March 2009 - Austin College

Transcription

Austin College
Magazine March 2009
Greg Mortenson Promoting Peace Through Education
STUDENTS ATTEND PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
| MODEL U.N. TEAM GOES TO CHINA | PRESIDENT EMERITUS JOHN D. MOSELEY DIES
ac
@
Are you receiving the latest news from
Austin College?
Not if we don’t have your email address!
The Office of College Relations distributes the
Austin College e-newsletter, @ac, the first Monday of
each month with updates and sends notice of
significant breaking news from campus as needed.
8
12
Subscribe: www.austincollege.edu/Form.asp?3477
8
magazine.austincollege.edu
15
16
19
21
22
24
25
32
Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute
Pennies for Peace
Austin College Mortenson Event Photos
Posey Leadership Award Photos
Dr. John D. Moseley’s Accomplishments
Share Your Memories of Dr. Moseley
More 2009 CSOC Experiences
Horizon Report Wiki Link
What Is Second Life?
New Media Consortium Horizon Report
365 Reasons
Share Memories of Zachary Swirczynski
Share Memories of Shellene Kelley
JanTerm Photo Gallery
12
18
19
26
42
On the Cover:
Greg Mortenson’s efforts to provide education, especially for girls, in Pakistan
and Afghanistan have made him a local hero in villages in those countries. The
children of Korphe, where his mission began, inspired his work.
Model U.N. Team Goes to China
Fifteen Austin College students continued Austin College’s
record of success at Model United Nations competitions at the
first National Collegiate Conference Association event outside
the United States, traveling to Xi’an, China, in November.
Promoting World Peace … One School at a Time
Selected as the 2009 Austin College Posey Leadership Award
winner, Greg Mortenson continues a mission to build schools in
remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, offering education,
especially to girls, where none had been available before.
Austin College Ranks No. 1 in Study Abroad – Again!
The Institute of International Education ranked Austin College
No. 1 in the nation for study abroad participation in its
November 2008 Open Doors Report. More than 70 percent of
Austin College graduates of the last decade have had an
international study experience.
President Emeritus John D. Moseley Dies
John D. Moseley, the College’s 12th president, died March 11,
leaving a legacy of significant innovation and advancement
achieved during the 25 years of his leadership at the College.
Witness to Change
Several Austin College students and alumni traveled to
Washington, D.C., in January to witness the inauguration of
Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
Alumna Named Piper Professor
Lynda Uphouse ’67 was named a 2008 Minnie Stevens Piper
Foundation Professor for her work in teaching at Texas
Woman’s University.
18
26
A US T I N C OLLE GE
19
42
Oscar C. Page
President
Nan Davis
Vice President for Institutional Enrollment
Heidi Ellis
Vice President for Business Affairs
Mike Imhoff
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Jerry Holbert
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Tim Millerick
Vice President for Student Affairs and Athletics
A UST IN COLLE GE M AGAZI NE
March 2009
Editor
Vickie S. Kirby
Senior Director of Editorial Communication
Design
Mark Steele
Art Director
Editorial
Dara McCoy
Senior Writer
Jeff Kelly
Sports Information Coordinator
Victoria Hughes
Production Coordinator
Vickie S. Kirby
Photography
Vickie S. Kirby
Chelsea Freeland ’12
Kaitlin McCoy ’12
Katherine Senor ’12
Marcus Urban’ 10
Office of College Relations
Michael Strysick
Executive Director
IN EVERY ISSUE:
3
7
16
32
40
48
Faculty Notebook
Student Achievers
Around Campus
Home Team
‘Roo Notes
Calendar of Events
The Austin College Magazine is published by the Office
of College Relations, Institutional Advancement Division.
The Office of College Relations retains the right to
determine the editorial content and presentation of
information contained herein. Articles or opinion written
by guest writers do not necessarily reflect official views
or policy of Austin College and its Board of Trustees.
Contact Austin College Magazine:
Office of College Relations, Suite 6H
Austin College
900 North Grand Avenue
Sherman, TX 75090-4400
Editor: 903.813.2414
Fax: 903.813.2415
Email: [email protected]
Austin College does not discriminate on the basis of age,
color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, or status as a veteran in the administration of its
educational policies and programs, employment policies and
practices, enrollment policies and practices, and athletics
program, as well as any other College-administered policy,
procedure, practice, or program. Reasonable
accommodations are made for individuals with disabilities.
© 2009 Austin College
ac
@
Are you receiving the latest news from
Austin College?
Not if we don’t have your email address!
The Office of College Relations distributes the
Austin College e-newsletter, @ac, the first Monday of
each month with updates and sends notice of
significant breaking news from campus as needed.
8
12
Subscribe: www.austincollege.edu/Form.asp?3477
8
15
16
19
21
22
24
25
32
Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute
Pennies for Peace
Austin College Mortenson Event Photos
Posey Leadership Award Photos
Dr. John D. Moseley’s Accomplishments
365 Reasons
Share Memories of Zachary Swirczynski
Share Memories of Shellene Kelley
JanTerm Photo Gallery
12
18
19
26
42
On the Cover:
Greg Mortenson’s efforts to provide education, especially for girls, in Pakistan
and Afghanistan have made him a local hero in villages in those countries. The
children of Korphe, where his mission began, inspired his work.
Model U.N. Team Goes to China
Fifteen Austin College students continued Austin College’s
record of success at Model United Nations competitions at the
first National Collegiate Conference Association event outside
the United States, traveling to Xi’an, China, in November.
Promoting World Peace … One School at a Time
Selected as the 2009 Austin College Posey Leadership Award
winner, Greg Mortenson continues a mission to build schools in
remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, offering education,
especially to girls, where none had been available before.
Austin College Ranks No. 1 in Study Abroad – Again!
The Institute of International Education ranked Austin College
No. 1 in the nation for study abroad participation in its
November 2008 Open Doors Report. More than 70 percent of
Austin College graduates of the last decade have had an
international study experience.
President Emeritus John D. Moseley Dies
John D. Moseley, the College’s 12th president, died March 11,
leaving a legacy of significant innovation and advancement
achieved during the 25 years of his leadership at the College.
Witness to Change
Several Austin College students and alumni traveled to
Washington, D.C., in January to witness the inauguration of
Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
Alumna Named Piper Professor
Lynda Uphouse ’67 was named a 2008 Minnie Stevens Piper
Foundation Professor for her work in teaching at Texas
Woman’s University.
18
26
A US T I N C OLLE GE
19
42
Oscar C. Page
President
Nan Davis
Vice President for Institutional Enrollment
Heidi Ellis
Vice President for Business Affairs
Mike Imhoff
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Jerry Holbert
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Tim Millerick
Vice President for Student Affairs and Athletics
A UST IN COLLE GE M AGAZI NE
March 2009
Editor
Vickie S. Kirby
Senior Director of Editorial Communication
Design
Mark Steele
Art Director
Editorial
Dara McCoy
Senior Writer
Jeff Kelly
Sports Information Coordinator
Victoria Hughes
Production Coordinator
Vickie S. Kirby
Photography
Vickie S. Kirby
Chelsea Freeland ’12
Kaitlin McCoy ’12
Katherine Senor ’12
Marcus Urban’ 10
Michael Strysick
Executive Director
IN EVERY ISSUE:
3
7
16
32
40
48
Faculty Notebook
Student Achievers
Around Campus
Home Team
‘Roo Notes
Calendar of Events
The Austin College Magazine is published by the Office
of College Relations, Institutional Advancement Division.
The Office of College Relations retains the right to
determine the editorial content and presentation of
information contained herein. Articles or opinion written
by guest writers do not necessarily reflect official views
or policy of Austin College and its Board of Trustees.
Contact Austin College Magazine:
Office of College Relations, Suite 6H
Austin College
900 North Grand Avenue
Sherman, TX 75090-4400
Editor: 903.813.2414
Fax: 903.813.2415
Email: [email protected]
Austin College does not discriminate on the basis of age,
color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, or status as a veteran in the administration of its
educational policies and programs, employment policies and
practices, enrollment policies and practices, and athletics
program, as well as any other College-administered policy,
procedure, practice, or program. Reasonable
accommodations are made for individuals with disabilities.
© 2009 Austin College
column
f a c u l t y
It goes without saying that this is a unique time in history, when we all are affected by a
severe economic climate. I am hopeful that our economy will make a full recovery soon,
but in the meantime, we are making the necessary adjustments at Austin College to meet
this challenge.
During these times of recession, we must be prudent in our actions to control costs
without negatively impacting the quality of the experiences our students have on this
campus. We are fortunate in that we have been able to maintain strong programs and
strong financial aid packages that assist students to have positive
educational experiences in a residential liberal arts setting.
A good example of the success we have met this year is in our
current freshman class. We track the success of each class from
semester to semester, and I am pleased to tell you we retained 96.8
percent of the freshman class from the fall semester to the spring
semester. This is the highest fall-to-spring retention we have had
since 2002 — and the second highest in the last 10 years. In
addition, we are on a record pace with applications for admission
and with deposits from those who want to be a part of the new
freshman class in fall 2009.
Today’s economic challenges are greater than many of us ever
have experienced. Nonetheless, I still ask alumni and friends to
place Austin College high on their list of charitable support even
during this difficult time and make a gift to the Annual Fund this
year. We need gifts of all sizes to enhance the Annual Fund so we
will have adequate resources to support our scholarship program.
Austin College has a rich history of providing significant
financial support for its students. Scholarships have made it possible
for many of our alumni to complete their degrees at Austin College,
and now it is my hope that our alumni will increase the level of
participation in the Annual Fund in order to help strengthen the
scholarship program. With your gift, the Annual Fund will increase
and you will have made it possible for some young man or woman
to attend your alma mater and receive an outstanding educational
experience similar to yours.
I have great faith in our alumni and know in times such as
these, you always have stepped forward. Thank you in advance for
your support, which will make a meaningful difference in the lives
of our students.
Sincerely,
Oscar C. Page
President
2
Austin College Magazine
March 2009
COURTESY PHOTO
Dear Friends of Austin College,
notebook
Cummins Joins Louisiana Company of Fellows
Barker Book Explores Religious Nationalism
Austin College Professor of History Light Cummins was inducted into the
Company of Fellows of the Louisiana Historical Association during the
association meeting March 19-21 in Monroe, Louisiana. The new
inductees, Cummins and Jerry P. Sanson of Louisiana State University,
were introduced by a fellow or other member of the association. “It was
my pleasure to induct Dr. Cummins who I have known for almost 40
years,” said Stephen Webre, chair of the Fellows Committee, and a
member of the Department of History at Louisiana Tech University.
The Company of Fellows
provides special recognition to
senior members of the profession
who have made distinguished
contributions to Louisiana history
as teachers and scholars.
A member of the Austin College
history faculty since 1978,
Cummins holds the Guy M. Bryan,
Jr., Chair in American History. He is
director of the Center for
Southwestern
and Mexican Studies,
Light Cummins
a program of Austin College that
provides outreach, internships, and community service activities that
educate students about issues facing Texas and Mexico.
Cummins’ research specialty is the history of the Spanish Borderlands,
especially the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. He is especially interested
in the 18th century Anglo-American migration into the lower Mississippi
Valley and Gulf Coast areas. His six books include A Guide to the History of
Louisiana; Spanish Observers and the American Revolution; and Louisiana: A
History. He is the author of several dozen scholarly articles dealing with
colonial Louisiana and Texas.
Cummins earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at what is now Texas
State University. After service in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence
officer, he received a doctorate in history from Tulane University.
Cummins, a Fulbright Scholar to Spain earlier in his career, serves as an
Associate of the Danforth Foundation, is a former member of the Board of
Directors of the Louisiana Historical Association, and is a former chair of
the Grayson County Historical Commission. He served two terms as a
member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Council for the Humanities,
now known as Humanities Texas. He is a lifetime Fellow of the Texas State
Historical Association, a former president of the Southwestern Historical
Association, and a life member of the Louisiana Historical Association, and
he has been active in a number of other historical organizations. He is a
member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Sons of the
Republic of Texas, William B. Travis Chapter.
Louisiana Historical Association Fellows are nominated by the Fellows
Selection Committee of the LHA, which may originate its own
nominations or receive nominations from the general membership. There
may be no more than 35 living fellows at any one time. There are now 27
living fellows, 10 deceased fellows, and 10 posthumous fellows.
Philip Barker, Austin College assistant professor of political science,
has written a new book titled Religious Nationalism in Modern Europe: If
God be for Us. The book, a part of the Routledge Studies in Nationalism
and Ethnicity series, was released earlier this year.
The volume examines the enduring nature of religious nationalism
in modern Europe. Through a series of in-depth case studies covering
Ireland, England, Poland, and Greece, Barker argues that religious
frontiers — or geographic lines of division between different and
unique religions — are central to the formation of religiously based
national identities.
Typically, as states develop economically and politically, religion
plays a lesser role in both individual lives and national identity, Barker
argues. However, at religious frontiers, religion becomes useful for
differentiating and mobilizing groups of people. This is particularly
true when the religious frontier also represents a threat or conflict.
Although religion may not be the root of conflict in these instances,
the conflict takes on religious tones because of its ability to unite an
otherwise diverse population. Religion takes precedence over language,
culture, or other national building blocks because the “other” can best
be distinguished in religious terms.
The in-depth case studies allow for a deep historical understanding
of the processes that converge to create a modern religious nation.
Barker joined Austin College in 2008. He earned his bachelor’s
degree in history and political science from Texas A&M University and
his master’s degree in political science and a Ph. D. in political science
from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Barker’s work focuses in
the fields of comparative
politics, international
relations, and
methodology, and his
research interests include
religion and politics,
nationalism and
ethnicity, and religion
and foreign policy.
PHOTO BY VICKIE S. KIRBY
p r e s i d e n t ’ s
Philip Barker
March 2009
3
column
f a c u l t y
It goes without saying that this is a unique time in history, when we all are affected by a
severe economic climate. I am hopeful that our economy will make a full recovery soon,
but in the meantime, we are making the necessary adjustments at Austin College to meet
this challenge.
During these times of recession, we must be prudent in our actions to control costs
without negatively impacting the quality of the experiences our students have on this
campus. We are fortunate in that we have been able to maintain strong programs and
strong financial aid packages that assist students to have positive
educational experiences in a residential liberal arts setting.
A good example of the success we have met this year is in our
current freshman class. We track the success of each class from
semester to semester, and I am pleased to tell you we retained 96.8
percent of the freshman class from the fall semester to the spring
semester. This is the highest fall-to-spring retention we have had
since 2002 — and the second highest in the last 10 years. In
addition, we are on a record pace with applications for admission
and with deposits from those who want to be a part of the new
freshman class in fall 2009.
Today’s economic challenges are greater than many of us ever
have experienced. Nonetheless, I still ask alumni and friends to
place Austin College high on their list of charitable support even
during this difficult time and make a gift to the Annual Fund this
year. We need gifts of all sizes to enhance the Annual Fund so we
will have adequate resources to support our scholarship program.
Austin College has a rich history of providing significant
financial support for its students. Scholarships have made it possible
for many of our alumni to complete their degrees at Austin College,
and now it is my hope that our alumni will increase the level of
participation in the Annual Fund in order to help strengthen the
scholarship program. With your gift, the Annual Fund will increase
and you will have made it possible for some young man or woman
to attend your alma mater and receive an outstanding educational
experience similar to yours.
I have great faith in our alumni and know in times such as
these, you always have stepped forward. Thank you in advance for
your support, which will make a meaningful difference in the lives
of our students.
Sincerely,
Oscar C. Page
President
2
March 2009
COURTESY PHOTO
Dear Friends of Austin College,
notebook
Cummins Joins Louisiana Company of Fellows
Barker Book Explores Religious Nationalism
Austin College Professor of History Light Cummins was inducted into the
Company of Fellows of the Louisiana Historical Association during the
association meeting March 19-21 in Monroe, Louisiana. The new
inductees, Cummins and Jerry P. Sanson of Louisiana State University,
were introduced by a fellow or other member of the association. “It was
my pleasure to induct Dr. Cummins who I have known for almost 40
years,” said Stephen Webre, chair of the Fellows Committee, and a
member of the Department of History at Louisiana Tech University.
The Company of Fellows
provides special recognition to
senior members of the profession
who have made distinguished
contributions to Louisiana history
as teachers and scholars.
A member of the Austin College
history faculty since 1978,
Cummins holds the Guy M. Bryan,
Jr., Chair in American History. He is
director of the Center for
Southwestern
and Mexican Studies,
Light Cummins
a program of Austin College that
provides outreach, internships, and community service activities that
educate students about issues facing Texas and Mexico.
Cummins’ research specialty is the history of the Spanish Borderlands,
especially the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. He is especially interested
in the 18th century Anglo-American migration into the lower Mississippi
Valley and Gulf Coast areas. His six books include A Guide to the History of
Louisiana; Spanish Observers and the American Revolution; and Louisiana: A
History. He is the author of several dozen scholarly articles dealing with
colonial Louisiana and Texas.
Cummins earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at what is now Texas
State University. After service in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence
officer, he received a doctorate in history from Tulane University.
Cummins, a Fulbright Scholar to Spain earlier in his career, serves as an
Associate of the Danforth Foundation, is a former member of the Board of
Directors of the Louisiana Historical Association, and is a former chair of
the Grayson County Historical Commission. He served two terms as a
member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Council for the Humanities,
now known as Humanities Texas. He is a lifetime Fellow of the Texas State
Historical Association, a former president of the Southwestern Historical
Association, and a life member of the Louisiana Historical Association, and
he has been active in a number of other historical organizations. He is a
member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Sons of the
Republic of Texas, William B. Travis Chapter.
Louisiana Historical Association Fellows are nominated by the Fellows
Selection Committee of the LHA, which may originate its own
nominations or receive nominations from the general membership. There
may be no more than 35 living fellows at any one time. There are now 27
living fellows, 10 deceased fellows, and 10 posthumous fellows.
Philip Barker, Austin College assistant professor of political science,
has written a new book titled Religious Nationalism in Modern Europe: If
God be for Us. The book, a part of the Routledge Studies in Nationalism
and Ethnicity series, was released earlier this year.
The volume examines the enduring nature of religious nationalism
in modern Europe. Through a series of in-depth case studies covering
Ireland, England, Poland, and Greece, Barker argues that religious
frontiers — or geographic lines of division between different and
unique religions — are central to the formation of religiously based
national identities.
Typically, as states develop economically and politically, religion
plays a lesser role in both individual lives and national identity, Barker
argues. However, at religious frontiers, religion becomes useful for
differentiating and mobilizing groups of people. This is particularly
true when the religious frontier also represents a threat or conflict.
Although religion may not be the root of conflict in these instances,
the conflict takes on religious tones because of its ability to unite an
otherwise diverse population. Religion takes precedence over language,
culture, or other national building blocks because the “other” can best
be distinguished in religious terms.
The in-depth case studies allow for a deep historical understanding
of the processes that converge to create a modern religious nation.
Barker joined Austin College in 2008. He earned his bachelor’s
degree in history and political science from Texas A&M University and
his master’s degree in political science and a Ph. D. in political science
from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Barker’s work focuses in
the fields of comparative
politics, international
relations, and
methodology, and his
research interests include
religion and politics,
nationalism and
ethnicity, and religion
and foreign policy.
p r e s i d e n t ’ s
Philip Barker
March 2009
3
f a c u l t y
This Physicist Is No Geek
Andra Troncalli
Professional Activities
Lourdes Bueno, associate professor of Spanish, is the new editor of Estreno,
a biannual journal of contemporary Spanish theater, created in 1975 and
known nationally and internationally. Her first issue (featuring a play by
Jose Moreno Arenas) is out in March. She also is supervisor and editor of
the section on drama of En sentido figurado, an electronic journal devoted
to publishing works by the most recent Spanish writers. Her article “¿Reina
o mujer? El conflicto interno de los personajes históricos femeninos en las
obras de Antonia Bueno, Concha Romero y Carmen Resino” has been
published in Dramaturgias femeninas en el teatro español contemporáneo: entre
pasado y presente, edited by Wilfried Floeck et al.
Mark Hebert, associate professor of philosophy, delivered the paper
“Using Positive Psychology in Student Internships” at the Institute for
College Student Values Conference in February at the University of Florida
at Tallahassee. The focus of the conference was “Finding the Good Life:
How Positive Psychology Can Help College Students to Discover and
Utilize their Personal Strengths and Virtues.”
Roger Platizky, professor of English, presented a paper for the “Queer
Iconography Conference” in December 2008 at Hofstra University in Long
Island, New York. During a Fall Term 2008 sabbatical, Platizky visited
libraries in London, Cambridge, and New York City to continue his
research on the social, scientific, and literary representations of epidemics.
Ivette Vargas-O’Bryan, associate professor of religious studies, is chair
of the Comparative and Asian Studies in Religion Section of the Southwest
Commission on Religious Studies. She reviewed paper abstracts and
organized panels on religion and science for SWCRS conferences in 2008
and 2009. She recently participated in a research study conducted by
Claudia Salguero with the support of the Department of Leadership in
Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Vargas-O’Bryan was
interviewed for a study examining the processes and structures associated
with internal organizational collaboration in liberal arts colleges. This
study explores how college campuses can become highly collaborative
and responsive to internal and external changes. In addition, she
participated in a filmed interview with artist-in-residence Pema Rinzin for
the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art archives.
Sciences
Peter C. Schulze, professor of biology and environmental science and
director of the Center for Environmental Studies, published “Fast, easy
measurements for assessing vital signs of tall grassland” in the journal
Ecological Indicators. Kellie Wilcox ’04 and Anthony Swift ’03, students at
the time of their involvement, assisted with the research and co-authored
the article. Janet Beckert, former coordinator of the Austin College Center
for Environmental Studies, also co-authored.
Social Sciences
Peter DeLisle, Crane Chair in Leadership Studies and director of the Posey
Leadership Institute, was a program contributor January 12 for the
month-long “Leadership in a New Era” course at the Osgood Center for
International Studies in Washington, D.C., where Shelton Williams,
professor emeritus of political science, is president. DeLisle also was the
So Much to See
Tom Nuckols, professor emeritus of religion, has been busy this past year,
traveling in Latin America. In the summer, he drove through Mexico to Belize
and saw how eastern Mexico has been transformed from campesino small
farms to huge multinational agribusiness plantations. The result is that 1,000
people a day move to Mexico City. Others move to other Mexican cities or to
the U.S. He said this is part of the greatest human migration in history, from
the farm to the city. In the fall, he saw a dramatic example of this migration
when he visited a squatter settlement near Lima, Peru, that now numbers
500,000 people. On the same trip he explored Inca sites such as Machu Picchu
in Peru and Quito in Ecuador and explored the Galapagos Islands for nine
days. In January, he went with Overseas Adventure Travels to Costa Rica for
white water rafting, hiking, and enjoying the beautiful and diverse flora and
fauna. He barely missed being on a road destroyed by the earthquake. Nuckols
said he is now 75 and has to keep moving because there is so much to see and
do and so little time left to do it. He expects to be kept very busy for the next
few years completing his “bucket list.”
COURTESY PHOTO
began teaching in February 2005. She found that her
natural curiosity about the world fit perfectly with the
College’s liberal arts emphasis.
Troncalli is no doubt a physicist and very passionate
about her work. She can discuss the field of
superconductivity or her work on an international
collaboration project between the U.S., Russia, and
Finland to develop new ferromagnetic shape memory
smart materials in such detail that it can seem a foreign
language. Yet, Troncalli enjoys her role as a teacher
and interaction with students as much as performing
irradiations of samples in the Argonne National
Laboratory, where she shared space with Alexei Abrikosov
before he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003.
“The interaction with students is what I enjoy most
about my job,” Troncalli said. “They are young,
enthusiastic, and haven’t had time to become cynical
about the world around them. They want to change the
world, and oftentimes, they succeed. Being around
young people makes me still excited about that.
Although I am not out changing the world myself,
maybe I can educate these students and they can go out
and make changes.”
There’s nothing geeky about that.
PHOTO BY JASON JONES
M
ention of a physics professor can evoke the
stereotypical image of an eccentric but
brilliant Einstein-type. Andra Troncalli,
Austin College assistant professor of physics,
may fall into the brilliant category, but the
stereotype falls apart from there — though
she reluctantly admits she has worked math problems
just for fun. “I can’t even remember a time when I was
not interested in science and math,” Troncalli said,
cognizant that such confessions might result in her
being thought a geek.
Fully aware that physics “isn’t the easiest
conversation starter,” Troncalli certainly is no
introverted figure muttering jargon in the halls of
Moody Science. Her keen interest in the lives of her
students, a well-rounded appreciation of other subjects
and cultures (she reads Russian and has varying degrees
of mastery in French, Italian, German, and Spanish, as
well as fluency in English and her native Romanian),
and the easy and gregarious manner in which she
communicates easily exempt her from the socially
awkward ranks of “geekdom.”
Troncalli grew up in Romania, in a much different
world than the one most of her American students
know. “Romania’s a small country and being behind
the Iron Curtain, I was always kind of curious about
the rest of the world,” she said. Access to only two
hours per day of one television network required that
Troncalli sate her curiosity with her mother’s extensive
library. “For most people [in Romania], if you go into
their home, there is no entertainment center; you had
bookshelves stacked full of books,” Troncalli said. “We
had less access to popular culture and entertainment.”
By age 14, Troncalli’s education already was
specialized as she attended a math and physics high
school. In 1994, she received her bachelor’s degree in
physics from the University of Bucharest and came to
the U.S. (with two suitcases and $250) to obtain a
master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics at Western
Michigan University. She worked in research and as a
process engineer in the semiconductor industry before
she joined the physics faculty at Austin College and
notebook
Tom Nuckols
4
March 2009
March 2009
5
f a c u l t y
This Physicist Is No Geek
Andra Troncalli
Professional Activities
Lourdes Bueno, associate professor of Spanish, is the new editor of Estreno,
a biannual journal of contemporary Spanish theater, created in 1975 and
known nationally and internationally. Her first issue (featuring a play by
Jose Moreno Arenas) is out in March. She also is supervisor and editor of
the section on drama of En sentido figurado, an electronic journal devoted
to publishing works by the most recent Spanish writers. Her article “¿Reina
o mujer? El conflicto interno de los personajes históricos femeninos en las
obras de Antonia Bueno, Concha Romero y Carmen Resino” has been
published in Dramaturgias femeninas en el teatro español contemporáneo: entre
pasado y presente, edited by Wilfried Floeck et al.
Mark Hebert, associate professor of philosophy, delivered the paper
“Using Positive Psychology in Student Internships” at the Institute for
College Student Values Conference in February at the University of Florida
at Tallahassee. The focus of the conference was “Finding the Good Life:
How Positive Psychology Can Help College Students to Discover and
Utilize their Personal Strengths and Virtues.”
Roger Platizky, professor of English, presented a paper for the “Queer
Iconography Conference” in December 2008 at Hofstra University in Long
Island, New York. During a Fall Term 2008 sabbatical, Platizky visited
libraries in London, Cambridge, and New York City to continue his
research on the social, scientific, and literary representations of epidemics.
Ivette Vargas-O’Bryan, associate professor of religious studies, is chair
of the Comparative and Asian Studies in Religion Section of the Southwest
Commission on Religious Studies. She reviewed paper abstracts and
organized panels on religion and science for SWCRS conferences in 2008
and 2009. She recently participated in a research study conducted by
Claudia Salguero with the support of the Department of Leadership in
Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Vargas-O’Bryan was
interviewed for a study examining the processes and structures associated
with internal organizational collaboration in liberal arts colleges. This
study explores how college campuses can become highly collaborative
and responsive to internal and external changes. In addition, she
participated in a filmed interview with artist-in-residence Pema Rinzin for
the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art archives.
Sciences
Peter C. Schulze, professor of biology and environmental science and
director of the Center for Environmental Studies, published “Fast, easy
measurements for assessing vital signs of tall grassland” in the journal
Ecological Indicators. Kellie Wilcox ’04 and Anthony Swift ’03, students at
the time of their involvement, assisted with the research and co-authored
the article. Janet Beckert, former coordinator of the Austin College Center
for Environmental Studies, also co-authored.
Social Sciences
Peter DeLisle, Crane Chair in Leadership Studies and director of the Posey
Leadership Institute, was a program contributor January 12 for the
month-long “Leadership in a New Era” course at the Osgood Center for
International Studies in Washington, D.C., where Shelton Williams,
professor emeritus of political science, is president. DeLisle also was the
So Much to See
Tom Nuckols, professor emeritus of religion, has been busy this past year,
traveling in Latin America. In the summer, he drove through Mexico to Belize
and saw how eastern Mexico has been transformed from campesino small
farms to huge multinational agribusiness plantations. The result is that 1,000
people a day move to Mexico City. Others move to other Mexican cities or to
the U.S. He said this is part of the greatest human migration in history, from
the farm to the city. In the fall, he saw a dramatic example of this migration
when he visited a squatter settlement near Lima, Peru, that now numbers
500,000 people. On the same trip he explored Inca sites such as Machu Picchu
in Peru and Quito in Ecuador and explored the Galapagos Islands for nine
days. In January, he went with Overseas Adventure Travels to Costa Rica for
white water rafting, hiking, and enjoying the beautiful and diverse flora and
fauna. He barely missed being on a road destroyed by the earthquake. Nuckols
said he is now 75 and has to keep moving because there is so much to see and
do and so little time left to do it. He expects to be kept very busy for the next
few years completing his “bucket list.”
COURTESY PHOTO
began teaching in February 2005. She found that her
natural curiosity about the world fit perfectly with the
College’s liberal arts emphasis.
Troncalli is no doubt a physicist and very passionate
about her work. She can discuss the field of
superconductivity or her work on an international
collaboration project between the U.S., Russia, and
Finland to develop new ferromagnetic shape memory
smart materials in such detail that it can seem a foreign
language. Yet, Troncalli enjoys her role as a teacher
and interaction with students as much as performing
irradiations of samples in the Argonne National
Laboratory, where she shared space with Alexei Abrikosov
before he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003.
“The interaction with students is what I enjoy most
about my job,” Troncalli said. “They are young,
enthusiastic, and haven’t had time to become cynical
about the world around them. They want to change the
world, and oftentimes, they succeed. Being around
young people makes me still excited about that.
Although I am not out changing the world myself,
maybe I can educate these students and they can go out
and make changes.”
There’s nothing geeky about that.
M
ention of a physics professor can evoke the
stereotypical image of an eccentric but
brilliant Einstein-type. Andra Troncalli,
Austin College assistant professor of physics,
may fall into the brilliant category, but the
stereotype falls apart from there — though
she reluctantly admits she has worked math problems
just for fun. “I can’t even remember a time when I was
not interested in science and math,” Troncalli said,
cognizant that such confessions might result in her
being thought a geek.
Fully aware that physics “isn’t the easiest
conversation starter,” Troncalli certainly is no
introverted figure muttering jargon in the halls of
Moody Science. Her keen interest in the lives of her
students, a well-rounded appreciation of other subjects
and cultures (she reads Russian and has varying degrees
of mastery in French, Italian, German, and Spanish, as
well as fluency in English and her native Romanian),
and the easy and gregarious manner in which she
communicates easily exempt her from the socially
awkward ranks of “geekdom.”
