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Lynchburg
C o l l e g e
M a g a z i n e
Spring 2014
Faculty
Fabulous
HIGHLIGHT ON STAFF
Boyce Hamlet
LC KEEPS HIM GOING
Most days, Boyce Hamlet works
13 hours. He doesn’t get paid
overtime, but it’s the only way
he knows how to do his job.
“I hate to leave the day with something undone,” Boyce said. “That’s my downfall.”
As director of buildings, Boyce says there is
always work to do. He’s responsible not only for
aging buildings with a half century to a century
of wear and tear, but also the aging electrical and
plumbing infrastructure that comes with them.
He strives to make the campus more energy- and
cost-efficient.
Boyce thrives on work. In fact, he said working
kept him afloat when a doctor told him he had
three months to live. That was six years ago. A
rare autoimmune disease left Boyce gasping for
breath, but he kept doing his job. Fortunately, a
doctor at Duke was able to diagnose his problem
and get Boyce the medicine he needed to keep
on living and working.
Nobody knows the campus — both above and
below ground — better than Boyce, who started
here as an HVAC mechanic in 1990. Boyce is
quick to say his talented team of 10 men is key.
“We cover every trade and teach each other,” he
said. Boyce knows that success comes from listening. “Sometimes the quietest person in the room
might have the solution,” he said.
Many students have worked for Boyce, and
he enjoys seeing them mature and return as
alumni. His two children share his love for LC:
Justin is a junior international relations and criminology double major, while Jessi is a first-year
criminology major.
Boyce said he always made it to his children’s
sporting events, though he realizes he should
have spent more time with them and his wife,
Bobbi. “The responsibility of taking care of all
these students here is a hard tradeoff,” he said.
In the little leisure time he allows himself, Boyce
enjoys hunting and fishing. Then it’s back to LC.
“The College has really taken care of me —
given me chances to succeed and fail,” he said.
“It’s what keeps me going.”
PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICK
Lynchburg
C o l l e g e
www.lynchburg.edu/spring2014
M a g a z i n e
W E B
Spring 2014
Vol. 21, No. 2
EXCLUSIVES
VIDEO
ON
THE
COVER
Watch an interview with
Haitian student Ancito
Etienne ’17.
Take a tour of the new
Chandler Eco-Lodge.
AUDIO
Listen to Eddy Faulkner ’14
sing “O Holy Night.”
READ MORE
Dr. Marek Payerhin, Dr.
Lindsay Michie, Dr. Chip
Walton, Dr. Brian Crim, and
Dr. Eunice Rojas collaborated
on Sounds of Resistance.
See who participated in
the first Hornet-2-Hornet
conference.
PHOTO
GALLERIES
DEPARTMENTS
2 President’s Message
3 Around the Dell
16 Hornet Highlights
36 Class Notes
Check out the art work
and taxidermy of Nick
Shelton ’14.
Neither ice nor snow nor frigid wind can keep men’s lacrosse off Shellenberger Field.
Follow the progress on
the Drysdale Student
Center renovation.
FEATURES
19
Fabulous Faculty
34
Student Center champions
SCAN ME
with your smartphone to
check out this issue online!
Professors share their passion and expertise.
Doug and Elaine Drysdale pledge $3 million.
See the fun at Parents
and Family Weekend
and Homecoming.
Lynchburg
C o l l e g e
M a g a z i n e
Editor
Shannon Brennan
Contributing Writers
Mike Carpenter, Cody Clifton,
Class Notes
Betty Howell
Photographer
John McCormick
Contributing Photography
Tom Cassidy ’73,
Warren Wright
Creative Services Director
Timothy Gormley
Graphic Designers
Web Team
Christopher Peterson
Katharine McCann
Pamela Carder, Tracy Chase,
David Woody ’00
Director of College Communications and Marketing
Deborah P. Blanchard
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
President
Kenneth R. Garren
Vice President and Dean, Academic Affairs
Julius Sigler ’62
Vice President, Business and Finance
Stephen Bright
Vice President, Enrollment Management
Rita Detwiler
Vice President, Advancement
Denise A. McDonald
Vice President and Dean, Student Development
John Eccles
Vice President, College Communications
and Marketing
Stephen Arnold ’00 MEd
Lynchburg College Magazine is published
semi-annually for alumni, parents, and friends
by College Communications and Marketing,
434.544.8325 or 800.621.1669.
