College of Arts and Sciences

Looking back on a 'Wise' man's WIU career

As professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for 32 years, DanDan Wise, Sam Thompson and Chris Sutton photo Wise affected more than a generation of WIU students in every department in the college.

Upon the announcement of his retirement, the College of Arts and Sciences asked two people who interacted with him on a daily basis to comment on “the Wise man:” his colleague and supervisor Inessa Levi (I.L.), former dean of the college (now provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA); and his wife, Paula Wise (P.W.):
 
I.L.: The value of Dr. Wise’s accomplishments is evident by the awards he has received over the years, including an Outstanding Teacher Award (1984), a Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award from the National Council for Geographic Education (1982), and an Administrative Distinguished Service Award (2006).
 
P.W.: Dan was born in 1946 in Maple Heights, OH, a suburb of Cleveland, the son of Charles and Theodora Wise. He graduated from Maple Heights High School in 1964 and headed for Ohio University in Athens, OH. In a geography class at Ohio U., a professor wrote a note on Dan’s exam, saying something to the effect of “Why not major in geography?” I think this marked a turning point for Dan—not only did he take the professor’s advice, but also, it has made him realize over the years how a simple comment or remark by a teacher can have a lifelong impact on a student.

Dan’s faculty adviser at Ohio U, Dr. Wilhelm, recommended that Dan pursue his interest in meteorology at the graduate level, and Dan started his graduate studies at Northern Illinois University in 1968. He was drafted out of graduate school for service during the war in Vietnam. He served in the Army in the states and returned to DeKalb to complete his master’s degree after being discharged. While at Northern, he was greatly influenced by Dr. Jack Villmow, the coordinator of the meteorology program and a dynamic lecturer.

Villmow was an old graduate school friend of S. Earl Brown, a geography professor at Ohio State, and on Villmow’s advice, Dan chose Ohio State to continue his studies. When he finished his studies, an old graduate school friend of Brown’s, Arlin Fentem ‘49, was then chair of the geography department at WIU. There was a job opening in meteorology at Western, Dan applied, where he remained over the last 32 years.

I.L.: Dan joined the geography department faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor. He was instrumental in establishing and coordinating the meteorology program, which is now one of the most popular majors in the college. He also established the computer cartography program. In 1987, he was appointed as geography department chairman and held that post until 1998. In 1999, he became associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
 
P.W.: In the geography department, Dan worked with and learned from many remarkable colleagues. Arlin Fentem, Dick Longwell, Ron Nelson, Bill Griffin and Bob Gabler, among others, have been friends, colleagues and mentors throughout Dan’s career here. Through them he has had opportunities to become involved in department, University and professional service. Bob Gabler, for example, brought Dan in as co-author of a successful textbook, “Essentials of Physical Geography.”

As chair of the department, Dan had the opportunity to mentor newer faculty and to continue to build the meteorology program as well as other programs, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Over the years he has been a popular local speaker about the weather. He has always enjoyed teaching and has received University and national recognition for his talents as a teacher.

Since moving up in the administration, Dan had the chance to have a broader impact on WIU. As associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, his primary areas of responsibility were budget and space, although he also spent considerable time in areas such as teacher education and summer school.
 
I.L.: He also regularly taught a course each spring, despite his busy schedule as associate dean. In this role he served as an adviser to me on matters concerning the college’s budget, management of space and facilities in the college, issues related to secondary teacher education, and CAS matters on the WIU-Quad Cities Campus.

Dan has been a spectacular member of the college’s management team. He truly understands the operations of the University and functions in this environment very well. I was fortunate to have an outstanding team of administrators in the College of Arts and Sciences; they function very well as a team and we depended on each other’s skills and experience.
 
P.W.: I know that Dan will be missed by his co-workers, past and present, for his strong work ethic, his knowledge of the workings of the University, and his sense of humor. I look forward to having him home more often and not setting the alarm in the mornings! We plan to travel more to see our son, Ben, our mothers, and other interesting places around the world. Macomb, however, will likely be our home base and we hope to see our many friends and acquaintances around town.
 
I.L.: I will miss Dan’s humor and his experience with working with people from across the University. He has been a good administrator and a great friend to me.
 
Photo: L-R: Dan Wise, geography chair Sam Thompson (seated), former geography chair Chris Sutton.

 

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