Io Triumphe! Fall-Winter 2010-11

Vol. LXXV, No. 2

In Their Own Words: Sustainability Stories from Alumni 22

175th Anniversary Year in Review 26

Homecoming 2010 a ‘Classic’ 30

IoTriumphe!

fall - winter

2010-11

T he M agazine

for

A lumni

and

F riends

of

A lbion C ollege

Thinking Green Putting sustainability front and center in our lives

Teacher Virginia Tripp,’45, died in 2008.

This year, she’ll be helping present courses at Albion’s Fritz Shurmur Center for Teacher Development.

Virginia had a lifelong passion for teaching. Through a bequest in her will, her gift to Albion College will ensure that the liberal arts tradition will continue as the best foundation for teacher preparation.

For more information about leaving a bequest to Albion College, please contact Dave VanWassenhove, senior director of development, at 517/629-0565 or www.albion.edu/giving.

IoTriumphe! Staff Editor: Sarah Briggs Contributing Writers: Marian Deegan, Bobby Lee, Jake Weber Class Notes Writers: Nikole Lee, Luann Shepherd

IoTriumphe!

Design: Susan Carol Rowe Web Communications: John Perney Io Triumphe! is published twice annually by the Office of Communications, Albion College, 611 E. Porter St., Albion, MI 49224.

It is distributed free to alumni and friends of the College. The paper for this magazine contains 10% postconsumer fiber.

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

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

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

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! Cover photo by PunchStock.

fall-winter 2010-11 The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Albion College

Features

8 Albion ‘E-nitiatives’ Take Root

18 Working for a Greener Michigan New, nontraditional coalitions are scoring environmental victories.

The Year of Sustainability spurs many positive changes on campus.

10 Power Play John Ferris, ’89, is GM’s point man in the rollout of the Chevy Volt.

22 Many Shades of Green Alumni share their stories on living sustainably.

26 14 Naturally Speaking Sarah Reding, ’82, takes her environmental stewardship message worldwide.

175 Years and Counting . . .

A look back at our 175th anniversary celebrations near and far.

Departments

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Presidential Ponderings Briton Bits Alumni Association News Albionotes

The lit tree on the Quad this holiday season is yet another demonstration of Albion College’s sustainability efforts this year. The new LED tree lights use just 96 watts, compared to the 7,000 required for the old lights. (C. Amos Photo) Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 1

Pres!dent!al ponder!ngs

Cultivating Head and Heart As Albion’s founders went about establishing their little school on the frontier in the early 1830s, their commitment from the beginning was to education and service—to preparing young people as citizen-leaders for a territory that was on the verge of statehood. Their resolve to achieve those twin goals remains central to Albion College today.

Those aims are inherent in our Vision in our strategic plan: Albion College is nationally recognized for its academic excellence in the liberal arts tradition, a learning-centered commitment, and a future-oriented perspective. The College is a leader in preparing students to anticipate, solve, and prevent problems in order to improve the human and global condition. The College immerses students in the creation and processing of knowledge, and graduates skilled architects of societal change, active citizens, and future leaders.

Albion’s 175th anniversary celebration this past year has given us all time to reflect on Albion’s strengths, particularly in cultivating both head and heart.

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We have a vibrant intellectual community. Our faculty’s devotion to teaching and working with students is unparalleled, and their commitment to research and scholarship is exemplified in recent books published, articles written, and conference presentations given. The faculty’s impressive and innovative work has been acknowledged by the national organizations funding their efforts in recent years including the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society, NASA, the American Astronomical Society, HewlettPackard, the Japan Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others. (Please see the following pages for more details on recent faculty accomplishments.)

Our students likewise identify and undertake research projects that give them entrée into top graduate and professional schools here in the U.S. and abroad (two of our students have entered advanced degree programs at Oxford University and one at the London School of Economics since 2008), and they complete meaningful internships that lead to productive careers.

We see a lifelong commitment to learning among our alumni as they continue to flourish in our changing global landscape.

Albion’s dedication to service is no less fervent. As an institution and as individuals, we remain involved in our local community. Our faculty and staff serve on boards

of local non-profit and public organizations, spearhead river clean-ups, offer public programming at the Whitehouse Nature Center, and participate in Collegecommunity relations meetings. Our students volunteer as mentors in the Albion public schools and with a host of community organizations, and their outreach extends to raising funds for schools and clean water projects in Cameroon and to rebuilding homes in Appalachia and on America’s Gulf coast. Our alumni continue this habit of service in their home communities. This fall, more than 150 Detroit area alumni demonstrated their willingness to serve by assisting five social service agencies during our “Albion Rocks the D” day planned as part of our anniversary celebration.

It is for all these reasons that I remain optimistic for Albion College’s next 175 years. For more than 17 decades our community has faced and overcome challenges due to our resilience, our strong sense of community, and our unwavering belief in the importance of our mission. And— guided by head and heart—we are moving forward with innovative programs like the Albion Advantage that will address our society’s continuing need for citizen-leaders.

Our founders would be pleased.

Donna Randall President drandall@albion.edu

Th e lat est n ews arou n d ca m p u s

Bush Event Has Albion Connections Students in Albion’s Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service heard firsthand from former President George W. Bush about key moments of his presidency during an invitation-only event at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids Dec. 3. The event, scheduled as part of Bush’s current book tour, included an hour-long question-and-answer session moderated by Ford Institute director Al Pheley.

“Mr. Bush looked at me and said, ‘Let’s get to work.’ . . . And we all had a great time,” Pheley said. Pheley, President Donna Randall, and other Albion staff accompanied the nine Ford Institute students who traveled from Albion for the event.

Bush skipped a formal speech and instead fielded questions and shared stories from his days in the Oval Office. Bush and his staff chose Pheley to serve as the event moderator, on the suggestion of Joe Calvaruso, ’78, executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

Pheley prepared and read a list of questions, augmented by a few submitted in writing from the audience. President Bush and his

Leonard to Keynote Isaac Symposium Environmental activist Annie Leonard will deliver the Calvaruso Keynote Address April 14 during the 2011 Isaac Student Research Symposium.

Leonard is the author of The Story of Stuff, published by Free Press of Simon and Schuster in March 2010. Currently the director of The Story of Stuff Project, she has spent nearly two decades working on environmental health and justice issues.

Leonard has also coordinated the Funders

staff asked that the questions focus on his time in office and his life. Pheley quizzed the former president on everything from policy decisions to his personal history.

In his reflections, Bush drew on his new memoir, Decision Points.

Pheley noted that such events are valuable learning experiences for Ford students.

“When students get to meet national leaders, it’s not the image conveyed by the media,” Pheley emphasized. “In person, they are human beings. Hearing President Bush talk about his family and make jokes about his reputation, students get to see the human side. On the ride back to Albion, we didn’t talk about the issues as much as we talked about the man himself.”

R. HUMPHRIES PHOTOS

B r ! ton B ! ts

Ford Institute director Al Pheley moderates a question-and-answer session with former President George W. Bush Dec. 3 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.

Albion College President Donna Randall (seated), along with Ford Institute students and staff, attended the Bush event, hosted by trustee Joe Calvaruso, ’78, (standing, far left) executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, founded in 2001 to directly address the harmful environmental and social impacts of current modes of producing, consuming, Annie Leonard and disposing of material goods.

She has worked with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Health

Care Without Harm, and Greenpeace International. A graduate of Barnard College, she is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

The Isaac Symposium Alumni Lecture April 13 will feature John Ferris, ’89, product planning manager for General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt. (See page 10 for more on Ferris’ work in launching the Volt this year.)

The speakers reflect Albion’s sustainability theme for 2010-11.

For more information on the Isaac Symposium, go to: www.albion.edu/isaac/.

Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 3

Training with the Pros Mark Feger, ’11

PHOTO COURTESY of M. FEGER

As a starting forward on the Briton men’s soccer team, senior Mark Feger knows something about endurance running. A summer athletic training internship sent him on a different kind of endurance run—on the sidelines of the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns.

One of four students brought in to assist the team’s athletic training staff through the crush of training camp, Feger spent nearly six weeks in July and August at the Browns’ training facility in Berea, Ohio. He plans to continue his athletic training education by pursuing a graduate degree in physical therapy.

“We were dehydrated after practice—we would lose four or five pounds—because we would be running around making sure water was available to each player after every play,” Feger recalls. “We were constantly moving, providing any service that we would do in the athletic training room, and everything was supposed to be at a sprinting pace.”

In balancing the pressures of treating the athletes who were competing for jobs with the Browns and the desire to make a positive impression on his superiors, Feger says he relied on the skills he had developed at Albion.

“There was more accountability because if you screwed up taping a particular player’s ankle you weren’t going to tape him the rest of camp,” Feger says. “And if he told his teammates that he got a blister from me, nobody would let me tape them in the future.

Athletic training major Mark Feger says his internship with the Cleveland Browns demanded a strong work ethic and constant attention to detail.

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I had to make sure I did everything every time like I was taught.”

The most important lessons Feger says he gained from the experience were the importance of a strong work ethic and constant attention to detail.

“I appreciate the outstanding preparation I have received academically and clinically at Albion,” he adds.

—Bobby Lee

Hannah Osbeck, ’11 Senior Hannah Osbeck has always hoped she could incorporate her passion for sports into her future career path. This past summer, she took what she has learned from her management studies in Albion’s Gerstacker Institute and from three years of competition on the Albion College volleyball team and put that to work in an internship with the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators.

As a marketing intern for the Predators, Osbeck’s duties included assisting the team’s marketing director with promotional activities, including efforts to broaden the Predators’ college-aged fan base.

