The Magazine of St. Ambrose University | Fall 2015
Grounded in the Liberal Arts, Ready for the World ALSO INSIDE: Introducing the St. Ambrose University Marching Band
Scene The Magazine of St. Ambrose University
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Fall 2015 | Volume XLIII | Number 3 Managing Editor Linda Hirsch Editor Craig DeVrieze Staff Writer Jane Kettering Staff Assistant Darcy Duncalf ’12 Contributing Writers Steven Lillybeck Emilee Renwick ’14 Ted Stephens III ’01, ’04
Scene is published by the Communications and Marketing office for the alumni, students, parents, friends, faculty and staff of St. Ambrose University. Its purpose is to inform and inspire through stories highlighting the many quality people and programs that are the essence of St. Ambrose’s distinguished heritage of Catholic, values-based education. Circulation is approximately 30,000. St. Ambrose University—independent, diocesan, and Catholic—enables its students to develop intellectually,
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the lives of others.
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St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St.,
Sally Paustian ’94
Davenport, Iowa 52803.
scene@sau.edu
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spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically and physically to enrich their own lives and
Designer
www.sau.edu/scene
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Photo credits: John Mohr Photography: cover, inside front cover, pages 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 29; Dan Videtich: cover, pages 12–13, 22, 28; Argus-Dispatch: page 31.
12 Good Ground Game 14 The Art(s) of the Deal 18 From Gaines to Broadway 22 What’s New in MSW? 24 Alumni News 30 Class Notes
A Message from the President Meeting the Pope’s Challenge As many of you know, I had the great privilege in September to be in Washington, D.C., at the time of Pope Francis’ historic address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress. I was moved by this humble Pope’s powerful message, and, as I continue to reflect on that occasion, I cannot help but be extremely proud of how closely the actions of St. Ambrose University align with the challenges the Pontiff presented. He asked that the United States strive to create an economic system that is “modern, inclusive and sustainable.” Certainly, we teach and encourage all of those values at St. Ambrose. Important proof that St. Ambrose readily embraces a modern and fast-changing world can be found in our future-focused health sciences and STEM curricula. Further evidence exists on our growing campus and in plans for additional changes that will provide our students the best possible facilities within which they can learn, live, play and compete. Sustainability, meanwhile, has long been a campus-wide cause. From physical plant practices that include the use of biodiesel-fueled vehicles
and the creation of storm water retention tanks to a food service commitment to using local food, St. Ambrose very intentionally nurtures “our common home.” We also teach the multi-faceted concepts of sustainability, which, you may remember, was the theme of our annual series just two years ago. This year’s theme is Justice, a subject about which the Pope has been speaking in many forums. St. Ambrose has been focused on justice and service since the university’s founding. Yet, as we know, we can and we must do more to help our world be a place of justice for all. I am proud to note that, as a university and a community of Ambrosians extended through our thousands of alumni, we strive on a daily basis to meet the challenges so eloquently described by Pope Francis. Wishing you all the best this Blessed Christmas, Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD
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Band Program Will Debut in Fall Football and marching bands are like pie and ice cream. They just go together. A couple of times in St. Ambrose’s 133-year-history, Fighting Bees fans enjoyed a marching band performance with their football. Now, the university has paired the two again with the introduction of an Athletic Bands program. The ensemble will begin as a stadium band in fall 2016, then grow to a full marching band within two years. The band will perform at home football games, playoffs and occasional community events. When fully developed, the marching band will have more than 100 members. In addition, participation in the Athletic Bands program will create new scholarship opportunities for students. “We’re very excited to add a marching band to our array of music ensembles,” said John Cooper, vice president for 2
enrollment management. “Providing this additional music participation experience, as well as new scholarships, makes this a great opportunity for students who have participated in high school marching bands—or students who just want to be a part of providing a fun and positive game-day environment.” The band will use standard marching instrumentation. A flag corps or color guard will be considered if there is enough interest. Students will not have to major in music to qualify for the band or the new scholarships. “As with all of our ensembles at St. Ambrose, we are looking for dedicated, hard-working students,” said Nicholas Enz, DMA, director of bands. “Everyone involved should know that their role is important, yet also know they are part of something bigger.” Paul Koch, PhD, provost and vice
president for academic and student affairs, said the new program is in keeping with the St. Ambrose mission. “St. Ambrose is one of only a few universities of its size to offer the opportunity to perform in a marching band, which is consistent with the education we offer that is firmly grounded in the liberal arts,” he said. “The band will provide another way for students from multiple disciplines to connect and build relationships while making music together and extending their education outside of the classroom in a very important way.” Learn more about the Athletic Bands program at sau.edu/scene.
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Front and (Welcome) Center It hasn’t taken long for the St. Ambrose University Admissions and Welcome Center on the corner of Harrison and Locust Streets to become a welcome addition to the campus. “I get more positive comments about this than nearly anything else we have done here of late,” Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, the university president, said of the remodeled building that formerly housed the Eye Care Pavilion. “People tell me it provides a bright and beautiful gateway to our campus.” The building with a rotunda front section was extensively remodeled this past summer after the university assumed ownership in March. It has hosted a handful of university gatherings, but much more importantly, it has served its central purpose of providing a bright and welcoming atmosphere for potential students and their families. “Every family that has walked in has said, ‘This is beautiful,”’ said John Cooper, vice president for enrollment management. “It is in a great location, and it says we put a priority on welcoming new students, getting to know them and letting them get to know us.” The building is home to SAU’s undergraduate, graduate, adult, international and transfer admissions staffs. Moving those groups from the lower east portion of Ambrose Hall helped create room for Bee Central, the one-stop shop for academic student services that opened in July. View a photo gallery of the Admissions and Welcome Center at sau.edu/scene.
Spring Forward: Fitness Facilities This spring, ongoing efforts to provide St. Ambrose students and athletes upgraded fitness and athletic facilities will spring forward. By March, the St. Ambrose softball and lacrosse teams could be practicing and competing on athletic fields at the St. Vincent’s Center property. The fields will be made available to St. Ambrose teams by Assumption High School, which purchased the property from SAU this past spring. Ground will be broken April 7 on an 80,000-square-foot Wellness and Recreation Center just west of the PE Center on what is now Timmerman Field. Architects from RDG Planning and Design of Des Moines, Iowa, will spend the next few months finalizing blueprints for the state-of-the-art recreation center. It will feature expanded weight training facilities, and courts for basketball and volleyball practices and intramural activities. Along with a 200-meter indoor track, it also will include space and equipment to accommodate indoor field events. The new facility will share an entrance with the existing PE Center, where additional locker room and classroom space will be constructed. The Wellness and Recreation Center is targeted to open in August 2017. Although Fighting Bees athletes will benefit greatly from the new building, Mike Poster, vice president for finance, stressed it is being built— first and foremost—for general use by the St. Ambrose student population. Leadership fundraising efforts continue toward an $18.5 million goal to support the project. If weather cooperates, this spring also should mark the completion of the opening phase of Assumption’s plans to develop the SVC property. Assumption began work in late summer to develop a softball diamond and two field-turf multi-purpose athletic fields. Future development will include a stadium and outdoor track.
