McKendree University Magazine Summer 2010

The Magazine for

c M Kendree SUMMER 2010

Passion for Pond Scum Outfield to the Gridiron Commencement

PRESIDENT’Smessage Dear Friends: As the summer unfolds before us, let us reflect for a moment on the great accomplishments of the past academic year. It was an exceptional one, filled with many milestones and achievements for our students, faculty and staff. This issue of The Magazine for McKendree chronicles many of the most significant moments for you.

While reviewing the achievements of the past year is a happy experience, I prefer to use them as a platform on which to build the dreams of McKendree’s future. At a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees, I had the opportunity to share some of my expectations for McKendree University. I’d like to share them with you so that we might all begin to dream together about our future.

I asked the members of the Board to remember what McKendree was like before we developed our programs in Kentucky, at Scott Air Force Base, or in graduate work. I asked them to remember what the campus was like before we built the football stadium, the Fitness Center, the Piper Academic Center, the Intramural Gym and the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts. I asked them to think about what these and other changes to the campus have meant to McKendree and her students.

Then I suggested that they dream with me about what advances additional academic offerings, a new Science Building, a renovated Library, a Recreation and Fitness facility, new residence halls and other like improvements might make in the life of this University.

Rather than bask in the accomplishments of the past, I invited our Board—and now through this letter I invite each of you—to look boldly into the future and to begin to ask, “What are the next set of goals we must set for McKendree University and what role will each of us play in helping to achieve them?”

In the months ahead, many at the University will be working hard to develop plans around this next set of dreams for McKendree’s future. Included will be major initiatives to further develop our academic offerings, approaches for a major fundraising campaign, and a new strategic plan to carry our efforts forward into the future.

It is my hope that as we develop these dreams you will partner with us by sharing our enthusiasm for the future growth and development of McKendree University and by seeking ways that you can actively participate through volunteer and philanthropic support. The great success of McKendree College, now University, has always been achieved when the people who care most about the University have come together to provide support and leadership to move it forward.

I invite you to share in the next phase of the dream.

Sincerely,

Jim Dennis President

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Professors of Adventure

A Passion for Pond Scum

From the Outfield to the Gridiron

FEATURES THIS ISSUE

On front cover: Jake Dorris ’11 working in the science lab.

IN THIS ISSUE • President’s Message 0 • Calendar Highlights 2 • Take Five 3 • On Campus 4

Published twice a year, The Magazine for McKendree connects alumni and friends to the McKendree University community.

Please send address changes to:

• Bearcat Athletics 28 • Alumni Profile 30 • Class Notes 32

McKendree University Office of Institutional Advancement 701 College Road Lebanon, IL 62254 Keeping in touch is easy.

Call us at: 1-800-BEARCAT, ext. 6826, or send e-mail updates to alumni@mckendree.edu.

The Magazine for

Mc. Kendree

CALENDARhighlights For the most current McKendree news, sports and events, visit www.mckendree.edu. All athletic events listed are home games.

JULY 21 30

Alumni Night at Whitaker Music Festival “Beyond Abbey Road” – Missouri Botanical Gardens McK 101

AUGUST 19 19-22 23 31

Convocation New Student Orientation; registration check-in Fall semester classes begin Women’s Soccer vs. Central Methodist University

SEPTEMBER 4 7 9 11 11 14 15 17 17-19 18

Football vs. Olivet Nazarene University Men’s Soccer vs. St. Ambrose University Women’s Soccer vs. Southern Nazarene University Men’s Soccer vs. Ashford University Women’s Soccer vs. Illinois Institute of Technology Women’s Soccer vs. Missouri Baptist University Women’s Soccer vs. Harris-Stowe University Volleyball vs. Stephens College Fall Family Weekend McKendree Harvest Challenge Half-Marathon and McK 5K Run/Walk; Fall Preview Day 18 Football vs. Iowa Wesleyan College 18 Volleyball Tournament 20 Men’s Soccer vs. University of St. Francis 22 Volleyball vs. Fontbonne University 23 Women’s Soccer vs. Lindenwood University 24-25 Volleyball Tournament 27 Women’s Soccer vs. Missouri Valley College 29 Women’s Soccer vs. Park University

6 13 14 16 16 16 16 19 19 20 20 20 22 22-24 23

Men’s Soccer vs. Columbia College Volleyball vs. Columbia College Men’s Soccer vs. Bethel College Get Up & Go Event Fall Preview Day Women’s Soccer vs. William Woods University Men’s Soccer vs. William Woods University Music Faculty Recital – The Hett Men’s Soccer vs. Williams Baptist College Lanter Lecture by Jim Allsup – The Hett Women’s Soccer vs. University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer vs. Missouri Valley College Volleyball vs. Williams Baptist College Alumni Weekend Homecoming Parade & Game; Picnic; Alumni Awards Dinner/Dance 23 Football vs. William Penn University 23 Volleyball vs. Park University 24 Family Fun 5K Run; Chapel Service 29-30 Volleyball Tournament

NOVEMBER 4 4-7 6 6 8 9 12 13 13 13 16 19 22

Volleyball vs. Missouri Baptist University Theater Department Fall Production – The Hett Alumni Board Meeting – PAC 222 Military Service Project Men’s Basketball vs. St. Ambrose University Men’s Alumni Basketball Game Men’s Basketball vs. Indiana University South Bend Men’s Basketball vs. Union College Military Appreciation Day; Fall Youth Day; Fall Preview Day Football vs. Grand View University Men’s Basketball vs. Lindenwood University Marching Band Concert – The Hett Percussion Ensemble Concert – The Hett

OCTOBER

DECEMBER

2 3 5 5 6

3-4 3 5

Preview of Champions Alumni Baseball Game Music Dept. Fall Potpourri Concert – The Hett Women’s Soccer vs. Hannibal-Lagrange College Volleyball vs. Hannibal-LaGrange College

Men’s Basketball Tournament “A McKendree Christmas” Band Concert – The Hett Choral Christmas Concert – The Hett

Magazine Contributors By printing this magazine on 10% post consumer waste recycled paper, the following resources were saved: 1 ton less wood (10 fewer trees) 3 million less BTU’s 922 lbs less green house gases 4443 less gallons of wastewater 270 pounds less solid waste

Editorial content and production: Lisa Brandon, Director of Media Relations Krysti Connelly, Executive Director of University Communications and Marketing Sherry Hall, Graphic Designer

Writing/Photography: Jeff Campbell ’87, Alumni Relations Director Stephanie Coartney ’10 Annie Bierman ’11 Carrie Brickey ’11 Scott Cummings Jim Visser Greg Kiger Jim Kennett Zia Nizami

TAKEfive Five Minutes With… Dr. Betsy Gordon Living at West has given me a far better appreciation of the successes of most of our students. And I have a better sense of why some students don’t succeed in college. The massive number of expectations they face is overwhelming.

I am impressed with how much they accomplish and how well they adapt to living as adults in a largely unstructured and unsupervised setting.

I have come to understand more about the time demands students face— particularly with night classes and jobs.

I am more sympathetic to their problems and the stresses of juggling school, adjusting to roommates, maintaining their own place, fitting in meals, etc.

Q&A What are summers like, when the students are gone?

I

t’s a long way from sweet home Alabama to the third-floor McKendree West apartment that Dr. Betsy Gordon, professor of speech communication, calls home as the university’s first faculty-inresidence. The soft-spoken Southerner, known for her delicious home baked cookies, has lived among students at the complex since the summer of 2007 and chose to extend her stay beyond the twoyear agreement.

Why did you want to be a faculty-inresidence?

I was interested because I know a great deal of what students learn, they learn outside of the classroom. I saw it as an opportunity to interact with students in more meaningful ways and to have a greater potential for impacting their lives.

It is quiet. I miss the sound of students in the building, in the parking lots. I do a lot more reading then. And I turn my music up more. When it is warm enough to swim in the morning, I do. It is like having my own personal pool!

What makes your apartment a home?

My music, my own kitchen, but mainly my art work on the walls.

What do you like about having so many student neighbors?

I like getting to know more of them by name and having them personally invite me to their games, activities or performances. I enjoy their asking about programs or for cookies or a meal.

How has it strengthened your relationship with students?

I think students at West have a stronger sense that faculty members are humans with the same late nights and the same “gotta get to class” attitudes.

What activities have you organized at McKendree West?

The most successful ongoing programs have been the cookie days on the first day of fall finals. We started having them at Valentine’s Day, too. The students turn out in large numbers and they are really appreciative of the home baked cookies.

The first year, I hosted two film series and a book club. I work to find other ways to reach out, including hosting meals and providing purple markers for incoming transfers. With the support of the Residence Life staff, we now host a Sophomore Celebration for second-year students living at West, with a nice meal in the clubhouse and school supplies as door prizes. We expect it to grow each year.

ONcampus Lending A Hand

On the right, Nate Campo ’12 built a makeshift baby crib, while two young students looked on, at the Hill Top Basic School in Jamaica.

Mission: Spring Break

A

Above, in Jamaica front row, l to r: Duane Olson, Lyn Huxford, Annie Bierman ’11, Kaitlyn Motl ’10, Meagan Musgrave ’11, Maia Paluska ’11.

Back row: Brenda Boudreau, Lora Blackwell ’11, Sarah Brown ’12, Denise Kennedy ’11, Jordan Hurd ’10, Keri McDaniel ’11, Andrea Tardino ’09, Nate Campo ’12, and Rosza Brown ’11.

lternative spring break combines travel with service in distant places and other cultures. An increasing number of students are choosing to spend their weeklong break serving those less fortunate and making new friends, both at home and abroad.

Jamaica: Dr. Lyn Huxford, professor of sociology and coordinator of the campus Center for Public Service, has organized community service trips to Jamaica since 1994. In March, 12 students and three faculty members built and painted a one-room house for an elderly man whose home had burned. They rebuilt a wall and painted

Hill Top Basic School, led activities for 40 children in an open-air church, and visited a boys’ home and an infirmary. The group raised about $4,000 to provide supplies for four schools, two of which McKendree had helped in the past. After a day’s work, there was time to enjoy some island sun, sand and surf.

Appalachia: Campus Ministries took 12 students and two adults to the Appalachian mountains, not for rest and relaxation but different sorts of “r & r”—removing and replacing shingles on a damaged house, refinishing a porch and deck, reframing a door and window, and reinforcing the walls of

On the right, in Appalachia—Jared Winters ’11, Rev. Tim Harrison, Courtney Motl ’13, and Erin Totten ’11, remove a large rock from the hole where the concrete footing was to go during the 2010 Campus Ministry Spring Break Mission Trip to Appalachia, Va.

On the left, from front to back—Rev. Tim Harrison, Gerald Straub (adult chaperone), Erin Totten ’11, Courtney Motl ’13, Ben Pollard ’12, Carrie Schumacher ’11, Tricia Straub ’12, Erica Blair ’10, Adam Schwind ’11, Jake Smith ’11, Katherine Studley ’13, Kelly Knauer, Jared Winters ’11, and Brad Gebben ’11, pose for a group photo before departing for Appalachia, Va.

another home. The McKendree group joined forces with the Appalachia Service Project staff and other students from Emory and Saint Louis Universities.

“The families we worked for were outstanding. They welcomed us and as they were able, pitched in and worked side by side with our teams to remodel their homes,” said Rev. Tim Harrison, chaplain.

“We also enjoyed a wonderful evening of Appalachian culture with a local bluegrass band that performed for us at the lodge.

Students responded with hard work, a wonderful attitude and some meaningful reflection on the importance of giving back to others.”

On campus, volunteers assembled 200 health kits containing toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandages, combs and other toiletries wrapped in a washcloth, for distribution by the United Methodist Committee on Relief to earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile. The McKendree community donated nearly $1,500 to purchase supplies and support the cause.

