Summer 2001 - Wayne State College

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With more than 30 years at WSC, Lucille Peterson isMuch More than the President’s SecretaryShe’s been an integral part of Wayne State College for morethan 30 years. And although she celebrated her 75th birthday onApril 27, WSC presidential secretary Lucille Peterson plans to bepart of it for a long time to come.“I’ve told my children that I’m leaving cleaning my basementfor when I retire,” Lucille said. “And I really don’t like to think ofdoing that for quite a while!”Lucille has served as the secretary to the president of WayneState College since June 15, 1971. “Dr. Brandenburg called to tellme his secretary was retiring and asked me if I’d be interested inthe job,” she said. “His secretary had been there for eight years,which seemed like a very long time to me, so I thought I’d bettertake advantage of the opportunity because it might not come againfor some time. As things turned out, there must have been someDivine intervention in that decision!”This wasn’t Lucille’s first job on campus, however. She andher husband, the late Walter ‘Pete’ Peterson and their twodaughters, Winona, two-and-one-half, and Christine, sevenmonths, came to Wayne State College in 1955 because of thenpresident,the late Dr. John D. Rice. “Dr. Rice and Pete were bothfrom Kearney,” Lucille recalled. “Pete had a music teacher atKearney who recommended him to Dr. Rice. Pete taughtelementary education courses when we first came here, and Iworked part-time for four or five years in the placement bureauand registrar’s office.”The family moved to Vermillion, S.D. where her husbandcompleted his doctorate. They returned to Wayne State in January,1965; Dr. Peterson became the interim dean and then Dean ofEducation, a position he held until his death on August 15, 1971.Since she first accepted her present position, Lucille hasworked for six WSC presidents: Drs. William Brandenburg, LyleSeymour, Ed Elliott, Thomas Coffey, Don Mash, and the current10Lucille Petersonpresident, Sheila Stearns. She also was secretary for three interimpresidents: Drs. Don Whisenhunt, Joe Fleck and Ken Halsey.“All of them have been good to work for, and have been kindto me,” Lucille said. “Each one of them has had his or her ownstrengths and areas of interest.” She described her duties as beingresponsible for scheduling appointments and calendars, sendingemployee contracts and letters, “keeping track of the president,”greeting visitors, handling correspondence, and answeringquestions.At 75, Lucille puts in long days, arriving early and oftenstaying late, always with a warm smile. “It has been wonderfulhaving Janice (Gardner-Manganaro--an assistant to the president)in the office,” she said. “She’s been here since 1982. I have reallyappreciated having her here.”Thinking back to the early days on the job, Lucille reflectedon the many changes that have taken place. “I’ve probably typed30 to 40 doctoral dissertations on an old manual Royal typewriter--one original and four carbon copies of each,” she said. “Whenthe electric typewriter came along, I thought that it was wonderful.Then we went to the word processor and now the computer. Thecomputer has made life so much easier, but we’re expected to domore.”Life on campus has changed, as well. “When we first came,everybody on campus went to the student center in Connell Hallfor coffee every morning,” she said. “I think that added to thecamaraderie on campus. We lost something with the coming ofoffice coffeemakers.”Something else Lucille misses is the college yearbook. “I feelbad that we don’t have one anymore,” she said. “The last WayneState yearbook was in 1971. I hope that someday we’ll get backto that; I wonder if the next one might be a CD. We need to find away to record the story of the college each year.”Lucille said that when she retires, she wants to return tocampus part-time to help with the archives. “We have lots ofthings to organize; I would really enjoy helping with that,” shesaid.In the meantime, don’t look for Lucille to slow down. Shebelongs to three bridge clubs, one of which was started by WSCfaculty wives in 1955. “We still get together two or three times ayear,” she said. “Another one I joined when we came back fromVermillion in 1965, and the last one we just started about ten yearsago.” Lucille is also active in her church, Our Savior LutheranChurch in Wayne.She also enjoys her children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.Daughter Chris Fletcher, who first came to WayneState when she was seven months old, is the WSC resource anddata management officer. She and her husband, Bill, live in ruralWayne. They have two children and four grandchildren. Winona,a teacher, is married to John Schneider, a professor at CalvinCollege in Grand Rapids, Mich. They are parents of two children.“Education has always been part of all of our lives,” Lucillesaid. “Six in our family have attended or worked at Wayne StateCollege. It has been a real pleasure to be at the College and see allof the changes throughout the years.”The pleasure’s all ours, Lucille.WSC Magazine Summer 011010/2/01, 2:48 PM
