Monmouth College Magazine Summer 2011

V O L U M E 26 | N um b e r 2 | s umme r 2011

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The New Entrepreneurs An emphasis on practical, interdisciplinary learning is helping a fresh breed of enterprising students emerge from MC’s celebrated business program

Kevin Goodwin ’80 President and CEO SonoSite, Inc.

Photo by c huc k s avage

campus news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 clan notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5 Full steam ahead Donors step up to fully fund challenge gift, resulting in $6 million contribution toward Monmouth College’s new Center for Science and Business.

6 Picking up speed President Mauri Ditzler (pictured at left rappelling the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center) is reaching big goals as he enters his seventh year in office.

10 It’s not just business ... ... it’s political economy and commerce. Monmouth College’s PEC department is thriving, preparing its graduates to succeed in the U.S. and abroad.

30 Happy 25th!

Monmouth College’s Honors Program, originally started in 1986, is as strong as ever, with seven new Midwest Scholar Award recipients on the way.

36 What Darwin saw Eight students, two alumni and two professors took a Spring Break trip to the Galapagos Islands that was “every biologist’s dream.”

on the cover During his Whiteman Lecture in April, Kevin Goodwin ’80 told a group of business students, faculty and community leaders that the path to his current career success” all began at Monmouth.” P h o t o b y Ke n t K r ie g s h a u se r

monmouth | summer 2011

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Monmouth College Magazine Volume 26 | Number 2 | Summer 2011 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.

Monmouth College Magazine editor Jeffrey D. Rankin Associate Editor Barry J. McNamara Design Nancy Loch Board of trustees Executive Committee David Byrnes ’72, Chairman Bill Trubeck ’68, Vice Chairman Bob Ardell ’67 Karen Barrett Chism ’65 Nancy Speer Engquist ’74 Bill Goldsborough ’65 Mark Kopinski ’79 Stan Pepper ’76 Jack Schultz Nancy Snowden Mark Taylor ’78 Ralph Velazquez ’79 Dick Yahnke ’66 alumni board Executive Committee Kevin Kaihara ’77, President Jeff Miller ’84, Vice President Jessica Butcher ’94, Secretary contact us Monmouth College 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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letters

On par with Stanford Yesterday the Winter 2011 edition of the Monmouth College Magazine arrived, and last night I read it, pretty much cover-to-cover. That’s not something I often do with any college magazine, including those from Case Western Reserve University and Caltech, my other almae matres.

Of course I was particularly interested in the featured articles on the revival of Monmouth’s science tradition, a high-priority college goal for many of the trustees, including me. But all the articles are well-written and interesting, presented in a handsome, high-quality format.

This publication compares favorably not only with those from CWRU and Caltech, but also with Stanford’s alumni magazine, which I see quite often.

That’s quite an accomplishment, given the far greater resources available for publications at those prestigious universities. College magazines deliver a message about their institutions, and this one speaks well for Monmouth College.

Kudos to you and your associates for a job well done!

Jerry Marxman ’56 Portola Valley, Calif.

Geology was overlooked I recently received the latest issue of Monmouth College Magazine that features a cover story and series of articles discussing the “revival of Monmouth’s storied Scientific Tradition.”

Upon reading the 10 pages of articles, I was dismayed to find that one of Monmouth’s historic and highly respected traditional scientific programs, geology, was not mentioned even once. This is not particularly surprising when one considers the rather capricious and ungracious manner in which the geology department and its attending curriculum were eliminated from Monmouth College in the early 1990s.

Like myself, I am sure that many of Monmouth’s geology majors remember with great fondness the many hours spent on the second floor of Haldeman-Thiessen learning the intricate physical and chemical properties of rocks and minerals, studying a myriad of processes related to the function of a dynamic earth, and developing our geology field skills. My adviser, the late Dr. Donald “Jim” Wills, was a professor emeritus who devoted much of his life to Monmouth’s geology department and to the college community as a whole.

As a laboratory assistant, I recall how Dr. Wills required us to clean the labs weekly so they would be presentable to prospective students. Then there was Dr. Lyman Williams, probably the most interesting and enjoyable geology professor I have ever had the privilege to know, and whose course in geohydrology inspired me to ultimately pursue graduate study and a career in the groundwater industry. I am certain that there are a good many Monmouth College graduates from those days who remember fulfilling their science academic requirements by taking the various courses offered by the geology department such as Physical Geology, Economic Geology, or Oceanography, just to name a few.

I find it truly unfortunate that you were unable to so much as mention, even as a footnote, the former geology program, which I believe has earned its place in the historical ‘Scientific Tradition’ at Monmouth. To this day I find it troubling that my chosen academic major is no longer offered at the institution. This is something that I keep in mind every time I get a call or solicitation for financial contributions.

Mark S. Deuger ’77 Groton, Mass.

monmouth | summer 2011

I was extremely disappointed to read the “Celebrating the Sciences” section in the recent Monmouth College Magazine and not see a single reference to the once vibrant MC geology program which was unceremoniously terminated in the early 1990s. It is surprising for a liberal arts school such as Monmouth College, while “Celebrating the Sciences,” to overlook the significance of the former geology program.

Geologists contribute significantly to science, whether it is studying the deepest depths of the oceans or objects such as the moon, asteroids or other planets. It was geologists that found the gas or oil heating your home or powering your vehicle.

It was geologists, through forensic geology, who provided leads to narrowing down the geographic location of where terrorist Osama bin Laden might be in Afghanistan after 9/11 simply by recognizing the rock formation behind him in video, knowing its provenance and reporting this information to U.S. authorities. When this became public knowledge, he thereafter always had a blanket hanging behind him.

During the time I was at MC I remember very well my adviser, geology professor Dr. Lyman Williams, as a catalyst for students studying the geological sciences and also the head of the MC geology department, Dr. Donald Wills. Both were very dedicated to MC, its students and the community. They were always available to talk and encourage students, as well as share their knowledge.

As a science, geology draws upon other sciences including math, chemistry, physics and biology. It is a true renaissance science. There are distinguished MC geology graduates such as oceanographer Dr. LaVerne D. Kulm ’59 (Oregon State University) you could have included in your “Celebrating the Sciences.”

The geology training I received at MC, including the study of rocks, minerals, and field geology to name a few areas, provided a foundation for graduate study in geology. Other MC students experiencing geology as course electives received fundamental knowledge of earth history and the ongoing dynamic processes of the Earth. Such knowledge provides a fundamental understanding of the recent earthquake experienced by Japan and the subsequent tsunami it spawned. The study of geology also contributes to the development and refinement of analytical thinking processes, multiple working hypotheses and the further development of verbal and written communication skills, all of which are applicable to other fields of study and professions.

While I am not currently working in a geological field, geology was an extremely satisfying profession. I met a lot of very interesting people in the profession and worked on some very interesting geology projects, both in the minerals and petroleum industries, whether exploring for uranium or modeling petroleum source rock thermal maturations to determine the probability of the presence of hydrocarbons to evaluate risk before drilling an expensive petroleum exploration well. I still periodically draw upon my knowledge of geology and its thought processes.

In closing, it is most unfortunate and short-sighted you declined to even mention once the vibrant MC geology program at a liberal arts school such as Monmouth College.

Pete Weidenheim ’77 Marshfield, Wis.

Two Civil Rights-era experiences what a wonderful new publication. I read with great interest the article on student diversity on page 4. As a junior in 1963, I was asked by the dean of women if I would be interested in rooming with the first African-American female student to live on campus. It was an honor and she was a wonderful roommate.

Marsha MacMorran Elbasani ’64 Raytown, Mo. it took nearly a half century, and a boost from a photo of a black MC grad standing next to the president of the United States, to have an MC publication acknowledge a dark day in Monmouth history—the day an MC student was turned away from a city barber shop simply because he was black.

Barry McNamara’s article (Winter 2011) quoted Dr. Kennedy Reed as saying the incident drew local and national media attention. In fact, it never would have drawn ANY attention if a certain WRAM news reporter hadn’t spotted Reed walking downtown, made a U-turn on Broadway, followed him into the barber shop, and reported what he saw on his 7:30 a.m. newscast the next morning—placing at risk his own job and faculty scholarship at MC. I’ll never forget that two of the barbers stormed into my broadcast booth while I was still on the air finishing my 15-minute newscast, demanding to know what I was doing. A couple of days later, the mighty Review Atlas ran a story defending the barbers, saying everyone knows it takes special training to cut the hair of black people.

Thank you for the group photo, with complete caption, of 11 of my 1965 Sig Ep brothers and a couple of their MC wives at their latest reunion—in Connecticut! Great article.

Loved the story of the long-lost Civil War sword. Almost as good as the story of the salvaged cannon, that was encased upside down in cement outside the science hall when Nancy and I were there.

Please keep those Monmouth College Magazines coming. Many of your Monmouth College magazines, like the one on Gracie Peterson, also remain on our bookshelves. Keep up the good work.

Dick Smith ’64 Woodland Hills, Calif.

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monmouth | summer 2011

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Midwest Matters poll:

Region holds negative attitudes on globalization While many recent national polls on current issues show opinion split fairly evenly along party lines, the Monmouth poll indicates that a significant percentage of Midwesterners from both parties holds a negative view toward globalization:

69% believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction and 66% believe the Midwest is headed in the wrong direction.

64% believe the region has lost more

than it has gained from globalization, while just 20% believe it has gained more than it has lost.

66% believe that globalization is bad for the Midwest because it subjects American companies and workers to unfair competition and cheap labor, while 22% believe globalization is good because it opens up new markets for American products and results in more jobs.

61% see China as a threat to jobs and economic security in the Midwest, while 22% see China as an opportunity for new markets and investment.

65% support immigration reform in the form of stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration and 24% support reform primarily moving in the direction of integrating illegal immigrants into American society through a pathway to citizenship.

62%

support enactment of state laws similar to one in Arizona that gives police the authority to ask people they’ve stopped to verify their residency status, while 29% oppose such legislation.

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campus news

As the U.S. continues to

expand commercially and culturally throughout the world, most Midwesterners aren’t sold on the benefits of globalization, believing it has caused unfair competition and job loss for the region.

In addition, most view China as more of an economic threat than an opportunity, and support a crackdown on illegal immigration, including Arizona-type laws that are currently being challenged in the courts.

Those are among the key findings of a Monmouth College poll, which was conducted as part of its Midwest Matters initiative. The random sample poll of 500 registered voters in eight Midwestern states was conducted over two days and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.

“The poll results show that voters mistrust globalization,” said associate professor of history Simon Cordery, co-chair of Midwest Matters. “Government and business leaders need to explain how global trade helps Midwesterners, or they need to cut bait and grow the regional economy.”

Cordery said the results were “similarly provocative” on the issue of immigration.

“A clear majority in our region sees legal immigration as helping the country, but a strong majority also supports stricter enforcement of immigration laws and favors statutes similar to the Arizona measure. We are a nation of immigrants and people have not forgotten that. What our poll suggests is dissatisfaction and even anger with those who enter the country illegally.”

“The Midwestern states are a major battleground between the two parties and will likely decide the presidential election of 2012,” said political science lecturer Robin Johnson

States included in the Midwest Matters poll were Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Has Midwest Gained or Lost in Globalized Economy?

Undecided 16%

Gained 20%

Lost 64%

’80, who directed the poll. “These results will cause problems for both parties. For Republicans, who identify more with free trade, most of the self-identified strong Republicans in the poll are more anti-globalization than independents and Democrats.

For Democrats, 56 percent of self-identified strong Democrats feel the country is headed in the wrong direction, which is bad news for the president.”

Johnson said that for both parties trying to appeal to the growing Hispanic population, the poll results “pose a quandary” by showing the strong opposition to illegal immigration and support for controversial measures like the Arizona law.

Reacting to the poll, Chicago Council on Global Affairs senior fellow Richard C. Longworth said, “The sharply negative Midwestern attitudes toward globalization are distressing, because the Midwest will thrive in the 21st century only if it takes the steps to compete in this global economy.”

Longworth added that while the results of the poll are disturbing, they are not particularly surprising. “The Midwest ruled the Industrial Age, but the Global Age has produced job loss, declining standards of living, hollowed-out factory towns and increasingly impoverished rural areas,” he explained. “The job now is to figure out what to do about it.”

Victory Enterprises, Inc., of Davenport, Iowa, conducted phone interviews using a random list of registered voters. Complete results and analysis are available at monmouthcollege.edu/midwest-initiative/poll.

Launched in 2009, the Midwest Matters initiative seeks to contribute an academic voice to the conversation about the revitalization of the region within an increasingly globalized world.  monmouth | summer 2011

CHALLENGE MET! Byrnes, Monmouth College board chairman, believes innovative academic building will herald new era in liberal arts education P h o t o b y K e v i n L i n dsay ’ 1 3

A proponent of integrated learning, David Byrnes ’72, along with his wife, Libby, helped lay the groundwork for the building with their $5.5 million pledge in 2007.

Ground was broken this summer following successful completion of a challenge gift that infused an additional $6 million into the building fund.

As a biology major who later forged a successful career as an entrepreneur in financial services, David Byrnes understands the benefits of integrating academic disciplines.

The 1972 Monmouth College graduate, who today serves as chairman of its board of trustees, helped the board develop a vision statement that places collaboration among traditionally independent departments as a cornerstone of the Monmouth education. His commitment to the concept was cemented in 2007 when he and his wife, Libby, pledged $5.5 million toward a facility to house the college’s departments of business, accounting, math and the sciences in a single facility.

Byrnes recently reaffirmed his commitment by increasing what was already the lead gift for the project in order to successfully complete a challenge grant made by a board colleague. Completion of the challenge had the effect of adding $6 million in additional funds to the building campaign.

“The challenge had to be met by June 30,” Byrnes explained, “and we were thrilled to be able to join several other committed trustees and leadership donors in making sure that this generous challenge gift was secured. The gift was not only about the potential to raise more funds for the building. It was also an opportunity for the trustees and the president to reaffirm our leadership and vision for Monmouth’s future.”

The challenge, which was pledged anonymously, promised a 50-percent match for all new gifts to the building by June 30, up to a total of $4 million. The goal of the challenge, to raise $6 million in new funds, was to ensure that ground could be broken for the 136,000-square-foot facility this summer, allowing the building to be ready for occupancy by the fall of 2013.

Byrnes, who envisions the building as a first step toward a new era of academic excellence at the college, said he is gratified that this belief is shared by fellow trustees who made significant gifts—many of them second gifts—toward the fulfillment of the challenge. He noted that 100 percent of the board made a financial commitment toward the building.”

monmouth | summer 2011

“The gift was not only about the potential to raise more funds for the building. It was also an opportunity for the trustees and the president to reaffirm our leadership and vision for Monmouth’s future.”— David Byrnes ’72 He said he is particularly gratified by unanimous support from the college’s leadership, acknowledging major gifts from board vice chair Bill Trubeck ’68, past chair David Bowers ’60 and past vice chair Walter Huff ’56, and praising the commitment of President Mauri Ditzler, who was “among the first to step forward with a significant gift to start the momentum towards meeting this challenge.”

Regarding his decision to support the project, Ditzler said, “I regularly tell potential donors that contributing to Monmouth is fulfilling because it helps young people pursue a dream. By contributing to the challenge, I experienced first-hand exactly what I have been preaching. I derived a very special sense of purpose in supporting a project and a college that will create a better world for my grandchildren.”

“Completing the challenge is an important project in its own right,” said Karen Barrett Chism ’65, a member of the board’s executive committee, “but its real significance lies in its launching a college-wide drive toward academic innovation and distinction as a national liberal arts college.”

Byrnes believes that in an increasingly complex globalized economy, scientists and technologists will need to have a basic understanding of business and marketing, while business professionals will need to understand the science behind product development and electronic communication.

“By having a major building on campus designed to specifically facilitate discussion and collaboration among students and faculty from a wide variety of disciplines,” he explained, “we are sending a message to students and parents that Monmouth is an innovator in liberal arts education and has an eye on the future success of its graduates.”  campus news

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Mission Statement Revised

1997

Clockwise from top: President Mauri Ditzler and his wife, Judi, wave to the crowd during the annual Homecoming parade last fall. p h o t o b y g eo r g e h a r t m a n n

Places to go, people to see. As a spring afternoon turns to evening, the president makes his way across campus. p h o t o b y c h u c k s ava g e The president receives some helping hands moments before his descent of the four stories of Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center. p h o t o b y c h u c k s ava g e

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presidency

President Ditzler Inaugurated

2005

To raise money for Monmouth College’s new academic building, President Mauri Ditzler jumped off the old one.

“Jumped” might be too strong a word, but the president did rappel down the four stories of the college’s Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center on April 20. The event raised $34,000 for a $40 million complex that will house MC’s science and business departments. Construction has begun on the innovative facility, which should be completed by the fall of 2013.

Ditzler’s jump didn’t just raise money for an important project. In a way, it was also a leap of faith, symbolizing his propensity for turning ideas into action, as he came to the completion of the sixth year of his presidency.

Like gravity, there are powerful external forces affecting higher education today, shaping its present and setting the parameters for the future. Faculty and administrators must find common ground if the college and its students are to flourish in years to come. Establishing “signposts for success” upon which everyone agreed was President Ditzler’s first move in building trust across the college community.

“We achieved a milestone in developing the Monmouth College Vision Statement that was approved in 2008,” said Ditzler. “When the community got ‘in alignment’ over institutional goals, this consensus bolstered our prospects for the future. Our fundraising success tells us that there is momentum centered upon our goal of supporting and advancing academic excellence.”

Adopt Vision Statement

2008

The Center for Science and Business is the physical manifestation of that objective. The strategic plan Monmouth College is now developing contains the blueprint for the action plan that will propel the institution forward.

“By hiring someone with experience at residential liberal arts colleges, the board was also sending the signal that there were core values that ought not be changed,” said Ditzler, who had worked at College of the Holy Cross, Millikin University and Wabash College. “In fact, that is probably a universal expectation by all members of a college community for their new president—make lots of changes, but none that impact the things that make the college special.”

To illustrate that point, Ditzler recalled a car ride he shared several years ago with renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe.

“As we drove along, he asked me about my plans for my first year as dean,” said Ditzler “I had lots of ideas. He listened politely, then gave me a copy of his short story entitled Dead Men’s Paths.”

The story describes a new, young headmaster at a school in the African bush country. The headmaster was anxious to make many of the much-needed improvements, including landscaping. He created a garden that inadvertently blocked the path used by the village ancestors for their periodic visits.

On the second night of the new garden, a baby was born but immediately died because the ancestors couldn’t bring it a soul since their path was blocked. The villagers responded by burning down the school. monmouth | summer 2011

Analyze Recessionary Factors

2010

Develop Strategic Plan

2011

“That story instilled in me an appreciation for the need to temper enthusiasm for immediate change with the need to discover the paths by which a college’s ancestors bring soul to the institution,” Ditzler said.

Ditzler’s memory also goes to back to a colleague in administration he knew who, on the occasion of his sixth-year anniversary in the position said, “that milestones like that are meaningless—every day and every year are equally important.” Ditzler appreciates this wisdom—artificial markers are indeed just that. However, he would qualify the statement: “I’d add this. You have to be at a college for a while to really get to know it. Even if the college embraces an administration’s ideas for change, it takes time to move forward together. So the sixth year is different from the first. I’m not any smarter than I was, and I don’t know a lot more about higher education than I did six years ago.

What I do know now is how my knowledge can be applied to Monmouth College; I understand Monmouth better than when I arrived in 2005.”

Ditzler said it’s typical for the first year of a college presidency to be about ideas, and for the next five years to focus on discussion of those ideas and how they might be brought to fruition.

“Now, we’re at the implementation stage,” he said. “The building is an excellent example. I’d been here about six months when we really started talking about it. Five-and-a-half years later, it’s started to come out of the ground.”

As Ditzler reaches his sixth-year anniversary, he reflects upon his aspirations for monmouth | summer 2011

Implement Strategic Plan

2012-13

Evaluate and Assess

2014

Monmouth College and considers some of the changes he still hopes to bring about. His plans for the future are informed by his own understanding of higher education and the liberal arts, by the priorities, interests and abilities of the college community and by the abiding traditions and values of Monmouth College. Three guiding principles have evolved.

Ditzler’s 3 Guiding Principles: 1. Be better by becoming better.

2. Get students involved in meaningful educational activities.

3. Focus on civil discourse and civic engagement.

“The first one means we won’t resort to gimmicks to enhance academic excellence.

Improvement won’t be ‘just for show.’ If we strive to go from good to great in everything we do for student success—truly improving our academic programs, for example—employers and graduate schools cannot help but notice how well our graduates perform.”

The primary reason Monmouth is now engaged in the strategic planning process is that the college desires to improve; and in order to improve, the college needs to create a blueprint for the future involving a practical, financially feasible, carefully staged action plan.

“We need to be prepared to take competitive action,” Ditzler said. “Part of going from good to great is substantive improvements in new

Left: The Monmouth College strategic planning process as developed by Mauri Ditzler.

faculty, facilities and programs demanded by the marketplace. Whatever we may want to believe about Monmouth College, the world sees us differently than we would like. Perception is reality in higher education circles.” At the same time, Ditzler points out, national visibility and reputation must be based upon the reality of a high-quality undergraduate experience.

In order to help advance the academic program, Dean David Timmerman is now leading the implementation of a new academic schedule designed to enhance student success. The schedule features four classes per semester, not five.

“That will mean less seat time in class but more time for deep learning, and more one-onone engagement with faculty,” said Ditzler.

“Changing the schedule was one of those things we knew would improve the academic environment for student success, but we couldn’t do it without careful study of what has worked at Monmouth in the past and what needed improvement.”

Ditzler also noted the increased emphasis on Greek life as consistent with the objective of engaging students in meaningful, civicallyminded programs that provide opportunities for the cultivation of leadership skills. This initiative, too, has been successful because of its careful implementation.

Ditzler’s objective of an educational program deeply involved with active citizenship and civic engagement has taken hold, as well, in the town-gown initiatives and affiliations

continued on next page presidency

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Ditzler is chair of Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities President Mauri Ditzler was elected 2011-12 chair of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) at the association’s recent annual meeting.

APCU is an independent, not-for-profit organization of more than 60 private colleges and universities that have a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The association works under an agreement with the PC(USA)’s General Assembly Mission Council and exists to promote its member institutions and to advocate the mission of higher education in the Reformed tradition.

In his role as chair, Ditzler hopes to take advantage of interest among APCU members to strengthen college-church ties and emphasize the academic excellence of member institutions.

