CREDIT: FANSHAWEC.CA
Dr. Howard Rundle is retiring.

Dr. Howard Rundle, Fanshawe College's longest-serving president, announced he'll be finally calling it quits at the end of August. The Bowmanville, Ontario native joined the college in 1972 and held a variety of positions before eventually being named president of Fanshawe in 1995. He's been at the college for 41 years, leaving one to often wonder what he's like outside the hallowed walls of Fanshawe College.

I sat down with Rundle, his wife Lynda and his executive assistant Cheryl McMurray to chat about his experiences during his 40-plus years here and his life outside the college.

1. Rundle initially applied for a job as the head of the Math and Science Department but was offered a job as the director of Planning and Development by Dr. James A. Colvin, the founding president of the college.

2. He enjoys making wine in his basement at home and said he's on his 60th or 70th batch. Lynda, on the other hand, doesn't like serving his wine as she doesn't feel it's 'decent.'

3. Rundle has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. As a child, he used to enjoy setting off rockets with his friends. He still owns some of the torn-up rockets he set off as a child.

4. Rundle took his first big steps into the Twitter world in the office of Fanshawe Student Union president Zack Dodge. Dodge recalled teaching Rundle the basics of Twitter, which Dodge stated was one of the highlights of his year as FSU president.

5. Rundle's father bought an island in the Kingston Islands, and his mother grew up there. Rundle enjoys spending time there with his family, with little or no connection to the outside world.

6. Rundle enjoys ski trips in Quebec, which started out with his children and now includes his grandchildren. He usually takes one every March.

7. Rundle includes almost every event that involves Fanshawe — athletics, graduations, presentations, retirements and so on — on his calendar. He makes an effort to be present at as many of those events as possible. He has yet to miss a single graduation ceremony at the London campus.

8. An avid reader, Rundle said he hopes to be able to spend much of his time during retirement reading. He currently manages to read six to seven novels each year.

9. With Fanshawe undergoing massive expansions under Rundle's tenure, he still credited the downtown London campus as one of his top achievements. Lynda, however, said she feels that putting Fanshawe into the community is Rundle's biggest achievement.

10. Rundle loves to travel and hopes to see more of the world once he's retired. His son lives in Ottawa, his daughter lives in Australia.

Dr. and Mrs. Rundle are planning to continue living in London. Rundle cares deeply about Fanshawe, believing that the college experience is better than most university ones. After retirement, he wants to stay involved in the community and see what opportunities there are to volunteer and support the London community.