Troncalli grew up in Romania, in a much different
world than the one most of her American students
know. “Romania’s a small country and being behind
the Iron Curtain, I was always kind of curious about
the rest of the world,” she said. Access to only two
hours per day of one television network required that
Troncalli sate her curiosity with her mother’s extensive
library. “For most people [in Romania], if you go into
their home, there is no entertainment center; you had
bookshelves stacked full of books,” Troncalli said. “We
had less access to popular culture and entertainment.”
By age 14, Troncalli’s education already was
specialized as she attended a math and physics high
school. In 1994, she received her bachelor’s degree in
physics from the University of Bucharest and came to
the U.S. (with two suitcases and $250) to obtain a
master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics at Western
Michigan University. She worked in research and as a
process engineer in the semiconductor industry before
she joined the physics faculty at Austin College and
notebook
Tom Nuckols
4
March 2009
March 2009
5
keynote speaker for the Texas Conference on the Education of Gifted and
Talented held in Midland, Texas, on January 29. His presentation was
“Responsive Teaching and Leadership for Differentiation.”
Hank Gorman, professor of psychology, presented a poster, “Drug
Courts: Applying Psychology Where It Matters,” at the National Institute
of Teaching of Psychology in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, in January.
Janet Huber Lowry, who retired as associate professor of sociology in
May 2008, is president of the Southwestern Sociological Association,
organizing the business meetings for this affiliate of the Southwestern
Social Science Association at its annual meeting in April in Denver,
Colorado. She will chair three sessions of graduate student paper
notebook
presentations and facilitate the student awards competition at
undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels.
Don Rodgers, associate professor of political science, was an invited
speaker at the one-day “New Actors and Factors in Cross Strait
Relations” conference presented by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at
George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
in January. His presentation was “KMT Identity and Electoral Strategy:
Maintaining Chinese Identity and Winning Elections in Taiwan,”
serving as a member of the panel on “Political Change in Taiwan and
Impact on Cross Strait Interaction.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
New in the Arts
Mark Smith, professor of art, offered a solo exhibition of paintings
and sculpture during February and March at Craighead-Green Gallery in
the Dallas Design district. The exhibit featured new works from Smith’s
“Summer of Love” series. His work also was featured in February at the
Dallas Art Fair, a convergence of 30 of the nation’s top galleries dealing
in 21st century American art, located at the Fashion Industry Gallery.
The fair was organized by the Dallas Art Dealers Association, the
Contemporary Art Dealers Association of America, and the American
Institute of Fashion. Smith’s work was featured in the North Texas visual
arts publication THE magazine and reviewed in print and online in
D Magazine, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, and the Dallas Observer.
Mark Monroe, professor of art, recently
completed a large scale site-specific sculpture
in a collaboration with French Canadian artist
Natali Leduc. The project is in the design
district of Dallas at the home of the Dallas
Contemporary, a new art space on Glass Street.
The sculpture is built from materials salvaged
from the remodeling of the interior of this
former warehouse and is an inaugural project
for the Contemporary. The sculpture is titled
“To Paint a Bird’s Portrait,” from the poem by
Jaques Prevért.
Art by Mark Smith
s t u d e n t
achievers
On the Fast Track
M
any students consider the college experience a step toward the fast track for a good
career or successful direction in life. Molly Banas ‘09, a political science major,
redefined the fast track during her undergraduate career at Austin College, completing
her degree in January 2009, two and a half years after enrolling.
“I know I’m entering the ‘real world,’ as my mom calls it, at a relatively young age
(20), but I believe that my experiences at Austin College have equipped me not only
to exist in this new world but to excel,” said Molly.
Molly shortened her time at Austin College, but she wasn’t short on experience. Interested
in a career in law, Molly managed to find time between classes and activities to work for the past
year and a half with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sherman.
She also participated on every Austin College Model United Nations team assembled during
her college experience, traveling twice to both Chicago and New York City, and also competing
in Washington, D.C., and China conferences. “Every student at Austin College should do one
semester of Model U.N.,” she said. “It teaches the
art of compromise and creative thinking, two skills
essential to all areas of work.”
Not one to miss an opportunity, Molly also was
involved in the Campus Activities Board, Alpha
Delta Chi social sorority, the Pre-Law Society, and
was president of the Caruth Residence Hall Council
during her sophomore year. She also was a Big Sister
with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and was active in a
local church, not only attending but teaching in
the children’s department in a second service each
week. Her sorority friends made fun of her because,
with all the activity, she routinely slept eight hours
a night and made time to work out every day.
The day after Fall Term 2008 finals ended, Molly
began an internship at the Texas State House with
Representative Ken Paxton, researching topics and
issues of each bill that arise in session, particularly
tax policy.
Molly will work at the State House throughout
the 81st legislative session this spring. Then, what’s
next? Law school is a possibility, but she doesn’t
Molly Banas
want to limit herself yet. She hopes to one day
become a Foreign Service Officer, particularly in Asia, with the U.S. Department of State.
Whatever direction she chooses, it’s quite likely Molly will get there — and quickly. She’s built
a good foundation.
“I knew that college would be the best years of my life, but Austin College provides more
than that because your best years don’t end when you graduate,” Molly said. “Austin College
can prepare students to have their best years after they graduate.”
COURTESY PHOTO
f a c u l t y
Art by Mark Monroe
6
March 2009
March 2009
7
keynote speaker for the Texas Conference on the Education of Gifted and
Talented held in Midland, Texas, on January 29. His presentation was
“Responsive Teaching and Leadership for Differentiation.”
Hank Gorman, professor of psychology, presented a poster, “Drug
Courts: Applying Psychology Where It Matters,” at the National Institute
of Teaching of Psychology in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, in January.
Janet Huber Lowry, who retired as associate professor of sociology in
May 2008, is president of the Southwestern Sociological Association,
organizing the business meetings for this affiliate of the Southwestern
Social Science Association at its annual meeting in April in Denver,
Colorado. She will chair three sessions of graduate student paper
notebook
presentations and facilitate the student awards competition at
undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels.
Don Rodgers, associate professor of political science, was an invited
speaker at the one-day “New Actors and Factors in Cross Strait
Relations” conference presented by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at
George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
in January. His presentation was “KMT Identity and Electoral Strategy:
Maintaining Chinese Identity and Winning Elections in Taiwan,”
serving as a member of the panel on “Political Change in Taiwan and
Impact on Cross Strait Interaction.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
New in the Arts
Mark Smith, professor of art, offered a solo exhibition of paintings
and sculpture during February and March at Craighead-Green Gallery in
the Dallas Design district. The exhibit featured new works from Smith’s
“Summer of Love” series. His work also was featured in February at the
Dallas Art Fair, a convergence of 30 of the nation’s top galleries dealing
in 21st century American art, located at the Fashion Industry Gallery.
The fair was organized by the Dallas Art Dealers Association, the
Contemporary Art Dealers Association of America, and the American
Institute of Fashion. Smith’s work was featured in the North Texas visual
arts publication THE magazine and reviewed in print and online in
D Magazine, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, and the Dallas Observer.
Mark Monroe, professor of art, recently
completed a large scale site-specific sculpture
in a collaboration with French Canadian artist
Natali Leduc. The project is in the design
district of Dallas at the home of the Dallas
Contemporary, a new art space on Glass Street.
The sculpture is built from materials salvaged
from the remodeling of the interior of this
former warehouse and is an inaugural project
for the Contemporary. The sculpture is titled
“To Paint a Bird’s Portrait,” from the poem by
Jaques Prevért.
Art by Mark Smith
s t u d e n t
achievers
On the Fast Track
M
any students consider the college experience a step toward the fast track for a good
career or successful direction in life. Molly Banas ‘09, a political science major,
redefined the fast track during her undergraduate career at Austin College, completing
her degree in January 2009, two and a half years after enrolling.
“I know I’m entering the ‘real world,’ as my mom calls it, at a relatively young age
(20), but I believe that my experiences at Austin College have equipped me not only
to exist in this new world but to excel,” said Molly.
Molly shortened her time at Austin College, but she wasn’t short on experience. Interested
in a career in law, Molly managed to find time between classes and activities to work for the past
year and a half with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sherman.
She also participated on every Austin College Model United Nations team assembled during
her college experience, traveling twice to both Chicago and New York City, and also competing
in Washington, D.C., and China conferences. “Every student at Austin College should do one
semester of Model U.N.,” she said. “It teaches the
art of compromise and creative thinking, two skills
essential to all areas of work.”
Not one to miss an opportunity, Molly also was
involved in the Campus Activities Board, Alpha
Delta Chi social sorority, the Pre-Law Society, and
was president of the Caruth Residence Hall Council
during her sophomore year. She also was a Big Sister
with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and was active in a
local church, not only attending but teaching in
the children’s department in a second service each
week. Her sorority friends made fun of her because,
with all the activity, she routinely slept eight hours
a night and made time to work out every day.
The day after Fall Term 2008 finals ended, Molly
began an internship at the Texas State House with
Representative Ken Paxton, researching topics and
issues of each bill that arise in session, particularly
tax policy.
Molly will work at the State House throughout
the 81st legislative session this spring. Then, what’s
next? Law school is a possibility, but she doesn’t
Molly Banas
want to limit herself yet. She hopes to one day
become a Foreign Service Officer, particularly in Asia, with the U.S. Department of State.
Whatever direction she chooses, it’s quite likely Molly will get there — and quickly. She’s built
a good foundation.
“I knew that college would be the best years of my life, but Austin College provides more
than that because your best years don’t end when you graduate,” Molly said. “Austin College
can prepare students to have their best years after they graduate.”
COURTESY PHOTO
f a c u l t y
Art by Mark Monroe
6
March 2009
March 2009
7
s t u d e n t
achievers
A
ustin College students have participated in
Model United Nations competitions since 1963, and for nearly 25 years
routinely have traveled to Atlanta, Chicago, and New York City for
conferences. In November 2008, their involvement went “extreme,”
journeying halfway around the globe to Xi’an, China. Fifteen Austin College
students and Philip Barker, assistant professor of political science, left
campus Thursday, November 20; “disappeared into the cosmos” on Friday,
crossing the International Date Line; and ended the 25-hour flight to arrive
in China on Saturday, November 22, for the first National Collegiate
Conference Association (NCCA) Model United Nations event held outside
the United States. Model United Nations conferences are simulations of the
actual working of the U.N. and the real issues before the international group.
The students had two days to acclimate and soak up the culture in the
city of more than eight million people before getting down to business. They
explored the Muslim Quarter with its food and shopping stalls, took guided
tours of the ancient City Wall, visited the Buddhist holy site of Great Wild
Goose Pagoda, and examined the Terracotta Warriors and museum.
When conference time rolled around, the Austin College group was back
on very familiar territory. In Model U.N. circles, Austin College delegates are
considered expert at research and representation in committee of the
positions of their assigned countries. Since 1984, Austin College delegations
have received top honors at each competition.
In China, the Austin College students represented the United States and
Libya, serving on the Security Council and several
committees. Nathan Withers ’09 served as the Austin
College head delegate, assisting all his delegates in
preparation and in rules of order for the conference. The 15
students were veteran participants — from a variety of
academic disciplines. “Students of international relations
and political science are drawn to Model U.N. because of its
subject matter, but the benefits really are universal,” Barker
said. “The key goals of any education — critical thinking,
problem solving, research, and communication skills — are
all central to the Model U.N. experience. And it’s certainly
no drawback that students get to travel to China or New
York City or similar places.”
Sophomores Willoughby Smith ’11 and Rachel Dodd ’11 already are
seasoned veterans, each participating in two conferences as freshmen. Other
students have competed in multiple conferences, though Austin College
counts the program for academic credit only twice. “Model U.N. provides a
real world application to a semester of study and hard work,” Smith said.
“Almost every aspect has an application to the rest of your studies. Writing
a resolution requires knowing policy and converting it into action statements
in order to problem solve — it is critical thinking at its best. Model U.N. forces
you to take charge of your own learning; the more you put into it, the more
you get out.”
Austin College students put a lot into it. The students are responsible for a
tremendous amount of information about assigned countries and must recall
the details on the spot. Hours of class time, group and individual research,
and practice sessions are part of the preparation. Adnan Merchant ’10 said
the experience has the added benefit of “keeping student involved in the
major global issues of our time.”
Withers participated in four conferences prior to taking on the leadership
role of head delegate for the China event. He said the Model U.N. program
helped him learn to write well and to remain calm, professional, and rationale
in high stress situations. “You learn more about international community
interaction in Model U.N. than you could ever learn in a traditional class
setting. Not only that, you feel better prepared than most college graduates for
public speaking, writing, working in a group, and interacting professionally.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
International Diplomacy
“Goes International”
Students from many nations always participate in Model U.N.; the
conference in China was no exception. Though the official language of the
conference was English, some communication difficulties arose. Austin
College students took that in stride. “The communication gap presented
problems we were not expecting,” said Rachel Dodd. “Getting around the
language difficulties was a fun challenge.” Nathan Withers enjoyed the
display of culture. “The best part was walking through the markets in
China, seeing all the foreign items for sale and watching the locals interact.
And, I learned that riding in a taxi in China is like riding an intense roller
coaster!” he said.
Like many international travelers before them, the students also found
similarities between themselves and the people of the foreign city. “You
realize that despite the countless differences between the U.S. and China, the
fundamentals of life are the same,” Barker said. “There is, at the core, more
in common than different.”
For Daniel Leal ’11, Model U.N. experiences have been eye-opening. “I’ve
become more cognizant of the international world, which has sparked my
interest to work not solely in the U.S., but everywhere,” he said. “I dream to
see this entire world within the next five years. I just want to go!”
Above: The China Model U.N. trip participants included, front row, left to right, Rachel
Dodd, Molly Banas, Willoughby Smith, Robert Likarish, staff member Marilyn Bice;
second row: Daniel Leal, Alicia Houser, Luis Cuevas, Nathan Withers, Monica Martinez,
Adnan Merchant, and Wes Johnston.
Participants not pictured are Dallas Key, Caleb Cavazos, Uma Shah, and Robert Henderson
as well as faculty member Philip Barker (the photographer).
Below: Rachel Dodd and others relaxed with a little Tai Chi in the Great
Wild Goose Pagoda plaza before heading to the airport for the long flight home.
The Austin College participants were named Distinguished Delegations and received
Outstanding Position Paper honors for General Assembly Plenary and Security Council, as
well as Security Council Outstanding Delegation recognition.
8
March 2009
March 2009
9
s t u d e n t
achievers
A
ustin College students have participated in
Model United Nations competitions since 1963, and for nearly 25 years
routinely have traveled to Atlanta, Chicago, and New York City for
conferences. In November 2008, their involvement went “extreme,”
journeying halfway around the globe to Xi’an, China. Fifteen Austin College
students and Philip Barker, assistant professor of political science, left
campus Thursday, November 20; “disappeared into the cosmos” on Friday,
crossing the International Date Line; and ended the 25-hour flight to arrive
in China on Saturday, November 22, for the first National Collegiate
Conference Association (NCCA) Model United Nations event held outside
the United States. Model United Nations conferences are simulations of the
actual working of the U.N. and the real issues before the international group.
The students had two days to acclimate and soak up the culture in the
city of more than eight million people before getting down to business. They
explored the Muslim Quarter with its food and shopping stalls, took guided
tours of the ancient City Wall, visited the Buddhist holy site of Great Wild
Goose Pagoda, and examined the Terracotta Warriors and museum.
When conference time rolled around, the Austin College group was back
on very familiar territory. In Model U.N. circles, Austin College delegates are
considered expert at research and representation in committee of the
positions of their assigned countries. Since 1984, Austin College delegations
have received top honors at each competition.
In China, the Austin College students represented the United States and
Libya, serving on the Security Council and several
committees. Nathan Withers ’09 served as the Austin
College head delegate, assisting all his delegates in
preparation and in rules of order for the conference. The 15
students were veteran participants — from a variety of
academic disciplines. “Students of international relations
and political science are drawn to Model U.N. because of its
subject matter, but the benefits really are universal,” Barker
said. “The key goals of any education — critical thinking,
problem solving, research, and communication skills — are
all central to the Model U.N. experience. And it’s certainly
no drawback that students get to travel to China or New
York City or similar places.”
Sophomores Willoughby Smith ’11 and Rachel Dodd ’11 already are
seasoned veterans, each participating in two conferences as freshmen. Other
students have competed in multiple conferences, though Austin College
counts the program for academic credit only twice. “Model U.N. provides a
real world application to a semester of study and hard work,” Smith said.
“Almost every aspect has an application to the rest of your studies. Writing
a resolution requires knowing policy and converting it into action statements
in order to problem solve — it is critical thinking at its best. Model U.N. forces
you to take charge of your own learning; the more you put into it, the more
you get out.”
Austin College students put a lot into it. The students are responsible for a
tremendous amount of information about assigned countries and must recall
the details on the spot. Hours of class time, group and individual research,
and practice sessions are part of the preparation. Adnan Merchant ’10 said
the experience has the added benefit of “keeping student involved in the
major global issues of our time.”
Withers participated in four conferences prior to taking on the leadership
role of head delegate for the China event. He said the Model U.N. program
helped him learn to write well and to remain calm, professional, and rationale
in high stress situations. “You learn more about international community
interaction in Model U.N. than you could ever learn in a traditional class
setting. Not only that, you feel better prepared than most college graduates for
public speaking, writing, working in a group, and interacting professionally.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
International Diplomacy
“Goes International”
Students from many nations always participate in Model U.N.; the
conference in China was no exception. Though the official language of the
conference was English, some communication difficulties arose. Austin
College students took that in stride. “The communication gap presented
problems we were not expecting,” said Rachel Dodd. “Getting around the
language difficulties was a fun challenge.” Nathan Withers enjoyed the
display of culture. “The best part was walking through the markets in
China, seeing all the foreign items for sale and watching the locals interact.
And, I learned that riding in a taxi in China is like riding an intense roller
coaster!” he said.
Like many international travelers before them, the students also found
similarities between themselves and the people of the foreign city. “You
realize that despite the countless differences between the U.S. and China, the
fundamentals of life are the same,” Barker said. “There is, at the core, more
in common than different.”
For Daniel Leal ’11, Model U.N. experiences have been eye-opening. “I’ve
become more cognizant of the international world, which has sparked my
interest to work not solely in the U.S., but everywhere,” he said. “I dream to
see this entire world within the next five years. I just want to go!”
Above: The China Model U.N. trip participants included, front row, left to right, Rachel
Dodd, Molly Banas, Willoughby Smith, Robert Likarish, staff member Marilyn Bice;
second row: Daniel Leal, Alicia Houser, Luis Cuevas, Nathan Withers, Monica Martinez,
Adnan Merchant, and Wes Johnston.
Participants not pictured are Dallas Key, Caleb Cavazos, Uma Shah, and Robert Henderson
as well as faculty member Philip Barker (the photographer).
Below: Rachel Dodd and others relaxed with a little Tai Chi in the Great
Wild Goose Pagoda plaza before heading to the airport for the long flight home.
The Austin College participants were named Distinguished Delegations and received
Outstanding Position Paper honors for General Assembly Plenary and Security Council, as
well as Security Council Outstanding Delegation recognition.
8
March 2009
March 2009
9
s t u d e n t
achievers
New Year, New Government
March 2009
Alphas Raise Funds
for Local Youth
Austin College Rotaract
Club Supports Peace
The Alpha Delta Chi social sorority held its third annual Cupcake Eating
Contest and fundraiser in November 2008, raising $170 in support of
Sherman’s Boys and Girls Club. Campus organizations sponsor individuals
in the contest to eat as many cupcakes as possible in a defined time
period. Seventeen students participated and winner among the women
was Ashleigh Johnson ’11, sponsored by the soccer team, eating 10
cupcakes in two minutes. Big eater for the men was Kerry Van Zant ’09,
eating 20 cupcakes in three minutes. Van Zant, also last year’s “cupcake
champion,” entered on his own to defend his title.
Members of the sorority baked cupcakes and Mom’s Bakery of Sherman
donated cupcakes for a bake sale held in conjunction with the contest.
The Germiston Rotaract Club in South Africa asked Rotaract clubs around
the world to send postcards to the chapter endorsing peace in support of
the International Day of Peace on September 21. The group created a
Peace Wall with the postcards.
Austin College’s chapter created a card showing members joining the
South African chapter in denouncement of violence and crime and in
hope for a world of peace.
Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women.
The Austin College chapter is sponsored by Grayson County Rotary, but it
works with other local Rotary clubs as well.
COURTESY PHOTO
Jeffrey Czajkowski, assistant professor of economics, and four
members of his environmental economics class presented “Valuing
Ecosystems Services: Ecologists vs. Economists” at an Austin College
Center for Environmental Studies forum in November.
The basis for the presentation was the question of the value of
existing ecosystems. A group led by ecologist Robert Costanza
attempted to answer this question in a 1997 Nature article entitled “The
value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital.” A group of economists took issue
with Costanza et al.’s valuation effort and told the world why in a 2000 Environmental Science
and Technology article “On Measuring Economic Values for Nature.”
In the November forum, Cara Marusak ’10 and Brittany Nail ’11 offered the ecologists’
position and Sunna Quazi ’10 and Ena Sharma ’09 presented the economists’ view. The
Center for Environmental Studies, directed by Professor Peter Schulze, hosts a number of
forums on a variety of topics throughout the year.
Brandon Stevenson-Mathews ’11 was the student speaker at the Martin
Luther King, Jr., Day Community Celebration co-sponsored by Austin
College and local Rotary clubs in January. Brandon has been very involved
at Austin College, including service as a member of Student Assembly,
Student Development Board, Los Amigos, Young Democrats, Model United
Nations, and Zeta Chi Beta fraternity. A Dean’s List student, Brandon worked
on political campaigns for Barack Obama in Atlanta, for Hillary Clinton in
Las Vegas, and for John Edwards in Mason City, Iowa, over the past year. A
Spanish and international relations double major, he plans to study abroad
in Argentina and Spain during the 2009–2010 academic year.
Brandon Stevenson-Mathews
PHOTO BY KATIE SENOR
Environment vs. Economy?
ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Stephanie Almanza ’11, secretary, Spanish and psychology major, San
Antonio, Texas
Rindcy Davis ’11, Public Relations Chair, undecided major (pre-medical
studies), Irving, Texas
Karen Edwards ’09, Elections Committee Chair, biology major (pre-medical
studies), Rockwall, Texas
Vikas Mandadi ’10, Charter Review Committee Chair, computer science
major (pre-medical studies), Coppell, Texas
Maggie Marshall ’10, Budget and Finance Committee Chair, exercise and
sports science and psychology majors, Dallas, Texas
Preetha Swamy ’11, treasurer, political science major, Plano, Texas
The Question:
10
Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
New Student Assembly executives are, front row, left to right, Dallas Key
and Redwanul Hoque; seated around them, left to right, Stephanie
Almanza, Karen Edwards, Vikas Mandadi, and Maggie Marshall; and
standing Rindcy Davis and Preetha Swamy.
Austin College students elected new Student Assembly leadership in
November, with new officers installed and ready to take the helm at the start
of the January Term. Heading the new executive committee are student
body president Dallas Key ’10 and vice president Redwanul Hoque ’10.
A political science major (pre-law studies) from Lubbock, Texas, Key is a
member of the Pre-Law Society, Rotaract, Young Democrats, Chi Tau Chi
social fraternity, and the Bryan Apartments/Johnson ‘Roo Suites Hall
Council. He has participated in several Model United Nations Conferences,
including the China conference in November.
Hoque is a business administration and economics major from
Bangladesh, active in the Indian Cultural Association, Student International
Organization, Muslim Student Association, Asian Student Association, Chi
Tau Chi social fraternity, and the Student Conduct Council.
Rotaract members are, front row, left to right: Alicia Houser, Brittany Edwards,
Montine Garcia, Cherie Blaylock, Esther Hahn, Tiffany Shim. Top row: Rija Siddiqui,
Daniel Jackson, Ashley Overturf, Carolyn Stone, Taylor Knapp, and Ashley Johnson.
March 2009
11
s t u d e n t
achievers
New Year, New Government
March 2009
Alphas Raise Funds
for Local Youth
Austin College Rotaract
Club Supports Peace
The Alpha Delta Chi social sorority held its third annual Cupcake Eating
Contest and fundraiser in November 2008, raising $170 in support of
Sherman’s Boys and Girls Club. Campus organizations sponsor individuals
in the contest to eat as many cupcakes as possible in a defined time
period. Seventeen students participated and winner among the women
was Ashleigh Johnson ’11, sponsored by the soccer team, eating 10
cupcakes in two minutes. Big eater for the men was Kerry Van Zant ’09,
eating 20 cupcakes in three minutes. Van Zant, also last year’s “cupcake
champion,” entered on his own to defend his title.
Members of the sorority baked cupcakes and Mom’s Bakery of Sherman
donated cupcakes for a bake sale held in conjunction with the contest.
The Germiston Rotaract Club in South Africa asked Rotaract clubs around
the world to send postcards to the chapter endorsing peace in support of
the International Day of Peace on September 21. The group created a
Peace Wall with the postcards.
Austin College’s chapter created a card showing members joining the
South African chapter in denouncement of violence and crime and in
hope for a world of peace.
Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women.
The Austin College chapter is sponsored by Grayson County Rotary, but it
works with other local Rotary clubs as well.
COURTESY PHOTO
Jeffrey Czajkowski, assistant professor of economics, and four
members of his environmental economics class presented “Valuing
Ecosystems Services: Ecologists vs. Economists” at an Austin College
Center for Environmental Studies forum in November.
The basis for the presentation was the question of the value of
existing ecosystems. A group led by ecologist Robert Costanza
attempted to answer this question in a 1997 Nature article entitled “The
value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital.” A group of economists took issue
with Costanza et al.’s valuation effort and told the world why in a 2000 Environmental Science
and Technology article “On Measuring Economic Values for Nature.”
In the November forum, Cara Marusak ’10 and Brittany Nail ’11 offered the ecologists’
position and Sunna Quazi ’10 and Ena Sharma ’09 presented the economists’ view. The
Center for Environmental Studies, directed by Professor Peter Schulze, hosts a number of
forums on a variety of topics throughout the year.
Brandon Stevenson-Mathews ’11 was the student speaker at the Martin
Luther King, Jr., Day Community Celebration co-sponsored by Austin
College and local Rotary clubs in January. Brandon has been very involved
at Austin College, including service as a member of Student Assembly,
Student Development Board, Los Amigos, Young Democrats, Model United
Nations, and Zeta Chi Beta fraternity. A Dean’s List student, Brandon worked
on political campaigns for Barack Obama in Atlanta, for Hillary Clinton in
Las Vegas, and for John Edwards in Mason City, Iowa, over the past year. A
Spanish and international relations double major, he plans to study abroad
in Argentina and Spain during the 2009–2010 academic year.
Brandon Stevenson-Mathews
PHOTO BY KATIE SENOR
Environment vs. Economy?
ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Stephanie Almanza ’11, secretary, Spanish and psychology major, San
Antonio, Texas
Rindcy Davis ’11, Public Relations Chair, undecided major (pre-medical
studies), Irving, Texas
Karen Edwards ’09, Elections Committee Chair, biology major (pre-medical
studies), Rockwall, Texas
Vikas Mandadi ’10, Charter Review Committee Chair, computer science
major (pre-medical studies), Coppell, Texas
Maggie Marshall ’10, Budget and Finance Committee Chair, exercise and
sports science and psychology majors, Dallas, Texas
Preetha Swamy ’11, treasurer, political science major, Plano, Texas
The Question:
10
Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
New Student Assembly executives are, front row, left to right, Dallas Key
and Redwanul Hoque; seated around them, left to right, Stephanie
Almanza, Karen Edwards, Vikas Mandadi, and Maggie Marshall; and
standing Rindcy Davis and Preetha Swamy.
Austin College students elected new Student Assembly leadership in
November, with new officers installed and ready to take the helm at the start
of the January Term. Heading the new executive committee are student
body president Dallas Key ’10 and vice president Redwanul Hoque ’10.
A political science major (pre-law studies) from Lubbock, Texas, Key is a
member of the Pre-Law Society, Rotaract, Young Democrats, Chi Tau Chi
social fraternity, and the Bryan Apartments/Johnson ‘Roo Suites Hall
Council. He has participated in several Model United Nations Conferences,
including the China conference in November.
Hoque is a business administration and economics major from
Bangladesh, active in the Indian Cultural Association, Student International
Organization, Muslim Student Association, Asian Student Association, Chi
Tau Chi social fraternity, and the Student Conduct Council.
Rotaract members are, front row, left to right: Alicia Houser, Brittany Edwards,
Montine Garcia, Cherie Blaylock, Esther Hahn, Tiffany Shim. Top row: Rija Siddiqui,
Daniel Jackson, Ashley Overturf, Carolyn Stone, Taylor Knapp, and Ashley Johnson.
March 2009
11
“
W H AT
M OT I V AT E S
M E TO D O
THIS?
The answer is simple:
when I look into the eyes
of the children in
Pakistan and Afghanistan,
I see the eyes of my own
children full of wonder —
and hope that we each
do our part to leave them
a legacy of peace instead
of the perpetual cycle of
violence, war, terrorism,
racism, exploitation, and
bigotry that we have yet
to conquer.
”
—Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea
12
March 2009
PROMOTING
WORLD PEACE ...
ONE SCHOOL
AT A TIME
by Dara McCoy
G
reg Mortenson’s first mission in Pakistan in 1993 was to honor
the memory of his sister Christa, who, after suffering from
severe epilepsy since childhood, died of the condition in 1992
at age 23. His attempt to reach the summit of K2, the world’s second
tallest mountain, failed only 600 meters from the peak. Mortenson and
his team were forced to turn back — his sister’s necklace and the Tibetan
prayer flag he’d planned to place at the top still in his pack. “After 78 days
of primal struggle at altitude on K2, he felt like a faint, shriveled caricature
of himself,” wrote David Oliver Relin in Three Cups of Tea, which he coauthored with Mortenson.
During the grueling descent of the mountain’s harsh terrain, Mortenson
became separated from his Pakistani porter. Alone, without food or water,
he stumbled upon the remote village of Korphe. While gradually regaining
his strength under the watchful hospitality of the villagers, Mortenson
observed the harsh existence his hosts carved out for themselves.
Witnessing Korphe’s 84 children practice their school lessons outside in
the frosty temperatures, using sticks to write in the dirt, Mortenson found
a new purpose for his trip to Pakistan. “At that moment, I realized I had
not come to Pakistan to climb a mountain, but to help the children and
build a school to honor Christa,” Mortenson said. Before he returned to
the United States, he promised to build Korphe a school.
TRIAL AND TRIUMPH
When Mortenson, a former U.S. Army medic and platoon leader, civilian
nurse, and mountain climbing enthusiast, fulfilled his promise to
Korphe’s children, he accomplished something much greater than
reaching K2’s summit. Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute (CAI), a nonprofit organization focused on educating children in remote regions of
Pakistan and Afghanistan, has built 78 schools, 14 women’s vocational
centers, and completed numerous public health projects like potable
water systems for villages in the two countries.
