Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Remembering Dr. James R. Blevins, dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts
 Dr. James R. Blevins, dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and professor emeritus of English, died Monday, August 6. He is survived by his wife Barbara; brothers Roger and Terry of Statesville, North Carolina; brother Philip of Memphis, Tennessee; sister Annis Womack of Centerville, Tennessee; nephews, nieces, and a host of friends and admirers.USI President H. Ray Hoops said, “Jim Blevins played a significant role in the founding and growth of the University of Southern Indiana. His contributions to the University and its students will be remembered.” When Blevins joined what was then Indiana State University-Evansville in 1966 as assistant professor of English, the University had 893 students and 17 full-time staff members (including faculty and administration), and was housed in the old Centennial School building. When he retired 34 years later, USI had almost 8,700 students and 420 full-time faculty and administrative staff members as well as many part-time faculty members, and had recently opened the $15.2 million Liberal Arts Center. Blevins taught literature, film, and composition. He was chair of the University’s Division of Humanities from 1969 until 1988, when the divisions were organized into schools, and he was appointed the first dean of the School of Liberal Arts. (The designation was changed from “School” to “College” in 2005.) Blevins virtually created the USI Theatre program from the ground up. Under his leadership, the College of Liberal Arts acquired the playhouse on Igleheart Avenue, assumed management of The New Harmony Theatre, and joined the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in producing Lincoln Amphitheatre. During his tenure, USI developed the RopeWalk Writers Retreat, the Center for Communal Studies, Historic Southern Indiana, Historic New Harmony, and the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art. Blevins was instrumental in the cultural development of the region, served on the boards of several arts organizations, and co-founded the USI Society for Arts and Humanities. In 1994, he received the Mayor’s Art Award, the city’s most prestigious award for contributions to the arts. This year, the Blevins were honored as the Arts Council’s 2007 Arts Advocates of the Year, and The New Harmony Theatre’s 20th anniversary season was dedicated to the couple. At a dinner in their honor in June, Blevins said he had spent all of his professional life at USI and had enjoyed a remarkably rich career. He expressed a similar sentiment in 2000, saying, “All of us who were here in the early days got caught up in the growth and the possibilities.” He said he never had “the same experience two years in a row” because of the dynamic change at USI. When Blevins retired in 2000, Dr. Thomas Wilhelmus, professor of English, said, “Like David Rice, Jim Blevins laid the groundwork for things at USI that will be around as long as the University itself exists. Not only was he one of ‘the Founders’ of USI - someone who helped determine the culture of its largest academic unit during a period of unparalleled growth and development - he did this work with intelligence, judgment, good taste, and a remarkable eye to the future. He is what one journalist some years ago called him, a visionary worthy of our gratitude and respect.” A memorial celebration will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, August 25, 2007, at the New Harmony Granary. Memorial contributions may be made to the Jim and Barbara Blevins Student Development Fund in the USI Foundation. |
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