Paratriathlete Emi Perry ’15 and her empowering sprint to Paris.
Last summer, Ursinus senior Caden Johnson ’25 was selected for an internship with the college’s advancement office through the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The eight-week internship is designed by CASE to increase and diversify the number of professionals in the advancement field.
Johnson helped develop a fundraising campaign with the Ursinus Fund, which provides missioncritical funding that touches every part of the student experience. He also worked with the college’s alumni engagement team to identify opportunities for inclusive content and messaging. Why the interest in advancement? In his words: “Advancement is a focal point in how the college is run and ensuring that diverse and representative voices are a part of that process can make all the difference in the world.”
Johnson came to Ursinus from Delcastle Technical High School in Wilmington, Del., as a two-sport athlete and a certified carpenter. He is focused on building opportunities for his peers to succeed. In addition to several leadership roles on campus, Johnson is a founding member of Bears of Color Connect, which is designed to help studentathletes of color thrive in all aspects of college life.
Last spring, Johnson organized a campus event with peers to support the college’s Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund. Through planning and executing the event, Johnson discovered it was doing more than raising money. As he put it, the fundraiser “planted the seeds of engagement and philanthropy for current students of color, opening doors for them to stay connected once they are alumni.”
After Ursinus, Johnson plans to pursue a career in education, as a teacher or a coach.
You can help students like Caden Johnson make a difference at Ursinus and in the community.
Make a gift to the Ursinus Fund and support today’s students. Visit ursinus.edu/makegift.
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PRESIDENT
Robyn Hannigan
VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Michelle Yurko
MANAGING EDITOR
Ed Moorhouse
DESIGN TEAM
Steve Thomas Lexi Macht
CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ISSUE
Photography: Theo Anderson, Mark Garvin, Jack Hopey, Linette Messina, and Margo Reed.
Editorial: Jacqueline D’Ercole, Connor Donohue, David Eberle, Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque ’95, and Ben Seal
ONLINE MAGAZINE
Erin Hovey ’96
Ursinus Magazine is published two times a year. Update your contact information at ursinus.edu/updatecontact.
Copyright © 2024 by Ursinus College.
Editorial correspondence and submissions: Ursinus Magazine
601 E. Main Street
Collegeville, PA 19426 610-409-3000 ucmag@ursinus.edu
I am delighted to present a special edition of Ursinus Magazine that includes our 2024 Annual Report and Year in Review. This unique format not only highlights our college’s achievements over the past year but also looks ahead to the exciting opportunities that await us.
But before you flip to that section, I hope you’ll first discover the inspiring stories that embody the innovative spirit of the Ursinus community. This issue, you’ll meet a remarkable Paralympic triathlete whose determination and resilience motivate us all. Delve into groundbreaking research conducted by our students on the environmental impact of microplastics in our waterways, showcasing our commitment to sustainability and scientific inquiry. And finally, learn about how an Ursinus alumna, alongside current students, is unearthing the rich history of our region through hands-on archaeology, demonstrating our deep ties to the community.
These narratives are not just stories. They are testaments to our ingenuity and the vibrant, supportive network that defines Ursinus College. Together, we are fostering a culture of exploration and collaboration that empowers our students and enhances our region.
As we reflect on our successes, let us also embrace the future with enthusiasm and determination. I’m grateful for your continued support, which enables us to nurture the next generation of thinkers and leaders.
Thank you for being an essential part of our Ursinus journey.
Sincerely,
President Robyn Hannigan
What Will I Do? Broadway’s Top Doc Jason Kindt ’95
Speed and Spirit
A spinal cord injury changed Emi Perry ’15’s life, but not her competitive spirit. She’s a decorated paratriathlete who competed in the Paris Paralympic Games as a member of Team USA. She spoke with Ursinus Magazine about her inspiring journey.
20 Hiding in Plain Sight
Microplastics are pervasive in the environment and are impacting environmental and human health. Ursinus College researchers are wading through local waters to get to the bottom of the issue.
24 History Beneath Our Feet
In neighboring Trappe, Lisa Minardi ’04 is working to restore the Speaker’s House, which once served as an Ursinus residence hall. Every summer, student archaeologists participate in a field school where they’ve unearthed treasures of the past.
Ursinus welcomed the Class of 2028 during move-in day and Convocation.
Revisit highlights from 2023-24 in our year in review, which is now part of Ursinus Magazine
DANCING IN “THE DARK”
Chris Gerrow ’26
and Len Posivak ’27 perform “The Dark” at a UCDC concert.
President Robyn Hannigan and her husband, Dr. Alan Christian, are escorted by the Ursinus Bear to the annual Leadership Dinner at the Phoenixville Foundry on October 3. The event honored highly engaged donors and alumni volunteers. Hannigan said to them, “Tonight is a celebration, not just of what we’ve accomplished together, but of the boundless potential we hold to shape the future of Ursinus.”
Associate Professor of American Studies, African American and Africana Studies, and English Patricia Lott spent her summer as a research fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The fellowship, established in 1935, supports research that enhances understanding of the early modern world. Lott used the Folger’s extensive resources to advance her book, Memory Ruins: Slavery, Commemoration, and Wastecraft in the Antebellum U.S. North. Although her research isn’t Shakespearean, the library’s holdings on related topics were invaluable. Lott’s fellowship ended on August 30, and she is spending her fall semester as a visiting associate professor at Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center.
Professor of Physics Lew Riley has secured a Major Research Instrumentation grant from the National Science Foundation to advance nuclear research done in partnership with Florida State University and Ohio University. The grant will fund the acquisition of new gamma ray detectors, which will be tested at Ursinus before being integrated into FSU’s research facilities. These detectors help provide detailed information crucial for understanding atomic structures, and that data will be analyzed by Ursinus undergraduate students. The project, which also involves postdoctoral researchers, builds on Ursinus’s existing partnership with FSU’s Fox Nuclear Accelerator Lab.
Jon Volkmer, an Ursinus English and creative writing professor, recently spoke at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Cooperstown, N.Y. His talk, “Hornets vs. Gandies—Pickup Game of the Century?” drew from his novel Brave in Season, which explores the history of a famous baseball game played in his Volkmer’s Nebraska hometown. His research also delved into African American barnstorming teams, and his book has received multiple accolades, including honors from the Society of Midlands Authors and the American Legacy Book Awards.
Driven by her passion for public service and research, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Brie Berry was selected for the inaugural Montgomery County Food Policy Council. As the only higher education representative among the seven members, Berry will contribute to building a sustainable food system that ensures access to healthy food throughout the county. Her research on food waste and disposal aligns with the council’s goals.
As debates over censorship and banned books heat up across the nation, Matthew Good, an Ursinus instructional technology librarian, was honored with the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for his advocacy for intellectual freedom. Awarded by the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table, the accolade recognizes personal courage in defending free expression. Good previously spoke out against restrictive book policies in school districts.
Accurate representation of Native tribes in educational and cultural institutions is vital for honoring their heritage and fostering respect. Locally, this is exemplified by the Lenape Symposium, hosted for the second year by Ursinus College and the Delaware Tribe of Indians as part of the Welcome Home Project. The initiative, which began in 2021, aims to address historical inaccuracies and promote genuine understanding.
On September 6, Ursinus unveiled the newly renovated Lower Wismer dining hall. The ceremony included remarks from President Robyn Hannigan, along with an official ribbon cutting, welcoming students to their new dining space. Ursinus dining also provided free samples of some of the great food options available over the school year. Lower Wismer’s renovations began after the conclusion of the spring 2024 semester as crews worked tirelessly through the summer. The space now includes leveled flooring, brighter lighting, and updated furniture. The renovations also came with the introduction of mobile ordering powered by GrubHub.
Gundolf Graml is Ursinus College’s provost and senior vice president for academic and campus life, a position he started in February 2024. He’s an Austrian-born scholar of German history and literature who is noted for leading innovative global learning experiences, something that hits pretty close to home for him. Oh, and he’s an avid hiker, too! Meet Gundolf.
