ALLEGHENY
SUMMER 2020
VOL. 38 • NO. 1
LEADING WITH VISION President Hilary L. Link’s Inaugural Year
CREEK CONNECTIONS CELEBRATES SILVER ANNIVERSARY
ALLEGHENY COLLEGE ACHIEVES CARBON NEUTRALITY
PROFESSOR SHARES EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EXPERTISE WITH MEDIA
n e e r c S Scene on Campus The temporary shift to remote operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant a new way of learning and working for the Allegheny community. As the spring semester concluded, Allegheny magazine asked several community members to share snapshots of their new workspaces — from views of home offices to screenshots of online meetings to thumbs-up celebrations after completing Senior Projects from a distance.
photo Penny Drexel1
S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 | Vo l . 3 8 , N o . 1 | a l l e g h e n y. e d u /m a g a z i n e
4 Leading With Vision
President Hilary L. Link confronts challenges while charting a course for the College’s future.
12 Ask the Expert
Local television stations and civic authorities seek the advice of Dr. Rebecca Smullin Dawson ’00.
16 Creek Connections
Celebrates Silver Anniversary
Measuring the accomplishments of the program, which was founded in 1995 as the French Creek Environmental Education Project
20 Allegheny Achieves Carbon Neutrality
The College becomes one of the first 10 higher education institutions in the nation to reach the goal.
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE RELATIONS Susan Salton MANAGING EDITOR Josh Tysiachney EDITOR Rick Stanley ART DIRECTOR Penny Drexel LEAD DESIGNER Brian Martone CONTRIBUTORS Jesse Lavery Sean O’Connor Bernadette Wilson PHOTOGRAPHY Ben Cares Creek Connections Rick Klein Matthew Lester Derek Li Ed Mailliard Liam Michel ’20 Bill Owen ’74 Richard Sayer Second Nature
22 On the Hill
Dr. Jim Macielak ’76 has mentored dozens of students in orthopedics as an Allegheny volunteer.
26 Class Notes
News from around the country from fellow alumni
44 The Last Word
Mary “Missy” Feeley ’78 shares her Moments of Discovery.
ON THE COVER In her inaugural year at Allegheny, President Hilary L. Link has demonstrated her collaborative and strategic leadership style. (photo by Rick Klein)
allegheny.edu/magazine
twitter.com/alleghenycol
facebook.com/alleghenycollege
youtube.com/alleghenycollege
instagram.com/alleghenycollege
FSC Logo HERE
Send us your feedback! What do you think of Allegheny magazine? Email magazine@allegheny.edu Notice of Non-discrimination Allegheny College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, disability, age or other criteria protected by law in admission, treatment, employment in or access to its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Gillian Ford Title IX Coordinator 520 North Main Street | Meadville Pa 16335 (814) 332-3085 Inquiries may also be directed to the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education at 800-421-3481 or by email at OCR@ed.gov.
TRUSTEES Mary H. Feeley ’78, Ph.D., Chair Yvonne Hobbs Allen ’72, Ph.D. Christian L. Allison ’83 Kevin Baird ’84 Edward Joseph Borkowski ’81 Willow Wilcox Brost ’74 William H. Brown, Jr. ’80 Mark R. Campbell ’82 Curt Cramer ’84 Jennifer R. Daurora ’99 Antonio Francisco Dias ’86 Gary M. Elliott ’72 Terrence L. Hartford ’81 Judith Thomas Horgan ’68 Dusty E. Kirk ’75, Esq. John Kutz ’83 Steven D. Levinsky ’78 Hilary L. Link, Ph.D. Robert A. Marchman ’80, Esq. Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi Christine Scott Nelson ’73 Jerome V. Nelson ’83 John H. Niles, Jr. ’59, M.D. Timothy L. Reeves ’83 Thomas John Sadvary ’75 Julie G. Skattum ’85 Robert L. Smith, Jr. ’73, MBA Sue Steven ’75, Ph.D. Hayes C. Stover ’62, Esq. John F. Sutphen ’78 Eddie Taylor, Jr. ’87 Bruce R. Thompson ’86 Karen A. Ubelhart ’77 James O. Wible ’71 Michael R. Young ’78 Nancy A. Yovetich ’87, Ph.D. Douglas F. Ziegler TRUSTEES EMERITI Alice S. Bierer ’59 Ann S. Degenhart ’71 J. Tomlinson Fort ’50, Esq. Thomas T. Frampton ’70, Esq. Samuel Hellman ’55, M.D. William I. Jack ’57 The Hon. Jack K. Mandel ’58 Isabelle Moss ’67 Silas R. Mountsier III ’52 Herbert H. Myers ’61 James F. Pomroy ’56 Thomas M. St. Clair ’57 Ferd J. Sauereisen ’57 M. Peter Scibetta ’54, M.D. Thomas N. Slonaker, MBA Henry B. Suhr, Jr. ’55 Arthur Tepper ’58 William H. Timbers ’72 Patricia Bush Tippie ’56 Robert A. Vukovich ’65, Ph.D. John D. Wheeler ’61, Esq. Robert C. Woodworth ’69
Allegheny (ISSN 0279-6724) is issued three times a year by Allegheny College, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, PA 16335 for the alumni, parents and friends of the College. The winter issue is digitalonly, and the spring and summer issues are in print and digital versions. All material can be found at allegheny.edu/magazine. Opinions and comments expressed herein are not necessarily those of the College. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Allegheny, Allegheny College, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, PA, 16335. Copyright 2020 Allegheny College.
A Responsibility to Our Campus and World by President Hilary L. Link
As this issue of Allegheny magazine goes to press, the United States is grappling with the impact of the racial inequity and injustice that have been, and continue to be, endemic in the nation and beyond. The violent murders of Black people have spurred protests and demonstrated that society must dismantle systemic racism after accepting it for far too long. I join with all who are heartbroken and outraged by this tragic legacy. Allegheny College unequivocally condemns racism in any form. We stand with and support all who have been marginalized, oppressed and traumatized by these abhorrent actions and the systems that have perpetuated them. We also recognize that words alone will not suffice. The College has significant work to do in actively confronting racism and supporting our Black community members in tangible ways. Led by Dean for Institutional Diversity Kristin Dukes, the College is finalizing a framework for Inclusive Excellence and an action plan to address racial injustice specifically that has been in development during the past several months. This plan will lay out our vision and concrete steps for addressing racism in our campus community and for better educating ourselves about systemic racism and injustices in our community and in our country. The plan also will offer ways for the entire Allegheny community to engage in these efforts. Implementing this plan will challenge us, demanding that our community
examine itself critically and effect change. Throughout my first year as president, I have time and again observed that Alleghenians do not shy away from what might seem to be intractable problems. I credit that zeal for problem-solving to a key distinction of Allegheny’s curriculum: eschewing a narrow focus and instead grasping the big picture from multiple perspectives. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility — and opportunity — to sustain and strengthen that experience for today’s students.
Throughout my first year as president, I have time and again observed that Alleghenians do not shy away from what might seem to be intractable problems. I concur wholeheartedly with author David Epstein, who in his book Range writes that “everyone needs habits of mind that allow them to dance across disciplines.” And I believe our major/ minor requirement certainly backs up his belief that “One good tool is rarely enough in a complex, interconnected, rapidly changing world.” My own multi-perspectival approach has been developed in large part from years spent in different cultures and different places, each of which has challenged my understanding of the world and my
place in it. After living in New York City for more than a decade, my family and I spent five-and-a-half wonderful years in Rome, where I served as dean of Temple University’s campus. Living in Rome was an amazing lesson for us all in embracing its chaos along with its vibrancy, beauty and culture. It’s a complex and enchanting place, and making a life there was, in many ways, a culmination of a dream I had while studying in Italy as an undergraduate. Rome also was a launching point for us to spend time in many other parts of the world. However, I grew up in rural/ suburban Massachusetts, and I saw great value in returning to that kind of experience in a smaller community. Just as moving to Rome required adjustment, making our home in northwestern Pennsylvania has meant new encounters, challenges and opportunities during the past year. Most important, we have found that strong sense of community we hoped to find. This past year has reinforced that we never fully can know what the future holds. While rife with difficulty for Allegheny and society, that uncertainty also underscores the need for leaders who can make connections to solve what seem to be insurmountable problems. Allegheny has a responsibility to continue its important role in preparing those leaders. And we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our community reflects and advances the ideals of equity and justice that we seek for our world — whether one is in Rome, New York City, Meadville or elsewhere.
LEADING WITH
VIS ION In Her Inaugural Year as President, Hilary L. Link Confronts Challenges While Charting a Course for the College’s Future by Josh Tysiachney photos Rick Klein, Matthew Lester, Derek Li and Ed Mailliard
Allegheny College students swarmed into the Gator Quad on a warm evening last August, welcoming Hilary L. Link to her first year as the College’s president. Link greeted students outside the Henderson Campus Center while circus performers twirled through the air and snaked through the crowd on stilts at the event, which was themed “Imagine the Possibilities” by its student organizers. But few could have imagined the possibilities that would become reality in the ensuing months. Change and challenge, not only at Allegheny but around the world, have confronted Link in her inaugural year at Allegheny.
“It’s certainly not the year I thought I would step into,” she says. “But there is nothing like a crisis to really point out the strengths of an institution. The sense of community that so many of us already associate with Allegheny has been made even clearer, even stronger.” While acclimating to a new role in extraordinary circumstances, Link has demonstrated decisive leadership — and instilled confidence in her vision for the College. “Hilary leads with vision,” Provost and Dean of the College Ron Cole ’87 says. “She has conviction for her vision for Allegheny and a commitment to the core values of a liberal arts education.”
The Path to the Presidency Link says her study of Italian language, art and culture have had a profound influence on her leadership style and career path. While studying art history and the Italian language at Stanford University, Link spent most of her junior year in Italy through a Stanford program based in Florence. Link says studying abroad would, 20 years later, come back full circle. In 2013, she began a role as dean of Temple University Rome, leading a campus providing students with an international experience much like she had as an undergraduate. “You move abroad and you become ‘the other’ in someone else’s culture,” Link says. “It shifts your perspective on other people’s approaches because you understand that your approach is not necessarily relevant in all contexts. In that sense, it’s made me a much more collaborative leader.” Link served as Temple Rome’s dean for five-and-a-half years. Her leadership of the 600-student campus was both innovative and inclusive, says Francesca Cuccovillo, associate director for student life at Temple Rome. “Temple Rome was a 6
ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
very well-established study abroad center,” Cuccovillo says. “It was just very traditional in the way they were operating, and Hilary had a different vision.” That vision included creating a student life department to expand support services and engagement opportunities. Link also revamped Temple Rome’s curriculum, initiated recruitment initiatives that resulted in record enrollment at the campus, and launched a full-fledged development program to raise support. “She’s restless and leads by example,” Cuccovillo says of Link. “She sets the bar very high for herself and, consequently, the people around her do the same for themselves.” Link joined Temple Rome after 11 years at Barnard College of Columbia University. She advanced to the role of vice provost there, overseeing Barnard’s international programs, academic assessment, faculty grants and select academic programs. “Hilary was made to do what she is doing — to lead,” says Beth Saidel, who worked with Link for the entire time she was at Barnard. “She’s one of the smartest people I know, but her intelligence is combined
with a rare ability to connect and engage. … She brought warmth and caring to even the most daunting situations.” Another former Barnard colleague, Lisa Hollibaugh, says Link has a particular talent for reflection. She quickly recalls past lessons and translates them into a strategy when addressing a new challenge. “And if, in that process, she discovers a gap in her knowledge that she will need to meet the challenge, she will readily ask for the help of others,” says Hollibaugh, now dean of academic affairs at Columbia College of Columbia University.
