Monmouth College Magazine - Summer 2016

VOL 31 | NO 2 | SUMMER 2016

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

DISCOVERING THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Above: Caroline Kurtz (left) and Jeri Candor pose with young Ethiopian men who helped translate a Monmouth College student’s books into their local language. Left: One of the translators discovers how to express his thoughts with paint.

ABOUT THE COVER Caroline Kurtz ’72 and her sister, Jane Kurtz ’73, grew up in Ethiopia as daughters of missionaries.

Recently they helped organize “Ethiopian Odyssey II,” an activity of the Ethiopia Reads program, in which three painters, two writers and a writer/ photographer traveled to a remote region of Ethiopia to create a collection of reading materials for children that could be translated into local languages. (See story, page 10) Through the efforts of Monmouth College associate development officer Jeri Candor, a Monmouth College art student created two children’s books, which Candor took to Ethiopia for translation.

Each of the Ethiopians who helped with translating was given a Monmouth College notepad and pen as a thank-you gift. Here is how Candor describes what one of the translators did next: “After receiving the Monmouth notepad he went to the back of the house where the artists had been working during the day. One had left some paint on pieces of aluminum foil, so he sat down with the lid of a pen and started mimicking what they had been doing with brushes. I was so shocked when I saw what he created and I had lowered my camera to get a better look at his artwork. He turned to me and said, ‘I didn’t know you can share your thoughts in color.’ I was speechless. So profound!”

VOL. 31 | NO. 2

SUMMER 2016

CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES William Goldsborough ’65 PRESIDENT Clarence R. Wyatt BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

10 LESSONS FROM THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM Faculty take to the road with their students for unique, interactive learning experiences.

20 RING CHING! The founding chapter of Pi Beta Phi celebrates the opening of its new $2 million house in style.

William Goldsborough ’65, Chairman Mark Kopinski ’79, Vice Chair Gerald Marxman ’55 (Emeritus), Treasurer Robert Dahl Larry Gerdes Bradley Nahrstadt ’89 Gail Simpson Owen ’74 Stanley Pepper ’76 Jack Schultz Nancy Snowden Mark Taylor ’78 Ralph Velazquez ’79 Jean Peters Witty ’88 Richard Yahnke ’66 ALUMNI BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mary Corrigan ’82, President Danette Bagley-Thierry ’86, Vice President Jerri Picha ’75, Secretary Matt Clair ’05, Member at Large EDITORIAL BOARD

23 COMMENCEMENT 2016 The senior class was celebrated for its achievements and received historical wisdom from biographer Jon Meacham.

32 GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY Alumni flocked back for a full weekend of reunions and entertainment during this year’s Golden Scots Celebration.

EDITOR AND DESIGNER Jeffrey D. Rankin ASSOCIATE EDITOR Barry J. McNamara PHOTOGRAPHY George Hartmann Kent Kriegshauser Ray Mendez CONTACT US Magazine Editor 309-457-2314 jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu

campus news 3 newsmakers 6 monmouthiana 26 sports 28 books 36 alumni news 37 last word 48 Monmouth College Magazine is published three times per year for alumni, parents and friends of Monmouth College. All opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or the College.

We welcome letters about the College or the magazine. Letters will be printed on a space-available basis and may be edited for length, style and clarity. Send letters, queries or submissions to: Monmouth College Magazine, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998, or email jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu.

Monmouth College Magazine is printed on Cascades Rolland Enviro 100 paper, made with 100 percent post-consumer fiber.

Change of Address? Write: College Relations, Monmouth College, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth, IL 61462-1998. Or call 888-8278268. Web: monmouthcollege.edu/update

Stephen M. Bloomer ’83 Vice President for Development and College Relations Trent Gilbert Vice President for Enrollment and Communications Duane Bonifer Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Jeffrey D. Rankin College Editor and Historian Barry J. McNamara Associate Director of College Communications Hannah Maher Director of Alumni Engagement

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION Monmouth College does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, military service, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy or other factors as prohibited by law.

Monmouth College admits students of any race, religion, color, sex, national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to Monmouth students.

Monmouth College, an Equal Opportunity Employer, is committed to diversity and encourages applications from women and minority candidates.

Any inquiries regarding Title IX or the College’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation (www.monmouthcollege.edu/ nondiscrimination-policy) should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator identified below. The Coordinator will be available to meet with or talk to students, staff, and faculty regarding issues relating to Title IX and this policy.

Stephanie Kinkaid Title IX Coordinator Room 21, Poling Hall (lower level) (309) 457-2274 skinkaid@monmouthcollege.edu Individuals may also contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights for additional information.

Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Education-Chicago Office 500 W Madison St., Suite 1475 Chicago, IL 60661-4544 312-730-1560 ocr@ed.gov

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

HELPING OUR STUDENTS DISCOVER ‘WHERE IN THE WORLD’ THEY ARE GOING “Where in the world are you going?”

When I was a kid, I heard that question from my mother as I headed out the door to play before having finished homework or chores. She didn’t know that my passion for history would lead me on many trips to Southeast Asia, including six months that Lobie and I spent living in Vietnam, where I was a Fulbright Scholar.

It is easy to think of Monmouth as a college tucked into a small town in rural Illinois. But, as the pages that follow make powerfully clear, Monmouth College has a global reach.

Our students come from 33 countries. Our faculty and staff come to us from such places as Italy, Pakistan, Canada, France, Cameroon, Germany and Mexico, among others. Our alumni bring the commitment to leadership and service that mark them as Monmouth College Scots to every part of the world.

But to prepare our students to thrive in such a world, we must create even greater engagement in our global society. We will do this through a campus experience more global in all its aspects—our curriculum, our student life programs, our faculty and staff, and our student body.

We will also create a more varied and vigorous program of study abroad—one conceived and directed more fully by Monmouth faculty and staff. We have taken several steps in this direction. For example,

Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt President

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through the “Monmouth— Your Passport” program, the College facilitates the application and pays the fee for any new student who does not already have a U.S. passport. We also want to expand the range of alumni trips offered by the College.

First Lady Lobie Stone and President Clarence R. Wyatt standing on the shore near Da Nang, Vietnam.

I know first-hand the power of these experiences. I had never traveled outside the U.S. until my first trip to Vietnam in 1992. Meeting the people of this country that formed the backdrop of my youth, and seeing that we shared a deep common humanity, was truly life-changing. Some of the most gratifying moments that I have had as a teacher have come as I led students to Vietnam and Cambodia. For many of them, it was their first time on an airplane. Lobie and I watched as our students grew in empathy, confidence and character.

I have seen the same change in our students who have studied abroad, and the richness that comes to our campus from students, faculty and staff who come to us from other nations. Let us make those experiences even broader and deeper, so that when the people of Monmouth College are asked, “Where in the world are you going?,” the answer is: “Everywhere!”

CAMPUS NEWS

THE LUX SUMMER THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE FOR YOUTH

MAJOR LILLY ENDOWMENT GRANT ESTABLISHES SUMMER PROGRAM FOR SPIRITUAL EXPLORATION Monmouth College has received a $451,000 grant from Lilly Endowment to establish the Lux Summer Theological Institute for Youth. It is the largest grant the College has recieved from a national foundation.

Part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, the grant seeks to encourage young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.

“The Lux Summer Theological Institute for Youth’s mission is to nurture and equip students to become servant leaders who are spiritually enlightened, globally engaged, socially responsible and vocationally driven,” said Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies Dr. Dan Ott. The summer institute will be operated under the College’s Lux Center for Church and Religious Leadership, directed by Monmouth’s chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott. “We are deeply appreciative that Lilly Endowment has chosen Monmouth College to participate in its High School Youth Theological Initiative,” said President Clarence R. Dan Ott said that students will be invited to apply to attend Wyatt. “Our selection affirms the College’s long tradition of the institute later this year. He expects it will accept about spiritual inquiry, rooted two dozen high school in a Presbyterian heritage students, mostly from “Our selection…acknowledges and enhances but ranging across many the Midwest. faith traditions. It also ac“This will be an ideal Monmouth’s dedication to being more than a place to knowledges and enhances setting for young peoMonmouth’s dedication earn a degree, but rather a place where the nurturing of ple who want to spend to being more than a intellectual curiosity, moral courage, and responsibility a couple weeks in a place to earn a degree, but mature environment for self and others are core commitments.” rather a place where the in which they will connurturing of intellectual template ideas and PRESIDENT CLARENCE R. WYATT curiosity, moral courage issues that they will and responsibility for self be able to apply both and others are core commitments.” to their home communities and through­out the rest of their Wyatt added that the grant recognizes Monmouth’s nation- academic careers,” Ott said. al leadership in the exploration of spirituality and faith within Monmouth is one of 92 schools participating in a $50 milan intellectually open and inclusive environment. lion Lilly Endowment initiative to identify and cultivate a The institute will provide high school students an ecu- cadre of theologically minded youth who will become leaders menical experience in which they will engage in theological in church and society. It is one of three Illinois schools, one inquiry, learn new modes of worship and spiritual practice, of a handful of residential liberal arts colleges and one of two participate in service, experience interfaith activities and ex- colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) choplore their vocation. sen to participate.

Dr. Dan Ott and the Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott will provide a leadership role in administrating the summer institute.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Glaude offers ideas for fixing lingering racial problems A frequent television commentator on the state of U.S. racial relations delivered this spring’s Samuel L. Thompson Lecture.

Sharing insights from his book Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude Jr. spoke about the racial challenges still facing the nation, particularly in the inner city. He noted that imagination can be a powerful tool for change, even in neighborhoods where “there are folks who can’t imagine themselves living to their 21st birthdays.”

“It’s about setting goals and having a local focus,” he said.

“Maybe the neighborhood has a difficult time obtaining fresh food, like a head of lettuce or a good tomato that doesn’t have wax all over it. You work on that problem. You’ve got to turn the soil over, right? And when you work on such a local problem, and you achieve success, you begin to think ‘We can do that. I can do that.’

And then those concentric circles of what can be done in the community get wider and more expansive.”

Glaude assured Monmouth students, who were a large part of the overflow crowd, that they were in the right place to effect change.

Eddie Glaude Jr. was the 2016 Thompson Lecturer.

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Doc’s legacy lives on through summer research program Monmouth College students con- under close faculty supervision. The ducting research on campus this students work 40 hours per week summer didn’t discover a cure and receive free housing and a for cancer or diabetes, or small stipend. identify a new comet.

Five faculty memBut the experience bers from chemistry gained by the nine and physics superstudents during this vised the research, year’s eight-week which includKieft Summer Reed studies on search Program, the oxidation of endowed by Monbiophenols, the mouth’s late beloved formation of nichemistry professor t r o g en -n it r o g en Richard “Doc” Kieft, bonds as a tool for gave them intensive syntheses and drug hands-on experience development, and simRichard ‘Doc’ Kieft with the type of instrumenulating cell membrane tation and research methods interaction with insulin to betthey will need to master should they ter understsand treating diabetes. continue on paths toward related Students made use of newly fields of study. acquired scientific instruments, inWhen Kieft left his $2.3 million cluding an atomic force microscope, estate to the chemistry department, flash chromatography equipment he also created the research program, and the Trubeck Telescope, which allowing science students an opportu- was used to image deep-space obnity to conduct cutting-edge research jects in the Andromeda galaxy.

Bridging the MAP gap Amid continuing uncertainty over funding of the Illinois Monetary Assistance Program, Monmouth College renewed a promise to its Illinois students.

Before a stopgap bill passed in June restored MAP funding for the spring 2016 semester, Monmouth had announced it would not hold students responsible for grants that had been promised by the state but did not materialize.

“Now, we are making the same commitment for the 201617 academic year until the state either fulfills its promise or tells students that it is going back on that commitment,” said President Clarence R. Wyatt. “These students will not be held responsible for the State’s failure.”

More than 500 Monmouth students are affected by MAP funding.

CAMPUS NEWS

Scots continue to excel in classroom Monmouth College student-athletes have distinguished themselves as the best of the best in the Midwest Conference’s newest honor—the Elite 20. With an award on the final day of the MWC Track and Field Championships, the Scots earned their fourth Elite 20 award this academic year, more than any other Midwest Conference institution.

Modeled after the NCAA’s Elite 90 award, which recognizes the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each of the NCAA’s 90 championships, the Midwest Conference Elite 20 bestows a similar honor at each of its 20 championship competitions.

“To earn the most Elite 20s in the conference says that we’re getting student-athletes to the championship level, but we’re also seeing them excel in the classroom,” said Director of Athletics Roger Haynes ’82. “That should set the example for future classes to strive to be the best in two arenas—athletics and academics.”

In August, the Monmouth College women’s basketball team was named a recipient of the prestigious Academic Top 25 award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association. The exclusive national academic team award is bestowed upon the top 25 academic teams in each NCAA division, based on the cumulative GPA of all student-athletes on the roster for the entire season.

The Scots’ team GPA of 3.529 tied for 18th in the Division II standings. In earning the Top 25 status, the team became Monmouth’s first squad in program history so honored for team academic achievement.

Greek life gains international following Before he came to Monmouth College, all Sujith Santhosh ’17 of Madakkathara, India, knew about Greek campus life was what he had seen in U.S. movies.

But that changed after he joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

“Honestly, my mental picture of a fraternity was as depicted in the movies,” Santhosh said. “But once I was physically here, it was easy to shatter the preconceptions and see things for what they are.”

The same was true for Nadine Waran ’17 of Rawang, Malaysia, who thought that sorority life was like what she had seen on the big screen. Her attitude toward Greek life changed after her close friend Carley Folluo ’17 persuaded her to rush Pi Beta Phi.

“I can now say that saying ‘Yes’ to Carley is one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming to America,” she said. “The minute I was placed in this room filled with these lively, intelligent and beautifully-spirited women, I knew that I wanted to be a part of their community.”

Santhosh said he joined Phi Delta Theta to develop as a leader and to network with the chapter’s alumni. Being a member of Phi Delta Theta has also taught him more about American culture.

“One of the members of my fraternity family tree is working in the same field as I am and has offered me guidance in my career and what my next steps should be,” he said. “It’s a wonderful thing to have a family away from home. After all, home is where the heart is.”

Jad Freyha ’16 of Syria joined Sigma Phi Epsilon for the social interaction during college and the professional advantage afterward.

The fraternity helped him find his fit at Monmouth, and Freyha said he gained new perspectives about the world while being part of student life.

From left: Freyha, Waran and Santhosh

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NEWSMAKERS

COVERING POLITICS WITH A PRO

MATTHEW DAVIDSON, an exchange student from Scotland, only experienced Monmouth for one year, but it was a value-added experience. In addition to receiving

Angotti (center) led Monmouth’s coverage of the Republican National Convention with Cordery (left) and Marx.

a crash course in American culture, he discovered the power of the liberal arts and alumni networking. With the assistance of political science professor Ira Smolensky, Davidson secured a summer internship under Danielle Nierenberg ’95, co-founder and president of Food Tank, a non-profit organization dedicated to global food security, a cause to which he plans to devote his career.

Luzzo (left), with faculty members Wendi Bolon, secretary/treasurer; Julie Rothbardt, vice president; and Tom Prince, president.

ANGOTTI TAKES STUDENT NEWS TEAM ON ASSIGNMENT TO CLEVELAND Professor Joe Angotti was back on familiar turf this summer, covering a national political convention—this time in the company of two students.

The former executive producer of NBC Nightly News, Angotti has been a visiting distinguished professor of communication studies at Monmouth College since 2006. His tenure at NBC spanned the presidential elections of 1976 through 1996.

Through his professional contacts, Angotti secured press credentials to the Republican National Convention for himself and students Jacob Marx ’17 and Gareth Cordery, a 2016 high school grad who has taken classes at Monmouth and is the son of former Monmouth history professors Simon and Stacy Cordery.

The team spent four days in Cleveland, covering the convention for Monmouth College through blogs, social media posts, radio interviews and WQ AD-TV in the Quad Cities.

A political science major, Marx will be the political editor this fall of Monmouth’s student newspaper, The Courier.

He focused his coverage on protestors, particularly those of college age.

Cordery, who will attend Middlebury (Vt.) College this fall, followed the Illinois delegation.

The team’s blog posts can be read at: blogs.monm.edu/rnc

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STUDENT’S QUERY LEADS TO BUSINESS HONORARY Monmouth College’s newest academic honor society is on campus thanks to the work of Mary Kate Luzzo ’17, a business and public relations major.

