DELAND — For the first time ever, a woman is president of Stetson University with Saturday's ireception welcoming Wendy B. Libby, with 1,000 people on hand to welcome her at the Edmund's Center.
Courtesy photo. Stetson University President Wendy B. Libby poses for her I.D. card at the university.
"We are a community that is not content to rest on its laurels," said Libby, who has an MBA and a doctorate in educational administration.
Libby, 48, succeeded 20-year president Doug Lee in July, delaying her ceremonial welcome until last weekend because she wanted it to include homecoming with alumni coming from further distances.
Libby recalled the legacy of Lee and his 22 years at the helm, before his sudden death at 66 last August, just two months after retiring. Lee's wife, Margaret, and son, Gregory, attended Saturday's ceremony and were recognized by Libby.
Saturday's welcoming ceremony was part of a three-day inaugural celebration for Lee that included a procession up Woodland Boulevard from the campus's main gate , with 170 Stetson faculty and staff members as well as representatives from 40 other colleges and universities from across the country, in college-regalia dress.
As Libby noted, the 2,000-plus student-enrolled Stetson is routinely ranked among the top private colleges in the South by national magazines such as U.S. News & World Report.