GeDUNK Spring 2018

Spring 2018

GROVE CITY COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Spring 2018

ADVANCING THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT

College's values inspire alumni and students KEEHLWETTER RETIRING

E+I AWARDED

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Grove City College

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CAMPUS VIEW

The Wolverine football team celebrates its first victory in three years in this award-winning photo by Collegian photographer Andrew Stein ’18.

Stein took a first place 2018 Keystone Student Press Award for news photo for this picture. The student newspaper also won first place for news coverage. For more, see page 10.

Spring 2018

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M Grove City College

ESSAGE

F ROM

THE

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A LEGACY OF FAITH AND FREEDOM

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hen Pine Grove Academy first opened its doors in 1876, America’s experiment in selfgovernment and ordered liberty faced an uncertain future. The centennial celebration of that year was only a decade removed from the ravages of the Civil War and our nation, “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” as President Lincoln so eloquently stated in the 1863 Gettysburg Address, was still facing a test of “whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.”

The precariousness of American ideals in the late 19th century undoubtedly motivated founder Isaac Ketler to believe that the mission of Grove City College was to produce great citizens and not just great minds. Education was vital for the success of the American republic because “an uneducated people can, at the best, only delegate the government to some individual, and the republican form is a sham,” according to W.M. Ramsey, an early 20th century English scholar who wrote a fascinating review of Ketler’s career. Ketler, observed Ramsay, was committed to “the immediate work of making men fit for the American world, and likely to leave the American world a little better than they found it.” He understood that a Christian liberal arts education produces men and women equipped for preserving and advancing our free society.

This dual-purpose vision was extended and nurtured by Isaac’s son Weir. In one of his first speeches as the new College president in 1916, Weir Ketler insisted that “the aim of our College should be to send out young men and women who not only have well-trained and efficient minds but who possess well-rounded personalities, who respond to high motives and who follow high ideals. We believe in constructiveness, in men and women who have courage, who believe in right and who are not afraid to make a stand for the right in moral and civic issues of life.”

One of these unafraid men who graduated from Grove City College and made a stand for the right was J. Howard Pew, class of 1900, the long-time chairman of the College Board of Trustees. In a 1964 speech, Mr. Pew, quoting the Irish patriot John Philpot Curran, said, “The condition under which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance, which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.”

As you will see in the pages that follow, Grove City College has produced many other men and women who are currently committed to advancing the freedom movement and the ideals upon which this nation was founded. Isaac, Weir, J. Howard and countless others from earlier decades, would be proud to see the immense contributions of these thought leaders. Their writings and advocacy are superb examples of the College’s great mission of equipping our students with an understanding of the foundations of free society as they pursue their unique callings in this world. I trust you will be encouraged and inspired by their service.

They are engaged in what President Lincoln, as he reflected on the battlefield where thousands died to preserve the American republic, called the “great task remaining before us.”

Their efforts are aimed at ensuring “that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Also in this issue, you’ll see examples of how our alumni, through scholarship, service, and sacrifice, strengthen the common good that undergirds our American republic – from research that points to a way forward for hard-pressed communities, to the story of Erik Burkett ’98, a Marine veteran who lost his legs but not his spirit, and, finally, to a profile of retiring professor Dr. Bruce Ketler ’71, whose lifelong connection to the College is a tribute to a great family’s enduring legacy of faith and freedom.

EDITORIAL BOARD Jeffrey Prokovich ’89 Vice President for Advancement Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod Senior Director of Alumni and College Relations Jacki Muller Senior Director of Marketing and Communications EDITORIAL STAFF Nick Hildebrand Managing Editor Janice (Zinsner ’87) Inman Associate Editor, Class Notes, In Memory, Babies Brad Isles Associate Editor OFFICE OF ALUMNI & COLLEGE RELATIONS Tricia Corey Carrie Sankey Charlene (Griffin ’83) Shaw COLLEGE ARCHIVES Hilary (Lewis ’09) Walczak OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT Brian Powell ’03 Kelly Conger Elizabeth (Smith ’81) Hanley Zach Jew ’11 Adam Nowland ’07 DESIGN Justin Harbaugh Art Director/Graphic Designer ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Steve Solman ’96 President Jana (Volante ’07) Walshak Vice President Cover photograph by Alan Adams Interior photography by Tiffany Wolfe, Alan Adams, Jason Jones, Julia Knepper ’21, Andrew Stein ’18, Jacki Muller, Brad Isles, Justin Harbaugh, Nick Hildebrand WRITE US, PLEASE Your feedback is very important to our editorial staff and we encourage you to register your comments, questions, concerns, and, hopefully, compliments. Our mailing address is The GeDUNK, 100 Campus Drive, Grove City PA, 16127-2104, but there’s no need to put pen to paper or stamp to envelope, we’ll be happy to hear what you think via email at alumni@gcc. edu. Please use GeDUNK in the subject line and indicate if your letter is intended for publication.

Grove City College

Paul J. McNulty ’80 President

100 Campus Drive Grove City, PA 16127 724.458.2300 888.GCC.GRAD alumni.gcc.edu

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Spring 2018

’mid the pages

m o d e e r ƒMovement the

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Generations of alumni have gained an understanding of the fundamental ideas of American freedom – individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law – in the classrooms and lecture halls of Grove City College. Some have committed their lives and careers to advancing those ideas in academia, public policy, politics, and the law as part of a larger freedom movement that’s making the world a better place.

I NS I D E

| Upfront News from campus, alumni and sports

28 | Serving Rural America Christian colleges have a duty 30 | Last of His Line Bruce Ketler ’71 retires 32 | Building and Re-building Eric Burkett ’98 perseveres

ON THE COVER: Grove City College’s faith and freedom foundation linked to America’s heritage of freedom and symbolized by the image of the Stars and Stripes in the rotunda of Crawford Hall.

34 | Class Notes Find out what fellow alumni are doing 38 | In Memory Friends we’ve lost and remember 41 | Alumni Babies Introducing our newest Grovers 42 | Faith & Learning A faculty perspective

Connect with us: The GēDUNK, a magazine published for alumni and friends of Grove City College, highlights campus news, student features and alumni achievements. Named after the on-campus gathering place / snack bar for students since the early 1950s, the word “Gedunk” made its way into the Grove City College vernacular when Navy veterans returned to campus, bringing the term with them. The name stuck. For decades, the Grove City College Gedunk has been the place to come together to share news and ideas, live and learn, and this magazine strives to connect our family in similar style.

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Grove City College

upfront

News about the College, alumni, students, campus, faculty and sports

Teams of entrepreneurial Grove City College students generate marketable business ideas and compete to win up to $20,000 in the Wolverine Venture Battle each spring under the guidance of the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation. The Graphrite team, left, won $7,000 to develop a tool to help engineering and math students draw accurate sketches and graphs. Mahlon Acoustics, conceived by student Andrew Graber ’20 and partner Mahlon Stoltz, at right with College President Paul McNulty ’80, took first place and won $9,500 to sell handmade wooden drums called cajóns that are designed and crafted by musicians in Nashville.

Bold and innovative Entrepreneurship program wins national recognition

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rove City College’s Entrepreneurship program is nationally recognized for its “bold and innovative” approach and earned the distinction of being a model program this year.

The program, which consists of the academic Department of Entrepreneurship, directed by Chair and Associate Professor Timothy J. Sweet ’85, and the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation, guided

by Executive Director Yvonne (Korloch ’97) English, captured the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Model Emerging Program Award in January.

“USASBE is regarded as the leading association in the field, and receiving the USASBE Model Emerging Program Award is a major accomplishment for the College,” English said. “The award has already generated greater awareness and interest in our Entrepreneurship program. It’s an exciting time for Entrepreneurship at Grove City College.”

The USASBE advances entrepreneurship education through teaching, scholarship and practice. Their Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Awards recognize colleges and universities that offer “bold and innovative programs that make an impact in the field of entrepreneurship education.” The Model Emerging Program Award distinguishes new or revised entrepreneurship programs that demonstrate “signs of innovation, boldness and student impact.”

English submitted the College’s application for the award in the fall, primarily because USASBE promised to provide feedback to all applicants

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regarding their respective applications and programs. However, USASBE selected Grove City College as a finalist for the award in November. The other finalist was The Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University, which is described by the university as the nation’s first interdisciplinary, stand-alone degree-granting school of entrepreneurship and is backed by a $100 million gift.

Each finalist was required to submit an additional packet of materials in December and to make a 15-minute presentation during the USASBE Emerging Program Award Competition session on Jan. 12 at the annual conference. Judges for this session were from West Virginia University, San Diego State University and North Carolina State University.

“It was daunting to present to such powerhouse programs, but I felt that our program and, more importantly, the accomplishments of our students and alumni, almost speak for themselves. I just told the audience and judges the very compelling story of the impact that our students and graduates have been making in the world and how we equip them to do so,” English said.

College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 hailed the program and the people behind it: “Bringing our program to this point has been an exceptional team effort,” he said.

For more about Entrepreneurship at Grove City College, visit www.gccentrepreneurship.com.

Spring 2018

Christian scholar, thought leader Carl Trueman to join faculty in the fall

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arl R. Trueman, one of America’s foremost Christian voices and an accomplished church historian, will join the faculty in the fall.

In addition to his role as a full time professor in the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies, Trueman will advance the College’s strategic goals of enhancing the Christian environment and expanding the College’s influence in the marketplace of ideas. Trueman is a regular contributor to the journal First Things and his blogs and podcasts have a wide following.

“Grove City College welcomes Dr. Trueman to our college community,” President Paul J. McNulty Trueman ’80 said. “His extraordinary intellect and highly regarded scholarship will profoundly impact our students and his expertise fits squarely within our mission and distinctives to promote an understanding of the Christian worldview, the foundations of free society and the love of neighbor.

He will join a remarkably strong group of Christian scholars in our Biblical and Religious Studies department. He will also

assist with preaching in our Sunday night vespers service and contribute to the Center for Vision & Values.”

Trueman was most recently the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life in the James Madison Program at Princeton University and held the Paul Woolley Chair of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He also serves as pastor of Cornerstone Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Ambler, Pa. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and master’s degree from St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, England.

“Grove City College has enjoyed great success in its ability to attract leading Christian scholars like Dr. Trueman to its ranks, enhancing academic excellence and the Christcentered learning and living environment we offer our students.” McNulty said.

“Grove City College’s exclusive focus on undergraduate education is very appealing,” Trueman said. He is looking forward to working with students as they develop their mature worldview and discover their unique callings. He was also attracted by the College’s historic independence.

Trueman previously served on the faculties of the universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen in the United Kingdom. His academic interests focus on the Reformation, church history and sixteenth and seventeenth century intellectual history, and his work has been published in volumes from Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Brill, Ruprecht, the International Journal of Systematic Theology and other scholarly outlets. His most recent focus is on historical issues surrounding the development of notions of human personhood as they connect to the development of social mores and political tribalism.

He is the author and co-author of more than a dozen books, including Reformation: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, The Creedal Imperative, John Owen: Reformed Catholic, Renaissance Man and Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History and most recently (with his friend, the Lutheran scholar Robert Kolb), Between Wittenberg and Geneva: Lutheran and Reformed Theology in Conversation. He cohosts “The Mortification of Spin” podcast and is regular contributor to its blog.

Acclaimed youth minister Duffy Robbins will bolster ministry major

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he Department of Biblical and Religious Studies scored another coup this spring with the hiring of acclaimed youth minister and scholar Dr. David “Duffy” Robbins.

Robbins brings four decades of experience and success in Christian ministry to the department. An accomplished scholar and gifted speaker, Robbins is also a prolific writer who has penned several books and hundreds of articles on teenage discipleship and service, intentional parenting and preparing students for a unique calling in professional Robbins ministry.

His appointment is a major boost to the new Christian Ministries major, which was

introduced in the fall as part of the College’s commitment to enhancing the Christian character of the school and faith formation of students.

Robbins will be teaching two courses in the fall that are integral to the Christian Ministry major: Introduction to Youth Ministry and Ministry, Culture and Context.

Outside of academic circles, Robbins is best known for his many public speaking engagements. He a gifted lecturer who is known for his warm conversational style and quick wit. He has been described as possessing a unique ability to make Scripture come alive for thousands of youth worldwide.

Robbins’ literary works include Ministry of Nurture: A Guide to Building Teenage Disciples, Youth Ministry Nuts and Bolts: Mastering Ministry behind the Scenes and

This Way to Youth Ministry: An Introduction to the Adventure.

Robbins comes to Grove City College from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., where he served as professor of youth ministry. He completed a Doctor of Ministry in Youth and Family Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. He graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. He and his wife, Maggie, are the parents of two grown daughters.

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Grove City College

Commencement speaker Jeffrey N. Williams has spent more time in space than any other American man. During his three tours of duty on the International Space Station, he’s taken hundreds of photos of the Earth. They are collected in his book The Work of His Hands: A View of God’s Creation from Space.

Williams offers ‘out of this world’ perspective on creation at commencement

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effrey N. Williams (Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) has spent more time in space than any other American man. Between space flights and three tours on the International Space Station, he’s been off world for a total of 534 days.

On May 19, 578 new Grove City College graduates heard Williams deliver an inspiring message at their Commencement exercise.

As well as pushing the space endurance envelope and making outof-this-world contributions to scientific knowledge during his days in space, Williams is an accomplished photographer whose job gives him the opportunity to capture images that few other shutterbugs have seen. He’s also a committed Christian who examines the wonder of creation through a lens of faith.