“The Presbyterian Church has a lot of projects on its plate and, like so many other entities at this time, limited resources to address those projects,” he noted. “But the leadership of the church and of Presbyterian colleges is aligned in their commitment to a strengthened partnership, and I believe now is the time to take that ongoing conversation to a new level.”

Ditzler continued, “We know that when prospective students hear a phrase such as ‘Ivy League’ or ‘the Associated Colleges of the Midwest,’ they immediately associate it with academic excellence. Many Jesuit institutions have outstanding academic reputations, reminding us that religiously affiliated colleges and universities can, without a doubt, achieve national recognition for the quality of their academic programs.”

Ditzler notes that “Students who are not Catholic are drawn to the high quality of outstanding Catholic colleges and universities—and we can

do the same within the Presbyterian consortium. This is about academic excellence and access for all students of promise and ability, not about exclusivity.”

Given the relative size of the denomination, an unusually high proportion of the top liberal arts colleges have a Presbyterian affiliation, said Ditzler.

“It’s clear that Presbyterian colleges are among the very best in the country. For example, consider Macalester, Rhodes and Davidson, all distinguished liberal arts colleges. However, there’s not as much visibility for Presbyterian colleges as a general set. We need to celebrate, support and advance the academic excellence of our colleges. We can do this best together, as members of a consortium having in common church affiliation as well as dedication to academic excellence.”

Ditzler noted that the founders of the Presbyterian and Jesuit movements—John Calvin and Ignatius Loyola—attended the University of Paris at approximately the same time.

“Both men say essentially the same thing in regard to education—that God created all things and, thus, any subject studied with rigor will reveal truths about God,” said Ditzler.

Ditzler is drawn to the Presbyterian belief that an important task for all of us is to discern our calling, or “vocation,” in life.

“What better place to do that than a liberal arts college,” Ditzler said.

“Indeed, a focus on finding one’s vocation in the deepest and most meaningful sense explains why Presbyterian colleges have historically thrived.

Helping young men and women find their calling, and thus cultivating the leadership of the rising generation, is why the Presbyterian Church founded so many liberal arts colleges. We embrace that tradition.” 

now underway, including the partnership between Monmouth College and the Warren Achievement Center (see page 20).

Ditzler might have reached an important milestone with the realization of a new science and business academic building, but now that implementation is the order of the day, he looks forward to the coming years, to new aspirations and new forms of collaboration with faculty, trustees and community.

“You have to keep the pipeline stacked,” he said. “It’s important to keep talking about ideas.

You might hear the next president say, ‘I’m picking up all the pieces that Ditzler left around,’ but that’s OK. We certainly implemented some of the ideas from the previous watch.”

What is on the horizon?

“The future of the college is tied to academic excellence,” Ditzler said. “Also, in the future, we can’t be as reliant on students who require lots of assistance from the federal government.

That assistance simply may not be there. As we recruit students from families whose children can go anywhere, it won’t be enough to point toward new facilities or a safe campus. They’re going to say, ‘Prove to me that Monmouth is academically excellent.’”

The focus, he said, will be on “active learning, integrated knowledge and citizenship.”

“We’ll want people to ‘see’ great academics, so the campus master plan includes an academic corridor that brings together all of our academic programs in a highly visible way. We

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PRESIDENCY continued from page 7

envision more Greek houses, and we’re going to have to decide what to do with Stockdale Center and HT. We’re going to form more ties with the City of Monmouth, and we want to raise enrollment to 1,550 students.”

Ditzler said the college’s improved infrastructure will speed up the process of change.

“Now, the time between idea and reality can’t be six to seven years. It will be two to three years.”

That acceleration will also mirror the president’s memorable rappelling exercise. More than 300 members of the campus community turned out to watch him descend HT. Wearing an Army jacket and helmet, blue jeans and sturdy boots, Ditzler got off to a solid start, carefully navigating the first two stories, before picking up speed on his descent. He landed on his feet on a padded blue mat to a chorus of cheers.

One of the first people to congratulate the courageous president was his administrative assistant, Deborah Davis, who said, “I’m happy to see you on the ground.”

Other bystanders shouted, “Good one, President Ditzler!” and “Good job, Mauri!”

“They showed me how to rappel yesterday down at Western Illinois University,” said Ditzler immediately following the event.

“Going over the edge was an experience. The worry was I’d be upside down. They were talking about me making it down in three hops.

I think I did about 30.”

Such is the life of a college president. While some would like to see the college’s transition from a really good small college to a great one come in a small number of big moves, it typically takes a slower, steadier approach and a long-term vision. Mauri Ditzler is no stranger to taking risks, but his patient approach has allowed him to land on solid ground, prepared for the new challenges ahead. 

—Barry McNamara monmouth | summer 2011

A college president with a chain saw?

M

auri Ditzler just might have given Professor William Urban an idea for one of his Briarpatch College murder mystery novels.

But President Ditzler’s highpowered blade is not intended for an unfortunate dean. Rather, he uses it—and an assortment of other tools, including a cultivator, pruning shears and a weedhook, to name a few—while working at Cherrywood Farm, a 72-acre “you pick” fruit farm in Parke County, Ind., which has been owned by his family since 1971. The family first got into fruit by planting an apple orchard as a way of supporting Ditzler’s parents in their retirement.

Two years after Ditzler returned to the area to serve as dean of his alma mater, Wabash College, he and his wife, Judi, purchased the farm a half-mile from the orchard. The date, in fact, was 9/11/2001, and Ditzler remembers receiving a call that evening at 9:45 p.m.

“They asked me if I wanted to buy the old Yowell farm,” he said.

“I said it had been a lifetime dream of mine. They said, ‘You better act now, because we’re going to sell it to investors in 15 minutes if you don’t.’ Judi had never seen it, and I hadn’t been on it for 30 years. I got off the phone and, by that time, I told Judi, ‘We have 11 minutes to decide.’”

Once the property was purchased, revenue needed to be generated. The couple agreed to return to an idea that had worked for them while Ditzler taught at the College of the Holy Cross.

“In Massachusetts, we had a fruit farm. It was something our kids could do. We decided to give that a try again. It would be Judi’s business, and I would help on weekends when I could, especially during the summer. Judi leaves campus shortly after

commencement and stays there until Labor Day.” Ditzler is no stranger to working the land. Growing up in rural Indiana, he detasseled corn in the summer, eventually partnering with friends to start a company that worked with farmers and seed corn companies. Until becoming MC’s president in 2005, he spent every summer of his professional life returning to Indiana to direct hundreds of young people who worked thousands of acres of cornfields in Indiana and Illinois.

Now, Ditzler has returned to doing manual labor himself, along with 10 part-time employees at the farm, which has six acres of strawberries, additional acres in blueberries, black raspberries and cherries, a pumpkin patch and, in the near future, peaches.

In addition to the fruit farm, the Ditzlers are restoring the

property’s 1863 farmhouse as a bed and breakfast. It will have three rooms and will open later this fall.

As Ditzler makes the four-hour drive to Parke County, he typically uses the first half of the journey to reflect on the events of the week at the college. Right around Bloomington, Ill., he says, he starts to think about the farm projects he will tackle during the weekend. On the return trip on Sunday evenings, the reverse is true, and he spends the drive from Bloomington to Monmouth planning for another busy week on campus.

“Working on the farm is an opportunity to relax and unwind from the pressures and challenges of running a national liberal arts college in these difficult economic times,” Ditzler said. “Some of the presidents at our peer colleges have apartments in Chicago or cabins on the lake where they can get away. My version is an old farmhouse on a berry farm.” 

—Barry McNamara Above: All in a day’s work: Getting down and dirty in the strawberry patch … clearing trees from the property … checking for ripeness in the cherry orchard.

Left: Judi and Mauri Ditzler stand in front of the 1863 Italianate/Gothic farmhouse they are preparing to open as a bed and breakfast.

monmouth | summer 2011

presidency

p h o t os b y J i m A m i d o n

9

SPECIAL REPORT:

A look inside Monmouth’s thriving PEC department

Q: Can entrepreneurship be taught?

A: Real-life success stories illuminate, inspire.

Rather than pay rent on an existing facility, the Innkeeper’s partners decided to build this custom storefront.

continued on page 18

Q: When did light come on for Goodwin?

A: ‘It all began at Monmouth.’

By Barry McNamara After hearing the Whiteman

Lecture delivered by 1980 graduate Kevin Goodwin, perhaps Monmouth College marketing officials should borrow heavily from Motel 6 and begin a “We’ll turn the light on for you” advertising campaign.

P h o t o b y Ke n t K r ie g s h a u se r

Goodwin, the president and CEO of SonoSite, Inc., a medical technology company in Washington, said a light came on for him during his sophomore year on campus, and he could even pinpoint the place.

“It’s been a long-held dream of mine to come back to Monmouth College to explain what happened to me here,” he told a large crowd in the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

“Years ago, I had a CEO mentor tell me that what separated me from others was my curiosity. Sitting in that office, I thought, ‘Now where did that start?’”

The title of one of his slides, “It all began at Monmouth,” answered that question. Come to think of it, that might be an even better idea for the college’s slogan.

“I was in ‘Intermediate Price Theory’ with Professor (Rod) Lemon,” Goodwin said. “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.”

Goodwin’s metamorphosis was immediate, and the effects ongoing.

“I got an A in that class, which started a run of 18 As and one B for the rest of my classes at Monmouth,” he said. “And since that time, I’ve never stopped looking to learn.”

Not only has Goodwin enhanced his business administration degree by learning even more about mathematics and economics, he has even studied Brazilian Portuguese because of the vast possibilities he sees in the South American country.

“My curiosity has continued to open doors for me. I’ve had epiphany after epiphany.”

One of those epiphanies came while he was still at Monmouth, during his senior year. A member of the Fighting Scots baseball team, Goodwin had the opportunity to attend a

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lecture at Knox College with Professor Lemon, or to take batting practice with coach Terry Glasgow.

“I told Dr. Glasgow that I was going to attend the lecture, and he was very supportive of my decision,” said Goodwin.

After graduating with a degree in business administration, Goodwin embarked on his current three-decade career in life sciences, most of which have been in medical ultrasound. He has led SonoSite since its spin-off from ATL Ultrasound in 1998. SonoSite is the

“Think about careers in the life sciences. It’s an industry with growth promise that is unstoppable.”

—Ke vin Goodwin

world leader in hand-carried and mountable ultrasound, as well as the industry leader in impedance cardiography equipment.

From 1997 until the spin-off, Goodwin was vice president and general manager of ATL Ultrasound’s Handheld Systems Business Group. Prior to that position, he served as vice president and general manager for ATL’s business in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, Australia and Canada (APLAC) in 1991.

Goodwin, who initially joined ATL in 1987 as a sales representative, began his career in medical products with American Hospital Supply Corporation as a national distribution manager.

In 1993, Goodwin completed the Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

At his lecture, Goodwin told the students about his company’s conscious effort “to

specialize, to take care of its customers and to keep it simple.” The specialization, Goodwin explained, is in “point of care” ultrasound.

“We ‘democratized’ ultrasound and brought it to everyone,” he said.

The ultrasound industry experienced a positive shift in the 1980s, with improvements to the technology. But there were still problems.

Ultrasound machines were large (300 pounds), expensive ($200,000) and slow, requiring two to 10 minutes to boot up. When used in conjunction with emergency medicine, every second counts, and SonoSite’s seven-pound portable ultrasound machines boot up in just 13 seconds, at only one-fourth the cost.

Count the “doctors” on ER among the impressed. Goodwin showed a clip from the popular TV show’s 2005-06 season of medical staff struggling to treat a patient. The doctor played by John Leguizamo “saves the day” with a diagnosis from a portable ultrasound machine, causing Parminder Nagra’s character to simply say, “That’s very cool.”

“Think about careers in the life sciences,” Goodwin told the students in attendance.

“It’s an industry with growth promise that is unstoppable.”

He also told them that “this is a great time to be an undergraduate,” and offered the students several tips, including: • “Find out what you’re passionate about.

That stems from curiosity.”

• “The tendency to be ‘always connected’ can actually detach you from reality. Be careful how you let technology use you.”

• “You have to understand data. … Data’s driving everything. You have to be able to collect it, make meaning of it and be able to say, ‘Here’s what the facts say.’ You’ve got to be comfortable with statistics.” monmouth | summer 2011

Goodwin, who was cited in President Ditzler’s Whiteman Lecture introduction as proof that business and science go hand in hand, said that Monmouth College is definitely on the right track with its emphasis on bringing those large disciplines together.

“Integrated learning is where it is going,” he told the students. “Intersecting business and science in your education is a great idea.”

“There is no more exciting field than medical technology,” said PEC professor Mike Connell.

“I am teaching a new course on innovation and some of the most exciting discoveries enable all of us to live longer, more active lives. As CEO of Sonosite, Kevin Goodwin is right in the middle of that mix. He is an ideal spokesperson to show what can occur when business is combined with science.”

Jump-started by a class he took in 1978, Goodwin’s battery has not had to be recharged.

“I still get up in the morning very excited to go to work,” said Goodwin, whose April 7 lecture coincided with the first day of his company’s 15th year. “It started here. I was vulnerable; as a student, I could have gone either way. I can’t say enough about the Monmouth College experience.” 

Q: Who’s ready for a trip to Seattle?

A: May grads thrilled by SonoSite opportunity.

On the evening of June 12,

it would have been understandable if recent MC grads Derek Huff and Alex Morgan were “sleepless in Seattle.”

After all, it’s not every day that one starts an exciting job in a brand new part of the world, which is the case for Morgan, who has lived all her life in the Monmouth and Kansas City areas. She and Huff, from Edmonds, Wash., learned days before that they had been hired

by Kevin Goodwin’s SonoSite company.

Through connections established with Goodwin when he returned to campus to deliver this spring’s Whiteman Lecture, faculty in MC’s political economy and commerce department learned about two marketing opportunities at SonoSite.

“Originally, Sonosite targeted University of Washington grads, but they were very impressed with our students and wound up hiring two of them instead,” explained PEC faculty member Don Capener. “Alex and Derek will both be working in Seattle on a three-month paid trial that converts into full-time at the successful completion of the first phase.”

“We were extremely impressed with Alex and Derek at interview, and we are looking forward to having them on board,” said Jon Peacock, SonoSite’s vice president of global marketing.

Morgan’s role is in “downstream marketing” in the primary care and musculoskeletal sectors.

The role will require inclusion in all aspects of SonoSite’s tactical marketing in those two very important clinical segments. She will be involved in event organization and campaign management and analysis, and working closely with the sector marketing heads and interacting with the marketing and communications team.

“I found out that I got the position on June 1,” Morgan said. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to leave the Midwest and explore other parts of the U.S. After I found out, I had to call my entire family and tell them to start planning their trips to come visit because I would be leaving.

I have never been to Seattle or even the West Coast, so I feel very blessed to be given this opportunity and fortunate to have a chance to show what a Monmouth grad can do.”

Huff will focus on SonoSite’s lead management process. His duties will include working on the company’s Eloqua marketing platform and utilizing the sales force’s “dot com CRM system.”

Huff will be involved in all aspects of managing sales leads from generation to delivery.

“I am very excited!” said Huff, who less than one month before was delivering a commencement address on campus. “My idea of the perfect job is to work for an ethical company that is doing great things for the world, and I can’t imagine a more fitting place than SonoSite.”

Both graduates appreciate their education at Monmouth and how the college prepared them to win a competitive position.

“Monmouth had a huge role in helping me to get this opportunity, and I feel pretty confident,” said Huff. “If it weren’t for my liberal arts education, surely a more competitive student from the University of Washington would have snatched up the opening. I guess we won’t know how well prepared I really am until I get started and have a few weeks under my belt.”

“For starters, Monmouth prepared me by introducing me to this opportunity,” said Morgan.

“Also, being able to double major in business administration and public relations gave me the perfect educational background for this position. I had just the right mix of business with an emphasis on marketing and PR. I cannot wait to see what all I will be doing and how I can contribute to the company.”

If Huff and Morgan’s sleepless nights due to anticipation are replaced by long nights due to lots of SonoSite projects, working in Seattle does have an added “perk”—great coffee.

—Barry McNamara

monmouth | summer 2011

the new entrepreneurs

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Q: What does it take to found a new industry?

A: MTV pioneer credits research, passion.

By Barry McNamara

If pressed to give a short answer to the question, “How do you succeed in business?,” Dwight Tierney, a 1969 Monmouth College graduate and a co-founder of MTV,

might choose the word “research.”

Tierney told Monmouth students that research was a key to the success of MTV and its sister Viacom network, Nickelodeon, and he also told the students how they can apply research to their own aspiring careers.

“At MTV, it was our job to know the customers, to know you guys,” he said while gesturing to an overflow crowd in McMichael Academic Hall. “We tell you what the trends are. But the dirty little secret is, you told us, then we articulated it a month before you did. We always stayed ahead of the curve.”

That approach worked with the teenage and twentysomething demographic, and Tierney said it also applied to the primary viewers of Nickelodeon—kids.

“We did a lot of telephone research,” he said. “We’d call homes at 6:30 p.m. and ask the parents what their kids were watching. They knew their kids were being entertained, but they couldn’t tell us what it was. We were talking to people up here (Tierney’s height), and we needed to be talking to people down here (at Tierney’s waist). Our business quadrupled when we began talking to kids. Knowing your customers has always been the key.”

Tierney also explained how the students—many of whom attended the talk as part of MC’s “Midwest Entrepreneurs” class in political economy and commerce—could experience success in the job market.

“Each of you has the unique selling proposition of you,” he said.

“How are you branding you? What makes you unique?”

To stay competitive during an era when more college graduates are entering the work force than ever before, Tierney said mixing that branding with research would pay big dividends.

“Learn about the company where you’re interviewing,” he said.

“Know more about the company than the person interviewing you.

Then tell them how your skills will translate to their business.”

Tierney’s skills might have been a match for his first post-graduate job, but he admitted a major shortcoming.

“I was hired by the admission office at Monmouth College,” he said.

“I hated it, and I sucked at it. I had no passion for what I was doing.

(Former admission counselor) John Wilbur came down to St. Louis

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and he fired me, and it was the right thing to do. But he also left me with something. He told me, ‘Find out what it is that you want to do.’”

Tierney returned to his native New York, where he followed his passion, seeking a job related to media, entertainment, TV and music.

He was eventually hired at CBS, which he called the “Rolls Royce” of broadcast TV in an era when there were only three national networks.

Among the things that stayed with him from his time at CBS were the stories he heard from men who had been at the company since the 1940s and early 1950s.

“I learned a lot from them. They were pioneers. Almost everything they were doing was new. And if they tried something that didn’t work, they didn’t let it stop them. They just laughed about it and moved on.”

That pioneering model, coupled with an interesting idea, led Tierney to do something of which his mother did not approve. With three children and a mortgage, he quit his job to follow a dream—the dream that turned into MTV. Tierney explained to the class that in the late 1970s, music videos existed, but they were only shown to people inside the industry to promote bands for concerts and radio play, and they typically featured footage from live performances. There was a group of people who saw music videos as an art form, and they began to make concept videos.

That led to an idea for a business—to put those music videos on TV. “It was pioneering, just like those old-timers from CBS,” said Tierney of his career decision. “But I had to listen to my mother yell at me for being irresponsible.”

Showing creative concept videos to music fans was a great idea, but Tierney and his colleagues still needed two big breaks.

“Lo and behold, here comes cable TV,” he said, before explaining to the class how that industry was born in a valley in Pennsylvania. An appliance dealer couldn’t sell his television sets in the valley because signal reception was so poor. Tierney said the dealer ran cable from mountaintop antennas to the homes in the valley, not with the intent of creating more channels, but simply so that his TVs would sell.

The other break came from getting MTV on the airwaves in New York City. Tierney said that in 1981, he and his colleagues predicted $7 million in advertising revenue, but brought in only $4 million. monmouth | summer 2011

The next year, they again predicted $7 million, but sold only $3 million.

They almost had the plug pulled on their fledgling network, but after those rough two years, distribution began in New York City, home of Madison Avenue.

“That’s where the advertising community lives,” he said. “In 1983, we predicted $7 million again, and we sold $14 million. The next year, we predicted $21 million and sold $42 million. And on and on it went .”

While research is definitely a key, Tierney might choose a different one-word answer if asked about his personal success—“passion.” It was missing from his first job, but he grabbed it with both hands at MTV. “There were 26 of us when we started, and all 26 of us were entrepreneurs and risk-takers,” he said. “We all had passion and vision. We kept creating new businesses (such as Nickelodeon), and that kept us all engaged. The passion stayed because we kept reinventing ourselves.”

In fact, said Tierney, MTV was reinvented so many times that it stopped being “music television.”

“The network is now reality and scripted TV, so a little while ago, they officially changed the name to MTV. It doesn’t stand for ‘Music Television’ anymore.”

Tierney was part of MTV and Viacom until 2007, when he took an executive position with New York’s Madison Square Garden. He retired from there at the end of 2010.

Tierney closed his talk by discussing his days as a college student. He told the audience, “You can’t be anonymous at Monmouth,” then gave two examples of why that’s a good thing.

“When I looked at a place like the University of Illinois with a lecture hall of 300 kids, I said, ‘That’s not me.’” Tierney also told the students about a communication professor, Tom Fernandez, going above and beyond the call of duty on his behalf.

“That’s what Monmouth was about,” he said.

In addition to the entrepreneur class members in attendance, there were also some special guests of the college—a handful of prospective students who were on campus for the weekend. They were impressed by what a graduate of Monmouth had accomplished and by the messages he conveyed.

“It was pretty cool to be able to see a guy who had that much impact on our culture,” added Evan Stone of Lyons Township High School.

“I really understood everything he said.” 

Q: How to deliver real-world experience in class?

A: Simulation game provides realistic test run.

By Barry McNamara

Photo by jeff rankin

money up front building more plants.

We built in all four regions and sold everywhere.”

When it comes to selling shoes, When it came to advertising, the Monmouth College has produced some teams were able to bid on celebrities to of the best students in the world. endorse their products. Some of the More accurately, two groups of stu“celebrities” included “Oprah Letterman” dents excelled in the Business Strategy and “Fifa Beckham.”

Game (BSG), an online business simulaEach week of the competition was tion competition that was part of two of meant to simulate a year, and the clock the college’s 400-level capstone courses moved even faster than that when it this spring. came to calculating results.

