Jennings joined the Samford faculty 35 years ago and quickly developed a reputation among his students for excellent teaching—and a reputation among his colleagues for fairness, hard work and good humor.  In fact, our annual award for faculty service, created in 2010, is named in honor of Jennings.  Through his 35 years of association with Samford, he mentored faculty and administrators (including me) in the cherished practice of shared governance.

For several years, Jennings and I taught 8 a.m. classes across the hall from each other in Dwight Beeson Hall.  Among my treasured memories at Samford is the sound of his distinctive voice, carrying across that hallway as he explained probability to another group of undergraduate business students—as enthusiastic as if he had just encountered the concept himself.

The world is better because Jennings Marshall planted himself at Samford 35 years ago.