Truman State University - Echo Yearbook (Kirksville, MO)

Page 18 text:

Academics = 14 = President

Page 17 text:

Face lift shapes up classes; Faculty deal with confusion i L I'm going to teach thermodynamics next semester. I’m looking for the text, and I’ll keep looking until I find it. At least I know where it is. I know that it’s in those boxes, said Ollin Drennan. pro- fessor of physiology and natural science. Drennan was one of the instructors that was moved from his of- fice in Science Hall, due to renovations in the building. Although he was confident about the situation, problems still developed — especially when the teaching materials he needed were lost in the stacks of boxes, that lined the walls of his new- office located in Laughlin Hall. Several major classroom buildings and Pickier Memorial library underwent the reconditioning process. The work caused a loss of classroom and office space, but the consensus of students Two's o crowd — Due lo renovations in Science Hall. |ames Dimit does his office work in an office in Laughlin Hall. Dimit shared his new- office with Dr. Ollin Drennen. — Photo by Roxane Kolich and faculty was. No problem.” Science Hall was the first building to be renovated. Tom Churchwell. assistant to the dean of instruction, said that one wing in Science Hall was gutted before construc- tion began. The wing includ- ed offices of some faculty members who had to move to other buildings. Some shared offices with others who had made the move. Ophelia Par- rish. Laughlin Hall and Barnett Hall housed some of the instructors. When students came to an instructor's office with a pro- blem. an office-mate often made open discussions dif- ficult. If they, (the students), had a more personal pro- blem. they may be embar- rassed. We would step out- side or into another classroom, said Drennan. Moving an instructor caused problems for some students, particularly when that instructor was also a stu- dent adviser. The adviser needed to be easily accessi- ble and after a move, finding an instructor’s new office could be difficult. “My students don’t have any problems finding me. but my pre-engineering advisees might. We haven’t met vet, Drennan said. I know of one instance where a student couldn’t find my office. He waited one hour and a half in front of my old office.” he said. Someone finally came by and told the student Dren- nan had moved. According to Churchwell, the seating in Science Hall needed to be more efficient. The riser-type seats were removed because the average class enrollment was less than the number of seats. A new seating arrangement brought a more efficient use of space, Churchwell said. However, the main goal was to have an office for each faculty member. Drennan was forced to move his office out of Science Hall and into Laughlin Hall. He shared his office with james Dimit. assistant professor of biology, who was also moved from Science Hall. The office con- tained boxes upon boxes fill- ed with books and papers. The boxes lined the room and also constructed a ''wall that divided the room into two offices.” I don't see how moving has made a difference; it is relatively minor. My books are in boxes, and I have to walk to Science Hall to get my mail. I don’t think of the mo ve as something catastrophic,” Drennan said. Drennan also mentioned that a two-story greenhouse and two levels of faculty of- fices were part of the renova- tion plans for Science Hall. Although there was some confusion at first, students coped with the construction and said the work was beneficial to the University as well as to themselves. “I think there will be an overall improvement in materials. Everything was kind of scattered last year. I feel the new building will make it more organized,” Shelly Rothermich. sophomore, said. Lynn Jackson agreed that the organized set-up would be more conducive to learning. Although the classrooms and offices had been vacated, there were still labs close enough to the work area that there was some noise. It is really no problem, but they made enough noise to wake the dead. Tim Pasowicz, freshman, said. The move had its good and bad points, said Mark Weber, a graduate student who worked for Gary Sells, pro- fessor of physiology. Weber helped move a faculty lab from Science Hall to Barnett Hall because of the construction. As long as Barnett has the storage space, that will be no problem. Weber said. The labs and sinks in Barnett Hall were larger, but distilled water had to be transported from Science Hall. Another inconvenience was the presence of only one vacuum hood, he said. Pickier Memorial Library was also in the overall plan to receive renovations. The University failed to obtain funding for the project last year. Doug Winicker, campus planner, said the project for the new wing was thrown back into the kettle to be done eventually.” The library' was straddling the fence” between renovation and new construction, he said. Winicker said the library was in maior need of new space, but tne rest of the con- struction was just adjust- ment and refinement” for greater efficiency. The pro- posed wing for the library would have allowed more space for studying and, later, a place to hold more resources, he said. Compared to the libraries of sister universities, Pickier was close to average in book volume, but behind in available space. Stacking books higher than they should be “makes it difficult for short people, but it could also be a hazard. Winicker said. Violette Hall was also on the list of renovations, Winicker said. The installa- tion of an elevator was necessary to make the hall more accessible for the handicapped. Seriously han- dicapped people were unable to use the photography lab or the micro-computers located on the second floor. Through the confusion of shuffling instructors and classrooms, students and faculty coped with the cramped space and waited for tne completion of the campus renovations. I think it’s (the building renovations) a good idea. Rothermich said. The newer building will make the campus look better and give students a sense of pride. — Evan Newman — Academics = 13 = Renovations

