September 2004 Distinguished Alumni

Recognition of Ball State alumni and their achievements is an important aspect of our total Alumni Association program. It is with pride that we honor three of our graduates this year as Distinguished Alumni. Their outstanding accomplishments exemplify not only their personal success, but also the diverse quality of individuals Ball State is very proud to claim.

The profiles of Phil Faris, Tim Lautzenheiser, and Earl Yestingsmeier are only capsules of the breadth and depth of their service to their respective communities, their professions, and their alma mater. The BSUAA is proud to share in their success.

Edwin D. Shipley, Executive Director
Ball State Alumni Association

Philip M. Faris

Philip Faris is in the business of easing pain. "I enjoy meeting people and providing a service that allows them to continue to enjoy life without hip or knee pain," says Faris, an orthopedic surgeon and a 1970 Ball State graduate. Born in Indianapolis, Faris studied pre-medical preparation and biology while at Ball State, but his desire to pursue medicine traces back to Madison Heights High School in Anderson and his affinity for participating in sports.

"My interest [in medicine] became more focused after injuring my knee in high school, which required many surgeries," Faris says. "Being able to continue playing football after those surgeries pushed my interest to orthopedics."

Football is also the force that led Faris to Ball State. Despite his injuries, Ball State recognized his athletic potential and offered him a scholarship to play football. Faris accepted.

From 1967 to 1969, he was a regular on the field, playing in the defensive backfield his sophomore year and switching to offense for his junior and senior years. With several school records in his name, he was honored as the most valuable player in 1969 with the John V. Magnabosco Award.

"I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of college life," Faris says. "Football, of course, was a major focus, but I felt that Ball State provided me a good basis for continued intellectual growth."

That continued growth took shape at Indiana University School of Medicine, where Faris attended medical school and completed his residency. After an appointment as clinical assistant professor at Indiana University Hospitals and nine years practicing general orthopedics in Indianapolis, he and his family moved to New York City for a year-long fellowship at The Hospital for Special Surgery. An appointment as clinical associate professor at Louisiana State University Medical Center followed. Faris now specializes in total joint replacement at the Center for Hip and Knee Surgery in Mooresville. He also has staff appointments at St. Vincent, Hendricks Community, and St. Francis hospitals.

His work has led to numerous research papers and presentations to orthopedic societies, as well as membership in the American Orthopaedic Association Medical Honor Society, American Medical Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, Knee Society, Orthopaedic Research Society, Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, and Mid-America Orthopaedic Association.

Faris speaks fondly of the time spent at Ball State preparing for his career. "The campus was a pleasant and enjoyable place to study," he says. "Mostly, I remember studying hard, trying to be a good husband, and enjoying the company of our friends."

Fondness for his alma mater has encouraged Faris' maintained involvement with the university. He is a member of the Cardinal Varsity Club and Football Lettermen and has served on the Alumni Center Steering Committee and National Development Steering Committee. In 1990, Faris was inducted into the Ball State Athletic Hall of Fame for his contributions to Ball State football.

The interest in sports that spurred his entry into medicine and helped define his years at Ball State continues. Faris is an avid enthusiast of bicycling, water sports, and sports cars.

He and his wife Cindy are also patrons of the arts and advocates of family time. "[We enjoy] spending as much time as possible with our wonderful family and friends," Faris says. Cindy, a 1970 Ball State graduate, is a travel consultant. They have three children, Brad, Kate, and Greg.

Faris looks forward with a positive view on the next steps in his career. He plans to continue research in both clinical issues and implant design. He also looks back with a positive view on the school that provided the foundation for his work. "Ball State remains fondly in my memories," he says.

by Suzanne Clem

Timothy N. Lautzenheiser

Tim Lautzenheiser applies lessons learned at Ball State to the leadership workshops he has facilitated for the past 20 years. The creator and president of Attitude Concepts for Today, Inc. credits his professors in Ball State's School of Music for instilling the values he has for educating and giving back to others.

"I think that anyone who goes to Ball State is lucky," Lautzenheiser says. "If I hadn't attended Ball State, I wouldn't have done any of this."

His business, Attitude Concepts for Today, celebrates its 22nd birthday this year. The company travels nationwide, providing teacher in-service programs and student leadership programs in music. That has given Lautzenheiser the opportunity to speak to nearly two million people within the span of his career. In 2003 alone, Lautzenheiser had 381 engagements, speaking to an estimated 180,000 students, teachers, and parents in 43 states and two provinces.

The 1969 Ball State graduate also is executive director of education for Conn-Selmer, Inc., an Elkhart-based musical instrument manufacturing company that is a division of Steinway pianos.

Lautzenheiser worked as a college band director for 11 years in schools around the country, including Northern Michigan University, the University of Missouri at Columbia, and New Mexico State University. He was then employed by Bands of America, which provided incentive for his idea to establish Attitude Concepts, which is based in Bluffton and staffed by Lautzenheiser's wife, Andrea Price. "We grew up together, from first grade on," he says. "She is command central."

His wife's administrative support enables Lautzenheiser to travel, leading workshops about 300 days per year. He also continues to work part-time for Bands of America.

