25,000 Graduates Later, Tom Canterbury Plans to Retire
There are more than 25,000 graduates of the Culverhouse College of Commerce who owe their undergraduate degrees and diplomas to Tom Canterbury.
Canterbury, the long-time registrar for the business school, will retire at the end of the spring semester. He has been determining who will – and who will not – graduate with a business degree since 1979.
“I first worked for the college of commerce in 1976 when the college decided to hire a fulltime academic advisor and internship coordinator,” Canterbury said.
“We began consolidating what student services we had under one roof in the old computer center in Bidgood Hall. The registrar at that time, Gladys Poe, and her staff joined us in 1978. When she retired in 1979 after 20 years in the position, I applied for the job and was chosen to replace her.”
Canterbury said dealing with the students has been the best part of the job.
“That\’s why we are all here,” he said. “There is a great sense of accomplishment that comes from being associated with an organization whose purpose is to take fresh-faced
18-year olds and turn them into maturing, sophisticated and educated young adults over the course of four or five years. And you get to watch it happen over and over again.”
Canterbury said his longevity in the job has allowed him to enjoy a sense of history and tradition.
“Let me give you an example,” Canterbury said. “Over the last couple of years I have been asked to visit Korea and China to assist with setting up student and faculty exchanges between our campus and some very good universities in those countries.
“Our delegations were very warmly received everywhere we went not only because of the excellent work of our current international programs staff but I am convinced it was the result of many years of groundwork done by those who have gone before us. I could feel the presence of Jay and Alberta Murphy of the law school long ago and my mentor, Morris Mayer, while we were in Korea. Morris may be responsible for more Korean PhD\’s in marketing than anyone on the planet. And the work of people like Ron Robel from arts and sciences and our own Paul Garner and Bill Bennett and John Bickley as pathfinders and pioneers in international education and business was palpable. It made me proud to have known them all and to be able to enjoy the benefits of their labors of love. That kind of longevity is a blessing. I hope I have left something for the next generation to build on.”
Canterbury will cap a career marked by a number of awards.
“I am very proud to say that there are plaques with my name on them in three different buildings on the campus,” he said. “I won the Larry Carmichael Award for service to the marketing department, the college and University as a student in 1968. That plaque hangs in Alston Hall. In 1991, I was given the Penny Allen Award for Unselfish Commitment to Students. That plaque is on permanent display in the Ferguson Center. Then in 1999, the Dean\’s Service Award for Service to the Dean and the College of Commerce and for Innovation, Interpersonal Skills, and Performance of my duties as Registrar. That plaque is in the basement of Bidgood Hall very close to the Student Services Office, which by the way now has a staff of 15 full-time and quite a few part-time employees.”
Canterbury helped establish The Alabama Association for Higher Education in Business (AAHEB) in the late ‘70S, which brings together the deans of the four-year business schools and the business division chairs from the two-year schools and their staffs from across Alabama.
“Its primary focus has always been to assure students could move from business school to business school and between the two and four year schools in Alabama with little or no difficulty,” Canterbury said. “The transfer credit articulation agreement AAHEB put in place became the model for the Alabama General Studies Core articulation agreement adopted by the state Legislature and all the schools and colleges in Alabama in the \’90s. This group has been a tremendous asset in the improvement of business education for the whole state. I will miss AAHEB and its members and the good fellowship we have enjoyed over the years.
Canterbury said he also will greatly miss the students and the work environment at the business school.
“I\’ve worked for and with quite a few deans and associate and assistant deans, department heads and faculty and staff members over the years. Dean J. Barry Mason has created the most positive, empowering and success-oriented work place I can imagine. I will miss daily interaction with the very talented faculty and staff of the college, especially my colleagues in Student Services.”
Mason said a search for a successor is underway, emphasizing successor. “No one could replace Tom,” Mason said. “Whoever becomes the new registrar will have to go a long way to reach the heights that Tom has achieved. His name is legendary among administrators but more importantly among the many students that have him to thank for their success.”
David J. Heggem Jr., assistant dean for undergraduates programs and Canterbury’s colleague in Student Services, said he will miss Canterbury’s easy-going nature and the way Canterbury has dealt with the myriad problems that are inherent to the registrar’s position.
“I can tell you without fear of contradiction that a lot of business school graduates would not be where they are without Tom’s help,” Heggem said. “He has always been willing to work ceaselessly to make sure our students get the courses and credits they need to graduate, whether it is a four or five year student or a student 20 years out of school who has to finish his degree on-line. He is one of a kind.”
As for advice to his successor, Canterbury said, “Grab hold and hang on tight.”
Canterbury said he plans to read, write, cook, draw, paint and travel in his retirement. “Those are the things that make me happy.” I have had the good fortune to visit five of the seven continents of the world and have loved every minute of experiencing different cultures and finding that people all over the world are basically the same despite our differences. I love that. Maybe Peggy (his wife) and I can visit the last two before we are done.”
March 13th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Mr. Canterbury,
I’ll always remember fondly working with you and the others in C&BA Student Services 14 (and more) years ago - wish you well in your retirement and hope everyone gives you a fond farewell. I know how much they will all miss you!
Enjoy retirement,
Sherri Lamont