“In my classes, that is never the a case. Every one of my tests begins with ‘compare and contrast. . .”” Alston explained that to teach ) this way, he must keep aware of current events and their relevance to economics, and bring this awareness and relevance to the 7 classroom. “A good teacher has to be on the frontier of knowledge in his field,” he explained. ‘“‘You can’t just be a reporter of things other people have said or written.”’ He said he has wanted to be a teacher since he was about 15 years old. “I went to West High School -* oni in Salt Lake,’’ he said, ‘‘and the subject. ‘‘I thought to myself, ‘If somebody as smart as I am knows so little as I do about a subject as important as economics ~ I'd better learn about it so I can teach others.””’ Alston says he loves to teach economics, and genuinely cares k Kent ard M. ics. who > past il and everybody had trouble.” He recalled that he and his brother became the school’s unofficial counselors -- and so it was a natural to go into teaching. The decision to teach economics came when he was a sophomore in college as he took his first course in d about his students, and about their development intellectually as well as their personal self esteem. The bottom line of his philosophy can be summed up to say that he feels an excellent teacher’s course at they ‘should challenge the brightest of ok is students, yet be within the reach of are others less intellectually endowed. Y are Yet he also believes in having enting — empathy -- in that an excellent teacher should never forget what it islike to begin. ~ information,”’ he said. “‘It will all be done by voice.” Dickson said his greatest challenge as a teacher has been to keep current in the field. ‘“The only class I teach that I learned about in college, even in my doctorate program, is the very basic course,”’ he explained. He feels it is important for him to not only keep up with new equipment and knowledge in the field of electronics and computers, but also to get out in industry every few years and work for a while to get a feel for what the students need to know by the time they graduate. “This may be one of the reasons I am successful as a teacher,” he explained, referring to the way he tries to put himself in tune with the real needs of the students. He says he not only tries to feel like they feel on the job but also tries to put himself in their place in the classroom. “I try to come across in a friend- ly way so the students don’t feel afraid to risk asking a question or participating in classroom discussions,”’ he said. He recalled an incident when he was a student which helped him build his present philosophy. “I remember someone in the class asked the professor three questions, and finally the teacher said ‘Stop asking me questions -- you're wasting my time.’” — “That made a great impression on me,” Dickson said. ‘‘And right then I decided it is a teacher’s responsibility to enhance a student’s self-concept as well as knowledge about a given subject.”’ He not only encourages students to ask everything they need to know until they understand the complex concepts, but he tries to learn all of his students names, and maintains an open-door policy to them. “T help a lot of students who are not even in my classes,” he grinned. Dickson was awarded the “Outstanding Young Faculty Award” “My areas are the computer and digital electronics,” explained Dr. W. Lee Dickson, professor of electronics engineering technology. “And I spend every spare minute that I’m not teaching or counseling with the students in reading, comparing and trying to stay current in the areas I teach.” He said that his field is changing so rapidly that new methods and equipment are almost out-of-date by the time they hit the market, and to keep current textbooks is all but impossible. Campus ‘“‘We will very soon not even be using keyboards to transmit from the American Society of Engineering Education in 1975, and the “‘Outstanding Teacher Award” from the WSC department of electronics engineering technology in 1979 and again in 1982. He said he doesn’t think you can do anything successfully if you don’t like what you’re doing -‘And I love teaching,’’ he grinned broadly. Cash awards of $2,000 each, plus a $1,000 expense allowance for professional development, were included with the citations. They were honored as part of the commencement exercises, June 4. Clips WSC’s geography department has been ranked in the top 20 four-year undergraduate programs in the nation by a team of researchers from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The survey included 110 schools across the U.S. and placed WSC in the top 10 in research, and the top 20 overall. President Rodney H. Brady has been asked to serve as a member of the National Advisory Committee of Accreditation, which is the commit- tee which accredits accrediting-institutions. Randolph J. Scott, assistant professor of communications, and director of forensics, received the Brady Lee Garrison memorial ‘Forensics Critic of the Year” award by UCLA. The award is presented annually to the debate coach who represents the ideal critic, coach, and supporter of forensics in the U.S. A donation of a numerically controlled drilling machine, valued at between $5,000 and $8,500, was made to the School of Technology by the Ogden plant of Pacific Chromolox, a division of Emerson Electric. Bruce Richeson, son of Mrs. Ila Richeson of Ogden, was elected president of the Associated Students of WSC for the 1982-83 school year. He graduated from Ben Lomond High School in 1977 where he was student body vice president. He is a junior majoring in political science. The WSC debate squad has been ranked 10th in the nation by the Cross Examination Debate Assn. The association lists 235 colleges and universities as members, and this is the first time WSC has rated higher than 15th. ““Good Company” just returned home from a 56-day USO tour. The 16-member group visited military troops in Guam, Korea, the Phillipines, Japan, and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Approximately 150 college groups auditioned, but only eight were chosen. They performed approximately 70 shows during the two-month tour. WSC Golf Coach, Mac Madsen, won 11th straight Big Sky Conference “‘Coach of the Year’’ award. Evelyn M. Harris, assistant professor of music, was selected to ~- ~ sing the lead in the Utah Opera production of ““The Merry Wives of Windsor.” WSC hosted the annual meeting of Phi Beta Lambda Student Business Assn. Over 300 students from WSC, BYU, USU and many Fd ~ other state two-year institutions participated. Dr. Neila Seshachari was elected president American Assn. of University Women. of the Utah State Div. of Martie Collett, professor of libraries and director of the Howell Library and Special Collections in the WSC Stewart Library has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Utah Library Assn. Dr. Robert Beishline, professor of chemistry, is the winner of this year’s Cortez Honors Competition for his research centered on the chemical processes required to liquify coal for use as a synthetic fuel, termed “coal liquifaction.”’ He received a $500 cash award. A tuition and fee increase of eight percent was announced by WSC’s Institutional Council. This will bring the cost of attending school as a full time student (12 to 18 credits) to $254 a quarter or $762 per year. Less than 12 credits and more than 18 will be pro-rated in the attempt to be more fair to all students. Three faculty and three staff members service to WSC. Dr. Caseel Burke, professor of will retire this spring from elementary education; Doyle M. Strong, associate professor of art; and Helena B. Watson, assistant professor of elementary education, were honored at a reception in the Union Building Skyroom June 1. Staff members to retire include Stephen Bennion, Dorothy Cole and J. Farrell Shepherd. They received plaques in acknowledgement of their years of service to the college at an awards banquet held April 16. Weber State College Comment (USPS 791-360) Editor: Carol O. Hinckley Art by Lana Hubbard Photos by Jeannie Young COMMENT is mailed to alumni, faculty, staff, the business community and friends of the college at no charge. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to Alumni Relations-1011, WSC, Ogden, UT 84408 Second-class postage paid at Ogden, Utah published four times a year in October, January, April and June by the Department of College Relations, 316 Administration Building, Ogden, UT 84408. Page 5