Two campus faces say farewell

The familiar faces of Jim Ahles, director of campus safety and security, and Caleb Mattison, sustainability coordinator, will leave Luther after this year. Both Ahles and Mattison are leaving the college under positive circumstances. Ahles is retiring after 30 years on the Luther staff, and Mattison hopes to pursue a different lifestyle.

Jim Ahles began working at Luther through the Federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act in 1980. After almost 30 years at Luther, Ahles announced his retirement effective at the end of May 2009.

As director of campus safety and security, Ahles not only fulfills daily duties, but also coordinates the Welcome Desk in the Dahl Centennial Union and helped to develop emergency procedures. These specialized emergency procedures have been implemented during three major floods, severe weather threats, a bomb threat in 2001 and many medical emergencies during his years on staff.

Ahles aided security arrangements and operations during campus visits of members of the royal Norwegian family, vice President George H. W. Bush and dozens of presidential candidates.

Ahles has also headed the Security staff in performing some less-official duties.

“I think he’s been very key in what I would call some unofficial duties,” said Diane Tacke, vice president for finance and administration. “In the evenings and on the weekends, the security officers are often admissions tour guides for people who visit campus and ask questions. Jim and his staff often start cars for students during the winter weather or help students who have locked their keys in their car. Those are unofficial duties, but I think the officers have done them with amazing customer service skills.”

Plans to replace Ahles are underway.

“Twenty-nine years of experience is a lot to make up for,” Tacke said. “Jim will be sorely missed. He has made a lot of friends among the staff and students.”

Administration members have decided that the position will be transferred to serve under Student Life instead of Finance and Administration.

“In the last five years, Safety and Security have taken a whole different role,” Tacke said, “The relationship between Safety and Security, Student Life, and Residential Life is much more dominant. Being part of Residential Life and understanding all of the safety issues will be a great benefit to them.”

Ahles plans to travel and spend time with his family during retirement.

“Jim has been my only boss here,” said Judy Schnitzler who has worked at the Welcome Desk for 13 years. “We hate to see him go, but we know he’s going to enjoy himself because he loves hunting and fishing and seeing his family.”

After serving as Luther’s Sustainability Intern for the ‘07-‘08 academic year, Caleb Mattison’s term was extended, and he served as Sustainability Coordinator this year. Mattison has chosen not to return to the Luther staff for the ‘09-‘10 academic year for a number of reasons.

“The main factor [in not returning] is that I am desiring a different sort of lifestyle,” Mattison said, “My job here doesn’t allow that lifestyle. My only future plans are for the summer, and I am looking to do more of a ‘back to the land’ sort of lifestyle. I’m interested in a more self-sufficient life. I want to learn the skills that will allow me to create my own life and be more connected to those things around me.”

Mattison’s ideas have been vital in the implementation of many programs under Luther’s Sustainability Initiative. Mattison inspired the bike share program, trayless cafeteria, Energy Evolution competition, sustainability film series and other events.

“I think Caleb has done a great job raising the banner of sustainability at Luther,” said Jim Martin-Schramm, a Sustainability Board member. “He has worked creatively and collaboratively with students, faculty and staff on a host of issues including energy conservation, local food consumption and solid waste reduction.”

Mattison’s accomplishments at Luther, including the bike share program, will go on without him.

“I really love being downtown and seeing the yellow bikes ride past,” Mattison said. “I just love that because there was a time when I first started talking about creating a bike share program and people on campus said that it wouldn’t work.”

Luther plans to hire a sustainability coordinator between July 1 and Aug. 1, 2009 to replace Mattison.

In his absence, Mattison hopes the Sustainability program will continue to expand, involving a broader range of people.

“I really hope that there’s a continuing shift of what sustainability is about and whose responsibility it is,” Mattison said. “For [sustainability] to succeed, everybody needs to be feeling like they’ve got a little part in it, and everyone will have to have a little part in it.”

Both the administration and the Sustainability Board have expressed their appreciation for Mattison’s work jump-starting the Sustainability program at Luther.

“Caleb will be missed,” President Richard Torgerson said. “As Luther’s first Sustainability Coordinator, Caleb has established a strong foundation upon which we will build.”

“We are really going to miss Caleb around here,” Martin-Schramm said. “I know he has decided to pursue other opportunities, and I know the world will be better off wherever Caleb applies his considerable talents.”