Io Triumphe! Fall-Winter 2011-2012

Vol. LXXVI, No. 2

George Pennacchio Has Entrée to the Stars 9

Sarab Kamoo’s Big-Screen Career Takes Off 12

Rebecca Scritchfield’s Recipe for Good Health 18

IoTriumphe!

fall - winter

2011-2012

T he M agazine

for

A lumni

and

F riends

of

A lbion C ollege

Transformation

Stockwell Library gets a new groove.

Margaret Davis, ’35, died in 2010.

This year, Margaret assisted three students with tuition and fees, purchased new equipment for the Stockwell Library renovation, and planted trees throughout campus.

An unrestricted gift, through a bequest in your will, allows the College to direct funds to areas of greatest need and greatest impact.

For more information about leaving a bequest to Albion College, please contact Dave VanWassenhove, senior director of development, at 517/629-0402 or go to www.albion.edu/giving.

IoTriumphe! Staff Editor: Sarah Briggs Contributing Writers: Marian Deegan, Bobby Lee, Davi Napoleon, Jake Weber

IoTriumphe!

Class Notes Writers: Will Forgrave, Luann Shepherd Design: Katherine Mueting Hibbs Web Communications: John Perney Io Triumphe! is published twice annually by the Office of Communications, Albion College, 611 E. Porter St., Albion, MI 49224.

It is distributed free to alumni and friends of the College.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Office of Communications, Albion College, 611 E. Porter St., Albion, MI 49224.

World Wide Web: www.albion.edu Albion College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability, as protected by law, in all educational programs and activities, admission of students, and conditions of employment.

About Our Name The unusual name for this publication comes from a yell written by members of the Class of 1900. The beginning words of the yell, “Io Triumphe!,” were probably borrowed from the poems of the Roman writer, Horace. Some phrases were taken from other college yells and others from a Greek play presented on campus during the period.

fall-winter 2011-2012 The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Albion College

Features

18

9

Health Conscious

Red Carpet Treatment George Pennacchio has entrée to the biggest names in Hollywood.

22 Meet Brit . . .

12

Cover photo by Colin McGuire.

Albion’s new mascot makes his debut.

Showtime Sarab Kamoo’s theatrical credits keep growing.

In 1936, the alumni of Albion College voted to name their magazine after the yell which by then had become a College tradition. For years, Albion’s incoming students have learned these lines by heart: Io Triumphe! Io Triumphe!

Haben swaben rebecca le animor Whoop te whoop te sheller de-vere De-boom de ral de-i de-pa— Hooneka henaka whack a whack A-hob dob balde bora bolde bara Con slomade hob dob rah!

Al-bi-on Rah!

When it comes to wellness, Rebecca Scritchfield says put yourself first.

Departments

16 Reinventing Stockwell Cutler Commons redefines what a library should be.

2 Presidential Ponderings 3 Briton Bits 24 Alumni Association News 30 Albionotes

(Top) With attention to body, mind, and soul, Albion College’s Year of Wellness kicked off with a Wellness Fair for the campus and community. More than 30 vendors and wellness-related organizations participated in the fair, offering everything from organic fruits and vegetables to stress evaluation techniques and financial planning services.

Pres!dent!al ponder!ngs

A Question of Value From the halls of state legislatures to books such as Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, the higher education community is being taken to task for failing to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed for the world of work in the 21st-century. Colleges and universities must be held accountable, the critics say, and must change and innovate to address the new realities of economic transformation in our global society.

A new national study commissioned by the Annapolis Group, a consortium of 130 of America’s leading liberal arts colleges including Albion, addresses these concerns, revealing that graduates of these colleges strongly believe they were well prepared for their professional and personal lives after college. Conducted by higher education consulting firm Hardwick Day, the survey explored the lasting effects of college in such areas as career preparation and advancement, skill development, development of personal and professional values, and community involvement.* Among the study’s findings: ● Seventy-six percent of liberal arts college graduates rated their college experience highly for preparing them for their first job, compared to 66 percent who attended public flagship universities; ● Eighty-nine percent of liberal arts college graduates reported finding a mentor while in college, compared to 66 percent for public flagship universities; ● Sixty percent of liberal arts college graduates said they felt “better prepared” for life after college than students who attended other colleges, compared to 34 percent who attended public flagship universities; ● Seventy-seven percent of liberal arts college graduates rated their overall undergraduate experience as “excellent,” compared to 53 percent for graduates of public flagship universities.

Drawing on findings such as these, we must continually communicate to prospective students and their families the value of a private, liberal arts education, and

2 | Io Triumphe!

at Albion, in particular, we must convey what makes an Albion education distinctive in the higher education landscape.

We know from other surveys, and from our own experience, that families today want to see the outcomes of a liberal arts education—they want assurance that their student will be ready to pursue a career, confident that he or she has the professional and critical-thinking skills necessary for success.

The Albion Advantage, which provides essential grounding in the liberal arts while also putting students on the path to a meaningful career, is our answer to these concerns. Throughout their four years on campus, we work closely with students to help them identify their career goals and then map out a plan to achieve them. Learning beyond the classroom, through our pre-professional Institutes and Centers, our Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, and our internship and off-campus study programs, ensures that students gain the real-world experience that is often critical to winning acceptance to graduate or professional school or to landing that first job after college. And the results are there: Our survey of the Class of 2010 six months after graduation showed that 48 percent were employed, and 43 percent were continuing their education.

Confident that our academic programs are more relevant than ever, we must ensure that prospective students and their families understand the lasting value of an Albion education. We have recently begun a new

marketing program, encompassing both print and online communications, as the first step in demonstrating the merits of an Albion education. These communications are targeted and results-oriented.

Now we are also asking for help from our alumni and current parents in identifying talented high school students and encouraging them to consider Albion as a college choice. Show your enthusiasm for Albion and reach out to prospective students and their families. Recommend a visit to Albion’s Web site or better yet a visit to campus in person. Send us students’ names and academic interests, and we will follow up with information tailored to their needs.

In a way that no one else can, alumni and parents can speak with conviction about the quality of the Albion experience.

Think back on all the ways Albion changed your life. You may very well have a story like this one from Carolyn Wagner, ’97, who wrote the following about political science professor Charles Schutz: Dr. Schutz and his classes will always be inextricably linked to my memories of Albion. I was quite intimidated by him at first, but I grew to love the challenge of meeting the high standards he held for his students. He compassionately pushed me to never settle for less than my best, always asking for more reason, more detail, more purpose in my thinking and writing. As a high school teacher, I find myself pushing my own students in the same way, hoping they too will rise to the challenge of being inquisitive learners capable of doing more than they ever thought themselves able. Thank you, Dr. Schutz, for being such an incredible influence in my life.

So please share your Albion story—it could make an amazing difference in the life of a young person you know.

Donna Randall President drandall@albion.edu *The study is based on a total of 2,700 telephone interviews made in 2002 and again in the summer of 2011. More on the study may be found online at: collegenews.org/news/2011.

To find out how you can assist in bringing students to Albion, contact: Admission Office: 800/858-6770; admission@albion.edu Alumni Engagement Office: 517/629-0448; alumniengagement@albion.edu

The l atest n e w s a ro u n d c a m p u s

B r ! to n B ! t s Demonstrating their understanding of Federal Reserve policy-making, a team of Albion economics and management students went up against teams from Harvard University, Rutgers University, Lafayette College, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the College Fed Challenge national finals Nov. 29 in Washington, D.C. The Albion team made it to Washington after winning the Chicago District Fed Challenge earlier in the month. Harvard won the national championship, and Albion received an honorable mention.

“How many other times will you see Albion and Harvard competing?” asked team member Heather Waldron. “We all worked really hard to get there, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

During the national finals, the students had the opportunity to meet Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, as well as Federal Reserve governor Elizabeth Duke, who also served as chief judge of the competition.

Albion, the only liberal arts college at the Chicago regional competition, beat 19 other schools, including the University of Michigan, the University of WisconsinMadison, Marquette University, and Northwestern University, whose teams

Grant Advances Year of Wellness Albion College is celebrating 2011-12 as the Year of Wellness. With this theme as a backdrop, and with the support of a grant received from Enbridge Energy, Inc., Tom Johnson, professor emeritus of physical education, and his Health and Wellness

PHOTO COURTESY OF K. YOSHIDA

Albion Competes in National Fed Challenge

Albion’s Fed Challenge team: Evan Malecke, Kurt Tech, Michael Davis, adviser Kotaro Yoshida, John Rogers, Heather Waldron, Thomas Worden, and Andy Bieber.

have won the nationals several times in the past decade. The Albion team, which didn’t return any members from last year’s group that also reached the regional finals, included Andy Bieber, Michael Davis, Evan Malecke, John Rogers, Kurt Tech, Heather Waldron, and Thomas Worden.

Kotaro Yoshida, economics and management professor and team adviser, attributed Albion’s success at the regional competition to exemplary preparation, as well as teamwork. “We spent hours and hours going through the script, one sentence after another,” he said. “During the 15-minute Q&A, everyone contributed.

