FYI Magazine, Fall 2011

elmhurst college alumni news fall 2011

A GRAND STAGE After almost 40 years as an actor, David Rasche ’66 is busier than ever.

fyi in this issue

02 WHAT’S NEW ON CAMPUS Bluejays Launch Lacrosse The College begins a national search for two coaches, fall lectures to focus on democracy and civic engagement and the Arboretum wins national recognition.

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06 GIVING BACK In Harmony William Malpede ’88, who has hit the right notes in a successful Hollywood musical career, recently returned to campus to share his story with students.

08 PERFORMING ARTS A Lincoln Tribute The Mill’s season finale showcases the College’s popular theatre program but underscores the need for more rehearsal space.

10 COVER STORY A Grand Stage Although he’s enjoyed a successful acting career over four decades, David Rasche ’66 retains the humility of a Midwest preacher’s son.

4 14 CLASS NOTES Where Are They Now? Find out how your classmates are advancing in their careers and how they’re serving their communities.

19 WHY I GIVE A Patron of the Arts Meet Meredith Wollenberg Morrison ’72, a generous supporter of the College’s performing arts program.

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20 OFFICE HOURS Groundbreaking Research With a new federal grant, faculty members Helga and Tony Noice take their research on the aging of the brain to the next level.

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Elmhurst and the Arts Fellow Alumni and Alumnae, The arts and humanities play an important role in our lives. From the architecture of our cities to the music on our iPods, creative expression has the power to inspire us and change the way we view the world.

Elmhurst College has a deep commitment to providing creative opportunities for all of its students. Whether they’re touring Europe with the Jazz Band, teaching music in Jamaica or taking to the stage, students at Elmhurst stretch their boundaries by engaging in artistic expression at the highest level. Both my husband and I were able to experience this firsthand with our intense involvement in the music department, which shaped our experience at the College.

In this issue of FYI, we highlight Elmhurst’s vibrant arts scene with an inside look at a recent Mill Theatre production, a profile of actor David Rasche ’66 and a conversation with Hollywood composer William Malpede ’88. You’ll also find a rundown of recent news from campus, a profile of faculty members Helga and Tony Noice and updates from your classmates.

I hope these stories will spark memories of your own fine arts experiences at Elmhurst.

And I hope you’ll take the opportunity to reconnect with the College’s creative life by attending a music performance or theatre production, viewing an art exhibition or joining Friends of the Arts, which provides critical support for arts programming at Elmhurst.

I look forward to seeing you on campus!

Wishing you the best, Sara (Douglass) Born ’02 Alumni Association President PS: Visit elmhurst.edu/alumni to start reconnecting with the College!

Alumni Association President Sara (Douglass) Born ’02 Members of the Board Cathryn Biga ’98, Sarah (Kiefer) Clarin ’04, Trish DeAnda ’01 and MBA ’05, E.J. Donaghey ’88, Tom DuFore ’04, Michael Durnil ’71, Heather Forster ’08, David Jensen ’00 and MBA ’02 , Cami (Kreft) Rodriguez MA ’08, Megan (Suess) Selck ’03, Cheryl (Kancer) Tiede ’74, Frank Tuozzo ’72, Rick Veenstra ’00 Director of Alumni Relations Samantha Kiley ’07 Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Monica Lindblom, Beverley McNulty ’10 Office of Alumni Relations (630) 617-3600, alumni@elmhurst.edu Editor Judith Crown Contributing Editor Margaret Currie Design Director Marcel Maas Creative Manager Sara Ramseth

what’s new at elmhurst

Elmhurst to Field Lacrosse Teams The College will compete in men’s and women’s lacrosse, one of the fastest-growing sports at the college and high school level. increasing geographic diversity. The addition of lacrosse, he said, will help Elmhurst recruit more students from around the country, particularly the Northeast.

Fall Speakers to Explore Democracy and Civic Engagement

Men’s competition begins in 2013, and women’s play starts the following year.

Search for Coaches Under Way The College has begun a national search for two lacrosse coaches as it plans to begin men’s play in the spring of 2013 and women’s competition in the spring of 2014. Both teams will play home matches at Langhorst Field on the west suburban campus.

“At Elmhurst, we’ve built a program around genuine student-athletes competing for the love of the sport and the educational value of the experience,” said Paul Krohn, Elmhurst’s director of athletics. “Our addition of lacrosse will expand the opportunities for our students to develop their skills and realize

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their potential as players, students and persons.”

Many high schools in the Chicago area have added the sport in recent years, and several colleges and universities have joined to form the Midwest Lacrosse Conference.

Elmhurst’s athletic history began more than a century ago, when students turned a campus cabbage patch into a baseball diamond. Today, about one in four Elmhurst students is a varsity athlete. The College is a member of NCAA Division III. Elmhurst President S. Alan Ray said that introducing lacrosse is consistent with the College’s strategic plan of enhancing its athletic offerings and

After an in-depth look at religion and the challenges of interfaith cooperation during the 2010–2011 academic year, the College will host a series of discussions on democracy and civic engagement in 2011–2012.

Upcoming lectures will focus on how access to higher education affects participation in civic and political life in our country, said President S. Alan Ray. The keynote address for the College’s second Niebuhr Forum on Religion in Public Life will be delivered

by Jon Meacham, executive editor of Random House and the former editor of Newsweek, who will present “The Content of Our Character: Race, Politics, Religion and Culture, and How Traditions Unite and Divide Us” on September 30.

Other speakers in the upcoming Democracy Forum series are Michael Eric Dyson, author of April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death and How It Changed America on September 15; legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court on September 22; and author and political consultant Naomi Wolf, who will present “Citizen Empowerment 101.”

Last year the College presented

For more information on the Elmhurst College Arboretum, visit www.elmhurst.edu/collections/arboretum.

Fall speakers include from left, Jon Meacham, Michael Eric Dyson, Naomi Wolf and Jeffrey Toobin.

Still Speaking: Conversations on Faith, which featured speakers from evangelical Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Catholic backgrounds who explored critical issues in religion and the promise of interfaith engagement. The yearlong series also caught the attention of the media and generated coverage on Chicago Public Radio’s Eight Forty Eight, the Chicago Tribune, the online publication Inside Higher Ed and other outlets.

Spring speakers included Father Jack Wall, president of the Catholic Extension Society; John Shelby Spong, former Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey; Michael Pfleger, pastor of Chicago’s St. Sabina Parish; James Carroll, an authority on anti-Semitism in the Catholic Church; and Eboo Patel, the founder and executive director of the Chicago nonprofit Interfaith Youth Core, who led a panel discussion on Islamophobia.

A number of speakers drew crowds of more than 300, which Ray said underscores the significance of the topic. “The total effect was larger than we expected, and we’re very pleased by that. Clearly there is an appetite for discussions of this caliber in the Chicago area,” he said.

To explore the Still Speaking season, visit the Still Speaking web site: www.elmhurst.edu/stillspeaking.

College Wins Tree Campus USA Award In recognition of its dedication to nurturing and maintaining trees on its

arboretum campus, Elmhurst College recently earned Tree Campus USA status from the Arbor Day Foundation.

As a candidate for the award, the College submitted extensive documentation about the hundreds of trees on campus, developed a comprehensive tree-care plan and formed an advisory committee of students, faculty and facility management staff.

During fall 2010, the College hired certified arborists to inventory the trees on campus, using global-positioning systems to locate each one on a digital map and tag them according to species and size. The electronic management program will enable workers to quickly find specific trees for pruning, soil management and other needs.

Elmhurst has a tradition of preserving and protecting trees and shrubs on its 48-acre arboretum campus. When the Elmhurst College Arboretum was established in 1966, it had 65 varieties of trees and shrubs. Today, there are more than 150 varieties.

