TRINITY THE MAGAZINE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY | July 2014
ON THE CUTTING EDGE
CSI Nurtures Interdisciplinary Study and Research
New curriculum adopted Students visit Cuba for in-depth study
P R E S I D E N T ’ s
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s you may know by now, I decided to step down as president at the conclusion of my contract on January 1, 2015. However, I have assured the Board of Trustees that I will remain in office until a successor has been appointed. It has been an honor to lead this great institution, and my successor will be taking the reins at a very promising time in Trinity’s 145-year history. I want to thank the Board of Trustees, specifically outgoing chairman John Korbell and incoming chairman Doug Hawthorne, for their support over these last few years, as well as the University’s exceptional students, distinguished faculty, talented staff, and accomplished and devoted alumni. The past five years have been amazing and productive, and the goals set out have been accomplished. Among others, Trinity is redefining the liberal arts with a new curriculum, implementation of which will begin this fall with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. (See page 3.) Our world-class Center for the Sciences and Innovation is finished and fully functional, and exciting, productive collaborations are underway. (See pages 16 through 25.) The implementation of the University’s ten-year strategic plan, Trinity Tomorrow, is moving forward and promises to strengthen Trinity’s position as a national leader by preparing students to thrive in an interconnected world, strengthening interdisciplinary and experiential education, and integrating academic and residential campus life. We have strengthened ties with the San Antonio community, an effort in which my wife Penelope has been especially effective. Among other initiatives, she has established a program to help residents of the Battered Women’s Shelter learn new skills and prepare them for a new future. Many among the Trinity community give generously of their time serving the community on boards or engaging in volunteer activities that benefit a wide spectrum of community needs. Students, too, have a long tradition of community service and have earned national recognition for their work. The challenges Trinity and all leading colleges and universities face today are significant, but so are the opportunities. I am confident
M E S S A G E
Trinity is well positioned to meet both. As an example, competition for the best and brightest students— and the ability to award them competitive financial aid—is intense and becoming more so every year.
President Ahlburg and his family joined a host of Trinity students, faculty, and staff for the MLK Jr. March in January.
Therefore, I am pleased to report that the Class of 2018—at this point 672 strong with impressive academic achievement—is the largest class in recent memory. It was extremely gratifying to see how the University community pulled together to bring in this outstanding group of young men and women from across the country and around the world. The admissions staff worked tirelessly with strong support from across campus. Students, parents, and alumni helped too, and we are deeply appreciative of their efforts. Serving as Trinity’s president has been a remarkable experience, and will continue to be my full-time commitment as we move forward this year. Penelope, Benjamin, and I have enjoyed this beautiful campus, the amazing students and alumni, and especially the exceptional faculty and staff. We are proud of what has been accomplished and enthusiastic about what is to come. Sincerely,
Dennis A. Ahlburg President
TRINITY THE MAGAZINE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY | July 2014
Kylie Moden is helping shake up the computer science department. See page 6.
FEATURES
16
On the Cutting Edge CSI nurtures interdisciplinary study and research
22
Form Follows Function CSI art and architecture symbolize discovery
26
The Unique Feat and Exemplary Career of Pete Allen ‘29
Creating custom skateboards is just one of Jake Eschelman’s many interests. See page 35.
DEPARTMENTS 3 Trinity Today
12 Faculty/Staff Focus 28
Profiles
36
In Memoriam
37 Alumnews 50 Class Acts Art from fractals is one of Larry Crane’s ’64 passionate pursuits. See pages 38-40.
TRINITY January 2014
FROM THE EDITOR
TO THE EDITOR
executive editor
Sharon Jones Schweitzer ’75 editor
Mary Denny art director
Michelle Wilby Friesenhahn ’77 photographer
Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08 Robert Benson Anh-Viet Dinh ’15 Russel Guerrero ’83 Josh Huskin Joshua Moczygemba ’05 contributing writers
Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08 R. Douglas Brackenridge, Julie Catalano, Nancy Cook-Monroe, Anne Delisi Susie Gonzalez, Coleen Grissom, Michael Hardy, James Hill ’76 president
Dennis A. Ahlburg board of trustees
Sharon J. Bell, Ted Beneski, Walter F. Brown Jr., Miles Cortez ’64, James F. Dicke II ’68, Douglas D. Hawthorne ’69, ’72, George C. Hixon ’64, Walter R. Huntley Jr. ’71, ’73, John R. Hurd, E. Carey Joullian IV ’82, The Rev. Richard R. Kannwischer ’95, Richard M. Kleberg III ’65, Katherine W. Klinger ’72, John C. Korbell, Oliver T. Lee ’93, Steven P. Mach ’92, Robert S. McClane ’61, Melody Boone Meyer ’79, Marshall B. Miller Jr., Michael F. Neidorff ’65, Barbara W. Pierce ’78, Thomas R. Semmes, Paul H. Smith, L. Herbert Stumberg Jr. ’81, Lissa Walls Vahldiek ’80 Trinity is published two times a year by the Office of University Communications and is sent to alumni, faculty, staff, graduate students, parents of undergraduates, and friends of the University.
As you well know, Trinity offers students an amazing range of opportunities. In this issue, you will meet students who are applying their skills and leadership qualities in a manner that is dramatically affecting an entire department. You’ll read about the student whose research in India has impacted the campus community and how engineering science students applied their skills to solve a campus concern. But learning and leadership are not confined to the classroom, and the opportunities created by faculty range from weekly beer and burger sessions at Tycoon Flats, to unique multidisciplinary international study tours. And that’s before you even get to Michael Hardy’s feature that offers an inside glimpse of what’s going on in CSI, the Center for the Sciences and Innovation. Trinity is, indeed, a happening place. There’s also plenty of interesting Trinity history. Unofficial Trinity historian, the wonderful Doug Brackenridge, unearthed a story about a history-making touch down, in addition to his Deja View piece on Trinity’s initial involvement in Fiesta…back in 1946! Who knew? Profile subjects illustrate the creativity and initiative that Trinity alumni bring to the marketplace and their communities. Bibliophiles among you will surely appreciate Coleen Grissom’s reading suggestions, as well as the new offerings from Trinity Press, and the 2014 ReadingTUgether selection. Enjoy the magazine.
Mary Denny
editorial offices
Trinity University Office of University Communications One Trinity Place San Antonio, TX 78212-7200 E-mail: mdenny@trinity.edu Phone: 210-999-8406 Fax: 210-999-8449 www.trinity.edu
Editor’s note: We welcome your comments, memories, and suggestions. Letters may be edited for style and space considerations. Please send them to mdenny@trinity.edu or Mary Denny, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212
HE'S MY BROTHER The magazine articles are so interesting, and always leave me feeling so proud of the huge amount and variety of good Trinity folks are doing in the world, as well as on the campus. I even got a surprise in a recent issue when I turned a page and there was my brother!! The young man who wrote in the recent issue about his displeasure with what he saw as a "photo op" was a bit off, in my view, and may have either missed the point of the article or was seeing something I missed, but he was allowed to voice his opinion, nonetheless—another positive, in my mind. We are all entitled to be heard! Sally Laurie Murphy ’54 YOU'RE WELCOME! The Trinity magazine is always welcome in my mailbox! Lanelle Waddill Taylor '57
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Trinity adopts new “skills in context” curriculum Mellon Grant supports implementation
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rinity’s new general education curriculum, developed during a multi-year process and approved by the faculty this spring, emphasizes “skills in context” and represents the first wholesale revision of Trinity’s curriculum in 25 years. It heralds a major achievement in the life of the University. The new curriculum, which is aligned with the University’s 10-year strategic plan, seeks to integrate the liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs so that students can more effectively pursue connections among their academic and professional interests, as well as explore civic and global engagement opportunities. Students will engage regularly in interdisciplinary conversations and inquiry; develop sophisticated ways of thinking in rigorous liberal arts and sciences courses; and be challenged by experiential learning courses that bridge our campus with the San Antonio community and communities around the globe.
As implementation begins this fall, an $800,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support the faculty as they work together to create new courses, revise existing ones, and expand their abilities to teach the core capacities, such as written, oral, and visual communication, and digital literacy. According to Michael Fischer, vice president for Faculty and Student Affairs, “The Mellon Foundation award represents significant support and endorsement of an invigorated liberal arts curriculum that we believe will provide students with opportunities to master skills critical for the 21st century and prepare them for leadership in the modern workforce.” The new curriculum preserves some of the current graduation requirements, including a required academic major, a lifetime fitness course, and a three-year campus residency requirement. It is also designed so that students can continue to pursue double majors and self-designed interdisciplinary degrees.
There are however, five new signature elements. An enhanced First Year Experience will play a key role in student retention and establish student expectations for college. The new curriculum will embed mastery of various core capacities into the liberal arts curriculum to enable students to succeed academically and in their postgraduate careers. The core capacities include: written, oral, and visual communication; digital literacy; and engaged citizenship. Students will also demonstrate the ability to use interdisciplinary approaches to creation and analysis throughout the disciplines. Via interdisciplinary clusters, students will explore a complex subject of enduring or contemporary significance by completing three linked courses from a variety of departments. Finally, an emphasis on experiential learning will help students apply knowledge in a real-world environment. Sharon Jones Schweitzer Professors Rosa Aloisi (Spanish), Katsuo Nishikawa (political science), and Maria Paganelli (economics) collaborated with the United States Border Patrol to organize an in-depth tour of the Laredo Sector as a part of a multifaceted course on immigration. Students were introduced to various forms of patrol utilized in Border Patrol operations.
See slideshow of trip to the border at magazine.trinity.edu/web-extras
July 2014 3
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A grand night for singing
Student stages, stars, and directs Puccini opera
Kevin Culver (center) and cast run through dress rehearsal of Gianni Schicci.
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fter spending eight weeks on campus last summer researching Puccini, examining why his operatic style varied from that of his contemporaries, and conducting character research on Gianni Schicci, senior Kevin Culver, a music and economics major, was ready to tackle an actual production. Culver, along with Trinity voice professor Chia-Wei Lee and seven other students, then spent two weeks in Taiwan last August where they received voice lessons, a daily master class, and vocal coaching from Lee before performing Gianni Schicci, a dark comedic opera based on Dante’s Inferno, over four days. It was the first music project supported by the Mellon Initiative,
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a program for research in the arts and humanities launched last year with a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Culver recently watched a recording of the opera and was “pleasantly surprised” by the range of talent in the production. “Doing something like this pushes you to do better,” he says. This spring, Culver had the opportunity do exactly that and showcase his talents and those of 11 other Trinity vocalists when he completed the stage and costume design and translation, then directed and starred in a production of Gianni Schicci on April 12. Culver thought briefly about staging the Italian opera in English, but quickly rejected the idea for his final production at Trinity because “Italian is innately musical when
it is sung.” Further, he adds, “The story will not hit home unless we are singing in Italian.” To help audiences grasp the tale, Culver translated Gianni Schicci into English subtitles that were projected onto screens at the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall. Audience reaction? A resounding BRAVO! A double major in music and economics, Culver says Trinity prepared him for a career in music along with the business savvy to succeed. He praises Lee for being “a professor who loves what he does, and who can tell you why you love it, so you can't help but love it yourself.” Susie P. Gonzalez Watch a video about Kevin’s experience with Trinity’s Opera Workshop at magazine.trinity.edu/web-extras
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Rum, cigars, sugar...and so much more
Students gain insight on visit to island neighbor
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aking advantage of relaxed government policies, two Trinity professors and 17 students sandwiched in a trip to Cuba between Christmas Day and the start of spring semester. During their 15-day stay, the group met with business and nongovernment leaders, witnessed how Cuban society values artists, athletes, and senior citizens, and learned first-hand about the trade embargo that natives call a “blockade.” Along the way, the Trinity delegation ate a lot of pork, visited rum and cigar factories, learned salsa dances, and generally fell in love with a people who have mastered the art of appreciating little. The trip was part of a new winter course at Trinity—one of a very few institutions to offer undergraduates such a thorough and multifaceted exploration of Cuba—that was designed to expose students to emerging countries with the potential to change
regions and economies and to promote a cultural exchange. Political science professor Katsuo Nishikawa and Mario Gonzalez-Fuentes, a visiting professor of business, had spent a semester arranging the trip, which started in Santiago de Cuba and spanned the width of the island. “This case study,” says Nishikawa, “was off-the-charts relevant because Cuba is one of the few nations in the world that has transformed its limitations into challenges and come up with innovative solutions to some of today’s key problems facing modern societies.” According to Gonzalez-Fuentes, students liked that the trip was balanced in terms of disciplines and various aspects of Cuban life. “We got to talk about politics, economics, and business, plus we had outdoor activities that showed the potential of ecotourism. But we also got to experience a lot of cultural and artistic activity. There was a little bit for everyone’s taste, and you don’t
get that in other programs,” he says. Senior Sara Dolan ’14, whose great uncle became a refugee when Fidel Castro came to power, had always wanted to visit the forbidden country. She was especially pleased to find that people were friendly to the students and held no animosity toward Americans. “We got to see the social, educational, and medical communities, and we learned how poor the people are. A doctor only makes $30 a month,” Dolan reports. “The richest people there are artists and athletes because Cuba values cultural activities, which are virtually free for Cubans but not for tourists. Even though they are so poor, they are happy.” Nishikawa says students came to realize that the United States is losing more from the embargo than it has gained, and the fact that the U.S. has trade relations with a number of other Communist countries is an irony the students felt was hypocritical. The trip also showcased ways that Cubans have learned to use their severely limited resources in daily life, lessons that can be applied to students’ personal lives and careers. Says Gonzalez-Fuentes, “That was something else we wanted students to gain from the trip—the fact that adversity pushes you to innovate.” Susie P. Gonzalez
In Pinar del Rio Province near Las Terrazas, students visited an old coffee plantation which includes the ruins of the slave quarters. The site is part of the UNESCO Bioreserve of Sierra del Rosario.
July 2014 5
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A new day in computer science
Students’ passions transform department
Ashton-Drake Giddings wows professor Paul Myers with his passion for cybersecurity.
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omething’s happening here. It’s exciting. It’s forceful. It’s enterprising. And it’s due in large part to an infusion of energy, enthusiasm, and yes, expertise, from two students: Kylie Moden, a first-year student from Austin, and Ashton-Drake Giddings, a transfer junior from St. Philips College in San Antonio. And according to professor Paul Myers, chair of the computer science department, these two type A computer whizzes are having a “transformative effect” on the department. Moden, whose family encouraged her to pursue the sciences from an early age, wanted to be a doctor, like many other children. But after discovering computer science, her aspirations changed. She chose the field of computer science “because of the way you are able to solve problems— any problem—with computers” and Trinity because she felt she “could make a difference here. ” Shortly after arriving on campus, the vivacious teen started a Women in Computing Club—it currently boasts 25 members, a few of whom are men. Next she wrote and received an Aspire IT grant to fund
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and lead Trinity Encouraging Computing for Her (TECH Camp) for middle school girls that she held over three weekends this spring. She also presented her own research at the Grace Hopper and the Southeast Women in Computing conferences. Taking advantage of Trinity’s entrepreneurial program and 3 Day Startup, she is working on an idea that would teach coding to children through storytelling. She is also developing UConvo, a company that takes networking to a new level. Designed to help prospective students in their college search and selection, her application will, for example, enable a prospective student interested in baseball to connect with an actual baseball player at the prospective college. Although Moden has an obvious passion for computing—she will spend the summer interning with Google in their California headquarters— computers are not her only interest. She plays flute in Trinity’s Wind Ensemble, takes piano lessons, is studying Chinese—she hopes to study abroad in China—and plans to minor or double major in entrepreneurship. The next Bill Gates, anyone?
