Alumnae Quarterly
Special Feature
Guiding Wilson Through Stormy Financial Seas page 6
FALL 2010 • Volume 83 • Number 4
Contents: Cover Story: 6
Guiding Wilson Through Stormy Financial Seas
In Every Issue: 4 Message from the President 10 Shaping the Future: Advancement News 14 ‘Mid A Group of Pines & Maples: News from Around Campus 22 Athletics 24 Class Notes 43 Life Lines
Afton Unger, web manager and graphic designer, left, and Amy Ensley, director of the Hankey Center, help new students move in on Move-In Day, Aug. 23. Final enrollment figures for the 2010-2011 academic year included 99 first-year students, 19 transfer students, and nine exchange students. Enrollment also included 190 returning College for Women students, 442 Adult Degree and Teacher Intern Program students and 37 Masters of Education student, for a total College enrollment headcount of 796.
On the cover, Norland Hall stands outlined against an approaching fall thunderstorm in October. Photo by Ryan Smith photography
Alumnae Quarterly FALL 2011 • Volume 83 • Number 4
Rita Dibble
Alumnae Association BOARD
MANAGING EDITOR
PRESIDENT
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Lauren McLane
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dianna Heim Lauren McLane Cathy Mentzer Shelly Novak ’92
Paula Spezza Tishok ’71
VICE PRESIDENT Marian Stevenson ’74
SECRETARY Peggy McCleary ’71
TREASURER
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jennifer Nickle Vanzhof ’94
Debra Collins Shelly Novak ’92 Ryan Smith Afton Unger
ALUMNAE TRUSTEES
Design
DIRECTORS
Jennifer Glosser
PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE Lorna Duphiney Edmundson
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT Jeffrey Zufelt
DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE RELATIONS Rita Dibble
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Debra Collins
Ellen Van Looy Reed ’53 Tracy Leskey ’90 Nancy Kostas ’74
Jane Appleyard ’66 Jennifer Nickle Banzhof ’94 Linda Collenberg Bisaccia-Ammerman ’68 Sandra Griggs Clark ’85 Mary Cramer ’91 Tina Robertson Dorsey ’92 Kendal Hopkins ’80 Cazella Hinojosa Goodall ’70 Jane Stever Jones ’73 Kristina Heuck Knubel ’02 Patricia Darras Hockenberry ’74 Patricia Keffer ’96 Laureen Lutz ’08 Rebecca Ross ’05 Susan Ross ’66 De-Enda Peck Rotz ’05 Sarah Muller Smith ’85
NOMINATING COMMITTEE Betty Jane Weller Lee ’57 Robin Herring ’07 Amy Allen Boyce ’73
Wilson College Alumnae Quarterly (USPS-685-580) is published quarterly by the Office of College Advancement and the Alumnae Association of Wilson College, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, PA. Periodicals postage paid at Chambersburg, PA 17201 and additional post offices. Subscriptions are $15/year. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Wilson College Alumnae Office, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, PA 17201-1285, 717-262-2010 or aq@wilson.edu. Opinions expressed are those of contributors or the editor and do not represent the official positions of Wilson College or the Alumnae Association of Wilson College.
Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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MESSAGE from the President
I
have always appreciated the rhythms of college life, with its cyclical opportunities for beginning anew in each of the three academic terms and then culminating work at the end of the semester in a way that fosters integration and closure. In this, the last fall term that I will spend at Wilson, I find myself reflecting more thoroughly than usual on how powerful this college is in transforming the lives of all who work and study here. Wilson’s power to prepare knowledgeable, confident, courageous citizen leaders—especially women—is a great distinction emanating directly from our enduring educational mission and vision for an equitable and sustainable world. Our newly Board-approved 2010-15 Strategic Plan guides us forward to achieve our ambitious goals. As a long time colleague of mine often says, “Strategic planning—without financial resources—is hallucination.” I am happy to say that at Wilson, we are not hallucinating. With eyes wide open and a strong grounding in reality, we are making good progress in building the strong financial foundation that is fundamental to our long-term success. We must continue to provide a rigorous, personalized, affordable education to deserving students, even during times of economic downturn such as the one we are experiencing now. As I have said before, we are finding our way through this recession with a certain amount of grace—maintaining high-quality programs for our students, helping students and families continue to afford a Wilson education, and avoiding layoffs, furloughs and downsizing, as many other colleges and universities have been forced to do. To accomplish these things, we’ve worked closely together. The talented members of my Cabinet and Wilson’s Board of Trustees are creating and implementing wise and prudent policies and practices for the strategic use of our resources. Wilson and I are blessed to have a strong and dedicated Board of Trustees, a talented and hard-working Campaign Committee and excellent external investment advisers, whose willingness to examine all options for action thoroughly at critical decision points ensures that Wilson’s affairs are responsibly and effectively managed. At our October 2010 Board of Trustees meeting, Wilson’s external auditors gave Wilson high praise for having an Average Composite Financial Index of 6.4 for the past four years. The auditors noted that this is an unusually high index, significantly surpassing 3.9—the highest such index they are seeing among their other college and university clients. They were especially laudatory about our successful fundraising. Last year, for the first time in years, we exceeded the Wilson Fund goal with the help of the Lenfest and Goodwin challenge 4
