Io Triumphe! THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF ALBION COLLEGE
WHAT IT MEANS TO SERVE TODAY
VOL. LXXXII, NO. 1
SPRING-SUMMER 2017
Nate Kozycki, ’19, earned All-America status in the 100-yard butterfly at the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in March. Albion finished 13th at the national meet, which came on the heels of the Britons’ first MIAA title since 1971. Photo: Conway Photography
Contents
SPRING-SUMMER 2017
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Features A THOUGHT ABOUT SERVICE Perhaps finding its meaning today requires a look back.
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FORTY YEARS OF FORD As a milestone academic year approaches, the institute’s mission is as vital as ever.
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GETTING IN THE GAME Some alums run for office when the thought of governing wasn’t even on the radar in college.
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SHEAR LUCK 26 Unaware of each other at Albion, two early ’70s math grads lead advances in weather and wind energy at federal labs in Colorado. A LIFETIME OF SERVICE 30 A 2017 senior thesis chronicles the life of Washington Gardner for the first time, including his stint as a professor at Albion.
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Departments BRITON BITS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS
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ALBIONOTES 37 THE BACK PAGE
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26 Cover illustration and hands illustration, above: Dan Bejar
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BRITON BITS
A Word About a Word Service can be hard to pin down. Just look up the term in the dictionary and you’ll see what I mean.
It is demanded in some situations, and implied in others. It can be purely transactional, and it can be undertaken purely out of love. It’s usually welcomed and appreciated openly, yet in an everyday way, things tend to be more comfortable when service is in the background—an unspoken acknowledgement. A lot of times, service is simply taken for granted. The 2017-18 academic year will see one of our institutes, the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service, recognize the October 1977 day when President Ford, a onetime Albion College trustee, came to campus to announce the new initiative less than nine months after leaving the White House. Nearly 40 years on, our
“Fordies” have served their communities and their country with distinction. Four years before Ford’s visit, in 1973, our Professional Management Program—today’s Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management—was created. If you ask me, both offerings were clear signs at the time of an exemplary liberal arts college on the move. By beginning to intentionally combine realworld learning opportunities with classroom coursework, through formal programs and channels, Albion College’s service to its students evolved in exciting new directions. In economics-speak, a college education, at its core, is a service,
of course. But there are those moments when its inherent quality of contributing toward the common good feels downright tangible: for example, when tassels are moved from right to left after hearing three leaders in education speak at Commencement; or when students, faculty, and staff together clear brush and debris from gravesites at a Jewish cemetery in Poland. Serving as a college president is a privilege and a challenge, an honor and a joy all at the same time. It’s affirming to say that once in a while, and I hope you’re able to do the same every so often in all the roles you play—at home, at work, and in your community. As you may have guessed, much of this issue of Io Triumphe! explores service and its many manifestations. While reading (and after putting down) the magazine, I hope you will
hold on to two passages from The Purpose of the College, a statement approved by the Board of Trustees in 1993: “A liberal education is an education in active citizenship and service,” and “By pursuing our educational mission, we believe all members of the Albion community will grow in the capacity to work, live, and serve effectively with others.”
Mauri Ditzler President
Above center: Jess Womack, ’65, retired inspector general of the Los Angeles Unified School District; Linda Yonke, ’75, superintendent of Illinois’ New Trier Township High School District 203; and Michael Milkie, CEO and superintendent of the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago, spoke at Commencement on May 6. Above right: Rachel Appel, ’19, clears brush in the New Jewish Cemetery in Wroclaw, Poland. Read about the Holocaust Studies Service-Learning Project’s recent trip on its blog: campus.albion.edu/poland17.
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The Big Reveal
ANOTHER CLASSIC FIND
For the Omega chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon, chartered at Albion College on January 1, 1927, a special addition has become part of a special anniversary. More than 100 members (alumni and students) and guests gathered in Ann Arbor in February to celebrate 90 years and recognize Omega as one of the fraternity’s longest continuing chapters. But the gala took on even more significance when, in the weeks leading up to the event, chapter advisor David Towne, ’97, learned from a member of a Texas chapter that an original 1926 copy of the successful petition for a TKE charter at Albion was available for purchase on eBay. “After a flurry of emails and some furious bidding, this document—which helped launch the whole enterprise nine decades earlier—was secured,” said Towne, adding that the efforts of Jason Kohut, ’97, and donations from several alumni helped the chapter purchase the document (left) that will be displayed in the chapter’s trophy case at Homecoming in October.
In a pivotal scene of the recent box-office hit Hidden Figures, NASA “human computer” Katherine Johnson cracks a problem that had plagued the early 1960s space flight team for months: how to control the space capsule’s re-entry trajectory. Johnson’s epiphany was an obscure 18th-century theorem she had first come across in graduate school—in a book written by 1894 Albion alumnus Forest Ray Moulton. “It was only after they referenced Moulton’s classic work on Euler’s theorem that they realized how to do the math to return John Glenn safely to Earth,” explains Albion physics professor Nicolle Zellner, a planetary scientist. Moulton, a member of the University of Chicago’s astronomy faculty for many years, published An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics in 1902; a first edition of the work (above) resides in the College Archives, and it was on display in a January event at the downtown Ludington Center during Hidden Figures’ run at the Bohm Theatre.
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Answering the Call At the start of this year, Dr. Teleah Phillips, ’04, joined Oaklawn Medical Group’s Albion office to start a family practice. This followed the completion of her residency in Coldwater after receiving her medical degree from Michigan State University. For 12 years, her husband, Rev. Donald Phillips, has led Albion’s historic Lewis Chapel AME Church, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2017. He became Albion College’s chaplain in 2015. Dr. Phillips on serving patients much closer to home: Serving the Albion
family, and for that we are eternally grateful.
community means serving my family, my friends, and my neighbors—the people who have shared this life journey to medicine with me, the people who prayed for me, encouraged me, and supported me along every step. I am proud to give back to the community that has given so much to me. Albion has become home for our
Rev. Phillips on serving two related yet distinct communities: “These roles bring together two themes that are very important to me: the education of young people and mentoring. My wife and I have spoken in the past about reaching out to the Albion College community to offer our support and spiritual care to students and staff. The position of chaplain allows that support to take place in an integrated way. It is a joy to bring my experience as an Albion community faith leader and representative to Albion College.”
N POINT Red-Hot The laser focus Emily Zgoda, ’17, often showed with her jump shot for the Britons is also evident as she sets her sights on her career.
Blues
“While most people pursue careers where they can help others, I believe occupational therapy gives me the opportunity to help people in a different way,” says the exercise science graduate who minored in psychology and was a member of the Institute for Healthcare Professions. “So many take fine motor skills— brushing teeth, brushing hair—for granted, but then something traumatic happens to take that away. I would love to help someone regain those life tasks they lost.” Zgoda’s plan is to pursue the occupational therapy program at Midwestern University in Chicago. It follows a senior year that included some standout moments on the court that helped the women’s basketball team to an 18-8 record, its best in five years. On December 30, Zgoda connected on all seven of her three-point attempts, scoring 36 points overall in a win over Earlham. She delivered a clutch overtime effort in Albion’s January 25 victory over sixth-ranked Hope, and on February 1 she set school records of 44 points and 13 three-pointers made in a triumph over Olivet.
See (and hear from Cliff Harris) what the buzz is about: go to albion.edu/iotriumphe for a video on Blues at the Bohm.
Already a community institution and extra-bright spot in Albion’s revitalization, Blues at the Bohm recently celebrated two years of bringing live music to the city. The brainchild of chemistry professor (and occasional performer) Cliff Harris, the monthly concerts feature regional bands along with pickup groups of local talent, and jam sessions that give everyone a chance to create what Harris (above right) describes as “true magic.” And while Harris is focused on culture and community enrichment, Bohm Theatre Executive Director Nancy Doyal says Blues is good for business, too. “It’s part of our earned revenue,” she says. “We get an average of 160 people, sometimes more than 300, coming out on a Monday night. No movie is going to do that.” Albion College faculty, staff, and students, including the entire Jazz Ensemble, have performed and are regular and enthusiastic audience members. “The more people who come, the more we can pay the bands,” Doyal says. “Blues at the Bohm is an incredible value for live music.”
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Albion 24/7
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emotional support animals were a part of student life during the 2016-17 academic year, including 12 dogs, 11 cats, two birds, and two rabbits.
MAKE IT
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A 5K run/walk in Victory Park on April 23, organized by Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, raised around $5,000 to help with a Marshall High School student’s medical expenses. 6 | Albion College Io Triumphe!
straight victories over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association opponents (including tournament games) for the men’s lacrosse team, which won its third consecutive league championship in May.
18,543 meals were packaged by more than 110 students April 1 in a Kids Coalition Against Hunger event led by the Student Volunteer Bureau. A third of the meals stayed in town, distributed at the Albion Food Pantry.
Faculty and staff logged the 9,000,000 meters needed to reach Albion’s Sister City by water in a springsemester-long voyage using the rowing machines in The Depot fitness facility. They “arrived” in Noisy-le-Roi, France, on May 2, just as finals were wrapping up.
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HEARD ON CAMPUS
Albion College mentors gave their time in the Marshall Public Schools this past year. Emily Budlong, ’19, and Jenna Urso, ’18, who developed the initiative, received the Michigan Campus Compact’s Commitment to Service Award in March. “You’re not doing VITA right if you aren’t enjoying it.”