Giddings, in contrast, was not introduced to the world of computer science until high school, where he graduated from Harlandale High School with Microsoft IT Academy and obtained Windows 7 Configuring Certification. He earned an associates degree in network security administration at St. Philips College in San Antonio before transferring to Trinity. Once at Trinity, Giddings lost no time in pursuing his passion for cybersecurity. He founded the Trinity Tech Tigers, an information security and assurance club/ team that promotes security and good practices and competes in local, regional, and national competitions. He placed in the top 10 in North America in the CyberLympics in 2013 and led the Trinity Tech Tigers to a second place victory in the TexSAW UT Dallas Cyber Security Competition the same year. This spring, Giddings led a three-man team that qualified for the Southwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (SWCCDC), a first for Trinity. The accomplishment is especially notable in that most teams are comprised of eight members, many of whom are graduate students. Giddings says he is drawn to the field of cybersecurity because “there are always new challenges between hackers and defenders.” When he’s not immersed in staying two, three, or four steps ahead of the most sophisticated hackers, Giddings finds time to enjoy music and sports, especially baseball, football, soccer, bike riding, and weightlifting. In the immediate future, he is looking for an internship in the field. He is perfectly situated for such a position, as San Antonio is the number two city in the nation—second only to Washington, D.C.—for cybersecurity. Giddings’ ultimate goal is to become a security analyst and start his own security company. The world feels safer already. Mary Denny
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Thirteen Beams and a Bright Idea
Engineering students solve design challenge in Laurie Auditorium ow many engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? In Laurie Auditorium, it takes a team of contractors, heavy equipment, and a slew of safety gear. So when technicians in facilities services posed a design challenge to a group of senior engineering science students, it seemed only fitting that Laurie could serve as a stage for a bright idea. “It was something we’d been thinking about for years,” says Kevin Hawkins, director of Laurie Auditorium. “Currently, contractors are lifted up to the top of the beam, then walk down the beam to change the bulbs. It is really difficult, time-consuming, and sometimes hazardous.” The auditorium has 13 I-beams, oriented like H-beams that connect to the roof with V-shaped joints; each beam houses 10 to 15 lamps on the top, and up to 60 on the bottom. Distance from the top of the beams to the floor ranges from 18 to 38 feet, and the angle of the seating area makes it impossible to use lift equipment over the entire distance. The goal was clear: design a safer and more efficient method for changing the lamps atop the beams in Laurie Auditorium. As part of their senior design capstone, nine engineers— who called themselves the Illuminators— were handed the challenge at the beginning of the fall semester. Split into two groups, each was charged with designing and developing its own unique solution. By the end of the semester, Jonathan Fleming, Megan Garcia, Eshan Jayamanne, Stephen Weisenburger, and Tyler Ybarra had designed a bosun’s chair on a zip-line system; Gerardo Hernandez, Gregory Throne, Weslyn Wagner, and Ryan Wilson had designed a buggy that would attach to and slide along the beam. The teams' adviser, engineering science professor Peter Kelly-Zion, selected the buggy system to move into the development phase. The Illuminators, back in their larger group of nine, began the spring semester with a daunting task ahead: prototyping, testing, and improving upon a buggy that could ultimately be implemented in the auditorium. “From the original prototype to what they
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The “Illuminators” assemble a traveling mechanism for their I-beam buggy device.
produced in the end was pretty amazing. After going up and getting detailed measurements and pictures, they would come back with a prototype, test it, disappear for a couple of weeks, and then come back again,” Hawkins recalls. “Every time they came back, it improved more and more.” “We needed to figure out exactly what we wanted to produce as a team,” Wagner explains, “and once we had those ideas in mind, we hit the ground running. We went through several iterations of our prototype, building and evolving toward the final product. We started small with big aspirations and ended up with a design that met our goals and constraints.” Yet the process of prototyping wasn’t just drilling and welding. The team worked with advisers, stakeholders, and benefactors to communicate budgetary details and constraints and to develop documentation and safety procedures. “The engineering science department, in all of our classes, requires lots of writing, lots of reporting, and lots of written and oral communication, which really came to
light in this project,” Garcia says. “The amount of writing and communication integrated into all of my classes, engineering and otherwise, was really beneficial." Twelve weeks and six prototypes later, the Illuminators brought their final buggy to Laurie Auditorium. With the assistance of Hawkins, they hoisted the buggy onto a beam to test its strength, movement, and ability to hinge over obstacles. “[The buggy] allows the operator to reach both the upper and lower lights, and includes all of the necessary safety gear,” Hawkins says. “From my perspective, it’s a working device.” “It was a long process, always changing... but definitely worth the chances we took,” Hernandez says. “Trinity gives you the opportunity to take those chances, to spark other ideas.” Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08
Follow the engineers from design to implementation in a video online at magazine.trinity.edu/web-extras
July 2014 7
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The Rape that Woke Up India
Research gives rise to first-year seminar, new attitudes
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ape was the last thing on religion professor McKenzie Brown’s mind when he went to New Delhi in December 2012 to present his latest book on Hindu beliefs. But after witnessing public protests about the death of a 23-year-old woman after she was gang-raped, his research took on a new dimension. Unable to ignore the brutality against women in India, Brown developed a proposal for summer research funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and recruited Nupur Agrawal, a religion and sociology major from India with summer research experience, to join the project. Brown and Agrawal spent the spring of 2013 devising a survey and arranging access to college students in India. When Agrawal arrived in her native India in May, the country was still reeling from the death of the young woman who came to be known as “Braveheart.” Agrawal visited six cities, interviewing 275 men and 300 women on college campuses. Not all schools were welcoming and many imposed strict conditions for the conversations. Even so, the stories she heard were harrowing. Dramatic narratives that had never been shared began to unfold: tales of young women who had seen a brother rape his wife, details of loveless arranged marriages, and parents who told a teenager to submit to the landlord’s sexual advances because the family didn’t have rent money. Agrawal compiled her data in a study titled “The Rape That Woke Up India” and presented her findings at the National American Academy of Religion conference in Baltimore in November 2013 (focusing on the attitudes in India) and at a regional conference of the same academy in Dallas in March (focusing on attitudes in America.) She also submitted a paper to the Journal for Religion and Violence. Bringing the research to campus, Brown developed a First-Year Seminar expanding the subject to “Rape in India, Rape in America, and Rape at Trinity,” and Agrawal served as peer tutor to 13 women who learned how
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Professor McKenzie Brown and Napur Agrawal discuss the results of her research in India.
to interpret and present complex data on an emotional topic against the backdrop of sexual assault cases under discussion on campus. She and others proposed that sexual assault issues be addressed in New Student Orienta-
tion in August, and posters about what victims should do if they are attacked have been placed in nearly every women’s bathroom on campus. “That’s because a washroom is the first place a victim goes,” says Agrawal, who graduated in May and will spend the 2014-15 academic year as a researcher with psychology professor Paula Hertel. Brown’s seminar on rape will be repeated this fall, and the peer tutor will be Hanna Niner, who took the original seminar. The class gave me a foundation to understand why these things are happening and to discuss how to address these problems,” Niner says. Seeking to become more involved, she took a course at San Antonio’s Rape Crisis Center and became a certified sexual assault advocate. She passed a background check, took part in three Saturday training sessions, and visited hospitals in preparation for a periodic on-call rotation to counsel sexual assault victims. “I want to give voice to women who don’t have a voice,” she says. Susie P. Gonzalez
A first for Trinity aquatics program
Junior wins national swimming championship Trinity Tigers junior All-American Stephen Culberson captured the men’s 100-yard freestyle event March 22 at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, held at Indianapolis. His All-America record time of 44.18 seconds made him Trinity’s first swimmer to win a national championship. In February, Culberson and the Tiger teams won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Rockwall, Texas. The Tiger men won their third consecutive SCAC championship, and seventh overall, while Trinity’s women captured an 11th straight title, the 14th on the books.
To see all spring sports highlights, visit www.trinitytigers.com
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A BEER-y cool concept
Science faculty raise happy hour to new level Students and professors bond over beer and burgers while studying and and critiquing academic papers.
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ost parents paying tuition won’t like to hear this, but it’s true – students can learn in a bar. Almost every Friday during the school year, the BEER group gathers on the patio of Tycoon Flats on the St. Mary’s Street strip to sip a Lone Star, munch on burgers, and discuss the pros and cons of academic papers published in various science journals. In this case, BEER stands for Behavioral, Ecological, and Evolutionary Readings. It’s not a class, so no course credit is earned, but the informal environment provides many teachable moments. Between 15 and 20 students and faculty members from biology, neuroscience, environmental science, and related fields read an assigned paper and then rip it apart for flaws in the science, the laboratory techniques, or even the writing. The lessons are vital to students who fully plan, as undergraduates, to submit papers to journals about research they and their mentor professors are conducting. Sophie Wardle, a junior majoring in neuroscience, has attended BEER Fridays for the last
year and a half. She enjoys the casual setting as a place to talk to a professor, asking anything, and either getting an answer or being pointed in a direction to find that answer. “In class you can’t always say as much as you can here,” says Wardle, who wants to be a clinical neuroscientist. “This has shown me I really love research.” Cade Bradshaw ’14 from Austin who majored in biology and art, says the BEER experience enabled him to gauge the worth of a paper while better understanding basic science. “When I’m ready to send a paper in, it’s going to be a good paper,” he says. Jake Stercula, a sophomore from Houston, is majoring in neuroscience and considering a minor in chemistry as he prepares for medical school while playing soccer. He said he puts in a lot of hours in the biology lab of Professor Michele Johnson, one of the founders of the BEER group. “To read a paper and socialize on a Friday afternoon? It’s a nice break from schoolwork and from being on campus.” The conversation is heating up about the paper of the week. Everyone at the long picnic
table is disgusted with its inadequate research and poor presentation. “It’s crap,” says one student as he bites into a fried mushroom and takes a swig of Shiner. To which Johnson retorts, “So are you going to tell me what’s valuable about this paper?” Laughter follows. Later, biology professor Troy Murphy, the other founder of the group, explains that most papers they analyze showcase new and important findings, rarely suffering in quality. Still, if a study is presented extraordinarily well, there’s not as much to discuss – or to learn from, he says. “We want to bring everything into a discussion. If people disagree on an approach, they can get more engaged in it.” Murphy introduced the idea of science readings about five years ago. He says he experienced a similar thought group in graduate school but saw the value of rigorous discussion off campus for Trinity, where undergraduate research abounds. He cited a former student now in a doctoral program at Arizona State University who started attending BEER readings in 2009 as a sophomore and went weekly until he graduated. The experience created a passion for ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral science in that student, influencing his decision to pursue research, and a longlasting bond with Murphy and Johnson. Science, Murphy notes, is portrayed artificially in textbooks because facts are presented as established truths. “But science is a discussion, not a declaration of truth,” he says. “In the BEER group, we look for ways to interpret findings. If students walk away with anything from this, it’s that science is a dynamic field that invokes such discussions on how to interpret data. It’s very fluid, but here, they see the process of science.” Susie P. Gonzalez
July 2014 9
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Latest offerings from Outside by Barry Lopez, illustrated by Barry Moser The six stories in Outside showcase National Book Award-winning author Barry Lopez’s superb talent as a fiction writer. They offer profound insight into the relationships between humans and animals, creativity and beauty, and, ultimately, life and death. Eleven engravings by legendary artist Barry Moser parallel Lopez’s complex sense of our relationship to nature.
The Osage Orange Tree by William Stafford, illustrations by Dennis Cunningham The Osage Orange Tree, a never-before-published story by poet William Stafford, is about young love complicated by misunderstanding and the insecurity of adolescence, set against the backdrop of poverty brought on by the Great Depression. This magical coming-of-age tale is brought to life through linocut illustrations by Oregon artist Dennis Cunningham, with an afterword by poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
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TRINITY UNIVERSITY PRESS
Unchopping a Tree by W. S. Merwin, drawings by Liz Ward Unchopping a Tree, written by beloved poet W. S. Merwin, describes the difficult, sacred job of reconstructing a tree. Interspersed throughout this inviting, gift-sized edition are eleven delicate silverpoint drawings depicting the cellular life of trees by Trinity University professor of art and art history Liz Ward.
Domesticity: A Gastronomic Interpretation of Love by Bob Shacochis Bob Shacochis, National Book Award–winning author of Easy in the Islands, and, most recently, the critically acclaimed novel The Woman Who Lost Her Soul, hones his nonfiction skills in this tourde-force romp through the worlds of eating and eroticism. Domesticity is an irreverent exploration of the sweet and sour evolution of the enduring romance between author and lover.
Maximilian and Carlota: Europe’s Last Empire in Mexico by M. M. McAllen In this new telling of Mexico’s Second Empire and Louis Napoléon’s installation of Maximilian von Habsburg and his wife, Carlota of Belgium, as the emperor and empress of Mexico, Maximilian and Carlota brings the dramatic and tragic story of this six-year siege to life, offering a vivid portrait of an unusual marriage and of international high society and politics.
The WPA Guides to America Digital Library During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the shared history and culture of the United States. The WPA Guides to America series consists of individual guides to each of the 49 states that existed at the time, all in e-book format.
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N e w s f r o m t h e S c h o o l o f bus i n e ss Accounting program ranked 8th nationally
Grads have 100 percent placement rate
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or the 2013 National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) reporting year, Trinity University ranked 8th out of 280 medium-sized programs with an overall first-time CPA Exam pass rate across all sections of 78 percent. The accounting department also recently purchased custom NASBA data that enables tracking of individual graduate student classes. Based on this data, the firsttime pass rate across all sections for our 2013 master’s program graduates currently stands at 82 percent, with section pass rates of 78 percent (AUD), 86 percent (BEC), 83 percent (FAR), and 80 percent (REG). These numbers represent the best performance to date for our master’s students, who continue to experience a 100 percent placement rate upon graduation.
Executive health care program ranked #1 T
he executive (off-campus)
program of Trinity’s health care administration department has been ranked the top business graduate school
They’ll show you the money
in the nation by Modern
Student managed fund outperforms S&P 500
Healthcare magazine.
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rinity’s Student Managed Fund (SMF) portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 by 5.25 percentage points in 2013. Excluding dividends, the SMF portfolio returned 34.85 percent during 2013, while the comparable return on the S&P 500 was 29.60 percent. Total fund assets increased from $3,304,517 to $4,519,595 for a total return (including dividends) of 36.77 percent. Top performers for the year were Baidu, Actavis, and VF Corp, with returns of 98.73 percent, 95.35 percent, and 67.61 percent, respectively. The SMF portfolio performance for 2013 ranks in the top 4 percent of 873 Lipper Large-Cap Core Funds and in the top 21 percent of 777 Lipper Multi-Cap Core Funds.
The program requires graduate students to spend only nine days on campus while completing their course of study in 23 months. The curriculum emphasizes the integration of conceptual and experien-
Reading TUgether selection focuses on injustice
A
natomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Raymond Bonner, is the 2014 Reading TUgether selection. It tells the gripping story of a grievously mishandled murder case that put Edward Lee Elmore, a 23-year-old semi-literate, mentally retarded black man with no previous felony record on death row. Elmore had been on death row for eleven years when Diana Holt, a young attorney from Houston, learned of
tial learning, and students continue to work while pursuing a Master of Science.
his case. With the exemplary moral commitment that has distinguished his reporting career, Bonner follows Holt's battle to save Elmore's life. According to The New York Times, Anatomy of Injustice turns a sad story into an engrossing true-crime tale. Diana Holt will deliver the Reading TUgether keynote lecture with special guest Edward Lee Elmore on Wednesday, August 27 at 7 p.m. in Laurie Auditorium.
Graduates of the program are playing a major role across the nation in the administration of healthcare. Alumni Joel Allison ’73, Doug Hawthorne ’69, ’72, and Wayne Smith ’72 have consistently been ranked among Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.”
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FA C U LT Y | S TA F F F O C U S
Barchrach named ACE Fellow
Crockett wins Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship award recognizing outstanding teaching, advising Crockett is the author of two books—Running against the Grain: How Opposition Presidents Win the White House (2008) and The Opposition Presidency: Leadership and the Constraints of History (2002)—and has a book project under way titled The Perils of Restoration Politics. He also has written 12 journal articles, four book and textbook chapters, five encyclopedia entries, and numerous book reviews. He frequently writes news articles
Steven M. Bachrach
about politics and the presidency and has
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teven M. Bachrach, the D.R. Semmes Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and assistant vice president for special projects in the Office of Academic Affairs at Trinity University, has been named one of 31 emerging college and university leaders for the 2014-15 class of the American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows Program. Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program focuses on identifying and preparing the next generation of senior leadership for the nation's colleges and universities. The program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year. Bachrach joins nearly 2,000 higher education leaders who have participated in the ACE Fellows Program since its inception. He expects to “shadow” a president or provost.
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been quoted in local and regional publications, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and the Wall Street Journal. Colleagues praise his speaking presence, David Crockett
D
avid Crockett, professor and chair of political science, received the 2014 Dr.
and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship award in recognition of his outstanding abilities as a teacher and adviser. The award, announced May 17 during Trinity’s undergraduate commencement, is the most prestigious faculty award the University bestows and includes a cash award to be used for professional development and research. Trinity Trustee Richard M. Kleberg III established the fellowship in 1984 in honor of his grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott.
ability to engage students and others, and his willingness to customize course recommendations during student advising to ensure students are prepared for the graduate school or career they seek after graduation. Students laud Crockett for guiding their intellectual development and encouraging them to fully engage and explore new ideas.
