University News

Gettinger Retires From WIU

July 22, 2010

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MACOMB, IL – Ed Gettinger, professor and chair of the department of art for 16 of his 20 years (1990-2010) at Western Illinois University, retired June 30. He has been connected with art administration for more than 30 years in his total of 44 years of teaching and supervision at every level from elementary school through college.

He served both the National Council of Art Administrators (NCAA), and the Illinois Higher Education Art Association (IHEAA) for 20 years. Gettinger also served as treasurer of the NCAA; and he was on the governing board of the IHEAA for 20 years, including a 12-year term as the secretary/treasurer. He was a member of the Illinois Articulation Initiative Panel for art, and he served two terms of the committee to review and rewrite the Illinois art certification exam.

At Western Illinois, Gettinger served on numerous committees and councils, including the Council of Academic Affairs, the Affirmative Action Council and the Parking Services Committee. He also worked on many department-level committees. Professionally, since 1970, Gettinger has served as a juror for numerous art exhibitions, including a recent show for the St. Louis Art Guild.

Gettinger mentioned three professors and administrators who influenced him in becoming an artist, a teacher and an administrator.

"Vernon Nestor at Missouri Valley College (Marshall, MO) was the teacher who encouraged me to pursue art as a career (B.S. math and art, 1963); and Doug Nelson at East Central University (Ada, OK) and (the late WIU College of Fine Arts Dean) Jim Butterworth at Western were great mentors when it came to administration," Gettinger said. "I am deeply indebted to these individuals and others."

He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and printmaking from Wichita State University (1966). His artworks have been exhibited in many places throughout the years, and his work is in a number of private collections.

Gettinger began his teaching and administration career at a British Columbia high school, where he also coached men's basketball. Two years later he taught elementary and middle school art in Sturgeon Bay, WI, while assisting with the football, basketball and track teams. In 1970, Gettinger was hired to teach art courses at Southern State College (Springfield, SD), which was renamed the University of South Dakota at Springfield, where he also coached women's softball and football defensive backs. In 1984, Gettinger went to East Central University (Ada, OK) as art department chair, a position he held until he came to Western in July 1990.

Throughout his career, Gettinger has always placed the highest emphasis on his students.

"It has always been the greatest compliment to have a former student tell you how much your class meant to them," said Gettinger. "Just one student saying that makes sense of the 44 years."

The Gettinger family has a four-generation connection to Western Illinois University. His grandmother, Alena Belle Foster, was among the first graduates of Western in the early 1900s (Western opened Sept. 23, 1902 as the Western Illinois State Normal School). His mother, Martha Purdum Gettinger, graduated in the 1930s. His father, Edmond W. Gettinger, attended Western, where he met Martha. His older sister, Marty Gettinger, attended Western, and two aunts and an uncle graduated from WIU. In 2004, his wife, Mary, graduated with her Master of Science degree in instructional design and technology. This May, his son, Edmond D. "Donny" Gettinger, graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art from Western.

Gettinger plans to spend his retirement enjoying his hobbies of fishing and hunting, his family and raising goats.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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