S P R I N G 2 01 5
“ stronger. brighter. greater.” —Lewis Duncan 14th President of the College
SCOTT COOK
WHAT’S UP, DUCK? This paddling of ducks has made Lake Virginia its home and the Alfond Boathouse its diner. While Rollins students and faculty have long taken to the water for some fun in the sun, the mama duck—named Gertrude by waterskiing coach Marc Bedsole—has made a habit the past three years of waddling up to the boathouse when she’s hungry to get food for her and her brood. (Not pictured: papa duck Frank)
Raul Carril ’15 ’16MBA
believes in
giving back.
During his first semester at Rollins, Raul became hooked on improving the lives of others while participating in an Immersion: Citizens Take
SCOTT COOK
Action project in the Everglades. He’s pursued his passion for giving back ever since. Thanks to annual support for programs like Immersion, students like Raul are able to put their passion into practice each day. To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/raulcarril.
Help us continue to provide transformative learning experiences like Raul’s. To make a gift and learn more about giving to Rollins, visit rollins.edu/giving.
TALK TO US Rollins magazine Email: ljcole@rollins.edu Phone: 407-646-2791 Write: 1000 Holt Ave. – 2729 Winter Park, FL 32789-4499 Web: rollins.edu/magazine; click on “Talk to Us”
SPRING 2015
Rollins Alumni Association Email: alumni@rollins.edu Phone: 407-646-2266 or 800-799-2586 (ALUM) Write: 1000 Holt Ave. – 2736 Winter Park, FL 32789-4499 Web: rollins.edu/alumni Support Rollins Email: giving@rollins.edu Phone: 407-646-2221 Write: 1000 Holt Ave. – 2750 Winter Park, FL 32789-4499 Web: rollins.edu/giving
THIS ISSUE
Associate Vice President of Marketing & Communications Tom Hope Creative Director Tom May Assistant Editors Amanda Castino Meredith Vance Graphic Designers Tia Phillips Carrizzo Candice Stevens
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Produced by the Office of Marketing & Communications
Postmaster Send address changes to: Rollins College 1000 Holt Ave. – 2750 Winter Park, FL 32789-4499 Visit Rollins magazine online at: rollins.edu/magazine
From the Green
5
From the President’s Office
6
On Campus
14 Reading Room: Great American Novels
Editor-in-Chief Laura J. Cole ’04 ’08 MLS
All ideas expressed in Rollins magazine are those of the authors or the editors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Alumni Association or the College. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be considered for publication in the magazine. Rollins magazine is published twice a year by Rollins College for alumni and friends of the College.
4
40
Connected for Life
41
Active Alums
42
Class News
47
Regional Alumni Clubs
48 The Last Word by Joseph Friedman ’49
Alumni Profiles 16
Laura van den Berg ’05
26
David Bagby ’06
38
Stephanie Glance ’86
Features
16
26
18
Home Away from Home
28
Stronger. Brighter. Greater.
38
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48 rollins.edu | 3
From the GREEN
FOX DAY SHENANIGANS SCOTT COOK
The fox came out to play on Wednesday, April 15. And while many students headed to the beach, others chose to stay on campus, partake in planned festivities, and come up with creative water games of their own—such as turning an air mattress into a makeshift raft.
4 | SPRING 2015
SCOTT COOK
A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT Rollins’ 15th President Grant Cornwell
As Grant Cornwell prepares to take the helm as the College’s next president, he discusses what drew him to Rollins.
Q: You’ve mentioned a few times how you were drawn to Rollins’ mission to educate students for global citizenship and responsible leadership. Why does that resonate with you? A: In short, this is precisely what liberal education has to offer the world and what Rollins does so well. We know that globalization has created challenges and opportunities that are complex. To best address and harness both, the world needs smart, creative, effective leaders with a well-calibrated moral compass. A liberal education like the one we offer at Rollins is the best way, maybe the only way, to calibrate that compass in a manner adequate to the task while also preparing graduates for prosperous careers and engaged adult lives.
Q: What do prosperous careers and engaged lives look like, and how do you think we best prepare students for both? A: Gallup and Purdue University recently released a report called “Great Jobs, Great Lives,” which surveyed more than 30,000 alumni from various colleges across the U.S. The intent of the study was to discern what really matters in college. The principal finding of the
study is this: For those who reported having “great jobs,” meaning not just a healthy income but also a robust sense of purpose in one’s work, and who reported having “great lives,” meaning a real sense of fulfillment and well-being, what mattered most to them in college—and what they credit for their success—was having professors who cared about them, made them excited about learning, and took a personal interest in their development. In short, what really matters is having faculty and staff who are mentors to students. This describes the kind of learning culture that Rollins provides, and it is through these relationships that our graduates are launched in their pursuits of meaningful lives and productive careers.
Q: How do you think Rollins is situated to make good on our mission? A: A liberal education for the 21st century must be pursued in a learning community that is rich in diversity. Liberal education, especially in this era, is only possible on a campus where students, faculty, and staff mutually engage one another in the mission, sharing perspectives from diverse backgrounds. This is why Rollins seeks to
welcome into our community members who bring all manner of diversity of backgrounds and perspectives: racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, faith traditions, regional, international, and political. Excellence in fulfilling our mission presupposes this kind of diversity. What is fortuitous is that the campus, situated as it is in Central Florida, makes the task of building this kind of diversity, this kind of campus community, highly achievable.
Q: What’s your first order of business? A: I have already begun a diligent project of listening and learning. Before I can be a worthy collaborator in charting a course for the future of Rollins, I have to come to know its people, its history, and its culture. My wife, Peg, and I have both thrown ourselves into all things Rollins, and we feel so fortunate to discover every day how much there is to love about this fine college.
Cornwell will begin his Rollins presidency July 1.
To learn more, visit 360.rollins.edu/cornwell.
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From the GREEN
ON CAMPUS
OCTOBER 23
Sir Paul McCartney spoke to students and played an acoustic version of “Blackbird.” To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/paul-mccartney
NOVEMBER 8 The Rollins volleyball team defeated Florida Tech on Senior Day.
APRIL 6 Students danced and sang it out for the top prize at this year’s Lip Sync competition. To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/lipsync2015.
6 | SPRING 2015
photos by Scott Cook
NOVEMBER 11
Peg O’Keef ’81 (center) returned to the Annie Russell Theatre stage for a production of Our Town.
JANUARY 8
Students in Assistant Professor of Religion Todd French’s intersession course examined Knowles Memorial Chapel using virtual reality headsets.
To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/our-town.
FEBRUARY 19
Students celebrated the Chinese New Year and German Karneval with a traditional dragon dance through campus.
MARCH 21
Andrew Lesmes ’15—along with a team of faculty, staff, students, and alumni—put the finishing touches on a new student-run market garden. To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/student-garden.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING ONLINE 360.ROLLINS.EDU
ACADEMICS & RESEARCH ARTS & CULTURE COLLEGE NEWS SPORTS PEOPLE
HOW TO
Get Social @Rollins
STOP A TANTRUM
ROLLINS COLLEGE @rollinscollege
>>
Set limits, prevent a meltdown, and don’t forget the Law of the Soggy Potato Chip.
May 12 Join @cfamrollins for their Happy Hour Tours this summer. @TheAlfondInn. #ArtinOrlando
360.rollins.edu/ tantrum
May 10 “More important than success is the achievement of significance. Change the world, please.” –Pres. McAllaster #RollinsGrad Apr 22 Just in time for Earth Day! Rollins recognized as “green” college. ow.ly/LR5NB #Rollins360
>>
20 REASONS WHY WE HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS
The Princeton Review ranked Rollins College the No. 6 Most Beautiful Campus in the nation. Here are just a few reasons why. 360.rollins.edu/beautifulcampus
We’re Tweeting Stay up to date with news, events, and more. Twitter.com/rollinscollege
<<
8 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MISTER ROGERS
<< 5 REASONS TO LOVE HIGH TEA AT THE ALFOND INN
In honor of Fred Rogers’ ’51 ’74 H birthday on March 20, Rollins pays tribute to everyone’s favorite neighbor.
High tea served with finger sandwiches, scones, and clotted cream makes a Sunday afternoon extra special at The Alfond Inn.
360.rollins.edu/mrrogers
360.rollins.edu/ hightea
FOLLOW US ON:
>>T W I T T E R : @ R O L L I N S C O L L E G E
8 | SPRING 2015
>> I N S TA G R A M : @ R O L L I N S C O L L E G E
>> FA C E B O O K : FA C E B O O K . C O M / R O L L I N S . C O L L E G E
We’re on Instagram Catch a glimpse of all kinds of things happening on campus (including sunrises over Lake Virginia). Instagram.com/rollinscollege
>> P I N T E R E S T: P I N T E R E S T. C O M / R O L L I N S C O L L E G E
Stinky Facts: Height: 67” (5’7”) Width: 3’ 199th corpse plant to bloom in cultivation 1st to bloom in Rollins’ greenhouse 2nd to bloom in Central Florida Winning name: Adsila, which is Native American for “blossom.” Submitted by Carli Davis ’15. Celebrity status: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! came out to take a video and photos for their publications.
