Ten Things Titan

TEN THINGS TITAN 10 things making us pretty Titan proud right now

GETTING INNOVATIVE

1. Nobody expected 2020 to go this way. But Westminster’s faculty, students and staff responded to the global coronavirus pandemic and the sudden closure of campus with urgent innovation and creative resourcefulness. From moving to remote teaching and learning, to providing access to technology for an entire campus, to making sure our students’ felt connected to Westminster while miles away—our campus family demonstrated what Titans are capable of in times of crisis. We’re all proud to be Titans.

Research at work

4. Dr. Karen Resendes associate professor of biology and co, director of the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research, received the annual 2020 Henderson Lectureship Award for her research on nuclear transport. Her lecture will be presented in October. Additionally, she has been elected to serve on the executive board of the Council on Undergraduate Research.

2. “Westminster in a world of social distancing isn’t quite the same, but even though we’re apart, that doesn’t mean we’re not together.” To keep students feeling connected to Mother Fair while sheltering in place this spring, Westminster launched the YouTube series—Close the Distance. Hosted by sophomore Jack Karson, Close the Distance featured interviews with Westminster faculty, administrators and students and provided tips for successful online learning and offered suggestions for staying connected during quarantine.

Good neighbors

3. Proud Mother Fair moment. Dr. Mallory Strickland Ciuksza ’08, a graduate of Westminster’s biochemistry program, knows how to be a good neighbor. Her response to the coronavirus pandemic? Making sure the people in her community are fed during times of self-isolation and financial uncertainty. Mallory and her husband, Albert, active with the Bellevue Farmers Market, orchestrated a movement to fight food insecurity and—with the help of chefs, restaurateurs, corporations, local organizations and volunteers—delivered 1,000 meals three days a week to the people in her community.

Book publication

5. Dr. Bryan Rennie, professor of religion, has published a new book, An Ethology of Religion and Art: Belief as Behavior. The book, available on Amazon, proposes an improved understanding of both art and religion as behaviors developed in the process of human evolution. Congratulations, Bryan!

Something to talk about 6. Westminster’s Speech and Debate Society is becoming a powerhouse in the forensics arena. Students won awards at the Pennsylvania Forensic Association Championship Tournament held in February at Wilkes University. A month later students attended the Novice National Forensics Tournament held at Berry College in Rome, Ga., bringing home several national individual awards and a sixth-place overall team finish. Westminster will host the state championship tournament in February 2021. Dr. Randy Richardson serves as coach.

GR∑∑K W∑∑K 7. There were no talent shows, no tug-of-war competitions, no Sing ’n Swing. This year, there simply was no in-person Greek Week celebration. But although the annual Westminster tradition didn’t occur, sorority and fraternity members still managed to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation—more than $10,000!

Flattening the Curve

8. Alina Clough ’18 and Christian Keegan ’21 have both been working to make the world a safer and healthier place during the coronavirus pandemic. Alina, a Harvard researcher, was a UX/UI lead for a team developing COVID Safe Paths, a mobile application to track coronavirus through community reporting. Keegan, a rising senior English major, volunteered his time as a member of the communication/ vision team. Epidemiologists, engineers, data scientists, digital privacy evangelists, professors and researchers from MIT, Harvard, The Mayo Clinic, TripleBlind, EyeNetra, Ernst & Young and Link Ventures make up the Safe Paths team.

helping hands 9. The entire men’s baseball team—players and coaching staff—bundled up on a chilly February day and traded bats and gloves for saws and hammers in the name of service. The team and Westminster Campus Chaplain the Rev. Jim Mohr spent the pre-season day building sheds for DON Services, a New Castle-based nonprofit agency that helps those with disabilities live independently. The group constructed a total of four sheds.

Grateful for our grads 10. We can’t help but be grateful to our community of alumni. Two of our recent fundraising initiatives, Bring Back the Titans (BBTT) and Clash of the Titans (COTT), have brought in roughly $1.9 million in record time. This fast and furious approach to fundraising in a time of need was a result of outstanding peer-to-peer outreach from our alumni and friends community and, in the case of the BBTT campaign, a generous matching donation from the May Emma Hoyt Foundation. The BBTT campaign to aid students financially impacted by the pandemic has, to date, brought in $1.7 million. The one-week COTT campaign to benefit the marching band and Titan athletes raised $218,197 from 1,684 donors. It’s no wonder Westminster has been named one of the nation’s top 200 best-loved colleges by the Forbes’ Grateful Grads Index. Forbes uses several factors to rank the schools, including private donation rates, gifts per student and alumni participation rates. Inclusion on the list signifies that a college has a history of producing graduates who consistently donate to their alma mater. It’s all thanks to YOU. (And there’s still time to help Bring Back the Titans! See the back page for details.)