Vol. LXXII, No. 1
Building a New Family across Borders 13
An Albion Original: Philip C. Curtis, ’30 16
‘Share Your Story’ at Homecoming 2007 38
IoTriumphe!
summer
2007
T he M agazine
for
A lumni
Madam President Donna Randall brings vision and experience to her new role
and
F riends
of
A lbion C ollege
My four years at Albion were without question the best years of my life. I developed close friendships that still exist today. My Albion experience opened doors for me and is responsible for the successes I have enjoyed. All of this was due to the generosity of individuals whom I do not know. Without the financial help they provided through their gifts, there is no way I would have been able to attend Albion. I decided that I, too, wanted to be someone who provides financial assistance to students who otherwise may not be able to attend Albion and enjoy all that the Albion experience offers. I hope other alumni will do the same. Wynn Miller, ’69 Beverly Hills, Michigan
You are invited to make an Annual Fund gift online at: www.albion.edu/alumni/ makinggift.asp . For information on long-term, planned gifts to Albion, go to: www.albion.edu/ alumni/giving.asp .
office of institutional advancement 611 e. porter st. albion, mi 49224 517/629-0242 advancement@albion.edu www.albion.edu/alumni/giving.asp
Susan Sadler is a partner in the law firm of Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy, The Lux Fiat Society ($50,000 and above) Albion College Io Triumphe! Society ($25,000-$49,999) and Sadler,The PLC, in Bloomfield Giving Societies The Trustees’ Circle ($10,000-$24,999) Hills, Mich. She is currently a The President’s member of Albion College’sAssociates Alumni ($5,000-$9,999) Purple & Gold Society ($2,500-$4,999) Association The Board of Directors. The 1835 Society ($1,835) The Briton Round Table ($1,000-$2,499) The Crest Club ($500-$999) The Shield Club ($100-$499) The Stockwell Society (Deferred gifts)
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IoTriumphe! summer 2007
The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Albion College
Features
8
Creating a Road Map for the Future President Donna Randall plans to broaden Albion’s reach
13
‘A Lesson of Hope’
Departments
16
Sound and Silence
3
Briton Bits
The extraordinary paintings of Philip C. Curtis, ’30
22
Albionotes
38
Alumni Association News
41
Li’l Brits
Building a new family across international borders
13 8
16
Cover photo by David Trumpie Summer 2007 |
Perspect!ves
IoTriumphe! Magazine Staff Editor: Sarah Briggs Contributing Writers: Morris Arvoy, ’90, Jake Weber, Bobby Lee Class Notes Writers: Nikole Lee, Luann Shepherd
‘Something there is that doesn’t love a wall’ I still remember the thrill I felt as I watched my brother, J.D., come through the gate at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport carrying his newly adopted son from Vietnam. Their arrival was the culmination of months of waiting and mountains of paperwork that had to be completed and filed. J.D. and his wife, Sue, already had two daughters by birth when they adopted Tom, and they have since added two more daughters from Vietnam and, most recently, a son from China. My husband and I, who had all we could handle raising just two children, continue to marvel at my brother’s highenergy household—and at the courage my brother and his wife have shown as they lovingly built their family of eight. So I guess it’s not surprising that when I come across an international adoption story I find it hard to resist. You may recall that in our spring 2003 edition Cindy Schmidt Champnella, ’80, told of adopting a daughter from China and the subsequent adoption by Champnella’s sister of the little boy with whom her daughter had formed a deep emotional bond in the orphanage where they had lived. In this issue, you will find the story of former Albion faculty member Catherine Frerichs, remembered by many alumni as Catherine Lamb, who in 2000 became the foster mother for three children from Sudan. Two of these young people, Debora Makuei and Mach Mach, are now enrolled at Albion. I know you will be moved by Morris Arvoy’s poignant and honest portrayal of how Catherine and the children have reached across boundaries of nationality and culture to create a new family life together. There are still more international connections in this edition. In “Briton Bits,” | Io Triumphe!
you will learn about several students who have received major grants that will take them overseas for teaching and research, and our back cover photo gives you a glimpse of the latest Holocaust Studies Service-Learning Trip to Poland in May. (I encourage you to read the insightful blog from that trip at www.albion.edu/ holocauststudies .) In our “Short Takes” feature (page 6), Albion sociology professor 'Dimeji Togunde talks about growing up in Nigeria and how he shares his story as an immigrant with his students. And in “Reflections” (page 28), Amber Hughson, ’09, describes how a life-changing First-Year Seminar trip to Cameroon with French professor Emmanuel Yewah has inspired a group of Albion students to raise funds to rebuild a school in Batchingou, Yewah’s hometown. Finally, in our cover story, you will hear from President Donna Randall on her hopes for Albion—including a further expansion of international study, research, and work opportunities for Albion students and faculty. In the coming year, President Randall will launch a strategic planning process that will cause us all to explore the mission of liberal arts education in the 21st century and “open ourselves to possibilities . . . we have before us.” That discussion undoubtedly will include new ways to encourage even broader participation in the global community. We invite you, as alumni, parents, and friends, to join in what is sure to be a lively conversation. Sarah Briggs, Editor sbriggs@albion.edu 517/629-0244
Design: Susan Carol Rowe Web Manager: Nicole Rhoads Io Triumphe! is published three times annually by the Office of Communications, Albion College, 611 E. Porter St., Albion, MI 49224. It is distributed free to alumni and friends of the College. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Office of Communications, Albion College, 611 E. Porter St., Albion, MI 49224. World Wide Web: www.albion.edu Albion College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability, as protected by law, in all educational programs and activities, admission of students, and conditions of employment. About Our Name The unusual name for this publication comes from a yell written by members of the Class of 1900. The beginning words of the yell, “Io Triumphe!,” were probably borrowed from the poems of the Roman writer, Horace. Some phrases were taken from other college yells and others from a Greek play presented on campus during the period. 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!
The latest new s around campus
B r ! ton B ! ts the Rock
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Albion’s equestrian students saluted Mark Lampen, ’10, and Halley Sissom, ’08, as the pair headed off to the Intercollegiate Dressage Association national championships in late April. In addition, Merrill Howland, ’09, became the first Albion hunt seat rider to compete at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s zone finals after advancing from the regionals this spring. Growth in the College’s equestrian programs has resulted in the addition of a new 40-stall stable block at the Held Equestrian Center, as well as the expansion of the Heathman Indoor Arena. To learn more about our equestrian programs and facilities, go to: www.albion. edu/heldcenter/ .
Princeton Review Names Albion a ‘Best Value’ By Morris Arvoy
competitive edge
Praising Albion College as “among the most academically outstanding colleges in the nation,” The Princeton Review recently named Albion one of its “Best Value Colleges.” With its comprehensive mix of solid academics and extracurricular offerings, Albion is listed as one of the country’s best overall bargains in private education in the 2008 edition of America’s Best Value Colleges, published this spring by Random House. Albion also is ranked fourth in the nation in “More to Do on Campus” by the Review. “This recognition from The Princeton Review confirms what our alumni and friends have known all along—that an
Albion education is a great investment,” said President Donna Randall. “At Albion, we offer the total package—excellent academic programs as well as opportunities outside the classroom to learn and grow as a person. “We will be taking this message to new areas in the coming year, as we reach out beyond our Midwestern base. Having this acknowledgment as a ‘best value’ can only strengthen our case.” The Princeton Review selected the colleges for this year’s book after looking at more than 30 factors in four areas— academics, tuition, financial aid, and student borrowing—to determine the list of “best values.”
“Families shopping for colleges with excellent academics, generous financial aid packages, and/or relatively low costs of attendance will find outstanding choices [among these schools],” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review vice president.
