Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library’s Executive Director speaks to Starkville Rotary Club on MSU Campus
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY (WCBI) – In honor of President’s Day, Dr. Anne Marshall spoke to the Starkville Rotary Club about Ulysses S. Grant and his role as a leader and the 18th President of the United States.
Marshall is the executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library on Mississippi State University’s campus.
She spoke about Grant’s history, including his time serving in the Army, success and leadership roles, and setbacks he experienced throughout his life.
Despite the hardships he faced, Marshall says Grant showed determination, later becoming a Union General and a two-term president.
She says he took what he learned from his failures and used them to make him better in his work and make hard choices.
“I think that goes to show that you don’t always start off as a leader. Sometimes you have to earn that position by doing some not-so-glamorous work. Great leadership can come from very humble, unassuming people. That was a thing people noted about Grant throughout his career. He wasn’t a very flashy general; he wasn’t this person who always looked polished and put together. He was very quiet and a man of few words. But he was a great leader, and he didn’t need to have a big personality or show overwhelming charisma to really exhibit great leadership,” said Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library’s Executive Director Dr. Anne Marshall.
Marshall says the museum gets around 6,000 visitors a year from all over the country and the world.
The museum is on the 4th floor of the MSU Mitchell Memorial Library and is open Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm and most Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. Admission is free.
