Spring '14 Owl & Spade

owl&spade

The Magazine of Warren Wilson College

SPRING 2014

Students help excavate a burned house that was occupied by Spanish soldiers at Fort San Juan.

A Major Discovery at the Berry Archaeology Site

Warren Wilson College Chapel Turns 50

Listening Is Serving: Learning with the Lakota at Pine Ridge

owl&spade The Magazine of Warren Wilson College

Owl & Spade is produced by the offices of communications, media relations and advancement for alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends of Warren Wilson College.

Editor John Bowers jbowers@warren-wilson.edu Graphic Designer Martha Smith Contributing Writer Ben Anderson Contributors Debra Allbery Kelly Ball J. Clarkson ’95 Melissa Ray Davis ’02 Morgan Davis ’02 Janet Doyle Don Harris Jack Igelman Kathleen Laufenberg ’14 Emma Luster ’16 Dawn Medley David Moore Mike Nix ’70 Lyn May ’17 Lily Paz y Miño ’16 Dustin Rhodes ’95 Kathryn Schwille MFA ’99 Steve Solnick Matt Williams ’09 Ally Wilson Copy Editor Jennie Vaughn

warren-wilson.edu/~owlandspade

Mission

The mission of Warren Wilson College is to provide a distinctive undergraduate and graduate liberal arts education. Our undergraduate education combines academics, work and service in a learning community committed to environmental responsibility, cross-cultural understanding and the common good.

On the Cover Archaeology Field School participants clean the floor of a burned house occupied by Spanish soldiers at Fort San Juan. The field school included WWC students Joanna Vasek, Emma Richardson, Andrea Glenn, Laurel Sanders, Rachel Briggs, Dan Rousseau, Alexander Griswold and Kevin Moody.

Owl & Spade (ISSN spring/fall publication: 202-7074111) is published twice a year (spring, fall) by the staff of Warren Wilson College. Address changes and distribution issues should be sent to alumni@warren-wilson.edu or Rodney Lytle, CPO 6376, PO Box 9000, Asheville, NC 28815.

Printed on Rolland Enviro100 Print paper (made with 100% post-consumer waste and processed totally chlorine free). Printed with vegetable oil-base inks.

Compared to virgin paper, using this paper saved 81 trees, 29,261 gallons of water, 56 min BTUs of energy (224 days of power for an average American household), 7,049 pounds of emissions, 3,758 of solid waste recycled instead of landfilled! These figures calculated using Environment Savings Calculator at www.neenahpapers. com/Resources/Calculators/ECalculator

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

H

omecoming is a special time in the life of any college, and my second Homecoming at Warren Wilson College did not disappoint. I am always excited to see our alumni from many generations converge on the field for our huge picnic and even huger bonfire—and it’s a real joy to watch them interact with our current students and their families. The common ground these visitors find so quickly is a living reminder that even though the College has changed dramatically through the decades, it has remained true to its core values: the essential role of learning, the dignity of work, the value of service to the community, the importance of preserving the environment and the shared commitment to the common good.

It is one thing to recite these values and celebrate them in the abstract. It is altogether different to meet them in the flesh.

On Saturday morning of Homecoming Weekend, I had the honor of presenting our Distinguished Alumni Awards in the beautiful outdoor setting of Morris’ Community Pavilion. All the recipients are shining examples of the difference individuals can make and of the strong values our graduates take into the world. One story, however, seemed to encapsulate the Triad in ways I hadn’t expected or imagined. That story belongs to Brian Teixeira ’96.

Brian is currently a Special Agent with the FBI, specializing in rendering safe improvised explosive devices and investigating bombings. At Warren Wilson College he majored in chemistry and worked on the chemistry and locksmith crews—a more fitting work assignment for his future career would be difficult to imagine. But when I asked Brian what was the most important part of the Warren Wilson education for him, he replied that it was learning to work as a team with other students who were very different from himself.

That essential skill—a true Triad outcome—served Brian well when he trained a diverse team of Bosnia bomb technicians and investigators. It informed his approach to preparing cases for use in Afghan court, one of the first Americans to do so during the war. It continues to guide him as a public servant and as a leader who has won military and civilian awards in the United States and overseas.

I confess I was surprised to find a Warren Wilson College graduate leading a team of soldiers in Afghanistan and working for the FBI. Realizing that, however, I have also learned that after more than a year at Warren Wilson, I continue to underestimate the value of a Triad education. Our graduates emerge with the will to make a difference in the world and the confidence to take risks and to trust their skills. Perhaps most important, as Brian reminded me, they know how to work with and lead others—and those are vital skills for any career and essential no matter the professional path they take.

I hope you will all make plans to join us at Homecoming 2014. Sharing these stories and learning about the impact our graduates continue to make in the world brings us closer together and enriches all members of our extended community. I hope that when you come, you’ll enjoy the field, the cookout, the competitions and all of our wonderful activities. And I hope you’ll join me at the Awards & Recognition Ceremony at the Annual Alumni Association Meeting to celebrate those among us who best embody the values of the Triad. The stories you’ll hear will amaze you.

Steven L. Solnick

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owl&spade CONTENTS • SPRING 2014

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Inside front cover

triad news 2 Bartels wins Magnarella Family Faculty Scholarship Award • Reverend Dr. A. Gary Angleberger Scholarship • Mountain bike team captures top four national finish • Distinguished Awards 2013 • PETER SAGAL OF “WAIT WAIT...” TO SPEAK AT COMMENCEMENT MAY 17 • U.S. News recognizes service program • MFA faculty member Mary Szybist wins National Book Award • Campus Tree Inventory wins sustainability award • Students receive undergraduate

research grants • $400,000 gift to be used for College forest management and education • Kaman grant to upgrade Kittredge music wing • Eight times a Best Buy • Amanda Wilson receives

Community Impact Student Award • INTERNATIONAL PHOTO CONTEST

FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

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Features 14 WARREN WILSON COLLEGE Chapel TURNS 50 MAJOR DISCOVERY AT THE BERRY ARCHAEOLOGY SITE TOM DAO'S PATH TO THE SWANNANOA VALLEY Adventure Education and Challenge Course Management Undergraduate Research with Jane Margaret Bell THE BROTHERS MUCHANE LISTENING IS SERVING: LEARNING WITH THE LAKOTA AT PINE RIDGE COACH STEINBRECHER INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME

2013 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

HOMECOMING 2013 32

WARREn WILSON COLLEGE ANNUAL REPORT 34

ALUMNi News 37

MFA Bookshelf 44

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE CHAPEL TURNS 50

MAJOR DISCOVERY AT THE BERRY ARCHAEOLOGY SITE

LEARNING WITH THE LAKOTA AT PINE RIDGE

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SPRING 2014

TRI ADNEWS Bartels wins Magnarella Family Faculty Scholarship Award

By Emma Luster ’16

The Magnarella Family Faculty Scholarship Award is given annually to a faculty member for recent significant publications or for lifetime achievements with evidence of continuing scholarly productivity.

The award was recently given to biology professor Paul Bartels.

Paul Bartels has published papers on an array of topics including the behavior of coral reef fish, ants, birds and coral reef conservation. For the past 13 years Bartels and his students have been conducting research on tardigrades as a part of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This inventory is one of the largest biological inventories attempted. “We’re trying to identify every living species in the park,” Bartels said. “We have tons of research spinning off in many directions as we get to know this group of animals.”

So what are tardigrades exactly? More commonly known as waterbears, tardigrades are small, water-dwelling animals; they’re famed for being one of the most complex

polyextremophiles, an organism that can survive in a physically or geochemically extreme condition that’s detrimental to most life on Earth. Tardigrades can withstand extreme temperatures from just above absolute zero to far higher than the boiling point of water. They have been known to endure radiation in amounts that would be lethal to (L-R) President Solnick, Paul Bartels, and Sharlene and Paul Magnarella humans and have made it through the vacuum of space.

Bartels, his students and other researchers have discovered 13 new species in the park since joining the project 13 years ago. In Warren Wilson’s Photomicroscopy Lab, Bartels and his students observe tardigrades from an immense database. Tardigrades are the perfect animals to study over time because they can exist without food or water for more than ten years. “We’ve collected

lichen from trees in the Smokies and added water to rehydrate the waterbears and bring them back to life, so to speak,” Bartels said.

Bartels is hoping to observe these tardigrades through their whole life cycle, which would provide answers to many of the questions Warren Wilson students and tardigrade researchers have been asking for years.

Reverend Dr. A. Gary Angleberger Scholarship

By Janet Doyle

The need to be a thoughtful steward of accumulated resources is a powerful motivator for the Reverend Dr. A. Gary Angleberger, a Board of Church Visitors member during the Bannerman and Holden presidencies at Warren Wilson.

Dr. Angleberger endowed a scholarship at Warren Wilson because he wants to extend the values that are inherent in the mission of the College: The care for creation, the need to use resources wisely and for the benefit of others, and the teaching that life itself is a gift to be cherished and nurtured. Each is a hallmark of Angleberger’s lifelong career in ministry.

In addition to his active participation with the board and annual visits to Swannanoa, Angleberger enhanced Warren Wilson’s 2

faculty. Many years ago as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Granville, Ohio, he encouraged his parishioners, Hugo and Hilda Doob and Don and Vicki Collins, to apply for positions at Warren Wilson. The late Doobs and the Collins are esteemed members of Warren Wilson’s retired faculty and staff.

Half of Angleberger’s career in ministry was at the General Assembly and Synod levels of the Presbyterian Church developing Christian stewardship and mission funding in congregations and presbyteries. He often spoke about planned giving and the need to be careful stewards of one’s accumulated resources.

“Most important decisions, especially ones that involve money and our basic values, do not occur quickly,” Angleberger said. “They come about slowly and represent the subtle workings of God’s spirit in our lives.”

Angleberger’s involvement with the College spans the decades. This year the Reverend Dr. A. Gary Angleberger Scholarship will be awarded to students with financial need. The College celebrates his special relationship through this extraordinarily thoughtful generosity.

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TRI ADNEWS Mountain bike team finishes fourth at nationals

By Coach Matt Williams ’09

Despite warnings of snow in the forecast and the promise of tough competition from around the country, 10 Cycling Owls made the trip up the steep switchbacks of Beech Mountain and into the forests of the North Carolina high country for the 2013 Collegiate National Mountain Bike Championships Oct. 25-27.

Beech Mountain, at an elevation of 5,600 feet, is the highest town east of the Rockies and has a climate all its own. Freezing temperatures, snow and high winds conspired to create an epic test of riders’ skill, endurance and perseverance. After two recovery days spinning around the sinewy flow trails of DuPont State Forest, the Warren Wilson Mountain Bike Team arrived at Beech Mountain several days prior to nationals to move into their trailside home and start dialing in the tricky courses.

Endless roots, massive rock gardens and icy jumps all took several tries to get right, but the riders became comfortable and fast on the challenging terrain. In the basement the team’s ace mechanic, Aaron Peet, labored to make sure everyone’s race bikes were working perfectly.

The races started Friday morning with the short track event. The hardest 25 minutes you’ll ever spend on a bike, the short track is a test of speed. Riders completed lap after lap around the base lodge of Beech Mountain. Allison Jones ’15 had a superb ride and was in contention for the podium until a late race crash derailed her chances.

She rallied and passed two riders on the last lap to finish ninth.

After lunch, racers headed to the top of Beech Mountain for downhill qualifying.

All four Warren Wilson women qualified for the finals, while Mike Flynn ’14 and Elias Grant ’14 made the main event for the men. On Saturday morning the men raced on the still-frozen trails. Robin Crandall ’16 handled the ice, slush and competition beautifully and had his best race of the year.

Thanks to a massive last lap effort, he went from 18th to 13th by the finish to lead the Warren Wilson men. In the women’s race, Jones again posted a top-10 finish, with Lilly Hacker ’14 and Tesa Anderson ’15 not far behind.

In Saturday afternoon’s downhill, Flynn had his best individual performance of the weekend and rolled across in 21st for the men. On the women’s side, Allison again led the team. Alessia Faverio ’14 also put in a great ride, despite technical issues; the mud was so thick during her ride that her wheels stopped spinning.

On Sunday, after dual slalom qualifying, the Owls prepared for the team relay. A first-time event, the team relay saw each of the four riders complete a three-minute lap. Crandall led off with a great lap and

SPRING 2014

put the team in contention for the podium.

Jones, battling through pain from a wrist injury, kept it close and Hacker dug deep to keep Flynn within striking distance of the podium. He had some ground to make up, and he put in a massive effort up the course’s big climb and rode Warren Wilson onto the podium in fourth place.

The team’s results on Sunday were enough to secure their fourth place overall in the team standings for the cycling Owls. It was a wellearned podium, and the team’s 11th straight podium finish at Nationals. Jones secured a fifth place finish in the women’s omnium.

It was a great way to wrap up a phenomenal weekend of racing for the Warren Wilson Mountain Bike Team.

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TRI ADNEWS 2013 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Distinguished Awards 2013 (L-R, back to front) John Paul, Mel Seifert, June Seifert, Buz Eichman, Marilyn Eichman, John Cail, Nada Cail, Pat Willever, Bruce Willever, Brian Teixeira, Nathan Ballentine, Joshua Schwartz

Distinguished Alumni Award Joshua Schwartz ’00 Joshua holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from WWC and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is the executive director of the Mad River Planning District in Vermont and previously served as the planning and zoning director for the City of Barre and the regional planner with the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission. While in Barre, Joshua oversaw an inventory and assessment of the city’s hydroelectric generation potential. He has received numerous honors, including the 2013 Vermont Planning Association Project of the Year, 2012 Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association Professional Planner of the Year and 2011 Professional Planner of the Year. “Warren Wilson is where I met my wife, deepened my connection to place, challenged my beliefs and developed

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an understanding of scale, community engagement and personal ethics,” Joshua said. “I’m humbled by this recognition and very appreciative to have the opportunity to be a part of this dynamic community.”

Distinguished Alumni Award Brian Teixeira ’96 After receiving a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from WWC, Brian worked as a research engineer for Amersham Health Inc., where he authored two U.S. patents for dispensing hyperpolarized gas and gas products. Brian is now a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he is an investigator, bomb technician, SWAT operator and FBI adjunct professor.

Brian has received several honors, including the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Medal, which was presented in 2009 by the Headquarters Element of the Joint Task Force Paladin in Bagram, Afghanistan. He also received an Appreciation of Dedication and Support to the International Security

Associated Force in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

In the United States, Brian received certificates of accomplishment by the Massachusetts State Police for Invaluable Assistance rendering safe 52 explosives in two days.

Distinguished Community Service Award Nathan Ballentine ’08 Nathan holds a bachelor’s degree from WWC in integrated studies with a selfdesigned major titled “Community Organizing and Leadership.” Following graduation, he served in a variety of volunteer programs, including Humane Borders, a humanitarian organization that offers assistance to those in need near the US-Mexico border. Nathan moved back to his hometown of Tallahassee, Fla., to utilize his time and resources to be a food gardener, educator and community organizer. He co-founded and serves as the treasurer for the Tallahassee Food Network (TFN), a hub of the area food movement that

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TRI ADNEWS facilitates community and school gardens and enables local folks to raise food for self and neighbor. Nathan is also the volunteer director and co-founder of Grow Whatever You Like, the youth empowerment and urban agricultural program of TFN. Nathan chose to attend Warren Wilson because its student body understands that education is only partially an academic pursuit. “I would not be doing what I’m doing now, if I hadn’t gone to Warren Wilson College. Warren Wilson helped me to have the confidence to think I could try something like this on my own.”

Distinguished Community Service Award Shrawan Nepali ’89 Shrawan grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, and discovered the College through John and Jill Paul, his sponsor family. He graduated from the College with a degree in business administration and received a master’s degree in international business from Lincoln University. Shrawan currently focuses his efforts in the field of social work and is the founder of Curry Without Worry, a non-profit he started in San Francisco and Kathmandu. The organization feeds “healthy food for hungry souls” and serves 250 meals each week to those in need. Shrawan also founded the Ama Foundation, which endeavors to educate and empower underprivileged children in Nepal by providing them with a home, education and opportunities to live healthy and secure lives. The primary program of the foundation is the Ama Ghar Children’s Home in Kathmandu, which provides a home and family to 46 orphaned and disadvantaged children.