Measuring Elmhurst’s Carbon Footprint Elmhurst has made progress in containing its carbon footprint, but there’s still room for improvement.

That’s the conclusion of a recent environmental-impact review commissioned by the College with support from the school’s sustainability committee. The first inventory of greenhouse gas emissions will serve as a useful benchmark to measure future progress, said Jeannette LeBoyer, a consultant with Affiliated Engineers,

The arboretum campus wins recognition.

the Madison, Wisconsin, firm that conducted the review. It’s “a first step in moving toward a more neutral footprint,” she said.

The review was designed to identify direct and indirect sources of Elmhurst’s greenhouse gas emissions, and also to determine how the school’s performance compares with that of 11 other colleges.

By one of two key measures—CO2 equivalent emissions per full-time student—the College ranked at the top, with a modest 4.1 tons-per-student ratio that was lower than any other school in the peer group, and less than half the output of several of its peers.

By the second yardstick, which calculated emissions per 1,000 square feet of building space, Elmhurst landed in the top half, with a 14.6 tons rating that made it the fifth-lowest emitter.

The study measured direct emissions under the school’s control, such as natural gas burned for heating, and fuel consumed by the school’s fleet of vehicles. In addition, the review calculated the CO2 emissions by utilities that generate the electricity used on Elmhurst’s campus. Those offsite emissions represent a whopping 50 percent of the school’s overall CO2 output, the survey found.

The review also quantified a range of other emissions for which the school is responsible, such as the smog contribution from the cars of the students, instructors and staffers who commute to Elmhurst. It even included the greenhouse-gas impact of the jet aircraft that carry students to and from study-abroad programs.

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what’s new at elmhurst

Commencement speaker Alice Hunt, right, and Senior of the Year Genesis Jelkes, below

Have a BALL! Commencement Speaker Says The Reverend Dr. Alice Hunt urged Elmhurst graduates to live out their passions and love every moment during the College’s 140th Commencement on May 28. More than 700 undergraduate and graduate students received degrees.

Hunt, president and professor of Hebrew Bible at Chicago Theological Seminary and one of only 25 female leaders of theological schools in the United States, urged the graduates to “go out and have a BALL!” Hunt used the word BALL as an acronym to make her message memorable: “You may not remember me, but remember my message: Be, Act, Live and Love.”

Hunt was awarded the honorary doctor of divinity degree. Honorary degrees also went to Earl C. Swallow, retiring professor of physics and an internationally known researcher in particle physics; Paul Yoh ’86, who overcame language barriers, a hearing impairment and financial constraints to become a respected optometrist; and John Pitman Weber, retiring professor 4

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of art and an internationally known muralist and public artist.

Genesis Jelkes Named Senior of the Year Genesis Jelkes, a member of the 2011 graduating class from Chicago who is pursuing graduate study in geographic information systems, was named Senior of the Year by the Elmhurst College Alumni Association.

The prestigious award, presented at the Academic Honors Convocation on May 5, honors a graduating senior who excels in academics, is involved in campus life and shows a passion for continuing the Elmhurst College tradition.

The honoree is selected annually by a committee of the College’s Alumni Association.

“To be honest, it feels like I’ve gotten so much more than I’ve given,” Jelkes said in an interview. “A goal that I had when I began attending Elmhurst was to make the best of my college experience and to leave some sort of mark, whether to one person or to a group of people. And I did my best to do that.”

Jelkes, who majored in urban stud-

ies and minored in Spanish and intercultural studies, graduated with a 3.8 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). In addition to playing for four years on the College’s softball team, Jelkes served as the cocaptain of the Jay Lightz Dance Team and the secretary of the Black Student Union.

Jelkes said she plans to study for her GIS certification at Elmhurst before continuing her education in graduate school. “My motto is that if I’m not busy, I’m doing something wrong. I feel as though there’s always work to be done,” Jelkes said. “I can always improve myself, whether in the classroom or in an extracurricular activity.

There’s always something that could be made better.”

Illini Band Director to Lead Music Department Dr. Peter Griffin, the former assistant director of bands and director of athletic bands at the University of Illinois, has been named chairman of the Elmhurst College Department of Music. He replaces Ross Kellan, assistant professor, who will continue as director of music education and director of the Symphonic Band.

Griffin said he was drawn by the exceptional work of the Elmhurst music department. “It’s already a fine program. What can we do to improve it and take it further?” he added.

Griffin earned his undergraduate degree, master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Illinois with teaching stints in Colorado in between his studies. From there, he became the

assistant director of bands at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He held the band positions at the University of Illinois for 17 years.

In Memoriam Elmhurst College lost two dynamic and dedicated trustees and its longtime chief financial officer during the first four months of 2011.

Trustee William J. McCarter was an exacting, no-nonsense, visionary builder who created what by several measures is the most successful public television station in the United States in WTTW-Channel 11. Mr. McCarter, who served the College for 15 years as a deeply respected, quietly effective trustee, died on April 21 at the age of 81.

Mr. McCarter led the parent company of WTTW-Channel 11 and classical music station WFMT-FM for 27 years. During those years, Channel 11 shed a stodgy, complacent reputation to become the most-watched and bestfinanced public television station in the United States, with a reputation for innovative local programming.

Trevor Pinch ’58, the College’s longtime chief financial officer who scrutinized every budget request but did so with a sense of humor, died on March 31 at the age of 77.

Mr. Pinch served as the top finance officer for 32 years until his retirement in 1997. Veteran staff members remember him as a tough guardian of the purse strings who had a deep love of the College.

“He brought financial stability to the institution,” said Denise Jones ’90, sen-

ior vice president for finance and administration, who succeeded Pinch when he retired.

Trustee Harold E. Pendexter, who served Elmhurst College for more than 12 years as a trustee, benefactor and student mentor, died on January 27 at the age of 76.

Mr. Pendexter had a remarkable career of more than four decades with Chicago-based USG Corporation. His association with Elmhurst College began in the 1990s, when the College offered bachelor’s degree completion programs in business management at USG’s corporate headquarters in Chicago’s Loop.

Mr. Pendexter particularly enjoyed serving as a mentor. “He was a loving taskmaster who cared deeply about students,” said Lawrence B. Carroll, executive director of the Center for Professional Excellence.

Trustee Patterson Gets Obama’s Ear Trustee Dennis Patterson ’70 recently had the opportunity to chat up President Barack Obama. During a spring fundraiser for the president in Los Angeles, Patterson and Dr. William Mohlenbrock, chairman of a medical information technology company owned by Patterson’s coaching consultancy, discussed health care reform and the plan for new cooperatives to compete with established insurers.

Patterson, co-chair of the College’s Science and Health Initiative Committee, has supported the Initiative with a $2 million gift.

Peter Griffin, left, is the new music department chair; Trustee Dennis Patterson, at left side of right photo, met President Obama at a fundraiser.

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giving back to Elmhurst

In Harmony William Malpede ’88, who has hit the right notes in a successful Hollywood musical career, recently returned to campus to share his story with students.

William Malpede’s show-business career has included playing piano for blockbuster Broadway musicals and arranging or composing the music for more than a dozen TV shows and movies.

any Hollywood transplants can recall a pivotal moment that captures the “only in Tinseltown” sparkle of their new home.

For William Malpede, it happened in the late 1990s when he attended a premiere of Amistad, a film directed by Steven Spielberg, a life-long source of inspiration. “I had about 30 seconds with Mr. Spielberg, who talked about trends in film scoring,” Malpede recalled in a recent interview. The encounter was something of a turning point: “Meeting him gave me a feeling that I was on my way to the next chapter in my career.”

