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Friday, November 30
This Side of the Rainbow
 In the first few moments of "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy wanders around that familiar barnyard, wanting so badly to get over the rainbow. After all, she says, that's a place where the skies are blue, where the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. But Dorothy didn't need to ride a tornado all the way to Oz. All she had to do was come to SCAD. To a very different kind of barn.
In the closing days of October, SCAD dedicated the Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center. Of all the events this fall — and there were many — this is the one, I think, that will endure longest in my memory. We spent the evening watching a riding demonstration, touring the new barn and the grounds, enjoying good barbecue, and thanking the SCAD benefactor who made it all happen: Mr. Ron Waranch.
This new equestrian center is the finest facility of its kind at any college in the United States, and it's a fitting home for an equestrian program with 14 national titles in the last five years.
About halfway through the event, I looked out across the northern sky, and there it was: a full rainbow from horizon to horizon, from east to west. At SCAD, we dream in Technicolor, and when we dream together, it always seems to come true.
Eventually, I was called to the podium to share my remarks. I've included the full manuscript below, because there were so many to thank and so much gratitude to express. It took a lot of dreamers, dreaming together, to make it happen. And we didn't even have to go over the rainbow. The rainbow came to us. Dorothy would be proud.
Dedication Remarks
Oct. 25, 2007
Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center at SCAD
Winston Churchill said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
He knew what all horse people know: horses are good for more than riding. They're good for the heart. The Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center at the Savannah College of Art and Design was created with this in mind. This center and the important, inspiring activities that take place here will fill the hearts of the community, the hearts of SCAD, of its supporters and leaders, but most importantly, its students.
I'd like to start by recognizing a few of our special guests. It's my distinct pleasure to welcome Jack Krumpe, president of the New York Racing Association; Marie Bostwick-Armstrong and her family; and Susie Humes, widely recognized as the nation's leading horse show judge. Thank you, Susie, for participating earlier in the demonstration.
 Most people don't know that the seed for SCAD Equestrian and ultimately this equestrian center came in a letter from Quito, Ecuador. It was a letter from the mother of SCAD student Marisa Wenner. Marisa's mother had great things to say about SCAD, but she shared her daughter's disappointment in having to leave her horse in Ecuador. Now, I know college students bring a lot of things to college, but most don't bring horses.
Marisa was a rider and almost didn't come to SCAD because we didn't have an equestrian program. That letter got me thinking: I thought about how much an equestrian program makes sense at a college like SCAD. I thought about how SCAD shares an aesthetic and ethos with equitation — of discipline, of elegance, of beauty. And how the kinds of students who make outstanding artists and designers tend to be the kinds of students who make great riders. And I wondered how many students hadn't come to SCAD because we didn't offer such a program.
By the time Marisa Wenner graduated with a degree in interior design — and as Valedictorian of the SCAD Class of 1997 - SCAD had an equestrian program. And the program has demonstrated its value in so many ways.
When we started SCAD equestrian, we wanted it to be one of the best, and that's exactly what's happened. In the last five years, director Andrew Lustig has led SCAD equestrian to an unprecedented 14 national titles — more than any other college in that same length of time. Last year, SCAD equestrian became the first college program featured on the cover of The Practical Horseman, America's leading horse magazine. And I've just learned that SCAD equestrian is currently leading the region in overall team points.
This success and recognition is bringing more and more talented student riders to SCAD, and the Affiliated National Riding Commission, which organizes intercollegiate competition, now may host its national championship right here on these grounds.
But the Waranch Equestrian Center isn't just about championships. One of the kings of England, I think it was one of the Edwards, said, "Men are better when riding, more just and more understanding, more alert and more at ease. They learn of the wide world, they master all good customs and manners, and they gain the health of soul."
In the lives of students, this means quite a lot. SCAD has always labored to educate the whole student, within and far beyond the walls of the classroom. A SCAD student comes out here, maybe she just finished a difficult art history presentation, or just met a deadline for an architecture project, and she can be rejuvenated, restored, filled up again. Riding is healthy, it's a good thing, and this center is an oasis.
It's also a place of learning. One writer said, "The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit and fire." Students of art and design need to experience those rare elements, and to experience them on the backs of horses is to know them in their bones. Just imagine how that experience informs their creative work.
 Of course, SCAD riders are learning how to be examined individually by the most precise judgment, too. It's tough being out there in a show (or even in a lesson with Andrew). When they're in the ring, they're being judged in the most particular way. That experience builds the surest self-confidence. If a SCAD student can take that kind of judgment, then a portfolio presentation to a client starts looking like a piece of cake.
And when students work with horses, they learn the most difficult thing to teach, and the most important lesson: how to get beyond themselves and make sacrifices for others, for fellow riders, for the horses. Horses teach discipline, selflessness, diligence, the utmost concern for something outside of one's self. Students need that. They need to think about others, about the larger world, and about serving it. Working with horses can teach that. Somehow, our caring for them, our nurturing them, can make us more human than we were before.
I want to thank all those who have made significant contributions to the new center: Jack Krumpe, Patti St. Clair, Cindy Malphrus, Mr. and Mrs. Pete Saltonstall. And I especially want to thank John Scott and Jerry and Diane Whitlow for donating this land and the Whitlows for offering generous financial support to the project. They recognized that this center would be an asset, not only for the college and our students, but also for the community. That kind of thinking takes vision, risk and faith. Could I ask Jerry and Diane to stand?