Distinguished Service Award Bruce and Pat Willever Bruce and Pat Willever learned about WWC from a family at a Quaker conference and subsequently enrolled their daughter Keri, now a ’95 alumnae and WWC admission counselor. In the late 1990s, Bruce and Pat left their careers and home in Kohler, Wisconsin, to come to the College as volunteers. Bruce served as co-manager of St. Clair Guest House and assisted with the Landscaping Crew, Farm

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Crew and Campus Support Crew. He was a staff member from 1998 to 2008, working as assistant manager of landscaping. Bruce received the Staff Teaching Excellence Award in 2006 and the Service Learning Staff Award in 2007. Pat volunteered at the College from 1998 to 1999 as co-manager of St. Clair Guest House and in the College Relations Division. She was a staff member from 1999 to 2012, working as assistant manager of the College Press. She received the Staff Teaching Excellence Award in 2007. They say their years at Warren Wilson have been the best of their lives and that they are thankful to be a part of the vibrant community.

Distinguished Service Award Nada ’60 and John Cail Nada graduated from the College with a degree in library science and English. Since graduating she has received several advanced degrees in the areas of library science, human resources, public administration and religion. Nada has demonstrated dedication to the values of Warren Wilson through her involvement in both community and church activities. She and her husband, John, volunteered at the College from 2001 to 2007. Nada donated her time in Academic Affairs, Advancement, Career Services and the International Students Office. “The College played a major role in who I am today,” Nada said. John is a retired systems analysis manager and has been involved in many volunteer efforts, including building houses in Sri Lanka and in Zambia. While at Warren Wilson, John volunteered in Computing Services, where he repaired computers and designed systems for Student Life, the campus post office, Public Safety and the Work Program.

Distinguished Service Award Marilyn and Buz Eichman Buz and Marilyn Eichman volunteered at the College from 2002 to 2009. During this time Buz worked with the Electric Crew and Marilyn worked in student services, the Office of the Dean of Students and at the College Farm. In addition to on-campus volunteer work, the Eichmans assisted twice with Katrina Relief service projects.

In 2004 Buz and Marilyn received the WWC Volunteer of the Year Award, and in 2009 they were recipients of both the Staff Teaching Excellence Award and the Staff Service-Learning Leadership Award.

Since leaving Warren Wilson, they continue their service work at Habitat for Humanity, Center for the Performing Arts, Baskets of Hope, Interfaith Hospitality Network and a number of other organizations.

Distinguished Service Award June and Mel Seifert Mel is a retired professor from Sheldon Jackson College where he taught various classes in biology, geology, mariculture and math; June was previously employed at her alma mater, Tusculum College in Greenville, Tenn. Mel and June met while volunteering with the Presbytery in the Volunteers in Mission program. There, they befriended Marilyn and Buz Eichman, who introduced them to the College. Mel was excited about volunteering because of the College’s unique work program and the option to work outside, a task he fulfills each day as an assistant in landscaping. June has been an invaluable asset in the purchasing department, a post she has maintained for 10 years. The Seiferts began their journey at the College in 2004 and have stayed ever since.

Award Nominations Nominations for the 2015 Distinguished Awards are being accepted until January 1, 2015. Award categories include Distinguished Alumni, Distinguished Community Service, and Distinguished Service. Visit http://bit.ly/alumnom to download the nomination criteria and forms or call 866.992.2586 to request a printed copy.

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TRI ADNEWS Peter Sagal of “Wait Wait...” to speak at Commencement May 17 The wait just got shorter: Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s longrunning "Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me," is returning to Asheville in May. This time, however, Sagal isn’t bringing his popular show, as he did in August at Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Instead, he’ll bring a commencement address—his first—to be delivered May 17 at the 2014 Warren Wilson College Commencement. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. on Sunderland Lawn.

Sagal became host of “Wait Wait” in May 1998, just a few months after its debut as a newsquiz show produced by WBEZ-Chicago. The NPR show is now heard by more than four million people each week via 600 public radio stations and a popular podcast.

Here’s how Sagal describes himself: “He’s won a Peabody Award, and was No. 8 on the list of Best Jews from New Jersey by New Jersey Jewish News. Last spring, he hosted 'Constitution USA with Peter Sagal,’ a four-hour documentary on how the U.S. Constitution is lived today, for PBS. If you haven’t heard of him, your parents probably have. He also is, or has been, or might be again, an award-winning playwright, screenwriter (Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights), correspondent for a motorcycle magazine, marathoner, columnist for Runner’s World, author (The Book of Vice: Naughty Things and How to Do Them), stage director, late night TV guest, actor and journalist. He has three daughters and lives in Chicago.”

The 2014 Commencement at Warren Wilson will be the 46th at which the College has awarded bachelor’s degrees. Warren Wilson began transitioning academically from a twoyear to four-year institution in 1967, when it first offered upper-division classes. It added the low-residency MFA Program for Writers, the college’s acclaimed graduate program, in 1981.

U.S. News recognizes service program Best Colleges 2014, published by U.S. News & World Report, has recognized the College as having one of the nation’s leading service programs.

Warren Wilson is one of only 25 colleges and universities nationwide listed alphabetically in the Service Learning category of “Programs to Look For” in choosing a school—programs with “A Focus on Student Success,” according to U.S. News. The recognition marks the seventh time that Warren Wilson has received the distinction in the guide.

“Some colleges and universities are much more determined than others to provide freshmen and all undergrads with the best possible experience,” the guide notes, “recognizing that certain enriched offerings are linked to student success. Here, U.S. News highlights schools with outstanding examples of eight programs that education experts agree are key.”

U.S. News writes of the top Service Learning schools: “Required (or for-credit) volunteer work in the community is an instructional strategy in these programs. What’s learned in the field bolsters what happens in class, and vice versa.”

Warren Wilson’s pioneering service program was established more than 50 years ago. In recent years, the college’s 850 or so undergraduate students have given nearly 50,000 hours of service to community annually.

Also in the U.S. News 2014 guide, Warren Wilson College continues its standing in the Top Tier among “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges.”

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MFA faculty member Mary Szybist wins National Book Award Mary Szybist, faculty member in Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers since 2011, has won the National Book Award for poetry for her collection Incarnadine.

Szybist, who received the award at a ceremony on November 20 in New York City, becomes the second Warren Wilson faculty member to win a National Book Award. Andrea Barrett won in 1996 for Ship photo by Joni Kabana Fever and Other Stories.

Many other Warren Wilson faculty members have been finalists for the award in fiction and poetry.

“We are deeply proud of Mary’s achievement in Incarnadine and grateful that her book has received this richly deserved recognition,” Warren Wilson MFA Program Director Debra Allbery said.

“In Mary’s acceptance speech, she said, ‘There is plenty that poetry cannot do, but the miracle is how much it CAN do, how much it DOES do,’” Allbery noted.

“Each member of our faculty is a believer in the miracle of what writing can and does accomplish. We’re dedicated to guiding our poetry and fiction students to that greater awareness; we’re dedicated to exploring those truths in our own work.”

You can read more about Szybist and her work at http://bit.ly/1aJwkfE, as well as a Q&A interview with her at http://bit. ly/1ayhAB3.

Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers became the nation’s first low-residency creative writing program upon its founding in 1976 by renowned poet and teacher Ellen Bryant Voigt. The program has two 10-day residencies at Warren Wilson each year, in January and July.

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TRI ADNEWS Campus Tree Inventory wins sustainability award The College has been recognized for having a 2013 Best Case Study by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in the category of FourYear or Graduate Institution with 10,000 or Fewer Full-Time Students.

Warren Wilson was cited for its Center Campus Tree Inventory and Carbon Sequestration/ Storage Analysis, conducted by the college’s Landscaping Crew in partnership with the N.C. Forest Service. The analysis will guide future management decisions on campus with the goal of improving human health, environmental quality and aesthetic value.

A total of 9,913 trees were measured and cataloged in the 39-acre landscape tree census and 20-acre forest sample inventory, including 135 different species in the landscape census alone. The trees sequester 62 metric tons of carbon yearly, store 2,195 metric tons of carbon in their wood, and remove 1.57 metric tons of pollution annually. They have a structural replacement value of $11 million.

“Knowing much more about each individual tree on the Warren Wilson center campus promotes better landscape design, and facilitates individual care for each tree,” said Linden Blaisus ’11, who supervised the project as a paid intern. “The project has generated an accurate assessment of the carbon sequestration and storage in the center campus urban forest, and I hope it is only the first of many.”

Stan Cross, interim director of Warren Wilson’s Environmental Leadership Center, said the award is significant in several respects.

“This award recognizes our campus’ sustainability innovation at the nexus of academics and work, where we do sustainability exceptionally well,” he said.

“Linden and the students on the Landscaping Crew applied their academic course work in environmental studies, biology, forestry, math and GIS to the practical work of measuring, identifying, analyzing and reporting on the ‘carbon value’ of the core campus forest. In doing so, he and his team have advanced the national dialogue regarding the importance of urban forests.”

Warren Wilson landscaping crew supervisors Tom LaMuraglia and Renee Fortner were involved in directing the project, and Warren Wilson professors David Abernathy and David Ellum served as consultants.

The AASHE case study award is based on the following criteria: • Overall impact of the project • How innovative the project is • Extent to which the case study serves as a model for others

Students receive undergraduate research grants Six Warren Wilson College students have received full or partial funding for proposals submitted to the Yarbrough Research Grants program of the N.C. Academy of Science.

The program supports undergraduate research at North Carolina colleges and universities.

The following students and their proposals were awarded full funding: Hannah Billian “Analysis of Berberine and Hydrastine in Rhizomes of Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadesis L.) Grown in Varied Levels of Nitrogenated Soil.”

Sarah Dietrich “Synergistic Qualities of Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis versus Bererine Isolate in vitro.”

Austin Patton “Isolation & Characterization of Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci in the Green Salamander Aneides aeneus.”

Warren Wilson College chemistry professor Stephen Cartier is the faculty adviser for Billian and Dietrich. Biology/environmental studies professor JJ Apodaca advises Patton.

Receiving partial funding for their grant proposals were WWC students Michi Stewart-Nunez, Stephanie Williams and Todd Elliott.

All six students will present their work funded by the grant at the next annual meeting of the N.C. Academy of Science.

• Extent to which the case study includes multiple aspects of sustainability • Extent to which the case study engages multiple campus stakeholders • Clarity and coherence of the writing

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TRI ADNEWS $400,000 gift to be used for College forest management and education The College has received a $400,000 gift for the purpose of establishing the Irene Pennington Broyles and Glenn Boone Broyles Fellowship, in order to help preserve and manage the Warren Wilson College Forest in perpetuity.

Irene Broyles, a Somerset, Ky., resident who had survived her husband, Glenn, made the gift before her passing on Nov. 14.

She served as librarian at Somerset High School for 32 years, and the couple owned and operated a tree farm in Kentucky for many years. Glenn’s brother, Boyd, and Boyd’s wife, Edith, were partners in the tree farm that received numerous environmental awards. Irene Broyles was a 1939 graduate of Dorland-Bell School in Hot Springs, N.C., which merged with the Asheville Farm School in 1942 to form what eventually became the four-year Warren Wilson College in 1967.

The Broyles Fellowship will recognize and support the College Forest director— currently Sustainable Forestry Professor David Ellum—in using innovative methods of teaching students in forestry, and in conducting research in sustainable forestry, forest management, forest science and forest policy. It also will assist the director’s supervision of WWC students concentrating their studies in sustainable forestry and academic fields related to preservation of the College Forest.

“The College is thrilled to receive this generous gift from Irene Broyles establishing the Broyles Fellowship,” Warren Wilson College President Steven L. Solnick said. “The fellowship will help ensure the preservation of the College Forest and greatly benefit not only our current students, but also those for generations to come.”

Irene Broyles had further connections to Warren Wilson College and its forerunners.

Two of her four brothers were Asheville Farm School alumni; one sister was a Dorland-Bell alumna, the other attended the school; and a grandniece currently attends Warren Wilson.

“The College is thrilled to

Warren Wilson’s 1,130-acre campus includes 625 acres of managed forest.

The College has a strong academic program in sustainable forestry within its Environmental Studies Department, as well as a forestry work crew, one of more than 100 student work crews at Warren Wilson.

receive this generous gift from

“Education is the No. 1 natural resource produced by the College Forest,” David Ellum said. “This gift will not only help us to use the best science to protect the ecological integrity of the forest; it also will provide incredible opportunities for our Triad education of academics, work and service that involves students in all aspects of the forest’s stewardship.

only our current students, but

Irene Broyles establishing the Broyles Fellowship. The fellowship will help ensure the preservation of the College Forest and greatly benefit not also those for generations to come.”

–President Steven L. Solnick Warren Wilson College

“Mrs. Broyles’ generosity will leave a positive and longstanding mark on our students and our forest.”

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TRI ADNEWS Kaman grant to upgrade Kittredge Music Wing The College has received a grant from the Charles H. Kaman Charitable Foundation to help complete the renovation and upgrade of Kittredge Music Wing. The grant is in the amount of $107,960 over two years, with renovation scheduled to begin early in 2014.

The music wing, part of the Kittredge Community Arts Center built in the mid 1970s, includes a 60-seat recital hall, music practice rooms, offices and a music resource center that has a large and varied collection of recordings, scores and DVDs. The renovation and upgrade of the music wing will focus on the recital hall as a performance venue for various music and arts events, and will include new audiovisual equipment and recording capability as well as new upholstered, acoustical baffling panels.

Music is a large and ever-present part of campus life throughout the year at Warren Wilson. During the summer, hundreds of musicians, dancers and storytellers from around the world come to campus for The Swannanoa Gathering, a five-week series of folk arts workshops. The days are filled with classes taught by world-renowned instructors and evenings by concerts, dances

and jam sessions that last long into the night.

Amanda Wilson receives Community Impact Student Award

The College’s academic music program is designed for students with career ambitions in music, as well as for those who wish to incorporate music into their broader liberal arts experience. It emphasizes an open and diverse understanding of music, the improvement of performance skills and a strong foundation of musical knowledge.

Amanda Wilson ’15 has received a 2013 Community Impact Student Award from North Carolina Campus Compact, an association of colleges and universities committed to fostering campus-community engagement. Wilson is one of 19 students across the state to be honored for making a difference in the greater community.

In addition to a conventional music minor, the College’s Music Department also offers a unique concentration in traditional music, with an Appalachian music program reflecting the rich traditions of music and dance from the southern mountains.

A member of the Bonner Leaders Service Crew on campus, Wilson works to address the educational needs of children and youth.

She coordinated the “Kids on Campus” program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina, and developed and led an eight-week workshop on education reform that incorporated weekly service at an after-school program.

Wilson spent last summer with Teach on the Beach, an education-focused youth development program in Busua, Ghana.

She is an anthropology major and education minor from Pittsburgh, Pa.

Among the other ongoing music and dance programs on campus are the summer Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival; Old Farmer’s Ball, a weekly contra and square dance; Fiddles & Folklife, an April festival featuring old-time music contests, jam sessions, dancing and folklife demonstrations; and an Appalachian Music Concert Series, monthly concerts of music from the region and beyond. Each of these programs will be enhanced by the Kittredge Music Wing upgrade and renovation.

Eight times a Best Buy For the eighth time since 2005, the Fiske Guide to Colleges has chosen Warren Wilson as one of the nation’s 20 “Best Buys” among private colleges and universities.

According to the 2014 guide, schools “qualify as Best Buys based on the quality of the academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance” — or as the book also puts it, “outstanding academics with relatively modest prices.” With tuition and fees of under $30,000 for the 2013-14 academic year, Warren Wilson is rated as “inexpensive” in relation to other private colleges and universities in the selective guide. Students also receive a credit of nearly $3,500 per academic year for their participation in the campus work program.