On other teams, you got the impression

that one kid was the go-to guy who handled most of the answers.”

In addition, Albion followed a unique strategy which Yoshida said was appreciated by the judges. “The other teams proposed policies in terms of what the Fed should do in the current economic circumstances. By contrast, our strength was to come up with justifications and arguments for existing policy. We didn’t simply endorse the current policy but carefully provided consistent and logical arguments for why the current policy makes sense.”

Along with its success the last two years, Albion also won the state competition in 2005.

Program student staff have kicked off a “100 Million Steps Challenge.” The goal is simple: To inspire (and challenge) students, alumni, faculty, and local citizens to take a step in the direction of health and wellness, setting competitive goals not only for themselves but for friends, family, and co-workers. Collectively, challenge participants are working together to reach the ultimate goal of 100 million steps and

beyond, improving personal and campus community health along the way.

The Year of Wellness considers the person as a whole and offers a broad range of programming that encompasses mental, physical, and spiritual health. The program includes wellness activities, competitive opportunities, and education for students, faculty, and staff.

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 3

Br!ton B!ts

New Books Explore History, Theology

D. LAWRENCE PHOTO

Teacher Education Program Scores High Marks

By Jake Weber The word is out that Albion College’s Education Department is operating at the top of its craft, training the teachers of tomorrow.

It’s also at the top of the list of teacher preparation institutions (TPIs) statewide.

Earlier this fall, the Michigan Department of Education announced Albion’s program had earned 70 out of a possible 70 points as its TPI score for academic year 2009-10 (the scores typically are issued a year later). Albion, whose score puts it out in front in the “exemplary” category, was one of only two programs out of 33 in the state to achieve a perfect score.

Even more notable, it ranked first in students passing the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC)—98 percent, measured over three years.

“We are proud of the Michigan Department of Education’s Teacher Preparation Institution 2009-10 ranking

Albion’s innovative “Maymester” course, which gives prospective teachers classroom experience prior to their student teaching semester, has contributed to the Education Department’s success in preparing future teachers.

Tunnicliff Memorial Fund Established

throughout his life. The fund was announced at Albion College during a Celebration of Life gathering commemorating Tunnicliff Oct. 22.

Originally appointed at Albion in 1984 as a faculty member in political science, Tunnicliff led the Ford Institute from 1985 to 1999.

Dedicated to the vibrancy of the local political process, Tunnicliff involved a number of “Fordies” as his campaign staff during a run for the U.S. Congress, narrowly losing to an incumbent candidate.

Tunnicliff left Albion to become vice president of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. He served as director of international programs and associate professor of political science at Augustana College from 2007 to 2010 and joined the College of Wooster in 2010.

Tunnicliff is survived by his wife, Ginny, and three children.

Alumni and staff of the Ford Institute were stunned this past June by the untimely passing of former director Kim Tunnicliff. Tunnicliff died in an automobile Kim Tunnicliff, 1995 accident while traveling from Chicago back to his home in Wooster, Ohio, where he was the director of off-campus studies at the College of Wooster. Tunnicliff ’s legacy at Albion will continue for future generations, as the Tunnicliff family and the Ford Institute have established the Dr. Kim Tunnicliff Memorial Fund at Albion College.

The Tunnicliff Memorial Fund will encourage Albion College students to explore their world through travel, experiential learning, and reflection, principles espoused by Tunnicliff 4 | Io Triumphe!

because the exemplary rank actually reflects the liberal arts nature of our program,” said Kyle Shanton, associate professor and department chair. “The Albion College Teacher Education Program values the rich quality of rigorous academic study. This ranking, therefore, features the outstanding education Albion College students achieve in their major programs of study via expert teaching and remarkable experiential learning from faculty across departments.”

Albion’s program received more good news this fall in the form of a five-year accreditation from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).

For information on contributing to the Dr. Kim Tunnicliff Memorial Fund, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 517/629-0446 or advancement@albion.edu.

By Jake Weber Jeanne Guyon—a wealthy widow in the court of Louis XIV, imprisoned for heresy and her friendship with a powerful cleric— is not the heroine of an historical novel, but the real-life subject of years of scholarship done by French professor Dianne GueninLelle and religious studies professor Ronney Mourad. Their work has resulted in two new books, Jeanne Guyon: Selected Writings (Paulist Press) and The Prison Narratives of Jeanne Guyon (Oxford University Press).

The two books represent Guyon’s importance both to French history and religious scholarship. During her lifetime, Guyon was an influential mystic “almost seen as ‘going rogue’” by the Catholic church and the French court, explained Guenin-Lelle. Guyon’s imprisonment was also intended to punish her mentor François Fenelon, a powerful cleric and critic of the court.

In comparing Guyon’s prison narratives with historical court documents, “you can see that what happens at court impacts Guyon in prison,” said Guenin-Lelle.

“She was an important court figure whose writing is still of interest today.”

The books offer comprehensive new translations of Guyon’s writings as well as a deeper understanding of her theology and the religious milieu in which she lived.

“Every sentence was a challenge. We could spend an hour discussing just one word,” recalled Mourad, adding that such scholarship might only be possible at a place like Albion. “At a bigger institution it would be difficult to come up with a fruitful collaboration outside of your department,” he said. “This speaks well to the faculty culture we have.”

Student Projects Capture Top Honors

Her research on the use of palladium nanoparticles as a catalyst in chemical reactions led Lyndsey Reynolds to a best poster award at the Midwestern Undergraduate Symposium on Research in Chemistry at Michigan State University in October. The senior’s poster was one of three winners among more than 50 submissions. Her research was conducted under the guidance of chemistry professor Kevin Metz.

Aaron Hiday and Abby Williams’ research on nearby Rice Creek, conducted under geology professor Thom Wilch, has added to our understanding of the human impact on water quality in area streams.

After successfully plating palladium on a plastic membrane, Reynolds moved on to an organic chemistry study with Metz and chemistry professor Cliff Harris looking at how to make cleaner reactions with palladium, research that could have applications in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. She began testing a flow-through method of pushing reactants through the palladium-soaked membrane at faster and slower rates and different temperatures.

“The flow-through method could help save time and money [in an industrial setting],” Reynolds said. Because most of the palladium stays on the membrane, this method is an improvement over current processes. It allows the palladium to catalyze the reaction without contaminating the end product with free palladium in solution.

The research, which requires a broad understanding of both organic and inorganic chemistry, is quite demanding for an undergraduate, Metz said.

“The characterization of this process requires Lyndsey to be detail-oriented and well prepared,” he explained. “She laid out a systematic plan of how she was going to explore four different variables—and when we started we didn’t know the relationship of those variables to each other.”

D. TRUMPIE PHOTO

Geology students Abby Williams and Aaron Hiday won the Sartin Best Student Poster Award at the 2011 Geological Society of America (GSA) national meeting held in Minneapolis in October. Williams is a senior, Hiday a junior.

“This is a fantastic honor for Abby and Aaron. They were in competition with undergraduates from across the country, and there were many impressive student projects,” noted Geology Department chair Thom Wilch, who advised the pair.

“The judges commented on how well Aaron and Abby presented their research and addressed questions.”

Hiday and Williams’ poster covered work they did in summer 2011, studying the turbidity of Rice Creek near Albion College. Turbidity is affected by runoff from the surrounding land and other factors, and can be used as a measure of a waterway’s health. Williams explained that, like many living organisms, streams have a 24-hour cycle, during which the water flows at different rates and becomes more or less cloudy, or turbid.

“Our analyses of the turbidity revealed that daily cycles appear to be related to other stream parameters we examined, including pH and total suspended solids,” said Williams. Hiday also looked at turbidity cycles in wetlands adjacent to Rice Creek.

D. TRUMPIE PHOTO

Albion students have earned accolades on both the national and state levels this fall.

Soe Yu Nwe’s ceramics studies with adviser Lynne Chytilo led to an award from the Michigan Ceramic Art Association in October.

Junior Soe Yu Nwe (“Joy” on campus) took one of the top four student awards at the biennial Michigan Ceramic Art Association Michigan Mud conference in October.

Soe Yu Nwe’s winning sculpture, “House,” was inspired by a childhood spent on both sides of the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Many Thai families have “spirit houses,” small structures which are decorated and sometimes furnished for spirits tied to that land. Also, “the Chinese character for ‘prison’ is a box with a person inside,” explained Soe Yu Nwe, whose mother is Chinese. “My sculpture is sort of a box with a person inside, so it relates to language and heritage too.”

Though she had never studied art before coming to Albion, Soe Yu Nwe has a natural affinity for working in clay, according to ceramics professor Lynne Chytilo.

“She has this whole internal world that translates beautifully into ceramics,” Chytilo said. “People have a visceral response to Joy’s work. She has a unique gift of communicating something in a way that I don’t often see in students her age.”