A Matter of Perspective As Link assumed the Allegheny presidency, Ken Pinnow, professor of history and global health studies, began his year-long tenure as chair of the College’s Faculty Council. Pinnow says he appreciates how Link empowers individuals by asking insightful questions. She also uses her interdisciplinary academic training in her leadership, he says, “always thinking about questions from different angles.” Link says her scholarly focus on the Italian Renaissance and in particular theories of artificial perspective have shown her the significance of considering multiple
viewpoints. “When an artist shifts where they are standing or a viewer shifts where they’re standing, they see something different,” she explains. “If you are willing to take the risk and change your perspective, you can see things in a different way.” Cole, who has served as provost since 2015, describes Link’s leadership style as democratic and strategic. “She listens, asks questions, gathers information from those around her and then owns a decision,” he says. “She sets strategic goals and works with her team to accomplish those goals, inspiring progress and accountability.” Throughout Link’s first year at Allegheny, she has made listening to the College community one of her highest priorities. For example, Link set about to meet individually with each faculty member on campus to hear about their teaching and research and to get their perspectives on the College. Link also crisscrossed the globe — from Atlanta to London to Tokyo — to hear from alumni during her initial months at Allegheny. She also has built connections with students — from attending Gator basketball games to hosting listening sessions with students to maintaining an active presence on social media that she manages herself. Jason Ferrante ’20, who served as president of Allegheny Student Government in the 2019–20 academic year, says he appreciates Link’s personable nature. “As much as we want to see the president of the College as our leader and someone who makes these difficult decisions, it’s important to understand and see them as a person as well,” he says. “I think that, with as much work as President Link has had to do this year, she’s still done a very good job of trying to show students who she is as a person.” Link also has demonstrated a willingness to engage with diverse groups of people to tackle problems that might seem insurmountable, Ferrante adds. “I’ve enjoyed her energy,” he says. “I think it’s
been really refreshing for me to see Dr. Link step in and say, ‘Let’s do it. What’s stopping us?’” Pinnow, a member of the Allegheny faculty since 1999, says that Link has tackled uncomfortable or challenging issues head on, rather than letting them fester and become larger problems. For example, Link has worked to engage the Allegheny community in conversations about the College’s relationship with the United Methodist Church. During the last year, the church has debated issues related to same-sex marriage and openly gay clergy, which could lead to the denomination splitting. During her first semester on campus, Link participated with Board of Trustees members in listening sessions with students, faculty and staff, and a survey about the issue was emailed to alumni. Link has explored the situation from a variety of angles, Ferrante says. “She’s been willing to be open to students but also to challenge students a little bit on this issue and try to understand more about what they are feeling,” Ferrante says. The College’s Board of Trustees has convened a working group to consider not only the specific issue of the College’s relationship with the United Methodist Church, but spiritual and religious life at the College more broadly. While the working group had hoped to come to a decision this spring, with the COVID-19 crisis the timeline has been extended, and they plan to continue working this summer. “Knowing that we have really strong leadership in Hilary and the people under her — I think she’s done a really good job at organizing and managing her team — that collectively has really helped people get through some of these tough moments,” Pinnow says.
As much as we want to see the president of the College as our leader and someone who makes these difficult decisions, it’s important to understand and see them as a person as well. I think that, with as much work as President Link has had to do this year, she’s still done a very good job of trying to show students who she is as a person. Jason Ferrante ’20 Allegheny Student Government President 2019-20 academic year
President Hilary Link’s appointment was celebrated at an inauguration ceremony (above, left) on campus last October. During her first year as president, Link traveled extensively and spoke at several events, including the Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit (above, center) in February, where the College was honored for achieving carbon neutrality, and the 35th Annual PA Chamber Dinner (above, right) last September, where the College’s Prize for Civility in Public Life in Pennsylvania was presented.
Leadership in Challenging Times In early December, just five months into Link’s presidency, a student was assaulted in the College’s Ravine-Narvik Hall. The tragic incident raised concerns about safety on campus and the administration’s commitment to transparency. Link responded quickly not only by increasing security on campus but also opening lines of communication. Later that same day, for example, she and members of her leadership team hosted meetings with both students and families on campus. The College also provided students with additional flexibility in completing their final exams as they returned home for winter break. Since December, the College has continued to work to enhance safety on campus. “Allegheny has a strong history of overall safety,” Link says. “We have had measures in place to create the safest possible environment for our students, and we have enhanced several measures following the fall incident.” Those measures include card access for residence halls (in place prior to fall 2019), additional walk-throughs and building checks by security staff, patrols for propped doors and removal of propping aids, safety escorts for students upon request, installation of peepholes in doors for residence hall rooms, upgraded locks
8 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
and locking systems and plans for security cameras on building exteriors (scheduled for fall 2020). When students returned to campus in January, Link would soon face a global crisis with a very local impact. COVID-19 was spreading at an alarming pace around the world. At Link’s direction, the College’s incident management team began working for several weeks to prepare for the possibility of the coronavirus reaching northwestern Pennsylvania. The situation intensified in early March as a national emergency was declared. With the College’s spring break three days away, Link told the incident management team that she wanted to make the right decision — not a rushed one — about Allegheny’s operations. After considering the rapidly changing circumstances and guidance from health experts and government officials, the College initially extended spring break. Then, as the pandemic grew even more serious in the nation, Link made the difficult decision to move Allegheny to remote instruction for the remainder of the spring semester. The focus for Link and her leadership team would quickly shift from helping students get home safely in the spring to the complex work of determining how the College could operate in person in the fall. The goal, she explains, is to do everything
possible to ensure the health of the community while finding ways to sustain the on-campus experiences that are vital to an Allegheny education. Says Cole: “As I consider the current challenge of COVID-19, I have observed that Hilary is providing clear and decisive leadership, mindful of the best interest of our students and employees and balancing the long-term health of the College. Her leadership style is key at this time, exemplified by gathering information and context, listening to diverse voices across the College, bringing in outside perspectives and making informed strategic decisions.” Link has acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have a significant impact on the College, as it has other institutions with relatively modest financial resources. Yet she is confident that Allegheny will not only weather the uncertainty but emerge as a stronger institution. Even while nearly all College operations are taking place remotely, Link has continued to make herself accessible to the community. She has offered a glimpse into her and her family’s experiences while at home through her Instagram account. Link also has hosted Instagram Live sessions for students, live-streamed all-employee meetings and an online town hall for alumni and parents.
Her leadership style is key at this time, exemplified by gathering information and context, listening to diverse voices across the College, bringing in outside perspectives and making informed strategic decisions. Ron Cole ’87 Allegheny College Provost and Dean
9
“It’s important to remember that, for 205 years, Allegheny has gotten through crises and has come out on the other end — not just the influenza pandemic in the early 20th century, but the Civil War and two world wars,” Link said in a May Instagram Live session. “And we will come out of this; we will get beyond this. We have to remember that, but it is going to be a challenging time, whether that’s the next year or the next five years. But we will get there.” Link says that her spirits have been buoyed by the alumni, students, parents and others who reach out to ask how she and others at the College are doing. And Link adds she was heartened by the record support — both in the number of contributors and the amount raised — on Gator Give Day on April 23.
A Vision for an Even Stronger Allegheny Link has “a consistent and unwavering focus on vision,” says Cole. “She stays the course, navigating what have been incredible challenges, returning to and even leveraging her vision for Allegheny in the midst of adversity.” Link is dedicated to the goals of an undergraduate liberal arts education, says her former Barnard coworker Hollibaugh. But,
she adds, Link also is eager to work with faculty and students to build on traditions, responding to the needs of the present and anticipating those of the future. Pinnow echoes that sentiment, noting that Link finds a balance between respecting and challenging aspects of what he calls “the Allegheny way.” Pinnow says he admires Link’s fearlessness and her willingness, when evaluating a process or practice, to ask, “Why are we doing it this way? And do we still need to do it this way?” Link says there is a particular opportunity for Allegheny to share its story more broadly. “Coming in from the outside,” she says, “what’s been shocking to me is how few people know about the great work that the College is doing.” Under Link’s leadership, Allegheny is completing a comprehensive branding initiative and exploring ways to leverage alumni more effectively in raising the College’s visibility, both nationally and internationally. Link’s own global experience has spurred efforts to enhance internationalization at the College. Beginning at last year’s Welcome Weekend, she introduced a series of passport fairs. These events allowed Allegheny students to apply for or renew a United States passport free of charge, removing a barrier to studying away.
International experiences — whether Allegheny students studying in another country or students from other nations coming to the College — push students to step outside their comfort zones, Link says. “It might be hard,” she explains, “but they’re going to be able to look back and say, ‘I got through what was really difficult and challenging, and here’s what I needed to do to achieve it.’ You learn to appreciate new places and take a piece of them with you wherever you go.” Likewise, Link sees great value in further developing the interdisciplinary nature of an Allegheny education. She points to the requirement that students select a major and minor in different disciplines as a key differentiator for the College. That approach to education develops the kind of polymaths who model the Renaissance thinkers she studied — people integrating different perspectives to understand and improve the world around them. And that vein of interdisciplinary innovation gives Link great hope for the College’s future. “We are a campus that both educates students to be, and that is full of, creative thinkers, people who solve problems by thinking across disciplines,” Link says. “We will find solutions that make Allegheny even stronger.”
It’s important to remember that, for 205 years, Allegheny has gotten through crises and has come out on the other end — not just the influenza pandemic in the early 20th century, but the Civil War and two world wars. And we will come out of this; we will get beyond this. We have to remember that, but it is going to be a challenging time, whether that’s the next year or the next five years. But we will get there. Hilary L. Link Allegheny College President
11
ASK THE EXPERT Local Television Stations and Civic Authorities Seek the Advice of
Dr. Rebecca Smullin Dawson, Allegheny Alumna and Epidemiologist, During the 2020 Global Pandemic by Richard Stanley photo Bill Owen ’74
Before all the curve flattening, social distancing and lockdowns in the United States, Allegheny College Global Health Studies and Biology Professor Becky Smullin Dawson ’00 was bringing attention to the COVID-19 crisis to the citizens of Pennsylvania, and in particular, Erie and Meadville.
The spring 2020 semester has been different and historic for her in so many ways. Dawson is an expert in epidemiology and global health challenges, researching disease risk factors and patterns of disease in human populations. When not teaching or attending to family matters, she has provided expert insight to the state and local news media, and she has appeared with Erie County government and health officials at daily press briefings. She made her first television appearance on Erie News Now (WICU/WSEE) on Jan. 25, when the coronavirus was still just a far-off news story emanating from Wuhan, China, for most people. But as the virus spread throughout the nation and colleges, public schools and businesses closed, her requests for media appearances grew exponentially. By early April, Dawson was averaging seven to 10 media appearances a week, including a daily segment (called “Ask the Doctor”) on the 11:30 p.m. Erie News Now broadcast. “It’s a lot of work,” Dawson says. “I have never talked so much in my life.” To help her handle the additional media responsibilities, Dawson says she has been following the “how to be successful” advice offered by Allegheny’s Maytum
Learning Commons during remote learning. “I have established a daily schedule and am trying to eat well, drink plenty of water and get a good night of sleep,” she says.
Becky has been a great resource to our station to help get the facts out to our public. Dr. Dawson can convey the technical information clearly and precisely for our viewers to understand. She has become a great asset to us here at Erie News Now and our community. We here in Northwest Pennsylvania are very lucky to have her help us inform our neighbors, friends and colleagues in this trying time. Adam Snow Assistant News Director, WICU/WSEE
Her day starts around 6 a.m. with a walk or a workout “to clear my head.” Her children are in sixth and second grade and begin their remote school days around 9 a.m. “My sixth grader is completely independent and has settled into remote learning with ease,” Dawson says. “My second grader is another story. I usually sit with him as he works through math, literacy and writing each morning. I try
to answer emails, schedule meetings/ comp defenses, and catch up on the news while he’s plugging away at school work,” she says. Dawson does her course preparation, grading and writing during the afternoons. In the evenings, when she’s not in Erie or Meadville on a television set, the family has dinner and then either goes for a walk, plays a game or watches a movie together. “My main working hours are between 8 p.m. and midnight,” she says. “I record my ‘Ask the Doctor’ segment in the evenings at home and then send them to Erie. Most nights I do watch myself on the news — so I can learn how to communicate and record myself better. I am constantly watching and listening to myself so I can learn how to present better. I feel like I am learning something new every day.” Says Adam Snow, the assistant news director at WICU/WSEE: “Becky has been a great resource to our station to help get the facts out to our public. Dr. Dawson can convey the technical information clearly and precisely for our viewers to understand. She has become a great asset to us here at Erie News Now and our community. We here in Northwest Pennsylvania are very lucky to have her help us inform our neighbors, friends and colleagues in this trying time.”
