ALLEGHENY
FA L L 2018
VOL. 36 • NO. 3
OUR BEAUTIFUL BENTLEY The Historic Renovation of Bentley Hall Begins
EMPOWERING LEADERS AND WORLD-CHANGERS
CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT: A PH.D. PIPELINE
A TELEVISION STAR — OFF CAMERA
Scene on Campus photo Richard MatthewSayer Lester
Starting in the summer of 2018, incoming first-year and transfer students now visit campus for their orientation several weeks before the academic year begins. Here, one group takes in a panel discussion of “What It Means to Be a Gator,� with insights shared about life in Meadville and at Allegheny, which was conducted in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center.
View more photos at
allegheny.edu/magazine
FA L L 2 0 1 8 | Vo l . 3 6 , N o . 3 | a l l e g h e n y. e d u /m a g a z i n e
4
ON THE COVER The site of Allegheny’s first formal classes, Bentley Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 (photo by Richard Sayer).
“Our Beautiful Bentley” The historic renovation of Bentley Hall begins
12 Empowering Leaders and World-Changers
A framework for Allegheny’s next five years.
16 A Ph.D. Pipeline
The Chemistry Department has the formula for post-grad success.
22 A Television Star – Off Camera Ted Shaker ’72 has enjoyed success in the ultra-competitive media world.
26 Athletics
Profiles of Hall of Fame honorees and new men’s lacrosse coach Tommy Pearce.
30 On the Hill
Accolades and appointments from campus.
34 Reunion Weekend Take a look back at the celebration through photos.
36 Class Notes
News from around the country from fellow alumni.
44 The Last Word Supporting the legacy and future of Gator pride.
allegheny.edu/magazine
twitter.com/alleghenycol
facebook.com/alleghenycollege
youtube.com/alleghenycollege
instagram.com/alleghenycollege
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE RELATIONS Susan Salton MANAGING EDITOR Josh Tysiachney EDITOR Rick Stanley ART DIRECTOR Penny Drexel LEAD DESIGNER Brian Martone CONTRIBUTORS Jim Berger Kurt Foriska ’01 Heather Grubbs Michael Korfhage Jesse Lavery Sean O’Connor Peggy Siegle ’70 Bernadette Wilson PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Lester Derek Li Ed Mailliard Brian Martone Bill Owen ’74 Richard Sayer Mike Walker PRINTING Heeter, Canonsburg, PA
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 Mark R. Campbell ’82, Chair Yvonne LaTrelle Hobbs Allen ’72, Ph. D. Christian L. Allison ’83 Kevin W. Baird ’84 Edward Joseph Borkowski ’81 Willow Wilcox Brost ’74 William H. Brown, Jr. ’80 Curt A. Cramer ’84 Jennifer Daurora ’99 Jon Davis ’80 Antonio F. Dias ’86 Gary M. Elliott ’72 Mary H. Feeley ’78, Ph.D. Terrence L. Hartford ’81 Judith Thomas Horgan ’68 Dusty E. Kirk ’75 John Kutz ’83 Steven D. Levinsky ’78 Robert A. Marchman ’80 Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi James H. Mullen, Jr., Ed.D. Christine Scott Nelson ’73 Jerome V. Nelson ’83 John H. Niles, Jr. ’59, M.D. Martin Pfinsgraff ’77 Timothy L. Reeves ’83 Thomas John Sadvary ’75 Yvonne Reed Seon ’59, Ph.D. Julie G. Skattum ’85 Robert L. Smith, Jr. ’73 James H. Spalding ’80 Sue E. Steven ’75, Ph.D. Arthur J. Stewart ’80 Hayes C. Stover ’62 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 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 Silas R. Mountsier III ’52 Isabelle Moss ’67 Herbert H. Myers ’61 John C. Phillips, Jr. ’56 James F. Pomroy ’56 Thomas 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 2018 Allegheny College.
The Promise of Allegheny’s Future by President James H. Mullen, Jr.
This spirit of generosity honors not only the individuals who worked tirelessly to found this College but also those who have stewarded it over more than two centuries. And it sets an extraordinary example for those who will inherit the opportunity — and responsibility — to fulfill Allegheny’s mission in the years to come.
The “bookends” of the academic year — when students arrive for the fall semester and when we celebrate our graduating seniors at Commencement in the spring — have always been among my favorite times on campus. At both occasions, students and their families have great excitement for the promise of the future that awaits. And they look back with fondness at all the experiences that led them to those special days. This year — my 11th and final as president of Allegheny — also will be filled with many moments of personal reflection and new memories that will be made. It has been, and continues to be, a great joy for my family and me to be part of the Allegheny community. Our students give me great hope with their ambition and potential. Our faculty and staff dedicate themselves to providing remarkable learning opportunities. And our alumni, through their achievements and service to their communities, are a testament to the lasting power of an Allegheny education. Last December, when I shared my plans for retirement with the Allegheny community, I noted the vital importance of the College’s efforts to prepare for an even stronger future amid a challenging landscape for higher education, particularly in the Midwest. In the spring issue of Allegheny magazine, I shared with you an overview of the Allegheny Strategic Action Plan, a bold initiative to guide the College’s next five years.
This issue of the magazine presents a more in-depth look at the strategic action plan. Its initiatives are designed to advance Allegheny’s commitment to preparing young people for lives of meaning and success. In times of unprecedented change in society, we will continue to empower Allegheny graduates to become leaders and world-changers. The strategic action plan includes many significant campus improvement projects in conjunction with the development of an overall master plan for our facilities and grounds. Foremost among these projects is the historic renovation of Bentley Hall, which also is featured in this issue. I am deeply grateful to Henry and Patricia Bush Tippie ’56 for their vision in presenting a challenge gift to fund the restoration of our most venerable structure and a beloved symbol of the College’s heritage. The Tippies’ support has inspired an outpouring of contributions from other alumni and friends. This spirit of generosity honors not only the individuals who worked tirelessly to found this College but also those who have stewarded it over more than two centuries. And it sets an extraordinary example for those who will inherit the opportunity — and responsibility — to fulfill Allegheny’s mission in the years to come.
3
Beau our
utiful photos Bill Owen ’74 | Richard Sayer | Brian Martone | Derek Li | Ed Mailliard
bentley
THE HISTORIC RENOVATION of BENTLEY HALL BEGINS
Some seven years elapsed between the placement of the Bentley Hall cornerstone and the completion of its iconic bell tower in 1827. A community of support underpinned that construction project. Allegheny trustees and area residents volunteered their time to plaster walls and split and shave wooden boards. They also donated everything from nails to bricks to the funds needed to pay skilled contractors. Now, nearly two centuries since construction began on Bentley Hall, an ambitious two-year renovation project has begun — not only to honor the building’s history but to secure its esteemed place as the heart and most recognized symbol of Allegheny. Hearkening back to the building’s origin, a remarkable spirit of generosity is again fueling this work.
6
ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
AN INSPIRATIONAL TOUR On campus for a Board of Trustees meeting last year, Patricia Bush Tippie ’56 and her husband, Henry, set aside an hour for a tour of Bentley Hall. From the basement to the bell tower, they saw opportunity. “We felt the current condition didn’t reflect the high standards of Allegheny,” said Pat Tippie, a trustee emerita. “And something needed to be done — a restoration.” The tour helped inspire the Tippies to present the College with a $7 million challenge gift. The Fund for Bentley Hall
For several decades, Bentley has served as a home for administrative offices. But during its lifetime, the building has fulfilled a wide range of roles for the campus community, including: • Bookstore • The Campus Newspaper Office • Counseling Center
Pat Tippie Trustee Emerita
Alumni Center at Cochran Hall was restored a decade ago through one of their gifts. They also have endowed three professorships — in art, economics and English — and an experiential learning fund at the College. In addition, they have funded a scholarship for students from New Castle to attend Allegheny.
Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar match, seeks to raise a total of $14 million to restore Allegheny’s oldest building and the site of its first formal classes.
The Fund for Bentley Hall Challenge already has generated an additional $6.5 million in gifts from other donors. Fundraising continues for the remaining $500,000 of the project cost.
We felt the current condition didn’t reflect the high standards of Allegheny.
The Tippies are long-time supporters of Allegheny. The Patricia Bush Tippie
• Chapel • Classrooms • Dining Hall • Gymnasium • Kitchen Facilities • Laboratories • Literary Societies • Mailroom • Radio Broadcasting • Residence Hall • The President’s Lodging • YMCA
(continued on next page)
7
View more photos and learn more about the renovation at
“We feel very fortunate that we are able to offer a matching fund, and we are grateful for everyone who has joined us thus far with their gifts,” Pat Tippie says. “Besides restoring the building and refurnishing it, this match will also provide an endowment for future maintenance. The endowment will ensure that Bentley will forever be our beautiful Bentley.”
THOUGHTFUL ATTENTION The Tippies’ tour of Bentley was led by Cliff Willis, the College’s director of major capital projects. Willis had previously served as director of physical plant for a decade. That position left him well
8 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
allegheny.edu/bentley
acquainted with maintaining the aging building. Bentley was last renovated in 1925. “This is a building that needs some attention,” Willis says. And attention to the building’s special legacy sits at the forefront of project plans. The overall goal is a sensitive and sustainable renovation that creates a signature building for Allegheny students, staff, visitors and faculty, says John M. Evans, a principal at MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni (MCF) Architects in Pittsburgh. MCF was chosen as project architect through a competitive selection process.
Having the chance to work on a building like this is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. John M. Evans Principal, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni (MCF) Architects
The firm has extensive experience with renovations that balance preservation with a commitment to environmental sustainability. Its portfolio includes restorations of historic structures at Antioch College and the College of Wooster, along
PROJECT TIMELINE JANUARY 2018 Comprehensive evaluation of building floorplan and systems completed WINTER — SPRING 2018 Selection of MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni (MCF) Architects Selection of Massaro Corporation as general contractor Selection of Barton Associates as contracting engineer Pre-design discussions
with work at landmarks such as Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. “Having the chance to work on a building like this is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Evans says of Bentley, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost examples of Federalist architecture. The renovation will address the building’s structural integrity and repair the exterior masonry. It also will include technological and infrastructure upgrades and accessibility features, such as an elevator and additional restrooms. The College also plans to add environmentally sustainable
features such as a geothermal heating and cooling system and additional roof insulation.
UNPEELING THE LAYERS A structure of Bentley’s age evolves over time — what Evans calls taking on “layers of history” that can make decisions about restoration complex. For example, the building’s windows are likely in their third iteration, installed in the 1910s or 1920s. And the “Chalk Room” on the third floor — where hundreds of Alleghenians have written their names and initials — didn’t
SUMMER 2018 — SPRING 2019 Relocation of Bentley Hall offices to other campus spaces Development of design Subcontractor selection Preparations for construction SUMMER 2019 — SUMMER 2020 Construction SUMMER — FALL 2020 Project completion and building occupancy
(continued on next page)
9
The biggest challenge is to preserve the historic character of Bentley and turn it into a functional 21st-century building. Cliff Willis Director of Major Capital Projects
take its current shape until the 1960s. That’s when safety inspectors relegated the building’s third floor to use only as storage.