“One of my main projects of the summer was the College Night program. This is a new program for the organization which will promote ticket sales on every Thursday home game for college students,” Osbeck says.

Comments Sought for Accreditation Process

PHOTO COURTESY of H. OSBECK

Br!ton B!ts

As a marketing intern for the NHL’s Nashville Predators, Hannah Osbeck worked on promotions for area college students and staffed “meet the players” events.

“I was able to work with the other interns to research and organize the whole promotion.”

The internship reassured Osbeck that she is on the correct career path.

“My experience with the Predators has taught me a lot about the business world.

I enjoyed going to work every day because I knew it would be different from the day before,” Osbeck says. “There were tough days and stressful ones, but that’s what I loved because they taught me you have to work hard for the success you achieve.

“This internship has made me want to push harder to achieve my career goals,” she adds. “I have developed communication skills, a stronger character, and real-world life lessons that will assist me every day.”

—Lindsay Sowa, ’11

for accreditation. The evaluation team will visit the institution to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will recommend to Albion College will undergo a comprehensive evalua- the Commission a continuing status for the college; tion visit Feb. 6-9, 2011, by a team representing following a review process, the Commission itself The Higher Learning Commission of the North will take the final action.

Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Albion Alumni, parents, and friends are invited to submit College has been accredited by the Commission comments (compliments or concerns) regarding the since 1923. Its accreditation is at the bachelor’s college to: degree level.

Public Comment on Albion College The Higher Learning Commission is one of The Higher Learning Commission six accrediting agencies in the United States that 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400 provide institutional accreditation on a regional Chicago, IL 60602 basis. Institutional accreditation evaluates an entire Comments must address substantive matters institution and accredits it as a whole. Other agenrelated to the quality of the institution or its acacies provide accreditation for specific programs. demic programs. Written, signed comments must Accreditation is voluntary. The Commission accredits approximately 1,100 institutions of higher be received by Jan. 6, 2011. The Commission cannot guarantee that comments received after the due education in a 19-state region. The Commission is date will be considered. Comments should include recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. the name, address, and telephone number of the For the past 18 months, Albion College has person providing the comments. Comments will not been engaged in a process of self-study, addressbe treated as confidential. ing the Commission’s requirements and criteria

Wu Authors Book on Childbirth in Imperial China

By Bobby Lee Childbirth is a universal human experience, points out historian Yi-Li Wu in her new book, but the way that different societies manage childbirth can vary greatly. Wu, an associate professor of history and chair of the international studies program at Albion, explores how Chinese doctors and laypeople of the 17th to 19th centuries tried to promote women’s health in Reproducing Women: Medicine, Metaphor, and Childbirth in Late Imperial China, published in August 2010 by the University of California Press. To produce what one reviewer called “a rich, exhaustively researched work” and “a pioneering study,” Wu examined dozens of traditional Chinese medical texts, devoting over 10 years of research to teasing out the continuities and changes in China’s rich tradition of medicine for women.

“The seed of this book was my doctoral dissertation, although around two-thirds of

the book represents new research done since I’ve been at Albion,” Wu said. “I was originally interested in Chinese women’s history, and I eventually decided that if I was interested in women’s history, one of the things I should look at were the material conditions in which women lived. Childbirth was of course a huge part of that. If you are giving birth in a 21st-century hospital, or if you’re at home being attended by a neighbor or midwife in the 19th century, these things will make a difference in how you experience a major event in your life.”

Reproducing Women is just the second English language book detailing the history of women’s health in China and the first one to focus on the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

That presented certain challenges for Wu as a scholar. “I had to learn to interpret the subtleties of Chinese medicine, figure out how to properly place it in its historical context, and also find a way to make the whole thing readable and accessible to a wider audience,” Wu explained. “What I did in the end was to structure the book around certain medical issues that people had been debating for centuries, medical challenges that had no easy set

Physics professor Nicolle Zellner, pictured here with the Allende meteorite at the Smithsonian Institution, is currently pursuing research on the effects of collisions of comets and asteroids with the Earth and the Moon. The research should provide a better understanding of conditions that may have affected the origin of life on Earth. complex, if it breaks down, if new molecules form, or if nothing happens at all.”

In making its award, the NASA Astrobiology Institute noted, “We placed a priority on new, innovative work. . . . Your proposal defined such work, and we wish you and your team the best of success with this project and your future research in astrobiology.” of answers.” These included curing infertility, preventing miscarriage, and managing difficult labors.

Wu hopes her book will help readers understand how people of the time made thoughtful decisions with the knowledge available to them. “I’d like readers to consider the fact there are universal issues that all human societies are concerned with,” Wu said.

“And isn’t it neat the way that different societies have dealt with these problems in ways that are very similar, yet very distinctive?”

B. LEE PHOTO

Nicolle Zellner, associate professor of physics, has recently received five grants in support of her current research in astrobiology. NASA awarded $213,000 for a four-year grant to further her research on “Understanding Impact Events in the Earth-Moon System,” and the National Science Foundation awarded a three-year grant of $108,000 to support work on the same topic. Zellner is focusing on the chemistry and chronology of lunar impact glasses, created when comets or asteroids collide with the Moon, for what those glasses can reveal about Earth’s early history and conditions that may have affected the origin of life on this planet.

The American Astronomical Society also awarded her $15,000 to undertake traceelement analyses of lunar impact glasses in collaboration with a colleague at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Zellner will spend several months in Australia in 2011 working to understand the chemical makeup of Apollo 15 lunar samples.

“Because the Earth and Moon are so close together in space we can use the Moon as a proxy for understanding the impact flux on Earth,” Zellner said. “Most of the evidence [of the impact from comets and asteroids] on Earth has been erased because of atmosphere, erosion, plate tectonics, and water. Lunar samples, however, have been preserved over billions of years and allow us to investigate the impact flux in the Earth-Moon system.”

The American Astronomical Society awarded an additional $7,000 to Zellner and Vanessa McCaffrey, associate professor of chemistry at Albion, to fund their pilot study examining how organic molecules change in impact events, and more recently the NASA Astrobiology Institute provided a grant of $121,000 to pursue a more comprehensive study over the next year, in collaboration with a colleague at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

“Despite the high pressure and temperature found during impact,” Zellner explained, “it has been shown that molecules can survive impact. We are studying a particular kind of molecule and watching if it becomes more

PHOTO COURTESY OF N. ZELLNER

Zellner Lands Grants for Lunar Research

In her new book, Yi-Li Wu notes how views of childbirth evolved in Imperial China. “One thing that’s new in the late imperial period is the idea that childbirth is a natural process rather than some kind of medical emergency.”

Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 5

Br!ton B!ts

short takes

Two Minutes with . . . Vanessa McCaffrey

Vanessa McCaffrey is an associate professor of chemistry and director of the Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (FURSCA).

Your work with physics professor Nicolle Zellner is pretty much a polar opposite— building on NASA’s research to replicate chemistry that happened billions of years ago. How did you get involved with that project?

Io Triumphe!: You currently have a major grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund to support your research in “molecular magnetism”—developing magnetic compounds with a hundred metal atoms, compared to the tens of millions in today’s tiniest magnets. This work sounds like quite a departure from the beaker-and-test-tube chemistry most of us are familiar with.

Nicolle designed the physics side of this experiment, and we started talking about ways she could do the chemical analysis of organic compounds subjected to explosive forces like those created when a comet or other object impacts the Earth. The project grew from there.

NASA is going to let us use their ballistics equipment. We’ll put a chemical sample on a target and slam it with a flat plate, or we might put our material in a hollow ball and shoot that into a wall. We definitely think some decomposition of the molecules is going to occur, but we’re also hoping to make some more complex molecules as a result of the extreme pressures and temperatures of the impact.

McCaffrey: Actually, my students and I are doing basic science, dripping chemicals into test tubes and seeing color changes. We’re investigating the fundamental ways magnetism is propagated, and engineers can use that knowledge in rational design. Ninety percent of what we’re doing is building new molecules that have magnetic properties without a lot of metal ions.

This sounds pretty amazing. How is the research progressing?

We’ve built a few magnetic clusters, but we haven’t found the change in magnetic properties we were looking for. That’s not a failure—we learn from what doesn’t work too. You could look at it as lemons right now, but I see it as lemonade.

You always have students working on projects in your lab. Why is student research important?

I’m passionate about undergraduate research.

Research helps students make the connection between the classroom and the real world. It is very exciting to see students get involved in a project and make it their own.

One reason I’ve been involved in so many different research projects is because I like to tailor projects to students. It may be hard to get students interested in esoteric ideas like magnetism, but not so hard to get them interested in sugars or the origins of life.

Chemistry, physics—and biology too?

One thing I love about working at Albion is the freedom to take risks and pursue projects that are outside my formal area of training. At a larger school I wouldn’t be given that freedom. I’ve now

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D. TRUMPIE PHOTO

By Jake Weber

When she’s not in the chemistry lab, you might find Vanessa McCaffrey out in the field with her biology colleagues. Her latest blog, available at http://campus.albion.edu/honors2010/, details the research conducted on an Honors Program trip to Suriname as well as encounters with a host of rain forest creatures. traveled on Jeff Carrier’s student field trips to the Florida Keys three times, and last spring I accompanied Dean McCurdy and some of his Honors Program students on a research trip to Suriname.

I enjoy photography and writing, so on many of these trips I’ve become the official blogger and have done daily postings about the trip and what we have all seen and learned along the way. I like to look at other projects and see how I can make a contribution.

Ok, how about a chemistry nerd question: What’s your favorite chemical compound?

