Fulks remembered for love of students

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With the passing of Dr. Gary Fulks Tuesday this morning, the Lipscomb University family lost a great teacher and mentor to generations of Lipscomb students. Dr. Fulks died early this morning after battling cancer for more than a year. He will be remembered for his dedication to his family, his colleagues and his students.

Dr. Fulks taught in Lipscomb’s College of Business for more than 25 years in the areas of management, economics and international business. In May, Dr. Fulks retired and had planned to continue to serve as an adjunct professor at Lipscomb.

Greg Carnes, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Business, remembered Dr. Fulks as a man with a personal commitment to go beyond teaching and to serve each student as an individual.
“What people in the College of Business found most refreshing and encouraging about him was the obvious love and care and concern he had for all of his students. He wasn’t here just to teach a particular subject matter, he made a personal commitment to reach out to his students,” said Carnes.

A graduate Wichita State University, Dr. Fulks received his master’s degree at Central Michigan University and his doctorate degree from Middle Tennessee State University where his major field of study was economics. In addition, he was a graduate of the Naval War College where he studied governmental economics.

Prior to coming to Lipscomb, Dr. Fulks served for 22 years in the United States Navy, retiring with the rank of captain. In addition to normal tours at sea, his duties included the planning and accounting activities of the Naval Training Command that consisted of 10,000 sailors and 2,000 civilians. He managed one of the Department of Defense's largest computer sites and served as special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Audit) where he trained civilian auditors in how to audit information processed by electronics.

His civilian experience included jobs as a staff accountant with a public accounting firm and as the administrative assistant to the executive vice president of the National Bank of Commerce. He also served as an elder at the Bellevue Church of Christ.

“Gary saw something special in each person—students and people here at church,” said Steve Blackman, pulpit minister at the Bellevue Church of Christ. “He would remember people and recall what was special about them when he saw them. He had a special relationship with many people. He did not serve a nameless crowd. He reached out to people as individuals. He was an amazing guy.”

He is survived by his wife, Janet; two sons; four grandchildren. Funeral services were Friday, Sept. 8 at Bellevue Church of Christ.