Dickinson Magazine Winter 2019 by Dickinson College

WINTER 2019 | VOLUME 96 | NUMBER 3

Seizing the Future: Keith Wilson ’89 How Dickinson Defines Research President’s and Midyear Giving Impact Report

President Margee Ensign Vice President of Marketing & Communications Connie McNamara Editor Lauren Davidson Lead Designer Amanda DeLorenzo Class Notes Designer Neil L. Mills College Photographer Carl Socolow ’77 Contributing Writers MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson David Blosser ’19 Alexander Bossakov ’20 Matt Getty Kandace Kohr Tony Moore Magazine Advisory Board Alexander Becket ’08 Jim Gerencser ’93 Donna Hughes Gregory Lockard ’03 David O’Connell Megan Shelley Dapp ’05 Adrienne Su Kirk Swenson Alisa Valudes Whyte ’93

A. Pierce Bounds ’71

Carl Socolow ’77

© Dickinson College 2019. Dickinson Magazine (USPS Permit No. 19568, ISSN 2719134) is published four times a year, in January, April, July and October, by Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, Cumberland County, PA 17013-1773. Periodicals postage paid at Carlisle, PA, and additional mailing office.

ON THE COVER

An October snowstorm blended fall foliage with snowflakes for some stunning campus scenes. Photo by Carl Socolow ’77.

Address changes may be sent to Dickinson Magazine, Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013-2896. www.dickinson.edu/magazine | dsonmag@dickinson.edu | 717-245-1289 Printed by Progress Printing Plus in Lynchburg, Va. SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED

Printed using wind energy and soy-based inks on Finch paper. All Finch papers are produced in Glens Falls, N.Y., using 66% on-site sustainable energy sources: emission-free hydroelectricity from the Hudson River and biomass co-generation from wood waste. Finch sustains natural American forests, supports independently certified fiber sourcing and reduces fossil fuel emissions.

dickinson.edu/socialmedia www.facebook.com/DickinsonMagazine

Carl Socolow ’77

[ contents ] DICKINSON MAGAZINE WINTER 2019 | VOLUME 96 | NUMBER 3

UP FRONT

MIDDLE GROUND

IN BACK

your view

36 beyond the limestone walls

college & west high

18 S eizing the Future Discover how Keith Wilson ’89 courts the cutting edge in two fields, finance and sustainability. 20 How Dickinson Defines Research An exploration of the countless and endlessly surprising forms of research that exist in every classroom, every academic major, every intellectual discipline at Dickinson.

56 closing thoughts

4 kudos 10 in the game 15 fine print

29 P resident’s and Midyear Giving Impact Report President Margee Ensign reflects on 2018’s successes and shares upcoming initiatives, and we explore the impact of your philanthropy at the midpoint of this fiscal year.

38 our Dickinson 54 obituaries

Events music lectures art Calendar of Arts: dickinson.edu/coa

March 1 - April 13 Timely and Timeless: Japan’s Modern Transformation in Woodblock Prints

The Trout Gallery, Weiss Center for the Arts

Carlisle Happenings: lovecarlisle.com

The Clarke Forum: clarke.dickinson.edu

FEB. 25

Cogan Alumni Fellowship

Rev. Annie Lockhart-Gilroy ’97 Stern Center Great Room MARCH 1, 2, 4, 5

Oh What a Lovely War

Mathers Theatre MARCH 4 - 30

2018-19 Post-Baccalaureatein-Residence Becky Deihl ’18: Was That a Question?

Goodyear Gallery, Goodyear Building MARCH 6

The Clarke Forum: An Evening with Writer Linda Hogan

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium MARCH 7

The Jane L. and Robert H. Weiner Lecture in the Arts: Museums, Society and the Public Interest

Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO, Metropolitan Museum of Art Rubendall Recital Hall, Weiss Center for the Arts

April 27 Admissions Junior Open House

APRIL 8 - MAY 20

Save the date! Alumni Weekend: June 7-9

Donald Bowers Photography

April 13 Weiss Prize Concert and Animation Screening: Composer-pianist Sam Phelps ’18 and studio artist Diane Lee ’18

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Rubendall Recital Hall, Weiss Center for the Arts

Sylvia Smith ’73 Artist-In-Residence 2018: Christopher Hartshorne

Goodyear Gallery, Goodyear Building APRIL 14

Fusion 98 Talent Show: A College/Community Arts Initiative

Mathers Theatre, Holland Union Building APRIL 26-28

Freshworks 2019

Mathers Theatre, Holland Union Building APRIL 26-MAY 18

Senior Studio Art Majors Thesis Exhibition

The Trout Gallery, Weiss Center for the Arts 2

[ your view ] The Choice of a Lifetime Thank you for the latest Dickinson Magazine. It seems to be improving over the last few years, but the last two have been the best ever. I read every page (yes, even the classes that are not mine, gleaning ideas for our class, where we have been, where we may be going and what works). I am planning on passing the fall issue on to one of my swimmers who is a high school senior—I think she is really Dickinson material. The magazine has become not just a report but a vibrant link to what the college has done through the decades. I think it may help show people why you should stay in touch and even more why you should choose a college not just for a degree but for a lifetime.

We want to hear from you! Send letters via email to dsonmag@ dickinson.edu or mail to: Dickinson Magazine, P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

ENID ERIKSON ALBAT ’74

ALTUS, ARIZONA

Color the Cover Submissions We loved seeing the creative ways readers chose to color the cover of the fall 2018 issue (a sampling shown at right)! We invite you to continue to share yours with us and view an album of the submissions at dson.co/colorthecover.

TOP, submitted by Alexis Henry ’09

“I took the challenge of ‘how would you color the cover’ most literally, and I enthusiastically set out to depict an image reflective of my time at Dickinson. It was also a very welcome stress reliever!”

OTTOM, submitted by Evan-June Pineo (sisters B Elizabeth ’21 and Emily ’23, mom Tania Adams Pineo ’92)

“I found the experience very relaxing. I loved being able to personalize it, especially with lots of gay pride. The reason that I decided to color it in the first place was that I thought it would be a very fun and creative activity.”

[ college & west high ]

Bretz e President Brenda onship between Vic ati rel tee en r r/m he Hig The mento in The Chronicle of ’19 was highlighted ve to Commit.” Ha and Jackie Joyce es lleg Co rk, r Mentorships to Wo Education story “Fo

Featured Faculty

Dickinson made headlines throughout the fall, from our program to identify and support struggling students being highlighted in The Washington Post and Hechinger Report to our mentoring culture being featured by the Chronicle of Higher Education to our faculty commentary and coverage everywhere from The Economist and The New York Times to CNN and WHYY. Dickinson.edu/inthenews

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

The Associated Press report “Saudi Arabia Uses Ancient Tourist Site to Alter Its History” quoted Professor of History David Commins and his interpretation of the teachings of Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Abdul-Wahhab. The report was published in Egypt Independent, Time of Egypt, Newsday, The Bismarck Tribune, Newser, The Charlotte Observer, Post Bulletin and more than 23 other outlets. In May, Commins was quoted in a story in Vanity Fair, “Meet Haifaa al-Mansour, the Saudi Woman Challenging Riyadh—and Hollywood—to Evolve.” R. Kirk Anderson, visiting assistant professor of educational studies, published “Toward Thick Responsiveness: Engaging Identity-Based Student Protest Movements” in the Journal of Higher Education.

Assistant Professor of Political Science and Latin American Studies Santiago Anria commented on predicted tensions between President Trump and Bolivian

President Evo Morales at a U.N. Security Council meeting for a story in The Washington Post. Michael Beevers, associate professor of environmental studies, published Peacebuilding and Natural Resource Governance After Armed Conflict (Springer

2018). Professor of History Marcelo Borges, whose scholarship on company towns has been referenced by numerous national and international media outlets, was quoted in the story “Are You More Like Facebookville or Googletown?” published in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. He also was quoted by Clarin, the newspaper with the largest readership in Argentina, for the story “Controversial Proposal: Donald Trump Wants to Abolish Citizenship for the Children of Immigrants Born in the United States.” Professor of Physics & Astronomy Robert Boyle was the keynote speaker at the Black Forest Star Party in Cherry Springs State Park (Potter County) in September.

Professor of Asian Law & Society Neil Diamant was quoted in The Economist’s “Frequent Protests by Veterans Alarm China’s Authorities.”

“Subtleties With Young’s Double-slit Experiment: Investigation of Spatial Coherence and Fringe Visibility” in the American Journal of Physics.

Professor of Earth Science Ben Edwards was interviewed and quoted by Live Science for a story on the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Kathleen Marchetti was quoted in the CNN story “Will Thousand Oaks Be the Mass Shooting That Spurs Change? Maybe Not.” She also was the featured expert in a Q&A published in the Spanish newspaper Berria, the largest Basque-language newspaper, serving the Basque Country in northern Spain and southern France.

