Monmouth College Winter 2015 Magazine

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE VOL 30 | NUM 1 | WINTER 2015

Monmouth College Magazine Volume 30 | Number 1 | Winter 2015 EDITORIAL BOARD Stephen M. Bloomer ’83 Vice President for Development and College Relations Jeffrey D. Rankin Director of College Communications Barry J. McNamara Associate Director of College Communications Hannah Maher Director of Alumni Engagement Monmouth College Magazine is published by the Office of Development and College Relations for alumni 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.

EDITOR Jeffrey D. Rankin ASSOCIATE EDITOR Barry J. McNamara DESIGNER Debby Winter, Winter Agency BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE William Goldsborough ’65, Chairman Nancy Snowden, Vice Chair Gerald Marxman ’56 (Emeritus), Treasurer Karen Barrett Chism ’65 Robert Dahl Larry Gerdes Mark Kopinski ’79 Gail Simpson Owen ’74 Stanley Pepper ’76 Jack Schultz Mark Taylor ’78 Ralph Velazquez ’79 Jean Peters Witty ’88 Richard Yahnke ’66 ALUMNI BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Jeff Miller ’84, President Neil Dahlstrom ’98, Vice President Jerri Picha ’75, Secretary CONTACT US Magazine Editor 309-457-2314 jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu eNewsletter Editor 309-457-2117 mcnamara@monmouthcollege.edu www.monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/pipeline Alumni Programs 309-457-2316 alumni@monmouthcollege.edu Athletics 309-457-2322 dnolan@monmouthcollege.edu Admissions 309-457-2131 admissions@monmouthcollege.edu Give to Monmouth College 1-888-827-8268 www.monmouthcollege.edu/give MONMOUTH COLLEGE ADMITS STUDENTS OF ANY RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, NATIONAL OR ETHNIC ORIGIN TO ALL RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES GENERALLY ACCORDED OR MADE AVAILABLE TO MONMOUTH STUDENTS. MONMOUTH COLLEGE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, RELIGION, COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, ANCESTRY, DISABILITY, AGE, MILITARY SERVICE, MARITAL STATUS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR OTHER FACTORS AS PROHIBITED BY LAW IN ADMINISTRATION OF ITS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, ADMISSIONS POLICIES, SCHOLARSHIPS AND LOANS, ATHLETICS AND OTHER SCHOOL-ADMINISTERED PROGRAMS.

campus news 6 books 13 sports 32 clan notes 37 last word 48

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Pushing for a food security solution

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Uniquely Monmouth: 12 Points of Pride

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Monmouthiana

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33

With its founding membership in Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH), college stays ahead of pack A dozen points of distinction that illustrate why it is great to be a Scot The South Henderson Church, which still hosts a service once a year, is part of college’s roots

Homecoming 2014

Highlights in the Highlands included alumni award winners, Spirit Shout and football victory

A run for the ages

The last three races of Kyra Kimber’s cross country career took her to unprecedented place in Scot history

Photographed during this fall’s Bronze Turkey Game vs. Knox, April Zorn Memorial Stadium is the most recent improvement to Monmouth’s exceptional athletic facilities, which continues the college’s proud athletic tradition (see page 35).

LEFT:

PHOTO: GEORGE HARTMANN CORRECTIONS: The obituary for Robert Ford ’52 in the Summer

2014 issue omitted surviving family members Roberta Kathleen Ford Vitali ’76 (his daughter) and Samantha Ford Bundy ’12 (his granddaughter). The obituary for Maxine Murdy Trotter ’47 mistakenly identified her as a Kappa Kappa Gamma alumna.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

AN EXCITING TIME TO BE MONMOUTH’S NEW PRESIDENT As I write this column, Lobie and I are at a conference for new college presidents and their spouses/partners.

We’re meeting some great people and hearing lots of interesting stories about how others are settling in to these roles. It is fun to be with people who are sharing similar experiences, and who are dedicated to improving the lives of young women and men.

But it is especially gratifying to have the opportunity to carry the banner of Monmouth College. As we listen to the challenges that other colleges are facing, Lobie and I are even more grateful and glad to be a part of the Monmouth Family.

Make no mistake. Monmouth is not immune to the pressures that almost all liberal arts colleges face. Keeping the experience that we offer our students fresh. Demonstrating in a clear and compelling way how the Monmouth Experience prepares young women and men not only for rich and rewarding careers, but also for rich and rewarding lives of learning, leadership and service. Keeping our experience affordable and accessible.

Embracing the changing demographics of our nation. Preparing our students to thrive in an evermore connected global society. Maintaining a living and learning environment that supports our fundamental goal of human development. Gathering the resources—human and financial–that make all of this possible.

But also make no mistake that we are in a stronger position than many institutions to meet these challenges.

As the stories in the rest of the magazine demonstrate, Monmouth is a college on the move. The faculty and staff who are at the heart of the Monmouth Experience continue to grow in dedication and skill. That faculty and staff have created an educational experience based on hands-on learning that brings together the tools and perspectives of multiple academic disciplines, creating an experience whose goal is not just the completion of a checklist of courses, but of nurturing intellectual curiosity and growth in character that will last a lifetme. We have students whose embrace of the power of the liberal arts makes each day a new adventure.

Though we still have some facilities needs to address, our campus environment is far superior to many other institutions.

As you have heard me say before, and will hear me say again and again, a great sorting-out is taking place among liberal arts colleges. Some with the biggest endowments and deepest lines at the admission office door, while providing great experiences, have no sense of urgency to progress. Others, lacking focus and acting out of short-term crisis rather than long-term vision, will try to be all things to all people, but in doing so they will be nothing to no one. Many of these places will stagnate, and some will cease to exist.

Monmouth is prominent among a relatively small group of colleges that is both strong enough and hungry enough to lead the evolution of the liberal arts college in the 21st century. As others run scared, we will run smart. We will take pride in who we are, but will take even greater pride in what we can and will be. We will stop talking about Monmouth as “what college was meant to be” and, instead, talk about Monmouth as a leading example of what college is meant to be. We honor our past best by using it as the basis for new thinking and new action that will carry this special place forward to a future of greater service and achievement.

Let the fun begin.

Clarence R. Wyatt President

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BREAKING NEWS

NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR

FOOD SECURITY Wyatt signs presidential pact at United Nations

Monmouth College, a leader in the food security movement, is a founding member of Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH), a coalition of more than 60 higher education institutions organized to fight hunger and malnutrition worldwide.

Monmouth’s Clarence Wyatt joined 25 other college presidents and senior administrators at the United Nations in December to sign a pact that will serve as a blueprint for higher education’s role in addressing food security issues.

“The intellectual expertise of institutions of higher education is greatly needed to solve the problem of food insecurity,” said Amina Mohammed, special adviser to the UN Secretary-General. “The partnership is critical.”

“Thank you again for your foresight and leadership in being the pioneers in this collective action of the academy to end hunger and malnutrition,” wrote June Henton, executive director of Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute, in a letter to Wyatt.

“There is no more basic human need than food, and no more basic human impulse than to help ease hunger—whether it be in our hometown or across the globe,” said Wyatt.

The vision for the coalition grew out of a forum last year organized by the Hunger Solutions Institute, in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Titled “Shaping the Collective Role of Universities as a Partner in Ending Hunger,” the forum drew 70 leaders from 30 universities in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

One of the coalition’s first tasks will be to inventory food security activities in areas where hunger is currently being addressed at academic institutions: teaching, research, outreach and student engagement.

Monmouth is ahead of the game in that respect, thanks to its food security initiative, announced last year as part of the college’s innovative “Triads” program. In addition to using existing faculty members, a team of three additional faculty members from different disciplines is being recruited to teach and conduct academic research related to food production, distribution and ethical issues.

Composed of faculty members from sociology/anthropology, biology and economics, the new team already has an anthropologist, Amber O’Connor, on campus, and a biologist, Eric Engstrom, has been hired for next fall. The college is currently reviewing applications for the economics position.

“Monmouth recognized some time ago that issues related to food and food security touch every aspect of our lives, making them excellent teaching and learning opportunities,” said Wyatt, “This is another clear demonstration of how the Monmouth College experience brings a variety of disciplines and perspectives together on issues of importance—of the power of the liberal arts to create a better world.”

A faculty steering committee has laid the groundwork for a student/faculty trip to Cameroon in 2015, as well as a later trip to South America. This fall, approximately 300 students were enrolled in eight courses that are part of the initiative, and another eight courses are being taught this spring.

President Clarence Wyatt (above, left) poses with other senior higher education administrators at the United Nations, where he signed a pact to launch Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH), an academic coalition to fight hunger and malnutrition.

“It is exciting to see our food security initiative continue to develop, bringing a group of faculty, staff, and students together to help guide our involvement with PUSH,” said Dean David Timmerman.

“There is excitement on campus and there continues to be excitement from our off-campus partners.”

Although courses are taught across campus, the focal point for food security study and research is Monmouth’s new Center for Science and Business, which offers state-of-the-art classrooms and labs designed to facilitate interdisciplinary study. One particular laboratory is dedicated to the study of nutrition and food chemistry. Other college facilities central to the initiative include an educational garden, as well as a six-acre research farm.

Two more innovative programs—the senior citizenship projects that are part of the college’s four-year Integrated Studies curriculum and Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity (SOFIA)—have also focused on food-related issues. Three student groups tackled those issues during SOFIA, while students in the “Land, Food and Sustainable Agriculture” course made two farm-to-table proposals. One would add nutrition to a local backpack program for schoolchildren, and the other would involve the college’s food service company, Aramark.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

CHALLENGE GIFT COULD YIELD

$7.5 MILLION

President Clarence Wyatt recently announced that a friend of Monmouth College and her spouse have issued a challenge to all current, emeriti and former members of the board of trustees to raise at least $2.5 million in new cash pledges by Dec. 31, 2015. The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, will match those commitments 2:1, up to a total of $5 million.

All of the potential $7.5 million raised will support important strategic opportunities for the college. One-half of the donors’ potential $5 million gift will create an endowed fund for student financial aid and scholarships. The remaining half of their pledge, plus the funds from the board of trustees in response to the challenge, will support important initiatives to enhance educational programs, and to make that experience even more compelling to prospective students.

Wyatt said the funds raised by the challenge will serve MC in several powerful ways.

“The college has instituted a new intensive and comprehensive strategic planning effort,” said Wyatt, “and the challenge will enable us to move on the opportunities being identified by that process much sooner and more assertively than would have been possible otherwise.”

Wyatt continued, “The funds devoted to scholarship endowment will provide the platform to create exciting new programs in student support and enrichment. Together, the challenge will enable Monmouth to enhance its commitment to being a place of both high opportunity and high quality and achievement. In doing so, Monmouth will help to lead the evolution of the liberal arts college experience—an experience more important than ever to our nation and world.”

fore me did a tremendous job of getting the “It turned out to be a better decision than I $3 MILLION GIFT NAMES LEVEL OF CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND BUSINESS college moving in the right direction. The really knew,” he said. “Most engineers were Entrepreneur and private investor Gerald Marxman of Portola Valley, Calif., a 1956 graduate of Monmouth College and former rocket scientist, has made a $3 million gift to his alma mater for the Center for Science and Business. One of the three floors at the college’s new academic building is named in his honor.

“My career has had three distinct segments –engineering, business and the application of both to address social concerns,” said Marxman, an emeritus trustee of the college and its current treasurer. “Monmouth’s new building stands for what I believe–that science and business are totally intertwined, and students who understand that today will be our leaders of tomorrow.”

Marxman believes not only in the Center for Science and Business, but in the college itself.

“As a trustee, I’m very proud of the progress that Monmouth has made in the past 20 years,” he said. “The trustees that came be-

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progress has just been phenomenal, and Monmouth is on its way to becoming one of the best liberal arts colleges in the nation.”

Marxman also believes in paying it forward, and he has never forgotten the favor done for him by his Monmouth faculty mentor, Lyle Finley. Without Marxman’s knowledge, the physics professor drove one weekend to Cleveland, Ohio, and secured a graduate scholarship for Marxman at Case Western Reserve University, “one of the best engineering schools in the country.”

“He handed me an envelope with the scholarship document in it, and told me, ‘Now you have to go,’” recalls Marxman, who went on to graduate first in his class at Case. “That was the beginning of a great trip, which included getting my Ph.D. at Caltech.”

Marxman said he chose Monmouth because it was not a large university where he “would get lost,” because it had strong programs in the sciences and, especially, because it offered him a scholarship.

very narrow in their focus, but I thought I wanted to do other things after being an engineer, which proved to be the case.”

GUNDERSEN PROVIDES $500,000 ESTATE GIFT

Joan Rezner Gundersen ’68 of Oakmont, Pa., and her husband, Robert, have made a $500,000 estate gift to the college.

Recognized as a pioneer in the women’s studies movement, Gundersen was inducted in 1998 into Monmouth College’s Hall of Achievement, the highest honor the college bestows upon its alumni.

“I admire Dr. Joan and Robert Gundersen for their generous estate gift to Monmouth College, and the foresight they have demonstrated in anticipating the future needs of the college,” said Steve Bloomer, ’83, vice president of development and college relations. “Monmouth benefits today from the estate gifts of alumni and friends who documented their intentions decades ago. It is our duty and responsibility to the

CAMPAIGN NEWS

Monmouth College students Tom Lawson, Thuong Vo, Neema Lema and Allison Razo join English professor Craig Watson during a work session at the college’s research farm last summer.

Watson and the students are showing off the new Kubota equipment, which was donated by 1981 graduate Alex McGehee.

future of the college to refill the funnel of planned gifts for future generations of Monmouth Scots.”

After completing her degrees in history and German at Monmouth, Gundersen earned graduate degrees from the College of William and Mary and the University of Notre Dame. She taught history at St. Olaf College from 1975 until 1989, serving as a consultant on women’s studies. In 1989, she was one of the founding members of California State University-San Marcos, for which she helped draft a mission statement and design the curriculum. She has since helped design curricula at other colleges, including Beloit College, which, like Monmouth, is a member of the prestigious Associated Colleges of the Midwest.

HATCH ADDS TO ORIGINAL GIFT

BY NAMING MONMOUTH IN ESTATE

A gift from the estate of 1957 Monmouth graduate W. Jerome Hatch will result in larger awards for the college’s Hatch Awards for Excellence in Teaching. The estate gift will also enhance faculty development funds.

A retired executive for American National Can, Hatch established the awards in 2004 to recognize outstanding work by Monmouth faculty in the areas of teaching, scholarship and service. Through cash stipends, the awards honor faculty who have excelled in their academic disciplines and who have served as an inspiration to both their students and their colleagues.

Recently, Hatch’s nieces, Louise Hiett and

Nancy VandeVoorde, helped oversee the substantial addition to the original gift from their uncle, who died in 2013.

“Uncle Jerry was very enthusiastic about his time at Monmouth College,” said Hiett. “He called it one of the best times of his life. Later, his participation on the college’s board of trustees was very important to him.”

Hatch, who was one of four siblings to attend Monmouth from nearby Avon, Ill., served on the board from 1979 to 1991.

Said Steve Bloomer, vice president for development and college relations, “What a wonderful addition to an already impactful gift for encouraging and developing Monmouth faculty. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Monmouth faculty will also be pleased, and not just because of the additional funding for the three annual Hatch Awards. Explained VandeVoorde, “Part of the estate gift will allow faculty to request funding for additional projects. The dean will then decide which proposals to support and at what financial level.”

“Jerry Hatch was deeply grateful to Monmouth College for a strong academic preparation, a rich fraternity experience, and effective leadership opportunities,” said Monmouth professor Ken McMillan, who has known the Hatch family for years.

“Most important, though, was the solid impact faculty members had on him as a scholar, a leader and a professional–

pursuing excellence at every turn. That was the key motivation behind his establishment of the Hatch Awards for Faculty Excellence and his generous estate gift to the college he loved.”

GIFT OF KUBOTA TRACTOR & RTV UTILITY VEHICLE

The most recent gift to Monmouth College from Alex McGehee ’81, president of Anchor Lumber in Silvis, Ill., is already paying big dividends at the college’s educational research farm.

The gift of a Kubota tractor and RTV utility vehicle continues McGehee’s philanthropy to his alma mater. He has regularly donated new utility vehicles, which are put to use for a variety of purposes across campus.

The new Kubota equipment fills a major need, according to faculty member Craig Watson, who regularly works at the farm along with several Monmouth students.

“The new tractor with a loader, mower and tiller has saved us hours of hard labor and given us time to work on weeding, watering, fertilizing and developing new beds for annuals,” Watson said. “The RTV is simply invaluable for transporting tools, soil amendments, hoses and people from one task to another.”

He added, “These fine pieces of equipment are ideally suited to our needs at the farm and our scale of production.”

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CAMPUS NEWS

SMART INVESTING SPURS GROWTH OF ENDOWMENT COLLEGE ENDOWMENTS ARE ARGUABLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR INFLUENCING THE QUALITY OF AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION TODAY. BY HELPING TO KEEP TUITION AFFORDABLE AND FUND ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC RESOURCES, ENDOWMENTS PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR CARRYING ON THE CRITICAL WORK OF PREPARING STUDENTS FOR MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF A COMPLEX WORLD. A strong endowment also serves as a seal of approval that a college like Monmouth is worthy of investment for individuals who care about the development of the next generation of leaders.

