Lee College - Vindauga Yearbook (Cleveland, TN)

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The world demands an educated ministry. Academically Speaking The world demands an educated ministry. The day is far passed when a person can say, ' Well, I think ' or ' I suppose ' or ' This may be the case. ' If a man is going to speak for Christ he is going to have to speak with some knowl- edge about the things with which he deals. If he is going to be a business- man, he is going to have to know his business, if he is going to be an educa- tor, he is going to have to know his education; whatever it is, he is going to have to be considered an expert in those fields if he is going to address those things. And with that statement, Dean of trie College Laud O. Vaught sets academics in perspective. So — the effec- tive Christian leaders of today don ' t re- ally need an education — they ' ve got to have it. And Dean Vaught is the man in charge of making sure that students have the opportunity to do just that — excel. We have a very viable program, a strong academic program, capable of being improved, but very strong, ' Vaught states. One of the areas bearing close scrutiny is Lee ' s open admissions policy. While sometimes in the past, open ad- missions has been taken to mean the acceptance of all applicants, it is now being more sharply defined to say that anyone who is academically qualified can attend. Even so, Vaught admits, You may get students that are marginal. For those students, the Dean ' s office helps to coordinate special programs like tutoring, learning centers, as well as special classes, in order to provide enough outside help so that the slower students can get that help they need to keep up with the regular class work schedule. With the college providing this special assistance to those students who desire it, Vaught says, We need to take aca- demic probation more seriously. He further explains, True, a good Church of God student needs a chance, but once he has had that chance, he needs to step aside if he ' s not willing to apply himself or cannot do the work. The state and federal budget cutting process has affected the outlook for ac- ademics. Where does the academic pro- gram look to make its savings? Through the more efficient use of our present personnel, according to Vaught. He is auick to waylay fears of a return to the ays when Lee was just a Bible College. We ' re not talking about a shrinking academic base — we ' re talking about an expanding academic base, according to Vaught. We need to take academic probation more seriously — true, a good Church of God stu- dent needs a chance, but once he has had that chance, he needs to step aside if he ' s not willing to apply himself or cannot do the work. ' Religion, Education, and Business are the biggest and most rapidly growing majors on campus. Dean Vaught states, We are looking for majors which will have the same sort of growth. He men- tions the need for a combination Music and Christian Education major. He also mentions the new Health Sciences pro- gram. His hopes are high; as he says, In the matter of a very few years, we believe Health Sciences will be as large as our Business program. Vaught admits that most of these pro- posals are in the dialogue stage, but there are several areas in which prog- ress is being made. The Dean ' s office is in the process of redesigning the aca- demic advising program. We want to make sure that each student has access to an advisor two or three times a se- mester, Vaught declares. The student would have the opportunity to sit down and talk to his advisor and plan out a long range program. Also, Dr. Vaught says that the college is looking at chang- ing the way it distributes scholarships so as to offer more assistance to the really good B + student and not just to the student who excels in everything. This change, Vaught hopes, would help to attract and to keep good quality stu- dents here at Lee. Meanwhile, Dean Vaught is tending to all the other regular duties of his office — planning and implementing the curriculum, performing and interpreting class studies, meeting with the faculty, individually and as a group, and con- cerning himself with just about anything else that goes on in the classroom. Once the Dean ' s office has done its job, it is up to the students. We have, Vaught explains, a number of very fine students who know where they are going, how to get there, and they put a very high premium on academics. But we also have, Vaught continues, a large number of students who have not de- cided where to go, who do not know how to get there, and who will need a great deal of help. Of course the Dean ' s office will do all it can, but the best thing students can do is to grow up. Maturity is the key, Vaught declares, continuing, We all have enough time to do what we ought to be doing. We all have the same amount of time — twenty- four hours. —RKO 14 DEAN VAUGHT ASSOCIATE DEAN LEE

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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

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Moving Up One of the many cost cutting devices the school put into effect for this year was the creation of the position of the Associate Dean of the College. At one time there were separate deans for the divisions of Education, Religion, and Arts and Sciences. Now Dr. Ollie Lee handles all these responsibilities from one office, so that instead of three part-time deans and part-time teachers, there is one full- time dean and three full-time teachers serving as department chairmen. The Associate Dean ' s responsibilities are to help administer the academic pro- grams of the college. Part of that re- sponsibility is the maintenance of the academic distribution requirement called the General Education Core, the list of courses required of all students; the six hours of history, the eight hours of lab science, the two hours of P.E., and so on, required by the Dean ' s office for f graduation. Most students know well the ist on pages 33 and 34 of the 81-82 catalog. Some students question why they are required to take courses outside of their field. Dr. Lee states that the common core is really the heart and soul of the college education. One of the tragedies of the prolifera- tion of knowledge and the tremendous super-specialization, Dr. Lee continues, is that we have lost sight of the practi- cal value of basic knowledge. It is practical. We ' re talking about the kinds of learnings that are essential to the effective functioning of any person as a citizen, as a church member, as a pro- fessional or in other occupational posi- tions, as a parent, and as a member of volunteer organizations. The ability to function at a minimum intellectual level is something that all college graduates ought to be able to expect of their institution. The sole purpose of education is not merely to provide occupational training, or to thereby guarantee financial suc- cess. Especially not for Christians. Dr. Lee says, There are some values we hold very dear other than occupational values. There are some goals and objec- tives which we as a Christian college share that cannot be put in materialistic terms. These goals and values must be reflected in the distribution requirements of our curriculum. What then is the useful, practical pur- Eose of this expensive requirement? Dr. ee answers, The real criteria for usefulness ought to be such things as what kinds of lifestyles are formed after having this college experience, what kinds of basic value commitments does one One of the tragedies of the proliferation of knowledge and tremendous super-special- ization is that we have lost sight of the practical value of basic knowledge. build his life around. With these stan- dards in mind, Dr. Lee states that pure- ly occupational values rate low on the list. There are several elements that Dr. Lee mentions as being essential to aca- demic success. One of the things that is THE LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE If we aren ' t the leaven of the lump in society, then what ' s the hope for society? ' very crucial is a feeling of the impor- tance of academic work apart from this thing of usefulness. Dr. Lee also men- tions religious commitment as a surpris- ing factor that seems to play a substantial role in being a good student. Another important ingredient accord- ing to Dr. Lee is a basic sense of self-security. He explains, If I were to do a personality profile of the student who ' s likely to be successful, I would ask ' Does he feel comfortable when he ' s alone and can ' t think of anything in the world to do but study? ' if that panics him, if that makes him depressed, then he ' s going to have a hard time. A good student has enough sense of self securi- ty to endure that and feel good about tnat kind of situation. One of the essential elements is and always has been hard work. Dr. Lee says, Students who have enough drive can overcome a lot of limitations. There is a distinct and designed dif- ference in academics at a Christian school. Not that there is an entirely different set of facts from what students would get at a secular institution, but that there is a different philosophical framework for those truths. That Chris- tian perspective makes a difference in how the teacher views his role with his students. We have some of the best teachers you ' ll find anywhere, Dr. Lee states. The percentage of teachers holding the top degree in their field is much higher than one might find at other colleges or universities. But the difference goes beyond that. The faculty, according to Dr. Lee, also serve as Christian role models, inside the classroom and out. Dr. Lee sees the role of academic education as an important advantage in the Christian life, preparing students to cope with their own problems as well as those of a world in desperate need of the full ministries of Christ. To fail to provide that training is not only shameful, but dangerous. Dr. Lee puts it this way, If we aren ' t the leaven of the lump in society, then what ' s the hope for society? —RKO 15