The mood was optimistic Friday about the presidential term of Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix, who was inaugurated as the 16th president of Shepherd University.
“Since we are facing a lot of budget cuts in the near future as it relates to state funding, she should probably build bridges to Charleston,” said alumni Tiffany Lawrence. A former Miss West Virginia 2006, Lawrence earned her undergraduate degree at Shepherd with a double major in business administration and a minor in marketing and political science. “I think she is going to be dynamite not only for the institution but also for the local community,” Lawrence said.
A lifelong friend of Hendrix, Sandy Powley, also attended the reception and said she was at Shepherd to support her friend.
“I’m not sure what her plan is,” Powley said. “We were elementary school friends, so I’m not here in that venue. But there are just so many things she could tackle. She is amazing, and she is young. She acts like she is 17, but she’s got the knowledge and the wisdom of someone older. You will be pleased with the direction she takes the college, any way it goes. You will be amazed.”
Jenna Ross, a junior mass communications major who is also a member of the social Greek sorority Alpha Sigma Tau, in attendance at a reception for Hendrix at the Wellness Center, agreed that Hendrix needed to tackle Shepherd’s financial problems first.
“The money situation at the school, that’s something that definitely needs more attention,” Ross said. She also said that Hendrix should address the parking shortage on campus and called the situation “neglected.”
Emil Ptruncil, a family friend to Hendrix and her mother, was in attendance to celebrate the inauguration as well.
“She is a great supporter of the Oceanography Program at the Naval Academy,” Ptruncil said. “Her Father Captain Hendrix started the program in the late sixties, now we are here to celebrate her accomplishments.”
Tom Miller, a 1975 business department graduate of Shepherd University, said “I came to congratulate our new incoming president. I’m really excited to have an alumni take charge of the university again.”
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