, also remains a vital force in private higher
education. It has earned a distinguished reputation
for the quality of its graduates, who, nationwide and
internationally, provide leadership and active service
in their communities, in their churches and in
their careers.
With the inauguration of President Robert R.
Lindgren as its 15th president, Randolph-Macon
reaffirms its commitment to excellent teaching, to
personal student connections and to the value of the
liberal arts and sciences as the best preparation and
foundation for life and career.
7

Academic Traditions
The Academic Dress
Modern American academic dress follows a custom that preserves many of the
features that originated in the Middle Ages, when cap, gown, tunic and hood were
ordinary clothing for men of all ranks, inside and outside the universities. The people
of the Middle Ages associated particular styles of gowns and hoods with scholars of
varying degrees of prestige.
President Lindgren’s black woolen gown with purple velvet chevrons and panels is
the juris doctor gown of the University of Florida.
The velvet bindings seen in various colors on the hoods worn in Randolph-Macon’s
academic procession indicate the following degrees:
Agriculture
Arts, Letters, Humanities
Commerce, Accountancy, Business
Dentistry
Economics
Education
Engineering
Fine Arts, including Architecture
Forestry
Journalism
Law
Library Science
Medicine
Music
Nursing
Oratory (Speech)
Pharmacy
Philosophy
Physical Education
Public Administration,
including Foreign Service
Public Health
Science
Social Work
Theology
Veterinary Science
Maize
White
Drab
Lilac
Copper
Light Blue
Orange
Brown
Russet
Crimson
Purple
Lemon
Green
Pink
Apricot
Silver Gray
Olive Green
Dark Blue
Sage Green
Peacock Blue
Salmon Pink
Golden Yellow
Citron
Scarlet
Gray
8

Academic Traditions
The Simpson Mace
The Simpson Mace is a symbol of academic authority at Randolph-Macon
College. Dr. W. Schuyler Miller carried it for the first time on September 16, 1988,
as the faculty processed to the fall convocation and dedication ceremony for the
McGraw-Page Library.
Dr. and Mrs. Grellet C. Simpson presented the mace in honor of Dr. Thomas
McNider Simpson, Jr., Class of 1901, a Randolph-Macon professor of mathematics
and dean of the faculty, and the sixteen members of the Simpson family who attended
the college between 1894 and 1984. Grellet Simpson, a member of the Randolph-
Macon College Class of 1930, was a professor of English and dean of the faculty at
his alma mater.
The Presidential Medallion
Susannah Wagner, a registered British silversmith of Ashland, Virginia, created
the Presidential Medallion in 1998 using a silver representation of the college’s seal
created by the Franklin Mint. The chain and frame around the seal are silver; the oak
and maple leaf insets within the chain are gold. The medallion, which symbolizes the
office of the president, was a gift to the college from Mr. and Mrs. John B. Werner of
Richmond, Virginia.
Mr. Werner is a member of the Randolph-Macon Class of 1953 and Trustee
Emeritus.
The College Seal
The official college seal depicts Randolph-Macon’s first building, a four-story
brick structure built in 1832, parts of which still stand today on the school’s original
campus in Boydton, Virginia. Encircling this image are the words Sigillum Collegi
Randolph-Maconensis in Virginia—“Seal of Randolph-Macon College in Virginia.”
The seal appears on all Randolph-Macon College diplomas and other official
documents of the college.
9

Randolph-Macon College Trustees
BOARD of TRUSTEES 2006-2007
Macon F. Brock, Jr. ’64 (Chair)
Chairman of the Board
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
Chesapeake, Virginia
Alan J. Chenery, Jr. ’50
Retired Educator
Bon Air, Virginia
John P. Clarke, M.D. ’57
Retired Surgeon
Virginia Beach, Virginia
John P. Cougill ’72
Real Estate Investor and Owner
Seven Hills Realty
Richmond, Virginia
Ralph R. Crosby, Jr.
Retired Executive Partner
Coopers & Lybrand
Richmond, Virginia
A. Douglas Dalton, Jr. ’70
President/CEO
English Construction Co., Inc.
Lynchburg, Virginia
The Hon. E. T. DeJarnette, Jr.
Managing Director
US-Africa Energy Association
Retired U.S. Ambassador
Ashland, Virginia
Parker O. Dillard ’62
Vice President and Co-owner
Arcet Equipment Company
Richmond, Virginia
Jack M. Enoch, Jr. ’70
Senior Vice President
Branch Cabell Group
RBC Dain Rauscher
Richmond, Virginia
Robin Anne Floyd ’85
Civic Volunteer
Washington, D.C.
Douglas W. Foard ’61
Retired Executive Secretary
Phi Beta Kappa
Lovettsville, Virginia
Patricia G. Hanback ’75
Virginia Regional Manager
Commercial Real Estate Group
RBC Centura Bank
Norfolk, Virginia
Barbara L. Hopkins ’84
Principal
Quick Study Consulting, LLC
Parkville, Maryland
Patrick J. and Catherine L. Hughes
(Chairs)
Board of Directors
Parents Association
Richmond, Virginia
Michael A. Jessee ’68
President and CEO
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Charlene P. Kammerer
Bishop
Virginia Conference
The United Methodist Church
Richmond, Virginia
William B. Kilduff ’74
Attorney at Law
Emroch & Kilduff, LLP
Richmond, Virginia
The Rev. Charles B. King ’64
Retired Ashland District Superintendent
United Methodist Church
Midlothian, Virginia
10

