Isaac R. Trimble

Transcription

IT WAS ILLINOIS THAT SENT LIBRARIANS WEST. >>HE WROTE THE UNIVERSITY, AND SAID ISN'T THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS FROM THESE FREAKS. I WANT TO LEAD PEOPLE RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE, MAKE THEM FEEL A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO PUSH THEM OVER THE EDGE.0 IT WAS ILLINOIS THAT SENT LIBRARIANS WEST BECAUSE THESE WOMEN WERE ALREADY ON THE EDGE OF THE PIONEERING ERA. IN THE 1890'S WOMEN WERE BEGINNING TO TRANSITION FROM THE DOMESTIC SPHERE OF HOMEMAKING AND CHILD CARE INTO THE PUBLIC SPHERE. THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY OPTIONS. THERE WAS NURSING. THERE WAS TEACHING. WHEN THIS NEW FIELD OF LIBRARIANSHIP OPENED UP, THESE WOMEN COULD BECOME LEADERS IN A PIONEERING AREA. >>MY PREFERENCE IS TO GET INTO A STATE WHERE THE LIBRARY IS NOT SO DEVELOPED, AND WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY WILL BE GIVEN FOR GOOD, STRONG, PIONEER WORK, CAROLINE LANGWORTHY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS GRADUATE, 1906. THE ONLY REALLY IMPORTANT LIBRARY SCHOOL UP TO NOW WAS IN ALBANY, NEW YORK. AND MELVILLE DEWEY, WHO ESTABLISHED THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM, WAS TRAINING LIBRARIANS, MANY WOMAN, BUT ALSO LIBRARY DIRECTORS. FRANK GUNSANLUS CONTACTED MELVILLE DEWEY AND ASKED HIM WHO THE BEST MAN IN AMERICA TO START A LIBRARY SCHOOL HAD IN ILLINOIS. 2 MELVILLE DEWEY SAID "THE BEST MAN IN AMERICA IS A WOMAN, AND SHE IS IN THE NEXT ROOM." KATHERINE SHARP. KATHERINE SHARP WAS A REAL PIONEER. SHE WAS A WOMAN OF ACTION. SHE HAD ENORMOUS POISE AND PRESENCE, BUT SHE WAS ALSO DYNAMIC AND EFFICIENT, AND SHE KNEW HOW TO FLY IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY. THE SCHOOL IS NOW OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD. IN THE EARLY DAYS, OF COURSE, TWO OR THREE FACULTY TO START WITH AND HANDFUL OF STUDENTS. THERE IS A PICTURE OF THE FIRST CLASS THAT GRADUATED FROM THE SCHOOL, STANDING ON THE STEPS OF THE HALL WHERE THE LIBRARY WAS LOCATED. >>THE WOMEN WHO WENT WEST WERE EXTREMELY ISOLATED, AND THEY WERE USED TO BEING EMBEDDED IN THEIR FAMILIES. THAT WAS THE TRADITION FOR WOMEN. THESE WERE WOMEN WHO WERE FACING A COMPLETELY NEW TRADITION AND THEY ARE IN LOVE WITH THEIR WORK. LUCY LEWIS WAS A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS WHO GOT A JOB OUT IN LAS CRUCES IN MEXICO. YOU CAN IMAGINE, SHE WAS TRAVELING FROM THE CIVILIZED STATE OF ILLINOIS, INTO A TOTALLY NEW LANDSCAPE. SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. SHE IS ALSO FACING HER FIRST JOB AND HASN'T HAD MUCH EXPERIENCE. >>THE FIRST THING SHE FINDS OUT IS THAT HER CLIENTELE ARE ROWDY YOUNG MEN, OFTEN REACHING SIX FEET, AND THAT THEY CAN BE DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS. >> FORTUNATELY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN, AND IT PROBABLY DIDN'T 3 HAPPEN BECAUSE LUCY LEWIS AND A LOT OF THE OTHER LIBRARIANS HAD AN ABILITY TO BE FORCEFUL WITHIN A SMALL PHYSICAL PACKAGE. >>THANKSGIVING WEEK, WE ENJOYED A BLIZZARD AND ALMOST NO ONE REACHED THE