Millikin University - Millidek Yearbook (Decatur, IL)

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flirt ' V f Dr. William Ferris, professor of French, is retiring in May of 1988 after 23 years of teaching, but he still plans to remain active on Mi likin ' s campus. Theoretically I am going to be doing all those things that I have been putting on the back burner here for all th ese years at Millikin, Ferris said. I shall continue to do linguistic and literary research, and to keep on writing and publishing. Ferris intends to do most of his work at Staley library, so he will still be able to see his colleagues and students. Ferris will also continue to be the assistant coach of the women ' s Softball team, as he has been since the team began in 1981. He said that last year the women ' s Softball team won the CCIW conference, which was also the first year for conference play. It was the first time that any women ' s team at Millikin had won the CCIW conference,. Ferris said. Another reason why Ferris will continue to coach is because it is the perfect antidote for all my literary research. Ferris plans to spend most of his day doing research in a very serious atmosphere and then go to Softball practice in the afternoon. It ' s a change of ' pace and I feel refreshed, Ferris said. Then I ' m ready to go back to research, and the cycle continues. On the lighter side, Ferris said the faculty homecoming skit will be something he will never forget. The skit requires faculty members to use their bodies to spell out Millikin. It has become a recent tradition for Ferris to portray all three I ' s in Millikin. This year was the first time Ferris has ever received a standing ovation, and it was for his { performance. The good thing ( about playing the I is that I have just as much fun do- ing it, as the students have watching it, Ferris said. Students are more career oriented today than they were in 1965, Ferris said. Students of the late 1960s, according to Ferris, were pri- marily liberal arts majors who felt confident that they would find jobs doing something they liked. He added that students of the 1980s now take courses aimed at certain careers, which explains the growth in the business school. Ferris said that the pendulum is swinging back again and now we are experiencing a slight Renaissance in liberal studies. Women had a dress code of having to wear either a dress or skirt to class back to 1965, when Ferris began teaching at Millikin. Ferris said that the students entered into negotiations with the faculty and were able to eliminate the dress code. Since Ferris has been here he has seen the construction of Kirkland, Griswold, Hessler Hall and RTUC ( which he describes as a magnificent addition to the original student center ). Back in the late 1960s, Ferris said, President McKay debated whether to build a new gymnasium or a fine arts center. He knew he would only get half of the alumni support if he built one or the other. So being an intelligent and sensitive man, he built both at the same time and got all of the alumni support. Both Griswold and Kirkland were completed and dedicated in 1910. Ferris said to dedicate Griswold there was an exhibition pro basketball game between the Cincinnati Royals and the Chicago Bulls. He said that to dedicate Kirkland there was a performance of Ballet Folklorica of Mexico City, Mexico. One of the things I shall always remember about Millikin. Ferris said, Is wearing the hat of foreign studies adviser and in particular being coordinator for the Institute to European Studies ( IESj. Ferris added that he was instrumental in making Millikin an affiliate of IES back in 1965. IES allows students to study overseas for as long as a year. As coordinator for IES, Ferris said he interviews all applicants and he has come to know these students very well. He said he has even gone to Europe to visit them and I am welcomed like a long lost uncle by these students. In 1965 Ferris accepted the position of chairperson of the foreign languages department at Millikin because the department needed a lot of work and it had not had a permanent chairperson for some time. Be- fore joining Millikin, Ferris had taught at his alma mater in West Virginia for nine years. After five years at Millikin, Ferris was thinking of making another career move, but still had not accomplished all his goals for the department. After 10 years at Millikin, Ferris realized that he had taken on a lifetime project. Things were so pleasant here and I was enjoying my work so much, that I decided I might as well stay, Ferris said. I came here to make a big splash in a big hurry, and I made a lot of little splashes in a lot of years.