Professor of Mathematics Dick Forrester published “A Comparison of Algorithms for Finding an Efficient Theme Park Tour,” in the Journal of Applied Mathematics. This paper was coauthored with James Midkiff ’17, who worked on the project during a student-faculty summer research project in 2016, along with colleagues from Furman University, including Associate Professor of Mathematics Liz Bouzarth ’03. Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy David Jackson, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy Brett Pearson, Natalie Ferris ’18, Ruthie Strauss ’18 and Hongyi Li ’19 published

Director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life Ted Merwin’s opinion piece titled “Yom Kippur: A Time for Feasting as Well as Fasting” was published in The Conversation and Newsweek. Professor of English and Environmental Studies Ashton Nichols discussed the history and impact of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a live

guest on WITF’s Smart Talk and ABC 27’s Good Day PA in recognition of the novel’s 200th anniversary. Assistant Professor of Political Science Sarah Niebler was interviewed and quoted by FiveThirtyEight for a story on voter canvassing and by WHYY (NPR member station, Philadelphia) for a post-midterm election story looking ahead to the 2020 presidential election. The 2018 Constitution Day address, featuring Professor of History Matt Pinsker as moderator, was broadcast on C-SPAN. Roven Records released The Orbit of the Soul, a setting of Oscar Wilde’s texts by Professor of Music Robert Pound. The recording features contributing faculty in voice Jonathan Hays and a frequent guest of the department, pianist Craig Ketter. The work was originally commissioned by the Clarke Forum and was premiered on Nov. 1, 2000, by Professor of Music

Jennifer Blyth with then-voice faculty member Lynn Helding. The recording was made in Rubendall Recital Hall in August 2016 and was the first official usage of the college’s new Steinway piano, thanks to coordination by Blyth and support from college piano technician Keith Bowman. The recording is available on iTunes and Amazon, as well as Naxos’s Music Database.

Professor of Spanish & Portuguese Jorge R. G. Sagastume’s short story

“Crepúsculo sangriento” (Bloody Twilight) was published in La Guardarraya: Revista de Literatura, Barcelona, ISUU, 4/5 (2018), 51-4. Associate Professor of Philosophy Crispin Sartwell’s op-ed “America’s Institutions Have Earned Our Distrust” was published in The Wall Street Journal, and his op-ed “How Would You Draw History?” was published in The New York Times. (Kudos as of Dec. 4, 2018)

PRESIDENT ENSIGN IN THE NEWS • P resident Margee Ensign’s op-ed “How Universities Can Keep the Youth Wave of Voting Going Strong” was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. • P resident Ensign and Board of Trustees Chair John Jones ’77, P’11 co-authored the op-ed “After Pittsburgh, Where Do We See Hope for Common Ground?” published by PennLive. • Dickinson’s Early Alert program, a collaborative effort with faculty members’ taking an active role in identifying struggling students, was highlighted in The Washington Post and Hechinger Report story “Showing That They Care.” President Margee Ensign, Associate Provost and Dean of Academic Advising Damon Yarnell and Lecturer in International Business & Management Steve Riccio were quoted and

pictured in the story.

Carl Socolow â&#x20AC;&#x2122;77

[ college & west high ]

Questions for

George Stroud,

Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

6 7

What excites you about working in the student life field, specifically at a liberal-arts college?

For the past 25 years, I have had the pleasure of working at various institutions in multiple capacities. What I continue to enjoy are the opportunities to make a meaningful impact on the lives of young adults. As educators, student life professionals help students to develop in areas such as leadership, conflict management, social responsibility and diversity/inclusion. Each of these are skills that aid the education of a well-rounded individual. ou have held several senior leadership Y positions in your career. What is your personal philosophy on leadership?

Effective leaders surround themselves with talent, identify the strengths of the team and strategically place team members in positions so that they can achieve success.

In 2017, the Department of Athletics was restructured into the Division of Student Life. What are your thoughts on this shift and how the two areas intersect?

It is my belief that a successful athletics program can have a tremendous impact on school pride. Athletics events provide the campus community with opportunities to become socially engaged while also helping to foster school spirit. Considering that student engagement is a primary goal for student life, it makes perfect sense for athletics to join the division.

ou are currently working on an Y inclusivity initiative that inspires dialogue across the board. How do you plan to encourage respectful dialogue among those with diverging points of view?

Encouraging people to engage in civil dialogue regarding issues of difference can present some challenges. However, as an institution of higher education, we must be willing to remove barriers and provide the community with opportunities to discuss multiple perspectives on difficult issues. As our campus becomes more diverse, it is imperative that we strive to create a campus culture that acknowledges and celebrates the unique qualities of each individual while also respecting that there may be various points of view on any given topic.

How did you become interested in deep-sea fishing and what about it appeals to you?

My earliest memories of deep-sea fishing are from childhood summers spent on the Chesapeake Bay. What I have come to enjoy most about being on the water is that it provides me with a tremendous sense of peace. What keeps you up at night? The thought of failure.

So far, what has been your favorite place on campus? What about in Carlisle?

Definitely the front steps of Old West. During the interview process, I recall reading about the tradition associated with the steps and hoping that one day I could take part in the ceremonies. Thus far, my favorite place in Carlisle is Leo’s—I love the cornbread ice cream.

hat are some of the recurring W conversations that you find yourself having with students, and how are you addressing their concerns or priorities?

What has been impressive about Dickinson is just how welcoming and friendly everyone has been. I have connected with many students who have shown a sincere interest in getting to know more about me. I have found this to be quite refreshing. In terms of concerns, I have spoken with several students about the social life on campus. My staff and I are in the process of unpacking this issue to identify the specific needs of the campus.

ho do you consider as a role model in W your life? Why do you look up to this person?

As a child, my grandfather served as a shining example for how I was to behave as a man. Through his words and actions, he taught me the value of hard work, humility and responsibility. Although he is no longer alive, I often find myself reflecting upon our past conversations when faced with difficult life decisions.

f you were not working in higher I education, where do you think you would be right now? Why?

Teaching in a K-12 setting. I find great personal joy in helping young people realize their potential. —David Blosser ’19

[ college & west high ] BRAGGING RIGHTS

Pedal Power

• G old Bicycle Friendly University award from the League of American Bicyclists • Ranked the No. 4 most bike-friendly campus by Bicycling magazine

CONGRATS to Janel Pineda ’18 for earning the prestigious Marshall Scholarship! Read more at dson.co/pineda18.

Dickinson Dining Services has gone strawless! In collaboration with MOB and the Center for Sustainability Education, plastic straws are no longer available on campus. Diners can utilize sippy-cup-style lids or reusable straws.

The new High Street residence hall and specialinterest house, X House, were featured in Education Dive’s roundup of new campus spaces, “What’s the Blueprint for a 21st-Century College Campus?” The new residence hall also was featured in the November “College and University Issue” of Architectural Record.

Chris Knight

The Dickinson Red Devils won the Helmet Tracker Helmet Bowl II, a national football helmet championship that pits collegiate helmet designs against one another across NCAA divisions.

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Dickinson has become the 56th higher-education institution in the nation— and only the third in Pennsylvania—to be certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program.

New Centers

Reach Into Campus and Far Beyond Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development Dickinson recently launched its Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development, merging the Office of Academic Advising and the Career Center. The new center will focus on career opportunities and outcomes, its outreach kicking into gear before students ever reach campus and continuing deep into postgraduate life. “It will help our students make purposeful and authentic decisions about what paths interest them and what graduate and career opportunities they want to pursue,” says President Margee Ensign. “What’s more, the center will increase our support for our alumni community as their careers and interests change throughout their professional lives.” Center staff arrange networking opportunities, one-onone consultations and more—all designed to equip students with the tools they need for success after their undergraduate experience. Work with affinity groups allows students with common interests to learn from one another, while careerfocused workshops—such as “Networking: Building Solid Career Connections” and “Working With Corporate, Agency and Executive Recruiters”—keep students moving forward toward fruitful postgraduate lives. The center is directed by Damon Yarnell, associate provost and dean of academic advising, and his message to the community about the new center is simple but powerful: “Dickinson promises a useful education, and we deliver.”

“ Dickinson promises a useful education, and we deliver.”

Center for Civic Learning & Action Funded by a $900,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Dickinson has launched the Center for Civic Learning & Action to further carry out its abiding civic engagement mission. “ ‘Learning and action’ underlies what’s distinctive about what we do, emphasizing the ties between the learning that goes on in our academic programs and what happens when we’re active in the community,” says Neil Weissman, provost and dean of the college. “And in President Ensign we have someone who is very committed to community action. Her vision has been a big driver.” The center will oversee the long-running Mosaic program and subsume the Community Studies Center, while continuing the work of Dickinson’s learning and action networks, which connect members of the Dickinson community with local leaders to address pertinent issues. “Higher education institutions have a responsibility to better serve their communities and the nation,” says Eugene Tobin, senior program officer at the Mellon Foundation. “Dickinson’s partnership with its neighboring community and its Center for Civic Learning & Action are clear examples of higher education serving the public good.” Dickinson has a longstanding relationship with the Mellon Foundation that includes significant past grants to establish the Center for Sustainability Education, enhance work in the digital humanities and expand civic learning and ethics across the curriculum. In addition to supporting the creation of the center, this new grant supports an executive director and a program fund for projects connected to the humanities. “We are grateful for the Mellon Foundation’s support and thank them for recognizing the value of civic engagement through learning and action,” says Ensign. “We will continue to form strong community partnerships, address community-based issues and share our successes broadly so communities across the U.S. can learn how to harness the intellectual capital and creativity of their neighboring colleges and universities in addressing critical issues.”—Tony Moore

[ in the game ]

Chris Knight

Another successful fall saw several Dickinson teams advance to the postseason. The men and women’s soccer teams both had great seasons, earning the No. 4 seeds in the Centennial Conference (CC) playoffs, and the field hockey team earned the No. 5 seed. Cross Country The women’s cross country team matched its highest national ranking, moving up to No. 6 and finishing second at both the CC and NCAA Mideast Region Championships. They earned six All-Region selections and made the program’s 18th consecutive appearance at nationals, finishing 14th overall. The Red Devils captured an unprecedented 25th straight Little Three Championship, while Isabel Cardi ’21 ran to the individual title and Sarah House ’20 placed third at the regional championship.

