Recent retirees always put students first

To the editor:

I recently attended a Harrison College of Business retirement party for Frank Chong and Jim Buckenmyer. They represent 56 years of teaching experience. They cannot and will not be replaced. Each has received significant recognition for their teaching prowess.

Frank and Jim honored a student-first perspective increasingly hard to find in a publish-or-perish environment driven by accreditation and faculty performance expectations. In today's higher education environment, publications -- not student-driven activities -- better represent professional currency.

Frank and Jim remind us of a time when student learning was considered the professional currency. Each, of course, will continue to teach. That's what they do best. Best wishes, colleagues. Students and faculty will miss you.

DR. KEITH A. RUSSELL

Cape Girardeau