Missing from the list of honor societies has been one devoted to Monmouth’s large contingent of business majors, but with the establishment of Sigma Beta Delta, which held its inaugural induction ceremony in May, that will no longer be the case.

A year ago, Luzzo commented to a friend about the absence of an academic honor society that recognized business majors.

“My friend simply said, ‘Bring one to campus,’ and that is what I did,” Luzzo said. “It has been a lot of hard work, and I am incredibly grateful for professors Wendi Bolon, Tom Prince and Julie Rothbardt , who worked so hard with me over this past school year.”

Founded in 1994 at Belmont (Tenn.) University, Sigma Beta Delta is an international honor society in business, management and administration.

NEWSMAKERS

TWO VETERAN PROFESSORS RETIRE Longtime professors Steve Buban and Bill Wallace have announced their retirements, after 39 and 37 years, respectively.

Reflecting on his career in the department of sociology and anthropology, Buban said: “I like to think I gave my students their money’s worth, and I gave Monmouth College its money’s worth.”

That was true inside and outside the classroom, evidenced in part by the Hatch Academic Excellence Awards that Buban received for both teaching and service.

“I tried to take every student seriously,” Buban said. “If I could tell they weren’t motivated, I was eager to try to help motivate them. I didn’t just decide to let them sink or swim. That’s what Monmouth College does—it works with students like that and has patience with them.”

Buban also was involved with the Black Action Affairs Council and coached the women’s tennis team to some of its best seasons during his six years in charge (1982-87). In the community, he served on the boards of the Warren County United Way and Warren Achievement Center.

“It’s hard to picture disassociating from the College,” said Buban, whose house is one block south of campus. “I’m going to miss the students a lot, but I’m sure I’ll maintain the valuable ties I have with faculty and staff.”

Wallace, who retired from the theatre department in December, noted, “I appreciate the fact that Monmouth gave me the opportunity to teach in a wide variety of areas to help start new programs and help bolster some existing programs as well.”

Over the years, Wallace enjoyed watching the College grow, including the 1990 addition of the Wells Theater as a significant improvement in teaching and performance space, along with the College’s new Fusion Theatre in downtown Monmouth. He particularly appreciated the arts management minor that is now offered.

Of his favorite productions over the years, Wallace said, “I have fond memories of several—in particular Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was the first musical in Wells Theater; Urinetown, which had lots of great student work; and all the A Christmas Carol efforts over the years, for the way they brought the College and community together.”

Without classes to teach and performances to direct, Wallace plans to travel and play golf. He is currently taking a master gardening class and will continue doing service-related activities.

Left: Bill Wallace retired in December from the department of theatre.

Right: Steve Buban retired in May from the department of sociology and anthropology.

BADANG AUTHORS BOOK ON CAMEROON’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM Germain Badang, assistant professor of modern languages, literatures and cultures, is the author of a new book on the educational system of his native Cameroon.

“Since Cameroon gained its independence (in 1960), its educational system has not been able to effectively contribute to the social and individual development of Cameroonians,” said Badang, who completed his undergraduate work at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon.

Titled Perspectives on Teachers’ Decision-Making in Post-Colonial Cameroon, the book, which grew out of his doctoral dissertation at Ohio State University, was published this year by Lambert Academic Publishing.

In researching the book, Badang spoke to six educators in rural and urban areas through surveys, interviews and online group discussions. He also had access to historic colonial and post-colonial documents about Cameroon’s educational system.

Badang’s book grew out of research from his doctoral dissertation.

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NEWSMAKERS

SCHELL RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FOR SCHOLARSHIP Hannah Schell, professor of philosophy and religious studies, is the recipient of the 2016 Hatch Award for Distinguished Scholarship.

“Professor Schell is a consummate teacher-scholar,” said Dean of the Faculty David Timmerman. “I have seen her work in the classroom and read her published work and they both evidence the same depth of understanding, insight and, ultimately, intellectual inspiration.”

That published work includes Christian Thought in America: A Brief History, which she co-authored with department colleague Dan Ott. An overview of the history of Christian beliefs and ideas in America, from the Puritans and other colonials to the beginning of the 21st century, the 340-page paperback was released last summer by Fortress Press.

Schell, who began teaching at Monmouth in 2001, completed her Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2000, and also her master’s degree there. She did her undergraduate work at Oberlin College.

Schell is presented with the Hatch Award by Dean David Timmerman at this year’s honors convocation.

GRAF JOINS ADMISSION STAFF

GRAF

Julianna Graf ’16 has joined the staff of her alma mater as an admission counselor.

She will work with students and families from Illinois communities that include Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and Champaign.

A communication studies and public relations double major, Graf’s involvement while a student and passion for Monmouth College made her a natural choice to serve in admission.

Graf, who also minored in journalism and business, served as editor of the student newspaper, The Courier, and executive producer of MC-TV.

VANDERPOOL WINS LATIN SCHOLARSHIP VANDERPOOL

HARROD

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Emma Vanderpool ’17 received a $2,000 scholarship from the National Latin Exam (NLE) New Latin Educators, which awards the scholarship to students who plan to teach Latin following graduation.

“You are an extraordinary individual who promises to be an incredible Latin teacher,” wrote the scholarship committee co-chairs.

“Emma’s enthusiasm for Latin is incredible, and she promises to be an outstanding Latin teacher someday,” said Tom Sienkewicz, Minnie Billings Capron Professor of Classics. “She also has incredible energy which led her to

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

organize, almost single-handedly, the national convention of Eta Sigma Phi,” the national classics honorary society, which Monmouth hosted in April.

“I’ve had strong mentors behind me,” Vanderpool said, crediting Sienkewicz and his faculty colleague, Kris Lorenzo, as well as her high school Latin teacher, Matthew Katsenes, a 2004 Monmouth graduate.

As a scholarship recipient, Vanderpool was invited to attend the American Classical League Institute, sponsored by the National Latin Exam, which was held this summer in Austin, Texas.

HARROD DIRECTS 1853 SOCIETY Mollie Williams Harrod ’07 has been named the first associate director of Monmouth’s 1853 Society, one of the College’s key giving societies.

Named in honor of the year the College was founded, the 1853 Society encourages greater annual financial support, promotes long-term giving and pays tribute to an “elite group” of donors.

After graduating from Monmouth with a degree in environmental science, Harrod earned a graduate certificate in international nonprofit management from Texas A&M University. Last year, she completed her master’s degree from North Park University in nonprofit administration with a focus in nonprofit fundraising.

NEWSMAKERS

BUCKLEY, JOHNSON FOCUS ON DIVERSITY

Hall with diploma at Commencement

FORMER CUSTODIAN EARNS DEGREE Belinda Hall, a custodian at Monmouth College since 2004, graduated magna cum laude in May with a degree in business.

After having taken a math class early in her career to help her son with his schoolwork, she continued to take one class at a time for several semesters, adding to a base she acquired nearly three decades ago when she took a few classes at a community college.

“When I was the ‘right’ age for college, I wanted to get married and start a family,” she said. “I could’ve gone to school, but I quit. I think I wanted it more now.”

In 2014, Hall began working second shift in the College’s Center for Science and Business, staffing the new academic building from 3-11:30 p.m. That freed her mornings and early afternoons, so she became a full-time student.

Because of her work schedule, there was no time for procrastination. In fact, it was the opposite. Hall worked days ahead on major assignments, completing them early so she could focus on daily homework. She often did her schoolwork in the same academic building she cleaned.

“This is something I really wanted—a goal I achieved, and something off my bucket list,” she said. “I remember feeling relief and a sense of accomplishment.”

Earning a Monmouth diploma also opened a new chapter in Hall’s life. Her final day as a Monmouth custodian was two days before Commencement. She is starting a fire-restoration business with her sister, former College custodian Billie Jo Anderson .

A Monmouth College alumna will join an existing staff member in filling two new positions aimed at strengthening Monmouth’s student diversity.

Erika Buckley, formerly director of intercultural life, will serve as director of international student services.

She will concentrate her efforts on meeting the needs of Monmouth’s growing international student population, which now includes students from 33 countries.

Part of Buckley’s ongoing responsibilities will be to continue to keep current with federal regulations for recruiting international students, including the I-20 document that allows them to study in the United States.

Regina Bannan Johnson ’01 has been named director of multicultural student services. She will coordinate programming and activities that promote and encourage diversity on campus, while serving as adviser for multicultural student organizations.

She will also assist in organizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities and bringing accomplished alumni to campus to inspire and interact with students.

While a student at Monmouth, Johnson served as president of the multicultural student organization and interned for two years in the office of student life.

BUCKLEY

JOHNSON

DAVIS WORKS TO ENHANCE SECURITY An exercise planned and conducted by Campus Safety and Security Director Andy Davis was chronicled in the first edition of School & Campus Safety News, published by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute.

The tabletop exercise, which was held in March, brought together College administrators and staff, as well as area “first responders”—staff from police and fire departments, the hospital, the county health department and the coroner’s office.

DAVIS

CAMPAGNA ADDS TO DIRECTING RÉSUMÉ Vanessa Campagna, assistant professor of theatre, spent her third straight summer at Gladstone Theatre in the Park, just outside Kansas City, Mo., directing the musical comedy Damn Yankees.

She also served as choreographer, costume designer and co-lighting and sound director for the production, which saw audiences of 2,000-3,000 per performance.

Campagna, who will direct Meet Me in St. Louis next April at Monmouth, said that working in the Kansas City area during the summer has also been a good way for her to develop new admission ties for the College.

CAMPAGNA

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Lessons from the Global Classroom E

ver since the first transatlantic telegraph cable linked North America with Europe in 1858, the international exchange of information has grown increasingly rapid and critical. It has affected currencies, culture and diplomacy, and has led to both scientific breakthroughs and declarations of war.

It has, most significantly, created a global community that requires its citizens to be well-versed in the diverse cultures, customs, languages, religions and history of the world. This is the stuff of the liberal arts. Yet books and lectures fall short in teaching important nuances that contribute to a full appreciation of ideas and traditions that are different from one’s own.

That’s why Monmouth College faculty are embracing the concept of the “global classroom”—organizing focused trips to locales around the world to conduct research, soak in local culture or simply discover the adventure and fulfilling nature of world travel. Typically lasting one to three weeks, and scheduled during breaks in the academic calendar, the trips sometime include alumni and faculty members from more than one discipline. In the case of the Kurtz sisters’ connections in Ethiopia, lessons from that country are being incorporated into classroom work at Monmouth. The learning opportunities are exciting and endless.

In this issue, we look at a handful of recent trips, and the profound effect that the global classroom is having on Monmouth students, faculty and alumni.

Stories by Barry McNamara 10

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THE MAGIC OF MAJI

Learning experiment spans generations, connects cultures Before exploring how Monmouth College students from disciplines such as art, business, English and physics are becoming involved with Ethiopia, it’s enlightening to hear sisters Caroline Kurtz ’72 and Jane Kurtz ’73 share their story of the geography and the sociology of the African nation, where they spent much of their childhood as the daughters of Presbyterian missionaries.

“You feel peaceful, away from devices, experiencing communal life and the beauty of nature,” said Jane of returning to the mountainous area of Maji, the southwestern Ethiopian village where she and Caroline grew up. “This place would be mobbed with tourists if it was in America.”

“People don’t realize the gorgeous, gorgeous spirit these people have,” said Caroline. “The people of Ethiopia are so warm, so hospitable. We don’t experience that here. In Ethiopia, that’s what you see. They have no material wealth to offer, but a very warm community.”

Associate development officer Jeri Candor, who traveled with the sisters to Maji earlier this year, couldn’t agree more.

“I have been to some remote places in Venezuela, Tibet and Peru, but nothing compared to Maji,” said Candor. “The first day we were on paved roads and the arid scenery soon turned into lush jungle with Gelada baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and banana trees. The second day we climbed into the mountains on gravel roads to find patches of paved roads leading into the villages that provided either government or medi-

cal services on our way to the summit at 8,000 feet. To say Maji is magical seems an exaggeration, but having stayed up there alone one night with Jane, I can assure you it is not.

Mountaintop vistas, morning mist and a waterfall completed this Shangri-La.” Although they’ve lived in the United States for years, the Kurtz sisters remain passionate about their childhood home.

As they seek to help it develop in areas such as literacy and medical care, they have no grand illusions of creating material continued on page 12

Caroline ’72, left, and Jane Kurtz ’73 pause on a hillside near the Ethiopian village of Maji, where the daughters of missionaries spent much of their youth.

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(Continued from page 11)

books—books that will coax kids into reading experiences. We are wealth or expecting wealth to be looking to develop some local lanthrown Maji’s way by donors. guage, appropriate reading level, “We need self-sustaining projects colorful, appealing books for the so we don’t have to rely on donachildren.” tions,” said Caroline, noting the Thanks to the efforts and talents sisters are more interested in “inof Daphne Nelson ’16, at least two tellectual development, not brick such books now exist. and mortar.”

“When (art professor) Stacy Lotz As the sisters investigate that pitched that idea to her students, type of development, they are deDaphne was very enthusiastic about lighted that their alma mater could it,” said Candor. “She was looking be a valuable resource. for a senior project, and she enjoyed “Whoever dreamed that Monthe work so much that she created mouth College students would help Art major Daphne Nelson, right, and Professor Stacy Lotz a second book. These are canvas Maji develop?” Caroline said of a display the two books that Nelson designed for the Ethiopia books she painted with acrylic, and variety of projects and plans that Reads project. they tell a very simple story. She left are in the works. the last four pages blank, and we asked the students at the One project—literacy—is already underway on a grander girls school in Maji to fill in the rest of the story.” scale, but more can be done, said Jane, who is an award-winThe books, titled Henrietta Goes to Ethiopia and Henrining children’s author. etta Finds a Home, come from a plaster bird Nelson created “We’ve been incubating projects and relationships be- in an art class. tween Ethiopian churches and U.S. churches, mostly “I used her as a character in the books,” Nelson said. “In Presbyterian,” she said. “In the late 1990s, we thought we’d the first book, Henrietta wants to go on an adventure, and see if we could get something started with children’s litera- she decides to go to Ethiopia. She makes friends with a pelcy in a ‘grassrootsy’ way.” ican and another bird. The books tell about how much she The roots took hold, and the non-profit organization loves Ethiopia. In the second book, she tries to find a new Ethiopia Reads was established. It collaborates with com- nest.” munities to build schools, plant libraries, train educators, The books are written in English, but students and Ethioboost literacy and provide youth and families with the tools pia Reads staff in Addis Ababa and Bible translators in Maji to improve their lives. helped with Amharic and Deezee words.

However, said Jane, “There are not a lot of easy-to-read “We can truly be a partner with college kids with technol-

Ethiopian artist Nahosenay Negussie enchants local children with his paintings. He was one of six artists, including the Kurtzes, who participated in Ethiopian Odyssey II, part of the Ethiopia Reads project.

A Maji boy holds an apple from the newly-planted orchard.

Although rare in Ethiopia, the fruit may hold a key to future economic development, a study by Monmouth College students suggests.

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ogy skills who can write, design and lay out the books,” said Caroline. “I think that would be a wonderful opportunity.”

Another opportunity is commercializing Maji’s relatively new apple orchard. That project was undertaken by students in associate professor Terry Gabel’s international business capstone course.

Apples are a rarity in Ethiopia, where they normally couldn’t grow due to the lack of a freeze. But a hybrid apple has been created to grow in the highland zone around Maji, which has an elevation between 8,500 and 9,000 feet.

“The orchard has 1,000 apple trees that are three to four years old,” said Caroline. “They’re already bearing. Some are better than others, but the ones that are doing well are taller than a person.”

Through their research, the business students learned that growing the fruit in Ethiopia, versus growing it in America, is not an apples-to-apples comparison.

“Maji is a very, very remote area,” said Caroline, referring to one of the hurdles—transportation to market—that the students encountered.

Another hurdle was the economy. When setting prices, students had to factor in the region’s wages. A top earner might make $250 per month, and diesel fuel costs $4 gallon.

One of the student groups proposed a plan to market the product in three ways—as fruit, as snack crisps and as juice.

“There’s a real possibility for this market niche in Ethiopia,” said Caroline. “These are very, very interesting possibilities.”

The sisters also shared a need for developing power in and around Maji, most likely through solar energy.

“The health center does about 20 deliveries a month,” said Caroline. “It has no light source, so they are delivering babies in the dark, holding a flashlight. There is a need for solar technology.”