“In addition to her passion for direct service, Amanda is always thinking about the bigger picture of social issues—education justice in particular,” said Shuli Arieh Archer, director of student engagement at Warren Wilson.

“We are lucky to have her as part of our team.”

Wilson and other award winners were honored recently at North Carolina Campus Compact’s annual student conference at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. Nearly 200 student leaders from 28 campuses in three states attended.

Warren Wilson students Rita Gunter and Allyson Miller presented a workshop session on “Spirituality, Faith, and Service.”

In its narrative on the College, the Fiske Guide notes, “Success at Warren Wilson is measured not only by grades, but by community service and a sense of stewardship. Roots in the culture of Appalachia combine with a strong international and environmental orientation to give Warren Wilson its unique flavor.”

In addition to giving the college high marks for its academics, affordability and social life, the Fiske guide gives Warren Wilson the highest possible rating for its overall quality of life for undergraduate students.

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TRI ADNEWS

2013 International Photo Contest Each fall the International Programs Office invites the College community to submit photographs from their study abroad experiences and international travels. Submissions are displayed in the library as community members vote for their favorite photographs in three categories.

Caroline Duble ’14, a sociology/ anthropology major from Houston, Texas, won Best Cross-Cultural Photo for her photograph taken in Bali, Indonesia, of the fountains coming from the Holy Water Spring, Tampaksiring. Caroline was a study abroad student at a Warren Wilson partner institution, Payap University, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. While abroad, she traveled to Indonesia.

Best Cross-Cultural Photo by Caroline Duble ’14

Danielle Landy ’14, a sociology/ anthropology major from Andover, Md., won Best Landscape Photo with her image of Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca, Mexico. Danielle participated in an International Honors Program through the School for International Training last year.

She studied anthropology, globalization and political science while traveling to Mexico, India, Tanzania, Turkey and New Zealand.

Grace Hatton ’14, a creative writing and art major from Kissimmee, Fla., won the People’s Choice Award for her photograph of a Vietnamese couple getting married in front of the John Lennon Wall in Prague.

Grace studied alternative culture, travel photography and field studies in the Czech Republic last summer through the University Studies Abroad Consortium Prague program.

People’s Choice Award Photo by Grace Hatton ’14

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TRI ADNEWS

Best Landscape Photo by Danielle Landy ’14

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Facu lt y&S taff News Catherine Reid receives NEA Creative Writing Fellowship Catherine Reid, chair of Warren Wilson College’s undergraduate creative writing program, has been selected by the National Endowment for the Arts to receive a Creative Writing Fellowship in Prose.

The $25,000 non-matching grant is one of only 38 fellowships awarded nationwide. They enable published writers to set aside time for writing, research, travel and general career advancement.

Reid was awarded the fellowship based on a manuscript reviewed through an anonymous process in which the only review criteria are artistic excellence and artistic merit. Her essay, which first appeared in the Georgia Review, interweaves themes about bird hibernation with the influences of her grandmother, an ardent birder and survivor of Spanish influenza and the challenges of the Great Depression.

Reid also is the author of Coyote and the forthcoming essay collection Falling into Place (Beacon Press).

“This is a formidable group of both emerging and well-established writers,” said Amy Stolls, NEA acting director of literature. “They demonstrate an impressive range of styles and subject matter. We are proud to recommend each of them for an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship.”

Reid said, “It’s truly an honor to be selected by a jury of one’s peers, to have the work itself—and nothing the panelists know about the writer—be what earns their unqualified thumbs-up.”

The 38 creative writing fellows range in age from 27 to 60 and hail from 18 states across the nation. The fellowships are highly competitive; for this round, the NEA received more than 1,300 eligible manuscripts.

The fellowship is the second Reid has received within the past two months. She is among 15 artists from across North Carolina to receive the 2013–2014 N.C. Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award in the categories of songwriting, composing and writing. The fellowships support creative development and the creation of new work. Reid’s arts council award specifically honors and supports her work in the category of Literature–Creative Nonfiction.

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Geography/global studies professor David Abernathy was one of 75 higher education GIS professionals accepted to participate in the Geo for Higher Ed Summit at Google Headquarters in California. The summit assembled instructors and researchers in GIS and remote sensing technologies from higher education institutions. He also led a study abroad trip to Panama, where he and his students examined the tension between conservation and globalization.

History/political science professor Melissa Blair’s book Revolutionizing Expectations: Women’s Organizations, Feminism, and American Politics 1965-1980 is scheduled for spring 2014 release by the University of Georgia Press.

Psychology professor Kathryn Burleson received a summer faculty development grant to begin the creation of a curriculum that will be designed for people preparing to do intercultural service. The curriculum explores the benefits and risks of intercultural service for the server as well as those being served.

History/political science professor Dongping Han and chemistry/environmental studies professor John Brock presented their servicelearning project on the health of urban waste pickers in Kunming, China, to the ASIANetwork conference.

Chemistry/environmental studies professor John Brock’s 61st research article, “Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organochlorines and Childhood Obesity in the U.S. Collaborative Perinatal Project,” was published in Environmental Health Perspectives. In addition, Brock has set up a research laboratory at the Medical University of South Carolina to monitor the common chemical exposures of pregnant women. He will be using the laboratory to teach his Warren Wilson students advanced analytical chemistry techniques.

Physics professor David Coffey traveled to the University of Washington and the National Renewable Energy Lab to continue collaborations in studying the next generation of solar cells.

Interim Director of the Environmental Leadership Center Stan Cross facilitated the panel “Beyond Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities at the Growing Edge of Campus Sustainability” at the 2013 AASHE national conference.

Instruction and interlibrary loan librarian Heather Stewart Harvey attended documentary film boot camp at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. She produced a short film about a Karen refugee from Burma who works on a community farm in Chapel Hill, N.C. You can view it here: bit. ly/1e2WQ7u Biology professor Alisa Hove’s paper, “Pollen Performance in Clarkia Taxa with Contrasting Mating Systems: Implications for Male Gametophytic Evolution in Selfers and Outcrossers,” was published in the journal Plants. She also coauthored a chapter titled “Phenology in Higher Education: Ground-Based and Spatial Analysis Tools” in the book Phenology: An Integrative Environmental Science.

Music professor Kevin Kehrberg received a faculty summer research grant and completed research on his forthcoming book about Albert E. Brumley, an American gospel songwriter.

He also was on staff for two weeks at the 2013 Swannanoa Gathering.

Global studies professor Jeff Keith attended the annual conference for the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and delivered a presentation titled “From the ‘Paris of the Orient’ to Ho Chi Minh City: Imaginings and Reportage in Wartime Saigon, 1954-1975.” In addition, he authored a chapter titled “Fiddling with Race Relations in Rural Kentucky: The Life, Times and Contested Identity of Fiddlin’ Bill Livers” in the book Hidden in the Mix: The African American Presence in Country Music, published

by Duke University Press.

Ceramics professor Leah Leitson curated the exhibit “Pots That Pour” at the Asheville Arts Council. The exhibit featured artists from the United States and highlighted a range of pouring vessels included ewers, pitchers and teapots. She also taught a class at Arrowmont School of Craft.

Peace and justice studies professor Paul Magnarella was named Honorary External Editor of The Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law. He is also working on a clemency petition to the United States Department of Justice on behalf of a former Black Panther who has been exiled in Africa since 1970.

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Facult y&S taff News In his sporting life, Magnarella won three gold medals and set three new state records in the North Carolina Senior Games swimming competition. He lowered the existing 100-yard butterfly record by 19 seconds, the 100-yard individual medley record by 7 seconds and the 200-yard individual medley record by 17.7 seconds. He also won four silver medals in the National Senior Games swimming competition.

Biology professor Jessa Madosky travelled to the Outer Banks to make arrangements for two of her research students to study animal behavior in Cape Lookout National Seashore for their Natural Science Seminar projects. At the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences conference, she presented work on how service learning improves the ability to tackle complicated issues.

Philosophy professor Jason Miller presented a paper on Kant and artistic creativity at the American Society of Aesthetics annual conference.

English/theatre/writing professor David Mycoff performed eight different roles in four different Shakespeare plays: The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Love’s Labors Lost, and Hamlet.

Psychology professor Robert Swoap presented the paper “Motivation and Effective Goal-pursuit: Elite Athletes and Self-determination” at the 5th International Conference on Self-Determination Theory.

Outdoor leadership/environmental studies professor Mallory McDuff participated in the Tin House Summer Writer’s Program and studied with writer Maggie Nelson. On campus she collaborated with Wake Forest Divinity School to create a conference about food and faith and shared research from her books Natural Saints and Sacred Acts.

Director of spiritual life and chaplain Brian Ammons and sustainable agriculture professor Laura Lengnick also facilitated during the conference, which drew 20 faith leaders from across the country.

First-year seminar instructor Charles Milling conducted interdisciplinary research on sense of place in Asheville and will use the results to help Asheville civic leaders be more aware of their residents’ perspectives. In addition, his field research on the aesthetic experience of visitors at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National

SPRING 2014

Park has been published in British Journal of Aesthetics and Environmental Ethics. He plans to expand his research to examine experiences at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Spanish professor Erin Amason Montero and Spanish/French professor Angela Phillips led a group of 11 Warren Wilson students on a study abroad course and service trip to Puebla, Mexico. Students participated in home stays in Puebla and studied intensive Spanish for three weeks at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP). Students also did volunteer work in La Preciosita, a small village outside of Puebla. The College now has a formal exchange agreement with UPAEP. History/political science professor Philip Otterness’ research on Palatine-German immigrants and the Iroquois in colonial New York was published in a chapter titled “The Palatine Immigrants of 1710 and the Native Americans” in the book A Peculiar Mixture: German-Language Cultures and Identities in Eighteenth-Century North America, published

by Penn State Press.

French and Spanish professor Angela Phillips presented the paper “Imagining Home in Yasmine Chami Ketanni’s Cérémonie” at the 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone Studies International Colloquium. She also delivered a guest lecture titled “Women and the Mudawwana in modern Morocco” at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Theatre professor Candace Taylor played the character Marrell in the drama THIS, a Mainstage Series production at N.C. Stage Company.

Economics professor Susan Kask received a grant from the Work Colleges Consortium to support a project in her introduction to sustainability and economics class. Students will create an integrated campus model that will support the understanding of the interdependency of the many systems on campus.

Gary Hawkins named journal associate editor Gary Hawkins, associate dean for faculty, has been named associate editor of To Improve the Academy: The International Journal on Faculty Development. He will advance to the position of editor in two years.

The journal is published by The Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, which is devoted to improving teaching and learning in higher education. Founded in 1975, POD provides its members with personal and academic relationships that are essential for professional growth. Central to its philosophy are lifelong, holistic, personal and professional learning, growth and change for the higher education community.

“Every issue of To Improve the Academy is then itself an act of this generous research, designed to share our discoveries and to improve teaching and learning as widely as possible.”

–Gary Hawkins Associate Dean for Faculty

“POD, more than any other conference or body of research I know, forms community,” Hawkins observed. “It forms a common metafield of faculty development that unites us across our many disciplines and institutions.

“POD and its members do this via a generosity—in research and in person—that is not common in every academic field. Every issue of To Improve the Academy is then itself an act of this generous research, designed to share our discoveries and to improve teaching and learning as widely as possible.”

In addition to his position as associate dean for faculty: teaching and learning, Hawkins is an undergraduate writing faculty member at the College. He also supervises The Peal, Warren Wilson’s arts and literary magazine produced by a student work crew.

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Warren Wilson College Chapel turns 50: A conversation with the Rev. Steve Runholt

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his spring the Warren Wilson College Chapel, dedicated

JB: Fill us in on the big picture. What’s happening at the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church these days?

College and the congregation of the

SR: There are two initiatives that I’d like for the larger WWC community to know about.

The first is a formal covenant agreement between the college and the church. And the second is a new round of major renovations to the chapel.

Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church

JB: Let’s start with the covenant. What’s that all about?

on May 3, 1964, turns 50. As the

prepare to celebrate this occasion, Owl & Spade editor John Bowers sat down with the Rev. Steve Runholt, pastor of the church, to talk about what’s happening in the life of the congregation.

SR: In 1973 the Presbyterian Church—and by that I mean the denomination, the large “C” church if you will—formally ended its financial support for and oversight of the college.

Since then the two institutions, the college and the church here on campus, have been running on separate but parallel tracks—the college in pursuit of its mission of providing students with a high quality liberal arts education and the church in pursuit of its mission of working toward the realization of God’s kingdom on earth. That said, there has been a lot of ambiguity in the relationship over the years, particularly in terms of finances and staff—who pays for what, who does what, who is responsible for what.

JB: So the covenant is meant to clarify the relationship between the college and the church.

SR: That’s exactly right. It celebrates our shared history, recognizes our differing missions in the present, and charts a course toward what we hope is a mutually beneficial and mutually energizing future. The covenant also includes a practical cost-sharing agreement for the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the Ohler Spiritual Center, which consists of the

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Chapel, the Upper and Lower Fellowship Hall, and the Christian Education wing, just off the Fellowship Hall.

While we treasure the Chapel’s heritage, we are not just stewards of the

The covenant also delineates the staffing patterns in the area of spiritual life. In particular it clarifies the role Brian Ammons plays as the college chaplain and how that differs from my role as the pastor of the church. This alone should help to clarify and strengthen the relationship between the two institutions.

sacred worship space for them.

JB: Tell us about the process. How did the document come to be written?

The college and the church shared equally in the cost of the renovations to the building itself. The congregation paid the full freight—$150,000—on the organ renovation.

SR: On the church side, we sat down with the congregation and asked them to name their hopes, dreams, expectations and concerns with regard to the ongoing relationship with the college. We then routed these through our Session for their approval and brought them to the Church/ College Covenant Task Force as things we wanted to see in the covenant.

From the beginning the Task Force was a broadly representative group—four board members, three representatives from the congregation and two from the college. I’m glad to say that our work was also marked from the beginning by a high degree of mutual respect and collegiality.

JB: Let’s shift to the renovations to the Chapel. What’s going on there?

SR: This is actually the second round of major improvements to the Chapel that we’ve undertaken in the last six years. In 2007, after extensive consultation with the congregation and with the college, our Session voted to install a new roof on the Chapel and new lights in the sanctuary. We later added a new sound system to that list, and we undertook a major and desperately needed renovation to the Shantz organ. I

past. We are also stewards of the future. We have the obligation to future generations of students to provide for a beautiful, comfortable, safe and

believe these were the single biggest set of improvements to the Chapel since it was finished in 1964.

JB: How were these improvements funded?

JB: What prompted this second round of improvements?

SR: In 2011 the Chapel’s 50 year-old subfloor radiant heating system partially failed. We were able to limp through the last two winters, but we simply had to address the situation. We have to have heat in the sanctuary to continue worshipping there in the winter.

So that’s what we did. We now have a new HVAC system, which for the first time in the Chapel’s history includes air conditioning, in addition to heat. We also opened up the parlor and improved the restrooms to make both of these spaces handicap accessible. We’re going to add a lift so the chancel is handicap accessible, too. I’m glad and a little relieved to say the changes are beautiful, and they serve to make the whole building more functional, welcoming and hospitable.

JB: The Chapel is a very sacred place to many alumni. Were there any concerns about these changes?

All told, the members of the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church will have given a total of some $500,000 in support of these improvements. Given our relatively modest size, I see this as a miracle of abundance.

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SR: We had some during the first round of improvements. The College asked the church leadership to explore the possibility of updating the pulpit and the lectern to make them a little smaller and a more contemporary looking. That idea proved pretty unpopular, especially with alumni, and in the end we did not follow through on it.

I’m glad to say this round went much more smoothly. Let me also add, though, that even on the first round of improvements, we consulted Charlie Sappenfield, the architect who drew the plans for the Chapel. Charlie was very clear that he always imagined the Chapel to be a “living building,” to use his phrase, and that we should feel free to make whatever changes we deemed necessary to serve the needs of a changing congregation.