George Rhyne

Chris Knight

The men captured a remarkable 22nd consecutive Little Three Championship. Eric Herrmann ’19 had a great senior season, winning his second straight Little Three Individual title and capturing the CC Individual Championship. He became the first cross country athlete in the conference to be named National Runner of the Week and went on to finish fourth overall at the Regional Championships and earn a spot at nationals. Soccer Men’s soccer made its eighth consecutive appearance in the conference playoffs, posting an overall record of 11-6-2 while going 5-3-1 in the CC. The Red Devils earned four All-CC honors with Ward Van de Water ’19 and Kevin Gilbert ’20 earning first-team while Colin Fagan ’21 and Frederick Cisse ’22 were named secondteam and honorable mention, respectively. The Red Devils had three of the top five scorers in the CC, netting a conference best 40 on the year. Goalie Frederick Meagher ’20 ranked second in the CC with an .817 save percentage on the year. Women’s soccer surged to a CC playoff spot for the first time since 2010, led by second-year head coach Ted Zingman. The team earned the No. 4 seed and four spots on the All-CC squad. Mary Katherine Brosnan ’19 made her second appearance, going from honorable mention to first-team this fall. She ranks second in program history, posting nine shutouts on the season. Addy Zandi ’20 was a first-team selection, while Ally Diez ’21 and Charlotte Glancey ’22 earned second-team. The Red Devils went unbeaten in seven straight games to advance to the CC semifinals, posting four clean sheets in the final eight games to finish 11-4-4 and 5-2-3 in the CC. In January, the team made a training and service trip to Costa Rica.

Field Hockey The field hockey team made a great run at the end of the season, winning its last three games, including back-to-back shutouts, to move into the final conference playoff spot and claim the No. 5 seed. They traveled to Muhlenberg for a thrilling first-round matchup but came up short, 1-0. Jillian Beemon ’20 earned first-team All-CC honors on defense after receiving second-team in 2017. Midfielder Marie Laverdiere ’21 had another outstanding season and earned a second-team selection. The Red Devils finished 6-12 overall and 5-5 in the CC. Volleyball The volleyball team had some exciting moments on the way to a 10-18 finish this fall, including a huge upset, knocking off nationally ranked Johns Hopkins in a 3-1 thriller at the Kline Center. Tatiana Lopez ’21 earned her second straight All-Conference honor, receiving honorable mention in each of the past two seasons. Lopez ranked third in the conference with 462 digs and fifth in digs per set at 4.67. She is the current school recordholder in digs per set, averaging 5.01 over the past two seasons. Football The football team made great strides in 2018, finishing 4-6 overall and 4-5 in the conference. The Red Devils were on the verge of a bowl bid but Ursinus claimed the regular season finale to earn the final playoff spot. The Red Devils earned seven spots on the All-Conference team, led by first-team selections John Minicozzi ’19 and James Turner ’20. Billy Burger ’19 handled the punting duties for the first seven games and ranked second in the conference, averaging 38.6 yards per kick to earn All-CC honors. Burger returned under center at the midpoint of the season and had a strong finish to his career, ranking second all-time with 399 career completions and in career passing yards as just the second player to throw for over 4,000, covering 4,084. All-CC receiver Jake Walbert ’19 finished third all-time in program history with 108 career receptions and in the top 10 with 1,411 receiving yards.

Cheer on your Red Devils! Check out all the stats, scores, schedules and highlights at dickinsonathletics.com. Watch free live broadcasts online, produced by students in the Red Devil Sports Network (RDSN). Follow @DsonRedDevils on Twitter, Dickinson Red Devils on Facebook and @DickinsonAthletics on Instagram for daily updates. #DsonRedDevils

A Fierce Spirit

Carl Socolow ’77

At first glance, Naji Thompson ’19 appears to be your average college senior. She likes to read, write, hang out with her friends and play sports. But there’s much more to this Africana studies and anthropology double major. Hailing from Springfield, New Jersey, Thompson knew she wanted to continue the momentum she’d built in high school sprints and short-distance relays by joining college indoor and outdoor track and field teams. She also knew that whichever college she committed to, it had to be one with extensive global study offerings to satisfy her dreams of studying abroad. That, mixed with the energy she felt on campus, led her to Dickinson.

Thompson’s freshman year brought a new set of challenges, and learning to balance life as a student-athlete was a difficult task. “I felt tired, slow and like I could barely qualify,” she says. But in her sophomore year, Thompson took first place in the 100-meter dash in the Centennial Conference meet and qualified for the NCAA AllAcademic award, which requires a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA and completing the season among the top 50 individuals in the nation. Thompson is also a key component of the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams, as well as the 60-, 100- and 200-meter dash. She holds the school record in the 60-meter dash in addition to taking home countless CC medals. Perhaps the only thing that outshines her success on the track is the quality of her character.

“When observing Naji at practice, one is immediately aware of her outstanding work ethic,” says Head Coach Don Nichter. “She has always been willing to trust her coaches and commit to her practice routine with enthusiasm and attention to detail. She leads by example with her passion for the sport and a willingness to be challenged every day.” Thompson stays as busy on campus as she does on the track. She is one of the founding members of the X House and a member of the Black Student Union. She also belongs to the 95th class of Wheel and Chain and is part of the Hera Society, an organization for collegiate women athletes in their senior year. She connects with prospective students as a student interviewer with the Office of Admissions and is

a learning community coordinator. Most recently, Thompson became a research intern at House Divided, where she works with a Dickinson faculty member researching how slaves impacted the history of the college and the campus we know today. Following her study-abroad experiences in Tanzania and Cameroon, Thompson is considering pursuing a Fulbright in South Africa or a career in journalism, thanks to the research skills she’s honed. But most of all, what she wants is to leave behind a legacy. “I hope that people remember me,” Thompson says. “I’ve found value in connecting and creating bonds with lower-level students because of the relationships I formed early on at Dickinson.” —Kandace Kohr 11

New Ways of Experiencing Art

The Department of Theatre & Dance took the classics into

bold new territory with four fall productions that ventured outside of the mainstream. Each cast new light on a well-known work or venue while revealing boundary-bending ways that today’s artists are transforming how we experience art. Kicking off the season, Kent Barrett, assistant professor of theatre design, teamed with artist Mary Olin Geiger

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

to create PARADIZ’D, a work inspired by the first book of Paradise Lost. Using fantastical sculpture, live music, multimedia and passages from the text, the cast of students, professors, young alumni and community members brought Milton into the postmodern era—and more directly to audience members, as they were invited to join the cast in dances, board games and other goings-on. “We wanted a complete blending between performer and audience, so

that there was no delineation and no stage space,” says Barrett. Audience participation also was key to Project3 (pictured on inside front cover), a November dance concert performed by students and choreographed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Erin Crawley-Woods and the artistic directors of Baltimore’s Orange Grove Dance. Several different works, each inspired by original research on the Carlisle Theatre’s long history, were performed simultaneously in different

spots on the theatre’s second floor. Much like visitors in an art gallery, audience members could decide how long they wanted to stay in a given spot and what they wanted to see next. Widely loved works from television and literature were vividly reimagined in performances by students and visiting artists. The Mermaid Players put a hallucinatory spin on TV’s The Simpsons when they staged Mr. Burns: A Post-Apocalyptic Play (pictured). Pendragon Theatre, directed by

Professor of Theatre Karen Kirkham, presented Kate Hamill’s boisterous adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. While set in Austen’s era, and remaining true to the original work’s wit and universal themes, Pendragon’s production also included thoroughly modern gags and creative casting. As vital as it is for theatre students to be aware of innovative productions like these, all Dickinsonians can benefit from them, says Kirkham.

A. Pierce Bounds ’71

[ college & west high ]

“There’s so much out there that students may not have been exposed to before coming to college,” she explains. “This opens up a whole new world of possibilities to them, either as artists or patrons of the arts, and that’s something that they’ll take with them throughout their lives.” —MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

[ college & west high ]

Long-distance Dickinsonians make meaningful connections through

Friendship Families T

raveling from the fast-paced streets of London to small-town Carlisle was not easy for Natasha Di Centa ’21 when she chose to attend Dickinson—7,200 miles away from home. And though adjusting to college life was challenging, she found something that made her transition to college more welcoming: Dickinson’s Friendship Family Program. Established in 2014, the Friendship Family Program meaningfully connects first-year students to members of the Dickinson and Carlisle community. The program is geared toward international residents and domestic students who live more than 500 miles from campus. “Being a part of this program has

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

been wonderful,” says Brina Stow ’22, a student from Taos, New Mexico. “For both my mom and I, having my friendship family has been a pretty big relief, especially since I don’t have any family out here.” After students and potential hosts submit an application, the program staff pairs those who seem like a good match. “This year, we were especially lucky because we were able to attract more host families from the Carlisle community, while also attracting employees of the college,” says Assistant Dean of Student Leadership and New Student Programs Josh Eisenberg, noting that there are currently 46 friendship families. “I really enjoy seeing Dickinson, central Pennsylvania and the U.S. through my student’s eyes,” says Director of Financial Aid Leah Young. After learning that her Vietnamese student missed pho, Young and her spouse took her to their favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Mechanicsburg. “We learned the proper way to eat Vietnamese noodle soup because, unsurprisingly, we discovered that we were not eating it the traditional way.” Throughout the academic year, Student Life sponsors events for hosts and students, which range from dessert receptions and cultural potluck dinners

to gatherings at campus events and meals in the Dining Hall. Beyond these activities, it is up to the pair to determine how often they meet up. In the past, hosts and students have attended professional and college athletics events, celebrated religious holidays and embarked on adventures in and outside of Carlisle. During Thanksgiving break last year, Di Centa packed her bags for a weekend trip to the nation’s capital with her friendship family. “While it wasn’t what I was initially expecting, after visiting multiple museums and historic landmarks, I fell in love with the city,” admits Di Centa. “It was also during my birthday weekend, so my hosts just happened to leave a birthday cake and card in my room! It was a lovely surprise.” Now in her third year, Simona Bajgai ’20 has spent her time in the program engaging meaningfully in conversations revolving around intercultural competence. “The connection that I have established between my friendship family and my home country has been incredible,” says Bajgai, a native of Nepal. “They are always very enthusiastic to know more about my country, my food and my culture, and I’m as equally enthusiastic to share and learn about theirs.” —David Blosser ’19

Writing Toward Wholeness: Lessons Inspired by C.G. Jung By Susan Marquardt Tiberghien ’55 Chiron Publications Writing Toward Wholeness encourages readers to embark on their own journey through writing. It reinforces the lessons C.G. Jung learned and shared with millions of people. In focusing on insights and excerpts from Jung’s writings, and from contemporary writers, Susan Marquardt Tiberghien ’55 brings together psychology, spirituality and the arts.

