Table Of ContentWinter-Spring, 2001 Voiume XiX, No.1
A
Second
Talking to
p Generation of
Customers in
Students Arrives Language They
*
from Afar * Can Understand
EDITOR'S PAGE
ast year, in celebration of the university's Ricardo Ortigosa began his second year at lUP
125thanniversary, lUPMagazinepubUsheda inJanuary. AMarketingmajorfromMadrid,heis
familytreeform and invited readers to com- the campus's onlySpanish student at the moment
plete it with the names of family members and finds Indiana "a nice, quiet place" with few
who went to lUP. With the family tree pro- distractions. "Youdomeetpeoplefromallaround
ject, we found that a lot ofalumni and stu- theworldhere," hesaid,particularlyin Elkin Hall,
dentshavealotoflUPfamilyconnections. wherehe,Nneka,andNnennaalllive.
Sophomore Nursing and Pre-Dentistry major Ricardo's mother's brothers, Manuel and Igna-
Nneka Uzoamaka Ekeh is no exception: Seven of cio Agudo, also studied marketing at lUP and
^
her family membershavegoneto lUP. Whatdoes graduateddecadesago. Today,Manuellives
makeNnekaexceptionalisthefactthatshe (andall inParisandIgnacioinBarcelona. / i
herrelatives) cametolUPfromNigeria. PatrickCarone, directorofthe Inter- /^^B
^
Nneka's father, Nkemjika Godfirey Ekeh, received national Affairs office, has been at lUP
abachelor'sdegree in 1975 and a master's degree in since 1964. Hesaidthat "Thefactthat /
1977fromlUP. In 1980,heearnedadoctoratefrom lUP currently has three international If
RensselaerPolytechnicInstituteandtodayworksfor 'legacy' students is a testament to the \
the Nigerian government in Abuja as an environ- fact that the university has for decades \
mental scientist. During the sixties, seventies, and provided international students a superior ^k
eighties,hisbrotherandfourofhiscousinswerelUP educationandisalso atestamenttothe out,-_
students. In 1983,hiswife'ssister(Nneka'smaternal standing quality of its foreign stud Top: ChristyNkemEnekweOkoye
aunt)receivedanlUPmaster'sdegree. program. 1^ earnedabachelor'sdegreeinFinance
Biology Pre-Med major Nnenna Okoye is also "Irecalleachofthestudents' relatives,wH frontlUPin1978andtodayworks
from Nigeria. Her mother, Christy Nkem Enekwe preceded them here some twenty-plus years ^forNigeria'stopbank. BothManuel
Agudo,center,andhisyounger
Okoye, earned a bachelor's degree in Finance from ago. Itisaclearindicationto meofhowthc^M b,rother,Ignacio,bottom,studied
lUP in 1978 and today works for Nigeria's top felt about their own experience at lUP thJB jM^arketingatlUPdecadesago.
bank. Nnenna, a freshman, will go home to Lagos nowtheyareencouragingthenextgeneratio?^
for a fewweeks in the summer but otherwise plans to comehere. This isjustone moreindication that
to usesummercoursestoaccelerateherlUPgradu- lUP is indeed, and is rightly recognized as such, a
ation. After that, she plans to stay in the U.S. for schoolofexcellence.'
medicalschool. by Karen Gresh
:
Contents
winter-Spring.2001,Vol.XIX,No.1
EDITOR:
eatures KarenGresh
ASSOCIATEEDITOR;
BruceDries
ASSISTANT:
SusanKirchner
CONTRIBUTINGEDITOR:
BobFulton
STUDENTASSISTANTS:
CrystalAlwine,TimothyBanks,
Translating MichelleFridg,EmilyWells
Customer Services DESIGN
MichaelG.Maskarinec
TakeawalkthroughlUP's
TranslationCenterandyoumay OTHERASSISTANCE:
ReganHouser,RonaldMabon
hearphonecallersconversingwith "yWfSt
PHOTOGRAPHERS:
MetLifecustomersinPolish,Span-
KeithBoyer,BarryReeger
ish,Mandarin,andVietnamese.