That’s a key point because while we treasure the Chapel’s heritage, we are not just stewards of the past. We are also stewards of the future. We have the obligation to future generations of students to provide for a beautiful, comfortable, safe and sacred worship space for them. And we’re taking that obligation seriously.

JB: Did the college and the church share in these costs, too?

SR: Yes. We are very grateful for the college’s willingness to partner with the congregation in making this second round of improvements to the Chapel. I’m also very proud of the congregation. All told, the members of the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church will have given a total of some $500,000 in support of these improvements.

Given our relatively modest size, I see this as a miracle of abundance.

15

A Major Discovery at the Berry Archaeology Site

By Ben Anderson

Conquistador there is no time I must pay my respect…

And though you came with sword held high You did not conquer, only die

Procol Harum “Conquistador” (1967)

Archaeologists Rob Beck (University of Michigan), David Moore (Warren Wilson College) and Chris Rodning (Tulane University) at the Berry Site.

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n the end there was only one survivor— an Ishmael of the interior, if you will.

Just one escapee among the 125 or so Spanish soldiers who had established early in 1567 the first European settlement in the inland of what later became the United States, at Fort San Juan near present-day Morganton, N.C. By the spring of 1568, the fort and several others the soldiers built in the southern Appalachian region had been wiped out

by Native Americans, who reclaimed their ancient village of Joara where Fort San Juan stood. But Fort San Juan’s significance endures as truly the first “lost colony,” predating Roanoke Island by 20 years.

Exposed remnants of several large burned structures, discovered at what is now known as the Berry archaeology site, have long suggested that the Spanish garrison put in place by captain Juan Pardo met a fiery end.

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Now, archaeologists including Warren Wilson College professor David Moore, the site’s field school director, have made what seems to be a definitive discovery removing any doubt that the Berry site is the location of the ill-fated Fort San Juan. They are confident they have now located the remains of the fort itself—not just the structures 25 soldiers lived in as part of the renamed village of Cuenca. Specifically, part of a defensive feature has been found, in the form of a V-shaped moat. It is a major breakthrough more than 25 years after Moore first gained archaeological access to the site, thanks to the generosity of landowners James and Pat Berry.

“Our work at the Berry site helps us to learn more about the early and critical period of interaction between the Native peoples and European colonizers,” Moore says. “It’s a complex and compelling story that foretells the troubles and tragedies faced by Native Americans over the next several centuries. At the same time, it is a story of native resilience, a story that also reflects the position of native peoples today.”

And the story at the Berry site will continue to be explored for years to come by a team including student members of the WWC archaeology crew, explorations that hinge upon sufficient funding via the Exploring Joara Foundation (exploringjoara. org) and other sources. Specific plans are being developed for excavations over the next few years, including the summer of 2014. The fort’s defensive moat will be excavated, as will a possible strong house where weapons, lead shot and tools would have been stored. In other words, the fascinating 450-year-old story of Fort San Juan is only beginning to unfold in the upper Catawba Valley of western North Carolina.

“Our work at the Berry site helps us to learn more about the early and critical period of interaction between the Native peoples and European colonizers,”

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–David Moore Field School Director

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Dao, front, second from left, played on the College's successful soccer team in the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons under Coach Cole, who was also a history teacher.

Tom Dao’s Path

to the Swannanoa Valley

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any students have an interesting story about how they came to study at our refuge of academics, work and service. Though Warren Wilson attracts a wide variety of students from across the United States and the world, few students have a story as historically poignant and exciting as Tom C. S. Dao, an alumnus of the Warren Wilson High School Class of 1953.

Dao spent the first fifteen years of his life in China during a time of great turmoil and unrest, eight of which overlapped with World War II. Dao’s father owned a nationwide construction company and was a courageous man. When the Japanese army marched on Nanjing in 1937, Dao’s father stayed behind while the rest of the family escaped to Chongqing. When the construction workers did not want to build defenses for warding off the impending siege, Dao’s father led them himself to give them courage in the face of impending danger.

By Kathleen Laufenberg ’14

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Despite his family being relatively affluent, Dao’s father didn’t want his children to grow up feeling entitled to wealth and luxury. He believed in the transforming power of education and wished to see his children make their own way in the world. As a testament to his love of educating young people, Dao’s father ran a school in Chongqing. After finishing their education, students were guaranteed work with the Dao construction company if they so wished.

The end of World War II did not mean the end of military confrontations on the Chinese mainland. A civil war erupted between the Communist and Nationalist Parties. In 1949 when it seemed that the Communist Party would be victorious, the Dao family fled to Taiwan with others loyal to the Nationalist government. From there they went to Brazil, where Dao studied at an international school for six months. While Brazil was much safer than Taiwan at that time, the family found the economic climate unsuitable for business ventures. In addition to the language barrier, high inflation made starting a new business inconceivable.

Dao’s mother was a doctor and had trained at Nanjing Women’s College, originally established by American missionaries. Christianity played a large role in the lives of the Dao family; Dao’s maternal grandfather was a Methodist minister. Dao’s mother dreamed of sending her children to school in the United States and began contacting missionaries she knew for information on American Christian schools. In 1951, her dream became a reality when Dao was accepted at Warren Wilson High School.

Dao said that his time at Warren Wilson “molded me for the rest of my life.”

The legendary Doc Jensen was the first person Dao met when he arrived at the train station. At first, he did not realize he was the dean of the school because of his casual work clothes. After mistaking him for the school janitor, Dao left his suitcase on the train platform and went to the car, leaving Doc Jensen to carry his luggage. It wasn’t until they were both in the car that Dao asked him who he was; he then realized his mistake. Doc Jensen took the young boy’s error in stride and invited him to work with him and the Landscaping Crew.

Dao played on the College’s soccer team, which was successful during the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons under Mr. Cole, the soccer coach and a history teacher.

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Unfortunately, Mr. Cole knew very little about the sport he coached. Nevertheless, with the help of his players, the team became regionally famous for their prowess on the field. Dao also was the only high school student on the varsity basketball team. Dao says that sports helped him a great deal during his younger years and helped bridge the culture gaps among the countries in which he had lived.

Dao was also successful in academics and won the Pfaff Cup, the College’s most prestigious award. He believes this success was because of his upbringing in China.

Many Chinese students could not afford high school, let alone college, so many of the courses taught in an American high school were taught earlier in China.

The most difficult classes for him were American history and English. “American history is much more detailed,” he said.

“Chinese history was mostly memorization of dynasties.” His two years at Warren Wilson introduced him to the culture of mainstream America and gave him the tools to continue after graduating.

When he left Swannanoa, Dao went to California to be close to his mother.

He went to Compton City College in Los Angeles and worked at the SpanishAmerican Institute to earn room and board.

A minister who ran the institute helped

Warren Wilson “molded me for the rest of my life. God has a hand in every step of my life and guided me to Warren Wilson.”

him to secure a summer job with Stauffer Chemical. After finishing his coursework at Compton, Dao continued working for Stauffer Chemical while earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley. One lesson Dao learned was if you “do something, and do it thoroughly, you have not only finished the job, you’ve learned a lot.”

After graduation from UC Berkeley, Dao remained with Stauffer Chemical and advanced rapidly. He was promoted from junior to senior research engineer in only three years. He also worked to license technologies bought by German and Japanese companies. “In my life, I love new things,” Dao said. This curious and adventurous spirit gave him the opportunity to work in many different areas of Stauffer.

Eventually, he headed up operations for Southeast Asia. He and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Singapore for three years while he ran international sales. After living in Singapore and then Hong Kong, it was time for his children to start school and the Daos moved back to the United States.

Upon his return stateside, Dao became a senior business analyst with Stauffer. He was then given the opportunity to run his own company. “To run one’s own company is a tempting, shining star,” Dao said. He decided to leave Stauffer in 1978 to start Central Pacific Ex-Im Corporation, where he remained as president and CEO until his retirement in 2012.

After graduating from Warren Wilson High School in 1953, Dao didn’t return to campus until 2003—the year of his 50th reunion. Since then, he has become deeply involved with his Swannanoa alma mater, giving both his time and treasure to the place he credits largely with his success.

In 2012 he joined the College’s Board of Trustees.

Dao knows that many alumni do not see donating to the College as a priority.

Here is his message to them: “Let them think back on the days they were at Warren Wilson and of the education and support of those before them.”

Dao is serious about his devotion to the College: “God has a hand in every step of my life and guided me to Warren Wilson.”

He continues to give back to the place that gave so much to him.

–Tom C.S. Dao ’53

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Adventure Education and Challenge Course Management

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arren Wilson College’s Outdoor Leadership (ODL) classes Initiatives for Adventure Education, taught by Jill Overholt, and Challenge Course Management, taught by Ed Raiola, worked together to create and implement an adventure education field trip for the sixth grade classes at nearby ArtSpace Charter School. The sixth graders visited campus to participate in a session of games and initiatives and to climb the Alpine Tower.

All activities were planned and facilitated

by Warren Wilson College students, who were able to gain first-hand experience

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working with this population. Each visiting class was split into two groups, with one group visiting the tower and the other doing team building activities on the soccer fields before switching places.

Students enroll in Initiatives for Adventure Education before Challenge Course Management. The former course covers the basics of facilitation and working with groups, laying the foundation for the Challenge Course Management course, which focuses on the

operation of the alpine tower and low ropes course. In order to emphasize this progression, the Challenge Course class facilitates an alpine tower experience for the Initiatives class. This allows the Challenge Course students to practice their newly learned skills, while giving the Initiatives students a taste of what is to come if they continue with classes in the ODL major.

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Alligators and phthalates: Undergraduate Research with Jane Margaret Bell

“When I chose my project, I knew it was a big deal, but I didn’t know I’d get to work with such amazing scientists and have so much fun.”

Jane Margaret Bell sits atop a 10 ft. long alligator.

–Jane Margaret Bell ’15 Environmental Chemistry Major and Chemistry Minor

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ast semester I took my Research Design class and began the arduous task of my Natural Science Undergraduate Research Sequence (NSURS).

I decided to work with chemistry/environmental studies professor John Brock and chose a topic with wildlife and human health implications: phthalate exposure in alligators from Merritt Island, Fla., home of the NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center. Phthalates are synthetic toxic chemicals found readily in the environment and act as endocrine disrupting anti-androgens that decrease testosterone in the body.

In my project I am evaluating the levels of phthalates in alligators and studying their metabolism patterns. I traveled to Charleston, S.C., to work with scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Marine Lab. With international researcher Louis Guillette and his team of

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graduate students, I ventured farther south to Merritt Island, where we caught alligators, performed health checks and extracted urine for my phthalate study.

We caught eight gators; in the photo, you can see me atop our first catch (about 10 ft. long) and the Gator Crew (L-R) Mat Guillette, Theresa Cantu, Jacqueline Bangma and first gator I’d ever been close to.

Jane Margaret Bell '15.

When I chose my project, I knew it was a big deal, but I didn’t know I’d get to work with such run deep. This opportunity has given me acamazing scientists and have so cess to world-class research and sparked my much fun. passion to pursue environmental toxicology in graduate school and in my career. I can’t I plan to go back to MUSC and run samples wait! and hopefully catch more gators. Though Warren Wilson College may be small and Jane Margaret Bell is a senior environmental chemnot yet well known in the research world, its istry major/chemistry minor from Brevard, N.C. connections with prominent organizations

21

Listening Is Serving Learning with the Lakota at Pine Ridge

By Melissa Ray Davis ’02

WWC students and Pine Ridge residents after building and painting a fence for an elder.

“You should go,” students said again and again when asked about their trips to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. “It will change your life.” This passionate response and call to action is characteristic of those who travel to the Lakota reservation in South Dakota.

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“I

t ’s hard to assimilate or accommodate the experiences that you have up there,” admitted Trey Jones ’13, a psychology major who participated in the service trip as a student in 2011 and returned as a student leader in 2013. He now lives on the reservation and serves as an intern building school gardens with Conscious Alliance, a nonprofit organization focused on feeding the hungry by organizing food drives at music and sporting events.

“Everyone who has gone has come back to it over and over again. It’s only a week, but it feels like a long time because you’ve taken in so much and changed so much.”

The Pine Ridge service-learning trip is part of Kathryn Burleson’s cultural psychology course. “Cultural psychology teaches students that people develop through participation in their cultural practices,” Burleson explained. “To understand another person—empathy—you must be able to understand what they have been practicing culturally. You must also understand how you are influenced through your own cultural participation.”

OWL & SPADE

The trip to Pine Ridge takes place over spring break, in the middle of the semesterlong course. While on the reservation, students practice what Burleson calls “embodied cultural learning.” Students are invited to take part in cultural and spiritual traditions of the Lakota and take up customs of Lakota daily life—they participate in Lakota prayer, listen to stories and make a spirit plate to use at meals.

“It is not about sympathy, when you feel sorry for someone. It is about empathy, when you feel with someone. I felt so much empathy there,” explained Julia Lehr ’15, who went on the spring 2013 trip, spent her summer interning with Conscious Alliance, and will be a student leader on the spring 2014 trip.

The intercultural experiences that students have on the reservation make the principles of cultural psychology very tangible. “I’m from Texas,” Trey Jones said, “and there, it is very disrespectful not to give someone a firm handshake and meet their eyes, but for the Lakota it is a very soft touch of the hand. Looking them in the eyes would be rude, would be considered an aggressive gesture. You realize that every activity that you do is a part of your culture.

The simplest act, like shaking hands, is cultural, not universal.”

When Burleson first started teaching cultural psychology at the College, the trip to Pine Ridge was not part of the course.

“The day I met Justin Levy, I was not actively looking for an intercultural servicelearning partnership,” Burleson said. “Justin showed up at my office; he was a stranger looking for a faculty member to facilitate his independent study.”

Justin Levy ’08 and Kathryn Burleson

SPRING 2014

Mike Flynn ’14 with Conscious Alliance employee B.J. Cochran stocking the Pine Ridge Food Bank.

It was Levy ’08 who organized and led the first service-learning break trip to Pine Ridge in the fall of 2008. Levy knew about Pine Ridge because years before, he had developed a program with his high school counselor to send at-risk youth to Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota to do service. Levy later became involved with Conscious Alliance, which had an established relationship with community partners on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

“I had had very profound experiences, and I wanted to share that opportunity with Warren Wilson students. The educational experience there is so vast, and the service experience balances the cultural learning there,” Levy said. “It’s an incredible trip

Carolyn Stanton ’14 sorting food in the Conscious Alliance food pantry.

for personal growth, academic growth and spiritual growth. Service isn’t just something we do in our spare time. It’s a way of life, and these trips make that very real.”

In mentoring Levy, Burleson read his proposal and written reflections about

WWC Professor of Psychology Kathryn Burleson has nine years of experience incorporating service learning into her courses. In 2011, she was awarded the Andrew Summers Award for Faculty Leadership in Service Learning. She is contributing to the larger conversation on service learning by writing a curriculum to prepare individuals for transformative intercultural service. She is also the author of the chapter “Embodying Cultural Practices on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation: Participatory Learning in Community” in the book Putting the Local in Global Education: Transformative Learning through Domestic Off-Campus Programs, forthcoming by Stylus in 2015.

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“It’s an incredible trip for personal growth, academic growth and spiritual growth.

Service isn’t just something we do in our spare time. It’s a way of life, and these trips make that very real.”

–Justin Levy ’08 the trip. “Justin argued that intercultural service learning should be included in college courses because it takes students out of their comfort zones—puts them in a place where they are more receptive to deeper, longer-lasting learning,” she said.

“I realized there was a message within it for me. I was convinced that if he led servicelearning trips with Conscious Alliance, and if the local community invited us there, I wanted my cultural psychology course to be a part of it.” After Levy graduated Conscious Alliance hired him as their director of service learning. Now he is executive director.

Floyd and Natalie Hand—the community partners on the Pine Ridge Reservation who host the service-learning trips—are Lakota teachers and community activists who run a food pantry out of a two-car garage on their property. Floyd is a descendant of Chief Red Cloud and a spiritual leader among the Lakota. He shares cultural practices with the students and guides them in discussions about their experiences on the reservation. Natalie organizes all of the service projects that they complete over the course of the trip. The Hands provide all meals for the students and open their home as a base of operations.