I don’t have a favorite compound but my favorite reaction is the Diels-Alder reaction. It’s so elegant—you take two molecules and put them together with heat. There are no leftover molecules, and it’s this beautiful dance of electrons. I love teaching it.

Go Br!ts!

Defying Expectations

By Bobby Lee Junior Katie Broekema captained the fall 2010 women’s cross country squad, refusing to let cystic fibrosis slow her down.

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Imagine trying to run a little more than three miles as fast as you can when it feels as though someone has their arms wrapped tightly around your chest. That’s what Briton cross country runner Katie Broekema experiences every time she hits the trail. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) when she was a toddler, she continues to battle the genetic lung disease.

“My lungs are filled with mucus, and my small airways are the worst because they get clogged easier,” Broekema says. “I just can’t get a deep breath in.

“Last year I was diagnosed with CF-related diabetes so that added another component,” she continues. Now she carries food with her during races to maintain a more constant blood sugar level.

A junior at Albion, Broekema has already defied expectations—her life expectancy was only 18 when she was first diagnosed—and that comes from doctors and parents who treated her like a normal kid, as well as the advances in treatment that have emerged since then. Her athletic involvement began with youth soccer, but she claims her lack of eye-hand coordination caused her to leave that sport in favor of distance running.

Guided by her father, Tom, an AllAmerica runner at Western Michigan

University who served as an assistant coach of her Schoolcraft High School squad, Broekema was the No. 4 runner when the Eagles finished fourth in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Division 3 finals her senior year. She often completed the 5-kilometer races in less than 21 minutes.

While Broekema admits to feelings of frustration because CF has slowed her times in college, she is pleased about the life skills she has developed through sports competition.

“I was never higher than fourth on my team at a lot of high school meets, but I was always at the lead of the pack in races,” Broekema says. “It was a big adjustment when I came to college and I wasn’t. I realize that because of my CF I can look at the

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

• Sports news and results

• SportsNet broadcast schedules

• Schedules and rosters

• Sports archives

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

It’s the next best thing to being here!

To receive regular sports updates, sign up for Briton SportsNews at:

world in such a different way.” Coping with CF has strengthened her mentally and emotionally, she says, so she feels better equipped to face life’s challenges.

Majoring in communication studies and computer science, Broekema currently serves as a spokesperson for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Last summer, she was an ambassador for the Great Strides fundraising walk in Kalamazoo, and she has recently expanded her role by speaking to youngsters at school visits.

“My role as an ambassador for the Great Strides walk consisted of going on visits to businesses with people who work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and discussing what CF is and how it has affected me personally,” Broekema says.

Her activity is amazing when you consider she’s balancing a full course load, the commitment to her sport, and the hour and a half each day she must set aside for her breathing treatments.

But she is more committed than ever to educating the public about CF and to helping to raise funds for research leading to a cure for the disorder. She’s driven by the knowledge that she can make a positive difference for all the children with CF who are following in her footsteps.

www.albion.edu/sports/ or e-mail Bobby Lee at blee@albion.edu.

Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 7

Albion ‘E-nitiatives’ Take Root

By Jake Weber You’re likely to see sustainability in action almost anywhere you go on Albion College’s campus these days. From high-tech lawn irrigation to no-tech trayless dining, sustainability takes many different, sometimes surprising, forms. “Sustainability is a core value for Albion because it reflects a deep concern on the part of virtually every group on campus for our environment,” says President Donna Randall.

The Year of Sustainability The 2010-11 academic year is Albion’s Year of Sustainability, the first of three theme years highlighting core values of the College’s strategic plan. From Opening Convocation to Commencement 2011, many major campus events are taking on a green twist.

Grand Rapids mayor and environmental advocate George Heartwell, ’71, was the Stoffer Lecturer at Opening Convocation in August. Heartwell’s leadership helped Grand Rapids earn its recent designation by the Siemens Foundation as America’s most sustainable midsize city. Virginia farmer Joel Salatin, featured in Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and the documentary Food, Inc., discussed sustainable agriculture as the College’s 2010 Common Reading Experience speaker. Author Annie Leonard, creator of The Story of Stuff Project, visits the campus in April to give the 2011 Calvaruso Keynote Address during the Isaac Student Research Symposium.

The College’s Dining Services operation is much more eco-friendly these days too. “We’re saving money and water by encouraging students to go ‘trayless’ in the Baldwin cafeteria. It’s an easy thing to do, and it’s

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As part of a campus initiative to reduce the consumption of bottled water, colorful water bottles were marketed to students this fall in conjunction with the introduction of purified water stations at key locations. To learn more about sustainability efforts at Albion, go to: www.albion. edu/sustainability.

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The greening of the curriculum Albion students take one course with an environmental focus to fulfill their graduation requirements. Those courses, offered through many academic departments, allow students to view environmental questions through the lens of a particular discipline. The environment and sustainability are “global and local and everywhere in between. They encompass the whole planet,” says Andy Boyan, visiting instructor in communication studies, of his environmental communication class. He works with his students on how best to explain today’s complex environmental challenges to a mass audience.

Students in Albion College’s Center for Sustainability and the Environment (CSE) just finished a successful first season of the Albion College student farm. The first crops—grown without the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, or motorized machinery—were sold to Dining Services and to shoppers at the College’s farmers’ market. Environmental and economic sustainability are both goals for the farm, but it also serves as a research site; students are doing forcredit projects on composting and organic system planning. Started with just a handful of CSE members, the student farm now has a list of more than 40 interested volunteers.

“Our community recognizes the fragility of our environment,” President Randall notes, “and the responsibility we have to respect our Earth for the sake of future generations. College students, in particular, are cognizant of the impact of choices that they make on our environment. I think we will all find lessons we can take away from our Year of Sustainability.”

The greening of the campus

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Mark Frever, director of grounds, has worked with Albion’s Recyclemania student group to step up recycling in all campus offices, academic buildings, and residence halls. The remaining campus waste all goes to one trash compactor that is emptied by a contractor. “The more we recycle,” Frever says, “the less that goes to landfill. Also, since we pay for trash removal by weight now, we’re saving money that way as well.”

A high-tech watering system keeps most of the campus looking green during the warm weather months while simultaneously being “green,” via evapotranspiration monitoring. Data from four local weather stations are used to calculate the amount of water that evaporated over the previous 24 hours, and just that much water is then returned to the grounds.

An experimental vegetated “roof ” was added to the Facilities Operations building last summer, and Frever hopes to add more such roofs to the campus next summer. The roof (actually an edge-to-edge collection of shallow planters) provides excellent insulation and reduces rainwater runoff from the roof to the sewer.

For at least two decades, Albion College has been a mid-Michigan leader in introducing sophisticated energy management programs, continually improving its heating, cooling, and lighting systems to reduce consumption of natural resources.

(Upper photo) Joel Salatin (center), a well known proponent of sustainable agriculture, toured the student-run organic farm prior to his Common Reading Experience talk in September.

(Lower photo) On-campus farmers’ markets made it easy for students and staff to buy fresh, locally grown produce this fall.

B. LEE PHOTO

really effective,” says Todd Tekiele, director of Dining and Hospitality Services and co-chair of the Year of Sustainability committee. Tekiele ordered compostable cups and utensils for this year’s Briton Bash, and his staff is now saving all vegetable waste for composting at the recently established student-run organic farm.

“We’re helping the student farm by providing compost material, and next year, we’ll be serving vegetables grown with this compost,” Tekiele explains. “Not to mention the fact we’re cutting down on costs for waste disposal, and the farm won’t have to pay for compost.

My staff has really bought in to this system.”

Also introduced for the fall semester were purified water stations in high-traffic locations across campus to reduce the consumption of bottled water (and the need to recycle the leftover plastic bottles). Reusable Albionthemed water bottles were also marketed in conjunction with the water stations.

Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 9

1010| Io Triumphe! | Io Triumphe!

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Power Play

By ByMarian MarianDeegan Deegan

John John Ferris, Ferris, ’89, ’89, is is GM’s GM’s point point man man in in the the rollout rollout of of the the Chevy Chevy Volt.

Volt.

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John Ferris has a vision for our automotive industry’s future.

Emission-free electric cars zip silently along our roads. ‘Plugging in’ is hip shorthand in the lexicon for environmental health and green economic growth.

Utility companies are the new auto fuel source, supplying electricity at recharging stations in homes, office parking garages, and public access points. Foreign oil dependency is a concern of the past.

Ferris’ vision is poised to drive into the present, thanks to his work at General Motors in developing the battery-powered Chevrolet Volt. As GM’s program planning manager for global electric vehicles, he oversaw the initial development of the vehicle program, and now he is supporting the launch of the Volt in select markets in California, Michigan, Texas, New York, and Washington, D.C. “The Volt is an electric vehicle designed to appeal to a mass market looking for a car with great fuel efficiency and the ability to drive gas-free but without the fear of running out of battery energy and having no place to recharge,” Ferris explains. “Unlike hybrid vehicles offering the fundamental architecture of a combustion engine, the Volt has an electric architecture that uses stored battery energy for the first 40 miles of propulsion. After the battery is depleted, drivers have the option to recharge, or to drive another 310 miles via an onboard motor generator. The Volt gives customers the benefits of driving electrically, but without pure battery limitations like compromised performance, inability to start at extreme temperatures, or being stuck on the road when the battery is depleted.”

Based on initial orders, Ferris predicts that demand will exceed initial supply, and anticipates that the Volt will be available nationwide within 12 to 18 months.

“The first buyers are likely to be early adopters and technology enthusiasts with an environmental view and an interest in energy efficiency,” he says. “The Volt comes with extra features for enthusiasts, but we also designed it with the functionality to meet the needs of the average customer so that it can be a mainstream vehicle.”