And,that'sjustforstarters. Y CHANCELLOROFTHESTATESYSTEM:
lamesH.McComiick
CHAIRMANOFTHESTATESYSTEM
BOARDOFGOVERNORS:
CharlesA.Gomulka
PRESIDENTOFTHEUNTVERSITY:
LawrenceK.Pettit
VICEPRESIDENTFORINSTITUTIONAL
ADVANCEMENT:
loanM.Fisher
f
[UPMagiizmeispublishedthreetimesa
yearbyIndianaUniversityofPennsylvania,
amemberoftheStateSystemofHigher
Education.
Themagazine'saddressislUPPublications
Office,lohnSuttonHall,Room322,1011
Beyond the Books ^ SouthDrive,Indiana.PA 15705-1087
MelissaSmithhaswrittenan (telephone724-357-3062;fex724-357-5512;
[email protected]). Correspon-
outstandingrecordofachievement denceregardinganyaspectofthemagazine
atlUP,butitmightneverhave shouldbedirectedtothisoffice.
happenedwithouttheextra lUPMagazinehasavoluntarysubscription
encouragementshegotearlierinlife program. Tentofifteendollarsisa
fi-omtheNextStepProgram. suggestedgift.
®Copyright2001byIndianaUniversityof
Scoring Machine Pennsylvania. Allrightsreserved.
"Doesthisguynevermiss?" IndianaLFniversityofPennsylvaniaisanequal
wailedfrustratedcoachesof opporttmity/affimiativeactionemployer
opposingteamswhenJack commitledtoexcellencethroughdiversity.
Crossantooktothebasketball FRONTCOVER:"Internationallegacies"
RicardoOrtigosa,NnekaUzoamakaEkeh
floorfortheIndiansinthefifties.
(standing),andNnennaOkoye(seated)in
theOakGrove.
Special People PhotographbyBarryReeger.
Lifestyles Class Notes SpmnOfTHEWahrior: BACKCOVER:Photographby
Conning Up Births Asmall-scale,solid-bronzereplicaul BarryReeger.
JohnMcCombie'sCrimsonCommons
Marriages Deaths
statueisavailableforsale. Seetheadvertisementinthisissue.
Sports
UP
Translating
Customer Services^^
Meanwhile, VictorDrescherwas spreadingtheword about
lUP's Translation Center. Founded in 1991 by Drescher and
Malcolm Hayward, the centerprovides translations for com-
panies and individuals, such as hospital equipment assembly
instructions,salesmaterials,Webpages,andpersonalletters.
WhileSewalkwasresearchingsolutionsforMetLife,shedis-
coveredabrochurecreatedbyDrescheradvertisingthedepart-
ment'sservices.Afterdiscussingtheideawithhim,Sewalkcon-
tacted MetLife's New York office. When Sewalk proposed
using ILiP's Translation Center, MetLife management had
their doubts that such a service could be found in Western
Pennsylvania, ofaU places. Sewalk recalled, "People found it
hard to believe that an adequate pool of foreign nationals
would beavailable here. So it has taken awhileto establish the
credibility ofwhat we do here." But success speaks volumes.
lUP'sTranslationCenterhasbecometheforeignlanguageunit
forMetLife'squalityassuranceoperation.
The biggest roadblock to the Translation Center project
had been finding enough space for the offices, telephones,
and other equipment. With MetLife's new interest in lUP,
Drescherrealized theTranslationCenterneeded ahome. His
eyes quickly turned to Eicher Hall, originally an unused
garage that had been taken over by the archaeology program
forstoringandcleaningfinds.
hen you think ofthe business ofinternational translation, Although theTranslation Center was in competition with
Indiana may notbe the first location that comes to mind. other university departments for using the space in Eicher,
CertainlyMetLifefoundithardtobelieveuntilKateSewalk having a business partner spurred the decision. "When we
putthecompanyintouchwithlUP'sTranslationCenter. brought in a revenue-generating business opportunity, all of
A graduate ofthe University ofPittsburgh and Clark a sudden everythingjust fell into place," said Drescher. With
University, Kathleen Sewalk attended lUP in the early the help of Sewalk and Dean of Humanities and Social
1980s in pursuit of her second master's degree. While Sciences Brenda Carter, the interior of Eicher Hall was
studying,shealso worked forMetLife in lohnstown. Pa. redesigned. Carter assisted with architectural ideas, including
Eventually she became national director ofthe company's quality turning the bathroom into a conference room and designing
assurance program, overseeing the details out of the Client Rela- windows to replace two garage doors in a former loading
tions Center in Johnstown. The qualityassurance customercontact dockarea.