At Monmouth, strengthening the endowment is a top fiscal priority. It allows the college to attract and support top students, to hire and retain the best faculty, and to offer a strong academic program. Through prudent investment, the endowment’s principal grows over time, and each year Monmouth spends a small percentage to support operations. But in order to keep up with a changing world, the endowment principal must continue to grow through donations.

While Monmouth’s endowment per student of $70,000 is in the middle of the pack among colleges in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), peer institutions like Macalester and Carleton offer more than triple those resources per student. In order for Monmouth to make significant gains in academic reputation it needs to continue to narrow that gap, and is actively pursuing a goal of $100,000 per student through new gifts to the endowment.

international market forces. “Because our staff did not have time to actively manage the portfolio, I thought that the best way to go for market returns was to engage a consulting firm to advise us on picking the most effective investment strategy as well as hiring fund managers who would give us the best returns,” Goldsborough said.

The board hired the respected Chicago investment consulting firm Ellwood Associates to assess the portfolio. One of Ellwood’s first suggestions was to establish and maintain a 60-40 weighting between stocks and bonds.

Mark Kopinski ’79, a recently retired investment manager who currently chairs the finance and business affairs committee, explained how such a weighting works: “When you make that decision you rework the portfolio each time that ratio gets out of whack, regardless of what is happening in the stock market or in the bond market. So let’s say that stocks do really well and instead of 60-40 it goes to a 70-30 ratio. What you do is you sell some of your stock exposure down and you buy some bonds. In portfolio theory, if you apply your discipline consistently, then you mitigate risk while gradually growing your assets.”

Many colleges invest heavily in alternative investments (the average alternative investment percentage among ACM schools is 12 percent), but Monmouth’s finance committee has chosen to be cautious, only investing 4 percent in alternatives. It also has been relatively cautious in the international market. Those two factors, Kopinski said, have been quite beneficial to Monmouth over the past six years, helping it to weather both the 2008 stock market collapse and the recent downward trend in overseas markets.

“One of the things that Monmouth was able to do in 2008 that some colleges weren’t able to do,” Kopinski noted, “was take advantage of U.S. equities being close to the bottom. While other colleges were in redemption mode and needed to pull cash out of their endowments to stay in operation, our modest reliance on endowment for operations allowed us to focus solely on rebalancing our portfolio.”

Currently standing at over $93 million, Monmouth’s endowment has been built through a long tradition of careful management and conservative spending. A recent survey of the 2,500 member institutions of the National Associates of College and University Business Officers showed that Monmouth was in the top 10 percent of colleges in investment performance over the past five years.

A successful private investor, Goldsborough believed that Monmouth’s traditional strategy of investing heavily in large-cap U.S. stocks limited its agility in responding to emerging domestic and

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$80

GROWTH OF PORTFOLIO

BY FISCAL YEAR

$60

Total Portfolio (Millions)

Gifts from generous donors and wise investment have helped the endowment more than double in size since 2003. It was in that year that Monmouth’s current chairman of the board, Bill Goldsborough ’65, as head of the college’s finance and business affairs committee, began instituting changes to modernize the college’s investments.

$100

$40

$20

$0 2003 FY

2004 FY

2005 FY

2006 FY

2007 FY

2008 FY

2009 FY

2010 FY

2011 FY

2012 FY

2013 FY

2014 FYTD

Another area in which Monmouth takes an unconventional approach to investing is closely tied to the strong agricultural region in which it resides. While the average ACM investment in farmland is 3 percent, more than 10 percent of Monmouth’s endowment is composed of land holdings.

TOTAL PORTFOLIO ASSET ALLOCATION ($ MILLIONS)

16% FARMLAND: $14.6

49% U.S. EQUITIES: $45.7

4% ALTERNATIVES: $3.5

16%

FIXED INCOME: $10.4

15%

6%

“The general philosophy of AS OF: 6/30/14 the board as a whole is that TOTAL: $94.1 M farmland has been given to us by a farmer and his family and we want to be good stewards of that land,” Kopinski explained. “Although we include it in our endowment, and even though farmland is really richly valued right now, we have no plans of selling the land that has been given to us. We don’t believe that that was the intention of any farming family that gave Monmouth land.”

NON-U.S. EQUITIES: $14.1

EMERGING MARKETS: $3.5

Goldsborough said that while retaining farmland is a matter of principle, it also has proven to be a good investment strategy.

“There is a low correlation between the price of farmland and the price of stocks, and farmland has proven to be an excellent longterm hedge against inflation,” he explained.

FARMLAND HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US BY A FARMER AND HIS FAMILY AND WE WANT TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THAT LAND.

The college uses a professional farm management company to lease the land to farmers, deal with production issues and set rents based on a nationally recognized metric.

Although conservative regarding farmland and other investments, the board’s finance committee continuously evaluates market trends and is not averse to changing course when opportunities arise. For example, it is currently preparing to switch from a U.S. plus international-centric portfolio stock manager to a global portfolio in order to gain access to broader markets.

MC’s new vice president for finance and business Richard Marshall, who has nearly three decades of experience working with endowments at five colleges and universities, is enthusiastic about the state of Monmouth’s endowment. “Thanks to generous contributors, good oversight by trustees and capable asset managers, it is solid and has a bright future,” he said.

For information about giving to the endowment, contact the Office of Development at 888-827-8268.

MONEY MAGAZINE GIVES MONMOUTH HIGH MARKS MONMOUTH COLLEGE APPEARS AMONG THE TOP 15 INSTITUTIONS IN TWO CATEGORIES OF MONEY MAGAZINE’S LATEST COLLEGE RANKINGS. OF 665 “BEST COLLEGES,” MONMOUTH RANKED NO. 14 IN THE MOST AFFORDABLE PRIVATE COLLEGES CATEGORY AND NO. 15 AMONG COLLEGES THAT ADD THE MOST VALUE. “Receiving a high ranking in these two categories reflects positively on what we consider two of our areas of strength,” said President Clarence Wyatt.

The college’s data shows that 99 percent of its 2012 and 2013 graduates were employed or enrolled in further education within six months of commencement. Additionally, a large number of the graduates found well-paying jobs, making a Monmouth degree a good return on investment.

The college has believed it’s been a leader in contributing to successful outcomes for its graduates for several years, particularly with the rise of its innovative Wackerle Career & Leadership Center and the way the center works hand-in-hand with Monmouth’s rising academic reputation. Now, the Money magazine rankings show just how successful the college is.

Among its distinctive analyses, the list provides a more realistic way to price colleges, taking into account the complete cost of a degree rather than the cost of a single year. It is also the only ranking to evaluate which schools add the most value, given the academic and economic background of the students who attend.

The result, says Money senior writer Kim Clark, who created the rankings, “is a list of colleges—some famous, some surprising— that, according to the best data available, provide real value.

College is expensive, but the highly rated colleges on our list are the most likely to do a great job of educating your student and helping to launch him or her into a well-paying job.”

Monmouth’s graduation rate outperformed its anticipated rate by 18 percent, while graduates’ earnings outperformed the expected amount by $3,500 annually. Graduation rates were predicted based on the rates of schools with students from similar socioeconomic and academic backgrounds, while expected earnings were calculated using the percentage of a school’s Pell Grant recipients, standardized test scores and the mix of majors at the school.

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CAMPUS NEWS

The record-setting Class of 2018 gathers for the first time for a group photo in front of Wallace Hall in August.

RECORD ENROLLMENT

Bucking a national trend of declining private college enrollment, Monmouth College has broken its all-time record for freshmen, welcoming 396 students. The Class of 2018 is Monmouth’s second large freshman class in as many years. Last fall, the college came within one student of the previous high-water mark of 393.

“We celebrate these numbers not so much for setting records, but for what they tell us,” said President Clarence Wyatt. “These numbers tell us that more students find Monmouth College to be the place where young women and men want to spend these important years, years in which they will learn to lead lives examined and lives empowered. These numbers tell us that Monmouth College is increasingly recognized as a place where the power of possibility is demonstrated every day.”

“Monmouth’s reputation for successful outcomes is also part of the reason for the increase,” said Marnie Steach Dugan ’95, director of MC’s Wackerle Career and Leadership Center, citing the college’s recent top 15 ranking in Money magazine’s categories of Most Affordable Private Colleges and Colleges That Add the Most Value (see previous page).

Not only is the quantity of the Class of 2018 high, but so is its quality. The average ACT score of entering students has risen by 1.2 points over the past two years. The number of out-of-state students has more than doubled during that time, and international students are up again, rising to a healthy 5 percent of the entering class.

The last two years of new student enrollment numbers have increased the college’s overall enrollment to 1,303 students, a 4 percent increase from the fall of 2012.

The college’s new $42 million Center for Science and Business deserves some of the credit, as this year’s entering class was the first to be able to tour the completed facility. “The Center for Science and Business is the physical embodiment of Monmouth’s commitment to the quality of education we provide and of our investment in academics,” said David Timmerman, dean of the faculty.

Not only has the college’s ongoing $75 million capital campaign provided the resources for the Center for Science and Business, but it has also helped Monmouth enhance its academic programs and scholarship opportunities.

“Students are being drawn to Monmouth’s academics for many reasons,” noted Tim Keefauver ’80, vice president for strategic initiatives. “From the opportunity to work with published professors, to performing with unique music ensembles such as the Pipe Band, jazz and a cappella groups, to conducting scientific research side-by-side with professors using state-of-the-art equipment in the new laboratories, Monmouth provides access to unique and challenging experiences that today’s students value.”

The college’s data show that 99 percent of 2012 and 2013 graduates were employed or enrolled in further education within six months of commencement, making a Monmouth degree a good return on investment.

“We believe our strong graduation rate is in part a result of our high-touch, 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio,” said Keefauver. “Our professors know their students personally. That not only helps them achieve in the classroom, but helps them more successfully navigate the four-year college experience.”

KOPINSKI GREENHOUSE BENEFITS BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The latest addition to the Center for Science and Business, a 660-square-foot greenhouse at the building’s southwest corner, is nearing completion. The gift of Mark Kopinski ’79 and his wife, Debbie, the computer-controlled greenhouse will feature three separate zones— one for tropical plants, one for succulents and one for the general collection. One of the zones also features an automated sun screen. A spacious potting room is located near the greenhouse entrance.

The Kopinskis (center) are flanked by biology professors Kevin Baldwin and Ken Cramer on the left, and by President Clarence Wyatt and biology professor Tim Tibbetts on the right.

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CAMPUS NEWS

MC ADDS PEACE STUDIES MINOR

EBOO PATEL

Dan Ott, coordinator of Monmouth’s new peace, ethics and social justice (PESJ) minor, said the program was created to examine the causes and contexts of violence and war, especially issues of systemic violence and social justice. While students sometimes have difficulty identifying with war being waged abroad, other issues, such as racial injustice, often hit very close to home.

is joined by Monmouth history professor Stacy Cordery, herself an accomplished author, at a book signing during Patel’s visit to campus.

In the summer of 2013, coordinators of the minor attended the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, held at the University of Notre Dame, to gather information on how to organize and implement the program. It officially began last semester.

“The installation of the minor has gone smoothly and seems to have good support both from students and faculty,” said Ott, an assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies who taught the pilot introductory course, “Peace with Justice,” last spring. “I think we will have a nice group of folks working through the minor and getting a lot out of it.”

The minor requires the introductory course and three electives, including at least one course in the humanities and at least one in the social sciences. This spring, Ott will teach a course titled “Gandhi and King: The Philosophy of Nonviolence.”

Career paths for PESJ students branch in many directions, including post-violence community building, environmental activism, sustainable agriculture, peace education, government, conflict resolution and social change through the arts.

PATEL SPEAKS ABOUT INTERFAITH MOVEMENT

During Eboo Patel’s message to a large college audience last fall, the founder and president of the Interfaith Youth Core said he was told the interfaith movement is in a position similar to where the civil rights movement was in the late 1950s.

The man who made that statement? Andrew Young, former mayor of Atlanta and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Before he held those titles, Young was a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a supporter and friend of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Young said that in 1957, what he and Martin Luther King and others were doing wasn’t called ‘the civil rights movement,’” said Patel, who met Young when they served on the same panel a few years ago. “That came later.”

Similarly, the interfaith movement has been present for several years. But now, as the movement is “on the cusp of something big,” Patel said it’s time to share the “language and definition” of the movement.

“If you asked 100 people to define ‘interfaith movement,’ you’d get 90 different answers, and 40 of them would be contradictory,” said Patel, author of two books on the subject, including

Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation.

Patel, whose visit was sponsored by the Lux Center for Church and Religious Leadership, is sharing that definition across the nation, most commonly on college campuses. “We didn’t start this movement,” he told the audience, which included vistors from six colleges. “But we are in a powerful place to write the next chapter.

We got next. This one is us.”

STELLA’S VOICE CHAPTER WELCOMES SPECIAL GUEST

The horrors of slavery did not end with the Civil War. According to the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index, 35.8 million persons worldwide are today subjected to modern slavery.

Thanks to the organization Stella’s Voice, which has a chapter at Monmouth, Stela Slanina isn’t one of those 35.8 million.

Slanina, who visited campus during the fall, is not the namesake of Stella’s Voice. Unfortunately, that Stella did not survive the horrors of human trafficking in the eastern European nation of Moldova, dying of AIDS at age 19.

There were doubts that Slanina, too, would survive in the Moldovan orphanage she called home.

“I was broken, I was hurt and I was looking for healing,” she told an audience in Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. “I asked ‘Why do I have this life? Why am I being rejected? Why do I have to fight every day for attention? Why do I have to fight every day for bread? Why not kill myself?’ I tried once.”

Her saving grace was Stella’s House, which was founded by Philip and Chrissie Cameron not long after Philip and his ministry learned of the dire conditions in Moldova’s orphanages in the early 1990s.

Monmouth’s connection to Stella’s Voice began with David Byrnes ’72, the former chairman of the college’s board of trustees. Byrnes first traveled to Moldova in 2010 to work with the Camerons. When he returned, he shared the needs of their organization with the campus community, then led the first Monmouth trip to Moldova in 2011.

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CAMPUS NEWS

BETTER INTERNET NOW A REALITY

Improved Internet service with higher bandwidth and higher reliability has arrived at Monmouth College and the surrounding community through an agreement between the college and MTC Communications.

This service allows the college to provide even faster services to its students, faculty and staff, while benefiting the community by requiring MTC to provide the first fully redundant Internet service to the city of Monmouth.

“Building this network will bring a multitude of benefits to the college and the surrounding community,” said MTC Communications president and CEO Bill Buchanan. “In rural communities, the schools and city government play a critical role in the establishment of a high-quality fiber optic network.”

MTC Communications agreed to construct a high reliability network through the use of redundant routing from Monmouth to its other fiber routes approximately six miles west of town. Once constructed this fall or early spring, the additional route will connect the community of Monmouth back into MTC’s fiber ring, which maintains service in the event of a fiber cut.

“This new partnership dramatically increases our capability in providing an even richer teaching and learning experience on our campus,” said Monmouth president Clarence Wyatt. “We can now let our imaginations run with the possibilities that technology can bring to us.”

“This will allow Monmouth College to concentrate on teaching and learning with the expectation that a reliable and robust Internet connection is always available,” added Daryl Carr, MC’s chief information officer. “That’s a great benefit to our students, faculty and staff.”

‘HISTORY FROM THE DOCUMENTS UP’

The document gave future Monmouth professor Stacy Cordery chills. It was a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of four-term president Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“I clearly remember the moment I held the letter in my hand,” said Cordery, chair of the history department, recalling her college days at the University of Texas. “I thought ‘Eleanor chose this paper, this color ink and rested her hand here!’ Every single one of our faculty could point to one document, one moment where we encountered a document and it gave us chills. We felt the gulf collapse between the past and the present.”

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She continued, “We thought ‘Why aren’t we introducing these documents to students before their senior level courses?’”

So now, the history department is doing just that as part of a revised curriculum, which gives Monmouth a distinction that no other college in the country can claim.

“When I start to write about the Stacy Cordery new curriculum, I want to use 17 exclamation points,” said Cordery. “It’s really true that this is utterly unique.”

The curriculum deemphasizes the study of historical events in favor of more focus on research. The department finds this method of teaching interests more students in history and also helps future teachers excel in the state education tests in their senior year.

Titled “History from the Documents Up,” another of the curriculum’s features is introducing first-year students to classes with narrower topics, rather than general courses.

“Freshmen were less interested in taking our classes because they were named things like ‘U.S. History Survey 1865 to the Present’ or ‘Western Civilization,’” said Cordery.

Now the department offers freshmen the opportunity to take courses such as “The Great Chicago Fire of 1871” or “Stories in Blue and Gray: Lives of Civil War Soldiers,” saving the broader classes for upperclassmen.

A major focus of the curriculum is teaching students about primary documents, where to find them, how much students can rely on them and how to analyze the sources. Primary documents include such items as court records, love letters, posters and buttons.

One way students study primary documents is by looking at an author’s footnotes. Students track down the original source and decide whether or not the historian made an accurate claim.

“If your paper comes to a different conclusion than another student’s paper, that is usually fine,” said Cordery. “We want you to do the job of historians, and what historians do is find documents and weave them together in a way we think is plausible.”

Monmouth College’s archives are open to all students, which is rare for an undergraduate institution. Located in Hewes Library, the archives include items dating to as early as the 1850s, including photographs, letters, student scrapbooks, faculty papers and ledgers.

CAMPUS NEWS

MU LAMBDA RHO IS NEWEST GREEK ORGANIZATION

At first, Juan Mora ’17 couldn’t decide if he wanted to consider Greek life.

