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With his snow-white hair, fair skin and Midwestern-accented voice that rarely changes tone, the outgoing president of Texas A&M seems like a man who could easily slip into a crowd unnoticed, like his former job as a spy required.
However, Gates captured the admiration and love of many of the University's faculty, staff, students and others through his unusually forthright charisma and willingness to act.
For a former Central Intelligence Agency director and adviser working under five presidents, coming to a university he knew hardly anything about - Texas A&M - was something he didn't really expect.
"I didn't know anything about A&M and had never been here before," Gates said about coming to A&M in 1999 to serve as interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. "I came here not because it was A&M, but because of George (H.W.) Bush."
Living in the MSC Hotel while working at the Bush School changed his mind about A&M, as he saw the camaraderie among students and the strongly held traditions.
"There is nothing like the traditions of Texas A&M," Gates said. "I've lectured at 30 or 40 other schools over the years, and I've never found anything remotely comparable."
And, nearly five years later, Gates will leave the job he said he loves. He reflected on the work he has done during a tenure many have likened to another legendary University president, Earl Rudder.
"The principle priorities have been expansion on campus and the faculty reinvestment," he said. "I think another change that I didn't set out to make a goal, but happened anyway, was the strengthening of the community."
With the popularity he has gained on campus among students and staff, Gates said he understands why some dread his departure, but that he knows this University will thrive long after he is gone.
"I believe the legacy I will leave will be more lasting than anything I did in Washington," he said. "Presidents come and go, but the faculty will stay, and the students will stay - sometimes too long."
Gates said the spirit and friendly environment are something he has found starkly different about this campus, and said as president, his job was to preserve that.
"The president of Texas A&M needs to have an appreciation of the importance of the other part making this University unique - the traditions and spirit," he said. "It is important for a leader to recognize both the academics, and the tradition and culture that make A&M an interesting institution."
Gates hopes he has succeeded in that, because those traditions have been an important part in the memories he will take with him.
"Attending Yell Practice, being inducted into the Corps of Cadets' Hall of Fame, and interacting with the students are some of my favorite memories," he said.
For a man in his 60s, Gates said he was surprised to see how much he had learned and adapted.
"I've never been a particularly outgoing person, but that has changed after coming here," he said. "And, I can stay up much later than I ever thought I could."
Though, he said the bond that members of the A&M community share has been the most inspiring for him.
"What's most significant for me is the celebration of family and closeness of Aggies, with Muster and Silver Taps, saying 'howdy,' friendliness, family, 12th Man and sticking together, all representing that," Gates said.
And, he's looking forward to wrapping up what has been a whirlwind of a month.
"Less than a month ago, I was more worried about beating Nebraska than al-Qaida," he said.
He will pack up his office Thursday, and hand out his last degrees as president - which will require lots of Kleenex.
While he wishes he could stay longer, he's reached the point where the initiatives he cared most about are in place or will be shortly - like the completion of the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences building and the University Studies degree plan.
"I hope to see Texas A&M become a top university in the United States, with the culture and tradition just as strong," Gates said.
He has a suggestion for the next president.
"My advice to my successor: don't screw up a good thing," Gates said.
No matter where he goes, he said A&M will always be a part of him - with an A&M football helmet being the first thing be puts in his new office.
"I absolutely believe I'm an Aggie," a teary-eyed Gates said. "I will bleed maroon for as long as I live."
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