An avid fly fisherman for 25 years, the biggest fish Ray Kieft has ever hooked was a 34-inch brown trout in Montana's Madison River. After catching it, though, he let it go. "I only practice catch and release," he explained.

Kieft, whose last act as interim president will be at Metro's Spring Commencement on Sunday, caught a metaphorically mighty big fish here, too—the respect and admiration of the college's faculty, staff and students.

"I'd be less than honest if I didn't say that the outpouring of support and well wishes that have come my way over the past two years is both humbling and gratifying," he said.

Of all the things that he won't forget from the last 20 months, something a student said recently stands out for Kieft.

"This student I don't know stopped me after I had announced my withdrawal from the presidential search," he recounted, "and he said to me, 'You gave your heart to making Metro a better place for students and I, as one student, thank you for your commitment.' It was completely unsolicited and I'll never forget that student."

That Kieft would find so much to be proud of in one statement from one student is not surprising to anyone who knows him. However, there are many other accomplishments that made much bigger splashes, particularly in terms of dollars, than those words of gratitude. For instance, Metro was awarded a $9.5 million Teacher Quality Enhancement grant—the largest federal grant in the college's history—under Kieft's reign. In addition, the college became one of only ten institutions in the country to receive funding for the Adventure of the American Mind program, which trains K-12 teachers to access the Library of Congress archives.

On a smaller, but no less important scale, Kieft also counts the approval of the African American studies and Chicano studies majors for teacher education licensure and the reinstatement of the African American Leadership Institute as some of his biggest achievements.

He also is grateful for a comment from a faculty member whom he had only met once, a comment that recognized the stability and trust Kieft had brought to the college over the past two years.

Trust is a common word in Kieft's vocabulary and one that he says will always be essential for the college's leadership.

"Whoever the president is at any particular time will only be effective if the entire college community trusts and respects him or her," Kieft says, adding that these attributes become even more important when the president often must weigh competing interests in arriving at decisions.

Now that he's leaving Metro, Kieft may have bigger fish to fry—literally, since he's planning to spend a month or so doing some "serious" fly fishing throughout Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Of course, practicing only catch and release, he won't really be frying any trout. He will, however, be cooking up the plot of his next mystery novel. "My publisher is hounding me for another novel," Kieft says. His first, "Firehole River Murder," is available at Amazon.com and Authorhouse.com., and all the proceeds go to charity. "So I hope I sell a lot."

Kieft says he will also consider inquires for consulting or perhaps another interim position. Most of all, though, he hopes the future holds a strengthening of his faith, health, friends and "hearing that Metro is thriving and expanding its role as "Colorado's College of Opportunity."

A farewell party for Kieft is being held today, May 11, 2:30-4:30 p.m. in CN 301.