URSINUS MAGAZINE: Let’s start with the basics. Where were you born and raised?
GUNDOLF GRAML: In Austria, where I grew up on my grandparents’ farm. It was one way I learned a lot of different skills, and then I attended an academic high school—a boarding school—that opened up the intellectual world for me. It happened at a time when the education system in Austria received new funding, so there were new teachers and new ideas. This became the wonderful ecosystem where I learned about the world.
UM: You earned your Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. What brought you there?
GG: I studied at the University of Salzburg [in Austria], first studying communications and then German history and literature. After my master’s, I tried teaching, but didn’t find my traction there. One of my advisors encouraged me to study abroad because the University of Minnesota has a Center for Austrian Studies. I had never been to the U.S. and all I knew of Minnesota was that it translates to “clear blue water” from an indigenous word. I quickly came to appreciate the unique charm of the Midwest. A supportive, interdisciplinary group of faculty made for an easy decision to complete my Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and that’s why I’ve never completed the second leg of the study abroad experience by going back.
UM: Your time abroad in the U.S. had a profound impact on your life and later, you led a renown global learning and leadership development experience at Agnes Scott College, which is where you were before coming to Ursinus. What significance can that have on a college student?
GG: What interests me is to educate students who want to make the world a better place, which sounds very lofty, but I believe it comes
from a place where people want to contribute something positive. Global learning is always connected to study abroad, but it really means bringing together a diverse group of people to address challenges that transcend borders. And I find that’s one of the most satisfying ways of describing education in general.
It’s a reminder that our individual experience of the world is usually very narrow. When we talk about study abroad, we’re talking about going to a specific destination, right? You’re here now and then you go someplace else. But global learning, for me, speaks to the fact that something happens in that connection between the here and there—it’s a reciprocal process where something transformative happens.
UM: What draws you to literature and history?
GG: I think that as human beings, we exist in and through stories. We’re constantly telling ourselves where we come from, who we are, and where we’re going. Literary fiction is always probing the not-yet-realized, the imaginable, and the sometimes unimaginable. So, I think a crucial part of my work is to replenish the idea of imagination and creativity through literature.
UM: Do you have a favorite author?
GG: It’s hard to name only one, but in the context of representing history through literature, an author I really admire is Christoph Ransmayr, who wrote several novels that you might call historical fiction. I am drawn to authors who use literary fiction to explore the limitations of scientific or historiographic practice. Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is another powerful example. It takes the historical metaphorical description and turns it into a tangible and provocative alternative reality.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 46
Jason Kindt ’95 provides healthcare on New York City’s theater scene. In June, his work earned his practice a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre.
Who could ever dream that a bunch of doctors, nurses, and medical assistants could receive a Tony Award?”
—
Jason Kindt ’95
By Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque
n the waiting room at the Friedman Health Center on Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan, a variety of Broadway musical Playbills are neatly displayed on a shelf. Music from Cabaret plays from a CD player by the door. Every day, Jason Kindt ’95—the codirector of the center—selects a new soundtrack for patients to enjoy.
A self-proclaimed theater nerd (he has saved every Playbill and ticket stub from the 400-plus shows he’s seen), Kindt has been the medical director at Friedman since it opened in March 2017. The center was created by a collaboration between the Entertainment Community Fund and Mount Sinai doctors. It is the only healthcare facility in New York City dedicated to the specific needs of the theater community regardless of health insurance status. Kindt’s patients include the performers and musicians onstage, as well as the people who work behind the scenes.
As the medical director, Kindt—wearing a tie with an image of Broadway legend and former patient, Chita Rivera—accepted the honor and attended the Tony Awards at Lincoln Center on June 16. Prior to his acceptance speech, Kindt was introduced by Annette Bening, chair of the Entertainment Community Fund.
In his speech, Kindt teased that many people asked him if winning the Tony was a dream come true. The answer, he said, was obviously no.
“How could anyone dream of this?” he said. “Who could ever dream that a bunch of doctors, nurses, and medical assistants could receive a Tony Award?”
I couldn’t believe the job even existed. It was like the stars aligning for me.”
“The Entertainment Fund’s motto is: ‘When you have, give. When you need, ask,’” Kindt explained. “In this business there are always people in and out of insurance. Thanks to the help and support of the Entertainment Fund, we can care for all of them.”
Kindt and the Friedman Center made history when it became the first medical facility to win a Tony Award.
Growing up in Allentown, Pa., Kindt performed in musicals at Parkland High School, but he never kidded himself that he would ever win a Tony Award.
“I always joked that what I lacked in pitch, I made up for in enthusiasm,” he said with a laugh. “I loved being a part of it, but I knew it wouldn’t be a career opportunity for me.”
When Kindt began his first year at Ursinus College in the fall of 1991, he envisioned becoming a high school biology teacher and theater director. But when it came time to do student teaching, he decided that the career path was not for him. Instead, he applied to medical school and was accepted to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He graduated in 1999 and did his residency at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Reading, Pa. When he was chief resident there, one of the doctors on his team was Dheeraj Taranath ’95, Kindt’s roommate at Ursinus and in medical school.
“I remember calling Jason on the phone before our freshman year and asking him what kind of music he liked,” said Taranath, who lives in Maryland and is the chief medical officer of Wellpath, a national company headquartered in Nashville. “Jason told me he listened to Broadway musicals, and I was like, ‘What?’’’ Taranath laughed. “I mean, I listened to bands like Pink Floyd, Rush, and the Beastie Boys.”
“But later, when Jason told me he was applying to medical school, I knew he would be an excellent doctor,” Taranath continued. “He has always been the most empathetic person I know—and this is probably one of the most important traits for a doctor to have.”
After his residency, Kindt worked as a traveling doctor, treating underserved populations on American Indian
Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre are presented to institutions, individuals, or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theater, but are not eligible to compete in any of the established Tony categories.
reservations in Arizona, Washington, and Oregon, before settling back down at Reading Health System. At night, Kindt would often drive over 120 miles to New York City to see shows. After being inspired by the musical Pippin, a show about following one’s dreams, he decided to move to New York and work closer to Broadway.
Kindt first worked in family practice at the Manhattan Physicians Group and then in urgent care for Duane Reade before landing his own dream job at the Friedman Center. A fellow doctor at Duane Reade told Kindt about the job opportunity, knowing how perfect he would be for the position.
“I couldn’t believe the job even existed,” Kindt said. “It was like the stars aligning for me.”
Kindt now lives in Hell’s Kitchen near the theater district and calls his apartment his “Corner of the Sky”—a reference to a Pippin song. His office is open until 8 p.m. most weeknights and is also open on Saturdays. The
show—as Kindt knows better than most—must always go on. He supports his patients from the audience, too, seeing as many as two musicals a week.
“I go to shows like The Prom , where I have treated most of the cast members,” Kindt said. “I grew very close to that cast so that show will always be near and dear to my heart.”
Kindt knows this passion for Broadway makes him a much better doctor as well.
“It makes all the difference in the care you give,” Kindt said. “You’re going to work harder and do that little extra because you know and love what your patients do.”
And what does Kindt know now that he didn’t know as an Ursinus student?
“A true life lesson for me is that we don’t dream enough to combine our passions. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be one thing or another. It can also be both,” he said.
By Ed Moorhouse
Because life isn’t about being able-bodied. It’s about your mindset.”
— Emi Perry ’15
Emi Perry ’15 was a runner. She loved how free it made her feel—the openness of a natural trail, the rhythmic thud of her feet on pavement creating a symphony symbolic of strength, stamina, and perseverance.
But having to adjust to a race wheelchair?
“It wasn’t freeing at all,” Perry said. “It felt slow. I was faster when I ran, and I felt like I needed to be even faster in my chair.”
Try slowing her down now.
