The Spring Hill College Magazine | Winter 2009

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The Spring Hill College Magazine Volume 3, Number 3

Editor: Lindsay Hughes, MLA ’08

Art Director: Margaret Broach

Photography: Brian Jordan ’80 Seth Laubinger ’02

Table of Contents Campus News

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A Moment in Time

Jim Stennett

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Badger News

Jim Stennett

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“The time is always ripe to do right”

Inaugural Address by Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J.

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Keith Necaise

Father Salmi Takes the Helm

Lindsay Hughes

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Contributing Writers:

4X4 Students

Lindsay Hughes

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Chapter Updates

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Class Notes

Donaldson Returns as Alumni Director

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Calendar of Events

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Dr. J. Edward Balthrop ’40 Reflects on Spring Hill Legacy

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SHC Receives Feedback on Magazine

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Caroline Smith Jim Stennett

President: Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J.

Director of Communications & Institutional Marketing: John Kerr

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The Spring Hill College Magazine is published three times a year by the Office of Communications and Marketing.

Comments should be addressed to: Lindsay Hughes, Editor Spring Hill College Magazine, 4000 Dauphin Street Mobile, AL 36608-1791 (251) 380-2289 or (877) SPR-HILL

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CampusNews

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

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a Moment in Time

By Jim Stennett

A moment. One brief moment. In just one brief moment on the morning of July 29, 2009, a driver in Scottsboro, Ala., took her eyes off the road to reach for her cell phone. It was in that same moment that she struck and fatally injured local businessman Carlos Serrano, Sr., who was riding his bicycle along the roadside.

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Carlos Serrano crosses the finish line at the ESi Half Ironman Triathlon in Augusta, Ga.

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Tagline here about Serrano and son.

Father and son  during training for the triathlon.

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Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

That moment forever changed the life of Serrano’s son and Spring Hill College student Carlos Serrano, Jr. Turning tragedy into hope, Carlos decided to pick up his father’s fallen banner and dive headlong into two projects Serrano, Sr., had been involved with before the accident.

“For about two weeks after the accident I was scared to even get on a bike,” Carlos said. “But then I realized that riding was a privilege that many people can’t enjoy, and I shouldn’t let what happened keep me from the goals and successes my father and I had planned together.”

First, Carlos jumped into promoting the 3rd annual Scottsboro Tri-Sport Athletic Association (STAA) 5K run that his father

had been instrumental in starting.

“Normally about 300 to 400 runners competed in the race,” he said. “This year we doubled that number to almost 700 runners.” Carlos was also honored to discover that the STAA renamed the event the Carlos Serrano, Sr. Memorial 5K in his father’s memory.

Second and perhaps more personally daunting, Carlos began to train for the ESi Half Ironman Triathlon in Augusta, Ga., the same event his father had been training for the day of his accident. Carlos set a personal goal of seven hours to complete the 1.2-mile swim, 56mile bike race and 13.1-mile run. He completed the event in 6:49 while wearing his father’s watch and red “Never Quit the Game” wristband.

“It was something we had planned to do together,” he said. “He always pushed me to do my best. I did it.

I beat my goal. Any time I wanted to stop, I felt him. I knew he was watching me. He was there.”

As a student at SHC, Carlos is well known across campus. Majoring in mathematics, he also is the student assistant for the sports information department where he serves as the statistician for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. He also operates the scoreboard and does the public address announcing and music at soccer and volleyball matches, while being active in several on-campus clubs and activities.

Appropriately, Carlos is organizing a foundation in his father’s memory to promote bicycle safety.

BadgerNews

“My father was a teacher. He led by example and inspired others,” Carlos said. “In the STAA, he took a small group of runners from nothing to being a huge organization. He taught me to appreciate the small things when you ride a bike, things you don’t normally see or think about while driving. Those are the kind of things he taught me that I didn’t really understand until after the accident.”

Carlos has also learned to appreciate the bigger picture in life.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself in these past few months. Being at Spring Hill has also helped. I’ve learned a lot about my relationship with my faith and that God does have a plan for it all.”

For the latest Badger news visit www.shcbadgers.com Prior to his time at Great Falls, Hall coached women’s basketball at Fresno Pacific University where he led an 11-game turnaround in just two seasons, finishing 19-12 in the 2006-07 season. From 2002-05, he was the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota-Morris where he inherited a team that had been winless for two consecutive seasons and was suffering a 66-game losing streak at the NCAA Division II level. He won just one game in 2002-03, but produced consecutive double-digit winners in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Hall holds a B.A. in history from Grinnell College in Iowa and a M.S. Ed. in health and physical education from Northwest Missouri State. A native of Bedford, Ind., Hall and his wife, Rachel, have two sons, Joshua and Samuel.

On Aug. 15, they welcomed the latest edition to their family, daughter Maggie.

 Jim Hall, the new Athletic Director. Photo by Jim Stennett.

Spring Hill Welcomes Jim Hall as New AD Jim Hall took the reins as director of athletics and recreation in October, following two years as the director of athletics at the University of Great Falls in Montana and successful runs as a women’s basketball coach with three different programs.

At Great Falls, Hall directed the strategic growth plan for the school’s athletic department that includes planned construction of a softball field and a soccer and track complex. He also oversaw planning for renovations of the school’s locker rooms and the gymnasium while restructuring the department’s athletic scholarship program to increase competitiveness. In 2008, he directed the rebranding of the Great Falls Athletic Department with a new logo, Web site, printed materials and apparel line.

SHC to move to SSAC in 2010-11 Spring Hill College has accepted an invitation to join the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and will begin competition within its new conference in the 2010-11 academic year.

The move to the SSAC ends the 28-year affiliation between Spring Hill College and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.

“I think the move to the SSAC will put Spring Hill athletics in a very strong position to achieve our long-range goals for Badger athletics,” said Jim Hall, director of athletics and recreation. “The SSAC is a quality conference with a solid national reputation. I am also pleased that we’ll be able to keep many of our traditional rivalries in tact.

This is an exciting time for Badger athletics, and I believe this change in conference affiliation will positively impact all of our programs.”

The SSAC is currently an 11-member conference consisting of schools from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee

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BadgerNews

For the latest Badger news visit www.shcbadgers.com

and South Carolina. Along with SHC, four other GCAC institutions will make the jump to the SSAC. Spring Hill’s move to the expanded SSAC will also increase championship opportunities in its 13 sports and ensure the opportunity for each sport to compete for an automatic qualification to the national tournament. There will now be enough SSAC teams competing in each sport to award at least one automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament in each event and most team sports will qualify for multiple participants from the conference.

Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams Wrap Up 2009 Seasons The Spring Hill College men’s and women’s soccer teams fought through two tough schedules this season, but both squads finished the year with many positive signs for 2010.

On the men’s side, the Badgers faced a daunting string of eight games to open the year and struggled to score goals against some of the top NAIA teams in the Southeast.

Despite a winless first half of 2009, the SHC men rebounded to take victories in five of their last 10 matches, including a thrilling last-second 3-2 victory in double overtime at Georgia Southwestern State University in the last regular season match of the year.

Men’s soccer ended the season with a first-round loss at the 2009 GCAC Tournament to LSU-Shreveport by a 3-1 score and finished the year with a 5-14 record overall and 1-3 in GCAC play.