Malpede didn’t have stars in his eyes when he arrived at Elmhurst College in the mid-1980s to earn a music business

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degree. Ultimately, though, his experiences with Elmhurst’s music program helped launch a dynamic show-business career that has included playing piano for blockbuster Broadway musicals, and arranging or composing the music for more than a dozen TV shows and movies including Spiderman 3, Rango and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

In March 2011, Malpede returned to Elmhurst to share what he’s learned since graduating in 1988. He also received the first Entrepreneurship in Music Business Award, sponsored by the College and the Illinois-based Coleman Foundation. Malpede said he was honored not only by that recognition, but also by the chance to speak with Elmhurst students. He hopes his

personal story might “be an inspiration that they can pursue a career in the entertainment business.” His involvement in Elmhurst College music groups led to professional opportunities: “I wanted to impress on the students the importance of their work in the music department—how this, right now, is the building block for their careers,” he said.

Malpede spoke to Elmhurst students in several classes, including the arranging class taught by jazz band director Doug Beach. “It made a huge impact on the kids,” Beach said.

Successful musicians always make good guest speakers, he noted, but when that speaker is an Elmhurst alumnus, it has added impact on students.

In addition to describing the scoring process to students and sharing examples of his work, Malpede said he emphasized the importance of their time in school—not just for education, but also for the relationships they forge.

“I told them, ‘A lot of these people might become the ones you work with,’” Malpede said. “It’s all about who you know. Everybody says that. But it’s the relationships you make with other people that are of primary importance.”

He also described to students the professional challenges he faces.

“There’s a great deal of technical craft required,” he said. To have the most desirable, up-to-date sounds, composers must regularly update their equipment and keep learning how to use it.

After his talks, a handful of students approached Malpede and gave him CDs of their work. One student followed up diligently, and that made an impression.

To find out how you can volunteer go to www.elmhurst.edu/alumni and click on Get Involved.

“He had that triple threat in the music business, as writer and player and singer.” —Susan Moninger Malpede noted that it takes him a while to review others’ work, because he likes to provide thorough, helpful critiques.

For the students who follow up, he’ll set aside a chunk of time to do that review—even if it takes him several weeks to work it into his schedule. “And when I send the critique, I’ll say, ‘Email me again.’ And if he does, I’ll talk to him some more.”

Growing up in La Grange, Malpede favored movies with memorable scores, such as The Ten Commandments, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. After he touched piano keys for the first time during a grade-school music class, music began to play a larger role in his life. “The sound that came out of the instrument when you pressed the keys—that was like magic to me,” he said. Although he didn’t take formal piano lessons until he was 12, Malpede started to play when he was nine. “My dad [who played for fun, but not professionally] showed me where the notes were on the piano, and what their names were, and I took it from there,” he said.

When it came time to choose a college, family and friends convinced Malpede to think of career opportunities beyond performing. That meant obtaining a business-related degree. “I decided to go to Elmhurst because it had a music business program, and there were just a few in the country at that time,” he said.

Malpede’s success came as no surprise to Beach, who taught Malpede at Elmhurst. “Here was this kid with all this talent, and you just knew right

away he was going to have a life of music. Even with all that talent, there was never an ego.”

In addition to playing piano for Elmhurst’s jazz band and performing in concert choir, Malpede played piano for the jazz vocal group directed by Susan Moninger. He also teamed up with Moninger to write music that was published by California-based Neil A. Kjos Music Company. “He had that triple threat in the music business, as writer and player and singer,” Moninger said.

She remembers Malpede as a performer who connected easily with the audience. Even when Malpede wasn’t center stage, he couldn’t help but draw attention. That’s what happened at a choir competition, where Malpede accompanied Elmhurst’s jazz vocal group on the piano. One of the judges happened to be a prominent Broadway conductor, and he asked Moninger if Malpede’s likeability matched his musical ability. Her answer: “Absolutely … the kind of person you’d want to work with every day.”

Less than a year after that exchange, Malpede was working for that conductor in Detroit, substituting for the keyboard player in a touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock musical Starlight Express. “I wasn’t thinking about being a composer at that point. I was thinking about being a professional musician,” Malpede said. That gig led to a string of opportunities that kept Malpede touring regularly in the United States and Canada. For two years, he played piano for Cats, then Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond, then the Andrew Lloyd Webber revue

Music of the Night.

Meanwhile, his employers wanted to groom him to fill the conductor’s role. “But I really didn’t want to be a conductor,” Malpede said. Night after night, for more than seven years, he’d played other composers’ music. It was time to write his own. In 1997, he moved to Los Angeles, enrolled at the University of Southern California and earned a certificate in scoring for motion pictures and television. He earned one of his early film credits, Spiderman 3, working as an assistant for one of his USC professors, composer Christopher Young, who composed the score for the film.

Malpede is being noticed. He recently won an award—Best Original Score Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival—for an independent movie he co-scored with Rick Garcia: Another Harvest Moon, starring Ernest Borgnine.

When he’s composing for a scene, Malpede said he likes to watch it at least three times before he considers ideas for the melody. Sometimes inspiration strikes at inconvenient times. On one occasion, Malpede had an idea for a composition while he was driving. He didn’t want to lose the idea—so he pulled over and used his phone to video himself singing the melody.

People tell Malpede his work sounds like fun, and it is, he said, but like anything worth doing well, it involves a lot of long hours and sweat. “It is great work,” he said. “But you have to really love the work.”

by Sandra A. Swanson

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campus focus performing arts

A Tribute to Mr. Lincoln The Mill’s season finale showcases the College’s popular theatre program but underscores the need for more rehearsal space.

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lmhurst College’s theatre season went out with a bang this year.

Literally. The final play in the Mill Theatre’s 2010–2011 line-up began with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, followed by a five-year flashback.

“I tried to portray the real guy, not the iconic Lincoln,” said Billy Surges ’11, who grew a beard to play the lead in Abraham Lincoln but joked that he could not increase his 5’11” height. “In real life, he was modest, awkward around women, very self-conscious about his looks. But he didn’t take crap from anyone.”

Faculty in the Elmhurst College theatre program had set out to produce a play about the Civil War in association with the Elmhurst Public Library, whose reading program commemorated the war’s 150th anniversary. Surprisingly, there were few good scripts, said director and adjunct professor Frank Del Giudice. He settled on a 1918 work by British playwright John Drinkwater that recently had been updated by Robert Brock during his residency as artistic director of Kentucky Repertory Theatre. To add drama and intimacy to the script, Del Giudice wrote a prologue, set in Ford’s Theatre, and an epilogue that dramatically brought the play full circle to the fatal gunshot of the opening scene.

The play, in late April and early May, drew full houses of students, alumni, area residents and Civil War buffs. The production triggered laughs as well as tears. When an official accused General Ulysses S. Grant of drinking, Lincoln

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Senior Billy Surges as Abraham Lincoln (center) is flanked by cast members (from left) John Taylor Field, David Leviton, Corey Thonn, Josh Lutz, Mike Greco and Derek Dillon.

replied, “Then tell me the name of his brand. I’ll send some barrels to the others. He wins victories.”

Abraham Lincoln capped an exciting Mill season at a time when more students are becoming involved in theatre.

Space limitations haven’t stopped the department from staging ambitious productions such as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Stage Door. The recent season also included four student-directed undertakings: Almost, Maine; Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead; Alice in Wonderland and two one-act plays by David Mamet.

The number of Elmhurst students with majors or minors in theatre has more than doubled in the past 10 years,

according to Janice Pohl, associate professor and director of the theatre program. And that doesn’t count the dozens of others who participate in theatre productions.

