The Magazine of St. Ambrose University | Fall 2016
Volunteers Help to Build Our Future ALSO INSIDE: Granting Dignity to Vets with Disabilities
3
Scene The Magazine of St. Ambrose University Fall 2016 | Volume XLIV | Number 2 Managing Editor Linda Hirsch Editor Craig DeVrieze Staff Assistant Darcy Duncalf ’12 Contributing Writers Jane Kettering Dustin Renwick ’10 Ted Stephens III ’01, ’04
p. 28. Scene is published by the Communications and Marketing office for the alumni, students, parents, friends, faculty and staff
12
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.
17
Circulation is approximately 30,000.
Emilee Renwick ’15
St. Ambrose University—independent, diocesan, and Catholic—enables its
Designer
students to develop intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically
Sally Paustian ’94
and physically to enrich their own lives and the lives of others.
www.sau.edu/scene
St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport, Iowa 52803.
scene@sau.edu
8
Photo credits: John Mohr Photography cover, p. 1, 13, 24; Dan Videtich, p. 3, 11, 18, Sherri Behr Photography, inside cover, pages 21–24; The Gazette, Cedar Rapids,
2 Under the Oaks 12 Features 12 Two for St. Ambrose 17 Progress Continues on Campaign, Construction 18 Volunteers Build Our Future 22 Wine Festival Improves with Age 20 Alumni News 26 Class Notes
A Message from the President The Strength of Community The pages of this Scene honor the contributions of a few of the many volunteers who are advancing and supporting the Building Our Future campaign. A number of these supportive volunteers are alumni, like Beth and Brian Lemek. The Lemeks began their married lives together at St. Ambrose, graduated in 1986, and have gone on to have tremendous success in business and in life. Married alums and legacy families are a common thread within the fabric of our St. Ambrose community. Their loyalty helps this university continue to grow and prosper and to build an even more extensive honor roll of successful graduates. The Lemeks generously have stepped forward to lead this campaign, along with fellow co-chairs Barbara and Mike Johnson and honorary co-chairs Jim ’56 and Mary Hagen. In partnership with our Advancement Office, our campaign council and the invaluable volunteer chairs of 12 unique outreach committees, our campaign leadership has done remarkable work in helping us make significant progress toward achieving the $18.5 million target goal for the Building Our Future campaign.
Their dedication and generosity remind us that we need the help of an extended community that values what we do at St. Ambrose. This, of course, extends our Ambrosian community beyond alumni, students and the dedicated people who serve here to include a deeply committed group of friends. The Johnsons are an example of this group. They and their family are philanthropic leaders in the Quad City community and, although they did not go to school here, Barbara and Mike are dedicated supporters of St. Ambrose simply because St. Ambrose so directly strengthens and improves the community in which they live. Within a year, the new Wellness and Recreation Center will be introduced as another important resource for new generations of St. Ambrose students. It also will stand as a testament to the faith and commitment of a strong and far-reaching community built around our mission to enrich lives. I thank every Ambrosian who has helped and who will help in this cause. Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD
1
under the OAKS
VA Grant Helps Jim’s Place Assist Disabled Vets
2
Granting Dignity It’s one thing to tell a disabled veteran there is hope. It’s quite another to provide functional tools to allow that same veteran the dignity and independent function that deliver on that promise. Jon Turnquist, ’92, ’10 MOL, clinical assistant professor and the director of the Assistive Technology Lab at St. Ambrose, is all about dignity. Turnquist is the imaginative force behind Jim’s Place, the assistive technology solutions house on the west edge of campus. Opened in 2011 through the generous support of the family of the late Jim O’Rourke, Jim’s Place is a “lab” designed to provide clients, caregivers and families with practical devices that allow disabled persons to function at home. Assisted by SAU students, Turnquist has taken assistive technology to such cutting edge places that Jim’s Place earned a visit from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Representatives left even more impressed than they’d expected, Turnquist said. “They told us that they thought an adapted house was nothing more than putting a ramp on a house, installing a toilet riser and putting a tub seat in the shower,” Turnquist recalled. “We blew them away. When they left they told us they couldn’t believe what true adaptation means.” The list of things the VA officials witnessed at Jim’s Place includes head laser communication devices, specialized lift systems, modified bathrooms, fall prevention systems and a plethora of other devices and systems, including whole-house voice assistant technology that pre-dates the arrival of commercial systems such as Alexa and Cortana.
Little wonder the VA representatives were impressed. And little wonder that a grant request to the VA written by Turnquist and the SAU Advancement Office has won $185,234 in new funding that will help veterans anywhere both access and assess solutions on display at Jim’s Place. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D, Iowa), whose office assisted in the grant-seeking process, said he is particularly pleased that the grant will help veterans and service members recently disabled by conflicts in the Middle East. “I look forward to seeing the great work that St. Ambrose will produce with this funding,” he said. The VA funding will be used to develop a Virtual Demonstration and Training Site, allowing disabled veterans and their caregivers from across the country to view and examine assistive devices at Jim’s Place without leaving their homes. Informational hot spots in each room will link Internet users to video demonstrations of every room and device. The grant also is funding new adaptive solutions in the kitchen at Jim’s Place. “Now, anybody can take a 360-degree virtual tour of the entire house and if they see something they like, they can mouse over it to see how it’s configured,” Turnquist explained. “We’re so happy that we will be able to broadcast this out to the world.” Learn more about Occupational Therapy and assistive technology at sau.edu/scene
under the OAKS
Theresa O’Rourke spent 46 years ensuring that a son who was a left a quadriplegic by a work accident at the age of 22 was able to live as fully and independently as possible. That son was the late James O’Rourke, and his legacy lives through Jim’s Place, the St. Ambrose assistive technology home created in 2011 through generous gifts from Joe Sr. ’72 and Joyce O’Rourke, Jeff ’77 and Cindy O’Rourke, Joe Jr. and Ashley O’Rourke and Julie (O’Rourke) ’96 and Alex Zaveral. A courtyard garden in the backyard of Jim’s Place soon will be dedicated to honor the parents who instilled in their sons the deep devotion to family, faith and community that is embodied by Jim’s Place. The Leo J. and Theresa C. O’Rourke Prayer Garden was created through more recent gifts from Joe Sr. and Joyce O’Rourke, Joe Jr. and Ashley O’Rourke and Julie and Alex Zaveral, this time in honor of Theresa, who died last November. “In a sense, she will still be looking after Jim,” said Jon Turnquist, ’92, ’10 MOL, clinical assistant professor and the director of the Assistive Technology Lab at St. Ambrose.