For student construction site leader Jared Winters, a religious studies major from Chatham, Ill., who spends his summer working in Appalachia, it’s about “relationships first, work second.”

“This experience was truly a life-altering one,” said Adam Schwind ’10, who had participated in past mission trips. “Family members were present at all times while the team worked on the home. It was a constant reminder of how each house that we were working on deserved our utmost respect.”

Students and other volunteers packaged meals for the people of Haiti and Nicaragua at the NICE Foundation warehouse in Highland. Their efforts, combined with those of several other groups, yielded nearly 50,000 meals for the children of Haiti and Nicaragua.

ONcampus News Briefs Weston Joins Board of Trustees

Edward Weston, senior pastor at Union United Methodist Church in Belleville, Ill., joined the Board of Trustees at its February meeting.

The Reverend Weston has been involved in church development, fund raising and church construction in the Metro-East area of southwestern Illinois since 1978.

He participated in the development of a 20-year vision plan at Union UMC, where he has served since 1996. He also assisted in the development of the United Methodist Village retirement community campus in Godfrey, Ill., where he is a former board chair person.

Rev. Edward Weston addressed graduating seniors and their families at the May 7 farewell service.

athletic director but continues as men’s basketball coach and advisor to Reynolds.

Dr. Joni Bastian (formerly Joni Mitchell) is the acting vice president of student affairs.

Staff Changes Announced On May 1, Dr. Todd Reynolds became the new director of intercollegiate athletics, providing direct leadership to a division he has supervised for several years as the former vice president for student affairs. He succeeds Harry Statham ’60, who has stepped down as

Kim Smallheer has assumed the new full-time role of director of compliance in the athletic department. He served previously as assistant director of athletics and director of student recreation programs.

In addition to coaching women’s basketball, Melissa Ringhausen also now serves as senior women’s administrator for intercollegiate athletics.

In addition to local church work, he is a current member of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference, United Methodist Church and its finance and administration team; the Belleville Optimist Club and board; and the BelleScott Committee.

Dr. Patterson Off to Norway as a Fulbright Scholar Dr. Martha Patterson, associate professor of English, will spend the 2010-11 academic year at the University of Agder in Norway as part of the Fulbright exchange program. She, her husband and two children leave in July for the southern coastal city of Kristiansand. Patterson will teach and lecture on training teachers in literary studies, the American New Woman, and an Introduction to American Studies. She will also travel to Oslo and Bergen to research Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, whose work includes “A Doll's House.” And she plans to finish her book, “The Harlem Renaissance Weekly,” about black newspapers during the Harlem Renaissance.

Spreng was quick to thank them when he received the 2010 United Methodist Church’s Exemplary Teacher Award on Honors Day. The award recognizes excellence in teaching, concern for students and colleagues, a commitment to values-centered education, and service beyond the classroom.

Dr. Spreng is 2010 UMC Exemplary Teacher Known by his colleagues in the School of Business as a team player, Dr. Frank

A McKendree faculty member since 1987, the professor of economics and director of the MBA program was described by Dr. Christine Bahr, provost, as “professional, thoughtful, forward thinking, entrepreneurial and passionate.”

“He connects theory to practice and makes instruction meaningful. He is a dynamic instructor who motivates students to do and be their best.”

In addition to the UMC Exemplary Teacher Award, the 2010 Associate Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching was given to two instructors this year, Sharon Frederking and Lawrence Wilson. Frederking, a faculty member since 1997, teaches senior level nursing courses and is also the Washington County Health Department administrator. “Students say she is approachable and helpful, and gives them a new perspective on nursing,” Bahr noted.

Wilson has taught mathematics at McKendree’s Center at Scott Air Force Base since 1992 and retired from the military in 1995. “He is well liked and appreciated. Students say they never understood algebra fully until he explained it to them,” the provost said.

Students Take Collegiate Investment Contest Prize

At the May 5 check presentation are Dr. Sandra Lang, chair of the School of Business: Dr. Brian Parsons, associate professor of finance; Dr. Christine Bahr, provost; and Dr. James Dennis, president.

A hypothetical stock portfolio put together by students in Dr. Brian Parsons’ investments class in the fall 2007 semester outperformed all others over a 28-month period ending Mar. 31, to win the $10,000 top prize in the St. Louis Area Collegiate Investment Contest.

In a period when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 19 percent, the McKendree portfolio fell in value by only nine percent. The hypothetical portfolios of investments classes from seven other participating St. Louis area colleges and universities fell in value by amounts ranging from 11 to 28 percent.

Parsons, associate professor of finance, has taught the investments class each fall semester on a regular basis since 2001. He said the results of the contest demonstrate the unpredictability of stock market prices because the investments class of a different local college or university has won the contest each year. He added that it is instructive that of the portfolios of the eight colleges or universities that competed in the contest that recently ended, five performed better than the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while three performed worse.

The contest, which has been organized

by Principia College, Elsah, Ill., the last six years, is underwritten by the St. Louisbased investment management firm of Towle and Company, with investment managers at United of Missouri Bank acting as scorekeepers.

ONcampus News Briefs Walmart-CIC Grants $50,000 to Benefit First-Generation Students A $50,000 Walmart College Success Award enables McKendree to expand its programs and support significantly for first-generation college students at the Lebanon campus and beyond.

students. It strengthens and formalizes tutoring and online services available to traditional students and non-traditional adult learners, particularly in rural communities and on military bases. It also creates 10 new $1,000 scholarships for first-generation students based upon academic merit and financial need.

The Council of Independent Colleges and the Walmart Foundation awarded substantial grants to 30 non-profit private institutions that represent a wide range of approaches to working with firstgeneration students.

“Two key areas of success that have led to our rise in retention rates are increased faculty interaction and greater financial assistance,” said Dr. Brenda Boudreau, professor of English and project director.

“This project allows us to target additional tutoring and scholarship support to first-generation students who often need a little extra boost to succeed.”

“McKendree Firsts” combines academic, personal and financial support in a holistic approach to educating first-generation

All McKendree students have access to highly qualified tutors, both in person and online. Through “McKendree Firsts,”

the University is expanding its Academic Support Center by hiring more faculty and student tutors—particularly those who were first-generation students—and adding a coordinator of first-generation student success, based in the Writing Center.

The University is also expanding its online environment by creating a “McKendree Firsts” web site and network with increased capabilities for web conferencing, teleconferencing, videoconferencing and social networking.

Kentucky MBA Students Exchange Business Practices in Europe Dr. Glenn Rodriguez, dean of the Kentucky campuses, and a group of MBA students spent 12 days in Europe this spring, exchanging and researching international business practices.

MBA students from the Louisville, Kentucky campus gather in front of a performing arts hall and former government building in Kortkrijk, Belgium.

At Katho UniversityKatholieke Hogeschool ZuidWest-Vlaandere, in Dutch-speaking northern Belgium—students heard a lecture about global cultural barriers, presented in English to Belgian international management graduate students. Afterward, McKendree students presented their perceptions

and understanding of French, Belgian and Dutch business practices and culture. They were critiqued by the Belgian students, who then offered their perspective on American business and culture.

The goal of the students’ trip was to conduct research within the culture and context of the business practices. They visited two U.S. manufacturers that went global and a European-based manufacturer that entered the U.S. market.

“You can’t learn this stuff in a textbook or the classroom, you have to live it!” said Mike Penick, a graduate student from Louisville.

“Now I can understand why they have such a low personnel turnover as compared to the U.S. They have such liberal time-off policies,” noted Lisa Parson, also of Louisville.

Veteran Enrollment is Up 64 Percent Veteran student enrollment increased over 64 percent at McKendree from fall 2009 to spring 2010 as a result of the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, the University’s recent partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Yellow Ribbon Program, and deliberate efforts to coordinate services through the establishment of a Military Student Services Committee.

Veteran enrollment increased from 239 students during the fall 2009 semester to 392 total. The numbers are up at the Lebanon campus, the Louisville and Radcliff, Ky., campuses, and the Center at Scott Air Force Base.

“We are committed to meeting the needs of our military-affiliated students, to make sure they are taking advantage of their military tuition benefits, and to help them achieve their academic goals,” said Dr. Christine Bahr, provost.

A university-wide Military Student Services Committee meets regularly to review military student enrollment growth, coordinate policies and procedures, and plan activities in support of veterans, active duty military students, and their families.

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. It allows degree-granting higher learning institutions in the U.S. to voluntarily enter into an agreement with the VA to fund tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate.

McKendree partnered last August with Veterans Affairs to offer full tuition scholarships to those who qualify and apply under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The University waives 50 percent, the maximum amount allowed, of the difference in tuition cost and the VA matches that amount. The University has renewed its agreement with the VA for another year.

Learning to Lead Meagan Musgrave ’11, a political science major from Minooka, Ill., spent a week at the University of Illinois at Chicago in June developing leadership abilities, policy skills, and political knowledge at the NEW Leadership Illinois Summer Institute. The prestigious program develops young women to be effective leaders in public service careers.

“The NEW Leadership Illinois program is truly a life-changing experience. After meeting many influential female legislators of the Illinois General Assembly, I am inspired to look into a career within a sector of public service,” Musgrave said. “This conference allows young women to meet and network with past and present state legislators, in addition to learning the skills needed to succeed in all career areas.

Musgrave is president of the Young Feminists and a member of the Green Team, Literary Interest Society, Sigma Tau Delta and Psi Sigma Alpha.

ONcampus News Briefs His Poetry, In Motion

inspiration in writing this poem. She is kind of my hero,” Ruiz said.

Thousands of people read Aaron Ruiz’s poetry every week on their way to and from work, school, baseball games or concerts in St. Louis.

He credits Dr. Jenny Mueller, associate professor of English, for encouraging her creative writing students to enter the competition. Ruiz asked Mueller which poem she considered his strongest work and secretly mailed it in.

The English literature and writing major from Swansea, Ill., is one of 15 winners of Poetry in Motion®, a contest cosponsored by Metro Arts in Transit and the Poetry Society of America.

His poem, “The child in my head has grown tall enough,” will be displayed on Metro buses and MetroLink trains for a year. It was selected from over 300 submissions by writers from greater St. Louis and the Metro-East.

“Aaron's poem makes from language a little world. It’s a world that's quiet, yet full of an insistent and slightly mysterious charge that is created by its music and images. Riders who look up

from their Metro commute to enter the poem’s world will find something lovely and new, as fresh and vivid as a dream,” Mueller said. “I'm absolutely delighted that the contest's sponsors have given them the opportunity to discover this talented young writer.”

Ruiz recalled his first attempt at poetry many years ago. “It was about a girl I had a crush on and it had the same rhythm of a Nirvana song I had been listening to.

It was dreadful writing but a galvanizing moment in my life.”

“My sister, the worldly-wise and ever adventurous Miriam Ruiz, was a big

Students Place in Top Ten Worldwide in Business Simulation Contest Three business ethics students placed in the top ten in a worldwide competition among nearly 1,000 corporate and collegiate users of the ExperiencePoint simulation program.

Nick Smothers, a senior from Carlyle, Ill., placed third; Tonya Downard, a junior from Coulterville, Ill., eighth;

and Nolan Martz, a senior from East Alton, Ill., ninth.

The simulation complements the class and reading assignments by engaging students with business concepts in a fun yet meaningful way. They learn to balance profit with human rights, community service and business ethics, and then implement their strategy in the face of resistance, tight budgets and difficult timelines, explained Dr. Jean Scheller-Sampson, assistant professor of management.

“Students implement a social responsibility program for a corporation.

They receive historical data and events for a greater understanding of the corporate and stakeholder needs,” she said. “They then use the change theory to implement a program at the right time, with the appropriate stakeholders, and with at least 60 percent stakeholder buy-in.”