“During the semester, groups of stu“We’d enter our changes for the week dents compete against one another sellon Friday mornings at 9, and by that ing athletic footwear in a global marketevening, we had our results,” said Quinn. place,” said Steven Kerno, a lecturer in The group experienced one setback— the political economy and commerce From left, Katyann Quinn, Michael DiMaggio and Amanda selling its shoes to too many stores, as a (PEC) department. “Students are ranked White review their latest Business Strategy Game numbers. result of not noticing a default setting in not only against fellow classmates, but the game program. The team’s global ranking fell as a result, but they also against all teams playing from around the world.”

The goal is to make the “playoffs,” known as the Best Strategy Invita- were able to correct the problem by the next week and regain their momentum. tional, a two-week competition that began in May. Kerno’s PEC colleague, assistant professor Keith Williams, also taught The “regular season” spanned 10 weeks, and the top team of the six in Kerno’s class, appropriately named Kerno’s Kicks, led the entire time. In a section of the class. His winning team, Fast Pace, was composed of the global BSG competition, Kerno’s Kicks were ranked as high as the top seniors Emerson Mueller, Dan Sullivan and Luke Thorn.

He added, “Students playing the game make potentially hundreds of 16 of more than 4,500 teams from 300 colleges and universities, and they decisions weekly in the areas of marketing, finance, management and finished in the top 100 at the end of the 10-week period.

“We stuck with the strategy that we were producing a high-end shoe,” economics. It’s a great way to pull their education together and to see said Kerno’s Kicks team member Michael DiMaggio. “We spent more their decisions in action. One important lesson that I hope they all on advertising. We had a higher cost structure, and we sold the shoes at learned is that they can’t assume that what worked today will work tomorrow. The competition and other conditions are constantly a higher price.”

The price was not as high as another class competitor that employed changing, and they must adapt.”

“This has definitely been a helpful tool,” said DiMaggio. “It gives us a the same strategy, but that worked in Kerno’s Kicks favor.

“You start with two plants, one in North America and one in the Asia- very realistic look into how the decisions you make in a business today Pacific region,” explained senior Katyann Quinn. “We spent a lot of will impact the future of the company.”  monmouth | summer 2011

the new entrepreneurs

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Q: It’s a global market. How do students prepare?

A: Study-abroad program is key to major.

By Barry McNamara

Lauren Vana (third from right) and her former MC classmate Kayla Bonjean (third from left) participated in a Lunar New Year ceremony during their time in Korea. Vana reported on what is called the most important of the traditional Korean holidays, saying, “They worship their ancestors and dress in traditional Korean hanbocks.”

continued on page 18

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the new entrepreneurs

monmouth | summer 2011

Any second-year chemistry maJOR is familiar with quantitative analysis, but at Monmouth

College, business students increasingly make use of quantatative skills to analyze risks, probability and outcomes. Quantitative analysis has been a key element in the study of economics, and it is now becoming a major part of the curriculum in the PEC department, where assistant professor Wendine Thompson-Dawson is one of its leading advocates.

Q: Why use quantitative analysis in business?

A: It increases probability of good outcomes.

“My Ph.D. work in economics ( from the University of Utah) was very math-oriented,” she explained. That’s understandable, because she earned her bachelor’s degree from Boise State University in mathematics as well as economics.

In the world of PEC, quantitative analysis is a business and financial analysis technique that seeks to understand economic behavior by using complex mathematical and statistical modeling, measurement and research. By using historical data, financial models are created and, from those, projections can be made.

“These models are quite useful, since change is a constant in business,” said marketing specialist Don Capener, one of Thompson-Dawson’s faculty colleagues. “Both in the business world and here at Monmouth, quantitative analysis is used to attempt to mathematically project results.”

He continued, “This Christmas season was predicted to be stronger than last year. How did economists predict that outcome? Financial models are the tool. Companies use them to decide on production levels, employment needs, productivity and inventory control.”

“I view quantitative analysis as a foundational element,” said Thompson-Dawson. “This department has had a good emphasis on it.”

That was especially true during the tenure of emeritus professor Rod Lemon, whose expertise in mathematical modeling were legendary. The Department of Energy and other federal and state agencies frequently sought Lemon’s analysis on issues relating to natural gas.

Capener said the emphasis will help the department reach a number of students contemplating a career in business, who “shy away from it because they are afraid it’s too complicated to learn.”

Currently, Thompson-Dawson teaches a quantitative methods class, as well as “Introduction to Econometrics.”

“We use practical mathematics and statistical techniques, from basic math, to algebra and geometry, all the way up to regression analysis, to solve business and economic problems,” she said. “We take these theoretical frameworks and apply them to practical problems. We teach both the economics and business students things they will use in a practical way—what they’ll need to do in their employment. It’s my long-term goal that we’ll integrate quantitative analysis into every PEC class.”

When explaining the department’s short-term goal, ThompsonDawson said, “We make sure our students understand how to use Excel spreadsheets as a tool. For 2011-12, our majors will be required to take what is essentially a ‘spreadsheet’ class (‘Business Problem monmouth | summer 2011

Solving’). It will be one of three required courses—along with ‘Quantitative Methods’ and a business stats class—that will give students the skills needed to do financial analysis and projections.”

The logic, she explained, is that by “enhancing the front end of the program, students will be able to do more in 300-level classes. These are the tools of the trade. Students have to know these skills to be successful, not just professionally, but in their households and as citizens.”

One of her former students, Dan Krueger ’10, provided ThompsonDawson, as well as her students, with confirmation of that fact.

“Dan is pursuing his MBA at the University of Iowa,” ThompsonDawson said. “He e-mailed me after the first day of grad school and said, ‘I’m so glad you taught me how to do quantitative analysis and how to use Excel. The syllabus says we’re going to be doing the stuff you taught us from Day 1.’ I made sure my class knew about that.”

“Monmouth’s quantitative method courses taught me the fundamentals methodologies for data analysis,” said Krueger. “I used direct application of these methods in a ‘Data and Analysis’ course I completed in which we analyzed case studies and determined an appropriate course of action through applying various analysis techniques.”

In addition to graduate school, Krueger also works full-time in information technologies network administration and engineering for HNI Corporation, and his training in quantitative analysis has helped him there, too.

“In my current HNI position, one of my responsibilities involves analyzing trends in corporate-wide network bandwidth usage,” he said. “We use the trend analyses to proactively predict the need for design changes in our technical infrastructure. It allows us to stay ahead of the alwayschanging business needs.”

Monmouth’s students not only get a healthy dose of quantitative analysis in the classroom; they also have an exciting way to use it as an extracurricular activity.

“We have a group of students who are using research and quantitative tools to invest in the market through our Student-Managed Investment Fund,” said Thompson-Dawson. “Students do the research, and they act as a financial analyst would for a brokerage firm. It’s completely extracurricular—they don’t receive academic credit. At any given time, there are five to 15 students working on things like 15- to 20-page research reports, just as a professional would. They meet every other month and vote as a group on whether to buy, sell or hold the researched stocks.”

One source on quantitative analysis noted that “it can also be used to predict real world events such as changes in a share price” of a publiclytraded stock. It’s not so hard to see the value in that. Used in that context, one could even think of quantitative analysis as “insider trading,” but without a mandatory stay in a minimum-security prison. 

—Barry McNamara the new entrepreneurs

17

ENTREPRENEURSHIP continued from page 11 INTERNATIONAL continued from page 16 “A site like ours would sell for $40 million in Chicago. How many cups of coffee do you have to sell to make that kind of rent?”

Innkeeper’s co-founder Mike Bond explained to students that finding a successful formula sometimes requires experimentation.

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monmouth | summer 2011

Contest yields impressive ‘What college was meant to be’ student videos Five students will share $3,500 The winning video captured in prize money for their creative judges’ attention because of its creefforts in producing original YouTube ative use of stop-motion animation. admission videos for the college.

“The editing was extremely creative Conducted by the marketing/ and professional,” said theatre procommunications department, the fessor Doug Rankin. “This video, in addition to being attractive to six-week contest offered $3,000 to a 18-year-olds, has the possibility of student or team of students that attracting attention as a creative film.” produced the best video illustrating Don Capener, vice president for Monmouth’s slogan, “What College Was Meant to Be.” A prize of $500 was strategic planning and marketing, offered for the second-place video. said the contest was aimed primarily Taking top prize was a creative at high school juniors and seniors, team led by sophomore Joe Florio. who often respond better to YouHe was assisted by Dillon Docherty Tube videos about a college than and Sarah Zaubi. they do to traditional glossy viewMegan Zaubi rides a skateboard in the form of Dillon Docherty in a Students uploaded their 5-7 min- scene from the winning video, which was produced by Joe Florio. books. “We could have produced a ute videos to YouTube, where the more high-end video,” he added, “but public was able to view them. The three videos that received the most we decided that the product would have more credibility for prospective “likes” were then submitted to a panel of judges, consisting of a student, students if it were created by students—students who are already sold a faculty member and an admission staff member. on the slogan that Monmouth is ‘what college was meant to be.’” 

Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research (MJUR) makes its debut One year after it was announced as one of Monmouth College’s seven new academic initiatives, the inaugural issue of the Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research has been published. Its distribution date in April coincided with Scholars’ Day activities on campus.

Originally conceived as an outlet exclusively for MC students, the decision was made early on to open the journal to include the research of undergraduate students from all member institutions of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM).

“It is our hope that this journal will inspire further research and promote scholarly com-

munication and collaboration among undergraduates in the Midwest,” said English lecturer Kevin Roberts, a member of the journal’s faculty adviser board.

During the fall semester, students Geoff Bird, Hope Grebner, Alex Holt, Ben Peterson, Anthony St. Clair and Wesley Teal were interviewed and hired as student editors to pioneer the journal. During this process, a name was chosen, guidelines for submissions were created and a call for papers was sent out in January to all ACM deans.

Roberts said the student editors were impressed “by both the quantity and quality of

submissions received.” The journal received 26 submissions from 12 ACM institutions, encompassing such disciplines as classics, history, political science, philosophy, literature, computer science, film studies, education, psychology and gender studies.

The first edition includes seven articles, including one by MC student Kimberleigh Morris ’11.

The Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research is available in print and also online at research.monm.edu/mjur. 

Chemistry students present research posters at national ACS conference

MC-TV has a new set, courtesy of local ABC affiliate WQAD. “The new set will give students a better looking, more professional tape to show future employers,” MC-TV faculty adviser Chris Goble said. Enjoying their new digs are Michelle Nutting, Haleigh Turner, Owen Sehon and Katherine Turner.

monmouth | summer 2011

Another of MC’s seven new academic initiatives became a reality this spring when chemistry faculty members Audra Sostarecz and Eric Todd took eight students to the National American Chemical Society Meeting & Exposition in Anaheim, Calif.

Each student who attended presented a research poster. The students included seniors Emily Barks, Rex Jackson, Blake Lyon, Angie Morris and Holly Morris and juniors Lauren Bergstresser, Samantha Nania and Dominic Savino.

Lyon said the ACS conference showed him how chemists can be involved in changing the world and making a difference. “Before I leave, I hope to set up a water purification fundraiser that will raise money to buy PUR packets that will be sent to underprivileged nations to quickly and easily purify their water so they can drink clean water and reduce water-borne ailments.”

“Taking students to conferences to present their research is always a great way to instill confidence in them,” said Sostarecz. “A memorable part of the trip for me was when one of my research students mentioned to me with excitement that a professor told her that she was doing graduate level research.” 

campus news

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By Barry McNamara

“Scots Angels” is one of several joint projects with the Monmouth-based center for persons with developmental disabilities. It grew from an outreach by the art department, while the psychology department is responsible for a “Happy Hours” initiative at WAC. Chemistry has gotten into the act, too, through a project involving electroplating.

The idea for the Scots Angels project began following a trip to Achievement Industries led by art professor Stacy Lotz.

“They showed us some little concrete garden statues that they made,” explained junior art major Danica Rogers. “Lewy (Neal), the person in charge of making that type of stuff, thought that angels would be a good idea. So I created a little family of angel sculptures, and they liked them.”

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campus news

The “family” features an old man angel, an old woman angel and a young angel.

“I was contacted by (WAC vice president) Jim Keefe, and he had a marketing idea to give them a red finish and make them ‘Scots Angels,’” Rogers added.

The “charming” angels are replicated by workers with disabilities at Achievement Industries, and they are available exclusively at the Monmouth College Bookstore, which is located on the main level of McMichael Residence Hall. The sculptures can be given as a reminder to a friend or family member that they have a Scots Angel looking over them.

Rogers hopes to add to the angel family, perhaps focusing on a sports theme.

The Scots Angels aren’t the only Monmouth College sculptures that will be sent to

Achievement Industries. Busts of President Obama, created by associate professor of art Brian Baugh, will be replicated once Baugh finishes the project this summer.

Achievement Industries already produces busts of Illinois presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, in bronze plate or a spray patina, which are available for sale at several local outlets. The busts have been placed in the Reagan Presidential Library in California, the Reagan Museum at Eureka College and in the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield.

The Obama busts will add to the “Illinois collection,” and WAC is currently seeking an artist to produce a bust of the other president with ties to the state, Ulysses S. Grant.

The bronzing process was originally farmed out to a company in Colorado, but when it monmouth | summer 2011

p h o t o b y b r i a n T. B a u g h

Left: Assistant professor of chemistry Brad Sturgeon (left) and students Pat Corrigan (center) and Alex Peacock are in the “R&D” phase of electroplating some of the materials produced

by Achievement Industries, including these Scotsman figures. p h o t o b y c h u c k s ava g e Below: It’s always a good thing to have an angel looking over your shoulder, and Danica Rogers had that and more while displaying the family of Scots Angels she created. The sculptures are available through the Monmouth College Bookstore.

went out of business, Achievement Industries was left without a viable option.

Monmouth College entered the picture at that point, as assistant professor of chemistry Brad Sturgeon received a $1,000 grant to purchase electroplating materials.

Two MC students—sophomore Pat Corrigan and freshman Alex Peacock—have been working on the project since the fall.

“We have plated more than 10 presidential busts, a Scotsman, some chemistry glassware and other items,” said Sturgeon. “I consider us in the ‘research and development’ stage, but we’ll soon move into more of a ‘production’ mode once we decide with WAC how to move forward.”

Once completed, those products will be available for purchase at the Maple City eMart, which is located at 1360 South Main St., and at other area outlets, including the Buchanan Center for the Arts, the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce and the Galesburg Civic Art Center.

Monmouth College’s relationship with the Warren Achievement Center goes back to the 1970s, when the college provided housing for WAC constituents. Keefe said another relationship began then, too.

“In the 1970s, Monmouth College established its Learning Disabilities program in

monmouth | summer 2011

Associate professor of art Brian Baugh worked from several images of Barack Obama while creating this bust, which will soon be part of Achievement Industries’ collection of Illinois presidents.

direct response to the work of Warren Achievement School,” he said. “Monmouth College has always been, and continues to be, important to the life of Warren Achievement Center. It is impossible to list all the faculty and students who have been of help to us, because there is really nearly 50 years of involvement between our organizations.”

In more recent times, Monmouth students have been instrumental in supporting programming at the center as state budget cuts have forced WAC to reduce personnel.

“I have always thought of Monmouth College as a vast resource of ideas, energy and able bodies, so I shared this concern with the students in our department,” said associate professor of psychology Kristin Larson, who is chair of WAC’s board of directors. “Their response was immediate and enthusiastic.

They wanted to step in and provide a level of social interaction that would enrich the lives of the WAC consumers.”

Senior Kylie Stufflebeam helped start the Happy Hours program. A group of students has gone to WAC every other week to participate with the independent residents in activities, including a Halloween party, games and performances.

“Our goals are to create social contact for the people at WAC and to raise their quality of life,” explained Stufflebeam, who also teaches stress reduction classes there.

“It is gratifying to see these students go beyond a one-time event by committing to meet throughout the semester and develop meaningful relationships with the consumers,” said Larson, who has served on WAC’s Human Rights Committee and Behavioral Intervention

Committee for nine years. “The students found their lives were enriched by the consumers’ friendliness, courage and perseverance.

Happy Hours will continue next year, benefiting both Monmouth College and Warren Achievement.”

Two other students involved at WAC are juniors Rachel Holm and Ashley Koza Through the campus organization Blue Key, Holm supervises a project that helps raise funds for recreational activities such as field trips and participation fees for Special Olympics. Koza has interned at WAC for the past semester, continuing an intern relationship between WAC and MC’s psychology department that was started in 2008.

“It’s been a great experience, and all the staff and consumers have been very welcoming,” said Koza. “Sitting in on classes and talking with the consumers has been a great learning experience.”

Another partnership is the “Scot Shuttle” van, operated by the Warren Achievement Center, which helps students run errands or dine at one of Monmouth’s restaurants.

“The support of the students and faculty at Monmouth College is appreciated at all levels of our organization,” concluded Keefe. “We’ve received valuable help from (marketing professor) Don Capener in developing Maple City eMart, from Dr. Larson and others in behavioral programming and human rights issues, and now, with the help of Dr. Sturgeon, we’re becoming much more competent in our molding and plating business. The enthusiasm and dedication of the students who volunteer with us is amazing. All of our staff and consumers appreciate their help.”  campus news

21

The Crimson Masque staged a performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg. photo b y doug r ankin Above, right: Assistant professor of art Tyler Hennings painted Abyss of Birds and Tangle of Rainbows—oil on canvas, 42 by 42 inches—which were inspired by contemporary music performed by Nonsemble 6 (right). photo b y C h r i s W y b enga

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arts news

monmouth | summer 2011

co u r t es y o f T y le r He n n i n g s

In April, Monmouth College hosted several collaborative events as part of its first Contemporary Arts Week.

Nonsemble 6, a professional ensemble based in San Francisco, presented a free concert featuring two masterworks of contemporary music: Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire.

The group includes cellist Anne Suda, daughter of MC faculty members David and Carolyn Suda.

Artwork created specifically for the concerts by assistant professor of art Tyler Hennings was featured during the performance.

“This work is my painterly reaction to the meaning and context of Messiaen’s composition,” said Hennings. “I have not tried to illustrate the music; I have let the music influence the way I perceived light and color.”

The next day, Nonsemble 6 was joined by composer-in-residence Dirk Stromberg and associate professor of music Ian Moschenross to present The Tempest: Music Inspired by Shakespeare.

In a concert juxtaposing old with new, Moschenross performed Beethoven’s fiery piano sonata, nicknamed The Tempest.

Is there a connection between the Beethoven sonata and Shakespeare’s play? Anton Schindler, Beethoven’s personal secretary and early biographer, wrote that when Beethoven was questioned about the meaning of the sonata, the composer replied, “Read The Tempest.”

Following that work, Nonsemble 6 premiered Deeper Than Ever Did Plummet Sound by Stromberg, who visited Monmouth from his post at the School of the Arts (SOTA) in Singapore. He composed the work while creating the sound score for the college’s theatrical production of The Tempest.

Nonsemble 6 and Stromberg were on campus throughout Contemporary Arts Week, conducting a variety of master classes, workshops and classroom lectures for MC students from several departments.

Other events during Contemporary Arts Week included the MC production of The Tempest, a joint talk by Hennings and David Suda titled “Cultural Dissonances” and a guest lecture by Wabash College dean Gary Phillips titled “Icon of Loss: The Haunting of Child by Samuel Bak.” 

monmouth | summer 2011

arts news

23

Fiji Welcome Back

Phi Gamma Delta

φΓ∆

Kevin Ross ’12



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greek news

monmouth | summer 2011

P h oto by c h u c k s ava g e

Walking through the north foyer are, from left, Alpha Xi Delta

members Kimberly Short, Kim Dwyer and Courtney Jonsson.

New AXD house is ‘absolutely gorgeous’

P h o t o b y g eo r g e h a r t m a n n

Monmouth College’s Alpha Xi Delta house at 833 E. Broadway Kristen Wyse, past president of the chapter. “Now that it is here, it is hosted a well-attended open house in March, one month following its hard to believe.” first night of occupancy.

“Our first impressions were that we loved it,” said chapter president Part of the college’s Greek life initiative, the 6,000-square-foot house is Kim Dwyer. “It went beyond our expectations. It is absolutely gorgeous.” initially being occupied by the Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity. The “It is breathtakingly beautiful,” agreed Wyse. “It’s very big and open 19-bed house is MC’s first newly conand feels very much like a home that I structed Greek housing since 1966. think will be cherished for many years It was designed by Metzger Johnson to come. I can’t put it into proper Architects, Inc. of Galesburg in the words—it is better to see it firsthand.”

Queen Anne style to reflect surrounding “While some colleges attempt to architecture and pay tribute to a hisdownplay their Greek presence, we are toric fraternity house that once stood offering the best housing to outstanding on the site. With a price tag of nearly $2 women and men of principle,” said Don million, the new structure reflects some Capener, vice president for strategic of the opulence of an earlier era, but planning. “Why? Because, on average, with modern comforts such as energythese Greek students outperform their efficient windows, an elevator and peers in the classroom and are willing to zoned heating and cooling. help others succeed. New houses such Many of the Alpha Xi Delta residents as this are aspirational places for women moved into the house on Feb. 15. who have proven themselves in the Ground was broken for the house last classroom and in service to the college year during commencement weekend community.” activities, making the total construction While Alpha Xi Delta is the initial time about nine months. occupant of the residence, plans call for “It is just so amazing to think that a it to be the future home of Zeta Beta year ago I had just announced we would Tau, which previously had its house on be getting the new house,” said senior Located across Broadway from Wallace Hall, the college’s new- this site.  est building, a Queen Anne-style residence, is home to 19 members of Alpha Xi Delta. Inset: A cross-stitch of the Alpha Xi Delta crest, created by Alicia Cox ’09 as a gift for the chapter.

monmouth | summer 2011

greek news

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people

Schell, Goble receive final two Hatch Awards

Associate professor Hannah Schell and communication studies lecturer Chris Goble received the final two

campus workshop “Reconceiving the Secular Liberal Arts.”

Goble, who specializes in the video and broadcast elements of communiHatch Academic Excellence Awards of the year. cation studies, received the Schell, who chairs the department of philosophy and reliDistinguished Scholarship and gious studies, received the Hatch Award for Distinguished Research Award. In particular, his Service, which is presented to individuals who “do especially work with students on three docunoteworthy work for the institution.” mentaries, including the awardThe nomination for Schell noted that she “has consiswinning Western Stoneware: The Molding of a Company, was tently and tirelessly served the college for as long as she cited. Goble also helped produce Hidden Homeless: Homeless has been here.” Award committee members agreed, stating “her service has been exemplary in its quantity and quality.” in Rural America and Journal Stories: Warren County. He was Schell, who has been credited with rebuilding the philos- praised for tying that documentary work to the college’s Midwest Matters initiative. ophy and religious studies department, has also earned Funded by W. Jerome Hatch ’57, the awards were estabpraise for “nurturing the new curriculum into being.” Schell lished in 2004 to honor faculty members who have excelled created and implemented the “Reflections” requirement in their academic disciplines and who have served as an work which led to her current position as coordinator of inspiration to their students and their colleagues. integrated studies.

