Commitment to academic excellence and facility development, coupled with an aesthetic sensibility, have shaped Willis Sommer's work in 31 years as a business faculty member and, most recently, vice president for fiscal affairs at Bluffton University.

Offering that assessment at a May 8 "Celebration of Service" for the retiring administrator was Dr. Lee Snyder, Bluffton president emeritus.

Also reflecting on their association with Sommer were current President James Harder; Dr. Sally Weaver Sommer, vice president and dean of academic affairs; Dr. J. Peter Suter, associate professor of business; and university Trustees Charles Bishop, James Bassett and Morris Stutzman, who chairs the board of trustees.

Harder and Bassett, a landscape architect from Lima, presented
Sommer with a color, campus plan map. As part of the presentation, Harder recited a list of 15 facilities projects that Sommer has overseen since becoming a vice president in 1994, ranging from completion of Yoder Recital Hall in 1996 to current improvements in College Hall, Musselman Library and the Burcky Addition to Founders Hall.

"Willis had a special sensitivity to the architectural positioning of the buildings," and to the landscape between them, said Bassett.

Bishop, who was also Sommer's roommate at Bluffton when they were seniors in 1966-67, pointed out that colleges often tend to defer investments on building maintenance. But that wasn't Sommer's way, and the trustees have seen how his approach has served the university,

Bishop said, noting that the words "confidence" and "trust" characterize the board's regard for him. "In a word, it's integrity," he summarized.

Saying Sommer was never happier than when he was checking on a building project, Snyder, Bluffton's president from 1996-2006, added that he also had great appreciation for a green campus. "He's so much more than a numbers person," she said, also describing his ability, in response to a question, "to condense complex information into a short, succinct reply" as another of his strengths.

With a bachelor's degree in business administration from Bluffton, a master's degree in economics from Ohio University and 15 years of experience teaching business and accounting before becoming a vice president, Sommer has his fellow administrators' trust "when it comes to the budget," said Sally Weaver Sommer. "We count on him to tell us what he thinks," she said, and are confident his actions will be consistent with his words.

Although a faculty member now, Suter spoke from the perspective of a former student who, not knowing what he wanted to do 20 years ago, gave accounting a try. "Willis was exactly what I needed," he remembered, citing Sommer's way of pulling students into his passion for accounting. By the time he completed his bachelor's degree in 1994, Suter said, he was convinced the world revolved around accounting.

Sommer, from Gridley, Ill., performed voluntary service in Vietnam and Indonesia with Mennonite Central Committee before he was hired to teach at Bluffton in 1979. He replaced the retiring Dr. Howard Raid, his instructor and mentor, and, in 1993, was named as the first holder of the Howard Raid Chair in Business. As a faculty member, he also received two Bluffton Study Center grants-for research in entrepreneurship and on theology related to economic investments-and earned his certified public accountant credentials in 1990.

In the early '90s, looking for a way to compare Bluffton students with their peers elsewhere, he researched the results of a standardized accounting exam and found that half of the 26 or so Bluffton students who took it placed in the 90th percentile or higher nationally, and all but one were in the 75th percentile or higher. Collectively, Sommer said, Bluffton ranked third among 55 institutions where students took the exam.

"Bluffton has good students," he said, expressing his hope that the university will continue to provide a quality education and help its students become good citizens as well.

Sommer, who was granted faculty emeritus status by the trustees at commencement May 9, said his plans after retirement this summer include continuing to provide voluntary financial counseling, as well as travel to national parks.

"It has been a tremendous and very satisfying 31 years," he said.