The McKendree students achieved high scores by making effective choices and reaching stakeholder buy-in.

Textbook Rental Now Available at the Bookstore The price of many textbooks for the fall semester has become more affordable, now that students can buy or rent textbooks, new or used, at the McKendree Bookstore.

“As textbook affordability continues to be an issue and students scour the Internet for textbooks at lower prices, we are offering them an option,” said Bec Mathews, Bookstore manager. “By renting textbooks from the store or by utilizing a guaranteed buyback option, students save up to 50 percent off the cost of the new textbook and are assured the correct book without having to search online sites for the best deal.”

A list of the selected most popular textbooks that are available for rental will be posted at www.mckendreebooks.net by mid-July.

Rambling Into Spring…

They came from near and far, including Illinois, Missouri, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Led by Bogey the Bearcat at the start, nearly 700 runners, walkers, joggers, babies in strollers, and even a dog or two raced from campus through the streets of Lebanon and beyond during the “Ramble Into Spring” road race on Mar. 20, 2010.

Three race options were offered—a 5K,

10K and 10-mile, which allowed some to train competitively for the annual St. Louis Marathon in April.

“One of our runners said, ‘It’s the first time I’ve been to Lebanon, but I know I’ll be back again, at least once a year,’” said Kim Smallheer, director of student recreation programs and race organizer.

Next up is the “Harvest Challenge” 5K and Half-Marathon on Sept. 18.

ONcampus Commencement

Did YOU know?

1

McKendree alumni may take advantage of Career Services’ resources and staff expertise for assistance with their job search at any time. Whether you have been out of school for one year or 40 years, you have career counseling for life.

2

Environmental studies is one of 70 majors and minors now offered, including sport performance, creative writing, biochemistry, criminal justice, gender studies, interactive media, occupational therapy, sport psychology, and theater.

9 Things You May Not Know About McKendree Today

The Class of 2010 is McKendree’s Largest The largest graduating class in McKendree’s 182-year history received diplomas before a huge crowd of supporters on the front campus at commencement on May 8.

Grandy Faculty Award Dr. Neil Quisenberry, associate professor of sociology, received the William Norman Grandy Faculty Award for his outstanding teaching ability and service to the University and community. The Alumni Association gives the annual award to a full-time, tenured faculty member recommended by faculty, administrators and the senior class. It is named for Dr. Grandy, who served from 1952 to 1968 as professor of philosophy and religion, dean of students, academic dean and interim president.

“Dr. Quisenberry makes learning interesting, challenging and fun. He has a unique way of interacting with students

3

Two new “Living Learning Communities” in the residence halls —Arts in Relation to the Student (ARTS) and Students for Social Justice—create and extend students’ learning opportunities outside of the classroom through organized activities, field trips and discussions.

The University conferred 943 degrees on students who completed their studies in August and December 2009 and May 2010. One-hundred-eighty-six graduated with honors: 27 summa cum laude, 91 magna cum laude and 68 cum laude.

Master’s degree graduates comprised 38 percent of the Class of 2010, which hailed from 14 states and nine countries. The class included 177 students from the Louisville and Radcliff, Kentucky campuses, which held commencement on June 12 at the Highview Baptist Church East Campus in Louisville.

Dr. James Dennis, president, challenged the new graduates to “reach out to others, help someone, make a difference.”

by being positive, knowledgeable and humorous,” said C. Lawrence Meggs, Alumni Association president.

Keynote speaker Harry Statham ’60, assistant professor of physical education and men’s basketball coach, stressed the importance of personality, character, reputation, work ethic, judgment and appearance. “We must adjust to change but ‘people skills’ will never change,” he said. “They cannot guarantee you success but they will strongly support your knowledge and ability.”

On the eve of commencement, a farewell service for graduating seniors and their families featured a video montage and remarks by The Reverend Edward Weston of Union United Methodist Church, a McKendree trustee. After the service, a crowd of more than 600 dined outdoors at the second annual graduation celebration.

Society on “Texting While Driving.”

He is also a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Society of Criminology.

“The Grandy Award is a pat on the back from both the students and faculty that lets me know that I am doing a good job and that students do appreciate what I do for them,” Quisenberry said. ”Although we don’t teach to win awards, they are nice to receive.”

A faculty member since 2003, he is the adviser to the Sociology Club and Spectrum Alliance, and in 2008 received the University’s Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award. The researcher and published author has given academic presentations around the world, most recently to the Midwest Sociological

4

For five consecutive years, a McKendree student was selected as one of 50 fellowship winners by Phi Kappa Phi, the oldest and most prestigious interdisciplinary honor society. PKP selects fellowship applications from all of its university chapters.

5

Faculty members average 50 conference presentations and 20 publications per year.

Three times a year they attend Teaching For Excellence workshops to learn about topics such as integrating technology in the classroom, best practices for writing assignments, what’s new at the library, transforming a class into a team, and going “green” in the classroom.

ONcampus Commencement chosen by the faculty for leadership, outstanding academic achievement and promoting international understanding.

On Honors Day, Motl received the Center for Public Service’s Active Collegians Engaged in Service (ACES) Award for outstanding contributions to the University, community and society through volunteering, coordinating special events and promoting social activism.

She was a Center for Public Service office manager, 2008 Oxfam America CHANGE Leader, 2007 Technos International Week representative to Japan, Family Living Center coordinator, and director of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week on campus last fall.

Her proudest accomplishment was “having the opportunity and challenge of re-establishing the Chi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity on campus.

A Leader by Example For Kaitlyne Motl ’10, who volunteered more than 500 hours as a McKendree student, community service is second nature.

“My family, particularly my mother, has always been involved in community service of some sort, and that value and practice has certainly been instilled in me,” she said. “My sister (Courtney, a McKendree sophomore) and I have been working at a soup kitchen since we can remember, and have continued in the path of social justice into our college years and will absolutely continue to do so. Some say that service is hereditary.”

6

The University, the Hett, and many departments and organizations post messages on Facebook, where you can become a fan of several McKendreeaffiliated groups or use the social networking site to communicate or reconnect with other Bearcats, share information about activities, or just wish someone a “Happy Birthday.”

Arriving at McKendree four years ago, the student from Glen Carbon, Ill., planned to pursue a path in diplomacy and language interpretation. “This changed through my work at the Center for Public Service and volunteer experiences,” she said.

Motl ended her impressive college career with two major awards. She received the Technos International College Award at commencement, where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in international relations and sociology.

Sponsored by the Tanaka Ikueikai Educational Trust, the Technos Award is given annually to a graduating senior

7

The Lebanon campus has reduced its paper usage by 130 cases (650,000 sheets) over the last three years, saving $4,420 a year. Limiting paper usage, making double-sided copies and putting quizzes and assignments on the interactive online Blackboard have saved reams of printer and copier paper and has helped to make McKendree more eco-friendly.

“Upon pledging, we were an ‘endangered chapter,’ nearing obsolescence. Now, through the dedicated efforts of many, we have a healthy service and social program, and keep expanding in both volunteerism and in number of members.

It was truly an honor to be a part of such a group, which transformed an ailing organization into one of the most promising groups on campus.”

Motl will pursue a master’s degree in public administration and non-profit management at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

8

McKendree was the first school to sign up for the Green Business Challenge, the St. Louis Regional Commerce & Growth Association’s program to encourage and improve sustainable business practices.

Participating companies and institutions are scored on energy reduction, waste and water reduction, transportation options and outreach, with extra points given for innovative activities.

Two Students, One Couple—Doug and Teresa Warfel

What parting advice would Kaitlyne Motl ’10 give a first-year student based on her successful college experience?

• Challenge yourself and challenge others.

• Don't be afraid to try new things, to make mistakes, and to get involved on campus.

• Talk to your professors and to staff members. They are invaluable resources that can assist you in maximizing your college career.

• Do your homework and ask questions.

• Make the most out of your time here: be busy enough to lead a fulfilling life, but take time off for yourself.

• Buy a planner and use it.

• Volunteer.

• Listen to the other side of the argument.

• Take a class that is outside of your major in a subject that interests you.

9

A growing number of graduates achieve their degrees the non-traditional way, taking classes online or off site. The McKendree graduate program and the Accelerated Instruction with McKendree (AiM) program enabled 2010 graduates Doug and Teresa Warfel to receive master’s and bachelor’s degrees, respectively, in business administration.

Doug has worked for 20 years in distribution and transportation. Teresa is the director of physician services at Clay County Hospital in Flora. They have a 16-year-old son.

“

We both had goals to continue our education and hadn’t found the right opportunity.

”

“It was Doug's idea for us to go back to school,” Teresa Warfel said. “He found information about the AiM program in the paper and encouraged me to enroll.

From the same article he noticed they mentioned an MBA program so he checked into that and then enrolled.

We both had goals to continue our

education and hadn’t found the right opportunity.”

Attracted by McKendree’s reputation and the AiM program’s class size, convenience and instructor flexibility, the Warfels took classes in Flora, near their home in Louisville, Ill. “We have been impressed with McKendree University in all aspects, from its on and off-campus programs to its expanding online programs,” Teresa said.

The couple’s successful balance of work, family and studies required a full time commitment. “All non-essential activities were sacrificed to balance the three. There was not any time for leisure activities and hobby pursuits. It was a short term investment that should pay big dividends over the long term,” said Teresa, who is now enrolled in the MBA program. She and her husband are counting on the additional education to advance their careers.

Information technology on campus has grown remarkably over the last decade: In 1997 In 2010 Online registration Not possible A normal task Total data storage Useable computers for students 40 338 Total storage capacity Computers in faculty offices 5 140 E-mails McKendree receives a day Computers in staff offices 10 310 E-mails McKendree sends a day Campus that is wired 50% 100% Junk mail blocked per day Campus that is wireless Not possible 80% McKendree website visits per day Classrooms with technology 0 36 Average speed of PC microprocessor Printers 8 62 Average memory installed in PC Internet bandwidth in campus

In 1997 4 GB 4 GB 600 average 75 average 0 100 average 100 MHz 80 MB 1.5 Mbs

In 2010 1200 GB 10240 GB 43,000 average 400 average 34,000 average 9,000 average 1,800 MHz 4,000 MB 24 Mbs

MBA, MSN, MAED or MAPC on-site or online Welcome to class‌ Please take your seat.

For more information about graduate programs contact the Office of Graduate Admission: 1.800.BEARCAT, ext. 6576 or e-mail graduate@mckendree.edu.

Check us out and apply online: www.mckendree.edu/graduate

Tickets go on sale August 26, 2010.

Buy online at www.thehett.com.

Dr. Bethany Hill-Anderson rappelled from a 75-foot tower in Riviera Maya, Mexico, where she also zip-lined several hundred feet and snorkeled in an underground river.

Professors Dr. Bethany Hill-Anderson never drank tea faster than the night she feared being taken hostage.

being in Haiti is an adventure. We went through Cite Soleil, a notorious slum where thousands of people live without plumbing or electricity and gangs are the authority,” Hill-Anderson said.

Just before she and her husband, Glenn, were married, the couple planned to meet in Istanbul and travel to eastern Turkey, where Glenn Anderson was stationed on a remote assignment with the U.S. Air Force.

In Thailand, she once rode an elephant at an elephant farm and joined curious travel companions for an eye-opening walk through Bangkok’s infamous red light district ”The guides warned us not to go down alleys or get caught up in certain conversations,” she said.

“We traveled from the base to Van, a city about 100 miles from Iran and Iraq. One night we were eating dinner within a Turkish police compound, guarded by soldiers with automatic weapons, when suddenly all the lights went out. It was pitch black. I clearly remember the sound of the soldiers engaging their weapons, immediately followed by men shouting at each other in panicstricken Turkish. We wanted to get out of there and forgo a hostage situation, but our hosts had already started to prepare the tea so we simply could not leave. Even the colonel was freaked out by it.”

