There were certainly some controversy when he was president but his legacy lives on in many areas. No doubt, he did more than anyone to beautify the campus and worked diligently to get it accomplished. For me personally, he will always the most personable president of all-time with Alan Rankin a close second and someone I was very proud to call a true friend. He always allowed me to use his name as a personal reference when I applied for jobs and he once wrote a letter of recommendation that on it's own, got me the job.
His favorite trait to me? I loved the fact that he swore like a sailor and believe me, he could drop f-bombs faster than a rerun of "Slapshot". He also remembered names like no one I have ever known. He remembered a friend of mine's first name TWO YEARS after he met the guy. Amazing recall.
One little funny tidbit. After he was appointed, one of his first functions was attending the ISU Indy Golf Outing. As master of ceremonies at the dinner afterwards, In introducing him, I had commented that I used to refer Dr. Rankin as Big Al. With Dr. Landini (Dick Landini), I wasn't sure if it would be right to do the same with him? John Newton buried his head in fear but Dr. Landini just laughed and said, "maybe we would have to save that discussion for another day". He was simply the best.
