Tabor College alums endow new program
Tabor College alums Daryl and Rosalie Adrian of Muncie, Ind., know how important good writing skills were to their successful careers as an English professor and as an executive assistant to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Now, through their generous gift to help create and endow a computer-based writing program at Tabor College, the Adrians will ensure that tomorrow's Tabor graduates have the writing skills needed to succeed in the modern digital workplace.
"There is no greater challenge for educational institutions at this time in our country's history than to help students improve their writing," said Dr. Lawrence Ressler, Vice President of Academics and Student Development. "The Adrians have given us a gift that is forward thinking by providing funds that will allow us to take advantage of the ever-changing and increasingly rich resources that are available through the Internet."
The Adrians have provided start-up funds for computers, equipment, and Internet access for the new "Computer-based Initiative for Enhancing the Writing Program." The couple also created "the Daryl and Rosalie Adrian Endowment for Writing" to sustain the program, through a donation account established at the Mennonite Brethren Foundation.
"By setting up an endowment, the Adrians' gift allows us to keep writing as a priority without needing to increase tuition revenue for these expenses," said Dr. Ressler, who added that the college would provide matching start-up funds and convert a classroom into a computer laboratory for the new program.
"An endowment that focuses on writing is a brilliant gift because it gives us resources to improve where we must improve if we are to be successful in our mission as a liberal arts college," he added.
Daryl and Rosalie Adrian graduated from Tabor College in 1955. Daryl majored in English and Bible, and Rosalie, in business.
Daryl completed two years of alternative service at The Menninger Foundation at Topeka, and Rosalie worked there as a psychiatric secretary. While there, Daryl developed an accredited secondary educational therapy program for teenage patients.
Daryl completed his master's degree in English at Emporia State University in 1961 and his Ph.D. in English at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1967. Daryl and Rosalie, and their family moved to Muncie, Ind., in 1967, where Daryl began his 32 years of teaching at Ball State University. Rosalie worked at Ball Corporation and Ball-InCon Glass Packaging Corp. (now Saint-Gobain Containers Inc).
Throughout their careers, both Daryl and Rosalie have recognized the importance of good writing skills. Though Rosalie's degree was in business, she found it essential to have good writing skills for the business writing required in her positions as executive assistant to the CEO and as editor of the corporate newsletter of a Fortune 500 company.
Professor Adrian required extensive writing in his undergraduate and graduate English classes at Ball State University. During his tenure as department chair, he led an initiative to provide computer-based instruction in all freshman writing classes. He also created an internship program for English majors planning to pursue non-teaching careers.
The Adrians are parents of three children and have five grandchildren. They enjoy their involvement in the ministries of College Avenue United Methodist Church and in volunteering in various community organizations.
