USD Magazine, Summer 2003

Reflections on the Life ofa President ,.

by Krystn Shrieve

A lice Bourke Hayes stood alone in the center aisle of The Immaculata church on the day the campus said goodbye. Near the end of her farewell Mass, the first note of a familiar song filled the cavernous church, and she listened to harmonized voices bestow upon her "The Irish Blessing," a time-honored tearjerker. Hundreds of stu– dents, faculty, staff, friends and family stood in the pews behind her, raised their hands and offe~ d her a final benediction. -- Hayes had promised herself she wouldn't cry when this moment came. She bowed her head, closed her eyes and let the blessings wash over her, taking the moment to think back on her eight years as University of San Diego president. She remembered he tri– umphs and the trials, and how she chased them, faced them and saw them change her life and shape the university. Only the second USD president since 1972, Hayes retired on June 30 at age 65. She leaves behind a legacy of robust academics, topnotch students, winning sports programs, state-of-the-art buildings and a university well-positioned to take the next step into national renown. How she accomplished so much is, at its core, a reflection of her personality. During her time at USD, the president frequently

seemed to be more than one person. But while she slipped effortlessly in and out of so many critical roles, the people whose lives she touched know she always was herself The Visionary Leader USD Provost Frank Lazarus is careful to call Hayes a visionary - never a dreamer. Dreamers, he says, have only ephemeral, fleeting thoughts about grand possibilities. Visionaries see where life's roads can lead and have the courage to analyze reality, confront it and negotiate through it to get where they want to go. When she a~rived on campus in 1995, Hayes knew wh~re she wanted to go. Her vision was simple yet grand: to help the

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