10 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
Perhaps most intriguing: Bentley’s redand-white painted exterior was added later, notes Evans. When constructed, the building had exposed masonry. But Bentley’s current color scheme has acquired “an emotional significance of its own” at the College, says Evans, that certainly must be considered in the design process. “The biggest challenge that we have to face, overall, is being sensitive to those layers of history, but still having Bentley feel like a cohesive whole when it’s complete,” he says. “The last thing we would want is for someone to walk in and say ‘this space just doesn’t feel like Bentley; this space feels too old, or this one feels too new.’”
Given the extensive changes over the years, “the only place in Bentley that you can get a true sense of what it was like originally is the bell tower,” says Willis. That’s why a careful process of “selective removals” will help to inform the design process for the renovation, Evans says. During the summer, offices in Bentley relocated to other buildings on campus. Emptying Bentley has allowed the project team, including architects, contractors, engineers, and College officials, to begin “peeling back the layers” to investigate its original features, Willis says. To assess the building’s current condition, architects also have conducted a laser scan of the
THE FUND FOR BENTLEY HALL CHALLENGE As Bentley approaches its 200th birthday, it is in need of significant repair and renovation.
building’s infrastructure and taken photographs with a drone aircraft. Original blueprints of Bentley do not exist. But architects are carefully reviewing archival drawings, photographs, and other materials, including recent documentation drafted by Allegheny instructor Steven Utz and his students. In addition, College Historian Jonathan Helmreich and Jonathan “Jed” Miller ’69, who has been closely involved in campus building and renovation projects, are playing key roles in the project design. The historic sycamore near the building’s southeast corner also presents a unique concern, Willis says. The tree’s root
system most likely has extended to the building’s foundation. He notes that any below-work grade and removal of paint will take that into account. And an arborist is involved in the project, he adds. “The biggest challenge is to preserve the historic character of Bentley and turn it into a functional 21st-century building,” Willis says. The renovation is expected to be completed in the fall of 2020. “Bentley is where Allegheny started,” says Pat Tippie. “It’s a bridge from our past to our future.”
In response to this need, Henry and Patricia Bush Tippie ’56 have generously presented the College with a $7 million challenge gift to renovate Bentley Hall. The Fund for Bentley Hall Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar match, will raise $14 million to restore Allegheny’s most historic and iconic building. We extend this invitation to you to participate in this significant moment.
Make your gift online at allegheny.edu/bentley or Call (866) 332-3853 for information on other ways to give
11
A Framework for Allegheny’s Next Five Years illustration Michael Korfhage
When confronted with a challenge, Alleghenians don’t linger on the sidelines. They embrace complicated circumstances. They formulate new ideas. And they unravel intractable problems where usual approaches just won’t suffice. Allegheny has prepared leaders and world-changers for more than two centuries, with an education rooted in the fundamental importance of liberal arts. A seam of boldness ribbons through Allegheny’s history: from the audacity of founding a college on America’s thenfrontier to its standing today as one of the nation’s most distinguished and innovative liberal arts institutions. Innovation is an Allegheny tradition. It’s a prerequisite for the College to fulfill an enduring mission during 200 years of constant change in the nation and world. Society has always demanded readiness and relevance of those who lead it. And Allegheny has a longstanding
commitment to educating difference-makers who can navigate uncertainty with the resolve to step forward in their careers and communities. To sustain that responsibility and secure a robust future, the College has adopted a bold strategic action plan to guide Allegheny’s next five years. Developed in summer 2017 by the Allegheny community and endorsed by the College’s Board of Trustees with an initial investment in excess of $10 million, the plan builds on Allegheny’s strengths and confidently asserts its leadership in an evolving higher education marketplace. The strategic action plan, at its heart, seeks to enhance the student experience. In times of growing complexity, the College will continue to empower young adults to join the proud Allegheny legacy of leaders and world-changers. (continued on next page)
13
The College’s curriculum will continue to emphasize the importance of exploring critical issues from multiple perspectives, with each student declaring a major and a minor (in a different academic division than the major). Allegheny also will pursue new avenues to encourage students in different disciplines to integrate their expertise — just as they would in their careers.
Sustaining a Strong Footprint in a Changing Higher Education Landscape The strategic action plan seeks to position Allegheny for sustained success amid stark changes in the nation’s demographics. Nationally, the number of high school graduates has declined in recent years. In the College’s core recruitment markets, the number of qualified high school graduates who are interested in a residential four-year college is projected to decline by 15 percent over the next 10 to 15 years. Recognizing these demographic realities, Allegheny is advancing a strategy to become a slightly smaller and more selective college by systematically reducing the target size of incoming classes. At the same time the College is investing in new and innovative programs and remains committed to access for students from a wide range of backgrounds, geographic locations, and experiences. Like most of its peer schools, Allegheny depends on tuition revenue. As the College lowers its enrollment targets, it also will reduce expenses and adjust staffing levels in a way that gains
14 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
efficiencies and enhances the overall student experience. In particular, the College has prioritized maintaining a lower studentfaculty ratio than it has had in the past two decades. That ratio affirms the importance of students’ close relationships with faculty mentors and Allegheny hallmarks such as undergraduate research and the Senior Comprehensive Project. In 2017–18, the College offered a voluntary retirement incentive to employees. The incentive is part of a comprehensive staffing plan to steward the College’s resources carefully while sustaining the breadth and integrity of an Allegheny education.
Advancing a Future-Focused Liberal Arts Education Allegheny is firmly dedicated to its liberal arts tradition, which has lasting value in equipping students to meet the needs of employers and society. A deep and broad set of knowledge, critical thinking skills, and the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively remain timeless. And these qualities are vital to helping Allegheny students adapt in a rapidly evolving future. The extraordinary pace of this change means that the College must prepare students to succeed in fields that are constantly morphing — and in new ones that emerge. Allegheny will seize opportunities to help students harness the power of their liberal arts education in an increasingly interconnected world. This approach challenges students to develop the creativity and confidence not only to encounter uncertainty but to thrive in it.
Imagine, for example, a team of students from different majors completing each of their Senior Projects on a pressing topic such as immigration policy, artificial intelligence, or the declining water supply in the western U.S. or Cape Town, South Africa while sharing their findings with each other. In this example, students gain the important skills of independent research with a faculty mentor but also learn to apply and integrate their expertise on an interdisciplinary team. To help students further their classroom learning, the College will make ongoing enhancements in the Allegheny Gateway, a central resource for internships, civic engagement, undergraduate research, study away, competitive fellowships, and other opportunities. Unlike many other colleges and universities facing reduced enrollments, Allegheny is not eliminating entire academic departments. The College will phase out the majors in art history and German, both of which had small enrollments for several years, but will continue to offer coursework in art history and a minor in German. Allegheny also will make strategic additions to its academic offerings that align with student interest and faculty expertise. In 2017–18, the Allegheny faculty voted to approve three new academic programs: • A major in business, which is offered by the Department of Economics
• A major in integrative informatics, which draws on different academic disciplines to help students learn to analyze, interpret, and use data to solve problems • A minor in energy and society, which emphasizes the importance of studying energy systems from scientific and social perspectives In summer 2018, Allegheny also introduced a new credit-bearing precollege enrichment program for high school students entering their junior or senior years. Allegheny faculty from several academic departments taught courses during the two weeklong sessions, and students had the opportunity to stay in a residence hall and enjoy activities on campus.
Investing in the Campus and the Student Experience Allegheny’s iconic campus has long served as a point of great pride and affection among students, alumni, and the entire College community. Yet it also presents a tremendous responsibility: preserving that history and beauty while thoughtfully incorporating updates to enhance the overall experience for students. Honoring that responsibility, the strategic action plan calls for several immediate, high-impact investments in campus programs and facilities as well as a comprehensive campus master planning process. Academic and Campus Life Spaces • Plans call for improving many classrooms and laboratories, including technology enhancements and more modular spaces that allow for different approaches to learning. • Upgrades in several residence halls have improved common areas, including lounges and kitchen facilities, to support student interaction.
• Renovation projects in the Henderson Campus Center have consolidated Division of Student Life offices into a more convenient location on the third floor and created a centralized space for the Merriman Bookstore and printing and post office services on the second floor. • Phase one of the College’s goal to consolidate the Counseling & Personal Development Center and Winslow Student Health Services into more appropriate offices in Schultz Hall has been completed. Although the space will require additional renovation, we have taken the first steps toward providing a more holistic wellness center experience for our students, consistent with many peer institutions. Athletics and Recreation • Allegheny has added two new varsity sports, women’s field hockey (beginning in fall 2019) and men’s lacrosse (beginning in spring 2020), with strong interest among prospective students. • At the Robertson Athletic Complex, three new fields are being constructed. They include an artificial turf competition field for field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s lacrosse with lighting, a press box, and bleachers. Two natural grass playing surfaces will be added, one for soccer competition and another for practice. • In the David V. Wise Sport & Fitness Center, the heavily used Blue Courts have undergone a complete resurfacing, and a new scoreboard and sound system have been installed in the Performance Arena.
facilities, space assessment, technology, grounds and landscape, and residence halls. Already underway is the initial phase of the historic renovation of Bentley Hall (see page four) as well as exploring potential future uses of Reis and Crawford Halls, which are offline during the 2018–19 academic year. The master plan is expected to be completed by February 2019.
Take the Next Step Across the nation and around the world, Allegheny College alumni lead and effect positive change. And they make a tremendous difference at their alma mater through their loyalty and dedication. We invite you to share in the excitement of the College’s vision for a strong, bold future to prepare new generations of leaders and world changers. • See “The Last Word” on page 44 to learn more about ways to become involved at Allegheny and the strategic action plan initiatives • Visit allegheny.edu/campusimprovements for more information about campus improvements
Campus Master Planning In concert with these near-term investments, the College is developing a comprehensive campus master plan to review and assess existing buildings and grounds while measuring them against current and future needs. Guided by sustainability principles, the master planning process encompasses
15
Our success is due to the commitment of the faculty and their sheer enthusiasm for their profession. Chemistry Department Chair P.J. Persichini
pictured: Matthew Betush ’06, assistant professor of chemistry, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.
Allegheny’s Chemistry Department Has the Formula for Post-Grad Success
by Richard Stanley
photos Ed Mailliard
HERE ARE SOME NUMBERS TO WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND: Between 2006 and 2015, Allegheny’s Chemistry Department produced 50 graduates who have gone on to earn their Ph.D.s in chemistry. That ranks Allegheny No. 2 among its peer colleges that have Bachelor of Science programs that eventually produce Ph.D.s in chemistry. And when you compare Allegheny to the Ivy League schools, the College places No. 3 on the list with only Cornell (94) and Harvard (75) having more graduates go on to earn chemistry doctorates between 2006 and 2015.
