Wittenberg University Magazine Fall 2008

fall 2008

Center Of Attention New Initiative Serves As Model For State

Wittenberg Magazine is published three times a year by Wittenberg University, Office of University Communications.

Commencement 2008

Editor Director of University Communications Karen Saatkamp Gerboth ’93 Graphic Designer Joyce Sutton Bing Design Director of News Services and Sports Information Ryan Maurer Director of New Media and Webmaster Robert Rafferty ’02 Photo Editor Robbie Gantt Coordinator of University Communications Phyllis Eberts ’00 Class Notes Editor Charyl Castillo Contributors Gabrielle Antoniadis Larry Dean Josh Guerreri ’01 Daivd Maki Mike Munden Brian Schubert ’09 Address correspondence to: Editor, Wittenberg Magazine Wittenberg University P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720 Phone: (937) 327-6141 Fax: (937) 327-6112 E-mail: wittmagazine@wittenberg.edu www.wittenberg.edu Articles are expressly the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent official university policy. We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length and accuracy. We appreciate photo submissions, but because of their large number, we cannot return them.

Wittenberg University does not discriminate against otherwise qualified persons on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability unrelated to the student’s course of study, in admission or access to the university’s academic programs, activities, and facilities that are generally available to students, or in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other college-administered programs.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Editor, Wittenberg Magazine Wittenberg University P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720

On the cover Matt Lynch ’08, Professor Warren Copeland and Stephanie McCuistion are leading Wittenberg’s newly created Center for Civic & Urban Engagement, which brings together Wittenberg faculty, staff and students with community members to build upon the opportunities and address the challenges facing the Greater Springfield region.

Cover photo by Robbie Gantt

Wittenberg University Board Of Directors William D. Adams • William H. Barton Jr. ’71 • Wesley C. Bates ’70 • David L. Boyle ’69 Jennette B. Bradley ’74 • Stephen R. Buchenroth ’70 • Glenn W. Collier • Jennifer S. Cooperider ’81 Jonathan L. Eilert ’93 • Mark H. Erickson • James J. Henson ’75 • Elizabeth A. Hunter ’69 Alicia Sweet Hupp ’82 • Douglas E. Kentfield ’78 • Ho Pak Kong ’50 • Thomas P. Loftis • Marcus C. Lohrmann • John P. McDaniel ’64 • Sarah Hagen McWilliams ’88 • John F. Meier ’69 Deborah G. Miller ’71 • Joan C. Milsom ’47 • Fredrick B. Mitchell ’69 • Michael A. Senich ’74 Lewis W. Shaw II ’66 • William H. Steinbrink ’64 • Rick Sterling ’69 • Paul F. Swartz ’65 Milton O. Thompson ’76 • Charles D. Weller ’70 • Ronald C. Woods ’69

fall 2008 1

PHOTO BY Robbie GANTT

2 Wittenberg Magazine

in this issue ...

in this issue... fall 2008 Vol. 11, No. 1

22 Going Global Foreign language department looks to implement one of the most distinctive and innovative language-across-the-curriculum programs in the country.

25 Center of Attention Newly established Center for Civic & Urban Engagement serves as state model for addressing community challenges, while expanding experiential learning for students.

Departments 5 18 19 20 28 55 56

Around Myers Hollow Campus Life Witt World Tiger Sports Alumni World Calendar of Events Reflection

New Student Days 2008

PHOTO BY Robbie GANTT

fall 2008 3

Service, Civic Engagement And Making A Difference

W

ittenberg has a rich history of connecting our students to the community we live in and to preparing them for lives of meaningful service nationally and in the broader world. We are one

of only a handful of colleges that require our students to perform community service, a fact that has repeatedly been recognized by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. In

Robbie Gantt

letter From the President

A New Chapter In A Time-Honored Story

addition, many Wittenberg graduates have gone on to highly successful careers in public service at the local, regional, state, national and international level. Others actively engage in equally important work as civic leaders, community organizers and volunteers.

So it seemed like a natural next step for us to pull together these historic strengths, invest in them, and shine a spotlight on this powerful distinctive strength. In September we did just that as we wrote a new chapter in the Wittenberg story by unveiling our first-ever Center for Civic & Urban Engagement, a true model for partnership between a liberal arts college and its community.

Flanked by Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, state representatives, members of Wittenberg’s Board of Directors and city officials, I was honored to announce the new center to an enthusiastic crowd of Wittenberg faculty, staff and students, as well as community leaders, supporters and the media. The Center’s new Faculty Director Warren Copeland called the announcement a great day for Wittenberg and Springfield. The Lt. Governor also shared some wonderful words, calling the Center a model for colleges and communities across the state. In the end, everyone agreed that this was the right idea at the right time for Wittenberg, Springfield and the State of Ohio.

In addition to bringing together community leaders, faculty, staff and students to build upon the opportunities and address the challenges facing the Greater Springfield area, the new center will also provide our students with exciting and expanded opportunities for experiential learning. The Center’s initial focus will be on Springfield and this region. Over time, the Center will become a catalyst for our broader efforts to prepare students for lives of civic engagement and service to their communities, the nation and the world.

Consistent with Goal F of our strategic plan, Distinctively Wittenberg: A Vision for Excellence, the new Center will help us “to foster, celebrate and support our unique urban location and the benefits it provides to both students and the community.” Guided by the input of a community advisory board, the Center has chosen to focus on four areas during its first year: Renewing the Core (Downtown Springfield) and the Creek; Strengthening After-School Programs; Preparing for Future Jobs; and Improving Housing Quality.

Much is happening at Wittenberg and in the Springfield community. Both, in my opinion, are at important moments in their histories, and both are on the verge of dramatic positive change. I have personally seen and believe in the “magic” that happens when communities and higher education institutions work together as true partners – a “magic” that I believe will result in significant, lasting and positive impacts for both. I am privileged to be at Wittenberg University at such an important moment and also to lead a college that truly matters in the impact it has both on its students and this community. n

4 Wittenberg Magazine

– Mark H. Erickson, President

Around Myers Hollow

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nspired by Wittenberg’s recently adopted strategic plan, Bob ’63 and Lynn Noble Ness ’64 have established a $1.5 million endowed chair in entrepreneurship.

Named after the family, which has extensive ties to the university, including eight graduates, among them all three of the Ness’ children, the Ness Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship will provide Wittenberg with an extraordinary tool for recruiting the best faculty, and enrich the university’s business program, which has produced some of the finest leaders around the globe.

The Ness Chair joins several other initiatives underway designed to prepare the next generation of business leaders.

Others include the newly established East Asian Institute, which marries

the historic strength of Wittenberg’s East Asian Studies program with its business and economic programs, and Witt Enterprises, an array of student-run businesses that will allow students to test their entrepreneurial talents by running actual businesses.

Together these programs create an increasingly powerful 21st century business curriculum taught within the context of a strong liberal arts program.

A leader on the Alumni Council, president of the Wittenberg Alumni Association and long-time member of the university’s Board of Directors, Bob Ness served as the national chairman for the Defining Moments Campaign and currently chairs the university’s Benjamin Prince Society. Lynn Ness helped to spearhead a new initiative for spouses of

David Maki

Alumni Couple Fuels Entrepreneurship With $1.5 Million Endowed Chair

Wittenberg Board members and previously taught a drug and alcohol awareness program during New Student Days. Both are also active in their community of Upper Arlington, Ohio. n

Four New Members Join University’s Board Of Directors numerous books, including one with Earl Woods, father of PGA golfer Tiger Woods, and in 2000 delivered the keynote address to the graduating class at his alma mater.

The managing director of Stonehenge Securities Inc., an affiliate of Stonehenge Financial Holdings, a financial services and investments company, Henson has served his alma mater in severa l capacities, including as a charter member of Wittenberg’s Parents Leadership Circle with his wife, Jennifer B a u e r H e n s o n ’ 76 , president of Residential Capital Corporation of Jonathon Eilert, Richard Sterling, James Henson, Fred Mitchell Columbus.

David Maki

Wittenberg’s Board of Directors began the 2008-09 academic year with four new faces. Frederick B. Mitchell ’69, James J. Henson ’75, Richard Sterling ’69 and The Rev. Jonathon Eilert ’93 each were elected to a three-year term.

An award-winning sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune, Mitchell has authored

The founder and president of SterlingRice Group, an integrated strategy, innovation and communications firm based in Boulder, Colo., Sterling is an expert in brand management and marketing. Along with fellow marketing expert, Michael Rice, Sterling has established the leading integrated brand development company in America.

Lead pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Loveland, Ohio, Eilert has held numerous leadership positions within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), including serving on its Church Council and as chair of the Council’s Program and Services Committee, as well as on the ELCA Nominating Committee. n fall 2008 5

Karen Hunt, who previously served as the No. 2 person in admission for a decade, has returned to serve as director of admission following the departure of Brad Pochard ’01, who accepted the same post at Furman University in South Carolina.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to advance our enrollment management objectives and ensure that incoming classes reflect the high-quality education found at Wittenberg University,” Hunt said. “I’m also excited about working with our fantastic team in admission.”

Alumnus Establishes Prestigious Internship Believing that congressional and federal policymakers must reflect the diversity of the American population, Wittenberg and B&D Consulting, a division of Baker & Daniels LLP, a full-service law firm with 370 attorneys in offices throughout the United States and Beijing, China, have partnered to provide a prestigious, highly competitive annual summer internship in the nation’s capital for one African American student at Wittenberg. Manny Lamarre ’09 was the first recipient.

Initiated by long-time board member David U. Gogol ’73, vice chair of B&D Consulting, the B&D Washington Semester Internship will not only help prepare the selected candidate for public policy work and provide a $1,000/week stipend, but it will place him or her inside the informal network of Washington politics, which is vital to gaining employment in the D.C. area.

The B&D Washington Semester Internship extends Wittenberg’s affiliation with the Lutheran College Washington Semester (LCWS) program, in which more than 10 Wittenberg students participate annually. The selected B&D intern must enroll in the spring session of the LCWS program during which time B&D will assist him or her in securing a coveted Congressional internship prior to beginning work with B&D at the conclusion of the LCWS program. n

President Discusses Power Of Partnerships

Robbie Gantt

A firm believer in the power of p a r t ner s h ip s to advance a communit y and a college, President Mark H . E r ic k s on wa s inv ited to serve on a p a n e l t it l e d “Leveraging Innovation and Economic Strengths in Ohio’s Core Communities” as part of Greater Ohio’s The Summit for Restoring Prosperit y to Ohio, Sept. 10. The summit, which brought 6 Wittenberg Magazine

together hundreds of state and local leaders, including Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, to vet and refine proposed policy recommendations, was part of a Restoring Prosperity Initiative launched in May 2007 by the Brookings Institution. The summit aimed to define methods and practices that will promote economic growth in Ohio’s older industrial cities and towns. Springfield is one of 32 Ohio cities included in this effort. Erickson also serves on the Dayton Development Coalition, the region’s Future Jobs initiative and the Institute for the International Education of Students. n

Hunt, who earned her B.A. from Wilmington College in communication and her M.S. in college student personnel services from Miami University, will work closely with Randy Green, director of f ina ncia l a id, a nd enrollment management consultants in leading, analyzing, overseeing and coordinating all processes related to recruitment, application and admission. In addition to managing a 14-member staff, Hunt will also be responsible for meeting all strategic department and university goals associated with the department. n Brian Schubert ’09

Bob Rafferty

Hunt Leads University’s Admission Efforts

The brainchild of Debbie Miller ’71 and a current member of the university’s Board of Directors, Wittenberg has constructed its first-ever Geek House, a Woodlawn Avenue residence that is intended to foster technological creativity on campus.

Outfitted with established and emerging information technologies to create a resource-rich environment for students to work on information technology-oriented projects, the house supports Wittenberg’s commitment to experiential learning and brings yet another local resource for students interested in applications of technology.

Coinciding with newly available scholarship opportunities for study in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine, regional internships, and the opening of the Next Edge Technology Park in Springfield, students will now have a wide array of options to prepare for tomorrow’s careers.

A Tech-Heavy Habitat First-Ever Geek House Debuts On Campus

“The long-term potential of the Geek House will be realized by the combination of projects and creative ideas that converge there,” said Eric Stahlberg, director of computational science and faculty adviser to the house.

“Ideal projects would have a base in technology, be applied to a real-world problem, provide a motivation for students to learn, and ultimately benefit a broader community within a one-year time frame.”

During the first pilot year, access to the house will be based on project involvement, with the house equipped to accommodate 12-15 students working on three to four team projects. Project proposals will be selected based on their potential for student benefit, innovative use of technology and broader community impact. Eventually, the house is expected to become an actual technologycentered student residence. n

also honor Mona Mao’s life story in perpetuity, especially her belief in and commitment to Wittenberg’s distinctive educational experience.

E s t a bl i s h i n g e ndowe d n a me d s c hol a r s h ip s b ene f it t he ent i re Wittenberg learning community. In addition to raising the stature of the university as a whole and the bar for Wittenberg’s student population, such scholarships also show future students and their parents continued investment in the university by members of the university community. n

Robbie Gantt

In recognition of her strength, drive and sense of humor that made her such a beloved member of the Springfield community, Jeffrey Mao, professor emeritus of politica l science, has established an endowed scholarship with a gift of $500,000 in memory of his late wife, Mona P. Mao. The f u ll-tuition Mona P. Mao Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to an exceptional student who will inspire the campus with his or her leadership and scholarship. In providing the generous gift, the scholarship will

Around Myers Hollow

Professor Creates Endowed Scholarship

Witt Nation Makes National Headlines Wittenberg’s first-of-its-kind Witt Nation alumni tour made national headlines this summer, appearing on the front page of the Aug. 15 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the No. 1 resource for news and careers in academia.

Titled “17 Cities, 21 Days, 1,000 T-Shirts,” the article, written by Kathryn Masterson, explores how Wittenberg decided to “put three young graduates in a van and send them on a 2008 version of the classic college road trip,” July 11-Aug. 2, in an effort to build ties with its alumni.

The Chronicle story includes comments from Glenn Christenson’71, former chief financial officer of Station Casinos, who hosted the Witt Nation crew at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas, as well as Chicago resident Megan P. McCann ’93, a partner with Geneva Technical Services and president of Wittenberg’s alumni board.

With more than 70 full-time writers and editors and 17 foreign correspondents, the Washington, D.C.-based The Chronicle of Higher Education is published 49 times a year. It has a total readership of 350,000, according to the heavily trafficked Chronicle Web site, which attracts more than 1 million unique visitors each month. n

Late Chemistry Professor Inspires Generosity Recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Howard Curry Teaching in 1980, the university’s top faculty award, Howard Curry, professor of chemistry, was hailed as an “excellent teacher” and “learned force” during his decades of service to Wittenberg.

Especially known for the rigor of his courses, Curry taught his students that they needed to work hard to succeed. Thanks to Curry, they also learned how to learn, which helped generations of alumni in their own careers, including Robert J. Hrebek ’67, who recently made a $50,000 gift to the chemistry department in memory of Curry.

“He inspired me, and this is my own small way of saying ‘thank you,’” Hrebek said.

The funds allowed the department to purchase its first commercial Raman spectrometer, used primarily in biochemistry and physical chemistry courses.

Raman spectroscopy is an analytical technique that provides a “fingerprint” of a substance based on its vibrational motions. In 2009, the department will purchase an instrument for thermal analysis with remaining funds from Hrebek’s gift. n fall 2008 7

Around Myers Hollow

October 10–12

Homecoming 2008 Photos by David Maki

F

lanked on all sides by fall foliage and

friends, Wittenberg alumni returned

to campus, Oct. 10-12, to enjoy 2008 Homecoming festivities. The Hollow transformed into a kid-friendly zone

complete with inflatable games and music as well as a shady gathering spot for reunions, while Edwards-Maurer Field filled with the sounds of cheers as Wittenberg fans watched the Tigers beat the Earlham Quakers, 45-13.

Other activities included the annual Homecoming parade, Union Board cookout, Family Fun Fest and CBS’ the annual Alumni Awards brunch. This 40th reunion. In addition to celebrating year’s recipients of the Alumni Citation the entire decade of the ’70s, reunions Award were Julie Aufderheide Britton for the classes of 1998 and 1983, and a ’80, Dr. James T. Dove ’61, Virginia Ellis cluster reunion for 1967-1968-1969 also Franta ’36, Olive Layne Shimp Warner occurred as did the 50th reunion for ’65 and Sufiy James Davis ’00. Receiving the class of 1958. Six standout athletes, the Outstanding Young Alumni Award Bruce Borland ’69, Pat Williams Clouse was Michael Ann Doran Effron ’98, ’64, David Helm ’69, Don Lynam ’74, while the G.O.L.D. Young Alumna Wendel Donathan ’89 and Jen Parsons Service Ward went to Susan Welker ’94, were also inducted into the Hall of Benne ’02. The Class of 1914 Award, the Alumni Association’s most prestigious Honor (page 20).

At the same time, 10 members of the recognition, was presented to William Wittenberg family were recognized at H. Steinbrink ’64, current member 8 Wittenberg Magazine

and past chair of the Wittenberg Board of Directors, and interim president of Wittenberg (2004-2005). All are profiled in Class Notes, except Dove, who was profiled last year. Additionally, the university presented its highest non-academic honor, the Wittenberg Medal of Honor, to Bob ’39 and Ruth Kunkel Bayley ’42 in recognition of their significant contributions to Wittenberg’s mission and their extraordinary service to their alma mater over a long period of time. A profile on the couple appears in Class Notes. n

fall 2008 9

Around Myers Hollow

Homecoming October 10 – 12

2008

Sonnet Of Appreciation My thanks go out to you for this award.

Of course it makes me feel all warm inside To realize the depth of care outpoured To make for me a moment filled with pride.

I like to think of all the grads who hold A fond respect for how you helped us grow To make the most of talents we’ve been doled, Enjoying life along the paths we go.

But now my life is drawing near the end.

At ninety-four my days are fleeing fast.

A big surprise for me: to get this blend That links this present day with all my past.

To Wittenberg I give a hearty toast And give my thanks to you, our gracious host.

Virginia Ellis Franta ’36 on the awarding of her Alumni Citation Award during the weekend.

10 Wittenberg Magazine

Around Myers Hollow

fall 2008 11

Around Myers Hollow

Robbie Gantt

New Endowed Fund Honors Esteemed Professor In an effort to promote learning experiences for physics students outside of the normal curriculum, an endowed fund honoring M. Paul Hagelberg, professor emeritus of physics, was established this fall. Initiated by Wendall Lutz, son of Arthur Lutz, the late professor emeritus of physics, and his wife Nancy, the fund will be used to support student/faculty research projects, the development of new laboratory experiments or lecture demonstrations, or the attendance at workshops or conferences.

In creating the fund, Wendall Lutz noted Hagelberg’s distinguished teaching career at Wittenberg for nearly 40 years, including serving as department chair for 17 years, before his retirement in 1996. Hagelberg’s commitment to the Springfield community also inspired the Lutz family. In addition to serving as a leader in the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church choir for decades, Hagelberg was also a member of the Wittenberg Chamber Singers.

“Dr. M. Paul Hagelberg represents the type of faculty member Wittenberg is proud to have,” Lutz said, “and we are pleased to have this opportunity to honor him.” n

Student Investment Club Outperforms S&P 500 In these financially troublesome times, anyone who can beat the market deserves a little recognition. When Wittenberg’s investment club, WittInvest, outperformed the S&P 500, it earned more than that – the student club was recently featured on the personal finance site MainStreet.com, an offshoot of TheStreet.com, created by national financial guru Jim Cramer.

Founded in 2000 through a grant from the Jim and Vanita Oelschlager Foundation, WittInvest, as it is known today, has increased its returns by more

than 50 percent in eight years while the S&P 500 declined more than 13 percent. Today, 20 students participate in WittInvest, and the club’s assets recently stood at $75,000.

How did they do it?

The club ma nages a rea l stock portfolio that typically invests in largecap stocks, which are more familiar to students. They can only select stocks that are listed on the NASDAQ or Dow Jones Industrial Average, and all investment decisions require a 2/3 majority vote. n

Renowned Psychologist Discusses Social Intelligence Internationally recognized psychologist, author and science journalist Daniel Goleman discussed his latest New York Times bestseller, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, Oct. 2, during the Witt Series-sponsored Fred R. Leventhal Family Endowed Lecture.

One of world’s foremost experts on the brain and behavioral sciences, Goleman, a longtime reporter for The New York Times, has been a sought-after speaker and writer for more than a decade. In 1995, Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence, held a coveted spot on The New York Times bestseller list for more than a year, with more than 5 million copies in print worldwide. The book was also translated into 30 languages in more than 50 countries.

In Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, Goleman explores the groundbreaking neuroscience behind everyday interactions and what it means for success in life. n 12 Wittenberg Magazine

Pageant With Puppets Famed Social Commentary Theatre Troupe Performs They arrived on campus in a funky green school bus on Sept. 11, and for the next week, members of the award-winning Bread & Puppet Theater Company took Wittenberg students under their collective wing for a unique educational opportunity as part of the 2008-2009 Witt Series.

Co-sponsored by The Ruth B. and Thomas F. Mackey Charitable Trust, Gil Belles ’62 and the First-Year Experience program, the intensive weeklong theater residency culminated with an outdoor performance titled “Sourdough Philosophy Circus and Pageant” on the corner of West Ward Street and Woodlawn Avenue.

Founded in 1962 in New York City by German-born dancer, musician and sculptor Peter Schumann, Bread & Puppet became known for its presence during anti-war protests.

Robbie Gantt

More To Do As Per Princeton Review

In 1970, the group moved to Vermont, where today it has indoor and outdoor performance spaces, a print shop, a store and a large museum showcasing the company’s work on a communal farm. The Bread & Puppet Theater Company has received National Endowment for the Arts grants, and numerous awards from the Puppeteers of America and other organizations.

Until 1998 Bread & Puppet hosted its annual Pageant and Circus, a festival that regularly drew crowds numbering more than 10,000 which camped on nearby farmers’ land. In hopes of returning to the group’s roots, Schumann cancelled the festival, and the theater has instead offered smaller weekend performances each summer. In addition, Bread & Puppet Theater maintains a busy touring schedule in the United States and internationally. n

Wittenberg was recently ranked #7 for “More to Do on Campus” in The Princeton Review’s 2009 list of the top 368 colleges and universities in the country. With more than 120 social, athletic and extracurricular activities, students can find any activity to match their interests on the 24/7 campus.

New social programming also adds to the active campus environment.

Additionally, Wittenberg offers a range of community service options, job networking events and internship opportunities in keeping with its t r a d it ion of c ol le ge- c om mu n it y engagement. n

Robert Gantt

As the 2007-08 fiscal year came to a close, Wittenberg celebrated the success of its annual fund campaign, which secured more than $2.6 million to advance the nationally ranked institution and provide significant scholarship support for its students. The best annual fund drive in more than five years, the result coincided with another successful fund-raising initiative.

In June 2007, The Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee, approved a $250,000 matching gift to Wittenberg to assist in building the university’s scholarship resources. With the challenge underway, Wittenberg alumni and friends were inspired to extend themselves even more financially despite the current economic situation. In just 12 months of the challenge, alumni and friends exceeded the $250,000 challenge, resulting in substantial scholarship support for the university.

The $250,000 gift from the Schmidlapp Fund will establish the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Endowed Scholarship Fund, the annual distribution from which will provide scholarship support for women from southwestern Ohio with preference given to students from Cincinnati and Piqua. n

Around Myers Hollow

Scholarship Support Increases Thanks To Challenge

Campus & Community With a desire to engage Wittenberg students in Springfield, student interns from the Celebrate Springfield summer project initiated and coordinated the first-ever “Passport to Springfield” event Aug. 27. The event brought together cultural and arts organizations, local retail establishments, entertainment venues, area restaurants and churches, as well as a variety of other community vendors.