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grants, your increased generosity and a growing number of new individual, foundation and corporate donors. Of particular note is the remarkable fact that 100 percent of Wilson’s faculty, administrators and staff gave to the Wilson Fund, a claim that few colleges can make. To date, we’ve raised $44.3 million toward the $45 million goal for Leading with Confidence: The Campaign for Wilson. For the ninth consecutive year, net tuition revenue continues to rise, and the value of Wilson’s total endowment bounced back to approximately $67 million. Our greatly improved financial position made it possible for the Board to approve the use of resources for several key initiatives: • Employee compensation increases were given, after holding salaries steady for the past year. • The Wilson website will undergo a major upgrade as an extension of the successful branding research project. • A reserve fund was created for deferred maintenance. • An integrated administrative system will be purchased and installed, greatly enhancing Wilson’s reporting capability, stewardship effectiveness and capacity for supporting hybrid and other forms of online instruction. • Wi-Fi will be expanded to the entire campus. Over the course of many years, a wide range of talented individuals have contributed to our growing financial strength. In this issue of the Alumnae Quarterly, we feature three Trustees who played particularly important roles in this process: • Patricia A. Tracey, Retired Navy Vice Adm., chair of the Board Finance Committee • Julie I. Englund, Ed.D., chair of the Board Investment Subcommittee • Marsha A. Sajer, Esq., chair of the Board Audit Committee It is my honor and pleasure to work with these three women, and I know you will enjoy learning more about them and the ways in which they play key roles in Wilson’s success. With the coming of the new year, the members of the 2011 graduating class of seniors and I begin our final semesters at Wilson. Together, we plan to accomplish much and savor every moment. Before I take my leave, won’t you do everything in your capacity to help me bring this campaign home—way beyond the $45 million goal? I look forward to seeing you in the coming months, as I travel throughout the country to visit with you and thank you for all that you have done and will continue to do for your alma mater. Sincerely,
Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, Ed.D. President
Office of College
Advancement
www.wilson.edu nforwilson.org www.campaig
Avenue 1015 Philadelphia 17201-1279 PA , Chambersburg .2010 Telephone: 717.262 42 .20 Fax: 717.262
ittee
Campaign Comm
rents and Friends,
e brink ollege stands on th C e th , on ils W r n ’49 ce campaign fo d devotion of Eleanor “Ellie” Alle the generosity an eading with Confiden L n, e io th ill m of 5 ar $4 ye of st la al the go e impact of the As we enter the ck ’65 n in hand toward pus of Wilson, th io m ill ca m e 4 th $4 sit Jeanne Crawford Be er vi u ov Technology n yo of success. With Mathematics and rly evident. Whe e, ea cl nc is ie Sc ds r en fo fri ex d pl an on campus. ’76 alumnae, parents Trudi Warner Blair arry R. Brooks Com e a center for learning and research H w ne e Th . le sib vi com rving campaign is clearly d it has quickly be nce efficiency in se an ha l, ’59 en al er H ill ov z w on rt C at . Lo th A e a d r the stalle Barbar ongsid ed scholarships fo nology is being in stands proudly al ish ch bl te ta es w ne ve t, ha in fts pr goes to ng. Campaign gi As this magazine e Wilson Fund. Leslie L. Durgin ’69 ty for online learni ci pa ca e th d in support of th nd de te ad ex d en an be ts ve en ha ud st illions wards ’58 p Initiative, and m Joan Foresman Ed been struck Global Citizenshi country, we have e th ed el av tr ve confidence staff ha lton ’61 day’s Wilson and to n volunteers and ig in Susan Breakefield Fu e pa id m ca pr , d es se te es us ping Tr expr As the President, many of you have mbers, you are step ly nu al g ic st sin ia ea us cr th in n to en In and Mary Reding of opportunity. with how quickly se for a future full ur co ht ence campaign. rig e th Galbraith ’60 on Leading with Confid that we are e th of s al go e th realize ts, we have not Grove ’63 forward to help us Cynthia Dimmick . Despite our effor ne do be to e or m mpaign over the still lp us push this ca together, there is he ed ’66 to l ish u eh pl yo Ki m of co cis l ac an al Fr ve ed double the ne Pamela For all that we ha ted opportunity to l of you – and we al en t ed ac ec nt pr co un ly al an on u rs yo ndreth ’69 gifts: yet been able to pe e Grants that give Cindy Sandford La by matching your ex offering Challeng pl e ar om e C na ks um oo al Br o top. Tw Fund and the Lenfest ’55 allenge fts to the Wilson Marguerite Brooks ed a $10 million ch impact of your gi er off ly us ro ne ge gifts , have nd. Thanks to the Fu r husband, Gerry he on d ils an W e ’55 t th es to Tracy Leskey ’90 nf ks Le 0,000 or more . Hundreds have • Marguerite Broo plex and gifts of $1 ains to be matched om m C re t ks an ’67 oo y gr Br ra is e ur th th M of of day that you ion Jane Everhart in support Wilson. We ask to , less than $1.5 mill of t ds or en pp fri d su r an ei e th na of many alum ite and Gerry in ’73 join with Marguer Judi Reny Stewart to d ar rw fo d pe step as well. any new consider joining us Betty Lou Leedom hallenge to match C nd Fu on ils W ed the Goodwin the Wilson Fund Thompson ’60 ve never given to in ’49 has establish ha dw u oo yo G If . y ra nd ur Fu M on oodwin Wilson • Thérèse ’71 more to the Wils les Society, the G or ap M 00 ,0 d $1 an Paula Spezza Tishok s of ne ft gi Pi d e or increase me a member of th u have yet to beco Wells ’65 yo ot if rfo or Ke , u re Lo fo y be ar M ay be for you. esident of Fund Challenge m n-year term as pr te l sfu es cc su ry hallenge ve ompleting these C ney Edmundson’s C . hi re up tu D fu a rn ng isi Lo r. om d of D to embrace a pr ’s success in this As we near the en dation for Wilson rong and prepared st un fo ds e an to your th st e ge id lle ov co pr ign, will ease join us. Give pa Pl Wilson, our m e. ca m is co th to of ts s al en ng the go rations of stud Grants, and fulfilli and in serving gene n io sit an tr l tia en upcoming presid moment. er at this historic ay pl y ke a Be . ty capaci Dear Alumnae, Pa
Sincerely, pson ’60 Betty Lou Thom
Co-
th Confidence: The Chairs Leading wi
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Cynthia Grove ’6
ilson College Campaign for W
To make your campaign gift, contact the Advancement Office at 717.262.2010 or go to www.campaignforwilson.org.
Special Feature
Guiding Wilson Through
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Special Feature
Stormy Financial Seas The women who chaired the committees that protected the College through the recent recession. To be a Wilson Woman doesn’t mean only to have graduated from Wilson. It means also to have the wherewithal to meet challenges head-on and be able to problem-solve. As Wilson faced the approaching storm of the economic recession that began in 2008, three members of the Board of Trustees showed their Wilson Woman grit, holding fast to the college’s financial tiller and guiding it through the recession.