Death Becomes
the Corpse Plant By Laura J. Cole ’04 ’08 MLS
Who knew the smell of rotting flesh could be so alluring? As morbid as it may seem, the corpse plant secretes a scent not unlike that of a decaying corpse in order to set the mood.
Corpse Cam During April, a live stream video of the plant’s blooming was available at rollins.edu/greenhouse.
Yep. That stench helps it reproduce. “In its native habitat of Sumatra, the pollinators are flies and carrion beetles—beetles that like to eat flesh,” says Alan Chryst ’93, greenhouse manager at Rollins. “That is why, number one, it has a very stinky smell like rotting flesh, and number two, this is why [the flower] is colored the way it is—like raw, exposed, rotting meat.” (How’s that for imagery?) The strong odor is where the plant, which is also known as the Amorphophallus titanum, gets its nickname. And on Sunday, April 19, visitors had the opportunity to take a whiff of it when one of the corpse plants in the greenhouse on campus bloomed—releasing its mating scent of decay.
35,000+ visits Top states: Florida, Georgia, New York, California, and Texas Top countries outside the U.S.: Finland, Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany Farthest away: China
Chryst thinks they were successful, as evidenced by the flower starting to close back up later that morning. It takes 6 months for the seeds to mature if pollination was successful. There’s already a line of people waiting for those babies. Around midnight on April 20, Greenhouse Manager Alan Chryst ’93—along with biology professors Paul Stephenson and Eric Engstrom—pollinated the flower. As they were doing so, steam came off the plant’s phallus-shaped spadix.
To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/corpseplant. To view photos, visit 360.rollins.edu/corpseplantphotos.
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Choose Your Neighborhood NBA on Campus
In 2016, Rollins College will begin a partnership with the National Book Awards to bring to campus two National Book Award finalists. As one of four colleges and universities engaged with the National Book Awards on Campus program and sole representative of the Southeast region, Rollins continues its long tradition of sponsoring the very best in contemporary literature. The writers will be featured in February as part of the Winter With the Writers literary festival.
PICTURE
(OF) HEALTH This spring, Rollins launched an undergraduate major in healthcare management. And this fall, it will welcome the first students to the executive-style master’s programs in health services administration and applied behavior analysis and clinical science. A master’s degree in public health is slated to start in the fall of 2016. All are aimed at meeting a growing demand in areas of
For the first time in 35 years, Rollins has made a major change to the curriculum.
The new curriculum, called Rollins Foundations in the Liberal Arts (rFLA), is still dedicated to a liberal arts tradition, but with a new focus on developing stronger connections between various disciplines and building a stronger sense of community on campus.
If you’re interested in the construction of the self and what it means to be human:
If you’re interested in the ideas, beliefs, practices, and people who influence the way we interact:
IDENTITIES: MIRRORS AND WINDOWS
INNOVATE, CREATE, ELEVATE
OUR BODIES, OURSELVES
PLATINUM HITS OF THE SILVER SCREEN
INSTRUCTOR: MISSY BARNES
Study the movement patterns of different people in order to become more aware of your own movement habits and how your anatomy functions.
SOCRATES AND THE ART OF LIVING
INSTRUCTOR: DENISE CUMMINGS
Trace how Socrates’ method of critical inquiry contributed to innovations in politics, philosophy, religion, and education.
Analyze how representation in texts (from film and radio to literature and art) have contributed to the construction of racial and ethnic identities of Indigenous peoples.
INSTRUCTOR: STEVE KLEMANN
Study human genetics in order to understand who we are individually (personal genetics) and collectively as a species (genographic studies).
fields—an area that is expected to
INSTRUCTOR: AMY MCCLURE
continue to grow quickly over the
Examine the complex processes through which identity is formed within society, the ongoing tension between human agency and social structure, and the conditions under which people are likely to conform to or deviate from social norms.
10 | SPRING 2015
INSTRUCTOR: ERIK KENYON
PSYCHOLOGY OF PLACE INSTRUCTOR: PAUL HARRIS
BLAZING A GENETIC TRAIL
healthcare management and related
360.rollins.edu/new-programs
Discover the role of music in the movies and how it affects you as an audience, and create your own film score.
INTERSECTING IDENTITIES: NATIVE AMERICAN MEDIA & CULTURE
IDENTITIES: CONFORMITY AND DEVIANCE
next decade.
INSTRUCTOR: JAMES RAY
Explore how science is used to understand how people act, think, and feel in natural and built environments, and how this understanding can inform environmental design.
HOT POLICY ISSUES: CONTEMPORARY DILEMMAS IN POLITICS INSTRUCTOR: JULIA MASKIVKER
Examine the most prescient policy and constitutional dilemmas today, including personal privacy in the digital age and national security and the extent of presidential powers.
NOTED That’s because rFLA enables students to build a community together as they pursue courses linked by academic themes, called Neighborhoods. Sure, Neighborhoods can be thought of like the house system at Hogwarts: There are four of them, a big induction ceremony is held each year, and students participate in social activities and can earn points for their team. However, that’s where the similarities end. First of all, students choose their Neighborhood (so no Sorting Hat, fun as that would be). And each Neighborhood is defined by a larger theme, such as identity or cultural differences, rather than a student’s values, such as courage or intelligence (go Ravenclaw!). The curriculum launched this spring with 29 new courses—the most ever in a single semester. So, if you were a current student, which Neighborhood would you choose?
If you’re interested in the unknown and unknowable phenomena of the universe:
If you’re interested in how people, cultures, and environments change when interacting with different worldviews:
MYSTERIES AND MARVELS
WHEN CULTURES COLLIDE
THE MAGIC OF THEATER
THEFT OR HOMAGE?
INSTRUCTOR: ROBERT MILLER
INSTRUCTOR: MACKENZIE MOON RYAN
Discover how theater has used technology through history as both an expression of the artist’s intent and as a mechanism for challenging and educating an audience.
Discover how global interactions have influenced art worldwide, from Buddha’s round belly to why we call elegant dinnerware “china.”
EXPLORING THE FANTASTIC IN LITERATURE AND FILM
SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL: AMERICA IN THE 1960S
INSTRUCTOR: JILL JONES
INSTRUCTOR: MAURICE O’SULLIVAN
Analyze works from Poe’s “The Black Cat” to Nolan’s Inception to discuss the problems that we have with not knowing and to explore the extent to which we rely on certainty.
Learn about the cultural collisions and rising expectations that marked the turbulent, colorful decade that ranged from the Age of Aquarius to the war in Vietnam.
SCIENCE OF SUPERHEROES
WORLDVIEWS TRANSFORMED— THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
INSTRUCTOR: CHRIS FUSE
Examine comic books and recent superhero films to determine if the powers and abilities are scientifically possible.
WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE AM I?: SPANIARDS AND AMERINDIANS CONFRONT THE UNKNOWN IN THE 1500S INSTRUCTOR: JIM NORRIS
Explore the world of Spaniards and Amerindians, relying heavily on their own records, and in the process examine how humans often react to what they cannot explain.
INSTRUCTORS: PEDRO BERNAL AND TOM COOK
Examine the cultural transformation that occurred during the 17th century through the lens of what happened to the natural sciences.
For the sixth straight year, Rollins was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. This is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for commitment to service learning and civic engagement. Rollins was named among the top three college programs nationally for leadership development. The accolade comes from HR.com’s Leadership 500 Excellence Awards in the Educational Institution category. For the fourth time in six years, Rollins College was named one of the top producers of U.S. Fulbright students among master’s institutions. Vice President for Student Affairs Mamta Accapadi received the Zenobia Hikes Memorial Award, which honors those who demonstrate a commitment to the advancement of women in higher education and to student affairs. She also received the Doris Michiko Ching Shattering the Glass Ceiling Award, which recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding impact on the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community and the student affairs profession through leadership, service, and scholarship. Rollins College was named a 2015 Best Value College by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance for its strong academic record and great economic value. In October, Rollins became the 11th member of the International Partnership of Business Schools, and only the third U.S. institution to join this consortium.
INSTRUCTOR: WENDY BRANDON
Associate Professor of International Business Mary Conway Dato-on was selected to serve on the Fulbright-Hayes U.S. Student Program National Screening Committee.
Get an introduction to the revolution that is taking place in our food system to produce healthy, quality foods that are safer for the environment.
The women’s golf team came in second at the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship.