“As we continue to reflect on our recent summer internship in Springfield, we still find ourselves amazed by the wonderful assets of this city,” noted Ashley Manson ’09, Aubrey Herbst ’09, Benjamin Adams ’08 and Brian Schubert ’09 in their letter to the community. “We now want to ensure that our fellow students know each and every asset as well.”

More than 600 people attended the event with one vendor calling it the “best advertising opportunity she’s had since she opened.” n

Witt Series Welcomes Filmmaker Ric Burns Hailed as a profoundly powerful storyteller, Ric Burns, internationally known documentary filmmaker, and PBS writer and producer, traveled to campus to discuss his current film project during the Witt Series-sponsored William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture, Sept. 18.

Titled We Shall Remain: Tecumseh, Burns’ latest documentary is one of three the filmmaker is currently pursuing. Part two of a five-part series, the project, slated for broadcast in 2009, explores the history of Native America. The film will air on the award-winning public television series, American Experience. Since founding his own company, Steeplechase films in 1989, Burns has directed some of the most distinguished programs for American Experience.

Best known for his Emmy Award-winning, eight-part epic PBS series, New York, Burns has also produced Coney Island, The Donner Party, Ansel Adams, The Way West, Eugene O’Neil and Andy Warhol: A Documentary. n fall 2008 13

Around Myers Hollow

Thomas Martin, professor of health, fitness and sport, recently completed a fourmonth Fulbright Scholar grant to study and teach Physical Education in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon).

Martin began his Fulbright position by training physical education faculty at the University of Ruhuna in Matara to teach the first university-level interdisciplinary academic course in physical education in the country. He also formulated an equipment plan for the university’s fitness facilities, established an outdoor walking/ jogging/running circuit and designed an exercise chart to record students’ progress.

He then moved to the University of Peradeniya in Kandy where he conducted workshops and advised key university officials on the development of the first certificate and diploma program in exercise and sport science in Sri Lanka. Martin also made contributions to the National Institute of Sport Science (Ministry of Sport) and the Ministry of Education in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo. n

Alumnus Provides Unique Business Opportunity When David Dittmann ’66 graduated, about the business in preparation for chances are he never anticipated coming potentially taking control of Audio back to pass his light on in such a Bookshelf in the future. generous way. Owner of Audio Bookshelf, The joint venture figures to be a a company specializing in the production winning situation for all involved in and sale of audio books for middle school- that Wittenberg students gain valuable aged readers, Dittmann has entered real-world experience, the management into a unique joint venture with seven department has a new educational management majors at his alma mater. resource, and Audio Bookshelf has the The Wittenberg students are involved opportunity to evaluate future business w it h t he W it tenberg C enter for opportunities.

Applied Management, better known as “Mr. Dittmann is so open to new ideas,” WittCAM. Through WittEnterprises, said student participant Maureen Walsh a division of WittCA M, they are ’09. “He explained his desire to mentor contributing to two major areas of the students and teach them what life is like business, marketing and sales, and title in the real world through this real-life selection. The intent is to learn more working experience.” n

Election-Year Colloquium Series Focuses On Ohio Politics During this hotly contested election year, Wittenberg’s political science department created an innovative colloquium series titled “Affairs of the State: Ohio.” The series brought to campus two Ohio officials this fall, starting with Lee Fisher, Ohio Lt. Governor, who discussed “Positioning Ohio for the 21st Century: Globalization, New Frontiers and the Future,” Sept. 24. A month later, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner visited Wittenberg and presented a talk titled “Preparation, Partnership, Success,” Oct. 28.

In 2009, two more officials will take time to talk with students. A presentation titled “Global Warming – Science or Religion?” by Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski will take place Feb. 5, and a presentation titled “The Essential Role of Federal, State and Community Partnerships in Achieving Ohio’s Public Health Goals” by Ohio Department of Health Director Alvin Jackson is scheduled for March 19. n 14 Wittenberg Magazine

Robbie Gantt

Robbie Gantt

Martin Teaches In Sri Lanka As Fulbright Scholar

Connecting A Community Internship Program Immerses Students In Springfield Four students made it their mission this summer to celebrate Springfield’s assets and continue to build upon the strong town-gown relationship the city and university share, while two students worked on a systematic effort to address the needs of at-risk youth in Clark County using a three-year grant awarded to Wittenberg, thanks to a newly created eight-week summer internship program. The interns competed against nearly 60 applicants for the six slots, and each received a stipend and housing.

Prior to beginning their respective full-time projects, the six interns, Ashley Manson ’09, Ben Adams ’09, Matt McDonald ’09, Taylor Hafley ’10, Aubrey Herbst ’09 and Brian Schubert ’09, participated in an intensive

Around Myers Hollow

Biologist Shares Expertise On Evolution Considered a leading expert on the controversial debate between science and religion, Kenneth Miller, evolutionary biologist and author of the critically acclaimed 1999 book Finding Darwin’s God, prompted a thought-provoking discussion surrounding the debate during the Witt Series-sponsored IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences and Lawrence Colloquium on Science and Religion, Oct. 13.

Miller, a believer in evolution who also believes in God, contends that,

properly understood, evolution adds depth and meaning not only to a strictly scientific view of the world, but also to a spiritual one.

A professor of biology at Brown University, Miller has written major articles for numerous scientific journals and magazines, including Nature, Scientific American, Cell and Discover.

He has also appeared on PBS as a scientific commentator and has received mu ltiple awa rds for outsta nding teaching in his career. n

Beta Alumni Remember Beloved Cook Though her actual “title” was cook, Annabelle Norris Smith quickly became the second mom to more than 600 Beta Theta Pi brothers in her 45 years with the fraternity house. Three generations of Betas affectionately called her “Annie,” and the stories surrounding her unmistakable presence at the house still bring smiles to brothers’ faces.

“I remember her throwing pitchers of water on wrestling members and being kidnapped by pledge classes,” recalled Alumni Board member Hank Sturges ’73. “She became the heart and soul of the chapter house while she was there.”

Stephen Buchenroth ’70, chair of the university’s Board of Directors, agreed.

“She is fondly remembered, and she had a profound impact on many,” he said.

Smith, who died this summer at age 96, also remembered the Betas, many of whom served as pallbearers at her funeral and contributed to her care during the last years of her life.

In fact, her love of the house was so strong that she requested that memorial contributions be made in her name to the Wittenberg University Beta Theta Pi Memorial Fund. n

Award-Winning Violinist Pays Tribute To Hahn weeklong orientation, which included a tour of the city, discussions of the economy and community diversity, numerous meetings with community, city and governmental leaders, conversations with local residents and assigned community mentors, as well as on-site visitations of various agencies.

“The overall goal of the entire internship program is to pair students with select agencies to develop creative solutions to pressing urban challenges,” said Karen Reynolds, director of WittPath Career Services, and a staff adviser to the program. “At the same time, we want students to appreciate the assets of a community as well as prepare them to lead and advance the common good as active citizens in their own local communities.” n

Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn will share her musical gifts March 3 during a special Witt Series recital sponsored by Margaret and Lanty Smith ’64 in memory of her grandfather S. Wilfred Hahn, Wittenberg professor emeritus of mathematics, who died July 31, and her grandmother Martha Anne Strowd Hahn, former librarian at South High School, who passed away in 2002.

Throughout his 25-year Wittenberg career, Hahn, recipient of the Alumni Association’s most S. Wilfred Hahn distinguished honor, The Class of 1914 Award, daily showed his passion for teaching and served the mathematics department, the university and the Mathematical Association of America with distinction.

Smith, founder and CEO of Tippet Capital, was one student whom Hahn inspired.

“Will Hahn epitomized what a superb professor at a liberal arts college should be,” Smith said. “He used his exceptional scholarly intellect and abiding interest in students to be a remarkably effective teacher, counselor, mentor and role model. He profoundly influenced the careers and lives of dozens of his Wittenberg students.” n fall 2008 15

FACULTY

Around Myers Hollow

Campus Notes

Baker Professor of Political Science

Anderson Associate Professor of Chemistry

Irwin Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor

Faber Professor of Music

Busarow Professor of Music

Finster Professor of Chemistry

Amil Anderson, associate professor of the research institute of Nationwide Anyi’s Migratory Mythology,” at the annual chemistry, accompanied four students Children’s Hospital in Columbus as part of meeting of the American Comparative to the 7th A nnual Undergraduate the bioinformatics software development Literature Association in California.

Computational Chemistry conference group. He also recently attended the sponsored by the Mercury Consortium three-day Midwest Grid School at the Sheryl Cunningham, assistant professor at Hamilton College. In addition to University of Chicago, thanks to funding of communication, presented a paper presenting their individual posters, from a U.S. Department of Energy grant titled “Hillary Clinton’s Conversation: Adeline Brym ’10, Anjelika Gasilina ’10, to develop Wittenberg’s computational Feminine Style and Presidential Politics” Brian Mann ’10 and Janelle Mahowald ’10 science program. His co-authored paper, and served as a respondent on the panel gave a brief oral preview of their posters “Formal and Experimental Foundations of “Vying for the Prize: Competitive Papers before the entire conference body. a New Rank Quality Measure,” has also on Political Communication” at the Ohio been published in the collection Advances Communication Association’s annual At the annual Joint Statistics Meetings Politics of Communication conference. in Case-Based Reasoning. in Denver, Professor of Statistics Doug Andrews presented “How to Structure Donald Busarow, professor of music, Tr udy Faber, professor of music, Effective Semester-Long Group Projects for presented a spring festival concert, “From performed two recitals in October, the Applying and Integrating Course Concepts” Ashes to Fire,” at Redeemer Lutheran first at the Church of the Good Shepherd in a topic-contributed paper session Church, Arlington, Va. On Sept. 7, he in Lookout Mountain, Tenn., for the sponsored by the American Statistical played a dedicatory organ concert at dedication of its new organ and as part Association’s section on Statistical Redeemer Lutheran Church, Green Bay, of the International Day of the Organ Education.

Wisc. Commissioned works by Busarow, celebration, and the second at St. Luke “Rise, O Church, Like Christ Arisen,” Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Md., Manual Apodaca-Valdez, assistant written for the 100th anniversary of Gloria where she was chosen as the performer for professor of languages, has published Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn., the church’s annual endowed recital.

“The Dance of the Devils: Afro-Mexican premiered Oct. 12, and “Great God, Dave Finster, professor of chemistry, Performance of Identity and Resistance” in Your Love Has Called Us” commissioned presented a paper titled “I Don’t Like the Latin American Research Association’s fall for the 100th anniversary of St. John’s to Think! ”: Understanding Student edition. In August, he delivered a paper at Lutheran Church, Summit, N.J., will Resistance to POGIL” and conducted the 6th International and Interdisciplinary premiere Dec. 7. a workshop on “Promoting Reflective Conference of the Afro-Latin/American Thinking in Chemistry Classes” at the Research Association in Colombia. He also Howard Choy, assistant professor of 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical researched Afro-Colombian dances and languages, has published a new book, Education at Indiana University. culture at San Basilio de Palenque.

Remapping the Past: Fictions of History in J. Robert Baker, professor of political science, presented “Friends, Foes, or Wolves in Sheep’s Clothes?: Small-City Board Members’ Assessments of Their Board Service Experiences” at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Western Social Science Association in Denver.

Steven Bogaerts, associate professor of computer science, spent 10 weeks at 16 Wittenberg Magazine

Deng’s China, 1979-1997. He also wrote a chapter titled “In Quest(ion) of an ‘I’: Identity and Idiocy in Alai’s Red Poppies,” for Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. In addition, his “Review of Sentimental Fabulations, Contemporary Chinese Films: Attachment in the Age of Global Visibility by Rey Chow,” appeared in The China Journal. Choy also presented “From Pacific Ocean to Gobi Desert: Wang

Peggy Hanna, academic department assistant for sociology/geography, discussed her book Patriotism, Peace and Vietnam: A Memoir at the Peace and Justice Studies Association National Conference in Portland, Ore., Sept. 11- 13. Hanna also presented “If It’s in the Newspaper, It’s Got to Be True” at the Media, War and Conflict Resolution Conference at Bowling Green State University.

Medvedkov Professor of Geography

Justin Houseknecht, assistant professor of chemistry, attended the 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education in Bloomington, Ind., where he presented two talks on innovations in organic chemistry curricula.

Professor of English Robin Inboden’s article “Damsels, Dulcimers, and Dreams: Elizabeth Barrett’s Early Response to Coleridge” was the lead article in the summer 2008 issue of Victorian Poetry.

Ken Irwin, reference librarian and assistant professor, received a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association to organize a discussion series titled “Modern Marvels: Adventures in the Graphic Novel” with Matthew J. Smith, associate professor of communication. Irwin also published “Comparing Circulation Rates of Monographs and Anthologies of Literary Criticism: Implications for Cooperative Collection Development” in Collection Management.

Stahlberg Computational Science Director

eighth annual Rosalie Katchen Memorial Lecture sponsored by the Ma’ayan Torah Studies Initiative for Women.

Terry Otten, professor emeritus of English, has published a newly commissioned essay in the recently released book Linda Loman: ‘Attention Must Be Paid’ in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. This is the 19th book in which a newly commissioned or reprinted essay of Otten’s has appeared.

While on sabbatical, Steven Reynolds, professor of theatre and dance, is serving on the Board of the Cap Rep Theatre in Brewster, Mass., and directing The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. In early 2009, Reynolds will soon travel to eight regions of the country as a member of the National Selection Team for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Eric Stahlberg, computational science director, continues his efforts in support of OpenFPGA, an international nonprofit organization developing industry standards for reconfigurable computing, which provide opportunities for students to engage technology at the cutting edge.

Cathy Waggoner, associate professor of communication, has co-authored a book, Making Camp: Rhetorics of Transgression in U.S. Popular Culture, with Helene A. Shugart.

Forest Wortham, director of multicultural student programs, reviewed approximately 70 applications for the Gilman International Scholarship program sponsored by the Institute of International Education, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Wortham also co-presented “Orientation for Advocates of Diversity” John R itter, professor of geolog y, and presented a program at the 8th Annual presented two papers, “Data-Driven Quest for Community Conference at Analysis of the Hydrologic Balance” and Wright State.

Douglas K. Lehman, director of Thomas “Characterization of Habitat Quality Library, has been elected chair-elect of and Hydrology of An Urban Stream On Sept. 18-19, Bin Yu, professor of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Prior to Low-Head Dam Modification, political science, presented “China: Higher Education, which is comprised of Springfield, Ohio,” at the 2008 Meeting Power and Reassurance,” at Australian 22 institutions of higher education and of the Geological Society of America in National University, which followed two corporations interested in advancing higher Houston, Texas, in October. The latter presentations in Honolulu: “Sino-U.S. paper is co-authored by nine students, the Relations and Regional Security” at the education in the Miami Valley. results of which were used by the Ohio 8th Fudan-Pacific Forum Dialogue and Ralph Lenz and Olga Medvedkov, EPA as part of the evaluation of the low- “U.S.-China-Taiwan Trilateral Dialogue.” professors of geography, traveled to South head dam proposal on Buck Creek.

Yu also discussed “Nuclear Stability in China in July to conduct reconnaissance for Asia,” at the Wilton Park Conference at a “Globalization in Asia” field experience Matthew J. Smith, associate professor Winston House, West Sussex, U.K., which for their freshman Witt Sem participants. of communication, had his paper followed an earlier presentation as part of “Ethnographic Examinations of Comic-Con: On Sept. 8 in Boston, Rochelle Millen, Taking Students into the Field” accepted for the Harvard-Berlin Dialogue. Yu has also professor of religion, presented “A Code presentation at the Comic Book in Popular published a number of articles, including for Humanity: Reflections on the Seven Culture Conference, held at Bowling in the Journal of Chinese Political Science and Comparative Connections. n Noa hide Commandments” for the Green State University, Oct. 24-25. fall 2008 17

Around Myers Hollow

Smith Associate Professor of Communication

Wortham Director of Multicultural Student Programs

FACULTY

Reynolds Professor of Theatre and Dance

Lenz Professor of Geography

Campus Life

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Expanding Outreach Student Development Spearheads Several New Initiatives

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dogs are certainly not lacking attention.”

As part of the program, four golden retrievers named Bizkit, N’Sync, Pansy and Lasser have been placed with students Alex Potapenko ’09, Lauren Bryant ’09, Lilly Pate ’09, and Chrissie Shuss ’10 and Emily Rudman ’10, respectively. Regularly seen on campus

dean of students, the first program offers a four-legged approach to honoring Wittenberg’s focus on service. Working with 4 Paws for Ability, based in Xenia, Ohio, Kelly has coordinated the placement of four service dogs in-training on campus. With its high level of activity, numerous events and diverse population, Wittenberg provides a perfect environment for such training, according to Kelly. The dogs also remind students of home.

“Time and again, I hear how much students miss their dogs when they go to college,” Kelly said. “This program allows all of our students to benefit. The

and in the community, the four dogs will eventually be placed in the homes of families with children who have autism to provide companionship and promote socialization and communication.

Student Development is also looking to expand themed housing on campus.

Special-interest housing currently includes residences with an international focus as well as the newly established Geek House for the high-tech minded.

Plans are underway for an eco-house, and several student groups are in the process of developing theme house proposals for a competition this winter prior to the upper class housing lottery.

David Maki

rom dogs and The Dark Knight to trivia and themed housing, the Office of Student Development has created multiple programs this fall designed to unite and engage students in college life.

Spearheaded by Sarah Kelly, vice president for student development and

18 Wittenberg Magazine

“I’m very excited about the possibilities,” Kelly said. “Our students are so talented and creative that I’m sure the competition will be pretty fierce.”

At the same time, Kelly and her team have launched “Witt Wednesdays,” which have grown in popularity in just a few short weeks. Every Wednesday, students have the opportunity to enjoy a special programming event with a social focus, including viewing the latest movies with friends to trivia nights, rock band competitions and other social engagement opportunities “Since establishing Witt Wednesdays, we’ve noticed that more and more students are staying on campus for social engagement,” Kelly said. “We also have several student groups coming to us saying, ‘We want to sponsor a Witt Wednesday.’ That is exactly what we want to happen, because when it comes from the students, it’s bound to be more successful.”

Lastly, believing that early intervention is critical to reducing the number of alcohol-related incidents, Student Development has partnered with Jo Wilson, Keil Professor of Psychology, to begin seminar-style conversations with students on the dangers associated with excessive alcohol usage. Parents have also been included in the conversations.

“This approach is much more personal,” Kelly said. “Helping students become more aware of alcohol-related issues right here on campus with one of our own professors also reflects the nurturing atmosphere found at Wittenberg.” n

– Karen Gerboth ’93

WITT WORLD

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Experiencing Exeter Cultural Immersion In Great Britain Forms Foundation For International Education

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ncouraged to step outside the familiar, many Wittenberg students annually immerse themselves in cultures around the world, a decision that not only reflects the university’s mission but also its century-old commitment to studying abroad.

According to A History of Wittenberg College (1845-1945), by Harold H. Lentz, in 1935, as the college celebrated its 90th year, “opportunities to study abroad through exchange fellowships resulted in Wittenberg alumni living all over the world – some as missionaries, as employees of the State Department or as foreign representatives of American concerns. Others were men of foreign birth, educated at Wittenberg, who returned to their homelands. “ In a single decade from 1925-1935, students from Argentina, Austria, British Guiana, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany, Hungary, India,

Iraq, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Russia and Roumania had studied at Wittenberg.

In 1967, after nearly two years of planning instituted by Professor and Chair of the Department of English William T. Coyle, a new program sent a group of 27 English majors with then Assistant Professor of English Allen J. Koppenhaver (1961-1981) to Great Britain to participate in the first term of the Exeter Program.

Koppen haver chronicled t he experience in “Just Obliterate The Impossibiles…And Spend the Third Term at Exeter,” which was printed in t he September / Oc tober 1967 Wittenberg Alumnus. He explained that the students were assigned 12 books of English literature with both literary and topographical signif icance in preparation of visits to the localities of the works. He added that they visited Joyce’s Dublin, Scott’s Midlothian,

Smollett’s Bath and Shakespeare’s Stratford among others, and enjoyed weekend excursions to a variety of destinations including Stonehenge, Bath, the legendary burial site of King Arthur, and the Holy Chalice and Old Sarum.

Professor Emeritus of English and General Secretary Emeritus Richard Veler ’58 told of his experience escorting 20 students to Exeter in 1975. The program included three weeks touring the British Isles, visiting various literary sites, homes and museums, and travels to other destinations of literary importance on weekends throughout the stay.

“The whole point of the program was to gain a sense of place – the places associated with the authors’ work,” Veler said. “Each student was required to do an independent study of an author of the student’s choosing.” Veler added that they also participated in the traditions of their hosts, including instructors dining at what’s known as high-table, on a dais, in the front of the dining hall, with all diners wearing suits, sports coats and ties.

The Exeter Program continued for 14 years between 1967 and 1979. The last mention, in a 1979 article in The Torch, states that Professor of English Conrad Balliet accompanied 16 students, and the program had evolved to allow all Wittenberg students. Each could earn two credits in English and one credit for an independent study in a major of the student’s choosing. n

– Phyllis Eberts ’00

fall 2008 19

Tiger Sports

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ruce Borland ’69, Pat Williams Clouse ’64, Wendel Donathan ’89, David Helm ’69, Don Lynam ’75 and Jennifer Parsons ’94 joined 172 other Wittenberg greats previously inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Honor during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12.

Borland, a four-year starter, team MVP and team captain as a senior, helped the Tigers to a four-year record of 30-7, including a 14-5 mark in the OAC and a 1966 championship.

Clouse was a multi-sport standout as an undergraduate at Wittenberg before returning to teach and coach. Clouse never had a losing dual meet record in 23 seasons as Wittenberg’s women’s swimming coach, founded the women’s lacrosse program and was the first coach in the modern era of women’s golf.

Donathan is the most decorated wrestler in program history after posting a career record of 106-28-4. He is the first and only Wittenberg wrestler to win 100 career matches and earn All-America Honors.

Helm is one of three track and field student-athletes in Wittenberg history to score more than 100 individual points in two consecutive conference championship meets, in addition to being a two-time team captain and team MVP. Lynam helped the Tiger men’s basketball team to two consecutive regular season conference championships, two

David Maki

Six Wittenberg Athletes Inducted Into Athletics Hall Of Honor

conference tournament championships and four NCAA Division III Tournament wins while earning multiple postseason awards.

Parsons was a three-sport standout who returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach for eight years. She experienced only one losing season in 12 seasons (four each in basketball, volleyball and softball) as an undergraduate, and she remains on several school record lists. n –Ryan Maurer

Ohio Basketball Hall Of Hame Honors Tiger Greats Two years after the 1961 Wittenberg men’s basketball team led by Head Coach Ray Mears and star forward Al Thrasher ’64 was collectively inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame & Museum, the Tiger legends were honored individually at the organization’s third annual induction ceremony.

The late Mears took the reins of Wittenberg’s struggling program in 1956 and immediately turned the Tigers into the small college powerhouse of today, compiling a 121-23 record in six years and winning three Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season titles, three conference tournament titles and the 1961 NCAA College Division crown.

Thrasher was a freshman on the 1961 national championship team before serving as captain each of the next three years. In that time, the Tigers compiled a four-year record of 90-16, winning three conference titles and advancing all the way to the national championship game again in 1963. A two-time All American and 1963 OAC Player of the Year, Thrasher still ranks ninth in school history with 788 career rebounds and 14th with 1,288 career points. n –Ryan Maurer 20 Wittenberg Magazine

Steve Wilson ’06 organized what may be the most surprising success story in the brief history of Quickstart Tennis, an instructional program recently launched nationwide by the United States Tennis Association.

