Marietta Magazine - Spring 2021

CELEBRATING THE PASSION AND WORK THAT IT TAKES TO BLAZE NEW TRAILS ALSO

Creating goals from the 2020 Alumni Attitude Study

Honoring the late Prof. Gerald Evans

PHOTOS BY ROBERT CAPLIN

TRANSITIONS

UNDER COVE R

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acemasks may be mandatory on campus, but they don’t have to be boring. Part of the Marietta College Cocktail to prevent the spread of COVID-19, facemasks have also become fashion statements.

MA RIETTA COLLEGE BOA RD OF TRUSTEES

M ESSAGE F RO M T H E PRESIDENT

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

Chair Matthew “Matt” Weekley ’81 Vice Chair Mary Studders Korn ’82

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short time ago, I was listening to the late great Dinah Washington sing “What a Difference a Day Makes,” and I started thinking about how much we accomplish in a day — as she says, “24 little hours” — at Marietta College.

How many impactful classes are held? How many meals do we serve in Gilman? How many friendships are sparked?

Secretary Mark Miller Treasurer Michele Marra

In February, I was once again reminded of how much success we can realize in a day during our fifth annual Day of Giving. To be fair, this year’s event lasted 42 hours — mostly because February 14th fell on a Sunday and we wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to participate had time.

And you certainly did participate.

I do not know about you, but I found myself hitting the refresh button on my web browser to see how much money had been raised since the last time I checked. I also wanted an update on how close we were to reaching our donor goal.

During those amazing 2,520 minutes, our alumni, students, families, donors, friends and employees showed an unprecedented amount of love for Marietta College. After everything was counted, 1,314 donors gave $227,394.

Simply amazing!!

Even more impressive is the incredible impact this will have on our students and faculty. Your generous gifts will allow Marietta College to offer scholarship funds for a student in need, assist a faculty member with travel expenses to a conference, and provide additional dollars to help our theatre program purchase the rights to perform a play.

These are just a few examples. Let me assure you that the donations from Day of Giving are felt and appreciated across every aspect of our remarkable campus. It is also why giving to The Marietta Fund — for which we receive donations every day throughout the year — provides the College with an extraordinary ability to create change in so many positive ways.

And when we stand together, the impact can last a lifetime.

Jerry Tardivo Alcoser ’02 Robert M. (Bob) Brucken ’56 Brian Brucken ’94 Jan D. Dils ’90 Janice Downey Donoghue ’75 Harry H. (Hap) Esbenshade George W. Fenton Andrew D. Ferguson ’95 James B. (Jim) Fryfogle ’73 Richard A. (Rich) Galen ’68 Susan M. Cook Hayes ’98 John E. (Jack) Hopkins ’65 Di Ann Krivchenia Daniel (Dan) Leonard ’85 Michael L. Moffitt ’91 Kevin R. O’Neill ’87 Stephanie Esparza Peloquin ’06 Marc R. Ponchione ’96 Jason C. Rebrook ’96 Leslie Straub Ritter ’85 William (Bill) Ruud Michael J. (Mike) Salvino ’87 Charles W. (Chuck) Sulerzyski Jo Ellen Diehl Yeary ’76 Patricia (Patti) Kral Zecchi ’71 A LUMN I A SSOC IATION BOA RD OF D IREC TORS Chair John E. Hopkins ’65

What a difference a day made, and the difference is you!!

Vice Chair Susan Hauck-Bell ’85

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

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Paul D. Adams ’69 Bret W. Allphin ’01 Brian R. Ashton ’08 Patricia Bain Bachner ’77 Timothy W. Byers ’06 Marianne Candido ’85 Melissa Yusko Clawson ’05 Cody M. Clemens ’13 Keith T. Coleman ’77 Paul R. Geisler ’87 Michael R. Joliat ’06 Adam S. Kopp ’88 Mark K. Lane ’01, PA’04 Kathy Wilcox Lentner ’97 Nancey Kaplan McCann ’76 Tiesha Anderson Monroe ’14 Anna Bock Mullins ’04 Gene A. Neill ’16 Rocky A. Peck ’88 Christine Zernick Suter ’84 James S. Wilson ’69 Ruth C. Gilbert Whitner ’72

CONTENTS

SP RI N G 2 0 2 1

Inside this issue

PRESIDENT Dr. William N. Ruud

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PROVOST Dr. Janet Bland

DE F I N I NG A PI O NE E R

There is no set profession, achievement, financial status or age that defines a Pioneer. Marietta’s trailblazers follow their own passions and impact communities throughout the country and the world in a variety of ways. This issue unveils the College’s new “I, Pioneer” multimedia series.

Features 4 6

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

Tracking COVID-19 Active Duty Rob Dyson ’68 Alumni Attitude Study 1980-81 Snapshot

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DE VE LO PM E N T S

Remembering Jack Iams ’51

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SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES Michele Marra VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT Dr. Josh Jacobs VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATION & BRAND MANAGEMENT Tom Perry VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Scot Schaeffer VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFE & DIVERSITY Dr. Richard Danford DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Larry Hiser EDITOR Gi Smith ART DIRECTOR Ryan Zundell PHOTOGRAPHERS Serena Burroughs, Robert Caplin, Rick Dole, Getty Images, Special Collections, Nate Knobel, Phil Mason, Jodi Miller, Tom Perry, Marc Pitler, Rob Sprague/Edge Photography, Jeff Stern, Rebecca Wheeler WRITERS Chris Rynd

MARI E T TA M O M E N T

Defining memories of college life

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C L ASS NOT E S

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 Vice President of Communication and Brand Management at Marietta.

CO N TAC T US 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

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MARIETTA SCENE

N E W AN D N OTABL E

Ben Heckathorn ’22 (left) and Logan McPherson ’22 are among the 16 brothers in the recently re-chartered Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Read more about the fraternity’s return to campus at www.marietta.edu/mag/w21/reviving-brotherhood.

LON G BLUE LIN ES

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GI SMI TH, E DI TOR

s the Communication and Brand Management Office, our team is always looking for ways to enhance and improve the methods in which we share Marietta College’s story to our various audiences: prospective students and their families, current students and employees, and, of course, our alumni. It’s a lot of market research, responding to feedback that our readers graciously provide, and group brainstorming sessions — and at the start of every new project is the dreaded “bring your best ideas” next-day All-Staff Meeting Invite sent by TP at 10:57 p.m. Sunday. I strongly suspect that he creates the draft email at 5:28 p.m. Friday.

The last full-on Big Idea meeting happened at the start of 2020 — just as the last printed issue of Marietta Magazine was being mailed.

The thought of an hours-long group session never sounds appealing,

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First-year Physician Assistant student Kathryn Kissner PA’22 volunteered to give COVID-19 vaccine shots at a drive-through clinic with Memorial Health System in Marietta.

but I must admit that some really good stuff comes out of them. And though many of the ideas are not quite as feasible as others — e.g. TP’s Disneyesque Hall of Presidents animatronic Admission Tour idea or adding a full-size triceratops to The Christy Mall — some of the initial ideas evolve during the meeting into truly creative and worthwhile projects.

(OK, the triceratops idea was mine, but only if we could Jurassic Park a real one, which we can’t because of “legal concerns” and science. It’s fine.)

The pandemic caused us to shift gears from that meeting, but the ideas that came out of that session also began filtering their way into messaging from the College, including quick videos, podcasts and additional newsletters for targeted groups.

As you will read in this issue, the big “Big Idea” from that meeting is the I, Pioneer series. And while we are pleased to share these stories in multimedia formats, it’s even more rewarding to know that this project is designed to evolve and to incorporate more creative approaches to telling the stories of what it means to be a Pioneer.

Featured soloist Joanie Owen ’23 (left) and Victoria Hughes ’21 perform “Turn Back, O Man” during the Theatre Department’s production of Godspell, which is set to stream on April 2nd and April 3rd.

R EVIEW

Track and Field’s Laura Pullins ’21 won the OAC Indoor Championship in the women’s high jump for the second straight season, clearing a height of 1.64 meters (5 feet 4.5 inches). Her team finished sixth in the conference.

COMME NTS FROM OUR R E A D E R S

Dear Editor: The review by Sheila Fogarty Johnson ’65 of the book The Pioneers

by David McCullough, that appeared in the Winter 2020 edition of the Marietta Magazine, reminded me of my thoughts after reading the book. I, too, thoroughly enjoyed it and want to share a few comments and a suggestion to Marietta College.

After seeing reference to The Pioneers in the Spring 2019 issue, I made a note by sending an email to myself and filing it under “Books to Read.” Luckily I found the e-book version online at my local public library in Mississauga, Ontario, and borrowed it to read on my Nook, a kind gift of appreciation after spending 18 years on Boards of Directors of the ATCC (American Type Culture Collection), an institution that assumes increasing relevance in the current COVID-19 crisis.

As a science student for four years at MC, I had little idea of the historical significance of the town of Marietta, Ohio — my own fault for not expanding my vision beyond the campus. Of course, I was reminded each time entering city limits that Marietta is the first permanent settlement of the Northwest Territories, but I didn’t put much importance in this, more than its fortuitous location on the Ohio River. Even though I took a first-year course on American history

(Professor Deets, as I recall) and I was a resident in Douglas Putnam Hall, I’m embarrassed to say that I had little to no appreciation for local history, as represented by the prehistoric Marietta Earthworks, the Great Mound, the Castle, the Campus Martius Museum and the list goes on.

David McCullough has described, in vivid and accurate detail, the challenges and hardships faced by the pioneers as they ventured west, and Marietta figures prominently in this historical account. I believe that the book should be suggested reading for all students admitted to MC, preferably before they arrive on campus. Further, I suggest that part of freshman orientation, if not done already, is a tour of notable sites and landmarks in the area. The Admissions Office might produce a virtual tour for prospective students who plan to visit the campus.

MC provides unparalleled academic and extracurricular experiences, but expanding students’ horizons into the historical significance of Marietta would offer additional exciting and eye-opening cultural insights.

Earle Nestmann ’68 William Bay Irvine Medal 1968

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 and Brand Management, 215 Fifth St., Marietta, OH 45750-4004

M A R I E T TA

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Predicting an

OUTBREAK

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PHOTOS BY ROBERT CAPLIN

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wice a week throughout Spring semester, Bobby Casto ’16 spends four hours trying to help Marietta College prevent a mass COVID-19 outbreak.

Casto, who majored in Geology and earned a minor in Environmental Science, collects wastewater samples from five different sites on campus for his company, Kemron Environmental, which does remediation work throughout the U.S. Marietta College’s testing sites coincide with the sewer systems outside of the residence halls: Fayerweather, McCoy, Harrison, Marietta/Newton halls, and Russell/Beach/Webster halls.

“Basically, we are getting a collection from these five sites and determining traceable amounts of COVID-19 in the wastewater from people who live in these dorms,” Casto says. “For COVID-19, this is actually relatively new. This is first time we’ve done it at Kemron, so it’s kind of a pioneering project for everybody here. … Doing this, you can actually determine up to five days earlier, prior to symptoms, if there is COVID in these isolated populations. It’s basically an early warning sign, and it will help your governing body decide what’s the best course of action.”

The College received grant funding to participate in the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 wastewater sampling study, which shows that noninfectious RNA can be present in the feces of symptomatic and asymptomatic infected people. The results are shared with researchers at Ohio State University and the ODH sponsors of this initiative, says Fred Smith, Director of Marietta’s Physical Plant.