UNIVERSITY FOR SIX DAYS. I STAYED HOME UNTIL WEDNESDAY. IT TOOK ME TWO HOURS GOING. AND, YET, IN SPITE OF THE WIND AND WEATHER, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND A PLACE WHERE THE WORK WAS MORE PLEASANT. ABBY BRAYTON. NORTH DAKOTA, WHEN THEY SHOWED UP IT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, THERE WAS NO A SENSE OF NO BOOKS. SHE KNEW THERE MUST HAVE BEEN BOOKS. SHE BEGAN TO GO FROM UNIT TO UNIT AND TO DEPARTMENT TO DEPARTMENT AND ASK FOR THE BOOKS BACK. WHEN THESE WOMEN WENT OUT WEST TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN LIBRARIES, THEY WERE ALL ALONE. THERE WERE A LOT OF OTHER STORIES ABOUT ISOLATION. THERE WAS ONE ABOUT A LIBRARIAN IN WYOMING WHO GOES INTO A HOTEL TO HAVE DINNER, AND SHE HEARS A LOT OF RAUCUS YELLING IN THE NEXT ROOM. PRETTY SOON SIX COWBOYS COME INTO THE HOTEL DINING ROOM. THEY ARE KIND OF GRUBBY AND LOUD, AND THEY HAVE GOT THEIR SPURS ON, AND THEY SEE HER. AND THEY BACK OUT OF THE ROOM, AND THEY COME BACK FIVE OR TEN MINUTES LATER WITH THEIR HAIR COMBED, AND THEIR SPURS OFF, AND THEIR CHAPS OFF AND MUCH QUIETER VOICES. IT TURNS OUT SHE WAS THE ONLY SINGLE WOMAN IN A 35-MILE RADIUS. >> 4 THE EARLY WOMEN LIBRARIANS WERE REALLY MISSIONARIES. THEY WERE MISSIONARIES FOR CULTURE, FOR KNOWLEDGE, FOR LITERACY, AND THE DEMOCRACY DEPENDED ON THEM BECAUSE A DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON AN INFORMED POPULATION. IN THESE DAYS, BETWEEN ABOUT 1890 AND 1920, THE COUNTRY WAS SPREAD OUT. IT WAS GOING THROUGH GROWING PAINS. THERE WERE WAVE AFTER WAVE OF IMMIGRANTS COMING THROUGH. SO THESE WOMEN BECAME THE WORLDWIDE WEB AT THE TIME. KATHERINE SHARP HAD ONE ASSISTANT NAMED FRANCIS SIMPSON. AT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE CONSTRUCTING THIS PROGRAM, SHE WAS ALSO KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH EVERY SINGLE STUDENT WHO WENT OUT AND BECAME A LIBRARIAN. EVERY LETTER THAT THEY WROTE TO HER, SHE ANSWERED. THE BEST WAY TO GET AT THE EXPERIENCE OF WHAT THESE WOMEN WENT THROUGH IS TO USE THEIR OWN VOICES. FORTUNATELY, SOME OF THEM WERE GREAT STORYTELLERS. I HAVE AN EXAMPLE HERE FROM MABEL WILKINSON WHO SAID THAT A LIBRARIAN IN THE WEST MUST BE ABLE TO GET ALONG WITH WESTERN PEOPLE, RIDE AND DRIVE AS WELL AS PACK A HORSE, FOLLOW A TRAIL, SHOOT STRAIGHT, AND BE ABLE TO RUBBET WHENEVER NECESSARY! >>MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE LIBRARIAN IS IDA KIDDER. MOTHER KIDDER, AS THEY CALLED HER, TOOK A LEAVE FROM HER COLLEGE LIBRARY JOB SO SHE COULD BE THE HOSPITAL LIBRARIAN IN 1918 FOR SOLDIERS WHO HAD BEEN WOUNDED IN WORLD WAR I. THEY WERE SO ATTACHED TO HER, THAT ONE SOLDIER WHO WAS IN 5 FRANCE WROTE HER A LETTER AFTERWARDS AND IT WAS ADDRESSED TO MOTHER KIDDER, OREGON, AND IT GOT TO HER DESK IN CORVALLOS. SHE SAID SOME WONDERFUL WORDS AT THE END OF HER LIFE WHICH I NEED TO QUOTE BECAUSE HER VOICE SUMS UP SO MUCH OF WHAT THESE LIBRARIANS EXPERIENCED. "IN 1918, AFTER RETURNING FROM GIVING A SPEECH AT THE HARRISBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY, SHE WROTE "OH, I AM SO STIRRED UP FROM THE PUBLIC LIBRARY QUESTION