Going back 20 years, Allegheny has produced 80 chemistry Ph.D.s and currently has 10 more students who plan to pursue their doctorates in chemistry. In addition, 15 students have gone on to Ph.D.s in biochemistry, and about 20 students who were chemistry majors have earned medical degrees during that time. It’s a longstanding tradition for the College: Since 1920, the Chemistry Department has ranked in the top 5 percent among private undergraduate institutions in production of eventual Ph.D.s. It’s especially impressive for Allegheny when one considers the vastly larger student populations at the Ivy League schools and at other large colleges. (continued on next page)
17
alumni for networking and the overflowing response from this community willing to offer guidance and opportunities.”
Our curriculum has a focus on developing relevant job skills in all the subdisciplines of chemistry… Chemistry Department Chair P.J. Persichini
pictured: Kurtis Williams ’19, foreground, and Zach Erb ’18 work in a chemistry laboratory.
RIGOR AND RESEARCH Chemistry Department Chair P.J. Persichini credits the rigorous coursework, student-faculty research, and faculty commitment in the Doane Hall of Chemistry laboratories as reasons for students finding postgraduate success after leaving Allegheny. “They’re not going to be surprised by anything they see in grad school after their experience here,” says Persichini. “Our success is due to the commitment of the faculty and their sheer enthusiasm for their profession,” he says. “We also have a faculty conducting research programs that matter outside the walls of Allegheny, which are making an impact on society through the National Science Foundation or corporate sponsorship. Our curriculum has a focus on developing relevant job skills in all the sub-disciplines of chemistry, and keeping an open-door policy present for all students who wish to participate in research through independent study and focused summer research.”
18 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
Brittany Rauzan ’13 completed her chemistry doctorate in December 2017 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is now a senior formulation chemist at DowAgroSciences in Indianapolis. “The rigor of the coursework, independence to design and conduct research, opportunities to present research externally, and mentorship of professors truly sets apart the Allegheny Chemistry Department,” says Rauzan. “The faculty fostered an environment where I could develop the knowledge, laboratory technique and communication skills to excel as a scientist.” Rauzan, who originally was a pre-med student when entering Allegheny but then switched to chemistry as a major, said she felt very comfortable because of the close-knit friendships forged in the Chemistry Department. “It’s rare to find in an undergraduate chemistry program,” she said. “The bonds formed in this department with both professors and classmates provide an unparalleled network and support. I can personally attest to reaching out to professors and
Almost all Allegheny chemistry majors earn acceptance into graduate schools, Persichini says. “We have a pretty traditional program,” he adds, “but my colleagues are the best at delivering that program. We have a tight team that is always working together for the same goals.” “Our faculty are research-active and have been able to garner external funding for their research projects that have directly provided these opportunities, and have enabled us to purchase equipment and supplies that make for rich research experiences for our students,” says Persichini. “These experiences provide them with a good model and the skills required to be successful in graduate school.”
A DISTINCTIVE CULTURE The faculty keeps a focus on developing individuals and the skills that allow for success in the profession, Persichini says, and cultivating a culture where students work under the umbrella of a professor’s research, but participate as equals in projects. While the College as a whole enjoys an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio, it is closer to 4:1 for chemistry majors and faculty. “Working toward and applying to graduate school was a strong part of the culture among the chemistry/biochemistry students and faculty while I was at Allegheny and it seemed like the best way to widen my career opportunities,” says Julie Reisz Haines ’07, currently a research assistant professor and the manager of the Metabolomics Core Facility at the Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado. “Allegheny is a place where learning science and doing research is exciting,” says Haines, who earned her doctorate at Wake Forest University. “The feeling of enthusiasm in the science community at Allegheny is difficult to quantify but manifests in inspiring lifelong learning.” (continued on page 20)
pictured: Hannah Fischer ’18 conducts an experiment.
The rigor of the coursework, independence to design and conduct research, opportunities to present research externally, and mentorship of professors truly sets apart the Allegheny Chemistry Department. Brittany Rauzan ’13
Top Baccalaureate Colleges for Producing Eventual Chemistry Ph.D.s 2006-2015
Allegheny Compared to the Ivy League Schools 2006-2015
INSTITUTION
Ph.D.s
INSTITUTION
Ph.D.s
Carleton College
59
Reed College
36
ALLEGHENY COLLEGE
50
St. Olaf College
36
The College of Wooster
41
Grinnell College
33
University of Richmond
33
Franklin & Marshall College
39
Furman University
37
INSTITUTION
Ph.D.s
Cornell University
94
Harvard University
75
ALLEGHENY COLLEGE
50
Princeton University
38
University of Pennsylvania 32
INSTITUTION
Ph.D.s
Columbia University in the City of New York
31
Dartmouth College
30
Yale University
29
Brown University
22
Source: NSF WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, October 2017.
And as Persichini points out, sometimes undergraduate students with other declared majors end up changing career paths after spending time in the Doane Hall of Chemistry laboratories. That was the case with Mark C. Dobish ’07, who went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Vanderbilt University.
of three years of research and academic mentorship that I realized I did not want to go to medical school, but pursue a career in chemistry. Having the opportunity to do research, academically and industrially, made me realize my passion was in chemistry, not in the medical profession.”
“Shortly after I enrolled in an organic chemistry course as a pre-med, I was invited to shadow members in a research lab. I began research in P.J.’s lab the following spring as a sophomore and spent the summer in his lab doing research,” recalls Dobish, who is a senior process scientist at Noramco, Inc., in Georgia.
Allegheny’s Chemistry Department proudly hosts the prestigious annual Lord Lecture. Supported through an endowed fund established by the Thomas Lord Charitable Trust, the Lord Lecture has been bringing the nation’s most distinguished chemists and practitioners of related disciplines to Allegheny since 1991.
“The following summer, using his network, P.J. lined up an internship (for me) at Pfizer Global Research & Development in process chemistry. It was over the course 20 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
Not surprisingly, some of those speakers have Allegheny degrees. In 2018, Joseph Harding ’70, Ph.D., professor of
integrative physiology and neuroscience at Washington State University, delivered the address. In 2010, Charles Craik ’76, Ph.D., a professor at the University of California at San Francisco, did the honors. Aspiring chemists can heed these words from Dobish: “Find an opportunity to see chemistry applied outside of the academic setting, through research, internships and shadowing. I had the opportunity to take what I was learning at Allegheny and see how it was applied in the pharmaceutical industry. This not only changed the way I approached the rest of my education at Allegheny and Vanderbilt, but it also helped to shape the way I did research on both my senior comp and Ph.D. thesis.”
Working toward and applying to graduate school was a strong part of the culture among the chemistry/biochemistry students and faculty while I was at Allegheny and it seemed like the best way to widen my career opportunities. Julie Reisz Haines ’07
pictured: Dave Stekla ’18 at work in the Doane Hall of Chemistry.
21
A Television Star — Off Camera by Richard Stanley
photos Matthew Lester
Behind the scenes, Ted Shaker ’72 has helped launch dozens of noteworthy careers and has enjoyed great success himself in the ultra-competitive media world
As a speech and dramatic arts major at Allegheny, Ted Shaker recalls his days as a member of the eight-person Street Theater group that put together comedic pieces, often drenched with satire “and always outrageous.”
Masters golf tournament. “They’re largely political things,” Shaker says modestly of the awards. “I mean I like having them. To me they’re politicized. The Peabodys are the ones that are most meaningful.”
“We’d send word around to the cafeterias that after dinner there would be a show at such and such a place and most everyone on campus would show up,” Shaker recalls. “It became kind of a beloved thing.”
Many of Shaker’s honors come from his days as executive producer at CBS Sports. His resume of major events for which he coordinated coverage includes: 12 Masters golf tournaments, 11 Daytona 500 NASCAR races, nine NBA Finals, 10 NCAA Basketball Tournaments, eight U.S. Open tennis championships, seven Super Bowls, and three World Series.
Fellow Street Theater member David Kovacs ’73 remembers the then-Student Union being “packed with hundreds of people for the shows. The whole vibe of the place was just great.” Shaker also remembers his days as a disc jockey at WARC-FM, the campus radio station, where he was the general manager in his senior year. “Allegheny at the time didn’t have any television production courses, so I took advantage of the resources that were closest to what I wanted to do,” he says. That was in the early ’70s when Shaker called Allegheny and Meadville home. More than 40 years later, Shaker has an impressive display of honorary hardware in his New Canaan, Connecticut, home — and a television and media career that also demands one’s attention. He has won 13 Emmys for excellence in sports programming and two George Foster Peabody Awards, one for a news program called “In the News,” and another for CBS’ coverage of the
STARTING THE JOURNEY Shaker’s road from the rolling hills of Meadville to the concrete canyons of New York City as a young man was a relatively quick and painless one, he says. After Shaker’s graduation, the Street Theater group of Alleghenians took their show on the road for the summer of ’72, traveling around the Northeast, performing in cities, in national parks and at colleges. “We got into a couple of cars, and packed tents and some tabletop stoves, booked our own shows, and then passed the hat,” Kovacs recalls. “Nobody made any money but no one lost any, either,” Kovacs says of the summer tour. “The daily grind of packing up and unpacking eventually got to people. I think that’s when Ted decided to take off on his own.”
Shaker indeed left the troupe and ventured across the pond to Europe, where he spent two months traveling. “When I came back, I still wanted to be an actor and I wanted to write comedy, so I went to New York City,” he says. “I had grown up in Connecticut so it wasn’t too far from home. I needed to get a job in order to support myself, and a family friend who worked at CBS knew I wanted to work in the production side of the business, so I went in for an interview. It took four months to get the position — as a clerk in the basement videotape vaults. It meant that I was basically carrying around video from here to there. At first, the only people I knew were the custodians. That was my introduction to television. So I literally started out in the basement.” Shaker moved up to shipping clerk — “also in the basement” — and finally in 1974 got a break, getting into the real production end of a news show for children called “In the News.” “In between cartoons on a Saturday morning, they’d do a two-and-a-half minute segment on something that happened that week but do it in a way kids would understand,” Shaker says. Because he was a voracious reader of newspapers and magazines, Shaker became the best informed person in the group, he says. “That was my way of being a contributor. After a while they looked at me as a fount of knowledge about what was going on in the world. That was my way of getting in the door.” (continued on page 25)
23
Everybody’s always pushing for the next big thing. To me, when you’re asking for that highlevel job, asking for that next big assignment, just make sure you’re ready for it, so you can take advantage of it when you get it. Ted Shaker ’72
MAKING THE MOVE TO SPORTS After four years, Shaker was ready to do something different and learned that if he wanted to be in entertainment production, he’d probably have to move to Los Angeles. But by this time, Shaker found that he enjoyed the big-city East Coast environment. To remain in New York City and leave the news end of the business, he’d have to get into CBS Sports, which he did after 18 months of prodding. Shaker found himself as an associate producer. Since he had developed his visual storytelling skills, one of his first assignments was compiling a video diary in a day in the life of the thoroughbred racehorse Affirmed prior to the 1978 Belmont Stakes. “I created this time-lapse piece that started at 5 in the morning when he got up, he got a bath, and got fed and so forth. We followed Affirmed around throughout the day,” Shaker says.