Joy Chest: Treasures for the Journey Ahead By Jan Coco Groft ’71 Graham House Books Jan Coco Groft ’71 asked everyday people the following questions: “If you were to create a collection of cherished items to rediscover and relish over and over again, what would you choose to include? And why are those objects—those connections to your past—so important to you?” Their answers became the basis for her fourth book, Joy Chest: Treasures for the Journey Ahead. The keepsakes described include a birth certificate

revealing a 60-year-old’s “true identity,” a letter written to a dying friend, the lyrics to a Welsh lullaby and many more fascinating items. Joy Chest provides inspiration for carrying the memories of a lifetime into the future.

Japan’s Green Monsters: Environmental Commentary in Kaiju Cinema By Sean Rhoads ’07 and Brooke McCorkle McFarland

You’re Dead By Chris Knopf ’73 Permanent Press Organizational psychologist Dr. Waters is a happily solitary guy with a few deep attachments, including to his boss, Paresh Rajput, the owner of a thriving aerospace company. That is, until he finds Rajput dead. Waters is thrown into a swirl of murderous stalkers, corporate intrigue, amorous female executives and crafty cops who see the inscrutable psychologist as murder suspect No. 1. The latest from acclaimed mystery author Chris Knopf ’73, You’re Dead is an action-filled examination of what happens when minds of all kinds collide and tells the story of how one man can disrupt what the lead detective on the case calls “their clever-clever ways.”

In 1954, a massive irradiated dinosaur emerged from Tokyo Bay and rained death and destruction on the Japanese capital. Since then, Godzilla and other monsters, such as Mothra and Gamera, have gained cult status around the world. Japan’s Green Monsters provides a new interpretation of these monsters, or kaiju-u, and their respective movies. Analyzing Japanese history, society and film, the authors show the ways in which this monster cinema takes on environmental and ecological issues—from nuclear power and industrial pollution to biodiversity and climate change.

15 15

[ college & west high ]

around campus “We think of the Ethics Symposium as an invitation to challenge comfortable assumptions in our community,” says Assistant Professor of Philosophy Amy McKiernan, who hosted this year’s event, alongside Lecturer in International Business & Management Steve Riccio. “This event aims to jump-start conversation and leave people with the desire to know more [about contemporary moral problems].” In November, seven students, representing nine academic disciplines, presented on a diverse array of topics, which included mass incarceration and restorative justice, artificial intelligence, gentrification and more. Following the student presentations, attendees talked in small groups about how each presentation related to the evening’s theme.

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Carl Socolow ’77

Fourth Annual Ethics Symposium Prompts Thoughtful Conversations

Dickinson Gets Out the Vote Thanks in part to a newly formed Dickinson Votes committee, the campus was alive with activity on Nov. 6. “Dickinson faculty, staff and administrators drove 338 students to the polls (and that doesn’t include our cyclists, walkers and students who drove themselves). The polling station saw a 14 percent increase in turnout over the 2014 midterms,” said Josh Eisenberg, director of student leadership & campus engagement. Dickinson also provided opportunities for students to register to vote throughout the fall and helped students submit absentee ballots. Assistant Professor of Political Science Sarah Niebler and several of her students conducted exit polls at several Cumberland County polling stations, and students held a nonpartisan “watch party” to keep up with the Election Day coverage. And as President Margee Ensign wrote in an email to the college community, it’s all part of who we are as Dickinsonians. “As a college dedicated to civic learning and action, and founded to educate leaders for the new democracy, we encourage all community members to participate in our democratic process.”

On Nov. 1, Joel Quattrone was named director of athletics. Quattrone has served Dickinson for more than 30 years—as interim director of athletics since April 2018 and previously as senior associate director of athletics, assistant coach and defensive coordinator with the football program and as an instructor in the physical education department. “I am very appreciative of the support and trust provided by President Ensign and [Vice President for Student Life] George Stroud throughout my time as interim director of athletics,” Quattrone says. “I am thankful for this opportunity to serve Dickinson as director of athletics, and I look forward to continuing my association with a remarkable group of dedicated staff members.” Read more at dson.co/adquattrone.

New Squash Coach Set to Continue Momentum Chris Fernandez became head coach of the men’s and women’s squash programs in October. Fernandez is the second head coach in the history of the program, which was established in 2014. A graduate of St. Lawrence University, Fernandez was previously director of CitySquash in New York City, where he mentored over 120 athletes from the youth, middle school and high school levels. He also served as the head squash pro at the Boathouse Field Club. “I am truly grateful to have such a great opportunity ahead of me in joining the Dickinson family,” Fernandez says. “It’s an honor to join a program that has grown and had success rather quickly and also to be in a position with the current studentathletes to continue success for years to come.”

Christian Payne

Veteran Presence to Lead Red Devils Into the Future

Connections Remain Strong With Carlisle Indian School Dickinson partnered with the Cumberland County Historical Society to host Carlisle Journeys: Places of Memory and the Unfolding Stories of the Carlisle Indian School from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7. The conference featured film screenings, an art exhibition and addresses from American Indian policy scholar Tsianina Lomawaima and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and artist N. Scott Momaday. In addition, the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center project that Professor of Sociology Susan Rose ’77 and College Archivist Jim Gerencser ’93 collaborated on received the Historian of the Year Award from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Read more at dson.co/coachfernandez.

Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Frankenstein In October, Dickinsonians participated in Frankenreads, an international celebration of the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. At the center of the worldwide commemoration are public read-athons of the entire novel on Halloween Day. On campus, Dickinson hosted: a screening of Gods and Monsters with a panel discussion (with Assistant Professor of English and Film Studies Greg Steirer, Professor of Creative Writing and Writer-in-Residence Susan Perabo, Assistant Professor of English Sarah Kersh and Professor of English and Environmental Studies Ashton Nichols); a reading of selections from Frankenstein; and a reception to officially open the exhibition Frankenstein: Sources, History, Influences in the Waidner-Spahr Library.

Teamwork on the Trail On Nov. 4, the Red Devils men’s lacrosse team continued its annual Fall Day of Service on the Appalachian Trail (AT). For 12 years, team members have helped maintain the 17-mile stretch of the AT that runs through Cumberland County. This year, 40 student-athletes helped repair a section of the trail that had been badly damaged by the summer’s and fall’s heavy rain. “The work was physically demanding and challenging— our gracious hosts estimate that what our team was able to accomplish in three hours would take their volunteers six months,” says Head Coach Dave Webster. “This opportunity to make a difference in our community is very rewarding. We are an active group that enjoys working together outside, so the opportunity to help with the Appalachian Trail was a good fit.”

dson.co/frankenreads 17

All photos by John Schlia.

[ profile ]

eizing the Future

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Keith Wilson ’89 courts the cutting edge in two fields by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

Keith Wilson ’89’s first job in finance seemed, at first glance, unexciting. While his more seasoned Bank of Boston colleagues jetted off to Hollywood and New York to hobnob with media and film clients, he worked with a small cable company in Philadelphia, a long-distance company in Mississippi and several telephone companies in the Deep South. But this junior banker recognized an exceptional opportunity and launched a cross-industry career on the leading edge.

[ profile ]

s a high-schooler, Wilson excelled in class and on the football field and was courted by several Division I schools. But after attending a very large high school outside of New York City, he wanted a change of pace. Dickinson’s head football coach at the time, Ed Sweeney, convinced Wilson to try an overnight stay on campus, and Wilson opted for the college where he felt most at home. As a political science major with a history minor, Wilson served a high-level summer internship at the U.S. Army War College, conducting original research on terrorism in Central America and presenting at the Organization of American States. On the field, he helped his team seize its first Centennial Conference championship and record its most-ever wins for one season; he also worked with the Washington Redskins during their on-campus summer training. After graduation, Wilson coached football at Bates College for a year, then earned an M.A. in Southeast Asian studies and international finance at the University of Michigan. Graduating into a tough job market, he accepted a junior banker position to get his feet wet in finance while taking part in an executive training program. Out of the gate, he was assigned to several telecommunications clients. And

he soon realized that the cellphone industry was just taking off, and his seemingly lowrung client base—Comcast, WorldCom and PageNet—teemed with possibility. “It was a red-hot and white-hot market—an exciting place to be,” he remembers. Rising up the ranks, Wilson served as vice president and head of telecommunications finance at Union Bank of California and as executive vice president and chief financial officer of PAETEC Holding. In 2008, he received the Association of Financial Professionals Pinnacle Award, and in 2010, he was named by the New Jersey Tech Counsel as Chief Financial Officer of the Year. He also received the Rochester Business Journal’s “40 under 40” award. In 2011, Wilson moved onto new ground, as co-founder and managing director of Cranberry Capital, a group of entrepreneurs who fund and develop cutting-edge businesses in medical and environmental technology, working directly with leading researchers at top universities. He’s also CFO of Cranberry’s largest investment, Sweetwater Energy, a Rochester, N.Y.-based organization that uses unique technology to produce low-cost sugars and clean lignin fiber from nonfood plant materials to help meet a global demand for biochemicals, bioplastics and biofuels.