The guests politely but swiftly gulped their tea before they were escorted out of the compound in near darkness and whisked safely back to their hotel. “I doubt Americans have ever drunk tea faster than we did that night,” Hill-Anderson recalled.

The assistant professor of education has often taken the road less traveled.

As a senior at Ohio Wesleyan University, she worked at a hospital and visited schools on a spring break mission trip to Haiti. “Just

In Mazatlan, Mexico her tour group boarded the wrong public bus and ended up at a depot several miles from its destination: Señor Frog’s restaurant-bar.

When a last minute vacancy opened up on Dr. Phil Wilhelm’s indigenous music research trip to Ecuador in 2008, Hill-Anderson seized the opportunity. ”Two weeks after being asked, I was in the jungle,” she recalled.

Inspired by her travels, Hill-Anderson tries to present McKendree’s student teachers with different and engaging ways to incorporate geography, multicultural resources and activities in their own classrooms.

As a member of the Study Abroad Committee, “I encourage students to get out and see the world,” said Hill-Anderson, who had never flown before she went to France for a semester at age 20. “You don’t have to have lots of money to travel but you do have to take advantage of opportunities and not be afraid to try new things.”

Dr. Murella Bosse salvaged tools from a truck that had sunk to the bottom of a lake 33 years earlier. The former scuba diving instructor has now taken up kayaking around Florida’s barrier islands.

S

of Adventure Dr. Murella Bosse’s desire to explore the ocean’s depths started in the clouds.

by Lisa Brandon, Director of Media Relations

we returned. It was also odd to wake up to a green-blue sunrise—my instant reaction was that I was on another planet.”

The professor of psychology, who has a pilot’s license, learned to fly in an Aerobat stunt plane. “My instructor took me up for a lot of stalls, spins and loops. It was the little bit of weightlessness I experienced at the top of the loop that was one of my motivations to start diving. I wanted more of that sense of freedom.”

She also served on an experimental crew of trouble shooters for the world’s first underwater hotel, Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida. She checked it for water tightness and consistent airflow, helped monitor carbon dioxide levels, and disentangled air hoses attached to the outside. The fully functional underwater research lab also accommodates overnight guests and weddings.

Deciding that “one expensive hobby is enough,” she gave up flying years ago to focus on scuba diving, which she taught for over 25 years.

“A year or so later we arranged a friend’s wedding in the habitat.

It was a problem to find a minister who could dive,” Bosse said.

“The bride wore a white bathing suit.”

Bosse recalled a uniquely beautiful scene beneath the town pier of Bonaire, off the Venezuelan coast. “The vivid orange, yellow, pink and red soft corals are enormous and spectacular at night as they open and bloom on the giant pilings,” she said. “Night diving the reef at San Pedro, Ambergris Cay, Belize was also quite dramatic. I started my dive at dusk when the parrot fish come through the cut in the reef to the warmth of shallower water. When I surfaced 40 minutes later, the sky was dark and the spectacular stars looked like fireworks.”

Observing group behavior among divers, “it is interesting to see the level of interaction in the isolation of a habitat,” the professor said. “People who have been less than close friends topside are very, very careful to avoid any confrontation when they realize they will be confined with someone else. Close friends are more likely to get into arguments.”

At Truk Lagoon off the coast of the Chuuk atoll in Micronesia, she explored the wreckage of World War II Japanese ships and planes sunk by the U.S. Navy. “Sitting in a Japanese zero (fighter plane) 100 feet underwater was quite an experience. The joy stick still moved. I felt as though I was touching history.”

Ninety feet below the surface of Norfolk Lake in Arkansas, Bosse and her advanced scuba class discovered a submerged Snap-On Tool truck. Well preserved by the cold, dark water for 33 years, the tools she salvaged are displayed with her photo in the Antique Tool Museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Bosse spent many hours testing a three-person habitat designed by the Naval Academy that she described as “somewhat like an oil drum. We went underwater right after (the U.S.) had bombed Libya. I remember feeling quite dependent on our topside communication to know what the world would be like when

In psychology class, “when we talk about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I can certainly relate that to the most basic level— the need for air,” Bosse said. “People can do some pretty drastic things when they need air to breathe. No one is worrying about whether anyone is their Facebook friend or whether they are self-actualized.

“Our choice of profession and our personality are so intertwined,” she noted. “Some people will share their air with you in such a trusting way—nurses and kindergarten teachers are great. Others are a great deal more suspicious—people who work undercover narcotics have had to learn to be not too trusting.”

Although she hasn’t dived in two or three years, Bosse keeps her scuba gear ready to go and looks forward to teaching her grandson, just as she taught her four children.

“Right now kayaking is my excuse to spend time in the sun and on the water.”

A Passion for Pond Scum

A McKendree professor is on the frontier of new research into algae as a renewable energy source.

by Lisa Brandon, Director of Media Relations

Could algae be the fuel of the future?

Dr. Robb Van Putte, associate professor of biology, believes in its potential. As part of a worldwide network of researchers who are developing alternative new biofuels, he is studying the molecular genetics of algae.

Once scientists understand how these microorganisms produce oil, algae can be grown and engineered to do so on a massive scale.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, biofuel derived from plant material is one of the most rapidly growing renewable energy technologies.

A natural oil producer that thrives on carbon dioxide, algae may be the ultimate “green” fuel. As anyone who has waged chemical warfare on a murky backyard swimming pool knows, the slimy stuff proliferates in warmth, water and sunlight.

“They’re cool-looking organisms and they’re so diverse,” said Van Putte. His fascination with the tiny plants began in graduate school, where he studied how oil spills affect microorganisms at the base of the aquatic food chain. He conducted his Ph.D. research after the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled over 10 million gallons of crude into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989.

A year and a half ago, Dr. Pat Patterson, Van Putte’s Ph.D. advisor at Texas A&M University, put him in touch with Dr. Tim Devarenne, a colleague at Texas A&M, who works with species of algae in the biofuel arena. While on sabbatical leave last fall, Van Putte spent 10 to 12 hours a day with Devarenne in his lab on the College Station campus, focusing on the molecular biology and genetics of algae.

Biofuel research began in response to the energy crises of the 1970s. In 1974 the federal government established the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado Springs. Part of its focus was to explore the use of algae and other marine plants as part of its aquatic species program. President Carter’s

administration stepped up government initiatives to improve energy efficiency and reduce dependence on foreign oil as prices spiked in the late Seventies.

Since existing refineries can refine the oils extracted from algae to produce algal biofuels, new infrastructure or the invention of new technologies are not required.

The first generation and most common biofuel is ethanol, produced from corn. “Corn takes time to grow, it reduces available arable land mass that could grow food instead and it takes away corn from the food supply,” Van Putte explained.

“It’s not very cost effective and it doesn’t make sense from a conservation standpoint.”

Don’t expect to pump refined pond scum into your fuel tank anytime soon, however. Algae must be researched thoroughly before they reach the marketplace as affordable alternative energy.

Second generation biofuels, processed from entire plants of corn, soybeans or switchgrass, can be mixed with gasoline or used to produce more eco-friendly E-85, which contains 85 percent ethanol. These fuels, while a bit more eco-friendly, are still less attractive than those produced from algae for the reasons already mentioned.

we want to grow,” Van Putte explained.

Within the last five to 10 years, algae have bloomed as the third generation of plant-based fuel.

“Algae have unique lipids amenable to be refined into fuel,” Van Putte explained. Lipids are oily organic compounds such as fats and oils (triglycerides), waxes and sterols (cholesterol, for example) that are insoluble in water. Along with carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids (DNA), they make up the principal structure of living cells.

“Algae are also cheaper to grow and maintain,” VanPutte noted. “They can be grown in non-potable water and on non-arable land, and can attain much higher biomass productivities than their land plant relatives. Because algae are photosynthetic, the cycle from growth to production to burning as biofuel is nearly, if not completely, a carbon neutral process.”

“First, we must decide which organisms

“Next, we must grow them on a massive scale in order to study them.”

Scientists must learn as much as possible about how algae produce oil, as well as identifying and quantifying the types of oil they produce—a process called lipid metabolism. To do this, they must identify and characterize the genes involved in oil production.

Van Putte learned the basic techniques and tools of molecular biology while on sabbatical leave and applied them to the species Tetraselmis suecica, a common green microalga rich in fatty acids that clams and oysters like to eat. He has focused specifically on isolating, cloning and sequencing a gene and protein called squalene synthase.

“First you have to find the gene, isolate and target a gene in the genome,” he explained. “Next you must amplify it so that you have many copies of it to work with, and then study and compare the same gene in other organisms. Once the entire squalene synthase gene is sequenced, I will do some expressional analysis by taking the gene, putting it in bacteria and seeing how it responds. Finally, one needs to understand how mutations affect the proteins produced. How important is the gene to lipid production? How does it regulate lipid production? How do these organisms do what they do?

Genetic tools allow you to understand how they work.”

“In many species of algae that have been identified as important biofuel resource candidates, this type of research is in its infancy,” Van Putte continued. ”Once these topics are more fully understood, scientists can use biotechnology to genetically engineer algae to increase their growth rate, biomass productivity, or even produce specific types of oils.”

Van Putte designed his sabbatical to focus on research he could continue at McKendree. While the Voigt Science Hall lab is not equipped with the tools of advanced molecular biology

New Endowed Professorship Supports the Study of Science

or genetic mapping, and trial-and-error experimentation is time-consuming, he has been able to continue basic research when time permits.

He has also incorporated his research into the classroom, inspiring several students to read the biofuel literature. Kim Niemann, a biology major from Walshviille, plans to study a gene called diacylglycerol transferase for her senior thesis project on biofuels. Van Putte hopes that grant funding will support the assistance of one or two students in the future.

Jake Dorris ’11 (in the photo on the left with Dr. Van Putte), a senior science education major from West Frankfort, Ill., helped the professor set up the lab. He has prepared media for algae cultures and solutions for use in experiments, harvested algae from the cultures, and performed preliminary experiments.

The future science teacher finds the hands-on experience invaluable. “I never had any real laboratory opportunities until I came to McKendree,” Dorris said. “I enjoy the sciences even more now that I have had the chance to develop my laboratory knowledge. I hope to carry my experiences and knowledge over to my teaching career and develop a practical curriculum where my students truly learn science in a theoretical as well as a practical sense.”

Van Putte believes if algal-biofuel technology can be scaled up and developed in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, it will greatly contribute to a lesser dependence on petroleum, both foreign and domestic.

Dr. Robb Van Putte became the first recipient of the Harvey C. and Winifred Ann Pitt Professorship of Biology at a Founders’ Day ceremony on Feb. 18. The new endowed professorship was made possible by the generosity and vision of two alumni benefactors, the late Harvey C. Pitt and Winifred “Mickey” Pitt of Du Quoin, Ill. A faculty member since 1999, Van Putte chairs the Science and Mathematics Division, teaches biology and honors courses, and advises the Sigma Zeta science honor society chapter. He is a member of the Phycological Society of America, Phi Kappa Phi national honor society, and the Illinois Academy of Science.

Mr. Pitt participated in Sigma Zeta at McKendree, where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1950. He went on to enjoy a long and successful career in management with the Pepsi-Cola Corporation.

His passion for water fowl hunting led Mr. Pitt to amass a world-class collection of decoys, many of which he crafted himself. He gained an international reputation as the preeminent collector of duck decoys in the U.S. Inspired by a lifelong love of nature and learning, the Pitts donated much of their collection and the proceeds from its sale to establish the endowed professorship.

Mr. Pitt passed away in 2005 and Mrs. Pitt in 2007.