Joe O’Rourke Sr., a member of the St. Ambrose Board of Trustees, said the family also wished to honor Leo, the father who died in 1972. “My father was the driving force to make sure the family stayed close together, worked hard and practiced our religion,” he said. The O’Rourke family built a business with all the brothers, Jim, John, Joe Sr. , Jerry ’77, Jeff and Jay, playing a role in its launch and Jim was instrumental in making O’Rourke Sales Co., a continual success before he died in 2009. The family’s support for Jim’s Place was motivated by an interest in helping other persons with disabilities find adaptive solutions that can allow them to remain in their homes with a degree of independence. Joe Sr. said the family is pleased to see the assistive technology house continue to grow in that mission through a recent VA grant that will expand its reach beyond the Midwest. “St. Ambrose has done a fantastic job,” he said. “It’s a great thing.” Learn more about Jim O’Rourke and the family behind Jim’s Place at sau.edu/scene
Garden Will Honor O’Rourke Parents
3
under the OAKS
Folwell Center Honors Wonio When she found herself The Rand Wonio weighing a job offer while Conference Room is nearing the end of law furnished through memorial school, Amanda Elkins ’06 gifts to the university in his didn’t immediately call her honor, including from Lane parents. She did not consult & Waterman, the law firm with a law professor. where Wonio worked for 38 She reached out, instead, years. to Rand Wonio ’73, the Wonio served St. Ambrose longtime time Davenport in many ways, none more attorney who fostered significantly than as the her interest in the law as founding leader of the Mock the first-ever coach of the Trial program. St. Ambrose Mock Trial “The students really took team. to him,” said Bill Parsons, “I knew that Rand PhD, a professor and chair would steer me in the right of the Political Science and direction,” she said. “Rand Leadership Department. “He “Rand was larger than life. was larger than life. He was had a personality that was He was a great person and a great person and a great really easy to connect with. attorney.” And as much as he coached a great attorney.” Wonio died in October those kids, he went beyond. —AMANDA ELKINS ’06 2015 at the age of 65 He was all about trying to following a brief battle connect these kids to law with cancer. His impact on his alma mater is being schools and law firms.” celebrated this fall through a conference room Now an assistant supervising attorney with the named in his honor in the newly opened Frank and University of Iowa’s Student Legal Services, Elkins Dorothy “Jane” Folwell Center for Political Science captained the 2006 Mock Trial team. It was SAU’s and Pre-Law. first team to advance to the national meet. At a The center is located just south of the Rogalski post-event awards ceremony, Elkins recalled, an Center and west of the townhouses. The interior of emcee referred to the “Bees from St. Ambrose.” “Rand yelled to the crowd of hundreds, ‘It’s the the longstanding brick house was remodeled over Fighting Bees!’” she recalled. “He was proud of the the summer with funds provided by the Folwell team and proud of the university.” Endowed Chair for Political Science. Learn more about the Frank and Dorothy “Jane” Folwell Center for Political Science and Pre-Law at sau.edu/scene 4
under the OAKS
Associate Vice President for Advancement Sally Crino ’01 MBA has served St. Ambrose University in a multitude of ways over the past
The Oregon Trail A native of Portland, Ore., Crino graduated from the
17 years. Virtually every task has been gratifying, she said, but none
University of Oregon. She was a working mother pursuing her
more than her current role as director of the Building Our Future
MBA at St. Ambrose when she was hired in 1999 to coordinate
campaign.
the university’s Vision 2020 strategic planning initiative. She
“What I love is using my sociology and business degrees to listen
transitioned to a fundraising role in the Office of Advancement.
and learn about donors’ desires to make a difference, and then
Recently, Crino became the longest serving member of the
aligning their passion and desire to the needs of the university,”
Advancement team. Her time as an Oregon Duck is a distant
she said. “Helping to shape their legacy—that’s what I like.”
memory, of course. “I’m a Bee,” she proudly declared.
Some Parental Pride, Too
Song…
The new Wellness and Recreation Center that will open in
The daughter of classical musicians who played in the Portland
the fall of 2017 is the priority focus of the Building Our Future
symphony orchestra, Crino’s love for music runs deep, whether
campaign, and, for Crino, there’s a sense of maternal pride in
she’s singing alongside her grandson in Sunday school or getting
assisting the effort.
her groove on (and her heart rate up) through Zumba.
Crino’s daughter, Emma (Crino) Folland ’08, began advocating
She sees an orchestral correlation to the role she plays in
for just such a campus addition as early as 2007, when she was
directing volunteer leadership in this important campaign. “I’m
president of the Student Government Association. Younger
kind of the conductor,” she said.
daughter Amanda ’09 was a two-year member of the Queen Bees basketball squad. “It’s fun for me to say, ‘Finally, it’s time.’ They wish we had such a facility when they were here, of course. But they are glad to see it come to fruition now.”
… and Dance About that Zumba passion: Crino cannot wait to dance the calories away in the new Wellness and Recreation Center. “It will be a wonderful facility for our students and all of the university community,” she said. Learn more about the Advancement Office and the Building Our Future campaign at sau.edu/scene
Who is SAU? Sally Crino 5
under the OAKS
Marching Down Memory Lane SAU faculty, staff happy to recommend SAU marching band Walking down memory lane is fun, but marching down it can be even better. This fall, St. Ambrose introduced the Fighting Bee Band program, and faculty and staff who participated in marching band in high school and college are thrilled to know SAU students now are experiencing something that ranks among their own fondest scholastic memories. The new program offers scholarships, class credits and leadership opportunities. Students in any major field of study are eligible. It served as a stadium band this football season. With larger numbers, it should morph into a marching band by 2018. “Try it, if only as an extra-curricular activity away from your major,” said Matt Halfhill, PhD, a biology professor and college and high school trumpet player. Halfhill said making music on the march is a creative, aerobic release. Jodi Prosise, PhD, an engineering and physical science associate professor, agreed. “It was a stress reliever,” Prosise said, remembering her time marching with a trumpet as an undergraduate at Iowa State University. “It’s important to have something to keep you happy and stimulate your brain in another way.”
6
Megan Cooney is in her first year as director of athletic bands at St. Ambrose. She’s either been on a drumline or instructing band students since her first year of high school. She launched the newest athletic bands era at St. Ambrose with a band camp in August. “A summer without the smell of sunscreen, the sounds of a drumline and the infamous call of ‘Reset!’ is foreign to me,” Cooney said. “I am honored to be in a position where I can help create great memories for SAU Fighting Bees band students.” The best memories, old band folks say, come via the friendships they built through marching band. It’s a family of friends, all sharing their love of music—with the common enemy of band hat plumes.
under the OAKS
A Link to a Second Language Plans for a new English language center on campus will help St. Ambrose attract additional international students as well Matt Halfhill (right) sporting some serious high school band hat plumage.
as domestic students learning English as a second language. The new INTERLINK Language Center will allow academically qualified international students conditional
“My marching experience gave me an instant support group and the best support network,” Halfhill said. “I still talk to my pep band and marching band friends.” Seconded Mary Heinzman, executive director of library and information resources technology as well as college band member, “It gives you the best friendships that you’ll keep forever.” For some, maybe more. Prosise met her husband on the marching band field. “We both played trumpet, but were just acquaintances at first,” she recalled. “We were both majoring in mechanical engineering. Funny, I didn’t know he was in all my classes, but he knew. We became best friends over five years and got engaged after graduation. So many of our friends met in band and got married.” Marching bands are a part of St. Ambrose’s history, and Athletics Director Ray Shovlain ’79, ’82 MBA said an athletic band is something that still makes good sense today. Old marching trumpet players agree. “St. Ambrose is an inviting place already, but an opportunity like this is the quintessential learning community,” Halfhill said. Learn more about the Athletic Bands program at sau.edu/scene
St. Ambrose enrollment while they complete English as a Second Language courses. In partnering with INTERLINK Language Centers, the university hopes to enhance the learning experience of a growing number of international students and also better prepare select domestic students for growth in the college classroom. Last year, St. Ambrose enrolled 117 international students from 26 countries, continuing a five-year upswing in enrollment from outside the United States. “Establishing a partnership to provide English training on our campus is the next step in furthering our international enrollment,” said John Cooper, vice president for enrollment management. “Through international education, we create diverse experiences for our domestic students as well as helping students from around the world to experience a wonderful education at St. Ambrose.” The center will also be capable of providing services to learners seeking to improve their English for personal or professional reasons. Learn more about the Interlink Language Center at St. Ambrose at sau.edu/scene
7
under the OAKS
It’s the Year of The Bard This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. St. Ambrose and the College of Arts and Sciences is celebrating the Bard’s long-lasting legacy by building the 2016-2017 academic project theme around his works. The Theatre Department is staging three Shakespearean productions at the Galvin Fine Arts Center, beginning with The Tempest in October. A graphic novel rendition of The Tempest also is serving as the New Student Seminar First Book selection this year. Other Shakespearean stage productions will include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] in February and Richard III in April. In March, actors from the London stage will perform Romeo and Juliet. Numerous lectures, art exhibitions, conferences, symposiums and musical performances throughout the year also will focus on the academic project theme. Use the hashtag #ShakespeareAtSAU to follow events through social media. Learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences project theme at sau.edu/scene
SHAKESPEARE
8
@SAU
under the OAKS
Robin Kinkaide (left, with Career Center supervisor Angela Elliott) earned the Stanley J. Kabat Leadership Award at Student Awards Night in May.
