Peru State College - Peruvian Yearbook (Peru, NE)

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 A Tribute In the resignation of E. L. Rouse as president of the Stale Normal at Peru, we lose a loved and respected chief. For years before his advancement to the presi- dency. he guided the destinies of the Training School with such vision and wisdom that it rapidly rose to the rank of one of the very best in the middle west. It was largely due to his untiring efforts that it is as finely housed as it is today. His election to the presidency in the summer of 1918 was the occasion of uni- versal rejoicing among alumni and school men generally throughout the state as well as of faculty, students and townspeople in Peru. Nor has he ever disappointed our most roseate hopes. He has given of his splendid self without stint to the school and the cause of education, and his efforts have horne fruit far beyond mere words to describe. Through his active relationship with the National Council of Presidents and Principals and as State Director for the National Ed lion during its reorganization period, he has kept the Peru Normal ed ucal i ona 1 conscience. Normal School ucal ion Associa- in the national We all regard him as a personal as well as a professional friend, and realize that leaders so understanding, so frank, so sympathetic, so open-minded are rare indeed. “His magic was not far to seek. He was so human! Whether strong or weak, Far from his kind he never sank or soared. But sal an equal guest at every hoard. «-« Where’er he met a stranger, there he left a friend.’ We shall not let him slip out of our lives. His unseen presence will continue to he our inspiration to work for the best things in life—truth, sympathy, sincerity. May all good things he his in his work in the Golden West. Pane 23

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Greetings It has been my privilege to write a few words of greeting for three Peruvian . The first came at the close of our war experience. One year ago we were in the heyday of the prosperity that seemed to be coming to America because she was the one sol- vent nation in the world. As Maytime approaches this 1921 we find ourselves in the early stages of the reaction from the war. Depression is felt in most fields. Products and wages are gradually being reduced to pre-war levels. Financial and industrial institutions are struggling for existence or tottering on the brink of disaster but with a tendency toward sanity and safety. The most hopeful phase of these troublesome days is the altitude of the public toward their schools. In nearly every state in the Union the limitation of the rate of taxation for school purposes has been removed. Boards of Education and Boards of Control of endowed institutions, sensing the absolute necessity of maintaining the educational institutions of the country, are actually increasing the compensation of teachers, providing them with teacherages, making provision for permanent tenure and retirement compensation. More and more all these factors are insisting upon trained teachers because they realize that America must he the leader in this critical decade of reconstruction. Teachers are responding bv an added sense of responsi- bility and a lirmer determination to be thoroughly prepared for their new responsi- bilities. This has been plainly noticeable on the campus this year. There is a seri- ousness and a determination that lias not been in evidence since 1914. I am sure each member of the Class of ’21 goes to his school this fall with a clear vision of responsibility and a full determination to play his part well in the building of a better citizenship. The State Legislature, discerning the need for more and more adequate prepara- tion for the teaching profession, has authorized the transformation of the Normal Schools into Teachers’ Colleges. We are confident that in ever increasing numbers teachers will come to their classrooms with at least a college education as a prepara- tion. We are glad that the State Teachers College at Peru has been added to these full grown Normal Schools. There is every indication that many members of the Classes of ’20 and 21 will return for the additional two years of training at the earliest possible moment. Will not many of the ’teen Classes follow in their train? It is with keen regret and the breaking of many heart ties that I leave the old school. My best wishes and my personal influence will he for the upbuilding of a better and stronger school in the years to come. The friendships formed during these fourteen strenuous hut happy years are enough to sweeten many a day of discouragement if such shall he my lot. Surely any and all Peruvians know they may call upon me for any professional or personal service I can render them. —E. L. Rouse. Pace 21