In the last month, Stan and Rene Shingles had to make one of the toughest decisions of their professional careers.

Stan, the director of University Recreation Services, and his wife Rene, a professor in the physical education and sport department, were offered nearly the same positions at their alma mater, Illinois State University.

After a tempting offer, Stan and Rene decided CMU was where they were rooted and leaving now just did not feel right.

Stan said he was offered the job and he and his wife were both forced to make the difficult decision on whether to leave Central Michigan University or stay.

“We had to think about it. We have built our professional lives here,” he said. “Rene taught there when I was at CMU and we had just started dating.”

Stan said the offer was very hard to turn down.

“They were very generous and I had an opportunity with my alma mater,” he said.

Rene said after the initial meeting with ISU, both she and Stan sat down and discussed the possibility of returning to their alma mater. But after talking, they realized CMU wasn’t something they could leave right now.

“We decided CMU was just the right fit,” she said.

Stan said the ISU job wasn’t the only job he was offered. He said about the same time, the University of Illinois discussed a job possibility with him. He turned the position down very quickly.

“I just didn’t feel it was right,” he said.

Rene said one of the reasons the Illinois job didn’t seem appealing was the fact that they had just eliminated the athletic training program, so there wasn’t a very good opportunity for her to possibly get a job.

Stan said turning down both jobs to stay at CMU was a culmination of many points but one thing he looked at as a positive at CMU was the administration.

“I have to say the support of the CMU administration (helped me). They constantly told us we were valued here,” he said.

Stan said he was also excited to be a part of the changes the university is going through as Interim University President Kathy Wilbur takes over today.

Rene said though the decision was a hard one, now is time to get back to business.

“I’m excited to stay here, there are things to do. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get going,” she said.

sports@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Eric Dresden