Prior to coming to Monmouth College, Mora assumed sororities and fraternities only existed to help students make friends. But after meeting the members of Mu Lambda Rho, the college’s newest Greek organization, Mora realized fraternities play other important roles, including their investment in service and community projects.

“This experience will help me in the future because I know how to connect with others,” said Mora, who is one of Mu Lambda Rho’s 26 members.

The multicultural fraternity formed on Oct. 1, 2013, when two different, gender-separated multicultural organizations decided to meld together to form a co-ed fraternity. The brotherhood and sisterhood – “siblinghood” – appeals to members of the group.

“In the workforce, there is never going to be an all-male or all-female company, and that’s where Mu Lambda Rho comes in,” said the organization’s president, Heather Saez ’16.

The biggest challenge for a new fraternity is competing with larger, more established Greek organizations. Mu Lambda Rho promotes professionalism, which is commonly seen in the Greek scene. Siblinghood and an emphasis on diversity are two of its other trademarks.

“We bring in males and females from different backgrounds, religions and races,” said Saez.

“Most people don’t realize it took two years to build Mu Lambda Rho before launching in the fall semester of 2013,” said Billy Bernard, associate director of the Wackerle Career and Leadership Program. “The founding students worked incredibly hard during those two years developing a solid organization structure while still completing academic requirements, leading other organizations and staying involved with varsity athletics.”

John Salazar, director of housing operations and co-adviser of Mu Lambda Rho, worked with multicultural organizations before coming to Monmouth.

“Multicultural Greek organizations have been around in earnest for the last 30 years in higher education,” he said. Mora says that colleges need multicultural organizations because they raise awareness to different lifestyles.

“Since most of the community and college population is Caucasian, getting out the knowledge is helpful,” said Mora. “When you don’t have others enlightening people about different cultures, it leads the uninformed people into the shadows.”

The fraternity raises money for UNICEF, a global organization that aids children in need. Last year, Mu Lambda Rho organized a roll bounce, which is a skating party where people join teams and play games. All of the money raised was donated to a UNICEF project that helps people in Third World countries receive water. UNICEF provides water kits, water treatment products, portable toilets and hygiene kits to people in need.

In November, the organization hosted a “Rho Olympic Games,” in which students made teams and played games in the Huff Athletic Center. The proceeds went toward violence awareness.

Not only does Mu Lambda Rho provide an atmosphere of community, the fraternity also gives members a sense of belonging within a professional setting.

“I was very timid before I joined,” said Saez. “I am way more confident when I walk into a room full of males and talk in front of them.

I come from a small family, so I love the siblinghood.”

“We couldn’t be more proud to have Mu Lambda Rho as a part of our fraternity and sorority community,” said Bernard. “We are eager to see what they will accomplish and how they will continue to develop their members into strong, caring and well-rounded individuals.”

—Kristen Gisondi ’17 Members of Mu Lambda Rho proudly display the colors of their new “siblinghood” during an event at April Zorn Memorial Stadium.

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CAMPUS NEWS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Thomas Sienkewicz, the Minnie Billings Capron Professor of Classics at Monmouth College, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Illinois Classical Conference at its annual meeting last month in Chicago.

“This is obviously a well-deserved award for Tom,” said David Timmerman, dean of the faculty. “I have not worked with nor met anyone more devoted nor successful at engaging students in their discipline. He has been a productive scholar his entire career, which I also find inspiring.”

Earlier this year, at the 67th Summer Institute of the American Classics League, Sienkewicz received a prestigious Meritus Award for his sustained and distinguished service to the classics profession.

Two MC history professors recently shared their thoughts about Sienkewicz in conjunction with the Illinois Classical Conference honor, including one, Bill Urban, who had already been on the faculty 18 years when Sienkewicz arrived in 1984.

Urban credited Sienkewicz’s “innovative” triad for Latin, Greek and classics students for boosting enrollment in those disciplines. Sienkewicz also stressed to his students the lack of qualified Latin teachers, and many of his former students can now be found teaching the subject. One of them, Dawn McRoberts Strauss ’03, made a presentation at the Illinois Classical Conference, along with several of her Latin students at Kenwood Academy in Chicago.

“He also took students on one or two trips annually to Italy or Greece or Turkey or Spain or England,” said Urban. “No one was ever bored.”

“Tom Sienkewicz is the personification of the passionate study of classics,” said history professor Stacy Cordery. “His tireless outreach goes far beyond the classroom walls. He has made the classics program at Monmouth an integral part of our very mission and, by acts large and small, reminds us frequently of the continuing importance of classics in our world.”

HATCH ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED TEACHING Political science professor Farhat Haq is the recipient of a 2014 Hatch Academic Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching. She was presented the award during Homecoming weekend.

Chair of the political science department, Haq began teaching at Monmouth in 1987. She has won several awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities for advanced studies related to her scholarly and pedagogical interests, and she has been a leader and active participant in many Midwest Faculty Seminars at the University of Chicago and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. In 2002 she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Pakistan, and she recently served as the ACM faculty adviser for its program in Pune, India.

In regard to her distinguished teaching, Dean David Timmerman commented, “In the classroom with students, she has a commanding

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presence and intellectually challenges students even as she provides them with abundant support. She invites students into conversations about complicated global issues, and has an amazing way of empowering them to weigh in or ask questions. Her passion for the subject matter is evident and compelling.”

Haq regularly teaches during the summer at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, one of the top universities in her native Pakistan, and she currently serves as treasurer on the executive committee of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia, Haq earned her master’s degree in government from Cornell University in 1983 and her Ph.D. in government from Cornell in 1987. In her sixth year on the faculty, she won the prestigious Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award.

BOOKS

GOULD CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO CHIEF JUSTICE: TAFT BETWIXT THE WHITE HOUSE AND SUPREME COURT

By Lewis L. Gould Visiting Distinguished Professor of History Hard Cover, 216 pages, $39.95 University Press of Kansas As 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913, and then as chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930, William Howard Taft was the only man ever to lead two of America’s three governing branches. But between these two well-documented periods in office, there lies an eight-year patch of largely unexplored political wilderness. In the first in-depth look at this period in Taft’s singular career, eminent presidential historian LEWIS L. GOULD reveals how a man often derided for his lack of political acumen made his way through the hazards of Republican affairs to gain his objective.

Gould tracks Taft as he crisscrosses the country from 1913 through 1921, the inveterate traveler reinventing himself as an elder Republican statesman with no visible political ambition beyond informing and serving the public. Taft was, however, working the long game, serving on the National War Labor Board, fighting for the League of Nations, teaching law and constitutional history at Yale, making up his differences with Roosevelt, all the while negotiating the Republican Party’s antipathy and his own intense dislike of Woodrow Wilson, whose wartime policies and battle for the league he was bound to support. Throughout, his judicial ambition shaped his actions, with surprising adroitness.

This account of Taft’s journey from the White House to the Supreme Court fills a large gap in our understanding of an important American politician and jurist. It also discloses how intricate and complicated public affairs had become during the era of World War I and its aftermath, an era in which Taft, as a shrewd commentator on the political scene, a resourceful practitioner of party politics, and a man of consummate ambition, made a significant and lasting mark.

BRUCE SWIMMING AT VILLA HUGEL: MEMOIRS OF AN AMERICAN GIRL IN POST-WORLD WAR II GERMANY

By Mary Hanford Bruce Emerita Professor of English Soft Cover, 216 pages,$14.95 UCS Press

A year ago, Monmouth College emerita English professor MARY HANFORD BRUCE , who spent two of her childhood years in post-World War II Germany, completed a book about her memories of that time.

The book was available only in German initially.

An English version of the book is now available.

Bruce came to Essen, Germany, in 1949 as the 9-year-old daughter of an American diplomat, who was placed in the management of Krupp Industries while Alfred Krupp sat in prison, his entire business confiscated by the Allies for his role in helping finance Germany’s military during World Wars I and II. Her father’s office was in the Krupp’s mansion, Villa Hugel, which Bruce calls “the Buckingham Palace of Germany.” She made an unplanned visit to the site, which is now a museum, in 2009 and said, “It was like walking into a time warp.

I was amazed at how much I remembered. … It was exciting to get it on paper because I had forgotten very little.”

WELLS FLUENCY (CONFLUENCE BOOK 1)

By Jennifer Foehner Wells ’95 Kindle E-Book, 373 Pages, $3.99 Blue Bedlam Books

When an author pens a first novel and self-publishes it, the odds for success are typically close to zero. JENNIFER FOEHNER WELLS ’95 was therefore pleasantly surprised when her science fiction novel Fluency, published as an e-book, sold more than 20,000 copies in the first two months and leaped to the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s Space Operas Best Sellers List.

A biology major who dabbled in theatre at Monmouth, Foehner was a sci-fi enthusiast who had never tried her hand at writing until on a whim she wrote a novel-length piece of fan fiction based on a favorite television series, Stargate Atlantis. The positive reviews gave the stay-athome mom the confidence to tackle an original space novel, and two years later, the first book in a planned series of novels was born.

The plot of Fluency begins with the discovery in the 1960s by NASA of an alien ship, lurking in the asteroid belt, just beyond Mars. Kept under intense surveillance for decades, the agency keeps “The Target” secret while working feverishly to refine the technology needed to reach it.

In Bruce’s book, the reader sees postwar Germany through the eyes of a child exploring a strange world. She had expected a land filled with monsters, but met ordinary people. Bruce made friends with German girls who played with her in the park and in the villa, and who also went swimming in the villa’s indoor pool.

Dr. Jane Holloway, a linguist who documents nearly-extinct languages, is recruited to join a team of military scientists for an expedition to The Target. Once they arrive, however, it is discovered that the ship is not abandoned, as was presumed, and the alien navigator starts to reveal its secrets to Holloway telepathically.

“Because of my father’s work as a diplomat, I was mainly taken care of by the servants,” said Bruce. “They were Germans, and they could have treated me terribly, but they were very kind to me. I wanted to write the book to show my deep fondness I had for them and for the circumstances they were in after the war.”

Holloway fights the growing doubts of her colleagues as she attempts to decipher what the alien wants from her.

Written cinematically, with nods to both classic science fiction and current pop culture, Fluency puts a new spin on the space fiction genre.

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DISTINCTIVE REASONS

WHY IT’S GREAT

TO BE A SCOT Over the course of 16 decades, Monmouth College has evolved into a mature and respected liberal arts institution, of which its alumni, students and employees are justly proud. Those familiar with Monmouth appreciate its rich heritage and family-like atmosphere, and many have embraced a new slogan, “It’s great to be a Scot!”

BY JEFF RANKIN

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UNIQUELY MONMOUTH

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SCOTTISH HERITAGE

Today there are at least eight colleges with teams called the Fighting Scots, but Monmouth was the first, adopting the nickname in 1928. In fact, Monmouth owns a federally registered trademark on the name. MC’s first alumni secretary, Harold Hermann ’27, not only coined the name, but also promoted a college-wide Scottish marketing campaign that included the adoption of the red and white hunting tartan of the Menzies clan, the wearing of Scottish caps in place of freshman beanies, and the formation of a bagpipe band with Highland dancers.

In the late 1940s, music professor Hal Loya decided that a school with a Scottish heritage should have bagpipers leading its marching band. With financial backing from language professor Dorothy Donald, he ordered two bagpipes and a practice chanter from Scotland and taught himself to play. He then convinced two musically-talented brothers, Floyd ’49 and David Hershberger ’51, to also learn the challenging instrument, and they became first in what would become a distinguished line of Monmouth pipers.

It was not long before a Highland dance troupe was also formed, and in 1957, the Monmouth Highland Pipe Band was organized, eventually growing to 14 members in the 1960s. Because of the difficulty of learning the instrument, there were times when band membership dwindled. During the presidency of Sue Huseman, only a single piper was left, so she enlisted the help of former members Bill ’69 and Peg Will Lee ’71 to teach lessons to members of the college community, and their son, Josh Lee ’99, became the pipe major. With the creation of a competitive scholarship program for pipers and Highland drummers, the group matured into one of the top college pipe bands in the nation.

Also during Huseman’s presidency, Monmouth commissioned the creation of an official tartan, registered with the Lord Lyon of Scotland. The bold new red, black and white tartan now appears on the pipe band’s kilts, the marching band’s uniforms and on ties and scarves worn by alumni.

In 2009, Monmouth College signed an agreement with University of the Highlands and Islands, a federation of 13 colleges and research institutions in Scotland, to offer Monmouth students a convenient way to study abroad

Monmouth is one of only a handful of colleges to award full scholarships for bagpiping.

while becoming immersed in Scottish culture. During the fall semester, 12 Monmouth Scots were enrolled in this increasingly popular program.

2 INTEGRATED CURRICULUM Monmouth has been a pioneer in the development of an integrated curriculum, designed to maximize the liberal arts experience using a unique four-year framework.

President Bruce Haywood, upon assuming office in 1980, proposed refashioning MC’s existing curricular model that consisted of two years of general studies, followed by two years of concentrated studies. Adopted in 1981, the new curriculum established a mandatory freshman seminar for all incoming students focused on a common topic. General education requirements were distributed across the four years of college, culminating in a senior capstone course, and academic departments were limited in how many courses they could require in their discipline.

In 1999, President Richard Giese launched an extensive three-year review of the curriculum, financed by a grant from the Teagle Foundation. By the mid-2000s, a robust new integrated studies curriculum, inspired by the Haywood model, was successfully implemented. Key elements of the plan include: First Year: Introduction to the Liberal Arts—a course focusing on helping students become adept at read-

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UNIQUELY MONMOUTH

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND BUSINESS IS INSPIRING FRESH IDEAS FOR INTEGRATING THE TEACHING OF THOSE TWO TRADITIONALLY SEPARATE DISCIPLINES. The Center for Science and Business ing, writing and analyzing, as well as seeing the connections between disciplines.

Second Year: Global Perspectives—students investigate other communities, political systems and cultures.

Third Year: Reflections—a look inward at personal values, ethics and purpose in life.

Fourth Year: Citizenship—a capstone course that challenges students to move past study and take conscientious action.

Service projects and internships expose students to real-world issues and provide valuable practical experience.

Beyond the formal catalog, Monmouth continues to innovate in curricular development. The Center for Science and Business is inspiring fresh ideas for integrating the teaching of those two traditionally separate disciplines. In 2014, Monmouth began experimenting with a new hiring model, under which three new faculty members representing separate disciplines are brought on board to collaborate on teaching and thinking about an important interdisciplinary issue, such as food security.

Individual departments are also developing novel approaches to teaching their subject that challenge convention. For example, the department of history has turned its curriculum upside down. Instead of teaching survey courses at the 100 level, the faculty is seeking to capture the imagination of young students by centering courses on a fascinating period or incident in history. 400-level courses focus on the broad perspective and serve as a helpful review of basic knowledge for history majors contemplating graduate school.

3 CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND BUSINESS A decade ago, Monmouth College faced a dilemma. Its popular business and accounting programs had outgrown the cramped McMichael Academic Hall facilities that it shared with the art de-

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partment and needed modern new quarters. At the same time, Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center, which had been a cutting-edge facility shortly after the time of the first moon landing, was outdated and not ideally suited to modern methods of teaching and research. But the college had just completed its largest construction project ever—the Huff Athletic Center—so the idea of constructing two major new buildings seemed daunting.

In the pragmatic discussions that ensued, a novel idea emerged.

Could a single new building house both the sciences and business?

The answer would prove to be “yes,” but in a manner far more significant than initially imagined. As faculty members from both disciplines began planning, the talk gradually advanced from sharing facilities to sharing ideas.

The Center for Science and Business (CSB) opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews in the fall of 2013. Occupying the width of a city block, the three-level academic building contains wings housing major departments, connected at the center by a two-story atrium, known as the Veterans Memorial Great Room. In addition to honoring MC’s distinguished military heritage, the room is flanked on three sides by an interdisciplinary array of faculty offices, two seminar rooms that can be used by any department and a comfortable lounge area for conversation and study.

Not only is the interdisciplinary concept of the CSB innovative, but it also is outfitted with an unusually diverse array of cutting-edge technology. On the rooftop is the Adolphson Observatory, which will soon be equipped with an exceptionally powerful 20-inch computerized reflector telescope, on a par with instruments at leading universities. The state-certified nutrition/food chemistry lab is unusual for an undergraduate institution and serves as an exceptional research facility for Monmouth’s new initiative in food security. The anatomy and physiology lab offers a state-of-the-art teaching environment for cadaver studies. Other dynamic features of the CSB include a parallel computer lab, a high-speed imaging lab, a machine shop for specialized physics projects, a nuclear lab and psychology observation rooms.

UNIQUELY MONMOUTH

4 MILITARY TRADITION On Veterans Day 2014, Monmouth College dedicated the great room of its new Center for Science and Business in honor of the countless students, alumni, trustees and employees who have served their country in the armed forces, beginning with the Civil War. One of those was individuals was Bill Trubeck ’68, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former trustee who provided the naming gift for the room.

“Monmouth College has among its alumni many individuals who have served in each one of the branches of the military, from the lowest private and the lowest able-bodied seaman all the way up to and through the general officer ranks and the admiralty,” Trubeck told the audience. He related the stories of four former students whose photographs are displayed in the room for having received the nation’s highest military decoration for bravery—the Medal of Honor. Among them were the late Bobby Dunlap ’42, who showed remarkable courage during the battle of Iwo Jima, and the late Vice Adm. James Stockdale ’46, who spent seven years in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton,” after his fighter jet was shot down over Vietnam.