FA C U LT Y | S TA F F F O C U S
Drennon cited as urban scholar/activist
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hristine Drennon, professor of sociology and anthropology and director of Trinity University’s urban studies program is the 2014 recipient of the Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award by the Urban Affairs Association (UAA). As the recipient, Drennon delivered the plenary address at the UAA’s national conference in San Antonio March 21. Drennon’s research and activism have recently focused on the city’s East Side neighborhood. As research director for the Promise and Choice Neighborhood Planning
Grant for the City of San Antonio and for the Choice Neighborhood Implementation Project, she has focused her work on the relationship between education and community development. Drennon spearheaded an early initiative known as the Trinity Project, one of the early efforts that has led to the creation of a Promise Neighborhood Grant. Her community outreach, which includes establishing collaborative initiatives with various community agencies and school districts,
Christine Drennon demonstrates how scholars can build bridges of support and collaboration that make a difference in the lives of community residents.
University honors five for distinguished achievement
Matthew Stroud
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John Hermann
n early May, five Trinity faculty members were honored for distinguished achievement in service, teaching, advising, or research. Spanish professor Matthew Stroud was recognized for outstanding scholarship, research, and creative work. Political science professor John Hermann was lauded for his commitment and dedication to student advising, and geosciences professor Diane Smith received the award for distinguished professional, community, and University service. Two junior faculty members—Kyle Gillette, human communication and theatre, and Maria Paganelli, economics—were cited
Diane Smith
Kyle Gillette
for distinguished teaching and research. Stroud’s international reputation as a scholar of Renaissance and Baroque Spanish is based on three monographs, three edited volumes, one critical and six pedagogical editions of Spanish Baroque plays, one theatrical translation, one fully staged operas, 49 journal articles, 62 conference papers, and 16 scholarly reviews. Hermann approaches advising with a sympathetic ear, tough love when needed, and a real interest in knowing his advisees and what they want to do with their lives. Among her many contributions to the her profession,
Maria Pagnelli
community, and the University, Smith has chaired the committee to conduct the fiveyear review of the Academic Honor Code and co-chaired the planning committee for the CSI. Junior faculty members Gilette and Paganelli have quickly established themselves as outstanding teachers with impressive records of productions and publications in their respective fields. To read more, visit the news center at www.trinity.edu/news
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FA C U LT Y | S TA F F F O C U S Art/ Art History
Classical Studies
Education
Michael Schreyach was named a Terra Foundation Visiting Professor in American Art at the JFK Institute for North American Studies at the Freie Universität in Berlin for fall and winter 2014. He also published three critical essays: “Re-created Flatness: Hans Hofmann’s Concept of the Picture Plane as a Medium of Expression” in the Journal of Aesthetic Education; “Barnett Newman's Self-Creation” and “John Dewey and the Work of Art,” both in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.
Thomas E. Jenkins was awarded an Associate Colleges of the South faculty advancement grant for the project "Reflections Seminars—Building Campus Capacity,” a voluntary, co-curricular
Shari Becker Albright, Norine R. Murchison Distinguished, Professor of Practice in Education and chair of education department was appointed to a two-year term on the board of directors for Pre-K 4 SA.
English
Thomas E. Jenkins program that fosters self-discovery and exploration for first-year students.
Communication Trish Simonite Trish Simonite had her photo series “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning,” featured on the Ticka Arts website. Additional work was exhibited at San Antonio City Hall sponsored by Public Art San Antonio and a juried show at the SPIVA Art Center in Joplin, Missouri. Other photos appeared in an online juried exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont and an online exhibition juried by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison. An iPhone photo was selected for an exhibition called "Hipstamatic" at the Amanda Smith Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Chemistry Michelle Bushey was named the Texas Academy of Science Distinguished Scientist for 2014.
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Patrick Keating received a Frederick Burkhardt Residential Fellowship for Recently Tenured Scholars from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). During the 2014-15 academic year, Keating will be a residential fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and work on his next book.
Victoria Aarons' book, The New Diaspora: The Changing Landscape of American Jewish Fiction, has been published by Wayne State University Press. She also p ublished “The Perils of Desire in Philip Roth’s Early Fiction” (CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 16.2), and “A Genre of Rupture: The Literary Language of the Holocaust” (The Bloomsbury Companion to Holocaust Literature). David Rando’s book Modernist Fiction and News: Representing Experience in the Early Twentieth Century was reviewed in Review of English Studies, Clio: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History, and the James Joyce Literary Supplement. David Rando published an article, "Like the Odyssey, Only Different: Olympian Omnipotence versus Karmic Adjustment in Pynchon's Vineland," in Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. Michael Soto contributed "The Harlem Renaissance and the New Modernist Studies" to Modernism/Modernity, the Journal of the Modernist Studies Association.
Facilities Services Roseann Ramon received the Helen McKinley Employee Excellence Award for March 2014.
Economics John H. Huston published "Housing and Behavioral Factors" in Applied Economics Letters. Maria Pia Paganelli published "David Hume on Banking and Hoarding" in the April 2014 issue of South Economic Journal. Richard Salvucci published an article about trumpet player Doug Mettome, who reached public notice while performing with jazz great Benny Goodman, in the August 23 webzine All About Jazz. You can read the article online.
History Nicole Marafioti’s book, The King’s Body: Burial and Succession in Late Anglo-Saxon England, was published by Toronto University Press as part of their Anglo-Saxon Series.
FA C U LT Y | S TA F F F O C U S Mathematics Peter Olofsson received a three-year, $186,845 NIH grant for his project titled “Branching Processes and Cell Populations..”
Police Department TUPD received the Recognized Law Enforcement Agency Award from the Texas Police Chiefs Association Law Enforcement Recognition Program.
Psychology Carolyn Becker was elected president-elect of the Academy of Eating Disorders (AED), the largest professional organization in the field of eating disorders.
Religion William O. Walker Jr. (emeritus), published "2 Corinthians 3:7-18 as a Non-Pauline Interpolation" in Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters. His article "Authentic Existence: The Debate over Demythologizing the New Testament" appeared in The Fourth R: An Advocate for Religious Literacy.
School of Business Department of Accounting Julie Persellin’s article “The influence of PCAOB
inspections on audit committee members' judgments” was published in Behavioral Research in Accounting. Linda Specht co-authored “The economy of communion model: A spiritualitybased view of global sustainability and its application to management education” for the Journal of Management for Global Sustainability. Mike Wilkins co-authored “Does a lack of choice lead to lower quality? Evidence from auditor competition and client restatements” in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, “An investigation of recent changes in going concern reporting decisions among Big N and Non-Big N auditors” in Review of Quantitative Finance & Accounting, and “Bringing darkness to light: The influence of auditor quality and audit committee expertise on the timeliness of financial statement restatement disclosures” in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. Department of Business Administration Mario Gonzalez-Fuentes published “The contribution of social simulation in the advancement of marketing issues and challenges” in the International Journal of Agent Technologies and Systems and co-authored “Homeownership as a sign of an immigrant’s consumer acculturation: The role of region-oforigin” in the Journal of Global Marketing. Rita Kosnik and Jacob Tingle co-authored “Transformational learning in business education: The pivotal role of experiential learning projects,” which appeared in American Journal of Business Education. Tingle also co-authored “Developing a student employee leadership program: The importance of evaluating effectiveness,” which appeared in the Recreational Sports Journal, and “Officiating attrition: Considering the experiences of referees from a sport development perspective,” which appeared in the Journal of Sport Management. Deli Yang published “Interactive role of consumer discrimination and branding against counterfeiting: A study of multinational managers’ perception of global brands in China,” in the Journal of Business Ethics.
Department of Finance and Decision Sciences
L. Paige Fields L. Paige Fields published “Mandatory prerequisite testing and performance in Intermediate Corporate Finance,” in the Journal of Financial Education. E. Dante Suarez co-authored “Distributed agency,” in the International Journal of Agent Technologies and Systems. Ruben Mancha co-authored “Dynamics of affection and cognition in simulated agents: A framework for the convergence of experimental and simulation research,” in the International Journal of Agent Technologies and Systems.
Sociology and Anthropology Amy L. Stone received financing from the American Sociological Association Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline for her research on gay and lesbian festival participation.
Julie Persellin Amy L. Stone
July 2014 15
E
arly every weekday morning, David Ribble walks through the lobby of the new Center for Sciences and Innovation building (CSI), climbs the stairs to the fourth floor, and watches the sun rise through the building’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which look east over the Trinity campus. After soaking in the view for a few moments, he continues on to his office, passing one of the CSI’s cozy group study alcoves that feature large whiteboards. “One of my favorite things to do in the morning is to come and see what’s written on the board,” says Ribble, a professor of biology who played an integral role in designing the state-of-the art, $127 million building—the largest building project in the University’s history. “There’s everything from biology, to chemistry, to business, to economics.” Although that whiteboard might be the least expensive item in
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a building filled with cutting-edge technology, its use by students of widely different subjects suggests the CSI’s success in achieving its goal of fostering interdisciplinary teaching and research. Home to the departments of biology, chemistry, geosciences, physics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and psychology, the CSI was built expressly to promote collaboration among the sciences, as well as between the sciences and the rest of the University. Nearly every aspect of the building was designed with that objective in mind, from the centralization of administrative offices, which forces professors to bump into each other while checking their mail, to modular labs that can be configured for many different kinds of research. “That’s the way science works—we don’t sit at a table that’s waist-high,” Ribble explains. “We’re moving around, we’re
using pieces of equipment, we’re using computers. We tried to build some flexibility into the labs, because the only thing we know for sure about science is that it will change.” Professor and chair of geosciences Diane Smith agrees, noting that “a lot of the most interesting future research will really require approaches from more than one discipline. At Trinity we’ve been working at that for about 10 years, and, in some cases, longer, and certainly this building will enhance that.” For his part, professor and chair of physics and astronomy Dennis Ugolini, who studies changes in the curvature of space due to events like supernovas, says he’s looking forward to having his machine shop in the same building as his office and labs. “I have to build all my equipment
from scratch,” he explains. “When you’re measuring something no one’s ever measured before, you kind of have to make your own tools. It’s not something they sell off the shelves.”
For an example of the kind of interdisciplinary research the CSI designers had in mind, take Matthew Hibbs, a professor of computer science who’s been working with biologists for years to help discover the root causes of cancer. On a cool, windy afternoon during the recent spring semester, Hibbs’s office was filled with empty boxes, signs that he was still in the process of moving into the CSI building, the last section of which was completed in January. On his desk, next to his two flat-screen monitors, was a
Monsters Inc. coffee mug. When Hibbs arrived at Princeton in the early 2000s for graduate school, he had intended to study computer graphics and then go to work for a place like Pixar. But a first-year course in bioinformatics—the use of computers to study biological data—changed his career trajectory. Princeton’s Lewis-Siegler Institute for Integrative Genomics had just opened, offering the chance to do pathbreaking research on the human genome. “That’s when I realized that my experience in computer science could be applied to something very practical and very real-world,” Hibbs says. While other scientists have been using computers in their research since the 1970s, biologists are relative newcomers to the technology according to Hibbs.
Biology professor David Ribble can work individually with students at the white board inside his office. Whiteboards and glass walls throughout the building attract everything from formulas and equations to notices and drawings.
July 2014 17
Thanks to so-called high-throughput sequencing, also known as next-gen sequencing, biologists are now collecting more information than ever before about human and animal DNA. The challenge is what to do with all that data once it’s collected. “We’re generating more and more sequencing data without the ability to analyze it, and computers aren’t getting faster fast enough to catch up with all the data,” Hibbs explains. “So we have to find more clever ways to analyze the data. And that’s where I come in.” As people get older, their genome inevitably develops mutations that can sometimes lead to cancer. Hibbs writes computer algorithms that analyze those changes. “The way people tried to measure this in the past was terrible,” Hibbs continues. “But with this new technology we can really measure the mutations in a person’s DNA. Once we do that, we’ll be able to say that this mutation is leading down the road to cancer, whereas this mutation is leading down the road to osteoporosis and this mutation is leading down some other path.” Despite being at Trinity for only two years, Hibbs has already begun collaborating with Shelley Buffenstein, a professor of physiology at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the UT Health Science Center, as well as Trinity professor of biology Kevin Livingston, his new neighbor in the CSI building. “I really appreciate being close to biology—now they’re just down the hall instead of in another building, which is great for me,” he says. “That’s a whole other group of colleagues I can talk to.”
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For researchers in the CSI building, collaboration goes beyond working with other scientists. Chemistry professor Michelle Bushey has co-taught courses with faculty in economics, religion, modern languages, and library sciences, and has spent the past few years working with Trinity art historians to study the now almost invisible frescoes on the walls of the Alamo. Because they were painted over multiple times by the Alamo’s former occupants, including the U.S. Army, today the frescoes are difficult to see with the naked eye. To reconstruct what they originally looked like, Bushey and her students and colleagues use a portable X-Ray Florescent Spectrometer and take samples back to her lab to analyze with a scanning electron microscope.
“The frescoes in the sacristan were really quite extensive—the whole wall was basically covered with frescoes,” Bushey says. “You look at it now and you can barely see anything, but it must have been quite the sight in its day.” Based on their analysis, Bushey and her fellow researchers can tell what pigments were used, what the designs looked like, and whether the same artist painted frescoes at other area missions. Bushey’s interdisciplinary work with art history actually began at the prompting of
an undergraduate, Madeline Corona, who was studying pottery owned by Nicolle Hirschfeld, professor of classical studies. Bushey used chemical analysis to help Corona and Hirschfeld learn more about the pottery’s decoration before going on to study other pottery in the collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art. Corona is currently applying to graduate programs in art conservation, but Bushey continues to conduct research with other students, including Nicole Feldman and Natalie Seitzman. If chemistry and classics seem like an odd couple, how about neuroscience and studio art? Ashley Leek graduated in May with a double major in those two subjects, which she claims aren’t as different as many people might think. “Art obviously requires creative thinking, but I think science also requires a lot of creative thinking and creative learning,” says Leek, who is both a photographer and an Alzheimer’s researcher who has attended national neuroscience conferences. “They’re more related than we let on.” Leek’s faculty adviser, James Roberts, the Ruth C. and Andrew G. Cowles Endowed Professor of Life Sciences, agrees with Leek. “A lot of scientists will say there’s no art to doing science—it’s either black or it’s white,” Roberts says. “But that’s not true. You have to follow the protocols, but the truth is that any good scientist knows you have to fine-tune everything. Finetuning something, knowing exactly how to tweak the microscope to do this, just how to tweak this machine, that’s exactly what an artist does. That’s why I really like this building, with the mixing and matching of disciplines.” Leek isn’t the only undergraduate bridging the gap between science and art.
Cade Bradshaw, who also graduated in May, studied invasive grass species in the Hill Country with biology professor Kelly Lyons at the same time that he was making Robert Rauschenberg–style Xerox transfers in the art studio. (Lyons is no stranger to art herself; her husband is an artist who made one of the works hanging in the CSI building.) Bradshaw’s prints and drawings frequently deal with aspects of the natural
world he studies in the biology lab, and he considers his artistic and scientific work to be complementary. He’s currently deciding whether to apply to graduate programs in biology or studio art. “I think there’s a lot of similarity between the kind of art I do and ecology, which is essentially the study of relationships,” he says. “And that’s what art is.”
If you look at the list of departments housed in the CSI building, psychology might seem like the odd one out. When the modern discipline of psychology was founded in the late 19th century, it was originally considered a department of the humanities; today, most universities class it among the social sciences. But a
Chemistry professor Michelle Bushey and students from art and history used X-ray fluorescence to analyze glazes and pigments to confirm or debunk a claim about the authenticity of a marble sarcophagus housed in the San Antonio Museum of Art.
July 2014 19
growing number of schools, including Trinity, group the department with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Trinity’s interdisciplinary neuroscience major brings psychology professors together with colleagues in biology and chemistry. Professor and chair of psychology Carol Yoder says that everyone in her department conducts empirical research, much of it requiring labs, making psychology’s inclusion in the CSI a natural fit. “Science is a systematic approach to solving problems,” she says. "With chemistry you manipulate
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independent variables and measure dependent variables, and you control for external factors like temperature. Well, we work with people, and that adds other complexities." Another department whose inclusion in CSI isn’t an obvious choice is mathematics. After all, why would
a mathematician need a lab? Don’t they just sit in their offices drawing equations on blackboards? But according to mathematics professor Eduardo Balreira, biomathematics—the use of mathematics to study biological processes—is his discipline’s hottest field. “Physics was very related to mathematics in the last century,” Balreira says. “I think this century is a century of biology— biomathematics, biophysics, bioengineering.” Balreira is currently collaborating with biology professors Michele Johnson and Troy Murphy to study lizard hierarchies—i.e., which lizards are best adapted to their environment and thus most likely to pass on their genetic characteristics to their offspring. As with human society, mathematical modeling can help scientists study animal behavior. “Just like Amazon can tell you that because you like this product, you’d probably also like this other product, we can say that if you’re friends with this person you may also like to be friends with that person,” Balreira continues. “All of these are mathematical matters.” The showpiece of the CSI building is the Innovation Center, a two-story multipurpose space filled with mobile workstations and computer labs for engineering students. Overlooking the center is the Center for Innovation and
Biology professor Tyisha Williams, who researches the link between labor-inducing drugs and autism, is impressed with Trinity’s emphasis on STEM subjects and facilities. “It’s our turn now to make [Trinity] proud,” she says.
