Legacy of service: Veteran faculty, staff talk about their years at IU Kokomo

As Indiana University Kokomo prepares to celebrate its 80^th anniversary in 2025, some of its longest-serving faculty and staff members share their favorite memories of their time on campus.

We talked to Lucien Madding, who recently retired from physical plant and took on a role as a success coach for students; Sarah Sarber, senior advisor to the chancellor; and Kasem Kasem, professor of chemistry, who each shared their own unique story.

Physical plant job leads to multiple degrees, success coaching role

When Lucien Madding began his career at IU Kokomo in 1980, he never would have guessed he would eventually serve as a success coach, guiding students to achieve their graduation goals.

At 19, he applied for a job working midnights as a janitor in the Main Building, after an unsccessful stint in community college. He rose through the ranks in Physical Plant, evenually moving to shipping and receiving, and was happy with the work.

A chance conversation with a student who wasn't sure he wanted to be in college sent him in a new direction.

"I told this young man, 'If you get your degree, you're going to make more money and won't have to work as hard physically,'" Madding said. "I was doing a job I wasn't crazy about at the time, moving furniture for carpet installation. I was having this conversation, and it was an epiphany. I'd been at IU Kokomo 25 years, and if I want to do something else jobwise, I need to have a degree."

He learned more about IU's tuition benefit for employees and enrolled in one class. Each semester afterwards his goal was to take two classes, and one or two in summer school.

"My whole goal was to get a bachelor's degree," he said. Eventually he earned two bachelor's degree - one in general studies, and another in labor studies. Later, he completed a master's degree in adult education.

After he retired from his physical plant job he returned to campus part time as a success coach, guiding undergraduate students. Madding sees himself as a life coach for his students.

"You help them with their academics, study skills, and time management, those are the big things," he said. "Also, a lot of times life gets in the way, and you help them navigate a life situation. You're trying to help a student have success and keep moving towards graduation. You get to know these students on a level that an academic advisor may not be able to."

He's learned that success coaching is mostly about listening.

"If you're doing a good job, you're not doing all the talking," he said. "You're doing a lot of listening and asking questions. You can suggest things, but you are trying to empower them to solve their own problems."

Madding feels blessed to have worked more than 40 years at IU Kokomo.

"One of the big blessings for me was being able to go to school and have my employer pay for it," he said. "I earned two bachelor's degrees and a master's and graduated with no debt. If I hadn't been working here, I wouldn't have those things.

"I don't take it for granted."

Senior advisor recalls role in developing athletics program

When Sarah Sarber came to IU Kokomo as director of student activities, she was younger than most of the students.

It was 1990, and at that time, the student population was mostly returning adult students, who attended part-time.

During her 34 years she's advanced in her career, serving as director of student development and campus life, dean of students and now as senior advisor to the chancellor and equity official for the campus.

She's seen many changes during her time at IU Kokomo, including the transformation to mostly traditional-aged students, and the start of intercollegiate athletics. She and her husband, John Sarber, director of facilities, are super Cougar athletic fans, and can be regularly spotted in the stands at game, matches, and meets.

Both played key roles in the programs' beginnings, with his first-hand knowledge of athletics as a former D-1 football player, and her organizational skills.

"Athletics has always been important to him," she said. "When we started, I didn't know much about it. I was never an athlete, but I knew I was good at organizing things. I was really good at minimizing risk for participants and the university, and he had the athletic know-how. I don't know that I could have done it without him."

When they started athletics in 2011 with women's volleyball and men's basketball, teams practiced in rented high school gyms around Howard County, and coaches were hired on a part-time basis. Since then, Cougar athletics have grown to include 15 varsity sports, with an athletic department housed in the Student Activities and Events Center, built on campus in 2020.

"One of my favorite things about that time is, I've learned I was not too old to learn," she said. "When we were successful in being admitted to the NAIA, and then the River States Conference, that was a great accomplishment. But it wasn't just my accomplishment; it was the accomplishment of a lot of people and a lot of hard work."

Sarber also gained a new appreciation and love for sports.

"I developed a true love. I had no idea I loved college volleyball, but I did," she said, recalling the challenging beginning of that program with English professor Kristen Snoddy helming the program, with games in the Northwestern High School gym.

"It was rough at first, because we didn't get a lot of wins. It's pretty amazing to see how far we've come," said Sarber, noting the current volleyball team is ranked 11^th in the country and has won the conference tournament the last six years in a row. She likes to claim a role in that success, noting that her last hire in athletics was current volleyball coach and athletic director Heather Hayes.

Professor promotes culture of research

Growing up in Egypt, Kasem Kasem developed a love for chemistry, with home experiments.

"I've enjoyed chemistry since I was a kid," he said. "My older brother was a chemist, and he used to perform experiments in the house. I used to be his companion and watch what he was doing. I remember when he created a battery to run our radio, because we didn't have public electricity. This inspired me to become an electrochemist.

"Chemistry is a fun subject," he said. "You can't understand real life without chemistry."

Since 1991, he's taught chemistry at IU Kokomo, including undergraduate students in his research so they can contribute and earn publication credit with him.

When he came to IU Kokomo, the Main Building was the only building, and he had a storage room and a small lab available. The opening of Virgil and Elizabeth Hunt Hall as the home of the School of Sciences was transformational, allowing for the addition of bachelor's degree in chemistry and biochemistry.

"We noticed a big evolution in the teaching mission of IU Kokomo at that time," he said.

Kasem was a pioneer in including undergraduate students in his research, when many believed only graduate students were capable. He's proud to note that of his 70 published papers, students contributed to 35.

"This is one of the highlights of my career," he said. "I believe I can promote the curiosity of the students and develop them into great researchers. I've proved my point that you don't have to be a graduate student to be a researcher."

He believes teaching and research are intertwined, complementing one another.

"I don't separate between teaching and research," Kasem said. "Teaching promotes the curiosity of the student to use what they learn, and then practice how to be open to the surprises that the research can bring. So many of my students are now Ph.D. candidates or master's degree students or professionals like doctors, dentists, or opticians. I feel I have success in promoting student curiosity and open their horizons to a better future."

He's proud of contributing to a culture of research at IU Kokomo, and of bringing international attention to the campus. He's served as a reviewer for Ph.D. candidates and faculty from universities in the United States and internationally.

Kasem has also been a pioneer in his academic field, researching in solar energy since 1971, when he completed his undergraduate degree.

While he's had a long career, Kasem is not thinking about retirement.

"My father taught me there isn't anything such as retirement, it's changing the work you do," he said. "The nature of my work is ever changing. I don't feel bored because I always research."

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo

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