Ferris’ penchant for innovation can be traced back to his college selection. “Albion offered a great reputation and honors program,” he says, “but, for me, the real draw was the professional management program [now the Gerstacker Institute]. Albion integrated a liberal arts and business education with internships at major corporations. These internships may be common now, but at the time Albion’s program was unique.”

Under the guidance of economics professor Larry Steinhauer, Ferris combined interests in economics,

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management, and computational mathematics through an Albion internship at GM’s Saturn Corporation as the company was preparing to launch the Saturn brand in the United States. Saturn offered Ferris a position after graduation, which he accepted before pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Chicago four years later.

“My Albion honors thesis was based on a theorem developed by University of Chicago professor and Nobel Prize winner Ronald Coase,” Ferris remembers.

“Coase wrote a nice letter to me in graduate school complimenting my thesis, and praising the Albion College Honors Program. We even arranged to meet.

Sitting down with a Nobel Prize winner is the kind of experience you don’t forget.”

After Ferris completed his master’s degree, he went abroad for three years to help manage the launch of Saturn in Japan. “We had different challenges in the Japanese market,” he recalls. “Establishing an independent distribution channel and the translation of established business practices were issues, as was the competitive dynamic of being a foreign brand. It was a valuable learning experience.”

When he returned to the States, Ferris joined GM’s corporate strategy group. “I wanted to familiarize myself with the broader corporate enterprise, and leverage my Saturn experience into more new business development work,” he says. Ferris then moved into the advanced product development part of the business, and by 2006, he was working on GM’s next generation fuel cell vehicle and other advanced concepts.

“Fuel economy was growing in importance, as was awareness of environmental concerns and our reliance on foreign oil,” Ferris notes. “The lead times in the auto industry necessitate longer horizons—we were considering societal and economic trends five to ten years out. We needed to change the paradigm by creating a vehicle that provided the freedom to drive gas-free but without the limitations of traditional pure-battery electric vehicles.” He was involved in the Volt’s early concept work, and then became the vehicle program planning manager. His current focus is on electric infrastructure to ready the homes of Volt customers to charge their vehicles.

For the last 12 months, Ferris has been supporting the development of a national network of certified electricians and creating a systematic approach for residential charging installations. The Volt can be recharged in about 10 hours using a standard 120-volt outlet, but an optional upgrade to a dedicated 240-volt charge station allows the vehicle to recharge in about 4 hours. “Going into people’s homes is one of the big changes with this technology,” he says. “My team’s challenge is to make

D. TRUMPIE photo

the experience of charging infrastructure installation in customer homes safe, consistently satisfying, and low cost.”

Ferris works closely with the utility industry’s national research organization, the Electric Power Research Institute, to bring together leading utilities in North America and support the adoption of electric vehicles. Sources of electric energy and utility rates vary from region to region, but electric companies are establishing special electricity rates based on recharging during off-peak hours. The per-day cost to charge a Volt is estimated at between $1.00 and $1.50, roughly a third of the operating cost of traditional vehicles.

“The base price of the Volt, after a $7,500 federal tax credit, is $33,500 and comes with an eight-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty,” Ferris says. “New technology has a cost curve. Over time through increased economies of scale, competition in the supply base, and other factors, the cost of batteries, electric motors, power electronics, and other electrical components will come down.”

In many ways, this vehicle launch is unlike any other in GM’s history, though Ferris says he has often drawn on his experience of introducing Saturn in Japan. “Both launches [Saturn in Japan and the Volt] involved developing new internal technologies and capabilities. However, the Volt is unique in that the technologies are new to the external marketplace and involve educating both customers and the public,” he

explains. And there are other challenges. Because the car is so quiet, GM is collaborating with the National Association of the Blind to develop pedestrian safety standards, and the company is training firefighters’ associations to handle high voltage batteries in accident situations.

Ferris believes Michigan as a state can lead the way in adopting all-electric vehicles and demonstrating their potential. “We want Michigan to be a leader in plug-in readiness and electric vehicle technology,” he says, noting GM is working with state agencies, stakeholders, and local utilities to develop residential, public, and workforce infrastructure.

“As this technology becomes more familiar, I think enthusiasm for electronic driving is going to grow,” Ferris predicts. “Grassroots movements started building Volt Web sites in 2007 when the concept was launched.

One East Coast physician built a go-to Web site for electric vehicle fans called GM-Volt.com. The Volt has also inspired me to get a GM VOLT personalized license plate, and other enthusiasts have done the same in New York and Florida. I think we are starting a trend.”

“The time is right for this technology,” Ferris concludes. “When you drive the Volt, you feel the difference immediately. You have a sense that you are driving the future.”

John Ferris was the original Volt product planning manager during concept car development, and he has played a key role since then in bringing the vehicle to market. Today he heads GM’s efforts to set up the charging infrastructure needed at Volt customer homes and works with leading North American utility companies to support the adoption of electric vehicles.

John Ferris will give the Isaac Alumni Lecture April 13 during the 2011 Elkin R. Isaac Student Research Symposium. For more information on the symposium, go to: www.albion.edu/Isaac.

Marian Deegan is a freelance writer from St. Paul, Minn.

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Naturally Speaking Sarah Mather Reding, ’82, takes her environmental stewardship message worldwide.

By Marian Deegan

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Sarah Reding believes in environmental advocacy by example. When she walks into a coffee shop or a morning meeting, she carries her own reusable coffee mug. “I’m pretty strict with myself,” she laughs. “If I forget my mug and the only choice is a foam cup, I’m not going to have coffee.”

As the vice president of conservation stewardship at Kalamazoo Nature Center in southwest Michigan, Reding observes that her work today reflects her lifelong love of the outdoors. She has supported the center’s environmental mission by developing a myriad of ecological programs, assisting with the hiring of 450 state park naturalists, participating in numerous business collaborations promoting greener practices, and directing award-winning educational nature programming for an array of audiences ranging from preschoolers to seniors.

Her Conservation Stewardship Department at the Nature Center handles research, ecological services, and management for the Great Lakes region. Some of the projects include avian studies and biological inventories along with biological restoration for private landowners, small land conservancies, and military bases throughout the eastern United States.

She recently oversaw the coordination of hundreds of volunteers and 35 writers to update the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. In addition to her broad range of sustainability initiatives for the Kalamazoo Nature Center, Reding and her husband, Wil, founded Rent a Rambling Naturalist, an educational program for people of all ages that takes them around the world to promote environmental understanding.

Reding chuckles at the prospect of describing a “typical” calendar week. She handles grant writing, staff management, and budget matters, but her schedule might also include a meeting with a local food co-op to advise on plantings for their new building, consultations on brownfield restoration, orchestrating prairie fires to remove invasive species, and collaboration with a local land bank holding foreclosed properties to suggest park use of land in areas lacking open space. “One of our goals is to have a natural setting within ten minutes’ walk from anywhere in our community,” she explains.

“Our country represents five percent of the global population, but we consume more resources than all the other countries combined,” Reding says. “Most Americans place a high priority on the environment, but may not be aware of how they can make a difference. Part of our role is to educate. We sponsor a sustainable business forum and invite business owners in southwest Michigan to talk about their green initiatives in everything from recycling waste to geothermal cooling.

“I’ve certainly seen a shift in attitudes about sustainability over my 21 years with the center. Subaru now has a factory with zero waste. Businesses are building LEED-certified green buildings. Some of these shifts come from necessity, some are driven by industry, and some have been influenced by environmental leaders. As we educate people, they become more receptive.”

For Reding, fostering personal relationships with nature is as important as encouraging business initiatives. Kalamazoo is one of three Michigan cities participating in the Kellogg Foundation-funded No Child Left Inside program to improve the lives of vulnerable children. “We see a disconnect today between children and the outdoors,” she explains.

“Today’s kids know that the environment is important, but they are often learning about the natural world on the Internet and television. They aren’t experiencing the personal benefits that come from being in nature. Part of our job is to explain how the natural world supports mental and physical health.

Research suggests that spending time outdoors will improve life for children with obesity, diabetes, depression, and attention deficit disorders. No Child Left Inside is a community effort to help get children back outside and connected with nature.”

Reding’s sustainability work through the Kalamazoo Nature Center has not been limited to the Great Lakes region. When the center extended a speaking invitation to Jane Goodall, the primatologist famous for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, Reding served as her chauffeur, and the two women became friends. Reding and her husband raised money to send one of Goodall’s Tanzanian staff to Wildlife College, and they traveled to Tanzania to establish a community educational center within

Sarah Mather Reding, ’82, maintains that many kids today know about the natural world only through what they see on the Internet and television. Part of her mission is to “help get children back outside and connected with nature.”

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In Tanzania, Sarah Reding worked with the Jane Goodall Institute’s students on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Reding has assisted Goodall, known worldwide for her primate research, on several sustainability initiatives.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF S. REDING

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Sarah Reding’s influence in environmental conservation stretches throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond.

She often leads interpretive programs like this one on the ecology of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan. the endangered Gombe ecosystem. When Goodall founded her Roots and Shoots youth program, the Nature Center provided her with an office in Kalamazoo.

“People may not know that Jane Goodall does a tremendous amount of work on sustainability,” Reding notes. “She’s fighting to save the small forest track of the Gombe chimpanzees, and teaching the local people to be sustainable by establishing a nursery, a birth control program, and a women’s co-op.

Her Roots and Shoots program encourages youth in 120 countries to think about social and environmental problems. It’s very rewarding to support her efforts.”

