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From political science to teaching, to student affairs to financial aid and strategic planning, Dr. Larry McClure’s life took an interesting route, where he eventually ended up at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1975. Dr. McClure has been part of the Salus University fabric for more than 40 years. In light of his recent retirement, Dr. McClure reflected upon his time at Salus, including those who have made an impact on his life and how he plans to stay connected to the University.
I received my bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1974. I majored in Political Science, but I finished early and decided I didn't want to go to law school. I picked up enough credits to become a teacher. I actually student taught Problems of Democracy at Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pa. and was certified to teach, which I may have done. But, when I was getting some recommendations from different individuals, one of them, Jim Laughlin, the dean of Students at IUP, asked me if I would be interested in enrolling in their graduate program in Student Personnel. That seemed good to me - another year on campus and not working - so I enrolled and became his and Treavor Hadley, IUP vice-president of student affairs’ graduate assistant. In August 1975, I graduated from that program with my master’s degree in Student Personnel Services.
Someone, who knew I liked big cities, told me about a financial aid officer position in Philadelphia so I applied and was invited for an interview at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO). I drove out and interviewed with Dr. John Crozier, the dean of students at the time, a man who would become one of my closest friends and mentor.
Unknown to me at the time, Dr. Crozier had interviewed another IUP grad who had driven up Broad Street from the Roosevelt Blvd for his interview. He was from a small town and not used to big cities and found the drive up Broad Street a bit unsettling. I, on the other hand, had driven down from Willow Grove, through Jenkintown and Elkins Park and found the trip very enjoyable - I got the job.
I started work on August 22, 1975, and was responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Financial Aid Office.
After a few years as the financial aid officer, Dr. Crozier appointed me an assistant dean of Student Affairs and expanded my responsibilities to include overseeing the bookstore, counseling center and student activities. I was eventually promoted to associate dean somewhere along the line.
In 1977, I enrolled in a PhD program in Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania which somehow led to Dr. Tony DiStefano, optometry faculty member at the time, pulling me into outcome assessment for the Institution's accreditation process. Tony was always good at getting people involved in his projects. This experience, along with some planning coursework at Penn, led to then PCO president Dr. Norman Wallis appointing me as assistant to the president for Institutional Planning. I was working for both the president and the dean of students - this sort of multiple administrative reporting relationships continued up until my retirement.
When Dr. Tom Lewis assumed the presidency in 1989, I approached him and Dr. Crozier with a proposal to designate a new position - associate dean for Student Financial Affairs. This position combined the responsibility for the financial aid, bursar and student loan offices under my supervision and required I move my reporting relationship to the vice-president for Finance and Administration - Pat Sweeney. Pat assigned me additional responsibilities, which included managing college-owned housing and the bookstore. We also developed the PCO School-as-Lender program, which enabled the Institution to provide students with low-cost, interest free loans. This program, which eliminated traditional private lenders, generated millions of dollars for both the Institution's endowment and student scholarships. Unfortunately, the Federal government eliminated this program when it developed the Federal Direct Lender program.
My final position or appointment was the director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research. This appointment, which was the first of its kind at the Institution, was the natural outgrowth of my participation in a number of institutional assessments, strategic plans, and accreditations as well as the decision and subsequent application process to transition to University status.
Oh my, so very many individuals have been a part of my career; just to name a few would include the Crozier family: John, George and Gilda, Tom Lewis, Tony DiStefano, Pat Sweeny, Sue Keenan, Don Kates, Norman Wallis, Lorraine Lombardi, Sue Oleszewski, Betty Cochran, Robert Horne, Jim Caldwell, all my staff/family and co-workers - the list goes on and on and on. You make a whole lot of friends and family over the course of 42 years.
The simple fact of the matter is this; I came to the institution as a 22-year-old, right out of college, and a naive young man. Over the years these, and other individuals, opened their hearts and doors for me to become a part of both their lives and the institutional fabric of the College and now University. Some, like John [Crozier], Tom [Lewis] and Tony [DiStefano], saw and expected more from me than I otherwise would have thought was even possible. I met my wife, Kimberly Finewood, OD ’85, at the College and my son, Kevin ’19OD, is now in his third year of Optometry at the University. PCO/Salus is so ingrained in my life that it would be impossible to imagine my life without it.
The people – there are always going to be challenges aplenty and things to fix up or accomplish – that’s the nature of any ongoing complex institution like a university and believe me, we have a wonderful team of professionals led by president Dr. Michael H. Mittelman who have taken on the job of continuing and building on the legacy of the hundreds of faculty, administration and staff who have proceeded them – no worries there. It was and always will be these selfless individuals who have wedded their lives and careers to the institution that I admire and aspire to be counted among. I was just a link, and I hope a strong one, in the chain that started back in 1919 by a group of individuals who wanted to create a college of optometry that would compete and stand alongside of the preeminent colleges and universities of their time.
It became quite apparent to me in my final weeks of work that there is no way on Earth that I would or will be able turn my back on the wonderful family and friends that I’ve worked with over the years. So I’ll be stopping down once in a while, occasionally to work out at the Hafter Student Center and eat lunch with the usual suspects as well as visit with former co-workers.
Not really sure, I currently seem to be busier than I ever was, working on the house and the pool, messing around with some rental properties I have, being active and working at my church, playing with my band – the Holdouts – exercising, reading, doing some traveling and visiting friends, keeping involved in my children Katie and Kevin’s lives, learning how to play piano. I don’t know - I’ll probably make it up as I go along – sort of how I have lived my life all along.
