Cumberland Today-Summer 02 - University of the Cumberlands

Cumberland College ProfessorsWhen I came to Cumberland College, Iplanned to teach for four or five years andthen seek the opportunity to teach at seminary.Within a short time after arriving atCumberland College, I realized God hadother plans.I enjoy being in an environment inwhich I can talk openly and freely about theChristian faith with people from many differentdisciplines. To be able to discuss andpray with colleagues and students in biology,physics, business, communication, theatre,English, history, and other areas is anDr. Bob Dunstoninspiring opportunity. The understandingsand insights of my colleagues and students have nurtured and matured mein my faith.I also enjoy the opportunity to meet and get to know students. I try hardto get to know students in my classes and be available and open to talk withthem, but I also appreciate so much the opportunity to meet and get toknow students I never have in class. Cumberland College’s size and familyenvironment allow me the privilege of meeting, encouraging, and learningfrom many students. I treasure everyone here at Cumberland. I cannot thinkof a better place to be!(Dr. Bob Dunston, professor and chair of the department of religion and philosophy,began his faculty service at Cumberland in 1983. He holds a B.S. degreefrom Virginia Tech; a M.Div. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary;a Th.M. from Union Theological Seminary; and a Ph.D. from Southern BaptistTheological Seminary. Dunston was selected as honored professor in 1984, 1990and 1997, received the Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1989 and wasselected by the alumni for the Fuqua Excellence in Teaching award in 1996,1998, 2000 and in 2002.)My wife Kathy and I are now in oureighteenth year of teaching at CumberlandCollege. When we moved to Williamsburgin 1984, Prof Carnes was chair of theEnglish department, and Willard Reeves(in his brightly colored pants) was head ofthe religion department. Miss Mac wasdean of students, the Hoffelders were leadersin chemistry and sociology, Dr. “T” wasregaling her students on Victorian literature,and Mr. Milton was regularly seentaking students on leisurely nature walksDr. Tom Fish around campus. (They might be passed byDr. Boswell jogging around campus.) Arow of little houses nestled between Archer and Asher, near the site ofHutton Hall, the new women’s residence hall. One of these was the littleBrown House, home to the Alumni Office. Maintenance was housed in agreen cement block building at the bottom of a wooded gully betweenGatliff Gymnasium and the library, now site of the Rollins Center. DocHelvey was ending his career as coach of the judo team, and Tom Dowlingwas beginning as the new football coach. The Admissions staff was housedin the Gatliff Building, where the modern language offices may now befound. The pool was a parking lot. Nicholson Jones was a residence forsophomore girls. Gillespie Hall was named Johnson.These memories are more than a nostalgic catalog. They represent muchabout why I still teach at Cumberland 18 years later. They reflect howmuch Cumberland is a vibrant institution where tradition has been andcontinues to be a foundation for change. Indeed, Cumberland is a placewhere tradition has often fueled change. The landscape and architecture ofcampus have evolved. One generation of campus leaders and personalitieshas given way to another. And yesterday’s students have become today’sleaders in their communities.But I too have changed. Changed by the opportunities Cumberland hasprovided me to grow as an individual and as a professional. When I came toCumberland, to be honest, I felt I was taking a risk. And if truth be known,some at CC probably felt they were taking a risk with me! I was aMidwesterner, a flatlander from Iowa, and all of my higher educationalexperience had been in public universities. Like many a college freshman, Iwondered whether Cumberland was the right “fit” for me. Well, the “fit” hasbeen just fine ... just fine because Cumberland has provided me manyopportunities to grow as an educator: to develop academic relationshipswith students that have also been personal and to expand my intellectualinterests and pedagogical skills. As the advisor to the English honor society,as a director of honors research projects, as a leader of technological innovationin my department, I have grown so much as an individual from theyoung professional I was 18 years ago. And as I have grown, I have enjoyedcontributing in Cumberland’s growth.(Dr. Tom Fish, professor of English, has served on the faculty since 1984. Heholds the B.A. degree from Iowa State University; a M.A., M. Phil., and a Ph.D.from University of Kansas. He was selected as the Excellence in Teaching Awardrecipient in 1990.)As a young boy growing up in Corbin,KY, I was taught by my parents and teachersto appreciate my education. My early love ofmystery stories and mathematical puzzlesled to an interest in science and mathematicsin high school. There was never anydoubt that I would attend college andbecome an engineer. So, what has preventedme from reaching this goal? First, a professornamed Dr. Joe Early and, second, a placecalled Cumberland College.I first met Dr. Early and CumberlandCollege through the Annual High School Dr. Jim ManningMathematics Contest, a contest that stillbrings bright young mathematicians to Cumberland each spring. Dr. Earlyand a colleague visited my mathematics class at Corbin High School anddemonstrated a new state-of-the-art computer, which would be equivalentto today’s calculator. I learned that Cumberland offered a well-rounded and12