In September, Perry competed at perhaps the highest level for paraathletes: the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France. Where she was once frustrated, she is now thriving. When she once cast doubt, she is now finding—and providing—inspiration.
A track athlete while a student at Ursinus College, Perry lived for the liberation that came with running. But after a spinal cord injury in 2017, she questioned whether she could experience that feeling again. Just two years after graduating from college, she was hosting some friends at her Philadelphia apartment when she fell from a fire escape ladder. She fractured her T12 vertebra, located near the base of her spine.
“When you have a spinal cord injury like that, everything below the injury is affected,” Perry said. “The T12 is located below the belly button, so my right leg doesn’t really move at all, and I have limited movement in my left leg.”
She went to Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Center City, Philadelphia, to begin the arduous process of regaining some feeling and movement in her legs.
“All I could think about was walking again. That was my main goal for a long time,” Perry said.
But while rehabbing, she was introduced to adaptive sports and, specifically, wheelchair racing, something that—although she didn’t know it at the time—would change her life.
“I told [the rehab team] I was a runner and they suggested I try it,” Perry said. “They actually had a race wheelchair that was just sitting in a garage, and it fit me pretty well, so they said, ‘Just take this one.’”
It would be easy to assume that Perry dusted off the race wheelchair and immediately fell in love with the
sport. But rather than finding a new competitive outlet, she felt restricted, inconvenienced, and confined—a fish in a vast ocean being relocated to a small tank.
“I would have to drive somewhere in Center City just to find a place I could bring my race chair. Afterwards, I needed someone to help me get in and out of the race chair. It was frustrating,” she said.
If she were to adjust, Perry would have to change her mindset.
“I had to stop comparing it to running,” she said.
According to World Triathlon, the international governing body of the sport of triathlon, there are currently nine sport classes for athletes with an impairment competing over three sprint paratriathlon distances: 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike (hand bike/tandem), and 5-kilometer run (racing wheelchair). Those distances are the same at all World Triathlon-sanctioned paratriathlon events.
The paratriathlon was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so last summer was just the third time it was featured on the Paralympic stage. Over that time, it has continued to grow.
In the sport’s 2016 debut at the games, 60 athletes from 18 countries contested six medal events. In Tokyo, Japan, in 2021, 80 athletes from 19 countries competed in eight medal events. In Paris, 121 athletes competed in 11 medal events, representing the largest paratriathlon cohort at the games.
Perry earned her spot on the 2024 U.S. paratriathlon team in July, but five years ago, she was still trying to find her way into the sport. In 2019, she met another disabled athlete at Philadelphia’s Broad Street Run who recognized she could be really good at wheelchair racing.
“I trained with him for a little while. [Wheelchair racing] is very technique-oriented and without a mentor, it’s really hard to figure out how to push the race chair,” Perry said.
She also became inspired by watching decorated Australian paratriathlete Lauren Parker compete in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. Parker, a triathlete before her spinal cord injury, was injured just two
months before Perry.
“I thought, ‘OK, this is possible.’ Seeing her compete was the turning point,” Perry said.
She moved into an apartment closer to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which provided easier access to trails she could take her race chair, and she became less dependent on others to take her places and help her in and out of the chair.
“And then during COVID, I just trained,” she said.
injured longer, or who were born [with a disability] and have been training for much longer. I always wanted to be able to train full time and compete, so it’s nice to be able to do that now. In a way, it was a goal that I had even when I was able bodied.”
When I was first injured, I didn’t want to be in a wheelchair anymore. But being … part of this community has made me realize that I don’t have to walk to be happy and enjoy my life.”
— Emi Perry ’15
She got stronger. She got better at racing. And she started competing in marathons and triathlons in Philadelphia, Cape Cod, Chicago, and Miami, becoming the 2022 U.S. Paratriathlon National Champion at an event in Long Beach, Calif.
She’s earned six podiums and two wins in World Triathlon events and has been a member of the U.S. Paratriathlon Resident Team in Colorado Springs, Colo., since March 2023. Pretty impressive over a short period of time for an athlete who initially doubted she could do it.
“Well, I would say yes and no,” Perry humbly said. “Some are small fields.”
Perry said she trains 16-18 hours a week, which includes swimming, and she bikes no less than five days a week. The frequency and intensity are pretty typical even when not preparing for Paris. In Colorado Springs, she turned her attention toward earning a spot on the Paralympic games team. And although this was her first time, many of her teammates were past Paralympians.
“I did track in college but was never good enough to reach an Olympic level,” Perry said. “Even when I started doing this, I never thought I’d be good enough to compete with people who have been
She has clearly earned her place.
“There’s a sense of, ‘It’s supposed to be this way,’ so, it wasn’t really a surprise [to make it to Paris],” she said. “But maybe a couple days later, I was really thinking back to seven years ago when I was injured and all the things that happened to get me here. And that’s kind of cool.”
On Monday, September 2, Perry competed in the women’s PTWC (Paralympic triathlon wheelchair) in Paris in a field of competitors that included her U.S. teammate and defending PTWC Paralympic champion Kendall Gretsch, and Australian Lauren Parker.
Parker, who won three world championship titles since Tokyo, bested the field, and won gold in 1:06:23. Gretsch took silver, and Perry finished fifth in 1:14:03. In total, the U.S. Paralympic triathlon team won eight medals in Paris.
In an interview for another publication, Perry said that while her spinal cord injury took from her, it also gave her so much. But it goes far beyond accolades.
“When I was first injured, I didn’t want to be in a wheelchair anymore,” she told Ursinus Magazine. “But being here [in Colorado Springs] and being part of this community has made me realize that I don’t have to walk to be happy and enjoy my life. I can be in a wheelchair and still
Perry earned six podiums and two wins in World Triathlon events and finished fifth in Paris.
be happy and have adventures.”
Perry will continue to compete, but she hesitates to set goals and measure her successes in personal-best times and the number of podiums she earns. It’s much more than that.
“I want to grow the sport,” she said.
“Sports give so much to people and maybe I can be a bridge for people like me who are
unsure how to start. I want to be able to do what Lauren Parker did for me. Being on the big stage like that, maybe someone who has an injury is watching me and thinking, ‘If she can do it, I can, too.’”
“Maybe they’ll be inspired to take a step that’s a little scary or intimidating,” she said. “Because life isn’t about being ablebodied. It’s about your mindset.”
By Ben Seal
Ursinus researchers are wading into local waters to bring microplastic problems to the surface.
The Perkiomen Creek is just a short walk from the Ursinus campus, its gentle waters a welcome sight on the eastern fringe of an otherwise landlocked community. In the midst of this sizzling summer, it beckoned Assistant Professor of Biology Colleen Bove. Alongside students in her marine biology lab, she pulled on a pair of thigh-high rubber waders and stepped into the creek, where anglers sometimes cast lines for smallmouth bass and catfish. But this wasn’t a fishing expedition—at least not in the traditional sense.
Bove and her students were looking for crayfish and taking water samples as part of ongoing research that seeks to understand the prevalence of microplastic particles in local waterways and their impact on aquatic ecosystems. The project—a collaboration with researchers from Lehigh University, an hour’s drive up the Pennsylvania Turnpike—is focused on both the Perkiomen and the Schuylkill River, into which it empties five miles downstream.
The local waterways may seem clean to the naked eye, but Bove and her students quickly realized there is plastic pollution throughout. Even at the Schuylkill’s headwaters—in theory the most pristine portion of the river—their samples revealed microplastics.
“It’s mind-blowing,” Bove said. “Humans have
had such an impact on the planet that areas that are supposed to be relatively untouched and clean are already polluted.”
