2012 Winter Magazine

2010 -2011 Honor Roll of Contributors Edition

V O L U M E 27 | N um b e r 1 | w inte r 2012

The Business of Science Dr. Diana Hearne ’82 Senior Partner Vail Valley Emergency Physicians P.C.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

campus news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 clan notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 honor roll of contributors. . . 57

10 A million to Monmouth Generous gift from SonoSite president/CEO Kevin Goodwin ’80 establishes Rod Lemon Faculty Excellence Fund for PEC department.

32 Science, out in the elements Caleb Ruyle ’12 and Colleen Zumpf ’12 among those

taking advantage of Monmouth’s interdisciplinary environmental science major.

36 A life-changing trip Like most of their college classmates, six Monmouth students used to have no idea where Moldova was.

Now, they will never forget it.

38 Where were you on 11-11-11?

We asked, and 166 of you took time from your busy schedules last November to update us on that “one”–derful day.

40 Drama kings The Fighting Scots had their share of blowout wins on the gridiron, but they also mastered the art of the thriller, including a 3OT playoff victory.

on the cover and left How does Dr. Diana Hearne ’82 integrate business and science?

It’s a slippery slope … literally. She provides emergency care in Vail, Colo.

Story on page 18. P h o t o s b y s e a n b o g g s

monmouth | winter 2012 1

Monmouth College Magazine Volume 27 | Number 1 | Winter 2012 Editorial Board Molly A. Ball Vice President for Development and College Relations Don R. Capener Vice President for Strategic Planning/ Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey D. Rankin Director of College Communications Barry J. McNamara Associate Director of College Communications Lucy Kellogg Thompson ’99 Director of Alumni Engagement

Monmouth College Magazine is published by the Office of Development and College Relations for alumni and friends of Monmouth College. All opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or the college.

We welcome letters about the college or the magazine.

Letters will be printed on a space-available basis and may be edited for length, style and clarity. Send letters, queries or submissions to: Monmouth College Magazine, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998, or email jeffr@monmouthcollege.edu. editor Jeffrey D. Rankin Associate Editor Barry J. McNamara COPY Editor Brenda Tooley ART DIRECTOR Nancy Loch Design ASSISTANT Christina Diaz Board of trustees Executive Committee David Byrnes ’72, Chairman William Trubeck ’68, Vice Chairman Gerald Marxman ’56, Treasurer Robert Ardell ’67 David Bowers ’60 (Emeritus) Peter Bunce (Emeritus) Karen Barrett Chism ’65 Nancy Speer Engquist ’74 William Goldsborough ’65 Mark Kopinski ’79 Safford Peacock (Emeritus) Stanley Pepper ’76 Roger Rasmusen ’56 (Emeritus) Jack Schultz Nancy Snowden Mark Taylor ’78 Ralph Velazquez ’79 Richard Yahnke ’66 alumni board Executive Committee Kevin Kaihara ’77, President Jeff Miller ’84, Vice President Jessica Butcher ’94, Secretary contact us Magazine Editor 309-457-2314 jeffr@monmouthcollege.edu eNewsletter Editor 309-457-2117 mcnamara@monmouthcollege.edu www.monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/pipeline Alumni Programs 309-457-2316 alumni@monmouthcollege.edu Athletics 309-457-2322 dnolan@monmouthcollege.edu Admissions 309-457-2322 admissions@monmouthcollege.edu Give to Monmouth College 309-457-2323 www.monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/support

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Introducing our Strategic Plan In 2010, OUR Trustees finalized

a Vision Statement to guide Monmouth College through the year 2025. Over the ensuing months, faculty and administrators, in consultation with alumni and friends of the college, have been involved in discussions of how that vision can be achieved.

No institution can be all things to all people. There are plenty of worthy President Mauri A. Ditzler aspirations but resources are finite.

A set of objectives, strategies and tactics was thus developed to help prioritize where we should invest our energies and resources to best help our students succeed. The fruits of that collaborative process resulted in our new Strategic Plan, summarized on the following pages.

The goal of this Strategic Plan is to help us formulate specific initiatives that address the things we care most deeply about. At Monmouth we are passionate about helping our students become citizens of exceptional character and leadership who have the capacity to change society for the better. We truly believe we are “what college was meant to be,” and we are determined to fulfill this promise.

Monmouth College was built on the ideas, dreams, goodwill and prosperity of you, our graduates, faculty, staff, trustees and friends. You helped make us what we are today. In order to thrive in the future, we need your input, support and devotion to reach our goals. I hope you will review the four strategies outlined in this summary and let us know what you think.

monmouth | winter 2012

Fulfilling the promise of what college was meant to be

A Strategic Plan for Monmouth College “What college was meant to be� is our pledge to honor the vision of our founders, who sought to develop the frontier through the promise of higher education.

Today we help students explore new and different frontiers, but we remain committed to helping them experience the joy of active learning,

prepare for lives of citizenship and service, become complex problem solvers through interdisciplinary courses and opportunities, and find success by discovering a unique calling for a

meaningful career and purpose in life.

Strategic Plan Principle nO.

1 Build an environment that will promote active learning We will engage our students and faculty in active learning—in and out of the classroom—through shared research projects, small class settings, travel opportunities and local internships.

Our students will participate in co-curricular activities that will help them discover their interests and talents, develop leadership skills through membership in student organizations and athletic teams, and become exposed to cultures and ideas that might otherwise remain foreign to them.

The residential liberal arts college still has a critical role to play. Immersion in an academic community cannot be duplicated in a virtual environment.

above, left to right: Taking water samples from a geyser in Yellowstone National Park to isolate thermophilic micro-organisms, Cameron Slate and Brennan Godde were among a group traveling by train through the American West on a summer scientific expedition called “Monmouth on the Rails.”

The Center for Science and Business, scheduled for completion in 2013, will facilitate MC’s plan for integrated learning.

Promoting a positive image of the student athlete on campus is a primary function of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Math major Chad Roland uses a highspeed camera to study waves in a vibrating string in a course on differential equations.

Traveling to India for the first time, Sarah Zaubi blogged back to MC about the extreme cultural adjustments she had to make during her semester abroad.

Strategic Plan Principle nO.

2 Inspire students to lead and serve society using democratic principles We believe, as did our founders, that a liberal arts education provides a fertile ground for an effective democracy. To that end, we will fully implement our integrated studies curriculum that builds to a capstone experience in active citizenry. We will create a campus environment that instills in our students the ability and desire to construct arguments that are as civil as they are persuasive.

Through coursework and co-curricular programming designed to develop persuasive writing and verbal skills, along with a strong appreciation for teamwork, we will prepare and inspire our students to become active members of local and global communities. Monmouth graduates will have the ability to lead when necessary. They will be known for their excellent communication skills, as well as their ability to analyze complex issues, identify risks and propose logical solutions.

Our students will have a strong voice on campus and will actively contribute to the vitality of our community and region.

above, left to right: Alumni who have returned to campus to teach leadership and communication skills include pharmaceutical representative Regina Bannan Johnson ’01.

Teaching opportunities regularly extend beyond the classroom for MC professors like Rob Hale.

Teaching through personal interaction is a way of life for Monmouth professors like Cheryl Meeker.

Students sign a pledge on Moving Planet Day to monitor their carbon emissions.

Dunlap Terrace is a central meeting point for the exchange of ideas.

Strategic Plan Principle nO.

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Prepare students to solve complex problems We will make interdisciplinary learning the signature element of a Monmouth College education. Building on our innovative core curriculum that focuses on this integration of knowledge, we developed a national reputation for expanding general education with interdisciplinary courses in global perspectives, reflections and citizenship. Our Center for Science and Business, currently under construction, will combine the sciences, mathematics, business and accounting in a single facility that invites collaboration among traditionally separate disciplines.

In addition, we will focus our efforts on helping our students understand the complex interactions between our Midwest region and the global economy.

Monmouth develops leaders who can take a broader perspective, devise long-range plans and coordinate the contributions of others.

above, CLOCKWISE: Professor James Godde discusses experimental methodology with biology students.

Through collaborative learning, MC students are better able to grasp an understanding of complex concepts such as neurological functions of the brain.

Monmouth’s Army ROTC program is one of many ways the college provides leadership opportunities. J.D. Holeman ’10 was recently commissioned a second lieutenant.

Scholars Day is an opportunity for students like Deontrae Nelson to publicly present their research projects.

Strategic Plan Principle nO.

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Guide students to discover meaningful careers and purpose in life A Monmouth education is a sound investment, providing the groundwork for both increased earning potential and a rewarding life. Realizing that its graduates will spend nearly five decades in the work force, Monmouth is committed to helping students discover their path to personal and career satisfaction. We do this by encouraging them to explore different academic disciplines, participate in a variety of activities and reflect on what they find most interesting and energizing. Even more important, we believe that as we help students discern their vocation, we will also be preparing them to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

By continually enhancing and expanding opportunities for internships, career counseling, alumni involvement, faculty mentoring and spiritual reflection, we will commit all of our human capital and capabilities towards increased student success. We will ensure that our students make thoughtful career decisions and develop their minds for fulfilling intellectual and spiritual lives. above, left to right: Chemistry professor Brad Sturgeon discusses electroplating techniques with students Pat Corrigan, center, and Alex Peacock for an entrepreneurial partnership with a local industry.

A meditation session is one of many spiritual life programs available to Monmouth students. Other opportunities for personal discovery include a junior-year curricular component titled “Reflections.�

Communication lecturer Natasha Mables, Chris Goble supervises a a communication major from Chicago, student in video editing. helps urban minority students make the transition to college.

Career-oriented and casual musicians alike can derive lifelong benefits from Monmouth’s diverse music program.

O

ne of the enduring strengths of Monmouth

College and why we are one of the greatest values

in higher education today is the unique way that our college integrates knowledge and learning across disciplines. This, combined with our commitment to student success, is the hallmark of Monmouth College.

We know that being “good enough” simply is not enough in today’s competitive world. The groundbreaking for our Center for Science and Business served as both a celebration of our progress and as a reminder of our commitment to reach for the highest levels possible for institutional and student success.

We recognize academic excellence as the primary catalyst for future success.We envision a more globally informed, diverse and academically prepared student body. We imagine a library that, in addition to housing books, is a place where ideas are fostered and incubated; a more functional and service-oriented student center; and more innovative academic programs like SOFIA that promote student-faculty interaction. We

must also endow more scholarships and professorships.

We can make this a reality if we all join in this pursuit of excellence. After all, isn’t that the Monmouth way?

David J. Byrnes ’72 Chairman of the Monmouth College Board of Trustees

Active learning.

Citizenship and service.

Complex problem solving.

Meaningful careers and purpose in life.

By holding true to these ideals, Monmouth College seeks to uphold its promise of remaining

“what college was meant to be.�

photo by kent Kriegshauser

Kevin Goodwin ’80, president and CEO of the medical technology company SonoSite, Inc., has made a $1 million gift to his alma mater to honor his former business professor, Rod Lemon.

Goodwin, who presented the 2011 Wendell Whiteman (’27) Memorial Lecture last spring, graduated with a degree in business administration before embarking on a three-decade career in medical technology and the health care industry, most of which has been in medical ultrasound. He has led SonoSite since its spin-off from ATL Ultrasound in 1998. The world leader in hand-carried and mountable ultrasound, SonoSite also specializes in impedance cardiography equipment.

The Goodwin Endowment gift will establish the Rod Lemon Faculty Excellence Fund, which will be used to attract and retain outstanding faculty in the department of

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breaking news

political economy and commerce (PEC).

“Monmouth College’s success in the past in business and science was no accident,” said Goodwin. “It was a result of exemplary academic programs with dedicated faculty such as Dr. Rodney Lemon. This gift is my effort to help continue this legacy by bringing new faculty of Dr. Lemon’s caliber to Monmouth. My success in business and science is due in no small part to my experience at Monmouth. I am giving back to future students who will benefit from great faculty in the new Center for Science and Business.”

A 1963 Monmouth graduate, Lemon returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in 1976. Among the highlights of his distinguished 31-year teaching career was his role in founding the PEC department.

Beyond the classroom, Lemon provided the intellectual legwork for the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission’s rulemaking mandating more competitive opportunities in the natural gas and electricity industries.

“It’s been a long-held dream of mine to come back to Monmouth College to explain what happened to me here,” Goodwin said last spring. “Years ago, I had a CEO mentor tell me that what separated me from others was my curiosity. This made me ask myself, ‘Now where did that start?’”

The answer, Goodwin said, was in one of Professor Lemon’s classes.

“I was in Intermediate Price Theory,” Goodwin recalled. “We were learning how to manage a company. Up to that point, I’d been a pretty mediocre student. It occurred to me in that class that I didn’t want to be mediocre. … I got an A in that class, which started a run of 18 As and one B in the remainder of my classes at Monmouth.”

“As we anticipate the opening of our Center for Science and Business in the fall of 2013, this gift is well-timed,” said dean of the faculty David Timmerman. “Kevin Goodwin’s career mirrors our focus on the productive intersection of business and science as well as the power of integrated learning across the disciplines.”  monmouth | winter 2012

Mild winter keeps construction on schedule

ph o t o b y j e f f r a n k i n

This photo, taken Feb. 29, shows the progress that has been made on the Center for Science and Business since a cornerstone ceremony held on Aug. 20.

D

uring a Matriculation Day cornerstone ceremony for the new Center for Science and Business, President Mauri Ditzler encouraged the campus community to dream big when thinking about what can be accomplished in the new facility and at Monmouth College. Ditzler has long been a champion of the transformative educational and social good that will come from intentionally integrating the academic disciplines of science and business. The solutions to some of the world’s most critical future problems, including adequate and sustainable supplies of food and fuel, stem from scientific discovery and global distribution. The heartland of the Midwest is the ideal place for innovative approaches to the nexus of science and business education, said Ditzler, adding, “If we get it right, the future is bright.”

Joining Ditzler at the podium were State Sen. John Sullivan, Faculty Senate chair Stacy Lotz, student government president Alex Holt ’12 and board chairman David Byrnes ’72. Introducing the speakers was MC’s vice president for strategic planning, Don Capener, who said, “I am thrilled to see this dream of an interdisciplinary academic complex become a reality.”

Byrnes, who with his wife, Libby, made a $5.5 million gift to the building in 2007, said, “This ceremony for our new Center for Science and Business serves as both a celebration and a reminder of our commitment to reach the next level in our pursuit of academic excellence.”

Sullivan helped Monmouth College secure more than $3 million for the building project from the “Illinois Jobs Now!” capital bill.

Lotz said she has observed many changes during her 16 years on the faculty, including the transformation of the western side of campus and major additions to athletics facilities.

“Now,” she said, “it’s time for academics to come into the spotlight.

On behalf of the faculty, I would like to express our gratitude to the donors who made this possible.”

Holt voiced a similar sentiment: “When the Huff Athletic Center was constructed, the college experienced a spike in enrollment and improvements in athletics. I have no doubt that the Center for Science and Business will do the same for academics.” 

monmouth | winter 2012

photo by George hartmann

Speakers at the cornerstone ceremony included, from left, vice president Don Capener, president Mauri Ditzler, Alex Holt ’12, chairman David Byrnes ’72, State Sen. John Sullivan, Stacy Lotz and the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott.

campus news

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Academic calendar change announced Monmouth College has announced its adoption of a 4-4 academic calendar, beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

In a 4-4 format, students take four courses per semester, rather than the David Timmerman current 12- to 16-credit-hour load. Each course in the new system is typically the equivalent of four credit hours.

Beginning this fall, Monmouth will require that its new students take 32 courses to graduate.

Students currently enrolled under the 5-5 calendar will work closely with their faculty advisers in the transition to the new system.

“The group of college personnel who worked on the 4-4 carried out its work with the goal of enhancing the academic experience for Monmouth students,” said David Timmerman, dean of the faculty. “The new system opens up opportunities for increased academic engagement within the classroom and beyond.

Monmouth aims to provide an excellent undergraduate education to thoughtful, intellectually

curious and ambitious students, both those who come to campus well prepared for first-year college work and those whose backgrounds have left them unprepared, but not incapable, of such work. Improving our ability to offer an excellent undergraduate educational experience is the rationale for the alterations to our current curricular model.”

College officials believe that the shift to a 4-4 will enable the faculty to extend its successful, personalized, advising-intensive, one-on-one and small-group work to even more students.

The change in teaching load will give faculty more opportunities to move beyond the teaching of information to the analysis, synthesis, integration and application of that information.

“Moving to a course-counting system helps enable this good work because it opens up time for students and faculty to work together to enhance the students’ education, deepen their understanding of a discipline and elicit their engagement in specific problems, theories, topical issues and research questions,” Timmerman explained. 

Progress toward NSSE benchmarks continues (ACM) provided the best de facto peer group for the college, including such sister schools as Carleton (No. 6 in the 2012 U.S. News and World Report rankings), Grinnell (No. 19) and Macalester (No. 25). While the college’s ACM membership is a cherished affiliation, and the ranking of U.S. News still resonates as a comparative tool, NSSE’s findings are gaining in importance to prospective students and their parents.

“In our board of trustees’ vision statement, they set the target of being in the top 10 percent of all of the NSSE results by the year 2025,” said President Mauri Ditzler. “They didn’t set a similar goal related to U.S. News.”

Commenting on the board’s goal, dean of the faculty David Timmerman said, “This is not a one-year process. We are seeing clear evidence of becoming one of the top liberal arts institutions in the country, but we realize the need to continue improving in all the areas.”

When compared to their peers among 75 Great Lakes-area private colleges and the entire “I’m definitely pleased with my set of nearly 700 NSSE responders to the choice of Monmouth. The art 2011 survey, MC freshmen and seniors indicated much greater student-faculty department is small enough interaction than the average. The 109 that I’ve been given a lot of seniors who took part in the survey opportunities that I might not responded at a higher rate than their have had, and I’ve received a peers from both groups that they take lot of personalized attention.” part in enriching educational experiences. Finally, the 167 freshmen who —Alyce Cole ’12, art ma jor Despite the formidable competition in the region among national liberal arts colleges, Monmouth College has seen steady progress in benchmarking student success and learning outcomes using surveys like the National Student Survey of Engagement (NSSE).

For many years, Monmouth’s membership in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest

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campus news

returned surveys reported being challenged

by MC’s level of expectation for intellectual and creative work at a higher rate than the overall NSSE average.

Monmouth students can vouch for student-faculty interaction and enriching educational experiences. One is art major Alyse Cole ’12 (photo at left).

“I’m definitely pleased with my choice of Monmouth,” she said. “The art department is small enough that I’ve been given a lot of opportunities that I might not have had, and I’ve received a lot of personalized attention.”

Cole spent a semester abroad (in Florence) and participated in the college’s SOFIA program. Connor Shields ’13 took part in the inaugural SOFIA, as well as an innovative interdisciplinary Victorian culture course team-taught by members of the art, English and educational studies faculty.

“As an art major, studying poetry was outside my comfort zone,” said Shields.

“It was precisely because of this that the course challenged me and gave me new perspectives.”

MC’s performance in NSSE benchmarks undoubtedly benefited from some of the college’s traditional strengths, such as being the Alpha Chapter of two national women’s fraternities, and new developments, including the construction this year of a 19-bed Greek life house and the return of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Similarly, the college has long been known for its friendly and nurturing campus atmosphere, but this year’s addition of the position of director of student success is helping to take support for students to a new level.  monmouth | winter 2012

Phonecast: A calling of the clan The largest gathering of Scots in MC HISTORY occurred

in September, when the inaugural “phonecast” event was held.

President Mauri Ditzler was joined by dean of the faculty David Timmerman and Fighting Scots quarterback Alex Tanney.

Don Capener, vice president for strategic planning, moderated.

The gathering was made possible by traditional technology with an innovative twist.

“You can think of the phonecast as a return to the old rural telephone party line, except that

the party in this case was 4,700 members of the Monmouth College community,” explained Molly Ball, vice president for development and college relations.

The college called approximately 13,000 alumni and parents. Ball was pleased by the connect rate of nearly 40 percent and noted that 1,200 alumni and parents were on the line 12 minutes into the presentation.

Nearly 500 listened to the

32-minute call in its entirety.

Two interactive polls were held and, in one, more than 150 alumni indicated they had a prospective student in mind for the office of admissions’ alumni referral program.

