Growing up in small town America is never easy. Rural Oklahoma life in the 20th century usually consisted of driving tractors, milking cows, baling and hauling hay, farming and scraping to get by most of the time. Theron and Jan Godwin, as most parents, wanted a better life for their children. To them, education was the solution.
鈥淐ollege was not an option,鈥� said Wendell Godwin, who will assume the role of East Central University president on July 1. 鈥淎ll my early life, my parents would say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to school.鈥� We were all very poor, but we didn鈥檛 know there was really a difference since all of my friends and I were in the same situation.鈥�
Godwin grew up in Pauls Valley, attending high school and graduating in 1980.
He was the youngest of four boys in his family. His eldest brother, Jim, 20 years older, with Tracy and Dennis 17 and 11 years older, respectively.
鈥淢y parents were born in 1920 and 1924. They had high school diplomas, but it was essentially an eighth-grade education,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey went to a one-room schoolhouse in the 1930s. Life in a rural small town was just different.鈥�
Godwin said his parents 鈥� especially his mom 鈥� really pushed for education.
鈥淚t was like church. If the doors were open, we were there whether it was Sunday morning, Sunday night or Wednesday night,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust like church, attending school was not questioned.
鈥淎 higher education was so important to my parents because everyone they knew who had a better life, also had an education,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s I got older, I realized mom was referring to the more affluent people including doctors, lawyers and bankers.鈥�
College Becomes Reality
All four brothers attended college; two also served in the Vietnam War.
鈥淢y oldest two brothers, Jim and Tracy, graduated from college. Tracy earned his degree at 成人B站,鈥� he said. While his nearest brother, Dennis, also attended 成人B站, he was killed instantly
the summer before his senior year in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. Godwin was only 10 years old.
After graduating from Pauls Valley High School, he was offered a Presidential Leadership Grant at 成人B站.
鈥淎t the time, it was almost a full ride and was the deciding factor that brought me here,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat and my brother Tracy and his wife Vicki lived in Ada.
鈥淚 loved college,鈥� he continued, 鈥渢he best four years of my life.鈥�
Godwin admits he had a hard transition as a first-generation student. When he first arrived at 成人B站, he thought he was really prepared since he was at the top of his class in high school.
鈥淚 suddenly realized I wasn鈥檛 prepared in the least,鈥� he said. 鈥淗igh school and college were very different. I struggled that first semester with having to be independent and hold myself accountable.鈥�
But he got involved as a student. He ran for student senate, where he was eventually elected president, and participated in the exchange student program his sophomore year. He studied at Westfield State College in Massachusetts, a university north of Springfield, west of Boston.
鈥淭hat really opened my eyes to the world,鈥� Godwin said. 鈥淎s a country boy from Garvin County traveling to the big city, it really struck me how different the New England area was.鈥�
Godwin toured Boston, New York City, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
鈥淎fter seeing the bigger cities and seeing what was possible, I came back to 成人B站 and decided I wanted to be a business major,鈥� Godwin said.
Godwin returned to 成人B站 with goals: he wanted to graduate in four years, graduate debt free, and have a job lined up before graduating college.
鈥淪ome of my friends were taking five or six years to complete their education. I couldn鈥檛 afford to be in school more than four since I had to pay my own way,鈥� Godwin said.
As he approached graduation in 1984, some of his peers that graduated in 1983 hadn鈥檛 found jobs yet as the early 1980s was in a recession. Businesses were laying people off, 鈥淢a Bell鈥� was breaking up, and the business climate wasn鈥檛 very lucrative.
A Walk on the Corporate Side
Spring break of his senior year at 成人B站, Godwin was offered a job in north Texas.
Godwin moved to Denton, Texas, after graduation, then Dallas. He started in sales and worked his way up to sales management and was offered a promotion and relocation to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
鈥淚鈥檓 single, I鈥檓 going to live in Fort Lauderdale 鈥� 20 miles from Miami 鈥� how can you turn it down?鈥� Godwin said. After two years, he was promoted again and worked his way up the corporate ladder in Dallas. But after 12 years, the company reorganized, and Godwin found himself at another business. He worked his way up again, moving around to California, Houston, Tulsa, and Dallas, traveling nearly every day, and racking up his airline and hotel points, enjoying exciting vacations with his family.
鈥淚鈥檓 blessed to have had a long career of 26 years with only two companies,鈥� Godwin said. 鈥淚 learned a lot, but it鈥檚 not conducive to family life.鈥� He now had a wife and three sons of his own, who were growing up as he was having to miss their ball games and school activities.
鈥淲hat matters most started to change,鈥� he said. 鈥淔ocus on my family became more important to me than making money, stock options, and all the perks of the corporate climate.鈥�
Godwin鈥檚 last position in the corporate world was as executive vice president, a director level position, overseeing sales in 18 states in the central United States鈥nd a reorganization of the company was on the horizon.
鈥淚n every reorganization, you get more responsibility and as it changes, the job gets more demanding,鈥� Godwin said. 鈥淪o, I stepped aside and reorganized my own job out.鈥� He accepted a severance package that allowed him to not work for almost a year.