“You don’t have to be a theatre major at Elmhurst to be in a play,” Pohl said. “Some students do it for fun, and others do it because they learn skills that they will use whether they become doctors, business leaders or educators.”

Jenni McCarthy ’13, who played Mary Todd Lincoln, said that Elmhurst’s small size leads to ample opportunities both on stage and behind the scenes.

“The Lincoln cast included freshmen through seniors and people from many majors,” she said. “Everyone brought

For more information about the Mill Theatre, visit www.elmhurst.edu/ectheatre.

The play, which drew full houses of students, alumni, area residents and Civil War buffs, triggered laughs as well as tears. different viewpoints.”

Just as Abraham Lincoln was updated to appeal to a contemporary audience, so must the Mill Theatre be modernized. The popularity of theatre has strained the Mill’s rehearsal and classroom capacity, said Richard Arnold, assistant professor and technical director. For example, in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln, the cast had to compete for the Mainstage rehearsal space with groups preparing for two student-directed shows and an end-ofterm showcase.

The Mill, which once functioned as the millworks building for a lumber yard (the scene shop was the warehouse), was converted to a theatre in the late 1960s. In addition to more classrooms and rehearsal space, the lobby and restrooms need to be renovated, Arnold said. Indeed, the College’s 2009-2014 Strategic Plan calls for the Mill and the adjacent Barbara A. Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace to be updated. The College would like to turn the north side of campus into a center of activity for the arts.

Renovation won’t change the theatre’s intimate setting. There are no bad seats at the Mill, where seating encircles the stage. That intimacy worked well for Abraham Lincoln, which included dramatic exchanges among the major characters: Lincoln; his wife, Mary Todd; his cabinet and General Ulysses S. Grant.

“We didn’t want to bore people with a history lesson,” said Surges, who played Lincoln. “Everyone knows the

slaves were freed and Honest Abe was shot. But what were these people like?

Seeing the characters through Lincoln’s eyes, we see them differently.”

The production benefitted from some additional resources. Pohl and several students received a grant through the College’s Center for Scholarship and Teaching to research Civil War fashions and produce costumes for Abraham Lincoln. Using patterns from vintage sources, the students manufactured corsets, frock coats and hoop skirts. “We used period tailoring and dressmaking techniques, adjusted for 21st-century bodies,” Pohl said.

The set design was a collaboration between Richard Arnold and Jay Sierszyn, associate professor of theatre at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. “Jay worked with our students on the Lincoln show, and I worked with his students on a set [for a different play] there,” Arnold said.

“This gave the Elmhurst students a chance to work with a designer from a different background.”

Students in the play said they learned much more than Civil War history. Mike Greco ’14, who played several parts, is a football player who never had time in high school to be in a play. “At Elmhurst, I took an acting class and Frank [Del Giudice] encouraged me to try out,” he said. “My mom was thrilled because she always said I had the personality for theatre.”

Greco said the experience gave him a greater appreciation for drama. “I found out how much work and how

many people it takes to put on a play,” he said. “It’s a lot like being in a team sport—you have to help your teammates. When someone forgets a line, you jump in.”

On a spring night between shows, the cast got together to address problems that had bubbled to the surface.

They discussed how to improvise background conversation while another actor is talking. “Keep talking, saying what your character would say, but keep the volume down,” Del Giudice told one student.

“Try that again without ‘acting’ it,” Del Giudice said to a student who thought he was too stiff in one scene.

The student ran the scene again, this time with shoulders relaxed and lines delivered with force. “That’s it! This time, you did it in character,” said Del Giudice.

To the actors who had gathered to fine-tune the scene, Del Giudice said, “Now, let’s take that again, from the top.”

by Leslie Mann

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cover story

From Mamet Plays to Men in Black Though his name is in lights, David Rasche ’66 retains the humility of a Midwest preacher’s son.

By John Wolfe

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In four decades since graduating from Elmhurst, David Rasche has carved out a comfortable niche in show business, working steadily on stage, on TV and in movies.

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cover story

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e’s working with Robert DeNiro and Diane Keaton, and last month he was on set with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Even so, actor David Rasche ’66 still wonders if the opportunities will keep coming.

“It’s a difficult life,” says the 66-year-old actor. “You never know what’s going to happen. Sometimes you go for long periods without working. Not that I’m Henry Fonda, but even Henry Fonda, whenever he finished his last job, was always convinced he would never ever work again. And the truth is you just don’t know.”

Concerns notwithstanding, after almost 40 years as an actor, Rasche is busier than ever. In June he was cast in Gently Down the Stream with DeNiro and Keaton as the father of a girl who wants to marry against his wishes. He recently finished filming Men in Black III with Smith and Jones, in which he plays the ornery head of the MIB Service in 1960s flashback scenes where a young Will Smith first meets his partner.

He is joining the cast of HBO’s Bored to Death, now in its third season, in which he plays a mega-wealthy, retired tech entrepreneur. And he plays the soulful husband of a Holocaust survivor in the upcoming German feature film Remembrance.

In four decades Rasche has carved out a comfortable niche in the hardscrabble world of show business, working steadily on stage, on TV and in movies since kicking off his career with Chicago’s famed Second City improvisational theater troupe. He’s appeared in more than 100 films and television shows, from the rogue cop in the 1989 movie An Innocent Man with Tom Selleck to the President of the United States in the television series DAG (2000–2001). He is perhaps best known for his starring role in the ABC cult comedy series Sledge Hammer! (1986–1988), in which he played the title role of a goofy cop who talked to his gun and handed out his own brand of loony street justice.

Still, Rasche remains philosophical, even melancholy, about his chosen profession. He describes the anxiety of not working, of waiting for the phone to ring and not knowing if

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it will. He tells of getting a call out of the blue, asking him to read for a part because a casting director he had never met saw his work once and thought he would be a good fit.

“And then I was talking to a friend of mine who is an actor and he said, ‘Well, I’m glad you’re working, you deserve it.’ And I said, ‘I don’t deserve it any more than you deserve it.’ That’s really not the issue. There are a lot of roles around that I call CBA roles—Could Be Anybody. So why those come your way or don’t come your way, it’s very mysterious.”

Part of that reflective, contemplative attitude stems from his upbringing in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis, as the son and grandson of ministers. In fact, nearly 50 members of Rasche’s extended family entered the ministry and many of them attended Elmhurst, which began as a proseminary.

Rasche considered the field and even attended divinity school at the University of Chicago for two years. “I gave it a go, but it was not my calling,” he said. “I had more questions than answers.”

While he may not have opted for the ministry, he is part of an extensive family legacy at Elmhurst. “My grandfather went to Elmhurst,” he said. “My great-uncles all went to Elmhurst.

My father went to Elmhurst, my mother went to Elmhurst, my aunt went to Elmhurst, my two sisters went to Elmhurst and they both married people who went to Elmhurst.”

At Elmhurst, Rasche lived in Niebuhr Hall, studied in Germany during his junior year and developed interests in theology, literature and philosophy. The esteemed English professor Robert Swords was a major influence.

“Professor Swords got me into an upper-level philosophy course in my sophomore year,” Rasche said. “I shouldn’t have been allowed to take that course, but he helped me go where I wanted to go.” It was Swords who convinced Rasche, upon his return from Germany, to major in English and attend graduate school at the University of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in English. He later taught English at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota before returning to Chicago.

From left: Second City, 1972; Sledge Hammer! 1986; Malcolm in the Middle, 2003; Burn After Reading, 2008; The Seagull, 2008; Sledge Hammer! 1986; Ugly Betty, 2009; and To Be or Not to Be, 2008.