“I’ll be shoved out of my comfort zone.”
A New Place to Call Home It’s another Fulbright for SAU. The ninth Fulbright Scholar in the past 12 years at St. Ambrose, Robyn Kincaide ’16, used to call Greenfield, Iowa, (pop. 2,000) home. Now, Kincaide reserves that title for South Korea, where she is spending the year teaching English to high school students. The May graduate (summa cum laude, with a degree in international studies and political science) spent five months preparing her application for the highly competitive national grant program, assisted by St. Ambrose Fulbright Adviser Barbara Pitz, PhD. A busy student by anyone’s standards, Kincaide worked in Student Affairs her entire four years at SAU, was a peer mentor in her junior year, and did one-on-one and small-group tutoring. And all of this, she did while pursuing a double major. A semester studying
—Robyn Kincaide ’16
abroad whetted Kincaide’s appetite for more travel and international exploration. It was her adviser, Duk Kim, PhD, a native of South Korea, who interested Kincaide in pursuing a Fulbright specifically in South Korea. Kim’s mother lives five minutes from the university where Kincaide received her Fulbright orientation. “I’ll be shoved out of my comfort zone,” admitted Kincaide during a pre-departure interview. But her smile revealed a strong sense of adventure and excitement about her year in “the outside world.”
Rebirth of a Salesman
The seeds
for a late-in-life career in teaching may have been sewn decades earlier in the East Davenport home of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Kehoe.
by Craig DeVrieze
“I grew up in a family where life-long learning was really a value,” said Joe Kehoe, a longtime businessman, marketer, entrepreneur and, most recently, adjunct instructor who this year has joined the St. Ambrose College of Business fulltime as director of two new bachelor’s degree programs in sales. “My father was a pediatrician and my memory of him was that virtually every night, he was reading a medical journal while he was watching TV. My mother, while she was needlepointing, was reading. And not just reading. She was reading The Brothers Karamazov or War and Peace.”
There is a high experiential component because business is an applied science. We feel strongly about preparing people for their first job. Joe Kehoe flashed back to those memories a few years ago, when he was asked to teach an undergraduate marketing class as an adjunct while serving as director of the SAU Master of Business Administration program. He was given a book with the memorable inscription, ‘To teach is to learn twice.’” And so, Kehoe—a 71-year-old “retiree” whose winding career path has taken him across the country and back home again—finds himself back in a classroom and learning anew. 10
“I was thrilled to have this opportunity to teach,” he said. “It’s not only intellectually stimulating, but I’ve realized I can have an impact on students’ lives by giving them encouragement and motivating them.” Nowhere in Kehoe’s extensive résumé is the title of salesman. “But I have sold 100 percent of my life,” he said, citing a research study that found most professional people spend 40 percent of their time selling or attempting to influence others. Traditionally, sales professionals have come from a variety of educational disciplines—psychology, sociology, English, political science, and, for many, a strong education in business and marketing. These days, however, sales are becoming an increasingly larger piece of the global job market, particularly for new graduates. That is why Kehoe and the St. Ambrose Colleges of Business and Health and Human Services are ready to better prepare students to sell. “The introduction of new majors in sales—both business generally, and in healthcare, in particular—are in direct
facultyPROFILE
Joe Kehoe will lead new sales major programs response to career opportunities,” said William Lesch, PhD, dean of the College of Business. “It is not uncommon for the best sales graduates to receive three to four job offers.” Students seeking business sales degrees will take seven upper-level courses focused on developing skills in communication, influence- and relationship-building, sales technique and sales management, in addition to a very important capstone internship. “There is a high experiential
component because business is an applied science,” Kehoe said. “We feel strongly about preparing people for their first job.” The healthcare sales degree will add to a robust health sciences curriculum at St. Ambrose and feed another fast-growing sales sector. “There is a body of knowledge related to medical and pharmaceutical sales that’s based in science and a changing healthcare environment,” Kehoe noted. Kehoe said St. Ambrose is one of
perhaps 100 colleges and universities that offer degrees in sales, a cutting-edge position to address changing industry needs. “Selling is a lot more sophisticated today,” he said. “The consumer has all the power because of the Internet and the democratization of information. We want to get people ready for these more sophisticated challenges.” Learn more about sales majors at sau.edu/scene
11
Two for St. Ambrose
by Ted Stephens III ’01, ’04
12
Beth and Brian Lemek ’86 stay true to their school—and their values It is dinnertime on a sultry summer evening in the nation’s capital, where Beth and Brian Lemek have joined a guest at a quiet table outside a Georgetown neighborhood restaurant known to be a “power center” for politicians and lobbyists. The Lemeks are not a power couple, however. They are an Ambrosian couple, still steeped in the sort of “Midwest Nice” that is defined by kindness, humility, service and social justice. These are values each learned growing up in their Davenport homes, as well as at Assumption High School, where they met, and, definitely, at St. Ambrose University, where they spent their first years as husband and wife. Although the Lemeks relocated inside the Beltway just a few years after they graduated together in the spring of 1986, they remain extremely loyal to their college alma mater. Each serves on the university’s Board of Trustees and they also are volunteer co-chairs of the Building Our Future campaign, which they helped introduce to the public this past spring. Their love for St. Ambrose is evident throughout a dinner meeting filled with easy conversation, self-deprecation and abundant laughter.
13
This is your typical Midwest love story, with a few twists. “We dated on and off,” the former Beth Figge explained of the early beginnings of a threedecades-plus-long romance. “Brian actually had a bunch of classes with my sister Trish.” “We liked to ‘compete’ academically with each other,” Brian chimed in. “Yes!” Beth recalled with maybe just a little more enthusiasm than her sister might appreciate. “So when we started dating, she didn’t like that.” Brian earned a football scholarship to attend St. Ambrose to study economics, and Beth made the decision to leave the Quad Cities for Boston College in Massachusetts. Then she came back. “First of all, before she left, she bought me a dog,” Brian said. “Winston I.” (It follows, of course, that there was a Winston II. But there is some debate as to whether a Winston III came to be.) “I think, ‘Oh, I give him a dog and we’ll stay together forever,’” Beth explained of the original Winston. The dog helped, but, after one year in Boston, love had much more to do with Beth’s return to the Quad Cities and her enrollment in St. Ambrose. In short order, Rev. William “Digger” Dawson married Beth and Brian at Christ the King Chapel, and the newlyweds rented a home just four blocks from the university. When daughter Katie was born, Beth took a semester off while Brian attended night classes. “In many ways, it felt like we were playing 14
‘house,’” he said. “I stopped playing sports after two years, and got a job fixing appliances while in school.” Their “fun job,” Beth said, was going to college. “We were in the classroom learning—there were good people like Richard Geiger and Pat Kennedy interested in what was in our heads,” she recalled. “For a few hours each night, we weren’t changing diapers. It wasn’t always easy, but we worked it out. And we both graduated on time.” A second child, Brian Michael, arrived two weeks after Beth walked across the graduation stage with a degree in English. “We were glad she didn’t have him at commencement,” Brian said. Cue the laughter.
m One day after their St. Ambrose commencement, Brian began a career in banking at Davenport Bank and Trust, which at the time was the largest commercial bank in Iowa. He held a variety of positions at the bank before it was sold to Norwest Bank in the early 1990s, then went on to dip his toe into entrepreneurial endeavors, first becoming a partner in a stock brokerage firm. Friends encouraged him to look into franchising a St. Louis Bread Company restaurant. Franchise options in the Quad Cities and surrounding region already had been purchased, but there were opportunities to buy in elsewhere.
Beth and Brian Lemek through their St. Ambrose years, including with Best Man Brad Sarver, Maid of Honor Ann (Figge) Nawn and Rev. Willliam “Digger” Dawson on their wedding day.