“It was a huge success,” said alumni programs director Lucy Kellogg Thompson ’99.

“This was a great way for alumni from all over the world to connect with Monmouth College.” 

College officials Mauri Ditzler, Molly Ball and Don Capener participate in MC’s firstever phonecast event, which connected with nearly 5,000 alumni last fall.

MC adds director of student success

New scholarship initiatives in place

Last summer, Autumn McGee Scott ’04 was promoted to the newly created position of director of student success. Her position intersects with three departments on campus: enrollment management, academic affairs and student affairs.

Scott is in charge of new student orientation, transition programming and retention initiatives. She works with RAs, peer mentors, tutors, faculty and staff to improve the educational experience for students.

“The position was created to establish working relationships in programs that are centrally concerned with student success,” explained Jacquelyn Condon, vice president for student life.

“Those include academic support services, intercultural life, residence life, academic advising, athletics and orientation.” 

Monmouth College has announced a series of new scholarship initiatives designed to address the goal of increasing the number of engaged, intellectually curious and ambitious students who enroll each year.

Candidates for two of the new initiatives—a Presbyterian Scholarship and a Sustainability Scholarship—were invited to campus in February.

The Presbyterian Scholarship is intended to attract students interested in campus ministry and church leadership. The purpose of the Sustainability Scholarship is to attract students interested in sustainability, the environment and agricultural issues.

The college is also stepping up its recruitment of international students with the introduction of two generous scholarships— International Distinguished Young Leaders Scholarships and International Merit Scholarships. 

College receives personal effects of early trustee, Civil War general company to build a railroad from Peoria to the Mississippi River.

Civil War general and conHarding enlisted as a private in the gressman were presented Union Army, but was immediately elevated to the college by his deto colonel and took command of the 83rd scendants in September.

Illinois Volunteer Infantry, a regiment popAn officer’s sword, a ulated heavily with MC students. Assigned family Bible, an engraved to guard two rivers, he held off a Rebel walking stick and a phoforce that outnumbered his troops 10 to 1 tographic portrait by at the Battle of Dover in 1863, earning a Matthew Brady were promotion to brigadier general. among the items preFollowing the war, Harding successfully sented to MC President Harding descendants David Luff (left) and ran for Congress. Among his accomplishMauri Ditzler by family members of Gen. Abner Victor Harding examine the family Bible that was donated to the college. Inset: A bas-relief Clark Harding (1807-1874) during a Family bust of Gen. Harding, presented to MC follow- ments was securing the charter to build a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River Weekend ceremony. ing his death, and the Brady portrait. at Burlington, Iowa.

An original trustee of the college, Harding Harding descendants from Washington, D.C., California, Iowa and donated the land for its first building and the endowment for its first professorship. Born in Connecticut, he settled in Monmouth in 1835, Wisconsin attended the ceremony, which included a lecture by history where he first plied his trade as an attorney. In 1851 he formed a faculty member Tom Best on Harding’s life.  personal effects of a

monmouth | winter 2012

campus news

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Haq, Baugh appointed to ACM programs in India, Italy Two faculty members have been appointed to direct Associated Colleges of the Midwest programs.

Farhat Haq, chair of the political science department and an internationally recognized scholar of South Asian politics, will be the faculty coordinator for the ACM’s program in Pune, India, in the fall of 2012.

Associate professor of art Brian Baugh will direct the ACM’s study abroad program in Florence, Italy, for the spring 2013 semester.

A long-time faculty adviser for the ACM India program, Haq understands the challenges for students in adjusting to life in Pune.

“Professor Haq will be a welcoming and supportive presence to students when they arrive on site and will work effectively with program director Sucheta Paranjpe and the other on-site faculty and staff,” said Carol Dickerman, the ACM’s director of international study programs.

ACM officials were impressed with Victorian Culture and Art, an interdisciplinary course that Baugh helped to create and now teaches, and asked him to adapt it to the organization’s study abroad program in Florence.

“This appointment is an affirmation of Brian’s excellent work as a teacher and artist, and it is a ringing

endorsement of Monmouth’s commitment to integrated learning,” said dean of the faculty David Timmerman.

“Brian is an engaging teacher and scholar. He challenges our students to do their very best work.”

The two professors join a growing group of MC faculty who have served as ACM program directors. These include Heather Brady (Tanzania), Mary Bruce (Zimbabwe), Don Capener (Japan), Simon Cordery (Czech Republic), James Godde (Tanzania), Hannah Schell (Newberry Library), Tom Sienkewicz (Florence) and Bill Urban (Czech Republic, Florence and Yugoslavia). 

Kumar’s superconductivity research published in Nature Physics One of MC’s newest faculty members, assistant professor of physics Ashwani Kumar, contributed to an article published last fall in Nature Physics.

While engaged in doctoral work at Florida State University, Kumar was a member of a research team studying superconductivity and quantum phase transitions in ultrathin metal films.

“These films mimic the super-current carrying planes of the high-temperature superconductors,” said Kumar.

In the article “Enhancement of Superconductivity By a Parallel Magnetic Field in Two-dimensional Superconductors,” the authors state that observations

No longer a one-spider town Biology professor Ken Cramer can vouch for how reclusive the brown recluse spider actually is. Cramer, a.k.a. “Spider Man,” has been involved in research on the venomous arachnid for several years, but has been frustrated by the unavailability of local specimens. Although he has conscientiously followed up on local leads about possible sightings, he’s had only “two separate one-spider incidents.”

All that changed last summer. While socializing with a colleague, Cramer picked up a spider from his folding chair, which he quickly determined was a brown recluse.

The folding chair had been brought out from a spacious garage, so Cramer went inside to investigate, poking around a woodpile and other areas. He resolved to come back after dark with a headlamp, and was immediately rewarded, finding two spiders beside the front door.

“I had 30 vials with me, and I filled them in about half an hour,” he said. Eventually, the count in Cramer’s lab reached more than 100 brown recluse spiders.

Cramer will use the spiders to study the temperatures they tolerate and the most effective non-toxic repellents (which will keep spiders away from an area but not kill them).

“I’m going to try to get a freshman involved in the research,” he said.

“Now that I’ve got a local supply of spiders, it makes research easier.” 

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people

they made “mark a radical departure from the current understanding of the interactions between magnetic fields and superconductivity.”

Superconductivity, widely regarded as one of the great scientific discoveries of the 20th century, is the passage of electricity through a medium without loss of energy.

“When electrons move inside a wire, they hit atoms, impurities and each other, resulting in a loss of electricity in the form of heat,” Kumar explained. “For example, nearly 10 percent of electric power is lost before it reaches your home.”

An electric current flowing through superconducting wire

continued on page 15

Cordery part of 9/11 symposium History professor Simon Cordery was one of a group of 25 speakers who participated in a two-day symposium about the effects of 9/11 on the heartland.

Hosted by Bismarck State College and The Dakota Institute of the Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, the event was held Sept. 9-10 in Bismarck, N.D. The symposium was intended to “explore the 9/11 attacks from a human perspective. We want to deepen our understanding of the cause of the attacks and the impact they have had ... above all, on our sense of identity 1,500 miles between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.”

Speakers included CNN journalists Peter Bergen and Chuck Roberts, military personnel and North Dakota politicians, including Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Sen. John Hoeven, the state’s former governor.

Cordery’s subject was “How Our Allies See the War on Terror.” A native of Great Britain, Cordery had previously addressed the “special relationship” between the U.K. and U.S. in a talk for the Illinois Humanities Council’s “Road Scholars” program. In preparation for the 9/11 symposium, Cordery conducted several interviews during a recent visit to England. 

monmouth | winter 2012

VP Capener takes dean position at Jacksonville Don Capener, vice president for strategic planning and a member of MC’s political economy and commerce department, has accepted the position of dean of Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business.

Capener, who joined the Monmouth faculty in 2001, will take up his new position on July 1, 2012.

“This is a well-deserved and natural next step in Don’s academic career,” said President Mauri Ditzler. “As a successful entrepreneur who founded Above the Rim and helped form Netcentives, Inc., he brought real-world experience to the classroom, establishing a strong entrepreneurism program within our business department. The vibrancy of that program has been enhanced by the impressive array of guest lecturers he has brought to his classes. Having lived and worked in Japan, he has also helped us develop overseas programs in that region.”

As a member of Ditzler’s cabinet, Capener took on “a diverse series of critical assignments that needed to be completed quickly and thoroughly. He has helped lay the foundation for our institutional marketing efforts.”

With more than 40 faculty members, the Davis College of Business is the largest department at Jacksonville. Approximately one-third of the degrees awarded by the university are in business.

“We are excited to have such a respected business leader and proven higher-education administrator join us,” said JU president Kerry Romesburg. “We expect the DCOB to flourish under his leadership.” 

KUMAR continued from page 14 can persist indefinitely with no power loss, enabling a range of applications.

Understanding the underlying physics paves the way to designing and fabricating better high-temperature superconductors, added Kumar, who is now setting up a lab at MC to explore the properties of nanostructures and superconducting materials.

The article can be found online at http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/ vaop/ncurrent/abs/nphys2075.html.  monmouth | winter 2012

History professor Stacy Cordery has wanted to write about Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low for a long while. Now, just in the nick of time, she has, and the biography is receiving favorable reviews.

Cordery’s book, Juliette Gordon Low: The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts, was released on Feb. 16 by Viking, less than one month before the official centennial of the Girl Scouts of the USA on March 12. Cordery completed the manuscript of the biography with about a year to spare, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t feel the deadline pressure.

“After I finished Alice (Cordery’s best-selling biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, which was a New York Times Notable Book), my editor asked, ‘What can we do next?,’” said Cordery. “I gave her three ideas. One of the topics was ‘Daisy’ Low. This was in early 2008, and the stipulation was that the book had to be completed before the centennial.”

Cordery said she has long been interested in this “amazing” woman.

“I was a Girl Scout; my mother was a Girl Scout; my grandmother was a Girl Scout,” said Cordery. “That almost takes us right back to the start of Girl Scouts. My mother’s generation believed that if you didn’t wear clothing regularly, you threw it out. The fact that she broke that rule and saved her Girl Scout uniform for all those years spoke volumes to me.”

She continued, “I had thought my dissertation would be on Daisy Low, but the archives were not as open as they are today, so I could not pursue it at the time.”

Cordery did write a chapter on Low for a 2002 book about philanthropists edited by one of her former students, Robert T. Grimm ’95. In addition to that research, she said three factors helped speed up a writing process that otherwise might have taken much longer.

“First, there was a sea change by the Girl Scouts of the USA. They were thrilled to help me. At Daisy’s birthplace in Savannah, Ga.,

they couldn’t have been more forthcoming, kind and helpful.”

Cordery also expressed appreciation to MC for being allowed to take unpaid semesters off for research. Finally, she said, she was “on a roll” from the success of Alice.

That’s Cordery’s story; as for Low’s, readers will have to get the book. But among the new facts that Cordery’s research uncovered, there are a few details she’s willing to reveal.

“As a historian of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, we study reformers, such as Jane Addams,” said Cordery. “Juliette Gordon Low is a part of the same era, but she’s not part of the community of reformers of the time. That stunned me. She founded the Girl Scouts almost solely by herself. She was of that moment in time, but outside that moment, simultaneously.”

Cordery was also struck by Low’s entrepreneurial instincts regarding such issues as hiring, finances, publicity and, ultimately, when to walk away.

And she did it all while being deaf.

Today, there are 3.2 million Girl Scouts— more than two million girl members and almost a million adult members working primarily as volunteers. Many Girl Scouts, past and present, will want to read Cordery’s book.

Here’s what they will find, according to Kirkus Reviews: “This biography brings to life the woman whose efforts galvanized an entire nation of young women. ‘Long Live Girl Scouts!’ may be the cry on readers’ lips after finishing this tribute to a spirited and inspirational American leader.”

The biography has been named one of Christian Science Monitor’s 20 non-fiction books to watch for in 2012 and is on USA Today’s list of “This Winter’s Biggest Books.”

A book tour started in Savannah on Feb. 22.

The next day, Cordery appeared at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. Several other appearances were scheduled, including one at the National First Ladies Library in Canton, Ohio. An authority on First Ladies, Cordery serves as the library’s bibliographer.  —Barry McNamara people

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Dixon, Green among first 17 Scots to Scotland

By Barry McNamara While Scottish and Midwest-American Victoria Green’s declared major at Monmouth is biology, but the senior could cultures might be similar, Green reported that the geography differs dramatically. also say she is majoring in off-campus study.

During her first three years on campus, When contacted midway through the Green has participated in MC trips to Costa semester, she said, “I joined a hill-climbing Rica, the Galapagos Islands and the western club, and I’m excited to go on trips with U.S. These short trips prepared her well for them. I am looking forward to future what she might call her capstone experi- hikes, seeing even more beautiful sites.” ence—a semester abroad in Scotland.

“I can honestly say these experiences have been the most defining of my life,” Green said. “If a student wants to become immersed in a new culture, a semester abroad is the best option. It’s also a great way to learn about yourself, which is one of the things that college is really about.”

Through MC’s partnership with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), Green studied in Oban last fall at the Scottish Association for Marine Science. The exchange pro- Victoria Green ’12 enjoyed her hands-on marine gram with UHI, a network of colleges biology opportunities, while Britta Dixon ’12 (above and research centers spread across right) saw much of scenic Scotland on her regular the highlands and islands of Scotland, hikes, including Eilean Donan Castle.

Hikes were a customary part of life and was launched in the fall of 2010. The program is designed to enable students to even an aspect of study for Britta Dixon ’12, study abroad at a cost minimally above the who was enrolled at Lochaber College in cost of attending Monmouth. adventure tourism, a three-year program for Green’s focus was on marine science, an degree-seeking Scottish students. Exchange area of study landlocked Monmouth cannot students, however, are eligible to enroll in otherwise provide. courses at all three levels.

“I’m learning about things that always “We have gone on hill-walking practical interested me, and my coursework has given days, including a three-day expedition, which me the chance to explore what I might want included hiking and hill walking, camping to do after I finish my biology degree,” she and navigating,” said Dixon. said. “Students interested in marine science Green and Dixon were among 17 MC stuwould love this program.” dents in Scotland last fall.

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student news

“Victoria and Britta’s experiences are testimony to the distinctiveness of the Monmouth academic program and the importance of study abroad,” observed Don Capener, MC’s vice president for strategic planning. “These students are gaining the global perspective that employers and graduate programs are looking for.”

Dixon said her semester abroad has helped her learn “to take more initiative in life, in general, and not sit back and let others make decisions for me.” She did find herself dependent on assistance at one point, but it became a valuable lesson in “paying it forward.”

“In my very first week at Fort William, several friends and I got lost. We ended up going to a gas station. We asked the ladies there to help us call a taxi, and then realized we couldn’t even get a taxi because we didn’t have cash. One of the ladies gave us 10 pounds for the fare. She told us this was a return on a favor she received from a stranger in the States when, as a youngster, she did not have cash for a taxi—and a lady at a gas station gave her taxi fare.”

Dixon concluded, “I absolutely recommend studying abroad. This experience is a million times better than I expected, and I am having the time of my life!”  monmouth | winter 2012

Moot Court is now in session Morgan Hubbard ’13 was named the Top Advocate at MC’s first Moot Court competition last fall. The other finalists were Alex Holt ’12, Kiante Green ’ 14 and Phillip Buckwinkler ’15.

The case involved the issue of whether the federal government can fix an Establishment Clause violation by transferring a very small piece of natural preserve into a private party’s hands and whether or not the person who brought the suit had legal standing.

The four finalists advanced from a preliminary round of eight students. Chicago attorney Dan Cotter ’88 visited campus the week before the competition to tutor the students in their arguments and presentation.

“Moot Court is a law activity that is typically done in the second year of law school,” said dean of the faculty David Timmerman.

“This is an important step toward enhancing Monmouth’s academic program. A strong pre-law program is a standard feature among top national liberal arts colleges.”

“Moot court was a rewarding experience that I believe will help me on the path to my future career in law,” said Hubbard.

“The competition only managed to convince me more that what I really love and want to do in life is debate on legal issues. The experience was stimulating and brought out the best in every competitor.”

Added Holt, “Moot Court gave me a preliminary exposure to the discipline of law; one that is difficult to get as an undergraduate. It was a quintessentially liberal arts experience. Contestants were placed into an environment where everything was foreign except their ability to think deeply, speak forcefully and reason critically.”

Timmerman and assistant professor of political science Annika Hagley worked together in staging the competition and look forward to Moot Court becoming an annual campus event. 

monmouth | winter 2012

After midnight, Donnelly’s AfterDark is the place to be Some people said that starting a successful nightclub in Monmouth could never be done. Fortunately for Jack Donnelly ’12, the people who mattered weren’t among those naysayers.

“It was a domino effect,” said Donnelly, of the six-month progression from concept to reality of AfterDark, a dance club primarily for high school and college students. “We just kept moving on, and no one said ‘No.’” Two of the big “Yes” responses came from visiting faculty member Lee Miller, and from Donnelly’s father, Christopher, a judge in Cook County, who was the project’s “angel investor.”

In 2010, Donnelly was a student in an Introduction to Entrepreneurism class taught by Miller, who asked his students to come up with a business plan that could be done locally. Donnelly quickly thought of a recent experience on campus.

“I had thrown a party the week before,” he said. “It got shut down because there were too many people. You can’t hang out on campus with more than 10 people due to the fire code.”

A Chicago resident, the well-traveled Donnelly began to envision a nightclub similar to several he’d visited. He drew from their best concepts, including a water wall, which is located on the lower level.

“At Monmouth, our goal is to help our students discern their calling in life,” said President Mauri Ditzler. “By ‘calling,’ we mean the things they enjoy doing and that they can do well. Jack seemed to have the

passion for the project that suggested he was finding the right path at the right time for his next step in life.”

Ditzler continued, “One alumnus, city administrator Eric Hanson (’98), made an incredible impact on Jack and guided him along the process of getting his venture off the ground.”

Donnelly’s successful team includes his parents, his sister, Maggie Donnelly ’06, and several students. Still, as owner/manager, much of the work falls on his shoulders. His duties run the gamut, from ordering speakers and lights to serving as DJ, making him, literally, a Jack of all trades.

AfterDark features a spacious dance floor and DJ area, with a smaller gathering space overlooking Monmouth’s Public Square.

Twenty different kinds of lights create a unique atmosphere; an array of black lights was the theme of a recent event.

With all the room now available in which to throw major parties and events, Donnelly’s days of limiting his parties to 10 friends are long gone.

“Opening night was huge,” said Donnelly of last spring’s inaugural event. “We were about at capacity, which is 450 people.

We’ve been averaging about 250 people since that time.”

AfterDark is an appropriate name, and Donnelly might have also chosen “After Midnight.” That’s the time his club opens for college students on Saturday nights, with dancing until 3 a.m. 

—Barry McNamara student news

17

The

Busines

of

cience Stories by Barry McNamara

Medicine

Hearne ’82 explains how science, business and skiing come together “There are only three things to learn in skiing: how to put on your skis, how to slide downhill, and how to walk along the hospital corridor.”

With the motto “Like nothing on earth,” it’s no surprise that Vail, Colo., is not only a vacation destination, but sometimes a stopping point, too.

Such was the case for Dr. Diana Hearne ’82, who moved to Vail more than 20 years ago to practice emergency medicine and ski for just one season as a break after residency training. She’s stayed there ever since and is now a senior partner of Vail Valley Emergency Physicians P.C. An independent emergency medicine physicians’ group, VVEP contracts with two hospitals, staffing a level-three trauma center, three emergency ski-area clinics and two urgentemergent care clinics over two counties.

Hearne said she isn’t “ripping the moguls up” as she did in earlier years, but she loves spending time with her husband and three children in the mountains. Although it isn’t a significant a part of her free time these days, skiing definitely affects her profession. Hearne’s business is seasonal, with the majority of emergency visits coming in the winter and spring ski seasons. The practice operates year-round and caters to a large tourist clientele, including many international visitors, as well as the local population.

“This is not your average market for healthcare services, so we must understand cultural and logistical differences.” Hearne said.

