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IU to observe Wells' legacy in many ways
March 21, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In addition to a special celebration event on April 5, Indiana University is remembering its beloved Chancellor Herman B Wells through several other gestures.
Indiana Gov. Frank O' Bannon decreed on Monday that all flags in Indiana be flown at half-staff. Flags will be flown at half-staff for the next 30 days at all IU campuses. Wreaths also have been placed at prominent locations on each campus.
Senior IU administrators invited others to wear white ribbons in Wells' honor. IU athletic teams will recognize his passing through a remembrance worn on their uniforms.
IU has announced that it will remember Wells with a special celebration program on April 5 at the IU Auditorium in Bloomington. State and local elected officials, past IU presidents, distinguished alumni, faculty and student leaders have been invited to be a part of "A Celebration of Life: Remembering the Life of Herman B Wells."
The program will be from 7:30 to 9 p.m. and will be open to the public. It will feature a new video being prepared on the chancellor's life, musical tributes by students in the IU School of Music, and a variety of state, local and national speakers. WTIU-Channel 30 will broadcast live the April 5 memorial service on campus and rebroadcast its 1993 biographical documentary, "The Vision of Herman B Wells," immediately afterward.
Funeral arrangements for Wells will begin today (March 21) with visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. at Day Mortuary, located at 2701 E. Third St. in Bloomington, Ind. Services will start at 11 a.m. on Wednesday (March 22) at First United Methodist Church of Bloomington, located at the corner of Fourth and Washington streets. WTIU will broadcast the service live.
Wednesday's service will be conducted according to Chancellor Wells' written instructions, which specify that the service be a brief religious observance with no eulogy. The service will be conducted by the Rev. Philip Amerson. A private interment ceremony will be held in Jamestown, Ind., later in the day.
Six active members of the local chapter of Sigma Nu will serve as pallbearers at Wednesday's funeral. Wells was a former president of the Beta Eta chapter at IU, and he was chairman of the board of the Sigma Nu Education Foundation from its organization in 1946 until 1990, when he became chairman emeritus.
Free bus service is being made available to IU faculty, staff and students from the IU campus to Day Mortuary today and to the church on Wednesday.
Buses will leave the Indiana Memorial Union bus shelter on Seventh Street beginning today at 3:45 p.m. and continue every 30 minutes, with buses returning from Day Mortuary beginning at 4:30 p.m. On Wednesday, two buses will pick up IU faculty, staff and students at the same place at 10:15, 10:20, 10:30 and 10:35 a.m. Bus service also will be available after the funeral service.
A symposium scheduled for Thursday (March 23) at the IU Main Library to celebrate Wells' contributions to higher education and to formally open his papers to the public has been postponed.
At the chancellor's request, anyone inclined toward a floral remembrance should instead make a gift either to a favorite church or charity or to the Herman B Wells Acquisition Fund at the IU Main Library, c/o IU Foundation, Showalter House, P.O. Box 500, Bloomington, IN 47402.
(George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)
Chancellor Herman B Wells: We were "lucky" to have known him