Monmouth’s other Hatch Award recipient was associate Last year, she was a member of a campus team that professor Joan Wertz, who was honored for Distinguished make a presentation in Atlanta on the Integrated Studies Teaching during the President’s Homecoming Gala.  program. She also received a Teagle grant that funded the

Godde to lead ACM program in Tanzania

When it comes to studying biodiversity, small is beautiful for associate professor of biology James Godde. Really small, as in microbes. Biodiversity is all about adapting to the surrounding environment, Godde noted, and “microbes have been doing it for billions of years.”

This fall, Godde will serve as director of the ACM Tanzania: Ecology and Human Origins program.

He will teach Research Methods and advise students on their independent field projects.

So, while he typically takes a more molecular view of the world—scientifically speaking, at least—Godde will be adjusting his sights “up a level” in Tanzania to focus more on the multi-celled organisms for which the country is famous.

The field research component of the program takes the director and students to Tarangire National Park, where biodiversity is abundantly on display. There are herds of large mammals— wildebeests, zebras, elephants—along with birds, reptiles, insects and wide-ranging vegetation.

Whatever the size of the organism, though, “the same basic principle is involved,” Godde said.

“How do they adapt? How do they survive in this environment?” 

Zieglowsky published Laura Zieglowsky, assistant professor of educational studies, co-authored an article with Carolyn Wan of the University of Iowa titled Social Networks and Structural Holes: Parent-School Relationships as Loosely Coupled Systems. It was published in the April-June 2010 issue of Leadership

and Policy in Schools.

The article describes parent groups as social networks that are loosely coupled to schools. The qualitative study investigated parent groups that work together to support schools by networking, responding to change, seeking input on policy decisions and communicating with school leaders.

“The implications from this study for school leaders are that parents and parent groups who support their children’s schools ultimately influence either positively or negatively the policies and initiatives that school leaders hope to create and promote,” said Zieglowsky.

Positive influences include helping to pass bond issues, while offsetting those are negatives such as creating dissension among parent groups. 

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people

MC is full of Fulbrights Last spring, Monmouth College announced that two of its faculty members, Heather Brady and Amy Caldwell, had received Fulbright Scholarships to teach in Mexico and Mozambique, respectively.

What was unknown at the time was how rare a distinction it is for a non-graduate school institution to have multiple Fulbright Scholars at the same time.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Monmouth College is on a short list of 11 bachelor’s institutions that received two or more Fulbright awards during the 2010-11 academic year. Middlebury College had three while Monmouth was one of only 10 schools with two.

The flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, the Fulbright is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”

“Receiving a Fulbright Scholarship is a great honor—the program is highly competitive,” said associate dean of academic affairs Bren Tooley, who was in Bulgaria last spring on a Fulbright Scholarship of her own. “It is also life-changing, exhilarating, horizon-expanding and intellectually invigorating.

I hope we’ll have a regular series of faculty applying for and receiving Fulbright Scholarships in the coming years.”

“We actually have three Fulbright awards this year,” Tooley noted. “Heather is now a Fulbright Scholar, but she also received a Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar award. It is very exciting for her and for Monmouth College that she received both in the same year. They are two different programs, run by two different government departments, but they are similar in purpose and certainly similar in distinction.” 

monmouth | summer 2011

MC’s ‘Dean’ of employment St. Ledger now at 51 years of service

By Barry McNamara

Above: Dean St. Ledger relaxes in his Green Army apparel after a hard day at work in 1980. Left: St. Ledger proudly displays his 50-year commemorative plaque at Monmouth College’s annual employee recognition celebration. His MC career now stands at a record 51 years, and counting.

employees while serving as super- does the work of two 20-year-olds and can still climb like a monkey.” visor/superintendent of building When one thinks of longevity at and grounds. He did “quit” at the Monmouth College, Gracie end of that 22-year management Peterson often comes to mind. stint, but his retirement was Not only did Gracie work for 50 short-lived. years at her alma mater, but she St. Ledger has regularly perDean St. Ledger barely made formed jobs for area residents, also lived to be 104 and famously it through his first week and work that he did on theatre performed at Galesburg’s Orpheum at Monmouth College in 1957. But professor Bill Wallace’s home in Theatre on her 100th birthday. once he did, he went on to achieve the late 1990s led to his return.

But now that St. Ledger has one of the longest careers in the continued his job into the summer, Wallace told him that the college 158-year history of the institution. would be hiring someone part-time he is the new face of longevity at a “That was the closest I ever came to quitting,” recalls St. Ledger, who “Dean is unlike anyone I’ve ever worked with. was officially honored for a halfAll I have to do is tell him an idea, and he figures century of service in January at out how to do it below budget.”— Doug Rankin ’79 the college’s annual employee recognition party. “I was told I was going to be working with heavy college that was also the longtime to help build sets, and St. Ledger equipment, but for that first week, said he was interested. professional home for such legends I was inside the dismal, dirty heatHe works four-hour shifts in the as Alice Winbigler (50 years), ing plant. I grew up on a farm afternoons at Wells Theater, help- Sam Thompson (46 years) and south of Roseville, and I had Bobby Woll (44 years). ing to construct the sets that always been outdoors. I told them, theatre professor Doug Rankin Right around Monmouth’s grad‘You’ve got to get me out of there,’ designs. Asked how long he might uation ceremony in May, St. Ledger and that’s what they did. By the passed the 51-year mark at the continue in that role, he replied, next week, I was mowing,” “It just depends on my health and college, longer than anyone else The next week became the next how I’m feeling.” before him. The college’s exclusive year, the next year became the 50-year club includes only St. To hear Rankin talk, it appears next decade, and the next decade St. Ledger still feels pretty good.

Ledger, Peterson, Winbigler and became the next century. St. “Dean is unlike anyone I’ve ever former librarian Lois Blackstone.

Ledger rose through the ranks, worked with,” he said. “All I have “Leading by example, Dean has moving from custodian to utility to do is tell him an idea, and he always been a soft-spoken, unselfman to electrician, a position he figures out how to do it below ish mentor to all of us who have held for 17 years. budget. Dean is a master at recyhad the privilege to work with From 1974 to 1996, St. Ledger cling and has saved the college him,” said Mike McNall ’81, MC’s managed about 35 campus many thousands of dollars. He also director of personnel, when the monmouth | summer 2011

college honored the longtime employee. “His lifelong dedication to our institution, especially to our students and their families, is truly appreciated by all. We salute and congratulate Dean for over 50 years of extraordinary service.”

Asked what he would have done had that first week at MC been his last, St. Ledger replied, “There were four of us boys growing up on the farm, and it wasn’t big enough for all of us. I had received training as an electrician in the Army, so I might have tried to get into that with a company like IBM.” But instead, St. Ledger stayed at Monmouth, and he said the campus community is the reason why.

“I’ve enjoyed doing it. The big thing is that I’ve enjoyed the people. There’s a real family atmosphere here. I’ve been treated fairly, and the college lets you do your own thing, as long as you’re doing it right.”

Monmouth’s “family” atmosphere has been especially strong for St. Ledger. His wife, Nancy St. Ledger, has been on staff since 1973, and two of their children, Aileen St. Ledger and Raymond St. Ledger, graduated from the college in 1985. Today, Nancy, who is a 1969 graduate of Monmouth, serves as an academic secretary in the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center.  people

27

11:00 a.m.

Tim Tibbetts, chair of the Faculty Senate, reads the names of honor society inductees during the annual Honors Convocation in Dahl Chapel.

Eat, drink and be merry! Associate professor of English Marlo Belschner and costume shop supervisor Pat Andresen were up to the task during a celebration of William Shakespeare’s birthday.

12:00 noon

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scots day / scholar’s day

Carmelita Brown enjoys a cup of tea at the English department’s “Mrs. Hudson’s Tea,” a tribute to Sherlock Holmes.

1:00 p.m.

Senior biology major Dontrae Nelson describes a research project conducted last summer in Colorado during a poster session in the main concourse of Huff Athletic Center.

1:30 p.m.

Members of the Spanish 310 class ham it up following their reeanactment of the popular Argentine comedy, Esperando la carroza (Waiting for the Hearse).

3:30 p.m.

monmouth | summer 2011

A Day in the Life of Monmouth College Scholars’ Day debuts on Scots Day: April 19, 2011

One spring (Scots) Day

Big Red celebrates Scots Day with an All-American bull ride in Glennie Gym.

2:00 p.m.

monmouth | summer 2011

Vocalist Dan Reid, accompanied by music lecturer Julia Andrews, performs at the music department’s honor recital in Dahl Chapel.

4:00 p.m.

Michael Derry and Jasmine Casillas dissect a shark under the watchful eye of professor Ken Cramer in a vertebrate biology lab.

6:00 p.m.

An April shower doesn’t deter students from enjoying a Scots Night game of softball under the lights in April Zorn Memorial Stadium.

8:00 p.m.

scots day / scholar’s day

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Bradshaw got a head start on law school By Jane Simkins ’14 For Amy Bradshaw ’94, digging into politics and postmodern culture as an Honors Program participant was a stepping stone to working in health care reform.

Bradshaw studied English and psychology, graduating magna cum laude. Titled “1994: The Box Office Successes of Forrest Gump and the Republican Party,” her final Honors Program project questioned whether widespread political realignment would even be possible in a postmodern culture rife with special interests and superficial issues.

Bradshaw earned a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield and moved to Washington D.C., where she followed health policy trends for the Center for State Policy Research and for a consulting firm. In 2003, she returned to the Midwest to earn a law degree from the University of Wisconsin. After graduation, she joined the health law group Quarles & Brady, LLP, where she dealt with patient privacy and other legal issues affecting health care providers.

In 2010, she moved to a position as compliance attorney for Dean Health Plan in Madison, Wis. “One reason I changed jobs was to be involved with health care reform implementation,” she said, recalling that subject had intrigued her during her time as an Honors Program student. “In 1994, I never would have guessed how bad things would have to get before incremental reform would occur. Today, I feel even more

The four faculty members who have served as coordinators of an honors program at Monmouth include (clockwise from lower left) Jeremy McNamara, Marsha Dopheide, David Suda, Craig Watson. P h o t o b y Ke n t K r ie g s h a u se r

continued on page 34

T W EN T Y-FI V E Y E A R S L ATER, Twenty-five years ago, Monmouth College began offering a little something extra academically for students who showed they could do a little bit more. Today, that “little something extra” has evolved into the Honors Program, a thriving feature of the curriculum that now includes recipients of Monmouth’s new Midwest Scholar Awards.

The humble beginnings Prior to the start of the 1986-87 academic year, English professor Jeremy McNamara was asked to start an honors program for “students who expressed a desire to pursue their academics beyond what the normal Monmouth College curriculum provides.”

Approximately two dozen students attended a meeting in the college library, where the structure of what was called the Distinction Program was presented.

“It was all extra,” said McNamara, who retired in 1995. “The students got no credit toward graduation, there was no budget for it and there was no release time for faculty. You

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honors program

were still expected to teach your full course load, in addition to the honors course.”

Despite that, he said, “The students were eager, and they had a certain pride in being involved.”

Perhaps none more so than Brad Nahrstadt ’89, who said he recalls some of the classes and experiences as if they occurred yesterday.

Now an attorney and partner at the law firm of Williams Montgomery & John in Chicago, Nahrstadt is also a member of the college’s board of trustees.

“It was designed to be a four-year program, but we started it as sophomores,” said Nahrstadt, adding “It was a lot of extra work.”

That, coupled with the fact that the students were not receiving academic credit for the courses, caused several classmates to eventually leave the program.

By the time his class reached its senior year, just four students remained—Nahrstadt, Jon Hauser, Mary Larsen and Karen Owrey.

The group took several courses together, and Nahrstadt was able to name those classmates off the top of his head nearly a quarter of a century later.

“Amazingly, I remember a lot,” said Nahrstadt of the program. “There were a number of great classes.”

One he recalled was an in-depth study of Thomas Mann’s novel Buddenbrooks. Although the book was “a fascinating read,” the professor was even more noteworthy—it was none other than the Monmouth College president at the time, Bruce Haywood.

“I remember that he used green ink to grade my final paper, and there was green ink all over that thing,” Nahrstadt said. “But with all that was going on at the college at the time, I was impressed that he spent that much time on my paper. I learned a lot from monmouth | summer 2011

Wears challenged, fulfilled by program By Melissa Bankes ’11 When Bryn Wears ’06 is asked about her favorite things about her alma mater, several experiences come to mind.

To her, “Monmouth College” means hearing bagpipes across campus in the evenings, singing in the choir in Dahl Chapel, sipping a nice, hot chai and reading for hours in Hewes Library—as well as participating in the Honors Program.

Wears credits the Honors Program and the tutelage of dedicated and talented professors for making her undergraduate education both challenging and fulfilling.

Her final project, “The Ideal City,” synthesized her various interests through the lens of urban studies.

“I was particularly interested in the concept as it has evolved over time and the influence it has on our conception of ‘urban’ today,” she said. “I was studying architecture, philosophy, history, religion and art and had a great desire to investigate a topic that bridged between all of these subjects.”

As an undergraduate, Wears spent a semester in the ACM Chicago Arts Program and also studied in Finland and Spain. After graduating magna cum laude, she earned a master’s degree in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. She now lives in Chicago and is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the U.S. Green Building Council, the Young Architects Forum and the Chicago chapter of Architecture for Humanity.

continued on page 34

HONOR S PROGR A M IS FLOUR ISHING his comments. I took them to heart and applied them to other classes.”

Nahrstadt also enjoyed a class on the Mississippi River that was team-taught by Harlow Blum, Steve Buban and future Honors Program coordinator Craig Watson.

He especially recalls a field trip to the river, when the group enjoyed seeing “bald eagles everywhere,” then had lunch at an Oquawka tavern, where “everyone kind of let their hair down … The course just shifted at that point and went in a great new direction.”

As for his final project, Nahrstadt said, “I remember it like it was yesterday. My mom even came down for it. It was a very nervewracking experience, as I was not one for public speaking at the time. It wasn’t necessarily a life-changing moment for me, but it flipped a switch and was a huge confidence booster. In the last five years, I’ve done more than 100 presentations, sometimes in front of 400 or 500 people. That Distinction Program presentation was the first time I’d had an opportunity to do that.”

The Distinction Program of that era focused on the notion of change and continuity. For monmouth | summer 2011

his final project, Nahrstadt compared and contrasted folk songs and movies of the 1930s and 1960s. The other three students discussed the American frontier, feminism and science, and the effects of mass media on society.

“That program, at least in part, is responsible for my lifelong interest in learning,” said Nahrstadt. “It piqued my curiosity and made me realize you should study and think about other things outside of your major. It exposed me to things I wouldn’t have known about and to experiences I wouldn’t have had.”

Program takes flight

David Suda is credited for starting the Honors Program “as we presently know it.”

That came in 1990, said Suda, a professor in MC’s philosophy and religious studies department, who retired in May. Largely because it didn’t offer academic credit, “the Distinction Program died a natural death,” he said. “But President Haywood was still very eager to have an honors program.”

The new version began with an introductory interdisciplinary course, then included a series of other courses that would satisfy all of

By Barry McNamara

the college’s general education requirements, such as its science and “beauty and meaning” components.

Eric Ostermeier ’92, author of the blog Smart Politics and a research associate for the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, recalled those days of the Honors Program.

“What stands out most to me was the appropriate balance struck by the program’s professors in affording students the intellectual space in which to pursue their own lines of academic inquiry and the rigorous standards by which their work product was ultimately held.”

During a few weeks of Suda’s postmodernism course, Ostermeier recalls the professor giving the podium to each student, who taught and then led a discussion on a subject of their choosing. Ostermeier’s subject was the David Lynch film Eraserhead.

His capstone project, The Big Closed Sky, was an original play he wrote and directed. He called it “a blend of postmodernism, Hobbesian political philosophy and a dash of absurdist

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Recent Honors grad following a familiar path

regional anomaly, but the more she studied the subject, the more she realized how common it was in the United States as well “I thought Italy and America would be different, but it’s not that different here than over there.”

One of the most recent students Musser, who became especially interested to complete Monmouth College’s Honors in a trend of “blaming the victim,” said her Program is on track to have an experience Honors Program paper focused on two similar to that of one of the program’s first famous cases in which the accused were graduates, Brad Nahrstadt ’89. acquitted—a 1991 case involving the late Ashley Musser graduated in May with a While in Italy, Ashley Musser posed at the San Sen. Ted Kennedy’s nephew, William Kenmajor in English and a minor in political Miniato al Monte basilica, one of the highest points nedy Smith, and Italy’s “Blue Jeans” case. science. Nahrstadt, an attorney who is now in Florence.

“The court concluded that the woman a member of the college’s board of trustees, majored in both of those couldn’t have been raped because she was wearing blue jeans, and that subjects before entering law school, which is also Musser’s goal. jeans can’t be taken off without help,” explained Musser. “It made me Musser’s experiences completing her capstone project fueled her realize that as far as we’ve come, we’re not as far as we think we are. It’s interest in pursuing a career path similar to the one taken by Nahrstadt, really hard to convict rape. If you go home late with a man, you’re setting who is a partner in the Chicago-based law firm Williams, Montgomery yourself up. It’s easy to blame the victim.” & John.

Musser soon came to realize that she can try to be part of the solution.

Musser’s project, a 28-page paper titled “The Rape-Prone Cultures of “This paper gave me a first chance to really learn about the law,” she Italy and America,” stemmed from experiences she had while studying said in March. “I’m applying to seven different law schools, and I’m in Italy in 2010. In addition to an incident involving inappropriate looking forward to talking about the paper on interviews. It really sets touching while traveling on a bus, Musser also was the victim of several me apart.” “catcalling” incidents.

She’s thinking of specializing in international women’s rights or “Women (in Italy) don’t go out alone at night,” she said. “It was suffo- getting into law related to non-profit or government organizations. cating—I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do.”

Unlike some of the students in this year’s entering class, Musser did She had hoped that the degrading treatment of women in Italy was a not come to Monmouth with the Honors Program in mind.

continued on page 34 HONORS PROGRAM continued from page 31 drama” that filled the Wells Theater to capacity.

Suda noted that the version of the Honors Program during Ostermeier’s days as a student “got off the ground,” but due to ensuing faculty cutbacks, it also had a short life. The program lay dormant for two or three years in the mid1990s, but was revived under the presidency of Sue Huseman, with Suda again in charge.

“Revisions were submitted, and it was not as demanding on faculty resources,” said Suda.

“The introductory course stayed in, and the next grouping of rubrics was designed to rotate among faculty, which is how it remains today. It was much more streamlined.”

From the faculty’s perspective, Suda said the Honors Program has allowed professors to “test” courses. “After some modifications, they might show up in the general curriculum,” he said. Some are offered only as Honors Program courses, including one Suda created on Nobel Laureates in literature.

In general, he said, “The Honors Program provides an avenue for students who are highly motivated. They not only take the ball and run with it, they come up with new plays.”

Literally, in Ostermeier’s case.

Watson, I need you Suda’s decade in charge ended around the time of Y2K, setting the stage for Watson.

Several revisions were made to the curriculum

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under Watson’s watch, and there have also been a few new developments, he said.

In the past, students could only become part of the program after showing strong abilities in “Introduction to Liberal Arts” (ILA), the common course that all freshmen take in their fall semester. Recently, incoming freshmen have been accepted into the program during their final semester of high school on the basis of their application materials and their performance at on-campus interviews.

Watson said that process has produced exceptional yields. Of the 20 to 22 students interviewed each spring, at least 15 have matriculated each fall, which Watson called “way beyond the going rate.”

He explained that incorporating the college’s new Midwest Scholars Award was a logical next step.

“This seems like a strategic time to marry these high-end recruitment initiatives—a well-established, older program and this new merit scholarship.”

Watson called the modern Honors Program “the continuation of ILA at a fairly ambitious intellectual level. It not only has a strong interdisciplinary connection, but it provides the students with a coterie—a group of people—with whom they take classes and talk to about important issues for their next three or four years.”

It also provides the students with a plan.

“Students are required to write two

pathway essays—two intellectual trajectory essays,” said Watson. “They are asked to talk to people on campus about what they imagine they might do in their four years here, and then write an essay about that, as well as one on what service and leadership roles they anticipate having. There’s certainly a level of intentionality to the program, and we ask the students to really put some thought into it as they map their futures.”

The students’ capstone experience is a project which “typically blends two or three academic disciplines,” said Watson. The projects have covered a wide range of subjects, including: • “When Physics and Music Intertwine” • “Building a Sustainable Monmouth College” • “The Mathematics of Combat” • “Born or Made: A Scientific Exploration of Sexual Orientation” • “Cosmology and Christianity” “Our Honors Program graduates often describe their projects on job interviews or use them on graduate school applications,” said Watson.

“The Honors Program is strong today because of the consistent good work that Craig has put into it,” said Suda. “He has revised the curriculum and provided insightful leadership, and I’m sure that will continue under the new coordinator, Marsha Dopheide.”  monmouth | summer 2011

The award recognizes exceptional students who have an interest in studying in the Midwest. Each recipient received a $25,000 scholarship that is renewable for up to three additional years, as long as the student maintains a 3.0 cumulative GPA. That means the total value of a Midwest Scholar Award could be $100,000.

Scholarship finalists were invited to campus in March to participate in Midwest Scholars Day. Candidates shared their reactions to ideas presented during interviews with a select group of faculty members and alumni who are leaders in their field. The seven winners were selected based on application materials, past achievements and performance on Midwest Scholars Day. Vice president for enrollment management Omar Correa said he was pleased by the quality of the scholarship recipients and also by the competition’s effect on the incoming class.

“Thanks to our fantastic campus community, we had a great event,” said Correa of Midwest Scholars Day. “There were 51 students who came to campus to compete for the scholarship and, as of mid-June, 34 have registered for classes at Monmouth in the fall. That is 67 percent of all participants, which is a fantastic yield for such an event.”

The average ACT score for the 34 students is 27, and the group had an average high school GPA of 3.8.

