名誉校长蒂姆·福斯特将充满活力的文化和蓬勃发展的大学传给新校长约翰·马歇尔
Many organizations use the word culture like a buzzword. They think if they say it enough times it creates itself. 但要建立一个拥有强大文化的真正社区，需要某种类型的人. It takes a fighter, 一个为了那个文化所代表的人不惜一切的人. For the past 17 years, that’s what Tim Foster did. 他为pp电子极速糖果的学生和社区无休止地奋斗. He made people feel heard and included, and that they were a part of something bigger than themselves.
他用自己的时间、才能、技能和精力来提升校园，让世界变得更美好. 作为一所三分之二学生都是第一代的大学的校长, lower-income or minority students, he built a campus where people had the freedom to make mistakes, fail, stand back up and try again.
“You have to give people grace. We all want students to succeed, watch them get their degree. It’s what we’re here for,” said President Emeritus Tim Foster.
当一些人想到福斯特时，他们看到的是一个站在讲台后面的人——科罗拉多州众议院的前多数党领袖, 他是科罗拉多州高等教育委员会的执行董事，也是一所州立大学的成功校长. 他们可能不知道的是，西装革履的男士过去连领带都没有，更不用说知道怎么打领带了.
At a private liberal arts school in Gambier, Ohio, 一个年轻的福斯特穿着牛仔裤在大厅里走来走去，而其他人都穿着卡其裤. 他记得当时周围都是预科学校的男生，而他只是蒂姆, 他是一个在科罗拉多长大的孩子，在大学里踢橄榄球，写大学论文也很吃力, which eventually landed him on probation.
“They didn't know what to think,” remembers Foster. “I was just a rough-around-the-edges kid. I was from Grand Junction, Colorado.”
在凯尼恩学院期间，他打了一些拳，学了一些课程，交了一些朋友.
“I got in a lot of trouble. If I got the lecture once I got it ten times. Thankfully, I had a lot of folks who gave me second chances.”
福斯特的生活经历使他成为科罗拉多州西部所需要的领袖——从通过立法到倡导全民接受高等教育.
“通常是下午2点或3点，其他议员都会回家. So, I’d just sit on the floor and read bills late into the night,” said Foster on his time in the Colorado House of Representatives. 后来，他在科罗拉多州高等教育委员会接受了六年的非正式教育，学习高等教育.
“我会观察大学校长们的尝试，观察哪些可行，哪些不可行. I got to see what really good leaders of institutions did.”
2004年3月，福斯特被任命为梅萨州立学院院长, many questioned if he was the right person for the job. Almost two decades later, it’s clear he was. 在福斯特的领导下，已有2万多名学生毕业. 这20,000多名学生总共获得了24,061个学位和/或证书. During his tenure, CMU增加了40多个学术/技术研究领域和十多个NCAA DII校队. Foster relentlessly advocated for students and by 2019, 与2004年的2800万美元相比，CMU提供了近7600万美元的经济援助. 在他的帮助下，校园面积增加了200多万平方英尺, and from Fall 2004 to Fall 2019 enrollment increased by 63%.
Foster remembers the early days on the job. “我可以看着这所学校，至少在我的脑海里，哇. I think it’s just ready to go with the right changes.”
It’s difficult, if not impossible, 让一个谦虚的福斯特承认他在让CMU和社区成为一个更好的地方所扮演的角色, but he doesn't deny how much he loves this place.
“I love this town,” Foster said. “你知道，在这个地区长大，我看到很多人浪费了他们的才能. They didn't think they could go to college, so they didn't. So many kids just missed that opportunity.”
所以他开始努力，让山谷里的每个学生都能接受优质教育. 在此过程中，他还教导学生要有同理心，积极参与社会活动. 他教导室友、同学和队友尊重持不同观点的人. He fought for free speech and believed in second chances. You can see his legacy everywhere you look, said newly-appointed CMU President John Marshall, who is the first CMU alumnus to hold this title.
福斯特还记得第一次在州长办公室见到马歇尔的情景. “He was super talented, he was Johnny on the spot, everywhere.”
After working in public policy, Marshall left politics and moved to the Grand Valley with his wife, Linde, who is from the area, and started a family. Foster recruited Marshall to lead the CMU Foundation. After a couple years, 马歇尔对学生服务产生了兴趣，机会来了.
“I said, ‘John, you can do anything you want. That’s how talented you are.’ And he is. John is really hardworking, super smart and quick on his feet. My theory is you hire smart, talented people and let them run.”
福斯特和马歇尔在校园里一起度过了十多年, 在追求CMU使命的同时，相互挑战和支持. 他们相互尊重是人们为了共同利益走到一起的一个例子.
“Tim never doubted me. He always believed in me and I knew it; and I think that quiet confidence and that quiet encouragement made it so I never had to wonder whether he had my back,” said Marshall. “这种事情很难用语言来形容——有了别人的绝对信心，你就可以尝试了。, risk, fail and succeed.”
“What makes us successful comes back to culture,” said Foster. “John gets the culture — he gets the passion. But John is going to do his own thing. 他是一个非常聪明的年轻人，他看到了我没有看到的机会.”
Marshall gets it because he’s a Maverick through and through. 他住在学生宿舍里，在操场上踢足球，在这些教室里学习.
马歇尔说:“我在这里的学生时光可以用人际关系来定义. “那些指导过我的老师们，还有我以前的室友和队友们，今天还在指导着我.”
And Tim Foster.
“He gave me that freedom, and instead of mentoring me into a likeness of him, he really mentored me to become me,” said Marshall. “他并没有试图把我塑造成某种先入为主的想法，他想让我成为什么样的人. 他给我机会，给我鼓励，每一步都挑战我.”
一个好的领导者可以改变一个校园，但一个伟大的领导者可以建立一种文化. Tim Foster did both. He helped thousands of people find their way, gave them direction and made them a part of something bigger.
“It’s been a privilege. It really has. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” said Foster.
With his departure, CMU社区可以高枕无忧了，因为一个Maverick会把火炬传递到未来.
“For me the question is, ‘what is my duty to give back to others?’我知道，对我来说，这就像领导这所大学一样。. “看到我们可以对学生的生活产生影响，这是有意义的.”
It’s Marshall’s humility, 他的才智和他回馈社会的责任感将保持大学及其文化的强劲势头.