CAMPUS NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2005

Sherman College President Retires, Interim President Announced

Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic has announced the retirement of President Jerry L. Hardee, Ed.D., effective Monday, July 25, 2005.

Hardee accepted the presidency of Sherman College in July 2001 fresh out of a recent retirement from more than 40 years of service in education and administration. He expected to serve Sherman as president for about three years, committing to do everything in his power to advance and further improve the institution. Four years later, he says, retirement calls again.

“During the past four years, I’ve realized – even more than I imagined – what a wonderful place Sherman is and what a wonderful community we share together here in Spartanburg,” Hardee said in his farewell address to faculty, staff and students on Monday morning. “So it is with very mixed emotions that I announce my retirement. I hope you know that I leave behind a portion of my heart with you.”

Hardee hopes to stay involved with the college in some capacity, but first he plans to take some time with family. “I feel that I am one of the most blessed persons in the world,” he says. “I am especially privileged to have accomplished many of my life’s goals – and I now look forward to spending more time with my wife, parents, son and grandsons, serving my church, and, of course, spending more time on the golf course.”

Before being named president at Sherman in 2001, Hardee enjoyed a long and rewarding career in educational administration. He has served as an executive administrator at four different institutions in the Georgia State Educational System. Under his leadership, Sherman College increased enrollment during a time when many other colleges saw declining interest; enhanced diversity and instituted a campus-wide diversity committee; strengthened and led an expansion of the college’s fund-raising and development programs; spearheaded Sherman’s involvement in the local College Town Consortium, implemented a revised and streamlined 14-quarter curriculum, achieved reaffirmation of accreditation with the college’s professional accrediting body, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), constructed the Scallon Building Atrium, and much more.

Hardee’s long-standing dedication to social causes and his involvement in the Spartanburg community has also been unmatched, including service to the boards of directors of the following local organizations: Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Phyllis Wheatley, Boy Scouts of America, Carolina Foothills Artisans Center, Charles Lea Center, Senior Centers of Spartanburg County, Kiwanis Club of Spartanburg, United Way of Spartanburg, South Carolina Chiropractic Association and the Mt. Moriah Foundation. Hardee is also a member of the Vision 2005 Committee of the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Director of Education), and the Department of Education Advisory Committee of the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Hardee’s work and dedication has not gone unnoticed by the chiropractic community. The South Carolina Chiropractic Association named him Chiropractic Friend of the Year in 2005; the American Black Chiropractic Association at its conference named him Humanitarian of the Year in 2004; and the World Chiropractic Alliance presented him with an Outstanding Service Award in 2004, just to name a few of his recent accolades.

“Dr. Hardee has always said his presidency is all about Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic, and he has certainly walked his talk,” says Cindy L. Pekofsky, D.C., chair of the Board of Trustees. “In everything he has said and done, Dr. Hardee has had Sherman’s best interest at heart. He has been a great leader and a tremendous asset to Sherman; he has put his heart and soul into everything he has accomplished here. We are proud of the wonderful legacy he leaves behind, and we feel his departure will be a great loss to the college. We hope he will stay involved with the Sherman community in some capacity.”

Thomas A. Gelardi, D.C., the college’s founder and first president, has been named interim president. “We feel secure and confident to have a great visionary leader like Dr. Gelardi at the helm of Sherman as we begin making plans for our presidential search,” Pekofsky says.

Gelardi founded Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic in 1973, fulfilling a long-standing dream of advancing the chiropractic profession centered on the vertebral subluxation. He led the college’s progress for nearly three decades, serving as Sherman’s first president until 1997 and later as member and chair of the Board of Trustees from 1997-2002. Among the many accomplishments during his tenure as president, Gelardi brought the college to full accreditation with CCE and secured acceptance for licensure in almost all states. The college also began a trend of rapidly rising enrollment under his direction.

“Few people have contributed more to promoting the chiropractic profession than Dr. Thom Gelardi,” Hardee says. “I can’t imagine anyone better qualified to take the college through these next months as we search for our institution’s next great leader.”

Gelardi is pleased to be able to serve Sherman as interim president. “Sherman College has a highly qualified student body, faculty, staff and administration and is guided by a clear mission and well-formulated strategic plan,” he says. “Being asked to again be a part of such an organization, even for a short time, is an honor.”

He is also very appreciative of Hardee’s service to Sherman College. “During Dr. Hardee’s brief four years here, he has given outstanding leadership, not only to the college, but also to the chiropractic profession and the Spartanburg community,” Gelardi says. “His kind, gentle and encouraging personality and his visionary leadership will be sorely missed. We hope that he will decide to semi-retire here in Spartanburg and remain active in the Sherman community. Whatever Dr. Hardee may choose, we wish him well.”

The Board of Trustees will conduct a national search before announcing a permanent presidential appointment.


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