| Rhoades to do writing, reading and New York Times crossword | |
By Keith M. Moritz
Steve Rhoades, philosophy instructor, will be taking early retirement at the end of the spring semester.
Rhoades, 57, started at IVCC 29 years ago after teaching in high school. He has a B.A. from MacMurray College and an M.A. from Bradley University and has completed a number of post-graduate hours.
When he began at IVCC, he taught English, both composition and literature. He started teaching a few sections of philosophy and, with no other philosophy instructor on the campus now, has been teaching philosophy exclusively.
Rhoades spent 1978-79 at Amhurst College as a recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in Residence Program. In 1985, he served as a panelist for the NEH in Washington D.C., reviewing grant applications.
In the early 1980s he served as IVCC’s first director of the Arts and Letters Series.
In the fall of 1989, he was teaching at the Northeast University of Technology in China, in an exchange program between that institution and IVCC, when the Tinnamen Square massacre occurred. He returned to the U.S. immediately, cutting short what was supposed to be a year-long stay.
As a member of the American Federation of Teachers, local 1810, he has served as President, chief negotiator and chair of the grievance committee. He has also "served on every committee on campus," in his words.
Most recently, he directed and starred in the March 1 production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" by the IVCC Hammes, a volunteer group of faculty and staff.
Over his 29 years at IVCC, what is he proudest of? His authorship the college’s academic freedom statement, adopted about a year ago.
What he will miss the most in his retirement? The students and the conversation, since the highlight of teaching, he said, is "getting to spend my life conversing about things I like and sharing new ideas with students."
When asked if students had changed over the years, he replied, "Students are students."
Saying he will not miss the grading, he added, "I will miss the excitement of starting a new semester."
What changes has he noticed? "There is a far more enlightened administration than when I started," he said, "but the percentage of full time instructors is down."
What is he planning to do in his retirement?
"Being a cancer survivor, I don’t make long plans," Rhoades said, adding that he does plan to do some writing, catch up on some reading, do some volunteer work and ride his bicycle.
The father of five, two still in school, said, "Instead of the Chicago Tribune crossword puzzle, I am going to start doing the New York Times one."
March 15, 1999 the Apache