Warm. Welcoming. Translucent. Accessible. Those were all words members of the ISU community used to describe President Gregory Geoffroy at his and his wife Kathy’s farewell reception Thursday.

Members of the ISU community flooded into the South Ballroom in the Memorial Union to attend the ceremony. Before entering guests were able to sign guest books and make name tags. Once inside, guests were able to shake the Geoffroys’ hands and speak briefly with them.

“It’s great to see so many people here,” Kathy said. “I’m glad they have name tags.”

ISU faculty, staff, students and alumni then chatted amongst each other and ate food in the South Ballroom and Sun Room.

“There are just so many good people here,” Gregory said.

Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman said turnout for the reception was “terrific.”

Many people at the event said they came to the reception to honor the Geoffroys and pay their respects to the Geoffroys’ service to the university and to the community.

Sociology lecturer Richard Reger said he went to the reception to say hello and goodbye to Geoffroy.

“I’m going to miss him a lot,” Reger said. “He’s done a lot for the community.”

Jake Armstrong, sophomore in agronomy, said he went to the reception to meet new people and to pay respect to the ISU president.

“I shook Geoffroy’s hand,” Armstrong said. “You don’t get the opportunity to shake hands with the president every day.”

The official program during the reception began with Peter Orazem, professor of economics, welcoming guests and introducing Hoffman.

Hoffman began her speech with a toast, in which she thanked the Geoffroys for their work at Iowa State and “for leaving Iowa State as a better university.”

“The toast really reflects what we as a community have to say about the excellence of Greg and Kathy Geoffroy,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman then spoke about working with Geoffroy for more than 20 years at various positions across the nation. When Geoffroy was considering becoming an university president, Hoffman was the one who nominated him for the ISU position.

After stepping down as president of the University of Colorado in 2005, Hoffman joined the ISU staff as the executive vice president and provost, working directly under Geoffroy.

“I can tell you, President Geoffroy is the best boss I have ever had,” Hoffman said. “He hires great people and allows them to do their jobs. And that’s one of the hallmarks of a great boss.”

Government of the Student Body President Dakota Hoben took the stage after Hoffman. He said he feels privileged to have been able to know the Geoffroys.

Hoben spoke of Geoffroy’s accessibility and accountability. He described how Geoffroy created “an atmosphere and experience on this campus that no other university can duplicate.”

“President Geoffroy has been a point of pride for this university for 10 years,” Hoben said. “He was never viewed as a figurehead, but as a real person by all of us students.”

Hoben also said that a bad word can not be spoken about Iowa State’s president and that he will be greatly missed.

Orazem then took the stage and presented a humorous slide show of Geoffroy’s life. Orazem also presented a video of members of the ISU community paying tribute to the Geoffroys.

Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Hill said in the video that Geoffroy asked him the first day as president if he would be able to arrange a meeting with a group of ISU students.

“I was excited because that was a message to me that this president understood the significance of a good relationship with students,” Hill said.

After the video, Hoffman and Hoben gave the Geoffroys gifts from the ISU and Ames community.

After the gift giving, the Geoffroys made their remarks. Kathy began by thanking the students who came to the reception.

She then spoke of her time at Iowa State and her experiences with students. In particular, she said she enjoyed students sledding at the Knoll.

“I thank you for coming over. Sometimes in the winter at the Knoll, it gets kind of slow there and its great to have students there,” she said. “I hope I got you a cookie.”

Kathy also thanked her husband by saying, “Thanks for getting me into this.”

After she finished her speech, Geoffroy began his speech by thanking the ISU community for its hard work.

“Iowa State is a great university, and it’s a great university because of its people,” he said.

Geoffroy then thanked his wife for her support.

“She has always been a very, very strong rock of support for me — a great partner in helping me resolve my problems and issues and situations,” he said. “Those discussions have been extremely helpful.”

He finished his speech by paraphrasing ISU football coach Paul Rhoads.

“I just want to say how proud I am of all of you,” he said. “How proud, proud I am of this university.”