Published: June 30, 2008 10:50 am            

RLC Board names building in Mark S. Kern’s honor

By KANDACE MCCOY

kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

INA — On Monday, Mark S. Kern will be moving forward. Kern’s retirement as Rend Lake College president is effective that day, and in recognition and honor of his 17 years as president, the RLC board of trustees has unveiled the Mark S. Kern Applied Science Center.

“Thank you very much,” Kern said during the unveiling ceremony on June 14. “This comes as quite a surprise. It’s greatly appreciated. I didn’t expect to have a building named after me. ... I am very humbled and very appreciative.”

Kern is now one of only three individuals to have a college building dedicated to him. The other two buildings are the Dr. Allen Y. Baker Administration Building, named after the founding board of trustees member, Pinckneyville optometrist and pillar of community service; and the James “Hummer” Waugh Gymnasium, named after the longtime coach and supporter of RLC athletics, according to information from the college.

RLC Board Chairman Bill Simpson made the announcement Friday night during a retirement party in honor of Kern, the longest-serving employee in the history of the Illinois Community College System.

Kern said the ceremony was “pretty emotional” and “brought tears. It was a total surprise. It was a great honor, but very humbling.”

When Kern came on board with the college 39 years ago, he had agriculture in mind. “That’s what brought me to the college in the first place, to start a new agriculture program.” The Applied Science Center, which opened in September 2005, currently houses the college’s ag program, as well as the heavy equipment program.

“... You couldn’t have picked one more important to me,” he stated during the ceremony. “I started teaching here in the agriculture science lab, in the old Bonnie Grade School, in a gymnasium with a wooden floor. Our offices were in an old coat room. ... The fellow on the end had to get up to let the person on the inside get out [of the office]. One of the things I am glad we were able to accomplish was to put the ag and heavy equipment programs in a building such as this.”

The evening included skits from RLC employees that took visitors back through Kern’s years with the college — complete with wigs, tie-dye and a parody to the “Beverly Hillbillies” theme song. There were gifts from colleagues and comrades, like laser rangefinder binoculars from college administrators, an “I can’t believe I worked at Rend Lake College for 39 years and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” gift from All-Stars and Stitches owner Dave Severin, and a miniature golden John Deere tractor from the Academic Council.

Additionally, the RLC Foundation board of directors, of which Kern was recently named an emeritus member, presented him a guided trout fishing trip of his choice and design. According to his wife, RLC Foundation CEO Pat Kern, he will probably design a trip to the Ozarks.

Also during the ceremony, RLC Foundation board of directors Chairman Hunt Bonan presented Kern the fishing package and mentioned the board naming him an emeritus member in honor of his service to the RLCF.

“There has been no one more instrumental in the growth of the foundation than Mark Kern,” Bonan said. “When he became president, I think the foundation had approximately $100,000 in assets. Today, we are proud to say, the foundation has over $5 million in assets. That’s a big number. But, more important is that last year the foundation gave out over $300,000 in scholarships. That assists students in the district with coming to Rend Lake College; however in some cases, it meant the difference in whether a student would go to college or not. I think that is an amazing statement and the work that Mark has done with the foundation — his dedication and absolute tenacity in demanding the very best — has been so important for our growth. ... We hope he keeps promoting the foundation because he is our best promoter in the community.”

Kern said he “took the ‘I’ out of his vocabulary a long time ago,” and that he is no more important than anyone else in the success the college has realized over the years. He recognized a number of individuals who came to his party and thanked them for their roles in RLC’s accomplishments.

And though he still has work to do before he officially retires Monday, he said that if he takes away anything from his time at the college, it’s his acquaintance with all who work at the college. “I have worked with and become acquainted with a lot of outstanding people — not just staff members, [but] board of trustees, the foundation and leaders in the community. They’ve all been supportive of the college, and I’ve enjoyed working with them. Secondly, I believe this college serves the community, and I’m very proud of the fact that it does,” Kern said.

Kern said he doesn’t have specific plans once his retirement begins. “I live on a farm that originally was 80 acres and been in my family since 1888. It’s now 690 acres, and there are a lot of projects I’ve wanted to do and have never been able to do.”

He said he and his wife also have plans to take three trips — one to Alaska — between now and Oct. 1.

        

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