Entrepreneurship, directed by chemistry professor Luis Martinez. Martinez’s center puts engineering, science, and humanities students together with business students and local entrepreneurs to bring new inventions to market. “It’s the place where our faculty and students can sit down and come up with things that haven’t been invented yet, and learn how to translate them into products and services that solve real-world problems,” Martinez explains. “The CSI building isn’t a science building, it’s not an engineering building, and it’s certainly not a business building. It’s a place where the whole is much greater than its parts.” Martinez says eleven start-up concepts have been developed by current Trinity
students, and more are in the works. Many Trinity students participate in Geekdom, a San Antonio collaborative coworking space. Next year, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will launch its firstever business plan competition, with the winners receiving start-up funding. “Every organization, regardless of whether it’s a start-up or a Fortune 500, is interested in developing new products and services that solve problems,” he says. “For our science students to have side by side with their academic research the space and the opportunity to think about how their science background will help solve those problems will make them more employable.”
share lab space with colleagues to conduct her research on the possible links between labor-inducing drugs and autism. When asked what the CSI building meant to her, she answered with one word: stability. She said that the CSI was comparable to the labs she worked in at her previous job at UNC-Chapel Hill, a tier 1 research university. “For being a liberal arts school, I’m very impressed by the commitment the administration has given to the STEM area and the facilities they have created for us to be innovative. It blows my mind. I applaud them—they did an excellent job. So I think it’s our turn now to make them proud.”
Last semester, biology professor Tyisha Williams was still getting settled into her airy new CSI office and custom-designed lab after years of moving from one temporary office to another, often having to
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FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
CSI art and architecture symbolize discovery by Nancy Cook-Monroe
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Along with science and inventive thinking, Trinity students who spend time in the Center for Sciences and Innovation (CSI) are learning about architecture, namely how a building’s design ideally mirrors its purpose. Artwork commissioned for its vast common halls brings that principle vividly to life, exploring issues embedded in studies such as water management and technology in art.
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Ansen Seale’s ’83 “Vortex no. 32012” is a digital image of flowing water, captured with his patented slitscan camera and illuminated with LED lighting. It hangs in a second floor hallway.
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he starting point for the building’s design was its interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to learning, coupled with Trinity’s modernist architectural style. The building’s planning committee, chaired by John Greene, director of campus planning and sustainability, selected the Boston firm of EYP Architecture and Engineering in partnership with RVK Architects in San Antonio. EYP’s lead designer, Paul King, says he launched the five-year project by asking, “How do we weave in a new building that fits with the campus style but symbolizes scientific discovery and innovation?” The answer: a large (254,000 square feet) but light glassfronted building that connects the Marrs McLean Science Center and the Cowles Life Science Building, (the Moody Engineering Science building, the Cobb/Racy building, and a central heating/cooling facility were demolished to enlarge the building site). With its red brick walls, there’s no doubt this building is part of Trinity University. Even its landscaped bioswale—a dry, rocky creek bed fed whenever it rains—fits in with the campus terrain while demonstrating how water can be captured and filtered naturally. The glass façade of a three-story atrium bespeaks the importance of light to the building’s design. King points out that CSI faces east to bring in morning sunlight, but not heat; strong vertical lines accentuate the atrium’s height and airiness. The building’s
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ART MEETS SCIENCE brick western facade shields the building against afternoon sun. A glass wall at the back of the atrium makes a philosophical statement by showing adjacent chemistry, biology, computer science, and engineering science teaching labs. “What was absolutely critical to the faculty,” says King, “was that it be evident from the moment you walk in the door that all the scientific disciplines are really joined at the hip, the boundaries are blurry. Introductory biology and chemistry teaching labs are right next to each other, so are they really different? No, they’re looking at different pieces of the same sorts of problems.” “But mostly we paid attention to water,” King adds. Air conditioning condensation is recaptured to flush the toilets. Rainwater is channeled from the building’s rooftop garden to the bioswale, where water percolates into the ground and irrigates the usually arid landscaping. Rainwater is collected in a cistern, filtered, and routed to irrigate the green roof. Oak trees lost in preparing the site were repurposed into benches and tables, complete with laptop
outlets. These and other green building practices—use of recycled and regional building materials, energy efficient systems, indoor environmental quality, even bike storage and changing rooms— helped earned CSI a LEED Gold designation by the U.S. Green Building Council The featured wall in the atrium is built of limestone, serving as a metaphor for water as well. Its large arched windows pay homage to San Antonio’s aqueduct, which early settlers relied on for irrigation. And, of course, Trinity is built on limestone. “The geological history of the campus as a former limestone quarry from which much of San Antonio was built is a significant aspect of the campus that hadn’t really been played up,” says King. “With the aqueduct, it’s kind of a loose weaving of a metaphorical story,” blending science, engineering, and history.
Henry Stein’s seven mixed media panels (not shown in their entirety) use recycled valves, guages, and spigots atop aquifer charts that depict San Antonio’s water resources.
Four new major works of art in CSI continue the watery metaphor and light play. “Widening Circles,” hanging on two stories of the atrium wall, was conceived by Trinity art professor Liz Ward and selected through a competition of invited artists. Fifteen linked images of plants, animals, and fossils celebrate the natural history of the San Antonio River system. LED lights form constellation patterns visible
Professor Liz Ward’s “Widening Circles” dominates the twostory atrium entrance to CSI. The imagery depicts indigenous plants, animals, and fossils, including the Monarch butterfly, American beautyberry, and the giant river prawn.
on Trinity Hill when the sun set in Waxahachie after the first day of classes in 1869 “linking the two campuses across time and space,” Ward explains in her artist statement. “Everyone really related to her concept,” says Karen Calvert, who was in charge of identifying art for the building committee’s approval. “It became very collaborative. She spoke with faculty throughout the different disciplines to get imagery and ideas. It was a good long year of work.” In a piece by San Antonio-based artist Henry Stein, valves, faucets, meters, knobs, and even an old
drinking fountain are bolted to San Antonio Water System maps showing the Edwards Aquifer, the city’s main source of water. “Both of these pieces speak quite uniquely to the environmental and sustainable aspect of ‘How do you build in South Texas?’” says King. Calvert says Trinity alumnus Ansen Seale ’83 and San Antonian Stuart Allen leapt
quickly to mind as artists whose work would fit. “Ansen is such a scientist about his art,” Calvert says, “having invented a camera.” His digital slitscan camera takes thousands of vertical slices in rapid succession, capturing “moving things” in clear shades and “still things” as blurry. In CSI, his “Vortex no. 32012” is a glowing disc of concentric circles resembling peacock feathers. Seale writes in a statement, “Physics tells us time and space are inexorably linked, and my images illustrate that, even using only two dimensions.” Two works by Stuart Allen take Texas wildflowers to a new level using fritted glass, acrylic, ink, and LED lights in repeating panels. Glowing stripes of yellows, reds and oranges, the colors of Indian Blankets, subtly shift, as flowers might
in the wind. Colors drawn from bluebonnets mutate in a second set of panels. "The CSI successfully bridges the gap between Trinity's significant architectural past and its bright, diverse future,” says Trinity’s Greene. “It does so by keeping the best of past architecture, such as the use of red brick and the minimization of building massing. At the same time, it has introduced the campus to the benefits of new architectural features, such as the use of natural local limestone and flooding the building interior with natural light." Ah, to be a Trinity student.
For an interactive look at Liz Ward’s “Widening Circles,” visit magazine.trinity.edu/web-extras
Glass walls put science on display. Extensive use of recycled materials, such as this table crafted from oak trees lost in site preparation, and energy efficient systems, helped earn CSI a LEED Gold designation.
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Pete Allen
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n many circles today, “student athlete” is an oxymoron. This is not true at Trinity nor has it been so in the past. Pete Allen’s athletic skills and academic achievements are a case in point. He stands firmly in the line of Trinity student athletes whose commitment to academic excellence and productive citizenship continue to reflect University goals and objectives. On October 8, 1927, Allen performed a feat that remains unique in Trinity football lore. During the first three decades of the twentieth century, Trinity played major Texas universities such as Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Christian, and Southern Methodist. Despite their small size, Trinity teams performed competitively against these formidable opponents. Opposing coaches routinely credited the Tigers with fielding well-trained and hard -fighting teams. One sports writer referred to the Tigers as “the Jungle Beasts” for their aggressive play. Trinity had no success, however, against powerful University of Texas football teams. Between 1902 and 1926, Trinity played the Longhorns five times, losing each game by large margins and failing to put a point on the scoreboard. In 1927, sports writers predicted another easy victory for Texas. While not expecting to win, Trinity team members hoped to accomplish two goals:
26 Trinity
After a distinguished career as a coach, teacher, and principal, Allen became a lawyer and practiced until his death in 1988.
keep the game close and score at least one touchdown. Trinity’s coach, Barry Holdon, a protégé of the renowned Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, implemented Rockne’s innovative backfield shift and forward pass, maneuvers not widely employed by Texas schools. Unfortunately, four inches of rain drenched the field prior to the contest, turning it into a sea of mud that negated the Tigers’ most powerful offensive weapons. Due to the inclement weather and lack of local interest, only 2,000 fans, mostly Texas students, showed up to Memorial Stadium in Austin to view the game. During the first half, Trinity’s defense held the Longhorns to 8 points and at the end of the third quarter the score was only 14-0. Adding a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Texas appeared headed for another shutout against the Tigers. After stopping a promising Tiger drive deep in their own territory, however, the Longhorns were penalized fifteen yards for unnecessary roughness, placing the ball on the one-foot line. The Longhorns elected to punt out of their precarious position. Pete Allen broke through from his end position to block the punt and fall on the ball for Trinity’s first touchdown against the University of Texas. The extra point failed and the game ended with a score of 20-6 in favor of the Longhorns. Rather than leaving the field downhearted, Trinity’s players celebrated a “moral victory” on the sidelines. The Tigers and Longhorns never met again on the football field. Local newspapers heaped praise on Allen and deemed him a candidate for Trinity’s football hall of fame.
One sportswriter referred to the Tiger football team of 1927 as “the Jungle Beasts” for their aggressive play.
Pete Allen is suited up and ready for play on Yoakum Field in Waxahacie.
Allen’s unique touchdown, however, is not what made his life so exemplary. His true legacy lies in the values he received at Trinity and extended into lifelong vocational commitments. Pete and his brother Houston, Whitesboro, Texas, natives, were campus leaders and outstanding scholars. Pete majored in economics and Spanish. He served as president of the Scholarship
Society of Trinity, a chapter affiliated with the Scholarship Society of the South. He also was vice-president of Blue Key, the men’s honorary fraternity, and the T Association, football lettermen. Houston Allen held leadership positions in the same organizations and was a class officer, president of the YMCA, and director of intramural sports. After graduating from Trinity, Pete dedicated his life to public education where he could exert a positive influence on the lives of young men and women. Like many of his peers, he served in small Texas communities where needs were great and recompense small. He coached football and taught history at Corsicana High School for many years and later served 25 years as principal of Drane Junior High School in the same city. Involved in improving the quality of education, Allen served as president of the district Ten Texas State Teachers Association. Students admired Allen as a fair-minded and deeply religious coach, teacher, and principal who commanded respect without resorting to strong language or harsh discipline. One student related an incident that characterized Allen’s administrative style. Roaming the halls when he should have been in class, the student suddenly encoun-
tered Allen. Expecting a verbal chastising or disciplinary penalties, or both, he was surprised and relieved when Allen simply looked him firmly in the eyes and walked away without saying a word. “I never did anything like that again,” he said, “because I knew I had done wrong and I wanted to regain Mr. Allen’s respect.” After retiring from school administration, Allen began a third career as a lawyer and continued in that capacity until his death in 1988. An active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, he served as an elder and Sunday school teacher for many years. Allen and his wife, Hazel Jo, had three children: Herbert (Pete) Jr, Joseph (Joe), and Virginia (Ginger). One granddaughter, Lisa Kay Allen Chambless, is a Trinity graduate (Class of 1987). Although Allen’s family members have only vague recollections of his unique touchdown, they are keenly aware of the many goals he achieved in life. Thanks to athletic director Bob King and football coach Jerheme Urban, Allen will be honored prior to Trinity’s opening home football game with the University of Chicago on October 11. R. Douglas Brackenridge
July 2014 27
28 Trinity
P r o f i l e
Jeff Strain ’91 War of the Worlds
Photos by Dan Cole
L
ike most kids growing up in the 1980’s, Jeff Strain spent a fair amount of time lining up quarters on the painted shelves of video game machines at his local mall arcade. Favorite games? He had lots. Tempest. Defender. Tron. “More than that,” “he says,” l loved the graphics, the music, the gameplay. I wanted to know everything about those machines. I guess that’s what started everything, really.” Strain’s journey from childhood hobby to the creation of two video game studios, hundreds of jobs, and lifetime product revenue of over a billion dollars, has been amazing. “I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time,” Strain admits, “but I was also ready to take advantage of opportunities as they came, something I attribute to my time at Trinity.” Born in Oklahoma City, Strain grew up in Temple, Texas, hardly a high-tech center at the time. Fortunately, Strain’s parents gave him one of the earliest home computers, and he learned programming by studying the code, modifying it, and achieving success through trial and error. His father good-naturedly allowed his son to take apart and reassemble everything electrical in the house and tinker on his first-generation Texas Instruments home computer to his heart’s delight. An honors graduate of Temple High School, Strain was thrilled to accept a place at Trinity, his first-choice college, and Trinity turned out to be everything Strain wanted and more. Under the watchful eye of his adviser and mentor, professor Maurice Eggen, he sharpened his computer science skills, made lifelong friends, and happily ate several late-night meals a week at the original Taco Cabana.
