Twenty years ago, the Wheaton Alumni magazine began a series of articles in which Wheaton faculty told about their thinking, their research, or their favorite books and people. Former Dean of Students Ruth Bamford (who worked at Wheaton from 1970-1994) was featured in the December 1991/January 1992 issue.

Often I find myself thinking about how hard students at Wheaton work. It is no wonder they look forward to days off and holidays just like the rest of us. While their lives are often very exciting, they are also tough and tiring as well.

It’s like this: Most students have a part-time job. They spend anywhere from 4 to 30 hours a week at work. A full course load means 12 to 15 hours of lecture and lab in addition to the multiple hours spent preparing for daily written assignments, tests, and papers. Remember “all-nighters?” They are still a popular way for students to squeeze everything they can into the day and night. On top of all this, many students are involved in a weekly outreach or ministry, which takes all or part of an evening.

All this activity not being enough, most students place a high value on relationships and spend a lot of time talking, playing, praying, falling in love, and out, and making up!

Summer does not even bring relief from busy schedules. There are summer jobs to be had, summer youth programs to lead, and plans for life after college to be made.

Will there ever he a time in their lives when there is more opportunity for enriching experiences?

I am often asked how students have changed over the years.

Taking an outward glance, students today are much more affected by our culture than they have been in years past. Popular music and clothes fashions change every six months or so and are much more casual, Students’ dress fluctuates anywhere from conservative to funky or downright weird. Except for freshmen, most students have access to a car. Everyone has a favorite TV show.

Taking a deeper look, the “sins of the fathers” are affecting these young people. Some are torn emotionally as a result of divorce, abuse, and addiction within their families. They are also dealing with tough issues in the classroom and in their relationships including: environmental ethics, equality for women and minorities, hunger for two-thirds of our world, economic recession for most of the world, and popular views of sexuality that are ungodly. (For those of you interested in understanding how our popular culture has affected our youth, I recommend that you read Dancing in the Dark. (Schultze, Anker, Bratt, et.al. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991).

From an educational standpoint, students coming in today certainly know a great deal more of what is going on in the world than we did, and a significant number of them have been overseas. Computer literacy is as important today as knowledge of a foreign language. Students at Wheaton today are both bright and culturally aware.

They are also, however, much more individualistic. Except for required chapel services where we enjoy regular worship together, all-school events draw much smaller numbers than in years past. On the other hand, these students have a heart for God, and often put us to shame with their zeal for evangelism and their excitement for reaching out to those less fortunate than they are. An exception to the general rule: recently the Gospel Choir, 80 strong, led an evening of exciting worship with almost 2000 in attendance.

What do I think of today’s students? Frankly, I’m impressed. They are extremely creative and energetic. Granted, there are varying degrees of personal maturity, but overall their commitment to the Lordship of Christ is very strong.

They can be very critical of the way decisions are made. Many students would like to see the “no dancing” rule changed, but despite this, they show restraint, honesty, and thoughtfulness in how they approach this issue. They have good ideas, and expect to be treated with fairness and integrity.

Being an administrator has its ups and downs–mostly ups, however. We love these students. They are God’s gift to us, and to each other. We learn from them the idealism and hope that still believes that individuals and groups with commitment can make a difference in this world. They keep us on our toes as they question us and look to us for models of the ethics and commitment to the Lordship of Christ that we espouse.

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Following graduation from Wheaton, Ruth taught public school music in Detroit, Michigan. After earning her master’s degree in administrative services front Michigan State University, she accepted a position as counselor in charge of student activities at West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing. After ten years at West Sub, Ruth was invited by Dr. Henry Nelson, former vice president of student development, to become Associate Dean of Students at Wheaton College. For the last 19 years, Ruth has coached, supervised, trained, assisted, counseled, and befriended thousands of Wheaton College students.

Twenty years ago, the Wheaton Alumni magazine began a series of articles in which Wheaton faculty told about their thinking, their research, or their favorite books and people. Professor of Communication Lynn Cooper (who has taught at Wheaton since 1978) was featured in the Autumn 1993 issue.