“Like any really good actor, he is idiosyncratic and what you’re looking at is him.”

—Playwright David Mamet Rasche only dabbled in acting in his early years and hardly did any theater work at Elmhurst, although he did sing in the school’s glee club. It was the seminal comedy work of Mike Nichols and Elaine May on the syndicated radio show The Midnight Special on Chicago’s WFMT-FM that sparked Rasche’s acting ambitions. He was intrigued by the duo’s improvisational work.

“I would hear Nichols and May do these routines and I thought that was absolutely the most wonderful thing I had ever heard,” he said, still recalling the thrill of this revelation.

“I heard the folk music and I heard the stand-ups, but what really got me were those two people being funny.”

That led to workshop sessions at Second City, where he eventually landed a spot in the regular cast, replacing another Chicago boy who had left for the grander stage of New York City—John Belushi.

After a couple of years with Second City, Rasche began performing in Chicago’s thriving theater scene and was a founding member of the Victory Gardens Theater. He also worked for a time at Chicago’s Organic Theater, where his professional relationship with the young playwright David Mamet flourished. The two had first met in the early 1970s at Second City, where Mamet was working as a busboy.

“I saw him on stage at Second City and just thought he was hysterically funny,” Mamet recalled in a telephone interview from his home in Los Angeles. “He was very dry and always had a kind of ‘I know something you don’t know’ twinkle in his eye—and maybe he does.”

At the Organic, Rasche appeared in one of Mamet’s first plays, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and went on to appear in more than half a dozen of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s works, including a star turn in Edmond at the Atlantic Theater in New York and in Faustus at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre.

“He’s a wonderful actor,” Mamet said. “Like any really good actor, he is idiosyncratic and what you’re looking at is him. A good actor doesn’t make stuff up and what you see is his actual self. His personality shows through in the role he is playing.”

Longtime friend Rev. Dick Wohlschlaeger, pastor of a Presbyterian church in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, said Rasche shows an affinity for Mamet’s work.

“One thing that makes David successful as an actor is that he can be both outrageously, clownishly funny, but also embrace and communicate the penetratingly dark dialogue of a David Mamet play,” Wohlschlaeger said.

Though he makes New York his home, Rasche’s career moves are tracked in detail by Hollywood’s show biz web sites such as Deadline Hollywood and silverscreenhub.com.

Yet he largely retains the modesty of a Midwestern preacher’s son. And he says his experience at Elmhurst played a role in the person he has become.

“It was a very family sort of place,” he recalls. “Most of us had known each other a long time by the time we got to Elmhurst, and it was a very tight group. The people who graduated with me became people who helped the world become a better place. They became ministers, teachers, hospital administrators and social workers. The religious atmosphere sent people off in a direction that was not about money, and it wasn’t about fame. It was about helping people and about doing God’s work, and a lot of them did exactly that.”

ALUMNI NEWS

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alumni catching up

Class Notes

Let us hear from you! Send us a note to alumni@elmhurst.edu, or call us at (630) 617-3600. Better yet, stop by the Office of Alumni Relations on the first floor of Lehmann Hall.

1930s and 1940s Carole Weise ’39 turned 93 in July and continues to enjoy ranch life in California.

In the Driver’s Seat Linda Marshall ’85 has been named president of OnStar, General Motors’ safety and information communications service. OnStar provides owners of GM vehicles with a variety of GPS-based, in-vehicle services, including automatic crash notification to a call center, remote vehicle unlocking, stolen vehicle tracking, navigation and directions, concierge services and hands-free calling. The company is preparing to launch OnStar For My Vehicle (FMV) this summer, a retail initiative to make OnStar services available in non-GM vehicles for the first time. “My challenge now is to branch out from here and find new products and segments in the marketplace without disrupting the brand (equity) that OnStar has,” Linda said. Linda has worked in telecommunications for 25 years, starting with Verizon Wireless in 1986 when it was a fledgling company with no customers.

Prior to joining Detroit-based OnStar in November 2010, she was chief operating officer of Revol Wireless, an Ohio-based wireless carrier, and held several executive positions at Sprint Nextel. In addition to her bachelor’s degree from Elmhurst, she completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford University.

Francis W. Karasek ’42 retired from a 40-year career as professor of environmental chemistry at the University of Waterloo in Canada. “Among my treasures is the Alumni Merit Award your association gave me in 1989,” he writes.

Francis and his wife, Irma, recently celebrated the 68th anniversary of their wedding.

1950s Martha Johnson ’52 says she’s enjoying life and hasn’t had time for old age, keeping busy with music, friendship, a little travel and a lot of good books with the time to read them. “Life is great,” says Martha.

James Hudson ’55 is a retired hospital administrator in Viroqua, Wisconsin.

James and his wife enjoy working with homeless cats and dogs at their local humane society.

Nancy Koop ’55 painted a lively watercolor of Navy Pier that was displayed at Palette and Chisel Art Gallery in Chicago in May 2011.

Raymond Whitehead ’55 and Rhea (Menzel) Whitehead ’57 jointly received the Katharine Hockin Award for Global Mission and Ministry. It was awarded by the Canadian Churches’ Forum for Global Ministries in Toronto in recognition of their work in the Philippines, China, Burma, Zimbabwe, Korea, India, Angola and Congo.

Michael Galasso ’58 was appointed interim DuPage County State’s Attorney on December 13, 2010.

Leslie Papp ’58 and his wife, Pat, cele-

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brated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 5, 2010.

David Sloan ’59 volunteers at a food pantry where he helps serve 400 families.

He currently lives in Bensenville.

1960s Fran Kapsalis ’60 taught school for 14 years and was a school psychologist for 14 years at Proviso Area for Exceptional Children in Maywood. “Now I am retired and enjoy participating in events on the Elmhurst campus,” Fran writes. “I am so proud of my alma mater, as the school has grown so much in recent years.”

Jon K. Hahn ’60 recently had triple bypass surgery and is recovering well.

Sandra Schwartz ’61 and her husband, Pete, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Adrian Krieg ’62 has published a new book, Rendezvous with the New World Order. With 14 titles to his name, Adrian has sold more than 50,000 books.

1970s Elizabeth Pearson ’70 is the author of Points to Ponder: Poetry and Prose to Challenge Mind and Heart, and Kids Can!: Know God’s Rules and Rewards for Right Choices. Both books can be found in colleges and public libraries.

Peter ’71 and Karen ’72 Sauter have retired from teaching. They are enjoying golfing, cycling, volunteering and spending time with their family and their golden retrievers.

Dennis J. Frazen ’73 was ordained into the pastoral ministry on January 30, 2011.

He and his wife have been commissioned as Lutheran lay ministers and currently serve on staff at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle. “Following graduation, I accept-

For more class notes, go to www.elmhurst.edu/alumni and click on Class Notes

ed full-time employment with Downers Grove National Bank and became senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1984,” writes Dennis. “I became secretary to the board of directors in 1993 and served on the board of directors from 2004 to 2011. Upon my retirement as an executive officer with the bank in 2004, I earned my theological BA at Concordia University Wisconsin. My most recent ‘accomplishment’—and joy—is becoming a grandparent for the first time. Among my best Elmhurst memories are autumn on campus and soft-serve ice cream on Twinkies in the lower level of the student union.”

Carol Barth ’74 recently started working as the interim associate minister in the Eastern Association, Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Susan (Palmer) Bowers ’74, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Southwest Health Care Network in Mesa, Arizona, recently received the Distinguished Presidential Rank award.

The award, given annually by the President of the United States, recognizes federal government executives who are strong leaders and consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, industry and a relentless commitment to excellence in public service. It is the top award given to civilian employees of the federal government. Susan has worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 34 years.

