Nursing School Director Of Student Services to Attend War College

by Judy Long

Steve Chisolm, director of student services at Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing, will take a year's leave of absence from Baylor beginning in July 2005 to pursue Air Force training. Chisolm has served at the nursing school for 10 years, the last two as director of student services. He has also served in the Air National Guard for 29 years, rising from the rank of airman to lieutenant colonel.
He plans to attend the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., a requirement in the Air Force for advancement to the rank of colonel.
Dr. Judy Wright Lott, dean of the School of Nursing, said Chisolm would be missed. "In the 10 years Steve has been at the LHSON, he has made a lasting impact on students, faculty and staff. He will be greatly missed, but we are proud that he has received such an honor."
Chisolm has served in the Air National Guard since shortly before graduating from high school. "I joined the Air National Guard with my brother when I was 17 years old. Just a few days after I graduated from high school, I was on a plane to Lackland Air Force Base for boot camp. It was the longest time I had ever been away from home," he said.
When Chisolm leaves for Alabama in July, he will go alone. His wife, Debbie, does not plan to leave her job as pastor of First Christian Church of Lewisville, Texas, and his youngest daughter is a Baylor student. Although he doesn't relish a year apart, he has found round-trip air travel to be about $200.
Chisolm said he is looking forward to the break from the busy schedule he has kept recently. "For the past year, in addition to my work at the nursing school, I've been traveling to Fort Worth to do support ministry with my unit, the 136th Airlift Wing, Texas Air National Guard, and finish my doctoral work at Brite Divinity School. In July, I'll just be a student," he said.
So, what does one study in war college? "There are three departments: leadership and ethics, strategy and international security, and war-fighting. All three tracks cover U. S. military doctrine and how to interact with other countries. In addition to our officers, military officers of equal rank from other countries will attend the school, so we will be able to establish relationships with officers in the military of our allies," he said.
Chisolm plans to follow the leadership and ethics track. "One emphasis of the course is learning what we bring to the table in international relationships and what world perception of the U.S. is. We'll also examine integrity issues. The Air Force has an expectation of personal integrity, and it has its core values."
Air Force core values are "integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do."
Chisolm supervises the student services division of the school, including student ministry, financial aid and non-academic services for both graduates and undergraduates.