program is designed to ensure that customers understand the basic The Translation Center is now thriving. Most of its
aspectsoftheirnewlypurchasedlifeinsurance. employees come from the Graduate School, but a graduate
MetLife soon recognized that the ever-expanding cultural diver- student's wife and a faculty member's wife are also on the
sity ofits customerbase was creatinga growing need to communi- staff.Thecallcenterprovidesverbaltranslationsinsevenlan-
cate with customers in preferred languages other than English. In guages: Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian,Span-
1997, Sewalk was challenged to provide a solution for the quality ish,andVietnamese. Thecenteralso provideswrittensurveys
assuranceprogram. in seven other languages: Thai, Arabic, Tagalog, Japanese,
Farsi, Hebrew, and Urdu. As MetLife identifies more cus-
BY Bruce dries tomer needs, more languages are added-the most recent
being Hindi. Drescher has no problem finding people who
2^
The call center provides verbal translations in seven
languages: Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian,
Spanish, and Vietnamese. The center also provides written
surveys in seven other languages: Thai, Arabic, Tagalog,
Japanese, Farsi, Hebrew, and Urdu.
MORE CORPORATE
TheMetLife-Transla- salesandinstallationofEnter- >-TheDepartmentofFood
Top:VictorDrescherandKaleSewalk. Right: SupervisorTracyKressand tionCenterconnec- priseResourcePlanning(ERP) andNutritionmaintainsdietetic
translatorTerrenceHiu,wlioisplacingacallinCantonese. tionisoneofhundredsof software. SAPprovidesfree internshipcontractswith
corporate-academicpart- softwareandfacultytrainingin scoresofcorporateorganiza-
nershipsatlUP. Acom- exchangeforthecollege's tionsengagedinthehealthcare
speak the languages. "Whenever we need some language prehensivelistwouldfill agreementtointegrateERP andrestaurantindustries.
beyond what we have, we just go out and find it," he said. tahreesmaamgapzlienseo,fbtuhteihrere aitpsplciucrartiicounlsumi.ndTihffeerbeenntefpiatrttsoof AMamnoonrg,tEbheenmsbaurergL;auCroelneCrmeasutgh
"lUPhasan incrediblydiverseinternationalpopulation." incrediblediversity: thecollegehasbeenvaluedat HealthSystem,Johnstown;and
Theemployees receiveabout three to fourweeks' training overamilliondollars. RusticLodge,Indiana,
by MetLife before they are ready to work with customers. >-TtieComputerScience
Regular training updates are received on-site or by visits to Department'spartnership TheAcademyofCulinary Andafewexamples
Johnstown, and a full-time supervisorisalwaysat the center. wittiPPGIndustriesincludes ArtsinPunxsutawneywel- ofotherkindsof
Employees learn insurance details so they can understand financialsupport,internships, comesalonglistofprestigious partnerships:
most customer comments and questions. The callers care- employmentrecruitment, corporatepartnersto
fully learn MetLife's authorized scripts that detail what they oann-dsiatefatcrualitnyinegxcphraonggreampsr,o- withsiscphoanlssoorhfiarire.cuTlhienaprayrtners, xstGuedoesnctsiepnecrefoDrempeaxrptemreinmtents
can and cannot say, includinghowto answeranyofa multi- gramthatinvolvedaPPGglass studentsforexternshipsand todeterminewhatsortsof
tude ofquestions they may get from customers. Even ifthe plantinChina. permanentemployment,range solid-statecontainersprovide
callers must paraphrase to make the subject easier for the fromTheBouldersinArizonato thebestimmediaterepositories
customer to understand, the paraphrasings must be >>IKEA,TheGap,Hershey NorthCarolina'sGrove forradioactiveandother
approvedbyMetLife. Direct,FashionGroupInterna- ParkInn. hazardouswastesaspartof
Drescherand Sewalkbelieve this is a winning situation all tdiroenna'l,saHnosdpiPtiatltsabruergpha'rstCohfial- >SafetySciencesDepartment aLipvaerrtmnoerrsehNiaptwiiotnhalLawrence
around. MetLife was able to solve its problem at a very rea- longlistofcorporateinternship internshipsandco-oppartner- Laboratory,
