Laker Nation News

Tom Caldwell, Effingham, Lake Land College Philosophy and English instructor, received the 2019 Faculty Association Outstanding Service Award at this year’s Employee and Retiree Recognition Banquet.

In Caldwell’s 22 years at Lake Land College, he successfully created and taught a variety of courses across English and Humanities, working with students whenever and wherever possible.

“Basically, wherever students have needed me and supervisors have deemed me qualified, I have gone to do my part,” Caldwell said.

In response to the evolving needs of students, Caldwell developed curriculum for a number of courses ranging from Introduction to Philosophy to Service Learning. Additionally, he assisted with the development of Lake Land College’s World Religions course following the 9/11 attacks.

Caldwell worked in furthering the college’s mission to make campus more eco-friendly by becoming a certified arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture. With his acquired knowledge, he developed a complete tree care plan for the college which brought national recognition to the college as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for two consecutive years.

Caldwell’s continued efforts toward minimizing Lake Land College’s carbon footprint led him to work with the Lake Land master gardener to design and establish the nature trails on campus, now open to the public and used as a primary cross county course for area high schools.

Caldwell was instrumental in the development of a campus wide recycling plan that allows students, staff and community members to bring recyclables to campus and have them distributed appropriately.

Caldwell volunteered and served as the education coordinator for the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary in Orr, Minnesota, where he worked to rehabilitate nuisance bears and to preserve the local flora and fauna. This commitment led to the development of Lake Land’s Nature in the Humanities course which demonstrates the importance of volunteerism and stewardship to students as they study local nature-based art, human expression and global human concerns.

His continued involvement in numerous student organizations and Lake Land College activities is evident as he served as a co-coordinator of a successful bid for 10 years of re-accreditation from the NCA/HLC and on the steering committee of a subsequent bid. Other committees he served on include: Curriculum, Diversity, General Education, Communication and Instructional Improvement.

However, Caldwell did not stop there. He also co-advised Phi Theta Kappa for several years and served as faculty sponsor of the student newspaper, The Navigator.

“What I look back on with the most pride was working on a special project coordinating efforts between Phi Theta Kappa, The Navigator and former Lake Land College President Dr. Luther in order to purchase and display a memorial to the Twin Towers that is still prominent in the Student Center,” Caldwell said.

He also contributed to numerous student and campus efforts including assisting with student veterans to create a sitting garden at the Kluthe Center, aiding with the vice president of academic services to establish the Humanities Studio and serving a two-year term as treasurer of the executive committee for the Lake Land College Faculty Association and two 10-year terms as member and chair of the faculty scholarship committee.

Caldwell went above and beyond by completing training and establishing his office as a “safe zone” for students in order to build a bridge of trust between himself and his students.

His contributions to aiding international students with a comfortable adjustment to the peculiarities of English and American culture has played a significant role in both his life and the lives of his students.

“I cherish the cultural insights I have gained from my students of varying countries. One Chinese student asked me for a reading list and then actually came back to discuss the books. I helped her with recommendations for various medical programs and eventually helped with her questions regarding the naturalization process. She is now gainfully employed at a local hospital and resides in Neoga with her family,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell was instrumental in the progression of Lake Land College as a leading community college and he expressed his thanks to his colleagues at the Employee Recognition Banquet for his time at Lake Land.

“Like my father used to say, ‘If you want good things in this life, you need to surround yourself with good people,’ and it appears that is what is happening here today.”

Caldwell earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in English from Eastern Illinois University with 30 additional graduate hours from Illinois State University, Norwich University in Vermont and Southeast Missouri State. He also holds degrees from Illinois Valley Community College and Lake Land College. He is a 1981 graduate of Princeton High School in Princeton, Illinois. He and his wife, fellow Lake Land College instructor Nancy Caldwell, have two daughters, Madeline and Felicia. Caldwell will retire in August and plans to supervise construction of a new home on their farm adjacent to Shawnee National Forest near Jonesboro. After his wife’s retirement in 2020, they will move to their new home where he will operate a pecan orchard and tree nursery.