Creating solutions could be a task for Monmouth’s physics students, and the sisters are excited about that possibility.

“That’s a great benefit of a liberal arts education,” said Jane. “It gives you the ability to communicate—to talk to engineers about what will work, to talk to medical people about their needs. It equips you for that. You learn how to navigate quickly, to acquire the tools to try different things.

You learn resilience and problem-solving.”

The partnership between Monmouth College and Ethiopia has been launched, and the possibilities for the change it can bring are plentiful.

Ethiopia photos by Jeri Candor

TOWARD A MORE GLOBAL HISTORY History professor Amy de Farias says American colleges and universities typically place an emphasis on teaching the history of two continents.

“There’s more to history than the United States and Europe,” said de Farias, who was recently promoted to full professor.

“I try to get students away from that sort of arrogance and show them the value of learning about other cultures. It’s a global world, and our students are increasingly becoming part of an international community.”

Of the five other continents, de Farias has studied or taught in three of them: Africa, South America and Asia. She said that has helped her become a better “global citizen,” an attribute she believes is crucial for the next generation of college students.

And de Farias practices what she preaches. The coordinator of Monmouth’s growing international studies program, she received a Fulbright to teach and conduct research in Mozambique in 2011, and she spent last fall leading the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s Jordan program.

As a graduate student, de Farias spent a summer doing exploratory research in Brazil, and fell in love with that country, which led to a 10-year stint there, earning her doctorate from Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Brasil.

Studying the life and influence of José da Natividade Saldanha, a black leader of a republican revolt in northeast Brazil in 1824, she became intrigued by his influences as a journalist and poet.

“Black studies isn’t just studying about slavery,” she said.

Slavery, however, comes up in another one of de Farias’s interests—the history of food.

“Teaching about sugar gets into slavery, but it also gets into today’s problems with obesity,” she said. “Every single major can contribute something to the course. I’ve never had a student say it’s boring.” de Farias’s food course helped her earn the ACM position, which she called “one of the best teaching experiences” of her career. She tweaked her Monmouth course to focus on Islamic and Middle Eastern culture.

“I found that food was really a way to get the students engaged in the culture,” she said. “I also made the students do restaurant reviews, thus ‘forcing’ them to get out and explore the city of Amman and all the different Middle Eastern cultures represented there.”

Professor Amy de Farias

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The Baughs, left, share their insights with students while viewing the art treasures of the Louvre.

Beholding art

with their own eyes Hannah Rillie ’18 has studied great works of art at Monmouth College. But it wasn’t until she saw some of them in person that she truly appreciated their magnificence.

Rillie was one of six Monmouth students and three faculty members who traveled to Paris and Amsterdam in May on a trip that focused on the art and history of the two major European cities.

“It was amazing to get to see all these famous pieces of art in the Louvre that I’d only seen on a computer screen before,” said Rillie, an art major. “I’m so glad we got as much time there as we did. I was in there for hours.”

Even art lecturer Stephanie Baugh was affected by the art, and she had been to Paris previously.

“In both Paris and Amsterdam, I was very aware of how much art is integrated into the cities,” she said. “To see time, energy and resources spent on increasing the aesthetic and visual qualities of a city affirms my commitment to sharing the discipline of art with my students. While art is sometimes seen as a marginal endeavor, seeing so much attention given to art—in public sculptures in parks, along bridges and in architecture, and in cultural institutions such as the museums—confirms the importance of art in everyday life.”

Baugh helped lead the trip along with her department colleague and husband, Brian Baugh, and assistant professor of history Christine Myers.

In the Netherlands, the group toured the Anne Frank

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House, which Myers said was a sobering reminder of one of history’s darker periods.

“One of the students said she was looking forward to going to the house more than any other destination on our itinerary, and I think all the students appreciated our time there,” she said. “The exhibits were well done and the use of mixed media to convey the story of Anne and her family was thoughtfully done.”

Rillie, whose hometown has 4,000 people, said she gained a greater sense of independence while traveling in Paris.

“I think the moment that will stick with me the most was the small sense of pride that I felt when I successfully navigated the Metro system alone,” said Rillie, who also enjoyed the opportunity to revitalize the French she learned in high school. “My feet were absolutely killing me after spending 6∏ hours in the Louvre the previous day, so I took the Metro back to the hotel, went to the grocery store and vegged out.

It kind of felt like I lived there for a day, to be honest. And it was my birthday to boot, so all around it was a great day.”

The Baughs spent an extra week in Europe and used part of the time to connect with a new Monmouth student and an alumnus. In the Netherlands, they met incoming international student Rik Doornenbal ’20.

“His mother hosted us for a day, and we visited the local middle school where she works and took a b icycle ride around the countryside near Utrecht,” Stephanie Baugh said. “We learned a lot about why Monmouth College appeals to international students—the focused atmosphere of academic work and the tight-knit caring environment that Monmouth College offers are very inviting.”

They also visited Arjun Ahluwalia ’09 in Bergen, Norway.

He attended graduate school at the University of Iowa, and now works as a graphic designer in Bergen.

“It was wonderful to reconnect with Arjun and hear about how much he loved his time at Monmouth and about how he is still in touch with friends from Monmouth,” Stephanie Baugh said.

As so often happens for students who go abroad, Rillie now has the travel bug.

“I also went to Greece for spring break with the classics department, and that was an experience I’ll never forget,” she said. “Monmouth has given me so many opportunities to go abroad, and I am so grateful. These trips have only made me want to explore more of the world, and I plan on doing just that.”

THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM

Family of Scots embraces Irish experience

Monmouth students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends take in the vista along Ireland’s Ring of Kerry.

‘I

didn’t know there were so many shades of green,” observed Monmouth College psychology professor Joan Wertz after returning from a study-abroad trip to Ireland in May, where she took in the spectacle of the Irish countryside for the first time.

Wertz oversaw a group of 22—which included 11 Monmouth students—on a 13-day excursion. In addition to exploring Ireland’s pastoral landscape, the group also learned a lot more about the nation’s people and culture—lessons they could have learned only by traveling abroad.

“We got close with some of the Irish people there and listened to Irish music in an Irish pub,” said Michelle Ravel ’17.

“That night we got the true Irish experience, and I will not forget it.”

The trip also included 11 alumni and friends. That idea came from associate development officer Jeri Candor, who said she wanted to “engage alumni and friends in the work that our faculty and students are doing on campus and abroad.”

“I feel this was a very successful beta test for an alumni relations program,” said Candor, who was also part of the trip.

The students prepped for the trip by taking a class in the spring from Wertz titled “Cross-Cultural Psychology Practicum.”

Ireland’s history came alive for the group in several ways, especially as they learned about the centennial commemoration of the Easter Rising of 1916, a six-day armed insurrection in which Irish republicans tried in vain to end British rule.

“It was a great opportunity to learn about Ireland’s strug-

gles for independence,” Wertz said. “The added bonus was the stories about the people involved, which made it very interesting and human, instead of just historical.”

In addition to taking students to Europe, Wertz said she also enjoyed getting to know the Monmouth alumni and friends who made the trip: Vicki Birk Horneck ’80, Karen Williams Phinney ’84, Jacquelyn Grier Salvato ’73, Gary Sears ’70 and Randall Vickroy ’76.

“They were a great group of people,” Wertz said. “We shared stories about (the late chemistry professor) Doc Kieft in a pub one day. I think he’d appreciate that.”

“Hearing the Irish people talk about their past, I learned that they would not have been so proud of who they are without recognizing where they had been,” said Miranda Jones ’17.

“This wasn’t something I feel like I could have learned in a classroom, because on the trip I was able to listen to stories of their troubled past and see the history in front of me. I was then able to see how the culture developed and was affected by the past even into the present day.”

“When studying culture, we often focus on the differences between the U.S. and other places,” Wertz said. “While it is interesting and informative to do this, we also noticed how much of our culture is shared as well.”

The trip to Ireland was the first for Ravel. She said it likely won’t be two decades before she makes another trip abroad.

“I would suggest that everyone travel abroad at least once in their life,” she said. “I learned so much and had the time of my life. I do not regret it one bit and cannot wait until my next adventure abroad.”

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Journey to Senegal provides insight into food security issues A group of Monmouth College students and faculty members gained a new appreciation for the meaning of hospitality.

That was one of the lessons the three faculty members and five students learned while on a 17-day interdisciplinary trip earlier this summer to the western Africa nation of Senegal to study issues related to food security.

The eight members of the Monmouth community discovered the role teranga plays in Senegalese culture.

“Teranga is Wolof for hospitality,” said Germain Badang, a lecturer in modern languages, literatures and cultures.

Badang, who is fluent in French, served as the group’s translator between English and the Wolof language spoken in Senegal.

“They work closely with each other and enjoy it,” he said.

“They take teranga very seriously. They take it to the next level. They cry with each other, they help each other with everything. They lend money, they give food.”

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Megan Hinrichsen, who teaches courses in Monmouth’s Global Food Security Triad, said that when speaking with Senegalese residents about food security, the Monmouth group repeatedly heard examples of teranga.

“Understanding this dynamic is an essential part of understanding how food insecurity might affect these communities and how it can be most effectively addressed there,” Hinrichsen said.

The third Monmouth faculty member who made the trip was Assistant Professor of Theatre Vanessa Campagna.

Hinrichsen said that Senegalese form local cooperatives for food production and distribution to meet their food security challenges.

“I got a better understanding of how differently people eat and live in Senegal,” said Elizabeth Smith ’19. “They only eat foods that are in season and adapt to everything around them.”

A major discovery for Hinrichsen and the group was defining what food insecurity is in Senegal compared to the definition used in the United States.

“They don’t see themselves as food insecure,” she said. “If

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The Monmouth group visits the colossal but controversial African Renaissance Monument in Dakar. Completed in 2010 during a countrywide economic crisis, the $27 million Stalinist-style statue was designed by a Romanian architect and built by a North Korean construction firm.

someone is lacking, someone is there to help. They had a completely different view of it, much more focused on the community aspect, as opposed to how we might see an individual who is lacking.”

“One of my most profound memories is when we met with a group of women at a fish cooperative,” said Johnny Williams III ’17. “We asked them if anyone in their community was hungry, to which they responded resoundingly that hunger did not exist in their communities. Our discussion as a group afterwards allowed us to come to the conclusion that the definition of hunger is vastly different from our society to theirs. If we ask if anyone is hungry at any point in their community, we are asking if anyone is starving in their community, and that was not the case from what we observed.”

When it comes to outside assistance, Hinrichsen said

THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM

Senegalese are more interested in receiving material items, such as simple buckets.

“More buckets mean they can collect more food (fish), which means they can sell without the middle man, which means they’ll have a greater income,” she said.

Hinrichsen said the Monmouth students’ daily interactions with the people of Senegal provided a major lesson.

“The students had the opportunity to discover the complexity of food security issues through their own eyes, to interact with local people involved in food production, and to experience the excitement and problem solving necessary to travel to a new part of the world and conduct a short-term research project in a different culture,” she said. “None of them had been to Africa, and very few had been to a developing country. It was a great experience for them to be in

that environment. To see the students have that excitement of taking in a new culture, to try to figure out what life is like, and to see their discovery and their curiosity, was very rewarding.”

Badang said he was thrilled by how the trip opened up the world to the students.

“It’s an experience that needs to be repeated,” he said.

“Our students are really asking for this. They want to help.”

The trip included several days in the peninsula city of Dakar, as well as travels to Thies, Ngaparou, Rufisque, Joal Fadiout, Cayor and the island city of Goree.

“Our students reacted perfectly to (the trip),” Badang said.

“It made them better prepared for the global challenges they’ll face, and it also helped them learn about themselves.

That’s what we don’t see immediately—the self-transformation that takes place in the students.”

Exploring the global classroom, stateside The students who accompanied Monmouth College Chaplain the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott to Washington, D.C., during spring break comprised a variety of majors and professional goals. But they could all agree on one thing: they now have a much clearer understanding of the issue of mass incarceration in the United States.

Funded by the Monmouth College Lux Center, the trip included students Angela Baumann ’17, Dorian Jones ’17, Katie Jenkins ’18, Cynthia Kamurigi ’18, Diana Rubi ’18 and Sophie Slocum ’18.

To prepare for the trip, Ott and the students read Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

“In addition to studying mass incarceration, the trip also allowed us to participate in the ministry of The Church of the Saviour that serves a population of ex-felons,” said Ott. “Our trip included conversations with ex-felons, observation of a jobs-training program for ex-felons, getting to know the creative ministry of The Church of the Saviour and appointments to discuss this issue with aides from the offices of Illinois legislators Dick Durbin and Cheri Bustos.”

Said Kamurigi: “In the meeting

with Sen. Durbin’s representative, he mentioned how the support and lobbying from faith-based organizations has really been a key contribution in helping to confront the issue, and this has encouraged me as a Christian woman to actually do something or get my church involved in doing something.”

Added Jones, “We were able to talk to representatives about a bill that’s in the process of being passed called ‘The Sentencing Reform Act.’ It calls for inmates to not get punished so harshly for minor offenses.”

The group also received a special tour of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, arranged by College trustee John Courson ’64, and advocacy training on the issue of mass incarceration by the PCUSA Office of Public Witness, arranged by its director, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, who spoke at the College on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “I was impressed with how an intentional church community works, and the sacrifices that people make for the common good,” said Slocum.

“Also, to go and be politically active opens up a lot of opportunities to advocate. I want to work as an oc-

cupational therapist, working with children with special needs, and this showed me how to advocate, which will definitely help me later.”

Said Baumann: “The importance of community arose again and again.

It’s harder for those incarcerated to re-enter without a community.”

After touring the Holocaust Museum, Jenkins observed, “One voice speaking up could have made such a difference. We have that voice, and it’s inspiring to know we can make a difference. It made me want to ask, ‘What can I do?’ ”

Chaplain Ott (lower right) and her students gather around a sculpture of Jesus in front of Washington, D.C.’s Church of the Saviour.

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Life in the Peace Corps global classroom

By Kevin Gebraski ’06 Editor’s note: Kevin Gebraski’s career as a volunteer global educator began in 2012, when he decided somewhat later than usual to join the Peace Corps and began the year-long application process. After serving 27 months in the Amphawa region of Thailand, he has since returned to his native Chicago.

J

oining the Peace Corps is similar to going off to college. Deciding to apply and then navigating the application process brings uncertainty about the future and where you will next spend a significant portion of your life. Being accepted is a relief, but it also brings worries about the journey ahead: Will I make friends?

Can I learn a complicated foreign language? Will I succeed in the program?

Just like stepping onto campus for the first time, in the Peace Corps your work begins the moment you walk off your plane. Over the first 10 weeks of training, alongside fellow Peace Corps volunteers, I learned skills and built strong relationships that would last for the rest of my life.

Once I completed training and arrived in my village, I was alone for the first time. I only had my recent training and limited experience to rely on. And like the first days of college, I made my share of mistakes. When speaking a new language, it’s easy to mix up a word or tone and accidentally say something embarrassing to your entire new community!

Growing up in Chicago, I was taught to never accept rides or food from strangers. But Peace Corps volunteers are taught to accept “living in a fishbowl”­—meaning everyone knows your business. If I was sick, strangers at the market would approach me, rub my stomach and ask if I was feeling better.

My primary duties in Thaka involved working with the local government to create sustainable health and leadership programming for youth. We did this through weekly youth groups, large-scale camps and leading by example. This work was hard, and I had doubts as to whether I was making an impact. But by initiating relationships with the kids and adults in the community, living like them, and working alongside the government, I built a positive reputation that helped me teach lessons on challenging topics such as safe sex and making healthy choices.

The Peace Corps calls itself “The Hardest Job You’ll Ever Love,” and I can tell you that they aren’t kidding. I’m grateful that Monmouth College helped me develop the tools to succeed in the Peace Corps, and the perseverance to rely on myself. No matter your major or career path, the Peace Corps has meaningful work for you. There is no perfect path to success but your own path, and as Monmouth alumni with a liberal arts education, you have what it takes to not only survive, but to thrive!

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Monmouth offers entering students off-campus study guarantee An innovative new program is making it easier for entering Monmouth College students to navigate the global classroom.

Unveiled this spring with the slogan U=MC2 , the Monmouth College Commitment guarantees to incoming students who seek it the opportunity to study abroad and/or complete an internship, as well as graduate in four years, provided they are in good academic and social standing. If a student is unable to secure the components of the commitment within four consecutive years of enrollment, the College will provide up to an additional year of study tuition-free.