“Because our flow rates at the manholes are relatively low compared the larger university residence halls in the study, we have been advised that the gene copies in some of our samples have been below the limit of quantification,” Smith says, adding that the researchers have been asked if the College’s results are in a range that would make the sampling methods valid, what levels should prompt the College to consider taking action, and if any of the results are actionable.

Smith says he also informed OSU’s research team that the College isolates and quarantines students in their residence halls and asked them how that may affect our test results. The researchers informed the College that “there is very limited amount of data on the COVID RNA shedding rates, but it is possible for people to shed the RNA in feces

up to 30 days after the symptoms. It is believed that the highest shedding rate is close to the peak of the disease (when people show symptoms) and then the shedding rate goes down. But ... there is not much data to characterize the shedding curve, especially looking at asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic or symptomatic people.”

Casto is excited to be able to work with the College to help his alma mater navigate its way through the pandemic and to help keep campus a safe place to be.

“It’s actually wonderful being able to come back to Marietta and help them out in a way,” Casto says. “They gave me so much, and I’m glad to be able to give back in some way.”

GI SMITH

Bobby Casto ’16 focuses on groundwater and soil sampling for Kemron Environmental, the remediation company he’s worked for since graduating from Marietta.

Welcome back, D R . D A I L E Y

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ROBERT CAPLIN

ix years ago, Dr. Jane Dailey made an epic decision to leave her position at Marietta as an Associate Professor of Communication to pursue another lifelong dream: thru-hiking the entire 2,190-plus-mile Appalachian Trail.

“All in all, I did it in just under six months,” Dailey says. “It was crazy and it was rewarding and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It was something that I had always wanted to do.”

Once that goal was checked off her list, Dailey began teaching at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana. When an opening came up in Marietta’s Communication Department, she jumped at the chance to return, and she is back as an Associate Professor of Communication and Public Relations. One of the biggest changes from the time she last taught at Marietta is the merging of the Communication and Media Studies programs into one department in 2016.

“When I was here before (2007-14), I was classified in the Media Department, which was in McKinney, but I also taught Crisis Communication for the Communication Department — so I was teaching in both departments,” she says. “Now that they are together, which makes sense, I am still teaching that way but now it’s under one structure.”

What hasn’t changed is the support from her colleagues, something she always found special about Marietta. “I can’t imagine a better group to work with,” she says. “I am thrilled to be back.”

Dailey is happy to be at an institution that values the close interactions between students and faculty, and emphasizes the development of strong communication skills regardless of major.

“My past professional work was working with scientists and engineers, geologists,” she says, “and I can’t tell you the number of times I had them come to me and say, ‘I wish I would have had more communication courses, even a basic public speaking course or a writing course.’ They were really good at writing scientific information but they struggled to be able to write in a way for the public to understand and to be able to communicate in a way using plain language. Marietta sees that and acknowledges that our students are going to leave and they’re going to be engaged in a lot of different things and different people throughout their career — not just one single specialty.”

Department Chair Lori Smith was delighted to announce that Dailey was rejoining the department and says her expertise and industry experience make her a valuable faculty member because she provides students with real-world examples and extensive knowledge about public relations.

“She just enhances the wonderful group of faculty members that we already have, and everyone is so happy to have her back,” Smith says. “I know she will continue her excellence in classroom teaching and advising, as well as provide her students with many experiential learning opportunities. Besides, I know if someone can accomplish the goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail, they can do anything!”

N AV Y B LU E & Q U OT E

“I enjoy giving campus tours to prospective students and their families because I get to show them my home away from home and why I love being here so much.

When a student I gave a tour to decides to come here, I’m happy because I know they will get a great education and college experience like I have.”

— Bobby Weber ’22 Student Ambassador, Office of Admission • Petroleum Engineering major M A R I E T TA

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M Celebrating

FOUNDERS DAY With COVID-19 restrictions eliminating an in-person Founders Day celebration, Marietta College maintained as much tradition as possible and honored its 186th birthday with a virtual party that included muchdeserved recognition of faculty and staff.

Edward G. Harness Outstanding Educator Award: Dr. Charles Doan Dr. Alexandra Perry Dr. Mark Schaefer Innovative Teaching Award: Beth Nash & Jolene Powell

Chris Ryan ’23

Douglas Putnam Faculty Service Award: Ben Cromwell Douglas Putnam Collaborative Staff Service Award: Roseanne Nicholson Major Advising Award: Dr. Linda Lockhart First-Year Advising Award: Dr. Jaclyn Schwieterman Staff Award for Mentoring: Franci Bolden Betsy Knott Dr. Jean A. Scott Staff Award for Distinction: Amanda Reynolds Dr. Suzanne Walker

arietta students had barely been on campus long enough to establish their routines for Spring semester when two Pioneers were called to make an “aboutface” in order to tend to the needs of their country.

Wyatt Saxton ’22, an Ohio Army National Guard soldier, and Chris Ryan ’23, an Ohio Air National Guard airman, were called to active duty just before the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. Saxton’s unit was sent to serve any needs that could arise at the Capitol during the days leading up to and following the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and Ryan’s unit was sent to Columbus, Ohio, to serve a similar purpose.

Saxton is an E-4 Specialist with the 1191st Engineer Company out of Portsmouth, Ohio. He works as a heavy equipment operator and is also on the Search and Extraction Team. Ryan is an E-3, or Airman 1st Class in the Security Forces Squadron at the 121st Air Refueling Wing based in Columbus.

“I enlisted primarily for the education benefits, but I also just think it’s a good thing to serve,” Ryan says.

He is a Petroleum Engineering major and a member of the College’s football team, and he appreciates how being in the National Guard allows him to also be a full-time student and athlete. “Also, my dad was in and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

The Ohio National Guard Scholarship Program provides 100 percent tuition to eligible Army and Air Guard members attending a two- or four-year public college or university.

Saxton’s unit was stationed about 45 minutes outside of Washington, D.C. In total, more than 26,000 National Guard men and women from 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia supported the Presidential Inauguration. Though it was the first time he had been called for active duty since enlisting during his senior year of high school, it would not be the last. Within a few weeks of returning from D.C., his unit was once again called to serve by helping counties in southern Ohio dealing with winter storm damage.

Still, he sees himself as a regular college student who happens to have other responsibilities; and he is grateful that his service in the National Guard will allow him to pursue a career working with the environment by enabling him to study Environmental Science at Marietta.

“I come from Appalachia, so we’re not the wealthiest bunch of people,” says Saxton. “I was never guaranteed college or anything like that, so in order to get an education and do what I love for the rest of my life, I had to make things happen. The Guard guaranteed an education and I took that opportunity.”

GI SMITH

Wyatt Saxton ’22 8

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ROBERT CAPLIN

Memory & COGNITION

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magine walking through your local farmer’s market and seeing a stall with grape tomatoes, carrots, romaine lettuce and russet potatoes grouped together. Now, if the potatoes were removed, does your mind naturally categorize the stall as providing “salad” ingredients?

What if the grape tomatoes were removed? Chances are that the stall without the potatoes relates more to your concept of “salad” than the stall without the grape tomatoes. Relationally, this example reveals that grape tomatoes may carry more information about the stall than the potatoes.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Charles Doan, along with a team of researchers from other universities, conducted a large-scale experimental investigation into how people process relational information and judge the informativeness of objects belonging to categories that they encounter in various environments. The results were published in the leading cognitive psychology journal, Memory & Cognition.

The research began while Doan was a doctoral student at Ohio University, and involved his faculty advisor, Dr. Ronaldo Vigo, and two other doctoral students: Dr. Derek Zeigler and Dr. Fnu Basawaraj.

“We are all members of the Consortium for the Advancement of Cognitive Science research lab, which was started by Dr. Vigo and has the goal of collaborating with researchers of all Cognitive Science disciplines to further our understanding of fundamental cognitive capacities in human and non-human animals,” Doan says. “To date, the collaborations

INVESTIGATING HOW WE PROCESS RELATIONAL INFORMATION You can read the Memory & Cognition journal entry at https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-020-01053-1 of the lab have involved research investigations related to Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics.”

Doan has incorporated some of this research into his Cognitive Psychology, Sensation and Perception, and Experimental Psychology courses, and is currently developing laboratory exercises based on the research that helps strengthen the experiential learning students receive at the College.

He has ongoing research that extends the published research. Levi Tucker ’22 and Alexandria Williams ’21, MAP’22 are working as his research assistants.

Williams is helping Doan with his latest research by running participants through the experiment and creating one of the scripts being used for the study. “In addition, I will be contributing to the presentation that we will be giving in April,” she says. “I may also assist Dr. Doan in creating graphs and writing sections of the paper he submits as well.”

Doan, who joined the faculty in 2018, says his Marietta team will be presenting some of the results of the extended research at the upcoming Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in April.

GI SMITH M A R I E T TA

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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT ROBERT R. DYSON ’68 “I have loved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1962 when as a boy I watched my first Indy 500 with my father, in seats our family is fortunate to still have today. The Museum celebrates the brave drivers, historic competition cars and the related stories about this incredible place.”

Rob Dyson, a longtime benefactor of Marietta College and Chairman and CEO of The Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, was named chairman of the board of directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in January. Dyson has been a longtime team owner, scoring a number of race wins and championships in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3cwxVNJ.

GOING ONCE,

GOING TWICE,

SOLD!

During Winter Break, Marietta College put the historic Gilman Post Office mailboxes on the auction block.

$22,644

1,800

Amount auction raised in support of The Marietta Fund

Mailboxes up for bid

1992

$500

Class year that placed the most bids

369

Highest bid

Mailboxes successfully auctioned

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#666

Mailbox with the most bids (10)

6,675

Mailbox #10 traveled the furthest distance to its new home (Kuwait City, Kuwait)

r. Cody Clemens ’13 didn’t think twice about providing a strong letter of recommendation for Delta Tau Delta brother Gabriel Hehr ’23 for a spot on the national fraternity’s Undergraduate Council. At the start of the academic year, Hehr learned that he was appointed to serve as an at-large member of the Undergraduate Council for a two-year term.

“So, my role for the UGC is to be one of the 11 voices to provide thoughts and opinions on how our fraternity can improve and what we believe is working already,” Hehr says. “For me, I’ve made it a goal to be the voice of Marietta College Delta Tau Delta-Epsilon Upsilon Chapter. Whatever could help our chapter, and potentially other chapters around the nation, I want to let our Undergraduate Council know and the National Arch Chapter know.”

Clemens, who is the former Assistant Chapter Advisor and current Assistant Professor of Communication, says Hehr’s appointment is an impressive accomplishment, particularly because Hehr is only the third brother from Marietta’s Epsilon Upsilon Chapter to be named to the UGC in the chapter’s 52-year history.

“When I saw the call for nominations, I immediately thought of Gabe for the Undergraduate Council. With his charisma, quick wit, and dedication to the mission and values of Delta Tau Delta, I knew he would represent Marietta College well at the national level,” Clemens says.

Hehr has connected with former Epsilon Upsilon brother Ashley Wollam ’08 for advice on improving the local chapter.

“I chose Delta Tau Delta because they seemed like they had a very diverse mix of personalities and lifestyles that I loved seeing, because I try to be as social as possible and get to understand and find connections with different people,” Hehr says. “I also was impressed at how their reputation was on campus. I had noticed that many members were a leader of a club or organization on campus and I saw it as an opportunity to open myself up for leadership success — of which this position I am in now for the UGC is a good example — and academic success. Knowing that my brothers and I have each other’s backs, makes my decision to join Delta Tau Delta at Marietta College one of the best decisions in my life.”

