President's Column: Summer (May 2025)

Chanute, Kan. — May 28, 2025

Summer is here! Hot days and warm nights. Picnics, cookouts, swimming, and the occasional vacation. I love getting away for a few days, going on an adventure with the family, and making memories together. 

This year I’m taking the family to Chicago for a few days. We have planned a boat ride through the city, a trip to a Cubs game, visiting The Magnificent Mile, and, of course, Chicago deep-dish pizza! I go to Chicago every year for a conference, but I don’t get  a chance to see the city thanks to the sessions I have to attend. This will be a great opportunity to enjoy the place. 

Of course, the real reason to go is to make memories with the family. Honestly, we often have more fun back at the hotel playing games after a day of sightseeing. But sometimes there are unintended adventures on vacation where the longest-lasting memories are created. 

When my wife Jen was younger, she and her family would often go to Branson, and my mother-in-law Judy would make it an adventure. One of those adventures led to being stuck in a traffic jam in Branson. My father-in-law knew another route and started heading that way. Judy rolled down the window, hung out of the car and yelled as loud as she could, “Follow us, everyone! We know the way!” Jennifer tried to hide in the backseat. 

During another adventure, Judy was a little worried about the content of a show she wanted to see in Branson. She called the box office and asked the lady there, “I’m thinking of taking my daughter to your show tonight. How racy is the show?” The lady asked, “Well, how old is your daughter?” “21,” Mom replied. “Yeah, I think she can handle it,” the lady dryly responded. For the record, Jen had nothing to do with this call. It was Mom who was worried about the content herself. Jen then refused to go to the show due to embarrassment over the call. 

Summer at the college is a bit different than the rest of the year. We have a few classes that start immediately following the end of the spring semester, then we go straight into the summer semester during the first week in June. Summer classes are a great opportunity for students to pick up a few classes and stay on track to graduate in their expected timeframe.  

While we have far fewer course offerings in the summer, we do have many of the most needed classes on the summer schedule, such as english, math, science, humanities, etc. But, we also have some classes in career and technical education, such as allied health, blueprint reading, industry internship, and so on. We have over 90 sections on the summer schedule this year! 

I took summer classes myself while working on my bachelor's degree. I specifically took a couple of very difficult and highly flunked classes from my major over the summer. Even though the classes happen at a very rapid pace (eight weeks instead of sixteen), I could focus on the one or two difficult classes, instead of splitting my time between five classes or more. I felt that made me more successful.  

The college does a robust business in summer classes. Most of those courses are online these days, but not all. Students often travel over the summer or have summer jobs, so the flexibility of taking the class on their schedule and from any location is very attractive to them. 

Our maintenance and custodial departments take advantage of  fewer  employees and students on campus for the summer to get things ready for the new year. We are fixing water leaks, summer cleaning residence hall rooms, painting, and even some remodeling, such as the Strahm Family Strength Center remodel that is underway. When you drive by, you may also see some work on the fountain near Chapman Learning Center, as it has a leak needing fixed as well. 

Speaking of water where you don’t want it to be, I’m very happy to report that our new outdoor plaza—which was really a storm water management project to protect the Student Union in disguise—worked beautifully during the recent stormy weather we had on May 19.  

We are also hard at work on designing and fundraising for the  Mih Family Fine Arts Center Capital Campaign. If all goes well this summer, we should be ready for a groundbreaking in the fall! I think you’ll be impressed with theremodel and expansion of Sanders Auditorium.  

I hope you have a great summer ahead! Here are a few summer tips for you; wear sunscreen, stay hydrated, and enjoy those warm evenings! Also, if you are in a traffic jam, don’t assume everyone is going the same place you are, or that they are willing to take shouted directions from a crazy woman hanging out of her car window. You might embarrass your 21-year-old daughter in the process.  

If you have any questions about this column, need advice on the best deep-dish pizza, or anything else, please contact me at binbody@neosho.edu.