Summer 2007 |
Br!ton B!ts
Foreign Policy Expert Opens New Year
The event is open to Zakaria alumni and friends. Watch www.albion.edu/ac_news/ for more information.
OPERATION BENTLEY PHOTO
Michigan State Senator Mark Schauer, ’84, met in May with students in Operation Bentley, a week-long government simulation program held annually at Albion College and funded by the Bentley Foundation. In addition to visiting Lansing, the 96 high school sophomores and juniors designed legislation and debated current issues.
The ‘Inn’ Crowd
The next time you visit Albion, consider staying at one of our community’s three bed-and-breakfast inns. Each has a distinct personality, and there’s something for almost every taste—in décor and in menu! Palmer House Inn. The Palmer House Inn’s “Office Room” used to be its office—until owner Scott Marvin saw its walnut-and-marble bedroom set at an auction. “I didn’t have anywhere to put it, but it was too beautiful to pass up,” he explains. Entering the 125-year-old Palmer House is truly a step back in time, reflecting Marvin’s devotion to the house’s original era. “Everything in here is from the Victorian period,” he says. “But it’s not a museum. We use the antique china and silver and furniture. Why have it if you can’t enjoy it?”
s. briggs PHOTO
fare finds
Palmer House Inn
M. Arvoy Photo
S. ESTRADA PHOTO
word power
Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria will deliver the 2007 William K. Stoffer Lecture at Albion College’s Opening Convocation, Monday, Aug. 27, in Goodrich Chapel. As editor of Newsweek International, he oversees all of Newsweek’s editions abroad. He also writes a regular column for the magazine, hosts a weekly PBS show, “Foreign Exchange,” and regularly appears on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” Zakaria’s post-9/11 cover story for Newsweek, “Why They Hate Us,” won numerous national and international journalism awards. He is widely respected by the general public and his peers for his keen understanding of international political and economic issues. His most recent book, The Future of Freedom, was published in 2003 and was a New York Times bestseller.
Albion Heritage Bed & Breakfast
517/620-0001; www.palmerhouseinnbnb.com
With the arrival of Donna Randall as Albion’s 15th president, Io Triumphe! offers this trivia quiz to test your knowledge of Albion’s presidential history. 1. In 1861, Albion was authorized to award a fouryear college degree upon both men and women. Who was president at the time? 2. Who were the two longest serving Albion presidents? 3. Which president served two non-consecutive terms? 4. What two 20th-century presidents were on the faculty before becoming president? 5. Under whose tenure was Albion’s first Institute (now the Gerstacker Liberal Arts Institute for Professional Management) formed? Answers appear on page 25. | Io Triumphe!
Albion Heritage Bed & Breakfast. Albion Heritage offers the usual delights of a B&B experience, with a little (maybe a lot) of the city’s colorful history mixed in. Each of its five rooms is named for a city forebear, says owner Dick Lewin, because “Albion was very involved in things like Wilde Oaks Guest Suites the abolitionist movement, the suffrage movement—there were some really noteworthy people here.” Lewin and wife Mary Slater’s passion for Albion has rubbed off on some of their “regulars,” who enjoy accompanying the couple to local cultural events. “People come first because we’re centrally located,” says Lewin, “but then they become part of the family.” C. KERNISH PHOTO
Albion Presidential Trivia Quiz
517/629-3550; www.albionheritage.com Wilde Oaks Guest Suites. “We get a lot of people who just want to come and crash,” says Wilde Oaks Guest Suites owner Ed Kernish, explaining why he and wife Sue created the “bottomless soup pot,” a bonus for Friday night guests. “Some people come just because of the soup.” The Kernishes also credit their secluded location and extensive book/DVD library with drawing those who want to get away from it all. “We give all our guests return-mail envelopes,” says Kernish, “because so many people want to take books home and finish them later.” 517/629-4678; www.wildeoaksguestsuites.com
—Jake Weber
Albion Students Shine in Awards Competitions By Morris Arvoy and Jake Weber
M. ARVOY PHOTOS
Under a Fulbright grant, Brynn Howard, ’07, next fall will become a teaching assistant in English classrooms at the middle or high school level in the Baden-Wurttemberg area of Germany. Howard said she is looking forward to returning to Germany to teach and work with students studying English. The German
Howard
Game
Catherine Game, ’08, has become the first Albion student to be named a Udall Scholar by the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation. The 80 Udall Scholars for 2007 were selected from among 434 candidates nominated by 221 colleges and universities. Game, who is majoring in biology and art with an environmental studies concentration, will receive a $5,000 scholarship for one year. In August, the Udall Scholars will gather in Tucson, Ariz., to receive their awards and meet policy-makers and community leaders in environmental fields. “This is an absolutely fabulous award for Catherine,” said Timothy Lincoln, professor of geological sciences and the director of the Institute for the Study of the Environment. “She is such a catalyst in terms of getting people involved in things—she makes the people around her better.” Game led a group of Albion students who last summer received a $10,000 environmental education grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In our winter-spring edition, we announced that anthropology major Sarah Heddon, ’07, had received a Rotary Ambassadorial Award. She recently declined that honor following notification that she had won a 2007-08 scholarship from the Fulbright Program’s Institute of International Education to conduct research in Tanzania.
“Fulbright is highly competitive, and Tanzania is one of the most competitive of their programs in Africa,” said Matthew Carotenuto, assistant professor of history. “Sarah competed against Ph.D. students from across the country—and she beat out a great number of them.” Heddon pinpointed Tanzania as the area she wanted to study because of its vibrant Swahili culture, combining influences from the Middle East, India, and Africa. Also advising Heddon were faculty members Molly Mullin (anthropology) and Emmanuel Yewah (French).
IoTriumphe!
Online
Find these Bonus Bits stories online at: www.albion.edu/iotriumphe/
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major previously completed an internship in Bonn during her junior year. The Fulbright experience will be most valuable because of the cultural immersion it provides, noted Catherine Grimm, assistant professor of German. “Opportunities open up for students during their year in Germany,” Grimm said. “They get to interact with Germans and experience German culture in a way that they would not normally have.”
Commencement 2007: 356 Seniors Complete the Journey
j. weber PHOTO
J. WEBER PHOTO
reaching up and out
Chemistry major Shauna Paradine, ’08, has traveled to the University of Mainz in Germany this summer as one of the inaugural scholars in the RISE program, an international research program sponsored jointly by the National Science Foundation and its German equivalent, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD). RISE provides 200 American undergraduates each year with a paid research position, travel expenses, and opportunities to participate in professional conferences. Paradine was named one of the American Chemical Society’s 10 RISE scholars, an award given to RISE participants who show exceptional potential. In Germany, Paradine will continue the research Paradine she has conducted for the past three years, under the direction of chemistry professor Andrew French, focusing on chiral hypervalent iodine reagents. In the pharmaceutical industry, these reagents may replace more toxic substances currently used to manufacture many drugs.
A ‘Showcase of Learning’: First Maymester Exceeds Expectations For even more Albion College news, go to: www.albion.edu/ac_news
Heddon Summer 2007 |
Br!ton B!ts
Two Minutes with . . . Sociologist 'Dimeji Togunde
short takes
By Morris Arvoy
Io Triumphe!: You’re traveling to Nigeria this summer to conduct new research on the effects of globalization and Western influences on dating patterns in Nigeria.
'Dimeji Togunde takes the students in his First-Year Seminar on immigration to the U.S.Mexican border at El Paso, Texas. “Seeing the poor living conditions at the border—shanty towns, poor drainage, and dilapidated buildings, most of the students become sympathetic to the plight of many Mexicans who decide to migrate to the United States,” he says. The trip helps the students understand the socioeconomic, cultural, political, environmental, and security aspects of immigration.
