Get Acquainted With Gwinnett School Board Chairman

As Gwinnett County Board of Education chairman, Dr. Bob McClure of Lilburn shapes education policy. But on Sunday mornings, when teaching bible classes at Cornerstone Bible Church, he explores different depths of education.

"It's fulfilling in a different way," said McClure, 63. "[Sunday School] is more gratifying if you actually enjoy teaching.

"It's gratifying to interact directly, to have that instructional contact," he added of 45-minute classes for often 25-plus young adults, typically newly married couples. "That's the gratification any teacher has when they teach."

McClure initially joined the school board in 1995 and was re-elected last November for his fifth term, which runs through December 2014. He initially sought election because of a philosophical disagreement with focus on outcome-based education. Ever since, he's worked to shape the largest school district in Georgia, one among the nation's 15 largest.

"People often ask you why I ran for the school board, and I jokingly say I hate large crowds, confrontation and public speaking, so it seemed like a perfect fit," he said, chuckling. "But seriously, it has to do with the enjoyment I get from watching students be successful. To watch kids walk across the stage every year [at graduations], knowing they've got a quality education and are ready for the next step in their life, is quite gratifying."

A dermatologist by trade and an educator at heart, McClure, whose electoral District IV includes all or portions of the Gwinnett County Public Schools clusters of Berkmar, Brookwood, Grayson, Parkview, Shiloh, and South Gwinnett, believes education is a search for truth. That's a belief he professes in board meetings, as well as in Sunday classes for 36 years, whether discussing origin of the universe, life emerging from non-life or similar, often controversial topics.

"I don't feel any issue is out of bounds," he said, adding that he's "puzzled" by the required separation of public school education and religion.

"Education is exposing kids to truth in as many different dimensions as you can," McClure explained. "It's important to expose kids to as many things as you can. That's what we're trying to accomplish as human beings, to grasp and expose yourself to as much truth as you can."

Cornerstone Pastor Doug McIntosh said McClure brings an acumen typical Sunday school teachers might not. Accordingly, McClure often is asked to address sensitive topics, such as the definition of marriage and value of human life.

"You give him a teaching assignment and you know he's going to do a great job with it," McIntosh said. "He's a person of incredible insight and that permeates his approach to everything. He's an uncanny diagnostician."

Associate Pastor Chuck Taylor admires McClure's approach, particularly his embrace of ethics increasingly under fire in modern times.

"He's a very thoughtful and pensive guy," Taylor said. "He's a deep thinker... and really articulate. Typically, [his] adult elective class takes on the most interesting and challenging material."

And when McClure reflects on his accomplishments -- his 42-year marriage to wife Jan and raising six Parkview High graduates now ages 25 through 39 -- he'll rest assured he's made a difference on both the macro and micro scale. Whether sculpting policy for an estimated 160,000 students in 130 schools or defending embattled religious principals before a class of only two dozen, his thoughtfulness comes through.

"He has an incredible feel for how things work, and that applies to everything he does," McIntosh said. "It's something you easily detect after just a few minutes with him."