The Reporter

REPORTER Seeking The Truth At Stetson University Volume §(IX Issue 17 mmmmxmmm®smmsmmMmmm)mm® Thursday, March 15,2DD7 maMm^taiiissssESisssiiaiss: President Lee Announces Plans to Retire By HEATHER MARTYN President of Stetson University, Dr. H. Douglas Lee, recently announced his plans to retire at the completion ofthe 2008-2009 school year after serving the university for 22 years, during which time he transformed Stetson culturally and academically. "I am the longest seated President in Central Florida," said Dr. Lee, who always knew his career path was to become a university president. "I was enamored with going to a small, private institution that had not yet achieved financial stability, so that was my intent." Upon retirement, Dr. Lee will become chancellor of the university, the third in Stetson's history. Preparations have begun by the Stetson University Board of Trustees to. begin a nationwide search for the next university President. The Trustee Presidential Succession Task Force, chaired by Trustee David Rinker, has met with focus groups' of students, faculty, staff, advisory board members, alumni, and trustees to gain insight into the qualities and strengths necessary for Dr. Lee's . successor. "He has been incredibly committed to social responsibility," stated President of the Student Government Association (SGA) Will Stoetzer who was part of the Student Focus Group to brainstorm for qualities that are necessary for the next President to have. "He set the standard for what the next president is going to have to look like." This spring the search profile will be finalized and a search committee, led by Chairman of the Board of Trustees Nestor de Armas, will be appointed by August 2007. The search committee will conduct the national beginning," he added. "Whoever fol- search during 2008 and in early 2009 iows Doug, with all of our support, the Board ' of Trust- " : — **aki*«u ees are expecting to hire Dr. Lee's successor, who will begin his term around June 2009. "He has dedicated the last 22 years to this university," said de Armas about ' L e e . u "Fundraiang f has never been stronger, there is a sense of community of who we are, our values are clear, and our faculty is more committed than ever to aca- d e m i c quality." wni just take us to the next level." "I am very optimistic about the prior to arriving at Stetson Univer- future of Stetson, I will call it a new sity jn 1978 as the Vice President for Development, Dr. Lee worked as Professor of Religion and Director of Educational Development at Virginia Intermont College and Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, serving as Director of University Relations from 1973-78. While at Stetson, Dr. Lee was named Vice President for Planning and Development in 1980 and in 1983 became Executive Vice President before being appointed President in June of 1987 and inaugurated in November 1987, becoming Stetson University's eighth president. "I was in my early forties, I was considered to be a young President at the time," said Dr. Lee. "I knew I had to make significant changes in academic development." Growing up during the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Lee's father was a Baptist minister and it was because of this sensitivity to the Civil Rights movement that Dr. Lee felt a moral obligation to be involved, an obligation that he instilled in Stetson University in addition to his dedication to strengthening academics. "I knew that a cutting edge University had to address diversity and be pro-active in woman's issues," said Dr. Lee. "One of my goals was to make Stetson a diverse and inclusive community." "I was interested in racial and ethnic diversity with a specific focus on the African American community and gender equity," he added. During his Presidency, Dr. Lee has increased the number of full-time faculty positions, allowed for growth in enrollment, and has established a current student-faculty ratio of 11:1. He founded the First Year Studies Program, added a diverse lecture series, ptease see PRESIDENT A2 Mi I lions Raised For I mproving Sage Hall By HEATHER MARTYN The Stetson Board of Trustees has personally donated $6.9 million dollars to fund the renovation and expansion of Sage Hall. Sage Hall, which was built in the 1960s and houses the natural sciences, will receive a new addition to the front of the building with the funds raised as well as receive renovations to the pre-existing building, creating a more interdisciplinary mode of learn-. ing. "Stetson is a university that is committed to academic excellence and also committed to an education that is esteemed in the liberal arts education,"- said Chairman of the Board of Trustees-Nestor de Armas. "One ofthe cornerstones of the liberal arts education is science, it is foundational to the university." During the summer of 2006, Trustees Cici Brown, David Rinker, and de Armas visited Sage Hall and discussed the extent of Sage Hall's needs and issues. According to President Dr. H. Douglas Lee, David Rinker and his wife Leighan approached the Marshall E. Rinker Foundation for a grant, and during the Trustee Marketing and Development Committee meeting requested that the Board of Trustees provide a monetary gift equal to that of the monetary commitment of the Foundation, so that the Sage Hall project could begin. President Dr. H. Douglas Lee said that the raising of money during the Board meeting occurred in a twelve-minute period, with the trustee pledges reaching $6,892,500 to date. "The Board of Trustees at Stetson has never stepped up and agreed to fund a specific project before," said President of Stetson University Dr. H. Douglas Lee. "In this case that is exactly-what happened, 4he board said we needed to get this done." The Sage Hall project has been on the agenda for about five years, according to Lee. In the past few years, the school has received grants to update the scientific equipment, but were unable to improve the quality of the learning environment because of a lack of funds. "When we looked at Sage Hall we found that we had some outstanding faculty working in an environment that is almost forty years old," said de Armas. "We really needed to upgrade the building so the building would reflect the quality of science that is being done, there." another fundraising initiative will be required to finish the renovations. "My guess is that after 2008- 2009 it will be another five years before they complete the build-out," said Lee. "We will break ground this spring and if we start this summer we should