Togunde: I want to collect data that will enable me to study the extent to which Nigerian society is responding to the forces of modernization. Is Nigerian society still traditional, or is it changing in response to the effects of Westernization?
Nigerian undergraduates, because they are curious, want to know what’s out there—I call them catalysts of change. They are more likely to experiment and try new methods of seeking partners. Since Nigerians’ level of education has been increasing phenomenally, the impact of some traditional factors like religion and ethnicity on mate selection may begin to dissipate. Therefore, I would expect Nigerian undergraduates to be more open to marrying outside their respective ethnic groups rather than holding on to the traditional practice of marrying within one’s ethnic group. Tell me a little about your own family in Nigeria. I come from a polygamous family. My father is married to four wives, and he has 12 children. I am the eldest of the children, and my mom is the eldest of the wives. Were you close to your brothers and sisters? Oh, yes—I’m close to all of them. The Nigerian family structure is typical of the African family structure—there’s interdependence. As the eldest, the rest of the children look up to me as a role model. Actually, I am like a junior father to a lot of them. Some of my brothers and sisters call me dad, especially those who are very young.
| Io Triumphe!
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What do you think you will find?
Your father is a successful electrician who greatly values education. While I give God the glory, my father should receive credit for where I am today. I remember when I was growing up he would be reading the newspaper aloud to me and if a university professor identified a problem that was facing Nigeria, and suggested some solutions, my dad would say, “Look at this university professor suggesting solutions to our problems!” Why did you decide to go to Cornell for your Ph.D.? Having obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Nigeria, I had that quest—that desire—to go outside Nigeria and obtain international exposure. I thought that I would have an informed global understanding of social issues. In your First-Year Seminar, you take your students to one of America’s immigration flashpoints. How do the students react? I regularly take my students to the U.S.-Mexican border at El Paso, Texas. The students’ excitement is always palpable. So is my own
admiration, upon return, of their ability to connect the readings to the experiences gained from the trip. Through presentations by Border Patrol agents, interviews with activists, and visits to the industries (maquiladoras) along the border and to several organizations that work with immigrants, my students develop new insights about Mexican immigration to the United States. They are able to see that immigration is a complex issue! How does being an immigrant help in your teaching? It’s incredible, because I am able to bring a wider firsthand experience to the classroom, especially in my immigration seminar. Students truly appreciate how my roots and heritage inform their knowledge of social and cultural issues. So it helps their understanding to have someone standing before them . . . . . . who has “been there, done that,” and who can bring a perspective different from what the students can read in the textbook.
Go Br!ts!
Going the Distance Hayden Smith’s athletic career has covered many miles since he competed in track and field under Albion coach Elkin Isaac. In his days as a student, the 1970 Albion graduate was best known for his schoolrecord 23-foot long jump that propelled him to an MIAA title, as well as for his highjumping skills and running in the 100-yard dash. Smith continued to compete in sprinting and jumping events at local meets while pursuing his master’s degree at San Diego State University and beginning his teaching career in Arizona. Smith’s career took a new—and longer— path when he was named the cross country coach after his second year of teaching at Flowing Wells High School. Smith didn’t have any experience with distance running as the 1973-74 school year approached, but at least he had a qualified mentor: one of his student-athletes. “We had a returning state runner-up, and I was about to become the team’s fourth coach in four years so he was clearly selfcoached,” Smith explains. The student persuaded his new coach that he should design his own workouts. “He ended up as a state champion in the mile in track.”
B. LEE PHOTO
By Bobby Lee Sports Information Director
The new coaching role pushed Smith to run his first road race in 1973. “If I didn’t finish last, [then] I was near last,” he recalls, and he began training for his first marathon which he ran Thanksgiving weekend in 1974. Though Smith returned to Albion in 2001 as one of the Britons’ busiest coaches—he mentors the men’s and women’s cross country and women’s track and field squads—his interest in distance running has never wavered. He has completed 70 marathons over the past 33 years, and the results are impressive. • He has completed 55 marathons in less than three hours. • He has completed 20 marathons in less than two hours and 37 minutes (a pace of less than six minutes per mile). “When I graduated from Albion it was all I could do to run one 6-minute mile,” Smith quips.
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: www.albion.edu/sports/
Hayden Smith, ’70, has competed in longdistance runs in locations from Boston to San Diego. He lists crossing the Grand Canyon as his most enjoyable run. The toughest? The Western States Endurance Run, a 24-hour, 100-mile trek through California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. (The belt buckle he’s holding is a memento of that race.) Albion’s program has also made significant strides under Smith’s tutelage. The men’s cross country team was the MIAA runner-up from 2002 to 2004, and the Britons advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2003. The women’s cross country team has made the leap from fifth in the league in 2001 to third this past fall. Both cross country teams have been honored as all-academic squads by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association every year during Smith’s tenure. After 33 years of coaching cross country, Smith continues to be inspired by his students. “At Albion I get to work with athletes who are accomplishing so much away from the sport, but they still compete hard,” Smith says. “When you see the young people here, you know the nation is in good hands. The one constant at Albion is the caliber of the person who is the student and athlete.”
or e-mail Bobby Lee at blee@albion.edu.
Summer 2007 |
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| Io Triumphe!
Creating a Road Map for the Future President Donna Randall plans to broaden Albion’s reach By Sarah Briggs
As she reflects on her new role as Albion College’s president, Donna Randall tells the tale of the three stonecutters: A traveler stopped one day as three stonecutters were at work and asked them what they were doing. The first said, “I’m cutting stones.” The second said, “I’m earning money to support my family.” The third said, “I’m building a cathedral.” Learning to think like the third stonecutter makes all the difference, she says. “I think of my work here at Albion as ‘building a cathedral.’ It’s an honor to be the 15th president of Albion College. It’s a wonderful institution, and I’m very thankful to have been given the opportunity to be its leader.”
In ‘building this cathedral,’ Randall notes, a strong foundation already exists in Albion’s people—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—and in its programs. “I’ve received letters and e-mails over the past few months from many alumni. They talk about their affection for the institution—how deeply attached they are to the College. Albion has really captured their hearts and souls.” While that sense of connection may begin in the classroom, the interaction between faculty and students extends far beyond the classroom walls. “At Albion,” she says, “the faculty are deeply committed to the personal and professional development of students and the educational mission. Students come first, and there is little ambiguity about that.”
Dr. Donna M. Randall began her appointment as Albion College’s 15th president on July 1, 2007.
Randall is impressed too with programs like the Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (FURSCA), which enables students to work on specialized projects with faculty as early as their first year on campus. “FURSCA is distinctive in that regard,” she says. “Establishing a bond with a faculty member early on leads to a successful college experience.” “There’s no question,” Randall observes, “that Albion offers a fine undergraduate liberal arts education.” Beyond that, she continues, Albion has a professional bent, most evident in its Institutes, that sets the College apart from many of its peer institutions. “It ties back to ‘Liberal Arts at Work.’ An Albion education is not just about graduating students with a liberal arts background—it’s also about allowing them to develop, at the same time, professional skills to enhance career success.”
Summer 2007 |
As a residential college, she adds, Albion also provides an experience for students that goes beyond academic life. “There’s a very healthy and important balance here, an appreciation for activities outside the classroom—sports, fraternities, sororities, clubs, leadership endeavors. These involvements make for a well-rounded student who will be an active participant in society.” Randall looks forward to getting to know Albion’s students better. “Every indicator reveals a great depth and breadth of student talent. We don’t have onefaceted students here.” In her first months at Albion, Randall says, “I want to listen. I want to learn what works for faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni and what doesn’t. I also need to understand the history and the culture of Albion. Any institution that’s 172 years old has deep roots. The most effective leaders have a healthy respect for the past of an institution and seek to build upon that.” Launching a strategic planning process will be one of the key tasks for her first year, she says. “The president, with extensive involvement of the campus community, needs to create a road map for the future that members of the Albion community can embrace and follow.” Under President Peter Mitchell’s leadership, she observes, Albion has developed a clear sense of its mission and has strengthened many programs.