Mortenson’s improbable story is detailed in his New York Times
bestseller Three Cups of Tea. Journalist Tom Brokaw, one of Mortenson’s
first benefactors and the only respondent to Mortenson’s first shot-inthe-dark fundraising mailing to 580 celebrities, said, “Three Cups of Tea is
one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg
Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest
parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof
that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and
determination, really can change the world.”
Mortenson has navigated the culture and language of remote peoples,
built bridges both tangible and intangible to reach them, survived
kidnapping by armed gunmen, had Muslim fatwahs levied against his
March 2009
13
“
W H AT
M OT I V AT E S
M E TO D O
THIS?
The answer is simple:
when I look into the eyes
of the children in
Pakistan and Afghanistan,
I see the eyes of my own
children full of wonder —
and hope that we each
do our part to leave them
a legacy of peace instead
of the perpetual cycle of
violence, war, terrorism,
racism, exploitation, and
bigotry that we have yet
to conquer.
”
—Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea
12
March 2009
PROMOTING
WORLD PEACE ...
ONE SCHOOL
AT A TIME
by Dara McCoy
G
reg Mortenson’s first mission in Pakistan in 1993 was to honor
the memory of his sister Christa, who, after suffering from
severe epilepsy since childhood, died of the condition in 1992
at age 23. His attempt to reach the summit of K2, the world’s second
tallest mountain, failed only 600 meters from the peak. Mortenson and
his team were forced to turn back — his sister’s necklace and the Tibetan
prayer flag he’d planned to place at the top still in his pack. “After 78 days
of primal struggle at altitude on K2, he felt like a faint, shriveled caricature
of himself,” wrote David Oliver Relin in Three Cups of Tea, which he coauthored with Mortenson.
During the grueling descent of the mountain’s harsh terrain, Mortenson
became separated from his Pakistani porter. Alone, without food or water,
he stumbled upon the remote village of Korphe. While gradually regaining
his strength under the watchful hospitality of the villagers, Mortenson
observed the harsh existence his hosts carved out for themselves.
Witnessing Korphe’s 84 children practice their school lessons outside in
the frosty temperatures, using sticks to write in the dirt, Mortenson found
a new purpose for his trip to Pakistan. “At that moment, I realized I had
not come to Pakistan to climb a mountain, but to help the children and
build a school to honor Christa,” Mortenson said. Before he returned to
the United States, he promised to build Korphe a school.
TRIAL AND TRIUMPH
When Mortenson, a former U.S. Army medic and platoon leader, civilian
nurse, and mountain climbing enthusiast, fulfilled his promise to
Korphe’s children, he accomplished something much greater than
reaching K2’s summit. Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute (CAI), a nonprofit organization focused on educating children in remote regions of
Pakistan and Afghanistan, has built 78 schools, 14 women’s vocational
centers, and completed numerous public health projects like potable
water systems for villages in the two countries.
Mortenson’s improbable story is detailed in his New York Times
bestseller Three Cups of Tea. Journalist Tom Brokaw, one of Mortenson’s
first benefactors and the only respondent to Mortenson’s first shot-inthe-dark fundraising mailing to 580 celebrities, said, “Three Cups of Tea is
one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg
Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest
parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof
that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and
determination, really can change the world.”
Mortenson has navigated the culture and language of remote peoples,
built bridges both tangible and intangible to reach them, survived
kidnapping by armed gunmen, had Muslim fatwahs levied against his
March 2009
13
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE
efforts, and braved the increasing difficulties presented by a post-9/11
world in the regions he serves.
Since the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, new
levels of danger, attention, and intensity have been added to Mortenson’s
efforts. In the days after September 11, Mortenson was interrogated by
U.S. intelligence officers and received stacks of hate mail in response to
his pleas not to characterize all Muslims together with terrorists. On the
other hand, the terrorist attacks brought attention to his work and his
quest to promote peace in the places he serves.
PEACE THROUGH EDUCATION
Mortenson never started out on a mission against terrorism, but after
more than a decade of working in the regions that cultivate extremist
groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban, Mortenson saw his schools as the
antithesis to Muslim extremist madrassas that teach tenants of jihad and
become feeders for terrorist groups. “I don’t want to teach Pakistan’s
children to think like Americans,” Mortenson said in Three Cups of Tea.
“I just want them to have a balanced, nonextremist education.”
Mortenson believes that education is a better weapon than bullets or
bombs in the war on terrorism. He sees it simply. Educated young
Muslims will be much more resistant to terrorist propaganda and feel
much more hopeful about their prospects to lead healthy, productive
lives. “What’s the difference between them becoming productive local
citizens or terrorists?” Mortenson asked. “I think the key is education.”
Mortenson regards education, especially for girls, as a factor powerful
enough to institute positive cultural changes and solve many problems
for these regions. “There is an African proverb that says if you educate a
boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate the
community,” Mortenson said.
Mortenson points to the Taliban’s targeted attacks on girls’ schools in
Afghanistan and Pakistan as indication that he is right. The Taliban
relies on recruiting from illiterate and impoverished areas because
“
educated women are more likely to refuse to allow their sons to join,
Mortenson said. “In 2007, the Taliban bombed, burned, or shut down
over 500 schools in Afghanistan and another 100 in Pakistan,” he said.
“I think the reason they attack girls’ schools is because their greatest fear
is not the bullet, but the pen.”
On March 5, Mortenson received Austin College’s Posey Leadership
Award. The award is an extension of the College’s Posey Leadership
Institute, which seeks to build character through academic study and
hands-on leadership education. The four-year program grounds students
in the principles of servant leadership — responsibility, respect, caring,
gratitude, and service — and how these values help both communities
and their economies thrive.
Mortenson and previous Austin College Leadership Award recipients
were selected because their lives directly model the leadership goals and
ideals taught by the Posey Leadership Institute. “Mr. Mortenson’s daring
work to help provide for the education of girls and young women in
remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan demonstrates a passionate
commitment to the promotion of peace,” said Oscar C. Page, president
of Austin College. “The impact of his leadership will be far-reaching, for
generations to come, and will contribute positively to stability in this
region of the world.”
To understand his story, it is important to note Mortenson’s own
heroes: his parents who established a hospital and school in Tanzania,
Africa; Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel laureate and medical missionary in
the Congo; Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt. Everest and
who later established schools for the Sherpa; and Mother Teresa, perhaps
the most noted humanitarian of all time.
In the lives and stories of his heroes, pieces of Greg Mortenson can be
seen, an indication that he has earned a place among them. Where he
failed as a mountain climber, he began one of the greatest humanitarian
quests of recent decades.
BEING HEARD
There is evidence that Mortenson’s message is being heard and acted
upon. Mortenson cites UNICEF reports to support the progress. In
2000, there were only 800,000 Afghanistan children (mostly boys age
5-15) in school. Today, the number is more than seven million — the
greatest increase in enrollment in any country in modern history —
with two million of those children being female, Mortenson said.
“To me, that’s the most inspiring, incredible news to come out of
the country, but nobody in the U.S. is aware of it,” Mortenson said. “I
think that should be headline news, and I think it should be a priority.
There’s a fierce desire for education.”
Mortenson runs himself ragged getting the message out through his
best-selling book, which has sold more than two million copies, and a
busy speaking schedule, which put him in front of 350,000 people last
year. “As Americans, I think we really believe in education as a key to
peace and prosperity,” Mortenson said.
Three Cups of Tea is impacting the U.S. military too. The book
became mandatory reading for U.S. officers who enter counter
intelligence training after U.S. Army General David Petraeus, U.S.
Central Command chief, read the book.
March 2009
It is fitting that one of the Central Asia Institute’s first and most successful
fundraising efforts for its mission to build schools for children in Pakistan
was made successful by school children in the United States. In 1994,
Mortenson’s mother, Jerene, the principal at Westside Elementary School in
River Falls, Wisconsin, invited her son to talk about his work with the 600
students enrolled there.
Two teachers and a fourth grader established a “Pennies for Pakistan”
drive after Mortenson left. Within six weeks, the students had raised
$623.40 in pennies. “Children had taken the first step toward building the
school,” Mortenson said in Three Cups of Tea. “And they did it with
something that’s basically worthless in our society — pennies. But overseas,
pennies can move mountains.”
Since then, Mortenson has never underestimated the heart of children to
help their peers across the world. CAI established the Pennies for Peace
Program that teaches American children about the situation of children in
Pakistan and Afghanistan and offers them the opportunity to make a
difference. More information about the Pennies for Peace Program can be
found at www.ikat.org/pennies-for-peace.
BOOKS BY GREG MORTENSON
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace …
One School at a Time
Three Cups of Tea: The Young Reader’s Edition
AWARDING LEADERSHIP
On August 14, 2008, Pakistan announced it will award its highest civil
award, the Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) to Mortenson on March 23,
2009, for “his courage and humanitarian effort to promote education and
literacy in rural areas for the last 15 years,” according to the CAI Web site.
Listen to the Wind, Mortenson’s newest book, released in January, retells
Central Asia Institute
Pennies for Peace
Austin College Visit Photos
in storybook fashion for young children his mission to build schools.
The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest.
The third time you share a cup of tea, you become part of the family.
— a Pakistan village leader
14
PENNIES FOR PEACE
”
Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea is a New York Times bestseller and has won
numerous literary awards, including Time Magazine’s Asia Book of the Year. In
the young reader’s edition of the book, Mortenson’s daughter, Amira, is
featured in a special interview section. When not overseas, Mortenson, 51,
lives in Montana with his wife, Tara Bishop, a clinical psychologist, and their
two children, daughter, Amira, and son, Khyber.
March 2009
15
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE
efforts, and braved the increasing difficulties presented by a post-9/11
world in the regions he serves.
Since the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, new
levels of danger, attention, and intensity have been added to Mortenson’s
efforts. In the days after September 11, Mortenson was interrogated by
U.S. intelligence officers and received stacks of hate mail in response to
his pleas not to characterize all Muslims together with terrorists. On the
other hand, the terrorist attacks brought attention to his work and his
quest to promote peace in the places he serves.
PEACE THROUGH EDUCATION
Mortenson never started out on a mission against terrorism, but after
more than a decade of working in the regions that cultivate extremist
groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban, Mortenson saw his schools as the
antithesis to Muslim extremist madrassas that teach tenants of jihad and
become feeders for terrorist groups. “I don’t want to teach Pakistan’s
children to think like Americans,” Mortenson said in Three Cups of Tea.
“I just want them to have a balanced, nonextremist education.”
Mortenson believes that education is a better weapon than bullets or
bombs in the war on terrorism. He sees it simply. Educated young
Muslims will be much more resistant to terrorist propaganda and feel
much more hopeful about their prospects to lead healthy, productive
lives. “What’s the difference between them becoming productive local
citizens or terrorists?” Mortenson asked. “I think the key is education.”
Mortenson regards education, especially for girls, as a factor powerful
enough to institute positive cultural changes and solve many problems
for these regions. “There is an African proverb that says if you educate a
boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate the
community,” Mortenson said.
Mortenson points to the Taliban’s targeted attacks on girls’ schools in
Afghanistan and Pakistan as indication that he is right. The Taliban
relies on recruiting from illiterate and impoverished areas because
“
educated women are more likely to refuse to allow their sons to join,
Mortenson said. “In 2007, the Taliban bombed, burned, or shut down
over 500 schools in Afghanistan and another 100 in Pakistan,” he said.
“I think the reason they attack girls’ schools is because their greatest fear
is not the bullet, but the pen.”
On March 5, Mortenson received Austin College’s Posey Leadership
Award. The award is an extension of the College’s Posey Leadership
Institute, which seeks to build character through academic study and
hands-on leadership education. The four-year program grounds students
in the principles of servant leadership — responsibility, respect, caring,
gratitude, and service — and how these values help both communities
and their economies thrive.
Mortenson and previous Austin College Leadership Award recipients
were selected because their lives directly model the leadership goals and
ideals taught by the Posey Leadership Institute. “Mr. Mortenson’s daring
work to help provide for the education of girls and young women in
remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan demonstrates a passionate
commitment to the promotion of peace,” said Oscar C. Page, president
of Austin College. “The impact of his leadership will be far-reaching, for
generations to come, and will contribute positively to stability in this
region of the world.”
To understand his story, it is important to note Mortenson’s own
heroes: his parents who established a hospital and school in Tanzania,
Africa; Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel laureate and medical missionary in
the Congo; Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt. Everest and
who later established schools for the Sherpa; and Mother Teresa, perhaps
the most noted humanitarian of all time.
In the lives and stories of his heroes, pieces of Greg Mortenson can be
seen, an indication that he has earned a place among them. Where he
failed as a mountain climber, he began one of the greatest humanitarian
quests of recent decades.
BEING HEARD
There is evidence that Mortenson’s message is being heard and acted
upon. Mortenson cites UNICEF reports to support the progress. In
2000, there were only 800,000 Afghanistan children (mostly boys age
5-15) in school. Today, the number is more than seven million — the
greatest increase in enrollment in any country in modern history —
with two million of those children being female, Mortenson said.
“To me, that’s the most inspiring, incredible news to come out of
the country, but nobody in the U.S. is aware of it,” Mortenson said. “I
think that should be headline news, and I think it should be a priority.
There’s a fierce desire for education.”
Mortenson runs himself ragged getting the message out through his
best-selling book, which has sold more than two million copies, and a
busy speaking schedule, which put him in front of 350,000 people last
year. “As Americans, I think we really believe in education as a key to
peace and prosperity,” Mortenson said.
Three Cups of Tea is impacting the U.S. military too. The book
became mandatory reading for U.S. officers who enter counter
intelligence training after U.S. Army General David Petraeus, U.S.
Central Command chief, read the book.
March 2009
It is fitting that one of the Central Asia Institute’s first and most successful
fundraising efforts for its mission to build schools for children in Pakistan
was made successful by school children in the United States. In 1994,
Mortenson’s mother, Jerene, the principal at Westside Elementary School in
River Falls, Wisconsin, invited her son to talk about his work with the 600
students enrolled there.
Two teachers and a fourth grader established a “Pennies for Pakistan”
drive after Mortenson left. Within six weeks, the students had raised
$623.40 in pennies. “Children had taken the first step toward building the
school,” Mortenson said in Three Cups of Tea. “And they did it with
something that’s basically worthless in our society — pennies. But overseas,
pennies can move mountains.”
Since then, Mortenson has never underestimated the heart of children to
help their peers across the world. CAI established the Pennies for Peace
Program that teaches American children about the situation of children in
Pakistan and Afghanistan and offers them the opportunity to make a
difference. More information about the Pennies for Peace Program can be
found at www.ikat.org/pennies-for-peace.
BOOKS BY GREG MORTENSON
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace …
One School at a Time
Three Cups of Tea: The Young Reader’s Edition
AWARDING LEADERSHIP
On August 14, 2008, Pakistan announced it will award its highest civil
award, the Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) to Mortenson on March 23,
2009, for “his courage and humanitarian effort to promote education and
literacy in rural areas for the last 15 years,” according to the CAI Web site.
Listen to the Wind, Mortenson’s newest book, released in January, retells
Central Asia Institute
Pennies for Peace
Austin College Visit Photos
in storybook fashion for young children his mission to build schools.
The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest.
The third time you share a cup of tea, you become part of the family.
— a Pakistan village leader
14
PENNIES FOR PEACE
”
Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea is a New York Times bestseller and has won
numerous literary awards, including Time Magazine’s Asia Book of the Year. In
the young reader’s edition of the book, Mortenson’s daughter, Amira, is
featured in a special interview section. When not overseas, Mortenson, 51,
lives in Montana with his wife, Tara Bishop, a clinical psychologist, and their
two children, daughter, Amira, and son, Khyber.
March 2009
15
2009 POSEY LEA DERSHIP AWARD
Photos by Vickie S. Kirby, Kaitlin McCoy, and Marcus Urban
Clockwise from top, Board of Trustees
chair Robert Johnson and student body
president Dallas Key look on after
presenting Mortenson’s award. Many
guests seek photos and autographs from
Mortenson. Asra Ahmed, 2008 Global
Outreach Fellow, introduces Mortenson at
the campus event. Robert Johnson.
Clockwise from top: Greg Mortenson. Mortenson with
Fazlur and Jahanara Rahman. Sally Posey and Anna
Laura Page listen at the Dallas event.
More Photos Online
16
March 2009
Events surrounding presentation of the 2009 Austin College Posey
Leadership Award to Greg Mortenson on March 5 were a great
success. Mortenson spoke to nearly 700 members of the campus
community in Wynne Chapel before a question-and-answer session
over lunch. After signing copies of his books for more than 100
individuals, he left for Dallas where a second lecture and the official
award presentation took place at the Belo Mansion that evening. For
the first time, the evening event was a lecture, with ticket sales open
to the public. The 750-seat venue sold out in the first week.
Before making the award presentation, Austin College President
Oscar C. Page announced that the award will hereafter be called the
Austin College Posey Leadership Award in memory of Lee Posey and
his tremendous contributions to the College and its Leadership
Institute, which was named for Lee and Sally Posey in 2003 in honor
of their generosity and leadership.
March 2009
17
2009 POSEY LEA DERSHIP AWARD
Photos by Vickie S. Kirby, Kaitlin McCoy, and Marcus Urban
Clockwise from top, Board of Trustees
chair Robert Johnson and student body
president Dallas Key look on after
presenting Mortenson’s award. Many
guests seek photos and autographs from
Mortenson. Asra Ahmed, 2008 Global
Outreach Fellow, introduces Mortenson at
the campus event. Robert Johnson.
Clockwise from top: Greg Mortenson. Mortenson with
Fazlur and Jahanara Rahman. Sally Posey and Anna
Laura Page listen at the Dallas event.
More Photos Online
16
March 2009
Events surrounding presentation of the 2009 Austin College Posey
Leadership Award to Greg Mortenson on March 5 were a great
success. Mortenson spoke to nearly 700 members of the campus
community in Wynne Chapel before a question-and-answer session
over lunch. After signing copies of his books for more than 100
individuals, he left for Dallas where a second lecture and the official
award presentation took place at the Belo Mansion that evening. For
the first time, the evening event was a lecture, with ticket sales open
to the public. The 750-seat venue sold out in the first week.
Before making the award presentation, Austin College President
Oscar C. Page announced that the award will hereafter be called the
Austin College Posey Leadership Award in memory of Lee Posey and
his tremendous contributions to the College and its Leadership
Institute, which was named for Lee and Sally Posey in 2003 in honor
of their generosity and leadership.
March 2009
17
a r o u n d
Austin College Ranks No. 1
in Study Abroad — Again
18
March 2009
John D. Moseley Dies at 93
T
he Austin College community and higher education lost a
pioneering leader, spirited advocate, and good friend to many in
the death on March 11 of John D. Moseley, president emeritus of
Austin College.
President of Austin College from 1953–1978, Dr. Moseley was
responsible for tremendous growth at the College in the 1950s and for the
school’s innovative curriculum initiated in the 1960s and 1970s.
Though he had not been in leadership at Austin College in nearly three
decades, he remained a vital member of the College community and
strong advocate for higher education. He and his wife, Sara Bernice, were
great friends to Austin College and active in College life until declining
health kept him at home.
Hired in 1953 to save the College from sluggish, post-G.I. Bill
enrollment, Moseley helped increase the student body from 350 upon his
arrival to more than 1,000 by fall 1959, and he doubled the number of
campus buildings during the first 10 years of his administration, adding
two residence halls, a chapel, and a library by 1960. He helped establish
Austin College as an innovative presence among institutions of higher
education and changed the way these institutions deal with tuition,
church-related entities, and curriculum.
Moseley also was an innovative force in higher education in general.
He was instrumental in the forming of Independent Colleges and
Universities of Texas (ICUT) and active in securing legislation to create the
Texas Tuition Equalization Grant. He had served as chair of the
Association of American Colleges, served on the Board of Directors of the
American Council on Education, and served on the Commission on
Standards for Colleges and Universities of the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools. He was a former president of the Association of
Texas Colleges and Universities, an officer and on the board of directors of
the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and
the executive director of the National Congress on Church-Related
Colleges and Universities.
The Sherman community also was a beneficiary of Moseley’s
involvement. Over the years, he served as president of the Chamber of
Commerce, chair of the United Fund of Sherman, director of the Greater
Texoma Utility Authority, and president of the Rotary. He served as
executive coordinator of Goals for Sherman, Inc., and as executive
director of the Consortium for Community Education Development, Inc.
Moseley retired as president of Austin College in 1978 and assumed the
role of chancellor of Austin College. As chancellor, Moseley also directed
the College’s Center for Program and Institutional Renewal, which shared
with other institutions the College’s unique curricular and organizational
innovations. Moseley officially retired from Austin College in 1981.
Moseley received numerous local, state, and national awards for his
leadership in higher education, at Austin College, in the community, and
in the Presbyterian Church. Those honors included the Austin College
Board of Trustees Founders Medal (1977), the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal
for distinguished service from the Association of Texas College’s and
Universities (1983), the Outstanding Service to Higher Education Award
COURTESY PHOTO
are participating in semester study programs, visiting many of the above
countries and adding Cameroon, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands,
Scotland, and Switzerland.
In addition to semester and yearlong programs, study abroad takes
many forms at Austin College, including January Term and internship
programs. In January 2009, more than 230 students enrolled in travel
courses that took them to 13 countries. (See photos on pages 32–33.)
Another 18 students completed international internships and
individualized projects that involved travel to Australia, Chile, England,
Fiji, France, Germany, Honduras, India, Iran, Israel, New Zealand, Russia,
and Uganda. Also, 15 students traveled to China for a Model United
Nations competition in November.
Austin College students also travel internationally for service
opportunities. Ten Austin College students worked on service or non-profit
community development projects in summer 2008 in Ethiopia, Ghana,
Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, and Russia as the College’s first Global Outreach
or “GO” Fellows. Other students traveled internationally through a
vocational internship program funded by the Lilly Endowment.
“Global understanding is embedded in the mission of Austin College,
and our success with study abroad complements the academic curiosity
and service orientation of our students, since many of our students
combine their academic experiences with service projects throughout the
world,” President Page said.
The Open Doors report is published annually by the Institute of
International Education, with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The IIE release and the 2008
rankings are available at the IIE Web site: www.iie.org.
COURTESY PHOTO
A
Austin College again was ranked No. 1 in the nation for
2006–2007 study abroad participation rates among
baccalaureate institutions, according to the Open Doors 2008
report released November 17 by the Institute of International
Education (IIE). This is the third top ranking for the College in
the past five years, with others announced in 2004 and 2006.
Over the last decade, an average 70 percent of Austin College students
have studied abroad, exploring more than 50 countries on six continents.
However, in 2006–2007 alone, Austin College was cited as one of 18
institutions in the nation to send more than 80 percent of their students
abroad. On a percentage basis, such high participation rates also make
Austin College the top study abroad institution among all categories of
public and private colleges and universities in the state of Texas.
According to the November 17 IIE rankings release, “While large
institutions dominate in terms of absolute numbers of their students
going abroad, many smaller institutions send a higher proportion of their
students abroad.” The IIE data includes formal semester and yearlong
study abroad programs as well as short-term study.
The IIE report also highlighted a growing national trend in study
abroad participation by American students, which increased 8 percent
nationally during 2006–2007. Again, Austin College outpaced the
national trend, with the number of its students studying abroad
increasing 23 percent in fall 2007.
“I am pleased to see Austin College maintain its strong national
ranking as study abroad becomes an increasingly important aspect of
American higher education,” said Austin College President Oscar C. Page.
“News like this validates our commitment to providing a quality liberal
arts education that is global in its focus.”
This sentiment was echoed by Truett Cates, director of study abroad
at Austin College and a professor of German. “At Austin College, we see
supporting and enhancing students’ international experiences as a key
part of the broader mission of liberal education to train tomorrow’s
global citizens.” He added, “Education ultimately is about transformation,
and we consider the transformation that comes with purposeful
international study experiences one of the most meaningful ones
available to undergraduate students.”
In fall 2008, Austin College student participation in semester or
yearlong study abroad programs increased 8 percent over the previous
year, despite the economic downturn, Cates said. For the fall 2008 term,
44 students traveled to Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, China, Costa
Rica, Dubai, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Madagascar,
Mali, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Spain, and Vietnam. This spring,
nine students continued year-long programs and 24 additional students
campus
John D. Moseley
from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1988), Citizen of the Year by the
Sherman Chamber of Commerce (1988), the Community Builder Award
from Sherman Masonic Lodges (1991), the League of Women Voters
Citizenship Award (1992), the Sherman Daughters of the American
Revolution Medal of Honor (1992), the ICUT Founder’s Award (1996), and
the highest Phi Delta Kappa Award for outstanding contributions to
education.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years; their three children, Sara Caroline
Moseley of Dallas; John Dean Moseley, Jr., and Alice Butler of Irving, Texas;
Rebecca Moseley Gafford and her husband, Ron, of Dallas; four
grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be made to the John D. Moseley Alumni Scholarship
Fund at Austin College or to the memorial fund at Covenant Presbyterian
Church of Sherman.
More on Dr. Moseley’s Accomplishments
March 2009
19
a r o u n d
Austin College Ranks No. 1
in Study Abroad — Again
18
March 2009
John D. Moseley Dies at 93
T
he Austin College community and higher education lost a
pioneering leader, spirited advocate, and good friend to many in
the death on March 11 of John D. Moseley, president emeritus of
Austin College.
President of Austin College from 1953–1978, Dr. Moseley was
responsible for tremendous growth at the College in the 1950s and for the
school’s innovative curriculum initiated in the 1960s and 1970s.
Though he had not been in leadership at Austin College in nearly three
decades, he remained a vital member of the College community and
strong advocate for higher education. He and his wife, Sara Bernice, were
great friends to Austin College and active in College life until declining
health kept him at home.
Hired in 1953 to save the College from sluggish, post-G.I. Bill
enrollment, Moseley helped increase the student body from 350 upon his
arrival to more than 1,000 by fall 1959, and he doubled the number of
campus buildings during the first 10 years of his administration, adding
two residence halls, a chapel, and a library by 1960. He helped establish
Austin College as an innovative presence among institutions of higher
education and changed the way these institutions deal with tuition,
church-related entities, and curriculum.
Moseley also was an innovative force in higher education in general.
He was instrumental in the forming of Independent Colleges and
Universities of Texas (ICUT) and active in securing legislation to create the
Texas Tuition Equalization Grant. He had served as chair of the
Association of American Colleges, served on the Board of Directors of the
American Council on Education, and served on the Commission on
Standards for Colleges and Universities of the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools. He was a former president of the Association of
Texas Colleges and Universities, an officer and on the board of directors of
the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and
the executive director of the National Congress on Church-Related
Colleges and Universities.
The Sherman community also was a beneficiary of Moseley’s
involvement. Over the years, he served as president of the Chamber of
Commerce, chair of the United Fund of Sherman, director of the Greater
Texoma Utility Authority, and president of the Rotary. He served as
executive coordinator of Goals for Sherman, Inc., and as executive
director of the Consortium for Community Education Development, Inc.
Moseley retired as president of Austin College in 1978 and assumed the
role of chancellor of Austin College. As chancellor, Moseley also directed
the College’s Center for Program and Institutional Renewal, which shared
with other institutions the College’s unique curricular and organizational
innovations. Moseley officially retired from Austin College in 1981.
Moseley received numerous local, state, and national awards for his
leadership in higher education, at Austin College, in the community, and
in the Presbyterian Church. Those honors included the Austin College
Board of Trustees Founders Medal (1977), the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal
for distinguished service from the Association of Texas College’s and
Universities (1983), the Outstanding Service to Higher Education Award
COURTESY PHOTO
are participating in semester study programs, visiting many of the above
countries and adding Cameroon, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands,
Scotland, and Switzerland.
In addition to semester and yearlong programs, study abroad takes
many forms at Austin College, including January Term and internship
programs. In January 2009, more than 230 students enrolled in travel
courses that took them to 13 countries. (See photos on pages 32–33.)
Another 18 students completed international internships and
individualized projects that involved travel to Australia, Chile, England,
Fiji, France, Germany, Honduras, India, Iran, Israel, New Zealand, Russia,
and Uganda. Also, 15 students traveled to China for a Model United
Nations competition in November.
Austin College students also travel internationally for service
opportunities. Ten Austin College students worked on service or non-profit
community development projects in summer 2008 in Ethiopia, Ghana,
Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, and Russia as the College’s first Global Outreach
or “GO” Fellows. Other students traveled internationally through a
vocational internship program funded by the Lilly Endowment.
“Global understanding is embedded in the mission of Austin College,
and our success with study abroad complements the academic curiosity
and service orientation of our students, since many of our students
combine their academic experiences with service projects throughout the
world,” President Page said.
The Open Doors report is published annually by the Institute of
International Education, with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The IIE release and the 2008
rankings are available at the IIE Web site: www.iie.org.
COURTESY PHOTO
A
Austin College again was ranked No. 1 in the nation for
2006–2007 study abroad participation rates among
baccalaureate institutions, according to the Open Doors 2008
report released November 17 by the Institute of International
Education (IIE). This is the third top ranking for the College in
the past five years, with others announced in 2004 and 2006.
Over the last decade, an average 70 percent of Austin College students
have studied abroad, exploring more than 50 countries on six continents.
However, in 2006–2007 alone, Austin College was cited as one of 18
institutions in the nation to send more than 80 percent of their students
abroad. On a percentage basis, such high participation rates also make
Austin College the top study abroad institution among all categories of
public and private colleges and universities in the state of Texas.
According to the November 17 IIE rankings release, “While large
institutions dominate in terms of absolute numbers of their students
going abroad, many smaller institutions send a higher proportion of their
students abroad.” The IIE data includes formal semester and yearlong
study abroad programs as well as short-term study.
The IIE report also highlighted a growing national trend in study
abroad participation by American students, which increased 8 percent
nationally during 2006–2007. Again, Austin College outpaced the
national trend, with the number of its students studying abroad
increasing 23 percent in fall 2007.
“I am pleased to see Austin College maintain its strong national
ranking as study abroad becomes an increasingly important aspect of
American higher education,” said Austin College President Oscar C. Page.
“News like this validates our commitment to providing a quality liberal
arts education that is global in its focus.”
This sentiment was echoed by Truett Cates, director of study abroad
at Austin College and a professor of German. “At Austin College, we see
supporting and enhancing students’ international experiences as a key
part of the broader mission of liberal education to train tomorrow’s
global citizens.” He added, “Education ultimately is about transformation,
and we consider the transformation that comes with purposeful
international study experiences one of the most meaningful ones
available to undergraduate students.”
In fall 2008, Austin College student participation in semester or
yearlong study abroad programs increased 8 percent over the previous
year, despite the economic downturn, Cates said. For the fall 2008 term,
44 students traveled to Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, China, Costa
Rica, Dubai, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Madagascar,
Mali, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Spain, and Vietnam. This spring,
nine students continued year-long programs and 24 additional students
campus
John D. Moseley
from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1988), Citizen of the Year by the
Sherman Chamber of Commerce (1988), the Community Builder Award
from Sherman Masonic Lodges (1991), the League of Women Voters
Citizenship Award (1992), the Sherman Daughters of the American
Revolution Medal of Honor (1992), the ICUT Founder’s Award (1996), and
the highest Phi Delta Kappa Award for outstanding contributions to
education.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years; their three children, Sara Caroline
Moseley of Dallas; John Dean Moseley, Jr., and Alice Butler of Irving, Texas;
Rebecca Moseley Gafford and her husband, Ron, of Dallas; four
grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be made to the John D. Moseley Alumni Scholarship
Fund at Austin College or to the memorial fund at Covenant Presbyterian
Church of Sherman.
