Servant Leadership Themes Common to Rayfield's Vision as CSU President

To the students, alumni, employees and supporters in Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center last Friday, Columbus State University’s newest president, Stuart Rayfield, celebrated the legacy of servant leadership and community partnerships that have permeated the institution’s 65-year history. As she outlined in her Presidential Investiture Ceremony remarks, both will play significant roles in her vision for the university’s future. “Our work is critical, and it will not be easy,” Rayfield explained as she spoke of that vision. “But this institution has punched above its weight class time and time again. We stand on the shoulders of all who have come before us.” University System of Georgia Board of Regents Chair Harold Reynolds, in his greetings, focused on Rayfield’s homecoming and how she values servant leadership. “We are welcoming [Stuart Rayfield] home. This is the place … where she learned along with her students and took up the challenge of servant leadership,” he said. “While the title of ‘president’ is well deserved, what really matters is that Columbus State is getting a person who will always put her students and this community first. She does this not just because this is her home; she does it because she knows how much it matters.” Rayfield's original tenure at CSU began in 2006 as an assistant professor, later holding the Frank D. Brown Distinguished Chair in Servant Leadership. Along with teaching, she directed the Servant Leadership Program, co-led the SACSCOC reaffirmation of accreditation, and co-developed the Servant Leadership track in the Turner College's Master of Science in Organizational Leadership program.