One of the challenges facing educators today is the management of multicultural institutions. This summer I attended the Christian College Consortium conference on campus, along with staff from Bethel, Greenville, Taylor, and Trinity, to discuss strategies for implementing diversity in the curriculum. One often-overlooked strategy we discussed for fostering community in the midst of change was mentoring.

There’s nothing new or magical about the practice of mentoring. In Homer’s classic story, Mentor served as role model, counselor, and teacher to the young Telemachus, who became Mentor’s apprentice, disciple, and student. In modern terms, mentoring is a natural pairing between individuals. Mentors are older and experienced sponsors who take younger members of the organization under their wing and encourage as well as support their progress. The advantages of the mentoring experience is particularly important for both females and culturally diverse students who often face personal and social barriers to achievement.

While most of the research has focused on people in work organizations, the effects of mentoring and role models in learning environments are equally important. “Natural” mentoring which can develop between faculty and students provides opportunity for greater interaction and encourages intelligent, resourceful, and motivated students. However, the findings related to faculty who serve as mentors are varied and sometimes contradictory in terms of their importance to students. For a number of reasons, faculty will not always make the best mentors.

The trend in many colleges and universities is to use “planned” mentoring programs which incorporate faculty as well as alumni, staff, and administrators. Planned mentoring programs help students succeed while in school, focus academic and career goals, and get started once out of college.

Planned mentoring programs are especially valuable for culturally diverse students, Having opportunities to have someone edit papers, interpret institutional norms and jargon, or provide a respected opinion in situations requiring mediation increase the student’s chance for success. Implied in mentoring is a concerted effort to make our campus a place where students learn to emulate Christ. There is a commitment, not to a program, a principle, or a quota. Instead, mentoring implies a commitment to people and a desire to see them succeed.

At Columbia University, alumni are asked to serve as mentors at the beginning of the school year. The Alumni Office matches students and mentors according to their expressed preferences. Although the program lasts a year, the mentors and students decide how often they want to get together. The mentoring program at Lake Forest College matches alumni with students according to shared career interests. There is regular contact from the institution for feedback from participating students. Other than a kick-off and final celebration meeting, the mentor-student contacts are determined by the individual’s needs. At Bell Haven College, students are nominated by professors based on their Christian commitment, their G.P.A., and their need for guidance. The mentors must be successful Christian professionals from the community and local churches who volunteer to take on a protege in their field. This program lasts one semester and requires a minimum of four meetings.

My job as teacher is greatly enhanced by alumni who have been willing to serve as role models and mentors. This last year, my students were able to listen to Dan Balow ’78, Corinne Cruver ’92, Bill Seitz ’77, Ted Harro ’89, Kris Rubow ’89, Deborah Williams Duncan ’87, and Jane Nelson Hensel ’84, along with other visitors from the community. Sandi Londal ’92 and Virginia Blackwell M.A. ’92 arranged to have 29 students visit their corporate employer. Julie Schwemin Garnache ’90 took time to have dinner with a student considering a communications major. Tara Barnett Van Dyke ’91 interviewed graduates for job opportunities in urban ministry. Leslie Nunn ’87 provided another internship for a student, and Julie Lee Logan ’93 helped research the mentor programs reported in this article. There are so many others who have routinely answered questions and given information through the Career Development Center’s Alumni Network, fortuitous encounters, or personal pleas from college departments. Wheaton College is blessed with talented and generous alumni.

As Wheaton College strives to become a more diverse community we need to encourage these new representatives of Christ’s kingdom. Mentoring is effective in helping underrepresented individuals succeed in unfamiliar environments. An emphasis on interpersonal interaction, cooperative problem-solving, multicultural understanding, and institutional commitment creates a learning climate in which diversity is not only valued, but expected.

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Dr. Lynn Cooper has taught courses in public speaking, group dynamics, organizational communication, interpersonal communication, leadership, as well as, gender/diversity and communication during her tenure at Wheaton. Her professional interests include: applied communication research, managerial listening, decision-making and problem-solving, team building, and conflict management. Her research involves quantitative, qualitative, and applied communication research in the areas of organizational listening competency and small group dynamics.

