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“Dean B.” Takes a Few for the Team
“Dean B.” Takes a Few for the Team
Roast of Dean Buckingham gets laughs and raises funds for VWC Track & Field
By Leona Baker | March 25, 2011
There were inside jokes, off-color puns and more references to bowties than at a Pee-wee Herman wardrobe fitting. The Roast of Dean Buckingham, held Thursday, March 24, in Boyd Dining Center, was all in good fun and all for a good cause.
About 100 faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends turned out to pay tribute and poke fun at David E. Buckingham, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Enrollment Services at Virginia Wesleyan College. The event was a fundraiser for VWC Track & Field.
Nine roasters, led by Master of Ceremonies and Head Track & Field Coach Mat Littleton, stepped up to the microphone to tell stories and take friendly jabs at “Dean B.,” who played the good sport seated in a high-back chair on one side of the stage, dressed in his customary suit and distinctive neckwear. The Dean’s legendary bowties were a hot topic of the evening. Some guests and roasters even donned giant yellow and blue paper cut-out versions pinned on with paperclips.
Roaster Brandon Elliott, VWC Softball Coach, took it a step further and came dressed as the Dean, complete with a coiffed wig. MC Mat Littleton scored a few of the evening’s most memorable zingers, including one about the Dean’s bowties.
“He’s made that about as fashionable as Coach Macedo [VWC Head Men’s Basketball Coach] has made bald heads,” he said.
Others took shots at the Dean’s fastidious nature, his ritualistic campus jogging habit and infamous lengthy phone calls, his loyalty to VWC President Greer, and his, shall we say, “enthusiasm” for VWC athletics and College business in general. Several roasters also ribbed Dean B. for his, ahem, well developed ego.
Special Assistant to the President Kate Loring said she and the Dean shared a love of Italy, but that when the Dean visited the native country of Michelangelo and overheard Italian tour guides raving about “The David,” “he knew he’d finally found a place where his true worth was recognized.”
Other roasters included Associate Professor of Sociology Harold Dorton, Vice President of Finance Cary Sawyer, Men’s Basketball Coach Dave Macedo, former Athletic Director Sunny Travis, alumna and former SGA president Cara Swan, Associate Dean for Campus Recreation Doug Kennedy, Batten Center Director Jason Seward, and the Dean’s son, Jonathan Buckingham.
As with any roast, the roasters and members of the audience were not immune from being the butt of jokes. Coach Dave Macedo and VWC President Billy Greer were the most frequent victims.
“He heard Dave Macedo was going to be here with a bunch of guys and just assumed it was basketball practice,” said Brandon Elliott of President Greer, whose well known affection for the game made him an easy target.
One humorous and perhaps unplanned theme of the evening came from several references to sightings of Dean Buckingham in an “au natural” state in the men’s faculty and staff locker room in the Batten Student Center.
“I apologize for all of the nakedness—especially to the students; that’s just gross,” the Dean joked when he got his turn at the mike, drawing even more laughs from the audience.
All of the jokes were tempered by an obvious respect for the Dean and his unwavering dedication to the College.
“If there’s anyone in this room that bleeds Marlin blue, it’s the man to my right,” said former Athletic Director Sunny Travis, gesturing toward the Dean.
Dean Buckingham, AKA “Mr. VWC,” took it all in good humor. The event raised approximately $1,000 for VWC Track & Field.