“Monmouth College is a place of high opportunity,” said President Clarence R. Wyatt. “Being a place of high opportunity means more than just helping a student pay the bill. We define ‘high opportunity’ as all of the rich experiences available through the liberating arts at Monmouth College.”

The Monmouth College Passport Program, an initiative that provides a U.S. passport at no charge to entering Monmouth students, goes hand-in-hand with the study-abroad opportunity. Wyatt said the Passport Program “opens the world to our students” by providing the paperwork and application fee for eligible Monmouth students to receive a U.S. passport.

More information about the Monmouth College Commitment can be found at www.monmouthcollege.edu/mc2.

FOCUS ON TRUSTEES F. AUSTIN JONES F. Austin Jones asks questions.

When the Iowa banker was approached about becoming a Monmouth College trustee, he had a lot questions for Monmouth President Clarence R. Wyatt and Board Chair William J. Goldsborough ’65.

“I had over 30 questions for them. First and foremost was the financial condition of Monmouth College,” said Jones, who is senior executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief trust officer at Grinnell (Iowa) State Bank. “As a banker, I wanted to make sure the school was strong and moving in the right direction. I was also interested in the corporate structure and how the board worked.

“I have served on numerous nonprofit boards from hospitals, senior centers, mental health centers, churches and community foundations. So I bring an understanding of different organizations. When they presented the answers, it made me quite interested. All the responses were well-supported.”

Jones agreed to serve as a trustee, which he said “will allow me to expand my knowledge of another industry.”

Monmouth has been a big part in Jones’ family: his late mother, Marion Austin Jones ’50, served as a trustee for 12 years; his great-grandfather T. Merrill Austin founded the College’s music program; and his daughter Miranda Jones ’17 will graduate next

Grinnell, Iowa

May. His father, Addison Jones, has also been an active supporter of the College.

“We’ve had Monmouth in my family my entire life,” he said.

An Iowa native, Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Northern Iowa and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking. He’s participated in 21 of the fabled Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), and he’s been in triathlons since 1990, completing three Ironman triathlons.

And Jones said he looks forward to helping Monmouth compete in a very competitive higher education environment.

“As with any board I have joined, it will take a few years to learn culture and organizational structure. My role will be to listen, ask questions then try to solve the issues that arise,” he said. “I see the future of higher education, specifically small liberal arts colleges, to be a challenge. It is going to take tough questions and hard decisions. But the focus will always be on the best experience of the students and quality opportunities for the professors to provide a long-lasting institution.”

MARY ALEXANDER CORRIGAN ’82 Mary Alexander Corrigan ’82 is no stranger to Monmouth College.

She’s been active at the College since she enrolled as a freshman in 1978. In fact, at her 25-year reunion, she received an award for attending the most Homecoming weekends among her peers.

“I’ve always been involved with campus life in whatever way I could, and I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity to give something back to the College,” said Corrigan.

Since becoming president of the Monmouth College Alumni Board in 2015, Corrigan has worked several ways to increase alumni involvement at her alma mater.

“The motto that I have adopted as president of the alumni board is that all roads lead to Monmouth,” said Corrigan, who is an attorney in Peoria, Ill., with Howard & Howard, LLC. “It doesn’t matter where I have been in my life, I’m going to find somebody that either went here or had a connection.”

Building on a strategic plan approved in 2014, Corrigan works with members of the Alumni Board to make the association more relevant and visible both on and off campus.

“We’re firing on all cylinders at this point,” she said.

On campus, Corrigan and fellow board members have attended several student events. She has spoken at the matriculation ceremony that ushers in a new school year, and Corrigan has

Peoria, Ill.

also helped coordinate sending welcome notes from Alumni Board members to new students.

“We want to make a connection with students, even before they step foot on campus,” she said. “We want them to know that there is a big community of alumni out there that they will someday be a part of and that will be there to help them.”

To raise awareness of the Alumni Association off campus, Corrigan has worked with Director of Alumni Engagement Hannah Maher and her staff to increase the number of alumni chapters and programming offered to alumni.

The Alumni Board has also focused on increasing networking opportunities, both among fellow alumni and between alumni and current students. Corrigan said she hopes young alumni will especially realize the potential they have to serve as role models and mentors to students.

“Younger alumni can be such strong mentors to current students,” she said. “Younger alumni can help students understand what will be expected of them when they enter the job market, and they can also help students prepare to enter the job market after they graduate from Monmouth.”

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Ring Ching!

By BARRY McNAMARA

Joined by family, college officials and contractors, Harold “Knap” Knapheide cuts a ribbon, dedicating the new Pi Phi house.

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Karen Bowman Angotti ’63 and Joyce Patterson of the Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club lead the crowd in a rendition of Ring Ching Ching.

Vicki Knapheide Wood, who with her brother, Harold “Knap” Knapheide, provided the house’s naming gift, tries on a Pi Phi angel halo.

Descendants of the founders of Pi Beta Phi join the Knapheide and Wood families in celebrating the house’s dedication. Clockwise, from left, are Natalie Turnbull Main (Jennie Horne Turnbull), Jean Hutchinson Randolph ’68 (Clara Brownlee Hutchinson), Barbara Wheeler Byrne ’77 (Fannie Whitenack Libbey), Denise Turnbull (J.H. Turnbull), Megan Byrne ’16 (F.W. Libbey), Jill Randolph Wray ’05 and Evan Wray (C.B. Hutchinson), Amy Wood Wills, Vicki Knapheide Wood, Harold “Knap” Knapheide and Molly Wood.

PI PHI CELEBRATES ITS NEW HOME The founding chapter of Pi Beta Phi gets a long-awaited birthday present

W

hen Pi Beta Phi observes the 150th anniversary of its founding at Monmouth College next April, there figures to be a large celebration, but the 149th anniversary will be a hard act to

follow. After all, it’s not every day that the founding home of the nation’s first fraternity for women formally dedicates a new $2 million chapter house.

“This has been a very exciting project that we’ve worked on for a long time,” said Vicki Knapheide Wood of The Woodlands, Texas, who, along with her brother, Harold “Knap” Knapheide III of Quincy, Ill., provided the lead gift for the house in honor of their mother, Mary MacDill Knapheide ’35. “We finally get to celebrate.”

And celebrate they did, with a crowd of approximately 250 attending the dedication ceremony in the parking lot of the elegant modified Greek Revival structure, located on the northeast corner of campus.

President Clarence R. Wyatt paid tribute to Mary Knapheide in his dedication remarks. “Her spirit is truly with us today,” he said. “She was an extraordinary woman who embodies all that we celebrate today.”

While she was a Monmouth student in the 1930s, Knapheide met four of the original 12 founders of Pi Beta Phi, which began as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867.

Her grandmother, Lessie Buck MacDill, was not far behind the founders, being the 44th woman initiated. Three of the founders—Clara Brownlee Hutchinson, Fannie Whitenack Libbey and Jennie Horne Turnbull—were represented at the dedication ceremony by descendants.

“The women who started Pi Phi were pretty determined,” said Knap. “It’s quite a story of what was done in women’s education at that time. It’s important to tell the story of these pioneering women.”

The 12 founders had the vision to form the first secret society for women patterned after men’s groups at a time when only five state universities admitted women. Inside the house, there are displays chronicling the rich history of Pi Phi, which led the way as one of the first of seven founding members of the National Panhellenic Conference. Pi Phi was also the first to organize a national philanthropic project, form an alumnae department and establish an Alumnae Advisory Committee for each collegiate chapter.

Both President Wyatt and Dean of Students Jacquelyn Condon touched on the house’s connection to Mary Knapheide.

“This house is a meaningful tribute to their mother,” said Condon. “We cannot think of a better place for friendship and happiness to flourish than this beautiful house.”

“We thank Knap and Vicki for their time, talent and resources,” said Wyatt. “This house symbolizes their love for their mother and their commitment to excellence.”

That commitment to excellence included many updates to the original plans by Wood and her designer, Harold Tolsma, working in conjunction with the College’s

Cheri Patterson (left) and Camille Berg Johnson, visitors from the Bradley University Pi Phi alumnae club, pose in front of a Pi Phi symbol—a pair of angel wings—one of several colorful wall graphics in the new house.

Continued on page 22 SUMMER 2016

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Flanked by built-in bookshelves, the cozy living room centers on a grand gas fireplace.

LEFT: A sleek, modern kitchen features the latest electronic appliances and includes a pass-through window for serving.

BELOW: A spacious lounge offers a commanding view at the top of the stairway.

The Pi Beta Phi house stands proudly facing the northeast corner of campus.

PI BETA PHI Continued from page 21

architectural and construction firms.

“They turned this house from a very nice house into something very grand,” said senior project manager Scott Illingsworth of Russell Construction.

The women of Monmouth’s Illinois Alpha chapter are deeply appreciative of the 15-bed house.

“I would like to thank all of the donors who have supported this endeavor and the crews who have made this day possible,” said chapter president Kallie DiTusa ’17. “I would like to give an extra special thanks to Knap, (his wife) Ann, Vicki and Harold for all of their generosity in making this a one-of-a-kind experience that we will cherish for a lifetime.”

The ceremony concluded with a rousing rendition of the century-old Pi Phi song Ring Ching Ching, led by Joyce Patterson, president of the Monmouth Alumnae She

A highlight of the TV/study lounge is a wall devoted to Pi Phi history, including a touch-screen multimedia exhibit.

was

Club. joined

on the platform

by DiTusa, past chapter president Amber Berge ’16

and Karen BowAdjoining the formal dining room is a comfortable breakfast nook.

A portrait of Mary MacDill Knapheide greets visitors man Angotti ’63, to the house as they explore its elegant spaces.

as well as Wood

and her two daughters, Amy Wood Wills and Molly Wood, who were inducted into Monmouth’s alumnae chapter the night before.

Singing along in the crowd were several members of the Monmouth Alumnae Club, as well as Quincy-area Pi Phi’s, representing Mary Knapheide’s alumnae chapter.

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Commencement 2016 The Class of 2016 gathers on the steps of the Huff Athletic Center for a pre-commencement group photo.

Story: Barry McNamara and Duane Bonifer

‘A TIME OF GREAT CONSEQUENCE’ Speaking May 15 on a sun-drenched Wallace Hall Plaza, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham urged members of Monmouth College’s Class of 2016 “to make history your ally and not your enemy.”

Meacham told the 251 Monmouth graduates and more than 2,000 guests that “you are headed off to lives of great consequence in a time of great consequence for America and for the world.”

Meacham, who delivered the address at the College’s 159th Commencement ceremony, said that history “lies at the heart of our common public enterprise.”

Commencement weekend activities also included a baccalaureate service, senior honor walk and senior gala dinner.

In his address, Meacham, who is a frequent guest commentator on TV news shows, noted the “extraordinary electoral moment” that is the 2016 presidential election.

“Politically, we are in the midst of a great partisan struggle in which a professional political class of activists on the Internet and cable television appear to have more invested in the perpetuation of conflict than in the resolution of problems,” he said. “And in this very season, we face an extraordinary electoral moment in which an avowed outsider has successfully taken over the machinery of the venerable party of Lincoln, TR [Theodore Roosevelt], Eisenhower, Reagan and George H.W. Bush.”

Meacham­—who acknowledged that “we do not know what will happen once autumn comes”— said the 2016 presidential election is being shaped by a major debate about the role of government in American life.

“In an even larger sense, morally we face the great question of whether the great achievement of the last century—the building, often at public expense, of a sturdy middle class that has benefitted from both private enterprise and government investment—is to be sustained or discarded,” he said.

Meacham said that studying and understanding history could also help unify the country. He noted that Americans “don’t have a lot of things in common” right now because the culture is mired in “division and self-absorption.”

“And yet our common welfare depends not on what separates us but on what unifies us,” he said. “We must find a way forward. And we will do so, in my view, by consultation with

Historian Jon Meacham urges the senior class to pay attention to the lessons of history.

Continued on page 24

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COMMENCEMENT Continued from page 23

the past. History has the capacity to bring us together. For the story of the American journey is ultimately the story of obstacles overcome, crises resolved and freedom expanded. We have always grown in strength the wider we have opened our arms and the more we have opened our hearts.”

Meacham also encouraged the graduates to examine the shortcomings of their own era.

“Let us also pause and think, ‘What injustices are we perpetuating even now that will one day face the harshest of verdicts from those who come after us?’” he said.

In his message to the graduates, President Clarence R. Wyatt encouraged them to “be sure to come back to campus. Come back often.

No matter where you go, this will always be home. ... And, from (First Lady) Lobie (Stone) and me, we wish that you will keep the spirit of these days forever. That you will be forever young.”

In his remarks to the graduates, senior class president Anthony Howe encouraged his classmates to remember the people who played a role behind the scenes in their respective lives.

“I’m here today as a direct result of sacrifices that were made on my behalf,” Howe said, In his address as Monmouth’s Lincoln Laureate from the Class of 2016, Drake Decker reminded his classmates of how much was accomplished over the last four years.

“These could be the most influential years of our lives,” he said.

“We have every reason to be confident in our abilities in our future endeavors.”

Four faculty promotions were announced: Amy de Farias (history), Laura Moore (chemistry) and Ian Moschenross (music) were promoted to full professor; Dan Ott was granted tenure and promoted from assistant professor to associate professor of philosophy and religious studies.

On May 14, Monmouth Chaplain the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott presided over a baccalaureate service that celebrated the arts at the College. Contributions came from the departments of music, theatre, art and English.

Ott’s sermon, titled “Let Me See,” was inspired by the Gospel story of the blind man Bartimaeus who gained his sight.

“What do I hope for you as you leave this red brick oasis?” she asked the graduates. “The ability­—most of all the desire —to see. ... We’re all blind in some way. The author Flannery O’Connor wrote that we must see the world as it is, before we can turn it into art. ... It’s an extraordinary place, but the world needs us and our gifts to turn it into art.”

And Ott encouraged the graduates to share their gift of a Monmouth education with the world.

“I want you to remember the charge Jesus gave Bartimaeus: Go ... don’t keep this gift to yourself. Don’t go back to being blind,” she said. “Take this gift and do something with it. Share this gift, and see it all.”

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Chaplain Teri Ott delivers the benediction at the baccalaureate service.

Julianna Graf is greeted by President Wyatt and Lobie Stone presenting her mentor, Professor Joe Angotti, with a commemorative coin at the Honor Walk.

Members of the senior class present their graduation gift to President Wyatt and Lobie Stone. The gift will be used to paint the College’s name on a Monmouth water tower.

Professor Tim Pahel leads members of the Chorale and Chamber Choir in a sentimental Scottish medley, wrapping up the Senior Gala.

Once considered more of a novelty, the practice of decorating mortarboards is rapidly becoming mainstream at Commencement.

The Wind Ensemble, directed by Matt Wanken, entertains the Commencement audience.

Emeritus history professor Bill Urban (right) converses with Commencement speaker Jon Meacham prior to the ceremony.

President Wyatt delivers a message of Godspeed to the graduates.

A sea of graduates and well-wishers floods the front of campus as the 2016 exercises conclude.

Diploma in hand, student body president and Senior Woman of the Year Amber Berge caps off an eventful college career.

With his college career completed, Jordan Carter is joined in the celebration by his nephew, Jaylen.

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MON MOU T HI A NA

BY JEFF RANKIN College Historian

MONMOUTH’S ‘GLOBAL M

ore than half a century ago, Monmouth College faculty and administrators laid the groundwork for a commitment to integrating global studies into the curriculum.

In 1963, a faculty committee report adopted by the College Senate concluded, “The study of people and cultures outside the Western world is a necessary dimension of liberal education.” With funding available from the Ford Foundation and the strong support of Dean Harry Manley, who envisioned Monmouth as becoming a major center for Japanese studies, a proposal was developed.

Inspired by the College’s historical interest in Egypt, through its educational activities at Assiut College and Cairo Girls School, and by its connections with Asia, including a succession of students from Japan beginning early in the 20th century, the East Asia Studies program was born.

The idea to focus interest specifically on the East Asian region was promoted by Takashi Komatsu, a 1910 Monmouth graduate, who later earned a degree from Harvard and became a leading steamship executive in Japan. Katharine Phelps Boone ’30, and her husband, Navy Commander Gilbert Boone, helped push the proposal to fruition. Stationed for many years in Japan, the couple retired to Monmouth in 1960 with an important collection of Asian art and artifacts they had assembled abroad.