Each year we produce nearly 400 million tons of plastic, much of it in the form of single-use materials that won’t biodegrade. But that doesn’t mean they won’t break down. When plastics splinter into smaller pieces in the environment, they leave behind tiny shards that are nearly invisible but nonetheless harmful—to the crayfish in the Perkiomen and everything else they come into contact with. Although their health hazards are still being understood, these microplastics—defined as anything under five millimeters—have been found in human organs, bones, and placenta. A recent study out of the University of New Mexico found that they
accounted for 0.5% of the weight in two dozen samples of human brain tissue.
“There’s no running away from them,” said Emily Lybashev ’25, a senior biology major in Bove’s lab on a pre-med track.
While Bove investigates the environmental stress that microplastics place on aquatic ecosystems, her coprincipal investigator and counterpart at Lehigh, assistant professor JP Balmonte, is focused on the potential for these materials to serve as a habitat for harmful microbes. Microplastics in our waterways, he said, can serve as “vectors for contaminants” that pose a threat to ecosystem health, offering them a ride downstream or a hospitable environment in which to propagate.
Although the harms of plastic pollution have gained widespread recognition in recent years, the influence of microplastics on our environment and ourselves often goes unnoticed, Balmonte said.
“This is hidden in plain sight to most people,” he said.
With their research, he and Bove are putting the microplastic problem under a microscope to try to change that.
Bove grew up admiring the sea creatures she found along the coast in her native North Carolina and wandering through tidepools in New England, curious to see what she could catch. Steve Irwin’s The Crocodile Hunter documentary series was her favorite TV show. It was “the era of everybody wanting to be a marine biologist,” she said, and she counted herself among them. She found the only school in her home state where she could major in marine biology, UNCWilmington, then went to UNC-Chapel Hill for a Ph.D. in ecology.
Before joining Ursinus in August 2023, she had primarily studied corals, including how microplastics and ocean warming and acidification influence the organisms’ gene expression and microbial communities. Her research took her to Florida, Curaçao, Panama, and Belize to collect samples.
“It’s not always as glorious as it sounds,” she admits. “A lot of the time we’re getting
Every single sample we have pulled so far has microplastics. We don’t have any samples that are pristine, which makes sense, but once we actually saw that it was still really shocking.”
Colleen Bove
destroyed by sand fleas and standing in the sun all day.”
During the pandemic, though, everything paused. She found herself venturing to the shores of the Atlantic near Boston, where she lived at the time, and observing native organisms like marine snails, rather than the coral she’d become familiar with.
“That’s when I realized how important doing more local, accessible research was to me,” she said.
She wanted to be able to teach and research with undergraduates, and that’s how she ended up at Ursinus—and in the middle of the Perkiomen.
Balmonte, meanwhile, started at Lehigh
in 2023 and was searching for a project to sink his teeth into. He knew Bove from Chapel Hill, where he earned his Ph.D., and partnered with her to apply for funding from the Pennsylvania Sea Grant, a subsidiary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that supports research on the environment and conservation of natural resources. One of the program’s areas of focus is understanding the impact of emerging contaminants, including microplastics, on local waterways.
For the project, which got underway in February and will take two years to complete, Bove and Balmonte have discrete but overlapping interests in understanding the implications of a world filled with microplastics. While she explores their influence on organisms like the crayfish, he is studying them as a habitat for microbial colonization. Their work in the field and in the lab, though, is deeply connected.
Once a week over the summer, Bove, Lybashev, and two other Summer Fellows labmates, Ivy Foster ’25 and Kate Lloyd ’27, went to the Perkiomen to draw samples using a CAMP (Capture Apparatus for Microplastics) that allows them to gauge how contamination changes over time, influenced by shifting temperatures and
weather patterns. They brought back crayfish to be studied in the lab, where they’ll be exposed to microplastics to understand how their bodies and behaviors respond.
Lybashev also worked with Balmonte and Lehigh Ph.D. student Alex Korbobo to draw samples from sites along the Schuylkill, all the way from where it begins, in the mountains near Tuscarora, down to South Philadelphia, where it joins the Delaware River before flowing into the Delaware Bay. Among the sites is Upper Schuylkill Valley Park, just west of Ursinus. The spatial sampling will allow
the researchers to determine how the microplastic content in the water changes throughout its course; sampling taken across the two-year timeline will allow them to assess shifting patterns. Warmer temperatures, for example, contribute to plastic disintegration and bacteria proliferation, so studying changes by season could offer a window into how microplastics behave in a warmer future.
In the lab at Lehigh, Korbobo taught Lybashev how to chemically process water samples to filter out dirt and organic material, leaving behind only microplastics. Lybashev then used a
(Left): Prof. Colleen Bove (in red hat) and Kate Lloyd ’27 skim the Perkiomen Creek.
(Opposite page, left to right): Lloyd, Emily Lybashev ’25, and Ivy Foster ’25 consult on their work.
fluorescent microscope in Bove’s lab to visually count the number of fibers in each sample, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to identify the chemical components in each sample of microplastics. The work revealed four primary sources of microplastic pollution: tributyl phosphate, a solvent used in inks and adhesives; poly(vinyl formal), used in coating for wires and construction bonding; polyethylene, found in bottles, bags and plastic packaging; and 1,2-polybutadiene, a component of the car tires that wear into the roads along our waterways.
“Every single sample we have pulled so far has microplastics,” Bove said. “We don’t have any samples that are pristine, which makes sense, but once we actually saw that it was still really shocking.”
Even at the Schuylkill’s headwaters, Korbobo saw a speck of pink in a sample that’s yet to be analyzed with FTIR. “It’s been eye-opening,” she said.
As we wait to learn more about microplastics’ effects on human health, their impact on aquatic ecosystems should already be cause for concern, Balmonte said. In water, microplastics attract dense colonies of biofilm that form anoxic patches—areas depleted of dissolved oxygen, which serve as welcoming environments for harmful microbes. In the study, Balmonte is focused on three types, in particular: those that convert mercury into the neurotoxin methyl mercury; those that produce microcystin, a carcinogen; and those that carry antibiotic-resistant genes.
“For the public community and the local community, I think it’s very important that people know what’s going on in their local
The restoration of the centuries-old Speakers House—once an Ursinus College residence hall—in neighboring Trappe is a passion project decades in the making for historian Lisa Minardi ’04. And she has some help from aspiring Ursinus archaeologists.
By Connor Donohue and Ed Moorhouse
Lisa Minardi ’04 (bottom left) has been working to restore the Speaker’s House for half her life. It’s a project that engages students like Megan Robie ’24 (second from right).
fragment of ceramic, long forgotten and buried deep underfoot, has a story to tell. Once discarded, but now unearthed and carefully dusted off, it reveals much about the history of the area, and the people who once inhabited it.
“There’s a very direct connection,” said Lisa Minardi ’04, “that’s continually revealing itself.”
For more than 20 years, Minardi, who is executive director of Historic Trappe, has spent a considerable amount of time piecing together a nearly 300-year-old puzzle at 151 W. Main Street—the Speaker’s House—home to Frederick Muhlenberg, the first speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
That was, of course, long before the house was an Ursinus College residence hall. But now, as historians like Minardi prepare for the country’s semi-quincentennial in 2026—the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—it’s serving a new purpose for Ursinus students: It’s the site of a summer archaeology field school.
History exists all around us. It’s recorded in our books, photos, and Internet databases; immortalized on plaques and monuments; can be visualized in art and antiques; and even visited upon at some of our greatest landmarks. But the
history that exists beneath our feet—the history that remains hidden—may tell a greater story and unlock secrets of the past that remain unseen.
Working in the blazing hot summer sun, Ursinus students have over the years excavated pottery, utensils, and other artifacts—even a shoe buckle—that can be tied back to Muhlenberg and his family.
“It may just be a shoe buckle, but it starts to reveal a story about someone who walked a mile in those shoes,” said Aidan Mashael ’26, an Ursinus student from Edina, Minn., who participated in the field school last summer. “It’s one thing to read history, but it’s another to see it and discover it with your own eyes.”
