It was a privilege and honor for me to have a friendly and professional relationship with President George H.W. Bush.
I found him to be an extraordinary man of love, values, principles, standards, honesty, compassion, loyalty, camaraderie and character.
First and foremost, he loved his family and simply adored his wife of 73 years. She was the love of his life and that was very evident whenever they were in each other’s company. They clearly were soulmates. Mrs. Bush once said that President Bush was the first and only man that she had ever kissed.
Many have said that he was the most experienced person to ever become President of the United States. It would be difficult to challenge that assertion when considering that he served as a Congressman from Texas, C.I.A. Director, Ambassador to the United Nations, Diplomatic Envoy to China, and Vice President, before becoming President of the United States. He believed strongly in service to his country, beginning by volunteering for the U.S. Navy at the age of 18. While serving, he became the youngest Navy combat pilot and was actually shot down during a mission in WWII.
I met President Bush before he became president, but did not get to converse with him until after he had appointed me as a member of the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
In view of President Bush’s long-standing support of historically Black colleges and universities, I was particularly pleased that he accepted our invitation to deliver the 1991 Commencement address at Hampton University.
As an early example of his commitment to enhancing Black colleges and universities, President Bush founded the United Negro College Fund, (UNCF) chapter at Yale University during his college days. As president, he continued his overwhelmingly positive support for Black Colleges with the following initiatives:
