BUSINESS
Jet Blue No. 1
WSU's Dean Headley '82 and the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Brent Bowen announced results of the 14th annual national Airline Quality Rating on April 5 in Washington, D.C. The AQR is the most comprehensive study of the performance quality of the 14 largest U.S. airlines. Jet Blue debuted as the No. 1 ranked airline.
ENGINEERING
Sound the Horn
Until a national search for a permanent dean of WSU's College of Engineering is complete, Walter Horn will continue to serve as dean. Horn has served as interim dean since 2003 and as an aerospace engineering faculty member since 1984.
FINE ARTS
Bass-Baritone Giant
Rodney Miller, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Humanities at the University of Nebraska-Kearney since 1998, is the new dean of WSU's College of Fine Arts. Says Miller, "I've long admired Wichita State and its reputation, especially in the fine arts." A professional singer since 1977, he has toured the United States, Europe and Asia. Opera magazine has called him "a bass-baritone giant."
HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Growth Profession
WSU's physician assistant program has earned continued accreditation through 2010 by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. WSU's is the only PA program in Kansas and one of 135 accredited U.S. programs. The program prepares students for work in a career identified as No. 3 in growth professions by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
Reagan: the Great Communicator
He may have been the Republican front-runner, but when Ronald Reagan spoke at WSU six months before the 1980 presidential election the chance he might get elected still seemed slim to some students. Sure, he had been a Hollywood actor, governor of California and lobbied small-town America on behalf of conservatives. A handsome guy, he could play friendly folk hero one minute, then furrow his brow and turn into a hard-bitten anti-Communist warrior the next. But could he play the role of president?
Reagan took the stage for one of his many tryouts on May 23, 1980, in Room 208 of the Life Science Building, now Hubbard Hall. It was one of his first college campaign stops, and crowds stuffed two other lecture halls and watched on closed-circuit television. He was running hard against President Jimmy Carter, the feel-good philosopher whose biggest snafu had been failing to prevent Iran from taking over the American embassy and capturing hostages the previous November.
The old Cold Warrior said on that rainy Sunday afternoon that had he been president, he would have gotten tough with the Iranians right away. "First, you explore all the diplomatic channels, as was done in the past four or five months, but you do it in the first 48 to 72 hours instead," Reagan explained. "Then privately, not publicly, you ask the captors to release the hostages. You set a date for release and you pick out an option that would exert the most pressure on Iran. If the hostages were not released by that date, I would exercise that option." Simplistic, but delivered with the raven-haired Reagan's typical twinkle of the eye, broad smile and boyish cocking of the head. Whether you agreed with him or not, it was easy to see why he was popular with folks — even ones not that familiar with him.
As a young Sunflower reporter waiting for the speech, I barely noticed when a stranger took the seat to my left. Bored, I asked him, "What do you know about this Reagan guy? What's this guy like? A lot of the younger students haven't heard much about him."
"Oh, he's a pretty nice fella, I think," the man replied softly. "I think he's smart and pretty likeable. I like what he has to say about issues." I peppered the guy with questions, right up to the point when they called on Reagan to give his lecture. "Well, I guess I better get going, my friend. They're calling me," he said, offering his hand. I've never gotten over my embarrassment.
Reagan, of course, won the presidency by a huge margin. The very topic he ranted about that day at WSU cost Carter the presidency. The hostages were freed minutes after Reagan took the oath of office in January 1981. He then began a legacy of economic expansion and national pride that continues despite his death on June 5.
Today, I teach in the same classroom where Reagan spoke. When I tell students that the former president sat in their chair, they don't seem to appreciate the history.
Now that he's gone, though, some of us still miss the Great Communicator.
— Dan Close '81/93
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Rewarding Minds
Recognized for outstanding teaching, creative activity and research are Les Anderson, associate professor of communications, Excellence in Teaching; Michael Van Stipdonk, assistant professor of chemistry, Young Faculty Scholar; Sue Abdinnour-Helm, associate professor of finance, real estate and decision sciences, Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching; Nicholas Smith, French horn professor, and Charles Yang, engineering assistant professor, Academy for Effective Teaching; James Jones, professor of clarinet, Excellence in Creative Activity; Hossein Cheraghi, associate professor of engineering, Excellence in Research; and Peer Moore-Jansen, associate professor of anthropology, Award for Community Research.