be able to occupy the new addition in January of 2009." Sine the building of Sage Hall in the 1960s, science has changed a lot, including the trend of becoming more interdisciplinary. At the moment, the building is designed compartmentally and through adding to An architectural rendering of the proposed improvements to Sage Hall. Lee and de Armas said that one of the trustees' top priorities is to ensure that Stetson has first-rate facilities. For the trustees, it was necessary to raise the funds essential to expanding and renovating Sage Hall because of the importance that it serves to the Stetson, community. Two things will be done during the renovation and expansion of Sage Hall. First, a 20,000 square foot of addition will be added to the front of Sage Hall, housing classroom and laboratories. After the addition, the pre-existing Sage Hall will be systematically rebuilt in what is estimated to be three-phase process. The addition to Sage Hall will be completed during the 2008-2009 school year, and then and renovating Sage Hall it will put all of the natural sciences together, allowing interaction among the departments. Associate Director of Communications with the Office of Public Relations and Communications, Cindi Brownfield. stated that Stetson University has a goal of increasing undergraduate enrollments in the next few years,' arid, the addition to and renovation of Sage Hall will enforce the image of the already esteemed science program. "This will help with recruiting and the extra space will allow breathing room for more students;" said Brownfield. The university is a lab science school, and a leader for undergraduate, research. The extra space and interdisciplinary learning style will allow for more research to be completed in a modern facility. The ultimate goal, however, is to allow students and faculty members to have modern spaces in which to work together, in both a formal and informal environment. According to biology professor Dr. Terry Farrell, the current set-up of Sage Hall makes it difficult to work with other departments. "We want students and faculty to work in tight collaboration in modern spaces and ideally we will develop learning communities where people have all the resources they need to learn and do research," said Farrell. Potential students will be able to see that Stetson has a real commitment to providing students with the best resources for learning and the campus will be provided with a new view of Sage Hall, said Farrell. In addition, he believes that the new Sage Hall will enhance everyone's time at Stetson because most students are required to take at least one class in Sage Hall. "It will help bring Sage Hall to the center of campus," said Farrell. "It is going to be a much more attractive, comfortable building." With the funds that the trustees have raised, the new Sage Hall promises to be a modern facility, housing first-rate equipment and enabling students to learn in a comfortable atmosphere. Inside of the building will hang a plaque, said Dr. Lee, describing the story of the trustees and how they raised the money to fund the transformation of Sage Hall into a first-rate modern facility in under fifteen minutes, an experience many of the trustees consider emotional and spiritual.. . "It was not forced, people were giving out of gratitude and philanthropy," said de Armas. "It was a feeling of support, of affirmation, of what was going on at the University and wanting to be part of that." Please Contact Heather Martyn at [email protected]. Campus Mourns the Passing of Professor Bernard Harding By MEGHON CROSSLEY Adjunct Professor Bernard Harding died during the early morning of February 22. Harding was a professor of music for the university for seven years, teaching Theory, Aural Training, and History of Popular Music, a program started at the university by Harding himself. On the morning of Feb. 22, his wife found him in his office where he had been grading papers the night be'fore. He had peacefully died in his sleep. Harding received his BS and MS in Music Education from Florida International University and taught at various high schools, Miami-Dade Community College, and his alma mater. He was proficient in several instruments, including piano, flute, and guitar. He both wrote and taught music. His passion was always jazz music.. With the Director of Jazz Studies, George West, Harding would regularly entertain people with his amazing talent in jazz piano. Along with his teaching and music performing, Harding was a very active member in his church, Trinity Lutheran Church at Holly Hill. There, he enjoyed being the Director of Music and the organist. "He seemed to be a peaceful person, at peace with himself," said Amy Crane, professor of piano and a colleague of Harding's. Although an adjunct professor, Harding gave his whole heart to teaching. "Adjunct professors are not compensated the same way as full time professors. He taught because of his love for it," said Dr. Jean West, Associate Dean of Music, who was given the task of corresponding with the family and the church concerning the affairs of the professor. His love for teaching was obvious to his students. Senior music education major, Lauren Szydlo said, "He was an amazing jazz piano. He would be playing a jazz piece at the beginning of the class. He would always tell a joke or some funny way to remember hard concepts." , Bernard Harding's unique personality and ways of teaching are what many remember about him. Many recall his sense of humor. "He was very 'funny. Sometimes, when I would have my door open, he would come stop and say, 'Got one for ya!'. His jokes were mostly about old people," said Dean West. Harding was said to be a jovial man, with a great sense of humor. His way of playing music was distinctive according to West, who shared, "I always loved listening to him. It was always happy and sunny. He had a confidence about him and serenity as well." - - Little things that seemed to come naturally to Mr. Harding are what stuck in the minds of his colleagues and students. His quirky jokes and fun way of teaching made his classes an experience that his students tend not to forget. "He always had a peanut but- please see HARDING|A2 »WEATHER THURSDAY FRIDAY High 82 High 80 Low 60 Low 50 -'TV*8*? '•**¥!■ SATURDAY High 70 Low 47 SUNDAY High 71 Low 51 »LIFE Emily Sawyer gives the scoop on Music and Lyrics. PAGE C2 »0PINIDNS Kathryn Turner and Mike Riggs debate the HPV vaccine. PAGE B2 »SPDRTS Kelsey Clews reports on baseball and softball hits and misses. PAGE D1