Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 12/02/04

• Thumbs up to the Orange Crush. Way to cheer on the Tigers.
• Thumbs up to President Brown, who will celebrate his birthday tomorrow.
• Thumbs up to the men’s basketball team for beating Wesleyan.

• Thumbs down to the lack of a Stall Street Journals in all the buildings.
• Thumbs down to the snow. We want more.
• Thumbs down to having to have finals. They’re not fun to take or grade.

Heier says goodbye to Doane

Tosha Rae Long
Special Sections Editor
May 6, 2004, Page 1

She smiled back with tears in her eyes. The realization that she was leaving behind the students, faculty, and co-workers who had been such a big part of her life overwhelmed her. Dean of Student Leadership Kim Heier’s resignation announcement Monday came with much struggle.
“She had struggled with it [the decision to resign],” President Fred Brown said. “The issue was up in the air. It was her call, her life. She owes herself happiness.”
The campus wide e-mail sent to all users publicized that Heier is leaving Doane due to professional and personal life choices. The inconsistent hours and abundance of time needed to fulfill her job requirements have become somewhat overwhelming, Heier said.
“I haven’t been able to maintain a healthy balance between work and home,” Heier said. “It is getting harder to bounce back. I’ve got to think about even though I am healthy, maintaining my health. Having cancer changes your life.”
Heier came to work for Doane as the Hansen Leadership Program director seven years ago.
“We needed someone like her to run the program,” Brown said. “We knew the quality of person she was. She was the first director and then dean I’ve found that ‘got’ it; the vision that you can lead at any level. She understood that perfectly. We sought her out.”
Heier’s decision to accept the position came relatively easily.
“It is my alma mater and I love Doane College,” Heier said. “The challenge of being director of the Hansen Leadership Program really excited me. The philosophy of the leadership program fit my personal leadership philosophy as well.”
Taking on the position as Hansen Leadership Director, Heier faced completing the transition from Student Life to Student Leadership, a challenge Brown said Heier took in stride.
“Its not just student life, it is student leadership,” Brown said. “She was a catalyst of change. She was the one who took the lead and said we are going to take a step forward.”
After the resignation of George Clancy, her career quickly unfolded as she became Dean of Student Leadership. Heier began to implement her personal objectives into the program. Her goal was to find the leader within each one of the students.
“I think what I really wanted to achieve most was to help the students realize that they all have leadership skills,” Heier said. “Some are perhaps more on their way while others might just be realizing they have them.”
After working here for seven years, Heier has become part of the Doane family.
“She really is a lovely lady,” Brown said. “She is a classy lady. That may sound old-fashioned, but there are ladies in this world and she is one of them.”
Heier plans to move to Lincoln with her husband and family. She has no definite career moves in mind at this time, however she is optimistic about the future.
“It’s kind of weird because since the age of 13, I have never not had a job,” Heier said. “I am not exactly sure [what I am going to do after Doane]. I am exploring opportunities where I can combine my level of leadership with working with people.”
While Heier feels that moving on is her best option, leaving Doane will be a feat in itself.
“I have never gotten used to how beautiful this campus is,” Heier said. “I went to school here and even just driving up today, it hit me. It is beautiful. It just is. When Thomas Doane picked a hill, he picked the right one.”

Heier leaves big shoes to fill

Finding a successor to fill Heier’s position is a job Brown feels will be harder than it seems.
“As I said in my e-mail, she can’t be replaced, she can only be succeeded,” Brown said. “We will seek the nearest Kim we can find.”
According to Brown, the quest to find a new Dean of Student Leadership will involve an internal and national search. Interviews will be conducted by students and faculty once any candidates are chosen. The ultimate decision however, is Brown’s, as he signs the contract.
The search has yet to commence but Brown hopes to begin the interview process this summer.
Heier believes Doane will replace her in time for the 2004 fall semester. In the mean time, she is coordinating fall orientation so her replacement can effectively take over.
Brown is confident that the transition will be as smooth as possible.
“It is going to be a challenge to keep the pace,” Brown said. “But if we have the right person, they will have the advantage of her success.”