“Four of the students who competed for the scholarship had ACT scores of 33, and three of the four are scheduled to attend this fall,” added Correa. “Also, 11 of the students had GPAs of 4.0.”

Midwest Scholars will be invited into the college’s Honors Program. Recipients will also be offered opportunities to participate in honors courses, do research with faculty, experience special internships and lead community service projects. Some of those opportunities are related to the college’s Honors Program, but some are not.

“The Midwest Scholars initiative is meant to energize recruiting efforts for honors students who want a high-octane intellectual challenge,” explained Don Capener, vice president for strategic planning. “It will be closely tied to Honors Program activities.”

Moving forward, Correa said, “We expect some of the finest high school students in and out of Illinois to apply for a Midwest Scholars Award. We can’t wait to increase the number of participants and improve this event for next year.” 

monmouth | summer 2011

Earlier this spring, Monmouth College announced the first recipients of its new Midwest Scholar Awards. Following are brief biographies on the seven students:

Yesica Alvarez: “Understanding the connections between academic disciplines and society’s issues is important for intellectuals to be aware of, in order for them to form change in contemporary society,” says Alvarez, who graduated from Social Justice High School in Chicago. One of her teachers there, Emily Alt, called Alvarez “an unbelievably skilled, passionate, creative and dedicated young person.”

Emily Bell: An active member and leader in several school and church organizations, including Oak Forest High School’s Ecology Club, Bell hopes to become a well-educated member of the world community by attending Monmouth College. “Being able to apply knowledge to issues bigger than oneself that span beyond one’s own lifetime gives one the ability to be a world citizen,” Bell believes.

Stephanie Lankford: Lankford is a student-athlete, a creative thinker and an excellent leader. The “incredibly involved” graduate of Effingham High School plans to play women’s soccer for the Fighting Scots.

Academically, she has interests in chemistry and medicine and wants to become an emergency room doctor. “Education can be used to enhance the lives of every human on the face of the Earth,” she says.

Mackenzie Mahler: “Google can explain what, but only a person can explain why,” quips Mahler, a graduate of Bradley-Bourbonnais High School.

“Monmouth students are given the education to answer why.” At BBHS, Mahler was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and was involved in tennis, Youth and Government, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Student Council and National Honor Society.

Aimee Miller: “New difficulties crop up all the time in life, so making connections and applying messages learned in school are essential for overcoming obstacles,” says Miller, who will pursue a degree in communications. She was a member of the National Honor Society and was captain of the Congressional Debate Team at Jacobs High School in Algonquin. Miller also volunteered with Bear Necessities, a pediatric cancer organization.

Nicholas Olson: Olson, who has interests in chemistry, physics and paleontology, will take advantage of Monmouth College’s strength in the sciences. At Genoa-Kingston High School, Olson was involved in academic, athletic and community organizations. Through his band, he has held numerous fundraisers for needy causes. “The desire to learn and to explore is one of the most precious gifts that man was blessed with,” Olson maintains.

Brianna Thompson: Thompson’s teachers at Monmouth-Roseville High School called her a driven leader and a gifted thinker. She displayed her leadership as co-editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and as treasurer of the senior class and the National Honor Society. Thompson wants to attend Monmouth for a liberal arts education in order to become more “communicative and globally intelligent in order to succeed in today’s society.”

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Bradac goes ‘over and above’ with policies handbook

When it came time to choose her Clark. “It was a wonderful experience to work Monmouth College Honors Program capstone with her. Her dedication and communication project, Anna Bradac didn’t just want to write skills provided us with a very useful tool.” a “long thesis paper.” Instead, the senior “wrote The manual is also a tool for Bradac herself the book” on policies and procedures for the as she attempts to find employment after her college’s business office. graduation in May. When she discussed her “When I heard that the business office project in March, she had reached the second needed someone to do this project, I was like, interview stage with an accounting firm in ‘Pick me!’” said Bradac, an accounting major Chicago, and one of her interviewers remarked with a minor in business. “Part of being an that he was very impressed by the manual and accountant and being in business has to do the work Bradac put into it. with being organized. Some of this information If she does indeed get the job, it would start already existed, but it was in different places, in the fall, completing a very busy and exciting and some of it hadn’t been written yet. Once I period in Bradac’s life. First, of course, was got all the information together, I had to figure receiving her bachelor’s degree on May 15. The out the best order to put it in.” very next day, she began classes at Waubonsee Bradac worked on the project—which she Community College in Aurora as she accumureferred to as “the internal controls of the busilates the final classroom hours of the 150 required to sit for the certified public accounness office”—from the third week of the fall Anna Bradac, right, with Debbie Clark tant’s exam. semester all the way through the day before When those hours are completed in late July, her wedding plans will Reading Day, which was the date of her project presentation. She interviewed more than a half-dozen members of the department to get their take center stage. Bradac will marry Walker Filip ’10 on Oct. 8.

There’s no word yet on the honeymoon site, but Bradac already had input. One of them, student account manager Ronda Ehlen Willhardt ’85, provided valuable assistance as a content editor familiar with the one trip of a lifetime thanks to Monmouth. She spent one semester of her junior year on the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s London & necessary language.

Bradac said there were about 30 policies at the beginning, and the Florence Program. That counted as the art appreciation portion of her new document contains about 70. When he had the document in hand Honors Program requirements. In London, she saw 15 theatre shows in at Bradac’s presentation, Honors Program coordinator Craig Watson eight weeks and visited several museums. She was also exposed to many of the great art museums in Florence, Rome and Venice. was impressed.

When not involved in her coursework, Bradac was active in Kappa “He told me, ‘This is a dense document,’” said Bradac of the 82-page Kappa Gamma, having served as its public relations chair. She was also manual.

“Anna took on a daunting task and handled the complexities of in Blue Key and was a member of Colleges Against Cancer.

Bradac said she was originally selected for the Honors Program durassignment and organization of the manual with intelligence, maturity and amazing determination,” said Watson. “Hers has been the fourth or ing her first semester on campus through a recommendation from her fifth senior honors project whose focus on public scholarship for the “Introduction to Liberal Arts” professor, Stacy Cordery.

What Bradac noticed immediately in her first Honors Program course benefit of the college community has produced excellent results. In many ways, her project was perhaps the most logistically involved and was that “everyone was participating in the discussion. Everyone wanted to be there. I wasn’t the only leader of discussions.” challenging.”

She concluded, “The Honors Program pushed me to a higher level. It Watson provided the final grade, but the opinion of the business office gave me the confidence that I can do over and above the normal college was just as important.

“Anna devoted a lot of time to our project,” said controller Debbie experience.”

—Barry McNamara

BRADSHAW continued from page 30

MUSSER continued from page 32

adamantly than I did then. People in the U.S. absolutely must have better access to health insurance. No one should be in a position where they are one illness from bankruptcy.”

Bradshaw said the Honors Program at Monmouth forced her to tackle complex issues that were sometimes outside her comfort zone, leaving her with a sense of fearlessness about taking on new projects.

“That has served me well in my work, where I must continually do and learn new things,” said Bradshaw, noting that some people are startled when they begin law school to discover that the law is not always black and white. “A lot of lawyering involves reconciling multiple sources of truth and dealing with ambiguity. The Honors Program gave me a head start on that because it was all about different frameworks for thinking and problem-solving.” 

“I was noticed in a history class my freshman year,” recalled Musser. “I scored 100 percent on the first exam.”

She has enjoyed her classes on New York City and the aging process, and she recently completed “Global Climate Change.”

Taken in sum, Musser said the Honors Program has “made me think differently. It’s especially helped me with reading and analysis. I got the opportunity to do different things that I wouldn’t have done in my major. I learned how the brain works and how strokes occur, and I studied how a city like New York ticks. I’m able to look at things differently than I might have before, and it’s also encouraged me to be a more active student.”

Some of her extracurricular activities include theatre—her favorite role was Paulina in Death and the Maiden—the Pre-Law Society and Students Organized for Service. She is also

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a member of two national honor societies— Sigma Tau Delta ( for English majors) and Alpha Lambda Delta ( for freshman students).

And who knows? Maybe one day this talented student will be active on campus yet again, continuing in Nahrstadt’s footsteps and serving as a member of the college’s board of —Barry McNamara trustees. 

WEARS continued from page 31 Wears maintains an online laboratory for her ideas in architecture, urbanism, art and design at www.locus-studio.com. She has blended her background in design with an entrepreneurial spirit as the founder, owner and head designer for a jewelry company—a creative and intellectual niche she traces back to her academic experiences at MC. “The Honors Program allowed me to get the most possible out of my education at Monmouth,” she said.  monmouth | summer 2011

Pipe Band is better than ever

Group is infused with talent from bagpipe hotspots With roots going back to the 1940s, the Monmouth College Pipe Band has

officially been in existence for more than half a century. Today, the college can boast that the band has never been better, a claim supported by the band’s achievement, placing first in the highest division at this spring’s 32nd Arkansas Scottish Festival, “We have a high level of talent throughout the corps, thanks in part to successful recruitment from traditionally strong pipe band regions such as Toronto, the Pacific Northwest, Chicago and Minneapolis,” said MC faculty member Tim Tibbetts, director of the pipe band program.

While members are proud to be a part of the Monmouth College Pipe Band, they all have experience with and allegiances to other bands, including such successful groups as the City of Chicago, the Hamilton Police and 78th Fraser Highlanders.

“Experience in other bands is crucial to their making Monmouth’s band successful, and is also crucial for scholarship consideration,” said Tibbetts, who noted that students who are awarded scholarships form the leadership nucleus of the Monmouth College Pipe Band. “They choose music, set goals, lead rehearsals and are important in recruiting future members of the band.

“We play at roughly 35 events each academic year, including off-campus events like the Prime Beef Festival parade,” he continued.

“As the band has attracted stronger and more numerous players through scholarships, it has taken on formal performances and competitions that further advertise and promote the college and the Pipe Band locally and regionally.”

Tibbetts said that visibility helps with recruiting new members. Prospective students also learn about the band through word of mouth or by seeing listings on pipe bandrelated websites.

In the late 1940s, music professor and band director Hal Loya decided that a school with a Scottish heritage should have bagpipers leading its marching band. With financial backing from language professor Dorothy Donald, he ordered two bagpipes and a practice “chanter” from Scotland and taught himself to play.

He then convinced two musically-talented brothers, David Hershberger ’51 and the late monmouth | summer 2011

Floyd Hershberger ’49, to learn the challenging instrument, and they became Monmouth’s first official pipers.

It was not long before a Highland dance troupe was also formed, and in 1957, the Monmouth Highland Pipe Band was organized, eventually growing to 14 members in the mid-1960s.

How far has the band come? Bill Lee ’69, a fixture in the band long after his graduation from Monmouth, remembers a day in 1967 when the Highlanders were down to just two members, Lee and his classmate, Bruce Danielson. So they went to Student Activity Night—uninvited—and signed up 22 people.

Some of the members of the Monmouth College Pipe Band include (left to right): Caitlin Mehta, Stuart Aumonier, Charly Slagle, Victor Reyna III, Owen Sehon, Brenna Myers, Luke David Afman and Scott Haynes. P h o t os b y c h u c k s a v a g e

In 1994, President Sue Huseman decided that the band needed to have new life, and with the assistance of Lee and his wife, Peggy Will Lee ’71, reconstituted it as the Monmouth Pipes and Drums. Keeping it all in the family, the Lees’ son, Josh Lee ’99, served as pipe major.

Tibbetts, who took over as the faculty adviser to the pipe band in 2002, was named director of the pipe band program last year.

When asked his plans for the group for the next few years, Tibbetts had a simple answer.

“Keep on keepin’ on!” he said. “We want to maintain our current level of playing.”

And that current level is the highest it’s ever been.  campus news

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‘Darwinpalooza’ all over again for MC team on

Latitude 00⁰0'0"

alapagos Islands

By Barry McNamara Two years after

Monmouth College celebrated the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, a team of MC

biology majors and faculty gave themselves an early birthday present, spending Spring Break on the Galapagos Islands,

Above: Traveling around the world with college students is hard work! James Godde takes a cue from a sea lion on Floreana Island to fit in a bit of R & R. Right: Floreana is known for its source of fresh water (rare in the islands) as well as Post Office Bay, where sailors would leave their letters for passing ships to pick up. p h o t o s b y J am e s G o dd e a n d V e r o S a n c h e z A l e ja n d r o

where they retraced the steps of the famous evolutionist.

Led by biology faculty members Ken Cramer and James Godde, the 12-person travel party included eight MC students and two alumni, Kiel Krause ’07 and Jean Peters Witty ’88. Two of the MC students— Kendra Ricketts and

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Victoria Green—had also been part of Godde’s biologybased Amtrak trip to California last summer.

In March, the group flew, by way of Miami, from Chicago to Quito, Ecuador, where it enjoyed a traditional day for tourists, highlighted by an opportunity to see firsthand the unique effects of being right on the Equator. Shown that water drains clockwise when placed just north of the Equator, counterclockwise on the south side and straight down on the Equator itself, the group was able to balance an egg on the head of a nail.

“We had to get acclimated to the altitude,” said Godde. “Quito is the second highest capital in the world. It’s almost twice the height above sea level of Denver.”

The real purpose of the trip began to unfold the following day when the Monmouth group reached its ultimate destination after another flight and then short trips by bus, ferry and bus to Puerto Ayora. There, on the middle point of the archipelago of volcanic islands, it toured the Charles Darwin Research Station.

“It’s the dream of every biologist to see what Darwin saw,” said Godde.

“It was a trip

I’d dreamed of making since I was a biology student in John Ketterer’s Comparative Vertebrate Morphology class in the late 1980s,” agreed Witty, who kept in touch with her students back home at Glenbrook North High School through a daily blog.

“From him, I first learned the power of natural selection and evolutionary change over time.”

She said she fondly remembers Ketterer climbing up on the table to demonstrate the rotation of the tetrapod limb that occurred as animals transitioned from living in the sea to living on land.

“He brought such energy to each of his lectures, and the marine iguanas we saw at the Galapagos are fantastic representations of his example living today,” she said.

Unlike the Amtrak trip, during which Godde and monmouth | summer 2011

Left: The MC group poses at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. There, they observed giant tortoises including Lonesome George, the only known survivor of his particular species. Below: On Ecuador’s mainland, just north of Quito, the MC group was able to straddle the Equator itself.

his students collected several samples, “this was not a scientific exploration,” he explained. Instead, it was images that were collected, as the group took hundreds of photographs of the islands’ endemic flora and fauna, which included giant tortoises, marine iguanas and the finches made famous by Darwin in his book, On the Origin of Species.

“The whole point is that while the species might be similar to what is found on the mainland, they are unique to these islands and, in many cases, unique to each specific island,” said Godde.

Witty elaborated on that point. “We had the experience of walking where Charles Darwin walked on the islands of Isabela and Floreana. Both islands are amazing examples of geologic forces in action, as both were shaped by volcanic activity. The similarities and differences between the islands were profound.

As Darwin noted, we also observed many similar creatures living in different habitats on each island, each creature with structural features that allow it to best survive in its often harsh environment.”

“I particularly enjoyed the Galapagos penguins,” said Professor Cramer.

“They are small, about 18 inches tall, and they are the northernmost species of penguins. They don’t breed with any other type of penguins, so there aren’t any of the kind of big penguins you’d see on Happy Feet.”

Cramer also commented on the woodpecker finch, which “has a really long bill”; the marine iguanas, which “had a lot of personality”; and the porpoises that “swam alongside our boat for about 15 minutes—the students really enjoyed that.”

“They have the last of a certain tortoise species called ‘Lonesome George’ that they are attempting to breed to continue the species,” said Kendra Ricketts. “After seeing the facilities and the true passion the people at the Darwin station feel for their projects, it opened my eyes to what really goes on in a conservation effort.”

The group spent a total of three days on the islands, seeing different ones each day, then headed back to Ecuador for two additional days.

A highlight was a bus trip to Cotopaxi, one of the tallest active volcanoes in the world.

“I like high-altitude stuff—that kind of habitat resonates with me,” said Cramer. “It was very open,

monmouth | summer 2011

and you could see a long way. It was like a high-altitude desert, dominated by shrubs. We had lunch by a high-altitude lake, and we all enjoyed watching the various ducks and gulls.”

Regarding cuisine, there was at least one unusual offering, and most of the group volunteered to be guinea pigs when it came to eating, well, guinea pig.

“All but two of us tried it,” said Godde. “It was really greasy, with a fishy flavor. I’m glad I got to try it once, but the guinea pigs back here are safe.”

The explorers flew home on the morning of March 11. The 8.9 earthquake near Japan had occurred only a few hours earlier, so they were not aware of it. Later that day, tsunami waves reached the Galapagos Islands, doing minor damage.

“It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the students who went,” observed Godde. “To a person, they all had an amazing experience.”

Ricketts said that would have been true even if the Monmouth group had been less concerned about education.

“It was absolutely gorgeous—clear, turquoise waters, beautiful weather and friendly people,” she said.

“The biggest thing was the amount of wildlife you

could see, even though you weren’t at a zoo,” said Cramer. “It was special to be where Darwin was and see the diversity of the creatures he encountered.

Seeing it, and not just reading about it, helped you to think about what Darwin was thinking about when he was there.”

With two major biology trips under her belt, Victoria Green believes she is now ready for almost anything.

“These trips have allowed me to see parts of the world I may have never seen otherwise. They have also given me skills by facing challenges and pushing me out of my comfort zone. I feel that I have become a more confident, capable person because of these trips.”

Ricketts said her eyes have been opened to different research opportunities.

“I could work with things as small as the

thermophiles collected on our train trip, or I can work with animals as large as a giant tortoise,” she said. “I’ve found new interests that I had never considered, such as working in a conservatory or a microbiology lab. Before these trips, I basically had been in western Illinois my whole life. I want to expand my experiences in different cultures and embrace every opportunity I can.”

“I was thrilled to observe the professionalism and personal touch of our professors as they interacted with our students and to see the growth of our students,” concluded Witty.

Cramer was one of few members of the travel party who had previously been to South America, and it wasn’t long after the trip that he returned again, to learn more about a new Associated Colleges of the Midwest exchange program in Brazil.

Especially intended for students with an interest in environmental science, the program will expand on an existing one already under way at ACM member Colorado College.  galapagos trip

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Fanetta Jones (second from left) enjoys the President’s Reception following baccalaureate with members of her family.

Wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the nearly 280 members of the Class of 2011, who were forced inside Glennie Gymnasium for their senior photograph.

Student-centered ceremonies define Commencement 2011

I At the Senior Gala, Ben Morrow tells his classmates they need to take time to “step back and smile.”

Alicia Marrero, right, is congratulated by President Ditzler and her mother, Evelyn Rodriguez, at the Senior Gala.

Carolyn Suda conducts the Chamber Orchestra during the Commencement Concert.

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t’s a little disclaimer that appears each actively participate in that celebration, and year at the end of the Monmouth College I am proud to do my part.”

It’s traditional for MC’s Student Laureate of commencement announcement, but 2011 wound up being one of those occasions when the Lincoln Academy and for the nominator of “in the event of rain, the exercises will be Monmouth’s exemplary pre-college teacher of moved to the fieldhouse of the Huff Athletic the year to have speaking roles. Respectively, Derek Huff and Lauren Center.”

Zak handled those duties.

College officials couldn’t Of the 285 graduates, say they weren’t warned. other speakers were class One of the coolest and president Hope Grebner, wettest springs on record student chaplain Jim Fry had already dampened the and six members of the mood for several other big class who announced facspring events, including ulty promotions.

Scots Day and the MidThe promotions includwest Conference Outdoor ed the granting of tenure Track and Field Champito Laura Moore (chemisonships. The latter event We think we have a license try) and to new associate was contested in a steady to go anywhere, when really professors Brian Baugh rain at April Zorn Memoit is only a learner’s permit. (art), Marsha Dopheide rial Stadium the day prior (psychology) and Joanne to the college’s 154th com—Professor David Suda Eary (mathematics). Simon mencement exercises.

Of course, MC commencement ceremonies Cordery (history) and James Godde (biology) had been held inside before (the last time was were promoted to full professors.

President Mauri Ditzler also addressed the 2006), but what was unique about the May 15 ceremony was the role that students played in class, as did retiring professor of humanities it. Graduating senior Trevor Newton, presi- David Suda. Calling the 27-year professor a dent of the Associated Students of Monmouth “Renaissance man” during his introduction of College, explained the thinking behind that Suda, Newton added, “His wide-ranging acadecision during his opening remarks. demic interests have enabled him to teach an “Many of the responsibilities for today’s cer- impressive variety of courses at Monmouth, emony will be performed by members of the including some that he pioneered for our HonClass of 2011,” Newton said. “On a day when ors Program, which he helped to create.” the successes of Monmouth’s students are “You and I share something,” Suda told the being celebrated, college officials decided it class. “We have fulfilled all the requirements was more than appropriate for students to for graduation. Now what?”

monmouth | summer 2011

Student body president Trevor Newton helps lead the procession.

Layout by Jeff Rankin P h o t os b y J e f f Ra n k i n N a n c y L oc h

Jennifer Erbes shares a lighthearted moment on stage with President Ditzler.

Lauren Zak introduces her high school teacher and mentor, Fran Mirro.

Seniors preparing to announce the promotions of their professors are, from left: Hillary Broms, Whitney Bergen, Heather Hull, Emily Barks, Anthony St. Clair and Kendra Ricketts.

His address considered what a commencement is.

“It is a point at which we bid our farewells,” Suda said. “As you pass through the portal, you have the power and ability to make decisions about your future.”

Suda related graduating from college and

entering the world to getting a learner’s permit for a car.

“We think we have a license to go anywhere,” he said, “when really it is only a learner’s permit.

Each of us has a learner’s permit for life.”

Suda also related life experiences to the story told in the bestselling book Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom.

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life,” Suda said. “Devote yourself to loving, community and meaningful work. Take time out to reexamine what you are doing and why you are doing it.”

Huff, who was joined on the platform by his uncle, emeritus trustee Walter Huff ’56, when he received his diploma, was one of six graduates who took part in that MC tradition. Two others were also joined on stage by their uncles—Cassandra Hart (trustee Tim Keefauver ’80) and Adam Kinigson (board treasurer and executive committee member Jerry Marxman ’56).

In her remarks, Zak praised her high school Spanish teacher at Hinsdale South High School, Fran Mirro, for instilling confidence in her as a student. She added, “I felt empowered each and every day in her class, and this is something I will strive for every day when I have a classroom of my own. There are certain people who I know I will remember for the rest of my life, and Señora Mirro is one of them.”