Asked what the future holds for physicians in private practice, Hearne replied, “This is a big unknown right now. It may be that business models like our own are an endangered species. It becomes even more important for us to push the unique advantages that we can provide to the community and to the hospitals.”

Hearne said the physicians in her group “need to go beyond providing good medical care—though that is always our foremost objective. We need to make sure we maintain our professional

continued on page 31

ribusiness

Plummer ’73 straddled business/science fence as executive for Monsanto Along with what he calls his “classic” rural upbringing in eastern Iowa, Dennis Plummer credits his MC education for prepar-

ing him for his successful agribusiness career with Monsanto.

Now, says the 1973 graduate and new Monmouth College trustee, his alma mater is putting its best foot forward to educate a new generation of students, especially with its focus on integrating business and the sciences.

When Plummer joined Monsanto in the 1980s, it was a solid company with two or three well-known products—including Roundup herbicide—and some outstanding researchers, scientists and young salespeople.

“We were operating in silos but happy to be succeeding in some markets,” he recalls.

Plummer had a front-row seat to a transformation of the company from a large business to a global giant, which came about as scientists partnered with staff in marketing and sales. In the early 1990s, Monsanto combined good science with sophisticated branding to create a culture of innovation and success. With that approach and several strategic acquisitions, Monsanto steadily grew, moving from sixth or seventh in its various markets to No. 1 or 2.

“We had some help from McKinsey Consulting in 1993, but we figured out how to innovate by taking some great science application to efficiently growing foodstuffs,” said Plummer. “We

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“The college’s new science and business focus is a great way to add value to one’s education. Monmouth is going in the right direction with that focus—I am sure of it.” met some actual needs and provided solutions to farmers’ challenges, and presto, we had created an actual pipeline of new products and a process for innovation.”

Plummer said the pipeline was a result of a disciplined vetting.

Through conceptual refinement, careful development and smart production implementation, hundreds of potential products became “about 10 really good products.”

The key, he said, was becoming proactive, rather than reactive.

“Real innovation meant sitting down with researchers and scientists and looking at where the puck was going to be in five to 10 years.”

Plummer also made his mark at Monsanto by helping it acquire national seed companies such as DeKalb and Asgrow, which

the business of science

added significant market share in corn and soybeans.

While Plummer’s upbringing and being surrounded by talented colleagues were both part of his winning formula, so was the educational foundation he received at Monmouth College, which enabled him to work successfully with researchers and scientists.

“I appreciated the liberal arts approach that forced me to take science courses and labs that molded me in to a well-rounded guy,” he said. “I could speak science in ways my colleagues in marketing could not.”

Plummer was asked whether it was advanced science or innovative business practices that ultimately made Monsanto a great company.

“I guess the answer is, ‘You need both,’” he replied. “I worked

with a group of scientists that made huge business contributions. I like to think I made a difference, too. I understood the science behind our best products, and that helped me drive the marketing more efficiently. It wouldn’t have happened if Monsanto hadn’t integrated its science capabilities with the best business practices.”

At Monmouth, Plummer chose to major in economics because he enjoyed the intensive quantitative emphasis. As he advanced through his undergraduate career, he developed an appreciation for his business courses and added a minor in that field.

“I always was fascinated by scientific discovery and innovation, but I did not realize the leadership skills I had gained from being the football team captain and a key member of my fraternity,” he added.

Plummer is now a consultant and an adjunct faculty member at the St. Louis University School of Business, where he earned his MBA. “My intellectual curiosity was developed during my time at Monmouth College,” he said.

“The college’s new science and business focus is a great way to add value to one’s education.

Monmouth is going in the right direction with that focus—I am sure of it.”  monmouth | winter 2012

ACTS founder

Businessman Byrnes ’72 thankful for science background In a growing line of Monmouth

College success stories, David Byrnes ’72 is helping to lead the procession. As chairman of the college’s board of trustees, he is doing what he can to ensure the tradition of success continues for future graduates.

“Many of our alumni have been successful, not just financially, but in many other important ways that have influenced people’s lives for the better,” said Byrnes, a biology major at Monmouth who founded FACTS Management, Inc. The company became the nation’s largest provider of tuition payment plans for the private K-12 and post-secondary markets.

Byrnes attributes much of his success to his Monmouth education, particularly the ability to draw upon knowledge across disciplines.

“I am sure that, during my time as a student, the college leaders did not sit down and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to produce talented graduates who cross disciplines, solve complex issues and become leaders in their fields.’ The emphasis then was centered primarily on a student’s major. Interdisciplinary thinking and application was a byproduct of the Monmouth liberal arts education.”

That was how it was in 1972, but now Byrnes believes that Monmouth’s brand of liberal arts education with an intentional focus on cross-disciplinary learning is exactly what the world demands.

“We are becoming more intentional in our focus on interdisciplinary learning and application of knowledge,” he said. “Interdisciplinary ways of thinking are skills in high demand in today’s complex world. Monmouth is uniquely positioned to meet that demand.”

Byrnes believes in Monmouth’s approach to the liberal arts and to interdisciplinary inquiry so fully that he and his wife, Libby, monmouth | winter 2012

made the lead gift on the college’s Center for Science and Business, which will be completed in 2013. The couple then increased the size of their donation as a match to another trustee’s challenge gift.

“We have always done this to a certain extent, but now we’re going to do it even better because we are more intentional and purposeful in our planning, courses and related educational opportunities for students,” said Byrnes. “We are intentionally packaging the academic experience with social and service aspects. It all comes together at Monmouth, and it’s that packaging that is unique. When

parents look at colleges today, they demand outcomes. They’re willing to pay, but they are careful about where their dollar goes. They don’t want an uncertain, wispy outcome.

They need evidence of the value.”

Call Byrnes Exhibit A. Here is his story: “I came to Monmouth thinking I wanted to go med school,” he said. “A term in organic chemistry persuaded me otherwise.”

So Byrnes turned to biology. He especially enjoyed working with the late biology professor Milt Bowman, whom he credits with helping him stay in school when difficult circumstances back home in his native Massachusetts threatened to cut his education short.

“Dr. Bowman and several other professors, including Sam Thompson, enabled me to finish the semester from home so that I could stay up with my class,” Byrnes recalled.

The early part of Byrnes’s career was spent working for a consulting firm doing environmental impact statements for nuclear and coal-fired power plants. This experience gave

continued on page 28 the business of science

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onsultant

Smith ’72 believes science and business go hand in hand Sherm Smith ’72 Has long believed science holds the key to solving the world’s largest and most pressing problems, but the president and CEO of the Chambers Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm, also realizes business can’t be overlooked in the equation.

“The most important problems, such as issues related to rebuilding Japan’s nuclear

“Monmouth had a great reputation for turning out scientists,” he said. “Scientists at Monmouth were trained to be logical and speak the language of the discipline. I learned statistics and the value of analysis. The scientific process came to life for me there. I learned about what was controllable and predictable and how to work with variables to maximize the impact of my experiments.

Those skills are timeless.”

“The scientific process came to life for me at Monmouth.

After graduating, Smith I learned about what was controllable and predictable furthered his studies at the and how to work with variables to maximize the impact University of Iowa. Before embarking upon his curof my experiments. Those skills are timeless.” rent consulting career, he energy program or obtaining energy indepen- worked at Fluor Corporation, an internationdence in the U.S., will be solved by scientists,” ally recognized company and environmental science pioneer. he said. “However, there is one big caveat: “My timing could not have been better,” unless the scientists obtain grounding in he said. “I started at Fluor just after the first project management and a sense of the balenvironmental legislation was passed and ance between risk and reward, they cannot the Environmental Protection Agency was be successful.” established.”

For example, Smith said, what if a cure for Smith became the company’s environmenAIDS or cancer were discovered, but the antital expert, helping clients obtain government dote costs $700,000 per dose? approval for new power plants, establish “Where is my market for that? The same thing occurs in energy. I can refine petroleum acceptable emission levels and regulate the sulfur release from the burning of coal and from slate or rock, but at what cost? liquefied coal.

Scientists who make an impact learn the “All of this stuff was regulated for the first skills of project management, scarcity and time,” he said. “It was a great time to join the risk/reward. So, combining science with industry, and I loved what I did at Fluor. business is the ideal marriage. The fact that I took advantage of every opportunity I had Monmouth College is investing in the best facilities and forums for interactions between to learn more science, engineering and business.” the disciplines is the best educational investAs an example of how the scientific disciment I can imagine.” pline comes together with business, Smith When choosing a college, Smith said he recalled working as the lead environmental was drawn to Monmouth, in part, by its national recognition for the sciences. continued on page 30

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monmouth | winter 2012

Medical sal

Yarde ’05 a bright young star at Stryker Medical photo by kent Kriegshauser

Every spring, nearly 300 MC seniors face the daunting task of selecting a graduate program or landing a job. Tyler Yarde was one senior who met the challenge head-on, deciding to forego employment in a stable, salaried position in favor of a career in sales.

Since the month he graduated in 2005, Yarde has depended on incentive compensation and sales commissions to cover his mortgage and car payment. Despite the continuous uncertainty, he has excelled in sales for Stryker Medical—so much so that in just four years, he is among the top 10 of 256 national sales representatives and maintains a six-figure income. He has accomplished a great deal, but it wasn’t easy.

Yarde majored in business administration and public relations, knowing he wanted to go into sales.

“I worked for a smaller medical device company out of Pennsylvania as their Chicago sales representative in my first year out of college,” he said. At a conference that year, Yarde met a Stryker representative, who advised him to apply for a job. He decided to pursue an opportunity in the greater Peoria area and says, “I have not looked back.”

Instead of the typical two-year period as a “runner,” Yarde made the jump to account representative in two months. This year, he is expected to sell $2.8 million in Stryker product. But his current high standing in the company does not mean he can rest on his laurels.

“I will get fired in 2012 if I do not hit my target,” said Yarde, noting that it’s typical for the bottom 10 percent of sales representatives to be let go every year.

To maintain his success, Yarde keeps lines of communication open 24/7 with his clients. He has furthered his education by taking classes, and he constantly improves his understanding of the science behind the devices he’s selling by studying online. Yarde said he participates in any training or lectures for which he can make time, and he references four anatomy books frequently. He also observes as many surgeries in person as he can. Yarde has watched hundreds of videos related to medical procedures involving the equipment Stryker sells.

“Like many of my Monmouth classmates, I had high aspirations,” he said. “I was willing to do the extra work to succeed. Now, I am contacted regularly by headhunters and executive search firms offering opportunities at competitive firms. I tell them I am happy where I am. Stryker has been good to me.”

continued on page 31

monmouth | winter 2012

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Detecting

White ’61 helps keeps America safe with science Last September, when representatives from Monmouth College spent time catching up with Paul White ’61, it had been nearly 10 years to the day since a historical and traumatic event that had a profound impact on his business, Nova Scientific, Inc.—9/11.

White is owner and president of the Sturbridge, Mass.-based company, a leader in scientific detector development and technology, particularly highly innovative systems capable of detecting neutrons.

“We mainly do research for the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies connected to homeland security or nuclear materials control,” said White.

“Lots of materials emit gamma ray photons, including medical isotopes, but very few materials give off neutrons.

Those that do are primarily bad actors, such as plutonium.

You don’t want to be around those in most circumstances.”

He continued, “There are several agencies that are directly concerned with monitoring nuclear materials and their movement. Those groups, such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, are all about preventing sensitive materials from getting into terrorists’ hands. Nova’s business is all about building a better mousetrap.”

Those mousetraps could take the form of security panels at airport checkpoints, he explained. The equipment Nova produces may be as small as handheld devices or as large as entire tunnels.

“When imports are scanned at a busy harbor like Long Beach, Calif., the federal inspectors cannot hold up the process for hours by carefully scanning piece-by-piece for potential problems,” explained White. “As businessmen and scientists, we have to maintain a balance between the need to keep all hazardous materials away from the public and the need to permit commerce to function in a reasonable manner.”

Not only did 9/11 raise awareness of terrorist activity, but it also helped bring Nova’s detection methods to light at a time when reliable

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the business of science

methods of detection were becoming difficult to design and implement.

“A very good method of detection was the Helium-3 gas tubes,” said White. “But the supply of Helium-3 has run out, so there is now a big push to find new methods. ... I’m in a very niche business, and few people really know about this kind of technology.”

In addition to detecting the presence of neutrons, Nova also specializes in the use of neutron imaging as an alternative to X-rays for scientific research and development.

“When you think of X-rays, the areas that are dense appear more opaque than the areas that are less dense,” White explained. “But neutron imaging complements X-rays in that it can go through 10 inches of steel and still see small cracks that might be present. We can see things with neutrons that we couldn’t see with X-rays.”

In 2010, the college honored another physicist who graduated in the 1960s, Kennedy Reed ’67.

White’s MC experience was very similar to Reed’s, as both enrolled as chemistry majors but soon switched to physics. They also both enjoyed their liberal arts education, with White stating, “One of my favorite courses was History of Music. I’m a big fan of the liberal arts curriculum. I saw both my sons be restricted by their engineering education at big universities; they were not given the tools to see the wider picture. When you get to college, you’re still learning what you want to do. The more breadth you have, the more opportunity you have to explore varying perspectives.”

Not only do students need to be prepared to make the kind of switch that Reed and White did from one discipline to another, but they also have to “learn how to learn,” as new information comes at them rapidly, perhaps more so in science than any other field.

White explained that nanotechnology involves “understanding smaller and smaller aspects of the physical world. … When we launched Nova in 1993, 250-micron resolution for electronic chips was state-of-the-art. Today, it’s down to sub-80 nanometers, which is roughly 3,000 times smaller—and this refinement occurred in under 20 years.”

continued on page 31 monmouth | winter 2012

om chemistry to MBA

Sara Wenzel ’10 knows science, having majored in chemistry, and she is now gaining valuable experience in both science and business while studying for her MBA at the University of Kansas. Specifically, that would be “the family business,” as she is now focusing on accounting—the profession of her parents (MC accounting professors Judy Peterson and Frank Gersich)—after a few years of denial.

“I have chosen accounting and finance as a focus in my studies in business,” Wenzel said. “Those subjects are appealing to me due to the emphasis on numbers, graphs and analytical techniques.”

Wenzel remains actively involved in science, too, thanks to her internship at the Lawrence Regional Technology Center.

“I’ve worked with chemists, biologists, pathologists and engineers,” she said. “I have performed extensive research and developed feasibility studies, along with other duties, for a variety of potential start-up biotechnology companies and license agreements.”

Most of the clients Wenzel works with are university researchers or local scientists with new inventions or discoveries. They are pursuing options for protection and commercialization of their new ideas, which usually involve drugs, instruments, processes or software.

“I see new science every day, and most of it could affect the quality of human life dramatically, as is the case with cancer research findings and new medical devices,” she said.

It was the excitement of such scientific developments that initially drew Wenzel to chemistry and away from her parents’ profession. She said she had heard great things about Monmouth’s chemistry program, claims that were verified by positive classroom and research experiences during her time on campus. She also enjoyed two summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) opportunities at the University of Minnesota and the University of Kansas.

“I wanted to go all the way and earn my Ph.D.,” she said.

And yet, hadn’t she also heard great things about Monmouth’s accounting department?

“I did not want to pursue accounting at first because I thought that since my parents were accountants, it must be boring,” quipped Wenzel, but she also acknowledged a lack of exposure to the subject in high school. “I was so wrong!”

What changed her mind was the realization that “I wanted to apply my technical background in a different way than laboratory research.

I entered the business field because I knew that so much of science is affected by business and vice versa, and that I could make a difference in this way. I knew I wouldn’t be leaving science behind, and I haven’t so far. Maybe that’s because they go so perfectly together.”

After graduating and obtaining her CPA license, Wenzel hopes to go into public accounting.

“Many CPA firms audit and offer consulting services to the biotechnology industry, and specialists knowledgeable in the workings of this area are at an advantage,” she said. “In addition, most—if not all—companies need accountants and others to run the business successfully.”

Science major Wenzel ’10 now back in family business

continued on page 30

monmouth | winter 2012

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Adm

istrator

Velazquez ’79, healthcare VP, grateful for interdisciplinary training at MC Dr. Ralph Velazquez ‘79, the senior vice president of care management for the OSF Healthcare System in Peoria, Ill., sees great change occurring in medicine and healthcare in the United States. He applauds the way Monmouth College is responding to the new demands and altering circumstances of his profession.

“There are always going to be a small number of what I would call ‘linear innovators,’” said Velazquez, who has been a member of the college’s board of trustees since 2001. “But being liberally educated gives our students a head start. … There’s too much overlap and interaction between the disciplines involved in the health professions to ignore.

We have to step back and realize that the critical thinking skills Monmouth College provides are

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photo by kent Kriegshauser

incredibly valuable. When interdisciplinary advances add layers of complexity, you can’t afford to be linear and think in a silo.”

According to Velazquez, things have definitely become interdisciplinary in the fields of medicine and healthcare, where business fundamentals and good science stage a daily tug-of-war.

the business of science

“In the past, science was the innovator,” said Velazquez. “We were always looking for ‘new and improved,’ at any price. Now, we can’t afford ‘at any price.’ The word we keep hearing over and over is ‘value’—quality over cost.”

One of Velazquez’s chief duties is helping to improve clinical performance.

“We are finding new ways to measure our performance,” he said. “We used to measure costs.

Now people are asking, ‘Where’s the value?’ We can no longer be expensive and produce poor results.”

Velazquez said the expansion of electronic medical records is

continued on page 30 monmouth | winter 2012

GM for GE,

for BD

Davis ’62 on business, science and the liberal arts Tom Davis graduated in 1962 with a major in chemistry. Monmouth faculty helped him obtain a fellowship at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, where he completed his Ph.D. in physical and inorganic chemistry. His business career carried him to General Electric (general manager), Philips USA and Philips Netherlands (senior vice president in manufacturing), and Becton Dickinson (division vice president). Retired since 2004, Davis is a consultant in business operations and a research associate of the Penn State Center for Supply Chain Research.

In November, Davis was on campus as part of the Distinguished Alumni Visitor program. In addition to meeting with several students and faculty members, he had time to sit down and share some of his philosophies for success:

1. Be a lifelong learner A lot of college students assume that once they get their degree, that’s the end to their education. Actually, you are just beginning.

A school like Monmouth teaches you the basics and how to learn. If you are a science major, the estimate is that the “hard science” you learn has a half-life of seven years. I’ve been through about seven half-lives now, so I’m down to about 1 percent. What remains is the liberal arts knowledge from MC. English, history, art, music and language skills all contributed to my career.

Hopefully, you will utilize and grow that knowledge during your career. Keep reading widely, stay informed and engage with the world. Just since retirement, I’ve picked up many new skills in gardening and utilizing the PC. Michelangelo’s last words were “I am still learning.” I’ll take that as my motto, too.

2. Change is part of life Odds are that you will change companies, move to a new locale and change career paths during your life after college. In my monmouth | winter 2012

case there were four companies, nine moves and four different career themes (research, engineering, manufacturing and supply chain). I heard a great quote from a professor at Georgia Tech: “Resisting change is like holding your breath. If you win, you lose.”

3. A winning combo The science and math from MC were important, but the liberal arts made all the difference. Science and math set up my career, but the liberal arts made it possible and enriched my life enormously. Don’t apologize for the liberal arts background you get from MC. It will serve you well.

In the same way, the extracurricular activities help make you a more rounded person. Being active in a fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon), the wrestling team and student government gave me lifelong skills and lifelong friends.

4. Communication

There is no more valuable skill in business.

A scientist who can’t write well or give a good talk is not going to make it out of the lab. A business person who isn’t “fluent” in math won’t get promoted. Learn how to speak, learn how to present and learn how to write a good report. You’ll be a winner.

Finance is the language of business. It isn’t higher math; just the basics plus a little algebra. I recommend a basic course in finance for all business and science majors. You’ll have to make a budget, prepare a capital request or submit a grant application at some point. If you can “translate” science to the business types, or the business aspects to the engineering department, you’ll be doubly valuable. I know; I’ve done just that for years.

5. It’s a big world I had the privilege of working for three international companies. That forced me to think “world-wide” and expand my horizons from Illinois and the Midwest. My career took me

photo by george hartmann

to 26 countries for business and another dozen for pleasure travel. I’ve utilized three languages to do business and ordered dinner in five more.