The excavation has revealed several surprises over time, including a smokehouse and a bake oven on the property.
“For some of the first demolition I did, I put my crowbar through a wall that was right over there, not knowing there was a hole where there was a bake oven door,” Minardi said while showing Ursinus Magazine around the house in August. “And that led to, ‘We should do some archaeology outside and find the foundation.’ We fully excavated it, reconstructed it, and now we have a bake oven we can bake bread in.”
While the archaeology field school has been an ongoing program for years, 2024 was the first for Katharine Davis, a visiting instructor of anthropology at Ursinus. Davis led approximately
It’s one thing to read history, but it’s another to see it and discover it with your own eyes.”
— Lisa Minardi ’04
a dozen students from Ursinus and other institutions last summer on a dig project to discover more lost artifacts from Muhlenberg’s time and thereafter. The for-credit class lasted six weeks and started in early June.
Davis, whose own archaeological research mostly takes place in Bolivia, said the Speaker’s House project is significant “because of Minardi’s expertise and her efforts to preserve and promote the importance of the Muhlenbergs and Pennsylvania German families to the history of America and the local community.”
“It’s a practical class that prepares students for employment in cultural resource management firms,” Daivs said. “This class mixed with an Ursinus degree means these students could get a job in archaeology excavating anywhere in the U.S.”
What was found has been cleaned and examined, and much of it will be displayed to the public once full renovations are complete.
“It’s deeply meaningful to have that community engagement along with the college,” Minardi said. “Trappe has such a rich history, so to see the Ursinus community recognizing this place and looking in our direction is really great.”
For Minardi, the restoration effort is a passion project that has spanned more than half her life.
The property is woven into the fabric of Montgomery County and Ursinus history. Located on the colonial highway between Philadelphia and Reading, The house was built in 1763 and served not only as a home for Muhlenberg and his family, but also a center of commercial and political importance.
Along with his congressional duties, Muhlenberg served as the first president judge, recorder of deeds, and register of wills when Montgomery County was established in 1784. It was in his house where a lot of local political business was conducted.
“This is where Montgomery County began,” Minardi said.
After Muhlenberg was named receiver general of the Pennsylvania Land Office and moved to Lancaster in 1799, the property continued to undergo massive changes.
A middle section of the house was added around 1800, followed by another section towards the back around 1840. A big Victorian-style remodeling occurred in the 1870s before Ursinus eventually purchased the house in the 1920s.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 45
In August, Ursinus welcomed 440 new students to campus, including the largest-ever class of transfer students. Among them, the first-year class represents seven different countries and 20 states, and nearly 30 percent are firstgeneration students.
During the annual Convocation ceremony, which this year included performances by current students and remarks from a recent graduate, President Robyn Hannigan said, “At Ursinus, we believe that every student’s path is personal and that your pathway to success is as individual as you are. Your pathway down this river reflects the diversity of your experiences, the choices you make, and the connections you form. As you navigate your course, remember that you are meant to be here, at this moment, in this place. You belong at Ursinus. This is your time to explore, to learn, to grow, and to make this journey truly your own.”
Françoise Gilot (1921-2023) is one of the most prevailing artists from the post-WWII School of Paris, creating more than 1,500 paintings and 4,000 works on paper over a 70-year career. And she also happened to have a unique connection to Ursinus College and the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art.
“It was love at first sight when it came to friendship between both my parents and Françoise,” said Nancy Berman, president and executive director of the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation, and Philip’s and Muriel’s daughter.
The Bermans first saw Gilot’s work in an exhibition at the Findlay Galleries of New York in the mid-1960s. They commissioned Gilot to create original lithographs over the years, developing a friendship with the artist.
Much later, in 1991, Gilot visited Ursinus for the first
time when her husband, Jonas Salk, spoke at a Founders’ Day celebration. The museum that bears the name of her friends opened just two years prior. During her visit, the Berman Museum’s founding director, Lisa Tremper Hanover, proposed an exhibition of Gilot’s work at the Berman, and in 1995, the museum opened Stone Echoes: Original Prints by Françoise Gilot. It was the first retrospective and comprehensive exhibition of Gilot’s lithographs and etchings.
“Her work has such rigor and confidence,” Nancy Berman said. “She felt a lot of trust in [Ursinus] and this was such a gift of respect because it was the museum saying that it would be open to becoming a place of record for her work.”
Philip and Muriel passed away in 1997 and 2004, respectively. Gilot received an honorary doctorate in fine
arts from Ursinus in 2001, and she made a substantial gift of works on paper in 2008. Today, the Berman is an international center for the study of Gilot’s works, housing more than 270 of them.
“There are many aspects of the collection that represent my parents’ relationship with Françoise,” Berman said. “The arts, particularly at the Berman Museum, are about enhancing learning and expression and communication. And I think that’s a beautiful aspect of the legacy of their friendship.”
Visit the Berman Museum through December 15 to see Françoise Gilot: Shaping Freedom Through Abstraction
By Savannah Reich
Directed by AZ Espinoza
Blackbox Studio Theater, Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center
February 27 and 28, 7:30 p.m.
March 1, 7:30 p.m.
March 2, 2 p.m.
Fun Home
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book and lyrics by Lisa Kron
Directed by Domenick Scudera
Lenfest Stage,
Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center
April 3, 4, and 5, 7:30 p.m.
April 6, 2 p.m.
Ursinus College
Dance Company presents When I Think of Home
Produced by Karen Clemente
Lenfest Stage,
Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center
April 24, 25, and 26, 7:30 p.m.
Bears’ football tailgate has always represented pride in program
By Bill Connolly ’88 Special to Ursinus Magazine
In September 2016, my nephew, Ben Espenhorst ’19, was a player on the Ursinus football team, and my sister-in-law and her husband invited us to join them at a game. My wife and I are both Ursinus alumni (1987 and 1988, respectively), and I had played for the Bears for four years myself. I knew the drill. They told us to come early—for breakfast— at the tailgate.
Okay, so maybe I didn’t know the drill.
Sure enough, when we arrived at the area behind the stands of Patterson Field at 10 a.m., music was blasting from portable speakers among a sea of canopy tents. Ursinus banners, grills, lawn chairs, and full buffets filled what had been just a patch of grass during my playing days. It was all a bit disorienting.
In the mid-80s, the only reason anyone would be behind the stands at Patterson Field would be to retrieve the car keys they dropped. Archived copies of The Grizzly suggest that, for decades, Homecoming was the only tailgate event and was actually held at individual vehicles in the parking lot. And although players of the past cannot quite relate, it occurred to me that I had witnessed
a bit of Ursinus’s tailgating history back then. The parents of my friend and teammate, Dan Healy ’87, were true tailgating pioneers during and beyond Dan’s playing years.
According to Healy, his father, Joe, filmed Ursinus’s home and away games when Dan began playing for Ursinus in 1984, and the full-day commitment to film those games led, naturally, to pre-game and post-game meals for Dan and his suitemates in what is now Reimert Hall. We’re talking hoagies made at home for pre-game; and then Dan’s mom Mary’s homemade roast beef and meatballs later, back at the residence hall.
The tradition continues to this day. “When our team is walking to get breakfast on game day at 9 a.m., the tents are up and the grills are starting to heat up,” Head Football Coach Pete Gallagher noted. “You have to get here early in the morning to get a spot for a 1:00 kickoff.”
Gallagher ties its growth and popularity over the years, in part, to the success of the football program in the region.
“We are committed to recruiting in the Greater Philadelphia area,” Gallagher said, “and during our recruiting process, it’s great to be able to invite our parents and families to come here and celebrate college football.”
So, unofficially, the tailgating tradition at Patterson Field can be traced back to the Healys. What inspired them to celebrate college football in their way is the same as what motivates current Ursinus parents: Pride in their student-athletes and pride in Ursinus’s successful athletic programs.
For more on this story, visit ursinus.edu/magazine.
