Visitation for former ULM President Dwight D. Vines, who died Saturday at age 88, will be held today from 5 to 9 pm at First Baptist Church in Calhoun. Vines was at the helm of the university from 1976-1991. President of the University of Louisiana System Jim Henderson remembers Vines as a great example for higher education leaders.
“He understood the value of faculty, he understood the evidence that came from student success, he knew how to scrap politically, he knew how to build bridges when appropriate and was just a champion for NLU, now ULM,” said Henderson.
Under his leadership, 40 new degree programs were added. Vines also created the University Foundation, which today has raised millions to advance the school. Henderson says Vines still had a presence on the campus in recent years and last year was named President Emeritus.
“Always supportive, always understanding that he was now a fan, if you will, but always representing ULM in the highest quality of ways,” said Henderson.
Henderson says personally, he knew Vines as “Uncle Delbert” as Vines was the half-brother to his mother, and remembers him as an outstanding family man.
“To be a university president, especially as long as he was, and the amount of time that requires, to still be able to put a priority on family, that speaks a lot about the character of the man,” said Henderson.
Services for Vines are scheduled for 10:30 tomorrow morning at the church, with interment at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Rayville.