Change of Pace
鈥淚 became 鈥楳r. Mom,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 went to all the PTA events, coached sports and little league.鈥�
Five months into that break from the corporate world, Godwin received a call that would change his life.
That call was from Dr. Gerald Williamson in February 2010, with an opportunity at 成人B站. 鈥淗e knew I was looking for a career that I did not travel as much and have more time at home with my family,鈥� Godwin said.
The opportunity was dean of 成人B站鈥檚 School of Business.
鈥淚 thought they were pranking me when they first called since I didn鈥檛 have any academic experience or a PhD,鈥� Godwin said.
鈥淏ut President John Hargrave and Dr. [Duane] Anderson sat at this table,鈥� Godwin tapped the conference table in the empty presidential office, 鈥渁nd offered me the job as dean.
鈥淚 have loved every minute of it,鈥� he continued. 鈥淵ou really get to make a difference in students鈥� lives. I love teaching the freshmen classes because I remember the day I was a new freshman at college. I remember the butterflies and looking around the room thinking, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 good enough.鈥�
鈥淵ou have to believe in yourself and we have to enforce that by telling students: 鈥榊es. You are good enough,鈥� 鈥榊ou deserve to be here,鈥� and 鈥楧on鈥檛 look around and think you are not good enough.鈥欌��
Recently, fellow alumnus and Devon Energy Chief Accounting Officer Jeremy Humphers spoke to one of the classes Godwin teaches.
Humphers told the students 鈥淲hat you do in these four years of college will impact the quality of your life for the next 40 years.鈥�
鈥淭hat is very true as I have lived that,鈥� Godwin said. 鈥淢y time at 成人B站 and the education I received has helped me through the years. In every location and each promotion, I was competing with graduates from the larger schools. I never felt I was at a disadvantage because I came from a smaller university or a smaller town. I always thought I had an advantage because of the quality of education at 成人B站, the small campus, and personal relationships, not the big lecture halls.
鈥淭hose things made 成人B站 special to me and I want that experience for students attending 成人B站.鈥�
Godwin also encourages his students to graduate debt free.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like having a car payment, but someone else is driving the car,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e reinforce with freshmen in financial literacy. It takes hard work, sometimes working two or three jobs just to continue. I tell students, 鈥楬ang in there. We鈥檒l be here, and we鈥檒l get you enrolled.鈥欌��
The 12 years since being named dean has gone by quickly, but with each year, Godwin finds success in his students鈥� successes. The students compete on the national level, travel to Africa to make a difference, intern by shadowing the CEO of a major company for a summer and explore current business climates and alumni鈥檚 successes. Godwin wants that for each 成人B站 student.
Looking to the future
鈥淗igh school friends are more surprised than anyone,鈥� said Godwin, referring to the fact he earned the opportunity to even interview and be considered as president of a university.
鈥淏eing selected as president of 成人B站 means a lot to me,鈥� Godwin said. 鈥淭his is my community, my town, my university. Two of my sons have graduated from 成人B站 so I have a family of tigers at home.鈥�
Through the hiring process, he knew he would either land the job as president or remain dean of the School of Business until retirement.
鈥淚 want this to be an amazing place to work,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ere, we have people that come to us for a short period of their life and they can boomerang out and have an amazing next 40 years.鈥�
Godwin believes the teaching methods are what sets 成人B站 apart from other universities. 鈥淚 believe if education is in the same textbooks we all use, then the comparison comes down to the size of the class, the personal relationship with the professor, and the quality of the instructor,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think 成人B站 is easily the best at that across the state. Here, we have applied learning, not just textbooks and notes.
鈥淭hese students and parents have a choice of where to go to school and I want them to pick here,鈥� Godwin said. 鈥淢y parents were right. Education can be life changing and it can make your life a lot better.鈥�
His first job out of college was a testament to that.
鈥淚t was spring break when I received the job offer. Back then, before email, they sent my offer letter overnight to my home address. I was home for break and I had my mom open and read the letter. When she saw the amount, she was tearful and proud,鈥� Godwin said.
鈥淲hat you don鈥檛 understand is this is more than we make combined,鈥� his mom, Jan, told him at the time.
鈥淢y first job out of college paid more than what my parents earned, combined,鈥� Godwin emphasized.
鈥淓ducation will pave a way,鈥� Jan had told her sons while they were growing up. 鈥淓ducation will open doors and windows that we can鈥檛.鈥�
鈥淎nd there I was, 22 years old, and that offer validated everything I鈥檇 heard all my life,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ooking back, it鈥檚 humbling to see what your parents have done for you and the sacrifices they made.鈥�
鈥淚 have lived all over the United States, and I have travelled all over the world, having walked on the Great Wall of China, visited the Tokyo Tower, Auschwitz, Africa, Brazil and all the European travel. I鈥檓 from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. Things like this aren鈥檛 supposed to happen to people from Pauls Valley, especially from my side of town.
鈥淓verything I鈥檝e accomplished in my career has been rooted in what I learned while at 成人B站. It鈥檚 the education, the relationships, and the people,鈥� Godwin continued.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 why 成人B站 is special. What we do here is life changing.鈥�
