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October 2009

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Vol. 2009-2010 No. 3

Deputy A.D. to address retirees

In response to popular demand for a field trip, Indiana retirees will travel to his turf to hear IU Deputy Director of Athletics Scott Dolson on Nov. 11. We’ll meet at the third-floor Henke Hall of Champions in the North End Zone Student-Athlete Development Center of Memorial Stadium. A tour of the new facility will follow Scott’s presentation about the latest developments in the athletics department.

Since Fred Glass became IU’s new A.D. in January 2009, he has re-organized the athletics department, eliminating one-third of administrative positions. In September Fred made Scott his deputy director, the second-in-command in the department. Scott has been with the department for nearly 20 years and is in his seventh year as director of the Varsity Club. A Michigan City, Ind., native, he is a 1988 IU graduate, with a management degree from SPEA.

Fred was scheduled to speak to the group, but he had to cancel his appearance when the Big Ten Network scheduled its meeting with all Big Ten athletic directors on the same date.

For those wishing to see the new North End Zone facility, including the strength and conditioning center, new football offices, and the team auditorium, Assistant A.D. for Facilities Chuck Crabb will lead a tour following Scott’s remarks. Chuck is the familiar voice of IU basketball at Assembly Hall. He is perhaps best known for exclaiming, “Your Indiana HOOOO-siers.” A native of Brazil, Ind., he is a 1973 IU graduate, with majors in journalism and history.

To find parking near the North End Zone Center, Chuck says the easiest way is to enter Gate 5 from E. 17th Street. Bear to the right to get on the concourse level and proceed around the stadium to the nearest parking spaces to Glory Plaza, on the north side of Memorial Stadium. Enter one of the doors to the lobby of the North End Zone Center and take the elevator to the Hall of Champions on the third floor. Seating will be available.

McKaig looks at students then and now

From IBM Selectrics to computers, from ditto machines to mass communication, retired dean of students Dick McKaig reflected on nearly 40 years of change at IU when he talked to more than 50 members of the Association of Retired Faculty and Staff on Oct. 7. Like many retirees, Dick served under several presidents — in his case, five. He was only the fifth dean of students on the Bloomington campus, following Col. Raymond L. Shoemaker, Bob Shaffer, Tom Schreck, and Michael Gordon.

Dick outlined some of the changes during his time on campus, from 1971 to 2009:

Two new schools, SPEA and Informatics, came into being during Dick’s 38 years at IU, and the Kelley School of Business rose to national prominence. Title IX changed Big Ten women’s sports and involved more women in intramurals. Federal legislation and judicial decisions required new protections for students with disabilities, new reporting about campus crime, new policies for reporting missing students, and new protections of student privacy.

Although student behavior may not have changed, rules and regulations about it have increased. In 1959 a single paragraph in the student handbook defined the university’s expectations for student behavior. By 1971 that section had grown to eight pages. By 2009 a 48-page section defined 27 behaviors specifically prohibited on campus.

As for the students, Dick believes they are more conservative politically but more liberal in their expectations for themselves. “Students buy into individualism,” Dick said, and students perceive racism and homophobia have declined. Volunteerism is up, but some students burn out in high school as they load their résumés with meaningful activity. Although interest in traditional organizations such as fraternities and sororities has been cut in half nationally, at IU the interest in greek organizations remains high.

The cost of college makes it a major investment for the whole family. Technology — think cell phones and texting — has encouraged “helicopter parents,” who hover over their students. More students are medicated, and parents call to ask, “Are you taking your medicine?” Today’s students also are apt to identify their parents as their collective heroes.

“Bob Shaffer used to say that the dean of students interacts with the wheels and the heels,” the student leaders and the ones in trouble, the newly retired dean reported. To counteract that tendency, Dick arranged to get together four times a year with a random sampling of students.

“IU students rate themselves as better than the national average in everything but math,” Dick said, and most report that IU is their first choice for college. “It’s the place where they can come with their dreams and their parents’ dreams and acquire skills to make a better world,” he said. Looking out on his audience of fellow retirees, he affirmed, “I have no doubt we have made a difference.”

He talked about the emphasis on campus security after the shootings at Virginia Tech. With the formation of a critical incidents team, students and faculty now can be notified by cell phone and e-mail when events warrant.

In his opening remarks, Dick said his career had spanned the period from folk music to poetry slams. Asked during the question period to explain a poetry slam, he said, “Poetry has become really big, and it’s popular to write your own and read it aloud — for it to be out front and up front. It can be coarse. Flowers, streams, and fluffy clouds do not figure largely.”

He said today’s best students work hard and play hard, but “others think that being a student is a spectator sport.” Technology has made it possible for a student to be a hermit, to graduate without ever going to the library, to come to campus only for class and leave immediately afterward. Still, the library’s information commons, a place for group work, is “one of the hottest spots on campus,” he said.

