Celebration honors Wells' legacy and career

The birth, career and legacy of former IU president and chancellor Herman B Wells will be celebrated tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Wells Plaza. While tomorrow marks the 100th birthday of the IU visionary the date will not only be a birthday celebration, but a chance for IU to honor and remember Wells' 63-year IU career and his lasting impression on the University.\nFriends and colleagues of the IU legend felt that Wells' 100th birthday was an opportunity to celebrate the man himself and his leadership that helped transformed IU into an internationally recognited institution.\n"We couldn't let his 100th go by unacknowledged," said Brian Kearney, director of development for the IU Art Museum and a close friend of Wells. "When he was on campus as a student this was an Indiana focused, geographic-based university and under his leadership he really internationalized the University."\nWells held a 25-year tenure as IU President and 38-years as Chancellor for the entire IU system.\n"His job was done out of joy," said James Capshew, associate professor of history and philosophy of science and author of Wells' biography. "He had this joyful quality about him because he knew that this was his life's work and he enjoyed it."\nAlthough Wells passed on, Capshew believes he has an eternal presence on the IU campus.\n"In 1947, while Wells was president, the student body increased from 5,000 to 10,000 students," Capshew said. "Wells was very involved in developing academic and residence halls to accommodate the growth. He was basically the architect for the campus as we know now.\n"He had a vision for the world class university that IU has become and we are really celebrating Wells' leadership to a world class university."\nIn addition to Capshew and Kearney, scheduled speakers for the celebration include IU President Myles Brand, Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Stephens Brehm, IU Alumni Association President Ken Beckley, graduate student Arnell Hammond and Wells Scholar, senior Paul Musgrave.\n"We tried to let the program reflect the diversity of his influence through administrators, faculty and students," Capshew said.\nKearney believes Wells' impact on everyone from fellow University administrators to undergraduates is a reflection of his personality and dedication to service.\n"People loved and adored him. He was one of those incredibly rare individuals who utilized power and strategy with service, not only service to the University but to individuals as well," Kearney said. "What astounded people was that he remembered everyone, even after years of time, and not only did he remember them but would genuinely connect with them."\n Although many of IU's current students did not have the opportunity to experience Wells' tenure at the University, Musgrave said Wells is an integral part of the IU tradition so many students celebrate.\n"I think that the most important thing to realize is that if you don't have Wells, you don't have Indiana University as we know it," Musgrave said. "The celebration is a public way of saying 'Thank you Dr. Wells,' but after the event on Friday there is an ongoing web site that will be an informational resource for people who want to know about Dr. Wells and his accomplishments at IU," Capshew said.\nIn addition to the speakers, the celebration will include birthday cake and music. The Wells Plaza is located in the Old Crescent area of the IU campus near the Rose Well House, where the Wells sculpture currently sits on a bench of the plaza. More information on Wells can be accessed at http://www.indiana.edu/~wells.