His wife works in health services, his 80-year-old mom bartends and now he is Eastern’s new budget director.

Jim Shonkwiler started April 1.

“I kept reminding people I was not an April Fools Day joke,” he said.

His first step is networking – from a borrowed graduate student’s computer.

“I’m just sort of squatting on his workplace to do emails and stuff – learning everything Eastern now does that touches the budget office,” he said.

The position has been vacant since December.

Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs, and other administrators have been working through state budget woes.

The university has yet to hear back from the Bureau of the Budget regarding Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s request for public universities to stash away 8 percent of this year’s fiscal budget.

“I will be helping vice president Cooley immediately,” Shonkwiler said. “We all understand in higher education that it is education that fuels the economic machine.”

Eastern divided up the expected reserve funds among 15 areas equaling $4.1 million, with about $1.3 million already in reserve.

Shonkwiler said he did not want to speculate on where he would suggest funds be taken.

“I’ve only had a short conversation with vice president Cooley about those things,” he said. “I think he’s probably trying not scare me in the first 24 hours that I’m employed.”

The governor will deliver his budget presentation April 9.

“I think there’s still guidance that’s coming from the Bureau of the Budget,” he said. “We’re definitely still in a learning mode about what is needed by the governor.”

Shonkwiler’s last job was faculty specialist at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He received a bachelor and masters of science in finance, and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

He has held eight faculty or administrative positions in Florida, Missouri and Illinois since 1964.

Shonkwiler grew up in Piatt County, about 40 miles northwest of Coles

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County, on a farm his grandparents ran.

“I guess I probably learned my work ethic from my grandfather,” he said. “You learned to do a job and do it well so you can be had back next summer.”

Eastern might need a budget director more now than in the past.

Whoever holds the position is “coming in at a difficult time because the state is low on funds. The hardest part is when you don’t get enough money from the state,” said Kim Furumo, Shonkwiler’s predecessor.

But Shonkwiler said the state situation would “help shorten that learning curve as much as I can.”

He said he would like to remain director until he retires, which is not anytime soon.

“I’m not big on retirement. My mother will be 80 years old this month, and she’s still working.”

His mom works as a bartender in Missouri, something she has done most of her life.

Members of a fraternity at Southwestern Missouri State consistently frequent the bar she tends.

She was eventually inducted into the fraternity.

“Now she goes to all of the fraternity functions. She dresses to the nines and goes to the dances,” Shonkwiler said. “When any of the guys get married, they come pick mother up.”

As a side business, Shonkwiler makes kettle corn poppers for those wishing to purchase an individual unit or start as entrepreneurs.

“I brought Kettle Korn for everyone on my first day.”

Shonkwiler, who named Home Depot as his favorite place to market the popcorn makers, said women account for 95 percent of sales for individual machines.

“Women are very good shoppers. The place where you would want to set up your stand is where women are shopping.”

He said the principles of small business can also be applied to big business.

He has a Web site at jimmycrackscorn.com.

The position of budget director was allocated $69,780. for Fiscal Year 2001, budget records show.