Sophomore Gable Fortune of St. Louis, Mo., led the Badgers offensively with 11 points including five goalsscored. Junior goalkeeper Cory Bronenkamp of St. Louis returned to the Badgers after suffering a head injury in his freshman season to record two shutout victories and make 73 saves in more than 1,200 minutes in goal.

For the Lady Badgers, 2009 was a rollercoaster of emotions in which the team never quite found its offensive rhythm and finished with a 7-8-1 regular season record.

The defense stole the show for the Lady Badgers this year, turning in four shutout performances and surrendering two goals in only three matches. Junior keeper Emma Pitchford of Ridgeland, Miss., played every minute of every match in goal this year with 66 saves to her credit.

Women’s soccer lost 3-0 to William Carey in the GCAC Tournament semifinal round after defeating LSUS 1-0 in the opening round. The Lady Badgers closed the year 8-9-1 overall and 0-3-1 in conference. Senior Alison Giles, a defender from St. Louis, was named All-GCAC 1st team.

Junior defender Lara Menke of Washington, Mo.; junior forward Jade Beason from Cincinnati, Ohio; sophomore forward Abby Galen of St. Louis; and freshman midfielder Sarah Uptmore of Cape Girardeau, Mo., were named to the All Conference 2nd team.

For the season, Beason led the team with five goalsscored and one assist, and sophomore Katie Pendergast of St. Louis had four goals and two assists.

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Young Volleyball Badgers Learn Ropes in 2009 This season the Lady Badgers volleyball team welcomed legendary NCAA Division II coach Peggy Martin to the program, but a young, inexperienced roster struggled through to an 8-14 finish in the regular season.

Martin, who holds the NCAA D-2 record with 1,064 wins, was lured out of retirement by Vice President for Student Affairs Joe Deighton this summer to coach her hometown team. However, a lack of experience and an undersized front line proved to be too much for the Lady Badgers to overcome this year, but several players turned in outstanding individual performances.

Senior libero Missy Williams of Fairhope, Ala., passed the 2,100 career digs mark late in the season, and senior middle blocker Maura O’Callaghan led the team with 40 total blocks. Junior outside hitter Cassandra Marchand of Grand Bay, Ala., scored 188 kills, and sophomore setter Sally Reese of Murfreesboro, Tenn., handed out 470 assists and served 28 aces.

Volleyball ended the regular season 8-14 overall and 3-7 in conference. The Lady Badgers closed out the 2009 season with a 3-0 loss to Dillard University at the GCAC Volleyball Tournament.

Cross Country Sends Four Runners to Nationals Four Spring Hill College cross country runners qualified to compete at the 2009 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships held in Vancouver, Wash.

On the men’s side, sophomore two-time All-GCAC runner Will Kirkikis of Kenner, La., posted an 8-kilometer time of 29:31.30 at the 2009 GCAC Cross Country Championships to qualify for his second consecutive trip to Nationals.

Sophomore Christian Boyer of Mobile also qualified at 29:50.11, along with freshman John Redman of Spanish Fort, Ala., with a time of 29:57.49. All-GCAC runners Boyer and Redman will both appear at their first NAIA National Championships.

For the Lady Badgers, sophomore two-time AllConference runner Kate Imwalle of Mobile ran the 18th best 5-kilometer time in SHC women’s cross country history at the GCAC Championships. Imwalle clocked a time of 19:52.46 to qualify for the National Championships in her second consecutive season.

At the GCAC Championships this year, both the men’s and women’s teams placed 2nd overall to Xavier University (La.). In addition to each of the national qualifiers, junior Blakely Duhé of Mobile of the women’s team and freshman Thomas Kinsey of Fairhope, Ala., of the men’s team were both selected as All-GCAC performers by the conference coaches.

Jim Stennett is Sports Information Director at Spring Hill College.

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Photos by Seth Laubinger ‘02

 Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J., delivers his inaugural address.

At a historic event for Spring Hill College, the Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J., was installed as the College’s 38th president on Oct. 23, 2009. The audience gathered in the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center, and many more watched the live broadcast online. Salmi’s inaugural address follows: Archbishop Lipscomb, Archbishop Rodi, distinguished guests and friends of Spring Hill College, members of the faculty, staff and students: I would like to begin by offering thanks first and always to our good and gracious God who has blessed us and this College with the many good gifts we celebrate and share today. I come before you humbled by your presence and by the affection you have for Spring Hill College.

What I hope to do today is to share with you what I consider some foundational strengths of Spring

Hill College, based on a tradition of excellence and of justice. I will also offer a vision of what Spring Hill College might become with God’s grace and our good work.

Our future is built on the foundation that is our past, and we stand on the shoulders of those who have worked through the decades to make Spring Hill College the very special place it has become. We honor their legacy today as we stand on this firm foundation they have left us. As the oldest college in the state of Alabama, we for nearly 180 years have been providing students an

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

opportunity to obtain an education and fulfill their dreams.

From the very beginning Spring Hill College reached out to those students who were at the margins of our society and most in need. Some of the first students admitted were from the Mobile Orphan Asylum, as it was called back then. Through the years the College continued to live out its commitment to justice. In the 1930s Spring Hill College became one of the first Jesuit colleges in the United States to request permission from Rome to admit women as students full time.

That request was denied several times

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The Spring Hill College Choir and Chorale sing during the inauguration.

but finally became reality thanks to the persistence of the Jesuits and of the women.

During that same period the College began to explore integration.

In May of 1948, Father Patrick Donnelly, president of the College, stated boldly, “Let the College that was first to raise the torch of education in Alabama also light and lead the way to full democracy in Alabama and the Southland. Civil Rights? Spring Hill College is for them. For ourselves and every other citizen, regardless of creed or color.”

The first black student admitted full time was Julia Ponquinette, a transfer student from Loyola University Chicago. Fannie Motley also transferred to Spring Hill College and became our first black graduate in 1956. There were challenges in the decision to integrate the College, but Fathers Donnelly and Smith, the Jesuit community and their lay colleagues understood the moral imperative to open Spring Hill College to those deserving students who sought a Jesuit and Catholic education. We give thanks for their insights and for the gift those first black students were to Spring Hill.

We heard excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “A Letter

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 Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago, congratulates Salmi on his inauguration.

from a Birmingham Jail.” Because of Spring Hill College’s decision to lead the way in integrating higher education in the South, Dr. King also wrote in his letter: “I commend the Catholic leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hill College several years ago. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”

Radiant stars of love and brotherhood…

Might those radiant stars of love and brotherhood guide us as we continue to chart our way into the future? I believe that now is the time for us to look to those stars to guide us on the path of Jesus’ message of love and of our understanding of brotherhood today, given the needs of our global family. In the words of Dr. King, “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”

The time is always ripe to do right…

Indeed the time was right for Bishop Portier and for those first

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Jesuits and for all those who have courageously gone before us to follow those radiant stars and to do right; right that led to the path of justice for all those who desired an excellent education, a Catholic and Jesuit education.

It is time for us to continue to do right. Spring Hill College has a history of doing the right thing and of taking risks to do those right things. What is the right thing for us to do now and for the future? The time is always ripe to do right … Now is the time to ask what will we become? What must we become to do what is right?

To do right for the children of Alabama and the Gulf Coast.

To do right for this wonderful place we call home.

To do right for the planet on which we live and which we share with more than 6.5 billion people.

I believe the time is right for us to become global thinkers, learners, and collaborators. Let us together recognize our responsibility to prepare ourselves and our students to confront the challenges that face our world.