The Boone Oriental Library and Fine Arts Collection, which today resides in Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, comprised more than 3,500 pieces dating from the ninth century to modern times, including paintings, sculpture, toys, dolls and books. Valued today at nearly $3 million, its pieces, ABOVE: Katharine and Gilbert Boone teach an Asian art seminar in their library.

LEFT: An 18th-century Japanese painting on silk of shika, or deer, is one of the many treasures in the Boones' collection of Asian art, used to teach generations of Monmouth students.

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CLASSROOM’ HAD ROOTS IN THE 1960s which had been carefully selected for their educational value, were used extensively by the Boones in teaching Asian art courses.

The Boones presented the seminars in their private home, located in a wooded setting near the College. A trained architect who specialized in authentic restorations of historic homes, Commander Boone designed the unique residence to house and display the museum-quality collection.

The East Asian Studies program consisted of courses in Japanese language, philosophy, religion, government, history and sociology. The program brought visiting lecturers from throughout Asia who taught seminar courses and lectured in other classes during two-month visits to campus. Monmouth students were also given the opportunity to study for a year at universities in Asian countries.

Cecil Brett , an expert on Asian governments who had served two years with the British army in Southeast Asia and China, was hired to administer the program.

Other full-time faculty who developed additional expertise in order to teach in the program included Douglas Spitz, history; Stafford Weeks and Charles Speel, religion; and Harlow Blum, art. These and other faculty members spent time in such countries as Japan, India, Iran and Ceylon.

One of the program’s memorable highlights was an exchange program with Tamagawa Gakuen, a well-known Tokyo institution, which first brought a group of 34 Japanese high school students to Monmouth in 1965 for 14 weeks of immersion studies. While in Monmouth, the students learned the English language and were exposed to many aspects of American life, which included field trips throughout the Midwest and a threeweek “homestay,” living in the homes of Monmouth families.

In the mid-1960s, Won Hurh, a Monmouth College graduate who was a native of Korea, brought special expertise to the East Asian Studies program as chair of the sociology department. When Dean Epley succeeded him as chair in 1970, a

Malaysian dimension was added to the program. Epley, who had earlier helped organize Malaysia’s departments of health and education, persuaded the Malaysian government to send a number of students to Monmouth—at one point totaling 45.

As the decade of the 1970s progressed, several factors combined to cause a gradual decline in the East Asian program. The end of the Vietnam war shifted the nation’s attention away from Asia and toward the pressing political and economic problems at home.

The retirement of the Boones and the sudden death of Epley, which both occurred in 1977, brought to an end the guiding leadership necessary to effectively sustain the program.

But residual benefits from the program do live on. A recently established Kuala Lumpur-based alumni chapter is reuniting Malaysian students who attended Monmouth in the 1970s and ’80s and reawakening interest in potential partnerships.

Following the death of the Boones, their home was given to the College by Katharine’s nephew, Dr. Hugh Phelps ’63. An ensuing restoration turned it into a guest house and retreat center that retains some of its museum-style features, including an art gallery featuring Asian-inspired works by Harlow Blum.

ABOVE: A brochure about the East Asian Studies Program from the early 1970s.

BELOW: The Malaysia Alumni Chapter launched in Kuala Lumpur in 2013.

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JAMES WILSON (LEFT) POSES WITH COACH ROGER HAYNES FOLLOWING HIS FIRST-PLACE FINISH IN THE LONG JUMP AT NATIONALS.

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SCOTSPORTS

ONE GIANT LEAP

SCOTS’ TRACK AND FIELD LEGACY PROPELLED BY WILSON’S PERFORMANCE AT NATIONALS

BY BARRY MCNAMARA AND DAN NOLAN

Remembering how James Wilson ’16 finished in his final track meet at Monmouth College is as easy as 1-2-3-4.

And it wasn’t just any track meet. It was the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and Wilson’s four All-American finishes (two individual events, two relays)—which included a national title in the long jump—helped account for 29 of Monmouth’s 32 points. That was good for a third-place finish for the Fighting Scots, just one point shy of second.

Wilson also placed second in the 400-meter dash (46.97), third in the 4 x 100 relay (a school-record 40.78) and fourth in the 4x400 (3:12.67). Pole vaulter Dan Evers ’18 scored the other three points at the meet with a sixth-place finish (16–4√).

Monmouth’s high outdoor finish was not out of the blue. The Scots had placed fourth at the NCAA indoor meet, with Wilson again bringing home four All-American honors, including three in individual events. Other indoor All-Americans were Evers and Joe Ward ’16 in the pole vault, Ethan Reschke ’17 in two sprints, and relay runners Matt Trainor ’16 and Adam Parr ’16, who teamed with Wilson and Reschke.

But going back to when the Class of 2016 was recruited, one could make the case that two top four national team finishes was indeed a surprise.

“Of all the men who competed at the national level, only Timmy (Williams) came to us with an acclaimed high school career in terms of a bunch of state medals,” said coach Roger Haynes ’82. “The majority of our team—men and women—didn’t come in with eye-popping numbers.

Those outside our program don’t know what it’s like. I have very high expectations of them, what they do daily, weekly and on weekends. What our All-Americans have done is put in consistent, hard work and then performed under pressure situations. Matt Trainor is a prime example. He’s calm and understands what we’re doing as well as anyone I’ve coached, and that includes national champions. He’s not the most talented on the team, but he’s one of the most important guys on our team because of his work ethic and demeanor.”

Of the seven men who earned 22 All-American

awards this year (Williams is the other), three will return next season, giving fans optimism for another successful year. But to look to the future, one must first look to the past.

Of the 130 All-Americans in the history of the men’s track and field program, all but two have come under Haynes’ watch, which spans more than 30 years. Haynes’ teams have also churned out 10 national champions.

“The credit always goes to the student-athletes,” said Haynes. “It’s such a fine line between being very prepared or unprepared, and that’s physical or mental. They have such a belief in what we do and in themselves that when the time comes, we’re going to be ready.”

Not so fast on the credit, said Wilson, Coach Haynes saw who is the most decorated man or woman in Monmouth track history with 15 something I didn’t All-American honors. believe I had in me “I came to Monmouth not really knowing anything about track since I with running and didn’t start until my junior year of high school, and I couldn’t have asked for a jumping.” better coach,” he said. “Coach Haynes JAMES WILSON ’16 saw something I didn’t believe I had in me with running and jumping. He helped me with everything, on and off the track. I found another family at Monmouth with my coaches and a number of teammates.”

In reality, it takes both the student-athletes and the coaches.

“I was proud of how the guys conducted themselves,” said Haynes. “We didn’t have great lane assignments in the relays, but the guys didn’t say anything about that until the day was over. They just went about their business. This particular group handled the pressure at the national meet extremely well. Running that fast and finishing that high in the relays has been a dream of mine for a long time. All the relay guys made that happen this year. That was a lot of fun for me.”

Wilson’s impact didn’t only come from his fleet feet. The senior also took Williams, a talented freshman, under his wing.

“James spent a lot of time in a leadership and mentoring Continued on page 30

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SCOTSPORTS

HIPPEN POWERS SOFTBALL TO HISTORIC SEASON The most successful season in program history saw the Fighting Scots finish just one victory away from the NCAA tournament. Among the team’s school-record 28 victories were two wins on the first day of the Midwest Conference playoffs, but the Scots dropped a pair of games the next day to host Lake Forest to fall just shy of their first-ever national berth.

Five players were named All-MWC, including Pitcher of the Year Liz Hippen ’18, who threw one of her two no-hitters on the year to lead the Scots to the championship game. Hippen set the program’s single-season records for wins (15) and strikeouts (163) to go with a sparkling 1.59 ERA. Another all-league pick found her way to the record book, as catcher Charlotte Park ’16 belted eight homers to finish her stellar career with a school-record 22. She finished her senior year with a .351 average, which was second on the team, and a team-best 25 RBIs. Also making the All-MWC squad were outfielder Kirstyn Ozga ’17 (team highs of .382. average and 29 runs), shortstop Elena Sakellaropoulos ’19 (.313) and third baseman Michaela Guthrie ’18 (.328, 4 HR, 24 RBI).

Coach John Goddard received the MWC Coach of the Year honor as the Scots played in the title game of the league tournament for the first time since 2003.

Liz Hippen ’18 threw two no-hitters en route to establishing season records for the most wins and strikeouts in program history.

TRACK AND FIELD THIRD AT NATIONALS Continued from page 29

role with Timmy,” said Haynes of the young sprinter, who was part of the All-American 4 x 100 team along with Wilson, Reschke and Parr. “I’m seeing and hearing Timmy act and do the things James is doing. I’m proud of him running on the school record 4 x 1, but I’m most happy that he ran and scored well in the 100 and had a lifetime-best in the 200 meters at the conference meet. He’s come a long way as a track athlete, and if he can find the focus James has, he’ll be very good before his career is over.”

Wilson, who had captured the 2013 indoor long jump crown, earned his second national title on the outdoor

meet’s opening day with a personal-best mark of 24–5∏.

The senior nearly became a three-time champion, finishing second in the finals of the 400-meter dash while setting his lifetime best in back-to-back races. Leading coming out of the final turn, Wilson was edged at the tape by five one-hundredths for a runner-up finish.

“No one in the country takes on the same load of events at the NCAAs as James,” said Haynes. “He’s willing to take on challenges and has a lot of fun with track. People away from our program don’t give him enough credit for his work ethic and belief in the program. Sure, he’s got athletic ability, but it’s that drive and willingness to do whatever the team needs that sets him apart.”

Reduced to a near afterthought during the indoor and outdoor track seasons was Monmouth’s two Midwest Conference team titles. The Scots men won both league meets, while the women turned in a pair of runner-up finishes.

The men’s outdoor track and field athletes competing at nationals display their third-place trophy. From left are Timmy Williams ’19, Matt Trainor ’16, Adam Parr ’16, James Wilson ’16, Ethan Reschke ’17, Vaughn Gentzler ’18, Joe Ward ’16 and Dan Evers ’18.

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SCOTSPORTS

Water polo center Cassidy O’Connell ’16 became Monmouth’s first female player to earn All-American status from the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Ninety-four of her school-record 156 career goals came in her senior season, during which first-year coach Peter Ollis led the Scots to the best season in their history. Monmouth finished 7-11 and had its highest seed and finish at the CWPA West Championships.

Austin Hardy ’17 filled four positions for the baseball Scots, including pitcher, where he set the program’s single-season ERA record with a 1.48 mark. Offensively, he led the team in average (.384), on-base percentage (.451) and slugging percentage (.616). Co-All-MWC player Ryan Sparks ’17 led the team with five HRs and 38 runs scored, while boasting a .603 slugging percentage. In coach Alan Betourne’s first season at the helm, the Scots finished third in the South Division at 7-9, en route to an overall mark of 18-17.

MEN’S GOLF: A pair of scores in the 70s by Drake Decker ’16 and Luke Kreiter ’18 on the final day of the Midwest Conference meet helped Monmouth card a 325 and pull into a tie for second place with Lake Forest with a 54-hole total of 960. Decker’s threeday total of 236 tied for third as he earned All-MWC status for the third straight year.

MEN’S TENNIS: Officially, the Scots placed third in the Midwest Conference, despite five of their nine entries in the singles and doubles competitions reaching the championship match. Placing second in their respective divisions were singles players Marco Franco ’16, Saxon Day ’18, Paulo Pliego ’18 and Ronnie Griffin ’18, and the doubles team of Dylan Wong ’18 and Griffin. The Scots dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker to Lake Forest in the MWC semi-final to finish with an overall mark of 10-10.

WINTER SPORTS SUMMARY MEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

The Fighting Scots fell short of making back-to-back Midwest Conference playoff appearances, as some late-season results failed to go their way.

With a 9-9 conference mark, one game behind fourth-place Lake Forest, the Scots’ overall record of 13-10 was its second-best in two decades. Will Jones ’18 led the team in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (7.3), assists (95) and steals (52) while earning second team All-MWC honors.

The Scots found themselves in a transition year in coach Kyle Wilson’s first season at the helm, finishing 4-14 in Midwest Conference play and 5-18 overall.

Katie Houston ’16 made the All-MWC team, leading the Scots in scoring (15.4), rebounding (8.2), assists (81) and steals (37).

Kelsey Walsberg ’18 netted a school-record 10 three-pointers in a season-ending 77-66 win over Lawrence.

For the third consecutive year, diver Allie Vallance ’17 qualified for NCAA regional competition, where she placed 12th. Vallance made history at the Midwest Conference meet, winning the 1-meter diving competition to become the Fighting Scots’ first diver to win a league crown since 1936.

Will Jones

MEN’S SWIMMING The Scots placed sixth at the league meet, only 29 points from a fourth-place finish.

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Above: Alumni pause by the new Scots Spirit statue during a Golden Scots tour of campus.

MEMORIES ARE GOLDEN FOR RETURNING SCOTS

BY BARRY McNAMARA

Coming to terms with the past and present provided a fascinating journey for 150 alumni who visited campus in June for the annual Golden Scots Celebration. The four-day event, which featured seminars, campus tours, class reunions, a dance and a chapel service, introduced alumni who graduated more than 40 years ago to the Monmouth College of today.

But it was recalling campus life of the 1960s that dominated much of the weekend’s conversation.

“We had it made—life was much simpler,” said Donna Schliffke Sproston ’66. “We didn’t have all this social media, so we weren’t as connected to all the gossip. We had our heads in the sand. It was much simpler that way, too.”

“I think we were on the cusp,” said Judy Burmeister Dew ’66. “It was really pastoral, in a lot of ways—friendships, fun, learning. Our time at Monmouth College was the calm before the storm. The next couple of years after that, things really hit the fan.”

Some of those “things” were the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy and the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, all in 1968.

“I’ve heard it described that in 1956, the College was like

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a nunnery and 1961 was oppressive,” Sproston said. By 1967-68, when she returned to campus with her husband, music professor Mike Sproston ’64, “they’d thrown out a lot of the rules. Dean Jean (Liedman) had apoplexy.”

“Right after we left, things kind of mushroomed up for them,” said Frankie White Wolma ’66.

Protests were not yet the order of the day—a mid-1960s demonstration during the Vietnam War actually supported the war—but a few issues were sprouting. One involved civil rights.

Wolma recalled Kappa Kappa Gamma’s efforts to add black student Barbara Lane ’66 to their organization. “ Barb (Baughman) Killey fought tooth and nail with alums to pledge her,” Wolma said. “We were not trying to have a token member. She was a cool girl, and we wanted to pledge her.”

They were ultimately successful, and it was not the only fight that Killey would win. During a Golden Scots panel discussion titled “Caught Between Tradition and Liberation,” she shared victories in the battle for women’s rights.

Even though in the 1960s Monmouth women had several campus rules—such as dress codes and evening hours— and the men didn’t, Killey said the word “unfair” wasn’t on her mind until after she graduated.

“The signs that said ‘Question Authority’ became popular, but I didn’t see those signs until later,” she said. “I didn’t feel discriminated against until I started looking for non-traditional jobs.”

“

Our time at Monmouth College was the calm before the storm.”

Killey recalled being told she’d have to quit one of her early post-college jobs because it was dangerous for a pregnant woman to drive. Her doctor wrote her a note, changing her due date to three months later, so she was able to work two extra months. But “it still frosted me,” she said.

Killey eventually got into systems engineering work and, at age 52, she took on law school, graduating from the Hastings College of Law. In 1963, Betty Freidan published The Feminine Mystique, which in part said that many middle-class women were unhappy, suffering from limited expectations. Freidan wrote that many women attended college to earn either an “MRS” degree or a “PHT” (Putting Hubby Through).

“Nothing made me madder than being asked if I was in college to get my MRS degree,” said Barb Trubeck Clark ’66.

“My mother was not college-educated,” said Betty Frank Fridley ’66, agreeing with the depictions in Freidan’s book.

“She was the role model for me of what not to do with my life. I knew that was not the life I wanted. I wanted a life that my mother didn’t have. ... I heard a man saying that his gender had it made—that there was no competition for jobs in the 1950s and ’60s. We were the no competition.”

Fridley eventually landed a “great job” at Xerox. “There was no discrimination,” she said. “If you could sell, you could sell.”

In addition to pledging a black student, Wolma recalled another moment when the real world showed up on Monmouth’s pastoral doorstep. “ Margie Schneider Demas’s fiancé got his draft notice,” she said. “We all thought, ‘This could be something real.’ That was the hint. It touched us personally.”