Jeffrey T. Brierton ’75 has been named superintendent of schools for District 121 in Gurnee, after four years as principal of the O’Plaine Campus at Warren Township High School. He earned the Illinois Principal Association-Lake Region’s “Principal of the Year” award in 2007.

Russ Zick ’75 retired from coaching high

school basketball after 13 seasons at Rochelle Township High School.

Kay Vasey ’76 is working as a nurse in New Mexico.

Dr. Fran Roberts ’76 has been named vice president for strategic alliances at DeVry Inc., a global provider of educational services. Fran, who graduated from Elmhurst with majors in nursing and psychology, oversees business and clinical development at DeVry by creating strategic healthcare alliances.

Barbara McNulty ’78 teaches Irish dancing in more than a dozen locations in the Western suburbs. Now in her 40th year of teaching, she works with some 300 students a year, including dancers who have qualified for the World Irish Dancing Championships in Ireland.

Mary Storce-Klepaida ’79 works as a registered nurse and for an insurance company. She also is enjoying life as a great-grandmother of three.

Thomas R. Mitchinson ’79 has been appointed to the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Illinois.

He is the media and legislative representative for the Christian Science Church.

Dane R. Camp ’79, a mathematics teacher at New Trier High School in Winnetka, has been elected to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Board of Directors.

1980s Stephen L. Guranovich ’80 is a member of the South Barrington Village Board of Trustees. He also serves on the board of the Michael Joseph Foundation, a Barringtonbased nonprofit dedicated to providing transitional housing for people in crisis.

Previously, he served for eight years as plan commissioner of South Barrington.

Love in a Greek Village Paula Renee (Akouris) Burzawa ’92 published her first novel, Seasons of Sun (iUniverse.com) in September 2010. A coming-of-age story about an American teenager who discovers friendship and love in a Grecian mountain village, the book was inspired by Burzawa’s own summertime experiences in Greece.

Seasons of Sun has earned both an Editor’s Choice award and a Rising Star award, as well as acclaim from a variety of testimonial sources. “Prepare to be enchanted,” says John Dedakis, reporter for CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.

Christina (Caplinger) Ryan ’82, CEO of the Women’s Hospital in Newburgh, Indiana, was included in Becker’s Hospital Review’s recent list of “52 Women Hospital and Health Care Leaders.” The list recognizes women who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills within the hospital and health care industry.

Allison Stanger ’82 appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in March to talk about her highly acclaimed book, One Nation Under Contract: The Outsourcing

ALUMNI NEWS

15

alumni catching up by the Lombard Lions Club. It is the highest award given by the club and has only been given five times in the club’s 89-year history.

Hung Vu ’85 recently was named chief technology officer for eChalk, a pioneer in social learning platforms for effective communication and collaboration in K-12 education. Hung has 25 years of experience in the software technology field.

It’s Never Too Late to Graduate Jim Kolkmeier ’11 graduated from Elmhurst with a bachelor’s degree on February 6, 2011, more than 50 years after first attending classes at the College. Jim left Elmhurst in the early 1960s to begin working full time, first for United Airlines as a dispatcher and eventually for Southwest Airlines, where he worked as the lead dispatcher for 22 years. After his retirement from Southwest, Jim and his wife, Leslie ’67, started a farm where they raised cattle.

A few years ago, Jim began working on a master’s degree at Chicago Theological Seminary, though he had not yet completed his undergraduate degree. Last fall Jim returned to campus and finished his undergraduate coursework.

Jim is currently working on his second master’s at CTS.

of American Power and the Future of Foreign Policy (Yale University Press, 2009).

Allison is the Russell Leng ’60 Professor of International Politics and Economics and chair of the political science department at Middlebury College. She also has served as a consultant to the United States Department of State’s Policy Planning staff. The author of numerous articles and essays, she has written opinion pieces about the privatization of American power for The New York Times, Washington Post and Financial Times.

Steven Zeidler ’82, owner of Mr. Z’s Supermarket in Lombard, was presented with the Melvin Jones Fellowship award

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Dawn Kuerschner ’85, associate professor of nursing at Oakton Community College, has received a $10,000 Nurse Educator Fellowship from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Debbie Zelinski ’86 is the new chief human resources officer for School District U46 in Elgin.

Karin Rae Fox ’88 had an exhibit of photography on display at the Oak Lawn Library’s Art Gallery in January and April 2011.

1990s Twelve Elmhurst graduates from the late 1980s and early ’90s gathered recently at Gatto’s Restaurant in Downers Grove to commemorate two of their late classmates. “Roy Perry ’90 and Rob Hatch ’90 lived in Schick Hall with us, and with Roy’s recent passing we realized we had fallen out of touch with each other,” writes Mark Gappa ’89. “All 12 of us attended Elmhurst, and many of us lived in Schick Hall together.” In addition to Mark, the group included Dave Butler ’90, Mike Fisher ’91, Neal Gallo ’88, Vito Carnevale ’89, Marc Ruffino ’89, Jody Contorno ’90, Craig Mann ’91, Frank Gatto ’89, Andy Karns ’89, Elmhurst Mayor Pete DiCianni ’88 and Derek DiSera ’91.

Jeff Welch ’90 recently was promoted to chief financial officer at FORUM Credit Union.

Dominic Sulimowski ’92 recently won re-election to the board of trustees of the Village of Norridge. Dominic currently serves on the board’s Law and Ordinance and Village Properties, Sidewalks, Environment and Economic Development committees. Dominic majored in business administration and

political science at Elmhurst and worked for AT&T before retiring and becoming a Norridge trustee in May 2009.

Eric J. Fuglsang ’94, an attorney at Quarles & Brady in Chicago, was named a 2011 Illinois Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers magazine.

Rebecca Christiansen ’95 is the founder of Celebrate Differences, a nonprofit organization that supports the families of children with special needs. The organization recently launched a scholarship opportunity for an ELSA (Elmhurst Learning and Success Academy) student on the Elmhurst campus. Rebecca graduated from Elmhurst with a double major in nursing and business administration.

Ian Narcisi ’95 has released an independently produced progressive rock album, Phone Call to Infinity. Ian, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, has also co-produced several CDs with Tim Sandusky of Studio Ballistico featuring bassist Erik Swanson.

Rebeccca (Cowie) Mulholland ’96 has worked as a special education teacher at Cornerstone Charter Schools in Michigan for the past two years.

John Vincent Pierorazio ’96 has been performing as a Frank Sinatra impersonator since 2001. He released a CD in 2003, and Chicago magazine named him Best Sinatra Impersonator in the city in 2006. John has performed across the country and currently works as an entertainer at Ditka’s Cigar Bar Chicago.

Jeff Mytych ’96, MBA ’06 was sworn in as Schaumburg’s new Township Trustee in May. Jeff also serves on the Schaumburg Township Human Services fund and as a precinct captain for the Republican Party.

He works as a product manager for the Chamberlain Group, Inc., in Elmhurst.

2000s Jennifer Randall ’03 has been named the head women’s basketball coach at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Ben Blaiszik ’03 was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship to work at Argonne National Laboratories. He earned a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics

from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign in 2009.

Erica Poremba ’04 is working on a master’s degree in education at North Central College in Naperville.

Janelle (Kostich) Thoma ’05 completed a master’s degree in reading at Concordia University in River Forest.

Peter Purin ’05, assistant professor of music theory at Oklahoma Baptist University, performed the role of Don Basilio in the university’s presentation of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in February and March 2011.

Simi Wakawa ’06 coaches the Downers Grove U12 Roadrunners girls soccer team. On May 1, the team won the Spring Classic soccer tournament held in Oak Brook.