Reding’s own sustainability efforts stretch from her office to her home. “We are constantly working to make our center more sustainable,” she says.

“We no longer serve bottled water here. Our china is reusable, and for festival events, we work with our caterers to use corn-based biodegradable products.

For my own shopping, I carry a reusable grocery bag with me. Our home has a low-flush toilet and high-efficiency appliances. At night, my husband even wears a headlamp to avoid turning on lights in the house. We make an effort to eat low on the food chain, and don’t eat factory-farmed food. We try to be very conscious about our choices.”

Being outdoors is a priority, she says, a commitment reinforced by advice she heeded in college.

With majors in political science and anthropology, Reding spent six months during her junior year at Albion doing environmental advocacy work with the National Parks Conservation Association in Washington, D.C. Through connections at the capital, she met Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.

“I was interviewing for environmental work in Washington at the time,” she recalls. “Senator Nelson told me that I could sit in an office and save land, but that would limit my time outdoors. He suggested that I do some field work, and then come back if Washington, D.C. was where I wanted to be.” Reding went on to earn a master’s degree in recreation and park administration. As she strengthened her field skills, she was struck by Nelson’s perceptiveness.

Today Reding’s job keeps her regularly on the trails of the 1,100-acre Nature Center. “Some people think because I work at a nature center my office is in the woods,” she laughs. “That might be because they occasionally hear birdsong in the background when I take their calls on my cell phone.”

“I have been a fortunate person,” Reding reflects.

“I work for one of the top five nature centers in the country, and one of the first. I believe passionately in the transformative power of nature, and I am very proud of our work here. I’d like to continue to forge links between our center and college students today, and introduce them to the variety of career paths in the environmental world.”

At Albion, independent study with former Albion anthropologist Elizabeth Brumfiel, as well as history professor Wesley Dick’s environmental history course, spurred her interest in the preservation of land and the establishment of national parks.

“My anthropology background and the support of my colleagues opened opportunities for me to have an international impact. Albion sparked me to be curious and ask questions and embrace real-world experiences. My professors encouraged me to be a lifelong learner. It’s a lesson I hope to pass on.”

Marian Deegan is a freelance writer from St. Paul, Minn.

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Working for a New, nontraditional coalitions are scoring environmental victories.

By Hugh McDiarmid, Jr., ’84

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL

One spring day in 2006—at wit’s end after years of working to establish tough limits on mercury pollution—Michigan environmental and public health groups reached a boiling point. Discussions, negotiations, and lobbying had pushed Gov. Jennifer Granholm to the brink of action. But she spent months teetering there, unwilling to pull the trigger.

Something different was needed. Something powerful.

Lana Pollack, then-president of the Michigan Environmental Council, a coalition of 70 organizations across the state, warned a senior Granholm aide what was brewing: “We are recruiting dozens of nursing mothers and pregnant women,” Pollack told the aide. “And we will march them and their babies around the governor’s residence and the Capitol building all day long. There will be speeches and literature explaining how dangerous mercury is to fetuses and infants. And we will lay this problem at the feet of the governor.”

Greener Michigan Days later Granholm issued a new rule designed to slash mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent within the coming decade.

It’s unclear whether the specter of the Pregnant Moms March impacted Granholm’s decision. But it is illustrative of how working for environmental protection at the state capital is a full-contact sport not for the faint of heart.

It is a place where the lobbying power of opponents dwarfs yours, policy gains are incremental and often unsatisfying, and keeping peace among allies can be a bigger challenge than defeating enemies.

Such challenges are magnified in Michigan where catastrophic job losses and a struggling economy dominate the public policy agenda.

Despite the obstacles, Michigan’s increasingly sophisticated environmental movement has scored substantial victories during the past several years— thanks in large part to the support of a like-minded governor and a strategy that incorporates job creation and economic development as part of, rather than instead of, natural resource protection.

Nowhere has this strategy been more apparent, and successful, than in Michigan’s burgeoning green jobs sector.

Cleaner energy future From 2005 to 2008, green jobs were virtually the only sector of Michigan’s economy to expand, growing 7.7 percent at a time when the overall economy lost 5.4 percent of its jobs, according to the state’s 2009 Green Jobs Report.

Groundbreaking energy laws passed in 2008 helped bolster that job growth. Michigan’s legislature passed the state’s first renewable energy standard, requiring utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015. It also reestablished a statewide energy efficiency program that had been dormant since the 1980s.

A skilled and underemployed workforce combined with vacant land and manufacturing facilities makes Michigan a good fit for a new era of clean energy technology.

For environmental groups the benefits extend beyond jobs.

Detroit’s RiverWalk is one sign of the revitalization of Michigan’s aging urban cores—a key component of smart land use policies.

An aging fleet of coal-fired power plants accounts for more than 60 percent of Michigan’s electricity.

The plants are costly—Michiganians spend more than $1.3 billion out of state each year to buy coal.

Their emissions also contribute to climate-changing pollution, mercury deposition in Michigan lakes, and increased rates of heart disease in adults and respiratory ailments in adults and children.

The energy laws have sparked the development of wind turbine farms throughout the state, a new spurt of solar power development, biomass fuel development, and growth in industries that sell and install energy-efficient products.

Great Lakes state Another notable victory also came in 2008 with the passage of landmark laws to protect Michigan’s signature resource—its abundant freshwater lakes and streams. The Great Lakes contain almost 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water, and Michigan is the only state entirely within their basin.

Politicians and would-be water takers have learned over the years that you don’t mess with Michigan’s water. In 2007, when then-presidential candidate Bill Richardson suggested sharing Great Lakes water with Western states he was verbally bludgeoned by Great Lakes defenders of all political parties and persuasions. “We will not allow our Great Lakes to be used to subsidize sprawl in Atlanta or irrigate golf courses in Arizona,” declared the Sierra Club’s Gayle Miller.

Richardson quickly backtracked and never broached the subject again.

That passion for water was harnessed by Michigan’s grassroots environmental groups who forged a diverse coalition to pass the water laws the following year. One group alone, Clean Water Action, weighed in with more than 28,000 letters, 1,000 phone calls to lawmakers, 5,000-plus lawmaker e-mails, attendance at town hall meetings in targeted communities, and lobbying in Lansing and at home.

Responding to public demand that the lakes be protected, state legislators unanimously approved the multi-state Great Lakes Compact, which protects Michigan’s water from large-scale withdrawals.

Additionally, they passed the nation’s first sciencebased water withdrawal rules that protect 75 to 95 percent of streamflow from removal while subjecting the remainder to rules ensuring availability to business, industry, farmers, and citizens for recreation and other reasonable uses.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL

Budget woes

Decisions made at the State Capitol have far-reaching impact on Michigan’s natural resources.

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D. TRUMPIE PHOTO

The water and energy successes have been accompanied by other natural resource victories in Lansing during the past decade (see sidebar on page 21).The victories were most often achieved when environmental groups created diverse coalitions with businesses, health organizations, unions, and other so-called “nontraditional allies.” Those coalitions frame environmental protections as important job-creating tools—a necessary strategy in a state where jobs and the economy are dominant issues.

“You can talk about the birds and the butterflies and saving nature, and you’ll get a certain core of people to line up with you,” Keith Schneider, founder of the Michigan Land Use Institute, told a gathering of the Huron River Watershed Council early in the decade. “But we talk about money and jobs now.

That’s what motivates the people on the fence who you need to reach.”

But even the most successful marriages of natural resources and economic development are not immune from the vagaries of budget cuts.

Case in point: The Pure Michigan advertising campaign has crystallized Michigan’s natural splendor for people across the nation. It leveraged 680,000 more trips to Michigan from outside the state in less than a year, generating more than $2.00 in revenue for every $1.00 spent on the ad campaign, according to a study by Longwoods International.

Nonetheless, Pure Michigan’s funding was in limbo for months as lawmakers tried to find money where there is none in a political climate where tax increases are political suicide.

The same underfunding issues threaten many of the most critically important environmental protections in Michigan, where natural resource agencies’ budgets have been proportionally cut more than any other state department. Nearly $100 million in general fund support for environmental and natural resource protection has been lost in only eight years.

The results: State park campgrounds have closed. Pollution hotlines ring unanswered. Natural resources field offices are padlocked. Forest firefighter manpower is less than half of recommended levels.

Businesses must wait longer to receive permits from short-staffed agencies. And cleanup of most contaminated sites has stopped entirely even as plumes of toxic groundwater move toward streams, lakes, and water wells.

It’s gritty, challenging work—scrapping with lawmakers and lobbyists to ensure the day-to-day survival of essential environmental programs while simultaneously sowing the policy seeds for a healthier, more prosperous Michigan. Our successes and failures will be the legacy we pass on to our children and grandchildren.

Hugh McDiarmid, Jr., has served as communications director for the Michigan Environmental Council since 2006. He previously was a Michigan journalist for 22 years, including a decade covering the environment among other beats at the Detroit Free Press. His blog on the environment can be found at: www.mittenstateblog.blogspot.com/.

2010 Michigan Environmental Report Card Highlights of positive developments in 2010 for natural resource protection and public health in Michigan include:

B. GARMON PHOTO

n Complete Streets: State legislation passed in 2010 requires state planners to consider the needs of nonmotorized travel when building street infrastructure. A smart step toward creating safe, walkable, vibrant urban districts that attract residents and businesses. n Phosphorus Ban: The nutrient, which contributes to nasty algae blooms and runaway plant growth in lakes and streams, was banned from Michigan dishwashing detergent as of July 1, 2010. Another step toward protecting our water. n Power Generation: Plans for several new Michigan coal-fired power plants were either denied or withdrawn during the year.