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 5

Br!ton B!ts

short takes

Two Minutes with . . . Kyle Shanton

By Jake Weber

Io Triumphe!: You started your career as a public school teacher. What eventually led you to become a “teacher of teachers”?

Shanton: After graduating from the University of Iowa, I taught for 13 years in schools where 99 percent of the population qualified for free and reduced lunch, where the children in my classes lived in structures that people might not believe could actually exist in the United States. Working with the ambitious and industrious teachers and families I met there changed my life. I had all these questions about politics, about schooling, about curriculum and equity. I realized that I could engage these questions by working with current and future teachers who were willing to say, “I want to work hard and be creative with children, youth, and their families about learning.”

I saw that college-level teacher education would allow me to do that.

So how’s that working here at Albion?

In larger university systems, you’ll find committed people [in the Education Department] who may work with a few classroom teachers; you won’t find an entire unit that works with a number of schools. Here at Albion, there is a commitment in our department to connect to multiple schools that are struggling to equitably serve all children.

This is one of the distinctions of our program, and that’s why I wanted to be involved.

A lot of people know about our innovative work with Albion Public Schools. Beyond that, I’ve been involved in a partnership at Mar-Lee School, originally set up by my colleague Suellyn Henke, where our students assess middle schoolers’ literacy at the start of the school year. They then spend an hour each

6 | Io Triumphe!

week with small groups doing some really intensive work around language and literacy across the curriculum. We’re building a similar program with Concord Public Schools. It’s effective because administrators, classroom teachers, our college students, and youth are all involved in these models.

You’re going on sabbatical next semester, and you won’t be working in the U.S. or with children. Is this a departure from what you’ve been doing?

I’m looking at an opportunity that complements education for Albion College students, including those who aren’t going to be teachers. I’m hoping to develop directed studies and internships at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica and in Colima, Mexico. Albion students will study adults learning English primarily from peers who are not native English speakers. Does this work and can it work well? This gets our students to rethink what language is, what literacy is, what it means for people to be educated. It will help them reconsider who they are and who the people are around them.

Take students who intend to enter the business world, as an example. They need to know more than business and marketing—they have to communicate. They need to move beyond ethnocentric views of what English is, and they need to see how people learn English. This will hopefully evolve into a certificate program for majors across the sciences and social sciences who will eventually be working internationally.

D. TRUMPIE PHOTO

Kyle Shanton is chair and associate professor of education.

A native Midwesterner, education faculty member Kyle Shanton began his career as a schoolteacher in Nogales, Ariz. Now, in addition to pursuing research on literacy and bilingual education, he has worked with other Albion faculty on assessing the classroom technology tools they are using and how those improve teaching and learning.

Ok, to close—teach me something about teaching.

One of the most important, practical things to do is to not interrupt and correct. Wait and listen and when there’s a pause, you need to think not only what the student just said but what the student was doing with language in order to say it. If you’re constantly stopping and correcting, you miss out on what’s actually happening.

Go Br!ts!

By Bobby Lee As a cornerback on the Albion College football team, senior Matt Lozier is used to tackling opponents. This summer, he found himself tackling cancer—one of the most menacing opponents some people ever face—as an intern at the Owensboro (Ky.) Cancer Research Program (OCRP).

The OCRP, under the direction of Keith Davis, ’79, is devoted to unlocking the potential of plant-based pharmaceuticals and antiviral proteins. Lozier worked to modify lunasin, a protein isolated from soybeans that may possess anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, with materials that would allow lunasin to bind to cancer cells. The hope is to find a treatment that would directly target cancer cells while allowing good cells to live.

Every morning as he walked into work, Lozier passed by patients lined up for their chemotherapy treatment. Then one morning Davis pointed out to him that these patients, and others like them, could be the ones who will eventually benefit from their research.

“I hadn’t really noticed that room was the waiting room for the cancer patients,” Lozier recalls. From that point on, he says, “I made sure to acknowledge those people because they were going through a pretty tough battle of their own.” Lozier spoke of this being one of the most rewarding experiences of his summer internship.

Balancing the time required for football competition with the demands of his academic work has provided Lozier with

C. MAHLINGER PHOTO

Tackling Cancer Research

Keith Davis, ’79 (left), executive director of the Owensboro (Ky.) Cancer Research Program has sponsored four Albion summer interns at his lab, including Matt Lozier, ’12, who worked there this past summer. additional life lessons. Due to science lab requirements, he has had to arrive at practice late—and sometimes miss it altogether—at least once a week every season.

“I thank Coach Rundle for looking out for my future by allowing an absence or two every week,” Lozier says. “Coming from playing high school football and having my chances to make an impact on each game to being surrounded by all these talented players at Albion has really been a humbling experience for me.” And the same applies to his research experiences, he acknowledges.

“You might think you’re smart until you get in a room with a bunch of physicians and graduate students. All around these experiences taught me that there is always someone out there with more talent or more knowledge than I have, but I have come to see these people as mentors . . . people I could learn from.”

The grandson of an oncologist, Lozier became interested in cancer research after shadowing oncologists from his hometown and being able to sit in on doctor-patient consultations two years ago.

Briton Sports on the Web Did you know that you can find all of the following on the Albion College sports Web site?

• Sports news and results

• SportsNet broadcast schedules

• Schedules and rosters

• Sports archives

Follow the Britons at: www.albion.edu/sports/.

It’s the next best thing to being here!

Now, his résumé includes two offcampus research internships (he also had a summer internship at University of Michigan) in addition to prior work experience as a teaching assistant for Albion biology professor Doug White. Lozier says that while his dad is encouraging him to follow his grandfather’s path as an oncologist, he has yet to choose a specialty.

“I think that this summer will act as a stepping stone, furthering me along on my ultimate goal of becoming a physician,” Lozier says. “The experience helped me to realize that in my own life I would desire a situation that involved more direct interactions with people as might be found in a clinical situation working as a physician.

In my past jobs—such as lifeguarding, working as a laboratory teaching assistant, and mentoring children at the local elementary school—I enjoyed the direct relationships that I was able to form with others.

“Being associated with cancer research has really helped put things into perspective for me,” Lozier adds. “This summer helped me realize that whatever I am dealing with is not nearly as bad as the battle those chemotherapy patients are facing, and it has really made me thankful for everything the Lord has blessed me with, including good health, great friends, and a loving family.”

To receive regular sports updates, sign up for Briton SportsNews at: www.albion.edu/ sports/ or e-mail Bobby Lee at blee@albion.edu.

Matt Lozier has proven his potential in the research lab and on the football field. Last month, the defensive back received the 2011 Pete Schmidt Memorial Award, which goes to a four-year player with outstanding academic and leadership credentials.

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 7

Go Br!ts!

Football Field Gets New Look, New Name A league championship and an NCAA playoff berth capped an exciting football season played out on the new artificial turf at SprankleSprandel Stadium this fall. The Britons topped the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings with a perfect 6-0 record in conference play, before falling to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first round of the Division III playoffs. The 2011 league title was the Britons’ 34th.

“The new artificial surface in the stadium had a positive impact on the football program in many ways,” said Craig Rundle, head football coach. “It created excitement among the players and a sense of pride in their ‘home field advantage.’ An added benefit was the ability to have a quality surface every day for practice, regardless of the weather. Our players improved during the year because we were able to get more out of each practice, rain or shine.”

The improvements completed in Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium this past summer, including the installation of state-of-the-art synthetic turf on the football field and the resurfacing of the varsity track, are part of a $1.1-million upgrade of Albion’s outdoor athletic facilities. This project represents the first phase of a multiyear effort to improve the College’s playing fields and indoor spaces for varsity and intramural competition.

“In implementing the College’s master plan for the campus, the Board of Trustees has given full support to the athletic facilities upgrades,” observed President Donna Randall. “We have completed significant renovations in our academic buildings over the past decade. Now it’s time for us to turn our attention to our athletic facilities.”

This investment in Briton athletic programs signals the College’s recognition of the importance of sports competition for many of our students as part of their total Albion experience.

“Facilities are a way for a student-athlete to see that there is a strong commitment to their success,” said athletic director Matt Arend. “If you have high-quality facilities on a par with your peers, that makes recruiting the top student-athletes easier. With these improvements, we can offer not only a great education in superb academic facilities, but 8 | Io Triumphe!

Grass has given way to artificial turf on Albion’s football field, renamed this fall as Schmidt-Fraser Field. The summer 2011 improvements at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium also included a new base and running surface for Elkin Isaac Track.

we can complete the equation with firstrate athletic facilities. We are confident that we will see the benefits of this approach in higher enrollment numbers. Beyond that, these upgrades will help our teams become even more competitive in winning conference championships.”

Albion has a tradition of athletic success built, in large measure, around coaches who were both leaders and mentors for students.

Football coach Pete Schmidt, who amassed a 104-27-4 record at Albion and who led the Britons to the 1994 NCAA Division III national football championship, was one such coach. He passed away in 2000 after a yearlong battle with lymphoma.