As we look at the changing face of America and of our world, Spring Hill College needs to be a welcoming place for all people and all faiths, a place where once again first generations

 The crowd gathered in the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center for Salmi’s inauguration as the 38th president of Spring Hill College.

of college students are given the opportunity to excel and are prepared to be leaders in service to others.

I believe that the time is right for us to reach out to the world, but also to the sons and daughters of the bayous and small towns of Alabama and the Deep South and to help them achieve the best in the American dream. The time is right for us to engage this next generation of students both in our backyard and from across the globe and assist them in their preparation for professional excellence, to enliven them intellectually and spiritually in the pursuit of truth and to an ever deepening appreciation of the beauty of creation, the dignity of life, the demands of justice, and the mystery of God’s love.

I believe the time is right for Spring Hill, as a Jesuit and Catholic College, to reaffirm the role of a liberal arts education and inspire in our students a love for learning. Our students should possess a breadth and variety of knowledge as well as be skilled in critical thinking, in analysis, and in judgment. We have a proud history of providing our students not only with those skills, but we continue to encourage them to express themselves in art, theater,

communications and poetry.

This is no small undertaking and we are able to provide our students an excellent education thanks to our talented and dedicated faculty. The Spring Hill faculty are scholars who not only teach and teach well but who are engaged with their students inside and outside the classroom. I am deeply grateful for their dedication to their profession, to their students and to the College.

Like higher education institutions across the country, we hope to attract the best and brightest students to Spring Hill College. But let us not do so at the peril of the rest. I believe we have an obligation to help the average student become successful and open a future of opportunities to him or her. I believe the time is right for us to inspire those students and raise them up to level of academic and personal excellence.

Look about this room. There is probably more than one “C student” who is now successful in their career and in life thanks to their experience here on the Hill. They may have struggled with Father Yancey’s biology class or Father Murray’s English class, but they are successful now because of their perseverance and the faculty who both challenged them

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and supported them. The time is right for us to renew our efforts to educate all students who come to us eager to learn.

The challenges are great, but the price of not meeting them is far greater. We cannot afford a generation where more than half of the population is written off as undeserving or unworthy. Our Jesuit heritage, justice and the gospel call for us to do better, to do more.

We know all too well the fastpaced changes in technology and the impact of technology on the methodologies we employ for instruction. We should use technology to help our students learn and to experience the virtual world, but we will need to send our students out into the real world to meet face to face those impacted by the choices we make and the ways we choose to live our lives.

The time is right for us to place an even greater importance on our immersion experiences by increasing their number and incorporating them into the curriculum. The time is right for the establishment of a campus in Europe and for us to encourage students to study abroad. To study in places that may seem far distant from our Southern home, but are, we

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know, all too connected in our global economy.

The time is right for our students to study with people of different cultures, faiths, and backgrounds, both here on our own campus as we strive for diversity at home, but also to live and study with students in the European Union, in China, Vietnam, India and Africa.

As we educate our students in global citizenship we need to reflect on the condition of our world and the threats to our planet, especially the environmental threats. I believe the time is right for Spring Hill College to take up the charge of addressing the environmental needs of our planet and of a sustainable future for this fragile place we call home. We will open next year our new student center, which will be one of the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified buildings in south Alabama.

The environmental features of the student center are important, but equally as important will be the educational aspects of the building, helping our campus community to better understand the impact of their actions and the operation of the building on the environment.

But a single building cannot be the extent to which we dedicate ourselves to this critical issue. I believe the time is right for us to make a significant contribution to the issue of sustainability. Let us commit to a rigorous examination of the many aspects of sustainability, of new energies and the protection of our environment.

In doing so, let us do what a liberal arts college can do best – bring all disciplines to bear on this issue.

Let us examine the ethical and moral dimensions of global sustainability. Let us bring our best philosophical and theological reflection

ď ą The inaugural platform party included Spring Hill students, faculty, administration and trustees; delegates from colleges, universities and organizations; and civic and religious leaders.

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to the issue of justice for the poor of our world who are most impacted by the misuse of natural resources and the depleting of our environment. Let us examine the health issues along with the business and economic factors related to our environment and to sustainability for all of us, rich and poor, who must learn to share and care for this earth on which we stand.

The time is right for Spring Hill College to be guided by those radiant stars of love and to move forward in educating the next generation of deserving students. The time is right for Spring Hill College to reach out to our neighbors and to the world so that we might do what is right for our College, to do what is right for our world, and to do what is right for the greater glory of God. Thank you, and may God bless Spring Hill College.

By Lindsay Hughes

Since the Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J., arrived on campus in June, he has made quite an impression on the Spring Hill College community.

The Cleveland native describes himself as “a little irreverent.”

He’s unequivocal, witty, energetic, approachable and student-focused.

As the new president, he is frank about the challenges that lie ahead, but he is enthusiastic about the College’s opportunities for growth.

Photo by Seth Laubinger '02

‘Destined for priesthood’ The middle child of seven children, Salmi grew up in a Cleveland suburb.

His mother, Rita, was Irish-Catholic; and his father, Ray, who worked on a tugboat, converted to Catholicism to marry his mother. Heads of a “lovingly chaotic” household, Salmi’s parents made sacrifices so each of their children could receive a Catholic education.

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Young Salmi would “play Mass,” using his mother’s rolling pin to flatten Wonder Bread into hosts, and wearing his bathrobe backwards to create a vestment. “I guess maybe those were some early indications that I was destined for priesthood,” he said with a grin.

After Salmi graduated high school in 1969, he attended Ohio University, where he majored in communications.

Although the university is a public school, Salmi studied under two Jesuit professors who were working on their doctorates.

surprised by his decision to enter the Jesuits. However, his mother was torn.

“I don’t think she exactly thought my being a priest was the best use of my college degree,” Salmi said, “but she came around, and she was very proud and always very supportive.”

Salmi graduated from Ohio University in 1973 and entered the Jesuits that same year. He taught communication arts, including video production and filmmaking, at a small, Jesuit high school in Toledo, Ohio. The Society encouraged Salmi to obtain a master’s degree in speech-

 Fr. Salmi greets students after Mass of the Holy Spirit.

Photo by Keith Necaise

As a junior, Salmi and four of his friends accompanied a Jesuit on a weeklong retreat in Chicago, an experience that helped Sami discern his calling. “I said, ‘OK, I’m not going to fight this. I should take a look at it. This is what I think I ought to be doing,’” he recounted.

Salmi applied and was accepted into the Society of Jesus. To celebrate his acceptance, his friends threw him a party at which they sported construction paper Roman collars. A sixfoot statue of Mary from the parish next door served as the centerpiece.

Salmi’s family wasn’t terribly

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communications from Bowling Green State University, where he graduated in 1981.

“It became clear to me, though, as I went on to study theology, that the Jesuits who were involved in mass media were all leaving the Society of Jesus. I think it was difficult, because there was no support,” he explained.

“So, they were all kind of lone rangers, off doing this television production and filmmaking, and no one really understood them.”

Salmi was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1982, and he earned a Master of Divinity in theology at the Jesuit School

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of Theology at Berkeley the following year. During this time, he became more interested in the Society’s stance on social justice than in mass media.

