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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
h. Program Expansion and Meeting Community Needs (2000s)
Marsh Institute. President Davis shared on numerous occasions his passion for civic
responsibility and civility in public discourse and policy-making. The experience of serving the General
Assembly of Virginia made a deep impression on him and furthered his commitment to public service
and public education about such service for all the many constituencies of the University. His major
achievement was to start the John O. Marsh, Jr., Institute for Public Service and to recruit Bill Shendow,
a former city council member and President of the Chamber of Commerce, to lead it. The University
named the Institute in honor of John O. Marsh, trustee, former Congressman, and the longest-serving
Secretary of the Army in American history. Jack Marsh had an exemplary public service record and a
demeanor that was well-suited as a role model for Institute.
The Institute brought to the campus national leaders to speak on public service and to raise the
profile of such service in the eyes and minds of local citizens. A series of awards for public service at
national, state, local, and public administration levels were established; and the Institute Advisory Board
selected an outstanding cadre of persons to be honored for their work and role in government. President
Gerald Ford was one of the early recipients for the national award; during his visit to Winchester, he
praised Mr. Marsh for distinguished service that included Marsh’s being an advisor to him during the
transition from Richard Nixon after the Watergate affair. Dozens of outstanding federal, state, and local
leaders were honored each year during a banquet that attracted sellout crowds. The Institute had a major
impact on improving the attitude of citizens toward public service in the community.
Another achievement of the Institute was the creation of Kids Voting, an organization devoted to
involving public-school children, parents, and election officials to allow children to vote simultaneously
with their parents in the polling areas with a special ballot and educational program. More than
7,000 children have participated in several elections, and hundreds of volunteers were recruited to make
student-voter experiences possible. The program was a part of a nationwide movement that Walter
Cronkite and other national figures supported because it improved the voting record of parents and
provided children with early experiences that encouraged them to start voting as soon as they reached
the age of 18 years.
The Marsh Institute enjoyed the support of an outstanding Board of Advisors that chose the
public service award recipients, supported Kids Voting, and raised funds for support of student
scholarships and programs in political science in high school and college. Also, a group of jurists and
lawyers agreed to establish the Kuykendal Lectures each year that brought to the campus former Chief
Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia, governors, and attorneys general to lecture on topics of
interest. This program was established in memory of Attorney Sloan Kuykendal, a local resident who
had been President of the Virginia Bar and was one of the outstanding lawyers in the Commonwealth.
The Institute maintained its momentum for more than a decade with only a minimum of endowment
funding and depended on the advisory committee and friends of Jack Marsh to attract speakers and
leaders to the campus. With the retirement of Bill Shendow as Director of the Institute, the Marsh name
was removed from the Institute on request of Mr. Marsh. The programs were focused internally for
students at the University and some of the lectures and programs were continued under separate
organizations.
Rules of Civility. President Davis published a small volume of writings about civility during the
last years of his administration. Many of the topics came from his experiences in elected political life,
but more so from the 26 years as President of the University where he worked with community
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 77
h. Program Expansion and Meeting Community Needs (2000s)
Marsh Institute. President Davis shared on numerous occasions his passion for civic
responsibility and civility in public discourse and policy-making. The experience of serving the General
Assembly of Virginia made a deep impression on him and furthered his commitment to public service
and public education about such service for all the many constituencies of the University. His major
achievement was to start the John O. Marsh, Jr., Institute for Public Service and to recruit Bill Shendow,
a former city council member and President of the Chamber of Commerce, to lead it. The University
named the Institute in honor of John O. Marsh, trustee, former Congressman, and the longest-serving
Secretary of the Army in American history. Jack Marsh had an exemplary public service record and a
demeanor that was well-suited as a role model for Institute.
The Institute brought to the campus national leaders to speak on public service and to raise the
profile of such service in the eyes and minds of local citizens. A series of awards for public service at
national, state, local, and public administration levels were established; and the Institute Advisory Board
selected an outstanding cadre of persons to be honored for their work and role in government. President
Gerald Ford was one of the early recipients for the national award; during his visit to Winchester, he
praised Mr. Marsh for distinguished service that included Marsh’s being an advisor to him during the
transition from Richard Nixon after the Watergate affair. Dozens of outstanding federal, state, and local
leaders were honored each year during a banquet that attracted sellout crowds. The Institute had a major
impact on improving the attitude of citizens toward public service in the community.
Another achievement of the Institute was the creation of Kids Voting, an organization devoted to
involving public-school children, parents, and election officials to allow children to vote simultaneously
with their parents in the polling areas with a special ballot and educational program. More than
7,000 children have participated in several elections, and hundreds of volunteers were recruited to make
student-voter experiences possible. The program was a part of a nationwide movement that Walter
Cronkite and other national figures supported because it improved the voting record of parents and
provided children with early experiences that encouraged them to start voting as soon as they reached
the age of 18 years.
The Marsh Institute enjoyed the support of an outstanding Board of Advisors that chose the
public service award recipients, supported Kids Voting, and raised funds for support of student
scholarships and programs in political science in high school and college. Also, a group of jurists and
lawyers agreed to establish the Kuykendal Lectures each year that brought to the campus former Chief
Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia, governors, and attorneys general to lecture on topics of
interest. This program was established in memory of Attorney Sloan Kuykendal, a local resident who
had been President of the Virginia Bar and was one of the outstanding lawyers in the Commonwealth.
The Institute maintained its momentum for more than a decade with only a minimum of endowment
funding and depended on the advisory committee and friends of Jack Marsh to attract speakers and
leaders to the campus. With the retirement of Bill Shendow as Director of the Institute, the Marsh name
was removed from the Institute on request of Mr. Marsh. The programs were focused internally for
students at the University and some of the lectures and programs were continued under separate
organizations.
Rules of Civility. President Davis published a small volume of writings about civility during the
last years of his administration. Many of the topics came from his experiences in elected political life,
but more so from the 26 years as President of the University where he worked with community
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 77