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A
Badge of Honor:
Son of Slain Police Officer Pursues SAU Degrees, Badge of His Own
After collecting his St. Ambrose University Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Criminal Justice and Sociology this past May, Brian Flisk’s natural inclination was to scan the audience for the face of the father who for years had stressed the value and importance of a college education. Brian knew he wasn’t going to see the man he called his hero and protector, however. A 20-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, Officer Michael Flisk was killed in action on the day after Thanksgiving 2010, one of two men shot dead by a 19-year-old parolee determined to avoid arrest for car burglary. “It is a big piece of my “I loved the sense of community. life that I’m never going to St. Ambrose felt like home on the first day, get back,” the son said on a quiet fall afternoon in the and it has been so ever since.” Ambrose Hall Beehive, four months past commencement and not quite five years beyond the day he lost his father. “You come up on milestones such as graduation and your mother is there, but you look around and the individual who helped raise you…” A catch in his throat stalled Flisk’s train of thought, revealing his still raw emotions. “That’s something that you can’t get back, those memories that you should have had,” said Flisk, who has returned to St. Ambrose to pursue a Master of Criminal Justice degree. “As much as you 4
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know he is watching over you every day, just missing him is difficult.” His bachelor’s degree was the first step in the son’s mission to honor his father’s legacy. His pursuit of a master’s is step two. The determined young man’s goal, however, will be fully achieved only on the day he joins the Chicago Police Department, a dream that dates back to early childhood, when he ran to hug his uniformed father at the door each afternoon. Honoring Michael Flisk’s stern advice to “always put education first” was priority one, however. Finances were not an issue, thanks to the 100 Club of Chicago, a generous organization dedicated to assisting the families of first responders lost in the line of duty. The group would cover all college expenses, so Brian’s opportunities were limitless. Yet, when he and his mother, Nora, visited St. Ambrose, they knew their search was over. “I loved the small class sizes,” he said. “I loved the sense of community. St. Ambrose felt like home on the first day, and it has been so ever since.” Flisk’s experience has been a full one. He graduated with honors and a 3.2 GPA, was the 2015 Criminal Justice Student of the Year, and was a member of Alpha Phi Sigma, the national Criminal Justice Honor Society. Flisk also was a resident hall adviser, refereed intramural basketball and co-founded the
St. Ambrose Rugby Club. “Having a full plate helped to take my mind off things and to have a normal college life,” he said. “I’ve made new friends and had the support of the whole St. Ambrose community.” That support allowed Flisk to see justice delivered. With the help of flexible assignment deadlines from his professors, he was in court throughout the trial of his father’s accused killer. The man was found guilty of double homicide just three days prior to commencement in May, and, in June, was sentenced to life without parole. Flisk and his three siblings will spend the remainder of their lives without their father, lasting victims of a heinous crime. But, of course, they are more than that. In tragedy, the family has felt widespread support in and around Chicago. And Brian will forever remember the embrace of the St. Ambrose community, as well as the opportunity he found here. “When a police officer is killed, a lot of people don’t look past the man wearing the badge,” he said. “They don’t think about the family and the children left behind. It meant the world to me that I could continue my education and pursue my dreams.” Learn more about the Criminal Justice program at St. Ambrose at sau.edu/scene.
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homecoming A Taste of Ambrose came with a taste of the campus atmosphere, when the annual event was moved to the Rogalski Center lawn, and the football game came with a resounding win. As always, Homecoming was a fun and festive affair. See additional photo galleries at sau.edu/scene.
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Learning, Loving and Living Latin
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Kathryn Brown ’14 was excited when, in her third week at the DePaul University College of Law, she heard a professor ask for a translation of the Latin phrase expresso unius est exclusio alterius. Thanks to two semesters of Latin studies at St. Ambrose, Brown readily could declare the answer: “the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other.” Exclusio alterius does not apply to the four courses of Latin taught with earnest enthusiasm by Ethan Gannaway, PhD. Although Latin rarely is spoken anywhere in the world, Gannaway said learning the world’s original romance language can help students better learn English grammar while yielding a variety of other practical uses. Plus, it’s fun. “They start by appreciating other languages and then they start appreciating the world in general a little bit more,” Gannaway suggested. “Everything tastes just a little bit better. Everything sounds a little sharper.” Hyperbolica? (Hyberbolic?) A bit. But Brown said Gannaway’s extreme love of Latin certainly translates in the classroom. “I’ve never had a teacher like Ethan— he is just so excited everyday,” she said. “I was never like ‘Oh, I have to go to Latin.’” An early and longtime staple of a St. Ambrose education, Latin disappeared for a few years but returned about a decade ago—at the request of students. Latin’s not for everybody, of course. Gannaway said classes tend to number between 10 and 20. They generally consist of motivated juniors and seniors, some enrolled due to an interest in language and history, others for reasons
more practical. Brown took two semesters her senior year because she anticipated encountering more than a little Latin in law school. And she has. “It just pops up all the time,” she said. “And it’s useful to know it.” Likewise for Joseph Norris ’12. He suspected knowledge of Latin would be quite useful in preparation for the Graduate Record Examination he would be taking after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology and Philosophy. Erat rectus. (He was right.) Understanding the Latin roots of English words and those of other languages helped Norris excel on that exam. He subsequently won full scholarships to the Aquinas Institute of Theology, where he last year earned his masters degree, and St. Louis University, where he currently is pursuing a Doctor of Healthcare Ethics degree. Lisa (Wiggers) Haverhamp ’10, ’12 DPT sees medical terms rooted in Latin in her work but isn’t sure that makes her a better therapist than co-workers without a background in the language. It’s more like being in on a secret, she said. Sometimes, in fact, too secret. She will occasionally insert a little Latin—a language she refers to as the romance language—into notes for her husband, Dan Haverkamp ’10. Consider him sadly immotus. (Unmoved.) “I don’t think he thinks it’s as creative as I do,” she said with a laugh. Learn more about Latin at St. Ambrose at sau.edu/scene.
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The Book and the Byte So, an IT tech walked into a library… Sorry. There’s no punchline. Mary Heinzman ’08 MBA, is both director of the SAU Library and executive director of SAU’s Information Resources/Technology Office, and she said Information Technology and Library Services are not discordant ideas. “Both provide service for the entire campus; both must be very customer-service oriented; and both connect people to information—in whatever form they need.”
Who is SAU? Mary Heinzman Today’s Information
La-la-la-la-la
It’s not just the books, according to Heinzman. “In today’s university, it’s the notion that you must be able to get what you need to know, and IT helps us get at that. Without IT, we simply wouldn’t be able to do it.”
The words “library” and “liberal arts” share more than alliteration. “To be a librarian we need to know a little bit about a lot of things,” Heinzman said. “It’s similar to a liberal arts degree or outlook—figuring out how it all connects.”
A Typical Day
More About Mary
Of course, there are a lot of meetings, admitted Heinzman. But directing both areas makes her job very interesting. “It’s like working on a new crossword everyday,” she said. “Always something different and new, and such a diverse group of questions and needs.”
> Heinzman broke her leg sliding into third base—as an adult > She doesn’t like to cook, despite the fact that her mom worked 40 years as a home economics teacher > As a high school senior and member of the Waterloo Wahawk Marching 200 band, she performed during half-time of a Minnesota Vikings football game > Heinzman is the acknowledged champion Scrabble player on both sides of her family
Staying in Touch Heinzman still takes her turn performing library duties. “It keeps me connected.” Whether it’s working at the front desk or helping students, she said, “I love being a librarian!”
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Opening the Eclectic Mind by Steven Lillybeck
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facultyPROFILE
The world, according to Neil Aschliman, PhD, is a delightfully weird place. As such, Aschliman, a St. Ambrose assistant professor of biology, believes the best way to understand the world is to immerse one’s self in the weirdness. What’s more, he said the best means toward that immersion is through a liberal arts education. At St. Ambrose, Aschliman is very immersed. Drawing on a diverse background of biology, illustration and the writing of graphic novels, Aschliman brings to the classroom what by his own admission only can be called an eclectic perspective. “I enjoy all sorts of weird things,” he said. “When I teach bio-diversity, I can talk to students about the application of genetically engineered bacteria one day and another day talk about bizarre plants and animals—like a tiny, strange jellyfish in Australia that causes a feeling of impending doom when it stings you.” Aschliman grew up in Houston, attended Texas A&M for his undergraduate degree and earned a Doctor of Biological Sciences degree at Florida State University. He entered A&M undecided as to whether he wanted to become a scientist or a writer/illustrator of graphic comic books. He opted for science over a career at Marvel, but art has remained a passion. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been split between two worlds,” Aschliman explained. “My first year in school, I’d mostly committed to science, but always kept alive the idea of having a side career in art. I got involved with fish research, but I kept drawing.”
A visit to his website—www.iceandshadows.com—makes clear Aschliman’s continued passion and talent for art, along with his particular interest in Halloween. Almost annually, he creates a new Halloween graphic tale, richly illustrated with appropriate themes of Gothic horror and dark fantasy. “My daily life is built around science and objective reality,” he noted. “My art allows me to explore the fantastic and supernatural. Halloween, with all its dark fantasy, becomes a celebration of the fantastic.” Aschliman brings his “weird and eclectic background” to the St. Ambrose campus, and both professor and student benefit. “I would never fit into a big research department at an even bigger state school,” Aschliman said. “I have a very diverse set of interests and I don’t have a laser-like focus on one process.” Aschliman maintains that a liberal arts education is the foundation upon which an eclectic mind may rest. St. Ambrose fosters this, he said. “The big, state schools I attended did not have a diverse liberal arts philosophy. I more or less imposed that on myself,” he said. “Here at St. Ambrose, it’s built in. “St. Ambrose will prepare you for a career,” Aschliman further explained, “but it also will help you become a wellrounded citizen. With a broad liberal arts education you have context. You have what you need to succeed in whatever you want to do. More importantly, you have what you need to live in the world.” Learn more about biology at sau.edu/scene.
