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10/1/11
What an exciting day for the Randolph-Macon family! I am honored to share with you today about how appropriate it is for this prestigious building to be named after Ira Andrews who is a friend and mentor to so many students and alumni.
The past year we have watched the construction of the building with great excitement as it is a visible marker of the growth of Randolph-Macon College. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to help construct the Ira Andrews Residence Hall as I was worked for the General Contractor, English Construction. As I was still in school, I was trading a hard hat for a book bag between work and classes all last year. To be honest, I think I needed the hard hat for my classes more than I did on the jobsite. Anyway, while I worked on the building, I continually gave updates to Ira Andrews on the status of the building. During my time at R-MC as a Baily Scholar, Ira Andrews was a mentor and friend to me and many others. I just want to take these next few minutes to say to you, Ira Andrews, that the Randolph-Macon family is so privileged to have you be a part of the community and to have this structure named the Ira L Andrews Residence Hall.
Just as Ira Andrews is an example of what it means to be a yellow jacket that is connected to others and to the world around us, this building signifies that Randolph-Macon College is focused on the community and the environment. If you did not already know, this building is seeking LEED certification to show the dedication that R-MC has to the environment. I was a part of the LEED administration team, and you should know that a lot of hard work went into making sure that this building was as ‘green’ as possible. Many of you have seen the solar panels and the other intentional ‘green’ components of this building, but you have no idea or don’t care what LEED certification means. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is an internationally-recognized green building certification system. For today’s purposes, I want to change the acronym LEED to something that we can better understand and relate to the building. This building is an example to world about responsible living, and so is the man for whom the building is named after. LEED will stand for four qualities are exemplified in the life of Ira Andrews and consequentially in this building too.
I am pretty certain that Ira is somewhat embarrassed by this attention that is being given to him as he is a humble man who seeks to lift others up. Let us learn from Ira’s example and lifestyle how to better contribute to our R-MC family and to the greater community. The L in LEED is for Leadership. Ira’s Leadership style is one of servant leadership. He leads by example. As Ira is a man of faith, he guides others to care for the needs of others instead of focusing on our own wants. Ira Andrews has been a leader and friend to show many former and current students of R-MC, and this building will continue his legacy of leadership by example.
The first E in LEED stands for Education. Ira was and continues to be a great teacher. He truly believes in the importance of education and has dedicated most of his life to the education of young people here at R-MC. As a religious studies major, I must say disappointed that I was never able to take a class taught by Professor Andrews, but I was blessed to have listened to Ira lead devotionals at the Bailey Scholarship dinners. Thank you, Ira, for inspiring me and so many others to pursue knowledge and wisdom. This building properly reflects the passion that Ira Andrews had for education as it is a great space for learning as it has study rooms and comfortable dorm rooms.
The second E in LEED will stand for Encouragement. Ira Andrews is an encourager. He has a humble spirit that seeks to lift others up.
He always offered a word of encouragement to me and other students to help them get through the difficulties of school and life. Ira Andrews is everyone’s biggest supporter. Let this building, named after Ira Andrews, be an encouragement to this college and community to believe in and support one another.
This brings us to the letter D in LEED which represents Dedication. In a world of change, dedication is an attribute that is hard to find. Ira Andrews is a dedicated man to his family, friends, students, church, and alma mater. He has been a part of the R-MC family for over 50 years where he served as a professor and dean of students. In my experiences with Ira, he showed great dedication to helping me and other students to reach our goals in life. This building exemplifies the dedication that Ira Andrews and Randolph-Macon College has towards its students, the community, and the environment.
Years from now this building and the legacy of Ira Andrews will continue to stand and be an example to the Randolph-Macon College family of Leadership, Education, Encouragement, and Dedication. I hope that we can follow Ira Andrew’s LEED, no pun intended, and continue to pursue a life of education that enables us to focus on helping others.
Please join me in thanking Ira Andrews for who he is and for all that he has done for Randolph-Macon College. Thank you.