– Maggie Troost, ’18, one of a dozen students who helped Albion community members prepare and file their taxes this spring through the College’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
I enlisted right after I turned 17 my senior year of high school and started training with a Reserve unit at Fort Custer. I shipped out for Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, right after graduation.
My current unit drills monthly out of a Reserve Center in Jackson. It’s a combination of classroom and hands-on training. We also have at least two field training exercises each year that last four days, at either Fort Custer or Camp Grayling. We also conduct two to three weeks of training annually; the location for this changes every year.
I signed a contract that requires six years of Active Reserve service. Once those six years are up in November, I’ll be transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve for two years, which means I will no longer drill or train but will remain on call for deployments if necessary.
My undergraduate work at Albion helped me develop the skills needed to manage my own personal and professional development throughout my life.
COLLEGE AND COUNTRY
Enrollment and enlistment yield dual rewards. Plymouth, Michigan, native Aaron Brown, ’17, was six years old on September 11, 2001. “The attacks are one of my earliest memories. I had wanted to join the military from then on,” says Brown, who transferred to Albion in 2015 and successfully balanced his responsibilities in class with his duties
in uniform. Now holding a degree in environmental science and economics and management—and the rank of Specialist—Brown is a wetland associate for Brooks Williamson and Associates, an Oakland County-based consultancy. Above, he shares more about his service commitment.
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A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE PROGRESS As biology professor Ruth Schmitter retires, Albion’s women in science acknowledge advances—and ongoing efforts.
By Jake Weber
Schmitter was also one of four faculty members who created Albion’s neuroscience concentration. “Neuroscience 2 was Ruth’s course, merging cell and molecular biology with neuroscience, and emphasizing clinical disorders,” says psychology professor Jeff Wilson, noting that Ruth trained the students on research and presentation skills important to future doctors. “That course pushed the students to become better consumers and purveyors of knowledge.”
Ruth Schmitter recalls feeling sad flying home after her job interview at Albion. “[Biology professor] Clara Dixon was retiring and I wished I could work with her,” Schmitter says. The feeling was more than mutual; Dixon postponed her retirement until 1985, for her one-and-only female colleague. Schmitter, who retired from the College this spring after 35 years on the faculty, has a unique appreciation of being both a teacher and mentor. A biology major at Michigan State University, Schmitter never encountered a female professor until graduate school, at the University of Edinburgh as a Fulbright Fellow. At Harvard University for her Ph.D., Schmitter and the only other woman in her cohort found themselves shut out of the casual camaraderie shared by their male counterparts. As a result, Schmitter places a high priority on inclusiveness, actively seeking out and encouraging women, people of color, and LGBT people among her peers and students. She does it not just because it’s right for people, but because it’s important to science. “I didn’t get to hear what they were thinking, but they also didn’t get to hear what I was thinking,” Schmitter says of her Harvard male peers. “Why would you throw away half the brains working on a problem?”
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Ruth Schmitter, who arrived at Albion in 1982, received the 2017 Mark Sheldon Putnam ’41 and Mildred Plate Putnam ’41 Faculty Mentoring Award at the College’s Honors Convocation in April. She received a standing ovation as well. It was an expression of “pure admiration and joy,” says biology professor Dan Skean. “Ruth has been a role model for many of us.”
A cell biologist with a specialty in electron microscopy and microanatomy, Schmitter worked closely with Albion students interested in medicine while having a significant impact on other academic programs. Elected to the founding Women’s Studies program committee, Schmitter subsequently served as its chair for several years. Not surprisingly, she codeveloped and taught the Women and Ethnic Minorities in Science course, one of her most treasured career accomplishments.
Beyond her Albion students, Schmitter took a keen interest in youth. She helped create and for several years taught a summer science program for underrepresented middle schoolers, and just this spring worked with College students to host EmpowHER, a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workshop for middleschool girls. “Ruth was hired at a time when there were very few female faculty, much less in the sciences. Today, almost 50 percent of the Albion College faculty, and about 30 percent of the science faculty, is female, above the national average,” said physics professor Nicolle Zellner during the EmpowHER event. “Role models are the single most important factor in retaining women in science, and female scientists who stay in faculty positions until retirement are the ultimate role models. We thank Ruth, for sticking around Albion College long enough for the rest of us to get here. Your presence is an inspiration to us all.”
Two Minutes with . . . JOHN WOELL
Albion’s associate provost coordinates many of the College’s most important initiatives. Io Triumphe!: I want to ask about your typical day, but it seems like you have your hands in a little bit of everything. Woell: I’m kind of a utility infielder. I’m in charge of faculty development and onboarding for new faculty; I’m provost designee on the faculty benefits and salary committee; I do external reviews for honors programs. For the last two years I’ve been engaged in strategic planning, and currently I’m chairing the plan’s facilitation and strategy team, moving new projects forward. I’m also involved with the College’s quality initiative that will build toward our reaffirmation of accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission in a few years. Speaking of years, can you believe you’ve been here for five already? It’s hard to believe. And I think in that time we’ve seen a shift in the way the College thinks of itself. When I started there was a broad sense that the College would work itself out of the repercussions from the [2008-09] recession. But there also were early roots of this idea that if the College was going to succeed, what was required was not just taking care of educational business, but forging
an intentional set of partnerships with the community that would enable a recovery for both. When President Ditzler arrived [in 2014], he was able to tap into that. I think he was the right person, in the right place, at the right time to capitalize on a number of things. He has a willingness to just try stuff. Like the Ludington Center downtown? Its exact location—a century-old corner building on the west side of Superior Street, adjacent to City Hall—seems to say a lot. The Ludington Center is a fascinating investment on the part of the College. Our charge was to create a space in which the College and the community can come together, and because our institutes and our Career and Internship Center have a publicfacing side, it made sense that they would be involved in that space. It opened in January, but it’s a project that will still be evolving over the next few years. We weren’t going to plan every square inch. A key facet of the new strategic plan is the positioning of Albion as an “exemplary liberal arts college.” What comes to mind when you hear that?
Traditionally in the Midwest, liberal arts colleges were created with a sense for social justice: provide a liberal arts education in your community, to a population that wouldn’t have access to it otherwise. It’s a mission about doing the right thing, and I believe it’s evident in our commitment to our community. If you revive the idea that a college can partner with a local community without overwhelming it, if you can make that work, that in itself is exemplary. Business mogul Mark Cuban says employers will seek liberal arts graduates more than ever in the coming years. Your thoughts? He’s absolutely right. He also needs to tell that to his HR and hiring managers. You’re starting to hear more voices, louder voices, particularly in the tech sector, that they require employees who have flexibility in thinking and are not cowed by a challenge they’ve never seen before. As we move into more of an entrepreneurial economy, the benefit of people who are good critical thinkers will be all the greater.
Holt, Michigan, native John Woell spent a few grad-student summers up north in Glen Arbor, where, he says, “I learned how to work really hard. At one point I was working four jobs at the same time—in a coffeehouse, as a short-order cook, in a kite shop, and teaching a class at Northern Michigan University.” Before coming to Albion, he was assistant dean of the Lloyd International Honors College at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and earlier taught philosophy and religion as religion department chair at Greensboro College. He holds degrees from Valparaiso University, Vanderbilt University, and Claremont Graduate University.
Interview by John Perney.
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D. BEJAR ILLUSTRATION
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi
This small slice of timeless wisdom, offered nearly a century ago, all but asks one to stop—not merely slow down—to absorb its meaning. That might be a little harder to do now in our lightning-fast, globally connected, social media-charged world. But when those dollops of downtime do come, pondering Gandhi’s words could lead to a few other things asked: What does it mean to serve today? Is it any different? Has it evolved? Does it adapt? A personal lost-and-found? Really? Answers to these questions are probably as individual as it gets. Or maybe they’re not meant to have answers. Either way, in the following (and preceding) pages, we hope these Albion snapshots of service—both big and small, direct and diffuse—can inform as well as entertain. And perhaps even serve as inspiration.
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Four Decades of the Ford Institute
In establishing the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Service at Albion College during a campus visit 40 years ago this fall, the 38th president of the United States said he believed it was “the duty of good men and women to enter public service as our best hope of strengthening the moral fiber not only in but outside government.” As a milestone academic year approaches, Io Triumphe! asked several alumni connected to today’s Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service to hit the pause button on their fastmoving, successful, and impactful careers and share thoughts about how their Ford and Albion experiences shaped them—and why the institute’s mission “to enhance student awareness, understanding, and appreciation of life’s public dimensions” remains so vital. Perhaps more so than ever.
Linking a President to the Present Joe Calvaruso, ’78 Executive Director, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Grand Rapids, Michigan
It was the first Monday in October, the start of Homecoming week, and in town and speaking in Goodrich Chapel that afternoon was one Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. The 1930s University of Michigan football star, Yale University law graduate, and onetime Albion College trustee had been elected to Congress 13 times as West Michigan’s Representative before becoming the only unelected person to serve as both U.S. vice president and president—a
historic outcome that only happens when an extraordinary reputation collides head-on with extraordinary circumstance. Eleven months earlier, Ford had lost a close race in his bid for a full presidential term to former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter. He flew in for the Albion event from his newly adopted state of California, where he had just spoken to a San Diego statewide gathering of 1,800 Republicans.