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Grounded in the Liberal Arts:
game ready
This is another in a series in which Scene magazine will examine the Core Values that define St. Ambrose University: Catholicity, Integrity, the Liberal Arts, Life-long Learning and Diversity. In this edition, we investigate the Liberal Arts.
The Liberal Arts We are committed to the richness of the liberal arts tradition through quality instruction that fosters development of a broad awareness of humanity in all its dimensions. Ambrosians use their knowledge, talents, and career skills in service to others.
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“When you talk to CEOs and people in
Consider a football quarterback with
history; understanding of the human
incomparable physical gifts. He stands
condition owed to philosophy, theology
senior management,” noted Paul Koch,
tall, runs fast and throws the ball with
and sociology—these are among the tools
PhD, provost and vice president for
remarkable accuracy and strength.
that a comprehensive education, firmly
academic and student affairs, “they are
grounded in the liberal arts, will provide
looking for people who write coherently,
graduates of a college committed to just
think critically and can help solve
such a curriculum.
problems.”
His basic skills for the position are Hallof-Fame caliber. But can he anticipate a receiver subtly
St. Ambrose graduates get all of that,
St. Ambrose alumni come equipped
the field, recognize where the defense is
plus a life-enriching disposition toward
with those game-changing skills, Koch
most vulnerable and change a planned
service and social justice.
said, and not only because of general
altering his pass route? Can he survey
pass to a run? Can he command a huddle with a capacity to clearly communicate his
Want to know what else St. Ambrose graduates get?
education requirements that ground them in the humanities, natural sciences, social
Jobs.
sciences and the arts. They also benefit
A quarterback with the initial set of
In a survey of recent SAU graduates,
from pre-professional undergraduate and
skills is fundamentally equipped to play
nearly 95 percent were employed in their
graduate programs which intentionally,
the game. Lacking the latter, less tangible,
major field, enrolled in graduate school or
liberally and consistently incorporate
more cerebral abilities, however, he is not
engaged in volunteer service within a year
vital elements of the liberal arts into their
truly game-ready.
of earning their degree.
teaching.
thoughts?
Critical thinking owed to challenges experienced in a philosophy course; problem solving and analytical reasoning owed to the study of the sciences; communicational agility owed to the language arts; perspective owed to
Would you like to know a critical reason why? Hint: It starts with the liberal arts.
It works, this winning approach to comprehensively preparing game-ready graduates for the workplace and beyond. And it works for a lifetime. Koch remembers iconic Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Paul Jacobson, PhD, the original dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, telling a group of students they were getting two degrees. The first, which listed their major emphasis, would get them their initial post-graduate job, Jacobson said. “The other is not listed and that is the liberal arts,” Jacobson added. “That is what is going to get you your next six to seven jobs.”
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His friends
JonesIII ’01, ’04 byShane Ted Stephens by Ted Stephens III ’01, ’04
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had a hay day cracking jokes about hairnets and often referred to him as the reincarnation of Chris Farley’s dancing lunch lady character on Saturday Night Live. Today, though, Shane Jones ’05 is the one laughing—and owning the character—as a co-founder of Fooda, a fastgrowing enterprise that makes good food easily available to more than 70,000 businesspeople in half a dozen major-market cities each month. The seeds for this entrepreneurial concept weren’t sewn, however, in Lunch Lady Land. Instead, Jones credits the criticalthinking and problem-solving skills he gained under the oaks. “I was working for Echo Logistics, a transportation logistics company in Chicago, and the management was noticing a couple of things about staff productivity: people were leaving a lot to go to lunch, and they were smoking a lot of cigarettes,” Jones said. “I couldn’t stop people from smoking, but I thought perhaps I could fix the lunch issue.” So he pounded the pavement, partnering with restaurants in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood where Echo’s headquarters were located and invited them to sell their food in Echo’s cafeteria. “In many ways, it was like a ‘pop-up restaurant.’ People from other companies in the building, like Groupon, were sneaking down to eat on our floor,” Jones recalled. “One afternoon, a restaurant threw me $20 for bringing them in.” “Thanks for doing this,” they said. “We did over $2,000 in sales today.” And then it dawned on him. He could make money doing this.
The Art(s) of the Deal
f
A Grounding In Liberal Arts Helps Build Ambrosian Entrepreneurs ooda actually was germinating in Jones’
mind long before it became a reality. As a business management student at St. Ambrose, he wrote a business plan titled “Who’s Hungry?” for a finance course taught by Professor Bill Lynn, PhD. The plan would enable lazy college students to call in an order for burritos at Taco Bell or beer at Kwik Shop and, 30 minute later, have it delivered to their door. Five years after earning his SAU degree, Jones found himself working with partners to write a business plan again—but this time to convince venture capitalists to invest an initial $1.2 million into a “hot dog stand” he hoped to take nationwide. Soon after, Jones left Echo and took the president and vice president with him. Together, they cofounded Fooda—which today boasts 85 employees in six markets and serves more people each day than the total population of his Princeton, Ill., hometown. The transition from college graduate to entrepreneur is becoming more and more commonplace. In 2014, 27 million Americans either started or were running new businesses—the highest level in the 16 years the data has been collected by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Owed in no small measure to skills fostered through the liberal arts, numerous St. Ambrose alumni rank among those creative self-starters. Jones, for example, isn’t even the only recent St. Ambrose graduate for whom food has been a recipe for entrepreneurial success.
“
You really don’t know who your next opportunity is going to come from, but you do know how to treat everyone with respect.
Make no enemies. Foster friendships. Do good work.
”
—SHANE JONES
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Angelo and Phillip Campos
“ Do we want good salsa? Yes. But we also want
to give back. to St. Ambrose and to others.
”
—ANGELO CAMPOS
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Angelo ’09 and Phillip Campos—the latter attended St. Ambrose as a freshman before transferring —started Tres Mentes Salsa because they were “sick of sub-standard salsa,” Angelo Campos said. “We’re huge food fans—Mexican food fans especially,” Angelo added. “We loved our salsa, but weren’t sure the market would.” So they tested it. The brothers each took samples of their homemade salsa to their respective corporate jobs in Des Moines, Iowa, and placed them in break rooms on every floor, along with an email address. Within the hour, their inboxes were filled with requests on how to buy it. “That’s when the light bulb went off,” Phillip Campos said, “and we began to figure out how to slap a label on it, scale it, and sell it.” Today, the Campos brothers offer four different types of salsa and sell between 500 to 1,000 units each week as they quickly build a following. Currently, they are only in the Des Moines market, but hope to reach the Quad Cities and points between in 2016.
Tres Mentes’ success, the brothers said, is a direct result of mistakes that called for problem solving. “And there have been plenty of them,” Angelo Campos acknowledged with a sheepish laugh. “But we kept going. The first labels we made were on an ink jet printer, and after putting them on the mason jars we noticed the ink was sweating off. We were literally sitting there with a blow dryer to keep them from smearing.” That’s what a liberal arts-educated entrepreneur does, the Campos brothers were quick to note. The liberal arts taught them to get creative, to be diligent in their endeavor, and to never give up. It also raised questions about how salsa—yes, salsa—could be a force for good in the world. “The company is still young, but already we’re asking ourselves why we are doing what we are doing. Do we want good salsa? Yes. But we also want to give back to St. Ambrose and to others,” Angelo Campos said. Already, they are doing that—sharing their experience launching a company with other young entrepreneurs through Iowa Food Startup, a food consulting company they started to help bring new food businesses to market. “We’ve learned a lot,” Angelo Campos said, “and we want to bring that knowledge to others.” For Emily Starr ’01, education is good business. She built a company that extends knowledge—and technology—to teachers and students alike. The former elementary school teacher is founder and CEO of an online learning company that offers over 5,000 different digital content lessons for elementary school teachers, students and parents. Starting a business was not on her bucket list when she graduated from St. Ambrose, but after a few years in the classroom, she realized she was destined for something different.
“As teachers, we’re given projectors and interactive whiteboards and iPads and ChromeBooks—and most often we have no idea what to do with them,” she recalled. “I was given a projector, and noticed that all I was doing was taking lesson plans we had on paper and showing them up on a larger screen. Clearly, that’s not using technology effectively. I knew there was a better way, and I knew there were teachers like me doing the exact same thing.” Starr had an idea in her head and a flyer for a Boot Camp for Entrepreneurs course at the Iowa Small Business Development Center in downtown Davenport. Suddenly, everything started moving into place—and fast. StarrMatica Learning Systems was born, and today, she is writing and offering digital content for classrooms as far away as Virginia and New York. “Teachers today are required to do more than just teach, and often have limited resources to do so. We offer a service that helps make their lives in the classroom a bit easier,” Starr said. “We curate content, write curriculum and offer technology to teach in ways you just cannot do with paper and a pen. Want to teach a biology class about plant life but don’t have a greenhouse to do so? StarrMatica can bring that greenhouse to the classroom digitally.” Like the Campos’ brothers, Starr isn’t just looking to cash in. That wouldn’t be true to her St. Ambrose roots. She said would love her growing enterprise to one day become a nonprofit so that every student and every teacher can gain access to the resources.