Earlier this year, his former players, led

by Kyle Klein, ’97, Paul Elder, ’87, Scott Merchant, ’93, Hank Wineman, ’92, and former football coach Dave Egnatuk, ’71, conducted a fundraising drive to rename the football field to honor Schmidt’s legacy.

The field, which was previously named for another legendary Briton football coach, Morley Fraser, has now become SchmidtFraser Field. Dedication of the newly named field took place during a special pregame ceremony at the Homecoming football game.

Members of both the Schmidt and Fraser families were in attendance.

“As alumni athletes who played for Coach Schmidt, we share a common bond,” Klein said. “Participating in this project was a wonderful way to honor the coach who had such a large impact on our lives as well as providing outstanding facilities for our student-athletes now and into the future.”

To learn more about the plans for further improvements in Albion’s athletic facilities, contact Scott Draper at 517/629-0564 or by e-mail at sdraper@albion.edu.

2011 Football Highlights Running back Clinton Orr claimed the MIAA’s offensive most valuable player award. A junior from Buchanan, Orr became Albion’s career rushing leader and clinched his second-straight MIAA rushing title (832 yards on 132 carries in six MIAA contests). He rushed for at least 140 yards in four league games, including a 236-yard performance against Hope College and a 200-yard day against Trine University. As the 2011 season opened, Orr was featured in a Detroit News article about how he overcame his troubled youth to excel in athletics.

Senior defensive back Chris Greenwood walked away with the league’s defensive most valuable player honor. National Football League scouts observed Greenwood closely all season long, and he did not disappoint with 24 tackles and two interceptions. A graduate of Detroit’s Martin Luther King High School, Greenwood was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.

The Detroit Free Press and the AP (national) covered Briton nose tackle Julian Paksi and his battle against hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, a vascular tumor of the liver. The cancer is so rare that the only cure is a liver transplant. Paksi put the transplant on hold so he could complete his senior season at Albion. He received the Pete Schmidt Award (recognizing courage and other qualities Schmidt exemplified) from the Michigan chapter of the National Football Foundation.

Red Carpet Treatment

J. WARREN PHOTO

By Marian Deegan

Entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, ’83, has entrée to the biggest names in Hollywood.

George Pennacchio interviews actor James Franco, best known for his roles as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy and as mountain climber Aron Ralston in 127 Hours. Pennacchio is one of just six entertainment writers to win a Critics’ Critic award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

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The film industry inspires, entertains, and dazzles with the glamour of iconic stars. For most of us, the glitz of walking the red carpet on Oscar night is a vicarious thrill, but for George Pennacchio, ’83, it is literally part of his job description. His 15-year career in Los Angeles as KABC-TV’s entertainment reporter has secured him the coveted first interview position on the carpet to welcome arriving stars on Hollywood’s most celebrated night.

“I’ve loved movies since childhood,” Pennacchio says. A career in entertainment journalism caught his imagination. Although he was offered a spot at the University of Southern California’s School of Journalism, the one-on-one attention he received from the Albion admission staff convinced him that Albion offered the college experience he wanted.

“I never had the best voice in the world and still don’t,” says the three-time Emmy winner. But his professors cultivated his talents in front of an audience and his reporter’s instincts. “Dr. Helen Manning could not have been more supportive or validating. Dr. James Diedrick stressed writing, taught me to handle hard news, and gave me the professional tools I needed. His advice has guided me through my entire career, and I pay his lessons forward with my interns to this day.”

A college internship at WMAQ-TV in Chicago turned into a job offer after graduation. When an opportunity as a news producer took him to Monterey, Calif., Pennacchio campaigned to do entertainment reporting. “I looked young, so I wore Roger Ebert glasses, thinking they might make me look older and smarter,” he laughs.

“Finally, my news director told me to give it a shot.” Pennacchio’s early assignments weren’t very glamorous—he covered the Squid Festival, the Garlic Festival, and even a funeral for a car. “But,” he says, “that makes you a creative writer, and I learned a lot.”

Big celebrities were scarce in Monterey.

Pennacchio scrambled for one-sentence quotes from Doris Day, Jimmy Stewart, and then-mayor of Carmel, Clint Eastwood. “The first time I traveled to Hollywood to do a real sit-down interview, it was with Mel Brooks,” he recalls.

“I was nervous, but he couldn’t have been nicer or more charming. It was a great beginning to the interviews that I’ve been doing ever since.”

10 | Io Triumphe!

Chatting with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts may sound glamorous, but Pennacchio’s 10-12 hour daily schedule is anything but. “I often start my day with a morning movie screening,” he says. “After the two-hour movie, I’ll get to work and hit the ground running. I write for my 4 p.m. news segment. After the news, I’ll usually be assigned a story at an event in L.A. Sometimes producers will take my ideas for a story, and sometimes they’ll have their own priority. I go out with a photographer, shoot the story, and rush back by 9 p.m. to turn it all around, writing sound bite by sound bite as the video is edited, then voicing the story to be ready to air on the 11 o’clock news. After the show, I review e-mail and prepare for the next day. On Fridays, I work a day shift to attend Friday night movies in preparation for weekend interviews.”

Pennacchio carves out additional time to emcee charitable events, especially those supporting children and the arts.

Evolving technology has a constant effect on Hollywood culture, media, and viewer expectations. “Today,” Pennacchio says, “anyone can carry a video camera and chase celebrities, trying to get a sound bite to sell. These video paparazzi are everywhere. On the other hand, Facebook and Twitter have expanded media platforms. I have a Facebook Fan page that makes my interviews more accessible than they’ve ever been. By next season, I’ll be using Twitter as part of my Dancing with the Stars coverage.”

Contacts are critical, and Pennacchio explains that trust is built over time and earning celebrities’ trust requires professionalism. “I try to ask respectful questions that take a story forward,” Pennacchio explains. “I remember interviewing Liam Neeson for the first time about a year after he lost his wife. I wanted to express my sympathy,

J. EVANS PHOTO

Pennacchio covers an evening celebrating the 2011 Blu-Ray release of Scarface, starring Al Pacino.

but understood that he didn’t need to be reminded again. Some things are better left unsaid.”

Pennacchio has a soft spot for stories about actors on the way up. “When a star attends a movie premiere for the first time, it is so wonderful,” he says warmly. “You can see that they are taking in everything. I always try to put those people in my piece. I know that adds to their memories.”

One day, a Xeroxed invitation to a onewoman play arrived, hand-addressed to Pennacchio. “Hmm,” he thought to himself, intrigued. “I like the title. I might do this.” His producer loved the idea. The name of the play?

My Big Fat Greek Wedding, starring an unknown named Nia Vardalos.

Pennacchio arrived at the little Hollywood theater.

“Next door,” Pennacchio recounts, “Drew Carey was shooting something. Nia told me, ‘You must be in the wrong building. Drew Carey is next door.’”

“I’m here to see you,” I said.

“What?”

“You’re Nia?” “Yes.” “Well, I’m here to cover your Big Fat Greek Wedding!”

“I thought she was going to cry,” Pennacchio says. “I believe I was Nia Vardalos’s first television interview. I followed the story as her play was optioned for a movie, covered the movie premiere,

and interviewed Nia as an Oscar nominee. I’ve covered her career ever since.”

When Pennacchio was honored as the Critics’ Critic by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Vardalos presented his award. “The audience included Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg,” Pennacchio remembers. “Nia stood at the podium and told the story about how I covered her one-woman play. She informed the crowd that as soon as my interview aired, tickets for the rest of her show sold out.” He chuckles.

“She gave me an incredible amount of prestige with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, just by telling that little story.”

The professors at Albion inspired Pennacchio to reach for the stars. Today, he finds himself among them. Occasionally, he even has a hand in helping to make one.

In November, George Pennacchio received the National Entertainment Journalism Award for “Best Entertainment News Story.” See more examples of his reporting at: www.ontheredcarpet.com Marian Deegan is a freelance writer from St. Paul, Minn.

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 11

“

She excels on stage.

And she’s always professional, always friendly, and always preternaturally optimistic, even during the sometimes long and late hours that a life in the theatre can demand.”

Showtime

Sarab Kamoo’s theatrical credits keep growing.

12 | Io Triumphe!

When Sarab Kamoo, ’91, was a student, she didn’t picture herself in movies, much less in scenes with the likes of Robert De Niro, Catherine Keener, or Jenna Fischer.

She took a class with Broadway’s Uta Hagen, who spotted Kamoo’s striking talent and gave her the confidence to pursue an acting career. Kamoo followed with studies at Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre Company (PRTC) in Chelsea.

Soon, she was on stages everywhere: the

In Farmington Hills where she grew up, Kamoo

Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Meadow Brook

acted in school and community plays. At Albion,

Theatre, Performance Network Theatre, PRTC,

she majored in communications and English,

Tipping Point, Water Works, and the Williamston

planning to be a newscaster. Then, in her senior

Theatre. A favorite was 9 Parts of Desire, about

year, she appeared as Julia Gibbs in Albion’s Our

nine Iraqi women; Kamoo played them all.