Julie Englund Englund joined the Board of Trustees in 2005. At the time, she was vice president for finance and administration and treasurer at Catholic University of America. She has also worked in finance and investment management at Harvard University School of Law, the Brookings Institution, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Hood College, and the United States departments of Education, Health and Welfare. A 1969 graduate of Briarcliff College, she received a Master of City Planning and Doctorate in Education in administration, planning and social degrees from Harvard University. Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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Special Feature
Patricia Tracey Tracey joined the Board of Trustees in 2006. A graduate of the College of New Rochelle with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, she earned her master’s degree in operations research and systems analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. At her retirement, she was the senior ranking officer in the U.S. military. She also was the first woman in the U.S. Navy to achieve the rank of vice admiral. In 1998, Tracey was awarded the Living Legacy Patriot Award by the Women’s International Center in recognition of her accomplishments. On May 12, 2002, she was the keynote speaker at Wilson’s commencement exercises. Under the stewardship of Patricia Tracey, chair of the Board of Trustees’ finance committee, Julie Englund, chair of the investment committee, and Marsha Sajer, chair of the audit committee, Wilson managed to weather the recession without laying off or furloughing any employees, a feat few other colleges Wilson’s size can boast. Because of the financial recession, Wilson’s endowment shrank from a high of $64,139,772 in fiscal year 2008 (prior to the economic downturn) to a low of $50,276,858 by June 30, 2009, a decline of 22 percent. That decline was lower than the 30 percent most other colleges and universities endowments saw, according to Jim Fisher, vice president for finance, said. This was due, in part, to the diversification in Wilson’s investment strategy, he added. Fortunately, Wilson’s endowment has experienced a strong recovery and is now valued at $65,836,235. “The impact slowed down our ability to move beyond the Harry R. Brooks Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology,” Tracey said. “We had executed an aggressive plan to build the Science Center, but that plan was based on the anticipated ability of people to attend college, and much of the rest of the strategy reflected the College’s ability to grow enrollment, she added. “On the plus side, it forced us to look at tools and processes, and to take a multi-year look at the budget,” Tracey said. “The administration of the College responded positively to our suggestions.” The College “took the necessary actions to reduce the budget, especially with regard to pay raises,” Tracey added. “We had originally planned for pay raises for faculty and staff, but we 8
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eliminated raises and reduced the contributions to the pension plan. Reducing pension contributions was something the College brought to the trustees as being preferable to employee furloughs. The risk to the College of lay-offs was too great, since we are very thinly staffed across all departments. “One of the key decisions prior to the downturn was to go ahead with the Science Center, because it was important to maintain Wilson’s position,” Englund said. “Part of the Science Center’s funding was through gifts and returns on our endowments. The value of the endowment declined. The receipt of gifts declined. The assumptions we used to make the decision about assuming additional debt and the source of funds to pay debt service had changed. The potential also was that enrollment could decline and financial aid needs increase, which would negatively affect the College’s financial position. The decision to move forward with the Science Center at the time was sound, but the recession coming on the heels put added strains on the budget and resources.” The recession forced the Board to re-examine some of its policies. “We changed the policy to allow increased use of the endowment and bequests to provide additional funds for the operating budget,” Tracey said. The Board has now returned to its goal of budgeting an annual decrease in the percentage of the draw on the endowment from its current 6.25 percent level to 5 percent of a trailing three-year market value of the endowment by 2015. The College had stabilized spending and is working toward getting salaries up to comparable levels at peer and aspirant
Special Feature
Marsha Sajer Sajer joined the Board of Trustees in 2005. She is a litigation partner with Kirkpatrick and Lockhard, Harrisburg. A 1980 graduate of Wellesley College, she earned her law degree from Duke University in 1989 and her LLM from the Judge Advocate’s General School in 1992. She served as an assistant to the Army General Counsel in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2001 providing legal advice to the Army General Counsel, Secretary of the Army and senior Army officials on a broad range of administrative and criminal issues. She retired from the U.S. Army in 2001 as a lieutenant colonel after more than 20 years of service. institutions, which has gone a long way in getting the College to the position where it can grow to its fullest potential. “Prior to the economic downturn, we made prudent decisions to diversify our investments, which insulated us to some extent,” Sajer added. The Board also brought on an outside investment advisory firm which helps to oversee the endowment and performance of investment managers to guide the College’s investments, Englund said. Englund, who is chief financial officer at the National Academy of Sciences and previously was the vice-president for finance and administration and treasurer at Catholic University, said that, for her role on Wilson’s board, she was “fortunate to have worked at a university and be knowledgeable about the measures other schools were taking to deal with the financial downturn.” Thanks to the College’s own practices, and the board’s careful stewardship, the College will achieve financial equilibrium in 2014, meaning that annual budgets are and will continue to be balanced, Tracey said. “Wilson has provided a balanced budget every year I’ve been on the board. It has balanced the budget in a transparent and clear way, where the revenue stream matches the expected expense growth rate and limits draw from the endowment so as to preserve it for future generations,” she explained. “It’s very creditable to the College, as an institution, that it balances the budget without one-time uses. The College now operates on standard multi-year plans,” she added. Englund pointed out that the board members have a
fiduciary duty to the College in setting strategic plans, but the College’s administration is responsible for carrying out and managing those strategic plans. As an example, Sajer cited the College’s annual audit. “At the same time we’re going through the recession, we still had obligations to our lenders, the federal government imposed new rules and we had to maintain our credit worthiness. We also changed auditors,” she said, explaining that the previous auditors had been with the College for a decade and a fresh set of eyes was warranted as a ‘best practice.’ Although the College is exempt from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act — the 2002 law that set new, enhanced standards for all public boards, management and accounting firms in the United States — “It is important to follow the ‘best practices,’” Tracey said. The recession served as an opportunity to put greater urgency in planning for long-term sustainability and financial equilibrium, Englund added. “We have now established an excellent foundation for managing the College’s finances annually in the context of multi-year planning. This is very helpful as we go forward.” “We are in a better position with strategic risk management to gauge decisions and risks,” Sajer said. “We made changes to the way we were doing business before the recession. That helped. Our processes were crystallized by the recession.” Although the recession is not yet over, Wilson has weathered the financial downturn and emerged on the other side of the storm strongly positioned to meet the challenges it will face in educating the women leaders of tomorrow. Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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SHAPING THE FUTURE Advancement News
Meet the Callers of the Student Calling Program at Wilson! Student callers at Wilson reach out to alumnae, parents and friends to gather updated address information, share news of the College and ask for Wilson Fund gifts. We wanted to introduce you to the young women who are the voice of Wilson:
Kelly Flavin ’12
Sarah Nicholl ’12
Adria Spikes ’13
VMT Carlisle, PA
Education Greysteel, Derry, Northern Ireland
Accounting Hagerstown, MD
“I don’t really have a hometown owing to the fact that my father was in the Army. The main reason I like working in the call center is the opportunity I get to talk to so many alumnae from Wilson. I enjoy speaking to women from all around the country and hearing how their lives have changed because of Wilson College.”
“I graduated from Loreto College, Coleraine, Northern Ireland in 2007. I was then accepted to St Mary’s University College, Belfast, where I have been studying for three years to become a High School Business Studies teacher with History and Religious Education, and will graduate in 2012. Teaching is my passion, and I absolutely love the interaction with new people on a daily basis, and being a part of others’ learning experiences.
Born and raised in Hagerstown, she is married with one child, who graduated high school in June. Adria lost her job more than a year ago because of the economy. She was surprised and excited to learn that there opportunities to further education, which has been a lifelong dream of hers. As our student supervisor, she likes working with other students in the Call Center because she encourages them and they, in turn, encourage her in her studies.
As part of a Business Education Initiative (BEI) Scholarship, I was able to travel to America for one year and become part of the Wilson College family. I am a new caller at the Call Center but I eagerly look forward to meeting new friends through the Wilson Fund and learning about their Wilson experiences. As a scholarship student, I understand the importance of the Wilson Fund for students and for the College.”
Alyssa Hockenberry ’12
Monique Hawkins ’11 VMT, with biology minor, Baltimore, MD “I enjoy working in the call center because I’m able to connect with the alumnae and hear stories of Wilson in the past. I believe the Wilson Fund is important because it provides campus wide aid as well as scholarships and financial aid for new and returning students. Without it, Wilson wouldn’t be able to successfully provide the excellent environment for students that it’s known for. “
Brittany Tabler ’12 Psychology, with English minor Cumberland, MD “I like working in the Call Center because I am able to connect to people over the phone. Alumnae are often willing to share with me their personal stories, which I greatly enjoy. I am grateful that some offer advice from their experience and give me encouragement to continue reaching for my goals. Contributing to the Wilson Fund is vital,because Wilson gives women the opportunity to foster their dreams and aspirations. Without the support, many may not be able to achieve what they want in life.” 10
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Art history Spring Run, PA Alyssa was a Lenfest College Prep scholar at Wyoming Seminary. Along with working at the Call Center, Alyssa works in the College Archives at the Hankey Center and she serves as treasurer of the yearbook. She enjoys talking to alumnae about their experiences at Wilson and how the school has changed over the years.
Chaquita Sligh ’12 Sociology, with mathematics minor Washington, DC “I like working in the Call Center because I can talk with graduates in all kinds of fields. I chose to come to Wilson because of its distinction. In addition, I admired the Women with Children program.” (Chaquita’s cousin, Brinita, is enrolled in the WWC program.)
SHAPING THE FUTURE Advancement News
Wilson Fund Challenges This past year $1,061,228 was raised for the Wilson Fund – more than 2,200 of you gave and on behalf of all the students who benefitted from your generosity, we thank you once again for doing so and for giving so generously. We are excited to be able to continue our two Wilson Fund challenges until 2011. The Lenfest Challenge, created by Marguerite Brooks Lenfest ’55 and her husband, H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest, matches any gift of $10,000 or more to the Wilson Fund. Wilson salutes the 39 donors that have graciously taken this challenge and given $10,000 or more to the Wilson Fund. The Lenfest Challenge continues until December 2011 or until the match is exhausted. Thérèse “Terry” Murray Goodwin ’49 believes that all alumnae and friends of Wilson should support the College’s mission of providing an exceptional education for young women. To that end, in May she established the Goodwin Pines and Maples Society Challenge. Through this challenge, all new or increased individual gifts of $1,000 or more to the Wilson Fund will be matched. The Goodwin Challenge runs through June 30, 2011. Beyond scholarships, the fund also provides learning support to faculty in the classroom, provides for out of classroom experiences like seminars, and enhances the educational experience in countless ways.
Thérèse “Terry” Murray Goodwin ’49
The Lenfest Dinner
Lost your Wilson yearbook? Want an extra copy? The Advancement Office and the staff of The Conococheague are offering yearbooks, for the years of 1976-2008, to benefit the 2010-11 Wilson Fund. The Wilson Fund helps provide funds for student clubs and organizations, like the Conococheague. Every fall, the Conococheague staff attends a yearbook/media conference in New Orleans for training. The Wilson Fund provides the funds needed for this training. A yearbook is a great way to re-claim memories of your Wilson days as well as a way to enrich current students’ experience. The cost is $35, which includes shipping and handling, and the yearbooks will be sent USPS Priority Mail within two weeks of your order. To place your order for a yearbook, call the Advancement Office at 1-866-446-8660.
Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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Why a Planned Gift?
SHAPING THE FUTURE Advancement News
Planned gifts provide creative and flexible strategies for your estate and charitable planning. Some planned gifts provide you with income. Many of them can reduce your taxes. The greatest benefit, however, lies in knowing you are supporting work at Wilson College that is important to you and helpful to others. There are many ways to make a charitable contribution to Wilson College, while at the same time providing yourself and your family (or other beneficiaries) with significant tax benefits. A plan can be specially designed for you to not only help reduce your taxes, but provide a life income, or help during estate
GIFTS THAT PAY YOU INCOME
planning. Planned gifts can offer many advantages to help you to meet your overall financial goals, and help Wilson College in its long-term financial planning. They can also provide special opportunities to strengthen and improve programs. The chart below briefly outlines ways to give.
TYPE OF GIFT
ADVANTAGES
BENEFICIARY
Charitable Gift Annuity
s Current income tax deduction s Portion of payments may be tax free s Fixed and predictable payments
s One or two annuitant beneficiaries s Wilson College is future beneficiary
Charitable Remainder Trust
s Current income tax deduction s No capital gain recognition on
s One or more beneficiaries s Wilson College is future beneficiary
appreciated assets
s Payments for life or term of years GIFTS YOU MAKE TODAY
Cash, Securities, Real Estate, or Tangible Personal Property Charitable Lead Trusts
s Current income tax deduction s Wilson College is immediate beneficiary s See benefit of gift during your lifetime s Potential gift tax savings on transfer of s You or your heirs are future assets to individual beneficiaries
Memorial and honorary Gifts Donor Advised Funds
GIFTS THAT Bequest BENEFIT WILSON AFTER YOUR LIFETIME Retirement Plans
beneficiaries
s Wilson College is immediate beneficiary
s Current income tax deduction s Honor a loved one s Current income tax deduction
s Wilson College is immediate beneficiary
s Charitable deduction for taxable
s Wilson College is future beneficiary
s Wilson College is future beneficiary
estates s Allows you to make a large gift at no immediate cost to you
s Avoids double taxation of assets s The College applies the full amount of
s Wilson College is future beneficiary
plan assets to the purpose of your choice Real Estate
s Current income tax deduction s Estate tax savings s Continued use of property for life
For more information please visit our webpage, www.campaignforwilson.org/planned-giving, or contact the Office of Advancement: Jeffrey Zufelt, Vice President: jeff.zufelt@wilson.edu Pamela Lambert, Director of Development: pamela.lambert@wilson.edu or Toll Free 866-446-8660 12
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s You retain lifetime beneficial use of property
s Wilson College is future beneficiary
Please be advised, this information is not intended as tax or legal advice, but as general information on planned giving. For legal advice, please consult your attorney or financial planner.
SHAPING THE FUTURE Advancement News
A n O pportunit y to S a y
Thank You By Dianna C. Heim
Jensen encouraged Wilson women to “give back for the general good for society…at Wilson, this is what we do.”
Gwendolyn Jensen
T
he Annual Scholarship Donor Recognition Dinner during Leadership Weekend brought together Wilson’s past with its future. More than 120 scholarship donors, scholarship recipients, their families, Pines and Maples Society members and Wilson faculty and staff enjoyed a delicious fall-themed dinner with bright piano music and lively conversation in Jensen Dining Hall. Speaking to the donors gathered, President Lorna Duphiney Edmundson emphasized that the value of their gifts cannot be underestimated. “The educations your gifts help provide students will enable them to work and positively affect their communities and the world around them.” The evening’s guest speaker, Wilson President Emerita Gwendolyn Jensen, shared the story of a graduate who gave up a daughter for adoption before the inception of the College’s Women with Children program – an initiative Jensen helped to establish. “And when I met her (the graduate), she said to me, ‘I am glad you have this program because no woman should have to go through that.’” Jensen encouraged Wilson women to “give back for the general good for society…at Wilson, this is what we do.” A WWC student and recipient of the Hick-Evans and
Ensminger scholarships, Christina Sauter Vosburgh ’11, also spoke and recognized her scholarship donors, Jensen, her sister, Helen Evans Febbo and Jane T. Ensminger ’52. “Tonight I have the privilege of standing here and conveying my deepest gratitude (to attendees Jensen and Ensminger), but I also wish to thank those of you who are helping other Wilson women and promoting their successes, so they too can become like Phoenixes rising boldly out of their ashes and blazing forward into the future.” The dinner’s program concluded with an emotional affirmation from Mary Ann Naso, vice president of enrollment. She pointed out the integral part financial aid plays in not only attracting academically accomplished students, but also in retaining deserving students who could not afford an education otherwise. At the end of the program, President Edmundson presented President Emerita Jensen with a bouquet of flowers for taking part in what was President Edmundson’s last scholarship dinner in her tenure at Wilson. For more information about the vital part you can play in making scholarships possible for Wilson students, contact Jeff Zufelt, vice president of advancement, at 1-866-446-8660.
Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus
To the members of the Wilson College Community Since I last sent you an announcement about the work of the Presidential Search Committee, I’m eager to report on some recent developments. When Board Chair Trudi Blair asked me to chair this committee, she also developed a Charge to the Search Committee based on best practices in Presidential Searches, with information from the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) and input from committee members. The Charge, shown here, defines the committee’s purpose, scope and timeline; communications strategy and confidentiality requirements; and specific roles for the committee and the Board of Trustees. The Charge to the Search Committee was unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees at its meeting in October affirming the above-mentioned principles and delineating a timeline for completion. As part of our communications strategy, I wanted to share the Charge in this announcement so that each member of the Wilson community is informed about its nature and scope. Early in September, our search consultants, Archer~Martin Associates, began publishing advertisements for the position of President of Wilson College in various publications of higher education, including such sources as the Chronicle of Higher Education and Diverse Issues in Higher Education. In addition, we sought nominations from the Wilson community in order to develop a qualified pool of candidates. I’m pleased to report that we’ve had an outpouring of nominations and expressions of interest for this exciting opportunity, resulting in a deep pool of highly qualified candidates. In November, the committee began reviewing curriculum vitae and evaluating candidates based on the attributes defined in the Leadership Profile. The committee then compiled a short-list of candidates and began the interview process in early December. In order to comply with the confidentiality provision in the Charge to the Search Committee, I want to advise you that every member of the Presidential Search Committee and its Communications Subcommittee has signed a confidentiality agreement to protect the identity of each candidate. We believe that confidentiality is a crucial element of our success and, therefore, we ask that you respectfully honor this effort. Thank you for your support and participation. Sincerely,
John W. Gibb
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustee and Chair of the Presidential Search Committee
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‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus
Charge to the Search Committee for the 19th President of Wilson College
Purpose and Scope
The Presidential Search Committee is charged with recommending to the Board of Trustees, no later than March 2011, an unranked list of finalists who, in the Committee’s judgment, are best qualified to serve as the 19th President of the College. Though the list of finalists is unranked, the Committee may advise the Board as to the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate as a potential leader of Wilson College.
Composition The Committee, appointed to advise the Board of Trustees, shall be composed from a broad range of the College’s constituencies, but individual members are not charged with representing a particular constituency. It is expected that each committee member shall represent the College as a whole with the overall goal of finding the next great leader for the College.
Confidentiality and Communications
The Committee shall create an organizational structure that provides efficient operation and orderly communication within the Committee and between the Committee, the candidates, the outside world and the Board of Trustees. The Committee shall ensure that appropriate information about the College and the presidency is provided to candidates at each stage of the screening process. With respect to applicants and to the Committee’s internal deliberations, the Committee shall ensure that there is a clear definition of confidentiality and that it is strictly observed. The Committee shall develop a communications plan in order to keep the broader Wilson College community informed of the progress of the Presidential Search and, the Committee shall agree that the Chair of the Committee and the Chair of the Board of Trustees shall be the only persons to communicate with the media or any member of an interested constituency.
Specific Roles
The Committee shall develop the Leadership Criteria Statement, using input from all major campus constituencies, to be followed in selecting the new president. The Committee is authorized to work with a Presidential Search consultant, if desired, to actively solicit nominations and applications from a diverse group of well-qualified persons by drafting and placing advertisements for the position; contacting the College constituencies, college and university administrators, educational associations and foundations. All advertisements and solicitations for applications shall be based on the Leadership Criteria Statement. The Committee shall keep a record of and respond to all applications and nominations from all sources. In considering candidates, the Committee is to comply with equal opportunity/affirmative action policies and the Equal Opportunity Employment and Affirmative Action Nondiscrimination Statement of Wilson College. The Committee, using the Leadership Criteria Statement as a basis, shall screen all applications; select and interview semifinalist candidates; check references of semifinalists; and arrange campus visits for finalists by mid-March 2011 during which the finalists will meet with representatives from the faculty, staff, students and Board of Trustees.
Approval by the Board of Trustees Immediately following the completion of the campus visits, a special Board of Trustees meeting will be held in late March 2011. The President of the College shall be appointed by the affirmative vote of a majority of all the Trustees present at that meeting. The Chair of the Board and the Chair of the Presidential Search Committee shall negotiate the terms and conditions of the appointment. The Board of Trustees extends its gratitude to the members of the Presidential Search Committee for accepting this demanding assignment. You have the Trustees’ warmest wishes for a successful conclusion. Upon your wisdom the future of the College rests.
The Committee shall develop a budget to cover Committee expenses and shall obtain approval of that budget and provide a report of expenditures to the Board of Trustees.
Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus
Meet the New Alumnae Relations Director...
Rita Dibble By Cathy Mentzer
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f there is such a thing as a perfect match, Wilson College and new alumnae relations director Rita Dibble fit the bill. Dibble, who joined the College in August, has a background in making connections, building relationships and forging bonds. The position of director of alumnae relations seemed an ideal fit to her. “I read the job description and then spoke to several alumnae,” Dibble said. “I realized very soon that if you took my personality and my likes and strengths, and wrote a job description to match those, it matched perfectly.” The conviction was shared by members of the Alumnae Association’s search committee, according to association board president Paula Spezza Tishok ’71, who said committee members unanimously nominated Dibble for the position previously held by Ann Terry, who resigned last summer. “Rita had a very solid resume. She had a background in development so she understood the fundraising aspects of what was required in alumnae relations,” said Tishok. “She had a background in communications, which was important because we publish the Alumnae Quarterly, plus she had managed large departments so she had the supervisory skills that we felt were required to run the office. But meeting her in person is what clinched the deal.” Dibble exudes a personal warmth and genuineness that make any who spends time with her quickly feel like her best friend, according to Tishok. “People respond to that and it’s key to building relationships” she said. Dibble was born and schooled in India before coming to the United States at age 21 to pursue her second master’s degree - one in mass communications with a specialty in advertising and public relations - at the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. While working in the S.U. publications office, she met her future husband, Edward F. Dibble Jr., to whom she has been married for 27 years. They live in Honesdale in northeastern Pennsylvania and have three children – a daughter, Aasma, 26, and sons Pramod, 24, and Anand, 21. Before joining Wilson, Dibble worked as assistant director of development at Misericordia University in northeast Pennsylvania. She spent eight years with the American Cancer Society Northeast Region office in Jessup, Pa serving as the regional
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director of development. Dibble also worked as a marketing assistant to the editor of the well-known Highlights magazine for children and spent seven years as principal of a Montessori school in Honesdale. Dibble’s life, however, cannot be so succinctly summarized. She also is a world traveler who has spent time in 20 different countries and lived in four: India, the U.S., England and Germany. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature, about which she remains passionate. “English literature contains, in my opinion, all of life and experience. It is the richest body of writing in the world,” she said. As a girl growing up in India, daughter of a captain in the merchant navy and a mother who was a homemaker, Dibble was always inclined towards academic rigor. “I was actually very reserved, hardly spoke, read voraciously and was not very friendly,” Dibble says in her decidedly matterof-fact way.
‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus But in college, Dibble joined a semi-professional Shakespeare troupe and came out of her shell. She also credits the experience in part, for her perfect diction, which she describes as BBC-speak. As a young woman, she studied comparative religions in a program that took her around the world and led to her meeting Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama. She also met and worked with Mother Theresa. Dibble is just as deft in the kitchen as she is at an alumnae reception. She taught nutrition for nine years and can cook dishes from 13 countries. She can whip up coq au vin or spaghetti bolognaise just as easily as palachinka from the Czech Republic or Turkish baklava. “I love to read. I love to knit. I am very fond of sleeping,” Dibble joked. Although she describes herself as a dog person who has had as many as four canine companions at one time, Dibble is a lover of all kinds of animals and was briefly a wildlife rehabilitator. The surprises don’t end there. “I am Indian but I am not vegetarian, I don’t do yoga and I don’t meditate,” she said, as if explaining these facts for the hundredth time. She does not own a television set and hasn’t in years, according to friend Lisa Malcolm, who worked with Dibble at Misericordia. Humor is one of the ways Dibble disarms people. She also speaks her mind and stands on principle. “I have experienced extreme caring from Rita - and loyalty,” Malcolm said. “Rita can be loyal to her own detriment, where she will stand up and take responsibility and not just let the chips fall where they may.” At Misericordia, Dibble is credited with helping the college’s fundraising arm secure a 28 percent alumni participation
rate, earning the college first place in its category, according to the Council for Aid to Education. She also helped build longneglected bridges with other departments on campus, according to Malcolm. “We are reaping the benefits today of those roads that she created,” she said, adding that Dibble’s influence with donors remains strong. “There are donors and alumni who she had a very good rapport with who still ask about her.” Dibble also has a broad world view, thanks to her particular experiences, which challenges others’ ways of thinking at times and fits well with Wilson’s current emphasis on global citizenship. “She always had a different kind of view on things,” Malcolm said. Dibble’s own status as a global citizen was a happy coincidence for the College, said Tishok, who did not realize Dibble was from India until they met in person. “Everything started to click into place because now we had a whole new dimension to our global citizenship initiative,” Tishok said. “It never crossed my mind that we would be able to hire someone with that capacity and depth for this position.” Already, Dibble has begun tapping into relationships and contacts with an aim to form new bonds overseas, including reaching out to acquaintances in India to help arrange a Wilson January-term class there. The one common thread through her career has been relationship-building, Dibble says. “What moves, delights, sustains me in my day-to-day work is the ability to make a connection,” she said. “I see my best work done when I can act as a suture that heals a wound and then melts away.”
Th re e P re s i d e n t s a n d a U n i v e r s i t y April 28 - 30, 2011 • A tour to Charlottesville, VA
Join Wilson alumnae, family and friends for a custom-designed tour of Charlottesville, Virginia, a charming historic southern town located in the foothills of the rugged Blue Ridge Mountains. Timed for the spectacular flowering dogwoods, we will visit the homes of three Presidents, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, and learn about their role in the establishment of the University of Virginia. Also included in the program is a visit to Barboursville Winery with its fine wines and ruins of the Barbour house designed by Thomas Jefferson and now on the National Register of Historic Sites. Your accommodations will be at the Omni Hotel centrally located on the historic downtown Pedestrian Mall. Special note to all graduates of classes ending in 1 and 6; join the trip and plan an extraordinary reunion in the free time during the trip!
Accompanying us will be Rita Dibble, Director of Alumnae Relations and Jill Abraham Hummer, Assistant Professor of Political Science in the History and Political Science Department. Jill also happens to be an alumna of the University of Virginia.
Price: Based on double occupancy $595 Based on single occupancy $795 Transportation to Charlottesville, VA is on your own. Charlottesville is served by four airlines, Greyhound and Amtrak.
Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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Phi Beta Kappa Scholar Rochel By Xiaomeng Li
Rochel Gelman, Professor of Psychology and CoDirector of the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University, visited Wilson on October 4 and 5 as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar. During her stay, Gelman participated in a graduate school panel discussion, gave a public lecture in the auditorium of the Harry R. Brooks Complex for Science, Mathematics and Technology, visited several classes, talked to Women with Children program students and with students from a Child Development class at Chambersburg Area High School. Amy Ensley, Director of the Hankey Center for the Education and Advancement of Women, arranged for Dr. Gelman’s visit. Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest and most widely known Academic Honor Society. Every year, there are approximately eleven Phi Beta Kappa scholars who visit different chapters across the country to give lectures and talk with faculty and students about their research. Before going to Rutgers, Gelman taught at the University of Pennsylvania and UCLA. Early in her career, she decided to focus on finding ways to show that preschoolers and infants were conceptually more competent than assumed by existing theories. Her work on early cognitive development and learning has brought her many honors, including membership in the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has received awards from the American Psychological Association (Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award), the Association for Psychological Science (William James Fellow) and the Society for Research in Child Development (Lifetime Contribution to the Study of Child Development). On Monday, Oct. 4 at 6:30pm, Gelman gave a public lecture entitled “Early Cognitive Development and Beyond” in the Brooks Complex auditorium. She discussed the paradoxical fact that infants and preschoolers know much more about math and science than people thought
while older students have real problems mastering the material they are supposed to learn in these domains. “Dr. Gelman is a remarkable woman and renowned in her field, having authored textbooks and many research articles. We are fortunate to have an opportunity to meet her and learn about her research. Her area of expertise is of interest to a broad spectrum of faculty and students at Wilson, from psychology, mathematics and the sciences, to education and the mothers and children in our Women with Children program. She is an ideal speaker for our community,“ said Ensley. On Tuesday, Oct. 5, Gelman spoke to two psychology classes on campus. One of them was Learning and Memory taught by Prof. Carl Larson. The students read an article by Gelman before class. Gelman then described some of her research relevant to that article and responded to questions from the students. “Dr. Gelman’s areas of expertise are developmental psychology and human learning. She has developed theoretical concepts which argue that humans may have innate capacities for learning about certain aspects of their environment, such as mathematical concepts, animate versus inanimate attributions and causality. This perspective is very different from the traditional view in the area of learning that human knowledge is largely based on simple principles of association,” said Larson. Larson also mentioned that he was impressed by the students’ interaction with Gelman and hopes that similar programs could happen more often and in a variety of areas on campus, “Some areas, such as English, dance, and fine arts do bring noted individuals who augment what students hear and do in their classroom experience. It is truly important for us to pursue such experiences.” Gelman’s visit was also part of the Science in Society Seminar Series that Wilson kicked off last year in order to bring prominent women in the sciences to speak at Wilson.
This article originally appeared in the Billboard student newspaper.