13
Amid her busy schedule, Dawson was kind enough to answer some more interview questions pertaining to her recent media role: How do you cope with being in front of a camera and often doing live interviews? Live interviews are unnerving. There is so much to consider and be nervous about, from having to answer questions on the spot to what to wear, to thinking about what camera to look into to having good posture. I have approached my life as a media expert as a huge learning experience. Watching and listening to yourself is hard, frustrating and embarrassing work; however, it is a great tool for learning how to communicate better. My coping strategy has been thinking about each appearance as a moment to learn more about myself as an expert epidemiologist and communicator. My goal is always to improve from one interview to another.
14 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
What have you found to be the key to being conversant and articulate on camera? Embracing the fact that I am an expert. The media is looking to me to be an expert, and I need to embrace that role. With my expertise, I can provide answers to questions and explanations to questions that do not have answers. I am also committed to reducing the anxiety of individuals and our community as a whole. Providing clear, evidence-based information in my area of expertise is part of my job/calling. I have been studying and working in public/global health since I left Allegheny as a graduate in 2000, and I have been very deliberate about my decisions regarding my education and training. Everything I have done — from where I chose to go to school, to the research I participated in, to the jobs I have accepted — has prepared me for this moment. I remind myself of this before every media appearance. I also remind myself that being an expert does not mean I am a “know it all.” An expert provides clear answers and peace of mind. She is reassuring and seeks to
meet the informational needs of the community with answers. She is not flaunting her degrees or pedigree. How do you prepare for a press conference/live interview? I am reading the news all the time. I follow some really great people on Twitter — to see where the conversation is heading and to be aware of when the next conference call, press briefing or major announcement/publication will be. I watch news broadcasts daily. On the way to Erie, I catch up on the podcast “Public Health On-Call.” This podcast is a daily update by the Center for Public Health Security at Johns Hopkins University. I also rehearse saying “I don’t know.” There is so much that is unknown and the science of the outbreak, treatment, prevention, testing and more is changing every day — sometimes every hour. Before my first interview, I promised myself that I would be honest and transparent. Sometimes saying “I don’t know” is the smartest decision.
How did your Allegheny education help you in this role as a media consultant? During my four years at Allegheny, I found my voice and learned how to effectively communicate with it. The endless oral presentations and discussion-based classes really prepared me for my moment right now. When I walk into a room for an interview today, I think about who my audience is, something I learned in my FS 101. I also remember to speak slowly and take the time to define complex or discipline-specific vocabulary, something that I learned the hard way in my Junior Seminar. I approach these media events with confidence and compassion because that is who Allegheny trained me to be. My liberal arts education forced me to think critically, to problem-solve and to look at issues from multiple perspectives. My time at Allegheny also taught me about being a good citizen and contributing to my community’s good, which is what I believe I am doing in each interview. Did you go into the wrong profession? Would you rather have been a television journalist?
Absolutely not. I was destined to be an epidemiologist and an educator. My passion is being a disease detective and my heart has long been connected to Allegheny. Being back in Meadville, being part of an interdisciplinary and one-of-a-kind global health program, and teaching epidemiology to amazing students is my dream come true. My media appearances are simply an extension of my role as an epidemiologist and educator. What has changed is my audience and the means by which I educate. I’m no longer in a classroom collaborating and educating Allegheny students; I’m out in the world talking to reporters, station managers, meteorologists and the community. It is definitely different and completely unexpected, but at the root of all of this I am still an epidemiologist who loves to teach people about disease outbreaks. In a time of very serious discussions — any humorous moments in the TV studio that you can share?
Maybe not haha funny, but for me this is how crazy my role as a media expert has become: I went to my first TV appearance on Jan. 25. I did a live three-minute interview with Eva Mastromatteo at Erie News Now. The experience was so novel and exciting I was taking pictures with her and of myself on set — thinking this would be my one and only time on TV. It was thrilling and a moment I wanted to remember. Within a month of those goofy pictures and thinking it would be a one-time thing, I had my own segment on the 11:30 p.m. news, “Ask the Doctor,” I was participating in “Ask the Expert” panels, was staffing the phones for “Ask the Doctors” call-in events, and the folks at the TV stations have become a new group of friends. I’ve spent multiple afternoons working at news stations between tapings and have really come to know, respect and care for the individuals who bring us our regional news. Had I known in January that this is what would have happened, I would not have taken so many selfies that first night in the studio!
15
CREEK CONNECTIONS
CELEBRATES SILVER ANNIVERSARY OF AQUATIC EXPLORATION by Richard Stanley photos Ed Mailliard and Creek Connections
It’s such an honor to be beside a student as they experience wonder in the world around them. Laura Branby Creek Connections Pittsburgh Area Educator and Camp Director
16 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
It’s been 25 years since Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Jim Palmer first waded into the waters of French Creek with a group of curious Meadvillearea high school students in search of hellbenders and other aquatic curiosities. That day marked the beginning of Allegheny College’s hugely successful Creek Connections program, which has educated well over 100,000 junior-high and senior-high students since its inception. The program was founded in 1995 as the French Creek Environmental Education Project by a team of Allegheny faculty and six students. “With a two-year seed grant from the Toyota USA Foundation and support of local dealership Palmiero Toyota, we recruited 15 enthusiastic high school teachers from the area to begin an annual cycle of collaborative learning and sharing about the ecological connections and health of the French Creek Watershed,” recalls Palmer, one of the project founders along with Mark Lord, a geology professor at Allegheny at the time. (The students included Chris Turner ’98, April Claus ’95, Lynn Willey ’96, Pat Coyne ’97, Allison Roy ’98 and Amy Shema ’98.) By the year 2000, interest in the project had expanded downstream to the Pittsburgh portions of the watershed. Creek Connections matured under the vision and leadership of full-time coordinators Chris Resek ’97, Nicole Mason ’00, Laura Branby and Wendy Kedzierski. “We expanded and adapted the programming to include middle and elementary schools, a website chock-full of online teacher resources, and loaner modules containing equipment and activities to
facilitate learning of all aspects of watersheds,” says Palmer, who retired in 2014 and was named professor emeritus. In 2006, the program introduced residential summer Creek Camp, now called Freshwater Academy, that has hosted students from around the country as well as Germany, Costa Rica, Israel and Palestine. Beyond its core participants, Creek Connections has consulted and conducted workshops with teachers and watershed groups in Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Costa Rica and Peru. Twenty-five years later, Creek Connections remains true to its original goal — to facilitate authentic environmental research experiences for school students using backyard watershed resources as its field laboratory while cultivating curiosity, appreciation and stewardship. Generous grants, core support from the College, and the unfailing creativity, enthusiasm and dedication of dozens upon dozens of Allegheny student interns (also known as “Creekers”) have sustained its success. “What a pleasure to see the personal and professional growth in Allegheny students as our best innovators, product developers, field resources for the teachers, and college role models for school students,” says Palmer.
THE CREEK CONNECTIONS FAMILY Wendy Kedzierski, the current director of Creek Connections, says 130 schools and organizations have participated in at least one year of water-quality monitoring since the program began. “We have interacted with many more through one-day events and our loaner modules,” she says. Ninety Allegheny students have served as Creekers, also known as project assistants. The summer camp has helped to educate 222 students, and 24 former camp students have matriculated at Allegheny, she says. “I love the family we have created, especially with our Creekers,” Kedzierski says. “I love following them after they graduate
17
Fort LeBoeuf was pretty small, but at least three other students in my class alone have gone on to work in the water sector.” Pitzer went on to attend Allegheny and worked with the Art and the Environment Initiative, including projects like the Signs & Flowers sculptural garden and the Market Alley beautification.
hands-on project-based STEM education is needed now more than ever,” Kedzierski says. Keeping young students engaged in outdoor research activities will remain a primary goal as the program moves forward, Kedzierski says. “Basically, I hope we are still doing what we are doing 25 years from now. Even if the pendulum swings back and students start spending more time outside than they do now, there will still be a need for our program based in water-quality monitoring.”
from Allegheny. We are now frequently receiving photos of their babies and hearing the really cool jobs and experiences they have had. At least 17 of them have gone on to be classroom teachers, environmental educators or science professors. Many more are pursuing a career in the sciences.” Kedzierski says she and Laura Branby, the Creek Connections Pittsburgh-area educator and camp director, work hard to keep materials relevant and fresh for the teachers, especially in a time when pupils spend much of their day indoors. “Our program sticks by the need to get students outdoors in their local environment repeatedly over the course of the year. The
A CREEK ALUMNA FINDS CAREER SUCCESS
“I found my first water penny (larval beetle) in French Creek,” says Pitzer. “I participated in my first canoe trip on French Creek. These experiences shaped me and my passion for environmental education and protection.” Pitzer says several of her former Creek Connections colleagues have gone on to careers in the environmental science field, including Sarah Falkowski ‘03, who is now in Florida working as the education coordinator for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
MOVING FORWARD WITH WONDER AND APPRECIATION
Amanda J. Pitzer ’03 participated in Creek Connections in 1997-98 when she was a high school student. She is now the executive director of Friends of the Cheat, a West Virginia nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore, preserve and promote the outstanding qualities of the Cheat River Watershed.
As with many educational endeavors, funding for the program remains a challenge for its administrators. “A big aspiration is for us to be more stably funded,” Kedzierski says. “A growing part of my job is writing grant applications and then managing those grants. We are the happy recipients of funding from two endowments, but until they grow, we struggle for funding from year to year. Our impact is clear and the need is ongoing.”
Pitzer was recently selected by her peers to receive The River Hero award from River Network for her work, and she says it “spurred my reflection on the formative experiences that led me to this work. I was part of Creek Connections in high school, when it was still the French Creek Environmental Education Project. Our club at
“It’s such an honor to be beside a student as they experience wonder in the world around them,” says Branby, the Pittsburgh-area coordinator. “Standing with them in the creek as they see their first hellbender salamander, catch a myriad of aquatic insects in a kicknet, and even discover that a wet rock in a stream
is slippery … and the surprise, excitement and pure joy that accompanies those experiences is something that never grows old.” Kedzierski says she savors those perfect days outdoors on the Western Pennsylvania streams and tributaries.”When the stars align, the weather is nice, the creek levels are low and our campers, with the help of a herpetologist, lift a rock and find a hellbender — there is nothing better in
the universe,” she says. “Even the small discoveries — water pennies can be fascinating as well as hellgrammites (larval dobsonflies) and case-building caddisfly larvae. It’s opening the door to the appreciation of nature instead of fearing it.” Editor’s Note: The next Freshwater Academy (formerly summer Creek Camp) is scheduled for summer 2021.
What a pleasure to see the personal and professional growth in Allegheny students as our best innovators, product developers, field resources for the teachers, and college role models for school students. Jim Palmer Creek Connections Cofounder & Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Science
19
ALLEGHENY COLLEGE ACHIEVES
CARBON NEUTRALITY by Josh Tysiachney photos Ed Mailliard, Liam Michel ’20 and Second Nature
Allegheny College recently became one of the first 10 higher education institutions in the United States to achieve carbon neutrality, reflecting more than a decade of effort to enhance efficiency in operations, engage students in research and action, and build collaborations with partners. In addition, Allegheny was the first college in Pennsylvania to receive Second Nature’s Carbon Neutral Campus award. A carbon-neutral institution first reduces its operational carbon footprint and then balances remaining emissions by investing in projects that will remove an equal amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Carbon neutrality efforts demonstrate urgent climate action to reduce the concentration of climate-changing gases in the atmosphere dramatically, said Allegheny Director of Sustainability Kelly Mack Boulton ’02.
This was truly a collective effort that involved collaboration by the Board of Trustees, faculty, students, staff and external partners. I also want to recognize my predecessors, Presidents Emeriti Richard Cook and Jim Mullen, for their leadership in sustaining the momentum toward reaching this ambitious goal. Hilary L. Link Allegheny College President
“Carbon neutrality is not the end goal but rather another moment of progress in our continued efforts to be a sustainable and resilient campus and community member.”