“The books, the concept, it looked like a great business opportunity,” Brian said. “Initially I wanted a piece of the Wisconsin territory. But my friend was not giving that up. Corporate was offering territories in Nebraska, Indiana and part of Maryland—12 stores to be exact. “But I wanted more,” he continued. “I actually didn’t really know what ‘more’ meant, but 12 didn’t seem like enough.” Today, through Lemek LLC, he owns and operates Panera Bread franchises in 59 locations across Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. The move to the east coast was anything but easy for the family. Katie was about to begin high school. Son Brian was in middle school, and their two youngest children—Mary and Peter— had only begun to make grade school friends. It was, however, a decision Beth and Brian believed could be good. Not just for this new business venture, but also for their family. “I think we were just looking for a change,” Brian said. “We said, ‘You know what? Let’s step up to the plate and see what we can make of this.’ Beth’s sister and parents were on the east coast. There was something familiar there.” And so, for four months, Brian commuted between the Quad Cities and DC while starting the company. Beth searched and searched for a home for their family of six. She found that home in Chevy Chase, Md. Brian did not see the house before they had signed the closing papers. They live there still today.
During Lemek LLC’s first year, Brian worked from home. “Once I started asking, ‘Can you pick up the kids? Can you run to the grocery store?’ he decided it was time to get an office,” Beth said. “I was becoming an errand boy.” Cue more laughter.
m The Lemeks do laugh quite a bit. And to watch and hear them talk about their life—how they got together and broke up and got together again, went their separate ways as they started college, and came back together to start their family while students at St. Ambrose—is a chance to see how the values that make them Ambrosian have strengthened their relationship. Time and time again, Beth and Brian Lemek have supported each other. They have taken chances with good intentions. Found opportunities and seized on them. Kept a focus on their family. And they have lived a life centered on generosity. That is an essential ingredient of their life together, and, they say, of a life fulfilled. Giving is something each learned, in different ways, from parents who viewed it as a necessary responsibility of citizenship. And generosity wasn’t just about contributing financially to causes that matter.
15
“It was about supporting people and organizations that were contributing to community,” Beth said. Places that were making life better for others. That were instilling good values. And setting the stage to pass on goodness to future generations. That, after all these years, is why Beth and Brian continue to serve and assist St. Ambrose. As trustees, they continue a legacy of leadership left by Beth’s father, the late Quad Cities banker and SAU trustee emeritus John Figge. Yet as trustees, the Lemeks also blaze a path of their own. They were the first couple to join the board together. Recently, they joined their friends Barbara (Bush) and Mike Johnson as volunteer co-chairs of the capital campaign for the new Wellness and Recreation Center. “We care about St. Ambrose, and we care deeply about Davenport—it is where we both grew up,” Brian explained. “We believe that St. Ambrose is very important to Davenport. Davenport thrives, in part, because of St. Ambrose. The university brings in young people from Chicago, Des Moines, and all over the Midwest to Davenport.” He often reflects on the Midwestern values the Lemeks have imparted to their now-adult children. “Moving out to DC really made me appreciate where I came from,” he said. “And Beth and I want to participate in the future of a community that for so long we called home. Where we started our family.” For the couple, the Building Our Future campaign 16
harkens back to their past. It touches on a number of the things that mattered most to Beth and Brian more than 30 years ago. As parents, they also see how important the right balance of academic rigor and social opportunity can be to college students today and for years to come. “Quite frankly, we’re not sure how St. Ambrose can remain competitive without state-of-the-art wellness and recreation facilities that match the strong academic environment St. Ambrose provides students today,” Beth said. That’s a message they believe will resonate with fellow alumni, friends and strangers who they’re certain hold St. Ambrose in equally high esteem. “As graduates, all of us have the neat opportunity to give back to an institution that gave us so much, in many different ways,” Brian said. “For some alumni, that might mean a first-time contribution or a long-term commitment to their alma mater. For others, it may mean recruiting students to the university. Both are important.” He continued. “Whether it was by offering night classes to people like Beth and me, by supporting the everyday realities of raising kids while attending college or by offering world-class facilities that help meet the mission of the St. Ambrose community, St. Ambrose was there for us.” As the sun set on a sultry DC day, Beth added, “Now’s the time for us to be there for St. Ambrose. For all of us to be.” Learn more about the Building Our Future campaign at sau.edu/scene
Progress Continues on Campaign, Construction The largest grants St. Ambrose ever received from two of the area’s major charitable funding agencies have fueled momentum for the Building Our Future campaign. Commitments of $250,000 from the Scott County Regional Authority (SCRA) and $200,000 from the Regional Development Authority (RDA) pushed the campaign past the $14.5 million mark by mid-September. While St. Ambrose has received grants from both funders in the past, the gifts for the Building Our Future campaign are by far the largest commitment each agency has made to the university since they were established 25 years ago. Jim Stangle ’82, vice president for advancement, said the SCRA and RDA grants underline the many ways St. Ambrose makes Davenport and the greater Quad Cities a better place to live. “Those were significant investments in both cases,” Stangle said of funding that will assist construction of the new Wellness and Recreation Center. “They see the value St. Ambrose brings to the community. A stronger St. Ambrose definitely means a stronger Quad Cities.” The multi-year funding commitments from the SCRA and the RDA honored the university’s willingness to use the new facility for the benefit of the greater Quad Cities community. Possible ways include: > An expanded menu of athletic camps for students in grades K-12 > Hosting youth sports events and tournaments during summers and over breaks in the academic schedule > Access to aerobic exercise equipment for cardiac rehabilitation patients > Scheduled walk times on the new indoor track for area seniors
“It is always a privilege to welcome members of the general public and especially their children to campus— and they needn’t be alumni nor future students,” said Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, president of the university. “Friends from the Quad Cities help make this a stronger institution in many ways, including through support for this current campaign,” Sr. Joan added. “For those and other reasons, we think it is important that St. Ambrose be of the Quad Cities as well as in it. These two very important grants help to prove and improve our commitment to the community.” Progress continues toward the campaign’s target funding goal of $18.5 million, Stangle said. “We are really pleased with the response we’ve had since taking this campaign public in April,” he said. Meanwhile, the Wellness and Recreation Center remains on schedule to open in the fall of 2017, said Mike Poster ’88, vice president for finance. Work on the building adjacent to the PE Center will continue throughout the 2016–17 academic year. The building should be completely enclosed by December, Poster said. Russell Construction then will begin building the interior. Classes and offices previously housed in the PE Center have been temporarily relocated, but a smaller weight training facility is open and athletics events will continue to be held in the arena. A ramp on the eastern side of the PE Center will allow access to the training facilities and entry to the arena will be available through an existing door on the northeast corner of the building. “There will be minor inconveniences, but the games will go on,” Poster said. Learn more about the Building Our Future campaign and follow progress on Wellness and Recreation Center construction via a live webcam at sau.edu/scene
17
t
hey each bring a different understanding of St. Ambrose University’s value to its students, to its alumni, to the Diocese of Davenport, to the greater Quad Cities, to Iowa and to the world. Each, in his or her own way, also is among the university’s
Volunteers Build Our Future
Alumni, Community Leaders Assist and Validate Campaign Efforts
strongest advocates, and they are tremendous and valuable allies in the Building Our Future campaign. Rev. George McDaniel ’66 is a former seminarian, a professor emeritus of history and the foremost authority on the university’s long and rich past.
