Lake Land College Announces 2020 Retiree Wall of Fame Honorees

Lake Land College created the Retiree Wall of Fame in 2008 to honor the achievements of past faculty and staff who helped to create the student-first culture the college lives by. A statement from the college reads "The 2020 inductees, Sandra Gourley, Linda Ruholl and Wallace (Wally) Taylor, are all shining examples of the ideals the college upholds."

Sandra Gourley joined Lake Land College in 1984 as a cosmetology instructor, then seven years later took on the role of health education instructor/human services instructor. As the author of the entire core curriculum for the human services program, Gourley was also the first faculty member to teach every course in that curriculum. She then served as the division chair for Social Science and Education for 10 years.

Having served at various times on the major committees of the college, Gourley dedicated many hours to working to increase enrollment and serve the students and faculty in her division. In coordinating three courses that had internships and having more than 80 adjunct faculty members at off campus sites, Gourley still managed to visit them all and provide the needed books and syllabi to the programs.

Linda Ruholl was part of the 1994 implementation of the televised teaching at the Kluthe Center in Effingham and at the Paris extension center. She later wrote about the teaching experience in 1996 and was published in the Australian Electronic Journal of Nursing Education. Ruholl spent 17 years as a member of the allied health faculty and has written a book about the experience called “Nursing at Lake Land College 1987-“ from which all sales proceeds are donated to the Effingham County Museum and the Shirley Clements Nursing Scholarship through the Lake Land College Foundation.

The second accreditation Ruholl wrote for nursing in 2004 received a perfect score from the National League Accrediting Commission, placing the Lake Land College Associate Degree in Nursing program in the top tier of all ADN programs in the country that year. Ruholl was also the first advisor to the Lake Land College Nurses Club, founded in 1996. In 1997 Ruholl received the Club Advisor of the Year award, and in 2001 she received the Lake Land College Outstanding Committee/Team Member Award.

Wally Taylor was among the first group of faculty members hired in 1967, serving as division chair of English from 1971 until his retirement in 1990. In 1973, he was selected as an Outstanding Educator of America by the Outstanding Educators of America of Washington, DC. Taylor was devoted to his students, organizing several opportunities for students to take field trips and gain experiences outside the classroom.

In conjunction with the Central Texas College, Taylor also joined the Project Afloat for College Education (PACE) program to provide college classes onboard US Navy ships while they were deployed, providing sailors with the opportunity to obtain college credit. Taylor even had the honor of naming the school mascot Dunker Duck.

The statement recognizing the three inductees reads "Each of these outstanding people has shown a deep dedication to their students and to the Lake Land College community. Lake Land College is proud to welcome them into the Retiree Wall of Fame."