Women at the Top In becoming Albion College’s president, Donna Randall joins a growing number of women who are leading American higher education institutions today. Harvard University’s first woman president, Drew Faust, began her tenure there on the same day—July 1—that Donna Randall began hers at Albion. And in Michigan Randall joins presidents Mary Sue Coleman at the University of Michigan, Lou Anna Simon at Michigan State University, Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran at Kalamazoo College, and Saundra Tracy at Alma College, among others.
“The greater number of women recently appointed to higher education
administrative roles,” Randall observes, “not only expands, but deepens, the talent pool. Such efforts to add diversity to higher education leadership positions bode well for the future of higher education.”
10 | Io Triumphe!
“As we start the next round of strategic planning, I think it’s extremely important to open ourselves to possibilities and determine the additional opportunities we have before us.” She adds, “Any strategic planning process has to be inclusive. All different constituent groups—faculty, staff, students, trustees—need to be involved in the creation of that plan.” The strategic planning effort, Randall says, will be based on an exploration of liberal arts education in the context of the 21st century. What knowledge and skills will students need in the next few decades and what collegiate experiences can best provide those? In particular, she will encourage Albion to explore the international opportunities available for both students and faculty. “We are in a global society. If we are going to prepare our students to compete and lead in a global society, we need to internationalize the campus.” Randall points to the semester she spent studying in Lyon, France as a “transforming experience” in her undergraduate education and would like to make it possible for every Albion student to gain exposure to other cultures, especially those that are most different from our own. “Students today need to feel comfortable talking about global issues, and with studying, traveling, and working internationally,” she stresses. Involvement in international teaching and research can be valuable for faculty as well. “Having a year-long opportunity to teach at University College-Dublin and conduct research with Irish colleagues provided me with a deep understanding of Irish culture and, perhaps more surprising, a much deeper understanding and appreciation of American culture,” she notes. The strategic planning process will also look at ways to enhance Albion’s national reputation and to increase the geographic diversity of its student body. Given demographic trends that show the high-schoolage population in the Midwest reaching a plateau in the coming years, coupled with Albion’s heavy reliance on regional recruiting, Randall believes that broadening the recruitment base nationally is imperative. She would like to tap alumni spread across the country in persuading more students to consider Albion, she says. “Their voices are so strong, passionate, and positive.”
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Donna Randall and Spencer Feraco, shown here at an orientation session in June, will both be “firstyears” in the fall. Becoming a college president was the farthest thing from her mind when Donna Randall graduated from Drake University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1974. An undergraduate internship in her senior year with a criminal justice agency led to a full-time job as a white-collar crime analyst, and she spent the next three years working on whitecollar crime detection and prosecution. As the cases unfolded, she found herself wondering why individuals would commit such crimes. “Many who committed crimes were affluent. What would possess someone to risk their career, their reputation, and their friendships?” To find answers, she decided to enter graduate school at Washington State University, and she went on to earn a master’s and Ph.D., both in sociology, at Washington State, along with an M.B.A. Her interests eventually shifted to the broader field of professional ethics. Randall’s research on ethical decision-making has appeared in a number of nationally respected publications including the Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Social Science Quarterly. After finishing her doctorate, she taught for 11 years in Washington State’s Department of Management and Systems. “Teaching is a profession that can profoundly change the lives of others. In particular, in working with students who are right at the beginning of their intellectual journeys, you can have so much impact— opening their minds, introducing different perspectives, shaping how they approach problems. It’s tremendously exciting.”
As time went on, Randall decided she wanted a broader leadership role in guiding an academic community. In 1995, she became dean of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis and then, in 2000, provost at the University of Hartford. While at Hartford, she recruited an academic leadership team for the university’s seven colleges and schools, led a strategic planning process that expanded its academic offerings, and secured funding for honors scholarships and for significant improvements in educational technology. These experiences ultimately convinced her to apply for the Albion College presidency.
‘An Articulate and Charismatic Presence’ “Donna Randall is a strong leader, an articulate and charismatic presence, and a woman with well-developed listening, speaking, and writing skills. She is blessed with the strongest analytical mind I have ever known, and she is almost always the quickest person in the room to arrive at the solution to any problem. But what makes her truly remarkable is her unmatched sense of humor and quick wit. That makes even the most difficult news she has to give—and provosts and presidents almost always have to deliver both good and bad news—not only palatable but also understandable and even, at times, funny. So expect strong leadership, clear vision, keen analysis, and lots of laughs along the way. Albion’s in for a great ride with Donna.” Walter Harrison President, University of Hartford
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Accompanying Donna Randall to Albion will be her husband, Paul Hagner, a former political science professor who is now an independent educational technology consultant. Their daughter, Kate, will enter her sophomore year at Emerson College in Boston in the fall. “It was a natural progression,” she says. “As a provost, I could see the ability of a president to shape the future of an institution. While the position comes with tremendous responsibility, presidents have unparalleled opportunities to make a positive impact on higher education and the lives of students.”
Donna’s Bookshelf One glance at Donna Randall’s bookshelf reveals her eclectic interests. Given her background, it’s no surprise that you find there the latest works on leadership and corporate management including Jim Collins’s Good to Great and Built to Last, Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, and Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat. But right alongside are other books, including a novel by Wole Soyinka and short stories by Edna O’Brien and William Trevor, reflective of her family’s varied travel destinations.
And sharing shelf space with her personal library are the more than 300
water samples Randall has collected as souvenirs of new places she has visited over the past 35 years. The first, she says, came from Lake Michigan in the early ’70s when she was still a college student; the last is from the Hog River, the creek that crosses the University of Hartford’s campus. Through their travels, family and friends have contributed still more to the collection. In the older samples, she says wryly, “there are some interesting growths.”
Randall believes her success at Albion will also depend on enhancing the sense of community and common purpose. “Presidents need to understand the different sides of issues, to negotiate and to compromise. Resources are always limited— presidents must keep the institution moving ahead and not let it get mired down in politics.” Reflecting on over two decades of administrative experience, Randall recognizes that leadership is both art and science. Fundamentally, she says, it is “getting people in the right roles so they can succeed personally and professionally.” Beyond that, everyone should feel that they are making a contribution and feel inspired to excel, Randall says. “People need to see the meaning behind what they do. We don’t have to create history and traditions at Albion—they already exist. My job will be to make sure we don’t lose sight of the fundamental reason we are here—and that is to educate students to the best of our ability, with all the resources we can bring to that task, and to help prepare them for effective leadership roles in their careers and their communities.” She’s undaunted, she says, by the long hours and myriad responsibilities that come with a college presidency. “For me, work and life are so intertwined—there is no separation. I love what I do. It’s invigorating . . . it’s energizing. It’s something I feel very privileged to do.”
Alumni across the country will have opportunities to meet President Randall in the coming months. Check www. albion.edu/alumni for periodic updates on alumni events planned in your area.