After Trinity, Strain was recruited by Hewlett-Packard and worked in Texas, California, and Oregon before accepting a position with Blizzard Entertainment, then a fledgling company of 30 people, in Irvine, California. At Blizzard, he had a key role developing some of the biggest and best-selling PC games of all time, including Warcraft 2, StarCraft, and Diablo. His final project at Blizzard was to build and lead a small team on a new type of game that allowed players worldwide to play with each other simultaneously. That game, the groundbreaking World of Warcraft, became the top-grossing game of all time with a peak player base of 12 million global concurrent players and 100 million accounts created over the lifetime of the game. Strain left Blizzard and moved to Seattle,
where he founded an independent game studio named ArenaNet to refine the experience of online games. “I love building,” explains Strain. “I love the climb from one person in a spare bedroom to a studio filled with people.” At ArenaNet, Jeff and his two co-founders launched the Guild Wars franchise, which has generated lifetime sales in excess of 10 million units. ArenaNet was purchased in 2002 by NCsoft, the South Korean creators of the global online powerhouse game Lineage, and Strain accepted a position as president of product development overseeing NCsoft’s U.S. and European development efforts. By 2009, Strain was feeling a strong pull back to his roots in creative game development and
left NCsoft to launch a new studio focused on bringing the online game experience to game consoles. The studio’s first game was a simulation of life after the zombie apocalypse, and he playfully named the company Undead Labs. “In some ways, launching a new development studio in the middle of a horrendous recession seems like a crazy idea,” Strain laughs, “but in other ways it was a huge motivator. I was hungry. I’d had plenty of time in boardrooms and sitting in front of spreadsheets, and sinking my teeth into the design and art and music of games again was completely intoxicating and motivating. I wanted this game to succeed in a way that’s hard to describe.” In 2013, Undead Labs launched State of Decay for the Xbox 360 game console and PC. It was a commercial and critical smash hit, breaking Xbox Live sales records and receiving rave reviews for unique and creative gameplay. At 45 employees and growing, Undead Labs recently announced a multiyear partnership with Microsoft Studios and is currently at work on two unannounced games. Now a veteran of two successful technology startups, Jeff is a passionate advocate for small business owners and is a sought-after industry adviser and speaker. He most recently delivered the commencement address to Trinity’s Class of 2014. Aside from his business success, Strain is proud of his family: Annie, his wife of 20 years, and their four children. He’s an active volunteer in his children’s schools and coaches Seattle Little League. “Now is the time in my life that I’m getting the opportunity to give back — to my family, to the city of Seattle, which has provided such a robust economic environment for my businesses, and to my earliest influences like my parents and my alma mater, Trinity University.” Anne Delisi
July 2014 29
P r o f i l e
Annalisa Peace ’97 Still Waters
Photos by David Smith
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nnalisa Peace looks and sounds exactly like her name. The slender former dancer and model moves with ease around the office of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) in San Antonio, where she has been executive director since 2004. A hint of incense hangs in the air, and Peace warmly welcomes visitors with an almost ethereal smile and soft-spoken tones. Until the subject turns to water—specifically the Edwards Aquifer—which this registered Texas lobbyist describes as “the most environmentally sensitive area in the state” and the focus of Peace's protection efforts for much of her life. After earning her Bachelor of Science in psychology with a minor in dance at thenIncarnate Word College, her late father had hoped she would join him in his psychology practice. It was not to be. “I had been interested in aquifer issues forever,” she says, dating back to when Peace would go into the caves of the aquifer with her sister and father, both spelunkers. “We'd see things like baby diapers and oil filters and I'd think, uh, that's our water supply.” From that eye-opening experience flowed a staggering amount of environmental and water-focused volunteer efforts that span almost three decades. From the beginning Peace was seemingly everywhere. She was a familiar face—and outspoken voice—to local and state politicians. Along the way she held jobs at Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA) which she co-founded, was an
administrative aide to the late councilman Bob Ross (“He was the first person to hire a staffer specifically for environmental issues, and that was me”), and held high-profile positions at the City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs, the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, and the Carver Community Cultural Center. It was while Peace was at the Carver that she learned that Texas philanthropist George P. Mitchell was funding an environmental coalition to protect the Edwards Aquifer. Would she be interested in coming to work for it? “Hell, yeah,” she remembers, laughing. From nine member groups they've
grown to 51 environmental, religious, community, and business organizations with “great volunteers, including expert engineers, hydrologists, and an economist.” The GEAA staff consists of Peace and two part timers—a technical director and education director. The centerpiece of the open floor plan is a color-coded map of the aquifer, which Peace refers to often when explaining the various zones—blue for artesian, green for drainage, and pink for the crucial recharge zone. (See the interactive map at aquiferalliance.org.) Peace credits Trinity with giving her “a Cadillac education” courtesy of a Brackenridge Fellowship. She earned a master's in urban
administration in a program run by thencity manager Lou Fox. Graduate courses in economics, human resources, and law were highly practical, “basically teaching you to be a city manager. When protecting the aquifer and the water supply, it comes down to land use issues.” Former Trinity professor of urban studies Heywood Sanders was also a major influence. “The whole program was wonderful.” Peace's days can be hectic, but never more so than during the legislative sessions. “It's like an all-night poker game that goes on for five months.” The GEAA's typical agenda consists of 40 to 60 bills divided into Bills We Love, Bills We Hate, and Bills to Watch Out For, with the main focus “on defensive actions to keep bad bills from getting passed.” Environmental funding is difficult, she says. “It's too controversial.” Peace doesn't mask her outrage at the urban sprawl that began over the recharge zone in the 1980s and ’90s. “We're getting hints of unmetabolized drugs, estrogen, nicotine, and the like. That can only come from sewage leaks on the recharge zone, and we told them years ago that this was a potential source of contamination to our water supply. It's heartbreaking.” But she admits that even with the trends, “the water supply is so high-quality that it's probably as good as any bottled water.” She hopes to keep it that way in spite of growing population density problems that threaten it. “It's like we're playing Russian roulette with this incredibly marvelous resource.” Julie Catalano
July 2014 31
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P r o f i l e
Jenna-Beth Lyde ’09 Flash forward
Photos by Robert Shaw
M
ention Parish Photography to almost anyone in San Antonio and you'll get an instant click of recognition. Radiant brides, socialites, celebrities, politicians, and thousands more have graced signature gold-stamped portraits bearing a name synonymous with photography for a halfcentury. Mention the name Jenna-Beth Lyde and you might get a bit of a squint. But that is changing. As the new owner of Parish Photography (parishphoto. com), Lyde—also known as JB—is fast making a name for herself as a savvy businesswoman poised to take the Parish legacy from revered past to millennialmindset future as smoothly as turning an album page. At least that's the plan, set into motion by none other than previous owner Charles Parish Jr. '60 himself, who first met Lyde at an Alamo Heights Chamber of Commerce luncheon about four years ago. “We hit it off,” recalls Lyde, laughing at the memory of how she ended up in a place she never imagined. After politely declining Parish's initial efforts to have her eventually own the business (“I thought he was crazy. I knew nothing about photography”), he encouraged her to join the Rotary Club, where more talks ensued. In 2011, ready to leave her job with a nonprofit, Lyde finally accepted. “I thought I might as well give it a shot,” says Lyde. Even so, it's not like the young 'un walked in and took over. She started at entry level, handling menial tasks for “Mr. P.” who in turn became her sole employee, mentor, and teacher. More important, she was learning what clients wanted and expected, especially their most significant audience. “Weddings are our main business, and my
favorite thing to do, which is weird because I'm not one of those girly girls. But for some reason weddings hit my emotional spot.” Her first wedding gig was working alongside Parish at the San Antonio Country Club in what she calls “the most extravagant wedding I've photographed to date, but I didn't know it at the time. I thought they were all like that.” Born and raised in McAllen, Texas, Lyde applied to colleges across the country, but ended up at Trinity after a campus visit sealed the deal. She earned her double degree in business administration/art and art history, specifically an interdisciplinary second major (ISM) in Latino studies under
the mentorship of Spanish professor Rita Urquijo-Ruiz. She also took art classes “just for fun,” in sculpture, printmaking, and woodworking. These days Lyde takes nothing for granted, describing the incredible opportunity to be a part of San Antonio history as “a blessing,” adding that “the past two years have been hard. It sounds glamorous but it's hard work, and a lot of learning as I go.” Lyde reads everything she can, attends conferences, and hopes someday to have more employees “working every single weekend.” For now Lyde is enjoying the pressures and perks of her new life, including the chance to travel whenever possible. She's fresh off a wedding job in Tuscany, staying an extra
week to explore Italy. Her favorite part? “Flying with the family from here all the way to staying at a vineyard, traveling the little towns, and then shooting the wedding. It was such an intimate experience, and I got to see the whole picture.” The whole picture of Parish Photography can be seen in its upcoming 50th anniversary celebration this year. Lyde is excited about a collaborative exhibit with Frost Bank called “Families in Business,” slated for an early fall opening, that pays tribute to notable San Antonians. She points to their “anniversary wall” of iconic wedding photos representing the past five decades, topped by a corresponding vintage camera over each one. Lyde enthuses over everything vintage—including humans. It got her into trouble at Trinity as a TUVAC volunteer for an Adopt A Grandparent campaign. “I put up this sign in the dining hall that said, 'Old People Need Friends Too!'” Inappropriate, said some. “They made me take it down.” Lyde is currently part of a Junior League group that regularly entertains at retirement homes. “I just love old people.” Young ones too, especially her Sigma sorority sisters. “I had never experienced that kind of camaraderie or such inspirational peers prior to Trinity.” The closeness continues, all the way to sharing her historic home with two of them and a friend living in a renovated casita out back. In a business where handling people is just as important as handling a Nikon, Lyde knows the simple values of friendliness, respect, and just plain niceness result in getting the best shots. That should be a piece of (wedding) cake for this budding entrepreneur, because anybody around JB can't help but smile. Julie Catalano
July 2014 33
34 Trinity
P r o f i l e
Jake Eshelman ’11 Creative rider
Photos by Jennifer Silverberg
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hen Jake Eshelman describes his life as “hectic, very hectic,” he's not kidding. Writer, editor, artist, designer, woodworker, craftsman, musician, photographer, and—in the last year— skateboard creator, it's no wonder that the one thing that vexes him is that there are only 24 hours in a day. “To be honest, that’s my biggest frustration. It’s aggravating not having time to pursue all of my interests.” It's certainly not for lack of trying. Describing himself as a “creative control freak,” the articulate, affable Eshelman talks, writes, and enthuses about anything that piques his interests, lights his creative spark, and meets his very high artistic standards. Fortunately, he chose Trinity for his college education. “I had wanted to go to Hogwarts, but Trinity was the closest thing. I was looking for something completely new and adventuresome.” Eshelman took classes “that would prepare me for law school. I wanted to read, write, analyze, and argue all day.” Ironically, one of the arguments Eshelman ended up having was with himself, and it led to an epiphany. “I've always had an artistic, creative side. At Trinity, I knew that law wasn’t what I really wanted to do, that there were other impulses and drives that were far more important to me despite being less lucrative.” He also credits one semester in a public speaking class as “one of the most important personal and professional experiences I’ve had, ever.” Eshelman earned his bachelor of arts in classical studies with a minor in art and art history. Goodbye counselor, hello creator. Trinity introduced another life-changing event: Eshelman met fellow artist and fiancée Margaux Crump '11. After graduation Eshelman worked for her family's museumquality custom framing and art conservation business in Houston. Eshelman loved the hands-on job, “being in a studio, getting sawdust all over me, making something that I was proud of.” He and his future fatherin-law ended up bonding over, of all things,
skateboards. “He grew up in the ’60s, when kids would butcher a pair of roller skates, screw the wheels onto a piece of wood, and that was a skateboard.” Since Eshelman's drives include building a better, well, everything, he set about to make his own, paying nostalgic homage to those long-ago DIY models. “I took my first ride around the parking lot behind the studio and it was an incredible feeling—very empowering.” He began to frequent dumpsters and scrap piles of local studios, recovering
and resurrecting wood for its new life on wheels. In 2013 he launched Side Project Skateboards (sideprojectskateboards.com), a meticulously designed and executed collection of 18 handmade boards that went from being an online pop-up shop to something that has far surpassed what he initially anticipated. Indeed. The eye-catching collection led to subsequent collaborations with New York design firm Grungy Gentlemen and Jamboree, a London menswear boutique. Eshelman's seemingly endless obsession with all things creative led to an artistic bottleneck of sorts—all fired up with nowhere to go. “It took Margaux hours and hours to persuade me that I needed to document my inspirations,” says Eshelman. The result was Procured
Design (procureddesign.com), a clean, classy online publication filled with short, punchy, informative, and entertaining posts with a focus on fashion, film, music, art, and design trendsetters. Eshelman's entries are often accompanied by his own sleek photography—a youthful interest of his cinched by “a really nice Nikon given to me by a family friend as a high school graduation present.” Not surprisingly, given his interests, Eshelman decided that the advertising industry was the next logical move—in this case to St. Louis, where Crump is in the MFA graduate program at Washington University and Eshelman landed a copywriter position at creative advertising and marketing firm Group360 Worldwide. “My first real writing job,” he says. “It's been wonderful.” Eshelman revels in the company's light-filled open floor plan of comfy brainstorming chairs amid fellow skateboarders zipping around the renovated historic warehouse. At home, Eshelman spends much of his time in the couple's sunroomturned-studio filled with the tools of their respective trades. There, he finishes and sands skateboards, writes, blogs, draws, plays guitar, and tends to their succulent garden. “We have plants everywhere,” he says. As for what's next, Eshelman won't give specifics, except to pass on surprisingly wise words from one so young: “Life is super-short, too short to not enjoy what you are doing. If you are really passionate about something, you will find a way to make it work. And people will respond to that.” Flashback to childhood when a young Jake was asked, like so many children are: What do you want to be when you grow up? “Everything,” he would reply. Mission accomplished—for now. Julie Catalano
Whether you’ve got the moves of Tony Hawk or want to pick up a skateboard for the first time, check out Jake’s skateboarding tips for alumni of all ages. magazine.trinity.edu/web-extras
July 2014 35
IN MEMORIAM
Ida Louise (Illa) Clement
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rinity Trustee Emerita Ida (Illa) Louise Larkin Clement died peacefully on April 1 at her home on the King Ranch after a lengthy illness. She was 95. Clements served on the Board of Trustees from 1972 to 1982. Clement applied her artistry and flair to designing tapestries and transforming Raglands department store into a premier shopping destination. An indefatigable volunteer and philanthropist, she helped start and build the Epiphany Episcopal Day School in Kingsville and often privately came to the aid of many families in need. While actively engaged in a variety of community-based efforts, she was
most proud of her support of the Naval Air Station-Kingsville, so it is possible the Blue Angels winged her away after their recent visit. A lifelong Republican, she worked tirelessly to bring a viable two-party system to South Texas. President Richard Nixon named her to the Advisory Council for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She also served on the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress, the National Council for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and was involved with opera activities in Corpus Christi. Clements is survived by six children, 17 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Mal Schraub
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ness administration, sales, mortgage and finance, appraising, merchandising, and interior design. He also sent students to 10 states to work in the building industry during the summers to gain hands–on experience. In 1964 Schraub moved to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, to start a similar program at the College of the Virgin Islands. Upon retirement Schraub and Dusty, his wife of 56 years, lived on their ranch and commuted to San Antonio. At that time he became an avid tennis player. He was proud of his students’ successes and enjoyed hearing from them. He is survived by two daughters, Lyn Schraub Cornish ’63 and Terry Schraub ’65.
Michael Yost
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36 Trinity
al Schraub, former chair of Trinity’s homebuilding program, died peacefully on April 4 after a brief illness in his hundredth year. Schraub joined Trinity in 1947 as a math teacher at the then-downtown campus. An engineer—B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from A&M—he was instrumental in selecting the present site for Trinity and helped facilitate the move. In 1952 on the Skyline campus, Schraub initiated the homebuilding program, and Trinity became the first comprehensive four-year college to give students the opportunity to major in a program specifically designed to prepare them for the merchant building industry. In addition to the general curriculum, students studied busi-
ichael Yost, former assistant to the president for institutional research and professor emeritus of education, died May 18 at the age of 80. A specialist in the areas of research and statistics, Yost also taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the departments of business, gerontology, mathematics, and psychology. A U.S. Air Force verteran, Yost held a master’s in education and a doctorate in educational research. He joined the Trinity faculty as an assistant professor of education in 1971. In 1982, he became the director of Institutional Research, serving until his retirement in 1999. He also worked as an evaluation and statistical consultant for a variety of organizations
including Edgewood ISD and the City of San Antonio, among others. He was a member of the American Educational Research Association, the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, the Southwest Educational Research Association, and the Association for Institutional Research. Shari Albright, Murchison Distinguished Professor of Practice and chair of the education department, remembers him as “a patient and kind professor, who was always willing to meet outside of class to assist with a research design or to provide extra support.” Yost is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and four children.
a l u mne w s
Young alumna uses Fulbright to study music in the Netherlands
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f you follow musical theater or contemporary chamber music, remember this name: Yvonne Freckmann. The 25-yearold (Class of 2010) already has composed music for the stage, large and chamber ensembles, voice, and solo piano. Having completed a Master of Music Composition at the University of Louisville, she will use her recent Fulbright Scholarship to explore electroacoustic music at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague in September. “The reason I picked the Netherlands is that I met some Dutch composers and saw what they were doing with multimedia, such as a clarinet concerto with video,” Freckmann says. “It was so well-made and compelling that I wanted to learn more about the kind of music being made there.” Judging by the titles of earlier works, her Fulbright project may employ humor. A
10-minute “pocket opera” she composed is titled “Close Encounter of the Hillbilly Kind.” Other works include “The Cough Drop Song” and “Peanuts or Pretzels?” for voice, “Hot Pink Toccata” for solo organ, “Too Many Cooks…” for percussion trio, and, for solo voice, “Epitaph for a Darling Lady” based on the poem by Dorothy Parker. She collaborated with a visual artist to create “Laugh in the Mirror,” an audiovisual installation in Louisville. At Trinity she composed incidental music for the drama Booth, which she conducted at the Stieren Theater, and “True love in every moment praises God,” premiered by the Trinity Chamber Singers. Freckmann says she has been inspired by working with the San Antonio-based SOLI Chamber Ensemble, where she is an intern. Trinity music professor Carolyn True is the pianist for the professional quartet as well as
Freckmann’s instructor in class and private study. “Yvonne found another side of her artistic life at Trinity, a different voice,” True says. “Watching her find and hone that voice was really exciting. In graduate school her many interests in different genres continued to come together. She is an amazing young woman.” Somehow Freckmann found time to create a chamber concert series at Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church involving former and present Trinity music students. She also enjoys playing the accordion at Beethoven Maennerchor Halle as much as performing at more somber festivals and recitals in San Antonio and nationwide. To hear Freckmann’s music and keep up with her career, visit yvonnefreckmann.com. Nancy Cook-Monroe
July 2014 37
a l u mne w s
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Class of ’64 stays busy with Passionate Pursuits
he Class of 1964 celebrates its 50th class reunion this fall. An active, involved, and creative group, many are eager to share their passionate pursuits with their classmates. Here are just a few of those you may see during Alumni Weekend, October 10-12.