For alumni who came after the 1966 class, that possibility became more real.

“You were scared to go to Vietnam,” said Mike McGrath ’71.

“You could get killed, you could get hurt. It didn’t feel like we were trying to win that war. It was nebulous why we were there. It wasn’t like World War II ... ‘You gotta go over there and get ’em.’”

As for the social changes, McGrath said, “I pulled an all-nighter at least once a week. I was only worried about school in those days.”

Leon Kraut ’67 agreed.

“I was in class every morning and in lab every afternoon,” he said. “I was a T.A. for two labs, including one from 8-12 on Saturdays.”

Now mostly retired, the Golden Scots leisurely recalled the turbulent times of their youth in the comfort of the modern Monmouth College campus­, while enjoying plentiful food, engaging conversation and, especially, air-conditioned dorm rooms.

JUDY BURMEISETER DEW ’66

Jim ’66 and Judy Anderson Pilarski ’66 enjoy a closeup view of the heavens through the 20-inch Trubeck Telescope.

Judy Burmeister Dew ’66 samples a freshly-picked strawberry from the campus garden.

Alumni boogie down at a Saturday night dance, held in the Center for Science and Business.

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Clockwise, from top left: The Class of 1966 presents its reunion gift of $1.27 million to President Clarence Wyatt and First Lady Lobie Stone (right).

Jazz musician Glenn Brooks ’61 entertains members of the 1853 Society, McMichael Heritage Circle and 10-year members of the Loyal Scots Society at an appreciation breakfast.

The Alumni Choir rehearses a medley of Beatles hits, in preparation for Sunday morning's memorial chapel service.

Tony Perzigian ’66, a former educational adviser in Egypt, details his experiences in that country during the Arab Spring uprising in 2010.

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REUNION CL ASSES

Class of 1966 Row 1 (from left): Trudy Roberts Triner, Bill Wolma, Frankie White Wolma, Kathryne Moore Aschenbrenner, Maureen Beck Hamilton, Susan Buckles, John Serbin, George Heck, Judy Burmeister Dew, Barbara Trubeck Clark, Mary Ann Johnson Hanlin, Linda Jungbluth Frost, Betty Frank Fridley, Barb Ballard Huwe and Dan Bianucci. Row 2: Barbara Baughman Killey, Gail Hartong Zika, Dorothy Harris Fogel, Madelyn Witt Young, Nancy Yates Coots, Judith Fiene Van Horn, William Carlson, Nancy

Munn Smith, Susan Kauzlarich Kuster, Janet Maginn Stevenson, Judith Anderson Pilarski, Doug Carlson and Larry Dew. Row 3: Dennis Deegan, Dick Rodgers, Kenneth Klein, Alan Magazine, James Pilarski, David Whiteman, Dick Jensen, Dick Yahnke, John Wierman, Richard Asoian, Earl Paasch, Dennis Elliott, Gerald Young, Alan Petersen, William Stris, Jim Wilson, Anthony Perzigian, Maren Olson, Marge Schneider Demas, Donna Schliffke Sproston, Bob Frost, Sally Bowman and Tom Martin.

Class of 1956 From left: Jane Mears Warfield, Carolyn Copeland Cammenga, James Effland, Betty Duncan McBride, Sheryl Johnson Geiger and Sally Smith Larson.

Class of 1971 Class of 1961 Row 1 (from left): Fred McDavitt, Barb Clark Ellefsen, Jane Corman Young, Margaret Bozarth, Lila Keleher Blum, Ron Kenney, Paul Ellefsen and Tom Bollman. Row 2: Sandy Johnson Dobras, Gordon Young, Debbie Sippel Ratliff, Linda Soliday Currin, Lynn McGaan Knox and Fred Wackerle. Row 3: Jim Hornaday, Robert Singer, Robert Jornlin, Ronald Lundal, Robert Feiertag, Paul Moye, Darrell Edson and James Klusendorf.

Row 1 (from left): Linda Larsen Pfaff, Mary Ellen Triplett, Judith Gardiner Johnson and Betty Jerden Bollman.

Row 2: Barbara Leskanich Halcott, Cathy Boomsma Macari, Jay Spitzer and Michael McGrath.

SUMMER 2016 

35

BOOKS

I AM THAT MAN MOORE! Letters shine light on military and private life of a Monmouth College hero A CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AND HIS LADY:

LOVE, COURTSHIP, AND COMBAT FROM FORT DONELSON THROUGH THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN

By Gene Barr Hardcover, 360 pages, $32.95 Savas Beatie

M

ore than 150 years ago, 27-year-old Irish immigrant Josiah Moore met 19-year-old Jennie Lindsay, a member of a prominent Peoria, Ill., family.

The Civil War had just begun; Josiah was the captain of the 17th Illinois Infantry, and his war would be a long and bloody one. Their courtship and romance, which came to light in a rare and unpublished series of letters, forms the basis of A Civil War Captain and His Lady: A True Story of Love, Courtship, and Combat.

Of particular interest to a Monmouth College audience is that Josiah Moore was a member of the first group of Monmouth students to volunteer for the Union Army in 1861, when a call went out for volunteers. Before war’s end, the number of Monmouth students, faculty and trustees fighting for the Union cause would total 232.

A native of Ballybay, Ireland, Moore as an infant emigrated to Galena, Ill., with his parents. He entered Monmouth College as a junior in 1860, where he at once became a great favorite among students, due to his height, athletic build and personal charm.

When a meeting was held at the Monmouth courthouse after the firing on Fort Sumter to raise a local military unit, 80 names had already been added to the enlistment roll, and 20 more were needed to complete the company. When the number reached 99, the secretary announced that one man more was required.

At that moment, Josiah Moore rose from a seat in the rear of the room and dramatically exclaimed, “I am that man Moore!”

Upon adjournment of the meeting, the company met and immediately elected Moore captain.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Josiah’s and Jennie’s letters shed significant light on the important role played by a soldier’s sweetheart on the home front, and a warrior’s observations from the war front. Josiah’s letters offer a deeply personal glimpse into army life, how he dealt with the loss of many close to him, and the effects of war on a man’s physical, spiritual and moral well-being.

Jennie’s letters show a young woman mature beyond her age, dealing with the difficulties on the home front while her brother and her new love struggle through the travails of war.

Politics also thread their way through the letters and include the evolution of Jennie’s father‘s view of the conflict. A leader in the Peoria community and former member of the Illinois state house, he engages in his own political wars when he shifts his affiliation from the Whig Party to the new Republican Party, and is finally elected to the Illinois Senate as a Peace Democrat and becomes one of the state’s more notorious Copperheads.

In addition to this moving and often riveting correspondence, Barr includes additional previously unpublished material on the 17th Illinois and the war’s Western theater, including Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg and the lesser known Meridian Campaign—actions that have historically received much less attention than similar battles in the Eastern theater. The result is a story of love, danger, politics and warfare.

Editor’s note—After marrying Jennie in 1864, Moore returned to Monmouth College and graduated in 1865. He then entered the theological seminary at Monmouth and obtained his license to preach from the United Presbyterian Church in 1866. After serving several congregations in Illinois, he retired to Lake Forest, Ill., until his death in 1897.

ALUMNI NEWS | CLASS NOTES

™

ALUMNI NEWS

WE WELCOME NEWS AND PHOTOS related to your career, awards, reunions or travel with your Monmouth College friends, and any other information of interest to your classmates or alumni. We also welcome announcements and photos of alumni weddings and births, as well as alumni obituaries.

Please see page 38 for submission guidelines.

1930

8 Kool Dames

1944

Helen Adair Hayes of Monmouth was honored for being an active member of Pi Beta Phi for 75 years.

Now 92, she first joined Pi Phi at Monmouth College before transferring to the University of Illinois. “I’ve been blessed with many lifelong friends,” she said of her Pi Phi experience.

1972

1946 1957 1962 1964

1974

Mary Smith Johnson of Monmouth celebrated her 108th birthday on May 31. She was five months old when the Chicago Cubs last won the World Series. She enrolled at Monmouth 90 years ago, studying to become a teacher, and she had a 30-year career in education. Her advice for a long life: “Pay attention to business and keep out of mischief, which can be hard for some people.”

John Allaman and his wife, Mary Lou, of Kirkwood, Ill., celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in June.  60th

REUNION

JUNE 8-11, 2017

 55th

REUNION

JUNE 8-11, 2017

Tom Ulmet (see Last Word, page 48) of Centennial, Colo., was inducted into the Highland Illinois Area School Alumni Association Hall of Fame for making significant contributions to international education during his career. Ulmet has worked in Austria, England, Switzerland, China and Dubai, and he has created international schools in 11 countries. Ulmet currently serves as executive director of the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools.

1967 1971

 50th

REUNION

JUNE 8–11, 2017

Tom Lee announced his retirement from serving as provost of the Des Moines (Iowa) Community College Boone Campus, where he worked the past 11 years. His 45-year career in education also includes 11 years in Albia, Iowa, and 23 years in the Des Moines school district, including four years as principal at East High School.

Since 2003, a group of eight Kappa Deltas from the Class of 1963 has been traveling to destinations across the country. Calling themselves the “8 Kool Dames,” their most recent trip was to the condo of Jean Rasmusen Droste in Otter Crest, Ore., where they took a ride over the dunes along the coast.

Twelve previous trips have included such cities as New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Boston. From left are: Shirley Service Culbert, Sharon Irvine Lopatka, Daryl Gillespie Beadle, Hallie Simpson Lemon, Donna Bullard Colado, Ann Stewart Cragg, Carol Clark Dotseth and Jean Rasumusen Droste.

 45th

REUNION

JUNE 8–11, 2017

Jim Anderson of Danville, Ill., retired from Old National Bank, where he served as market president. Anderson was with the bank for 30 years.

Bobby Joe Mason of Milan, Ill., received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Ill., where he completed his first years of college. A case manager for an alternative school in Davenport, Iowa, he began his long career in education in 1975, teaching 19 years at the Mary Davis Detention Home in Galesburg.

“I’ve dedicated my career to stressing to kids to get an education,” said Mason, whose motto is “Every day is a new day.” He later served as a principal for schools in Galesburg and Rock Island, Ill.

1976

 40th

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

The Rev. Bruce Weiman of Fisher, Ill., is pastor of Arthur United Methodist Church.

1977 1981

Gary Neudahl of Cary, Ill., is product application manager at Hallstar Manufacturing and Technical Center.  35th

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

SUMMER 2016

37

ALUMNI NEWS | CLASS NOTES

1984

Joe Burgess, superintendent of Genoa Kingston schools since 2010, has been named the 2016 Superintendent of Distinction by his colleagues in the Kishwaukee Region of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. His nominators cited his work to integrate technology into the curriculum and his discussion of problems associated with substance abuse and bullying.

1985 1986 1991

Jack Churchill of St. Louis is a dispatcher for Express Medical.  30th  25th

REUNION

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

Stephen Kennedy was hired by Allianz Life as senior vice president of enterprise operations. He is responsible for the division that provides administrative services for annuities and life insurance across various distribution channels. Kennedy previously worked for 22 years at AIG Life and Retirement.

1996 1998

 20th

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

James Middlemas, a deputy for the Peoria (Ill.) County Sheriff ’s Office since 2007, was named Deputy of 2015. His responsibilities include working on the Central Illinois Emergency Response Team and the U.S. Marshals Warrant Task Force. He is also the community police officer for West Peoria.

2001

 15th

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

Kim Williams Maranda of Lake in the Hills, Ill., is a paralegal for Prudential Capital Group in Chicago.

2003

Melinda Fry of Monmouth, who teaches in the United School District, was named the 2016 Citizen of the Year by the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce.

2006 2008

 10th

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

Seth Leitner of Aurora, Ill., is zone operations manager for Home City Ice.

Joe and Amanda Havens Pilger ’07 live in Monmouth, and Joe recently accepted a new position as assistant principal at West Central Elementary School in Biggsville.

Megan Prueter has been named the youth services librarian at the Edwardsville (Ill.) Public Library. She received her master’s degree in library science from Clarion Unversity.

2010

Katherine Setchell Bulfer of Mendota, Ill., is a physical education and health teacher in the Amboy school district.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Tom Ulmet ’64 (center), who was honored recently for his lifelong contributions to international education, met up recently in Suzhou, China, with fellow Monmouth alumni Luke Devlin ’12 (left) and Travis Coverdell ’92, who have also pursued careers in international education.

2011

 5th

REUNION

SEPT. 30-0CT. 2, 2016

Andrew Watson of Aurora, Ill., is an undergraduate recruiter at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. A former member of the Monmouth College Pipe Band, he is currently the lead drummer for the Midlothian Scottish Pipe Band.

2013 2014 2015 2016

Emily Morland is a property manager for Rittenhouse Station Apartments in Newark, Del. Shawndra Pitts of Chicago is a paraprofessional at Perspectives Charter School.

Megan Shultz Sellman is a fuel tax representative for ITA Compliance in Madison, Wis. Tyler Baxter is Florida sales director for Midcoast Custom Marine in Orlando.

Submission Guidelines Submit your news online at monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/ updates, by email to alumni@monmouthcollege.edu, or by mail to Monmouth College Magazine, Attn: Alumni Programs, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998. Digital photos should have a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Please include a photo caption with full names that clearly match faces, class years, date and location. We reserve the right to reject images for any reason, especially those with low resolution and those that require purchase from a photo gallery website. Submissions will be published at the discretion of the editors on a space-available basis.

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

PATRICK DABBS ’14 Insurance executive values lessons learned at Monmouth

BY BARRY McNAMARA

Patrick Dabbs couldn’t have asked for a much better start to his professional career, and he wanted to make sure those responsible for it knew how well they prepared him.

Shortly after taking a job with global reinsurance company Swiss Re, Dabbs sent a thank-you letter to his Monmouth College political economy and commerce faculty, whom he credited with helping him achieve early success in his career —first with a job at Aetna, then at Swiss Re. “My education has served me very well so far,” he wrote.

“Without it, I certainly would not have landed my first job at Aetna. Without it, I certainly wouldn’t have been brought to Swiss Re by Aetna’s former director of underwriting. And without it, I would not be able to solve the business problems I encounter every day.”

At Swiss Re, Dabbs’ initial duties involved supporting the company’s stop loss line of business through extensive data analysis, while maintaining close communication with multiple teams across the organization, off-shore contractors and producers. He has since taken an assistant vice president position in compliance analysis.

An economics and business administration major, Dabbs said he was well-schooled at Monmouth in a number of subjects—many of which he wasn’t sure he would need after graduation but have since come to play an important role in his work: globalization, econometrics, the cost of turnover, market analysis, advertising and even Robert’s Rules of Order.

“I have used the regression analysis I learned at Monmouth quite frequently and wowed my peers and superiors,” Dabbs wrote to his faculty, citing yet another example. “I have, on multiple occasions, run regression analyses projecting future claims and enrollment, therefore enabling us to properly price for the future.”

To professor of politic a l economy a nd commerce Michael Connell , who taught Dabbs in several classes, he wrote: “I appreciate the view of business and economics that you gave me. I feel at many schools, economics is taught as being purely empirical. However, as you taught me and the way the world goes, this is not the case. Although I do use a lot of empirical analysis, I always think about the non-empirical side of things.”

Dabbs started his career as an underwriting analyst at the Fortune 50 company Aetna. He joined a group of other newcomers, all of whom had graduated from large universities.

“The other dozen or so new hires were all from big-time business programs,” Dabbs said. “But I felt I was the most prepared, and I’m the one the others frequently turned to when they asked for help.”

It wasn’t only his peers who noticed Dabbs. Not long into his career, Aetna’s director of underwriting accepted a position with Swiss Re. The director took with him four senior-level Aetna employees and one relative newcomer—Dabbs.

Dabbs said that involvement in Monmouth’s cocurricular opportunities also shaped his development.

“The teamwork capabilities I acquired while playing football at Monmouth have helped me tremendously in work,” said Dabbs, who served on the team’s leadership committee.

“Technical capabilities aside, I have found the ability to work effectively with people of different backgrounds, personalities and nationalities to be extremely important. I became versed in this prior to my career from my experiences both in the classroom and on the field.”

Although he is happy in his position at Swiss Re, Dabbs said he might eventually pursue another avenue of business he studied at Monmouth—entrepreneurship.

“I never thought I would want to start and operate a business, but those opportunities are starting to appear, and I eventually plan to explore them using the knowledge I obtained in my ‘Entrepreneurship’ class,” he said.