“We’re taking a radical approach to the problems posed by population growth and the preservation of the planet, because what we’ve learned is that incremental changes really aren’t enough to solve the environmental problems we’re seeing,” he says. At Dickinson, Wilson is a member of the Mermaid and John Dickinson societies, and in 2003, he and fellow members of the 1988 football team were inducted into the Dickinson Athletics Hall of Fame. He’s gratified to know that his alma mater is dedicated to humanistic and environmental causes, and he notes that his experiences at Dickinson gave him the courage to pursue big dreams and the nimbleness to change course as new opportunities arose. “My high school was a very large pond, so it was amazing to me to think that, at Dickinson, if I raised my hand and said, ‘I want to bring Howard Cosell to campus,’ or ‘I want to do a radio show,’ or ‘I want to write an article for the paper,’ I could just go ahead and do it,’” he says. “I learned that if I put in the effort and made the most of all of the opportunities, I could make a difference. And once I saw that I could make a difference on campus, I realized that I really could go out and do bigger things out in the world.”

“… what we’ve learned is that incremental changes really aren’t enough to solve the environmental problems we’re seeing.” 19

[ feature ]

What We Talk About When We Talk About

RESEARCH BY TONY MOORE

[ feature ]

You’re drinking a cup of coffee under an umbrella on Britton Plaza one day, and some excited chatter floats through the air in your direction: Two students are discussing a serious semesterlong research project they recently polished off. Now mentally put yourself with them over that semester. What have they been doing for those three months in the academic trenches? Studying how parthenolide affects leukemic stem cells in a lab? Interviewing patients in a local clinic about their tobacco consumption? How about researching reconstruction teams in Iraq and Afghanistan as a summer intern for the U.S. Army War College? Parsing the ways Rush Limbaugh’s practice of “concept doubling” affects his listeners? Or maybe exploring personal identities and modes of expression through mixed-media artworks? At Dickinson, it’s been all of the above, and that’s not even the first inch of the tip of the college’s research iceberg. Because the liberal arts and sciences at Dickinson create a rich academic landscape, and countless and endlessly surprising forms of research exist in every classroom, every academic major, every intellectual discipline.

It’s in Our DNA When the founder of a college says things like “Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge,” you might imagine that college to be built on a robust system of multidisciplinary teaching, infused with a good helping of research, fieldwork and collaboration. As anyone reading this probably knows, Benjamin Rush founded Dickinson on those very principles. And the spirit in which they were delivered then remains powerfully alive on campus more than 235 years later.

“Scholarship is part of the DNA of our faculty at Dickinson, as it informs, infuses and influences much of what each faculty member does in their teaching, research and service roles,” says JOHN HENSON , senior associate provost of academic affairs and Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology. “I think that many of us came to Dickinson because it was a place where a true balance could be struck between highquality research and teaching—and that these were seen as two sides of the same coin, as opposed to being in conflict with one another.” And in fact, you’ll find that taking a balanced approach between classroom learning and research endeavors is the standard across campus.

Take, for Instance, the Humanities “Research isn’t just about getting a grade; it’s about shaping the way you’re putting together a packet of information and then expressing and communicating it to an audience,” says Associate Professor of East Asian Studies SHAWN BENDER , who recently took a group of students into the Carlisle community and to Japan to study quality-of-life issues among the elderly. “Students haven’t just read someone else’s thoughts and spit them out on an exam. They’ve been involved in that process of data collection—they’ve seen all of the ugly, beautiful, messy aspects of that—and there’s a different level of investment.”

[ feature ]

The liberal-arts environment champions a multidisciplinary approach to inquiry. PATRICIA KOTRADY ’16 (American studies) teaches eighthgrade social studies to gifted and talented students in Northern Virginia. At Dickinson, her senior thesis was an ethnographic research project on punk rock subcultures, cultural capital and authenticity in the Philadelphia DIY music scene. Now, the methods she employed are finding their way into her own classroom. “The liberal-arts approach encourages students to consider perspectives from multiple fields of study while conducting research,” Kotrady says. “This allows for a deeper, more nuanced understanding of concepts, and every day I use the education I received at Dickinson to reach my students.” Kotrady studied with Associate Professor of American Studies COTTEN SEILER , and as Kotrady’s project on the Philadelphia punk music scene illustrates so well, research in the humanities is defined by a dynamic, ever-evolving spirit. “People may think of the liberal arts as unchanging, but new knowledge is being produced all the time,” says Seiler, noting that scholars in the humanities and social sciences continually develop new interpretations of everything from literary texts to works of art to political movements. “They also develop new theories and concepts that give us a better handle on social, economic, political and natural processes going on around us.” Research in the social sciences breathes the air of right now, finding new ways to interpret not only what affects us but also who we are. And it comes from every direction, often at once.

“The liberal-arts environment champions a multidisciplinary approach to inquiry,” says Associate Professor of International Business & Management DAVE SARCONE , who recently undertook two research projects with his students, “Health Care Market Analysis of Perry County, Pennsylvania,” and “Exploring Healthcare Alliances in Rural Pennsylvania.” “The big questions in the natural and social sciences now more than ever before both require and demand the creativity engendered by the liberal arts throughout the research process—from hypothesis development through design and interpretation of the findings.” And for Associate Professor of Russian ALYSSA DEBLASIO , that creative approach can effectively marry the humanities and the sciences to create a better whole, as does her current student-faculty project translating from Russian to English the volcanic activity of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula for volcanologists. Earth sciences and Russian major BILLY IRVING ’19 is working on the project with DeBlasio, and he’s also been on the other side, studying glaciers and volcanos in British Columbia and Iceland with Professor of Earth Sciences BEN EDWARDS . “Doing research at a liberal-arts school is even better because you have all these different perspectives from the different departments and different disciplines,” Irving says. “I’m using both my Russian language skills and my experience with volcanology, and I really love synthesizing my two majors in that way.”

The Arts Live, They Illuminate Research in the realm of the arts is as alive as any music or dance performance, and it’s among the oldest disciplinary endeavors, with art history scholarship and research in modern textual studies beginning in the Italian Renaissance. “Although the general public might associate research more with R-1 universities, some of the most recognized and important scholarship in all fields is undertaken and produced by faculty at liberal-arts colleges,” says Professor of Art History MELINDA SCHLITT , whose publications include work on Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel as well as a new book about the meaning and aesthetic importance of Rome’s Arch of Constantine. An annual rite of passage, the art history senior seminar is a collaborative research experience between a faculty member and seniors. Students research, write a professionally published catalogue with scholarly essays and collaborate as curators on a public exhibition in the Trout Gallery. “Essays by students and faculty from recent catalogues have been cited by other art historians in their own scholarship,” says Schlitt, “and the quality of both the catalogues and the exhibition itself comes close to the experience students might have in an M.A. program, which is our goal. And the quality of these collaborative seminars and the scholarship they produce has also had direct success in propelling seniors into jobs, graduate schools and high-level internships.” In the performing arts, research is literally something that comes alive, something observable to be studied as it moves across a stage. “In the theatre, arts research in the form of performance is the leading edge of what we do,” says Professor of Theatre TODD WRONSKI, who has produced and directed plays across the United States and in Scotland, Germany, England and Italy. “It is quite similar to the sciences in that we develop a hypothesis— designs, schedules, etc.—conduct the experiments via rehearsals and then submit the work and see if our thoughts and ideas have worked in a performance. You simply don’t know what you have until you put it in front of an audience.” Beyond capturing the human spirit and releasing it in various forms, art has served as a continual chorus responding to and commenting on the myriad triumphs and defeats of both society and individuals. And one trend in musicology is the cultivation of forums and opportunities for “public scholarship,” which sets out to emphasize how art and performance can both benefit human society and help engender empathy and awareness among individuals.

The creative investigation is communal—both deliberately and through a kind of creative osmosis. “As a music historian, I may not create works of art or perform for an audience, but I am able to explain how music can reveal aspects of our culture, whether historical, political or social, and research is crucial to the academic endeavor,” says Associate Professor of Music AMY WLODARSKI , whose work in public musicology addresses the Holocaust as well as race, class, gender and sexual orientation. “Statistics and facts are important in all historical research work, but work in the humanities can help to bring in a human dimension. Seeing those voices and experiences represented through art can create connections between individuals separated by time, space, experience and history.” The human dimension—where data leave off and something resembling the soul picks up—enters the picture again and again in the arts. And often the space where art is created allows for deeper collaboration and exploration in that intimate, nebulous dimension. “The Goodyear Art Building at Dickinson is a remarkable facility—not only does it contain well-equipped studios for working in wood, metals, ceramics, digital processes, photography, painting and drawing, but it also houses both the student and faculty studios,” says Associate Professor of Studio Art ANTHONY CERVINO , a sculptor whose research often involves the study of material as well as compositional and theoretical processes. “By having all these studios located in the same space, students and faculty often share the building’s resources at the same time, so the creative investigation that occurs in Goodyear is communal, uniquely transparent and a shared experience—both deliberately and through a kind of creative osmosis.”