The state’s Public Service Commission says no new coal plants are needed for at least a decade, or longer if renewable sources and increased efficiency are aggressively adopted. The plants, under laws approved in 2008, must be shown as “reasonable and prudent” alternatives compared with efficiency measures and other energy solutions.

n Rail Transit Improvements: Federal grants will help upgrade Michigan’s rail routes with a goal toward shaving train travel time from Detroit to Chicago by two hours. A series of 16 public forums statewide drew hundreds interested in shaping Michigan’s modern railroad future.

And the lowlights, or works still in progress: n Toxic Chemicals: A package of bills that would require manufacturers to disclose toxic chemicals in children’s products was stalled in the State Senate under intensive industry lobbying. n Energy Efficiency: Proposals to increase Michigan’s modest energy efficiency and renewable energy standards died without a committee hearing in Lansing. n Calhoun County Oil Spill: The spill of nearly one million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River system highlighted the risks of our dependence on oil and gaping holes in the regulatory system. n State Budget Reductions: Continued budget cuts left pollution hotlines unanswered, closed some state forest campgrounds, and forced environmentalists to ask for a federal review to see if Michigan is still capable of enforcing the Clean Air Act.

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Many Shades of Green Editor’s note: In preparation for this edition, Io Triumphe! contacted Albion alumni to ask them about how they are practicing or promoting sustainability in their professional and personal lives. We received a wealth of responses, and a representative sampling is offered here. (More comments can be found at www.albion.edu/sustainability.) In addition to launching green businesses and providing leadership for environmental initiatives in civic life, we heard from those who walk or ride bicycles wherever possible, who grow and preserve their own food, and who have installed green energy solutions and otherwise retrofitted their homes for greater efficiency. Our thanks to everyone who participated.

Two years ago, my husband and I seized on the opportunity to sell our large home in La Mesa, Calif., to our kids so we could build our 1,200-sq.-ft. retirement “Grammy Flat” on the lower part of the property. Located east of San Diego, we don’t suffer the severe winter cold of the northern or eastern states; however, we do have to endure scorching heat in the summertime, with temperatures often reaching 100 degrees or higher for a week or two at a time. Temperatures of 90 degrees or more all summer are the norm. We built our home using structural insulated panels (SIPs) on the roof, walls, and floors. SIPs are 6-inch thick panels made of two pieces of 3/8” oriented strand board separated by foam insulation. They meet or exceed all fire, structural, and earthquake standards.

We had a full-house air conditioning and heating system installed but rarely use it.

Mickey Dodge Madigan Harper, ’64

Since 1991 I have been leading the land conservation movement in Washtenaw County. I started the Legacy Land Conservancy, I’ve been instrumental in six successful land preservation ballot campaigns that have raised over $100 million of public funds, and I’ve operated local preservation programs. We have protected nearly 4,000 acres so far. All of these efforts are geared toward protecting drinking water sources, wildlife habitat, and prime farmland around Ann Arbor to provide a means of living sustainably in the area. One of my current projects is to transform a publicly-owned 150-acre farm property into an incubator for beginning small farmers that will ultimately provide locally-grown produce for schools, restaurants, and businesses. In addition I’ve been growing much of my own food and processing it for 15 years, and I maintain a one-acre prairie restoration on my property. I also lead natural history hikes and paddling trips for local non-governmental organizations.

Barry Lonik, ’83

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I am the co-founder of Green Earth Technologies (GET), a totally green, clean tech company in Celebration, Fla. Based on its philosophy that consumers should not have to give up value or performance in order to advance sustainability, GET combines domestically sourced renewable feed stocks and base oils (from animal and plant sources grown in the U.S.) with proprietary technologies molded around the four ideologies of being green: biodegradable, renewable, recyclable, and environmentally safe. If a label says, “Warning: Harmful or fatal if swallowed,” then there is a good chance that it is not safe for pets, plants, or our planet either. Our lubricants and cleaning products, all rated as nonhazardous, degrade from 70 percent to 95 percent within nine days, and they are marketed in bottles made with 30 percent post-consumer recyclable plastic.

Jeff Loch, ’84

I am corporate social responsibility manager for REI, a national retail co-op focused on getting people actively engaged in human-powered recreation and stewardship. I work with partners around the co-op and with external stakeholders to develop and implement sustainable business strategies and tactics that drive efficiency, innovation, and environmental benefit in REI’s operations and enable the co-op to thrive in a resource-constrained world. My main focuses are strategies around climate change, waste reduction, sustainable forestry, and green building.

Kirk Myers, ’99

Cherokee Creek Boys School is a therapeutic boarding school for middle school boys, ages 11-15, who struggle academically, emotionally, psychologically, and/or socially. We believe that nature is a powerful teacher, and our campus is intentionally located in the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina. We combine academics, therapy, and recreation to create a learning and healing environment for our students. As the founder, my commitment is to teach boys to become global citizens. All boys discover the value of environmental stewardship through a yearround environmental studies class, participation in our TREKS (weekend wilderness) program, and math and language arts classes that integrate environmental education into their curriculum. We also volunteer in community service projects with the U.S. Forest Service, state parks, Oconee Heritage Museum, Chattooga River Conservancy, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Beth Thompson Black, ’71

As an ordained American Baptist pastor, I have been involved in ecojustice issues since 1986, working with the Eco-Justice Working Group of the National Council of Churches, the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care, and Interfaith Power and Light. In 2000, we started a statewide, interfaith network in Connecticut, the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, and I do climate change presentations around New England, following the principles of The Climate Project founded

by Al Gore. I’ve been doing this work for a long, long time in religious communities, in the churches I’ve served, and around the country. Finally congregations are catching on that care of creation is part of our faith.

Tom Carr, ’80

As vice president of strategic marketing for national homebuilder PulteGroup, I plan communities in the desert southwest.

Pulte’s Villa Trieste is the first LEEDcertified residential community in Las Vegas and an example of a community leading the way in energy efficiency and sustainability.

We worked with the U.S. Department of Energy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Nevada Energy as grant and research partners. All homes are built with advanced sustainability features including integrated solar roof tiles, tankless water heaters, low-e windows, high-efficiency air conditioning, and an energy monitoring dashboard that works online or with a smart phone. The result is a home that’s more comfortable to live in and has less impact on the environment than a typical home.

Based on its sustainable design for Villa Trieste, Pulte Homes was the 2009 recipient of the Outstanding Production Builder Award from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Ken Johnson, ’84

I am currently an environmental education and preventative health volunteer with the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. I have been here since March 2010 and will serve for two years in a small village (600 people, no electricity/running water) in northern Senegal. The Peace Corps is dedicated to fully integrating volunteers into communities and providing aid in a sustainable way through education so that development projects do not end when the volunteer goes home. Part of my job as an environmental education volunteer is to enable sustainable development and environmental health education within Senegal.

I have worked closely with the elementary school in my village, promoting environmental awareness and good nutrition with children through a demonstration garden and tree nursery, as well as organizing an environmental club that will in the future be doing environmental lessons in cooperation with the teachers. I also work with the local health hut educating women about maternal/child health and nutrition.

Sarah Keyes, ’09

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As an environmental attorney since 1981, I have provided legal counsel to business clients on a full range of environmental issues including: water and air permits, chemical regulation, site remediation, and government enforcement actions.

That core practice has expanded into the issues associated with green products, climate change, and corporate sustainability.

In 2009, I obtained LEED AP accreditation. My focus is on a more aggressive and critical analysis of green claims made by manufacturers, suppliers, and marketers. I have challenged the hype surrounding sustainable design, by encouraging contracting parties and investors to use contract terms tied to measurable requirements that can be validated by independent third parties. This is a necessary evolution as industry moves from merely appearing environmentally sensitive toward a world where companies are legally bound to meet specific environmental benchmarks.

Susan Sadler, ’77

In my 40 years of oceanographic research in the North Pacific Ocean, I have assisted in assuring the sustainability of some of the largest fisheries in the U.S. I studied the physical oceanography of the Gulf of Alaska to understand how it operates and how the water climate varies. The work informs managers on how to sustain these fisheries. We discovered the largest freshwater system in North America, more than 1.5 times the flow in the Mississippi River. It is fed by intense coastal rainfall and melting glaciers and serves as the major pathway for migrating salmon in the North Pacific. Also, the Exxon Valdez oil spill took place within this freshwater coastal current.

I have retired from the University of Alaska and now live on Maui where I am attempting to help sustain the coral reefs here that are critical to Hawaii in so many ways.

Tom Royer, ’63

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Shortly after I graduated from Albion with a degree in German for the professions, I moved to Rostock, Germany.

One day I came across an interesting job advertisement. Nordex Energy, a company in Norderstedt that produces wind energy turbines, was looking for someone to translate and interpret for the entire American team that was currently residing here. The Americans were here because Nordex is building a brand new production plant for Nordex USA in Jonesboro, Ark. I was thrilled to be a part of something so big, and went about learning all the technical vocabulary. I have spent the last months doing my part to support effective intercultural communication between these German and American counterparts. It has been amazing, and it’s all for a very green cause!

Kathryn Wachter Schinkel, ’09

My husband, Steven, and I moved to Vermont and founded True Love Farm in 2003. The farm provides organically grown vegetables to more than 200 households each week, participating in three farmer’s markets in southwestern Vermont.