Town. “I had the most amazing experience,” she says. “I wondered, ‘Why did I wait that long?’”

Chelsea Sadler, ’06, is a young actor who sees Kamoo as a role model. “She excels on stage.

She knew the answer. There were other exciting

And she’s always professional, always friendly,

extracurricular opportunities on campus and at

and always preternaturally optimistic, even

her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. She enjoyed tutoring

during the sometimes long and late hours that a

children in the community and coordinating

life in the theatre can demand,” says Sadler. “I’m

a Special Olympics program. “Sarab was

not at all surprised she’s made a smooth and

exceptionally motivated and compassionate

successful transition to film work.”

when it came to reaching out to others,” says Julie Busch Jones, ’80, who directed the Campus Programs office at the time. “She would just glow when she would talk about the opportunities she had to serve others.”

A successful transition it has been. After seeing her at PRTC, Jeff Daniels asked her to do the movie Super Sucker (2002). In 2010, Kamoo appeared in Trust, Stone, Conviction, and the Lifetime TV movie Secrets in the Walls. Other

After an off-campus internship in a child advocacy

releases this year and next include This Must

office, Kamoo completed a master’s in social

Be the Place, Have a Little Faith, Highland Park,

work at the University of Michigan, then took a

Sucker, The Giant Mechanical Man, Learning to

job in community mental health in Detroit. She

Fly, and the ABC Family movie, Elixir.

loved her work but missed the stage. “I didn’t feel like myself. If you’re an actor, and you’re not acting, you feel lost,” Kamoo says. With the support of her husband, Tom Denhof, ’91, she left her full-time job 16 years ago to work part-time as a school social worker in Rochester.

When David Schwimmer cast Trust, Kamoo read for a tiny role. Upon seeing her, he asked her to audition for Officer Gomez, a slightly larger one. “I only wish I’d had more for her to do than the one terrific and difficult scene she was in,” says Schwimmer. “I thought she was incredibly talented, grounded, committed, took direction well, and was an absolute pleasure to work with.”

By Davi Napoleon

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 13

“

I thought she was incredibly talented, grounded, committed, took direction well, and was an absolute pleasure to work with.”

Kamoo was stunned when Schwimmer included

Sometimes, juggling doesn’t work. Mitch Albom

her in a script meeting. “There were three chairs

thought of Kamoo when casting a movie based

on the lot. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener were

on his book, Have a Little Faith, because “Sarab

in two,” she recalls. “David sits me down and

brought real honesty to a role of a wife of a crazed

kneels down next to me, and I’m reading script

Hollywood actor in my play [And the Winner Is

changes with these incredibly talented actors and

at PRTC in 2005].” Since the shooting schedule

thinking ‘What am I doing here?’ And David turns

conflicted with a play she’d signed to do, Albom and

to me and says, ‘What do you think of this line?’

director Jon Avnet asked her to play a smaller role.

He made me feel that nothing Catherine said or Clive said was more important than what I said.”

Christopher Leitch, director of the TV horror movie Secrets in the Walls, says casting

When Lee Kirk came to Detroit to film The

supporting players is the hardest part of his job.

Giant Mechanical Man, he had difficulty finding

“I look for actors that can bring a memorable

the specific man he envisioned for the human

presence to even the smallest roles. Sarab

resources manager of a zoo. On a whim, casting

Kamoo did just that.” Secrets producer Michael

director Carrie Ray showed him one of the area’s

Larkin says they liked her so much, they added

strongest actresses. “He looked at Sarab’s old

lines for her. “She brought a new perspective

audition tape and fell in love with her,” says Ray.

to the role, and when you have somebody that

Kamoo has six scenes in the offbeat romantic

good, you don’t want to waste her,” Larkin says.

comedy Kirk directed about a zoo worker (Jenna

While many love Kamoo on first audition, director

Fischer) and a street performer. Although Chris

John Curran had reservations when casting Janice,

Messina plays the street performer, off the set

Robert De Niro’s co-worker in Stone. Kamoo was

it was Kamoo who was juggling. The movie shot

just too attractive. “I saw Janice as a passive-

while this mother of three, still a social worker,

aggressive competitive type, very plain and

also appeared in a play. When Fischer and Kirk

unstylish, maybe even a little butch. Sarab came

heard Kamoo’s understudy might go on, they

in all smiles and exuding friendliness, and I just

hurried a scene setup so Kamoo could be on

thought she was the wrong type,” Curran recalls.

time for her stage role. “It was insane—I got out of my costume and ran out. I was on a high!

I had just filmed a movie with Jenna Fischer, and now I was onstage! It was probably the best performance I gave.”

When her agent warned she might lose the part, Kamoo found oversized clothes, powdered her eyebrows and lashes, and auditioned again.

“She surprised me with a take that was very somber and almost depressed,” says Curran.

“We played with the character more, and I got

14 | Io Triumphe!

very excited with her angle on Janice. I not only cast her—I expanded the role.”

In one of Curran’s favorite moments, De Niro’s character makes an inappropriate pass. “The shock and hurt in her eyes was so authentic.

But the funniest breakthrough was seeing her first emerge from wardrobe and makeup with that lame hairdo and brown pantsuit... I started laughing and apologized for working so hard to make her look boring.” For Kamoo, nothing about the experience was boring.

“Can you imagine being a good regional theatre actor and being thrown toe-to-toe in an intense scene with the acting icon Robert De Niro? And pulling it off beautifully?” asks Stone screenwriter Angus MacLachlan. “I loved everything about Sarab’s involvement with Stone....She was able to create a character out of very little screen time, a portrait of a real, adult woman. Attractive, smart, strong, and yet, in one look, vulnerable. She also has that quality that many terrific actors have, some sense of mystery, of something held back.

A quality that makes you want to know and see more. I can only hope she gets more chances to let us see more.”

Sarab Kamoo is appearing in the Tony Awardwinning play God of Carnage at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in West Bloomfield from now through Jan. 2, 2012. The show then moves to the Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor for January and February.

Davi Napoleon is a freelance writer from Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sarab Kamoo’s acting career has taken her from regional stages to the sets of films featuring some of Hollywood’s top stars. (From top) The Performance Network Theatre’s 9 Parts of Desire; Kamoo and Robert De Niro in Stone; and Kamoo with Chris Messina during the filming of The Giant Mechanical Man, to be released in 2012.

(Page 12) The Performance Network Theatre’s Sonia Flew, in which Kamoo played opposite Will Young.

Reinventing Stockwell D. TRUMPIE PHOTO

Cutler Commons redefines what a library should be.

1

1. Sally Cutler explains her hopes for the new Cutler Commons to student reporter Jillian Putnam, ’14, during the October dedication ceremony.

2. Stockwell Library's redesigned façade provides an inviting entrance into the Cutler Commons.

3. A digital touchscreen (“smartboard”), large wall monitors for displaying digital presentations, and movable white boards are just some of the new features available in the Cutler Commons, making it highly attractive as teaching space—both for class meetings and for faculty “office hours." The modular furniture is rearranged on an almost daily basis to suit student needs for individual research, group study sessions, and work on team projects.

Gifts from 19th- and 20th-century alumnae came together for the benefit of 21st-century students, as Albion dedicated Stockwell Library’s Cutler Commons Oct. 7. Sally Stark Cutler, ’75, and her husband, Sandy, underwrote the creation of the stunning new study and research space in Stockwell Library, which was the gift of 1862 graduate Madelon Stockwell Turner. This past summer, the library’s main floor was completely renovated with an array of technology, contemporary furnishings, and the installation of a café and new service desks. An attractive new entrance was added to the stately Georgian structure as well.

“Doesn’t it always seem that incredible improvements come just as you’re about to leave?” joked Student Alumni Association President Jordan Kus, ’12, noting she is graduating at the end of the semester. Kus observed that the group study space, novel seating, and on-site caffeine are already a big hit with students. “Your gift has made a difference in the lives of so many current students and will continue to do so in the lives of students to come,” she said, in thanking the Cutlers.

“Cutler Commons is now the opening to the Quad,” remarked President Donna Randall, stressing the Cutlers’ desire that their Commons be focused on students. “This portal really invites us to come in. . . . I can’t tell you how deeply thankful we are for this very special gift to our students and our community.”

Ensuring student access to the latest technology and online resources was a key reason for their gift, Sally Cutler explained.

The renovations make it possible to find and share digital information in a variety of flexible workspaces.

“The pleasure of being able to [give this space to] everyone is remarkable,” she said, offering two pieces of advice. “Please don’t spill coffee on the keyboards. And remember us as people who give back. I hope that all of you here remember how to do that and how to change your world on a daily basis.” —Jake Weber 3

16 | Io Triumphe!

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2

In Their Own Words

Faculty recount some novel uses of the new Cutler Commons.

