Marietta Magazine (Spring 2018)

SPRING 2018

THE MAGAZI N E OF M A R I E T TA COL L EG E

CROSSING GENERATIONS PIONEER SPIRIT STRENGTHENS THE LONG BLUE LINE

ALSO

Faculty approve new Gen Ed Curriculum Marietta golfer takes the OAC by storm

PHOTOS BY ROBERT CAPLIN

TRANSITIONS

FU NFEST

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fter a long winter, students looked forward to a bit of a break in the weather — and a huge break from studying. This spring, partners from across the campus community organized an outdoor celebration filled with music, treats, games and plenty of puppies for students to enjoy. Marietta’s first Funfest Friday turned into a tradition in the making!

MARIETTA COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

M ESSAGE F RO M T H E PRESIDENT

DR . WI LLI A M N. R U U D

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hroughout my nearly 40 years in higher education, one principle has never changed: It takes a great team to build an outstanding college. As I reflect on my first two great years at Marietta College, the successes we have enjoyed are because of the remarkable people.

All across this beautiful campus, we have students, faculty and staff who

make a positive impact, and they are why Marietta College is thriving again. That’s why I’m proud that we are investing in ourselves with unrivaled support from the Board of Trustees and the Marietta College Alumni Association Board.

We recently announced that our employees will get a 3 percent raise on July 1, 2018, along with an additional 2 percent commitment from the College to our retirement plan — bringing us to 7 percent (just shy of the 8 percent that it was for a number of years).

Thanks to the leadership of our Provost, Dr. Janet Bland, the College has rebuilt the faculty across the board and the quality of these individuals would make all of our alumni proud. We are also adding programs that are driven by the marketplace and hard data. Starting this fall, we will be offering majors in Music Therapy, Actuarial Science, Computer Science, Environmental Engineering, Music Therapy and Sports Medicine.

Additionally, the Sports Medicine major will be a part of a 3+2 dual degree option that results in a Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine and a Master in Athletic Training in five years. Our faculty approved these knowing that each could be added through existing resources while providing our Admission Office with more ways to attract students.

It was an exceptionally busy year for the faculty, who also approved a new General Education Curriculum that will positively impact our students for at least the next decade.

All of this was a priority from the first day I arrived, and I’m excited to see the impact this makes on the education

Chair George W. Fenton Vice Chair Patricia (Patti) Kral Zecchi ’71 Secretary Mark Miller Treasurer Michele Marra Robert M. (Bob) Brucken ’56 Christopher Cortez ’71 Jan D. Dils ’90 Janice Downey Donoghue ’75 Harry H. (Hap) Esbenshade III Andrew D. Ferguson ’95 Barbara A. Perry Fitzgerald ’73 James B. Fryfogle ’73 Richard A. (Rich) Galen ’68 Susan Cook Hayes ’98 Mary Studders Korn ’82 Daniel Leonard ’85 Michael D. Milone Michael L. Moffitt ’91 Kathleen Mitchell Murphy ’82 Kevin R. O’Neill ’87 Stephanie Esparza Peloquin ’06 Marc R. Ponchione ’96 Jason C. Rebrook ’96 Ronald E. (Ron) Rinard ’72 Leslie Straub Ritter ’85 William N. (Bill) Ruud Michael J. Salvino ’87 Charles W. (Chuck) Sulerzyski Matthew B. Weekley ’81 Jo Ellen Diehl Yeary ’76

we provide.

Let’s be clear, though; we aren’t adding and building so we can say we have the best field or the fanciest residence hall. Adding new turf at two fields will provide our coaching staff a recruiting edge, but it is an investment in more than 300 student-athletes who major in English, Petroleum Engineering and Sports Management — just to name a few – and it can be used by all outdoor sports teams for practice as well as all students for intramurals and

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Stephanie Esparza Peloquin ’06 Vice Chair John E. Hopkins ’65

club sports.

We can make these financial commitments because of our growth in enrollment (we are expecting 400 or more new students this fall) and the prudent fiscal responsibility of the College’s senior leadership team — I told you we have some great people. Some of the growth in our enrollment is easily attributed to the new varsity sports we added recently. Our coaches are doing amazing work on and off the field, but the addition of men’s and women’s golf, as well as men’s and women’s lacrosse, has impacted our overall enrollment by 40 students.

Financially, our alumni and donors are contributing to The Marietta Fund (annual giving), many of the College’s greatest needs, and to the endowment through planned giving. Marietta College’s endowment has grown to record highs and recently eclipsed $83 million.

It is my honor to be a part of this incredible team that makes Marietta College so special.

BRING FORTH A PIONEER!

PR E S I D E N T R U U D O N LI N E : twitter.com/President_Ruud instagram.com/presidentruud facebook.com/MariettaCollegePresident 2

SPRING 2018

Patricia Bain Bachner ’77 Timothy J. Bennett ’85 Jocelyn Crum Brooks ’95 Amanda Burtt ’02 Marianne Candido ’85 Keith Coleman ’77 Janice Downey Donoghue ’75 Brooke A. Exley ’11 Frank Fleischer ’71 S. Jason Gromelski ’98 Susan Hauck-Bell ’85 Adam Kopp ’88 Tia Knowlton Lane ’98, MALL’02 Kathy Wilcox Lentner ’97 Daniel Leonard ’85 Rocco Manzo ’59 Gene Neill ’16 Jennifer Roach Offenberger ’86 Christine Zernick Suter ’84 Mark Vizza ’98 Travis Wells ’97

CONTENTS

SP RI N G 2 0 1 8

Inside this issue 14

T H E P OW E R O F T H E LO NG B LU E LI NE

There is something special about being a part of the Marietta College community. From professors who offer their students tremendous support to established alumni who help young graduates get their first job, the shared experiences that transcend generations create unbreakable bonds that last a lifetime.

Features 4 6

MARI E T TA S C E N E JOU RN A L

New Gen Ed curriculum

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P I ON E E R S

Mother-daughter basketball dynasty Golf standout Jackie Cunningham

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DE VE LO PM E N T S

Ritter Match Gift Challenge

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MARI E T TA M O M E N T

Memories of college life

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T H E LO N G B LU E LI N E

Class notes

COVER ART BY DUNCAN BEEDIE

IS S UE 2 5

EDITORS Tom Perry and Gi Smith ART DIRECTOR Ryan Zundell ILLUSTRATOR Duncan Beedie PHOTOGRAPHERS Robert Caplin, Nate Knobel, Tom Perry, Eric Stein, Ryan Zundell CLASS NOTES Tom Perry and Gi Smith CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lori Ferguson PRESIDENT Dr. William N. Ruud PROVOST Dr. Janet Bland VP FOR ADVANCEMENT Angela Anderson EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ANNUAL GIVING AND ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT Brandee Norris M A R I E T TA The Magazine of Marietta College is published by the Office of Communication and Brand Management. The magazine serves its readers by providing information about the activities of Marietta College alumni, students, faculty and staff through the publication of accurate and balanced content that informs and stimulates intellectual discussion.

Text, photographs and artwork may not be reprinted without written permission of the Executive Director of Communication and Brand Management at Marietta.

CO N TAC T U S Send address changes, letters to the editor and class notes to Marietta Magazine, 215 Fifth St., Marietta, OH 45750.

Phone: 740-376-4727 Email: marketing@marietta.edu

M A R I E T TA

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MARIETTA SCENE

N E W AN D N OTABL E

(Above left) The Etta Express made it to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regionals this year and finished with a 27-18 overall season.

(Above right) The Wunnenberg 38H wellhead was installed and dedicated during a mid-April ceremony on campus. Derek Krieg ’19 and fellow members of the Energy Business Alliance secured donations and help with installation of the Marcellus-style wellhead, which was dedicated in memory of the late Joel Wunnenberg ’20.

(Bottom left) Putnam the Pio helped raise money to support Harvest of Hope during May’s First Friday event in downtown Marietta.

(Bottom right) Instructor Ann Kaufman found the perfect place to conduct her Education class earlier this spring — on the lawn in front of Erwin Hall.

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LO N G BLUE LIN ES

GI SMI TH, E DI TOR

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bout this time every year, I get this nagging feeling when I walk onto campus.

The tulips have died off and have been replaced with hardier new summer blooms. The air smells of freshly cut grass. There is no line at Chlapaty Café when I order my caramel-laced, souped-up caffeinated piping hot sugar bomb.

There is no line in Gilman. And the squirrels are already fat and bored.

While this would seem like a perfect setting for me, it is hardly that. Every spring — after nonstop busyness as we all work to finish out the spring semester like champs — the to-do lists are checked off, the tests turned in and the papers graded. In that quick sigh of relief, it happens: THE STUDENTS LEAVE. There is an empty-nest syndrome that falls over campus. Sure, there are a multitude of projects that still need completed, but the hum of activity, the background noise of students chatting, laughing and shuffling papers has been turned down. It is very much like waiting as your elevator climbs 400 floors, only without the unpredictable music.

RE V IE W

Our student worker — who thankfully still comes in for a few hours each week during the summer — is impressively kind and patient during these months as she answers the same daily questions asking if anything interesting or somewhat interesting or empty-nester interesting has happened since the previous day. She’s an Education major, so the way I see it, I’m simply helping her get used to answering the same question over and over and over (times infinity) (plus one, for good measure) again.

Over the course of a few months, the excitement will return as the first waves of students — usually fall athletes, international students and firstyear students — begin arriving. The quiet work that has been happening on campus in preparation for their return will be close to being completed and the dry spell of summer will be a distant memory.

Sure enough, the coffee lines will form and the noise levels will start to rise to a more familiar, comfortable level.

I’ve always considered myself a summer person. I love vacations, going to the beach and having an abundance of warm weather. But as the summer days turn into weeks and months, and I begin to adjust to the quiet, I see downtime as a bit overrated and look forward to the days of fall more than ever before.

COMME NTS FROM OUR RE ADER S

Dear Editors: Sometime in the last month or so, I was sitting in my little home office staring off into space as usual, trying to think of something to write. I looked down toward the very back corner of the desk, which is obscured by some bookcases above it. There was something kind of shiny back there. Bingo! The famous piece of Grahamite was found!

John Frey ’68

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Because Marietta Magazine seeks to present a wide diversity of subject matter and content, some views presented in the publication may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the official policies maintained by Marietta College.

Letters commenting on the material or topics presented in the magazine are encouraged and are available for publication unless the author specifically asks that they do not appear in public print.

Published letters may be edited for style, length and clarity.

EMAIL: marketing@marietta.edu MAIL: Editor, Marietta Magazine, Office of Communication & Brand Management, 215 Fifth St., Marietta, OH 45750-4004

THERE IS STILL TIME TO HELP US REACH OUR 2017-18 FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL GOAL OF $2.35 MILLION. PLEASE VISIT MARIETTA.EDU/GIVE. YOU ARE THE MARIETTA FUND M A R I E T TA

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Dr. Bob Van Camp, Franco Biondolillo ’18 and Tom Korda ’18 discuss their Capstone for their System Development Project class.

Evolving EDUCATION

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he curriculum at Marietta College is evolving to meet the needs of the growing demands of numerous fields.

This fall, students can factor in Musical Theatre, Music Therapy, Actuarial Science, Computer Science and Environmental Engineering to their choice of majors, as well as enter a new 3+2 program that results in a Sports Medicine undergraduate degree and a Master in Athletic Training degree in five years.

The Curriculum Committee and faculty reviewed and voted last fall to approve the new programs.

Dr. Robert Van Camp, who teaches in the Mathematics, Computing & Information Systems Department, says the College previously offered Computer Science, Computer Information Systems and Management Information Systems, but opted to combine those topics into one degree: Information Systems.

When President Bill Ruud visited with the department shortly after his arrival at Marietta, he asked the faculty what they thought would improve what they had to offer current and prospective students. “We got administrative permission to create a Computer Science major, but we also wanted to retain Information Systems because they are different,” Van Camp says.

“Computer Science has more math classes, and there’s more of an empha6

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AC ADEMIC OFFER INGS EX PANDING THIS FALL TO MEET INC R EASING DEMANDS

sis on business for the Information Systems side. The Computer Science and Information Systems majors have several courses in common, so it would be easy for a student to start in one major and switch to the other.”

Computer Science jobs include programming, software engineering, cybersecurity, web development, database, networking, big data, artificial intelligence, game development and software development.

“We’re finding that prospective students are interested in Computer Science. They know there’s a growing demand for graduates with this degree.

With technology rapidly evolving, every industry has a need for employees with a background in computing,” says Dr. Matt Williamson ’07, who teaches in the department and also majored in Computer Science and Mathematics at Marietta. “They’re asking about it. We’ve found, over the past five years, enrollments for Computer Science majors have increased.”

Associate Professor David Makuch noticed, when faculty would attend state thespian festivals and conferences, many colleges and universities would use those opportunities to hold auditions for acceptance to their programs and scholarships.

“What we found is that the majority of the students auditioning were looking for Musical Theatre programs,” Makuch says. “I think it’s mostly because that is what a lot of high schools do for their theatre classes. When I went to

the Ohio Thespian Conference in January, I would say 70 percent of the students who attended wanted Musical Theatre.”