Anthony McPherson ’07, head men’s tennis coach at Elmhurst, recently was named CCIW Coach of the Year—only the second Elmhurst tennis coach ever to earn Coach of the Year honors.

Brett Eldredge ’08, a country singer, performed as an opening act for Willie Nelson at the Chicago Theatre in March.

Brett released his first single with Atlantic Records, “Raymond,” and plans to release a full-length album later this year.

Mike Ptack ’09 recently won the Christie Clinic 5K at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a time of 15:32. Mike is a volunteer track coach at York High School.

2010s Stephanie Ferrini ’10 recently started working at Wilton Brands.

Eric Morong ’10 is the band director for Wood Dale School District No.7 in Wood Dale.

Peter Childs ’10 joined Dream Town Realty, the Chicago online real estate company. With specialties in residential sales and luxury construction, Peter is a third-generation real estate professional.

In March, a group of young alumni writ-

ers and media professionals participated in Sigma Tau Delta’s career panel on campus. The group included Brittany Ashcroft ’05, managing editor of West Suburban Living; Paula Burzawa ’92, author of the novel Seasons of Sun; Alison Engelsman ’05, strategic solutions manager for Centro Digital Media Services; Bill Hillman ’04, freelance writer, editor, NPR contributor and founder of Windy City Story Slam; and Brett Rush ’04, a freelance editor and communications specialist.

Barbara and loving father of Paul William and Jillian Lou, he began his ministry in 1982 at St. James United Church of Christ in Saline, Michigan, where he served for six years. He also served First Reformed UCC in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for 10 years and Salem Evangelical UCC in Quincy, Illinois, for six years. At the time of his death he had been serving Bethel UCC in Elmhurst since 2005. He was a pilot and certified flight instructor, active in the Elmhurst Ministerium, Elmhurst Choral Union and an avid bicyclist.

Emily Elise Flaherty ’11 graduated from the College with honors in May, representing the third generation of her family to graduate from Elmhurst. Emily’s grandmother, Carolyn Ann Foote, graduated in 1983, and her mother, Wendy Jane Flaherty, graduated in 1986.

Glenn Martensen ’30, of Fenton, Missouri, on June 21, 2010.

BIRTHS Sara (Douglass) Born ’02, president of the Elmhurst College Alumni Association, and John Born ’03 became proud parents with the birth of their first child, Leah Coakley Born, on June 22, 2011.

Melissa (Hill) Kroplewski ’02 and Patrick Kroplewski ’03 became the proud parents of their first child, Johnathon Patrick, on November 6, 2010.

Godparents are Stephanie (Hill) Cabrera ’00 and Steven Kroplewski.

Ashley Nolte ’07 gave birth to a daughter, Grace, on June 6, 2009.

MARRIAGES Ayn Brendel ’09 of Oregon and Tim Coleman ’09 of Wisconsin were married on July 30, 2011, at St. Mary’s Parish in Byron, Illinois.

Rachel (Hennessy) Foltyniewicz ’07 married Reid Foltyniewicz on September 2, 2007.

Correction: An earlier edition of FYI misidentified the wife of Hugh Howard ’53. On May 10, 2010, Hugh married Mary Lou Watts.

DEATHS Rev. Stephen H. Schuette ’78, of Elmhurst, passed away suddenly on March 17, 2011. The beloved husband of

Julia (Weigel) Pantermuehl ’39, of New Braunfels, Texas, on March 25, 2011.

Roy Alberswerth ’40, of Brookfield, on December 9, 2010.

Harold Grunewald ’42, of Ballwin, Missouri, on November 17, 2010.

James Cronin ’42, of Bensenville, on December 5, 2010.

Dean Plassmann ’44, of Peotone, on December 16, 2010.

Maurine Betty (Halbe) Jans ’45, of Machias, Maine, on January 25, 2011.

Walter Stark ’45, of Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, on March 21, 2011.

Donald Klohr ’46, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 13, 2011.

Harry Mahoney ’47, of Wheaton, on January 15, 2011.

Eugene Gloye ’49, of Grover Beach, California, on February 17, 2011.

Reuben Topp ’49, of Waverly, Iowa, on January 9, 2011.

Charles Cramer ’50, of Moline, on November 29, 2010.

Norman Burthwick ’50, on January 18, 2011.

Jane (Hermann) Zimmerman ’50, of Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, on March 5, 2011.

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alumni catching up

John Riggs ’50, of Highland, Illinois, on February 5, 2011.

Gilbert Pilz ’64, of Longview, Illinois, on February 3, 2011.

Robert Seputis ’91, of Schaumburg, on August 26, 2010.

Shirley (Swanson) Wickman ’51, of Abilene, Kansas, on April 9, 2011.

Bruce Murdock ’65, of Mukilteo, Washington, on January 1, 2011.

Howard Canaday ’92, of St. Charles, on April 21, 2011.

Margaret McMichael-Peat ’51, of Indian Creek, Illinois, on February 13, 2011.

Ralph Bus ’66, on March 22, 2010.

Nancy Nelson ’93, of Sycamore, Illinois, on March 3, 2011.

Lois (Mueller) Fink ’51, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, on November 15, 2010.

Lois Bessman Moore ’52, of Green Mountain, Iowa, on January 16, 2011.

Bruce Andrews ’52, of Bent Tree, Georgia, on January 25, 2011.

Betty Jane (Garver) Wagner ’53, of Fort Myers, Florida (formerly of Brookfield), on July 21, 2010.

Joyce Koch Carmichael ’53, of Marietta, Georgia, on June 29, 2010.

Allen Draugelis ’54, of Hebron, Illinois (formerly of Dundee Township), on January 4, 2011.

Trent Middlekauff Jr. ’56, of Fort Myers, Florida, on December 10, 2010.

Georgia (Lindstrand) Gibson ’56, of Wheaton, on May 10, 2011.

Richard Schiemann ’56, of Waverly, Ohio, on February 13, 2011.

Erika (Kunzl) Marshall ’58, of Oak Park, on February 14, 2011.

Lester McCoun ’58, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, on January 29, 2011.

James Protine ’58, of Glen Ellyn, on March 13, 2011.

Norman Regitz ’58, of West Chicago, on March 16, 2011.

Trevor Pinch ’58, of Winfield, on March 31, 2011.

Neva Piepho ’59, of Chicago, on December 30, 2010.

Sylvia Heft Castronovo ’61, on November 19, 2010.

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Ward L. Quaal ’67, of Winnetka, on September 27, 2010.

Pamela (Martens) Boughton ’68, of Chicago (formerly of Granville, Illinois), on November 27, 2010.

Linda L. (Gallas) Glover ’69, of Island Lake, Illinois, on November 22, 2010.

Ronald Carbello ’70, of O’Fallon, Illinois, on November 5, 2010.

Mae Marvin ’70, of Downers Grove, on February 23, 2011.

Lois (Dillen) Novatny ’71, of Bloomington, Illinois (formerly of Bensenville), on February 10, 2011.

Sarah Goenne ’72, of Chicago, on April 13, 2011.

William Smedberg ’72, of Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin, on December 17, 2010.

Ida Kastner ’73, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, on February 19, 2011.

Jane Wojtena ’74, of Fort Myers, Florida, on March 23, 2011.

Thomas F. Klos ’83, of South Elgin, on February 14, 2011.

Barbara Mullen ’83, of Sarasota, Florida, on September 24, 2010.

Robert A. Clark ’84, of Elmhurst, on December 7, 2010.

Sandra (Dybal) Del Re ’85, of Mundelein, on February 13, 2011.

Joan Thorson ’86, of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, on March 10, 2011.

