When asked if he believed he was passed over because he was black, Epps says he could not be certain he was not. But, he adds, "I've never been a person who worried a lot about things I didn't know for sure."

By far the most difficult trial of the last nine months has been the problems Epps has had with his health. In September, he underwent heart surgery and, in January, he received a kidney transplant. "As I think back on it, I don't quite know how [the family] managed it," says Epps.

What is most extraordinary about the ordeal, Epps points out, is that his wife donated one of her kidneys for the transplant. Had a donor not been found, Epps says, he would have been able to live for only four years on dialysis.

"Valerie's courage is extraordinary," says Epps. "We like to think of it as the reverse of the Genesis story."

Epps says he thinks the challenge of his illness has brought his experiences into sharp focus.

"The question was, could I look back and say had I done well by the College?"

"I expect that when I finish, I will have carried us through a pretty important period and we will probably be a more racially-integrated College as a result of my work, and I will have made quite a contribution," Epps says