Also displayed is a marble bust of Abner C. Harding, a former college trustee, who in 1862 raised a regiment of Army volunteers known as the 83rd Infantry. Called “the Students’ Company,” because 18 of its members were MC students, it fought bravely in the defense of Fort Donelson in 1863, potentially saving hundreds of lives. For his gallantry in the battle, Harding was promoted to brigadier general.

The college’s Old Main was still under construction when the war broke out and the first graduation had just occurred three years earlier. Yet the struggling young school furnished a total of 232 men to the Union cause, including four majors, 17 captains, 13 lieutenants, two adjutants and three chaplains. Of Monmouth’s volunteers, 12 were killed in battle, 14 died in hospital and 26 were wounded in battle.

In World War I, 115 Monmouth students entered military service. World War II saw more than 700 students and graduates enter service, 43 of whom made the supreme sacrifice. During both wars, as in the Civil War, most of the able-bodied male students enlisted, leaving MC in a precarious situation. In the Civil War, President David Wallace issued his famous proclamation, “We must educate, whether there be peace or war,” and the college did. But during the World Wars, the college needed more than a slogan to stay afloat. In 1918, it was selected to host a Student Army Training Corps unit of 100 cadets. Beginning in 1943, the college contracted with the Navy to host both a pre-flight training program and a refresher unit for officers. Over the next 30 months, more than 4,000 Navy personnel received training at MC, in courses taught by Monmouth faculty.

CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT: College trustee Abner C. Harding was promoted to general after leading “the Students’ Company” in the valiant defense of Fort Donelson during the Civil War; Navy cadets march in front of Wallace Hall during World War II; President Truman presents Bobby Dunlap ’42 with the Medal of Honor.

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UNIQUELY MONMOUTH

5 SPECIAL COLLECTIONS While treasuring their morning coffee in the Einstein Bros. Bagels shop in Hewes Library, many members of the Monmouth community remain blissfully unaware of a number of other treasures hidden nearby.

The library itself is a bit of a treasure, as it holds the distinction of being the oldest Federal Depository Library (FDL) in Illinois and the fourth-oldest in the nation. In 1858, the House of Representatives enabled each of its members to designate a depository in his district or territory and, in 1859, the U.S. Senate followed suit. The Government Printing Office was established in 1860, and Monmouth College began receiving documents that year. Today, there are approximately 1,350 FDLs throughout the U.S. and its territories. Hewes Library is considered a regional library, so it can be selective in the documents it receives. About 19 percent of new federal documents are currently being received, primarily in electronic form.

Journey to the library’s second floor and you will find pieces from one of the most unusual and eclectic collections of art and antiquities in the nation. James Christie Shields, a 1949 graduate, who spent his childhood in Egypt and West Africa as the son of Presbyterian missionaries, presented the collection to his alma mater in 1998. A high school English teacher in New York City, he began his collection as a teenager with a single mummified hawk, and steadily expanded it with museum-quality artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and pre-Columbia America, collected through auctions and travels, and meticulously documented.

When his East Village apartment became packed to the rafters with 600 objects, he decided to it was time to donate the entire collection to MC. Ever the packrat, however, he continued to collect, and an additional 75 treasures were transferred to Monmouth before his death in 2009.

Monmouth’s early ties to Presbyterian missions in Egypt yielded another prized artifact from that region, located just across from the Shields Collection gallery. In 1866, a German archaeological expedition that included the Rev. Gulian Lansing, an American Presbyterian missionary, discovered a stone tablet on a temple wall at the ancient city of Tanis. Carved by Egyptian high priests in 238 B.C., the tablet was a decree written in Greek, hieroglyphics and demotic script, and proved to be even more valuable than the famed Rosetta Stone in unlocking the mysteries of hieroglyphics.

Casts of the tablet were made for the Royal Museum of Berlin and the British Museum. Lansing, who had been awarded an honorary degree by Monmouth College a year earlier, arranged to have a third casting made for Monmouth to be displayed in the museum of Old Main. When Old Main burned in 1907, the plaster slab fell three stories to the basement and shattered. The fragments were discovered by professor Charles Speel in the 1950s, and a case was later built to display the curiosity’s remains.

During the time of the pharaohs, civilization was also thriving in

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The Shields Collection of Art and Antiquities North America—in fact, right in the college’s backyard. In 2010, an anonymous collector deeded his extensive collection of Native American artifacts, found over many decades in western Illinois.

The collection, which includes thousands of arrowheads, ax heads and pieces of pottery, is one of the largest in the state available for study. It is housed in the new Monmouth College Archaeology Research Laboratory in the lower level of the library.

6 STUDENT/FACULTY RESEARCH Funded by a $2.3 million bequest by Monmouth’s late professor of chemistry, the Richard Kieft Summer Research Endowment allows 6-8 students to stay on campus during the summer and conduct research in chemistry and other sciences. It also provides for 10 students per year to attend the National American Chemical Society Meeting to present their work.

In the department of biology, two professors have become jet-setting research leaders, taking students to exotic destinations across the globe. In recent years, James Godde and Ken Cramer have led research expeditions to such locales as the Galapagos Islands, Borneo, Cuba, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Costa Rica and Hawaii.

Godde also led an unusual research trip in the United States, taking students by train to three national parks in the West to study microorganisms that thrive in extreme conditions.

For the past three summers, Monmouth students have traveled to Bulgaria to participate in a two-week Fulbright. Led by MC associate dean Bren Tooley, who teaches at the institute, Monmouth’s students are the only undergraduate cohort participating in the program, which is attended primarily by grad students and young faculty.

Students can engage in research with Monmouth faculty even prior to matriculation. Entering freshmen have the opportunity to

UNIQUELY MONMOUTH

join current students on campus three weeks prior to the start of the fall semester to work closely on projects with faculty from a broad range of departments. Now in its fifth year, the Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity (SOFIA) program most recently welcomed 80 students under the supervision of 26 faculty members.

While collaborating with faculty on research has led to students being named as co-authors in published journals, Monmouth students also have the opportunity to submit their research to a journal they publish themselves—the Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research. Funded by four Monmouth alumni, this year’s edition included papers by students from Monmouth, Ripon, Beloit and Wartburg colleges on topics ranging from black holes to Jane Austen to steroid use by athletes.

7 UNIQUE ARCHITECTURE While Monmouth’s newest buildings draw raves from first-time campus visitors, many of the compliments focus not on the buildings themselves, but on how well they complement the college’s older architecture. Visitors sometimes remark that MC’s traditional Georgian-style architecture looks like the campus was plucked from somewhere on the East Coast and replanted on the Midwest prairie.

That would be an astute observation, because much of the college’s original architecture can be attributed to a prominent East

THE DESIGNER OF MONMOUTH’S CHAPEL, MC GRAD DAN WAID, WOULD GO ON TO BECOME ONE OF NEW YORK CITY’S MOST PROMINENT ARCHITECTS. Coast architect, who graduated from Monmouth in 1887, and who would become president of the American Institute of Architects.

The son of a Monmouth dentist, Dan Everett Waid began his career as a bookkeeper at the site of the construction of a large grain elevator at Dubuque, Iowa, where he gained knowledge of practical construction methods. He then moved to Chicago, securing a position as draftsman in the office of prominent architects Jenney & Mundie, where he rose to the position of head draftsman.

In 1894, after taking a course in the Art Institute of Chicago, he decided to become an independent architect.

In 1895 he embarked on what would be a lifelong relationship with Monmouth College, designing what is today known as Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

Shortly thereafter, Waid and an associate submitted the winning design in a competition for the Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. Working as their own draftsmen and specification writers, they moved to Brooklyn, where they toiled day and night until the job was completed. Waid then opened a small office on Fifth Avenue in New York and was appointed architect for the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, which had offices in the same building.

Waid’s career reached its pinnacle when he became chief architect for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and designed with his partner the new Home Office Building at 11 Madison Avenue.

Originally planned to be the tallest building in the world at 100 stories, it was a victim of the Depression and capped off at 29 floors.

While Waid’s stature as an architect grew, he never forgot his Monmouth College roots. When MC’s Old Main burned in 1907, he personally supervised the selection of architects for the new Wallace Hall. He helped in the planning of McMichael Academic and Some guy’s name.Home. He also designed the college’s first dormitory, McMichael designed the gymnasium and gave the college the money necessary to install its swimming pool. Even following his death in 1939, his influence continued to be felt on the Monmouth campus. His associate, Arthur O. Angilly, designed Grier Hall (1940), Winbigler Hall (1946) and Fulton Hall (1951).

After a fire destroyed Monmouth’s main building in 1907, Waid personally supervised the selection of architects to design the iconic Wallace Hall.

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Monmouth’s football rivalry with Knox College is the sixth-oldest in the nation.

8 ATHLETIC TRADITION In less than two decades, Monmouth’s athletic facilities have undergone a remarkable transformation, with more than $40 million invested in construction and renovation. Beginning with the creation of Peacock Memorial Athletic Park in the 1990s, the program received a major boost with the construction of Huff Athletic Center, the tennis stadium and softball field in the early 2000s. It was capped off with the completion of April Zorn Memorial Stadium in 2009.

While Monmouth’s athletic tradition is steeped in tradition (the football rivalry with Knox is the sixth-oldest in the nation), the athletic program continues to innovate. In 2013, it elevated its men’s and women’s club water polo teams to varsity status, competing largely against Division I and Division II schools, and is one of only a handful of small colleges to offer varsity water polo to men and women. Plans are under way to add varsity teams for men and women in the fastest-growing collegiate sport, lacrosse, with the first competition slated for 2017.

The track and field program is perennially one of the top Division III programs in the country, with at least one All-American every year since 1984 and individual national champions in six of the last 10 years.

With approximately 30 percent of the student body participating in at least one varsity sport, athletics is an important part of Monmouth’s campus culture, but not to the detriment of academics. During the past academic year, nearly 50 scholar-athletes earned national academic honors and more than 100 received conference academic recognition. Both volleyball and men’s golf earned national team honors for having high grade-point averages.

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9 CLASSICS DEPARTMENT In an era in which Greek and Latin are increasingly disappearing from college catalogs, Monmouth celebrates them with one of the leading college classics programs in the nation.

A fixture in the college’s curriculum since 1856, Latin and Greek received a major boost in 1985, when the Minnie Billings Capron Chair in Classics was established through the completion of a National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant.

The first occupant of that chair, Thomas J. Sienkewicz, has taken a distinguished classics program developed under legendary professor Bernice Fox to new levels and a national reputation.

After 30 years, Professor Sienkewicz continues to direct a robust classics department, while serving as chief executive and financial officer of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South— headquartered at Monmouth—while also serving as business manager of its internationally-known quarterly publication, The Classical Journal. Founded at the University of Chicago in 1905, CAMWS covers 32 Midwestern, Western and Southern states and three Canadian provinces.

Sienkewicz, who has made his life’s mission to keep the classics alive, was recently presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Illinois Classical Conference. He developed an innovative triad of Latin, Greek and classics courses that has boosted enrollment in those disciplines and has worked tirelessly to encourage students to choose careers as high school Latin teachers.

Monmouth classics students share Sienkewicz’s passion, many of them attending the annual Eta Sigma Phi national classics honorary convention (which will be hosted by Monmouth in 2016). Tim Morris ’15, from Olive Branch, Miss., is currently serving as national president of the organization.

To honor the late professor Fox, a national classics writing contest was established by the department in her name in 1985. Open to high school students, the contest seeks essays or other literary works written in English on a classical theme. This year’s contest calls for the retelling of a myth from Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses in a modern, 21st-century context. Fox is also honored with an annual classics lecture in her name.

The classics department helps oversee Monmouth College’s archaeology research laboratory, which was established in 2010.

It also partners with the Western Illinois Society of the Archaeo-

LEFT: Chaplain Teri Ott prepares to serve Communion.

logical Institute of America to present an annual lecture series. In addition, faculty members regularly lead student trips to ancient archaeological sites around the world.

10 PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE For its first century, Monmouth College was known primarily as a United Presbyterian institution, but following a national trend among Presbyterian colleges in the 1960s, Monmouth sought autonomy in governance, which led to a gradual loosening of support and oversight by the church. A renewal of religious interest on campus beginning in the 1990s led to a revitalized spiritual life program—with a Presbyterian flavor—now blossoming at Monmouth.

Under the guidance of chaplain The Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott, an ordained Presbyterian minister, the college has become active in the 62-member Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities and offers a renewable Presbyterian scholarship of up to $21,000 per year for entering students interested in connecting their Presbyterian faith to a Monmouth education. In 2013, a Presbyterian theme house was established directly across the street from the college chapel. Housing up to six students, it also serves as a campus-wide meeting place for religious programming and fellowship.

The Lux Center for Church and Religious Leadership, established through an anonymous gift in 2013, provides expanded programming for Presbyterian students, such as sending students on an annual fall retreat and introducing them to notable Presbyterian leaders. Recent visitors to campus have included Dr. Rodger Nishioka of Columbia Theological Seminary, peace activist and former General Assembly moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, and the Rev. Dr. John M. Buchanan, pastor emeritus of Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church and publisher of The Christian Century. Monmouth

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students also attend such national conferences as the Presbyterian Youth Triennium at Purdue University and the Montreat College Conference.

The Lux Center also serves the wider campus and community by offering programs and hosting speakers related to the theological exploration of vocation, faith and the liberal arts, and interfaith cooperation. Most recently, it brought noted interfaith leadership activist and author Eboo Patel to campus for a day of conversation about his growing movement.

The recent establishment of an academic minor in peace, ethics and social justice is another example of Monmouth’s growing commitment to honor its Presbyterian founders by incorporating opportunities for spiritual growth into the academic experience.

11 ETHNIC DIVERSITY Although many private liberal arts colleges make note of the ethnic diversity in their student population, that diversity often comes primarily in the form of international students, with a much smaller representation of American minorities.

Monmouth College is bucking that trend. While its international

Monmouth’s Racial/Ethnic Categories First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen 2014

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

enrollment is indeed rapidly growing, Monmouth’s greatest gains in diversity in recent years have come from native-born Latino and African American students. In fact, a full 24 percent of the student body is today composed of American minority students, a figure which leads all colleges in the 14-member Associated Colleges of the Midwest.

Currently, Hispanic students comprise 13 percent of MC’s student population, while African Americans make up 11 percent. These numbers closely mirror the ethnic makeup of the American population, thus creating a diverse educational environment that provides a distinctive advantage.

“So many of our students will live and work in highly diverse settings,” explained associate dean Bren Tooley. “They may encounter prejudice; they may experience discrimination. Because of the exceptional diversity of the Monmouth campus, our graduates understand how to recognize and challenge injustice that hampers the flourishing of individuals.”

Since its founding, Monmouth has maintained a commitment to admitting students of potential and promise, regardless of circumstance. Bright and industrious young men and women who may lack the advantages of the traditional college-bound population tend to thrive under Monmouth’s 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio and the personal attention its faculty and staff devote to individual students.

12 FRATERNITY & SORORITY LIFE Monmouth College is nationally known as the home of the “Monmouth Duo”—the birthplace of the oldest and arguably the second-oldest secret societies for women, Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma. Monmouth’s founding as a coeducational institution, in an era when most colleges either refused to admit women or treated them as second-class students, helped instill a strong ethic of independence in the college’s early female population.

Race & Ethnicity Unknown

6

Two or more races

5

Black

53

Asian

7

American Indian or Alaska Native

1

Hispanic/Latino of any race

74

Non-Resident Alien

17

White

233

TOTAL

396

As male students left college to serve in the Civil War, the independent spirit of the women who remained on campus continued to grow. When the returning veterans established Monmouth’s first fraternities, a group of their female classmates refused to be outdone and in 1867 formed I.C. Sorosis, which later became Pi Beta Phi. Three years later, another group of MC women formed Kappa Kappa Gamma.

A Presbyterian ban on secret societies in the 1870s drove Monmouth’s Greek organizations underground for nearly a half century. When the ban was lifted in the 1920s, fraternities and sororities came back in force and additional chapters were added.

In recent years, while many colleges have sought to minimize its influence, Monmouth has chosen to embrace Greek life, recognizing its proven track record for promoting leadership, academic

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achievement and student retention. Nearly a quarter of the student body is active in one of Monmouth’s seven national Greek-letter organizations (Alpha Tau Omega, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Zeta Beta Tau, Alpha Xi Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi).

In 2013, a coeducational fraternal organization for men and women, Mu Lambda Rho, also joined the ranks of Monmouth Greek life. Known informally as a “fratority,” the local organization is dedicated to the values of service, scholarship, diversity and unity.

Recently, Monmouth invested $2 million in constructing a new Greek residence (occupied by Alpha Xi Delta), and groundbreaking for a new Pi Beta Phi house is slated for this spring. Fundraising for a new Kappa Kappa Gamma house has also begun.

ABOVE:

Members of Monmouth’s seven national fraternal organizations gather during Greek Week in front of the Huff Athletic Center.

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IN THE BEGINNING

162 years ago, a determined pioneer congregation helped give birth to Monmouth College.

