IU's newest quarterback

Gasping for breath, a group of young law students ran up and down the fields of the IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis campus, heaving the football, trying as hard as they can to defeat their competitors -- but with no avail. But their opponents are quite a few years older. These students weren't competing against their peers, but against their professors. And among these professors was IU's newly appointed interim president, Gerald L. Bepko. \n"I remember during my days as a professor, we had a faculty touch football team, and we beat the students one year," Bepko said. "They thought we were old men, but I guess we weren't too old. I still tease a couple of people who were on the student team. One of them is a federal judge in northern Indiana, and I still joke with him about it."\nIt is this rapport with his students and faculty that motivated IUPUI Chancellor Bepko to dedicate his life to higher education. These years of dedication have led him to his recent job, filling in for IU President Myles Brand when he leaves to head the NCAA Dec. 31. \nBepko will serve as interim president until a replacement is found, and then will retire from chancellor at IUPUI and spend the rest of his days teaching on the Indianapolis campus. \nIn the IU board of trustees meeting Nov. 5 in Fort Wayne, Frederick F. Eichhorn Jr., president of the board, agreed Bepko's personality will play a factor in his position. Eichhorn said Bepko is a man of "unswerving commitment and unshakable integrity."\nBill Plater, who has worked with Bepko for over 16 years as his chief assistant and as IUPUI's academic officer, said Bepko is a man who is always sincere and honest. \n"He is in private as he is in public," Plater said. "There is only one Gerry Bepko, and he is the genuine article." \nThese qualities have taken Bepko from a college student at Northern Illinois University in 1962 to college chancellor at IUPUI in 1986. \nAfter practicing law in Chicago in 1965, Bepko served as a secret agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the next four years. During that time, Bepko said he learned a lot about the legal system and much about himself. \n"The first 14 months I was in the FBI, I was in Mississippi from 1965-66 during the peak of the civil rights movement," he said. "When I went to Mississippi, I was not looking forward to it since I had been most of my life in big cities like Chicago."\nUpon his arrival, Bepko said he realized how different his surroundings were compared to his previous places of residence. \n"When I went there I discovered how different it was and how privileged I was to be there in such a period of change," Bepko said. "It was like huge tectonic plates moving, and the epicenter of the activity was in Mississippi. I was privileged to bear witness to such history. I had not been exposed to the cruelty and brutality that people treated each other with, and I learned a lot from that experience. Most importantly, how powerful ideas are, more powerful than anything man can create with our hands or technology."\nBepko said it took a different incident at the FBI to change the way he thought. Years later, he said a close call with death opened his eyes up to a "new perspective."\n"I was almost killed while I was in surveillance in New York," Bepko said. "To make a long story short, I was pinned under a United Parcel truck that had been hit by a car. I was in the truck, in United Parcel uniform, and the impact threw me from the truck and flipped it over on top of me. Fortunately, I was alright, but it has given me a new perspective that no matter how bad things get, I can always know it can't be worse than being trapped under a truck. And I've already done that."\nExperiences with racism and near-death accidents weren't the only incidents which changed Bepko's life. While working with the FBI in Manhattan he met Jean B. Cougnenc. Gerald and Jean were married and now have two children, Arminda, who lives in New York, and Gerald L. Jr., who lives in Indianapolis.\nSoon enough fate took the couple to Indiana, after Gerald was offered a position at IUPUI. \n"When we originally came (to Indianapolis), we had not planned to stay," Jean Bepko said. "But, we had two young children at the time, and we thought, 'Gee, this is a great place to raise a family.' I lived there for three years in the late '40s, early '50s, but it wasn't the same city back then. Today, you can do more with your family. Especially compared to Chicago where it takes months to get tickets for anything. Gerald Bepko eventually took the children ice skating every Sunday. We would also take them to the Children's Museum, which is one of the best in the nation."\nBepko agrees that the city was an unexpected surprise, which they grew to love. \n"It's a city of manageable size and a diverse city as well," Bepko said. "It has many attributes of a large city, but not all the problems. We also liked it because it was a good place for the children. We are close enough to drive to Chicago to see my relatives. Also, a big part of it was, we fell in love with Indiana University."\nGrowing up, Bepko said his children did not have higher expectations because of his history in higher learning, but still "managed to get great grades." Arminda is finishing her final year of law school at New York University, and Gerald Jr. (or J.J. as he is affectionately called) is a graduate student at IUPUI. Bepko said his son originally left the campus due to conflicts on campus. \n"He graduated from DePauw, but originally studied at IUPUI," Bepko said. "He came to the campus as an undergraduate student and decided it wasn't big enough for the both of us and one of us had to leave. So, we flipped a coin, and he lost."\nSince he joined the IUPUI faculty in 1972, Bepko said he has made lasting friendships with his students, making IUPUI special to him. \n"I have made such good friends with students when I taught at the school," Bepko said. "We'd go have a beer once and a while. They'd come to my house. I got to know their spouses. We were friends, and so when they became successful individuals, I was very proud of them."\nIn addition, Bepko said his relationships with the faculty and administration have grown equally as strong during his tenure with IUPUI. He holds these relationships responsible for his commitment to IU. \n"I have so many good friends that I work with," Bepko said. "I like working in an environment where people enjoy what they do. They play practical jokes on each other, and it's just a fun environment, where I feel a lot can be done."\nPlater, along with other co-workers of his, all claim his positive attitude is one of the qualities which makes working with Bepko so fun. \n"He listens well and gives good advice," IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm said. "He has a great sense of humor."\nJean Bepko agreed.\n"(His humor) is very dry," Jean Bepko said. "He likes to tease me quite a bit about being gullible."\nBepko had planned to retire from his position as chancellor, effective June 2003, but in addition to spending more time with his family, he will continue to teach law courses at IUPUI.\n"I hope next year I can go back to life as a faculty member," Bepko said. "I will be teaching a little, and I will be writing and trying to get involved in the community."\nAlthough he plans to travel and spend more leisure time, Bepko said he envisions the rest of his life being spent with the University in some way. \n"I will try to find ways to serve the institution," Bepko said. "If you talk to people who have had long lives full of rich experiences, they will most likely tell you that the most important things are service of any kind. I will continue to serve the University"