Marietta will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre, which is rare among academic institutions because most offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts. “The musical theatre degree is a bachelor of arts, and that’s not very common. A lot of programs are BFAs because that’s sort of considered to be the end of the road for them in terms of college, and then they go out and start working,” Makuch says. “There aren’t really that many master’s degrees in musical theatre. BFAs are what the NAST (National Association of Schools of Theatre) accreditation standards are based on. We aren’t accredited through NAST because we have a different path we are taking.”

When they researched the BA in Musical Theatre, they learned that there weren’t many colleges near Marietta that offered that degree.

Marietta’s previous BFA in Musical Theatre required 91 or 92 hours out of 120. The BA major is now 61 hours.

“When we move into the new (General Education Curriculum), it’s designed so that students have a secondary concentration,” Makuch says.

“Students can either do a double major or a minor, which would help complement their Musical Theatre degree.”

Associate Professor Andy Felt adds that in the academic world there is a major need for doctorates in Musical Theatre.

“Those people are very hard to find, but there are a lot of schools looking for people to come in and teach Musical Theatre in colleges,” Felt says. “That path doesn’t really exist very often with the BFA track because they typically earn their degree and then find work, rather than enter a graduate and doctorate program. With a BA in Musical Theatre, I think it’s going to lend itself more to that sort of thing.”

Through the new Music Therapy program, Marietta College will also be able to fill a specific need. “There is one practicing music therapist in Southeast Ohio,” says Professor Marshall Kimball. “With this major, there are a lot of eyes on the College. Starting with (Don and Leslie Ritter’s) gift, the Music Therapy major has brought a lot of publicity and good news to the College.”

The two other new majors — Actuarial Science and Environmental Engineering — advance the College’s STEM offerings and give students who earn degrees in those majors an opportunity to stand out in their industries because of their liberal arts education.

“Historically, graduates of actuarial science programs worked in the insurance industry,” says Holly Menzel, who teaches in the Math Department. “Now, they are sought after by any company that may have to encounter risks or risk assessments. Actuaries decide whether an investment or product is worth the risk or not worth the risk, or how much to invest in it.”

She says students who love and excel in math but who do not want to teach can take this career path.

“In 2018, it was the second best business job and the third best in STEM,” she says. “It is very marketable, and it’s less than a 1 percent unemployment rate for people who have this degree. U.S. News & World Report was projecting there were 4,400 jobs available and the median salary is $97,000. It pays well and is not going away.”

Environmental Engineering is another field in high demand worldwide.

“Environmental engineering is the design and oversight of remediation projects to remediate pollution, protection projects to mitigate against pollution and ecosystem disruptions, and so on, and basically the overall system analysis of what impacts are expected from any project,” says Professor Ben Ebenhack, Chair of the Petroleum Engineering & Geology Department.

Dr. Tej Gautam, who teaches in the department, says as humans in-

Erin Miller ’20 (right) and Alexis Enochs ’20 work on a project during Associate Professor Jaclyn Schwieterman’s Biomechanics class.

teract with the environment, there is a need to use engineering design to solve problems that are caused by those interactions.

“The market for an environmental engineer is ever-growing and is never going to be up-and-down, or cyclical in nature like the petroleum engineering field,” Gautam says. “This is a discipline that has been emerging, and it is coming up front in research, in problem-solving and in dealing with sustainability.”

Ebenhack says the Marietta College-educated environmental engineer will stand out because they will also have exposure to a top-notch petroleum engineering program and they will benefit from having a liberal arts education offered at a teaching college.

“In interesting ways, environmental engineering and petroleum engineering complement one another,” Ebenhack says. “There is a lot of attention going to the environmental impacts that come with oil and gas operations, and I would say there is a real paucity of people who understand both oil and gas operations and environmental systems. If we can graduate somebody with a major in one, a minor in the other, that graduate is really going to make an impact in the industry.”

The Sports Medicine major is designed to be a dual degree for students interested in pursuing the Master in Athletic Training degree, says Chyrsten Gessel, an Assistant Professor in the Sports Medicine Department. “Students who pursue the Sports Medicine degree and maintain requirements will be able to apply and be notified of acceptance for the Master in Athletic Training program during the fall of their junior year,” Gessel says. “This major represents an important part of our curriculum because it is designed to give students a strong basis of knowledge for success in the Master in Athletic Training program, as well as meet all prerequisites for acceptance into the program.”

GI SMITH

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PHOTOS BY NATE KNOBEL

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GivingLIFE A LU M N A D O N AT ES KIDN EY TO HER A ILIN G FAT HER

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ailee Stender ’10 bubbles with energy and enthusiasm, hardly surprising for a 30-year-old, but astonishing when one learns that she is just eight weeks out of a life-changing operation.

On March 12, 2018, Stender donated a kidney to her father, John. “It’s been quite an adventure, and it was really hard, but I would do it again in a heartbeat to help my dad. When I saw him after surgery, he looked so much better that it was all worth it,” Stender says.

And she doesn’t stop there. “I would do it for a stranger, too. It’s a life changing experience — you’re saving someone’s life. And it wasn’t a tragic event or a sad story, it was my decision.”

Two and a half years ago, John was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney failure due to high blood pressure. He was placed on dialysis at The Cleveland Clinic and told that without a transplant, he would likely only live another 18 months. “That’s when my mom and I started the process to see if either of us could be donors,” Stender says. Her mother’s age precluded her from donating, but Hailee turned out to be a solid match. That confirmation was just the first step.

The donation process is protracted, Stender explains, and involves multiple rounds of screening and evaluation to ensure that the donor is a healthy candidate for the surgery. “The doctors want to make sure that they don’t hurt one person while helping another. Recovery is harder on the donor than on the receiver, which, if you think about it, makes sense. I was losing an organ that I’d had my whole life, and my body had to adjust, whereas my dad was gaining something.”

The pair had the surgery on a Monday, says Stender, and on Tuesday her father was up, eating and feeling much better, while she couldn’t eat for a week, was restricted to a soft food diet for a month, and had to relearn how to stand and walk.

There are also long-term effects for both Stender and her father. “My dad has to see the doctor regularly and be monitored for organ rejection and we both have to eat healthy — nothing in cans or boxes for us!” But the biggest challenge, Stender confesses, has been relinquishing sweets and coffee. “I have to watch my glucose levels and stay hydrated. I have to drink 80 ounces of water a day, which is tough, because I used to drink 80 ounces of coffee a day,” she says with a laugh.

Stender has been intent on keeping sadness at bay for friends and family throughout the process. “It’s an emotional experience and people were feeling sad for me, but I wanted people to feel good — I was saving my dad’s life!” In an attempt to lighten the mood, she even went so far as to name her donated kidney “Kevin.”

“Now I call my dad and ask, ‘How’s Kevin?’ ” Everyone associates organ donation with death, Stender continues, but there are many living donors as well, and making the decision to donate her kidney was incredibly empowering. “You not only save a life, but you also learn a lot – about your body and yourself.”

Hailee’s sister, AnaRosa Hopkins ’09, concedes that although Hailee is a grown woman and capable of making her own decisions, she and the rest of the family were worried about the possibility that something could go wrong. She knew, however, that there was no dissuading Hailee. “She loves my dad very much, and she has so many life events coming that she wants to experience with him — marriage, children, etc. — that she was determined to go through with the surgery.”

Witnessing Hailee’s post-op struggles was tough on the entire family, Hopkins admits. “She’s such a strong person and the first few weeks after the surgery were very hard for her.” But both Hailee and John are well on the road to recovery now, and the experience has brought the family closer together. “I want people to know how remarkable Hailee is,” Hopkins says. “I really have no words to adequately describe what she did and how she handled the entire experience — hers was truly an act of selfless love.”

“As a parent, you would willingly lay down your life for your child, but you never imagine it would go the other way,” says John Stender. “It’s the best gift I’ve ever been given and an unimaginable sacrifice on her part. I am forever grateful.”

LORI FERGUSON

Hailee Stender ’10 and her dad, John, continue to recover from the kidney transplant surgeries they underwent in March.

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The

PioneerPATH CHA N G ES TO T H E G EN ERA L EDUCAT IO N CURRICULUM S T RENGT HEN LIBERA L A RT S FO C US

Doug Anderson (2015–2017)—Library Janet Bland (Provost)—Administration Tim Catalano (2016–2017)—English Ali Doerflinger (2015–2017)—Psychology Debbie Egolf (2015–2017)—Chemistry David Jeffery (2015–2017)—Geology Jackie Khorassani (2015–2016)—Economics Nicole Livengood (2016–2017)—English, First-Year Program David Makuch (2015–2016)—Theatre Jonah Mitchell (Student Representative, 2015–2016) Sara Rosenstock (2015–2017)—Graphic Design Alane Sanders (2016–2017)—Communication Joe Sullivan (2015–2017)—English, Assessment Suzanne Walker (Spring 2017)—Administration, First-Year Program

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ROBERT CAPLIN

GENERAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE MEMBERS

ater this summer, when incoming first-year Marietta College students and their parents arrive on campus for PioSOAR, Dr. Suzanne Walker will share with them the data compiled by the National Association of Colleges and Employers that ranks the top job competencies employers are looking for.

“Critical thinking, teamwork collaboration, professionalism and work ethic, oral and written communication, leadership, digital technology, career management and global multicultural fluency top the list,” she says. “When I share that Job Outlook with them, then I stack it up against our General Education curriculum, they can see where they’re developing those competencies.”

During the 2017-18 academic year, Walker and fellow members of the General Education Task Force and the Curriculum Committee completed the restructuring of Marietta’s curriculum requirements. In November 2017, the faculty voted on and approved the Gen Ed Curriculum proposal, which will be implemented in fall 2019.

“The new core classes — our new Pioneer Path — was made more robust so our students can better achieve the educational goals we set for them,” says Associate Professor Sara Rosenstock, who co-chaired the second year of the Task Force with Professor David Jeffery.

The Pioneer Path changes the First-Year Seminar model to begin with an Information Literacy course and a Student Engagement Lab; requires students to take Writing 103 (replacing Writing 110) before taking Communication 203 (formerly Communication 101); adds a Second-Year Integrative Learning Seminar course; adds an Ethics & Communication course related to the student’s major during the junior year; and refines the requirements for the Capstone Experience in order to ensure college-wide consistency.

In addition to the core courses, the General Education Curriculum requires students to complete 28 hours across five categories (Artistic Expression, Civilization & Culture, Social Analysis, Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning), as well as fulfill secondary concentration (a minor, certificate or second major) and modern language proficiency requirements.

Each student must also have a transcripted experiential education component. This component can be an international experience, a research or creative project, a service learning project, an internship or a leadership development project.

“Historically, we would start our students out on their First-Year Experience courses and then we would end their academic career here with a Capstone,” Rosenstock says.

One of the issues the group discovered during student surveys and town hall sessions was the lack of connection between those two experiences. The Task Force set out to close the gap.

“And so the core courses we created are supposed to guide the students through the process of finding the connections between all of the courses and disciplines that they’re studying,” Rosenstock says. “It will scaffold and add to — rather than repeat — information and skillsets within communication and information literacy.”

Dr. Matt Menzel, Professor of Mathematics and Curriculum Committee member, adds that the Marietta College curriculum as a whole is evolving.

“While the First-Year program in our current curriculum has required courses in written and oral communication, as well as a Freshman Year Program, we now are coordinating these courses more intentionally. They will focus on information literacy, which is something that 20 years ago wouldn’t have been as relevant, but today is essential,” Menzel says.

David Erzen ’19 is an active member of the Curriculum Committee. He wanted to be sure that the decisions made by the Task Force and the Curriculum Committee affecting the College’s General Education curriculum were clearly imparted to all students.

Greg Peffley ’19 spent spring semester working at The Lafayette Hotel as a marketing intern. The new General Education Curriculum requires all students to have at least one transcripted experiential education component.

“Students can appreciate the fact that most of what made up the Gen Ed requirements were already happening,” he says, “but now there is an intention to reframe it and make the intentionality of our Gen Ed known to all students.

While some students understand what this curriculum is for starting from Day 1, some students don’t get it at all. This new structure makes sure that every student, by the time they leave Marietta College, has that same shared experience of having an intentional liberal arts education and that they understand why that is important.”

Erzen is majoring in Applied Physics and is in the Engineering Dual Degree Program. He is also pursuing a Leadership minor and participates in choir.

Marietta Registrar Tina Hickman emphasizes that the General Education is the core of the larger curriculum, and the majors are a component of that.

“The language that we tend to use, for example, is that ‘this student is getting a degree in Chemistry,’ but we actually don’t offer a degree in Chemistry,” Hickman says. “We offer a Bachelor of Science and a major in Chemistry, and there is distinction in that.”

Dr. Debbie Egolf, Chair of the Curriculum Committee and General Education Task Force member, adds that degrees from Marietta reflect students’ total academic experience, not just the majors they pursue.

“One of my comments in the Gen Ed Executive Summary emphasizes the point that it is this richness of depth, breadth, integration and experiential learning that comprise our students’ undergraduate educational experiences

that will create graduates who are both competitive in the workplace and wellrounded individuals,” Egolf says.