An assistant vice president at global reinsurance corporation Swiss Re, Patrick Dabbs wrote an unsolicited letter crediting Monmouth for his early career success.

SUMMER 2016

39

WEDDINGS

1997 Laura Higgins and Scott Meyers

June 25, 2016

2006 Heather Weber and Jeremy Green

April 27, 2016

2010 Katherine Setchell and Andrew Bulfer

Lauren Vana and Thomas Pedersen ’11

June 13, 2015 April 2, 2016

2011 Airyell DeFord and Greg Gladfelter

Whitney Didier and Patrick Shippert

Carly Maki and Mark Maffioli 2015 Megan Shultz and Tyler Sellman

Erin Schuch and Justin Frye ’14

HEATHER WEBER ’06 AND JEREMY GREEN

August 1, 2015 August 1, 2015 June 20, 2015 October 24, 2015 May 21, 2016

ERIN SCHUCH ’15 AND JUSTIN FRYE ’14

LAUREN VANA ’10 AND THOMAS PEDERSEN ’11

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

TIM WELLS ’87 ‘Relentless pursuit’ of hobby leads bowhunter to media prominence When it comes to hunting, Tim Wells loves the thrill of the chase.

Along the way, the world-famous bow hunter has successfully chased down something else—a hit TV show and celebrity status as a hunter. Wells stars on The Sportsman Channel’s Relentless Pursuit, the No. 1 bow-hunting cable TV show.

Wells returned to his alma mater in April to share his entertaining story—and his story in entertainment—with students in “Midwest Entrepreneurs,” a 300-level business course team-taught by faculty members Michael Connell and Terry Gabel.

“As an entrepreneur, if you have a good idea and a work ethic, you can make it big,” Wells told the class. “Follow your passion.”

Wells has certainly followed his passion. He shared a story about his mother letting him stay home one day from kindergarten so he could hunt grackles. He also recalled sprinting off the school bus most days to get home, grab his bow and get out into the wild.

“I’ve always loved hunting, and I pursued it with a passion,” he said.

Wells didn’t pursue his passion professionally at first. But he said it took only one year of working for “the man” before he turned to entrepreneurism and began to open doors that led to working as a full-time hunter. The first door opened when he quit his mill foreman job and began an environmental consulting firm, which provided venture capital and also took him all over the United States.

“I made a ton of money, and I made it quick,” Wells said.

He also learned his valuable “first lesson” in entrepreneurism: “Don’t throw that money away. Invest it back in your company. I realized, ‘Hey, I can lose this as fast as I made it.’ When you finally hit a lick, you think that lick’s going to last forever, but it won’t.”

The “lick” that Wells has been on has lasted longer than most, which he attributes to his passion and divine intervention.

While working for an outdoor TV channel in California, Wells hunted grizzly bears in Alaska. It’s dangerous work, especially for an “instinctive hunter” like Wells, who gets very close to his prey.

“Bears kill humans,” he said, “because we taste like chicken.”

On an extremely close encounter with a grizzly bear, and with the video camera rolling, Wells launched what he called “the shot heard ’round the world”—an arrow that struck the approaching bear between the eyes, killing it immediately.

“That catapulted my career instantly,” he said. “That video sold 300,000 copies. Life is about chances, and I believe you make your own luck in life.”

Wells credited the opportunity to his belief that God was watching out for him that day, as well as the skills he developed from shooting a bow “about a billion times.”

Relentless Pursuit is also the title of Wells’ first book, written 20 years ago.

Wells, who holds sponsorships with several major hunting product manufacturers, has since authored Demon in the Dark, a fictional tale of a hunter’s fight to save the last rhino from extinction, which is being considered as the basis for a Hollywood movie.

In a blog entry for the class, Cole Trickel ’17 wrote about the “wild stories” that Wells told, and that he “also talked about how times have changed since 1987, when he was allowed to have his bow in his (dorm) room and string a buck up from the balcony (of Gibson Hall).”

Barry McNamara

Wearing a handcrafted hide jacket, Wells speaks to the “Midwest Entrepreneurs” class at Monmouth College this spring. Photo: Kent Kriegshauser

SUMMER SUMMER 2016 2016

41

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

MELISSA SCHOLES YOUNG ’97 Writer successfully combines teaching with practicing her craft ensemble and serving as a resident assistant. A passion for government also led her As a teenager growing up in to add a government major, the small Missouri river town run successfully for student of Hannibal, Melissa Scholes body vice president, and enYoung watched barges plyroll in American University’s ing the Mississippi, dreaming Washington Semester proabout one day becoming a gram, which would have a lawyer. Little did she imagine life-changing benefit. that she would instead follow On the morning after her in the footsteps of hometown 21st birthday, she met her legend Mark Twain and purfuture husband, Joe Young, sue a literary career on the while standing in line at East Coast.

American University’s D.C. Now a veteran writer and campus to get student IDs. novelist who teaches college They were married the folwriting and creative writing at lowing fall, and 20 years American University in Washington, D.C., Scholes Young When not composing essays and stories in her home office, Scholes later they found themselves says she had her eyes opened Young shares her passion for writing with undergraduate and graduate standing in line to get IDs students at American University in Washington, D.C. again—this time as AU facto previously unimagined posulty. sibilities when she enrolled at Monmouth College.

While participating in Washington Semester, an internThe lessons she learned at Monmouth caused her to not only reassess her perceived skills, but also to change one of ship in AU’s International Business & Trade program further refined her aspirations. her majors, and her career path away from the law.

“I learned that I liked the ‘international’ part but not so The change in majors came about unexpectedly when as a freshman she accidentally wandered into a senior-level Rus- much the ‘business and trade’ side,” she said. “The businesses sian cultural history class with Professor David Suda. “I was I learned about were focused on profits, and I was more intoo embarrassed to raise my hand and explain that I was in terested in people—especially in culture, history, languages the wrong classroom,” she said, “so I stayed. I enjoyed the class and social justice. But I do think the experience solidified my decision to move overseas.” so much that I switched my major from business to history.”

After Monmouth, Scholes Young earned a master’s degree Scholes Young said that the realization that a professor in education from Stetson (Florida) University. She and Joe could actually teach students to think helped drive her to her then both taught at the International School in Brasilia, Bracurrent occupation. zil, for several years. The couple then took turns pursuing Her decision to abandon law was equally fortuitous. graduate degrees, and Melissa earned an MFA in creative “As a junior, I spent a semester in the local prosecutor’s ofwriting at Southern Illinois University, where she was an asfice,” she said. “It involved a lot of paperwork, which I didn’t sistant editor for Crab Orchard Review. expect or enjoy. I’m grateful for that internship opportunity, The writing bug didn’t seriously bite Scholes Young until because without it I would probably have gone the business after her first child was born; motherhood fueled her creativiroute and law school.”

Scholes Young said her inexperience in the ways of college ty. Today, her work appears in The Atlantic, Washington Post, Narrative, Ploughshares, Huffington Post, Poets & Writers continually played to her advantage at Monmouth.

“I didn’t know what you could or couldn’t do, so I just kept and other literary journals. A novel, which is set in 1993 in her hometown of Hannibal, was a finalist for the James Jones trying new things,” she said.

Those included joining a sorority, playing in the wind First Novel Fellowship. It will be published next summer.

BY JEFF RANKIN, EDITOR

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

BIRTHS

1995 Diane Offutt Mitchell and Andy

a daughter, Anna

July 30, 2015

2006 Katie Hatch Frey and Aaron

a daughter, Harper Sue

May 23, 2016

CONNOR ROBERT LOGAN

LILA CAROLINE SHARP

1998 Margaret and John Sharp

a daughter, Lila Caroline

August 11, 2015

Olivia Heaton Logan and Chris a son, Connor Robert October 31, 2015

2001 Nelema Brummett Liff and Josh

a daughter, Grace Emmalynn

January 7, 2015

Lela French Montes and Thomas a daughter, Celine Rose January 26, 2016

2002 Erica Vierthaler Elliott and Chris

a daughter, Autumn Lynn

February 15, 2016

Maria Davies Schmidt and William ’07 a son, Lucas Michael December 9, 2015

Carolyn Mongelluzzo Salvenas and Marcus a daughter, Artemis Jane April 1, 2016

2003

Katherine Thayer Rogers and Russell a son, Triston Matthew April 27, 2015

2008 Krystal and James Wagner

a daughter, Madison Leigh

July 9, 2015

2009 Molly Rhoderick Short and Kraig

a daughter, Hadley Grace

January 23, 2016

JOSEPHINE LOUISE WUNDERLICH

Kellie Thomas Wunderlich

and David

a daughter, Josephine Louise

January 22, 2016 2011

Jennifer Phillips Petrenko and Steven a daughter, Lynnlee Marie May 20, 2016

Whitney Dider Shippert and Patrick a daughter, Madison Kay May 27, 2016

Kristin Wilson Wilkes and Jared a son, Reed Grayson June 30, 2015

WELCOMING A FUTURE SCOT? Let us know when your family is growing and we’ll send you this official gear for your future Fighting Scot!

monmouthcollege.edu/wee-scots SUMMER 2016

43

OBITUARIES

IN MEMORIA M

Leon ‘Tony’ Barnum ’43 Leon E. “Tony” Barnum, a pilot and adventurer who flew vintage aircraft across oceans and ice caps and for decades owned an aviation business where he stoked the ardor of flight enthusiasts, died April 13, 2016, in Whitehouse, Ohio. He was 95.

A native of rural New York, he learned fishing and trapping as a boy, when he had to help support his family. He became a lifelong outdoorsman, flying executives on hunting and fishing trips, and continuing to go on remote fishing trips himself, well into his 90s.

A chemistry major and football player at Monmouth, Barnum met his wife, the late Jeane Lundquist Barnum ’42, while in college. He enlisted in the Navy during his sophomore year, and spent the war years in Traverse City, Mich., where the Navy was working on its secret “glomb” project—a combination of the words “glider” and “bomb”—intended to deliver bombs to targets without exposing flight crews to enemy defenses. A test pilot, he was among the few naval aviators certified to fly any plane in the Navy’s fleet.

After the war, he purchased an aviation business in Toledo, Ohio, selling fuel and repairing planes and providing flight instruction, among other services.

During his storied aviation career, he piloted aircraft for three U.S. presidents and restored vintage planes, including an amphibious craft he purchased in the Fiji islands and flew 8,000 miles back to Toledo.

Barnum celebrated his 95th birthday by attending last year’s Monmouth College Homecoming, where he served as parade marshal and gave a pre-game pep talk to the football team.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

1932

Ellen Wolfe Pronga, 101, of Washington, Iowa, died April 3, 2013.

1938

Katharine Wenner Irwin, 98, of Loveland, Colo., died Oct. 28, 2014. She majored in biology.

Among many survivors are 12 great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, the Rev. Harold Irwin ’35.

1940

Margaret Ward Maynard, 96, of Vancouver, Wash., died May 18, 2016. An English major, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Maynard also attended the University of Wisconsin and Smith College for Social Work. She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Dr. Russell Maynard ’38.

1941 1943

Dorothy Gibb Whiteman, 96, of Raytown, Mo., died Jan.

25, 2016.

Roy Finley, 94, of Golden, Colo., died May 23, 2016. A government major and member of Alpha Tau Omega, his education at Monmouth was interrupted by service in World War II. He saw action at Normandy and also in the Pacific theater. Finley had several professional careers, including salesman, national advertising manager, hospital administrator, developer, realtor and, for one year, manager for Miss Missouri as part of the Miss America Pageant.

Clarabell Carl Gallick of Maplewood, N.J., died Dec. 8, 2015. A mathematics major, she taught high school math for 21 years.

1944 1945

Robert Bellis, 92, of Quincy, Ill., died May 16, 2013.

Claribel Gerhart Person, 92, of Lititz, Pa., died May 12, 2016. She majored in biology and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Dr. Theodore Person ’45.

Gloria Winslow, 90, of Princeton, Ill., died May 13, 2016. A member of Kappa Delta, she completed her degree at the University

of Illinois. She also received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. and taught 40 years in the Chicago City Colleges, most recently at Wright Junior College.

1946

Dorothy Von Ach Edmund, 91, of Metairie, La., died March 15, 2016. She graduated with a degree in business and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She taught school for six years. Survivors include her sister, Mary Von Ach Snowden ’48.

Lowell Johnson, 90, of Oneida, Ill., died Feb. 20, 2016. He served in the infantry during World War II and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, receiving the Purple Heart among other citations. Johnson ran an automobile dealership in Oneida for 40 years. Survivors include his wife of nearly 63 years.

1947

Virginia McLaughlin Crone, 91, of Wichita, Kansas, died April 23, 2016. She studied elementary education and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. After leaving Monmouth, she received a master’s degree and was an elementary school teacher in West Des Moines, Iowa. Her parents both graduated from Monmouth, as did two of her children, Daniel Crone ’71 and Cynthia Crone-Koepsel ’75.

Charlotte Meek Hartshorn, 90, of Jerseyville, Ill., died March 19, 2016.

She graduated with a degree in English.

Hartshorn was a teacher, worked at the Iowa Ordnance Plant and was a real estate manager. Survivors include a son, Thomas Hartshorn ’82.

Mary Frances Lister Miller, 90, of Monmouth, a former member of the Alumni Board, died April 30, 2016.

She majored in English and was in Crimson Masque.

An active member of the Monmouth community, she served as a director of the Mellinger Foundation, the YMCA, the United Way and the Warren County conservation service. She was twice honored as Citizen of the Year by both the Chamber of Commerce and Altrusa Club.

Survivors include a son, Robb Miller ’74.

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

1948

Ralph Marshall, 90, of Boise, Idaho, died May 15, 2016.

He graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Theta Chi. He returned to his studies at Monmouth after serving in the Navy during World War II. Marshall received his divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary and his first job was as a pastor in Idaho. He later became a professor, first of religion and, eventually, in criminology after earning his Ph.D. in that field. He also held a master’s degree in sociology. Marshall taught at the College of Idaho and at Sam Houston State University. He was preceded in death by his wife, Josephine Kilpatrick Marshall ’47.

1949

Harold Dunlap, 89, of Abingdon, Ill., died March 4, 2016. He studied physics, was on the football and track teams and was a member of Theta Chi. Dunlap served in the Navy during World War II. A farmer, he was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Patricia Wolford Dunlap ’50, and by a brother, Bobby Dunlap ’42.

William Harvey, 91, of Peoria, Ariz., died March 30, 2016. He graduated with a degree in physics and was a member of Theta Chi. Harvey was a veteran of World War II, serving two years in Hawaii as a radio operator. He was a retired electronics engineer with IBM in Moline, Ill. Survivors include his wife, Julia Heath Harvey ’50.

Anne Kniss Johnson Lamprecht of Oak Brook, Ill., died April 23, 2016. She followed her parents to Monmouth, where she majored in mathematics and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was preceded in death by a husband, Robert Johnson ’50, and a sister, Martha Kniss Olson ’46. Survivors include a sister, Sarah Kniss Stasen ’56.

1950

Walter Forsyth, 87, of Cary, Ill., died Feb. 11, 2016. He graduated with a degree in physical education and was a member of the football team, Tau Kappa Epsilon and the Octopus Club.

Forsyth, who served in the Army during the Korean War, taught or served as an administrator at six Illinois schools, retiring from Crystal Lake Central in 1987. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Rosemary Felts Forsyth ’50, and siblings Marlene Forsyth McGirk ’53 and Clinton Forsyth ’56.

Thomas Hay, 97, of Prescott Valley, Ariz., died May 10, 2016. He majored in chemistry. His wife, Maribeth Renard Hay ’52, preceded him in death (see 1952),

IN MEMORIA M

Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey ’52 Renowned New Testament scholar Kenneth Bailey, 85, of New Wilmington, Pa., died May 23, 2016.

An obituary in Christianity Today credited Bailey with being “the scholar who made Jesus Middle Eastern again” by placing His stories in their cultural context.

The origins of that process stem from Bailey’s childhood in Egypt, the son of career missionaries. After his studies at Monmouth, where he majored in philosophy, and at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he returned to the missionary vocation, serving from 1955-65 in Egypt.

While doing village evangelism and Bible teaching, he studied Arabic and continued to absorb folk culture. After a five-year stint with the Near East School of Theology in Lebanon, he subjected himself to a rigorous discipline of the study of biblical languages such as Hebrew and Aramaic while doing doctoral work at Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

Bailey’s comprehensive knowledge, language study and near-native Middle Eastern culture combined to give him a unique lens to tell the story of Jesus, which he did in several books, such as The Cross and the Prodigal, and more than 150 articles.