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Emily Starr As the founder of Modern Thrive, Cassie Boorn ’10 has infused her SAU philosophy degree with a passion for online media. Her unique platform is geared to encourage entrepreneurialism. “My philosophy degree helped me to think about the world in a new way, and find innovative and meaningful ways to connect people and solve problems,” the mother of two said from her home/ office in Peoria, Ill. “Modern Thrive offers a place after college to enhance your worklife and in many cases, pursue the career you want.” Through online workshops, free webinars and other learning tools, Boorn joins various experts with people looking for a path to do something new with their life. “When you have the freedom to create a business around your life, you can also find methods to do it in a way that works for you,” she said. Back at Fooda, Jones and the team is preparing for another round of funding to bring the company to new markets and, down the road, toward a potential public offering or sale. As director of partnerships, business development and client 18
management, his focus is squarely on the future. “I’m often asked why I’m not the CEO,” he said. “But here’s the reality: that’s not what I’m good at. I’m great at pitching our concept, bringing in new business and making things happen for Fooda.” Toward that end, he continues to lean on those foundational liberal arts skills—critical and creative thinking, as well as understanding, reaching and networking with people. “The spider web of Ambrose is vast. I got my job at Echo because a friend from Ambrose called me and told me to come check it out,” Jones said. “Today, I hire graduates from Notre Dame and Northwestern, and proudly, from St. Ambrose University. Here’s the thing: You really don’t know who your next opportunity is going to come from, but you do know how to treat everyone with respect. Make no enemies. Foster friendships. Do good work.” That’s the St. Ambrose way. And, just maybe, it’s the recipe for starting a successful business.
From Gaines Street to Sesame Street to Broadway Where Emmy winner Hemesath goes,
he takes a bit of St. Ambrose along
by Ted Stephens III ’01, ’04
Have you hugged a monster today? Chances are Brian Hemesath ’94 has. That’s because he actually knows the way to Sesame Street (for those wondering: “take the M train to Queens.”) The five-time nominated, two-time Emmy Award-winning costume designer leads the “human” department for the popular children’s series— one of many cool, creative jobs that give Hemesath joy and bring smiles, laughter and happiness to audiences young and old. Although his career has taken Hemesath from the set of Saturday Night Live to the bright lights of Broadway and has earned him creative acclaim from a growing list of film and television stars, the small-town Iowa native said his work for Sesame Street always will be the best job in the world. “It is literally the happiest place to work—the happiest place on earth,” he said. “Everyone genuinely cares about the people there. We get to make TV for kids—made up of characters and lessons that will stay with them for their entire lives.” Hemesath has worked on over 100 episodes since arriving on Sesame Street in 2010, and the work is incredibly fast-paced, often beginning just weeks in advance of a new episode, when creative meetings start with the production team and puppet designers at The Jim Henson Company. “It all happens very fast, and no matter how planned out ahead of time you are on an episode, inevitably something changes at the last minute,” he said. “That’s part of the collaborative nature of the work—often times lighting design or set design or the color of a puppet will dictate the human costumes and vice versa. You quickly adapt and roll with it.”
19
I get to decide how I approach my work and my life. For me, that means
Still, nothing will ever feel as rushed as things were during his 14 years working
that become monsters and a bikini top with
on Saturday Night Live. (And when it does
hands that can play the harp).
get hectic on Sesame Street, “at least I’m
Hemesath said the show was an
being as nice and as kind as
working with Big Bird,” he pauses. “And Mr.
opportunity to work with an artistic team—
I possibly can be to anyone
Snuffleupagus.”)
including composer Jason Robert Brown,
Through the years, Hemesath has made
original screenwriter Andrew Bergman and
I work with—because it is
a name for himself with his innovative,
director Gary Griffin— with which he both
how I want to be treated. It
surprising designs. He has transformed
admired and loved working.
is also, I think, how one can enjoy a long, happy, fulfilling career in this business.
Justin Timberlake into a rap artist for
“There were surprisingly a lot of
SNL digital shorts and turned Today
similarities between working on Broadway
hosts Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer
and the work I’ve done regionally,” he said.
into Pinocchio and Humpty Dumpty,
“The difference was really the pressure
respectively.
that I put on myself. There’s a lot of money
Former SNL cast member Andy Samberg, star of TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and recent host of the Emmy Awards, referred to Hemesath as a “creative force.” “We threw, basically, the impossible at
riding on the show’s success, and you want it to be the best possible show.” That’s where his Iowa roots come in handy. Amidst the bustle of New York City—
him every week (at SNL) with our schedule
where yellow taxis zip down the street
and insane requests,” Samberg told The
and high-definition digital marquees light
Wall Street Journal earlier this year, “and
up the night sky—is a man still firmly
he always showed up with ideas that were
planted in the Midwest. For it is his earliest
better than what we’d asked for.”
mentors, like high school teachers John
That work ethic served Hemesath well
Vance and Pat Downs from his small
this year as he made his Broadway debut
hometown of Calmar, Iowa, and professors
as the costume designer for Honeymoon
Kristin Quinn, MFA, and Corinne Johnson,
in Vegas, a new musical based on the 1992
PhD, from St. Ambrose, who he said are
film. The play starred Tony Danza of Taxi
“directly responsible for what I have been
and Who’s the Boss fame. Designs featured
able to accomplish.
both the expected (plenty of perfectly tacky Hawaiian shirts and Elvis costumes 20
that lit up) and the extreme (tiki statues
“John taught me at an early age to look at the world and see beauty in ways that
Brian Hemesath’s costume sketches for Honeymoon in Vegas
you wouldn’t necessarily expect,” he said. “Pat convinced me that I could perform
production of You Can’t Take It With You.
“He didn’t just visualize or create and act
Currently, Hemesath is the assistant
on an idea in isolation, but rather, found
on a stage when I thought I couldn’t.
costume designer on the sequel to the 2014
ways to work that honored the human
Kristin made me consider how I was seeing
movie John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves,
spirit of others with kindness and, at the
things—to take the time to examine them
which is filming in both New York and
same time, a sense of urgency.”
instead of move quickly past them. Cory
Rome. This spring, he’ll design Pump Boys
Hemesath said human experience is
made me see that being a designer was
and Dinettes for Paper Mill Playhouse—the
woven into the curriculum at St. Ambrose.
something I could have a career doing.”
regional theater that brought Honeymoon
“Perhaps the thing I appreciate most
Johnson was right about that career. After graduating with his theatre degree
in Vegas to Broadway. As he was making his Broadway debut
about my liberal arts education is the wide range of experiences I was able to have,” he
from St. Ambrose in 1994, Hemesath went
this winter, he also was named the
said. “That showed me that I get to decide
on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree
recipient of the Irene Sharaff Young Master
how I approach my work and my life. For
from Carnegie Mellon University and
Award, which is given to designers on their
me, that means being as nice and as kind as
moved to New York shortly afterward.
way toward fully acknowledged success
I possibly can be to anyone I work with—
He was operations manager for Dodger
and excellence in the field of design. He
because it is how I want to be treated. It
Costumes, where he built costumes for
received the award—and a big hug—from
is also, I think, how one can enjoy a long,
Broadway revivals like 42nd Street and
Sesame Street’s Telly Monster, surrounded
happy, fulfilling career in this business.”
served as assistant costumer for the
by his family and his friends from his days
national tour of Titanic the Musical.
at St. Ambrose, including Johnson and Dye.
He has returned to St. Ambrose often,
“When Brian was a student many
costume designing alongside his close
years ago, I saw a man who cared
friend Dianne Dye, the costume shop
deeply about humanity—a person most
manager at the university, on productions
interested in how a group of people could
of Pippin, James and the Giant Peach, City
come together to have a truly shared,
of Angels, and most recently, the alumni
collaborative experience,” Johnson recalled.
That, of course, is a lesson he’s reminded of time and time again by his furry friends on Sesame Street. After all, even a grouch like Oscar needs a hug from time to time. Read more about the Theatre program at sau.edu/scene.