The world is smaller and more connected than ever. My student generation from 50 years ago couldn’t conceive of the social media resources you have now. You will have to consider factors from the droughts in Africa to rising economies in Brazil, Russia and India. China will dominate your thinking just as the old USSR did for my generation.

6. Maintain your values Becton Dickinson helped me become certified as an instructor in ethics. You have good Midwest values. Don’t lose them. You will encounter situations that range from “a little off” to illegal. Learn how to handle them. Your career and self-respect will depend on it.  the business of science

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BYRNES continued from page 21 “We hired tremendous people,” said Byrnes. “We hired people him an early understanding of the who fit our culture and mission, which is tremendously important. importance of integrating science and We were a Christian company, and I knew the type of people we business. wanted to hire. We had a pretty simple motto that we used to “I had the opportunity to present empower all our people: ‘Do the right thing, because it is the right large-scale proposals for multi-discithing to do.’ When you apply this successfully at all levels of the pline projects to large utilities and company with both customers and co-workers, incredible things quickly learned that cost-benefit was a happen.” critical part of the success of our proposals,” he said.

“Scientific exLooking back, Byrnes said, “I attribute a lot of my periments and success to the things I learned at Monmouth and the data are imporpeople I met there. One of the abilities I took away from tant, but you reMonmouth was the way I process information; the scially have to balance that with business entific method is perhaps the easiest way to define it. I’m principles. You’ll have better, well-rounded scientists when they understand the business able to apply that method of processing information to aspects of what they’re doing. There were problems and issues and provide solutions. I usually can many times in my career that I wished I had see several sides of an issue, evaluate them and arrive at taken a few business or economics courses an agreed-upon solution.” at Monmouth.”

In other words, rather than just using his science background at Monmouth to bridge Byrnes said his first big career break came at a large the gap to business, he brought a third elepublic utility in North Dakota in 1978. “The construction ment into the mix—creative problem solving. of a major power plant was nearly suspended due to “The more often the process was repeated, environmental issues related to the whooping crane,” the more confidence I had in my abilities said Byrnes. “Everyone in the environmental division and my judgment,” he said. “At FACTS, I tried was fired over it, and I was hired as part of a new group. to make our staff comfortable with proposing solutions. They’d go out on a limb with Getting this issue resolved was my primary job at the their ideas, which was great. Then I’d put it outset. I developed a number of skills during that time that all in a blender and come up with a decision.” were well beyond science. My education at Monmouth— Byrnes is certainly interested in helping especially the communication skills I learned—helped me the college create more success stories like navigate successfully through this experience.” his own. But he’s also interested in helping others, period.

However, the bottom fell out of the energy business in 1981 and “I never imagined the type of financial success that has happened Byrnes left North Dakota to return to Lincoln, Neb., in 1982. A oneto me and my wife,” Byrnes said. “God has blessed us tremendously. year consulting contract with the utility softened the blow, allowing He intended for us to share it with others, and we’ve been able to give him to try other entrepreneurial efforts, such as a compost company. a significant amount to charity. We’ve given some to Monmouth and Byrnes finally hit his big idea with automatic bank payments. to our church and to mission groups—things we believe in and sup“The only companies using automatic payments in 1985 were port. ... In the past two years, I have met three incredible people who insurance companies,” Byrnes explained. “They were usually doing are changing people’s lives on a daily basis. Each of these ministries, them badly, and people really disliked them.” which are all involved with orphans, do more with less than anything During a meeting with a friend who was the chairman of the board I have ever seen. I am blessed to be involved with them.” of a Catholic high school in Nebraska that was struggling financially That includes a group that works with orphans in Moldova. In May, due to delinquent and unpaid tuition and fees, Byrnes hashed out on Byrnes was part of a nine-member Monmouth College trip that travthe back of a napkin his plan for how he could help. eled to the eastern European nation (see story on page 36).

“It turned out that I basically did our initial business plan for Four decades after he walked across the stage to receive his FACTS in those 15 minutes,” he said.

Monmouth College diploma, David Byrnes is still working hard to make a difference. That difference doesn’t even have to involve busiSuccess followed, but it took time. The company finally broke even ness or science, when you get right down to it. More like, “Do the right after five years, then continued to grow, moving from 300 to 400 thing, because it is the right thing to do.” schools and about 100,000 individual accounts after 10 years, to more “If you are open to it, God will present many life changing opportuthan 4,000 schools and approximately a million accounts when nities for that to occur,” concluded Byrnes.  Byrnes sold the company in 2005.

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Speci

Guest

EDITOR’s NOTE: The career of Hiroyuki Fujita ’92 epitomizes the successful integration of science and business, so much so that the companies he founded were selected by the Obama administration as models for how the country’s industrial sector can return to prominence in the global marketplace. Following his attendance at the 2012 State of the Union address, he wrote the following blog, which was posted on the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy webpage.

Tuesday night (Jan. 24), I was one of the First Lady’s guests for the State of the Union address, an immense honor and an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Beyond the sheer magnitude of simply being there, the event was inspiring as President Obama focused significantly on issues of importance to me: advanced manufacturing competitiveness, small business growth, developing an educated workforce at all levels and supporting immigration policies that retain people like me in the U.S. after they graduate with science and technology degrees.

After I attended Waseda University in Tokyo, I came to the U.S. in 1988 to pursue my undergraduate degree in math and physics at Monmouth. I went on to pursue my Ph.D. in physics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, receiving my doctorate degree in 1998.

In 2006, I started my first company, Quality Electrodynamics (QED), to develop advanced electronics products for the healthcare equipment industry. We started in a very small space with a handful of people. Our first products were RF antennas made for MRI systems, a very powerful diagnostic imaging tool, manufactured by two of the world’s leading medical imaging equipment

monmouth | winter 2012

In August 2010, Hiroyuki Fujita met with President Obama during an event with state officials and business leaders in Columbus, Ohio. p h o t o : C a s e W e s t e r n R e s e r v e U n iv e r si t y

Fujita’s path to D.C. passed through MC companies. QED has doubled in employment and revenue growth every 18 months since 2006 . We expect this growth to continue.

In 2010, I started a second company, eQED, focusing on opportunities in the renewable energy sector. Our first product is a stateof-the-art solar microinverter, setting new industry benchmarks for performance, cost and convenience by employing the latest in semiconductor and electrical interconnect technologies. We intend to begin shipping this product this year.

When I walk into our companies each day, I see a combination of experienced scientists,

engineers early in their careers and a variety of technicians, many of whom came to us after being downsized from corporate consolidations.

Like any emerging company, we face constant tradeoffs between creating products and investing in research and development (R&D).

The R&D efforts of QED have been accelerated with support from the National Institutes of Health and the State of Ohio’s Third Frontier program, an initiative developed to encourage early stage technology development. Offsetting R&D costs with support from federal and state sources is a significant

boost to our ability to advance our product technology and increase our competitiveness in the world market. These programs have also enabled us to establish and maintain a state-of-theart facility where scientists and engineers from our Fortune 500 customers come to co-develop products.

We seek to be the world’s leading advanced research, development and manufacturing organization, specializing in technologies that have a positive impact on the quality of human life. And we will continue to do this based in Cleveland, Ohio. 

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SMITH continued from page 22

changing the way health providers operate, enabling better ways to measure performance and allowing for new delivery models.

“Medicine is now a team sport,” said Velazquez. “As doctors, we were trained to be the quarterbacks and make all the calls. Now, we focus more on systems of care, such as retail clinics like the mini-urgent-care offices in Walmart shops. If it’s in the evening and you have a child with an earache, you can run them to Walmart, where they can be seen immediately. Then you schedule a follow-up with your own physician, and your child’s electronic medical record is right there.”

When asked to imagine what would constitute a “perfect team” in healthcare, Velazquez replied, “It would be interdisciplinary. It would include representatives from the fields of nursing, pharmacy, primary-care physicians, behavioral and other scientists, and the dietary and analytic people who measure performance and create workflows and process maps, using data to identify the gaps.”

He continued, “You also need someone who is willing to lead. The leaders have to put themselves in the patient’s role and understand the emotional part of all of this.”

Part of being a successful leader, said Velazquez, is setting performance expectations high enough so that noticeable improvements are achieved.

“My staff chuckles when I say this, but I tell them, ‘The goal isn’t to be the tallest Shetland pony.’”

Velazquez traces his leadership skills to Monmouth College, where he learned valuable lessons outside the classroom as well as inside. While majoring in biology and chemistry, Velazquez served as an RA and head

engineer on the design of a new coal-fired power generation plant built by Louisville Gas & Electric in an environmentally sensitive area.

“The EPA refused to give us a permit,” he said. “The issue was the analysis and projections we provided for air pollution dispersion and heat from the plant.”

Smith provided the client three alternatives, and as he studied the project holistically, he was drawn to his third option, a change of design that seemed at first to entail an implementation cost of several million dollars. Ultimately, he said, “We found a design solution that could be implemented for less than $100,000. The solution combined good science with business acumen. As a result, we saved the client millions of dollars.”

Smith, who hired hundreds of scientists in his career and employs 250 with the Chambers Group, has advice for students who hope to go into that field. Part of their success, he said, will come from lessons learned outside the laboratory.

“At Monmouth, I was more than a science major. I was a leader in student government and in my fraternity (Tau Kappa Epsilon). I recruited volunteers and tried to make things happen. If you can learn how to lead volunteers, you can hone skills for scheduling, sequencing and motivating change. Those life skills are invaluable.”

Understanding the business behind science is also a key part of achieving success.

“Young scientists must understand the business model they are operating in,” he said. “The No. 1 reason we are in business is to make money, not do good science.

We need to make a profit to be able to do good science. Good science alone doesn’t pay the bills.”

His advice for scientists is to be wellrounded and realistic in their expectations.

“It is worth more money to my company when scientists take a natural career path—a path that includes project management within the first five to six years after joining the firm. The scientists who are paid the most learn how to combine what they need to know with what it takes to get things done.” 

photo by kent Kriegshauser

VELASQUEZ continued from page 26

resident in Cleland Hall and was a member of the Judicial Board.

Velazquez likened his responsibility to his Cleland community—during a time on campus when resources were often scarce—to the task he is assigned at OSF. “How do we best manage our resources and what do we do to best meet our community’s needs? How do we go about being efficient and effective?”

Critical-thinking skills are absolutely necessary, he said.

“At Monmouth, professors help students draw out those skills and hone them. The quality of our professors is a big positive. The faculty is committed to teaching, and programs like SOFIA and the Midwest Scholars show the commitment of the institution to its students.”

Fortunately, in this ever-changing world, that’s one thing that’s remained the same. 

WENZEL continued from page 25 When Monmouth College’s Class of 2017 matriculates in the fall of 2013, it will be the first class to have four-year access to the new Center for Science and Business, which will open its doors that same fall. Wenzel was asked what she would tell those freshmen as they start their Monmouth experience.

“My advice would be to pursue science as a major or at least take more than the required amount of science to graduate.”

The advances in biotechnology and its presence in the economy are becoming more and more substantial, she said.

“Those who do not understand science will miss out on an incredible opportunity in business as well as in science,” said Wenzel. “The new research and development leading to the betterment of human beings cannot occur without scientists, but these same developments cannot make it to market and financially succeed without businesspeople. We have to work together.” 

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contracts to even have a job here. To do so, we need to quietly market ourselves continually with our hospitals and make sure we are providing the top-notch services they want so they, in turn, want to keep us at their ‘front door.’”

She added, “Understanding the need for this business sense in a medical practice is outside of any teaching or training I ever received.”

The third-most senior partner and a member of the executive committee at VVEP, Hearne is involved in decisions with contract negotiations, personnel issues, human resources, staffing and many other traditional small-business issues. It wasn’t always that way. When she became a partner, she wasn’t as familiar with the business aspects of healthcare as were her senior partners. She preferred at that time to simply practice medicine and spend free time with family.

“I had no interest in learning about business while I was at Monmouth,” said Hearne, who admitted struggling through Financial Accounting at MC. “Spending more time on business courses could have helped prepare me more fully for the challenges I face today.

Melding science and business wasn’t natural in how I was trained or how I viewed science and medicine.

I’ve learned through on-the-job training. So I think combining business and science at the undergraduate level is a great concept.”

She elaborated, “Business skills—basic and beyond—are going to be required of any scientist at some point, or you can’t have a viable career. Whatever you are doing, it boils down to finding a way to finance it, make an income, and hopefully grow the business portion of a venture to keep the science viable. I wish that I’d had more academic background in what I have since learned on the job.”

While Hearne has become much better acclimated to the business side of her profession, she remains driven by the science.

“I am passionate about providing quality care, and all of my decisions are based on what we can do to maintain or improve the quality of the care we provide.”

She said she enjoys taking ownership in the physician group and sees the move away from private practices as “troublesome.”

“It impacts the level of care when large corporations and insurance companies mandate how we care for our patients,” Hearne said. “Treatment is a balance between value and quality.”

Balance is also a key when it comes to her group’s employees.

“We may have the life balance figured out here,” she said. “We are fortunate to live where we do. We schedule shifts knowing people have a life and family responsibilities.”

That allows personnel the opportunity to take advantage of all that Vail has to offer.

After all, it’s like no place on earth. 

WHITE continued from page 24 Before launching his own company, White was at Owens-Illinois for 20 years, including two years earning his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. He spent the next 10 years at Galileo Electro-Optics, a leader in supplying night vision technology to companies that make the devices.

Recently, White spent some time with MC physics chair Chris Fasano. monmouth | winter 2012

“I’m very impressed with the changes in Monmouth’s physical plant,” said White. “The out-of-the-box thinking about how to motivate students with the SOFIA (Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity) program as well as the concept of connecting business and science are two great examples of how Monmouth is improving the learning experience it offers.” 

photo by kent Kriegshauser

HEARNE continued from page 19

YARDE continued from page 23 Medical device sales is not a stable business. With high malpractice insurance rates and low Medicare reimbursements, many independent physicians are joining hospitals and large medical groups. Groups such as St. John’s or OSF have purchasing agents or buying groups that make influencing doctors or bringing new products to market difficult.

“If I cannot add value, my doctor clients won’t give me the time of day,” Yarde said.

Yarde can be counted among a growing group of MC alumni who believe the college is on the right track with its new emphasis.

“I think it is great Monmouth College has the foresight to combine business and science,” he said. “Companies today look for employees who can combine science with business and understand both. I wish I had taken the time to add a science minor.”

He is proud of the quality of education his alma mater provides.

“My Monmouth marketing professor was the one who gave me the idea that marketing health care was a great place to go,” said Yarde, who was an all-conference defensive back for the Fighting Scots. “We toured a hospital together, and we heard a speech from their marketing director. I didn’t even know health care device firms existed, let alone aggressively marketed their products.”

Simply put, he said, “The experience at Monmouth College changed my life. I will always remember professors (Karen) Cates, (Don) Capener, (Mike) Connell and (Dick) Johnston, and I continue to encourage students to take their courses. I am where I am today because of the quality of MC faculty.”  the business of science

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Coleen Zumpf

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environmental science

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n e m n o r i v n e 6 ll ’8 e W

12 simple steps to go green in 2012

Without even Professor Wills was trying, Roger Well even a consultant for ’86 embarked on an the industry. Locating interdisciplinary and producing oil and gas—the exploration path during his MC years. It wasn’t beside of it—was very cause Well eyed the big. But by the time I future and knew graduated, there was an oil bust. There were that a solid groundlong lines at gas staing in business and tions and no new inscience would prevestments in explorapare him well for Roger Well ’86 and his wife, Dana, joined their tion; it bottomed out.” his current role as daughter Madison Well ’15 during Family Weekend on campus last fall.

Fortunately for Well, an executive vice environmental regulapresident and chief tions entered the scene. operating officer.

Rather, he simply wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

“The Clean Water Act had come out about a “I’m interested in a lot of things, and that’s how decade earlier, and others followed,” he said. “So I’ve operated my whole life,” he said. “My dad was there was a demand for environmental geologists. a teacher and a superintendent, and when I first It was the opposite end of the spectrum. Instead came to MC I had education and coaching in mind. of exploration, the big word was ‘remediation.’

I dabbled in some business classes, and I thought How do you take an area impacted by these big oil about majoring in computer science for a while.” and gas companies and restore it to its original In fact, Well’s academic experiences mirrored state?” his diverse athletic talents. He excelled in the At the urging of geology faculty mentors Ronald decathlon, using several skill sets to twice place Tyler and Larry Wiedman, Well pursued a mas10th in the nation. Also a standout on the football ter’s degree, choosing to specialize in hydrogeolteam, Well was inducted into the M Club Hall of ogy at the University of Toledo.

Jumping ahead to 2011, Well was promoted to Fame in 2006.

“It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year executive VP and COO at Enfos Inc., headquartered that I declared a geology major,” he said. “I was one in San Mateo, Calif. The company has offices in of the last ones. Professor (Jim) Wills got me Europe, Asia and the Chicago area, where Well lives.

“It’s a nice title,” quipped Well, “but at a small hooked on it. It was a very, very interesting major, start-up company, you do whatever it takes. You with a lot of great professors.”

He continued, “At the time I decided on my don’t have a lot of people on the bench that you major, the oil and gas industry was very strong. can delegate to.”

By Danielle Nierenberg ’95 1. Recycle: In 2009, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require all homes and businesses to use recycling and composting collection programs.

To make it easier to recycle, put a separate container next to your trash can or printer and keep an airtight container in your kitchen for food scraps to be composted.

2. Turn off the lights:

Flipping a switch is one of the easiest ways to save energy and reduce your energy bill. Turn off lights during bright daylight or whenever you will be away for an extended period of time.

3. Make the switch:

In addition to turning lights off, switching to greener bulbs can also help. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 aims to outlaw the use of incandescent bulbs by 2014, so organizations like General Electric have produced online guides to decide which lighting option is best for your home.

4. Turn on the tap: Plastic water bottles create huge environmental problems—they end up in landfills, litter roadsides and pollute waterways and oceans. By filling your glass from the tap, you can help keep nearly 1 million tons of bottles out of U.S. landfills.

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BA to help M , r o j a logy m o e g ges mer

5. Turn down the heat:

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates consumers can save up to 15 percent on heating and cooling bills just by adjusting their thermostats. Turn down your thermostat when you leave for work or use a programmable thermostat to control your heating settings.

environmental science

6. Buy local: Author and consumer advocate Michael Shuman

argues that local small businesses are more sustainable because they are often more accountable for their actions, have smaller environmental footprints and innovate to meet local conditions. If you rely exclusively on supermarkets, consider farmers markets and local farms for your produce, eggs, dairy and meat.

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companies wit h envir onme ntal st ra teg ies He had held the position of vice president of product management since the company’s inception in 2000, playing a vital role in building the company’s operational foundation and customer base. Prior to founding Enfos with his two managing partners, Well spent 13 years as vice president of the petroleum business sector of Handex Environmental, Inc., where he was responsible for business strategy and environmental consulting for national accounts such as British Petroleum (BP) and ExxonMobil.

Billing itself as “the on-demand enterprise environmental business management solution provider,” Enfos helps companies minimize risk and lower the costs of complying with environmental liability public disclosure standards, corporate governance mandates and environmental regulations associated with contaminated land and groundwater.

“Enfos is a niche commercial software company that works with companies from the oil and gas, chemicals, manufacturing, mining and energy and utilities industries,” said Well. “BP is our biggest customer. Big companies like that can have as many as 5,000 or 6,000 properties that can be contaminated. Industrial operations typically leave a footprint of environmental contamination, and by helping them follow regulations, deal with compliance issues and manage large volumes of scientific and financial data, our software solution supports the process of restoring the land.”

Well is responsible for environmental business strategy and operations, business development and client program management. He said the job requires an understanding of several disciplines, including environmental science, geology, chemistry and biology, as well as “a lot of business skills.

7. Support food-recovery programs: Homeless

shelters and food banks collect food that would be wasted by grocery stores and restaurants and use it to provide meals for the hungry. Encourage local restaurants and grocery stores to partner with food-rescue organizations.

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… It’s very much an integration of business, science and technology.”

His success strongly suggests that Monmouth’s focus on integrated and interdisciplinary studies, which prepares students to solve complex problems, is exactly what the world needs now.