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M. ARVOY PHOTO
‘A Lesson of Hope’ Building a new family across international borders By Morris Arvoy
Most Americans would rather not think about the
tragedy that continues to unfold in Sudan. But there was no escaping that reality for the nearly 100 people crowded into Albion College’s Wesley Chapel one autumn night in 2005. The student-led worship service began with Debora Makuei singing Sudanese hymns in Dinka, her native language. Her brother, Mach Mach, accompanied her on African drums. Once the hymns ended, Mach recounted the story of their life, packed with enough drama, danger, and disappointment for a hundred lives. Sadly, it’s the story of thousands upon thousands of refugees displaced by a devastating civil war. Mach’s story touched on their youth in a small village in southern Sudan, and the years that he, his sister, and their other family members spent fleeing the violence before being relocated to a United Nations refugee camp in Kenya. The tale he told at the chapel service was one of survival against all odds—and hope.
Albion College Chaplain Daniel McQuown remembers Mach offering a message about “God’s faithfulness,” as he talked about how they coped with their difficult situation, about joining a new family here in the United States, and about how this chain of events was a testament to God at work. “It was powerful,” McQuown says. Their journey from Africa to Albion College occurred largely because of their foster mother— Catherine Frerichs, a former associate provost and professor of English at Albion who is now director of the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center and a professor of writing at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. “Coming to the United States was 100 percent different from anything we knew,” Mach says, recalling their arrival in 2000. “It was a culture shock.”
After escaping the civil war raging in Sudan in the early 1990s, Debora Makuei and Mach Mach lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for the next eight years. They arrived in the United States in 2000 to begin a new life with their foster mother, Catherine Frerichs. When it came time for the pair to select a college, they picked Albion—an easy choice since Frerichs had previously spent 23 years on the College’s English faculty.
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Frerichs, whom Albion alumni, faculty, and staff will
D. TRUMPIE PHOTOS
remember as Catherine Lamb, left the College in 1996 to take a job with the Great Lakes Colleges Association in Ann Arbor. A year later she was hired by Grand Valley to lead their faculty development program and teach English. When she was certain she liked Grand Rapids and her job, Frerichs—who had one grown child and was by then in her mid-50s—began thinking she wanted more children. During the 1999 Christmas holiday in New Jersey with her brother, Frerichs met the head of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. He told her his organization placed “unaccompanied minors” in homes through Bethany Christian Services. “I had never heard of ‘unaccompanied minors,’” Frerichs says. “I had no clue that children came to the U.S. without their parents, [but] something just went off in my head, and I thought, ‘Oh, I could do that.’” Through the age of 17, she had lived in Papua New Guinea with her parents who were missionaries, and she had become acquainted with other Third World countries during her travels in Latin America and the Middle East. So she felt confident she could handle the challenge when she learned Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids was trying to find homes for children and teens from Africa. Would she consider adopting a sibling group of three, they asked. It turned out to be Mach, Makuei, and their younger brother, Deng Mach. She discussed the idea with friends. “I need you to tell me if I’m crazy to take three children,” she would say. Nobody did. Frerichs became the first foster parent licensed to receive Sudanese children in Grand Rapids.
D
uring the early 1990s, increasing ethnic violence and the widespread destruction of villages displaced thousands of people in southern Sudan. “We were moved to Kenya because we were being attacked and being separated from our families,” Mach remembers. “People were just moving constantly.”
Makuei was 7 and Mach was 6 in 1992, when they arrived at the Kenyan refugee camp run by the United Nations, having fled their tiny village of Duk and walked to Kenya with thousands of other Sudanese under the direction of world relief organizations. After six years in the camp, Mach and his siblings applied to live in the United States. They knew they had no future in Africa if they stayed. “For the most part the camp was just survival,” says Mach, whose name rhymes with “posh.” They were completely dependent on the United Nations for water, food, schooling (through the eighth grade), and jobs. He notes there were about 60,000 to 70,000 people at the refugee camp, about 50,000 of them Sudanese. The application process to leave the camp included at least four interviews and many hours spent on paperwork, medical examinations, and other official procedures, according to Makuei. It was another two years before their application was approved and they set foot on American soil. “We found out we were coming to Michigan a week before,” Makuei explains. “We had never heard of it—we had heard of New York, Chicago, all the big cities, but not Michigan. Someone told us they heard it was cold there.” They left Kenya with the clothes on their backs and one small bag among them.
Frerichs and many of her friends were waiting when
the three siblings got off the plane at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids on December 20, 2000. They had traveled from Nairobi to Amsterdam to New York to Chicago to Grand Rapids, and were greeted by a chilly Michigan winter day, complete with snow. Frerichs had brought them all coats and gloves—none of which fit. Makuei had not eaten on the plane because she didn’t recognize any of the food. “Because I’d heard of lentils being a staple in east Africa, I served lentils,” Frerichs explains. “It turned out that lentils were one of their main foods in the refugee camp. So, they come here, and the first thing I give them is lentils!” For the first few weeks in Frerichs’ East Grand Rapids home, they slept with their lights on, Makuei in her own room and Mach sharing a room with his brother. For the first few months, the siblings spoke Dinka at the table, talking only to each other. Frerichs remembers that the three used to do everything together—because that is what they were used to. Mach was basically in charge, and because his English was better than his siblings’ he would tell her what they needed.
At Albion, Debora (left) and Mach (opposite) “have taught hundreds of their friends here about . . . the cultural, spiritual, and political realities of Sudan,” says College Chaplain Daniel McQuown. “They’ve taught people here to pay attention to the world. . . .” 14 | Io Triumphe!
When they all went out as a family, Mach would walk behind Frerichs, followed by Deng, and then Makuei. “Finally I said, ‘You must walk beside me. This is America. We can’t do this—you have to walk with me,’” Frerichs recalls. Often feeling outnumbered, she says, “I would invite my friends over to dilute the effect. I would finish each week just exhausted.” The adjustments to their new life took about a year, as the three “lost children of Sudan” slowly got to know their new country, their new home, and their new mom—and she got to know them. “When I try to describe it, it was so overwhelming—it was like having a tidal wave go over me, and I guess over them,” Frerichs says. “They brought all of themselves and I brought all of myself, and no house was big enough. I don’t even know how to explain it other than to say that. I often asked them what they were saying because I couldn’t understand it. They have never asked me what I was saying, yet they must often have not understood me.” Mach remembers that he was always asking questions of Frerichs—whom they call “Mom”—which went a long way toward creating mutual understanding. “When I arrived here I asked Mom a lot of questions about everything—just constantly,” he says. “I learned a lot about life, about how kids my age grew up, and Mom did a great job with all that.” After about three months everyone started to speak English at the dinner table, and slowly East Grand Rapids became “home.” “At some point after the first year, I could see that they were going to be okay in school, and I knew that I could leave them at home and they would be safe,” Frerichs says. “I didn’t in the beginning. They knew me, and they knew I wasn’t going to let them down.”
A
fter completing high school in 2004, Mach and Makuei both decided to enroll at Albion. Now, as student workers at the Kellogg Center information desk, they cheerfully greet friends who wander by. It’s the perfect job for the friendly duo, who often linger when the other is working. They can also frequently be found at the library—which Mach calls their “second home.” Mach, an international studies major who has lent his time and energy to Habitat for Humanity, Peer Educators, African-Caribbean Student Union, the Sleight Servant Leadership Program, and the student chapel program, says his greatest experiences at Albion have come from getting involved in campus life. He cites his association with the Sigma Chi fraternity as having the biggest impact on his college experience. “Just living with 40 other guys—a lot of really great guys—eating, talking, playing basketball,” he says. “There is always someone to talk to. It’s great.” Makuei, an international studies major and a student mentor for the Step Ahead program, says coming to Albion was important to her because her mom—
Frerichs—had fond memories of the College. “I used to visit here when Mom came to see her friends,” Makuei says. She is active in the International Student Union, the Black Student Alliance, African-Caribbean Student Union, the Arab Club, and Union Board. “Now I like it here a lot, and I have made lots of friends. My roommate and I have been roommates for three years. Albion is small enough that you can talk to your professors and get help from them also.” Chaplain McQuown describes Mach and Makuei as involved in every aspect of the Albion experience: social life, cultural life, religious life, academic life. “Because of that,” he says, “they have taught hundreds of their friends here about the world and the cultural, spiritual, and political realities of Sudan. They’ve taught people here to pay attention to the world and to pay attention to what’s going on. It’s a lesson of hope.”