An advocate for students For two years, Salmi coordinated students’ service projects at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. He then had the opportunity to work with campus ministry at John Carroll University, doing the same line of work at the college level. From 1985 to 1990, he served as a campus minister, directed volunteer programs, and worked as a residence hall chaplain.

“It was my work with campus ministry at John Carroll that solidified that I wanted to go on and get a doctorate in higher ed., so I could work with student affairs in particular,” Salmi said.

Following the five years at John Carroll, Salmi was assigned to Kampala, Uganda for six months as part of his Jesuit tertianship. He worked with AIDS patients at Nysambia Hospital, as a health care provider, social worker and priest. The experience was “lifechanging” for Salmi, who had lost several friends to the disease.

“We were out treating patients, and the only things we had in our medical bags were aspirin, multivitamins and Imodium. That was it,” he related. “So, you can imagine, we couldn’t really do a whole lot. … But, it was a beautiful experience. I met wonderful people, and learned a great deal about myself.”

The next few years, Salmi worked on his doctorate and in 1994 earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Boston College.

That year he returned to John Carroll as vice president for student affairs.

Accomplishments at the university included a major expansion of the student center and the varsity athletic complex.

During his second year as vice president, a group of students approached Salmi about forming a support group for gay and lesbian students. The administration was

During his tenure, Loyola nearly reluctant, but Salmi advocated on the ‘My life is all about doubled its resident population students’ behalf. “These students need the College’ from 2,200 to 4,100 students. Salmi support, just like any other students. If Garanzini recognized in Salmi restructured the residence life program we want to help students to succeed, we leadership capability and nominated and implemented Living Learning can’t pretend that they’re not here or him to interview for the position as Communities in first-year residence that they don’t have concerns of their president of Spring Hill College. In halls. He also spearheaded an awardown,” he argued.

September 2008, the College announced winning campus coalition to address Salmi won the battle, and the that Salmi would take the reins as alcohol misuse and abuse. students were permitted to form a president, following the retirement of “We were able, with a lot of hard campus group. “Sometimes as an the Rev. Gregory F. Lucey, S.J. work and imagination and ingenuity, to institution it’s hard to step outside “Ten years ago, I remember saying, take what had been a commuter school our comfort zones, because we’ve done ‘I don’t ever want to be a president.’ Be and make it a nice residential campus,” it this way forever and it’s worked,” careful what you say,” Salmi warned. he said. “I’m proud of the fact that we he said. “So, I was very proud of the “But, I looked at Spring Hill and saw were able to add a lot of programs and way the university stepped outside its that this is a college with a lot of address student needs and to form a real comfort zone to meet the needs of these potential – and also a lot of challenges, students.” but I’m convinced that Student affairs we can meet them.” professionals working “It’s no secret. We’ve all been impacted When Salmi at Catholic institutions visited Spring Hill, by the recession.

The top priorities are are often caught in he was struck by the financial stability and hopefully growth.” difficult situations, Salmi beauty of the campus, explained. He and Dr. the commitment to a Sandy Estanek, a high quality education, the community. The campus had not been school friend of Salmi’s who worked at enthusiasm of the faculty, and the really unified, and now they are a real nearby Ursuline College, initiated the professionalism of the student body. campus community.”

Institute for Student Affairs at Catholic Last fall he met with a group Furthermore, Salmi developed a 10Colleges and Universities. The institute of students on a beautiful Saturday year strategic plan for Loyola’s athletic was designed to address these complex afternoon. “I don’t know what I was department to improve the NCAA issues and to educate student affairs expecting, but I wasn’t expecting to walk Division I program. He supervised professionals in Catholicism. into a room and see a group of young the renovation of the student fitness Out of the institute sprang the men and women in coats and ties and and recreation facility, and prepared Association for Student Affairs of dresses. I thought, oh, this truly is the to launch a campaign to improve the Catholic Colleges and Universities, a South!” he exclaimed. “I was both taken varsity athletic facilities. summer conference that covered topics aback and impressed not only by how When Salmi joined the university, such as campus ministry immersion well dressed but also how well prepared Loyola had cut its deficit in half, yet programs, disciplinary issues in they were for that interview. They asked the deficit was still $17 million. Salmi housing, and safe sex within a Catholic very good questions, and we had a very credits President Michael J. Garanzini, context. good conversation.”

S.J., and his administration’s teamwork “It showed people that you can Back in Cleveland and Chicago, with turning around the university’s discuss these things and still be true Salmi’s family and friends were shocked financial position. to being Catholic. They don’t have to that he was moving to “rural” Alabama.

“What I’ve learned in be mutually exclusive,” Salmi said. “In Salmi joked that he spent a lot of time administration is that you develop fact, once you get into the Church’s convincing his family that Mobile has your team, and you empower them to documents, often times we found interstates, cars, stores and restaurants. do their best work,” he said. “You have the work we were doing was very “It is a small city, but it has big ideas to take leadership and step up, but complementary to what the Church was and big plans, and I like that,” Salmi it’s a lot easier to do that when you’ve asking us to do.” said. got a group who really believe in the In 2002 Salmi took his passion for As a new president, Salmi has mission of the college and are willing student affairs to Loyola University spent much of his time meeting with participants in living out that mission.”

Chicago. As vice president for student each department on campus and affairs, he managed numerous areas of forming relationships with the Mobile student life including student activities, community. He is focused on addressing residence life and intercollegiate the challenges the College is facing, athletics.

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 Fr. Salmi chats with Gabriel Wagner ’13 and his mother during Family Weekend.

Photo by Keith Necaise otherwise. I’m particularly its “There are long days, but they are rewarding days. happy and honored financial situation. ... I’m happy and honored to know that my life to know that my “It’s no secret. life is all about We’ve all been is all about the College.” the College. The impacted by the Jesuits talk about recession,” Salmi AMDG, for the greater glory of God – said. “The top priorities are financial time management, as well as serve as that’s what it’s about.” stability and hopefully growth. My ambassadors for the College. Athletics Following Lucey as president, hope is that we can get this school helps with recruitment and retention, Salmi inevitably is compared to his back on solid financial ground, so we not only for athletes interested in predecessor. “Father Lucey set the can start looking at compensation playing sports but also for students bar for being president pretty high,” and programmatic improvements. We who enjoy being fans of winning teams.

Salmi said. “We’re clearly very different need to continue to improve all of our Athletics strengthens alumni ties and people with different personalities. programs, but that takes financial promotes Spring Hill in the Mobile Occasionally, someone will say, ‘You resources.” community and the cities in which the have big shoes to fill,’ and that’s OK. Salmi is a fervent supporter of College competes.

I kind of knew that.” athletics and hopes to see the College Often Salmi is seen riding his bike Salmi said he emulates the improve athletically. Jim Hall joined the around campus. Since becoming the leadership qualities of St. Ignatius staff in October as the new director of College president, he has little personal Loyola, founder of the Jesuits who was athletics and recreation, and in 2010 time; but his early morning bike rides a risk-taker and a person for others, the College is moving to the Southern and workouts are his time to think who saw God in all things, and who States Athletic Conference. “I’d like to and pray. articulated his vision for the Society see Spring Hill winning championships Salmi said he expected that his first of Jesus and was not ashamed to ask again. It’s like anything else – if we’re years as president would require a lot for help. “I hope my leadership style is going to do it, we should do it well,” of hard work, “and I would say that’s Ignatian,” Salmi said. he said. proving to be true,” he said. “There are Athletics is important for a number long days, but they are rewarding days.