Osmosis? Isn’t That Science? No one will be terribly surprised to hear that science research is vibrant and expansive at Dickinson. The sciences provide a rich backdrop for exploration, and Dickinson’s liberal-arts approach leaves no stone unturned, in an up-close-and-personal setting. “At a larger research university, undergraduate students would spend the majority of their time working with a postdoc—or possibly even a graduate student—rather than working directly with faculty,” says Associate Professor of Biology MISSY NIBLOCK , who’s currently studying the prenatal development of the central chemoreflex and fetal breathing movements in mice with her students. And directly working with a professor has advantages students might not think of immediately. “While we spend most of our time in the lab talking about our research, there also are times when we talk about graduate programs, career options and navigating life after college. So I think students who never work one-on-one with faculty in a research lab miss out on getting to know their professors really well and having the chance to ask about all things related to life in science and life in academics.” Assistant Professor of Mathematics JEFF FORRESTER — who has worked for several years with Associate Professor of Biology MIKE ROBERTS on leukemia-based projects—has lived a life of science and a life of academics. He came to Dickinson from Vanderbilt University, where he worked on a team headed by Alfred Gilman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1994), under the aegis of the largest breast cancer grant ever awarded. Ask him what research means to Dickinson students, and he has a ready answer. “It produces people who go on to become top-level researchers—in my area it’s researchers in oncology,” he says, pointing to a photo he has on his desk: It’s four former students, now at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the oncology division at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Duke University Medical Center. “I’m hoping to produce 40 or 50 students over my career who are contributing, who go out and make a real difference.”

Whether navigating the intricacies of the human body or the Earth’s complex environmental conditions, making a difference has always played a huge role in what scientific research sets out to do. With the environment, Dickinson’s focuses on sustainability and a global mindset often come together in the research of Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies KRISTIN STROCK . “The Research Corporation for Science Advancement recently highlighted the important—and disproportionate—role that liberal-arts colleges play in educating our nation’s scientists, and due to low class sizes, we’re able to include advanced research experiences in our upper-level courses and work at a one-onone level with student researchers,” says Strock, who has taken students annually on field expeditions to Greenland, Iceland or Acadia National Park. Three of them recently presented their work to more than 20,000 scientists at the 2018 conference for the American Geophysical Union. “Studies have shown us that undergraduate research builds a wide range of both personal and professional skills for students, including enhanced selfconfidence and greater abilities to tolerate obstacles and take on challenges.”

But Wait…There’s More! Africana Studies “Whose Lives Really Matter? The Disabled Black Woman and Why She Can’t Say #MeToo”

“Archaeology at Camp Michaux: A productive collaboration between Dickinson College, Cumberland County Historical Society, and Governmental agencies in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania”

“Independent Filmmakers (re)scripting the Lives of Black Women with Mental Illness”

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology “An Integrative Analysis of Human Cancer: Exploiting the Synergy of Mathematical Biological Approaches in Studying a Complex Problem”

American Studies “White Care: Race and Liberalism in the American Century” Archaeology and Anthropology “Lead isotopes as chronological markers for colonial period ritual drinking vessels in the Andes”

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Chemistry “Probing the Tetrameric Structure of Leishmania Major Pteridine Reductase (PTRI) with Point Mutations and Interface-Derived Peptides”

In short, research at Dickinson covers a lot of ground, literally and figuratively, and students across disciplines, across centuries, have used it as a launch pad. It’s a huge part of what Benjamin Rush had in mind in founding Dickinson, when he said, “Where learning is confined to a few people, liberty can be neither equal nor universal.” And it’s something students from around the world look to again and again as a touchstone when defining what it means to be a Dickinsonian.

Universality

“Just imagine an international student from Russia with a major in business assisting an American professor of Russian, writing about a Georgian philosopher and researching the first Russian volcanologist while at home in St. Petersburg browsing through the archives in her native language,” says NASTIA KHLOPINA ’18 , an international business & management major hailing from Russia. “Complex and impressive! Such a mélange of disciplines, fields, skills and geographical places sounds like an epitome of the liberal arts to me. And this is what I did. This is Dickinson.”

Share your research projects and experiences with us! There’s no way to cover everything in one feature— what should we highlight in the next one? Email dsonmag@dickinson.edu.

In addition to the work highlighted here, faculty members and students from across the academic spectrum keep the research rolling, as seen in this small sampling of recent projects.

Computer Science “Self-Adaptive Chaotic Mutation Operators in Evolutionary Computation” Earth Sciences “Influence of Gígjökull on the Emplacement of the Lava Flow Produced by the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, and the Flow’s Effects on Gígjökull’s Resilience to Climate Change” “Taphonomic Comparison of Recent and Fossil Bryozoans Fouling New Zealand Sea Urchins”

English “The Comic Book Industry and Hollywood”

Physics & Astronomy “Simulating the Orbital Dynamics of Accretion”

“Resistance and Resilience in Salvadoran Storytelling”

“Using an Arduino in a Coupled Logistic Map Circuit to Record Bifurcations and Chaos Conference: 2018 Physics Senior Research Presentations”

International Studies “The Impacts of the Great Recession on People’s Health and Fertility Outcomes” Neuroscience “Voluntary Exercise Slows Extinction of Conditioned Hyperactivity in Mice” “The effects of dopamine and serotonin on swimming behavior in larvae of a marine mollusk”

Political Science “Citizenship Rights and Democracy in Latin America”

Exploring China’s Narratives We were six students from the most diverse of disciplines—American studies, food studies, sociology, environmental studies, international relations and women’s, gender & sexuality studies—who met for the first time in the seminar room of the Community Studies Center on campus. A few months later, along with Professor of Anthropology Ann Hill, Director of the Community Studies Center and Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology Susan Rose ’77 and manager of Dickinson’s College Farm Matt Steiman, we found ourselves—with notebooks, cameras and recorders in hand—on the blueberry fields of Fengyu, a six-hour bus ride from the capital of Yunnan Province in China. The three-week exploratory research trip was funded by an ASIANetwork Freeman grant, and our work began the moment we landed in Kunming. Over the next few days, we dined with professors from Yunnan University to talk about the province’s ethnic constitution, discussed each other’s areas of pre-fieldwork research and explored the city before taking the bus to the village of Fengyu.

Photos by Alexander Bossakov ’20.

In Fengyu, our goal was to understand the impact of labor migration patterns on changing practices in rural agriculture and evolving family structures. Every morning we would meet for breakfast on the wooden craft table on the front porch of our modest hotel and walk to a nearby street vendor for breakfast baozi. That’s where we met Grandma B, who would later invite us into her home to speak for hours about Fengyu’s past. One night, as we strolled through the narrow streets of Fengyu, we heard quiet music coming from a door left ajar. Our curiosity got us invited in and we spent the rest of the night drinking tea while two artists studied scrolls of ancient calligraphy and showed us their paintings. A few days later, we were interviewing members of the local calligraphy association. That is how we met a lot of the people we interviewed—through smiles and unplanned encounters, through shared meals, celebrations, hikes, funerals and Benzhu ceremonies. We listened eagerly to stories from farmers and restaurant owners, party officials and elderly women, students and teachers. And every evening, the nine of us would sit together and discuss the narratives—at times converging, at others diverging—that had filled our notebooks during the day. In the weeks following the end of our research, we dispersed—some returning to Carlisle, others starting semesters abroad in China, India or France. We produced individual reports for the primary funding organization of our fieldwork and collected photos and videos to share on campus. In 2019, a few participants will attend the 27th Annual ASIANetwork Conference in San Diego to present our methods and findings. —Alexander Bossakov ’20 Read more at dson.co/chinaresearch, and check out student blogs at mosaics.dickinson.edu/chinapracticum.

in season Photo by Zoë Josephina Moon ’20.

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

PRESIDENT’S AND MIDYEAR GIVING IMPACT REPORT

PRESIDENT’S AND MIDYEAR GIVING IMPACT REPORT “As a first-generation student, I am very thankful and proud that I got to attend a private liberal-arts institution abroad, thousands of miles away from home, on a full scholarship. This scholarship

not only changed my life but also the lives of hundreds of people in my community who see me as an inspiration.” —MUHAMMAD BURHAN ’21 “I have always been impressed with the quality of students who attend Dickinson and felt that, if I could help them get the most out of their experience there, I am happy to do so.” —MERYL GAELEN JAPHA ’78

Spending time on our campus always

GIVES ME HOPE.

Lindsey Wasson

It reminds me that while many colleges and universities—in fact many workplaces and communities—are roiled by intolerance and strife, Dickinson demonstrates a level of comity and civility that should serve as a model to the nation. I believe that civility is one of our greatest strengths—something to be nourished, to be treasured and to be celebrated.

“ … we must continue to innovate, continue to be bold in strengthening our distinguished institution.”

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Dickinsonians are united, I have found, by an unusual dedication to exploring and achieving the common good—the common good here on campus, in Carlisle, in our nation and around the world. Every week we hear of the creative and useful work done by our students and our faculty all over the globe. Every week I am in contact with alumni who have gone on from Dickinson to achieve distinction in so many fields to make the world a better place. We all know by now the great story of Dickinson: This is the first college founded after we became a nation, by a revolutionary American who named the college after someone else, someone he admired. Dr. Benjamin Rush understood that democracy is challenging and fragile and that this great new nation he helped to create needed educated leaders who would embrace and preserve it. “Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge,” Rush said. He knew that the nation needed people who knew how to think, who were not afraid to have their assumptions challenged. With that brief sentence, he encapsulated a sweeping and inspirational mission for our college. And Dickinson has been working to sustain and expand freedom through education ever since.