But the real star that weekend was Ronald Reagan. The Golden State’s former two-term governor, who thoroughly tested President Ford during the 1976 primary season, was showing more signs of growing into the Grand Old Party’s leading voice. Such was the backdrop for the Albion visit, where Ford was set to announce the first postpresidency educational venture in his name—the creation of
a new public service institute at the College, intended both for students already interested in that career path as well as for those who might not yet be certain where their liberal arts road will take them. “I wasn’t going to miss that,” remembers Joe Calvaruso, a senior economics major in fall 1977. There was a hiccup, however. Calvaruso had a quiz right
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Page 12, clockwise from top: Michigan state representative and Albion College trustee Dennis Cawthorne, ’62 (left), presents a congratulatory plaque to former trustee Gerald Ford shortly after his 1973 appointment as Vice President of the United States; Ford consults with the institute’s first director, former congressman Mike Dively (right); Ford announces the establishment of the institute on October 3, 1977; Ford at 1965 Commencement, during which he received an honorary degree from the College.
“I think President Ford would be pleased to know that, 40 years later, young people are learning about the legacy he left.” before the Ford event, courtesy of professor Maynard Aris. He was late getting to Goodrich, but, as they say, things have a certain way of working out. “If you were the last one to come in, you were the first to be in the balcony. So we got out first,” Calvaruso explains. “And I was able to shake President Ford’s hand and have a couple of words with him as he went across the campus.” That brief exchange with a past commander-in-chief evolved, over time, into a relationship with the party out of Southwest Michigan and Grand Rapids, where Calvaruso, who grew up in Albion, built a successful 29-year career in banking. Since 1981, Grand Rapids has also been home to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, and Calvaruso occasionally crossed paths with Ford, including at his 90th birthday bash, which Calvaruso helped plan. He also gave his time for Ford’s funeral following the 38th president’s passing on December 26, 2006 at age 93. Not long afterward, an interesting thing happened. Calvaruso, by this time a senior vice president at Mercantile Bank, was asked to consider making his volunteer service a much larger commitment.
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More than eight years later, “It’s an honor and privilege for me to serve as executive director of President Ford’s foundation,” he says. “I wasn’t looking for a job. I was enticed to leave banking not for pay, but because it was the right thing to do.” The right thing to do. For Calvaruso, it’s not just a sentiment, but a way to stay connected with Ford’s approach to public service, adding that it also best describes the action for which the Ford presidency is most remembered— the pardoning of his predecessor, Richard Nixon. “It was really about making the right call, not for pollsters saying it’s the right thing to do, but to heal the country,” Calvaruso says. “[Ford] made the decision and he probably wasn’t elected president because of it.” In leading the foundation (which, along with the museum, also oversees the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor), Calvaruso gets to share the story of Gerald Ford: born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., in Nebraska and enduring a tumultuous first year with his mother, Dorothy; the eventual Eagle Scout taking his adopted father’s name as a young adult;
serving in the Naval Reserve during World War II; his distinguished 25-year career in the House of Representatives, including nearly nine years as Minority Leader and serving on the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President John Kennedy. And that’s all before the whirlwind that was the mid-’70s. Calvaruso also gets to share the Ford legacy: Jerry’s 58-year marriage to Betty, one of America’s most important First Ladies; and the growing recognition of a president who was uniquely the right person in the right place at the right but very dark time (with acknowledgement to fellow House lion Thomas “Tip” O’Neill— longtime Speaker, Democrat, and Ford’s close friend—whose powerful quote says as much and more). Not only that, but a president who did the right thing. Indeed, according to Calvaruso, Ford took particular pride in the Profiles in Courage award he received from the Kennedy family in 2001. As an additional reward, Calvaruso gets to share the ongoing connection between Gerald Ford and Albion College. A friendship with Grand Rapids businessman and College trustee Jim Sebastian, ’32, led to Ford serving on the
board from 1962-68. While House Minority Leader, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Albion at 1965 Commencement. Later, Ford found a new link to Albion in Robert Teeter, ’61, a key adviser in the ’76 campaign who became one of the country’s most influential political polling experts. Ford kept tabs on his young institute as well and enjoyed watching it mature from afar. “I found out when I started at the foundation that he kept a file of Albion College in his desk drawer out in California,” says Calvaruso, adding that it now resides at the Ann Arbor library. “He was very proud of the fact that he was a trustee and had affiliations with Albion.” Calvaruso also stays in touch with the Institute as a member of its nine-member external advisory committee. While it may be another seat in the balcony, the view is unmistakable. “I think President Ford would be pleased to know that, 40 years later, young people are learning about the legacy he left,” Calvaruso says, “and that they are interested in dedicating their lives to public service.” —John Perney
Fordies at Work
Bill Sweeney, ’98 Staff Director, U.S. Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Washington, D.C.
Before moving into his current position at the start of this year, Sweeney rose through the staffing ranks (most recently as chief of staff) for three-term Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. What does the idea of service mean to you? Service is more than just picking trash out of a river or delivering meals to seniors. Service is something you live—it means being an engaged citizen and caring about your community. It means working hard to live a life
of putting the needs of others first. Service demands that we be active citizens. It means we set aside time to know what’s going on in our neighborhoods, our towns, our states, our country, and our world—and it requires that we get involved to make those places better places to live. What do you draw from the Ford Institute in your day-today career? They say you should do what you love, and I love to argue. I remember fantastic, epic
debates in my Ford classes. We learned to think deeply about where our opponents’ positions were coming from so we could persuade more effectively. Too often in politics today, people go to their corners and shout. It’s far more effective to take a minute to listen, put yourself in the other person’s shoes, and then make a passionate, well-reasoned case for your position. Congress hasn’t had a Gallup approval rating of at least 30 percent since 2009. What
drives you in your role against a backdrop like that? I can understand how people feel frustrated when they look at politics in our country. I’ve also been able to see how federal policies can affect people’s lives. We see it in health care, which is incredibly personal for families. We see it in farm policy, which affects what’s for sale in the supermarket or the farmers’ market. When you get a chance to talk to someone whose life was changed by some work we did, it keeps you going for a long time.
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Kathleen Beeton, ’93 Deputy Zoning Administrator Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs District of Columbia
From the heights of tree lines to the widths of crosswalks, and from a street address to a building’s egress, Beeton’s leadership in public policy and service is behind the scenes yet manifests itself in a community’s everyday pulse. After receiving her master’s from Rutgers University, her career in urban planning focused on Alexandria, Virginia, for 12 years before she crossed the Potomac in 2010. The phrase “serving the public” would seem to particularly apply in your line of work. Talk about it. Service is one of my core principles. As an urban planner working for local government,
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I have spent my professional career helping people plan their communities, understand the change that is occurring around them, and leverage it to provide public benefits and to improve the quality of life for the entire community. To work for the public is an honor and a privilege. I consider it part of my calling. How would you describe what you do in a nutshell? Urban planning seeks to involve all stakeholders to listen to their hopes, dreams, and concerns,
and to plan together for the future of the community. It often involves trade-offs, compromises, and concessions during the decision-making process. It succeeds when all participants— residents, business owners, elected and appointed officials— listen to and learn from one another as they make short- and long-term planning decisions. What do you carry with you from the Ford Institute? I was extremely fortunate to be at Albion when Kim Tunnicliff
was the Ford director. Much has been said about Kim in the years since his untimely death in 2011, but what left a lasting impression on me was his sense of fairness, of balance, and his ability to get me and my classmates to dig deep, to explore our thoughts and principles, to challenge us to consider others’ thoughts that were vastly different from our own, and to learn and to grow as a result. Kim was my earliest, and probably best, mentor. And he had a wickedly dry sense of humor.
Leslee Fritz, ’94 Pastor, Albion First United Methodist Church Albion, Michigan
Eight years ago, Io Triumphe! featured Fritz as Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm’s top official in administering the 2009 federal stimulus package during the Great Recession. She followed that up with a four-year run as deputy director for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. “I will never regret my decision to pursue this [state government] path,” she says, but adds, “I also felt a hollowness that grew to the point that I could no longer ignore it.” Years of volunteering, including as a lay pastor, in her church became her full-time job in 2016. And now, after a year and a half as an assistant pastor in East Lansing, she returns to Albion in July.
How did the Ford Institute help solidify your path toward service? The Ford Institute is what drew me to Albion College. As a 17-year-old, I knew I had been called by God to a life of service, but I had no idea what that meant. My experience with Ford opened my eyes to the unending array of possibilities to serve our community, our nation, and our world. Being surrounded by students with diverse backgrounds and interests ranging from environmental justice to missionary service to education was enriching and inspiring. Twenty-five years later, I remain committed to a life of service. My career path has taken many twists and turns, but the training I received through the Ford Institute—to see opportunities for public service in all aspects of life—has prepared me well. What a strange and wonderful journey it has been that has led me this way again.
Andrew Wakefield, ’04 Priest, Archdiocese of Washington Washington, D.C.
At the start of this decade, with a public policy master’s and a J.D. in hand from the University of Michigan, Wakefield was all set to embark on a successful career. But something was still missing. Fast-forward to today. “My understanding of service remains the same, but I better understand how I am called to do my part, specifically as a Catholic priest,” says Wakefield, who, after completing his six
years of seminary, was ordained as a deacon last summer at D.C.’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. It just so happens that Matthew is the patron saint of civil servants. On June 17, Wakefield was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Donald Wuerl. What Ford memory still sticks with you today? I remember Dr. Marcy Sacks’ Introduction to Public Service class in my first semester. It
helped me to understand that those who have been blessed with opportunities have a great responsibility to work to better other people’s lives. Her class helped direct my future academic and professional choices, toward striving to better understand the world around me, and I believe that it helped guide me into the seminary and now into the priesthood, for it instilled in me a desire to give of my life for others.