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Millikin University ' s Decaturian newspaper won six awards in a recent state collegiate journalism contest. First place awards were won by Nathan Denton of Pana, Decatur ian editor and senior writing major, for best news story and best in- depth reporting categories of the Illinois College Press Association con- test. A third place award in the in-depth category went to reporting team of Bob Berg and of Mendota, Jenny Purcell of Palatine, Nancy Hilton of Decatur, a 1987 graduate, and Denton. Also winning a third place award were Tammy Clough, senior art manage- ment major from Lovington, and Dan Bledsaw, senior fine arts major from Decatur. Their Award was for best in -house promotional advertisement. Receiving honorable mentions were David Wright, senior from Washington, in the best column category and Carol Donick, sophomore from Summit, in the best feature category. All the awards, except the in- house promotion, were in the non- daily competition, which includes universities such as Bradley, Governors State, Illinois Wesleyan, North Central, Sangamon State, and Wheaton. The in-house promotion was in open competition which included Northwestern, the University of Illinois, Illinois State and other major state universities. Saturday, Jan. 30, a Millikin student and friend were struck by a car in the crosswalk at Oakland St. between Mills and Hess er Halls at about 930 p.m. Decatur resident Darrell A. Babcock, 64 LaSalle Dr., was cited for failure to yield to pedestrians at a cross-walk. According to the police report, Babcock was driving approximately 30 mph when he hit the two pedestrians. Kelly Kistinger said she and David Whyte were crossing Oakland St. from Hessler to Mills when the incident occurred. She said they looked both ways before crossing the street and they did see the car, which was one to one and one half blocks away, by Oakland Apartments. It seemed like we had time, so we crossed, Kistinger said. When we were about two steps from the curb, I turned to my boyfriend ( Whyte ) and saw the car right behind him. Then I don ' t remember what happened. She flew about five feet into the air and bounced three times and landed right next to the car, according to sophomore John Ar is, who witnessed the accident from about 30 feet away. He ( Whyte ) hit his head on the curb and was knocked out. Arlis said the driver slammed on his brakes as soon as he hit Kistinger and Whyte, then the car slid about 209 feet. According to the police report, the lighting in the area was poor, there was no stop sign, red flasher or stop and go light, the pavement was wet and there were no vehicle defects to Babcock ' s car. Vice President of Student Development Joseph Houston said the school has made a proposition to put lights up on the west side of Hessler and the east side of Mills, which would help visibility near the crosswalk. Houston said the only problem with this is a concern that the light might temporarily blind drivers. It is dark. — on a moonless night, or a dark night, and it ' s grey and raining, you can ' t see, Houston said. If a kid ' s wearing blue jeans and nothing reflective, it ' s tough to see them. Houston said the university has registered its concern about the darkness of the area to the city and Illinois Power. You feel like that ' s part of campus so it doesn ' t even dawn on you that there are other people around there that you need to be watching for, Laura Cornille- Cannady, assistant dean of students, pointed out. She also added that the school has made some recommendations to the city, such as putting up school crossing signs, but a lot of those don ' t have to do with us. It has to do with the city because that is city property. I ' m going to follow up on this to see that happens because I ' m concerned about the general safety, Houston said. We have in that area probably close to 200 students who live across that street. Kistinger and Whyte were treated and released from the hospital that night. Kistinger had bumps and bruised and pulled ligaments in her left knee. Whyte required 1 ) stitches in his head and suffered a broken leg. Kistinger said Whyte will need arthroscopic surgery on his knee as a result of the accident. Randall Yoder, instructor of communication and general manager of WJMU, was fired at the end of last semester as a result of sexual harassment complaints filed by students, according to Gerald Redord, dean of arts and sciences. Several complaints were filed, he said. We had an obligation and a responsibility to respond to the complaints in writing before Yoder ' s contract was terminated. According to an unidentied student, at least three complaints were filed against Yoder. The student said after Yoder allegedly made sexually oriented comments either to them or in their presence, the students approached Associate Professor of English James McDonald with their complaints. McDonald advised them to see Redford about the incidents. McDonald indicated that he gave the students that advice because the university ' s sexual harassment policy calls for students to consult with the appropriate dean or supervisor. Redford, McDonald