ACU will lose the faithful service of many when this semester ends next week. Instructors, coaches and hard-working personnel will retire, some after decades of service to this institution. Their years of expertise and love for students made ACU what it now is, and our campus will miss them greatly-and probably call on them for assistance in years to come.

Drs. Joyce Curtis and Curtis Dickson, who retire with 45 and 41 years of service, respectively, began working in the Department of Exercise Science and Health in the early days of their program and built it almost from scratch. Curtis pushed women’s athletics along through their early days, often driving athletes to games and meets and even sewing uniforms to make our women look as respectable on the court as possible.

Drs. Ed Headrick and Charles Rudolph each will retire from the Psychology Department with 33 and 29 years behind them. They each taught thousands of students the discipline of psychology and leave behind the department much better and more prestigious than when they found it.

Willard Tate began his 31 years at ACU coaching basketball but stayed to impart his wisdom upon thousands of students who took his Life Learning Skills class. His wit and straightforward teaching propelled many students toward a new perception of success for their lives.

Dr. Jon Ashby, chair of the division of communication disorders, developed the program’s stature over his 32 years at ACU. Ashby’s expertise in the field of communication disorders allowed him to build the Voice Institute of West Texas-a service that provides voice therapy to students and others from hundreds of miles around. His work has garnered praise for the institute and the university around the world.

Martha Renfro served for 25 years as an administrative coordinator and so much more in the College of Biblical Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences. She remained an intricate part of the university and worked at a job so few could do well.

These and so many others offered many years of their lives to work at this institution because they believe in its purpose and the purpose of thousands of students who passed through here under their care. ACU will lose 46 faithful servants this year-many who improved the university’s name worldwide and all of whom vastly improved the lives of students here.