Editor Lindsay Hughes is Assistant of reasons, Salmi explained. StudentMy life has been the College these last Director of Communications at athletes learn leadership skills and 90 days, and that’s OK. I didn’t expect Spring Hill College.

13

Spring Hill College • Summer 2009

Stories by Lindsay Hughes Photos by Seth Laubinger ’02 and Brian Jordan ’80

The four students we have been following, Lenna Altamirano, John Koch, Javier Portal and Jasmine Williams, are now in their junior year at Spring Hill College. Their studies are becoming more intense, and they are firming their post-graduation plans, whether attending graduate or medical school or entering the workforce. The students reflect on their sophomore year and look forward to continued involvement in athletics, campus organizations and service projects during their last two years on the Hill.

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

14

Jasmine Jasmine Williams

Theodore, Ala. Communication Arts Major (Journalism) Spanish Minor

Jasmine Williams is always looking forward, never back, “just trying to be a better person than I was before.”

As a star in one of Spring Hill’s

and a volunteer at Strickland Youth

YouTube student interviews, Williams

Center. Her sophomore year may

describes the transformation she has

have been “hectic and overwhelming,

undergone in mind, body and

but I learned a lot and took

spirit as a result of her Spring

a lot from it,” she says. A

Hill experience. “A Jesuit

media writing class with

education teaches you to

Dr. Stuart Babington, in

think for yourself and

particular, “taught me a

find your own route,” she

lot about journalism and

says.

also showed me how much

With her mind set

more I still have to learn,”

on a career in broadcast

she says.

journalism, Williams is taking

Like many college

every opportunity to gain real-

students bracing to enter an

world experience. Her summertime

uncertain economy, Williams

“office” fluctuated between the shores

is straightforward about her

and waters of Dauphin Island, as she

objectives: “to finish up on time

interned in public relations at the

and get a job.”

Dauphin Island Sea Lab. This fall

In addition to interning at

she is interning in the newsroom

the sea lab, Williams vacationed

of FOX 10, an opportunity

in Florida and took some time

that excites the well-spoken

to read for fun, a pastime she

communication arts major.

rarely indulges during the

Williams is a member of

school year.

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, a Freshman Seminar leader,

15

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

John John Koch

O’Fallon, Mo. Biology/Pre-Health Major Theology Minor

What is John Koch involved in at Spring Hill? Perhaps a better question would be, in what isn’t he involved?

Koch serves as treasurer of Tau

Koch is studying for the MCAT exam, and

Kappa Epsilon fraternity, rector

pending graduation from SHC he will begin

of the SHAPe student-led retreat,

medical school at SLU in fall 2011.

SpringHillian tour guide, Freshman Seminar leader, a liturgical minister and member of the Troubadors. He is a

“My sophomore year was my toughest year academically I have ever had. Taking both Organic Chemistry and Anatomy and

member of academic groups

Physiology on top of all the core

such as Beta Beta Beta

requirements made studying

biology honor’s society

more a part of my daily

and the American

routine than ever,” Koch

Medical School

says. “I also became very

Association. He will

involved in many different

also participate in an

groups at SHC that

immersion service trip

helped make the year

to Belize in the spring.

just as fun as ever.”

And that’s just

Koch exemplifies

his extracurricular

a well-rounded

activities. As part

Spring Hill student

of the Spring Hill

who demonstrates

College – Saint

leadership qualities,

Louis University

a commitment to

Pre-Med Scholars

academic excellence,

Program, he has

and spiritual growth.

gained provisional

He believes the most

admission to SLU

compelling mission of Jesuit

Medical School. His

education is the focus on

pre-med internship

service to others.

last spring allowed

“It is more than just learning

him to spend a

what is in your text books,” he

day in the life of

says. “It discovering who you are,

five physicians in

what you love, and how that can

different fields.

benefit others.”

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

16

Lenna

Lenna Altamirano

Metairie, La. Nursing Major Spanish Minor After switching majors from

undergo so many complicated

pre-med to nursing, Altamirano

processes in order for us to simply

was diligent her sophomore year,

breathe or speak,” she says.

taking 18 hours each semester

Altamirano values the

and preparing to apply to nursing

combination of faith formation

school.

and rigorous academics that

“Although I was very busy,

a Jesuit education provides.

it proved to be another endeavor

“Although it can be challenging

I accomplished,” says Altamirano,

at times, once the challenges are

who was accepted in to Spring

overcome, it makes the success and

Hill’s nursing school in August.

accomplishment all the better,” she

Over the summer, she took three classes and worked in the

says.

Last year she served as a

labor and delivery unit at Ochsner

Eucharistic minister at Mass,

Medical Center in New Orleans.

gave campus tours to prospective

“It was a great experience for me

students as a SpringHillian, and

to get in the hospital environment,

was appointed to the position of

which is where plan to work when

Greek affairs in Delta Delta Delta

I complete nursing school,”

sorority.

she says.

Altamirano aspires to be a

This year her first concern is excelling in nursing school. “I

traveling nurse, so she can work

want to stay involved in school as

in cities she has always wanted to

much as possible, although I know

visit. “This will give me a chance to

nursing school will take up a large

experience different lifestyles and

amount of my time the next two

cultures other than the Southern

years.”

lifestyles of New Orleans and Mobile,” she says.

Composed of class and lab

In her downtime, Altamirano enjoys daytrips to the beach with her SHC friends. “I love traveling

work, Anatomy and Physiology

with my friends to the beach when

with Drs. Deborah Fox and Charles

it is nice weather out,” she says,

Chester was an “eye-opening”

“just to take a break from school

course for Altamirano. “It was

and enjoy a day with my friends.”

just surreal to me that our bodies

17

Lenna Altamirano wears her hard-earned purple and white scrubs with pride.

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

Javier Javier Portal

Javier Portal has high expectations for his golf game this year.

When he wasn’t working for a freight forwarding company, Portal

athletic competitions.

“On the agenda for my junior

spent the summer in Miami playing

year is obviously to do well in

in amateur golf tournaments and

school. I also hope to win a few

trying to improve his game.

golf tournaments,” he says.

Golf is a year-round sport.

“But overall, I would just

Portal ended the 2009 season in

like to try and make this

April with a 6th place finish at the

year better than the last.”

Gulf Coast Athletic Conference

With an international

Tournament, held at Azalea

business degree from

City Golf Course in Mobile. At

Spring Hill, Portal plans

the NAIA Play-in Round, held

to launch his own

at Raven Nest Golf Course in

business. He absorbed

Huntsville, Texas, he finished 6th

pertinent information

out of 32, with a +9 222.

in Dr. Sergio Castello’s

His summer training paid off.

International Business class

Portal opened the fall with a strong

and Dr. Neil Hamilton’s

2nd place finish at the Alabama

American History class.

State University Fall Classic,

“Going to a Jesuit

closing with a 3-under-par 141,

college is something I’m

just one stroke behind the leader.

glad I have the opportunity

SHC closed the fall slate in early

to do,” he says. “I was

November on the Heron Lakes

brought up in a Catholic

Course in the University of Mobile

household, so keeping

Fall Invitational, where Portal

that religious foundation

finished with a +13 229.

is important to me and will

A supporter of all sports, Portal plays intramural sports and

Miami, Fla. International Business Major Finance Minor

help me become the person I want to be.”

cheers on the Badgers at numerous

Spring Hill College • Winterr 2009

18

ChapterUpdates

Visit Flickr

for the SHC Alumni Photo Gallery www.flickr.com/photos/shcalumni

19

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

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ClassNotes 1950s Bill Lindsey ’50 served with the Organization of American States election observation team in the recent Dominican Republic presidential election. This was Bill’s first visit to Santiago where he served as Counsel since 1967.

