Book Nook

Is a recent read occupying your thoughts? Has a book indelibly imprinted your life? We want to hear from you. Send your recommendation to marydieter@depauw.edu.

What We’re Reading

By Anna Werkowski ’19

I remember learning about HeLa DNA in my AP biology class during my senior year of high school. The lesson was lauded as an important part of our greater scientific knowledge but was a brief section in our overall studies. I learned about the woman behind the DNA by reading her story in “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. Lacks’s story is one of medical ethics, scientific exploration at the expense of citizens, institutional racism, socioeconomic disparities and personal autonomy. While her situation is not unique for the time period (the Tuskegee experiments were in full swing when she died), her legacy is one that has spanned decades, continents and countless scientific discoveries. This year will mark the 70th anniversary of her death. Honor her legacy by reading her story. In some way or another, Henrietta Lacks has helped you. You just don’t know it yet.

Werkowski is assistant director of alumni engagement at DePauw.

The President’s Bookshelf

By Lori S. White

Bob Bottoms’s legacy of leadership as DePauw’s president involved prolific fundraising (including one of the largest liberal arts college fundraising campaigns at the time, growing our endowment significantly), several new buildings (his nickname was “Bob the Builder”) and an unwavering commitment to diversifying our faculty and student body. He writes about his life and years at DePauw in “A Story of Vision and Values, Memoirs of DePauw University’s 18th President.” Students during his presidency will recognize many stories (student protests; the difficult decision to close the School

The Book Nook features notable, professionally published books written by DePauw alumni and faculty. Self-published books will be included in the Gold Nuggets section.

Connie Campbell Berry ’67 “The Art of Betrayal” Paul Michael Johnson ’04, associate professor of Hispanic studies “Affective Geographies: Cervantes, Emotion, and the Literary Mediterranean” Terry Nichols ’76 “The Dreaded Cliff” Duane Nickell ’80 “Scientific Indiana”

of Nursing; the establishment of the Ubben lecture series, thanks to a gift from Tim and Sharon Ubben; and creation of the Women’s Studies Program with a gift from Janet Prindle, who later provided the gift to establish the Prindle Center for Ethics).

As DePauw’s newest president, I appreciated and learned much from Bob’s reflections of his 21 years as DePauw’s president. Three leadership lessons stand out for me. One is the importance of presidential mentorship. In my short time as president, I already have established great relationships with more senior college presidents upon whom I can call for advice and support. Having others to serve as a sounding board is an important component of successful leadership. The second lesson is, as Bob wrote, that “sometimes one has to act out of a sense of justice, no matter the consequences.” Leadership means having a strong moral compass; a leader’s decision should be driven by doing what is just, not what is the least unpopular or least controversial. From time to time I make decisions with which some in our community may not agree. However, if I believe such decisions are aligned with our institutional values, then I need to be brave enough to take a stand on behalf of the university. The third lesson is Bob’s commitment to diversity: “With diversity issues you never arrive – you have to constantly work at it … for me it meant making the DePauw community reflective of the society in which we live.” I hope we can continue Bob’s work and legacy to be a university that welcomes and affirms the rich diversity of all members of our community.

I am not sure I will match Bob’s 21 years as president (if so, I will be well past the traditional retirement age for college presidents!) However, I suppose it is never too early for me to start working on my own presidential memoir.

Kurt Ofer ’78 “Transparent Drawing” Doug Riley ’91 and Sheryl Teeguarden Riley ’92 “Dead Dummy: A Duplicate Bridge Club Mystery” Roland “Tom” Rust ’74 “The Feeling Economy: How Artificial Intelligence Is Creating the Era of Empathy” Amy Kossack Sorrells ’94 “40 Days of Hope for Healthcare Heroes”