FOOD DEMOCRACY: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
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ALUMNI OF NOTE ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Meg Crofton ’75
Dorcas Gilmore ’00
Stephen Miller ’09
Laura van den Berg ’05
President Walt Disney Parks and Resort Operations, U.S. and France
Practitioner in Residence Washington College of Law, American University
Associate McKinsey & Company
Writer in Residence Bard College
ALUMNI SERVICE AWARDS
Kurt Wells ’95 President’s Leadership Council, 2013–current Alumni Representative, Board of Trustees, 2011–13 President, Alumni Association Board of Directors, 2008–10
Lisa Tumarkin Haile ’82 Partner and Co-chair Global Life Sciences Sector, DLA Piper
Andrew Judelson ’89 Senior Vice President IMG College National Sales & IMG U.S. Business Development
Member, Alumni Association Board of Directors, 2004–08 Young Alumni Council, 2002–04
Tom Zapcic ’85 Alumni Weekend Volunteer, 2009–15
John Kavanaugh ’83 Songwriter/Musical Director Sofia the First
To read more visit, 360.rollins.edu/alumniofnote2015.
12 | SPRING 2015
WPRK
A N I NS I D ER ’ S G U I D E T O
91.5 The Best in Basement Radio
FOUNDED
1952
63
AS AN EDUCATION FM RADIO STATION SERVING CENTRAL FLORIDA
SIGNAL STRENGTH
1952 VS. 2015 10 WATTS 1.3 K W
YEARS ON AIR
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
FIRST PERSON
ON THE AIR
CHRIS “MAD DOG” RUSSO ’82
Former WPRK DJ, now host of Mad Dog Unleashed on SiriusXM
SHOW
VARIETY
TOP TEN
COUNTRIES FOR ONLINE LISTENERS
SHOWS
24
Indie Rock
18 9
Variety
7
Talk
S H OWS
ON THE AIR
4
Hip-Hop
World
22 22 1
ALU M N I S HOWS
MUSIC
FA C U LT Y S HOW
2 2 2
Rock
LONGEST-RUNNING SHOW
STUDENT S HOWS
YEARS
COOL
• Functionally Literate Radio • Green Eggs and Jam • Punk Rock in Your PJs • P,B & Jams YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT • Rethinking the City Alumni Student • Tea Time with Daniela
Punk
Metal
FROM TH E MOVI E S
1
Classical
1
Soundtrack
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 U.S.
Germany
Brazil
Finland
Great Britain
Canada
Mexico
Ecuador
Australia
France
WPRK THROUGHOUT THE YEARS David Plotkin completes 110 consecutive hours on air wprk.org launches
2005 2006
1992
1989
1987
1984
1981
1964
1952
1953
WPRK releases first CD
Offensive language “Where the music lives!” gets DJ temporarily suspended
1976
“Turn on and cool off with classical sounds”
Moves to 91.5
Students ask for more airtime and control
Airs during the summer
Signal strength increases to 1.3 kilowatts
Starts operating seven days a week
1970
Broadcasts for the first time at 88.1
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Reading ROOM
GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS
Paul Reich, assistant professor of English and director of the American studies program, discusses five great American novels that showcase place and national identities.
14 | SPRING 2015
Light in August
My Ántonia
WILLIAM FAULKNER
WILLA CATHER
Faulkner’s seventh novel—and his first explicit discussion of race in the American South— provides readers with one of the most memorable characters in 20th-century literature: Joe Christmas. The adopted son of Mississippi farmers, Christmas is plagued by questions about his racial heritage, and his search for identity reveals the rigid standards of the post-World War I South. Directly influenced by Sherwood Anderson and his work on small-town life, Faulkner’s town of Jefferson is filled with fascinating characters whose conflicts with their community are humorously and deftly realized by the Nobel Prize-winning writer whose literary aesthetic is a feature of American modernism.
Set during the European settlement of the American West, Cather’s novel provides a fascinating portrait of immigration and integration on the vast plains of Nebraska. What makes My Ántonia special, though, is Cather’s employment of a narrative voice that carries on the tradition of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and would inspire Cather contemporaries F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Narrator Jim Burden’s romantic nostalgia for a rural, preindustrial America is both enhanced and tempered by his love for childhood friend Ántonia Shimerda, a Bohemian immigrant who refuses to compromise in a world that often requires it.
Paradise TONI MORRISON
“They shot the white girl first.” From the opening line of Morrison’s seventh novel—her first since being awarded the Nobel Prize in literature—readers are enveloped by a haunting and complex story told through the engaging lens of different women searching for a sense of self and community. Morrison’s lyrical prose chronicles the genesis of an all-black town in rural Oklahoma and its often destructive relationship with those who seek to change it. Set against the backdrop of the turbulent decades of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, Morrison provides readers with a fascinating examination of race, gender, and class and the devastating consequences these divisions can have on individuals and their community.
The Summer Guest
Their Eyes Were Watching God ZORA NEALE HURSTON
JUSTIN CRONIN
The first novel from the New York Times best-selling author of The Passage, Cronin’s The Summer Guest is a fractured narrative of stunning grace and poignancy that chronicles the history of a rustic fishing camp in a forgotten corner of Maine. Told through the perspectives of four characters, the story centers on a returning guest who—at the end of his life—wants one last trip to a place that has nurtured and restored him. Like all of the texts on this list, The Summer Guest’s romantic appreciation of place is tempered by the complicated lives of the people who inhabit it; their stories combine to form a mosaic of the American experience.
Partially set in Eatonville, Florida—just a few miles from Rollins—Hurston’s novel is a powerful story of an African American woman searching for love and understanding in a world that rarely provides either easily. Janie Crawford’s journey through the Florida Panhandle, Central Florida, and the Everglades is an exceptional tour of oft-ignored communities in the state, and Hurston’s ability to faithfully represent them makes this text a classic in every sense of the word. From its poetic descriptions of pear trees and honeybees to Janie “combing the road dust out of her hair,” Their Eyes Were Watching God is a true literary wonder.
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Laura van den Berg ’05
BEAUTIFUL & DAUNTING With two successful short-story collections under her belt and her first novel drawing rave reviews, Laura van den Berg ’05 is blazing a literary trail.
16 | SPRING 2015
by Dixie Tate ’05 MLS | photo by Laura Cole ’04 ’08 MLS
Alumni PROFILE
She’s been called the “best young writer in America.” Although she finds that headline for a Salon review of her first novel very flattering, Laura van den Berg ’05 says, “There are about a hundred people I’d put in front of myself. At least.” Be that as it may, there’s no getting around the fact that at 31, van den Berg already has to her credit two well-received short story collections, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (2009) and The Isle of Youth (2013). The latter won the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. And Find Me, van den Berg’s debut novel released in February, has received glowing reviews from newspapers including the New York Times and Los Angeles Times to magazines such as O and People. Not bad for someone who says she never thought she could make a living as a writer. The secret to success, she says, is “embracing that there is no secret,” a concept that may be difficult to grasp for those who are used to having all the answers. The writing life, van den Berg explains, is both beautiful and daunting. Her voice on the other end of the phone connection sounds warm and welcoming. “There is not a particular path that you have to take; you move through it in your own way and time,” she says. “Ultimately, we all have to create that for ourselves.” It was a little more than a year ago when van den Berg shared the Bush Auditorium stage with poet and novelist Alan Michael Parker during the annual Rollins literary festival, Winter With the Writers. At the time, she could only offer a sneak preview of her novel about a young woman’s search for her mother in a world made bleak by a memory-destroying, body-ravaging epidemic. What a difference a year makes. Or does it? “The funny thing about publishing a book,” van den Berg says, “is how a lot can change and nothing can change at the same time. Certainly with Find Me I have had more press inquiries and, in that sense, a busier publication schedule than I have had with past books. But that’s also a flurry that settles down pretty quickly, in the grand scheme, so I just try and take things as they come. On the large scale, though, little has changed. I still have all the same anxieties. I’m working on a new project and feel the same pangs of doubt.”
The transition from short story to novel was super hard, van den Berg says. “The biggest adjustment for me was the process. With stories, I can work in small increments, a little bit of time here and there. But that approach didn’t work for me at all with a novel. I found that I needed a lot more uninterrupted time. I needed to disappear from my life, in a sense.” When she’s at home in Boston, van den Berg says she does her best work when she’s not at home. She belongs to the Writers’ Room of Boston, a communal workspace open to members 24/7. “The only thing I do there is write,” she says, free from such distractions such as Oscar, the Lab mix puppy she and her husband, writer Paul Yoon, share their lives with. “Why torture yourself over sentences when you can play with the dog?” The creative backdrop for her current project is the idyllicsounding Hudson Valley community of Annandale-on-Hudson, located about 3.5 hours from Boston and home to Bard College. A recipient of the $30,000 Bard Fiction Prize, van den Berg is spending this semester there as a writer in residence. Included is an on-campus apartment (with fireplace, of course) and office. While teaching is not expected, informal interaction with students is. “I’ve especially enjoyed the space and time to work, and also the beautiful surroundings,”—surroundings, by the way, that did not include nearly as much snow as Boston received. Van den Berg, who was born at Winter Park Memorial Hospital and grew up as part of a large family in Central Florida, says, “I do generally feel more at home in the Northeast—Boston, in particular. Winter can be rough, but spring and fall make up for it.” Van den Berg will be moving to New York City and begin teaching at Columbia University in the fall. For now, that sense of urgency to finish the next project, to write every day, is gone. And she’s OK with that. “It’s a wonderful gift to have these books out in the world. It’s time to get off the publishing carousel for a bit.”