“It’s hard. It’s all about not letting your ego get in the way of their egos. People would comment to me, ‘How can you be so calm?’ I was fortunate until I ran out of patience after a couple of decades. It’s about trust, about recognizing when a good idea is a good idea and when a bad idea is a bad idea. I just taught myself to do that — to work on recognizing talent and then put those people in positions to succeed,” Shaker says.
OPENING A NEW CHAPTER After leaving CBS, he joined Time Warner and became founder and president of Sports Illustrated Television, creating programming around Sports Illustrated content, including a movie about the late North Carolina State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano. In partnership with Cable News Network, he helped launch the first all-sports news cable network, CNN/SI.
The final video impressed management at CBS Sports, and soon thereafter Shaker found himself as the associate producer of “The NFL Today.” “I started creating pieces for ‘NFL Today’ that they hadn’t seen before,” Shaker says. “‘You’re with us from here on out,’ they told me. I was a studio guy, so they asked me to do all the studio stuff. I became the executive producer of all the studio wrap-around shows in 1982.” He also was instrumental in salvaging the struggling National Basketball Association broadcasts at the time. As a result, Shaker was made executive producer of all of CBS Sports in 1986, a post he held for 10 years. “That became kind of a crowning achievement,” he says. “I hired all sorts of people who are now household names, like Jim Nantz, James Brown, Dan Dierdorf, Dan Fouts, Mary Carillo, Hubie Brown, Carl Quintanilla, Rebecca Quick, Jim Cramer, Lesley Visser and Andrea Joyce. People who are all over the business.” Shaker went to the Boston Globe to recruit Visser for his broadcasting team at CBS in the 1980s, she recalls. “Once I got to CBS, Ted took enormous chances on me, even made me the only woman ever to present the Lombardi Trophy at the Super Bowl,” Visser says. “He was widely respected as innovative, a risk-taker, a listener and a good guy. As Robert Frost so beautifully wrote, ‘that has made all the difference.’” Shaker demonstrated that he had a knack for putting talented personalities in front of the camera, but handling the on-air talent was a chore at times.
Misbehavior on and off the field by professional athletes “starts when they’re much younger, as kids,” says Shaker. “We decided to take a deep dive into youth sports. We embedded in youth sports conferences, in the locker rooms at high schools, in the cafeteria at lunchtime when kids really show who they are. We’ve done videos about cyberbullying, what it means to be the team captain, and successful communication methods for coaches, just to name a few. “By the time kids are 15, eight out of 10 stop playing team sports because it’s not fun anymore. It’s important for young athletes to establish and maintain positive relationships, and stay active.”
LOOKING BACK — AND AHEAD Shaker has helped bring many memorable sports moments into the living rooms of American homes. When pressed, he calls out the two greatest moments he helped cover in U.S. sports lore: • The June 1978 Belmont Stakes that featured the photo-finish showdown between Affirmed and Alydar, where the third jewel of the Triple Crown went to Affirmed. • The final day of the April 1986 Masters Tournament when Jack Nicklaus won the event by one stroke. “I’ve never heard Augusta National that loud,” says Shaker.
He later “became interested in the (stock) markets because I thought they were a lot like sporting events,” Shaker says. He returned to the television news business as executive producer of business news at CNBC, where he helped launch shows such as “Kudlow and Cramer” and “Capital Report” and created “Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street.” Shaker now is the owner and managing partner of Mercury Media, an independent film production and consulting firm. In July 2017, Shaker and his company produced “Mike and the Mad Dog” for ESPN’s “30 for 30” series. The program chronicled 19 years of groundbreaking sports talk radio hosted by Mike Francesa and Chris Russo on WFAN in New York City. Shaker also teaches part time at the Tisch Center Graduate Program in Sports Management at New York University. Most recently, he has found satisfaction trying to foster a “more positive culture in youth sports” through Personal Best Media — an effort that began at NYU but is now an independent, not-for-profit that produces short videos to educate, guide and improve communication between student-athletes, parents and coaches.
Shaker is married to Sheryl, his wife of 34 years whom he met at CBS, and has three grown children, Molly, Grace and Will, all involved in the television industry. Shaker views the state of television events coverage and video presentations today as “pretty darn good. You have to give viewers great work because they expect it, because they have watched so darn much. They can tell the good from the bad, and they won’t stand for the bad.” He sees the future of event coverage riding on the increased use of virtual reality, where viewers choose their own camera angles and select their own graphics content. “We’re going to see more and more of that. Viewers will be given more tools to enjoy the experience. That’s all coming.” His advice to college graduates headed into the employment market: “Everybody’s always pushing for the next big thing. To me, when you’re asking for that high-level job, asking for that next big assignment, just make sure you’re ready for it, so you can take advantage of it when you get it.”
25
by Jim Berger
KALISZEWSKI ’90
JACOBS ROBINSON ’95
MONTGOMERY ’05
EARLEY ’08
LINGENFELTER GULAS ’89
PLUNKETT
Allegheny honored four former athletes, a former coach and a retired administrator as part of its 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame celebration this fall. Former athletic standouts Rick Kaliszewski ’90 (wrestling), Jennifer Jacobs Robinson ’95 (softball), Ben Montgomery ’05 (soccer), and Liz Earley ’08 (track and field) joined former softball 26 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
coach Sheilah Lingenfelter Gulas ’89 and longtime athletic trainer Jamie Plunkett in this year’s induction class ceremony on Saturday, October 27, during Blue & Gold Weekend. A four-time All-American and 12-time conference champion, Liz Earley remains the most dominant thrower in the history of the Gator women’s track and
field program. Earley’s top event was the hammer throw, as she won North Coast Athletic Conference titles in each of her four years, while picking up All-America honors with a fourth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships and a second-place finish a season later. In the shot put, she earned All-NCAC accolades during the indoor and outdoor seasons in all four of her years, winning
the conference indoor and outdoor titles in both 2007 and 2008. In the discus, she was named All-NCAC in each of her final three seasons, capturing conference gold as a sophomore in 2006. The 2007-08 Allegheny Female Athlete of the Year, Earley also was named the NCAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2007 and 2008. Earley wasn’t able to attend this year’s ceremony and will be formally inducted in 2019. Rick Kaliszewski was a four-year standout on the Allegheny wrestling squad, posting 88 wins over his career. After going a combined 32-25 in his first-year and sophomore campaigns, he would burst onto the scene by posting a 28-12 record during his 1989 junior season. That year, he won the Great Lakes Regional title at the 190-pound weight class, and would make his first of two appearances at the NCAA Division III National Championships. As a senior in 1990, Kaliszewski posted a 28-8 record, placed second at the Great Lakes Regional Championships, and fourth at the NCAA Division III Championships to be named All-America. In total, Kaliszewski placed first or second at eight tournaments during his career. Sheilah Lingenfelter Gulas began her coaching career at Allegheny as an assistant softball and basketball coach in 1985, before taking over the Gator softball team in 1987. During her four-year tenure as head coach, she built the Gators into a softball powerhouse, posting an overall record of 123-39 between 1987 and 1990. After going 26-11 in 1987, the Gators had their finest season in team history in 1988, finishing 38-5, winning the regional championship, and advancing to the finals of the NCAA Division III World Series, where they finished runner-up. Gulas was named NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year after the season. She would lead the Gators to regional titles and the World Series again in both 1989 and 1990, racking up a 49-20 record over the two seasons combined. Jennifer Jacobs Robinson was one of the top hitters in the history of the Allegheny softball program. Over her 155-game career, Robinson batted .376 (180-for-481) with 35 doubles, four triples, 24 home runs,
159 RBIs, and 114 runs scored. She was a Second Team All-Region selection during her first-year and sophomore seasons of 1992 and 1993, batting a combined .323 with eight home runs and 52 RBIs, before posting prodigious numbers during her 1994 junior season. Robinson helped the Gators to one of their most successful four-year runs in team history, as the team went a combined 122-40, played in the regional championships three times, and reached the NCAA Division III World Series in both 1993 and 1995. A two-year captain for the men’s soccer team, Ben Montgomery was a dynamic two-way midfielder throughout his four-year career and helped lead the Gators to their most successful season. After playing all 36 games and totaling four goals and two assists during his first-year and sophomore seasons of 2001 and 2002, Montgomery earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Region and NCAC Player of the Year honors in 2003, scoring 15 points on four goals (including three game-winners) and three assists. As a senior in 2004, Montgomery again earned First Team All-NCAC honors, totaling 16 points on four goals and four assists. In 2013, Montgomery was named to the NCAC’s 30th Anniversary All-Decade Team, which recognized the conference’s top performers between 2003 and 2012. Jamie Plunkett retired in July 2017 after a 34-year tenure as the Gators’ head athletic trainer. Plunkett provided treatment to thousands of Gator student-athletes over the course of his career, and he was a part of some of the most successful teams in Allegheny history, highlighted by the 1990 NCAA Division III national champion football team and the 2000 baseball team that advanced to the semifinals of the Division III World Series. While he provided guidance and friendship to student-athletes, Plunkett was also instrumental in helping a number of his student workers pursue careers in the medical field. Dozens of his former pupils have gone on to employment as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, emergency medical technicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners.
Ross Named Interim Athletic Director Like most veteran athletic administrators, Bill Ross has worn a number of hats during a career that has spanned nearly three decades, including such roles as sports information director, assistant football coach, and head track and field and cross country coach. In July 2018, Ross added another title to his impressive résumé when he was named Allegheny’s interim director of athletics and recreation following the resignation of Portia Hoeg, who held the position for six years. Ross has worked at Allegheny since 1996, beginning with a 14-year tenure as the Gators’ head track and field and cross country coach, during which he earned a record 27 North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors and guided the Gators to 30 NCAC team championships. Since 2010, he has served as associate athletic director, a position he has found quite rewarding. “Since my coaching days,” said Ross, “I look at my role as an administrator as a chance to give back to the College and all of its sports. It is my hope that my experiences as a leader, coach and father will benefit those around me who wish to improve upon their roles as coaches, as leaders, and as parents or guardians.” “The air is filled with excitement for the future of Gator athletics,” Ross added. “Even though our two new sports do not begin play until the 2019-20 season, we will ride the momentum throughout the upcoming 2018-19 season that these two sports have brought to the table. We made sure that all sports benefited from the addition of field hockey and men’s lacrosse when it comes to facilities, both at the Robertson Athletic Complex and in the David V. Wise Center.”
