|
Oglethorpe University Chief Aims to Boost Endowment
by Wendy Bowman-Littler
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Upon arriving in Atlanta the week of March 22, Larry D. Large
settled into a new apartment and then took off to explore the
beaches and lakes of his adopted state of Georgia. When he finished
getting acclimated, he started unpacking boxes of books and files to
prepare for his new job as president of Oglethorpe University.
Large, formerly executive vice president of Reed College in
Portland, Ore., became the 15th president of the liberal arts
university on April 1. He replaces Donald S. Stanton, now president
emeritus, who retires on June 30.
Large has ahead of him the hefty tasks of completing Oglethorpe's
$35 million capital campaign, which has raised $27.8 million to
date; increasing the current $22.5 million endowment; and adding to
the 1,230-student enrollment. But, the members of the university's
governing boards are confident that they have the right man for the
job.
"We're looking forward to Dr. Large's leadership," said Warren
Jobe, senior vice president of The Southern Co. and vice chair of
Oglethorpe's board of trustees. "He was the No. 2 person at Reed
College, which is an outstanding liberal arts school with high
academics and a significant endowment, and we believe that Larry
Large is the right person to lead Oglethorpe to that next level as
we move into the millennium."
Large said taking Oglethorpe to that next level boils down to
three objectives: building on the financial foundation that his
predecessors developed, supporting the faculty, and continuing to
serve as a resource to Atlanta and the greater community.
"I would like to do as much as possible to strengthen the
financial foundations of the university," Large said. "That usually
means growing the endowment. I'm not about to put an upper limit on
it, but I certainly would like to see it grow where we could hold
tuition increases in the future at a level for students and families
to be able to attend there."
Also highly important, he said, is increasing the university's
profile in the community. "It's a place where the Georgia
Shakespeare Festival is held and a venue where high-quality activity
occurs, and that's what I want to do to an even greater extent than
has been done in the past."
###
|
