Cowley College - Tiger Daze Yearbook (Arkansas City, KS)

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Special people make PERSONALIZED EDUCATO a Cowley tradition At first glance, attending Cowley is no big deal, but those who have been around awhile have no difficulty citing reasons why Cowley is a good deal. Linda Hargrove, director of admissions, who graduated from Cowley in 1970, feels she made the best the decision when she chose Cowley. It was a great decision. I mean, I hated it. I hated the idea of having to come to school here, because I didn ' t want to. I came to Cowley because my Dad made me, said Hargrove. But it took me about two weeks to really.... well, I loved this school from the very beginning. Hargrove is quick to explain why the first years of college can be the key to a successful eduaction for many students. It (attending Cowley) is your first experience away from home and you ' re on your own, said Hargrove. People here at Cowley were friendly so it was a great beginning for me and Cowley kind of went to my heart after two years here. Linda Hargrove Michael Watters Mike Watters, department chairman of the natural and social sciences department, agrees with Hargrove about the importance of attending a community college for the first two years. I think students, especially in the area, ought to come to a community college because they can be an active part of the learning process whereas if they go to a larger school they ' re caught up in it rather than becoming a part of it, said Watters. Becoming a part of the educational process often means students need to feel like more than a number. Watters says a community college can offer that. I find they get more individual attention because of the small class size and the instructors are able to relate with them personally about their needs probably better than they would at the four-year schools, Watters added. Sharon Hill Sharon Hill, speech insh tor agrees with Waters out the importance of st skills in the learning proces A lot of people ar prepared to handle a four-; university and the out! influences that affect y studying. Here they rea right off that they have study, said Hill. Women ' s volleyball co Debbie Davis, who also i Cowley graduate, feels that of the most important thinj student needs to learn w attending Cowley responsibility. Debbie Davis They need to learn a lo responsibility. Learning I to manage their time is 4 F a I 1 ' 87

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They are not negative and do not plain. They are not always looking for s or excuses. McAtee has a name for people like I call them ' dirt-getters ' because they le ground running. That ' s the kind of le I like, he said. They feel they can mplish anything. They can set goals want, and attain them, look for people who have those quali- ibove people who have said they have nany years of experience, he said. If cher has taught for 15 years and has dead from the neck up, then he ' s not 2, to do me a lot of good. cAtee figures that type of instructor t do the students much good either. f this teacher ' s information passes lgh his notes and into the notes of the :nts without passing through the mind ther, then I don ' t care is he has had 20 years of experience, he ' s not doing me any good, he said. McAtee feels an obligation to his employees. Once you get these people, then you have an obligation to articulate the vision of where you want to go, he said. We need to come to grips with articulating what we ' re all about and where we should go. Deciding where to go is a decision he ' ll make by himself. McAtee says a good manager will include others in the decision-making process. A good manager gets input from the organization but, ultimately, he has to decide what we are going to do, he said. Once you articulate the vision, you hold people accountable. You measure whether we ' ve got that done. McAtee sees a good manager as a sup- port giver. I ' ll give them all the support they need to get the job done. I won ' t just give them a bunch of jobs to do and then not support them as far as getting it done. McAtee says a college president has an obligation to keep up with what is going on in the classroom. I think a president needs to know what is happening instructionally and about the quality of instructors he has. He needs to find out what their strengths are, too. McAtee does not want teachers to think that he is on a seek-and-destroy mission. I think we have an obligation to try to encourage and help them get whatever training they feel would help them-whether it be teaching techniques or particular subject matter. We have an obligation to get them that. BY KATHY GANN f The most important thing is when they get out and seek a job and get a job. That is when their real education takes place any way. 9 9 Dr. McAtee ' s philosophy of :ducation is just as important o him as his style of nanagement. Access to educational pportunity is a big part of ny philosophy, he said. I think we should do iverything possible to mcourage the masses to btain as much education as hey possibly can. McAtee says the voca- ional courses have been reated unjustly by some )eople. I think all education is valuable and should be treated is valuable. It should count ©wards something and should lpply toward something, he aid. Some people think that if i student is participating in something vocational or termed ' terminal ' (as opposed to transfer), that somehow it is something less than the transfer education. McAtee wants these stu- dents to stay in the College program. We should do everything we can to keep students in the process, he said. The most important thing is when they get out and seek a job and get a job. That is when their real education takes place anyway. McAtee identifies a prob- lem many students meet when they try to transfer their hours to some four-year colleges 6 r universities. I don ' t like the Ivory- towered philosophy of edu- cation that all the masses must come to the Mecca to take education, so that it can be blessed by the holy instructors, he said. According to McAtee, alternative teaching methods and techniques should be considered I think education can be in an office building, an industry, or a recreation center. It doesn ' t have to be on the holy land for it to be called education, he said. McAtee believes students can learn from each other. I don ' t think all the knowledge of the world is in the head of the teacher, he said. Students bring all kinds of experiences to the class- room. He thinks teachers should seek the untapped sources of their students. They should be able to explore their ideas, share those ideas, and have somebody respond to those ideas, he said. They don ' t want to just be filled up with information. McAtee thinks that teach- ers should be considerate of their students. Students like some humor and some enthusiasm so they will feel important, he said. McAtee says instructors are obligated to their students. A classroom should be exciting. If a teacher can ' t make his students feel the hour they are spending with him is the most exciting time in their lives, then they have no business being there, concluded McAtee. BY KATHY GANN Pulse

