The second annual Dempsey Dash 5K was held Saturday, March 10, and brought out more than 120 runners who celebrated the memory of Brenau’s long-time executive vice president and CFO, Wayne Dempsey, who died May 2, 2014, at 65.
Proceeds from the race benefit the Wayne W. Dempsey Endowed Scholarship Fund, established to provide assistance for students seeking a better life through a Brenau education in the College of Education or the College of Health Sciences.
Dempsey was born and raised in Rome, Georgia, where he met his wife Marsha, and came to Brenau in 2005 with the university’s new president, Ed Schrader. Although he was a science teacher early in his career, Dempsey’s forte became institutional management, and Schrader credits Dempsey for putting Brenau’s financial house in order. As the duo joined Brenau shortly before the ensuing economic crisis now known as the Great Recession, Women’s College enrollment was dropping and Dempsey’s financial expertise was greatly needed.
His focus on decreased spending, cash flow and a developed endowment formula allowed the Women’s College enrollment to skyrocket despite the challenging financial times. The financial stability he afforded Brenau allowed the university to expand its Augusta and North Atlanta campuses and to open a new campus in Fairburn in 2009. As well as its footprint in Gainesville with Brenau East Campus at Featherbone Communiversity and the Brenau Downtown Center.
But Dempsey’s legacy at Brenau is greater even than the campuses he left behind. His great love of music and his cheerfulness, even to the end, is remembered. His friends at Brenau aspire to honor Dempsey with the annual Dempsey Dash 5K.