During the six months he spent aboard the space station in 2006, Williams orbited the earth more than 2,800 times and chronicled his view from on high in the book The Work of His Hands: A View of God’s Creation from Space. The photo journal details the wonder of creation and is deeply influenced by Williams’ faith.

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class. After hundreds of days in space and dozens of hours of courageous space walks, he has a unique perspective on God’s amazing creation that will expand our graduates’ imagination and determination in the service of Christ in this world,” Grove City College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said.

Williams received an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree from the College at Commencement. Baccalaureate speaker Dr. Sinclair Ferguson was given an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree (D.D.).

Ferguson, a native of Scotland, is regarded among the world’s leading Presbyterian theologians and renowned for his insights and contributions to Reformed theology and ministry. He is the Chancellor’s Ferguson Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and a teaching fellow with Florida-based Ligonier Ministries.

Williams and Ferguson “share a passion for God’s revelation of truth in both nature and the Word. They have impacted the temporal and spiritual realms in profound ways,” McNulty said.

Spring 2018

Keehlwetter retiring from chapel post

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ean of the Chapel Rev. Dr. F. Stanley Keehlwetter is retiring after nearly two decades as the campus’ spiritual leader.

Keehlwetter, a Presbyterian pastor, began serving the College community in 1999 and was named full-time Dean of the Chapel in 2004.

“My role as Dean of the Chapel at Grove City College has been the highlight of my 35 years of ministry,” Keehlwetter said. “The College is a very special place and it has been a privilege to serve the Lord in this academic community for these 19 years.”

During his tenure, Keehlwetter revitalized the College’s Chapel program, including recent changes to focus more on corporate worship, biblical preaching and testimony, taught humanities courses, served on the College’s leadership team and moderated the Religious Activities Committee, along with serving as a successful track and field and soccer coach. He was a three-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference Track and Field Coach of the Year and led the men’s team to four consecutive conference championships from 2005 to 2008 College President Paul J. McNulty ‘80 said Keehlwetter faithfully served the College and fulfilled his pastoral duties with “passion and goodwill.”

“Students have benefitted from his deep understanding of scripture and theology and his personal concern for their spiritual formation,” McNulty noted.

Keehlwetter holds degrees from Gordon College, Duquesne University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary, and is also pastor of Plain Grove (Pa.) Presbyterian Church. He lives in Wexford, Pa., with his wife Lois.

They have three grown children – Michael Keehlwetter ’98, Lisa (Keehlwetter ’01) Gyergyo, and Kathleen (Keehlwetter ’02) Orlando – and 12 grandchildren.

OKIE-DOKIE | Members of Omicron Xi call out and congratulate the fraternity’s new members from the windows of Hopeman Hall at the beginning of Greek Unity Week in February.

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Grove City College

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Collegian wins state newspaper awards

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he Collegian, Grove City College’s student newspaper, captured a pair of first place Student Keystone Press Awards this spring for work published in 2017.

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association awards “recognize student journalism that provides relevance, integrity, and initiative in serving readers.”

The paper’s staff captured first place honors for General News for coverage of the decision to have Vice President Mike Pence speak at Commencement last year. The newspaper’s entry included stories, photos and graphics from the April 7 edition under the headline: “CommPencement.”

Collegian Photographer Andrew Stein ’18, a Business Management major from Monaca, Pa., won first place News Photo for a picture capturing the emotional celebration of members of the Wolverine football team after they won their first game in three years. The photo was published Sept. 29.

Earning recognition like this is a significant achievement for the newspaper’s staff, according to Collegian Adviser Nick Hildebrand.

“The Collegian exists to inform, entertain, and enlighten its readers on campus and train students in the art of ethical journalism. The newspaper is blessed to have a talented and dedicated staff that takes that mission seriously and strives to do excellent work. It is gratifying to see their professional-level efforts recognized,” Hildebrand, senior editor in the College’s Office of Marketing and Communications, said.

Current Editor-in-Chief Karen Postupac ’19, a Computer Information Systems major from Export, Pa., said the awards were a vindication for the newspaper’s hardworking staff.

“The best thing about The Collegian staff is their aspiration for excellence. Section editors strive for the best content and designers experiment with new layouts. Writers report strong stories and express well-informed opinions of various perspectives. These pieces of the puzzle have brought the newspaper to the new level in the past few years and I am beyond excited to see the work of our team be commended for the dedicated work I see every day,” Postupac said.

The Pence story was a big one for the newspaper, which broke what became a national story online with a Facebook post that was picked up by The Associated Press and led to The Collegian being cited by The New York Times. The newspaper’s staff had just days to put together a multiple story package for the print edition that included news stories on the selection of Pence and campus reaction, pro and con; point-counterpoint editorial columns; letters to the editor; and even a satire in the form of a Grover Life column.

The Collegian is produced and managed by students and published weekly by Grove City College during the academic year. First established in 1891, the newspaper has been in regular publication since 1914.

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olverine Marching Band Majorette Captains Lauren Foster ’19, left, and Breanne Wenk ’20 were part of Team USA, the world champion show corps team at the World Federation of National Baton Twirling Association’s world championships in April in Lillehammer, Norway. The women captured gold medals for that victory and were part of the third place Pompons division team.

Both women were drawn to Grove City College by its commitment to the value that twirlers bring to a band show. They encourage younger twirlers to consider the College when it comes to deciding where they want to continue their education because of the opportunities that exist. “We welcome the opportunity to be ambassadors for Grove City College,” Wenk said.

TOP SENIORS | Corrie Penraat and Graham Allen earned ODK/Mortarboard’s Senior Woman and Man of The Year awards during Family Weekend. For more on this honor, visit www.gcc.edu

Spring 2018

Stage might

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rove City College’s Theatre Program mounted three productions this spring: Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, a serious family drama; The End of The World with Symposium to Follow, an absurd Cold War black comedy; and Junie B. Jones: The Musical for the annual Dr. Hilda Adam Kring Children’s Theatre show. The shows provided student thespians a chance to stretch their talents and entertain audiences drawn from campus and the greater Grove City community. Program Director Betsy (Boak ’77) Craig oversaw all three productions.

Junie B. Jones: The Musical

All My Sons

The End of the World with Symposium to Follow

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Grove City College

Mattson joins elite ranks of Fulbright recipients

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rove City College senior Jessica Mattson will be spending the next year teaching English in Ecuador on a Fulbright Fellowship.

Mattson, a Spanish Education major from Gibsonia, Pa., is the first Grove City College student to win a coveted English Teaching Assistantship award in over a decade. Her fellowship is one of just four the Fulbright program awards to U.S. students in 2018 to work in the South American country.

The esteemed Fulbright program places Americans in classrooms abroad to provide assistance to local teachers and serve as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. Mattson will be assisting English language teachers at the university level. A violinist who plays in the College’s string quartet, orchestra, and chamber orchestra, she plans to do volunteer work with young musicians and gain an understanding of the El Sistema musical teaching style that’s emerging in Ecuador.

“I hope to come away from this experience with a better understanding of how the U.S. education system can work to connect Latino students and their families with their communities through music and language instruction,” she said.

Mattson first heard about the Fulbright program a few years ago and decided to apply last summer. She said she got a lot of help from professors at Grove City College, including the College’s Fulbright Program Adviser Dr. Erik Anderson. “The professors here on campus played a huge role in the success of my application. They were more than willing to offer advice and ideas that were crucial to the formation of my application,” Mattson said.

The College’s commitment to providing a comprehensive liberal arts education that’s not limited to a student’s major, helped make the Fulbright fellowship possible, she said. “One of the great things about Grove City is that it allows students to be well-rounded and to pursue interests within different departments. Without having had opportunities within both the language and music departments during my time at the College, I would not be where I am today,” Mattson said.

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Jessica Mattson ’18 won a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Ecuador. She plans to use music as a way to connect with students.

Grove City College has a history of Fulbright award winners. The most recent awardees include: • DAVID JETTER ’00, binational business program in Mexico.

• NICOLE R. RUDOLPH ’02, taught English in South Korea.

• JONATHAN BOND ’04, studied political science in the United Kingdom.

• MARIAH PERRIN ’05, taught English in South Korea.

• DAVID FRICK ‘09, studied small business accounting practices in China.

• LUKE JUDAY ‘10, studied intercollegiate debate and public policy in Botswana.

• JENNIFER FERRIS ‘11, studied entrepreneurship in Canada.

• ANDREW CAFFRO ’13, worked on HIV/ AIDS stigma and public health in India.

• MARLEY KROPP ’17, U.K. Fulbright undergraduate program in Wales.

Grove City College’s faculty also include former Fulbrighters: Drs. Rebecca Harmon (Switzerland, ‘07), Andrew Mitchell (Spain, ‘03), Beverly Carter (Austria, ’79) and Erik Anderson (Canada, ’95).

Spring 2018

Faculty share wisdom with drive time listeners

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rove City College faculty are part of the rotation on 101.5 WORD FM with a monthly spotlight on the Ride Home with John and Kathy.

Professors are featured at 4:40 p.m. on the first Monday of every month during the Pittsburgh broadcast team’s drive time radio show. They’ll talk about their areas of expertise and approach to faith and learning.

The outreach ties into the College’s core values of faithfulness and community.

Head Wolverine Football Coach Andrew DiDonato ’10 was the first faculty guest.

He compared coaching to a ministry and told listeners that he focuses on wholeperson development based on the Great Commandment that we are to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind – because who you are off the field is who you are on the field.

“We use a slogan ‘4/40/forever’ because we’re reminded - football is gonna last four years, their degree the next 40, and their faith’s gonna impact eternity forever,” DiDonato said. “It’s is an amazing platform we have to not only teach character and sportsmanship but ultimately to point young people to Christ and ultimately what it means to glorify God and utilize the gifts that He’s given you.”

Other faculty guests included English professor Dr. H. Collin Messer, who discussed the value of all kinds of literature to gaining a greater understanding of humanity and the nature of God, and Physics professor Dr. Jeffrey Wolinski, who addressed the union of faith and science..

Ride Home hosts John Hall and Kathy Emmons offer listeners a combination of culture, theology and humor, plus a vivid mosaic of interviews and conversation between 4 and 6 p.m. each weekday on the Christian talk radio station. Grove City College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 is a regular visitor with the hosts at 5:15 p.m. on the last Friday of every month.

Listen online at www.wordfm.com.

Crosses in the Sicily Rome American Cemetery mark the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate price for freedom, including alumnus Howard O. Evans ’40.

Students connect with history in WWII cemetery

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n January 19, 2018 13 Grove City College students on a travel course with Dr. Michael Coulter ’91, professor of Political Science, paid their respects to a fallen hero of the Greatest Generation in the Sicily Rome American Cemetery outside of Nettuno, Italy, cementing a connection that transcended miles and decades.

The man they honored died decades before anyone gathered at his grave marker that day was born, but they had something in common with the soldier who was killed in action in 1944 in Venafro, Italy. Just a few years before he was laid to rest an ocean away from home, Howard O. Evans ’40 was an undergraduate at Grove City College.

Evans was probably a lot like the students who gathered at his grave. He studied business, then called Commerce, at Grove City College. He was an Epsilon Pi, a member of the Webster Debate Club, a Pi Kappa Delta, and an athlete who acted in plays and musicals. And, Coulter said, “Evans made the ultimate sacrifice to fight tyranny in the world.”

The cemetery stop was a requirement for Coulter’s HUMA 200 class, which covers everything from Ancient Greece to the 20th century – “from Plato to NATO,” he jokes. On previous trips, he visited the cemetary with students and they all found it “quite moving and informative” to be in the final resting place of thousands of Americans who died in WWII. Coulter said he wondered, while reading the names of hundreds of Americans who died in the war there, if any of them were Grove City College graduates. Preparing for this trip, he checked the names of the dead against College records. With help from College Archivist Hillary (Lewis ’09) Walczak, he was able to determine with some certainty that Evans, who hailed from Ohio and was a first lieutenant, was an alumnus.

“I thought it might make the visit more meaningful if we could stop at one of the grave markers and tell them about a person who was a lot like them, having spent time in Harbison Chapel and Rockwell Hall of Science and probably having lived in Ketler Hall,” Coulter said.

Experiences like the ones the students had at Nettuno are part of what makes travel courses so valuable. “Having some courses like this available for students lets them see and experience some things that they can’t experience from a textbook or a classroom lecture,” Coulter said. t h e G ēD UNK w w w. g c c.e d u | 13

Grove City College

OCtober 5 - 7, 2018 Registration Opens June1st

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ake your plans now to return to Grove City College for Homecoming! This year’s celebration is scheduled for October 5 to 7 and we will be celebrating the class years ending in 3 and 8, as well as two fraternity milestone reunions.

The weekend begins on Friday with a 50th Class Reunion Mixer and our annual Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement and Distinguished Service awards dinner.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW October 5-7, 2018 REGISTER ONLINE TODAY. alumni.gcc.edu/homecoming

Saturday highlights are: • Continental and Academic Breakfasts and a welcome by President Paul McNulty • Homecoming Parade • Reunion lunches and Greek Village gatherings • Football game vs. Westminster, including float awards and the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen • Select Reunion and Greek Milestone evening events

BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM. Local accommodation listing can be found at alumni.gcc.edu/homecoming.

The weekend festivities wrap up with a Sunday Worship Service. We hope you will plan to return to the place you once called home. Check out the complete schedule online at alumni.gcc.edu/homecoming.

