debut of Ober Dining Hall 8c Pha, renovations - Frederick D. Hill ...

Indiana General Assemblv honom Coach Mdender
d
Chuck Mallenh, the university S winningest
women S basketball coach, has been honored post-
humousEy b~ the Indiana General Assembly:
WH€Ri%, Chuck Mallender, who died Monday,
February 22,1993, spent the last 11 years coaching
the University of Indianapolis women's basketball
team to a 198-108 record and
WEREAS, Mr. Mallender, who was 66 years old
when he died, was married to his wife, Tina, for 43
years and had six children; and
WERMS, Chuck was a dedicated husband and
father; and
WHEREAS,
when his children became interested
in sports, Mr. Mallender instituted youth football,
baseball, softball, and basketball at the Baxter
YMCA:
WERE&, when Mr. Mallender's youngest daugh-
ter, Linda, became a member of the Southport
High School girls' basketball team, Chuck tu-
tored them, studying every tape and book he
could find to make basketball fundamentals like
a second language; and
WHEREAS, the Southport girls' basketball team
dedicated their 1980 state championship to
him; and
WERMS, Mr. Mallenderwillbe greatly missed
by his family, friends, and the community.
Now, thmfbn?: Be it resolved by the house of
representatives of the General Assembly of the
State of Indiana, fhe Senate concurring
SECTlohl1. That the Indiana General Assembly
honors and pays tribute to Chuck Mallender
for the many and varied contributions he
made to the University of Indianapolis, the
youth of today, and his community. That the
State of Indiana is a much better place for his
having passed this way.
SECTloN 2.. That on behalf of the people of the
State of Indiana, we extend our heartfelt sympathy
to the family of Chuck Mallender.
SEc7lOAl3.
That the Principal Clerk of the
House of Representatives shall transmita copy
of this Resolution to Chuck Mallender's wife,
Tina.
Exc@hfim rema& given August 11,1993
Memories of Professor Roland Nelson
bJ Diane Metheny. Copies of the full text may be
obtained bJ notzfjing the regzstrar's ofice.
Twenty-seven years ago, I walked into
Room 17 in Lilly Science Hall on the campus
of Indiana Central College and came
face to face with Roland Nelson for the first
time. Our first meeting was anything but
auspicious. As a matter of fact, within five
minutes of walking into that classroom, my
i classmates and I were on the verge of walkingbackout
and marching to the registrar's
office to drop our first graduate history
class. Our reason? Within those first five
minutes Dr. Nelson handed out the course
syllabus!
1 For those ofyouwho hadRolandNelson
as a teacher, I don't need to say anything
more. For the rest of you, let me explain.
Professor Nelson's syllabus included the
following requirements: two "short" term
papers of 610 pages each, two annotated
bibliographies of at least 15 entries each, at
least two oral presentations-not counting
the almost daily debates and panel presentations,
and three-well, maybe onlytwoessay
exams-along with daily assignments
from a text and a book of readings-all in
a seven-week summer session! How unreasonable
could a teacher be!
We soon learned that the man we initially
thought was so unreasonable was one
of the most reasonable people we had ever
met. This nonjudgmental, philosophical
man with the marvelous wit guided, c e
erced, and inspired us-the first graduate
history students at Indiana Central Col-
lege-through the new Master of Arts pre
gram. He continually challenged us to
become more thoughtful writers, better
prepared speakers, more critical readers.
And as is often the case when a master
teacher works his magic in the classroom,
he was successful much of the time. We
simply didn't want to displease this man
who had such high expectations of his stu-
dents. And when we did succeed in any
way-whether by writing a good critique of
an article or surviving a debate with him-
albeit battered and bruised-he was genu-
inely pleased, as are all great teachers when
their students learn to believe in their abili-
ties and to achieve beyond their expecta-
tions.
Roland Nelson worked tirelessly to
make his classes fresh, relevant, and inter-
esting-and maybe just a bit irreverent.
Even his lectures were memorable. They
might have been about the future . . . or
about a day in the life of John Q. Peasant
. . . or about the balance between liberty
and control . . . or about the anatomy of a
revolution . . . or my favorite, "presidents
who might have been," but theywere always
creative, oftenvery exciting, certainly never
routine. They were sprinkled with anec-
dotes that brought history to life, and they
were seasonedwith awit thatwas as funny as
it was brilliant. Dr. Nelson never took
history or life-or himself-too seriously,
and he was amused by those who did.
As I have reminisced about the hours I
spent in Roland Nelson's classroom, I re-
called how much he relished a good debate
about causation in history. He would lead
us in probing into the reasons an event
happened . . . its derivation, its advent.
What gave it its impetus? What was the
catalyst that brought it about? Why did the
event occur at a particular time or place in
history? And he was fascinated by the "what
ifs" in history. What if some event had not
occurred? What if Lincoln had not been
shot? What if Henry Clay had been elected
president? What if there had been no
slavery in the South?
In these last few days I've played the
"why" and "what if" games Dr. Nelson taught
me so well: Why did I choose to take his
class in 1966? What unseen force took me
to that place? What if I had turned around
and walked out of his class that first day? I
have no answers to any of these questions.
I just know that on a day 27 years ago I met
a man who became my teacher, colleague,
and friend-and that knowing him has
been one of the blessings of my life.
I5