I teach my upper-level history seminar on the newly renovated bridge between the Stockwell and Mudd buildings. We are a small group of seven, and the students generally purchase coffee or tea and pastries that they enjoy during the class discussion. I find that the comfortable, intimate space helps to cultivate a deep camaraderie among the students. They share couches and are in much closer physical proximity to one another and to me than they would be in a traditional classroom. Because of both the environment and the food, we have all become much more comfortable with one another, allowing for tremendously rich conversations about subjects that are often fraught with tension: gender norms, race, and class issues. This seminar has been one of the most successful that I have ever taught, and I attribute a part of that to the warmth of the location in which we hold the discussions.

My advanced organic chemistry seminar meets in a corner space, with very comfortable seating and access to white boards (for problem-solving on-the-fly) and to the library’s computers (for online journals, which I incorporate into my class). Touchscreen technology allows me to teach my class and then save what we talked about. I also hold “office hours” in the Commons because the relaxed atmosphere puts students more at ease.

I can help more people, with more room available, yet maintain the personal connection to individual students. In this inviting space, they are more willing to ask their questions, and the access to snacks and coffee is always a plus!

Andrew French Professor of Chemistry

Marcy Sacks Associate Professor of History

Artist Christopher Manzione recently visited campus as the first part of a two-part residency to facilitate the first annual Albion Augmented Reality Art Walk to take place in Victory and Rieger Parks April 22-May 17, 2012. During his visit this fall, he gave a brief lecture and demonstration of augmented reality in the new Cutler Commons, using the large-screen technology there. His lecture started out with a small group of students gathered in one corner of the room where he showed clips of how augmented reality is already a presence in our popular culture and is seeping into our lives. As we watched clips from Blade Runner, The Terminator, NFL football coverage, and Google’s new concept cars, I noticed our small group was expanding as students turned their chairs, removed their headphones, and paused in their studies to listen in on the presentation. At the end of the lecture we walked out the doors and looked at some examples of augmented reality art superimposed over live video feeds of the Quad. Some of the students whom we had added followed us outdoors.

I believe the opportunity for such spontaneous experiences is the strength of a space such as Cutler Commons.

5

4. You have to arrive early in the evening, students say, to get one of these “crackedegg” chairs, among the most popular in the Commons. Students had the opportunity to try out and vote for a variety of different seating styles during the planning for the new furnishings.

6

5. What’s not to like about Zingerman’s coffee at any time of day? The library café accommodates both early risers and night owls with an assortment of beverages and pastries.

C. MCGUIRE PHOTO

4

D. LAWRENCE PHOTO

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Gary Wahl Associate Professor of Art

6. The bridge linking Stockwell and the adjacent Mudd library building is the perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee while studying or meeting up with friends.

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 17

Health Conscious

D. LAWRENCE PHOTO

When it comes to wellness, Rebecca Salus Scritchfield says it’s imperative to put yourself first.

18 | Io Triumphe!

By Sarah Briggs

“I always ask, ‘Why not?,’” says Rebecca Scritchfield, ’99. That risktaking mindset has led her down an entrepreneurial path that now includes a successful nutrition and wellness counseling practice in Washington, D.C., speaking engagements for corporations including Xerox, Bayer, and Allstate, and appearances on NBC’s Today and Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto.

“I have always felt this creative drive,” Scritchfield reflects. “You never know your full potential until you try—this was just another chance that I was going to take.” Now, nearly four years after launching her businesses, Elite Nutrition and Rebecca Scritchfield Media, LLC, she is exactly where she wants to be.

Prompting her to take the leap and start her own business was her desire to control her own destiny.

“In some of my previous jobs, I felt as though I was taking up space in someone else’s dream job. I love being open to the possibilities and that I could create what I wanted. That was important to me.”

So Scritchfield wrote a business plan and learned all she could about what it would take to develop her practice in a competitive urban market. “I took baby steps—I let myself grow the business slowly at first,” she explains. “When you’re taking a risk, it’s going to be scary, and you have to be courageous through those fears and just push forward.”

The independence she has gained is a huge advantage, she continues. “I choose my office hours, I choose if I want to do a speaking engagement, and I choose the kinds of new projects I want to tackle. There is a sense of freedom about being out on your own.”

Scritchfield arrived at Albion in 1995 planning on a career in medicine. To pick up some extra income she led aerobics classes on campus, and she discovered an interest in health and fitness in classes with professors like Dave Egnatuk who championed healthy habits as part of a balanced lifestyle.

Chemistry professor Lisa Lewis encouraged her to pursue an internship in Boston that showed her she could blend her chemistry major with her growing interest in the nutrition field.

Those interests were essentially put on hold, however, as she moved to Washington, D.C., and began work as a Web project manager for the Consumer Electronics Association. While her position gave her professional networking skills and valuable knowledge of technology, the events of 9/11 persuaded her that she needed to make a life change. Sitting behind a desk simply was not fulfilling, Scritchfield says. She needed to “hit the reset button”—and find a way to make a meaningful impact in other people’s lives. Additional motivation came from her desire to live a long and healthy life while acknowledging her family’s history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, problems that are so often related to a lack of self-care and poor lifestyle choices. Deciding it was time to return to the field that had captured her attention in college, she first became a registered dietitian and then pursued a master’s in health communications at Johns Hopkins.

After she completed her graduate degree, it was time to put together everything she had learned and begin helping people get healthier. Elite Nutrition now serves people seeking to manage their weight without resorting to fad diets or ineffective supplements.

“The events of 9/11 made me realize that at any moment, my life could be taken away. I’m lucky to have my health and my life so what am I going to do with that to make the world a better place?”

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 19

D. LAWRENCE PHOTO

A nationally recognized health and fitness specialist, Rebecca Scritchfield, ’99, meets with Sarah Schmidt Fuller, ’99, (right) and students following her Opening Convocation presentation in September that helped launch Albion College’s Year of Wellness. Programming is being offered throughout the academic year on a broad range of health and wellness topics.

She focuses on behavioral changes—finding out her clients' life demands and helping them set goals that will help them get more energy and increased vitality.

“My true passion,” Scritchfield says, “is in helping people take care of themselves—to connect how you live your life with the benefits you get out of life.

When you feel better, you enjoy your life more— you’re more engaged, you’re happier. That to me is the sweet spot—the idea that we have control over our well-being. Eating well, getting exercise, and managing stress are not optional. We need to take care of ourselves if we want to be healthy.”

That’s a message she shares not only with her individual clients today, but increasingly as a soughtafter speaker for corporate wellness programs.

She appears in front of employees for Fortune 500 companies, law firms, and government agencies, inspiring them to take charge of their wellness by adopting the “me first” mentality. “No matter what cards are stacked against you,” Scritchfield says, “self-care must come first so you can put your best foot forward out there with your job, your family, and whatever else you value.”

The digital technology skills she gained as a Web manager and the social media savvy she developed in

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graduate school have enabled her to reach an even broader audience. “The Internet is where you connect with people and engage with them. I have opinions formed through all my past experiences and expertise from academic and professional training. Through social media, I can build relationships with the world.”

Scritchfield estimates that she has sent around 15,000 tweets since starting her business—and she doesn’t hesitate to take on some of the top names in the media when she believes they are misleading the public. Her blog posts landed her an appearance on Your World with Neil Cavuto, and she has since been invited back numerous times. Videos on healthy eating that Scritchfield created and posted on the Web led to her becoming a national spokesperson touring 10 cities talking about diabetes prevention through better nutrition.

“You have to put yourself out there so the world can discover you,” she says. “Social media give you a platform where you can share your thoughts and let people find you. Between social networking and networking in person you become an influencer and that gives you power.”

Scritchfield is currently exploring how to put her message about the importance of self-care into book form, and she insists it won’t be just another diet book among the dozens that already line bookstore shelves. “I want to write a book that’s going to be transformational for people. I want it to help people change their lives with confidence. I want to see

“You need to make time for you, to eat right, to get moving, and to get some rest because those are the things you need to feel great and put your best foot forward. That’s how you’re going to get what you want out of life. I feel so passionate about the importance of ‘me’ time. That’s how you’re going to rejuvenate.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF R. SCRITCHFIELD

my book in every airport bookshop, a New York Times bestseller book. I feel that my message is that important—everyone needs to hear it.”

Her ultimate goal, she maintains, is “to reach as many people as possible.” Scritchfield has been down the road of self-neglect herself and has no desire to go back there. In her words, she has replaced selfsabotage with self-love. One of the things she picked up on her journey was running. She has logged over

In demand as a speaker on health and wellness, Scritchfield regularly appears before corporate audiences. Here she is presenting to Allstate Insurance employees, for whom she has also created a series of videos on nutrition and weight management with Bernie Salazar, the 2008 winner on NBC’s The Biggest Loser.

Rebecca Scritchfield operates Elite Nutrition, a Washington, D.C.-based private practice specializing in sports nutrition and weight management. In addition to her practice, she offers corporate wellness programs, and she has taught sports nutrition at American University and George Washington University. Scritchfield was honored in 2009 as the American Dietetic Association—Washington, D.C. affiliate’s Young Dietitian of the Year.