The Ursinus Hall of Fame for Athletes is celebrating is 50th anniversary in 2024. The hall of fame recognizes excellence in sports for Ursinus athletes and coaches during their time at the college. A total of 57 men and women were inducted on Founders’ Day in 1974, and in 1980, the hall was reopened with the induction of eight new members. Today, it boasts nearly 400 members. This December, Ursinus is proud to recognize the following 2024 inductees:
Monica (Durham) Irving ’14 Gymnastics
Greg Martell ’12 Football
Jeff Ocampo ’12 Men’s Lacrosse
Dave Randolph ’09 Baseball
Jo Warren ’13 Gymnastics
Steve Donahue ’84 Men’s Basketball
Members of the women’s lacrosse national championship teams from 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, and 1990
RICHARD B. MILLHAM ’56 reports that he’s still working (but not too hard) in the insurance business that he established 45 years ago, which is now owned by his son, Rick.
RICKIE LEE SANDS ’68 is now a VFW District 16 trustee, member of VFW Military Order of the Cootie, toured Europe with the American Music Abroad program in July, and recently completed 44 years in Boy Scout firearms training.
BARBARA ANN (VINCENT) ETTINGER ’78 earned her Doctor of Ministry with distinction from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2024. She studied the connection between coaching and clergy wellbeing as part of her doctorate in ministry leader formation. Her doctoral project created an internal coaching network that now serves her entire denomination.
MICHAEL CYR ’92 has been appointed executive director of the Opportunity Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to economic mobility and improving financial health. Michael is responsible for business development and fundraising efforts.
KRISTEN (SERAFINO) DIMARTINO ’95 has been promoted to business development manager for healthcare real estate at NAI Geis Realty Group. August 2024 marked her 10-year anniversary with the Wayne, Pa.-based company.
MONYCA WHITE ’00 hiked the Grand Canyon with Team in Training in May 2024, raising over $5,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
AMBER (FRAME) STEPHENSON ’03 was promoted to full professor of management in the David D. Reh School of Business at Clarkson University. She is also the director of Healthcare Management Graduate Programs.
An honors thesis written by DAVID DREA ’19 titled, “Bringing Business Back to the Ballpark,” was cited in the book, Save Baseball: A Prescription for the Major Leagues by Larry Hausner.
DARRAH ELLIS ’16 earned an MFA in creative writing from Butler University in May 2023. Darrah reports that her husband, MELVIN ELLIS ’16, is enjoying his career in college nonprofit after seven years of teaching K-12.
A research paper penned by KAILEY MARTIN ’21 and BRITNEY DYSZEL ’22 with Professor of Biology Rebecca Roberts titled, “Evolution of the SARSCoV-2 proteome in three dimensions (3D) during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic” and published in the journal Protein: Structure, Function, Bioinformatics, was one of the top 10 most cited papers from the journal.
GRACE LADELFA ’19 and ALEC VERA ’19 celebrated their marriage on November 11, 2023, at the Philadelphia Cricket Club with 30 Ursinus friends in attendance.
DAWN M. ESTELLE ’92 and JESSE D. SEARFOSS ’93 were married October 1, 2023.
MEREDITH SABA ’03 and Aser Farouk celebrated their marriage on October 21, 2023, in Hazleton, Pa., with many Ursinus alumni in attendance from the classes of 1999-2007.
LORI TRZCINSKI ’09 and Michael Keen were married on May 5, 2024, in New Hope, Pa.
Edward Cornfeld ’50 died June 26, 2024.
Howard L. Hausher ’50 died June 21, 2024.
Norma (Sears) Huemmrich ’50 died June 6, 2024.
Joan L. (Verburg) Gross ’51 died February 1, 2024.
Donald M. Schmidt ’51 died April 14, 2024.
Richard A. Kiszonas ’52 died February 9, 2024.
Joseph A. Totino ’53 died June 15, 2024.
Mary (Willet) Hinchliff ’54 died March 31, 2023.
Virginia “Ginny” (Keim) Hudnut ’54 died April 28, 2024.
Chloe Oliver ’54 died July 18, 2024.
R. Paul Shillingford ’54 died August 21, 2024.
Nancy “Nan” H. (Bergmann) Cuthbert ’55 died April 15, 2024.
C. Edward Dawkins ’55 died September 2, 2023.
Bernard S. Orsini ’55 died March 19, 2024.
John W. Osciak ’55 died August 19, 2024.
Lillian (Kyritsis) Eshbach ’56 died May 25, 2024.
David M. Dickson Jr. ’57 died March 5, 2024.
John “Ray” R. Hamilton ’57 died June 5, 2024.
Harold L. McWilliams Jr. ’57 died May 14, 2024.
Barbara (Holtzman) Houser ’60 died May 7, 2024.
Richard R. Saylor ’60 died April 4, 2024.
Sara B. (Abel) Stover ’60 died August 14, 2024.
William D. Boyle ’61 died July 15, 2024.
Gillian R. Carter ’61 died August 6, 2024.
Jay W. Heckler ’61 died March 23, 2024.
Albert B. Sinopoli ’61 died May 4, 2024.
Jon “Jack” K. Clemens ’62 died October 17, 2023.
Jo-Ann (Lewis) Horner ’62 died May 14, 2023.
Phyllis E. (Neff) Woodruff ’62 died May 28, 2024.
Susan E. (Andres) Boisvert ’63 died August 24, 2024.
John P. Rapp ’63 died July 16, 2024.
Karen (Entrekin) Bearde ’64 died May 8, 2024.
Carole A. (Lane) Cills ’64 died November 2, 2023.
Enos L. Russell Jr. ’64 died Oct 10, 2023.
Christian P. “Chris” Smink ’64 died August 2, 2024.
Alfred B. “Barry” Troster ’66 died July 15, 2024.
Ronald Pittore ’68 died July 9, 2024.
Frederick L. Kreamer Sr. ’70 died February 9, 2024.
William S. Burkey ’71 died April 14, 2024.
Kathy Powell Roebuck ’71 died July 31, 2024.
Craig H. Crandall ‘72 died March 29, 2024.
Robert K. Rauscher ’77 died April 14, 2024.
Jeffrey A. Dietz ’79 (Evening) died July 18, 2024.
Helene (Fennimore) Delaney ’83 died August 24, 2024.
Alfred J. Quasti Jr. ’83 died June 2, 2024.
Edward M. Wentzel ’88 died December 4, 2023.
Carol A. Taggart ’97 died June 1, 2024.
Thomas E. Quay died June 13, 2024.
Anna Marie Eliff, retired employee, died March 27, 2024.
Linda S. Seifert, former professor, died April 12, 2024.
YOU CAN DO THE SAME FOR TODAY’S STUDENTS.
Through gift planning, you can leave a legacy that helps build pathways to a life of success and purpose.
As the end of the tax year approaches, there are several ways you can put your philanthropy to work for Ursinus students: charitable gift annuities, qualified charitable distributions, and more. Wondering where to start? Call or email Christopher Corish, director of gift planning, at 610-409-3028 or ccorish@ursinus.edu to start the conversation today.
Learn more at giftplanning.ursinus.edu.
We remain fiercely optimistic and purposefully open to endless possibilities.”
— President Hannigan
Dear Ursinus Community,
As I reflect on the past year, I’m filled with a profound sense of pride and gratitude for the unwavering spirit of our community. Together, we faced challenges, yet we also achieved remarkable success, laying the groundwork for a transformative future.
When thinking about how to introduce the 2024 Annual Report and Year in Review, a quote from Marie Curie came to mind: “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.”
While it’s true that we still have much to accomplish—and we are focused on what lies ahead— it is equally true that we are building on the strong foundation we crafted together over my presidency thus far. This foundation supports all that we aspire to become. Over the next few pages, you will learn more about this work and how critical it is not only to the college’s future but to the world.