THAT I WANT TO GO OUT ON A CRUSADE. SO BLESSED ARE WE TO HAVE GREAT WORK TO DO, AND ONE THAT WE LOVE." THAT IS WHAT THESE WOMEN FELT, SO BLESSED TO HAVE A WORK TO DO AND ONE THAT WE LOVE. >>85 YEARS OF OF ILLINI SPIRIT, FRED GREENSBURG SCORED A TOUCHDOWN, IOWA, MINNESOTA THESE WERE THE YOST MIGHTY MEN FROM MICHIGAN THAT GRANGE DESTROYED THAT DAY! FROM THE GALLOPING GHOST TO DICK BUTKUS, THE ILLINI SPIRIT LIVES ON IN MEMORIAL STADIUM. IT LIVES. IT IS ALIVE. IT IS NOT JUST A BUILDING. IT IS SOMETHING THAT LIVES AND BREATHES, AND THE PEOPLE WHO ATTEND AND THOSE WHO DID ATTEND BRING THAT BACK ALIVE. >> EXPLORE MEMORIAL STADIUM AND DISCOVER TRUE ILLINI SPIRIT. IT LIVES. IT IS ALIVE. IT IS NOT JUST A BUILDING. IT IS SOMETHING THAT LIVES AND BREATHES, AND THE PEOPLE WHO ATTEND AND THOSE WHO DID ATTEND BRING THAT BACK TO LIFE. I AM AN INNOVATOR IN THAT WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO IS PULL TOGETHER THE OLD AND THE NEW. 6 I DO SEE MY WORK AS BEING EPISODES OR CHAPTERS OF A MUCH LARGER BOOK. AS I AM WORKING ON SOMETHING, I THINK OF POSSIBLE MEANING, WHERE IT COULD GO. I WANT TO LEAD PEOPLE RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO PUSH THEM OVER THE EDGE. I THINK IT IS BETTER TO RIDE ALONG THE EDGE OF LACK OF COMFORT. PEOPLE COME UP AND SAY I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE DOING. AND I WILL THINK TO MYSELF, THAT'S GOOD. I AM GLAD YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THAT, BUT I DON'T REALLY KNOW MYSELF. >>I GUESS YOU KNOW WHY I AM CALLING! DECIDED TO LET THE NEW STUDENT COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE. >>I LIKE THAT SORT OF NETHERWORLD OF THE DREAM WORLD. DREAMS HAVE AREAS OF THEM THAT ARE VERY REALISTIC, AND AREAS OF THEM THAT JUST ARE NOT REALISTIC AT ALL. >> HE HAD BEEN CAUGHT IN A TRAP OF HIS OWN MAKING, AND HAD INVOLVED HIS FRIENDS, TOO. HE NOW FOUND HIMSELF LOOKED DOWN ON BY FRIENDS AND CLASSMATES. BUT DID JOHN REALLY INTEND TO BE DISHONEST? SHOULD MARY SHARE ANY OF THE BLAME? WAS IT FAIR FOR JOHN TO USE MARY AS HE DID? AND WHAT ABOUT HIS CLASSMATES, DID JOHN'S CHEATING HURT THEM IN ANY WAY? SHOULD THEY HAVE GIVEN HIM ANOTHER CHANCE? WHAT DO YOU THINK? >>THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE 1930'S WHERE THEY WILL SAVE THE WORLD, AND THE IDEA THAT THESE INVENTIONS WOULD MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER, AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO 7 LIFT A FINGER TO DO ANYTHING, AND THERE WOULD BE ROBOTS AROUND DOING THINGS FOR US. >>STEEL, MONEY, PAPER. >>IT WAS INFLUENCED BY THE SURREALISTS, AN ART MOVEMENT IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THEY WERE VERY MUCH INTO THE ABSURD AND INTO THE INEXPLICABLE. I EMBRACE THOSE IDEAS THEY WERE PUT FORWARD. GREAT ART HAS OPEN ENDEDNESS THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO WANT TO COME BACK AND REVISIT IT AND THINK MORE ABOUT WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN AND WHAT IT MIGHT GIVE TO THEM. SOMEONE MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AT IT MORE THAN ONCE AND THINK OF WHAT OTHER KIND OF INTERPRETATIONS