HINNI HAS LOTS TO DO IN RETIREMENT

Dr. John Hinni has plenty to do in retirement.

The retiring dean of Southeast Missouri State University's School of University Studies plans to study tiger beetles, create beaded, Indian war bonnets for his grandchildren, sew some quilts and read a lot of books.

Hinni said his home is full of books he never had time to read while working at the university.

Hinni has enjoyed doing Indian beadwork for years. When he was a student at Southeast in the 1950s, he made a war bonnet for Chief Sagamore, the school's mascot at the time.

He has a supply of some half-million beads in his home.

Hinni and the oldest of his two sons used to collect moths at night. His oldest son is 36.

"We still go collect moths at night," he said.

Hinni loves to listen to music, everything from classical music to The Beatles.

He is reluctant to call himself a "Renaissance man" but admits he has diverse interests.

Home for Hinni and his wife, Marie, is a 30-acre tract near the bird sanctuary in Cape Girardeau.

He loves the isolation. "I have an outside shower," he said.

The home has an inside shower, too, but Hinni often showers outside.

He loves the outdoors. His wooded property is home to turkey, deer, fox, raccoons and lots of birds.

Hinni feeds the birds in winter. Hinni said he goes through 1,000 pounds of bird seed over the course of a winter.

He is a regular Johnny Appleseed. He plants about 200 trees a year on his acreage. "I plant a lot of dogwood, oak and hickory," he said.

For 20 years, he has floated the Current River with his two sons. He plans to hold a retirement party there in a few weeks.

Hinni said he plans to continue taking float trips with friends and family for the rest of his life.

Hinni is retiring at the end of this month.

Hinni, 65, has worked at the school for 34 years. He taught biology courses at the university from 1964 to 1988.

Hinni grew up in Ste. Genevieve and attended high school in Perryville.

He enrolled at Southeast in 1950. He served four years in the Navy before returning to Southeast. He graduated from the school in 1958.

He returned to Southeast in 1964 to teach biology. In those days, faculty were supposed to wear ties.

But Hinni took his off rather than risk it getting burned as he bent over Bunsen burners in the science lab.

"I got memos for not wearing a tie," he said.

Hinni helped create the University Studies program. He has directed the program since its inception in 1988.

The program, which has won praise in university circles nationwide, tries to provide students a well-rounded, liberal arts education as part of their undergraduate studies.

Hinni said the focus is on teaching students how to think critically and access information in this information age.

Learning doesn't stop when you graduate. It is a lifelong process, he said.

Teaching has changed over the years. When he first started teaching, teachers told students what to think.

"It was our job to tell them `the truth,'" said Hinni.

Today, teaching and learning is considered a partnership between the teachers and students.

Hinni prefers that approach. "Students are full human beings when they come to us," he said. "We should enhance that humanity. People should be changed by us for the better."

During Hinni's years at Southeast, student enrollment has doubled. So has the number of faculty, which now numbers more than 300.

The university's academic departments have increased from 21 to 35.

As a faculty member, Hinni thought Southeast had too many administrators, but that view changed when he became dean of the School of University Studies.

"I work much, much harder now than I did when I was teaching," he said. "Now, I believe we don't have enough administrators because there is simply too much to do."

A veteran list maker, Hinni figures to have plenty of "to-do" items in retirement.

Hinni wouldn't have it any other way.