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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events

Topic: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Topic: Sad news from Lexington, VA

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Alan Swank
General User

Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,072

Status: Offline

Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/6/2023 4:33:20 PM

https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/former-ohio-univer...

TWT
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Alexandria, VA
Post Count: 5,001

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/6/2023 5:01:15 PM

He really got the university moving on renovating the campus which had been untouched for a few decades and I always thought he was a fairly good fundraiser.

Tried to remodel the athletic image with the Attack Cat under his watch. In 1995 when he first arrived he kind of had to do so to keep Ohio up to code with football in the MAC and placement in the event the MAC fell apart. That was a real possiblity in the 90s as new conferences were forming around TV.

Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended
2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round
2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl
2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
General User

Member Since: 7/30/2010
Post Count: 3,470

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/6/2023 5:02:00 PM

That's a shame. My parents have come to be pretty good fend friends with the Glidden.

He was a great guy. RIP.

OhioCatFan
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 14,163

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/7/2023 12:48:32 AM

I'm going to break my self-imposed exile from BA to post my condolences to Bob and his family, and to tell everyone just how much Bob Glidden meant to me and more importantly to OHIO. During the time I was director of communication at what is now HCOM I served with three presidents -- Charles J. Ping, Bob Glidden and Roderick J. McDavis. They were all good men and did much to advance OHIO in various important ways. I admired them all.

However, with only Bob Glidden did I develop a close working relationship and friendship. From day one, Bob and I hit it off spectacularly. On a number of occasions I wrote speeches for Bob; what he usually wanted were semi-detailed bulleted "talking points." We thought so much alike that I cannot remember a time when he changed one word of what I had written.

During his time as president and in the years afterwards we continued to correspond. When my youngest daughter took a position at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Bob was full of great advice about the university and the community as he had just completed a short year-long tenure there as interim president. This is just one of many examples of the kinds of interactions that we've had over the years. He was always there for me -- willing to help and offer what never failed to be very sound advice.

The last time I saw Bob was when we were passing through the Lexington, VA, area about six years ago, and he invited my wife and I to stop by their house in a rural area outside the town. After having a drink on his patio with a nice river view, we then went to dinner in Lexington, with Bob as chauffeur. It was a delightful evening with both Bob and Rene.

I know that my experiences with Bob were not unique. He had a gift for befriending nearly everyone he met. From his first day on the job as president he instructed every employee from the Cutler Hall janitor on up the chain of command not to call him Dr. Glidden, or President Glidden, but just "Bob." This was not some kind of act on this part to appear to be something he was not. He was a very genuine "man of the people." He had great respect for all people, regardless of their station in life.

Without naming names, when we met Bob and Rene in Lexington one of his former office workers was near death's door. He was very concerned. When she died, he came back to Athens for the funeral. It was clear from the way he talked about this person that he truly loved her as a friend. That was Bob to me -- a man who loved people and saw the best in them. And, in many cases, including my own, he brought out the best in other people.

Bob, old friend, I'll miss you deeply. Rest in Peace until the Resurrection!

[Now crawling back in my hole . . . as I've come to an understanding that I can't abide by some of the extremely arbitrary and unevenly enforced rules of the site. Perhaps, I'll come back if Monroe is ever allowed back. That'll probably be the day hell freezes over, as foretold by the late Prophet Bo the Schembechler, and OHIO wins the MAC Championship in football.]

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org

JSF
General User

Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,427

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/7/2023 1:55:23 AM

Great article!

"Loyalty to a hometown or city is fleeting and interchangeable, but college is a stamp of identity."- Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season.

My blog about depression and mental illness: https://bit.ly/3buGXH8

SBH
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 3,925

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/7/2023 9:47:25 AM

OhioCatFan wrote:

I'm going to break my self-imposed exile from BA...

How did I miss this?

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
General User

Member Since: 7/30/2010
Post Count: 3,470

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/7/2023 11:04:13 AM

SBH wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

I'm going to break my self-imposed exile from BA...

How did I miss this?

You didn't miss much. Just OCF playing victim and insisting conservatives are unfairly treated. Microcosm of modern American politics playing out on BA.

bobcatsquared
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 5,194

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/7/2023 2:43:22 PM

OCF's sabbatical, based on being the victim, lasted all of. . . what? 1 week?

Thing is, it could last a year, 2 years even, and his post count (>14,000) would still be far and away more than the next most prolific BA poster. "Prolific" having to do with quantity, not quality.

MonroeClassmate
General User

Member Since: 8/31/2010
Post Count: 2,040

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/10/2023 11:24:21 AM

How is it that President Glidden got the ugliest building on campus named after him?

Why didn't "Old" Baker stay Baker and the new Baker get named Glidden? Glidden Hall (Music Bldg) needs to get fully renovated to make it worthy of the Glidden name!

SBH
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 3,925

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/11/2023 11:39:17 AM

Was Robert Glidden really all that great? I seem to recall the news leaking out that he was still getting a sizeable salary for "consulting/fundraising" a few years after his retirement even though, it was learned, he had performed none of these services.

Worse, he hired Thomas Boeh.

Last Edited: 12/11/2023 11:40:01 AM by SBH

JSF
General User

Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,427

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/11/2023 12:19:35 PM

MonroeClassmate wrote:

Why didn't "Old" Baker stay Baker and the new Baker get named Glidden? Glidden Hall (Music Bldg) needs to get fully renovated to make it worthy of the Glidden name!

Money.

BillyTheCat
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 9,796

Status: Offline

RE: Sad news from Lexington, VA

Posted: 12/11/2023 2:41:21 PM

JSF wrote:

MonroeClassmate wrote:

Why didn't "Old" Baker stay Baker and the new Baker get named Glidden? Glidden Hall (Music Bldg) needs to get fully renovated to make it worthy of the Glidden name!

Money.

No worries when they do renovate it they will probably name it after the donor

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