Even more enjoyable has been the gracious opportunity to work with so many students, faculty, staff, and administrators here at WPI. I confess that before coming here, I only had a vague notion of what an engineering school was like. I suppose I knew about Georgia Tech and Texas A&M because of their football teams: and MIT, well, because it is MIT. But now I have an intimate knowledge of WPI and engineering students and faculty and administrators. You have richly added to my life and now I know that there are dedicated folk with a social conscience and a real commitment to life and the future.
There are way too many people to acknowledge and thank and fit into this one column. But a few I want to acknowledge. Bland Addison in the Humanities Department has been a great colleague and co-conspirator in putting together a variety of forums and speakers on important issues. Having listened to many students wonder or complain about why they need history or social policy or ethics courses, let me tell you that you have a great treasure in people like Bland and others in the Humanities Dept. Do yourself a big favor, take as many history and humanities courses as you can: you'll regret missing out later.
Another special thanks to Janet Richardson and Tom Thomsen and the Student Life Office gang. They made me feel welcome and a part of the community from day one. They graciously provided me with an office when I was full time and actually spent time there. But my real office has been the Listening Post in the Wedge where I have pricked your consciences and tickled your fancy. I always believed ministry is where people are and from 11am to 1pm I found my ministry in the Wedge. I will miss being there a lot.
As we know, change is the only constant in the universe. It is time to go home. Home for me is Ohio. As anyone who knows me or sees me in my Ohio State garb, I am a native of what we affectionately call the Buckeye state. My family and I have sojourned in New England for some 8 years and have made friends and learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves. But I made my wife Pennie a promise that when my daughter graduated from high school (this June) I would take her home. Promise made, promise kept.
We have bought my father-in-law's house in a small town in Ohio called Urbana. Maybe 9,000 people total. Much like Lake Wobegone, people watch out for each other and everybody in town knows what everybody else is doing. It is only an hour from Columbus, home of my beloved OSU Buckeyes. Who knows; maybe going home will help them beat Michigan!! It is also an hour away from my father and an hour and a half away from my son who attends Bowling Green University. So it really is going home.
While we have our home all set, the employment picture is murkier. I have an interview in one college lined up and a few leads elsewhere. My wife, who is a nurse and is not worried about finding employment, tells me not to worry and if nothing comes up, I can sit on our back porch swing until fall. Surrre I can! What I do believe is that God has something in store for me and I just have to wait to see.
So come June 17th, I will point my van west and head out to God's country. I will miss all of you, but with e-mail and other modern forms of communication, I will not completely disappear. I wish God's blessing on all of the WPI community. Live long and prosper!
Newspeak would like to thank Stephen Brown for five years of thoughful commentary.