SPREAD THE WORD. Call, message and email your friends.

Nu Lambda Phi

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he fraternity will celebrate 95 years of brotherhood this fall. March in the parade, enjoy lunch in Greek Village and then head to Pittsburgh for an evening on the Gateway Clipper! Organizers of the reunion are looking for photos for a slide show. Submit yours via email to CollegeArchives@gcc.edu. For more details visit: www.alumni.gcc.edu/NuLambdaPhi

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Sigma Alpha Sigma

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he fraternity will celebrate 60 years of brotherhood this fall. March in the parade, enjoy lunch in Greek Village and then head to Cranberry Township, PA for an evening at the Doubletree by Hilton! Organizers of the reunion are looking for photos for a slide show. Submit yours via email to CollegeArchives@gcc.edu. For more details visit: www.alumni.gcc.edu/sigmaalphasigma.

M ESSAGE

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THE

D IR EC TO R

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Spring 2018

Dear Alumni and Friends,

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y the time you receive this magazine, we will have graduated another class of nearly 600 students. Congratulations to our 2018 graduates and new alumni. I stand with more than 28,000 alumni who welcome you to our Alumni Association.

I have been blessed to be witness to 16 Commencement weekends at the College, an amazing opportunity. But one of my other favorite events on campus (and you can imagine I attend quite a number of them!) is our annual scholarship lunch. Now in its 14th year, this event is an opportunity for our alumni and friend donors to meet the students whose lives they have impacted through their gift of scholarship support.

The luncheon gives our scholarship students the chance to see the faces behind the aid that has lightened the load of the financial burden of tuition, even at our affordable Grove City College. They see that someone cares and are given an amazing example of paying it forward. This gift of scholarship support does more that provide financial assistance, it provides a lifetime lesson of philanthropy. And while often strangers to each other, when they come together for a meal and fellowship, there is a sense of connection and a shared joy in giving.

Just as every student’s educational journey is unique, our donors have different reasons and varying goals for their scholarship support. Their reasons for starting scholarships can range from honoring a beloved professor, to memorializing a life of a dear loved one, to commemorating the relationships formed in a student organization.

With more than 400 named scholarships, the story behind each is personal and inspiring. These luncheons sometimes bring tears to our eyes as we see how people invest in people. They provide a real demonstration that there is good in this world and that Grove City College is providing a bridge that spans generations.

We are grateful for their support of our mission, for allowing our students the opportunity to become part of a long line of Grover grads who, as we see in this issue, live out the ideas and ideals that they develop here. Please consider joining them in paying it forward.

I’d like to close with a thank-you to two men who have demonstrated over their careers a giving spirit that has greatly benefitted the College and impacted the lives of so many alumni, Dr. Bruce Ketler ’71 and Rev. Dr. F. Stanley Keehlwetter. On behalf these alumni, I say “thank you, well done and God’s many blessings to you in retirement.”

Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod Senior Director of Alumni and College Relations P.S. – Each of our graduating seniors received a luggage tag as a gift from the Alumni Association. It was our hope that they would remember their alma mater in their travels through life. Graduates, just for fun, include Grove City College in your summer travels by adding the hashtag #GCCExplore18 to social media posts. Look for the best ones in an upcoming GeDUNK! Students and donors meet at the Scholarship Luncheon.

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Spring 2018

alumni & friends events Upcoming Alumni & Friends Events June 2 GCC Serves Day with Alumni and Friends Breakfast Erie Armory and local park June 5 Alumni Dinner with President McNulty ’80 Chantilly National Golf Club Centreville, Va. June 6 Alumni and Friends Reception with President McNulty ’80 The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing Richmond, Va.

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June 6 Alumni and Friends Mixer Southern Tier Brewing Company Pittsburgh, Pa. June 4-June 13 Alumni and Friends Travel Southwest National Parks June 13-22 Alumni and Friends Travel with President and Mrs. McNulty Swiss Alps & Italian Lakes September 15 Night Football Game vs.

Case Western Reserve Grove City College

8 From “deep in the heart of Texas” to the Golden State to the familiar confines here ‘mid the pines, Grove City College alumni and friends are always up to something. 1. Grover Gathering at the Central Market in Austin, Texas. 2. Showcase Series event featuring Celtic songsters Danu’. 3. Young Alumni event at Pittsburgh’s Revel and Roost. 4. Gamma Chi Alumni and Actives Brunch. 5. Alumni and Friends tour of George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas. 6. Alumni and Friends Mixer at Troegs Independent Brewing in Hershey, Pa. 7. Leaders Club Weekend at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. 8&9. Alumni kids craft at the Santa Breakfast and Children’s Theater Character Breakfast 10. Alumna Dr. Constance N. Nichols ’91 and Olde Town Grove City representative Mary Jo (Bryer ’76) Palmer, pictured here with President Paul J. McNulty ’80 received the Florence MacKenzie CampusCommunity Awards in February.

October 5-7 Homecoming Weekend Grove City College

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October 13-21 Alumni and Friends Travel Flavors of Spain November 8 State of the College and Ronald Reagan Lecture Pittsburgh, Pa.

Remember to bookmark alumni.gcc.edu/events for more dates and info on registering.

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Grove City College

ALUMNI Explore the world in the spirit of adventure and camaraderie! We have destinations to fit every interest and are partnering with some of the best educational travel companies. Each program works to combine air, hotels and tours into one comprehensive package that lets you leave the worry of planning, deadlines and connections to us. You’ll also have the most informed and experienced guides and liaisons along for your journey.

TRAVEL FLAVORS OF CATALONIA October 13 – 21, 2018 An Orbridge Travel Partnership Faculty host - Dr. Andrew Mitchell WOLVES OF YELLOWSTONE February 4 - 10, 2019 An Orbridge Travel Partnership IRELAND - KILLARNEY May 28 - June 5, 2019 An AHI Travel Partnership CANADIAN MARITIMES July 12 - 21, 2019 An Orbridge Travel Partnership

Grover globetrotters took advantage of the Alumni Travel Program to safari on the African savannah and savor the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

IMPERIAL SPLENDORS OF RUSSIA August 14 - 23, 2019 An AHI Travel Partnership

ITALIAN RIVIERA October 12 - 20, 2019 An AHI Travel Partnership Led by President and Mrs. McNulty SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, & AUSTRIA July 29 - August 8, 2020 Featuring the Passion Play in Oberammergau An AHI Travel Partnership

Visit alumni.gcc.edu/travel to book your dream trip today!

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Spring 2018

Save the Date

T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 8

Building for a Strong and Faithful Future S TAT E O F T H E C O L L E G E D IN N E R F E AT U RIN G T H E 12 TH A N N U A L R O N A L D RE A G A N L E C T U RE

COLLEGE PRESIDENT PAUL J. MCNULTY ’80 will discuss where Grove City College stands now and what lies ahead for “Freedom’s College” in the context of its historic mission and foundational values.

WILLIAM J. BENNETT will deliver the Reagan Lecture in a question and answer format with Dr. Paul Kengor, executive director of the Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. Bennett, one of the architects of the Reagan revolution, served as Secretary of Education and has had an extraordinary influence on America’s political and social legacy. Bennett is a man of strong, reasoned convictions who speaks candidly, eloquently and honestly about the most important issues facing our nation.

OMNI WILLIAM PENN HOTEL

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DOWNTOWN PIT TSBURGH

P R E S E N T E D B Y:

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Grove City College

Wolverine lacrosse team excels in inaugural varsity season

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ith a decisive 23-1 victory over visiting Earlham College at Robert E. Thorn Field on the last Saturday in April, Grove City College’s Men’s Lacrosse team punched its ticket to the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference Championship Tournament. With the win, the College’s newest varsity sport concluded its inaugural regular season with a stellar 7-3 conference record and 10-5 overall slate.

“I think the team this year has made it clear that we can be very competitive at the national level,” said head coach Alec Jernstedt, who took over the fledgling Grove City squad after a two-year stint as a volunteer assistant coach at Division I lacrosse powerhouse Duke University.

The Wolverine lacrosse team made the jump from club to varsity sport this spring. And while the club team has always been a strong force in the region, Jernstedt wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting into when he took over the program last summer.

“I had no idea what to expect in terms of talent carrying over from the club program coming in to the season,” Jernstedt said. “I knew that we were very well supported by the College and the administration here, but I wasn’t sure what our timeline to being successful on the field would be.”

It turns out a solid foundation was already in place thanks to the club team and its alumni, and backing from the administration was just as integral to the team’s achievements.

“We have been able to hit the ground running with a solid group of players and a ton of support from the alumni, and it has allowed us to be more successful in our first year than I think anyone would have imagined,” Jernstedt said.

The team’s inaugural season started with a 15-5 loss at Messiah.

That was quickly followed by the team’s first victory, an 18-3 win at

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home against Franciscan. The Wolverines then won four of the next five games to establish themselves as a contender in the ORLC. They closed the regular season with a four-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 65-16 over that span. On the season, Grove City outscored opponents 180-94.

Jernstedt credits a group of student-athletes “that has exceeded even their own expectations because of their coachability, their commitment, and love that they have for each other.”

Seven seniors set the standard for the Wolverines. They include goalkeeper Ben Dumm, who started all 15 games in net and sported a conference-best 6.22 goals against average while ranking second with a 60.8 save percentage. Sophomore attackman Henry Brannan led the team by finishing second in the 11-team conference with 48 goals and 64 points (including 16 assists), while junior attackman Nate Sprunk added 33 goals and 9 assists (42 points).

“Our goal as a program is to be a top 25 Division III lacrosse team within the next five years – and this group has laid the foundation for us to achieve that goal,” Jernstedt said.

Follow Grove City College Sports on Facebook, Instagram (gcc_wolverines) and Twitter (@GCC_Wolverines)

Spring 2018

sports Five Wolverines join Athletic Hall of Fame

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rove City College’s Athletic Hall of Fame enshrined five new members in February who achieved excellence on the court, the field, and the pitch during their College careers.

The Class of 2018 included standout players from the 70s, the 90s, and the 00s who made a significant impact on the Wolverine athletic program.

THE INDUCTEES ARE: JOE BURNS ’77 – BASKETBALL, Four-year starter ... Graduated as program leader with 352 career assists ... Set single-season program record with 158 assists in 1973-74 ... Helped lead Wolverines to 1976 NCAA Tournament ... Earned CoSIDA Academic All-America in 1977 ... Cited by head coach John Barr as one of the two best defensive players he coached in his 25 years at Grove City.

ABBY ANDERSON ’97 – SOCCER, Four-time First Team All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference selection ... Graduated as Grove City’s career leader in goals (52) and points (123) ... Scored conference-leading 17 goals in 1994 ... Helped Grove City to first two conference titles in 1995 and 1996 ... Named to PAC’s 60th Anniversary Team.

ALYSSA (BRADFORD) MOORE ’02 – TENNIS, Four-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Year ... Won eight total conference titles (four singles, four doubles) in her career ... Compiled 57-7 career singles record and 54-10 mark in doubles play ... Helped Grove City to four league titles and 38-8 overall record from 1998 to 2001 ... Named to conference’s 60th Anniversary Team.

ALLISON (ATWOOD) MADIGAN ’04 – TENNIS/SOFTBALL, Two-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Year in women’s tennis ... Eight-time conference champion in tennis (four singles, four doubles) ... 47-9 career singles record, 4212 doubles mark ... 36-0 in conference play ... Three-time First Team All-PAC in softball ... Owns .367 career batting average ... Named PAC Pitcher of Year in 2004 after posting 1.08 ERA ... Also hit .473 that year ... CoSIDA Academic All-American BOB MCNEES ’07 – SOCCER, Scored program-record 63 goals from 2003 to 2006 ... Two-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Year (2005, 2006) ... Helped lead Grove City to first outright conference title in 2005 ...

NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region selection ... Inducted into Grove City Men’s Soccer Hall of Fame in October 2017.

To nominate a standout GCC athlete for Hall of Fame consideration, email: SportsInfo@gcc.edu

Senior standouts

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eniors Drew Thibault (cross country/track and field) and Lexie Arkwright (basketball), pictured with Athletic Director Todd Gibson ’02, earned Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year honors during family weekend. For more, visit www.gcc.edu/athletics

Dassow champion

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t had been nine years since a Grove City College swimmer stood at the top of the podium at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.

Grove City sophomore Anne Shirley Dassow of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., changed that fact in March when she won the 2018 NCAA Division III title Dassow in the 200 butterfly at the Indiana University Natatorium to become the seventh all-time national champion in Grove City history.

Dassow captured the national championship by charging from behind for the win. She trailed M.I.T.’s Kailey Allen by 1.14 seconds after 100 yards but cut the gap to .16 seconds at the 150-yard mark. Dassow surged ahead with a final 50-yard split of 31.70 seconds, the fastest final lap of any of the eight competitors in the finals.

She posted a time of 2 minutes, 0.29 seconds, setting records for the school and Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

A graduate of Chattanooga Christian School, Dassow also became a four-time NCAA All-American with her title.

She is Grove City’s first national champion since 2009, when Caleb Courage won the third of his three Division III titles in the 100 free. He also won 100 free national titles in 2006 and 2007.

Other national champions from Grove City College include: • TIM WHITBECK ’09, who won the national title in the 50 free in 2007.

• PEGGY WHITBECK ’04, who won three straight NCAA Division III titles in the 200 butterfly from 2002 to 2004.

• CLARK JOHNSON ’84 captured the 1984 3-meter national championship.

