October 3, 2006
Eulogy Honoring
Dr. Harry B. Heflin
October 1, 1913 – September 29, 2006
President Emeritus, West Virginia University
By David C. Hardesty, Jr., President, West Virginia University
Delivered October 3, 2006, Wesley United Methodist Church
Morgantown , West Virginia
Dora, Morgan, family, and friends:
When I was selected president of West Virginia , one of the first persons I called upon for advice was Dr. Harry B. Heflin, the man who was president of WVU when Susan and I were seniors at WVU. Somehow I knew he would give me honest advice.
When I was student body president, Susan and I were invited to the Heflin’s home and offered the rare opportunity to spend an intimate evening with WVU’s first couple. It meant so much to us.
That year, Dr. Heflin encouraged and supported our student government as we conceived of and launched the first “Festival of Ideas.”
He helped us get the Vice President of the United States to speak as part of the program.
He tolerated our desire to bring controversial experts on touchy subjects to our campus auditoriums.
I also had traveled with Dr. Heflin to the state legislature to ask for more support for the University.
So, we had been in his office, on the same platform, and in his presence many times.
As student leaders, we felt his presence and listened as he taught the lessons of leadership.
His wife Dora also was an influence on both Susan and me.
In fact, when I went to see him in 1995, we already had decided that we would try to treat every student body president as he had treated me, and that we both would try to be as dedicated to students as Dr. Heflin and his wife were to us.
I said: “Dr. Heflin, what advice can you give me?”
“David,” he said, “you can have the students upset with you, the fans upset with you, the faculty and staff upset with you, donors upset with you, the townspeople upset with you, the governor upset with you, and the legislature upset with you. Just don’t get them upset with you all at the same time!”
This was some of the best advice I ever received as president.
Embedded in his words were a clear and unambiguous understanding of the nature of the American university presidency—it is a job that often requires leading change that disrupts the status quo, and a job that must seek and obtain the support of multiple constituencies if the job is to be done well.
Last Sunday, I learned that Dr. Heflin once gave former WVU President Paul Miller essentially the same advice as they talked one evening about the importance of not doing too much, too soon. He said Dr. Heflin told him this:
“Paul, I had a dream that found you the drum major of the WVU band, marching up and down Mountaineer field. You are stepping high with bold and vigorous steps. Yet, strangely and gradually, individuals in the band keep dropping off and going into the stands until, finally, you are marching straight ahead by yourself.”
Such was “the quiet wisdom and fearless honesty of Harry Heflin,” said Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller told me that this story has been passed on to hundreds at the Harvard School for New Presidents, by a friend who teaches there every year.
It just so happens that I am now reading a book called A Leader’s Legacy , by well-known leadership scholars, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. It is their summary of what they have learned through a lifetime of scholarship and experience.
After Harry passed away and Dora asked me to talk today, several phrases in the book literally jumped off the pages at me:
“People don’t remember us for what we do for ourselves. They remember us for what we do for them.”
“Exemplary leaders are interested more in others’ success than their own.”
“Teaching is one way of serving. It’s a way of passing along the lessons learned from experience. The best leaders are teachers.”
“Everything leaders do is about providing service.”
“Leaders are transparent. It is clear what they stand for.”
So it is easy looking back on Dr. Heflin’s long and productive life to discern one characteristic that marked his life: Harry Heflin was a leader .
I dare say Harry Heflin was among the most respected leaders to ever influence higher education in West Virginia, and he influenced it for nearly seventy years.
His experience alone made him an influential leader.
Having been born into a rural family and lived through the depression, he understood the transforming power of education.
Having been educated at Glenville State College, George Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University), and the University of Pittsburgh, he understood the diversity of the educational opportunities in America .
Having taught in the public schools, having taught school teachers at the college level, and having served in the United States Navy training command, he understood effective pedagogy.
Having served as a college vice president for finance, he knew the nuts and bolts of university administration.
Having led the teacher education program at Marshall, and served as president of both Glenville State College (for 17 years) and West Virginia University (on three separate occasions), he understood the nature and challenges of leadership at public colleges and universities.
Having been a vice chancellor of the Board of Regents, he saw the big picture of the relationship between the state colleges and universities, and the people they serve.
Because of his experience and insights, he was able to coach, mentor and guide the careers of literally hundreds of aspiring educational leaders.
Moreover, Harry was a good judge of leadership talent.
He was willing to follow fellow West Virginian Dr. Paul Miller to WVU, leaving a presidency to become a vice president for a man he admired. Dr. Miller said Dr. Heflin soon became a trusted advisor and “wise guide.” Harry knew that who you work with is as important as the position you hold.
He also appointed Fred Schaus athletic director, launching the modern, nationally recognized athletic program we have today.
In fact, dozens of men and women were personally recruited to public service and education leadership positions through Dr. Heflin’s example and encouragement.
Harry, above all recognized the importance that private and public investment in education – and especially in West Virginia University – can make in our state.
In the words of former president Gene Budig, Harry Heflin came to “live for WVU, always believing in its relevance and might.”
His lifetime of experience and his common sense made Harry Heflin one of the most respected leaders ever to serve West Virginia higher education.
