51�ԹϺ���

Cool wheels, dude! Um, sorry … Mr. President.

“It’s a 1969 Chevy Blazer,” says its owner, 51�ԹϺ��� President Keith E. Whitfield, about his attention-grabbing vehicle, newly renamed The Rebel Ride. “Part of the reason that’s so appropriate is that we officially became known as 51�ԹϺ��� in 1969, so it was fresh and new at that time.”

And today it’s a classic with an attitude.

Festooned with 51�ԹϺ��� insignias, this four-wheeled conversation-starter boasts a custom paint job and interior detailing that make it clear it is driven by a Rebel. Merely wrapping the Chevy would not do.

“I wanted to make sure it was something that would last and is good quality,” Whitfield says, with obvious pride in his voice. “To me this is a gift. It’s kind of me saying thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be the president of this university.”

You can call it part of the Whitfield Collection. “I’ve got a three-car garage but I have five cars, so I will do this round-robin circle and just sit them out front,” he says. “Or I’ll put them in my garage and store them so closely that I can’t even walk in the garage.”

These days, though, his star car is that 54-year-old Chevy Blazer, a purring, road-prowling promotion for 51�ԹϺ��� that he drives to select community events and showcases around the city. when he heads to local coffee shops and eateries.

“Classic cars have a way of opening the door to conversations with strangers,” he says. “I see this as an opportunity to share my impressions of 51�ԹϺ��� and the many ways we’re contributing to the community. That’s the kind of thing I hope all of us do more of, actually. Now, you don't need to repaint your car to do that, but I want you to proudly share your experiences here.”

[Read "From the President" for more on why you should show your Rebel pride too.]

While he won’t drive it to every football game this fall, he does plan to show it off at events like Homecoming. He’s installed a PA system, so he can broadcast his enthusiasm for the Rebels, and its soft top will make it great for the occasional community parade.

“I’m putting it in my rotation to drive, and I’m even thinking of trying to do it on Fridays because we encourage everyone to wear Rebel red on Fridays,” he says.

There was a big inspiration for this – what he calls “an homage to my dad” – traceable to Whitfield’s prior post as provost at Wayne State University in Michigan and reflective of his out-of-the-(glove)-box thinking.

 “When I was a kid, we had a ’71-’72 (Chevy) Suburban, and we traveled all over the country,” recalls Whitfield, who now has his own Suburban. “We went camping and it was just larger than life. [My Suburban] reminded me of my dad.”

He bought it when he was working at Duke University and restored its original ochre paint job. It seemed destined when he later was offered the provost position at Wayne State University.

As it turned out, the color matched his new school. So Whitfield decorated it with Wayne State stickers and metallic signs. Voila!: The Warrior Wagon.

Flash forward to Whitfield’s arrival at 51�ԹϺ���, and he says it was one of the editors of the Scarlet and Gray who triggered the next phase of his campus-rallying car-capades. “They said, ‘We saw the Warrior Wagon. When are you going to have the Rebel car? When are you going to do something for us?’ And I’ve felt that pressure ever since.”

But he was happy to oblige as a way to bring his professional and personal lives together. Cars have long revved up Whitfield. “I’m a fan of new cars too, but some (older) cars remind me of my childhood,” says Whitfield, who, in addition to the Suburban and the Blazer, also owns a 1966 Chevy El Camino. “They’re my babies. They take me back. They were special things when I was a kid. Now I’m just a bigger kid with bigger toys.”

What’s the Whitfield auto-pecking order? “The El Camino is a little showier than the Suburban,” he says. “It’s got a fancy paint job and a modern engine and it goes up and down and has a couple of other little tricks to it.

“But now it’s got some stiff competition from the Blazer.”

And yet, it is family and cherished boyhood memories that fuel his fascination with car culture, dating back to kids of his generation playing with Hot Wheels and Matchbox Cars. “It was a bonding point for me, my brothers and my dad, of working on them,” Whitfield says of tinkering with the real deals. (And yes, while he does turn to professionals, he does work on them himself too, having swapped out engines as well as changing the interiors.)

“My dad helped me do things with my first couple of cars. And now, no matter how tough the day is or how many challenges there are, there’s just something about when I come home and walk by my old cars; it just makes me smile.”

Now the Rebel Ride can bring a grin to the 51�ԹϺ��� community. “I want to share my joy,” Whitfield says about his latest approach to expanding the 51�ԹϺ��� spirit by engaging his automotive passions.

“We are Rebels, we don’t do things like everybody else,” Whitfield says. “That’s the reason I sit here because I’ve always been a rebel. I’ve never done things how other people thought or expected. So if a nontraditional way to bring attention to 51�ԹϺ��� and  help us continue to do great things, hey man, I will be there to help with that all day long.”