Personal and IWU update, August 4, 2005

 

 

Ok my students and former students keep asking for a personal update on my hikes, what I’m teaching next semester, and “any other news from around IWU” … especially over the summer… so here’s the scoop:

 

 

IWU NEWS

  1.  IWU has names a President-elect… Henry Smith.  He’s been here all last year and will continue all the coming year before taking over next summer.
  2. As always when a new college president comes in most of the VP-level people are moving on… Admissions Gredy went to Cedarville (Ohio); I heard yesterday that Mark Smith (IWU-AGS) will become President of Circleville Bible college (Ohio) in January; Information Art Mahan is gone already; for years Terry Munday has said he’ll leave when Barnes leaves (next summer)…we have not heard officially on the three other VPs… so Henry Smith has a full time job this year—putting his future VP group together.
  3. Judy Huffman went to College Wesleyan Church –she was our (traditional campus) Dean and is now pursuing ordination.  Gary Swyers went to John Brown University where he will head up a section of their Wal-Mart-CEO-funded “ropes and stuff” program.
  4. Burt Webb is now the interim dean—Judy’s old job
  5. Bud Bence is now the interim Vice President for Academic Affiars—Burt’s new boss.
  6. The religion division interim chair (Bence was going to do it before being tapped for vp) is still in process—probably will be an interim here too.
  7. They are moving gang-busters on the addition to the student center—they are moving the old President’s house today (or I guess I should say “President’s old house.” ;-)
  8. Fall Freshmen numbers are (I hear) (once again) up this year.  For the first time this year the sob-sob-goodbye meeting with parents had to be moved from PAC to the gym.

 

PERSONAL NEWS

  1. In may I finished the Pacific Crest Trail by hiking 350 miles through the Southern California desert with four students.
  2. In June I re-hiked part of the John Muir Trail with my two sons (we take a trip together every other year).  The high Sierras has a pile of snow this year—even in late June there was still 8-9’ of snow at the higher elevations.  We made a (failed) attempt on Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the “lower 48.”  But we had a great time in the wilderness and being together.
  3. In July I hiked across New Hampshire, returning to the Appalachian Trail (which I finished in 1998).  Josh Jackson, Justin Johnson (two former students) and Phil Woodbury (retired surgeon) went along.  Burt Webb (as he often does) showed up and joined us for a week.
  4. My new book “With Unveiled Faces” is being received well.
  5. I’m doing the final rewrite on the companion book “Reflecting His Glory”.
  6. Sharon and I are going on a Road Trip Vacation in the final half of August—visiting our old haunts our East—where we met, I proposed, our first and second churches where I was a pastor, the first mountain we climbed together, and of course we’ll drop in on our kids out there, John and Amanda.  (If you are a thief in Marion reading this you don’t know  for sure if I have a house-sitter do you… and beside, my retired neighbor who has frequent Vietnam flashbacks has an inclination to fire his shotgun at shadows in my bushes.)
  7. Next semester I’m teaching CE mostly—the LCE course & several sections of the LCE practicums, plus Adult CE, an evening course that is one of my best courses.  Also I’m picking up the fall section of Backpacking since Gary Swyers is gone now.   IN the Spring semester I’m scheduled for both sections of Homiletics II—practice preaching, LCE & LCE practicums again, Camping & Retreats (evening), and of course Backpacking.

 

Pix:   Top to bottom.

1. Disposable picture of the PCT gang who hiked Southern California together (we lost our super-duper-expensive digital camera in the back of a truck while hitch-hiking.

2. John & Dave I the “Guitar lake basin” seeking the trail up Mt. Whitney

3. Justin Johnson & Josh Jackson—two of my partners for the Appalachian Trail hike.