The following obituary for Miss Julia Blanchard and the accompanying eulogy from her funeral service, delivered by V.R. Edman, appear in the July/August, 1959, Wheaton Alumni magazine.

Serving actively in the Wheaton College Library, Miss Julia Blanchard started in 1908 as assistant librarian, and then in 1915 was named Librarian. At the time of her retirement in 1948 she was made a professor emeritus and granted the honorary degree “Doctor of Letters” and appointed the College Archivist. Most Wheaton alumni, with the possible exception of those in recent classes, knew “Miss Julia,” as she was affectionately called by her host of friends. Julia Eleanor Blanchard was born in Wheaton, August 7, 1878. She was the daughter of Dr. Charles Albert Blanchard and Margaret Ellen Milligan Blanchard, and one of the five children of that happy family. She was the granddaughter of Dr. Jonathan Blanchard, the first president of Wheaton and her father served for more than forty years as the second president of the College. Until a few months prior to her death, “Miss Julia” made the old Blanchard House at 623 Howard Street her residence. She died May 6, 1959, at the Geneva Community Hospital where she had been confined during the last months of her illness. The funeral service for Miss Julia was held in the College Church of Christ, of which she had been an active member for many years. Though not planned that way, the funeral service was most appropriate for a librarian who for so many years handled and loved books. From the hymnbook organist Reginald Gerig played and Elbert Dresser sang the favorite hymns of Miss Julia. Her pastor, Dr. L.P. McClenny, read from God’s book portions of Scripture that were the foundation of her faith as well as a source of comfort to all attending. Her former pastor, now College chaplain, Dr. Evan Welsh, spoke beautifully of “The Book of Remembrance” (Malachi 3:16), of them who “feared the Lord and spake often to one another.” President Dr. V. Raymond Edman then brought his message of comfort and hope on “The End of the Chapter.” In another tribute, Prexy had this to say, “To us who knew her these many years, Miss Julia herself was like a splendid book: clear type, bond paper and the best contents.”

“The End of the Chapter” delivered by Dr. V. Raymond Edman

The conclusion of a chapter is not necessarily the ending of the book, unless it is the very best chapter. We have come to the first chapter in the history of the College with the homegoing of Julia Eleanor Blanchard. What a glorious chapter it has been, and how significant that it coincides with the dawning of our Centennial Year. The chapter began a hundred years ago in almost idyllic simplicity. Upon invitation from friends and from trustees of Illinois Institute, Jonathan Blanchard came to the little village of Wheaton on this wind-swept, relatively treeless prairie in 1859 to confer upon the founding of the College, which project was accomplished during the following year. This century-long chapter has been marked by struggles, by strength of character on the part of administration and faculty; and has been crowned with success. It has had its times of deep testing and tears but the outcome thereof has been triumph. There has been prayer with patience, faith with fortitude, consecration with courage, dedication in education with devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the tall elms and the broad maples that adorn its campus, the College has put its roots deep into the heart of God and spread its branches far afield in the earth. The chapter of this century that now closes is spanned by the Blanchards: Jonathan who founded the College and led it for twenty-two years; Charles Albert who carried it forward in days of difficulty or delight for another forty-four years; and concludes with the passing of Miss Julia who had been our librarian for nearly half a century. Miss Julia was always a great delight and encouragement to me. Again and again she told me of her grandfather and father, and when I would report to her an answer to prayer for the College or the provision of new buildings she would say, “Father would be thankful to know the continued blessings of the Lord among us here.” If she were here I would want to say to her again: “Miss Julia, the Book which your grandfather and your father believed to be the Word of the living God, we still believe! The Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they loved and served, we do still love and serve! The great essentials of the Christian faith as defined in our doctrinal platform we do believe wholeheartedly, and without any qualification or mental reservation! The vision of education that is thoroughly Christian which your grandfather and father had, we have, and will continue to make a reality to our children!”

The chapter of Wheaton’s first century closes, and a new one begins. It is our responsibility to read well what has been written in that chapter so that the one we write today and tomorrow, as our Lord tarries, will conform to what which we have learned from our Fathers. The Blanchards have written clearly and cogently, and at the passing of Miss Julia we reaffirm our faithfulness to the trust committed to us. So help us God!