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Show w. l. THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1996 '" I' FOCUS: MATH &. COMPUTER SCIENCE . ~~ Jo.nes curious about 'computer illiteracy' By BECKI LESSER · SENIOR STAFF WRITER A soft-spoken man with an eminent sense of humility, Merrell R. Jones, SUU professor of computer science, has indeed accomplished the impossible; he has made computer science a truly fascinating topic of conversation. In a voice barely audible, he speaks of his. time teaching at SUU, which began in 1966. · Jones started as an associate professor of physics and mathematics, and was still working on his doctorate degree in physics at the University of Utah when he was hired. Raised in Cedar City, Jones was eager to return to the casual atmosphere of small-town life. He taught classes here for nearly five years before he taught his first class in computer science. In 1971, "[Richard] Tebbs [math/computer science department. head] was preparing to teach a class in computer science and told me he didn't have a lot of confidence in that area." Jones added with a smile, "I told him I felt the same way about the calculus class I was scheduled-to teach, so we swapped." When SUU first began offering computer science classes, the university did not have a computer. Students had to create programs which were sent to Utah State University to be tested, and had to wait more than a week for the results. The.university's first computer was a used model, purchased in 1975 from USU. Jones said "We brought the computer- to SUU in an old cattle truck from the farm. It rained the whole way down. We tried to cover it with a tarp, but by the time we got it to the library, it was soaked. "I remember the official from IBM came to look at it, and said he didn't think it wo_u ld be , ll111 Merrell Tones operational again. But we left it to dry out, and he came back in a few weeks to hook it up. It was working perfectly." Jones continued to teach classes here until 1982, when he took a orie-year sabbatical. However, his focus was not on catching up on his rest and relaxation; instead, he spent that year developing a computer science major program to present to the university. While Jones had never studied computer science, he caught on quickly to the technological age. Since the first computer came to SUU, Jones has become quite an expert in technology, and remains the ma.th and·computer science department's resident expert. In fact, computers have beeome · so much a part of Jones' every day life that he wonders about those students who call themselves ':computer illiterate." forward to keep pace with the wave of technology that has swept the nation in the last "Computers·have changed society and·given us hew capabilities. I wonder why people don't . 30 years. see it as being worthwhile," he.said. He says he has seen SUU's journey from a Jones encourages students to keep an open technological wasteland to a campus that has mind about the sciences as a whole. several student computer labs on campus, as "A scientist has the same passion for his. well as a completely automated university work that an artist does when he is .developing administration system. a new technique, or an author who is trying to . "Computers really can't be ignored." Jones convey a ne}V idea. Humanities people tend to said. shy away from the sciences; it's a very powerful "They are wonderfully useful, ~d are an barrier." important tool for society. My p1ea is that people will learn to use them effectively." Jones says he has see.Q this school take leaps SU department head's interests are diverse "I took a long time to graduate because I was so interested in so many things," said Richard R.Tebbs, professor and department head of mathematics and computer science. Tebbs was born and raised in Panguitch . where he obtained a pilot's license. He said he wanted to qualify himself in areas where he could show his skill. At college, Tebbs was interested in economics, marketing, and accounting. After meeting Irene, his wife to be, he decided he had better graduate. He looked at his college credits and found most of his credits filled requirements for a mathematics major. He graduated. Tebbs worked a number of jobs to support himself in college while earning a bachelor's and a _m aster's degree at Brigham Young University. He was a custodian, a grounds crew employee, tutor, computer center employee, ran a school lunch program~ and he taught mathematics at Brigham Young High School and American Fork · Training School. In addition, he worked in the Pipe Mill at Geneva Steet pumped gas, and was a mechanic at a service station . While he was teaching elementary mathematics for education teachers, the College of Southern Utah'(now suur asked the department chairman at BYU if anyone would like to teach at CSU. "I thought there was opportunity togrow," said Tebbs. Tebbs returned to southern Utah and has been teaching here since 1965. He and Irene married in 1962. They are the parents of eight children. Besides being the head of the mathematics and computer science . department, he has taken over his father's livestock business. . "I have no spare time," said Tebbs. |