Rather than ask prospective students what they want to do professionally, Dr. Nicole Livengood, Associate Professor of English and member of the Curriculum Committee and Gen Ed Task Force, asks, “Who do you want to be while doing it?”

“The vast skillset you learn at a liberal arts school prepares you to do the things that you don’t know exist,” Livengood says. “I’ve put a call on Facebook to my English majors who have graduated, asking what they do and how they use their English skills. You don’t major in organizing scientists, but that’s what my former English and Political Science student is doing. You don’t major in speechwriting, and yet the English Department has a former student who is a speechwriter.”

Those concrete examples demonstrate how a humanities-based collection of courses can be molded into a satisfying career.

“We know in the market today that there are going to be new professions that we don’t know exist yet, and we’re going to lose professions, as well,” Rosenstock says. “Things are constantly changing, so we need to prepare students to be able to pivot in their skillsets so they’re equipped to make those changes.”

GI SMITH

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Immeasurable IMPACT ESL DI RECTOR H AS H EL PE D CO U N T L ES S I N T ERN AT IO N A L S T UDEN T S A DA P T TO T HE M A RIET TA CO M M UNITY

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ROBERT CAPLIN

r. Janie Rees-Miller has spent the last two decades working tirelessly to help international students during their academic journeys to become more proficient in speaking and understanding the English language.

It’s impossible to measure the impact she has had on the lives of students from Africa, Asia, Europe and South America as they pursued a quality liberal arts education in America, but it’s clear that her contributions created a strong English as a Second Language (ESL) program that will serve countless generations of international students well into the future.

This spring, Rees-Miller retired from Marietta College as Professor Emerita of Linguistics. Dr. Richmond Dzekoe, who will be new to Marietta, will serve as the Director of the ESL program.

During the Employee Recognition Ceremony in May, ESL instructor Leanne Price gave a moving tribute to Rees-Miller.

“When I first met you, I was admittedly impressed because I knew you had written ‘The Handbook for Linguistics,’ among other numerous publications,” Price says. “Of course, your published work is something to be

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recognized, it is something for you and MC to be immensely proud of, but it is not among the things I admire most about you today. The sorts of things that I admire most about you now are the connections you have made between students and their subject matter, the connections you have made with students as their mentor, and the connections you have forged among those of us who have been so privileged to work closely with you.”

Rees-Miller first arrived in Marietta in the mid-1990s to interview for a job in the English Department, which is where the ESL program was based before moving to the Department of Modern Languages. She noticed that the College had a well-established pool of faculty who had spent their entire careers at Marietta.

“Because they had spent their professional lives here, many of them really didn’t have much experience with non-native speakers of English, and there was a concern by the faculty that the new international students didn’t know how to speak English,” she says. “And I’m thinking, ‘Well I know how to fix this!’ I had been on some job interviews before where I wanted a job. I wanted a full-time job, but I wasn’t crazy about those jobs.

“I’ve been here and I’ve done what I can do. We need

NEW techniques

someone new, fresh, with fresh

EDUCAT IO N DEPA RT M ENT US ES G RA NT TO IM P ROV E LITERAC Y DEVELOPMENT

ideas who will start with what we’ve got and do his own thing and take it in energetic, new directions. I am confident that that is what will happen.”

I came back from the interview for this job and I wanted this job because I knew that they needed somebody with a certain skillset. I have that skillset.”

In 1996, Dr. Rees-Miller began working at Marietta after having taught in Beirut, Cambridge (U.K.) and Stony Brook in Long Island, while she completed master’s degrees and earned her doctorate.

“My mindset about the work there was to do at Marietta was that this is a really cool and interesting challenge, and I can do it. Once I got here, I also created the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate because I did want to have the opportunity to teach some linguistics.”

The campus was in the process of internationalizing — drawing in more international students and encouraging more American students to have international experiences — which is why Rees-Miller sought to create the ESL counterpart through addition of the TEFL certificate.

“The TEFL certificate is a great foundation for graduate work, work abroad, for Peace Corps,” Rees-Miller says.

As she packs up her home in Marietta and more than 20 years of work life from her office in Thomas Hall to move to the family farm in Missouri, she feels her department is also ready for change.

“What I am hoping —and I feel very comfortable with Richmond, my successor — is that he’s not me,” she says. “I’ve been here and I’ve done what I can do. We need someone new, fresh, with fresh ideas who will start with what we’ve got and do his own thing and take it in energetic, new directions. I am confident that that is what will happen.”

S

itting among fellow educators in Andrews Hall earlier this year, Emilia Jacobs’ Marietta College experience was coming full circle.

Jacobs ’16, a Title I teacher at Washington Elementary School in Marietta, was among the local teachers invited to participate in a workshop that also included her fifth-grade teacher, Jan Mason MALL’86, who mentored and co-taught with Jacobs during her first year as a teacher at Washington.

The workshop was made possible through an Ohio Dean’s Compact on Exceptional Children Grant, which was obtained by Dr. Cathy Mowrer, McCoy Professor of Education, and Elaine O’Rourke, Director of Field & Clinical Experience. Part of the $39,000 grant, aimed at literacy development, was used to bring Ginny Dowd, creator of the Phonics Dance, to campus for the free intervention specialist workshop. Seven current Marietta College Education students and more than 20 local K-3 intervention specialists from eight schools participated in various workshops throughout the year.

“We call the program ‘PAL,’ which stands for Pioneer Alliance for Literacy,” Mowrer says. “Our first all-day workshop was in November. That program gave teachers strategies on how to teach students to self-regulate.”

Dowd’s workshop provided free teaching material to participating educators and focused on helping students develop decoding skills. The workshop in June, featuring Kurt Wooten, introduces the Performance Cycle, which promotes literacy through the arts.

“I love the program,” Jacobs says. “It is very important with my schedule to have something like this so close. For me, and for all teachers, it’s very hard to travel for two or three days to get professional development. For me to be able to travel just down the street and receive this type of training in one day, it makes it so much easier.”

The two-year incentive grant provided $39,000 for this year and $35,000 for next year.

“This program serves many local school districts by training educators for free, paying for substitute teachers so their current students don’t fall behind on learning, and providing books and lunch,” Mowrer says. “Marietta, Warren, Belpre and Fort Frye districts are participating in the program.”

The inspiration to create PAL came after members in Marietta’s Education Department traveled to Florida last year to observe the programs offered at the Learning Alliance. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping children achieve literacy at grade level by implementing a variety of teaching methods. One of the methods Marietta faculty observed was conscious discipline.

“It’s a whole philosophy about classroom management and discipline with students,” O’Rourke says. “It has to begin with the teacher. Nowadays, kids come to school with trauma — trauma from home life and what they see outside of school. You have to deal with those things. This approach is to try to get the child to learn how to self-regulate. Social emotional learning and self-regulating is a classroom approach that takes three years to get fully implemented. You have to add these techniques piece by piece.”

O’Rourke says the College is a tremendous resource for current teachers.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, we didn’t have the number of kids we have now who live in single-parent homes or who live with grandparents or guardians,” O’Rourke says. “We didn’t have the number of kids we have now who have parents who are hooked on drugs. A lot of families have parents working two and three jobs just to keep a roof over their head. The whole family dynamic has changed, which causes kids to come to school with a whole different set of problems.”

Mowrer is proud that the College connection to local educators — many of whom are graduates — remains trusted and strong.

“When we review all that we are able to accomplish with very little grant funding, it is impressive,” Mowrer says. “But there’s always such a powerful feeling to want to do more. We want our teachers to be successful and to see their students thrive. We will keep working toward that goal.”

GI SMITH

GI SMITH

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SPRING 2018

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS NOTHING COMPARES TO THE POWER OF THE LONG BLUE LINE W R I T T E N B Y G I S M I T H | P H OTO S B Y N AT E K N O B E L

A

I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y D U N C A N B E E D I E

rnold “Arnie” Sutter ’70 was fresh out of college and looking for his dream job.

Having studied History and Geography at Marietta College under the likes of Dr. Bill Hartel and Dr. Robert Deets, and played varsity basketball for Coach Don Kelley, Sutter knew two things: he wanted to teach and he wanted to coach. As a newly minted teacher, he needed to find a way to get his foot in the door just to have a chance to work toward his career goals.

Help came from an unlikely source when he applied for a position teaching in the Cincinnati Public Schools District.

“If it weren’t for an MC graduate, I wouldn’t have gotten my job as a teacher,” he says. “He was on the Board of Education for Cincinnati Public Schools and he personally recommended me for the job because I graduated from Marietta and because he saw me play basketball.”

That alumnus was the late Edward G. Harness ’40, then-president of Proctor & Gamble Co. For most institutions, that might seem like a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. But for Marietta College, stories like Sutter’s are just one part of being a member of The Long Blue Line.

Belonging to the Marietta College community means that current students have opportunities to connect with professional mentors who once also called Marietta their second home; it means young alumni who need to develop connections in their fields have an established core of supporters waiting in the wings to help; it means alumni from different generations can come together to share their memories of college life and feel an instant connection with Pioneers they have just met.

Sutter’s inspiration for becoming a teacher came from two talented but polar-opposite professors: Hartel and Deets.

“They kind of went at each other,” Sutter says. “One was like our father — really strict — and the other was like our favorite uncle. I couldn’t have been any luckier to have both of them.

They were my confidants.”

Sutter was able to fulfill his goals — through the training of talented professors and the support of a successful fellow alumnus — of teaching history in Cincinnati and suburban Toledo and coaching basketball and football.

“And when I thought it was the right fit, I recommended a few of my students to go to Marietta … A small, liberal arts college like Marietta is the way to go.”

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“After my interview with [Assistant Professor and Department Chair] Lori Smith and [Provost] Janet Bland, I said, ‘Lori, not that it matters, but I’m curious about which office I’ll be in next year.’ She said, ‘Mills 105, is that OK?’ And I said, ‘Lori, that’s great. That’s the office I decided to be a Communication major in many years ago after a long conversation with Alane Sanders.’ ” — Cody M. Clemens ’13

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T

he Long Blue Line is not a single string that connects alumni to other alumni; it’s a tether made from and strengthened by countless strands — current students, generations of alumni, professors, staff members, administrations and boards, monumental successes and shared heartache.

This fall, Cody M. Clemens ’13 will return to the place where his career started: Mills 105.

The first-generation college student came to Marietta to study Biology and prepare to become a physician assistant. After a heart-to-heart with his advisor, Dr. Steve Spilatro, who expressed concern that Clemens may not be passionate about the path he was on, he began soul-searching. “I was lost and I didn’t know what to do,” he says. “And I was walking through Mills Hall and Dr. Alane Sanders’ door was open. I had just had her the semester prior for COMM 101, and I said, ‘Hey, Dr. Sanders, do you have a minute to talk?’ and she said, ‘Yes, absolutely; come in.’ ” An hour and a half later, Clemens and Sanders wrapped up their impromptu meeting in her office — Mills 105 — with a new focus: Organizational Communication and Public Relations. “From the moment I switched, it was magical,” he says. “I was excelling because I was doing things that I enjoyed.”

During the summer before his senior year, Clemens landed an internship with Target in Pittsburgh, but he needed a place to live to make that happen. He knew exactly where to look.

“James Inks, who was my Delta Tau Delta fraternity brother, and Derek Ensinger, also a fraternity brother, let me stay with them during my internship,” Clemens says.

When he was hired by Target right after graduation, his friends happened to be moving to an apartment two doors down from their old one, so they reached out to Clemens to ask if he wanted it. Clemens was thankful for the offer and he moved into their old apartment with his friend and new roommate, Brandi Gillian Lantz ’13.

Inks ’12, Ensinger ’11 and other friends living in Pittsburgh, Kyle Thauvette ’10 and Jessica “Lippy” Lipniskas ’11, introduced Clemens to the city — and to life as a college graduate. They were also supportive when Clemens began graduate school at Duquesne University and working as a graduate research assistant. Since then, he has continued his education at Bowling Green State University. He will complete his doctorate in communication in the spring of 2019.

In the meantime, Clemens will return to a familiar place — this time, as a mentor. He will serve as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Communication Department this fall.

“After my interview with [Assistant Professor and Department Chair] Lori Smith and [Provost] Janet Bland, I said, ‘Lori, not that it matters, but I’m curious about which office I’ll be in next year.’ She said, ‘Mills 105, is that OK?’ And I said, ‘Lori, that’s great. That’s the office I decided to be a Communication major in many years ago after a long conversation with Alane Sanders.’ ” Like Clemens, Cynthia Allen ’67 has maintained a strong connection with her Alpha Xi Delta sisters since earning a Bachelor of Science in Organic Chemistry from Marietta. She and seven of her sisters meet about every five years.

“We live all over the country, so we use our geographical difference to show each other where we live,” she says. “Each time we get together, we catch up and find that we still have a huge amount in common.”

From the moment she was recruited from her high school in Baltimore, Maryland, she knew Marietta would be a great fit.