The pilot program in Springfield became the largest of its kind in the nation, attracting more than 260 children ages 6-10 for eight Tuesday evening sessions at Wittenberg’s David and Georgiana Albright Tennis Complex between June and August.

Wilson, the head tennis professional at the Wright Patterson

Air Force Base Tennis Club, said the Springfield QuickStart Tennis program exceeded the previous high registration figure by approximately 30 percent.

QuickStart Tennis is an innovative new play format that helps to get more children 10 years of age and under into the game. The format includes either a foam ball or a low compression ball that bounces lower and travels less distance, smaller court dimensions and lower nets. n –Ryan Maurer

Half a world away from Wittenberg and Springfield hometown, Assistant Football Coach Andy Waddle ’03 found a captive audience while coaching 95 high school-aged players at the Kaiserslautern Youth Tackle Football Camp in Germany.

Waddle, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, made sure to pack plenty of Wittenberg gear for his trip, which sparked a lot of unexpected interest amongst the campers and their parents. About 80 of the campers were American citizens whose parents are serving their country on military bases throughout Europe.

Marshall University Offensive Coordinator John Shannon organized the camp, and he invited Waddle after meeting him at a football camp at the University of Toledo. Waddle was the lone coach representing an NCAA Division III institution at a camp that included numerous NCAA Division I coaches and –Ryan Maurer even one NFL coach. n

Robbie Gantt

Waddle Coaches Kids In Germany

Robbie Gantt

Swimmers Travel Abroad During Summer Months After a successful 2007-08 season, seven swimming and diving team members traveled independently around the globe in 2008, serving others, furthering their education and immersing themselves in cultures from Europe to Central America to Asia.

Conor O’Rourke ’11, traveled to Cap Haitien, Haiti, for a fourth consecutive summer with a program called Project Pierre Toussaint, an organization dedicated to helping the street boys of Haiti’s second largest city.

Pat Deering ’10, studied in Russia, attending lectures with professors from Moscow State, important city leaders, artists, architects and others.

Amy Prugh ’10 and Neil Anderson ’10 traveled separately in Japan, while Matt Higbee ’11 and Kristin Elber ’10 traveled separately in Germany.

Elber even found time to train with a German swim team – ironically based at the “other” Wittenberg, the historic city where Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses. Finally, Kayleigh Alexander ’11 did volunteer work in Guatemala. n

–Lauren Johnson ’09 fall 2008 21

Tiger Sports

Children’s Tennis Program Exceeds Expectations

Going Global Pioneering Program Uses Language to Illuminate Foreign Cultures

With a federal award of $179,000, Wittenberg’s foreign language department is poised to implement one of the most distinctive and innovative language-across-the-curriculum programs in the country. The project will not only revamp foreign language curricula, it will also internationalize classes and academic programs across departments, providing new opportunities for Wittenberg students from all disciplines. When completed, it promises to be a model for liberal arts colleges everywhere.

by Gabrielle Antoniadis 22 Wittenberg Magazine

rofessor Tim Bennett, chair of the foreign language department, talks about language and its relationship to culture with the kind of passion many would reserve for a favorite sports team or political candidate. Leaning forward in his chair as he explains how thrilled he is about the federal grant recently awarded to the foreign language

Mike Munden

By offering a range of authentic texts and resources like film, newspaper articles, political speeches and magazine articles for study, these new courses will give students a more profound understanding of the relationship between language and culture, and ultimately, a greater appreciation of that particular culture.

department, he talks about the impact it will have not only on his department, but on departments across the curriculum.

“This project will give Wittenberg the chance to truly internationalize the entire curriculum,” he says. “It gets right at the heart of what we are trying to do as an institution to prepare our students for the challenges they will face in this increasingly diverse world.”

Judging from the size of the award, it is also clear that the U.S. Department of Education, which awarded the two-year grant under its Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Program, believes that Wittenberg’s proposed language-across-the-curriculum (LAC) project is exceptional. Wittenberg received every penny it requested – just a few dollars short of the program’s maximum award amount.

“With these highly competitive federal grants, it is extraordinarily unusual to get everything you ask for,” notes Gary Gaffield, former associate provost, who, with Bennett, was instrumental in putting the proposal together.

According to Bennett, the project is nothing less than a comprehensive restructuring of foreign language learning that will expand and embed the meaningful use of language in classes across the curriculum. That means

foreign language courses will have a languages. Though only one professor whole new look and approach, but it also will teach the class, one student will be means that many courses in a variety able to study course material in Japanese, of disciplines such as political science, another can study German materials, and computer science, history or psychology, still another can research Russian texts. will look different.

The idea is that this kind of immersion The first changes began this fall. into language brings students a unique Foreign language students enrolled appreciation for cultural nuances of in 200-level courses didn’t find the meaning that cannot truly be gained in traditional conversation and composition any other way. courses. Instead, they chose from a new In the process, foreign language set of courses that integrate language students gain a deeper, truer proficiency with learning about the culture. Think in their language. And other students – French Film and Culture, or Germans and who may never have considered learning Their Natural Environment, or Russian a language – may be encouraged to Contemporary Issues. By offering a range explore language study. Ultimately, of authentic texts and resources like the goal is not to change courses in film, newspaper articles, political speeches and ma g a zine a r t icle s for study, these new courses will give students a more profound understanding of the relationship between language and culture, and ultimately, a greater appreciation of that particular culture. In the Asian languages as well, the goal will be to incorporate new concepts and texts into traditional courses so that students will eventually engage their language abilities more fundamentally in other disciplines.

That is a signif icant Project Team change in philosophy – it’s not just about gaining a set • James Allan • Tanya Maus Political Science History of language skills anymore; it’s about using language • Lori Askeland English • Nancy McHugh Philosophy as a lens to better see and • David Barry German understand other cultures. • Tim Bennett German • Chris McIntyre Spanish And that is what phase • Tammy Proctor • Howard Choy Chinese two of this project really History • Amy Christiansen entails. This second phase • Eric Stahlberg Japanese is an ambitious effort to Computational Science • Lauren Crane Psychology “globalize” courses outside • Leanne Wierenga • Corwin Georges of the foreign language French Theatre & Dance department. Imagine a • Tim Wilkerson French • D. Scot Hinson English c o m p a r a t i v e p o l it i c s • Molly Wood History • Ruth Hoff Spanish course, for example, that • Bin Yu Political Science offers texts relevant to the • Miguel Martinez• Lila Zaharkov Russian Saenz Philosophy course in several different Mike Munden

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fall 2008 23

Going Global

other departments, but rather to create new opportunities w it h i n e x i s t i n g

courses.

“What I hope this project will do is not only fundamentally change the way we teach language and culture, but, by giving them a more global perspective, also change how students in other disciplines begin to think about those disciplines,” Bennett says.

The beaut y of t he W ittenberg model – and one of the things that sets it apart from other language-across-the

Robbie Gantt

Fulbright winners Inge Williams, Emily Heidrich, Alex Kramer, Mary Beth Lintz and Katie Konrad (not pictured)

curriculum programs is that the professor teaching the course will not need to have expertise in any particular language. S/he will have a core set of resources related to their discipline that have been identified by both foreign language faculty and non-foreign language faculty. This points to another unique aspect of Wittenberg’s program: the commitment of faculty from other departments to make disciplinary content integral to students’ foreign language learning experience.

And therein lies the work ahead. Over the next year, faculty from across the curriculum will decide how new and revised courses will be structured, create lists of texts to be used, and engage in an interdisciplinary reading colloquium to familiarize themselves with the concepts, themes and methods of specific disciplines. Gary Gaffield explains that this process will not only bring significant personal and professional 24 Wittenberg Magazine

development opportunities for faculty Konrad). All five of these students pursued inside and outside the foreign language their own interdisciplinary paths and/or department, it will also give faculty skills double majors. that will inform what they do in many of “This grant is the external recognition their courses. “The benefits will ramify and validation of what we have been across the university,” he says. doing here in the foreign language “This opportunity for collaboration department for a while,” Bennett says. among departments will be a kind of “And it will allow us to build on those boon to the whole curriculum,” Bennett years of work.” agrees. “We as faculty will have a chance According to Gaffield, since becoming to discuss the disciplines and how they chair just over a year and a half ago, intersect, and ask questions like ‘What Bennett has brought renewed energy, are the crucial concepts that students leadership and vision to Wittenberg’s will be working with in your course that efforts to internationalize the curriculum.

I in language need to be aware of?’ At the He has been successful in uniting not same time, foreign language faculty can only his department, but others outside share insights on how a text is influenced the department as well. Bennett credits by the culture it comes from.” his entire department of creative and Eric Sta hlberg, director of computational science, talks about the “If we are going to globalize the doors this project will open for students curriculum, it may be that one across disciplines. “The problems we of the most important steps face in the world, from the environment we can take is to give students to health and medicine, can only benefit facility of language and an from a global perspective; this project understanding of cultures.” will help our students become much stronger global collaborators by helping – Gary Gaffield them communicate on a personal level with increased appreciation for other committed instructors, all of whom have languages and cultures,” he says. been concerned to see globalism take root For computational science – itself a across the curriculum and are happy to pioneering program at Wittenberg – it help make it happen. means students will have opportunities Gaffield points out that Wittenberg to do more scientific research as well as as an institution is solidly behind this complete internships abroad. Stahlberg “cutting-edge work,” as demonstrated by adds, “What I see as a real possibility is its pledge of resources to the project. “This taking two areas where Wittenberg is is a giant step forward for Wittenberg to leading and bringing them together in achieve the goals we have set for ourselves a way to put us even further ahead. The in the strategic plan. If we are going to opportunities for growing international globalize the curriculum, it may be that partnerships in science and technology one of the most important steps we can are tremendous.” take is to give students facility of language Bennett sees this project as a logical and an understanding of cultures.” extension of a foreign language program at It is a common refrain of the modern Wittenberg, which has helped produce 10 era: We live in a global village – a Fulbright Award recipients since 1996 and place where international borders no which already attracts students with a keen longer define us as they used to, and interdisciplinary focus. Just this year, the where they certainly do not limit us. foreign language department graduated Wittenberg’s innovative language-acrosstwo Fulbright recipients who will be the-curriculum project promises to give English teaching assistants in Germany, students more than the ability to speak Emily Heidrich and Inge Williams, as well another language; it promises a depth of as three students who received teaching cultural awareness and insight that will grants from the Austrian government make Wittenberg students better citizens (Alex Kramer, Mary Beth Lintz, and Katie of this new world. n

Center

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Attention Called a “model for the state” by Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher,

Wittenberg’s newly created Center for Civic & Urban Engagement will not only develop resources with the potential for significant, lasting and positive impact in Springfield, but also provide exciting, new and expanded opportunities for experiential learning for Wittenberg students.

by Karen Saatkamp Gerboth ’93 photos by Robbie Gantt fall 2008 25

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f truth be told, Warren Copeland is on cloud nine these days following the opening of the university’s first-ever Center for Civic & Urban Engagement in September. As Springfield’s mayor for nearly 15 years, a professor of religion for three decades and director of urban studies at Wittenberg, Copeland knows firsthand the power of collaboration in achieving collective dreams, and he knows that the

“Since our founding in 1845, Springfield has played a pivotal role in our success, and we have worked diligently to strengthen our relationship with Springfield. All of us at Wittenberg are energized and excited because we believe in the magic that can occur when communities and higher education institutions work together.”

– President Mark H. Erickson

“What the Center promises for students is the opportunity for a four-year pattern of community engagement at ever deeper levels,” Copeland explained. “We intend to create a group of students who have done their required community service, one or more classes that also include community service, one or more classes that include research about the community, an internship, and perhaps a senior research project in this community.

In the process, we believe they will develop a much deeper understanding of how a city works. We also hope to hook a portion of these students on Springfield as the place to put this experience to work.

“W hat the Center promises for Springfield is to expand and to focus the University’s resources on opportunities key to the future of this community,” Copeland continued.

To assist in fulfilling both promises, Copeland, McCuistion and Lynch turned to the Springfield community for expertise and advice, which resulted in the establishment of a 20-member Community Advisory Board during the planning process for the Center. With the board’s perspective and insight, four initiatives critical to Springfield’s future were determined: 1) Renewing the Core and the Creek, (2) Strengthening AfterSchool Programs, (3) Preparing for Future Jobs and (4) Improving Housing Quality.

Center – as those close to the organization regularly refer to it – serves as a distinctive model for ensuring collaborative success.

“This is a dream come true for me,” said Copeland, who will serve as the Center’s faculty director alongside Stephanie McCuistion, administrative director, and Matt Lynch ’08, assistant to the administrative director.

Designed to bring together Wittenberg faculty, staff and students with community members to build upon the opportunities and address the challenges facing the Greater Springfield region, the Center Renewing the Core and supports Wittenberg’s strategic plan the Creek objective related to fostering beneficial Convinced that Wittenberg can play community partnerships to improve a substantial role in the remaking of the quality of life in the area. Thanks downtown Springfield through research to Lin Erickson, director of corporate, projects, service opportunities and foundation and government relations, internships, the Center will work directly who developed the concept and whose with leaders in the city, which is currently leadership and vision turned the concept in the midst of the most significant into reality, the Center also capitalizes on downtown development in more than a Wittenberg’s unique urban setting, strong century. One immediate opportunity the community service program and equally Center will coordinate relates to science strong career services network, giving studies through the Buck Creek Corridor Wittenberg yet another competitive edge Project. By monitoring water flow, water among liberal arts schools. quality, and animal and plant life, the project provides a live laboratory for both Wittenberg and local K-12 science course

Center The

for Civic & Urban Engagement

26 Wittenberg Magazine

study. In addition, market research and promotion will be needed for the anticipated recreational use of Buck Creek to reach its full potential.

Strengthening After-School Progr ams At the same time, the Center will study after-school programs in Springfield.

Research consistently shows that quality after-school programs not only help to increase academic success, but also reduce juvenile delinquency in a community. Using Wittenberg’s recently awarded federal grant aimed

“This Center aims to create and foster the kind of important relationship between colleges and communities that we believe is vital in enhancing and promoting the educational assets Ohio has to offer…. This is a model for the state.”

– Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher

at improving after-school programs, the Center will first examine how such programs are serving the needs of atrisk youth in Springfield. The Center will then establish a collaborative of providers of after-school programs in the Springfield area in order to better serve area at-risk youth. Further, the Center will develop an understanding of effective practices for serving middle and high school at-risk youth and share successful practices among the various programs in order to increase their overall effectiveness.

www.EngageSpringfield.com

Preparing for Future Jobs Through the Center, Wittenberg will also participate in current attempts by the State of Ohio to partner with colleges and universities to address the education and training of Ohio’s workforce in the areas of greatest demand, particularly math and science, to meet the transition from manufacturing to high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive sector work. Research conducted by Wittenberg can help Springfield identify particular areas of opportunity for targeted improvement, and university faculty and students can be especially valuable resources in working with local educators to address specific areas of weakness.

Improving Housing Quality Recognizing the importance of quality housing in a community, the Center will also play a significant role in gathering information that will help policy makers address the issue. Presently, Springfield features architecturally interesting structures as well as some significantly deteriorated ones, many of which line the corridors leading into the city. Current trends in the housing market have slowed attempts to build new housing or rehabilitate older housing and have also dramatically exacerbated the already major issue of foreclosures in Clark County. With that in mind, the Center will begin its involvement in this area by coordinating a geographic study to indicate neighborhoods that are particularly under stress. Future research opportunities could include property ownership and code enforcement. Significant opportunities for volunteer work have already begun.

“All four initiatives reflect The Center for Civic & Urban Engagement’s mission: To promote responsible, productive, and thoughtful scholarship, service and collaboration between Wittenberg University and the Greater Springfield area to create a more vibrant, cohesive community,” McCuistion said. “This is a dream for me, too, and it is my hope that we will be a part of making Springfield the kind of city that anyone would be proud to call home. We’re ready to get to work.” n

Inside the Center Stephanie McCuistion

Administr ative Director

A Springfield native, McCuistion has spent a majority of her professional life serving her hometown. As coordinator, scheduler and direct liaison in the local Springfield office of U.S. Congressman Dave Hobson for the last seven years, McCuistion quickly developed working relations with a range of local constituents, government agencies at the local, state and federal levels, non-profit organizations and the business community. As a result of her work, McCuistion understands the unique challenges facing the Springfield region as well as the strengths upon which to build for the future. A graduate of Catholic Central High School, McCuistion earn her B.A. in political science from Denison University.

Warren Copeland Faculty Director

Since joining the Wittenberg faculty in 1977, Copeland has consistently given of his time and talent to Wittenberg and to the city of Springfield where he proudly calls home. Appointed to the Springfield City Commission in 1988, Copeland became the first mayor of Springfield directly elected by the people in 90 years in 2004. As the current mayor, he has tackled issues affecting Springfield openly and with honesty, and has worked aggressively with citizens to address them. A noted scholar on social ethics, he has also used the same approach in his classes, encouraging students to dig below the surface on such topics as welfare, racism, economic policy, energy and Third World development. Recipient of the university’s top faculty teaching recognition, the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching, Copeland earned his B.A. from MacMurray College, his M.Div. from Christian Theological Seminary, his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from University of Chicago.

Matt Lynch

Assistant to the Administr ative Director

Joining McCuistion in being a lifelong resident of Springfield, Lynch graduated from Clark-Shawnee High School before enrolling at Wittenberg. As a student, Lynch double majored in sociology and management, and interned with Next Edge Development Corp. While there, Lynch had an idea for a Springfield Restaurant Guide. With initial help from fellow intern, Ben Bozic ’08, and later Pamela Schindler, professor of management and director of Wittenberg’s Center for Applied Management, he recruited another management major Andrew Kent ’08 to help develop his restaurant guide idea into an actual business. Lynch then gifted his business to Wittenberg, which led to the creation of WittEnterprises, an agency of Wittenberg that houses profitmaking businesses. Today, WittEnterprises serves as the umbrella for any studentinitiated, student-run business in the management department. fall 2008 27

alumni

alumniworld

world alumniworld

Alumni Relations Thanks All Involved With First-Ever Witt Nation

W

itt Nation 2008 – WOW! The trip was an awesome adventure for all in the Wittenberg family. It was unlike any other trip that you can imagine. It did not feel like a Spring break trip, a family vacation, or even a weekend road trip to another college campus. It had a flavor of its own.

Watching our young alumni, Ashley, Brian and Ross, as they took to the road, for the 8,000-mile trip – traveling across the country, engaging with alumni from all classes, hearing the wonderful stories, creating their own memories – while a tad bit jealous, I thought, this is it! What they

were experiencing was exactly what we had hoped – immersing themselves in a nation filled with wonderful Wittenberg people who were sharing their thoughts, stories and homes with other alumni. It was a true Witt Nation.

Wittenberg alumni exhibited genuine kindness, generosity and compassion that through this trip has reinforced what we all know: Wittenberg is a special place where special people go on to do fabulous and marvelous things with their lives and have a true passion for their alma mater. The road crew witnessed this in every city. Wittenberg is also a place

where we all learned lifelong lessons inside and outside of the classroom. It is where we made friendships that have and will last a lifetime. These lessons are those that have and will continue to create the unique bond we all have today as Wittenberg alumni – the bond of classmates, colleagues and friends, passing on the light to brighten tomorrow.

We can’t wait for next year.

Sincerely, Linda Prain Beals ’87 Director of Alumni Relations

See more photos of the Witt Nation Tour on page 42

28 Wittenberg Magazine

Special Alumni Events Dec. 2 Rochester, N.Y. A Christmas Story, Geva Theatre Center

Dec. 5 Springfield/Dayton Holiday Party Dec. 11 Columbus Holiday Party, Scioto Country Club Dec. 13 Cincinnati Festival of Lights, Cincinnati Zoo Dec. 13 Chicago Bar Night Jan. 16 Columbus Blue Jackets (senior class event with alumni) Jan. 16 Sarasota Golf Outing Pelican Pointe Golf and Country Club March 9 Sarasota Annual Dinner, Bird Key Yacht Club May 22-June 7 Young Alumni Travel, Europe

Wittenberg Choir Tours Midwest For 2009 Spring Concert Monday, March 9

Saturday, March 14

First United Methodist Church Vincennes, Ind.

Mt. Zion Lutheran Church Wauwatosa, Wis.

American Lutheran Church Clinton Township, Mich.

Friday, March 6

Tuesday, March 10

Sunday, March 15

St. John’s Lutheran Church Bloomington, Ill.

First English Lutheran Church Appleton, Wis.

Fairlawn Lutheran Church Akron, Ohio

Saturday, March 7

Wednesday, March 11

Wednesday, March 18

Grace Lutheran Church River Forest, Ill.

Cross in the Woods Catholic Church Indian River, Mich.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church Germantown, Ohio

Sunday, March 8

Thursday, March 12

Friday, March 20

Faith Lutheran Church Glen Ellyn, Ill.

St. Lorenz Lutheran Church Frankenmuth, Michigan

Weaver Chapel Wittenberg University

Sunday, March 8

Friday, March 13

Trinity Lutheran Church Racine, Wis.

St. Thomas Lutheran Church Eastpointe, Mich.

For more information, contact Bob White, director of church relations, at (937) 327-7494.

ALUMNI BOARD

Thursday, March 5

Beth Cavendish ’81 Johnstown, Ohio

Linda Weber Collins ’80

Janet Thompson Jackson ’84 Topeka, Kan.

Scott Ness ’01

JR Runkel ’95

St. Clairsville, OH

Peoria, Ill. Past-President

Shannon O’Keefe ’01

Dallas, Texas

Megan P. McCann ’93

Rochester, N.Y.

Charles A. Giffin ’00

Chicago, lll.

President

Kenny Pope ’99

New York, N.Y.

Laurie Heckler Griffin ’79 Centerville, Ohio

Vikki Hooper ’78 Woodstock, Ga.

John D. Morris ’83 Dublin, Ohio President-Elect

Mr. Mark A. Knapp ’90 Rocky River, Ohio

Silver Springs, Md.

Maryrose Preisel ’83 White Plains, N.Y.

Stacy A. Rastauskas ’98

Francisco J. Sanchez ’86 Ann Arbor, Mich.

Hank Sturges ’73 Columbus, Ohio

Marc West ’87 Berea, Ohio

Falls Church, Va.

Joe Jacko ’82

Stephanie Backity Rodelander ’69

Spartanburg, S.C.

Raleigh, N.C.

fall 2008 29

CLASS NOTES

classnotes

classnotes

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’29 |

seniors with Financial Freedom, a subsidiary of Indymac Bank.

Joyce Joiner Ridenour lives at the Sunshine Residential Center, Mount Orab, Ohio.

Robert J. Spicer has retired as a self-employed consultant in Avon, Ohio.

’46 | John H. Evans, Lakewood, Ohio, is visitation pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Berea, Ohio. He takes piano lessons and is leader of the Lutheran Project of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cleveland. He has helped raise funds and recruited volunteers to build 16 homes in the area with two more planned in 2008.

’52 | Richard G. Eisemann of Morehead City, N.C., is pastor emeritus of Shepherd of the Sea Church, volunteer and chaplain of the Wildwood

’59 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

The Rev. John H. Evans ’46 recently met John Siebert, a 1965 graduate of Valparaiso, during a Habitat for Humanity building project where they discovered that they were both members of Phi Mu Alpha, a music-centered organization for men during their college years.

Fire Dept., plays drums with the Havelock Community Band and is chaplain with the Home Builders Association.

He also writes a monthly article for the News-Times.

Anne Ebert Rein ’56, left, Marty Clark Cheff ’56 and Helene Von Steuben Erhart ’58 came to Wittenberg from different areas of Pennsylvania, pledged KD and recently discovered they all live in Columbus. They have had great fun renewing their friendship.