Send change of address to:
Lynchburg College Magazine
Lynchburg College
1501 Lakeside Drive
Lynchburg, VA 24501-3113
[email protected]
www.lynchburg.edu
Letters to the editor may be sent to
[email protected]
Lynchburg College does not discriminate on the basis of
race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or
national or ethnic origin and complies with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Correction
Dr. Walter Wineman’s first name was incorrect in the
fall 2013 issue.
2 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2014
President’s Message
Trustees inspired by LC faculty
This issue is devoted
to highlighting our
faculty members.
In talking with
some of our alums
who made the
decision to step up
and begin serving
as LC trustees, I
found that faculty
interactions were a
fundamental reason
for their love for the
College.
Board Chair Polly Blackwell Flint ’ ,’ MEd:
“I met Dr. Pete Warren in September of 1969
when he first arrived at LC. I, as well as nearly
everyone who had him as a professor, loved his
style of teaching, his absolute acceptance of everyone’s opinions, and his engaging personality.
Another one who I remember often, because he
wouldn’t give up on me, was Charles Barrett, my
advanced freshman English professor. I wanted
to drop back to a regular English section. He
wouldn’t let me out of his class, insisting that I
could do the work. In the end, I did not make
better grades, but I think he taught me a lot
about seeing difficult things through, and
I believe that is a good life lesson.”
Mary Elcano ’71: “As a history major, I was
privileged to study with the best — Dr. Clifton
Potter ’62, Dr. Robert Frey, Wilma Washburn,
and Dr. Walter Wineman. They were rigorous
scholars, brilliant thinkers, and role models who
served me well in my career. They demonstrated
the right balance of demanding high quality work
and allowing for individual contribution. I always
wanted to stray from the pack and focus on independent studies or unique projects. They kindly
agreed and inspired my self-confidence.”
Phil Mazzara ’70: “As a freshman, I had started
as a pre-med student and signed up to be in the
cast of Once Upon a Mattress and on the staff of
The Prism. I quickly got into academic trouble,
and I was encouraged to change my major. I had
always loved literature, so I became an English
major, and Dr. Mervyn Williamson ’48 became
my advisor. He did two things for me. Whenever
he thought I needed it, he ‘took me to the woodshed’ and inspired me to get my academic house
in order. So, I credit Dr. Williamson for not only
helping me stay in college, but also for helping
me get my GPA high enough to enter grad
school. The other thing he did for me was instill
a deep love of British poetry and prose written
during and after WWI.”
Dr. Andy Tatom ’78: “If I have to choose one
faculty member who had a significant impact
on my life it is Dr. Jim Owens. He was very
engaging and made me enjoy history; however,
it was not in the classroom that he helped me, it
was out of class. Jim took a great interest in his
students and shared the lessons that help you decide what type of person you will become. Much
of what I am today is because Jim did what LC
professors are known for — he got involved with
his students. He saw something in me that I did
not see in myself and he gave me the confidence,
tools, and opportunity to grow.
Tucker Withers ’69: “I cannot single out one
professor who made a profound difference on
my life but several and for a variety of reasons:
Dr. James F. Carter ’49, Dr. Shirley Rosser ’40,
Charles Alty, and Dr. Joe Nelson. But as I have
said many times, I would have never made it
through LC if it wasn’t for Dr. Tom Tiller ’56,
dean of students. He knew all I needed was a
little understanding and a gentle hand. I learned
much at LC, in and out of the classroom, and
Dr. Tiller gave me the opportunity.”
I am grateful to faculty who made a significant
difference in the lives of our LC trustees and
for current faculty who continue to make that
difference.