“The impact of this research touches on economics, politics, biology, chemistry and social aspects. That’s why it is so appealing to so many different people as a field of study,” he said. “The potential for this to really become something mainstream is already there. A lot of people are working on this. There is a lot of money to be made. The potential return is so huge. It will open up a new market for the products that algae produce, as well as the algae themselves. The obvious benefits definitely outweigh any costs.”

“Renewable energy is inevitable. It has to come.”

Dr. Van Putte and family at the Founders’ Day event..

from the Outfield to the Gridiron

A

s a child growing up in East St. Louis and Cahokia, Ill., Byron Gettis ’11 was raised in a community where most of his classmates did not even consider college as an option. A multi-talented athlete at Cahokia High School, Gettis was a two-time all-state quarterback, all-state baseball player and track star.

Knowing that his athletic talent could be his ticket to a college education, Gettis was committed to working hard in the classroom and on the field.

“From a young age, I made the promise to my mother that I would get my college degree,” said Gettis.

Upon graduation in 1998, Gettis had several Division I offers, including playing quarterback for the University of Minnesota. He was on track to fulfilling that promise, when the Kansas City Royals organization offered him a free agent deal he could not pass up. Interestingly, when he signed his contract with the Royals, Gettis stipulated that the Royals would pay for his college education, if and when he later pursued it.

“Luckily in ’98 I was smart enough to say, you know what, put $90,000 away so I can go to school,” Gettis said. “When I stop playing baseball I will take that to fulfill another one of my goals and dreams, and that’s going to school to get my degree.”

After four years of playing minor league ball, it looked like Gettis’ decision would soon pay off. In 2002, he batted .283 with 70 runs batted in for the Royals’ Class A affiliate, the Wilmington Blue Rocks. He backed up that performance in 2003 by hitting .302 with 16 home runs and 103 RBI’s at Class AA Wichita. For his efforts in 2003, Gettis was named the Royals’ Minor League Player of the Year.

The 2004 season was filled with promise for Gettis.

He had a strong spring training and began the year at Triple-A Omaha, one step away from the majors. After another strong start in the minors, Gettis got the call that most young baseball players can only dream about.

However, when the call came, Gettis didn’t believe it.

“We were in Portland for a game,” said Gettis. “We were in a rain delay, and our manager called me in to talk to me. He said I was going to Kansas City to join the big club. I thought he was joking.”

by Krysti Connelly and Scott Cummings

{

Byron Gettis ’11 kept hearing the same sermon. The message: Get your college degree.

}

“It was the fulfillment of a childhood dream,” said Gettis. After getting through the emotion of the moment, Gettis boarded a plane for Kansas City and found himself in the starting lineup for a day game at Kaufmann Stadium against the Detroit Tigers. He appeared in the outfield for 21 games and had 7 hits and one RBI with 39 at-bats for the Royals.

“It was something I’ll never forget,” said Gettis. “The guys (Carlos Beltran, Mike Sweeney, and Jermaine Dye) made me feel like a part of the club.”

Gettis was traded to Detroit in the off-season and split the year between Class AA Erie and Class AAA Toledo. Toward the end of that season, Gettis experienced a big life-changing moment, albeit a tragic one.

On Sept. 4, 2005, Gettis’ grandmother was killed in an accident near Granite City. His mother, Letha, was injured in the wreck, as was his sister Jasmine. Gettis asked to leave the team to come home and be with his family.

{

}

I feel blessed because I have lived one dream, and now I’m getting to live another one.

“That was a tough time,” said Gettis. “It was tough seeing my mom lying in the hospital bed like that. I kept thinking that baseball wasn’t all that important, and kept thinking how I could help my family the most. That was the time I dedicated myself to the Lord. He blessed me with the talent and strength, and His guidance became an everyday presence in my life.”

With his wife Latricia and a newborn baby at home, Gettis made the decision to move back to Cahokia and leave baseball. He was released by the Tigers in the offseason and decided to take the Royals up on their agreement to pay for his college education.

“First priority was going to school,” Gettis said. “At the level I was in baseball—up and down, up and down—at the age of 26 I said I want to be a big-time coach. First I would have to start with my degree. I wanted to graduate from college and pursue my dreams at a younger age. I also wondered what it would be like to play college football.”

In 2006, Gettis traded in his bat and glove for a helmet and football and signed on to play football at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. After being redshirted in his first year, he took the field in 2007 and helped the team reach the national semifinals. Following the season, Latricia was offered a promotion for her job, which meant taking a position in Fairview Heights. While considering his options of commuting to Carbondale and playing football or transferring to SIUE and not playing football, Getttis had a chance conversation with a former Cahokia grad that was a current McKendree player.

“I was talking with Antonio Greer and he was talking about how he liked playing at McKendree,” said Gettis. ‘It got me thinking and I put in a call to Coach Poelker.” Within a few days, Gettis made the decision to transfer to McKendree.

At McKendree, Gettis quickly became a leader on the field and in the locker room. As team captain, he has taken on the role of mentor in the program, and he’s very serious about that, both on and off the field. “He shows up every day with a smile on his face and a great work ethic,” said Coach Carl Poelker.

“The players in the locker room respect Byron, one because he’s older, but also because he’s had that life experience.”

In fact, in a role reversal of sorts, Gettis remembers coaching Bearcat’s assistant coach Mike Harrison in little league. “It took some adjustment having Mike as a coach, however I have enjoyed watching him grow into a remarkable man and he has become a good friend,” said Gettis.

On the field, Gettis has become one of the focal points of the Bearcats’ offensive attack. In 2009, he was named co-Mid-States Football Association Midwest League Player of the Year and to the NAIA All-America first team. Through 21 games at McKendree, Gettis has caught 54 passes for 680 yards with seven touchdowns. He is second on the Bearcats’ all-time list for receptions, third in touchdown catches and fifth in career receiving yards. Under Gettis’ leadership, the Bearcat football team went 9-2 during the 2009 season, and won the MSFA Midwest League championship with a perfect 7-0 conference record. They advanced to the NAIA Football Championship Series for the first time since 2005. In June, Gettis was named to the NAIA pre-season All-America team in the 2010 edition of The Sporting News College Football Preview magazine. In addition to the individual honor for Gettis, the Bearcats squad earned a No. 9 ranking in the magazine.

Away from the gridiron, Gettis continues to dedicate himself to his faith and his family, which also includes his five-year-old son, Byron Jr. (B.J). “More than what he does on the field, Byron has been our player of the year off the field as well,” said Poelker.

“Byron’s a solid academic student, he’s a deacon in his church, and is heavily involved in youth programs.”

An elementary education major at McKendree, Gettis has aspirations to teach and coach when his playing days finally come to an end. He is writing a book about his minor league career, going back to school to play football, and the role that Christianity plays in his life.

Gettis has no regrets. He says of his brief time in the big leagues: “It was unbelievable. It was probably one of the best and greatest experiences of my life. When you reach your goal that you’ve dreamed of, it’s unbelievable. It was just being part of that brotherhood, having your name on the roll in the big leagues.”

As a senior, Gettis is excited to begin his final season and for what the future holds. “Most folks get that moment in their lives where they can say they are living their dream,” said Gettis.

“I feel blessed because I have lived one dream, and now I’m getting to live another one.”

A

re You Ready for Some Football?

The Bearcats kick off their football season on the road in the “Big River Bowl” against the University of the Cumberlands on Saturday, Aug. 28 in Dyersburg, Tenn.

Kickoff time is 6 pm at J.C. Sawyer Stadium. Limited tickets available! For ticket information and sales, contact the McKendree University Football Office at 618-537-6444.

2010 Football Schedule 8/28 9/4 9/11 9/18 9/25 10/9 10/16 10/23 10/30 11/13

Bearcats vs. University of the Cumberlands, “Big River Bowl” in Dyersburg, Tenn. at 6 pm Olivet Nazarene University vs. Bearcats, Leemon Field at 6 pm Bearcats vs. Marian University, Indianapolis, Ind. at Noon Iowa Wesleyan College vs. Bearcats, Leemon Field at 6 pm Bearcats vs. Saint Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa Bearcats vs. University of St. Francis, Joliet, Ill. at 1 pm Bearcats vs. Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa at 1 pm William Penn University vs. Bearcats, Leemon Field at 1:30 pm Bearcats at Quincy University, Quincy, Ill. at 1 pm Grand View University vs. Bearcats, Leemon Field at 1 pm

Alumni Tailgate Parties The Alumni Association will host three tailgate parties prior to Bearcat home games on the following dates:

9/4

4-6 pm

9/18

4-6 pm

11/13 11 am-1 pm

BEARCATathletics student profile

‘Winning’ on the Mat

by Carolyn Brickey ’11 In any sport, winning two consecutive titles is a monumental feat, whether at the conference, state, or national level. But that is exactly what McKendree senior Aaron Winning ’10 did this season. On Mar. 6, Winning defended his 2009 national title in the 165-pound weight division at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships held in Oklahoma City.

“I couldn’t have been happier with this win. I was really excited about facing Chris for the finals because I knew it was going to be a good match up,” Winning said. Chris Chionuma of Lindenwood University had previously beat Winning twice during the regular season. It seem as if the odds were stacked against him but Winning did not seem to feel the pressure. “Chris had beaten me a couple times beforehand, but that just made me that much more prepared for what he was working with. I don’t feel like revenge is the right word but having lost before to him got my adrenaline pumping a lot harder for the final match.”

Winning dominated the match from start to finish and nearly recorded a fall

in the second period in front of the packed house. With a final 9-0 major decision, Winning earned his first place national title, again.

“This was just the perfect way to end my senior season. This was my major goal this year and all my hard work has obviously paid off. I really owe thanks to everyone who has helped me get to the place I am, not only as an athlete here at McKendree but also as a student and a well-rounded person in general.”

Having grown up in Highland, Ill., Winning had been around many of the same athletes for most of his life.

“Growing up in a smaller town and competing with generally the same people, it really develops almost like a second family. The friends I have made here at school wrestling have become like family members to me. It is going to be difficult leaving next year.” Although Winning is graduating, he still wants to stay connected to McKendree as much as possible.

“This place is like a second home too, from the coaching staff, to the mats that I put hours of blood and sweat into. I hope they let me stick around long enough to hopefully help out some younger guys come up through the program and be successful.”

By winning his second national title, Winning became the first two-time national champion in McKendree University’s men’s wrestling program’s history.

His All-American effort, along with seniors Josh Bryant and Chas Maloch; juniors David Dwyer, Ryan Jahn, and Andrew Sanchez; and sophomore Kyle Williams, led the squad to a fifth place finish.

3 National Championships, 24 All-Americans, and 24 NAIA Scholar Athletes Baseball

Bowling

The Bearcats led all institutions in the NAIA with 10 honorees on the Daktronics-NAIA scholar athlete team.

Honorees included seniors Adam Davinroy, Joe Dickman, Shane McBride, Ryan Meyer, and Kory Peppenhorst; and juniors Mark Cokel, Eric Gentz, Tyler Muren, Josh Rathmann, and Ryan Uhe. The Bearcats finished the season with an overall record of 29-24.

The men’s and women’s bowling teams both earned spots in the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championships.

The men’s team won its McKendree continued one of the most impressive streaks first game, but fell short in in NAIA athletics this year by winning the AMC the following two games President’s Cup for a 10th consecutive year. to finish in ninth place.

The women’s team earned a spot in the nationally title with a final time of 9:59.94 at the televised championship round before NAIA National Championships in being upended by Webber International March.

University. Sophomores Brandi Branka and Lori Hanken were named to the AllSeniors Mike Mendez, Nick Thompson, Tournament squad. Individually, Lori Devin Williams, and sophomore Carison Hanken qualified for the USBC Kemei won by nearly two seconds over Intercollegiate Singles Championships.