“What happened to me is fairly typical,” said Well. “After about three to five years on a career path, young professionals will often come to a crossroads, where they’ll have to make a decision about staying on the science side or getting more involved in the business/general management side. I decided to go toward business.”

While holding down his position at Handex, Well earned his MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago.

Well has advice for students embarking on their college careers, and he’s certainly qualified to offer it. His daughter, Madison Well, is a freshman at Monmouth this year.

“I interview new graduates for positions at Enfos, and the candidates I’m looking for have a background in science, but also knowledge of other disciplines and strong leadership skills,” said Well. “That’s a personal bias of mine.”

He encourages students to “become a subjectmatter expert in at least one thing, but at the same time, have a basic understanding of other key disciplines. … In my case, I did that by chance but, in general, a liberal arts education helps you in terms of acquiring that breadth of knowledge.” 

8. Get out and ride:

Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis and Washington have programs that allow people to rent bikes for shortterm use, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing healthy exercise. If available, use your city’s bike-share program to run short errands or commute to work.

9. Share a car: In 2009,

car-sharing was credited with reducing U.S. carbon emissions by more than 482,000 tons. By using a shared car in a city, you can greatly reduce your environmental impact (and find parking more easily—many car-sharing programs have designated parking spots).

10. Plant a garden: Growing your own vegetables and fruits is a simple way to bring fresh and nutritious food literally to your doorstep. Growing a garden doesn’t have to take up a lot of space, and in light of high food prices and recent food safety scares, even a small plot can make a big impact on your diet and wallet.

11. Compost: What better way to fertilize your garden than using your own composted or ganic food waste.

If you are unsure about the right ways to compost, websites such as howtocompost.org provide easy steps to reuse your organic waste.

12. Reduce your meat consumption: Global meat production has experienced a 20 percent growth rate since 2000, yet livestock production accounts for about 18 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

Consider substituting one meal a day with a vegetarian option.

For tips on how to make a meatfree meal, visit websites such as Meatless Monday and Eating Well, which offer numerous vegetarian recipes.  editor’s note: Danielle Nierenberg is a senior researcher at World-watch Institute, a Washington D.C.-based environmental research organization. This op-ed piece was published in the Chicago Tribune in December.

An expert on livestock and sustainability, she spent much of 2010 in Africa, researching innovations in agriculture as part of a Worldwatch project she directed titled “State of the World 2011” (www.NourishingthePlanet.org).

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Clockwise from top: Some pickup hoops with the boys at Simon’s House, complete with a Fighting Scots basketball; Moldova’s spot in the world; Simon’s House; the Cupcui Orphanage.

Bless MC group provided that blessing in Moldova, and they were blessed greatly in return Philip Cameron and Monmouth College’s Big Red mascot have many things in common. They are larger than life Scots who wear a kilt with pride when the occasion arises. But the ties between the Scottish missionary and the American liberal arts college run deeper

than a shared commitment to a Scottish heritage.

Though the relationship between the Rev. Cameron and MC is less than two years old, good things have resulted from it already, changing the lives of Moldovan orphans associated with the Cameron Ministry and

Melody Cameron (holding flowers) stops for a rest with MC’s nine-member group in front of Cupcui Orphanage, where the group organized, cleaned and helped celebrate a birthday (see page 56). Back row, left to right: Natalie Lister ’11, John Cayton ’12, Noelle Burks ’11, Polly Timmerman.

Front row, left to right: Mary Mosely Stahl ’87, Whitney Bergen ’11, Sarah Stinson ’11, Cameron, David Byrnes ’72, Mary Schuch ’12.

36 moldova

the college students who volunteered to help them.

The connection originated in a “side trip” for the chairman of MC’s board of trustees, David Byrnes ’72. While visiting Albania, he followed his pastor’s suggestion to visit Moldova, too.

There, he found a world like none he had ever seen. A mission called Stella’s Voice was home to 46 young women who had aged out of the national orphanage system when they turned 16. In a country known as the engine of the sex-trafficking machine for all of Europe, these girls were the most vulnerable targets.

“We visited a huge orphanage where many of these girls had been raised from the time they were little,” recalled Byrnes. “The place was beyond filthy, there was never enough food to eat, and until Philip Cameron and Stella’s Voice came along, they were freezing cold all winter. The girls told their remarkable stories, each

By Mary Hutchinson more heartbreaking than the last, of physical and verbal abuse both before they were placed in the state orphanage system and after.

“But what was so amazing was their spirit. Despite the hurt of their pasts, they were without the bitterness or anger you might expect. They were so grateful that God had provided a way for them to have a real future that they spent their spare time visiting their former orphanage, giving the children the time, attention and affection they never had.”

Weeks after Byrnes’s trip, news broke that the winter of 2011 was predicted to be the worst in centuries. Byrnes reacted to the news with a call to Monmouth College.

“I was speaking to Kristin Larson, a faculty member in the psychology department, about Moldova, when some students overheard,” Byrnes explained.

After a brief conversation, Larson and the students decided

to rally together to collect coats, boots and mittens for the Moldovan children. Six students played key roles in the clothing drive (Whitney Bergen ’11, Noelle Burks ’11, John Cayton ’12, Natalie Lister ’11, Mary Schuch ’12 and Sarah Stinson ’11). By the end of November, nearly 1,000 winter items had been shipped.

Weeks later, those very coats, with items from other sources, were handed out to orphans, some by the prime minister of the country, Vlad Filat.

By the time the coats shipped, plans were shaping up for a Monmouth College trip to the mission in Moldova in June. The intention was to spend time at Stella’s House, the first private orphanage in Moldova, and to meet some of the orphans who had received coats, visiting some of the state orphanages, as well.

The days were designed to open the students’ minds and hearts to the lives of others in need. monmouth | winter 2012

“One of the things that thrilled me about this trip was that it introduced the students to one of the key goals of a liberal arts education: learning not just how to make a living, but how to use your life to benefit others, to give back,” said MC president Mauri Ditzler.

“These students returned from Moldova with a life experience that underscored that lesson in a way they will never forget. And, in going to Moldova, they lived out the Presbyterian values Monmouth was built on, answering a call to help orphans and those in need.”

The days of the Moldovan visit were filled with laughter and joy.

Bergen said her cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

“I taught the younger orphans how to hold a baseball bat and throw a football, she said. “The rest of the day, I walked differently, I played differently and I had conversations with purpose. I was brought to (the Moldovan city) Cupcui for a reason. I feel called back to help because of what the Camerons have done.”

Although the students read about the country’s economic condition in preparation for the trip, they were still shocked by the poverty level. Staff at Stella’s House told the students that when a poverty-stricken child is taken to a state-run orphanage, life becomes better for them physically because they are fed and sheltered. But the orphanages are little more than warehouses.

The children share beds to keep from freezing. Scant clothing must last for years without replacement. Orphans are frequently ostracized by other children; the Stella’s House staff also stated that orphans are treated harshly by the orphanages’ teachers and staff.

“Constanta’s story moved me so much,” Stinson said. “Here is this lovely young woman—she could be my sister, my best friend.

But when she was little, she lived with her grandmother. They were so poor they sometimes ate chicken feed just to survive. ...

Her mother was a drunk who

kept her out of school for years and then left her in an orphanage.

Her hair was crawling with lice.”

Constanta is now one of the leading spokespersons for Stella’s Voice. She has traveled across the U.S. and the U.K. telling her story.

“I am not an orphan anymore,” she says.

One of the girls from Stella’s House, a pretty blonde named Dasa, refers to herself as “Dasa Cameron.”

“It was hard to hear that her father abandoned her mother because Dasa was born a girl,” said Byrnes. “As a father, that tore me up.”

Dasa acted as the host for the Monmouth group. Her English is perfect and she has a lively sense of humor. The Monmouth students agreed that it was hard to understand how a girl could survive such a terrible past and be so mature and confident today.

The group visited the orphanage where Dasa was raised, a bleak series of buildings filled with 700 children. “We were always hungry,” Dasa said. “The workers beat us for no reason.

I cried in my bed every night.

I wanted to die.”

Burks said that touring the orphanage made a deep impression on her. “We saw the school building and the dormitories.

Dasa showed us the room she used to live in and shared her memories about many of the rooms in the building. The whole experience was eye-opening. It must bring back terrible memories for her. And yet she and the other girls visit several times a month to play with the kids.”

During the trip, Bergen suffered

from severe stomach pain. During one of the painful episodes, Natalie, a resident of Stella’s House, asked Bergen for permission to pray over her.

“At the time, I didn’t realize what she meant,” Bergen said.

“Sunday morning, I was called upon to be the center of the group prayer.” The children of Stella’s House and the boys’ counterpart, Simon’s House, surrounded her and prayed for healing.

“It was the most peace I’ve ever felt in my life,” Bergen said.

“As they spoke in Romanian, their voices echoed around me. Tears fell from my face, girls squeezing my hands, the boys placing their hands on my shoulders. It was the single most moving moment in my life. And to know that these kids (arranged the prayer service) all by themselves … I can’t find the words.”

“It was incredibly moving to witness the spiritual and emotional bonding take place,” Byrnes said. “This was global citizenship in practice. ... One of the students put it best: ‘We came here because we thought they needed us, but we need them in America and at Monmouth.’ ”  EDITOR’S NOTE: Mary Hutchinson is a freelance writer.

ABOVE: Dasa Cameron (right) sits with a friend on the bench outside the orphanage where Phillip Cameron first saw her sitting with several other girls who had been forced out of the orphanage due to their age.

When Cameron called his wife to see if their organization could help, she told him they had room for just three in Stella’s House (left). He then had the difficult task of choosing which three girls would stay.

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Between storm and Tommies, Scots win 10 straight games When the Monmouth College

football team last reached the postseason in 2009, there was very little drama in the buildup. The Fighting Scots won their nonconference opener by 19 points, and then defeated every Midwest Conference team by at least three touchdowns.

This year, the drama started in Week 1, and in several heart-pounding games Scots fans were on the edge of their seats from kickoff to final play. Not only was the outcome in doubt in the season opener against Wartburg, but a severe hailstorm led to some moments of concern as to whether the game could even go on. After a three-hour delay, a late rally fell short, and the Scots fell 35-28.

Monmouth would not lose again for the better part of three months, finally seeing one of the best seasons in school history end with a 38-10 loss to St. Thomas in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

“We told the players in the locker room after the game not to hang your hat or your career on just one game,” said Steve Bell, the winningest coach in school history with a record of 94-32. “When they take time to look at the year as a whole, they’ll understand we had a pretty good season.”

A good season and a memorable one, in part because of the close outcomes along the way. After the opener, the next thrilling moment came at St. Norbert, when the highpowered Scots and Green Knights were unexpectedly tied at 3-3 at halftime. That remained the score until Trey Yocum ’14 broke free for a 46-yard TD run with 1:09 remaining to lift the Scots to a 10-3 win.

Two weeks later, Monmouth trailed entering the fourth quarter at Lake Forest, but the Scots scored four times in the final period and hung on for a wild 53-47 victory.

Incredibly, even more combined points were scored the following week, when Monmouth topped Beloit 63-41 on Homecoming weekend.

The highest drama, though, came in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs, when Monmouth visited Illinois Wesleyan. After spotting the hosts a 17-0 first half lead, the Scots clawed their way back into the game, forcing overtime.

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FOOTBALL continued from page 41

11 17

In the first extra session, a clutch 15-yard TD connection by fifth-year seniors Alex Tanney and Mike Blodgett tied the score. Trailing by three in the second OT, the host Titans had a first-and-goal at the Monmouth 6. But the Scots held, only surrendering a game-tying field goal.

With IWU just outside the end zone in the third overtime, Preston Lumzy ’15 recovered a fumble. All Monmouth needed for the win was a score, and Yocum did the honors, completing his 89-yard day with a seven-yard TD run.

That capped one of the greatest games in Monmouth football history—a 33-27 tripleovertime NCAA playoff victory.

In their second-round loss, the Scots’ lone TD was a 37-yard pass from Tanney to Blodgett, their 18th scoring connection of the season. Tanney finished the year throwing for 3,867 yards and 38 TDs, while Blodgett caught 126 passes for 1,867 yards.

The duo received a slew of postseason honors. Tanney was a top four finalist for the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy, made the AFCA All-America team and was, for the third time, the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year. One outlet, Beyond Sports College Network, even recognized him as its Division III Player of the Year. Tanney ended his career as the NCAA all-divisions leader with 157 touchdown passes and set Division III records with 14,249 career passing yards and 32 games of more than 300 yards.

Blodgett was selected to play in the D3 Senior Classic, where he caught two passes for 75 yards, and he joined Tanney on the Associated Press Little All-America team. Monmouth’s all-time receptions leader averaged more than 155 yards per game, ranking him second in Division III. His 10.5 receptions per game placed him third in the national rankings.

Yocum (1,432 rushing yards and a school-record 21 TDs) made the D3football.com All-West Region team along with Tanney, Blodgett and guard James Allen ’12.

Joining those four honored players as first team All-Midwest Conference selections were tight end David Milroy ’12, defensive lineman Mike Kettman ’12 (65 tackles), linebacker Adam Hoste ’12 (89 tackles), defensive back Shane Reschke ’12 (69 tackles) and punter Brik Wedekind ’14 (38.7 average).

Reschke, Hoste and Blodgett were invited to play in the All-American Bowl, where Reschke intercepted a pass and Blodgett caught five passes for 100 yards and a TD. “I’ll take 10-2 every year,” concluded Bell. “Our goal is always to win conference and advance farther in the playoffs. We got beat by a better team (at St. Thomas). It gave us a better view of how we need to play and what we need to do to compete on a higher level.” 

Mike Blodgett (17) hauls in this pass from Alex Tanney (11) during a 42-17 victory vs. Ripon.

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FALL SPORTS REVIEW:

Rachel Bowden

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: A year ago in this space, it was suggested that a rosy outlook was in store for the Fighting Scots in 2011 because they would have four All-MWC runners returning. Coach Roger Haynes’ squad indeed benefited from that talent, coming within four points of capturing the league title while settling for second place.

In the process, Monmouth had five All-MWC runners, and that rosy outlook continues, as all five are due back in 2012. Rachel Bowden ’13 led the group, which included classmates Tori Beaty, Brittney Frazier and Marlee Lane, as well as Alyssa Edwards ’14. Bowden picked up her third all-league honor, with Beaty and Edwards gaining their second.

Monmouth continued its strong season at the NCAA Midwest Regional, placing 11th of 38 teams. Bowden, who had placed third at the MWC meet, qualified for the NCAA meet by placing 15th out of more than 250 runners, running a time of 22:32 on the 6K course. At nationals, she placed 120th (22:26) in a similarly-sized field.  MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Like the women’s team, Monmouth’s men will have a strong nucleus returning next fall after ’13 classmates Jake Barr, Matt Gatlin and Paul Davies ran to All-MWC honors.

The team’s four all-league runners also included Jon Welty ’12. Together, they led the way to Monmouth’s fourth third-place MWC finish in the last five years.

Welty, who finished his career with three All-MWC cross country honors, started the season by winning a 36-runner 5K race and later placed second out of 104 runners at an 8K meet hosted by Illinois College.  monmouth | winter 2012

POY Simpson leads resurgent Scots soccer, volleyball returns to playoffs MEN’S SOCCER: Picked to finish eighth in the conference, coach George Perry’s squad defied the experts through most of the season, posting a team-record unbeaten streak of eight matches and holding a 4-0-2 league mark through six games.

However, the final weekend of the season wasn’t kind to Monmouth, as it dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Beloit. The fourth-place Scots still would have advanced to the postseason for the first time in 10 years had just one of three other games that weekend gone their way, but all three broke bad, including an unexpected loss by the undefeated league leaders.

Monmouth wound up losing a tiebreaker to Lake Forest for the final playoff spot.

The Scots had served notice that 2011 might not be an ordinary season when they topped Illinois Wesleyan 2-1 early on. A dramatic 1-1 tie against then-undefeated Lake Forest, when Logan Simpson ’13 scored with just 1:12 left, came in the middle of the unbeaten streak and was followed by four straight league wins.

Simpson earned MWC Player of the Year honors for leading the league in goals (14) and points (37), and Perry earned Coach of the Year honors for the 8-6-2 Scots. All-conference accolades also went to Andy Sheller ’13 and Devin Freitag ’13 ( five goals, five assists). The Scots’ trio of All-MWC players had all played together at Morton (Ill.) High School. 

Samantha Barranco

Mikaela Rogers

WOMEN’S SOCCER: The Fighting Scots came within minutes of a repeat appearance in the conference tournament.

Monmouth tied Lawrence for the fourth and final playoff spot but lost a head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of the Vikings’ 3-2 double-overtime win at Peacock Park. The game-winner was scored just eight minutes before the match would have ended in a tie.

The close score was indicative of the Scots’ season, as nine of their 17 matches ended tied or decided by one goal. MC displayed stingy defense all season, only allowing three goals in regulation twice and finishing with just 22 goals allowed during an 8-7-2 season.

Goalkeeper Samantha Barranco ’14 was a big factor in the defense, and she again earned first team All-MWC honors. Her classmates, midfielder Dani Gordon and defender Mikaela Rogers, also were repeat all-conference picks. Lauren Kellen ’15, who became Monmouth’s first double-digit goalscorer (10) since the 2006 season, joined them on the all-league team. 

WOMEN’S TENNIS: First-year coach Kim Wegner ’11 had the challenge of leading a team that had lost its No. 1 singles player from the year before—Kim Wegner. Additionally, the Scots’ No. 2 and 3 players did not return, and Wegner’s squad entered most of its matches with four players in the lineup instead of the standard six.

With so many players having to move up and face tougher competition, it was rough sledding for the Scots. Only the doubles team of Tessa Ginn ’13 and Kristen Huffman ’14 was able to pick up a victory during Monmouth’s 0-10 season. The Scots placed ninth at the MWC Championships.  monmouth | winter 2012

Morton (Ill.) High School products, from left, Andy Sheller, Logan Simpson, Matt Schmidt and Devin Freitag were reunited at Monmouth last fall and helped lead the men’s soccer team to an 8-6-2 record.

VOLLEYBALL: Monmouth took its lumps at some highly-competitive weekend tournaments, but when coach Kari Shimmin’s team needed to raise its play for Midwest Conference matches, it was usually up to the task.

The Scots posted a 7-2 league mark, good for second place. Their season Chelsey Widdop came to an end at the MWC playoffs, where Lake Forest avenged an earlier defeat with a 3-1 triumph in the semifinals.

En route to a 10-19 overall mark, the Scots battled numerous injuries and illnesses. However, Chelsey Widdop ’13 and Mollie Murdock ’14 stayed healthy all year and earned their third and second All-MWC honors, respectively.

Widdop posted 324 kills and 417 digs—both team-highs— and Murdock ran the offense with 838 assists.

Clare Hermie ’13 had a team-high 77 blocks and chipped in 177 kills, while Beth Dwyer ’13 and Megan Creen ’12 added 170 and 154 kills, respectively. 

WOMEN’S GOLF: An influx of new talent lifted coach Molly McNamara’s squad to its best MWC finish since 2007. The team’s top three players, who all averaged 93.0 strokes or better, were rookies, and freshmen also occupied the No. 5 and 6 spots.

Leading Monmouth to a fourth-place finish at the MWC meet was Korri Crawford ’15. Her three-day total of 272 tied for 10th individually, although she lost a tiebreaker for the final all-conference spot. Two other newcomers, Breanne Ford and Breanne Ford Anne Begley, placed second and third on the team at the meet.

Absent was the team’s No. 1 golfer, Lauren DeVolder ’15, who suffered an injury after posting a 90.7 average in the season’s first six rounds.

The team’s lowest score was a 355 at Millikin, where Ford posted rounds of 88-83171. Nicole Hurst ’13 was close behind at 89-83-172.  scots sports

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Even the financial aid staff got in on the fun, turning their office into a three-ring circus. From left: Lori Oetting, Paula Nuckles, Bev McGuire, Jayne Poland Schreck ’90 and Big Red.

Layout: Christina Diaz Jeff Rankin Photos: George Hartmann Kent Kreigshauser Jeff Rankin

MONMOUTH COLLEGE HOMECOMING 2011

I

The Greatest Weekend on Earth t was a veritable circus atmosphere all across campus for three days last fall, as alumni, students, faculty and staff all “dreamed big” in keeping with the Homecoming theme.

