Peru State College - Peruvian Yearbook (Peru, NE)

Page 12 text:

RUNKof A Faculty The Faculty at Peru State Col- lege has always been one of the finest around. The college pride has been, traditionally, turning out quality teachers, and to turn out quality teachers, they them- selves must be properly trained. Peru State graduates can today be. found in various teaching pos- itions throughout the Midwest, especially in Nebraska. A pro- spective teacher coming from Peru State stands an excellent chance of gaining a job, because of the excellent reputation Peru has built. The first instructors at Peru were Principal J. W. McKenzie and his wife. They taught courses in Math, Chemistry, Natural Science, Latin, Rhetoric, Gram- mar, History, and Geography. Another teacher was added in 1868, and the faculty slowly built itself to align itself with the numbers of students. The college takes great pride in its faculty student ratio, which stands today at approximately 1 17. The faculty grew from two in 1867 to 20 by 1902 to 45 present. Peru used to also furnish a graduate school to people select- Continued. . . 8

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The Inauguration of Douglas W. Pearson as President of Peru State College at Two O’Clock Saturday, April27,1974 years before the state bought the building for the college presi- dent, but this fine showcase home has been in the hands of the topmost administrator since it was built, and today Dr. Douglas Pearson, his wife, and two chil- dren call the 85-year old struc- ture home. For longevity. President Wal- ter R. Pate holds the record. He served the college from 1923 through 1946. Dr. Pate was replaced by Dr. William Nicho- las. Nicholas is best remembered as the President who was mur- dered in his office. In 1950, psychology professor Barney Baker, possibly angered over his release after 20 years of service to Peru, went into the Administration Building and shot Nicholas and another administra- tor. Baker then went home and committed suicide. President Neal Goman served the college from 1951 to 1973. He retired in 1973 due to failing health and now lives in Auburn. President Pearson now holds the reigns and is helping Peru State rebuild and look toward the future. Continued. 7

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EXPERIENCE ing a Master's Degree, but it was dropped due to insufficent partic- ipation some time ago. Some semblance of organiza- tion was begun in 1904 when President lames Crabtree started naming division heads. They are called Division Chairman today. Presently, there are six divi- sions at Peru State. They include the Humanities Division, chaired by John Barrett: Natural Science, chaired by Albert Brady: Physical Education, headed by Jerry Joy: Education, chaired by Mickey Land; Applied Arts, chaired by Dr. Lester Russell: and Perform- ing Arts, chaired by Leland Sher- wood. In 1921, Peru switched to a four year system, the standard term today. The school also offered the Master’s program in the beginning of the four year program. Today, Peru State has a good system of four and two year pro- grams. Bachelor Degrees can now be earned in a wide range of fields. The Division Chairman have been named on page 8 and 9 for each division. Continued.