Ken Koupal is a longtime Quad Cities banker and community leader whose business ties to St. Ambrose provide a keen understanding of the economic impact the university has on the community. Newly retired from longtime roles as vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport and as a member of the SAU Board of Trustees,
by Craig DeVrieze
Msgr. John Hyland has a full appreciation for the university’s dedication to its diocesan heritage and its commitment to Catholicity. Laura Ekizian ’92, ’97 MBA is a former Fighting Bees athlete and coach, a former director of alumni relations and now a local banker and business leader. Her dedication to the Quad Cities community is exceeded only by her love for the school that brought her to it. “I didn’t go to St. Ambrose just for a degree,” said Ekizian, a native of the Chicago suburbs who now proudly calls herself a Quad Citian. “I went to St. Ambrose for an experience that was more meaningful and impactful. And that’s what I got. “That lends itself to wanting to have a similar impact on the university in return.” Ekizian, Koupal, Fr. McDaniel and Msgr. Hyland are part of the corps of committed supporters who comprise the volunteer leadership of the Building Our Future campaign. Each keenly understands the need for the new Wellness and Recreation Center that is under construction on the northern edge of campus, and which serves as the priority focus for the $18.5 million campaign. Even more keenly, they understand that a healthy and thriving St. Ambrose will help build a worthwhile future for both the campus community and the community at large. “The support we receive from this network of volunteers cannot be measured in dollars,” said Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, president of St. Ambrose. “These are folks who have earned the respect of their friends and communities and whose belief in the value of a strong St. Ambrose adds immense credibility to this
18
campaign.” Ekizian and Koupal are serving as co-chairs of the Corporate
Vice President for Advancement Jim Stangle ’82 said the corporate outreach effort led by Ekizian and Koupal is an essential
Committee, while Fr. McDaniel and Msgr. Hyland co-chair an
component of the campaign, and said the “impressive Rolodexes”
outreach effort to fellow members of the Clergy.
of the two chairs can help St. Ambrose reach and create new and
Chairs of other outreach committees include:
important partners.
> Trustee Tom Berthel ’74, Alumni
Koupal has been regional president of U.S. Bank in the Quad
> Trustee Angela Lindsey ’94 MBA, Graduate Alumni
Cities for nearly two decades. Among many civic commitments, he
> Jim and Michele Kadavy and Al ’80 and Susan Mooney, Parents
is a former chair of the Quad City Chamber of Commerce and is
> Ann O’Donnell ’91, DO, and Mark Gassen, College of Health and
a current member of the Palmer College of Chiropractic Board of
Human Services > Ashley Segal ’02, College of Business
Trustees. Koupal views St. Ambrose as an institution that “is absolutely
> J. Michael Maloof ’64, College of Arts and Sciences
critical to the success of the community” and “a pillar on the Iowa
> Marty Wilkinson ’78, Athletics
side of the river,” and he has tangible evidence in support of those
> Paul ’02 and Breann Thompson ’05, ’05 MAcc, Young Alumni
statements.
> Rev. Kevin ’81, DO, and Mary Emge ’81, Legacy > Allison Ambrose, PhD, Jim Hannon ’84, Kevin Farrell ’84, PhD,
U.S. Bank has provided funding support for many SAU capital projects that directly and indirectly have helped to create $200
and Suzanne Wiese, Faculty and Staff
million in annual economic impact for the area. Plus, Koupal said,
These committee leaders join with Campaign Co-Chairs Barbara
“I look at the staff I have in my management positions, and close
and Mike Johnson and Beth ’86 and Brian Lemek ’86, Honorary
to 50 percent of them are St. Ambrose graduates. Not only has the
Chairs Jim ’56 and Mary Hagen and a campaign council consisting
school supplied our labor force, but those of a lot of institutions in
of Mike Johnson, Msgr. Hyland, Sr. Joan and trustees Rita Bawden
the area as well.”
’97, Daniel Broderick ’82, MD, Edmund Carroll, Thomas Higgins ’67, Barbara Johnson, the Lemeks, Jill McLaughlin, Joseph O’Rourke ’72 and Elizabeth Ware ’86. Together, these accomplished supporters form a coordinated
As executive vice president of Quad City Bank and Trust, where she has worked since 2000, Ekizian is a prime example of that. “St. Ambrose has this ability to bring people to the community who then stay—like me,” she said. “So my message has been, ‘Let’s
and connected network that extends the reach of the St. Ambrose
support this university that brings outsiders in and makes them
Office of Advancement.
feel at home. They live here. They buy homes. They take on great
“To raise the amount of money we need to raise for the Wellness and Recreation Center, it takes a village,” said Sally Crino ’01
jobs and they support the community.’” As a former SAU golfer and women’s golf coach, Ekizian
MBA, the campaign director and associate vice president for
appreciates the value the new Wellness and Recreation Center will
advancement. “It takes many people playing important roles to
have for athletes, as well as the appeal it will have for recruits.
bring donors to the table.” Ekizian, Koupal, Fr. McDaniel and Msgr. Hyland all say
As an alumna who came to St. Ambrose for that “more meaningful and impactful” experience, she has an even deeper
advocating for the 80,000-square foot Wellness and Recreation
understanding of the center’s intrinsic value to the entire student
Center and for building the future of St. Ambrose is an easy and
body.
heartfelt mission. “The facility is obviously very needed,” said Fr. McDaniel,
“This center will be a place where that Ambrosian sense of community grows,” she said. “Cafeterias, theatres, residence
who, with Msgr. Hyland and several fellow former St. Ambrose
halls, stadiums, rec centers—anywhere students gather and build
seminarians, completed the Clergy fundraising effort as part of
a sense of community, that is where you gain an even greater
the campaign’s leadership gift phase in 2015. The target goal was
appreciation for your school.
$350,000. Clergy members pledged $385,000. “I’m proud of the fact we were able to exceed the goal,”
“This will make us that much stronger in the long haul.” Learn about volunteer opportunities at St. Ambrose at sau.edu/scene
Fr. McDaniel added. “There are a lot of donation requests made of priests. It was a good sign of generosity and wanting to help.” 19
ALL IN
for a Healthy St. Ambrose
by Ted Stephens III ’01, ’04
Dan Broderick ’82, MD, is just hours away from a night shift at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., where he’ll trade one of those picture-perfect coastal sunsets for a dark windowless area in the Neuroradiology Reading Room. He will be prescribing imaging protocols, reviewing neuro CT and MR exams, dictating reports, and recommending medical care for patients he may never even meet. Although he’s often found I have come to see how St. Ambrose huddled in front of a bank impacted my life in so many of computer monitors rather positive ways. I want to be sure it is than next to a patient, don’t think for a second that the around to have that same impact person whose health and on students tomorrow. wellbeing is at issue isn’t at the forefront of his mind. Always. From a very young age, Broderick knew that he wanted a career in the sciences. “There’s an assumption that if you like science, you will become a physician,” he said from his home after a
20
day of running errands. “In high school, I became interested in the brain—how the mind makes you human, and also its connection to your heart and soul.” After a medical school rotation in Neurosurgery, however, “I realized I didn’t really like the surgery part,” he said. “It just wasn’t for me.” It was the imaging that really intrigued him. “When I met a group of radiologists, when I saw what they do and how they do it, I knew these were my people.” That may be due, in part, to the approach to the art behind the science Broderick was taught while a student at St. Ambrose. That’s where professors like Richard Legg, PhD, professor emeritus of biology, taught him that what he says—and how he says it—is critical to patient care. “Many of my patients and their families only know me by the report,” Broderick said. “Words matter.” So, too, do values. First founded with the help of the Sisters of Saint Francis in 1883 after a tornado hit Rochester, Minn., Mayo Clinic lives out a culture in which the needs of the patient always come first. “We are always asking ourselves, ‘How do we work together to take care of our patient?’”
alumniPROFILE
It is a similar question he asks himself in his role as a member of the St. Ambrose Board of Trustees, a position he at first turned down because, whenever he accepts a leadership role, “It is never a qualified ‘yes.’ I’m going to be all in. And at that time in my career I couldn’t be.” That changed shortly before Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, became president of the university. He said “yes” just before the start of her tenure, and his service on the board has sparked in him not just a stronger passion for his alma mater, but also a renewed appreciation for the way the university supported him professionally, and personally.