“He told the parables of Jesus to peasants from Morocco to Pakistan, and their insight helped him (and so us) gain new understanding that would be available in no other way,” wrote Andy Le Peau, his editor at InterVarsity Press. “Being fluent in many ancient languages also gave him a remarkable perspective on the New Testament that few others could match.”

Bailey’s missionary work also took him to Cyprus and Jerusalem, and he lectured on theology all around the world. He was inducted into the Monmouth College Hall of Achievement in 1993.

Survivors include his wife of more than 60 years, Ethel Milligan Bailey ’52, a microbiologist who assisted Dr. Jonas Salk with his polio vaccine.

A memorial service for Dr. Bailey may be viewed at http://bit.ly/ke-bailey. and he is survived by a son, David Hay ’82.

Ann Lytle Watt, 87, of Corsica, Pa., died Feb. 20, 2016. After attending Monmouth for two years, she graduated from Layton Art School. A farmer’s wife, she was a member of the Brookville (Pa.) Presbyterian Church choir for 55 years.

Joann Weakly Whiteman, 87, of Staunton, Va., died April 18, 2016. She graduated with a degree in physical education and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, serving as its president. An avid gardener, she was president of Greenteriours Inc., while she and her husband of 65 years, Don Whiteman ’49, lived in Arizona.

1951

Robert Meloy of Toledo, Ohio, died March 19, 2016. He majored in sociology and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon before attending graduate school at the University of Toledo. Meloy helped organize the downtown YMCA in

Toledo, and he made a career of that endeavor, managing YMCA residencies from New York to Honolulu.

Richard Pearson, 87, of Sycamore, Ill., died May 8, 2016. After attending Monmouth for one year, he attended Ellis Business College and Worsham College of Mortuary Science, sandwiched between four years in the Navy, stationed in Norfolk, Va. Pearson had a 35-year career at Leader Oil and, following his retirement, worked for Century 21 for 10 years. He was preceded in death by his first wife, to whom he was married for 50 years.

1952

Wanda Carlisle Black of Houston died March 7, 2015.

She followed her mother to Monmouth and majored in history as a member of Kappa Delta.

Maribeth Renard Hay, 85, of Prescott Valley, Ariz., died Dec. 3, 2015. She

SUMMER 2016

45

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

attended Monmouth for two years and worked various jobs in Iowa and Illinois before moving with her husband, Thomas Hay ’50, to Prescott Valley, where they operated a hardware store for several years.

Barbara Carnaby Ryan, 85, of Omaha, Neb., died May 27, 2016. She studied home economics and was a member of Kappa Delta. Ryan received her nursing degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and was a nurse before becoming a stay-at-home mother. She is survived by her husband of 62 years.

James Samsel, 85, of Raleigh, N.C., died April 6, 2016. He was a member of the football team and Alpha Tau Omega before leaving Monmouth to serve in the Navy for more than four years, seeing action during the Korean War. Samsel majored in electrical engineering and business administration at the University of Colorado before going to work for General Electric. After retirement, he cofounded a residential cleaning business in Raleigh.

Marcia McKee Sedgwick of St. Petersburg, Fla., died May 4, 2016. She studied elementary education and music and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. She later received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois. After teaching in Illinois and Canada, she began a second career in tax accounting.

1953

The Rev. David Baumann, 85, of Boise, Idaho, died Feb. 20, 2016. He majored in philosophy and was a member of Theta Chi. He graduated from Pittsburgh Xenia Theological Seminary and served as a United Presbyterian pastor for 25 years in four states. Baumann later served a church in Idaho and was a state representative there in 1994-95. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, a brother, John Baumann ’57, children Andrew Baumann ’80, Joan Baumann Stephens ’81 and Scott Baumann ’87, and a granddaughter, Angela Baumann ’18.

Thomas Lynch, 86, of Dallas died April 14, 2016. A history major and member of Alpha Tau Omega, he attended Monmouth for one year, then served two years in the Army during the Korean War. Lynch completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, and he also received a master’s degree in geology and a law degree there.

He was an oil and gas lawyer in Oklahoma and Texas, retiring as general counsel of Oryx Energy Co. in 1994. He was preceded

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

in death by a brother, William Lynch ’49, and is survived by his wife of 63 years.

Eleanor Holmdahl Maguire, 84, of Galesburg, Ill., died April 20, 2016. She studied art and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. From 1970-75, she worked in the registrar’s office at Monmouth. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Maguire ’53, and a son, David Maguire ’77.

1955

Stewart Brown, 82, of Nathrop, Colo., died Feb. 22, 2106.

He was on the swim team and was a member of Theta Chi before studying at George Williams College. Brown, who served in the Army during the Korean War, spent his career with the YMCA. Survivors include a sister, Joyce Brown Duesing ’65.

James Guthrie of Schaumburg, Ill., died in July 2014.

1956

Nancy George Andrews, 81, of Warren, Ohio, died Jan. 1, 2016. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi and was preceded in death by her husband of more than 60 years, Fred Andrews ’53.

Dorothy Beaver Hoeschele of Shawnee Mission, Kan., died Sept. 9, 2011.

Dr. Thomas McMullen, 84, of Raleigh, N.C., died May 24, 2016. Son of the late Monmouth professor Donald McMullen, he graduated with a degree in physics and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

He attended graduate school at Case Western Reserve University and John Carroll University and went to work initially at General Electric before a 48year career in the air pollution division of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Carolyn Fifield McMullen ’56.

Ronald Shawler, 81, of Monmouth, died Feb. 24, 2016. He was a grain and livestock farmer in Warren County.

George Thompson, 83, of Barrington, Ill., died June 1, 2016. He graduated with a degree in business and was a member of the football team and Alpha Tau Omega. He served in the military during the Korean War and had a long career as a stockbroker.

1957

Dr. David Frey, 80, of Woodstock, Ill., died April 3, 2016.

A chemistry major and member of Theta Chi, he earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Iowa. Frey worked for Phillips Petroleum and for Morton International. He is sur-

vived by his wife of 58 years, by a daughter, Sandra Frey Landrey ’86, and by granddaughters Jessica Landrey ’12, Rachael Landrey ’16 and Amanda Landrey ’18.

Irwin Hoogheem, 80, of Ogden, Kansas, died Jan. 17, 2016. He graduated from Harvard University and had a 40-year career in education.

Wayne Rader, 85, of Dunlap, Ill., died March 15, 2016. He served in the Army during the Korean War, then graduated from Monmouth with a degree in business.

He worked for the Illinois Farm Bureau before returning to his native Monmouth, where he was auditor for an area hotel chain.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years.

Mary McMackin Smith, 78, of Libby, Mont., died Aug. 28, 2013.

1958

Leon Clements, 83, of Macomb, Ill., died March 15, 2016. He studied history and education and was a member of the baseball team and Theta Chi. Clements received a master’s degree in education from Western Illnois University. His first job was at Kirkwood (Ill.) High School, where he served as teacher, coach and principal. After a brief stint as superintendent in Stronghurst, he worked 21 years at WIU, serving as director of auxiliary services there for 18 years. Survivors include his wife of 58 years.

Gary Barnett, 82, of Monmouth, died April 22, 2016. After serving in the Army during the Korean War, he graduated with a degree in sociology and was a member of Theta Chi. Barnett earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Utah and was vice president at the Bethany Home in Moline, Ill., for 28 years. He also served as president of the Rock Island County Health Department. Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Joyce Underwood Barnett ’59, a daughter, Lynn Barnett McVey ’83, and a granddaughter, Erin Barnett ’16.

1960

Thomas Frazier, 77, of Columbus, Ind., died Jan. 13, 2016. He followed his parents to Monmouth, where he majored in chemistry and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Frazier rose to the rank of captain in the Army, then graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago School of Dentistry and had a private dental practice in Macomb, Ill., for nearly 40 years. Survivors include a sister, Cynthia Frazier Moore ’71.

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

1961

Paul Brown, 76, of Alpharetta, Ga., died Jan. 2, 2016. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and was a member of the football and baseball teams and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Brown received a master’s degree in chemistry from DePauw University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. His legal expertise was in patent and trademark law.

Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Mary Love Brown ’61.

Kendall Munson, 77, of Lafayette, Calif., died Feb. 10, 2016. He followed his father to Monmouth, where he graduated with a degree in physics and was a member of Theta Chi. Munson worked the majority of his career with IBM in six cities, settling in the San Francisco area.

1962 1963 1965

Alan Certik, 70, of Bonita, Calif., died April 4, 2012.

Alex Russin Jr., of Kirkwood, N.Y., died Nov. 26, 2014.

Edward Ijams, 70, of Terre Haute, Ind., died March 26, 2016. He completed his degree at Indiana State University and was a Navy veteran.

Tadahiko Nakamura, 79, of Washington, D.C., died Feb. 17, 2016, from complications following heart surgery. He grew up in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tamagawa University before coming to Monmouth. He also received a graduate degree in international relations from The Catholic University. Nakamura held several positions in Washington, including serving as a simultaneous interpreter for the U.S. Department of State and a wide range of other government agencies. He was a press and media analyst for the Embassy of Japan, an associate producer for KajimaVision Productions, a special correspondent for the Japan Agricultural Press and a partner in Discovery Fisheries.

At the time of his death, he was president and CEO of Galaxy Systems, Inc. Kathleen “Kit” Rafferty, 72, of Miami, Fla., died Dec. 17, 2015. She majored in English and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. For decades, Rafferty was a Miami union organizer who fought for labor, civil and women’s rights. At the time of her death, she was executive director of the advocacy group South Florida Voices for Working Families. She also worked for 23 years as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines.

1966

Jerrilyn Kunze Hackbrush, 71, of Romeoville, Ill., died April 30, 2016. She graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She had master’s degrees in education from Illinois State University and in administration from Loyola University. Hackbrush worked at Westmont High School for 27 years before retiring in 2000.

1967

John Lewis, 71, of Sycamore, Ill., died May 13, 2016. A business and economics major, he was a member of Crimson Masque. After receiving a master’s degree from Michigan State University, he earned a Ph.D. in health economics from the University of Missouri.

Lewis served on the faculty and administration at Northern Illinois University.

1968

Karen Senew Johnson, 70, of Libertyville, Ill., died Aug. 22, 2015. She graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of Kappa Delta. Johnson was a retired teacher, with a background in special education. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. John Johnson ’68.

Bill Wells, 70, of Murray, Ky., died Jan. 23, 2016. He followed his parents, the late Willis ’45 and Roberta McVey Wells ’44, to Monmouth and majored in English.

He received graduate degrees in the fields of guidance/counseling, education administration and superintendent endorsement. His long career in education concluded at Murray State University. Wells, who was mayor of Murray, Ky., for four years, received many honors in his career, including Kentucky Principal of the Year in 1991. Survivors include his wife of 50 years.

1969

Anders Bastman of Tampa, Fla., died March 5, 2016. He was a conference champion swimmer and member of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Barbara Winsche Mitarotondo, 68, of Seymour, Conn., died Oct. 19, 2015. She studied French and was a self-employed bookkeeper.

1970

Andrew Marshall, 68, of Springerville, Ariz., died Dec. 18, 2015. He majored in sociology and was an educator and local author.

Lynda Inman Youngman, 68, of Elkhorn, Neb., died May 8, 2016. She studied English and completed her degree at the University of Nebraska.

1971

Nancy Vinje Holmboe, 66, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., died Jan. 13, 2016. She studied art and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Sally Turner Shriner, 67, of Mishawaka, Ind., died June 25, 2016, after battling cancer for more than two years. A history major, she was a member of Kappa Delta.

Shriner received a master’s degree from Indiana University and was an elementary school teacher, serving 15 years in Plymouth, Ind., and 25 years in Mishawaka.

1973

David Brinker, 64, of Downers Grove, Ill., died March 12, 2015. He graduated with a degree in history and was a member of the football and wrestling teams and Theta Chi.

1976

Susan DeChamp, 60, of Bloomington, Ill., died Oct.

26, 2015.

1980

Kathleen McKenney Jakubowski of Carol Stream, Ill., died Feb. 7, 2016. She studied physical education and was an officer manager for NuComfort Supply in Glendale Heights, Ill., for 10 years.

1989

David Peacher, 50, of Streator, Ill., died April 23, 2016. He majored in business and was a member of the basketball team and Alpha Tau Omega. He was a chemical area operations specialist for SABIC in Ottawa, Ill., for 24 years.

2003

Jason Johnson, 35, of Chicago, Ill., died Jan. 20, 2016.

He graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Johnson was a research study coordinator at Rush NeuroBehavioral Center, where he focused on social-emotional learning in children.

Word has also been received of the following deaths: Archie Harris, 92, of Normal, Ill., the Fighting Scots’ swimming coach from 1954-57, died April 11, 2016. Harris left Monmouth to coach men’s swimming at Illinois State University through 1981.

Margaret Matthews Osgood, 91, of Lambertville, Mich., an art lecturer in 1967-68, died April 4, 2016.

SUMMER 2016

47

THE LAST WORD

THE LIFELONG BENEFITS OF GLOBAL EDUCATION

H

aving spent a long and rewarding career in international education, I am excited to see several recent initiatives by my alma mater to make international study more accessible to all students, from a program offering passport assistance to entering students to the Monmouth College Commitment, which promises an opportunity for off-campus study as part of the four-year experience.

Inherent in study-abroad programs are the concepts of immersion in language, living daily among host country residents for a prolonged period of time, and language Insular thinking and cultural perspectives that time provides.

But these days, students are very busy in many will not reverse different ways with internships, summer jobs or the impacts of student activities, all of which reduce their time technology in for study abroad. I am therefore intrigued by a an increasingly new concept that has been steadily growing at Monmouth—short, focused educational trips led interconnected by faculty during breaks in the academic year or world. during the summer. Regardless of location, these “global classroom” experiences are enriching because of the emphasis on a range of key places to visit and a model for exploring a different culture and environment.

Because topics and locales are specifically chosen by a faculty guide, based on his or her specialties and interests, a great deal of valuable learning can occur in a concentrated time frame.

In this century, advances in digital and transportation technology make it possible to visit any country in less time and allow upfront preparations to be completed easily. The cost of travel compared to long stays is also reasonable, especially with faculty accompaniment.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

TOM ULMET ’64

The key question years ago may have been, “Why is study abroad important?” Today the question might better be even broader, “Why is knowledge and experience of the world beyond our borders important?” In addition to the traditional answers such as personal growth, language acquisition and in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of another country, the reasons have now expanded to include geopolitical relationships, international trade, national and international defense, and global issues that transcend national boundaries.

As world population expands and countries are closer together in travel time, we can no longer think only as a nation state. We must think globally, and this requires that more young people have a better understanding of global issues.

As an example, not many people realize that in 2015, the state of Illinois was the fifth largest exporter of goods in the United States. Many of the new jobs require language background and true intercultural awareness, travel experience, knowledge of geography, and understanding of global and economic issues.

Insular thinking will not reverse the impact of technology in an increasingly interconnected world. While the global classroom model is still in its infancy, Monmouth students are already reaping significant benefits through exposure to new places, new ideas and an appreciation for the travel experience that can be of lasting benefit to themselves and their country into the future.

After 14 years of leadership in China, Tom Ulmet is executive director of the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools, “commuting” electronically from his home in Colorado. His four decades in international education have seen stops in China, Hong Kong, Austria, England, Switzerland and Germany.

The pilgrims at the beginning of their journey.

From left: Sienkewicz, Mainz, Mabry and Armendariz.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD Monmouth College global classroom trips take many forms, and one of the more interesting occurred this summer when four intrepid hikers decided to take the celebrated 500-mile pilgrimage from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Known as the Camino Francés (French Route) of the Camino de Santiago, it was first traveled by Christian pilgrims centuries ago.

Comprising the quartet were two faculty members—Tom Sienkewicz of classics and Ramses Armendariz of political economy and commerce; one student, senior history/classics major Nick Mainz; and one alumna, Sarah Mabry ’14. Ranging in age from 21 to 66, they began training for the ordeal weeks in advance.

Once on the trail, the hikers split into two groups: Sienkewicz and Mainz, and Armendariz and Mabry.

Sleeping in albergues and sampling local delicacies, they survived blisters and sore knees, eventually reaching their destination in five weeks.

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