THEY MIGHT COME UP WITH. >>I WONDER, I AM LOOKING FOR MR. AND MRS. CELLIS, FRIENDS TOLD ME TO LOOK THEM UP. MARY AND EDWARDS ROSE, JOHN BRIDGES, YES, VERY WELL. I FEEL LIKE TEACHING IS A GREAT WAY TO, OF COURSE, IMPROVE THE WORLD. I SPEND A LOT OF TIME PLAYING WITH BALANCE AND REPETITION AND UNITY AND ALL THOSE THINGS I TEACH MY FRESHMEN. I REALLY BELIEVE IT ADDS A FOUNDATION TO ANY ARTWORK. >> THIS ONE RIGHT HERE IS REALLY IMPORTANT. >>ALMOST EVANGELISTIC ABOUT DESIGN AND COMPOSITION AND AESTHETICS. MY WORK IS VERY MUCH ABOUT NARRATION AND TELLING STORIES, AND THIS IS, OF COURSE, REALLY IMPORTANT. BUT I THINK JUST AS IMPORTANT, AND I TELL MY STUDENTS THIS AS WELL, IS HOW DOES IT LOOK? I DON'T THINK I UNDERSTAND WHY. 8 YOU WILL PUT ME AT THE WRONG TERMINAL, WOULD YOU PLEASE HELP HELP ME WITH THAT. >>THE PROJECT WAS INTERESTING FOR ME BECAUSE I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY MAKE SOMETHING PERMANENTLY ON DISPLAY. WHAT I WANTED TO DO THERE WAS CREATE A PERSON ONE-ON-ONE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VIEWER AND MY WORK. SO I CREATED THE WALL PIECES THAT LOOK LIKE TRADITIONAL FRAMEWORKS OF ARTWORK. WHEN YOU WALK UP TO IT, ONE OF IMAGES OR MOVIES, QUITE RADOMLY START PLAYING. I LIKE ANTIQUES. I LIKE READ ABOUT HISTORY. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED OF NEW THINGS, CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY AND WHAT IS IN THE FUTURE. SO MY GOAL IS SORT OF BRIDGE THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER. A LOT OF PEOPLE KIND OF LOOK FORWARD OR A LOT OF LOOK BACKWARDS. IT IS MY GOAL TO REALLY EMBRACE BOTH OF OF THOSE THINGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. >>HEY, BIG TEN, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO FUEL ILLINOIS STUDENTS? >>FOOTBALL. BASKETBALL, HACKEY SACK. >>FOOD. >>HERE AT ILLINOIS, WE KNOW WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO GET READY FOR THE BIG GAME OR WRITE THAT PESKY ALGORITHM. LOTS OF CHOICES. LOSS OF OF CUISINE, LOTS OF RESTAURANTS AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY HOUSING DINING SERVICES. THAT'S BETTER. 9 FAKE OUT. FAKE OUT. >> OCTOBER BRINGS THE START OF ANOTHER WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL SEASON TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. WOMEN'S HEAD COACH, PATTY CISNEROS IS FLYING HIGH AFTER LEADING UNITED STATES WOMEN'S TEAM TO A GOLD MEDAL AT THE 2008 PARALYMPIC GAMES. >>THERE ARE SO MANY ATHLETES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THAT COME TO ILLINOIS. >>ONE OF THEIR MAIN GOALS COMING HERE ATHLETICALLY IS TO MAKE THE TEAM, OR THE NATIONAL TEAM. >>PARALYMPIC GAMES ARE HELD IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE OLYMPICS IN THE SAME HOST CITY AND VENUE. THE GREATEST ATHLETES WITH DISABILITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD COMPETE IN 20 SPORTS. ILLINOIS ATHLETES AND ALUMNI BROUGHT BACK 24 MEDALS FROM BEIJING. THE 2008 BEIJING PARALYMPIC GAMES BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES FOR JEAN DRISCOLL. DRISCOLL TRAVELED TO THE GAMES AS PART OF PRESIDENTIAL