“There was lots to offer — so many experiences that are still vivid in my memory,” she says. “There was a person in the area who had Arabian horses and the school offered that we could take lessons … we would learn how to saddle up, put their bridles on and ride. My experiences at Marietta were vast. As much as I was a scientist, because of the great education, I wasn’t holed up in a lab, but was able to have adventures and advantages such as taking (Chic) Peterson’s art class, working in the radio station as an engineer and being exposed to rowing for the first time.”

In 1967, while she was still a student, men’s rowing won Dad Vail. She attended the reunion last year and also watched the races this spring.

“I met a young man named Max, who was rowing for Marietta,” she says. “He is a Biochemistry major, so we had a lot to talk about. I encouraged him to stay at the school because of all the opportunities Marietta College provides like rowing and getting a great education.”

All alumni have experienced poignant moments during their years on campus that seem to be definitive markers in their lifetimes. For Allen, it happened shortly after she arrived.

“In my freshman year in the fall, we all experienced the assassination of President John F. Kennedy,” Allen says. “A bunch of us were huddling under our umbrellas in the rain in front of Dawes Memorial Library.”

Listening to their radios in their freshman dorm, she and classmates felt compelled to go outside to seek companionship and solace.

“It was raining,” she says. “We would just talk randomly, and then I remember hearing the rain on our umbrellas and just staring, having no words.”

(Top) Catching up with each other’s lives, (from left) Kyle Thauvette ’10, Jordan Stryker ’10, Jessica Lipniskas ’11, James Inks ’12, Cody Clemens ’13 and Brandi Gillian Lantz ’13 spent some time at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh this spring for an impromptu reunion.

(Bottom) Cody Clemens (left) is grateful for alumni and lifelong friends like James Inks ’12.

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T

his spring, Regional Associations across the country planned their own version of Doo Dah Day, with a little help from Marietta’s Alumni Engagement Office and the support of the Alumni Association Board.

From Baltimore, Maryland, to Seattle, Washington, small groups of Long Blue Liners gathered to celebrate all things Marietta.

Among Cleveland’s attendees was Danielle Cisler ’05, who has been an active supporter of Marietta’s up-and-coming professionals.

As a Director of Consulting for INSIGHT2PROFIT, a company that combines technology and expertise to deliver sustainable growth to companies through implementation and management of pricing and profit strategies, she has recruited Marietta students for the company’s internship program. Though INSIGHT2PROFIT is a mid-sized consulting firm, it boasts three Marietta College graduates among its employees— Cisler, a full-time team member whom Cisler recruited to the internship program, and one graduate who was hired as a business analyst.

“In our firm, having great talent is critical,” Cisler says. “We need people with outstanding analytical and critical thinking skills, and also great communication and leadership skills. I know they got that in their Marietta College education.”

Cisler came to Marietta as a Psychology and Mathematics double major, but her time at the College could have justifiably ended as quickly as it started.

During her freshman year, she lost her mother unexpectedly, as well as a very close friend.

The Math Department rallied around her to support her through her grief.

“I came back and buried myself into school,” she says. “... For me, Marietta College gave me a place to feel at home.”

In 2012, Cisler lost her father, and once again, her Marietta mentors were there for support.

“When my father passed away, the entire Math Department came to his funeral,” she says. “Dr. (Mark) Miller, (Lauren) Brubaker, Tynan, (Matt) Menzel — they were there … I can’t tell you how much it meant to me.”

Cisler was working for Simonton Windows when she connected with Hilles Hughes, Marietta’s Director of the Career Center. She began attending networking events for undergraduate students and being a guest speaker and mentor to students in Marketing classes.

“I really look for any opportunity to give back by helping people open the doors to career opportunities,” she says.

Cynthia Palmer Szafraniec ’80 shares Cisler’s notion of helping build strong communities through support. She chose Marietta because a recruiter visited her high school and also stopped by her house. She and her family believed Marietta would be a great experience, and her expectations were met.

In addition to meeting her husband, Roland, at Marietta, both of her sons, Ryan ’06 and Andrew ’08, and her daughter-in-law, Loren Genson ’06, all graduated from Marietta.

As an alumna, the Sociology and Psychology major continued to champion the value of a Marietta College education. She volunteered through the Alumni Association to serve as an alumna ambassador during high school college fairs.

She also enjoys the variety of alumni events available to members of The Long Blue Line across the country.

“I attend all of the Marietta College events that my schedule allows,” she says.

“I had friends attend the Doo Dah Day event in Portland, Maine. (Alumni events) are opportunities to connect with people. It’s a fun way to meet people from other times and it’s also a pleasure to connect with current students.”

And the Marietta College tradition continues — that line always adding a new strand to strengthen the truss.

“I have a niece there now — Julia Palmer Losco ’21,” Szafraniec says. “And she loves it, just like I did.”

(Top) Alumni across the country made plans to meet in various cities on April 27 to celebrate Doo Dah Day Everywhere. Danielle Cisler ’05 met with fellow Pioneers in the Cleveland area.

(Bottom) Amanda Davis ’18 (left), Eric White ’17 and Danielle Cisler ’05 are fellow Pioneers and all work for INSIGHT2PROFIT. 18

SPRING 2018

“In our firm, having great talent is critical. We need people with outstanding analytical and critical thinking skills, and also great communication and leadership skills.

I know they got that in their Marietta College education.” — Danielle Cisler ’05

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SCOREBOOK

PION E E R ATH L ET I C S

BASKETBALL MOTHER AND DAUGHTER SHARE SPECIAL MOMENTS DURING RECORD-BREAKING SEASON

B

NATE KNOBEL

rooke Borich ’18 didn’t know what else to do but text her mother.

“Guess what I woke up as today?” the text read. “An OAC champion.”

Her mother, Cathy Clark Borich ’90, smiled and texted her back, “Guess what I woke up as today? The mother of an OAC champ.”

That exchange says a lot about their relationship, and how much each of them enjoyed this past season.

Brooke was an essential member of the greatest Marietta College women’s basketball team in school history. The Pioneers enjoyed an amazing 2017-18 season that led to a 24-5 record, the program’s first Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 44 years.

Cathy is arguably the greatest women’s player in OAC history. She still holds the career points record with 2,311 and was the first female athlete at Marietta to earn first team All-American honors in 1990.

She also has 14 school records, including season assists (209), career field goals (939) and season scoring average (23.6).

“A lot of people made the connection that I’m her daughter,” says Brooke, who made first team All-OAC this season after averaging 14.4 points a game. “It was hard not to be in her shadow a little bit. But we were two different types of players. She was such a hard worker, and I’ve never met anyone more competitive than her.”

When Brooke spurned a Division II scholarship offer to attend Marietta, Cathy had concerns her legacy might have a negative impact on her daughter.

“I didn’t want people to compare us or have some unrealistic expectations,” says Cathy, a member of Marietta College’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Instead of comparisons, fans of the program focused more on how Brooke and her teammates turned the Pioneers into a national contender — mostly over the past two seasons.

Kole Vivian, Marietta’s women’s basketball coach, credits Brooke for being instrumental in the rise of the program.

“She has gotten better each year and really took her game to the next level for her senior season. She was someone we could count on getting us a great look, especially late in the game when we really needed her,” says Vivian, who was named OAC and WBCA NCAA Division III Region 6 Coach of the Year. “She was also smart enough to beat the defense with a pass when she needed to. Brooke was playing her best basketball toward the end of the season. She averaged more than 17 points a game in February, including back to back 20-plus point games in the OAC tournament semifinals and OAC tournament final.”

Debbie Lazorik, who coached the women’s team from 1980-91, had the pleasure of coaching Cathy and then watching many of this year’s games with her former superstar.

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SPRING 2018

Royalty

“Coaching a player the caliber of Cathy Clark happens once in a coaching career, and I knew how special those four years were,” Lazorik says. “She was not only a great player but a great teammate who helped to elevate our whole program. Having the opportunity to see Cathy’s daughter play all four years, you could see where she had a similar impact on the team.”

What was also special for Lazorik and Cathy was how the 1990 team — and others from that era — have remained in close contact and how they bonded again during the 2017-18 season rooting on Brooke and the Pioneers.

“When it is all said and done, that is what matters the most,” Lazorik says. “The lifetime relationships that have stayed the course long beyond the basketball court are what I cherish.”

Cathy agrees.

“I had several of my old teammates reach out during the season,” Clark says. “They’d say things like, ‘I live in Boston and I’ll be watching the game on the internet tonight.’ That was nice to see and hear.”

Brooke believes this year’s senior class — Jenna Anderson, Amisha Herd, Ashley Barker, Marra Woods and herself — will remain close for the long haul.

“The five of us have been together from the start.

Being able to grow and blossom into something that we had in our junior and senior years has helped us develop a bond,” Brooke says. “We are all competitive and wanted to do this for each other. We stuck through a lot of hard times, and there wasn’t a better group to end our careers with.”

Vivian knows the 2017-18 Pioneers will have a lasting impact on the program forever.

“To be able to walk into Ban Johnson Arena and see our banner hanging to commemorate the championship is going to be so gratifying,” he says. “This year’s leadership group has taught the younger players how to prepare for a season and how to practice hard every day. As memorable as this year was, it is only going to be the start of a special run for us because of the people we have in and around our program.”

Brooke expects even better days ahead for the Pioneers.

“I’m sad it is over, but content with how it ended,” says Brooke, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Accounting. “I don’t regret how we lost in the first two years. We accomplished so much during my four years, so how can you be mad? There was a lot of team and individual pride that went into this season. In the end, we will always be the first Marietta women’s basketball team to win an OAC championship.”

TOM PERRY

BROOKE BORICH (2015-18) HEIGHT: 5-FOOT-7 POSITION: GUARD HIGH SCHOOL: BEVERLY FORT FRYE POINTS: 1,102 SCORING AVERAGE: 10.7 ASSISTS: 168

CATHY CLARK (1987-90) HEIGHT: 5-FOOT-6 POSITION: GUARD HIGH SCHOOL: BEVERLY FORT FRYE POINTS: 2,311 SCORING AVERAGE: 21.8 ASSISTS: 501

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SCOREBOOK

PION E E R ATH L ET I C S

GAME CHANGER

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SPRING 2018

JACKI E CUNNI NG H A M ’2 0 I S IM PAC T IN G T HE F UT URE OF MARI ETTA G O L F W I TH HER A M A Z IN G TA LEN T

PHOTOS BY NATE KNOBEL

W

alking up the fairway toward the green at the Par-4, No. 18 at River Greens Golf Course, Jackie Cunningham ’20 paused — however briefly — to enjoy the moment.

The sophomore from Little Hocking, Ohio, had already wrapped up the Ohio Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Tournament medalist honors and her ball was lying on the green for a birdie putt.

Cunningham was turning in the most dominant performance by an OAC woman ever, and the other competitors, coaches and her Marietta teammates were all around the green to celebrate what they had just witnessed over the last three days.

“I had to wait on the other two competitors to hit their second shots, and I just saw everyone around the green,” Cunningham says.

“I stuck it to like 6 feet from the hole. It was like a TV moment when you are walking up to the green and you want to take your hat off, but I didn’t want to be that person.”

She missed the birdie putt, which cost her from finishing even par for the 54-hole tournament. Cunningham still carded a 1-under-par 72 on the final day of competition in West Lafayette, Ohio, and finished 22 strokes ahead of the second-place finisher. Her final round 72 is the first sub-par round in OAC Championship and Marietta College women’s golf history.

“The conference tournament is our Masters Tournament,” says Cunningham, who shot a three-day total of 220 (74-74-72). “It’s the one we want to go out there and get the trophy. I just felt like I was in a different zone that week. It really was a different level of concentration, and after the first day, there was no letup.”

Marietta’s first-year coach, Tom Arison, who has revitalized the program that was dropped after two seasons in 2002, says Cunningham can be even better.

“She is a Division I talent at a Division III start up,” he says. “She is one of the best ball strikers in all of D3 golf. Now she needs to work on chipping and putting, but I could say that about almost any golfer.”

One week before her breakout OAC performance, Cunningham struggled through her worst 18 holes of the season. On the first day of the Wooster Spring Invitational at Mohican Hills Golf Club, Marietta’s top golfer had a meltdown and shot a 16-over-par 88.

“It’s always a battle against myself and not against the other girls,” Cunningham says. “It’s always the mental game. If you aren’t in the absolute perfect mindset, you are sabotaging yourself.”

Cunningham caught the OAC off guard and she finished first or second in eight of the 10 events she entered during the fall and spring seasons. But it took the right mix of circumstances for the prep standout to end up a Pioneer.

Coming out of Belpre High School — a school of about 415 students in grades 7-12 — in 2015, Cunningham was a three-sport athlete and class valedictorian. Confident in her abilities, Cunningham attended Ohio State for a year and made the golf team. She transferred to Ohio University for one semester, but she hadn’t found the right fit.

Itching to play golf, Cunningham heard Marietta was reinstating its program. That’s when Jim and Dee Cunningham’s daughter thought moving closer to home would be her best option.

“I got an email from her dad saying his daughter wanted to come home and play golf,” says Arison, who was the OAC’s co-Coach of the Year for women’s golf. “I needed one more golfer, but I did think it was a joke. Then one thing led to another, and he shared a video of her swing and I knew she could play.”