“I have come to see how St. Ambrose impacted my life in so many positive ways,” he said. “I want to be sure it is around to have that same impact on students tomorrow.” For Broderick, that has manifested in helping to guide and strengthen the university’s health sciences programs, and taking an active role in the fundraising campaign for the new Wellness and Recreation facility. “Through the campaign, and this new facility, the board is demonstrating our intention to offer students a wellrounded experience,” he said. “A St. Ambrose education is not just about rigorous academics taught in the values of the Catholic intellectual tradition. It
recognizes that health and wellness plays an important part in nurturing the mind, body and spirit. “If we are going to be honest with our mission, then that means educating students holistically. That means this new building, and all that will happen as a result of it.” This understanding makes his role on the board and the campaign steering committee pretty easy, he added. “At this point in my life, I only say ‘yes’ to things I truly believe in. Things that have value. St. Ambrose gets my time, energy and financial support because they are deliberate with their minds and hearts, meaning what they say and doing what they say.” He paused. “It is a joy to help see them through on their promise.” Learn more about the Building Our Future campaign at sau.edu/scene
21
alumniNEWS
Wine Festival Improves with Age Over 15 Years, Event Has Raised More Than $1 Million for Scholarships by Craig DeVrieze
22
Even as he proposed what was a fairly novel means of growing scholarship funds in 2002, Ed Littig said he wondered if the St. Ambrose University Wine Festival might, like similar fundraising efforts, have a shelf life. He shouldn’t have worried. Like a fine Cabernet, the Wine Festival has improved with age. “It has grown exponentially,” said Littig, the former vice president for advancement who this past year saw the three-event festival series surpass the $1 million mark in dollars raised. Also this year—the 15th for the fest—record crowds turned out for all three events: March’s Wine at the Warehouse in downtown Davenport; April’s Wine Festival Preview Dinner in the Rogalski Center ballroom; and May’s outdoor Wine Tasting under the oaks west of Ambrose Hall. Most importantly, the trio of events raised $136,000 for student scholarships. That’s $100,000 more than was collected at the inaugural events. The festival’s proceeds bolster a fund that assists the 98 percent of all undergraduate students who receive some form of scholarship aid each year. “It is just impactful because it allows us to make St. Ambrose accessible to more students,” said Director of Alumni Engagement and Special Events Anne Gannaway. “A lot of people call this the premier social event in the Quad Cities. I don’t know if we can make that claim, but it’s nice to hear. The number of people we are attracting is amazing.”
So is the level of volunteer involvement, starting with the man Littig called the festival’s patriarch, Dimitri Papageorgiou. As owner of Dimitri Wine and Spirits, the QC area’s premier wholesale wine distribution and import company, Papageorgiou was and remains the festival’s contact for participating vintners and restauranteurs—two groups whose numbers also have grown by the year. Gannaway and Littig both agree that Papageorgiou and his wife, Kathy ’94, are the festival’s heart and soul. “They give so much it’s overwhelming,” Gannaway said. Many others do, as well. For instance, Molly Carroll and her husband Ed, a member of the St. Ambrose Board of Trustees, have held numerous committee positions since the event’s inception. They were
alumniNEWS
event chairs in 2004 and currently cochair the Preview Dinner committee along with Kurt and Kristyn Tjaden. “It is a delight to be involved,” Molly Carroll said. “It is such a nice event, and all the alumni, faculty and staff work so hard to make it fresh and make it appeal to so many people. “I think the variety of events is a great asset in that each of the three draw different people,” she added. Wine at the Warehouse, she noted, is a chance to enjoy, or learn to enjoy, wine in a casual, intimate setting. The Wine Preview Dinner is a formal occasion with a gourmet meal and wine samplings from a special guest vintner. Silent and open auctions of wines and wonderful packages—donated by generous sponsors and purchased by equally generous patrons—supply a large part of the annual proceeds. The Wine Tasting is the largest of the
events. It is a casual, festive occasion held under the oaks, affording an opportunity to show off a beautiful campus. “It has built awareness of St. Ambrose,” Littig said. “It gets people on campus who otherwise wouldn’t have a reason to come.”
“St. Ambrose has made me who I am in a lot of ways. It’s where I met my wife. St. Ambrose is just interwoven into our lives, and that’s true of a lot of volunteers.” —CHRIS MANDLE ’04, 06 MPS
That helps the university make new friends like Gene and Susan Krueger. Their appreciation for wine brought them to the Tasting several years ago. Soon after, they joined the committee. The Kruegers served as event chairs for the past four years and NelsonCorp Wealth Management, where Gene is a financial adviser, has been a top-level Wine Fest sponsor for four years as well. 23 23
alumniNEWS
“I am an adopted Ambrosian is a wonderful way to put it,” Gene Krueger said. “The relationships we have formed are lifelong.” In 2017, festival chair duties will be assumed by Chris ’04, ’06 MPS and Kristen (Blake) Mandle ’07,’08 MOT. Chris has been a volunteer since he was president of the Student Alumni Association while pursuing his degree. He has watched—and helped—the festival grow. “The very least I can do is give back my time,” said Mandle, who benefited from scholarship assistance himself.
“St. Ambrose has made me who I am in a lot of ways. It’s where I met my wife. St. Ambrose is just interwoven into our lives, and that’s true of a lot of volunteers. “In my circle of friends, people associated with St. Ambrose stay associated with St. Ambrose because it was a good experience and it’s family.” Learn more about the Wine Festival at sau.edu/scene
Dimitri Papageorgiou at the Wine Fest Preview Dinner
There’s strength in numbers… and you can make a difference!
The number of alumni giving back is just as important as the dollars we raise www.sau.edu/give
24
alumniNEWS
The Gift of Giving A Beautiful View Ambrosian Lessons Help Couple Navigate Lifelong Adventure by Dustin Renwick ’10 Life lessons, like memories, travel well. Jeff ’83 and Tish (Stiles) Gobble ’84 have kept their St. Ambrose lessons with them on a 30-plus-year sojourn from Davenport to various and interesting destinations around the United States. The Gobbles have reached a mountaintop of sorts in Buena Vista, Colo., a century-old city nestled in the Rocky Mountains, nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. It is a comfortable place to call home and comes with a beautiful view —that’s
Tish spent much of her time as a Bee
said. “We’ve always maintained that.”
the literal Spanish translation of buena
involved with academic honors programs.
vista, after all.
She played intramural basketball and
gift will assist several St. Ambrose
swam during lunch breaks in the now-
programs, but will focus primarily on the
entered the financial sector, a field that
closed pool in LeClaire Hall. Jeff competed
Fighting Bee track and field teams that
suited their business administration
in cross country and track — club teams at
soon will benefit from the new Wellness
degrees. They worked with various
the time.
and Recreation Center.
Following Tish’s graduation, the Gobbles
companies and the work took them around the country.
“We started with nothing,” he
That’s one reason their planned estate
“Not many people go into professional
remembered of those programs. “You got
sports,” Tish said, “and running can
Salt Lake City. Chicago. Denver. They
what you could get, and everybody kind
be a team or an individual activity. It’s
briefly traded the Colorado cold for Palm
of chipped in. It was kind of a grassroots
something good for the person and the
Springs, Calif., and then swapped the
approach.”
people around them.”
desert heat for the high elevation again in 2009, settling in Buena Vista, where they now operate a small financial firm that
Athletics and recreation bonded the couple from the beginning. “She saw me coming across the quad
The Gobbles continue to live the lessons they learned on campus. “We are very proud of St. Ambrose,” Tish
specializes in providing financial advice to
there before track practice,” Jeff said. “We
said. “It means so much to us. The school
businesses
slowly started talking through friends.”
encouraged us to be involved in doing
The Gobbles trace their success to their time at St. Ambrose. “It was such a great foundation,” Tish said. “There’s a good level of confidence you build. You can go where you want to go as long as you’re willing to put the effort in.”
