Dear
Friends of Schreiner,
I have often been asked how I got into college administration. Sometimes
the question is prompted by mere curiosity; sometimes it is posed
in such a way as to suggest that surely there can be no rational or
honorable answer. Well, perhaps there isn’t, but in my case
the main reason is that I found myself, much to my own surprise, increasingly
excited by the opportunity to become better acquainted with others
outside of my discipline.
Learning
more about faculty in art, chemistry and economics led to interest
in the tasks of recruiting and managing college resources and thence
to relationships with the community, alumni and foundations. All of
these expanding circles led me outward, creating connections with
the myriad influences that shape the work of a modern college or university.
If all of that makes me sound like a dilettante, or jack-of-all-trades,
master-of-none, your surmise is probably correct. But it’s fun!
Read
through this copy of SCENE, though, and you will see how rewarding
it can be to have your work bring you in contact with folks like Jimmy
Fluegel, the dauntless members of Phil ‘N’ the Blanks,
alumni who can speak with authority about the Bull Ring, donors like
the Floyds, those who are creating a new thing in Greystone, and the
many others whose stories provide the material for this magazine.
Of course,
a great advantage of life at Schreiner is that our size and sense
of community enable us to avoid the ‘silo effect’ of some
institutions where daily contact is largely limited to others working
in the same area. After all, when faculty in English, art, psychology,
political science and a student in business can get together to form
a dynamic musical combo, cross-campus communication must be working!
A new
feature of this fall SCENE is the graphic that provides you with a
basic financial snapshot of Schreiner University. Funding quality
education requires contributions from multiple sources, and many of
you are key to our successful operations, for which we thank you daily.
We will provide
this data each fall for the preceding fiscal year and trust that you
find it informative.
And
I conclude by noting an important and well-deserved change in assignment
for someone long responsible for this magazine. Ms. Lane Tait, who
has served as director of college and then university relations, was
named assistant vice president for marketing this fall and given responsibility
for coordinating internal and external efforts to market and
communicate the institution and its mission. A job well done has earned
a great new responsibility. Good luck, Lane!
Tim Summerlin, President
Front Cover