OCR::/Vol_094/WLURG39_RTP_19950227/WLURG39_RTP_19950227_001.2.txt SPECIAL REPORT @112 Ring-mm lfilri WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VA. FEBRUARY 27, 1995 Elrod named president BY EMILY BAKER AND SARAH GILBERT Phi Editors A two-minute standing ovation greeted Friday’s announcement that John Elrod, Washington and Lee’s vice presi- dent of academic affairs and dean of the college, had been selected as W&L’s in- coming president. “I feel profoundly honored,” Elrod said. “I consider this to be one ofthe best jobs in higher education in America, and I feel as fortunate as I can be to have this job.” Elrod will be the 22nd president of Washington and Lee, Robert E. Lee’s ninth successor, and will take office July 1,1995, when John Wilson retires. Students, faculty and administration lauded the choice of the Board Selection Committee. “What our committee said to the Board Selection Committee was that they should use John Elrod as the standard by which they should hold everyone else to,” said William Watt, head of the Presidential Search Committee which recommended 11 candidates to the Board from a pool of 130 applications. Elrod came to Washington and Lee University in 1984 as dean of the college and professor of philosophy. Since he has been at W&L, Elrod has expanded the . curriculum in Cognitive Science, Neuro- science, Russian Studies, Environmental Science and Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Wilson said the appointment of Elrod was one of his best decisions as president. “The first act I performed when I came here was to head a search committee to find a new dean of the college,” Wilson said. “He has served admirably in that job. “‘I have come to know him very well; we talk every morning about the state of the university. I don’t imagine that there will be anything but a positive future with John as president,” Wilson said. J...’ Photo by Betsy Green, The Ring-tum Phi Dean of the College John Elrod voices his yatitude in Lee Chapel shortly after being named Washington and Lee’s new president Feb. 24. Elrod will replace John Wilson, retiring in July. Wilson enumerated Elrod’s qualifi- cations, which should mark him as a very successful president. “First, he has a instinctive sense of what a university is,” Wilson said. “There are lot of people who work successfully in universities and yet don ’t really know what a university is about. John knows how you can contrive an environment in which the faculty and students can relate.” Wilson also lauded Elrod’s honesty. “John has the courage of his convic- tions. People will not respect you if you try to please everybody by tailoring your re- sponses to them. You’ve got to make deci- sions in this job, whether they be good, bad or indifferent, no matter how you think people will react.” Other characteristics that will serve Elrod well in his new position, Wilson said, are his enthusiasm for life and the university, his talent for communicating, his analytical mind and his love of Wash- ington and Lee. “Fund-raising is principally a con- veying of the meaning of the place with enthusiasm and conviction,” Wilson said. “You’re going to get people to support both you and the institution if you have that.” Student leaders were also very positive about the selection. “He knows how the school works,” said Alex Cross, vice president of the execu- tive committee. “He’s familiar with the im- portant things, things that make W&L what it is, and not just ‘number fifteen’ in US News and World Report. “He recognizes the importance of stu- dent autonomy on this campus and the impor- tance of the fraternity system.” Elrod’s immediate plans are to initiate the search for a new vice president of aca- demic affairs and dean of the college, a pro- cess which should take about a year. In the meantime, he plans to appoint an acting dean. “I have been profoundly gratified by the well-wishes of the students,” Elrod said. “I didn’t know that there was such a profound interest in this announcement, and Mimi and I were really touched by that. “I look forward to a long and positive relationship with the campus.”