ROBERT CAPLIN

National appointment D

Bringing Back the GREEN

ROBERT CAPLIN

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hese brightly colored packages are a welcome sight this semester, as they signal the return of the reusable food packaging at Gilman Dining. During the fall semester, in an abundance of caution to reduce the possible infection and spread of COVID-19, takeout meals were served in single-use packaging — a step back in the College’s and Parkhurst Dining’s eco-friendly efforts.

“As part of our commitment to sustainable practices, we are excited to bring back the Green to Go Program,” says Adria Handley, General Manager of Parkhurst Dining. “In the past, Green to Go has been very popular on campus, and being able to incorporate this program back into Gilman Dining Hall was important to both us and our students.”

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MAKING BETTER C O NN E C T I O N S R E C E N T A LU M N I AT T I T U D E S T U DY HELPS STRENGTHEN COLLEGE’S T I E S TO LO N G B LU E L I N E

MCAA BOARD ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE ADAM KOPP ’88 BRIAN ASHTON ’08 TIM BYERS ’06 BRET ALLPHIN ’01 CHRISTINE ZERNICK SUTER ’84

Alumni Attitude Survey: • 15.76% response rate in 2020 was up from 10.68% in 2013 • 93% of respondents promote the College to others

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hat is alumni engagement? What does it mean, and how do we achieve it?

These questions form a regular topic of discussion for one special group of members of the Marietta College Alumni Association (MCAA) Board of Directors.

The MCAA Board’s Alumni Engagement (AE) Committee — Adam Kopp ’88, Brian Ashton ’08, Tim Byers ’06, Bret Allphin ’01 and Chris Suter ’84 — have tasked themselves with strategizing ways to connect the many, many members of The Long Blue Line with the College, current students and each other.

“This is the driving idea behind our 2020 Alumni Survey,” says Kopp, who chairs the AE Committee. “The survey gives a voice to our alumni, and asks, ‘How do you want to be engaged?

What do you think is important?’ Is it more regional social events? Is it having a connection to students or academic departments? Is it creating networking opportunities, so that our newest alumni can hit the ground running in their careers?”

Led by the AE Committee, the MCAA and Marietta College’s Office of Alumni Relations conducted an exhaustive survey in 2020 that garnered a total of 1,324 respondents representing a full spectrum of classes from the pre-Vietnam era to the present day. Of particular note was the 15.76 percent response rate — up from 10.68 percent in the 2013 study, and twice the national average for surveys by similarly sized institutions.

According to the new study, alumni satisfaction has also increased since 2013 — 96 percent of respondents have a good to excellent overall current opinion of the College. There is also increased interest in volunteering, connecting with current students and attending events.

For Kopp, being engaged is about giving back to the institution that gave him his professional start in life.

“I had a great four years at Marietta,” he says. “It felt like home to me. It provided a wide, even unexpected range of learning opportunities. I still apply the skills I learned today. Even as a freshman, I made friends with sophomores, juniors and seniors who are still my friends. AE to me is about deepening these connections over time and connecting with current students to pay it forward.”

Paying it forward usually means giving of one’s time, talent and treasure to advance the mission of the College.

“But this means different things to different people,” Kopp says. “And it changes based on where you are in life. I have kids in college now, so I may not be able to give as much financially at this stage in my life, but I’m very happy to come to campus to talk with students and help them in any way I can.”

Case in point: A young alumna recently reached out on a Marietta College Alumni social media group page to ask for advice on a career change.

“She must’ve gotten 40 responses to that post,” Kopp says. “I think Betsy Knott in Career Services replied to her as well. In the end, we got connected and I had a very productive phone call with her.”

Rate your decision to attend Marietta College.

67%

Great Decision

58% 27%

Good Decision

2020

36%

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“I learned about commitment and sacrifice in the name of team accomplishments.

Coach Bancheri was a tremendous influence.”

— 1997 Graduate

According to Kopp, the AE Committee meets monthly and has two major pillars, or active work streams: a social agenda, spearheaded by Suter and Byers, and a networking/career advancement side, headed up by Ashton and Allphin.

“Engagement has to be more than asking for money to support the College,” Suter says. “I want our alumni to know that we’re here, not to take something from you, but to give something to you.”

Suter was drawn to Marietta College by its smallschool atmosphere, which offered something most small schools do not.

“I wanted an engineering degree,” she says.

“Marietta was the only school of its kind that had a program in Petroleum Engineering.”

Like Kopp, through her academic program and other activities like Greek life, Suter made lifelong friends across the different classes, some older, some younger. When she graduated, she and her husband, Pioneer Navy alumnus Kevin Suter ’85, stayed connected by helping to host Marietta’s alumni presence at the annual Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia.

“This was before the Dad Vail became as commercialized as it is today,” she says. “We’d borrow a big funeral tent from an alum who was a funeral director and pitch it right there along the Schuylkill River. It was one of the biggest alumni reunion events for the East Coast outside of returning to Marietta.”

But as life progressed, she found it easy to get disconnected.

“Cell phones, email, the internet, we didn’t have these things that make it easy today,” she says. “We were in each other’s weddings and talked when we could, but as we raised families and people moved around or changed their phone numbers, it was harder and harder to stay connected.”

When the couple moved to Texas, they found one of the most active of Marietta’s 10 Regional Associations, and Suter found herself waxing nostalgic about the old Dad Vail days.

“That’s when I joined the MCAA Board,” she says.

“The kids were grown and I found I had a real appetite for reengaging with Marietta. I was reconnecting with so many people through social media that I hadn’t talked to in years, and it was like we picked up right where we left off. These lifelong relationships absolutely make a big difference. There’s something about Marietta that makes it easy to make these types of connections, even across the generations.”

When she joined the MCAA board, Suter was originally a member of the Development Committee, the group of alumni that drives the Day of Giving among other fundraising initiatives. She moved to the Alumni Engagement Committee because she saw an opportunity to reinvigorate the Regional Associations.

“Some of our Regional Associations are more active than others,” she says. “Tim and I are working to reengage the alumni who want to participate, but are lacking the organization and leadership in their locations.”

“What we are trying to do is make the MCAA a more active and visible organization for both students and alumni,” Byers says. “Pre-COVID-19, our focus was mainly on the Regional Associations and in-person

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events. In the past year, we’ve had to ask ourselves what we can do to continue to foster a sense of community, and that has led to new ideas from the entire MCAA Board, like the recent Connect Four Series and the Virtual Trivia Night event.”

Byers was recently recruited to the MCAA board by fellow members and friends Michael Joliat ’06 and Anna Bock Mullins ’04. Also a member of the East Texas Regional Association, he has been involved with Marietta since he graduated.

“I met my wife (Valerie Tharp Byers ’04) at Marietta.

I met my friends there. The Petroleum Engineering program fosters a great community by way of being a very demanding major and requiring us to work together,” Byers says. “As I branched out, I became involved all across campus in organizations like Student Senate, the RA program and Lambda Chi Alpha. … All of our personal and professional lives have roots at Marietta, and the College is very dear to our hearts.”

When the pandemic is under control, Byers hopes to duplicate the success of the East Texas Regional Association for others across the country.

“We have a strong core group of active alumni here in Houston,” Byers says. “And we have well-attended annual events that we all look forward to here. We hope to identify anchor groups and establish anchor events in each of our regions that we can build upon over time.

“My perspective and takeaway from the alumni survey is that alumni want more interaction from the College and with other alumni. It is our job to find the ways to broaden that interaction and the Marietta experience for the greater alumni population.”

Allphin concurs, and adds that one of the coolest things about Marietta is that alumni are very engaged.

“And even if they are not engaged, it’s clear from the alumni survey that they care,” Allphin says. “In AE we are working to create new opportunities for these alumni to connect with current students and recent graduates.”

The Alumni Attitude Study shows that Marietta alumni want to know that other alumni and the MCAA are playing an important role in improving the student experience. The survey results also indicated that identifying job opportunities for graduates, and recruiting and mentoring students, were the areas of highest motivation for MC alums.

Accordingly, Allphin and Ashton are focusing their efforts on bringing together alumni and students to give the newest members of The Long Blue Line an edge in their careers.

“The job market is especially tough right now, and any advantage we can give our students is critical,” Allphin says.

Their current work involves connecting alumni and students through the Career Center.

“The Career Center is a hidden gem that is very underutilized by students,” Allphin says. “Brian and I joke that when we were at Marietta, you would have had to take us by the hand and drag us there to get us to use it. So how do we change that perception and get today’s students to see it has real value?”

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How often do you promote Marietta to others?

All the time

14%

18% 31% 39%

Regularly

2020

47% 50%

Occasionally

2013

7% 6%

Never

0

10

20

30

40

50

Which of the following describes your overall current opinion of Marietta College?

65%

Excellent

48% 31%

Good

2020

44%

4% 7% <1% <1%

Fair Poor

0

10

2013

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Things

MOST APPRECIATED

about Marietta:

• Value of degree • Accomplishments of current students • Traditions

“Keep the emphasis on growing Greek Life. It is my fraternity connections that really keep me loyal to MC and reminds me of what it meant to me over the years. I think that loyalty would exist for years to come for today’s brothers and sisters.”

— 1962 Graduate

Opportunities for improvement: • More social media, invitations to events and solicitations are needed • Increased interest in volunteering and peer connections • Desire to hear more about alumni successes, student success and next steps of the College

Alumni Attitude Study: •

15.76% response rate in 2020 was up from 10.68% in 2013

•

93% of respondents promote the College to others

If on campus, what would you like to do?

• 37% meet with faculty • 34% meet with student groups • 23% meet with individual students

• 65% attend special events • 24% give a lecture or talk

He thinks one of the ways might be to break away from traditional models.

“Betsy [Knott, Director of the Career Center] is generating a great deal of energy around new programming,” he says. “A lot of it is a departure from the traditional mold of holding mock interviews and workshopping résumés and cover letters. You can go from Russell Hall to London and find hundreds of successful alumni stories. We are working to connect students — and even the academic departments that can use them — with these stories in a meaningful way.”

Hailing from a much smaller town, Allphin says his time at Marietta was the most transformational period of his life.

“I found the direction I was seeking in an environment that would help at the pace I needed,” Allphin says. “When I graduated, I felt prepared for anything I wanted to do. The experience I had at Marietta still resonates for me. The friends I made are still present.

I stay involved because I want other students to have the same life-changing opportunities.”

Allphin says his experience with the MCAA board continues to be a positive one.

“We’re all busy and we can’t meet often, but when we do get together, I can really feel the care that is expressed by each of us,” he says. “I also feel like the members of College administration — President Ruud, Josh Jacobs in Advancement and the Board of Trustees — take our feedback, our perspectives and suggestions, very seriously. It gives us a solid ground and an agency to help the place we care about, knowing that they are behind us.”

In the light of the survey data and his own personal experience, Kopp believes the way forward is to connect students with alumni earlier in their academic careers.

“Students need to know that there are alumni across every discipline who are ready and willing to help,” Kopp says. “They need to know that when they graduate, the College, the Career Center and the MCAA are a lifelong resource.

“Ideally, we should have alumni engaging students during their sophomore and junior years, and communicating that there is real value in these relationships over time. It all comes back to The Long Blue Line. It really is a Long Blue Line — we live it — and it’s up to us to keep it going.”

CHRIS RYND

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ifth Street still cut across the campus — Doo Dah Day was a raucous, mudand fun-filled event that took a few days to recover from — Professors like Dwayne Stone, Michelle Willard, Jack Prince and Herschel Grose challenged students in the classroom — and campus welcomed special guests such as then-candidate Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, just days before the 1980 Presidential Election.