Last year, we began implementing the ambitious goals set forth under the three pillars of my strategic framework: “Student Success,” “One Ursinus,” and “Partnerships.” You’ve embraced those pillars, and as a result, I’m thrilled to see our students not only meeting but exceeding expectations. I’m continually inspired by their resilience and determination—their successes are a testament to the power of a liberal education, one that encourages them to be innovators and problem solvers.
The Ursinus community embraces a mission that cultivates entrepreneurial thinking, calculated risk-taking, and leading in a world of constant change. Together—as One Ursinus—we’re becoming a place where career preparation, leadership development, and experiential learning are woven into our fabric. We’re fostering a culture of innovation that prepares our graduates to excel in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape.
We’re not naïve to the challenges we face. Like many colleges and universities, we’re navigating rising competition, shifting societal demands, and evolving expectations. These realities necessitate a hard look at what we do and making some difficult decisions to position us for success in the future. In true Ursinus fashion we don’t view these challenges as setbacks, we harness them as opportunities for growth. We are embracing this moment to redefine what it means to offer a liberal education in the 21st century.
Our commitment to quick, bold, and visible action means we are not simply reacting to the realities of higher education. We’re proactively shaping its future. This approach allows us to unlock the limitless potential that exists within our institution and, most importantly, within our students.
As we move forward, we remain fiercely optimistic and purposefully open to endless possibilities. The Ursinus experience is not just about imparting knowledge; it’s about igniting a passion for learning, the creation of new knowledge, and inspiring our community to lead. The future holds tremendous promise, and we’re poised to set a new standard for what higher education can and should be.
Together, we will continue to build on our successes and meet our challenges head on. I invite you to delve into this report, celebrating our accomplishments while also reflecting on the invigorating work that lies ahead. The best is yet to come, and I am excited to be on this journey with all of you.
Go Bears!
Sincerely,
President Robyn Hannigan
» Mohamed Abdelatty ’27, Tyler Griffith ’26, Monica Herman ’27, Donald Lattanze ’26, and Carlie Shiller ’25 won last year’s America250PA Direct Effect Innovation Challenge, where they presented creative marketing strategies focused on the contributions of small businesses emphasizing collaboration among state agencies and entrepreneurs.
» Rainah Dunham ’24 became the first Ursinus women’s track and field national champion at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May, winning the long jump at 5.98 meters.
» Ursinus students were recognized with some of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships and fellowships. Tia Alan ’24 was selected as a Fulbright scholar; Joey Nolan ’24 was named to the 56th class of Thomas J. Watson fellows; Cassie Denning ’26 was awarded the McFarland Scholarship by the St. Andrews Society of Philadelphia; and Grace DeConstanza ’25 and Kacey La ’25 both earned Barry Goldwater scholarships.
» Katherine Hein ’25 and Jessica Pizzo ’26 participated in the National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership Pennsylvania, an intensive, nonpartisan, six-day leadership and public policy institute designed to educate and empower young women for future political participation.
» Ursinus installed Bloomberg terminals on the second floor of the Myrin Library, allowing students to receive and analyze real-time financial data and become Bloomberg certified.
Top 11%
Payscale.com’s ranking of Ursinus for 10-year post-graduation earnings by alumni.
58
Ursinus’s ranking in Social Mobility among the nation’s liberal arts colleges.
» Strengthening its commitment to increase college access, affordability, and success for all students, Ursinus joined the American Talent Initiative (ATI), an alliance of 135 higher education institutions with a shared goal of collectively enrolling and graduating an additional 50,000 low- and moderate-income students by 2025.
» Recovery-Friendly Workplaces certified Ursinus as the first recovery-friendly campus in the U.S., highlighting its commitment to supporting individuals in recovery from substance use and mental health disorders.
» To promote a new avenue for conflict resolution on campus, Ursinus is piloting UC Restore, inspired by restorative justice, a program that encourages accountability through conflict coaching, mediation, and structured restorative circles.
» About 40 academic leaders from colleges and universities across the country participated in “Curriculum Matters,” the second Colloquium on Liberal Education funded by the Teagle Foundation.
» The Berman Museum of Art unveiled its latest addition to Ursinus’s outdoor sculpture collection, a hügel garden called The Instrument, reflecting the college’s commitment to public art and sustainability.
» The newly resurfaced Patterson Field, home to seven of Ursinus’s varsity athletic teams, in addition to its brand-new track, is providing Ursinus student-athletes with modern, safe amenities that allow them to compete at the highest level while enhancing our coaches’ ability to recruit future Bears. And with leveled flooring, brighter lighting, brand-new mid-century modern furniture, and à la carte menu options, Lower Wismer Center is a favorite hangout among students.
» Ursinus earned funding from NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
18%
The percentage of our alumni (3,031 individuals) who engaged with the college in some way in FY24.
» Ursinus President Robyn Hannigan was honored among the 50 most influential and thought-provoking women in Pennsylvania at City & State PA’s Above & Beyond Gala last March in Philadelphia.
» Ursinus was awarded $1 million in funding through the U.S. Congress’s Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) request program. It will support revitalization of the 400 block of the Main Street corridor, planned with the Borough of Collegeville.
» The college hosted a panel discussion on recovery in partnership with U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean. The event emphasized how higher education can innovate in community recovery efforts, with attendees sharing personal connections to substance use disorder.
» Given Pennsylvania’s significant rise in human trafficking cases, Ursinus hosted local public officials in a discussion on the root causes of the issue, inspiring students to combat social injustices in their communities.
» The first two Symposiums for Indigenous Representation brought together 75 educators, leaders, and community members to collaborate with the Delaware Tribe of Indians on accurately representing Lenape history.
The number of community, academic, alumni, or government events in FY24, showcasing a commitment to strengthening partnerships.
» A state grant is enhancing teacher preparation at Ursinus by improving field experiences. Funded through the Innovative Teacher Prep2Practice Program, this initiative aims to diversify the teaching pipeline and provide hands-on classroom exposure for aspiring teachers. 32
The number of community partners that engaged with Ursinus service projects last year.
The results are in, and our donors are making an impact! During the 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024), a total of 2,897 donors gave a cumulative $11,170,719 in new gifts and commitments to the college. More than $8.8 million of that total was cash-in-hand for the college and $2.26 million was given to support the Ursinus Fund, the source of budget-relieving, mission-critical funding.
The college saw significant support from donors making a major gift to the college, as well as an increase in participation and total giving from this important donor segment. We’re also proud that each member of the Ursinus Board of Trustees contributed to the college this year—100 percent participation— demonstrating their unwavering commitment to our mission. Their generosity reflects a devotion to the success of our students and faculty, as well as their steadfast belief in the future of the institution. This collective support sets a powerful example for the entire community and underscores the board’s leadership in advancing our strategic priorities.
Last spring, our 10th annual #Giving2UCDay raised $221,343 from 814 donors for mission-critical support! We also launched Future50: A Scholarship Initiative, aimed at securing funding for 50 new $5,000 scholarships before the start of the 2024-25 academic year. Our benefactors surpassed the goal, supporting 53 new scholarship funds, totaling nearly $266,000. The Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund raised an impressive $281,278 last year to support students facing unexpected financial crises.
Thank you to everyone who made a gift in FY24. Every donation—big or small—opens a door of opportunity for our students. We are grateful for your generosity!
3,976 Total number of donors in FY24.
The largest gift to the Ursinus Fund was $200,000, while the smallest gift was $5.
$2 million represents our largest gift in FY24. There are 60 volunteer opportunities for donors.
74 donors contributed a total of $7.01 million with gifts between $10,000 and $499,999
278 living Tower Society members (planned gifts).
Our most sincere appreciation to our loyal supporters who established the below named funds during the 2024 fiscal year. This list includes both endowed funds, which exist in perpetuity, and newly named current-use funds.
