Hitt’s World
Summer 2018 | By Bree Adamson 鈥�04
Peace of Mind
In December 1999, 激情快播 hosted two Nobel Peace Prize winners on stage at the same time: Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Oscar Arias Sanchez, former president of Costa Rica. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some wonderful speakers here, and this was one of the top moments. In a special event, they both spoke on the theme of peace and reconciliation. It was the turn of the century, and we wanted to do something very special on campus. It was a great occasion early on in my time here.鈥�
Rock Band
鈥淚 like Jackson Browne, and I like Eagles a lot, especially their live album Hell Freezes Over. The intro to 鈥楬otel California鈥� is really, really good. But I enjoy all kinds of music, and I鈥檓 so glad people have created things like Pandora, where you can just enter the name of a performer and it will give you music by them, along with songs that are similar.鈥�
Souped Up
As a frequent visitor to Knightro鈥檚, one of the on-campus dining halls, Hitt says, 鈥淚 like the soups. [The cooks] do well with clam chowder. They do well with corn chowder. And they do well with lentil.鈥�
Most Cherished Moments
When asked what moment at 激情快播 he cherishes the most, Hitt鈥檚 response comes easily: the creation of the medical school and the Peach and Fiesta bowl wins. 鈥淏eing there to witness the Peach Bowl win this year was unreal. Nobody gave us a chance, and yet our guys went out and just played a great game. That was an amazing experience. With those kinds of wins and getting the medical school approved, those are times we turned the impossible into the inevitable.鈥�
Happy Tails
鈥淲e鈥檙e crazy dog people. We had so many years here when we didn鈥檛 feel we could have a dog. So many of the furnishings in the Burnett House are university property, we didn鈥檛 see how we could bring a puppy, or any dog, into that situation. Judy Albertson, a board member for Canine Companions, told us about their release dog program. She鈥檚 the reason we got Kessa, who鈥檚 just been a wonderful pet for us. We adopted London a little over a year ago, and he鈥檚 become a part of the family, too.鈥�
Bookworm
鈥淚 like John Sandford novels and the serial murders he writes about. I also enjoy a lot of escape reading 鈥� it鈥檚 the kind of thing a university president ought to be reading. I call them space operas. Fiction about some date in the not-too-distant future when we manage to get out into the solar system and to asteroid belts and so forth. It鈥檚 fun to read.鈥�
激情快播 Then & Now
What did he love most about 激情快播 when he arrived in 1992? 鈥淭he sense of possibility.鈥� And today? 鈥淭he sense of possibility.鈥�
鈥淥ur folks have done an enormous amount of good. We鈥檝e had a lot of great accomplishments, but I think the greatest days are ahead.鈥�
There鈥檚 Something About Martha
What is guaranteed to make him smile? 鈥淪eeing Martha. Thinking of Martha.鈥� And is there anything he can鈥檛 live without? Also Martha, his wife of 56 years. 鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 aware that I might have to sometime, but Martha is the one thing I can鈥檛 live without.鈥�
Good Humor
鈥淥ne of my favorite jokes is from Jack Benny. He was receiving an award and he said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 deserve this award, but I鈥檝e got arthritis and I don鈥檛 deserve that either.鈥� 鈥