This year, the class of 1981 marks the 40th anniversary of joining The Long Blue Line.

Special thanks to Jeff Stern ’81, the Photo Editor of the 1981 Mariettana, for preserving and mailing the entire negative book and contact sheets for the yearbook to the College.

If you have a favorite photo of your time at Marietta, please email a copy of it to marketing@marietta.edu, and remember, Homecoming is scheduled for October 22-23.

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H O W M A R I E T TA C O L L E G E ’ S

COMMUNITY HAS

EVOLVED THE PIONEER IMAGE

N

ot long ago, Marietta College made a bold call to action to students, alumni, faculty and staff: BRING FORTH A PIONEER. But what makes a pioneer? Is it a status that is finally achieved at the end of a long career filled with record-breaking accomplishments? Is the title reserved for someone who makes a life-changing discovery or reaches a level of fame in their profession that everyone else aspires to achieve?

Yes, of course, landing in any of those categories makes you a pioneer — but those aren’t the only benchmarks. Marietta’s pioneers are people who commit themselves to making their industries and their communities better, and who pave the way for future generations to take up the task and continue to push forward.

Marietta College has seen its fair share of clear-cut trailblazers — NASA astronaut and surgeon Dr. Story Musgrave ’60, acclaimed author Joy Williams ’63 and the late medical researcher and Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Richard Krause ’47, to name a few. But Marietta’s brand and call to action go well beyond people who are “the first,” “the only” and “the best of the best” — they reflect alumni, current students, faculty and staff who are driven to use their education, their skills and their situations to make an impact today and pave the way for others tomorrow.

While the Bring Forth a Pioneer brand will remain how Marietta expresses its mission and values as an institution, the I, Pioneer series is a way for the College to help the community understand the dialogue and the visual message behind what it means to bear that name today.

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“The challenge was to show that the term ‘Pioneer’ is still relevant, attainable and inclusive,” says Marietta College President Dr. William N. Ruud. “The Office of Communication and Brand Management pulled its creative resources together and developed a comprehensive way for the College to tell our pioneer stories and to illustrate their diversity in order to reach not just our immediate community, our alumni and friends, but to also reach potential, future Pioneers.”

One of the more inspiring stories that contributed to the messaging of the I, Pioneer campaign stemmed from a recent story in Marietta Magazine. Ashley Thomas ’14 was featured for being the first AfricanAmerican elected to a full term on Garfield Heights City Schools Board of Education. But the election was only the beginning for Thomas, a single mother of a young daughter. She began a community outreach program, Sevynteenth, to directly engage local youth, and with it she made a bold commitment: “I, Pioneer of Garfield Heights City School Board, will help change the lives of every student in this district by making sure every child has access to exceptional educational opportunities,” says Thomas, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Management and also holds a Master of Education from Cleveland State University.

For Thomas, quitting is not an option. Focusing only on her family’s needs is not an option. She knows that the path to improving the Greater Cleveland area in the long term is to focus on the children — and children need attention every day.

“When we first began discussing this project, Ashley’s name kept coming up,” says Tom Perry, Vice President for Communication and Brand Management. “She is a young alumna who very easily could be focusing on building her own professional portfolio, but instead has decided to put her efforts into building her community by providing educational opportunities and mentorships to local youth. She is inspired and she is inspiring.”

T

he paths pioneers take are vastly different and are made up of highly personal experiences that fuel their drive to do something special.

Adriana Roberts ’90 had no idea how her life would turn out after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Radio/TV, an Art minor and a Theatre-based Oral Communication Certificate from Marietta.

“I throw parties for a living,” Roberts says. “I jump up on stage, get everyone excited about having a good time and we have a dance party. You wonder, ‘How the hell did MC prepare me for this?’”

Looking back now, it makes sense to Roberts, who is the owner and CEO of Bootie Mashup, a California-based company that throws nightlife and mashup dance parties around the world. Going to a small liberal arts college, she had her hands in so many different types of clubs, projects and jobs — from learning graphic design as a work study student to creating her own radio show — that eventually her skills translated into an interdisciplinary career.

“It’s a confluence of skills that have been weirdly developed during my time at Marietta,” she says. “I was able to do my own independent study, make my own film, direct a play. What I was trying to do was to create my own major: creative media. I run my own business and can do what I do, weirdly enough, thanks to that liberal arts education. McDonough was brand new at the time, and though I wasn’t a part of it, the leadership and business aspects were trickled into different areas of the college. I run a team of DJs and performers across the world now. Because it was a small school, it was OK to be involved in a bunch of things. And if it wasn’t there, you got to create it.”

20

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Building a unique company wasn’t her only calling. Roberts, a trans activist who identifies as a trans feminine woman, was one of the first people in California to successfully change their gender to “non-binary” — and whose driver’s license bears an “X” in the gender category.

“My career and my identity — my day-to-day life — are not wrapped up in gender politics,” she says. “I’m a DJ and an entertainer and a business owner, and I want to normalize [gender rights]. Literally, we are only talking about humanizing people. … Awareness is half the battle. Most people are not aware of people other than themselves — whether that’s gender, race, religion. The way that I have chosen to live my life, I always try to lead by example. No soapboxes. I try to be as good as I can to other people.”

The I, Pioneer series includes a mix of stories, graphic design, videos, social media and podcasts that help create a fuller picture of the graduate, current student or employee. By taking this multimedia approach, the story of what makes a Marietta College Pioneer has a better opportunity to reach greater audiences.

“This can reach prospective students to show what they can be a part of, inspire current students to create their own paths — and it can also provide a tremendous resource for our featured pioneers to be able to use what we have created to promote what they are doing professionally,” Perry says.

W

hat Scott ’11 and Rachel Worthington Burnham ’12 are doing professionally has been many years in the making — and truly is a passion project.

The two met at Marietta as students. Scott studied to be a petroleum engineer and Rachel was focused on working as a public accountant at one of the Big Four firms. Both graduated, left the Marietta area and reached their individual goals, as well as marrying in 2015. But the downturn in the oil and gas industry and another passion that the couple shared — fitness — soon led the couple to move back to the area. Scott, who is still a full-time engineer for a natural gas distribution company, and Rachel decided to start a company in downtown Marietta: Rockstar Wellness LLC. “We had a lot of people tell us we were coming into an oversaturated area,” Rachel says. “We opened right on the heels of Planet Fitness, and there are so many other gyms in the area, but we felt really strongly about what we could bring to an area like Marietta.”

Outside of his 8-to-5 job, Scott is an avid runner who handles a variety of management and day-to-day operations at the fitness studio, which is located on Second Street. When the pandemic hit, the Burnhams were prepared to keep the fledgling business open.

“Mentally we were prepared,” Scott says. “It was one of those times that you just had to roll with the punches. That’s also how it is in petroleum engineering: you make the best decision with the best information that you have. Going remote was a challenge, but we navigated it very quickly.

We knew there was a demand, and we just had to figure out how to provide it. Our clients were still there, and they still needed to have what we had to offer.”

Rachel says walking away from her original plan to be a Big Four accountant in order to follow her dream of helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle was never a tradeoff. “My favorite story is of a young woman who came in for her very first class,” she says. “She works for a nearby bank and she knew she’d have to walk by our place every day, so she let a coworker talk her into coming.”

PHOTOS BY ROBERT CAPLIN

“We had a lot of people tell us we were coming into an oversaturated area. We opened right on the heels of Planet Fitness, and there are so many other gyms in the area, but we felt really strongly about what we could bring to an area like Marietta.”

— Rachel Worthington Burnham ’12 The woman had no idea what a fitness class would be like or how she would be treated. Rachel and staff learned her name the first day and got to know about the woman as much as she would share.

“She was a back row participant for a while and, within three months, she was shining in the front row,” Rachel says. “Now, she’s an instructor. It’s my favorite success story — being able to watch her confidence grow, and now it flows out of her. To me, that’s what this business is about; that’s what makes Rockstar one of the most rewarding things. It changes people’s minds and it changes the way people care for themselves. Can you imagine being able to help someone do that?”

L

ike the Burnhams, some current I, Pioneer profiles are people who have multiple passion projects.

Dr. Lauren Thompson ’07 is an Assistant Professor of History and Director of Ethnic Studies & Gender Studies at McKendree University in St. Louis, Missouri. She also wrote her first book, Friendly Enemies: Soldier Fraternization Throughout the American Civil War, which was published in August 2020.

McKendree is a liberal arts institution — very similar to Marietta, Thompson says — where about 60 percent of the student body is made up of student-athletes and there is a heavy focus on the arts and theatre.

“About a quarter of our students are students of color, and one-sixth of our students are international, so we are lucky that we have a lot of diversity,” she says.

In addition to teaching a Civil War course, her role at the university focuses on teaching race and ethnic relations, as well as some gender studies topics.

“I guess it’s my passion, but also because of the need of society right now, that I teach African American history and race and ethnicity in U.S. history,” she says. “But I’m also the Chair of Diversity Assessment and on the Social Justice and Equity Committee, and the advisor for the Black Student Organization. So, I guess I kind of made my mark on my university — not so much in Civil War, but a lot more in social justice and kind of using my privilege as a white woman to speak out about racial injustice and get a lot more people who look like me to listen and understand that Black history and Indigenous history is not something that you just study if you’re Black or Indigenous, but it’s actually American history. And until we understand the truth about what happened in our history, we will never learn; we will never grow as a society.”

Thompson says the journey to earn her Ph.D. and write her first book was an isolating experience. While many of her fellow Marietta grads were entering their professions or starting their families, she was studying, and home was where she attended graduate school or interned. Though she

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often felt alone — especially during long winter breaks when she interned at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia and was sometimes the only person living in the park quarters — she knew the experience would inform her teaching profession.

Coming from a family of teachers and having incredible mentors at Marietta College, including Dr. Jim O’Donnell and Dr. Matt Young, she knew her career as a professor would be modeled after caring and effective mentors. Her professors opened their office doors and also opened their families up to Thompson, who had lost her father while at Marietta and who sometimes could not return to her family’s Pittsburgh home because she didn’t have a car.

“That’s why I have a niche for not just history — which is obviously my passion — but for helping students like me who might not have everything figured out or who might not make really good decisions sometimes, but then sometimes really need somebody to sit there and say, OK, you can do this or you are going down this path of maybe not the best ideas,” Thompson says. “Or just be somebody who can be a voice of reason who is not a parent or a direct peer, but more of a mentor.”

L

ike Thompson, Dr. Kenneth Andrus ’70 also uses his educational and professional background when writing. After he earned a degree in Biology from Marietta, he continued to medical school — following the medical path of his father, who was a physician, and his mother, who was a registered nurse. He completed his residency and was Board Certified in internal medicine at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, and he decided to pursue a career in the U.S. Navy. After 24 years, he retired at the rank of Captain, and then worked for another dozen years with Veterans Affairs.

It was then that he almost retired.

Alumni like Dr. Andrus easily fall into the I, Pioneer-worthy category: Educated, passionate and interesting. Most of all, he is willing to share his interesting journeys and knowledge through his novels, which include the military-based thrillers Flash Point and Amber Dawn, which are part of his Defender Series, and his close-to-the-heart book, Congratulations, Your Daughter Is Engaged. Now What? A Father’s Emotional Survival Guide.

“In retrospect, I backed into this latest chapter in my life,” Andrus says.

“I’ve always liked to read — Michener, Allen Drury, Allen Eckert, Forrester. I

PHOTOS BY ROB SPRAGUE

“Life will present many second or third chances, be it your education at Marietta or in life. Seize the moment, seize the opportunities when they present.