Professor Mark Willhardt wishes Lincoln Laureate Derek Huff good luck in the post-commencement receiving line.

monmouth | summer 2011

The main point of Mirro’s address to the students was there is plenty of time to gain momentum in life.

“There’s always going to be someone more intelligent, richer or prettier,” Mirro said. “Don’t wish your life away.”

At the baccalaureate ceremony the day before, the Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott participated for the first time as the college’s full-time chaplain. She had also been on staff in 1997 in a one-year appointment.

Ott related the story of Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell, which was made famous by the movie Chariots of Fire, and she used Isaiah 40:31 as her scripture.

At the Senior Gala later that evening, Ben Morrow presented a thoughtful reflection on his four years at Monmouth, telling his classmates that despite the current economic uncertainty, high unemployment and the prospect of having to pay college loans, they should take the time to sit back and smile. “If you are looking for a reason to smile,” he told them, “just ask the people sitting next to you (their parents) how much they would give to be sitting in your seat right now at age 22.” He concluded by saying that “this small-town college prepared me for a big-city career and hopefully I will be able to say with conviction years from now that I am still trying to change the world, —Barry McNamara one smile at a time.”  commencement

39

More than 200 alumni, friends and family enjoyed the annual Golden Scots Celebration in early June. Day trips, seminars, ceremonies, receptions and plenty of good food kept the participants energized over the course of four memorable days.

Right: Biology professor Tim Tibbetts leads a tour of the LeSuer Nature Preserve.

Left: Alumni disembark following a four-hour luncheon cruise on a Mississippi River paddleboat.

Left: Anne Quinby Dyni ’56, left, and Sally Smith Larson ’56 check out the latest farm machinery during a visit to John Deere Commons in Moline, Ill.

Exploring Golden Scots board a bus for a nostalgic tour of Maple City landmarks, conducted by Monmouth “townie” Ralph Whiteman ’52.

Learning John Deere biographer Neil Dahlstrom ’98 gives a talk about the famed plow inventor aboard the riverboat Celebration Belle.

Chef Kim Fornero shares his barbecuing secrets in Grilling 101.

Head librarian Rick Sayre explains how technology is changing the face of library science.

Dee Ann Shuff ’63 speaks about the road which led her to “faraway lands,” and eventually back to Monmouth, at the McMichael Heritage Society breakfast.

Senior Scots shine

Remembering Monmouth College’s new chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott, leads a memorial service in Wallace Hall in honor of alumni who died during the past year.

Jim Hornaday ’61 reminisces with classmates at the 50-year reunion dinner.

Layout by Jeff Rankin 1961 classmates Fred McDavitt, left, and Paul Ellefsen share some fond memories at the opening picnic.

P h o t os b y J e f f Ra n k i n N a n c y L oc h Barry McNamara Geo r g e h a r t m a n n

Isabel Bickett Marshall ’36, left, was the most senior Golden Scot in attendance, celebrating her 75th college reunion. Joining her were granddaughter Lucy Kellogg Thompson ’99 and daughter Jane Marshall Kellogg ’72.

Celebrating

James Taggart of Wooster, Ohio (left), the greatgrandson of Monmouth’s founding president David Wallace, presents an oil portrait of his ancestor to President Mauri Ditzler.

The Class of 1961 gathers for its reunion photo on Dunlap Terrace. Row 1, from left: Darrell “Buddy” Edson, Jane Corman Young, Barb Woll Chamberlin, Barb Clark Ellefsen, Carolyn Hull Wallem, Linda Killey Baldwin, Fred McDavitt, Jim Klusendorf, Marge Bozarth and Tom Bollman; Row 2: Jim Hornaday, Jane Hill Oakley, Beverly Nelson, Lynn Saberson McCann, Paul Ellefsen, Sandy Johnson Dobras, Lila Keleher Blum, Stan Wilson and Dick McCann; Row 3: Ron Lundal, Bob Jornlin, Gordon Young, Gene Phillips, Jim Calhoun, Dick Wallem and Dave Russell; Row 4: Don Chamberlin, Karen Richter Herriot, Gary Larson, Orv Leisman, Lance Kohn and Tom Matthews; Row 5: Fred Wackerle, Jerry Parsons, Bob Berent, Bob Singer, Ron Kenney and Gerner Anderson.

Right: The 50-year class graphically announces its reunion gift at the Alumni Banquet.

during summer celebration

WINTER SPORTS REVIEW: Hoopsters reach MWC final

Senior point guard Justine Boone drives to the rim during a 65-37 victory over Ripon.

As usual, Boone stuffed the box score that day, finishing with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks. p h o t os b y sco t t spi t z e r

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: When the Fighting Scots lost 66-33 at St. Norbert on December 4, their record fell to 2-3 on the young season and there might have been a little self-doubt for coach Melissa Jones Bittner’s troops.

But the Scots turned things around from there, winning nine of their next 10 games to stamp themselves as solid contenders for the program’s first Midwest Conference playoff berth in 13 years.

The Scots sealed that berth with a resounding Haley Jones 78-61 victory over Lake Forest, then secured the program’s first-ever second-place league finish by topping Knox 58-44 on the final day of the regular season, giving them an MWC record of 13-5.

Monmouth’s winning ways continued in the first round of the playoffs, when the Scots edged Carroll 64-61. That brought the Scots full circle to a matchup against tournament host St. Norbert, the same Green Knights that had doubled Monmouth’s score less than three months earlier. The Scots battled all the way, but came up just short, falling 56-54 in overtime to the nation’s No. 16 team.

En route to a 16-9 record and the best season in the history of the program, Monmouth used steady contributions from a core group of six players. Senior Justine Boone and junior transfer Haley Jones, who both were named to the AllMWC team, were joined in the backcourt by sophomore Colleen Forrest. Sophomores Zipporah Williams and Maddie Nieukirk and freshman Marla Willard controlled the paint.

Jones (12.4) and Williams (10.1) averaged double-digit scoring and Boone paced the team with a record number of assists (119) and steals (90), leading the MWC in both categories. Forrest set school three-point records for made shots (72) and accuracy (43.4 percent), Williams led the team in rebounds (7.9) and Willard was second in boards (7.3) to go with a team-high 31 blocks.  MEN’S BASKETBALL: Coach Mark Vershaw’s four-year tenure as coach did not end on a high note, as the Fighting Scots dropped their last 12 games of the season to finish 3-20 and 1-17 in Midwest Conference action.

Senior Corey Gruber was a bright spot for the Scots, scoring 13 points per game from the point guard position. Gruber shot 41 percent from beyond the arc and a team-best 80.4 from the charity stripe. His 52 assists and 23 steals were also team highs.

Gruber and Austin Andrews (5.1 ppg) are the only two players not scheduled to return for the Scots. Sophomore guards Bryce Donaldson (8.4 points) and Michael DeDecker (7.1 ppg) and leading rebounder Cory Bishop (5.6 ppg) figure to lead a long list of returnees.  MEN’S SWIMMING: Led by two high-achieving individuals, the Fighting Scots overcame low numbers (just nine swimmers) to place fourth at the MWC Championships.

Junior Josh Dunn—who had won single titles in each of the last two years—won three races and moved within two crowns of the school record set by Andy Bastman ’69.

Dunn opened the competition by winning the 200-yard individual medley in a school-record time of 1:55.78. On the middle day of the three-day meet, he posted another Scots’ record, turning in what coach Kurt Niemeier ’09 called an “out of this world” time of 1:43.47 to win the 200-yard freestyle. Dunn’s third win and school record came on the meet’s final day when he touched first in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.14.

Freshman Gabe Baginski won both of the longer freestyle races, touching first in the 500-yard freestyle (a personal-best 4:45.66) and the 1,650-yard freestyle.The third-place 800-yard freestyle relay team of Baginski, junior Joe Testolin, Dunn and his freshman brother, Brett Dunn, posted the Scots’ next highest finish.  monmouth | summer 2011

track and field: Monmouth’s indoor and outdoor seasons were

certainly solid, but there were a couple items not completed on the program’s to-do list.

Multiple All-Americans? Check.

A sweep of the four Midwest Conference meets? For the seventh consecutive year, check.

A national champion and/or an NCAA team trophy? That’s where the Fighting Scots came up short.

“We came away with four All-Americans, but I don’t think we were pleased overall with our performances,” said coach Roger Haynes ’82 after the NCAA outdoor meet in Delaware, Ohio. “We want to be better at the end of the year than we were in the middle of the year, but we missed the mark this time.”

Several school records were set during the season—including three at the national indoor meet—but the Scots couldn’t repeat that feat on their sport’s largest stage.

“We didn’t have anyone turn in a personalbest at the national (outdoor) meet,” said Haynes. “That’s not acceptable if we expect to do well on the national stage. I’ve often said that if your goal is to make it to nationals and become an All-American, why not aim to be the national champion?”

Added the 27-year head coach, “We had a very talented group of seniors who accomplished a lot. We just weren’t able to translate that success into the type of leadership roles we need. We want our seniors to be confident in their ability, both on the track and in leading the team.”

Eight of those talented seniors reached an NCAA meet, and four of them brought home All-American honors. Those high finishes helped Monmouth place 10th in the nation at the women’s indoor meet and 12th at the men’s outdoor championships. The top four teams received NCAA hardware.

continued on page 45

WOMEN’S SWIMMING: While the men’s team used

five individual titles to rack up points, the Fighting Scots women secured their own fourth-place finish—a high-water mark for the program—with a different approach, posting nine second- or third-place finishes.

Leading the way was junior Krysta Sparks, who was runner-up in three individual events. She was also part of two third-place relay teams. Classmate Rachel Holm swam to a second- and third-place individual finish and was a member of all three third-place relay teams.

Freshman Annie Higdon matched Holm’s relay feat and added a third-place individual finish. Also contributing to multiple third-place relays were junior Colleen Zumpf and sophomore Erica McAloon.

The 13-swimmer Scots’ roster had no seniors, so a strong recruiting class could help produce another high-water mark next year.  scot sports

43

SPRING SPORTS REVIEW:

Men’s tennis, softball, baseball all reach playoffs MEN’S TENNIS: With 20 victories, coach Chad Braun’s squad had the secondwinningest season in MC tennis history, and the Fighting Scots ultimately placed second in the Midwest Conference, falling to Grinnell in the championship match.

One player could call himself a conference champion, though, as freshman David Stewart won the No. 4 singles crown. Stewart’s big moment came in the semifinals, when he rallied from a rough first set to win 0-6, 6-1, 7-6 (12-10) against his Grinnell opponent. He then posted a 6-4, 7-5 win in the final, improving to 21-7 on the year.

Stewart’s partner at No. 1 doubles, classmate David Johnson, also went 21-7. Together, they placed second at the MWC tourney, finishing with a doubles record of 22-7.

Seniors Ben Morrow and Sam Graf posted 20 singles wins apiece. Morrow, who placed second at No. 3 doubles with his partner, junior Tyler Lampe, won 103 matches in his Monmouth career to rank third all-time. Graf, who lost in the No. 5 singles final at the MWC tourney, won 91 career matches. Following the season, he was named to the Capitol One Academic All-District V at-large first team. 

BASEBALL: After a one-year

hiatus, the Fighting Scots returned to the postseason, ultimately finishing fourth in the MWC with a 17-15 overall mark.

Coach Roger Sander’s team served notice that it was ready for a rebound campaign when they won six straight games on their season-opening Florida trip. They also won five of their first six South Division contests, then hit their high water mark of the season with a 10-7 victory over Illinois Wesleyan, the defending national champions.

From there, Monmouth played five of its remaining nine games with Grinnell, losing four of them, including a 5-1 decision in an elimination game at the MWC playoffs.

Juniors Ross Donnan (.348, 5 HR, 35 RBI), Mitch Johnson (.327) and Caleb Ruyle (.306, 20 RBI) were joined on the all-conference team by senior Matt Young (.262). 

MEN’S GOLF: While the Fighting Scots fell short of their goal of advancing

to the NCAA tournament for the third straight year, their season did have several highlights.

In their final round before the MWC Championships, where they placed second, 19 strokes short of first-place Carroll, the Fighting Scots shattered the team 18-hole record, carding a round of 288 at Gibson Woods. As he did for most of the season, junior Ben Olson led the way in the record round with a 67. Olson was also medalist at the Illinois College Invitational with a 70.

Rodney Clayton was not able to defend his MWC individual title, but the senior did cap a brilliant career with his record third all-conference honor. He placed ninth at the meet, and Olson grabbed the final All-MWC spot, placing tenth. 

44

scot sports

Upper left: “The Two Davids” were Goliaths for the men’s tennis team, going 22-7 as doubles partners and each winning 21 singles matches. Here, David Stewart slams an overhead while David Johnson looks on. Above: Lauren Bergstresser is safe at home during an 11-3, 11-5 sweep against Knox.

SOFTBALL: For the third time in program history, the Fighting Scots defeated every team in the Midwest Conference. Unfortunately, they could not repeat an earlier victory against St. Norbert and were knocked out of the double-elimination MWC tournament with tough 5-4 and 4-3 losses to the Green Knights, resulting in a third-place finish.

Monmouth had reached the four-team playoffs by winning the South Division with a 12-1 record. That mark included a 5-0 performance at the MWC Classic, where they won four one-run games. Junior pitcher Megan Butler earned four victories at the event and saved the other win. She finished the season with a 6-2 record, four saves and a 2.58 ERA and was named the South Division Pitcher of the Year.

Offensively, the Scots boasted six players with more than 100 at-bats and an average of .330 or higher. Junior Lauren Bergstresser, the South Division co-Player of the Year, led the way with a .403 average and 18 steals, and classmates Megan Creen (.398) and Brooke Twohill (.396) were right behind.

The Scots also received big contributions from the freshman trio of Kelsey Barnes (.389), Caitlin Lingle (.350) and Jennifer Krueger (.330). Lingle supplied the power, leading the team in homers (6) and RBI (33).

Bergstresser, Butler, Krueger, Lingle and Twohill made the all-conference team. All five players are slated to return next spring.

The 22-14 Scots equaled the school record for wins, and one of their biggest was a 3-2 non-conference victory over a Washington (Mo.) squad ranked 22nd in the nation. 

monmouth | summer 2011

Whitney Didier

Scots place 10th, 12th in nation, but aim higher

TRACK continued from page 43 Three other seniors didn’t reach the national meet, but did earn Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors during Midwest Conference competition, helping the Fighting Scots continue their domination at that level. The Scots have at least seven-year winnings streaks at all four meets, with the men leading the way with 12 straight indoor crowns.

Enough of the generalities—let’s start naming names.

A year ago, Nick Byom watched a teammate take home a national title in his specialty event.

This year, Byom soared to All-American finishes in the high jump at the both the indoor and outdoor meets, placing fourth and third, respectively. He cleared 6'10-1/4 outdoors, the same height that defending national champ Tyler Hannam cleared while placing second. Hannam also qualified for the indoor meet, but did not place.

Another two-time All-American was Whitney Didier, who placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in the indoor and outdoor pole vault. She set records during both seasons (12'8-1/4 and 12'9-1/2) and won both MWC titles in her specialty event.

Staying in the senior class, Logan Hohl placed fifth in the nation in the 400-meter hurdles (52.97) and also qualified in the 110-meter hurdles. Saidu Sesay qualified in both the 200meter dash and the 4x100, where he was joined by classmate Kyle Prout, junior Shane Reschke and freshman Kiante Green. Indoor and outdoor MWC champ Brock McAnally concluded his strong pole vault career with his first-ever national qualification.

Another senior who excelled was Mary Kate Beyer. She qualified for the NCAA meet in the steeplechase and was a two-time MOP, earning the honor as the only Scot to win multiple individual events at both MWC meets. She set three school distance records during the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Those seniors will be hard to replace, but the cupboard is far from bare, especially on the women’s side, where Haynes’ squad will return two All-Americans and three others with national experience.

Sophomore Allison Devor doubled up on

monmouth | summer 2011

All-American honors at the indoor meet by placing fourth in the weight throw (57-6¼) and seventh in shot put (45-4½), setting school records in both events.

“It was a great highlight for Allison to set two school records and become an All-American for the first time,” praised Haynes. “She passed a number of people to earn that status. She needed to be the best she’s ever been and she did that. She and coach (Brian) Woodard ’97 have done a great job together. I said at the start of the season that she had the best fall training of anyone, and she reaped the rewards.”

Freshman Alexa Allen also established a new MC mark in the 55-meter hurdles (8.23) while placing fifth in the nation. Allen also qualified for nationals during the outdoor season in the 100-meter hurdles.

All-Americans

Nick Byom, high jump (2) Allison Devor, weight throw, shot put Whitney Didier, pole vault (2) Alexa Allen, 55-meter hurdles Tyler Hannam, high jump Logan Hohl, 400-meter hurdles

Most Outstanding Performers

Mary Kate Beyer (both meets) Peyton Lumzy (both meets) Michael Blodgett Allison Devor Whitney Didier Tyler Hannam Logan Hohl Jae Moore Saidu Sesay

Individual MWC titles

Logan Hohl

“I’m not surprised by her (indoor meet) performance, although she was a little disappointed with the finals,” said Haynes. “That’s a good thing for a coach when a freshman has higher expectations than fifth in the country.”

Monmouth’s other national qualifiers included sophomore Mackinsey Marquith in the indoor and outdoor high jump and freshmen Emily Tysma in the indoor high jump and Bailey Jackson in the outdoor long jump and triple jump. Marquith reached the national meet by turning in a school-record leap of 18'11-1/4.

Like her teammate Beyer, sophomore Rachel Bowden set three distance records, establishing new MC marks in the indoor and outdoor 800meter runs and the 1500-meter run. 

Mary Kate Beyer (4) Peyton Lumzy (3) Saidu Sesay (3) Allison Devor (3) Michael Blodgett (2) Logan Hohl (2) Jae Moore (2) Amanda Streeter (2) Nick Byom Morgan Leffel Tyler Hannam Adam Sanden DeAndre Smith Marla Willard

scot sports

45

Skrivseth named basketball coach Former UW-Whitewater assistant Todd Skrivseth was named in April as the 26th head coach in the history of the Fighting Scots men’s basketball program.

Skrivseth was Whitewater’s top assistant and had been with the Warhawks since 2001, also serving the school as the athletic department recruiting coordinator. The 1996 Coe graduate’s previous assistant coaching stops included UW-Stevens Point and Upper Iowa University.

“I really enjoyed my time at Whitewater,” said Skrivseth. “It had to be a special opportunity to lure me away and Monmouth is that.

The facilities at Monmouth are outstanding and the athletic department is extremely strong. After meeting with the people on campus, I knew this is where I wanted to be. The

people sold me on Monmouth and I’m very excited to get started.”

“We’re excited about his overall plan for the basketball program,” said director of athletics Roger Haynes. “He was very specific with a recruiting plan as well as an academic plan for the team. It’s more than just on-court things that separated him from the others. It was the overall package. Todd presented a solid plan in all the areas we were looking for.

His presentation of his vision was impressive.”

As a three-year letterwinner at Coe, Skrivseth played against the Scots six times when Coe was a member of the Midwest Conference. Monmouth won four of the six meetings under longtime coach Terry Glasgow, and that helped to influence Skrivseth’s decision to take over the Scots.

“We always knew we were in for a battle when we faced a Terry Glasgow team, especially in Glennie Gym,” said Skrivseth. “One of our goals is to restore Fighting Scots basketball to the strong tradition they had under Coach Glasgow. Teams had to come here and play at a high level.” 

Tanney video goes viral

For the first time in school history, Monmouth College finished atop the Midwest Conference Women’s All-Sports Standings. Proudly displaying the Ralph Shively Trophy are coaches Kari Bailey Shimmin ’97 (volleyball), John Goddard (softball), Barry McNamara (soccer), Kurt Niemeier ’09 (swimming), Roger Haynes ’82 (cross country, indoor/outdoor track), Melissa Jones Bittner ’03 (basketball) and Molly McNamara ’03 (golf). Monmouth’s 76 points topped runner-up St. Norbert by 2.5 points.

Perry earns NSCAA post Men’s soccer coach George Perry has been selected to serve as the interim director of education and coaching development for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

A member of the NSCAA’s coaching education staff since 1984, Perry currently serves as vice president of education on its board of directors and has oversight of the association’s educational efforts.

“I’m honored to be entrusted with the leadership of our coaching education program during this time of change,” said Perry.

In 2003, Perry was the fourth recipient of the NSCAA’s Mike Berticelli Excellence in Coaching Education Award for outstanding performance in soccer coaching education. He has contributed to a variety of NSCAA projects, including authoring a chapter of its book, The Soccer Coaching Bible. 

46

scot sports

A trick shot football video by Fighting Scots quarterback Alex Tanney topped 500,000 hits shortly after its Feb. 20 release and is now closing in on 1 million views.

The video features Tanney completing such tricks as throwing a football off a bounce-back net into a basketball hoop and another from the Glennie Gym floor into a garbage can in the Huff Athletic Center fieldhouse. Its spread was wide and steady thanks to exposure on such national sites as espn.com and sportsillustrated.cnn.

Inspired by a trick shot video compiled by University of Connecticut quarterback Johnny McEntee, Tanney’s version drew favorable comparisons when the two videos were pitted head-tohead on an ESPN SportsNation poll.

Speaking of ESPN, Tanney was interviewed live on ESPN2’s “First Take” by host Dana Jacobsen.

In an interview with the Galesburg Register-Mail, Tanney said, “It’s tough to react to how fast it came out. We posted it Sunday night and by 3 p.m. Monday, it was on SportsNation.”

Tanney’s 2010 season was not ESPN material, as he suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of the Scots’ second game. The video, however, shows that Tanney is back, with an assortment of pinpoint 60-yard passes and shorter, harder throws completed in succession. He’s also back in the literal sense, as the news came out during interviews about the video that he plans to suit up for the Scots in the fall. 

Alex Tanney demonstrates his dexterity in the introduction to his trick-shot video.

monmouth | summer 2011

Clan Notes 1946

John and Mary Lou Rinker Allaman ’49 of Kirkwood, Ill., celebrated their 60th anniversary on June 9. They have two children and three grandchildren.

1951

Monmouth’s

Club

Recently, Monmouth College conducted some research to find its oldest living alumni.

Two members of the Class of 1930 and one from the Class of 1933— who have all appeared in Clan Notes in the recent past—are atop that list.

Patricia Clark Edmonds of Pittsfield, Ill., will have a granddaughter in attendance at MC this fall—incoming freshman Erika Edmonds.