Randolph-Macon College Trustees
John C. Lee, IV ’79
President & CEO
Lee Technologies Group
Fairfax, Virginia
Stephen P. Long, M.D. ’82
President/Physician
Commonwealth Pain Specialists LLC
Richmond, Virginia
E. Jackson Luck ’64
General Manager & Vice President
Luck Chevrolet
Ashland, Virginia
Anne Derby McDougall ’79
Attorney at Law
Freed & Shepherd, P.C.
Ashland, Virginia
Robert H. Patterson ’94
Society of Alumni Representative
Principal
Accelerated Growth Partners
Richmond, Virginia
Donald E. Perry ’62
President
Continental Properties Corporation
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Alan B. Rashkind ’69
Attorney at Law
Furniss, Davis, Rashkind and Saunders,
P.C.
Norfolk, Virginia
Robert E. Riley ’70
Chief Executive Officer
Emaar Hotels and Resorts (UK) Limited
London, England
James L. Sanderlin ’63
Senior Vice President – Law
Dominion Resource Services, Inc.
Richmond, Virginia
Thomas G. Shafran ’71
President, Better Homes Realty, Inc.
Fairfax, Virginia
Barry L. Spence ’78
Board of Associates Representative
Lead Systems Programmer
Dominion Resource Services, Inc.
Richmond, Virginia
Lee B. Spencer, Jr.
President
West Hill Properties, LLC
New York, New York
Harold E. Starke, Jr. ’67
Attorney & Partner
Troutman Sanders, LLP
Richmond, Virginia
R. Douglas White ’80
Chief Operating Officer
Loan to Learn
Sterling, Virginia
Charles S. Wilson, M.D. ’74
Ophthalmologist
Farmville, Virginia
Charles W. Wornom ’64
President
Abbitt Realty Company
Newport News, Virginia
Administrative Officers
Mr. Robert R. Lindgren, President
Mr. John C. Conkright,
Executive Assistant to the President
Mr. John A. Ahladas, Treasurer
Dr. William T. Franz, Interim Dean of the
College and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Steven W. Nape,
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
Ms. Laura A. Neff, Dean of Students
11

Presidents of Randolph-Macon College
1st President
Stephen Olin – 1834-1836
2nd President
Landon C. Garland – 1836-1846
3rd President
William A. Smith – 1846-1866
4th President
Thomas C. Johnson – 1866-1868
5th President
James A. Duncan – 1868-1877
6th President
William W. Bennett – 1877-1886
7th President
William W. Smith (Class of 1873) –
1886-1897
8th President
John A. Kern – 1897-1899
9th President
William G. Starr (Class of 1859) – 1899-1902
10th President
Robert E. Blackwell (Class of 1874) – 1902-1938
11th President
J. Earl Moreland – 1939-1967
12th President
Luther W. White, III, ’47– 1967-1979
13th President
C. Ladell Payne – 1979-1997
14th President
Roger H. Martin – 1997-2006
15th President
Robert R. Lindgren – 2006-present
Presidential Search Committee
Harold E. Starke, Jr. ’67,
Search Chair; Board of Trustees
Macon F. Brock, Jr. ’64,
Search Vice Chair; Chair, Board of Trustees
Dr. Lauren Cohen Bell, R-MC Faculty
Edmund T. DeJarnette, Jr.,
Board of Trustees
Ellen S. Field, Past President,
Parents Advisory Council
Dr. William T. Franz, R-MC Faculty
and Interim Dean of the College
Dr. Elizabeth A. Gill, R-MC Faculty
Barbara L. Hopkins ’84, Board of Trustees
Dr. Steven W. Nape,
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
Donald E. Perry ’62, Board of Trustees
Benjamin S. Schapiro ’64,
Advisory Member, Board of Trustees
Lee B. Spencer, Jr., Board of Trustees
Brittany N. Walker, 06, Former SGA
Secretary and Student Representative
Charles W. Wornom ’64,
Board of Trustees and Past President,
Society of Alumni
Inauguration Planning Committee
Dr. William T. Franz – Chair, Anne Marie Lauranzon - Associate Chair, John A. Ahladas,
Michael C. Carter ’75, Susan H. Donavant, Mark A. Devlin, Thomas P. Dwyer, Kathryn A.
Hull, Laura A. Neff, Charlotte R. Parrish, Dr. Mary Polce-Lynch, Margaret E. Shamburger ’07,
Dr. Edward D. Showalter ’84
12