Smiles and tears punctuate dedication of new Vaughn Conference Room
by Constance Berneking, posted March 27, 2009
More than 40 of the late Paul Vaughn’s friends, family, and colleagues gathered in rooms 113 and 115 of Gentry Hall on the MU campus to watch the dedication ceremony of the Paul R. Vaughn Conference Room.
Vaughn, who was named one of the top 10 teaching faculty in the U.S. by the USDA, passed away unexpectedly on June 22, 2008. He was the associate dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
The ceremony was video broadcast across the country so Vaughn’s friends from Ohio to California could see the ceremony. Rob Terry, agricultural education professor and department chair, began with a speech about room 115 Gentry Hall.
“This room is a place for small classes where you can get a point across to students,” Terry said. Room 115 is equipped with 12 new executive chairs and a new table, as well as pictures and memorabilia from Vaughn’s life. A camera, laptop and audio recorder were some of the new technologies added to the room.
A memorial plaque for Vaughn was also unveiled during the ceremony. Tom Payne, vice chancellor and CAFNR dean, gave an emotional recollection of his time spent with Vaughn.
“Paul was passionate about education,” Payne said. “Our hearts are heavy with sorrow and still filled with tears … for this wonderful man.”
A short video was shown at the end of the ceremony, depicting Vaughn as a gentle giant. In the video, friends comment on Vaughn’s personality, attitude and professionalism. Donna Vaught, executive staff assistant, said that Vaughn had a love of golf. Whenever he was out of the office golfing, the staff would jokingly say he was at a turf management meeting.