Allegheny has a longstanding commitment to promoting sustainability practices and solutions. In 1972, the College established one of the first environmental science departments in the country. Allegheny’s Board of Trustees adopted environmental guiding principles in 2002, and the College became a charter signatory of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007. “I am very grateful to the Allegheny community for the dedication, insights and hard work that have enabled the College to achieve climate neutrality,” said Allegheny President Hilary L. Link. “This was truly a collective effort that involved collaboration by the Board of Trustees, faculty, students, staff and external partners. I also want to recognize my predecessors, Presidents Emeriti Richard
Allegheny College was recognized for its efforts to achieve climate neutrality at the Second Nature Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit in February. Pictured, from left: President Emeritus James H. Mullen, Jr., President Emeritus Richard J. Cook, Trustee Christine Scott Nelson ’73, Chief Financial Officer Linda Wetsell, Director of Sustainability Kelly Boulton ’02 and President Hilary L. Link. Cook, Link, Mullen and Nelson participated in a plenary panel, “Maintaining Climate Momentum Through Presidential Transitions,” at the summit. Nelson was chair of the Board of Trustees when Allegheny became an early signatory of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.
Watch the panel at allegheny.edu/climatepanel
Cook and Jim Mullen, for their leadership in sustaining the momentum toward reaching this ambitious goal.” Allegheny set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2020 as part of a climate action plan adopted by the College’s Board of Trustees in 2010. Three key efforts have contributed to the College’s carbon neutrality:
in Colorado. That effort complements work by students and faculty in collaboration with a local company that grows switchgrass, a native prairie grass. The College’s offset portfolio also includes a water-filtration project in Haiti and an industrial emission-abatement project in Mississippi, both of which have numerous social, financial and environmental co-benefits.
• Reducing emissions through efficiency retrofits, system and behavior changes, and sustainable construction and renovation. The College has increased its energy efficiency by 19.2 percent during the last decade, even as the square footage of campus buildings expanded. Reducing energy consumption has led to significant cost savings for Allegheny. • Decarbonizing energy sources by shifting from fossil fuel to alternative energy sources. Allegheny has installed geothermal heating and cooling systems in four buildings. In addition, photovoltaic arrays on campus generate 8,500 kilowatt-hours annually, and all electricity purchased by the College comes from wind-generated sources. • Offsetting remaining emissions by investing in projects that prevent or remove an equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Through increased efficiency, the College not only has realized budget savings each year but also has been able to purchase offsets from its existing energy budget without allocating additional funds. Boulton said that the College has intentionally invested in offset projects that relate to research by Allegheny faculty and students. For example, Allegheny chose a methane-capture project that generates electricity at a Pennsylvania dairy farm. It parallels teaching and research that Environmental Science and Sustainability Professor Eric Pallant completed with students to generate and capture biogas from agricultural waste. In addition, Allegheny selected a grassland and soil carbon conservation project
Selected Milestones on
ALLEGHENY’S PATH TO CARBON NEUTRALITY 2002 Environmental Guiding Principles Adopted 2007 Presidents’ Climate Commitment Signed
2008 Sustainability Coordinator Position Created
Carbon neutrality is not the end goal but rather another moment of progress in our continued efforts to be a sustainable and resilient campus and community member. Kelly Mack Boulton ’02 Allegheny Director of Sustainability
Even as Allegheny celebrates achieving carbon neutrality, the College continues to think about the significant efforts that are next, Boulton said. “We need to continue to decarbonize our campus through efficiency and scaling up our use of technologies such as geothermal and on-campus renewables,” she said. “We will explore opportunities to invest in renewable energy generated more locally. We will focus on expanding our understanding and collaborations with Meadville partners to develop and celebrate a more environmentally, economically and socially resilient community.”
2010 Climate Action Plan and 2020 Neutrality Goal Adopted 2012 Richard J. Cook Center for Environmental Science Dedicated 2015 Allegheny Recognized in Wildlife Federation Guide to Green Landscapes 2017 Electricity-generating Greenhouse Opens in Carr Hall Garden 2020 Allegheny Honored with Second Nature’s Carbon Neutral Campus Award
21
On the Hill
News from Campus
National Radio Program Spotlights Faculty Research at Allegheny College Five Allegheny College professors were featured on “The Academic Minute,” a national radio broadcast and podcast that highlights research from colleges and universities throughout the world, during the week of May 25. The five Allegheny professors discussing their research were: • Brian Harward, the Robert G. Seddig Chair in Political Science, who addressed “Congressional Responsiveness to Presidential Unilateralism” • Janyl Jumadinova, assistant professor of computer science, who presented “A Submersible Robot That Tests Water Quality” • Caryl E. Waggett, associate professor of global health studies, who spoke on “Links between Lead Poisoning and Food Insecurity” • Eric Pallant, the Christine Scott Nelson Professor of Environmental Sustainability and chair of the
Department of Environmental Science and Sustainability, who discussed “There is a Lot to Learn from Sourdough Bread” • Shannan Mattiace, professor of political science and international studies, who presented her research on “Drug Wars and Criminal Violence in Mexico” In addition, Professor Barbara L. Shaw will share her research at a later date on “The Academic Minute.” Shaw, who holds the Brett ’65 and Gwendolyn ’64 Elliott Professorship for Interdisciplinary Studies, will speak on “Transforming Knowledge, Building Reimagined Futures.” “The Academic Minute” is broadcast by WAMC/Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. The show, which is carried on 70 stations around the United States and Canada, is hosted by Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The program also is streamed at academicminute.org.
Allegheny Students, Garden Manager Honored for Sustainability Work The Allegheny student group Green Students of Color Society, students Isabella Petitta and René Benoit, and Kerstin Ams, the garden manager of the on-campus Carr Hall Garden, were recognized by the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium (PERC) as 2020 Campus Sustainability Champions. The Campus Sustainability Champion title is awarded annually to students, faculty, administrators and staff of Pennsylvania colleges and universities who have made
meaningful contributions benefiting social, economic or environmental sustainability on their campus or in their community. “The award reinforces their credentials as a leader in the transition to a sustainable future,” said Benjamin Culbertson, communication team chair of the statewide group. There were 11 student group or individual recipients and 11 non-student recipients of the Campus Sustainability Champion honor in Pennsylvania for 2020.
The inaugural meeting of the Allegheny Green Students of Color Society
Rising Senior Delaney Lacey Selected for Goldwater Scholarship Delaney Lacey, a rising senior at Allegheny College, has been selected for a 2020 Goldwater Scholarship. The scholarship program honoring the late Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Lacey, a biology major and psychology minor from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is one of 396 college students from across the United States selected this year for a Goldwater Scholarship. They were selected from a pool of 1,343 natural science, engineering and mathematics students nominated by 461 academic institutions. Lacey plans to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology and conduct research into the molecular basis for antimicrobial drug resistance to aid in the early development of antimicrobial compounds.
Allegheny College Receives First-gen Forward Designation The Center for Firstgeneration Student Success, an initiative of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and The Suder Foundation, recently announced their 2020-21 cohort of First-gen Forward Institutions, which include Allegheny College. The First-gen Forward designation recognizes institutions of higher education who have demonstrated a commitment to improving experiences and advancing outcomes of first-generation college students. Selected institutions receive professional development, community-building experiences and a first look at the Center’s research and resources.
GRANTS AND GIFTS $1,100,000 Anonymous Donor Allegheny received a grant of $1.1 million from a source that wishes to remain anonymous to test and develop its Gateway Network over three years. The network focuses on three goals: (1) connecting students, faculty and staff with community partners around tangible community-based projects and initiatives; (2) aligning the College’s various community-based efforts by providing a common platform and structure for collaboration, ensuring efficiency and reducing duplication of effort; and (3) accelerating positive change in the Meadville area by ensuring a more sustained focus on areas of critical importance. Terry Bensel, associate provost, director of the Allegheny Gateway and professor of environmental science, serves as project director.
$150,000 George I. Alden Trust Allegheny received a $150,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust to create a Center for Innovation and to purchase a related high-definition, full-dome projector for the planetarium. These shared technology spaces will serve as hubs for interdisciplinary learning and innovation. In the Center for Innovation, entrepreneurial, innovative and creative endeavors can move from idea to prototype to product in a state-ofthe-art educational environment. Many of the projects developed in the center will be tested and displayed in the College’s planetarium using the new projector, which contains a special hemispherical mirror system that allows for a full 360-degree projection onto the dome. Assistant Professor of Art Byron Rich and Professor of Physics Jamie Lombardi are overseeing these projects.
$144,252 Mozilla Foundation Allegheny received a $144,252 grant from the Mozilla Foundation for the Responsible Computer Science Challenge, a partnership of Omidyar Network, Mozilla, Schmidt Futures and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Oliver Bonham-Carter is directing the project, which aims to integrate ethics and social responsibility into undergraduate computer science courses. Computer science students will investigate potential ethical and societal challenges while studying fields such as artificial intelligence and data analytics. Lessons will include readings, hands-on activities and talks from experts in the field.
$110,000 Orris C. Hirtzel and Beatrice Dewey Hirtzel Memorial Foundation Allegheny received a $110,000 grant from the Orris C. Hirtzel and Beatrice Dewey Hirtzel Memorial Foundation in support of a fluorescent/chemiluminescent imaging system and the creation of a Health Informatics Computer Lab, both of which will benefit students interested in the health professions. The imaging system allows imaging of protein and DNA electrophoresis gels, membranes, microplates, petri dishes, tissue sections on glass slides and small biological samples (such as plant leaves or roots). The Health Informatics Computer Lab will allow student and faculty researchers to download and analyze large datasets from national, international, regional and local data sources. Brad Hersh, associate professor of biology and biochemistry, is the project director for the imager, and Becky Dawson, assistant professor of global health studies and biology, and Amelia Finaret, assistant professor of global health studies, are project directors for the lab.
23
OUR ALLEGHENY: OUR THIRD CENTURY QUEST CAMPAIGN
Kathryn and James ’76 Macielak
Students Make the Rounds With Dr. Jim Macielak by Richard Stanley photo Richard Sayer
James R. Macielak maintains a bustling orthopedic practice in Meadville, but he always finds time to allow Allegheny College students to shadow him as he makes his daily rounds. Macielak, a 1976 graduate of Allegheny, has mentored dozens of Allegheny students in orthopedics as part of his
24 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
volunteer service to the College for the past 20 years. “I’ve had a blast,” he says. “It allows me to interact with current students and has given me the opportunity to really see how younger people change over time — yet remain the same. Also, it’s critical for young people considering medical school to have some insight into what’s in store
for them. I look forward to the program every year and also welcome students outside the formal program.” “Jim is a long-time friend of the Allegheny pre-medical community,” says Kirsten Peterson, director of pre-professional studies at Allegheny. “Students have been shadowing him for years, and he was among the first physicians to mentor
OUR ALLEGHENY: OUR THIRD CENTURY QUEST CAMPAIGN students through the EL Term in Health Care. Since 2002, he has given generously of his time though the EL program. He has come to campus multiple times to talk to students about the field of medicine. The students are always impressed as much by his bedside manner as by his skill as a surgeon. I am most grateful for his generosity to Allegheny pre-meds.” Allegheny 2017 graduate Dan Favaro, who is now a student at the Eastern Virginia Medical School, shadowed Macielak in Meadville in 2016 and says it was an in-depth learning experience. “Dr. Macielak is an avid supporter of pre-medical Allegheny students, selflessly investing his time and energy to foster experience, curiosity and respect for the art and science of medicine,” Favaro says. “Dr. Macielak demonstrates the value of calculated confidence and focus in the operating theater, clarity and openness at the bedside, and dedication as a lifelong student of medicine.” Robert Bower ’20 joined Macielak on his rounds in 2018 as a sophomore. “I had the privilege to shadow Dr. Macielak for three weeks, four days a week,” says Bower. “Each week two days were spent in the office and the other two in surgery. During this time, I got to know Dr. Macielak as he taught me not only what being a physician looks like but what it really means. He explained to me the biological side of medicine but spent just as much time talking to me about the human side. When we visited patients, I was able to see how much he cared for his patients and wanted the best for them. Dr. Macielak has had a profound impact on me with his kind professionalism, and I hope to become a physician like him one day.” Macielak serves Allegheny in other ways as well, including as a Volunteer in Service to Allegheny, a class reunion committee member, and as a supporter of the College’s Annual Fund Grant Program. “I feel the best way to impact the College is by helping students,” Macielak
says. “It’s important to give back. Allegheny was very important to my life trajectory, and I want others to have that same opportunity.” A native of Buffalo, New York, Macielak played football for four years at Allegheny. After graduation, he initially stayed in Meadville and worked as an orderly at what was then Meadville City Hospital. He then went on to earn his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh and served his internship and residency at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. He also served as a fellow at the Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center studying spine deformity and spinal trauma in Los Angeles. He met his wife, Kathryn, during his time in Pittsburgh and they eventually moved to Meadville in 1988 to join Orthopedic Associates. They have called the area home ever since. Also in 1988, Macielak signed on as the team physician for the Allegheny football program, a post he continued in until 2016. In 2005, Macielak received the Robert Garbark Memorial Alumni Award from the Allegheny Athletic Department for his years working as the team’s physician. He practices at the Meadville Medical Center and the Shriners Hospital in Erie. His professional activities include memberships in the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Eastern Orthopaedic Association, the Tri-State Orthopaedic Society, the Pennsylvania State Medical Association, the Crawford County Medical Association, the American Back Society-Surgery, the American Medical Association, the North American Spine Society, and the American College of Spine Surgery. He and Kathryn view philanthropy as an important part of their lives. “Once you reach a certain level of success, we believe you need to share,” Macielak says. “There are hundreds of good causes. I’m familiar with Allegheny and the good work that it does. I want to be part of that. We are happy that the College is committed to excellence and is evolving with the times.”