• DAN YOUNG ’83, who took the 1-meter title in 1983.

• CHRIS VAN DE MARK ’82, who won both 1- and 3-meter diving national titles in 1981 and repeated as 1-meter champion in 1982.

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Grove City College

m o d e e r ƒMovement the

THE HOPE OF MYSELF AND MANY OF US HERE IS THAT WE CAN FOSTER THAT AND NURTURE THAT WHILE THEY’RE HERE AND THEN SEND THEM OUT IN THE WORLD TO MAKE FOR A BETTER COUNTRY, CULTURE, AND WORLD. AND I THINK THAT’S HAPPENING. Dr. Paul Kengor Professor of Political Science and Executive Director of the Center for Vision & Values

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Spring 2018

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Scott Bullock ’88, now president and general counsel of the Institute for Justice, leads a 2006 rally at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold, N.J., against eminent domain abuse.

For more than a half century, Grove City College has helped create a community of alumni who work relentlessly to advance ideas that are the pillars of a free society: individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law.

They have committed their lives and careers in academia, public policy, politics, and the law to advancing and defending an American heritage of freedom that has improved the lives of millions and has the potential to help billions. They are champions of the freedom movement, a decades-long effort to restore the tenants of classical liberalism, check the power of government over individuals, and grow prosperity through sound economic principles.

Their efforts are inspired by the time they spent studying under a long line of faculty members who didn’t shy away from exposing their students to the big ideas and leading them to an understanding of how the world works, building on an intellectual tradition that dates back to Socrates.

Paul Kengor, professor of political science, is a student of the freedom movement and one of its leading advocates on campus today. He says the College has a 24 | w w w. g c c.e d u t h e G ēD UNK

unique understanding of “an ongoing historic march of freedom that never really ends” and, thanks to students of caliber and character, an impact far beyond campus.

“The hope of myself and many of us here is that we can foster that and nurture that while they’re here and then send them out in the world to make for a better country, culture, and world. And I think that’s happening,” he said.

In the College’s early years, the idea that free people and free markets are essential to a healthy and prosperous nation was as widely accepted as the general religious consensus that guided society of the era. As the 20th century unfolded, that consensus frayed in the face of financial disaster and war. Governments that got big in response to those threats got bigger and their influence and ultimately control over markets and people grew. The public’s acquiescence to this alarmed J. Howard Pew, the industrialist and philanthropist who chaired the College’s board of trustees for a record 40 years.

A 1900 graduate of the College, Pew was an evangelist for orthodox Christianity, American idealism and the free market. Pew backed causes he believed in, including

“There are people sprinkled throughout the free market and libertarian worlds who have that Grove CitySennholz connection.”

– Scott Bullock ’88 political ones that stood against the creeping socialism of the post-war era.

He was intimately involved in the selection of College personnel, and in 1956 he Sennholz brought a German economics professor to Grove City College who would play a profound role in the freedom movement.

Hans Sennholz was a student of famed economist Ludwig von Mises and a leading proponent of the Austrian school, a market based, scientific approach to the study of commerce and society that had its roots

Spring 2018

in the 19th century and was considered unorthodox as the interventionist, Keynesian school gained supremacy in the wake of the Great Depression and World War II. He was a tough professor, demanded much from his students, and left an impression on many during his five decades at the College.

“There are people sprinkled throughout the free market and libertarian worlds who have that Grove City-Sennholz connection,” Scott Bullock ’88, president and general counsel for the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that defends individuals from government overreach. “It’s like a fraternity, and we all swap Sennholz stories when we see each other. He was an inspiring teacher and also quite the character.”

Sennholz’s influence on the freedom movement was oversized for someone who taught at a small college in Western Pennsylvania, according to former student and acclaimed Austrian economist Peter Boetkke ’83. Long before Boetkke encountered Sennholz, the professor’s writings were widely read in academic and political circles – Ronald Reagan was a fan – and he was “a character discussed.”

Boetkke is now a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University who studies capitalism, directs research and leads the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the university’s Boetkke noted Mercatus Center. He said Sennholz changed his life and gave him a “passion for the study of the history of economic ideas and the importance of the science of economics to understanding how the world works.”

Boetkke’s efforts on that front have produced a volumes of research and economics texts that have helped others gain a similar understanding. Through his teaching and writing he’s spread the ideas of the freedom movement to thousands, many of whom have followed his path into academia and influenced their students at schools like Denison, Dickinson, Hillsdale, Kenyon, King’s College, Ursinus College, and even Grove City College, with Caleb Fuller ’13, now an assistant professor of economics.

CHAMPION OF LIBERT Y

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hen Scott Bullock ’88 returned to campus for a lecture a few years ago, he was introduced as a “champion of liberty” by one of his campus mentors.

Dr. John Sparks ’66, retired dean of the Alva J. Calderwood School of Arts & Letters and longtime Constitutional Law professor, isn’t prone to hyperbole. As president and general counsel of the Institute for Justice, an Arlington, Va.-based public interest law firm, Bullock has made a career defending the rights of people who run up against the overwhelming power of the state.

The institute, which focuses on property rights, economic liberty, free speech, and educational choice, asserts a 70 percent success rate in the “court of law, in the court of public opinion or through legislative reforms.” Bullock’s work with the Institute has given him a chance to pursue cases that address the fundamental rights of people to control their own destinies as free and responsible members of society.

Born in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when it was still just a naval base, he was raised in Jeannette and Greensburg, Pa., and caught the freedom bug Bullock in high school during the Reagan era, reading Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand. Grove City College’s allegiance to free market economics drew him to the school and professors like Hans Sennholz and Sparks inspired him.

He was drawn to constitutional law. “I had the idea of combining my interest in the principles of a free society while also having a real world impact through the law. I wanted to actually do something with these ideas,” Bullock said. “It’s a great way of learning about the principles behind the words of the Constitution and to bring those words and ideas to life by vindicating the rights of real people.”

Defending Institute clients has put Bullock on the front lines of the fight for liberty and in the ultimate arena for a constitutional lawyer: The U.S. Supreme Court.

Bullock joined the Institute straight out of law school in 1991 and served as its senior attorney until 2016, litigating a variety of constitutional challenges in federal and state courts. His most famous case is Kelo v. City of New London, an eminent domain action involving property owners that were being forced from their homes in a Connecticut city to make way for a redevelopment plan that stretched the idea of public use to the point of absurdity. It was a near-perfect case for the Institute to take up, Bullock said, because it demonstrated the real impact of bad law on real people.

Bullock and the Institute took the case to the Supreme Court, where a compelling property rights argument crashed up against precedent and the homeowners lost in a 5-4 decision. The late Justice Antonin Scalia, who sided with the homeowners, called it the Court’s biggest mistake. The ruling was devastating for the plaintiffs, but outrage over the decision, sown in part by the Institute’s savvy media and legal campaign, spurred grassroots attention and led to a nationwide backlash against eminent domain abuse.

The loss in a court of law ended up resulting in a win in the court of public opinion and the Supreme Court decision was followed by a series of legal victories and legislative reforms for property rights advocates. It is also the subject of a film Little Pink House, which was released in April. Bullock was played by actor Giacomo Baessato.

Bullock’s other work with the institute includes defending monks whose production of wooden caskets ran afoul of a Louisiana law protecting the funeral cartel, leading the fight against civil forfeiture abuse, and establishing an early precedent extending free speech guarantees to Internet and software publishers. He’s also been a public face of the freedom movement in frequent media appearances.

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Grove City College

A FORCE FOR GLOBAL FREEDOM

“H

ow does a small college like this have such an impact?”

Alejandro A. “Alex” Chafuen ’84 asked that rhetorical question to a political science class last year during a visit to his alma mater. During the next half hour or so, he outlined a network of connections that puts Grove City College at the center of the freedom movement.

His enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the subject was evident as he rattled off names of alumni in positions of leadership and influence dating back decades at organizations like the Foundation for Economic Education, The Mont Pelerin Society, Institute for Justice, State Policy Network, and The Philadelphia Society.

These think tanks, advocacy groups and intellectual salons conduct research, produce policy, provide training, raise money and do what they can to influence public opinion and decision makers in favor of classical liberal Alejandro Chafuen ’84 speaks to political ideals and free markets. science students at Grove City College For the last four decades, Chafuen has in 2017. dedicated himself to creating and nurturing such groups around the globe. It wouldn’t be too much to say that his career is part of the answer to the question he posed to those students.

Born in Argentina, Chafuen came to Grove City College in the late 1970s to study at the invitation of renowned economics professor Dr. Hans Sennholz, who Chafuen met some years before when he was asked to be Sennholz’s translator during a speaking tour of Buenos Aires. He was one of many students inspired by the Austrian economist’s teaching and he earned his doctorate under Sennholz. His dissertation on the Christian roots of the free-market economy was later published as Faith and Liberty and translated into several languages, including Chinese.

In 1985, he went to work for the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and became its president in 1991. From a budget of $500,000 and about 15 aligned think tanks, Chafuen and his team built the Atlas Network into a $10 million force involved with hundreds of groups and determined to spread classical liberal ideas around the globe.

“His impact on the worldwide freedom movement has been enormous,” Atlas Network Board Chair Linda Whetstone said when Chafuen left the organization last year to become managing director, international, with the Acton Institute, a think tank whose mission is to “promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.” A College Trustee, Chafuen is finishing up his term as president of The Philadelphia Society. He also the president and founder of the Hispanic American Center of Economic Research.

A few hours after he talked to the political science class, Chafuen accepted the Alumni Association’s Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Award for his work studying and advancing freedom. During his acceptance speech, he offered another answer to the question he asked earlier: Because of the people.

Grove City College’s outsize influence in the freedom movement is due to the commitment and contributions of faculty, students and staff, Chafuen said. He spoke movingly about his allegiance to the College: “I’m going to preserve the mission of this College … I will continue contributing to freedom and carrying the essence of what I got here until the day I die.”

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Sennholz wasn’t the only faculty member committed to free markets and classical liberalism at Grove City College, but he stands as the prototype. Many others would work with him and follow in his footsteps.

Their efforts were augmented from the 1960s on by a growing network of free market, conservative and libertarian organizations who brought speakers to campus, provided internships for students and jobs for graduates. A pair of Sennholz’s first generation of students were among the key players in the freedom movement’s development: Richard Larry ’60, a former College trustee who, as president of the Sarah Scaife Foundation, helped fund the network, and Walter Grinder ’67, an academic whose work with Institute for Humane Studies is near legendary.

They and later alums like Larry Reed ’75, founder of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and now with the Foundation for Economic Education, and Alejandro Chafuen ’84, longtime leader of the Atlas Network and currently a managing Reed director of the Acton Institute, would establish think tanks and build the political and intellectual infrastructure that made it possible to provide voters and policy makers the means to restore the nation’s compromised principles, which by the 1970s had produced malaise, inflation, and stagnation. Reagan’s 1980 election put free market, limited government principles firmly in the mainstream. Over the next four decades, the freedom movement would enjoy an energy and currency as the economic ideas and legal principles underpinning it are now, in many ways, establishment thinking.

And it’s working. The world has seen a “historically unprecedented wave of market freedom” that’s resulted in a demonstrable increase in the number of free or democratic nations since the 1970s, Kengor said. “There are still all sorts of disagreements among people, some of who are conservative, some who are libertarian, some are liberals, some are socialists and some are democratic socialists, but there is now a general sense or appreciation of the value of market freedom,” he said.

Spring 2018

Rachel Bovard ’06, policy director of the Conservative Partnership, trains young Congressional staff members in the ins and outs of the legislative process.

Bovard spent a decade on Capitol Hill working on freedom movement issues.

Grove City College’s commitment to the “faith and freedom foundations” of America led to the creation in 2005 of the Center for Vision & Values, a think tank that provides an outlet for faculty members and others to advance the ideas of the freedom movement and a training ground for the next generation.

Jarrett Skorup ’09, director of Marketing and Communications for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, was a student fellow with Vision & Values. The College was critical in getting him interested in economics and sound public policy and the Skorup faculty’s focus on the long-term impact of ideas guides his work for the state-based, free market think tank.

As well as influencing policy and legislation in areas like occupational licensure and criminal justice reform, he helps shape public opinion with his writing, which has been published in many of the nation’s largest newspapers. His job is to make policy research understandable to everyday people, who are ultimately impacted hardest by bad or good policy.

“A key thing I first learned at Grove City is that while the wealthy certainly benefit from capitalism, it is the poor who gain the most in a free-market system. That is who has trouble navigating a large onerous

“Much of what I try to do is to articulate the conservative argument — whether in policy or strategy — in areas where it would not normally be heard.”

– Rachel Bovard ’06 government, with bureaucratic rules and the lack of a good court system,” he said.

Rachel Bovard ’06, another Vision & Values alum, has had an impact inside and outside of government. Currently senior director of policy for the Conservative Partnership, Bovard spent a decade as a staffer in the House and Senate before moving on to her current position.

“In a broad sense, much of the work I did on Capitol Hill was focused on protecting individual liberty from the heavy hand of government,” she said, particularly in the regulatory sector. Working for Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Bovard oversaw cases that “really crystalize the tension between individual liberty and federal power.”

At the Conservative Partnership, Bovard is “building the conservative bench” by training young Congressional staffers to draft and advance legislation effectively. She’s also an up-and-coming spokeswoman for the freedom movement in the mainstream media.

