From the Archives: Presidential Interviews, 1995 and 2016

Segments from interviews with Presidents John Elrod (1995-2001) and William Dudley (2017-)

[In honor of our 35th Anniversary, The Spectator staff has begun to journey through our archives and republish past articles. For this segment, we compare the interview statements of Presidents John Elrod and William Dudley. Elrod was the first president The Spectator interviewed, and Dudley was the most recent. We have divided the excerpts by topic. If you have interview suggestions, please contact editor@wluspectator.com.]

Philosophy & Leadership

Elrod: Oh, I don't think there's a connection between my interest and training in philosophy and my vision for Washington and Lee. My own thinking about the institution has been largely shaped by the institution itself. I am more bound by the traditions and values and ways of doing things at Washington and Lee. Those are what shape my view of what the institution is and ought to be.

Dudley: Washington and Lee has a tradition of excellence spanning 250 years. I've spent three days on campus! It would be presumptuous of me to arrive with a grand vision. I need to get to know the people and the place. The goal is to sustain the university's strengths while seizing opportunities to improve. I'm eager to learn from everyone in the community what they love about W&L and how they think it could be even better.

I see Washington and Lee as a model for education in the 21st century. At its core is a commitment to the best possible liberal education, provided by great teachers who are devoted to cultivating the full potential of their students. It couples that with outstanding pre-professional and legal education and an extraordinary track record of preparing students for lives of public service and personal success. 

I think my priorities are closely aligned with those of W&L, which is why I'm so excited to come to Lexington and get started. I care about academic excellence. I want life on campus — intellectual, social, residential — to be satisfying for all members of the community and to attract the best students, faculty, and staff from around the country and the world. I want all of our facilities to be great places to work and play. And, of course, an important part of my job is raising and stewarding the resources that ensure Washington and Lee will serve future generations at least as well as it serves students today.

On the Honor System

Elrod: The traditions that have distinguished Washington and Lee for decades have been strengthened in John Wilson’s presidency, and I am thinking in particular of the Honor System and the code of civility. Both of these are very important. I do not know if those are Southern or what, but they are certainly linchpins in the culture of Washington and Lee.

Dudley: The honor system is indicative of an admirable confidence in young people. If you trust students with significant responsibility they will rise to it. There is tremendous educational value in giving students a great degree of independence and expecting them to learn to use it wisely. I’m a fan of that approach. 

The speaking tradition is uncommonly gracious and the community is warmly welcoming. People at Washington and Lee clearly strive to treat each other with mutual respect even when they disagree. That’s the kind of place where I want to live and work.

On Robert E. Lee

Elrod: I said in my acceptance remarks that it is very humbling to be asked to assume an office that was once held by Robert E. Lee, and I pledged to the Board of Trustees that I was going to do my best to live up to the high standards set by Lee, Gaines, Huntley, and Wilson. I think that's a pretty good group of very strong presidents in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There are others as well, and I mention those in part because they are past presidents of whom I either know or about whom I know something.

Dudley: I’m inspired by the fact that Washington and Lee dates to 1749. It is humbling to walk in the footsteps of the students, teachers, and leaders who have made this university what it is and loved it so deeply. As a newcomer, I don’t think it’s for me to pronounce the definitive virtues and traditions of W&L. I’m counting on you all to educate me about those.

But there are some distinctive features of Washington and Lee that I find very appealing. It has a strong sense of purpose, encapsulated in the motto — Non Incautus Futuri — and reflected in both Washington’s belief that quality education was needed on the frontier and Lee’s conviction that education was critical to reconciling the nation after the civil war. People at W&L know that what they are doing is important, but they don’t seem to take themselves overly seriously. I like that combination.

On Greek Life

Elrod: We've come a long way with the fraternities. I think for a while the fraternities were slightly out of sync with the overall mission of the University. Fraternity Renaissance has changed that. The houses are now restored to the elegant condition that they enjoyed when they were first built, and they now accentuate the Lexington landscape rather than not…

I am very interested in trying to strengthen the faculty role in fraternities, and I’d like to see, if possible, the faculty get more interested in taking an advising role. I’ve been an advisor at the Sigma Nu house for, well this is my third year. Faculty can be very helpful to fraternities…

There is no doubt that the fraternity system has a long history here, and it is that history that gives its strength and its importance on this campus. I am not interested in trying to attenuate that tradition. There are a group of students here who would like to have opportunities other than those provided by fraternities, and I am in favor of trying to make that possible. What we ought to do is maximize opportunities available to students.

President Dudley did not discuss Greek Life in his 2016 interview with The Spectator.