Page 19 text:

From a very early age Education leads the life I could have kept on working in the grocery store like I had been doing for twenty-five cents an hour, but I decided that since I had graduated from high school. I would prefer a real job, So I started school when I was four vears old. As a re- sult. McClain graduated from high school in 1947 at the age of 15. With a law degree in mind. McClain applied and was accepted to the Universi- ty of Missouri-Columbia. After obtaining a college degree, the next step for Mc- Clain was to find a summer job. One of his options was to teach elementary students in the Meramec State Park area for $125 a month. Because money was so scarce and he had a chance to earn what appeared to be a lot of money. McClain decided to teach during the school year and attend Southwest Missouri State University. As things turned out. this seem- ingly trivial decision changed the direction of his career. For the next 11 years. Mc- Clain worked as a teacher, principal and superintendent while finishing nis doctorate at UMC. Armed with a doc- torate in education. McClain was offered a job at UMC as a faculty member and another job as the first presi- dent of a community college in Jefferson County. The challenge of starting a new college was too attrac- tive for me. said McClain. From 1963 to 1970. McClain built the staff and the campus of Jefferson Community Col- lege. 1 le said the college was one of the model communi- ty colleges in the nation. In 1967. the presidency of the University opened up with the retirement of Dr. Walter H. Ryle. McClain ap- plied. but Clark Elkins took the position. Elkins resigned from the job in 1970. leaving the position open once again. McClain was not enthusiastic about reapplying, but he was eventually persuaded to ap- ply informally. Surely, at some time this job will either cease to be fun or it will become apparent that new leadership is need- ed. said McClain. 1 wouldn't mind teaching. I did not aim to be an ad- ministrator ... to me. teaching is the highest call- ing. he said. Because McClain was once a teacher, his respect for the position was immeasurable. said Charles McClain. University president. Mc- Clain did just that by working his way up from those hum- ble beginnings to become chief administrator at a state university. I had wanted to go into law.” said McClain about his ■ambitions as a high school student. However, because of certain variables. McClain was suddenly teaching students at the elementary level. Born in Iron County in 1931. McClain started school at an early age because his mother was a school teacher. Rather than get a babysit- ter.” he said, she decided that I would just start school. Distinctive look — President Charles McClain attends meetings as jNirt of his daily routine and job responsibilities McClain assumed the presidency of the University in 1970 — Photo by Joni Kuchl Pizza party — A slice of the pic is dinner for President Charles Mc- Clain. at one of the Pizza with the President events held on several Sunday nights in the second — Photo by Roxanc Kolich From this respect. McClain built a bond with the faculty and staff of the University that also benefited the students in the long run. “There are great rewards to teaching. he said. One of them is knowing that what you are doing is having an impact on the immediate future. To be a vood teacher takes hard work. To be a great teacher takes tremen- dous effort. McClain said. Of course, such dedication to others took an enormous amount of time and work. Some people may view me as a workaholic, but as long as one enjoys what he is do- ing. I see no reason why that person can't work 50-60 hours a week. McClain said. For 15 years McClain not only set higher standards in education at the University, but also across the nation. He said. I view myself as an ac- tivist for improving educa- tion. My challenge is to help people grow and build themselves. — Steve Ward — Academics = 15 = President