30 Wittenberg Magazine

’58 | James E. and Janet Dinkel Pearce ’65 live in New London, Conn. James, a member of the Board of Education of New London, has published his first book of poetry, Slant Light.

Janet retired as president of United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, Gales Ferry, Conn., and is now a consultant for non-profit organizations. She chairs Southeastern Connecticut Housing Alliance and serves on the board of directors of the Bishop’s Fund for Children in Connecticut.

Robert L. Reis, Charlotte, N.C., and his wife, Judy, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.

Bob retired from Xerox Corp. after a 32-year career as an international sales and marketing executive. He is now marketing reverse mortgages to

Henry J. Price, who practices with Price Waicukauski & Riley LLC in Indianapolis, Ind., concentrates primarily on class actions representing plaintiffs, commercial disputes, civil litigation, and trust and bank litigation. He was selected by his peers as one of Indiana’s Super Lawyers for the years 2004-07.

’61 | Donald J. and Martha Burckle Hillerich ’95 live in Sarasota, Fla. Don serves as chaplain and advancement officer with Village On The Isle, a faith-based, notfor-profit, full service retirement center, sponsored by the ELCA and the Florida-Bahamas Synod.

Village On The Isle was featured on a television documentary about retirement in America, which aired on the Public Broadcasting System.

’63 | G. David K. and Karen McGinnis Hopper live in Lynnfield, Mass. Dave is director of CME, and the medical and scientific adviser with MarCom

David Maki

CLASS NOTES

Alinda Dickinson ’67 and Harold Wasner ’64, who married in Weaver Chapel in 1966, share a picture from their 40th anniversary.

Group International Inc., a medical communications firm in Bethel, Conn.

’64 | Virginia Ellis Franta ’36 Lives Life Of Selfless Service From the day she first arrived on campus to her current age of 94, Virginia Franta has never forgotten Wittenberg. A chemistry major, who also holds an additional degree in biochemistry from the University of Gottingen, Germany, Franta left the field to marry her husband, Bill, a co-worker at Columbia Chemical Division of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company.

Soon thereafter, a new career began for Franta, one that changed not only her life but all those who call her friend. A devoted volunteer, Franta gave of herself to causes close to her heart in addition to raising the couple’s three children. Always generous with her time and talent, Franta also found a way to share her treasure later in life.

“I always lived quite a frugal life, first by necessity, and later to save money for traveling, our children’s education, and to support worthy causes,” Franta said.

One such cause was Wittenberg’s own chemistry department, where Franta fondly recalls passionate professors who cared about her personal and professional success.

“Dr. John W. Barker not only encouraged me, but helped me financially in several ways,” Franta explained. “He selected me to be his family’s livein babysitter during my junior year, thus giving me free room and board.

Most beneficial was the recommendation from him for a fellowship to study chemistry for my post-graduate year in Germany.”

Although she credits other professors, including Ross Miller in religion, Emmet Bodenberg in zoology and Anton Bjorklund who directed the Wittenberg Symphony Orchestra where she played second violin, chemistry continued to tug at her heart and led her to establish The Virginia Ellis Franta Fund, which has provided annual support for student and faculty research in the field along with equipment and other department needs.

In honor of her selfless spirit, service and generosity, Wittenberg recognized Franta with its Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12. Nelson Sartoris, professor emeritus of chemistry who calls Franta the “Angel of the Chemistry Department,” presented the award. n – Karen Gerboth ’93

Marilyn Ebeling Arents, Brookfield Center, Conn., has retired from Deloitte & Touche.

Lanty L. Smith is chair of the board and former interim CEO of Wachovia Corp., Raleigh, N.C. He is also chair and CEO of Tippet Capital, a merchant banking firm.

Harold S. and Alinda Dickinson Wasner ’67, who were married in Weaver Chapel in 1966, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at their home in Lansing, Mich. Harold is the policy manager for the State of Michigan Department of Education. Alinda, a retired librarian and English teacher with a 2007 Prague Writers

Fellowship, studied in Prague last summer. Her most recent awards include the 2007 Chicago Poetry Center Juried third- place prize, the 2007 New Millennium Poets finalist status and inclusion in the forthcoming Comstock Review publications. She is grateful to Wittenberg for nurturing her as a young writer of the ’60s.

’66 | R. Christian and Norma Swadner Hansen live in Hixson, Tenn. Christian has retired as senior pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church.

John B. Rutherford is a materials manager with the Stewart Glapat Corp., Zanesville, Ohio. In October 2007, he was inducted into the Zanesville District Golf Association Hall of Fame.

Alumni Board member Stephanie Backity Rodelander ’69, left, met Dave ’63 and Sue Stettenbenz Monseau ’63 and their dog Bleu for the first time at the third Annual Pamilico Animal Welfare Society dog show and parade on the Neuse River in Oriental, N.C.

fall 2008 31

CLASS NOTES

Li’l Tigers Rayn, Hudson and McKenna, children of Karen March Posey ’97 and husband Mike Connor, Elizabeth and Kyle, children of Noelle Loomis Hilbert ’96 and husband E.J.

Rayn, Hudson and McKenna Posey, 8-9-07

Connor , 4, Elizabeth, 12-27-06, and Kyle Hilbert, 6

Kaylee and Reese Wells, 1-2-08

Kaylee and Reese, twin daughters of Sara Waugh Wells ’97 Benjamin and Josephine, children of Angela Cline Nicholoff ’99 and husband Jason Patrick Douglass, son of Jennifer Douglass Ramage ’00 and husband Jeremy, and brother of Alison Rebecca Madison Grace, daughter of Jennifer Powell Gifford ’01, and husband Josh

Benjamin, 3, and Josephine Nicholoff, 4-15-06

Patrick Ramage, 6-25-07

’67 |

’68 |

Stephen C. and Gloria Reed Heine ’68 live in Cambridge, Ohio. Steve has become involved with The New York Times Open Caucus Blog. He was featured on the Web site discussing the Ohio primary and other issues addressing the 2008 election.

Robert J. and Mary Ensign Shoop ’69 live in Manhattan, Kan., where Bob as professor of educational law, directs the Cargill Center for ethical leadership and senior scholar

Madison Gifford, 2-16-08

leadership studies at Kansas State University. He has also served as a forensic expert in more than 55 court cases involving sexual harassment and abuse. A Principal’s Guide to School Law is the latest of 19 books authored by him.

’69 | Frederick B. Mitchell of Chicago, Ill., has written two books recently: one with Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers titled Sayers: My Life and Times and another

Joseph E. Williamson of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., has been promoted to vice president of Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc. and president of AirFlite, the aviation subsidiary of the company.

Edward W. Wilson, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., is cofounder and clinical director of YES Inc., an innovative alcoholism moderation and permanent recovery clinic in Los Angeles, Calif.

Alumni gathered at the 2008 Wittenberg Choir Tour in Palo Alto, Calif.

32 Wittenberg Magazine

Robbie gantt

’70 | Sara Kern Cheek, Anderson, S.C., has retired as a teacher with the Anderson County School District.

Janet Naher Snowden is a science and environmental education consultant for an independent contractor in Akron, Ohio.

Bob ’39 and Ruth Kunkel Bayley ’42 Earn University’s Highest Recognition Throughout their lives, Bob and Ruth Bayley have served as true reflections of Wittenberg’s beloved motto, “Having Light We Pass It On To Others.” Their gifts of time, talent and treasure have not only transformed Wittenberg, but they have inspired countless students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.

Most recently, the Bayleys provided significant financial resources to improve and update the lobby of Wittenberg’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center (HPERC). Believing that this entrance to the heart of the university’s athletics program should always be student-centered, the Bayleys asked that the students themselves select the name for the lobby. Today, Legends Lobby highlights Wittenberg’s athletic accomplishments, both past and present, and honors those men and women who built Wittenberg’s nationally known Div. III athletic program.

In 1994, the couple also provided the lead gift to renovate the former Phi Kappa Psi fraternity into the Bayley Alumni House, now home to Wittenberg’s Office of Advancement and a welcoming retreat for alumni and friends. They also created an endowed scholarship, which benefits four to six students annually. More than 35 students have received a Bayley Scholarship since its establishment in 1998.

Ten members of the Bayley family are also Wittenberg alumni with Bob’s late father, William D. Bayley, being the first to graduate in 1892. Bob, himself, went on to earn his J.D. from the University of Michigan, and then served as first vice president of the William Bayley Co. Ruth is a prize-winning artist whose pen and ink drawings have won numerous awards, among them the Daughters of the American Revolution Heritage Contest.

In honor of their exceptional generosity, loyalty of service and dedication to their alma mater, Wittenberg recently recognized the couple with its highest non-academic award, the Wittenberg Medal of Honor, during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12.

President Mark H. Erickson presented the award.

“Bob and Ruth, you epitomize the importance of education, and you understand the role a college must play in a community,” Erickson said. “All of us at Wittenberg are proud to call your our alumni and our lifelong friends.” n – Karen Gerboth ’93

Be sure to check out our online wedding album at www.wittenberg.edu/weddings

’71 | E. Peter Heckathorn, Gulf Breeze, Fla., has been appointed president of Sacred Heart Medical Group and president of Gulf Coast Diversified Inc. Jean Willis LeLoup is a distinguished visiting professor of Spanish in the department of foreign languages at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Wedding Album April Collins ’96 married Lee Pozek at the Dreams Tulum resort in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, on Oct. 27, 2007. Wittenberg friends joined in the celebration.

Brandi Duale ’99 married Brian Gregory at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 21, 2007.

They honeymooned in Alaska, where they hiked on a glacier. The couple lives in Covington, Ky.

Nathan Cherry ’06 married Shannon Graves on Dec. 12, 2007. They live in Toledo, Ohio.

Susan Sklar ’92 married Isaac Mark on Sept. 2, 2007.

The couple lives in White Plains, N.Y.

fall 2008 33

CLASS NOTES

book about Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame slugger Billy Williams, which was released in the spring.

’72 | Martin A. Mets Sr. of Deerfield Beach, Fla., is director of maintenance and plant operations for the School District of Palm Beach County.

He has received the facilities master’s award from the Association of School Business Officials International, which recognizes those operations with the highest standards of best practices in facility maintenance.

Timothy R. Smock, an attorney, is with Zwillinger Georgelos & Greek PC, Phoenix, Ariz. He lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.

’74 | Susan B. Sperry is a court reporter with the U.S. Government in Santa Fe, N.M.

’75 | Lisa Callahan Cosey, Columbus, Ohio, teaches with the Upper Arlington Schools.

William B. Endres, Baltimore, Md., is chief operations officer with Kiddie Academy International Inc.

Richard Talda ’79

’73 | Sheryl Dice Ingraham, Annapolis, Md., is with Keane Federal Systems, McLean, Va. Nancy Newman Robb of Barrington, Ill., has been named superintendent of Township High School District 211 Board of Education, the state’s largest high school district with nearly 13,000 students.

Cheryl Thiesing Goolsby, Loveland, Ohio, is a kindergarten teacher with the Fayetteville-Perry Local Schools.

She was named in the national publication, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

Paul A. and Cynthia Pierce Liefeld ’76 live in Sewickley, Pa. Paul practices with TriState Orhopaedics and Sports Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa. Teresa Manahan Murphy has retired as an English teacher with the Springfield City School District in Ohio.

Cynthia Glaser Newman, a former broadcast journalist,

Susanne Prain ’89, front left, Marlene Orbovich Pitchford ’89, Lore Pierson Potoker ’89, back left, Laura Croy Simmons ’89 and Janet Wallace ’89 enjoyed a cruise together in October of 2007.

teaches at Veritas Christian Academy in Chesapeake, Va. Rebecca Gummere Pivetta is associate director of OASIS Inc., a non-profit organization providing service, information and shelter to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Boone, N.C. She is pursuing an M.F.A. in creative writing at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. Dale R. and Jody Gittens Wright ’76 live in Brownsville, Texas. Dale is a commercial officer for Mexico, Canada, Central America, Caribbean, U.S. Commercial ServiceMexico City, Mexico.

’76 | After 25 years in executive positions with outpatient surgery development and management companies, Michele Manuel Vickery has founded The Vickery Group LLC, a healthcare consulting company. She resides in Clarendon Hills, Ill.

’77 | Richard K. Tracy, Lake Orion, Mich., is a regional controller with Plastech Engineering Products, Dearborn, Mich.

’78 | Thomas H. Keesling is president of IndUShealth, Raleigh, N.C. Brian Lawter ’83 was promoted to CW4, the 2nd highest warrant officer rank in the U.S. Army, on Feb. 29, 2008.

34 Wittenberg Magazine

’79 | Richard A. Talda, an attorney with Coolidge Wall, Dayton, Ohio, was featured in the business litigation list in the April 2008 issue of Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition magazine.

’80 | Elizabeth Schultz Ayers, Durham, N.C., is associate director of planned giving at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Carol A. Hertler, who has served congregations, a synod and a campus ministry in Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, is living with Parkinson’s disease in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Eyal Lutman is in the aeropace and defense programs with Abbiton Cole Corp., Akron, Ohio.

’81 | David W. Dennis, Cincinnati, Ohio, is a network administrator with United Performance Metals, Hamilton, Ohio.

’82 | While living in Russia, Melinda Wigton Cathey founded The Harbor in St. Petersburg, an organization that creates a family atmosphere where orphans can

David Maki

Christopher W. Jochem, West Caldwell, N.J., is manager of IMAC support services with Design Strategy Corp., Whippany, N.J. Ann Ping Venable works in the advancement office at Wilmington College in Ohio.

Bill Steinbrink ’64 Receives Alumni Association’s Most Prestigious Award For Bill Steinbrink, the accomplishments of Wittenberg alumni inspire him daily because they stand as true testimonials of the power of a Wittenberg education. Steinbrink’s own commitment to his alma mater, however, has inspired students, faculty, staff and friends for generations.

Chair of Wittenberg’s Board of Directors from 2005-2008, Steinbrink has consistently served Wittenberg in numerous capacities, including as the university’s interim president in 2004-2005. In that position, Steinbrink met frequently with student leaders, became acquainted with many of Wittenberg’s strong academic performers, marveled at the skills of Wittenberg’s artistically inclined students and their athletically enabled compatriots, and witnessed a faculty that he called the “raison d’être of Wittenberg.”

A member of the board since 1996, Steinbrink spent 27 years as an attorney with the international law firm of Jones Day. As a partner with Jones Day, Steinbrink assisted and advised businesses in connection with fundamental transactions, financing and governance, and later led an initiative to implement formal knowledge management practices at the firm. A graduate of Duke University Law School, Steinbrink also served as president and CEO of Laurel Industries Inc. and as president and CEO of CSM Industries Inc. Yet, with each career opportunity, Steinbrink, who has been married to Besty Allen Steinbrink ’64 for 44 years, continued to support the needs of Wittenberg.

“My experiences at Wittenberg focused my desire to be involved deeply with the organization and people that became central to whatever I was doing,” Steinbrink said.

His desire to be involved and to serve recently earned Steinbrink the most prestigious alumni award, the Class of 1914 Award, during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12. Given to those who have served above and beyond what might be expected of any contributor to the college’s welfare, the award was presented to Steinbrink by Mark Preston ’08.

“Wittenberg was a critical experience at the beginning of my adult life, and it has been a re-awakening now as I see in the offing the winding-down phase of my life,” Steinbrink once said in the magazine.

“I am grateful to Wittenberg for this most recent opportunity to continue learning and to serve.” n – Karen Gerboth ’93

’83 | On Feb. 29, 2008, the program executive officer for U.S. Army Intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors material development activity, promoted Brian R. Lawter to chief warrant officer four. He is an assistant product manager, information assurance manager, and test and evaluation officer serving in Japan.

’84 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Gregory A. Carpenter has been promoted to executive director of Opera Colorado in Denver.

He is responsible for overseeing all administrative operations of the company.

Kimberly B. Hogan, Hoboken, N.J., owns a consulting business, KHoganMedia. It represents PBS national programming and secures corporate advertisers.

Cheryl Fackler Hug lives in Menlo Park, Calif. An attorney, she is a vice president, legal and chief compliance officer with Sun Microsystems Inc. Dean J. Nolle, Coral Springs, Fla., was named dean of students at American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla.

85 |

’ W. Scott Collins, LeRoy, N.Y., is associate director of capital and special projects at the University of Rochester.

Thompson D. Ford, Lake Forest, Ill., is senior vice president/ branch manager of the fixed income office for Morgan Keegan and Co. Keena D. Lykins, Lewisburg, Ohio, is a senior account supervisor with Rhea Kaiser Marketing Communications, Naperville, Ill. Michael H. Morgan, Monroe, Conn., owns Darien Physical Therapy Center.

Charles J. Shaw, Alameda, Calif., is associate-multi family housing with RREEF, San Francisco, Calif.

’86 | Donald M. and Sarah Vincent Braxton ’84 live in Huntingdon, Pa. Sarah is a high school librarian with the Juniata Valley School District in Alexandria, Pa. Shawn A. and Cynthia Kelly Lennartson ’88 live in Round Rock, Texas. Shawn is a licensed professional counselor with the Counselors of Round Rock.

Charles R. Manak, Madison, N.J., is with Update Legal Inc., New York, N.Y. J. Michael Redinger, a financial adviser and partner in the Redinger Wealth Management Group of UBS Financial Services, specializes in retirement planning, college savings plans, investment management and corporate retirement plans. Mike is a resident of Strongsville, Ohio.

’88 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Jane Keleher Beckmann, Colorado Springs, Colo., is a medical analyst with Diagnostic Health Corp. fall 2008 35

CLASS NOTES

come to live and learn the skills necessary for successful integration into society.

Although she has moved to Cottage Grove, Minn., she still serves as the executive director and is very involved on an ongoing basis.

Be sure to check out our online wedding album at www.wittenberg.edu/weddings

Wedding Album Julie Goodsell ’94 married Karl Marsiglio on Sept. 8, 2007, surrounded by many Wittenberg friends. The couple lives in Rochester, N.Y.

Michelle Hardman ’99 married Michael Bradley on Feb. 29, 2008. They live in Dublin, Calif.

Nora Walsh ’99 and Russ Kerr married in Old St. Patrick’s in Chicago on Nov. 10, 2007. The couple lives in Chicago, Ill.

Douglas J. and Danielle Dunn Blue ’99 live in Columbus, Ohio. Danielle, a trial lawyer for the law firm of Gallagher, Gams, Pryor, Tallan & Littrell LLP, is running for the 16th district seat in the Ohio State Senate.

Callaway Golf Center and Giant Golf Academy, Las Vegas, Nev. Timothy D. VanVoorhis, Toledo, Ohio, is a telecom/ network analyst II with Alltel Wireless, Twinsburg, Ohio.

George B. Rudolph, Grand Rapids, Mich., is a regional sales operations manager for American Standard Inc.

John L. Jr. and Jennifer Stewart Weppler ’91 live in Independence, Ky. John is an executive coach with Performance 1 Solutions Ltd.

’89 |

’90 |

Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

James R. Bauman, Lewis Center, Ohio, is a real estate manager with Dollar General Corp.

Scott A. and Kristina Matson Barnard ’91 live in Sherborn, Mass. Scott has been promoted to vice president of professional relations with Orthofix Inc., a subsidiary of Blackstone Medical.

Kristin M. Sunderhaft married Mario Bonifacio, Dec. 21, 2006. They live in Henderson, Nev. Kristin is an LPGA teaching professional who has been promoted to director of instruction at the

36 Wittenberg Magazine

Richard K. and Margaret Gilliam Hoffman ’94 live in Hudson, Ohio, where Richard is an English teacher and assistant football coach at Western

Reserve Academy. He is also pursuing his master’s degree in English at Kent State University.

Margaret is a data analyst with IPCS Inc.

Patricia E. Joyner, Irving, Texas, teaches English I with the Duncanville Independent School District.

Mark A. and Paige Andrews Knapp live in Rocky River, Ohio. Mark attended the American Diabetes Association annual Community Volunteer Leadership Conference in St. Louis, Mo. Lynn Godfrey Novak has been promoted to director of institutional advancement services at the Thornton Academy, Standish, Maine.

Gregory J. Reck, Bokeelia, Fla., received an M.S. in defense analysis with a concentration in terrorism and terrorist finance from the Naval Post Graduate School. His thesis was modernizing psychological operations. He also graduated from the command and general staff course. Gregory is assigned as an operations planner with the theater special operations command for CENTCOM in Tampa, Fla. Courtney A. Sheeran, Columbus, Ohio, is a business banking officer with U.S. Bank in New Albany, Ohio.

The children of Patrick ’91 and Kathleen Gilliam Knox ’92, Richard ’90 and Margaret Gilliam Hoffman ’94, and Danielle Gilliam Mitchell ’95 and her husband David, recently reunited.

Front left: Libby Hoffman, Lily Knox, Sam and Danny Hoffman and Quinn Knox. Back left: Chase and Morgan Mitchell, and Maura and Jack Knox. The photo was taken for the 40th anniversary of the parents of Kathleen, Margaret and Danielle.

David Maki

Members of the class of ’87, Allyson Armbrust Burns, left, Nancy Boyd Tracy, Whitney Legard Williams, Kristin Dallmann Healy, Megan Berry Cadematori and Elizabeth Medina Young, gathered to celebrate Kristin’s 40th birthday with a Moroccan party.

Olive Shimp Warner ‘65 Finds Fulfillment In Educating Others As a young child, Olive Shimp Warner lived in a self-described rough neighborhood with limited means. The daughter of hearing-impaired parents, Warner recalls her childhood experiences being different from those around her. As she grew, college seemed unlikely until Wittenberg entered her life. Despite board scores below the admission requirements, Wittenberg once again fulfilled its promise to consider the whole person in the admission process and accepted Warner.

Unable to fit her father’s trunk with her belongings on the bus to Springfield, Warner shipped the trunk, but it was delayed in arriving, which forced her to live out of a suitcase for three weeks. Yet, despite the obstacles she faced her first year, including feeling as if she didn’t fit in at Wittenberg and sheer culture shock, Warner persevered, and the experience changed her forever. She soon discovered a confidence once unknown, she pursued paths that seemed unimaginable, and she learned that she could make a difference.

Upon graduation, Warner felt called to the classroom and subsequently spent her life educating young people – inspiring them, challenging them and passing her light on to generations of students without an expectation of fanfare, awards, honors or recognition. She also passed on a love of learning, gleaned from her own Wittenberg experience and continued educational pursuits, including graduate school at the University of Toledo and The Ohio State University.

Now retired, Warner continues to serve others in volunteer capacities related to the performing arts. Warner has also performed on stage as a result of her involvement with the Easter Upper Peninsula Fina Arts Council, and she is currently writing a history of her DeTour, Mich., community’s cultural arts building.

In light of her selfless service, the university’s Alumni Board selected Warner to receive an Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 10-12. Given to those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their exceptional and continual dedication to Wittenberg’s ideals in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal recognition or gain, the award was presented to her by her longtime friend Donna Skaggs Crossman ’65. n

–Karen Gerboth ’93

Kim Hazel Henderson ’92, husband Rob and their children, Corinne and Aidan, recently reunited with alumni Chris ’91 and Karen Schaeffer Weinrich ’91 and their children, Benjamin, Marissa and Alexander.

’91 | Douglas M. Cochran owns Reclaimed Roofs Inc., Wilmington, Del. He specializes in providing the slate and tile roofing industry with reclaimed materials for historic projects.

Doug sits on the board of directors of the National Slate Association.

Douglas A. Eyman is an assistant professor at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. Patrick A. and Kathleen Gilliam Knox ’92 reside in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Pat is the C.O.O. of IPCS Inc., Hudson, Ohio. Kathleen founded her own video production company, KGK Video Productions LLC.

Michelle R. Peace, Richmond, Va., is associate chair/forensic toxicologist at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Barbara Crites Rubis of Cypress, Texas, is a sales operations manager with the Hewlett Packard Co. in Houston, Texas.

