Pacesetter - Spring/Summer 2010 - Familiar Faces Retire
Familiar faces depart for retirement
Peggy Allyn, Linda King, and Ken and Sharon Millard announced their retirements this year
Four longtime members of the Kettering College faculty and staff announced their retirements this year.
Nursing skills lab coordinator Peggy Allyn had been part of the Kettering College faculty since 2001, first as an adjunct instructor then as a full-time assistant professor in the fall of 2006.
“My first day in the classroom with the nursing foundations students will live forever in my memory,” she said. “It was Sept. 11, 2001. After class, I went to the nursing skills lab and watched the second tower collapse and cried in front of all the students and faculty present. The fear, love, support and prayers in that room that day were awesome. The love, support and prayers of this group have continued to provide an environment in which I grew as a faculty member. It is truly a Christian college.”
Allyn said one of her favorite memories was watching two nursing students with infants on their laps and toddlers asleep on blankets on the floor while they worked in the skills lab on their licensing questions.
“I later had the privilege of speaking at their pinning ceremony,” she said. “These students will never know what an honor it was for me to watch them and their classmates grow from uncertain nursing students to confident graduate nurses.”
Allyn and her husband, Darwin, intend to move back to their home area of Evansville, Ind. They have three great-grandchildren and two more on the way.
Linda King joined the staff in the nursing department as an office assistant in the spring of 2000, a job in which she has provided support to the director, chairs, faculty and students. Her primary responsibilities involved the Bachelor of Science in Nursing completion program.
“Working in the nursing department with the wonderful group of nurses who teach has been the best work experience of my lifetime,” King said. “All of these ladies are so caring, thoughtful and full of grace. I will miss the opportunity of seeing them each day. This is such a wonderful place to work because all the people are extraordinary.”
Her co-workers say the same about King.
“Linda has made what I do possible,” said Sharon Millard, chair of the BSN program. “She can critically reason and can organize and complete work so well. She is wonderfully gracious in all that she does. I’ve always said that if Linda leaves, I will leave. Well, now both of us are retiring. I will miss her very much.”
King plans to spend her extra time gardening, traveling and doing craft projects.
Before coming to Kettering College in 2000, both Ken and Sharon Millard taught at Pacific Union College in Angwin, Calif. Ken joined the arts and sciences faculty at kc as a biology professor, and Sharon became the chair of the BSN completion degree. Apart from his teaching role, Ken also led the development of the Bachelor of Science in Human Biology at Kettering College.
“Kettering College is an enjoyable place to work,” he said. “The sense of community here is extraordinary, and relationships are unusually rich and pleasant. The students here are a delight as well. Our students are older than average, and that perhaps is part of the reason they are highly motivated. Going to class was always something for me to look forward to.”
Paul DeLange, chair of arts and sciences, appreciated the positive spirit Ken Millard brought to Kettering College.
“In addition to a fresh perspective and knowledge of preprofessional curriculum, Ken also brought a great sense of humor and a truly relaxed approach to work and life,” DeLange said. “We have been fortunate to have him as part of our faculty for the last ten years.”/
Human biology student Staci Braun appreciated the passion Ken Millard brought to the classroom.
“It is very easy to learn from a professor who loves what he is doing, and it is apparent that Dr. Millard does just that,” Braun said.
Sharon Millard said she’s appreciated that the rewards at Kettering College have been both personal and professional.
“My years at kc are filled with wonderful experiences,” she said. “I am happy to have been part of the wonderful community of staff and faculty here. It has been fun; people here are great. And, of course, the growth and success of the BSN completion degree has been so gratifying. But the most treasured experiences are those I’ve had with students. They have touched my life, and I have touched theirs. When a student thanks me for believing in them, I know I have accomplished my mission.”
The Millards plan to move back to northern California. Ken Millard intends to study and trek in the western deserts, hunting rocks. Sharon Millard plans to teach, read for pleasure, learn, travel, do beading and learn to quilt.