“Justin Levy had talked about bringing a group of students out. At that time, we were already working with the University of Colorado Boulder and a few other colleges, and we are always interested in helping to educate the nonIndian world about the true history of this country and more about Lakota culture,” Natalie Hand said. “The easiest student groups for us to work with have come from Warren Wilson, because we share a lot of the same philosophies—service to others, sustainability and protecting Mother Earth.”

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Students clear a summer garden for a Lakota elder, who in turn taught them how to bead.

“Warren Wilson College is the only national liberal arts college with an integrated educational program that includes work and service,” Burleson said.

“Our mission statement begs for this sort of work. It includes these words: civic engagement, experiential and innovative education, social and economic justice, cross-cultural understanding, personal growth, meaningful service, critical thinking and leadership.”

Burleson stressed that the invitation to come was important, ethically. “It is not my right to show up or invite myself and students to a reservation. Their community is not my psychology lab or even a service site.”

The Hands are eager to work with the students. “I want students to take away a better understanding of the real history of this country and how it was formed.

A lot of people were killed for this land, our ancestors,” Natalie said. “It’s a very uncomfortable conversation to have—a lot

Students used these newly-cut trees to build a buffalo fence for a Lakota man whose buffalo had crashed through the previous one.

of people don’t want to have it—but it’s an important conversation if we want to live together in this world.

In the media, Pine Ridge reservation is often described as a “third-world country” within our borders. The unemployment rate hovers between 80 and 90 percent, and 49 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty level. The infant mortality rate is five times the United States national average, and the life expectancy of those on the reservation is among the shortest of any group in the Western Hemisphere. Depression, suicide, alcoholism, diabetes, malnutrition and fetal alcohol syndrome all have very high rates there.

“I think that for students to be told so many times that Pine Ridge is the most economically isolated community in the country, and then they get to Pine Ridge and are welcomed into the home so warmly and with such love—they are fed and treated as a part of the family—it is a striking contrast,” said Levy. “I always say, how many people do you know who would welcome 15 people into their home for a week with open arms and no unease?”

“You can search for ‘Pine Ridge’ on Google, and you’ll get story after story about the negative things about this place.

We have a term for that: poverty porn,” Natalie said. “There are needs. We do have high unemployment and no infrastructure, and those things need to be addressed, but you need to see our strengths too, and you need to want to help in a meaningful way.

OWL & SPADE

You can’t just fly in, ‘fix things’ by your own cultural standards, and then fly out.”

The students have taken this lesson to heart. “I think it’s so much more important to focus on the strengths of the Lakota,” Lehr said. “It’s hard to empower anyone with negativity. There is so much richness in their culture, so it is frustrating when people pass that by and focus on negatives. Anyone can look up a statistic, but it is more complicated than that. It is more about relationships and causes. It is challenging, but important, to talk about the U.S. government’s involvement in causing the poverty and negative situations you can find on the reservation.”

“I wanted to go back and learn more and help them with what they need,” Jones said. “The major change and transformation that happens as a result of that learning is realizing that there is something bigger than yourself. It redefines how you look at service work.”

Service through listening is a major theme of the trip. “Natalie Hand once told me that the best service we can offer them is to ‘listen, learn and share what we learn about their culture because it is dying,’” Burleson said.

“We sorted 20,000 pounds of food, picked up trash, built raised garden beds, started construction on a falcon conservatory, repaired houses, and so much more. All that was important work,” Lehr said, “but throughout all these experiences, we were making connections and relationships with the Lakota. Listening to their stories was an act of service that happened throughout the day. Learning that comes from listening and building relationships can be much more powerful.”

“I believe education should provide students with opportunities to prepare for and then practice global citizenship,” Burleson said. “It is by far the most transformative educational experience I have ever been a part of, and while I am the instructor of record for the course that goes, it isn’t me steering this ship. Justin set the ship sailing. Natalie and Floyd steer it.

I just make sure everyone is on board and receptive to what the experience is going to offer us.”

SPRING 2014

The Pine Ridge service-learning trip has been a consistent challenge. “We were to the point where we needed to book the flights, but we didn’t know for sure if we could go. It was very nerve-wracking,” said Jones. Though the 2014 trip will be partially funded by a grant from Don Davidson ’39, the College’s Service Program, Burleson and her students still seek a more sustainable funding solution. If you would like to support the servicelearning trips to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, please contact WWC Vice President For Advancement Richard Blomgren at 828-771-2050 or rickb@warren-wilson.edu.

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The B rother s M uc hane

By J. Clarkson ’95

They may never have dreamed of the ways that this family, and their newly independent country, would grow. Central to their story are two schools very similar in spirit but separated by continents and oceans.

F

arm families have always been big families.

There is, after all, always something on a farm that needs to be done. More children mean more hands to do the chores. So while five sons may seem like a lot, the family of Hoswell and Ruth Muchane was relatively small compared to others in 1960s and 1970s Kenya. The Muchanes were professional educators, but like many Kenyans then and now, they also had a farm that produced food and income for their growing family. They may never have dreamed of the ways that this family, and their newly independent country, would grow. Central to their story are two schools very similar in spirit but separated by continents and oceans.

Under British rule, Kenya was so segregated that it was sometimes called “Little South Africa.” Despite this, a small group of integration advocates began Hospital Hill Primary School near Nairobi in 1949. When Kenya became an independent country in 1963, laws against segregation were abolished. Hospital Hill School began to welcome students from all over Kenya, as well as the whole world, including the Muchane children. David Muchane ’83 recalls, “With all of the Asian, European and African students, our mother insisted that we be the most presentable. She would not let anyone else press our school uniforms because she wanted them to look perfect.”

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Muiruri, David and Gichuru Muchane

“In newly independent Kenya, this school was at the forefront of social change,” remembers Muiruri ’87 and second oldest behind David. “We had European as well as African teachers. Our fifth grade teacher was also very involved in the student airlifts of the late ’50s and early ’60s.” One participant in the airlift was future Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Another, Barack Obama, Sr., was the first African to study in Hawaii. There he met and married Ann Dunham, an American student. Their son, also named Barack, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961.

While the Muchanes felt the influence of this changing society, they were not as affected by political turmoil. Gichuru ’87, one year younger than Muiruri, remembers, “We were not all that involved with politics at that time. I do remember when J.M. Kariuki (a prominent politician) was assassinated, but things were mostly quite stable.” This changed as the boys grew older and many political protesters were students at the University of Nairobi. “The university is very well respected,” said Ndung’u ’97, the youngest Muchane. “But it was often closed because of the protests. When it closed, we had no way of knowing when the government would allow it to reopen.”

When the university closed in the late ’70s, David’s life was on hold.

“There are very few jobs for young people in Kenya,” he said. “I did not know what I was going to do.” Their family was active in the Presbyterian Church, and Hoswell Muchane was well acquainted with the Reverend Philpot, a missionary who knew about Warren Wilson College. “Studying abroad had never been part of my plan, but the opportunity arose and I took it,” David said. “Coming to Warren Wilson was relatively easy because of my experience at Hospital Hill and because there were so many international students in a relatively small student body.”

Gichuru and Muiruri arrived together, several years later, because of similar circumstances at the University of Nairobi.

Muiruri remembers arriving in North Carolina late in the summer. “It was my first time to travel outside of Kenya and my first time on an airplane. Gich and I dressed in three-piece suits for the whole trip. We wanted to look very sharp. David and business professor John Showalter met us at the Asheville airport. David was wearing shorts. Gich and I must have seemed very green.”

For his part, Gichuru recalled his first days on campus as warm and welcoming. “So many things were familiar to us because we had grown up on a farm. As educators, our parents valued academics, and as Presbyterians, they are devoted to service.

I did have trouble when I met my peer group leader, Tracey. She was very nice, but she had grown up in that area of North Carolina, and I could barely understand her when she talked.” Gichuru went on to work for John Griffith on the Electric Crew. “We would climb poles to repair electrical lines during snowstorms. I was so cold!”

Gichuru and Muiruri also found work during the breaks on the college farm with Mr. Laursen. “I had spent my whole life on a farm, so when I got to Warren Wilson, I asked to be put anywhere but the Farm,” Muiruri said. “After two days in the dish room, I was ready to go some place else, even the farm.” Older brother David and his classmate Tony Earley ’83 spent several summer breaks working for Christiana Ransom, a long-time friend of the College.

“We would drive her from her home on campus to Charlevoix, Michigan, and spend the summer helping her there.”

Mrs. Ransom’s friendship with David extended to Muiruri and Gichuru when they arrived and to the whole Muchane family when she visited Kenya in the mid1980s. It was then that she met a 9-year-old Ndung’u. Because Mrs. Ransom remained in contact with the Muchanes, she learned that Ndung’u had also delayed his education because the university was closed in 1993. “I was taking accounting classes at a business college, waiting for the university to open, when word came that Mrs. Ransom had established the Woodbury Scholarship,” Ndung’u said. “I applied and was accepted to Warren Wilson, and then I applied for

the scholarship and received it. I had to arrange for a plane ticket, a passport and a visa. This all happened in the course of two weeks; it is impossible to think of something like that happening today.”

In the whirlwind that followed, Ndung’u found himself in Vining Residence Hall with a resident assistant who was unable to pronounce his given name. Thus, he simply became “Muchane” for his tenure at the College. “I remember that my peer group leader, Susan, was very kind. She now lives in India, and I enjoy keeping up with her through Facebook.” After Warren Wilson, Ndung’u earned his MBA from Wake Forest University and went to work for the Disney Corporation. “I work on a variety of projects for the studio, Disney stores and Disney corporate. It’s fun because every project is different, from overseeing the installation of solar panels at the Pixar studios to negotiating production contracts for movies.”

“The small class sizes afforded us hands-on opportunities to run experiments in science labs, and in my case, do research with Dr. Don Collins,” Gichuru said. “It turns out that this experience was invaluable in preparing me for graduate studies.” After Warren Wilson, Gichuru earned a doctorate in civil engineering from Duke. After a stint of teaching at the university level, he began to practice as a licensed engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. He specializes in analyzing and rating bridges, including the pedestrian bridge crossing Warren Wilson Road.

As a young boy, Muiruri would spend hours taking apart radios and designing circuit boards, but his interests extend far beyond technology. Because he loves choral music and being outdoors in addition to all things tech, Muiruri fit well with the liberal arts education and 1,100 acres of land that make up Warren Wilson. He continued his education at the University of Tennessee

They continue to share the values of work, academic study and service that began at home, were nurtured at Hospital Hill, and came to fruition at Warren Wilson. For David, Muiruri, Gichuru, and Ndung’u, these elements of the Triad are central to their professional careers and to their daily lives.

Ndung’u’s brothers have pursued equally interesting paths. When David was a student, his accounting courses with John Showalter and international development courses with Hugh Himan fostered an interest in the developing economies in Africa. “Thanks to the efforts of then International Student Advisor Jeana McKinney, I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship in the business school at Emory University, where I graduated with a MBA in Finance,” David said. “For the next 12 years I was based in Kenya doing management consultancy. Many of the economies of Africa were opening up during that time, and much of the work I did was valuing and preparing state owned enterprises for privatization.” In 1998 David joined the World Bank in Washington, D.C., where he manages the work done in 37 African countries. He is responsible for making decisions about how to allocate the World Bank’s resources and tracking the success of their work.

and has remained in higher education as the Executive Director of Technology Services and Chief Information Officer for Davidson College.

This summer, all four brothers joined with their parents and brother Ngugi in Kenya.

Ngugi was able to attend the University of Nairobi and went on to receive an MBA. He now operates one of the largest veterinary product companies in East Africa. The occasion for their gathering was the 50th wedding anniversary of Hoswell and Ruth. In addition to the five brothers and their families, more than 700 people attended the celebration, including several past moderators of the Presbyterian Church in East Africa. Despite the distances, the family remains close. “We talk often, email regularly and text all of the time,” Ndung’u said. They continue to share the values of work, academic study and service that began at home, were nurtured at Hospital Hill, and came to fruition at Warren Wilson. For David, Muiruri, Gichuru, and Ndung’u, these elements of the Triad are central to their professional careers and to their daily lives.

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Coach Steinbrecher Inducted into Hall of Fame

By Jack Igelman

F

or Hank Steinbrecher, Warren Wilson’s soccer coach from 1973 to 1978, there are few distinctions and awards he hasn’t assembled. In a soccer career that has spanned decades, he has earned a spot in the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2012 he received the Werner Fricker Builder Award, the United States Soccer Federation’s top honor. However, his induction into the Warren Wilson College Athletics Hall of Fame is a distinction he wears with pride. In fact, the tribute closes the loop on a lauded career that kicked off in the Swannanoa Valley and led him to the top brass of U.S. soccer governance.

In 1973 Steinbrecher had just completed a master’s degree and aspired to a career in college administration, but when a friend told him about a coaching job at Warren Wilson, he pounced. Working at a small college in southern Appalachia seemed a natural fit—even for a native of Queens, New York.

Steinbrecher attended Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia where he excelled as a student At the and player on a national championship soccer team.

He recalls that it took time to adjust to the cultural time, soccer was still differences of the South, but before long he felt on the fringes of college a kinship with the region. In particular, athletics. If there was a place he was drawn to the Appalachian work in the South for it to blossom ethos.

“I really gravitated to mountains. They are They aren’t afraid to

it was on the Warren Wilson campus, thanks in part to a thriving international student body.

the mentality in the hardscrabble people. work,” Steinbrecher said.

When he arrived in North Carolina, he discovered that although he had inherited a group of skilled soccer players, they were woefully out of shape, bantered in over a dozen languages, and played with few tactics and little coordination.

“It was a bit rough at first, but I strapped them down hard,” Steinbrecher said. Eventually they started to win, drawing crowds of up to 3,000 at home games. “It really made the campus come alive.”

In ensuing seasons Steinbrecher was able to piggyback on the Owls’ good fortune. He paired the team against tougher opponents, including larger, more established programs such as Emory and Clemson. That, along with savvy marketing, helped place Warren Wilson on the collegiate soccer map. At the time, he says, there was a single U.S. soccer magazine to which he contributed.

“They needed filler, and I’d write an article about Warren Wilson defeating Erskine or something like that, and they’d print it,” laughs Steinbrecher. “I’d mimeograph copies and send them out to potential students.”

While he was able to recruit from beyond the region, he also mined the talent on campus.

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In his first season he needed a goalie and noticed sophomore Andy Scott. “I saw this brute of a guy in Gladfelter,” Steinbrecher recalls. “I asked him if he ever played soccer.

Well, if you haven’t, you will now!”

Scott, now a trustee of the College, confirms the story but says he was also drawn to the coach’s personality. “People really wanted to play for Hank,” Scott said. “He had a high standard of excellence. He expected us to work hard and really instilled passion and discipline in us.”

At the time, soccer was still on the fringes of college athletics. If there was a place in the South for it to blossom it was on the Warren Wilson campus, thanks in part to a thriving international student body. Scott recalls that roughly two thirds of the players were international students.

“There was such a terrific student body.

It was a special time and really exciting to have been at a place as culturally diverse as Warren Wilson,” adds Steinbrecher, who says that the tolerance displayed on campus groomed him for his ensuing career, a path that led him to over 100 countries and to the apex of American leadership of the most globalized sport on the planet.

After finishing his stint at Warren Wilson, Steinbrecher left for the head coach job at Appalachian State University and then

OWL & SPADE

Boston University. In 1984 he took a sabbatical to organize soccer for the 1984 Olympics hosted on American soil. The success of those games, says Steinbrecher, ultimately changed the trajectory of his career.

Currently Steinbrecher operates a consulting business from his home in the Chicago area and works on projects such as directing Morocco’s bid for the World Cup and revamping the City College of New York’s athletic program.

