High-resolution, full color images available online
Search, browse, read, and print yearbook pages
View college, high school, and military yearbooks
Browse our digital annual library spanning centuries
Support the schools in our program by subscribing
Privacy, as we do not track users or sell information
Page 6 text:
“
UMMMfMMJEJMMMEJMMMMMMIEMJMMMEMIMMJEMJMMMMMMMMMIilMMMMMJMMMJMMl New President faces challenges, plans changes On June 29,1982 Dr. Julio Leon was appointed interim president of Missouri Southern after previous president Dr. Donald Darnton’s resignation on June 5. “I didn’t know I was under consideration until the night before I was asked to serve,” said Leon. Until last year, he was dean of the school of business; a position he had held for six years. He has a degree in English from the University of Chile, a master’s in business and administration from North Texas Universi¬ ty and a Ph.D. in business and economics from the University of Arkansas. Leon has a wife, Vivian, and a two year old son, Nathan, that he tries to spend his free time with.“I try to get away from the college as much as possible and get out of town or go to the park and play with my kid.” He enjoys jogging but hasn’t had time to do much exer¬ cise. “There are so many different things that you must attend. There are functions in the evening or on weekends, this dinner or that dinner, this meeting and that conference. Because of that, I’m out of time quite a bit.” Most college presidents do not have time for themselves. There are reasons why presidents’ terms are becoming shorter and shorter all the time. “From what I am able to read and my contacts, college presidents come to realize it’s not worth it and many go back to the classrooms and have a less hurried pace where they can enjoy life a little more. It’s becoming a problem,” said Leon. The pressures he was under as interim president were no different than that of a regular full-time president. “The fact is that there are so many different groups with which you must interact. They are not necessarily from the campus, but you have so many external groups you have to deal with like the Legislature, the Coor¬ dinating Board for Higher Education, and so forth. There are the organizations, the alumni, friends of the college and the press that you must deal with. You have the students and the faculty.” In December, 1982 Leon was named permanent presi¬ dent of Missouri Southern. He wanted this job for the simple reason that one always wants to advance. “Especially for myself who has been at this college since 1969. I have seen the college grow the last 13-14 years and I feel like there are many things to be done. I would like for me to be the first to do them.” At first, when he took the job, he was scared because it was a big responsibility. “The first questions that come to your mind are: Am I up to the task?; Am I truly c apable of handling this responsibiltiy? So at first it’s scary. At the same time, you feel very proud that you were considered and selected. You begin to think of the future and what needs to be done and formulate plans,” said Leon. Decisions about the college go through the Board of Regents. They set the guidelines and policies to operate the institution. “We do make recommendations to the Board in terms of appointments and about the budget in the following year,” Leon said. Leon believes that there is first of all a great need to im¬ prove the public image of the college, “not only in the nearby community but throughout the state, to impress on the public the importance and values of the college to the community and the state. Because of the economy, we are going to receive less and less finiancal support from the state. We are going to have to make up those funds by private contributions. That is one of the primary con¬ cerns. We must make the public aware of the college’s values so that we can be in a position to ask for additional private funds from friends and corporations.” One of the things the college is going to do in the near future is to develop academic plans so that students will be able to have the kind of computer literacy they will need when they graduate. “As you know, we are going to be running into a period when everything is going to be dominated by computers. Information knowledge is go¬ ing to be very important. When our students graduate and find themselves working for organizations of all kinds—educational and industrial—the computer is going to be the primary tool with which they will work to make decisions. On the personal side, for instance, we have many people buying their own personal computers. The secondary schools are already acquiring microcomputers for classroom instruction and we have a situation where very soon we are going to have freshmen coming to our cam¬ pus knowing more about computers. We have to start preparing them for that situation. That will be one of our main priorities.” In the future a new building will provide additional space for computer science and the business school. “When the building is finished we are going to move the business school there and then the vacated space will be available for the communications department and social science department, which is now in back of the library. When that happens, the released space will be for the library to expand. We will kill three birds with one stone, so to speak.” Scared was not how he felt when he got the Presidency; rather he was a little worried. “You are always concerned about your accuracy for the job. Are you going to be able to handle it or not? I think when I was appointed Presi¬ dent that the period of interim served as on-the-job train¬ ing for me. Obviously I feel I have more experience now and I feel more confident.”
”
Page 5 text:
“
c i 1983 Crossroads a VOL. 45 Year of Challen ge Year of Chang e MSSC Joplin, Missouri Missouri Southern State College
Are you trying to find old school friends, old classmates, fellow servicemen or shipmates? Do you want to see past girlfriends or boyfriends? Relive homecoming, prom, graduation, and other moments on campus captured in yearbook pictures. Revisit your fraternity or sorority and see familiar places. See members of old school clubs and relive old times. Start your search today!
Looking for old family members and relatives? Do you want to find pictures of parents or grandparents when they were in school? Want to find out what hairstyle was popular in the 1920s? E-Yearbook.com has a wealth of genealogy information spanning over a century for many schools with full text search. Use our online Genealogy Resource to uncover history quickly!
Are you planning a reunion and need assistance? E-Yearbook.com can help you with scanning and providing access to yearbook images for promotional materials and activities. We can provide you with an electronic version of your yearbook that can assist you with reunion planning. E-Yearbook.com will also publish the yearbook images online for people to share and enjoy.
