Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--While many of his contemporaries are enjoying their golden years, Robert E. Wolverton Sr. is busy with the day-to-day business of his latest leadership role at Mississippi State.
Having spent more than 50 years in higher education, he now is concluding his second term as president of the university's Robert Holland Faculty Senate. In the position, he leads an advisory body of 50 elected representatives that operates through six major committees.
At 82, Wolverton may be the elder statesman holding such a position at any college or university. Whether or not that's a fact, he regards it simply as another way to contribute to the academic life to which he's devoted--literally--most of his life.
A classics professor, he proudly proclaims a shared philosophy with Pope Gregory the Great (540-604), who saw himself as "the servant of the servants."
"We're here to serve the campus, and I see our role as acting as a channel of communication between the faculty and the president," Wolverton explained. "We consider items of welfare to the university."
Among senate business in the last year, he cites tenure and promotion processes; post-tenure reviews; the tenure clock as it applies specifically to women starting families; a proposed campus drug and alcohol policy; and the recently implemented university-wide honor code.
"All issues are assigned to the appropriate committees, and we get well-researched recommendations back," he said. "We have an obligation to respond to issues raised by faculty and, in some cases, to serve as ambassadors."
Mississippi State's commitment to shared governance may give its faculty senate a unique niche in the state, Wolverton said. "Shared governance allows faculty members to become more involved in the university and to have a voice," he added.
MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong, who has worked with Wolverton since arriving at the university two years ago, said the veteran faculty member's knowledge of campus and his reasoned approach have significantly advanced faculty interests.
"I depend on the faculty to provide advice on academic issues," Foglesong said. "I very much need their help, given my resume. Bob hasn't hesitated to provide candid, clear advice as the faculty's representative."
He added: "He has helped me form policies and make decisions that are logical and forward-thinking. Bob doesn't need to be loud to get things right for the university; he uses leadership."
Foglesong continued, "We don't always agree, but Bob Wolverton is always a reasoned voice who has this university's interests and the faculty's input as his top priority. There's not a single self-serving bone in his body. He's not here to be in print; he's here to ensure the faculty's voice is heard as policy is formed."
Wolverton holds a bachelor's degree in classics in 1948 from Hanover (Indiana) College, a master's from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina.
He came to MSU in 1977 as vice president for academic affairs in the administration of President James D. McComas, having previously been president of a small private college. Over his long career, he has been a faculty member at the University of Georgia, and Tufts and Florida State universities, and held various other administrative positions, including department head and dean of graduate studies.
When his senate presidential term ends later this year, Wolverton, an MSU John Grisham Master Teacher, says he plans to return to full-time teaching. Despite the daily requirements of his senate role, he has continued to teach two classes.
"I would like to keep doing this as long as I have good health and relate to students," he said, with his ever-present smile.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.