Five faculty retire
By Kim Walker and Stephanie Kinstle
This summer the Anderson University community said goodbye to five faculty members who have given a cumulative 149 years to the university. Looking forward to retirement were Prof. Barrett Bates, director of athletics, 28 years of service; Dr. Daniel Jeran, professor of education, 12 years of service; Prof. Imogene Rhule, assistant professor of English, 19 years of service; Prof. Rudolph Pyle, Jr., associate professor of sociology and social work, 16 years of service; and Prof. Richard Snyder, professor of library science and director of the library, 39 years of service.
I will never forget that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach in 1989,” said Richard Snyder BS ’62, “as the Physical Plant backed a truck up to the doors and we emptied the contents of hundreds of drawers full of catalog cards and sent them to the landfill.”
Snyder transitioned the university’s library from the Dewey Decimal to the Library of Congress cataloging system and then from card catalogs to computer. During his watch, the library has expanded in books, facilities and technology, and taken in the School of Theology collection.
Looking back on the last 39 years, Snyder says, “I have greatly appreciated and will remember always a host of supportive, caring members of the administration, including four vice presidents for whom it has been my honor to serve [Robert Nicholson, Barry Callen, Patrick Allen and Carl Caldwell], persons whose visions have acknowledged and facilitated the centrality of the library to the academic mission. Most thankfully, I have enjoyed a stable core over the years of librarian colleagues, any one of whom genuinely has desired and contributed to a successful experience for anyone in need of library resources and services. The feeling of being a part of something that is bigger than me and that matters will be what I miss most after retirement.”
Barrett Bates BS ’63 has held a wide range of faculty and athletic positions at AU, including assistant athletics director from 1978-1983, director of athletics from 1983, head basketball coach from 1975-1993 and golf coach in 1982.
As head basketball coach, Bates had the nostalgia of seeing every one of his seniors graduate, a feat he considers “an important and gratifying statement of the players’ all-around ability.” He was active in the planning of the new Kardatzke Wellness Center and considers the evolution of the women’s sports program to be one of the most poignant developments to have occurred during his teaching span.
Bates is originally from Elmo, Ohio, and came to AU to continue his Church of God involvement and to play basketball. He and his wife, Roberta BS ’62, have three sons, all married and living in Anderson. Bates now claims 18 relatives on both sides of the family who have made AU their alma mater.
Imogene Rhule began her career at AU in 1984 in the Communications Department under Beverly Pitts, Ball State University’s current assistant provost. She became the director of the Writing Center in 1988 and was promoted to assistant English professor in 1998.
As director of the Writing Center, Rhule served as a liaison between faculty and tutors, hiring peer tutors to assist students in their writing progress as part of Anderson University’s Writing Across the Curriculum program. She also authored a publication titled “A Writing Center Can Work Without Grad Assistants,” commemorating the Center’s peer tutor program.
Rhule has held memberships in several professional, community and philanthropic organizations, including the National Council of Teachers in English (NCTE), Gateway Association and Alpha Delta Kappa.
Dr. Dan Jeran, director of graduate studies in education, began his career at AU as a professor of education and helped initiate the development of AU’s first overseas student teaching program in the fall of 1998. Fifteen elementary and secondary education students have taken advantage of the global opportunity since 1998, student teaching at schools ranging from Vienna, Austria, to Columbia, South America.
Jeran has served on 16 National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) board of examiner teams, which aim to ensure that schools are preparing teachers for the classroom in compliance with national and state standards. He served as either chair or assistant chair on 12 of the board, and as Board of Examiner from 1984 to 1996.
After retirement, Jeran plans to continue his passion for teaching overseas — possibly in Hungary — either teaching English as a second language or working in an administrative capacity.
During his teaching span, Rudolph Pyle, Jr., promoted community relations by serving on several local commissions. His service on the Anderson Human Relations Commission and the Mayor’s Commission investigated discriminatory complaints aimed at preserving equal rights and the status of African-American males in Anderson.
Pyle was also active in the No Horsing Around program, a partnership between AU, Hoosier Park and Anderson Community Schools. The program teaches socially challenged middle and high school students positive behavioral techniques that are displayed towards horses and later transferred to society.
Pyle says his retirement this year will not end his ties with AU, as he plans to continue teaching part time as needed. He will also continue to volunteer in the community and perfect his proficiency on the saxophone — a long-time musical passion.