“I now engage in a lot of punditry both in op-eds and television,” she said. “Much of what I try to do is to articulate the conservative argument — whether in policy or strategy — in areas where it would not normally be heard.”

Bovard says the lessons she learned at Grove City College have stuck with her: “The curriculum in the history and political science departments pushed me to contemplate the big questions, which continue to frame how I approach policy and political questions today.”

Kengor, who counts Skorup, Bovard, and too many others to name as former students, is gratified the work they are doing and satisfied that Grove City College is fulfilling its historic duty.

“Ronald Reagan said ‘freedom is always a generation away from extinction,’ and it is the duty of every generation to help preserve freedom. We are helping to raise an impressive next generation of students in the freedom movement. They are such a wonderful testimony to the College and what we’re doing,” he said.  t h e G ēD UNK w w w. g c c.e d u | 27

Grove City College

CHRISTIAN COLLEGES SERVE RURAL AMERICA The College on the hill.

That clichéd phrase illustrates the perceived cultural and experiential gulf between academia and the work-a-day-world below, implying that higher education is removed from and has little real impact on the reality around it.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Colleges and universities in America have historically been driven by a mission to improve society through education and training. Christian colleges in particular have an obligation to place, given biblical mandates to serve the local community and the common good.

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for decades by declining population, lost jobs and dwindling opportunities, many parts of the country have been bypassed by prosperity and are in danger of losing all hope in the future and the American dream.

The situation became a national focus after the 2016 election, when those looking to explain the result focused on the small towns and farm communities that voted overwhelmingly for the president. Journalists and pundits offered up snapshots of varying depth and quality from the beat, such as J.D. Vance’s bestselling Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, which provided a sympathetic but brutal case study of rural pathology: poverty, addiction, joblessness, destroyed families, and loss of faith. In place

of the idyllic vision of collective memory, it seems much of the heartland is composed of communities under siege.

Yet, rural America’s condition may not be as terminal as it seems. A potential solution may be found in the country’s Christian colleges and universities, according to an academic journal article authored by Grove City College professors Jennifer (Scott ’99) Mobley (Communication and Visual Arts), Paul C. Kemeny (Biblical and Religious Studies), and H. Collin Messer (English) with Assistant Provost P. Jesse Rine ’01.

In Leading Through Placemaking and Boundary Spanning: Rural Christian Higher Education and the Common Good, the scholars cast a vision for Christian colleges

Spring 2018

Grove City College scholars Paul C. Kemeny, P. Jesse Rine ’00, Jennifer (Scott ’99) Mobley, and H. Collin Messer teamed up to write a paper about the unique role that Christian colleges can play in service to the communities in which they are located.

“The work of Christian higher education institutions produce profound positive economic and societal benefits...”

– Jennifer (Scott ’99) Mobley to restore and revitalize the communities in which they are located and “embrace their roles as stewards and anchors of place.”

“I view the idea of place as central to the mission of a Christian liberal arts education,” Mobley, the paper’s lead author, said. “Who is our neighbor here? What are the unique assets and needs of our community? How can we use our gifts to serve this particular place?”

“Christian higher education institutions produce profound positive economic and societal benefits, particularly in the rural communities in which they reside,” she said.

“However, the voices of rural Christian colleges and their communities have been largely absent from the research, and we wanted to address this gap by illuminating the unique

opportunities and challenges that Christian higher education faces in the rural context.”

“Given the increasing polarization of the urban/rural divide in our country and the heightened scrutiny of the value of higher education, documenting these contributions is timely and important,” Mobley noted.

The authors state that evangelical colleges and universities are “uniquely equipped to bridge … cultural, economic, and political divides by renewing their commitment to place. For these institutions, the tasks of renewal and reinvention are deeply enriched by the missional and philosophical aspects of the Christian tradition, within which once may discover the robust lineaments of the common good itself.”

The effort can “expand the vision of Christian higher education institutions,” which already provide a crucial bridge in rural areas. Though not cited directly in the article, Grove City College models this effort in the excellent town-gown relationship, the sharing of spaces like Broad Street businesses, local churches, parks and schools, the presence of faculty and administrators in local government and community groups, and significant contributions to the local economy through jobs and purchased services.

Christian colleges that take on the responsibility of placemaking and boundary spanning must approach it carefully, the authors say, to avoid the perception that academic communities believe they have all the answers and are imposing solutions on the locals: “Educating for the common good is a process that requires universities and their individual representatives to cultivate a sense of humility by viewing themselves as members of a community and participating in building this shared vision.”

The challenge going forward, they write, is to build on “foundational efforts by moving community engagement from partial and peripheral to deep and developmental.

The flourishing of small towns and rural places that give Christian higher education its shape and sinews is of vital importance, such that pursuing the common good for and with rural neighbors will be essential to the future of Christian higher education.”

Service learning and community service are among the most direct ways that Grove City College strengthens the bonds of place. Mobley, who serves as assistant dean of service learning, says collaboration on these projects promotes a mutually beneficial relationships between the College, the community, and students, who make meaningful connections inside and outside the classroom.

“This community-based learning helps students understand that vocation is not just about doing but about being,” Mobley said.

“To know in truth requires us to understand what it means to be known. This awareness of self in relationship to others is central to a view of holistic education, the kind of education that truly prepares students for lives of integrity and service.” 

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Grove City College

LAST of HIS LINE

Over a lifetime, Bruce Ketler has served the College, the country and the family legacy.

Next fall, for the first time in Grove City College’s history, there won’t be a Ketler on campus.

After 41 years on the faculty, Dr. Bruce Ketler ’71, professor of management and marketing in the Business Program, is retiring. When he locks up his office on the third floor of the Hall of Arts and Letters for the last time, it will mark the end of an era that began with the founding of the College in 1876 by his great-grandfather Isaac C. Ketler and continued for 142 years.

The family’s history over the last few generations is closely linked the College.

Isaac’s son and Bruce’s grandfather, Weir C. Ketler, class of 1908, came to work at the College in 1910 to help his father. He stayed on after the founding Ketler’s death in 1913 and three years later Weir was tapped for his father’s old job and became, at the tender age of 27, the College’s third president. He held the post for a record 40 years, retiring in 1956. Bruce’s father George ’39 worked for the College as assistant bursar from 1945 to 1958 and two of Bruce’s uncles – R. Heath Larry ’34 and David Ketler ’43 – served on the Board of Trustees during the years between Weir’s retirement and Bruce joining the faculty in 1977.

Going into the “family business” was the natural thing to do for Bruce, a lifelong Grove City resident who practically grew up on campus. “This was a second home for me,” he said, recalling a childhood playing on the athletic fields and swimming in the College pool. Bruce said there wasn’t much of a question about where he would matriculate: “My father said you can go to school anywhere you want but I’ll pay for

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you to go to Grove City. I knew enough about economics as a high school kid to take that.”

Ketler acknowledged it was “a little uncomfortable” to take classes amid buildings that bore his family name, but he enjoyed his college years. He majored in business served as president of the Omicron Xi fraternity. He was active in the former Air Force ROTC program and accepted a commission in the service when he graduated in 1971.

He was on active duty during the last years of the Vietnam War and joined the Reserves after fulfilling his commitment.

During his 32 years in the service, he was a master navigator, earned the rank of colonel and served in nearly every U.S. military action through Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Bruce also continued his education, earning a master’s degree, MBA and Ph.D. In 1977 he returned to Grove City and secured a faculty post in the College’s Engineering Department where he developed an industrial management curriculum before moving over to the Business Department, where he taught a number of courses over 32 years, specializing in lean and Six Sigma management.

He’s also a Olympic-style weightlifter who was twice a Silver Medalist at the Masters National Weightlifting Championships.

Bruce raised a family with wife Teri in Grove City, not far from the home where his mother Alice Ketler ’39 now lives, a house that was once owned by his grandfather and is filled with memorabilia of the College and its founding family. Bruce stops by several times a week to visit Alice, who recently turned 100. Bruce and Teri’s sons Adam and Andrew are grown and the couple has five

grandchildren: Kaitlin, Landon, Jack, Lily, and Judah.

While some may see the end of a familial connection that’s served the College exceptionally well over its history as bittersweet, Bruce takes it in stride and says simply: “This place did me well. I’ve got no complaints.”

Over the years he saw many things change at Grove City College, from management style to students to the school’s declaration of independence from federal regulation after the U.S. Supreme Court case, which Bruce said he “didn’t get at the time” but came to recognize had a huge impact on the College’s story – and spelled the end of the ROTC program that he came up through.

Spring 2018

Alice Ketler ’39 tugs playfully on the arm of her son Dr. Bruce Ketler ’71 in her home, which has been in the Ketler family since the 1930s, when Weir C. Ketler, third president of Grove City College, bought it from a local judge. Bruce’s retirement after 41 years on the faculty marks the apparent end of a line of Ketlers on campus that stretches back to the school’s founding.

“My father said you can go to school anywhere you want but I’ll pay for you to go to Grove City.

I knew enough about economics as a high school kid to take that.”

It’s telling that one of Bruce’s fondest memories of Grove City College doesn’t involve anyone else named Ketler. When he received his orders to return to active military duty for what was to become Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Bruce met with then-College President Dr. Charles MacKenzie “When I told him I was activated, I could tell he found the news emotionally unsettling.

It was one of those magical moments when two people bond for life. It was as though his own child had been called off to war. We both got a bit weepy as he embraced me and prayed for me,” Bruce recalled.

“When I returned from the Middle East later that following spring, Dr. MacKenzie arranged for a special Chapel service in

Crawford Auditorium to welcome me back. He took a chance hiring me as a faculty member, given I had no teaching experience, and I will always be grateful for his love and support.”

It is just one story from a lifetime on campus, but it demonstrates that the familial culture his forefathers created – and the community and stewardship that they valued – survived them in profound ways. 

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BUILDING AND RE-BUILDING

By Tom Davidson No isn’t in Eric Burkett’s vocabulary.

After high school, Burkett ’98, of Neshannock Township, Pa., was denied an enlistment into the U.S. Marine Corps. That “no” crushed a childhood dream of becoming a Marine officer and ruined his attitude when he started at Grove City College, initially as a member of the Class of 1994.

He chose Grove City because it was a Christian school that had a football team, he said, but being snubbed by the Marines left him frustrated and angry. By his own account, he squandered his freshman year with bad grades and a bad attitude. “The first year, there was a lot of bitterness and frustration. They asked me not to come back,” Burkett said.

But that wasn’t to be the end of Burkett’s affiliation with Grove City College, and it wasn’t the end of the challenges he would face. He credits his faith in God and an attitude to “attack the day with everything (I’ve) got” for overcoming adversity and getting him to where he is today: a retired Marine major and father of six who is adapting to life as a double amputee.

Burkett’s top of mind concern right now is finishing up the home he’s building for his family with the help of the Gary Sinise Foundation’s R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment) program, which provides specially adapted smart home for wounded warriors like Burkett. Sinese, an actor best known his role as Lt. Dan, a double amputee Vietnam veteran in the movie “Forest Gump,” is an advocate for veterans and his foundation empowers those who, like his character, suffered serious injuries in their service.

After being asked to leave Grove City, Burkett worked in construction, became a farrier and blacksmith, and joined the U.S.

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Army Reserves as a member of the 347th Quartermaster Company based in Farrell, Pa. After a few years, he was accepted back into Grove City as a non-traditional student and made the most of his time. He played rugby, was a member of Kappa Alpha Phi and studied business administration with the hope of earning a commission as an Army officer. He made good friends and enjoyed the support of “a lot of fantastic teachers,” Burkett said.

“I took college a lot more seriously.

I appreciated it,” Burkett said. “It was tough.

There were times I had to ask professors for help because of obligations outside of the school.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree, he was able to make one of his dreams come true.

He was accepted to train to become a Marine officer. “The door opened up, and I never looked back,” he said.

Although Burkett’s father was a career jarhead, Burkett’s passion for the Marines wasn’t about following in his dad’s footsteps, he said.

“Growing up, my dad told me I didn’t need to be a Marine because he was a Marine. I said ‘Dad, it’s not about you. I really think that God put me on this earth to be a Marine and to serve my country in that capacity and to serve Him in that capacity,’ ” Burkett said.

He trained as a pilot and first flew a CH46 Echo helicopter, later transitioning to the MV-22 Osprey.

He was deployed overseas three times and served throughout the Arabian Peninsula, in Iraq and Afghanistan. His last deployment, in 2012, sent him to Morocco in support of Operation African Lion, an annual exercise designed to improve African nations’ military tactics.

On April 11, 2012, the Osprey Burkett was flying encountered unexpected turbulence and crashed.

“Both of my legs were all-but tore off,” Burkett said.

He spent the next four years and one month recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., losing his right leg after 14 months of treatment and battling a MRSA infection that only ended this February, when his left leg was amputated above the knee.

“I had one really bad day. I’ve had several tough days since then.

But I lead a very blessed life.”

Burkett met Sinise for the first time in 2012 when he was in physical therapy and the actor was visiting Walter Reed. “He came up and said ‘Hey, my name’s Gary Sinise, I’d like to talk a bit,” Burkett said. Sinise’s “genuine niceness” was impressive, he said.

“It was just Gary Sinise and Eric Burkett having a conversation,” Burkett said.

Thirteen months later, the men reconnected in another area of the military hospital complex. “I see Gary Sinise and he said, ‘Oh, hey Trainwreck (Burkett’s pilot call sign). How are you doing?’” Sinise asked about his wife and kids, and Burkett was impressed that he remembered those personal details.