The farm is committed to sustainable growing practices, an example of which is our use of a wood furnace that fuels both our primary greenhouse as well as our home (a 200-year-old barn converted into living space). Our home is also supported by solar hot water panels. I recently resigned from my position as dean of advancement for Southern Vermont College to join Steven on the farm full-time. Business is growing, and there feels like endless demand for the farm’s extensive line of vegetables and flowers. We frequently host groups of young people for hands-on learning opportunities, including the local high school’s “Youth Agriculture Project” and students from Upward Bound at Southern Vermont College. We additionally provide vegetables to a nearby school district, where “meet the farmer” lunches are an annual event.

Karen Scheibner Trubitt, ’87

Often referred to as “The Barn Lady,” I write/edit the Michigan Barn Preservation Network’s newsletter and devote many hours to encouraging people to give new life to old barns as an advocate for these spirit-renewing structures. As agriculture has changed, America’s barns have suffered. Built from the 1700s to the early 20th century, these history-bearers, constructed of virgin timber and stone, have the potential to lead amazing new lives.

They can be adapted to modern agriculture, and they are particularly suited to today’s organic and small family farms. They can be lifted, moved, dismantled, and rebuilt. They can be adapted to become B&Bs, galleries, studios, restaurants, offices, churches, museums, and homes. As preservationists have argued for years, restoring and reusing historic structures also contributes mightily to sustainable living.

Jan Corey Arnett, ’74

Since retiring from Michigan State University after three decades as a faculty member and administrator, I have served as host of “Greening of the Great Lakes” on WJR-Radio. The weekly program, which explores issues related to environmental, economic, and sociocultural sustainability, is a collaborative effort between WJR and MSU. Topics range from invasive species to the construction of green buildings to the development of energy-efficient automobiles that will reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Unlike the vitriolic “attack” radio so common today, I encourage my guests to share their expertise so that my listeners can make informed, thoughtful decisions about some of the key environmental issues of our day.

Kirk Heinze, ’70

In the early 1980s, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) had a dilemma.

It was how to catch ships dumping wastes and petroleum products while at sea, thereby avoiding portage fees at docks.

Working at the USCG laboratories in Groton, Conn., I helped them develop a new methodology for chemically separating these pollutants. Then by using special wavelengths of ultraviolet light with visible blocking filters, we could document the chemical fingerprint of the pollutants photographically. This technique was so refined that oil from any well in the world could be pinpointed because of the wells’ different signatures. This breakthrough for the USCG allowed them to take samples from our polluted beaches and seaways for analysis, visualization, and documentation and then board the suspecting dumper ship to take samples for analysis. When the samples matched, the ship’s captain was arrested for illegal dumping. The USCG reported success at all their 100 stations in the U.S. in controlling environmental damage to our waterways and beaches by using this newly developed technology.

Richard Vitek, ’56

Through my landscape design company, ecoChic, my clients and I search for ecologically-sustainable and goodlooking garden solutions for their problems.

My work incorporates installing rain barrels, drip irrigation, bioswales, use of native and hardy plants, and designing for low inputs/ outputs and water quality. Educating the public is important because we are returning to a landscaping ethic not seen since before World War II—as I call it: saving the planet one garden at a time.

Laura Zigmanth, ’84

Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 25

175 Years and Counting . . .

Dodransbicentennial? Terquasquicentennial?

Septaquintaquinquecentennial?

Call it what you will, Albion College’s 175th anniversary in 2010 has been quite a celebration. The accompanying photos provide glimpses of just some of the many anniversary events offered

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for alumni, friends, and the campus community since last spring.

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The anniversary gala held in Grand Rapids May 20 brought over 160 alumni and friends to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. The event was hosted by Joe Calvaruso, ’78, executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, with assistance from a 25member hospitality committee. (Above) T.J. Carnegie, ’97, talks with Cathy Ford Crabb, ’67, and Fritz Crabb.

(Below) Also on hand were: (from left) Keith Roberts, ’81, Brian Murray, ’97, Kristie Peete Murray, ’97, and Steve Harney, ’97.

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Libby Crabb, ’04, and Sue VanWassenhove, from the College’s Office of Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement, serve one of the monthly “birthday cakes” that helped mark the anniversary for students, faculty, and staff.

During their three days on campus for Grandparents College June 21-23, the participants learned about aquatic life and bird behaviors at the Whitehouse Nature Center, marketed lemonade, learned how to juggle, and went kayaking on the Kalamazoo River, among many other activities.

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More than 230 alumni, family members, and Albion friends attended one or more of the “Grand Slam July” events held at baseball parks throughout Michigan and in Chicago.

(Upper photo) Taking in the Tigers game at Comerica Park were: Sarah Jose, ’09, Allie Lewis, ’10, and Emily Zande, ’10.

(Lower photo) Anessa Songer, ’98, Allison Moore Beers, ’01, and Brenda Lewis Roth, ’91, cheered on the Traverse City Beach Bums.

Grandparents College attendees Tom Misner, ’55, and grandson Jacob traveled back in time through the pages of the Pleiad.

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Among the New York City area alumni and friends who celebrated the 175th anniversary with President Donna Randall at the Haworth Showroom Sept. 13 in midtown Manhattan were: (from left) Matthew Mair, ’88, Sandra Henschel McKeveny, ’68, Rick Smith, ’68, and his wife, Soon Young Yoon.

Grand Hotel president Dan Musser, ’86, visits with Tom, ’85, and Susan Hibbins Carroll, ’85, at the opening reception during the Grand Getaway weekend. Musser’s generous support made the weekend possible.

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The Grand Getaway at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island Sept. 24-26 included plenty of time to connect with friends as well as special entertainment by actor/songwriter Jeff Daniels and the Albion College jazz band.

Purple and gold were in evidence everywhere on Mackinac Island with the arrival of 450 alumni and friends for the Grand Getaway. Among those enjoying the sights were these 1956 classmates: (from left) Sylvia Burns, Marilyn Brown Stevenson, and Suzanne Stough Ternan.

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Five social service agencies in metropolitan Detroit, including the Gleaners Community Food Bank, were served by more than 150 alumni, students, and friends during “Albion Rocks the D” day Sept. 18, spearheaded

by Virginia Fallis, ’84.

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The Alumni Association Board of Directors introduced Summer SendOffs for area alumni to “send off ” incoming first-year students. The Lansing area send-off was hosted by Mark Neisler, ’94 (back row, far left).

Briton Spirit Day was celebrated Oct. 30, as nearly 360 Albion College families took part in daylong festivities that included a brunch and soccer and football games. Family and community members explored the Briton Fair (pictured) as part of Briton Spirit Day activities.

Nearly 80 Albion College alumni, family, and friends attended an Oct. 12 anniversary reception, planned by the Chicago Alumni Chapter at the Shedd Aquarium. Pictured are: Diane Jackson, Anne Walsh Norton, ’94, Andrea Lindley Caplea, ’99, and Megan Royle Carrella, ’95.

In Appreciation of Our 175th Anniversary Sponsors Albion College wishes to thank all of the sponsors listed below who helped underwrite our 175th anniversary events this year. We greatly appreciate your support!

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Gordon Martin Builder, Inc. Oaklawn Hospital State Farm Insurance Co.

The Andersons, Inc., Charitable Foundation Atlas Sales, Inc. Caster Concepts, Inc. Chemical Bank Family Fare

Albion Heritage Bed & Breakfast Art Craft Press Cascarelli’s of Albion Homestead Savings Bank Parks Drug Store, Inc.

Print-Tech, Inc. Spry Sign & Graphics Co., LLC Team 1 Plastics Triangle Plumbing, Inc.

Fall-Winter 2010-11 | 29

AL u m n ! a s s o c ! a t ! o n n e w s

ALBION COLLEGE

HomecominG 2010

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175th Anniversary Celebration Makes for Classic Homecoming

What better way to celebrate Albion’s 175th anniversary than with a Homecoming parade down Hannah Street? In this renewal of a longstanding tradition, the parade included the 1959 Homecoming queen, Margaret Bennett Kapler, ’61, (pictured), the 1954 queen, Joyce Armentrout Bishop, ’56, and members of this year’s Homecoming Court.

The British Eighth led the way as Albion College brought back its traditional parade at Homecoming 2010 Oct. 1-3.

Some 13 classic cars provided the transportation for Homecoming Court members, past and present, and the Distinguished Alumni Award recipients during the Saturday morning event. Others participating in the parade included students representing foreign nations, members of Greek organizations and the Briton equestrian teams, and local businesses. The nod to Homecomings past was in honor of the College’s 175th anniversary, which was celebrated at events throughout the weekend.

The Alumni Awards Ceremony, in a new, expanded format, was moved to Friday this year, and brought together nearly 150 alumni, faculty, staff, and family guests to honor this year’s six award recipients during a special luncheon and program in the science complex atrium. (See story on page 32.) Friday’s events also included a Science Faculty Showcase with presentations by five faculty members on their recent

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research. The day concluded with the annual Athletic Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony.

Briton fans filled Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium for the Saturday afternoon football game with the Kalamazoo Hornets.

Albion had a number of big plays in the contest, but came away with a 30-27 loss in the league opener. The men’s soccer team posted a 1-0 win over Alma at Alumni Field.

The Fourteenth Annual Briton Classic Golf Tournament, with 50 golfers out on the links at the Medalist Golf Club in Marshall, kicked off the Homecoming festivities on Friday.

Reunions for classes from 1950 to 2010 also brought many alumni back to campus. The weekend concluded with a performance by the concert choir and orchestra. In honor of the College’s 175th anniversary, the ensembles combined to end the concert with selections from a 1920s songbook including “On the Old Kazoo” and “Victory for Albion” (a football song), as well as the famous fraternity song, “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi,” penned at Albion in 1911.

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Junior Casey Hoffman and senior Hannah Papp reigned as the 2010 Homecoming king and queen.

