A lifetime dedicated to students

A former student visited Bloomington a few weekends ago. But\nneither he nor his wife paid hotel costs. They enjoyed the \nhospitality of an old friend -- Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis.\nGros Louis, who has served IU for 21 years as Bloomington chancellor, develops close relationships with students, many of whom he keeps in touch with after graduation. He attends their weddings. He invites them into his home. He has been invited into their homes. He knows their children, their brothers and their sisters. \nAnd when they visit, he refuses to be treated to a meal until the former student makes more money than he does.\nFor Gros Louis, the students define his satisfaction with his job.\n"I think this is a wonderful profession to grow old in," he said, the lines on his face hinting at his long career. "As I get older, I continue to interact with young people, and it keeps me younger. Reveling in changing values and attitudes of young people has been a pleasure."\nGros Louis' tenure as chancellor will end June 2001 when he retires and allows someone else to fill his size nine and a half shoes.\nDuring the past 36 years, Gros Louis' dedication to IU students has been unwavering. After undergraduate studies at Columbia University and graduate work at University of Wisconsin at Madison, Gros Louis came to Bloomington in 1964 as an assistant professor of English and comparative literature. He became an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1970 and dean of the College in 1978. Since 1980, he has been chancellor and vice president of academic affairs. \nDuring his time at IU, Gros Louis has garnered a long list of accomplishments. He invites the leaders of about 25 student groups to his house several times throughout the year to learn about the happenings on campus. He developed three residence hall programs: Briscoe Fellows, Forest Friends and the Faculty Adopt-a-Floor. He originated the idea for the Wells Scholars program. \nCollins Living-Learning Center, floundering when Gros Louis took office, now flourishes with Gros Louis' guidance to improve the program. He strongly supported opening an office for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community.\nOne of his duties as chancellor, Gros Louis has appointed every dean of every school headquarterd on the Bloomington campus with the exception of one.\n"It's the deans who are the key figures in making the reputation of a university," he said. "I'm most proud of (these appointments). But there are little things too, like finding out a student's difficulty with his classes resulted from a learning disability that no one had checked for. These are small, but very important things I have done for faculty or students. \n"(They won't) be recorded in the annals of history, but I'm very happy with them," he said.\nScott Sanders, English professor and director of the Wells Scholars program, has known Gros Louis since coming to IU in 1971. Sanders considers the creation of the Arboretum, the land of the former football stadium many wanted to convert into a parking lot, a big accomplishment and a stroke of Gros Louis' characteristic vision. In 30 years as a co-worker and friend, Sanders has come to think Gros Louis' success has set high standards for his successor to follow.\n"He brings to the position of chancellor a real rich sense of the University history," Sanders said. "He has an extraordinary memory for people and events. There's no way that knowledge of history can be quickly replaced."\nGros Louis' younger daughter, Julie Gros Louis, 30, said she greatly respects her father's compassionate nature. Although she said it was initially difficult to say what she admired, she listed nine other characteristics she regards highly. Making the list were his open-mindedness, fairness, nonjudgmental demeanor and sense of humor.\n"It's hard to say what you admire most about someone when you admire so much about them," she said. \nBut Julie cannot immediately recall a specific funny memory that's a fair representation of her father.\n"I can't think of one single incident because everything is speckled with humor," she said of her father's personality. "In general, it's there all the time." \nOlder daughter Amy Gros Louis, 32, doesn't have a problem thinking of something specific. Amy said that in the mid-1980s, one of her father's student leader parties got slightly out of hand -- both the students and the chancellor jumped into the backyard hot tub with all their clothes on at 1:30 in the morning. A neighbor, who was the former mayor of Bloomington, called the police to complain of noise, and the fun ended when her mother had to tell everyone to quiet down.\n The hot tub incident is a perfect example of the enjoyment her dad gets from being with young people, she explained.\n "From the relationships he has developed with students, he has found some of his best friends," Amy said. "He really cares about people, and he will send me cards that say as long as you take care of others, you'll be taken care of as well."\n Senior Meredith Suffron, IU Student Association president, said she thought Gros Louis possesses a quiet but powerful disposition but later realized he was personable and full of laughter.\n"I will remember him most for his laughter," she said. "I'll never forget when we went to the opening football game of the season and he was quite the host. He really showed all of us students around and made us feel incredibly special."\nAmy and Julie said the remarkable character of their father is an asset to IU, and the University is an asset to her father, a man who loves to always be busy and productive. Julie predicts her father will enjoy himself once he retires but will go through a withdrawal.\n"Everything that keeps him busy -- essentially he'll be freed from that," she said. "He'll be more calm and mellow, for his own sake, but he'll be in shock with not being busy."\nBut Gros Louis is well aware that retirement will bring about a drastic change in lifestyle.\n"I have no hobbies," Gros Louis said in a half-joking, half-serious tone. "I work seven days a week, and my wife worries what I'm going to do because I have no hobbies. But I'll still have an office in Wylie Hall, and I've told Myles Brand that if there's anything he wants me to do, I'd be happy to do it."\nAmy also wonders what her father will do without the constant pressure of his demanding job. She can picture him reading spy novels in the backyard, a sharp contrast to his regimented schedule. His secretary outlines his schedule for six weeks in advance, but Gros Louis will pencil in an additional six to 10 weeks of plans to be even more organized. \nNancy Brooks, administrative assistant and special events coordinator, has worked with the chancellor for a decade. She describes his behavior as obsessive-compulsive, but she nonetheless loves working for Gros Louis.\n"I was devastated and shocked when he told me he would retire a year early," she said. "To find candidates who are as knowledgeable and versatile as (Gros Louis) will be a difficult task for the search committee."\nGros Louis admits to his compulsive nature. He always carries with him a calendar outlining his plans for the next 14 weeks, a habit that has turned time management into a science. \n"When people come to see me, and after business is done, I have time to ask how things are going with their families or their jobs because I'm well-prepared," he said. "I think a lot of what people see is that I enjoy getting to know people in terms of depth, not just a business relationship. One of the many things I've learned from (Herman B) Wells is that every person in the University is important: students, faculty, custodians, secretaries. The more you can learn about them, the better the atmosphere will be on campus"