sonable cost with top-notch, efficient translators. The callers partnershipsmaintainedbythe shipsincludecompaniesfrom
get hands-on trainingandagood payingjob, notalways easy HumanDevelopmentandEnvi- MarylandtoCalifornia.The TheCollegeotEducation
fora foreignstudent. lUPvvinsbygettingapercentageofthe ronmentalStudiesDepartment, departmentalsohas andEducationalTechnology
moneythat MetLifebudgetsfortheprogram. grant/scholarshippartnerships has3largenumberofschool
The College ofHumanities and Social Sciences is the first >a-nEdbeIrnlfyorCmoaltlieogneToefcBhunsoilnoegsys wMiatrhsAhlc&oaM,cPLietntnsebunr,ghN;eJw,&YoHr,k, tdihsetrPiictttpsabrutrngehrsChoilplsa,boirnactlivued,ing
beneficiary of this money, using it to support a faculty hasapartnershipwithSAP N.Y,;andUnitedParcelSen/ice, anoutstandingexampleof
exchange with a university in Costa Rica. To counter the America,worldwideleaderin Itasca,III. cooperation.
cost-of-living difference, the money is also used to supple-
MP
merit the exchange teacher's salary. The customers also win by stituency and the demographics ofethnic markets. With the
.g gettingthebestserviceinthemostunderstandablewaypossible. surveys the students create, MetLife is able to learn more
"It's a nice feeling to have two institutions of such longevity about the product-purchasing characteristics ofvarious eth-
beingabletoworktogetherforagreatercommongood,"asserts niccommunities.
Sewalk. "Thebest part is that it gives thestudents an affiliation Since starting the program in 1997, MetLifehas supported
and a solidarity. The communiry- that's created here is pretty five paid internships for M.B.A. students. "These experiences
special. This is a hub. They're all bilingual. And also, the rela- not only provide income for the students, but also give them
tionshipslastthroughouttheirtenurehere.Wejustsawourfirst veryrealisticexperienceworkingforaFortune500company,"
classgraduate. It'sveryrewarding." said Drescher. "Also, this line in their resume' gives them an
"They've developed a sense offamily here," said Drescher. addedboost intotheirfirst jobaftergraduation."
"Some ofthem come here because they like to be here, they In the future, the Translation Center will respond to the
liketobearoundthepeople. Atthesametimethey'reprovid- changing needs ofMetLife customers. "Right now, we're try-
ingavaluableservicetoaninternational companythat'sbeen ingto understandaboutthelanguagesoftheIndiansubconti-
anexcellentcustomer." nent, because that seems to be an emerging need. So we pool
SewalkalsohelpsM.B.A.studentsgaincutting-edgeexperi- our resourcesto satisfythat need," admitsSewalk. "Anycom-
ence with internships at MetLife. Sewalk looks at what the pany seeking to do business in the various ethnic markets
students' areas of interest are and how she can apply their needs to be able to service and communicate with their cus-
knowledge to what the company needs. The programs she tomers. Ethically, morally, practically, from everyperspective
designs for the interns help MetLife understand its con- youlookat it,it'stherightthingtodo. Itfeelsgood,too." "1ft.
The Essential international Perspective
byPresidentLawrenceK. Pettit
y aassttNovember,asI ourunderstandingoftheissuesandofthe doctoralstatus.AHtold,wehavebetween
X^/wvaastouringthe challengesweface,yetIalsorealizedhow fivehundredandsixhundredinternational
NationjilPalace muchwehavetolearnfromeachother studentsfromseventy-sevencountries.Asa
MuseuminTaipei,it becauseofavarietyofperspectivesthathave matteroffact,ofalltheinternationalstu-
occurredtomejust beenshapedbygenerationsofdistinctive- dentsinourfourteen-universityStateSys-
y howsmallavillageour nessinlanguageandnationalhabits. temofHigherEducation,justunder35per-
^
^^L '^f^W^^ globehasbecome.The Thesepersonalexperiencesaffirmforme centareatlUP.
