Marquette University - Hilltop Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

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Extended office hours, meeting a stu- dent over coffee in the union to dis- cuss a class project, helping students plan an activity that will be a success, taking a midnight call at home from a student who has a question about tomorrow's exam, Nobody says they have to do these things - it wasn't written into their contracts. No one says they have to show special concerns for the students. But they seem to think that these concerns are an im- portant part of their work. Helping to make dreams come true is no 9 to 5 job. Behind the Scenes

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26 . . . Simmons Academic Affairs Dr. Edward Simmons, Vice Presi- dent of Academic Affairs believes that people are justified in having dreams if in our dreams we conceive of what we want. Dreams are rooted in the real. Over his fifteen years of teaching he has observed not a change of dreams but a change in the modes of dreams among students. I don't think that the students of today are substantially different from the students in the late 40's, the 50's or students of the 6O's. When I taught philosophy back in 1947 it was the end of the war, people were returning to school and every- body was in a hurry to finish school, everybody was in a hurry to get life started again. This is what I mean by a change in the modes of dreams. To him, the students of today are much more relaxed. The 'drop-in-to- school-for-awhile, drop-out-of-school' fad is in its heyday. There isn't the dream to hurry up and learn to func- tion in a professional world. Dr. Simmons believes that for the students of the 40's the all-too-vivid memories of growing up during the depression years made them nervous and made them hurry. We had the dreams and we had to make them come true. Our sons and daughters live in a much more afflu- ent atmosperef' No matter how affluent the atmos- phere may be, the young people don't deserve the stereotype dream. And Simmons says the academic atmosphere ought to be able to militate against those types of dreams. - In his explanation of the academic structure of Marquette Dr. Simmons says the students are presented with the experience of man that motivates them to look beneath the surface. When they graduate we hope that we have helped them see things real- istically enough that they don't get caught up in that phony American dream. I don't think the majority of the students here will. Dr. Edward immons As an optimist, Dr. Simmons sees Marquette helping the students to de- velop a strong set of values and allow the students to become the right kind of dreamers. I'm proud that Marquette has held firm to its values. They have prog- ressed but they have held onto their theology and philosophy requirements. True liberalism is of this kind. It may look conservative but such a curricu- lum offers a student a full experience. For Dr. Simmons the dream of Mar- quette is to remain a university that holds fast to strong Christian values and helps the students who come here to carry those values and experiences of becoming a person who desires to seek the truth into the world where other dreams are pursued. In his own dreams he wanted to be a teacher of philosophy. He did his undergraduate and graduate work at Notre Dame University. In prepar- ing to be a philosophy teacher Dr. Simmons says he wanted his teaching to be scholarly so that it would not be empty. He was inspired to pursue the schol- arly work of philosophy by a teacher he had when he was in graduate school. Yves Simon was a great teacher and philosopher. My wanting to teach was cemented in my experience with him. The inspiration led Dr. Simmons to secure a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Fif- teen years ago he came to Marquette to teach logic and epistimology. Dr. Simmons intends 'to go back to teaching someday. But for now he is pursuing another dream. I stayed in administration so that I can be more of an influence in bring- ing Marquette to better academic stat- ure. I hope I am contributing to the success we have already achieved in improving the academic stature. 1 ' . r ii I 5 'I --.i I A V -rf .V i A Vp . K f . A,,. sp giq A K. . 'ig I j a :QW if Q Y .tykag i f Q I I gi is f ii it if Ei r K , it I Ma ,l 1. Y R tkfg ii i, as ii I 1 I . x , . 5 y . . 4 ii' 6 t as 'sg i I .-.,-5 K . V it-Q if i -sail? Q V 1. v .vvr gk six -as ': W -N - 'K is if H fit ,r?-l.'5'ferf r3.- ifiiil iii? r . ,I .-- - . , .5 ,y Q .s Qi .li? 1 ?-it ff' ,M A 2. K Af' Q i is 'K rx .ga is 1. . . , fi -I 5 - , lf, , I. 'iiiitlli ifiiis L if t :fl-:ff t?'lfi.5 3 I Q,Ei.AML , K3 - ks f I 13. X ,1 pig. A 6 st I ' fi, Q 2'- 3' v Y , f 3 - 5 f' - - . t A 5 . a N - x - X .2 r ' . -X it it leaf -. , 5' aa' -1' is X ' 'bfi . . Q .Q fi 3 9 fx. ii' ' 'Ss ,s ' I i A Ji fill?

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28 . . . Behind the Scenes om Kraack, Student Acti ities -...f To understand Tom Kraack you have to understand the Office of Student Activities. It is an island of chaos in the midst of a basically placid Qperish the thought, apathetic?Q university. Phones don't stop ringing, secretary judy Gesch doesn't stop talking, students don't stop hustling through and there's almost always a line to see Tom Kraack. Kraack is the Assistant Director of Student Activities and has been for six years. The man with the curly hair doesn't seem to tire of the job of advising all student groups. He does get excited and frustrated though. The excitement comes be- cause I always get turned on by seeing new people recognize they can do something they didn't think they could do. He talks in spurts. He leans forward in a messy office which contrasts with the warmth Kraack offers to the stream of students who forever ask advice from the former student body president of Ball State University. It's frustrating because Kraack harbors strong convictions on how to do his job. I dislike incompetence wherever it exists. I dislike compartmentalization. Often there's the urge to say, 'Lets forget this and get on with the big stuff', Kraack says. XX'e have to be willing to break down the barriers to student leadershipg that's our job. as twat.. He squints through his wire rims and adopts his classic pose fn one foot propped on an open desk drawer and hands tucked under his belt. We have made an effort in the past couple years to open up student leadership. For Kraack, the achievement of his American Dream is an active, giving pursuit. It's giving every person the oppor- tunity to be as good as he possibly can be, says Kraack. He elaborates, It implies government intervention to guarantee that we restrain people who would shut off others. At Marquette that means seeking disenfranchised groups and presenting them with leadership opportunities. It's not enough to simply say, 'it's open', he says. He avoids the conflict of being looked on as one who fights students' battles for them. I reject the advocacy role, he says. I try to relate what training and experiences I had along the line which will aid me in assessing student growth and help me in advising them. With characteristic humility he leans back and seeks words while gazing at the student shuffle from his perch in his office overlooking the mall. I hope I can do that. With a slight smile on his face he says, I'm not a student sympathizerf' Then he gets up, flings open his seldomshut door and turns the student stream back on.