| Hostetter to be missed by faculty and students | |
By Randa Anthony
James Hostetter, a history instructor and 30-year member of IVCC’s teaching staff, will be saying good-bye when his retirement becomes final in May.
A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where he earned both a B.A. and M.A., he first taught in a high school outside of Detroit before he interviewed in 1968 for the 1969 school year.
He remembers "going down a long dirt road" to get to the campus then consisting of a few temporary buildings, located where the East Campus is now.
"The campus has changed a lot since then," he said.
He thinks the students coming to IVCC have also changed over the past 30 years.
"A lot of students today don’t seem to be real prepared from high school for college or society," he said.
He has changed his teaching methods very little, he said, but he has modified them for the changing needs of the diverse student population.
Explaining his retirement, he said "a number of things have come into place to make retirement attractive."
Those things include spending time with his family, traveling to such places as Alaska and New England and playing a lot of golf.
"I’m going to miss the interaction with the students and friends in the faculty and the administration," Hostetter said.
A current pupil of Hostetter’s, Brian Harbeck, said that the college will be losing a great teacher.
"He’s always been there for help any time I needed him."
Harbeck also said, "He’s a very personable teacher, and he will be severely missed by not only the faculty, but also by the students."
March 15, 1999 the Apache