Dakota State University. Kemei, junior Alex Lo, and sophomore Nadia Moore Softball also earned national honors with their AllAmerican performances at the national The softball team shared the lead with tournament.

Central Methodist University on the Daktronics-NAIA scholar athlete team At the Outdoor Track & Field National with eight honorees: seniors Angie Maue, Championships, the men’s 4 x 800-meter Lindsay Newbold, Natalee Rujawitz, relay team, consisting of seniors Mendez, Amanda Snyder, and Katie Ward; and Joshua Katam, Williams and sophomore juniors Jamie Corbier, Ashley Parrott, and Josh Wilhelm, cruised to a winning time Cathy Webb. The Bearcats reached the of 7:29.14. This was the first time in AMC tournament championship game program history that the Bearcats have before ending their season 35-19 overall. won the 4 x 800-meter relay. Kemei, Lo and Moore earned national honors with their All-American performances. Mendez Tennis was also named a Daktronics-NAIA Ranked No. 19 in NAIA men’s tennis, the scholar athlete.

Bearcats ended its spring season with a 21In addition to the national recognitions, 4 record.

Coach Neal West was named men's and women’s AMC Coach of the Year, Track & Field Williams was co-named the AMC Most Valuable Runner, and Moore was coThe men’s distance medley relay team named the Most Valuable Field Athlete. raced to an indoor track & field national

Men’s Basketball The team closed out the 2010 season 27-7 and advanced to the NAIA National Championship tournament for the fourth straight year, and 14th time in program history.

Junior forward Eric Hobbie was named to the NAIA first team All-American squad and was named the AMC Player of the Year. Freshman John Steppe was named co-recipient of the AMC Freshman of the Year award. Senior Kenny Detmer and sophomore Kyle Heckert were named as Daktronics-NAIA scholar athletes.

Women’s Basketball The team ended the season 25-7.

The Bearcats advanced to the NAIA National Championship tournament for the ninth time in program history.

Head Women’s Basketball Coach Melissa Ringhausen was also named AMC Coach of the Year. The AMC Freshman of the Year award went to forward Courtney Harris. Three players were named Daktronics-NAIA scholar athletes: senior Hailey Klingelhoefer and juniors Katie Fullerton and Ashley Agee.

ALUMNInews profile

Brainard Miller ’51

by Stephanie Coartney, ’10

“

I started right in the middle of ‘Singing in the Rain.’ The first set I was ever on—and I told this story to Debbie Reynolds recently—was the one where she sang the number ‘All I Ever Do is Dream of You.’

Filming has always been a passion for McKendree alumnus Brainard Miller ’51, but when he decided to attend cinematography school 60 years ago, little did he know how much his life would truly change.

A native of Metropolis, Ill., Miller attended McKendree from 1946 to 1949, studying literature and music. He was attracted by its good reputation throughout the region, and because both his aunt and father had attended McKendree, Miller felt a familiar tie to the school. As a student, he was active in campus life, serving as sophomore class president and chorus president in 1949 and as a member of Philo Literary Society and the Student Faculty Council. Along with his leadership skills, Miller used his film and documentary knowledge to make lasting contributions.

Even in grade school days, Miller remembers completing many film projects for fun. As a college student, he filmed a documentary about campus activities and holidays entitled “College Daze,” which stands as a living testimony to McKendree student life in the late 1940’s. It explores such campus-wide activities as Sadie Hawkins Day and Leaf Raking Day,

”

which as Miller noted, “was an enjoyable time for everyone. Even the college president got out and raked leaves with us on the front lawn.”

Despite his love for Lebanon’s campus community, Miller’s passion for cinematography led him to seek a film degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “It had the reputation as the best school in the country for film,” said Miller. “I didn’t know anyone there, and compared to McKendree, it was huge and kind of cold since everyone had always been so friendly at McKendree.” Graduating in 1951 with a degree in cinema and literature, he soon began work as an assistant cameraman at MGM Studios in Culver City, Cal. He was mainly in charge of assembling the tripod, loading the film and hitting the slate, but it was often the famous actors and directors that made the work most memorable.

“I started right in the middle of ‘Singing in the Rain.’ The first set I was ever on— and I told this story to Debbie Reynolds recently—was the one where she sang the number ‘All I Ever Do is Dream of You.’” During Hollywood’s golden age in the 1950’s, Miller had a hand in such monumental films as “Ben Hur” and

Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”

As a result, he gained a great amount of insight into the time, energy and money invested in these movies. Miller assisted with the filming of the sea battle in “Ben Hur,” a scene constructed entirely of miniatures. “The boats were actually about 20 feet long, and the water was four feet deep,” he said. “Wind machines made waves in the water to look like the ocean, and there was a man lying down rowing all the oars and firing the cannons out of the ship.” Miller called the entire film “a big gamble” for MGM because of all the detailed work that went into each set; however, it benefited the studio by becoming a renowned masterpiece of acting and cinematography.

The extent of Miller’s encounters with Hollywood stars at MGM Studio is impressive. Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Ava Gardner and Gene Kelly are a few with whom he interacted and observed as they delivered some of their most memorable performances. He recalled a joke the crew played on actress Ann Blyth, whom Miller described as “very prim and elegant. She would come driving into the studio in her Cadillac, and we’d act like she was being dangerous and jump out of her way. She’d almost lose control of the car, she was laughing so hard at us.” Miller would

occasionally encounter Elvis Presley walking around the studio. He described Presley as “very friendly. Everybody liked him. He would always say hello and call me ‘sir’ even though we were about the same age. It was probably that southern politeness.”

One of the most famous directors Miller observed directly was Alfred Hitchcock.

Although he never spoke much to the crew and frequently returned to his dressing room between scenes, Hitchcock knew exactly what he wanted the shots to look like, making the cameramen’s job very easy. “It was a very relaxed environment working for Mr. Hitchcock,” Miller explained. “He looked like he should be in front of the camera instead of behind it because he was always dressed to a T. Always in a suit and tie with a carnation in the buttonhole.”

While Miller described working at MGM as “glamorous,” it was also exhausting.

Cameramen would be on their feet 12 to 14 hours a day, most of which was spent waiting for the rest of the crew to make adjustments on the set. “The glamour evaporates real fast,” he laughed.

In addition to his career in the motion picture industry, Miller also worked for a time as an editor, writer and director in the filming units of aerospace technology.

Although the work was easy and pleasant with normal hours, he nurtured his creative instincts doing something he loved even more: filming his own documentaries. Making one’s own film,

“you have complete control and complete blame too,” he said. His 1980 documentary “All’s Well in Rothenburg,” based on the German town and one family in particular, took roughly three years to complete. The filming process necessitated five or six trips to Rothenburg, and Miller said he was always fighting the weather, especially for the aerial shots. After much effort, the documentary was finished, and Miller received recognition for his natural cinematic talent and hard work by winning the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival in New York. “This was about the equivalent of an Academy Award for documentaries,” he said.

While he formally retired in 1988, Miller’s creative expression has hardly ceased. In 1996, he produced a 30-minute video titled “McKendree Prank Highlights” to help out with a presentation on campus.

He also wrote a book recently to commemorate his time in the film industry, called “Remembering MGM,” and generously donated a copy to McKendree’s Alumni Office. Although he resides in Woodland Hills, Cal., Miller said, “I always manage to stop by McKendree every now and then and talk to the people I used to go to school with.”

Returning to campus in 2009 to be inducted into the University’s Academy of Excellence, he saw the Hett for the first time, as well as other campus renovations.

“The Hett was beautiful,” he said, “and the award came as a nice surprise,

Miller received recognition for his natural cinematic talent and hard work by winning the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival in New York.

too. I was having some medical problems at the time, and the award really lifted my spirits. Coming back to accept it gave me something to look forward to.”

Continuing his artistic work in film, Miller is now in the editing stages of a new documentary about the life of one of his friends who is deaf and was on the USA Deaf Olympic team, but now teaches children in special education.

Brainard Miller’s talent lies not only in his long list of accomplishments or even in his impressive career in Hollywood. One clearly sees it in his ability and passion to capture aspects of real life on film and share the stories of others, thereby making his own story a blockbuster.

CLASSnotes Bogey the Bearcat Summer Vacation Photo Contest The McKendree University Office of Communications and Marketing challenges you to take Bogey the Bearcat, a small plush version of the University’s bearcat mascot, with you on your summer travels. Whether you are traveling across the country or abroad, take photos of Bogey’s summer adventure, and maybe you’ll be the lucky winner of a $50 gift certificate to the University Bookstore.

Your photos can be humorous, artistic or creative—it’s up to you as long as you follow the contest rules. Feel free to include captions for your photo(s), and submit as many as you like to khconnelly@mckendree.edu by September 15, 2010.

Selected photos will be posted on the website and published in Bearchat and a future edition of the Magazine for McKendree. Don’t have a Bogey the Bearcat? You can get your own from the McKendree University bookstore or order online at www.mckendreebooks.net.

Stay Connected In order to keep you in the loop, the Office of Alumni Relations produces a monthly electronic newsletter—the McKendree Alumni Wire. We will send you the latest news on campus, event and sports schedules, as well as links to other popular websites for McKendree activities. If you are interested in receiving the McKendree Alumni Wire, please complete the Stay Connected form online at www.mckendree.edu/alumni.

CONTEST RULES: 1. Bogey the Bearcat must travel out of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

2. Images can't be altered with Photoshop or other editing software.

3. Photo size must be less than 10MB. 4. Photos containing vulgarity or questionable representations of Bogey will be rejected, included but not limited to illegal activity, drugs, alcohol, etc.

Submitter grants McKendree University permission to publish photos in print and on the Internet

Stay Connected with the McKendree University Alumni Association Online Become a fan of Bogey D. Bearcat or join the alumni group on Facebook and connect with other McKendree alumni on Linkedin.

The alumni Facebook page is a great resource for alumni; you can stay connected, catch up with classmates, and see what is happening on campus.

Discover business opportunities, search for great jobs, make inside connections that can help land jobs, and get introduced to fellow alumni on Linkedin.

Visit the alumni website at http://alumni.mckendree.edu and click on McKendree's Facebook and Linkedin links to join both groups today.

50s Ruth Ann ( Johnston) Cox ’52 and husband, Ted, celebrated 60 years together on June 5, 2010.

60s Robert Campbell ’61 retired on his 70th birthday in November from his fourth part-time job. Bob is a former director of alumni relations at McKendree.

Edward Tuton ’61 earned the designation of CAPP (Certified Appraiser of Personal Property) from the International Society of Appraisers.

Mary (Reinhardt) Philip ’66 and Dave Philip ’70 vacationed in Italy and Switzerland in Oct. 2009. While in Switzerland, they visited the Santa Maria degli Angeli Chapel in Monte Tamaro.

Steve McFall ’69 stepped down as the Collinsville (Ill.)High School head girls basketball coach after 12 seasons, bringing to a close a spectacular 40-year career.

70s Brian DeWolf ’71 held a solo exhibit of his photographs in Croissy sur Seine, France.

Roger Aldridge ’73 recently completed a new composition, entitled “Ups and Downs,” for 11 wind instruments and a soloist for any instrument.

David Keith Worley ’73 is the executive director of the Fisher Food Pantry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Jeffersonville, Ind. David also sings baritone in Voces Novae in Louisville, Ky. Judy (Hall) Ackermann ’74 was awarded the 2010 McKendree University “Middle School Mentor Teacher of the Year” award. Judy teaches sixth grade math at Mascoutah (Ill.) Middle School and coaches sixth grade “mathletes” on the Illinois Math League team. She is also an associate faculty member at McKendree.