Today, America is asking hard questions about the usefulness of higher education, particularly about the usefulness of a liberalarts education. Whom does it serve? What does it aim to achieve? What contributions does it make to the greater good? Dickinson should lead this conversation. We have been asking these questions since 1783, and many of our answers have been transformative. Inspired by our founding documents, we are constantly seeking new frontiers. Our alumni create new forms of wealth and employment. They work to cure disease, develop a more just political system, advance technology and create new forms of art and music. They seek to learn about other cultures and search for better ways to steward our earth. That is the life-changing—and useful—impact of a Dickinson education. Our strategic plan for the future, developed last year, makes another bold and challenging statement: Our revolutionary moment is not over. Just as Rush developed a new kind of college that provided a useful education for the betterment of our new country, so today we must continue to innovate, continue to be bold in strengthening our distinguished institution. In meeting with many of you during these last 18 months, I have talked about the revolutionary moment we face as a nation, and as a college. Dickinson must develop revolutionary thinkers equipped with the tools to work in diverse teams and develop knowledge across academic disciplines that can be used to meet the challenges of our age, to transform our globe.

• We are offering our first-ever graduate programs, in partnership with the U.S. Army War College. We are providing top world military leaders with classes in humanitarian response and on the impact of social media in bringing about change. • This summer, we plan to pilot summer programs for high school students from the United States and possibly even from abroad. We want to introduce them to our expert faculty, to fire their curiosity and to show them what’s possible. • Our Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development was created to provide even more effective career development for our students, but the word “lifelong” was chosen intentionally. We want to help our alumni as they move along their professional journeys, through assistance with career development, networking skills and opportunities— and the advice and tools needed to assist in career changes. • We are strategically increasing our civic engagement and learning opportunities and have opened a new center to ensure that these efforts—in the Carlisle region and across the globe—have lasting impact.

Dickinson must increase its visibility and expand the number of individuals who benefit from our life-changing education. For this we need your support. • Talk about Dickinson every day—in your communities, at work, with your friends. In talking with prospective students, we have learned that the No. 1 way students learn about colleges is through word-of-mouth. If a respected adult suggests Dickinson to a high-school student, that student is dramatically more likely to consider it. And if you know a student who may be a good match for us, submit a referral at Dickinson.edu/refer. • Help our students get the wider world experience that supports their academic learning. Offer externships and internships to our highly talented students. If you are willing and able to host a Dickinson student, go to Dickinson.edu/volunteer. • By making Dickinson a giving priority, you can impact the world. The following pages will show you some of the ways in which your giving has done that. • Be part of the revolutionary future of Dickinson. We will share details in the coming weeks, but we want to challenge you to think big and help shape the future of Dickinson. We are about to launch an exciting new effort, and I hope all of you will join us.

PRESIDENT’S AND MIDYEAR GIVING IMPACT REPORT

This is what we do at Dickinson, and I believe that it has the power to change the world. You will see on the pages that follow the impact that your philanthropy has had on Dickinson. I want you to know that we are still exploring, still building and still crossing boundaries, even 236 years in.

“ Be part of the revolutionary future of Dickinson.” Dickinsonians are dedicated not only to the highest standards of scholarship and lifelong learning but to creating a genuinely inclusive and supportive community. I have been so touched by the quality of the relationships I have observed between Dickinson students and faculty, by the thoughtful and caring mentorship that has long been a hallmark of this institution and by the enormous loyalty shown by our alumni. Let us continue the powerful momentum that has been growing and building this year. Share your Dickinson experience with those around you, and please contribute your time, talents and treasure. Together, we can continue to do great things. MARGEE ENSIGN, PRESIDENT

YOUR GIFTS

At Work Nick Long ’19 loved to spend time outdoors as a kid, exploring the natural world. At Dickinson, he got involved with the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) and engaged in research with a postdoctorate researcher at Harvard and Shoals Marine Laboratory. After studying specialized gill anatomy in a variety of fishes, the biology major presented his original research at the annual conference of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in San Francisco. Hometown: Acton, Mass. Major: Biology Clubs and organizations: WDCV college radio, Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM), Junkyard Turkeys Ultimate Frisbee and Arts Collective Honors/scholarships/awards: Burkholder Biology Prize, Harry C. Zug ’34 Family Scholarship, Kenderdine Student Travel Fund On choosing Dickinson: I chose Dickinson because of its commitment to sustainability and to preparing students to be global citizens. My initial plan coming into Dickinson was to major in environmental science, but I ended up falling in love with my biology courses. I also think that the campus is beautiful and has lots of accessible and beautiful outdoor areas near it. I was impressed with

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Meet Jasmin and Nick. They are two of the thousands of current students for whom your gifts have made a difference. Because of you, they have had unparalleled experiences and are prepared to lead in the wider world after graduation. Meet additional students at Dickinson.edu/impact.

the students, faculty and alumni who I met during my tour and in various meetings. Favorite Dining Hall food: The broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl. Nothing can beat it. About my research: I conducted a research project at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology on the anatomy and function of the gill chamber of a family of deep-sea anglerfishes called chaunacidae, also known as sea toads or coffin fishes. I worked on this with a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. Then, with the help of the Kenderdine Student Travel Fund, I was able to present this research at the annual conference of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in San Francisco during my junior year. Post-Dickinson plans: I hope to go into coastal resource management and protect vital ecosystems. This work could be with a governmental agency or a nonprofit organization, as long as I can see a tangible impact from my work. I think that I’d be most happy in a position that works with community members to address their local natural resource issues or helping contribute to work on a global scale.

PRESIDENT’S AND MIDYEAR GIVING IMPACT REPORT

Thanks to you, students are doing what Dickinson promised they would do: exploring, achieving and discovering how they can do more for the wider world that awaits.

Jasmin Lopez ’19 originally planned to attend a big urban university, but after attending a Discover Diversity at Dickinson program, she knew she’d found her home. While studying abroad in Bologna, Italy, she sharpened her language skills as both a student and a studentteacher; performed original research on hospitality-industry trends—a subject she became passionate about during a previous internship—and took a class on the history of the mafia. She also has interned for New Jersey SEEDS, where she discovered a passion for helping students gain access to education. Hometown: North Plainfield, N.J. Majors: International business & management and Italian studies Clubs and organizations: Microcosm, Tritons, Liberty Cap Society (tour guides), Italian Club, Popel Shaw Center for Race & Ethnicity (student project manager) Honors/scholarships/awards: The Samuel G. Rose Scholarship Fund, K. Robert and Juliana P. Nilsson Scholarship and Dean’s List On choosing Dickinson: For the longest time I actually had my eyes set on a bigger school in Washington, D.C. A Dickinson alumnus encouraged me to attend the Discover Diversity weekend, and as I spoke with current students and faculty members, I felt so comfortable. I went home and told my mom I had changed my mind. At Dickinson, I knew I would be more than just a number and

that I would be at a place where I could get involved and follow my passions. Favorite place on campus: The balcony on the second floor of the Rector Science Complex Favorite Dining Hall food: Bread bowl with broccoli cheddar soup from the KOVE Favorite professor: My favorite professor at Dickinson is Sherry Ritchey in the Department of International Business & Management. Her marketing course has inspired me to go on to pursue marketing and communications after graduation. Professor Ritchey’s courses are hands-on and very relatable to the real world. She is very passionate about what she teaches and has a lot of experience to share. Her kind spirit and her attention to her students is something I admire and appreciate. Studied abroad for an academic year in Bologna, Italy, and conducted an independent-study research project about the tourism and hospitality industry in Bologna. Internships: Event coordinator at a wedding hall; student advisor for New Jersey SEEDS; English and economics teacher in Italy; student orientation director in the Office of New Student Programs; Office of Admissions (recruitment intern)

You’ve read recently about Dickinsonians as doers, and that includes you! Through your gifts, you are doing great things like supporting scholarships for talented students, offering programs to study peacekeeping and explore entrepreneurship and creating campus spaces where exciting collaborative projects grow from the seeds of good ideas. You are doing great things by giving to Dickinson. Momentum is building: You are moving Dickinson forward!

$5,253,871 10.3% 19.2% TOTAL DOLLARS COMMITTED

ALUMNI PARTICIPATION

PARENT PARTICIPATION

(As of Jan. 9, 2019)

But those numbers don’t tell the whole story of what’s possible. If every alum who has given in the last 10 years makes a gift before June 30, 2019, Dickinson’s participation rate would soar to an incredible

Be a difference-maker for Dickinson. Make your gift today: dickinson.edu/gift d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

60%

PRESIDENT’S AND MIDYEAR GIVING IMPACT REPORT

What DICKINSONIANS Do

[ profile ] Taking the Encore KATHRYN ENGLE ’71 RETURNS TO THE STAGE By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson First, she followed her heart. Then, her head. Now, after retiring from a corporate career, Kathryn Engle ’71 is once again living her performing arts dream.

Kathryn Engle ’71 performs onstage at Dickinson in 1969. Photo by A. Pierce Bounds ’71.