Never leave yourself in a position to say, ‘If I had only done ….’”

— Dr. Kenneth Andrus ’70

22

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MARC PITLER

y ld Heights Cit ie rf a G f o r e e “I, Pion ange the h c lp e h l il w , School Board y this district b in t n e d tu s lives of every has access to d il h c ry e v e making sure .” opportunities l a n o ti a c u d e exceptional as ’14 —Ashley Thom

even plowed through Ayn Rand’s tomes in high school, although I about died trying Atlas Shrugged again a few months ago. What really drove me, though, was my experiences in the first Gulf War, where I served as the command surgeon for the Navy medical forces in theater.”

Though he didn’t go into details, he says he was compelled to write a book that provided some insight into the incredibly difficult decisions that had to be made during that experience that could not be espoused in a 30-second sound bite on the evening news.

“I.e., those behind-the-scenes decisions that began with the President and how those decisions impacted the men and women on the front lines who had to execute the mission,” Andrus says. “That rather well-intentioned, but naïve thought provided the foundation to write a novel — a project I had absolutely no idea how to do. But thanks to study over the ensuing years, writing conferences and a major assist from three phenomenal mentors, all New York Times best-selling authors: William Bernhardt, William Martin, and Jaquelyn Mitchard, I’ve managed to publish Flash Point and Amber Dawn, the first two novels of a five-novel set.”

With the vantage point of someone who has delved into and succeeded in complex professional fields, Andrus offers his insight — with zero arrogance — into his ability to have fulfilling careers in medicine, the military and the publishing industry.

“Life will present many second or third chances, be it your education at Marietta or in life,” Andrus says. “Seize the moment, seize the opportunities when they present. Never leave yourself in a position to say, ‘If I had only done ….’ Make the most of where you are and leave everywhere you’ve been a little better for having been there. Learn how to learn; always have an open, active mind; and learn how to adapt and thrive in these changing times.”

That guidance may be exactly what current and prospective students may need to hear as they determine which paths their careers and lives may take.

E

mily Kinney ’22 is one of those students who, though still an undergraduate, is taking on the easily identifiable traits of an I, Pioneer subject. In a small lab sandwiched between two larger biochemistry/chemistry labs in Rickey Science Center, the Biochemistry and Mathematics double major works alone on a research project, trying to determine the effect of heptyl paraben on melanoma cells.

During her solitary research, she takes a break to participate in a photo and video shoot for the Office of Communication & Brand Management.

She takes every opportunity to talk about what she would like to learn in her research, and is willing to stand in various spaces in the lab to set up the shot. Eventually, she knows, the guests in her lab will leave and she will be able to return to her real focus: determining how melanoma cells die when exposed to heptyl paraben — whether it’s through necrosis or apoptosis.

So why does a student who has not yet determined her career path earn a spot as an I, Pioneer? Simply, it’s her passion to work when no one is expecting her to or watching, and it’s her understanding of how she can help others regardless of her “professional credentials.”

“When I was a freshman, I would always walk by the doors of the research lab,” Kinney says, “and there were always older students there doing research. Seeing students in the lab gave me a goal to aspire to. I hope to do the same for younger students. In the chemistry research labs, the more experienced students help to teach the less experienced students how to do research and how to carry out the experiments.”

GI SMITH

Watch special videos related to this issue at XXXX

The I, Pioneer Series is an ongoing project — and we need your help identifying great representatives of what it means to be a Marietta College Pioneer! Submit your nominations to marketing@marietta.edu.

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SCOREBOOK

PION E E R ATH L ET I C S

NO BACKING

Down

FRO M A CO N G ENITA L HEA RT CONDITION TO A KNEE INJURY, KAT E LIS TO N ’ 2 2 CO N T IN UES TO FIND WAYS TO OVERCOME LIFE’ S M A N Y OBSTAC LES.

I

t wasn’t a typical response, but if you knew what Melissa Liston was contemplating, it made complete sense.

Upon learning that her daughter, Kate Liston ’22, had torn some ligaments in her knee, Melissa responded to the news by saying “Thank you, God.” With time to reflect, she realized why she got some odd glances.

What the casual observer didn’t realize is what was racing through Melissa’s mind. Almost eight years earlier, Melissa had watched a 12-yearold Kate fall to the court in the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center while playing in an AAU tournament. On that April day in 2012, Kate suffered a serious cardiac event that could have ended her life.

“So, you have to realize, all I could hear was [athletic trainer] Chyrsten [Gessel] telling her to breathe,” Melissa says. “When I realized it was just her knee, I was relieved.”

Kate doesn’t remember much about that day in 2012, but after going through a number of tests at doctor’s offices and hospitals, she was diagnosed with Long QT syndrome — a heart rhythm disorder that is typically fatal in children when they have their first cardiac event.

“I was lucky,” Kate says. “I believe God had a different plan for me, and that is for me to help others.”

At first, Kate had to eliminate all physical activity as doctors tried to figure out what triggered her cardiac event. Her parents took her out of school, and Kate was confined to her home in Little Hocking, Ohio.

“I couldn’t even walk the 100 yards or so to my grandparents’ house,” Kate says.

After hearing from multiple doctors that Kate would likely have to give up sports, a phone call about six weeks after the incident changed the overall outlook.

“My cardiologist called and told me that my heart condition is triggered by dehydration, which was the best-case scenario for someone like me,” Kate says. “Then he told me I could play sports again.”

Dr. John Phillips, Pediatric Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist at Children’s Hospital of Richmond, says it was less about luck and more about Kate having a low risk of a serious or fatal episode.

“We don’t know everything we need to know about Long QT syndrome, but when we can determine the genetic cause, we can determine the risk,” he says. “You can’t eliminate 100 percent of the risk, but you don’t want to go too far the other direction and eliminate everything.”

Dr. Phillips says Kate has been an ideal patient.

“You love to have a kid who is on board. As a pediatrician, 80 percent of 24

SPRING 2021

my time is treating the parent and not the child, because the parents are worried and have a lot of questions,” he says. “Kate has been amazing because she has taken her situation and made it about helping others.”

Now Kate must drink about one gallon of water a day, take her medication daily and keep an automated external defibrillator (AED) with her at all times.

“She has never complained once, but as parents it was so devastating at first,” Melissa says. “From the beginning, though, Kate has always said that something good was going to come out of this.”

Kate, with the help of family and friends, started Kate’s Kause — a program designed to help children in the Mid-Ohio Valley get a free electrocardiogram (EKG) to help identify others who may have a lifethreatening heart condition. Kate’s Kause was held every three years in April, starting in 2013, until the pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020.

Its future is uncertain.

“Once everything goes back to normal, I hope to get it rolling again,” Kate says. “However, the bigger goal is to get a bill passed making EKGs part of a sports physical.”

game, she was able to return to her old self with making big shots for us and helping us get those stops,” says Coach Kole Vivian.

Through the first three games, Kate played just one minute of action.

In the fourth game, Vivian needed a spark off the bench and turned to the junior. She responded in a big way with one basket and making nine of 10 foul shots that helped seal a victory over Baldwin Wallace, 67-61.

“I can’t even describe the emotions of being back on the court and being able to help my teammates,” Kate says. “My teammates are the ultimate reason I worked so hard to get back this season. Playing with this group brings me so much joy. I don’t believe there is another program that is as special as we are.”

Vivian says the knee injury was a devastating blow to the team, but he was confident Kate would put in the hard work during rehab to make it back this season.

“She was able to make each of her checkpoints during recovery, which is really difficult to do in a normal year, but then throw in COVID-19 and the struggles of finding a [physical therapist] and being able to meet with our athletic trainers regularly made it even more difficult,” he says.

N A M E : K A I T LY N N I C O L E L I S TO N AGE: 20 H O M E TO W N : L I T T L E H O C K I N G , O H I O MAJOR: MANAGEMENT M I N O R : C O M M U N I C AT I O N

PHOTOS BY ROBERT CAPLIN

FA M I LY: B R I A N ( FAT H E R ) , M E L I S S A ( M OT H E R ) , T Y ( B R OT H E R )

The pandemic also disrupted her rehabilitation schedule, since she couldn’t work with Gessel in person.

“It was hard finding out that I had to leave Chyrsten, because she is such a positive influence during rehab,” Kate says.

Melissa adds: “She had to do a lot of things virtually. I don’t think I can say enough positive things about Chyrsten. She was always there for Kate, even at 9 o’clock at night when everything else was closed down.”

Pushing through the tough days, Kate has once again overcome an obstacle and is back contributing to the women’s basketball team.

When the team was permitted to practice in October, Kate was limited to non-contact activities. She got cleared for 5-on-5 contact when the Pioneers returned for practice in December. Then it finally happened.

Some 382 days after tearing the ACL and meniscus in her right knee against Muskingum in New Concord, Ohio, and following countless hours of rehab, Kate was back competing with her teammates in a game at Otterbein University.

“We started her out a little slow with game action, but then after our opening Otterbein series where she saw limited action in the second

MOST POINTS IN A GAME: 17 (TWICE) DREAM JOB: CEO OF NIKE FAV O R I T E Q U OT E : “ D O W H AT YO U LO V E A N D LO V E W H AT YO U D O.”

Kate’s leadership skills have been invaluable during this unpredictable season.

“She does everything the right way and cares about her teammates so much,” Vivian says. “She sends out a weather text to them each morning, letting them know when the day might get hot or cold. She runs hard in every drill and puts in extra time working on her game. She keeps our team connected and is always in contact with the team. We really think the world of her.”

No matter what else she accomplishes, Kate’s parents already consider her their hero.

“She could score 100 points in a game and have the best season and that’s wonderful, but I’m proud of the person that she is,” Melissa says.

“She could never step on that court again and we’d feel she has succeeded. She has grown as a person. She has made connections. She is doing what she is called to do, whether she plays or not. What she has been able to accomplish has brought us great joy.”

TOM PERRY

M A R I E T TA

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SCOREBOOK

PION E E R ATH L ET I C S

ADDICTED TO

IRON

ROBERT CAPLIN

A L U M N A H AV I N G A N I M PA C T I N T H E W O R L D O F P O W E R L I F T I N G

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TOM PERRY

POWERLIFTING PROWESS Federation Rankings (as of February 1, 2021) AMERICAN POWERLIFTING ASSOCIATION NO. 1 ALL TIME AND 2020: WOMEN’S RAW, MASTER’S 45-49, ALL WEIGHT CLASSES NO. 21 ALL TIME: WOMEN’S RAW, ALL WEIGHT CLASSES, ALL AGES WORLD POWERLIFTING ALLIANCE NO. 1 ALL TIME: WOMEN’S RAW, MASTER’S 45-49, ALL WEIGHT CLASSES NO. 1 ALL TIME: WOMEN’S RAW, WEIGHT CLASS, ALL AGES U.S. POWERLIFTING ASSOCIATION NO. 6 IN 2020: WOMEN’S RAW, MASTER 45-49, WEIGHT CLASS

REBECCA WHEELER

H

er plan was simple: add some strength while training for a duathlon. Then things changed.

“My coach was interested in doing some heavier weight training,” says Christina (Biedenbach) Ullman ’93. “We started out with some heavier squats and I could tell that something was up because of the look on his face.”

Mitchel Wolfe, who owns Wolfepack Gym in Marietta, had discovered a hidden talent.

“I knew she had a little bit of extra sauce when I met her and we started training, but I was amazed at how abnormally strong she is,” Wolfe says.