Greek Week brings more color to Doane’s campus

Ryan Moore
Staff Writer
April 1, 2004, Page 1

Doane College has finished another Greek Week.
This traditional week took place as it has many years before, the week before Spring Break.
Also known as “hell week,” Greek Week is the culmination of the rushing process. It is the week that all pledges must go through to become part of their selected fraternity or sorority.
Doane students decide to become a part of the school’s Greek system for many different reasons.
“The best thing about the Greek system is that it is just another social activity alternative,” said Doane President Fred Brown, “It provides students a choice.”
That’s one of the reason sophomore Delta Kappa Pi pledge Rob Triano joined.
“Although I still have many friends that aren’t a part of my fraternity, a lot of the people I hung out with on campus were in the frat, so I decided why not share that association with them,” Triano said.
Another reason that the Greek system is so prominent at Doane is that it is very traditional.
“Historically, the majority of our alumni are Greek, but that trend is changing,” Brown said. “A lot of our gifts and donations for the college in the past have come from Greek alumni.”
Brown also said that for many, it’s that association that brings alumni back and keeps them active with Doane College today.
Many students are multigenerational Greeks whose parents and even grandparents were a part of a Doane College fraternity or sorority.
The week is very different than any other week of the school year and Greek Week is usually a debated topic every year.
“I realize that in some cases, there are ill feelings between Greeks and non-Greeks and it troubles me,” Greek Adviser Jim Hermelbracht said. “Greek organizations play an important aspect of the college experience for some people, just as other activities such as athletics, speech and theater do to others.”
“Greek Week is unfair to other students only if it is disrupting their lives, and the college has tried very hard to make the week fair to everyone,” Hermelbracht said.
Despite Doane’s efforts, the week does seem to affect everyone on campus.
“I admit that at times it can be distracting but it only goes on for one week, whereas nationally these activities can continue for a whole semester,” Brown said.
Senior Kelly Owens agreed.
“It’s a good week for those who are pledging, but it can be distracting to others,” Owens said.
Owens suggested that it might be better if Greek Week was held over Spring Break or Interterm.
Brown said that the school has considered holding Greek Week over a break, but the school has concerns about problems with limiting and monitering Greek activites during Interterm or a break.
Sophomore Gamma Phi Iota pledge Steph Blackstone said she doesn’t have a problem with Greek Week being the week before Spring Break.
“Although having homework on top of all the Greek activities sucks, I would rather do it during school than sacrifice one of my breaks, because afterwards I slept for like three days straight,” Blackstone said.
The fact that Greek Week happens the week before Spring Break means that it happens during mid-term examination time.
Owens said she saw the effects in her classes.
“Although the pledges were there physically, they weren’t there mentally, almost all of them were sleeping in my morning classes,” Owens said.
“Doane has just always done it traditionally the week before Spring Break,” Hermelbracht said. “Some of the reasons are that it gives first year students a whole semester to get associated with each fraternity and sorority. With Spring Break following, it allows for a week of rest relaxation and recovery afterwards.”

Stop Day: New alternative provided, still free day for students

Kelsey Tegtmeier
Staff Writer
Mar. 11, 2004, Page 1

Students across Doane campus look forward to that special day in spring when classes are cancelled, homework is put aside and they are granted a day of freedom.
Stop Day has been a Doane tradition for at least fifty years, but it has gone through many changes over they years.
“Stop Day has had many different purposes throughout the years. It’s been a day of community service, to a unstructured free-day, to what it is now,” said Kelly Garvey, former Student Congress president.
President Brown said he remembered his own Stop Days as off-campus events with friends.
Students would make plans months in advance to visit nearby lakes, watch a movie in Lincoln or even take a trip to Omaha, Brown said.
The Stop Day announcement was made early in the morning over the dorm loud speakers.
The day’s schedule was decided solely by the students’ plans; the only restriction was that women were required back at their dorms by 1 a.m.
Today, Stop Day is full of activities planned by Student Congress.
The number of students participating has grown since Brown’s days as a student and he says that StuCo is conscious that size matters.
“My expectation is that everyone has a good, safe time,” Brown said.
Student Congress is currently making plans to improve the day for students, said StuCo Vice President Natalie Nelsen.
“It (Stop Day) just got a little out of hand last year and now is the time to rein it in so that it doesn’t keep escalating,” Nelsen said.
According to an e-mail sent out by StuCo President Jimmy Feeney, changes will be made to the structure and schedule of Stop Day.
“I don’t feel that Stop Day in itself needs to be changed. I think there are aspects of Stop Day that could be improved,” Feeney said.
The e-mail introduced an alternative activity for those not wanting to participate in Stop Day. The Hansen Leadership Program will sponsor a day of service learning for those interested in giving back to the community.
Golf, volleyball, tug-of-war, softball, mini-bike races and horseshoes are some of the activities planned for students to participate in. The Doane Idol contest will be earlier in the day and StuCo must approve all skits, said Nelsen.
StuCo will place more trash cans throughout the grounds and they hope to hire a security guard for the day, Feeney said.
Student Congress is considering supplying breakfast for students and changing the menu for lunch and supper.
Hamburgers grilled by The Food Guys may be on the menu for lunch, with pizza and sub sandwiches served in the evening, Nelson said.
“I am looking forward to an amazing Stop Day ’04 and hope the students will act responsibly so it can be a positive experience for everyone,” Feeney said.

Fresh faces in faculty

Sara Mettlen
Staff Writer
Mar. 4, 2004, Page 3

Four new professors will be on campus in August.
According to Maureen Franklin, Vice President of Academic Affairs, three full-time faculty members have been hired for next year:

• Brad Elder, who will replace the retired Robert Wikel.
• Pete Lipins, who was on a temporary basis but has now been named to the ongoing position in economics.
• Kurt Runestad, who will replace Larry Monson after his retirement as choir director.

The search has begun for the fourth position, a new secondary education professor.
Lyn Forester, Chair of the Education Division, said the department already has advertisements for the position in the Lincoln Journal-Star, the Omaha World-Herald and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Before any of this can begin however, Forester said the division had to get permission from the Cabinet to hire a new faculty member. Gaining approval is done working most closely with Franklin and President Fred Brown.
After getting the Cabinet’s consent, the chair of the department writes a job description and advertising begins.
The next step to fill the secondary education position will be Franklin appointing a search committee.
“They [the committee] usually are people in and out of the division and a student” Forester said.
Forester said that the search committee looks through every file that comes in.
“We usually pick between three and four people to bring in and make a selection from those,” Forester said.
“We are looking for a person who will work with under graduates and with our alternative certification program,” Forester said. “They will need to have a secondary teaching background.”