Engle began ballet and tap lessons at age 4 and performed in high school musicals and plays. As an English major and French minor at Dickinson, she was involved with the College Mime Troupe, Mermaid Players and Follies. After seeing the college’s dance instructor, Carol Marcy Goldstein, perform, Engle was the first to sign up for the college’s brand-new modern dance troupe. She also studied abroad in England, joined Alpha Psi Omega and sang in a talent-show-winning band. Engle was admitted to New York University’s graduate dance program, but instead she followed her love for music—and for a Berklee student-musician—to Boston, taking dance workshops with principals from the Ailey and Graham companies and fronting her boyfriend’s rock band for two years. Back home in New Jersey, she worked at a community college and dove into the local arts scene. On the cusp of 30, and at the strong recommendation of her dad, Engle put away her dance shoes and mic and settled into a more conventional career. At AT&T, she discovered a talent for corporate sales and steadily rose up the ranks. At age 53, after her retirement as Verizon’s senior corporate account manager, she was ready to get back onstage. Living in New Jersey and wintering in Florida, Engle applies her three-octave range in two cities, as a soloist with both a chorus and ensemble, as lead singer in a rock band, at jazz and rock open-mic nights and during performances with a choir and orchestra. She was a guest soloist with the Southwest Florida Concert Band and performed the national anthem at spring training games for both the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. Engle has attended all but two Dickinson class reunions and has maintained Old West Society membership since 2003. She supports arts education at Dickinson through the Kathryn Engle Fund for Theatre & Dance, an estate scholarship fund supporting students who major or minor in theatre & dance. “The arts can make you see something differently. When you look at a painting or attend a concert, it raises your empathy,” she says. “So I believe strongly in the arts, and it makes me feel good to know that more students will be able to study the arts at Dickinson.”

DAVID CARLSON ’99, ALUMNI COUNCIL PRESIDENT

his past November, your Alumni Council met for the first of three meetings held on campus during the upcoming year. This meeting is special in that the council gets to meet the newest members, each with their own interesting and wildly diverse background. It bears mentioning that this mix within the council is far from accidental. The Alumni Council has invested a great deal of time and effort over the past decade to make sure it is as diverse as Dickinson itself. We have representation across class decade, geography, ethnicity, gender and a host of other characteristics. Maintaining this diversity requires discipline and often requires us to hold off on adopting new members from groups that are currently well represented on the council. All of this allows the Alumni Council to serve as a useful tool for the college to better understand the concerns of the alumni community and for the vast majority of the alumni community to be heard. If you have an interest or know someone who should be nominated, please reach out! On a separate note, the career conference was also held over the fall Alumni Council weekend and enabled alumni from all over to come back to Dickinson to share their perspectives with students. This worthwhile event enables current Dickinson students to build real-world skills in how to network, interview and approach the job-search process. This is just one example of the many ways alumni work to help the next generation of Dickinsonians through the simple use of their time and talents. There are events throughout the year that enable different stakeholders within the Dickinson community to come together for a common cause. And if you can’t connect in person, Alumnifire is an online tool that allows you to customize the ways you are willing and able to help. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at davidcarlson2026@ gmail.com. Hopefully I’ll see you on campus or at an event near you.

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Carl Socolow ’77

Supporting the Next Generation

Dickinsonians Rally for 7 Days of Dickinson 7 Days of Dickinson offered Dickinsonians a multitude of ways to engage with the college this fall, and alumni around the world responded in force. The weeklong celebration, which focused on one way to connect with Dickinson each day, generated more than 2,000 post engagements on social media and nearly 3,000 visits to college webpages promoting Red Devil pride, the ability to refer future students, livestream campus lectures and sporting events, the chance to offer career advice to current students, numerous volunteer opportunities and more. Alumni, parents and friends of the college also showed their support during the week by making a gift for Giving Tuesday, an international initiative that highlights philanthropy at the start of the giving season. Together, Dickinsonians made 160 gifts to the college on Tuesday, Nov. 27, which was the second day of 7 Days of Dickinson.

ALUMNIFIRE Alumnifire allows alumni and parents to make themselves available to students and each other for career-related purposes. By joining Alumnifire, parents and alumni can choose what specific things they are willing to be contacted about and how frequently they may be contacted. Show the power of the Dickinson network by joining Alumnifire today! dickinson.alumnifire.com

[ beyond the limestone walls ]

Alumni Global ADVENTURES

Galapagos: Darwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Enchanted Isles January 10-19, 2020

(with an optional extension to Machu Picchu and Cusco)

Led by Professor Marcus Key, Joseph Priestley Professor of Natural Philosophy, and Professor Ben Edwards, Walter E. Beach Chair in Sustainability Studies Learn more at dickinson.edu/alumnitravel. 800-856-8951 | dickinson@studytours.org 37

[ closing thoughts ]

‘We Are a Crowd’ BY FLOSHA TEJADA ’11

Left to right: Friendsgiving 2018: Melissa (Flow’s partner), Johnathan Ontiberos ’11, Anthony Bush ’11, Tejada, Bruno (Nick’s partner), Jeyla Mammadova ’11 and Nicholas Adams ’11. Middle photo: Ashley Peel ’11, Anthony Bush ’11, Tejada and Jeyla Mammadova ’11. Right photo: Jonathan Baez ’12 and Tejada.

oyce “Momma B” Bylander (who recently retired as Dickinson’s vice president for student life) taught me an incredible lesson during our FirstYear Seminar titled Shared Futures, and it is a lesson that has withstood the test of time. Perfectly summarized by Barbara Kingsolver (one of Momma B’s favorite authors) in Small Wonders, “WE are a crowd.” Kingsolver writes: “Who says it’s ridiculous to imagine that the world could be made better than it is. When I come down to this feeling that I am an army of one standing out on the broad plain waving my little flag of hope, I call up a friend or two and offer to make dinner for us. We remind ourselves that we aren’t standing apart from the crowd, WE are a crowd. We’re a prairie fire, a church choir, a major note in the American chord.” I didn’t fully grasp what that meant until just recently. As with many of us, weaved into the fabric of my post-Dickinson experience is an incredible network of people who I prefer to call family. We’re a melting pot, and on occasion I forget this. On some “adulting” days, I imagine that I am alone in my hope for a better world, when suddenly one of the members of my family tribe

emerges in the form of a text message, a Facebook post or a dinner invitation. Some of us met a few months before our first-year Orientation through our Posse Foundation weekly training meetings at 14 Wall St., while others bonded for life over passionate Feminist Collective discussions on campus safety, misogyny or simply who would cook at the next “Sinners’ Dinner.” Yup, we hosted dinners in each other’s dorms. Yes, we called them “Sinners’ Dinners” for fun. When counseling students to find the “right fit” college, I am often asked where I went to school and why I chose to go there. My response confuses some of my parents and students: “I didn’t choose my undergraduate institution—it chose me.” As a first-generation, immigrant, native Spanish speaker, low-income, queer woman from NYC, choice wasn’t something I was very familiar with throughout my life. At Dickinson, Professor Jerry Philogene taught me the language to identify my exact emotions, helping me to realize I wasn’t alone in that sentiment. So many of us went through those four years feeling alone in our alienation, experiencing dismay in our own silos, losing hope, and we may still be there today. People like me, people

like us, aren’t necessarily welcomed in this country. As cliché as this may sound, friends are the family we chose for ourselves, and choosing my Dickinson family was one of the first true decisions I was ever empowered to make. Choosing Bush, Jeyla, Ashley, JB, Nick and Johnny (and many others) challenged me to put my money where my mouth is every day and to live up to what we preached, to really embody Dickinson’s motto of “a useful education” by putting into practice the intersectional perspectives, ideas and feelings we mulled over and turning it all into action. Today, I passionately leverage my network of incredible Dickinsonians every day, and I encourage you to do the same. Bask in the trueness that “we aren’t standing apart from the crowd, WE are a crowd.” In November, we celebrated our seventh annual Friendsgiving, and in more ways than one this is a continuation of our “Sinners’ Dinners” (minus a handful of “sinners”)—a revival of the Feminist Collective discussions that ignited action and the fruition of the most important lesson I learned from that Shared Futures seminar: Never lose hope.

Flosha “Flow” Tejada ’11 is director of college completion at Uncommon Collegiate Charter School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Born in the Dominican Republic, a native New Yorker and current resident of New Jersey, she came to Dickinson through the Posse Scholars program. She majored in American studies and studied abroad in England, as well as South Africa and Mississippi via Dickinson’s Black Liberation Mosaic.

d ic k i n s o n ma g a z i n e Winter 2019

Day of Giving 2019 Tuesday, April 23 Last year, more than 3,500 Dickinsonians came together to support Dickinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revolutionary mission with more than $980,000 in a single day. This year, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see if we can outdo that effort and prove, once again, that great things happen when Dickinsonians come together.

Join us on Tuesday, April 23, for our most ambitious Day of Giving yet!

P. O . B O X 1 7 7 3 C A R L I S L E , P A 1 7 0 1 3 - 2 8 9 6 W W W. D I C K I N S O N . E D U / M A G A Z I N E

[

well-stated

]

The reality is, I wear whatever hat I need to that day, even if it needs to be dusted off a little. LLAMILET GUTIERREZ ’09,

executive director for Amara Legal Center. Read more at dson.co/gutierrez09.

Dickinson’s liberal-arts education has shaped me into the person I am today—a global citizen. SOO MIN KIM ’18,

who is striving to promote body positivity as Miss Korea 2018. Read more at dson.co/kim18.

I actually have little to no loans for my four years here because of the gifts from the Dickinson Fund that are allocated to financial aid, which will allow me to go on to graduate school. JA S M I N L OP E Z ’ 19 .