ESU community Bids Schwenn good-bye
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 02:08 p.m., February 19, 2008
Updated 02:08 p.m., February 19, 2008
The noise started low, with just a smattering of people standing around and talking. Then more came, and the noise built and built until the room boomed with the uncoordinated chatter of a trendy restaurant on a Saturday night.
Except this was Sauder Alumni Center on a Monday afternoon. It was all for John Schwenn.
A massive gathering of Emporia State University faculty members, community leaders and Schwenn’s family and friends — with seemingly everyone in the latter category — packed Sauder for a farewell reception for Schwenn, ESU’s vice president for academic affairs. Schwenn will end 19 years at the university on Saturday and become president of Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga., on March 1.
Schwenn and his wife, Judy, soaked in the love and appreciation as person after person moved through a receiving line to greet and hug them. Then crowd members mingled and sampled the punch and snacks available while waiting for the program to begin.
“I think the number of people showing up indicates what he’s meant to the university,” ESU President Michael Lane said. “His leadership in our academic affairs area has been extraordinary for the last nine years. ... As our academic leader, he’s met with all our faculty candidates that come in. So the quality of our faculty is greatly his responsibility as well. So he’s been an incredible asset to the university.”
Laid out across the reception area were round stand-up tables. Each was decorated with a small-scale version of something Schwenn became famous for having in his office: A full-size replica of the notorious “leg lamp” from the movie A Christmas Story. The party napkins also had artwork of the leg lamp on them and wished Schwenn to “Break a leg” at his new job. On the TV screen, a DVD displayed photos of Schwenn with faculty members and friends.
Sharon Karr, a professor in the department of psychology and special education, said Schwenn and his family had been great additions to the Emporia community. She was quick to point out she was on the search committee that spearheaded the hiring of Schwenn in 1989, when he was hired as associate professor and associate chair for psychology and special ed.
“We made a great decision,” she said of the hiring. “We really did.”
Schwenn said the reception and his departure from ESU were emotional, but starting his career as a university president was exciting.
“It’s a new chapter in life, and there’s many new opportunities, many new people to work with,” he said. “And at the same time, we’ll miss our friends and colleagues and all the people that we’ve interacted with in Kansas.”
The actual program to honor Schwenn began later than expected to accommodate the size of the receiving line. Lane kicked off the program with a short introduction, then was followed by Tes Mehring, dean of the teachers college; Harvey Foyle, instructional design and technology professor; and Paul McKnab of the psychology department. Each talked about the good things Schwenn had done both for the university and how he had affected those he knew, worked with and loved.
Lane then took the podium again and gave Schwenn two wrapped gifts on behalf of the university. Schwenn’s 6-year-old granddaughter, Rivers, helped him open the gifts: An ESU blanket and a glass plaque commemorating his tenure at ESU.
Judy Schwenn, who has known her husband since the fourth grade, said she would miss teaching at Emporia High School.
“Emporia felt right, and Georgia feels right this time,” she said. “... I’m looking forward to (it), because I know what he can do for this university in Georgia.”