More on Dr. Moseley’s Accomplishments
March 2009
19
a r o u n d
PHOTO BY CHELSEA FREELAND
Deborah Crombie
20
March 2009
Nearly 100 Austin College students shifted their attention from textbooks
to hands-on learning in January through the Career Study Off-Campus
(CSOC) program. The popular program is designed to “bridge the gap
between knowledge developed through the liberal arts academic
curriculum and the application of that knowledge within the actual
workplace,” said Margie Briscoe Norman ’83, director of Career Services.
This year, students’ explorations took them around the world — as
close as a campus department or as far away as Nepal, though the
majority of students worked within the United States. Students spent the
month alongside doctors, lawyers, teachers and business leaders, and
learned about everything from marketing and archaeology to equine
therapy and politics.
COURTESY PHOTO
N
ames like Alex Cross, Kay Scarpetta, and Jesse Stone may be more familiar to
readers of today’s detective fiction, but their creators continue a long-standing
genre — detective fiction — that became the focus of an English 250 topics course
taught by Carol Daeley, professor of English, during the fall 2008 term. Amidst
examination of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and more recent writers
from nine different countries, the class took time for a personal visit from Deborah Crombie,
an acclaimed author in the genre of British detective fiction, who happens to be an Austin
College alumna.
“Modern detective fiction appeared in 19th century England and France
as part of urbanization, growing interest in science, and the establishment
of professional police forces,” Daeley said. “The form, while it does change
with time and place, is still remarkably consistent with its earliest examples,
wherever it is written. This makes it ideal for a study of cultural difference
as well as similarity. How do modern detectives in Shanghai, London,
Iceland, and Spain use the same investigative frameworks in settings with
such different histories, and what did they all learn from Sherlock Holmes?
Good detective fiction, with its attention to detail and constant evaluation
of evidence, also is a model for critical and analytical reading. Deborah
Crombie’s detective novels are especially compelling because she slowly
creates a blended family in them, so that at the same time that Duncan
Kincaid and Gemma James are solving gruesome crimes, they are trying to
solve the problems of balancing the family and professional demands of
modern life.”
Crombie also visited a creative writing class taught by Peter Anderson,
associate professor of English. “A particularly deadly piece of advice for
young writers goes to the grating tune of words like these: ‘Forget it. Why
write? You’ll never earn a decent buck,’” he said. “Deborah Crombie’s visit
to my class last semester effectively dispelled that drop of spiritual poison.
My students were captivated by her personality: her quick intelligence,
vitality, and conversational acumen.”
In both classes, Daeley said, Crombie was a magnet: students did not
want to let her go. Her readers feel much the same.
Crombie and her books, beginning with her 1993 first novel A Share in
Death, have been nominated and selected for awards and received critical
acclaim, including a Washington Post review that attested, “Crombie has
laid claim to the literary territory of moody psychological suspense owned
by P. D. James and Barbara Vine.”
Deborah Darden Crombie graduated from Austin College in 1976 with a degree in
biology. A later trip to England confirmed a life-long passion for Britain that has since
produced 12 British detective novels featuring Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and
Seargeant Gemma James. The latest novel in Crombie’s series, Where Memories Lie, was
released in summer 2008. The series continues with Necessary as Blood, to be released in
October 2009.
Crombie spent time living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then in Chester, England, before
returning to Texas. Though she travels to England several times a year, she is at home in
McKinney, Texas, with her husband, Rick Wilson, two German shepherds, and three cats.
Crombie was named an Austin College Distinguished Alumna in 2003 and serves on the
College’s Presidential Advisory Forum.
Students Combine Coursework and Career Investigation in January Experiences
Lewis Musoke ’11 of Kenya shadowed a
cardiologist and a pediatrician at the New
York Heart Center and The Port City Family
Medical Center in Oswego, New York. Pictured
is one of Musoke’s lessons in stress
echocardiography.
Millerick Leads NCAA Summit, Committees
Tim Millerick, vice president for Student Affairs and Athletics, was the
keynote speaker and facilitator for the inaugural two-day NCAA Summit
on providing academic and other support for student-athletes to achieve
success in higher education institutions in all NCAA divisions. The
summit, offered through the NCAA Education Services Division,
included representatives from more than 20 national organizations that
service students. The goals were to share ideas, identify resources, and
understand the work each group does to support student-athletes on
campuses. The summit was designed to begin a dialogue for future work
acting together in effective ways.
For the past two years, Millerick has served on the NCAA Nomination
Committee that makes recommendations for appointments to the
numerous committees of the NCAA membership. In February, he began
a two-year term as chair of this important committee.
At the 2009 NCAA Convention held January 14–17 in Washington,
D.C., Millerick was one of two key panelists for a luncheon discussion
facilitated by the NCAA Division III for those college administrators
(other than presidents) who have intercollegiate athletics reporting to
them directly. The goal was to lead discussion on relevant current
legislation as well as the issues associated with the future of the NCAA
Division III and to share best practices in administration of such
intercollegiate athletics programs.
March 2009
Study of Detective Fiction Calls for Alumna Input
campus
Tim Millerick
21
a r o u n d
PHOTO BY CHELSEA FREELAND
Deborah Crombie
20
March 2009
Nearly 100 Austin College students shifted their attention from textbooks
to hands-on learning in January through the Career Study Off-Campus
(CSOC) program. The popular program is designed to “bridge the gap
between knowledge developed through the liberal arts academic
curriculum and the application of that knowledge within the actual
workplace,” said Margie Briscoe Norman ’83, director of Career Services.
This year, students’ explorations took them around the world — as
close as a campus department or as far away as Nepal, though the
majority of students worked within the United States. Students spent the
month alongside doctors, lawyers, teachers and business leaders, and
learned about everything from marketing and archaeology to equine
therapy and politics.
COURTESY PHOTO
N
ames like Alex Cross, Kay Scarpetta, and Jesse Stone may be more familiar to
readers of today’s detective fiction, but their creators continue a long-standing
genre — detective fiction — that became the focus of an English 250 topics course
taught by Carol Daeley, professor of English, during the fall 2008 term. Amidst
examination of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and more recent writers
from nine different countries, the class took time for a personal visit from Deborah Crombie,
an acclaimed author in the genre of British detective fiction, who happens to be an Austin
College alumna.
“Modern detective fiction appeared in 19th century England and France
as part of urbanization, growing interest in science, and the establishment
of professional police forces,” Daeley said. “The form, while it does change
with time and place, is still remarkably consistent with its earliest examples,
wherever it is written. This makes it ideal for a study of cultural difference
as well as similarity. How do modern detectives in Shanghai, London,
Iceland, and Spain use the same investigative frameworks in settings with
such different histories, and what did they all learn from Sherlock Holmes?
Good detective fiction, with its attention to detail and constant evaluation
of evidence, also is a model for critical and analytical reading. Deborah
Crombie’s detective novels are especially compelling because she slowly
creates a blended family in them, so that at the same time that Duncan
Kincaid and Gemma James are solving gruesome crimes, they are trying to
solve the problems of balancing the family and professional demands of
modern life.”
Crombie also visited a creative writing class taught by Peter Anderson,
associate professor of English. “A particularly deadly piece of advice for
young writers goes to the grating tune of words like these: ‘Forget it. Why
write? You’ll never earn a decent buck,’” he said. “Deborah Crombie’s visit
to my class last semester effectively dispelled that drop of spiritual poison.
My students were captivated by her personality: her quick intelligence,
vitality, and conversational acumen.”
In both classes, Daeley said, Crombie was a magnet: students did not
want to let her go. Her readers feel much the same.
Crombie and her books, beginning with her 1993 first novel A Share in
Death, have been nominated and selected for awards and received critical
acclaim, including a Washington Post review that attested, “Crombie has
laid claim to the literary territory of moody psychological suspense owned
by P. D. James and Barbara Vine.”
Deborah Darden Crombie graduated from Austin College in 1976 with a degree in
biology. A later trip to England confirmed a life-long passion for Britain that has since
produced 12 British detective novels featuring Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and
Seargeant Gemma James. The latest novel in Crombie’s series, Where Memories Lie, was
released in summer 2008. The series continues with Necessary as Blood, to be released in
October 2009.
Crombie spent time living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then in Chester, England, before
returning to Texas. Though she travels to England several times a year, she is at home in
McKinney, Texas, with her husband, Rick Wilson, two German shepherds, and three cats.
Crombie was named an Austin College Distinguished Alumna in 2003 and serves on the
College’s Presidential Advisory Forum.
Students Combine Coursework and Career Investigation in January Experiences
Lewis Musoke ’11 of Kenya shadowed a
cardiologist and a pediatrician at the New
York Heart Center and The Port City Family
Medical Center in Oswego, New York. Pictured
is one of Musoke’s lessons in stress
echocardiography.
Millerick Leads NCAA Summit, Committees
Tim Millerick, vice president for Student Affairs and Athletics, was the
keynote speaker and facilitator for the inaugural two-day NCAA Summit
on providing academic and other support for student-athletes to achieve
success in higher education institutions in all NCAA divisions. The
summit, offered through the NCAA Education Services Division,
included representatives from more than 20 national organizations that
service students. The goals were to share ideas, identify resources, and
understand the work each group does to support student-athletes on
campuses. The summit was designed to begin a dialogue for future work
acting together in effective ways.
For the past two years, Millerick has served on the NCAA Nomination
Committee that makes recommendations for appointments to the
numerous committees of the NCAA membership. In February, he began
a two-year term as chair of this important committee.
At the 2009 NCAA Convention held January 14–17 in Washington,
D.C., Millerick was one of two key panelists for a luncheon discussion
facilitated by the NCAA Division III for those college administrators
(other than presidents) who have intercollegiate athletics reporting to
them directly. The goal was to lead discussion on relevant current
legislation as well as the issues associated with the future of the NCAA
Division III and to share best practices in administration of such
intercollegiate athletics programs.
March 2009
Study of Detective Fiction Calls for Alumna Input
campus
Tim Millerick
21
a r o u n d
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BOWERMAN
has been demonstrated to be a useful tool for a number of institutions
and is being tested for academic and promotional application. These new
methods and technologies offer additional channels of communication
and information to aid in fundraising for the facility and promotion of
the College’s academic programs.
Another example of the College’s implementation of new technologies
is the Annual Fund 365 campaign social network (with Facebook-like
functions), which officially launched January 1. “Social networking in
fundraising is very cutting edge,” Darby said. “We’re discovering
limitations on the effectiveness of mailers and emails. We want to offer
something that is experiential and engaging, and find ways to connect the
College to a variety of user bases, both traditional and nontraditional.”
Staying relevant is more than just utilizing the tools available today; it
also requires being aware of what the future may hold. That is why Darby
represents Austin College in the New Media Consortium, an international,
non-profit consortium of more than 260 learning-focused organizations
dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and technologies.
“We’re out there looking at things that have not been adopted broadly,
finding places where new media is being used experimentally, or finding
emerging technologies that are not really present in education yet, but
show promise for educational use,” said Rachel Smith, vice president of
NMC Services.
Darby served on the advisory board for the 2009 Horizon Report, an
annual publication that identifies emerging technologies for teaching,
learning, and creative expression before they become mainstream. “A lot
of the things we’re talking about, young people are using outside of
school,” Smith said. “College-age students get on campus and suddenly all
of these tools they use to keep connected with friends, for entertainment,
and for their hobbies or personal projects are absent.”
Smith said utilizing new media and technologies on campuses will help
engage and reach students, but that academic institutions that ignore the
rapidly changing world of Web-based technology will fall further behind.
“As society changes, we can’t rely on the same methods year after year,”
Darby said. “We can use technology to stay relevant and still promote the
same values Austin College always has held.”
Doug Darby
365 Reasons
22
March 2009
The Austin College Service Station hosted the College’s third annual —
and most successful — JanServe on January 21, sending more than 100
students into the local community for an afternoon of volunteering at
local social service agencies from Boys and Girls Club to Buckner Nature
Preserve to Sherman Public Library. The Service Station Board coordinates
the event, with needs in the community matched to college students,
staff, and faculty willing to serve. The board also coordinated the
November Great Day of Service, which involved nearly 400 students at
some 40 sites in the area.
Alternative Spring Break 2009 took the group to Galveston to assist in
cleanup and rebuilding efforts after last year’s Hurricane Ike. The trip,
with spots for 50 volunteers, filled in less than 30 minutes, and 40 more
students signed to the waiting list. The students worked with Good News
Galveston and solved the difficult housing problem with the help of Jeff
Antonelli ’83 of Galveston (and father of Jessica ’09). The group stayed in
a converted elementary school for the week.
o operate in this increasingly digital and technology-driven
world, sometimes it helps to have a navigator. That is why Austin
College created a director of new media position in 2008 and
hired Doug Darby to fill the job. What is new media and how is
Austin College using it? Darby will be the first to explain that new media
isn’t just about Web sites and videos. “It’s less about technology and more
about attitude,” Darby said.
New media encompasses a variety of innovations and strategies aimed
at fostering communication and interaction between individuals and
groups, and enhancing the way people experience information and
learning. While this involves creating enhanced video, Web, and
interactive content, it also includes the use of social networks like Twitter,
Facebook, and YouTube, Web-based solutions for collaboration such as
Google Apps, and exploring the potential of new online environments,
such as Second Life and Wonderland.
This new initiative has enabled the College to develop content inhouse, leveraging staff and student workers, for some projects previously
outsourced to vendors. “The whole gist isn’t about toys, bells, and
whistles,” Darby said. “We’re trying to find solutions to some of the needs
we have using the most current tools to do the most effective job.”
Take Second Life for example. At first blush, the 3-D virtual world looks
a lot like a computer game. In reality, it is an immersive social networking
environment light years beyond a chat room. This virtual environment
Service Station Board Coordinates Multiple Events
Shukan Patel and Rachel Wortham, painting a playground area at a local church,
were among the students who volunteered during JanServe, sponsored by the Service
Station during the slower pace of January.
Sharing The Treasures
Sometimes the treasures in one’s ‘own backyard’ can be taken
for granted. Though Abell Library can hardly be considered
the College’s backyard, many treasures housed there
sometimes may get little notice.
One such treasure? Austin College’s Book of Kells fine arts
facsimile edition, purchased in 1990, is #361 of a numbered
edition of 1,480 copes worldwide. The book was purchased for
nearly $13,000, with support from St. Mary’s
Catholic Church and the Catholic community
in Sherman as well as alumni gifts.
The edition is a facsimile of Ireland’s
famous Book of Kells, copied by hand and
illuminated by monks around 800 A.D. The
book consists of a Latin text of the four
Gospels, presented in ornate script and
lavishly illustrated. The original has been
housed since 1661 in the Library of Trinity
College in Dublin, Ireland. Officials there
decided to make the book more accessible and
in 1986, allowed a limited number of high
quality facsimiles to be made by a Swiss
publisher specializing in reproduction of rare
illuminated manuscripts.
During two weeks in January, librarian
John West and other library professionals
took the treasure out for others to enjoy. West,
LadyJane Hickey, Shannon Fox, Carolyn
Vickery, and Justin Banks visited seven
elementary schools in Sherman, sharing the
Book of Kells with nearly 200 first through fourth grade students.
Abell Library professionals have coordinated this particular
outreach with the schools in Sherman since shortly after the
facsimile was acquired.
The Austin College facsimile regularly is on display in the
Special Collections Reading Room of Abell Library Pages are
turned periodically to allow visitors to see differing pages.
T
Austin College Explores
New Horizons in Technology
campus
Library student
assistant Susan Le
’09, left, and
Shannon Fox, share
the book with first
grade students at
Jefferson School.
March 2009
23
a r o u n d
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BOWERMAN
has been demonstrated to be a useful tool for a number of institutions
and is being tested for academic and promotional application. These new
methods and technologies offer additional channels of communication
and information to aid in fundraising for the facility and promotion of
the College’s academic programs.
Another example of the College’s implementation of new technologies
is the Annual Fund 365 campaign social network (with Facebook-like
functions), which officially launched January 1. “Social networking in
fundraising is very cutting edge,” Darby said. “We’re discovering
limitations on the effectiveness of mailers and emails. We want to offer
something that is experiential and engaging, and find ways to connect the
College to a variety of user bases, both traditional and nontraditional.”
Staying relevant is more than just utilizing the tools available today; it
also requires being aware of what the future may hold. That is why Darby
represents Austin College in the New Media Consortium, an international,
non-profit consortium of more than 260 learning-focused organizations
dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and technologies.
“We’re out there looking at things that have not been adopted broadly,
finding places where new media is being used experimentally, or finding
emerging technologies that are not really present in education yet, but
show promise for educational use,” said Rachel Smith, vice president of
NMC Services.
Darby served on the advisory board for the 2009 Horizon Report, an
annual publication that identifies emerging technologies for teaching,
learning, and creative expression before they become mainstream. “A lot
of the things we’re talking about, young people are using outside of
school,” Smith said. “College-age students get on campus and suddenly all
of these tools they use to keep connected with friends, for entertainment,
and for their hobbies or personal projects are absent.”
Smith said utilizing new media and technologies on campuses will help
engage and reach students, but that academic institutions that ignore the
rapidly changing world of Web-based technology will fall further behind.
“As society changes, we can’t rely on the same methods year after year,”
Darby said. “We can use technology to stay relevant and still promote the
same values Austin College always has held.”
Doug Darby
365 Reasons
22
March 2009
The Austin College Service Station hosted the College’s third annual —
and most successful — JanServe on January 21, sending more than 100
students into the local community for an afternoon of volunteering at
local social service agencies from Boys and Girls Club to Buckner Nature
Preserve to Sherman Public Library. The Service Station Board coordinates
the event, with needs in the community matched to college students,
staff, and faculty willing to serve. The board also coordinated the
November Great Day of Service, which involved nearly 400 students at
some 40 sites in the area.
Alternative Spring Break 2009 took the group to Galveston to assist in
cleanup and rebuilding efforts after last year’s Hurricane Ike. The trip,
with spots for 50 volunteers, filled in less than 30 minutes, and 40 more
students signed to the waiting list. The students worked with Good News
Galveston and solved the difficult housing problem with the help of Jeff
Antonelli ’83 of Galveston (and father of Jessica ’09). The group stayed in
a converted elementary school for the week.
o operate in this increasingly digital and technology-driven
world, sometimes it helps to have a navigator. That is why Austin
College created a director of new media position in 2008 and
hired Doug Darby to fill the job. What is new media and how is
Austin College using it? Darby will be the first to explain that new media
isn’t just about Web sites and videos. “It’s less about technology and more
about attitude,” Darby said.
New media encompasses a variety of innovations and strategies aimed
at fostering communication and interaction between individuals and
groups, and enhancing the way people experience information and
learning. While this involves creating enhanced video, Web, and
interactive content, it also includes the use of social networks like Twitter,
Facebook, and YouTube, Web-based solutions for collaboration such as
Google Apps, and exploring the potential of new online environments,
such as Second Life and Wonderland.
This new initiative has enabled the College to develop content inhouse, leveraging staff and student workers, for some projects previously
outsourced to vendors. “The whole gist isn’t about toys, bells, and
whistles,” Darby said. “We’re trying to find solutions to some of the needs
we have using the most current tools to do the most effective job.”
Take Second Life for example. At first blush, the 3-D virtual world looks
a lot like a computer game. In reality, it is an immersive social networking
environment light years beyond a chat room. This virtual environment
Service Station Board Coordinates Multiple Events
Shukan Patel and Rachel Wortham, painting a playground area at a local church,
were among the students who volunteered during JanServe, sponsored by the Service
Station during the slower pace of January.
Sharing The Treasures
Sometimes the treasures in one’s ‘own backyard’ can be taken
for granted. Though Abell Library can hardly be considered
the College’s backyard, many treasures housed there
sometimes may get little notice.
One such treasure? Austin College’s Book of Kells fine arts
facsimile edition, purchased in 1990, is #361 of a numbered
edition of 1,480 copes worldwide. The book was purchased for
nearly $13,000, with support from St. Mary’s
Catholic Church and the Catholic community
in Sherman as well as alumni gifts.
The edition is a facsimile of Ireland’s
famous Book of Kells, copied by hand and
illuminated by monks around 800 A.D. The
book consists of a Latin text of the four
Gospels, presented in ornate script and
lavishly illustrated. The original has been
housed since 1661 in the Library of Trinity
College in Dublin, Ireland. Officials there
decided to make the book more accessible and
in 1986, allowed a limited number of high
quality facsimiles to be made by a Swiss
publisher specializing in reproduction of rare
illuminated manuscripts.
During two weeks in January, librarian
John West and other library professionals
took the treasure out for others to enjoy. West,
LadyJane Hickey, Shannon Fox, Carolyn
Vickery, and Justin Banks visited seven
elementary schools in Sherman, sharing the
Book of Kells with nearly 200 first through fourth grade students.
Abell Library professionals have coordinated this particular
outreach with the schools in Sherman since shortly after the
facsimile was acquired.
The Austin College facsimile regularly is on display in the
Special Collections Reading Room of Abell Library Pages are
turned periodically to allow visitors to see differing pages.
T
Austin College Explores
New Horizons in Technology
campus
Library student
assistant Susan Le
’09, left, and
Shannon Fox, share
the book with first
grade students at
Jefferson School.
March 2009
23
a r o u n d
N
R
E
M
E
The Austin College community was shocked and saddened by the sudden death February 9 of Zachary Swirczynski, a 20-yearold sophomore from Muenster, Texas, who collapsed while playing a game of pick-up basketball with his football teammates at
the Thomas R. Williams Intramural Complex, an outdoor facility on the west edge of campus.
After being rushed by ambulance to Wilson N. Jones Hospital, Zach eventually was pronounced dead. The cause of death is
currently unknown and under investigation by a medical examiner.
Zach was a graduate of Muenster High School, where he was an avid athlete who excelled in a number of sports. A recipient
of several MVP awards as a high school student, Zach also received the Fighting Heart Award his senior year.
Austin College Head Football Coach Ronnie Gage described Zach as well-liked, always in a good mood, and regarded by
fellow players as a wonderful teammate who was a strong competitor with a passion for life. The Austin College football team and
staff served as honorary pallbearers in their jerseys for the funeral services February 12 in Muenster.
A memorial service and celebration of Zach’s life was held on campus February 16 and many friends have written on the
online memory site available on the Austin College Web site. One of Zach’s friends wrote, “Every time I saw Zach, he always had
the biggest grin on his face. He truly loved life! He was by far one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and I'm sure everyone else
would say the same. He was the type of guy that when you were around him, you were always in a good mood. He just made you
smile like no one else could. ... He was an amazing friend.”
Zach is survived by his parents, Dale and Jill; sisters, Hillary and Tara; paternal grandmother, Dorothy; and maternal
grandparents, George and Leoba Mollenkopf — all of Muenster. Zach was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Richard.
Memorials may be made to the Zachary Swirczynski Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 554, Muenster, Texas 76252.
COURTESY PHOTO
Zachary Swirczynski
M
Zachary Swirczynski
I
B
R
A
N
campus
C
E
Shellene Kelley
Shellene Kelley
The Austin College community mourns the loss of Shellene Kelley, associate professor of computer science, who died March 2,
following a courageous battle with cancer. A memorial service held March 10 in Wynne Chapel highlighted her optimism,
love of people, and determination.
Her spirit is perhaps best remembered through words she had written to an Austin College graduate: “And finally, my hair
is growing back except it is mostly GRAY AND CURLY! It started out completely white, and then started getting some darker
patches. I don’t know what it will end up looking like, but I really don’t care. This last year has taught me so much about
what really matters. Many people say that cancer is a ‘life changing’ event, but for me it was a ‘life affirming’ event. I really
didn’t change anything in my daily routine because there was nothing I was willing to give up or felt was a waste of my time.
It was a real battle, but I fought to keep my life just as it is. Anything worth having is worth fighting for."
Shellene joined the Austin College faculty in 2001. She previously had served as vice president of technology for
Corporate Lodging Consultants, then worked at SeaArk Marine and at Cargill, Inc., for which she traveled the world.
She is survived by her husband, Don Kelley of Pottsboro; brother, Vince Jacob and his fiancee Stacey Marshall of Santa
Clara, California; cousins, Nap Jacob and wife, Beth, and Gary Jacob. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Friends have begun The Shellene Kelley Memorial Scholarship Fund at Austin College. Gifts to the fund may be mailed to
Austin College, Development Office Suite 6G, 900 N. Grand Avenue, Sherman, Texas 75090, or made online. Questions
about the fund should be directed to David Schulz at (903) 813-2889 or [email protected].
Share memories on the online site: http://rememberingshellene.blogspot.com.
Share memories on the online site: www.austincollege.edu/athletics.
News Briefs
Williams Executive-in-Residence Lecture
Dana Garmany, founder, chair, and chief executive officer of Troon Golf, presented “An
Entrepreneur’s View: Where’s the Leisure Market Heading?” in Austin College’s annual Williams
Executive-in-Residence Speaker Series November 11.
The Executive-in-Residence series is designed to bring leading business executives to
campus or other venues to speak about practical life experiences in business, personal stories
regarding their paths to success, and lessons they learned along the way. The sessions are
combined with an alumni-student gathering to enhance mentoring and networking
opportunities. An alumni panel followed Garmany’s presentation, including Curtis Henderson
’84, Greg Gitcho ’99, Gillian Grissom ’07, Bill Leonard ’82, and Joe Fox ’00.
The Williams Executive-in-Residence Series is funded by Abby and Todd Williams ’84.
Hatton Sumners Foundation Sponsors Public Administration Forum
Austin College hosted its first Public Administration Symposium, sponsored by the Hatton W.
Sumners Foundation of Dallas, on November 18.
Several Austin College alumni spoke at the event including Dan Johnson ’77, David
Morgan ’96, and E. A. Hoppe ’04, who work with the City of Richardson; Matt Yager ’03 with
the City of Dallas; and Bill Magers ’85, mayor of Sherman. Other speakers included John
Boswell, president of Sherman Economic Development Corporation, and and Tony Kaai,
president of Denison Development Alliance. Members of the Austin College Department of
Economics also made presentations.
The symposium included a panel discussion on “Economic Development and Public
Finance in North Texas” and a roundtable focused on public administration as a career. Frank
Rohmer, associate professor of political science, coordinated the event.
24
March 2009
World AIDS Day Recognized
The Austin College student organization ACCares hosted its annual World AIDS Day service
December 1, including performances, poetry readings, and prayers. The World Health
Organization established World AIDS Day, observed every December 1, in 1988. The day
provides an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.
ACCares and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship members participated in a number of
educational efforts on campus in advance of the event to inform students about HIV and AIDS.
Students also completed fundraising projects in support of an orphanage in Africa, a continent
in which one in 20 children is an orphan because of AIDS, said Amol Golwala ’09 of ACCares.
relationship between molecular architecture and organogel structure, we have shown that the
entanglement of organogelator ‘tails’ is essential for forming strong connections in this threedimensional network. Similarly, the undergraduate students who performed this research
formed interwoven connections with their course work, their undergraduate peer collaborators,
and their faculty mentors.”
“Tuesday Afternoon with …” is a continuing program of the faculty and the Johnson Center
for Liberal Arts Teaching and Scholarship, directed by Robert Cape, professor of classics. The
sessions provide opportunity for the campus community to hear about faculty members’
teaching and research projects.
Tuesday Afternoon With … Series Continues
Patrick Duffey, professor of Spanish and dean of Humanities, presented “New Women, Hollow
Men: Cinema, Gender, and Transnational Spectatorship in Spain and Latin America,
1922–1937,” during the “Tuesday Afternoon with …” lecture series in November. The talk
explored manifestations of the impact of U.S. silent film on the Hispanic world during the
1920s and 1930s.
David Griffith, associate professor of business administration, presented “Branding
Authenticity: It’s the Real Thing” during the December session in the series. “Does the
unauthorized copying of material goods enhance or destroy the perceived authenticity of the
originals?” Griffith asked, in summarizing his presentation.
Karla McCain, assistant professor of chemistry, presented “Entangled Connections:
Organogelation and Undergraduate Research” in February’s session. “Organogelators are
molecules that self-assemble in organic liquids to form three-dimensional structures that
solidify the liquid, or in other words, they turn something like gasoline into a gel,” McCain said.
“Using infrared spectroscopy to investigate the mechanism of organogel formation and the
Lessons and Carols Announce Holiday Season
Austin College’s annual Service of Lessons and Carols on December 4 began the campus
holiday season. Following the service, Austin College President Oscar C. Page and newlyelected 2009 Student Assembly president Dallas Key ’10 completed the celebration with the
lighting of the campus Christmas tree.
The Service of Lessons and Carols included Hebrew and Christian scriptures, carols,
anthems, a candle-lighting ceremony, and presentations by Austin College’s A Cappella Choir
and Chorale. College Chaplain John Williams officiated.
Quammen Offers Darwin Perspective
David Quammen, author of The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, spoke at Austin College February 10 as
part of the “Darwin 200: Contributions/Controversies” lecture series celebrating the 200th
anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth.
Quammen earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale University in 1970. He has written numerous
award-winning books and papers, especially in the field of nature writing. Quammen has been
the Wallace Stegner Distinguished Professor of Western American Studies at Montana State
University since 2007 and serves as a contributing writer for The National Geographic.
Quammen’s book The Reluctant Mr. Darwin was selected as Austin College’s 2008 summer
read for freshmen. The summer read provides students an intellectually stimulating project and
provides all freshmen a common experience. Faculty members use the book in varying means
in their courses.
Multimedia Art Exhibit Opens in Forster Art Complex
The Austin College Department of Art hosted the multimedia exhibit “Light, Magic, and Industry”
February 2 through March 6 in the Terence Dennis Gallery of the Betsy Dennis Forster Art
Studio Complex. In the exhibit, artist Joel Kiser shared his body of work that deals with the
mythology and cultural influence of George Lucas’ Star Wars. Curator for the exhibit was
Candace Hicks ’00, artist and gallery director at The Image Warehouse in Athens, Texas.
Art Department Hosts Photography Exhibit
The Art Department hosted the exhibit “Vestiges,” a joint photography show by Gary Cawood and
Renee West, February 9 though March 13 in Ida Green Gallery.
The two artists first considered “Vestiges” when they met at a conference and discovered
the similarities in their work, both drawn to discarded items, although their methods of creating
images are quite different. Cawood works with a large format view camera and arranges the
object in the landscape, while West gathers objects, photographs them with a digital camera,
and then composites the images. The artists said an exhibition that compared and contrasted
a similar idea expressed by two different artists, working with different aesthetics and methods
of making photographic images, should be an interesting project and offered “Vestiges” as a
result of that effort.
March 2009
25
a r o u n d
N
R
E
M
E
The Austin College community was shocked and saddened by the sudden death February 9 of Zachary Swirczynski, a 20-yearold sophomore from Muenster, Texas, who collapsed while playing a game of pick-up basketball with his football teammates at
the Thomas R. Williams Intramural Complex, an outdoor facility on the west edge of campus.