Compiled by Gretchen Seiberling Ricker ’64 Sandra Carey and one of her Honor Flight veterans arrive to cheers at BWI airport. This veteran was an Army nurse during WWII and served at some of the bloodiest battles, including D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.
Lynda Stephenson is a prolific writer.
Lyn Schraub Cornish and Fiesta’s King Antonio
David Ewing has been certified in computer building and repair.
Lyn Schraub Cornish
David Ewing
davidewing767@gmail.com
careysandra@hotmail.com
Sandra Harley Carey
Lynda Adkins Stephenson
Travel has been my continuing education. I share it with family and friends or wander alone. In anticipation I read, research, watch movies in the setting, and try to learn essential bits of the language. While traveling, my photographs become my journal. Home again, I enjoy reliving the times I've had and sharing them with interested friends, cooking some of the dishes I've sampled, and find my interests piqued in ways I could never have imagined. I'm finding I have a wider perspective on what is truly happening to other people like me elsewhere in the world.
I became familiar with networking as a volunteer with the Susan G. Komen Dallas Race for the Cure where I built their first LAN from donated PCs. After retiring from Delta Airlines I became certified in computer building and repair. Kay (Parks '66) and I have taught “senior citizens” basic computing skills including using the Internet and sending email. I spend a lot of time answering computing questions, recommending new systems, or just plain cleaning up the desktops of friends’ PCs. I am recording music of the ’60s for our 50th reunion including converting excerpts from Sing Song albums to digital format.
Recently, I served as guardian on five Alamo Honor Flights taking nearly 200 World War II veterans to tour Washington, D.C. and visit their memorial. All say this was a highpoint of their lives. It certainly was for me. Since retiring from college teaching, I have lectured in China and Australia, published a textbook, served on the Texas State Liberal Arts Advisory Board among other boards and county committees, funded scholarships, and helped raise $2,000,000 for abused kids. But, most rewarding, was my work with my 85-95-year-old vets.
After teaching English and General Humanities for 25 years at East Central University in Oklahoma, I served seven years as the first lady at the University of the Ozarks in Arkansas. When my husband retired, we moved to Edmond, Oklahoma, where I took creative writing classes. The result has been a slew of essays, poetry, and short stories, along with two novels – Dancing with Elvis and The Southern Chapter of the Big Girl Panties Club.
lyncornish@hotmail.com
38 Trinity
gendastep@sbcglobal.net
a l u mne w s Editor’s note: Larry Crane donated $100,000 to create an endowment supporting summer research stipends for students working in the sciences. He named the fund in honor of biology professor Harold Murray, who taught from 1961-1999. The Larry M. Crane Laboratory in CSI was named in recognition of his gift.
Larry Crane divides his time between teaching science at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science and creating works of art using computers and mathematical algorithms.
Judy Kline volunteers at home and abroad in projects ranging from Habitat for Humanity to the local food pantry.
Steve Guckenheimer, on the first tee of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, has played 141 different courses.
Chuck Busch founded Peace Village and Fields of Peace to teach nonviolence to children and adults.
Steve Guckenheimer
Judy Evans Kline
Larry Crane
Charles (Chuck) Busch
By our 50th reunion, I hoped to have played all 100 top golf courses as rated by Golf Digest. The list changes every two years, however, so it is a moving target. So far I have played 63 courses off the 2013-2014 Top 100 list. Over the life of their ratings, I have played 141. Now I am concentrating on the top 50 because those courses are more stable. I've played 34. Since our last reunion I've shared my passion for golf by writing magazine articles documenting my exploits.
I’m always fascinated by the growth people experience when they step outside their comfort zone to understand and aid another. In retirement, Al and I are having fun volunteering, participating, and leading projects like Habitat for Humanity trips to El Salvador, building simple homes with Proyecto Abrigo in Juarez, helping senior citizens with taxes through AARP, and at a local food pantry.
After a long career in medicine, I’m now trying to follow in the footsteps of my Trinity mentor, professor Harold Murray, by teaching science and critical thinking skills while volunteering at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. In retirement, I have more time to follow my artistic side and work in both photography and digital art forms. Over the past several years I have concentrated on fractal art, which uses computers and mathematical algorithms as tools of image creation. These artworks have been exhibited and sold at juried art shows.
I founded Peace Village in 1996, in Lincoln City, Oregon, as a summer day camp to teach nonviolence to children ages 6 to 13. The curriculum includes meditation, media literacy, yoga, nonviolent conflict resolution, ecology, art, and rites of passage. To learn mutual respect, students sit at the feet of teachers from an array of religious traditions. Today, there are 22 Villages in 10 states (www. peacevillageinc.org). An adult component, Fields of Peace, was inaugurated in 2009 as a national network of faith communities committed to emphasizing the message of peace and nonviolence. Participation is open to all faiths.
sg.fore18@gmail.com
judyalk1@sbcglobal.net
craneweb@earthlink.net
cathey.charles.busch@charter.net
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The Hawaii Marathon was a family affair for Peter Strople, pictured with his daughter, granddaughter and niece. Next he’s heading for the Applachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.
Passionate Pursuits Continued from page 40
It’s all about the birds and butterflies for Mary Kennedy.
Charlotte Clark enjoys the time to explore her artistic side. Her work has appeared in several juried shows.
Mary Bishop Kennedy
Peter Strople
Charlotte Clark
I coordinate Monarch butterfly workshops for the Texas Monarch Project. We monitor milkweed for the presence of Monarch eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults, report our findings to the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project, Journey North, Monarch Health Project, and tag migrating monarchs for Monarch Watch. Currently, I am coordinator of volunteer monitors for the Southernmost Edwards Plateau Important Bird Area (IBA) for endangered golden-cheeked warblers. An IBA is an area recognized as being a globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. There are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide.
I joined a Jeff Galloway running group in Cincinnati, and that group of runners was my inspiration for running a marathon in each of the 50 states. I reached that goal with the final marathon—the Maui Oceanfront Marathon—on January 19, at the age of 71 years old. Now retired, I moved to New Hampshire and my new (stretch) goals are to hike the 48 N.H. mountains over 4,000feet tall, hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, and complete a half Ironman Triathlon by the time I’m 75.
After retiring from an archival and records management career, I turned to another passion, art. I have always enjoyed creating art and minored in art at Trinity. I am primarily an acrylic and mixed media abstract painter. Painting, for me, is constant joy, fun, adventure, and learning! I have been fortunate enough to have paintings in a number of juried shows. My work can be viewed at http://www.facebook. com/clarkimages
mbkenned@sbcglobal.net
40 Trinity
cheve1956@aol.com
clcart121@gmail.com
Alumni Weekend
Save the Date! Oct. 10-12, 2014
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SUMMER READING
So many books, so little time
T
hough I continue to observe at Alumni Weekend that I realize I’m “on the cusp of my dotage,” some may think I’m already there when I acknowledge that among my favorite recent readings were picture books or collections of poetry with illustrations. These are departures from my longtime commitment to novels and short stories: Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings, Caroline Kennedy’s She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey Through Poems, Francesco Marciuliano’s I Could Pee on This: and Other Poems by Cats, Diane Muldrow’s Everything I Need to Know I Learned from A Little Golden Book, and, most compelling of all, Roz Chast’s memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? (Chast, a cartoonist for The New Yorker, captures the challenges, humor, and horrors of coping with aging loved ones.) Among the novels I found challenging because of both style and substance, but more than
worth the effort, were: Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs, Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, Jim Crace’s The Harvest, Rachel Kushner’s The Flame Throwers,
Eggers’ The Circle still waiting on the shelf. In my leisure, I scan around in Letty Cottin Pogrebin’s How to Be a Friend to a Friend Who’s Sick, which she fills with no-nonsense advice we all can use now and then.
Coleen Grissom
and Daniel Woodrell’s The Maid’s Version. And, of course, although it’s quite a tome and gave my biceps a workout, Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch is a beautiful achievement. George Saunders’ story collection, The Tenth of December, was also daunting but impressive. Not so challenging—not quite “beach reads”—but truly rewarding are: Anna Quindlen’s Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey, Emily Murdoch’s If You Find Me, and these three masterful achievements—Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland, Colum McCann’s TransAtlantic, and James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird. Currenty, I am finding engrossing Steven Galloway’s Cellist of Sarajevo, with Dave
For your beach reads—for me, that would be the poolside at Cordillera Ranch or my screened back porch—there are new releases by my favorites: Sandford, Grisham, Baldacci, Connelly, Crace, Cornwell, Patterson, James, George, and Lippman. Some of you will remember Roald Dahl’s Matilda. I urge you to share her view: “I’m wondering what to read next.” Coleen Grissom
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Where Are They Now? Phil Evett, professor emeritus
42 Trinity
Photo by Susan Masinter Riley ’69
P
hil Evett came to Trinity in 1962 with a one-year contract to teach in the art department, uncertain if classroom teaching would mesh with his creative skills. He quickly identified with Trinity students and established camaraderie with faculty, staff, and administrators. The one year extended into a quarter of a century, years filled with stimulating pedagogy and ample opportunities for personal creativity. Evett taught drawing and sculpture and participated in team-teaching courses for nonmajors that included a variety of artistic skills. A native of England who served in the Royal Air Force in World War II, Evett’s adventuresome spirit led him to board a cargo ship in 1954 to begin a new life in a new land. He arrived in Houston in 1954, and “decided to emigrate to Texas rather than the United States.” He found Texans friendly, open, and optimistic and fell in love with the country. Eventually settling in San Antonio, Phil worked on the staff of the San Antonio Art Institute, where he made his first contact with Trinity. At a gathering of faculty and staff, former President James W. Laurie introduced Evett as the first Trinity faculty member he had ever seen with an authentic beard. According to Evett, after Laurie’s introduction beards began to flourish on the campus. Over the years he developed a close relationship with Laurie despite their different backgrounds and divergent political views. Laurie frequently brought
campus visitors to Evett’s basement studio. “This is old Phil Evett,” Laurie used to say. “We are pleased to have him here at Trinity. I can’t explain what he does, but he seems to know what he is doing.” Evett has a continuing presence on campus through several of his sculptures. One is a 30-foot aluminum sculpture on the northwest wall of the Taylor Courtyard he whimsically titled “McLuhanism” as a nod to Marshall McLuhan’s dictum, “The medium is the message.” A second work of art, a bust of James W. Laurie, created following Laurie’s death in 1970, is displayed in the west foyer of the Laurie Auditorium. Evett also
designed Trinity’s Centennial Medallion and the Hemisphere 1968 Medallion. A decade before he retired in 1987, Evett purchased acreage in rural Blanco County and, over time, constructed a home studio, and workshop. He lives there with “the love of my life, Joanne,” whom he married in 2001. Now 91, Evett has been retired almost as long as he taught at Trinity and is still producing sculptures and enjoying life. He attributes his continuing artistic inspiration and mental vitality to his secluded Hill Country environment. “Some of my best friends are trees,” says Evett. Despite the isolation, Evett is never at a loss for company. The family visitor’s
book is filled with names of former Trinity students, faculty, and staff, and many others who come to view his work and savor his conversation. The Valley House Gallery in Dallas displays Evett’s creations, and he was recently featured in Texas Highways (April 2014) in an article titled “An Artist’s Journey.” His website, philpevett.com, was designed by Trinity alumnus Ansen Seal ’83. Evett and his wife can be contacted by telephone at 830-8334107. Visitations are by appointment only. R. Douglas Brackenridge
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Mary Clarkson, librarian
Photo by David Smith
W
hen you meet Mary Clarkson, stereotypical images of staid, sedate librarians quickly disappear. The high energy and enthusiasm she exhibited as a Trinity librarian (1976-2000) is still evident in retirement. A native of Pontiac, Michigan, Clarkson responded to a Trinity advertisement for a librarian to serve as a liaison with the department of education. With a degree in library science from the University of Kentucky and two years of teaching experience at Eastern Kentucky, she was a good fit for the Trinity position. Clarkson and her husband, Bill, who had a Ph. D. degree in Spanish, were drawn to San Antonio’s favorable work opportunities and warm climate and Trinity’s friendly campus. One of her first tasks was to make preparations for the move from Storch to the Maddux (now Coates) Library, which opened in 1978. Computer technology was still in its infancy, and “high tech” consisted of card catalogs, manual typewriters, microfiche, and microfilm. By the time she retired, however, cell phones were commonplace, the campus had a flexible network of interactive personal computers, e-mail had superseded snail mail, and the Internet was a prime source of communication and research. Librarians and faculty had to maintain a fast learning curve to keep up with the students. Clarkson’s major interest and greatest satisfaction was working with students to assist them to apply critical thinking in
research techniques by evaluating sources and integrating them into papers and reports. Faculty members also frequently requested her assistance. Her upbeat manner and professional expertise resonated positively with anyone who sought help. Holding faculty status, Clarkson received tenure as an assistant professor and was later promoted to associate professor. Active in campus life, she served on the Faculty Senate and other University committees. She published several articles and compiled a bibliography of books published by Trinity University Press devoted to mainstreaming exceptional children into the educational process. In retirement, Clarkson resides
in San Antonio and maintains close contact with daughters Laura in nearby Schertz and Jennifer in Houston. Interaction with grandchildren Joshua, Emily, Fredericka, and William is one of her great joys in life. Widely traveled, Clarkson has just returned from an educational trip to Cuba and plans to visit Eastern Europe in the fall. Her reading habits vary, but she has a penchant for historical fiction, especially the English Tudor period. Hobbies and recreation include daily workouts in a local gym featuring yoga and Zoomba, recreational bowling, and occasional casino bingo with friends. She also serves as a volunteer at a local church senior program and at a children’s hospital.
In 2002, Clarkson bought a home in Oscoda, Michigan, on Lake Huron, where she resides from mid-June to mid-September, visiting family and friends. She maintains contacts with former Trinity colleagues at lunch meetings on campus and other casual visits. Admitting that she is rarely home during the day, Clarkson says that she has the best of both worlds, access to family members and friends, and time to engage in a variety of recreational and volunteer activities. Clarkson welcomes e-mails at maryclarkson39@yahoo.com, phone calls at 210-833-2363, or mail at 2255 Thousand Oaks Dr. Apt. 806, San Antonio, Texas, 78232. R. Douglas Brackenridge
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Chapter and Network Activities Arizona
Chicago
Fort Worth
The chapter held its “Trinity Cares” service project at St. Mary’s Food Bank—the world’s first food bank— on March 29. Volunteers boxed up emergency food items and worked with a group of high school volunteers to create boxes for 500 families.
Laurie ’71 and Scott Walker ’70 opened their home to Chicago alumni for the chapter’s annual Making Connections event on January 11.
The chapter held its Making Connections event on January 9 at Bravo Italiano. On February 26, alumni visited the Presbyterian Night Shelter’s facility for women and children as part of their Trinity Cares service project. On March 4, alumni sampled homemade beer and pizza from the restaurant and brewpub Zio Carlo followed by a visit to SiNiCa, where everyone made glass flowers or pendants at the glass blowing studio. The group wants to see it repeated. On April 12, alumni enjoyed a docent-led tour of the Art and Appetite: American Painting, Culture, and Cuisine exhibit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art followed by lunch at The Original.
Atlanta Despite the frigid temperature, the annual Making Connections event on January 6 offered a warm, collegial environment for professional networking and Trinity reminiscing. The chapter’s annual “Trinity Cares” service project brought volunteers to a park in Virginia-Highland, one of Atlanta’s in-town neighborhoods, to plant trees in partnership with Trees Atlanta. On March 6, alumni gathered at the home of Sara DimitriCarlton ’90 and Eric Carlton ‘90 for a visit with computer science professor Mark Lewis, who explained how computer modeling is utilized to observe and study Saturn and its rings.
Colorado Austin alumni and current students at the home of Gaines ’80 and Leslie Bagby for the annual Making Connections networking event.
Austin On January 11, alumni met at the gracious home of Gaines ’80 and Leslie Bagby for an afternoon of Making Connections with an enthusiastic and bright group of current Trinity students. As part of the “Trinity Cares” nationwide service project initiative, the chapter volunteered at the Micah 6 food pantry on February 22. On March 25, alumni attended a Trinity University baseball game where the Tigers took on Concordia University in Austin.
The Bay Area
Atlanta alumni attended a lecture-discussion by computer science professor Mark Lewis.
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The Bay Area Making Connections event on January 8 at Jillian’s San Francisco saw a strong turnout from alumni, current students, and parents. A reception-lecture with Richard Butler, interim dean of the School of Business, on February 1 at the home of Tres ’07 and Erika Evans, featured an update on the new School of Business at Trinity and what it will mean for the future of education at Trinity.