CAMPAIGN PROGRESS
RAISED
$198,200,894 GOAL
$200,000,000
99% Totals as of June 2020
Class Notes
News and Events from Alumni
Notes 1950s ’51
Marion Taylor Ward was featured in the Thousand Oaks Acorn for her work organizing the “Celebrating the Joy of Music” concert in March 2019, five years after being partially paralyzed in a traffic accident. She has enjoyed a career in publishing in New York and California.
Notes 1960s ’62
Nancy McMullen Smith was featured in the Watertown Daily Times for her embroidered art, and an exhibit of her work, “Variety Is the Spice of Life,” was held at the Thousand Islands Art Center during the winter of 2018–19.
’65
Barbara J. Rautner has published her second small book of spiritual reflections in poetic form: Songs of the Spirit, Darkness and Light (2019). That follows the publication of To Walk With Thee, Songs of the Spirit in 2012. Both of her books were published by Rose Dog Books, Dorrance Publishing Company, 585 Alpha Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a degree in psychology. Steven Ross welcomed his third grandchild on July 5, 2019. Evelyn Amelia Ross joins sister, Eleanor, and big brother, Leo.
’67
Peter McCormick writes: “A few years ago — the mid to late 1960s to be more precise — Phi Delta Theta at 681 The Terrace was the movie capital of Meadville. We made such classics as Tom Jones, The Collector, and The Great Spaghetti Dinner Massacre, along with other short films and documentaries. If you saw any of them, we’re sure you’re smiling now at the memories. All those wonderful 8mm and super 8mm movie films are lost. A few of the movie clips were found in 2010, and we enjoyed a generational Phi Delta Theta reunion with a showing. Now, a quest has
begun to find the majority of those movie films. However, we need all the help we can get. If you know anything about those films, no matter how small the detail (like “I saw the metal canisters with the films in them when I visited the House in 1978.”), please pass along that information to me at macbon@verizon.net.”
’68
Nancy Reiss Hinz has started the Dr. Paul Zolbrod Interdisciplinary Communications Living Legacy Fund at Allegheny. The fund’s mission is to bring successful alumni and experts from all disciplines for campus presentations, seminars and meetings with students. These interactions will help prospective graduates develop real-world communication skills and practical career tools critical in today’s competitive and changing job market. You can visit the dedicated donation page at http://go.allegheny.edu/zolbrod. John Ziegler shares a catching-up note: After serving in the Peace Corps, he received a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii in 1972. “From there I became a history professor at Honolulu Community College for 35 years. I retired and now split my time between Pennsylvania and North Carolina.”
Notes 1970s ’70
Jane Offutt is the owner of Accomplishonline, which distributes Accomplish Reading, an app that improves reading comprehension for students in grades 3-8. Recently, Accomplishonline was certified as a Woman Owned Business. This certification is a tool to increase business and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Dane Velie received his Master of Science in business economics from the Georgia State University Graduate School of Business in December 2019. He was the oldest graduate receiving a degree from the GSU Graduate School of Business that day. “Next to receiving my degree from Allegheny College almost 50 years ago, it was the second most proud day of my life. GO, GATORS,” he says.
’66
Twenty-five ladies from the Class of ’66 got together at Isle of Palms, near Charleston, South Carolina, all staying together in a spectacular 12-bedroom mansion on the beach. What a wonderful way to reunite with old friends from Allegheny days … a regular event for this group! There were historical tours, eco tours, gourmet dining, singing, walks on the beach, storytelling and plenty of reminiscing.
’67
Class of 1967 grads Don Jackson, Bill Campbell, Jeff Steinbrink, Rick Chamberlin and Greg Bentz (left to right) gathered at the home of Don Jackson and Marilyn Mueller ’68 in Leesburg, Virginia, for three days and nights of high camaraderie and low comedy. The reunion included some truly fine dining, some pretty good storytelling, a morning of heroic golf, and an afternoon at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, where Don, a docent there, led his charges through the story of flight, from the Wright brothers to the Concorde and the Space Shuttle. There was also a Movie Night, featuring remarkable films from the Phi Delta Theta archive. Plans for a re-reunion are already in the works. 27
’74
Andrew Lubin celebrated his May 2019 semi-retirement by hiking the robust 45-mile Salkantay Trail and climbing Machu Picchu in Peru. While no longer teaching undergraduate or graduate school after 20 years, he is the president of Defense Solutions International, a security-related company currently active in West Africa, Iraq and Israel. He’d enjoy hearing from his Phi Psi brothers and other classmates and friends at Lubin@defensesolutionsinternational.com
’71
Jim Cohen, a former attorney and U.S. Air Force veteran, in June 2019 was featured in the publication Reel Durham for his jewelry-making work in North Carolina. Here is the link: www.wearestorydriven.com/ blog/creating-judaica/
’74
Leo Garrison has been named facilities director at Finger Lakes Health in New York State. He holds a master’s degree in health-care administration from George Washington University.
’76
Bob Maskulka has retired from employment with KeyBank in Cleveland, Ohio, after 37 years of service in various management roles within information technology, security and technology audit. He also retired as a high school and youth soccer referee. New retirement activities that are less strenuous include bowling, 28 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
running, yoga and a variety of local volunteer activities. He and his wife, Linda (a Wittenberg graduate, 1974), also plan to do some traveling. They can be reached at bmaskulka@ymail.com William Nelson was named chief executive officer of the Global Resilience Federation on January 1, 2019. His previous position was at the Financial Services Information Sharing & Analysis Center, where he served as CEO for nearly 13 years. The mission of both organizations is to share intelligence about cyber and physical attacks to protect companies and their customers. He keeps in contact with many Allegheny alumni and Phi Delta Theta brothers. He lives in Leesburg, Virginia, with Lynn, his wife of 41 years, and their three dogs. He asks that you connect with him on Facebook or contact him at aglwhtn1@icloud.com.
’77
Craig Gralley was interviewed on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” about his book, Hall of Mirrors, which highlights the life and career of Virginia Hall, a disabled woman from Baltimore who became America’s greatest spy of World War II. He retired several years ago from the CIA after serving for three decades as a senior officer, and then went back to school for a master’s degree in writing from Johns Hopkins. Hall of Mirrors began as his thesis project and his research took him to the French Pyrenees where he and his wife, Janet Lucier Gralley ’76, discovered the trail Hall used to escape the Gestapo’s Klaus Barbie in the winter of 1942. In retirement, Craig is a freelance writer, and Janet enjoys volunteer activities and acting in the local theater in Brevard, North Carolina. Friends can contact them: jcgralley@gmail.com
’77
Sandra Schwarz Blank has retired from her role as director of information technology at MidMichigan Health in Michigan to move to Spokane, Washington. She has two grandchildren in Spokane and one in Seattle to spend time with as well as volunteering opportunities.
’78
Cynthia Waltenbaugh Hutchison, senior director of Automation Alley, Michigan’s Industry 4.0 knowledge center, has been recognized in the Crain’s Detroit Business list of Notable Women in STEM. The report salutes acclaimed women professionals who demonstrate excellence and encourage further professional development within the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
’79
Timothy Conboy was named “Lawyer of the Year” in Workers’ Compensation Law-Claimants in
Pittsburgh in the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. His practice, ConboyLaw, is located in Mt. Lebanon, in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, focusing on workers’ compensation and personal injury. Keith Haidet, Greg Underberg and Medio Monti rode their bicycles 330 miles in four days from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., raising funds for homeless veterans services. The ride ended with a Fourth of July celebration in Arlington, Virginia. The group raised more than $100,000.
Notes 1980s ’80
Deborah Ravin’s pen and ink illustration, “Ocotillo - Fouquieria splendens,” was accepted into the 16th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She and her husband Mark, along with family members, attended the opening reception in October 2019. Also present to view the art was Patti Thompson Shook ’80 and her husband, Mike.
’81
Stuart Armstrong was honored by the Financial Planning Association in October 2019 for his volunteer work over the decades serving the LGBTQ community, helping to bridge the planning gap between the profession and this underserved community. This complements the Allegheny Gold Citation Award he received similarly for his lifelong volunteer work presented at the June 2019 Reunion Weekend.
Wendy Coates was elected to the board of directors for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, an international organization whose mission is to lead the advancement of academic emergency medicine through education and research, advocacy and professional development. She is a professor of emergency medicine at UCLA-Geffen School of Medicine.
’79
The 40th Reunion Class of 1979 hosted a nature hike in the Erie National Wildlife Refuge as part of their reunion activities in June 2019 in and around Meadville. Thanks to Medio Monti for sharing this photo.
29
’79
To celebrate their 40th reunion, Greg Underberg and Medio Monti traveled to Tanzania in 2019 and hoisted the Gator flag at Uhuru Peak on Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world and Africa’s highest point.
Daniel Ferrara has been appointed to the New York Institute of Technology Board of Trustees. Ferrara, a resident of Old Brookville, New York, is northeast regional president for Alteon Health, a physician-led organization that supports health systems in the United States. Katherine Squires Rogers and Dr. Christopher D. Rogers moved to coastal North Carolina three years ago. She serves on the board of the local United Way and is the champion for the Community Care Collaborative, a community outreach program of the Albemarle Area United Way. She spoke at the 2019 Saint Joseph’s College Commencement and accepted her MBA from the college’s online program. Christopher is a general surgeon employed by Sentara Medical Group. James Steele sounded “Taps” for the USS Little Rock Association Reunion Memorial service on the USS
Little Rock at Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville in September 2019. The service honored the shipmates of all past and present versions of the USS Little Rock who have passed on. He also sounded “Taps” as part of the military honors detail in January 2020 for John Meade, Jr., a homeless U.S. Army veteran who died in November 2019 with no family. The ceremony took place in Jacksonville, Florida.
’82
Jonathan Cooper has been named among Best Lawyers for 2020. He specializes in mass tort litigation/class actions for Tucker Ellis in Cleveland. Richard W. Kelly, Jr. has been named as a shareholder and director of the firm at Sherrard, German & Kelly. He is a member of the firm’s real estate, litigation and construction services groups. He has over 30 years of civil, commercial, real estate and construction litigation experience.
Natalie Fabin Ruppert is serving as the manager of workforce development for the Kenton County Public Library System. KCPL has been ranked the No. 1 library system in Kentucky since 2013. She is the first librarian in the state to hold the title. She received her master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Kentucky in 2008 and has been a librarian for 10 years. She dedicates much of her time to helping professionals in transition find new jobs and working closely with area chambers of commerce.
’83
Kristina Gulick Schaefer has left her post as senior associate dean of external relations and global programs at the MIT Sloan School of Management but will remain in a part-time capacity, serving as senior associate dean of global programs and as senior philanthropic advisor, managing a portfolio of donors and providing strategic counsel to the office.