Following the Olympic games he landed at the Quaker Oats Corporation to successfully build the Gatorade brand. From there he went on to a triumphant decade as the CEO and Secretary General of the United States Soccer Federation (now known as US Soccer) from 1990-2000. Many credit Steinbrecher for bringing soccer to prominence in the United States. During his tenure he staged two of the globe’s most successful men’s and women’s World Cups, both held in the United States in 1994 and 1999. He has also been lauded for his role in establishing the competitiveness and popularity of the women’s game in America.

Still, he hasn’t forgotten his deep connection to Warren Wilson. Steinbrecher recalls tears welling in his eyes during the national anthem to kick off the 1994 World Cup at Chicago’s Soldier Field. “I was thinking about my team at Warren Wilson,” he said. “In my mind and my heart, that is the team I went back to. It was quite an overwhelming feeling.”

His commitment to women’s soccer can be traced back to the Swannanoa Valley. Scott recalls that an interested female student, Glenda Wells ’77, approached Steinbrecher about joining the team in the fall of 1974.

“There was no hesitation. Hank considered her a total equal,” Scott said. “When the U.S. women’s team won the World Cup in 1999, I thought of Hank and Glenda. Hank has always been the guy with a big vision, but what’s extraordinary is that he can also manage the millions of details to pull it off.”

Members of that squad haven’t forgotten their coach, either. Recently, former players, including Scott, rallied around Steinbrecher when the word spread that he was experiencing health problems. “That kind of support for him isn’t surprising,” Scott said.

“He has always been a catalyst for building communities. To have relationships stay together so long is the most extraordinary legacy you can ask for.”

Steinbrecher attributes those deep bonds to connections that gel around a playing field. “I believe athletics is a huge part of the college experience. Sports transcend your team; it’s a rallying point for social communion, and it attracts students. It’s a way to grow a school and create a sense of pride.”

“I believe athletics is a huge part of the college experience.

Sports transcend your team; it’s a rallying point for social communion, and it attracts students. It’s a way to grow a school and create a sense of pride.”

Sports, he believes, are also a perfect complement to the Triad—a model he’s embraced to guide his personal and professional life.

“It’s the way to a successful life—spirituality, academic vigor, hard work—those are lessons I’ve carried through my life,” said Steinbrecher, who, with his wife, Ruth Anne, raised two boys, one a U.S. Navy SEAL lieutenant colonel, the other a former professional cyclist and now medical student.

“I felt like I got it right and am very happy to have been a part of Warren Wilson,” Steinbrecher said.

Coach Steinbrecher with the women’s soccer team in the 1970s.

SPRING 2014

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2013 Athletics Hall of Fame The Warren Wilson College Athletics Hall of Fame recognizes the extraordinary efforts and achievements of athletes, coaches, teams and contributors to the College. On October 4, 2013 during the Homecoming festivities, six honorees were inducted into the Hall of Fame. They span six decades and six sports and embody the intent, spirit and historical context of WWC athletics.

Officially formed in 2012, the Athletics Hall of Fame was created to reinforce a sense of history, tradition and respect for WWC intercollegiate athletics.

Dean Kahl, a WWC chemistry professor for 44 years, was the cross-country coach from 1969 to 1991. For 22 years, he trained 150 runners, most of whom had never run competitively. The Big Blue Running Machine ran the mountain trails, over the hills, and through the cow pastures against much larger, better-funded teams.

Kahl organized the successful Warren Wilson Invitational race, one of the most anticipated events of the cross-country season.

Kylie Krauss ’07 was a relentless worker at the College and set the bar with her training regimen. She raced for the mountain biking team from 2004-2007 when the team finished in third place at the national championships and in second place for three seasons. In 2007 Krauss won the omnium and cross-country national championship and assisted the team with the second-place finish. After graduation, she raced professionally for ProBikes and Independent Fabrications and continued to receive national awards.

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Hall of Fame Inductees (L-R) Hank Steinbrecher, Anne Riddle Lundblad, James Martin, Jimmie Terry, Dean Kahl, (Kylie Krauss not pictured)

Anne Riddle Lundblad has been a counselor at the WWC Counseling Center since 2001 and is an ultrarunning national and world champion. She began running ultra events in 1999 and since that time has won nine national championships, a world silver medal, and currently holds the United States gold medal in the world championship 24-hour race.

James “Pee Dab” Martin ’46 excelled in football, baseball and basketball during his four years at Warren Wilson High School.

After graduation, he attended Western Carolina University on a basketball scholarship and received his bachelor’s degree in education in 1951. “Athletics was an important part of my experience at Warren Wilson and contributed far more to my growth and development than I did to the athletic program,” Martin said.

Save the Date

Jimmie Terry ’83 captained the men’s basketball team from 1979 to 1983 and was named team MVP all four years.

His teams won 78 games, including two conference championships leading to two national championship tournament berths. Terry was named all-conference his sophomore, junior and senior years and to the all-tournament team at the national championships. He averaged over 20 points and over 10 rebounds in every game he played.

2015 Hall of Fame Nominations Nominations for the 2015 Hall of Fame are being accepted through February 4, 2015.

Categories include Alumni or Contributing Athlete, Athletic Program Contributor, and Unique Athletic or Contributor Excellence.

Visit http://bit.ly/wwchof to download the nomination form and induction criteria or call 866.992.2586 to request a printed copy.

2014 Hall of Fame Induction Homecoming Weekend Friday, October 10, 2014 OWL & SPADE

Teams of Excellence 1963 Men’s Soccer Team The 1963 men’s soccer team kicked their way to a shutout record, allowing no defeats and no ties. As a climax to the glory-filled season, the Owls were invited to the National Junior College Playoffs.

Although the first game was a loss, the players rallied to win the second playoff, bringing home the third-place trophy. In addition to this award, five players were named to All-American teams, bringing the end to a very successful season.

1980-81 and 1981-82 Men’s Basketball Teams From 1980 to 1982 the student body was less than half its current size, with male students numbering just over 200. During these years, 17 young men put WWC men’s basketball on the regional and national stage. Playing in front of a packed DeVries gymnasium, the teams consistently achieved top-10 national rankings and as high as fifth. Playing a total of 63 games against much larger schools, the Owls achieved back-to-back 20-plus win seasons, with 22 wins in 1980-81 and a school record 24 wins in 1981-82. Coached by WWC Dean of Work Richard Franklin, the teams won back-to-back South Atlantic District and Conference Championships leading to two National Championship tournament berths.

1964 Men’s Soccer Team The 1964 men’s soccer team finished the regular season undefeated for nine games, with an impressive six goals scored in each game against five opponents. As in 1963, the team participated in the National Junior College Playoffs. They won their first game but missed the championship game by one goal after playing four regulation quarters, two overtimes and a sudden death. The soccer team was also one of the three finalists for the annual Pepsi Cola Outstanding Team Award for the team that contributed most to the sports of Western North Carolina.

SPRING 2014

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Team After breaking news that the 2012-13 team would be losing their coach at the beginning of September, the men’s basketball team would have to look within themselves to find the discipline and toughness to work through pre-season workouts. At the end of September, Greg Neeley was hired as the new head coach. With the leadership of Coach Neeley, Assistant Coach Tiger Norman and the determination of the men’s basketball team, new heights were reached. After a slow start, the team found themselves winning 12 straight games at the end of the season. The team’s refusal to lose and their desire to overcome adversity led them to a place that no one would have guessed.

After being selected as the at-large bid and ninth seed for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament, 2012-13 team defied all odds and won the USCAA National Championship.

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Home

coming

2013

Return, Reconnect, Reminisce Alumni, families, students and friends enjoyed a beautiful fall weekend in the mountains during Homecoming and Family Weekend 2013. The Warren Wilson family came together to celebrate annual traditions like the barbecue, Festival on the Field and the Alumni Awards Ceremony. Everyone had a chance to participate in perennially popular activities, like rafting and the Green Walkabout, as well as explore new options like the Alumni Art Tour. The bright sunshine and warm colors provided the perfect backdrop to the real purpose of Homecoming and Family Weekend—building community. Make plans to join in the fun this year.

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October 10-12, 2014

warren-wilson.edu/homecoming warren-wilson.edu/familyweekend

OWL & SPADE

SPRING 2014

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The strength of our academics, the quality of our work and the depth of our service are all a direct result of those who support us year after year. Thank you for your gifts of time, energy, ideas and financial resources.

Warren Wilson College 2012-2013 Annual Report

Your gift helps Warren Wilson College students make a difference in the Swannanoa Valley, in America, and around the world.

Giving Participation 120.0%

Your support ensures that learning at Warren Wilson College is purposeful, hands-on and meaningful.

100.0%

80.0%

Trustees 60.0%

Alumni Board Faculty & Staff Alumni

40.0%

20.0%

0.0% 2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

Through our Triad of academics, work and service, Warren Wilson students gain a meaningful education that enables them to make a difference.

Students learn in small classes and on work crews from faculty and staff who care greatly and challenge them to expand their minds. Our graduates most often go on to work as teachers, scientists, entrepreneurs or for non-profits; our graduates seek meaningful work while pursuing environmental stewardship and service throughout their lives.

One of our highest fundraising priorities is financial aid for our creative and bright students. The cost of tuition does not cover the full cost of education—which is why the Warren Wilson College Fund is vitally important.

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OWL & SPADE

Thanks to your generosity, 2012-2013 was a successful fundraising year. We received a total of $4,177,773 from loyal alumni, friends, parents, students, bequests, churches, foundations and other organizations connected to the College.

We are grateful for the confidence you place in our College and appreciate your ongoing commitment and support.

Many individuals have committed to preserving Warren Wilson College’s legacy by joining the Warren Wilson College Circle.

Circle membership includes those who give $1000 annually and/or those who’ve given $50,000 or more over a lifetime.

In 2012-2013, 213 donors were recognized in the Circle.

In 2012-2013, we raised a total of $527,063.58 for the Warren Wilson College Fund that supports the Triad. Our goal for 2013-2014: $550,000.

With your continued support, we can reach our goal and continue to transform lives.

SPRING 2014

35

Love Warren Wilson?

Want to help students find their way here?

Here are five ways you can help us reach new students.

•Refer a student by emailing their name, address, year of high school graduation and phone number to admit@warren-wilson.edu.

•Represent your alma mater at a local high school or community college • Host a reception in partnership with the Admission Counselor from your area • Attend a college fair in your area • Call prospective students

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE Contact the Admission Office at admit@warren-wilson.edu or call 800-934-3536 to find out more.

A LU M NINEWS Warren Wilson College Alumni Board 2013-2014 President Mike Nix ’70 President Elect Dennis Thompson ’77 Past President Melissa Davis ’71 Secretary Melanie Kemp ’12 2013 Graduate Representative Ona Sunshine Hogarty ’13 Student Representative Jamie DeMarco ’16 Class of 2014 Nancy Allen ’64 Julianne Delzer ’94 Mark Demma ’99 Susan Leading Fox ’84 Erica E. Rawls ’03 Bo Walker ’74 Bob Washel ’72

Class of 2015 Nina Anmahian Lantis ’12 Rob Danzman ’99 Hannah Jacobs ’11 Donna Kilpatrick ’88 Sherry Lee ’78 Juliana Ratner ’08 John Wykle ’61

Class of 2016 Tucker Branham ’02 Mimi Herman ’91 Scott Jenkins ’85 Mica Mead ’07 Pinky Stegall ’07 Amelia Walton ’04

Dear Alumni and Friends,

I

n August I volunteered with Rodney Lytle ’73 and other local alumni to greet arriving freshmen. The following day we returned for the arrival of the transfer students. We answered questions and found answers for others. I learned a lot from the students and their parents.

The freshmen arrived with parents in tow to check in at Bryson.

The threat of rain forced the set up to be inside, but we hung out in the threatening weather under a tent. Every student I talked to was excited about starting this new adventure in life. Much of the conversation was about the work program and where they would be assigned.

I watched the freshmen unload large amounts of stuff, much of which would end up in the free store before the end of their freshman year.

The transfer students arrived with fewer parents and less baggage. They were excited about finding the right college. They varied from sophomores to one student already with a bachelor’s degree. They were, as a group, more focused and had a plan compared to the freshmen that were more undecided and still exploring their options.

One of the more interesting stories is the freshman that left Bend, Oregon on June 15 and rode his bicycle to Warren Wilson. He told me about not being able to setup his tent because of all the rain and having to sleep on park benches under a rain fly. I’m looking forward to the long version.

I am planning on volunteering again when the fall students arrive. It would be great if some of you would join me. If you are a lurker it’s time to step out. Check out what the college is today; it’s not what it was when I arrived as a freshman when the first junior class was added, or what it was ten years ago. Warren Wilson has changed with the times. It’s time to pay attention and step up as alumni. All of us owe Warren Wilson for what we have become.

Shortly after attending Steven Solnick’s inauguration, I went back and read the inaugural address in the Owl & Spade. “Not the Old, Not the New, But the Necessary.” I thought of this when looking at the percentage of alumni that donate to the College. Warren Wilson ranks very low in the percentage of alumni giving. The amount of money given is not as important as how many donated. Even giving twenty bucks is more important than not giving at all.

When colleges compete for money, the percentage of alumni giving is a leading factor in final decisions. If alumni don’t support their college, why should a large foundation or funding source?

It is “Necessary” for alumni to give back. A common excuse for not giving is being a poor servant of the public. Shame on those of us who use this excuse. It is necessary for us to give back for the next generation to succeed. Think of it as seed grain.

I challenge you to give at least twenty dollars to the Warren Wilson general fund today.

Mike Nix ’70 Alumni Board President

SPRING 2014

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A LU M NINEWS ’50s 40s

Sarah Jane (Miller) Huff ’47 is working Lois Noto ’56 is retired from school social as an but RNvolunteers in hospiceon at church the agecommittees of 83! A work nursewith at Warren Wilson was aFriends guide for and The Compassionate support group bereavedoffamilies.

Sarah Jane andfor memories the College She has one surviving daughter, two are cherished.

Sarah has four children, granddaughters and a great grandson and including a daughter who has a doctorate is doing well. in nursing and a clinical/pediatric practice in Oregon, and eight Power of Dream, Love,grandchildren.

Mission, written by Matthew M. Whong ’56, was chosen as one of the 10 self-published books by Peggy Loutop (Kirk) Willis ’48 was crowned World July. secondmagazine runner-upin at the 2013 Ms. North Carolina Senior Pageant in Pinehurst. The John W.isShepherd ’58 and his wife, pageant designed to feature both theJudy, celebrated their 50th anniversary on June external internal of women over 2, 2012,and at the Lewis beauty Fork Baptist Church agePurlear, 60. Peggy Lou lives in Jamestown, and in northwest of Wilkesboro.

Around 150 attended the celebration, hosted about by the Jamestown News wrote a feature their children: Jody Evans of Wasilla, Alaska; her pageant experience.

Jory Shepherd of Wilkesboro; and John M. Shepherd of Purlear.

’50s

Mary Perrine’s dreamDickinson of college ’59 Melody (Melus ’50 Rhodes) received from UNC-Chapel began at her the bachelor’s age of 5. Dr. Hanna (of the Hill.

In 1966 she taught English under Todd-Dickey Rural Training Parish inthe new Elementary and Secondary Education Indiana) Junior College made Act (ESEA)and andWWC was the first Caucasian this dream comeattrue. woman teacher J.W. After Ligon graduation Senior MarySchool taughtinatRaleigh.

Air Force schools in Africa, High After receiving a graduate degree drama, Melody school moved Europe and Asia in and at a mission to where she taught for schools 42 in California Pakistan. She taught at public in years. Melody can be reached at 156B Colorado, Missouri and Georgia.

Woodbridge Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27516; 919-968-0821 or melodybaba@yahoo.com.

Sylvia (Jaynes) Secrest ’50 renovated her husband’s great-grandfather’s house built ’60s in 1875. She and her husband move in this Joy (Ritchie) Powers ’61 and her November.

husband, Scott, both enjoyed seeing classmates and friends at Homecoming and Matthew preached at Kum Ran their 50th Wong reunion’56 in 2011.