Dick praised the work of the Student Advocates Office, which is staffed by volunteers who are retired faculty and staff. They take the time to solve students’ complex problems, he said.

Dick agreed that the number of students who have jobs increased significantly during his tenure. “Data show that working 10 to 15 hours a week on campus helps the student, in terms of both making connections and managing time,” he said. “It’s the 20 or more hours working off campus that becomes a drain on the GPA.”

In response to an enthusiastic appreciation of his work as dean of students, Dick remarked, “I have been fortunate. I never had to work for a president who thought I could control students. I can control students about as much as the dean of faculty can control faculty.”

At the conclusion of his presentation, President Sandy Churchill welcomed Dick into membership in the Retirees Association. Members lingered to talk with him and to enjoy the refreshments provided by Pegge Ewers, Mary Jensen, Phyllis Perkins, and Shirley Pugh.

Mark your calendars now

Save the dates for the rest of the academic year by putting the remaining Retirees Association activities on your calendar:

Dec. 9 – noon, holiday luncheon at Terry’s, with entertainment by IU’s African American choral group, directed by Keith McCutcheon
Jan. 13 – a speaker from UITS on being an 8-track person in an iPod world
Feb. 10 – Lesa Lorenzen Huber, a clinical professor in the department of applied health sciences and an expert on gerontology, will discuss aspects of aging
April 14 – IU basketball coach Tom Crean
May 12 – annual potluck dinner, with Jacobs School of Music Professor Glenn Gass on historical rock ‘n’ roll

Retirees well on way to $70K goal

At the October 7 meeting of the IU Retirees Association, Wain Martin reported that retirees already have pledged $27,175 to the United Way, almost 39 percent of the $70,000 goal. “If you haven’t sent in your pledge, please find it in your pile and send it in pronto,” Wain urged. [Update: Retirees heeded Wain’s plea, and 10 days later the amount was up to $35,000, halfway to the goal.]

Wain announced a new matching program established by the Lilly Foundation. A Vanguard giver, he explained, is someone who pledges at least $1,000 a year. Lilly will match all new Vanguard gifts. A professor emeritus of business administration, Wain could not refrain from crunching some numbers to illustrate his point. “If you plan to give $750 but up that to $1,000,” Wain said, “that extra $250 will provide $1,250 to the agencies supported by the United Way — five times the extra $250.”

Wain also spoke about one agency supported by United Way. “Unless you know someone who is developmentally disabled, you may not know about Stone Belt,” he said. “But if you have a disabled child or grandchild, you probably consider Stone Belt to be a godsend.”

If you did not receive a pledge card or have misplaced it, please contact Doris Burton (burtond@indiana.edu), Harriet Pfister (pfister@indiana.edu), or Wain Martin (ewmartin@indiana.edu). A progress report will be given at the November meeting.

Pay your dues for directory inclusion

Retirees who have paid their 2009-2010 dues by Nov. 15 will appear in this year’s membership directory, which will be mailed with the December newsletter. Please include your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number as you wish them to appear. If you leave out your e-mail address or telephone number, it will not be printed in the directory. Only one e-mail address can be included per entry. Questions about the directory should be addressed to database manager Gerald Marker, marker@indiana.edu, 812-339-0685.

Attention skiers: Think snow!

Are you interested in joining a group of retired faculty and staff who make day trips to ski on Paoli Peaks this winter? Trips are scheduled at short notice to take advantage of favorable snow conditions. If you would like to join such a group, please call Retirees Association member Doug Dalrymple at 812-339-4306 or e-mail him at dalrympl@att.net.

You may have to wait awhile for the snow, but you might as well get on the list early.

Emeriti Center fills fall schedule

Fall programs are in full swing at the Emeriti Center, at 1015 E. Atwater, one block east of the Atwater Garage. The Emeriti House is open weekdays, from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Retired professors give regular programs Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Future programs include:

Nov. 4 – Richard Rose, professor emeritus of psychological and brain sciences, “What do studies of twins tell us about ourselves?”
Nov. 11 – Craig Nelson, professor emeritus of biology, “Reflections on teaching”
Nov. 18 – Peter Boerner, professor emeritus of comparative literature and Germanic studies, “Illustrations of the Faust story from Marlowe to Goethe”

On Nov. 6, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., Tom Gieryn, vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, will host a reception to honor newly retired faculty, and on Nov. 19, from 3 to 5 p.m., Professor Emeritus of English John Woodcock will conduct one in his series of life writing workshops.

Late arrival

If your October newsletter didn’t arrive until November, please don’t blame ghosts, goblins, or even the U.S. postal service. A last-minute change of speakers delayed your newsletter. A delay seemed preferable to giving you incorrect or incomplete information. Here’s hoping to see you Nov. 11.