’92 | John H. Evans, Riverside, Ill. and his wife, Cristin, celebrated the birth of their second child, John H. Jr., on Nov. 11, 2007.

John is a senior consultant at Project Leadership Associates in Chicago, Ill.

fall 2008 37

CLASS NOTES

Lucinda Moss Imlay, Atlanta, Ga., and her husband, Scott, are proud to announce the birth of Caitlin Johanna on June 8, 2007.

Peter M. Kelley has been promoted to regional sales manager with Wells Fargo and Co., Cary, N.C. Sonia Harter Patterson, Reston, Va., is a finance director for international programs at World Vision International, Washington, D.C. Andrew J. Unglaube and his wife Deb, announce the birth of Eli James, Aug. 22, 2007. They live in Minneapolis, Minn.

’93 | Janet Fisher Clark, Pearland, Texas, is a business performance planner with Key Energy Services, Houston, Texas.

Matthew R. Fogarty, a captain with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division stationed

in Fayetteville, N.C., returned last spring after serving in Afghanistan as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Matt, who recently returned from a vacation in Japan and Thailand, credits professor emeritus Dr. Eugene Swanger for his continued interest in all things Asian.

Wilfrid M. “Bill” Gill III is president of Gill Environmental Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. He serves as a volunteer member of the Scottsdale Environmental Quality Advisory Board and chairs the City Water Advisory Committee.

Maurice and Karalyn Dickerson Huey live in Detroit, Mich. Maurice is a 2007 graduate of the executive M.B.A. program at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is the community relations manager for Lutheran Social Services of Michigan.

Gwen Mateyo Gold ’96, left, April Collins Pozek ’96, Lee Pozek, Terry Martin ’96 and Shannon Valenti ’98 traveled to Riviera Maya, Mexico, to attend the wedding of April and Lee.

Karalyn is an educational field consultant with the High Scope Foundation based in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Niklas and Marianne Josefson Karlberg ’95 have moved to Sollentuna, Sweden, where Niklas is a managing director with Novartis Pharma Inc. Maja works with SEB, Sweden’s largest commercial bank.

Aubrey Shipway Miller and her husband, Dave, welcomed Fiona Violet on Jan. 10, 2008. They live in New York, N.Y.

Li’l Tigers

Justin E. Russell, Prairie Village, Kan., is creative director with Kelly/Russell Advertising.

Colby and Melina, children of Marisa Dudack Betts ‘96

’94 |

Miriam, daughter of Corinne Wohlford Taff ’97 and husband Jason

Colby, 4, and Melina Betts, 3

Miriam Taff, 4-3-06

Weston Taylor Marshall was born on Sept. 12, 2007, to Amy Taylor Marshall and her husband, Wayne. They live in Washington, D.C., where Amy is PAC Director at Planned Parenthood.

Erin Williamson Longaberger ’98 and her husband Mark announce the birth of twins Emery Lane and Wyatt Laird on Nov. 1 and 2, 2007.

Beth Green Bender is a senior vice president and business banking team leader with SunTrust Bank, Southwest Florida, Sarasota, Fla. Sheryl Matthews Crowell is pursuing her M.A. in teaching at Rockford College in Illinois.

Julie R. Goodsell married Karl Marsiglio in September 2007.

They live in Rochester, N.Y. Julie is director of development at Our Lady of Mercy High School.

Scott R. Larson and his wife, Hillary, announce the birth of Johnathan. They live in Chicago, Ill., where Scott is a director of Larson Forgings.

Emery Lane

38 Wittenberg Magazine

Wyatt Laird

Cara Barkman McCoy and her husband, Christopher, announce the birth of a daughter, Bryson Wells, July 10, 2007. They live in Charlotte, N.C.

David Maki

Russell J. Smith, Durham, N.H., is an international arms dealer with Sig Sauer, Exeter, N.H.

’95 | John W. Burns, Hyattsville, Md., is an elementary teacher with the District of Columbia Public Schools.

Julie E. Carpenter has been appointed the executive director of the Betts House Research Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Julie Aufderheide Britton ’80 Serves Community And Campus During an internship opportunity while at Wittenberg, one of Julie Britton’s mentors said, “A person who thinks is a rare commodity.”

Britton agreed, and to this day, the longtime member of the university’s Alumni Board still credits her alma mater for giving her such a powerful gift.

“Wittenberg gave me a chance to learn how to think and how to articulate my thoughts,” Britton said. “It also provided me with timeless skills that have helped me adapt to change and navigate the challenges and opportunities of both the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds.”

Now the vice president for development of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Britton has relied on her liberal arts foundation throughout her career, including as director and associate director of annual giving for the arts center. She has also remembered Wittenberg along the way through her nine years of service on the Alumni Board.

“I have terrific memories of four glorious years at Wittenberg, where the values of strong personal relationships and intellectual curiosity were constantly reinforced,” Britton recalled. “I benefited from wonderful professors who always took the time to provide individual attention and counseling, and who constantly challenged me to learn and explore outside my comfort zone.”

Britton also developed a sincere interest in service during her college days. As a freshman counselor, Britton worked closely with students in need. She also spent time introducing prospective students to the Wittenberg experience as an admission tour guide.

Both opportunities taught her the importance of giving back, which she does in her job, in her community and at her alma mater.

With that in mind, Wittenberg recently recognized Britton with an Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12. Given to those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain, the award was presented to Britton

by Megan McCann ’93, Alumni Board president.

“I cherish the lifelong friendships that started at Wittenberg – friendships that helped me broaden my horizons and still remind me what is really important in life.”n –Karen Gerboth ’93

Sonya Smith Caruso is executive director of the Escondido Education Foundation in California. Sonya lives in Encinitas, Calif.

Shamez Houston Jones, Somersworth, N.H., is a social worker at the Wentworth Douglas Hospital.

Danielle Gilliam Mitchell, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is the office manager for IPCS Inc., Hudson, Ohio.

’96 | Sarah Black Andrews is a registered nurse with Denver Health in Colorado.

Marisa Dudack Betts, East Granby, Conn., teaches science at Wethersfield High School.

David P. and Britany Affolter Caine live in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Dave teaches physics at Ann Arbor Huron High School. In 2008, Britany earned her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan. She is a senior research associate for the Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institution where she is working on the Great Lakes Economic Initiative, a project directed at informing political candidates of important policy initiatives that will

support the revitalization of the Great Lakes economic region.

April L. Collins married Lee Pozek on Oct. 27. 2007. They live in Lakewood, Ohio. April is an outside sales representative with Yarde Metals, Streetsboro, Ohio.

BrettAnitra Gilbert is an assistant professor at the Mays Business School, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Cathleen J. Hamman is a senior communications analyst with the Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C. Mark J. Henninger has been named head coach for the football program at North Carolina Wesleyan University, Rocky Mount, N.C. Noelle Loomis Hilbert and her husband, E.J., announce the birth of Elizabeth, Dec. 27, 2006. They live in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

Liza-Marie Merida, who lives in Miami, Fla., is regional director of learning and development, and internal communications with Comcast, South Florida. She has been selected to be a part of the NAMIC executive leadership development program and was elected to the board of directors of Women in Cable Television.

Jason E. and Susan Zup Reiss announce the birth of their daughter, Catherine Alexa, Sept. 10, 2007. Jay received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Delaware, Newark, Del., in 2007. Susan is a postdoctoral fellow in physiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Susan B. Sklar married Isaac Mark on Sept. 2, 2007. They live in White Plains, N.Y. Susie is an associate with a boutique, Petticoat Lane, in Greenwich, Conn.

fall 2008 39

CLASS NOTES

Gretchen L. Rice, Holliston, Mass., is director of marketing with Innosight LLC, Watertown, Mass.

CLASS NOTES

Dianne Frank Williams and her husband, Andrew, announce the birth of their first child, Estella Rae, in August 2006. They live in Canton, Ohio. Dianne, a flutist who has recorded 4 CDs, continues to perform publicly.

Be sure to check out our online wedding album at www.wittenberg.edu/weddings

Joshua Curtis ’03 and Jamie Weller ’04 were married in a beachfront ceremony on Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Sept. 8, 2007. They shared their wedding weekend with 50 of their closest friends and family members. The couple resides in Dublin, Ohio.

’97 | Sara A. DePerro, Clearwater, Fla., teaches science with the Pinellas County Schools in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was awarded a national board certification for science teachers and is pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Benjamin C. and Courtney Hill Dewey ’99 live in Perrysburg, Ohio. Courtney is an optometrist with Reed Vision Associates.

Trista Horwath McClelland, Parma, Ohio, is a research specialist with the Ohio office of Atwell-Hicks Development Consultants in Solon, Ohio.

Karen March Posey and her husband, Mike, announce the birth of their daughter, McKenna Kathleen, Aug. 9, 2007. They live in Colonial Heights, Va., where Karen is a title I reading teacher with the public schools.

Corinne Wohlford Taff and her husband, Jason, announce the adoption of Miriam Nina Furao Xiu, born on April 3, 2006, in Chongqing, China.

They live in University City, Mo. Corinne teaches in and directs the interdisciplinary studies department at Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Mo. Sara Waugh Wells and her husband, Jamie, welcomed the birth of twin daughters, Kaylee Alexis and Reese Avery, Jan. 2, 2008. They live in Springfield, Ohio, where Sara teaches kindergarten with the Tecumseh Local Schools.

40 Wittenberg Magazine

Wedding Album

Alumni gathered for the wedding of Adam Majot ’06 and Kylie Evans ’06 on Nov. 3, 2007. The couple resides in Morgantown, W.V.

’98 | Susan P. Hanf is a project manager for exhibits at the Newberry Library, Chicago, Ill. Jeffrey S. Hardison is a director with McClenahan Bruer, an advertising and marketing firm focusing on the technology industry in Portland, Ore. Greta M. Hochstetler, Fairborn, Ohio, is assistant director of programs with the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Clark, Greene and Madison Counties, Springfield, Ohio.

Erin Williamson Longaberger and her husband, Mark, announce the birth of twins, Emery Lane and Wyatt Laird on Nov. 1 and 2, 2007. They reside in Urbana, Ohio. Erin is a veterinarian at Towne and Country Animal Clinic in Fairborn, Ohio.

Gustavo C. and Amber Smith Sasis announce the birth of Grayson, Feb. 25, 2006. They live in Mansfield, Ohio, where Gustavo is a clinical coordinator for the MedCentral Sleep Lab. Amber teaches third grade at

McMullen Elementary School in Loudonville, Ohio.

’99 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Christopher J. Bowers is a defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator for the football team at Defiance College in Ohio.

Brandi J. Duale married Brian Gregory, July 21, 2007. They live in Covington, Ky. Brandi is assistant vice president/ processing solutions billing manager, Fifth Third Bank.

Michelle A. Hardman, Dublin, Calif., married Michael Bradley, Feb. 29, 2008. Michelle is an associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Anna M. Liechty married Cory C. Wood, Aug 4, 2007. They live in Bristol, R.I., where Anna teaches mathematics at Mount Hope High School.

Fawn M. McNeely is a government affairs consultant and lobbyist with Legislative Advocates Inc. in Salem, Ore.

Angela Cline Nickoloff and her husband, Jason, announce the birth of Josephine Rose, April 15, 2006. They live in Delaware, Ohio.

Monika E. Piazza, Buckeye, Ariz., works for Feathers Foundation, a non-profit organization in New River, Ariz.

The facility rescues animals from the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control euthanasia list.

Dawn M. Reinhardt and Benjamin R. Holland were united in marriage in the fall of 2007. They live in Charlotte, N.C. Nora A. Walsh married Russ Kerr, Nov. 10, 2007. They live in Chicago, Ill. Nora is an IT project manager with Omicron Technologies.

’00 | Andrew V. Custar, Westlake, Ohio, is a special education teacher at Columbia High School, Columbia Station, Ohio.

James J. IV and Sara Brown Davin live in Fishers, Ind. James is a regional sales manager with the copper and brass sales

David Maki

Michael H. Dusenbery and Lindsay Schneider were married Sept. 15, 2007. They live in Savage, Md. Ericka R. Glass, a fourthyear resident in orthopaedic surgery at SUMMA Health System in Akron, Ohio, has accepted a one-year fellowship in orthopaedic trauma surgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Michael Ann Doran Effron ’98 Leads In Inner-City Classrooms Whenever Michael Ann Effron speaks about her work, a passion exudes from her face. Since graduating from Wittenberg, Effron has made it her life’s work to teach young people in hopes of preparing them for fulfilling lives.

Board-certified in K-12 special needs and K-8 regular education, Effron has spent years teaching inner-city kids in some of the most difficult settings in and around Columbus, Ohio. Currently a 7thand 8th-grade teacher at Starling Middle School with the Columbus Public Schools, Effron spends her days helping learning-disabled students in those grades.

Those closest to her note how much she invests in her students, motivating and pushing them to learn in ways they never thought possible. Effron also consistently demonstrates compassion and provides encouragement to all of her students as they work to overcome the stigma of their disability.

Although the days are long and challenges at times great, Effron never wanes in her passion for her profession. In fact, she takes on more, including volunteering her time to serve on a textbook committee, which she was nominated to co-chair, and where she reviewed dozens of texts and made recommendations to the school board. She also initiated a project to address one of the worse suspension records in the district. Following extensive research on building discipline, Effron, with support from her principal, enlisted fellow staff members to create their school’s Building Wide Management Plan. Two years after implementation, students were staying in the classroom 40 percent more than before, character education was part of the curriculum, and students with behavioral issues were receiving better support.

Her dedication also regularly inspires colleagues, family and friends, but Effron, as always, looks outside herself, crediting her Wittenberg education for giving her the skills, abilities and confidence to make a difference every day. It’s that difference that recently earned her Wittenberg’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, given to a graduate of the last 15 years who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in their profession of vocation. Effron’s husband, David ’98, presented her with the award during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12. n

–Karen Gerboth ’93

Scott H. and Jonnett Odom Maurer ’01 live in Memphis, Tenn., where Jonnett is a corporate development coordinator at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Kathryn Couture Morrow is an administration manager with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, West Hartford, Conn.

Michael D. Nettles is an industrial water treatment and sales representative with General Electric in Erie, Pa. Jennifer Douglass Ramage and her husband, Jeremy, announce the birth of Patrick Douglass on June 25, 2007. Jennifer teaches seventh-grade math and science at Loveland Middle School in Ohio.

Elisabeth L. Wade is a research assistant professor in the department of pathology and the director of research affairs at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Ariz. Betsey lives in Marana, Ariz.

Amanda L. Walters is a Medicaid service coordinator supervisor with Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, Syracuse, N.Y. Rebecca H. Weaver, Henrietta, N.Y., is an adjunct instructor of music in the division of performing arts at Alfred University.

CLASS NOTES

division at ThyssenKrupp Materials NA.

’01 | April Brumfield Bustos, Springfield, Ohio, is a QA specialist with Battelle, Columbus, Ohio.

Jennifer K. Davis, Cincinnati, Ohio, is a registered veterinary technician at the Lakota Hills Animal Clinic in West Chester, Ohio.

Elisabeth A. Funk and Joshua N. Jones ’02 were married Sept.

22, 2007. They live in Charlotte, N.C. Kimberly A. Gamble, Virginia Beach, Va., is a psychological associate with Family Systems II Inc., Norfolk, Va. In December 2007, she received a Ph.D. from the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology.

She is the co-author of two book chapters on trauma and women of color in the media.

Jennifer Powell Gifford and her husband, Josh, welcomed their first child, Madison Grace, on Feb. 16, 2008. They live in Palmyra, Va. Jennifer is a teacher with the Charlottesville City Schools while pursuing graduate studies at Longwood University, Farmville, Va. Casie Bates Grau is a claims unit and ACP manager with Ohio Mutual Insurance, Bucyrus, Ohio.

The wedding of Ryan B. Schreiber and Erika C. Massey took place Aug. 4, 2007. They reside in Arlington, Va. Ryan is employed by the U.S. Peace Corps in Washington, D.C. Timothy S. Shannahan, Lake Worth, Fla., is manager of Willoughby Supply, West Palm Beach, Fla. Jathiya Abdullah Simmons has been accepted into the educational counseling program at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

fall 2008 41

CLASS NOTES

Li’l Tigers James Christopher, son of Brian Kuhn ’03 and Erin Gallagher Kuhn ’04 Eli James, son of Andrew J. and Deb Hill Unglaube ’92 Estella Rae, daughter of Dianne Frank Williams ’96 James Kuhn, 8-11-07

Eli Unglaube, 8-22-07

Estella Williams, 8-15-06

Daniel Z. Zaluski of Lexington, Ky., married Nicole Fortner in 2007. Daniel, who has received his law degree, is an associate with Smith Management Group.

He manages environmental liability and assets.

Lucas R. Clarkson is teaching social studies at the Yokohama Yamate Girls’ Junior and Senior High School in Japan.

associate lab director at Allogen Laboratories at the Cleveland Clinic.

’02 | Donna Ehnie Adams, Lebanon, Ohio, is with the Clinton Massie Schools in Clarksville, Ohio.

Bradley J. and Gretchen Sponseller Cerovac ’04 announce the birth of Madison Marie. They live in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Brad is a supervisor at UPS. Gretchen is a homemaker.

Witt Nation

42 Wittenberg Magazine

Jessica Martin Kopp, Worthington, Ohio, is director of team relations with Rothschild Berry Farm, Urbana, Ohio.

Jennifer A. Korsberg is an outside sales specialist with Schumacher Homes Inc., Akron, Ohio.

Peter N. and Debra Lenarz Lalli live in Parma, Ohio. Pete received his Ph.D. in transplant immunology from Case Western Reserve University. He is an

Steven P. McNelley, a corporate sponsorship account executive with the Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Team in Illinois, is pursuing a master’s degree in sports administration at Northwestern University.

Samantha Smith Roberts is with the Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Md. Matthew E. Stewart is with the materials research laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Amy L. Wenger is attending officer candidate school in Newport, R.I., as she seeks a commission in the U.S. Navy as a supply officer.

’03 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Lisa A. Allen is a biologist with WIL Research, Ashland, Ohio.

Christopher S. Daane is the founder of MidAtlantic Design Group, New York, N.Y. C. Weseloh Enicks coordinates the Cabrini Fund in the office

David Maki

Donna Pietrzyk Hawke, Broomfield, Colo., is an internal marketing director with Bristol West, Centennial, Colo.

Brian C. and Erin Gallagher Kuhn ’04 announce the birth of James Christopher, Aug. 11, 2007. They live in Springfield, Ohio. Brian is a lead instructor at STARBASE WRIGHTPATT. Mindi A. Laine and Thomas E. Haushalter ’02 were married May 10, 2008. They live in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tom is a publicist with the Penguin Group, New York, N.Y.

Susan Welker ‘02 Inspires On An International Scale When international students think of Wittenberg, Susan Welker’s name quickly comes to mind. Since 2003, Welker has worked diligently to share the Wittenberg story with the world, first in her role as the Freeman Project administrator and then as the assistant director of admission/coordinator for international recruitment.

Her efforts increased international application numbers by 39 percent and brought in the largest degree-seeking international class in five years. During her tenure, she also administered a $2 million operational budget, executed six campus-wide East Asian programs, coordinated, led and translated for a group of 10 Springfield teachers on a two-week tour of Japan, and advised East Asian faculty on how best to remain competitive in the recruitment market.

Behind her accomplishments, however, Welker also did something else that students will remember long after they leave Wittenberg’s hallowed halls. Welker made a point of personally knowing each and every student with whom she crossed paths, so much so that current students and young alumni consider her passion for Wittenberg to be inspiring. Whether it be lending a helpful hand to an international student far from home or listening about his or her first year on campus during lunch, Welker knew each student’s name and made each one feel a part of something special at her alma mater.

That commitment to students and her work along with her passion for Wittenberg recently made her the top choice for the university’s G.O.L.D. Young Alumni Award. Given to those who have shared their time and talent with the university, the award was presented to Welker during Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 10-12, 2008, by her father, Robert Welker, Wittenberg professor of education.

“Wittenberg has literally given me life,” said Welker, who recently moved to Montana with her husband, Brad Benne, and their son. “With a parent who started teaching here when I was in the third grade, and inlaws who met here, graduated and then came back to make Wittenberg their life’s work, Wittenberg is literally in my blood. I could not be more passionate about the people who make Wittenberg come alive and the transformation they created in my own life.” n – Karen Gerboth ’93

Amanda Starling Windhof received her master of science degree in zoology from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, in September 2006. She lives in Munich, Germany, where she is a researcher in the biochemistry department at the Max Planck Institute.

Brent D. Yekisa, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is a major gifts officer at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio.

In June, Emily L. Kingsley completed her medical studies at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Mich.

She is serving her residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Alison M. Preisch married Brandon W. Morris Oct. 13, 2007. Alison is a regional referral manager for Extendicare Health Services. Brandon is with Home Depot. They live in Worthington, Ohio.

Jamie M. Weller and Joshua M. Curtis ’03 were married on Sept. 8, 2007. They reside in Dublin, Ohio. Jamie is an account relationship associate with the Huntington Investment Co. while pursuing her master of science degree in marketing and communications at Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio.

Josh is vice president of mergers and acquisitions for GBQ Capital.

Michael J. Wesbecher is assistant to the directors of development with the Chicago College of Medicine at the University of Illinois.

’04 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Alexander R. D’Alessandro is with Staubach Retail, New York, N.Y. Laura L. Drinkwine, Alexandria, Va., is a Web editor with the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C. Susannah L. “Annie” Fahrbach and Adam F. Abraham ’03 were united in marriage on May 26, 2007.

They reside in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Jonathan R. Wise ’05 received his commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy on Feb. 22.

fall 2008 43

CLASS NOTES

of institutional advancement at Cabrini College, Radnor, Pa.

CLASS NOTES

Be sure to check out our online wedding album at www.wittenberg.edu/weddings

Wedding Album The wedding of Annie Fahrbach ’04 and Adam Abraham ’03 took place on May 26, 2007, in Granville, Ohio, with many Tigers in attendance. The couple resides in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Alumni celebrated the marriage of Joshua Jones ’02 and Elisabeth Funk ’01 in Charleston, W.Va., on Sept.

22, 2007. The couple lives in Charlotte, N.C.

Ryan Martin ’03 and Leslie Loop ’02 married Sept. 16, 2006, with fellow alumni in attendance. The couple lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Witt friends reunited for the wedding of Mark Inglis ’79 and Stephanie Mayer ’79 on June 23, 2007, in Fairfield, Conn.

Michael Dusenbery ’00 married Lindsay Schneider on Sept. 15, 2007. The couple lives in Savage, Md.

’05 | Class Reunion, Homecoming/ Reunion Weekend 2009

Katie L. Baumgardner, New Carlisle, Ohio, is an editor with the Mazer Corp., Dayton, Ohio.

Andrew D. Bucheit is an assistant men’s basketball coach at Ashland University in Ohio.

44 Wittenberg Magazine

Andrea L. Cheeseman is a housing specialist with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority in Ohio.

Caitlin E. Coleman, Libertyville, Ill., is a volunteer coordinator with LifeSource, a blood center in Chicago, Ill. Raymar D. Hampshire has been accepted into the 2008-09 Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs-Pittsburgh.

Greer E. Illingworth of Irvine, Calif., is attending the Pepperdine University School of Law in Mailibu, Calif. During the summer of 2008, she traveled to Africa to serve as a clerk for the chief justice of the Ugandan Supreme Court.

Michelle S. Ponstingle, Columbus, Ohio, is an on-site recruiter with Manpower Professional, Gahanna, Ohio.

Miriam C. Ryman married Daniel Vines, Sept. 2, 2007.

