Southern-Spring 2015

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A time of change
Here on a college campus, we’re all about transitions. Every fall, we welcome a new batch of students—
fresh young faces reveling in their independence and nervous about their next step. And every spring,
we say goodbye to the latest graduates, new adults eager to take on the world. Over their four years
here, they change immensely, learning, growing, and becoming something greater than they ever
expected.
Yet, even as time whirls by in a blur, the campus itself remains unchanged. A few employees come and
go, but as a body, the faculty and the staff stay mostly the same. The cherry trees bloom each spring
and the ginkgos green up, then turn yellow and drop their leaves the following fall. A rhythm develops:
Orientation, Convocation, Winter Break, E-Term, Spring Break, Commencement. A deep breath, and
we begin once more.
Right now, we are gearing up for a new transition. After four years, we’re saying goodbye not just to the
Class of 2015, but also to our president, Gen. Charles C. Krulak, who is retiring June 1. I guarantee that
more than the usual amount of tears will be shed when today’s seniors walk across that stage and accept
their diplomas—and hearty hugs—from the man who has led Birmingham-Southern since they began
here. And now the staff and faculty, the alumni and supporters, are the ones keen to see what (and
who) comes next.
But one thing is certain: the Hilltop will remain, solid as the Alabama limestone it is built on. The
faculty will continue to teach, the students will continue to learn, and the busy life of the city will
continue just beyond the campus’ edge. And the number of BSC alumni—now stretched around the
globe—will grow once more this May when the latest graduates take their places in the wider world.
Forward, Ever!
Hannah Wolfson
Director of Communications
Editor’s Note
Gen. Charles C. Krulak, President
Bruce Rogers ’80, Chair,
Board of Trustees
’Southern magazine is published
by the Office of Alumni Affairs
and the Office of Communications
at Birmingham-Southern College,
Birmingham, Alabama 35254.
Non-profit postage paid at
B’ham., AL Permit No. 2575 .
Postmaster: Send address changes
to: Alumni Affairs, Birmingham-
Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia
Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL
35254; telephone (205) 226-4912;
or access at
©2015 Birmingham-Southern
College.
Editorial Offices:
10 Stockham Building
900 Arkadelphia Road
Box 549004
Birmingham, AL 35254
Phone: (205) 226-4922
Fax: (205) 226-4931
E-mail:
Executive Editor: Hannah Wolfson,
Director of
Communications
Managing Editor: Pat Cole,
MPPM ’11
Communications
Specialist
Art Director: Tracy Thomas ’92,
Director of Visual
Identity and
Publications
Contributing Writers:
Pat Cole, MPPM ’11,
Communications Specialist
Sarah Erreca, Director of
Sports Information
Chris Wenning Lambert ’86,
Director of Alumni Affairs
and Stewardship
Sumner Pilcher ’15, Senior
Business Administration Major
Hannah Wolfson, Director
of Communications
Photography:
Wynter Byrd
Thomas Coiner
Cari Dean
Village Living
Jimmy Mitchell
Michael Wade
Archived photos
Submitted Photos
Presidential search nears final phase
You’ll read later in this issue about the work of our outgoing president, Gen. Charles Krulak.
As you hold these pages, a committee of alumni, trustees, faculty, and staff are interviewing
candidates for the position of BSC’s 14th president, with assistance from a national search firm.
At publication time, a first group of candidates had been selected from a pool of more than 65
applicants and nominations; they’ve been invited for in-person interviews in mid-April. There’s
still a chance for new candidates to enter the mix, too.
Even as the search heats up, however, you’ll hear less and less about it. That’s not particular
to BSC; it’s the industry standard in higher education. Confidentiality is key in hiring a college
president. Many candidates currently hold positions of great trust and influence, and letting it be
known that they’re applying elsewhere would jeopardize their current positions.
“People back home will question your commitment and loyalty,” Katherine Haley, BSC’s advisor
from the search firm Witt/Kieffer and a former college president herself, wrote last year in The
Chronicle of Higher Education. “In fact, we’ve seen sitting presidents lose their positions because
they were discovered to have been a finalist in another presidential search.”
The plan is for the committee to present three top candidates to the Board of Trustees, which
will make the final selection, to be announced in May. Until then, you can find more information
about the search at
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