Published on October 16, 2019 by William Nunnelley  
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Samford alumnus David Garrard has been entertaining with magic for more than 50 years.

“I love the way magic makes people smile and laugh,” he says. “I also love using magic to inspire and encourage.”

Garrard performed recently in Samford’s Wright Center. He recalled that it was just being built when he was a student.

The 1975 graduate said he had “lots of great memories” about Samford.

“Probably the best would be meeting my wife, Stephanie.” He also mentioned meals in the cafeteria with classmates and friends, working at WVSU radio, special teachers such as Carolyn Satterfield, Sigurd Bryan, Leah Atkins and Mabry Lunceford, and “doing magic in my dorm as well as in the lobby of Vail Hall.”

Garrard’s father got him interested in magic when David was 12 years old.

“He was not a professional magician but he knew some magic and taught me the tricks he knew. Then he helped me pursue my interest by taking me to meetings of the Georgia Magic Club.”

Garrard is a native of Atlanta but has resided in the Louisville, Kentucky, area since 1975. He is a member of the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians Order of Merlin.

He has performed on the Penn & Teller: Fool Us magic show, and is author of the book Out of My Hat, The Magic of David Garrard.

He performed at Samford Sept. 12 with his daughter, Claire, a 2004 graduate of Samford.  

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.

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