Retirement hasn’t stopped former Eastern President Lou Hencken from participating in the lives of Eastern students.

Hencken teaches two courses this semester as part of the department of counseling and student development. This is the first semester Hencken is teaching a freshman foundations course, while he has taught the other, a graduate course, for the past five years.

Hencken said not all the freshmen he teaches know he’s Eastern’s former president, and therefore, they treat him like any other member of faculty.

Adrianna Williams, a freshman computer science major, is currently taking Hencken’s University Foundations class.

After she found out Hencken had been president, Williams was not intimidated by Hencken.

“He’s very open,” Williams said. “He doesn’t have that presidential attitude.”

Damiya Perkins, a freshman marketing major, was surprised when she found out Hencken is the former president.

“He mentioned it about once or twice but he didn’t say it in an intimidating way,” said Perkins.

She said he’s a very good teacher and gives his students tips on what’s best for them to do their freshman year.

Hencken said the second-year graduate students he teaches recognize and respect his former position. He draws on his experiences when he teaches the class to better prepare the students for the working world.

Current Eastern President William Perry said this is one of the great things about having the former president still on campus.

“I think it’s great that he’s able to share his wisdom and years of experience with students,” Perry said.

Hencken said one of the principle reasons he went into student affairs after he retired from the presidency was for the student interaction. However, his decision to teach after his retirement was not motivated by this reason alone.

He consulted with various other retired university presidents like John Mohr, the former president of Indiana State University.

Mohr told him teaching was a constructive way to spend retirement, especially for men like Hencken, who does not see retirement as an exercise in relaxation.

“I didn’t want to go home (and) watch ‘The Price is Right’ every day,” Hencken said.

While Hencken is not ready to stop working, he said he enjoys being away from the 70-hour work weeks which went along with his job as Eastern president.

He said it has taken some work on his part to make certain faculty members and students realize he is no longer president.

“The very first department faculty meeting we had I said ‘I want you guys to call me Lou,'” Hencken said.

He said the members of his department now recognize his new position and have taken to treating him as one of their own.

“When the curtain came down on my career, I knew it was time to leave the stage,” Hencken said.

In keeping with this, Hencken said he does not involve himself in the affairs of the administration out of respect for the current president.

Hencken said the other university presidents he spoke to told him when the torch is passed, he needs to let it stay passed. He remembers when he first started he did not ask his predecessor, Carol Surles, for advice on school matters.

Even so, Hencken said, he has talked with Perry on a few occasions this year, but has stayed away from giving advice or interfering with the duties of the new president. But he does keep tabs on projects he started during his time in office and will, occasionally, answer questions about the university’s history from members of the administration.

Hencken said he sees himself as an unofficial historian of the school.

Hencken said he is involved in a few university programs, like adviser for the Eastern Reads! or the Faculty Fellows program, but has no intentions of taking on any more roles in his first year.

“For the first year, I want to stay back,” Hencken said.

Lou Hencken, former Eastern President, talks to his EIU Foundations class about procrastination in the Carman Hall classroom Tuesday afternoon.

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