This from a player who has never had a lesson. Still, Arison learned the impact a 21-year-old could have on an upstart program.

“Having a talent like her put us in a different conversation. It set our team apart from other programs,” he says. “We can build this program into something special right now, but she’s also impacted the next 20 years of this program as well.”

For now, Cunningham is trying to play as much golf as she can this summer while working at Oxbow Golf Course in Belpre. Her focus is winning another OAC championship and earning a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships.

“I’m ultracompetitive and I thought I deserved a spot in the championships this year,” she says. “I want to play the way I did at the OAC championship all season long, and we’re going to do it against better competition. We’re going to go head-to-head against some of the girls who did make it.”

Teammate and long-time friend Jane Kubala ’20 marvels at Cunningham’s ability, but also her humility.

“We look at our team as a family, and everything we do is to support each other 100 percent,” Kubala says. “I already knew how good she was, but the three freshmen were a little bit shocked at first at how good Jackie is. But Jackie doesn’t like the spotlight on her. She’s highly competitive and wants to win, but you can’t help but like her. I think that’s why after a record-breaking weekend at the OAC Tournament you had opponents, other coaches and even other parents congratulating her and hugging her afterward.”

That moment is almost indescribable for Cunningham.

“I got hugs from everybody and when I saw my parents I just melted,” she says.

Cunningham is majoring in Sports Management, and she hopes it helps her land a career in golf.

“I wouldn’t be me if golf wasn’t a part of my life,” she says. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say playing the LPGA Tour isn’t a dream, but I’d also love being a PGA teaching professional.”

And maybe she’ll feel comfortable tipping her cap to a cheering crowd waiting for her on the 18th green.

TOM PERRY

WE NEED YOUR HELP With the relaunch of men’s and women’s golf in 2017-18 and men’s lacrosse in 2018-19, the Marietta College Sports Information office is asking for help in locating any information (schedules, scores, statistics, photos, etc.) from when those sports were previously played at the College as a varsity sport. If you have anything that you can share, please contact Sports Information Director Jeff Schaly at (740) 376-4891 or jeff.schaly@ marietta.edu. All materials will be copied for the College and the originals returned.

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DEVELOPMENTS

A DVA N C EM EN T N EWS

Fueling the Arts FIVE-YEAR RITTER MATCH CHALLENGE HELPS DONORS MAKE TWICE THE IMPACT

To contribute to the Ritter Match Challenge, contact Marietta’s Office of Advancement at (740) 376-4711 or visit www.marietta.edu/give

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SPRING 2018

NATE KNOBEL

D

uring the decades he’s spent teaching music and directing bands, Professor Marshall Kimball has seen what happens when budgets get tight.

“I think many in society see the arts as being an add-on in education — something that is extra,” he says. “So when cuts need to be made, the arts are looked at first.”

A year and a half ago, Don ’81, H’18 and Leslie Straub Ritter ’85, H’18 gave alumni and friends of the College another reason to eye the arts at Marietta first. At the time the alumni couple announced their $1 million donation to jumpstart a Music Therapy Program, they added a special challenge that would match all gifts to the Music, Art and Theatre departments up to $500,000 for five years. An anonymous donor added an additional $150,000 to the total, bringing the possibility for a total match of $650,000.

That challenge has had an immediate impact on the arts at Marietta College. So far, more than 25 donors have taken advantage of the Ritter Challenge Match.

“Because of their support, we have been able to redo all of our facilities, including our band hall,” Kimball says. “With this match program, we are seeing an intentional and incredible outpouring of support for the arts.”

Jarrett Stull, Director of Gift Planning and Major Gifts, says donors may support any aspect of the arts at Marietta College, including establishing an endowed fund or designating the money to be put to use in full immediately. This has allowed donors, in consultation with faculty, to get creative in areas they feel need to be enhanced or new projects that need to be funded.

“I worked directly with two donors who took advantage of the matching Ritter gift,” says Jolene Powell, McCoy Professor of Art. “One donor funded the Capstone and Annual Juried Student Exhibitions. Now we can prepare artwork for display and increase the awards for prizes such as Best in Design, Best in Painting and Overall Best in Show. The generosity of this particular gift elevates the exhibitions to be more professional and in line with juried exhibition best practices in the art and design fields.”

David Makuch, Associate Professor of Theatre, says donor financial support — including the gift Charlene Samples ’77 made supporting Theatre’s greatest needs — impacts virtually all areas of the department.

“The arts are supported primarily through benefactors, and theatre is no exception,” Makuch says. “Without the generous contributions made by supporters of the arts, our students would not be able to receive the caliber of education that Marietta is known for.

Funds donated to the Theatre program help in a number of ways, including production royalties and expenses, guest artists, trips to see professional theatre, support for attendance at and participation in theatre conferences, and facilities and equipment upkeep and upgrades.”

“The Ritters’ generous offer allows your support to be doubled, making a huge impact on our students and what they will be able to accomplish while at Marietta. We are grateful for the match challenge and appreciate this incredible support for the arts at Marietta College.”

— David Makuch, Associate Professor of Theatre Additionally, the Ritter Challenge Match has generated new endowments in support of the arts, including the Foraker Family Endowed Prize, established by Dan ’73 and Kathi Foraker, and the Rocky ’88 & Dee Peck Endowed Fund for the Arts, both in support of the Art Department.

“The Ritter gift challenge helps us continue to prepare students for the professional world, as well as give them unique-to-Marietta experiences, and for that, I am deeply grateful,” Powell says.

Donors who work for companies that also offer matching programs can triple their initial gift.

“For example, if a donor makes a $25,000 gift, and it is matched 1:1 by their company and 1:1 by the Ritter Challenge Match, the total gift becomes $75,000,” Stull says. “The donor, in this case, receives credit from Marietta College for $75,000, which qualifies them to be part of the Erwin Academy ($50,000+ lifetime giving).”

Stull notes that the donor is only eligible, according to IRS regulations, for a charitable tax deduction for the amount they personally contribute.

Faculty and students from across all disciplines will be impacted by this burst in funding for the arts — and the entire campus community is particularly excited that the Ritter Match Challenge still has more than three years left to go.

“These tremendous gifts are providing students expanded opportunities to study music, art and theatre,” Stull says. “The Ritters provided the vision to enhance the arts and issued a challenge to engage more dialogue with supporters, and our great alumni and friends are answering that challenge.”

GI SMITH

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MARIETTA MOMENT

D EF I N I N G M EM ORI ES OF COL L EG E L I F E

EARNING HER

ROCK STAR MOMENT

T

ROBERT CAPLIN

here were so many Marietta moments that led to where Alex Kirsch ’20 is today: completing an internship through NASA’s Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program — research that happens to be taking place for nine weeks this summer at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She is studying the formation of olivine crystals, a mineral found more in magmas primarily in the mantle of Earth and not on the surface, in these samples, which are mostly moon rock samples harvested during the Apollo 17 mission. Another exciting possibility came with the eruption of Mount Kilauea, which may cause her research topic to change slightly in order to study that volcanic event.

Earlier this year, Sue Hiser, the Administrative Coordinator in the Petroleum Engineering & Geology Department, sent Alex and other majors a link to the application. Though she was competing nationally against older, more experienced students, Alex took a chance.

“I said to myself, ‘Why not?’ and I applied,” Alex says. “Essentially, in the application, they asked me about my preferences for research, and in my application, I chose igneous petrology and/or volcanology.”

Long before she knew what she would be researching during this internship, she was already learning about igneous rocks in Dr. Paul Washington’s class.

“Without Dr. Washington’s Mineralogy and Petrology class, I never would have fallen so in love with the type of rocks I’m about to study with NASA, or the methods through which I’ll study them,” she says.

But ultimately it was an alumnus whose experiences at Marietta College led her to take a closer look at a liberal arts education.

“I chose Marietta College because it has a great Geology program, it was the most economic option for me personally, and my dad Glenn ’89 also went to college here and graduated with majors in Marketing and Entrepreneurship,” she says.

Alex considers Marietta her second home and loves the fact that the liberal arts curriculum allows her to major in Geology and pursue minors in other areas of interest — English and Chemistry — rather than narrowing her education down to a single field of study.

ALEXANDRA KIRSCH ’20 Alex is a Geology major who is also pursuing minors in Chemistry and English. She is currently interning with NASA’s Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program (PGGURP) in an internship coordinated through the University at Buffalo.

Do you have a defining Marietta Moment you would like to share?

Send us a description of your experience. Email: marketing@marietta.edu MAIL: Editor, Marietta Magazine, Office of Communication and Brand Management, 215 Fifth St., Marietta, OH 45750 26

SPRING 2018

Walter Strong ’55 was the epitome of a Marietta College graduate As a student, his academics focused on Economics and Business. He was involved on campus, serving as vice president of his freshman class, being a member of the Economics Club and captaining the rowing team during his senior year. After graduation, he joined Brown Williamson Tobacco Company — now R.J. Reynolds — and worked as a retail salesman, and was later transferred to Cleveland, where he retired as regional sales manager in 1992.

By all accounts, Mr. Strong lived a simple yet satisfying lifestyle until his death in 2015. What he left behind was truly a heartfelt expression of his gratitude for what Marietta College helped him to achieve. In his estate plans, he bequeathed the College the proceeds of his estate, including property in West Virginia.

In total, Mr. Strong gifted Marietta more than $1.5 million, which impacted the College almost immediately by completing the funding for the Lindamood-VanVoorhis Boathouse Renovation Project and bolstering the crew endowment, the College’s overall endowment and support for Marietta’s greatest priorities. By adding his assets — including land, mineral rights, and oil and gas royalties — to his planned gift, Mr. Strong’s bequest will continue to generate support for the College.

Including Marietta College in your estate planning is a great way to ensure your assets — whether it’s a bank account, retirement account, houses, vehicles or property — continue to support this timeless institution and impact the lives of future students.

To learn more about the benefits of adding Marietta College to your estate plans, please visit giftplanning.marietta.edu or call (740) 376-4446.

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CLASS NOTES

ON SHELV E S NOW Elise Lund ’11 recently published her first book, Puzzle Piece Phonics: First Grade through Corwin Literacy.

She co-wrote the book with fellow teachers Carolyn Banuelos and Danielle James.

“I was a first grade teacher in North Carolina when the standards changed to the Common Core. In order to meet the expectations of the new standards and reach children on all levels, PPP was developed,” Lund says.

The kindergarten and second grade editions are also current projects for the writing trio.

Since graduation, Lund has taught first grade at Cornelius Elementary in North Carolina, and is now mentoring in elementary schools and developing/implementing professional development for teachers to accompany her phonics curriculum.

Sue Amari ’73 published her second novel, The Year of the Red Fire Monkey, the stand-alone sequel to A Calculated Guess. “Both books follow a group of college friends reunited after their mid-seventies graduation from Marietta College,” she says.

A Calculated Guess was chosen for the Best of 2016 list, Akron Beacon Journal.

Gadbois majored in History at Marietta, and served as President of Student Senate, played on the Pioneer golf team and earned an induction into Phi Beta Kappa before graduating and continuing his education at Duke University. He was the recipient of three senior Fulbright research fellowships and four from the American Institute of Indian Studies. Gadbois retired from teaching in the Political Science Department at the University of Kentucky.

Though previously he considered The Beginnings to be of little scholarly worth, Gadbois was convinced by Vikram Raghavan, lead counsel to the World Bank, that his dissertation had “enduring value.” Raghavan and Vasujith Ram were editors for the book after Gadbois died in February 2017. Since its release, there have been formal book launches throughout India, as well as a panel discussion of the book at Harvard Law School.

SPRING 2018

Dale Davidson Chodos ’63 gave an update on her son, Powell Chodos ’88, who retired as a volunteer coach after coaching his three sons in baseball and basketball. Powell coached Little League for 15 years, and his teams won two district championships. His 2013 team, which included his middle son, made it to the state semifinals, losing to Westport, Connecticut, 5-3. Westport lost in the finals of the U.S. Championship. Powell also coached basketball for 13 years and coached his youngest son’s travel team from fifth to eighth grade. That team won 11 tournaments over that period of time. “This year was their last season playing together,” Dale says. “They went on to win the Fairfield, Connecticut, Springfield, Missouri, and Melford, Connecticut, ‘Hoopfest’ tournaments.

The parents and players held a party for Powell.

They honored his dedication, recognizing the thousands of hours invested in arranging games and practices, teaching the game, the strategies, sportsmanship and providing leadership and friendship to the boys.”

Amari is the recipient of the Award of Excellence in Feature Writing from the Akron chapter of Women in Communications, and her articles have appeared in The Plain Dealer, Sun Newspapers, Chicken Soup and Cup of Comfort series. Both books are available through Amazon.com.

Oxford University Press published the 1965 Duke University Ph.D. dissertation written by the late George Gadbois ’59 on the Indian Federal Court and the beginnings of the Indian Supreme Court. The dissertation was published in April under the title, Supreme Court of India: The Beginnings. It is widely regarded as an excellent historical perspective to present-day problems of the Indian court. He also worked on another acclaimed book, Judges of the Supreme Court of India: 1950-1989.