^^^ /^ ^M tourguidewhowas lUP'scommitmenttogloballiteracyandto lUPmaintainsexchangeprogramsat
introducinganinternationalgrouptothe providinganinternationalexperiencetoas thirty-threesitesaroundtheglobe,includ-
exquisitewondersofancientChineseart manyofourstudentsaspossible.Inthe ingtheusualEngland,France,and
andculturespokeinEnglish,butwitha twenty-firstcentviryitv^illbedifficultfor Germany,butalsoChina,Croatia,Egypt,
Germanaccent.Twoyearsearlier,Ihadhad anyperson,oranyuniversityorbusiness,to Japan,Kenya,Poland,Spain,Sweden,
thepleasureofviewingthetreasuresof competewithoutanacquaintancewith Turkey,Zimbabwe,andothers.Weareone
Cairo'sMuseumofEgyptianAntiquities diverseculturesorwithoutaninternational ofonlyafewAmericanuniversitiesthat
undertheexperttutelageofaguidewhose perspective.Theinternationalizationofour offerstudentteachingopportunitiesabroad.
nativelanguagewasnotArabicbutFrench. universityisessentialnotonlyforthe WehavesuchsitesinIreland,England,
ThistimeIwasinTaiwanasoneof educationofourstudentsintheclassical Denmark,theNetherlands,Poland,France,
twentyuniversitypresidentswhohadbeen sensebutalsoinordertopreparethemtobe Jamaica,andNigeria.Inaddition,wehave
invitedfromeverycontinentforaweekof successfulinthepracticalworld fiveactivestudyabroadprogramsin
ceremoniestohelpTamkangUniversity theywillinhabit. CostaRica,England,
celebrateitsfiftiethanniversary.Tamkang Beforeleavingfor France,Mexico,
usedtheoccasiontosignformalexchange TaiwanIlearned andSpain.
agreementswithtenofus,including,in thatlUPthisyear Inadditiontothese
additiontolUP,theuniversitiesofVienna, hasthirty-eightstudents speciallUPopportuni-
Vladivostok,andBonnandHerefordCol- fromthatcoimtry, ties,ourstudentsmayparticipatein
legeofOxfordUniversity. alongthe theInternationalStudentExchangePro-
Duringtheweekwediscussedseveral continuum gramandtheNationalStudentExchange
issuesconfrontinghighereducationand fromunder- Program. Finally,astudentthroughinde-
society.Iwasstruckbythecommonalityof graduateto pendentstudycanarrangeanappropriate
HP
©STARTRIBUNE/Mrnneapolis-St Paul
SOON TO BE IN PAU
ST. Ll James Mccormick '59, the only chancellor Pennsylvania'sState System of
Higher Education has ever had, will leave his postJune 30to become chancellor ofthe Minnesota State Collegesand Universities
system. MnSCU includesthirty-fiveschoolswith fifty-three campusesand about 140,000students. The Pennsylvania system of
fourteen state-owned universitieshas gone from fewerthan 82,000studentswhen itwasformed in 1983to morethan 96,000students
under McCormick's leadership. Shown onthe day of hisselection bythe MnSCU board, McCormIck isa native of Indiana County and
a former president ofBloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
internationalexperienceapartfromanyof internationalinvolvement. tionservicesforAmerican
theseofficialprograms. BothlUPandthe businesses. {Seethestoryon
Inthepastfewyears,twoofourstudents surroundingcom- page2in thisissue).And,
havewonprestigiousFulbrightawardstodo munityareenriched ourinternationalalumniare
graduatestudyabroad,bothinGermany. bythepresenceofinterna- avaluableresourceintherecruit-
lUP'sfacult)'isfarinfrontoftheotherState tionalstudentsandbytheexperi- mentofstudentsandinoureffortsto
:!*^I
Systemuniversities,withfiftyofitsmem- encesofourAmericanfacultyandstu- helpPennsylvaniabusinessesandgov-
bershavingwonFulbrightawardstoteach dentswhentheyreturnfromstudyin ernmentestablishcontactsinother
andconductresearchabroad. anotherculture. Inaddition,thereisavery countries.Thus,throughglobalization,the
Itishardtoimaginearealuniversity practicalsidetothis. Forexample,interna- universityisbetterabletopursuebothits
thesedayswithoutthiskindof tionalstudentshelpustoprovidetransla- pedagogicalanditspublicservicegoals."'^^
_5^
lUP
SENIOR MELISSA SMITH
PLANS TO USE HER COLLEGE
EDUCATION TO WORK WITH
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
AND HELP THEM FIND
EMPLOYMENT. IT'S A COM-
MENDABLE GOAL SHE MAY
NEVER HAVE PURSUED HAD
SHE NOT HAD SOME EXTRA
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM
lUP'S NEXT STEP PROGRAM.