While watching her three new children grow,
Frerichs says that she too has grown. “I thought I had a pretty rich and interesting life before they came, and now I realize they opened up a whole new world for me,” Frerichs says. “I’ve had to become a lot more flexible. I have developed hugely as a person, just learned a lot about refugees in general, more about the situation in Sudan . . . and met a lot of people I never would have met.” “I think I have to write a book,” she continues. “But I’d have to write it with them, not about them.” Mach jokes that it would make a better movie. Thinking about her future, Makuei says she hopes one day to have a career, a husband, and five kids, one of whom will be adopted. Mach says he would like adoption to play a role in his future family as well. “I just smile every time I see them, because they’ve had a chance to live the American dream here,” McQuown remarks. Mach wants the dream to continue. “In 10 years hopefully I’ll have three kids, be living here in Grand Rapids, with a house,” he says. “I would love to live here and have business all over the world. I like kids, and it would be fun to just see somebody grow. The whole American dream, basically.” To which Makuei adds with a laugh, “Ten years? Better get a girlfriend fast!” Summer 2007 | 15
Solo, oil on board, 1962. 16 | Io Triumphe!
Philip C. Curtis, ’30
Sound and Silence In September, Great Lakes area art lovers will once again be able to enjoy in person the extraordinary paintings of Philip Curtis, ’30, in an Albion College exhibition entitled “Sound and Silence.” Curtis, who passed away in 2000, is highly regarded among 20th-century American painters. His main body of work is on permanent display in a special wing at the Phoenix Art Museum. This upcoming exhibition, assembled at the College’s Bobbitt Visual Arts Center by Bille Wickre, associate professor of art history, takes a fresh look at Curtis’s art by exploring the life experiences that influenced his paintings. Wickre and her students in a seminar on American Surrealism have written a series of essays for the exhibition catalogue discussing how Curtis drew on and depicted these life experiences. The paintings have been selected from Albion College’s collection of his work, donated by Curtis’s longtime friend, the late Russell Babcock, ’27, and from other private holdings. Curtis’s work was previously displayed on campus in 1991. The exhibition also reflects Curtis and Babcock’s friendship which began during their student days at Albion in the late 1920s and extended over more than 70 years. Jim Whitehouse, ’69, who knew them both, writes in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue,
“Curtis was impish, and even though curmudgeonly, always had a twinkle in his eye. Babcock, ever serious and philosophical, was ready to address any topic. Both were amazingly intelligent—Russell had a huge personal library and attended lectures and political rallies, and feasted on newspapers. [Curtis] had his artist’s eye on the world. He had his upside-down-and-sideways wit. To sit at the lunch table in a restaurant or in Phil’s little studio/house and listen to them talk—about anything—was magical. Amazingly, they did not often talk about the past. They were men of today. . . . Their love and respect for one another was palpable.” One of Russell Babcock’s final tributes to his friend was the endowment of the Philip C. Curtis Visiting Artist Program, which brings highly talented emerging artists to Albion’s campus to pursue their artistic creations and work with our students. Co-sponsors of the “Sound and Silence” exhibition include: The Philip C. Curtis Charitable Trust for the Encouragement of Art, Cattle Track Art and Preservation, The Sandra S. Kempner Trust, and The Wanda and Russell Babcock Foundation.
Exhibition Schedule The exhibition, “Sound and Silence,” will be on display in the Elsie E. Munro Gallery and Martha Dickinson Gallery, Bobbitt Visual Arts Center (corner of Cass and Hannah streets) on the Albion College campus, Tuesday, Sept. 4 through Saturday, Sept. 29 during the following hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. On Homecoming, Saturday, Sept. 29, the galleries will be open until 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Sundays. There is no admission charge. For more information or to obtain a copy of the exhibition catalogue, contact the Department of Art and Art History at 517/629-0246 or via e-mail at: art@albion.edu .
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The following images represent some of the more than 75 works appearing in the Sound and Silence exhibition catalogue. The commentaries that appear with the paintings on these pages are excerpted from the catalogue. After graduating from Albion in 1930, Curtis went on to study at Yale University’s School of Fine Arts for three years. In 1936, he joined the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the next year founded the Phoenix Art
Center (now Phoenix Art Museum) under the auspices of the WPA. After service during World War II with the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, D.C., he settled in Scottsdale, Ariz., and devoted himself to painting. During his lifetime, his work was exhibited in New York, Washington, and throughout the West. Today, his paintings are featured in the Ullman Center at the Phoenix Art Museum. In 1995, Curtis was the subject of an award-winning PBS documentary, Philip C. Curtis: An American Original.
Street Scene III, oil on masonite, c. 1963.
Coming of Age Intent on finding his own unique style, Philip Curtis left his studies at Yale Art School after three years to travel to New York. In the 1930s, New York City was full of change and artistic revolution with new movements [including Surrealism], exhibitions, and forms of artistic expression. . . . He experienced the
art scene and was exposed to a range of new ideas. . . . Curtis and his friends would often venture out into New York City with their sketchbooks doing hundreds of sketches. [His style later evolved] into a more fantasy- and dream-like approach reminiscent of Surrealist works. Rachel Kowalski, ’08, and Christina Borrelli, ’07
18 | Io Triumphe!
Musical Imaginings Musicians and musical instruments appear in Curtis’s paintings throughout his career. . . . Philip J. Curtis, the artist’s nephew, stated that his uncle painted from “photographs in his head,” suggesting that his musical images were carried over from early childhood memories. Curtis would have had the opportunity to see a traveling military-style band when the famous John Philip Sousa Band toured southern Michigan in 1913. . . . The truly American nature of Sousa’s marches and style were imbedded in patriotism and reflected military structure. Curtis takes this phase of musical and American history and places his own twist on the imagery. Claire Furness, ’08 Forest Concert, oil on board, 1989.
Evoking the Past Curtis frequently acknowledged the influence of [Renaissance master] Piero della Francesca. He took inspiration from Piero’s ways of rendering figures, especially in . . . methods of grouping figures within the composition and the importance of gazes and expressions, or lack thereof. . . . Many of Curtis’s figures [appear] in groups that look as though they would be interacting, but instead make no eye contact, seem oblivious to the very presence of those who surround them, or have expressionless faces. . . . The result is an eerie silence. Picnic, oil on board, 1961.
Kimberly Lloyd and Lillian Hergott, ’08
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Return of Little Eva, oil on masonite, 1955.
Transitory Spaces Philip Curtis paints in the moment between experience and memory, rendering permanent the liminal, that unstable period between fixed or stable conditions. In Curtis’s liminal states, subjects become ambiguous and paradoxical; that is, they are both mutually excluding and defining. In Solo (the image on page 16), the horn is not sound and not silence, but both and neither, embodying rationally incongruent messages. Common themes of Curtis’s art are transitory spaces of the human condition, those metaphorical spaces “betwixt and between” here and there, life and death, sound and silence.
20 | Io Triumphe!
His favorite motifs are those which allude to a state of transition, either physical, experiential, or emotional. Physical points of transition include doorways, porches, windows, gates, ticket booths, elevators, train platforms. Musical instruments soundless but richly potent with sound exemplify experiential transitions. Emotional transitions are anticipatory in nature, such as desire and foreboding. In Curtis’s work, however, transitions are suspended, frozen in the liminal state. Moments that should be fleeting become eternal, captured in the paradox of being. Bille Wickre, Associate Professor of Art History
Street Car Journey, oil on masonite, 1988.
