October 22, 2007
Lyon College News Bureau

Gov. Mike Beebe, serving as keynote speaker at Lyon College’s 135^th Founders’ Day Convocation, credited education for his success in life, and he encouraged the students, staff and faculty to strive to repay what the college has given to them.

Lyon President Dr. Walter Roettger said the Founders’ Day event was a “special day at a special time at a special place.”

Lyon came in at No. 16 overall on the list of the top 40 best value colleges, “Great Schools, Great Prices,” in U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 “America’s Best Colleges” edition. It also broke into the “top tier” of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges, as determined by the magazine’s rankings. Lyon rose to 91^st on the list of 266 colleges.

“No other schools in Arkansas were on that list. Only Lyon,” Dr. Roettger said. “No other school in Texas. Only Lyon. No other schools in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma or Tennessee were on that list. Only Lyon. Only Lyon.”

When Roettger announced the governor, he spoke of how Beebe was born in Amagon, Ark., in 1946. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Arkansas State University in 1968 and a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1972, all the while serving his country in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Elected to the Arkansas Senate in 1982, Beebe worked for 20 years to achieve fiscal conservatism, to reach across party lines, and to solve problems. When he entered the race for governor, he was Arkansas’ 51st Attorney General. Beebe was sworn in as the 45th Governor of the State of Arkansas on Jan. 9, 2007.

During his address at Lyon, he echoed Dr. Roettger’s assessment of the college being a “special place.”

“I remember a glorious day here five years ago,” he said. “I was at Wallie’s house, being embraced by the people of the campus, and I thought, ‘What a beautiful place to live and to learn’.”

The governor correlated the success of a state to the number of college graduates living there.

“A degree transcends learning for learning’s sake, which in itself is a worthy goal,” he said. “It’s about learning so we can help Arkansas rise to be all she can be.”

He admonished those who “achieve success and leave others behind.”

“There are those who don’t remember who they owe,” he said. “The faculty, students and staff of Lyon College owes more to her than they can repay.”

What they should strive to give back to Lyon is “more than money,” the governor added.

“It’s time, talent and appreciation for what made you what you are,” he said. “Honor Lyon and what she means to so many. God bless you all.”