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The Ford Institute is planning special events in 2017-18 to commemorate its 40th anniversary year. For information, visit albion.edu/ford.
Taneeza Islam, ’00 Immigration and civil rights attorney, community advocate Sioux Falls, South Dakota
With a focus on immigration law, Islam was featured as one of “17 in ’17” at the start of the year by the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. She established her solo practice in 2013, the same year she was named a Leadership Fellow by the St. Paul, Minnesotabased Bush Foundation. That recognition followed her efforts as civil rights director for the state’s Council on American Islamic Relations chapter. Islam also recently launched a legal-incubator program that aims to accelerate the growth and success of small and solo-practice firms. She holds an M.A. from the School for International Training and a J.D. from Hamline University.
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How has the concept of service evolved for you since your undergraduate days at Albion? It was through the Ford Institute’s practicum phase that I was exposed to the idea of workers’ rights. I worked with an Albion community advocate to empower Yemeni immigrant workers with limited English proficiency at the meat processing plant. It was truly the foundation for the work I’ve continued to do. My exposure to workers’-rights issues is now coupled with my passion for justice. I represent clients in discrimination complaints to empower them to be their own voice—by knowing their rights in the workplace, in school, when interacting with law enforcement, etc. I truly believe that empowerment of our New American communities is what will effect social change from the grassroots level.
What makes the Ford program at Albion College so valuable? And vital? As we strive to create efficiency and focus on technical skills, the art of dealmaking will be lost. The art of having conversations based on social change, policy, and their impact will be lost. That’s why the Ford Institute and the liberal arts really are more important now than ever.
Christin Spoolstra, ’11 Deputy Country Director Caring for Cambodia Siem Reap, Cambodia
After her initial two-year commitment in Cambodia as a member of the Peace Corps, Spoolstra continued with the Corps for an additional year before joining Caring for Cambodia in 2014 as the education-focused nongovernmental organization’s on-the-ground point person for day-to-day operations. Service was a primary ingredient in Spoolstra’s Albion recipe— through leadership with the College’s Student Volunteer Bureau, as an intern for Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, and through such influences as Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience and the well-noted
efforts of Rev. Faith Fowler, ’81, with Detroit’s Cass Community Social Services. Where does your dedication to service come from? As a child, service was always a part of my family’s life. Whether it was volunteering at our church or tutoring at the local Boys and Girls Club, service was an accepted mandate: We are here to be of use to one another. We must always remember that service is but one part—albeit an essential component—of humanity’s fight for social justice. Every day we must “do our
little bit of good where we are” (Desmond Tutu), but we must never forget that the essential fight is within public policy for an enduring solution to all that creates the need for service. Albion and Ford may be half a world away, but what about them still resonate with you? For me, Albion was a place to learn and challenge myself to be a better, more informed citizen of the world. When I left Indiana for Michigan, I could have never imagined that I’d end up serving through the Peace Corps. And, yet, here I am, almost six years later, still in Cambodia because
Albion taught me how to learn to love and to serve the community where I am. We live in an increasingly unequal world, with that inequality directly perpetrated by national and global policy. We are in desperate need of serviceminded individuals: those who have entered their communities to serve, and who have struggled with the heart-wrenching paradox of being a part of both the problem and the solution. Service and public policy are messy, and the Ford Institute prepares students to roll up their sleeves and wade right in.
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Fordies En Route (Meet more at albion.edu/ford/ meet-our-students)
From the Home Office Patrick McLean joined the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service as director in 2013 after 25 years in the public policy arena, primarily in Ohio. Yet he was already quite familiar with Albion College—he almost matriculated, before choosing in the end the closer-to-home University of Dayton. “For the last 30 years I’ve wondered what would have happened had I come to Albion,” McLean says, adding that the last four years have been “like a second bite at the apple.” How do you connect Gerald Ford the person with the work of the Ford Institute? President Ford believed that in order to get things done, leaders had to be willing to roll up their sleeves and work with people of all political stripes. Similarly, the Institute is open to all majors and we aim to provide our students with an understanding of public
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policies and processes, and how those policies affect their fields of interest. I hope to make students realize that the decisions they make today have the power to influence them and the world in a very positive way if they’re thoughtful about what they do. Associate Director Eddie Visco, ’06, became a Teach for America fellow in Philadelphia following his graduation and later worked on the staff of congressman Mark Schauer in Michigan’s 7th District. Visco returned to Albion as part of the Ford Institute staff in 2011. Talk about the Institute’s ongoing appeal and impact. What are Albion and Ford doing right? As a student, what attracted me here was the real-world
Jacob Lyday, ’17 Bay City, Michigan
Jasmine Maddox, ’20 Atlanta, Georgia
Lyday will attend the Michigan State University College of Law following an Albion experience that included a summer 2016 stint on the editorial board of the Detroit Free Press as the Joe Stroud Intern in Journalism and Policy. (Stroud, the newspaper’s editor from 1973-98, also served as Ford Institute director.)
Maddox has identified education policy and immigration law as areas of interest, and she has been in contact with the City of Albion’s Recreation Department as well as the local chapter of the American Association of University Women.
Why did you choose Ford? It really embodied what I wanted out of a college education, namely a dedication to public policy and a commitment to student success. The Ford Institute opened up opportunities for me that I couldn’t have even imagined.
What has been your most influential moment thus far at Albion? Being in my Intro to Public Service class, and hearing my peers express interest in situations that matter to me; hearing them be very vocal on issues in their communities that they strive to be the change for. Gotta love Fordies!
opportunities that complemented the classroom learning: participating in volunteer projects, hearing from renowned speakers, and completing an impressive internship. As a staff member, it is that experiential learning that we highlight, and it continues to excite prospective students. They’ve learned how the federal government operates, done some volunteering, and seen different public service jobs portrayed on TV. As Ford students, they become actual public servants. That jump from observational to experiential learning is the core of the Ford Institute.
Patrick McLean (left) and Eddie Visco, ’06, in Robinson Hall next to the statue of Gerald Ford that was presented to the College in 2011 by Susan Ford Bales, the president’s daughter, at the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids. It’s a scale-model version, or maquette, of the statue that stands in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington.
Capital Connection A 1969 alumnus serves as a beloved bridge between Albion and D.C.
John Hunter was made an honorary “Fordie” this past April. And while he has enjoyed other accolades and accomplishments in a distinguished public service career over many years in Washington, it’s possible few have been as humbling as this. “I was deeply honored,” he says. “It means a great deal to me.” Then he smiles broadly. “Maybe that gives me a little more credibility.” Hunter doesn’t need more credibility. He has earned it year after year since graduating in 1969 with a degree in political science. But his Albion roots run deep, starting well before his first class. His parents, Bob and Alice, were 1940 alumni and made sure he understood there was more to life than just getting good grades. “They were both very civicminded in Muskegon,” Hunter says of their hometown. “There was always a sense of community service and helping others. It was a way of life.” And since 2009, Hunter has used his station in life, his connections in Washington, and his love and
respect for the Ford Institute to provide a taste of what the life might be like. Every spring he welcomes Ford seniors to the nation’s capital and shows them a little about how it works, who lives there, and, perhaps most important, how others from Albion have also come and made it work. Hunter, an official at the Federal Communications Commission, arranges a tour at C-SPAN as well as visits with various D.C. movers and shakers. One year, it was Evan Thomas, an author and former editor of Newsweek. This spring, the students met with Paul Altidor, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States. Hunter also helps invite area alumni to have dinner with the Ford seniors, a rewarding opportunity for the alums to offer advice and let students know that if they decided to work there, there are Albion Britons nearby who can help. “Harry Truman used to say, ‘If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog,’” Hunter says. “D.C. is a tough town, so it’s nice to find an alum who can be your friend.” The trip to D.C. has become the highlight of the school year for the Fordies.
John Hunter, ’69 (seated), with Ford seniors at the C-SPAN studio during the institute’s April 2017 trip to Washington. “We are so fortunate to have John in our circle,” says Amy Everhart, ’08, who recently joined the Institutional Advancement Office after three years as Ford Institute coordinator. “He is a mentor and an incredibly warm and authentic person. People just gravitate toward him.” Hunter’s time in Washington spans decades. As an Albion junior, he worked as a summer intern for his own mentor, Michigan congressman Guy Vander Jagt (a colleague and close friend of House Minority Leader, Vice President, and President Gerald Ford). Hunter later earned his law degree at George Washington University;
in 2006, after years of practicing private law, he joined the FCC, where he is now chief policy counsel. Hunter is also now, officially, a Fordie. But he has long been impressed with the institute and the students who become leaders, policymakers, and public servants. “They are so committed and so capable when it comes to public service,” he says. “They seem very substantive and dedicated to finding solutions. I wanted to see them come to D.C. and get them involved. They’re the future, and I’m honored to do this.” —Chuck Carlson
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GETTING IN THE GAME The decision to run for office and the task of governing are anything but simple—especially when they weren’t even on the radar in college. By Jake Weber Thinking about it? Didn’t go through the Ford Institute? Don’t fret. Meet four alums below who took a combined zero political science and public policy classes at Albion, yet have found rewards in elected office while still holding day jobs in hospital administration, banking, fiscal management, and a family business. For everyone else who is certain they will never ask for the public’s vote on a ballot, read on. The insights that follow may be surprisingly useful someday.
