Larry Waters was a gregarious man, inherently humorous, honest and ethical, according to friends and colleagues who attended a memorial service for him Wednesday at "Beneficence." Waters, dean of admissions and enrollment from 1997 to 2007, died of a brain aneurysm May 15 at the age of 70.
Roger Wessel, associate professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Studies, said Beneficence was chosen for two reasons. He said the first reason was as a symbolic gesture because the statue represented the Muncie community's thanks to the Ball family for their beneficence. In the 10 years Waters was here, he provided and gave so much of himself to Ball State, he said.
Wessel said the second reason was because during Waters' tenure it was common for orientation to begin at Beneficence.
"He would tell the story of Benny and explain how Ball State had so much to offer," he said. "It was one of his favorite places and things to do."
Wessel said Waters was friendly and outgoing.
"He absolutely loved working at Ball State University and representing Ball State to the public," he said. "Some people would almost say his enthusiasm was infectious."
Doug McConkey, former vice president of Student Affairs who hired Waters in 1997, said when he first met Waters in the interview process, he could tell Waters would bring fresh ideas to Ball State because of his various experiences.
"We had a lot in common in terms of overall objectives, but he had a freshness about him coming from different places and experiences, and he was a great addition." McConkey said. "He shared our values in terms of putting a lot of emphasis on supporting students and helping them be successful. He was very interested in high quality service and making sure students were able to get done what they needed to get done. He was a very good addition to our team and brought a lot to it that we wouldn't have otherwise had."
In August 2006, Waters was placed on leave for personal reasons while Ball State restructured the admissions and enrollment department. In April 2007, he retired.
Wessel said Waters devoted a lot of his time to recruiting high-ability students of color from the greater Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. He said one of the most effective student body presidents, Tolu Olowomeye, came from that area.
Waters also helped Ball State gain the most national merit and national achievement scholars at any time in school history, Wessel said. Ball State was second only to Purdue University in the state and second only to Miami University in the Mid-American Conference.
Wessel said Waters also initiated the National Student Exchange Program where Ball State students could go from this campus and attend a school at another campus that was part of the program.
"Waters is an example of someone who's creative and always looking out for opportunities for students," Wessel said.
He said Waters also was known for his efforts to increase admission standards and for developing an articulation agreement with Ivy Tech in Indiana called the Connect Program, which was the first significant agreement from major public schools in the state of Indiana.
As Dean of Enrollment and Admissions Services, Waters was responsible for the Office of Admissions, the Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid, the Registrar office and the Office of Orientation.
McConkey said Waters had a strong work ethic and wanted to get whatever job he was working on at the time completed.
"I needed that and liked that, but I also knew we'd have good times together, and we did," he said.
At the memorial service, friends and colleagues told stories of Waters and how much his being a part of their lives meant to them.
Jacquelyn Buckrop, former associate dean of the College of Communication, Information and Media, said she appreciated Waters and how he was the first person who she never had to correct on how to say the name of the college. She told one of her favorite stories of Waters that happened during an old admissions trip where Waters and Elaine Cotner, who worked with Waters for eight years, drove a car that was not theirs back to campus and had a run-in with the law.
"We're driving the bus down the highway and see Larry and Elaine pulled over by a state trooper," Buckrop said to those in attendance. "Here was a black man and white woman in a car that was not their own. Larry was the first one to tell jokes about it and the best jokes about it."
Cotner said she remembered a time when she and Waters had to attend a meeting in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. When they left the meeting, she said, she offered to drive but had boxes of stuff in the front seat of her car.
"I started to move the things from the front seat, and he got in the backseat," Cotner said to the crowd. "He asked what I was doing, and I told him I was moving the boxes so he could sit there, and he said 'Stop moving them. We're going to play Driving Miss Daisy backwards.'
"That was him. We always had a laugh. He had an incredible personality and left a mark on everyone who knew him and certainly those who worked with him."
Others in attendance told stories about how Waters tried to convince colleagues french fries were vegetables, and how he would raid the chocolate in people's offices. A few in attendance spoke of how Waters would often growl like a bear until one of the "women" in the office would make coffee.
Laura Helms, assistant dean of University College, said she remembered a time when Waters tried to call her all day. She said he could not get a hold of her, so he would go through the entire University College phone list asking people where she was.
"Nothing is sacred in North Quad so multiple people would be like 'I think she is going to the bathroom,'" Helms said. "Finally the phone rang, and I answered, and I heard 'Woman, you need to get that bladder looked at.' I responded 'Hey Larry, how are your parts?'"
McConkey said Waters was not a joke teller but inherently funny. He said they would often joke around with one another and that Waters would make a sarcastic comment or walk into a room and make a comment aimed at somebody about something they did.
"He could give it, but he also took it," McConkey said, "but it was all fun. His humor was in taking the moment and creating something funny about it. It wasn't so much that he had a thousand jokes he could tell. He was a great story teller about his family, experiences or people he knew.
"He would tell stories in a pretty funny way. We had a lot of laughs."
Waters loved his wife, who lived in their Maryland home while Waters worked at Ball State, his children and his grandchildren, he said.
Wessel said Waters cared deeply about Ball State University students, and he loved his staff. He said people worked WITH Waters, and he would never say they worked FOR him.
"On a personal basis, Larry should probably be remembered for his deep concern for other people and his care for other folks," Wessel said. "He was one of these people anyone would be proud to know and care about."
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