If the needle on your gas gauge is hovering over E and you are on the Alcorn State University campus, there is only one place to go to fill up your tank &8212; the Alcorn Service Station.

There is not another gas pump within 10 miles of the small brick store that stands in the middle of the Lorman campus.

Many times, I felt like I was in some classic desert movie scene where my car makes its last gasp in front of the station with the sign, &8220;Last stop for gas.&8221;

Each time, I drove up to the pumps, plugged the nozzle into my car, squeezed the trigger and looked up.

And there it was &8212; a purple and yellow banner inscribed with this simple equation, &8220;ASU=CEO.&8221;

The first few times I read this pseudo-mathematical formula, I laughed to myself dismissing it as another marketing tool by the university.

It was a favorite phrase of the Clinton Bristow Jr., the late Alcorn president who died from a heart attack Saturday evening while jogging on the school&8217;s track.

In his 11 years as president, Bristow was known for his flair of distilling complicated ideas down to simple eye-catching phrases. He was notorious for making up descriptive words from time to time.

&8220;Communiversity,&8221; &8220;The Academic Resort,&8221; &8220;The Epi-center of High Education,&8221; &8220;The Home of Scholars.&8221; All of these were phrases that Bristow used to describe the school of 3,000 students.

And then there is &8220;ASU=CEO.&8221;

Having mentioned this phrase in conversation with some of the university&8217;s professors in the past, I know that the expression was not a popular one.

This was especially true among some liberal arts professors, who felt like the university was more than teaching future business leaders.

&8220;What about the sciences? What about athletics?&8221; I have heard them say. &8220;Why can&8217;t ASU = ARTS?&8221;

In the past week, since Bristow&8217;s death I have wondered if maybe the phrase has been read in too narrow a context.

As a newspaper photographer at ASU events, I gained incredible access to situations that the public did not get to see. I never sat down and talked to Bristow, hut I did get to see him in action and did get to hear his ideas about Alcorn State and Southwest Mississippi.

Thinking about it, I am convinced Bristow understood that leadership is the most important quality that a university can teach its students in the world today.

And in a broad sense that is what a great CEOs is &8212; a great leader. A great chief executive is one who has a vision, understands the challenges and is prepared to lead into the future despite the challenges.

That is not to say that academics are not important. They are the tools that equip future leaders, whether they are leading in English, history or business.

And, of course, the best way to teach great leaders is to give them great role models.

Bristow was one of the great role models.

Since his death, there have been many wonderful words written about Bristow and his presidency at Alcorn State University.

Visionary, classy, articulate, a thinker, dynamic, forward-thinking, community-minded, committed and energetic. All of these described Bristow.

From the establishment of the Alcorn Technology Center and his commitment to the Natchez campus, Bristow was always looking ahead, always looking for ways to lead Alcorn State University and Southwest Mississippi into the future.

Saturday, Alcorn State University and the entire region lost a good role model and a great CEO.

Ben Hillyer

is the visual editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3552 or

ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com

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