VIEW from a Alumn nus
by Bill Perry, ’67, president of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston
Freshman year. “Chaos,”
Professor George M. Schurr wrote on the left side of the blackboard in our Mackay Hall classroom. “Order,” he wrote on the right side. In Greek. Both times. Thankfully, he translated, and we were on our way in that journey of liberal arts education at Park. So this is college. It looks hard. I had better get to work. Sophomore year. “The Unvarnished Truth.” Carved in Professor C. Stanley Urban, Ph.D.’s portable lectern; carved in our brains by his teaching as the noble objective of learning and life. He is direct. “Perry, you’ve got to know the documents to understand history!” This guy means business. I need to spend more time in the library. Junior year. “From a false premise you can prove anything,”
Professor K. Daley Walker said. He started with 1 + 1 = 3 and proved the moon is made of green cheese. So this is mathematical logic. Unfamiliar territory. Calculus isn’t helping much. Time to work harder. Senior year. Professor Schurr bookends my Park experience with the course Historic Christianity and Contemporary Issues. This is the hardest course of my college years. And the best. Indelibly written on my mind: Life’s largest questions have no easy answers, presuppositions must always be examined, and values must be understood, affirmed and put into action. Along the way Professor Urban enticed me to add a history major. Try as I might I never could earn an A in his classes — large lesson learned: humility — and I loved the challenge every time. Professor Walker enabled me to
aspire to become a math professor and then achieve that goal. I still use teaching techniques I learned from him. Coach Ed Nelson made me understand that team building only comes from the hardest of work — no shortcuts allowed. Teamwork has been key to success. Professor after professor showed a studentcentered approach in challenging me to excel. Four great years. “The Best Four Years of Your Life” was the Park College motto at the time. Were they the best? Close. But professionally the best years are happening right now — serving as a university president and employing a lifetime of learning built on the great foundation of a Park University education. So much of what I need now I (continued on page 27) Spring 2009 << 23