Roy Perry ’90, of Chicago Heights, on April 26, 2010.

Kim (Donley) Hoerman ’93, of Morton Grove, on July 12, 2010.

Brian Lautenbach ’95, of Hudson, Wisconsin (formerly of Chicago), on December 10, 2010.

Erik Metzler ’02, of Cape Coral, Florida, on January 11, 2011.

Mark Swibes ’05, of Munster, Indiana, on February 8, 2011.

John Riehle, offensive and defensive lines football coach at the College from 1977 to 1982, on December 16, 2010.

For more information on alumni giving go to our new giving site at www.elmhurst.edu/giving

Why I Give

Meredith Wollenberg Morrison ’72 Falls Church, Virginia

Members of the Chancel Players, the College’s touring theatre group in 1970 Top row from left: David Hansen, Alan Weiger (now associate professor of theatre at Elmhurst College), Peter Bliznick, Bob Atkins, Dr. Don Low Middle row from left: Kristina Bahl, Patricia Anderson, Vince Pinelli, Ruth Talley, Doug Berghorn, Marge Carter, Tom Zappe Front row from left: Mary Beth Moran, Marlene Fredette, Meredith Wollenberg, Nancy Meyer, Frank Boyd, Kathy Harris, Michael Baily, Nancy Stephens

had a fabulous experience in the theatre program at Elmhurst. I made some great friends there who are still my best friends. When you work together to put on a show, you develop instant bonds.

One of my favorite Elmhurst experiences was performing with the Chancel Players, the College’s touring theatre group. We traveled across the country, performing plays at UCC churches and staying with local families. Traveling together was a great bonding experience,

I

and I loved meeting new people in different cities. It was a total blast.

The Mill Theatre was relatively new to Elmhurst during my student days. It was a little rough back then, but we didn’t care—that was part of the experience.

Still, a good theatre program needs a good facility. So when President Ray asked me to consider making a gift to the College through my grandfather’s foundation, I knew I wanted to support improvements to the theatre.

For me, giving is more meaningful

when it supports a specific project.

Providing this gift to Elmhurst makes it possible for the College to upgrade the Mill in significant, visible ways. It’s very gratifying to know I’m making a difference.

Meredith Wollenberg Morrison ’72 works as a case manager for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. She has made several significant gifts to support the College’s Mill Theatre through The Wollenberg Foundation.

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To see a video of Helga and Tony Noice on MSNBC go to http://tiny.cc/c6clm

faculty office hours

Acting Lessons and the Aging of the Brain Catching Up with Helga and Tony Noice or close to 20 years, Dr. Helga Noice, professor of psychology, and her husband, Dr. Tony Noice, an adjunct faculty member in the College’s Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, have researched the use of acting techniques to enhance cognitive performance in older adults.

Elmhurst and the University of Illinois recently received a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will enable the Noices to take their research to the next level.

F

How do acting classes slow cognitive decline in older people?

Helga: Research has shown that plasticity is an important property of the human brain—its ability to restructure or rewire itself by processing new experiences.

How can we do that? We know that stimulating activities make the brain work more efficiently, and an acting class provides just the right kind of stimulation.

What is the gist of the acting class?

Tony: We quickly build up to creating characters, understanding motivations and developing scenes. The idea is to focus not on memorizing lines but on understanding the ideas behind the literal words, as well as on the physical and emotional dimensions of performances.

What does your new NIH study involve?

Tony: Working with researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we’ll spend three years actively working with older adults in groups. We’ll be in charge

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of the interventions but the scientists at the Beckman Institute will conduct functional MRI scans before and after the interventions, which will allow us to see specifically what brain changes occur. The fourth year will be spent analyzing the data with the help of Elmhurst College students.

Helga: We want to determine what aspect of the acting process helps cognitive functioning in older adults. We’ll have three groups of participants. The first group will receive acting training.

The second group will read and discuss plays; the third group basically will receive a course in theater appreciation.

The second and third groups will learn about theater but will receive no acting training at all. The question we hope to answer is, do you need the actor’s experience, specifically active involvement in the acting process, to obtain positive cognitive benefits? A great plus of this study is that it will enable us to see what specific parts of the brain are involved in healthy aging through acting.

How will the study be structured?

Helga: Twice a week for four weeks, participants will meet with their specific group. Besides the MRIs, we’ll test participants’ memories before and after the intervention using a standard paper-andpencil test. We’ll also conduct a sixmonth follow-up with each participant.

At the end of the study, we’ll have data on close to 200 people.

Where do you find participants for your studies?

Tony: In the past we’ve conducted our research at such places as hospitals, well-

ness centers and retirement homes. For the current study, we’ll cast a wider net because not everybody is comfortable with MRI examination. As a result, we’re recruiting volunteers by running ads in local newspapers, as well as contacting senior centers, churches, synagogues, mosques and city park districts.

What is the age range of participants?

Tony: For our past studies, participants had to be 65 or older. For this current study, the age range is 65 to 80.

What do you hope to find at the end of the study?

Helga: We fully expect to find a larger cognitive boost in the groups involved in the acting experience.

Do other stimulating activities besides acting—art and music, for example—slow brain aging?

Tony: We’ve looked at visual arts and singing, and while we do see some positive results from those activities, they don’t work as well as acting. Scores improve more from acting than anything else we’ve tried, possibly because acting combines a number of brain-boosting activities simultaneously: it is novel; it requires mental, emotional, and physical energy; and it takes place in a supportive social setting.

by Deborah Silver

Play it one more time!

Congress has obliged with an encore: The IRA Charitable Rollover has been extended until the end of 2011.

Act fast! Under this legislation, direct gifts to Elmhurst College from your IRA can: 1 Be an easy and convenient way to make a gift from one of your major assets 2 Be excluded from your gross income: a tax-free rollover 3 Count toward your required minimum distribution For your gift to qualify for benefits under the extension: • You must be 70½ or older at the time of your gift • The transfer must go directly from your IRA to Elmhurst College • Your total IRA gift cannot exceed $100,000 • Your gift must be outright To learn more about this opportunity, contact us today: Meg Howes (630) 617-3781 howesm@elmhurst.edu www.elmhurst.giftplans.org

ALUMNI NEWS

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190 Prospect Avenue Elmhurst, Illinois 60126-3296

events coming soon

For more information visit us at www.elmhurst.edu/events. You also can follow us on facebook.com/elmcol or twitter.com/elmhurstcollege.

Mark Your Calendar Homecoming 2011 Friday-Sunday, October 14-16 Plan your weekend online at www.elmhurst.edu/homecoming. You can view the full list of 2011 activities, register for events and see who is coming from your class.

Questions? Contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (630) 617-3600 or alumni@elmhurst.edu Theatre: The Country Wife Thursday-Sunday, October 6-9; Thursday-Saturday, October 13-15 This play, a Restoration comedy written in 1675, pokes fun at contemporary manners and morals and was ahead of its time for its bawdy humor.

Lecture: Inside the Supreme Court Thursday, September 22 Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin will discuss the secret world of the Supreme Court as part of the College’s yearlong focus on Democracy and Civic Engagement.

Niebuhr Forum Friday, September 30 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham will present “The Content of Our Character: Race, Politics, Religion and Culture, and How Traditions Unite and Divide Us.” World Music Festival Saturday, October 22 Don’t miss this exciting, creative program that blends Indian, U.S. and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions. The concert will feature Grammy Award-winning artists and the College’s own musical ensembles.

Lecture: Green Chemistry Thursday, October 6 Dr. Paul Anastas, known as the Father of Green Chemistry for his groundbreaking research on the use of environmentally friendly chemicals, will present “Designing Tomorrow.”