Kenneth R. Garren, PhD
President
PHOTO BY WARREN WRIGHT
Around the Dell
U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS
by source
Natural gas
and petroleum
industry
Animal
digestion
37.5%*
21.5%
16%
Landfills
Wastewater
treatment
2%
5%
Other
8% 11%
Manure
storage
Alumni offer job advice
Coal mining
* Percentages do not add up to 100 because of rounding
College to get electricity from landfill gas
lc, emory & henry college, Hollins
University, Randolph College, and
Sweet Briar College will become the first
institutions of higher learning in Virginia
to provide 100 percent renewable electricity to their respective campuses using
methane gas from landfills. The colleges
are offsetting between 50 and 70 percent
of their total carbon footprints.
Steve Bright, LC’s vice president for
business and finance, estimates that the
College will save at least $1.8 million
during the life of the 12-year contract.
Metering changes will require several
months, but LC should be getting all of its
electricity from landfill gas by spring 2014.
The five schools have entered into
agreements with Collegiate Clean Energy
(CCE), an affiliate of Ingenco, Virginia’s
largest landfill gas (LFG) to energy
operators. Landfills account for 16
percent of all methane emissions in the
United States.
“LFG is 21 times more destructive to
the atmosphere than carbon dioxide,”
explained Thomas Loehr, president of
CCE. “By converting LFG, we all enjoy
a dual benefit of reducing greenhouse
gases and at the same time producing
renewable energy.”
Electricity generated from LFG will be
delivered to each college through the distribution system owned by Appalachian
Power Company. The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV)
coordinated the sustainability initiative.
LC ranked for return on investment
Lynchburg College was ranked 14th in Virginia for its return on investment by AffordableCollegesOnline.org (AC Online). “AC Online: Highest
Return on Investment Colleges in Virginia” identifies the 28 colleges in
Virginia with the greatest lifetime return on investment. Students who
graduate from these colleges earn more over their lifetimes, on average,
than graduates from other Virginia institutions.
INFOGRAPHIC, CHRISTOPHER PETERSON; SOURCE: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE; PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICK
More than 60 LC alumni participated in the first
“Hornet-2-Hornet College-to-Careers Conference”
during Homecoming on October 18. Every School
featured alumni panel discussions for undergraduates.
In a session titled, “What Can You Do with a
Liberal Arts Degree? Anything!,” John Reilly ’86,
a history major who now works for Altria, told students, “My entire liberal arts degree prepared me
to do a lot of things. I learned to write here. You
must learn to write, and you must learn to write
well. It will save you.”
Other members of the panel, moderated by Dr.
Mike Santos, agreed. “Philosophy taught me how
to write well,” said Elizabeth Childress ’12, a
philosophy/ French major who is a government
affairs specialist with Spotts Fain PC.
“Poetry helped me figure out how to say things
correctly in as short a space as possible,” said
Clyde Harkrader ’09, an English major who is
now a proposal specialist for Thomas Advisors in
Lynchburg.
“You develop an open mind about a lot of things,”
said Ty Gafford ’94, ’08 MEd, principal of Altavista
Combined School in Campbell County.
All panel members advised students to use LC’s
Career Center, to network via Linked-In, to be willing
to start at entry-level positions, and to work hard.
“Don’t walk in entitled,” Reilly advised. “They’re
not going to throw a parade for you for doing
your job.”
The “Launching from LC” Task Force has been
working this past year to propose new and innovative ways to prepare graduates more effectively for
the worlds of work and graduate school.
WEB EXCLUSIVE See who participated in the
first Hornet-2-Hornet conference at lynchburg.edu/
spring2014.
Spring 2014 LC MAGAZINE 3
Around the Dell
A liberal
education is
about life and
vocation
As far back as ancient greece, Aristotle
explained that a liberal education prepares
young minds for both a good life and the
ability to make a living.
Yet today, that clarity has disappeared.
Even academics squabble about whether
college is meant to prepare students for
living a full life or for employment. That’s
a false argument, according to Dr. Gary
Phillips ’71, dean of the college and professor of religion at Wabash College.
As our world faces increasingly complex problems, we need to train young
people to live “the good life” and be able
to seek meaningful employment.
“Humanistic teaching and learning
transforms, and this gives us hope,”
Dr. Phillips said during a public lecture
at his alma mater in November.
Aristotle said an individual’s talents and
society’s needs create vocation. During
the Renaissance, the connection between
rhetorical skill and public life was clear;
one needed to understand history and be
able to extrapolate to the future to be a
good politician or preacher.