21
A
Aging baby boomers increasingly in need of social services—coupled with a growing number of retiring social workers from that same demographic— are making social work one of the fastestgrowing professions in the United States. Two significant new options within the St. Ambrose University Master of Social Work degree program further accentuate the ways a comprehensive, interdisciplinary education can prepare well-rounded students to fill that burgeoning workplace need. Those added options include the introduction of a dual master’s degree program that will allow graduate students to save both time and money while pairing an MSW degree with a Master of Business Administration degree from the St. Ambrose H.L. McLaughlin MBA program. Several MSW alumni are making use of the dual degree opportunity this year, pursuing their MBA degrees on an accelerated path that will give them credit for elective courses they already completed while earning their MSW. Starting next fall, the dual degree opportunity will become available to students currently enrolled in the MSW program, effectively allowing them to earn two master’s degrees in three years as opposed to an investment of four years or more. Also next fall, undergraduate students who major in theology, sociology, women and gender studies or psychology will have an opportunity 22
New Opportunities Aid Current, Future Social Work Professionals by Craig DeVrieze
“Students and alumni are very excited about this dual degree idea.” KATIE VAN BLAIR, DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
to apply for early entry into the MSW program. It is a path that will help them earn credits toward their MSW degree while still working on an undergraduate degree. Those who pursue this track may be able to join the workforce a year sooner and save on tuition costs. “It is an efficient plan of study that rewards students who come to St. Ambrose knowing they want to be a social worker,” said Sandra Cassady,
PT, PhD, vice president for strategic
initiatives and dean of the College of Health and Human Services.
Dual Masters Build on Opportunity The changing natures of healthcare and social service have made business skills a valuable commodity in the social work industry, said Katie Van Blair ’92, ’05 MSW, PhD, director of the School of Social Work.
That means licensed social work professionals equipped with an MBA are highly valued in the field. “The social service marketplace really has become that—a marketplace,” Van Blair said. “It is this business-oriented environment in which we live, and to be at the table, sometimes you have to know how to speak the language and have credentials that your nonprofit board sees as valuable. “Over the past five years, we have had students and community leaders say they are moving into administrative positions, but don’t have those hard business skills. Students and alumni are very excited about this dual degree idea.” The dual degree opportunity certainly appeals to first-year MSW student Lindsey Mack, whose exposure to social justice and service at St. Ambrose led her to the MSW program even while she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting in 2015. “I volunteered and made a difference in places in the community and I really liked the way I felt afterward,” she said. “Seeing and hearing about all the people who really need assistance in life, I just want to be there for them.” She also knows she can be more helpful to those people with an enhanced understanding of business practices. “There’s just so much about social work that people don’t understand is administrative,” she said. “It’s really cool that they provide this resource.” Randy Richards ’71, PhD, interim
director of the MBA program, believes an MBA can have multiple applications in the social work field. “We are looking to provide students whatever they might need for skills and competencies,” he said.
The Right Track The MSW program has historically attracted students with St. Ambrose degrees in theology, psychology, women and gender studies and sociology, but the opportunity to pursue “fast-track” MSW credits should encourage more to follow. Students will be able to take advantage of foundational liberal arts undergraduate degree programs at St. Ambrose, secure in the knowledge they are working toward a professional career as well, Van Blair said. The grounding in the liberal arts provided by the general education curriculum at St. Ambrose, as well as through traditional liberal arts major programs, creates well-rounded graduates primed to succeed in any profession, Cassady said. Plus, given the university’s service-driven, life-enriching mission, Ambrosians are particularly well-suited for social service. “It’s the strong skill set of a liberal arts education being applied to a professional degree,” said the dean. “Problem solving, communication and critical thinking are all very important for social work.” Katy Strzepek, director of the Women and Gender Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences, said her
undergraduate program is a natural lead-in to a career in social work. “I think our program is a really good fit for the empowerment model that they have in MSW,” she said. “A lot of our students do internships and have similar placement opportunities that MSW students have.” Strzepek said many of her program’s social-work bound graduates have shopped around for affordable MSW options, and now won’t have to look anywhere else. “If we can offer them the undergraduate tuition rate for MSW credits and take a year off of their commitment, that is a significant savings,” she said. Patrick Archer, PhD, an associate professor and chair of the Sociology and Criminal Justice program, said high school students searching for bachelor’s degrees in social work now have a great reason to take a second look at St. Ambrose. “They actually might find this more flexible,” he said. “They can major in what they really want and still end up getting that licensed credential through the master’s program. When it comes to the positions they want to get and the pay they want to earn, they’re going to want to have the MSW. “Social work is the job title. Maybe they don’t see sociology, theology, psychology and gender studies getting them there.” Now, they can. Learn more about the degree programs featured here at sau.edu/scene. 23
alumniPROFILE
In the summer of 1960,
Around the World—and Back to St. Ambrose
by Steven Lillybeck
24
Ken Choquette ’64 left the family farm along the banks of the Missouri River in tiny Salix, Iowa, for a long trip to the other side of Iowa. That trip to begin his first year at St. Ambrose was the start of a lifelong adventure that would lead more than once to the other side of the world. Unsure of himself and what he wanted for his future, Choquette found an identity at St. Ambrose and ultimately would gather experience like so many acorns. He left with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, did a two-year-plus stint in Pakistan with the Peace Corps, saw action in Vietnam as a medic and helicopter gunner, went back to school at Iowa State University and gained a Master of Civil Engineering degree. In time, Choquette became chief of engineering and environmental health programs for the Iowa Department of Public Health and later served as the chief of party for the U.S. Agency for International Development. That’s an accomplished résumé unlikely to surprise those who saw something in the quiet first-year student and encouraged him. One of those was Rev. John Burns, then campus chaplain at St. Ambrose. Having lost a leg to diabetes, Fr. Burns required a driver and, in 1960, he chose Choquette. “He kind of picked me out,” Choquette recalled. “He would call me up and say I need to go somewhere, and I’d go pick him up.”
Ken Choquette traveled to the Yucatan this past spring to assist native farmers there in growing organic habanero plants.
An early call was to drive Fr. Burns to downtown Davenport to see an aspiring candidate for president. “I’m 17 years old, sitting around waiting for everything to get done when one of the deacons came up and said, ‘Fr. Burns wants you to meet someone.’” It was John F. Kennedy, who won the election two months later, and soon after launched the Peace Corps. Months beyond his college graduation, Choquette was off to Pakistan as a member of JFK’s legacy organization. “At the time, I thought Pakistan was in Africa,” Choquette said. “I didn’t even know where I was going.” Some 50 years later, Choquette returned to the Middle East to supervise emergency water and sanitation projects in warravaged Afghanistan. Important to all of this is his experience at St. Ambrose. “I grew up a lot at St. Ambrose,” he said. “I really struggled my freshman year, but I had a lot of encouragement from a lot of people. Other students from small towns reinforced me and encouraged me. It helped me identify myself.”
One of his most nurturing friendships was with Dan McClimon ’64, an outgoing track and field star from LeClaire, Iowa. He encouraged Choquette first to participate in intramurals—he won first place in a softball throwing competition—and then to throw the javelin for the track and field squad. “I lettered all four years,” Choquette proudly remembered. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Today, Choquette and a few classmates are involved in a leadership effort to raise funds for the new Wellness and Recreation Center at St. Ambrose. The donation will honor McClimon, who died in a plane crash at the age of 41 in the midst of a national championship-winning coaching career at the University of Wisconsin. That’s a full circle that began with a trek to the other side of Iowa.
25
alumniNEWS
Greg O’Brien ’08, ’09 DPT, and Adam Hurlburt ’08, carve the Hagen Hall turkey that launched a holiday tradition.
Home-Away-From-Home for the Holidays by Emilee Renwick ’14
Christmas at St. Ambrose
Dec. 4
Choral Concert: Lessons and Carols, 7 p.m., Christ The King Chapel
Dec. 5–6 Children’s Show: Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!, 3 p.m. both days, Galvin Fine Arts Center Dec. 5
Children’s Christmas Party, 4 p.m., Rogalski Center ballroom
Dec. 6
Feast of Saint Ambrose and McMullen Awards, 10:30 a.m., Christ The King Chapel
Dec. 11
Ambrosian Christmas Musical, 7:30 p.m., Galvin Fine Arts Center
Dec. 15 Candlelight Mass, Midnight Breakfast
26
Lights gleaming from inside decorated residence hall rooms; the Grotto covered in a sparkling white canvas; and finals-frenzied students huddling outside Cosgrove for Midnight Breakfast: Even amid the bustle of a semester’s end, St. Ambrose is a place where Christmas memories are made. “I just remember the first time I ever cooked a turkey was for a holiday party we held in The Link,” Ann (Lamb) McIntyre ’08 said. “I was Googling which end of the turkey was which. The bird barely fit in our Hagen oven.” Josh McIntyre ’08 remembered that festive meal very well. “Everyone dressed up and we had the cartoon The Grinch That Stole Christmas playing in the background,” he said. A holiday dinner now is an annual tradition for the McIntyres and a group of fellow Bees alumni. Annually, they meet somewhere in the Midwest to relive that special night. “We go out to eat now,” Ann said. “But I think we are constantly trying to make it more like the first year, because the fact that we had no idea what we were doing and being surrounded by our friends made it such a great memory.” Christmas memories of St. Ambrose also include popular chorale and music performances, and holiday tournaments for athletes. For those who had classes in or near the Galvin Fine Arts Center, few can forget the tradition of busloads of school children pouring into Allaert Auditorium for a children’s play produced by and starring St. Ambrose students. “My favorite children’s production was Alice in Wonderland,” Brooke Schelly ’15 said. “All the children treated me like a princess—it’s always fun to be princess for a day. But watching the children in awe of the decorated tree and the show brought the spirit of Christmas to Galvin.” For many, the thought of flurries and finals will always include a memory or two of Candlelight Mass, where the
Msgr. John Hyland, Karen and Jim Collins to receive McMullen Awards An institutional Church leader and true representative of the Diocese of Davenport’s support for Catholic higher education will join two tireless supporters of St. Ambrose University and its students in being honored with the 2015 McMullen Award on Dec. 6 at Christ The King Chapel.
chapel goes dark and students turn out to celebrate the Christmas and Advent seasons in one final Mass before leaving for home. “I know it was always very special for the seniors because they realized it was the last Christmas they would have at St. Ambrose,” said Sheila Deluhery ’83,’01 MPTh, who retired as the director of faith formation for Campus Ministry in 2014. “Just seeing all the lit candles on the altar was very visually symbolic of how many people had come to celebrate.” It’s not just seniors who are moved by the moment. “One specific thing I loved each year,” Lisa (Wiggers) Haverkamp ’10, ’12 DPT said, “was the music ministry students singing O’ Holy Night after communion, which “…the fact that we had no idea always had me on the verge of tears.” what we were doing and being And what goes with surrounded by our friends made Candlelight Mass better than it such a great memory.” Midnight Breakfast? The —ANN MCINTYRE ’08 tradition of faculty and staff handing out hash browns and donuts is an Ambrose-centric memory few forget. “I just remember we were always frantically searching for a Santa,” Deluhery said. “One year it was Jim Mullins; P.J. Foley ’01, ’05 MOL has filled in; and Dr. Rogalski even dressed up a few years for the role.” Every memory is different, but they all share a common theme. Home for the holidays can happen wherever it is you call home at the moment. “It was a chance to make new traditions with your friends who had become family,” Josh McIntyre said. “It felt like home.”
Msgr. John Hyland ’64 and Jim ’69 and Karen Collins will be presented the prestigious awards in conjunction with the annual Feast of Saint Ambrose. The presentations will follow Mass, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. Msgr. Hyland exemplifies the attributes of a dedicated alumni leader, through his service on the Board of Trustees, his active leadership as a co-chair of the clergy component of the Building Our Future Campaign, and his personal philanthropy to St. Ambrose. As the vicar general, he serves on several different boards of the Diocese. Karen and Jim Collins also are generous contributors of time, treasure and talent to a school where Jim starred in track and field before beginning a career as a corporate leader at Deere & Company. Jim is a Trustee emeritus and for the past decade has been a leader in St. Ambrose’s efforts to enhance its core commitment to diversity. Karen and Jim are founding contributors to the Freeman Pollard endowment fund and Jim has worked tirelessly toward a goal of fully endowing the Pollard scholarship, which provides vital assistance to minority students. “Msgr. Hyland and Karen and Jim Collins embody the commitment to St. Ambrose and its current and future students which this distinguished award is intended to honor,” said Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, president of St. Ambrose. “We are pleased to welcome them to this honor roll of valued Ambrosians.” 27 27
alumniNEWS
Your gift. Every year. Lives enriched. Thank you.
Fellowship Gift Boosts DBA Program A Doctoral Alumni Research Fellowship has been established by an anonymous donor with a gift of $50,000 and a plan to raise an additional $100,000 for the fellowship. The fellowship will support program enhancements for current students, greater program visibility and reach, as well as advance faculty research and teaching. The Doctor of Business Administration program was the first doctoral program established at St. Ambrose University in 1998. Graduates of the program have distinguished themselves in their careers in industry, academia, and beyond. Monica Forret, PhD, has been named the inaugural Doctoral Alumni Research Fellow. Forret ’88, a member of the College of Business faculty since 1997, served as director of the DBA program for many years. She conducts and publishes research in the areas of networking, mentoring, careers, job search processes, gender issues and work attitudes. Prominent community leader Dick Kleine ’13 DBA expressed his enthusiasm about the fellowship after his positive experience in the program and his belief in its importance to business enterprises. Kleine earned his doctorate after retiring from a near 40-year career as an engineer and corporate vice president of quality at Deere & Company. To assist this effort, contact Ed Finn, associate vice president for advancement at FinnEdwardJ@ sau.edu or by calling 563/333-6289. Learn more about the Doctor of Business Administration program at sau.edu/scene.
St. Ambrose Annual Fund www.sau.edu/give 28
alumniNEWS
The Gift of Giving A Healthy Gift
Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust Grant Will Help MPAS Program Grow Roy Carver Jr. suspects his father’s lifelong interest in healthcare may have been fueled by a childhood dream. “I think he wanted to be a doctor,”
programs in nursing. The Trust’s generous gift was celebrated in August with a
the son remembered of Roy J. Carver,
dedication ceremony,
who instead built an international
where Roy Carver Jr.
manufacturing business in Muscatine,
said the St. Ambrose
Iowa, and, in concert with his family,
health professional
became Iowa’s foremost philanthropist
programs fit the Trust’s
before he died in June of 1981.
ongoing mission to
The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust has
significantly enhance
built upon that philanthropic mission, with
healthcare and
a particular focus on the family patriarch’s
biomedical research in
passions for helping students in Iowa
Iowa and Illinois.
and Illinois attain college educations and
Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust representatives Scott Ingstad, Lynn Sasmazer, PhD, Roy Carver, Jr., Troy Ross, PhD
“We try to keep things on a high level
computer; a 78-seat lecture hall equipped with enhanced technology for distance
for promoting biomedical research and
of quality investments in things that are
education; and a clinical skills lab and
scholarship within those two states.
going to help the community at large,” he
eight-room exam suite that simulates a
A recent $1 million grant from the
said. “This is a very significant addition to
medical office or clinic.
Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust will help St. Ambrose University further both
the community and the state of Iowa.” Since 1987, the Roy J. Carver Charitable
In January, the exam suite will become home to the St. Ambrose Inter-
missions. The grant was made to the
Trust has distributed more than $316
professional Health Clinic. There, from 3 to
Master of Physician Assistant Studies
million through more than 2,365 individual
7 p.m. each Monday, MPAS students will
(MPAS) program in support of costs
grants. St. Ambrose has received several
be joined by Master of Social Work (MSW)
associated with the newly dedicated Roy
grants from the trust in support of its
students in providing by-appointment,
J. and Lucille A. Carver Health Sciences
health sciences programs, including a 2010
non-emergency healthcare assistance to
Education Wing at the SAU Center for
grant to assist the original construction of
underserved populations in the region.
Health Sciences Education at Genesis.
the Center for Health Sciences Education.
The 13,000-square foot wing was
“We are so very appreciative of this
Already opened is an inter-professional rehab clinic where, DPT, MOT, MSW and
opened in the summer of 2014, just in time
generous support of these important
Master of Speech-Language Pathology
to welcome the inaugural MPAS cohort.
programs,” said Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ,
students work as interdisciplinary teams
It was added to an already state-of-the-
PhD, president of St. Ambrose.
to assist underserved patients with
art facility that was opened in 2010 to
St. Ambrose MPAS students said the top
rehabilitation needs. That clinic is open
accommodate the growing Doctor of
quality facilities represent a commitment
by referral and appointment Tuesday
Physical Therapy (DPT) and Master of
to offering a first-rate program. The wing
evenings from 3 to 7 p.m.
Occupational Therapy (MOT) graduate
features high-fidelity patient simulators
programs, as well as undergraduate
that are part mannequin and part
Learn more about health sciences at St. Ambrose and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust at sau.edu/scene. 29
classNOTES
60
The Sixties
Msgr. Thomas Bales ’67 retired as pastor on June 15, 2015, from the following Illinois parishes: St. Patrick Parish, Amboy, St. Flannen Parish, Harmon, and St. Mary Parish, Walton.