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INDIA
HOME AWAY FROM HOME By Laura J. Cole ’04 ’08MLS Photos by Scott Cook | Styled by Candice Stevens
You’re leaving home for a year and flying halfway around the world. Whatever you take has to fit into two suitcases. What do you bring? What can’t you live without? Those are the questions we posed to a few of our international students and recent graduates. From photos and passports to politics and perspectives, find out what they brought—and what they bring as people—to Rollins. To read more, visit 360.rollins.edu/homeawayfromhome
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INSIDE HIS ROOM 1 | BOXING GLOVES I use these for muay thai. I’ve been taking classes this semester to stay in shape and release stress. 2 | GANESHA A small idol of the god Ganesha. He’s considered to be very lucky for businessmen. 3 | ASSAM TEA This is the tea I brought from back home. Tea is huge in India. 4 | VINTAGE TEAPOT I make chai almost every day. Some people come by just to drink this tea. 5 | FAMILY PHOTO That’s a photo from a while back of my dad, my mother, me, and my young sister. I remember it was Diwali—the festival of lights, which marks the beginning of the Hindu calendar year.
Rudy Fatehpuria ’17 I am from… Kolkata, India. I speak… English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and some Chinese. I am majoring in… international business and economics. One thing people should know about me is… I love to make people laugh. Making people laugh is one of the best ways to meet new people and bond with them. When you’re really serious with people, there’s that sort of tension between you. I don’t like that a lot. But when you’re making them laugh, they break down their barriers; they’re so open with you. When I was growing up, I wanted to be… This might sound like
6 | PASSPORT This is my ticket back home, my passport. I need that.
a really Indian answer, but I always wanted to be a businessman
7 | FAVORITE BOOK I read The Godfather in the eighth grade, and it is my most favorite book, ever. I think I’ve read it more than 100 times. I’m not even joking. I’ve always carried a copy with me.
If I could be anywhere else, I would be… with some friends
when I grew up, seriously. My father is a businessman, so is my grandfather. We have a real entrepreneurial spirit in my family. somewhere. I don’t care where it is. As long as you have good company, it doesn’t matter where you are. The thing I like the most about myself is… the fact that in my heart I feel that I have free will. Despite all of the philosophy that I have studied, I always feel that you’re the one who decides your actions. All you need is the courage to be whoever you want to be, and life opens up to you. Something that always makes me smile is… any good joke. Or when somebody uses the word “doody.” The thing I miss most about India is… the food. My favorite, favorite
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item is biryani. It’s a specialty in my city. It’s absolutely fantastic, and
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there’s nothing like it in the world. The weirdest thing about Americans is… there are so many weird things. But Americans are such selfless people. As a collective bunch, they like to help other people. What’s weird about it is that they’re really shy about asking about it for themselves. Even if they need it.
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Distance from Rollins: 8,830 miles No. of official languages: 2 Population: 1.24 billion Current president: Pranab Mukherjee Currency: Indian rupee
IATNA GLANCE DIA 19
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INSIDE HER ROOM 1 | FAVORITE PERFUME Before I left for Rollins, my grandmother gave me this perfume to keep as a memory of her. 2 | THE QURAN I keep the Quran in my room because it’s very calming.
Dinah Lakehal ’18 I am from… Casablanca, Morocco. I speak… Arabic, French, and English. I am majoring in… political science and economics. I would describe myself as the type of student who’s… involved in classroom discussions. I always like to be academically challenged. I’m definitely a procrastinator, but I blame that on Rollins’ beautiful campus. It always makes me want to be outdoors. The professors who have had the most impact on me are… Dr. Eren Tatari and Dr. Rachel Newcomb. Dr. Tatari convinced me to major in political science, and her feminist side is something I can relate to. And Dr. Newcomb knows so much about different cultures and actually makes research interesting. She’s also married to a Moroccan, so that’s always a bonus. I am passionate about… traveling. It makes me come alive in the sense that it forces me to be self-reflective and aware of who I am and who others are around me. One thing people should know about me is... that I love negotiation and argument. I felt most alone when… I first moved here. I was in culture shock, and I didn’t know if I could fully relate to life in the U.S. But that quickly changed as I started school and made some amazing friends, and I grew to appreciate the differences between the U.S.
3 | FAVORITE BOOK Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is one of my favorite books. I had no idea it was about Morocco at first, so it was a nice surprise. 4 | SOUVENIR My roommate gave me this turtle after her trip to the Cayman Islands. 5 | MOROCCAN SCARF It’s my favorite scarf, and I usually wear it all the time. 6 | BRACELET A typical Moroccan bracelet, it’s full of colors. 7 | FAMILY PHOTO This photo of me, my brother, my mom, and grandmother was taken a while ago, but I like how my mother and grandmother look so alike here. 8 | CANDLE I am obsessed with candles. This one has the hand of Fatima, which became an even more popular symbol in Morocco after a few terrorist attacks. It essentially means “Don’t touch my homeland.”
and Morocco. One thing people should understand about Morocco is… that it isn’t an oppressed country because it’s Muslim. In fact, Islam doesn’t mean
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oppression.
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One of the biggest cultural obstacles for me has been… getting used to speaking only English. Because I grew up speaking three languages, I’m used to using all three in the same sentence and sometimes it’s hard for me to express myself only in English.
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MOROCCO AT A GLANCE
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Distance from Rollins: 4,282 miles No. of official languages: 1 Population: 33 million Current president: Mohammed VI Currency: Moroccan dirham
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MOROCCO
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GREECE
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| SPRING 2015
INSIDE HIS ROOM 1 | FRAMED PHOTO Josh Medina ’15, my big, gave me this photo of us in Anna in the Tropics when I was inducted into X-Club. We joke that we met playing brothers in that production, and now we’re brothers in real life. 2 | ABERCROMBIE SHIRT My mom bought this shirt for me before I moved here because she said I needed an American shirt. (We don’t have Abercrombie in Greece.) 3 | FAVORITE PLAY Yasmina Reza is a brilliant French playwright, and Happy Are the Happy is this poignant, hilarious, sad script about human relationships. 4 | €5 NOTE I found this in my pocket and decided not to convert it. It’s the last remnant of Greece’s transition to the EU and mine to the U.S. 5 | EXPIRED PASSPORT My old passport has been stamped from countries all over the world, but happily the last stamp it has is from the U.S. 6 | BEANIE My sister bought this for me in Boston. It’s not cold enough here to wear it that often, but it’s great for hiding bad hair days.
Alexios Venieris ’15 I am from… Thessaloniki, Greece. I speak… Greek, English, and a little bit of Russian. I majored in… economics. I would describe myself as the kind of student who… relied on charm and charisma to do well in class. I always did the work, but I used that to push for the “A” a little harder. It’s worked so far. The professor who had the most impact on me is… Dr. David Charles. He was the one who inducted me into the theater world. He cast me in his show Anna in the Tropics back in 2013. It was my first experience with theater. He also taught me improvisation. I am most proud of myself… for graduating in three years. My dad had a heart failure, and because of heavy medical expenses, we weren’t able to keep up with tuition expenses. So I had to compress a year of academics into one semester. I’m proud of myself for being able to help my dad in a time of struggle by sacrificing a year’s worth of fun. I can’t live without… cheese and my daily naps. I know that might sound ridiculous, but I love cheese so much. It’s heaven for me. And if I don’t get my nap every day, I become very, very grumpy, and my charm and charisma become bitterness and anger. One of my biggest pet peeves is… when people equate Greece to the poor country of Europe. It’s so frustrating to me because Greece has been such a big contributor to the world—to philosophy, to mathematics, to theater, to democracy. There are so many things that Greece has done well that to be defined by a decade of poor
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financial planning seems incongruous, if anything.
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One of the biggest cultural obstacles for me has been… personal space. [Americans] don’t like to be touched unless it’s by a family member or a lover. We have no such thing as personal space. We’re taught to hug and kiss everyone two times on the cheek. Greeks are very touchy-feely, and so am I.
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Distance from Rollins: 5,630 miles No. of official languages: 1 Population: 11 million Current president: Prokopis Pavlopoulos Currency: Euro
GREECE
AT A GLANCE
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INSIDE HER ROOM 1 | FRAMED PHOTO This photo of my mother was taken after she got a cooking certificate, which she was really happy to get. 2 | ROOIBOS TEA Rooibos is a red bush tea that grows in South Africa. It’s very light and caffeine-free and relaxes me. My grandmother used to love this tea and drank it all the time.
