By Jaci Schneider, Opinion Editor
A classroom in the Administration Building will be named in honor of Dr. Charles Trevathan, former instructor of sociology and social work, who died Oct. 12 of an apparent heart attack.
The university is also organizing an endowed scholarship fund in Trevathan’s name, which planners say they hope will be presented to the student body in Chapel before the end of the semester, said Jim Holmans, executive assistant to the president.
Room 103 in the Administration Building will be designated by administrators as the Charles Trevathan Classroom, said Dr. Bill Culp, chair of the Department of Sociology and Socialwork.
“It’s an honor conferred by the department and the university,” Culp said.
He said the classroom will help continue the love of teaching that Trevathan used in his classes.
“I can’t be Charles,” Culp said. “But we will honor his teaching legacy. I can apply this and try to teach with the same spirit he used. Alumni can come back and sit in there. Some already have done this. They can remember him walking back and forth, sipping his Pepsi or coffee.”
He said the department is planning to dedicate the classroom at the beginning of next semester.
For now, Culp and Dr. David Gotcher, assistant professor of sociology and social work, are teaching Trevathan’s four classes.
“We felt like that would be the best way to allow our remaining faculty to focus on their courses,” Culp said. Both teachers are personally teaching one class and organizing seminars for one other class.
“It’s an attempt to keep the same strength and for students to come out with the same outcomes,” Culp said.
Although the department has placed an advertisement for a full-time sociology professor, Culp said it is planning to cover courses with current faculty next semester.
“We certainly hope that a person of Charles’ quality is out there, but until God leads that person here, the department will be supportive,” Culp said.
Apart from covering Trevathan’s classes and planning for his classroom, Culp said the department has begun adjusting to life without Trevathan.
“We’re all still dealing with it in our way,” Culp said. “We’re trying to make ourselves available to our students. I’m very impressed with the willingness and capacity of students to accept. It’s a quality that we have at ACU that’s missing in a lot of places.”
Briana Litton, sophomore speech-language pathology major from Tyler and student worker for the Department of Sociology and Social Work, said she’s seen both the department and students pull together.
“It’s a hard adjustment because he had his own style, so someone else filling in is difficult,” Litton said. “The department pulled together really well.”