Alumni, students, parents, and friends gathered at the home of Lisa ’95 and Eric Jasper on January 8 for the annual Making Connections event. Computer science professor Paul Myers provided an update on exciting projects currently underway at Trinity. On February 27, alumni gathered at the Denver Press Club to hear philosophy professor Andrew Kania. On April 17, alumni enjoyed cocktails and laughs at Comedy Works in downtown Denver. Josh Wolf ’93 was the headline performer.
Dallas The chapter held its annual Making Connections event at the home of Jeff Smith ’83 on January 11. The annual wine tasting took place at Vino 100 on February 27. On March 21, alumni from the Dallas and Fort Worth chapter boards joined Trinity Trustee Ted Beneski and his wife, Laurie, in their suite to watch the Dallas Mavericks game. On March 29, alumni assisted in making Easter baskets to benefit Community Partners of Dallas for their Trinity Cares service project.
Fort Worth alumni made glass flowers and glass pendants at the glass blowing studio, SiNiCa.
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Colorado alumni gathered around the fireplace of the Denver Press Club for a lecture by Professor Andrew Kania from the philosophy department.
July 2014 45
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Houston alumni had a great time watching a polo match at the Houston Polo Club
Houston The chapter held its Making Connections event on January 8 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mach, parents of Trustee Steve Mach ’92, who have hosted the event annually since the 1990s. On February 1, alumni enjoyed sample pours from Buffalo Bayou Brewery’s outstanding locally brewed craft beer. Alumni returned to the city animal shelter, BARC, on February 22 for a day of fun and service as part of Trinity Cares. Many past attendees of this event have become regular volunteers for the shelter and show their support year-round. Alumni enjoyed a “Sip and Paint” class at the Paint and Wine Studio on April 2.
46 Trinity
Alumni had a galloping good time at the Houston Polo Club on April 27. At halftime the group joined the crowd of spectators on the field to stomp the divots, a polo tradition. The group also held a hat contest and announced the winners at the end of the match.
National Capital Area On January 28, alumni braved the polar vortex to attend the networking event held at Black Finn Pub, three blocks from the White House in downtown Washington, D.C. On a warm and sunny February 22, alumni helped remove invasive species
from Rock Creek Park as part of the Chapter’s Trinity Cares service project. The group worked in partnership with the Rock Creek Conservancy to rescue over a dozen of the National Park’s oldgrowth trees from the chokehold of English Ivy. On March 15, a Japanese cuisine cooking class offered alumni the opportunity to sample a variety of textures, flavors and delicacies from Japan. Alumni welcomed spring and new alumni to the area with a happy hour on April 9 at Lebanese Taverna in Bethesda, Maryland. Nicole Endres Hobbs ‘02 hosted a Fiesta party at her Arlington, Va., home.
New England The chapter held its annual Making Connections event on January 11 at the home of Laura Smeaton ‘92. Alumni and family members chased the winter blues away while volunteering at the national Prison Book Program in Quincy, Mass., March 18 for their Trinity Cares service project. New history buff volunteers were thrilled to learn they were working just feet away from the tombs of Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and their wives (the only location where two presidents are buried together).
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New England alumni and family members chased the winter blues away by volunteering at the national Prison Book Program in Quincy, Mass., in observance of the annual Trinity Cares service project.
New York The chapter held its first Trinity Cares service project on March 1, where alumni labeled and shelved hundreds of books for the Highbridge Green School in the Bronx.
Oklahoma City On February 8, alumni gathered at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for their Trinity Cares service project. On April 5, they enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of the Ethnology Collection at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. A big thank you to Stephanie Allen ’10, ethnology collection manager, for leading the tour.
Oklahoma City alumni assembled boxes of food for less fortunate elderly people in Oklahoma in observance of the annual Trinity Cares service project.
San Antonio Alumni braved an icy January 24 to watch San Antonio Rampage hockey. On February 22, alumni joined with The Texas Ramp Project for their Trinity Cares project to build a ramp for a wheelchair-bound senior who would otherwise not be able to leave his home. His wife’s homemade tamales and the fantastic South Texas weather made the experience extra special. A Spring Fling Happy Hour on February 26 at Umai Mi, one of the hottest new restaurants and bars in San Antonio, featured appetizers and halfpriced bottles of wine. On March 19, alumni took in Wicked at the Majestic Theatre. Later that month the chapter participated for the first time in Siclovia, the twice-yearly health and wellness event, during which thousands of San Antonians bike, walk, jog, or dance along South St. Mary’s
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Alumni and their guests enjoyed tours and tastings at three wineries during the San Antonio Chapter’s annual Texas Hill Country Wine Tour.
St. between Cesar Chavez Blvd. and Mission Concepcion. Trinity alumni celebrated Fiesta at the Texas Cavaliers’ River Parade on April 21 with dinner and drinks catered by Habanero’s Grill—owned by Steve Kraft ‘83—and cheered loudest for Trinity University’s float! Trinity alumni and their children celebrated Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros, on April 27 on campus. Student volunteers promoted children’s literacy by bringing stories to life through song, dance, and literature. At the San Antonio Chapter’s premier event on May 3, 54 alumnni and friends enjoyed a Texas Hill Country wine tour. The chapter’s Food for Thought luncheon-lecture series featured Michael Fischer, vice president for Faculty and Student Affairs; Paul McGinlay, men’s head soccer coach; and Stacey Connelly, human communication and theatre professor, in February, March, and April, respectively. The San Antonio chapter held its third annual Entrepreneur and Business Mixer at Tost Bistro on May 8. Featured guest Joseph Ndesandjo ‘01, CEO of 3Sixty Integrated, shared his experience growing the business to $5 million in revenue.
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San Diego
Tennessee
Cindy ’87 and Fritz Hesse ‘87 hosted a Making Connections event on January 9 that included San Diego-style street tacos. Chemistry professor Bert Chandler and Monica Martinez from Alumni Relations and Development shared campus updates and plans. The chapter jointly celebrated Texas Independence Day on March 22 with graduates of other Texas universities now living in San Diego.
It was certainly a case of “cold hands, warm hearts” as alumni helped sort over 5,800 pounds of donated frozen foods at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee for the chapter’s Trinity Cares service project on February 26.
St. Louis
Alumni from Midland, Odessa, and Lubbock got together at the Cancun Grill in downtown Midland in April, and everyone promised to spread the word to other Tigers in the Permian Basin. Their first event was a happy hour at BL Bistro in Amarillo. Trinity currently has five students from the Amarillo area, and we hope to add to that number. Go Tigers!
Alumni packaged an impressive 624 cases of food at the St. Louis Area Food Bank as part of the chapter’s Trinity Cares service project.
West Texas
Trinity alumni and their children celebrated Día de los Niños y día de los Libros, on campus. LeeRoy and HEBuddy were on hand to the delight of children in attendance
Alumni from the Tennessee Chapter participated in Trinity Cares 2014 by sorting food donations at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
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The St. Louis alumni chapter enjoyed volunteering at the St. Louis Area Food Bank where they packaged 624 cases of food to be delivered to low-income seniors.
For more photos of chapter activities, go online to: http://tinyurl.com/ kw3hbv
A note about photo submissions:
SIZE MATTERS. Digital photos should be saved at a minimum size of 4� x 6� at a resolution of 300 dpi or 1200 x 1800 pixels. Save in jpg format and e-mail as attachments to alumni@trinity.edu. Prints should be mailed to: Office of Alumni Relations, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, Texas 78212-7200 We know you want to see large photos....remember to submit higher-resolution photos in order to be appropriately displayed in the magazine. Lower-resolution photos pixelate in print and may not make it into the magazine. Check your camera settings before shooting. And remember, bigger is better!
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C l ass There’s a chapter near you! If you would like to be involved in chapter activities or to serve on the board, contact these respective chapter presidents or check out the chapter pages at https://alumni.trinity.edu The ones listed with * are in the formation stage. Albuquerque Scott Webster ’85, scott.webster@pnm.com Arizona Mike Gadarian ’03, mikegadarian@yahoo.com Arizona@alum.trinity.edu Atlanta Steve Blankenship ’95, steve.blankenship@gmail.com Atlanta@alum.trinity.edu Austin Rich Coffey ’02, rcoffey30@hotmail.com Austin@alum.trinity.edu The Bay Area Brittney Elko ’08, Brittney.Elko@gmail.com thebayarea@alum.trinity.edu Chicago Meghan Vincent ’05, meghanelisabeth@gmail.com Chicago@alum.trinity.edu Colorado Tyler Wilson ’07, tylerwilson@catholichealth.net Colorado@alum.trinity.edu Dallas Natalie Webb ’04, nataliewebb82@gmail.com Dallas@alum.trinity.edu *Florida (vacant) Email alumni@trinity.edu if interested Fort Worth Bryan Cancel ’98, bcancel@hotmail.com ftworth@alum.trinity.edu Houston Cesar Giralt ’09, cesar.e.giralt@gmail.com Houston@alum.trinity.edu *Kansas City Travis Holt ’06, tholt@alum.trinity.edu Los Angeles Matt Clark ’92, Matt.Clark@pimco.com LosAngeles@alum.trinity.edu
50 Trinity
National Capital Area Luke Peterson ’02, luke.peterson@gmail.com NationalCapitalArea@alum.trinity.edu New England (includes New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut) Laura Smeaton ’92, laurasmeaton@mac.com NewEngland@alum.trinity.edu
acts
A Congressional Gold Medal for Jayne Pace ’43
New York Adrian Mendoza ’06, adrian.mendoz@gmail.com NewYork@alum.trinity.edu Oklahoma City Melissa Heuer ’01, melissa.k.heuer@gmail.com OklahomaCity@alum.trinity.edu *Portland Nicole Roth ’10, nicole.marie.roth@gmail.com
O
n October 7, 2013, Jayne
San Antonio Stacy Smith ’04, stacy.olds@att.net SanAntonio@alum.trinity.edu
Pace received the Congressional Gold Medal for her
service as a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) member during WWII. The medal was
San Diego Fritz Hesse ’87, fritz@hessenet.net SanDiego@alum.trinity.edu
given in a ceremony by The Venturers (about 100 members were in attendance) at the Westchase Hilton in
Seattle David Schlosser ’90, dbschlosser@analects-ink.com Seattle@alum.trinity.edu
Houston. CAP— a group of citizens, many of whom were pilots, who wanted to do their part in protecting America
St. Louis Courtney Rawlins ’00, courtneyrawlins@aol.com StLouis@alum.trinity.edu
from incursions by Nazi submarines— got its start flying over coastal waters. During WWII CAP members flew 24
Tennessee Leslie South ’04, south.leslie@gmail.com
million miles over the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. They spotted 173
*Tulsa Hilary McKinney ’07, hilarymckinney@gmail.com
targets. Such homeland security efforts continue today with CAP per-
West Texas John Grace ’85, johngracelaw@gmail.com
*chapters in the formation stage
Got News?
Information for Class Acts section should be sent to: alumni@trinity.edu
enemy subs, dropped depth charges on 57 of them, destroyed two, and helped sink many more by directing shore-based fighting units to their forming protection and preparedness exercises in its longstanding role as the auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force. Jayne’s husband (John B. Forse Jr.) was a captain with the Air Transport Command, and they were stationed in New York City prior to a transfer to New Orleans. It was there that she decided to volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol. As Jayne recalls, “ our group was very small. Cannot remember the exact count but it was all men except for one other girl. Wish I could remember her name and locate her. Our group was made of people from all walks of life. Some pilots came with their own airplanes. I flew whatever was available, usually a Cub or Stinson. I accepted assignments and fulfilled my missions. My surveillance missions were eventful and important, but not particularly newsworthy. I was proud to be able to do my part.”
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Class Acts 1943 Stewart Chapman Middleton and Mary L. Middleton celebrated their 70th Wedding Anniversary on December 4, 2013.
1948 John Igo has “conceived, compiled, arranged, and edited” three familiar musical themes in a book donated to the Alumni Book Collection in the reception area of the new Alumni offices.
1952 Skeeter Stath published She Flies Through The Air, which is available online and in bookstores. Check out the website for a teaser: http://xlibrishub.com/wd/ us/140759
1961 Sarah Miller supervises student teachers part-time at the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
1966 Jacqueline “Jackie” Claunch retired from her position as the president of Alamo Colleges Northwest Vista College. She leaves a legacy of academic excellence, quality service, and environmental conservation that grew the college from 246 students in 1998 to an awardwinning, nationally-recognized institution serving over 16,354 students in the fall of 2013. Claudia Stickney Coggin, Ph.D., CHES, retired from the faculty of the University of North Texas Health Science Center of Public Health this year. During her 26 years at UNTHSC, she received several teaching and community service awards.
1967
1974
Richard Curtin, retired executive vice president of Southwest Research Institute, has published Trails of Deception, a murder mystery set in the red-rock canyon country of southeast Utah. It is the third book in the Manny Rivera Mystery Series. Penny Lull participated in the Komen 3 Day Walk during the first weekend of November in Dallas with her husband, Bob, who was her “WalkerStalker” that brought needed supplies along the route. There were 1,200 walkers and this event raised over $3.3 million for breast cancer research. Pete Moore has been named to the Audubon Texas Board.
G.M. Byrd Larberg was appointed to the Duma Hydrocarb Energy Corporation Board of Directors, where he will serve as the chairman of the compensation committee.
1969 Susan Masinter Riley had a one-night show at the Pearl last December titled “Embellished & Adorned:” Re-envisioned Portraits from Photographer Susan Riley. Visit http://www.susanriley.com/ p144618741?customize=1 for a glimpse of the show. Doug Hawthorne (M.S. ’72) has been named to the 2014 class of inductees to the prestigious Texas Business Hall of Fame.
1970
1975 A.C. Gonzalez was named the 15th city manager by the Dallas City Council. Mark Leonard just published Murder at the Myrtles Plantation, A Ghost Story. He is the author of the musical Fire on the Bayou, for which Tom Masinter ’72 composed the musical score.
1976 Robert W. Holleyman II is the Deputy United States Trade Representative and President Obama has announced his intent to nominate him as the Ambassador for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
1977 Justice Phylis J. Speedlin joined Cox Smith, the largest Texas law firm headquartered in San Antonio.
1978
Nancy Ruby had paintings on exhibit from April 9 through June 27 in the Sedona City Hall Chambers. Ann Schroeder was inducted into the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame as one of the most honored tennis players in Abilene history.
1979 Erick Blackwelder and his wife, Patty, purchased a beautiful house in Mount Vernon, Va., the closest home to George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon. Betsy Gerdeman was named the new senior vice president of development services at PBS.
1980 Mary Perrenod Gaber completed her Ph.D. in occupational therapy at Texas Woman’s University. She hopes to transition to an academic career in the near future.
1981 Dana Chortkoff, M.D., was married in August 2012, has two daughters, 20 and 23, and is practicing OB/GYN in San Diego. She would love to hear from any TU alumni!
Denica Mayfield joined the healthcare, life science, and pharmaceuticals team in the Austin office of Husch Blackwell.
Amy Jo Smith Baker and her husband celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary this year.
1971 J.L. Cearley has published a new book, Elements of Leadership.
1973 Lt. Gen. Jim Pillsbury, former Army Material Command deputy commander, spoke at the March 11 “Military and First Responders Night” at the Von Braun Center’s Probst Arena. David R. White was elected to the CareView’s Board of Directors on January 1, 2014.
Claudia Stickney Coggin
acts
Still friends after 41 years, sitting together at the Hearts in Harmony Gala for the Children’s Bereavement Center of San Antonio, from left to right are: Shelly Chasnoff Young ’73, Sherry Lutz Wooley ’72, Sarah Young Watford ’72, and Sallie Wheeler Chasnoff ’72.
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acts
For the Record
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Marriages Jill Jackson ’89 and Lisa Reitzes
J
May 24, 2013 T Denise Raver
ulie “Roba” Castillon ’80 and her daughter, Katie Castillon ’16 on April 18, in a home game against Southwestern University. In the second game of the doubleheader, Trinity extended its winning streak to nine games with a 7-3 win that finished off the sweep. Katie Castillon (10-7) claimed the victory while striking out four batters along the way. Trinity’s softball team had 12 different players earn All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honors for the 2014 season, including Newcomer of the Year Katie Castillon. Castillon was 11-8 during the regular season, sporting an ERA of 2.97 during the year. She ranked in the top 10 in the SCAC in wins, ERA, strikeouts (86), and innings pitched (115.2). Julie played pitcher and shortstop for Trinity’s softball team from 1977- 1980.