Spring 2018

Fast-forward to Thanksgiving 2015.

Burkett was cleaning out his email inbox when he came across an odd subject line: “This really is Gary Sinise” it said. It was an offer to build Burkett a home through the actor’s foundation that would meet the veteran’s needs.

Burkett took Sinise up on the offer, but with three conditions: He wanted to have some “sweat equity” in building the home; he wanted to help pay for part of its cost; and he wanted it to include a guest suite outfitted so people with injuries like Burkett’s can visit and have a safe haven to enjoy.

The result, on a bucolic hillside overlooking Neshannock Creek outside of New Castle, Pa., is nearly finished: a smart home that will be equipped to accommodate Burkett’s disabilities. It’s set to be dedicated in June, and the Burketts are looking forward to moving in.

Building the house has been a family affair. His father Richard, who has made a second career of building homes in the area, is the construction manager.

Grove City staffers including Dr. Jim Thrasher ’80, the College’s senior fellow for vocational guidance, volunteered to help prepare the site for the house. Thrasher is one of the people at the College whom Burkett credits with helping him to find his way during his college years.

Thrasher called Burkett an “incredible young man” who it was a privilege to guide.

“He’s a man who perseveres, (who) has a faith in Christ. God has a plan for Eric,” he said.

When Burkett talks to people about his experiences, he sums it up like this: “I had one really bad day. I’ve had several tough days since then. But I lead a very blessed life.” 

Eric Burkett ’98, above, lost both legs to injury sustained in a helicopter crash in 2012. With the help of the Gary Sinese Foundation, his faith, and his family, he’s building a new home outside of New Castle, Pa. Opposite page: Grove City College’s Dr. Jim Thrasher ’80, senior fellow for vocational guidance, and his son, College head strength and conditioning coach Caleb Thrasher ’15, work with Jake Dudt ’18, a Marine Corps Reservist, and Janson Dudt ’18 to help clear the land for Burkett’s RISE home, at right. The Dudts are sons of Biology Professor Dr. Jan Dudt.

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Grove City College

class notes 1957

KEEP IN TOUCH! We want to keep in touch with you electronically! If you have an email address, or have recently changed your address or work information, make changes through

alumni.gcc.edu/update.

Have exciting news? Submit a class note for the magazine and for viewing online at

alumni.gcc.edu/classnote.

Jim Gramlich was named 2016 Barbershopper of the Year by the Barbershop Harmony Society of Elyria, Ohio. A retired sales consultant, he is a tenor with the Northern Cascade Chordsmen and works as a tutor for dyslexic children.

1964 Bob Scoff is the author of a book, The VIPeR Method of Circuit Analysis. The book shows how to do electrical analysis by drawing a circuit, making a VIPeR chart, and filling in the blanks.

1965 Robert Farber has written another book to help educators. Monday Mystery Science Demonstrations is designed to spark student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and has been recommended by the National Science Teachers’ Association for K-12 programs.

1967 Remember to let the alumni office know that you are having a “Grover Gathering!” We’d love to send you some fun “stuff” for your event.

Email alumni@gcc.edu for more information.

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Brian McPheters retired in December 2017 as an Associate Judge of the 6th Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois after 13 years of service. His legal career spanned more than 44 years. He resides in Champaign, Ill. Dr. Diane (Arno) Pascoe is in her 50th year of family therapy work, in which she advocates for children, families, and the underserved. She began her work as an elementary school counselor in Woodstock, N.Y., then earned a master’s degree from St. Edward’s University and a doctoral degree in family therapy at Texas Woman’s University. Last year, the Pascoes moved to Eagle, Idaho.

PI GOLF CLASSIC | These Epsilon Pi brothers joined for the fraternity’s 99th Winter Golf Classic in February in Longwood, Fla. Row one, from left: Ron Lamanna ’62, Ronald George ’66, Pete Anselmo ’68, Bruce Johnson ’60, Al Lelekacs ’59, Ronald Gentile ’59, and Jim Pasilla ’60. Row two: Bill Hladio ’64, Tom Robinson ’62, Larry Kiefer ’67, John Galvanek ’66, Dick Danford ’67, Charles Runyan ’62, Dale Lattanzio ’63, Ed Strausbaugh ’67, William McNees ’65, and Burt Romanoff ’00.

1971 Tom Mongtomery was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, East Boros Chapter, in October. He was a basketball record holder during his Grove City College years.

1972 Karl Brandt released a new CD recently with assistance from Richard Scullin ’73 and John Elmer ’73 on the recording and production. It is the Brandt’s fourth CD under Badunsta Productions and is available for online review at CDBaby.com and other digital platforms.

The Rev. Ralph Pontier retired in May as pastor of the Emmanuel Reformed Church of Neerlandia, Alberta, and moved to Pella, Iowa. He continues to serve as Stated Clerk

of the United Reformed Churches of North America (URCNA) and was elected secretary of the North American Presbyterian Reformed Council this past November. He was also elected Stated Clerk of Classis Central US of the URCNA. He remains active preaching in various churches in the Midwest U.S. and Canada.

1973 David Thorne retired from Potomac Electric Power Company after 44 years of service. He held numerous positions in transmission planning, operations, and NERC compliance.

1977 Dr. Brian Leftow will leave Oxford for Rutgers University in Fall 2018, where he will be William Alston Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Director of the Rutgers Center for Philosophy of Religion.

Spring 2018

RETIRE IN STYLE | Paul Carlin ’67 (center, #31 Steelers jersey) celebrated his fall retirement at M&T Stadium in Baltimore. He is joined by most of the Past Presidents of the Maryland State Bar Association with whom he worked during his 31 years with the group.

1979 David Spera retired from Charles Tini & Associates, Pittsburgh, in January 2018 after almost 40 years in the affordable housing industry.

1983 Mark Podvia was keynote speaker at the November Law Librarians of New England/Southern New England Law Librarians Association Fall Meeting in Salem, Mass. His speech was “Witchcraft Trials, Both Ancient and Modern.” Also in the fall, he spoke to the West Virginia Library Association on “Academic Law Libraries” and to the Pennsylvania Library Association on “Haunted Libraries.” Podvia co-authored an article in the January issue of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly: “Pennsylvania Public Pensions and Public Pension Forfeiture; Part I: The Development of Public Pensions and an Overview of Public Corruption.”

1988 Brian Osmond was nominated by the Society of Operating Cameramen, a professional honor society, as Camera Operator of the Year for his work on the Netflix show Mindhunter. The award ceremony took place in Hollywood earlier

this year. Filming of series’ second season began in May with Osmond as the primary camera operator.

HAPPY NEW YEAR | Three Pis and three “sigs” ushered in 2018 together. Included were Epsilon Pi brothers Tom Montgomery ’71, Brian Bancroft ’68 and Bill McMillan ’68, Tri-Sig Barbara Jo (Thomas ’71) McMillan, Gamma Sig Barb (Edwards ’68) Bancroft, and Phi Sig Connie (Farren ’71) Montgomery.

1991 Michael Winfield joined Post & Schell, P.C., as a principal in its Construction, Government Contracts and Surety Law Practice Group. He is based in the Harrisburg, Pa., office.

1992 Barbara (Gilliland) Kurtz was a finalist for the 2018 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Award. She teaches Spanish at Meadville (Pa.) Area Senior High School.

1993 Don Balla joined CHS Alera Group as its executive vice president.

In this role, he is responsible for oversight of the Pittsburgh office growth strategy.

Ed Dentzel hosts a weekly podcast called “UnFound – A Missing Persons Program.” The show deals with missing persons cases across the country. Dentzel has partnered with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review for a monthly series published in the Trib’s print editions and on TribLive.com.

1994 Bryan Neiderhiser was named a partner at Marcus & Mack P.C. in Indiana, Pa. His practice is devoted to representing the interests of injured people. He joined the firm in 2006.

OUT WEST | Phi Sig graduates of the Class of 1971 celebrated 50 years of friendship in Santa Fe, N.M., in September 2017. From left: Ashley (Mainard) Weston, Emmy (Starrett) Bocek, Vicki (Gott) Liggit, Carol (Doctor) Bowman and Suzanne Travis.

FALL FESTIVITIES | Williamsburg, Va., was the spot for an October gathering of Grovers and spouses. All pictured are members of the Class of 1973, with one exception. Row one, from left: Brian Cox, Cheryl (Beebe) Bauer, Helen (Kim) Fitzkee, Carol (Camp ’75) Harris, Jane (Peale) Sham, Ed Harris, and Sue (Knappenberger) Appleton.

Row two: Deb (Stevenson) McConahy, Diane (Russell) Rhoads, Dawn (Campbell) Stokes, Joan (Pitcairn) Kugler, and Chris (Kindle) Sosebee.

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ITALIAN VIEW | Susan Ennis ’82, left, Beth (Buresh ’12) Panicucci and Beth’s mother, Miriam (Hummel ’82) Buresh hiked from Monterosso al Mare to the next town, Vernazza, in the scenic Cinque Terra area of Northern Italy during a recent vacation with family and friends 1995 Carrie (Miller) Chelko was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal and received one of its 2017 Women of Distinction Awards. She is senior vice president and chief counsel, Distribution, for Lincoln Financial Group. She was named to Lincoln’s Corporate Leadership Group and serves on the Board of Directors for Lincoln’s WISE (Women Inspiring, Supporting, and Educating) Group.

1996 Kimberly (Boyd) Jacobs was selected as the AIG Teacher of the Year for the Public Schools of Robeson County, N.C. She has taught for 21 years at various levels, including kindergarten, first grade, and middle school gifted reading and math at schools throughout the county. She lives in Red Springs, N.C. with her daughter, Rachel.

1997 Scott Meyers was appointed chief financial officer for PDC Energy in January 2018. He had been chief accounting officer for the Denverbased company since 2009.

1998 Jim and Jessica (Virgilio ’00) Kilmartin planted Center City Church in Altoona, Pa., in April 2017. Jim continues as executive

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director of Joshua House, Inc., in Tyrone. He also started his own company, Pinnacle 7 Professional Services LLC, which focuses on leadership coaching/consulting services and provides commercial cleaning services through Pinnacle 7 Cleaning Services. In January, he received the Donna D. Gority Servant Leadership Award from the Blair County Chamber of Commerce. It recognizes people who have accomplished great things while maintaining a relatively low profile.

1999 Casey Creehan was named head football coach at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark. Kristen (Lockitski) Tiber released her new book, At the Well: Discovering God’s Plan for Finding True Love. The book is a journey through Genesis 24 in which readers discover God’s blueprint for finding love and pursuing marriage.

2002 Shelley (Alfano) Berad authored a book, Standing at the Edge of Greatness, published in April. It is a story about how God worked through some significant trials in her life and gave her strength and hope.

Michelle (Snyder) Bryan was named principal at Maher Duessel, a Pennsylvania regional accounting firm.

She oversees several governmental and non-profit audit and tax engagements.

Elisabeth (VanScoter) Looney and her husband, Jonathan, welcomed son Josiah on Nov. 11, 2017.

Siblings are Isabel and David.

Beth (McMorran) Salesky and her husband, Eric, welcomed daughter Kathryn Elizabeth on Sept. 21, 2017. Big brothers are Liam, 7, and Noah, 4.

Bill Steiner and his wife, Kathryn, are the parents of daughter Sierra Marie, born April 25, 2017.

Brother William John IV, is 3 and sister is Savannah is 5.

Amy (Bacher) and Cory ’03 Vernon welcomed daughter Emma Cory on May 1, 2017. She joins brother Joseph, 5, and sister Mya, 4.

2003 Brian Powell and his wife, Dorene, welcomed son Ezekiel Steven “Zeke” on March 11, 2018. He joins siblings Evan, Ella, and Emmalyn.

2004 Dan Corsi completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, in August 2017. A copy of his published dissertation has been added to Grove City College’s Henry Buhl Library collection.

Corsi is now the Academic Dean at Erskine College in Due West, S.C. John Coyne and his wife, Renee, announce the birth of son Austin Michael on Jan. 25, 2018. He joins brother Thomas.

The Rev. Dr. Catherine (Book) Craley was installed as the new pastor of Trinity Presbyterian

Church in Mercer, Pa., in January.

She previously served churches in North Carolina and Texas

2005 Abby (Brooks) and David ’04 Kitchin are the parents of daughter Naomi Rae, born Nov. 14, 2017.

She joins brothers Eli, 7, and Josiah, 5. The Kitchins moved back to Reno, Nev., in July after six years of working for the American School Foundation in Mexico City, Mexico. Davis is now an Assistant Principal at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks, Nev. Dr. Becky (Donnell) Van Pelt and her wife, Mary, welcomed daughter Koraline in August 2017. She joins big brother, Max.

2006 Sarah (Gruen) Snell and her husband, Christopher, announce the birth of triplets on Dec. 2, 2017: Deborah Anne, Daniel Lewis and Rebecca Elizabeth. They join brother Jonathan, 2.

2007 Chantel (Sheatz) and Nate Miller welcomed son Clark Zachariah on Oct. 16, 2017. Big sister Brielle is 2.

GIRLS WEEKEND | This group of Grover friends met in November 2017 at Ohiopyle for a girls’ weekend getaway. From left: Jacqueline (Spencer ’96) Flaker, Angie (Shearer ’96) Dickinson, Amy (Scott ’96) Campbell, Becky Lockard ’96, Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod, Allison (Little ’97) Lewis, Leanne (Lomicka ’96) Stolpe, Maria (Haas ’96) Matchett, Jenn Martino (wife of Aron Martino ’96), and Claire (Faragalla ’96) Hanna.