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Gelman Visits Wilson
‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus
Professor Named to State Board
Currently in the process of earning her doctorate, Freya Burnett has a number of impressive credentials that she brings to her teaching at Wilson: Associate Professor of Veterinary Medical Technology A.S., Wilson College B.S., Edinboro State University M.S., Shippensburg University Served as President of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) Served as President of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Technicians Association (PVTA) Served as the liaison from the PVTA to the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) Currently serving of the Board of Directors for the Dauphin County Veterinary Assistant program Current member of NAVTA, PVTA, American Association of Veterinary Technician Educators (AVTE), and the Northeast Veterinary Technician Educators’ Association (NEVTEA)
Freya Burnett, Director and Associate Professor of Veterinary Medical Technology (VMT), strives to show students what is possible in their future and her recent appointment to the Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary Medicine has accomplished just that. In July 2010, she was sworn in at the state capitol in Harrisburg for a six-year term to serve as the only veterinary technician on the board. “I’m very proud. Anything I can do to be involved in professional organizations is exciting for me, and it sets a good example of what is out there for our students.” She is grateful to Robin J. Bernstein, a Wilson friend and Chair of the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, for recommending her name to the Board for nomination. “We were thrilled when Governor Rendell nominated Freya to serve on the state board of Veterinary Medicine, filling the position reserved for a Vet Tech,” Robin said. “Everyone recognized the value of having not only an expert on VMT issues, but an academic as well. As the former Chair of the Board of Trustees at Wilson, I was happy to see the College’s Vet Tech program essentially be recognized for its excellence through this honor which has fallen on one of Wilson’s great professors.”
As a new board member, Freya wants to help provide strong legislative support to the field of veterinary medicine. “A licensed veterinary technician can do all but prescribe, diagnosis, and perform surgery. I can’t tell you how many veterinarians are seeking this kind of assistance in their practices. Graduates of Wilson’s VMT program seek employment in veterinary practices that allow them to do all they have been trained to do here at the College.” For the Bachelor of Science degree, Wilson students perform all clinical tasks required by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) during their four years in the program. Graduates are then eligible for the National Veterinary Technician Examination as well as other individual licensure examinations. Freya hopes that veterinary practices will soon proudly display the veterinary technician licenses along side the licenses of the veterinarians in their practices. “Clients should know when they walk in the door about the level of quality of both the veterinarians and veterinary technicians who are caring for their animals.” Freya is optimistic that the Board can provide effective direction for the veterinary medical profession in Pennsylvania, calling it “a very progressive Board.”
Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus
Alpha Delta Theta Math Club Students Attend Conference By Natalya Yashina
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SUMS Group from left to right: Dr. Adams, Arlene Rodriguez (UCSD), Adria Spikes, Brinita Ricks, Molly Folsom, Ovsanna Movsesyan, Anush Petrosyan, Natalya Yashina, Shonnamarie Partlow
ADT group from left to right: Dr. McDevitt, Shonnamarie Partlow, Natalya Yashina, Dr. Adams, Molly Folsom, Brinita Ricks, Anush Petrosyan, in the middle: Ovsanna Movsesyan
Dr. Brown and ADT Officers from left to right: Dr. Brown (JMU), Natalya Yashina, Molly Folsom, Brinita Ricks
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n Oct. 22-23, Alpha Delta Theta (ADT)—the math club—of Wilson College participated in two events, one at Shippensburg University and the other at James Madison University. On Friday, Oct. 22, seven Alpha Delta Theta members and their advisor, Dr. Karen Adams, visited Shippensburg University for a seminar in cryptology presented by Tim McDevitt, a professor from Elizabethtown College. ADT member Shonnamarie Partlow, with help from the club members, participated in a cryptology simulation. After the seminar, ADT members and Adams headed to Harrisonburg, VA, to participate yet in another event called SUMS—Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference. This trip was made possible by a travel grant received from James Madison University. The ADT president, Natalya Yashina ’10, applied for the travel grant in July 2010. In September, she received a notification from Dr. Brown of JMU that the math club had been awarded the travel grant which included two nights at a hotel for eight members and an advisor. The SUMS conference started on Oct. 23 with an opening speaker, Dr. Ravi Ramakrishna, from Cornell University. Dr. Ramakrishna spoke about the importance of the elliptic curves and “what it means to look at a donut arithmetically.” Over the course of the conference, ADT members attended a variety of student presentations and faculty panels. The sessions were divided into finance-related talks, pure mathematics talks, and science-related talks. ADT members attended the sessions of their interest. Adria Spikes ’11, public relations manager, and Natalya Yashina, club president, attended finance related talks such as The S&P 500, and Reality
vs. Black Scholes Model, presented by Andrew Snyder-Beattie from University of Michigan. Brinita Ricks ’12, ADT’s treasurer and Molly Folsom ’13, both math majors, found pure math talks more interesting and attended talks such as Numerical Power Series Solutions to Initial Value Ordinary Differential Equations among others. Ovsanna Movsesyan ’12, ADT’s publication manager and pre-med major attended talks related to biochemistry such as Model Development for Lignocellulosic Biofuels presented by Amir Ahmadi of Morehead University and Helen Vo of the University of California at Berkley. During this trip, one of the ADT members was assigned a roommate from the University of California San Diego, Arlene Rodriguez. Arlene attended SUMS as a poster presenter and won a prize for her poster. University of California San Diego is one of the six schools in the United States that offers the Women with Children program, as does Wilson. Arlene Rodriguez is a senior at UCSD enrolled in Women with Children program. The closing ceremony speaker, Cliff Stoll of Berkeley, was quite entertaining. The topic of his presentation, Low Dimensional Topology for Fun and Profitor how to extract money from the 4th dimension, was very unusual. At the end of his presentation, Mr. Stoll was awarding a few items that he used during his presentation. Anush Petrosyan ’14, a freshman ADT member from Armenia, won a bottle. The members of ADT would like to thank JMU for the travel grant and Dean Mary Hendrickson and the math department at Wilson College for providing transportation and meals. ADT members are hoping to participate in SUMS next year as speakers.
‘MID A GROUP OF PINES & MAPLES News from Around Campus
SIAM Conference Report By Natalya Yashina
Note from Professor Douglas Crawford: Natalya and Adria attended the conference in conjunction with our new Financial Mathematics program. Wilson College is proud to be one of a few schools in the United States that offers an undergraduate degree in Financial Mathematics; a cross-disciplinary program in Economics, Finance, and Mathematics. This field of study can lead to careers in banking, investment management, insurance, and risk management. This is the first year for the program and highlights the strength of our business and economics programs at Wilson. Industry projects an increased demand for people with this training and it should provide great career opportunities for Wilson graduates.
Natalya Yashina ’10 and Adria Spikes ’11 attended a Financial Mathematics and Engineering Conference in San Francisco, CA, Nov. 19-20. The conference, which was preceded by a tutorial led by Patrick S. Hagan of JP Morgan, was organized by the Society for Industrial Mathematics (SIAM). The first day of the conference featured a series of lectures related to portfolio management. These were presented by Ph.D students, many of whom were from countries such as China, Canada, Switzerland, France and Germany. The talks were very technical with a concentration on stochastic number of assets, random payoff, and various approaches to market modeling. The highlight of this lecture section was a presentation by Winslow C. Strong, a Ph.D. student from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Strong talked about his research in arbitrage in market models with a stochastic number of assets. He attempted to answer the question of whether allowing the stochastic number of assets qualitatively changes the characterization of arbitrage compared to constant-number-of-asset markets. After depicting the dissection of certain stock processes, extending the stochastic integration and fundamental theorem of asset pricing, Strong concluded that “functionally generated portfolios are susceptible to the changes in configuration of the market. If K is bounded, they may work but take together. If K is unbounded, they typically fail to bound worst case relative performance.” The highlight of the lectures on the second day was a talk by Peter Carr, Ph.D., from Courant Institute of New York University. Carr is also a global head of market modeling at Morgan Stanley. A series of talks related to credit concluded the conference. World renowned mathematician, Nicole El Karoui of Pierre and Marie Curie University and previously of École Polytechnique, also attended this conference. The Financial Mathematics and Engineering conference provided participants with an insight on modeling process in the world of finance. They also learned about valuation methods applied to stock prices/options and calibration of different volatility models.