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Stan Fink ’61 retired from the practice of law 52.5 years after starting his law firm in Clark, New Jersey. Fay Kaplan Fink ’60 continues to work for the law firm Fink Rosner ErshowLevenberg, LLC, as its Financial Manager, now in her 51st year on the job. They live in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

Steve Gregory ’68 meets Barbara Garneau Kelley ’81 and they compare their MC letter jackets in her office at the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) in Bethesda, Maryland. Their professional paths cross because Barbara is executive director of HLAA and Steve is on the New Jersey Relay Advisory Board and is a consumer advocate. Steve began the Marietta College cross country team in 1964 after pleading with Athletic Director Bill Whetsell to start a program. Coach Whetsell gave him the title of “student coach” and Steve recruited the team, designed the course, ran the workouts, and drove the team to meets. Marietta cross country continues today thanks to Steve. Barbara was on the Marietta women’s crew under the coaching of Norm Lindamood when she earned her letter jacket. They commented, “Well, at least the jackets still fit us!”

Beth Thompson Miller ’73, Barbara Perry Fitzgerald ’73 and Bruce Miller ’70 know how to Bring Forth a Pioneer at Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Australian outback. This is the 20th country this trio has visited together over their nearly 50-year friendship.

Larry Price ’69 was inducted into the Southern Local School District Hall of Fame in February.

He was a multi-sport athlete at Racine High School, and excelled in basketball, football and baseball. He was drafted by the Washington Senators out of high school but chose to play for Hall of Fame Coach Don Schaly, earning four varsity letters and leading the nation in earned run average for most of his sophomore season. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Education, he taught for nearly 40 years in Ohio, mostly at Butler Tech in Hamilton, Ohio.

He was honored as the Cincinnati Economic Teacher of the Year in 1992 and coached baseball this spring at Lebanon High School.

While he is still dealing with assorted health issues, Peter Mandell ’74 has continued a growing level of volunteer activity at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito (www. marinemammalcenter.org). He is approaching five years as a Volunteer Docent and member of the Volunteer Rescue and Release Team at The Marine Mammal Center, he was honored to have been selected to a new position as one of the Rescue Volunteer Dispatchers for the Rescue & Response Team at TMMC. He says they are anticipating a busy season as the number of rescues along the coasts (TMMC is responsible for more than 600 miles of coastline) and the number of patients at the hospital all increase, keeping staff and volunteers very busy. Peter welcomes Marietta College alumni and friends in the area to come for a visit to TMMC to come see the work they do. He also welcomes any support, as The Marine Mammal Center is a private nonprofit organization heavily dependent on the more than 1,200 volunteers and any donations from the public who support the work they do there.

Jo Trigilio ’87 was elected to the position of Marshal of the 2018 Boston Pride Parade. Jo served as one of the lead organizers of the Boston Dyke March from 2000 to 2014. They now head the Boston Dyke March History and Archive Project, which makes archival materials publicly available online. Jo is currently the Director of the Graduate Program in Gender/ Cultural Studies at Simmons College. Jo’s current work focuses on non-binary gender and ethnic/racial intersectionality.

Christopher S. Petro ’92 was promoted to vice president and comptroller for Ohio Valley Bank. Petro began his career at Ohio Valley

David Rutter-Faunce ’94 was ordained to the Holy Order of Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church under the imposition of hands by His Excellency, Most Reverend Peter Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte on April 14, 2018. As a permanent deacon, Rev. Mr. Faunce exercises clerical faculties including the proclamation of the Gospel and officiating at marriages, baptisms and funerals. The ministries of permanent deacons are focused on eliminating or mitigating the injustices and inequities endured by marginalized people and marshaling the Church’s resources to meet the needs of disadvantaged persons. Deacon Dave’s assigned ministries include end-of-life and hospice ministry, homeless outreach, prison ministry and marriage ministry. Permanent deacons must undergo seven years of spiritual, academic, ministerial and practical formation prior to being ordained. Rev. Mr. Faunce was ordained alongside 14 other men, with whom he underwent the long, rigorous diaconal formation process. David lives in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, with his wife, Teresa Dunfee Faunce ’94, and his two daughters.

CLASS NOTES

Bank in the accounting department in 1994. He majored in Accounting at Marietta. Petro is also a graduate of Financial Managers School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1998, he received Ohio Valley Bank’s highest honor, the Joycelyn M. Barlow Award of Excellence.

In his community, Petro has volunteered as treasurer of the Ohio Valley Symphony and coached youth softball and basketball. For approximately two decades, he has served as the chairperson of the OVBC Employee Community Fund, which provides donations to support local charities at Christmastime. Under his direction, the Fund distributed more than $18,000 to 64 local charities last Christmas.

This was the second largest annual distribution in the fund’s history.

Generations of Marietta alumni celebrating together. (From left) Jodie Lazasz-Burnett ’90 (Alpha Xi Delta), Rick Lazasz ’93 (Alpha Sigma Phi), Colleen Kelley-Lazasz ’92 (Sigma Kappa), Quinci Jones ’20 (Sigma Kappa) and Diana Porter Jones ’92 (Sigma Kappa). Rick Lazasz and Colleen Kelley-Lazasz are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Diana and Colleen have remained best friends for 30 years!

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CLASS NOTES

Jordan Kohun ’08 joined Matrix Solutions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a Senior Strategic Success Manager.

Ricky Ciccone MAED’08 was promoted to nickelbacks coach for the football team at the University of Toledo. He joined the program in 2016 as the Director of High School Relations.

Chris Beatty ’10 was promoted to assistant vice president of strategic sourcing specialist at PNC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Alan Varrasso ’96 has been promoted to Chief Information Officer overseeing technology support for Chase’s consumer, small business and auto lending businesses. In this role, he will lead technology delivery to the firm’s more than 5,000 branches and more than 16,000 ATMs. His team will also provide technology support for Chase’s 2.5 million small business customers and the firm’s $70 billion portfolio of auto loans and leases. Alan was formerly Chief Technology Officer for Chase Consumer Banking. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Marietta College in 1996.

Alan started in 40 games for the Pioneer football team, serving as a team captain during his junior and senior seasons.

He is a leader of the JPMorgan Chase Technology Hub in Columbus, which includes more than 5,000 technology professionals. He resides in Granville, Ohio, with his wife, Silvana, and their four children.

Amanda Cross Clark ’97 received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Kent State University in May 2018. Her dissertation, “Framing strategies and social movement coalitions: assessing tactical diffusion in the fight against human trafficking from 2008-2014,” examined the specific tactics of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking and provided insight into how organizational learning across nonprofits aided in their success.

Derek Hennen ’12, a graduate student in the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, won the 2018 Alwood Extension Award from Virginia Tech. The award recognizes entomology graduate students who dedicate themselves to Cooperative Education and outreach service. The award comes with a $500 scholarship and it honors the legacy of William Bradford Alwood, Virginia Tech’s first entomologist.

Ryan Marr ’98, Kris Cooper ’98, (second row) Eric Cooper ’97, Craig Trapp ’97 and Ben Dittmar ’97 met the weekend of May 17-20 for a tour of Bourbon Trail in and around Lexington, Kentucky. They found this sign at Heaven Hill Distillery. The group also toured Town Branch, Woodford Reserve, Three Boys, Buffalo Trace, Maker’s Mark and Limestone Branch distilleries. No other pictures will be released.

Viktoria Jurkovic ’07, ICM’08, is now the Consumer Affairs Program Manager at the Ohio Department of Commerce - Division of Financial Institutions in Columbus. Prior to that, she spent nearly five years as an OSHIIP Community Liaison with the Ohio Department of Insurance.

Rosa Hanks ’08 started a new position as a territory manager with CooperSurgical.

Logan Lewis ’12 joined Genesis Healthcare System in Zanesville, Ohio, as the director of physician recruitment.

Taimur Ahmed ’13 recently joined Morgan Stanley’s Business Development program in San Francisco, California.

Jared Cardiel ’14 was promoted to Associate Account Manager with Disney ABC Television Group in the Seattle, Washington, area. Prior to his promotion, Cardiel was an Ad Trafficker/ Product Coordinator.

Kiki Cunningham ’14 is working as a Certified Personal Trainer at Intensity Personal Training in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Ally Welch ’15 is a digital media specialist with Abercrombie & Fitch. Prior to that she worked in the public relations department at Talbots.

Johnny Cruz ’98 was named Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications and Chief Communications Officer at the University of California, Riverside. For nearly the past five years, Johnny served as the National Director of Public Relations at World Vision in Federal Way, Washington.

Joshua Streit ’99 joined National Decision Support Company as a senior strategic sales executive in February 2018.

Tyson Brown ’06 was promoted to Principal Day Ahead Market Analyst at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. He previously served as an expert portfolio management analyst.

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SPRING 2018

On March 9, 2018, Jake Verdoorn ’11 married Charissa Pederson in Cartagena, Colombia.

In attendance were Chandler T. Wittel ’11, who is expecting his first child with Laura Finck Wittel ’12, Brendan George ’11, Celia Brockway Macchia ’11, Emma Vierheller ’12 and Joshua A. Maxwell ’11, who is starting his doctorate in leadership studies in the fall. This completes all four marriages in the group of friends, and is perfectly timed with the ending of phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Devin Walter ’16 recently joined The Don CeSar as a banquets concierge in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.

Jennifer Naab ’17 was promoted to be a case worker with Washington County Children Services after serving as a supervisor at the visitation center. Naab interned with Children Services as a student at Marietta.

Lucy Welles ’17 has joined the Sinclair Broadcast Group as an incoming content producer/editor for WSYX-TV, ABC 6 in Columbus, Ohio.

Hayley Montgomery ’15 (Alpha Xi Delta) and Brandon Stewart ’15, PA’17 (Delta Tau Delta) were married on Aug. 15, 2017, in Sunbury, Ohio. Haley, who majored in Intervention Specialist Education, and Brandon, who majored in Biochemistry and also graduated from Marietta’s Physician Assistant Studies Graduate Program, live in Beverly, Ohio. Their reception was held at Irongate Equestrian Center. The Stewarts shared a photo of themselves with fellow Marietta College Pioneers: Dr. Carole Wylie Hancock ’75, Lindsey Kudaroski ’14, Ryan Turnewitsch ’15, Mitch Pieronek ’18, Justin McGinnis ’15, Janelle Patterson ’15, Blake Szkoda ’16, Phil Shaw ’14, Marci Estock ’13, Allison Sells ’15, Nick Brady ’15, Jen DeSantis ’15, Kaely Becker ’15, Sydney Gregory ’17, Karl Grant ’15, Shannon Garrison ’19, Taylor Hanigosky ’16, Keenan Hamilton ’15 and Jonah Mitchell ’18.

SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES AT MARKETING@MARIETTA.EDU

Alumni have fond memories of serving on Board of Trustees

G

rant Callery ’68 didn’t have to think long about his favorite memory of being a member of Marietta College’s Board of Trustees for the past 15 years.

Digging through a satchel, Callery pulled out a copy of the first diploma he signed for Lindsey Marie Anderson, who graduated on Aug. 2, 2008, as a member of the Physician Assistant Program.

Callery served as Chair of the Board from 2008-11.

“I can still remember as I was signing it, I said out loud, ‘I can’t believe I’m signing a diploma from my alma mater,’ ” he says.

Callery and Elliott Thrasher ’62 have completed their time on the Board and are now both members of the Cotton Society, which is made up of past Board members. As a part of that society, they will receive regular communication to remain connected with the work of the Trustees. Their final meeting Grant Callery ’68 (left) and Elliott Thrasher ’62 retired from the Board of Trustees. was on May 8.

Callery joined the Board soon after his daughter, Megan Callery Peluso ’03, graduated. Callery retired in 2012 as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in Washington, D.C. “The best part for me has been that this was a working Board with a serious mission,” says Callery, who is now a Trustee Emeritus. “Everybody was great to work with, and they took their responsibilities to Marietta College seriously, and we always had a good degree of humor.”

Thrasher, who is now a Life Associate Trustee, completed a five-year term on the Board and says he enjoyed his experience.

“I’m going to miss coming back to Marietta three times a year,” says Thrasher, who splits his time with his wife, Antra, in Lexington and Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. “It has been a great five years, and at 78 I decided it was time to observe from the sidelines.”

Callery says he missed just two meetings in 15 years.

“I’ve put more than 50,000 miles on my cars and probably spent more than 100 nights in the Marietta Hampton Inn,” he says.

“It’s all been worth it. This is probably the most rewarding thing I have done in my professional career.”

CLASS NOTES

Nathalia Ferreira ’16 was named Major Account Sales District Manager for ADP in Columbus, Ohio.

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IN MEMORIAM An error was made in the Winter 2018 edition of Marietta Magazine that incorrectly included alumna Margaret Doonan Pierce ’71 in the obituary section.

Thankfully, Margaret is alive and well! The editors of Marietta Magazine sincerely apologize for this mistake.

DR. MARGARET ROSS (4/19/1927 — 4/2/2018) Marietta College mourns the loss of a longtime faculty and staff member who impacted the lives of countless students during a nearly 25-year tenure.