80s Leslie (Carns) Lehman ’83 is a first grade teacher at the Coulterville (Ill.) Grade School.

90s

Edward Willett ’75 was inducted into McKendree’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi on Apr. 16, 2010. Ed is the director of operations at McKendree University.

Christine (Burchyett) Brewer ’76 shared the stage with Anna McNeely ’72 during a tribute concert for Glenn Freiner, former chair of the McKendree music department, on Apr. 23, 2010 at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Belleville, Ill. In June, Christine sang with the NY Philharmonic and at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony in an allWagner concert. In July and August, she will star in the Santa Fe Opera production of Benjamin Britten’s opera “Albert Herring” and will have a new recording of Strauss excerpts released on July 27.

John Suarez ’91 gave a presentation on campus during the Alumni Career Workshop on Mar. 9, 2010. John is associate director of career services with Devry University in St. Louis, Mo. Sheila Embry ’92 is program manager for supervisory training for the Department of Homeland Security/United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Sheila currently resides in Arlington, Va.

Mary (Voegele) Hazen ’78 earned her master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in Jan. 2010.

Mary has been on the parish staff at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Champaign, Ill., since 1996.

Shirley (Baugh) Rentz ’78 was inducted into McKendree’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi on Apr. 16, 2010. Shirley is the director of human resources at McKendree University.

Steve Lemons ’78 filled an unexpired term on the Lenexa, Ks. city council.

Randal Foss ’92 and Melissa Davis were married May 30, 2009. Randal is a petty officer first class for the United States Navy and is currently stationed at Whidbey Naval Air Station in Oak Harbor, Wash.

CLASSnotes

october 22 -24

homecoming

2010

alumni reunion

save the date

Nearly 30 alumni returned to campus for the Women’s Alumni basketball game on Feb. 20, 2010. Those who participated were (front row, left to right): Leah Shan ’10, Emily (Hart) Meyer ’08, Heather (Elders) Webb ’08, Suzy Gerler ’08, Angela (Durham) Luce ’03, Julie (Gray) Bruns ’98, Michelle (Beiermann) Hemken ’04, Angela Witte ’04, Kari (Crnkovich) Crask ’96; (back row, left to right) Amanda Lance ’08, Brook Zachry ’09, Julie Garrison ’09, Kelsey Park ’09, Emily Best ’10, Rebecca (Bisso) Rakers ’03, Stephanie Sparks ’05, Jacque (Clark) Cunningham ’04, Ashley (Mathias) Florey ’02, Kelly Hasheider ’06, Kelly Jo (Nettleton) Kennedy ’01, Amy (May) Moore ’01, Angela Arbeiter ’99, and Jennifer (Repking) Schilb ’06. Not pictured: Jodi (Huelsmann) Klingenberg ’97, Amy Anderson ’03, Jennifer (Stearns) Shadwick ’03, Kristen (Hustedde) Von Hatten ’03, Amanda Schuring ’10.

Brad Reinhardt ‘92 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Traffic Club of St. Louis at its annual dinner in March. Brad is a managing partner for ReTrans Precision Logistics in Madison, Ill. He lives in Belleville, Ill. with his wife, Jodi (Edgar) Reinhardt ’92, and their three children, Alana, Ben and Jett.

Renee Eichelberger ’93 was promoted to director of leisure travel sales for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission in St. Louis, Mo. Kevin McKim ’94 was promoted to president with RecoverCare LLC in Louisville, Ky.

Kristin Niedringhaus ’94, Jessica (Augustine) Fritz ’98 and Brian Ferguson ’04 served on a panel discussion during the Alumni Career Workshop on Mar. 9, 2010.

Matthew Ritz ’95 is volleyball coach for the Blue Storm at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Ill. Pamela Twillie ’95 was recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in security management. Pamela is an intelligence analyst for the United States Air Force.

Daniel Nelson ’96 was promoted to executive director of business development at Catalina Marketing in St. Louis, Mo.

Eric Shadowens ’96 is serving his first term on the St. Matthews Area Business Association board of directors. Eric is a tax manager with Rueff Associates in Louisville, Ky. Erica Weihe ’97 and Matt Rankin were married Sept. 5, 2009. Erica is a tax manager at AmDocs, Inc. Christopher Kehrer ’98 and Allison Beckmann were married Aug. 8, 2009.

The couple resides in New Memphis, Ill. Lori (Rehmet) Moore ’98 won a bronze award from Readers Favorite for her first book, “From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years.” Lori released a second book, “Missing Andy: The Journey From Grief to Joy” in March 2010. She resides in Louisville, Ky. with her husband, Michael.

Lena Bauer ’99 was awarded the 2010 McKendree University “Elementary Mentor Teacher of the Year” award.

Lena is a third grade teacher at Estelle Kampmeyer School in O'Fallon, Ill. She is currently working toward a master’s degree in educational studies with an emphasis in reading at McKendree.

Stephanie (Burke) Emge ’99, husband, Ed ’00, and son, Noah, announce the birth of Grace on Oct. 9, 2009.

Natalie (Davis) Jablonski ’99 was inducted into McKendree’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi on Apr. 16, 2010. Natalie is director of philanthropy at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, Ill.

Jennifer Phelps ’01 and Ryan Richert were married July 25, 2009.

Stacy Reindl ’01 and James Campbell were married on Apr. 24, 2010. Stacy is pursuing a career in training and development.

Dale Charles, BSN ’02, MSN ’07 was appointed as director of nursing at Spencerian College in Louisville, Ky. Casey Keller ’02 is a senior account manager for MediaMorph in Los Angeles, Cal. Diane Nagel ’02 was competitively selected and attended Squadron Officer School for five weeks at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Al. Diane is a contracting specialist for the United States Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base.

Shandra (Kloos) Seger ’02, husband, Ryan, and daughter, announce the Oct. 26, 2009 birth of Lea Mikol. Shandra is employed with Rural Family Medicine in Mascoutah, Ill. Jamie (Maedge) Dressler ’03, husband, Scott, and daughter, Taylor, announce the birth of Morgan Rose on May 7, 2009.

00s Tracy (Niklich) Eye ’01 and Jeremiah ’01 recently traveled to China to bring home their son, Phillips Reagon, who is two. Tracy is the children’s pastor for New Community Church in Braselton, Ga. Jeremiah teaches K-5 physical education at Puckett’s Mill in Dacula, Ga.

Stephen Ellis ’03 and Jami Morgan were married on Nov. 14, 2009. The couple resides in Fairfield, Ill. Lori (Colley) Fassler ’03 was awarded a $5,000 Edward Stiften nursing scholarship. Lori is a nurse at Alton Memorial Hospital and is currently pursuing an MSN at McKendree.

CLASSnotes Erin (McKenna) Mignon ’03 and husband, Michael, announce the birth of Maxwell on Mar. 16, 2009. Erin is an associate faculty member in history at McKendree University.

Kimberly (Stoll) French ’03, husband, Nicholas ’06, and daughter, Taylor, announce the birth of Norah on Dec. 28, 2009.

Kimberly received her master’s degree in public health in December 2009. Nicholas received his master’s degree in education in December 2009.

Adam Kee ’04 was selected as Mr. Endicott in the world premiere, Off— Broadway production of “In the Heat of the Night,” presented at the Godlight Theatre Company.

Emily Meyer ’04 was featured in an Apr. 7, 2010 Suburban Journals article highlighting 30 young leaders in the Metro-East. Emily is a fifth grade teacher and the basketball coach at Immaculate Conception School in Columbia, Ill. Kim Snider ’04 is an advertising representative with the Herald Publications in Mascoutah, Ill. Robert Stock ’04 is vice president and safety director for Stock Transport in Lebanon, Ill. Lisa Woods ’04 and Maxwell Stutzman were married Sept. 26, 2009. The couple resides in Sandwich, Ill. Brad Haar ’05 is a loan officer for First County Bank in New Baden, Ill.

Casey Hardesty ’05 and Jeff Bassler were married on Apr. 10, 2010. Casey is a seventh grade teacher at High Mount School in Swansea, Ill. Marissa (Heern) McKee ’05, and husband, Ryan, announce the birth of Colton Gage on Mar. 20, 2010. Marissa entered candidacy for a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling.

Amanda (Kirksey) Ferguson ’05, and husband Brian ’04, announce the birth of Keegan Daniel on Jan. 13, 2010.

Tabitha Meador ’05 is a legislative analyst in the Illinois House of Representatives working for the House Republican staff.

Adam Prest ’05 and Erin Fann were married Nov. 28, 2009.

Tom Pieper ’06 was the best man.

Adam is the supervisior and a CPA with Anders Minkler and Diehl in St. Louis, Mo. Adam was recently named one of St. Louis’ 30 under 30 by the St. Louis Business Journal.

Matthew DeFranco ‘06 is the director of hockey operations for the Broome County Barons of the Federal Hockey League.

Sara Ford ’06 and Joel Beer were married Nov. 14, 2009. The couple resides in Flossmoor, Ill.

Lynn Klostermann ’06 and Louis Boeckmann were married on June 13, 2009. The couple resides in Trenton, Ill. Shelly Kuhns ’06 received a dean’s scholarship to pursue a doctorate in nursing at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, Ill. Tom Pieper ’06 and Tiffany Galeaz ’07, MBA ’09, were married Oct. 17, 2009. Tom is a supervisor of compliance at Sigma-Aldrich.

Tiffany is a staff accountant at Basler Electric Company.

Danielle Tonnies ’06 and Joshua Mazander, MBA ’08 were married on Nov. 7, 2009. The couple resides in O’Fallon, Ill. Myron Bell, Jr. ’07 is an assistant resource teacher at Westside High School in Omaha, Neb. Krysti Boden ’07 and David Thomas were married Oct. 10, 2009.

Krysti graduated from SIUE in May 2009 with a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology.

She is a human resource/organization development specialist at Kellwood Company in Chesterfield, Mo.

Alumni in The News

W

hen it comes to teaching math and science, Chris Cunnings ’06 gets an “A” for energy exerted. A former All-American college football player, Chris knows a thing or two about hard work, dedication and reaching his goals. Now he's passing those lessons on to his students at Wilmington (Ill.) High School.

Inside his classroom, Chris is a study in velocity and brain power. "If I don't go home exhausted, if I don't go home

J

ordan Smith ’07 recently appeared as a contestant on season 11 of Spike TV's long running reality series, “The Ultimate Fighter.” An All-Conference academic tight end at McKendree, Jordan was introduced to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) prior to graduating with his biology degree in 2007.

"When I saw it live it was different from seeing it on television," said Jordan. "It just made me really want to do it. So as soon as football ended I started training and haven't looked back since."

S

tudents at Joseph Arthur Middle School in O’Fallon, Ill. will soon have the opportunity to study audio and video production and editing, podcast production and photo editing, and learn about other media topics through their music and art curricula, thanks to McKendree alumnus Gina (Gordon) James ’95, MAED ’09.

feeling like I got a good workout in class, I feel like I gave the kids less than 100 percent,” said Chris. "I think the kids understand when I come in here I'm geared up and ready to go.”

His goal wasn't always a teaching career, but a presentation he made in front of his college classmates caught the attention of his professor and changed the course of his career path.

“I gave the presentation; I tried to be very energetic. I tried to be upbeat and he came up to me after class and said “I don’t know what you want to do but you might be one of the most natural teachers.’”

A rising star in the MMA, Jordan “Mata Ele” is viewed among the top middleweight fighters in the country with a 140-1 professional record and three title belts, including the Max Fighting League Middleweight Belt.

When he isn’t teaching lessons in the cage, Jordan is teaching lessons in the classroom as a seventh grade science teacher at West Point Utah Junior High School. "Teaching has become one of the most fulfilling things I will ever get to do in my life," said Jordan.