ONE DAY EACH YEAR, THE SECLUDED STONE CHAPEL THROWS OPEN ITS SHUTTERS AND CELEBRATES THE SPIRIT OF THE FOUNDERS THAT CONTINUES TO LIVE ON IN RURAL WESTERN ILLINOIS. PHOTOS AND STORY BY JEFF RANKIN

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MONMOUTHIANA

HOW LOVELY THE CHURCH IN THE WILDWOOD; THE OLD STONE CHURCH ON THE HILL. NO SPOT IS MORE DEAR TO OUR CHILDHOOD, AND FOND MEMORIES CLING TO IT STILL. From THE STORY OF SOUTH HENDERSON Published by The South Henderson Cemetery Association, 1950

Drive a mile and a half north from Biggsville (population 343) on Illinois Route 94 and unless you slow down you will easily miss a small brown sign pointing to South Henderson Church and Cemetery. Turn at the sign and follow a narrow winding road for three and a half more miles and suddenly you will be transported to 1856.

South Henderson Church (named for the creek that runs nearby) held its last congregational worship service in 1954, but the Biggsville United Presbyterian Church, which absorbed most of the members of the old church, each summer holds one service in the preserved building, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976.

On your right will be an ancient stone structure that has stood proudly in a clearing of trees, virtually unchanged since the year that Monmouth College admitted its first students.

Across the road on your left is a well-maintained cemetery with graves even older than the church, surrounded by a decorative wrought-iron fence.

The stone chapel, completed in 1856, replaced an earlier frame building erected a few feet north of the site in 1837. The first burial in the cemetery occurred in 1835 during a cholera outbreak.

For most of the year all you will hear in this secluded spot are birds singing or the far-off sound of lowing cattle, but on a Sunday morning in August 2014, hymns once again flowed out the open doors of the chapel across the adjoining picnic ground which on this day was filled with cars and pickup trucks.

The first settlers along South Henderson Creek, located 18 miles west of Monmouth, were members of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, who emigrated from Indiana in 1829. At the same time, another Presbyterian settlement occurred along Cedar Creek, a few miles north of Monmouth. These two congregations were the driving force behind the founding of a Presbyterian academy at Monmouth in 1853, which was elevated to a college three years later.

Although minimally equipped with electricity today, the church boasts no other modern conveniences. Two massive antique stoves, which provided the heating, and a privy in back are reminders of the Spartan conditions experienced by generations of churchgoers.

Worshippers at the recent summer service were greeted by 85-year-old Jane Weir, one of a small but active group of members of the South Henderson Cemetery Association, who have doggedly kept the church in good repair since its closing. Weir, who was baptised in the church in 1929, and attended a country school just up the road, remembers sitting in her family pew during sweltering summers and cold winters “when you didn’t want to be too far from or too close to the wood stove.” She also recalls attending Sunday School, in which they sectioned off the sanctuary with dividers, similar to a one-room schoolhouse.

A trustee of the cemetery association for many years, Weir said there are many challenges facing the six-member board—the greatest be-

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MONMOUTHIANA

Clockwise, from left: one of the two heating stoves and the church’s sole electrical chandelier; the gravestone of a Civil War soldier killed in action, the son of a Monmouth College trustee; the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott, MC’s chaplain, speaks at last summer’s worship service; a boulder outside the church lists South Henderson’s 10 pastors; worshipers leave the church following the service. Center: Former church member and longtime trustee Jane Weir, right, welcomes visitors to the summer service.

ing funding for upkeep of the cemetery and church. Although there is an endowment, it is now in control of the State of Illinois, and the association is only able to access the interest.

“Last year, the bill for mowing from May to October was $5,500, and the interest was not nearly enough to cover that,” Weir said.

She added that the church is in need of some structural repairs, and the only other funding available comes from events such as offerings from the summer service and weddings (there are two already scheduled for 2015).

“There is no running water and no air conditioning,” Weir said, “so weddings are a challenge. For one wedding, they pulled a motor home up behind the church.”

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Another source of potential income is the sale of gravesites. Although no burials had been made for many years, a parcel of land to the right of the gate was surveyed eight years ago and 130 plots were made available for sale at $200 each. Fran Work, the current secretary-treasurer, said there has been some interest by families with historic connections to the church and college, and that about 30 have already been sold.

“It’s such a beautiful, peaceful place in the country,” said Work, whose family recently purchased a plot. Even with the sale of lots, however, 15 percent of the income goes to the state.

For information about reserving the church or purchasing cemetery lots, Work may be contacted at fwork@frontiernet.net.

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

ABRAFI OSEI-KOFI Sophomore blazes trail for fellow Ghanian students to follow

I’VE LEARNED TO BETTER ANALYZE INFORMATION AND THINK CRITICALLY AT MONMOUTH.

By Kristen Gisondi ’17 During Abrafi Osei-Kofi’s first year at Monmouth College, the Ghanian international student fielded many questions from people not familiar with the geography of that part of the world. While Osei-Kofi learns about America and its culture through her Monmouth experiences, Americans can learn in return from her.

“Abrafi is a wonderful student, completely dependable,” said political science professor Ira Smolensky, who had her in class last year. “She would whisper her comments for the first month in class because of being shy. But she is very good at analyzing and absorbing material. She brings a joy to learning.”

Last year, Osei-Kofi was the only African student at Monmouth.

This fall, that total has increased considerably, with eight students from Ghana and one each from Kenya and Tanzania.

“I was new to the culture, so I felt kind of lonely, but my resident assistants were really helpful, asking me if I was fine and checking up on me,” said Osei-Kofi, who now aids international students as a resident assistant herself. “I’ve been helped and I want to help others. I don’t see why I can’t do the same for other people.”

While her early impressions of the United States were formed during a visit at age nine, she observes that American culture has changed a lot since then, and so has the weather, with Monmouth experiencing its worst winter in four decades.

“Every time I walked outside last winter, my eyes teared up,” said Osei-Kofi, who reported the weather in Ghana is always hot. “Everyone thought I was crying. The weather was something else.”

The schooling is also far different in the United States compared to Ghana, she said.

“Here we read and write a lot more. At my other schools, I wouldn’t open my books until midterms. But here you have to read every day in order to keep up in class. Otherwise, you are going to be lost.”

In Ghana, the students use a “chew and pour” method, which means absorbing what you know about a topic and repeating it on a paper.

“They expect you to write papers exactly how the information was taught,” she said. “I’ve learned to better analyze information and think critically at Monmouth.”

Since Ghana and the U.S. are so different, many people ask Osei-Kofi why she chose Monmouth. In Ghana, she registered with an institution called AFEX (African Freedom of Expression Exchange) that helps students train for the SAT and find universities around the world. Osei-Kofi said the Monmouth College website also helped her make the decision to come to America for college.

“I liked that it was green, and it looked so pretty in the pictures,” she said. “And then I read about it, and its Christian aspect was an important part for my parents.”

Osei-Kofi’s father lives in New York City and works as a Pentecostal preacher, which also influenced her decision to come to America for school. However, coming to America for schooling was more of a whim. Prior to enrolling at Monmouth, she attended Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where she studied sociology and English.

“I took the SAT and got the scholarship,” she said. “I thought ‘Why not?’ It was the perfect opportunity.”

A sophomore, Osei-Kofi is majoring in French and political science in hopes of going to Stanford University for law school.

Osei-Kofi enjoys reading, making her schooling at Monmouth far easier.

“I’m liking it so far. It’s helping me use my brain better.”

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HOMECOMING WEEKEND ’14

Whether cheering or dancing at the Spirit Shout, sporting your MC gear, taking a selfie, getting motivated for victory or marching in the parade, Homecoming offered opportunities for everyone to show their Scot pride.

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HOMECOMING

FIVE ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED DURING HOMECOMING WEEKEND Among award recipients honored at Homecoming was international educator Tom Ulmet ’64, who was inducted into the college’s Hall of Achievement, the highest honor MC bestows upon its graduates.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to attorney Bradley Nahrstadt ’89; the Distinguished Service Award went to retired MC administrator Don Gladfelter ’77; and the Young Alumnus Award was presented to social activist Benjamin Bingle ’02. The Ford family was honored as the college’s Family of the Year.

TOM ULMET: Ulmet was selected for the honor for leadership and innovation in international education and for humanitarian service. After serving as superintendent of Yew Chung International Schools (YCIS) in China from 2001 to 2013, Ulmet moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong last October to join the Yew Chung Education Foundation Headquarters.

YCIS is one of the top international schools in Asia, offering international baccalaureate programs to outstanding students. During his tenure as superintendent, Ulmet helped create five new campuses and oversaw the expansion of YCIS from 1,100 students in 2001 to nearly 6,000 students in 2013.

Other international stops during his career include Austria, England, Switzerland and Germany.

BRADLEY NAHRSTADT: After graduating summa cum laude from Monmouth, Nahrstadt earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1992. He began his legal career as an associate at the Chicago firm Williams Montgomery & John. He was named partner in the firm in 2001 and, in 2006, he became the youngest member of the firm ever elected to equity partnership. In 2012, Nahrstadt became one of the five founding members of Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis Ltd., where he currently serves as president and managing partner.

Nahrstadt was elected to membership in the American Law Institute in 2008, and he has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the fields of product liability defense and medical malpractice defense. The author of more than 85 articles and 35 book chapters on all manner of legal practice, Nahrstadt currently serves on the college’s board of trustees.

DON GLADFELTER: Gladfelter served as Monmouth’s vice president for finance and business for 36 years, 32 of them as its chief financial officer. He began working as an assistant in the business office while still a student and was appointed controller nine months after graduation. During his tenure, Gladfelter presided over an endowment that grew from less than $4 million to more than $80 million. He was also the driving force behind the successful completion of campus construction projects totaling more than $120 million.

Considered a trusted sounding board and astute advisor by senior leadership, Gladfelter “demonstrated remarkable dedication to Monmouth over his tenure, and the college is better for having benefited from his services as a forward-thinking CFO,” said chairman of the board Bill Goldsborough during the ceremony.

“Don’s diverse combination of management skills allowed him to not only head the business office, supervise the physical plant, and manage the college’s investments, but he also had the challenging job of overseeing the office of financial aid.”

BENJAMIN BINGLE: After double majoring in business administration and political science at Monmouth, Bingle served two stints with AmeriCorps, working in microenterprise development for low-income, disadvantaged populations in Iowa. As an operations officer at his next position, Bingle implemented a federally-funded initiative in 45 states, helped procure more than $1.3 million in grants and other funds and traveled extensively to conduct training on effective microeconomic development. Bingle is currently working on his doctoral dissertation at Northern Illinois University, where he works with the Center for Non-Governmental Organization Leadership and Development.

THE FORD FAMILY: Robert Ford and his wife, Evelyn (Dolly) graduated from Monmouth College in 1952.

Ford used his degree to help run the family farming business throughout his lifetime, while Dolly taught physical education and math in the Stronghurst/ Southern School District for 25 years and coached volleyball, track and cheerleading.

Their three daughters, Kathy Ford Vitali ’76, Kris Ford Peterson ’81 and Kelly Ford ’85, followed in their footsteps, as did Kelly’s daughter, Samantha Bundy ’12.

The Fords have been active, giving to the college financially, serving in key leadership roles, sending students to Monmouth College and helping them find gainful employment after graduation. Dolly passed away in June of 2013, and Robert died exactly one year later.

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ULMET

NAHRSTADT

GLADFELTER

BINGLE

FORD FAMILY

The Alumni Awards recognize individuals who have brought notable distinction to themselves in their careers or professions, who have served Monmouth well, and who inspire others to succeed.

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MONMOUTH CLUB HALL OF FAME

IVY CLARK | Class of 1981 Leading a 17-4 Monmouth team in rebounds while standing only 6-foot-2 and playing guard is certainly noteworthy, but Ivy Clark’s 6.2 rebounding average in 1980 was not his top contribution to Fighting Scots basketball.

Simply put, Clark could score. In 20 of his 41 career games, he poured in 20 points or more, good for sixth on the Scots’ all-time list. He accomplished that feat in just two seasons, leading Monmouth to the Midwest Conference championship game his senior season, when he averaged 18.6 points per game and earned the second of his back-to-back first-team All-MWC honors.

A quick and explosive player, Clark used his slashing style to reach double figures in all but two games each season, peaking with a 34-point performance in a narrow win over Knox in 1980. In all, he scored 729 points, averaging 17.7 per game. An efficient scorer, Clark shot 49.4 percent from the field for his career.

KARA KUHRTS KIENZLER | Class of 2003 Kara Kuhrts earned one All-American award while competing for the Fighting Scots track team–two, if her second-team Academic All-American honor is counted.

More than a decade after the end of her collegiate career, Kuhrts remains the school record-holder in her signature event, the triple jump. She holds the outdoor mark of 39-6 and set the indoor record of 37-11¾ while competing at the 2003 NCAA meet, where she placed eighth.

Kuhrts also helped the Scots win seven Midwest Conference meets, being named a Most Outstanding Performer in four of them. She won 16 conference titles, including seven in the triple jump and four in the long jump, where her best mark was 17-10¼.

Also a sprinter, she was part of five MWC champion relays and was on the only MC squad to break 4:00 in the indoor 4x400. Kuhrts also holds the school heptathalon record.

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Four former college athletes receive accolades.

LANCE ZEDRIC | Class of 1983 Lance Zedric did not receive the All-American accolades that many Fighting Scots throwers who followed him achieved, but it can be argued those competitors have been chasing his unofficial status as the best combined three-event thrower in the history of MC track.

Zedric’s monstrous throw of 53-9½ at the 1983 Midwest Conference meet set an MWC record and shattered the previous MC mark by more than four feet. He went on to take seventh at nationals, missing an All-American slot by one place. At the time of his induction, Zedric also ranked fourth on the Scots’ javelin honor roll (196-10) and had a PR of 145-0 in the discus. He increased all three of those distances in post-collegiate competition.

Zedric, who also starred on the gridiron, is today an educator and noted military history consultant with 10 books to his credit.

JOE LARKINS | Class of 2002 Monmouth College has produced many outstanding two-sport athletes. Perhaps Joe Larkins also belongs on that list, as he was both a feared pitcher and hitter on some of the Fighting Scots’ best baseball teams.

Larkins played a key role in Monmouth’s stellar 2002 season. The Scots won a school-record 26 games, advancing to the Midwest Regional final, with Larkins earning second team All-Region honors.

He was 6-2 with a 2.64 ERA while batting .304, one point over his career mark.

A four-time first-team all-conference player, Larkins was named the South Division’s Pitcher of the Year as a junior, when the right-handed flamethrower went 8-1 with a 1.77 ERA. Overall, he won 21 games, including a school-record six shutouts, struck out 192 and had an ERA of 2.84. Those figures were all in Monmouth’s top 10 at the time of his induction.

Larkins was also in the top 10 in homers and RBI through 2014.

A GREAT ROOM RECOGNIZES GREAT SACRIFICE Veteran’s gift honors Monmouth’s remarkable military heritage

By Barry McNamara In listing the reasons why he requested that part of his $2 million gift to Monmouth College’s Center for Science and Business be used to create a Veterans Memorial Great Room, William Trubeck described a particularly poignant one.

At a Veterans Day ceremony held in the two-storey atrium of the college’s new academic facility, the 1968 Monmouth graduate said he hopes the room will serve as a reminder so that “Monmouth will never forget the sacrifices” of the men and women who have served in the military. That includes those who passed through “the hallowed halls” of Trubeck’s beloved alma mater, but also their loved ones, including Trubeck’s father, who served during World War II “from Normandy until the end of the war.”

A former vice chair of MC’s board of trustees, Trubeck has been a chief financial officer for several major corporations. In 2005, he was honored with Monmouth College’s highest award when he was inducted into its Hall of Achievement.

The overflow crowd, which included nearly two dozen veterans, also heard from Monmouth College president Clarence Wyatt, who listed the “powerful connections” that he and his wife, Lobie Stone, have to loved ones in military service. Alex Lawson ’89, one of three brothers to graduate from Monmouth who are now colonels, spoke about liberal arts education and its value to the military for helping future leaders prepare to find “the unclear and complex solutions” to the issues the world is facing.

During the ceremony, Wyatt signed an agreement with the Illinois Army National Guard, reaffirming the college’s support of military employees. Monmouth received a Patriotic Employer Award earlier this year.

The Veterans Memorial Great Room is now in its third semester of use and recent additions have shined a bright light on the college’s distinguished military heritage. A display honoring the college’s four Medal of Honor recipients—the highest military honor given by the United States—is on the room’s west wall, and Trubeck briefly shared each of their stories. On the east wall, a “Monmouth in Wartime” display pays tribute to the college’s role in conflicts from World War I to Afghanistan. On the room’s north side, the seals of

the five military service branches are displayed, along with goldtrimmed United States and Illinois flags.

Trubeck was one of the veterans in attendance, as he served in Vietnam as a captain in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in the U.S. Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and the Army Commendation Medal. He said “service to your country is one of the defining moments of your life. There is a special bond and special stories between those who have served.”

A member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Monmouth, Trubeck recalled his first year as a Monmouth student in 1964, studying the faces on a TKE house photo display of brothers who had served in World War II just two decades earlier. That wall, he said, was another reason behind his decision to create the Veterans Memorial Great Room. So were the college’s Medal of Honor recipients—George Palmer, James Duncan, Bobby Dunlap and James Stockdale. The latter two, he pointed out, were first cousins.

Dunlap’s granddaughter, 1989 graduate and current staff member Michelle Merritt-Juszczyk, was in attendance at the ceremony.

Trubeck noted that Michael Wickham, son of another Medal of Honor recipient, Jerry Wickham, is a 1989 Monmouth graduate.