Midwest Matters Richard C. Longworth, senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and author of the book, Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism, was the featured speaker at the Midwest Matters Forum, which kicked off Homecoming activities.

We’ve got a real conversation going here… a real determination to take this new force

Spirit Shout!

Homecoming royalty announced at the conclusion of the Spirit Shout were, from left: Kimberly Boyd, junior princess; Matt Shumaker, junior prince; Brooke Twohill, Homecoming queen; and Jon Welty, Homecoming king.

called globalization and make it work for the Midwest.

—Richard C. Longsworth

M Club Hall of Fame The latest class of Monmouth athletic greats to be inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame was, from left: Lamar Rudd ’95, Constance Jackson ’01, Kari Bailey Shimmin ’97 and Mike Schmitz ’80.

THE Parade

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Contributing to the pageantry of the traditional Homecoming parade were, from left, the silver anniversary Class of 1986, the Sig Ep Kazoo Band, Big Red and the Fighting Scots Marching Band.

monmouth | winter 2012

the big game Spectators at the Homecoming were treated to an offensive feast as the Fighting Scots racked up 63 points against Beloit, while also surrendering 41 points. Quarterback Alex Tanney threw for five TDs, adding to what would become his record for most career touchdown passes in collegiate history.

At left, defensive back Erik Weber delivers a blow to the Beloit tight end. At right, wide receiver Mike Blodgett racks some of his 111 yards in the game.

PRESIDENT’S HOMECOMING GALA The Huff Athletic Center fieldhouse was transformed into an elegant banquet hall as alumni enjoyed a gourmet dinner and entertainment at the annual President’s Gala.

Educational Garden Alumni Baseball The first-ever Homecoming alumni baseball game attracted a large crowd to Glasgow Field on Sunday morning. Among the oldtimers participating were Bill Trubeck ’68 (above, left) and current coach head coach Roger Sander ’78.

Alumni volleyball

The dedication of Monmouth’s new educational garden, located on Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets, drew a stream of interested visitors, both to the garden and to the adjacent theme house where the student gardeners reside.

Former volleyball players participating in an alumni game on Saturday included (front row, from left): Molly Pendergrass ’05, Tanesha Hughes ’09 and Kari Bailey Shimmin ’97. Back row: Heather Randall Hinshaw ’05, Joan Chatfield Ealy ’86, Sara Erlandson ’98, Wendy Erlandson Anderson ’00, Melinda Heikes Seiler ’87, Sherri Williams ’88, Alyson Schroeter ’11, Samantha Robinson ’09 and Rachel Leffelman ’09.

WMCR rEUNION

Former and current campus radio staff and advisers reuniting at Homecoming included (clockwise, from left): Kelly Klikas ’13, instructor Chris Goble, Joanna Besser ’11, Lee McGaan ’69, Jen Eyre ’98, Kathleen Clark Kimmel ’78, Karla Holden McMillin ’96, Kevin Kaihara ’77, A.J. Bartoluzzi ’06, professor emeritus Jim De Young and professor Bill Wallace.

monmouth | winter 2012

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Achievers recognized at President’s Homecoming Gala Jerry Mitchell ’67:

Hall of Achievement Award (the highest honor MC bestows upon its graduates). Mitchell spent nearly 30 years with the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, helping U.S. business overseas, most recently as senior commercial officer in Mexico from 2002 to 2004. Prior to that, he served two years in Washington, D.C., as a deputy director general, the top career position in the service. He was also posted in Korea, Belgium, Greece, Canada and Africa. In 2005-06 he served as executive director of the International Center of Austin (Texas), developing an active business outreach program that focused on educating small businesses about the skills and knowledge needed for successfully conducting international business.

Currently, he is an adjunct professor in international business at Austin Community College

For the first time, President’s Gala honorees received a Scotsman statuette. Left, Hall of Achievement inductee Jerry Mitchell ’67 receives his award from President Ditzler.

Steve Buban: Hatch Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Buban, a faculty member since 1977, is a 1971 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Iowa, where he also earned his master’s and Ph.D. in sociology. Prior to Monmouth, he taught at the University of Manitoba and the University of Northern Iowa. Buban has held several leadership roles at Monmouth, including chairing Faculty Senate, and has also been active with the Warren County United Way and Warren Achievement Center. He has represented the college in several capacities with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and, in 2009, was the winner of the Hatch Academic Excellence Award for Distinguished Service.

Jackie Zachmeyer ’89:

Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Zachmeyer is director of finance for the construction and forestry division of Deere & Co. in Moline.

Following her graduation with a degree in accounting, she joined the audit staff of KPMG in Davenport, Iowa.

Four years later, she went to work for Deere & Co. as an internal auditor. That led to a series of managerial positions with the company, culminating with a move to Canada in 2003, where she became the controller at the Welland

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(Ontario) Works. In 2006, she moved to Mannheim, Germany, when she was named director of finance for Deere’s agriculture and turf division—Europe, Africa & Middle East.

In 2010 she returned to corporate headquarters in the U.S. Among her volunteer activities is work with special needs individuals through a therapeutic horseback riding organization.

The Hon. Dan Weber ’74:

Distinguished Service Award.

Weber has had a long and active relationship with Monmouth College as a student, alumnus and parent. As a student, he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Blue Key and the golf team and served as vice president of the Student Association.

Weber was a member of the Alumni Board of Directors from 1999 until 2008, serving as both its president and representative to MC’s board of trustees. A loyal supporter of the admission program, he regularly attends recruiting events and meets with admission counselors, prospective students and their parents in the Chicagoland area. Along with his wife, Geralyn Pope Weber ’76, he also organizes and hosts alumni functions.

A graduate of John Marshall Law School, Weber was the recipient of its district alumni award and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Illinois Judges Association.

Since retiring as a judge, he remains active as a litigator, works with handicapped children through the Sunshine Golf program and plays Santa Claus for hospitals and non-profit organizations.

Alex Melvin ’05: Young Alumnus Award. Melvin is president of Rural King, a farm-and-home store with 55 locations in seven states and 2,500 employees. A business administration major as a college student, he worked part-time on a rural Monmouth farm owned by MC professor Ken McMillan. After graduation, he initially worked as a project manager for Colcon Industries, a contractor based in his hometown of Sullivan, Ill., which specializes in building stores for Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. In 2008 he joined Rural King as vice president of distributing, and he was named president in 2011.

The Geiger family: Family of the

Year AWARD. The Geigers began their association with Monmouth College when Joseph Geiger ’50 enrolled after returning from serving four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was soon followed by his brother, Ken Geiger ’53 (left), and eventually a long string of family members would enroll at Monmouth. The family has remained active in the life of the college, annually attending homecomings, reunions and special events, and continuing to recruit students to Monmouth, many of whom are enrolled today. n

monmouth | winter 2012

1965 David Biklen, a Hartford, Conn.,

Clan Notes

For more Clan Notes, go to: monmouthcollege.edu/clannotes

1942 Clarence J. Mac Manus of Hoebe

Sound, Fla., reports that at age 94 he remains an avid golfer and enjoys time at the gym.

Juanita Winbigler Reinhard of Arlington

Heights, Ill., last summer participated in Honor Flight Chicago, traveling with other World War II military veterans to Washington, D.C. Reinhard enlisted in the WAVES in 1944.

1949 The paperback edition of Louisa Mae

Johnston Decker’s novel There Came a Stranger, set in central Florida during the 1980s, is available on Amazon.com. Decker lives in Palm Springs, Calif.

1949 At one time, John Gunn of Pensacola,

Fla., had one of the largest private sports library collections in the country. Gunn’s collection has now gone public, and Sports Illustrated took notice. Last September, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington debuted the John Gunn Collection. An article about the collection that appeared in the Sept.

12, 2011, issue of SI noted that Gunn “had scavenged yard sales, swap meets and Internet auctions for more than 20 years to build an exhaustive stockpile of sports memorabilia that he kept neatly organized on dusty shelves in cardboard boxes.”

1954 Janie Rezner of Ft. Bragg, Calif., is a

writer, composer, artist and singer, and also hosts a radio program called Women’s Voices.

She creates and sells ocarinas and has published a CD titled Oquawka Speaks: the Words and Music of Mother God. Examples of her work can be viewed at www.janierezner.com.

1956 Jerry Marxman of Portola Valley, Calif., received a Gold Medal Award in October from the Case Western Reserve University Alumni Association. The highest award the association bestows upon an alumnus, it is presented to a graduate who has “received extraordinary distinction and made a major contribution to the field of science, engineering or management that adds to the welfare of the United States.”

1959 Joe Tait of Medina, Ohio, has published an autobiography titled Joe Tait: It’s Been a Real Ball, which he co-wrote with sportswriter Terry Pluto. The book, which is available on Amazon.com, details his life from the early years in Illinois, through his novice years in radio, and into his decades of broadcasting Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers games.

1960 Joe Suffield, a retired teacher in Peoria, Ill., has published a sequel to his first book, Escape to the West. Titled Will Frederick’s Western Quest, it continues the saga of an 18th-century Englishman’s journey to America as an indentured servant and his subsequent flight to the West.

1962 Julia Briggerman O’Hare of Lyme, N.H., recently retired from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where she had been a biomedical engineering research scientist. One of the first women to be admitted to Dartmouth’s Ph.D. programs in 1962, she earned her doctorate in 1969.

monmouth | winter 2012

Supply, Inc., a company she founded with her late husband, Mike. It supplies industrial cleaning chemicals, primarily to the marine industry.

attorney and past executive director of the Connecticut Law Revision Commission, has been appointed chair of the new Uniform Law Commission (ULC) Study Committee on Eyewitness Identification Procedures. The committee will make recommendations concerning the need for an act concerning procedures to be used when police and prosecutors conduct eyewitness identifications.

A change in procedures could help prevent mistaken eyewitness identifications, the single most frequent cause of wrongful convictions.

Biklen has been a ULC member since 1982.

Patricia Gladstone Middlin of Vassar, Mich.,

has retired after 37 years as the vocal music teacher at Vassar Public Schools, but is continuing to teach part-time for the current year.

Billy Honeycutt, a jeweler from Woodridge,

Ill., is in his 40th season as a wrestling official and clinician. He also works the state finals for both the Illinois High School Association and Illinois Elementary School Association.

1975 Dan Palmer of Moline, Ill., has been

1967 Wendell Shauman of Kirkwood, Ill., a

inducted into the Academy of Electrical Contracting and is the recipient of the James H. McGraw Award, one of the electrical industry’s highest honors. He is CEO of Tri City Electric Co. in Davenport, Iowa.

member of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, was elected 2011-2012 chairman of the U.S. Grains Council, a national non-profit organization dedicated to building export markets for barley, corn, sorghum and their products.

1976 Joan Kehr Adami of Sugar Hill, Ga., is

1967 Dr. Frederick J. Kaskel of Mamaroneck,

currently teaching gifted elementary education.

Over her 31-year career, she has also taught both LD and regular education.

Pamela Slaughter Van Kirk of Monmouth, a retired librarian, is president-elect for the Illinois Library Association (ILA). She reports that two other MC alumni—Jane Eisfeldt Ehrenhart ’77 and Jerri Picha ’75—have joined her on the ILA 2012 Conference Committee. She also serves as president of the Friends of the Galesburg Public Library.

N.Y., is the co-author of an article published in the Dec. 22 New England Journal of Medicine.

Titled “Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerrosis,” the article describes current research into a condition involving scar tissue in the kidney, which can lead to nephrotic syndrome in children.

Keith Sanderson of Deerfield is using his rescued shelter dog, Max A. Pooch, to spread the word about the importance of recycling, while also advocating for the “millions of dogs that are destroyed each year.” He was a guest last fall on the popular Pet Life Radio program A Super Smiley Adventure, hosted by pet activist Megan Blake. The adventures of Max, a “recycled” black Labrador retriever, are chronicled on the website www.maxapooch.com.

Cynthia Hart of Culver City, Calif., is a CPA and a senior accountant for IntelliBridge Partners in Newport Beach. Her current work assignment is at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

1977 Gary Carstens, the owner of Mississippi Mud Studios in Dubuque, Iowa, returned to Monmouth in October for the opening of an exhibit of his pottery in the Len G. Everett Gallery. The porcelain discs and stoneware functional items in the exhibit were inspired by landscapes he has viewed while traveling the upper Midwest and mountains of North Carolina.

1970 Gary Sears of Englewood, Colo., was

one of five persons honored for 40 years of public service at the International City/County Managers Convention. He also serves as an adjunct professor in the University of Colorado’s graduate school of public affairs.

1971 Nancy Mortonson Wilim teaches

English in Vienna, Austria.

J. Scott Brunswick and his wife, Lynn, retired in 2005 to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., but he continues to work part-time at Door Peninsula Winery and as an internship supervisor for National-Lewis University. He also coaches freshman boys basketball.

1981 Nancy Kistler Crawford of Moline, Ill., attended a private town hall meeting with President Obama when he visited a farm market in Alpha, Ill. Crawford, who does PR work for the farm, was able to meet and shake hands with the president.

1982

1972 1973 Don Storrs and his wife, Cynthia

1985 Jay Wayland of Rock Island, Ill., has left his post as athletic director and baseball coach at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Wisconsin to become head baseball coach at Rock Island High School, where he also teaches science.

Christenbury Storrs ’75, of Colorado Springs, Colo., have served more than 30 years for Greater Europe Mission in Belgium and Germany. He currently holds a position with TeachBeyond, a Christian-based organization that recruits workers for schools around the world.

1986 Gary Selof of Polk City, Iowa, is a sup-

port chaplain for the Iowa National Guard.

He earned his master’s of divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1997, deployed to Iraq for one year in 2005 and completed a second master’s in marriage and family therapy through Liberty University in 2011.

1974 John Carlson of Champaign, Ill., recently began his duties as emergency management director for Champaign County. A retired vice president of manufacturing for Gill/Porter Industries, he also had a 22-year career in the Army and Army Reserve, retiring recently as a lieutenant colonel.

1987 Amy Swiler Brooks of St. Charles, Ill., is a certified bereavement companion with Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice.

Linda “Johnnie” Johnson Petterson of God-

continued on next page

frey, Ill., is owner/president of Industry-Wide

= HOMECOMING 2011 Reunion Class

clan notes

47

CLAN NOTES continued from page 47

1989 Brad Nahrstadt, an attorney from

Buffalo Grove, Ill., was featured in a Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article about his collection of 1,500 presidential campaign buttons. His collection began at MC, when he volunteered for the 1988 Dukakis presidential campaign.

Jonathan Wright of Hartsburg, Ill., has

announced his candidacy for Logan County state’s attorney. Currently first assistant state’s attorney for the county, he served as assistant Illinois attorney general from 1994-1995, and as a state representative from 2001-2003.

1990 Mike Jones of Round Lake Beach, Ill.,

has been named head football coach at Libertyville High School, where he also teaches math.

Laura Loy Anderson of Peru, Ill., has joined the staff at Citizens First National Bank in Princeton as vice president and internal auditor.

2000 Jeremy Sharp of Orion, Ill., is the new athletic director at United High School in rural Monmouth.

Hillary Lee Dickerson of Galena, Ill., was

presented with the American Legion Public Relations Special Recognition Award from the American Legion Department of Wisconsin at its annual state convention.

2001 Shelly Shenbarger Phetsisouk of Mili-

lani, Hawaii, works in sales at Nordtrom Ala Moana in Honolulu, where she gets to assist the wardrobe staffs of Hawaii Five-O and other TV and film production companies as they assemble stylish fashions for their actors.

Steve Carlstrand of Genoa City, Wis., is a

warehouse manager for Braeside Displays, a manufacturer and distributor of advertising displays. In 2007, he received a master’s of management degree.

2003 Toby Lannholm of Peoria Heights, Ill.,

senior vice president, finance, and chief financial officer for Wells Enterprises, Inc., the parent company of Blue Bunny ice cream.

has been named a branch supervisor for Heartland Bank and Trust Company, a community bank with offices throughout Illinois and northeast Missouri. He earned his master’s degree at Western Illinois University.

1991 Susan Rogers Culp of Lenexa, Kan.,

2002

Robin Ottenad Galloway has been named

is an occupational therapist for the Olathe (Kan.) District Schools. She recently published a book titled A Buffet of Sensory Interventions: Solutions for Middle and High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

1992 1995 Deanna Marchand Baele of Washington, Ill., passed the Certified Financial Planner exam in November and is currently pursuing completion of her CFP candidacy. She is an adviser for David Vaughan Investments, Inc., in Peoria, Ill.

1996 Sam Aloian of Morrisville, N.C., com-

pleted doctoral programs in school psychology and developmental psychology at Northern Illinois University. A licensed clinical psychologist and a certified school psychologist, he provides therapy to adolescents, adults and children and specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults.

Korine Steinke Wawrzynski of Haslett, Mich., is director for undergraduate research in the provost’s office at Michigan State University,

Tim Salier of San Antonio, Texas, is one of 40

2004 Wendy Thomas of Mediapolis, Iowa,

decided to change course after a year of grad school studying biochemistry at Iowa State University and entered ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Last June, with a DVM diploma in hand, she found a job at a veterinary clinic in Mediapolis, near her hometown.

In August, she purchased the practice.

Thomas Murphy has joined the OSF Medical

Group practice in Pontiac, Ill. In addition to family medicine, he also has a special interest in pain management and sports medicine.

Shalyn Shirey of St. Louis, Mo., earned her practical nursing degree in 2010 and is continuing her nursing studies.

Bryan Bittner has opened a new chiropractic

office in Monmouth, after earning his doctorate in October from Palmer College of Chiropractic.

2006 Seth Rohweder of Moline, Ill., served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, during which he completed two combat tours of Iraq and was also stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.

1997

Ryne Sherman is an assistant professor of psychology at Florida Atlantic University. He received his Ph.D. in personality and social psychology last June from the University of California-Riverside. He and his wife, Georgena, live in Boca Raton, Fla.

1998 Matt Nelson, a veterinarian from

Matthew Hammer of Lanark, Ill., is a clinical

young executives featured in the San Antonio Business Journal’s 2012 “40 Under 40” honorees. He is senior director of franchise business operations for Spurs Sports & Entertainment.

Geneseo, Ill., was presented with the Dr. Erwin Small First Decade Award at the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association annual meeting in November 2011.

pharmacist at Freeport (Ill.) Memorial Hospital.

A graduate of the Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville pharmacy school, he served his residency at a hospital in Belleville, Ill.

1999 Michael Jones of Macomb, Ill., has

Tucker Blaser of St. Louis, Mo., is an attorney

been appointed director of development for Libraries, the Centennial Honors College and the School of Distance Learning, International Studies and Outreach at Western Illinois University.

48

clan notes

in the Belleville, Ill., office of Brown & James Law Firm. He recently completed his first half-marathon.

Josh Ragar is a loan officer for Pilot Grove Savings Bank in Pilot Grove, Iowa.

= HOMECOMING 2011 Reunion Class

Karyn Spangler Beavers of Galesburg, Ill.,

is teaching first grade at Galesburg Christian School, a private institution from which she graduated in 2002.

Emily Eddington of Carterville, Ill., who works

as the morning news anchor for WSIL-TV in southern Illilnois, was named Best Anchor for a medium market television station at the Illinois Broadcasters Association’s 2012 Silver Dome Awards. She is married to Tyler Dihle ’06.

2007

Ashley Gaul of Havana, Ill., and Evan Haffner of Hanna City, Ill., share a common accomplishment—both coached state championship 7th-grade basketball teams this year. Hers was the Havana girls team and his was the Bartonville Monroe boys.

Sarah Zaleski, a ceramics student in the MFA program at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., has received the prestigious Caterpillar Master’s Fellowship. An installation of artwork based on memories of her grandfather was recently displayed at the university’s art center.

Darren Jackson of Peoria, Ill., recently earned

his MFA in visual communication from Bradley University and is now an adjunct instructor in graphic design at Bradley’s Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts.

2008 Carissa Scott of Monmouth recently

began her new duties as executive director of the Western Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross.