Gina, a seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher, and a team of three other teachers were awarded a $15,000 grant from Emerson Electric in its Excellence in Teaching Gold Star Program for their proposal for technology curriculum, a dedicated media room, and a media spectrum club devoted to media studies.

The school became eligible for the program when Gina received the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award last fall.

His professor was right. Just three years into his teaching career Chris was recognized as the WGN-TV “Teacher of the Month” in December 2009.

"The best part of my job is when I have a student come up to me and say 'I'm going to college and I'm going to teach math' and they've had me for math all their years here,” said Chris.

In recognition of his achievements, his school received a $1,700 scholarship to Sylvan Learning Centers.

Article edited and reprinted from WGNTV online story in Dec. 2009

He is quick to point out the importance of intelligence in the ring. He also has learned a great deal from the sport he loves. "Strength in the face of adversity," he said. "The true mark of a champion is what you do after you lose. Who can lose and still come back and be a champion?"

All important life lessons he hopes to share with his students and others.

Article edited and reprinted from KSL.com online story in May 2010.

“It’s amazing what we’re going to be able to do for our students,” Gina said. “We already have the technology, we just wanted to take it a step further.”

Gina has taught at the school for 15 years.

She lives in O’Fallon, Ill. Article edited and reprinted from Belleville News-Democrat story in May 2010.

CLASSnotes Codi (Dempster) Dew ’07, and husband, Tim ’08, announce the birth of Ian Daniel James on Oct. 17, 2009.

Kyle Eversgerd ’07 is the fan development coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. He also works as a freelance sports writer for the Belleville News-Democrat.

William G. Ford MAED ’07 was recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in business management.

As the founder of the Ford Group, William oversees the design and distribution of the High School Guide Notebook.

Nicole Taylor ’07 and Adam Griffing were married on Nov. 28, 2009. The couple resides in House Springs, Mo. Travis Venhaus ’07 joined the certified public accounting firm of Diel and Ferguson LLC.

Danielle Kruep ’09 and Travis Murray were married Aug. 1, 2009. Danielle is a substitute teacher.

Allison Ganschinietz ’08 and Andrew Mauser ’04 were married in September 2009. Laura Walk ’08 and Robert Rogers ’10 were members of the wedding party. Allison works at the St. Louis Zoo as a ZOOmagination Station instructor.

Jermaine Myers ’09 was an alternate on the 2008 Jamaican Olympic track and field team.

10s Amanda Lance ’08 teaches third grade and coaches the high school basketball team in Jackson, Mo. Matt Whetstone ’08 and Katie Loomis were married Dec. 19, 2009. Matt is a credit analyst at Evansville Commerce Bank.

Michelle Fohne ’09 is an accountant at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, Ill.

Hannah Burleson ’10 and Clint LeBeau were married June 13, 2009.

The couple will reside in Dexter, Mo. Deanne Puloka ’10 received a diversity fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in organizational communication at Saint Louis University.

Robert Andrews, Jr. ’08, and wife, Michelle, announce the birth of Grace Elizabeth on Dec. 16, 2009.

Xitiz Chamling ’08 was accepted into the Ph.D. program in genetics at the University of Iowa for the fall 2009 semester. He received full tuition and a considerable graduate assistantship.

The alumni board elected six new members at the annual meeting on June 5, 2010. Pictured from l to r: Marianna (Davis) Romine ’69, Sara Reinacher ’10, Lee Ann Merideth ’91, John Schomaker '80, not pictured: Robert “Bruce” Hogan ’71, Erin Conner ’08.

Three McKendree generations of Campbells and Mallrichs pose for a family photo with 2010 graduate Lisa (Mallrich) Campbell. Pictured from l to r: Tyler Campbell ’13, Amanda (Farrell) Campbell ’08, Rob Campbell ’09, Robert Campbell ’61, Jeff Campbell ’87, Lisa (Mallrich) Campbell ’10, Jim Mallrich '85, Jan Mallrich and J.J. Mallrich '05.

Get Involved!

All alumni are encouraged to remain involved in the life and activities of the University. There are several new ways to serve your alma mater.

Mentor: Alumni who serve as mentors offer their professional expertise to current students. The mentor program is web-based and conducted primarily through e-mail communications with the students.

Mentors may help students make connections for career possibilities, assist with interviews and provide insight on the job market.

Alumni Ambassador: Alumni who serve as ambassadors represent the McKendree Alumni Association by participating in such events as the annual scholarship days, senior luncheon, commencement and new student convocation.

Class Agent: Alumni who serve as class agents help us to maintain connections with members of specific classes. For example, a member of the Class of ’73 can help us connect with those class members because he or she knew those students. It is a great way to keep in touch with your classmates!

To learn more, send an e-mail to alumni@mckendree.edu or call 1-800-BEARCAT, ext. 6813.

The following Bearcat band alumni joined the current band during the “Pack the Gym” basketball games on Feb. 20, 2010: Michael Long ’02, Katie Wisnasky ’07, Matt Black ’08, Amanda (Farrell) Campbell ’08, Tina Napper ’08, Brent Tebbe ’08 and Rob Campbell ’09.

The following alumni participated in the Career Readiness Conference on Mar. 21, 2010: Lawrence Meggs ’63, Paul Funkhouser ’70, Charles Lee ’74, Vince Butler ’81, John Suarez ’91, Sheila Page ’92, Wendy LaBenne ’97, Heather (Knop) Moonier ’00, Sean Lashley ’02, Ellen (Parker) Carey ’04, Derek Green ’05, Jason Ayran ’07, and Cari Adams ’09.

The following alumni participated in the Scholarship Days’ interviews on Jan. 30 and 31, 2010: Corky Helms ’59, Robert Campbell ’61, Lawrence Meggs ’63, Judith (Herrin) Wojcik ’70, Pamela Zutter-Brock ’73, Charles Lee ’74, Edward Willett ’75, Clyde Brown ’76, Toby ( Johnston) Brown ’78, Vince Butler ’81, Elaine Laws ’82, Marty Martz ’84, Jeff Campbell ’87, Linda (Rickard) Berberich ’89, Thomas Forsyth ’90, Mary (Harres) Kirkpatrick ‘90, James Polarine ’93, Dr. Richelle Rennegarbe ’93, Malinda (Pruitt) Heuring ’95, Scott Schulz ’95, Clayton Thornhill ’95, Kari (Crnkovich) Crask ’96, Matthew Gordon ’96, Scott Heffren ’96, Daniel Nelson ’96, Wendy LaBenne ’97, Dee (Dintleman) Pedtke ’98, Shannon (Stueber) Mallrich ’98, Jennifer (Harris) Pickerell ’99, Amanda (Heffren) Kaemmerer ’99, Dana Barnard ’00, Jill Roberts ’00, Ed Breuchaud ’01, Jennifer (Nash) Breuchaud ’01, Rhonda Pittman ’01, Jennifer Jacknewitz ’02, Kelly Meyer ’02, Erin (McKenna) Mignon ’03, Bernadette Schrempp ’03, Staci Schuessler ’03, Dr. Michele Schutzenhofer ’03, Daniel Winn ’03, Jan Delaney ’04, Susan Harbaugh ’04, Ellen (Parker) Carey ’04, Renee Rhodes ’04, Rebecca (Fleming) Marshall ’05, Ashley Green ’05, Derek Green ’05, Carrie (Quinn) Winn ’05, Miranda Deters ’06, Chris Lally ’06, Jeff Wilson ’07, Erin Coble ’08, Cat Gryzmala ’08, Michelle Kadonsky ’08, Jeremy Alexander ’09, Heather Belmonte ’09, Kumud Bhandari ’09, Meg (Hayes) Bhandari ’09, and Brishanta Lee ’09.

In Memoriam Submissions as of June 15, 2010 Suzanne R. (Potter) Wicks ’45, January 14, 2010 Kenneth L . Harms ’62, February 2, 2010 Jo Anne Hovatter ’67, February 6, 2010 Kenneth Dennison ’93, February 8, 2010 Robert L. Bowser ’56, February 19, 2010 Ray Pike ’41, March 2, 2010 John R. Hadden ’69, March 4, 2010 William H. Brown ’60, March 8, 2010 Martha (Russell) Denbo ’36, March 11, 2010 Toni Kay Edwards ’82, March 15, 2010 Rev. Robert J. Treat, March 20, 2010 Lillian R. (Rezba) Collier ’61, March 24, 2010 Claudia M. (Lang) Baker ’31, March 26, 2010 Dr. Harold E. Briggs Sr. ’50, April 3, 2010 Dr. Whitney R. Harris ’99, April 21, 2010 Grant Hartman ’46, April 21, 2010 Harold Kaeser ’30, May 14, 2010 Marino Garcia ’51, June 2, 2010 When reporting deaths, please provide as much information as possible, especially date, location, graduation year and McKendree connected survivors. Whenever possible, please provide a printed obituary.

CLASSnotes Several alumni attended McKendree Night at Busch Stadium on Monday, Apr. 26, including (l to r): Shirley (Baugh) Rentz ’78, Keith Jacob ’08, Julianne Harris ’07, Rachel (Petrus) Kriss ’06, George Kriss ’04, MBA ’08, Michael Hudgens ’05, Curtis Meadows ’05, and Ericka (Dennis) Echelbarger ’05.

Share Your News The Magazine for McKendree is eager to publish news of individual alumni activities—professional accomplishments, such as job changes, promotions and awards, or personal milestones, such as advanced degrees earned, marriages, and births.

In order to ensure the accuracy of class notes, please follow the guidelines listed below when sharing your news or submitting a photo.

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Digital photographs should be saved in a .tif or .jpg format and have a resolution of 300 dpi. If you are not sure about this measurement, you can measure the size of your file. As a rule of thumb, .jpg photos should be at least 800KB or larger in size; .tif photos should be at least 3MB or larger in size. Please make every effort to measure the size of your photo, as we are unable to publish low-resolution photos. Please e-mail the digital photo as an attachment to alumni@mckendree.edu.

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Photos submitted via postal mail must be 4''x6'' print size or larger. Photos will not be returned.

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Captions must accompany all photos and should include the full names of all individuals in the photo—(in order from left to right, and front to back row); month and year of the event; location of the event, and a short description of the event or occasion.

Due to the high volume of class notes received and the long lead time required for typesetting, design, and printing, submissions may not be printed in the issue immediately following their receipt. The magazine editor reserves the right to edit for length, style and clarity.

To share your news, complete the share your news form online at www.mckendree.edu/alumni/alumni_contact_us or mail the form below to the McKendree University Office of Alumni Relations, 701 College Road, Lebanon, IL 62254.

Name: _______________________________________________ Employer: __________________________________________ Day Phone: ___________________________________

E-mail:_________________________________________________ Job Title:_________________________________________________

Evening Phone:_________________________________________________

Home Address: ________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________________

State:_________

Zip: __________________

Campus/Year: ______________

Any news to share (education advancements, career changes, marriages, births, awards, etc.)? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Check here if you are interested in learning about volunteer opportunities at McKendree University.

Above, Harry Statham ’60, Rose Statham ’70, Dr. James Dennis, and Kenny Detmer ’11

On left, Eric Palm ’10, Craig Cassidy ’11, Andy Wolff ’11, Theresa Kaiser ’11, and John Steppe ’13

On right, Ashley Ray, Lauren Frizzo ’08 and Lori Kuper

McKendree University Night at the Ballpark The right field upper deck cheered loudest as Coach Harry Statham threw the first pitch over home plate at Busch Stadium before the St. Louis Cardinals-Atlanta Braves game on Apr. 26. More than 300 students, alumni, faculty and staff turned out for “McKendree University Night” at the ballpark, as the Cardinals recognized the McKendree athletic director and men’s basketball coach for his 1,000-plus career victories.

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