Bob McLendon inducted into NAU Education Hall of Fame
Rivalries between alma maters can run hot, but Bob McLendon didn’t let that stop him from helping Yuma’s campus of Northern Arizona University become what it is today.
McLendon, who earned both his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Arizona State University, was inducted into the Northern Arizona University Education Hall of Fame at the end of October for his lifetime achievements in the field of education.
“I’m very honored, and I’m very grateful that I was nominated by Harry Hengl to receive that honor,” McLendon said Friday from his Yuma home. “I was very pleased there were a lot of people from Yuma that came up, and to NAU — that’s a long trip, up to Flagstaff — and I really appreciated the fact that they showed up up there, and were supporting me.”
Some Yumans may remember McLendon from his days as a basketball coach at Yuma High School, where he taught American history and government from 1961 to 1998, according to previous articles in the Yuma Sun.
He served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 1983 until 2001, where for a time he was the House Democratic leader. He was also on the education committee in the Arizona Legislature. Subsequently, he served on the Yuma County Board of Supervisors before retiring from elected office in 2004.
“Along with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, he helped secure funds in the Arizona State budget to create NAU-Yuma,” said Heidi Toth, the assistant director of communications at NAUFlagstaff. “As a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, Bob was instrumental in securing capital funds for significant building and campus development at NAU.”
NAU-Yuma, which was established in 1988, became an official branch campus of NAU in 2007.
McLendon was tapped from retirement by thenGov. Janet Napolitano to serve on the Arizona Board of Regents in 2008 as its first rural representative. He stepped down as chairman of that board in 2012, according to Yuma Sun archives.
He was also chairman of the education committee for the National Conference of State Governments, he recalled Friday afternoon while recovering from the Thanksgiving holiday (and celebrating his birthday).
“You know, I’ve had a very full lifetime of service, really, and education is always been my strong subject,” McLendon said, “but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done.”