10 years ago, Mary J.C. Hendrix, Ph.D. stepped foot on Shepherd’s campus again. Not as a student this time, but as the university’s 16th president. Now, she’s stepping back and leaning into her retirement.
I recently sat down with Hendrix to reflect on her decade of service to the Shepherd community, coincidentally on April 8, the 10th anniversary of her presidential inauguration.
Q. Why do you feel this is the right time to step away from the university and begin this next chapter?
A. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at the statistics for the lifespan of a university president, but it’s just a little over five years. Some are less; some are more. It has been a real privilege to work here 10 full years, but I think about things in the category of 10 years. We’ve done a lot here. Now, it’s time for some new blood, maybe new ideas and excitement.
Q. 10 years ago, when Shepherd was in search of its next president, what drew you to apply?
A. Shepherd has always felt like home. I have always felt that way, because I grew up in this area. My mother was a secretary here for over 30 years. She worked in [Ikenberry Hall] for a lot of the time, and so, of course, I think about it every day when I’m climbing up and down the stairs.
I wanted to give back, because this institution gave me my foundational start. My high school, which was St. Joseph’s High School in Martinsburg, due to financial issues, closed when I was in my junior year. And so, the question was: what was I going to do for my senior year? Maybe I could graduate early, which I did in the summer. My mother asked [President Butcher] of the university if I could start early, and he said, “Yes.”
For an institution who’s done so much for me and given me all these opportunities, I want to give back.
Q. Having been a Shepherd student, to now serving in the highest leadership role, what was that homecoming like?
A. It has been exciting and humbling to have this responsibility over the years. When I left this area to work at institutions — Harvard, University of Arizona, University of Iowa and Northwestern University — I would always come home about three times a year or so. It always feels like home, but taking on this responsibility, I have truly felt the honor of being able to serve. And, you know, that’s one thing Shepherd teaches you: the importance of service and community.
Q. What has been your greatest accomplishment during your tenure?
A. We’ve done a lot of great things because we had such a great team. And, when you think about infrastructure, technology, building buildings, taking buildings down, I have to start with what I consider the most important accomplishment, and that is establishing the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
[OSP] gave Shepherd the platform for handling grant proposals and submissions and being able to receive grant awards to fund everything we’re doing. That office has done an extraordinary job with Emily Samide. She is incredible, and we were lucky to poach her from the MBA program.
Q. What has been your most memorable moment serving as president?
A. Memorable — in the sense that none of us, during our lifetime —had been through a pandemic. But, going through the COVID pandemic and thinking about, how are we going to survive? How are our students going to continue to get a quality education during this time, without being affected by COVID? How and when are we going to get through this?
The COVID pandemic will go down in history as being quite memorable, and I think Shepherd did an excellent job.
Q. What is your biggest takeaway in serving as president of Shepherd University?
A. I want to be able to leave Shepherd knowing that we were able to provide that quality foundational education and experience for our students — to train the next generation of leaders and model citizens. And so,when I think about the SGA and our leaders here, I put them against the leaders at any other institution in the country. The students are thoughtful, they’re articulate, they’re action oriented, and my biggest takeaway is just going to feel the pride in knowing that.
Q. As you prepare to retire,what’s one piece of advice or message you’d like to leave the Shepherd community?
A. I have been to so many institutions in the country. There is so much humility here. Our faculty and staff are incredibly accomplished. If you just look at a sign and see all the West Virginia Professors of the Year, that’s remarkable. What you don’t see, is every year, there’s been a runner up. The humility that goes with everyone who works here is wonderful.
In addition to being grateful for all the opportunities you’ve had, you really have to be proud of your accomplishments and share that message broadly. I don’t want to say brag, but we just don’t talk about the good things we’ve done.
Q. What are your plans following retirement? Do those plans include remaining involved at Shepherd or higher education?
A. We have a home here, so we will continue to use it as home base, but I’m going back to my career of promoting cancer research, and I’m going to be chairing the scientific advisory board for the pharmaceutical company that holds all our cancer patents. It’ll be a great opportunity to be able to network with larger companies. Then, I’ll remain on some medical boards I’m on, all focused on biomedical research, and that’s just been my life and my career.
Q. Choose one word to best describe this decade of service and explain why you chose it.
A. I’m going to say honor. It has been the honor of a lifetime to do this. Sometimes, a lot of people will look at a position like this and say, “Oh, that must be fun,” or “Oh, I wonder what they’re doing? They just have breakfast, lunch and dinner with people.”
It is a lot of hard work and a lot of strategic thinking, but honor. It’s been an honor to serve.
Cameron B. Wesson, Ph.D. will succeed Hendrix as Shepherd University’s 17th president. He begins on July 1 and joins the Ram Fam from La Salle University.
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