SCHALL, L. R. "Rod"
SCHALL
Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 1/26/2016 at 00:32:27
Biography ~ L. "Rod" Schall
Graceland University, Lamoni, IowaL. Rod Schall was born on December 2, 1928, in Palo Alto, California.
During World War II, Rod served as a signal corps photographer. His work in photography continued as a public information photographer in Japan during the Korean War.
After completing his A.A. degree from Graceland in 1950, Rod earned his B.A. from Sacramento State College and his M.S.Ed. and Ed.D. degrees in Audiovisual Communications from Indiana University.
Rod began his Graceland career in 1956 as the first full-time director of Teaching Materials Service, then gained faculty status the following year, occasionally teaching photography and audio visual communications. In 1967, Rod became sponsor and head coach of Graceland's men's volleyball team, a position he held until 1993. Coach Schall amassed approximately 900 wins during his career; 895 of those are known victories, but records for volleyball matches were not kept during his first three years as coach. Schall's Yellowjackets won the NAIA Men's National Championships in 1973, 1976, and 1979, and took runner-up honors at the USVBA Collegiate National Championships in 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1992.
Rod became a pioneer in the field of computerized volleyball statistics, creating his first program in 1972. He later acquired the nickname "Statman" after developing a computer software called Sportistics that has been used to record volleyball stats at the Goodwill Games, Pan-Am Games and other U.S. events. Rod has also served with the volleyball statistics team for the 1984 and 1996 Olympics.
Rod spent 38 years as the audio visual director, then the chief photographer for Graceland's publications department. He retired as director of Graceland's microcomputer lab in 1994, continuing to operate his photography business, Camera Crafts by Schall, from his Lamoni home.
Rod was named to the Yellowjacket Hall of Fame in 1992 and to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.
Rod and his wife Deanna reside in Lamoni. He is interested in cycling.
Rod Schall was inducted into Graceland Hall of Fame in 1992.
SOURCES:
Edwards, Paul M. "The Hilltop Where. . . An Informal History of Graceland College." Pp. 123, 131. Venture Foundation. Lamoni IA. 1972.
Goehner, David. "The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z." p. 437. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, January of 2016
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