Dr. Tom Waskom celebrated his retirement as Professor in the School of Technology at Eastern Illinois University on May 27, 2006 at a party in his Charleston, IL home hosted by his wife, Lou Ann and daughter Becky Waskom. Approximately 150 former students, colleagues, and friends came from Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana and Illinois to attend the event.
The master of ceremonies for the afternoon was Luke Leissner of Dallas, Texas and speakers included State Representative Chapin Rose, Dr. Martha Brown and numerous students and friends. State Representative Rose presented Dr. Waskom with House Resolution No. 1104 congratulating Dr. Waskom on his retirement after 38 years in education. The event was catered by Kathy Rodes and Kevin Clark, friends of the family and children's events were organized by Kathy Clark.
Dr. Waskom will retire effective September 1, 2006 after 21 years at Eastern Illinois University during which time he served as acting department chair, President of the National Student Chapters of the National Association of Industrial Technology, Faculty Advisor for the Most Outstanding NAIT Student Chapter in the nation and has been responsible for approximately three-quarters of a million dollars of donations of scholarships, equipment, teaching materials and numerous funded grants. He has authored numerous publications, served as a consultant in various industries and served on many departmental, college, and university committees.
During his career, he also served as a Professor at the College of Engineering at Southern Illinois University, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University and Distributive Education Coordinator and Instructor in Mathematics and Drafting in the Bonham Independent School District, Bonham, Texas.
Dr. Waskom has received numerous honors and awards including Outstanding Professor Award and Faulty Excellence Award at EIU and Outstanding Faculty Award, Award for Dedicated Service to the Engineering Technology Society and Certificate for Meritorious Service to Parson's Mounted Cavalry Troop at Texas A&M University.