Newsletter | Issue 3
Preserving Excellence LEADING LIVES OF CONSEQUENCE: THE CAMPAIGN FOR WASHINGTON AND LEE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES
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n Oct. 25, 2024, Billy Webster ’79, chair of Leading Lives of Consequence: The Campaign for Washington and Lee, addressed alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends during the campaign launch celebration on campus. Below is an excerpt from his remarks.
Most of us would say that W&L changed our lives in a profound and sometimes unexpected way. I say it all the time. It’s something that my children, Will ’20 and Lily ’22, say. It’s something I hope their children will say one day. A large part of that impact on my life came from my professors. The list is long: Sid Coulling ’46, Bill Jenks ’39, Ted DeLaney ’85, John Gunn ’45, Pam Simpson and Norm Lord. I think it’s safe to say that anyone who’s gone to Washington and Lee will have at least one professor who made a difference in their lives and whose influence was carried forward long after they graduated. Former President Ken Ruscio ’76 used to talk about the student-faculty relationship by saying students don’t major in the subject as much as they major in a professor. How true. I majored in John Evans, a superb English professor but also a friend, a mentor, a father and a confessor. I love John as if he were a part of my family. We’ve remained in touch over the last 45 years, and we’ve spoken on the phone at least every two weeks across that span of years. I know of no other institution in the United States where these kinds of relationships are commonplace. We also know there are some folks who look at Washington and Lee and think that, as of late, it has changed too much, and perhaps there’s some truth to that. There are also some who think Washington and Lee has not changed enough, and perhaps there’s
Kelly N. Evans ’07 served as master of ceremonies during the campaign kickoff gala on Oct. 25, 2024.