2009 Kyle Christensen of Galesburg, Ill., had

research work published in the Fall 2011 issue of Studies in Popular Culture. The article was titled “The Final Girl versus Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street: Proposing a Stronger Model of Feminism in Slasher Horror Cinema.” Christensen recently joined the MC faculty as a lecturer in the communication studies department.

2010 Annie Lane of Kirkwood, Mo., returned last June from India, where she spent a year volunteering on behalf of a girls school located in the rural town of Anupshahr in the state of Uttar Pradesh. She spent most of the year as a fundraising volunteer in New Delhi, but also worked three months at the school as a teacher’s assistant.

2011 Derek Huff was one of 16 recent college graduates selected to take part in The Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs in St. Louis, Mo., a nine-month, graduate-level leadership training program designed to prepare individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena.

Angie Morris of Iowa City, Iowa, is currently seeking her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Iowa.

Michelle Nutting is a weekend news producer for WQAD-TV, an ABC affiliate in Moline, Ill. Matt Shepherd will be playing football in

Germany this season after inking a deal with the Marburg Mercenaries to play in Germany’s top division. The wide receiver caught 53 passes for 500 yards and five TDs for the Kouvola Indians of the Finnish First Division last season. Shepherd also saw action as a safety.

The Indians advanced to the title game last season for the first time in nearly 20 years.n

monmouth | winter 2012

Erin Pinney ’06 and Troy Bennett ’04 were married Sept. 4, 2010. Alumnae in the wedding party included, in front, Jessica Wolfard Ellis ’06, Valerie Curtis ’06, Lindsay Bero ’06 and Marisa Kratochvil Flanigan ’06. In back are Alexis Zanis Carscadden ’06, Kimi Karau Wilcoxon ’05 and Megan Moose Decker ’06. Steve Glasgow ’02 is directly behind the bride.

Lindsey Gilliland and Andrew Aberle II

Michelle Girten and Peter Sprecher

Amy Lang ’09 and Greg Malak ’07 were married on Sept. 16, 2011. MC alumni in attendance included, from left, Cal Ruderman ’09, Annie Shortridge Walljasper ’06, Josh Graeber ’10, Heidi Benson Ruderman ’09, Katie Lohan ’09, Melissa Metz ’09, Molly Stewart ’09, Kyle Christensen ’09, Maddy Ethington ’09, Chris Walljasper ’07, the Malaks, Margaret Scudella ’09, Katie Bonifazi ’09, Lauren Rampick ’09, Ashley Robinson ’09, Liane Lopez ’09 and Samantha Briones ’09.

Michelle Meyer and Chad Messman

Weddings

1960 1987 1993 1999 2003 2004

Emily Mitsdarffer and Joshua Meyer

Breanna Webb and Chris Schwarz

Dottie Mertz and Lynn Swinger December 29, 2011 Amy Swiler and Rick Brooks

September 27, 2011

Lorrie Stoll and Brian Strohschein

Alison McGaughey and Chris Norton

September 17, 2011

Lindsey Whately and Troy Jozefiak

June 4, 2011

Michelle Meyer and Chad Messman

July 3, 2010

Amy Buckingham and Seth Spivey

2005

June 4, 2010

July 23, 2011

Anna Beasley and Jim Dibble ’06 October 8, 2011 Emily Mitsdarffer and Joshua Meyer ’08 August 6, 2011

2006

Lindsey Markel and Larry Gates Erin Pinney and Troy Bennett ’04

2007 2008 2009

Brittany Coombs and Jeffrey Allen

July 16, 2011

Michelle Girten and Peter Sprecher

July 22, 2011

Gail Gummerson and Ramon Medina

June 11, 2011

50

clan notes

Breanna Webb and Chris Schwarz

2011

September 4, 2010

Cassandra Mefford and Jarod Murdock October 8, 2011

Amy Lang and Gregory Malak ’07 Lindsey Whately ’03 and Troy Jozefiak ’03 were married June 4, 2011.

Also in the wedding party were 2003 classmates Deon Dinsmore and Melissa Jones Bittner (left) and Taran Jozefiak ’08 (right).

June 2011

September 16, 2011 June 25, 2011

Lindsey Gilliland and Andrew Aberle II May 21, 2011 Samantha Jennings and Marquese Moore

January 26, 2012

monmouth | winter 2012

we welcome news and photos related to your career, awards, reunions or travel with your MC friends, and any other information of interest to your classmates or alumni. We also welcome announcements and photos of alumni weddings, civil unions and births, as well as alumni obituaries.

Digital photos should have a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Please include a photo caption with full names that clearly match faces, class years, date and location. Submit your news online at monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/updates, by e-mail to alumni@monmouthcollege.edu, or by mail to Monmouth College Magazine, Attn: Alumni Programs, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998.

We reserve the right to reject images for any reason, especially those with low resolution and those that require purchase from a photo gallery website. Submissions will be published at the discretion of the editors on a space-available basis.

Births

Katelyn Reese Colgan

Lucas Scott Shaw

1968

Alexander Lindsay

1986

Amber and Brian Ross

1994

Felicia Tank Fechtmeister and Steve

1997

Charlotte Bond Helms and Matt

1996

Felicia and Matthew Fisher

1999

Stacy DeGeer Colgan and Thomas

a daughter, Katelyn Reese April 13, 2011

Jenni Leonard Moser and William

a daughter, Jayden Kay April 19, 2011

Amber Kuhrts Anderson and Chad

a daughter, Kyleigh Rae

January 12, 2011

a daughter, Madelyn Elizabeth

January 16, 2010

2001

Andrea Scott Clague and Anthony ’98

adopted a daughter, Grace November 1, 2011 a daughter, Natalie

a daughter, Alice Mary October 5, 2011 a son, Noah Iden February 7, 2010

a daughter, Evelyn Noelle February 11, 2011

Alice Mary Helms

Lindsay McCann Higgerson and Jared twin sons, Tate Edward and Beau Anthony December 1, 2011 Mandy and Derek Rakoci

2003

Elliot Timothy Franks

a son, Tyler November 11, 2010

Theresa Hamm Burt and James

2002

July 12, 2010

Erin Hoffmeyer Shaw and Scott Janice Ruglio Van Kuiken and Kirk

2004

Kylee Mastin Simpson and Mark ’03

2006

Karyn Spangler Beavers and John Jessica Wolfard Ellis and Michael Ana Fisher Franks and Todd Lauren Celmer Hiebert and Chris Robin Hammer and Matt Sara and Joshua Ragar

2007

Andrea Emery Stevenson and Scott ’06

2009

Tanesha Hughes

July 9, 2011

a daughter, Neve Olivia

September 2011

a daughter, Sydnee Lane May 11, 2011 a son, Zander Rae December 3, 2011 a daughter, Torra Lynn

July 1, 2010

Khyeer James Wheeler

a son, Elliot Timothy May 17, 2011 a daughter, Leah Marie

September 21, 2011

a daughter, Jade Mariah

September 1, 2011

a son, Reno James

Sept. 10, 2010

a daughter, Claire Emerald May 4, 2010 a son, Khyeer James May 28, 2011

Hilary Leary Martin and Justin ’07

monmouth | winter 2012

a son, Lucas Scott

a son, Jack Michael August 20, 2010

Sarah Zanger Venvertloh and Lee

Jayden Kay Moser

a son, Connor Anderson October 14, 2011

Madelyn Elizabeth Clague

Claire Emerald Stevenson

a daughter, Kennedy Ann August 17, 2011

Tyler Fechtmeister

Leah Marie Hiebert

clan notes

51

Deaths

In memoriam: Emeritus professor Allison had deep roots in MC David Allison ’53, emeritus professor of biology, died Nov. 9, 2011, at the age of 80.

Allison was one of few alumni in the history of the college to be inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame (2003) and receive a Distinguished Service Award (2008).

After attending Monmouth College for three years, Allison completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois and, one year later, his master’s.

In 1960, he earned his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Allison was working as a cotton genetics researcher at the University of Arizona when a temporary teaching position opened at Monmouth. He jumped at the opportunity and, after he was permanently hired, “My love for the college and this community kept me around.”

When Allison joined the biology department in 1962, it included Robert Buchholz and John Ketterer. The three men were together in the department until Ketterer’s retirement in 1986. Ten years later, Allison was one of three retiring professors to give the commencement address. In 1999, the biology department dedicated its herbarium in Allison’s honor.

“I am deeply saddened by the notice of Dr. Allison’s passing,” wrote Ken Kite ’69. “I spent many hours in that old, out-of-date science building, but I received the best education a student could have asked for. He and Drs. Ketterer and Buchholz turned me from a boy to a man. Their

1930 Mildred McCoy Birdsell of Annapolis,

Md., died Sept. 16, 2011, at the age of 102.

Born Oct. 19, 1908, in Kirkwood, Ill., she majored in Latin at Monmouth and taught at Orangeville (Ill.) High School for a few years before becoming a homemaker. Birdsell later returned to teaching at Warren High School outside of Monmouth. She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Everett Birdsell ’31, and by sisters Louise McCoy Stewart ’24 and Margaret McCoy Sanner ’33.

Survivors include a son, Bruce Birdsell ’69.

1934 Evelyn Grier Routh, 98, of Kearney,

Neb., died May 28, 2011. Raised in Monmouth, she graduated with a degree in mathematics and taught school in Nebraska. She and her husband owned Pioneer Publishing Co.

1935 Morton Hickman of Tucson, Ariz., died Aug. 5, 2011. He majored in speech, communication and theater arts and was a member of Crimson Masque and Theta Chi. Following MC, Hickman attended McCormick Theological Seminary, obtaining his master of divinity degree.

1937 David Dodds, 95, of McHenry, Ill., died July 13, 2011. The Tau Kappa Epsilon member received his undergraduate degree from MC in economics and history. Twenty years later, he received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Monmouth. Dodds completed his training at Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary in 1941 and was a Presbyterian minister in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.

52

clan notes

guidance was the driving force and background that allowed me to successfully negotiate four years of dental school. Dr. Allison was my presenter when I was inducted into the athletic Hall of Fame, which on a lot of levels was one of my proudest moments. I consider myself blessed to have met him and to have his influence guide my life.”

For Allison, Monmouth College was more than just the school he attended for three years and the college where he taught biology for 34 more. It’s the place where he grew up.

As a youth, he rode his sled down the big hill behind Wallace Hall and sneaked into football games to avoid the nickel admission fee.

“I go back a long way with this place,” he said of the college at the time of his retirement. “It’s part of my make-up.”

Little did Allison know as a child playing on the college campus that he would be asked to attend many MC sporting events free of charge—first as an athlete on the Fighting Scots’ football and track teams and, after he had joined the faculty, as a game filmer and public address announcer. He was the voice of Fighting Scots men’s basketball well past his retirement, extending his association with MC athletics to more than half a century.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce Keating Allison ’53, and three children—Stuart, William and Marjorie.

A memorial fund has been established for Monmouth College.

1938 Emmy Nussle Breed, 94, of Monmouth

degree in library science from the University of Illinois, where she met her husband of 66 years, who survives. She was preceded in death by brothers Duane Kuntz ’38 and William Kuntz ’49.

1939 Isabel Bollman Gardner, 94, of Pontiac,

1942 Francis “Wayne” Bloomer, 90, of Salinas, Calif., died Oct. 25, 2011. He majored in education and was a member of the football and track teams. Bloomer served in the Navy for 21 years and three wars before embarking on a banking career in 1963.

Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Betty Cassen Bloomer ’45.

died July 17, 2011. During her working years, she was an accountant at two Monmouth businesses. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years.

Ill., died Dec. 16, 2011. She majored in English and was a member of Crimson Masque. Following World War II, she was active in her husband’s John Deere dealership. She was preceded in death by her husband, former MC trustee Delbert Gardner ’40.

Betty Ann Rubino Lane, 93, of Fair Oaks, Calif., died Feb. 24, 2011. She graduated magna cum laude in mathematics and was a member of Crimson Masque, Kappa Delta and women’s athletic teams. She was a math teacher, spending the bulk of her career at Lockport (Ill.) Township High School, and she also directed school glee clubs. In 1966, she completed her master’s degree in education from Northern Illinois University.

1940 Adeline Knepp Fink, 93, of Birmingham, Ala., died April 4, 2011. An English major and Kappa Delta member, she helped her husband operate Knepp’s Ladies Apparel in Canton, Ill., for 33 years.

1941 Helen Kuntz Wiese, 90, of Moscow,

Idaho, died May 29, 2011. She majored in English and was a member of Crimson Masque and Alpha Xi Delta. Two years after graduating from MC, she received her master’s

Helen Campbell Cinquina of St. Louis, Mo.,

died Feb. 3, 2011. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Delta. Survivors include a son, Thomas Cinquina Jr. ’85.

William Kratz, 90, of Sun City, Ariz., died

Sept. 22, 2011. A four-year stint in the Navy during World War II interrupted his college education, which he completed at the University of Iowa, where he also received his D.D.S. He was a dentist for 30 years.

Louise Cummins Matchett of Northbrook, Ill., died March 29, 2011. She studied English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Coral Cannell Torley, 90, of Corvallis, Ore., died July 9, 2011. A Monmouth native, she was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Torley ’39.

monmouth | winter 2012

1943 Margaret McKinley Miller Carter, 89,

of Athens, Ill., died May 15, 2011. She studied elementary education, eventually completing her degree at Northern Illinois University. She had a 30-year career as a kindergarten teacher in Earlville, Ill. Survivors include a brother, Donald McKinley ’50, and a son, Richard Miller ’65. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Richard Miller ’42, and by brothers Harold McKinley ’36 and Joseph McKinley ’45.

Helen Hicks, 89, of Winnetka, Ill, died Sept.

9, 2011. She grew up in Monmouth and enrolled at MC to study economics and accounting. A campus leader, she participated in many activities, including Pi Phi and the Student Council. Hicks continued her education with a special intensive course in accounting and auditing at Northwestern University. She worked as an auditor for Price Waterhouse in Chicago for seven years, then served as the assistant to the president of the 1950 Chicago Fair, where her duties included interacting with a number of dignitaries.

Much of Hicks’s career was spent working for law firms in Chicago and San Francisco. She retired in 1987 as the administrative director of the Chicago law firm of Hopkins and Sutter.

Her obituary in the Chicago Tribune read: “She will be remembered for her ever friendly and positive personality, her graciousness, her generosity and her quick sense of humor.”

She left a $125,000 estate gift to Monmouth to endow the Helen R. Hicks Scholarship Fund. It will provide scholarship opportunities for select accounting and/or business students.

1944 Jean Cheng Go, 90, of Brooklyn, N.Y.,

died March 20, 2011. While living in Peking as a high school student, she narrowly escaped a long incarceration during Japan’s occupation of China in 1940. Her sister, Susan Cheng Ting ’34, was able to bail her out and help her on her way to Susan’s alma mater of Monmouth, where Go studied chemistry.

However, Go would not see her parents again for 30 years. While pursuing graduate studies at Cornell University, she met her husband, who she was married to for 57 years. Six decades after Cornell, Go was still in school, earning her master’s degree in social work from Hunter College at the age of 86. She was last employed as a social worker at the Elmhurst Hospital Center. Survivors at the time of her death included her 102-year-old sister, Susan.

Floyd Milligan, 90, of Des Moines, Iowa, died Aug. 31, 2011. Following the Pearl Harbor attack, he left Monmouth and joined the Marines. He was honorably discharged in 1954 and completed his undergraduate degree at Drake University. Milligan then worked for Bankers Life Company, serving as its treasurer before retiring in 1983. Survivors include siblings Merle Milligan ’47 and Ethel Milligan Bailey ’52. Brothers Bruce Milligan ’42 and Dale Milligan ’48 preceded him in death. Each of those four siblings married MC grads.

Anabel Hamilton Schaller of Des Moines,

Iowa, died Oct. 19, 2010. She studied home economics and worked in human services for the State of Iowa.

monmouth | winter 2012

1946 Norman Bos, 86, of Hutchinson, Kan-

sas, died Sept. 3, 2011. He served in the Army during World War II and, later, was in the Air Force. After leaving Monmouth, he studied at Yale University and at the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago. He practiced orthopedic surgery in Hutchinson for 30 years.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years.

Jennie Brown Young, 85, of Lincoln, Neb., died July 9, 2011. She majored in languages and was a member of Crimson Masque. She is survived by a sister, June Brown Kromberg ’48.

1947 Delbert Icenogle, 84, of Monmouth,

died June 29, 2011. The Monmouth native studied philosophy and was a member of Theta Chi. He graduated from Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary in 1951 and was a Presbyterian minister for 42 years. However, he continued to fill pulpits on most Sundays even after his 1992 retirement. Survivors include his wife of nearly 50 years.

Kenneth Shorts, 85, of Des Plaines, Ill., died

Dec. 8, 2011. After majoring in government, he was the state’s attorney in Lake County for 10 years. In 1960, he started his own law practice in Waukegan, Ill., which he ran for 30 years, and he then partnered with his wife at ABS Legal Services in Chicago until his death.

1948 Barbara Curry DeYoung, 84, of Young

Harris, Ga., died Sept. 24, 2011. An accomplished concert pianist and composer, one of her works was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. An English major at Monmouth, she taught that subject at the high school level and was also a real estate agent and an advertising manager for Ginn & Co., a publishing firm in Boston. She wrote seven of the First Book of series, including ones on the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs.

Donald Gantner of Manhattan Beach, Calif.,

1949 Joyce Randall Skinner, 83, of Yorkville, Ill., died April 30, 2011. She majored in biology and, for a short time, was a substitute teacher in Yorkville.

1950 Leona Sanderson Ellerby, 81, of Ore-

gon, Ill., died June 13, 2010. A member of Pi Beta Phi at Monmouth, she completed her undergraduate degree at Northern Illinois University. Ellerby was a high school librarian for nearly 20 years and authored King Tut’s Game Board Book. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Ellerby ’50.

Eunice Kern Fosterling, 83, of Milford, Dela., died June 19, 2011. She studied English and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Fosterling ’50.

David Hamnett, 81, of Lincoln, Neb., died

April 20, 2010. The Alpha Tau Omega member graduated with a degree in speech, communication and theater arts. An Army veteran, he served in the Korean War. Hamnett was a speech pathologist at the University of Nebraska.

Margie McGrew Mahone of Long Beach,

Calif., died Nov. 5, 2011. She studied elementary education and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Anthony Palese Jr., 86, of Milwaukee, Wis.,

died in August 2011. A physical education major and member of the football team, he taught P.E. in Chicago public schools for more than 30 years.

Ruth Calhoun Riggle, 83, of Geneseo, Ill.,

died July 20, 2011. She completed her bachelor’s degree in education at Western Illinois University and was a grade school teacher in the AlWood and Geneseo districts. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Donald Riggle ’51.

died Aug. 17, 2011. The Theta Chi member majored in mathematics, which he also studied at UCLA. He was a World War II veteran and owned Gantner Photography. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean Ellsworth Gantner ’43.

Kathryn Monahan Ruesh, 82, of Hoffman

Richard Lincoln of Milwaukee, Wis., died

Mich., died July 9, 2011. Born in Tanta, Egypt, she graduated with a degree in chemistry and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. She began her career as a teacher, but after taking graduate courses in library science at Kent State University, she worked as librarian, first at a public school, and then with three major companies, including Sherwin-Williams.

June 3, 2010. A physics major, Lincoln worked for more than 30 years in the recreational marine industry and was active in creating and implementing boating safety standards at the national level. He joined Outboard Marine Corp. in 1960 and retired as its director of environmental affairs. In 1989, Lincoln created the American Boat and Yacht Council Foundation and served as its president through 2001.

Ernest Nicolaides, 87, of Longmont, Colo., died Oct. 21, 2011. A Monmouth native and World War II veteran, he graduated with a degree in chemistry, then received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois. He was a pharmaceutical research chemist at Parke-Davis for 34 years, establishing several dozen patents in peptide chemistry.

Elizabeth Glas Roesch, 84, of Des Moines, Iowa, died Aug. 14, 2011. She majored in mathematics and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Roesch ’48.

Estates, Ill., died Feb. 19, 2011. She majored in French and retired from the consumer loans operation department of the former First National Bank of Skokie.