Dr. Margaret Ross, Marietta’s former Counseling Center Director and Professor of Counseling Services, died on April 2, 2018, in Marietta. She was 90.

She came to Marietta in 1967 as a counselor. In 1968, she began a program of small group counseling sessions for students and became the Director of the

Counseling Center. Additionally, she served as a freshman orientation director, trainer for the Institute for Education and Training in Business, a professor in the McDonough Leadership Program, and as an ancillary staff member for Marietta Memorial Hospital’s Mental Health Unit. She also wrote two books and numerous professional articles.

Though she retired in 1992 from her full-time duties at the College, she continued to teach in the McDonough Leadership Program for many years.

DR. JOHN R. MICHEL (7/10/1939 — 5/15/2018) A leader in his field of applied mathematics and a dedicated professor to numerous budding mathematicians, Dr. John Michel, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, left an indelible mark on the Marietta College community, as well as in the overall field of math education. Sadly, Dr. Michel passed away on May 5, 2018.

Prior to joining the faculty at Marietta College in 1970, Dr. Michel was a mathematics research fellow, teaching assistant and research assistant at the University of Denver, and then worked as a systems analyst and mathematician for the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Because of his active involvement in improving math education, Marietta was among the first institutions to participate in “Reformed Calculus” projects, which originated from 1940s Janet Landwehr Jergens ’42 of Palm City, Florida (12/3/2017).

John A. Spargo ’42 of Hyannis, Massachusetts (1/18/2018).

Edward D. Jergens ’43 (Delta Upsilon) of Palm City Florida (10/26/2017).

Ester Gravenkemper Stowe ’44 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Marietta, Ohio (3/11/2018).

Frances J. Sugden Corlies ’48 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Belle Mead, New Jersey (11/2017).

Cora M. Huntsman King ’49 of Canton, Ohio (2/19/2018). Survivors include a son, Kevin R. King ’80.

Edward L. Pitner ’49 of Marietta, Ohio (3/10/2018).

1950s Charles J. Hoey ’50 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Palm Coast, Florida (2/12/2018).

Henry F. Jacobs ’50 of Sarasota, Florida (8/13/2017).

Orma M. Wilson Johnson ’50 of Rocky River, Ohio (3/5/2018).

Donald M. Shimer ’50 (Alpha Sigma Phi) of Canyon Lake, California (1/23/2018).

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SPRING 2018

Robert E. Arnold ’51 (Phi Beta Kappa) of West Lafayette, Ohio (2/22/2018).

Survivors include a son, Robert E. Arnold Jr. ’78.

Jack R. Conaway ’51 of Westport, Connecticut (2/13/2018).

William J. Reardon ’51 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Waynesville, North Carolina (3/8/2018).

Rodger E. Mendenhall ’52 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Marietta, Ohio (3/24/2018).

Marilyn J. Christy Schafer ’52 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Marietta, Ohio (3/13/2018).

Frances Hiteshew Jensen ’53 (Chi Omega) of South Bend, Indiana (4/7/2018). Survivors include sons, William T. Miller ’78 and Robert B. Miller ’80, daughter, Anne Miller Evans ’82, and daughter-in-law, Emee Wineman Miller ’81.

Donald E. Eros ’54 of Euclid, Ohio (2/9/2018). Survivors include his wife, Virginia Welling Eros ’55.

Theodore M. Belcheff ’56 of Milltown, New Jersey (2/16/2018).

Janice Craig Reif ’56 (Chi Omega) of West Henrietta, New York (3/11/2018).

June L. Immel Tebay ’56 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Punta Gorda, Florida (3/4/2018).

Duke and Harvard universities. He also wrote grant requests to the National Science Foundation that resulted in the math department receiving computers and software in 1989 to offer calculus computer labs.

Known for his excellence in teaching, he was recognized twice with the Edward G. Harness Fellowship. He received the Marietta College Service Award in 2002. He retired in 2004, earning the title, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics.

The Michel family is establishing the John and Katharine Michel Fund for Mathematics at Marietta College. Contributions may be sent by mail to: Marietta College Office of Advancement, 215 Fifth St., Marietta, Ohio 45750; or designate the fund online at: https://marietta.edu/give.

Judith S. Tilton ’57 (Sigma Kappa) of Pompton Plains, New Jersey (2/22/2018).

Raymond H. Poet ’66 of Portland, Connecticut (1/27/2018). Survivors include his wife, Janet Burkel Poet ’67.

Joseph A. Renert ’58 of Boca Raton, Florida (12/2/2017).

Rexford M. Ennis ’68 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Rogersville, Tennessee (3/6/2018).

Raymond E. Leasure ’59 of Fleming, Ohio (3/19/2018).

1970s

1960s

Cassandra S. Neill Handley ’71 of Columbus, Ohio (1/26/2018).

Budd L. Sprague ’60 (Phi Beta Kappa) of Canton, Ohio (3/18/2018).

John L. Morris ’71 of Kirtland, Ohio (2/15/2018).

Patrick H. Bowen ’61 (Phi Beta Kappa & Alpha Sigma Phi) of Bridgeport, Connecticut (1/30/2018).

Stephen K. Radis ’72 (Tau Kappa Epsilon) of Easton, Maryland (2/16/2018).

Survivors include his wife, Mara Gluth Radis ’72.

Arthur F. Cabral ’61 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Roswell, Georgia (1/23/2018). Survivors include his wife, Maureen Siekmann Cabral ’63.

Kenneth C. Margrey ’61 (Alpha Sigma Phi) of Tonawanda, New York (3/16/2018).

Sally A. Lewis Henson ’62 (Alpha Xi Delta) of South Charleston, West Virginia (3/28/2018).

Frank T. McMaster ’62 of Sewickley, Pennsylvania (2/4/2018). Survivors include a niece, Julie Jeffries ’93.

Denison F. McRell ’64 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Webster, New York (4/11/2018).

Martin C. Sagendorf ’72 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Bridgewater, Connecticut (2/6/2018). Survivors include his wife, Mary Dorey Sagendorf ’71.

Babette H. Bain Bole ’79 (Sigma Kappa) of Marietta, Ohio (3/24/2018). Survivors include her spouse, Brad Bole ’78.

2000s Jeffrey C. Houston ’06 (Delta Tau Delta) of North Andover, Massachusetts (2/22/2018). Survivors include an aunt, Pat Griffin Curtin ’69.

2010s Andrew P. Good ’10 of Columbus, Ohio (2/28/2018).

A LASTING TRIBUTE The following list recognizes donors and their honorees in whose honor or memory they have pledged gifts to Marietta College between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017.

In memory of Charlotte O. Manning Abercrombie ’37 Lucia Harvilchuck Estate

In memory of Foy and Dorothy Allen Cynthia D. Allen ’67

In memory of Nancy Pateman Anderson ’67 Barbara Kopp Del Duca ’67

In honor of R. Lester Anderson ’55 John G. Teichmoeller ’69 and Kathy Farnsworth

In memory of Anne Crawford Andrews ’58 Anthonij and Donna Jurgens

In memory of Paul T. Beach ’65

In memory of John P. Bohanes ’51

Anonymous Donor Charles and Nancy Furcht Bulger ’66 Ronald J. and Beatrice Littell Kota ’66 J. Roger ’66 and LaRue Scala Porter ’66 Kenneth J. ’66 and Martha Aulson Wilkinson ’66 Gordon and Lea Wright-Osborne ’66

Micheline Beardmore Westfall ’73

In memory of Dr. Theodore Bennett

In memory of Ronald F. Carlson ’72

James A. Murtha ’60

In memory of Richard L. Bergen ’37 Jeffrey and Judith Bergen

In memory of Roma Hopp Bergen ’39 Jeffrey and Judith Bergen

In honor of Prof. Steven D. Blume Daniel J. and Renee Bailey Gallagher ’84

In memory of William F. Brosnan ’86 JoAnn Brosnan ’85

In memory of Sylvia Brownstein Barry J. ’06 and Lindalee Brownstein William Jr. ’72 and Claire A. Annechini Amanda Carlson

In memory of Zane M. Carter ’13 Ariel M. Ross ’13

In memory of Dr. Wen-Yu Cheng Xuege Wang

In memory of Dr. Sandra Chisar Southwest General Medical Staff

M A R I E T TA

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A LASTING TRIBUTE

In memory of M. Joan Russell Clutter ’63 Charles C. Savery ’61

In memory of Paul S. Cohen ’56 Sheila S. Cohen

In memory of Kathyrn Conrad David B. Conrad ’65

In memory of Michael J. Conte ’06 Jeff and Tammie Nathaniel Ryan P. Szafraniec ’06 and Loren N. Genson ’06

In honor of Timothy O. Cooper ’73 Andrew D. ’95 and Katherine Ferguson Elsa Ekenstierna Thompson ’56

In memory of Joan Ohlheiser Craney ’63

In memory of Frank M. Fenton ’36

In memory of Melvin R. Hathaway ’58

Eric E. and Lynn F. Erb

Dorothea S. Hathaway

In honor of C. David Ferguson ’63

In memory of Charles Herring

Andrew D. ’95 and Katherine Ferguson

Wesley ’72 and Joanne Blauss

In honor of Jonas A. Foit ’04

In honor of Dr. Robert S. Hill

Sarah E. Lane ’04

Sharon A. Moynahan ’69 and Gerald T. Moore

In memory of D. Arthur Fordham Jr. ’67 Jonathan D. ’70 and Denise Wendell

In memory of Prof. William H. Gerhold Marietta Artistic Ventures LLC

In memory of Dr. Peter E. Hogan

In memory of Nancy Jensen Gilroy ’63

Andrew J. ’03 and Kathryn Howey Meyer ’03

Ronald L. and Michelene Hutter Stewart ’63

In memory of Dr. James E. Hoy Jeffrey and Judith Bergen

In memory of Blaine G. Greenwell ’69 Mary Greenwell Zell ’69

In memory of Henrietta Huberman

In honor of Prof. Richard E. Crowther

In memory of Dr. Herschel Grose

Alfred M. Huberman ’50 and Corine B. Lipset

Elizabeth A. Ramsey ’07

Charles S. Taylor ’70 and Kim Iconis

In memory of Michele A. Darrell ’80

In memory of Timothy J. Grubert ’90

Evelyn Boyden Darrell Estate

In memory of Charles G. Dawes 1884 Jeffrey T. Vawter ’75

In memory of Dr. Jacqueline DeLaat Lindsay R. Shuba Donnelly ’05

In memory of John A. Douglas ’62 Nancy Stevens Douglas ’62

In memory of Nancy L. Drake ’67 William S. ’66 and Nancy Stilphen Deans ’66 Kathleen A. Lincoln

In memory of Anthony L. Drapelick ’57 Anthony T. Drapelick

In memory of Elizabeth Keitz Drapelick ’56 In memory of Geri Ebenschweller ’93 Barbara J. Freeland ’95 and Joel Hausser

In memory of Betty Erb

Donald H. Angus Jr. ’92 James P. Jr. ’90 and Michelle J. Cipollone Robert C. and Michelle Moist Derby ’90 Michael A. ’95 and Karissa Gleason Elizabeth A. Haddock ’89 Lee C. Kulinna ’91 Joseph G. ’89 and Heather Maguire James T. Mannato ’90 Stephanie B. Mitchell David and Megan Scully Orlandi ’92 Mark H. ’89 and Roxanna M. Patterson Michael Piotrowski ’92 Jeffrey J. ’92 and Veronica Powers Mark B. ’87 and Jane Richter Kevin R. ’92 and Elena L. Sexton Jonathan S. ’90 and Kelly Giles Stuart ’90 John P. ’89 and Karen M. Suter Shawn M. ’89 and Julie Talbott

In memory of Van L. Hall ’50 Carolyn R. Hall

In memory of Dr. J. Michael Harding Timothy J. ’00 and Stacy Binegar Brenda F. Jones Lon S. and Marke M. Vickers

Suzanne Knicely Schaly ’62

In memory of Dr. William C. Hartel

In memory of Laura Scott Etter ’88

Arthur J. and Mary Ann Acton L. Gabriel Bach ’69 Peter R. ’68 and Elizabeth Haning Sorensen ’70

Laura Belisle Timothy O. ’73 and Susan L. Cooper Doug and Ann Frigge

In honor of Jacqueline R. Hartle ’11 Michael and Ann Hartle SPRING 2018

Margaret Barker ’81 and Clark Varnell Thomas L. ’81 and Melanie E. Guillozet

Richard C. and Sally Heckert Uhde ’63

Anthony T. Drapelick

34

In memory of Dr. Robert S. Hill

In memory of Anya Crum Huie ’97 Jocelyn Crum Brooks ’95 and Patrick Brooks

In memory of Dr. William Bay Irvine 1917 Elsa Ekenstierna Thompson ’56

In memory of Glenn C. Jackson ’35 G. Robert Jackson ’65

In honor of Natalie M. Jackson ’08 Elicia O. Banks-Gabriel ’08

In memory of Elizabeth Torreson Jones ’59 C. Sherfy Jones

In memory of Dr. Robert L. Jones Constance Jones Mathers ’67

In honor of Karen Clark Kenaley ’74 Douglas Kenaley

In honor of S. Roger Kirkpatrick ’57 Paul J. Cynkar ’73

In memory of Elizabeth Klugh Frank S. Klugh ’45

In memory of Richard M. Krause ’47 Evan and Tonia Bohnen

In memory of John A. Linton ’53 Eleanor N. Linton

Thane C. ’71 and Wilma K. Hecox Stuart A. ’72 and Beth W. Hile Joan Hushion Charles I. ’50 and Marian E. Kurner Sandy Lee James E. Luthy ’63 Brent and Libby Mayo Randi McDermott Duncan D. McGrew Miller United Methodist Church Daniel C. ’74 and Cheryl Marr Pottmeyer ’73 Michael D. ’74 and Cynthia Huck Pyles ’73 David W. ’71 and Robbie D. Rader Marilyn Christy Schafer ’52 Shonnard Family LLC Neal E. Watson Jeffrey D. ’77 and Renanne Cayton Welch ’78 Shelly L. Windeler-Epley Dale I. ’72 and Susan D. Winters

In honor of Dr. James H. O’Donnell III

In memory of Thomas F. Miller ’68

John B. and Jane T. McCoy

Jonathan D. ’70 and Denise Wendell

In Memory of Anthony J. Popp

In memory of Barbara Heckler Morbitzer ’60

Gregory A. and Jacqueline Brogan McDermott ’76

Edward A. Morbitzer Jr.