While in high school, she met the pro-
gram's income guidelines and fit its profile.
She was a student with academic potential
but was not excelling in the classroom. Her
parentshadnotattendedcollege.
ShefeelstheNextStepprogram helped her
makeasmoothtransitiontohighereducation.
"I knew more about the campus," said
Smith, a rehabilitation major who is minor-
ing in psychology. "It wasn't so much of a
shockforme. I knewwhere things were and
whattoexpect."
AtlUP,SmithisamemberofMortarBoard,
a prestigious honor society, and has gotten
nogradebutAsincehersophomoreyear.
Evelyn Landon, former director oflUP's
Institute for Research and Community Ser-
vice, began Next Step with grant funding in
1992 with just over twenty students. She
donated her time to directing the program
forseveralyearsbeforeretiring.
"The Next Step Program was designed to
identify kids with potential to succeed in
postsecondary education but who probably
would not consider postsecondary educa-
tion," Landonsaid. "Weweren'tlookingfor
the straight-A students. We were looking at
HIP
ccThe Next Program
Step
was designed to identify Icids witli potential to succeed in
postsecondary education but wlio probably would not
consider postsecondary education."
kids who had the potential, with some encouragement, "We do a lot ofgood things at lUP," Pagnucci said.
tosucceed." "It's a real nice outreach program that helps the com-
Income-ehgible students begin the program in eighth munity."
or ninth grade and can continue throughout their high Smith performs .some community outreach of her
schoolyears. Smith,who isfromCookportinruralIndi- own. She works about one overnight shift a week as an
anaCounty, attended Purchase Line Junior-Senior High on-call crisis-intervention worker for the Open Door
School, one ofthree that have been matched with lUP Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Indiana. It
for the program. Also taking part are schools in the startedasavolunteerposition.
Derry Area School District and the Armstrong School She also works part-time in the acquisitions depart-
District. mentoftheuniversity'slibrary.
The program's main activity is a week-long, on-cam- In addition to working twojobs and maintaining her
pus, summer day camp, during which students learn high academic average. Smith serves as vice president of
about topics such as financial aid, scholarships, grants, the lUP chapter of the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation
career selection, college and vocational school selection, Association. She is also a member of the Council for
Internetskills,andstudyskills. Exceptional Children, which works with children with
Theprogramgiveshighschoolstudentsthechancetosit disabilities, and of Psi Chi, an honorary psychology
in on college classes and hear about campus life from the association.
lUPstudentsandfacultymemberswhospeaktothegroup. "I have a to-do list that's two pages long," she said. "I
Next Step also plans information nights for parents and thinkthe more thingsyou're involved in, the more orga-
suchactivitiesasagrouptriptoanlUPfootballgame.Cur- nizedyoubecome. Itcanbefrustrating,butit'sworthit."
rent Next Step studentsarehelpingtowritetheprogram's Pagnucci is impressed by her accomplishments. "To
website: www.english.iup.edu/projects/nextstep. have a student come from this sort of program and
"I think it's important that the students are treated reachthatleveliswonderful,"hesaid.
