Dr. Doug Livermore, professor of business administration and economics, retired at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

     Livermore taught at Morningside for 32 years, and served as chair of business administration and economics from 1984 to 2005. He served terms as faculty senate president and curriculum committee chair, and he was on search committees that hired several key administrators and faculty members.

     But he said his favorite part of the job was always the students. He made it a point to get to know them. If one of his students were going to be in a theatre production, for example, he would try to attend.

     “Students notice that,” he said.

     Livermore encouraged students to be innovative, especially for the marketing class project he graded in part on creative presentation.

     “People did things like parachute projects in, kidnap me,” he said. “I always went along, no matter what it was. One time the project was in the middle of the slide at the South Sioux City pool. And so I went down the slide fully dressed, got it out of the middle and went into the pool.”

     For another class, students interviewed hundreds of people to complete marketing research projects for local nonprofit organizations. His students also learned to write their own business plans.

     “One semester Norm Waitt 1986 does that assignment,” he said. “The next semester he is a senior. He comes in and he’s got another business plan for me to look at. He likes to tease me because I said I thought he ought to get a job. Instead, he went ahead and started this little business while he was a student called Gateway 2000.”

     During his time at Morningside, students named him Faculty Person of the Year, faculty members selected him to receive the Lucille and Charles Wert Faculty Excellence Award, and outside evaluators selected him to be one of the inaugural recipients of a Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award.

     “Doug Livermore is a great example of an outstanding faculty member at a small private college,” said Dr. William Deeds, vice president for academic affairs and dean at Morningside. “He took a sincere and personal interest in his students and beamed at their successes.”