Finding Refuge The desert was important to Curtis for reasons both personal and artistic, and this sense of respect and intimacy shows in his paintings. While it is common practice to view the desert with a sense of foreboding and desolation, or as a masculine wilderness with great trials of strength and survival, for Curtis the desert was a haven. He populated the vast spaces with
civilized characters in civilized circumstances: dinner parties, grand speeches, street car journeys. Curtis was not afraid to suggest the desert’s power and its ability to claim and reclaim the signs left by human intervention, but he did so in a way which was not malicious so much as it was embracing. Ben Evans, ’08
The Cycle of Life Caught between its past and its future, the ghost town, particularly Jerome, Arizona, enthralled Philip Curtis, so much so that he painted Jerome as many as seventeen times between 1938 and 1970. He enjoyed the ramshackle quiet of the small, mostly-abandoned town. . . . [Curtis] said, “Ghost Towns have always been a source of fascination for me. Take a town like Jerome. Here’s a whole cycle of life compressed in a few brief years, a quick beginning and end, birth, life, and death.” Jerome I, tempera on board, 1948.
Jessica Carden, ’07 Summer 2007 | 21
A lum n ! A s s o c ! at ! o n N e w s
ECOMING 2007 M O H SEPT. 28-30
Share Your Story
Friday, Sept. 28 9 a.m. Eleventh Annual Briton Classic Golf Tournament, The Medalist Golf Club, Marshall Join alumni and friends of the College for a great day of competition and camaraderie on the links. Shotgun start at 10 a.m., following registration at 9 a.m. Go to www.albion.edu/sports/britonclassic/ for more details. 6:15 p.m. Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony, Baldwin Hall Help us honor this year’s Athletic Hall of Fame inductees for their contributions to athletics as students or alumni. 9:30 p.m. Alumni and Student Bonfire and Pep Rally, Beese-Havens Boathouse Along with other alumni and students, show your school spirit at Albion’s traditional pep assembly.
Saturday, Sept. 29 8 a.m. Golden Years Breakfast, Bellemont Manor All alumni who graduated in 1957 or before (and a guest) are invited to this complimentary breakfast. 8:30 a.m. Alumni Band Rehearsal, “A” Field (behind the Dow Center) Perform with the British Eighth as an alumni band guest. For more information or to register, please contact Albion director of bands Sam McIlhagga at smcilhagga@albion.edu. Registration is also available online at: www.albion.edu/music/alumniBand/signupForm.asp .
2007 Homecoming Award Recipients Albion College will honor the following individuals during Homecoming Weekend for their contributions to and passion for Albion College, their communities, and their professions.
The theme of this year’s Homecoming is children’s literacy. As you share stories from your life with your Albion friends, please also participate in our Homecoming book drive by bringing your favorite children’s stories to Homecoming registration. (Books will be donated to Albion’s Harrington and Washington Gardner elementary schools as well as the Albion District Library.) More information on suggested book titles from area educators and a blog for posting about your favorite children’s books will be available at www.albion.edu/homecoming/ . Books will be collected at registration in the Kellogg Center throughout Friday and Saturday. We extend our appreciation to our co-sponsors of this event: Mortar Board, Greek-letter organizations, and Student Alumni Association. 38 | Io Triumphe!
Distinguished Alumni Award Gregory L. Eastwood, ’62 Debra Frey Fadool, ’85
John E. Pickelman, ’67 Paul L. Stewart, ’53
Meritorious Service Award Edmund L. Jenkins, ’57
Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees Individuals Frank J. Shipp, 1894 (deceased) David J. Abbott, ’77 Steven D. Taylor, ’82 John J. Farnese, ’88 Robert L. Turner, ’67 Sarah C. Hall, ’84 Henry “Hank” Wineman III, ’92 Christie Cleland Hursey, ’96 G. Thomson Pantlind, ’65 (deceased) Team Majed J. Sahouri, ’88 1978-79 Basketball Team
9:30 a.m. Alumni Awards Ceremony, Towsley Lecture Hall, Science Complex A reception and program will honor this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award and Meritorious Service Award recipients. In addition, as a special feature of this ceremony, we will celebrate the conclusion of the LIBERAL ARTS AT WORK capital campaign. Please join us as we celebrate the success of our award recipients and our College! Noon All-Class Picnic Luncheon for Alumni, Faculty, and Students, Bernard T. Lomas Fieldhouse, Dow Recreation and Wellness Center All alumni are invited to a pre-game luncheon. There will be reserved seating for reunion year classes. 1 p.m. Football vs. Hope, Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium Pre-game festivities include presentation of the Hall of Fame inductees. The halftime program will feature the Homecoming Court, the British Eighth, and the Alumni Band. Open Houses/Receptions Please go to www.albion.edu/homecoming/ for more information about open houses and receptions. The following groups will be hosting Homecoming events throughout the day on Saturday: Albion College Fraternities Albion College Sororities Biology Department Black Student Alliance Campus Safety Chaplain’s Office Chemistry Department Dean Hall
Education Department Ford Institute Geology Department Gerstacker Institute Math/Computer Science Department Physical Education Department Physics Department Psychology Department
Post-game President’s Reception, Science Complex Atrium Welcome Albion’s 15th president, Donna Randall, at her first Homecoming Presidential Reception. Enjoy snacks and mingle with alumni, parents, faculty, and staff as you greet Dr. Randall and show her the true Briton spirit. Art Exhibit: “Philip C. Curtis: Sound and Silence,” Bobbitt Visual Arts Center Alumni art lovers are invited to this exhibition of the extraordinary work of American surrealist painter Philip Curtis, ’30. Curtis’s main body of work is on permanent display in a special wing at the Phoenix Museum of Art. This exhibition, which includes watercolors and other works on paper as well as numerous oils, explores the life experiences that influenced Curtis’s paintings. It is also a tribute to the 70-year friendship between Curtis and Russell Babcock, ’27; Babcock donated many of the paintings in this show to the Albion College collection. Black Student Union Reunion Black Student Union members (1970-1979) are planning to reunite at several events throughout Homecoming weekend. Please contact Marsha Gentry-Pointer, ’73, at marshapointer1@charter.net for more details. New Additions to Campus Homecoming 2007 is a great opportunity to visit the newest buildings on campus. The newly expanded and renovated science complex and the Nancy G. Held Equestrian Center will be open for viewing.
Saturday Class Reunions For classes ending in “2” or “7,” 1947-2002. Reunion information and locations will be posted on the Web as details become available: www.albion. edu/homecoming/ .
9 a.m. & 11 a.m. First United Methodist Church Services, Wesley Chapel (located at the south side of the arch) 1:30 p.m. Alumni Choir Rehearsal, Goodrich Chapel Sing with the Albion College Choir as an alumni guest. For more information or to register, please contact choral director Doug Rose at drose@albion. edu. 4 p.m. Homecoming Choir and Orchestra Concert, Goodrich Chapel The Albion College Choir (supplemented by the Alumni Choir) and Albion College Orchestra will present their traditional Homecoming Concert.
D. Trumpie Photo
Sunday, Sept. 30
Stoffer Clock Tower, Science Complex Briton Bicycle Ride The Albion College Briton Bicycle Ride has been moved to a NEW DATE AND TIME to avoid conflicts with Homecoming activities. Please join alumni, faculty and faculty emeriti, and friends of the College Sept. 8 at 8:30 a.m. at the “A” Field for the annual ride. Then, stay on for the football game at 1 p.m. vs. Wheaton College. Don’t miss this great opportunity to visit with friends while taking in the beautiful scenery surrounding Albion. (The route will cover 25 miles, with shortcuts and extensions available. Most riders in the past have ranged between a 12 mph and 20 mph average speed. Hybrid or road bikes are recommended, and helmets are expected.)
