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This week's column.

The name Jim Renick is rarely seen or heard these days in Greensboro.

Even less so after the school's Board of Trustees abruptly erased the former N.C. A&T chancellor's name from the new education building then under construction in 2007.

But Renick deserves at least a sliver of credit for the opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum last week in downtown Greensboro.

Remember, it was Renick who established official ties between the museum effort and A&T in 2001.

Henry Isaacson, a museum board member and an A&T trustee at the time, brokered the deal, which was announced with appropriate fanfare at a news conference in front of the museum on South Elm Street. "It only seemed natural," Isaacson said last week. "A&T is where it all started."

A&T not only became a partner in the museum's development, but volunteered the school's development director at the time, David Hoard, as the museum's CEO.

From that point on, each A&T chancellor automatically would hold a seat on the museum board.

Until then, A&T hadn't fully embraced the initiative, even though four A&T students -- Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) and David Richmond -- started the movement that integrated the Woolworth lunch counter and inspired the museum in the first place.

Also, the museum's fund-raising had stalled for lack of support from the local business community.

The charismatic Renick, at the time, enjoyed a very high profile in Greensboro. His imprimatur meant something. But it didn't come without some hesitation.

Renick said shortly after he arrived at A&T that he wanted the school more involved in the museum initiative. "Man, I'd really like to ...," he said. But he was wary of the hot-button politics that often surrounded it.

A year later, at Isaacson's urging, Renick decided it was worth the risk anyway. "The more I learned about it," he said by phone last week, "the more it seemed the university should be a visible partner. It just seemed logical."

Renick became a member of the museum's board, which already included his predecessor, Edward Fort. Meanwhile, as CEO, Hoard was charged with raising $10 million to $15 million and would report to the museum's board of directors. The deal was sealed.

For good measure Renick commissioned a statue of the Greensboro Four in front of A&T's Dudley Building. When asked the size he wanted, he merely said, "Big."

But there were problems.

Hoard's duties as CEO for the museum, vice chancellor for development and university relations and director of N.C. A&T University Foundation Inc. became too much.

In 2006, A&T's partnership with the museum significantly changed. Hoard stepped down as CEO and became a "senior adviser." The Joseph M. Bryan and Weaver foundations hired a full-time fundraising consultant for the museum.

And Renick announced he was leaving both A&T and the museum board. He would move to Washington as a vice president of the American Council on Education, he announced.

His visions may have outstripped his resources. But A&T's stepped-up involvement had given the museum fresh momentum at a time when it sorely needed it.

The museum had been "languishing," Isaacson said.

"Some money started to come in afterward," he said of A&T's impact. "That was the main thing. I think people started to fee more comfortable."

Richard "Skip" Moore of the Weaver Foundation said Renick and A&T provided a valuable jump start for the museum.

"He had endorsed the museum and provided staff and support and it made a big difference to contributors."

The rest of the story you may know.

After virtually a hero's farewell, Renick went on to a new job in Washington, D.C. Months later, his legacy began to lose its luster. Revelations of bookkeeping problems at A&T pointed to lapses in oversight on his watch. The trustees unnamed the building that was supposed to bear his name. Renick shrugged.

"I didn't come to Greensboro to see my name on a building," he said.

After two years in Washington, he has moved to yet another job, as senior adviser to the president of his alma mater, Central State University in Ohio.

As for his role in the museum's success, it rightly pales in comparison to many others whose sweat and fortitude over the years saw the landmark through to its completion and its opening.

Jim Renick played only a bit part. But an important one all the same.