Lindokuhle “Lindo” Ngwenya ’15 I am from… Johannesburg, South Africa. I speak… isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, Sesotho, siSwati, English, and Setswana. I majored in… mathematics and economics. I cannot live without… music. Each day, I try to have 15 minutes or more where I listen to music. I think that helps me relax and take a break from everything that is happening and be myself. I am passionate about… community service and helping people out. It makes me feel better if I’m contributing to the community and helping, but I would say that is how I grew up. If somebody was painting a house, somebody else would go and help out. I would say it’s more like a habit now. It just makes me feel alive to be involved with other people and to do something and help them because I also get a lot of help from other people. If I could share a cup of tea with anyone, it would be… my grandmother and mother [both passed away in 2010 before I came to college]
3 | PASSPORT My South African passport, an airplane ticket, and a few rands. I love traveling. 4 | BEADED JEWELRY A beaded necklace and bracelet my mother made for me. In the Zulu culture, a lot of people wear bright, colorful beads at celebrations and important events. 5 | BISCUITS Ouma, which means grandmother in Afrikaans, are my favorite biscuits in South Africa. (I know you call them cookies, but we call them biscuits.) They are traditionally served with tea and remind me of my grandma’s biscuits.
because they both love tea, and I love tea. My grandmother used to get tea at 4 o’clock every day. That was the time of day when you would drink some tea and talk about your day and what was happening and the latest news. So I would love to just have tea with them and talk about what’s happening in my life or what’s happening around me. One of the first things I remember about America is… how busy everybody is. I remember my first week of classes, everybody was just doing, doing, doing things—and that is a little different from what I am used to. In South Africa, people will do things and then maybe
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take a break, talk to people. I still think people here do too many things. It’s too busy. One thing people should understand about South Africa is… that it’s
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very diverse. We’ve got a lot of different languages, different cultures.
Distance from Rollins: 8,159 miles
SOUTH AFRICA AT A GLANCE
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No. of official languages: 11
Population: 53 million Current president: Jacob Zuma Currency: Rand
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AFRICA
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David Bagby Alumni PROFILE
’06
KEEPING THE PACE
Lawmaking may seem slow, but volatile issues keep things hopping on Capitol Hill for David Bagby ’06—legislative director for Rep. Alan Grayson.
26 | SPRING 2015
by Jay Hamburg | photo by Eli Meir Kaplan
As soon as David Bagby ’06 answers his cell phone from inside the U.S. Capitol, he apologizes. He doesn’t want to be abrupt, but he and his boss, Rep. Alan Grayson, are getting ready to meet about the No Child Left Behind Act that is coming up for reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. And the issues are far from settled. He apologizes again, telling me that this hectic day started after a long night of reading through the 597-page education bill, and now there are factions and delegations to hear out, and his boss has priorities that are essential to the act’s reform. “Could we talk later in the week?” Bagby asks. It’s not easy to catch up with the legislative director for Grayson, who represents Florida’s 9th district, which includes Osceola County and parts of Orange and Polk counties. On this day, Bagby is juggling three major issues, and there’s always a chance that his boss, who can be a lightning rod for media attention, might create even more heat. When Bagby had a chance to catch his breath later in the week, he explained the dreads and delights of life in the midst of the nation’s lawmaking hub. “I love that every day that I wake up, I know there is the potential that I can contribute to the greater good, both nationally and more directly back home—where I’m from and where I would love to return.” Meanwhile, there’s always one more ball to juggle. “In addition to reviewing that No Child Left Behind proposed draft and drafting requested amendments, we initiated a Central Florida delegation meeting with the acting administrator of the Federal Transit Administration in order to secure the $63 million federal commitment to construction of SunRail Phase II South’s stations.” And that’s just the domestic side. “We sat through several briefings on the recently requested authorized use of military force against ISIS that the president proposed […] And I drafted 10 possible amendments to a North Korea sanctions bill that has also been noticed for House Committee on Foreign Affairs markup next week.” Anything else? “Oh, and Secretary Ernest Moniz, from the Department of Energy [DOE], will be appearing at a budget hearing before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology [SST] this coming Wednesday,” Bagby says. “Since my boss is the ranking member of the SST’s Subcommittee on Energy, which has jurisdiction over the $10 million research activities at DOE, we are diligently preparing for that as well.” Bagby, who was born in Orlando and raised in Kissimmee,
has always loved politics. He majored in political science and was studying law at George Washington University when the excitement of the 2008 political season electrified the nation’s capital. He decided he had been on the theoretical side long enough, so he went to school part time and jumped in to help the newly elected Grayson. “I began as an unpaid intern, then served as a staff assistant; then legislative correspondent; then legislative assistant for his work on the SST; and then [Grayson] lost his race for re-election in 2010.” That meant Bagby was out of a job too. He found similar work with Rep. Frederica Wilson of Miami Gardens and finished his law degree. “In 2012, my boss [Grayson] ran again, won, and I returned to his staff as legislative director.” And what exactly does that entail? “I’m responsible for drafting bills, amendments, speeches, op-eds, etc. Lining up support for initiatives certainly falls within the job description, and I spend a portion of each day interacting with outside organizations, other congressional staff, and members themselves toward that end.” Bagby hits the office at 6 a.m. He shares an office space, about the size of a standard McKean Hall double, with Grayson’s chief of staff. Seated next to the congressman’s office, they stay in near-constant communication. Bagby usually finishes his work at the Capitol at midnight, and there’s often late night study. But he loves the job. The skills he learned in college—how to comprehend many fields of knowledge, how to express himself and his issues clearly—have been his survival tools. Yet some things just cannot be replicated in the classroom. “The pace of the job, the discretion required, the need to make a firm decision quickly on a nuanced topic, and the sheer volume of information that is absorbed and responded to on a daily basis. Like anything else, you just get better with practice.” However, he notes, even the best plans don’t guarantee victories. “The Founding Fathers did not create an easy legislative process. It’s structurally designed to fail more often than it succeeds, and it does serve the function of slowly sorting out ideas that are not meant to become law. When the process finally does reach a successful conclusion, it is all the more rewarding.”
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Over the course of a decade, Lewis Duncan led the College to new heights, leaving behind a stronger academic tradition, a brighter future, and a greater campus.
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by Lorrie Kyle Ramey ’70 | photo by Scott Cook
Stronger. Brighter. Greater.
“We stand on the shoulders of those
who came before us and we strive to leave for those who follow us a college that is stronger, brighter, and greater.”
– Lewis Duncan, 125th anniversary of Rollins College November 4, 2010
W
hen Lewis Duncan arrived at Rollins in the summer of 2004, the College community wondered what initiatives
a space physicist who could calmly weather three hurricanes in six weeks would launch during his presidency. Today, in the College’s 130th year, Rollins is increasingly diverse, financially strong, focused both outward on the world and intentionally inward on the overall development of its students—in President Duncan’s words, “an education of the mind and of the heart, of the body and the spirit.” The Rollins community can celebrate the realization of dreams unimagined a decade ago and the continuing rewards of the deeds they will propel.
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During his tenure, President Duncan mentored physics students, freely sharing his research with them and even introducing some to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in Alaska.
A Stronger Global Reach S
ince 2005, the President’s Internationalization Initiative has sent
Today, approximately 70 percent of students in the traditional undergraduate
faculty to nearly 50 countries, and 75
program study internationally at least once
percent of faculty have had at least one
during their Rollins career.
international experience. Beyond bringing
Several innovative collaborations with
expanded perspectives to the classroom,
foreign institutions promise to further
the shared experiences build real, personal
raise the College’s international profile.
connections across disciplines.
An agreement with Germany’s Reutlingen
In the fall of 2004, Rollins’ undergraduate
University permits students to earn degrees
enrollment was 1,759. Ten years later, it was
from Reutlingen and Rollins, while Kadir
1,932, with international students comprising
Has University in Turkey has created a 3½-1½
10 percent of the entering class. Enrollment
engineering/MBA program in partnership
of international students has increased 72
with the Crummer Graduate School of
percent since 2004.
Business. In 2013, the College signed a
At the same time, the percentage of
pioneering Memorandum of Understanding
Rollins students engaging in international
with O.P. Jindal Global University in India
experiences increased dramatically. Since
to bring cohorts of students to Rollins for
2010, Rollins has ranked among the top
their final two years of study, contributing
20 colleges of its type for percentage of
significantly to the international character of
students who study abroad.
the campus.
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Germany’s Reutlingen University permits students to earn degrees from Reutlingen and Rollins.
Kadir Has University in Turkey has created a 3½-1½ engineering/MBA program in partnership with the Crummer Graduate School of Business.
O. P. Jindal Global University in India sends cohorts of students to Rollins for their final two years of study.
Student Fulbright
Faculty Fulbright
President’s Internationalization Initiative
International partner school
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A Brighter Future for Students and Arts I
n 2008, the College’s trustees identified a hotel and conference center as a priority,
In its first full year of operation, The Alfond Inn surpassed projections and is
deeming the project hard to accomplish but
already contributing to support the Alfond
with high-impact results. In a stroke of good
Scholars, who receive full scholarships—
fortune, the College was able to purchase
tuition, room, and board. The Alfond
the site of the former Langford Hotel, which
Scholars and their predecessors, the Cornell
had stood undeveloped since 2003. And in
Scholars, are selected for their academic
a stroke of even greater good fortune, the
and leadership potential. Originally financed
Harold Alfond Foundation awarded a grant
with discretionary funds from the bequest of
of $12.5 million that permitted the College to
George D. Cornell ’35 ’85 H , the College has
construct The Alfond Inn at Rollins. Under
sponsored more than 75 Cornell and Alfond
College brought contemplation of works by
the innovative terms of the gift, net proceeds
Scholars to date.
contemporary masters and rising artistic
from The Alfond Inn flow to an endowment
The Alfond Inn’s contribution to Rollins’
stars to the campus’s Cornell Fine Arts
for scholarships for 25 years or until the
academic enterprise extends beyond funding
Museum as well as the public spaces of The
endowment reaches $50 million, whichever
scholarships. The inception of The Alfond
Alfond Inn. The collection, which tops 200
comes later.
Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins
pieces, continues to grow.
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Greater Access to Visiting Scholars I
n 2007, the Rollins community invited distinguished intellectuals from various disciplines to join them at a colloquy on “Liberal Education and Social Responsibility in a Global Community,” with the objective of inspiring and informing a studentcentered curriculum for the new century, oriented to active citizenship. Among the participants were:
Jean-Michel Cousteau, 2009
Paul Simon, 2008
Maya Angelou ’85 H Francis Fukuyama
David McCullough, 2011
Jaron Lanier Steven Pinker Sally Ride Salman Rushdie E.O. Wilson From those conversations grew the Rollins Winter Park Institute, created as a source of intellectual engagement for both the College and the community.
Edward James Olmos, 2010
Since its inception, the Institute has
Oliver Stone, 2013
welcomed intellectual stars, such as:
Gloria Steinem, 2011
Jane Goodall ,2012
Billy Collins ’08 H , two-term U.S. poet laureate, who served as senior distinguished fellow of the Institute.
For information about future events, visit: rollins.edu/WPI
Michio Kaku, 2013
Ken Burns, 2014
Maya Lin, 2015
rollins.edu | 33
The curriculum kept pace with the changing demographics and interests of the student body.
New majors: American Studies Asian Studies Business Communication Studies Critical Media & Cultural Studies Marine Biology Social Entrepreneurship
New minors: Global Health Middle Eastern & North African Studies Neuroscience
Stronger Academic Potential
T
he Crummer School expanded Early Advantage MBA offerings
actively seeking outlets for continuing educational experiences,
to meet the demand for high-quality business education for
the Holt School launched the Center for Lifelong Learning. In its
recent college graduates. It also discovered a niche at the opposite
first year, the Center enrolled more than eight times the number of
end of the graduate-education spectrum: an executive doctorate
anticipated Senior Tars (STARS) and earned national recognition
of business administration for experienced business executives
as a model program. The Holt School is also actively exploring
seeking higher-level expertise.
synergies with the multiple health entities at Lake Nonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medical
President Duncan encouraged the Hamilton Holt School to tap its roots as a laboratory for curricular innovation and experimentation. Recognizing that aging baby boomers were
A Brighter Outlook for the Sciences
T
he demolition of the Bush Science Center also
demolished traditional thinking about the delivery of science education. The new facility is long on collaboration and short on isolation. Faculty offices are dispersed to encourage conversations across the disciplines, and the building has 134 windows to foster engagement.
34 | SPRING 2015
City as well as programming for the ever-growing Central Florida community through its Center for Health Innovation.
Greater Community Outreach
I
n 2006, Rollins was named the inaugural Florida Campus Compact Overall
Engaged Campus of the Year. Since then, the recognitions haven’t stopped. The College earned Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2008, and was named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll (one of six colleges and universities nationwide) from the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2010. In recognition of its burgeoning programming in social entrepreneurship and sustainability, in 2012, Rollins was named an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus—the 15th of 30 and
The Magic of Science Like the College’s 12th president, Thaddeus Seymour ’84HAL ’90H, who also had a Dartmouth College deanship on his résumé, Lewis Duncan is a student of magic. He enjoyed introducing children to “The Magic of Science” at annual College events such as Halloween Howl, Holiday FunFest, and Pathways to College Day. Rollins students also discovered the message in the magic, described by one student as “the importance of thinking broadly and logically instead of just trusting one point of view.”
the first liberal arts school in the South.
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Stronger Athletic Tradition I
n 2008 Rollins added men’s and women’s lacrosse to its roster of varsity
sports. Since then, the women’s team has advanced to the national semifinals not once, but twice. In the course of Duncan’s presidency, the Tars made 78 NCAA postseason appearances and captured three national titles, 23 Sunshine State Conference championships, and the No. 9 national ranking for student academic success. Men’s soccer celebrated its first trip to the national finals (and some players’ first experience of snow). The College also logged its first NCAA Elite 89 Award recipient; the honor is presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each sport’s national championship. The rebranding of athletics saw the Rollins community re-embrace the Tars as their teams’ nickname, and Tommy the Tar became a popular figure on campus.
President Duncan maintained an almost unbroken record as intramural ping-pong champion.
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A Brighter Campus Bush Science Center: 19 research labs, 15 instructional labs, 15 classrooms, 18 student-faculty lounges, 51 offices, and LEED-certified Tars Plaza: anchors the south end of a pedestrian walkway, leading to a new campus gateway Strong Hall: LEED-certified, multiphased new structure on the original footprint tripled its housing capacity
Olin Library: Bookmark Café, expanded computer
Extensive residence hall
lab, 24-hour access
renovations, including adding a faculty apartment to Ward Hall
Greater Connections with Alumni When Rollins alumni return to campus for reunions, the tower of the Knowles Memorial Chapel is bathed in blue light—a signal of their presence on campus. President Duncan introduced the tradition to connect generations of alumni to the students who follow in their footsteps. It also marks his own salute to the College’s enduring motto, Fiat Lux—Let there be light.
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Alumni PROFILE
Stephanie Glance ’86
HEAD OF THE COURT Thirty years ago, if you had asked Stephanie Glance ’86 where she’d be today, she would have told you she’d be in a court, not on one. Glance, who has spent more than 25 years as a women’s basketball coach for NCAA Division I, originally dreamed of becoming a trial lawyer and perhaps, eventually, a judge. But one decision she made her senior year changed her future. In December 1985, Glance, an English major, had completed all of the courses she needed to graduate, but her advisor persuaded her to spend the spring semester finishing a secondary education minor. And she did, becoming a student teacher at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs. Soon after, she received an offer to teach English. “I thought it would be pretty cool to have a job and have an income,” Glance says. “I thought I’d do that for a few years and then go back to law school.” Law school never quite came to pass. Instead, a simple question posed to her while teaching high school led to a change of venue for Glance, who is currently head women’s basketball coach at Columbia University and has worked under Hall of Famers such as North Carolina State’s Kay Yow and Tennessee’s Pat Summitt: Can you coach? “How do you know if you can coach if you’ve never coached and you’re 22 years old?” asks Glance, who played basketball, softball,
38 | SPRING 2015
and volleyball for the Tars. “I said, ‘Sure.’ That’s when I discovered this could be something I liked.” And clearly, the court liked her. After a few years at Lake Brantley, she went on to the University of South Florida, Southwest Texas State, North Carolina State, University of Tennessee, and Illinois State—all before heading to New York City to try her hand at coaching the women of the Ivy League. She spent 15 seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at NC State under Yow. During her time there, the Wolfpack went 285-178 with 11 NCAA tournament appearances, and Glance pieced together 14 recruiting classes that ranked in the top 30 nationally. In addition to learning about the value of winning on the court, Yow also taught Glance the importance of winning off the court. As Yow battled breast cancer, a disease that took her life in 2009, Glance filled in for her as an interim head coach during the games when the legendary coach was too weak to make it to the sideline. Several days before Yow died, Glance took the entire NC State team to visit her in the hospital, where Yow, albeit slowly, made eye contact with each of them. The team finished that year with a 13-17 season, beating Virginia Tech after Yow’s funeral.
by Daniel Paulling ’06
| photo by Eric Sucar
Stephanie Glance ’86 trades law school dream for coaching and scores big.
“The hardcore critics would say, ‘Well, she passed a month ago,’ ” Glance said in a New York Times article, regarding the team’s season tally. “But they didn’t realize what she was to them. She was a mother, a grandmother. Really, this is how they looked at her. This wasn’t just their coach. This was far beyond basketball. They really counted on her for so many things in their lives.” Yow’s impact on Glance was significant. “She was a great mentor for me,” Glance says. “I learned so many things from her.” Yow used basketball to teach her players life lessons. One of Yow’s maxims: Although people have little or no control over what happens to them, they can control how they respond. A glass isn’t only half full, went another maxim, but is overflowing. Another thing Glance learned from Yow was perseverance, something she’s putting to the test as she undergoes a major rebuilding process with the Lions, whose only winning season since 1986 came when they went 18-10 in 2009–10. The stretch includes a 0-26 season in 1994–95. The losing streak is paired with the Ivy League’s rule against offering athletic scholarships. Instead, Glance is pushing the opportunity to play in New York City, receive an Ivy League
education, and help turn the program around. “She said we’re going to be a better program than we are right now,” Lions first-year student Camille Zimmerman says. “That’s something that I really liked. I like being the underdog.” Glance approaches her job the same way Yow did: helping her players prepare for their post-college lives. This season, she allowed all her players to apply to be captains, making them submit résumés and answer questions from coaches and teammates in an interviewlike setting. “It was so cool to see some girls come out of their shells,” Lions fourth-year student Campbell Mobley says. “[Glance] knows that in four years or so that we’re no longer going to be playing basketball. Coach Glance is giving us life lessons through every practice and every drill and making us better people.” Glance sometimes plays the “what-if” game, imagining what her life would have been like had she become a lawyer instead of taking that coaching position at Lake Brantley in 1986. But she’s happy she made the decision to coach. “There are no regrets,” Glance says. “I’ve been very, very blessed to have the opportunities and experiences I’ve had. I just took a different path.”
rollins.edu | 39
rollins.edu/alumniweekend
Rest assured when you’re insured.
