Centennial
Dr. Larry McClure believes his professional life was nothing more than fate. He thinks there are coincidences that happened along his career path that are difficult to explain, like how he came to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) in 1975 and the events that led to him to stay for 42 years before retiring in 2017.
“I never really had any plans. And, I had two goals: One was to meet someone and be a good husband. The other was to be a good father. That was it,” said Dr. McClure.
He accomplished both, and then some.
Dr. McClure attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in the mid-1970s, where he was a member of a fraternity. On one occasion, the fraternity’s president couldn’t attend a council meeting, so as treasurer of the fraternity, Dr. McClure attended the meeting in his place. At that meeting, he met Jim Laughlin, the dean of students, and during a conversation before the meeting, Laughlin mentioned that he had an aquarium he was trying to set up in his office. Dr. McClure had an aquarium himself, and offered to help the dean with setup.
When it came time to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Dr. McClure wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Law school and teaching were possibilities, but neither prospect excited him at the time. He figured he’d better get his resume together and recommendations, which led him to approach Laughlin to see if he would write him a letter of recommendation.
“He said, ‘I’d love to give you one, but what are you going to do?’ I said, ‘I guess I’m getting a job,’” recalled Dr. McClure of the conversation. “He said, ‘Have you ever thought about what I do, college administration and student personnel? We have a graduate program and every year I look around and think of people I’d like to recommend for it. I have two people in mind and you’re one of them.’”
"Call that the Fate of the Aquarium."
Not only did Dr. McClure enter the graduate program in student personnel at IUP, he received some financial help from IUP to do so and also eventually became the graduate assistant for Laughlin and Trevor Hadley, the vice president of student affairs at the university.
This time when graduation rolled around, Dr. McClure was a little more prepared for the job interview process, and one of those interviews was with Dr. John J. Crozier at PCO. Dr. McClure was one of two finalists for a financial aid officer’s position. The other guy, who was from a small town and hadn’t spent much time in major metropolitan areas, had driven to Philadelphia for the interview, and after getting off Roosevelt Boulevard, drove up north Broad Street, which didn’t exactly a present a pretty picture of the city in those days. But, Dr. McClure came to the interview at PCO, which was on Godfrey Avenue in Philadelphia, from Willow Grove, driving through beautiful Jenkintown and Elkins Park.
“What the other guy saw scared the living tar out of him, so he didn’t want the job and they offered it to me,” said Dr. McClure, who ended up being responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Financial Aid Office.
"Call that the Fate of Hey, Philadelphia Isn’t Looking All That Good to the Small-Town Guy."
"I was taken in and made a part of an intimate family-oriented institution. Dr. John became one of the great loves of my life, as a surrogate father, as a brother, as a dean. This was a man who was born to his career. He was an elegant, tall man, with a handlebar mustache, dressed to the nines. He had a special place in his heart for everyone who worked there and everyone in that office stayed for their entire careers,” said Dr. McClure.
What happened was that a place at which he thought he would only spend a short time became a place where he would indeed spend his entire career. And, not only because of the people who worked at the College and then University, but because when he believed he needed an opportunity to grow professionally, PCO always provided him that opportunity.
After a few years as the financial aid officer, Dr. Crozier appointed Dr. McClure as the assistant dean of Student Affairs, then to associate dean, and expanded his responsibilities to include overseeing the bookstore, counseling center and student activities.
In 1977, Dr. McClure enrolled in the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania, which led to Anthony Di Stefano, OD ’73, who at the time was on the PCO faculty, pulling him into outcome assessment for the institution’s accreditation process. That experience, along with some planning coursework Dr. McClure was doing at Penn, led to then PCO President Dr. Norman Wallis appointing him as assistant to the president for Institutional Planning.
"Call that the Fate of Being the Guy in the Right Place at the Right Time."
But that wasn’t all for Dr. McClure and his career. When Thomas Lewis, OD ’70, assumed the presidency of PCO in 1989, Dr. McClure approached him and Dr. Crozier with a proposal for a new position – associate dean for Student Affairs. The job combined the responsibility of the Financial Aid, Bursar and Student Loan offices under his supervision and required him to report to Pat Sweeney, vice president for Finance and Administration. Dr. McClure’s additional responsibilities included managing the college-owned housing and the bookstore, as well as the PCO School Lender program, which enabled the College and then University to provide students with low-cost, interest free loans.
Dr. McClure’s final position before he retired was as director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research, which was the first of its kind at the College and was a natural outgrowth of his 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.
"Call that the Fate of the Guy Who Can Do Just About Everything."
It wasn’t all just professional during Dr. McClure’s 42 years here. He met his wife, Kimberly Finewood, OD ’85, at the College; she passed away in 2008. And, his son, Kevin, OD ’19, graduated this past year and is now an optometrist in Quakertown, Pa. His daughter, Katie, works in human resources for a New York based company.
Retirement has been keeping him busy though. While he maintains his primary residence in Montgomeryville, Pa., he also spends a considerable amount of time in Westport, N.Y., on Lake Champlain, where he enjoys sailing. He’s also a longtime music aficionado, having been in a cover band called the Holdouts since the late-1980s. And, he plays baritone in the student-community orchestra at Delaware Valley University. He also stays active in his church.
"Call that the Fate of the Guy Who is Now Enjoying Retirement."
“What happened for me, and I don’t know that you’ll see this anymore, is that I came at a time when PCO and later Salus was very much a family affair,” said Dr. McClure. “People knew each other and enjoyed each other’s presence. I’m proud of what I did here, but I was more proud that I was part of a team that did it.”
"Call that the Fate of a Job Well Done."