“He dated one of my suite mates,” Tish said, with a laugh. “That didn’t seem to quite work,” Jeff said, also laughing. Finally, a pizza date started a still-going love affair between two active Ambrosians.
things for other people. They foster that in people to continue that in the future, to pay it forward. That’s one of the most important things to me.” Learn more about Planned Giving gift opportunities at sau.edu/scene
“We’re so athletic and outdoorsy,” he 25
classNOTES
50
The Fifties
John Arme ’57 is happily retired after 35 years as a partner at Arthur Andersen. Arme and his wife, Mary Ann, have been married 61 years and have four grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
60
The Sixties
Msgr. Gerald Kobbeman ’63 is celebrating his golden jubilee in the priesthood. Kobbeman retired in June 2011 and began service as diocesan coordinator of pilgrimages in October 2013.
70
The Seventies
Sr. Mary Megan Farrelly, OP, ’75 has reached 50 years as a Springfield Dominican. She resides at St. Mary Convent in Aurora, Ill., and is assistant principal and curriculum director at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst, Ill.
80
The Eighties
Kathy (Siebel) Heedles ’82 was inducted into the Cedar County Sports Wall of Fame this summer in Tipton, Iowa. She is also a member of the St. Ambrose Athletic Hall of Fame. Donna (Hein-Jansen) Stickling ’86 is retired from medical social work and is spending time with her four grandchildren.
90
The Nineties
Kevin Blake ’91 is an ammunition industrial base expert in propellant and explosive 26
manufacturing. He was officially inducted into the U.S. Department of Defense Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe. Blake serves as the chief of the Industrial Facilities Division with the Demand Planning Directorate for Joint Munitions Command at the Rock Island Arsenal. He resides in Walcott, Iowa. Andrea (Chlumsky) McGivern ’91 has joined Timmer and Associates, CPA, PC, in the role of accounting manager. She resides in Davenport. Rodney DeSalvo ’94, ’14 MBA has been named supervisor of Modern Woodmen of America’s Agency Services Department in Rock Island, Ill. He lives in Davenport. Steve Beltramea ’95 MBA has been named mortgage originator at the Community 1st Credit Union’s branch in Fairfield, Iowa. Eric Kuennen ’97 is the vice president of Employability at Pearson Education. Sara Woitel ’97 is a juvenile probation officer for Milwaukee County in Wisconsin. She graduated from Cardinal Stritch University with a Master of Business Administration. Lance Platt ’98 MPT retired from the United States Army in March 2015.
00
The Zeros
Katie (Heinzman) Kester ’01, ’02 MBA has been promoted to controller at Group O. Inc.Marketing Solutions in Milan, Ill. David Rogalski ’02 has been awarded a National Academic Advising Association Outstanding Advising Award in the Primary
Advising category for his work at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Rogalski also received the university’s Clem Rinehart Outstanding Advisor Award for going above and beyond in 2015–16. Sargento Foods has announced that William Bartnik ’03 MBA has been promoted to vice president of manufacturing in the operations division. The company is headquartered in Plymouth, Wis. Sherry Miller ’04 MBA was named an Outstanding Junior Achievement Volunteer in Muscatine, Iowa. In her 17 years as a volunteer, Miller has presented JA units to school children in the Muscatine Community School District. She is a senior project manager at Bridgestone Bandag. Heartland Bank and Trust Co. announced the addition of Bradley Bianchi ’06 as commercial lender in the Peoria, Ill., region. Joshua LoDico ’07 has been named senior service representative in Modern Woodmen’s Members’ Service Department in Rock Island, Ill. He lives in Moline, Ill. Revolution Brewing, headquartered in Chicago, has named Lucas Murray ’08 as an area sales manager. Samantha Lambert ’09 has accepted a position as the violence victim coordinator for the Peoria (Ill.) County State’s Attorney Office.
10
The Teens
Eric Ewald ’10 MEA is the principal for Van Allen Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa. Catie Osborn ’10 graduated with her Master of Letters in Shakespeare in Performance from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va. Osborn will continue her education at the American Shakespeare Center in Stratford, Conn., working toward a Master of Fine Arts in Shakespeare. Dustin Renwick ’10 has published a book, Beyond the Gray Leaf: The Life and Poems of J.P. Irvine, a biography and work of a civil war poet from western Illinois. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics have promoted Adam Santi ’10 MBA as the clinical department administrator for the Department of Dermatology. Justin Snider ’10 has been named lead business analyst in Modern Woodmen’s Enterprise Program Management office in Rock Island, Ill. He lives in Bettendorf, Iowa. Andrew Benson ’11 has enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Wis. He will use his St. Ambrose Theatre degree to focus on entertainment/ media law. Ross Epping ’11 was ordained to priesthood by the Most Rev. Martin Amos, Bishop of the Diocese of Davenport, and celebrated his first mass at Christ the King Chapel in June. Parkside Athletics Racquet and Health Club in Pekin, Ill., hired Aleksandra Ratajczak ’11 as their new fitness director.
classNOTES
Christmas Sail Alum, Family Ride the Wind Across Atlantic The family of Molly McGreal-Stence ’95 will forever remember Christmas 2014. After all, sitting on a 57-foot sailboat afloat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is about as silent as a night can get. “We talk about it all the time,” McGreal-Stence said of a 17-day, 2,700-nautical-mile voyage from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean that she, her husband, Matt, and their three school-aged children shared. “We got back and the kids were like, ‘OK, what’s our next adventure?’” That daring Atlantic crossing aboard Nimbus, a sailing yacht the Stence family purchased in the spring of 2013, will be hard to top. It’s a level of adventure McGreal-Stence never could have envisioned for herself while she was earning her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy degree at St. Ambrose. The Stences started sailing on lakes near their Des Moines, Iowa, home. Next, they tackled Lake Michigan. In 2013, they took ownership of Nimbus in Croatia and sailed around the boot heel of Italy to the south of France. There, the boat remained until November 2014, when the family returned for their cross-Atlantic adventure. Molly struggled with seasickness during a five-day sail through the Strait of Gibralter to the Canary Islands. That was merely the journey’s start. “Of course, I had my fears and doubts,” she said, “but I decided I needed to do it for myself and my family.” Accompanied by a volunteer crewmate and a “hitchhiker” making his way around the world with the intent of writing a book, the family set sail for the Caribbean—a 21-hour trip by plane, quite a lot longer by boat. And there were no rest areas along the way.
“If you run into trouble,” McGreal-Stence said, “your best hope is that there is a tanker two days away.” The Stences enjoyed blissfully smooth sailing, arriving in the Caribbean on New Years Eve. They later sailed another 10 days to dock Nimbus in North Carolina.
“Ok, what’s our next adventure?” “It was a very profound experience, even though at times it was really hard or really boring,” she said. “It’s those hard times that help you push to the next level.” One of seven McGreal siblings who followed their father, Thomas ’62, from Strawberry Point, Iowa, to St. Ambrose, Molly’s fondest college memories are of spring break service trips to Appalachia. “In that experience, and all the travel experience I’ve had,” she said, “the most rewarding thing is the people you meet along the way.” You meet fewer people when the way is crossing an ocean by sailboat, of course. Still, she said, “It’s a more interesting way to show up in a country than through an airport. When you show up in a boat, there’s a certain level of respect.”
27
The Scott County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office has promoted Devin (Welch) Reeves ’11 to jail sergeant. She is a member of the Corrections Emergency Response Team and an Interpersonal Communications writer.
