Dr. Neal Weaver made his public debut as a presidential candidate for Winthrop University on Thursday in Dina’s Place with his wife Kristi Weaver by his side.
When answering the question “Why Winthrop?”, Weaver tells the story of his grandfather who became the first person in his family to get a college degree. He credits his grandfather for where he is today, and now he wants to be able to help students in similar situations get their education.
“There are still 40-some percent of your freshmen that will become the first of their family to graduate. They’re going to be my grandfather. Think of what happens to their family three generations from now,” said Weaver. “So why Winthrop? Because we change lives.”
Weaver also considers himself and his wife to have an extremely close relationship with students at their institution.
“You describe yourself [Winthrop University] as a family,” said Weaver. “That’s the kind of campus I want to be a part of. I don’t want to work at an institution that has 20,000 students, I don’t want to work at an institution where I don’t know who the students are, I don’t want to live in a community where I can go to a restaurant and be anonymous.
Weaver even invites students, faculty and staff into his home and hosts events for them.
“I like for people to know who I am. I like to know who the students are. Kristi and I have a relationship with the students, and the faculty, and the staff,” said Weaver. “We have them over to our house, we have events in our home, we think of it as a family, and we want to be a part of an institution who believes that’s what they are, and so that’s why Winthrop makes sense to me.”
When answering the question “Why me?”, Weaver took a moment to talk about Winthrop University’s potential and why he is the right fit for the presidency.
“I am a strategic, competitive arranger that maximizes the people that I work with. One thing that I’ve learned along the way is that as I grow in my responsibility, as I have more responsibility for a larger organization, it’s not about me only anymore, I can’t do it by myself, I have to bring everyone along with me. We have to work together, and I have to invest in you so you can reach your full potential,” said Weaver. “My job is to make all of us better. We want to think that we’re better, we want to be better, and we want to achieve more and that is my role here. So why me? Because I think you have more potential than what you’re currently doing and I want to work with you to bring it out.”
Weaver has been the 11th president of Georgia Southwestern University in Americus, GA for the last five years. His biography lists some of his successes at the university, including ”the highest enrollment in university history, five new academic programs, an academic master plan, five completed or active construction projects, improving retention and graduation rates, and a growing commitment to student success and engagement.”