And his influence as a leader extended beyond education. He was asked to serve on the state bar ethics committee, as a member of the Benedum Foundation Board, and in numerous other positions of trust.
Even in the twilight of his life, his advice was sought by others attempting to lead as well as he did. And he responded generously, asking nothing more in return but that those he advised should act in like manner.
Harry was honored many times in his life, with honorary degrees, membership in the Order of Vandalia, the naming of a building and scholarship programs in his honor, gubernatorial certificates of recognition, and plaques. He was asked to serve on several boards and to lead professional and civic organizations.
But if he accepted a leadership role, he did it for the right reasons. Nothing pleased him more than to see his institutions or his students succeed. He was clearly in the tradition of presidents who view teaching as the defining characteristic of a great university. He was truly “student centered.”
Harry Heflin also had that uncommon ability to gauge accurately his place in history.
From our conversations over the years, I came to believe that Harry Heflin saw himself as a trustee of human and physical assets that were amassed before he came to his various positions.
I think he held fast to sure knowledge that the important work of the institutions he served would continue after he left them. Dr. Heflin’s commitment seemed to be to always advance the institutional mission and to serve during his time of trusteeship as best he could.
In fact, I don’t think there was an arrogant or self-serving bone in Harry Heflin’s body. His genuine humility, the related generosity of his spirit, and his clear commitment to the mission of public higher education are all part of his legacy of leadership that will influence West Virginia higher education for decades to come.
In sum, Harry Heflin was an exemplary leader, possessing all of the timeless characteristics of enduring leadership.
He leaves West Virginia a better place, and he leaves behind a leader’s legacy worthy of our admiration and respect.
But there was something more important we admired about Harry than the way he led. It was the way he lived.
There was his mountain-bred sense of humor.
Here is a good example from Neil Bucklew, WVU’s 20th president:
“Harry used to love to share a good story, and one joke we always laughed about had to do with the second time he was asked to come back as interim president. He really wasn’t sure he wanted to; he and Dora were really enjoying time at their farm. Russ Isaacs was chair of the board at the time and really wanted Harry to serve as the acting president so he asked Harry, “What can I do to encourage you to come back?” Harry said, well you can buy me a new tractor for my farm. Russ said, “Done!”
Of course, Harry never got that tractor, but he knew that all along. Neil used to kid him about how his tractor was doing.
“That was Harry: he always kept a good sense of humor about life.”
Dr. Bucklew’s story also shows Harry’s sense of loyalty to those he served.
I think he had deep love for WVU. To his detriment sometimes, he was willing to be called back into service. While in that service, he felt compelled to make decisions that were not necessarily good for Harry Heflin, but advanced the interests of higher education.
Former President E. Gordon Gee, who followed Harry as the 19th president of WVU described this loyalty best:
“Dr. Heflin was, in every sense of the word, a loyal Mountaineer. He willingly came off the field into the battle, like Cincinnatus, when called upon by his university.”
There were also Harry’s love for home and family.
He loved home-cooked food.
He loved the farm that was Dora’s home place, and spending the summers there, working hard as he had in his youth.
And, above all, there was his love for his family.
His love for Dora Morgan Heflin began early in his life.
Harry and Dora met in high school. They traveled through life together, moving from place to place and job to job. It is obvious to all of us that they were true partners.
It was obvious that Harry loved Dora every day during their over seventy years of marriage.
To those that knew them, it was obvious how much Dora molded Harry’s work and character. This is the very nature of lifelong marriages filled with love.
And Harry’s love of their only child, son Morgan, and the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, was well known among his friends.
Dora would tell friends stories about the family while Harry listened as long as she wanted to talk. His gentle demeanor and love of family were role models for all of us.
I think two traits marked Dr. Heflin’s later years. These were intellectual curiosity and a sense of history.
He read widely and stayed up with current affairs, and was not afraid to take on issues of substance when he gave presentations at meetings to his friends in the XX Club, a group of local men interested in matters of the mind.
I especially remember one talk Harry gave, called ” Do You Remember?,” in which he noted the changes in our society and societal values over a 75-year period.
I remember another in which he yearned for heavier public investment in higher education.
How fortunate it is that Dr. Harry Heflin was with his family, his friends, and his community so long. His long life was fruitful until the very end. Always the teacher, Harry Heflin taught the lessons of service and life through example across his entire lifetime.
Dr. Heflin stands as an icon of service to WVU, and to higher education in West Virginia . He lived a long and full life, the kind of life the founders of WVU had in mind when they adopted our motto in 1867:
“Add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue knowledge.”
Harry Heflin was not just a leader. He was a special kind of leader. Dr. Harry Heflin helped me, and helped all of us, to understand the true meaning of the word “character.”
His very essence was there for all to see.
He was totally transparent.
There was nothing ambiguous about Harry Heflin.
There was only Dr. Heflin’s absolute belief in always doing the right things, always for the right reasons, and always for others.
This is the true legacy Harry Heflin leaves for his family, his friends, his community, the higher education community, and every life he personally touched during his long and wonderful life.
Harry Heflin taught us that character matters – today as much as it ever has – and it always will.