After being rushed by ambulance to Wilson N. Jones Hospital, Zach eventually was pronounced dead. The cause of death is
currently unknown and under investigation by a medical examiner.
Zach was a graduate of Muenster High School, where he was an avid athlete who excelled in a number of sports. A recipient
of several MVP awards as a high school student, Zach also received the Fighting Heart Award his senior year.
Austin College Head Football Coach Ronnie Gage described Zach as well-liked, always in a good mood, and regarded by
fellow players as a wonderful teammate who was a strong competitor with a passion for life. The Austin College football team and
staff served as honorary pallbearers in their jerseys for the funeral services February 12 in Muenster.
A memorial service and celebration of Zach’s life was held on campus February 16 and many friends have written on the
online memory site available on the Austin College Web site. One of Zach’s friends wrote, “Every time I saw Zach, he always had
the biggest grin on his face. He truly loved life! He was by far one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and I'm sure everyone else
would say the same. He was the type of guy that when you were around him, you were always in a good mood. He just made you
smile like no one else could. ... He was an amazing friend.”
Zach is survived by his parents, Dale and Jill; sisters, Hillary and Tara; paternal grandmother, Dorothy; and maternal
grandparents, George and Leoba Mollenkopf — all of Muenster. Zach was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Richard.
Memorials may be made to the Zachary Swirczynski Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 554, Muenster, Texas 76252.
COURTESY PHOTO
Zachary Swirczynski
M
Zachary Swirczynski
I
B
R
A
N
campus
C
E
Shellene Kelley
Shellene Kelley
The Austin College community mourns the loss of Shellene Kelley, associate professor of computer science, who died March 2,
following a courageous battle with cancer. A memorial service held March 10 in Wynne Chapel highlighted her optimism,
love of people, and determination.
Her spirit is perhaps best remembered through words she had written to an Austin College graduate: “And finally, my hair
is growing back except it is mostly GRAY AND CURLY! It started out completely white, and then started getting some darker
patches. I don’t know what it will end up looking like, but I really don’t care. This last year has taught me so much about
what really matters. Many people say that cancer is a ‘life changing’ event, but for me it was a ‘life affirming’ event. I really
didn’t change anything in my daily routine because there was nothing I was willing to give up or felt was a waste of my time.
It was a real battle, but I fought to keep my life just as it is. Anything worth having is worth fighting for."
Shellene joined the Austin College faculty in 2001. She previously had served as vice president of technology for
Corporate Lodging Consultants, then worked at SeaArk Marine and at Cargill, Inc., for which she traveled the world.
She is survived by her husband, Don Kelley of Pottsboro; brother, Vince Jacob and his fiancee Stacey Marshall of Santa
Clara, California; cousins, Nap Jacob and wife, Beth, and Gary Jacob. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Friends have begun The Shellene Kelley Memorial Scholarship Fund at Austin College. Gifts to the fund may be mailed to
Austin College, Development Office Suite 6G, 900 N. Grand Avenue, Sherman, Texas 75090, or made online. Questions
about the fund should be directed to David Schulz at (903) 813-2889 or [email protected].
Share memories on the online site: http://rememberingshellene.blogspot.com.
Share memories on the online site: www.austincollege.edu/athletics.
News Briefs
Williams Executive-in-Residence Lecture
Dana Garmany, founder, chair, and chief executive officer of Troon Golf, presented “An
Entrepreneur’s View: Where’s the Leisure Market Heading?” in Austin College’s annual Williams
Executive-in-Residence Speaker Series November 11.
The Executive-in-Residence series is designed to bring leading business executives to
campus or other venues to speak about practical life experiences in business, personal stories
regarding their paths to success, and lessons they learned along the way. The sessions are
combined with an alumni-student gathering to enhance mentoring and networking
opportunities. An alumni panel followed Garmany’s presentation, including Curtis Henderson
’84, Greg Gitcho ’99, Gillian Grissom ’07, Bill Leonard ’82, and Joe Fox ’00.
The Williams Executive-in-Residence Series is funded by Abby and Todd Williams ’84.
Hatton Sumners Foundation Sponsors Public Administration Forum
Austin College hosted its first Public Administration Symposium, sponsored by the Hatton W.
Sumners Foundation of Dallas, on November 18.
Several Austin College alumni spoke at the event including Dan Johnson ’77, David
Morgan ’96, and E. A. Hoppe ’04, who work with the City of Richardson; Matt Yager ’03 with
the City of Dallas; and Bill Magers ’85, mayor of Sherman. Other speakers included John
Boswell, president of Sherman Economic Development Corporation, and and Tony Kaai,
president of Denison Development Alliance. Members of the Austin College Department of
Economics also made presentations.
The symposium included a panel discussion on “Economic Development and Public
Finance in North Texas” and a roundtable focused on public administration as a career. Frank
Rohmer, associate professor of political science, coordinated the event.
24
March 2009
World AIDS Day Recognized
The Austin College student organization ACCares hosted its annual World AIDS Day service
December 1, including performances, poetry readings, and prayers. The World Health
Organization established World AIDS Day, observed every December 1, in 1988. The day
provides an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.
ACCares and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship members participated in a number of
educational efforts on campus in advance of the event to inform students about HIV and AIDS.
Students also completed fundraising projects in support of an orphanage in Africa, a continent
in which one in 20 children is an orphan because of AIDS, said Amol Golwala ’09 of ACCares.
relationship between molecular architecture and organogel structure, we have shown that the
entanglement of organogelator ‘tails’ is essential for forming strong connections in this threedimensional network. Similarly, the undergraduate students who performed this research
formed interwoven connections with their course work, their undergraduate peer collaborators,
and their faculty mentors.”
“Tuesday Afternoon with …” is a continuing program of the faculty and the Johnson Center
for Liberal Arts Teaching and Scholarship, directed by Robert Cape, professor of classics. The
sessions provide opportunity for the campus community to hear about faculty members’
teaching and research projects.
Tuesday Afternoon With … Series Continues
Patrick Duffey, professor of Spanish and dean of Humanities, presented “New Women, Hollow
Men: Cinema, Gender, and Transnational Spectatorship in Spain and Latin America,
1922–1937,” during the “Tuesday Afternoon with …” lecture series in November. The talk
explored manifestations of the impact of U.S. silent film on the Hispanic world during the
1920s and 1930s.
David Griffith, associate professor of business administration, presented “Branding
Authenticity: It’s the Real Thing” during the December session in the series. “Does the
unauthorized copying of material goods enhance or destroy the perceived authenticity of the
originals?” Griffith asked, in summarizing his presentation.
Karla McCain, assistant professor of chemistry, presented “Entangled Connections:
Organogelation and Undergraduate Research” in February’s session. “Organogelators are
molecules that self-assemble in organic liquids to form three-dimensional structures that
solidify the liquid, or in other words, they turn something like gasoline into a gel,” McCain said.
“Using infrared spectroscopy to investigate the mechanism of organogel formation and the
Lessons and Carols Announce Holiday Season
Austin College’s annual Service of Lessons and Carols on December 4 began the campus
holiday season. Following the service, Austin College President Oscar C. Page and newlyelected 2009 Student Assembly president Dallas Key ’10 completed the celebration with the
lighting of the campus Christmas tree.
The Service of Lessons and Carols included Hebrew and Christian scriptures, carols,
anthems, a candle-lighting ceremony, and presentations by Austin College’s A Cappella Choir
and Chorale. College Chaplain John Williams officiated.
Quammen Offers Darwin Perspective
David Quammen, author of The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, spoke at Austin College February 10 as
part of the “Darwin 200: Contributions/Controversies” lecture series celebrating the 200th
anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth.
Quammen earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale University in 1970. He has written numerous
award-winning books and papers, especially in the field of nature writing. Quammen has been
the Wallace Stegner Distinguished Professor of Western American Studies at Montana State
University since 2007 and serves as a contributing writer for The National Geographic.
Quammen’s book The Reluctant Mr. Darwin was selected as Austin College’s 2008 summer
read for freshmen. The summer read provides students an intellectually stimulating project and
provides all freshmen a common experience. Faculty members use the book in varying means
in their courses.
Multimedia Art Exhibit Opens in Forster Art Complex
The Austin College Department of Art hosted the multimedia exhibit “Light, Magic, and Industry”
February 2 through March 6 in the Terence Dennis Gallery of the Betsy Dennis Forster Art
Studio Complex. In the exhibit, artist Joel Kiser shared his body of work that deals with the
mythology and cultural influence of George Lucas’ Star Wars. Curator for the exhibit was
Candace Hicks ’00, artist and gallery director at The Image Warehouse in Athens, Texas.
Art Department Hosts Photography Exhibit
The Art Department hosted the exhibit “Vestiges,” a joint photography show by Gary Cawood and
Renee West, February 9 though March 13 in Ida Green Gallery.
The two artists first considered “Vestiges” when they met at a conference and discovered
the similarities in their work, both drawn to discarded items, although their methods of creating
images are quite different. Cawood works with a large format view camera and arranges the
object in the landscape, while West gathers objects, photographs them with a digital camera,
and then composites the images. The artists said an exhibition that compared and contrasted
a similar idea expressed by two different artists, working with different aesthetics and methods
of making photographic images, should be an interesting project and offered “Vestiges” as a
result of that effort.
March 2009
25
by Dara McCoy
T
he combination of the significance of the nation’s
first black president’s official step into office; the
convergence of more than a million flag-waving
spectators upon the Washington National Mall;
performances by some of the world’s most
acclaimed musicians; and optimistic anticipation
of Obama’s promise of change resulted in a celebration of
enormous proportion.
There amidst the millions of onlookers were a number of
Austin College students staking their claim on the historic
moment and the opportunity to stand as witness to the moment
of change. Of course, millions of people did not vote for Obama
and perhaps felt defeat at his election. But the inauguration
celebration seemed to transcend partisan politics. “All around me
I could feel the energy circulating through the streets as we
prepared for our next president to take office,” said Rachel Mims ’11, an international
relations major at Austin College, who had volunteered for the Obama campaign. “It no
longer mattered if you supported McCain or Obama, everyone was excited to have Obama
take his place and begin the process of the much-needed change for this nation.”
For the 2009 JanTerm, 29 Austin College students who traveled to Washington, D.C.,
for the “Leadership in a New Era” course at the Osgood Center for International Studies
were able to witness the inauguration firsthand. The course was taught by Shelton
Williams, Austin College professor emeritus of political science and president of the
Osgood Center.
Every presidential
inauguration is
historic, but the
inauguration of
Barack Obama as the
44th president of the
United States was an
event of worldwide
interest, extensive
media coverage, and
impressive citizen
participation.
26
March 2009
March 2009
27
by Dara McCoy
T
he combination of the significance of the nation’s
first black president’s official step into office; the
convergence of more than a million flag-waving
spectators upon the Washington National Mall;
performances by some of the world’s most
acclaimed musicians; and optimistic anticipation
of Obama’s promise of change resulted in a celebration of
enormous proportion.
There amidst the millions of onlookers were a number of
Austin College students staking their claim on the historic
moment and the opportunity to stand as witness to the moment
of change. Of course, millions of people did not vote for Obama
and perhaps felt defeat at his election. But the inauguration
celebration seemed to transcend partisan politics. “All around me
I could feel the energy circulating through the streets as we
prepared for our next president to take office,” said Rachel Mims ’11, an international
relations major at Austin College, who had volunteered for the Obama campaign. “It no
longer mattered if you supported McCain or Obama, everyone was excited to have Obama
take his place and begin the process of the much-needed change for this nation.”
For the 2009 JanTerm, 29 Austin College students who traveled to Washington, D.C.,
for the “Leadership in a New Era” course at the Osgood Center for International Studies
were able to witness the inauguration firsthand. The course was taught by Shelton
Williams, Austin College professor emeritus of political science and president of the
Osgood Center.
Every presidential
inauguration is
historic, but the
inauguration of
Barack Obama as the
44th president of the
United States was an
event of worldwide
interest, extensive
media coverage, and
impressive citizen
participation.
26
March 2009
March 2009
27
COURTESY PHOTOS
LIVE FROM D.C.
“The atmosphere at the inauguration was unlike anything I had ever experienced,” said Mims.
“Even though we had stood in 20 degree weather since 5 a.m., everyone was still so excited
and happy to be there that nothing else mattered. A local told me that people in Washington,
D.C., never smile at complete strangers, but on January 20, everyone was eager to talk to the
people to their left and right to learn how far they had traveled and how excited they were
for the celebration to begin.”
Alissa Luthe ’09, a communication studies major, was in Washington, D.C.,
interning with Congressman Ralph Hall in a Career Study Off-Campus for
JanTerm. Luthe volunteered with the Young Republican’s Club of Grayson
County during the 2008 election. “From a humanitarian aspect, witnessing the
first black president be sworn into office was a great experience,” Luthe said. “It
was wonderful to feel the sea of optimism and joy among the millions attending
the inaugural ceremonies. It reinvigorated the Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘I Have a
Dream’ speech and made many believe that barriers can be overcome and dreams
can be achieved.”
Jeff Ridenour ’11, a double major in political science and communication
studies, was in D.C. with the Congressional Youth Leadership Council for the
University Presidential Inaugural Conference. The council brought 15,000
middle school, high school, and college students into the city, creating the
largest youth group in attendance at the inauguration, Ridenour said.
“The inauguration was an indescribable and wonderful experience,” Ridenour said. “I felt,
as I think all of the two million people there did, like I was part of history. I was there because
my voice was heard, and I was part of a remarkable change and revolution of our nation,”
Ridenour added. “I have never seen so many people, from all different paths and backgrounds
of life, come together to share the joy and success of our nation and a time of great change,
diversity, and progression.”
Alissa Luthe
LEADERSHIP IN A NEW ERA
While the January 20 inauguration and ensuing celebration were certainly highlights of the
2009 JanTerm for most Austin College students in D.C., the term offered a very educational
experience for the participants in the “Leadership in a New Era” course. Students heard from
Congressional liaisons, legislative directors, CEOs, and other experts concerning political
leadership transition for the new administration.
Students attended seminars concerning foreign policy, energy, healthcare, the
administration’s relationship with Congress, and other challenges facing the incoming
administration. Williams said he tried very hard to give students a balanced view of all the
issues by inviting speakers who represented Republican and Democrat points of view.
The JanTerm allowed students to take advantage of their visit in
one of the country’s most historic cities by touring sites such as the
“Being at the inauguration was
White House, Newseum, Capitol Hill, the Holocaust Museum, and
an incredible experience,” said
the International Spy Museum. Students also received exclusive tours
Stefanie Faith ’11. “Afterward,
of the Israeli and Chinese embassies. “The advantage we have at the
Osgood Center is that we’re physically located right in the middle of
everyone asked me to tell them
the think tank government operations of the city,” Williams said.
everything about it, and I tried
my best, but you can’t explain
the moment standing with two
million people all there for one
purpose, to witness history.”
28
March 2009
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Surreal, unimaginable, wonderful, electric, and yes, even spiritual were words used by Austin
College students attempting to capture the experience of attending the inauguration. The
vast majority of students, no matter their political leanings, took an impressive sense of
ownership in the 2008 election. They were first-time voters and very aware of the fact that
the winner would be leading the country when they graduate.
“Like many students, this was the first presidential election that really impacted me,” said
Merritt O’Boyle ’11, an English and psychology double major. “The issues on the table are
so much more real to me now. In two short years, I may be out of school for good and issues
like health insurance strike close to home. The president will be my president in a way
different from ever before, now that I’m a legal adult.”
Despite voting in Texas, a state that Republican John McCain carried, O’Boyle didn’t feel
his vote for Obama was marginalized in any way. “I had been able to vote for two years and
had exercised this right in the gubernatorial race and others, but something about deciding
who to place in charge of your country is just empowering,” he said. “It wasn’t necessarily
that my vote would be the deciding factor; it meant a lot to me personally to be able to say
that I voted for him.”
The sense of hope, inclusion, and empowerment in the political process felt
by the next generation just might be the most impressive change of all of the
2008 election. “This is the first election I can cite that the candidate whom the
vast majority of young people supported actually won,” said Abbas Ravjani
’04, who was a Texas delegate for Obama at the Democratic National
Convention and is in his final year of law school at Yale University. “President
Obama was a candidate that related to our generation — from staying up-todate on his Blackberry to taking time out to shoot hoops, he connected with a
wide range of new voters in an unprecedented fashion. How President Obama
harnesses this hunger from young people will be one of his defining legacies.”
March 2009
29
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Surreal, unimaginable, wonderful, electric, and yes, even spiritual were words used by Austin
College students attempting to capture the experience of attending the inauguration. The
vast majority of students, no matter their political leanings, took an impressive sense of
ownership in the 2008 election. They were first-time voters and very aware of the fact that
the winner would be leading the country when they graduate.
“Like many students, this was the first presidential election that really impacted me,” said
Merritt O’Boyle ’11, an English and psychology double major. “The issues on the table are
so much more real to me now. In two short years, I may be out of school for good and issues
like health insurance strike close to home. The president will be my president in a way
different from ever before, now that I’m a legal adult.”
Despite voting in Texas, a state that Republican John McCain carried, O’Boyle didn’t feel
her vote for Obama was marginalized in any way. “I had been able to vote for two years and
had exercised this right in the gubernatorial race and others, but something about deciding
who to place in charge of your country is just empowering,” she said. “It wasn’t necessarily
that my vote would be the deciding factor; it meant a lot to me personally to be able to say
that I voted for him.”
The sense of hope, inclusion, and empowerment in the political process felt
by the next generation just might be the most impressive change of all of the
2008 election. “This is the first election I can cite that the candidate whom the
vast majority of young people supported actually won,” said Abbas Ravjani
’04, who was a Texas delegate for Obama at the Democratic National
Convention and is in his final year of law school at Yale University. “President
Obama was a candidate that related to our generation — from staying up-todate on his Blackberry to taking time out to shoot hoops, he connected with a
wide range of new voters in an unprecedented fashion. How President Obama
harnesses this hunger from young people will be one of his defining legacies.”
March 2009
29
Reaching a New Generation
It was hard to miss students’ excitement on campus in the days leading up to and following
Obama’s inauguration. Whether it was his own youth — at 47, Obama became the fifth youngest
president ever elected — a fist-bumping image, or savvy use of new media, Obama connected with
the nation’s young people, perhaps more effectively than any presidential candidate.
The Obama team created a modern, technology “machine” that gave Obama a presence on
myriad social networks; sent — and responded to — innumerable email and text messages (with a
reported email database of 10 million); filmed videos, offered ringtones; posted thousands of hours
of content on YouTube; and built BarackObama.com, with its MyBarackObama social network,
which according to the Washington Post, signed on more than a million participants. This machine
mobilized volunteers, solicited funds, and inspired millions. Content could be loaded onto cell
phones, accessed online, and transmitted instantly.
“For me in my busy day, the Internet was the fastest and most accessible way to stay posted on
the candidates, the election process, and polls,” said Jeff Ridenour ’11. “I believe this campaign’s
use of the Internet played a significant role in updating and keeping the youth of our nation
involved and interested.”
Rachel Mims ’11 noticed campaigning done through Facebook and MySpace — popular online
social networking Web sites that she said most young people log into at least once a day. “The use
of the Internet in the 2008 election was one of the best moves made in campaigning,” she said. “I’m
one of those million young adults that found out more about the candidates through groups located
on Facebook. This new use of the Internet has changed the way campaigning will be done forever.”
Merritt O’Boyle ’11 said she used the Internet to share her views and debate with others on
political issues and candidates during the campaign. “The Internet is an incredibly effective way to
reach out, especially to young adults,” she said. “I
definitely used the Internet to get involved and let
my voice be heard. The Internet played a big part,
and I’m not sure Obama could’ve raised the
volunteer power or funds he did without it.”
More people gave to the Obama campaign than
any campaign in history, according to ABC News
reports. Team Obama estimated its total number of
donors to be just shy of four million. According to
the Center for Responsive Politics, the Obama
campaign raised more than $650 million in
individual donations (88 percent of his total
campaign funds). Part of Obama’s success in
reaching not only the individual vote, but also the
individual pocketbook stems from his campaign’s
ability to take the grassroots movement online.
Editor’s Note: This article is not intended to make any political
statement or endorsement, but to share students’ experiences as
they participated in the historic culmination of the first
presidential election in which most had participated.
30
March 2009
Editor’s Note: This article is not intended to make any political
statement or endorsement, but to share students’ experiences as
they participated in the historic culmination of the first
presidential election in which most had participated.
O
bama’s rise was meteoric and has made him a presidential celebrity perhaps not seen since
John F. Kennedy. In the days before the inauguration, D.C. memorabilia shops were cashing
in on the euphoria, selling record numbers of Obama bobbleheads, calendars, belt buckles,
t-shirts, and other merchandise.
In January, media outlets reported that bids
opened at $100,000 on eBay for a 2005 Chrysler
300C formerly owned by Obama, though the car’s
actual value is closer to $15,000.
Even sports teams have jumped on the Obama
bandwagon. The Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor
league baseball team, announced it will change its
name to the “Baracklyn” Cyclones in a June ticket
sales promotion.
“Being in the city before the inauguration was
amazing,” said Stefanie Faith ’11, a history major
who participated in the JanTerm course in D.C.
“You could feel the energy and excitement every
time you stepped outside. Obama mania hit the
streets, and I was a part of it.”
PHOTO BY KATIE McCOY
It was hard to miss students’ excitement on campus in the days leading up to and following
Obama’s inauguration. Whether it was his own youth — at 47, Obama became the fifth youngest
president ever elected — a fist-bumping image, or savvy use of new media, Obama connected with
the nation’s young people, perhaps more effectively than any presidential candidate.
The Obama team created a modern, technology “machine” that gave Obama a presence on
myriad social networks; sent — and responded to — innumerable email and text messages (with a
reported email database of 10 million); filmed videos, offered ringtones; posted thousands of hours
of content on YouTube; and built BarackObama.com, with its MyBarackObama social network,
which according to the Washington Post, signed on more than a million participants. This machine
mobilized volunteers, solicited funds, and inspired millions. Content could be loaded onto cell
phones, accessed online, and transmitted instantly.
“For me in my busy day, the Internet was the fastest and most accessible way to stay posted on
the candidates, the election process, and polls,” said Jeff Ridenour ’11. “I believe this campaign’s
use of the Internet played a significant role in updating and keeping the youth of our nation
involved and interested.”
Rachel Mims ’11 noticed campaigning done through Facebook and MySpace — popular online
social networking Web sites that she said most young people log into at least once a day. “The use
of the Internet in the 2008 election was one of the best moves made in campaigning,” she said. “I’m
one of those million young adults that found out more about the candidates through groups located
on Facebook. This new use of the Internet has changed the way campaigning will be done forever.”
Merritt O’Boyle ’11 said he used the Internet to share his views and debate with others on
political issues and candidates during the campaign. “The Internet is an incredibly effective way to
reach out, especially to young adults,” he said. “I
definitely used the Internet to get involved and let
my voice be heard. The Internet played a big part,
and I’m not sure Obama could’ve raised the
volunteer power or funds he did without it.”
More people gave to the Obama campaign than
any campaign in history, according to ABC News
reports. Team Obama estimated its total number of
donors to be just shy of four million. According to
the Center for Responsive Politics, the Obama
campaign raised more than $650 million in
individual donations (88 percent of his total
campaign funds). Part of Obama’s success in
reaching not only the individual vote, but also the
individual pocketbook stems from his campaign’s
ability to take the grassroots movement online.
Obama Mania!
Austin College students celebrated at the campus
Presidential Inauguration Ball in January.
Mr. Kirk Goes to Washington
Austin College alumnus and senior trustee Ron Kirk ‘76 has been selected by President Barack Obama to
serve as the United States Trade Representative. This Cabinet-level appointment is the first to be held by
a graduate of Austin College.
“Austin College is proud of Ron’s success in Texas, and I am sure he will be equally successful as he works
with world leaders,” said Oscar C. Page, president of Austin College. “Ron’s leadership at the state and
local level is impressive, and these experiences have prepared him well to serve as the U.S. Trade
Representative for the new administration.”
Kirk’s appointment was announced by Obama on December 19 at a press
conference in Chicago. “As mayor of Dallas, Ron helped steer one of the world’s largest
economies,” Obama said. “During his tenure as mayor, Ron brought different groups
together to create jobs, invest in the community, and spur economic growth.” In
accepting his nomination, Kirk said that “trade can help us create jobs at home and
encourage development abroad.”
A native of Austin, Texas, Kirk came to Austin College in 1972, graduating in 1976
with a degree in political science and sociology. Kirk then attended law school at the
University of Texas, where he earned his J.D. degree in 1979. Soon after, he began
working for U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen in Washington, D.C., which was followed by
political positions as Dallas assistant city attorney, Texas secretary of state, and Dallas
mayor. At the time of the announcement, he was a partner at the Dallas offices of the
Houston-based law firm of Vinson & Elkins.
COURTESY PHOTO
Reaching a New Generation
Ron Kirk
30
March 2009
March 2009
31
JanTerm
During January 2009, more than 230 students and their
professors enrolled in travel courses exploring aspects of
More JanTerm Photos Online
life, culture, history, and science in Argentina, Brazil, China,
Costa Rica, Cozumel, England, France, Germany, Italy,
Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Uruguay.
32
March 2009
March 2009
33
JanTerm
During January 2009, more than 230 students and their
professors enrolled in travel courses exploring aspects of
More JanTerm Photos Online
life, culture, history, and science in Argentina, Brazil, China,
Costa Rica, Cozumel, England, France, Germany, Italy,
Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Uruguay.
32
March 2009
March 2009
33
h o m e
Team Could Be a Contender
The Austin College baseball team looks to be a contender for the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in the 2009 season,
thanks to a large group of talented returning players as well as several
strong prospects joining the ’Roos this spring. Just two years
removed from a SCAC championship, Carl Iwasaki’s squad should
challenge for the top spot in the SCAC West Division all season.
Among the returning players from last year’s 17-22 team that
reached the SCAC Divisional Tournament are first baseman and
pitcher Bobby Schleizer ’09 and shortstop Andy White ’10. White
was named the team’s most valuable player and was a First Team AllSCAC selection after batting .355 with four home runs, four triples,
11 doubles, and 29 RBIs. Schleizer put up great power numbers with
10 home runs and 41 RBIs, both team highs, and added a .351
average at the plate.
Also returning this spring are outfielder Jordan Robison ’10, who
hit .380 a year ago with four triples, three homers, and 14 RBIs, and
catcher Patrick Ray ’09, a First Team All-SCAC selection two years
ago. Ray hit .333 on the year with three home runs and 16 RBIs.
Iwasaki also will look for the continued improvement of third
baseman Bennett Herrick ’10, an Honorable Mention AllConference performer last year, hitting .279 with three homers and
28 RBIs, and of second baseman Scooter Merritt ’11. In his first
collegiate season, Merritt finished with a .287 batting average and
18 RBIs.
In a lineup dominated by right-handed batters, Iwasaki will lean
heavily on a pair of lefties in first baseman and designated hitter Lee
Cohen ’09 and outfielder John Reisig ’10. Cohen hit .343 last season
in 28 games, and Reisig, who two years ago was named First Team
All-Conference and was a starter on the conference championship
squad, hit .262 with 18 RBIs last season.
Coach Iwasaki returns a stable of strong and experienced pitchers,
led by Will Chermak ’10 and Cory Stevens ’09. Chermak won four
games last year and threw four complete games while striking out a
team-best 59 batters. Stevens matched Chermak for the team lead
with four victories and whiffed 48 batters on the year.
In addition to his prowess at the plate, Schleizer also will be one
of the team’s starting pitchers. The 6-foot-6 lefty won a pair of games
last season and struck out 40 batters in just over 30 innings of work.
Tyler Steed ’11 showed promise in his first collegiate season as well,
winning two games, both shutouts.
The team looks to have both the offensive and defensive
firepower to make a long run in the SCAC Tournament in 2009 and
should challenge for their second conference title and NCAA
Tournament berth in three years.
by Jeff Kelly
Softball Team Looks to Continue Momentum
he Austin College softball team made its way to a third-place finish at the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) tournament a year ago in only
the team’s second year as an NCAA varsity sport. Coach Edie Fletcher led her
young team to a 17-23 overall record in 2008, including an 11-5 mark in
conference play, which included handing Trinity its only two conference losses of
the regular season.
Leading the way for the ‘Roos to improve that record in the 2009 season will be first
baseman Stefanie Faith ’11, who made an immediate impact in the SCAC as a freshman
last season and was a First Team All-Conference selection. Faith, also an All-Region
selection, finished at or near the top of several offensive categories in the
conference, with a .388 batting average, 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and 44
RBIs, along with a .769 slugging percentage. In one double header last
season, Faith, who was named the team’s most valuable player, hit for the
home run cycle with a solo homer, a two-run homer, a three-run homer,
and a grand slam all on the same day.
The ’Roos will look to the middle infield duo of shortstop Bobbi
Schulle ’10 and second baseman Kali Gossett ’10 for leadership this
spring, and in their third season playing together, they should form one of
the best middle infield combinations in the conference. Schulle batted .330 with
six doubles, a homer, and 17 RBIs last season and reached a perfect 14 of 14 on
stolen bases. Gossett, a Second Team All-Conference selection her freshman year,
stole seven bases, collected 21 hits, and scored 14 runs last year.
Also returning is do-it-all third baseman Sam Smith ’11, who at various times played
third, first, catcher, and outfield last season while hitting .330 with seven doubles, a
homer, and 14 RBIs on her way to Honorable Mention All-SCAC recognition. This year,
with her focus squarely on third base, she should help the ’Roos form one of the top
infields in the SCAC along with Faith, Schulle, and Gossett.
Ashley Johnson ’11 is the top returning pitcher for the ’Roos, winning seven games last
year with a team-best 3.92 earned run average. As a freshman, Johnson threw 16 complete
games, striking out 42 batters, and also threw the team’s only shutout of the year.
Fletcher also expects Amber Pemberton ’12 to make an
immediate impact on the mound in her first collegiate season.
After making such a tremendous leap in its second year as
a varsity program, the ’Roos should continue that upward
trend as the young players gain experience and improve
under Coach Fletcher. With the addition of several talented
freshmen, including big-hitting outfielders Suzanne Beltran
’12 and Robyn Gorton ’12, Austin College looks to be a serious
contender in the SCAC West Division in 2009.
T
Tennis Looks to Newcomers for Added Strength
In the 2009 season, the Austin College tennis teams will build
upon the progress of a year ago, when several talented newcomers
joined a group of strong returning players to play in the alwayscompetitive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The women
put together a solid season in 2008 and won a pair of matches in
the SCAC Tournament to finish 8-9 overall. The men bowed out of
the conference tournament with a pair of losses to end the year
with a record of 2-13.
First-year players Minnie Satyavada ’11 and Kelly Lewis ’11 led
that women’s team, and coach Andrew Gannon again looks for
big contributions from them. Satyavada and Lewis each earned
SCAC-All Tournament recognition, and Satyavada was named an
Honorable Mention All-Conference performer for strong play in
both singles and doubles.
Satyavada also was named the women’s Austin College Carroll
Pickett Award winner. The men’s Pickett Award went to Nate
Navey ’09 for the second straight year, as Navey played well all
season in both singles and doubles. He will be looked to as the ‘Roo
team leader this spring.
