College to Host Celebration of Life Service in Memory of Gordon Haaland

President Emeritus Gordon Haaland speaking at a college event in September 2014 (Photo Gettysburg College Communications and Marketing)

President Emeritus Gordon Haaland speaking at a college event in September 2014 (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College)

By Benjamin Pontz, Managing News Editor

Gettysburg College will host a celebration of life service honoring President Emeritus Gordon Haaland on Sunday, December 10 in the College Union Building Ballroom beginning at 2:00 p.m. A reception will follow.

Haaland, who died in October due to complications from an ongoing illness, served as President of Gettysburg College from 1990 until 2004 and is credited with helping transform the college into a top liberal arts school with a global vision and the resources on campus to support it.

“Gordon Haaland was an exceptionally smart, strategic, and visionary leader for the College – yet also very approachable, down-to-earth and laid back,” said Joe Lynch, Executive Director of Alumni Relations in an interview with The Gettysburgian shortly after Haaland’s death. “As our 12th president, he should get tremendous credit for elevating the stature, programs, size, reputation and aesthetics of Gettysburg College. His 14-year run as President was the third-longest tenure of any of our presidents over the previous 100 years, and he had the right skills and temperament to excel in the job for a long period.”

The event is open to the public, and more information is available on the college’s event calendar.

More on Gordon Haaland

From Gettysburg Good to Gettysburg Great: The Life and Legacy of Gettysburg College President Emeritus Gordon Haaland

October 29, 2017: “From BRP to BEP”

Author: Benjamin Pontz

Benjamin Pontz '20 served as Editor-in-Chief of The Gettysburgian from 2018 until 2020, Managing News Editor from 2017 until 2018, News Editor in the spring of 2017, and Staff Writer during the fall of 2016. During his tenure, he wrote 232 articles. He led teams that won two first place Keystone Press Awards for ongoing news coverage (once of Bob Garthwait's resignation, and the other of Robert Spencer's visit to campus) and was part of the team that wrote a first-place trio of editorials in 2018. He also received recognition for a music review he wrote in 2019. A political science and public policy major with a music minor, he graduated in May of 2020 and will pursue a master's degree in public policy on a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Manchester before enrolling in law school.

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