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THE PLAYERS Jessica Thomas, ’03 Member of Birmingham (Michigan) Public Schools’ Board of Education since 2012
Nick Shelton, ’08 Amna Seibold, ’79 Mayor of East Grand Rapids, Michigan, since 2011
A biology major at Albion, Seibold is currently director of pathology at Mercy Health, Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids. The daughter of a longtime East Grand Rapids city council member, Seibold began her governmental involvement in 2000. Seventeen years later, she is in her second term as mayor. “There was an opening on the planning commission [in 2000]. I didn’t think I could do it, but the mayor, a woman, said, ‘We’re looking for good minds and people who care about our city.’ The more I got involved, the more I realized I liked it.”
Mayor of Niles, Michigan, since 2016
With his father, grandfather, and uncle, Niles native Shelton works for Shelton Farms, a wholesale produce distribution company and retail farm market in the community. He made his first foray into politics when the mayor opted not to run again after being in the position since 1999. “In 2016, people were excited about change, and I felt like I was someone who could foster a positive change in Niles. I saw an opportunity to make an instant positive impact by inspiring people to get active and involved.”
Rob Sisson, ’82
President of ConservAmerica; former mayor of Sturgis, Michigan From 2003-2016, Sisson was a member of the Sturgis City Commission, which included two terms as mayor. After a 22-year career in banking, he joined ConservAmerica, a national 501c4 organization that works to advance conservative solutions to environmental problems. In 2017, Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Sisson to Michigan’s new Environmental Justice Work Group. “When I was mayor, I spoke at a climate policy event on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in 2005. The national media made a big deal out of the fact I was the only elected Republican official who spoke that day, and that lit the spark inside me that I might make a bigger impact working in the field of conservation politics.”
As a strategic turnaround advisor, Thomas works with municipalities and school districts to correct operational deficiencies and return these entities to financial health. She currently serves as the consent agreement consultant for the Charter Township of Royal Oak, and on the Lincoln Park Receivership Transition Advisory Board as an independent consultant. “I was always involved in my daughter’s school; I was part of the strategic planning group and I sat on a foundation board for the district. But I said, ‘No, not me’ for four years before I decided to run as a write-in candidate. The timing was right and the skill set I had matched the goals for the community.”
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OUT IN FRONT VS. IN THE BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE VS. ENTHUSIASM Newcomers to politics would be mistaken to think that elected office is “business as usual.” The accountability factor alone does away with that notion. But certainly there are times when professional skills and career experiences come into play as assets. Sisson says he was inspired to offer his financial expertise in public service, and Seibold sees direct connections between hospital and municipal administration. She insists, though, that there is also plenty of room for spirit and zeal in governance. “Don’t be afraid to participate just because you don’t know how something works,” Seibold says. “If you wait until you ‘know it all’ before joining, you will never participate. Put your oar in the water and start paddling; you will figure it out.” That sentiment would seem to speak to the flexibility and adaptability that comes with a liberal arts education, qualities also alluded to by Thomas. “Most elected officials are not professional accountants or attorneys,” she says. “They’re passionate, but they are also expected to make decisions when sometimes they don’t have a lot of knowledge.” Enthusiasm has proven to be the key ingredient for Shelton, before and after his swearing in. “I didn’t, and still don’t, believe experience is necessary to be the mayor or a council member,” he says. “It takes passion, love for your city, and a willingness to serve your neighbors.”
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Once elected, many things previously not given much thought move to “important” status in the eyes of the officeholder. Perhaps they can be encapsulated by catch-alls such as “serving the people” or “overseeing public services.” But prioritization may be the biggest “important” of all, and that’s where personal stamps on leadership emerge. Thomas and Seibold point to behind-thescenes mandates, focused on budgeting and infrastructure, as big priorities. “Seldom do people drive down the road and think, ‘Wow, the sewer pipes seem to be removing our waste efficiently,’” Seibold muses. “But it’s my job to think about stuff most people don’t think about, and drive the infrastructure plan that keeps our city a great place to live.” Shelton, meanwhile, sees his strongest contributions through direct communication with constituents. “I’ve made it a point to put myself in front of Niles residents via Facebook and Twitter, and at public events,” he says. “When they have a question or concern, they are able to easily reach out. People want information, and I have a desire to deliver that information.” Sisson explains that the job of facilitator, honed over more than a decade in local government, is equally critical to his environmental advocacy. “When I was mayor I always opened controversial public debate by reminding people that we were all in the meeting for the same purpose,” he says, adding that environmentalism is equated too often with liberalism, when people of all political leanings value the same things. “I haven’t met a single conservative who doesn’t want clean air, clean water, and beautiful national parks,” he says. “As long as we keep the common goal in mind, we can have a civil, productive discussion.”
AT ITS CORE, IT’S COMMUNICATION Effective and stirring (and winning!) campaign messaging is one thing. But after transitioning into the role of elected official, everything changes. For starters, the candidate is now a public servant. Also, the messaging apparatus belongs to the public—in 2017, that apparatus boasts many fast-moving parts, and the people expect them to be in sync. “A tornado hit Niles in February. I spent the evening in the trenches with fire and police departments, disseminating information via Facebook, Twitter, and text [message],” recalls Shelton, who has discovered that residents still see him as a point of contact. “Every day I get a message, comment, or post, and I go to work to find an answer. This has been the biggest part of the job, even though it isn’t part of the job description.” “Some of the best money we have spent has been to ensure that [East Grand Rapids] is using a wide variety of communication tools,” Seibold says. “Newspapers don’t have the readership nor the coverage that they used to have. Any city that isn’t using social media and other communication tools will find that they are missing key opportunities to connect with citizens.”
HAVING A SEAT AT THE TABLE The importance of diversity among decisionmakers can’t be overstated, but sometimes it can be overlooked. During his tenure with Sturgis, Sisson made sure to reach out to people of diverse opinion. “I’ve always encouraged the most vocal critics of local government to run for office, and as mayor I appointed several to city boards,” he remembers. “Once inside, they learn the facts and are some of the best messengers at the ‘shadow governments’ in local coffee shops.” Encouraging others to be part of the solution is something Seibold also holds dear. In particular, she says, “I find that women often hold back until they receive encouragement to run for office or sit on a board. I try to provide encouragement and let people know that in city government, as in most things in life, you learn as you go and get better only with experience.” A single issue or concern that puts a person in direct contact with someone already serving the public can be enough to light the spark. “Helping people resolve a conflict can lead to them getting engaged,” Thomas says, adding, “Being an African American on the school board in a predominantly white district, I think I’m inspiring people to come out and discuss issues because they feel their concerns can be understood in ways they weren’t in the past.” In Niles, it’s the addition of a younger voice that has led to added perspective in the civic circle. “I’m the only millennial on our council,” says Shelton, and he has already cast the deciding vote on an issue that skewed along generational lines: a proposal to allow food truck vending in the city. “Food trucks will attract more people, especially millennials, to our area,” Shelton says. “They’re pumped about the food truck scene.”
FINDING CHEMISTRY IN CIVIC LIFE: ANDREW FRENCH After arriving in Albion as an assistant professor in 1997, French’s community engagement began with his appointment to an Albion Public Schools special committee in 2002. It continued with his selection as Kids ’N’ Stuff Children’s Museum board chair (succeeding College First Lady Becky Mitchell) and election, in 2010, to the Albion City Council. Now serving as the College’s director of community action and special assistant to the president, French helped create the Build Albion Fellows Program (albion.edu/fellows) and is also director of the downtown Ludington Center (albion.edu/ludington-center). Here, he offers thoughts about his multifaceted career of service. Scientists and leaders have to be able to make good decisions with available data. If you lack an understanding of how to use data, you make poor decisions. Conversely, if you do not have access to good data, you often have to use your intuition to make decisions, and that can go south pretty quickly. I have done both kinds of decision-making in my research and teaching career, as well as in everyday life. With “data-less” decisions, I used experiences and decisions made in other arenas to fill in some of those data gaps. My intuition grew better as I made more decisions. As a chemist, even a failed experiment tells us something, so the more experiments I did, the better I was at predicting success. The skills learned over a 30-year career in the lab and classroom help me in the political realm of city government. That ability to use data, to trust data as a pathway to good decision-making, is vital. But, it is equally vital to use “softer” methods—attitude, opinion, emotion, passion—in making decisions. Regardless of one’s field of study, we all get better at making decisions the more we make them. A residential liberal arts college, with folks from all walks of life and experiences, gives us a wonderful laboratory to try things, evaluate results, think critically, and bring disparate ideas together to make decision-making better.
Sometimes, it can be as simple as that. Andrew French, who received his B.S. from Ohio Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, was one of 20 senior college administrators selected this spring by the Council of Independent Colleges to participate in its yearlong Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program.