Gannon expects several
newcomers to contribute
early in their careers,
including Travis Duncan
’12 on the men’s side and
Margaret Edwards ’12 on
the women’s team. During
high school play, Edwards
was named First Team AllDistrict and was a member
of the 2006 TAAPS 4A State
Championship team at
Parish Episcopal School.
With the addition of
these talented freshmen to
an already solid squad,
Gannon’s teams look to
make an impact in the SCAC
in the 2009 season.
SPRING
PREVIEW
team
Nate Navey
Stefanie Faith
34
March 2009
March 2009
35
h o m e
Team Could Be a Contender
The Austin College baseball team looks to be a contender for the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in the 2009 season,
thanks to a large group of talented returning players as well as several
strong prospects joining the ’Roos this spring. Just two years
removed from a SCAC championship, Carl Iwasaki’s squad should
challenge for the top spot in the SCAC West Division all season.
Among the returning players from last year’s 17-22 team that
reached the SCAC Divisional Tournament are first baseman and
pitcher Bobby Schleizer ’09 and shortstop Andy White ’10. White
was named the team’s most valuable player and was a First Team AllSCAC selection after batting .355 with four home runs, four triples,
11 doubles, and 29 RBIs. Schleizer put up great power numbers with
10 home runs and 41 RBIs, both team highs, and added a .351
average at the plate.
Also returning this spring are outfielder Jordan Robison ’10, who
hit .380 a year ago with four triples, three homers, and 14 RBIs, and
catcher Patrick Ray ’09, a First Team All-SCAC selection two years
ago. Ray hit .333 on the year with three home runs and 16 RBIs.
Iwasaki also will look for the continued improvement of third
baseman Bennett Herrick ’10, an Honorable Mention AllConference performer last year, hitting .279 with three homers and
28 RBIs, and of second baseman Scooter Merritt ’11. In his first
collegiate season, Merritt finished with a .287 batting average and
18 RBIs.
In a lineup dominated by right-handed batters, Iwasaki will lean
heavily on a pair of lefties in first baseman and designated hitter Lee
Cohen ’09 and outfielder John Reisig ’10. Cohen hit .343 last season
in 28 games, and Reisig, who two years ago was named First Team
All-Conference and was a starter on the conference championship
squad, hit .262 with 18 RBIs last season.
Coach Iwasaki returns a stable of strong and experienced pitchers,
led by Will Chermak ’10 and Cory Stevens ’09. Chermak won four
games last year and threw four complete games while striking out a
team-best 59 batters. Stevens matched Chermak for the team lead
with four victories and whiffed 48 batters on the year.
In addition to his prowess at the plate, Schleizer also will be one
of the team’s starting pitchers. The 6-foot-6 lefty won a pair of games
last season and struck out 40 batters in just over 30 innings of work.
Tyler Steed ’11 showed promise in his first collegiate season as well,
winning two games, both shutouts.
The team looks to have both the offensive and defensive
firepower to make a long run in the SCAC Tournament in 2009 and
should challenge for their second conference title and NCAA
Tournament berth in three years.
by Jeff Kelly
Softball Team Looks to Continue Momentum
he Austin College softball team made its way to a third-place finish at the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) tournament a year ago in only
the team’s second year as an NCAA varsity sport. Coach Edie Fletcher led her
young team to a 17-23 overall record in 2008, including an 11-5 mark in
conference play, which included handing Trinity its only two conference losses of
the regular season.
Leading the way for the ‘Roos to improve that record in the 2009 season will be first
baseman Stefanie Faith ’11, who made an immediate impact in the SCAC as a freshman
last season and was a First Team All-Conference selection. Faith, also an All-Region
selection, finished at or near the top of several offensive categories in the
conference, with a .388 batting average, 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and 44
RBIs, along with a .769 slugging percentage. In one double header last
season, Faith, who was named the team’s most valuable player, hit for the
home run cycle with a solo homer, a two-run homer, a three-run homer,
and a grand slam all on the same day.
The ’Roos will look to the middle infield duo of shortstop Bobbi
Schulle ’10 and second baseman Kali Gossett ’10 for leadership this
spring, and in their third season playing together, they should form one of
the best middle infield combinations in the conference. Schulle batted .330 with
six doubles, a homer, and 17 RBIs last season and reached a perfect 14 of 14 on
stolen bases. Gossett, a Second Team All-Conference selection her freshman year,
stole seven bases, collected 21 hits, and scored 14 runs last year.
Also returning is do-it-all third baseman Sam Smith ’11, who at various times played
third, first, catcher, and outfield last season while hitting .330 with seven doubles, a
homer, and 14 RBIs on her way to Honorable Mention All-SCAC recognition. This year,
with her focus squarely on third base, she should help the ’Roos form one of the top
infields in the SCAC along with Faith, Schulle, and Gossett.
Ashley Johnson ’11 is the top returning pitcher for the ’Roos, winning seven games last
year with a team-best 3.92 earned run average. As a freshman, Johnson threw 16 complete
games, striking out 42 batters, and also threw the team’s only shutout of the year.
Fletcher also expects Amber Pemberton ’12 to make an
immediate impact on the mound in her first collegiate season.
After making such a tremendous leap in its second year as
a varsity program, the ’Roos should continue that upward
trend as the young players gain experience and improve
under Coach Fletcher. With the addition of several talented
freshmen, including big-hitting outfielders Suzanne Beltran
’12 and Robyn Gorton ’12, Austin College looks to be a serious
contender in the SCAC West Division in 2009.
T
Tennis Looks to Newcomers for Added Strength
In the 2009 season, the Austin College tennis teams will build
upon the progress of a year ago, when several talented newcomers
joined a group of strong returning players to play in the alwayscompetitive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The women
put together a solid season in 2008 and won a pair of matches in
the SCAC Tournament to finish 8-9 overall. The men bowed out of
the conference tournament with a pair of losses to end the year
with a record of 2-13.
First-year players Minnie Satyavada ’11 and Kelly Lewis ’11 led
that women’s team, and coach Andrew Gannon again looks for
big contributions from them. Satyavada and Lewis each earned
SCAC-All Tournament recognition, and Satyavada was named an
Honorable Mention All-Conference performer for strong play in
both singles and doubles.
Satyavada also was named the women’s Austin College Carroll
Pickett Award winner. The men’s Pickett Award went to Nate
Navey ’09 for the second straight year, as Navey played well all
season in both singles and doubles. He will be looked to as the ‘Roo
team leader this spring.
Gannon expects several
newcomers to contribute
early in their careers,
including Travis Duncan
’12 on the men’s side and
Margaret Edwards ’12 on
the women’s team. During
high school play, Edwards
was named First Team AllDistrict and was a member
of the 2006 TAAPS 4A State
Championship team at
Parish Episcopal School.
With the addition of
these talented freshmen to
an already solid squad,
Gannon’s teams look to
make an impact in the SCAC
in the 2009 season.
SPRING
PREVIEW
team
Nate Navey
Stefanie Faith
34
March 2009
March 2009
35
h o m e
team
Young Swimmers Mark Good Season
PHOTOS BY MARCUS URBAN
W
n every sport, one player dictates what happens on the field or the
court. Football has the quarterback; basketball, the point guard;
baseball and softball, the catcher. That player is often the one the team
gravitates toward when things get tough and who helps the team pull
together to overcome adversity.
Since her first game for the ’Roo softball team, Carolyn Stone ’11
has handled the duties behind home plate and has taken on the role of a
team leader. In most cases, a first-year player taking on such responsibility
would be unlikely, but then again, the team wasn’t in an ordinary situation
and Stone was no ordinary first-year player.
Coach Edie Fletcher was still building her team from scratch in 2008,
just the second year for the program as a varsity sport. Among nearly all
freshmen and sophomores, Carolyn quickly asserted herself on the field and
in the dugout. This spring brings more of the same, with Stone leading
alongside junior captains Bobbi Schulle ’10 and Kali Gossett ’10.
Carolyn relishes her responsibilities as a catcher and as a leader. “When
I get behind the plate I am literally involved in every play on the field, even
if it is just passing on a signal to my pitcher,” she said. “It is important that
I am able to communicate effectively with my
team and I do my best to do so.” She also feels
a responsibility to help maintain morale
among her teammates and to “keep things
rolling, no matter the score.”
For those who have met Carolyn Stone, it is
no surprise that she would so easily slide into
this leadership role. After all, she was just a
sophomore in high school when her team
voted her captain, and as a freshman, she
became the president of the Austin College
Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
Playing softball and serving the SAAC are
not the only activities Carolyn has participated
in at Austin College. She has taken an active
I
ith his first season as the Austin College swimming and diving
coach behind him, Brian Wright looks back with a sense of
pride and excitement for the future. The ‘Roos finished ninth at
the SCAC Championship Meet, but the team members, many
of them new to collegiate swimming, showed consistent
improvement over the course of the season.
“It’s exciting to have one year completed,” said Wright. “It allows me as
a coach to analyze what we have done as a team and make appropriate
decisions to further the success of the program.”
Some of the swimmers who will help the ’Roos achieve that success
include Lisa Holloway ’11, who overcame injuries this season to break her
own Austin College record in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.74
seconds at the SCAC Meet, good enough for a fifth-place finish in the
conference. Wright was pleased with the progress shown on the men’s side
by Josh Tignor ’12, a newcomer to the sport.
“It is hard to tell how a team composed of almost half first-year athletes
will react to the length of our collegiate season,” said Wright. “Looking back,
we began in September with a group of individuals who desired to become
collegiate swimmers and we finished in February with a team who recorded
some times faster than they ever have. I cannot ask more than
that from them, and I am quite pleased with the results.”
Along with Holloway’s good showing at the SCAC Meet,
several other individuals had great success during the season.
Elise Koestner ’10 had a good performance at the conference
championship and in January, was named the SCAC Diver of
the Week after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events
at the Austin College Invitational. At the SCAC Meet, Koestner
placed sixth in the 1-meter and eighth in the 3-meter event.
Earlier this season in a home meet against McMurry,
Holloway took first in the 50-yard freestyle while first-year
swimmer George Clark ’12 took first in the same event on the
men’s side, finishing with a time of 24.36 seconds, and took
first place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.86 seconds.
Going forward, Wright will lean on his young returning
swimmers to continue to improve next season.
“I expect that we will continue to face obstacles as a team
during the off-season as we head into next fall,” said Wright.
“It is how we deal with those obstacles that will define how we
begin next season. I am enthusiastic about next year and
would begin tomorrow if I could.”
role in the Student Life wellness program Mentors in Violence Prevention
(MVP), that teaches people how to step in and speak out against gender
violence. Stone feels it is important to advance the ideas of the MVP
program. “I feel passionately about this program and believe that it is a
program that can truly make a difference,” she said.
She also is involved with the Student Development Board, the Alpha Phi
Omega service fraternity, and the Chi Tau Chi fraternity, and became a
resident adviser (RA) in Caruth Hall last fall.
The list of involvements doesn’t end there. She took her first leadership
class as a freshman and made it a goal to become a member of the Posey
Leadership Institute. The institute accepted six sophomores for this
academic year — Carolyn was among those. “I truly love my involvement
with the Posey Leadership Institute,” she said. “I have learned and am
continuing to learn so much about myself.” She plans to take advantage of
the new minor in leadership. “I enjoy learning about leadership so much
that I want to continue to learn more.”
Carolyn also is involved with the campus Rotaract chapter, taking on the
role of treasurer. She has been involved with Rotary for several years and
was selected for Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth
Leadership Awards).
Austin College’s Rotaract chapter annually
holds a wheelchair basketball game in support
of Rotary’s Wheelchair Foundation. This year,
Carolyn hopes to bring a Saint Baldrick’s Day
fundraising event to campus in support of
childhood cancer research. Those involved
often shave their heads in a show of support
for cancer patients. At the softball games,
Carolyn might be sporting a different look as
she directs play from behind the plate. She’s
already gotten a start — she donated 13 inches
of her hair to charity earlier this year.
Carolyn Stone
Leadership Behind the Plate
36
March 2009
March 2009
37
h o m e
team
Young Swimmers Mark Good Season
PHOTOS BY MARCUS URBAN
W
n every sport, one player dictates what happens on the field or the
court. Football has the quarterback; basketball, the point guard;
baseball and softball, the catcher. That player is often the one the team
gravitates toward when things get tough and who helps the team pull
together to overcome adversity.
Since her first game for the ’Roo softball team, Carolyn Stone ’11
has handled the duties behind home plate and has taken on the role of a
team leader. In most cases, a first-year player taking on such responsibility
would be unlikely, but then again, the team wasn’t in an ordinary situation
and Stone was no ordinary first-year player.
Coach Edie Fletcher was still building her team from scratch in 2008,
just the second year for the program as a varsity sport. Among nearly all
freshmen and sophomores, Carolyn quickly asserted herself on the field and
in the dugout. This spring brings more of the same, with Stone leading
alongside junior captains Bobbi Schulle ’10 and Kali Gossett ’10.
Carolyn relishes her responsibilities as a catcher and as a leader. “When
I get behind the plate I am literally involved in every play on the field, even
if it is just passing on a signal to my pitcher,” she said. “It is important that
I am able to communicate effectively with my
team and I do my best to do so.” She also feels
a responsibility to help maintain morale
among her teammates and to “keep things
rolling, no matter the score.”
For those who have met Carolyn Stone, it is
no surprise that she would so easily slide into
this leadership role. After all, she was just a
sophomore in high school when her team
voted her captain, and as a freshman, she
became the president of the Austin College
Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
Playing softball and serving the SAAC are
not the only activities Carolyn has participated
in at Austin College. She has taken an active
I
ith his first season as the Austin College swimming and diving
coach behind him, Brian Wright looks back with a sense of
pride and excitement for the future. The ‘Roos finished ninth at
the SCAC Championship Meet, but the team members, many
of them new to collegiate swimming, showed consistent
improvement over the course of the season.
“It’s exciting to have one year completed,” said Wright. “It allows me as
a coach to analyze what we have done as a team and make appropriate
decisions to further the success of the program.”
Some of the swimmers who will help the ’Roos achieve that success
include Lisa Holloway ’11, who overcame injuries this season to break her
own Austin College record in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.74
seconds at the SCAC Meet, good enough for a fifth-place finish in the
conference. Wright was pleased with the progress shown on the men’s side
by Josh Tignor ’12, a newcomer to the sport.
“It is hard to tell how a team composed of almost half first-year athletes
will react to the length of our collegiate season,” said Wright. “Looking back,
we began in September with a group of individuals who desired to become
collegiate swimmers and we finished in February with a team who recorded
some times faster than they ever have. I cannot ask more than
that from them, and I am quite pleased with the results.”
Along with Holloway’s good showing at the SCAC Meet,
several other individuals had great success during the season.
Elise Koestner ’10 had a good performance at the conference
championship and in January, was named the SCAC Diver of
the Week after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events
at the Austin College Invitational. At the SCAC Meet, Koestner
placed sixth in the 1-meter and eighth in the 3-meter event.
Earlier this season in a home meet against McMurry,
Holloway took first in the 50-yard freestyle while first-year
swimmer George Clark ’12 took first in the same event on the
men’s side, finishing with a time of 24.36 seconds, and took
first place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.86 seconds.
Going forward, Wright will lean on his young returning
swimmers to continue to improve next season.
“I expect that we will continue to face obstacles as a team
during the off-season as we head into next fall,” said Wright.
“It is how we deal with those obstacles that will define how we
begin next season. I am enthusiastic about next year and
would begin tomorrow if I could.”
role in the Student Life wellness program Mentors in Violence Prevention
(MVP), that teaches people how to step in and speak out against gender
violence. Stone feels it is important to advance the ideas of the MVP
program. “I feel passionately about this program and believe that it is a
program that can truly make a difference,” she said.
She also is involved with the Student Development Board, the Alpha Phi
Omega service fraternity, and the Chi Tau Chi fraternity, and became a
resident adviser (RA) in Caruth Hall last fall.
The list of involvements doesn’t end there. She took her first leadership
class as a freshman and made it a goal to become a member of the Posey
Leadership Institute. The institute accepted six sophomores for this
academic year — Carolyn was among those. “I truly love my involvement
with the Posey Leadership Institute,” she said. “I have learned and am
continuing to learn so much about myself.” She plans to take advantage of
the new minor in leadership. “I enjoy learning about leadership so much
that I want to continue to learn more.”
Carolyn also is involved with the campus Rotaract chapter, taking on the
role of treasurer. She has been involved with Rotary for several years and
was selected for Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth
Leadership Awards).
Austin College’s Rotaract chapter annually
holds a wheelchair basketball game in support
of Rotary’s Wheelchair Foundation. This year,
Carolyn hopes to bring a Saint Baldrick’s Day
fundraising event to campus in support of
childhood cancer research. Those involved
often shave their heads in a show of support
for cancer patients. At the softball games,
Carolyn might be sporting a different look as
she directs play from behind the plate. She’s
already gotten a start — she donated 13 inches
of her hair to charity earlier this year.
Carolyn Stone
Leadership Behind the Plate
36
March 2009
March 2009
37
h o m e
The ’Roo men’s basketball team had a strong season under second-year
coach Rodney Wecker, reaching the SCAC Tournament for the second
straight season and finishing with a record of 13-13 overall and 6-9 in
conference. The team was led all season by guard Kola Alade ’10, whose
15.9 points per game placed him among the conference leaders in that
category. Alade was a Second Team All-SCAC selection.
Alade also was among the team leaders with a 5.5 rebound-per-game
average and had a team-best 80 assists. Helping Alade all season was Chris
Sturtevant ’10, who chipped in 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game
and scored a season-high 19 points in a late-season win over Sewanee.
Sturtevant was an Honorable Mention All-SCAC selection.
The ’Roos proved to be one of the top defensive teams in the SCAC this
year, thanks in large part to the inside play of Spencer Burke ’10, who
finished second in the conference and 11th in the nation in blocked
shots, swatting away 2.5 shots per game in addition to pulling down a
team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
Midway through the season, the ’Roos put together a five-game
winning streak, the longest streak since 2000. Over the course of the year,
the team topped defending conference champion Millsaps along with
division rival Southwestern, and got a big win over Oglethorpe, the
second seed in the SCAC East Division.
The 13 wins by the ’Roos this year is the most the program has had
since the 2000–2001 season.
Deb Hunter, third from left,
stands on the University of
Minnesota basketball court
where she made record-breaking
plays for the Golden Gophers
during college play. She was in
town for the ceremony in
January when her jersey was
lifted to the rafters of the arena,
only the fifth player with that
honor. Hunter’s name still
appears in the program’s record
book and she remains one of the
most decorated players in the
team’s history. In the photo,
Deb’s parents, Ferne and Dick,
stand on each side of her. At far left
is Pam Borton, head women's
basketball coach at UM; and
beyond Deb’s dad. at far right are
Deb’s college coach Ellen Mosher
Hanson; Joel Maturi, athletic
director at UM; and Dave Burgett,
Deb’s high school coach.
38
Third Annual B-Simp Golf Tournament
Friday, April 17, 2009
ALL-CONFERENCE
ACADEMIC
HONOR ROLL
Benefiting the Brittany Danielle Simpson
Endowed Scholarship at Austin College
To qualify for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honor roll, a
student-athlete must earn a minimum grade point average of 3.25 for
the term and be a regular member of a varsity athletic team.
Women’s Soccer
Brooke Adams ’09
Rhea Bermel ’12*
Nicole Breckling ’12*
Bridgette Deem ’12
Kaitlin Elledge ’11*
Sarah Fennewald ’09
Faren Frazier ’09
Melissa Grimaldo ’11
Annie Gunter ’10
Men’s Soccer
Jason Campbell ’11*
Alex Dawson ’10
Ben Dickinson ’12
Matt Dickinson ’09
Kyle Fitzpatrick ’12
Miguel Lopez ’09
Josh Pollock ’10
Matt Rogers ’11
Miles Vaughn ’09*
Football
Michael Brown ’12
Brooks Burton ’09
Monty Chambers ’11
Chris Donovan ’12*
Michael Gill ’09
Ross Hasten ’09
Tilden Leamon ’11
Helen Heres ’09*
MacKenzie Lund ’11*
Gabby Mavelian ’12
LeAnne Nguyen ’09*
Chelsea Parker ’11
Paige Rutherford ’09*
Andrea Schneider ’12*
JoDee Williams ’10
Allison Wurmbrand ’10
Volleyball
Gloria Carey ’09
Kayla Cook ’12
Jessica Fleming ’12
Chitra Kavouspour ’10
Taylor McKinney ’11
Jerrisa Patt ’11
Courtney Pettenger ’10
Jessica Smith ’11*
Paula Vercher ’10
Jenna Wilson ’11
Austin Light ’11
Scooter Means ’09
Shuva Mukhopadhyay ’10
Jack Serhant ’10
Austin Sherman ’11
Andy Stowe ’10
Zach Swirczynski ’11
*Students also were named to the Austin College Dean’s
List for Fall Term 2008. All students named to that list
earned at least a 3.75 grade point average for the term.
COURTESY PHOTO
’Roo Men’s Basketball Team Earns Tournament Spot
The Austin College women’s basketball team and Coach Deb Hunter had
a roller coaster season in 2008–2009, narrowly missing out on a trip to the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament for the second year
in a row. The team finished the season with a record of 9-16 overall and
4-11 in SCAC play.
For the third straight year, the ’Roos were led by Second Team AllConference forward Katy Williams ’10, who averaged 13.9 points and
10.2 rebounds per game, both stats placing her among the conference
leaders. Williams was one of just two players in the conference to average
a double-double. Late in the season in a game against BirminghamSouthern, Williams went over the 1,000-point mark for her career, making
her the first player to do so in the past decade.
In addition to strong play from Williams and the experience of
Maegan Fitzgerald ’09, Amber Stafford ’10, and Liz Preas ’09, a strong
freshman class that included Erica McDaniel ’12, Allison Taylor ’12,
Courtney Johnson ’12, and Kersti Marusich ’12 proved to be a big help
to the ’Roos, giving them their deepest bench in recent history and
showing flashes of what is to come next season.
Fitzgerald scored an average of 10.5 points per game and was among
the SCAC leaders with 53 3-pointers and 38.4 percent shooting from
downtown, which included 42.4 percent in conference play. She was
named an Honorable Mention All-SCAC performer. Stafford averaged 7.0
points per game and had a team-best 66 assists. Kayla Redden ’10 also
added to the team stats, hitting 37.3 percent of her 3-point attempts and
finished the year averaging 6.2 points per game
COURTESY PHOTO
Women’s Basketball Team Has Roller Coaster Season
team
Brittany Simpson was a freshman at Austin College in January 2006 when she died in an
automobile accident near her home. She was a member of the women’s basketball team
and Austin College Leadership Institute. The Brittany
Danielle Simpson Memorial Endowed Scholarship at
Austin College was established in 2006 by gifts from David
and Joy Simpson of Houston, Texas, and the friends and
family of Brittany Simpson. The scholarship is awarded
annually to a student with demonstrated financial need,
exemplary academic achievement, and the highest
standards of personal character, with preference given to
students participating in the Austin Teacher Program and
pursuing a career in coaching.
Format:
Scramble with Mulligans, Rope, and Tiger Drive
Woodforest Golf Club at Fish Creek
6201 Mulligan Drive
Montgomery, Texas
(936) 588-8800
www.woodforestgolf.com
Schedule:
11 a.m. Registration
12:30 p.m. Shot-Gun Start (box lunch provided)
5:30 p.m. Awards and Auction
Sponsorships:
Host Sponsor:
Hole Sponsor:
Food/Drink Sponsor:
Player:
$2,500
$1,000
$500
$125
REGISTRATION FORM ONLINE
For questions, call David Simpson (713) 304-8355
[email protected] or
Josh Bowerman, Austin College, (903) 813-2423
[email protected]
www.celebratingbrittany.com
Space may be limited. Golfers please register by April 10.
March 2009
March 2009
39
h o m e
The ’Roo men’s basketball team had a strong season under second-year
coach Rodney Wecker, reaching the SCAC Tournament for the second
straight season and finishing with a record of 13-13 overall and 6-9 in
conference. The team was led all season by guard Kola Alade ’10, whose
15.9 points per game placed him among the conference leaders in that
category. Alade was a Second Team All-SCAC selection.
Alade also was among the team leaders with a 5.5 rebound-per-game
average and had a team-best 80 assists. Helping Alade all season was Chris
Sturtevant ’10, who chipped in 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game
and scored a season-high 19 points in a late-season win over Sewanee.
Sturtevant was an Honorable Mention All-SCAC selection.
The ’Roos proved to be one of the top defensive teams in the SCAC this
year, thanks in large part to the inside play of Spencer Burke ’10, who
finished second in the conference and 11th in the nation in blocked
shots, swatting away 2.5 shots per game in addition to pulling down a
team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
Midway through the season, the ’Roos put together a five-game
winning streak, the longest streak since 2000. Over the course of the year,
the team topped defending conference champion Millsaps along with
division rival Southwestern, and got a big win over Oglethorpe, the
second seed in the SCAC East Division.
The 13 wins by the ’Roos this year is the most the program has had
since the 2000–2001 season.
Deb Hunter, third from left,
stands on the University of
Minnesota basketball court
where she made record-breaking
plays for the Golden Gophers
during college play. She was in
town for the ceremony in
January when her jersey was
lifted to the rafters of the arena,
only the fifth player with that
honor. Hunter’s name still
appears in the program’s record
book and she remains one of the
most decorated players in the
team’s history. In the photo,
Deb’s parents, Ferne and Dick,
stand on each side of her. At far left
is Pam Borton, head women's
basketball coach at UM; and
beyond Deb’s dad. at far right are
Deb’s college coach Ellen Mosher
Hanson; Joel Maturi, athletic
director at UM; and Dave Burgett,
Deb’s high school coach.
38
Third Annual B-Simp Golf Tournament
ALL-CONFERENCE
ACADEMIC
HONOR ROLL
Benefiting the Brittany Danielle Simpson
Endowed Scholarship at Austin College
To qualify for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honor roll, a
student-athlete must earn a minimum grade point average of 3.25 for
the term and be a regular member of a varsity athletic team.
Women’s Soccer
Brooke Adams ’09
Rhea Bermel ’12*
Nicole Breckling ’12*
Bridgette Deem ’12
Kaitlin Elledge ’11*
Sarah Fennewald ’09
Faren Frazier ’09
Melissa Grimaldo ’11
Annie Gunter ’10
Men’s Soccer
Jason Campbell ’11*
Alex Dawson ’10
Ben Dickinson ’12
Matt Dickinson ’09
Kyle Fitzpatrick ’12
Miguel Lopez ’09
Josh Pollock ’10
Matt Rogers ’11
Miles Vaughn ’09*
Football
Michael Brown ’12
Brooks Burton ’09
Monty Chambers ’11
Chris Donovan ’12*
Michael Gill ’09
Ross Hasten ’09
Tilden Leamon ’11
Helen Heres ’09*
MacKenzie Lund ’11*
Gabby Mavelian ’12
LeAnne Nguyen ’09*
Chelsea Parker ’11
Paige Rutherford ’09*
Andrea Schneider ’12*
JoDee Williams ’10
Allison Wurmbrand ’10
Volleyball
Gloria Carey ’09
Kayla Cook ’12
Jessica Fleming ’12
Chitra Kavouspour ’10
Taylor McKinney ’11
Jerrisa Patt ’11
Courtney Pettenger ’10
Jessica Smith ’11*
Paula Vercher ’10
Jenna Wilson ’11
Austin Light ’11
Scooter Means ’09
Shuva Mukhopadhyay ’10
Jack Serhant ’10
Austin Sherman ’11
Andy Stowe ’10
Zach Swirczynski ’11
*Students also were named to the Austin College Dean’s
List for Fall Term 2008. All students named to that list
earned at least a 3.75 grade point average for the term.
COURTESY PHOTO
’Roo Men’s Basketball Team Earns Tournament Spot
The Austin College women’s basketball team and Coach Deb Hunter had
a roller coaster season in 2008–2009, narrowly missing out on a trip to the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament for the second year
in a row. The team finished the season with a record of 9-16 overall and
4-11 in SCAC play.
For the third straight year, the ’Roos were led by Second Team AllConference forward Katy Williams ’10, who averaged 13.9 points and
10.2 rebounds per game, both stats placing her among the conference
leaders. Williams was one of just two players in the conference to average
a double-double. Late in the season in a game against BirminghamSouthern, Williams went over the 1,000-point mark for her career, making
her the first player to do so in the past decade.
In addition to strong play from Williams and the experience of
Maegan Fitzgerald ’09, Amber Stafford ’10, and Liz Preas ’09, a strong
freshman class that included Erica McDaniel ’12, Allison Taylor ’12,
Courtney Johnson ’12, and Kersti Marusich ’12 proved to be a big help
to the ’Roos, giving them their deepest bench in recent history and
showing flashes of what is to come next season.
Fitzgerald scored an average of 10.5 points per game and was among
the SCAC leaders with 53 3-pointers and 38.4 percent shooting from
downtown, which included 42.4 percent in conference play. She was
named an Honorable Mention All-SCAC performer. Stafford averaged 7.0
points per game and had a team-best 66 assists. Kayla Redden ’10 also
added to the team stats, hitting 37.3 percent of her 3-point attempts and
finished the year averaging 6.2 points per game
COURTESY PHOTO
Women’s Basketball Team Has Roller Coaster Season
team
Brittany Simpson was a freshman at Austin College in January 2006 when she died in an
automobile accident near her home. She was a member of the women’s basketball team
and Austin College Leadership Institute. The Brittany
Danielle Simpson Memorial Endowed Scholarship at
Austin College was established in 2006 by gifts from David
and Joy Simpson of Houston, Texas, and the friends and
family of Brittany Simpson. The scholarship is awarded
annually to a student with demonstrated financial need,
exemplary academic achievement, and the highest
standards of personal character, with preference given to
students participating in the Austin Teacher Program and
pursuing a career in coaching.
Format:
Scramble with Mulligans, Rope, and Tiger Drive
Woodforest Golf Club at Fish Creek
6201 Mulligan Drive
Montgomery, Texas
(936) 588-8800
www.woodforestgolf.com
Schedule:
11 a.m. Registration
12:30 p.m. Shot-Gun Start (box lunch provided)
5:30 p.m. Awards and Auction
Sponsorships:
Host Sponsor:
Hole Sponsor:
Food/Drink Sponsor:
Player:
$2,500
$1,000
$500
$125
REGISTRATION FORM ONLINE
For questions, call David Simpson (713) 304-8355
[email protected] or
Josh Bowerman, Austin College, (903) 813-2423
[email protected]
www.celebratingbrittany.com
Space may be limited. Golfers please register by April 10.
March 2009
March 2009
39
f r o m
the alumni board
’ r o o
Linus Wright (5) was named presiding officer of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Board of Trustees by Governor Rick Perry on January 9. A former U.S. Under Secretary of
Education and Dallas Independent School Distinct superintendent, Wright is a senior
member of the Austin College Board of Trustees.
much time to play, but in a two-day amateur event last summer, Kirk shot a pair of 73s on
a course he’d never played. He’s one of those rare senior golfers capable of ‘shooting his
age’ any time he tees it up. Most of the young women pros he worked with probably would
never have imagined that he could give them a run for their money in a head-to-head
match.” Kirk is a member of Austin College’s Athletic Hall of Honor. “To think, I was just
having a good time out there,” he said.