with respect," Smith said. "Theyaskyou what you need Smith is spending her last semester of college in an
from theprogram.Theytrytotailorittoourneeds." internship in the vocational department ofHarmarville
Gian Pagnucci, lUPEnglish professorandcurrentNext Rehabilitation Hospital. She's applying for graduate
Step director, said about 70 percent ofthose in the pro- school programs that focus on occupational therapy or
gram have gone on to college: about a third ofthem to headtrauma.
lUP and another third to other State System universities. Landon knows Smith well and enjoyed watching her
The choices of the other 30 percent include vocational succeed at lUP. "She's probably one of those students
education and military training. He said mostofthe stu- who is highly motivated," Landon said. "Shehas avery
dents from the program who have gone into postsec- quietwayabouther,butit'saquietconfidence." ~l^
ondaryeducationhavemaintainedatleastaBaverage.
By Marilyn Kukula
Books
the
_7_
lUP
• 125 SPECIAL PEOPLE • 1 25 SPECIAL PEOPLE • 125 SPECIAL PEOPLE • 125 SPECIAL PEOPLE
Ill
pedal People
I
—
Herearemore"Special People" shortessaysaboutlUPpeoplewhohave
influencedthewriters'lives,submitted inhonorofthe university's 125th
anniversary.Thedeadlineforsubmissionshaspassed, butthefinal
installmentof "SpecialPeople"willappearintheSummer,2001, issue.
Roger Axford
I later seized a semester internship in Dr. Axford's
I Dean of the School of Continuing and office where he guided me through a study ofthe adult
Nonresident Education students enrolled in evening noncredit classes. In the
Ma process,heprovidedcritical,butencouraging,help,and
Lany people influenced my life while I was at thefinal reportturnedouttobeoneofthehighest-qual-
lUP, and one ofthosewas Dr. RogerAxford who was itypapersI wrotewhileatlUP.
dean of the School of Continuing and Nonresident During the time I worked under his guidance. Dr.
Education. I first met Dr. Axford when I was one of AxfordremarkedseveraltimesthatIwaspartofthefirst
two student members ofthe Academic Affairs Com- generation of students whose education would never
mittee ofthe University Senate. The committee was end and thatwewould experience the need for"lifelong
dominated by administrators and faculty, some of education" for the rest ofour lives. Every time I take a
whom were quite opposed to student membership. noncredit seminar or a credit course, I think of Dr.
This wasduring a time when the universitywas mov- Axfordandrecallhowonthemarkhewas. Atthispoint
ing from aclosedto a morecollaborativestyle ofgov- in my life, as I begin a new degree program, which will
ernance. open the door to a new level ofwork, I again think of
Fromthebeginning, Dr.Axfordwelcomed ustothe Dr.Axford.
committee and Ustened eagerly to our comments, About twentyyears had lapsed after I graduated from
encouragingustocontributeto thediscussions. I will lUPwhen I contactedDr.Axford throughaprofessional
never forget the time Dr. Axford congratulated me at association. When I got him on the phone, he was as
theend ofthe meetingand said howwonderful it was warm andencouragingashe had beenyearsbefore. We
to have responsible student input. He turned to shared about the paths we had taken and reveled in a
another administrator who did notshare his enthusi- friendshipbegunonthelUPcamp—usyearsbefore.
asm and said "anddon'tyou thinkso, too" onlyto be AnthonyBosnick'72
Spotimagescourtesyof met by stonysilence. Through all ofthis, Dr. Axford
lUPSpecialCollections modeled for me how to stand up for my convictions
inthefaceofopposition.
Joseph B. Oliver '56
iVXy father, Joseph B. Oliver, who graduated in Jan-
uary, 1956, is truly a person who has influenced mylife
tremendously. Hereceivedadegreeinelementaryeduca-
tion and taught fifth and sixth grades for over thirty-five
yearsintheKittanning,Pa.,area. Duringhisevenings,he
worked full-time as a butcher for various grocery stores.
After what must have been an exhausting day, he would
cheerfully come home to where his six sons and three
daughters were anxiouslyawaiting his arrival. Now, as a
grandfather of twenty-five, he continues to amaze me
vfithhisunendingenergyandzestforlife.
My father's unbelievable drive and determination
became so instilled in me that I went on to further my
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