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Shear Luck
Alumni winds can blow in mysterious ways. Unaware of each other at Albion, two early ’70s math grads are leading weather and renewable-energy advances in Colorado. By Chuck Carlson On the outskirts of Denver, where civilization marches toward the mountains to the west and where the winds sweep down toward the endless open plains to the east, Stan Benjamin, ’73, and Michael Milligan, ’74, have been studying weather and energy, two subjects that have always been intertwined but which are now inextricably linked. The world has changed in the four decades since the two men graduated from Albion, both with mathematics degrees but each with a desire to do more than simply work with numbers. And in those years, the two men, who did not know each other at Albion, have found that their work operates on different, but parallel, tracks. Milligan is principal analyst for the Power Systems Engineering Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden. His job is to work with power companies around the world and help them move toward using renewable energy, most specifically wind energy. Benjamin is chief of the Assimilation Development Branch of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Lab (ESRL) in Boulder. Long interested in weather, he helped to create a new rapid-refresh model for NOAA that, in turn, creates more accurate weather forecasts. The fields of weather and renewable energy don’t exist in a vacuum—at least not anymore. Both Benjamin and Milligan have seen how each subject requires the support of the other if they are to answer the massive questions posed by everything from climate change to sustainable energy resources. “We [at ESRL] have this great responsibility, and it’s to make weather forecasting better,” Benjamin says. “We know we have an impact for decisions regarding aviation safety and severe weather and renewable-energy forecasting, and that’s sobering and exciting at the same time.” Milligan says he and his NREL team feel no less of a responsibility. “In a few years a significant percentage of energy must come from renewable sources [in the U.S.],” he explains. “I think it’s an important step and it’s not the only thing. Climate change and pollution in general are the key things that convince states to change their standards.”
Thirty states already have, in fact. “Change is inevitable,” Milligan adds. “It’s already happening. States realize this is coming and we have to realize how to make it work.”
Sheer Talent, Distinct Directions Whether they could have forecast it or not, the scientists’ areas of expertise have evolved naturally after their Albion experience served as the catalyst more than 40 years ago. For Benjamin, it’s a fascination with the purity of math and weather that requires precise forecasting. For Milligan, it’s the unlimited potential of computers as well as the intriguing future of renewable energy. Both have spent their careers trying to solve their respective riddles, making each more accessible. “Computing, observations, and atmospheric science have all advanced a lot,” says Benjamin, who along with a team of 50 other researchers developed the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR), a state-of-the-art weather model that is now being used by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (part of the National Weather Service) to help forecast weather conditions. “We’ve had a dramatic increase in
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“It turned out to be exactly the right moment for me,” says Milligan of the career realization. “NREL hadn’t really done any work on how to prepare for solar and wind energy. It was really good timing.” Since then he has watched America slowly, sometimes grudgingly, move toward renewable energy, especially as acceptance of climate change has continued to grow.
Stan Benjamin, ’73 (left), and Michael Milligan, ’74, stand outside the National Wind Technology Center, located five miles south of Boulder, Colorado, and part of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Hear more from Benjamin and Milligan about their work in weather and renewable energy, respectively—find links to videos at albion.edu/iotriumphe.
computing. It allows us to solve these math equations more precisely.” HRRR, which became operational in 2014, is viewed by many in the field as a weather-forecasting game-changer, according to Benjamin. In a video explaining the model, he says it can produce hourly weather updates and observe atmosphere, land, and sea conditions by using up-to-theminute data accumulated from satellites, radar, weather balloons, and commercial aircraft. “All these together allow us to see the current condition of the atmosphere,” Benjamin says. For example, the ability to pinpoint rotating thunderstorms that could turn into tornadoes has increased dramatically. So has the ability to predict winter storms, flash floods, and other potential weather issues.
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“This hourly updating weather modeling is unique in the whole world, and it’s based on the fact that the U.S. has a lot of severe weather incidents both in winter and summertime,” Benjamin says. “The HRRR improves forecasts for those events, and advances wind and solar forecasting as well.” Milligan, meanwhile, had returned to his native Colorado after graduating from Albion and spent time writing software for county government, before taking his interest and knowledge of computers to a local electric power company. Along the way, he developed an interest in economics and eventually earned his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He was teaching economics at Colorado State University in the early 1990s when he chose to accept a sabbatical at the Renewable Energy Lab.
“When I started 25 years ago, in the whole country we had 2,000 megawatts of wind energy and it was all in California,” Milligan says. Now, he estimates the U.S. has 80,000 megawatts of wind energy and Texas is the leader.
“I was looking at the program and I saw Michael’s name and Albion College, and my eyes got wide,” Benjamin remembers. “It was a wonderful common point. We talked about the importance of Albion in our careers. It was two Albion students in Colorado. We said, ‘We’re rare animals these days.’” Milligan recalls the meeting: “We had a good time talking about Albion. He said, ‘I saw a bio and I saw Albion and I thought it was my bio,’ and I said, ‘No, it wasn’t.’” Even more ironic is that the new friends had chosen fields that would find them working toward similar purposes.
“And the state of Iowa gets 30 percent of its electricity from wind,” he adds. “We’ve done a lot of work on both wind and solar, but we also work on geothermal. My work is to find how to provide power for systems when you have a lot of different sources. We think we can get to 80 percent of electricity from renewables, maybe even higher than that.”
“With renewable energy, to have accurate forecasts is important,” Benjamin says. “We work with aviation folks a lot, and we work with pilots in terms of how much fuel they need to load. They have an estimate on what the winds will be that they’ll encounter during flight. If the estimate is wrong, that can waste energy because they take too much fuel.”
It was the combination of a concern for the future and a desire for data and answers that allowed Milligan and Benjamin, who crossed paths in just a single Albion class despite sharing the same major one year apart, to finally meet some seven years ago.
“Energy managers have the same problem with renewable fuel,” Benjamin continues. “Will customers have adequate power? Folks are making decisions like that every day, and it’s based on weather forecast models.”
Swept Up in Coincidence The two men were invited to speak at a conference in the Denver area that focused on weather and renewable energy.
That the two did not become friends on the small campus in Michigan isn’t all that unusual. That they never recalled even meeting despite sharing the same major? That borders on extraordinary. Benjamin, who followed his father and grandfather in becoming an
Albion was very important in setting the stage for me. It was a time of exploration, and Albion allowed that to take place.” alum, was drawn to Albion from the Washington, D.C., suburb of Kensington, Maryland. “I think I decided there was an appeal to the liberal arts education and not solely being a math nerd at that point in time,” he says. Though he had planned to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Albion seemed a little more exotic at the last second.” Milligan made it to Albion much earlier. At age 10, he moved to town when his father, Merle, was hired to teach at the College. He was back living in Colorado and attending Colorado State when the thought of transferring to Albion first entered his mind. “I started in engineering and I got frustrated my freshman year that the rest of my curriculum was already planned out for me,” he says. “My dad said, ‘You should think about a liberal arts college.’ And I said, ‘Why not?’”
Circling Back to Campus With each arriving from faroff states, it seemed to set up perfectly for a college friendship that would span dozens of years. Yet it didn’t work out that way. Neither remembers taking a class together, running into each other at the dining hall, or even passing each other on the Quad.
“I did get my yearbooks out, and I didn’t find any pictures of Stan and found just one of me,” Milligan says with a laugh. “We have no memories of each other. I can’t come up with a place where our paths crossed.” “I just took the classes,” Benjamin adds. “I was enjoying the breadth of courses at Albion.” Interestingly enough, each remembers the same Albion math professor who meant so much to him. Brian Winkel was part of a four-professor department that also included John Wenzel, Ron Fryxell, and the late Keith Moore. “Their paths didn’t cross socially,” Winkel says. “I just don’t remember them meeting. Even then they were straight arrows all the way through. The social scene just wasn’t terribly important to them.” Yet Winkel, who is now retired and living in Cornwall, New York, after teaching 16 years in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point, remembers each being singleminded in his desire to succeed. Benjamin was more interested in pure math, while Milligan was more drawn to computer applications and writing software. Winkel actively supported both as they discovered their passions and
paths as undergraduates. Benjamin, intrigued by a master’s program at Penn State University, asked Winkel to write a letter of recommendation. The professor did, and eventually Benjamin earned his master’s and Ph.D. in meteorology. Winkel also offered advice to Milligan. “I was always worried Mike was [majoring in math] because his old man wanted him to,” he recalls. Milligan, at one point, might not have disagreed with that sentiment. “My dad taught math at Albion and I hated math for a long time,” he says. “But I started studying it at CSU and said, ‘This isn’t so bad after all.’” In the end, it appears the two did, in fact, have a class together. But not with Winkel. It was with Fryxell, who managed to go back in time and find an old grade book from his 1972 fallsemester course on probability and statistics. There, among the 13 students in the class, were the names of Benjamin and Milligan, taking the same class at the same time. Asked if he still had their grades, Fryxell, who retired in 2002 and still lives in Albion, laughs. “I do but it might be embarrassing,” he says. “I have a class participation grade and Michael definitely got an A in that part.”
Prevailing Notions From Albion, Benjamin and Milligan went their separate ways for years. But for the last two decades or so, they have lived and worked perhaps 15 miles from each other. They admit even now they don’t make a point of getting together to socialize. While career breezes eventually brought them together, the gusts of their demanding schedules make meetups infrequent. Before connecting for a photo in May, Benjamin says the last time they saw each other was in September at a forecasting conference in Denver. But both still recall the key role Albion College played in generating energy for their interests that would define their careers. “Albion was great from an intellectual point of view,” Milligan says. “I was in a lot of stuff and I met a lot of good friends. It was a great environment.” “Albion was very important in setting the stage for me,” Benjamin adds. “It was a time of exploration, and Albion allowed that to take place.” And, for both men, the exploration continues.
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Chronicling a Lifetime of Service The name Washington Gardner looms large in Albion. Yet there was no definitive biographical account of his life. A newly published senior honors thesis changes that.