Mary Smith Johnson

Class of ’30

Barbara Palmer Engelhardt of Eloy, Ariz.,

Mildred McCoy Birdsell

Class of ’30

Wadia McClure Stewart

Class of ’33

Eleanor Young Slagel

recently remarried after being single since 1975. A retired R.N., she spends her summers in Wisconsin.

1953 Irwin Kirk of Cherry Hills Village, Colo., facilitates study groups on historical subjects at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes associated with the University of Denver and the University of North Florida.

Grad Year

Address

Birthday

Age

Monmouth

05-31-1908

103

Annapolis, Md.

10-19-1908

102

Davidson, N.C.

05-02-1909

102

Class of ’32

Flanagan, Ill.

01-12-1910

101

Marjorie Palmberg Tinsman

Class of ’32

Monmouth

12-01-1910

100

Ellen Wolfe Pronga

Class of ’32

Washington, Iowa

05-26-1911

100

Did we miss anyone?

If you’ve already had your 100th birthday or have one coming up between now and December 31, 2013, please let our alumni office know!

1954 Robert Cramer of Louisville, Ky., whose career in college administration included serving as president of Carroll College, was inducted into the Monmouth-Roseville Hall of Achievement.

1956 Laurie Nevin Sparks of Honolulu, Hawaii,

and her husband are both two-time cancer survivors. “Memories and love are what life is all about,” she said.

1961 Robert Jornlin of Earlville, Ill., will be sail-

ing the World War II-era LST 325 up the Illinois River to Peoria and Henry in September. When not on the open water, the ship is moored in Evansville, Ind., and is open for tours.

Ron Kenney of Longwood, Fla., has spent his recent summers in Maine, working as a camp nurse and a bus driver at a camp for girls. He has also been the Arnold Palmer Invitational trophy chairman since 1999.

1965

1967

John Stack of Indianapolis, Ind., runs Positive

Mary-Ann Pinto of Westlake, Ohio, has been

Swing, a facility that works with inner-city youth and physically and mentally handicapped individuals. Positive Swing is now offering programming in several other sports besides golf, and it recently received a $5,000 CHAMPS grant.

1966 Catherine Corzatt of Stronghurst, Ill., and her husband celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary on April 18. The couple also had their 90th birthdays this year, with Catherine’s falling on June 1.

Donna Brasel Kennedy of Penns Grove, N.J., was married two years ago. She and her husband enjoy trading houses, and have lived in eight countries—and counting—as a result.

a “staunch” volunteer for the United Service Organizations (USO) of Northern Ohio since 2003. She achieved “Benefactor” status for her service and is the organization’s “prayer person.”

Kennedy Reed of Livermore, Calif., has been

awarded the distinction of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow. He was recognized for important studies in atomic theory and for many successful efforts to increase minority participation in the physical sciences in the U.S. and Africa.

1968 Bill Trubeck of Long Lake, Minn., has been named interim executive vice president and chief financial officer of YRC Worldwide Inc.,

Beverly (Nelson) Nelson has made

Moultonborough, N.H., her full-time home after retiring from her 25-year career in teaching.

Ronald Noton of Encampment, Wyo., lives in a house built in 1908 that is on the National Register of Historic Places. In its early years, it was the local madam’s “deluxe house of prostitution.”

Jane Hill Oakley of Anchorage, Alaska, received her master’s degree in adult education at the age of 64. She is a curriculum development specialist and adult educator for the North Slope Training Cooperative.

1962 Shirley Olsson Kendall of Acton, Mass., does the managerial work and bookkeeping for her husband’s remodeling and repair business, R.K. Carriage House, Inc.

monmouth | summer 2011

Connie Irey Swenson ’56 of Missoula, Mont., was featured on this billboard after receiving groundbreaking surgery. According to the St. Patrick Hospital website, she arrived “with critical blockages in both her heart and neck arteries. … The cardiac team performed an amazing series of operations to save her life.”

clan notes

47

Daryl Gillespie Beadle, Sharon Irvine Lopatka, Ann Stewart Cragg, Donna Bullard Colado, Jean Rasmussen Droste, Shirley Service Culbert and Carol Clark Dotseth had a rendezvous in May in Boston, Mass., to celebrate their 70th birthdays. They spent five days aboard the Floating White Elephant houseboat. These “Kool Dames”—Kappa Delta gals from the class of 1963—have met yearly for the past eight years in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, New Orleans, Sante Fe and Charleston. Missing the gathering this year were Hallie Simpson Lemon and Mary Hunter Bivens. Their next destination is San Diego in 2012, and they are looking forward to their 50th class reunion in Monmouth in 2013.

CLAN NOTES continued from page 47 a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Overland Park, Kan. Since 1994, Trubeck has been a board member at YRC Worldwide, a leading provider of transportation and global logistics services.

1969 Cheryl Leppanen Pansolli of West Palm

Beach, Fla., retired in 2010 after a 38-year career in education, the last 14 as a guidance counselor. She currently works for Senior Transition Solutions, a company that assists seniors in downsizing to smaller dwellings or assisted care facilities.

1970 Richard Almstedt of Humble, Texas, has

taught full-time at LSC-Kingwood College since 1976. Chair of the department of kinesiology and dance, he was called “a cornerstone of the college” at a recent employee awards ceremony. In the early 1970s, Almstedt played professional basketball in Africa.

Rick Mollin ’70 of Gonvick, Minn., was elected as county attorney for Clearwater County. His term runs through the end of 2014.

1971 Yoshiaki Obara has served as president of Tamagawa University and Tamagawa Academy near Tokyo since 1994. He is also manager of the university ski team.

1973 Jane Kurtz of Lawrence, Kansas, received the 2011 Kerlan Award in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children’s literature.” One of her books, Lanie’s Real Adventures, was named American Girl’s 2010 Book of the Year.

1974 Robert Mason of Milan, Ill., has retired as the

principal of Rock Island (Ill.) High School, where he served the past three years of his 30-year career in education.

1976 Pam Slaughter Van Kirk of Monmouth has

retired as director of the Galesburg (Ill.) Public Library, but she will remain active in the field as president-elect of the Illinois Library Association. “I think she’s been a very dynamic director,” said her board president. “She’s really built the library into the busiest place in town.”

1978 Ron Hills has been appointed as the economic development director of Havana, Ill.

1981 George Gaulrapp, mayor of Freeport, Ill., will

run for a Congressional seat for a second time.

The difference in the 2012 election is that redistricting in the state has placed Freeport and Monmouth in the same district, the 17th, where Gaulrupp will be among Democrats running to unseat incumbent Bobby Schilling (R-Colona).

Chris Lemon has returned to the helm of the

baseball program at Alleman High School in Rock Island, Ill., after a three-year break. He compiled a 151-57 record in his previous six years as coach at his high school alma mater.

Carl Shaub ’73 of Monmouth and Thomas ’74 and Michele Murtaugh Barney ’75 of Longmeadow, Mass., appeared on the Today show while traveling together in New York City. The trio originally met at Shaub’s 21st birthday party at MC.

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clan notes

1986 Roger Well of Sugar Grove, Ill., has been pro-

moted to executive vice president and chief operating officer at ENFOS, Inc., an on-demand enterprise environmental business management solution provider. ENFOS is

headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., with offices in the Chicago area, Europe and Asia.

1991 1995 Tricia Kalb Bledsoe of Wataga, Ill., received

the 2011 Teacher of the Year Award from the Galesburg (Ill.) Area Chamber of Commerce.

The first-grade teacher was nominated by her student teacher, Jen Koerner ’10, who called Bledsoe “an amazing teacher and mentor.”

1996 1998 Jamey Bailey of Dewey, Ill., has received a Circle of Courage Award from Cunningham Children’s Home, his employer since his graduation from MC. Bailey was cited for the generosity he shows at the home, where he serves as a therapist in the residential program.

Jennifer Eyre of Rockford, Ill., has started a

new position as the response to intervention facilitator in the Rockford public schools. She has also been accepted into a program for superintendent certification.

1999 Madhu Natarajan of Berwyn, Pa., has helped start Socioclean, a website that helps people clean up their social network content. Listed as an advisor, Natarajan is credited for bringing “extensive experience in software technologies, management and accounting” to the company.

2000 Colleen Shaughnessy works for the English

Language Fellow program. This year, she has a five-month fellowship in Mersin, Turkey, which followed 10 months at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. She plans to earn her Ph.D. upon her return to the U.S.

2001 Matt Fotis of Columbia, Mo., won the National

Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting for The Book of Adam. Fotis is currently a grad student at the University of Missouri.

2003 Kristin Whitver Fouts has moved to the Indianapolis, Ind., area to serve as director of the Fraternity & Sorority Coalition Assessment Project. She also provided some research instruments that Monmouth College used to survey students regarding their choices about joining Greek life.

monmouth | summer 2011

p h o t os b y g eo r g e h a r t m a n n

Dustin and Autumn McGee Scott ’04 have done substantial work to their century-old home in Galesburg, Ill., earning recognition from the Galesburg Landmark Commission.

Dustin is a part-time artist who works for his father’s construction company, and Autumn was recently promoted to director of student success at MC.

2004

Tom Hill of Worth, Ill., produced The Carnival of Curiosity & Chaos—self-proclaimed as “a

two-hour freak show”—in Chicago earlier this summer. More information about Hill is available at www.artisttomhill.com.

Justin Johnston of Washington, Ill., has started an executive position at Heartland Bank and Trust Company in Eureka, Ill. He is vice president of agricultural/commercial lending for the bank and trust’s tri-county area.

2006 Bill Elsey of Driftwood, Texas, is director of wine sales at Duchman Family Vineyards.

He is also a certified sommelier.

Matt Woods of Raleigh, N.C., is a linguist/

translator for Wycliffe Bible Translators. He plans to be working with minority language groups in New Guinea in the near future.

2007 Hilary Hawkinson of Yorkville, Ill., completed

a post-baccalaureate certified program in secondary education at Aurora University last year and began a science teaching position at East Aurora (Ill.) High School, where she was already employed as the cheerleading coach.

Among those observing reunions during the Golden Scots Celebration in June were members of the

Class of 1951: Imogene Gardner Holliday, Wendell Chestnut, Patricia Clark Edmonds (top left); Class of 1956: Sally Smith Larson, Ron Uhle, Diane Payne Romine, Jane Frederick Uhle, Anne Quinby Dyni, Sheryl Johnson Geiger (left); and Class of 1966: Ken Stiles, Denny Elliott, Donna Schliffke Sproston (top right).

2008

Heather Prater Stammen was featured in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of The Knot Chicago, a bridal magazine. The salon that did

Stammen’s hair chose her as their featured model.

2009

Chris Schwarz and his fianceé, Breanna Webb, are both employed by Monmouth-Roseville High School. Breanna teaches high school Spanish, and Chris is the varsity baseball coach.

Chris is also a science teacher at La Harpe (Ill.) Junior High School.

2010

Rachel Bold of Springfield, Ill., is part of the Senate Republican staff’s communication and public affairs department. One of her PR articles announced that Sen. Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) welcomed Miss Illinois County Fair Queen—MC’s own Jackie Driscoll ’12—to the Illinois Senate.

MC

Walter Durham, a Monmouth College trustee

from 1974 to 1978, was awarded the Order of the Horse, which recognizes a Sumner County (Tenn.) resident’s outstanding service to the community. The 86-year-old Durham has served as the state historian since 2002 and has authored 23 books on Tennessee and Sumner County history.

= HOMECOMING 2011 Reunion Class monmouth | summer 2011

clan notes

49

Weddings 2005

Jill Randolph and Tim Wray

July 1, 2011

Jill Ulman and Greg Schneider November 13, 2010

2006

Alexis Zanis and Jeremiah Carscadden

2007

Katy Barrett and Danny Morrison

December 4, 2010

2008

Dana Mojden and Jacob Gustafson

April 2, 2011

January 29, 2011

Heather Prater and Nick Stammen October 9, 2010 Jill Ulman ’05 and Greg Schneider were married on Nov. 13, 2010.

Former and current Monmouth College alumni in their wedding party included Anna Beasley ’05 (next to groom), Kristen Jurgensen ’05 (to Beasley’s right) and Matt Ulman ’12 (far right).

Katy Barrett and Danny Morrison

Vanessa Schumacher and Drew Witherell

MC

August 14, 2010

Caroline Porter, lecturer in political science, February 15, 2011 and Jesse Evans

Calla Mae Decker

Tyson James Carnes

Scarlett Pamela Jeurissen Liam Matthew Jones

Amelia Grace D’Alfonso

births Ryan Conrad Stenfeldt

Jaxon David Kappell

1992 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006

Lucas Ryan Niederbrach

50

clan notes

2007 2008

Kristen D’Alfonso and Nick

a daughter, Amelia Grace February 22, 2011

Korine Steinke-Wawrzynski and Matt

a son, Jasper

Nicole Stripe and Dana

a son, Logan Anthony

Tiffany Lode Jeurissen and Dane

a daughter, Scarlett Pamela November 11, 2010

Janette Pinter Welch and Lucas

a son, Cooper G.

Heather Mabee Kappell and Eric

a son, Jaxon David November 5, 2010

Nelena Brummett Liff and Joshua

a son, Asher Joshua February 24, 2011

June 2010 April 27, 2011

September 9, 2010

Amy Schulz Jones and Matt

a son, Liam Matthew

September 1, 2010

Kayla Bollin Carnes and Willy

a son, Tyson James

September 9, 2010

Casey Willey Stenfeldt and Zach ’03

a son, Ryan Conrad

April 18, 2010

Christine Del Re Kane and Erick

a daughter, Megan Elise

Kristen Hodgeman Pickrel and Jeremy

a son, Easton Ray

Megan Moose Decker and Kyle

a daughter, Calla Mae

June 9, 2010

Marisa Kratochvil Flanigan and Brock

a son, Noah Vincent

June 7, 2011

Aiden Joseph Southwood

January 11, 2011 March 3, 2011

Tiffany Ludwig Southwood and Tyler ’05 a son, Aiden Joseph February 1, 2011 Alysa Niederbrach and Ryan

a son, Lucas Ryan

May 2, 2011

Megan Elise Kane

monmouth | summer 2011

scotlight

Perzigian was a witness to history in Egypt

By Barry McNamara Anthony Perzigian’s Plan B for the 2010-11 “Protestant work ethic” in a relatively quiet workplace. His plan for that academic year was moving along just fine day, and for his stay in Egypt, soon began to unravel.

“I got a call from my colleague. When I told him I was headed into until it was sidetracked by a revolution.

Perzigian, a 1966 Monmouth College graduate work, he exclaimed, ‘You have to go to indoors!’ My driver didn’t speak and a member of MC’s board of trustees, stepped English, so I handed the phone to him, and the next thing I knew, we had down last September after 14 years as provost at made a U-turn and were headed back to the compound.”

With the situation getting out of hand, the Egyptian government the University of Cincinnati. His initial plans began offering evacuation flights on Jan. 31. were to “take a leave for a spell.”

“We had packed for several months, and because we didn’t perceive However, a colleague at the University of Cincinnati told him about an exciting opportunity in Egypt, working with the colleague as a co-adviser any immediate harm, we decided against the evacuation flights,” said to the chairman of the board of trustees at Future University in Cairo, a Perzigian. “A couple thousand people did take them.”

“Immediate harm” became a little more real on Feb. 2, when President private college that was founded in 2006.

Perzigian’s new goal for the year was to help to “raise the bar” of Egyp- Mubarak “unleashed the thugs,” said Perzigian. “We decided we should come home—briefly.” tian higher education.

The Perzigians were back in the U.S. for about one month, returning to “The government universities are suffering—they’re not keeping up,” Cairo in early March and staying until early he explained. “There’s more competition in the July. higher education market. My colleague and I “Situated in essentially the very ‘capital’ of were there to incorporate American higher “The immediate euphoria of the Middle East, I have been very fortunate to education practices, get programs accredited toppling the dictator has watch and experience firsthand the Arab and get it as close to the American model as spring,” Perzigian said. “The immediate possible. We felt nothing but welcomed there, worn off, and the country euphoria of toppling the dictator has worn off, and we were getting a lot done.” must now deal with the and the country must now deal with the That is, until January, when millions of proresults of 60 years of political repression, cortesters took to the streets, demanding the results of 60 years of ruption and cronyism.” overthrow of the regime of Egyptian president Perzigian said those years of repression Hosni Mubarak. political repression, have caused agricultural, commercial and “We couldn’t have been in a place with more corruption and cronyism.” industrial stagnation that, when coupled with of an historical context playing out,” Perzigian high rates of illiteracy, poverty and unemploysaid. ment, add up to major economic woes only When he was first interviewed following his return to the U.S. in February, Perzigian discussed the Egyptian senti- exacerbated by the slump in tourism.

“Observing a nation at this very embryonic stage of democracy is fasment toward Americans.

“This is not 1979 in Iran,” he said. “It’s nothing like that at all. I never cinating,” he said. “In fact, the whole Middle East is in this embryonic had the impression that I was looked at as the Great Satan. The whole stage because most post-colonial Arab states have been led by repressive purpose I was there was to copy what America is doing. There were no authoritarian regimes many of which have been, ironically, supported by U.S. tax dollars. Political parties—literally several dozen—have been American flags burning.”

Perzigian and wife, Donna, had arrived in Egypt in mid-December. For created.”

Perzigian said the parties basically fall into two camps: liberal/secular the first two weeks, they were “escorted from one end of the country to the other—we saw everything.” Highlights included the “awesome” Pyra- and Islamist.

“The latter is best exemplified by the Muslim Brotherhood. They are mids of Giza and the “breathtaking” Nile River, and Perzigian was also well organized, and many fear that they will win many seats in the Parliaamazed by Cairo itself.

“The energy and the excitement and the pulse of Cairo—it was like ment. As a consequence, the liberal/secular parties want the new constinothing I’d ever experienced,” he said. “It’s the loudest, most congested, tution drafted before the elections. They fear that the Islamists voted in will write a constitution making Egypt a theocratic state.” most exhilarating place I’ve seen.”

Although America and Americans are still admired, Perzigian reported The congestion comes from Cairo’s staggering population of 22 million, making it one of the most densely populated places on the planet. that polling numbers “are not good. Egyptians feel that we are not even handed on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, that we were too slow in aban“I would never dare to drive there,” he said. “It’s organized chaos.”

On Jan. 25, Perzigian was in his usual non-driving mode, having been doning Mubarak, and that we for far too long funded his corrupt, represpicked up by a university driver to go to his office. He was hoping to take sive regime.”

A regime that is now history, and Anthony Perzigian saw it fall.  advantage of a national holiday in Egypt—Police Day—and apply his

monmouth | summer 2011

clan notes

51

New trustees include three alumni Newly elected members of the Monmouth College Board of Trustees include John Courson ’64, Neil Dahlstrom ’98, Dennis Plummer ’73, and Larry Gerdes. Dahlstrom will serve as one of three Alumni Board representatives.

The former President and CEO of

Mortgage Bankers Association, Courson has been involved in the mortgage industry for more than 40 years.

Following his graduation from the University of Colorado, Courson worked as a loan officer on both commercial and residential loans at a Denver branch of Fort Wayne Mortgage, a company he would later lead as president and CEO. He also worked for Central Pacific Mortgage Company and Westwood Mortgage Corporation, and he was president and chief operating officer of Fundamental Mortgage.

Beginning in 2004, Courson served four years as chairman of the board of directors of the California Housing Finance Agency.  Dahlstrom is the manager of

Gerdes is chairman of the board

and CEO of Transcend Services, a healthcare services industry. He has been the company’s CEO since 1993.

Prior to 1991, Gerdes held various executive positions with HBO & Company, where he came to know emeritus trustee Walter Huff ’56.

In 1991, the two men formed the partnership Gerdes Huff Investments.

Gerdes is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where he earned his MBA. His bachelor’s degree is from the University of Illinois. 

Plummer worked for Monsanto

research and analysis at Deere & Co., and he is also an active author/historian.

His first book, The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles Deere, was co-authored with Jeremy Dahlstrom. He was also the co-author of Lincoln’s Wrath: Fierce Mobs, Brilliant Scoundrels and a President’s Mission to Destroy the Press, a book about newspaper censorship during the Civil War. Dahlstrom received a master’s degree in historical administration from Eastern Illinois University. After a stint as the chief archivist at the Space Business Archives in Alexandria, Va., Dahlstrom joined Deere & Co. in 2002. 

from 1980 to 2007, including a stint as president of American Seeds, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto. His other duties there included chief of staff to the CEO, managing director of U.S. crop protection and director of biotechnology licensing for South America.

Plummer is currently a consultant as well as an adjunct faculty member at the St. Louis University School of Business.

As a student at Monmouth, Plummer majored in business and economics and was a member of baseball and football teams and Theta Chi. He starred on the undefeated football team of 1972 and received the program’s prestigious McClintock Award. In 1999, Plummer was inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame. 

scotlight

Palkovic credited with saving young girl’s life As a second baseman for the

Monmouth College baseball team in 2006, Nathan Palkovic ’09 memorably made a game-saving play, cutting down a runner at the plate to help the Scots reach the Midwest Conference championship game.

But that moment pales in comparison to the life-saving play that Palkovic made this spring in Peoria.

Palkovic, a teacher’s aide at Von Steuben Middle School, performed CPR on 12-year-old Ivy Greer when the sixth-grader inexplicably collapsed at school.

“Without it, the doctors said she wouldn’t be here,” Ivy’s mother, Melissa Edie, told the Peoria Journal-Star.

“I was in the office, and one of the teachers came running down the hall into the office,”

52

clan notes

Palkovic said. “She said, ‘Ivy’s not breathing.

Does anyone know CPR?’” It was originally thought a seizure had caused Ivy to fall out of her desk, face down onto the floor, so it took a minute or two before a sense of urgency took over the classroom. Palkovic estimated another 30 seconds or so for the teacher to reach the office, and for him to sprint to the classroom.

“I really do not know how long (I was performing CPR),” he said. “It was probably three to five minutes.”

He was able to restore Ivy’s breathing, and paramedics revived her two more times en route to the hospital.

Palkovic was quick to deflect credit elsewhere, saying, “I don’t feel I’m a hero. The whole school reacted in the right way, not just me.

The teacher alerted others, they called 911, they went to find someone who could do CPR. It would’ve been pretty easy to freeze, but they didn’t. … I would hope anybody would’ve done

By Barry McNamara

have what I did. I just got there first.”

Palkovic first learned CPR at Monmouth College as part of a lifeguarding class taught by former swim coach Keith Crawford. He has taken refresher courses since.