27
by Jim Berger photos Ed Mailliard
No stranger to starting a program from scratch, Tommy Pearce was hired in May 2018 as the first varsity men’s lacrosse coach in Allegheny College history. A native of Chestertown, Maryland, Pearce arrived in Meadville after serving as head coach at Frostburg State University since 2009, when the school resurrected its men’s lacrosse program following a 30-year hiatus. Essentially building the program from the ground up, Pearce posted an overall record of 85-62, including a 67-36 mark the past six seasons.
they’ll definitely be able to envision themselves attending here.” Pearce enjoyed a successful four-year career as a student-athlete at Gettysburg, where he was a three-time All-Centennial Conference selection, two-year team captain, and two-time USILA All-American. He helped the Bullets to a four-year record of 54-12, which was capped off with a trip to the NCAA Division III championship game during his senior season.
The Bobcats qualified for the Capital Athletic Conference playoffs in six straight years and were routinely ranked in the Top 20 of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association’s national poll. After coaching six USILA All-American selections and earning a pair of Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Awards, Pearce was ready for the next step in his career, and found the opportunity at Allegheny most appealing. “Allegheny reminds my wife and me of our own Division III student-athlete experiences,” he said. “Kelly played basketball at Juniata, and I played lacrosse at Gettysburg. We were on teams that were nationally ranked, competed for conference championships, and played in the NCAA tournament. I think men’s lacrosse can be like that at Allegheny, a place where student-athletes can come for both a great education and the opportunity for an outstanding collegiate lacrosse experience during their four years.” While Allegheny’s Division III philosophy and high academic profile initially piqued Pearce’s interest in the new position, it was his first visit to campus that officially reeled him in. “I drove up the day before my interview,” he recalled, “and just started walking around campus. I was amazed by its beauty. Immediately, I thought that if I can get great student-athletes to visit Allegheny and show off the campus,
head coach Hank Janczyk, the secondwinningest lacrosse coach across all divisions. Effusive in praise for his mentor, Pearce plans to channel Janczyk’s influence as he builds the foundation for his program at Allegheny. “There are definitely similarities between Allegheny and Gettysburg,” said Pearce, “but doing justice in words to how being a student-athlete and an assistant for Coach Janczyk will help me at Allegheny is difficult. Having seen first-hand how he recruits such great student-athletes to a private, liberal arts college with a beautiful campus and great athletic facilities, how he gets the most out of his team every year, and how he’s maintained the success of Gettysburg lacrosse for decades will always be a part of who I am as a coach, and translates very directly to Allegheny.” According to Pearce, the route to both early and sustained success begins with recruiting.
I think men’s lacrosse can be like that at Allegheny, a place where studentathletes can come for both a great education and the opportunity for an outstanding collegiate lacrosse experience during their four years. Tommy Pearce “My undergraduate experience at Gettysburg,” Pearce said, “will help me understand the challenges that Allegheny student-athletes face as far as balancing challenging academics with their commitment to the lacrosse team and having a healthy social life on campus. Finding that balance can be a challenge for student-athletes, but it’s vital.” At Gettysburg, Pearce was part of one of the most historically successful lacrosse programs in the nation under longtime
“The early key is definitely recruiting,” he said. “We look to find young men who are committed to their education and career aspirations, but also have a passion for lacrosse and a desire to be great.” While talent and passion are certainly invaluable traits for a college athlete, Pearce feels that the willingness of an athlete to contribute to the team’s culture is also paramount. “Once the guys are on campus,” he said, “a great team culture is what sets the tone in everything the team does, and is something that you can’t have prolonged success without. The culture of the program is the heart of the program, and this includes how committed the team is in the off season, how they practice every day, how they prepare for opponents, how our team performs in the classroom, how they are socially around campus, and, most importantly, how they treat each other as teammates.”
29
On the Hill
News from Campus
2018 Prize for Civility in Public Life
President James H. Mullen, Jr. presented the 2018 Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life to Texas Congressmen Will Hurd (R) and Beto O’Rourke (D) in a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on July 17. The two congressmen were honored for their “bipartisan road trip” last year, when they live-streamed collegial discussions on the divisive issues of the day over a 1,600-mile drive from Texas to the Capitol after winter weather canceled their flights. Learn more about this year’s prize at allegheny.edu/civility. Above: Gov. Tom Ridge, Rep. Hurd, President Mullen and Rep. O’Rourke
Kristin Dukes, April Thompson Appointed to Administrative Posts Kristin Nicole Dukes has joined the College as the dean for institutional diversity. Dukes, who has more than a decade of experience working in higher education and institutional diversity, previously served as an associate professor of psychology at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. Also, April Thompson, who had been associate vice president and dean of students at Binghamton University, is now the vice president of student life and dean of students at Allegheny. While at Simmons, Dukes was a member of the school’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Council, which plays a substantial role in determining that college’s priorities and policies regarding equity and inclusion. Also while at Simmons — which is a private women’s undergraduate college and co-educational graduate school with a blend of liberal arts and professional programs — she was involved in curriculum design and implementation, and diversity and inclusion workshop facilitation.
Dukes earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in social psychology from Tufts University with a research focus on stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rice University. Meanwhile, Thompson is the new chief student affairs officer responsible for key aspects of the student experience and leads the Division of Student Life, which includes the Dean of Students Office, counseling and health and wellness services, residence life, spiritual and religious life, student leadership and involvement, and public safety. She will also collaborate closely with colleagues in the offices of academic affairs, Title IX and athletics and recreation, as well as with the leaders of the engaged learning and civic engagement initiatives in the Allegheny Gateway. Thompson earned her master of education in higher education leadership from the University of Arkansas in 1996 and holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Arkansas. She is expected to earn her Ph.D. in the year ahead.
Barbara Shaw Receives Endowed Professorship for Interdisciplinary Studies Barbara L. Shaw has been named the first recipient of the Brett ’65 and Gwendolyn ’64 Elliott Professorship for Interdisciplinary Studies. Shaw teaches in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program and has been at Allegheny since 2009. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Colby College and a doctorate in American Studies with a graduate certificate in women’s studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.
“I am humbled by, and it is an honor to receive, the Brett ’65 and Gwendolyn ’64 Elliott Professorship for Interdisciplinary Studies,” Shaw said. “I only know how to think across and through disciplinary boundaries, and it is clear that to address the most pressing questions of the 21st century, higher education will need to blend the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The Elliott Professorship will allow Shaw to spend more time mentoring and collaborating with students on research that analyzes the intersections of sexual and
state violence in the Caribbean diaspora; to develop further two collaborative projects that have emerged from Great Lakes Colleges Association grants; and spend more time traveling to conferences with students and colleagues to discuss these works in progress before their publication, she said. The Elliotts, both Allegheny graduates, established the professorship as part of Allegheny’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Our Allegheny: Our Third Century Quest.
Commencement Ceremony Celebrates More Than 380 Students, Three Distinguished Leaders Allegheny College on May 12 honored more than 380 graduates and presented honorary degrees to three distinguished alumni at Commencement ceremonies in the David V. Wise Sport & Fitness Center. Honorary doctorates of humane letters were conferred on Allegheny alumni John Aldrich ’69, Barbara Hotham Iglewski ’60 and Carol Reardon ’74.
Aldrich is the Pfizer-Pratt University Professor of Political Science at Duke University and has authored numerous books and articles about the American political process. Barbara Hotham Iglewski is professor emerita of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She was the first woman to chair a department at the school and also was its director of international programs. In addition, she served as vice provost for
research and graduate education at the University of Rochester. Carol Reardon is the George Winfree Professor Emerita of American History at the Pennsylvania State University. She specializes in military history with especially strong interests in the Civil War and Vietnam eras.
Two Receive Fulbright Awards Recent Allegheny graduate Madeline Hernstrom-Hill ’18 headed to England in the fall of 2018, through a year-long Fulbright award, to pursue a master’s degree in medieval history at the University of Leeds.
Hernstrom-Hill said she has learned to listen to the responses she gets — “to conduct a dialogue, whether between yourself and your subject material, or with another scholar, or with really anyone who has a different perspective than your own. I think that’s a hugely important skill for trying to get the most out of an international experience.”
Hernstrom-Hill, who is from Boston, credits Allegheny with teaching her how to conduct independent research and to ask the right questions about it. Even more,
Also, Sarah Shapley ’20 participated in a 2018 Fulbright Summer Institute studying in Wales in the United Kingdom. Shapley is from Fairport in suburban Rochester,
New York. She is a major in international studies with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She spent three weeks studying identity and nationhood at Aberystwyth University. “I hope this work will enable me to have a deeper understanding of the concept of identity and nationhood, so that in the future I can apply this new understanding to whatever work I end up doing,” she said. 31
Retirees Honored
As the 2017–18 academic year came to a close, Allegheny bid farewell to 46 members of its faculty, staff and administration during a reception for retirees in May 2018 in Schultz Banquet Hall. Faculty members who retired include Michael Barry, James C. Bulman, Amelia Carr, E. Lee Coates, Jeffrey D. Cross ’73, Daniel Crozier, Peter Ensberg, Amara Geffen, Juvia Heuchert, Glenn Holland, Ann Kleinschmidt, David C. Miller, Shafiq Rahman, Susan Rankin, Richard A. Schindler, Joshua Searle-White, Martin Serra, Barry Shapiro, Ann Sheffield, Janine Sickafuse, Bruce Smith, Howard Tamashiro and Scott Wissinger. Staff and administrators who retired include Alan Bartlett ’74, Gerard Bey, Dawn Fichtner, Roxanne Free, James Gionti, Jeanette Hart, Timothy Healy, Tim Hunter, Robert Irwin, Jacquelyn Kondrot, Deborah Legnosky, Rita Manning, Cynthia May, Richard Porter, Teresa Pratt, Mark Pritchard, Eleanor Rush, Scott Schlosser, Marian Sherwood, Saundra Snow, Pamela Teasdale, Bart Wineland and Robert Wright. The College also honored three employees — Philip Foxman ’90, David Statman and Rick Malliard — for their 25 years of service. The College offered a voluntary retirement incentive program last academic year for employees as part of its strategic action plan process, which is featured in this issue of Allegheny magazine.
GRANTS AND GIFTS $248,070
$55,000
The Endeavor Foundation
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Allegheny received a $248,070 grant from The Endeavor Foundation to support the College’s Law & Policy Program, which provides opportunities for students to explore law and policy from theory to practice.
Allegheny received a $55,000 grant from the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) of the ACS in support of Assistant Professor of Geology Katie Tamulonis’ project, Relationship between Rome Trough Reactivation and the Distal Stratigraphy and Reservoir Quality of the Devonian Marcellus and Burket Formations of the Appalachian Basin.
The program blends students’ academic goals and preparation in international and domestic law and policy with ongoing opportunities in career education, internships, study away, civic learning and community programming. Co-principal directors Brian Harward, Robert G. Seddig Chair in Law and Policy and director of the Center for Political Participation, and Kristin Black, assistant director of career education and prelaw advisor in the Allegheny Gateway, will use the funding to support the development of short courses as part of the Law & Policy Program as well as an annual conference each of the three years of the grant.