Lautzenheiser's honors are many. They include the Illinois Music Educators President's Award in 1993; the 1994 Sudler Order of Merit from the Sousa Foundation; and an honorary doctorate from Vander Cook School of Music in 1995. In 1997 he received both the Texas Music Educators and Phi Beta Mu Distinguished Service Awards, and in 1998, the MENC Distinguished Service Award.

Presented the Franko Goldman Award by ASBDA, Lautzenheiser also received Kappa Kappa Psi's Distinguished Service Award in 2000. He was national spokesman for MENC's Making a Difference with Music project in 2000, and was a Ball State School of Music Outstanding Alumnus in 1984.

In addition, Lautzenheiser is a published author. He co-authored the Hal Leonard Band Series Essential Elements, published first in 1989 and republished in 2000. He published The Art of Successful Teaching in 1990 and The Joy of Inspired Teaching in 1993. He also is a guest columnist for a number of music publications.

Lautzenheiser says Ball State instilled in him the tenacity demanded by his professional career. "I love that ilk of people who have a tremendous work ethic and a proactive attitude toward teaching and education. So much of our society is based on having a solid foundation in terms of education," he says. He especially recognizes professors Earl Dunn and Erwin Mueller for such guidance.

That connection has allowed Lautzenheiser the opportunity to teach as an adjunct professor in the School of Music in the spring for the past three years. "Everything continues to source itself back to Ball State," says the Earl Dunn Distinguished Lecturer. "Ball State is still home. It's a school for people with heart."

Lautzenheiser says he is humbled by being named a 2004 Ball State Distinguished Alumnus. "It's such a wonderful honor. I think the award is a tribute to the professors I had at Ball State. They are the ones who made me who I am," he says. "Had it not been for the faculty of the School of Music, I literally would not have enjoyed the career I have had."

He explains that at Ball State he learned to accomplish tasks responsibly and with a sense of dignity. "What I really learned is to do hard, honest work with integrity and an ethical value system that has served me in every facet of my profession."

by Sara Billups

Earl C. Yestingsmeier

"I believe anything you do, you need to go full board. And that's what I've tried to do and carry off in my career." Though modestly spoken, Earl Yestingsmeier's words provide an excellent summary of a life well-directed in higher education.

Ball State involvement began for Yestingsmeier when he became a student in 1951 and has carried throughout a distinguished career with the university that has spanned five decades.

Yestingsmeier, who received his bachelor's degree in 1955 and his master's degree in 1958, left Muncie for one year immediately following graduation to teach and coach in South Bend. Since returning to Ball State, he has left an unparalleled mark through his service to the university in multiple roles.

In 1959, he joined the staff as sports information director and assistant director of alumni relations. After one year with both responsibilities, he relinquished the alumni position but added the task of athletic ticket manager. In 1962, Yestingsmeier was appointed golf coach, a position he added to the others and the one he maintained until retirement.

About his early years in the sports information role, Yestingsmeier states: "It was a one-man job, but I received a lot of support." He names John Reno, chairman emeritus of the School of Physical Education, as one who helped him in the mission of representing Ball State sports to the media.

Yestingsmeier both contributed to and witnessed changes in the athletics program during his 31-year tenure as head of sports information. "I have seen a gradual, steady improvement in athletic scheduling, competition, and success which has paralleled the university," he said while in the director's role.

Yestingsmeier saw the Cardinals play in a new football stadium in 1967 and join the Mid-American Conference in 1973. "That was very significant," Yestingsmeier says of Ball State becoming part of the MAC. "Along with that came both athletic and academic credibility."

It was significant for Yestingsmeier's golf team, too. His 1975 squad became the first team in any sport to receive a MAC title for the Cardinals.

Over a 36-year career at the helm of the golf team, Yestingsmeier led his squads to six MAC titles, 107 tournament titles, and 11 NCAA team appearances. His teams garnered national attention not only on the links, but also in the classroom. Individually, many of his student-athletes were named academic All-Americans. Several continued golf-related careers after leaving Ball State, playing professionally or working as head professionals, as assistant pros, or in golf management positions throughout the country.

Besides mentoring them in golf, Yestingsmeier etched in all of his players a set of values. The game of golf itself, Yestingsmeier believes, requires integrity. "Golf is one of those games you play where you have to be honest," he says.

Yestingsmeier received an array of honors during his tenure at Ball State. His dedication to the athletics communications profession garnered him an award from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for 25 years of service. A multiple-year recipient of the Mid-American Golf Coach of the Year Award, he was inducted into the Ball State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1985, he received the Alumni Association's Benny Award, an honor given for outstanding service to the university, community, and Alumni Association.

In addition to his successful efforts with Ball State's golf program, Yestingsmeier has taken an active role in the growth of golf at the collegiate level in general. Serving as president of the GCAA from 1994 to 1996, Yestingsmeier was a founding member of the organization's Scholar Committee. He also served as clinic host for the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association, on the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) Amateur Public Links Committee, and as chairman and tournament director of the Central Indiana Qualifier for USGA Amateur Public Invitational.

Although he retired from the university in 1998, Yestingsmeier has continued to be active in the Ball State community. He has a home in Ft. Myers, Florida, but Yestingsmeier admits that he spends only a few weeks there each year. "It's because of my interest in Ball State," he says, adding that he continues to go to as many golf meets and other campus and alumni events as he can.

by Denise Greer