Pummer ’91 and Claus Pummer October 2013 T Kristan Doerfler ’01 and Chris Siegal February 2, 2013 T Amanda Barth ’07 and Greg Mangelsdorf ’07 November 2, 2013 T Caitlin Masse ’11, ’12 and Robert Edmonds ’12, ’13 November 23, 2013 T
Births Elizabeth Lee to Augustus Wright and Patty Lewis ’92 February 27, 2013 T Jacob Ross to Jay and Kathryn Bonner Gillick ’93 July 8, 2013 T Brigitta Brin to Brian Goldman and Erin Orzeck Goldman ’93 December 2, 2013 T Evan Robert to Jeffery and Julia Chang Girouard ’95 March 22, 2014 T Evelyn Michelle to Andrew ’01 and Audrey Jones ’02 February 28, 2014 T Brooklyn to Josh ’02 and Jenni Bell Allen ’02 August 30, 2013 T Amelia Marie to Andrew and Meghan Bush
1982
1984
Scott B. Blount is the new vice president and district manager of AECOM’s Mountain Northwest District Environment. He has 30 years of experience in technical, operations, managerial, and executive positions. Lisa Emerick was promoted to the associate publisher of Crain’s management team. N. Scott Henderson was appointed executive director of Meadowkirk, a Christian retreat center located at Delta Farm in Middleburg, Va. Scott W. Tinker, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin was guest speaker at the March 18 luncheon meeting of the Women’s Energy Network at the Dallas Petroleum Club.
William “Peppy” Biddy received the 2014 Distinguished Achievement Award at Mississippi University for Women. Rhashell Hunter is the director of racial, ethnic, and women’s ministries/ Presbyterian Women within the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Vincent ’05 December 2, 2013 T Caleb James to Rich ’07 and Sarah Eagar ’07 February 21, 2014 T AIsaac Walter to Griffin Knodle ’01 and Damitra Ramos Patel ’02 February 6, 2014
52 Trinity
1983 Matt Magee’s work, titled “Circa 1994,” is on display at the Hiram Butler Gallery in Houston. Julian J. Trevion, M.D., is a professor and chair of the department of dermatology at Boonshaft School of Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He also serves as the residency director for the Wright State University Dermatology Residency Program.
will oversee the firm’s brokerage, capital markets, project and development service, property management, and retail business sectors across the United States.
1988
1986 Joe Davis-Fleming lives in the South Pacific and runs American Samoa’s hospital system. William A. McDonald, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, received the prestigious 2014 Faith in Paterson award from the Greater Paterson Chamber of Commerce during the Chamber’s 105th Annual Gala on January 25.
1987 Diane Hellinge Ashour is the coordinator for the family-centered religious education program at her local church, working with some 30 families. Adam Lee was appointed lead winemaker of Oregon’s premier private winery, Hawks View Cellars. John Gates is taking over as head of the Americas Markets business, where he
Nancy Erikson Evans, friend Robert Roales, and Tom Evans were together at a party in November of 2013. Clayton Hosterman was recognized for membership in the prestigious Texas State Business Network. Bryce D. Linsenmayer joined the BakerHostetler Business Group as a partner in its Houston office. John Sikora, formerly a top enforcement attorney in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Chicago office, joined the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP.
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For the Record
Julie Harris Shaw ’90, Jane Gibbon ’90, Nancy Brasel ’91, and Marcella Auld Glass ’91 met for a mini Gamma Chi Delta reunion.
1990 Maribeth Bruno Davis has made a temporary move to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to join her husband on his two-year assignment with the Puerto Rican National Guard. She plans to take on freelance writing and proofreading work, improve her Spanish, and cook her way through Cocina Criolla. Ann Shuman joined the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation as managing director and deputy general counsel.
1992 Steven Mach was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Public Safety Commission that formulates and oversees policies for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Erik Sartorius was appointed the next executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities Board of Directors. Katherine Weikert Stelmach wrote Who’s in That Shell with Anita Elco, which won four awards last year: bronze medal for the Reader’s Favorite in Children’s Education, first place for the Pinnacle Achievement Award in Animals/Pets, first place for the Purple Dragonfly Book Award in Animals/Pets, and second place from the Arizona Authors Association for Children’s Literature. This book was also a category finalist for the prestigious Eric Hoffer Award.
1994
1999
Shannon Johnson Kershner was elected pastor at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
Mazie Harris was appointed the Linda Wyatt Gruber ‘66 Curatorial Fellow in Photography at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. Moira McMahon Leeper wrote the script for A Light Beneath their Feet. She is also the principal photographer for the movie. John Motzi is vice president of client services at SuperiorReview. Scott Patterson was promoted to president at Credit Union Student Choice, the leading provider of higher education financing solutions to America’s credit unions. Allen J. Tseng is chief operating officer for Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center.
1995 Kristi Harter Button (MAT), is a certified Christian educator and continues her work as director of Christian education at First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, Ark.
1996 Laura Irvine, president of Methodist Dallas Medical Center, was promoted to executive vice president of integration and alignment for Methodist Health System. Michael Harvey will serve as regional vice president for the Texas territory of Nationwide Financial. Brian Jones, cochair of the law firm of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP Insurance Group, authored the Indiana portion of the Defense Research Institute’s Writing Reservation of RIghts: A North America Compendium. Marcus A. Owen, M.D., has joined the rheumatology department at Murfreesboro Medical Clinic.
1998 Lorie Burch was honored by the Dallas Business Journal in June as one of Dal-
Scott Mabry is COO at Ochsner Baton Rouge Clinic Operations.
2001 Christina Reck-Guerra, a former principal at East Terrell Hills Elementary School in the North East Independent School District, will help lead the East and West Pre-K 4 San Antonio Centers.
2002 Emilio Nicolas was named one of the “Super Lawyers-Rising Stars” by Thomson Reuters in the March 2014 issue of Texas Monthly.
2003 Rebecca L. Avitia is the executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in New Mexico. Matthew Cavenaugh was named one of the “Super Lawyers-Rising Stars” by Thomson Reuters in the March 2014 issue of Texas Monthly.
Dorothy Brookes Morris ’37 December 28, 2013 Marion Pohlen Primomo ’40 March 1, 2014 Hudson McNair ’41 January 3, 2014 Maxine Ratliff Goodman ’44 February 9, 2014 Gayle Spann ’46 October 19, 2013 Doris Overton Hoyler ’47 January 6, 2014 Jean Bladwin Martin ’47 January 31, 2014 Jay Adelman ’49 December 1, 2013 Mike Kavy ’49 December 12, 2013 Harold Zirkel ’49 June 23, 2013 Vane Hugo ’50 February 28, 2014 Elouise Wickstrom Koudsi ’50 December 5, 2011 Keith Nall ’50 November 28, 2013 Charles Ruble ’50 December 24, 2013 Fred Russell ’50 January 16, 2014 Fernando Salazar ’50 March 14, 2014 Rosalie French Smith ’51 December 28, 2013 Norman Theis ’51 January 18, 2014 Wiley Hedrick ’52 January 24, 2014
1993 Brad LaMorgese was named to D Magazine’s 2014 list of Best Lawyers in Dallas. Elizabeth Liser was named director of donor services at the Communities Foundation of Texas.
2000
In Memoriam
las’s top 26 women in business and was elected in early October as the National President of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) at their 2013 National Women’s Leadership Conference in Little Rock. Mary Heathcott is executive director of the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum in San Antonio.
Xochitl Cano Martinez ’52 November 27, 2013 Yvonne Carnefix ’53 December 6, 2013 Lee Milligan ’54 January 6, 2014 Edward Payton Waddill ’54
July 2014 53
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In Memoriam (continued) October 21, 2013 Patricia Phillips Westberry ’54 February 3, 2014 Henry Adrion ’57 November 25, 2013
Amelia Marie arrived December 2, 2013 to proud parents Meghan ’05 and Andrew Vincent.
2004 Alexis Ferraro is senior director of marketing and communications at Dallasbased Match.com.
2005 Ryan Kinder was named to the Texas Rising Stars list as one of the top up-andcoming attorneys in Texas for 2014.
Peggy Dunning Henslee ’57 January 27, 2014 George McElhany ’57 January 22, 2014
2006
Carol Terry Watson ’57 January 11, 2014
Jerome M. Brooks is COO for the new South Texas Health System facilities. Lauren Pepping opened Cookie Cab, a startup company that delivers warm cookies to your doorstep. Visit cookiecab.com for more information.
William Way ’57 December 6, 2013 Dorothy Meyer Hill ’58 March 30, 2014 Ralph Brachizio ’59 January 31, 2014
2007
Joseph Gose ’59 January 6, 2014
Nicolette Good was chosen as a 2013 Fall Fellow in The Lighthouse Work artist fellowship program, located in Fishers Island, N.Y., in the area of music.
Bobby Jones ’60 March 13, 2014 Robert Kalisch ’60 December 16, 2013
2008
Harry Posell ’60 July 31, 2013 Alice Schapiro Simon ’60 December 8, 2013 Suzanne Reynolds Gaily ’61 February 22, 2014 Carolyn Anderson Terry ’61 June 3, 2010 Martha Beth Walker ’61 February 24, 2014 Judson Earl Jones ’62 November 26, 2013 Ruth Williams Muliken ’62 March 31, 2014 Jerry Johnson ’63 March 1, 2014 Edith Sokol Speert ’64 March 3, 2014 Vera Carter Phillips ’64 February 4, 2014
54 Trinity
In May 2009, Nate Longfellow left immediately from his graduation ceremony for Dallas, where his mother was undergoing treatment for leukemia. That night she lost her battle with the disease. A week later, Nate joined the local South Texas Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team in Training Program, which trains participants for fundraising endurance events benefiting blood cancer research. In 2010, he joined LLS’s North Texas chapter, where he is now senior campaign manager. Last December, Nate completed Ironman Cozumel—his sixth endurance event. His 2013 fundraising exceeded $13,000, bringing his five-year total to $40,000 for LLS. For more about LLS or Nate’s journey, visit http:// pages.teamtraining.org/ntx/hhrun13.
Darsh Preet Singh ’08 fought discrimination to become the first Sikh to play NCAA basketball in his turban. His Trinity jersey was in a Smithsonian exhibit. Musical compositions by James Young were featured during the Waco Symphony Orchestra’s concert titled “Red White and Blue” on March 16.
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acts In Memoriam (continued) Robert White ’64 July 16, 2009 Robert Foard Townsend III ’65 February 9, 2014 Marshall Young ’67 May 13, 2013 Charles H. Jarrell ’68 May 20, 2014 J. Michael Wray ’68 October 23, 2013 Carol Altman Gray ’69 November 9, 2013 Kirsten Nowlin ’71 February 22, 2014 Rebecca Ramirez Shokrian ’71 February 19, 2014 Diana Dowd Ulrich ’71 January 1, 2014
Leigh Byford ‘06 and Stuart Wallace ‘06 were married November 10, 2013, at the Barr Mansion in Austin. Alumni guests included ’06 classmates (pictured left to right): Andrew McDonald, Sarah (Hutt) Chen, Richard Schaefer, John Graham, Brenna MacPherson, Michael McGlasson, Lia Lamm, Jonathan Magee, Samantha Hammer, Katerine (Palacios) Getchell, and Brooke Boyer.
Carl Dykman ’72 December 17, 2013 Cathy Lewis Herpich ’74 June 23, 2012 Homer Shirley ’75 December 7, 2013
2013
2009
Alan Castilljo returns to the Ratliff Stadium as the Midland Lee High School girl’s soccer coach, which was one of his rivals when he attended high school at Odessa High.
Nate Longfellow joined the staff of the North Texas Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as a senior campaign manager. Gary Purushotham was appointed COO at the Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, Texas.
Steven Kintigh ’76 February 20, 2014 Linda Carey ’77 January 22, 2014 Tracy Lee Smith ’77 February 7, 2014
2010
Alumni Weekend
Yvonne Freckmann has been named a 2014-2015 Fulbright Scholar with a full grant to the Netherlands. She will represent the U.S. as she studies multimedia music composition at the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague this fall.
Oct. 10-12, 2014
2012 Walter Teele’s new startup tech company, Parlevel—founded in San Antonio—was mentioned in Forbes magazine. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ jessicastillman/2014/02/04/wanted-morestartups-with-one-foot-in-the-u-s-andone-in-mexico/
Karyl Kesmodel-Rice ’76 December 9, 2013
Caitlin Masse ’11, ’12 and Robert Edmonds ’12, ’13 at their November wedding.
Jimmy Schuler ’78 November 12, 2007 Deborah De la Garza Yon ’78 April 22, 2006 Virginia Williams Moore ’80 March 27, 2014 Thomas John Compton ’83 February 19, 2014 Robert Barber ’86 December 24, 2013 Andrew Dickie ’90 April 17, 2014 Barbara Murray-Finn ’96 February 12, 2014
July 2014 55
[ déjà view ]
Trinity’s First Fiesta
A
fter moving to San Antonio from Waxahachie in 1942, Trinity quickly became involved in community activities. University trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, and students participated in educational endeavors, service projects, and cultural and entertainment venues. One popular event in which Trinity could not participate, however, was Fiesta, a San Antonio tradition that began in 1891 when a Battle of Flowers parade honored heroes of the Alamo and Battle of San Jacinto. Fiesta was held annually from that date except for 1918 during World War I and 1942 through 1945 during World War II. Accordingly, Trinity’s first opportunity be involved in Fiesta occurred in 1946 when the celebration’s theme was the 100th anniversary of Texas statehood. The pent-up carnival spirit of San Antonio, suppressed during four years of war, burst forth in a blaze of color and a whirlwind of activities. Even before festivities began, Trinity students held pre-Fiesta parties and celebrations. The Triniteers sponsored a hayride to Helotes for a picnic with students dressed in traditional western clothing. Other student groups added fiesta touches to their regularly scheduled meetings. Throughout the week of formal celebrations, Trinitonians were highly visible. At the opening ceremony, a solemn procession from the Municipal Auditorium to the Alamo, Trinity students
Triniteers and Spurs decorated a float for the 1946 Battle of Flowers Parade.
Helen Badgett, student council president, and John Taylor, vice president, placed a wreath of university colors, white lilies festooned by a maroon satin ribbon, in front of the chapel. The 60-voice Trinity University Choir, under the direction of Ralph Ewing, dean of the school of music, and Joseph Burger, professor of voice, sang before, after, and at intervals during the pilgrimage. Trinity students and faculty also took part in designing and taking part in the River parade. The flotilla making up the retinue of King Antonio XXIV, Perry Shankle, portrayed different tabloids and scenes of historic interest relating to Texas statehood. E. Clayton McCarty, Trinity drama professor, and members of the Trinity Radio writing class planned the event’s continuity. Trinity students, Warren Olliff and Jerry Boles amused spectators as featured performers on the procession’s comedy float.
An estimated crowd of 500,000 viewed the Battle of Flowers Parade in which Trinity won 3rd prize in the school and college division, finishing behind Alamo Heights High School and Our Lady of the Lake College. Constructed by the Triniteers and the Spurs, the float was bedecked with maroon flowers spelling out “1869 TRINITY 1946” nestled in a field of white flowers. David McShane, representing the Triniteers, and Rose Margaret Holekamp, president of the Spurs, stood on the float underneath the flowered arches of a college building façade. Seated amid greenery and flowers, Helen Badgett and John Taylor represented the Associated Students of Trinity. Broadway was so overflowing with cheering spectators that the parade halted on several occasions while police cleared the way for its passage. To get
a better view, people stood on ladders, boxes, and barrels. One innovative couple seated their three small children on an ironing board to give them a front-row view. After 1946, Trinity continued to participate in Fiesta Week. The Triniteers assumed leadership in building floats for Fiesta parades and students elected Fiesta Queens and held pre-Fiesta celebrations. Over time, campus interest in building floats for Fiesta parade events diminished and the election of Fiesta Queens ceased. In recent years, however, the Trinity Fiesta tradition has been revived in new formats. That story in the next issue. R. Douglas Brackenridge
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Play by Play
Trinity Theatre announces the 2014-15 season October 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2014 The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Directed by Kyle Gillette Charged with longing, humor, and the bittersweet texture of memory, The Glass Menagerie feels as fresh and poignant now as it did when it transformed the American stage 60 years ago. The play explores both the contours of the American family and the odd, selective process of remembering. November 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 2014 Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker Directed by Stacey Connelly Costume design by Stieren Guest Artist Virgil Johnson Based on a true story, Our Country’s Good follows the First Fleet’s military officers and convicts as the first Western settlers in Australia. Will Australia’s first settlement collapse into chaos? Do hardened criminals ever reform? Can art offer hope in a hopeless world?
February 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 2015 Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz Directed by Roberto Prestigiacomo A winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize, Anna in the Tropics captures the poetic and sensual nature of the tropics, cigars, and literature! April 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 2015
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
Translation by Sarah Ruhl Directed by Rachel Joseph Chekhov tells the story of three sisters, Olga, Masha, and Irina, and their yearning to escape their privileged provincial life and return to Moscow. For ticket information, call the Stieren Theater box office at
210-999-8515