OxStars: James Gourley

Starting in January of 2012, after leaving his previous job as an independent HVAC contractor, Gourley found a listing for a heating and air technician here at Oxford. Having done some work on the Atlanta campus, he was already familiar with the maintenance team and was hired shortly afterward. “Since I've been at Oxford, my job has pretty much been the same. When I started, I was going to do just standard maintenance and upkeep. As time has passed, I've taken on additional responsibilities, including monitoring the buildings, making repairs, and now overseeing the clock tower,” he recalls.  

The Bell Tower in Seney was built in 1882. The bell, the clock, and the mechanisms are all original to the building. “For the first hundred years, it was powered with weights that went down through the clock tower, like a cuckoo clock.” Says Gourley, “In 1982, they electrified it and put electric motors on it, and as long as the power doesn't go off, it still keeps perfect time.” The clock tower has long been an integral part of Oxford's fabric, an enduring presence that reflects the college’s history and spirit.  

When Al Mitchell, the longtime shop lead within the maintenance department, retired in 2015 after 40 years, he didn’t just hand over the keys to the iconic bell tower; he passed along years of hard-earned wisdom, too. “Al trained me the best he could with what he knew,” says Gourley. “He showed me how Oxford works, how not to get overwhelmed, and that there’s always a solution— you just keep moving forward.” Under Mitchell’s mentorship, Gourley learned the ins and outs of maintaining Oxford’s historic landmark. Since then, he has continued to keep things running smoothly, gaining additional insight from an experienced clock technician specializing in clock towers.

Over the years, maintaining the clock has become more than just a task; it’s a quiet connection to the campus’s past and present. History is abundant in the clock tower. With 150 years of names and signatures dating back to 1882, students, faculty, and staff have left their mark inside. “I enjoy the fact that there's so much history here, and how we're always finding different artifacts and stuff buried in walls and hidden behind things,” states Gourley. The clock tower has become a time capsule of Oxford itself, offering a tangible link to the past and echoing the campus’s deep-rooted history with every tick.  

Whether he’s in the tower or walking the grounds, what keeps him here is more than just the job; it’s the community and the people. Being a one-person operation, he’s the go-to on campus whenever there’s an issue that needs fixing. Every day, Gourley receives thanks from people for solving problems or helping with issues in the offices or classrooms. There's often a new problem each day, but he says, “The best thing is to be able to take care of a problem and get everybody happy…appreciation is something that I feel a lot here at Oxford.” It is through those everyday moments that he has seen just how far he has come within the last 13 years on campus.   

“I hope my legacy will be just a person who worked hard and tried to do the best job they could every day, and tried to solve as many problems as possible, and hopefully save Oxford a little money along the way,” He laughs. As he reflects on his time here, Gourley hopes his work—much like the clock tower—will keep making an impact long after he’s gone.