32 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
The two-year grant will support two undergraduate students each summer to conduct research with Tamulonis, as well as funds for supplies, conference travel, and student and faculty field work. The donors of the ACS PRF support this research.
$34,987 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Allegheny received a $34,987 planning grant from the NEH through the Humanities Connections program to plan for interdisciplinary partnerships
between the natural sciences and the humanities and to extend the impact of the humanities both in and out of the classroom. Associate Professor of English M. Soledad Caballero, project director, and Associate Professor of Psychology Aimee Knupsky, co-project director, will use the funding to apply “ethical interdisciplinarity at Allegheny to enhance the impact of the humanities” so “scholars learn with one another rather than learn about each other in isolation.” They plan to work with other faculty and staff to develop plans for courses that intentionally connect the sciences and the humanities; investigate the influence of the humanities in existing interdisciplinary programs; expand the humanities in experiential learning environments; incorporate the humanities into Allegheny’s model of adaptive advising; establish protocol for interdisciplinary and collaborative senior capstone projects; and develop interdisciplinary research and teaching teams.
OUR ALLEGHENY: OUR THIRD CENTURY QUEST CAMPAIGN
APRIL 19, 2018 WAS ANOTHER MEMORABLE DAY FOR WHAT YOU HELPED MAKE HAPPEN FOR ALLEGHENY:
CAMPAIGN PROGRESS
2,034 GIFTS WERE MADE TOTALING $375,021. This doesn’t include the additional $253,400 in matches that were unlocked for Allegheny due to the extraordinary participation of alumni, parents, students, employees and other friends of the College.
184 made their first gift to the College on Gator Give Day.
The Classes of 2010 and 2012 tied for first place for number of participants, each totaling 78.
RAISED
$162,458,975 GOAL
$200,000,000 The oldest graduate to participate this year was from the Class of 1948, celebrating seven decades since graduation!
Members of EVERY class from 1948 to 2021 participated, along with members of excited families representing the incoming Class of 2022.
For the first time, representatives from every state made a contribution. Participants from our international Allegheny community in Vietnam, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, Italy, France and Germany also joined in.
82% Totals as of September 30, 2018
33
photos Ed Mailliard and Mike Walker
About 1,000 alumni and guests visited campus for Reunion Weekend 2018, which was held from May 31 to June 3. One of the highlights of the weekend was the Choir Reunion performance, directed by James Niblock ’97, which included 146 singers in Shafer Auditorium. The Class of ’68 celebrated its 50th Reunion with a golf outing, a diploma ceremony and time with Professor Emeritus Paul Zolbrod, among other activities. President James H. Mullen, Jr. took the stage during the Alumni Awards Luncheon to present distinguished honors to Megan Murphy ’88 (Blue Citation), Jonathan Helmreich H’18 and James Linaberger ’59 and Sandra Kenyon Smith Linaberger ’62 (Alumni Medal recipients), and Gregory Peoples ’73 (Gold Citation).
Class Notes
News and Events from Alumni
Notes 1950s ’54
Crawford Thoburn’s choral arrangement of J.S. Bach’s “O Spotless Lamb” has been re-issued by St. James Music Press. It was written as a student tutorial project under the supervision of Dr. Morten J. Luvaas, to whom it was dedicated, and originally published in 1955 by Augsburg-Fortress Press. The Allegheny Singers sang it under Luvaas’ direction, and it was widely performed by other groups. It is one of several choral works by “Doc” Thoburn that have been re-issued by St. James and are now enjoying a second life via Internet publishing.
’57
Sylvia Liberati-Rosencrans has published a book about her father, Edward Liberati, called I Remember Papa, and it is available on Amazon and through the publisher, AuthorHouse. “He was such a remarkable individual that I think you will enjoy reading about how he triumphed over a lot of negative facts of life,” she says.
Notes 1960s ’63
Ben Harrison has joined the ranks of the semi-retired. He resides in Dallas, the home of his fifth successful startup company, the Health Care Partnership, which has been in operation since 2004. He and his wife, Tamara, and children, college students Preston and Libby, welcome contact through Gator Connect.
’68
Rick Sturm has had another book published by Morgan Kaufman. This one is titled Application Performance Management (APM) in the Digital Enterprise.
Notes 1970s ’70
Allegheny Trustee Emeritus Thomas T. Frampton has been elected president of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The Academy was created in the late 1950s by lawyers
who actively tried civil matters in state and federal court in Allegheny County. Since its inception, membership in the Academy of Trial Lawyers has been invitation only, subject to peer review, and is presently limited to 250 active members.
’72
Ruth Mobilia Heath retired from her full-time job as math faculty at NHTI Community College in New Hampshire in 2015, and has enjoyed part-time work as a math tutor and adjunct since. “My life is now full of local and state community activism, my Quaker Meeting, singing in the auditioned community choir I’ve been in since 1982, and some traveling. Greg and I will be going to my choir’s tour in July to Latvia, Estonia, and St. Petersburg — my first overseas choir tour since 1972 with the Allegheny Choir,” she said.
’75
Mark O. Scioscia has been named a shareholder and director of Sherrard, German & Kelly in Pittsburgh and is a member of the firm’s corporate, estates and trusts, employment, and tax services groups. His practice includes counseling a variety of forms of business entities on a wide range of legal issues such as entity formation, regulatory matters, reorganization, and financing. Beth Hardesty Waite is teaching high school math in Las Vegas while working on a Ph.D. in educational psychology, concentrating on learning and technology, with future interests in educational research and consulting.
Notes 1980s ’81
Edward J. Borkowski has been appointed as chief financial officer at ACETO Corporation, an international company engaged in the development, marketing, sale and distribution of human health products and pharmaceutical ingredients. He is a member of the Allegheny College Board of Trustees.
’84
Barbara Peckham Hoyt is the owner of an adventure travel company, Timberline Adventures. She has been organizing and running adventure trips all over the world since adulthood, and has finally turned it into a vocation. The company is 35 years old and offers fully supported, multi-day hiking and biking tours all over the United States and Canada; learn more by visiting timberline-adventures.com
Theresa Ryan Jehle has moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her husband, Dr. Dietrich Jehle. “After spending 25 years in my hometown of Buffalo, New York, we decided to move on to warmer climates and new opportunities,” she says. “I am a Realtor with Keller Williams selling residential real estate in South Carolina along the coast from Myrtle Beach south to Hilton Head Island, maintaining homes in both the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach and Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head
Island. Our four children are all grown and living in Chicago, Jacksonville, and a college freshman at Clemson. I would love to connect with Allegheny alums living in South Carolina! Please contact me at tjehle@roadrunner.com or theresa@TheresaJehle.com.”
’89
’88
Notes 1990s
Edward W. Kirn, III is serving as president of USFN, a national association of mortgage banking attorneys. He is also a partner at Powers Kirn in New Jersey and Powers Kirn and Associates in Pennsylvania. His son, Andrew ’20 is attending Allegheny.
Nadia Ward, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University, was named deputy director of the Yale Doctoral Internship Training Program in Clinical and Community Psychology at the university. The program, founded in 1970, hosts 15 fellows annually for one year. She holds a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and a doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.
Kirk Henderson has been named the supervisor of the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The Capital Habeas Unit litigates death penalty cases in federal court.
’91
Annemarie Murphy has been promoted to president of SBA Lending at United Community Bank in Greenville, South Carolina. Murphy has more than 22 years of experience in SBA lending and has been a key leader of the bank’s SBA team since it launched in 2014.
’95
Laura Kaye Jagles participated in a poetry reading in November 2017 in Teatro Paraguas in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She currently serves the Pueblo of Pojoaque as an indigenous language instructor at several schools in Santa Fe. She holds a master’s degree from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
’12
Christina Moreschi and Brandan Morgan were engaged in June 2017. The couple resides in Meadville, and married in July 2018. 37
’99
Kelly A. Kosek has been appointed to the Strongsville City Council as the Ward 3 representative. In addition to serving as a Strongsville city councilwoman, she continues to practice law as a litigation partner at Hahn Loeser & Parks. Kelly and her husband, Jason Wheat, and their two sons, Sawyer and Beckett, reside in Strongsville, Ohio.
Notes 2000s ’03
Shannon McNeill Barron is the library services manager of the Children’s Department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. She oversees all things kid-related and more at the historic main branch, which opened its doors in 1895. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Russ, and their son, Jacob, and a new baby was due to join their family in July 2018.
’04
Eric Johnson, CNB Bank’s vice president of Wealth and Asset Management, achieved his certified financial planner certification in November 2017. The certification is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its high standard of professional education, stringent code of conduct and standards of practice, and ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients.
’07
Dan Conant has been listed among the “Grist 50: 2018” — “people who are cooking up the boldest, most ambitious solutions to humanity’s biggest challenges. We like to call these forward-thinking phenoms ’Fixers.’ They are leaders who will actually make you feel good about the future.”
’08
Lauren Paladino has graduated from medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, earning her D.O. degree. She started her residency in family medicine at UPMC Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Notes 2010s ’11
Anna Rose Welch has published a collection of poetry titled We the Almighty Fires.
’13
Aaron Ledbetter graduated in April 2018 with dual graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. He was awarded a master of public policy from the Ford School of Public Policy and a master of health services administration from the School of Public Health. He has accepted a post-graduate administrative fellowship at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, where he will be working with the senior management team.
Unions
’11
Caitlin Fearon married Michelle Fearon at the Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden, Vermont, on December 17, 2017. Pictured left to right: back row: Former Allegheny Women’s Lacrosse Coach Paula Habel, Emily Hoar ’10, Christina Zanic ’10, Emma Banks ’11, Julie Muller ’11, Caitlin Gaudi ’11, Justin Gaudi ’11, Colleen Silky ’11, Erin Foster ’09, Benny Limegrover ’09, Abby Saponaro ’11 and Kaitlan Griffin ’10. Front row: Michelle Fearon, Caitlin Fearon, Hilary Collins ’09 and Kellee Cribby ’14. 38 ALLEGHENY Fall 2018
Arrivals ’06
Hikmat Daghestani and his wife, Sarah Martini, welcomed their second daughter, Luna, on December 7, 2017. Luna joins her parents and big sister Emma in their home in Orland Park, Illinois.
’08
Richard Wozniak, Jackie Dunkleman Wozniak, and their son, Caleb, welcomed a baby girl, Rebekah Adair Wozniak, on March 28, 2018.
’09
Ashlee Lang Sydlik, husband Ryan Sydlik, and their daughter, Ainsley Olivia, welcomed a baby boy, Benson Maxwell, on January 2, 2018, in Pittsburgh.
