Although it came at the end of his speech to the faculty, the announcement from Dr. Keith McFarland was to the point.
“I wish to announce to you that I will be stepping down as president and CEO of Texas A&M-Commerce at the end of the academic year,” he said.
This past Thursday in the second-floor auditorium of Ferguson Social Sciences Building, McFarland took the last minutes of his annual fall address to the faculty and staff to put an end to speculation.
“It’s time for me to step down. I’m 67. I’ve accomplished most of what I’ve wanted to do,” he said.
Speaking in front of the hundreds gathered, McFarland took the opportunity to compliment those who have worked around him and thanked faculty and staff for their efforts in the “turnaround of this institution.”
“We’ve seen development on campus. Some of the things you can’t see – the very poor relationships with the foundation and alumni board have become very smooth working,” he said. “A few years ago, we were bringing in $400,000 a year, maybe $500,000. Last year for the first time … we broke the $2 million mark.”
During McFarland’s decade-long tenure, renovations to the campus increased, resulting in a new science building, recreation center and planetarium as well as the upcoming student center, alumni center and music building.
McFarland said he was still excited when he thought about the changes coming during his last year.
“When I talked to the chancellor two weeks ago and we discussed my plans, I said, ‘I can assure you I will be sprinting to the finish line,'” he said, alluding to more renovations coming. “Some of the things are not as measurable, but, believe me, those 55 kids in honors College and those 85 freshmen in Mayo College will make a big difference.”
After playfully checking his notes to see if he forgot anything, McFarland also took a moment to acknowledge the support and patience of his wife-of-45-years, Nancy, who was seated in the second row. The crowd responded with a deafening applause honoring his spouse. “This is a woman who shows up to between 250 and 300 events every year …” he said. “This school has been a passion of mine and a passion of Nancy’s.”
He then gave a humorous example of the dedication his wife has towards his work by telling of an event last year that he had promised would have them home by 8 p.m.
“The speaker went on until 9:30,” he said, grinning at the audience. “When we finished meeting with people and got back to the car, she didn’t even look at me. She just said, ‘I believe you owe me a new dress.'”
McFarland said he had informed Dr. Mike McKinney, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, of his decision two weeks ago. The chancellor will form a committee comprised of faculty, staff, students, community, the foundation and alumni boards and others, to choose a new president, he said.
McFarland is the tenth president of TAMU-C since its founding by William Leonidas Mayo as East Texas Normal College in 1889.
McFarland said he has not decided what his role will be after he steps down, but he will stay in Commerce and may teach history as he did early in his career. He plans to stay on until July 31, 2008.