Longtime Centre College Board chair completes tenure with record-breaking campaign total

RELEASED: January 31, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College Board of Trustees chair David Grissom has stepped down after serving in the position the last 22 years and as a trustee for 32 years. The announcement was made at the Centre Associates Dinner held Friday, January 25, in Louisville, in conjunction with the College's annual winter Board of Trustees meeting.

Grissom was elected as a life trustee in October 2007 and will continue to serve on the Board in that capacity.

"As David Grissom steps down from the chairmanship of the Centre Board of Trustees, he leaves us with many wonderful memories," said Centre President John Roush. "While these memories enrich the present, his legacy inspires us to be sure that it is our dreams that guide Centre's future."

During his 10-year service on the Board before becoming chair, Grissom led two capital campaigns for the College, and he has been a major factor in the success of the two campaigns undertaken during his tenure as Board chair. As a result of these campaigns and the careful management of investments, Centre's endowment has grown from $27.8 million to more than $225 million during Grissom's tenure. In addition, during this period, Centre's student body, faculty and facilities have grown significantly in size and quality. The College's current enrollment of 1,175 is an all-time high.

During the era of Grissom's leadership, "Centre has become a college of national consequence, a place held in high regard by those who understand undergraduate education of the highest quality," Roush said.

Three presidents, numerous trustees and others have served Centre throughout the past 22 years, but Grissom, a 1960 graduate of the College, has been the constant as head of the Board.

During the ceremonies, Grissom was presented with the Isaac Shelby Medallion, the College's most prestigious honor. The medallion is awarded to individuals who exemplify the ideals of service to Centre and devotion to the public good that were embraced by Shelby, Kentucky's first governor and the first chair of the Centre Board of Trustees.

Since the Medallion's inception in 1972, only six individuals have received the honor prior to Grissom: John Sherman Cooper, Chauncey Newlin, Ewing T. Boles, Golladay LaMotte, Pierce Lively and James H. Evans.

The position of Board chair passes from Grissom to Centre trustee Robert T. Brockman '63. Brockman, who was elected to the Board in 1998, is chairman and CEO of The Reynolds and Reynolds Company in Houston.

Pearl Hall, a residence facility currently under construction, is being built with a gift from Brockman. The residence facility is named in memory of his mother and grandmother, both of whom were named Pearl. The facility will open for students in August 2008 and will be dedicated during Homecoming festivities in 2009.

It was also publicly announced at the gathering that Centre's Campaign for A More Perfect Centre, the College's most ambitious campaign to date, ended on Dec. 31, 2007 with impressive results: $169,374,192 has been raised, more than $49 million over the goal of $120 million. This amount is the largest fundraising campaign total ever achieved by a private college in Kentucky.

Roush said that the Campaign's success is based on the support of thousands of alumni and friends, as well as corporations and foundations, with leadership provided by the College's Board of Trustees.

"At most outstanding colleges, leadership starts with the Board of Trustees, and it is here where Centre has been blessed repeatedly throughout history," Roush said. "The men and women who have guided Centre as trustees during my time as president have shown an amazing dedication to the College's mission, a remarkable clarity of vision and an unfailing willingness to answer the call when asked to their share their expertise, their time and their resources."

Fundraising for the five-year Campaign began on Jan. 1, 2003 and was publicly launched at the annual Centre Associates dinner in Louisville in January 2004.

"This campaign has given Centre College a new sense of possibility for its future," said Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations. "The extraordinary success of this campaign certainly couldn't have been predicted when it was being planned."

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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