By: Sarah Underwood
After teaching at Milligan for three years, Dr. Dennis Elkins, professor of the practice of theater and humanities, has decided it’s time to move on.
Elkins has taught an “advanced acting class” and freshman humanities.
One of his current humanities students, Joshua Crawford, said he will definitely miss Elkins and explained how “he’s a big kid at heart and the best thing about him is that he always makes you laugh.” Elkins was his favorite professor so far because he always considered “what the student thinks” while grading exams.
For Elkins, teaching humanities is no easy task.
“Humanities is my favorite part about teaching and the hardest part about teaching,” he said with a laugh.
Elkins is from western Kansas and attended Milligan, graduating in 1981 with a degree in humanities. His style of teaching now is based on what he learned during his years as a student.
“What I teach is what I learned as a student and I wasn’t even that good of a student,” Elkins remarked.
Along with struggling with the Milligan humanities program, Elkins experienced much as a student. Elkins witnessed pranks such as a buffalo in the bell tower, a swordfish in the baptistery, and mice in convo are just a few of the many memories Elkins will carry with him.
Along with these pranks, Elkins also remembers the renovation of Derthick and its theater.
Elkins thinks the progress of the theater department is “amazing.”
“ When I was a freshman, there wasn’t even a theater major or minor,” he explained. “The history teacher directed the plays. To be able to major in fine arts with a theater emphasis and to have a facility like this is just amazing. I am so pleased and grateful.”
Like many former Milligan teachers, Elkins has too many great memories to choose only one. Some of his favorite directing memories, however, include the kite scene in “Little Women” in fall of 2010 and the always popular, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” in spring of 2011.
Elkin’s journey to Milligan began during his high school senior year back in Kansas when he decided he wanted to attend a Christian college. After deciding on Milligan, Elkins’ parents “weren’t keen on the idea.”
Only when learning that Bob Wetzel, professor of humanities, was teaching at Milligan did they decide it was OK for their boy to move so far from home. Wetzel was a church camp friend of Elkins’ cousins who lived in a neighboring town. Wetzel later taught Elkins in England during his time studying there.
When he heard that Elkins was leaving Milligan in the fall, Wetzel remarked, “It grieves me to see him go because he has done so much for us here. I wish we could keep him forever.”
Wetzel is not the only one who will miss Elkins. He will also be missed by the many students he has directed on the stage.
Senior Candace Schlaegel remembers how Elkins was “never afraid to push limits” and “always has a smile on his face.”
She understands how he must leave, however. She believes he “has bigger and better ways to fulfill his dreams.”
But where does Elkins intend to go next? His answer is simple: “I don’t know.”
“I woke up over Christmas break and thought, maybe I need to just move on,” he said. “Everybody seemed to be in a good place. I’ve come and done what I came to do and now it’s time to find something else to do.”
Elkins explained that he came to teach here soon after going through the roughest time in his life. He had suffered the death of his son and a divorce.
“So the invitation to come here was both scary and welcome because I was afraid of the memories the campus would have,” he said. “Coming back to East Tennessee was not what I had envisioned. It was a bazaar cycle that occurred to come here where I can be safe and for me to work through a lot of personal things.”
Although unaware of what the future may hold, Elkins is counting on the “reliance on God that he’ll take care of me.”
Elkins has helped many students and faculty express themselves and learn more about who they are, but he says Milligan has had an equal impact on his life, both as a student and as a teacher.
“Even though I came here primarily to help Milligan out, it was really Milligan here to help me out,” he said. “I just feel like I’m being called to something else. It’s time for something else. Just about the time I feel very comfortable, I think, maybe I do need to find something else.”
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