61
65
Glen Kirk, representative of the Denver-based YES! Golf company, was the subject of a
December Cybergolf online article that praised his dedication and assistance with the
Duramed Futures Golf Tour, for which YES Golf was a sponsor in recent years. The article
called Kirk a fixture on the tour and said his work on the practice putting green with the
young women at the start of their professional golf tours was often critical to their success.
The article described Kirk, “a former Marine who was a professional golfer on the mini-tours
back in his younger days, knows what he’s talking about when it comes to putting and golf
in general. The Texan is still a near-scratch golfer. With his busy schedule he doesn’t have
Markley Crosswell (15), a realtor with John Daugherty, Realtors, was named to the firm’s
Hall of Fame in January. He is the ninth member inducted to the group in the company’s
42-year history. The company president said a special combination of industry knowledge,
experience, and negotiation skills elevates a realtor into the ranks of top producers.
Crosswell founded Markley Crosswell Realtors two decades before merging with John
Daugherty, Realtors in 1990. A Houston native and resident, he also is a member of the
Development Board of Texas Children’s Hospital and is active in numerous other civic
organizations, including the Retina Research Foundation.
49
Alumni
Scholarship
Luncheon
Noon, Friday, October 16, 2009
Wright Campus Center, Mabee Hall
Registration begins August 2009
To nominate a high school student for the
John D. Moseley Alumni Scholarship,
please contact the Office of Admission at
[email protected].
To make a gift to the John D. Moseley
Scholarship Fund,
please contact the Office of Development at
[email protected].
For questions regarding the Alumni
Scholarship Luncheon,
please contact the Office of Alumni and Parent
Relations at [email protected].
40
March 2009
2009 Law Symposium
March 27, 2009
www.austincollege.edu/lawsymposium
making the world a better place
t noon on January 20, 2009, Tim Kennedy ’98 lost his job
— a fact college magazines don’t often highlight when
featuring its graduates. Then again, as Kennedy joined the
ranks of the unemployed, so did every other political
appointee of the Bush administration when Barack Obama
officially became the 44th president of the United States.
Kennedy, formerly the associate director of legislative affairs in
the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, has experienced before the reality that job security is
often in the hands of the electorate
(he lost his job as special assistant
in the Office of Speaker of the
House after Republicans lost the
House majority in the November
2006 election). Kennedy has
worked in government since his
graduation from Austin College as
a double major in political science
and religion.
To him, these jobs have been
part of a calling that Austin College
helped foster. “I have always
wanted to make the world a better
place,” Kennedy said. “I visited
Washington, D.C., during a family
vacation in middle school and fell
in love with the ideal and
Tim Kennedy
opportunities that Washington
provides.” During his senior year,
after a JanTerm experience interning at the Grayson County
Attorney’s Office, Kennedy realized law was not the avenue
through which he would try to better the world.
A
COURTESY PHOTO
Osler McCarthy ’73, president of the Alumni “L” Association offers the following
information on behalf of the Alumni Board.
Five years ago, Austin College’s second annual Law Symposium launched a new definition
and purpose for the symposium, to become a campus event not just for students planning to
study law but to bring an interdisciplinary approach to understanding legal issues
confronting American society. The symposium was the brainchild of Austin attorney Keith
Hopson, ’73, then president of the Alumni “L” Association. On a shoestring budget the
College has drawn leading judges, lawyers, and writers to discuss topical legal issues.
Austin College, arguably the oldest college in Texas, founded Texas’ first law school. Had
the law school survived the money problems that doomed it, today it would be among the
oldest dozen law schools in the U.S. This is history that all lawyers in Texas should know and
all Austin College law alumni — all Austin College alumni and students — should celebrate.
These sessions have not been prop-your-eyes-open-with-caffeine continuing legaleducation presentations. Three years ago, panelists confronted First Amendment issues,
discussing for the first time anywhere whether The New York Times could or should face
criminal liability for disclosing the NSA domestic-surveillance program, and another panel
featured both sides of the intelligent-design litigation, lead counsel for the Pennsylvania
school board members and the head of the ACLU’s religious-freedom section.
A year later, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments on campus, followed by
panelists discussing judicial independence issues. Among them was former federal Circuit
Judge (and the first U.S. education secretary) Shirley Hufstedler, a lawyer Supreme Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once hailed as the most brilliant legal mind of our age and who
had just led other former federal judges in arguing before the Supreme Court for procedural
protections for prisoners held in Cuba and in military prisons without charges against them.
Last year, legal author and CNN commentator Jeff Toobin was the luncheon speaker and
afternoon panelist (his compensation was the promise of my world-famous-in-my-ownneighborhood smoked brisket and College Fund barbecue sauce).
In this effort to stake Austin College’s claim to history and to contemporary legal
education, another goal has been to raise the caliber of each succeeding symposium. On
March 27, the sixth annual Law Symposium explores the Warren Court 40 years after Chief
Justice Earl Warren’s retirement, the end of what history may assess as the modern Supreme
Court’s greatest era. Leading this discussion is one of the leading Warren scholars, Professor
Lucas Powe of the University of Texas law school, and Warren’s most recent biographer, Jim
Newton. Other scholars and former law clerks to Warren-era justices join them.
This program and the ones that came before it are intended not just for pre-law majors,
but also for all Austin College students — those in the College now as well as those who still
yearn for the ideals of a liberal education even though our diplomas long since have been in
our hands. This symposium is a celebration of what the College was once, what it is now —
and what it promises for the future.
And Toobin liked the brisket, by the way.
notes
Kennedy’s decision to “do politics” was not much of a
reach for a student who was elected to positions at Austin
College such as Student Assembly representative, student
body vice president, and student body president, and who
was a member of three winning Model United Nations teams.
“Austin College provided me with countless opportunities to
set strategic goals, develop action plans, and execute to
success,” Kennedy said. “I especially appreciated the true
hunger for knowledge and the constant encouragement to dig
deeper. The quality of an Austin College education is second
to none.”
Not surprisingly, Kennedy didn’t stay unemployed for
long. Six days after the inauguration, he started a new job as a
consultant for a small private contracting firm that supports
the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Business
Continuity and Emergency Preparedness. Though Kennedy
has chosen a career related to government, he, like many
Austin College students and alumni, believes the power to
“make the world a better place” doesn’t rest in the hands of a
few political elites.
“The true leaders of today,” Kennedy said, “are the citizen
soldiers advancing freedom in the streets of Iraq and
mountains of Afghanistan; the inner-city school teacher
earning far less than she is worth; the volunteers serving food
in soup kitchens across the nation; the healthcare workers
serving our increasing numbers of older Americans; the
uniformed protectors of our streets, borders, and airports; and
the parents or mentors helping a child, supporting a teen, or
putting a loved one through school.”
March 2009
41
ALUMNI PROFILE
n e w s
f r o m
the alumni board
’ r o o
Linus Wright (5) was named presiding officer of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Board of Trustees by Governor Rick Perry on January 9. A former U.S. Under Secretary of
Education and Dallas Independent School Distinct superintendent, Wright is a senior
member of the Austin College Board of Trustees.
much time to play, but in a two-day amateur event last summer, Kirk shot a pair of 73s on
a course he’d never played. He’s one of those rare senior golfers capable of ‘shooting his
age’ any time he tees it up. Most of the young women pros he worked with probably would
never have imagined that he could give them a run for their money in a head-to-head
match.” Kirk is a member of Austin College’s Athletic Hall of Honor. “To think, I was just
having a good time out there,” he said.
61
65
Glen Kirk, representative of the Denver-based YES! Golf company, was the subject of a
December Cybergolf online article that praised his dedication and assistance with the
Duramed Futures Golf Tour, for which YES Golf was a sponsor in recent years. The article
called Kirk a fixture on the tour and said his work on the practice putting green with the
young women at the start of their professional golf tours was often critical to their success.
The article described Kirk, “a former Marine who was a professional golfer on the mini-tours
back in his younger days, knows what he’s talking about when it comes to putting and golf
in general. The Texan is still a near-scratch golfer. With his busy schedule he doesn’t have
Markley Crosswell (15), a realtor with John Daugherty, Realtors, was named to the firm’s
Hall of Fame in January. He is the ninth member inducted to the group in the company’s
42-year history. The company president said a special combination of industry knowledge,
experience, and negotiation skills elevates a realtor into the ranks of top producers.
Crosswell founded Markley Crosswell Realtors two decades before merging with John
Daugherty, Realtors in 1990. A Houston native and resident, he also is a member of the
Development Board of Texas Children’s Hospital and is active in numerous other civic
organizations, including the Retina Research Foundation.
49
Alumni
Scholarship
Luncheon
Noon, Friday, October 16, 2009
Wright Campus Center, Mabee Hall
Registration begins August 2009
To nominate a high school student for the
John D. Moseley Alumni Scholarship,
please contact the Office of Admission at
[email protected].
To make a gift to the John D. Moseley
Scholarship Fund,
please contact the Office of Development at
[email protected].
For questions regarding the Alumni
Scholarship Luncheon,
please contact the Office of Alumni and Parent
Relations at [email protected].
40
March 2009
2009 Law Symposium
March 27, 2009
www.austincollege.edu/lawsymposium
making the world a better place
t noon on January 20, 2009, Tim Kennedy ’98 lost his job
— a fact college magazines don’t often highlight when
featuring its graduates. Then again, as Kennedy joined the
ranks of the unemployed, so did every other political
appointee of the Bush administration when Barack Obama
officially became the 44th president of the United States.
Kennedy, formerly the associate director of legislative affairs in
the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, has experienced before the reality that job security is
often in the hands of the electorate
(he lost his job as special assistant
in the Office of Speaker of the
House after Republicans lost the
House majority in the November
2006 election). Kennedy has
worked in government since his
graduation from Austin College as
a double major in political science
and religion.
To him, these jobs have been
part of a calling that Austin College
helped foster. “I have always
wanted to make the world a better
place,” Kennedy said. “I visited
Washington, D.C., during a family
vacation in middle school and fell
in love with the ideal and
Tim Kennedy
opportunities that Washington
provides.” During his senior year,
after a JanTerm experience interning at the Grayson County
Attorney’s Office, Kennedy realized law was not the avenue
through which he would try to better the world.
A
COURTESY PHOTO
Osler McCarthy ’73, president of the Alumni “L” Association offers the following
information on behalf of the Alumni Board.
Five years ago, Austin College’s second annual Law Symposium launched a new definition
and purpose for the symposium, to become a campus event not just for students planning to
study law but to bring an interdisciplinary approach to understanding legal issues
confronting American society. The symposium was the brainchild of Austin attorney Keith
Hopson, ’73, then president of the Alumni “L” Association. On a shoestring budget the
College has drawn leading judges, lawyers, and writers to discuss topical legal issues.
Austin College, arguably the oldest college in Texas, founded Texas’ first law school. Had
the law school survived the money problems that doomed it, today it would be among the
oldest dozen law schools in the U.S. This is history that all lawyers in Texas should know and
all Austin College law alumni — all Austin College alumni and students — should celebrate.
These sessions have not been prop-your-eyes-open-with-caffeine continuing legaleducation presentations. Three years ago, panelists confronted First Amendment issues,
discussing for the first time anywhere whether The New York Times could or should face
criminal liability for disclosing the NSA domestic-surveillance program, and another panel
featured both sides of the intelligent-design litigation, lead counsel for the Pennsylvania
school board members and the head of the ACLU’s religious-freedom section.
A year later, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments on campus, followed by
panelists discussing judicial independence issues. Among them was former federal Circuit
Judge (and the first U.S. education secretary) Shirley Hufstedler, a lawyer Supreme Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once hailed as the most brilliant legal mind of our age and who
had just led other former federal judges in arguing before the Supreme Court for procedural
protections for prisoners held in Cuba and in military prisons without charges against them.
Last year, legal author and CNN commentator Jeff Toobin was the luncheon speaker and
afternoon panelist (his compensation was the promise of my world-famous-in-my-ownneighborhood smoked brisket and College Fund barbecue sauce).
In this effort to stake Austin College’s claim to history and to contemporary legal
education, another goal has been to raise the caliber of each succeeding symposium. On
March 27, the sixth annual Law Symposium explores the Warren Court 40 years after Chief
Justice Earl Warren’s retirement, the end of what history may assess as the modern Supreme
Court’s greatest era. Leading this discussion is one of the leading Warren scholars, Professor
Lucas Powe of the University of Texas law school, and Warren’s most recent biographer, Jim
Newton. Other scholars and former law clerks to Warren-era justices join them.
This program and the ones that came before it are intended not just for pre-law majors,
but also for all Austin College students — those in the College now as well as those who still
yearn for the ideals of a liberal education even though our diplomas long since have been in
our hands. This symposium is a celebration of what the College was once, what it is now —
and what it promises for the future.
And Toobin liked the brisket, by the way.
notes
Kennedy’s decision to “do politics” was not much of a
reach for a student who was elected to positions at Austin
College such as Student Assembly representative, student
body vice president, and student body president, and who
was a member of three winning Model United Nations teams.
“Austin College provided me with countless opportunities to
set strategic goals, develop action plans, and execute to
success,” Kennedy said. “I especially appreciated the true
hunger for knowledge and the constant encouragement to dig
deeper. The quality of an Austin College education is second
to none.”
Not surprisingly, Kennedy didn’t stay unemployed for
long. Six days after the inauguration, he started a new job as a
consultant for a small private contracting firm that supports
the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Business
Continuity and Emergency Preparedness. Though Kennedy
has chosen a career related to government, he, like many
Austin College students and alumni, believes the power to
“make the world a better place” doesn’t rest in the hands of a
few political elites.
“The true leaders of today,” Kennedy said, “are the citizen
soldiers advancing freedom in the streets of Iraq and
mountains of Afghanistan; the inner-city school teacher
earning far less than she is worth; the volunteers serving food
in soup kitchens across the nation; the healthcare workers
serving our increasing numbers of older Americans; the
uniformed protectors of our streets, borders, and airports; and
the parents or mentors helping a child, supporting a teen, or
putting a loved one through school.”
March 2009
41
ALUMNI PROFILE
n e w s
’ r o o
Alumna Is 2008 Piper Professor
COURTESY PHOTO
Lynda Uphouse ’67, Texas Woman’s University Cornaro Professor of Biology, was named a 2008 Piper Professor by the Minnie
Stevens Piper Foundation. The award honors outstanding teaching in Texas colleges and universities, with only 15 professors
named each year.
“I truly enjoy teaching, and experience great joy knowing that I may have been a positive influence in a student’s life,” said Dr.
Uphouse, who also is program director of the Multi-Ethnic Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) program at TWU.
“Dr. Uphouse has an outstanding record as a researcher and teacher who conveys her love of research to her students,” TWU
Chancellor Dr. Ann Stuart said. “She is the embodiment of the Minnie Stevens Piper Award.”
As a research scientist, Uphouse has been the research adviser for more than 50 undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral
students since 1973.The MBRS program, which she developed at TWU in 1989, supports up to 20 research students and up to
20 freshman/sophomore students in an introduction to scientific research. She has been an active member of the scientific
community, serving on National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation study panels and conducting reviews for
multiple research journals.
“I have been blessed to join a profession in which I can pursue interesting research questions and hopefully add knowledge
to the community,” Uphouse said. “However, my greatest achievements have been the students whose lives I have touched and
who have touched mine in return. I cannot imagine a greater sense of achievement than that which I feel when a student succeeds.”
83
Chris Goertzen has written a book Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests, released by
University Press of Mississippi. The book explores American fiddle contests, their history,
and what occurs on and off stage at these contests. Goertzen’s book, the first scholarly
monograph about American fiddle contests, describes the change from dances to contests
as the main gathering for fiddlers and what the shift means for audiences, musicians,
traditions, and the future of southern fiddle music. Goertzen is associate professor of music
history and world music at University of Southern Mississippi. He is the author of Fiddling
for Norway: Revival and Identity and coeditor of the volume on Europe in the Garland
Encyclopedia of World Music.
Larry Robins has been named executive director of PediPlace, a non-profit pediatric
medical practice in Lewisville, Texas, serving uninsured and underinsured children.
Don Lefeber retired as a social worker from the University of Texas Medical Branch in July
to begin work as a contractor with Healthnet. He has completed two rotations in Germany
with the company. Traveling in Salzburg, Austria, in November, he came across a “No
Kangaroos in Austria” shirt, finding it ironic that indeed an Austin College Kangaroo was
right there. Don said he wanted to proclaim, “Kangaroos are everywhere!” He wrote that he
had no desire to travel outside the United States while a student, considering January Term
trips to Midland, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana, “abroad” enough, so he has been
surprised to find himself living abroad so much at this stage in life.
79
Pat Rogers ’79, Ginny Keeling Thomas ’79, Judy Donachie Watson ’79, and Sydney
Sharp ’82 (13), left to right in the photo on page 45, gathered in May at the kickoff party in
Dallas for the Predisan’s 3rd Annual Walk for Honduras. Janie Grinnan McNaughton ’79
also attended the kickoff and all were present for the walk at the Katy Trail, which raised
$100,000.00 for medical clinics, water supplies, and classrooms in the poorest areas of
Honduras. Thomas organized a team of walkers from North Texas High School where she
teaches French and English. For information: www.predisan.org.
84
Tammy Wilson Cangelose received a master’s degree in dispute resolution from Southern
Methodist University in December 2008 ■ Jim ‘82 and Cherie Spears Walker recently
celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They live in Coppell, Texas, with their daughters,
Mary Beth and Margaret.
85
Beth Anne Meriwether and Roger Watson were married August 17, 2008, in Anchorage,
Alaska. They live in Wylie, Texas ■ Susan Spearman VanMeakins graduated from Lesley
University in October 2008 with a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction: Integrated
Teaching through the Arts. She continues to teach English language acquisition to
elementary students in Loveland, Colorado.
92
Celeste Lunceford and Dwayne Havis (8) were married September 20, 2008. She is a
Texas licensed professional counselor clinical supervisor, director of Offender Education
Programs for the State of Texas through the Department of State Health Services, and a
consultant for the Austin Institute of Bariatrics and Laparoscopy. Dwayne is a lieutenant
game warden pilot for Texas Parks and Wildlife, flying helicopters and airplanes on law
enforcement, wildlife, and environmental missions, as well as a licensed flight instructor
through the FAA. The couple lives in Austin, Texas.
94
Twin boys, Logan Charles and Xavier Michael, were born December 17, 2008, to Paul and
Beth Cobb Matlock.
Numbers in color after alumni names correspond with photos on
page 45.
42
March 2009
03
Erik Johanson, a member of the Texas Army National Guard, has been activated for duty
with Alpha Company 636th BSB (brigade support battalion). He is serving in Talill, Iraq,
where he works in the maintenance and vehicle recovery section supporting convoy security
operations. He is scheduled to return home August 2009. ■ A son, Wyoming Michael, was
born November 7, 2008, to Meredith and Michael Sturlin.
A son, Joel Thomas, was born July 30, 2008, to Jim and Kristi Baughman Marriott. The
family lives in Rochester, Michigan, where Jim is the director of sanctuary worship and Kristi
teaches preschool part-time at St. John Lutheran Church and School. ■ Kim Freeman
and Joe Newton ’99 (3) were married on the beach in Playa del Carmen May 9, 2008.
Groomsmen included Carlos Soto ’99 and DJ Tillery ’99, with bridesmaids Kelsey House
Decker and Diana Garcia Pecorino. Also attending were Danny Decker ’01, Jason Hulen
’99, Han Pham Hulen ’98, Frank Vasquez ’97, Juan Garay ’01, Jason Haddock ’01,
Brandon Mays ’00, Chris Grizzaffi ’97, Jeff Tapp ’96, Mark Cunningham ’97, and
Mareda Goodman ’99.
98
99
73
75
97
Eric Venegas (11), who has worked at Banowetz + Company for the past eight years, was
named creative director at the Dallas-based advertising agency in January. He began with
the firm as a junior designer and was promoted to designer in 2003 and to senior designer
in 2007. Before joining the Banowetz team, Eric worked as a graphic designer/product
designer at Fossil. He has received several awards for his work.
Lynda Uphouse
notes
Austin Amos was named a Rising Star for 2008 in Mid-South Super Lawyers annual
publication. He is an associate in the business and real estate section of the Little Rock
offices of Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow. Rising Stars must be no older than 40 and
practicing law for 10 years or less. The award is based on a survey of Arkansas, Mississippi,
and Tennessee attorneys, together with research by the publisher, to determine the top 2.5
percent of the region’s up-and-coming lawyers. ■ A son, Preston Grant, was born
November 20, 2007, to Kenneth and Allison McKnight Travis (4). The family lives in Big
Sandy, Texas, near Longview where Allison is a licensed professional counselor in private
practice and Kenneth is a managing partner of Integrity Mortgage.
00
A son, Dean Rizk, was born October 21, 2008, to David and Giselle Finne Gafford (7). The
family lives in Dallas, Texas. ■ A daughter, Sarah Kate, was born October 9, 2008, to
Scott and Jaclyn Bouche Mispagel. ■ Amanda Jester and Kenneth Vera(1) were married
November 8, 2008, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. Allison McKnight Travis ’99
was a member of the bridal party and Brooke Dorsey McMillan ’00 attended. Amanda’s
beloved pug, Jasper, who she met her senior year at Austin College, also was in the bridal
party. Amanda and Ken live with Jasper and his brother, Mason, in Miami Beach, where
Amanda is in her fifth year as a healthcare attorney with McDermott Will & Emery and Ken
is a physical therapist. ■ A son, Robert Thomas Riggs, III, was born October 15, 2008, to
Rob and Noelle Monier Riggs (10). Big sister Sarah helped welcome Robert home.
01
Shawnia Elder continues to contract her services as a speech language pathologist in the
Houston area. Since August 2008, her 3-year-old daughter, Zaria, has kept her busy
winning pageant titles and more recently, as a fashion model for a children’s boutique.
■ Amy Lindsey graduated December 20, 2008, from Sam Houston State University with
a Master of Library Science degree. She has been a reading and media specialist with the
Sabine Pass Independent School District for the past three years. ■ A daughter, Lillian
Anna, was born October 21, 2008, in Ithaca, New York, to Beth and Josh Reynolds (6).
Josh is completing his MBA at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of
Management and then will begin a position with Morgan Stanley in sales and trading in
New York City.
02
Lauren A. Cook has accepted a position with the Kaufman County District Attorney’s office
as an assistant district attorney. ■ Alison MacManus graduated from Harvard Law
School in June 2008. She is working for the Supreme Court of Alaska as clerk to Justice
Walter Carpeneti. Alison is the daughter of Laura Schleier Burgess ’78 and Bill
MacManus ’77.
04
A son, Patrick Anthony, was born January 23, 2009, to Ashley and E.A. Hoppe (12). ■
Sarah Beatty and David Snyder ’02 (2) were married on August 18, 2007. The wedding
party included Amy Snyder, Kenna Williams, Sarah Walker Kinard ’02, Sarah Demarest
Allen ’03, and Matt Kinard ‘02. Many other alumni attended.
05
Lydia Albury and Steffan Jones were married November 16, 2008, at the Church of St.
David of Wales in Denton, Texas. Kimberly Aragon ’05 was a bridesmaid and Barry Ray ’02
attended. ■ A daughter, Heidi Elise, was born August 18, 2008, to Mark ’02 and Lorissa
Haning Eichenberger (14). The family lives in The Woodlands, Texas. Heidi’s pediatrician
happens to be Joan Saunders Purcell ’86 (who is married to Paul Purcell ’88). Heidi has
been born to quite a ’Roo family legacy — grandfather Dale Eichenberger ’68 and uncle
David Eichenberger ’72 as well as uncle Reed Eicheberger ’10, now attending Austin
College. ■ A daughter, McKynzi Reese, was born June 25, 2008, to Corey and Lacey
Stewart Hailey. ■ Emily Richardson Owen was ordained to the office of minister of word
and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) October 19, 2008, at her home
congregation of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. She was ordained by the
presbytery of mission on behalf of the Presbytery of Charlotte, where she has been called
as associate pastor of Matthews Presbyterian Church in Matthews, North Carolina. Emily
and her husband, Henry Owen, moved to Matthews following Emily’s graduation from
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a summer position at Highlands Presbyterian
Camp and Conference Center in Allenspark, Colorado. The Commission to ordain Emily
Introducing the
Austin College Loyalty Society
Austin College is grateful to all its donors. Because we value the generous
support of our alumni, parents, and friends, we always are looking for ways to
honor them for the gifts they make.
So, in 2009, we are pleased to introduce the Austin College Loyalty Society.
This special designation will recognize contributors who support the College for
five or more consecutive years, regardless of the size of their gifts. Membership
in the Loyalty Society is sustained by making a gift every year (July 1–June 30)
to Austin College. Donors will be recognized in five-year increments, and those
giving 25 consecutive years or more will receive lifetime membership in the
Loyalty Society. We look forward to honoring these dedicated donors, beginning
in the 2009 Honor Roll of Donors, who give annually to support the College.
The Austin College Loyalty Society. Every gift matters, every year.
March 2009
43
’ r o o
Alumna Is 2008 Piper Professor
COURTESY PHOTO
Lynda Uphouse ’67, Texas Woman’s University Cornaro Professor of Biology, was named a 2008 Piper Professor by the Minnie
Stevens Piper Foundation. The award honors outstanding teaching in Texas colleges and universities, with only 15 professors
named each year.
“I truly enjoy teaching, and experience great joy knowing that I may have been a positive influence in a student’s life,” said Dr.
Uphouse, who also is program director of the Multi-Ethnic Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) program at TWU.
“Dr. Uphouse has an outstanding record as a researcher and teacher who conveys her love of research to her students,” TWU
Chancellor Dr. Ann Stuart said. “She is the embodiment of the Minnie Stevens Piper Award.”
As a research scientist, Uphouse has been the research adviser for more than 50 undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral
students since 1973.The MBRS program, which she developed at TWU in 1989, supports up to 20 research students and up to
20 freshman/sophomore students in an introduction to scientific research. She has been an active member of the scientific
community, serving on National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation study panels and conducting reviews for
multiple research journals.
“I have been blessed to join a profession in which I can pursue interesting research questions and hopefully add knowledge
to the community,” Uphouse said. “However, my greatest achievements have been the students whose lives I have touched and
who have touched mine in return. I cannot imagine a greater sense of achievement than that which I feel when a student succeeds.”
83
Chris Goertzen has written a book Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests, released by
University Press of Mississippi. The book explores American fiddle contests, their history,
and what occurs on and off stage at these contests. Goertzen’s book, the first scholarly
monograph about American fiddle contests, describes the change from dances to contests
as the main gathering for fiddlers and what the shift means for audiences, musicians,
traditions, and the future of southern fiddle music. Goertzen is associate professor of music
history and world music at University of Southern Mississippi. He is the author of Fiddling
for Norway: Revival and Identity and coeditor of the volume on Europe in the Garland
Encyclopedia of World Music.
Larry Robins has been named executive director of PediPlace, a non-profit pediatric
medical practice in Lewisville, Texas, serving uninsured and underinsured children.
Don Lefeber retired as a social worker from the University of Texas Medical Branch in July
to begin work as a contractor with Healthnet. He has completed two rotations in Germany
with the company. Traveling in Salzburg, Austria, in November, he came across a “No
Kangaroos in Austria” shirt, finding it ironic that indeed an Austin College Kangaroo was
right there. Don said he wanted to proclaim, “Kangaroos are everywhere!” He wrote that he
had no desire to travel outside the United States while a student, considering January Term
trips to Midland, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana, “abroad” enough, so he has been
surprised to find himself living abroad so much at this stage in life.
79
Pat Rogers ’79, Ginny Keeling Thomas ’79, Judy Donachie Watson ’79, and Sydney
Sharp ’82 (13), left to right in the photo on page 45, gathered in May at the kickoff party in
Dallas for the Predisan’s 3rd Annual Walk for Honduras. Janie Grinnan McNaughton ’79
also attended the kickoff and all were present for the walk at the Katy Trail, which raised
$100,000.00 for medical clinics, water supplies, and classrooms in the poorest areas of
Honduras. Thomas organized a team of walkers from North Texas High School where she
teaches French and English. For information: www.predisan.org.
84
Tammy Wilson Cangelose received a master’s degree in dispute resolution from Southern
Methodist University in December 2008 ■ Jim ‘82 and Cherie Spears Walker recently
celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They live in Coppell, Texas, with their daughters,
Mary Beth and Margaret.
85
Beth Anne Meriwether and Roger Watson were married August 17, 2008, in Anchorage,
Alaska. They live in Wylie, Texas ■ Susan Spearman VanMeakins graduated from Lesley
University in October 2008 with a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction: Integrated
Teaching through the Arts. She continues to teach English language acquisition to
elementary students in Loveland, Colorado.
92
Celeste Lunceford and Dwayne Havis (8) were married September 20, 2008. She is a
Texas licensed professional counselor clinical supervisor, director of Offender Education
Programs for the State of Texas through the Department of State Health Services, and a
consultant for the Austin Institute of Bariatrics and Laparoscopy. Dwayne is a lieutenant
game warden pilot for Texas Parks and Wildlife, flying helicopters and airplanes on law
enforcement, wildlife, and environmental missions, as well as a licensed flight instructor
through the FAA. The couple lives in Austin, Texas.
94
Twin boys, Logan Charles and Xavier Michael, were born December 17, 2008, to Paul and
Beth Cobb Matlock.
Numbers in color after alumni names correspond with photos on
page 45.
42
March 2009
03
Erik Johanson, a member of the Texas Army National Guard, has been activated for duty
with Alpha Company 636th BSB (brigade support battalion). He is serving in Talill, Iraq,
where he works in the maintenance and vehicle recovery section supporting convoy security
operations. He is scheduled to return home August 2009. ■ A son, Wyoming Michael, was
born November 7, 2008, to Meredith and Michael Sturlin.
A son, Joel Thomas, was born July 30, 2008, to Jim and Kristi Baughman Marriott. The
family lives in Rochester, Michigan, where Jim is the director of sanctuary worship and Kristi
teaches preschool part-time at St. John Lutheran Church and School. ■ Kim Freeman
and Joe Newton ’99 (3) were married on the beach in Playa del Carmen May 9, 2008.
Groomsmen included Carlos Soto ’99 and DJ Tillery ’99, with bridesmaids Kelsey House
Decker and Diana Garcia Pecorino. Also attending were Danny Decker ’01, Jason Hulen
’99, Han Pham Hulen ’98, Frank Vasquez ’97, Juan Garay ’01, Jason Haddock ’01,
Brandon Mays ’00, Chris Grizzaffi ’97, Jeff Tapp ’96, Mark Cunningham ’97, and
Mareda Goodman ’99.
98
99
73
75
97
Eric Venegas (11), who has worked at Banowetz + Company for the past eight years, was
named creative director at the Dallas-based advertising agency in January. He began with
the firm as a junior designer and was promoted to designer in 2003 and to senior designer
in 2007. Before joining the Banowetz team, Eric worked as a graphic designer/product
designer at Fossil. He has received several awards for his work.