During Saturday’s football matchup with Kalamazoo College, Clinton Orr (pictured) rushed for a 35-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 79 yards for a score, but the Hornets carried the day with a 30-27 victory over the Britons.

Reunions for the Classes of 1950 through 2010 brought scores of alumni back to campus, including this Class of 1965 group at Saturday’s picnic.

Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Jess Womack, ’65, (center) reminisces with friends. He was one of six alumni honored at the awards ceremony.

Younger Britons enjoyed the opportunity to paint pumpkins at the Family Tent, hosted by the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

The Rock decked out for the College’s 175th anniversary.

Plan now for Homecoming 2011 Sept. 23-25, 2011 President Donna Randall, accompanied by her husband, Paul Hagner, greets the students, alumni, and friends lining the parade route.

Homecoming events will include reunions for class years ending in “1” and “6” (1951-2011). Visit www.albion.edu/homecoming/ for details.

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AL u m n ! a s s o c ! a t ! o n n e w s

The 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are pictured with President Donna Randall: (left to right) Jess Womack, ’65, William Richardson, ’62, Michael Jurasek, ’81, Walter Pomeroy, ’70, and Forrest Heaton, ’60.

Commitment to Learning Marks 2010 Award Recipients Advancing education was a common thread for the 2010 Alumni Award recipients honored Oct. 1 during Homecoming weekend. In their careers, their community service, and their

philanthropy, all have fostered the academic achievement of generations of young students.

2010 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

2010 Meritorious Service Award Recipient

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

Forrest W. Heaton, ’60 Vice President (Retired) American Express Co. Pittsboro, North Carolina Michael A. Jurasek, ’81 Teacher and Head Coach Albion High School Albion, Michigan

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Walter L. Pomeroy, ’70 Executive Director (Retired) Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania William H. Richardson, ’62 Director, Summer Language Institute Oakland University Waterford, Michigan Jess Womack, ’65 Interim Inspector General Los Angeles Unified School District Sherman Oaks, California

This award was originally conferred in 1974. This year, a plaque was installed in the Alumni Awards gallery in the Kellogg Center to mark this honor.

Patrick N. Pugh, ’56 (deceased) For more information on this year’s honorees, go to: www.albion.edu/ homecoming. Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Go to www.albion.edu/alumni for details.

Faculty, staff, alumni, and family members gathered in the science complex atrium for the Alumni Awards Ceremony.

Join the A Team!

Alumni and parents can make a valuable contribution to Albion College by assisting in the recruitment of talented students as members of The A Team. In tandem with the Admission Office, the A Team serves to identify and recruit students to Albion, to create a network for students and families who have applied to or enrolled at Albion, and to build relationships with local high schools in their area. As a member of the A Team, you can encourage the most qualified students to apply to Albion, and you can improve knowledge in your community of Albion and its admission criteria by serving as a local ambassador. Volunteers provide a local and personal link between Albion and prospective students and families—a very important part of the admission process.

To learn more about this program and other opportunities for volunteer involvement, contact the Office of Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement at alumniengagement@albion.edu or 517/629-0448, or visit the Alumni Engagement Web site at: www.albion.edu/alumni.

2011 Alumni Events February 25 March 4 March 6 March 7 March 13 March 7 March 9 April 13-14

April 15 April 16 May 7

Choir/Band Concert, Marshall Briton Singers Concert, St. Joseph Briton Singers Concert, Grand Rapids Briton Singers Concert, Midland Briton Singers Concert, Detroit Boca Raton, Fla., Alumni Reception Naples, Fla., Alumni Luncheon Elkin R. Isaac Student Research Symposium/ Honors Convocation Young Alumni Awards: Top 10 in 10 Dinner Annual Scholarship Luncheon Commencement

Alumni events are being added regularly. Details on all events, including regional chapter events, are posted at: www.albion.edu/alumni.

Teams 1978 and 1979 Women’s Field Hockey Teams 1989 Football Team

Field hockey memories still hold these alumnae together. Sharon Pontius, ’81, (far left), Melissa Washburn, ’81 (center), and Ellen Doetsch, ’81 (right), all inducted on the 1978 and 1979 field hockey teams this year, are joined by Hall of Famer Mary Ann Stokes Egnatuk, ’76.

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Bill Barker, ’90, and Dave Egnatuk, ’71, reminisce about their days on the Briton gridiron. As a senior, Barker shattered a season rushing record that Egnatuk had established two decades before.

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2010 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees Individuals William M. Barker, ’90 Steven J. Cohen, ’94 Victor S. Cuiss, ’51 F. Scott Newsome, ’92 Patrick D. Slone, ’99 Kathryn S. Snedeker, ’82 Tonya A. Taylor, ’96 Ronald A. Vanderlinden, ’78

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Albion’s Athletic Hall of Fame honored eight individuals, the 1989 football team, and the 1978 and 1979 women’s field hockey teams at this year’s induction ceremony Oct. 1. The football team began a string of league football titles that would continue for seven years. The field hockey teams contributed two league championships, part of a string of five during the late 1970s.

For more on this year’s inductees, go to: www.albion.edu/sports/halloffame/.

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At the Top of Their Game

Ron Vanderlinden, ’78, claimed his Hall of Fame award during campus festivities Oct. 16.

MIAA commissioner and past Hall of Fame inductee Dave Neilson, ’66, (center) visits with Victor, ’51, and Jackie Cuiss. The MVP on the Britons’ 1950 MIAA champion golf team, Victor was among this year’s honorees.

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

Seven Join Board in 2010 The Alumni Association Board of Directors has appointed seven new members and reappointed two incumbents to fill terms beginning July 1, 2010. Appointed to a second term were: Elsie Hansen Misner, ’56, and Keith Roberts, ’81. Retiring from the board were: Keith James, ’86, Tim Newsted, ’78, Bethany Bierlein Prime, ’07, Bill Rafaill, ’70, Pam Gee Royle, ’60, Carl Samberg, ’89, and Doug Shepherd, ’98.

The new board members are introduced below.

T.J. Carnegie, ’97. An economics and management major while at Albion, T.J. Carnegie earned recognition as a basketball standout at the College. Currently he is the president of Full Circle Political Marketing in Grand Rapids, where he resides. He also volunteers as the West Michigan Alumni Chapter chairperson for Albion, as well as assisting the Career Development Office.

Krista Hammerbacher Haapala, ’96. Krista Haapala majored in political science and public policy during her time on Albion’s campus, and was a member of Delta Gamma sorority. She works for the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work Maine Program as a part-time faculty member and is the founder of Living Balance, where she is a life coach. Haapala holds an M.S.W. degree from Boston College, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She and her husband, Brian Haapala, ’95, live in Portland, Maine with their two sons, Ethan and Evan.

Dede Kearney, ’09. Dede Kearney completed majors in economics and management and psychology, and is currently working with the Women’s Resource Center in Traverse City as a volunteer coordinator and development assistant. She previously interned with Allison Moore Beers, ’01, and her company, Events North.

Albion College runs in her family as her father, Ken Kearney, ’71,

Carnegie

Haapala

and mother, Sandy O’Niel, ’70, also attended. She lives in Traverse City. As a recent graduate representative on the Alumni Association board, Kearney will serve a two-year term.

Kevin Kline, ’81. Kevin Kline majored in economics and management as well as political science while attending Albion College.

During his time on campus, he was part of the Honors Program and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Kline earned his J.D. degree from Harvard and is currently assistant general counsel with Chrysler Financial in Farmington. He and his wife, Karen Pugh Kline, ’83, live in Royal Oak, and have three children, Audrey, Daniel, and Jeff, ’10.

Cathy Martin Leverenz, ’78. Cathy Leverenz studied chemistry at Albion College, which led her to become a registered nurse after graduation. She was a class agent for the College, has been active with Kappa Delta sorority, served as an admission volunteer, and spent time on the Parent’s Council. Currently a homemaker, she and her husband, John Leverenz, ’78, live in Grosse Pointe Park. They are the parents of John, Matt, Lisa, ’05, and Kim, ’10.

Mark Neisler, ’94. After graduating from Albion, Mark Neisler went on to pursue his passion for cooking by attending the Culinary Institute of America. This training led him to endeavors with two resorts in Colorado. After receiving his master’s in public administration from Eastern Michigan University, Neisler now works as a weatherization grant administrator for Washtenaw County. He and his wife, Gretchen Neisler, Albion’s director of strategic planning, are new parents of twin sons, Jakob and Owen.

They reside in East Lansing.

Jim Royle, ’63. Majoring in psychology, anthropology, and sociology at Albion, Jim Royle was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon and was actively involved in music and the Student Senate.

He is a past Parent’s Council member, and currently serves as an admission volunteer. Having a member of the Royle family on the Alumni Association board is nothing new as he follows in the footsteps of his sister-in-law, Pam Gee Royle, ’60, and his wife, Tamara Transue Royle, ’63. Jim and Tamara were honored as Distinguished Alumni Award recipients in 2008. He is a faculty member at Saginaw Valley State University and resides in Saginaw.

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

Kearney Interested in joining the Board of Directors?

Send an e-mail to alumniengagement@ albion.edu for more details on the board’s responsibilities.

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Leverenz

Neisler

Royle

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID RAVENNA, MI PERMIT NO. 320

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Communications Office 611 E. Porter Street Albion, MI 49224-1831

A Truly Grand Getaway More than 450 members of the Albion College family celebrated at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island during the 175th anniversary Grand Getaway weekend, Sept. 24-26, 2010.

For more photos of the College’s anniversary events this year, please go to page 26.

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