Anyanwu finds fit in rural Kansas, Tabor prof position

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN LAURA CAMPBELL
His roots may be halfway around the world, but in coming to Hillsboro, Longy Anyanwu has found himself more “at home” than any place he’s lived in years.

Born and raised in Nigeria but employed in big-city settings for most of the last several decades in the United States, Tabor College’s new associate professor of computer science is enjoying a return to rural life.

“I am not too unfamiliar with it, because I was born in rural setting,” Anyanwu said.

“Once a year, I try to go to Nigeria-and each time I go straight to the village where I was born and raised.

“Everybody else comes back and stays in the city, but I love the village life, where the commotions of the city would not be very rampant,” he added.

“You have clean air to breathe and quietness to rest.”

Anyanwu may have found clean air to breathe, but his work as a teacher affords him little time to rest, he admitted.

The professor will lead an array of classes in his first year at Tabor: introduction to computer science, programming I and II, basic mathematics, college algebra, pre-calculus, discrete mathematics and elementary statistics.

“Teachers don’t have spare time, as a matter of fact,” Anyanwu said.

“When I was working in the (computer) industry, at the close of work I locked my office and I went home-all work was left in the office.”

But as a teacher, Anyanwu said he is constantly taking home assignments to grade and lessons to plan for the next class.

When he finds the time, he does enjoy playing guitar, chess and tennis, he said.

Really, few years have passed that Anyanwu has not spent quite a bit of time in the classroom.

He graduated from Alvan Ikoku College of Education in Owerri, Nigeria, with a Nigerian Certificate of Education in mathematics and biology.

He then received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics/computer science from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md., a master’s degree in computer science/mathematics from Howard University in Washington, D.C, and a doctorate in educational leadership/computer science education from Morgan State University.

In addition to 27 years of teaching experience in computer information systems, computer science and mathematics, Anyanwu has expertise in 15 computer programming languages and experience in the industry with machines that ranging from the UNIVAC 1100 series to the SATURN VMS series, to UNIX-based machines.

With his extensive background, Anyanwu has a lofty but attainable goal for his first year-to make a good department even better.

“A lot of institutions in the industry employ graduates from schools and then put them through training to prepare them to do (their job),” Anyanwu said. “Here I would want to see where we would want to groom the discipline so we can meet the industry’s demands and requirements.

“Anyone coming out of here should be picked up immediately.”

Another of Anyanwu’s goals is to begin standardizing the department so it can obtain accreditation.

“That’s very important to the organization of the department,” he said.

In other institutions where he has taught, Anyanwu has revamped the computer science and systems administration programs for quality, currency and relevance. He successfully chaired or directed these programs and also directed a major university research center.

His academic work has also exceeded the scope of the university setting.

In addition to publishing more than 40 articles in major professional journals and conference proceedings, Anyanwu has contributed a chapter titled “Governments and Political Systems in Nigeria” to “Governments of the World,” a four-volume reference work, and has served as a reader and evaluator for the “Computers and Education International Journal.”

He is working on writing a book on systems analysis and design, intended for use in teaching the two-sequence course.

Despite all his technical expertise, Anyanwu continues to remember that teaching is primarily about the students, he said, and that’s why he’s at Tabor.

“My philosophy of education (is) holistic-which would involve the body, the mind and the spirit,” he said.

“In some settings, there is no emphasis on the third part, but in Christian institutions you have that put back into place.

“So that was an incentive to come to Tabor.”

Living in Newton with 21-year-old daughter Uchechi and soon with wife Chika, Anyanwu will also seek to nurture the spirit in a church setting-and as an ordained minister, he already has plenty of experience doing so.

“Sometimes people don’t understand when you want a minister of the gospel to be part of your church-it’s slightly different,” he said with a smile. “You should be aware of what you are asking for.

“I don’t come to church and keep my mouth shut,” he explained. “Whether I want to or not, I will begin to minister.”

Anyanwu wants his students to be just as “bad” at keeping their mouths shut as he is, he said.

“I want you to be free in my class,” he said. “Sometimes students don’t have that much right to question, (but) I step back from that-I want freedom, I want interaction.

“With this type of interaction, students learn better.”

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