1960s Joe Chimento ’65 has recently retired out of Granada Hills, Calif. Joe and his wife, Leone, have been married 42 years and will be moving out of California as will their daughters and their families.

Walter A. Shumway ’65, after retiring from the military, worked for a subsidiary of Air Canada in Atlanta. Then he moved to Hiawassee, Ga., where he became a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, active in the Knights of Columbus, and owned an H&R Block franchise. Since that business was sold, he has become a volunteer with the Institute for Continuing Learning at Young Harris College, an Elderhostel affiliate. He is president of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. He and Nancy have four children and four grandchildren. They enjoy traveling in their motor home several months a year.

1970s Tony Gonzalez-Prendes, Ph.D. ’70 continues as a full-time faculty member at Wayne State University’s School of Social Work.

He is the lead professor of the cognitive behavioral theory track and chair of the interpersonal practice concentration.

Susan L. Clements ’72 recently returned to her hometown of Louisville, Ky. Since leaving Spring Hill she has earned a B.F.A. from Indiana University and an M.F.A. from the University of Notre Dame. She has taught at Notre Dame, Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Minn.), St. Mary’s College at Notre Dame, and for the Notre Dame/ Memorial Hospital Humanities Project (affectionately known as The Med-Poets Society, which teaches the fine arts to practicing physicians). She currently teaches at The University of Louisville, Delphi Center, and at Bellarmine University in Louisville. After she participated in numerous art exhibits around the country and in the Notre Dame/South Bend, Ind., area, her artwork is currently on display at Standiford Field International Airport in Louisville until April 2010.

21

Jeff Elliot ’74 has been elected Faithful Navigator of Bishop Charles Greco Assembly #2093, Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus – Metairie, La., for the 2009-2010 term.

1980s Bobby Buck ’81 owns his own business in the field of health care, Infobuck.com.

He presents seminars on college campuses in and around Virginia and is expanding throughout the U.S. For details visit http://infobuck.com.

Benjamin Williams ’84 is chair of English at Georgetown Preparatory School, a Jesuit high school outside Washington, D.C. Williams and a colleague formed a group called The Second Line and have taken more than 100 students, faculty and staff to New Orleans to help with recovery efforts for the past four years. Visit www.gprep.org for more information.

Agnes Brennan Law ’91 and Bea Wenstrup Scott ’91 completed the Alcatraz Challenge in San Francisco. They swam the 1.5 miles from Alcatraz to San Francisco and then ran a 7-mile course across the Golden Gate Bridge. Agnes placed 3rd in her age group, and this is her third time completing the race.

Jay Deas ’92 was awarded the National Boxing Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee for leading his heavyweight Deontay Wilder to a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the only Olympic medal won by an American boxer. Jay’s Web sites include www.skyboxing.com and www.deontaywilder.com.

Ben Zarzaur ’92 and Marlo Carney Zarzaur proudly announce the birth of their son, Ben Louis III, born May 4, 2009. Ben joins big sister Amira Grace. The Zarzaurs reside in Memphis, Tenn.

Jaime Lilly Hamilton ’85 is married to Sam Hamilton and has two children, Cynthia, 19, and Matthew, 17. She is a naturopathic doctor and practices in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Merri Schmidt-Neff ’93 and her husband, Jon Neff, welcomed their second child, Lillian Vera, on June 17, 2009. Lily joins 4-year-old brother Sam.

Mary Ellen Power ’86 and her daughter, Johanna, recently returned to Williamsburg, Va. Mary Ellen is an owner and partner in her family’s businesses of 38 years, www.fatcanarywilliamsburg.com as well as www.cheeseshopwilliamsburg.com.

If you would like to contact her, e-mail mepcheesecanary@hotmail.com

Paul Bodamer ’93 and his wife, Tracie, welcomed twin daughters Averie Grace and Emerson Kathleen into the world on June 11, 2009. The girls join brothers Brendan and Steven.

Michael Y. Dukes ’89 is a managing shareholder for Bennett Thrasher, the fourth largest Atlanta-based accounting and consulting firm. Dukes is the first nonfounding shareholder to hold the position since Bennett Thrasher was formed in 1980.

Alisa Pennington Secrest, M.Div. ’89 is married to Dr. Larry Secrest. The couple has three sons, ages 8, 11 and 16.

1990s J. Morgan O’Donoghue, M.D. ’91, a Sarasota, Fla., dermatologist, was selected to participate in Spring Swing, a skin cancer awareness and screening event, sponsored

by Moffit Cancer Center. O’Donoghue provided skin cancer screenings at the event held at the Cincinnati Reds spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is a board-certified dermatologist and a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Medicine, specializing in all disorders of the hair, skin and nails.

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

Elizabeth Goodwin Welborn ’94 is married to John Hearst Welborn Jr., M.D., of South Carolina. They have two children, Camille and John Hearst III. The family resides in the San Francisco Bay area in Mill Valley.

Elizabeth manages her husband’s medical offices and writes wine labels for wineries and wine importers, as well as wine lists for restaurants. She began a nonprofit called For the Bayou, www.forthebayou.org, to bring awareness to the plight of the Louisiana coast and its treasured, but endangered, wetlands. The organization has grown to more than 500 people in the Bay Area and is continuing to grow nationwide.

Emily Coody Marks ’95 and husband, Rick, welcomed baby boy William Andrews Marks on May 6, 2009. Emily is a partner at the law firm Ball, Ball, Matthews & Novak; and her husband is the owner of Snelling Staffing Services. The Marks family lives in Montgomery, Ala. Chandra Farrier ’95 has been promoted to the position of principal of Holy Family Elementary in Birmingham, Ala., for the 2009-2010 year.

Burke A. Neville ’95 and family are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Molly Lehman, born on April 25, 2009.

Molly joins siblings Jack, 7, Lucy, 5, and Janie, 3.

he married Alicia Marks of Highland, Texas. They reside in Colorado Springs, Co., where Thompson is assigned to Fort Carson and will continue to practice dentistry.

Stephen Quina ’96 and Shawna Quina announce the birth of their son, Joshua Evan Quina, born May 14, 2009 in Mobile.

He joins brothers Stephen Jr. and Jake.

Margarete “Mimi” Finzel Smith ’00 and Charles Smith welcomed baby Peter Austin Lee on Nov. 11, 2008. Peter joins siblings Clayton and Abby, and the family resides in south Atlanta where Margarete teaches theology at a small Catholic high school.

Eddie Timmons ’97 and Simone Gaudin Timmons ’99 announce birth of their third son, Gabriel Joseph Timmons. He was born March 30, 2009, weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. He was welcomed home by big brothers Luke, 5, and Drew, 3.

Scott Salathe ’97 continues to live and work in Louisville, Ky., as a clinical psychologist.

He recently left a large public mental health agency to devote his efforts to his private practice and teaching graduate students at Spalding University.

Kerri Tedesco ’99 has accepted the position Director of College Placement and Advancement at De La Salle High School in New Orleans.

