Northeastern Bids Farewell to College Deans

TAHLEQUAH Northeastern State University bids farewell to more than 60 years of combined service and expertise with the retirement of college deans Dr. V. Lyle Haskins and Dr. Penny Dotson.

Dr. Penny Dotson
Youthful Insight. At the worldly age of 16, Penny Dotson was sure of one thing - business and teaching were not part of her future. "I used to think people in business were dull and boring," said Dotson, "and I couldn't see myself that way."

Three business degrees and 24 years of service later, Northeastern must bid farewell to its retiring dean of Business and Technology. A 1977 and 1979 NSU graduate, Dotson was a systems analyst at J.B. Hunt when the company offered to further her education. Dotson accepted the offer and while in pursuit of her third degree, embarked on what would be the start of her teaching career - lecturing six hours for every six hours of coursework she was taking. The rest is history.

Destination Progress. A professor of business and marketing at NSU, Dotson led the way to create one of the nation's first four-year tourism management degrees. Housed in the College of Business and Technology, the Meetings and Destination Management degree was launched in the mid-eighties under the auspices of tourism management. Because the idea of formally educating professionals in this industry was relatively new, Dotson's authored teaching materials on the subject enjoyed readership on both university and industry levels.

Reluctant Dean. Serving as the department chair for the exciting new MDM program for nearly 10 years, Dotson was somewhat reluctant to follow the suggestion of the NSU administration to temporarily serve as adjunct dean in 1999. "I told them I was perfectly happy where I was and I would have to pass," said Dotson. Their persistence paid off as Dotson agreed to serve as dean for one semester until a suitable replacement was found. The change was a good one for Dotson, and she was officially welcomed as the Dean of Business and Technology in January 2000.

Under Dotson's leadership, the College of Business and Technology has grown to encompass more than 25 degrees. Included in the new degree lineup are an entrepreneurship major, a Bachelor of Technology degree, a Master of Accounting and Financial Analysis degree, an Executive Master of Business Administration degree, as well as others. Northeastern is also the only four-year institution in Oklahoma to provide the Certified Financial Planner Board registered program for college credit.

"I'd like to think I never stood in the way of progress," said Dotson of her service to the University. "The College of Business and Technology owes its success to Northeastern's outstanding faculty, accommodating administration, and the continued enthusiasm of its students."

Future plans for Dotson include authoring her first Western novel, which she started in 1999, traveling cross-country with her husband, and spending more time in the saddle.

Dr. Kathleen Stunkel is serving as interim dean of the College of Business and Technology.

Dr. V. Lyle Haskins
History in the Making. As a youth growing up in Bellingham, Washington, V. Lyle Haskins had no desire to make history a career. Truth be known, he was more interested in architectural design when he entered college. "I guess you could say I sort of fell into history," said Haskins. "I fell in love with the research aspect of history and that led me to become eager to teach in the field."

After earning three degrees in European history including a doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Haskins joined Northeastern in 1968 as a professor of history. "At the time I thought I would teach at Northeastern for two to three years and then move on," he said. "Of course, that was 36 years ago."

Applied Focus. Within the Colleges of Social Sciences and Social and Behavioral Sciences, Haskins quickly earned the respect of both colleagues and students and established himself as a natural leader. In 1975, after much coaxing from administrators and fellow faculty members, Haskins agreed to serve in the leadership position of the Social Science Division/College. Later, as a result of reorganization in 1991, he was named Dean of the new College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. "My undergraduate major professor once told me that I should consider getting into the administrative side of academics after I completed my degrees," said Haskins. "Once I finally did, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it."

During Haskins' service as dean, the College changed its focus to include applied programs beyond the traditional social sciences, broadening the opportunities for students. Adding at least one program a year for several years, the College would eventually include offerings in social work, paralegal studies, health care administration, mental health, human resource development, public administration, and several graduate degrees. During the 1980s, as a result of this expansion, the College grew faster than the University as a whole as students and professors realized the importance of diversifying their programs. Best of all, thanks to internal shifting of funds, some of the program expansion came at little or no cost to the University.

Lasting Tradition. An active faculty member and administrator, Haskins has served on numerous institutional bodies including administrative and academic councils; University and academic technology councils; and University accreditation, strategic planning, curriculum development, program assessment, graduate studies, outreach, electronic records and faculty handbook committees. He has chaired or served on most academic administrative search committees for the past 25 years and was a member of the Steering Committee for the new NSU Broken Arrow Campus. Haskins has been appointed to several Regents' planning bodies including a state-wide administrator leadership development program and a team overseeing the transition of a state educational institution from two to four years. In addition to his administrative duties, Haskins has taught at least one class each semester at Northeastern and cumulatively has taught 41 years.

According to Haskins, as a historian, he feels privileged to have watched the University's progress from a single-campus college to Oklahoma's premier comprehensive regional university with three campuses. "It's one thing to be with a University for a while, said Haskins. "But when you have been part of the administration for 29-plus years and taken part in the University's development and growth for 36 years - now that brings a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment."

Dr. Paul Westbrook is serving as interim dean of the new Liberal Arts College (formerly the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences).