Slje fierteje
VOL. 3, NO. 11
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, N.C.
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988
Dr. Garner
inaugurated
as president
JUDGE PHIL CARLTON INSTALLS DR. GARNER AS WESLEYAN’S THIRD PRESIDENT
By MIKE BROWN
Dr. Leslie H. Gamer Jr. was inau
gurated last week as the third presi
dent of North Carolina Wesleyan
College.
The inauguration capped two days
of celebration and discussion of the
futiffe development of Eastern North
Carolina, with a number of state and
business leaders participating.
At the 2:30 afternoon ceremony.
Gamer in his inaugural address
pledged the college’s resources to
preparing Eastem North Carolina for
a prosperous future and to preserving
the region’s native culture. “We are in
the midst of the most profound eco
nomic transition of this century.”
Gamer said. “Yet, aU of us should
(Continued on Page 3)
Garner hopes to lengthen shadow of Wesley
{The Decree appreciates per
mission by Dr. Garner to reprint
Dr. Garner’s Inaugural Address in
its entirety.)
By LESLIE H. GARNER, JR.
Thank you, Judge Carlton. It is an
honor to have been selected as Presi
dent of North Carolina Wesleyan
College. I appreciate and am humbled
by the trust placed in me by the Board
of Tmstees. Thank you. Dr. Flowers,
Ms. Freeman, Rev. Home, and
Bishop Minnick foryour warm greet
ings.
It was a year ago tomorrow that I
visited this campus as a Presidential
candidate. Once an offer of the Presi
dency was extended, I accepted be
cause I had the confidence that the
faculty, staff, students and alumni
possessed the wisdom, skill and
commitment to make Wesleyan a
college of distinction. I have not been
disappointed. You are a tmly fine
group of people. The future of the
college is embedded in your spirit, not
in my potential.
I should note that the campus visit
of a year ago was not my first to
Wesleyan. My minister brought me
here in the 1960’s to show me with
pride what this conference was doing
in higher education. The campus is as
beautiful now as it was then, and it
stands as testimony to the commit
ment of the North Carolina Confer
ence of the United Methodist Church
to higher education, to the people of
this region and to the obvious fact that
education is amatterof faith as well as
of the intellect. There is a reservoir of
good will toward this college and
toward education in this Conference,
and. Bishop Minnick, for what you
and others in this conference have
done for Wesleyan, I and others here
today are very grateful.
When I visited this campus a year
ago, several of my meetings with
faculty and staff were held in the
Tmstees Room. There we talked
(Continued on Page 4)
Lori Blackburn (left photo) receives the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award and Tom Rivers (right photo) is presented the President's Cup
Award by President Les Garner during the annual Honors Convocation ceremony April 10 acknowledging the highest degree of academic
achievement, service, and leadership of Wesleyan students. A complete list of award winners will appear in the next issue of The Decree.