Trubeck then changed hats at the ceremony to speak on behalf of his sister, Priscilla Trubeck Adolphson ’70, and her husband, David Adolphson ’67, for their role in naming the Adolphson Astronomical Observatory, which sits atop the Center for Science and Business. Trubeck said his late wife, Judy Williams Trubeck ’69, and his sister were “best friends” at Monmouth.

The observatory will soon house “one of the finest telescopes that can be found on a college campus,” Trubeck added. He said the telescope will be dedicated to “our mom and dad. My sisters and I married Monmouth students, and all six of us graduated from Monmouth.” Those couples also include Larry ’65 and Barbara Trubeck Clark ’66.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2015

President Clarence Wyatt speaks at the Veterans Day ceremony dedicating the Veterans Memorial Great Room.

31

PASSION

DETERMINATION

KYRA KIMBER

ENDURANCE

32

SPORTS

KYRA KIMBER HAD THE GREATEST SEASON IN THE HISTORY OF THE FIGHTING SCOTS WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM, ADDING ALL-AMERICAN HONORS TO THE MIDWEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SHE EARNED EARLIER IN THE FALL. Only one other runner, Mary Kate Beyer ’11, was an All-American, and only one Scot, Angie Hickerson ’87, won the conference meet.

Kimber achieved All-American status by placing 25th at the NCAA Championships in Mason, Ohio. Only the top 35 runners earned All-American status. The week before, she had grabbed the final slot for individuals at the Midwest Regional, traditionally one of the most talent-laden qualifiers for the national meet.

Running on a slick, sloppy course in Ohio, Kimber made her move late to finish in 22:20 on the 6K course. The move took her past most of her Midwest Region competition.

“She ran a really smart, positional race,” said coach Roger Haynes. “The course wasn’t fast by any means. It was pretty twisty, but she ran a tremendous race model.”

’15

At the MWC Championships, Kimber ran to her second straight all-conference honor.

That honor wasn’t in question as she came down the stretch, but the individual title was. Haynes reported the finish: “Kyra ran extremely well. She and the two Cornell runners ran stride-for-stride nearly the entire way. One of them dropped off the pace a little with about 500 meters to go.”

With just 1,000 meters left, Kimber and Cornell’s Abrah Masterson and Sanjuanita Martinez were battling for the title. Kimber pushed ahead on a turn with 400 meters to go and held off Masterson for the crown after Martinez lagged behind.

“Kyra held off a very talented runner in the last 400 meters,” said Haynes. “She had a strong finish, and that hasn’t been her forte in the past. She held off two great runners. To run under 22 minutes (21:50) is a very fast time. The (Appleton, Wis.) course was very fair and one of the best setups we’ve ever had for a conference meet.”

Only Beyer has run a faster 6K time than Kimber’s performance, which lifted the Scots to a seventh-place finish on the women’s side. The men’s squad placed 11th.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

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SPORTS

SPORTS IN REVIEW

WOMEN’S GOLF: First-year coach Ashley Sims ’05 had an impressive maiden season on the links, guiding the Scots to second place in the MWC, their highest finish since capturing the 2002 title. Monmouth’s 54-hole score of 1120 at Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford, Ill., was 16 strokes behind first-place Grinnell.

Three all-conference golfers led the way at the MWC meet. Annie Sandrock ’17 topped the Scots each of the three days, including a final-day round of 88, to finish fourth with a 270 total. Korri Crawford ’15 and Anne Begley ’15 posted scores of 282 and 284 to place eighth and ninth, respectively.

During the season, the Scots set a new record at their home course of Gibson Woods, carding a 342, which included rounds of 84-85-86 by Begley, Sandrock and Crawford.

MEN’S SOCCER: For the second time in four years, the last weekend of the season was not kind to the Fighting Scots.

This time around, Monmouth did all it could do to reach the MWC playoffs, defeating Beloit 3-1 behind goals by Luke Vandenberg ’18, Chizobam Nkemeh ’16 and Brad Dulee ’17 to improve to 6-3-1 in MWC play. But three other league results all broke against the Scots, creating a three-way tie for the final two playoff berths. The Scots were the odd team out, concluding their season at 8-9-1.

The Scots got into playoff contention with a dominant stretch during the middle of their league slate, shutting out Ripon, Illinois College, Lawrence and Lake Forest in consecutive games. The last three were by 1-0 scores, with game-winners provided by Josh Sutherland ’16, Nkemeh and Vandenberg.

ABOVE:

All-MWC defender Daniel Guzman fights off an attacker from Carroll University during action at Peacock Park.

OPPOSITE RIGHT:

Lineman Jack Porter pressures Knox’s quarterback during the Scots’ 33-2 victory over the Prairie Fire.

FALL SPORTS New coach Ashley Sims ’05 steers golfers to runner-up MWC finish FOOTBALL REVIEW Scots take second place as Midwest Conference returns to divisional play

Nkemeh made the All-MWC second team, as did defender Daniel Guzman ’16 and forward Jake Cogan ’18. Nkemeh and Cogan led the Scots with eight and five goals, respectively.

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Second-year coach Brian Jordan ’09 led the Scots to a 3-7 mark in MWC play and a sixth-place finish, their best standing since 2008.

The doubles team of Amanda Buck ’15 and Morgan Holle ’18 had the most success, winning seven times, while Katherine Hinman ’18 and Katy Tolsky ’17 each posted six singles wins.

In the last match of their 5-12 campaign, the Scots blanked Ripon 9-0. Their other league wins came vs. Illinois College and Beloit.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: A rash of one-goal defeats caused the Scots to drop to ninth in the MWC standings from their playoff perch of the past two years.

Nine of Monmouth’s losses came by that narrow margin, including three in overtime, as the Scots finished 5-13 on the year.

The wins included a 2-0 shutout of Beloit in the season finale, which gave coach Barry McNamara his 100th career win. Lauren Kellen ’15 provided one of the goals to finish her stellar career with 59, good for second on the Scots’ all-time list.

34

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The team’s other senior starter, Alex Ivie, earned her first All-MWC honor, splitting time between marking back and center mid. Her team-high four assists, which pushed her career total to 20, including the game-winning helpers vs. Knox and Illinois College.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MONMOUTH COLLEGE ALL-SPORTS CAMP ALL-SPORTS CAMP JULY 26-31, 2015 July 26-31, 2015

VOLLEYBALL: Coach Kari Shimmin’s 17th season at the helm ended with a milestone, too, as her Scots defeated Grinnell 3-2 for her 300th victory at her alma mater. Counting the 63 wins Monmouth had when she was a player, Shimmin has been a part of 58 percent of the volleyball program’s victories.

For girls and boys ages 7-13

The win closed a 8-21 season that saw the Scots go 2-8 in MWC play.

Small camper-to-counselor ratio

Quincy Merritt ’16, who slammed a team-high 17 kills in the season finale, had 262 on the season, edging Mackenzie Gillund ’15 for the team lead by three. Johnna Schultz ’16 fueled the attack with 700 assists and served up 35 aces, while Alanna Trettin ’16 scooped up a team-high 448 digs. Gillund added 384.

FOOTBALL: Just 12 points separated the Fighting Scots from their strong season and an undefeated regular season. The Scots lost 32-27 to Carroll and 31-24 to Illinois College during their 8-2 campaign.

The first loss–which Monmouth actually avenged convincingly in the last game of the season–didn’t hurt the Scots’ postseason chances, but the setback to the Blueboys wound up being the pivotal game in the race for the new South Division title in the 12-team Midwest Conference. The teams met in the first week of divisional play, and then both teams ran the table from there, with IC claiming the MWC South at 5-0 and Monmouth finishing 4-1.

As South Division play moved on, Monmouth’s defense really stepped up. The Scots allowed just one TD vs. Lake Forest–a fourth-quarter score with 11 seconds to play while leading 31-0 –and then kept Grinnell and Knox from crossing the goal line in back-to-back weeks.

Campers choose from 18 sports and receive focused instruction in 3 sports during the week Campers stay in air-conditioned residence halls

Instruction in outstanding athletic facilities

Awards given to campers based on Christian values and sportsmanship

Dedicated staff and coaches

The Monmouth College All-Sports Camp offers a unique developmental experience for girls and boys ages 7-13. Campers receive focused instruction in 18 available sports during their stay on the beautiful Monmouth College campus.

The camp environment not only provides an opportunity for young people to sharpen their athletic skills, but also to grow as individuals. With a special emphasis on Christian values, citizenship and sportsmanship, the Monmouth All-Sports camp receives rave reviews from parents and students alike.

The friendships made and the lessons learned make campers eager to return, year after year.

Applications are available online February 16, 2015 www.monmouthallsportscamp.com Printable copiesareavailable or Applications available online online February 16, 2015 by calling 309-457-2345 or emailing www.monmouthallsportscamp.com sportscamp@monmouthcollege.edu Bob ’65 and Printable copies are available online or may be obtained by Judy Hodges Tucker ’65 calling 309-457-2345 or emailing sportscamp@monmouthcollege.

Likeedu us on Facebook! Monmouth-College-All-Sports-Camp Like us on Facebook/ Monmouth College All Sports Camp

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2015

35

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SPORTS

The defense was rewarded with three players making the All-MWC South first team–linemen Jack Porter ’15 (9.5 sacks) and Tyler Parksey ’17 (7.5 tackles for loss) and defensive back Alex Sheppard ’16 (six INTs). Linebacker Matt Barnes ’17 (82 tackles) and defensive back Jacob Wilson ’15, who had seven picks on the year to set the Scots’ career interception record with 17, were second-team selections.

Wilson was chosen to the D3Football.com All-West Region third team and played in the D3 Senior Classic in December.

Monmouth was balanced offensively, including the quarterback position, where Tanner Matlick ’17 completed 76 passes for 824 yards before being sidelined by injury. Alec Dutko ’17 stepped in and the Scots didn’t miss a beat, as the sophomore completed 73 passes for 880 yards.

The ground game didn’t miss a beat, either, following the graduation of all-time leading rusher Trey Yocum. Trent Rains ’18 picked up first team All-MWC honors, gaining 1,160 yards, with backups Michael Buehne ’15 and KeShon Young ’18 combining for an additional 962. Those backs ran behind a line that included all-league selections Kyle Vestal ’15, C.J. Van Petten ’17 and Matt Geitner ’16.

Receiver C.J. Shields ’15 made the second team after catching 41 passes for 639 yards and six scores. He also was picked as a first-team special teamer, joined by kicker Ace Henricks ’15, who missed just one PAT and one field goal all year. Punter Jeremy Collier ’18 (38.8 average) made the second team.

BRAUN TO SUCCEED BELL As we were going to press, it was announced that longtime defensive coordinator Chad Braun will become the 31st head coach in the 122-year history of Monmouth College football.

Under Braun’s direction, the Scots’ defensive units have been known as a swarming, hard-hitting group.

He was the first assistant hired by his predecessor, Steve Bell, who is leaving the post to take the same position at Augustana College. Braun will continue to direct the defense in his new role.

“This is a job I’ve always dreamed of,” said Braun.

“There’s no other place I’d rather be than Monmouth.”

In Bell’s 15 years at Monmouth, he compiled a record of 113-44 and his teams won four conference titles.

The Scots twice advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

36

CLAN NOTES 1937 Raymond Grills of Bradenton, Fla., celebrated his 100th birthday on Dec. 15, 2014. A retired Dupont chemist with a Ph.D. from Indiana University, Grills received Monmouth’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1972.

1954 Two class members observed 60th wedding anniversaries during the past year. Joan McKelvie Deuger of Monmouth and her husband, Don, reached their milestone on July 17. Jim Asplund and his wife, Wanda, of Oneida, Ill., celebrated on Dec. 12.

1955

60th REUNION JUNE 4-7, 2015 Stew Brown of Nathrop, Colo., received the 2014 F. William Stahl Award from the Association of YMCA Retirees. The award is given once every three years to a career professional of the YMCA who met high standards for written published works.

1957 Lynn Nelson and his wife, Doris, of Galesburg, Ill., celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Dec. 17.

1960

Sig Eps from the Class of 1971 convened in Wisconsin last summer for their annual gathering. Beginning with their 35th reunion year in 2006, several brothers have gathered during a long weekend in July, alternating between between Door County and Hayward, Wis. This year’s hosts were Bob Dickey in Ellison Bay and Scott Brunswick in Sturgeon Bay; it was also the largest group to gather. Pictured, left to right, on Dickey’s wharf, are: Dickey, Schaumburg, Ill.; Mike Munhall, Bennington, N.H.; Don Lindblad, Plano, Texas; Tom DiGiorgio, Arlington, Neb.; Brunswick, Sturgeon Bay; Gabe Aprati, Mission Viejo, Calif.; and Marty Luehrs, Bloomington, Ill.

55th REUNION JUNE 4-7, 2015 Warren Sanders of Loudon, Tenn., founded TAPS (Technology Access Program), which refurbishes old computers and gives them away to families in need.

1975

1965

1977

50th REUNION JUNE 4-7, 2015 Frank Beaty of Bloomington, Ill., is employed by Interim Pastor Ministries. He celebrated 50 years of pastoral ministry in 2012 and his 50th wedding anniversary in June.

1967 Kennedy Reed of Livermore, Calif., was elected president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The position carries a nine-year commitment. Established in 1922 in Belgium, the IUPAP aims to stimulate and promote international cooperation in physics, among other goals.

1970

45th REUNION JUNE 4-7, 2015

1972 Lon Helton, host of Westwood One’s Country Countdown USA syndicated radio program, won his seventh National Broadcast Personality of the Year award at the 48th annual CMA awards, held Nov. 5 in Nashville.

40th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015

Linda Walters Crandall of Monmouth recently published her first book, Meet Kendra the Kat. Crandall, who holds a master of arts degree in religion and certification as an associate chaplain, said that she felt a calling to write a children’s book about a fun-loving character who also exhibits strong moral characteristics. She serves as director of a Lutheran Social Services single parent program.

1980

35th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015

1981 Harvey Echols has traded in his snow shovel for golf clubs, moving to Jacksonville, Fla., from Chicago.

1982 Pithayawat Chiaracharuwat of San Gabriel, Calif., is assistant vice president of Union Bank in Monterey Park.

1984 Debby Blatzer of Lemont, Ill., is assistant dean at Moraine Valley Community College.

1973

1985

Nicholas Tucker of Wilmette, Ill., is a business relations specialist at Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership.

Rich Well of Vandalia, Ill., was inducted into the Illinois Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame. He was a player-manager of

30th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

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37

CLAN NOTES

92-year-old Tony Barnum ’43 (seated) visits with Dick Yahnke ’66 and Bill Goldsborough ’65 at the MC Homecoming picnic in October. A World War II Navy flier and lifelong professional pilot (since the age of 14), Barnum traveled with his caretaker from Toledo, Ohio, for the weekend festivities. During his illustrious aviation career, he flew three presidents—Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy. During WWII, he test-piloted planes with guided missiles at a top-secret base in Traverse City, Mich. He once flew a vintage plane he retrieved from the jungles of Fiji 8,500 miles to Toledo.

Vandalia Freight, which won two Class A national championships.

1988 Dan Cotter of Chicago, Ill., will receive a 2015 John Marshall Law School Spirit Award, given to those who “display the true spirit” of the school in community work, “as well as a concern for the welfare and continued success” of the school.

1989

Manning ’89

Col. Alexander Lawson of Springfield, Ill., has retired from the Illinois Army National Guard as the director of information management. As director, Lawson was responsible for all information technology within the National Guard, including network operations, telecommunications, cyber, service support, administrative support, tactical, plans and policies. Part of his 28 years of service included a deployment to Afghanistan in 2008.

Amy Manning of Elmhurst, Ill., managing partner of the McGuireWoods law firm in Chicago, was honored by the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois with the 2014 Top Women Lawyers in Leadership Award. The prestigious award recognizes the accomplishments of trailblazing women lawyers who make major professional contributions through service in leadership roles. Manning has held key leadership positions at McGuireWoods and is chair of the American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Civil Practice and Procedure Committee.

Ross Richardson of Everett, Mass., has started a new job as assistant track and field coach at Harvard University.

1990

25th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015 Pamela Malone Meanes received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP during the Jefferson City (Mo.) Branch’s 51st Freedom Dinner. Meanes, who was also the evening’s keynote speaker, is a partner in the Thompson Coburn law firm. She is president of the National Bar Association, the oldest and largest national association of African-American lawyers and judges in the United States.

38

Meanes ’90

Ham ’97

1992 Dave and Karen Seaman Hillis ’93 moved to Orchard Park, N.Y., in 2012, where Dave took a position with Aurubis as senior manager of their casting operations.

1995

20th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015

1997 Kyle Ham has been named the new chief executive officer of the Bloomington-Normal (Ill.) Economic Development Council. For the past four years, he had served as chief of staff for the Illinois treasurer’s office.

Melissa Scholes Young of Rockville, Md., teaches writing at American University, where her husband is also a professor. The two met at American in 1996 when both were undergraduate students completing a Washington Semester Program.

1998 Jennifer Eyre, principal of Harding Primary School in Monmouth, received the Gene Cramer ICARE for Reading Educator of the Year Award from the Illinois Council for Affective Reading Education.

Jim Hardesty of Canton, Ill., an All-American discus thrower for the Fighting Scots, has been inducted into the Canton High School Hall of Fame. For CHS, Hardesty was a football MVP and was all-state in track.

He has gone on to a successful coaching career in the Farmington

CLAN NOTES

school district, working with five state champions at the junior high level and one in high school.

