Hickory, N.C. — Lenoir-Rhyne University bestowed upon former Athletics Director Neill R. McGeachy, Jr., an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and Bishop Timothy M. Smith, an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree as part of this year's graduation ceremony.
During Lenoir-Rhyne University’s commencement ceremony held this past Friday, May 13, more than 220 students were presented with their bachelor’s degrees.
McGeachy’s connection to LR began when he enrolled as a student in the then, Lenoir-Rhyne College, graduating in 1965. He returned to his alma mater to join the athletics department in 2002. For 14 years, he served as Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Executive Director of the Piedmont Educational Foundation/Bears Club. He retired in March of this year.
McGeachy is credited with growing and positioning the LR athletics program into one of national prominence that it is today. Under his leadership, the number of student-athletes continued to grow (46% over a seven-year period) and eight sports were added to the program including tennis, swimming, lacrosse, and track and field. He implemented the PEF Bears Club Gala, the LR/Moretz Sports Championship Series and worked to expand radio broadcast sponsorships as well as affinity and corporate partnerships. His collaborative efforts with all constituents of LRU directly impacted the overall enrollment growth and retention rates of the institution.
During his tenure, he remained an active member of the community, becoming a popular speaker, and member – as well as past Board of Directors member – of the Hickory Rotary Club. Regionally, he also served as Chair of the South Atlantic Conference AD Council through June 2010.
Before joining LRU, McGeachy served as Director of Marketing with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern Section in Atlanta. Prior to that, he served as founder and president of Sugar Creek Enterprises, Inc., a sports promotions company with offices in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, for 20 years.
As a student-athlete at LR, McGeachy was a three-sport standout for the Bears in football, basketball and track. In 1987, he was inducted into the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame and, in 1999, the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. In April of this year, McGeachy was also inducted into the Iredell County Sports Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.
Born in Charlotte and raised in Statesville, McGeachy has returned to Winston Salem to enjoy his retirement near family. He has two grown children, a son and a daughter, and four grandchildren.
The Reverend Dr. Timothy M. Smith was installed as Bishop of the North Carolina Synod – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in September 2015. At the time of his election to the six-year term, Smith was serving as senior pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta, Georgia. He previously served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Boone from 1993 to 2010, and pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church – Startown in Newton from 1986 to 1993.
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in religion in 1982 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1986. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey in 1992. His ministry experiences include supervising 22 full-year interns, serving as Appalachian State University campus pastor, and being a featured preacher for Day 1 radio broadcast (formerly “The Protestant Hour”).
Upon his election Smith told the Synod Assembly, “I am much more a pastor than administrator. I believe my natural sense of calling and nurturing personality are also balanced by my having served in a variety of parish settings—rural/small town, university/resort town, and large city. One of my biggest gifts on spiritual gift inventories is the gift of faith.”
A native of Salisbury, Smith and his wife, Wendy, have three grown children, two sons and a daughter. Both of Smith’s sons, as well as his parents, are graduates of LRU.
Honorary degrees are awarded to persons of outstanding character and personality who have distinguished themselves for scholarship or literary achievement, won professional or other distinctions, and rendered conspicuous service in some particular field.
This article was written by Lenoir-Rhyne's Office of Marketing and Communications
