MU | Presidential Transition
Over my 30 years at Manchester , I have gotten very good at asking others open-ended questions to start a conversation : What are you most looking forward to about college ? What campus experiences are you most enjoying ? What has your journey been since leaving Manchester ?
Since announcing our impending retirement in October , Renée and I have been on the receiving end of similar questions . What have you most enjoyed about your time at Manchester ? What are you planning to do in retirement ?
The first question is easy for us to answer : We ’ ve most enjoyed the people we ’ ve met , stories we ’ ve shared and relationships we ’ ve developed . We cherish hearing from alumni about how they met their future partners at Manchester .
dawn on me that day that I was a caretaker of the legacies of all those who came before me and the possibilities that await future generations of students , graduates and colleagues .
Our mission connects past , present and future . A visitor to campus recently heard me give my presidential stump speech about our mission and summarized it this way : “ It sounds like your mission is to unscrew up the world .” That ’ s it . That ’ s us . Unscrewing up the world , one Manchester graduate at a time .
Renée and I are grateful for the opportunity we ’ ve had to serve Manchester College and Manchester University . It has been our honor and privilege . Go Spartans !
Dave McFadden retires June 30 from Manchester University .
Renée Fancher and I met at Manchester on the first day of first-year orientation in 1976 and love to share our story with others . We get excited hearing our students talk about professors and staff who have changed their lives here . We ’ ve also enjoyed making unexpected connections . I remember being taken aback , and then deeply intrigued , when I met a donor at her door and the first thing she said was , “ You have your Uncle Bob ’ s eyes .”
The answer to the second question is less definite . We will move to our lake house 45 minutes north of campus and enjoy morning coffee , yardwork and taking out the pontoon . We plan to buy a travel trailer and wander some . We won ’ t stop working but will look for opportunities that give us more control over our schedules . There are lots of unknowns , but we do know that we will enjoy spending more time together .
I have worked at Manchester for 30 years but have been connected for nearly my entire life . I have a photograph of my brothers and I sitting on the steps of Schwalm Hall sporting Manchester College T-shirts when we were in early elementary school .
Much has changed over those years . We became Manchester University and added a second campus . People , programs and buildings have come and gone . We ’ ve embraced opportunities and mourned losses .
I remember standing in front of the student body in full regalia during Opening Convocation during my first year as president . With mixed feelings , my thought was , “ I have become Blair Helman .” It began to
TOP LEFT : Dave and graduation celebration 2016 . RIGHT : His story proudly includes building Manchester University Fort Wayne , which is our health sciences education hub . BOTTOM : Rabbit ears or “ V ” for victory ? Manny offers one or the other at the launch of the Manchester Bold capital campaign .
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