General Charles Krulak, President Birmingham Southern College
Last week’s ComebackTown blog was titled, “Our next Superintendent’s not going to save Birmingham Schools.”
The point of the piece was that there’s no person dead or alive who can save our school system—not Moses, not President Abraham Lincoln–not even Coach Nick Saban.
The piece received many comments—both online and in person—but a response I never expected was that we needed a ‘Krulak-like’ solution.
These poor folks had completely missed my point. I was saying there is no ‘human solution.’ We’ve had 6 superintendents in 15 years and our school system continues to shrink. How’s anyone going to please the school board, the parents, the teachers (and unions), the students, and the business community—and at the same time overcome our poor reputation and downward momentum?
Then I had an epiphany.
We don’t need a ‘Krulak-like’ solution. We need a ‘Krulak solution.’
General Charles Krulak, who served as the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps, came to Birmingham three years ago to become the President of Birmingham-Southern College—a school that was in financial chaos.
Hiring General Krulak was not an obvious choice—many BSC board members were skeptical. He had never been President of a school—and Birmingham Southern College is pretty far removed from a war college. But General Krulak, with the help of a very generous and devoted board and alumni, has turned Birmingham-Southern around.
Maybe General Krulak’s getting bored and would like to perform one more miracle?
General Krulak’s a true servant leader—and he and his wife have chosen Birmingham as their home. Maybe God is telling us something.
General Krulak attracted attention during his tenure as Commandant of the Marine Corps by delivering Christmas cookies to each marine duty post in the Washington area.
Maybe it’s time for General Krulak to deliver a Christmas gift to Birmingham and our children.
What a legacy–save Birmingham Schools and help turn Birmingham around.
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David Sher is the publisher of ComebackTown, a co-founder of Buzz12 Advertising Agency and co-CEO of AmSher Collection Agency. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham(REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