’79
Peter Greene, after 39 years in the classroom, has retired from teaching. While his two older children are grown with children of their own, he’s currently playing stay-at-home dad for a pair of two-year-old twin boys. He writes about education reform and public education on his blog, as well as working as a regular contributor for the Progressive and Forbes online. He lives in Franklin, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Amanda, an elementary school teacher. Old friends are invited to look him up on Facebook, “the preferred social media for those of us Of A Certain Age,” he says.
’79
Seven Phi Delts (and one wannabe) from the Class of 1979 got together in August 2019 for a six-day raft trip on the Salmon River in north-central Idaho. From left: Jim Goduti, Phil Gustafson, Ray Meeks, Tom Wormer, Jon Spencer, Rich Scott, Steve Bice and Ray Johnson.
31
’81
Doug Rehak shares a photo from a 2019 Class of ’81 Phi Delta Theta “Rainsoft” reunion on Anna Maria Island, left to right: Fran Schefer ’81, Jerry Goodrich ’81, Cindi Hamashin, Eric Bingham ’81, Lisa Matson Goodrich ’81, Cathy Bingham, Sue Husted Burrows ’80, Lisa Keating, Janet Rehak, Lloyd Hamashin ’81 and Doug Rehak ’81. Picture taken by Steve Adler ’83.
’81
Members of the Class of 1981 gathered in Seneca Lake, New York, in October 2019 just to reconnect: Lynn Jennette Hurtt, Wendy Roth Wright, Peg Laughner, Sue Wirth Coombs, MJ Meenen, Sydney Nelson Baer, Kathy Kloepfer Hodgkinson and Linda Horne Krzykowski.
’82
On June 29, 2019, 75-plus Gators from the classes of ’82 to ’90 gathered in Pittsburgh for a “Gators Aging Gracefully” party hosted by Tom Stanley ’86, Suzanne Hoffman Meyer ’87, Becky Hammonds Runkle ‘87, Chris Mandella ’87, Kevin Tilley ’87 and Sean Carmody ’87.
’82
Six friends who lived during their first year in Walker Annex, each a member of the self-proclaimed WWOWA (Wild Women of Walker Annex) and graduated in 1982, gathered in Memphis in 2019 for a fun-filled reunion over Columbus Day weekend. Pictured from left to right: Monica Dixon Dentino, Linda Nichols Baker, Amy Hoogesteger Tabor, Ellen Weber Brogden, Kathy Keppler Walker and Pam Kanner.
32 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
’85
Lisa Bauer has been named president and CEO of Starboard Cruise Services, based in Miami. She oversees operations for Starboard and sister company Onboard Media, an integrated media company, comprising 2,500 employees working both on land and on board the ships of the companies’ eight partner cruise lines. Bauer was previously vice president of onboard experience at Delta Airlines. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Timothy Downing, chief diversity officer of Ulmer & Berne, has been recognized by the National Law Journal in its inaugural Equality Trailblazers list. This new list highlights the accomplishments of those who have made significant strides in the fight for gender and LGBTQ equality. He also has been appointed to Cuyahoga County’s Human Rights Commission, which aims to promote diversity, inclusion and harmony through every facet of the county. Downing will serve as one of three attorneys comprising the first assembly of the commission, which was formed through an anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the Cuyahoga County Council in the fall of 2018. Steven J. Halm was named the dean of Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine (DMU-COM) in July 2019. As a medical school dean he acts as the chief academic officer and oversees all financial and operational functions for the college and its clinical practices. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a National Health Policy Fellow. Heather McQuaid co-founded a human-centered design consultancy Future Tonic — in 2015. “We’re based in East London, so if you’re in the neighbourhood, drop by,” she says.
’86
Annie Donovan has been named the chief operating officer at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. She had been the director of the federal Community
Development Financial Institutions Fund and a national thought leader on community investing. She has an undergraduate degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.
’87
Catherine Forbes is serving in the Maryland General Assembly after being sworn in during a ceremony in October 2019 at the Maryland State House. She represents District 42A, Towson, Maryland, and the surrounding communities.
’89
José Rodriguez, chief diversity officer at Cabrini University, has been named to the board of directors of El Concilio, the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of Philadelphia.
Notes 1990s ’90
Kelly Monkelien Hughes is a visiting professor at the United States Air Force Academy. She will be there for at least three years. She is teaching computer science and cyber security courses.
’92
Patrick Rhode has been named the chief of police in South Euclid, Ohio. He started his career as a teacher before becoming a police officer in 1995.
’93
Douglas Moffet and his family have moved to Bozeman, Montana, and they hosted classmate Evan Reeves and his two children over the Fourth of July Holiday in 2019.
’95
Stephanie Worley Kandel was named Teacher of the Year at Moss School in Metuchen, New Jersey in 2019. She teaches kindergarten and resides in Metuchen with her husband Tyler, a law partner at Sills Cummis & Gross, and their daughters, Natalie, 13, and Sabrina, 11.
’96
Kevin Gallagher is the school program director for the National Math and Science Initiative at his alma mater, Keystone
Oaks High School, where he teaches AP Statistics and AP Computer Science. McCrae Holliday Martino has been appointed as the vice president for human services at Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. She holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Danette Marie Pugh-Patton has been named Faculty Diversity Fellow at Ursuline College in suburban Cleveland. Pugh-Patton, who is completing a Ph.D. in communication studies at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, is also teaching an undergraduate course at Ursuline titled “Identity, Diversity and Community.” Marie Radina has published How Qualitative Data Analysis Happens: Moving Beyond “Themes Emerged.” Published by Taylor & Francis, this volume contains behind-the-scenes stories about how qualitative researchers go about conducting analyses of their published work — the level of detail that is often left out of published journal articles. The book is co-edited by Áine Humble and Elise Radina ’96.
’98
Jeffrey L. Webb has been appointed the director of the Johnstown Symphony Chorus. His band, Jeff Webb and the Delectable Sound, released its debut album called “Crossroads” on August 1, 2019. The album is available on all streaming platforms, including Spotify and iTunes. Webb continues to serve as associate professor of music/director of choral activities and department chair of the Music Department at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
’99
Jamie L. McGrady has been named as a federal public defender by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the District of Alaska. She received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
33
Jessica L. Sheffield joined the Eno River Association as its executive director in October 2019. The association is a community-focused environmental land trust.
Notes 2000s
College. She joined the Wabash faculty in the Biology Department in 2014, having spent the previous academic year as visiting lecturer of biology at the University of Richmond. She received her Bachelor of Science in neuroscience and her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Virginia.
’00
’03
Jason N. Cashing was awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, in May 2019. He is also a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree. He is a member of the Presbytery of the James in the MidAtlantic synod and currently serves as pastor of Gregory Memorial Presbyterian Church in Prince George, Virginia.
’02
Jacqueline Petty was honored in January 2020 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as its Employee of the Month. She received the award for leading the communication strategy for a major HIV surveillance project spanning 16 nations.
Angela Pero Annibale received the Young Professional to Watch Award at the 2019 PEDA Fall Conference. This award is in recognition of her distinction as a future leader within the economic development profession in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Karen Zannini Bull was appointed as the dean of the Division of Online Learning at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in July 2019. Michael Levan has been awarded tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor at the University of Saint Francis, where he also serves as chair of the Department of English, History, and Political Science. He lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his wife, Molly, and children, Atticus, Dahlia and Odette.
Heidi Walsh has successfully completed the tenure process and will assume the rank of associate professor at Wabash
’01
Kristie Seelman has earned tenure and been promoted to associate professor in the School of Social Work in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. She lives in Atlanta with spouse Shannon Kelly ’03, a special education teacher who has recently started doing watercolor portraits. They have a daughter, Harper, 4, who enjoys dancing, reading books, and playing with friends. Yasir Shah has received his doctorate in public health from George Washington University. He currently works in substance abuse prevention in Washington, D.C., and as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University. “I continue to write in my spare time and have recently ventured into screenwriting. Several of my screenplays have already been produced or are currently in production for Pakistani television,” he says. Katie Ketcham Warren, a neurologist on the medical staff at Meadville Medical Center, was named in 2019 by the Pennsylvania Medical Society as one of the top 40 physicians under age 40 in Pennsylvania.
In the spring of 2019, this group celebrated a milestone birthday and more than two decades of friendship in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Left to right: Dana Mackowiak ’01, Theresa Varuolo DeMichiei ’01, Lawrence Baumiller ’02, Megan Cieslak ’01, Aimee LaMontagne Baumiller ’01, Nickie Corey ’01, Amy Zader ’01, Charles Ruggiero ’02 and Jaclyn Kurash ’01.
’04
Nick Girard has self-published a book titled In The Beginning. It is an original tale that will reveal the untold story of how the Earth was created and the true purpose for humanity through a cosmic battle between heaven and hell. Full details can be found here: iamforworldpeace.com. He and his wife, Lisa Timbers ’05, are living in Boca Raton, Florida, with their cat, Patches. Christopher Lockman has been named as a partner in the Verrill law firm in Maine. He also serves as the chair of the board of directors for the Healthcare Purchaser Alliance of Maine. He earned his law degree from Duquesne University Law School.
Joisanne Rodgers has graduated from American College of Education with an Ed.S. in leadership.
’07
Tim Eyerman has been appointed principal of pre-K to eighth grade at Copper Ridge School in Arizona. He taught at Phoenix’s Isaac Middle School for three years, the first two through the national Teach for America program.
Notes 2010s ’08
Rachel Dingman has been hired as the director of Jewish enrichment for BBYO International. BBYO is the leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement reaching
over 70,000 teens annually. She will be creating experiential Jewish education programs, consulting with regions throughout North America, and serving as a resource for creating meaningful Jewish programs for the teens and staff. Megan Lepman, an associate wealth management advisor with Canale Financial Group and Northwestern Mutual – Chicago, has been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to use the CFP certification marks in accordance with CFP Board certification requirements. Ashley Wurzbacher’s short-story collection Happy Like This won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award from the University of Iowa Press and was released in October 2019. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Montevallo in Alabama.
’11
Katelyn Dornburg Edwards has been named to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and MultiMillion Dollar Advocates Forum for having won million and multimillion-dollar verdicts, awards and settlements. Fewer than one percent of U.S. lawyers are members.
’12
Kenneth Hall joins Leech Tishman as an associate in the firm’s Estates & Trusts and Taxation practice groups. He is based in Leech Tishman’s Pittsburgh office, where he assists clients in the preparation of simple and complex wills, trusts, healthcare durable powers of attorney/living wills, and durable powers of attorney. In addition, he counsels clients on business succession planning and tax planning issues. Steven Jones has been elected to serve on the Town Council in Tolland, Connecticut, for a two-year term. Additionally, he was elected unanimously to serve as vice chairman of the Tolland Town Council. He currently serves as the council liaison to the Conservation Commission, Water Commission, and shared liaison to the Board of Education.
’13
Joseph Caruso III has been named senior government relations associate at Jackson National Life Insurance Company. He is acting as a lead for the government relations team, working collaboratively with other departments to advance Jackson’s business interests in matters related to public policy, as well as federal and state regulatory issues. He will also represent Jackson before trade associations, regulators, and state and federal elected bodies.
Bethany Eppig has accepted a position in the Radioisotope Power Systems Program stationed at NASA Glenn Research Center. The program enables future space missions by supporting the development of advanced technologies power conversion for deep-space and long-life missions.
’15
Madison Monahan and Ryan Sherry ’15, got engaged October 18, 2019, in the Allegheny National Forest. “We took a trip to Allegheny College afterward to revisit our favorite memories, including watching the Gator football team win against Kenyon! Surprise party followed with my best friends and Gators, Drea Ortiz ’15, Tori Delzer Wesolowski ’15 and Faith Robinson ’15.” 35
Jillian D’Amico Court was one of five recipients of the “Top 5 Under 40” award in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. The recognition is intended to highlight young professionals in Lawrence County who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to both their professional lives, as well as their involvement and volunteer efforts in the community. She was the executive director of media for the Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce when she received this honor. She is now with the Lawrence County Conservation District as a conservation technician.