DELEGATION. DRISCOLL WON GOLD IN THE WHEELCHAIR TRACK AND FIELD DIVISION AT THE 2000 SYDNEY AND 1996 ATLANTA GAMES. SHE IS ALSO AN EIGHT TIME WINNER OF HER DIVISION IN THE BOSTON MARATHON. >>I CAN HONESTLY SAY I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM IN LIFE RIGHT NOW WITHOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. >> FOR 60 YEARS, ILLINOIS WHEELCHAIR SPORTS PROGRAM HAS DEVELOPED WORLD RECORD HOLDERS LIKE JEAN DRISCOLL AND GOLD MEDAL WINNERS LIKE PATTY CISNEROS. BUT THEIR SUCCESS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THIS MAN, TIM NUGENT. 10 >>I DON'T LIKE TO CONSIDER MYSELF AS ANYTHING, REALLY. I HAD A JOB TO DO, AND I DID IT. IN ORDER TO DO IT, I HAD TO DO SOME INNOVATING. I HAD TO DO SOME CREATING. I ALSO HAD TO BE PRETTY MEAN AT TIMES! >>WHAT TIM STARTED AND WHAT OTHERS CARRIED ON, IT HAS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE IN HISTORY. >>YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE SEE A DISABILITY AND ASSUME THERE IS SOME MENTAL DISABILITY ALONG SIDE THAT. HE REALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE NORMAL, AND THAT THEY NEED, THEY DESERVE THE SAME KIND OF EXPERIENCES AS YOUR ABLE-BODIED PEOPLE. >>IT HAPPENED AT ILLINOIS FIRST. WE ARE STILL A LEADER IN THE COUNTRY, AND IN THE WORLD. THERE IS A LEGACY THAT I AM, PASSIONATELY PROUD OF, BECAUSE I GET TO BE PART OF IT! 60 YEARS AGO, IT WAS A DIFFERENT WORLD. IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II, THOUSANDS OF GI'S RETURNED HOME WITH SPINAL CORD INJURIES. THEY RETURNED TO A SOCIETY THAT OFFERED THEM LITTLE HOPE FOR A PURSUING LIFE. >>A SPINAL CORD WERE PREDICTED TO LIVE FOR THREE MONTHS OR THREE YEARS. >>VETERANS ADMINISTRATION WANTED TO GIVE THE FORMER SOLDIERS SOMETHING UNHEARD OF AT THE TIME, A HIGHER EDUCATION. VA THOUGHT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS GALESBURG CAMPUS WOULD BE THE PERFECT PLACE TO TRY OUT THEIR EXPERIMENT. UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT STODDARD AGREED. HE HIRED TIM NUGENT TO DIRECT THE FLEDGLING PROGRAM. >>AND FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, 11 WE HAD NON-VETERANS AS A PART OF THE PROGRAM. >> BUT JUST ONE YEAR AFTER NUGENT WAS HIRED, ILLINOIS CLOSED THE GALESBURG CAMPUS. NUGENT ASKED UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY IF THEY WOULD TAKE HIS PROGRAM. THEY ALL REFUSED. >> THE GENERAL THOUGHT WAS THEY WOULD BE DISTRACTING, DEMORALIZING, AND EXTRA COST, EXTRA LIABILITY, AND THE LAST THING WHAT WOULD THEY DO WITH A COLLEGE EDUCATION? >> BUT NUGENT PERSISTED. HE CONVINCED ILLINOIS' URBANA/CHAMPAIGN CAMPUS TO CONTINUE HIS PROGRAM. UNIVERSITY FOUND SPACE FOR HIS OFFICES AND HOUSING FOR HIS STUDENTS IN SURPLUS ARMY BARRACKS. IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, HE MET OPPOSITION FROM FACULTY MEMBERS AND PARENTS. >> THE FATHER OF A VERY LOVELY ABLE-BODIED GIRL WROTE TO THE UNIVERSITY BECAUSE HIS DAUGHTER WAS GOING WITH ONE OF MY WHEELCHAIR BOYS, A VERY BRILLIANT BOY WHO BECAME A LAWYER. HE WROTE THE UNIVERSITY AND SAID, "I SUPPOSE IT IS WONDERFUL WHAT YOU ARE DOING FOR THE POOR UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE. BUT ISN'T THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS FROM THESE FREAKS?" >> NUGENT ALSO MET RESISTENCE FROM HIS OWN STUDENTS. BEFORE THEY CAME TO CAMPUS, MOST HAD BEEN CODDLED BY THEIR FAMILIES AND COULD NOT PERFORM DAILY TASKS INDEPENDENTLY. NUGENT PUT THEM THROUGH WHAT HE CALLED FUNCTIONAL TRAINING. >> AND THOSE THAT DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO GET OFF A TOILET STOOL OR 12 SHOWER STALL OR OUT OF OF BED, OR OTHER PERSONAL SKILLS, WOULD WORK WITH US 24 HOURS A DAY. MY STAFF WOULD ACTUALLY LIVE IN WITH THEM. THEY WOULD GET OUT OF BED SO OFTEN, THEY DIDN'T KNOW IF THEY WANTED TO GO TO BED. THE STUDENTS REPORT TO IT AS "HELL WEEK." >>NUGENT STARTED A WHEELCHAIR SPORTS PROGRAM BECAUSE HE WANTED HIS STUDENTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO EVERY PART OF COLLEGE LIFE. HE ALSO WANTED TO CHANGE PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVE ABOUT DISABILITY. >> WHEN OUR PEOPLE WENT OUT AND DISPLAYED THEIR SKILLS AT BASKETBALL AND ARCHERY AND SINGING AND SQUARE DANCING, ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS, PEOPLE HAD TO LEAVE WITH A RESPECT FOR THESE PEOPLE AND A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF. >> IN 1953, NUGENT'S BASKETBALL TEAM WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. THEY WON THREE MORE IN THE UPCOMING YEARS. >> THE WORD -- IT WAS A PLAY ON WORDS. THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS TEAM WAS THE ILLINOIS WHIZ KIDS. THE DEVICE THAT PARAPLEGICS AND TRAUMATIC QUADRIPLEGIC USED TO HOLD THE URINE, IT WAS A GIZMO. IT WAS A VERY POPULAR NICKNAME. NUGENT DID EXTENSIVE RESEARCH IN DEVELOPING WAYS TO MAKE PUBLIC SPACES MORE ACCESSIBLE. HE WORKED WITH ILLINOIS ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO CONVERT DONATED BUSES WITH THE FIRST WHEELCHAIR LIFT. HE PUSHED THE URBANA CAMPUS TO MAKE CURB CUTS SO STUDENTS IN CHAIRS COULD USE THE WALKWAYS. MUCH OF OF WHAT NUGENT DEVELOPED 13 BECAME THE NATIONAL STANDARD. >> ONE PROFESSOR WROTE ME AND HE SAID "IT IS SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE SOME OF YOUR WHEELCHAIR PEOPLE IN MY CLASS BECAUSE NOW THE OTHER STUDENTS NEVER MISS CLASS BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER IS, THEY SEE THAT THE WHEELCHAIR STUDENTS ARE GETTING THERE, SO THEY JUST HAVE TO GET THERE." >>I THINK TIM HELPED PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THE DISABILITY WASN'T THE CENTRAL PART OF THE PERSON. IT JUST WAS LIKE A CHARACTERISTIC, SIMILAR TO HAIR COLOR OR EYE COLOR. >>ILLINOIS REMAINS THE ONLY UNIVERSITY IN THE BIG TEN THAT OFFERS EXTENSIVE PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THAT INCLUDES WHEELCHAIR SPORTS. AFTER HIS RETIREMENT IN 1986, ILLINOIS'S COLLEGE OF APPLIED HEALTH SCIENCES NAMED ONE OF ITS MOST PRESTIGIOUS HONORS AWARD IN HIS NAME. THERE IS A TIM NUGENT PROFESSOR OR SHIP, THAT THE COLLEGE MADE ENDOWED CHAIR. ALTHOUGH HE IS RETIRED, NUGENT HAS NEVER STOPPED WORKING FOR THE PROGRAM HE STARTED. THE PRECEDING PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BIG TEN NETWORK.