Delvin Seawright ’99 recently earned the Certified Financial Manager designation and was appointed to a three-year term as Regional Coordinator for Membership/ Early Careers for the Association of Government Accountants. Delvin lives in Montgomery, Ala., with his wife, Lori; and he works as a Senior Accountant with the State of Alabama. Delvin is a C.P.A. candidate.

2000s Tracey Wilson Jackson ’00 and husband, Chad, welcomed son Nicholas Bauer Jackson on January 18, 2009. The Jacksons reside in Nashville, Tenn., where Tracey is Marketing Projects Director for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.

Capt. Matt Thompson ’00 attended Baylor College of Dentistry on a full Army scholarship and graduated in May 2007.

Initially stationed at Fort Polk, La., he was deployed to Iraq and returned stateside in December 2008. While in Iraq he served as the principal dentist for the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Rustamiyah and several other forward operating bases near Baghdad. Thompson was recognized for single-handedly conducting the outprocessing exams of more than 1,800 troops over a three-month period of time as they prepared to return home. On July 11, 2009,

Theresa Rehm ’01 is married and has two children, ages 6 and 8. The family recently built their first house.

Rehm earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of South Alabama and secured her license to practice in Alabama as a Licensed Psychological Technician. She taught Introductory Psychology and Developmental Psychology for a year a Faulkner University. After gaining experience in neuropsychological testing while working for a local psychologist, Rehm started her own practice in 2007, Rehm Analysis Center, LLC. For more information, visit www.RehmAnalysisCenter.vpweb.com or e-mail RehmAnalysisCenter@yahoo.com Sara Kathryn Skilling Hill ’01 and her husband, Matt, welcomed baby Charlie Austin on March 1, 2009. Charlie joins 2-year-old Annabelle Grace.

Michael G. Travers ’02 and his wife, Andrea, welcomed their daughter, Amelia Marie Travers, on Feb. 4, 2009.

Sister Zelita M. Bragagnolo, M.C. ’03 (MTS graduate – Birmingham Extension) has been elected President of the Consolata Missionary Sisters of the USA Region.

Sister Annie McDavid (Mary Magdalene) ’03 made her first profession of vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience on Sept. 12, 2009 on the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary.

St. Mary Magdalene’s community is devoted to making reparation of the sins committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus through perpetual Eucharistic Adoration.

The apostolate is a catechesis and they currently give parish missions on the Divine Mercy. For more information, visit www.sistersofpreparation.org or www.jesusitrustinyou.org.

AshLee Stephens ’03 married Matthew Motyka on April 5, 2008 at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church in Atlanta, Ga. The Rev. Jesus Rodriguez, S.J., presided.

In attendance were SHC alumnae Alisha Stephens French ’05, matron of honor;

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

Kristen Ryan ’03, bridesmaid; Amy Ankerson ’04, bridesmaid; Jennifer Ridgeway Cooley ’03; Donna Stadther Cruse ’03; Katy Ryan ’04; and Sarah Strozier ’04. The couple resides in Atlanta, where AshLee is an art teacher at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church.

Montserrat Echeverria ’04 worked at the University of Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center on the Cardiac/Telemetry floor, as a Registered Nurse from 2004-2006, in Philadelphia, Pa. Since then, Montserrat moved to her hometown of Miami, Fla., and worked at Baptist Hospital from 2007-2008 as a Float Pool RN. She lives in Mobile, Ala., and works as a regional float pool RN at Mobile Infirmary. Montserrat has also been accepted into the Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner Program, at the University of South Alabama, which she began this fall.

Alisha (Stephens) French ’05 and her husband, Tim French, welcomed their first son, Adam Joseph French, on June 12, 2007.

Colleen Bartholomew ’06 and Kevin Lee ’06 were married in St. Joseph Chapel at Spring Hill College. Their attendants included Ann Agnew ’06, Mary Dooley ’06, Michelle Ricard ’06, and Bradley Bergan ’07.

Kelly O’Neal ’06 was a gift bearer. The reception was held at the Mobile Museum of Art. The couple resides in South Bend, Ind., where Colleen is pursuing a Master of Divinity and where Kevin is a lab manager in the biological science department at the University of Notre Dame.

Emily Gerwin ’06 is working at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center on the cardiac step-down unit. She married Chris Taylor on Sept. 29, 2008.

Kathleen Moore ’06 married David Milligan on June 7, 1009 in Newport News, Va. Attendants included Heather Moore Klinkenberg ’97 and Maura Hughes ’06.

The couple resides in Washington, D.C., where Kathleen is a graduate student at American University’s School of Public Affairs.

Matthew Bonilla ’06 married Nichole Bickham, an LSU graduate, on June 12, 2009 in St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Baton Rouge, La. Randy Giveans ’07 earned an M.B.A. in finance from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business in New Orleans on May 16, 2009. Randy is a senior financial analyst in the corporate finance department of Continental Airlines. He moved to Houston in June.

22

ClassNotes Alana M. Petway ’07 and Patrick O. Bell ’07 were married on March 7, 2009 in Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile, Ala. They honeymooned in Acapulco, Mexico.

Alana earned an M.B.A. with a concentration in management from Barry University in Miami in 2008.

Emily Shaffer ’07 and Jon Francis ’06 were married in Thibodaux, La., on June 20, 2009. They reside in Silver Spring, Md. Jon is in his third year of medical school, and Emily is working as a business concierge at a Doubletree hotel.

Danielle Clary Alch ’08 and 2nd LT. Michael D. Alch were married June 26, 2009 in Baton Rouge, La. Alumnae in the wedding party included Mary Kathryn Wendt ’08, Anne Couvillon ’08, Meredith Koch ’08 and Jennifer Byrd ’08. The couple resides in Baumholder, Germany.

Keep in touch by submitting your Name Class Address City/State/Zip E-mail

Your News

Brandy Williams ’09 was accepted for graduate study at Howard University, in a program that will lead to a Ph.D. in history. This fall, the Howard University history faculty awarded her the Frederick Douglas Scholarship.

Marriages, Births, Moves, Promotions, Recent Achievements, etc.

In Memoriam

Jack W. Akin ’49

James P. Balthrop Sr. ’48 Hugh L.H. Collins ’40 John A. Courtney ’56 Rev. Thomas D. Cully ’56 Jerome Thomas Dailey ’81 William Kevin Daly ’50 Jeanne Donnelly Doll ’72 Harvey Eastman ’60 William Jenkins Gates ’60 Thomas Scherer Halligan ’63 Arthur A. Hebert ’65 John Iacobucci ’86 John Maiben McKinley Sr. ’39

ClassNotes today.

Mail your news to: Spring Hill College Office of Alumni Programs 4000 Dauphin Street Mobile, AL 36608

E-mail your news to: alumni@shc.edu

Or visit www.shc.edu/alumni

Gerald J. McMahon ’56 Lloyd F. Pennington ’59 Gordon Alexander Pugh Sr. ’58 Gordon A. Saussy ’59 Joan Marie Scholl ’61 David Philip Slepian ’87

23

Kathleen A. Walsh ’78

Destin J. Doughty II, Class of 2013

Charles E. Wilds ’39

Nov. 20, 1990 - Nov. 10, 2009

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

Donaldson returns as Alumni Director

 Monde Donaldson, the new Director of Alumni and Parents Programs.

After a 10-year hiatus, Monde Donaldson returned in September to Spring Hill College as the director of alumni and parents programs.