70
The Seventies
David Balducchi ’70 authored a study of social justice advocacy, “Selling Work Sharing in Virginia: Lessons from the Campaign to Enact Short-Time Compensation, 2011-2014.” The study recently was published in a book, Transforming U.S. Workforce Development Policies for the 21st Century. Kyle Hutchings ’75 has been named to the Omaha (Neb.) Library Board of Trustees. Hutchings is president of AES Lighting Group of Omaha. Marcia (Krayenhagen) Jensen ’75 retired from teaching after 30 years in the Davenport Community School District and 10 years at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Davenport.
80
The Eighties
Citizens Bank announced that Terrence Broderick ’82 has been hired as a senior vice president in Citizens Commercial Banking’s Business Capital division in Chicago. Maggie (McNamara) Hektoen ’82 is a high school counselor at Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla. Jeff Hoebelheinrich ’82 has retired after 33 years with the Newton (Iowa) Police 30
Department, serving most recently as the chief of police. Citizens First Bank of Clinton, Iowa, has announced the promotion of Kathy Forrest ’83 as president. Kris Ketz ’83 announced that after eight years of waking up at 1 a.m. to anchor the weekday morning news shows at KMBC-TV in Kansas City, he now co-anchors the weeknight evening newscasts at the station. Hope (Walker) Williams ’85 is the director of student athlete services at Indiana State University. Jennifer (Rink) ’86 and Michael O’Toole ’87 celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on Nov. 10. Msgr. Drake Shafer married the couple at Christ the King Chapel.
90
The Nineties
Modern Woodmen of America named Sharon (Niehaus) Snawerdt ’90 manager of the Corporate Communications department. Snawerdt joined Modern Woodmen in 1993. St. Ambrose University has announced Jill (Gregoire) McNamara ’92, ’03 MBA is the assistant comptroller in the General Accounting office. Wes Dolphin ’93, an eighth-grade social studies teacher and coach at Drexler Middle/Intermediate School in Farley, Iowa, was awarded the Tom and Brenda Wickham Educational Service Award. The award is given to a Western Dubuque employee who exemplifies excellence and commitment to students and education.
Mark Krell ’93 has published his first book, Exposing Lucifer. The book discusses Western religious superstitions and is based on Krell’s 35 years of research and study. Amy Newbanks Letke ’93 MBA, founder and CEO of Integrity HR Inc., was named one of “20 People to Know” in human resources by Louisville (Ky.) Business First. Thomas Haertjens ’94 has been named the director of Modern Woodmen of America’s Information Technology Department. Haertjens has worked at Modern Woodmen since 1986. The South Tama County Community School Board named Danny Phipps ’95 high school assistant principal and activities director. Theresa (Driscoll) Wendhausen ’96, vice president and branding communications officer for First National Bank and Trust in Beloit, Wis., recently graduated from the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking in Philadelphia. A.J. Schall ’98 became director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency in August.
00
The Zeros
Elizabeth (Boardman) Hulsbrink ’00 is the music teacher for kindergarten through sixth grade students at St. Malachy School in Geneseo, Ill. Dori McGhee ’01 has been hired as a special education instructor at Anamosa (Iowa) High School. The National Association of Professional Women honored
Jennifer Heckroth ’02 MPT as a 2015-2016 inductee into its VIP Women of the Year circle. Heckroth was honored for leadership in business. Gretchen (Till) Conway ’03, ’04 MOT is an assistant professor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Ill. Michael Schafer ’03 is the technical director/designer at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Lori (Ehlinger) Serrano ’04, ’08 MBA has been named policy administration system program manager in Modern Woodmen of America’s National Secretary’s Office. Serrano joined the company in 1989. Emily (Meyer) Harold ’07, DVM, has joined Abel Keppy Animal Hospital in Bettendorf, Iowa. She earned her doctorate from Iowa State University in 2011. Ashley Brown ’08 is an E-Commerce Stylist at Von Maur. Meredith Tangen ’08, ’10 MBA, head of the business department at West High School in Davenport, received an Iowa Association for Career and Technical Education Award. The award recognizes career and technical education teachers with three to five years of experience who have made significant contributions towards innovative and unique career and technical education programs. Alexandra (Doerfer) Dirck ’09 is working in business development at Midwest Total Solutions in Davenport.
classNOTES
10
The Teens
Dan DeVenney ’10 is head boys track coach at Bureau Valley High School, Manlius, Ill. DeVenney has been a member of the school’s track coaching staff for the past five years. Hannah Gough ’10 is the human resource generalist at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Kelsey Lehman ’12 is a market research project officer at State Bank in Freeport, Ill. Brett McGinnis ’12 is the boys golf coach at Pekin (Ill.) Community High School. Michelle (Gogel) Gallagher ’13 is the girls volleyball coach at Aquin High School, Freeport, Ill. Meghan Dillie ’14 is the talent acquisition coordinator for Motorola Mobility in Chicago. Northwest Missouri State University welcomed Michael Durbin ’14 MOL as the complex director in the Office of Residential Life. Heather Stocking ’14 MOL has been appointed director of human resources for the Bettendorf (Iowa) Community School District. She was a career counselor at St. Ambrose University the previous seven years. James Hinderks ’14 is the resident chaplain of the Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, Ill. Geneseo Middle School welcomed Nolan Possley ’14 as the seventhgrade computer applications teacher. He also helps coach football, basketball and baseball in the district.
A Life Spent Fighting Hunger A St. Ambrose bachelor’s degree in business administration and an Ambrosian sense of social justice led Tom Laughlin ’72 to a career helping to feed the hidden hungry. Laughlin retired last spring after 36 years as the only executive director in the history of the River Bend Foodbank, a clearinghouse for food pantries serving 22 counties in and near the Quad Cities. He was joined in retirement by his wife, Caren (Bakrow) Laughlin ’76, who spent the previous 10 years as director of marketing and development for the nonprofit foodbank. It was gratifying work, said Tom, who helped the foodbank’s output grow from 197,000 pounds of food distributed through 20 social service agencies in 1982 to 9 million pounds disbursed through 300 local agencies last year. “I was really blessed,” he said. “Every day I enjoyed going to work, and I knew that I was making a difference. I won the job lottery with that position.” Although he studied business in college, Tom Laughlin said the allure of service and social justice was strong in the 60s and 70s, and that was particularly true at St. Ambrose. That’s why he became a social worker following his graduation, working seven years at a group home for adjudicated delinquents. In the fall of 1981, that social service background paired with his SAU business administration degree made him the perfect match for the role of founding foodbank director. Larger communities already had created a consortium that worked with
photo courtesy of Argus-Dispatch
U.S. food manufacturers to regionally warehouse and distribute food that the makers previously had dumped in landfills. The Riverbend Foodbank was the first to open in a mid-sized community. It was created by a volunteer board of community leaders in response to a farm implement industry crisis that caused mass layoffs in the area. Starting with his staff of one, Tom Laughlin helped the foodbank grow steadily through the years, and growth was essential because, while the QC economy rebounded, hunger within the region never abated. Caren worked as a volunteer before she brought her public relations skills to the foodbank staff, but said she didn’t understand the scope of the problem until initiating a weekly program to send bags of food home with school children a few years ago. “These adorable children were clinging to this food like their lives depended on it,” she said. “It was shocking to me.” Retired near their grandchildren in the Phoenix area since April, Tom said it is likely only a matter of time before the Laughlins join the fight against hunger in their new community.
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Luke Staudt ’15 is a graduate assistant for athletic academic services at Southeast Missouri State University.
