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A tattered red chair sits behind the desk of Wayne State's athletic director, Rob Fournier.
The arms of the aging relic are worn to the foam padding, and there is permanent dust embedded in the fabric.
It is the last remnant of a WSU era before Fournier and President Irvin D. Reid, who announced his resignation this past September.
"I always want to keep the red chair because I always want to keep things in perspective," Fournier said.
Reid hired Fournier in 2000 to rebuild the athletic department - and the progress toward that end has been undeniable.
"I always want to remember what it was like when I first came here, and that chair was here - it's the only thing left," Fournier said.
He may never let go of the red chair, but he will soon have to part with the university president that has offered so much to the athletic department during his tenure.
"He's the difference between what we are and what we were," Fournier said of Reid. "I don't think there's anybody who would say the place isn't better than when he started.
"And that's not just people who work here. I think that's community, alumni, former students. I think that's a whole range of constituencies who look back and say, 'Yeah, this place has moved forward.'"
Fournier admitted that if it wasn't for Reid, he wouldn't be here.
The question is, once Reid is gone, will Fournier stay?
"I think President Reid was very good to make sure that athletics had a chair to sit on at the table," Fournier said. "But it's yet to be seen who that next person is, and what their goals and objectives are."
Fournier understands the next president's priorities and ideologies will shape the future of the athletic department.
"From a personal standpoint, you don't want to go backwards," he said. "But I think it's the choice of any president to determine what their objectives are, and what their agenda will be.
"My hope is that whoever that person is, that he, or she, sees the value to athletics and the value for a university that it has."
Finding a candidate that will fill Reid's shoes will be difficult - a person who clearly articulated his agenda and was able to get many different factions to go along with the plan.
"I think President Reid is his own unique person," Fournier said. "A university president has to work with a lot of different groups on this campus, and that's a hard job.
"His biggest credit is that he was able to do that with a diverse administration and a very large university community. That's tough."
The challenge will be finding a president who understands the purpose athletics serve and wants the WSU program to continue its progression.
Fournier said he knows his future at the university could be influenced by the choice.
"At some point in time that discussion will happen, but it's not something I'm occupying myself with," he said. "That kind of thing is not something I can worry about.
"What I worry about is 400 student-athletes, coaches, our relationship to the community, our outreach programs and how we're marketing the university - those are the things I worry about, and it consumes my day."