I
t would not be far-fetched to suggest that every single Albion College student, professor, and staff member in the last 130 years has at least heard of Washington Gardner. “Of course, the old high school,” many might say. And that might be all they could offer. After all, he passed away in 1928. But what about Gardner the man? The Ohio-born Civil War veteran (severely wounded at the Battle of Resaca in Georgia) had studied, practiced law, and entered the ministry over a 20-year period in four states when he arrived in Albion in 1887 as pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Two years later he joined the Albion College faculty. Gardner made the community his home base for the rest of his life even as his career grew statewide and national in
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stature: as Michigan secretary of state, six-term congressman, candidate for governor, commanderin-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, and federal commissioner of pensions. The school on East Michigan Avenue was named for Gardner one month before his death at the age of 83. He is buried in Albion’s Riverside Cemetery, and his name endures in town to this day. But history and political science major Christopher Herweyer, ’17, was intrigued that Gardner’s life story had not been compiled into a single, detailed volume. It became the subject of his honors thesis. A chapter (including endnotes) of The Life and Times of Washington Gardner is excerpted here—focusing on Gardner’s fruitful period in the 1890s that included his five years as a College professor.
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The Transformative Decade in the Central Building (what is now Robinson Hall). While the damage to the building was minimal, the threat of future incidents spurred the college to seek the funds for a new chemistry laboratory. 3
y accepting the professorial position at Albion College, Gardner, for the first time in over twenty years, was committing himself to a permanent home. In ten short years, he would be catapulted from being a liberal arts college professor to Michigan Secretary of State and then to Congress. Although he had not previously run for elected office, this career change allowed Gardner to consider a future in politics. Gardner lectured and taught with distinction at Albion College from the fall semester of 1889 until roughly halfway through the spring semester of 1894. Gardner taught on subjects relating to Biblical History and Literature, stemming from his experience as a pastor and an orator. 1
The job for obtaining these funds fell to Professors Delos Fall and Washington Gardner. By June of 1892, Gardner and Delos Fall persuaded McMillan to donate $20,000 to the college for the construction of a chemical laboratory. 4 After the cost of constructing the laboratory was appraised by the college, it was found that $24,800 would be necessary, and Gardner, who had traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss that matter with McMillan, successfully convinced McMillan to increase his donation to cover the full cost of the laboratory. 5
Gardner used his experiences and connections to benefit the college as well. During his time in the army, in college, and in professional life, he had rubbed elbows with many people throughout the Midwest that were now in positions of power and prestige. Having made these connections over the years, Gardner was able to use them to his new home’s advantage, obtaining three major donations to the college. 2
Construction of the McMillan Laboratory was completed rapidly, and the chemistry department began holding classes early the next year. The McMillan Laboratory was built solely with the funds that Senator McMillan donated to the college and was used to teach chemistry from 1893 to 1969. The McMillan Laboratory would leave an indelible mark on the college for the next 75 years. 6
The first, and most impactful, of these donations was from U.S. Senator James McMillan of Michigan. On January 6, 1892, the college’s chemistry lab caught fire
As a professor at Albion, Gardner obtained two other major grants for Albion College. Due to efforts made by Gardner, U.S. Representative and future
Michigan Governor Aaron T. Bliss donated money to the college for the construction of a new library. Unfortunately, this library was never built and presumably the money donated was put toward other needs the college had. 7 The other major donation that Gardner solicited was from former-U.S. Senator Thomas W. Palmer. Palmer’s donation helped set up an endowed lectureship through the college that continued at least through to the time when Palmer received an honorary LL.D. from the college in 1905. 8 These three donations that Gardner solicited while a professor are remarkable given the relatively brief time that Gardner taught at Albion College. After having served one year in his professorial position, Washington Gardner decided to try his hand at
Professor Gardner secured the funds to build McMillan Laboratory, which was home to the College’s Chemistry Department from 1893-1969. It was located in the area of the Quad now occupied by Olin Hall. Previous page: Gardner during his time as an Albion College professor.
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Gardner served in the House of Representatives, for Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, from 1899 to 1911.
running for political office in the fall of 1890. As a Republican in the State of Michigan, winning the Republican nomination was almost tantamount to victory for any statewide office. Since the Civil War, no Democrat had been elected Governor of Michigan save one who was elected under a fusion ticket with the Greenback Party. When Gardner was officially nominated by the Republican Party to be Michigan Secretary of State, it seemed as though his victory was a foregone conclusion. In the end it was not meant to be. 9 More so than any time since the Civil War, the Election of 1890 was an awful year for the Republican Party. The country was reacting negatively to what was perceived to be an utterly poor handling of the national budget on the part of the Republican Party under
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President Benjamin Harrison. As a result, not only did the number of seats the Republicans controlled in the U.S. House fall from 175 to 86, but state and local elections heavily favored the Democrats as well. Gardner’s race for Michigan Secretary of State remained close. Whereas the new Democratic governor was elected by a margin of over 11,000 votes, the final result in Gardner’s race had his opponent, Daniel E. Soper, at 180,855 votes to Gardner’s 178,149. This vote margin, with third-party candidates included, amounted to a 0.7% difference. 10 The Republicans may have lost in Michigan in 1890, but Washington Gardner remained secure at Albion College. Two years later, the Republicans managed to take back many of the positions they had lost during the previous election cycle, but Gardner was not among these Republicans. It appeared that Gardner had missed his one best opportunity to be elected into office, but his luck changed in 1894 when he was thrust into the position he had sought four years earlier. On March 20, 1894, Republican Governor John Tyler Rich appointed Washington Gardner as Michigan Secretary of State pending the removal from office of John W. Jochim, who had been duly elected in 1892. Gardner was allowed to resign his professorial position at Albion
to take up his appointment, which proved fortuitous, as the next three decades of Gardner’s life were directly impacted by this decision. At the time, the Secretary’s duties were to oversee elections, administer some of the functions of the state government, and to publish biannually an official directory and legislative manual, herein referred to as the Michigan Manual. As Secretary of State, Gardner made a salary of $800, which in today’s valuation amounted to over $20,000 per year and as secretary, became entitled to the title “Honorable” for the rest of his life. 11 Having been appointed Secretary of State, Gardner, whose term was set to expire in nine months, sought to be elected in his own right. As an incumbent Secretary of State, Gardner was able to secure the Republican nomination. The 1894 elections proved to be a watershed year for the Republicans. The party recaptured both houses of Congress and, in Michigan, Republican control was solidified. What had been a close election in 1890 was no longer the case in 1894. Gardner, now forty-nine years old, was elected to a full term as Michigan Secretary of State with a vote of 235,225. His nearest competitor, Democrat Lewis E. Irland, received only 126,695 votes. At the county level, Gardner only lost in Mackinac, Manitou, and Presque Isle counties. 12
Biographical sketch of Washington Gardner, Alumni, Trustees, and Donor Files, Washington Gardner Folder, Albion, MI. Ibid. Albion College Special Collections, “A Day in the Life – November 14, 2008,” The Pink and Green, WordPress, November 14, 2008, http://campus. albion.edu/specialcollections/tag/mcmillan-chemical-laboratory/. The Pink and Green is a blog that has been published at times by the Albion College Special Collections. Albion College’s Olin Hall exists at the original location of the McMillan Laboratory. 4 Albion College, Year Book of Albion College for 1892-93, Albion College Press, 1893, 16. 5 Washington Gardner, Letter to Delos Fall, June 17, 1892, Letter, from Albion College Special Collections, http://campus.albion.edu/specialcollections/ files/2010/07/McMillanLetter1.pdf. McMillan’s donation was the largest single donation the college had ever received. 6 Henry B. Passenger, “Albion’s McMillan Chemical Laboratory to be Razed,” News from Albion College, Newsletter, December 19, 1969, http://campus. albion.edu/specialcollections/files/2010/07/McMillanRaze_12.19.691.pdf. The laboratory was ultimately torn down on Christmas 1969. 7 Biographical sketch of Washington Gardner, Alumni, Trustees, and Donor Files, Washington Gardner Folder, Albion, MI. See also: plaque on wall at 3rd floor of Mudd Library, Albion College, detailing the transformations Albion College’s libraries have gone through throughout Albion’s history. 8 Ibid. See also: Albion College Library, “Albion College Commencements (1851-Present): Speakers, Speeches, Honorary Degrees,” website, http:// campus.albion.edu/library/archives-and-special-collections/histories-and-timelines/commencements/. 1 2 3
Gardner’s popularity continued to grow and he had no trouble getting renominated in 1896 to a second full term in office. The Election of 1896 resulted in the election of Republican William McKinley as President of the United States over DemocraticPopulist Fusion candidate William Jennings Bryan. Many other Democratic candidates at the state level were fusion candidates with the Populist Party in 1896 as well. This was the case in Michigan and it made the 1896 Michigan elections significantly closer than they had been in 1894. Nevertheless, Gardner won a second term as Secretary of State, this time with 294,525 votes to Democratic-Populist Alman G. Bruce’s total of 235,251 votes. 13 Although Washington Gardner had been elected to a second full term as Secretary of State, one thing that certainly got under his skin was that his district’s representative to Congress was a Democrat as a result of the Election of 1896. Albert M. Todd, the “Peppermint King of Kalamazoo,” was one of the few Democratic-Populist candidates in Michigan who won in 1896. His victory was notable, however, in that he was elected to represent Michigan’s Third Congressional District, which was the first time a Democrat had been elected in that district since the formation of the Republican Party. In the election, Todd narrowly defeated
Republican Alfred Milnes, who had been appointed to represent the district the previous year, by a vote of 24,446 to 24,041. 14 The political makeup of Michigan’s Third Congressional District would give any Republican who decided to run against Todd a significant edge. The third district included Branch, Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, and Kalamazoo counties. Given Gardner’s experience as Secretary of State and his growing name recognition in the third district, he seriously considered running against Todd during the next election in 1898. Todd’s victory in 1896 set the stage for Gardner’s transition from state politics to national politics. Once again, Gardner found himself in the right place at the right time to move up in the world. Just as when Gardner was offered the position of Secretary of State in 1894, he knew what he would do: his next step would be to run for Congress.
of the President’s Home, at 501 E. Michigan Ave., and spending a semester in Chicago researching Northern Lower Michigan at the Newberry Library. Hardbound copies of his thesis, The Life and Times of Washington Gardner, can be found at the Honors Program office in the Observatory, Stockwell Library, and in town at the Albion District Library’s Local History Room. Herweyer plans to pursue graduate school following his current one-year service commitment with AmeriCorps VISTA in Albion.