They live in Graham, N.C. Miriam coordinates Duke in New York: Arts & Media Program in Durham, N.C. Sara E. Teri is a gender program associate with EngenderHealth, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

In 2006, Jonathan R. Wise received an M.A. from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, and language certification from the Goethe Institute in Freiburg, Germany. He also received his commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Jonathan is assigned to the U.S.S. Ft. McHenry as the weapons officer at Little Creek, Va.

’06 | Steven T. Byrne, Oakland, Calif., is working for AYUSA Global Youth Exchange.

Nathan R. Cherry married Shannon M. Graves on Dec. 21, 2007. They live in Toledo, Ohio, where Nathan is an investment adviser with Hylant Financial Services Ltd. Stephanie L. DiPalma has been named sales and marketing coordinator for the national title services division of Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., Atlanta, Ga. Kylie E. Evans and Adam T. Majot were married Nov. 3, 2007. They reside in Morgantown, W.Va. Kylie is a prevention education specialist at Hope Inc.: Task Force on Domestic Violence in Fairmont, W.Va. Adam is a stream scientist with Hatch Mott MacDonald.

Brian A. Konczos is a fund accountant with Citigroup, Columbus, Ohio.

Ann C. Lutz, Magnetic Springs, Ohio, is a new accounts representative with First Federal Community Bank, Marysville, Ohio.

David Maki

Karen M. Obee is with student services/admissions at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Anthony J. Ottomanelli, Perrysburg, Ohio, has been accepted into the sociology master’s program at DePaul University.

Sufiy James Davis ’00 Puts Service First In true Wittenberg “Pass It On” tradition, Sufiy Davis has dedicated herself to helping others since graduation. In her current capacity with Medco Pharmaceutical in Columbus, Ohio, Davis evaluates patient concerns. Prior to this post, Davis offered a safe atmosphere for children as a childcare provider, which followed her time with St. Vincent Family Center, also in Columbus.

At St. Vincent, Davis provided crisis intervention support and linked families with community resources. She has also pursued social work with Youth Challenges in Springfield, where she created effective treatment plans for children ages three to eight with emotional and psychological disorders. Her time with Youth Challenges followed her work as a literary service leader with the Americorps-affiliated City Year Columbus.

Two years ago, her desire to serve even captured the attention of Oprah Winfrey. Following the 2006 release of Pursuit of Happyness, based on a true story in which Will Smith portrays a once-homeless single father who eventually becomes a successful stock broker, Davis was moved to help the homeless in her hometown. Inspired by a previous Oprah Winfrey Show titled “Pay It Forward,” Davis started taking approximately 10 people each week from area homeless shelters to see the film.

Davis then e-mailed Winfrey via her Web site and received a response offering a camcorder to record what she was doing. After providing the footage, the show’s producers decided to send a camera crew to Columbus to film Davis and her family with the homeless residents at one of the film’s showings.

“Personally, Wittenberg tattooed the desire to give back and genuinely do for others,” Davis said. “Since then, volunteering has been a part of my family’s DNA.” Her alma mater recently recognized her service efforts by awarding her an Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming Weekend 2008, Oct. 10-12. Josephine Wilson, Keil Professor of Psychology, presented Davis with the award.

“Wittenberg meant the world to me,” Davis said. “It was an amazing, life-changing experience. I have often said it is the only period in my life, next to my wedding day, that I want to relive.” n

–Karen Gerboth ’93

Rajeevee C. Panditharatna is a graduate student and teaching assistant in the college of business administration in the department of economics at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Elizabeth A. Pike, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is an HR analyst/ coordinator with Ernst & Young, Cleveland, Ohio.

Alexander M. Poland, Dublin, Ohio, is a project manager with Fuse One Co., Columbus, Ohio.

Katie L. Proctor, Tewksbury, Mass., is a youth minister at Faith Lutheran Church, Andover, Mass.

Andrea N. Rossow, Sunrise, Fla., is an operations manager with the Davie School Foundation Inc. Karl R. Schmitt, Newville, Pa., has completed a year with an international Youth Encounter music team.

Trevor L. Sutherland is an assistant manager with Coffea, Lexington, Ky.

’07 | Zachary D. Bitzer, Batavia, Ohio, is an associate manager with Pacific Sunwear in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nathan J. Dowey, Munroe Falls, Ohio, is a geo-technician with Range Resources LLC, Hartville, Ohio.

Ronald G. Hageman III is in training as a second lieutenant with the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. Samuel K. Hong, Dublin, Ohio, is a mutual fund accountant with Citigroup Financial Services, Columbus, Ohio.

Danielle L. Kenne, Fairborn, Ohio, is a lab assistant at Nestle PTC, Marysville, Ohio.

Ashley A. Kopf is with China Jiliang University in Hang Zhou.

Joshua W. Richards, Naperville, Ill., is a marketing specialist with Merit Solutions Inc., Wheaton, Ill. Bryan M. Vehonsky, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is pursuing his master’s degree in accounting at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

Margret J. Zmrazek is a human resources coordinator with CareerBuilder.com, Chicago, Ill.

Maria J. Spencer, Chicago, Ill., is working with the ambassorial scholarships program at the Rotary International Headquarters, Evanston, Ill.

fall 2008 45

CLASS NOTES

Monica C. Neal, a student at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky, is serving with a Christian ministry in the National Park Program at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

CLASS NOTES

In Memoriam

’28 | Ruth A. Leffel ’51, Springfield, Ohio, passed away May 25, 2008.

She was a school teacher and principal with the Springfield City Schools, retiring with 46 years of service. An active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and Eastern Star, she is survived by a sister-in-law, Betty Wunderlich Leffel ’38, a niece and great-niece.

A brother, Elwood S. Leffel ’38, preceded her in death.

Katherine Carl Silvis retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Health before moving to Greencastle, Ind., where she died June 19, 2005. Surviving are several cousins, P. Kay Carl ’59, and Philip A. ’73 and Marilyn Miller Carl ’73. Preceding her in death were cousins, Helen Carl Lyon ’26 and Paul A. Carl ’28.

’29 | Lois Dietz Dodge died Dec. 22, 2007, at her home in Zelienople, Pa. A member of English Lutheran Church and Kappa Delta sorority, she was formerly a faculty member with the St. Petersburg Schools in Florida and owner of Baldringers, a gift shop in Zelienople. Numerous nieces and nephews survive.

’30 | Elsie Styer Shammo of Louisville, Ohio, died Oct. 8, 2007. A homemaker, she was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and the Farm Bureau.

She is survived by a daughter, two sons, nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

’32 | Marjorie Gearhart Kinnan, Bradenton, Fla., died Aug. 30, 2006. A member of First United Methodist Church, she helped found the Manatee County chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Manatee County Mental Health Association. She was a guidance counselor at Lincoln Memorial School before retiring to win a seat on the School Board, which she kept for 16 years. Her 46 Wittenberg Magazine

many honors include having an elementary school named for her, being named one of the 20 most influential people in Manatee County history and Distinguished Citizen of the Year for 1999.

Surviving are a daughter, two sons, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

’33 | Elizabeth Kuhns Eck of Centerville, Ohio, died March 11, 2008. A member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority and the Dayton Woman’s Club, she was a homemaker. Two daughters, a brother and two nieces survive.

Eloise Brown Speer, Lima, Ohio, died Oct. 27, 2006. She retired in 1976 after serving with the Lima Schools for 34 years, the last 14 as a French and world history teacher at Lima Senior High School.

She was a member of St. Luke Lutheran Church, numerous professional organizations, the Y.W.C.A., American Association of University Women, Sorosis Club, Stable Gables, Eastern Star and the Literacy Council.

Survivors include two daughters, three grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

’34 | Zelma Ballentine Seekford Ferryman died Nov. 17, 2007, in Springfield, Ohio. She began her career teaching nursery school in Redondo Beach, Calif. Later, she taught at the elementary level at Tremont City School in Ohio before teaching first grade with the Northwestern School District, retiring in 1981. An active member of the Tremont United Methodist Church, she is survived by a son, a niece, Marilyn Evans Shearer ’54, three nephews, including Thomas J. Evans ’50, and his wife, Bernice Young Evans ’54. Preceding her in death were her sister and brotherin-law, Russell F. ’25 and Audra Ballentine Evans ’21, and a niece, Barbara A. Evans ’51.

Arlene Bahler Scheetz died May 11, 2008, in her home in Coshocton, Ohio. A member of The Presbyterian Church of Coshocton and Alpha Delta Pi

sorority, she taught first grade in the Baltic Schools before teaching kindergarten at Lincoln School until her retirement in 1975. A member of the Sorosis Club, she was a volunteer at Roscoe Village for 20 years and with the Bloodmobile for 25 years.

Surviving are three daughters, a son, nine grandchildren, 14 greatgrandchildren, a sister, and several nieces and nephews.

Butler, Valparaiso, Madison, Cicero and Muncie, Ind., before retiring in 1980. A member of Dorm League, he was active in local ministerial associations, the Y.M.C.A. and was Delaware County C.R.O.P. program chair. He enjoyed playing tennis and golf. Surviving are two sons, a daughter, three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and a brother.

His wife, Ruth Myers Stevenson ’37, predeceased him.

Doris Harer Wallick of Bucyrus, Ohio, passed away Sept. 12, 2007.

She taught school for 36 years with the Bucyrus City Schools and Crawford County Elementary Schools, retiring in 1973 from the Sulphur Springs Schools. The oldest living charter member of St. John’s United Church of Christ, she was a member of the Ohio Retired Teachers Association, past treasurer of the Silver Cross Circle of the Kings Daughters and a life member of the Friends of the Library.

’36 |

’35 | Jon J. Duckwall, Los Angeles, Calif., died Nov. 27, 2007. A member of High Street United Methodist Church, he was an educator with the Los Angeles Schools for 27 years and an organist in various churches for more than 20 years. There are no known survivors. Preceding him in death were his father, John L. Duckwall 1894, and an aunt, Laura K. Knuth 1909.

John L. Newman of Economy, Ind., passed away April 1, 2008.

He had worked in banking and was the retired owner/operator of the Newman Corp. His many philanthropic interests included tree farming, the American Cancer Society, and collecting and distributing food to numerous local food pantries and kitchens. He was a member of First Friends Meeting, the Whitewater Valley Land Trust, the American Red Cross and Hagerstown Masonic Lodge.

A son, seven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews survive.

On Jan. 22, 2008, Frank L. Stevenson ’38S passed away in Muncie, Ind. An ordained Lutheran minister, he served parishes in Spencerville, St. Joe,

M. Jane Kuhn of Calvert City, Ky., died Aug. 31, 2007. A member of the Episcopal Church and Gamma Phi Beta sorority, she was a retired program analyst/ accountant with the Department of Defense. A cousin survives.

Alma Gluntz Ripper, New Brighton, Pa., passed away April 20, 2008. She was a teacher and librarian with the New Brighton School District for 23 years. Her memberships included Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Delta Zeta sorority, the New Brighton Library, the New Brighton Historical Society and the P.T.A. A skilled quilter, she is survived by a daughter, Judith Ripper Flint ’64, two sons, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Mary Young Sherwood died May 29, 2005, in Lexington, N.C. A member of the Presbyterian Church and Kappa Delta sorority, she began her career as a junior high school teacher with the Springfield City Schools in Ohio.

Later, she served 17 years as a national staff curriculum editor with the Presbyterian Church.

Before retiring in 1982, she was a media specialist for 11 years at the high school level with the public schools in Springfield, Pa. Her husband, Robert M. Sherwood ’36, predeceased her.

’37 | Helen Fisher Hartzler of Belleville, Pa., died Jan. 11, 2008. A member of West Kishacoquillas Presbyterian Church and Delta Zeta sorority, she worked for the Emergency Food Commission in Schenectady, N.Y., during World War II. She taught home economics in Stone Creek and New Philadelphia, Ohio, foods and nutrition at Juniata College,

Formerly of Indianapolis, Ind., and Dunedin, Fla., Helen Mary Augsburger Shepard died April 8, 2006, in Bainbridge Island, Wash.

Once a teacher, she devoted her life to her family. She was active with the P.T.A. and Brownies, and reading, gardening and traveling were her hobbies. Surviving are her husband, Edwin R. Shepard ’38, three daughters, including Sara L. Shepard ’75, two sons, seven grandchildren, a sister-in-law, Isabel Shepard Bailey ’41, and a niece, Jane Bergman Franchino ’68. Her mother-in-law, Minnie Reed Shepard 1916 and a sister-inlaw, Margaret Shepard Barrett ’51, preceded her in death.

Richard S. Smeltzer of Fort Gratiot, Mich., passed away on May 27, 2006. A member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, he served with the U.S. Army during World War II in the European Theater of Operations. Following his retirement in 1985 as CFO of the Port Huron Paper Co., he was the accountant at the Riverside Dental Clinic. He was also a Kiwanis Club Legion of Honor recipient, taught basic boating classes for the Port Huron Power Squadron and enjoyed traveling and downhill skiing. His wife, Jane Harstead Smeltzer ’38, and a son survive.

’38 | Formerly of Ypsilanti, Mich., Kermit C. Berry died May 2, 2000, in Northborough, Mass.

He was a teacher at Belleville High School in Michigan for more than 30 years, retiring in 1975. He was previously a principal in Michigan. His memberships included Rice Memorial Baptist Church, First Baptist Church and the Masonic Lodge. He was also

a Gold Coater volunteer at Bryer Memorial Hospital. He leaves his wife, three daughters, seven grandchildren, six greatgrandchildren and a brother.

Margaret Miner Witzel, formerly of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, passed away Dec. 8, 2007, in Sarasota, Fla. She taught elementary and high school classes with the Upper Sandusky Public Schools for 23 years. Her memberships included the John Stewart United Methodist Church, the Ohio Education Association and Wyandot County Retired Teachers Association. Two sons, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a brother survive. Preceding her in death were two brothers-in-law, Edwin M. Witzel ’30 and Ralph G. Witzel ’34.

Robert E. Young died Dec. 30, 2007, in Clark, Ohio. A member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, he served with the U.S. Army during World War II. He retired as the employee benefits manager with the Packaging Corporation of America, Evanston, Ill. A great respecter of nature, he planted many trees on his farm as well as along roads and lakes near his home. He loved opera and travel. Surviving are a son, a grandson, a sister and cousins, Howard E. Young ’39, Eric C. Young ’65 and Lucinda Young Williamson ’70. Preceding him in death were his father, Don A. Young 1907, a brother, William G. Young ’39, and an uncle, Wayne A. Young 1919.

’39 | Elizabeth “Betty” Stone Griffith, Sequim, Wash., died Oct. 15, 2005. Along with her husband, she operated the Griffith-Hedberg Dairy in Washington, Iowa, until 1959, when they moved to Sequim to raise beef cattle on a 160-acre farm. Later, she worked for the Sequim School District in the counseling office from 1968-84.

A member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, she is survived by a son, four grandchildren and a greatgrandchild. A sister, Sara Stone Knapp ’29, preceded her in death.

Victor S. Mamatey passed away Jan. 16, 2007, in Tallahassee, Fla. During World War II, he served

with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the China-India-Burma theatre.

He accepted a faculty position with the history department at Florida State University before being promoted to chair of the department in 1964. He then moved in 1967 to the University of Georgia at Athens, where he assumed the duties of research professor and served for a year as acting dean of the college of arts and sciences. He continued his work as an educator, lecturer and author at UGA until his retirement in 1984. A recognized expert in East European history, he authored, co-authored and edited a number of books and other publications on the subject.

Following his retirement, he traveled extensively, lecturing at conferences in the United States and Europe. Surviving are his wife, Denise Perrone Mamatey ’39, two sons, two grandsons and two granddaughters.

Anne Mucha of Lorain, Ohio, died Jan. 31, 2008. She was a teacher for 35 years at Whittier, Admiral King and Southview Schools with the Lorain City School System, retiring in 1975. A member of the Lutheran Church, she was an avid reader. A sister, three nieces including Janet Honecy Mitchell ’61 and Jeanne Honecy Mowrey ’69, and six greatnieces and great-nephews survive.

Grace Miller Rust, Eaton, Ohio, died Feb. 25, 2008. She retired in 1971 after 39 years with the Dayton Public Schools where she taught at Weaver and Fairport Schools. She also volunteered with the Literacy Program.

Having studied at the Dayton Art Institute, she exhibited at several one-man shows. A lifelong member of First Lutheran Church, she was active with numerous professional, civic and social organizations in her community and had served as past president of the Preble County Art Association and the Alpha Garden Club.

Several cousins survive. Another cousin, Marilyn J. Ott ’65, preceded her in death.

Mildred Semler Colombo Smith, formerly of Fairborn, Ohio, died May 4, 2008, in Sherwood Oaks, Pa. She taught school prior to becoming a library assistant at the Greene County

Library for more than 30 years.

A lifelong member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, she is survived by two daughters, a step-son, five grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.

Formerly of Springfield and Columbus, Ohio, Evelyn Hardacre Tracy passed away Feb. 11, 2008, in Xenia, Ohio. A registered nurse, she was a major in the U.S. Army serving in World War II with the 11th evacuation hospital in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany. She was awarded two bronze stars. A supervising nurse at Springfield City Hospital, she worked in obstetrics, delivery and surgery.

She also worked as an X-ray technician for Dr. E.R. Brubaker.

A past member of Bethel Baptist Church in Springfield and the First Baptist Church in Columbus, she is survived by two sisters and nine nieces and nephews, including Eleanor Amlin Neeld ’63. Preceding her in death was a brother, R. Elno Hardacre ’36.

Donna Sise Wilson of Canyon, Texas, died Nov. 9, 2007. She taught at public schools in Springfield, Ohio, and Norman, Okla., before moving to Canyon to teach at Oscar Hinger Elementary School. She retired in 1982.

After her retirement, she taught at Pyap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A member of First Presbyterian Church and Delta Zeta sorority, she served as president of Canyon Classroom Teachers, Delta Zeta Alumnae, Delta Kappa Gamma, A.A.U.W. and Canyon Fine Arts Club. She was also the state elementary division chair of Texas Music Educators Association and was selected as the outstanding state alumna of Delta Zeta in 1982.

Surviving are a daughter, six grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews, including Julia Lynn Wright ’66. Preceding her in death was a sister, Eleanor Sise Lynn ’39.

’40 | Hubert C. Brumbaugh passed away Feb. 29, 2008, in Canton, Ohio. A member of St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church and Dorm League, he served as a sergeant with the U.S. Army in the southwest fall 2008 47

CLASS NOTES

Huntingdon, Pa., and kindergarten with the Mifflin County School District. She had also been employed with the Home Bureau Extension Service in Rochester, N.Y. Additional memberships included the Belleville Civic Club, the Belleville Reading Club and the Girl Scouts of America.

She volunteered for the Mifflin County libraries in Belleville and Lewistown. A son survives.

Preceding her in death was a brother, Gerald B. Fisher ’37.

CLASS NOTES

Pacific during World War II. He was awarded three Bronze Stars.

He worked in the personal tax department of the Stark County Auditor and with the Stark County Treasurer before becoming the co-owner of the Hartville Elevator Co., retiring in 1980. His hobbies included woodworking and traveling. His wife, two sons, three daughters, 10 grandchildren, and a cousin and his wife, Richard E. ’50 and Wilma Maurer Werstler ’49, survive.

Raymond W. Strack died Feb. 15, 2008, in Yucaipa, Calif. A member of Faith Lutheran Church, Dorm League and Optimist Club, he was a sales manager with Remington Rand and Underwood Olivetti during his career. He is survived by a son, a daughter, six grandchildren, three greatgrandchildren and a nephew, Carl T. Strack ’64. Preceding her in death were his wife, Evelyn Clark Strack ’39 and a brother, Carl H. Strack ’39.

’41 | Isabel Shepard Bailey of Springfield, Ohio, died April 26, 2008. A member of Delta Zeta sorority and the Y.M.C.A., she enjoyed square dancing and playing bridge. She is survived by a son, two grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, two brothers, including Edwin R. Shepard ’38, and nieces, Jane Bergman Franchino ’68 and Sara L. Shepard ’75. Preceding her in death were her mother, Minnie Reed Shepard 1916, a sister, Margaret Shepard Barrett ’51, an aunt, Florence C. Reed ’21, and a sister-in-law, Helen Augsburger Shepard ’37.

Julia Truby Callahan, Powell, Ohio, died Dec. 22, 2007. A member of Christ Episcopal Church and Chi Omega sorority, she served with the U.S. Navy as a recruiter for the W.A.V.E.S. during World War II. Her career included teaching with the Painesville City Schools, being a sales promoter with the Stauffer Corp., and establishing the bridal gift registry at the Higbee Co. She returned to teaching in 1967 at Westwood Elementary School in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, until 48 Wittenberg Magazine

her retirement in 1980. A son, two granddaughters and a grandson survive.

Robert M. Crippen passed away March 26, 2008, in Gainesville, Fla. During World War II, he served in the infantry division with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific. After the war he joined the Taylor Chair Co. in Ohio as a sales manager. He moved in 1955 to Atlanta, Ga., where he began a long career as a manufacturer’s representative of office furniture, eventually settling in Gainesville.

He served as president of Southern Travelers Club in 1981. After retiring in 1983, he moved to Nokomis, Fla., where he enjoyed playing golf and traveling.

Two sons, a daughter, four grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren survive.

Formerly of Hinsdale, Ill., and Walnut Creek, Calif., Eleanor Bone Dorway died April 28, 2003, in Las Vegas, Nev. A retired high school business teacher, she was a member of the Mountain View Presbyterian Church, Chi Omega sorority, the P.E.O. Sisterhood A.E. Chapter, and the National EGGER’s Association.

During World War II, she served two years overseas with the Red Cross as the manager of a club at an infantry base in Tidworthy England. Survivors include a daughter, a son, two grandsons, a sister and two brothers.

Formerly of Hartville, Ohio, Charles T. Kimberly died April 28, 2008, in Naples, Fla. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Navy. The former factory manager of the Asplin Basket Factory, he served on the Hartville City Council for many years. His memberships included Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, McKinley Masonic Lodge, Lions Club and Congress Lake.

Surviving are his wife, Wilma Asplin Kimberly ’42, a son, a daughter, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and a niece and her husband, James A. ’67 and Cynthia Wearstler Riggs ’66. Preceding him in death were a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, David O. ’38 and Merle Asplin Wearstler ’39.

’42 | Helene Hoover Barnhart, Ashland, Ohio, died Oct. 17, 2003. A member of Kappa Delta sorority, she retired as a licensed, registered dietitian from Mansfield General Hospital.

Following her retirement, she volunteered with the Council on Aging and loved her cats, canning, gardening, and feeding wild birds.

A daughter, two grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a sister survive.

Jane Voelker Bergen, formerly of Ohio and New York, passed away April 21, 2008, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Her career included teaching music at the public schools in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, performing as a concert pianist in Long Island, N.Y., and serving as an associate professor of music at Ithaca College. A member of the Ithaca Seventh Day Adventist Church, she is survived by a step-son, a step-grandson, a niece and several cousins, Ruth Kurdt Holl ’45, Irene Rogers Klei ’60, Beulah Rogers Willey ’62 and Sandra Holl McClintock ’70. Preceding her in death were another cousin and her husband, Howard ’38S and Alma Kurdt Rogers ’35.

William J. Gosewisch, West Lake, Ohio, died June 5, 2008.

A member of Bethesda on the Bay Lutheran Church and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, he served as a captain with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He flew 30 missions over Germany in a B-17. For more than 55 years he worked in the coal industry, retiring as a vice president with R.T.G. Inc., Byesville, Ohio. Surviving him are his wife, Marguerite Holkesvig Gosewisch ’44, two daughters, including Gayle Gosewisch Franta ’66, a son-inlaw, Richard E. Franta ’67, and three grandchildren. A brother, Frederick C. Gosewisch ’46, preceded him in death.

