IU to remember former Bursar

IU will hold a memorial service for William "Bill" Walters, IU's former bursar at 2 p.m. April 22. The service will be held at the Indiana Memorial Union in the Whittenberger Auditorium. Walters worked for the University for 27 years and continued his service to the University until 2002.\n"Bill was a caring guy who always asked his employees about their families," said Linda M. Bruce, who worked in the bursar office for Walters. \nWhen asked what her favorite memory of Walters was, Bruce laughed and said, "Oh gosh, I have so many."\nBruce and Walters worked together for 20 years, and she said she would miss Walters' friendship and loving nature. Susan Coté, another member of Walters' staff in the Office of the Bursar, said Walters was always committed to his work.\n"When I picture Bill in his bursar role, it's usually as Bill 'on the move,'" she said. "He didn't like to spend much time at his desk and would visit frequently with the staff and see how we were doing. He was also the consummate Franklin Hall host. If he was passing through the hall, he would offer to assist any student he encountered. Then, rather than pointing out the route to Financial Aid (if that was the question), he'd accompany the student there and escort him right to the director. While interacting with the students, he'd find out where they were from, what they were studying and generally make the experience one the student would likely remember."\nCoté said the Bursar hopes to uphold the tradition of excellence Walters contributed to. \n"Bill set the standard for student service in this office and continually reinforced the idea that the student comes first in all of his interactions with the staff," she said. "To this day, we always think of student service first; I like to think we carry on in the Bill Walters tradition."\nWalters received numerous awards during his time at IU, including membership in the Order of Omega, the Dean's Award from the Dean of Students in 1990, the Presidential Citation of the Interfraternity Council in 1977 and the Special Merit Award for the Campus Life Division for 1995-96. Walters was also an undergraduate member of the IU's Lambda chapter and was involved with Sigma Chi fraternity.\n-- Contact staff writer Alex Moore at mam3@indiana.edu.