Princess Amanda Lives Little Girl’s Dream
28
It’s not unusual for little girls to dream they will grow up to be princesses. Amanda (Kochanny) Knowles ‘13 is living that dream. Knowles has built upon her St. Ambrose theatre background and cinema’s ever-growing stable of mythical princesses to create a successful business performing in fairy-tale character at children’s parties. “I saw a cousin’s friend in a picture on Facebook dressed up like Belle,” she said. “And I thought ‘That looks like so much fun – how does she get to do that?”’ After some initial research and experience working for two different party places in Omaha, Knowles created her own princess business after moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “It’s really a dream come true,” she said. “It combines a love for performing with a love of kids.” Her usual crowd consists of 3- to 5-year-old children, and almost always includes a birthday girl and the occasional family pet. The true magic of the party comes to life the moment the birthday girl realizes the princess has come in her honor. “Every party is different,” Knowles said. “So I’m never really sure how the girls will react, but it is always great fun.” Knowles said reactions range from shy and shocked to excited and enthralled. She calls upon her St. Ambrose theatre experience almost every time. “It’s refreshing to get butterflies before I walk into the party,” she said. “That’s one thing I’ll always remember from (SAU Theatre Professor) Cory Johnson: the day you stop getting those butterflies is the day you stop performing.” A pitfall of this fairytale existence? Potential pratfalls. “The only possible downfall is trying to navigate glass slippers on Iowa ice,” Knowles joked.
Joe Sponseller ’12 was the top graduate of the National Private Truck Council’s Certified Transportation program. Sponseller works for Dean Foods and Dean Transportation in Franklin Park, Ill. Emilee Renwick ’14 is the visual merchandiser at Faye’s, a women’s boutique with two locations in the Milwaukee area. She is in charge of over 6,000 square feet of high end retail including window displays and store layout. Kyle Wantland ’14 MOL is the offensive coordinator for the Allgäu Comets, a German Football League professional team in Kempten, Germany. Jacob Ward ’14 graduated from the Illinois State Police Academy and was sworn in as a Springfield (Ill.) Police Officer. Joseph Doyle ’15 and Kyle Williams ’15 have joined the Quad City Mallards professional hockey team as account executives. Suraj Soudagar ’15 MBA of Naperville, Ill., is a recipient of the 2016 Consulting-Specifying Engineer “40 under 40” award. This award recognizes achievement by residential building industry professionals age 40 or younger. Soudagar is a project executive with KJWW Engineering Consultants. Michael Kennedy ’15 MEA is the principal for Plum City (Wis.) School District,.
classNOTES
Bryan Beutel ’16 is a credit analyst for Midwest One Bank in Iowa City. Rodney Fink ’16 received a promotion as the aerospace inside sales and export supervisor for Alcoa in Bettendorf, Iowa.
■
Marriages
Tait Hillmer ’07 and Kristi Uzzo, Davenport Chris Spartz ’07, ’13 MOL and Samantha Wiethe, Columbus, Ohio Katie Kress ’09, ’10 MAcc and Shane Johnson ’11, Dubuque, Iowa Mandy Moses ’12 and Griffin Paulson ’12, Blue Grass, Iowa Erin Valentine ’12 and Collin Goldsberry, Rock Island, Ill. Ashley Jamison-Love ’14 and Ryan Kerber, Bothell, Wash. Sara Stockert ’15 MSW and Tyler Montgomery, Peoria, Ill.
■
Births
Daniel Rairdin-Hale ’04 and Jessi Rairdin-Hale ’04 are happy to announce the birth of son Edmund Forest on May 13, 2016. He joins siblings Linus, Crosby and Daisy. Tara (Carter) Bickle ’06 and her husband, Adam, celebrated the birth of son Maxton James on July 21, 2016. Heather Neuweg ’06 and her husband, Jonathan Linnenbrink ’08, are the proud parents of daughter Emma, born on June 3, 2016. Ann (Lamb) ’08 and Joshua McIntyre ’08 are celebrating the birth of their daughter Molly Bernadine on July 7, 2016.
Jamie (Skiff) ’08 and Kyle Schroeder ’08 welcomed home son Maxwell on May 12, 2015. Sarah (Neece) ’09 and Zach Redman ’09 celebrated the birth of their son Mathew Ryan on April 12, 2016. He was welcomed home by big brothers Elijah and Benjamin. Holly (Gruenke) Timm ’09 and her husband, Aaron, are the proud parents of son Wesley, born on May 11, 2016. Jason Volkman ’11 and his wife, Chrissy, are happy to announce the birth of daughter Chelsea, born on May 25, 2016. She was welcomed home by sister Emma. Mandy (Moses) ’12 and Greg Paulson ’12 celebrated the birth of their son Easton on June 3, 2016
■
Deaths
John “Jack” Spinner ’43, Haddonfield, N.J., Sept. 29, 2015 John Ludtke ’44, Davenport, May 22, 2016 Roger Freiburg Sr. ’49, Rock Island, Ill., April 28, 2016 John Lefebvre ’49, Canton, Ill., March 26, 2016 Thomas Loome ’50, Eugene, Ore., April 15, 2013 Hon. Richard Scholz ’50, Quincy, Ill., April 20, 2016 James “Jim” Hood ’51, Academy, ’61, Davenport, April 28, 2016 Donald Sloat ’51, Davenport, March 30, 2016 Donald Stevens ’51, Tucson, Ariz., April 18, 2016 Robert Reilman ’52, Roswell, Ga., April 4, 2016
Donald Bohnert ’53, Aitkin, Minn., June 14, 2015
Jeanne Garvin ’81, Muscatine, Iowa, June 23, 2016
Anthony Nasharr Jr. ’53, Oak Brook, Ill., Jan. 19, 2014
Malia Johnson ’85, Hainesville, Ill., May 17, 2016
Donald Staley ’53, Chicago, June 3, 2016
Russell Scott ’90 MBA, Milan, Ill., May 1, 2016
Clifford “Cliff” Panther ’54 Academy, Rock Island, Ill., May 21, 2016
Krista Ryser ’96, Albuquerque, N.M., March 17, 2016 Samantha “Sam” Cochuyt ’11, Moline, Ill., July 11, 2016
Theodore “Ted” Kappes ’56, Las Cruces, N.M., June 6, 2016
Faculty and Staff
Joann (Fedler) Fritz ’57, Carrollton, Texas, June 21, 2016 LeRoy “Lee” Lohman ’57, Rock Island, Ill., July 7, 2016
Wayne Slabon, Dekalb, Ill., June 27, 2016 Gary Soldat, Bettendorf, Iowa, July 15, 2016
Richard Ogorzalek ’57, Kewanee, Ill., May 24, 2012
Richard Geiger, Davenport, Aug. 7, 2016
Anthony Domino ’58, Rockford, Ill., May 7, 2016 Joseph Maher Sr. ’58, Bettendorf, Iowa, April 27, 2016
Help us keep you informed The St. Ambrose University Office of Alumni Engagement is eager
Thomas Loftus ’59, Springdale, Ohio, May 8, 2015
to keep your contact information
Michael Harmon ’62, Peoria, Ill., May 5, 2015
address in addition to the one we
George Raymond ’62, West Burlington, Iowa, July 2, 2016 Joseph Toohill ’64, Farmington, Ill., Feb. 29, 2016
current. If you have a seasonal 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.
Eugene Diemer ’65, Aurora, Ill., June 4, 2012 John Gregorio ’65, Chicago, Feb. 17, 2016 John Dolio ’66, Beverly Shores, Ind., March 14, 2016 William “Bill” Helmel ’71, Davenport, March 3, 2016 Very Rev. McArthur Anderson ’75, Davenport, April 9, 2016 Dennis Reynolds ’75, Davenport, June 10, 2016 Lois Kammer-Ploog ’77, Davenport, June 11, 2016 29
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
MARK YOUR
calendar
Nov. 4 Symphonic Band and Chamber Choir Concert Galvin Fine Arts Center Nov. 12 Third Annual SAU2You Arlington Heights, Ill. Dec. 2 Lessons and Carols: A Sacred Concert Christ the King Chapel Dec. 3–4 CHILDREN’S MUSICAL: The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley Galvin Fine Arts Center Dec. 4 Feast of St. Ambrose Christ the King Chapel Dec. 11 An Ambrosian Christmas Galvin Fine Arts Center Dec. 17 Winter Commencement Davenport RiverCenter