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