From seeds to sprouts

Chadron State College’s 11th President Randy Rhine has a history of cultivating consistent growth

She is an affable woman with mahogany hair and bright eyes to match. She and her husband met in college, and they will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year. Friendliness personified, she is Ann Rhine, wife of Chadron State College’s 11th president.
On Wednesday, I was privy to Ann’s renowned hospitality, as she agreed to chat about herself, her husband, and their new life at CSC.

A black and white photo hangs in the Rhine’s living room. It is of Ann, her two children, and her husband, toting enormous backpacks and smiling at the camera. It was taken during a 26.2 mile hike through the Beartooth Mountains, which the family took while they still lived in Montana.

While summiting the granite peaks, a huge snowstorm caught the Rhines off-guard.

“It was white-out conditions,” Ann said, as she gestured to the picture, hanging above the couch. Fortunately, they met a couple of friendly hikers, who knew the area better than they. The hikers forged ahead and told the Rhines to “follow in our footsteps.”

On Friday, Randy Rhine took his first step into collegiate presidency, and started on the trail ten previous presidents traveled. It remains to be seen whether he will follow in their footsteps, or forge a new path of his own. Either way, Ann affirmed, President Rhine will have the unwavering support of his wife and children; they will be hiking right alongside him.

If an adventurous spirit is any sign of tenacity, then Rhine could not have picked a better support team. The Rhines have two children serving in the armed forces: their elder daughter, Lieutenant Rachael, and her husband Brandon were able to attend the inauguration, despite being stationed at Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas. In addition to being fluent in French, Japanese, and Latin, Rachael is pursuing her master’s in international diplomacy. The Rhine’s younger son, John, is currently serving as a U.S. Ranger. He and his wife, Randi, live in Savannah, Ga.

“He was always an adrenaline junkie,” Ann said of her John. She then showed me the single-star banner hanging in their window. The blue star, bordered by white and red, symbolizes a child is deployed. The sun-faded banner, for John who has been serving in Afghanistan, has been displayed for four years, but may be taken down soon, as there is a possibility of John’s return.

Ann is not afraid to get hands dirty either, quite literally. A look around her beautifully-kept home would show that within the past year Ann has had paint, dirt, and plenty of food on her hands. The Rhine home, also called the Chicoine house, after its craftsman and donor, is situated on the corner of 10th and Cedar. Vern Chicoine built the house, and then donated it to be used as CSC’s presidential home, housing the college’s leader and his or her family. Since their arrival in June, Ann has vivified the residency. Although architecturally beautiful, the walls were a sterile white, and that is certainly not Ann Rhine’s style. Now tactful accent walls break up the blank space, alternating between blues and brown, making Ann’s home almost as inviting as her warm smile. Outside, wooden stakes protrude from her green backyard, outlining the two-year landscaping plan of her budding garden. In the garage, a metal rack supports a miniature greenhouse, where tender zucchini shoots and newly-sprouted thyme grow beneath sunlamps.

I detail the specifications of the Rhines’ residence because it draws an apt comparison. Rhine inherited a well-built college, Chadron State. But it is a college that could use some more life. While touring the Rhines’ backyard, as I listened to Ann discuss her landscaping and flora, I could not help but be excited as well. Just like how Rhine’s enthusiasm for the students’ education is evident, his wife’s excitement over the familial student body is infectious.

“I want it to be welcoming,” she said of her home, but the comment might as well apply to the whole school. Ann is partnered with her husband in the mission to make Chadron State a college people want to attend. She acts as a hospitality ambassador; constantly hosting guests, from state board members to incoming freshman. Ann foments the college’s interests with her infallible hospitality.

“It’s your home as much as it is mine,” she said.

CSC’s former president Janie Park, in her keynote speech during Friday’s inauguration, gave the Rhines a series of Irish blessings.

“May the frost never afflict your spuds,” Park said, to which the audience laughed. I personally laughed because try as that metaphorical frost might, it would never hurt Ann Rhine’s garden, not really. Her tuberous roots would be safe, because the Rhines are growing people. After coming to Chadron in 2005, Rhine was made vice president of enrollment management, and grew CSC’s numbers to more than 3,000. The Rhines know how to take something small, like CSC’s enrollment numbers or an infant zucchini plant, and nurture it into something healthy and vital.

As our interview drew to a close, I asked Ann for any final comments about her husband. “He really cares a lot about the students,” she said, and smiled. With Ann’s commitment to a warm and inviting world for students, it is clear she cares a great deal for them too.

Listen to audio from Rhine’s inaugural address here.