Donaldson joins Spring Hill from McGill-Toolen Catholic High School where she was the director of development. Prior to her experience at McGill-Toolen, she was director of alumni relations

at Spring Hill College. She was a member of the Spring Hill College community for 17 years, from 1981 until 1999. Her first role at the college was director of public relations, and she continued to lead the communications department until 1992, when she became the alumni director.

“I am delighted to be back at Spring Hill. I am passionate about the College’s mission,” Donaldson said. “I see my job primarily as a ‘friend-raiser,’ but more than that I want the alumni to feel more engaged.”

Donaldson has been introducing the Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J., to alumni and parents around the country. In addition, under the leadership of the National Alumni Association Board President John Zollinger ’89, she is working on several initiatives to involve alumni in student recruitment. The alumni office is also collaborating with

December 17

December 24

Christmas Eve Mass St. Joseph Chapel

February 5

Chicago Mardi Gras Party

February 12

St. Louis Mardi Gras Party

March 18

Dallas Alumni Christmas Party Maximo’s

career services to connect alumni with students for networking experiences and internships.

“The alumni office will be much more program-oriented in the years to come,” she said.

Donaldson added that they will continue to host social events and young alumni gatherings, but they will increase their programs and services.

Donaldson earned a B.A. in communications from the University of Alabama. She is involved in the Mobile community through her work with the Mobile Rotary Club, the Junior League of Mobile, and the Association for Fundraising Professionals, in which she was named the 2006 Fundraiser of the Year.

For more information, contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Programs at (251) 380-2280, toll-free at 877-SPR-HILL, or e-mail alumni@shc.edu.

December February March

Mobile Chapter Crawfish Boil

To view a full calendar and details on alumni events, visit www.shc.edu/alumni.

Spring Hill College • Winter 2009

24

Dr. J. Edward Balthrop ’40 reflects on Spring Hill legacy Compiled by Bridget Balthrop Morton

 From left, Pascal, Sam and

Ed Balthrop.  Dr. J. Edward Balthrop ’40.

Dr. J. Edward Balthrop ’40, a retired physician living in Oak Ridge, Tenn., celebrated his 90th birthday on Aug. 12, 2009. Many of his nine children, 19 grandchildren, and nieces and nephews attended a party in his honor. His daughter Bridget Balthrop Morton interviewed him later that month, and what follows are excerpts from her conversation with him.

Morton said although her father is frailer than friends might recall, he persists in his fondness for learning and for Spring Hill College. He made it possible for all nine of his children, as well as numerous others, to obtain college education. A member of the 1830 Society, Balthrop has set up an annuity with the College as the beneficiary.

How did your experience at Spring Hill impact your life?

“From 1929 to 1936, when I graduated from McGill, the world was desolate. I had no expectation of higher education. None. The night we graduated from high school, the superintendent made an announcement from the altar that Spring Hill College was giving a four-year full-tuition scholarship – to me. I had never thought about it, and it came as a complete surprise to me – a very welcome surprise. …

“I was introduced to the concept of social justice at SHC,

his desk. One of the boys went in and found the test, made and gave out copies. There were about 10 boys in the class. Only one other boy and I refused to take a copy of the exam. That test was difficult, and when Fr. McNaspy graded the papers, he called each student in and discussed his grade. Only that one other boy and I had passed.

That’s all I ever heard about that.

That test was on Horace, and it was hard.”

How did the Balthrops become a legacy family?

and I’d say social justice was considered in almost every course I took there. The idea of social justice, of being a Christian who lives a life of moral purpose in the world, was the main part of what SHC gave me. That shaped my life from then on.”

What is your fondest Spring Hill memory?

“I guess the ‘bull sessions’ we had on the steps of Mobile hall before classes. Mostly at noon, people would sit or stand on the steps and talk about anything and everything. I enjoyed listening and learning tolerance for other people and what other people thought and how they operated. It was socially broadening.”

Who at SHC had the greatest influence on you?

“Fr. Clement McNaspy, S.J., taught me Latin, Greek, and I think an English class. He was happy and enthusiastic about knowledge. He was intelligent and willing to share his knowledge on equal terms with anybody who was interested.

“Before we had a final exam in Latin my second year of college, Fr. McNaspy left his door open and a copy in pencil of the exam for the sophomore class in Latin was on

“My brothers (Sam and Pascal ’48) could have gone to any college with their athletic ability.

But, Spring Hill gave them full scholarships and made college possible for all three of us. Spring Hill College won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference in basketball one year when Sam was in college.

That year Auburn won the SEC (Southeastern Conference). During Mardi Gras that year, Spring Hill College played Auburn, and Spring Hill won by something like 50–23. My brother Sam scored more points in that game than the entire Auburn team. But, Sam left Spring Hill during the war and was killed. Pascal joined the Navy about halfway through college, but he finished at Spring Hill after the war.

“The greatest desire I had was to send my children to Spring Hill College. My oldest child went to SHC but did not graduate. Two of my other children attended and graduated (Kathleen ’76 and Patrick ’79). Several of my nieces and nephews have also gone there, and one of my granddaughters (Anna Claire Flood ’11) attends now.”

For more information on how you can establish a planned gift to benefit Spring Hill College, contact Rinda Mueller at (251) 380-2285 or rmueller@shc.edu.

SHC receives feedback on magazine During summer 2009, Spring Hill College participated in a survey to assess readers’ satisfaction with the Spring Hill College Magazine.

Qualtrics.com, a leading survey firm, in cooperation with the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), hosted the Webbased survey. Three hundred forty-seven magazine recipients participated in the survey.

“The magazine survey was very useful in determining what interests – and what doesn’t interest – our readers,” said Lindsay Hughes, editor of the Spring Hill College Magazine. “We appreciate

everyone who took the time to participate in the survey and to offer constructive criticism. Your feedback helps to shed light on areas in which we succeed as well as areas that need improvement.”

In addition to addressing general readership habits, the survey gauged interest in College-related issues, such as academics, campus life, institutional affairs, and alumni life and activities. The survey also rated the readers’ interest in general-interest topics, such as higher education, the local community, arts and culture, healthcare, business, science and technology, environment, religion and faith, and global issues.

How would you rate the quality of the Spring Hill College Magazine?

Excellent Good Average Poor

How would you

Print

prefer to read

Online

the magazine?

Both

Very Poor

24%

No Opinion

To what degree do you consider the magazine to be a credible source of information about the College?

27% Consistently portrays the College accurately and objectively 39% Contains some “spin” but is generally accurate and objective 19% Usually portrays the College only in a positive light 3% Is not a good source of objective information 12% No opinion – 12% The Spring Hill College Magazine strengthens my personal connection to the College.

12

%

64%

What is your relationship to the College?

Spring Hill College 4000 Dauphin Street Mobile, AL 36608-1791

Come home to the Hill and join us Under the Oaks as we celebrate.

This year’s reunion will honor classes ending in 0s and 5s. We encourage all alumni to return to campus to join in the festivities with friends and classmates.

Events include the Bay Boil, a Southern Style BBQ picnic, the Memorial Mass, the Saturday night homecoming celebration, as well as several other NEW events in the works.

Visit your homecoming headquarters at www.shc.edu/homecoming to find reunion committees, accommodation information, lost lists, staff contacts, last year’s photo gallery and more.

A full calendar of events will be available soon. Watch for your homecoming brochure this spring.