Click here to listen to Chris Elio’s Dr. Lemon’s interview part one.
Click above to listen to part two.
SELINSGROVE – Dr. L Jay Lemons has been the president of Susquehanna University since 2001. As his presidency comes to a close in June, he is looking back on his tenure in which the university experienced tremendous growth and underwent many changes.
The university saw the tragedy that was 9/11. That was his first year, so as leader of the university, he had to help guide students and staff through the difficult time. The University lost two alumni. He reflected on the first real consequential decision he had to make as president when a football game against Lycoming College was scheduled for the Saturday after the attacks on the country.
Since SU was the host team, the decision fell to him, “I will tell you that I was ultimately was inspired by the then Athletic Director at Columbia who said ‘we are going to play. We are not going to let fear stand in our way. We are going to proudly gather as a community and be together, engaged in an activity that’s meaningful to the members of our community, even as we sit with the smoke of 9/11 rolling over the island of Manhattan.’ And I remember thinking ‘that’s the right way to think about this.’”
One change was the 2011 purchase of the former ‘Pine Meadows’ complex, which is now student housing. He told WKOK, they worked hard on to make sure they ‘did right’ for the displaced ‘Section 8’ housing residents, “The decision, with a clear understanding of how those folks would be impacted, was one that again was very, very difficult and challenging for us.”
With that in mind, they wrestled with if and how to do this right, “Trying to think about whether or not we should do it, and if we were going to do it, how would we do it in a way that honored the best of the values of our community.”
When considering making an offer on the complex, Dr. Lemons made sure that assistance in moving expenses, first month deposits and even first month utilities for those who would be displaced by this sale was included in the purchase price that Susquehanna would pay for the complex, which added 300 beds to the campus community.
When looking back on his time here at Susquehanna, he thinks about the role technology has played in the education of these young adults, and how it’s changed the landscape and will continue to move forward, “We’ve in a way unbounded the campus. A Susquehanna student’s education is not confined to 350 acres in Selinsgrove, or in the Greater Susquehanna Valley. We’ve made it a part and parcel of our belief about what a 21st century residential Liberal Arts education is that all of our students need to be in places where they don’t know the landscape; they’re not a part of the culture. They need to seek to understand how to learn, and how navigate, and how to contribute in a non-native environment.”
When asked what has changed at SU since he first got here in 2001, he says not much, and that’s a point of pride for him, “It’s about those things that you don’t want to change, in a sea that’s constantly changing. Those qualities, community, connectedness, opportunities, pride, and affection I hope are elements of Susquehanna that never change.”
Dr L Jay Lemons will be moving on to being the President at Academic Search, an organization based in Washington DC, but he’s not leaving the area for good. He just bought a house in Monroe Township, so he’ll be around, “What will we miss about Susquehanna? There will be plenty of things and yet one of the great things that we look forward too is continuing to be cheerleaders and advocates for this place.”
You can hear the entire interview with Dr. L Jay Lemons on an upcoming WKOK Sunrise. (Christopher Elio)
