SEVEN FACULTY MEMBERS TO RETIRE AT UNIVERSITY

Seven Southeast Missouri State University faculty members retired at the end of the spring semester.

They are Richard Blankenship of the elementary and special education department; Daniel McNair, physical education; Joan McPherson, health and leisure; Max Cordonnier, English; E. Otha Wingo, foreign languages; Harley Rutledge, physics; and Robert Parkinson, earth sciences.

The group was honored May 3 at a faculty recognition program held on the campus.

Blankenship served the university for 27 years, including a position as chairman of the elementary and special education department.

He developed the first exceptional child education program at Southeast and was actively involved in curriculum development. He served on numerous committees and task forces in the state, which have shaped special education policies and procedures in Missouri.

McNair served the university for 23 years. He taught a wide range of courses at Southeast. He also advised the Fencing Club and coached wrestling.

McPherson was employed at the university for 14 years. She was particularly involved with research, acquisition of grants, and memberships on committees, such as the Governor's Advisory Council on Health and Fitness.

Cordonnier served the University for 31 years, teaching Romantic and Victorian period English literature. He was one of the first Faculty Senate leaders, and served as editor of the poetry journal, Cape Rock, since its inception.

Wingo served the university for 31 years, including a position as acting chairman of the foreign languages department. He has been active in scholarly endeavors on local, regional, national and international levels and is a recognized expert of classical and non-western mythologies. In addition, he has headed Huna, a research organization active in over 30 countries. He also founded and edited Polyglot, a publication of the department.

Rutledge served the university for 29 years, 18 of those years as chairman of the physics department. Under his leadership, the number of faculty in the department was increased and a physics teacher education program was established.

He was one of the first faculty members in the department to incorporate computers in a physics classroom. He has been vice president and president of the Missouri Academy of Science and initiated at Southeast the Society of Physic Students and Sigma Pi Sigma, a national physics honor society.

Rutledge has published numerous papers and articles, and he wrote Project Identification, a book of his scientific investigations of UFOs.

Parkinson has served the university for 34 years. He has been a member of the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, the Paleontological Society, Association of Missouri Geologists, Big Rivers Area Geological Society, and Sigma Xi. He has served as chairman of the geology curriculum committee and the College Professional Development Committee.

In addition, Parkinson has lead field trips to mining areas and fossil collecting sites for professional organizations and other groups.