Brenau University held an investiture ceremony for President David L. Barnett on Thursday.
Barnett recently joined WDUN’s Drive at 5 to discuss the significance of the investiture ceremony, his experience as president and his goals for the university.
“Well, the investiture ceremony was an important event in the life of Brenau University, and for Gainesville and Hall County. The event was an opportunity to remind the community of Brenau's importance and value to our colleagues, both local and regionally,” Barnett said. “Attendees at the event were a broad mix of representatives from a wide variety of professions and locations, and it was an excellent way to have a public discussion about what Brenau is good at and what it's good for in the communities that we serve.”
Barnett discussed his life before becoming president and how he came to Brenau.
“I was born and raised in Smyrna, Georgia, and after high school, I attended Mercer University in Atlanta. My family, church and college experiences inclined me on a trajectory toward community development and service,” Barnett said. “This ultimately manifested itself through a career in education. I have had the privilege to now work for six colleges and universities in Georgia and Kentucky. In locations that were urban and suburban and rural, and in all of those cases, it's been motivated by that same sense of service.”
Barnett talked about how he felt when late President Anne Skleder selected him for the role.
“It was affirming and humbling for Anne to determine that I would be the person that would be the acting president during her illness,” Barnett said. “But it was also affirming that those trustees who were charged with the responsibility of locating and selecting the next president of Brenau University also considered that I possess the character and the acumen to assume the leadership role for the university.”
Barnett laid out his goals for the university.
“I understand it as my responsibility to generate and create a wide spectrum of opportunities for the students, faculty and staff, that will allow them to serve the needs of the community that we engage that's central to our vision statement,” Barnett said. “My goals are to ensure that the institution has and maintained an appropriate mission for its role in higher education generates and has the resources and programs and services sufficient to accomplish that mission and maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with our mission and that we offer appropriate wide-ranging degrees that support it.”
Lastly, Barnett expressed his message to the Brenau community.
“It's to discern how each individual can best participate in the mission of the university through their service to the community,” Barnett said. “Those practices won't look exactly the same for all of us, but the outcomes will look similar in what we create that is evidence of the importance and the impact of Brenau University on this local community and this region of the state.”