’14
Yuanshui Cui received a master’s degree in piano performance from Indiana University in 2016; she received a master’s in French and Francophone literature from Indiana University in 2018. She is preparing a Ph.D in musicology at the Sorbonne, in Paris, and is participating in a program run by the Fondation Bell’Arte, in Belgium, for advanced piano students. Benjamin J. Dauber has joined Eckert Seamans’ Pittsburgh office and business division. He concentrates his practice in the firm’s business counseling, financial transactions, hospitality, and mergers and acquisitions practice groups. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2019. Lizzie Sords is the manager of urban forestry programs with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in Cleveland. She will be leading the organization’s urban tree-planting efforts, tracking young tree health and survival rates, and teaching stewardship courses across the city. If you live in the Greater Cleveland metro area and are interested in learning more about planting and caring for urban trees, feel free to email her.
36 ALLEGHENY Summer 2020
’15
Patrick Ottman was among the 260 graduates awarded the doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine at the College’s 128th Commencement on May 24, 2019. He is continuing his medical training in internal medicine at Abington Hospital - Jefferson Health in Abington, Pennsylvania.
’17
Megan Feeney graduated with a master’s of public policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Following graduation she was named to the second class of William Penn Fellows. Over the next two years she will serve in the policy office of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
Arrivals ’78
John Sohl and his wife, Dina, welcomed baby Eliana on April 30, 2019. Dina is in charge of food, John is focused on diaper changing and entertainment, and Eliana is cute!
’99
Judson Wible says Oliver Jerald Derek Wible arrived on December 18, 2018. Proud grandparents James Oram Wible ’71 and Norma Klaus Wible ’73 met him on his day of birth. The Wible family is doing well.
Michelle Novak and Ryan Zielinski, Slippery Rock University ’06, announce the birth of their second daughter, Olivia, on July 19, 2019.
’08
Sarah Goetz Abood and Robert Abood are happy to announce the birth of their second child, Arthur Douglas Abood, on January 28, 2019. The family lives near Akron, Ohio. Krystal Baldwin and Michael Roth welcomed a son, and their third child, Felix Roth, on October 16, 2018. Felix joins his big sisters Lilliauna, 6, and Evangeline, 4, at their new home in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Blaire Luciano Constable and Nathan Constable welcomed a daughter on June 4, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. Spencer Kathryn joins big brother Callahan, age 3. The Constables have moved to Powell, Ohio.
’11
’06 Jessica Minsterman Leehan and husband, Peter, welcomed daughter Emma Jade on March 27, 2019. She joins big sister Abigail.
Marcie Langford and Tim Lord, University of New Hampshire ’07, welcomed their son, Cooper Thomas Lord, in September 2019. This is their first child.
’13
Sara Schombert Rectenwald and Cory Rectenwald welcomed daughter Bryn Rectenwald on November 20, 2018.
Unions ’98
Bohan ’98 and Julie Terry ’98. Craig heads up talent acquisition for the Tommy Hilfiger office in New York City, and Geoffrey is senior vice president, broadcast operations for Nickelodeon.
’15
Craig Szalai married Geoffrey Todebush on February 23, 2019, at the Ritz Carlton in Rancho Mirage, California. There were many Allegheny alumni in attendance — Nikole Brugnoli Sheaffer ’98, Meg Hilton Paulson ’98, Jane Popelka Hahn ’98, Tennille Jenkins Shields ’98, John
Katelynn Long Olson and Cameron Olson were married on June 9, 2018, in Pittsburgh. Katelyyn was a member of the women’s volleyball team and Kappa Kappa Gamma. Cameron was a member of the men’s soccer team. Allegheny alumni in attendance were Maria McDonald Olson ’87 and Ronald Olson ’86, Ellisa Olson ’18, Bryce Olson (2014-2016) Madelyn Olson (2016-2018), Lauryn Long (20172018), Paul Teufel ’14, Brian Graham ’14, Jake Lebsack ’16, Keith Danley ’14, Tyler Danzy ’13, Mark Burkhart ’14, Andrew Miller ’14, Alex Etherington
’14, Andrew Zimmer ’13, Austin Cosgrove ’15, Abigail Niklaus ’16, Mark Bonessi ’86, Leslie-Paul Jamerson ’15, Sarah Vorder Bruegge ’14, John Heinrich ’14, Cathering Kasianowicz ’15, Cassandra Andreas ’15, Mary Nagel ’15, Brianna Layman ’16, Rachel Thomas ’16, Maddie Monohan ’15, Ryan Sherry ’15, Faith Robinson ’15, Thomas Richter ’15, Timothy Egan ’13, Axel Monzon ’15, Erik Donatelli ’15, Andrea Ortiz ’16, Victoria Delzer ’15, Conor Azebedo ’13, Justin Jurczyk ’17, Matthew Weintraub ’12, Shayna Spano ’12, Elyssa Wenkert ’14 and Chris Keller, Allegheny Men’s Soccer assistant coach 2007-2012.
’08
Charles Yeomans married the former Lindsay McIntosh on July 14, 2018, in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. Pictured in order are: Jeff Wentz ’06, Carl Froess ’09, Patrick Feitt ’08, Maureen Allanson ’09, Holly Ramey ’14, Mary Zoller Utter ’06, Robert Utter ’06, Justin Ross ’06, Corey Thompson ’06, Betsy Rohr Thompson ’09, Zachary Best ’09, Andrew Parise ’08, John Heurich ’08, Charles Yeomans ’08, Zachary Boboth ’08, Mark Fisher ’08, Steve Hazen ’07, Lindsay Mcintosh-Yeomans, Sara Marburger Hazen ’07, Matt Grashoff ’08, Michael Yeomans ’93, Ian McMeans ’08, Silica McMeans ’08, Lauren DiMaria ’07, Brandon Panaro ’08, Glenna Kramer ’08, C.J. Brown ’08, R.J. Polacek ’05 and Matt Betush ’06. 37
’10
Kathleen Whitbread and Brett Kemp were married August 24, 2019, in Syracuse, New York. Gators in attendance were Carlyn Johnson Aarish ’11 and Aarish Riaz ’10, Katy Orchowski ’10 and Chris Zorich, and Sylvia Kauffman ’10. Kathleen and Brett live in Rochester, New York.
’13
Colleen Friel and Jon Welsh ’14 were married on October 13, 2018, in Ford Chapel. Gators in attendance included, from left to right, Nick Palastro ’13, Peter Bergman ’14, Dr. Anthony Lo Bello, Jessica Santillo Cicconi ’08, Jessica Jeroski ’13, Erica Belden-Silverio ’10, Nico Flynn ’10 and Winnie Wong ’12. Not pictured are Dr. Catharina Coenen and Dr. Lowell Hepler.
’11
Kait Galbraith married Josh Konopka on September 21, 2019, in DuBois, Pennsylvania. Alumni in attendance included bridesmaid Samantha Schulz Phillips ’11, Dalton Phillips ’11, Jessica Boyle ’11, Becky Saylor Nau ’12, Meaghan Volek ’12, Alex Gordon ’12, Rachel Konopka Siegel ’01 and Leah Konopka Hartmann ’02.
’13
Kimberly Langin ’13 and Sam Rigotti ’10 were married on September 29, 2018, at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, Connecticut. Gators in attendance included sister of the groom Emily Rigotti ’16, Kara Cusimano ’13, Genevieve Johnson ’13, Lauren Schricker ’14, Adam Wechter ’15, Kate Rymer ’13, Nick Palastro ’13, Zack Rearick ’10 and Tyler Gund ’13 (not pictured).
’16
Keri Tucker and David Olson ’15 were joined in holy matrimony in Erie, Pennsylvania, at St. George’s Church on September 27, 2019. Pictured in order are Jennifer Torrance ’16, Corey Weary ’16, Brennen French ’17, Catherine Herman ’17, David Olson, Keri Olson, Francesca Deprator ’16, Adam Herman ’16, Nathan Taggart ’15, Christian Reese ’15 and Forrest Stuckley ’16. Also in attendance but not pictured was Mia Izzo ’16.
39
Notices & Obituaries
Find the full listing at allegheny.edu/magazine
These listings include deaths of alumni reported through February 1, 2020.
Emogene Gault Barnett on July 18, 2019. Portia Gott Simpson on December 5, 2019.
’48
Mary Vogan Wiese on March 31, 2019.
Catherine Anderson Bentkowski on October 21, 2019. Richard H. Hughes on January 18, 2020. Bernard T. Hulse on November 11, 2019. Stephen B. Miller on August 18, 2019.
’41
’49
’37
Mary Allen Lamb on February 26, 2019.
’42
Edgar Gasteiger on February 9, 2019.
’43
Grace Baldwin Davis on September 9, 2019. Janet Flinn Morris on May 2, 2019. Erwin P. Staller on February 11, 2019.
’45
Janice Crittenden Baker on January 2, 2020. Marilla Burkett Fellows on March 1, 2019. I. Marie Hamilton on December 4, 2019.
’46
Robert Bossler on March 30, 2019. Florence Graham Mack on March 18, 2019. Doris Larsen Snell on December 1, 2019.
’47
Janet Shoff Bacon on October 8, 2019.
Miriam Geyser Bowman on December 27, 2019. Robert H. Habich on December 21, 2019. Deforest A. Matteson on April 3, 2019. Robert E. Muckley on December 1, 2019. Keith L. Smith on October 24, 2019. John O. Woods, Jr. on October 18, 2019.
’50
Norman H. Baker on August 30, 2019. Paul C. Berner, Sr. on March 26, 2019. Elaine Stewart Case on April 24, 2019. Sally Schaefer McClure on August 9, 2018. Laurence A. Merriman on May 12, 2019. John Peffer on April 22, 2019. Virginia A. Pratt on September 11, 2019.
’51
Robert O. Barkley on July 12, 2019. Nancy Smith King on May 21, 2019. Sylvia Thomas Mountsier on April 17, 2019. Jakob A. Planinsek on June 30, 2019. Barbara Weybrew Roark on January 15, 2020. Louis L. Sanders, Jr. on September 1, 2019.
Richard Overmyer ’56 Professor Emeritus of Communication Arts
Richard “Dick” Overmyer ’56, professor emeritus of communication arts, died on May 13, 2019. Overmyer graduated from Allegheny with a bachelor’s in theater and then served in the entertainment section of the U.S. Army Special Services Division. After earning his Master of Fine Arts degree, he taught at San Jose State College and was head of the drama department at Southwestern College in California. He also served as the scene designer and technical director for the Lakewood Little Theater in Lakewood, Ohio, and as director of the S.T.V. Players of the American Turnverein Association of Cleveland. Overmyer joined the Allegheny faculty in 1966 and served as managing director of the Playshop Theatre, where he also performed in and directed many productions. Overmyer was
conferred emeritus status when he retired in 1998. “I try to make theater accessible; it is a mirror of society,” Overmyer told Allegheny magazine in 1993. “When students read a play in which they can identify with a character or situation, they are excited.” Following his career at Allegheny, he served as director of the Academy Theatre in Meadville. He enjoyed reading, walking, playing poker and working in his woodshop. Overmyer was preceded in death by his wife, Carol Masterson Overmyer ’55, who served as head of the College’s costume shop. He is survived by one daughter, Katherine Cooper ’89; one son, Michael Overmyer ’92; one sister, Melinda Sharrit; one brother, Ed Overmyer; and six grandchildren.
James R. Zuberbuhler on June 24, 2019.
’52
Harold E. Cooley on October 9, 2019. Peggy Yeaton Kruest on May 24, 2019. Gloria Keyes Morelli on December 6, 2019. Loretta Massa Regan on July 21, 2019. Donald R. Weaver on May 6, 2019.
’53
Mary E. Clutter on December 8, 2019. George Van Hartogh on November 13, 2019. Rolland E. Muma on September 7, 2019. J. Evelyn Koston Parent on November 14, 2019. Robert G. Shannon on October 9, 2019. Frank E. Thomas on August 20, 2019. Joann Holliday Wildman on July 16, 2019. Stanley A. Workman on December 15, 2019.
’54
Thomas D. Gladden on December 15, 2019. Carolyn Estep Graffam on July 16, 2019. Chester G. Hearn III on June 5, 2019. Beryl Iverson Kuntz on April 9, 2019. James W. Lyons on February 9, 2019. John C. Pickens on January 9, 2020. Catherine Geary Riesenman on June 7, 2019. Ronald R. Rumbaugh on October 5, 2019. Robert K. Smith on July 31, 2019. G. Alan Van Why
’55
Dwight C. Hageman on December 4, 2019. Charles R. MacDonald on July 16, 2019. J. Gay Anderson McIndoe on December 8, 2019. Robert N. Moyers on March 25, 2019. Charlyne Faller Segmiller on November 19, 2019. George H. Zilliac on March 9, 2019.
