After greeting 52 University faculty members up for promotions and tenure, the University’s Board of Trustees said goodbye Friday to two of its own.
During Friday’s meeting, the Board passed a resolution honoring accomplished Ohio journalist and Board of Trustee member Leon Bibb for his service to the University during his nine-year appointed term that ended Friday. Board members also recognized student trustee Matt Clever, who will graduate from BGSU next month, as his two-year appointed term also came to an end.
The recognition came after the Trustees formally approved all of the candidates for their individual promotions in rank or gaining tenure. Tenure allows faculty members to hold their positions without periodic contract renewals.
A reception was held Friday in honor of these faculty members before the early afternoon meeting.
But the day was almost surreal for Bibb, he said, as he delivered a sometimes-emotional address to fellow Board members and others at the meeting.
“This has been a very difficult day for me,” he said. “God, how nine years can go so doggone quickly. I feel today at my last Board meeting like I felt on graduation day. I hate to go.”
Earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from BGSU in 1966, Bibb came to college in the midst of a changing world–from efforts in civil rights to increased U.S. involvement in Vietnam. And it was at the University during this time where his life really started a new course, he said.
He met his wife Marguerite and fellow Board member John Moore during his first days on campus. And he applied for graduate school at BGSU–and was accepted–both from “the jungles of Vietnam” where he served for one year during his short military career after graduation.
“My life really began anew at the age of 17 when I came to this plot of land called Bowling Green,” Bibb said. “I found my wife on this campus. I found my life on this campus.”
Bibb is currently a news anchor for WEWS-TV5 in Cleveland and has also served as anchor and reporter in several stations in Toledo and Columbus. He’s the recipient of several local Emmy awards and has been inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists, Associated Press Ohio Broadcasters and BGSU Journalism halls of fame.
Dubbing the last nine years as a Trustee “wonderful,” Bibb thanked University President Sidney Ribeau Friday for his service to BGSU and praised the BGeXperience values initiative program. It’s a program that, Bibb said, shows what BGSU is all about and has made him reflect on his own values.
Being involved with the University is something he values dearly, he said, and hopes to continue to give back as a former trustee.
“My future and the future of this University, I hope, are still entwined,” he said. “Somehow, some way I’m going to stay connected to this University.”
Though they didn’t pass a formal resolution, the Board also recognized University senior Matt Clever for his service as a student trustee for the past two years. Two student trustees–one graduate and one undergraduate student–are appointed by the governor to sit on the board, as non-voting members, for two-year terms.
Decisions on the replacement for Bibb and Clever will be announced next month.
Growing up in a Bay Village, Ohio household where Ohio State University came first, Clever only knew he wanted to come to Bowling Green for the education, he said. Clever is a history major at BGSU.
“I came here pretty green to Bowling Green,” he said.
But he’s adjusted to wearing orange and brown instead, he said, and thanked the Board members for a memorable two years. The caring nature, dedication and love for BGSU among the members was more than he could have ever hoped for, he said. Clever plans to go to graduate school after graduation.
“This time in my life has meant a lot to me and I’ll never forget it,” Clever said.