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The Monday Letter from President Buck Smith
Good Monday Evening:
What a weekend in the life of D&E! 321 new full time students formally entered the College on Saturday, with an average gpa of 3.21. (The largest entering class since 1947 when most were returning GI’s.) They were joined on Sunday by 363 returning students. By noon today, every parking space on main campus was taken, though plenty of room remained in the McDonnell lot.
All were treated not only to warm days and cool evenings – the latter in the 50’s – but to a smooth final registration process in The McDonnell Center (Saturday) and Halliehurst (Sunday) as well.
The New Dawn weekend was capped last night by what folks who have been here for many years regard as one of D&E’s finest hours ever: the “Evening with Jack Gibbons” concert. Harper-McNeeley Auditorium was packed with citizens from the wider community as well as students, faculty, staff and trustees, Jack took us on a journey from an early chorale by J.S. Bach following invention of the piano in the early 19th Century to one of his own most recent compositions.
An enthusiastically received preface to begin the evening was the Appalachian culture performance by Gerry Milnes on fiddle, guitarist Jeremy Wanless and dancers Becky Hill and Matt Kupstas.
Our honored guest for the weekend –Doris Buffett – seemed to enjoy it most of all. She was thrilled to be able to meet so many of you. And especially to learn that we had received a total of $490,250.64 in cash representing more than 870 gifts in response to her $300,000 Buffett Challenge supporting our Highlands Scholars. So very many thanks to everyone who made this overwhelming success possible.
The real work of college of course began today with classes in full swing, laboratories once again hosting science experiments and Booth Library energized by the late night burning of fluorescent bulbs as well as enlightenment of human minds.
Create a wonderful week.
G.T. "Buck" Smith, President
Davis & Elkins College
buck@dewv.edu or 304-830-3900
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