WA N T E D : ALUMNI UPDATES RECENTLY
Sometimes life throws unexpected curveballs, but going without insurance is risky—to your health and your finances. Protect yourself and your family with auto, home, renter’s, health, life, travel, pet, and long-term care insurance offered through the Rollins College Alumni Insurance Program. For more information, visit meyerandassoc.com/rollins or contact the program administrator at 800-635-7801.
40 | SPRING 2015
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class news edited by Amanda Castino
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RUTH SMITH YADLEY celebrated her 90th birthday by staying at The Alfond Inn and has plans to come back for her 95th.
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PEGGY SIAS LANTZ’S (1) fourth book, Florida’s Edible Wild Plants: A Guide to Collecting and Cooking, was published in May. Fully illustrated, the book draws from Peggy’s 50 years of experience gathering and preparing wild edibles and includes recipes and general information about the most common wild edibles in Florida. Peggy is also a lead instructor for the Florida Master Naturalist Program.
1967–2002 and continues to teach a botany class and maintain a botanical garden at the college. Janice also received the South Carolina Wildlife Federation Education Conservationist Award in 2012. She and her husband DICK HALDEMAN ’57, a retired director of public relations at Erskine, have two daughters and two grandsons. BEVERLY KIEVMAN COPEN’s (2) e-book for young adults, Your Eyes Are Your Windows to the World, uses photographs from around the world to introduce readers to other cultures and develop a sense of global awareness. In September, her solo photography and art exhibition, Expanding Your Horizons, was displayed at the Herberger Theater Art Gallery in Phoenix, AZ. It featured work produced while traveling to different countries.
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NORBETT “NORBY” MINTZ celebrated his 84th birthday in December.
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JANICE HAMILTON HALDEMAN, professor emerita of biology at Erskine College, received the Four-Year College & University Section Biology Teaching Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) during the 2014 NABT conference in November, where she also presented. Janice holds an MA from Vanderbilt University and a PhD from Clemson University. She taught full time at Erskine College from
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In October, JANE ROEDER (3) had an unexpected reunion with ANDREA THOMPSON MCCALL ’74 in a restaurant in Pompeii, Italy, sparked by Jane’s Annie Russell Theatre reunion hat. They’ve kept in touch with each other as well as with other Phi Mu alumnae from their era.
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CAROL PAGELSEN BYER and her husband John retired to North Myrtle Beach, SC. Carol served as
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the pastor of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for 30 years. She and John enjoy ballroom dancing and teach Argentine tango in their local community as well as in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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In September, FRED LAUTEN ’76MBA began his service as the chief judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.
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JOHN FOSTER, a partner at BakerHostetler, contributed to the 1,283 hours in pro bono work that BakerHostetler attorneys donated in 2013, as recognized by Orlando Business Journal. John has handled litigation, trials, and appeals in state and federal courts for more than 30 years.
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Last June, JOAN O’SULLIVAN WRIGHT (4), founder and president of the O’Sullivan Wright firm, was named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Charlotte, NC, region.
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KYLE RIVA ’79 MBA (5) launched Alexander Investments International, a luxury multifamily residential real estate development company based in Winter Park.
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the first woman to be inducted, and she currently serves on the Hall of Fame’s board of directors. JENNIFER WADE SMITH (10) and husband Thomas welcomed Alexander Keepers on 9/4/14. He joins siblings Lauren and Jake.
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Last June, JEANMARIE ESPOSITO ECK received a master of divinity degree from Unity Institute & Seminary. Jeanmarie serves as associate minister at Unity of Houston. In July, KIRSTEN HAUSER MACDOUGAL (11) was appointed president of Mercy Education Collaborative of Cincinnati, OH. Previously, Kirsten served as president of Mother of Mercy High School in Cincinnati and director of marketing and communications at Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, OH.
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Last September, RICK WHITE, PHILIP WERTZ ’79, PAUL CISCO ’79, RALPH CARSON, ROBERT WALKER ’78, ROBERT BENJAMIN ’81, TED BIESANZ ’79, JOHN IRISH ’78, EDWARD FITZGERALD, MIKE MCDONALD ’81, KENDRICK WHITE, PETER SAMAHA ’82, and THOMAS MAZZEI ’79 gathered for an informal Rollins reunion in Chicago. The group’s photo includes a Sully Strong banner in honor of CHRIS SULLIVAN ’79 who recently passed away from cancer. (6)
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PHILIP HILLINGER’s AdrenalineTV returned to Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The show provides viewers with an insider’s view of sports adventures.
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JACQUELINE PEEBLES married Steven Watkins at Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles Catholic Church in Bradenton, FL.
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After working several years with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, NV, PATRICK NORRIS returned to Orlando to serve as human resources director for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
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LYDIA BLADEN DUNKLE has three works of art on display and for sale on the first floor of the Archibald Granville Bush Science Center. Her work has been previously displayed at Dandelion Communitea Cafe and the Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar, both in Orlando, as well as the Orlando Visual Fringe. In November, ELIZABETH SCHAAF was elected mayor of Oakland, CA.
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LORI DUNLOP PYLE (7) and husband Brad welcomed Madeleine Simone on 4/4/14. She joins brothers Nathan, 9, and Benjamin, 7. LEE LOWRY was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking and was also selected to join the Citizens Advisory Committee of Hillsborough County. LOUIS WOESSNER (8) and wife Rebekah welcomed adopted son Landry Joseph, born on 1/23/14, and daughter Evangline Grace on 7/19/14.
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PAMELA FROST CUTRONE’s husband Dixie passed away on November 20.
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DANA PREBLE DIETER (9) was recently inducted to the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame. Dana is
YOLAINE COTEL CHMIELEWSKI ’01MA (12) and husband Christopher welcomed John on 6/13/14. He joins siblings Sean and Erica. VANESSA J. SKINNER, who practices estate planning and elder law in the Winter Park office of Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, was recently named to the Advisory Council of the Neighbors Network, a nonprofit organization that supports aging adults who wish to stay in their homes.
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MARISA KINCY (13) married Aaron Rubinger on 5/4/14 at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland, FL.
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JONATHAN ADAMO ’04 MBA was named among Orlando Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2014. Jonathan is vice president of acquisitions at National Retail Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns a diversified portfolio of freestanding retail stores across the U.S. Over the years, Adamo has completed about $1.6 billion in 230 commercial real estate transactions for the company.
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LINDSAY BERMAN HANSELL (14) and husband Michael welcomed twins Griffen Parker and Finley Logan on 6/11/14. They join brother Warner. KUNAL BHATHEJA co-authored Easy as P.I.E.: Avoiding and Preventing Vicarious Liability for Sexual Harassment by Supervisors with Blair T. Jackson, a former adjunct professor at Crummer Graduate School of Business. The article
rollins.edu | 43
was published in the Drake Law Review. MORGAN GASKIN ’02 received a master’s degree in traditional Oriental medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago, IL, and now works as an acupuncturist and herbalist. In December, ALICIA MILYAK SCHUCK ’11MHR was named the NCAA Division II women’s soccer Coach of the Year. STACEY SMITH (15) wrote the play Snow Queen. Stacey, whose pen name is Stacey Lane, is the recipient of a Wurlitzer Foundation residency grant, Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District literary artist fellowship, and the American Alliance for Theatre & Education Unpublished Play Reading Project Award.
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JESSICA COE BONANNO (16) received her MBA from the University of Notre Dame in May 2014 and joined the nonprofit research and advisory practice the Democracy Collaborative. JAMES and JILL FRANKLIN GOOCH (17) welcomed Noel Devin on 2/13/14. Noel is named after the couple’s friend NOEL SMITH, who passed away in 2010.
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MEGHAN BARNARD GRIFFIN is assistant professor of business writing and chair of the School of Management at Daytona State College. GARY CAIN ’04 MBA was named among Orlando Business Journal’s CEOs of the Year for 2014. Gary is president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida. AMBER CARLSON-HAYS (18) and husband Ti welcomed Logan on 9/23/14. LAURA COLE ’08 MLS married Jesse Bradley on 10/16/14. An adjunct professor in the women, gender, and sexuality studies program at Florida Atlantic University, JEFFREY NALL ’07MLS (19) published Feminism and the Mastery of Women and Childbirth. ANJALI VYAS was named among Orlando Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2014. Anjali serves as chief medical officer at Family Physicians Group, which is Central Florida’s largest independent primary care practice with more than 50 doctors. She’s also CEO of FPG Healthcare—Central Florida’s first accountable care organization—and has cut nearly $4 million in health care costs.