Spring 2018 2008 Jessie (Young) Boyce, a sixth-grade math teacher at Tyrone Middle School in St. Petersburg, Fla., was named the Pinellas County Schools’ Outstanding Educator of the Year in January. She teaches at the school’s Center for Innovation and Digital Learning. She also writes, provides training, speaks at conferences, and blogs about education. She will represent Pinellas County for the Florida Teacher of the Year award, which will be decided this summer in Orlando.

Brian Caudill and his wife, Emily, welcomed daughter Thea Frances on June 19, 2017.

Diana (Campbell) and Benjamin Williams announce the birth of son Theodore Mel on Oct. 26, 2017.

2009 Laura (Mark) and Adam Bush announce the birth of son Nathan Eric on Oct. 26, 2017.

Capt. Adam Eichler was selected for an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency to start in July 2019 at JBSA-Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

FAN FUN |

Hilary (Lewis) Walczak and her husband, Gerret, welcomed son Oliver Henry on Jan. 23, 2018.

“Ollie” joins brother Charlie, 2.

2010 Amy (Hivner) and Josh Brengel announce the birth of their second daughter, Charlotte Anne, on Sept.

19, 2017.

Alissa (Thompson) Brown and her husband, Andrew, welcomed daughter Lucy Beth on June 28, 2016.

Priscilla (Weaver) Gabriel and her husband, Henry, welcomed son Conrad Evan on June 25, 2017.

Paul Hufstetler and his wife, Sarah, announce the birth of son Joshua Benjamin on Dec. 31, 2017.

Jamie (Betteridge) and Bryan ’11 Zirkle announce the birth of son Jonathan Andrew on Sept. 28, 2017.

2011 Autumn (Skorup) and Steven ’13 Battaglia announce the birth of son Luca Paul on Nov. 13, 2017.

Phil Gruber received three first-place and one honorable-mention 2017 Keystone Press Awards for reporting on farming in the Pennsylvania Wilds, local food production and the Chesapeake Bay cleanup. He is the staff writer at Lancaster Farming newspaper in Ephrata, Pa.

Brothers of the Pan Sophic fraternity met for a Pittsburgh Steelers game at Heinz Field on Dec. 10, 2017, for a contest with the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers won. Row one, from left: Rob Aho ’96, John Kuhn ’95, Stephen Sullivan ’94, Jimmy Sutman ’94, and Don Balla ’93. Row two: Brian Wood ’96, Artie Slear ’95, Paul Arnold ’99, Brandon Haynes ’96 and Tom Shefchunas ’96.

Lauren Kramp married Tim Riley on Oct. 8, 2016, in Eugene, Ore. Lauren is an academic adviser and Off-Campus Study Programs coordinator at Northwest Christian University and Tim is a mechanical engineer at Western Shelter Systems.

Chris Meckley and his wife, Stephanie, are the parents of son Asher Robert, born Jan. 9, 2018.

2013 Seth Brooks and his wife, Caitlin, announce the birth of son David Edward on Oct. 7, 2017.

Alex Brown is now an associate attorney at the Greensburg, Pa., office of Meyer Darragh Buckler Bebenek & Eck, PLLC. Mary (Seward) Felty and her husband, Gabriel, welcomed daughter Cora Madeleine on Nov. 2, 2017. Prior to becoming a mom, Mary worked at a nonprofit in Fayetteville, N.C., as a housing property manager for lower-income families. Gabriel is stationed at Fort Bragg and returned home in March from service with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.

Kyle Hay earned his master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

He joined Weston & Sampson as a Consultant in the Drinking Water Treatment Group. He resides in Manchester, N.H., with his wife, Cara.

Shanda (Blair) and Westley Tomer welcomed daughter Raelynne Diane on Jan. 21, 2017.

2014 Katelyn (Renke) and David ’13 Durfee are the parents of son Tristan Tyler, born Jan. 8, 2018.

Claire Healey and Matthew Purple were married November 4, 2017, in Falls Church, VA, where they reside. Claire is a paralegal at the Institute for Justice and Matt is the managing editor for The American Conservative website and magazine. Claire is pursuing her Master of Science in Library Science through Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s online program.

2015 Wesley Suplit and Kelly Ormond were married Oct. 21, 2017, in Akron, Ohio. They are now living in northeast Ohio.

BOSTON BUDDIES |

Girlfriends from the Class of 1979 gathered in Boston last August for their second annual reunion. From left: Cindy (Smalley) Monroe, Paula Meyer Haven, Nancy Hayes Bevington, Robin (Lancelotti) McCourt, Dot (Boyer) DeAngelis, Carol (Schopps) Walton, Leslie (Edwards) Feather, and Janet (Hobe) Micklos. Not pictured: Linda (Millard) Tsagdis.

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Grove City College

in memory The Grove City College Alumni Association places a book in Henry Buhl Library in memory of each alumnus for whom the Office of Alumni and College Relations receives written notification of death, including a copy of the obituary. This pays tribute to the lives of deceased alumni while benefitting current and future students.

To notify the Office of Alumni and College Relations of the passing of a loved one, please send an obituary to alumni@gcc.edu.

Marian (Hughes) Call ’38 died Nov. 14, 2017. A resident of Gastonia, N.C., she taught business and vocational courses and later English at the University of Akron, Ohio.

Ella (Bratschie) Busch ’39 died Dec. 2, 2017. She retired as assistant to the President of Thiel College, and owned and operated a Christmas tree farm in Greenville, Pa., with her husband.

Jean (Morrow) Wick ’42 died Feb. 10, 2018. The longtime resident of Ellwood City, Pa., enjoyed a 40-year teaching career. Survivors include her children David Cunningham ’63 and Linda (Cunningham ’71) Weyman.

Laura Jean (Carruthers) Davidson ’44 died Feb. 9, 2018. She worked as an executive secretary and a homemaker. Survivors include her daughter Diane (Davidson ’82) Jankura.

David T. Kerr ’44 died Dec. 29, 2017. A resident of McKeesport, Pa., he worked for 73 years with Westinghouse Air Brake Company.

Carole (Nothnagel) Baumann ’45 died Jan. 8, 2018. She was involved in her Norristown, Pa., church and served as its secretary for a time.

Elizabeth (Cooper) Kuhlman ’46 died Dec. 29, 2017. She lived in the Johnstown, Pa., area.

John R. Strausser ’46 died Dec. 26, 2017. A chemical engineer, he worked with Gulf at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas.

After retirement, he became a real estate broker in Houston.

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J. Robert Jones ’47 died Oct. 24, 2017. A WWII veteran of the Army Air Corps and chemical engineer, he retired after a career in the petroleum industry, working in Cleveland, Ohio, and Houston, Texas

in Creighton and Harmarville for 47 years. Survivors include three daughters: Mary Beth (McCafferty ’88) Grolemund, Diane (McCafferty ’89) Hudson, and Jayne (McCafferty ’95) McGrath.

Nancy (Everitt) Sheehan ’47 died Dec. 22, 2017, the morning after her husband, Jack, passed away. A resident of Madison, Wisc., she had been a secretary to the President of the United Steelworkers and a homemaker.

Sarah “Sally” (Kelley) Carey ’50 died Dec. 19, 2017. After living in Vienna, Austria, and New York City, she and her husband moved to Huntingdon, W.Va., where they supported charities and the arts.

Virginia E. Snyder ’47 died Sept. 22, 2016. She taught English and physical education in Salem (Ohio) Junior High School for 27 years.

Phyllis (Bauer) Winters ’47 died Feb. 8, 2017. She was a resident of Sun City Center, Fla. Shirley (Dalglish) Westcott ’48 died Feb. 28, 2018. She taught French and English at the Lawrence Park (later Iroquois School District) in Erie, Pa., being inducted into the district’s Academic Hall of Fame.

Evelyn (Seth) Foster ’49 died Feb. 19, 2018. She most recently lived in Columbiana, Ohio.

William W. Hammond Jr. ’49 died Dec. 29, 2017. A veteran of both the Air Force and Navy, he lived in Corry, Pa., and worked in the family business – Hammond Builders Supply.

Charles J. McCafferty ’49 died March 9, 2018. An Army veteran and resident of Sarver, Pa., he worked as an analytical chemist with PPG

Raymond C. Cornelius ’50 died Feb. 5, 2018. A Navy veteran, he worked as an independent salesman in the plastics industry, living in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio before retiring to Grove City.

John R. McLaughlin Jr. ’50 died Dec. 26, 2017. A Korean War Army veteran, he enjoyed a career in the family real estate firm Bovard-Anderson in Beaver, Pa. Survivors include his wife, Jo Etta “Nicky” (Zerby ’52) McLaughlin and five children including Edwards McLaughlin ’84.

Donn L. Snyder, Esq. ’50 died Feb. 14, 2018. A Navy veteran of World War II, he was an attorney for 60 years in Harrisburg, Pa., practicing into his 80s. Survivors include his wife, Sally (Meyer ’49) Snyder.

Harold R. Winters ’50 died Jan. 19, 2018. An Army veteran of WWII, he had a 30year career with U.S. Steel Corporation and retired to Trinity, Fla., before more recently moving to Virginia Beach, Va. Survivors include two children, including Judy (Winters ’78) Spain.

Spring 2018 Dr. Helen I. Medley ’51 died Nov. 18, 2017. A resident of Stow, Ohio, She was an instructor and administrator at Kent State University before retirement.

Villages, Fla., where he was a volunteer and active in music ministry.

lived in Fresno, Calif., where he worked for 35 years with State Farm Insurance.

Ruth (Terry) Marks ’56 died May 12, 2017. She was a resident of Manasota Key, Fla.

Ruth (Harker) Mills ’51 died March 23, 2018. The daughter of fourth College President J. Stanley Harker ’25 and Helen (Calderwood ’23) Harker, she taught school in Michigan, Massachusetts and New York before returning to Grove City. Survivors include her husband, William Mills ’53, sister Anne (Harker ’60) Dayton, and brother-in-law David Dayton ’60.

John P. “Pen” Ambler ’57 died Jan. 14, 2018. He retired from the Blair County (Pa.) Office of Mental Health and Retardation, had been a teacher, and was self employed with The Shepherd’s Guide.

Donald E. Ward ’59 died Dec. 20, 2017. An Army veteran, he lived in Hollidaysburg, Pa., and was retired as a teacher from Spring Cove Jr. High School and from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Marie (Surrena) Wilson ’51 died Nov. 22, 2017. The Grove City resident had worked in the program office at George Junior Republic.

Sally “Sara” (Cain) Boulton ’54 died Nov. 4, 2017. She was a homemaker before returning to work as a secretary for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg, Pa. Richard A. Burr ’54 died Dec. 12, 2017. A New Wilmington, Pa., resident, he was an Air Force veteran and the founder of Pray, Think, Act Ministries.

Patricia (Marlin) Macdonald ’54 died Nov. 28, 2017. She taught shorthand and typing in Tioga, Pa., before living in the Medina, Ohio, area. Survivors include her husband, Howard Macdonald ’54, and two children, including Guy “Mac” Macdonald ’78.

Ronald L. Haglund ’55 died Jan. 15, 2018. He was with the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, including service in Vietnam, retiring as a Lt. Col. He had a second career with the U.S. Postal Service.

Thomas M. Kerr Jr. ’55 died Nov. 15, 2017. He spent 30 years with Zurich Insurance and later moved to The

Robert D. Frantz ’57 died Jan. 6, 2018. He lived in Blandon, Pa., and worked as an electrical engineer for AT&T in Reading for most of his career.

Dr. Robert P. Schall ’57 died Feb. 8, 2018. He retired from Allegheny College after 23 years of service, including 16 years as Chairman of the Education Department.

Richard A. Wertz ’57 died March 4, 2017. He worked with his family-owned business, The Parkwood Inn, then as a maintenance supervisor for St. Anne Home, both in Greensburg, Pa Barbara (Coon) Feightner ’58 died Feb. 9, 2018She worked as a medical technologist for 50 years, retiring from Riverside Hospital in Toledo, Ohio.

Clifton H. Hastings ’58 died Oct. 20, 2017. An Army veteran, he lived in Rew, Pa., was former fire chief and 60year member of the volunteer fire department and worked in the office of Sena Kean Manor.

Kenneth R. Smathers ’58 died Nov. 19, 2017. An Air Force veteran of the Korean War, he worked for National Fuel Gas Co. for 34 years before his retirement to Sarasota, Fla.

The Rev. Peter C. Hauser ’60 died May 2, 2017. He served the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) for 54 years, including churches in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Florida.

Carl L. Sossman III ’60 died Feb. 23, 2018. An Air Force veteran, he spent his career as an engineer with Westinghouse and later the Washington Group.

Alexandra “Sandy” (Warntz) Stratton ’60 died Nov. 11, 2017. She lived in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Judith (Devin) Golden ’61 died June 17, 2017. She lived in Hampton Bays, N.Y. Lawrence R. Loughlin ’61 died Dec. 19, 2017. He was a retired science teacher living in Chico, Calif.

Charles W. O’Donnell ’61 died Nov. 18, 2017. The Navy veteran was a longtime resident of Albuquerque, N.M., and worked as a banker, investor, contractor, real estate broker, and developer.

Gilman W. Smith ’61 died Nov. 5, 2017. He worked with Armco Steel for 30 years, living in Ohio, Kansas, and Colorado, and was the author of Learnings from Little Ones.