noted, is also acting chairperson of the communications department this year. A search for a new chairperson is in process. It was unprofessional conduct, ' ' Redford said of Yoder ' s alleged verbal harassment. It is improper for a faculty member to behave in such a way with students. Redford said that after the notice of termination, Yoder failed to grade the final project and the final exam in one course, and did not complete the grading in another. In a telephone interview Jan. 29, Yoder denied the allegations, saying the students who filed the complaints has done so because they were unhappy with decisions he had made regarding WJMU. Hell yes it was a vendetta, he said. Yoder argued that the administration did not conduct a proper investigation of the allegations. They assumed I was guilty from day one. Yoder said he was never iold specifically what the allegations were, or informed of the names of the complaining students. If students want to get rid of a faculty member at Millikin, Yoder said, all they have to do is scream ' Fire ' . Redford said he was not aware of any vendetta on the part of the students involved in the allegations. He added that, although students initially came to him as a group, he later spoke with each person individually. Yoder also accused the administration of violating his rights to due process, arguing that he had not been given the opportunity to face his accusers in order to defend himself. The administration is only concerned with the flow of student money into Millikin, he said. They ' re not concerned about treating faculty members fairly. From the university ' s point of view, Redford said, due process was indeed followed. The process was explained to him, and he was advised of his right to appeal. McDonald also pointed out that the procedure for grievance hearings for faculty members is clearly explained in the Faculty Handbook. The option of requesting such a hearing is the responsibility of the faculty member, McDonald said, not the university. It ' s listed under section 2.9.2.1 But what good could it possibly do? Yoder ashed, regarding the appeal process. They ' re not going to give me my job back. Yoder also indicated that he could not expect any support from other faculty because they would be afraid of possible recrimination from the administration Justice White ' s opinion indicated explicitly that the court ' s decision did not necessarily impact on higher education journalism. But there is a clear danger that a future court decision could have such an impact. More is at stake than First Amendment rights, according to McDonald. Beyond the First Amendment issue, however, the decision will more than likely hinder debate about issues central to teenagers ' lives, McDonald said. Responsible debate about such issues — in the Hazelwood case, the issues were divorce and teenage pregnancy — would seem to be key areas in any educational mission. Dr. Robert E. Shimp of Owens- boro, KY., has been named provost j vice president [or academic af- fairs al Millikin University, according to announcement by Millikin President Dr. J. Roger Miller. Dr. Shimp, who has been academic dean at Kentucky Wesleyan College since 1984, also will have faculty rank of professor of history. His appointment is effective July I. An historian with an emphasis in English history. Dr. Shimp earned his bachelor ' s degree at Thiel (Pa. I college and his M.A. and Ph. D. degrees from the Ohio State University where he was a graduate assistant in the history department. He complet- ed the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University in 19185. Prior to joining the Kentucky Wesleyan staff Dr. Shimp spent much of his academic career on the history faculty at Ohio Wesleyan University, including more than four years as chairman of the department. He joined the Ohio Wesleyan faculty in 1%8 and had a variety of responsibilities there during a 16-year span that included brief leaves to serve as a visiting associate professor of history at Ohio State and as a visiting professor of history at the College of the Virgin Islands. Dr. Shimp served Ohio Wesleyan as a faculty consultant, director of the Newberry Library Program in the Humanities, director of Off- Campus Programs, a member of the University Planning Commission and chairman of the University Governing Committee. He was winner of a Newberry Library Fellowship and Ohio Wesleyan i Sherwood Dodge Shankland Teaching Award. He received a Faculty Research Fellowship from Ohio Wesleyan and from Ohio Stale where he also was awarded a Dissertation Fellowship. He has been active in numerous professional organizations, including the Ohio Academy of History and the Midwest Conference on British Studies. Dr. Shimp was contributing author to Biographical Dictionary of British Radicals in the 17th Century and has presented papers at many professional conferences. He participated in Leadership Owensboro, sponsored by the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, worked with United Way in Ohio and Kentucky, was chair of the Small Business Committee of the Owensboro Daviess County Chamber of Commerce, and was a consultant to Liberty Community Center in Ohio.