Ruth Acheson Spindler, 82, of Ann Arbor,

Dick Washburn, 84, of Springfield, Ill., died Feb. 12, 2011. Prior to attending Monmouth, he served in the Navy during World War II. After MC, where he studied business and was a member of the football team and Alpha Tau Omega, he completed his degree at Bradley University. He was a sales representative for three companies, including Standard Oil.

1951 Oral Kost, 82, of Lewistown, Ill., died

June 30, 2011. He majored in history and was a member of the football team and Alpha Tau Omega. He received his J.D. from the University of Illinois in 1953 and practiced law for 58 years. Among the positions he held were Fulton County state’s attorney and assistant attorney general in Illinois. He was preceded

clan notes

53

Marion J0nes Marion Austin Jones ’50, of Grinnell, Iowa, an emerita trustee of Monmouth College, died Nov. 22, 2011.

Jones studied theater and music at Monmouth and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Crimson Masque and the synchronized swim team.

Perhaps her interest in music could be traced back to her grandfather, T. Merrill Austin, founder of the Monmouth Conservatory of Music, for whom the college’s music building, Austin Hall, is named.

In 1954, Jones and her husband, Addison, moved to Grinnell, where they owned and operated the Grinnell State Bank. She was on the bank’s board of directors at the time of her death.

A past president of the Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s board of directors, she was also very active in its auxiliary as well as the Grinnell Community Theatre as an actress and director.

In a 1993 Scots Newse article, Jones was called “one of Monmouth College’s most active supporters.”

That support included serving as national chair for the annual fund.

She and her husband also provided financial support for Wells Theater, with Marion serving on the project’s national committee.

Survivors include her husband of 61 years; three children, including Stephen Jones ’75; seven grandchildren, including David Jones ’06; and seven great grandchildren.

CLAN NOTES continued from page 53 in death by his first wife, Edna Wilner Kost ’51. Survivors include a son, Kelly Kost ’82, and two granddaughters, Molly Briney Daily ’05 and Kerry Kost ’12.

Donald Putzier, 79, of Palatine, Ill., died in January 2010. He studied business administration and was a member of Theta Chi. Ginny Shaffer Rastede, 81, of Morrison, Ill., died July 14, 2011. The Monmouth native

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clan notes

majored in elementary education and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was very active in the Minnie Stewart Foundation Board and Stewart House Guild. Rastede taught in Morrison and Sterling and is survived by a daughter, Ruth Rastede King ’81.

1952 Bill Donahoe, 83, of Syra-

cuse, N.Y., died May 22, 2011. He completed his degree at Syracuse University and was a U.S. Marine during the Korean War. Donahoe worked in advertising, forming his own consulting business. A fan of jazz, he formed the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band and helped launch the current Bix festival in Davenport, Iowa.

1954 Frew Brown, 78, of Paullina, Iowa,

died Sept. 2, 2011. He majored in biology and was a member of the football, track and baseball teams, as well as Tau Kappa Epsilon.

In 1960, he received his master’s degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Colin Hamilton, 78, of Warren, Ohio, died

July 11, 2011. A chemistry major, he participated in the pipe band. An Army veteran, Hamilton worked as a chemist and metallurgist for three companies, retiring from Thomas Steel Strip Corp. Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Eloise Pierson Hamilton ’54.

The Rev. Lloyd Haney, 79, of Mission, Kansas, died Nov. 20, 2011. He majored in Greek and was ordained in 1957 after attending the Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary. He was a pastor in Monmouth, as well as four states outside Illinois, retiring after 22 years as pastor of Southridge Presbyterian Church in Roeland Park, Kansas.

Donald Persichetty, 79, of Staten Island, N.Y., died Jan. 10, 2011. He completed his degree at Wagner College and served in the Navy during the Korean War. Persichetty was a credit sales manager for Dun and Bradstreet for 30 years, retiring in 1989.

Laird Wilson, 78, of Loudon, Tenn., died Dec. 18, 2011. He worked for the Del Monte Corp. for 30 years, retiring as senior vice president of operations. During that time, he was a member of the U.S. Agriculture Committee.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years.

1955 Barbara Jean Leinhauser, 77, of San

Diego, Calif., died June 12, 2011. The Kappa Kappa Gamma member founded Leisure Arts, a publishing company specializing in patterns and instructional material for knitting, crochet, needle point, etc.

1957 Marjorie Brooks, 77, of Monmouth, died Aug. 1, 2011. The Monmouth native studied physical education and also attended Western Illinois University. She was employed for 20 years in the claims department of Allstate Insurance in Waukegan, Ill., before returning to Monmouth, where she was a receptionist at City Hall. Seven of her siblings attended Monmouth, including the late Paul Brooks ’51, Don Brooks ’51 and Ira Brooks Walsh ’57. Survivors include Ray Brooks ’53, Ada Brooks Groff ’59, Glenn Brooks ’61 and Chris Brooks ’72.

Claudette Kordt Nolis, 74, of Henderson, Nev., died March 14, 2010. She studied

biology and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was a dialysis charge nurse.

1958 Joan Skogland, 75, of Aurora, Ill., died Aug. 22, 2011. She was a member of Alpha Xi Delta.

Sherwood Smith, 75, of Bloomington, Ill.,

died Oct. 15, 2011. He graduated with a degree in philosophy and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and the swim team. The Army veteran was a life insurance underwriter for more than 35 years at Country Insurance, retiring in 2002.

1960 John Nordquist, Jr., 72, of Highland,

Ill., died April 20, 2010. The Sigma Phi Epsilon member retired as vice president of underwriting for Trustmark Insurance Co. in Lake Forest, Ill.

Gretchen Cook Street, 73, of Houston, Texas, died Sept. 9, 2011. She majored in psychology and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

She briefly taught school, then returned to employment later in life as a legal secretary for Exxon Corp.

1961 Gail Cecka Cantero, 73, of Eustis, Fla., died Nov. 20, 2011. She studied English at Monmouth before completing her degree at San Diego State University.

1962 Wayne Peterson, 70, of Moline, Ill.,

died Oct. 4, 2010. The Sigma Phi Epsilon member was employed at Schlegel Drug Stores in the Quad Cities and was appointed the youngest manager in the store’s history.

He was owner-operator of two other stores in Rock Island, Ill., and was most recently employed at Jewel-Osco, retiring in 2007.

1963 Nancy Batten Seeley of Ellisville, Ill., died March 3, 2011. She was preceded in death by a sister, Shirley Batten Cook ’56.

Nancy Miller Tippy, 69, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., died Aug. 29, 2011. A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma at MC, she completed her degree in sociology at the University of Indiana. Tippy was the fourth generation of her family to work at Quaker Oats, spending 24 years in human resources at the company’s corporate office in Chicago.

1966 Andrew Adams of Naperville, Ill., died Sept. 30, 2011, after being hit by a train. The Sigma Phi Epsilon member majored in classics, which led to a 34-year career as a professor at North Central College. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. from Indiana University and was co-editor of a high school Latin textbook.

Ronald Ubben, 73, of Washington, Ill., died July 15, 2011. After graduating from MC, he earned a degree from the Drake University School of Pharmacy. A registered pharmacist, he owned and operated Thrifty Drugs in Streator, Ill., for the majority of his career. He also owned drug stores in three other central Illinois communities and worked at pharmacies in three others.

1967 Arvid Oleson, 95, of East Moline, Ill.,

died Aug. 7, 2011. He majored in philosophy and received his master’s degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. Earlier in his career, he held various skilled positions, including machinist, ironworker and carpenter, and he

monmouth | winter 2012

also held managerial positions for three companies. Later, he served churches in Indiana and Illinois as a pastor or associate pastor.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Merle Oleson ’67.

1968 Ralph DeCristoforo of Southbury,

Conn., died Nov. 14, 2010. He majored in psychology and received a master’s degree in public administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University. After 25 successful years in human resources and hospital administration, DHR International employed him as executive vice president of their Health Care and Life Sciences Practice Group. Survivors include his ex-wife, Sylvia Blasiole Biscardi ’68.

1971 Alison Chisholm Hanham, 62, of Carmichaels, Pa., died Aug. 24, 2011, after suffering a stroke. A member of Pi Beta Phi, she graduated with a degree in art and, 24 years later, earned a master’s degree from West Virginia University. She worked for the WVU Extension for nearly 15 years and was an adjunct faculty member for WVU’s department of geology and geography.

Eben Shaw, 62, of Appleton, Maine, died May 8, 2011. He also studied at San Diego College. A skilled craftsman, he worked for three boating companies in Rockland, Maine.

1972 Richard Brown of Omaha, Neb., died Aug. 7, 2010. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of the swim team before receiving his MBA from Governors State University.

Stephen Szabo of Sterling, Va., died Sept. 5, 2011. He majored in government and was a member of Crimson Masque. He was a network administrator for many years in northern Virginia.

1973 Kittie Tollefson Hartfelter of Lawrence, Ga., died Aug. 14, 2011. She studied elementary education at Monmouth and completed her undergraduate degree at IUPUI. A graduate of The Christian Theological Seminary, she was ordained by the Christian Church and worked as a hospice chaplain in Indianapolis, Ind.

Debra Weir, 60, of Harvard, Ill., died Oct. 25, 2011. A music major, she was a member of the Sound of Five. She earned a master’s degree in music and drama from Northern Illinois University and served as musical director for more than 40 different dinner theater productions in the Midwest. Weir was a high school music teacher in Omaha, Neb., and Harvard.

1975 Chuck Morgan, 58, of Hinsdale, Ill.,

died Dec. 7, 2011. He majored in government and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and the baseball team. A graduate of Loyola Law School, he had several hobbies, including performing comedy in Chicago clubs as part of the “Dave and Chuck” team.

1978 Ardyce Dean Rozendaal, 74, of

Carroll, Iowa, died May 14, 2011. After starting her college education at Northwestern College, she completed a degree in religious

monmouth | winter 2012

studies at Monmouth at the age of 41. She was closely involved with her husband’s long career in the ministry in five states, and she also was a teacher. Co-founder of the Rainbow School, an alternative school in Fremont, Mich., she also had a two-year stint at Monmouth’s Immaculate Conception School.

Survivors include her husband of 53 years.

1981 Victor Scott IV, 52, of Evansville, Ind.,

died July 19, 2011. He earned his associate’s degree at Olney Central College, then majored in physical education at Monmouth and was a member of the basketball team. He worked for the City of Evansville for a number of years.

2003 Dmitrijs Pisarevs of Tallahassee, Fla.,

died Jan. 17, 2011. He graduated with a degree in computer science and business administration and was a member of Mortar Board.

Friend The Hon. Scott Klukos, 89, of Monmouth, died Dec. 7, 2011. A Navy veteran, he moved to Monmouth in 1950 after completing his degree at the University of Illinois College of Law. He served Warren County as a judge for 42 years, retiring in 1996 due to age restrictions. At the time, he was the longest-serving judge in Illinois. In recent years, Klukos ate many of his meals in MC’s Stockdale Center.

Andrew Kuebrich Andrew Kuebrich, MC’s Senior Man of the Year in 2009, was killed in a bicycling accident in Taiwan on Jan. 25, 2012. He was 24.

Kuebrich, who came to Monmouth from Plano, Ill., taught English in Asia for 18 months, first in Hong Kong and then in Taipei. He had been volunteering to help build a church in Taiwan and had planned to open his own school.

“He had a couple of weeks off for Chinese New Year, so he was doing a bike trip from Taipei to the southern tip of Taiwan,” Kuebrich’s brother, Ben, told the Aurora Beacon News.

“He was very active and athletic and always doing lots of longdistance endurance sports.”

In a recent Monmouth College Magazine article, Kuebrich explained that he took an MC trip to Japan to help fulfill the requirements of an international business major, and the trip stoked his “passion to explore the world.”

Kuebrich was an exceptionally involved Monmouth student, serving as president of his fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, competing on the track and cross country teams and playing in the Pipe Band. He also belonged to several campus organizations, including Students Organized for Service, Students for Environmental Awareness, the Pre-Law Society, the Association for Student Activity Programming and the Coalition for Ethnic Awareness.

“He was not going to have any regrets,” said his mother, Jill. “He was going to live his life to the fullest, and that’s what he did.”

The Kuebrich family has requested that all donations be given to Relay for Life in their son’s memory.

“Relay for Life is something he cared about,” said Ben. “It was a cause he really believed in.”

Word has also been received of the following deaths: 1939 Janet Doerschuk Bates of 1949 Carl Wedan, 91, of Chicago, Ill., Fayetteville, W.V., died Feb. 5, 2009.

died April 21, 2011.

1941 Lois Lindsay Roepcke, 89, of Grand

1950 Dana McKnight, 82, of Phoenix,

1944 Margaret Graham Garehime, 87,

1952 Barbara Walden Pressley, 77, of

Rapids, Mich., died July 18, 2008.

of Englewood, Colo., died Aug. 28, 2009.

Ariz., died Oct. 9, 2010.

Columbia, Mo., died Oct. 12, 2007.

1944 Elisabeth Miller Henderson of

1957 Carol Jacobs Cronkrite, 75, of

1947 Lois Frank Rukstales, 84, of Zion, Ill.,

1969 Grant Breuer, 65, of Denver, Colo.,

1949 Mary Harris Swager Becker, 85,

1969 James Glidden of Prairie Village,

Durham, N.C., died Oct. 23, 2009. died Sept. 20, 2009.

of Pontiac, Ill., died July 14, 2011.

Jackson, Mo., died May 4, 2011. died July 4, 2011.

Kan., died Jan. 29, 2010. n

clan notes

55

the last word by Polly Timmerman

Vadim’s party: ‘Tank you for bean here’ It is his first day at the Cupcui OrphanVadim is still sitting and watching from the age in Moldova, and it is also his 12th birthday. couch. Occasionally, he’ll hit a stray balloon He is shy but smiling because he was told that that floats by his head. He is taking it all in. He there will be a birthday party for him today. is amazed. The director appears at the doorOne of the leaders tells us that he has never way with a big white cake ablaze with 12 had a birthday party before. She says the other candles. The room grows instantly quiet and children have told him these parties are very we all look at each other.

Melody says, “First, we’ll sing the American special.

He is guardedly excited as he sits on a sofa Happy Birthday song for you, Vadim, then watching us make “Happy Birthday” signs to those of us who know the Romanian version hang around the room. Others are blowing up will sing that, too.”

His cheeks are flushed now. He looks colored balloons and sticking them to the walls. Sometimes the balloons burst as the embarrassed by the attention, yet entranced children try to negotiate the scotch tape and by the bright cake. We sing our American lyrthe fragile, full balloons. When this happens ics and then some of the Romanian adults the sudden “POP” makes us all jump, and help the children to sing their version. Many of the children don’t know the children look quickly song, and I’m sad as I over their shoulders at the “We have had only the think of all the birthdays adults. Their frozen expresa few hours with they never got to celebrate. sions seem to say, “Am I in the children of The candles are blown trouble?! I broke it! I broke Cupcui, but these out in two attempts. Then the balloon!” Their fear hours have meant Vadim softly and couraquickly fades and their so much.” geously says “Thank you” in giggling begins, though, as Romanian and turns to our we all burst into laughter. group and says, “An tank you for bean here.”

We are delighted to see these kids dancing The fluffy cake is sliced up and pieces are disaround the room, playing make-believe voltributed. It is delicious and moist and has a leyball with the balloons.

Vadim, the birthday boy, gets up every once whipped raspberry filling.

There is feverish anticipation in the room in a while to walk by the table where we are as children gobble a second piece of cake. working on his birthday cards. He seems amazed that such care is going into the design Balloons are batted around again with sugarfueled energy. Vadim sits quietly on the couch and color choices.

“Where is the blue marker?” a younger boy with two new friends scrunched in next to shouts in Romanian. “I need the blue marker him. They whisper in his ears. He is shyly smiling, not quite sure how to act, still happy but again to finish my sign for Vadim!”

I find myself as excited as a second-grader a bit overwhelmed.

Then, again, a surprise appears in the dooras I select markers for my hand made card. I way and Galena, the organizer of the party, want all the colors of the rainbow. I print stands with five wrapped packages in her “HAPPY BIRTHDAY VADIM! WE ARE SO arms. “Presents!” we all say in our different HAPPY TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU!,” adding dialects. She brings the gifts to Vadim. His pictures of candled cakes, stars and animals. face is radiant as she places them in his lap.

A little girl stands close to me and I can feel He looks up at her and over at Melody as if to her breath on my arm. “Ooooh…,” she sighs say, “Really? For me?” His new friends sitting admiringly as she looks wide-eyed at my next to him start to poke and jab him in an drawings. I need no translation to know she encouraging way. They appear excited and a likes them. little envious. Vadim takes his time unwrapAfter I finish my birthday card, I secretly ping his presents. His face is beaming with take it to the others in our group of Monmouth disbelief and joy.

College students and alumni. I must get eight Slowly he unwraps a Frisbee, a squirt gun, a signatures: Whitney Bergen, Noelle Burks, large coloring book and a big set of markers John Cayton, Natalie Lister, Mary Schuch, (apparently he is quite the artist himself).

Sarah Stinson, Mary Stahl and David Byrnes. When he gets to the last and largest package They sign their names just in time for me to he tries to tuck it behind his back, but his grab the last bit of tape and place the card on friends quickly pull it out and toss it into his lap. One of the younger boys actually starts to the wall with the others.

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the last word

unwrap a bit of the package, but Vadim gently pushes his hands away and stashes the gift again behind his back.

Then he looks around the room at the people who are still eating cake, the children playing, and those of us talking with one another or watching him. It’s as if he wants us all to continue enjoying ourselves. He seems to want the moment freeze in time so he can savor every element of this experience. I think he very much wants to open his last gift, while at the same time (maybe even more) he wants the gift to remain a secret surprise, something he can save and treasure.

Finally, he pulls the present back to his lap.

His little “helpers” have been told to keep their hands to themselves. He shakes the package, gently holding it to his ear. This package is wrapped in a crunchy, colorful, metallic paper and he likes the feel of it. He starts at one end and slowly begins to peel the tape from the edges. We hang on his every move. He pulls the paper away and then a big smile overtakes his face. He is holding a new soccer ball. The other boys in the room strain to see it. So much joy over these five simple gifts. I look around the room at all the smiling faces and feel fortunate to be here. I catch the eye of some of the people in our group. They seem to be thinking the same thought as I am: “Hands down the best party I’ve ever been to.”

It is time to get on the bus and leave the orphanage. We have spent the remainder of the day playing soccer with Vadim and some of the other children. I look at the bus as the Monmouth students climb aboard. Then I look back at Vadim. His expression shows disappointment, but he is resigned. He seems sadly familiar with goodbyes. I wonder for a minute if this day has been as special for him as it has been for us.

We have had only a few hours with the children of Cupcui, but these hours have meant so much. Have we done enough? Do they know how much we care? Maybe, someday, we can share a special day like this again, with other children. The thought makes me smile, and this smile I leave with Vadim.  editor’s note: Polly Timmerman is a registered nurse, has two grown sons and lives in Monmouth with her husband, MC dean of faculty David Timmerman. She was one of three adults who led six Monmouth students on last spring’s trip to Moldova.

monmouth | winter 2012

Enroll your child or grandchild in the 8th Annual

MONMOUTH COLLEGE ALL-SPORTS CAMP Two Sessions: July 15-July 20 and July 22-July 27, 2012

The Monmouth College All-Sports Camp offers a unique developmental experience for girls and boys ages 7-13. Campers receive focused instruction in 18 available sports during their stay on the beautiful Monmouth College campus.

Choose from: Archery Badminton Baseball Basketball Bowling Cheerleading Dance/Jazz Fishing Football

Golf Horseback Riding Rollerskating Soccer Softball Swimming/Water Polo Tennis Track & Field Volleyball

The camp environment not only provides an opportunity for young people to sharpen their athletic skills, but also to grow as individuals. With a special emphasis on Christian values, citizenship and sportsmanship, the Monmouth All-Sports camp receives rave reviews from parents and students alike.

The friendships made and the lessons learned make campers eager to return, year after year.

For more information visit: monmouthallsportscamp.com

Save the date and plan to return to MC!

Homecoming 2012 October 12-14

special reunion classes:

2007 2002 1997 1992 1987 1982 1977 1972 For updates, visit www.MonmouthCollege.edu/alumni or call 888-827-8268. See you in October!

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