Lynda Uphouse
notes
Austin Amos was named a Rising Star for 2008 in Mid-South Super Lawyers annual
publication. He is an associate in the business and real estate section of the Little Rock
offices of Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow. Rising Stars must be no older than 40 and
practicing law for 10 years or less. The award is based on a survey of Arkansas, Mississippi,
and Tennessee attorneys, together with research by the publisher, to determine the top 2.5
percent of the region’s up-and-coming lawyers. ■ A son, Preston Grant, was born
November 20, 2007, to Kenneth and Allison McKnight Travis (4). The family lives in Big
Sandy, Texas, near Longview where Allison is a licensed professional counselor in private
practice and Kenneth is a managing partner of Integrity Mortgage.
00
A son, Dean Rizk, was born October 21, 2008, to David and Giselle Finne Gafford (7). The
family lives in Dallas, Texas. ■ A daughter, Sarah Kate, was born October 9, 2008, to
Scott and Jaclyn Bouche Mispagel. ■ Amanda Jester and Kenneth Vera(1) were married
November 8, 2008, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. Allison McKnight Travis ’99
was a member of the bridal party and Brooke Dorsey McMillan ’00 attended. Amanda’s
beloved pug, Jasper, who she met her senior year at Austin College, also was in the bridal
party. Amanda and Ken live with Jasper and his brother, Mason, in Miami Beach, where
Amanda is in her fifth year as a healthcare attorney with McDermott Will & Emery and Ken
is a physical therapist. ■ A son, Robert Thomas Riggs, III, was born October 15, 2008, to
Rob and Noelle Monier Riggs (10). Big sister Sarah helped welcome Robert home.
01
Shawnia Elder continues to contract her services as a speech language pathologist in the
Houston area. Since August 2008, her 3-year-old daughter, Zaria, has kept her busy
winning pageant titles and more recently, as a fashion model for a children’s boutique.
■ Amy Lindsey graduated December 20, 2008, from Sam Houston State University with
a Master of Library Science degree. She has been a reading and media specialist with the
Sabine Pass Independent School District for the past three years. ■ A daughter, Lillian
Anna, was born October 21, 2008, in Ithaca, New York, to Beth and Josh Reynolds (6).
Josh is completing his MBA at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of
Management and then will begin a position with Morgan Stanley in sales and trading in
New York City.
02
Lauren A. Cook has accepted a position with the Kaufman County District Attorney’s office
as an assistant district attorney. ■ Alison MacManus graduated from Harvard Law
School in June 2008. She is working for the Supreme Court of Alaska as clerk to Justice
Walter Carpeneti. Alison is the daughter of Laura Schleier Burgess ’78 and Bill
MacManus ’77.
04
A son, Patrick Anthony, was born January 23, 2009, to Ashley and E.A. Hoppe (12). ■
Sarah Beatty and David Snyder ’02 (2) were married on August 18, 2007. The wedding
party included Amy Snyder, Kenna Williams, Sarah Walker Kinard ’02, Sarah Demarest
Allen ’03, and Matt Kinard ‘02. Many other alumni attended.
05
Lydia Albury and Steffan Jones were married November 16, 2008, at the Church of St.
David of Wales in Denton, Texas. Kimberly Aragon ’05 was a bridesmaid and Barry Ray ’02
attended. ■ A daughter, Heidi Elise, was born August 18, 2008, to Mark ’02 and Lorissa
Haning Eichenberger (14). The family lives in The Woodlands, Texas. Heidi’s pediatrician
happens to be Joan Saunders Purcell ’86 (who is married to Paul Purcell ’88). Heidi has
been born to quite a ’Roo family legacy — grandfather Dale Eichenberger ’68 and uncle
David Eichenberger ’72 as well as uncle Reed Eicheberger ’10, now attending Austin
College. ■ A daughter, McKynzi Reese, was born June 25, 2008, to Corey and Lacey
Stewart Hailey. ■ Emily Richardson Owen was ordained to the office of minister of word
and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) October 19, 2008, at her home
congregation of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. She was ordained by the
presbytery of mission on behalf of the Presbytery of Charlotte, where she has been called
as associate pastor of Matthews Presbyterian Church in Matthews, North Carolina. Emily
and her husband, Henry Owen, moved to Matthews following Emily’s graduation from
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a summer position at Highlands Presbyterian
Camp and Conference Center in Allenspark, Colorado. The Commission to ordain Emily
Introducing the
Austin College Loyalty Society
Austin College is grateful to all its donors. Because we value the generous
support of our alumni, parents, and friends, we always are looking for ways to
honor them for the gifts they make.
So, in 2009, we are pleased to introduce the Austin College Loyalty Society.
This special designation will recognize contributors who support the College for
five or more consecutive years, regardless of the size of their gifts. Membership
in the Loyalty Society is sustained by making a gift every year (July 1–June 30)
to Austin College. Donors will be recognized in five-year increments, and those
giving 25 consecutive years or more will receive lifetime membership in the
Loyalty Society. We look forward to honoring these dedicated donors, beginning
in the 2009 Honor Roll of Donors, who give annually to support the College.
The Austin College Loyalty Society. Every gift matters, every year.
March 2009
43
’ r o o
notes
The Kangaroo Ball, as in “We had a ball!”
3 ’03
COURTESY PHOTO
Several Austin College alumni who live and work in the Washington, D.C., area played host,
chauffeur, chef, travel agent, and political commentators for classmates and friends during
Inauguration Week. They were represented at the Sunday concert on the mall; dinner at Nam
Viet; brunch at the home of Tom ’65 and Beth Wheatcroft Schmid ’67; gallery visits and
‘hanging out’ on the mall; dancing at the Black Tie and Boots Ball; and attending the actual
swearing-in or watching it on television together and maintaining the buffet, at the home of
Ruth Whiteside ’64 and her husband, Jim Shelhamer, for those coming in from the cold. Ruth
hosted overnight guests as did Kathy Seddon ’69. “When we raised our champagne glasses at
high noon on January 20 for a celebratory toast in honor of the new president, we also were
celebrating friendships that reach back over 40 years, to a small liberal arts college in
Sherman, Texas,” said Gretchen Weicker Bullock ’67.
1 ’00
5 ’49
COURTESY PHOTO
4 ’99
Around the table, from left, are: Beth Schmid, Kathy Seddon, Dianne Hardie Thompson
’68, Tom Schmid, Larry Sykes ’66 of Dallas who came to town for the big event, Richard
“Scooter” Merritt ’66, and Gretchen Bullock.
6 ’01
Abbas Ravjani ’04, Dennis Gonier ’83,
Jacqueline Cooper ’73, and Michael Bardgett ’03
gathered for an Austin College photo at the
Black Tie and Boots Ball.
2 ’04
8 ’92
7 ’00
’08 Grads — Where are you?
included several Kangaroos, including John Evans ’64, Laura Shelton
Mendenhall ’69, and Bill Clark ’83.
07
Sarah Vaal and Shane Webb (9) were married July 20, 2008, in Pasadena,
Texas. The wedding party included maid of honor Sara Lifson, bridesmaids
Kristin Austin, and Polly Hyde, and groomsman Jason Lo ’08. John Williams
’84, Austin College chaplain, officiated.
10 ’00
11 ’98
08
12 ’04
Geoffrey Mecoy participated in an Allen (Texas) Public Library symposium
examining the life of abolitionist John Brown in February. Mecoy is a direct
descendant of Brown. The symposium, part of the library’s Black History Month
recognition, included a presentation by Alice Mecoy, Geoffrey’s mother, on the
impact of Brown’s legacy on his descendants. She has researched John Brown
and his family history for more than 30 years. The symposium also included a
survey of Brown’s life by University of Texas professor Evan Carton, author of
Patriotic Treason.
Numbers in color after alumni names correspond with photos on page 45.
44
March 2009
9 ’07
7 ’93
14 ’05
13 ’79
These Class of 2008 graduates, left to right, Cesar Ortega, Omar Saenz, and Steven Zaborowski joined
the Austin College staff after graduation, Cesar and Steven as assistant directors of admission, Omar as
assistant director of Annual Giving.
Austin College’s Career Services staff needs to hear from other 2008 graduates to compile data for
its annual Graduate Tracking Report. Members of the Class of 2008 are asked to report whether they are
working, looking for work, attending (or preparing for) graduate or professional school, performing volunteer
work, or simply taking time off. The information is used for statistical reporting purposes only so that the
staff may have a clear picture of what students do after graduation. Specific information is kept confidential
and will not be shared outside the College.
Margie Briscoe Norman ’83, director of Career Services, thanks graduates in advance for their help
and reminds them to contact Career Services staff members if they can help with future career or
educational goals. Reach her at (903) 813-2247 or by email at [email protected].
Complete the online Graduate Survey: www.austincollege.edu/gradsurvey.
15 ’65
March 2009
45
’ r o o
notes
The Kangaroo Ball, as in “We had a ball!”
3 ’03
COURTESY PHOTO
Several Austin College alumni who live and work in the Washington, D.C., area played host,
chauffeur, chef, travel agent, and political commentators for classmates and friends during
Inauguration Week. They were represented at the Sunday concert on the mall; dinner at Nam
Viet; brunch at the home of Tom ’65 and Beth Wheatcroft Schmid ’67; gallery visits and
‘hanging out’ on the mall; dancing at the Black Tie and Boots Ball; and attending the actual
swearing-in or watching it on television together and maintaining the buffet, at the home of
Ruth Whiteside ’64 and her husband, Jim Shelhamer, for those coming in from the cold. Ruth
hosted overnight guests as did Kathy Seddon ’69. “When we raised our champagne glasses at
high noon on January 20 for a celebratory toast in honor of the new president, we also were
celebrating friendships that reach back over 40 years, to a small liberal arts college in
Sherman, Texas,” said Gretchen Weicker Bullock ’67.
1 ’00
5 ’49
COURTESY PHOTO
4 ’99
Around the table, from left, are: Beth Schmid, Kathy Seddon, Dianne Hardie Thompson
’68, Tom Schmid, Larry Sykes ’66 of Dallas who came to town for the big event, Richard
“Scooter” Merritt ’66, and Gretchen Bullock.
6 ’01
Abbas Ravjani ’04, Dennis Gonier ’83,
Jacqueline Cooper ’73, and Michael Bardgett ’03
gathered for an Austin College photo at the
Black Tie and Boots Ball.
2 ’04
8 ’92
7 ’00
’08 Grads — Where are you?
included several Kangaroos, including John Evans ’64, Laura Shelton
Mendenhall ’69, and Bill Clark ’83.
07
Sarah Vaal and Shane Webb (9) were married July 20, 2008, in Pasadena,
Texas. The wedding party included maid of honor Sara Lifson, bridesmaids
Kristin Austin, and Polly Hyde, and groomsman Jason Lo ’08. John Williams
’84, Austin College chaplain, officiated.
10 ’00
11 ’98
08
12 ’04
Geoffrey Mecoy participated in an Allen (Texas) Public Library symposium
examining the life of abolitionist John Brown in February. Mecoy is a direct
descendant of Brown. The symposium, part of the library’s Black History Month
recognition, included a presentation by Alice Mecoy, Geoffrey’s mother, on the
impact of Brown’s legacy on his descendants. She has researched John Brown
and his family history for more than 30 years. The symposium also included a
survey of Brown’s life by University of Texas professor Evan Carton, author of
Patriotic Treason.
Numbers in color after alumni names correspond with photos on page 45.
44
March 2009
9 ’07
7 ’93
14 ’05
13 ’79
These Class of 2008 graduates, left to right, Cesar Ortega, Omar Saenz, and Steven Zaborowski joined
the Austin College staff after graduation, Cesar and Steven as assistant directors of admission, Omar as
assistant director of Annual Giving.
Austin College’s Career Services staff needs to hear from other 2008 graduates to compile data for
its annual Graduate Tracking Report. Members of the Class of 2008 are asked to report whether they are
working, looking for work, attending (or preparing for) graduate or professional school, performing volunteer
work, or simply taking time off. The information is used for statistical reporting purposes only so that the
staff may have a clear picture of what students do after graduation. Specific information is kept confidential
and will not be shared outside the College.
Margie Briscoe Norman ’83, director of Career Services, thanks graduates in advance for their help
and reminds them to contact Career Services staff members if they can help with future career or
educational goals. Reach her at (903) 813-2247 or by email at [email protected].
Complete the online Graduate Survey: www.austincollege.edu/gradsurvey.
15 ’65
March 2009
45
K
College Mourns Loss of Senior Trustees
IN MEMORIAM
John F. Anderson
The Reverend John F. Anderson ’41, pastor emeritus of First
Presbyterian Church of Dallas since 1984, former Presbyterian General
Assembly moderator, and Austin College senior trustee, died January 31
in Dallas. He and his wife, Nancy (Lee) ’42, have been dedicated
supporters of Austin College.
Anderson was a Navy chaplain in the Pacific during World War II. In
1952, he was named senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of
Dallas, the church in which he grew up under the pastoral guidance of
his grandfather and uncle. He left the church in 1958 to serve as pastor
at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, Florida, and in 1965, moved
to Atlanta to serve as executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church in
the U.S. Board of National Ministries. He returned as pastor of First
Presbyterian in Dallas in 1973. Two years later, the church began The
Stewpot in response to homelessness in downtown Dallas.
In 1982, Anderson served as
president of the Greater Dallas
Community of Churches. That
year, he was moderator for the
General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
The next year, he played a key role
in reunification of the southern
and northern branches of the
Presbyterian Church, resulting in
the current-day Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.).
Austin College has received word of the deaths of the following alumni.
’30
’34
’41
’41
’44
’45
’46
’50
’50
’51
’52
’52
’53
’56
’57
’57
’61
’61
’63
’67
’68
’75
’77
’79
’81
’86
’94
’11
Charles Edward Roi Cameron
Martha Jane Clayton
John F. Anderson
Joseph E. Lawrence
Kenneth Maxwell Thomas
S.M. Dunnam, Jr.
Columbus Boyd “C.B.” Burchfield
Clyde E. Hale
Dan Wilbur Holloway
Billy Byers Sharp
Joseph Malone Joiner
D. Annette Kirk
Jerome Robert Blazek
Judith Ann Powell Hunter
George Richard “Bud” Avary, Jr.
Loyd Tildon Gilmore
James W. Coffey
Carolyn Ann Huey
Sharon D. Graves
James Edwin Davis
Rose Marie Mayes
Melanie Kneese
Sue Bagwell Glenn
Wanda Joan Farmer
Kirk Edward Chapin
Ann Feild Spillman
Jon Michael Jordan
Zachary Richard Swirczynski
November 17, 2008
January 12, 2009
January 31, 2009
February 21, 2009
June 19, 2007
January 6, 2009
January 28, 2009
March 2, 2009
December 22, 2007
February 13, 2009
November 16, 2008
January 23, 2009
March 21, 2008
September 7, 2008
January 25, 2009
November 2, 2008
June 23, 2008
January 27, 2009
November 22, 2008
December 17, 2007
December 31, 2008
October 29, 2007
February 10, 2009
January 20, 2009
December 14, 2008
December 12, 2008
November 29, 2008
February 9, 2009
FRIENDS WE WILL MISS
Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity International and Austin College 2000 Chair
of Excellence in International Leadership, died February 3, 2009.
John Anderson
Narcadean Buckner died Friday, December 26, 2008. She and her late husband, Andrew,
memorialized their son in a 1995 gift to the College of a 117-acre area of land, since known
as the Barry Buckner Biological Preserve and Research Area and site of many research projects
of students in the sciences.
Harriett Faudree Dublin
COURTESY PHOTO
The College was saddened to learn belatedly of the death in February 2008 of Austin College
senior trustee Harriett Faudree Dublin of Midland, Texas. She moved to Midland in 1946 and
the city became the center of her family, philanthropic, and ranching interests.
A longtime member of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, she was an accomplished artist
and a published author. A dedicated philanthropist, she was particularly proud of the work she
supported through the Harriett Parks Faudree Dublin Charitable Fund at the Permian Basin Area
Foundation. She joined the College’s Board of Trustees in 1980 and had been a member of the
Senior Board for many years.
46
March 2009
John F. Anderson
The Reverend John F. Anderson ’41, pastor emeritus of First
Presbyterian Church of Dallas since 1984, former Presbyterian General
Assembly moderator, and Austin College senior trustee, died January 31
in Dallas. He and his wife, Nancy (Lee) ’42, have been dedicated
supporters of Austin College.
Anderson was a Navy chaplain in the Pacific during World War II. In
1952, he was named senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of
Dallas, the church in which he grew up under the pastoral guidance of
his grandfather and uncle. He left the church in 1958 to serve as pastor
at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, Florida, and in 1965, moved
to Atlanta to serve as executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church in
the U.S. Board of National Ministries. He returned as pastor of First
Presbyterian in Dallas in 1973. Two years later, the church began The
Stewpot in response to homelessness in downtown Dallas.
In 1982, Anderson served as
president of the Greater Dallas
Community of Churches. That
year, he was moderator for the
General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
The next year, he played a key role
in reunification of the southern
and northern branches of the
Presbyterian Church, resulting in
the current-day Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.).
K
IN MEMORIAM
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Austin College has received word of the deaths of the following alumni.
CHAIR:
’30
’34
’41
’41
’44
’45
’46
’50
’50
’51
’52
’52
’53
’56
’57
’57
’61
’61
’63
’67
’68
’75
’77
’79
’81
’86
’94
’11
Charles Edward Roi Cameron
Martha Jane Clayton
John F. Anderson
Joseph E. Lawrence
Kenneth Maxwell Thomas
S.M. Dunnam, Jr.
Columbus Boyd “C.B.” Burchfield
Clyde E. Hale
Dan Wilbur Holloway
Billy Byers Sharp
Joseph Malone Joiner
D. Annette Kirk
Jerome Robert Blazek
Judith Ann Powell Hunter
George Richard “Bud” Avary, Jr.
Loyd Tildon Gilmore
James W. Coffey
Carolyn Ann Huey
Sharon D. Graves
James Edwin Davis
Rose Marie Mayes
Melanie Kneese
Sue Bagwell Glenn
Wanda Joan Farmer
Kirk Edward Chapin
Ann Feild Spillman
Jon Michael Jordan
Zachary Richard Swirczynski
November 17, 2008
January 12, 2009
January 31, 2009
February 21, 2009
June 19, 2007
January 6, 2009
January 28, 2009
March 2, 2009
December 22, 2007
February 13, 2009
November 16, 2008
January 23, 2009
March 21, 2008
September 7, 2008
January 25, 2009
November 2, 2008
June 23, 2008
January 27, 2009
November 22, 2008
December 17, 2007
December 31, 2008
October 29, 2007
February 10, 2009
January 20, 2009
December 14, 2008
December 12, 2008
November 29, 2008
February 9, 2009
Robert M. Johnson ’53, McLean, Virginia
VICE CHAIR:
Richard J. Agnich, Dallas, Texas
TRUSTEES:
John Q. Adams, Jr. ’84, Southlake, Texas
Jeffrey Landsberg ’81, Dallas, Texas
Margaret Allison, San Antonio, Texas
Luan Beaty Mendel ’75, Palo Verdes, California
John M. Andersen ’66, Dallas, Texas
Steven M. Mobley, Austin, Texas
Jerry E. Apple ’60, Irving, Texas
Wes Moffett ’82, Dallas, Texas
Lee Dean Ardell ’74, Houston, Texas
Samuel S. Moore ’64, Dallas, Texas
James D. Baskin III ’75, Austin, Texas
Jo Ann Geurin Pettus, Graham, Texas
Laura Dies Campbell ’73, Austin, Texas
Davis B. Price ’67, Lubbock, Texas
Jacqueline R. Cooper ’73, Oakton, Virginia
Fazlur Rahman, San Angelo, Texas
Linda Morris Elsey, Fort Worth, Texas
Annadele H. Ross ’66, Dallas, Texas
F. R. “Buck” Files ’60, Tyler, Texas
John Serhant, Denison, Texas
Rebecca Moseley Gafford ’72, Dallas, Texas
Caroline Elbert Taylor ’66, Wyalusing, Pennsylvania
Donald Gibson ’75, Houston, Texas
Jesse R. Thomas ’74, Sherman, Texas
Dennis E. Gonier ’83, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Linda Plummer Ward ’78, Nashville, Tennessee
Thomas Hall, Jr. ’78, Colleyville, Texas
William E. Warren ’74, Plano, Texas
Mary Ann Stell Harris ’70, Fort Worth, Texas
Todd A. Williams ’82, Dallas, Texas
Charles Hendricks ’61, The Woodlands, Texas
Stanley M. Woodward, Dallas, Texas
Kelly Hiser, Sherman, Texas
Michael G. Wright, Dallas, Texas
M. Steve Jones, Sherman, Texas
Robert J. Wright, Dallas, Texas
FRIENDS WE WILL MISS
Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity International and Austin College 2000 Chair
of Excellence in International Leadership, died February 3, 2009.
John Anderson
Narcadean Buckner died Friday, December 26, 2008. She and her late husband, Andrew,
memorialized their son in a 1995 gift to the College of a 117-acre area of land, since known
as the Barry Buckner Biological Preserve and Research Area and site of many research projects
of students in the sciences.
Harriet Faudree Dublin
COURTESY PHOTO
The College was saddened to learn belatedly of the death in February 2008 of Austin College
senior trustee Harriett Faudree Dublin of Midland, Texas. She moved to Midland in 1946 and
the city became the center of her family, philanthropic, and ranching interests.
A longtime member of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, she was an accomplished artist
and a published author. A dedicated philanthropist, she was particularly proud of the work she
supported through the Harriett Parks Faudree Dublin Charitable Fund at the Permian Basin Area
Foundation. She joined the College’s Board of Trustees in 1980 and had been a member of the
Senior Board for many years.
Sharon S. King, Richardson, Texas
m e e t
t h e
trustee
It took Stan Woodward, Austin College trustee and CEO of LTF (Laying
The Foundation), exactly one visit to the College’s campus to want to get
involved. Woodward, an elder and Sunday school teacher at Preston
Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, met Bob Wright, former
Austin College board chair, while working on projects at their church.
Wright introduced Woodward to President Oscar Page, who extended an
invitation to Woodward to visit the campus and eventually, to join the
Board of Trustees.
“My initial impression was similar to what anyone would experience
when walking through a historic landmark, and the buzz around campus
was great,” Woodward said. “Students were smiling and friendly, and it
felt very welcoming everywhere we went.” Later that day, Woodward and
his wife, Judy, attended an Evening with Your Scholar event. “The dinner
with the scholars was just beyond
anything we expected,” he said. “We
were fortunate enough to sit with a
very interesting group of students.
One girl had basically raised herself
and her brother in the absence of a
dad and working mother and was
studying physics at Austin College.
I was just blown away by the quality
of students we met that night.”
Woodward was sold. He joined
the board in 2001, bringing his
experience as a former vice president
of business and enterprise services at
Yahoo! to the College. “I thought I
could bring a lot of my experiences
dealing with online infrastructure,
Stan Woodward
webcasting, and collaboration to
Austin College,” Woodward said. “I
also felt that the College needed some fresh perspectives on how to
market the College on the Web.”
In 2009, Woodward still is just as excited about the College’s potential.
“I believe Austin College needs to move from a ‘best kept secret’ to a
‘well-known fact’ and that effective marketing and branding will get us
there,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but we are headed down
the right path, and I am happy to be a part of that visioning process.”
Woodward hopes that showing more of the world what he discovered
at Austin College in 2001 will help the College become the school of
choice for more students. “To be a trustee at Austin College means taking
seriously the role of preserving the past 160 years of progress, but also
pushing to make sure the College stays relevant as a leading liberal arts
school going forward,” he said. “I think our continued focus on turning
out graduates who are servant leaders prepared to make a difference in the
world is just huge. How many colleges really do that?”
46
March 2009
March 2009
47
COURTESY PHOTO
College Mourns Loss of Senior Trustees
K
CALENDAR
OF
EVENTS
Class of 2009 Graduation Activities
APRIL
1–4
9
16
20
20
23–25
24–25
Baccalaureate
Saturday, May 16, 7 p.m.
Baccalaureate Sermon:
Karl Travis, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas
26
29
Asia Week Continues
Will Mann Richardson Lectures: Ted Harpham
Global GOLD Alumni Event
AIDS Quilt Display
Chamber and Jazz Concert
Theatre: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen,
directed by Kirk Everist
Undergraduate Conference:
“Darwin 200: Bridging Disciplines/
Breaking Boundaries.” Keynote Address: David Buss
Spring Choir Concert
Concert Band Recital
MAY
2
Commencement
May 17, 8:30 a.m.
Speaker:
Oscar C. Page, President, Austin College
Student Speaker:
Parth Shah
15
15–17
16
17
Sherman Symphony Orchestra featuring
piano solo by Daniel Dominick; concert dedicated
to Oscar and Anna Laura Page
Spring Term Ends
Class of 1959 and Golden ’Roo Reunion
Baccalaureate
Commencement
Find details and more events online:
austincollege.edu/commencement
We call it the Annual Fund. There are 365 reasons we do.
The Annual Fund supports ever ything we are and do,
ever y day of the year.
Last year, 8 of 10 Austin College
students had an international
study experience.
And, 75 percent of students
are awarded
academic scholarships.
What do the two have in common?
Scholarship support enabled
Monica Martinez to attend
Austin College and
share her talents with the world.
Monica Martinez ’09
Hometown: Mineola, Texas
Majors: International Relations and
Religion/Philosophy
Scholarships Received:
Hatton W. Sumners Scholarship in Political Science
Carl D. White Sponsored Founders Scholarship
2009 LEGENDS CELEBRATION
JULY 18 — 20
July 18: Reception, Austin College
July 19: Awards Dinner, Austin College
July 20: Annual Slats McCord Golf Tournament
The Tribute Golf Course in The Colony, Texas
ATHLETIC HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES
Mark Cunningham ’97
Aaron Kernek ’01
Jack Manes ’60
Amy Meschke Porter ’98
HONORARY INDUCTEES
Carlisle Littlejohn
Ann Biggerstaff Mason ’53
Kate Moore McCord ’50
COACH JOE SPENCER AWARD
FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AND
MERITORIOUS SERVICE IN COACHING
Gayno Shelton ’60
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
2010 ATHLETIC HALL OF
HONOR INDUCTIONS
Find instructions
and criteria online:
www.austincollege.edu/Info.asp?2001
Nomination Deadline: May 15
Countries Visited: Australia, China, Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria,
Senegal, Taiwan, Turkey
Campus Activities: 2008 Model U.N. participant
in China, 2008 Student body president, 2008
Global Outreach Fellow, 2007 Homecoming
Queen, Omega Zeta social sorority, Chi Tau Chi
fraternity Little Sister, Pi Sigma Alpha national
political science honor society, Senior Committee,
Campus Activities Board, Alternative Spring
Break, Dean’s List
Her Future: Deciding between graduate school
and the Peace Corps, but definitely public service
Monica in Nigeria on a Global Outreach service trip
THE
AUSTIN COLLEGE
ANNUAL FUND
48
March 2009
TO PRESENT A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF AUSTIN COLLEGE
STUDENTS, PLEASE CALL THE ANNUAL FUND OFFICE AT (903) 813-2335, OR GO ONLINE
AT AUSTINCOLLEGE.EDU/GIVING
CALENDAR
OF
EVENTS
Class of 2009 Graduation Activities
APRIL
1–4
9
16
20
20
23–25
24–25
Baccalaureate
Saturday, May 16, 7 p.m.
Baccalaureate Sermon:
Karl Travis, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas
26
29
Asia Week Continues
Will Mann Richardson Lectures: Ted Harpham
Global GOLD Alumni Event
AIDS Quilt Display
Chamber and Jazz Concert
Theatre: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen,
directed by Kirk Everist
Undergraduate Conference:
“Darwin 200: Bridging Disciplines/
Breaking Boundaries.” Keynote Address: David Buss
Spring Choir Concert
Concert Band Recital
MAY
2
Commencement
May 17, 8:30 a.m.
Speaker:
Oscar C. Page, President, Austin College
Student Speaker:
Parth Shah
15
15–17
16
17
Sherman Symphony Orchestra featuring
piano solo by Daniel Dominick; concert dedicated
to Oscar and Anna Laura Page
Spring Term Ends
Class of 1959 and Golden ’Roo Reunion
Baccalaureate
Commencement
Find details and more events online:
austincollege.edu/commencement
We call it the Annual Fund. There are 365 reasons we do.
The Annual Fund supports ever ything we are and do,
ever y day of the year.
Last year, 8 of 10 Austin College
students had an international
study experience.
And, 75 percent of students
are awarded
academic scholarships.
What do the two have in common?
Scholarship support enabled
Monica Martinez to attend
Austin College and
share her talents with the world.
Monica Martinez ’09
Hometown: Mineola, Texas
Majors: International Relations and
Religion/Philosophy
Scholarships Received:
Hatton W. Sumners Scholarship in Political Science
Carl D. White Sponsored Founders Scholarship
2009 LEGENDS CELEBRATION
JULY 18 — 20
July 18: Reception, Austin College
July 19: Awards Dinner, Austin College
July 20: Annual Slats McCord Golf Tournament
The Tribute Golf Course in The Colony, Texas
ATHLETIC HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES
Mark Cunningham ’97
Aaron Kernek ’01
Jack Manes ’60
Amy Meschke Porter ’98
HONORARY INDUCTEES
Carlisle Littlejohn
Ann Biggerstaff Mason ’53
Kate Moore McCord ’50
COACH JOE SPENCER AWARD
FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AND
MERITORIOUS SERVICE IN COACHING
Gayno Shelton ’60
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
2010 ATHLETIC HALL OF
HONOR INDUCTIONS
Find instructions
and criteria online:
www.austincollege.edu/Info.asp?2001
Nomination Deadline: May 15
Countries Visited: Australia, China, Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria,
Senegal, Taiwan, Turkey
Campus Activities: 2008 Model U.N. participant
in China, 2008 Student body president, 2008
Global Outreach Fellow, 2007 Homecoming
Queen, Omega Zeta social sorority, Chi Tau Chi
fraternity Little Sister, Pi Sigma Alpha national
political science honor society, Senior Committee,
Campus Activities Board, Alternative Spring
Break, Dean’s List
Her Future: Deciding between graduate school
and the Peace Corps, but definitely public service
Monica in Nigeria on a Global Outreach service trip
THE
AUSTIN COLLEGE
ANNUAL FUND
48
March 2009
TO PRESENT A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF AUSTIN COLLEGE
STUDENTS, PLEASE CALL THE ANNUAL FUND OFFICE AT (903) 813-2335, OR GO ONLINE
AT AUSTINCOLLEGE.EDU/GIVING
learning|leadership|lasting values
NONPROFIT ORG.
U S P O S TA G E
Austin College
900 Nor th Grand Avenue, Suite 6H
Sherman, Texas 75090-4400
PA I D
AUSTIN, TX
PERMIT NO. 110
Taking a Walk on the Wild Side
Students in the “Brazilian Ecosystems” JanTerm course hike in Chapada dos
Veadeiros National Park in the savanna (Cerrado) of central Brazil.
30% recycled stock
PHOTO BY DANIEL DE GRANVILLE
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

March 2009 - Austin College

Transcription

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