Church in Seoul, Korea, in September. It is the world’s largest Jack Allison ’63 isMethodist in Malawi,Church Africa, with build shallow water wells with the ahelping membership of about 100,000.

founders of Marion Medical Mission (MMM),

Tom Logan ’64 '59 and isJocelyn Logan .

Danny Starnes trying to locate’64 two Jack spent three years as a US Peace Corps classmates, Robin Moses and Un Kyu Pai, Volunteer in Malawi during the late ’60s. He who were for All-American soccer players for is famous having the No. 1 song (“Ufa the Mtedza,” College. If anyone knows how to reach wa a song encouraging mothers to add peanut flourcontact to theirDanny children’s porridge) either of them, at (828) on the Malawian Hit Parade for 3½ years 777-6539 or danpstarnes@yahoo.com. and has donated all proceeds to charity.

’60spastorates in New York, Ohio, and After Missouri a second as a vice Robertaand (Beal) Silkercareer ’63 moved from president with Merrill Lynch, Milton Montana where she had lived for 31Ohlsen years. ’63 now retired.

Heinand his wife, Fran, and sailed She lives Tigard, Oregon, can on reached their SeaatFox to the the Bahamas be 9384 SWKeys, Maplewood Dr, and up to the Great Lakes. After spending Apt ORRiver 97223. timeH88, on theTigard, St. Johns in Florida, they became “dirt-dwellers” in Fletcher. Milt dabbles in photography (aye2eye.com), 38

flowers, and fishing’64 andmoved can betoreached at Marwan Jadeed Asheville 313-277-5922. in December 2012. He has since reconnected with several alumni and was Betty (Robinson) Gaidry and her privileged enough to attend’64 President husband, Jim, are still active Red Cross Solnick’s inauguration.

He feels Dr. Disaster Mental Health volunteers in Solnick East is a perfect choice and will do whatever Coast Central Florida. They are also active in church and non-profit in necessary to achieve the organizations desired goals for Brevard County. Social workers keep on WWC. going and serving others!

’70s

After starting out at Warren Wilson, Paul Lisa (Troutwine) Throneberry ’76 M. Sensibaugh ’66 graduated from Ohio and Dan Throneberry ’77 moved to State University with a bachelor of civil Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Dan is engineering degree in 1969 and received enjoying away fromwith his Mastersemi-retirement of Public Administration, distinction, from California Universitythe construction industry. State Lisa works Stanislaus in 2000. He is aUniversity registered in at Middle Tennessee State professional engineer in California and is financial aid. She and her dear friend Holly one of an elite group to hold Special District Anderson co-own Two StarinDesign, which Administrator Certification California.

Paul offers pre-fused, fabric manager shapes forfor recently retired asdie-cut the general House Community Services the Mountain applique quilt market.

District (MHCSD).

Sharon (Nichols) Randolph ’77 received ’70s the 2013 Distinguished Service Award for Tom HertnerProfessional, ’71 is enjoying retirement in Outstanding Institutional Colorado. and Community Service from South College in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is Mary L. (Strome) Stahl ’74 retired from the co-founder of Sewing Hands, which teaching in May 2011 and has become provides handmade clothing and quilts to manager of the Junction City Opera House individuals in need. Visit her blog at http:// in Kansas. Visit jcoperahouse.org. handmadebysewinghands.blogspot.com.

Martin L. Jones ’79 is an undergraduate math professor at the College of Charleston, ’80s where he was named one of the nation’s

Donna Cabell ’81 would likePrinceton to inform top teachers, according to The Review’s The Bestpassing 300 Professors. everyone of the of Maarten (Martin) Groot ’80 in November 2012.

Leslie (Cowan)byShaidnagle has been He is survived his daughter’79 Carlotta in living in Germany for the past 30 years.

Spain.

She originally became “hooked” on the European lifestyle while on a trip to Vienna J. Kim ’81 attended conferences with theWright WWC Choir.

She credits WWC with giving herspring the basis for so many and positive this past on compassion relations andtransformation experiences in before her life. community

launching another international trip to ’80s such destinations as Scotland, London and Amsterdam. During her U.S. travels, she J. Kim Wright ’81 has been locationhad a lovely visit Janet Bannerman independent sincewith 2008, traveling around in Idaho. all on thisthe travel, Kim is the world,With working transformation of the legalfor system to peacemaking, healing grateful Bill Mosher’s intercultural and problem solving. This summer communications class andpast for her major in she taught integrative law at Charlotte Law international studies.

School and is in New Mexico this fall. Her book, Lawyers as Peacemakers: Practicing Kay Olson ’89 volunteersLaw in ,awas thirdnamed grade Holistic, Problem-Solving an American Association Flagship Book. classroom at Bar her local elementary school

and tutors ESL and citizenship students Melanie Newton is Pierce, in her 27th year at Learn to Read in’83 Fort Florida. as a social worker and is “happy as a lark” Previously she taught English as a second in Northampton, Mass. Her son Ian, age language in many different countries.

24, is educated in adventure recreation

education.

Life is better are Ramsey Koumjian ’89than livesgood—they in most grateful!

She sends warm regards Indialantic, Florida, and works in real to all her WWC friends. estate at Fitzwaterhouse Holdings.

Beth (Mann) Woodard ’89from serves Tom Overman ’84 retired the Navy as chaplain of Trinity Glen, a skilled after 33 years of active duty and reserve service. His tours him to MidwayBeth Island, nursing facility inled Winston-Salem.

Diego Garcia, Laassociate Maddalena, Sardinia, was previously pastor at Zion Terceira, Azores, and beyond. Tom currently Lutheran Church in Hickory. She lives in works as an information assurance Greensboro her husband, Mark, their manager for with Hawaiian Electric Company. two teenagers, George and Fiona, and their He has been married for 29 years to Mary Ellendachshunds. and they have twoand sons, Jeremiah in two Beth Mark celebrate Charlotte BenjaminininNovember.

Hawaii. their 20thand anniversary Marsha Morgan ’87 performs as a

’00s singer in Myrtle Beach. She is also an

online Marsh teacher ’02 of high English and Dana is anschool equine veterinarian journalism at the South Carolina at Merritt and Associates EquineVirtual Hospital.

Charter School.in sports medicine and She specializes acupuncture. She is engaged to Jacob Krotz ’90s and upon marriage will become an instant stepmother to six-year-old Krotz. ’90 This past summer, GregoryElla T. Wilkins

lectured at Moscow State University and Northeastern State’03 University in Siberia.

Derrick Blodgett and Carrie (Sisson) He was part ofwelcomed the 5th Annual Global Blodgett ’04 their first child, Studies in Moscow. He and his Ira Lee,Conference on June 19, 2013. colleagues are developing an exchange program with Minnesota State University, Drew Maykuth ’03 and brothers Will Mankato and Northeastern State University.

Jeffers ’04 and Joseph Jeffers ’08 Christopher Johns ’94 eight celebrate the opening of celebrates Stanbury, their years as owner of Computers new restaurant in Christopher’s downtown Raleigh.

The in Asheville. He loves serving and providing neighborhood eatery hosts a farm-to-table employment to the community that has menu with variety of selections become his ahome after graduatingthat fromuse primarily seasonal ingredients.

The WWC. He lives in Weaverville with histhree wife, Rachael, and stepdaughter, by plan to connect with fellow Sarah.

WarrenDrop Wilson his shop alumni at 549 Merrimon Avenueofand farming to supply many thesay hello! restaurant’s needs.

Joshua Prentice ’94 published a book in Bart PfautzBeowulf: ’05 early 2012: graduated this A Verse Adaptation With Young spring from Readers George Visit In Mind.

Mason University. joshuagraynow.com He and Jeannie for more information (Payne) or to readPfautz his other ’04 celebrated works.

Joshua isthe in his second year of birth of Barton recovery after on being Miller Pfautz diagnosed with June 28, 2013. They recently moved to stage III melanoma. He and his wife, Ketaki Charlottesville, Virginia, where they enjoy Bhattacharyya , have two sons, being close to the’93 mountains again.

Zachary (“Zooe”) and Noah.

Nicole thehusband assistantboth DeniseAccordino Tudor ’94 ’07 and is her program manager Germany, at Transplanting in work Garmisch, at the George C. MarshallCommunity European Center Traditions Farmfor in Security Chapel Studies.

Center seeks to bring countries Hill. TheThe farm teaches Karen refugees from together to work towards peace and Burma to use native agricultural skills to security. create economic and food security.

OWL & SPADE

A LU M NINEWS Katie Harris ’07 lives in Tallahassee, Florida, and has been crowned the backgammon champion of that city’s north region. She was laid off from a café gig and that’s when she met her current life/business partner. She stays busy with fishing and other hobbies while waiting to have a family.

Staci Dennett ’09 and Nadir “Swim” Karim ’10 were featured in the Huffington Post for their support of marriage equality.

They are staying true to their activist ideals even after graduation.

Laurel Howard ’09 is excited about her move to Washington State to begin an M.Ed. program with IslandWood outdoor education center and the University of Washington. She encourages visitors and pen pals and may be contacted at heyladyhowad@gmail.com.

Cera McGinn’09 is co-owner of Ramble and Root, a consulting and installation service for do-it-yourself, organic vegetable landscaping. Cera and her business partner, Mallory McCoy, recently wrote, illustrated and published the book Reviving Homegrown, a beginners guide to organic vegetable gardening.

Mary Phillips ’09 is the co-director of Roots Memphis, an “urban educational farm” she started in 2012. She teaches classes designed to educate Memphis residents about the profitability of organic farming. She hopes to “grow the population of farmers in Shelby County” and leave a legacy of positive changemaking.

Nicole Connor ’10 worked at Child Abuse Prevention Services in Asheville for three years before enrolling at the Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work this fall.

$50,000 for 50 years

Kaela Magge ’10 is in Teach for America, a program whose mission is to end educational inequality in low-income areas. She is teaching K-5 at Circle Rock, a Catalyst charter school on the west side of Chicago. She is pushing her students to achieve their academic goals. Some even want to come to Warren Wilson one day!

In anticipation of the 50th reunion at Homecoming 2014, an anonymous member of the Class of 1964 has issued a challenge to fellow classmates. All gifts to the Class of ’64 Challenge will be matched to a total of $50,000. These gifts will be used to bolster the campaign to build a state-of-the-art classroom building to replace Carson Hall. The goal for the challenge is to fund a faculty office, which forever will be known as the Class of 1964 Office.

Janet Martin ’11 has started the first women’s mixed martial arts fight series, which has been nominated for national awards, and broadcasts fights to large international audiences.

Lora Moon ’11 completed her master’s in literature at the University of Toronto with full funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

She has been accepted to and funded for a Ph.D. program in English at the University of British Columbia.

Choena Lenore Galloway ’12 married Patrick Erin Gray at the Silversteen Ballfield in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, on June 15, 2013. Choena is studying for her veterinary technician certification at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

Rex Leonowicz ’12 is writing poetry in the MFA program at Mills College, where he is the Manager of Literary Arts Programming.

A Challenge to the Class of 1964

The 15,000 square foot building will provide classroom, laboratory, office and gathering space for social sciences and the MFA program for writers, as well as the hub for programming in sustainability and resilience both on and off campus.

Advanced, modern technology, equipment and infrastructure will enable faculty and students to teach, learn, conduct research and connect with one another in new and inspired ways. The LEED certified building will occupy the Carson Hall site, overlooking the farm and river valley.

In order to be counted toward the ’64 Challenge, pledges must be received before Homecoming 2014, October 1012. Pledge payments may be made over a three-year period. For more information, contact the Warren Wilson College Office of Advancement at 866.992.6957 or email give@warren-wilson.edu.

’10s

Carroll Anderson ’10 lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, where she makes cheese at the Sequatchie Cove Farm. The creamery and Carroll were recently featured in Garden and Gun Magazine. Go to http:// gardenandgun.com/gallery/photos-crusadesouthern-cheese.

Alumni Board Nominations Nominate yourself or a fellow alumni to serve on the Warren Wilson College Alumni Board in 2015. Nomination forms can be downloaded at: http://bit.ly/wwcboard or you can call 866.992.2586 to request a paper copy.

The deadline for nominations is December 15, 2014.

FALL 2012 SPRING 2014

39 27

LOSSES Chuck Cole Irreplaceable. That’s the word that describes Chuck Cole to many of us.

Charles F. “Chuck” Cole, who passed away on August 16, 2013, was a dear friend to the College for over 30 years. His legacy continues to live on.

Chuck enjoyed a range of interests and activities throughout his full and vibrant life. He served with the American Field Service during World War II and then returned home to graduate from Williams College. In 1951 he married the love of his life, Nancy Lemaster Yeager. Nancy and Chuck were married for 51 years and had two children, James and Marjorie.

After years of working with the JC Penney Company, Chuck and his family moved to Asheville in 1974, where his career culminated with the clothing company Bell’s Traditionals.

In addition to work and family, Chuck and Nancy were devoted community volunteers and philanthropists. They supported many local organizations, including First Presbyterian Church, the Asheville Art Museum, the Asheville Symphony and the Mountain Area Child and Family Center.

Warren Wilson President Ben Holden first met Chuck in the late 1970s and invited him to join the Board of Advisors, which later became the Council of Visitors. After that, Chuck became a member of the Board of Trustees, where he served from 19862007. Chuck was the ideal board member, giving his treasure and his time. As chair of the Annual Fund Committee, he would spend his evenings making calls during Phonathon or handwriting notes to his friends and colleagues.

Chuck and Nancy were present at almost every on-campus event and were wonderful ambassadors for the College off campus.

They demonstrated their commitment to

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the mission of the College by establishing two scholarships. The Grover and Ruth Yeager Scholarship was established in memory of Nancy’s parents and supports students with financial need. They also endowed the Barbara Otis Scholarship for international students in memory of a dear friend who died of cancer. In addition to these scholarships, Nancy and Chuck also started the Harwood-Cole Fund, which continues to support an annual lecture series on campus.

When Nancy passed away in 2003, Chuck continued his close connection with the College. “Chuck was simply the model of thoughtful and effective trusteeship,” President Emeritus Doug Orr said. “His love of the arts, books and music translated into generous support for so many facets of the College. He also possessed a big heart.

Each time we would perform at Deerfield Retirement Center with the student choir, Chuck then would take everyone to dinner, at the end of which the students would sing to him a song of thanks. I shall never forget the glow on Chuck’s face. He left a glow in the life of Warren Wilson that will endure.”

While the Coles’ legacy will live on at the College through their significant contributions over the years, those who knew them best will remember their kind souls, warm smiles and strong commitment.

The College is indescribably fortunate that Chuck and Nancy chose to devote themselves to our cause and their impact on our school will not be forgotten.

As Owl & Spade readers will remember from our last issue, Lee P. Ebner, Asheville Farm School Class of 1940 and legendary cartoonist for the Louisville Courier Journal, epitomized the essence of a Warren Wilson graduate. Sadly, we lost Lee on January 20, 2014, a few months shy of his 95th birthday. Lee was the most loyal alumnus of the Farm School, attending the

June reunion every year that he was able.

Having scaled Mount Mitchell often during his Farm School years, Lee dearly loved the annual trips to the peak during the class reunion. Many treasure the delightful cartoons he would draw for them, some on napkins, as inspiration came to him each time they gathered. Proudest of his U.S. Naval service throughout World War II, Signalman Ebner enlisted in 1940 and survived the attack at Pearl Harbor and many Pacific battles before watching the first peacetime atomic bomb tests from his ship. Lee’s brother, Emanual ’40, also a Pearl Harbor survivor, died in 2000. Billie Ruth Kelly ’47, Ebner’s sister, lives in Louisville.

Lucille Fisher Galloway Jordan Dr. Lucille Fisher Galloway Jordan, a 1942 Asheville Normal and Teachers College graduate and longtime resident of Atlanta, died on February 15, 2013, after a mercifully short illness. She was a classroom teacher in three states before receiving her doctorate at the University of Georgia (UGA) and working as director of the Title III federal program; head of the Teacher Corps Consortium of six Atlanta colleges; director of program development for Atlanta schools; and associate state superintendent of Georgia schools, a post she held concurrently with a professorship in education at UGA. She was president of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and served on the Rockefeller Council for the Arts and innumerable other boards. She represented the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Information Service abroad on many occasions, worked as an educational consultant for various broadcasting stations, and appeared regularly on William Buckley’s “Firing Line.” She initiated the first statewide High School Mock Election in the United States and was honored at her retirement by a special commendation from the U.S. Senate for her leadership in civic education. The author of several educational books, Dr. Jordan wrote a theological text, Everyman’s Decision.