» Alumni Strategic Investment Fund
» The Rachel Blunt Memorial Scholarship
» Maria Carosella P’23, P’23 Memorial Scholarship
» The Clemens Fund for Summer Fellows in Chemistry
» Edith Ford Fund for Internships in Mental Health and Wellness
» Mark ’85 and Lisa ’83 Hinkel President’s Innovation Fund
» Barbara and John Jordan Fund
» Lawrence S. Sager, Esq. ’63, P’90 and Phyllis B. Sager P’90 Endowed Scholarship Fund
» The Staurowsky Family Annual Scholarship
» Rev. Dr. Albert E. Teske ’50, H’83 Endowed Fund for Religious Life
» Mason Williams ’71 Endowed Scholarship in Business
» Barbara (Gattiker) Wood ’61 Chemistry Research Fund
Our endowment provides a long-term source of fiscal strength for the college. It is composed of hundreds of separate funds, which are invested together, with the income spent each year to support a range of purposes across campus. These include scholarships, professorships and faculty development, student enrichment, capital projects, academic programs, and more. Through prudent investment, these funds are intended to grow over time and exist in perpetuity. They also allow donors to put their names—or someone else’s—on a fund and honor a legacy indefinitely into the future.
Market Value of the Endowment as of 6/30/2024: $163.5 million
The endowment represents a $16.7 million increase from last year’s reported total. Key contributors of growth include net investment returns, new endowment gifts, and a loan fund transfer into the endowment fund. Increases were offset by endowment draws and other distributions.
waterways,” Balmonte said, “even if they can’t see it.”
At both Ursinus and Lehigh, the researchers will continue sampling the Perkiomen and the Schuylkill over the next two years as they work to develop a deeper understanding of the scale of the microplastic problem. In time, Korbobo will compile all the information they gather into an open-source database that can inform future research and offer community members and policymakers a window into the state of the local waterways.
The researchers are also planning citizen science days, where they can teach community members about microplastics and water sampling protocols so they can contribute their own findings. The grant funds collaboration with the Da Vinci Science Center and the Master Watershed Steward Program that will support that effort.
In the midst of a global plastics crisis, the research will shed light for the first time on some of the local implications of all that pollution.
“This is an emerging contaminant we don’t know a lot about,” Korbobo said of microplastics. “It’s important to see how the influx of this pollutant is actually happening in different areas of the watershed to hopefully influence lawmakers that single-use plastics are not things we should be using in the future.”
It’s too early for Bove and Balmonte to report any findings
from their work, but they believe it will help demonstrate the prevalence and potential harm of microplastic pollution in the region’s aquatic ecosystems.
“Even if you can’t see them,” Bove said, “it doesn’t mean they’re not impacting you.”
Bove said she was given a great deal of freedom as an undergraduate, becoming one of those rare students to publish her research. At Ursinus, she wants to give the same opportunity to her students to explore their own curiosity. This fall, her lab is set to expand from three members to 10, bringing in more students like Lybashev and Lloyd, an environment and sustainability major who came to Ursinus hoping to conduct research in the field. She got her chance this summer and learned that the local waterways are “so much more delicate” than she had imagined, she said.
“I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, so we used the creeks as swimming holes, but you don’t really get the full impact of what humans are doing to the animals in there,” she said.
For Lybashev, her time in the field and in the lab thus far has been “transformative,” and the research has already changed the way she thinks about plastics.
“I want people to be more cautious about their plastic consumption and the waste they put out into the environment,” Lybashev said.
HISTORY UNEARTHED | CONT. FROM PAGE 27
The college used the home as a residence hall—known as Highland Hall—for women, and then for the football team, remodeling it to make it more livable for Ursinus students. It also served as a home for the athletic director. Once World War II began and college enrollment declined, the college no longer had a need for the house. Later, it became a private home, and then an apartment building, before it was planned to be torn down for a CVS in the early 2000s.
That’s when Minardi stepped in.
Minardi, who is also executive director of the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia, grew up locally and decided to study history at Ursinus because of her interest in Pennsylvania German culture.
“I took a great class on the history of family in colonial America, and for my research paper, I decided to study the Muhlenberg family,” Minardi said. “There were so many rich journals, papers, and more that I could focus on.”
During the fall 2003 semester, Minardi learned about the Speaker’s House and the plans to knock it down. She joined a grassroots effort and founded a nonprofit organization to rescue the building from demolition. It took partnerships with the late Joe Melrose, former ambassador-in-residence at Ursinus, as well as Ursinus trustees, and even a letter to a former U.S. transportation secretary, to get the job done. Once the property was secured, Minardi began her renovation project with the help of many members of the Ursinus community.
“We used to have fraternity guys doing demolition, the baseball team helping with clean up, sororities painting the fence along the garden,” Minardi said. “It’s been a long journey.”
Today, Minardi is still piecing together the history of the home. One ceramic fragment is evidence of what the Muhlenbergs may have cooked meals in or served meals on, so Minardi can use it to find period-appropriate items to furnish its rooms.
The archaeology work also helps tell a more complete story of the evolution of Main Street businesses over time.
“There used to be a general store here and it was the nexus of exchange between the local farm community and the major seaport of Philadelphia,” Minardi explained. “Muhlenberg was the conduit through which all commerce flowed.”
Along with the archaeology class, the Speaker’s House serves as a center for community events. A “Kids Dig History” program has allowed children to come and take part in some of the excavation of artifacts from the property.
“I’d see the kids holding out their hands saying, ‘Look what I found!’ It was real stuff, so you know, maybe one of those kids becomes an archaeologist,” Minardi said.
Ursinus students of all majors remain engaged throughout the academic year, as do students from the local school districts. Professor of Biology Rebecca Roberts even serves as a tour guide.
“I find it’s a place to share, learn, and reflect on where we came from and where we are going as a country,” Roberts said. “My own children have become engaged with the property as well.”
Minardi is also planning to launch a historic foodways program, where food will be harvested from an on-site garden, and cooking and baking classes will take place in the newly renovated historical kitchen—using the bake oven. There’s also a farm stand on Saturdays, where they sell vegetables, cheese, eggs, and other fresh produce.
“For me, it’s a way to pay it forward,” Minardi said.
The full renovation is set to be complete by 2026 during a crescendo of American history in the area. Minardi is among several community partners, including the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board and America250PA, planning events which, in addition to the PGA Championship, MLB All-Star Game, and FIFA World Cup, is expected to attract more than a million tourists to Montgomery, Chester, Bucks, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties.
“We hear a lot from people who don’t realize how important the Muhlenberg family was to American history,” Minardi said. “It’s not just a local story. It’s a county, state, and nationally important story.”
And it’s one she’s proud to tell.
February 5, 2025
Open a world of possibility.
BEAR BITES | CONT. FROM PAGE 8
UM: You’re also an avid hiker. Do you have a favorite place you’ve hiked?
GG: The Alps. A few years ago, I received a grant to write about the remnants of World War I fortifications in the Dolomites where the Italian and the Austrian armies faced each other from 1914 to 1918. There were trenches at something like 10,000- or 11,000-feet altitude. A lot of the fortifications were covered in ice, but over time and due to climate change, these trenches have started reappearing. This brings up challenging questions around ecological and historical preservation. I took my family along and it brought together both my passion for history and my interest in imagining the “what if” of history.
I’ve been able to hike the Andes in Cusco, Peru, and in Ecuador. I would love to explore the Rocky Mountains, but in the meantime I’m happy to hit some of the beautiful trails along the Schuylkill River.
UM: What has struck you most about Ursinus so far, and what excites you about its future?
GG: What has struck me most is how passionate everyone is about providing the best possible experience for our students, and how hard people are working to make it happen. There is such a strong foundation to really create a standout experience for students that combines their education with a focus on personal and professional success in a way that very few other colleges can do. That makes me really enthusiastic about the future.
Ursinus women’s soccer player Emma Woch ’28 gets ready to throw in during a game this fall.