Sylvan P. Snyder ’58 died Feb. 26, 2018. A Navy veteran, he worked in the family business, Snyder Bus Company and Garage, in Slippery Rock, Pa.

Ralph E. Amy ’62 died Nov. 17, 2017. He taught business and accounting at Freeport (Pa.) Area High School for 31 years, where he also coached basketball and golf. Earlier he worked as a jeweler at his family’s store.

Roger W. Padgett ’59 died Sept.

29, 2017. A Navy veteran, he

Fred R. Maeder ’62 died Jan. 10, 2018. An Air

Force veteran, he lived in Waynesboro, Va., and served as a Project Engineer at DuPont for 30 years.

David A. Eldridge ’63 died Nov. 11, 2017. A mechanical engineer and Army reservist living the Pacific Northwest, he worked for IBM in New York and California, and also for Honeywell and Bell Industries.

Robert M. Teel ’63 died Oct. 31, 2017. After teaching school music for 10 years, he entered the ministry as a pastor, teacher, and musician.

He lived in Mount Zion, Ill Albert B. Dwyer ’64 died Jan. 23, 2018. A former Air Force officer, he became a licensed nursing home and retirement community administrator, earned a Master’s Degree and became an avid hiker in retirement, hiking in Europe, Asia, New Zealand and the U.S. Survivors include his wife, Christine (Webster ’65) Dwyer.

Thomas L. Jobe Jr. ’65 died Dec. 31, 2017. A chemist, he worked for the Bureau of Standards for 30 years, then at the University of Maryland in retirement.

Gilbert R. Smith ’65 died June 18, 2017. He lived in Jessup, Md. Claudia (Dunwitty) Zaharia ’65 died Dec. 30, 2017. She taught Spanish in the Hempfield School District (Greensburg, Pa.), later becoming a principal at the high school. She coached girls’ softball.

Scott W. Cleveland ’66 died Jan. 30, 2017. He lived in Wichita, Kan. Jane (Hicks) Ludick ’66 died Nov. 7, 2017. She taught elementary school near Denver, Colo., for many years before moving to Bluffton, S.C. Kyp L. Anderson ’68 died Dec. 10, 2017. He worked as a dispatch analyst for Exxon, then in claims for United HealthCare. t h e G ēD UNK w w w. g c c.e d u | 39

Grove City College Susan (Musgrave) Dunbar ’68 died Dec. 28, 2017. She was a talented seamstress and master gardener who lived in Bisbee, Ariz.

D. Keith Robb ’68 died March 14, 2018. He was Grove City College’s Man of the Year in 1968, served as a pastor and later worked for the CMI Veterinary Clinic, Jersey Shore Hospital and Soldiers & Sailors Hospital.

Col. Thomas S. MacRae ’69 died Dec. 11, 2017. He lived in Grove City and worked at George Junior Republic for 40 years, eventually as facilities manager. He served during the Vietnam War and Desert Storm, retiring from the Army Reserve. Survivors include son Sloan MacRae ’99.

John B. Blakley Jr. ’70 died Dec. 2, 2017. A former Army Reservist, he worked as an Elementary School Counselor in Rockwood, Pa.

Eugene J. Sverchek ’72 died Nov. 19, 2017. The Holmdel, N.J., resident worked in the reinsurance industry and retired in 2005 as a Senior Vice President for PXRE Group Limited in its Bermuda office Scott R. Carroll ’73 died Jan. 8, 2018. A Corona, Calif., resident, he had a 39-year career designing roof trusses and was a registered civil and structural engineer in the western states. Survivors include his wife Susan (Hamilton ’75) Carroll.

Robert J. Reith ’73 died Feb. 24, 2018. He was an attorney living in Pittsburgh, Pa. Beth (Wilmoth) Stefani ’77 died March 8, 2018. Based in Hamburg, N.Y., she was the founder and CEO of Inspire Careers, Inc., through which she was a career consultant and award-winning resume writer. Survivors include husband Walt Stefani ’77.

Mark C. DiCarlo ’79 died Feb. 26, 2018. He was a substitute teacher for the New Castle (Pa.) Area School District, later working at the call center of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He had performed at the New Castle Playhouse.

Marcia “Marty” (Hile) Fearer ’81 died April 7, 2017. She lived in Mount Pleasant, Pa. Lori (Ray) Hansen ’81 died Jan. 19, 2018. After an early teaching career, she raised her family then worked at a family eye care center. She lived in Brick, N.J. Daniel R. Fischer ’84 died May 29, 2017. He lived in Lexington, Tenn.

John W. Woods Jr. ’86 died Nov. 12, 2017. The Bensalem, Pa., resident worked for Republic Bank and TD Bank. Survivors include his wife, Lisa (Mattern ’86) Woods.

UNRESTRICTED POSSIBILITIES We produce leaders who create immediate and lasting value. Our ability to attract and retain these students is paramount to our success, and your unrestricted gift to Full Circle, the Annual Fund makes it possible.

With your continued support, there’s no limit to what our students can achieve. Make your gift to the Annual Fund before June 30 at giving.gcc.edu 4 0 | w w w. g c c.e d u t h e G ēD UNK

Sharon (Taylor) Wright ’86 died Dec. 7, 2017. She lived in New Castle, Va., and worked for the Blue Ridge Mental Healthcare Center in Salem.

Edward J. McFeaters ’90 died Feb. 12, 2018. He lived in North Canton, Ohio, and worked in the health industry.

Survivors include his wife, Julie (Root ’89) McFeaters.

Daniel J. Fisher ’98 died Nov. 4, 2017. He taught high school physics before owning/ operating Kershaw Designs in Lakewood, Colo., retailing custom radio-controlled cars.

Bryan M. Siwicki ’01 died Feb. 17, 2018. He worked as a project manager for a specialty steel corporation in Mars, Pa., and recently lived in Warren, Ohio.

Spring 2018

alumni babies CONGRATULATIONS NEW PARENTS! Grove City College welcomes your new bundle of joy. We want to send your newborn a Grove City College T-shirt.

So between the feedings and late-night lullabies, be sure to send the Office of Alumni and College Relations your child’s name and date of birth. Shirts are available only in infant size.

Due to the popularity of the Alumni Babies feature, photos will be limited to babies under the age of 3 in Grove City College shirts only. Digital photos must be high resolution, 300 dpi. Please do not embed photos in the body of an email message, but rather attach a high-resolution image.

Submit photos at alumni.gcc.edu/babyshirt or email to alumni@gcc.edu.

Cora Lynne Gregg Born 1-2-17 Kelly (Anderson ’09) and Tucker ’10 Gregg

Esther Mae Jetter Born 4-9-17 Joy and David ’00 Jetter

Annabelle Sara Aitken Born 1-29-17 Jennifer and Christopher ’07 Aitken

Joshua Drake Batten Born 6-14-16 Emily and Dayne ’11 Batten

Gabriel Charles and George Kenneth Berkey Born 8-6-17 and 9-12-15 Jessica (Garver ’10) and Tyler ’10 Berkey

David Edward Brooks Born 10-7-17 Caitlin and Seth ’13 Brooks

Thea Frances Caudill Born 6-19-2017 Emily and Brian ’08 Caudill

Mia Catherine Glasser Born 12-21-16 Becky (Codner ’06) and Kevin Glasser

Caleb Joseph Wayne Jones Born 12-14-15 Kendra and Daniel ’02 Jones

Peter Hans Leuenberger Born 10-8-15 Rachael (Smith ’08) and Andrew ’07 Leuenberger

Abram Henry Neff Born 7-10-15 Stephanie (Holsinger ’07) and Jonathan ’07 Neff

Cousins Arden Lewis Schreffler Born 2-10-17 Mallory (Sampson ’07) and Adam ’07 Schreffler

Miller Lyn Talbott Born 11-2-17 Heather and Aaron ’10 Talbott

Hawley Marie Tobin Born 9-1-17 Hillary (Wilson ’13) and Josiah ’13 Tobin

Raelynne Diane Tomer Born 1-21-17 Shanda (Blair ’13) and Westley ’13 Tomer

James Barron Hopper, born 8-16-17 to Maggie and Timothy ’08 Hopper Audrey Elizabeth Geho, born 1-13-17 to Rachel and Douglas ’08 Geho t h e G ēD UNK w w w. g c c.e d u | 41

Grove City College

faith & learning A faculty perspective into the mission of Grove City College, the role of Christian scholarship in higher education and the connection between faith and learning.

Political Philosophy and the Christian intellectual tradition

By Michael Coulter ’91, Ph.D.

I

Michael Coulter ’91, Ph.D., is a professor of Political Science at Grove City College. He is the co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy and has contributed to several other reference works on religion and politics. Coulter teaches courses such as Classical Political Thought, Modern Political Thought, Philosophy of Law, Political Ideologies and Foundations of Political Science for the Department of Political Science as well as teaching HUMA 200: Foundations of Western Civilization.

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ntegrating faith and learning can take many forms. One part of the discipline of political science is the study of political philosophy, which considers the role and activities of government and the relationship between governing institutions and other parts of human life, such as religion and the family.

Examining the ideas of the great texts in history of political philosophy – from Plato to the 20th century – provides many opportunities to consider how the Christian faith can be a guide in evaluating the claims of political philosophers. There is one political philosophy course in particular at Grove City College where the integration of faith and learning is central. This course, POLS 205: Political Philosophy and the Christian Intellectual Tradition, is required for political science majors, and its aim is to consider how Christians have been guided by their faith to consider the claims about the role and purpose of government.

We begin by reading significant portions of Saint Augustine’s City of God. Written in the early 400s, this great work is the first substantive reflection on the relationship between Christianity and civil society. The sack of the once great city of Rome in 410 AD precipitates this important work. One could say that many during Augustine’s life (354 AD – 430 AD) considered Rome to be the great city for human beings and its sacking caused some to blame Christianity.

Augustine defends Christianity against the charges that it caused Rome’s downfall by showing that the sources of Rome’s decline came long before the spread of Christianity, and asserts, instead, that Christian morality helped make moral citizens. Augustine argues that the true

community of Christians are those ordered to the love of God and those people are pilgrims in this world. Despite that pilgrim status, Christians still live in the world, and Christians can be called to the difficult work of political life. Augustine calls on those engaged in politics “to make their power the servant of God’s majesty” and to be “slow to punish and ready to pardon” and “if they prefer to rule evil desires rather than any people one might name.” We learn from Augustine about both the limits of politics and about the necessity of government in bringing about justice and order.

After Augustine, we turn to medieval philosophers and theologians who debated the relationship between religious organizations and ideas and political institutions. We consider writers such as John of Salisbury (c. 1120-1180), who argues that it can be morally right to oppose tyrants, and John of Paris (c. 1250-1306), who provides a compelling theological argument for private property. We also read Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), who, in reflecting on Scripture and the works of Christian theologians and non-Christian philosophers, explored the nature of law, and in particular the relations between God’s ordering of all things. Aquinas’ exploration of natural law, divine law and human law presents God as the ultimate source of all good law and shows that law is to restrain evil deeds and direct people to their proper end.

Luther (1483-1546), Calvin (1509-1564), and the Puritans are then examined, and we consider how they understood the role of government in light of their understanding of God’s Word. Luther defends the individual’s freedom to interpret Scripture but also understands that spiritual freedom

Spring 2018

“Religion sees in civil freedom a noble exercise of the faculties of man … [and] freedom sees in religion … the divine source of its rights.”

– Alexis de Tocqueville doesn’t preclude civil government. Calvin argues that the moral precepts of the Divine Law should be a model for civil government, and that government is needed for peace and equity in this world. One can even see beginnings of modern republicanism in Calvin. Reading the pilgrims we encounter scriptural arguments for limited government in John Cotton (1584-1652), separation of church and state in Roger Williams (c.

1603-1683), and the right to revolution in Jonathan Mayhew (1720-1766). We then read another thinker in the Reformed tradition – theologian and Dutch Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), who cautions Christians against accepting popular sovereignty because only God is sovereign; further, Kuyper argues that Scripture teaches that different spheres of life – government, church, and family – have different roles in this world and that each of those spheres should respect the roles of the others.

Finally, we consider the relationship between Christianity and modern democracy. Alexis de Tocqueville (18051859) argues in Democracy in America that Christianity and democracy are not enemies.

For Tocqueville, the spirit of religion and spirit of liberty are mutually supportive.

He says that “Religion sees in civil freedom a noble exercise of the faculties of man … [and] freedom sees in religion … the divine source of its rights.”

We conclude the class by reading from two prominent 20th century Christian writers, Duke University political theorist John Hallowell (1914-1991) and philosopher Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), who reflect on modern democracy. Both Hallowell and Maritain argue that limited and democratic government historically arose from Christian ideas about the nature of human beings – as being rational and having dignity. Hallowell poignantly asserts that it is only “through the recovery of the [Hebraic-Greek-Christian] tradition ... that democracy, and indeed, the humanity of man, can be preserved.”

The aim of our study is to demonstrate that Christians drawing upon essential Christian teaching can engage with the challenges and circumstances of the times and consider our place in the world, our duty as citizens, and the kind of government that best serves our natures as creatures made in the image and likeness of God.

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Grove City College Alumni Magazine Grove City College 100 Campus Drive Grove City, PA 16127 www.gcc.edu

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Graduates toss their caps and jump for joy in front of Harbison Chapel after Grove City College’s 138th Commencement on May 19.