Obituaries ’37
Eleanor Miller Maas on February 19, 2018. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She spent a year studying abroad in Leipzig, Germany. Upon returning, she became one of the first flight attendants for United Airlines. She also spent time working for a physician in Cuba. She made her way to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where she met her husband, the late David Earle Maas. The couple owned and operated Sapphire Bay Beach Club. She also ran a ladies clothing store on the island. She is survived by her daughter, Heidi Culler; a son, David Maas; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
’41
William M. Kennedy, Sr. on March 11, 2018. He attended Penn State for two years before transferring to Allegheny, where he met his future wife, the late Barbara Flick Kennedy ’41. He received an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He was a self-employed CPA and also taught accounting at Case Western Reserve University and Baldwin Wallace College. He was a World War II veteran, and he kept a diary of his war experiences that he self-published in 2010, Sergeant Kennedy’s
World War II Diary. He is survived by his children, William M. Kennedy, Jr. ’69 and Jeanne Kennedy Wheelock ’71; his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and half-brothers, Ralph M. Kennedy and Paul Kennedy.
’44
Russell C. Minick on April 29, 2018. He was a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army in World War II. He was a 32nd Degree Mason. After graduating from medical school, he served as a physician in the U.S. Army until 1949. He then went into private practice as a family physician in Pennsylvania and then North Carolina until his retirement in 1995. He enjoyed retirement, living in Florida and North Carolina. He is survived by his wife, Beverly; three sons, Daniel Minick ’71, Robert Minick, and David Shaffer; two daughters, Heidi Minick Starke ’77 and Kelly Minick Lichtenhan; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
’46
Jean Reese Bartoletti on April 22, 2018. She was a resident of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.
Shirley Anne (“Sammy”) Miller Wermund on September 12, 2017. A psychology major, she was also a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and the Allegheny Singers. After her marriage to Jay Wermund in 1952, they began raising their three sons, Christopher, Mark and Timothy, in New Jersey. In 1973, she moved the family to Austin, Texas, after losing her husband in an automobile accident. She had a career as a legal secretary while in New Jersey and was a medical secretary in Austin, transcribing technical documents and dictation until she retired. Shirley Anne was born in Meadville to Benjamin Franklin Miller, Jr., class of 1907, and Ethel Moore Miller, and followed both her brothers, Franklin Moore Miller ’36 and Benjamin Franklin Miller III ’38, and sister-inlaw Dorothy Brennen Miller ’39, in attending Allegheny. An avid reader who loved a good novel, she remained a strong, fun, intelligent and loving mother and grandmother until her death.
’47
Catherine Richards on May 5, 2018. She worked for Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh as the chief medical technologist for 28 years until her retirement in 1999. She was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church Women and the College Club of Sharon and was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels.
’48
Renee Binder Kremer on March 9, 2018. She majored in theater arts. The focus of her studies was set design, beginning a lifetime passion for interior decorating and filling her home with artwork. She was president of her local B’nai B’rith chapter in the late 1950s, volunteered in all of her children’s schools and was a substitute teacher in her later years. She is survived by her sister, Joan Raines; her children, Arden Kremer, Elyse Kremer Spalding and Bruce Kremer; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Annabel Regan Morton on February 8, 2018. She majored in history and was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She retired from GTE in 1987 after 30 years of service. She was a supporter of the Erie Zoo for many years and the Erie Historical and Genealogical Societies. Survivors include a son, Todd J. Morton, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
’50
Doris Scott Potter on April 7, 2018. She was a teacher in Pittsburgh-area schools. She is survived by her three children, Patricia Katz, Robert Potter and Melissa Gans, and several grandchildren.
Submit your news and events for inclusion in Class Notes by logging in to Gator Connect (allegheny.edu/gatorconnect) or emailing items to clnotes@allegheny.edu.
39
Richard C. Sullivan on February 1, 2018. He was the first in his family to attend college, entering Allegheny in 1944 and graduating in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics, taking a break for U.S. Army service in Japan. He earned a master’s in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He had a long career in public administration that began with his first job with the New York Port Authority as an administrative trainee in 1951. After seven years in the Port Division, he was loaned to the State Department as assistant to the executive director to head the U.S. Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, where he also managed the American Theater stage. In 1961, after returning from his overseas assignment, he was named director of the World Trade Center, where he was responsible for marketing, architecture, engineering, operations and financial planning of the 100-story towers up to the point of actual construction, serving as principal witness in litigation and regulatory hearings. After leaving the Port Authority in 1974 as director of public affairs, he joined the U.S. Rail Association in Washington, D.C., and then relocating to Philadelphia in 1976 after Congress created Conrail, and for 17 years until his retirement in 1993, he would occupy various senior executive roles. He is survived by five children, Betsy S. Gardiner, Nancy S. Skinner, Richard C. Sullivan, Jr., Harriet Sullivan and Matthew R. Sullivan, 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
’52
Betty Hoff Buss on January 29, 2018. She also graduated from secretarial school. Besides working as a secretary for many years, she later managed family businesses, including a Dutch seed import company. She played violin in the Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra in California. She is survived by her husband, Jack, and a sister, Hope Russell.
Will R. Crowthers Jr. on February 5, 2018. He was a DuPont retiree, and served in the U.S. Army. He enjoyed volunteering at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville and Fun with Science. He is survived by his children, Amy C. Mosier, Casey A. Crowthers, Susan C. Helton and Will R. Crowthers III; nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Stephan E. Mergenhagen on March 27, 2018. He received a master’s degree from the University of Buffalo and a doctorate from the University of Rochester. He then joined the Rochester university’s faculty, where he remained until 1958. He left to take a position as a research microbiologist in the National Institute of Dental Research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. After 30 years at the National Institute of Dental Research, he retired in August 1996. Throughout his career with the NIDR, he received many academic honors and awards, including the Senior U.S. Scientist Award, from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation,
Bonn, Germany. He also served as a consultant at Bio-Molecular Technology, Inc. He is survived by his wife, Marianne; a son and two daughters from a prior marriage, Stephan Mergenhagen, Jr., Paula deWitt and Susan Mergenhagen; two stepdaughters, Carolanne Simpson and Joanne Hosea, and several grandchildren. S. James Schmittle on March 25, 2018. He was also a graduate of Garrett Theological Seminary. He was a United Methodist pastor, serving Kingsley Church in Erie, Grace Church in Albion, Grace Church in Warren, as well as Methodist congregations in Corry, Edinboro and McKean, all in Pennsylvania. He was proud of his active voice, particularly for civil rights, and marched in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. He was also proud of his role in helping Albion recover from the tornado of 1985. He and his late wife, Louise, were the hosts for the Methodist House at the Chautauqua Institution, where he also served as the chaplain in the early 1990s. He was a member of the Order of St. Luke and regularly participated in Erie’s Inter-Church Ministries and the Jefferson Society. He is survived by his three children, S. James Schmittle, Jr. ’80, J. Mark Schmittle ’82 and Beth Sweeney; a foster son, Maitham Basha-Agha; a sister, Deby Seaman; and seven grandchildren. Gerald D. Watson on February 14, 2018. He was an accomplished athlete and scholar. He played running back for the Gators football team. He was drafted by
Mary Alice Hudak Professor Emerita of Psychology
Mary Alice Worth Hudak on April 3, 2018. She was a professor of psychology at Allegheny specializing in women’s studies and child development until she retired in 1999. She attended Consumnes River and Sacramento State Colleges in California and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Ph.D. in psychology in 1980. She was an advocate
for women’s rights as well as a humanitarian and pacifist. She also worked for the underprivileged and oppressed. She role-modeled treating others with compassion and living a simple life not based on material wealth but solid character such as gratitude, altruism, and justice. Upon retirement she went on a mission trip to Romania to serve abandoned
infants, and she hand-crafted dolls delivered to orphans in Africa and Mexico. She was an active member of Amnesty International advocating for human rights. She is survived by her five children, Paul Hudak ’86, Debbie Jockin ’88, Karen Hellwig ’90, Charles Hudak and Jim Freivald; her siblings, Donald Worth and Charles Worth; and 11 grandchildren.
the Los Angeles Rams but instead served in the U.S. Army with combat service in Korea as an infantry sergeant. He received his degree from the University at Buffalo Law School. He was elected City of Lockport Police Justice. In 1966, he formed the law offices of Ben and Watson. He also served as City Court Judge; sitting in the civil and criminal courts for most of his career; and was the president of the Lockport Bar Association. He is survived by his wife, Dolores Gervaise; his children, Cindy Kelsey Comstock, Robert Watson, Sally Holtz, Patty Watson, David Watson and William Watson; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
’55
Alexander W. K. McDowell on February 21, 2018. He attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated from Allegheny, becoming a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. After serving in the Air Force, he began to build Cove Lake in Gore, Virginia, which opened for business in 1960. The lake inspired the development of the Cove Campground, which his family still operates. He also operated a marine construction business building piers and dredging waterways along Chesapeake Bay. He also worked for Ellicott Machine Corp. in Baltimore. He traveled the world selling and constructing sea-going and mining dredges. He held many patents in this field. Surviving are his wife, Ann Forestell; two sons, Willis McDowell and Daniel McDowell; a sister, Azalea Leckszas; and four grandchildren. Charles C. Stover on January 28, 2018. He attended Colgate University before graduating from Allegheny, where he was a member and president of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He matriculated to the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry. He then returned home to Sharon, Pennsylvania, where he practiced general dentistry for the next six years. He then enrolled in the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he completed a two-year residency in orthodontics, and in addition, fulfilled the requirements for a Master of Science degree. He returned to the Shenango Valley, where he practiced orthodontics for more than 30 years. He was a member and past president of the Mercer County Dental Society, and
served as a delegate to the 9th District Dental Society of the American Dental Association of Pennsylvania. He was also a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the Great Lakes Orthodontic Association, the Pittsburgh Orthodontic Society, the American Dental Association and the Pennsylvania Dental Association. He was a past board member of the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce and served as a board member to the Hermitage School District. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Fuerle; his daughter, Carol Stover Aruta; two sons, David and Craig; and several grandchildren. Nancy Jackson Strauss on March 3, 2018. She graduated with a degree in economics, and spent most of the next 12 years raising her family. She returned to college at Slippery Rock University for a degree in elementary education and began her teaching career in 1975 in the Pine Richland School District near Pittsburgh. She continued to teach until 1994. She continued to employ her teaching skills tutoring students. She is survived by three children, Kathy Strauss, Patty Otterson and Richard Strauss, several grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
’59
Sloane Barker, Jr. on February 6, 2018. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity while at Allegheny and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He and Donna Larrimore Stevens ’60 were married on September 13, 1959, in Ford Memorial Chapel before moving to Pittsburgh where he attended the University of Pittsburgh, earning a master’s degree in retail management. Spending most of his career with companies like Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, he managed retail clothing stores in Palm Beach and Miami Beach; Stamford, Connecticut; New York City; and Palo Alto, California. He is survived by his wife, Donna; three sons, Chip, Scott, and Glenn; and four grandchildren.
