Brief biographies about four previous Linfield presidents

Linfield Magazine Staff

English

Name not available

Past Presidents Keep Active Lives

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield Magazine Volume 2 Number 3 Winter 2006 Article 8 Winter 2006 Past Presidents Keep Active Lives Linfield Magazine Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Linfield Magazine Staff (2006) "Past Presidents Keep Active Lives," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 2 : No. 3 , Article 8. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol2/iss3/8 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. 1 2   -   L I N F I E L D  M A G A Z I N EKemper, he broadened those experiences by workingwith some of the nation’s top undergraduate businessschools and alongside senior corporate officers ofKemper Insurance. As executive director of the foun-dation, Hellie also frequently met with fundraisersand gained a strong understanding of what is effectiveand not effective in seeking funding for projects. “I’ve had opportunities to interact with corporateand business leaders whom I would not have met in myacademic role,” he added. “It’s given me a better appreci-ation, respect and understanding of the business sector.I hope that experience will make me more effective inrepresenting Linfield to the outside world.” But his favorite part of the job was administeringthe Kemper Scholars Program for 80 undergraduatesat 19 participating colleges. He served as a mentor tosome of the scholars, a teaching opportunity he hadmissed since leaving Hiram.Matt Huels, one of the stu-dents he mentored, has remainedclose to Hellie since completingthe program. He said Hellie tookan active interest in his develop-ment, both personally and pro-fessionally. “He is a powerful listenerand a compassionate person,”Huels said.  “He is a man of faithwho works very hard at what hedoes. He will take an interest inthe people he works with, andwill take a particular interest inthe students.”Huels and others who know Hellie well agree thathis greatest asset is his ability to ask probing questionsand listen to what people have to say. “At Kemper, he was a leader who learned whatpeople were doing and what they had to contribute,”Huels said. “Then he was able to add his own flair andhis own vision for the foundation. He would be thefirst to tell you it wasn't on his own – he had a greatstaff which got him up to speed. He doesn’t take him-self or his staff for granted.” Beth Tyler, who worked for Hellie at ACM and nowserves as dean of students at Lake Forest College inIllinois, said he takes the time to learn about an organi-zation and the people with whom he is working. “He gives a tremendous amount of time to under-standing the issues and the people he’s working with,” shesaid. “He very much recognizes the value of empoweringthe people who work with him and for him. I admire hishumility. I think humility is one of the most importantmanagement traits, and he personifies that.” ellie and his wife, Julie Olds, arenot strangers to McMinnville. Before beingapproached about the Linfield presidency,they had vacationed in the area, pursuing their inter-est in wine. They were enchanted with McMinnville,Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and considered itas a possible place to retire. They are excited about coming to McMinnville andabout moving into the president’s house. They rented ahouse adjacent to Hiram College when he taught there. They look forward to taking an active role in thecommunity as well as immersing themselves in the lifeof the college.“I loved being part of the college community andI’m looking forward to returning to a residential college,”Hellie said. “I’m excited to live next to studentsand near so many other people who are part of thecommunity. And it’s a great com-mute!”They anticipate little difficul-ty adjusting to the community. Eventhough their address is Chicago,they consider themselves part of asmall neighborhood communitywhere they interact with local resi-dents and business owners.Although traditionally collegepresidents begin their term in thesummer, Hellie opted to come inApril to have a chance to meet thisyear’s graduating seniors and toengage with the faculty prior tocommencement. His initial goal isto get to know the institution as well as he possibly can,including students, staff, faculty, trustees and alumni. “To understand the institution, I need to do a lotof listening, and that’s going to be important duringmy first few months,” he said. “I need to hear from asmany people as I can. Once I do that, I will be betterprepared to enunciate goals and work with others todevise a plan to meet those goals.