June Singleton Gulmi died Dec. 2, 2006, in Northhampton, Mass. A member of St. John’s Episcopal Church and Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she taught elementary school for several years. She will be remembered fondly by two daughters, a son,

nine grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Henry C. Gulmi ’43, a sister, Mary Singleton Saum ’37, and cousins, David L. ’39 and Floy Moll Reeves ’39.

Dorothy Stewart Montei of Springfield, Ohio, passed away Feb. 13, 2008. Devoted to many organizations during her lifetime, she was associated with the Girl Scouts of America for more than 36 years. She invested many years as well with the Young Women’s Mission and the Lagonda Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. An active member of Covenant Presbyterian Church and Delta Gamma sorority, she volunteered at Mercy Medical Center and had accumulated more than 500 hours of service.

Surviving are a daughter, two sons, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death were her father, Roy L. Stewart 1914, an uncle, Elmer W. Stewart ’21, and an aunt, Erna A. Gasser ’26.

Frieda Renz Neuman died Nov. 4, 2007, in Lima, Ohio. A member of St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church and Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she was a homemaker who had taught in her earlier years.

She is survived by four daughters, nine grandchildren, including Danielle Rogers Good ’93, five great-grandchildren and a brother.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Mark A. Neuman ’43, a brother, William F. Renz ’43, a sister-in-law, Myrle Neuman Wiltse ’33, a brother-in-law and his wife, Forest A. ’34 and Florence Paschold Neuman ’35.

Betty Weisner Schofer of Lordstown, Ohio, died April 26, 2004. She had been a teacher in the Lordstown Schools and was a member of the Retired Teachers Association. Surviving are two daughters, a son, five grandchildren, a sister-in-law, Laura Parker Schofer ’38, and a niece and her husband, James H. ’61S and Mary Schofer Nichols ’60. Preceding her in death were her husband, Martin L. Schofer ’42, two sisters-in-law, Anna Schofer Bright ’28 and Margarette Hawk Schofer ’35, and four brothers-inlaw, Karl F. Schofer ’31, Paul J.

’43 | Mildred “Midge” Scarborough Cutler, Dallas, Texas, died Nov. 23, 2007. During World War II, she worked at multiple jobs supporting the war effort.

Following the war, she worked at Neiman Marcus, eventually becoming secretary to Edward Marcus. She also owned and operated The Flower Shop for many years. An avid bridge player, she achieved the rank of Silver Life Master, winning the Marcus Cup in 1969. A member of Chi Omega sorority, she is survived by her husband, three daughters, a son and four grandchildren.

Bernard H. Koch Jr. ’78S, of Springfield, Ohio, died Feb. 6, 2008. He pursued a career as a Lutheran minister and later taught English, French and Latin at the high school level. He then went to work as a tool and die maker for Wickham Piano Plate until his retirement. A member of First Lutheran Church and Dorm League, he served as chaplain of the International Order of Odd Fellows. He is survived by a daughter, a grandson and three great-grandchildren. A son, Frederick B. Koch ’68, preceded him in death.

Formerly of Stow, Ohio, John F. McCulloch III, passed away Jan. 11, 2004, in Charlotte, N.C. A member of North Hill Christian Church, Akron, Ohio, South Park Christian Church, Charlotte, N.C., and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, he served with the U.S. Marine Corps on Okinawa during World War II. He practiced law in Akron and Hudson, Ohio, until his retirement in 1983. He also was service director of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. His wife, two sons, six grandchildren and three cousins survive.

Ralph F. “Bud” Woltjen, Newark, Ohio, died April 15, 2008. The third-generation owner of Advance Glass Co., he was a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Newark Elks 391.

He was an avid sports fan who for 45 years officiated high school and college basketball, baseball,

track and football. Surviving are two sons, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

’44 | Jeanette VanBelle Albright of West Lafayette, Ind., died May 26, 2008. She taught in Ohio and Michigan before becoming a real estate broker. A member of St. Andrew United Methodist Church and Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she was involved with Planned Parenthood, Lafayette Urban Ministry and the League of Women Voters. She enjoyed teaching, gardening, home construction, reading, traveling, current events and sewing.

Surviving are her husband, two daughters, including Diane J. Albright ’76, three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and two sisters.

Lena Volpe Summers died Dec. 17, 2007, in Austintown, Ohio.

From 1943 until 1978, she served with the U.S. Naval Reserves. She taught with the Austintown Local School system for 35 years at West Elementary School, retiring in 1977. Her memberships included Free Will Baptist Church, the Mahoning County Retired Teachers Association, the Fleet Reserve Association and the Navy League of the United States. She is survived by two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.

Kenneth E. Wilt died Nov. 11, 2007, at his home in Lyndhurst, Ohio. He was a staff officer with the U.S. Merchant Marines.

A Lutheran minister, he was pastor of several congregations in Ohio, including Glenwood Lutheran Church, Toledo, Trinity Lutheran Church, Niles, St. James Lutheran Church, Cleveland Heights, and Jones Road Church, Cleveland. Later, he was a professional arbitrator and human resource manager for several business organizations in the Cleveland area. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Robinson Wilt ’44, a son, three daughters, 13 grandchildren and 18 greatgrandchildren. He was preceded in death by a sister-in-law, Janice Robinson Philabaum ’41.

Betty Smith Zimmerman, Springfield, Ohio, passed away April 16, 2008. Her volunteer

services and memberships were extensive including High Street United Methodist Church and the Young Women’s Mission.

She served as past president of the Junior Service League, past president of St. John’s Auxiliary, past chair of Planned Parenthood and a board member of the Clark Memorial Home. A self-employed interior designer, she leaves to cherish her memory a daughter, a son, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death were a daughter, Holly J. Zimmerman ’68, a brother and sister-in-law, Hobart R. ’33 and Pauline Trach Smith ’32, and another sister-in-law, Jeanne Zimmerman Coombs ’42.

’45 | Formerly of Springfield and Columbus, Ohio, Janice Epley Albrecht, passed away Jan. 15, 2008, in Athens, Ga. A member of the Lutheran Church and Kappa Delta sorority, she was a radiologic technologist at Springfield City Hospital and with Drs. Forman and Kirk in Columbus. Two daughters and two grandsons survive.

John G. Droge passed away April 4, 2008, in Texas City, Texas. A member of First Lutheran Church, First Church of God and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he served as a staff sergeant in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska with the U.S. Army during World War II. He was employed at Stewart Title for two years before becoming senior secretary in the personnel building billing offices of Todd Shipyards for nearly 40 years before retiring in 1989. In his later years, he volunteered for Hospice and the HOST reading assistance program in the elementary schools in Texas City. He leaves a son, a daughter, two brothers, including Dolf M. Droge ’50, and numerous step-children and grandchildren.

Edabelle Halstead Speakman died Feb. 18, 2008, in Springfield, Ohio. She began her career as a music teacher in the HardinHouston School District, moving to the Christiansburg-Jackson District and the Town and Country Day School before

retiring from the Springfield City Schools in 1981. Her memberships included St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Altrusa Club. Numerous nieces, nephews and cousins survive. Another cousin, J. Vernon Hickman ’39, preceded her in death.

Elmina Morrison Geib Younker of Fremont, Ohio, passed away July 3, 2007. A member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Delta Zeta sorority, she worked at Joseph Department Store and at The Gift Horse, as the manager, until her retirement in 1988. A former den mother for the Cub Scouts, she enjoyed gardening, animals and spending time with her family.

Survivors include a daughter, a son, two grandchildren, a greatgranddaughter and a brother.

’46 | Jeanne Kennedy Marsh died April 1, 2008, in Pontotoc, Miss.

A registered nurse, she was a homemaker and a sales coordinator with Huffman-Reiter Travel Agency, Memphis, Tenn. She was active in various civic and social organizations as well as serving as organist at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer for 25 years. A member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she is survived by a daughter, three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a sister, Judith Matthews Day ’58, and a nephew, H. Richard Shough ’63.

’47 | Warren H. Godard, Akron, Ohio, died Feb. 1, 2008. During World War II, he served as a corporal with the U.S. Army in the Caribbean.

Before his retirement, he worked for 40 years at the family business, the Godard Insurance Agency.

His memberships included First Congregational Church, Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Akron Insurance Board, Summit Toastmasters Club, Akron Jaycees, Fairlawn Swim and Tennis Club and Akron Men’s City Club.

He leaves his wife, Elizabeth Brain Godard ’46, two sons, two daughters, a sister-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death were a brother, Fred M. Godard ’48, and a cousin, Richard D. Godard ’52.

fall 2008 49

CLASS NOTES

Schofer ’36, John G. Schofer ’26 and Henry K. Schofer ’39.

CLASS NOTES

’48 | George N. Becker, Niles, Ill., passed away March 22, 2008. From 1946-50, he served with the U.S. Army as a special agent, counter intelligence corps in Austria. He then served with the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard until 1980 when he retired as a lieutenant colonel. In 1988, he retired as an associate systems consultant from Allstate Insurance Co. A member of the Lutheran Church, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and numerous military organizations, he is survived by four daughters and nine grandchildren.

Rudolph J. Carrasco died June 27, 2007, in Hartford, Conn.

He served with the U.S. Army in the Pacific during World War II. His memberships included River Valley Fellowship Church and Mensa. He indulged his passion for art in a number of different occupations in fine and commercial art fields. A daughter and a sister survive.

Rachel Keister Riley of Canton, Ohio, passed away Feb. 6, 2008.

She had been a teacher at Bath High School in Osborn early in her life, but spent most of her life as a devoted wife and mother. A member of St. Stephen Martyr Lutheran Church ELCA and Alpha Xi Delta sorority, she is survived by two sons, five grandchildren, a sister-in-law, Janet Williams Keister ’55, a nephew, Mark S. Keister ’83, and a niece and her husband, Jonathan C. ’87 and Linda Keister Bischoff ’87. Preceding her in death were her husband, Glenn D. Riley Jr. ’48, her parents, George D. 1919 and Ruth Becker Keister ’23, and a brother, Daniel L. Keister ’54.

Louis D. Ryman passed away June 7, 2008, in Canton, Ohio.

During World War II, he served as a sergeant with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific. He retired from the Canton City School System in 1981 after 33 years of coaching and teaching physical education, health and art. In the summer months, he was employed by the Canton Recreation Dept. as a playground director. For many years after his retirement, he gave 50 Wittenberg Magazine

free art lessons in his home studio.

He also wrote a novel, The Portrait, which was published in 2001. A son, a daughter, two grandsons and a brother survive.

’49 | Carol “Tainey” Nulsen Koop Franklin, Honolulu, Hawaii, died Dec. 26, 2007. She spent her career as an educator. Initially teaching at Colerain Township in Cincinnati, Ohio, she later taught at the University of South Dakota and 28 years in the elementary and middle schools on Oahu, Hawaii. She retired from teaching at Niu Valley Intermediate School after 18 years. Her memberships included the United Methodist Church, Unity Church, Kappa Delta sorority, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu Quarterback Club, Outdoor Circle and Symphony Associates. Surviving are two daughters, a son, 12 grandchildren, a great-grandson and a sister, Jacqueline Nulsen Thompson ’51.

Stanley B. Grueninger died Feb. 23, 2008, in Glendale, Ohio. A member of Friendship United Methodist Church and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, he served as an air cadet with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. In his early years, he worked for the railroad and did landscaping work in Sharonville and Ivorydale before becoming sales manager for 20 years with Jennings Buick in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1970, he opened Grueninger Oldsmobile and GMC Truck, which he owned until he retired in 1987. Founder of Beautiful Woodlawn Business Association, he was the former president of the Woodlawn Kiwanis Club and Glendale Heritage Preservation.

His wife, two sons, a daughter, five grandchildren and a greatgrandson survive.

Richard E. Pearson died April 29, 2008, in Piqua, Ohio. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations. He continued his military service with the Ohio National Guard where he was a battery commander and as a lieutenant colonel with

the reserves until his eventual retirement. He began his career as a teacher/coach in Kenton before coming to the Piqua Secondary Schools. In 1970, he accepted an administrator’s position with the Piqua City School District until his retirement in 1982. Founder of the annual Mote Relays, he was a rules interpreter for athletics with the State of Ohio and was a track and field official for 30 years. His memberships included St. Paul’s Evangelical and Reformed Church, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, the VFW, Antioch Shrine of Dayton and Warren Masonic Lodge.

Surviving are two sons, three daughters, 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and a sister.

R. Paul Stroup ’52S, Orrville, Ohio, died Dec. 14, 2007.

A member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, he served as a staff sergeant with the U.S. Army Engineers in Europe and the South Pacific during World War II. He was awarded a Bronze Star.

Ordained in 1952, he accepted his first call as pastor at St. Peter’s and Gethsemane Lutheran Churches in Corydon, Ind. He continued to serve congregations in Ohio and Pennsylvania before accepting a call to Augsburg Lutheran Church, Orrville, in 1971. During this time he also was executive director of Lutheran Community Services.

Following his retirement in 1987, he served as interim pastor and supply pastor at numerous congregations in northeastern Ohio. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Huffman Stroup ’51, two sons, including Timothy L. Stroup ’79, a daughter, Paula Stroup Ripepi ’80, two granddaughters, a sister-in-law, Mary Huffman Maurice ’46, a nephew, William W. Maurice ’73, a niece, Jean P. Maurice ’71, and a great-niece, Andrea L. Maurice 2004. Preceding him in death were a sister, Irene Stroup Quelle ’32, and a brother-in-law, William B. Maurice ’47.

’50 | Franklin W. Aleshire, a lifetime resident of Springfield, Ohio, passed away Jan. 8, 2008. During

the Korean War, he served with the U.S. Air Force. For 30 years, he was the owner/operator of A&B Asphalt and Tar Inc. He was a member of Anthony Lodge 455, F.&A.M. and the Springfield Shrine Club. An avid golfer, he leaves his wife, two sons, a daughter, three grandchildren four great-grandchildren and a sister.

Donald H. Ellsworth passed away Dec. 28, 2007, in Springfield, Ohio. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Navy as a petty officer first class aboard the U.S.S. L.S.T. 685 in the South Pacific. He began his career as an agent for Farm Bureau Insurance, which later became Nationwide Insurance Co. He held several positions, including New England and Western Pennsylvania regional claims manager during his 38-year career before retiring in 1983.

During his retirement, he enjoyed golfing and winters in Bradenton, Fla. His memberships included New Moorefield United Methodist Church, the Masonic Paramuthia Lodge 25 of Athens, the Scottish Rite and the Shrine Alladin, Columbus, Ohio. Surviving are his wife, two daughters and two brothers, including Daryl G. Ellsworth ’51.

Virginia Toews Filson died Nov. 21, 2007, in Springfield, Ohio.

She retired in 1980 after 35 years of teaching at the elementary level at Warder Park, Frey and Simon Kenton. Her memberships included First Lutheran Church, American Business Women’s Association and Home City Chapter Eastern Star. An active volunteer, she was honored by Catholic Social Services and the Girl Scouts for many years of service. Her husband survives. A sister, P. Elizabeth Toews ’34, and a cousin, Norma Toews Schneider ’40, predeceased her.

Dale H. Jackson, Springfield, Ohio, died March 22, 2008. He served his country with the U.S. Navy during World War II and the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He worked for U.S. News and World Report and Homestead Federal Savings & Loan before retiring as a vice president from Huntington Bank in 1991. His memberships included Grace Lutheran Church, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity,

Albert L. Schuck Jr. Centerville, Ohio, passed away April 1, 2004. He was a well-known and successful financial consultant in the Dayton area for 47 years before retiring from Prudential Securities. A U.S. Navy pilot, he was a member of the Flying Midshipmen, the Quiet Birdmen and the Dayton Flying Club. He will be sadly missed by his wife, two sons, two step-daughters and 12 grandchildren.

R. Richard Summer died Dec. 29, 2007, in Gresham, Ore. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Navy.

Ordained a Lutheran minister in 1952, he served as a Protestant chaplain with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, led community assistance programs in prisons in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Texas, and for the national bureau in Washington, D.C. He moved to Corvallis, Ore., in 1983, where he was an interim pastor. He then became pastor for Trinity Lutheran Church in Gresham in 1984. Surviving are two sons, including Mark R. Summer ’73, a daughter-in-law, Bonnie Scott Summer ’73, three grandchildren and two brothers.

’51 | Bonnie Faun Hendricks of Van Wert, Ohio, died Nov. 6, 2005. For many years she taught in the Van Wert School System.

Her memberships included First Presbyterian Church, Alpha Xi Delta sorority, the Y.W.C.A., the Peony Parade Committee and the Eastern Star. She volunteered for Hospice and Wassenberg Art Center. Two daughters, a son, five grandchildren and a sister survive.

R. William Roeth Jr. ’64M. Ed. of Springfield, Ohio, passed away on Nov. 12, 2007. During World War II, he served as a sergeant with the U.S. Army 2nd Division, 38th Infantry AntiTank Company in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He began

his teaching and coaching career at Enon High School before becoming principal at Greenon High School and retiring as assistant superintendent of the Mad River Green School District. A member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, he was inducted into the Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor in 1992.

A daughter, two grandchildren and a sister survive.

’52 |

Philip B. Rudolph, Russells Point, Ohio, died Feb. 7, 2008.

During World War II, he served as a corporal in the signal corps with the U.S. Army in Europe.

His career was spent as a sales representative. He loved to travel, eat, drink and cook. He leaves two sons and five grandchildren.

Robert L. Henkel, Stayton, Ore., passed away April 26, 2008.

During World War II, he served with the U.S. Navy. He worked as a pastor for the Lutheran Church in America from 1952-72, as a teacher with the Stayton Public Schools from 1972-87 and was honored as a Fulbright teacher in England in 1982-83. An active member of Calvary Lutheran Church, he performed marriages until 2007, and tutored English as a second language. He was also a vocalist in numerous choirs and was an actor in off-Broadway musicals. Surviving are his wife, Kathryn Feldkircher Henkel ’43, four children, 12 grandchildren, a great-granddaughter, three sisters-in-law, Martha Feldkircher Hartje ’44, Lois Feldkircher Gross ’46 and Freda Feldkircher Christ ’51, a brother-in-law, John E. Christ ’51S, cousins, David L. Rollins ’55, and Clark B. Jr. ’48 and Margaret Hosier Rollins ’48, and nephews, Philip M. Hartje ’76, Thomas A. Hartje ’74, Zachary T. Hartje ’03 and John R. Hartje ’70, and his wife, Carol Camper Hartje ’70. Another cousin, Mary Rollins Devor ’48, predeceased him.

Herman H. Schmid of Pine Bluff, Ark., died April 12, 2008. During World War II, he served as a fighter pilot with the 51st Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps in Panama and various airbases in the United States. He founded Creative Fabrics Inc., retired from the Cotton Belt Railroad and worked as a driver. His memberships included Trinity Lutheran Church, the Diamond State Barbershop Chorus and Lions Club. He is survived by his wife, Mary Leibenguth Schmid ’49, a son, three daughters, 11 grandchildren, four greatgrandchildren, three brothers, including Paul H. Schmid ’51, and a sister.

Robert F. Turner, Springfield, Ohio, died April 25, 2008.

A member of Grace United Methodist Church and Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity, he served with the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. He was a teacher and OWA supervisor with the Springfield City Schools for more than 30 years, retiring in 1982. Surviving are a daughter, four grandchildren, a greatgranddaughter and a niece, Sharon Campbell Diekman ’67. Preceding him in death were cousins, Paul M. Brosy ’21, Paul R. McCutcheon Jr. ’61 and Jack A. ’49 and Constance Miller McAfee ’48.

Allen H. “Bud” Brain Jr. of Springfield, Ohio, passed away Jan. 1, 2008. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served in Panama with the U.S. Ordinance Dept. during World War II. He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church and retired as president and general manager from Brain Lumber Co. Two sisters survive.

Formerly of Lansing, Mich., Charles D. Mefford died Dec. 6, 2007, in Naples, Fla. He served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War. His career included serving in management as an officer, director and shareholder with 14 radio stations around the country. He is best known for purchasing WMRT radio in Lansing, Mich., changing it to WITL and making it Michigan’s first full-time country music station. It was an instant success and remains so today.

He continued there until he sold it in 1988. His wife, two sons,

five daughters and numerous grandchildren mourn his passing.

’53 | Ernest P. Pretsch passed away in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 18, 2008.

A member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, he was a Lutheran minister. He served parishes in Narrowsburg and Brooklyn, N.Y., before accepting a call in 1970 to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Orlando, Fla. The driving force in the development of Orlando Lutheran Towers, he was widely known for his expertise in caring for the elderly and served as a consultant to a number of national firms specializing in senior housing.

Surviving are a brother and sisterin-law, Paul G. ’62 and Catherine Psolla Pretsch ’62, two nephews and a niece.

’54 | A former resident of Columbia City, Ind., Warren D. Clapp died Dec. 21, 2004, in Fort Wayne, Ind. During the Korean War, he served with the U.S. Army in Germany.

He was secretary-treasurer of his family business, Columbia Grain and Feed Co., until his retirement in 1986. His memberships included Zion Lutheran Church, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, the Columbia City Elks Lodge and the Columbia City Board of Zoning Appeals. Survivors include his wife, four daughters and seven grandchildren.

Formerly of Dayton, Ohio, F. Joseph Giessler died Dec. 10, 2007, in Lady Lake, Fla. During the Korean War, he served as a corporal with the U.S. Army.

An aeronautical engineer, he was a specialist in the structural integrity of airplanes and a licensed professional engineer of the State of Ohio. In 1995, he retired from the Research Institute of the University of Dayton. His memberships included the American Legion of Ohio, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Kiwanis Club, the Jazz Lovers Club and the Classical Music Club. An avid sports fan, he is survived by his wife, Jo Anne Herzel Giessler ’53, two daughters, Jo Ellen Giessler Weiss ’81 and Jennifer A. Giessler fall 2008 51

CLASS NOTES

Brookville Lodge 596 F.&A.M. and the board of directors of the Springfield Symphony. His wife, Sue Miller Jackson ’49, a son and a brother survive.

CLASS NOTES

’83, two grandsons and a brother, Richard A. Giessler ’59.

Carol Jenson Zody Labbe, Akron, Ohio, passed away April 1, 2007. She was a self-employed home care specialist and a member of Messiah Lutheran Church, Alpha Xi Delta sorority and the Akron City Women’s Club. Her husband, two daughters, two step-daughters, a step-son, two grandchildren and three step-grandchildren survive.

’55 | Nancy White Lewis died May 21, 2008, in Ames, Iowa.

From 1955-57 she was a surgery research technician at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. In 1957, she moved to Ames, Iowa, where she was a medical technologist at the McFarland Clinic and at Iowa State University Student Health Center. She was also an editor for the Iowa State University Press.

From 1979-87, she operated an infant day-care service and was a certified spiritual director. Until recently, she contributed a regular column for Facets, a monthly publication of The Tribune. Her memberships included Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Lutherans Concerned of North America and the Ames Advisory Council for Planned Parenthood of Central Iowa. Survivors include her husband, Edwin C. Lewis ’55, two daughters, two sons, four grandchildren and a sister. Her mother, Mabel Tucker White ’55, preceded her in death.

Charlotte Boster Cooper Ryman of Springfield, Ohio, died April 30, 2008. She taught at Springfield High School before moving to Oak Lawn High School in Illinois. She returned to Clark County to teach at Olive Branch, South Vienna, Northeastern and Kenton Ridge. She retired in 1991. A member of First Lutheran Church, she is survived by her husband, Donald E. Ryman ’57, a daughter, Elizabeth Cooper Fryling ’84, a son, Christopher J. Cooper ’85, seven grandchildren, a sister and a brother. Another sister, Betty Boster Skidmore ’58, preceded her in death.