OWL & & SPADE SPADE OWL

LOSSES Warren Wilson College

Asheville Farm School

Alice Ingle Callaway HS ’45 October 22, 2010

Ralph L. Johnston ’36 July 7, 1997

Ethelda McGee ’48 July 24, 2013

Dennis P. Sparks ’36 February 17, 2005

Clyde “Eddie” Bailey ’49 December 2, 2012

Lee Ebner ’40 January 20, 2014

James S. Hampton ’50 September 19, 2013 Delphine Deaver ’53 September 1, 2013 Laurel J. Allen ’54 June 16, 2013 Robert E. Swander ’62 May 24, 2013

Viola Cooper Gilchrist ’63 July 24, 2013 Michael L. Carter ’69 July 2, 2013 William D. Connet ’73 July 9, 2013

Asheville Normal and Teachers College Cecil Clark Richey Neves Thompson ’32 October 1, 2005 Mary Louise Randolph ’37 September 27, 2012 Lucille Galloway Jordan ’42 February 15, 2013 Anne Bryant ’43 September 16, 2013 Eva Jane Rogers Tate ’43 November 6, 2012

Kathleen Robinson Holbrook April 14, 2013

Ruth Elmore Kirby November 13, 2011 Dorland Bell Rue Culbertson Rogers ’35 January 23, 2012 Virginia Turner ’39 August 19, 2013 Employees, Volunteers, Friends Nikki Applegate June 5, 2013 Charles F. Cole August 16, 2013 Kristen Keener August 16, 2013

Correction: In the winter 2008

issue, we incorrectly listed Kristen Hahn Linkous ’89 in the Losses section. She is alive and well. We apologize for this error.

Verification Procedure

Following is the WWC Office of Advancement’s procedure for publishing deaths in the Losses section. Verification of death must be obtained in one of the following ways: • Printed copy of the obituary • Notification in writing from a family member • Verification on the Social Security Death Index • Verifiable Google search Notifications from alumni or friends must be substantiated in one of the above ways to be published.

War re n W i l s o n C o l l ege Al umni B us ines s Director y When students graduate from WWC, they leave with a wealth of academic knowledge, hands-on experience through their work and a meaningful connection with the community through the service program. The business directory proudly lists our entrepreneurial alumni. Whether you are looking for a great place to eat, a reliable plumber or the perfect gift, you will find many options, all with a Warren Wilson connection. You can find the alumni business directory online: http://bit.ly/wwcbusi If you are a WWC alumni, own a business and would like to be included in the directory, please let us know. Send us your name, business name, contact information and a brief description of the business. If you are currently in the directory and have corrections to the content provided, contact us and we will make those changes. Please send your information and any questions to Kelly Ball, Associate Director of Alumni Relations, at alumni@warren-wilson.edu or 828-771-5810.

FALL 2012 SPRING 2014

29 41

New trustees named The Warren Wilson College Board of Trustees welcomed one new member and three new ex-officio members at its fall 2013 meeting. Anthony Rust, MaggieMae Farthing, Mike Nix and Catherine Reid bring a depth of experience and unique perspectives to their new roles.

Anthony Rust was introduced to the College by Jon Elion, who has served on the Board of Trustees since 2009. Anthony is an impact investor who advocates socially responsible and economically targeted investing. He consults to private companies in the capital markets and co-manages an impact investment fund for the Royal Bank of Canada. Prior to that he was a senior managing partner at Newport Capital, a private equity firm he co-founded.

Anthony received a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University before attending the Graduate School of Political Management, a joint program of George Washington University and the State University of New York. He also founded The Last Shall Be First Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the circumstances of individuals victimized by natural and man-made events. Anthony, his wife and their four children live in South Kingstown, R.I. MaggieMae Farthing, a senior from Pittsburgh, Pa. majoring in outdoor leadership, is the student representative to the Board. During her time at Warren Wilson, she has served as a student caucus co-convener, represented the College at two Work College Consortium conferences and has been a part of the College’s national championship paddling

42

team. In her program planning class MaggieMae designed a pre-orientation program that involved leading new students on a canoe trip down the French Broad River. The purpose of the trip was to create an affinity group preceding orientation to aid in the transition to Warren Wilson.

Mike Nix is a 1970 graduate of the College and is currently serving as President of the Alumni Board, which is an ex-officio seat on the Board of Trustees. After serving in the Army, he began a 16-year career as a middle school teacher. In 1980 Mike and his wife, Claudia ’69, opened Liberty Bicycles in Asheville. Liberty has been listed as a Top 100 National Bicycle Retailer since 1994 and is considered one of the best bicycle shops in the United States. In addition to operating the store, Mike and Claudia are passionate advocates for the cycling community.

Catherine Reid is a professor and the Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing at the College. She is serving as the faculty representative to the Board. Catherine earned her doctorate in English from Florida State University and has taught at the College since 2006. Prior to that, she was a lecturer and writing counselor at Smith College. Catherine is the author of numerous books, essays and poems. Her books include Coyote: Seeking the Hunter in Our Midst, and Falling into Place: An Intimate Geography of Home.

Warren Wilson College Board of Trustees Alice C. Buhl, Chair Jonathan L. Elion, Vice Chair William H. Christy ‘79, Secretary Stephen L. Ummel, Treasurer Joel B. Adams Jr. John W. Alexander Leslie Anderson H. Ross Arnold III Myron P. Boon Stuart U. Buice Carmen A. Castaldi ’80 Donald R. Cooper Henry J. Copeland John W. Cruikshank III Tom C. S. Dao ’53 Anne Graham Masters ’73 Rosa Lee Harden Thomas K. Johnson Steven M. Kane ’87 Thomas L. Kilday ’73 James A. Kuhns William A. Laramee Anthony S. Rust G. Andrew Scott ’75 George E. Stuart Terry V. Swicegood Frances M. Whitfield ’55

Ex-Officio Members Maggie Mae Farthing Student Representative Howell L. Ferguson Katie Green Staff Representative J. Lloyd Horton Presbytery Representative Ronald F. Hunt C. Michael Nix ’70 President, Alumni Board Catherine Reid Faculty Representative Steven L. Solnick President

OWL & SPADE

Create an enduring legacy through

Planned Giving

D

r. Jack Allison ’63 and his wife Sue Wilson have chosen Warren Wilson College to be the beneficiary of a portion of their estate via their Revocable

Living Trust. In Jack’s words, they have chosen to do this because of a mutual love for Warren Wilson and a desire to give back to that community. “I think most Warren Wilson grads, at least from my experience, are truly indebted to the

Sue Wilson and Jack Allison

College for giving us a solid foundation for our education.” With that foundation, Dr. Allison has gone on to earn innumerable accomplishments: becoming a medical doctor, working for the Peace Corps in Malawi, and even writing and performing songs that become top hits in Africa. But before all of that, he was just a kid from Florida looking for a chance to change his future.

He first heard about Warren Wilson College from his aunt. “She mentioned that

there was a work-study college where I could do two years cheaply,” Jack remembers, and he applied soon thereafter. Doc Jensen replied to his application with a personal letter. He noted that his application was a bit late, but the school still found a place for Jack, known as “Butch” to his Warren Wilson classmates. As the oldest of six brothers, Jack’s parents were unable to afford tuition costs for him at most colleges, and Warren Wilson’s policy of helping underprivileged young people receive an education led to a happy two years at the Junior College. In addition, the Presbyterian Board of Missions even continued to pay for his college education at UNC–Chapel Hill, where he finished his undergraduate degree.

Jack gives Warren Wilson credit for increasing his knowledge and awareness of

other cultures. At the time, approximately 25% of the student body came from other countries. “I met students from Kenya, Fiji, Madagascar and Thailand and I realized how we were all the same.” Warren Wilson was the first place that he was exposed to different foods, customs, and traditions from around the world, made possible by the extremely diverse student body.

“I think most Warren Wilson grads, at least from my experience, are truly indebted to the College for giving us a solid foundation for our education. Because of our shared love for the College, those of us who can give back feel a positive obligation to continue helping students in need who attend Warren Wilson College.”

–Jack Allison ’63

For this reason, he and Sue have decided to designate their estate’s donation to endow a scholarship for international students at Warren Wilson College. As he states, he “wants to help students with limited means and less access to opportunities than American students.” Jack is very appreciative of the international experiences he had at Warren Wilson, which he credits for giving him the desire to join the Peace Corps and learn a different language, culture, and way of life.

By endowing this scholarship through their estate, Jack and Sue have created an enduring legacy and ensured that future international students with financial need will have a chance at an education.

Making a planned gift to Warren Wilson College is a great way to give back to the

Warren Wilson community. As Jack says, “Because of our shared love for the College, those of us who can give back feel a positive obligation to continue helping students in need who attend Warren Wilson College.” Through planned giving, alumni can help ensure that future bright and eager Warren Wilson students with financial need can receive a Triad education.

Making a planned gift to Warren Wilson College is a great way to give back to the Warren Wilson community. For more information on how to make a planned gift to Warren Wilson College, please contact Janet Doyle at 828.771.3756.

SPRING 2014

43

M FA B o o k s h e l f Awards and works by MFA Program for Writers alumni and faculty Victoria Chang ’05

Her third collection of poetry, The Boss, has been published by McSweeney’s.

Patrick Donnelly ’03

He won the U.S./Japan Creative Artists Program Award. The $22,000 will fund a three-month residency in Japan. Donnelly’s most recent book, Nocturnes of the Brothel of Ruin, interweaves Japanese poems with his own sequences.

Joanne Dwyer ’09

Belle Laide, her poetry collection, has been published by Sarabande Books.

James Robert Herndon ’11

His chapbook, Mammals, was selected for Omnidawn’s Fabulist Fiction Chapbook Prize.

The prize includes $1,000 and publication by Omnidawn.

Margaree Little ’12

She won a $30,000 award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation. A poet, she is the seventh Warren Wilson MFA alumna to win the award since it was established in 1995.

Scott Nadelson ’11

His new collection of autobiographical essays, The Next Scott Nadelson: A Life in Progress, has been published by Hawthorne Books.

Greg Pierce ’12

He collaborated with John Kander to write The Landing, an off-Broadway musical.

Nathan Poole ’11

He won the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction for his collection, Father Brother Keeper. The prize includes $2,000 and publication by Sarabande Books.

Kathryn Schwille ’99

The North Carolina Arts Council awarded her a $10,000 literature fellowship in fiction.

Marian Szczepanski ’97

Her new novel is titled Playing St. Barbara.

Angela Torres ’09

Her poetry manuscript, Blood Orange, won the Willow Books Literature Award and will be published by Willow Books.

Elaine Terranova ’77 (Goddard)

Her sixth poetry collection, Dollhouse, won the Off the Grid Press contest. The prize includes $1,000 and publication by Off the Grid.

MFA Faculty News

A new anthology, The Ragpicker’s Guide to Poetry: Poems, Poets, Process, features poems and original essays by 35 of the MFA Program for Writers’ past and present poetry faculty. Edited by faculty members Eleanor Wilner and Maurice Manning and published by the University of Michigan Press, it is the program’s seventh faculty anthology. More information can be found on the press website: press.umich.edu

Wilton Barnhardt’s novel Lookaway,

Lookaway, published by St. Martin’s Press, is set in Charlotte, N.C.

Robert Boswell’s new novel, Tumbledown, was published by Graywolf Press.

Stacey D’Erasmo’s new book about

the writing craft, The Art of Intimacy, was published by Graywolf Press and grew out of a lecture she delivered at a program residency.

David Haynes’ new novel, A Star in the Face of the Sky, was published by New Rivers Press.

Peter Orner’s new collection of stories,

Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge, was published by Little, Brown.

David Shields has co-authored a J.D. Salinger biography, Salinger, published by Simon & Shuster.

Mary Szybist’s new book of poems, Incarnadine, was published by Graywolf Press and won the National Book Award.

Ellen Bryant Voigt’s eighth collection of

poems, Headwaters, was published by W.W. Norton. Two of her other volumes include Shadow of Heaven, a finalist for the National Book Award, and Messenger, a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

MFA Program for Writers most popular among low-residency programs The College’s renowned MFA Program for Writers has been rated most popular nationwide among low-residency programs over a six-year period, including 2014, by Poets & Writers Magazine. The magazine’s 2014 rankings appear in the September/ October 2013 issue.

The Warren Wilson program, the nation’s first low-residency MFA program, holds two 10-day residencies each year, in January and July. Students and faculty mentors remain in contact by various means throughout the respective semesters. The residencies also feature public readings and lectures by the program’s distinguished faculty.

“Our No. 1 placement in the Poets & Writers Index for 2014, as well as in their 44

6-year survey, recognizes the consistency of our program’s excellence,” MFA Program Director Debra Allbery said. “We’re proud of the manifestation of that excellence in the writing world: in the hundreds of books of poetry and fiction our graduates have published; in the number of prestigious prizes and fellowships awarded to our alumni; and in the perpetuation of our teaching methods in our graduates’ classrooms.

“We take pride as well in the stability and effectiveness of our model, which set the standard almost four decades ago. No assessment of our effectiveness is more exacting than our own; we remain dedicated to providing our writers with the finest apprenticeship in craft available, one that

is challenging and thorough, but also generous, noncompetitive and supportive.”

Founded by Ellen Bryant Voigt, the MFA program began with 16 students and three faculty members in 1976 at Goddard College in Vermont. The program moved south in 1981 to Warren Wilson and now receives more than 10 times the number of applications for admission it can accept.

Warren Wilson MFA alumni have published several hundred books, and the program’s faculty have won nearly every major honor in the country, including MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, Pulitzer Prizes and the National Book Award.

OWL & SPADE

Weekend@Wilson 2014 l June 27-29 Learn.

Laugh.

Live.

Come to campus this summer for a weekend full of eclectic workshops, dorm living, community building and so much more!

More info at warren-wilson.edu/weekend or email alumni@warren-wilson.edu

W

HAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE? A new job, a new home, a wedding or birth of a child? Please take a few minutes to

let us know about the latest developments in your life by filling out this form. Please print clearly and indicate dates and/or places of events so we get the facts straight. We generally refrain from publishing events that are expected to occur in the future to avoid any mishaps.

If you have a picture of an event or child, please send it along. o I would like the news below printed in the Class Notes section of the Owl & Spade. o It is not necessary to print this news in Class Notes.

Name (Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms.) ________________________________________________________________________ Class ______________ Street address ______________________________________________________________________ City ___________________________ State ____________ Zip _________________ Country _____________________ Email _________________________________________ Home phone ________________________ Office phone ____________________________ Cell phone _____________________________ Job title ____________________________________________ Company _____________________________________________________ Marital status ________________________ Spouse’s name __________________________________________________________________ Class Notes News: Please limit to 50 words or less. Alumni Office reserves the right to edit for space and content. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please fill out this form and send it to Alumni Office, Warren Wilson College, CPO 6324, PO Box 9000, Asheville, NC 28815-9000 Fax 828.771.5850 • alumni@warren-wilson.edu

SPRING 2014

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

PO Box 9000 Asheville, NC 28815-9000 Address Service Requested

DeVries Gym Owl Sculpture Measuring seven feet from wing tip to wing tip, the College now claims the world’s largest bronze great horned owl. Made possible by a gift from Irwin Belk in honor of his wife, Carol Grotnes Belk, the owl sculpture has been installed in front of DeVries Gymnasium. Created by sculptor Jon Hair, the owl rests on a pedestal funded by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. James W. Daniels.

The base will feature stone masonry work by Laetitia Mead ’14 from Massachusetts.

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

PAI D

Asheville, NC Permit No. 272