Marsha Herron '07
Virginia Wesleyan’s Professor of Psychology, Dr. Barry Lipscomb, is more than just a teacher.
Dr. Barry Lipscomb and wife, Philippa Ann, at the Employee
Appreciation Dinner in April .
He's part of the College's beginning history.
Lipscomb is one of the first 11 faculty members known as the "original 11," which established majors for the College after it was charted in 1961.
He is last colleague of the history-making group which says farewell to Virginia Wesleyan as he enters a new phase of life – retirement. Former Dean of the College and current College Archivist Dr. Stephen Mansfield, was the second-to-last to retire from the group last year.
"We were the school’s version of 'Ocean’s 11,'" said Lipscomb. "It's a rarity to be at the ground floor and build up," he added.
Over the past four decades, Lipscomb has done extraordinary things for the College. He founded the Psychology department which boasted more than 50 students for the Spring 2007 semester; helped write the department catalog that is still handed out to students today; and was the coordinator for the department for 17 years.
Before coming to Virginia Wesleyan, Lipscomb spent three years in the military. At the age of 29 he joined the Virginia Wesleyan community and has stayed ever since.
"I see everyone here as kin," he said. "For me, it’s not been just working here, it's been a part of the life experience," he noted.
Although the time has come for Lipscomb to shift into retirement, he admits that the process has not been easy. He decided to conduct what he calls a "phase retirement." For the past three years, his class load has slowly dwindled down.
"I had to test the waters to see if I could financially and emotionally separate myself," he said. "And now the time has come."
Lipscomb’s "phase retirement" has allowed him to ease into other activities of interest, instead of taking the jump into retirement and not knowing what to do with himself.
Just as those four decades of teaching have been a part of his life experience, Dr. Lipscomb looks toward retirement with the same attitude.
"Working is another part of life’s experiences and so is retirement," he said. "I look at retirement as rewirement – my mind and life have to be rewired on being retired."
The Virginia Wesleyan Community thanks Dr. Barry Lipscomb for his years of service and wishes him a very happy retirement.