52 Wittenberg Magazine

Herman C. Spahr Jr., Leawood, Kan., died Jan. 26, 2008. A member of Dorm League, he served in security in Vienna, Austria, with the U.S. Army from 1955-58. He was a city manager in the Pittsburgh, Pa., and Chicago, Ill., areas for 25 years before becoming the CEO of John Knox Village, a retirement community in Lee’s Summit, Mo., until his retirement in 2001.

Surviving are his wife, Audrey Buchanan Spahr ’58, a son, two daughters, 12 grandchildren, his mother, a brother and a sister.

Martha Peiffer Winkhart died Jan. 1, 2008, at her home in Springfield, Ohio. She taught at Warder Park Elementary School before becoming a counselor at Clark Middle School. She also taught evening classes at Wittenberg, retiring in 1989 after a career of 45 years. During her retirement, she enjoyed traveling, spending winters in Arizona, volunteering at the Mammography Center and performing comedy at Eaglewood Village. A lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church, she will be sadly missed by two daughters, Carolyn Winkhart Booher ’63 and Cheryl Winkhart Holdraker ’67, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

’56 | Eugene B. Binder of Portage, Ind., passed away April 3, 2008.

He served in the Signal Corps with the U.S. Army in the late 1950s. For eight years he was associated with the Gary National Bank in Indiana, before beginning to work as a production scheduler for the Bethlehem Steel Corp., from where he retired after 31 years. His memberships included Community Bible Church, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and Saxon Lodge Branch 40. His wife, a son, five grandchildren, an aunt and a cousin survive. Another cousin, J. George Schiller ’48, predeceased him.

Richard C. Zimmerman ’05H, a former statehouse and Washington bureau chief for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, died Jan. 10, 2008, in Washington, D.C. A member of

Beta Theta Pi fraternity, he served with the U.S. Air National Guard in the early ’60s. He began his career in journalism as a political cartoonist. During his career, he worked for Horvitz Newspapers and the Dayton Journal Herald before moving to Columbus in the late ’60s when he joined The Plain Dealer. He was the author of two books, Plain Dealing and Call Me Mike, a biography of former Ohio governor Michael V. DiSalle. He is survived by a sister, a sister-in-law, a cousin and his wife, John L. III ’55 and Norma Hanley Zimmerman ’58, a niece and two nephews. Preceding him in death were his father, Charles B. Zimmerman Sr. 1911, a brother, Charles B. Zimmerman Jr. ’56, his grandfather, John L. Zimmerman Sr. 1879, an aunt and uncle, John L. Jr. 1916 and Kari Ness Zimmerman ’20, and a cousin Kari Zimmerman Winters ’49.

’57 | Robert F. Hamilton died April 14, 2008, in Shiloh, Ohio.

A member of First Lutheran Evangelical Church and Dorm League, he bought a farm in 1993. He retired as president of finance from Eaton Credit Corp. in 1994. He later served as the director of finance for the cities of Sheffield Lake and Avon, from which he recently retired.

He collected Weller pottery, restored classic mahogany Chris Craft boats, worked to preserve the music and theater organ instruments used in the silent movie era, and built a music hall on his farm. Survivors include his wife, three sons, a daughter, two grandsons, four granddaughters, his parents and a sister, Cynthia Hamilton Reighard ’69.

Joyce Fresonke Prouty, Laguna Woods, Calif., died April 24, 2005. She retired as a middle school and high school mentor/ math teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District, Huntington Park, Calif. A member of the Lutheran Church of the Cross, she is survived by a daughter, a son, three grandchildren, a sister and a brother.

’58 | Mires C. “Mike” Stine Jr. of Gilbertsville, Pa., died July 27, 2007. A member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he received the Navy Commendation Medal with V for outstanding performance for his service as a chaplain with the U.S. Navy Mobile Construction Battalion Seven (Sea-Bee 7) in DaNang, Vietnam. He spent 20 years teaching pastors how to counsel wounded soldiers at Catholic University. He also taught clinical pastoral education at Walter Reed Army Hospital and Georgetown University. His wife, three children and eight grandchildren survive.

’60 | Donald D. Dunn, rector emeritus of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Elko, Nev., died March 8, 2005. He taught philosophy at Great Basin College, Elko, Nev., and English at Elkhart High School in Indiana, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., Randolph Southern, Lynn, Ind., and in Lewisburg and Greenville, Ohio. Before retiring after eight years of service as rector of St. Paul’s in 1994, he had served parishes in Arizona, Michigan, Indiana, South Dakota and Ohio. Survivors include his wife, two sons, a daughter, nine grandchildren and a sister.

Timothy S. Masten of Vermillion, Ohio, passed away Dec. 27, 2007.

A music teacher with the Elyria Public Schools, retiring in 1990, he had taught at Southeastern High School in South Charleston, Ohio, and Pitchin Elementary School in Springfield. He directed the Elyria High School choirs and the Elyria High School musicals during his career. He sang in the St. John’s Cathedral choir, Cleveland, Ohio, and at St. Mary’s Church in Vermillion. He co-founded the Springfield Civic Opera Co. and was a member of the Lorain County Arts Council. An excellent musician, he sang professionally and was a gourmet cook. Recently, he worked as a prep chef at Tom’s County Place in Avon. He also enjoyed his job as first mate on the charter boat, “Miss Majestic” in Lorain. Survivors include a daughter, a granddaughter, a brother and a sister, Ann Masten Henriksen ’65.

’63 |

Fern Napier Combs Brown, of New Carlisle, Ohio, passed away Dec. 29, 2007. She taught in the Perry County School System for several years before teaching for many years at the Bethel Local and Wayne Township Schools.

She is survived by her husband, a son, two grandsons, including Sean K. Combs ’06, five sisters and a brother.

Sandra V. Grube passed away May 13, 2008, at her home in Xenia, Ohio. From 1964-73, she served as a captain with the U.S. Army, receiving the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Services Commendation Medal and National Service Defense Medal.

A member of the Lutheran Church, she was the head librarian at Southern State Community College in Wilmington, Ohio, before retiring as a librarian from Wittenberg. Surviving are four cousins, including Stephanie Davies Snyder ’64.

Fianna Rexroth DeLong died Dec. 25, 2007, in Springfield, Ohio. A teacher at Horace Mann, Oscar T. Hawke, Donnelsville Elementary and Indian Valley Schools, she was named a National Leader in Education in 1971. She is survived by three sons, seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, a sister, two brothers and a cousin, Jack I. Kidwell ’53.

Jane Duvendack Nichols Otis passed away May 24, 2008, in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. A member of Federated Church and Gamma Phi Beta sorority, she devoted her life to children, working at Akron Children’s Hospital, where she pioneered in bereavement counseling in the neo-natal intensive care unit. She is survived by a daughter, a son, Brian K. Nichols ’89, a step-son, four grandchildren, a sister, Nancy Duvendack Malone ’59, a nephew and his wife, Mark C. ’88 and Cynthia Rockel Davis ’89, and a cousin, Carleton W. Vobbe Jr. ’58. Predeceasing her was a cousin, Carleton W. Vobbe Sr. ’32.

M. Ronald Price of Dayton, Ohio, died May 27, 2008. For more than 30 years, he taught English, specializing in British literature at Northwestern High School, Fairmont East High School, Oakwood High School, Sinclair Community College and Central State University. Along with his wife, he was also the proprietor of Price’s Steamboat House and Samuel Johnson’s Coffee House. A member of Phi Mu Delta fraternity and many other organizations, he is survived by his wife, Ruth Decker Price ’62, a son, Scott R. Price ’88, a daughter, Laurie Price Starner ’89, three grandchildren, a brother and two nephews.

William C. McCrory of Camden, Mich., died April 3, 2008. Before retiring as CFO with Spohn Associates in Indianapolis, Ind., he had worked at LinEl Signature Inc., Bostwick Braun Co., and Ernst and Ernst. A member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, he enjoyed fishing, woodworking and gardening. His wife, two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren survive.

Formerly of Springfield, Ohio, Garnet Graham Harvey Peters passed away April 11, 2008, in Ballground, Ga. She taught for many years at the Hustead and Indian Valley Middle Schools. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Eastern Star, she enjoyed painting, sculpting, poetry, music, volleyball, bowling, hiking and nature.

Surviving are three daughters, five grandchildren, including Jessica L. Brewer ’10, and five greatgrandchildren.

’64 | Grace Whitacre Camfield of Spring, Texas, passed away Jan. 19, 2007. A member of John Wesley United Methodist Church, she retired from teaching in 1972 after a long career in Ohio and Illinois.

Following her retirement, she enjoyed many years in Mattoon, Ill., and Green Valley, Ariz.

Surviving are a daughter, a son, five grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren.

John P. Dozier of Mountain View, Calif., passed away April

7, 2008, at his vacation home in Pine Mountain Lake, Calif.

A member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, he taught earth science at Central Junior High School in Fairborn, Ohio, from 1965-72.

For the past 36 years, he taught biology at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif.

He also coached basketball, track, cross country, tennis and water polo. A brother survives.

’65 |

Kay Waddle Fanning, Springfield, Ohio, died Feb. 19, 2008. She was a business teacher at Shawnee High School, Clark County Technical Institute and later at Cedarville College. She served on the Clark County School Board for 27 years and on the JVS School Board for 21 years. In 1970, she entered a very successful career in direct sales with Fashion Two-Twenty Cosmetics and Leana International Cosmetics, retiring in 1997. She then spent her winters in Florida and Arizona. Her memberships included Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Kith n’ Kin Farm Bureau Council and other professional organizations. She attended Emery Chapel United Methodist Church, Springfield, Ohio, Grace Baptist Church, Cedarville, Ohio, and Mountain View Nazarene Church in Tucson, Arizona. She leaves her husband, a daughter, two sons, a brother and two nephews, Andrew J. Waddle ’03 and Christopher A. Waddle ’05.

’66 |

Gary J. Milgate of Lebanon, Pa., passed away March 26, 2008.

A member of Salem Lutheran Church and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he served as a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict and remained active with the Pennsylvania National Guard 28th Division and the Army Reserve until his retirement. He also retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, Harrisburg, Pa. Most recently, he was an on-call driver for the Caron Foundation in Wernersville, Pa. He loved theater, jazz, travel, deer hunting and cruises. Surviving are his wife, Rosemary Wenzler Milgate ’64, two daughters, four grandchildren and a sister.

Formerly of Kalamazoo, Mich., Lucy Anderson Lightfoot died Jan. 5, 2005, in Columbus, Ohio.

A member of Delta Gamma sorority, she was a tax accountant for 20 years with Don Lightfoot and Associates. Surviving are her husband, a daughter, two sons, five grandchildren, her mother and a sister.

Earle V. Ehrhart died March 24, 2007, in Madison, Wis. He worked for Giddings and Lewis Foundry, before owning and operating the historic Union House Tavern for 22 years, where he counseled and provided meals for the homeless and lonely. His wife, a son, a daughter, three grandchildren, his mother and two sisters survive.

William P. Hafner of Columbus, Ohio, passed away May 30, 2008. He retired as a teacher at Oakwood High School after 34 years of service. Survivors include his wife, a son, a daughter, two grandchildren and a brother.

Elmer M. “Bud” Richter, Canadian Lakes, Mich., died Dec. 1, 2007. With his wife, he built a private detective agency, Assurance Advisors and Investigators, where he spent most of his career specializing in bodily injury claims.

A member of the Chapel of the Lakes Lutheran Church of Mecosta and Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, he served on the board of directors of the Southfield Chamber of Commerce, as an instructor at Henry Ford Community College and was one of a very few private detectives to be also licensed as an independent insurance adjuster and claims administrator. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Bellows Richter ’67, two daughters, three granddaughters, three brothers and a sister.

’67 | Catherine Trunk Carroll of Spokane, Wash., formerly of Chatham, Ill., passed away April 9, 2008. A member of Valley Fourth Memorial Church and Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she was an accomplished accountant, fall 2008 53

CLASS NOTES

’62 |

working for small companies and non-profits. She is survived by her husband, two daughters, a grandson, a sister and a brother.

Helen M. Mantel died March 23, 2008, in Springfield, Ohio.

She worked in Washington, D.C., and at Wright Patterson Air Force Base before teaching at St. Raphael and St. Bernard Schools. She retired from Kenwood Elementary School. A member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Alpha Delta Kappa, Rosary Making Guild, Legion of Mary, Women’s Auxiliary of Catholic Social Services and the Ohio Retired Teachers Association, she was associated with the Dominican Sisters of the Poor and volunteered for the Springfield Reading Aids. A sister, a sister-in-law, and many nieces and nephews survive.

Martha Beach Sunman, Xenia, Ohio, passed away March 4, 2008. Her career included teaching business at Northwestern High School, serving as a legal secretary with Rush, Rush & Schmenk in Springfield, Ohio, and as an editorial assistant with Industrial Machinery News, Southfield, Mich. A member of Faith Community United Methodist Church, Delta Zeta sorority and the Golden Age Senior Citizen Center, she volunteered at Greene Memorial Hospital. Surviving are a son, a sister, a brother and sister-in-law, Roger G. ’65 and Connie Tabor Beach ’65, and numerous nieces and nephews, including Erin L. Beach ’03 and Colin R. Beach ’01. Preceding her in death were her parents, Herbert J. ’28 and Hildreth Tullis Beach ’31, and a brother, David L. Beach ’62.

Robert D. Thomas of Columbus, Ohio, died Jan. 4, 2008. He was a public high school teacher in Tucson, Ariz., a private school teacher in Mexico and an instructor of Spanish at Wisconsin State University in Oshkosh, Wis. A member of Beechwold Christian Church, he is survived by his mother and several cousins.

54 Wittenberg Magazine

’68 | James M. Shade, a resident of Miamisburg, Ohio, died Dec. 11, 2007. An active member of Epiphany Lutheran Church, he had retired as a counselor with the Kettering City Schools after 26 years of service. He had also played with the Kettering Civic Band and served on the Miamisburg City Schools Board of Education and the Miamisburg Planning Commission. A son and a brother survive. Two uncles, Ralph H. Shade 1919 and Raymond W. Shade ’26, preceded him in death.

’70 | Jeffrey W. Franklin died May 18, 2008, in Bright, Ind. During the Vietnam War, he served with the U.S. Air Force. A member of VFW Post 1484 in Covington, Ky., he was formerly a buyer with Prestolite. Surviving are his wife, a son, a daughter, his parents, a brother and two sisters.

’71 | Kathleen Leitschuh Ransbottom of Springfield, Ohio, died Feb. 25, 2008. A 50-year member of First Lutheran Church, she had a passion for square dancing, which she did with the S’Allamandes Dance Club. She is survived by her husband, a daughter, a son, five grandchildren and a greatgranddaughter. Another son, Douglas L. Ransbottom ’68, predeceased her.

’72 | Susan Frisk Iatesta, New Providence, N.J., died April 7, 2008. A member of Grace Bible Chapel and Alpha Xi Delta sorority, she was a music educator with the New Providence School District for 36 years. She was honored with the 2005-06 Teacher of the Year Award from the New Providence School District, the Master Teacher Award from the New Jersey Music Educators Association in 2007 and the New Jersey Governor’s Award in Art Education in 2007. Surviving

are her husband, a daughter, two sisters, including Carol Frisk Dreiling ’64, and 14 nieces and nephews, including Jon R. Crispin ’92 and his wife, Kirsten Lindrooth Crispin ’92.

’75 | David J. Donnell of Dayton, Ohio, passed away Jan. 20, 2008.

A former math teacher, he was a 25-year veteran of the Dayton Police Dept. He is survived by his wife, a son, three daughters, two grandchildren, his mother, his birth mother, two brothers and two sisters.

Steven B. Houck, formerly of Toledo, Ohio, died Dec. 26, 2007, in his home in Tempe, Ariz. A member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, he was passionate about working with troubled adolescents, which he did for many years as assistant director of The New Foundation in Phoenix, Ariz. Surviving are his wife, two sons, his mother, a brother and a sister.

’76 | Judith Moore Ross of Hudson, Ohio, died Feb. 3, 2008. A member of First Congregational Church of Hudson and Kappa Delta sorority, she was an independent sales representative in the giftware industry, after following a career in retail merchandising. She leaves her husband, two daughters, a son, her mother, her father, a sister and a brother.

Patrick Riley died Jan. 4, 2008, in Anoka, Minn. Previously employed by Lague Enterprise, he was currently working with the St. Paul Public Housing Agency.

His memberships included St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, the Anoka Economic Development Commission and Mensa. He is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter, five grandchildren and two sisters.

’77 | Michael G. Ibold died April 11, 2008, at his home in Chardon, Ohio. Before his retirement on

June 15, 2006, he practiced with the law firm of Petersen & Ibold.

A member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter and three brothers, including William N. Ibold ’80.

’83 | Cynthia K. Endter passed away in Akron, Ohio, Feb. 18, 2008. A member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she was a retired polymer chemist.

She will be missed by her mother, a brother and two nieces. Her father, Norman G. Endter ’55, predeceased her.

’88 | Mariko Kondo Miyatake of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, died July 15, 2006. A sales associate with Nextel, she is survived by her husband, her parents, two sisters and a brother.

’91 | Jeffrey W. Stockdale of Springfield, Ohio, died Dec. 11, 2007. He was an MRDD psychiatrist at Springview Developmental Center. His mother, a brother, two sisters, and several nieces and nephews survive.

’94 | R. Marshall Brown passed away April 17, 2008 in Falls Church, Va. A senior exposition manager with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, he worked for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s team in training (TNT) program in the national capital area, and was instrumental in creating TNT’s inline skating program nationwide.

His passions included in-line skating, sailing, hiking, fly fishing and Detroit sports teams. He leaves his wife, his parents, a sister, two nephews, and several aunts and uncles.

Calendar of Events

calendarevents

calendar of

events

calendarevents

November 15 16

Faculty Artist Recital: Daniel Kazez, cello – 3 p.m. Krieg Hall Joint Concert: Wittenberg Chamber Orchestra and Wittenberg Singers – 3 p.m. Weaver Chapel

17

Witt Series: Author, Poet and Screenwriter Sherman Alexie –

7:30 p.m. Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center, cosponsored by the American Studies Program and the Department of English

21

Wittenberg Jazz Ensemble Concert – 8 p.m. Ness Family Auditorium

December Witt Series: Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas –

5 Sherman Alexie, Nov. 17

7:30 p.m. Weaver Chapel, university ensembles; pre-service music begins at 7 p.m.

7 8

Wittenberg Symphonic Band Concert – 3 p.m. Weaver Chapel 27th Annual Community Messiah Sing – 7:30 p.m. Weaver Chapel

January 19

Witt Series: Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation: Henry Louis Gates Jr. – 11 a.m. Weaver Chapel

February

Witt Series: Visual Arts “The Springfield Project:” Terence Byrnes – 7:30 p.m. Kissell Auditorium, co-sponsored by the Thomas Art

Endowment Fund

19

Witt Series: Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas, Dec. 5

March 3

Witt Series: Hillary Hahn, Grammy-Award Winning Violinist – 7:30 p.m. Clark State PAC, sponsored by Margaret and Lanty Smith ’64

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Jan. 19 Hillary Hahn, March 3

fall 2008 55

Reflections

reflections

reflections reflections

Passing of Light Alumni Take Lead To Improve Life For Under-Resourced Students

U

pon graduating in 2001, my wife Erin and I moved to Atlanta to pursue our careers. Erin began work in public relations, and I was placed at Booker T. Washington High School as part of the Teach for America program.

Living in such a large urban environment was quite a departure from the middleclass white neighborhood in northeast Ohio where we had both grown up. We immediately embraced the city life, but soon became very aware of the vast racial and socioeconomic inequalities that plagued Atlanta and our country.

Many of my students lacked basic comprehension and high-order thinking skills – an indictment of the poor education system that kept moving them right along. Many also lacked the ability to socially interact effectively, which combined with the comprehension problem, created apathetic, disillusioned students. It became obvious that the students in this school didn’t simply 56 Wittenberg Magazine

take on this attitude. It had been learned through years of being pushed to the back burner.

Watching me struggle for three years with how to improve life for under-resourced students, Erin decided to become a teacher herself.

A f ter f inishing a teacher alternative preparation program, she was placed in an inner-city middle school where she witnessed the same sort of injustices. In response to what we saw, we immersed ou rselve s in ou r respective schools, coaching basketball, track and cross-country, and continuing to develop lasting relationships with some students. In our classrooms, our students made tremendous gains, but we still felt as if our hands were tied at times by the red tape and bureaucracy of a large school system. Though we created change within our small classroom communities, we wanted to create systemic change that would affect more children.

In 2005, we took a step in that direction by forming FitWit – a company devoted to quality fitness (FIT) and tutoring (WIT) programs. We ran the initial programs part-time, while we still both taught full-time. The following year, we launched an adult

fitness component that turned into an extremely popular program – so much so that we were able to concentrate on these fitness camps full-time in 2007.

However, these adult fitness programs invariably took some resources away from the student programs, and in 2008 we found it necessary to recommit to the origins of FitWit. With the help of Ben Thoele ’00, we founded The FitWit Foundation – a non-prof it organization created to combat childhood obesity and education inequality in the under-resourced communities of Atlanta. Though two completely separate entities, FitWit donates 5 percent of its profits from every adult fitness camp to The FitWit Foundation. The FitWit Foundation is then able to create exciting fitness and tutoring programs that are then offered free to low-income young people in the metro-Atlanta area.

As we move into 2009 with Thoele leading the charge as the executive director, we plan to extend our reach into math and reading programs, and a teen leadership summer camp program.

A lthough the hours are long and sometimes it’s difficult to find the fruits of our labor, we’re doing what we love, and we hope it’s making a difference in young people’s lives. n

– Josh Guerreri ’01 Josh and Erin recently were featured on HGTV’s “Deserving Design” for their commitment to helping others succeed in their community.

Larry Dean VPC/WIU

For 30 years, A. Gilbert “Gil” Belles ’62 inspired students with his love of learning and life as a professor at Western Illinois University prior to retiring in 1996.

His numerous articles, book chapters and book reviews reflect his expertise in history, Afro-American studies and recreation, park and tourism administration, and his passion for teaching earned him multiple Faculty Excellence Awards as well as the prestigious title of Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Philanthropy Outside the classroom, Gil expanded his interest in physical fitness by founding the Tinman Triathlon in addition to serving his community through leadership positions at the historical society, public library, local hospital, in the arts and as a coach, among other volunteer capacities.

Yet, with each endeavor pursued and with each honor bestowed upon him, Gil has never forgotten those who paved the path for him or the importance of philanthropy in one’s life. The son of a pastor, Gil witnessed firsthand the willingness of his parents, both of whom graduated from Wittenberg, to share their time, talent and limited treasure with others.

His own decision to devote his life to teaching stretched him at times, but his philanthropy never ceased.

Today, Gil’s generosity stretches across Wittenberg, from consistent support of The Wittenberg Fund to several campus

ın Actıon initiatives, including the Rosencrans Fitness Center, Robert Hartje Endowed Lecture, Dave Maurer Scholarship, the Wittenberg Choir, Powelson Endowed Chair in Biology and the L. David Miller Endowed Scholarship. He and his brother also established the Belles Family Scholarship, and Gil is remembering Wittenberg in his estate plan.

“Wittenberg has given me so much, and now it’s my time to help the students and the institution,” Gil says. “My parents used to say, ‘when you have an opportunity, give back in a way that makes people happy.’ Everything I’ve done for Wittenberg is all part of what I consider giving back.”

If you have included Wittenberg in your estate plan, please let us know. We would like to thank you for changing the lives of our students and the life of this institution through your commitment. If you haven’t included Wittenberg in your estate plan, but would like more information, please contact Rick Stenberg, director of gift planning, at (937) 327-7460 or by e-mail at rstenberg@wittenberg.edu.

Fall Highlights photos courtesy of University Communications

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