After he convinced her to try powerlifting, Ullman quickly made a name for herself. In her first competition in December 2019, she won gold in the Master’s 45- to 49-year-old Raw Full Power competition. Since then, Ullman has claimed 10 world records in the World Powerlifting Alliance, 15 Ohio and seven U.S. records in the American Powerlifting Association, and 16 Ohio records in the United States Powerlifting Association.

“Mitchel asked me if I had any interest in powerlifting, and I told him I didn’t know anything about it,” she says. “However, I have been hooked since my first meet.”

Ullman, who turns 50 in May, was concerned about competing against younger powerlifters.

“The atmosphere at the competitions and the camaraderie among the participants are empowering,” she says. “You go out there to be your best self.”

Ullman had a true eye-opening experience at the World Powerlifting Alliance (WPA) World Championships in September. Instead of competing in Montreal, Canada, regional locations were set up around the world due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. She competed in Martinsburg, West Virginia, at the Eastern Regional meet.

“Everyone competed over four days, and at the end they tallied up everything and announced the winners,” she says. “It was 10:30 Sunday night and I knew people were just finishing because of the competitions on the West Coast. I wasn’t expecting to see anything posted, but I got a message from the WPA president that I had won.”

At first, she thought it meant she had won her age group.

“I was wrong,” she says. “I won the women’s overall. I was speechless.”

In November, Ullman earned the Best Overall Female Lifter again at the American Powerlifting Association’s second annual Monsters Powerlifting Meet. She also set 10 world records that day.

How much more she can achieve is unclear.

“She was setting records the first time she competed,” Wolfe says. “It’s hard for me to imagine how much better she can get. Every time we talk and I think she might be close to slowing down, she just gets better. I don’t realistically know what her ceiling is right now.”

SC R E E N T I M E AT HLET ICS EXPA NDS LIV ES TR EAM PROGRAMMING

T

he pandemic may have kept fans like Jay Schill, father of women’s basketball guard Hannah Schill ’24, from packing Ban Johnson Arena to watch athletic competitions in person, but it couldn’t stop them from rooting on the Pioneers from their couches, kitchens or anywhere else they could log in. This year, the College expanded livestreaming options for home games, including the addition of a coach’s show, postgame interviews and commentary during many of the competitions.

“We have watch parties and look forward to game days on Fridays and Saturdays,” Jay Schill says. “We still get dressed in our Pio gear and feel hyped up before game time. We love the interviews after the games with coach and the player chosen.”

With the exception of rowing and track, the College has been streaming home competitions for years. Last fall, the first crew race was streamed, and in January, the first track meet was shown. Jeff Schaly ’93, Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Information and Compliance, says the late Gene Haynes ’53, who was a lifelong supporter of Marietta athletics, is to thank for the high-definition broadcasts that fans have been able to enjoy online for free.

“With the pandemic resulting in no fans being permitted at athletic events,” Schaly says, “our video streams are now the sole source for our families and fans to see our athletic events.

The Cabinet approved a part-time position for MCTV, and thanks to Tom Perry (Vice President of Communication & Brand Management) and (Digital Content Specialist) Phil Mason’s willingness, we have been able to take advantage of Phil’s previous broadcast experience and he is now our lead commentator. Phil’s social media and streaming knowledge is also helping us, as he is working on creating our Roku channel.”

Schaly says the broadcasts also help coaches recruit new players, providing them opportunities to watch games live.

“We are really fortunate to have our media team here at Marietta College,” says Women’s Basketball head coach Kole Vivian. “Phil does a great job of calling play-by-play, and Tom is able to offer insight from talking to coaches beforehand.”

Watch the Pioneers in action and enjoy coaches’ shows at pioneers.marietta.edu M A R I E T TA

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DEVELOPMENTS

A DVA N C EM EN T N EWS

OF A KIND REMEMB ERI NG C ELEB RAT E D A RC H IT EC T A N D CO MMUNI TY S UP P O RT E R JAC K IA M S ’ 5 1

NATE KNOBEL

O

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n every project he was a part of, Jack Iams ’51 left his mark.

Whether it was his unique architectural design of homes and structures, his heartfelt commitment to restoring The Castle on Fourth Street, or his enduring support of his alma mater, Iams’s desire to make a lasting impact on the places and people he cared about will stand the test of time.

Prior to his death at age 90 in November 2019, Iams had always been there for his alma mater — regularly attending athletics events, interacting with students and leadership, and consistently supporting the College financially. After his passing, The Marietta Fund, which focuses on meeting the institution’s greatest needs, received a $1 million gift from his estate.

“He loved the College and always stayed close to it,” says fellow architect and longtime friend Harley Noland. “He got a warm feeling just being on campus. He went to the football games. He would take walks and chat with people there. He even designed a house for his fraternity that was never built because he didn’t work in the colonial style.”

Iams’s style is evident, though, in the many building and restoration projects he took on in Marietta and Columbus throughout his long career. He built three mid-century modern homes in Marietta, two on Hillcrest Drive and another across from Mound Cemetery on Sixth Street, which he built for his parents and retired to himself on their passing.

Noland describes his friend’s design style as favoring the practical and

“He loved the College and always stayed close to it. He got a warm feeling just being on campus. He went to the football games. He would take walks and chat with people there. He even designed a house for his fraternity that was never built because he didn’t work in the colonial style.”

— Harley Noland, fellow architect and longtime friend the efficient. “Jack was very meticulous in his designs, his planning and his personal effects,” Noland says. “He knew, for example, that he would retire in the home he built for his parents. He also kept and scrupulously catalogued all of his work.”

Thanks to that aesthetic, and due in large part to Noland’s efforts as executor of Iams’s estate, Iams’s canon now has a permanent home in the Special Collections of Marietta’s Legacy Library.

Iams got his start in the United States Air Force as a second lieutenant and housing project officer, where he was put in charge of building a large housing complex for a base in North Carolina. He then returned to Marietta, where he began working for, and investing in, many prominent businesses that were just getting their start here in the 1960s.

One such project — and a lifelong labor of love for Iams — was The Castle on Fourth Street in Marietta. Iams worked with the Bosley siblings on the original restoration of The Castle, work he continued through the years — even serving a term as president of its board following its transfer of ownership to the Betsey Mills Corporation. The Castle has recently spun off from Betsey Mills to form its own nonprofit, independent corporation.

The Castle’s current Board President, Judy Piersall ’71, bonded with Iams over their love of history and the city of Marietta. Piersall, who can trace her family lineage to Rufus Putnam, fondly remembers Iams

for his low-key demeanor, his dry sense of humor and his friendly spirit.

“I’d see Jack from across the room and the first thing I would notice was his bright, beautiful smile,” Piersall says. “He always had that smile for me. He carried himself with a quiet dignity. He was a well-rounded, engaging conversationalist. I enjoyed his company immensely.”

Piersall and Noland both attest to Iams’s civic-mindedness and his generous support of many organizations in Marietta.

“Jack was a lover of his community, and invested a great deal of time and talent in that love,” Piersall says. “We continue to appreciate his great love and support of The Castle. He was a consistent presence here. He is missed.”

“He was very involved with his church and with projects going on around the city — we worked together for 27 years to save the Armory on Front Street, and that’s just one initiative,” Noland says. “He was very generous to the people and places he cared for, including the College.

“He felt at home at Marietta College. It inspired a real affinity in him. That it inspires the same sentiment in so many others is probably the reason the College thrives to this day.”

CHRIS RYND

Will you help us open doors for future Pioneers?

Current gifts and planned gifts (established now but funded in the future) make it possible for students to fulfill their dream of a Marietta College education. Gifts to The Marietta Fund impact every aspect of a student’s experience, including scholarships, research, faculty and academic programs. To discuss how you can leave a lasting legacy, please contact: Josh Jacobs, Vice President for Advancement jej002@marietta.edu • 740.376.4705 M A R I E T TA

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SERENA BURROUGHS

MARIETTA MOMENT

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

TAKING A MOMENT TO HONOR A PROFESSOR

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

P

aul Adams ’69 doesn’t remember the first time he met Gerald “Jerry” Evans, the late Professor and Chair of Marietta’s English Department, nor can he identify any “aha” moment when a flood of memories about his mentor came rushing back. In fact, Adams knows very little about Professor Evans’s personal life.

“Jerry Evans was a private man. … There was a lot of turmoil on the Marietta College campus during those years and, to this day, I have no idea if Jerry was a Republican or a Democrat, whether he was in favor of or against the Vietnam War, or how he stood on any issue during that time,” Adams says. “He never spoke about those things; whereas many other professors on campus were very open about where they stood on those issues, particularly the ones that were critical of our involvement in Vietnam.”

It was Evans’s professionalism, the passion he had for literature and the utmost respect with which he treated his students that formulated a lasting image of Professor Evans. It was that enduring impression that led Adams to help rally support from an anonymous 1967 graduate to endow the Gerald Evans Scholarship.

Evans was hired by President W. Bay Irvine to replace Dr. Earl Russell Jr., who was joining Mount Union College’s faculty. Evans, a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, was still a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota when he began teaching during the 1959-60 academic year. Though he taught freshman-level English, which was required for all students, Evans also taught advanced The Gerald Evans courses such as medieval literature and grammar to students in the major.

Scholarship is a four-year “He was not like a father figure, nor was he a chummy kind of guy,” Adams says. “He was slightly renewable scholarship on the formal side; in fact, he called all of his students ‘Mr.,’ ‘Miss,’ or ‘Ms.’ And he treated every one awarded to a student with of his students with a level of respect that I had never encountered in high school.” good academic standAs a shy kid from New England, Adams recalls that he felt unprepared for the rigors of being an ing who is pursuing a active participant in Evans’s grammar class until the day he raised his hand to offer some sort of degree in the Humanities response to that day’s discussion. Adams recognizes that the manner in which his professor taught such as English, History, his courses — without relying on notes or scripted and recycled lectures — proved that he was an Philosophy, Religion, authority in his subject as well as a passionate and talented teacher.

Modern Languages and “He referred to my comment two or three times during the rest of the class,” Adams says. “When Political Science. Last year’s class ended and students were filing out, he looked at me and waved me over with his hand, and scholarship provided $1,100 said, ‘Mr. Adams, can I speak to you for a minute?’ and I thought, oh great, what did I do now? I to the selected student, didn’t think that I had misbehaved, but he drew me up and said, ‘I just want to tell you how much but that number varies on I appreciated your contribution.’ And I think, because I had been fairly quiet in that class, he said, ‘I the fund’s investment rethink you really have a feel and an understanding of this. Your contribution was very helpful. Don’t turns. Email Kathryn Gloor be reluctant to do that again, to speak up again.’” (skg004@marietta.edu) to From that day, Adams says, he felt valued for his mind and began to develop a closer bond with help support this endowed his professor through their shared affinity for literature. During his time at Marietta, Evans earned fund. the rank of full professor, served as Chair of the Department, and was an avid fan of the baseball program. The Harness Fellow Professor of English continued to teach for several years after he retired in 1992. He passed away in Marietta on January 4, 2000, at the age of 70, and was survived by his wife, Lyn, three daughters, Robin, Lori and Vicki, and one son, Paul, plus grandchildren and his siblings.

“I remember walking out of Erwin Hall one day, walking toward the center of town, and he wanted to get home to his young son. We had just walked out of class and we were talking about poets and poetry and how some poets were unrecognized in their own time but celebrated after they died,” Adams says, recalling how the two discussed Robert Frost as falling into that category.

Evans told his student that he had considered writing something on that topic and submitting it to a literary journal. He also suggested that Adams consider tackling it in a special project or Honors submission.