Aside from his dramatic day at the school in April, Palkovic has also been busy this spring with his second career, opening Crossfit 309, a fitness gym in Peoria.

“It’s not your average gym,” said Palkovic, who was actually a two-sport all-conference star at Monmouth. A kicker and punter for the Fighting Scots, he completed his gridiron career in 2007 as the program’s all-time scoring leader. “There’s no machinery, and the emphasis is on functional movements—things like pushing, pulling, jumping and running that you do naturally. It’s all about training for a better quality of life, and we never repeat the same workout.”

If all goes well with her recovery, Ivy Greer just might be a future customer.  monmouth | summer 2011

Fritz ’50, world-renowned author, was also a college president Dr. Roger Fritz, 82, of Naperville, Ill., a member of the prestigious Monmouth College Hall of Achievement and a former chairman of MC’s board of trustees, died March 24, 2011, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

While a student at Monmouth, Fritz was the winner of state and national Intercollegiate Oratory contests. He majored in political science and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. He went on to acquire M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in speech and educational counseling, respectively, at the University of Wisconsin.

His successful professional career included stints as an educator (assistant dean of men at the University of Wisconsin and Purdue University) and corporate executive and foundation administrator (with Cummins Engine Co. and Deere & Co., respectively). He was also president of Willamette University; president of Organization Development Consultants, with more than 350 clients; founder of Inside Advantage Publications; and a member of the board of directors for 12 companies.

Fritz was the author of 63 books on business management, organization development, entrepreneurship, health and inspirational self-help.

They include several bestsellers and book-of-the-month selections by the

Deaths 1932

Patricia Peirce Wood, 101, of Austin, Texas,

died April 4, 2011. Wood, a general studies major, was believed to be the college’s thirdoldest alumna.

1938

Robert Sharer, 94, of Lombard, Ill., died in

January 2010. He studied business administration and was a member of the football team and Beta Kappa. Sharer completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois and worked for 39 years at Kraft, retiring as a division controller.

1939

Mary Gilham, 95, of Princeton, Ill., died April 22, 2011. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Crimson Masque and Kappa Delta. Her career was spent in education and included teaching high school English and working as a school librarian. That included a three-year stint at Monmouth College from 1948 to 1951. After earning a master’s degree in library science from the University of Illinois, she became an instructor in that subject at Western Michigan University.

She was preceded in death by her two sisters, Jane Gilham Buckle ’32 and Nancy Gilham Hornbaker ’37.

Marcela Wallace Harris, 93, of Tuscola, Ill., died Jan. 24, 2011. A music major, she went into education, teaching 25 years, mostly at Newman (Ill.) High School. She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years. Survivors include a daughter, Linda Harris Driskill ’73.

1940

Charles Campbell, 93, of Peoria, Ill., died

March 16, 20 11. He graduated with a degree in government and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Following graduation, Campbell returned to his native Pennsylvania to study law at the University of Pittsburgh before entering the military, where he served in the

monmouth | summer 2011

American Management Association and other groups. The editors of Business Week selected his book Nobody Gets Rich Working for Somebody Else to be one of the top 10 books ever written for entrepreneurs. His book Sleep Disorders: America’s Hidden Nightmare received the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award.

His columns in publications such as Entrepreneur, New Business Opportunity, Communication Briefings and the American City Business Journals reached millions of readers. In 1966, he was selected by President Lyndon Johnson to serve on the President’s National Council on Youth Opportunity. In 1999, he was chosen to be included in the book, The 200 Best Speakers in America.

Fritz’s books were published, distributed and translated in 38 countries and languages. Fritz joined MC’s board of trustees in 1957 and provided outstanding leadership as its chairman from 1961-69. At the time of his election at the age of 32, he was the youngest college board chairman in the U.S. He received the Outstanding Young Man Award in Moline, Ill., in 1962, and Outstanding Service Awards from the American Red Cross in 1961 and 1965. In 1963, he was named MC’s Young Alumnus of the Year and he received the college’s Distinguished Service Award in 1969.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Kathryn Goddard Fritz ’50. 

engineering corps of Gen. Patton’s Third Army for three years. Campbell completed his law degree in 1947 and retired as a senior vice president of Mellon National Bank and Trust of Pittsburgh. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Jean Turnbull Campbell ’40, and four children, including Sue Campbell Jones ’70.

The Rev. Everett Munson of Glen Ellyn, Ill., died May 22, 2011, on his 95th birthday. It was not the first time that a single date marked two important occasions for Munson, as he and his late wife, Virginia Leonard Munson ’38, were both ordained to the ministry on their wedding day. The Munsons served numerous Christian churches in rural Illinois prior to 1950, when they began a 36-year tenure at the First Christian Church of Maywood (Ill.). During the Munsons’ semi-retirement, they were interim pastors at several suburban churches in Chicagoland. After graduating from Monmouth, Munson received his graduate theological training at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. In 1959, he was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity from Eureka College. Also preceding him in death was a sister, Ruth Munson Lyons ’41.

1941

Leila Melton Olson, 92, of Monmouth, died

April 7, 2011. She majored in elementary education. Her 30-year teaching career included six years in one-room country schools and 24 years at Seaton (Ill.) Elementary School. She also farmed with her husband of 53 years, who preceded her in death. Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Olson Miller ’70.

1942

Ruth “Kak” Finlay Carwile, 90, of Monmouth, died May 22, 2011. She graduated with a degree in mathematics and was a member of Kappa Delta. She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Earl Carwile ’41. Kak, a homemaker, and Earl cared for more than 30 foster children in their home. Survivors include a daughter, MC alumni programs coordinator

Marti Carwile, and grandsons, Ryan Standard ’03 and Rhett Standard ’11.

1943 John Frymire, 90, of Everett, Wash., died

March 30, 2011. He was a member of Theta Chi. After graduating from the University of Illinois Medical School, Frymire served in the Air Force in Germany during World War II. He practiced medicine in California and Washington, retiring in 1990. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years.

Jack Powell, 89, of Ames, Iowa, died May 26,

2011. After majoring in chemistry at Monmouth and participating in football and basketball, he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Iowa State University. Powell spent most of his career at ISU’s famed Ames Laboratory, where he conducted groundbreaking work on the separation of the rare-earth elements. The War Department recognized him for his uranium purification work on the Manhattan Project. He also taught at ISU, retiring in 1987.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Darlene Dixon Powell ’45, and survivors include a daughter, Peggy Powell Drain ’67.

Anne Sanders Spiering of St. Louis, Mo., died Jan. 10, 2011. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Ten years after leaving Monmouth, she received her master’s degree in education from Washington University in St. Louis. Spiering was a retired English teacher and served on MC’s Alumni Board in the 1970s.

Junelyn Dungan Widener, 90, of Monmouth, died Feb. 28, 2011. In addition to studying at MC, she also attended nursing school in Chicago and went on to a 40-year career as an R.N. at the Monmouth hospital.

1944 Betty Elkin Woodland, 88, of St. Paul, Minn., died Feb. 10, 2011. After studying at Monmouth, she attended the Abington Hall School of Business. She lived the majority of

clan notes

53

Sorensen remembered for his unconditional commitment Frank Sorensen, emeritus professor of education, died on June 28, 2011, at the age 73 in Fort Collins, Colo.

He taught at Monmouth College as a full-time professor for nearly 30 years, retiring in 2002 and receiving the college’s Distinguished Service Award a year later. Of his tenure at the college, former colleague George Arnold, who is now president of Silver Lake College, said, “Frank was truly a difference-maker to students. He was unconditionally committed to helping them fulfill their goals and dreams.”

In 1960, Sorensen earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Wheaton College,

where he met his future wife, JoAnne, who survives. The couple celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2010.

Prior to coming to Monmouth in 1973, Sorensen served actively in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain in the reserves.

He attended Northern Illinois University, receiving a master’s degree in guidance and counseling, and the University of Illinois, where he received a doctorate in special education. He was a special education administrator for several years before shifting to higher education at Monmouth.

In addition to his college duties, which included chairing the education department, Sorensen served on the board of the Warren Achievement Center and was chairman of the board for the Warren County United Way. “Because of chance scheduling, I had Dr. Sorensen for all of my lower level education

classes,” said Ann McClung Klungseth ’99.

“He was an incredible example of caring, involved teaching. The information he taught us was valuable, the teaching methods he modeled for us invaluable. He was modeling authentic assessment and care for the whole child/student before they were buzzwords and popular educational concepts. Upon learning of his passing, I have no idea how to honor him, except to get into the classroom, look each child in the face, and try to give them what they need, knowing, all the while, it’s not just facts from a book.”

Also surviving are his three sons—Steve, Chris and Pete Sorensen ’91.

A memorial service was held at Monmouth College on Aug. 13. The family requests that memorials be in the form of donations to the Monmouth College educational studies department.

her adult life in Vienna, W.V., where she worked for WTAP-TV. Woodland was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years.

1949

teaching job was in Des Moines, Iowa, and, after marrying the man who would be her husband for 57 years, she moved to California and resumed teaching after her children were older. She earned a master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University and was a finalist for San Diego’s Teacher of the Year in 1993. She also traveled extensively, visiting all 50 states and 103 countries.

1945 Lois Acheson Barnes of Castle Rock, Colo, died Dec. 18, 2010. She graduated with a degree in sociology, minored in English and was a member of Kappa Delta. Survivors include her husband, Robert Barnes ’45, and a daughter, Charlene Barnes Potts ’66.

Lewis Fullerton, 85, of Hoffman Estates, Ill.,

died Oct. 8, 2010. He was a World War II vet and received the Presidential Unit Citation for service in the Pacific theater. He was preceded in death by a son, Robert Fullerton ’72.

Edward Sachs, 86, of Brownsville, Texas, died

Mary Alice Prescott Marth, 87, of Henrico,

Jan. 1, 2011. He served in the 5th Division as a staff sergeant in the Army Air Corps during World War II before studying business at Monmouth. He worked in furniture sales.

Va., died May 28, 2010. She was a member of Alpha Xi Delta and graduated with a degree in English. She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years.

Joyce Treleaven Walsons, 83, of Arlington Heights, Ill., died Feb. 8, 2011. She studied English and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta.

Walsons was a retired legal secretary.

1946

1950

Ralph Tingley, 90, of Sioux Falls, S.D., died

April 25, 2011. He studied history at Monmouth before earning his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He was a professor at the University of Sioux Falls for 33 years, teaching history, government and political science.

1948 David Hill, 84, of Biggsville, Ill., died May 28, 2011. Prior to attending Monmouth, he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. At MC, he was a member of the track team and Tau Kappa Epsilon. After receiving his degree in chemistry, he farmed for 58 years.

Mary Brooks Holterman, 83, of Wilmington, N.C., died Nov. 18, 2010. She studied history and was a member of Kappa Delta. She completed her undergraduate studies at Coker College and went into teaching.

Bill Davis, 84, of Monmouth, died Jan. 5, 2011.

He majored in geology and was a member of the football team and Tau Kappa Epsilon. He received a master’s degree from Western Illinois University, and his career in education included several years as principal at Monmouth’s Central Junior High School.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, a sister, Betty Davis Vance ’49, and two children who graduated from Monmouth, Jon Davis ’79 and Lynn Davis Holtzhouser ’81.

1951 Anna Dykhuizen Lorey, 81, of San Diego,

Calif., died May 25, 2011, from pulmonary fibrosis. She followed her mother, Helen Biddle Dykhuizen ’12 and her late sister, Helen Dykhuizen Anderson ’50, to Monmouth, and studied elementary education. Her first

1954 Delores Wachsmann Child, 78, of Oklahoma

City, Okla., died May 17, 2011. She graduated cum laude with a degree in business administration and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta and women’s sports teams. She later did graduate work at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and the University of Oklahoma.

Her first post-college job was in the accounting department at Ralston Purina, where she landed Elvis Presley for a staff performance.

She then became the bookkeeper for her husband’s dental practice. In the late 1970s, she started a new career as a stockbroker, rising to vice president of investments at Prudential Securities. One of the many honors she received was the AAUW’s Outstanding Woman of the Year in 1990.

1956 Sarah Wraight Black, 77, of Fayetteville, Tenn., died May 4, 2011. She majored in classics and went on to teach Latin. Black also held several positions within the Republican Party in Tennessee and Alabama.

Janice Embree, 76, of Elgin, Ill., died Feb. 4, 2011. She graduated with a degree in

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 614621998. 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.

54

clan notes

monmouth | summer 2011

elementary education and taught kindergarten for more than 30 years.

Jack McBride, 78, of Monmouth, died June 4, 2011. He graduated with a degree in physical education and was a member of the baseball, basketball and football teams. The Monmouth native’s time at MC was interrupted by a twoyear stint in the U.S. Army. McBride earned his master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. He was a professor and coach at Culver-Stockton College and later served as vice president of Iowa Wesleyan College. He is a member of three athletic halls of fame, including Reedley College, where he received his associate’s degree. He was preceded in death by a brother, Andy McBride ’34.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Betty Duncan McBride ’56, daughters Julie McBride ’77 and Amy McBride Basic ’81, and brothers Don McBride ’53 and Jerry McBride ’58.

1957 Barbara Rowland Robertson of Orange, Calif., died June 27, 2010. She majored in elementary education and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Survivors include a sister, Carole Rowland Salisbury ’61.

1958 Richard Drees of Wheaton, Ill., died March 7,

2011. He majored in physical education and was a member of the football team and Theta Chi. He spent all but seven of his 34 years in education as a mathematics teacher at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Ill.

1959 Nancy Classon Douglas, 73, of Rochester,

Minn., died April 19, 2011, after a long and valiant struggle with ALS. She graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of Kappa Delta. Her nursing career included teaching positions at several locations, including the University of Colorado Medical Center.

1961 James Knox, 71, of Carlsbad, Calif., died Jan.

30, 2011. He also attended Reedley College on a baseball scholarship and served in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1964. His career included the fields of insurance and sales.

Clair “Bud” McRoberts of Avon, Ohio, died

May 1, 2011. McRoberts studied economics and was a member of Theta Chi and the Octopus Club. He was also a three-sport athlete, and his excellence in basketball led to his induction into the M Club Hall of Fame in 1988. His 1,273 points were ranked second in school history at the time of his graduation, and his 41 points in a single game also stood as a school record.

Steven Ranney, 61, of Rogers, Ark., died Feb. 6,

2011. He completed his schooling at the University of Iowa, graduating with a degree in broadcasting and film, and he also served in the Navy. He followed several family members to Monmouth, including his parents, the Hon. G. Durbin Ranney ’33 and Betty Marshall Ranney ’38.

Joan Connor Smith, 71, of Sterling, Ill., died March 13, 2011. She majored in classics and

monmouth | summer 2011

was a member of Kappa Delta. A homemaker for most of her adult life, she was also the business manager for the Homewood/Flossmoor Credit Union. Survivors include her husband of 47 years, Dale Smith ’63.

1963 Dr. Carl Unsicker, 68, of Fairbanks, Alaska, died May 26, 2011. He had just returned home from his 22nd trip to Tanzania, where he had provided voluntary medical assistance off and on since 2000. He majored in biology and was a member of the football team and Alpha Tau Omega. Unsicker later attended the University of Iowa School of Medicine and, while in the Navy, completed his internship and orthopedic residency at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va. He also received an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Unsicker had orthopedic practices in Wilmington, N.C., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Fairbanks.

1967 Janet Swanson Stanton, 70, of Appleton, Wis., died Aug. 13, 2010. She was a member of Kappa Delta.

1970 William Young of West Seneca, Calif., died

March 18, 2011. He graduated with a degree in East Asian studies and received a related Ph.D. in Far Eastern history from New York University. In between, he earned a master’s degree from St. John’s University.

1971 Danielle DePalma Weingarten, 61, of Apple Valley, Calif., died June 12, 2011. She graduated with a degree in political science and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta before receiving her J.D. from DePaul University. She had a successful career as an attorney at Chicago Title before studying nursing and working as an ICU nurse at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino, Calif.

1972 William “Billy” Bayer, 60, of Lake Bluff, Ill., died Jan. 17, 2011. He studied English at Monmouth before graduating from Lake Forest College. Bayer spent most of his career as a financial stockbroker and served as a vice president for the last 18 years at PTO Securities in Chicago.

Lawrence Stryjewski of Chicago, Ill., died

Sept. 24, 2010. He graduated with a degree in art and was a member of the football team and Theta Chi. Since 1989, he had been the controller for People’s Gas.

1978 Terry Ticho Miller, 54, of Everett, Wash., died

Dec. 17, 2010. A member of Kappa Delta at Monmouth, she completed her undergraduate education at DePaul University. Miller received her master’s degree from the University of Oregon and went on to a career in social work, including 25 years as social services director at the Bethany of the Northwest.

1993 Arthur Bernstein, 40, of East Dundee, Ill., died Jan. 2, 2011. While majoring in government and classics, he was a member of Zeta Beta

Hershberger ’49 part of MC’s rich music tradition Floyd Hershberger, 84, of McCook, Neb., died March 7, 2011, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

Hershberger not only majored in music at Monmouth, but he and his brother, David Hershberger ’51 helped continue the college’s bagpipe tradition. He was also a member of the track and football teams and Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Following graduation, Hershberger taught for one year in DePue, Ill., before starting his starting his master’s degree at Colorado Hershberger plays University in Boulder, the pipes in this Colo., where he met circa 1948 photo. and married his wife of 59 years, who survives.

The Hershbergers moved to McCook in 1954, and Floyd was the vocal teacher at both the high school and McCook Junior College. In 1956, he started the Hershberger Piano and Organ Company, which grew into a full-line music store.

Among his many gifts to his alma mater through the years was a clavinova electric piano for the Wells Theater. He personally delivered the piano, driving it from McCook and pressing on despite his van being totaled by a deer en route.

Hershberger also returned to campus to perform at the 100th birthday celebration for one of his favorite faculty members, Gracie Peterson, singing “Heather on the Hill” from Brigadoon.

Survivors also include his brother, David, and David’s wife, Cynthia Noyes Hershberger ’51.

Tau. Bernstein, who was an attorney in private practice, earned his J.D. from Valparaiso University in 1999. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Jones Bernstein ’93.

Word has also been received of the following deaths: Ruby Humphrey, 79, director of the student

center from 1968 to 1974, died March 23, 2011. Survivors include a daughter, Gale Humphrey Crislip ’77.

Warren Frenell ’48 and Joyce Aszman Frenell ’49, both of Naples, Fla. died Dec. 20, 2010, and Nov. 16, 2010, respectively. Warren was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Joyce was active in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

clan notes

55

the last word by Lyle Welch

Disaster can be a humbling experience The most recent history of Joplin,

Mo., will now be divided into two parts: that which leads up to 5:41 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, 2011, and that which follows. The history which follows is now five weeks old and has already matured beyond what we could have imagined.

The history of May 22 before 5:41 p.m. included the graduation ceremonies for the senior class of Joplin High School at nearby Missouri Southern State University. But instead of remembering that day as one of accomplishment, they will always remember it as the day when one of their classmates died as his father’s Hummer was caught in the storm on their way home. The superintendent of Joplin’s schools drove across the storm’s path from north to south and was just enough south of the storm to be safe. He did not realize how much his job was about to change when he found that not only the high school but also one elementary building were completely leveled and more than 40 percent of the elementary school children were displaced from their homes.

My personal story is relatively unremarkable. At about four in the afternoon, I noticed that a storm was growing in intensity on the radar and that each pass of the radar brought it closer to Joplin. By 4:11 p.m., the tornado sirens had begun sounding, and at that moment, I knew that this wouldn’t be an ordinary storm. My wife, Judy, and I took cover in an interior bathroom.

Fortunately, we didn’t need it for protection as the storm track ended two miles to our south. When I later reviewed the damage to homes similar to ours, I realized that we were not nearly as safe as we had thought. Two miles away was certainly too close.

On Monday morning, I joined my oldest son, Doug, who also lives in Joplin, and whose home also escaped the storm, and met with a small group of volunteers at our church.

Setting out to help our fellow church members, we were only able to get to the western edge of the storm’s wake, but that was enough to understand the depth of our catastrophe.

We did the best we could. I spent the remainder of the week at my church, helping distribute the massive amounts of donated supplies and spending time with other volunteers who had humbly stepped up to serve a

56

the last word

Emeritus professor Lyle Welch came within two miles of living on a Joplin street that looked like this.

city in crisis. Each day was different and brought new challenges, both difficult and unexpected.

During those first few days, I was particularly struck by three stories. There is a student at the Bible College in Joplin where my son teaches who is from Central Africa. When we saw him Monday morning, he said that he has been in three wars and has never seen anything like this. I have taught a low-level math class at Missouri Southern the past two semesters. The very best student in my spring semester class was in the middle of the storm and lost everything. I only know this because she came to the church building where I was working to get a few things. The look in her eyes told the story of her past week and her near future. Finally, there is at least one family who moved to Joplin after losing everything in New Orleans. Now they have lost everything here.

Keith Stammer, Joplin’s emergency management director, told me of the Rule of 10 in these destructive situations. The initial response—which included sweeping the area six times in search and recovery, clearing streets and planning for debris removal—took 10 days. The second phase of debris removal will take 10 times as long, or 100 days.

Reconstruction will then take 10 times as long as that, for a total of 1,000 days.

I asked him, “What does Joplin need now?”

His answer was, understandably, “Time.”

Let me conclude with some lessons learned

on the ground. We were both blessed and burdened by the amount of donations. The initial recovery would have been much more difficult without them. But we spent a lot of time dealing with supplies that we could not use, including a surplus of used clothing.

When you donate to a disaster region in the future, please carefully listen to the needs of the area.

Feel free to donate to Joplin, but understand that there are still those in your own community who have encountered their own personal storms of life. Most catastrophes won’t make the front page of the New York Times. Spend some time determining where in your community you are needed most and seek to meet that need. Not only will this help your community in the present but it will also provide necessary experience for the future in case some unexpected disaster would arise.

Our church community was only performing kindergarten exercises in disaster relief before this storm forced us into a college-level course, but that experience was extremely valuable in organizing the first week.

Above all, continue to remember Joplin.

We don’t have the privilege of the media cycle.

We can’t move on, and we can’t forget. We’ll be here for a while, rebuilding. But while we are, continue to remember us and pray.  editor’s note: Emeritus professor of mathematics Lyle Welch moved to Joplin, Mo., following his retirement from Monmouth College in 2009.

This account was submitted on June 29.

monmouth | summer 2011

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