’56
John R. Dobson on November 8, 2019. Barbara Christman Kibler on June 11, 2019. Anthony W. Marcantonio on October 16, 2019.
’57
Bennard C. Benson on November 13, 2019. Peter A. Klomp, Jr. on August 9, 2019. Robert N. Miller on March 22, 2019.
’58
Ralph L. Heinauer, Jr. on November 29, 2019. Robert A. Keenan on November 26, 2019. Charles S. Myers, Jr. on February 17, 2019. Gerald B. Stirling on October 29, 2018.
’59
Harry C. Latimer on June 1, 2018.
’60
David A. Nellis on November 4, 2019. Jeremy W. Sayles on November 12, 2019. Robert E. Williams on February 9, 2019. Phyllis Efimoff Young on May 10, 2019.
James A. Bailey on October 5, 2019.
Glenn W. Thompson
Professor Emeritus of Psychology
Glenn W. Thompson, a longtime psychology professor at Allegheny, died on March 31, 2019. He graduated from Clarion University in 1952. He then entered the U.S. Air Force serving stateside during the Korean War. He also sang in the Airman’s Chorus, called the Sampsonaires, while in the military. While serving in the Air Force, he took courses at a nearby college and before graduation was admitted to Penn State University and received a departmental assistantship. He then received a Public Health Service Fellowship and his master’s degree. He received his Ph.D. in clinical/developmental psychology from Penn State and did postdoctoral work at San Diego State University in gerontology. He joined the Allegheny faculty in 1961, was promoted to full professor in 1970, and retired in 1996, when he was accorded
emeritus status. He was a part-time staff psychologist at Crawford County Mental Health Center, and in 1978, he also went into private practice with his wife, the former Margie Say, as his office manager, and continued until the fall of 2015. He was a member of the Men’s Literary Union, the Meadville Country Club, the Pennsylvania State Mental Health Board the governing board at Warren State Hospital, was treasurer of the Crawford County Hospital Authority, and was chair of Boy Scout Troop 244. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four children, Patti Ann Shook ’80, Glenn A.W. Thompson ’81, Lisa Annette Chandler ’85 and Stuart D.F. Thompson ’87; eight grandchildren; a great-grandson, and a sister, Marlene Davis. 41
Edward J. Walsh Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
Edward J. Walsh, who served on the Allegheny chemistry faculty for 35 years, died on August 5, 2019. Walsh was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956. He received his B.S. degree from the New York State University of Education at Albany and his Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire. He also profoundly appreciated the arts, which he both collected and created. He read literature voraciously, he studied religions faithfully, and he followed politics passionately. Walsh was a brilliant chemist who published nationally acclaimed research throughout his professional life. He taught chemistry at Allegheny from 1964 to 1999, chairing the department for 10 years. During that time, he trained dozens of professional scientists and inspired hundreds of other students, many of whom remained in touch with him for decades.
“Ed was a foundational pillar that secured Allegheny’s historic position as a strong science school in the national liberal arts landscape, and he served as a catalyst to put the department in a position to be a nationally recognized undergraduate research program,” said P.J. Persichini, chair of the Chemistry Department. Walsh is survived by his wife, Kirsten Peterson ’78, director of pre-professional advising at Allegheny; two daughters, Deidre Walsh and Siobhan Peterson-Walsh ’08; two grandsons and two sisters. Memorials may be made to the Ed Walsh Chemistry Department Fund at Allegheny College, Development & Alumni Affairs, 520 N. Main St., Meadville, PA 16335.
Scott Wissinger
Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science and Sustainability
On Saturday, October 5, 2019, Scott Wissinger, professor emeritus at Allegheny College, passed away at the age of 65. Scott was born on April 7, 1954 in York, Pennsylvania, to Don and Flossie Wissinger. He graduated from Hollidaysburg Area High School in 1972. Scott received his Bachelor of Science degree from Susquehanna University in 1977, Master of Science degree from Bowling Green University in 1979, and his Ph.D. in biology from Purdue University in 1986. Scott was a professor of biology and environmental science at Allegheny College for 32 years and an adjunct fellow in Freshwater Ecology at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. For 30 years, Scott headed summer research at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado. Scott was married to Sue Wissinger and together they raised a son, AJ. Scott received 40 National Science Foundation grants and Undergraduate Research Assistantships. Scott also served the science community as president of the Board of Trustees of RMBL and mentored more than 180 senior projects at Allegheny College.
As a professor, Scott was most passionate about teaching and mentoring students during their four years at Allegheny. Scott’s love of field research and his environmental curiosity was inspirational to countless students. Many of Scott’s students pursued advanced degrees and continue to influence biological and environmental research and teaching. In addition to his teaching, Scott’s love, and favorite hobby, was planting trees. He also loved cross-country skiing, fly-fishing, hiking, particularly during summers in Colorado, biking, and birding. Scott enjoyed and supported the fine arts. He will always be remembered for his humor and love of family. He is survived by his wife, Sue; son, AJ (wife Jamie, and granddaughter, Charlotte). He will also be sadly missed by his mother, Flossie; sisters, Donna Wissinger, Jane Wissinger, Janice Meadows, Brenda Conway and Diane Hodgson. Memorials can be made to benefit Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (P.O. Box 519 Crested Butte, CO 81224) or French Creek Recreational Trail (P.O. Box 592 Meadville, PA 16335).
’61
Emily Eckman Evans on June 7, 2019. Paul A. Telfer on October 28, 2019.
’62
Karen Curtis Burt on December 11, 2019. William R. Campbell on February 13, 2019. Wayne W. Justham on February 21, 2019. Ralph C. Macek on November 7, 2019. Nancy Fahnestock Parsons on July 16, 2019. Ellen McKee Peck on October 12, 2019. William H. Schory on June 9, 2019.
’63
James I. Hoffman III on May 16, 2019. David E. Kuhnert on November 13, 2019.
’64
Michael E. Kukowski on June 11, 2019. Robert D. Walker on December 29, 2019.
’65
William W. Resinger on May 21, 2019. Howard R. Vanallsburg on December 17, 2019.
’66
Stephen L. Buescher on November 8, 2019. John W. Bush on December 2, 2019. Alonzo N. Foster III on August 14, 2019. Samuel A. Scott on January 13, 2020.
’67
’77
William S. Bender on September 30, 2019. Patrick K. Daugherty on June 14, 2019. Ronald C. Pezzino on September 24, 2019.
’78
Frank A. Reid on August 15, 2019.
’80
John M. Messinger II on October 14, 2018.
’82
Michael J. Monaghan on June 10, 2019. Lyn Fairchild Sala on September 7, 2019.
’83
Alison Speer Simpson on November 17, 2019.
’84
Melissa Griese Lamont on September 7, 2019.
’85
Rhonda Parks Chappel on February 17, 2019.
’88
Geraldine S. Hogan on May 23, 2019.
’90
Julie Marranca Kopfer on October 14, 2019.
’00
Kathleen Donahue Price on October 24, 2019.
John W. Bingham on July 11, 2019. Karen Berg Gallagher on October 14, 2019. Rita McAdams Kennedy on April 8, 2019.
’01
’68
’09
David J. Davenport on July 26, 2019. Gary M. Mead on March 18, 2019.
’69
Lawrence C. Arndt on May 19, 2019. Ray P. Eisenbies on July 17, 2019.
’70
Melvin V. Cratsley on July 24, 2019.
’71
Guy B. Beacom on October 7, 2018. Kirk J. Eidenmuller on December 21, 2019. Leland M. Jones on February 15, 2019. Alyce Bradwell Williams on August 31, 2019.
’75
Wrenda Wheeler Davis on June 16, 2019.
’76
Barbara Barrett Wiegand on August 28, 2018.
Christopher A. Hallam on July 16, 2019.
Kyle Shenandoah on August 21, 2019.
’17
Jacob A. Peters on June 25, 2019.
Friends:
Carol A. Barnard on October 29, 2019. Joyce Cortes on May 7, 2019. Margaret W. Freeman on December 24, 2019. Nancy B. Hankey on September 14, 2019. Stella Labonowski on May 17, 2019. Patricia A. Leonheart on January 14, 2020. Dominic Orlando on November 10, 2019. Grace Ott on November 12, 2019. James R. Reese on June 28, 2019. Roger C. Smith on September 30, 2019. Ethel Pasvolsky Timer on April 13, 2019. Stanley P. Wagner on May 8, 2019. 43
The Last Word
by Mary “Missy” Feeley ’78 Chair, Allegheny College Board of Trustees
Moments of Discovery If you followed Allegheny’s social media this spring, you may have seen photos of several members of the Class of 2020 after they defended their Senior Projects via online meetings. The coronavirus pandemic brought an unexpected change to that rite of passage for our seniors. Judging by the screenshots of students smiling side-by-side (virtually) with their faculty advisors, the joy of the achievement surmounted the challenge of the distance. Those moments illustrate the tremendous difference that Allegheny mentors make — through not only the Senior Project but all that leads up to it. During my first year as chair of the College’s Board of Trustees, I have again and again heard stories from our students and alumni about the time and care that faculty and staff have invested in them. Its influence often extends far beyond graduation.
From my own experience and what I continue to see, the rigor and depth of Allegheny’s curriculum make it an extraordinary place for students to prepare for an evolving future.
I, too, have one of those mentoring stories I’m fond of sharing — Professor Sam Harrison ’63 sparked my interest in geology, ultimately leading to my career as a geoscientist. I vividly recall Sam taking my Introduction to Geology class through Meadville’s Greendale Cemetery and a nearby ravine. He wove together his astute observations of the terrain and the history of the community to tell the story of how the landscape was formed. Looking back, I recognize that this experience was an “aha moment.” It’s where I first learned to appreciate how different subjects could interplay, inform each other and lead to a more nuanced
understanding of an issue. I credit Sam, and my entire Allegheny experience, with teaching me how to solve problems by integrating disparate data and looking beyond the surface (both figuratively and literally, particularly in those geology courses). Decades later, I am inspired by President Hilary Link’s and the Board of Trustees’ commitment to sustaining an environment built on that same close-knit advising. That kind of approach requires substantial resources. However, I believe that investment pays critical dividends for our world. Allegheny continues to have a fundamental responsibility to educate creative, confident people who consider different viewpoints, engage in dialogue and confront society’s most critical challenges. Addressing those challenges is anything but easy, particularly in a rapidly changing world. From my own experience and what I continue to see, the rigor and depth of Allegheny’s curriculum make it an extraordinary place for students to prepare for an evolving future. The College also fosters opportunities for students to take what they learn in the classroom into the world beyond, near and far. In turn, students bring those experiences back to campus to enhance their learning. In other words, Allegheny is an excellent incubator for those “aha moments” just like I had in Sam Harrison’s class. Those moments of discovery go on to shape young people’s lives. I am very honored to serve the College and, with you, advance its traditions of mentorship and innovation that have endured through more than two centuries of changing times.
It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility.
Rachel Carson Noted Environmentalist
Allegheny Magazine
Allegheny College 520 North Main Street Meadville, PA 16335
NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 35 PITTSBURGH, PA
JORDAN RAWLS All-time Leading Scorer 1,701 Points How appropriate that forward Jordan Rawls became the all-time leading scorer in Allegheny history on February 15, 2020, as he was celebrating Senior Day. Rawls scored 18 points in 19 minutes of playing time to help the Gators defeat Denison 90-63 in a North Coast Athletic Conference tilt in the David V. Wise Sport & Fitness Center. Rawls entered the game with 1,683 points and needed 12 more to become the school’s all-time leader. He scored the game’s first basket at the 25-second mark but had only three points the rest of the half as the Gators opened a 38-28 lead. He finally moved to the top of the list of the Gators’ all-time scorers on a layup with 5:53 remaining, then he added six more points down the stretch. The 6-foot-6-inch Rawls, who is from Pittsburgh, now holds the Allegheny men’s basketball scoring record with 1,701 total career points.
photos: Ed Mailliard