“After a couple of minutes, he had to go, he was in a sort of a rush,” Adams says. “I was thankful to have that moment with him. It was an opportunity for me to engage him in a way outside of class, and it struck me that he was what good professors are or do — and that he was thinking about his profession, not just when he was standing in front of a class, but all the time.”

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

M A R I E T TA

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CLASS NOTES

Richard J. Hanson ’64 retired from pharmaceutical companies after 30 years.

“Travel widely — rivers of Europe, Alps, United Kingdom and Ireland. Spend my winters in sunny Florida, otherwise in the Finger Lakes with our children. Living the life.”

Mike Sherman ’92 joined Linden Thomas & Company in September 2020 as Marketing Director. He still runs his own marketing and graphic design consulting firm in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.

Douglas E. Jessmer ’94 is the Media and Communications Manager for North America’s premier rowing facility, Nathan Benderson Park, in Sarasota, Florida. In his role, he has worked alongside national and world governing boards in rowing, triathlon, dragon boat paddling and other sports, and worked on the 2018 World Rowing Masters Regatta and 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, as well as ITU World Cup triathlons and paratriathlons and many regional and local championship regattas, offseason team training and community events. He also has worked on what would have been the 2020 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Time Trials — Rowing. In his off time, as a Lieutenant Colonel in Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force’s volunteer auxiliary, he remains involved in national publications and as a flight-rated public affairs officer and air crew member. He designed the current CAP logo and wordmark in 2018.

Eric Ostroff ’95 is currently working on the first installment of The Metacom Saga, which is the story of the King Philip’s War of 17th Century New England. The conflict is considered to be the bloodiest per capita in American history. “I have been engrossed in researching this project for the past seven years.” He is the proud father of three; and the grandfather of two.

He lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, and he can be reached at ericjostoff@icloud. com or on Twitter at @EricJOstroff.

Joshua Streit ’99 is the Director of Growth at Third Eye Health, which is based in Chicago, Illinois. Joshua is working remotely from Plain City, Ohio. Third Eye Health is the nation’s largest telehealth provider for post-acute care.

Bret Allphin ’01, who spent 20 years with Buckeye Hills Regional Council in a variety of positions, joined Sixmo Architects + Engineers as the Director of Community Development.

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Kevin May ’03, who lives in Avon, Ohio, was promoted to Project Manager at The Hillman Group. Kevin has worked for Hillman, which is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, for nearly 12 years.

Jennifer Sinclair DeSantis ’04 has joined ArmadaCare as the Director of Direct Marketing for the Hunt Valley, Marylandbased company.

Dr. Adrienne King ’04 was recently promoted to the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the University of Toledo.

2018. She will also be graduating from the UX Design Institute later this year. Lastly, Ashley is working on buying property in the Azores on a little island called Faial. “I figured, why wait until retirement to bring an absurd dream to life?”

Samantha Meranda ’07 is a Junior Project Coordinator at White Hawk Retail Services LLC in Columbus, Ohio.

Dr. Justin Rosenberg ’07 has successfully obtained Diplomate status in the American College of Zoological Medicine.

Becoming a Diplomate in the ACZM is recognized as being an expert in all things pertaining to zoo/aquatic/wildlife medicine and has been achieved by only approximately 250 people in the world.

Meg Foraker Graham ’08 was promoted to Account Supervisor at Targetbase, a marketing and advertising agency, in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.

Khrista Halaiko Achtermann ’09 was named the Young Professional of the Year by the Westerville Area Chamber and was also promoted to Director of Population Health Services at Central Ohio Primary Care in Westerville, Ohio.

Daniel Nofsinger ’05 and Jessica Kalus Nofsinger ’05 are proud to announce the birth of their fourth child, a baby girl named Adeline Rae Nofsinger. Adeline was born on October 24, 2020. Her older brothers Cael Daniel, Liam Michael and Owen Charles love their new baby sister.

The Nofsinger family lives in Navarre, Ohio, where Daniel works as a Senior Account Manager for DXP Enterprises and Jessica is a stay-at-home mom to their four young children.

Derrick Pottmeyer ’05 is working as a Senior Production Foreman with Southwestern Energy in Zanesville, Ohio.

Jennifer Moyer White ’05 is a Group Employee Benefits Agent at Schwendeman Agency Inc. in Marietta.

Matthew Peloquin ’06 has joined Harvest Midstream Company in Houston, Texas, as the Acquisitions & Divestitures Manager.

Ashley Halligan ’07 is working as a Content Designer with Instagram. She joined the photo and video sharing social networking company in January 2021. In June, Ashley will celebrate the third anniversary of Pilgrim Magazine (www.pilgrimmag.com), which she launched in June

Elizabeth Godfrey ’09 rejoined Offenberger & White, Inc., in Marietta, Ohio, as the Senior Content Manager.

She worked for the company from 2015 to 2018 as a technical writer and strategist before joining Washington State Community College for almost two years as the Director of Marketing and PR. She has worked in marketing for eight years and as a writer/editor for nearly 13 years.

Sarah Vadaj ’09 joined the University of Colorado in January 2021 as a Marketing Production and Traffic Specialist after almost six years of working for Newbridge Marketing Group in Denver, Colorado.

Michael Washabaugh ’09 has joined MedStar Health as a Community Relations Coordinator for the Columbia, Marylandbased company.

Melissa Varga ’10 was promoted to Science Network Community & Partnerships Manager with Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C. She has been with the organization since 2013.

Nicole Wires ’10, MCM’11 is working as a Campus Engagement Specialist at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

Corin Bonnett Fogle ’11 and Tom Fogle ’09 welcomed their new daughter, Elise Julia, who was born on July 28, 2020.

Danielle Stein ’12 was promoted to CIC Business Analyst with BMW Financial Services in Columbus, Ohio.

On Dec. 22, 2020, Brittany Metcalf ’13 and Levi Dein decided to elope. The couple currently live in Denver. “Due to the pandemic, the courthouse only would take us on 12/22, so that made picking a date pretty easy. We legally were married at the courthouse. We then swung wide and picked up a pizza from our favorite place.

After, we drove out near the Flat Irons in Boulder, Colorado, and exchanged vows.

Since this was a big secret, we popped champagne, called our friends and family on FaceTime to share the news and enjoyed our pizza. 2020 weddings looked a little different, but it was an incredibly fun and special day!”

CLASS NOTES

Amber Davis Christopher ’11 was promoted to Communications Manager, Integrated Marketing at Swagelok in Cleveland, Ohio. She has worked for the engineering company for almost three years.

Samantha Thomas ’13 is working as a Kindergarten teacher at Somerset Academy Charter Schools in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Becca Thomas ’14 joined Annexus Health in Columbus, Ohio, as a Marketing Manager and Creative Lead for the healthcare technology company.

Boyd Kirk ’15 was promoted to Team Operations Coordinator with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment in Denver, Colorado.

Lauren Morain ’15 joined Gymshark in Denver, Colorado, as a People Operations Associate.

Natalie Mayan Schlimmer ’15 returned to Mindful Kreative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to fill the role of Strategic Accounts Director.

Nicole Paige Martin ’14 (Chi Omega) married James Peter Houck ’13 on September 5, 2020. They met in Marietta through the Scholars Community. The bridal party included (left to right) Derek Hennen ’12, Best Man Will Vance ’12, James Houck, Nicole Martin Houck, Matron of Honor Kristen Onkka Dhacroi ’14 (Chi Omega) and Anja Curwen ’14 (Chi Omega). Other alumni in attendance included Meg McCrone Vance ’09, Jennifer Kuhn ’11 (Chi Omega), Vicki Gilland ’11 (Chi Omega), Karlie Graf ’12 (Chi Omega), Brooklyn Howes Hampton ’17 (Chi Omega), Nathan Lord ’09, Abby Klicker ’13, Andy Stegman ’15, Julia Houck Stegman ’14, Jenna Houck Richardson ’07 (Chi Omega), Bo Richardson ’09, Trisha Wendel Wright ’13, Mary Crotty ’12, Scott Burnham ’11 and Rachel Worthington Burnham ’12.

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CLASS NOTES

Lindsey Schrock ’16 has joined Franciscan University of Steubenville as its Director of Franciscan Life Online.

Katie Talkington ’16 is now working as a Human Resources Manager with Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions in Cambridge, Ohio.

Amanda Weissling ’16 joined CDC Medical in Columbus, Ohio, as a Sales Representative in November 2020.

Whitley Trusler ’17 was recently named Marketing Coordinator with Root, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio.

Bobby Casto ’16 married Brittany Hassman Casto ’17 on October 31, 2020, in Massillon, Ohio. Pioneers in attendance included (pictured left to right) Devin Wysni ’16, Joni Casto ’14, Kate Berg ’19, Jake Parks ’18, Courtney Wentz ’17, Carey Becker ’17, Jake Kobilarcsik ’13, Taylor Harney, Pete Kraft, Amanda Vandyke ’16, Daryl DeWindt ’16, Brooklyn Howes Hampton ’17, Sarah Snow ’13, Amy Castle ’17, Sarah Little ’18, Bianca Beekman, Alicia Hassman ’91, Mark Hassman ’91 and (not pictured) Craig Casto ’77 and Haeli Lynch Kaminskas ’02.

Devin Webster ’20, who graduated in December 2020, has joined Amazon as a Fulfillment Associate.

ON SH ELVES NOW Dr. Thomas C. Pfizenmaier ’76 recently wrote the book For My Daughters: A Father Reflects on Family, Friendship, and Faith, which is currently available on Amazon.com.

“There are a number of touch points with the college mentioned along the way, as well as best friends to this day who are alums,” he says.

“I live in the Seattle area now (recently retired) and there is a small group of MC folks who get together out here a couple of times a year. In addition, my old roommate of three years and fraternity brother, Jeff Laveson ’76, Greg Johnson ’76 and I hosted a group of Chi Omegas from our time at Jeff’s house on Bainbridge Island in the summer of 2019. It was wonderful to see them after so many years.”

Marietta had a huge impact on Pfizenmaier’s life and the lives of his friends, he says.

“For one example, my career path has been a pastor, professor and seminary dean, while Jeff’s was a Navy carrier pilot, then lawyer. We’ve often talked about how our Marietta liberal arts education teed us up for grad school and our chosen professions.”

Dr. Jim Carillon ’78 recently completed a book of poetry. This Virgin Page is published by Pisgah Press and available through Amazon.com.

“It is my first book of poems and reflects simple day-to-day joys and concerns, of family and friendships, and both the external and the inner life of a man concerned with the shape of the world and his place in it. Topics include, among others, exercising body and mind, fostering a newborn child, social justice, family, friends and places I have loved, and writing itself.”

Carillon lives in Fairview, North Carolina.

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REMINISCING about Marietta?

Visit campus … with your children*.

We think they’ll love Marietta as much as you did.

PioNation for the next generation!

Schedule a visit today with Admission: www.marietta.edu/visit Refer a Pioneer: www.marietta.edu/alumni/refer-future-pioneer * Children and grandchildren of Marietta graduates qualify for the $3,500 Legacy Award, which is renewable for up to four years.

IN MEMORIAM Friends of Marietta College Michael A. Schonewolf, former Marietta College football coach, of Lady Lake, Florida (12/1/2020).

Dr. Dennis DePerro, former Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, of St. Bonaventure, New York (3/1/2021).

1940s Walter R. Fillippone Jr. ’42 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Concord, California (10/29/2020).

Alice Bonner Jones ’42 of Forest Hill, Maryland (10/21/2020).

