Lee College - Vindauga Yearbook (Cleveland, TN)

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A Man For Our Time What does it take to be a college president? Dr. Charles W. Conn likes to quote one of his favorite books, Presiden- tial Passages: Be flexible, tough skinned, have good control of your ego and real- ize that you will never make a right decision in the eyes of at least part of your public and employees. The job of the president requires him to mediate everything — from meeting with the Board of Directors to settling student squab- bles, teaching classes and teachers, meet- ing with VIP ' s (either Very Important People or Very Interested Parents), conducting massive fund raising cam- paigns and then figuring out who needs the money the most. And Charles W. Conn has been doing all that and more for over ten years during a time when most college presidents are falling by the wayside (average term — four years). The reason for his success? A philos- ophy which puts his job in proper per- spective. Dr. Conn says, Kids are what the college is all about — Lee College exists to teach students, not to provide jobs, a point dramatically driven home by some tough decisions this year. But it remains a concept of paramount impor- tance to Dr. Conn. I have a standing I have a standing policy here that if three people arrive at the same time — a businessman, a teacher, and a student — show that student in. policy here that if three people arrive at the same time — a businessman, a teach- er, and a student — show that student in. Lee College ' s commitment is to its students — providing them with the best education available anywhere, balancing knowledge with a good Christian envi- ronment, developing a sense of skill and worth in each student, molding in each an awareness of responsibility, and pro- viding them with the tools necessary to be Christian servants and leaders in this needy world. But students are not perfect. If they were, why would they need an educa- tion? Some students, Dr. Conn admits, arrive with the feeling that we are one big happy youth camp. A lot of them experience culture shock when they find out they ' ve got to do term papers and take exams like students do at any other academic institution of high de- mands. In a time when a college education doesn ' t seem so necessary as it once was, with plumbers and mechanics outearning Ph.D. ' s, some people have questioned I ' m always on the kids ' side. 12 PRESIDENT CONN

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' The Love -;- ' . ■ - ' .:■-- : : ' ■■-. ' . ' .-■ ' ■-.. ' ;■■ ' - ■7; ' .,■-,--■ ' ;.-■■■■ : . r r. •..-•: f ■,,, ■. ■ -•-: -- -. ■ J ; , ■ ' -■;v ° : ' .r. : -- : ..- ' Knowledge •■?;?■;■;.:,.. ' ..■.;.-;:. i-i ' -i-.- ' . ; ■:-■ ' ;■■ - ' -V -:. Paul exhorted us to study to show ourselves approved. Socrates sugges ted that we try to know ourselves. As products of the Industrial Revolu- tion and the Computer Age, we can- not ignore a pursuit for knowledge. The administration, faculty, and staff you ' ll meet in the following pages are dedicated to helping students in their pursuit and love of knowledge. You ' ll find some excellent discussion of the issues facing modern Christians today in education, business, science, and other fields of study. As you peruse this section, be reminded of the joy of knowledge. v Mtimwffe r : ' V;-, ' : ' Daniel Dyer studying to show himself approved. - ■ .JV«t . ■ J ' .: ., i ,;:.v-

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the wisdom of spending so much money to put their kids through school. But the world is in dire need of properly trained ministers to heal its emotional, physical, and spiritual wounds. And not only ministry behind the pulpit, Dr. Conn is quick to point out, there ' s also minis- try in the counselor ' s room, at the doors of the neighborhood, in the classroom when you ' re teaching grade school, and even as you lead a band. The need for Christian doctors, businessmen, educa- tors, scientists, musicians, psychologists, and sociologists cannot be overemphasized. We ' ve got to lead in producing leaven so it gets into society, Dr. Conn says. I would like it to be when I walk across the campus that the students would think to react ' There goes a friend; he ' s my friend. ' Some of the greatest Christian work being done today is being done in these areas. Dr. Conn has not shared some of the same ideas as his predecessors which have advocated a tough as nails ap- proach in dealing with students. I ' m not like that, Charles W. Conn admits. I believe in human dignity, even for the students. Hardly one for staring down from ivory towers, Dr. Conn says, I would like it to be when I walk across the campus that the students would think to react ' There goes a friend; he ' s my friend. ' When it comes down to it, Dr. Conn reveals, I ' m always on the kids ' side. Watching his own twelve children go through Lee College, he explains, I understand how scared, how uptight they are. And when students come in to his office for counseling or to settle some sort of difficulty, Dr. Conn says, They will get a fair shake. Lee students are and should be treated as adults according to Dr. Conn. Being away from home with a much greater degree of freedom, most students learn to develop a sense of responsibility, learn- ing to be responsible for their own behaviors as adults must learn to be. And as adults, they have every right to be involved in the school ' s progress as believe they all have a right to know, and therefore I go right straight to them. well as to be informed of its problems. To that end, Dr. Conn points to the establishment of a President ' s Council for Student Affairs, set up to provide a dialogue on school problems, policies, and plans for the future. And because Dr. Conn believes in the worth of Lee College students, if a problem comes up like the Endowment Fund Freeze or the Financial Aid Fallout, he says, I believe they all have a right to know, and there- fore I go right straight to them. Farewell to a Friend President Charles W. Conn will be resigning his position at Lee as of September 1, 1982. During his tenure Dr. Conn led Lee to its greatest enrollment ever. Doctorates increased from twenty-three per- cent to forty-three percent and, at one poi nt, even hit sixty percent. The endowment fund has increased from only thirty-five thousand dollars to over two million dollars in just a decade. Student assistance has increased to well over half a million. Seeing a need for a new auditorium, President Conn instigated the building of the Conn Center for the Performing Arts and Christian Studies, possibly the first in Cleveland. The Pentecostal Research Center was created. Sev- eral dorms and the Humanities Building as well as other facilities have been renovated. President Conn, an active member of the Ten- nessee College Association, still feels that the greatest contribution he could give to Lee is to see the level of education increased even further. It is with love and respect that Lee College salutes and says farewell to Dr. Conn. God will surely bless him in whatever he does. The Lee College student is the finest of all the species of young men and women — I believe that! That this year has been a difficult one, bringing about a painful pruning process of both people, programs, and prerogatives, no one will deny. But Dr. Conn is confident that Lee will survive and grow stronger. Lee has a widely published and highly respected faculty that really cares about its students, yet the faculty is not the school ' s greatest asset. Then what is it? Dr. Conn de- clares, The Lee College student is the finest of all the species of young men and women — I believe that! Sometimes those students turn out to be great leaders — if they learned some good habits while they were in school. Something that Dr. Conn learned in school was how to burn the midnight oil, as the saying goes. With a man whose busy schedule includes not only his duties as president, but also writing books, traveling as an often sought speaker, not to mention keeping track of all his many children and grand- children, sometimes things can get quite hectic — almost as bad as final exams week. But Dr. Conn also reveals another secret he learned which goes along with the first — something every serious stu- dent will also do. When all the trial and turmoil have passed, when all the ap- pointments have been filled, Dr. Conn likes to find a little privacy and catch up on all his sleep. Then rested and refreshed, he starts the whole thing over again. Some things never change. —RKO THE LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE 13