Director’s Note As I write this I realize that the past 111 days have been the most hectic and exhilarating ones in recent memory. Leaf through the pages of this issue and you will find the numerous indicators that highlight the underlying strength of Wilson College; from the way we have weathered the recent financial storms, the academic excellence of our programs to our participation on the international stage with the Academic Impact Initiative at the United Nations. All evidence the fact that Wilson College is regionally acclaimed, nationally recognized and uniquely poised to take her place among academia globally. This is also a time of transitions as we wish farewell to a president who has
brought us into the 21st century and look forward to greeting another who will lead us to future success. It is only fitting that the Alumnae Relations office also have new leadership and it has been a distinct pleasure to serve in this capacity. A matter to consider as we prepare for the growth in our future is our identity and it is time to think of a name for our ‘quarterly’ magazine. This issue launches a search for a name and I invite all members of the Wilson family to submit your suggestions to aq@wilson.edu; please put the words “name suggestion” in your subject line. Entries may also be sent by mail to my attention at the college address. The deadline to receive submissions is March
30, 2011. We will put the ten best suggestions to a vote and aim to have a new name on the masthead of the Fall 2011 Alumnae Quarterly. I look forward to hearing from you and meeting many of you as I travel to club meetings and alumnae gatherings. Do know that Wilson College is only as strong as your involvement. I hope you will take a moment to ask yourself where you fit into the future success of your alma mater. Please share these ideas with us; I welcome any and all conversations and can be reached at rita.dibble@wilson.edu, or by mail at 1015 Philadelphia Avenue in Chambersburg, PA 17201.
~ Rita M. Dibble Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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WILSON ATHLETICS
Grafnetterova selected as the NEAC Conference’s NCAA Woman of the Year Honoree
Nikola Grafnetterova ’10
Nikola Grafnetterova ’10 was selected as the North Eastern Athletic Conference’s (NEAC) nominee for the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. This prestigious award recognizes the student-athlete in athletics as well as in academics. Candidates are nominated and selected on the bases of academic achievement, athletic excellence, and service and leadership throughout their college careers. Each year, NCAA institutions are encouraged to submit their top graduating female
student-athlete to the conference for consideration. Each conference then forwards its nominee to the Woman of the Year selection committee. Grafnetterova was the NEAC’s candidate and one of 117 studentathletes selected by conferences from a record 452 nominations. From the 117 nominees, the NCAA selection committee narrows down to the top 10 studentathletes from each division, and then to the NCAA Woman of the Year. Throughout her career at Wilson College, Grafenetterova has given new meaning to the term student-athlete. At every turn she has striven for excellence both on the field of competition and in the classroom. During her four years, she has been an active member of three different teams; field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. In her primary sport, field hockey, Nikola was a standout goalkeeper for the Phoenix, playing in a total of 68 games and accumulating 495 saves. She has been nationally ranked in Division III in the net since her freshman season. In 2006, she was ranked 3rd in save percentage and
16th in goals against average. In 2007, she was ranked 44th in goals against average, and 26th in save percentage for 2008. In her senior season, Grafenetterova was ranked 5th in save percentage, 17th in saves per game, and 44th on goals against average. In 2006, Wilson’s field hockey team achieved the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference (AWCC) championship with Nikola in the goal. “Nikola is one of those student-athletes that every coach dreams of – talented, hard-working, passionate about field hockey and coachable. She expected nothing but the best from herself and teammates around her,” said head coach Shelly Novak. In addition, Grafnetterova contributed to the success and growth of the lacrosse program at Wilson College. Nikola has been a member of the team since its inception as a varsity sport at Wilson. In 2009, Grafenetterova was named to the North Eastern Athletic Conference’s AllConference First Team for her efforts as a defender. She also leads the Wilson lacrosse record books in groundballs and caused turnovers categories.
Three Wilson Lacrosse Players Named to the Lacrosse Academic Honor Roll
Aisling Gallagher Newry, Ireland
Three Wilson lacrosse players were named to the Academic Honor Roll by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaching Association (IWLCA). Aisling Gallagher (Newry, Ireland), Nikola Grafnetterova (Prague, Czech Republic) and Beth Bush (Pottstown, PA) were among 184 studentathletes from Division III institutions hon22
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Nikola Grafnetterova Prague, Czech Republic
Beth Bush Pottstown, PA
ored by the IWLCA. The award recognizes female student-athletes who have attained at least junior standing academically with a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. Both Gallagher and Grafnetterova graduated with honors from Wilson in May. Head Coach Kelly Buikus has high praise for her players’ accomplishment, staying, “These
young women exemplify the term ‘studentathlete’ and I’m proud of everything that they have achieved on and off the field.” The Wilson College lacrosse team also earned IWLCA Academic Squad honors for the 2010 season for having a cumulative team grade point average of 3.0.
Upcoming Campaign Events January 2011 President Lorna Duphiney Edmundson Francisco, California will hold events in the following locations. San Specific details will be available on the February 2011 Washington, DC website in January.
Baltimore, Maryland Philadelphia, Pennsylvania New York City, New York
Dallas, TX Nov. 1, 2010
Denver Colorado Oct. 11, 2010
East Berlin, PA Sept. 16, 2010
Harrisburg PA Nov. 16, 2010
March 2011 Seattle, Washington Portland, Oregan Orlando, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida Naples, Florida
Princeton, New Jersey Nov. 18, 2010 Visit us at www.wilson.edu
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1015 Philadelphia Avenue Chambersburg, PA 17201-1285
Experience two of Italy’s best-loved regions, Chianti and the Italian Riviera, on an eight-day trip Oct. 8-17, 2011, with the Alumnae Tours and Travel Club of Wilson College, fellow alumnae and President Lorna Duphiney Edmundson and husband Dan. The cost is $3,045 per person. The trip will be organized through AHI Travel. Highlights of the trip include: • Enjoying flavorful Tuscan cuisine during a private cooking demonstration. • A private tour and wine tasting at Castello di Monsanto. • Visiting the storied towns of San Gimignano, Siena, Lucca and Carrara. • Traveling the Chianti Road to visit the well-preserved hill town of Castellina. • Seeing the ancient walled city of Lucca. • Journeying to the picturesque towns of Santa Margherita and Portofino. • Visiting beautiful and remote Cinque Terre. And more! Visit the AHI website (www.ahitravel.com) to see a sample itinerary.
Call the Alumnae Office at 1.866.446.8660 and reserve one of the 36 spaces on this Wilson College-exclusive trip!