The longtime president of the nation’s second oldest women’s college is in her final few months before she retires in May.
Stephens College president Dianne Lynch is in her 16th and final year as president. She joined host Fred Parry in-studio this weekend on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program:
“Stephens has this incredibly rich, consistent history of being first in innovating around education, teaching and learning,” Lynch says.
One of the things that Lynch is most proud of is the millions of dollars that have been poured into campus improvements in recent years. That includes roof work, windows and air conditioning work. Stephens has invested more than $13-million in campus improvements in the past three years.
Lynch also says the number of security officers on-campus has increased during her 16 years as president:
“We have increased significantly the training and the number of our security officers on campus. That didn’t used to be quite as pressing an issue, but it certainly is,” Lynch says.
Despite the increase in security officers on-campus, Lynch tells listeners that downtown Columbia is 95 percent safe. She describes it as vibrant and awesome, adding that she enjoys Ragtag and coffee shops too.
President Lynch says she’ll miss students the most, along with staff and faculty members:
“And 18 to 22-year-olds have such wonder and optimism and hope and belief and trust and opinions and opinions and opinions,” Lynch says.
Lynch says Columbia is the friendliest community, adding that she’ll also miss the onion rings and dinner salads at Murry’s, along with establishments like the Heidelberg and Ragtag.
Lynch secured the largest gift in Stephens’ history: a $2.5-million annual donation in perpetuity, effective doubling Stephens’ endowment. You can listen to Fred Parry’s full interview with retiring Stephens president Dianne Lynch here.
