Robert Gervasi, the 22nd president of Quincy University, is the first layperson to serve as head of the 148-year-old liberal arts university.
QUINCY - When Robert Gervasi arrived on the Quincy University campus June 9, as the first lay person to serve as president of the liberal arts university, his plan was to learn as much as he could about the community, the people and the university.
By the end of his first week on the job, the new president saw a lot more people on campus than he had anticipated, and also witnessed university personnel and others in the Quincy community come together in a time of crisis.
Torrential rain in late May in already water-saturated fields and swollen and overflowing river banks in Iowa meant the potential for record crests on the Mississippi River. With the Great Flood of '93 not all that distant of a memory for some, sandbagging and other flood relief efforts began.
On June 13 Gervasi notified QU faculty and staff who wanted to help fill sandbags at the city's Oakley-Lindsay Center, they could have afternoons off to volunteer. On June 15, QU opened its air conditioned Health and Fitness Center to house Illinois National Guard troops called up to help build up levees. Centennial Hall and Willer Hall at the university were also opened for troops. The American Red Cross set up an emergency shelter in Friars Hall.
Volunteer firefighters from Champaign and Rockford, who do the decontamination for troops when they come back from the river, were also housed on campus.
"The majority of the troops are staying in the Health and Rec Center," says Travis Yates, from the QU public relations office. "We opened the university library for them, so they could get in to check their e-mails. The first week we had 400 staying on campus. The next week we were told to expect 800, as floor relief efforts switch from prevention to cleanup."
Sandbagging operations resumed June 24 at the Oakley-Lindsay Center in Quincy. The photo featured shows a group of Quiincy Notre Dame High School students volunteering at the June 17 sandbagging efforts.
"It's a Franciscan tradition to extend hospitality in times of crisis as well as celebration," says Gervasi. "I'm very proud of how the Quincy University community has welcomed more than 800 National Guard troops who are fighting the flood. We hope and pray they're successful in this crisis, and we look forward to celebrating their success."
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