Alum ‘Sees’ World a Different Way Rosiland Wilcox ’88, MFA, sees the world differently than most. Literally. “I used to tell people I see it like an impressionist painting, and that’s true,” said Wilcox, who earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education at St. Ambrose a decade after being rendered legally blind by Stargardt’s Disease, a genetic version of macular degeneration. “Everything kind of has dots and spots and wiggles around.” The vision challenges she first experienced at age 21 have kept Wilcox from driving. They have not stopped her from thriving. In the 30 years since she first enrolled at St. Ambrose as a newly divorced mother of three looking to escape a life of food stamps and welfare, Wilcox has bolstered her résumé with a Master of Art Therapy degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Mississippi. She is a certified art therapist, art teacher, gallery owner and musician, and continues to sculpt, paint and practice book art, ceramics, jewelry and photography. Since 2007, Wilcox has been an instructor and chair of the Fine Arts Department at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Miss. In 2012, she was named the school’s Humanities Teacher of the Year. Wilcox’s life changed after enrolling at St. Ambrose. “By the time I hit Ambrose, 32
my vision was pretty well shot, my husband was somewhere else, I had three children, we were on welfare and food stamps, and I beyond belief hated it, “ she said. At St. Ambrose, Wilcox met Sandy Tigges, PhD, then an adjunct instructor in the English Department and also blind. Tigges eventually would serve as Director of the Iowa Department for the Blind, and she helped Wilcox find the assistive technology that would help her succeed as a student. Wilcox graduated with honors in three years. During her years at St. Ambrose, Wilcox participated in choir and honed her talents under the instruction of Art Department icons John Schmits ’57, Thomas Chouteau ’51 and Les Bell ’72. Bell best remembered Wilcox’s surprising capacity to capture “meaningful emotional exchanges” with a camera. “I still remember the shock of seeing such consistently fascinating documentary from someone with imperfect sight,” he said. “She clearly was seeing with something other than her eyes.” Now, in the role of teacher herself, Wilcox shows students there is more than one way to view the world. “I tell them we are all unique,” she said. “My world is different. I think in some ways, it is enhanced.” See a gallery of Rosiland Wilcox’s work at sau.edu/scene.
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Marriages
Alexandra Doerfer ’09 and Kyle Dirck, Bettendorf, Iowa Michelle Eberhart ’11 and Tyller Braswell, DeWitt, Iowa Elizabeth Neece ’11 and David Janzen, Ottumwa, Iowa Alexa Vikel ’12, ’14 MOL and Drew Sheeder, Davenport James Hinderks ’14 and Elizabeth Vales, Bloomington, Ill.
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Births
Kimberly (Montgomery) Frank ’00 MBA and husband, Michael, are the proud parents of son Otto, born on March 4, 2015. Otto was welcomed home by big sister Ainsley. Chad Lynch ’01 and his wife, Alicia, welcomed home twins Livia and Liam on June 9, 2015. The twins were welcomed home by their sister Luree. Elizabeth (Boardman) Hulsbrink ’02 and her husband, Jeff, are happy to announce the birth of daughter Delilah, born on Aug. 4, 2014. Siblings Clare and Elouise greeted Delilah. Andrea Gaeta-Verhaeghe ’03, ’04 MOT and her husband, Shawn, are proud parents of son Oliver, born on June 5, 2015. David Buss ’04 and Sara (Walker) ’05 celebrated the birth of daughter Allison Claire on Sept. 1, 2015. Siblings Andrew and Annika welcomed her home.
classNOTES
Rick Schaefer ’05, ’06 MAcc and Lindsey (Miller) ’05 celebrated the birth of their son Hayden Joel, born on Sept. 7, 2015. Hayden is little brother to sister Olivia.
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Kelly (Stadel) Scott ’05 and her husband, Ryne, welcomed home their son Grady, born on Jan. 2, 2015.
Rev. Francis White ’40, Arlington Heights, Ill., June 7, 2015
Kaba Keyembe ’05, ’08 MBA and Gina (Vaccaro) ’06 celebrated the birth of their son Jackson Leo on July 27, 2015.
Ken Atkinson ’44, Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 11, 2014
Heather (Venema) ’06, ’08 MOL and Alan Hartley ’11 MEA welcomed home daughter Emma Kathleen on July 28, 2015. Rob ’07 and Krista (Helling) Eckert ’09, ’11 MSLP are happy to announce the birth of son Owen on Dec. 19, 2014. Jennifer (Meyer) Kira ’07 and her husband, Stephen, welcomed home their daughter Elaina on July 31, 2014. Brandon ’07 and Meghan (Brown) Monroe ’07 are happy to announce the birth of son Brody on June 17, 2014. He was welcomed home by his sister Olivia. David Atkinson ’08 and his wife, Amanda, are happy to announce the birth of daughter Harlow on May 18, 2015. Harlow was welcomed home by her sibling Avery. Heather (Newell) Connell ’08 and husband, Justin, celebrated the birth of son Christopher George on Sept. 20, 2015. Christopher was welcomed home by sister Claire. Jason Volkman ’11 and wife, Chrissy, welcomed their daughter Emma home on May 8, 2015.
Deaths
W. Clair Jordan ’37, Englewood, Colo., Sept. 21, 2013
Raymond Coveny ’43, Carol Stream, Ill., Aug. 5, 2015
Msgr. Robert O’Connor ’44, Lewistown, Ill., Sept. 10, 2015 Joseph Bettini ’47, Davenport, Sept. 22, 2015 Donald Lerch ’48, Bettendorf, Iowa, March 20, 2014 Wayne Brooks ’50, Fresno, Calif., April 25, 2015 Peter Bushma ’50, Davenport, June 29, 2015 J. Patrick Riley ’50, Naples, Fla., Aug. 31, 2015 Donald Sweeney ’51 Academy, ’59, East Moline, Ill., June 26, 2015 Robert Tagler ’51, River Forest, Ill., May 5, 2015 Charles Aguila ’52, Chicago, July 24, 2015 Bernard Archer ’52 Academy,’57, Gate Mills, Ohio, Sept. 14, 2015 Walter Donovan ’52, Holbrook, Mass., June 15, 2015 Richard Kelnhofer ’52, Crown Point, Ind., June 19, 2014 Harold Konvalinka ’52, Clarksville, Tenn., Aug. 12, 2015 Raymond McLaughlin ’53, Moline, Ill., Aug. 23, 2015 Charles “Chuck” Peters ’53, Davenport, July 19, 2015
David Thoensen ’55, West Des Moines, Iowa, July 8, 2015
Judith Dusenberry ’89, Waukesha, Wis., June 19, 2015
Lawrence “Larry” Hancher ’56, Moline, Ill., July 1, 2015
Kevin McCulloh ’92, Simi Valley, Calif., Nov. 9, 2014
Jack Wolfe ’56, Mesa, Ariz., Aug. 1, 2015
Steve Cobb ’96 MBA, Anchorage, Alaska, Sept. 1, 2014
Richard “Red” Haiston ’57, Davenport, June 23, 2015
Robert Clark ’97, Davenport, March 28, 2014
Edward Kregor ’57, Wheaton, Ill., July 5, 2015
Steven Swingle ’01 MBA, Albuquerque, N.M., May 20, 2014
Michael Hofmann ’58 Academy, ’00, Davenport, Sept. 27, 2015
Martin Lyons ’04, Dubuque, Iowa, July 29, 2015
Michael Rita ’58, Kaneohe, Hawaii, July 3, 2014
Lisa (Mausser) Miller ’15 MSW, Palo, Iowa, June 2, 2015
Jeanne (Troy) Arvish ’59, Hamilton, Mont., May 19, 2015
Faculty and Staff
Peter Hogberg ’59, Moline, Ill., Aug. 9, 2015 Kevin Coughlin ’60, Boonville, Calif., July 24, 2015
Floyd Begin, Iowa City, Iowa, Aug. 13, 2015 L. Juanita Monholland, Davenport, Aug. 2, 2015
Mark McGowan ’60, Davenport, Sept. 30, 2015 James “Jim” Dowling ’65, Richardson, Texas, July 14, 2015 Gary Hall ’65, Rock Falls, Ill., April 22, 2013 James “JD” Wilson ’66, Urbandale, Iowa, July 7, 2015 John McGrath ’68, Bettendorf, Iowa, Sept. 15, 2015 Paul Mathern ’70, St. Paul, Minn., March 26, 2015
Help us keep you informed The St. Ambrose University Office of Alumni Engagement is eager to keep your contact information current. If you have a seasonal address in addition to the one we currently have on record, or if you have recently relocated, let us know. Contact us at 800-SAUALUM, alumni@sau.edu, or visit sau.edu/scene/newaddress.
Rand Wonio ’73, Davenport, Oct. 3, 2015 Fredrick Wulf ’73, Davenport, Dec. 28, 2013 Charlie Morse ’77, Fort Madison, Iowa, May 30, 2015 Mary (Vogele) Henkel ’80, Bettendorf, Iowa, July 3, 2015 Ralph Vroman Jr. ’86, Reno, Nev., Dec. 23, 2014 33
518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803
What’s New? Let us know what you’ve been up to. Drop us a note at Alumni Engagement, St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport, Iowa 52803, or go online to share updates. Include your full name, class year and phone number or email where we can contact you to verify your information. online extra: tell us what’s new at sau.edu/keepintouch
It’s never too soon to think about
The Wine Festival Plan to join the fun this spring and help us grow our student scholarship fund. Three events will triple the fun and the benefits. Wine at the Warehouse: March 5 Preview Dinner: April 9 Wine Festival Wine Tasting: May 21 Learn more at sau.edu/scene.