Audrey Salyer Perkins on January 31, 2018. She worked for Kodak in Rochester, New York, and completed her education at Allegheny. Upon graduation, she left for California and took in many rescue dogs
and was active in the community. She is survived by her stepdaughter, Nancy Lynn Perkins. Valerie A. Rothlein on March 14, 2018. She received her master’s degree from Monmouth College. She worked for Lockheed in Watchung, New Jersey, and then was employed many years as a technical editor at AT&T in Holmdel, New Jersey, prior to her retirement.
’60
Barbara Wilson Thoburn on April 28, 2018. She was a volunteer in many charitable activities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida. She also was active in the Lifelong Learning Society at Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter, Florida. She is survived by her husband, Theodore G. Thoburn; sons, Jon S. Thoburn and Bradford G. Thoburn; several grandchildren; a sister, Phylis W. DeCroce; and a brother, Theodore R. Wilson.
’61
James W. Lindblad on March 10, 2018. He was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. He began his career as a social studies teacher in the greater Rochester, New York, area. He was employed for many years with the Chautauqua County Office for the Aging and later with Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. He helped in the implementation and operation of the Chautauqua County Senior Nutrition Program. He completed his working career at Hope’s Windows Security Products Division. He is survived by his partner, Dianne Hovey; a sister, Sue Oberg; a brother, Richard Lindblad; his stepchildren, Owen Hovey and Jocelyn Jones; and several step-grandchildren.
’62
Benjamin E. Greer on March 24, 2018. He attended the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his medical internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado. He served in the U.S. Army for two years. He spent five years with the University of Colorado at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Denver, Colorado, and then three years at 41
M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas, before moving to his final professional home at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1980, where he served as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology as well as an affiliate investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He spent 15 years as the director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Washington, in addition to serving two years as the chief of staff at the University of Washington Medical Center. He also led the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for a number of years. He was a member of numerous professional and scientific societies. Over the course of his career, he authored more than 125 peer-reviewed articles along with 29 book chapters and published two books. He participated in many of the landmark clinical trials in both chemotherapy and radiation for gynecologic malignancies. His contributions to groundbreaking gynecologic oncology research saved, lengthened and improved lives for women around the world. He is survived by his wife, Sheree;
four children, Sharra Kemnitz, Ara Beecher, Aleta and Ben; and four grandchildren. Paul L. Rose on March 26, 2018. He was a proud member of the Theta Chi fraternity. He had a master’s degree in social work from Rutgers University. He worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections as the superintendent of the Warren Residential Group Center, where he established an 82 percent rehabilitation rate. He was a 50-year member of the Kiwanis Club of Washington, serving as secretary, president and distinguished lieutenant governor. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Wolking; his children, Glenn L. Rose, Shawn L. Rose and Gwendolyn L. Rose-Weidner; five grandchildren; and his brothers, Alan Rose and Evan Rose.
to her heart. For many years, she also enjoyed a career in sales with Weight Watchers. She is survived by her husband, Douglas Anchor; her children, Kristen Anchor, Stephen Anchor and Gregory Anchor; several grandchildren; and her sister, Nancy Mick.
’70
Barbara Hull Crawford on April 3, 2018. She attended Allegheny for two years. She had been employed by Wirt’s, American Viscose, Marx Toys, and Talon in Meadville. She is survived by her husband, Milan A. Crawford; two sons, Milan J. Crawford and Ben G. Crawford; and two grandchildren.
’79
Daniel E. Weaver on April 9, 2018. He attended Clarion University but graduated from Allegheny with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication. He enjoyed a career in television as an Emmy Awardwinning talk show producer with credits that include “The Geraldo Rivera Show,”
’68
Cynthia Buesink Anchor on April 10, 2018. She graduated with a degree in education and Spanish. She was a teacher, and her work at Virginia’s First Baptist Preschool in recent years remained dear
Bruce J. Smith
Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Bruce J. Smith, the Arthur Braun Professor of Political Science, died on July 13 after a four-year battle with stage 4 melanoma. Smith was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and was a first-generation college student. In the mid-1960s, as a factory worker, he helped organize a wildcat strike of production-line workers and consequently became interested in political science, particularly political theory and philosophy as they relate to political action. He turned his political organizing skills to the anti-war movement and the United Farm Workers Union in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Eventually, Smith earned his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees at
Rutgers in political science. His doctoral dissertation, “Politics and Remembrance,” was published in 1985 by Princeton University Press. After defending his dissertation, he taught as an associate professor at Vassar College from 1981 until 1984. In 1984, Smith joined the faculty at Allegheny, where he taught until the fall semester of 2017. He would serve as the president of Faculty Council, political science chair and dean of the College. In his classes, Smith fostered vigorous discussions and high intellectual standards, helping his students to hone their skills of inquiry and analysis, and emphasizing the importance of the political process and activism in democratic societies. In
the last year of his life, Smith finished his second book, The Sense of Injustice and the Origin of Modern Democracy, which was published in June 2018 by the University of Rochester Press. Reflecting upon Smith’s retirement last academic year, his colleagues in the Department of Political Science shared that they so greatly benefited from his “acute intelligence, his love of public affairs, and his deep sense that what happens in the classroom can and should strengthen our commitment to democracy, to fair play, and to justice.” Smith is survived by his wife, Sue; his son, Jason and his wife, Tricia; his daughter, Daisy; and his brother, Bob.
“Phil Donahue” and “Entertainment Tonight.” He said his proudest moment in television was creating the “Aftercare” program with Rivera and Jamie Huysman, a psychiatric social worker, which offered “follow up” counseling to guests who revealed their troubled lives to the TV audience. He also taught courses about working in television, most notably at the annual Donna Reed Performing Arts Festival in Denison, Iowa. In 1998, his book, Breaking into Television, was published with advice and stories from former interns-turned-producers as they launched their careers. He is survived by his husband, Lee Moore, Jr.; his mother, Joanne Weaver; and his siblings, Stephanie Cares ’83, Randi, Michael, Ralph and James.
’88
Dana C. Easter on February 5, 2018. He completed his education at the Devry Institute of Technology, where he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and safety and training management.
’90
Lawrence D. Jacobs on April 30, 2018. He earned two master’s degrees from Yale University, one in economics and the other in natural resource policy, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He was managing director of the International Organization for the Family, and the World Congress of Families. He was also a Cincinnati Business Courier 40 Under 40 selection (2003) and a former executive for Procter & Gamble Co. He served on various boards of directors, including Heartbeat International, Trinity Christian School in Greenhills, the Kiwanis Club, and Northern Illinois Community Foundation. Survivors include his wife, Jennifer Hyde Jacobs; two children, Amanda and Aaron; his mother, Patricia Beam; his stepfather, Stephan Beam; his father, Daniel Jacobs, and halfbrother, Sam Jacobs.
Friends:
Howard Hatton on February 5, 2018. He was a former music professor at Allegheny. Marilyn J. Hughes on March 12, 2018. She had been employed at Allegheny. Harold R. Koepka on March 20, 2018. He was an adjunct faculty member at Allegheny. Margaret L. Moser on January 22, 2018. She was professor of library science and head librarian at Allegheny. Joseph P. Polito on February 25, 2018. He was an assistant professor of Air Force ROTC at Allegheny, instructing astronautics, political/military applications, and written and oral communications to juniors and seniors. Sister Dorinda Young (Judith Anne Young) on March 18, 2018. She was a Catholic chaplain at Allegheny.
Doris M. Benzenhoefer-Tobin on January 3, 2018. She was the Allegheny physician for one year.
“IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST, GO ALONE. IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR, GO TOGETHER.”
allegheny.edu/gatorconnect
Search for Fellow Gators • Find Jobs and Internships Volunteer for Allegheny • View or Submit Class Notes
43
43
The Last Word
by Kurt Foriska ’01, President, Alumni Council
Peggy Siegle ’70, Immediate Past President, Alumni Council
For the Allegheny Alumni Community: A Call to (Open) Arms from Your Alumni Council This issue of Allegheny magazine details the College’s new strategic action plan, which we believe is bold and exciting — and essential reading for every Alleghenian. We invite you to join in an all-alumni call to embrace this plan, not only with open arms, but with focused action. Small liberal arts colleges face significant demographic changes and economic challenges. Allegheny chose to boldly address these national trends with a superior strategic action plan, the result of months of developing, refining, and implementing. Now, your Alumni Council, which has been informed and included in every step of this process, is issuing a “call to arms.” And we mean that phrase in a new way. We call upon you to embrace this plan with open arms and powerful actions. Only with your help can our alma mater meet these challenges with strength and innovation. Are you ready? Here are some ideas about how you can make a difference. The future-focused liberal arts education at Allegheny has depth and detail. Familiarize yourself with the innovative ways Allegheny prepares students for their futures. Share with prospective students how Allegheny’s unique curricula prepares students to think critically and work in interdisciplinary teams — qualities sought by almost every employer.
We invite you to join in an all-alumni call to embrace this plan, not only with open arms, but with focused action.
If your business/industry seeks skills of collaborators and superior communicators, use Gator Connect to offer Allegheny students internships and full-time employment. Update your profile on Gator Connect and volunteer as a career mentor to provide advice and guidance to students. Allegheny is responding to the interests of prospective students and needs of employers by adding majors in business and integrative informatics, along with a minor in energy and society. Allegheny also is adding field hockey and men’s lacrosse, two popular sports that are
frequently requested by talented prospective students. Talk about these and other important aspects of an Allegheny liberal arts education with prospective students and anyone who is interested in the future of higher education. Be sure to mention that Allegheny has responded to changes, requests, and essential trends in higher education. The environment for tuition-driven schools like ours is extremely competitive. Our campus, facilities, and faculty need to be experienced by prospective students. Encourage prospective students to visit campus. Suggest that they attend Allegheny’s new pre-college enrichment program for high school students. Help make a visit possible for a student. Tell the Admissions Office about prospective students you know who would excel at Allegheny. To accomplish the strategic objectives outlined in this issue of our magazine, and to continue fiscal stability, the College will maintain a slightly smaller, more selective profile, and reduce expenses. Committing to a low student-faculty ratio is essential to keep the close mentoring relationship from which we all benefited. Emphasize that important low ratio when talking about the College. And finally, support the high-impact investments and help make an Allegheny education possible for today’s students by making a gift to the Annual Fund. Every gift, no matter the amount, makes a difference in the lives of students. Your Alumni Council is issuing a call to open your arms and be part of this powerful and dramatic movement to support the bold and innovative Allegheny Strategic Action Plan. We know you’re ready. We hope you’ll respond by embracing the suggestions we have listed to help move our College forward. Take the next step and get involved: Visit allegheny.edu/openarms
Imagination is the only key to the future. Without it none exists — with it all things are possible.
Ida Tarbell Allegheny Class of 1880 Investigative Journalist
Allegheny Magazine
Allegheny College 520 North Main Street Meadville, PA 16335
NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 35 PITTSBURGH, PA
photo: Bill Owen ’74