The final piece is set.

And for outgoing Eastern President Lou Hencken, the last item of his exhibit bears a striking resemblance to him.

On June 30, Mary J. Booth Library will have another piece of history to add to their Lou Hencken exhibit. Hencken’s presidential portrait will be unveiled on his final day on the job, adding the capstone to the collection.

Currently, Booth Library has items from Hencken’s first job as a resident advisor through his presidency on display for the public.

“I was really surprised. It stays with you forever, how many things they have in the archives about people,” Hencken said. “I was very, very pleased the librarians would take the time to do this.”

The exhibit contains items that Hencken does not even own.

Hencken’s thesis, “Student Religious Organizations at Eastern Illinois University.” Was written in 1967 for the education class 576. Hencken said that he did not have a copy of the thesis and did not know how the library got a copy of it.

“Get that out of there, it’s terrible,” said Hencken. “The good news is you can’t read it. “

Hencken said that in 1967 students writing their thesis paid other students to type the copies of their thesis at the rate of a dollar a page.

The exhibit contains multiple photos featuring Hencken during his tenure at Eastern, including a photo from Hencken’s time in the housing office. The house shows Hencken at his desk talking to a student. Hencken remembers the student’s name and what they were talking about.

“This photo, it was during the Vietnam War and this guy, they had a lottery system, just found out he was the number 13 and was going to be drafted, that’s what we were talking about,” said Hencken. ” I can tell you the guys name, I still keep in contact with him.”

Hencken keeps in contact with another person featured in several of the photographs in the exhibit, former Eastern President Carol Surles. Hencken was named Eastern’s president after Surles resigned due to health issues.

“I remember Carol and her health problems, ” Hencken said as he looked at this display featuring Surles and himself, “But the good news is she’s in remission. I think that’s the best thing and she’s doing well.”

Hencken’s time at Eastern can be marked by his appearance in the photos. In some photos the president has dark hair, in other photos he is sporting a mustache. The exhibit also features Hencken’s senior portrait from the 1966 Warbler yearbook.

One part of the exhibit focuses on the opening of Booth Library, a day Hencken remembers well.

“We moved books symbolically from McAfee, because that is where we had the library,” Hencken said. “The picture I like the best is from when we opened Booth Library.”

Hencken said the books he carried were on leadership and teamwork, which have been the cornerstones of his presidency.

In another part of the exhibit Hencken is featured in a “Read” poster, to encourage Eastern students to be more literate. The photo shows Hencken sitting, holding a book. The photo has Hencken reading a book by Rudolph Guiliani.

“I’m not claiming any politically support one way or another,” said Hencken as he looked at the photo. “I was just reading his book.”

The most recent part of the exhibit shows Hencken at a commencement ceremony, which reminded the President of the commencement ceremony he just took part in.

A ceremony, which would be his last as president.

“I was walking out at the 6 o’clock ceremony, I turned around and looked out and realized it was the last time I was going to be on that stage during graduation as President,” said Hencken. “It was a little sad when I did turn around and realized it was my last time as president at commencement, as you can see I love commencement.”

Hencken also loves move in day, where he drives students around campus in golf carts.

“Commencement and riding around in golf cart , what more could I want?,” said Hencken. “Those are my two best times.”

While Hencken toured the exhibit he reminisced about his accomplishments as Eastern’s president. While he raised millions of dollars for the university through fundraising, Hencken is the most proud of how the university learned to communicate under his leadership.

“I am pleased the way the university now talks to one another,” said Hencken. “I liked the way we handled the Blair Hall fire, we had classes the next morning, that we were able to relocated people. “

The exhibit honoring Hencken will be on display through the end of June, when the next president, William Perry, will assume the job.

“Walking through it and the pictures brought back the memories. I can come back and tell you the history of every one of these pictures,” said Hencken. ” I just couldn’t believe they had some of these things.”

President Lou Hencken gazes at cases in Booth Library dedicated to his career here at Eastern. Images in the cases depict and remind Hencken of his career here at Eastern from student to president. (Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News)

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