Nate Pokrass is assistant director of athletics/director of development for I FUND scholarships at the University of Illinois.

Chad Simpson’s story, I Later Learned the Fish was a Gar, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Quiddity International Literary Journal.

2000

15th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015 Jen Sayles Crisostomo of Downers Grove, Ill., works with the prevention initiative at the Children’s Home & Aid Society of Illinois.

2002 Dustin Litwiler of Des Moines, Iowa, was honored in Washington, D.C., with the Inspector General’s Bronze Medal for Outstanding Employee of the Year in recognition of his exceptional leadership skills and commitment applied in achieving OIG goals and objectives. Litwiler has worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Audit Services since 2002.

2003 Molly Larcombe McCarthy of Dallas, Texas, has earned the Chartered Financial Consultant designation, one of the highest standard of trust in the financial planning profession. She has been a member of the LD Lowe Wealth Advisory team since 2006.

Dustin Litwiler ’02, left, is presented with the Inspector General’s

Adam and Beth Nendza Volpp live in Hampshire, Ill. Adam is a network engineer at Kishwaukee Hospital and Beth is head of the science department at Sandwich High School.

2009

2004 Jason Paulsgrove owns Midwest Uniform Supply in Galesburg, Ill. Andy Stumpf started a new job as principal at Brussels (Ill.) Junior/ Senior High School.

Bronze Medal for Outstanding Employee of the Year by Daniel R. Levinson, U.S. Inspector General.

Amy Kerulis of Wilmington, Ill., is an organizational development specialist with Trinity Services, Inc. She is studying to complete a master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology.

Felicia Roberts of Tulsa, Okla., is a business development associate at The HON Company.

10th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015 Megan Flick Soper of Knoxville, Ill., is the supply chain coordinator for Caterpillar.

Kimberly Martin Sheehy, and her husband, Justin Sheehy, live in Chicago, where Kimberly has started a new job as a research specialist at the University of Chicago. She received her master’s degree in biochemistry from Northern Illinois University in 2012.

2007

2010

2005

Janet Kajor McKay of Evergreen Park, Ill., is a school counselor and social worker at Legal Prep Charter Academy in Chicago.

Chase Ruby of Colona, Ill., is now director of outside sales at Cedar Creek LLC.

2008 David Abrams of Orlando, Fla., is an account executive for LabCorp.

Jamie Hazekamp Lahey of Manhattan, Ill., works at the Frankfort Animal Care Center. She received her doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Illinois in 2012.

Lauren Lafond Moderson of Montgomery, Ill., is a senior pricing strategy analyst for ConAgra Foods.

5th REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015 Seth and Lindsay Johnson Cocquit live in Peoria, Ill., where Seth has started a new job as brand manager at Comprehensive Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Emily Owen Franzen of Sandwich, Ill., is a teacher in the Paw Paw School District.

Kate Griffith is an English teacher and director of theatre at Marengo (Ill.) Community High School.

2011 Hope Grebner has moved to Windsor Heights, Iowa, to take a posi-

tion as political papers archivist at Drake University. She received master’s degrees in library science and American history from Indiana University in 2013.

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CLAN NOTES

SCOT LEGACIES Among entering students with family ties to MC was this group, photographed at orientation. Back row, from left: Michael Horath (father Greg ’99), Bethany Meyer (sister Joy ’15), Courtney McGehee (father Alex ’81), Natalie Pavlik (aunt Judy Harrison Curtis ’82], Gianna Drager (aunt Cheryl Conaway-Nelson ’90], Cara Jensen (father Aaron ’89), Haley Osborn (brother Tyler ’16), Elizabeth Hippen (father Jarrod ’92, mother Kristi Millar Hippen ’93), Manda Landrey (mother Sandra Frey Landrey ’86), Katherine Hinman (mother Deborah Kritsch Hinman ’82), Abby Forsythe (father Ricky ’85), Keeva Hursh (father James ’87) and Angela Baumann (father Andy ’80). In front: Amy Lawrence (mother Helen Culp Lawrence ’84), Amy Wollenburg (sister Beka ’17) and Morgan Holle (brother Max ’15).

Alexandra Morgan of Overland Park, Kansas, is marketing solutions

strategist for FishNet Security.

Jacob Ott, an airman first class with the U.S. Air National Guard, grad-

uated with honors from basic military training in San Antonio, Texas.

2014

1st REUNION OCTOBER 9-11, 2015

Melinda Craddock of Galesburg, Ill., is assistant director of outreach at

Knox College.

Lindsey Sandage Hale ’01 (center) is a national executive director with Thirty-One Gifts. At the company’s recent national conference, she presented awards for promotions to two other alumnae—Heather Mabee Kappell ’01, director (to her right); and Robyn Gores White ’02, senior executive director (to her left). Also pictured are Amanda Havens Pilger ’07 (at left) and Jodie Regnier Gasparino ’02 (at right].

40

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

MATT FOTIS ’01

One of MC’s most accomplished former thespians returns to Wells Theater to share his improv insights with a new generation of Monmouth theatre students

By Barry McNamara During an improvisational comedy workshop with Monmouth College students this fall, Matt Fotis did not reveal what “The Harold” was.

But he did introduce eight students to activities with other unique names, such as “Boom!” and “Pass the Clap,” helping them get into a creative flow before showing them how to build an improv scene.

Author of the book Long Form Improvisation and American Comedy: The Harold, which garnered him The Dr. Henry P. and M. Page Laughlin Distinguished Faculty Award for Research, Fotis returned to campus, appropriately, as part of Monmouth’s Distinguished Alumni Visitor program. In addition to the workshop, the college hosted a reading of his new play, The Candidate, which is set in the fictional town of Patriotic, Iowa. Fotis also spoke to creative writing and playwriting classes.

An award-winning playwright whose plays have seen stages from coast to coast, Fotis’s work has been presented or developed at such locales as The Lark, The Playwrights’ Center, The Kennedy Center, The Great Plains Theatre Conference, Emerging Artists

Theatre, Ten Grand Productions, MATC Dramatists Play Lab and many others.

For inquiring minds, “The Harold” refers to a long-form improvisational theatre structure, created in 1967 and the signature form at ImprovOlympic (now iO). Fotis’ book shows how the philosophies of “The Harold” serve as the bedrock for the majority of the most significant comedic performers, writers and directors of the past quarter-century.

Another of Fotis’s workshop activities was “Mind Meld,” which he told the students “helps create a group mind between us.”

Fotis had them work especially hard on opening lines of an improv sketch, telling them how important it was to establish three elements–their fictional relationship with the other performer, where they are and what emotion they’re experiencing.

“The more information you give at the beginning, the easier the scene is to play,” he said.

He also provided helpful tips, such as “Play what he’s giving you” and “Make your improv about reacting, rather than inventing.”

MAKE YOUR IMPROV ABOUT REACTING, RATHER THAN INVENTING.

“As a professional playwright and expert improv artist and director, Matt helped our theatre students hone their skills in playwriting and improvisation,” said assistant professor of theatre Emily Rollie. “The reading of his brand new play gave our students a great opportunity to experience the play development process outside of the classroom. They witnessed not only what a professional playwright’s first draft looks and sounds like but also how to seek constructive feedback in preparation for the revision process.”

James De Young, emeritus professor of theatre, said Fotis was part of a generation of theatre majors drawn to Monmouth by the opening of Wells Theater in 1990. Prior to the improv workshop, De Young had the pleasure of catching up with Fotis on campus.

“We talked about his life as a theatre professor at a small liberal arts college and about his wife (Jeanette Nielsen Fotis ’03) and his family. We talked about the fact that Matt’s parents came to literally every show that he and his brother (Mike Fotis ’99) were in.”

An assistant professor of theatre at Albright College in Reading, Pa., where he teaches improvisation, acting and writing for performance, Fotis received his Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Missouri, where he was a Raymond White Dissertation Fellow.

He holds a master’s degree from Illinois State University, where he received the James L. Fisher Outstanding Thesis Award from the College of Fine Arts.

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IN THE SCOTLIGHT

JENNIFER FOEHNER WELLS ’95 Biology major and stay-at-home mother finally finding her calling as science fiction writer

By Kristin Gisondi ’17 “I thought, ‘What can we reach now (in space)?’” said Wells. “I realized that we don’t have the technology to travel far away, so something would have to come to us.”

I STARTED WRITING AND THOUGHT, ‘HEY, MAYBE I AM GOOD AT THIS.’

Jennifer Foehner Wells has written most of her life–picture books in elementary school; short fiction with Star Trek-type themes in high school.

When she got to Monmouth College, the 1995 graduate studied in biology, but continued to write poetry in her spare time.

While Wells always enjoyed writing, she was self-conscious, so few people read what she created. That changed last summer when her debut novel, Fluency, was published, selling 20,000 copies in the first 60 days.

“I was never very happy with any of the jobs I chose,” Wells said. “I felt like I was still trying to figure out what my career was.”

Prior to being a stay-at-home mom with two children, Wells planned on pursuing a doctorate in plant ecology. She worked as a lab technician but then decided it was not her path. She needed a mentally stimulating activity and source of income, so she turned again to her old hobby.

“I started writing and thought, ‘Hey, maybe I am good at this,’” she said.

Wells joined a writing group called Working Title, a club of about a dozen writers with the same ability level.

“They let me know my writing with worthwhile,” said Wells. “I was very much encouraged to keep going to them.”

The group guided and encouraged Wells to work on Fluency, which was inspired by her love for science and space. Wanting to keep her book set in the present day, she conducted lots of research.

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A New York Times article about a linguist, who could pick up any language with ease, inspired this novel.

“NASA could theoretically use a person like this,” said Wells.

Fluency features a linguist named Dr. Jane Hollowell, along with other ordinary characters with special talents thrown into an extraordinary world. Set in the present day, the book tells the story of a spaceship lingering around an asteroid belt since the 1960s. NASA keeps the ship under watch and works on the technology to reach it. When NASA finally builds the technology, Hollowell gets recruited for the mission to “the Target.” She needs to find out what the aliens want from her before it is too late.

“I’m just happy that I get to fulfill the dream I’ve had since I was a very small child–of making a good living as a writer, making up stories that are purely for enjoyment, the kinds of stories that I myself love to read,” said Wells.

She said writing is easier while her children are in school, but regardless of the season, she never feared that Fluency wouldn’t be completed.

Rather, her biggest challenge was insecurity.

“There was self-doubt that I wasn’t good enough,” said Wells. “Many writers’ biggest problem is finishing, but this was never a problem for me. My problem was self-doubt, that my ideas weren’t good enough or unique enough. That people would actually want to read it.”

But people do, and her first book has even sparked interest from film and television production companies. She is currently working on a sequel, titled Remanence.

As a student at Monmouth, Wells kept busy, appearing in numerous Crimson Masque theatre productions. She also served as both assistant editor and editor of the literary magazine While spending a semester at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory during her senior year, she got her name on a published paper about genetically modified organisms.

“She was a very good student; she had an inquisitive mind,” said Ken Cramer, one of Wells’ biology professors. “She wasn’t afraid of taking on tough topics.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information about Wells’s book Fluency, see page 13.

WEDDINGS

BIRTHS

Alex Tanney ’11 and Rebecca Gillen

1984

Debby Blatzer and Paul Ludkey June 28, 2014

2003

Melissa McKay and Matthew Kodat September 13, 2014

2007

Ashley Gaul and Jon Hofmann May 24, 2014

2008

Kelly Bobik and Donald Johnson ’06 October 12, 2014 Jamie Hazekamp and Timothy Lahey February 16, 2013

Cora Jo Kelley

Lauren Lafond and Ryan Moderson August 24, 2013 Nicole Lynch and Ronald Stevens August 18, 2013

2009

Kimberly Martin and Justin Sheehy October 26, 2013

Maggie Scudella and Randall Ramirez November 2, 2013

Dani Connell and Kyle Vancil ’12 October 11, 2014

2010

Emily Owen and Aaron Franzen September 14, 2014

2011

Amanda Riley and Ryan Bauchman July 12, 2014 Alex Tanney and Rebecca Gillen July 12, 2014

2012

2013

Kelly Bobik ’08 and Donald Johnson ’06

1998

Leah Lazarus Kelley and Kevin a daughter, Cora Joy July 12, 2013

2000

Megan Markgraf Larkins and Joseph ’02 a son, Ian Albert August 16, 2012

2004

Dede Santiago Grice and Jason a son, Kamden Rayne October 3o, 2014

2007

Jackie Hennenfent Reedy and Ross a daughter, Hannah Mae October 3, 2014

2012

Zach Boehme and Whitney a son, Grant Wallace October 5, 2014

2013

Kyle McEwen and Laura Stahl a daughter, Audrey Violet October 21, 2014

Taylor Milliken and Mark Cratty October 4, 2014 Emily Shoemaker and Stuart Aumonier April 12, 2014 Emily Evans and Danny Connerly ’11 June 7, 2014

Emily Evans ’13 and Danny Connerly ’11

Ian Albert Larkins

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2015

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CLAN NOTES: DEATHS

1934 Lincoln Frost, 102, of Fredericksburg, Va., died July 28, 2014. A chemistry major, he worked as a chemical engineer for Continental Can for 37 years, 16 of them in Canada. After retiring in 1972, he farmed north of LaSalle, Ill., for more than a decade before moving to Florida.

1937 Louis Pyle Ruble of Mission, Texas, died Aug. 15, 2014. She graduated with a degree in English and continued her education in library science at the University of Illinois and Columbia University. She was librarian emeritus at Wayne State University.

1939 Marcena Stevenson Crossland, 97, of Angola, Ind., died June 22, 2013.

While at Monmouth, she majored in religious studies. She went on to serve in the U.S. Navy as the personal assistant to Rear Adm. Edwin Zimmerman, with top-level security clearance. She was preceded in death by a sister, Naida Stevenson Grier ’39.

1940 Ruth Chamber Harlan, 97, of Seaton, Ill., died Aug. 8, 2014. She majored in English and taught that subject at three western Illinois school districts, Aledo, Rockridge and Westmer.

1941 Joseph Blasucci, 96, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died Nov. 17, 2014. After graduating with a degree in political science, he was a decorated Army veteran during World War II. He began his business career in Chicago with Armour & Co., and retired from the Greyhound Corp. in Arizona in 1981. He and his wife were married 72 years.

Robert “R.T.” Winbigler, 95, of Naperville, Ill., died Dec. 4, 2014. He studied government and was a member of the track team and Theta Chi. Winbigler entered the U.S. Army upon his graduation, serving with a truck regiment in the China-Burma-Indian theater for two years and earning the rank of captain. He worked for Swift & Co. in plants in five states before finishing his career with two years at Dairymen, Inc. His great-grandparents were students at Monmouth in the 1860s, and eight of his siblings also attended, including Juanita Winbigler Reinhard ’42, who survives. Also surviving is a granddaughter, Mary McGregor Luczu ’01.

1942 Janet Warner Munn, 93, of Manning, Iowa, died Sept. 9, 2014. She studied English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, James Munn ’41, who she married 20 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Munn Smith ’66.

Mary Work Theis, 94, of Lone Wolf, Okla., died Dec. 3, 2014. She graduated with a degree in mathematics and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Crimson Masque and the Women’s Athletic Association. She was the last of the Work family of her generation—a family that was recognized as the college’s Family of the Year in 2010. Among many family members attending Monmouth were three of her four late siblings—Robert Work ’32, Raymond Work ’33 and Emma Work Burt ’35.

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HOYMAN ’41 WAS DISTINGUISHED LABOR LEADER Scott Hoyman ’41, 93, of Chapel Hill, N.C., died Feb. 27, 2014. The son of Presbyterian missionaries, he was born in Egypt and attended school there prior to entering Stony Brook Prep School on Long Island. In 1937, he enrolled Monmouth College, where he majored in government.

He continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he became interested in the labor movement and later embarked on a career as a union organizer for the Textile Workers Union of America. He was instrumental in the unionization of the J.P. Stevens Co., upon which the film Norma Rae was based. Many young organizers on that campaign attest they were inspired by Hoyman.

At the end of his career he was executive vice president of the Amalgamated and Clothing and Textile Workers Union. James Andrews, president of the North Carolina State AFL-CIO, said, “Stevens was my first organizing campaign and it was a delight to work with Hoyman, who helped ground me in organizing skills…Brother Hoyman was absolutely committed to workers and to workers’ rights, particularly to the low wage textile workers in North Carolina.”

Hoyman was awarded an honorary degree by Monmouth College in 1985.

1943 Frances Baird Fink, 96, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, died Sept. 7, 2014. She majored in business and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. During the war years, she worked at IBM in systems services. She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Robert Fink ’44.

1944 Verne “Bud” Barnes, 91, of Monmouth, died July 16, 2014. He studied English and was a member of the football team. A captain in the U.S. Army, he served at a hospital in London during World War II. Barnes worked in his family grocery business in Monmouth and was active in Kiwanis and the Masons. He was preceded in death by his wife, Estelle Evers Barnes ’44. Survivors include a daughter, Jennifer Barnes Stauth ’69.

1946 Ann Ryan Widditsch, 88, of Seattle, Wash., died June 17, 2014. A member of Pi Beta Phi and an English major, she earned her master’s degree in that subject at the University of Illinois. A writer and editor, one of her positions was with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. She also served on the national board of the American Civil Liberties Union and on Washington’s first Ecological Commission. Widditsch lived in Sweden for several years and traveled extensively.