“The last two presidents and everyone else at thecollege have dramatically strengthened the collegeand elevated its profile,” Hellie said. “This is a greatopportunity for any new college president. I just hap-pen to be the lucky one.” – Mardi MilehamPast presidents keep active livesVivian A. Bull1992-2005The few months since herretirement as Linfield Collegepresident have been anything butrestful for Vivian Bull.With her trademark energy, shecontinues flying coast-to-coast, con-sulting, mentoring and serving thegreater community.Bull is working with regional accreditation commis-sions and continues her affiliation with Africa University inZimbabwe. She is an active member of the Board of HigherEducation of the United Methodist Church, chairing theinvestment committee, serving on the University Senate andchairing an international peer evaluation committee. She hasbeen nominated to chair the board for the WF AlbrightInstitute of Archaeology in Jerusalem, where she chairs theinvestment committee. She is also mentoring some newpresidents and a newly structured board of trustees.Bull and husband, Robert, former director of theDrew Institute for Archaeological Research, are finishingup a number of archaeological projects and plan to returnto Jerusalem to continue their work on publications.Charles U. Walker1975-1992Charles Walker has maintainedan extraordinary commitment tocommunity service since retiring.During his 17 years as Linfield’sleader, Walker built a reputation forcommunity involvement, and his retire-ment has proven no different. He hasbeen prominently involved in the FordFamily Foundation, serving as vice chair of the board and help-ing to design the foundation’s two major initiatives: the FordScholars Program and the Ford Institute for CommunityBuilding. He is now a special advisor to the board.Walker is chair of the Oregon Cultural Trust, whichmakes grants to cultural organizations in addition to raisingfunds toward a $200 million permanent endowment.His interest in education led to Walker’s involvement in theChalkboard Project, designed to help strengthen K-12 educationin Oregon. The project is run by Foundations for a Better Oregon,which he chairs, and is made up of the Ford Family Foundation,the Meyer Memorial Trust, the Collins Foundation, the OregonCommunity Foundation and the JeldWen Foundation.Walker, a classical music enthusiast, also started NeskowinChamber Music in 1994 and combines his interest in interna-tional education and travel to lead tours around the world. Heis president of his local library board, serves as a board memberof the Tillamook County Futures Council and works as anevaluator for the National Endowment for the Humanities.Winthrop W. Dolan1968 and 1974Win Dolan, professor emeritus ofmathematics, took the reins of Linfieldon two separate occasions, serving asinterim president in 1968 and 1974. Following his retirement fromLinfield in 1974, Dolan continuedteaching part-time for 10 years. Heserved on the Linfield Board ofTrustees until 1989 and since then as a trustee emeritus. Heserved on the housing authority, the school board budgetcommittee and a county land-use committee. He appeared inmore than 20 plays and musicals at McMinnville’s GalleryTheatre. He also founded Pioneer Pantry, a senior lunch pro-gram backed by local churches, which operated prior to theopening of the McMinnville Senior Center. Throughout theyears, Dolan has remained an active member of the FirstBaptist Church, singing in the choir for more than 50 years.Gordon C. Bjork1968-1974Gordon Bjork, Linfield’s 16thpresident, accepted the position at age32, moving his young family into thepresident’s home in 1968.After leaving Linfield in 1974,Bjork went on to a distinguished aca-demic career at Claremont McKennaCollege in California, where he wasthe first Jonathan B. Lovelace Professor of Economics andtaught until his retirement in 2003. In addition to teaching,Bjork created BankSim, a commercial banking course forwhich he was twice honored by the Freedoms Foundation.Bjork was appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’sNational Advisory Council on Environmental Policy andTechnology. He is the author of four books on economics andhas contributed to 10 others. He and his wife, Susan, live in Santa Barbara, Calif., neartheir four children and eight grandchildren.W I N T E R  2 0 0 6 -   1 3“I believe fiercely in the transformational power of undergraduate college education, especiallyliberal arts education. I believe it both elevates and frees us.”Dr. Hellie is eager to hear from alumni and othersabout their Linfield experiences and their views about thecollege today. He can be contacted at newprez@linfield.edu.If he receives an overwhelming response, he may beunable to personally respond to all messages.HCornelius H. Siemens served as interim president from 1974to 1975. He died in 1978.

https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1271&amp;context=linfield_magazine

Past Presidents Keep Active Lives

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Name not available

DigitalCommons@Linfield