In honor of Chett Pritchett

In memory of Allison Morgan

Reginald E. Sims ’75

Joe and Kelly Holbrook

In honor of Dr. Janie Rees-Miller

In memory of Norma Jean Fischer Morrison ’63

James S. Kendrioski ’01

Emma J. Mercer

In memory of Martin S. Mihalov ’51

Dean E. Morrison ’62

Jewel S. ’81 and Donise Woodard

Luanne Mansfield Thomas and Margaret Marafioti

In memory of Dr. Eugene C. Murdock

William L. Lothes ’65

In memory of J. Gregory MacKenzie Margo Yonker MacKenzie ’67

In memory of William F. Maher Jr. ’73 John T. Jr. and Diane Maher Burgess ’74

In memory of James O. Mathers ’67 Constance Jones Mathers ’67

In memory of Frederick Maurer 1920 Benjamin E. ’00 and Pamela Baughman

In memory of Mary Jo Gabardine McCullough ’71 Ronald A. and Kathleen Ruddy Henrichs ’71

In memory of Prof. John D. McGrew Thomas R. and Leah Gruczkowski Holland ’93

In memory of William B. McVicar William and Roxanne Marshall Patricia A. Neader ’72 Robert and M. Louise Proctor Suzanne Knicely Schaly ’62 Clive G. ’61 and Barbara Jo Wallis

In memory of Carl B. Mercer ’50

In memory of Alex R. Miller ’07 Joe W. and Patricia C. McDaniel

In memory of Allen L. Miller ’71 Kevin Abramski Stephen and Dee Arnold Douglas M. and Jean A. Bergen Jeffrey and Judith Bergen Rebecca Bergen Daniel C. and Evelyn Schwarz Bryant ’84 Arthur L. ’58 and G. Elizabeth Buell Lee H. Child John E. ’71 and Deborah Rudolph Diaddigo ’71 Richard Dougherty Electronic Design for Industry, Inc. Steven J. Feldmaier Scott and Denise McDaniel Finney ’83 Betty J. Fleming Fleming Watson Financial Advisors, LLC Douglas M. ’74 and Sandra A. Griebel Robert C. Jr. ’71 and Joan Tucker Hauser ’72

Wendy L. Bartlett ’74

In memory of James E. Nay ’66 Andrea J. Nay ’99

In memory of Harley G. Noland ’40 David and Ethel Jackson Cara Noland Miriam C. Noland Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc

In memory of Joy Giebell Noland ’72 Ryan Jones Seth L. Noland ’05 C. Steven and Melissa Powell Dave and Jill Rodeberg

In honor of Brandee Norris Reginald E. Sims ’75

In memory of Mark Norris Richard E. ’77 and Carole Norris

Robert J. ’74 and Lynne Downey Goldsmith ’73 Outer Banks Lighthouse Society Mary Beth Rhoads Sommers ’75 Lauren K. Thompson ’07

In honor of Dr. Mabry Miller O’Donnell Gerry L. and Linda Lauer Lockhart ’93 Outer Banks Lighthouse Society Mary Beth Rhoads Sommers ’75

In honor of Syreeta T. Osborne ’16 Edward Osborne

In honor of Roger L. Patterson ’62 Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity Richard B. Harris ’68 Dante M. ’65 and Linda Chrysler Laudadio ’65

In memory of Jane McCoy Peterson

In memory of Leland Reeves ’80 In memory of Joan S. Reis Mark W. ’74 and Maureen A. Reis

In memory of Charles V. Renner ’36 Carolyn R. Hall

In memory of Judith McEvoy Repke ’63 Arthur E. Repke ’62

In memory of Paul F. Rosenberger Jr. ’79

A LASTING TRIBUTE

In memory of Jane Reigelman Lothes ’65

Robert and Vicki Banz Mueller ’81

In memory of Joseph W. Rutter ’48 Betty W. Rutter

In honor of Dr. William N. Ruud Elsa Ekenstierna Thompson ’56

In honor of Emily A. Schemrich ’17 Dale and Pamela Schemrich

M A R I E T TA

35

A LASTING TRIBUTE

In memory of Mort and Joan Schiff

In memory of John M. Stack ’08

In memory of Paul G. Tirlia ’75

S. Bertram and Deborah Schiff Robinson ’75

Marco S. ’10 and Logan Wern Aguiniga ’10

Timothy B. ’81 and Kimberly M. Tirlia

In honor of Judythe A. Stephan ’63

In memory of Mark R. Ulrey ’69

In memory of Donald Schilling

Sally P. Probasco ’63 and C.T. Wells

Max W. Jr. ’69 and Cheryl Hillman

Eric K. ’08 and Anne Zumbrunn Taylor ’08

In memory of James L. Stephens ’50

In honor of David S. Van Voorhees ’11

In memory of Dr. Stephen W. Schwartz

Lillie Nowakowski Shadle ’70

Robert F. and Ruth E. Van Voorhees

Arthur J. and Mary Ann Acton Beverly M. Schwartz

In memory of Larry J. Stoltzfus ’86

In memory of Esther Walp

Scott and Ruth Bergeron Robert W. and Carol A. Chase Digiulio’s Brothers Italian Cafe LLC Andrew D. ’95 and Katherine Ferguson Dana Hollie Marsha E. Hupp ’11 Martin T. Hupp ’86 Carol E. Jameson James D. Michener ’85 Camille Dumonthier O’Connor ’86 Anthony Smith David A. Spring

Thomas Lenon and Mary Walp Stripling ’65

In honor of Dr. Jean A. Scott Anna Bowser Bailey ’87 Paul F. and Barbara Perry Fitzgerald ’73 Marshall and Marcia J. Kimball ’87 Ross W. ’66 and Katharine Michelson Lenhart ’68 C. Brent ’68 and Charlene K. McCurdy Robert M. McManus Patricia Loreno Willis ’70

In memory of Roger D. Sellers II ’85

In memory of Prof. Russell Lee Walp Stephen E. Armitage Jr. ’71 and Debra Kalmakav David N. ’70 and Louise R. Bosley Thomas Lenon and Mary Walp Stripling ’65

In memory of Carole Shaw White ’60 William R. White ’59

In memory of Joel T. Wunnenberg ’20

Eleanor U. Shaffer

Reed W. ’68 and Barbara Brewster Irwin ’70

Andrew D. ’95 and Katherine Ferguson James A. III ’96 and Tara Meagle Shauntiel A. M. Qualls ’17 Donald A. Wunnenberg

In memory of Prof. William M. Sheppard

In memory of Mary Storey

In honor of Phillip L. York ’10

Richard Storey

Lorenzo and Phyllis York

Russell E. Bleemer ’81 and Nancy A. Rine Daniel J. and Renee Bailey Gallagher ’84

In memory of John B. Story ’49

In memory of David F. Young ’48

Charlotte Y. Sellers

In memory of Raymond E. Shaffer ’50

In memory of Dr. Dwayne D. Stone

Danny R. Siders ’74

In memory of Joseph G. Tamino ’69

Lee ’68 and Elaine Y. Alexander Robert D. Hunter ’66 and Mary L. Blackburn

In honor of Laura Baudo Sillerman ’68

James R. ’69 and Janice W. Howell Jonathan D. ’70 and Denise Wendell

In memory of Heather Zoller-Gritz ’91

Lynn H. Unger ’99

In honor of Christine Siders

Anonymous Donor

In honor of Lori A. Klinger Smith ’07 Elicia O. Banks-Gabriel ’08

In memory of Charles L. Spindler ’83 Micheline Beardmore Westfall ’73

James R. ’70 and Lynne A. Zoller

In memory of Ruth V. Thorniley Hawkins James H. III and Mabry M. O’Donnell

In memory of Matthew B. Tietjen ’53 Mary Just Tietjen ’54

SAVE THE DATE HOMECOMING 2018 36

SPRING 2018

OCTOBER 11-14

Class of 2018 excited, ready for what comes next Samba Hane ’18

H

e put in the hard work and was ready for life’s next challenges, but Evan Hensel ’18 couldn’t resist getting a little nostalgic as he prepared for Marietta College’s 181st Commencement.

“I’ve fallen in love with the Marietta College community,” says the Strasburg, Ohio, native. “There are endless opportunities for involvement and leadership if one is willing to put in the work to pursue them.”

Hensel was one of 252 undergraduates to receive a diploma on May 6, while an additional five master’s degrees were awarded. It was also the first class to wear navy blue caps and gowns with a white stole — something the MCAA has been requesting for years.

There were also two Doctor of Humane Letters degrees handed out to Don ’81 and Leslie Ritter ’85. They also received the first Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music Therapy — a program they helped start with a $1 million investment in December 2016.

“You all have a tremendous foundation of knowledge freshly acquired from Marietta,” says Don, who was the 2018 Commencement speaker. “It will serve you well as it has for myself and many others who have sat in your chairs previously.”

Another graduate was Ghana-native Baffour Nkrumah-Ababio ’18, who delivered the first-place Jewett Oration.

“Graduation is all about celebrating stories. Right from the moment we stepped foot in Marietta, we all took different paths, and at graduation we get to celebrate how our different paths merged at that moment,” he says. “Perhaps the most exciting thing about commencement is that it’s all about celebration, whether one was the best in class or not. On graduation day, every one of us is celebrated and that feeling is one that I will be carrying with me for a while.”

Both Hensel and Nkrumah-Ababio earned degrees in Petroleum Engineering. Hensel will soon begin his career starting as an offshore production engineer with Anadarko Petroleum, while Nkrumah-Ababio is hoping to find employment in the U.S. for a year before attending graduate school.

“Marietta has had a big impact on my future,” Nkrumah-Ababio says. “I came here wanting to leave as a petroleum engineer. I left with a petroleum engineering degree but a burning desire to want to help others realize their potential. Marietta helped me find my passion and because of that I am certain the rest of my life is going to be rich and fulfilling, and I cannot be thankful enough.”

PHOTOS BY NATE KNOBEL

TOM PERRY

Allison Watkins ’18 (left) and Samantha Welch ’18

OFFICE OF ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT 215 Fifth Street Marietta, OH 45750-4004

ERIC STEIN

Return Service Requested

THE PRO GR ESSIVE PIONEER

Adrian Roberts ’90 TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIES CALIFORNIA’S GENDER RECOGNITION ACT

“Anyone who knew me at Marietta College in the late ’80s probably remembers that I was always a pretty androgynous person, back before there were words like ‘genderqueer’ and ‘trans.’ When the term ‘non-binary’ started becoming a thing a few years ago, it was a total ‘ah-ha!’ moment, as I realized that was exactly what I had been all along — a person whose gender identity falls outside the overly-simplified norms of ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine.’

As a transgender activist, I helped lobby for California’s recent Gender Recognition Act, a landmark piece of legislation that enables one to choose a third gender option on state driver’s licenses. I’m a working DJ who travels frequently, and airport security checks can sometimes be a bit frustrating, since the letter on my ID doesn’t really match my gender presentation. But starting next January, a non-binary ‘X’ as my gender marker will immediately explain everything that a TSA agent needs to know. I also feel it starts to legitimize transgender identities in the eyes of the government, as well as society in general. I am ‘other’ and proud of it!”

B I O G RA P H Y: Adrian A. Roberts ’90, who earned a degree in Radio/TV and a minor

in Art, recently became the sole owner and CEO of Bootie Mashup, Inc., the San Francisco-based music and nightlife event brand specializing in mashup culture, which they co-founded in 2003. For several years now, their Bootie Mashup events in San Francisco and Los Angeles have won various nightlife awards such as “Best Dance Party.” In addition to DJing and producing Bootie Mashup events around the globe, Adrian — who is also transgender — recently became one of the first people in the United States to legally change their gender to “non-binary” in the state of California.