CLAN NOTES: DEATHS

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1953

Muriel Carlson Morrow, 86, of Plymouth, Minn., died Jan. 9, 2013. She studied biology and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Morrow was a well-established realtor in the Lake Minnetonka area.

Robert Buchanan, 81, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., died April 19, 2013. He graduated with a degree in Greek and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon and numerous music groups. He then attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, earning his Th.M.

1950 Vida Stewart Ebener, 101, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, died Sept. 24, 2014.

She served in the U.S. Navy with WAVES during World War II. At Monmouth, she studied philosophy. Ebener’s jobs included teaching in a country school, serving as a secretary at Lockheed Aviation and working as a beautician.

Jere Wilford, 86, of Venice, Calif., died Dec. 16, 2014. He graduated with a degree in mathematics and was a member of the football team and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Wilford served in the Korea War and received a Bronze Star. He completed a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois and worked in that field for the U.S. Army Corps until his retirement in 1986.

Melvin Williams, 89, of New Boston, Ill., died July 26, 2014. He served as a radar man in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then settled into a career with J.C. Penney.

1951 Lawrence Anderson, 85, of Gladstone, Ill., died Oct. 27, 2014, in a traffic accident. A staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, he served as a combat medic during the Korean War. Anderson received a master’s degree in psychology from Bradley University and, since 1961, farmed in Henderson County. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Weir Anderson ’57.

Mary Hocker Brown, 84, of Rockford, Ill., died July 5, 2014. She graduated with a degree in history and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She taught second grade.

Dale Strohbehn, 89, of Reinbeck, Iowa, died Aug. 16, 2014. After serving in the U.S. Army in 1946-47, he transferred to Monmouth, studying biology. Strohbehn farmed and raised livestock for more than 40 years. He was preceded in death by a brother, the Rev. Merle Strohbehn ’51.

1952 Katherine Dixon Richey, 84, of Ventura, Calif., died Oct. 17, 2014. She and her late husband, Charles Richey ’50, moved from Monmouth, where Katherine had also attended high school, to California in 1951.

She was also preceded in death by a sister, Darlene Dixon Powell ’45 and is survived by a brother, Charles Dixon ’60.

Norman Stadtler of Punta Gorda, Fla., died May 25, 2014. He majored in business and was a member of Theta Chi. Stadtler retired after 20 years working for Ford, then opened a Ford, Mercury and Lincoln dealership.

Kathryn Cameron Stiles, 84, of Davenport, Iowa, died June 29, 2014. A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, she was a registered nurse.

Dr. Jorge Villalba-Roman of Rio Piedras, P.R., died Aug. 14, 2014. He studied biology at Monmouth and was a physician in Puerto Rico.

William Smith Jr., 83, of Westlake Village, Calif., died Aug. 4, 2014, after a long battle with cancer. He majored in geology and was a member of the cross country team, Theta Chi and the Octopus Club.

Smith worked for Exxon for 35 years as a geophysicist.

1954 Elizabeth McKinlay Fottler, 83, of Chelmsford, Mass., died July 4, 2014. She studied biology and worked in two real estate offices. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Stanley Fottler ’53, and daughters Margaret Fottler Johnson ’75, Heather Fottler Manigan ’77, Doris Fottler Hathaway ’81 and Linda Fottler Wyke ’81.

George Rowley, 87, of Maumee, Ohio, died Oct. 28, 2014. A member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, the physics major was the first Monmouth student to attend Case Western Reserve University on a 3:2 engineering program. An Army veteran, he also received an MBA from Michigan State University. His professional journey took him from the world of civil engineering to the world of sales and marketing. Those experiences helped him co-found Technolab in the early 1970s.

1956 Paul Ray, 79, of Grand Forks, N.D., died July 15, 2014.

He majored in chemistry and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Ray earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry at St. Louis University and did post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin for five years. In 1967, he began a 47-year teaching career at the University of North Dakota. He was widely published for his research focusing on liver enzymes as they relate to diabetes and the synthesis of blood sugar. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Annette Thrift Ray ’57.

1957 Betty Bollin Mahoney, 78, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, died Aug. 19, 2014.

She majored in home economics and earned a master’s degree in physical science education from Michigan State University. She taught for 50 years, including 28 years at Burlington (Iowa) High School and 10 years at Iowa Wesleyan College. Survivors include a brother, Harry Bollin ’63.

Rodgers “Rod” Smith, 79, of Jensen Beach, Fla., died June 8, 2014. He majored in biology and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Smith was a teacher and a policeman before founding Marcoda Pet Shop & Kennel and Marcoda Campers.

Martin Wincott of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., died April 14, 2014. He graduated with a degree in philosophy.

Elbridge Yogi, 77, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, died May 1, 2014. He graduated with a degree in economics and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

A National Guard veteran, he was a retired senior vice president in the banking industry.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2015

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CLAN NOTES: DEATHS

CALVIN ’72 WAS RESPECTED ST. LOUIS MAGISTRATE AND ATTORNEY The Hon. Michael Calvin ’72, of St. Louis, Mo., died Nov. 29, 2014, of complications from surgery. He was 63.

A history and government major at Monmouth, Calvin was a member of the wrestling and cross country teams. He graduated from St. Louis University Law School in 1975, eventually leading to a 30-year career as a judge, including 20 as a circuit judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit of St. Louis.

In 1978, Calvin was elected magistrate judge. He received Monmouth College’s Young Alumnus Award the following year.

In 1988, Calvin became a circuit judge, and in 1999 he was elected by his colleagues as presiding judge, the first African-American in that position. He retired from the bench in 2008, then worked as counsel to Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, focusing on mediation and arbitration.

As a judge, Calvin was known for his listening skills, a trait he may have learned from his father, a pediatric psychiatrist.

1958

1962

Betty Collinson Main, 78, of La Fayette, Ill., died Dec. 5, 2014. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Main spent many years teaching, including 20 years at Head Start in Kewanee, Ill., and she also worked on the family farm. Survivors include her husband of 57 years and a granddaughter, Jenna Main ’11.

Terry Park, 74, of Normal, Ill., died Nov. 27, 2014. He majored in music and taught grade school music in Watseka, Ill., through 1967. After receiving his master’s degree in guidance counseling from Illinois State University, Park held that position at two schools and was a principal at two other schools, all in Illinois. In 1979, he became an insurance agent.

Thomas Vaughn, 79, of Monmouth, died Dec. 9, 2014. He also attended Reedley College. He spent most of his career with Culligan, retiring in 1997, and was also a truck driver.

Peggy Nicklin Rivers of Piscataway, N.J., died Sept. 9, 2014. After studying at Monmouth, she completed her undergraduate degree in environmental science at Cook College of Rutgers University.

1959

1964 The Rev. Dr. William Johnson, 72, of Fort Mill, S.C., died Nov. 24, 2014. A philosophy major and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, he earned his doctorate degree at Pittsburg Seminary. The pastor of three Presbyterian churches in Ohio and one in New York, he was later an interim pastor at three churches in South Carolina.

Robert Hofer, 77, of Bella Vista, Ark., died Nov. 26, 2014. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and was a member of Theta Chi. Hoer retired in 1996 after 37 years as an analytical chemist at the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lajune Longley Hofer ’34.

1961 Sandor “Alex” Szatmari, 76, of New York, N.Y., died on Dec. 13, 2014. Born in Szeged, Hungary, he escaped the country during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, crossing the Austrian border and making his way to America as a refugee sponsored by Lutherans. After graduating from Monmouth with a degree in philosophy, he served in the U.S. Army for three years, stationed in Germany, as the coordinator of entertainment for the U.S. troops. Szatmari earned a master’s in history from Columbia University, then worked at Little, Brown & Company for 37 years, becoming a national sales manager and receiving many awards and wide recognition for the quality of his work and his legendary critical acumen. “By admitting Sandor and me without the high school diplomas comparable to those of American applicants, Monmouth College gave us a chance,” said Walter Pfaeffle ’60 at Szatmari’s funeral. “And we both succeeded in life.”

Carolyn Hull Wallem, 75, of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., died Dec. 17, 2013. She majored in sociology and was a member of Kappa Delta. She earned a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University and was a teacher, tax assessor and realtor. Survivors include her husband, Richard Wallem ’61.

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1971 Anne Robinson D’Olier, 65, of Sandpoint, Idaho, died July 8, 2014. She completed her education at Emerson College. She worked in the ski industry and as a union laborer on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

1973 Robert Svendsen, 67, of Dowagiac, Mich., died July 19, 2014, after a battle with cancer. He majored in business and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. A U.S. Navy combat veteran of the Vietnam War, Svendsen was a senior executive at Chase Products Co., an aerosol products and packaging company, for more than 32 years. He retired as chairman of the board and CEO in 2009. Survivors include his wife, Deborah Swanson Svendsen ’73.

Gail A. Flagler, 63, of Chicago, of died Dec. 25, 2014. An art major at Monmouth, she was vice president of trading operations for the Chicago Board Options Exchange for a number of years, but also pursued a variety of arts and crafts. She was an award-winning quilter and most recently was making and showing jewelry at a number of prestigious arts and crafts shows.

1974 Michele Murtaugh Barney, 62, of Longmeadow, Mass., died Nov. 5, 2014.

A psychology major, she was a social worker for the Illinois Department of Public Aid. Survivors include her husband, Thomas Barney ’75.

CLAN NOTES: DEATHS

Nancy Day Kaufman, 62, of Galesburg, Ill., died Nov. 28, 2014. A member of Crimson Masque, she graduated with a degree in speech/ communication/theatre arts. She worked with people with disabilities, primarily at Knox County Council for Developmental Disabilities.

1980 Don Horneck, 56, of Irrigon, Ore., died Sept. 28, 2014. A biology major, he was a member of the track and cross country teams and Zeta Beta Tau. Horneck received his master’s degree at the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He worked at Agrisource in Hermiston, Ore., before going to work for the OSU Hermiston Extension as an agronomist/professor.

Surivors include his wife, Vicki Birk Horneck ’80, and twin daughters Abby Horneck Ross ’06 and Amy Horneck Jewitt ’06.

2014 Cedric Huffman, 23, of Bushnell, Ill., died Oct. 16, 2014, in a traffic accident near Macomb, Ill., where he was attending school at Western Illinois University.

Word has also been received of the following deaths: 1940 Maxine Winbigler Menely, 78, of Edina, Minn., died Oct. 19, 2014.

1942 Jeane Lundquist Barnum, 91, of Whitehouse, Ohio, died July 26, 2012.

1960 James Elwell of Richland Center, Wis., died May 18, 2011.

1960 Lawrence Kuh of Navarre, Fla., died April 12, 2012.

1964 Richard Gotaas of Tucson, Ariz., died July 22, 2012.

1967 Edward Watras of Moline, Ill., died April 23, 2011.

1969 Linda Gravatti, 67, of Austin, Texas, died April 13, 2014.

1982 Carol Maxfield, 54, of Chatham, Ill., died Sept. 21, 2014. A speech, communication and theatre arts major, she was active with WMCR. She worked at Illinois National Bank.

FIRST LADY LOBIE STONE AND PRESIDENT WYATT

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2015

47

THE LAST WORD: MICHAEL CONNELL

REFUSING TO GIVE AWAY THE BRIDE

HER MOTHER AND I RELINQUISH NO CLAIM. WE RETAIN THE RIGHT TO LOVE HER UNCONDITIONALLY.

Recently, I played the role of father of the bride for the first time in my life. It was a life-changing event for me; I barely survived. I suspect it was an important day for my daughter too; she was quite animated and very interested in every detail.

Months of planning and purchasing led steadily to the special day. Flower choices were debated, color schemes considered and rejected, songs chosen, an organist identified, a soloist, a photographer, a videographer, a caterer, a baker, greeters, readers, feeders, eaters—Eisenhower spent less time planning his visit to Normandy. It was the usual, once-in-a-lifetime kind of event in the chapel of the small liberal-arts college where I teach and the betrothed couple met, graduated and learned about lifelong commitment—like the legal obligations inherent in student loans.

Of course, there was the Friday-night rehearsal. My part was easy enough: Walk slowly down the aisle with a beautiful woman on my arm. After two walk-throughs, I was confident I could handle it. Although I had major parts, both onstage in a tuxedo and as the signer of numerous bank drafts, I had only one line, “Her mother and I,” in reply to the query, “Who gives this woman?” I delivered my line at the rehearsal in a strong, confident voice, accompanied by the thought, “I can do this tomorrow.”

But at 3 a.m., I awoke with a panic attack. I could not do this.

I could not play the part I had been assigned in this day’s well-orchestrated pageant. I could write those checks and most of them would clear the bank on the second, if not the first, presentation, but I could not say those words. I did not believe them. They tore at the fabric of my liberty-loving soul.

I was not “giving this woman” to the young man she was about to marry, or to anyone else that day or any other day.

Alone in the dark in the middle of the night, I decided that I would say something else, something I believed, and let the chips fall where they may. It was comforting to know that I had scripture on my side: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Some rough notes were scribbled. An hour later, more drowsy phrases were added. In the morning,

48

the new speech was edited and memorized. I was goin’ to the chapel and gonna get honest, right there in the sight of God and honored guests eagerly anticipating an open bar.

Planning to sabotage a wedding ceremony and defy centuries of tradition is not the sort of thing one shares with a spouse on the morning of the wedding. Why would the minister need to be told? No bride needs the added stress. Let it be a secret to the groom and watch him squirm as his soon-to-be fatherin-law goes off-script. When all eyes turn to the father of the bride, then it will be time to speak up or shut up.

Seat the guests. Light the candles. Play Mendelssohn’s greatest hit. Walk down the aisle for the second time in my life with someone I truly love at my side. Up on stage. A welcoming greeting. An opening prayer. And then those words, “Who gives this woman?” Swallow that lump and say it: “Our daughter is not our property. She is not ours to give. Her mother and I relinquish no claim. We retain the right to love her unconditionally. Since birth, a rebellious spirit has burned brightly within this child. God entrusted us to care for her and to nurture that fragile spirit. We did not raise our child to give her away, but to set her free. This is the natural next step in that process. We embrace her right to choose and we fully support her choice. Today our great task has been accomplished.

Her great task lies before her. For this task, we are here to seek God’s blessing.”

It has been said. Now get off the stage as quickly as possible. The goal has been accomplished. My daughter was endowed by the Creator with an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. She can choose her path. She can walk back down that aisle with the man she chose—with her head held high, a smile on her face, God’s blessing on her marriage and my heart in her pocket. Fare thee well, my child. Fare thee well.

Michael Connell is chair of the Monmouth College Department of Political Economy and Commerce. His daughter, Dani is a 2009 MC graduate. This column originally appeared in the Nov. 23, 2014 Wall Street Journal.

YOUR LEGACY. THEIR FUTURE.

LEAVE A MEANINGFUL GIFT THAT WON’T AFFECT YOUR CASH FLOW.

O

ne of the most impactful gifts you can make to Monmouth College is a bequest. By naming Monmouth as a beneficiary of your will or living trust, you support its mission in the future, without affecting your cash flow today. You retain control of your assets while you are living and can modify your gift at any time if circumstances should change.

Through your will, you can direct exactly how your bequest will be used. For instance, you may prefer to make an unrestricted gift, which will serve the greatest area of need for the college. There could also be a specific program you wish to foster by providing the necessary resources for it to grow and flourish. Perhaps you received a scholarship yourself and you wish to pay if forward to future generations of Scots.

Wherever your personal affinity lies, you can direct your gift to the area that is most important and meaningful to you.

Bequests can include property, securities, a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate. Your legacy gift to Monmouth College will not be subject to federal estate tax, lessening the burden of taxes on your family. The flexibility to continue using and controlling your assets during your lifetime makes a planned gift by bequest the most basic and easiest for both parties, donor and charity, to implement.

If you already have a will, adding Monmouth College as a beneficiary can be made via an amendment, known as a codicil. Our staff can provide you with sample language to include. For more information about making a legacy gift to Monmouth College, please contact the Office of Development & College Relations.

888-827-8268 MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE WINTER 2015 GIVE@MONMOUTHCOLLEGE.EDU

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NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOLINGBROOK IL PERMIT NO. 467

Monmouth College Magazine 700 East Broadway Monmouth IL 61462-1998 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

To update your name, address, or other personal information, please visit monmouthcollege.edu/update

Lifetime Giving

Employee Service

Bequests / Planned Gifts

Endowed Gifts

Capital Gifts

Announcing the

McMichael Heritage Circle The McMichael Heritage Society is taking on a new look and a new name.

Membership in the society for major contributors to Monmouth College will still include alumni and friends who meet any of the four previous criteria, but will be extended to honor donors with lifetime giving of $1 million or more by cash or planned gifts.

Named in honor of former Monmouth presidents Jackson McMichael and his son, Thomas, the society already recognizes supporters who have: • made a documented planned gift ($10,000 minimum) by

establishing a charitable remainder trust, gift annuity or a bequest in a will, living trust, retirement fund or life insurance policy

• made a major gift to the college’s endowment ($50,000 minimum) for a faculty chair/professorship, student scholarship or other purpose • made a major gift in support of a building, facility or other capital project (minimum $50,000)

• completed 25 or more years of service to the college as a member of the faculty or staff

Monmouth College is grateful to current members of this prestigious circle and looks forward to welcoming many more members.

For more information about membership in the McMichael Heritage Circle, contact Gena Alcorn at 309-457-2427 or galcorn@monmouthcollege.edu