The Rock the Union was built on

As students walk through the many corridors of the Indiana Memorial Union, they pay little attention to what's going on around them. They pass by other students studying and eating lunch or IMU employees going about their business. They may even stride past a man of average height with gray hair and a slight smile on his face as he watches all the students buzz around like fireflies in the place where he has worked for the last 22 years.\nWinston Shindell, director of the IMU and IU Auditorium, is a soft-spoken, modest man with a firm handshake that exudes trust, confidence and experience. His last day on the job was Aug. 31, but his retirement party will be today after a little over two decades of service to the University. \nHis colleagues and friends have used words such as "passionate" and "leader" to describe who he is even though Shindell describes himself "as a man who doesn't like the spotlight."\nThe exciting part of the job for Shindell has been the honor of watching students grow, develop, leave and come back.\n"I find (the Union) to be a very exciting and highly motivating and highly inspirational environment in which to work," he said. "I'm very privileged in the standpoint that I'm one of those people that found the perfect job for me. I can't think of any other place I would rather be than right here at the Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University."\nShindell arrived at IU in December of 1981, after working as the director of the union at Oklahoma State University, where he received his undergraduate degree.\nIn a Feb. 24, 1982, article, Shindell told the Indiana Daily Student that if he had it his way, he would always have something torn up because change is necessary and, if done properly, for the better.\nShindell stuck to his word. No more than eight years later, construction began on a $20 million renovation project overhauling the IMU and IU Auditorium. \nIU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said Shindell provides a strong base of leadership, but also takes the time to give the students he works with the ability to make decisions and learn from a lot of experiences.\nShindell's work ethic was evident to Brent Pieper, an IU alumnus and executive director for University Advancement at IU-Southeast. Pieper first met Shindell in 1993 but began working closely with him during his presidency of the Union Board in 1996.\nThere were several times when he turned to Shindell for advice during his stay at IU. Pieper said Shindell not only gave him an answer, but also taught him something new every time.\n"I frequently have thoughts about how wonderful it would have been to know Chancellor Wells, John Whittenberger and other Indiana University leaders who left such legacies," Pieper said. "Winston is part of the great present-day legacies in my mind, and I'm fortunate to have worked with him."\nIn all the work Shindell has done, all the students he has counseled and all the people he has touched, one theme is constant: If he is doing his work with the students and not having a good time, then he isn't doing it right.\n"I think I walk away saying I really feel good about what I did. I think we made a difference. I think we left the place better than when we found it, for the Union and the Auditorium," Shindell said. "There is a great deal of pride and ownership by the students who use them, by the faculty, the staff, and there's an ambiance that both of them have, and you want to protect that, you want to make it better."\n-- Contact senior writer Mike Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.