Neihardt/Black Elk Scholars’ ProjectAward-Winning Workshop Returns to Wayne StateSixteen Native American studentsparticipated in the Neihardt/Black ElkScholars’ Project from June 3-8 on theWayne State campus. An annual workshop,the project earned the Nebraska Center forthe Book “Jane Geske Award” in 1999.Under the supervision of Nancy Gillis,director of the John G. Neihardt Center inBancroft, the pilot workshop was madepossible by a grant from the Messenger ofthe Healing Winds Foundation. It is underthe direction of the Institute of Vision andLearning of the John G. NeihardtFoundation.“It’s more than just a literary project,”said Gillis. “It’s a program focused tochallenge young Native Americans toenrich their own appreciation of history andculture and inspire them to use the power ofwords. This year we are adding an artcomponent. We try to add something neweach year to broaden the students’experience.”WSC faculty members involved withthis year’s program were Dr. GretchenRonnow, Dr. Neil Harrison, Dr. Ed Elfers,Dr. Don Hickey and Judith Berry. WSCgraduate assistants Patrice Troutman,Trenton Muth and Odell Santos, as well asGretchen Lees, an instructor from RedCloud Indian School, assisted.In addition to workshop sessions oncampus, the group toured the state capitolin Lincoln and met Judi Morgan, theexecutive director of the NebraskaCommission on Indian Affairs. They alsotoured the Nebraska State HistoricalSociety Museum and attended an open-airjazz concert when they were in Lincoln.“The field trips were planned to givean opportunity for recreation among thestudents and to give raw subject materialfor their writing,” said Gillis. “It is anintertribal experience that at the same timegives students an introduction to college.”At the end of the week, students puttogether a collective chapbook of theirwork with the help of Elfers of the WSChumanities division. The week’s eventsconcluded with an awards dinner on June 8.Charles E. Trimble, president of the JohnG. Neihardt Foundation, and Gillispresented the awards. Margaret Scott, asophomore student who is a member of theWinnebago/Spokane nations, received theClint Jakeman Memorial Award. Herwork was selected for that award by herpeers.“Wayne State College has beenextremely supportive,” Gillis said. “Part ofthat support comes from the historicalconnection the College has with John G.Neihardt [a WSC graduate]. This effortdisplays the desire of faculty andadministrators to encourage young people.“I think that Wayne State has taken aparticular interest in Native Americanstudents. Being on campus has meant theyget a chance to live in a college setting fora short period of time and can get an ideaof what the expectations might be at thecollege level.”The high school sophomore, juniorand senior students participating in theNeihardt/Black Elk Scholars’ Projectrepresent Dakota, Lakota, Mandan,Omaha, Oglala, Ponca, Rosebud, StandingRock and Winnebago nations.Participants in the 2001 Neihardt/Black ElkScholars’ Project are, kneeling, from left:Jon D. Robertson, Stacey Grant, BryannaProvost and Angela Murdock. Seated:Nancy Gillis, director of the John G.Neihardt Center; Codi Blackbird; Margaret(Emmy) Scott; Marisa Moran and AnnaSalomon. Standing: Victoria Red Legs,Aarron Robertson, Grant Freemont, JamesBrugh, Teo Cook, Ian Phillips, DonnelEcoffey, Clementine (Minnie) Bordeaux, andCharles E. Trimble, president of the John G.Neihardt Foundation.Attention Teachers:The Career Services office implemented a policy this past fall requiring all credential file requests be made in writing. Your requestsmust include the complete addresses of where the credential is to be mailed along with your complete name (including married ormaiden names), address, phone number and social security number. You may mail, email or fax your requests to our office.Address: Career Services, Wayne State College, 1111 Main Street, Wayne, NE 68787-1172E-mail: Coop@wsc.edu FAX: 402-375-7072Please keep in mind that all credential files that have been inactive for more than 10 years are subject to disposal. If you havequestions regarding the status of your file, please contact us at 402-375-7327/7425.Wayne State Magazine 11WSC Magazine Summer 011110/2/01, 2:48 PM
Page 1 and 2: Summer 2001Tell meand I’ll forget
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Page 5 and 6: Doris Buffett Bryant Receives Presi
Page 7 and 8: Restructing Process CulminatesDeans
Page 9: Graduate Brings History to Life for
Page 13 and 14: ‘Time is of the essence’Track i
Page 15 and 16: pus Scenesay, “The Honorable Uras
Page 17 and 18: AthleticsBorner Drafted by Pittsbur
Page 19 and 20: Alumni Notes(Towns and cities liste
Page 21 and 22: Norfolk andSusan enjoysbeing at hom
Page 23 and 24: Corp. and Carin is a registerednurs
Page 25 and 26: Levi is employed by StrongInvestmen
Page 27 and 28: Misplaced AlumniWe need your help i

Summer 2001 - Wayne State College

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