I want to thank the SCAD Board of Trustees, all of whom have championed this project with their wisdom. Present tonight are board chair Dr. Paul Bradley and board members Nancy Herstand, Alison Hopton, Don Mondanaro, Dr. Taras Danyluk and Sally Waranch Rajcic. Thank you all. Many thanks to our other donors and members from SCAD's boards of visitors in Savannah, Atlanta and Europe. An especial welcome to Gil Donaldson, a member of SCAD's European Board of Visitors who's with us this week from Paris.
I am especially indebted to Sally Waranch Rajcic. I'm not sure how best to describe Sally. She's fun. She's funny. And she will walk up to anyone, anywhere, and tell them about SCAD. After all, it was Sally who introduced SCAD to her father, Ron Waranch.
Ron, I don't know if you know, but your daughter absolutely adores you. She loves you, admires you, respects you. And I can't thank her enough for introducing you to SCAD. Somehow, Sally can just make things happen. I am not sure how she does it. She may have a magic wand hidden somewhere.
I also want to thank the SCAD Equestrian staff, the true horsepower behind the success of the program. Thank you to hunt seat coach Ashley Kelly, Barn manager Ansley Grainger, assistant barn manager Marianne Foster, assistant director of equestrian programs Marisa Rowan, and the man in charge of it all, director Andrew Lustig.
Andrew and Marisa especially are to be congratulated and commended for their faithfulness and devotion in realizing this dream of creating champion riders, creating champion horses, and now, creating a championship facility. It has been a labor of love for them and the entire staff, out here every day, washing, brushing, cleaning, planting, digging, riding, coaching, building, doing whatever it takes. Andrew is an outstanding rider and trainer, and you will never see anyone take better care of horses or get better performances out of his riders and horses than Andrew. You've already heard about his 14 national titles. He and Sally must share that magic wand.
 Let me also thank SCAD athletics director Jud Damon. Out of 300 member institutions, Jud has led SCAD athletics into the top 15 athletic programs in the NAIA. And consider this: with so many championships, records and rankings, SCAD has more academic all-conference students than any other college in our conference.
I'd also like to recognize and thank my cabinet, who are the hands and feet of so much that happens at SCAD. They are Chief Operating Officer Brian Murphy, Chief Academic Officer Tom Fischer, and vice presidents Dr. Phil Alletto, Trisha Earls, Dr. Joseph Hoey, P.J. Johnson, Harley Lingerfelt, Darrell Naylor-Johnson, Roger Ross, Dr. Kembrel Jones, and senior vice presidents Pam Rhame and Glenn Wallace Jr.
I especially commend Glenn, the senior vice president for college resources, and Martin Smith, director of college resources, for their leadership in the design and construction of this facility - and for leading an outstanding staff with people like David Brammer and Lynn Brigdon, who've done fine work on the center's landscaping. And thanks to Dawson Wismach Architects, the Carson Company, and project manager Mike Hambleton. There's no other way to say it: this facility is fabulous. The design is thoughtful, elegant, clean, classic. It's the finest equestrian center at any college, anywhere.
And finally, I am eternally grateful to Ron Waranch, the man whose singular commitment has afforded this very occasion. You know, Ron has had a horse in the Kentucky Derby, and he owns a stallion that's sired a Kentucky Derby winner. But the story of Ron Waranch starts way before he got to the Derby.
Ron is one of the most generous men I know. If you go to dinner with him, he will be angry if you bring your wallet. I mean it. He won't let you pay. He is genial and gracious, yes, but he has a strong side, a toughness learned by a tough life, but a toughness tempered by the gentlest heart.
In fact, Ron got his start in business by riding. Riding a bicycle. Delivering newspapers. Ron was working for his family, who needed the money, but he didn't just work for money. He wanted to be the fastest paperboy in town, almost as fast as the thoroughbreds he would later own.
Ignoring the odds for a young man from a poor family, Ron studied at the University of North Texas, served valiantly in the Korean War, and just over a decade after graduating, ascended to the presidency of Trousdale Construction in California. He then went on to found one of the most successful homebuilding companies on the west coast.
He is a devoted father and grandfather, a passionate lover of horses, and a committed philanthropist. And in 2003, he was awarded one of the most meaningful awards in the United States: the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans, shared by some of our nation's most celebrated men and women like Hank Aaron, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, Maya Angelou, Billy Graham, Colin Powell.
 An old poem about horses goes like this:
Where in this wide world can man find
Nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is served with muscle,
And strength by gentleness confined.
He serves without servility,
He has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful,
Nothing less violent.
There is nothing so quick,
Nothing more patient.
I think that's a pretty good description of Ron Waranch, too. Of course, that means I just called him a horse. But that's okay. This may be the only crowd where that's a compliment.
Ron, because of your gift, not only will SCAD riders have the benefit of this facility, but you're broadening the resources available to all SCAD students, and you've helped create a namesake facility that will host national horse shows… attracting riders from all over the world. The events will be tremendous, bringing so many new friends and supporters to SCAD and so many new resources to SCAD students. But you're also bringing something that can't be quantified. You're helping teach SCAD students an art that brings together the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit and fire.
Ron, and everyone who championed this project, thank you.
It is with the deepest gratitude that I dedicate this facility the Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
(End of speech.)
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