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In August, JENNIFER CALDWELL WATERBURY (20) earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering systems from the University of Central Florida. ADELLE ISHAC BETHEL (21) and husband Thomas welcomed Isabella Anne on 1/19/14. DEENA PATSOURAKOS (22) married Jason Flowers on 2/14/14 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando.
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ZACH BLEND (23) was named to Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40: Georgia’s Best & Brightest. Zach serves as residential life director of Goshen Valley Boys Ranch, a nonprofit program for youth in the state foster care system. LAURA LINK TRAPANI (24) and husband Michael welcomed Thomas Francis on 11/2/14. MARY ANN MURDOCH ’06MLS (25) is a registered yoga instructor and received certification for completing a 200-hour training program. She works as a humanities and film professor at Polk State College, where she was just granted tenure. HEATHER WILLIAMS (26) married Stephen Gill on 9/20/14 in Knowles Memorial Chapel.
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Attendees included MIKAELA GREEN MARRA ’05, PAUL HANEY, CHELSEA ZIESIG DENG, STEPHANIE CARR ’07, STEPHANIE HANISAK ’07, JULIA JACKSON ’07, and MEGAN JOYNER ’10.
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JONATHAN and KATHERINE ALBRIGHT JASIEWICZ (27) welcomed Ryder Thomas on 3/29/14. KARINA MCCABE GAFFORD (28) and husband Charlie welcomed Michael Alexander on 08/30/2014. In May 2014, BONNIE TURTUR received an MA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Bonnie served as editorin-chief and creative director of Masters Magazine, a biannual print publication in association with the School of Visual Arts, which launched its first issue in January 2014. She also photographed a spring 2015 campaign project and the online web series Changemakers for Ann.
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Last May, LAUREL MASON earned a JD with concentrations in tax law and corporate law from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School
of Law. In September, she began work in the legal and compliance department of a large international bank in New York City.
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KATIE OSTERLOH married Brian Phelps on 12/14/14 in Orlando.
IN M E M O R Y EDWARD BRADY ’60
July 31, 2014 JANE FEISE YOUNG ’61
March 22, 2014 PAUL GLYNN ’64
PRAISELYNN SANTOS recently completed a photography fellowship with award-winning social enterprise Soko, an online jewelry store promoting Kenyan artisans, and launched ComePlum, a photography and graphic design business.
November 7, 2014 PAUL CARLSON ’66
July 23, 2014 LEWANZER LASSITER ’70
October 14, 2014 RANDOLPH CARLEE ’74
July 10, 2014 CRAIG MORRISON ’75 ’76MBA
November 10, 2014 SUSAN WHITE ’78MA
NEWS YOU WANT TO SHARE?
September 14, 2014 CHRISTOPHER R. SULLIVAN ’79
Visit rollins.edu/alumniclassnews to fill out a Class News submission form, or mail your news to:
October 20, 2014 MARY SEYMOUR ’80
January 15, 2015
Rollins College Class News Office of Alumni Relations 1000 Holt Ave. – 2736 Winter Park, FL 32789-4499
MARTHA D. COTTEN ’80
May 26, 2015 JANET LEIGH KINCZEL LASH ’82MA
October 22, 2014 WILLIAM L. HAUVER ’15
February 2, 2015
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MATTHEW T. HOVERMAN ’15
October 27, 2014
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Ken Burns Award-winning documentary filmmaker
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WELCOME TO THE
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46 | SPRING 2015
REGIONAL ALUMNI CLUBS Atlanta
New York
Central Florida
Colorado
Dallas-Ft. Worth
Washington, D.C.
Chicago
NEW YORK
CHICAGO
CENTRAL FLORIDA
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Garrett Arnold ’11, Todd Shagin ’08, Morgan Davin ’09, and Zachary John ’11 at the Fall Social on October 29, 2014
Allison Arof ’10 ’12MBA , Megan Mascarenhas ’14, Dean of the College of Professional Studies Debra Wellman, Michele Hunt ’10 ’14 MAT, and Drew Horsburgh ’10 at the After Office Hours event featuring Dean Wellman on March 12, 2015
Roundtable discussion among Central Florida alumni at the networking event on October 8, 2014
Kathleen Gannon ’91, and regional council members Melinda Medlin ’92 and Jennie Miller McDonnell ’91 at the bowling event on April 12, 2015
COLORADO Professor of Educational Psychology Gio Valiante, trustee David Lord ’69 ’71 MBA , and Colorado regional council members Lauren Shrensky ’97, Simon Illman ’92, and Jill Cooke ’81 at the reception and lecture featuring Professor Valiante on October 28, 2014
ATLANTA
DALLAS-FT. WORTH Eric Vergati ’07 and Casey Cutler ’10 at the spring happy hour on March 13, 2015
Atlanta area alumni at the Jingle Mingle on December 2, 2014
rollins.edu | 47
by Joseph Friedman ’49 | illustration by Dan Baxter
A Soldier’s Story The warmth of Rollins College never seemed more meaningful to me than it did during the winter of 1944 when I was sitting in a foxhole near the French town of Metz. There, in the bitter cold, in the midst of war, my feet froze. Not just cold. Not just numb. Way beyond frostbite. I couldn’t move. My toes turned gangrenous black while I clung to our unit’s communications radio to report troop movements, gunfire, and skirmishes, and waited for help. Did my mind keep drifting back to Florida and Rollins? You bet. But the funny thing is that I hadn’t even been an official student then. I had just spent a few months on campus in late 1943 with hundreds of other soldiers. We were part of the Army Specialized Training Program. Chase Hall was our barracks—four guys per room. We took some classes, but we were not college students. Honestly, I can’t remember what we were supposed to be studying. Maybe because I wasn’t interested in the subject then. Or maybe because I’m 90 now. But I do clearly recall that reveille woke us every day at 6 a.m., and we hustled to get dressed and put our room in order for inspection. (The manual told us how to hang our clothes and in what order.) Then we fell in for the daily flag-raising ceremony, marched around campus, drilled, and received more Army
instruction. Yet what I recalled most while sitting in that frozen foxhole was the lush, sunny Rollins setting, and OK, I was young, so I remembered the female students too. Not that we were allowed to talk to them much. My memories of the homey campus might have been all the more intense because we knew that it was only a matter of time before we got orders to move out and head to combat overseas. And then, too, there was this strange coincidence: My parents, who had family in north Florida, had recently moved from Massachusetts and were spending the winter with good friends in Winter Park. That made Rollins seem even more like the home I left behind, as I shivered in my hole in the ground, wondering if I’d ever get out of it, much less back to warm, tropical Rollins. I don’t know why, but I always felt like I would, even as I got farther and farther away. I arrived in France with the 95th Infantry Division three months after D-Day. We became part of the Red Ball Express, which kept ferrying fuel and food to Gen. George Patton’s fast-moving tank units that were always outrunning their supply lines. The roads were pockmarked from explosions. The weather turned awful. But we kept going, until I found myself stuck in that foxhole. It was comforting to recall my memories of Rollins—the beauty of the campus, the big events like the Animated Magazine and how the townspeople flocked to them. After a while, I even felt nostalgic for all the marching and drilling we did in the warm Florida weather. By the time help arrived at my foxhole, I couldn’t walk. The medics examined my feet and shipped me to a special hospital near Bristol, England. Thanks to new techniques and excellent care, they didn’t need to amputate. I recovered slowly. But it was safe and warm there. A lot of guys were worse off, so I couldn’t complain. After several months, the doctors said I was well enough to travel, and I sailed back to the United States with other soldiers. We were somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean when word came that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died. I spent the rest of the war stateside, but I kept thinking about Rollins. When the war ended, I returned to Florida, hoping to start college. I knew I couldn’t afford Rollins, even with the benefits of the GI Bill. I tried to enroll at the University of Florida, and their administrators said my medical condition allowed me to receive full tuition at a private college. Since the big public schools were filling up with returning GIs, they were glad to direct me to Rollins. What a strange coincidence! I could never have planned it. But I was heading home. Throughout my time in the Army, I always felt like I’d get back to Rollins someday. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when. But when everything fell into place, I felt like I’d been blessed. I still do.
Joseph Friedman ’49 made a full recovery from his wartime injuries and had a successful career as a real estate developer in Florida. He has two daughters and is now retired and living in Boca Raton. His wife, Zilpha, passed away in 2014. They had been married 57 years.
48 | SPRING 2015
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Springtime in
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March in Winter Park means flip flops, swim trunks, and an excuse to head to the pool in between classes. The rows of blooming azaleas and canopy of yellow tabebuia trees only help make the walk there and back a little more captivating. 50 | SPRING 2015
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