She is certified as a health and fitness

10,000 miles training for marathons, triathlons, and ultra endurance races. “I want to let people know they have much more power over their health than they think,” she says. “They can choose to live healthy.”

She acknowledges that the health statistics today are deeply worrisome: 85 percent of Americans are physically inactive, 70 percent don’t meet fruit and vegetable recommendations in their diets, and 90 percent of doctor visits are related to excessive stress.

Still, Scritchfield believes these trends can be reversed.

“We will always need to nourish ourselves. If you appreciate your life, you understand that life is a gift.

When you understand that life is a gift and that you want to make the most of it, then you start to think about what is within your power to control and what is possible.”

It has to start with properly caring for your body’s most basic needs.

“What I’m optimistic about is that more and more people will make the connection between their daily choices and how they feel,” Scritchfield says. “When I see the excitement and the attitude shift as people start to see themselves living differently and caring about what they eat and how that makes them feel better, it’s a transformation. There’s nothing more inspiring than to see that irreversible change. That’s what keeps me going.”

specialist by the American College of Sports Medicine. A registered dietitian, she serves on the executive board of the American Dietetic Association’s Nutrition Entrepreneurs Dietetic Practice Group.

Scritchfield has reached millions through television, radio, print, and the Web including: Today, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, The Washington Post, Prevention, Women’s Health, and Women’s Running.

To learn more about her work, go to: www.rebeccascritchfield.com.

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 21

Meet Brit . . .

What a life Brit has! He made his first campus appearance at Briton Bash in August, and he’s been on the go ever since. As Albion’s number one fan, he’s always close to the action on the field or on the court, and there’s nobody better at building Briton spirit wherever students or alumni are supporting our teams.

You can follow Brit during the coming year on Facebook at: www.facebook. com/albionbriton. Sign up as a friend the next time you visit his page. And he has his very own Web page too (www.albion.edu/mascot)—you’ll find a video there soon about Brit and all of his adventures on campus and beyond. Check back often.

And now you can take Brit with you wherever you go. See the cut-out we have provided (inside back cover of this magazine) and enter our “Travels with Brit” contest to win cool Albion gear.

Here’s a little scrapbook of his experiences this fall.

22 | Io Triumphe!

ecoming My first Hom

was a blast!

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TO D. TRUMPIE PHO

Everybody wants to get in on the act . . .

CE D. LAWREN

PHOTO

ak!

Study bre

PHOTO D. LAWRENCE

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Was this Mackinac Island gig cool or wh at?

I’ve already got Grand Getaway on my calendar for nex t year.

at Baldwin.

I’m always up for fine dining

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petition. out my com Gotta check thing on me. no t rty—you’ve go pa S er ov e Mov

Fall-Winter 2011-12 | 23

A l u m n ! A s s o c ! at ! o n N e w s

Briton Pride on Display at

Homecoming 2011 The football game brought a capacity crowd to Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium for the Britons’ first home game on the new artificial turf installed this past summer. Albion fell to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 14-3 (the Britons later went on to capture both the league championship and an NCAA Division III playoff berth). Albion’s men’s soccer team posted a 2-0 win over Adrian, and the women’s soccer squad lost 2-1 to St. Mary’s.

The football pregame festivities included the dedication of the football field as SchmidtFraser Field. The name pays tribute to two iconic Albion coaches, Pete Schmidt and Morley Fraser. The upgrade of the football field was part of $1.1-million in improvements at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium completed in recent months, and was made possible through gifts from many of Schmidt’s former players. Members of both the Schmidt and Fraser families were on hand for the dedication.

Sixty-five alumni and friends paired up at the Medalist Golf Club in Marshall for the Fifteenth Annual Briton Classic Golf Tournament on Friday. The Alumni Awards Ceremony and the Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony followed later in the day.

Departmental open houses, reunions for classes from 1951 to 2011, and an alumni baseball game all attracted alumni back to campus for the weekend as well.

D. TRUMPIE PHOTOS

Brit, Albion’s mascot introduced this fall, was the most popular guy around during Homecoming 2011. Britons of all ages stopped him for photo ops, and he fired up the fans at Saturday’s football game.

Save the date for Homecoming 2012 Oct. 12-14, 2012

Homecoming events will include reunions for class years ending in 2 and 7 (1952-2012).

Visit www.albion.edu/ homecoming for details.

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1 The excitement is contagious when Brit’s around.

2 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Bill Dobbins, ’70, rode in style during Saturday’s Homecoming parade.

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The activities at the family tent, hosted by the Alumni Association Board of Directors, proved you can never have too much purple and gold.

The Britons’ home opener against Wisconsin-Stevens Point was played on the football field’s new artificial turf installed this past summer.

4 During a football pregame ceremony, Schmidt-Fraser Field was dedicated in honor of beloved Albion coaches Pete Schmidt and Morley Fraser.

Albion athletic director Matt Arend presented Schmidt’s wife, Becky, with a commemorative helmet signed by the 2011 football team members.

6 President Donna Randall (left) and her husband, Paul Hagner, crowned this year’s Homecoming royalty, seniors Angela Bennett and Mark Stevenson, during football halftime. They are pictured with 1965 Homecoming queen, Trudy Wolfram Cappiello, ’67, and 2010 Homecoming king Casey Hoffman, ’12.

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7 The family of 2011 Hall of Famer Jim Davis, ’95, (back row, left) shows that Briton loyalties stretch across the generations.

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Remembering the Glory Days

By Glenn Powell, ’58 Twenty former Albion College cross country runners, from teams of the 1950s, returned to Albion at Homecoming 2011 to be inducted into the College’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Now all in our seventies, we were pleased with the honor and the opportunity to come together as a team once again. The cross country team (men only then) had been an enjoyable and important part of our lives at Albion.

Thanks to current cross country coach Hayden Smith, a jog/walk was organized for us on Friday with the current men’s and women’s teams along our old course through Victory Park.

That was a real highlight! We talked about cross country and life at Albion then and now. Our races used to finish at the fifty-yard line during halftime of the Saturday football games, and we usually finished winners, as a group holding hands. So that’s where and how we finished our Homecoming jog/walk, current and former team members together.

The induction into the Hall of Fame that night was a great thrill. We also walked in the Homecoming parade Saturday morning and had our own team dinner Saturday night. It was a great weekend for us, and great to be back at Albion together again.

A Long Line of Champions The 2011 Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony Sept. 23 saw the induction of 10 former Briton athletes and a former coach, along with the 1951-55 and 1957 men’s cross country teams and the 1999-2000 women’s golf teams. The cross country teams contributed to a string of MIAA titles stretching from 1947 to 1957. The women’s golf teams represent Albion’s only league champions in that sport to date. For more on this year’s inductees, go to: www.albion.edu/sports/ halloffame.

2011 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

D. TRUMPIE PHOTOS

Individuals Bradley W. Brown, ’96 James H. Davis, Jr., ’95 Coach David G. Egnatuk, ’71 Ronald L. Face, ’90 Dennis R. Frost, ’77 Keith S. King, ’87 Todd A. Morris, ’95 Melissa Hall Palmer, ’01 Tony M. Pokorzynski, ’85 Erik L. Scollon, ’94 Mark A. Smith, ’91 Gary Noble, ’57, Glenn Powell, ’58, and Robert Probst, ’57, joined other members of the 195155 and 1957 men’s cross country teams for their induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming 2011.

The 1999 and 2000 women’s golf teams had two reasons to celebrate since team member Melissa Hall Palmer, ’01, (back row, second from left) was also inducted into the Hall of Fame as an individual athlete. A four-time all-league performer, Palmer was the top player during both the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

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Teams 1951-55 Men’s Cross Country Teams 1957 Men’s Cross Country Team 1999 Women’s Golf Team 2000 Women’s Golf Team

D. TRUMPIE PHOTOS

Distinguished Alumni Bring Innovation to Their Professions Representing fields from business to publishing to the arts, the 2011 recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards have each demonstrated insightful and innovative leadership in their chosen professions. They were honored during a Homecoming ceremony Sept. 23.

Pictured with President Donna Randall (center) are the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award honorees: (from left) David Sennema, ’56, John Koegel, ’85, William Dobbins, ’70, Deborah Wyatt Fellows, ’78, Joel Manby, ’81, and Kathryn Koegel, ’78.

2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes College alumni for their genuine leadership and dedicated service to others.

William H. Dobbins, ’70 President and Chief Executive Officer Caster Concepts, Inc. Albion, Michigan

Kathryn Koegel, ’78 Vice President Koegel Meats, Inc. Flint, Michigan

Deborah Wyatt Fellows, ’78 Founder Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine MyNorth Media Traverse City, Michigan

Joel K. Manby, ’81 President and Chief Executive Officer Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation Norcross, Georgia

John C. Koegel, ’85 President Koegel Meats, Inc. Flint, Michigan

David C. Sennema, ’56 Retired Arts and Museum Administrator Columbia, South Carolina

For more information on this year’s honorees, go to: www.albion.edu/homecoming. Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Go to www.albion.edu/alumni for details.