Christopher Herweyer graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa this spring with a degree in history and political science. The native of Wyoming, Michigan, was a member of the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Program and the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service. His Albion experience also included researching the history
9 Daniel E. Soper, Secretary of State, Michigan Manual 1891: Official Directory and Legislative Manual of the State of Michigan for the Years 1891-2, Robert Smith & Co., Lansing, 1891, 377. 10 Ibid. The fortunes of the Michigan State Republican Party in 1892 were somewhat reversed. Although the Democrats recaptured the White House and the Senate and maintained control of the House, the Republicans saw a return to power in Michigan. Gardner, however, was not a candidate for office in 1892. 11 Washington Gardner, Secretary of State, Michigan Manual 1895, 135. 12 Ibid, 372-414. Two other candidates ran for Michigan Secretary of State in 1894; they were Populist candidate Elisha Pangborn and Prohibition candidate Charles T. Allen, who received 29,465 and 18,570 votes, respectively. Manitou County is now a defunct county that up until 1895 was made up of the Beaver Island archipelago in northern Lake Michigan. The territory that once made up Manitou County is now divided between Leelanau and Charlevoix Counties. 13 Washington Gardner, Secretary of State, Michigan Manual 1897: Michigan Legislative Manual and Official Directory for the Years 1897-98, Robert Smith & Co., Lansing, 1897, 376-448. 14 Ibid, 610.
In 1921, editorial cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman, heralded for his 1902 work that introduced the Teddy Bear, welcomed Washington Gardner back to D.C. after the former six-term congressman was appointed commissioner of pensions under the administration of President Warren G. Harding.
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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS
Connecting Generations Welcome Aboard! The Albion College Alumni Association Board of Directors has two new members. Kellie Evans-Rao, ’83, is a music professional and educator from Troy, Michigan. Catherine Fontana, ’08, is senior marketing manager for NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. From left: Ed Jenkins, Jaime Fornetti, Lisa Anderson, President Mauri Ditzler, Kasey Kaplan, Caitlin Burgess, and Dave Egnatuk on Alumni Awards night. The annual ceremony recognizing sterling achievements of alumni is one of a college’s most revered traditions. With a bit of pomp and lots of looking back, it reinforces a lifetime bond between individual and alma mater. Yet, with some current students usually in attendance, the occasion also serves as a bridge between those whose time as undergraduates may be decades apart but who, simply through attending the same school, share much in common. Within the framework of this celebrated ritual, Albion has established a new tradition. At an April 21 dinner in Upper Baldwin, the College, for the third straight year, combined its Distinguished Alumni Awards and Young Alumni Awards into one powerful night of purple-and-gold pride. The evening began with a panel session, moderated by communication studies professor Andy Boyan, with the 2017 Young Alumni honorees: MIT biochemistry researcher Lisa Anderson, ’09, Hamilton
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County, Ohio, public defender Caitlin Burgess, ’10, breast cancer researcher Jaime Fornetti, ’06, and digital banking entrepreneur Kasey Kaplan, ’10. Following dinner, the focus turned to the stage once more to honor Albion’s two newest Distinguished Alumni: Dave Egnatuk, ’71, retired physical education professor and the College’s longest-serving coach, and Ed Jenkins, ’57, retired accounting executive and past chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. “There is a certain sense of magic that is palpable when you hear so many success stories, touching anecdotes, and wonderful insights, and realize the people behind those successes are all in the same room,” said Bob Anderson, vice president for alumni and development. “You could sense the buzz in the air over the course of the event. It was really quite a night.” Congratulations to this year’s honorees!
Each began her three-year term on July 1. The board’s entire membership as well as info about nominations can be found at albion.edu/alumni/board.
PROUDLY ON DISPLAY
At Commencement on May 6, Class of 2017 members received a larger diploma after offering input for its first design update in roughly 40 years. The new grads also were presented with a College shield lapel pin from the Alumni Association. After returning to their seats, they were asked to pin their classmates as a symbol of their lifelong connection to Albion.
ALL OVER THE MAP
From coffee tastings in Seattle (see back cover) to a choir tour stop in Atlanta, Britons continually find ways to come together—and usually fly the flag when they do. Here, a few photos from regional events in recent months.
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1. North Carolina – Alums met President Ditzler 6.
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on a Lake Norman boat outing, just north of Charlotte (a), and surprised him with a birthday cake in Raleigh (b). 2. Georgia – Dana Lee, ’02, hosted the College Choir at her Atlanta home after a spring-break tour performance. 3. Florida – In Naples, Back to Class “students” heard physics professor Nicolle Zellner talk about the upcoming August 21 solar eclipse. 4. Kentucky – Brits met for a day at the races at Keeneland, in Lexington. 5. Illinois – A networking panel and mixer in Chicago’s Wrigley Building featured Bonciel Griffin-Burress, ’97, Mark Lewry, ’80, and Linda Yonke, ’75. 6. Colorado – In Denver, Brook Griese, ’97, and her husband, Brian, opened up the garden of Judi’s House (an organization supporting grieving children and their families) on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. 7. Oregon – Memories flowed and new friendships formed in Portland.
UPCOMING REGIONAL EVENTS July 12: Traverse City, MI – Mid-Summer Social Mixer at Red Ginger July 14: Petoskey, MI – Back to Class with professors Nicolle Zellner (Physics), Carrie Menold (Geology), and Bill Rose (Political Science)
July 20: Chicago, IL – Wrigleyville Sunset Rooftop Cookout and Class of 2021 Send-off July 25: New York, NY – Sunset Cruise with President Ditzler July 27: Lansing, MI – Baseball, Lansing Lugnuts vs. Dayton Dragons
For more information and to sign up, visit albion.edu/alumni/events and click on Regional Events.
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HIGHLIGHTS Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony
It’s a fantastic time to reconnect with classmates, friends, and faculty. It’s also a wonderful way to make new connections, both on campus and in the community. And, of course, we’ll all be cheering on the Brits. Registration opens in late July. We hope you’ll join us—we can’t wait to welcome you home!
Individual Inductees Kevin Bushinski, ’88–Football, Track and Field Bruce Foulke, ’49–Track and Field Dan Fradeneck, ’07–Swimming and Diving Ben Gitler, ’00–Football Neil Johnson, ’98–Baseball, Football Amy Dempsey Karns, ’95–Soccer, Swimming and Diving Lori Hass Lepard, ’94–Swimming and Diving Jared Owens, ’02–Football, Track and Field Lindsay Brown Salvador, ’07–Swimming, Track and Field Casey Sivier, ’96–Football Ben Upward, ’00–Soccer Team Inductees Football 1965-66 Men’s Swimming and Diving 1971 Presidential College Update Men’s Soccer vs. Adrian Football vs. Alma Women’s Volleyball vs. Alma Art and Art History Department Exhibit Music Department Homecoming Concert Academic Department Receptions/Tailgates
REUNIONS Join your classmates in a reunion celebration after Saturday’s athletic events. Look for more information from your classmate chairs or the College this summer.
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Visit albion.edu/homecoming for more on the weekend’s events.
Io Triumphe! EDITOR John Perney CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chuck Carlson, Christopher Herweyer, ’17, Jake Weber CLASS NOTES WRITERS Kim Fisher, Steven Marowski, ’18, Cameron Voss, ’20, Jake Weber, Kathryn Wright, ’19 DESIGNER Katherine Mueting Hibbs MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS John Thompson, Chuck Carlson, Brian Coon, Eric Westmoreland Io Triumphe! is published twice annually by the Office of Marketing and Communications. It is distributed free to alumni and friends of the College. Letters to the editor may be sent to: Office of Marketing and Communications Albion College 611 E. Porter Street Albion, MI 49224 communications@albion.edu www.albion.edu 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. 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! FIND MORE ONLINE: www.albion.edu
Connect with students, faculty, staff, and alumni through Albion College’s social media channels.
Plan the Gift of a Lifetime You can make a difference in the lives of many future Britons by planning a gift today. Our development staff makes giving from your estate a simple process and will ensure your gift provides you with immediate benefits. To make your impact, contact our Development Office today. 517/629-0446 | advancement@albion.edu albion.planmygift.org
Office of Marketing and Communications 611 East Porter Street Albion, MI 49224
Academics, Alumni, and Arabica Going out for coffee got a Briton double shot back in May when 14 students in the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, along with a half-dozen faculty and staff, met several Seattle-area alums at the headquarters of Starbucks to learn how the company is trying to make its industry wholly sustainable. The gathering included a tour and tasting at the purveyor’s Reserve Roastery, and served as one caffeinated day of the students’ weeklong excursion to Washington state. See page 35 for more alumni event photos and information.