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n thing because if they ' t, then they get so bogged -n and college isn ' t fun, Davis. College is some le best years of your life. lor new student it may be hard to conceive the jrence between a two-year a four-year college. Doug iter, art instructor at vley, found that the -year university was too 3rsonal. Doug Hunter m a good example, because as recruited to a four-year ersity and I found myself a fiber instead of an ividual, Hunter said, wley is the opposite, you come to Cowley and in e to four days you ' re settled The ratio is smaller, and pie are more friendly luse they know there aren ' t many people on campus, they ' re going to be idly. unter also feels the faculty staff here play a big part in cing the students feel fortable. They ' ll come up and ask • you are, and you won ' t see in a big school. The hers are very polite and r ' re responsive to what is ig on with you as an vidual, said Hunter, largrove also believes the ilty and staff here can be e than just teachers to the students here. The best friends you make may not be people your own age, they may be faculty members or staff members or somebody you can learn a great deal from if you give them the chance to teach you some things, said Hargrove. The best advice Hunter can give to new and old students alike is to become involved. Get involved constantly and don ' t be bashful, said Hunter. Go to the activities and try them out, do something you have never done before. Dennis Mclntire, new dorm nanager, agrees with Hun- ter on the importance of involvement at school. Dennis Mclntire It ' s easy to get involved here (at Cowley) because you ' re able to get to know everybody. Sure there are more activities at a four-year school, but you ' ll be able to do almost all the activities at Cowley. You wouldn ' t be able to do that at a four-year school. You wouldn ' t be able to keep your grades up, said Mclntire. Cowley graduate and secre- tary to the president Libby Palmer advises that the best way to meet people at Cowley is to take advantage of the many clubs and organizations on campus. Get involved here,you don ' t have to be involved in all the Libby Palmer organizations, but even one helps, said Palmer. Even for the older students, I think the TNT program is excellent and VICA has a good program for their students too. Hunter has discovered that the students are not the only ones to benefit from the time they spend at Cowley. The kids here are great. After a while they become one big happy family, they take care of each other. I get older, but it makes me feel young to be a round them, said Hunter. TTVl Hargrove, who graduated 1 -i from Cowley in 1967, is also young at heart. In fact he jokes that he was 13 years old when he graduated from Cowley. Hargrove returned to Cowley ' s campus in 1983 like several former Cowley graduates, and took a position in the Financial aid office. I had no hesitation about returning to the Cowley campus. In fact, I had wanted to return for a number of years and it was just a question of finding the position I was qualified to fill, said Hargrove. Hargrove, whose wife Linda also works at the college, feels comfortable about their working arrangement. It ' s great. You know, I can ' t recall when there ' s ever been really any kind of conflict, said Hargrove. We ' re used to being around each other, and we go recruiting together. I haven ' t seen any problem. The best advice Hargrove can give any student about college, concerns the academic impor- tance of the college years. First of all, I would like to say, take the classes seriously. I know during my college years I didn ' t take the studying as seriously as I should have and later on when I went looking for a job it really affected me, said Hargrove. Ed Hargrove When you start looking for a job, your past grades and performance in college are looked at and it ' s important. But you don ' t think about it at the time, but 10 years down the road you ' ll see where you could have done better. Another thing is to take advantage of the activities and opportunities to get involved and be a part of the college and it will be so much more meaningful to you. BY JULIE REED Pulse