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B O A R D U P D A TE
Y O U R A L U M N ! A SSOC ! AT ! ON
Three Tapped for Board
Relive the Days of ‘Bust Out’ and Buzzers
The Alumni Association Board of Directors has appointed Elsie Hansen Misner, ’56, and Keith Roberts, ’81, to three-year terms beginning July 1, 2007. Continuing on the board for a second three-year term are: Keith James, ’86, William Rafaill, ’70, Pamela Gee Royle, ’60, and Carl Samberg, ’89. In addition, Bethany Bierlein, ’07, has been named to one three-year term as a recent graduate member. Michael Morgan, ’06, was previously appointed to the board, as the first recent graduate member, under constitutional rules adopted in summer 2006. The newest board members are introduced below. Elsie Hansen Misner, ’56. Other than living in Indianapolis for five years and Brazil for two years, Elsie Misner has lived in the Midland area since 1956, devoting much of her time to family and community. One of the founding board members of the Voluntary Action Center in Midland and the Little Forks Conservancy, she has also served as a board member for The Chippewa Nature Center, the Midland Center for the Arts, and the Midland County Historical Society. Misner was active in planning her 50th reunion at Albion and has assisted with Midland area alumni events. She and her husband, Tom, ’55, have five grown children, including David, ’81, Deborah Misner Broderick, ’81, and Ann, ’91. Keith Roberts, ’81. A certified public accountant, Keith Roberts is the chief financial officer for ICG Castings, Inc. in Dowagiac. An avid runner, Roberts competed on the Briton cross country and track teams, and, to date, has participated in over 35 marathons across the country. He has also served as the president of the Battle Creek Roadrunners Club, finance director for the Southwest Michigan Race for the Cure, and a committee member of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. For Albion, he has been a career development and enrollment volunteer. Most recently he was an alumni representative during the presidential search. Roberts and his wife, Karla, reside in Augusta. Bethany Bierlein, ’07. A chemistry major, Bethany Bierlein was a member of the College’s Brown Honors Institute. While a student, she also served as an orientation leader; participated in Habitat for Humanity, the Dance Team, and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority; and was selected for Mortar Board. The Bay City native is currently an analytical chemist at Mid Michigan Molecular Institute in Midland. Retiring from the board this year were Kenneth George, ’90, and Susan Sadler, ’77. To see the entire Board of Directors roster, go to: www.albion. edu/alumni/alumni_board.asp .
By Glenna Vander Meer Paukstis, ’59 Alumni Association Board of Directors For those of us who graduated more than a few years ago, we remember and talk about “our” Albion—the Albion of “Bust Out,” The Eat Shop, and song fests at Victory Park or Kresge Gym (where we had to stop singing when the trains went by). For alumnae, the Hanging of the Harvest Wreath, the phone buzzers on the halls in “Susie,” dress-up dinners, and signing in and out were part of our life. The Quad that we knew has had only a few changes. It is still beautiful and well kept. The Rock may be slightly larger due to the thousands of coats of paint applied since we left. Some of the buildings have been remodeled on the inside and have different names and functions, but most of the expanding campus surrounds the central block we recall from our student days. Albion’s Web site (www.albion.edu) is fun to browse and has a map of the present campus along with pictures and many other features. Albion still incorporates some of our traditions, but has developed and changed along with the dynamic students and faculty who are now creating their own memories. There are so many exciting things happening at Albion right now. We are welcoming a new president, Dr. Donna Randall, who is ushering in a new era for the students, faculty, staff, and alumni. I urge you to come “home” to Albion anytime, but especially for Homecoming 2007, planned for Sept. 28‑30. If you are a member of one of the reunion classes (those ending in “2” and “7”), you will be receiving mail from your class committee. Otherwise, please respond to the College’s mailing this summer and come “home.” You will see people you know, meet current and retired professors, greet our new president at a reception, and get reacquainted with your memories of college days. In the registration area, you can enjoy a display of items from the College Archives on “our” days. Discover how excellent Albion continues to be. Explore the new facilities such as the Held Equestrian Center and our amazing new science complex. Return to your area with fresh new memories, a renewed pride in Albion, and an enthusiasm to share with your classmates, friends, family, and prospective students. I speak for the alumni board and everyone at Albion when I say, we’re looking forward to seeing you in September. Note: In addition to your Homecoming visit or if you are unable to come to campus this fall, there will be opportunities to meet President Randall and gather with classmates and friends at regional alumni events held throughout the year.
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Making History Personal: Try these hands-on activities that bring history alive.
Sleuthing and Recording Family History
Creating a Family Scrapbook
Discovering History in Your Own Backyard
Have your children sit down with older relatives and record their stories. It connects youngsters with the past in a meaningful way, and, once compiled, the stories can be shared with other family members. Research where your ancestors came from and then trace their migration routes across the U.S. Visit places where family members have lived and photograph family homes, grave sites, or other locations that reveal your personal history. Borrow travel videos from your public library to introduce children to the foreign locations from which your family came. Pull out family heirlooms and discuss the family history and cultural connections they reflect.
Making a family tree is another hands-on way to make history real. Kid-friendly software or online forms are readily available for creating a family tree, or simply make your own hand-drawn version. The family tree can become the basis for an entire scrapbook: ask family members to send interesting photos and memorabilia for the scrapbook and to include reminiscences about these items and how they reflect family history. Chronicle holiday, reunion, or vacation traditions that have continued over time. Have your children help with the assembly of the scrapbook, and make sure that they too are represented through their photos, artwork, or writing.
You might be surprised by the history you can discover even within a short distance from home. Use the World Wide Web to locate nearby historic sites, museums, National Landmarks, and more. In Michigan, the state Department of History, Arts, and Libraries offers a wealth of information on its Web site (www.michigan.gov/hal) including guides to the nearly 1,500 Michigan Historic Sites, as well as to the more than 1,000 Michigan locations on the National Register of Historic Places and the state’s 30 National Historic Landmarks. (Did you know that the submarine USS Silversides in Muskegon is a National Historic Landmark?) Find out which sites are of greatest interest to your children and have them help plan a family visit to these places.
Many of these ideas come courtesy of www.genwriters.com. You’ll find many more on their Web site.
Catching the history bug . . .
Books
Web Sites
Here are some other activities to help your children appreciate history.
Rosemary Chorzempa, My Family Tree Workbook
www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/familytree/
• Collect favorite recipes that have been passed down through the generations and create a family cookbook to share. • Attend an historical reenactment, a Renaissance fair, or other “living history” event. • Explore the many historical novel series available for children (ask your local librarian for help in identifying these) and set aside time to read together.
Lila Perl Yerkow, The Great Ancestor Hunt: The Fun of Finding Out Who You Are Josephine Nobisso and Maureen Hyde, Grandma’s Scrapbook Lynne Arany, Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small and Not-So-Small American Showplaces
www.kidsturncentral.com/topics/hobbies/kidsgenealogy.htm www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/oct01/ ideas.html www.misbach.org/pdfcharts/ www.ancestry.com
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Uncovering the Past
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Stephanie Brabant, ’07, College chaplain Dan McQuown, and Brenda Erichiello, ’07, haul heavy vines during the cleanup of a neglected Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw, Poland, part of Albion College’s biennial Holocaust Studies Service-Learning Project. From May 14-17, 20 students and five staff also visited Holocaust and other sites in Krakow, as well as the Nazi death camp Auschwitz. To learn more, visit: www.albion.edu/holocauststudies .
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