1950s

Gerald T. Martin ’56 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Gnadenhutten, Ohio (1/18/2021).

Survivors include a son, Thomas M. Martin ’78.

Janet Wilson Weihl ’56 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Burke, Virginia (12/22/2020).

Joyce Brickwede Torpy ’57 (Sigma Kappa) of Marietta, Ohio (1/2/2021).

Stanley E. Clark ’58 (Alpha Sigma Phi) of Tucson, Arizona (10/24/2020).

Survivors include his wife, Diane Ritter Clark ’60, and a son, Michael P. Clark ’85.

William J. Wirant ’61 (Tau Kappa Epsilon) of Escondido, California (9/30/2020). Survivors include a cousin, Frank H. Miklavic ’59.

Eric W. Gough ’74 (Delta Tau Delta) of Walpole, New Hampshire (2/16/2021).

Survivors include his wife, Kheuavanh Ting Vongsoughi Gough ’75.

John W. Woods ’61 (Phi Beta Kappa) of Columbus, Ohio (1/12/2021). Survivors include a brother, Joseph W. Woods ’62.

Walter Weissenborn II ’74 of Guilford, Connecticut (10/27/2020).

Carol Powell Zigman ’61 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Dover, Ohio (6/26/2020).

Sadly, her husband, Anthony R. Zigman ’59, passed away on 12/20/2020.

J. Gary Fitzgerald ’62 (Alpha Sigma Phi) of Houston, Texas (2/2/2021). Survivors include a sister, LeAnne Fitzgerald Wherley ’72.

Michael M. Haddad ’50 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Poughkeepsie, New York (1/26/2021).

Patricia George Gray ’58 (Chi Omega) of Kittanning, Pennsylvania (12/28/2020).

Survivors include her husband, John W. Gray ’57.

Frederick H. Heffler ’62 (Tau Epsilon Phi) of The Villages, Florida (1/31/2021).

Survivors include his wife, Nancy Williams Heffler ’64.

Juliette Derochie Lewis ’50 (Sigma Kappa) of Scotch Plains, New Jersey (2/11/2021). Survivors include her husband, Louis J. Lewis Jr. ’50.

Dan S. Stephan Sr. ’58 (Delta Upsilon) of Williamstown, West Virginia (10/19/2020).

Roger H. Hoskin ’63 of Olmsted Township, Ohio (7/20/2020).

John E. O’Hern Jr. ’50 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Danbury, Connecticut (10/31/2020).

Sue Schauwecker Adler ’51 of Chanhassen, Minnesota (5/3/2020).

Sadly, her brother, Ernest M. Schauwecker ’60, passed away on 12/27/2020.

Jean Samuelson Biddle ’51 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Cave Creek, Arizona (12/5/2020).

36

Arnold O. Galmitz ’56 of Shaker Heights, Ohio (11/10/2020).

Robert G. Williams Jr. ’59 (Delta Upsilon) of Montgomery, Texas (12/27/2020). Survivors include a sister, Kathryn Williams Marks ’67.

Anthony R. Zigman ’59 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Dover, Ohio (12/20/2020).

1960s William F. Satterlee III ’60 (Alpha Sigma Phi) of Chicago, Illinois (11/17/2020).

William W. Gault ’51 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Prospect, Kentucky (11/18/2020).

Ernest M. Schauwecker ’60 of Parkersburg, West Virginia (12/22/2020).

Jule Scheehle Massey ’51 of New Philadelphia, Ohio (12/3/2020).

Patrick T. Vermaaten ’60 of Marietta, Ohio (12/18/2020).

Hadley R. Rood ’51 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Portsmouth, Rhode Island (10/13/2020).

Bruce A. Yarnall ’60 of Charleston, South Carolina (2/20/2021).

Carol Mackey Anderson ’52 of Wilton, Connecticut (11/18/2020).

George B. Hopkins ’61 of Titusville, Florida (1/13/2020). Survivors include his wife, Marilyn Rose Hopkins ’60.

A. Dale Bergmann ’53 (Alpha Tau Omega) of Concord Township, Ohio (2/6/2021).

Joan Johnson Looney ’61 (Alpha Sigma Tau) of Bonita Springs, Florida (10/25/2020).

Gene A. Haynes ’53 of Parkersburg, West Virginia (12/19/2020).

Peggy Elliott McHugh ’61 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Standish, Maine (12/29/2020).

Barbara Smith Hopkins ’54 (Chi Omega) of Madison, Mississippi (2/4/2021). Survivors include a nephew, William H. Corwin ’78.

Kathleen Kadash Stocker ’61 (Chi Omega) of Bokeelia, Florida (1/1/2021).

Survivors include her husband, Kurt P. Stocker ’60.

Charles M. McMillan ’54 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Carmel, California (8/11/2020). Survivors include a daughter, April L. McMillan ’89.

Seth R. Weintraub ’61 (Tau Kappa Epsilon) of Central Point, Oregon (5/7/2020).

SPRING 2021

Jennifer Austin James ’65 (Chi Omega) of Torrington, Connecticut (1/15/2021).

Linda G. Nearing ’65 of Laguna Woods, California (12/17/2020).

Blair B. Stringfellow III ’65 of Jacksonville, Florida (11/11/2020).

Robert B. Stahl ’66 (Delta Upsilon) of Wrentham, Massachusetts (1/24/2021).

Carl H. Tyrie ’66 (Tau Kappa Epsilon) of Boone, North Carolina (7/5/2020).

Maxwell F. Creighton ’67 (Tau Kappa Epsilon) of Atlanta, Georgia (11/7/2020).

John G. Mitchell ’67 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Toledo, Ohio (10/8/2020).

Robert E. Burns ’75 (Delta Tau Delta, Phi Beta Kappa) of Columbus, Ohio (11/7/2020).

James A. Shipman ’76 of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (10/23/2020).

Dalton L. Eckel Jr. ’78 of Ripley, West Virginia (10/17/2020).

Robin D. Braig ’79 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Daytona Beach, Florida (2/17/2021).

1980s Ann Priscilla Palmisano ’81 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Farmington, Connecticut.

Survivors include her husband, Glen M. Palmisano ’80; a sister, Barbara Priscilla Wolf ’71; a brother-in-law, Andrew H. Wolf ’71; and a niece, Kelly A. Wolf ’98.

Jody J. Nagel ’82 (Phi Beta Kappa) of Daleville, Indiana (2/6/2021).

Lori K. Denkewalter ’83 (Alpha Xi Delta) of Heath, Ohio (1/22/2021).

Martin T. Hupp ’86 of Spring, Texas (12/5/2020). Survivors include a brother, Jeffrey L. Hupp ’80, and a sister, Kimberly Hupp Miller ’81.

David M. Bruce ’87 (Phi Beta Kappa) of Elizabeth, West Virginia (2/27/2020).

Sallie S. Boord ’89 of Cincinnati, Ohio (11/3/2020).

Ronald C. Brockett ’69 (Tau Kappa Epsilon) of Concord, New Hampshire (10/26/2020). Survivors include his wife, Kathleen Maginniss Brockett ’70, and a son, Reid M. Brockett ’98.

1990s

1970s

Xan M. Smith ’93 (Delta Tau Delta) of Cincinnati, Ohio (11/1/2020). Survivors include a brother, Geoffrey S. Smith ’96.

Paul D. Becker ’70 (Tau Epsilon Phi) of San Jose, California (12/14/2020).

Survivors include his wife, Eileen Newman Becker ’70.

John W. Dudley ’70 of Vienna, West Virginia (11/29/2020). Survivors include a brother, Peyton J. Dudley ’65.

Kenneth L. Cooke ’71 (Delta Upsilon) of Nashville, Tennessee (9/28/2020).

William R. Ross ’71 (Lambda Chi Alpha) of Columbus, Ohio (10/11/2020).

Martha J. Handschumacher ’91 of Beverly, Ohio (1/27/2021). Survivors include a son, Dustin Handschumacher ’01.

Katie E. Drayer ’99 of Marietta, Ohio (12/4/2020). Survivors include a sister, Dody Drayer Waggoner ’95.

2010s Allison Holton Connolly ’11 of Dublin, Ohio (11/7/2020). Survivors include her husband, Eric L. Connolly ’11.

LONGTIME PHYSICAL PLANT DIRECTOR RETIRES

F

red Smith can talk about what it takes to plan and construct a massive residence hall, science center, athletics complex, library and planetarium. He can talk about fully renovating a building that was constructed in 1850 or the process of adding solar panels atop an athletic building. But if you ask about his own personal accomplishments during his 20-year tenure as the Director of Marietta College Physical Plant, his response has very little to do with him.

“I’ve been blessed and supported by a really strong team,” says Smith, who retired on March 15th.

“I’ve been so pleased with our Building Services crew for keeping us safe during COVID-19. Paul [Miller] and his team have done an excellent job installing plastic barriers in classrooms and offices to add COVID-19 protection and have managed HVAC to maintain a high volume of air exchange in our buildings. And, of course, our Grounds team continue to improve the quality of our outdoor living spaces. I also have to give a special mention to Melissa (Tornes), Jason (Mader) and Cindy (Nutter) for what they have done to make sure we’ve maintained a good PPE supply, and to our Building Coordinators, who are our eyes on the ground.”

Smith, a professional engineer, took on the directorship role in 2001, midway through the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center construction project, which was completed in 2003. It was the start of a building boom on campus that included the Rickey Science Center, Legacy Library, Anderson Hancock Planetarium, Harrison Hall, Lindamood-VanVoorhis Boathouse and Don Drumm Stadium, as well as the major renovations of Irvine, Erwin, Fayerweather and Andrews halls, Chuck McCoy Athletic Facility and the Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer Park. In fact, every building and space on campus has received some level of renovation or upgrade — from installing elevators and adding new roofs to installing FieldTurf to athletic playing fields during Smith’s tenure.

“All the projects were fun because they were exactly what I enjoy doing,” Smith says. “The most challenging project would probably be Harrison Hall. It involved having deep foundation systems, adding bridging over a culvert over Goose Run and it was the most significant residence hall on campus. It also came with a tight construction deadline and involved the demolition of Parsons Hall.”

His retirement plans are to focus on enjoying his family, which includes his wife, three adult children and two grandchildren.

Building Services staff member Gill Keeley says Smith laid the groundwork for Physical Plant staff to excel in their roles, even during the pandemic.

“We all know what we’ve got to do, but he’s the captain of the ship,” Keeley says. “During this pandemic, he was always checking to see how everybody was doing, and made sure that we had masks and proper safety equipment. Fred really cares about his staff. … When one of us is ill or if we have lost a loved one, Fred himself will make a meal for the family. That’s quite compassionate, but that’s Fred.”

ROBERT CAPLIN

GI SMITH

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

Return Service Requested

JODI MILLER

THE PRO GR ESSIVE PIONEER

Michael Fahy ’15 ALUMNUS FINDS CALLING AS A SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE

“I had to do a gut-check on what I care about in my life and what I wanted to do long-term. I felt like I was doing things that I was interested in but I never really found a core reason why I was doing it. After reading books like Just Mercy and The New Jim Crow, I made the decision to go to law school so I can dedicate myself to social justice and work with people affected by incarceration.”

B I OGR APHY: After graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 2015 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Asian Studies, Michael earned a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University in 2017. Following internships with the U.S. Department of State in Chengdu, Sichuan, China and Washington, D.C., he eventually landed a job as a policy analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In 2018, he moved to Columbus, Ohio, to become an intelligence analyst with the Ohio Department of Public Safety. He is now in his second semester at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and he plans to graduate in May 2023.