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Your Alumni Association at Work for You The Alumni Association Board of Directors serves as the official connection between Albion alumni and the College. The board represents alumni through advising the Office of Alumni Engagement and communicating with trustee Stephen Greenhalgh, ’74, the Alumni Association’s liaison with the Board of Trustees.

Browne

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as director of communications and community relations in the Division of University Relations. She lives in Bloomfield Hills with her two children, Lindsey and Ben. Sean Thornton, ’11. Sean Thornton graduated early with honors in December 2010, majoring in economics and management. He was a member of Delta Sigma Pi fraternity and Omicron Delta Epsilon, an economics honorary. After graduation, Thornton worked as an admission counselor in the Albion College Admission Office before spending a season in the sales office of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Now, he is located on the Gulf coast of Florida as an apprentice global manager with HelmsBriscoe.

Thornton

The Alumni Association appointed four new members and reappointed two incumbents to fill terms beginning July 1, 2011.

Named to a second term were Jonathan Beeton, ’93, and Herb Lentz, ’00. Retiring from the board this year were: Sarah Cooper, ’03, Pete Holland, ’08, Margaret Neely Nault, ’80, Mark Neisler, ’94, Rick Neumann, ’67, and Glenna Vander Meer Paukstis, ’59.

The new board members include: Berkley Browne, ’00. Berkley Browne majored in political science and Spanish at Albion. During her time on campus, she was a Sleight Leadership summer academy participant and served as student liaison to the Office of Multicultural Affairs as well as Student Senate vice president. Browne earned her M.A. degree in counseling from Ashland Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing doctoral studies there. A resident of Grosse Pointe Park, she is the director of guidance and counseling at Southfield Christian School in Southfield.

Dori Haan Couvreur, ’90. An economics and management major at Albion, Dori Couvreur was a member of the Gerstacker Professional Management Program (now the Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management). She earned her M.B.A. from Western Michigan University and is currently a senior manager with Crowe Horwath, LLP in Grand Rapids. She and her husband, Dave, live in East Grand Rapids, and have two children, Joe and Kelly.

Laura Brown Mutz, ’91. Laura Mutz majored in English and French at Albion College and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She is among more than 20 Brown and Keyes family members who also attended Albion, including her parents, James Brown, ’62, and Susan Keyes Brown, ’64, and her grandparents, Freeman Brown, ’28, Dorothy Boyd Brown, ’31, and Phillip Keyes, ’38. Mutz earned her master’s degree in public relations and advertising from Michigan State University and has worked at Oakland University for more than a dozen years, most recently

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To view the entire Board of Directors roster, go to: www.albion.edu/alumni.

Interested in joining the Board of Directors? Send an e-mail to alumniengagement@albion.edu for more details on the board’s responsibilities.

Albion on the Road Albion alumni can be found in venues all across the country. Plan to join us for the event nearest you.

December 20, 2011—Albion Men’s Basketball “Tailgate,” North Park University, Chicago, Ill. December 21, 2011—Albion Men’s Basketball “Tailgate,” Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Ill. January 24, 2012—Battle Creek Alumni Reception February 10, 2012—New York City Alumni Reception February 21, 2012—Houston Alumni Reception February 22, 2012—Dallas Alumni Reception March 7, 2012—Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum Event, Grand Rapids March 14, 2012—Phoenix Alumni Reception March 19, 2012—Boston Alumni Reception March 21, 2012—Washington, D.C. Alumni Reception March 27, 2012—Indianapolis Alumni Reception Spring 2012—Florida Alumni Events Details, including information on regional chapter events, are available at www.albion.edu/alumni or by calling the Office of Alumni Engagement, 517/629-0448. Events are being added regularly so please check the Web site often.

What’s New in Alumni Engagement

By Elinor Marsh, Executive Director of Alumni Engagement It’s an exciting time here in the Office of Alumni Engagement! With a fresh new staff, we are primed and ready to continue longstanding Albion traditions and forge some new ones as well. The Office of Alumni Engagement serves four purposes for Albion College: to initiate social and professional networking opportunities; support student recruitment initiatives; enhance the on-campus experience through assisting with mentorships, guest speakers, and internships; and participate in fund development. We accomplish these goals through a variety of means, from receptions and other events to the Distinguished Alumni Awards and partnerships with the Offices of Admission and Career Development. None of this could be achieved without the wisdom of and input from our Alumni Association Board of Directors and our membership—all of you!

Across the State and Beyond

With 10 alumni chapters across the country, every month brings fun and interesting events joining old friends and new through social engagements and professional networking. To find your area chapter and get involved, go to: www.albion.edu/alumni. Tim Newsted, ’78, our assistant director of alumni engagement, will be assisting with regional chapter development.

If you have an idea for an event within an existing chapter, or for a chapter in a new location, please contact Tim at 517/629-0448 or via e-mail at alumniengagement@albion.edu.

Current chapters: Detroit Great Lakes Bay Southwest Michigan Traverse City

West Michigan Arizona Chicago New England

Southern California Washington, D.C.

Our upcoming alumni events are listed on the preceding page. We look forward to meeting many of you personally at these events. And please know that we are available whenever you have a question, suggestion, or concern regarding Albion and its alumni programs.

Alumni Directory Coming in 2012 Preparation of the 2012 Albion College Alumni Directory is now under way. The Office of Alumni Engagement has recently launched a project to verify our alumni records through PCI (Publishing Concepts Inc.), a trusted company that completed Albion’s last directory in 2007 and works with other institutions such as Harvard and Princeton. This directory will enable our alumni to remain in contact, networking with each other both personally and professionally. And it gives us the opportunity to reach out to our alumni and communicate about upcoming events and the latest happenings on campus. For more information on the project, please go to www.albion.edu/ alumni where you’ll find helpful answers to frequently asked questions.

New Staff in Alumni Engagement Albion College’s Office of Alumni Engagement has a new leadership team. Elinor Marsh joined Albion as executive director of alumni engagement in September, and Tim Newsted, ’78, became assistant director of alumni engagement in November.

Prior to coming to Albion, Marsh served as executive director of The Music Center in Battle Creek for more than five years. During her tenure, she led the organization in strategic planning, supervised an operating budget of more than $1 million, and enhanced income strategies including ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, grants, special events, and individual contributions.

Marsh’s background in development and alumni engagement includes more than 15 years’ experience with the Wharton Center at Michigan State University and the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College.

An alumna of Hanover College, she also holds an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Marsh Newsted Marsh has a personal connection with Albion, as the daughter of Georgia Wilson Marsh, ’65.

Newsted retired last year after over 30 years as a classroom teacher and coach, most of that in the Hastings schools, and he was a sales agent for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for over a decade. He was a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors for nine years and has served as a class reunion chair twice. He has also become a fixture at Homecoming, playing in the Alumni Band every year since his graduation. In his new role as assistant director of alumni engagement, he will focus on programming for and expansion of Albion’s regional chapters.

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See reverse side for details on our “Travels with Brit� contest.

Hitting the road? Take Brit Along!

Now Albion College’s new mascot, Brit, can go with you wherever your travels take you. Even better, if you send us a photo of you with Brit during your trip, you’ll have a chance to win some cool Albion gear!

Simply use the cut-out (on reverse), pack it in your suitcase, and select your pose at your destination. All photos are welcome, but prizes will be awarded for: • Longest distance traveled with Brit (calculate from your home to your destination) • Largest number of alumni with Brit (plan a photo with family or friends) • Funniest pose with Brit (let your humor run wild) • Coolest location with Brit (look for the offbeat or extraordinary) Send us your photo by the contest deadline, April 30, 2012, to communications@albion.edu and be sure to include your name, class year, and a brief description for your photo telling how it qualifies as a winning entry.

Or use Facebook—post your photo to the Albion College wall (facebook.com/albioncollege), tag Albion College, or tag Brit (facebook.com/albionbriton). Be sure to include the information above in your description on Facebook as well.

Prizes will be awarded by the staff of the Office of Alumni Engagement, and winning photos will be featured in the spring-summer 2012 edition of Io Triumphe! and on the College’s Alumni Engagement Web page. If you have questions, e-mail communications@albion.edu or call 517/629-0445.

Communications Office

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611 East Porter Street Albion, MI 49224-1831

2011 MIAA Champions!

The Britons brought home the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championship trophy after a perfect season in league play. Junior running back Clinton Orr claimed the conference’s offensive most valuable player award, and senior defensive back Chris Greenwood walked away with the defensive most valuable player honor. Albion advanced to the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, but fell to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Albion remains atop the MIAA in all-time number of football championships with 34. The Britons competed this fall on the new artificial turf at SprankleSprandel Stadium (see page 8 for more details on the football field and its new name).

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