Dr. Phillips said research done by
the Wabash College Center for Inquiry,
which surveyed 17,000 students at
49 institutions, showed that the most
important part of college education happens in individual classrooms and is not
dependent on any particular curriculum.
Not surprisingly, the study found that
good teaching requires passion, clarity,
and consistency.
While higher education institutions
need to state more clearly the value of the
humanities, Dr. Phillips said there is another problem facing them. By 2025, the
number of students in the college pool
will decrease by 12 percent and schools
will be competing even more fiercely to
fill their classrooms.
When asked what colleges like Lynchburg can do, Phillips said that there will
have to be increasing emphasis on recruiting transfer students from community
colleges.
Colleges will also have to get ahead of
their students on understanding technology and incorporating it into their classrooms, Dr. Phillips said. For example, he
noted, professors can take a great lecture
from a free, online service like Khan
Academy and assign it as homework.
Then students work on problems during
class, an idea referred to as “the flipped
classroom.”
Phillips is author of more than four
dozen articles and has done more than
100 presentations and lectures. His
current research and teaching focus on
ethical, theological, and artistic questions
related to the reading of the Bible after
the Holocaust.
Phillips credits LC and his study of
the humanities with changing his life.
“Lynchburg College demonstrated how
education can change the lives of young
people through deep engagement about
things that matter,” he said. “It showed
me a model of how to teach my own
students. You have to think about complex realities and try to find a way to
address them.”
Dr. Phillips said the faculty at LC
could easily be at larger, better-known
universities and that a high quality
faculty makes small liberal arts colleges
great places to learn.
Peer mentoring without peer
Two of LC’s peer mentoring programs —
Connections and Link Leaders — have been
featured at national and regional conferences
hosted by NACADA (a leading association for
academic advising), the Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher
Education (NODA), and the National Resource
for the First year Experience. They have also
been featured in publications like Academic
Advising Today, Colleges That Change Lives,
The Mentor, and The Princeton Review, and
have won awards from NACADA.
In fall of 2013, Heidi Koring, director of
Academic Advising, co-edited Peer Advising &
Mentoring: A Guide for Advising Practitioners
and published by NACADA, which also
featured a chapter by Mari Normyle, former
associate dean for Student Success and
Engagement, and Herbert Bruce, former
director of first-year programs.
“Lynchburg College is proud to be recognized as a leader in peer advising and peer
advising programs,” Koring said. “Not only
do these programs help advisees become fully
engaged members of the campus community,
but they provide valuable leadership training and development to peer advisors and
they strengthen the vibrant, interdependent
campus community that is central to the LC
experience.”
Sami Sharkey ’15, a Connection Leader
and communication studies major, said the
Connections Program gave her one of the
most worthwhile experiences she has had at
LC. “It is what inspired me to pursue a career
in higher education and gave me the confidence to know I will one day be successful in
that field,” she said.
CLASS of 2017
MOST DIVERSE EVER
American Indian/
Alaska Native 0.6%
Asian 1%
International 0.6%
Unreported 2.1%
Two or more races 3.5%
• The students hail from 26 states
(with 33 percent outside of Virginia)
• Three countries: Burma, Haiti,
and the Philippines
Hispanic 7.4%
#1
• First generation: 26%
• Pell Eligible: 37%
Black/African American 15.2%
Diversity 28.5%
• 59 percent women
• 41 percent men
• An average GPA of 3.29 and SATs of 1020
• A record 53 Westover Fellows with an
average GPA of 4.03 and SAT of 1253
White 69.5%
• A record 197 students’ participation in
the Scholarship Competition
• 78 new transfer students and 23 Access,
or adult students
At the beginning of their first
semester, all 512 students in the
Class of 2017 painted, weeded,
prepared meals, sorted clothing,
and did a variety of other work
for 15 local nonprofits as a way
for students to get introduced to
their new community.
FIRST-YEARS VOLUNTEER
THROUGHOUT CITY
INFOGRAPHIC, CHRISTOPHER PETERSON; PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK
Around the Dell
Students climbing the walls
Several afternoons a week, students
can be seen scaling a new climbing
wall, built in conjunction with the
expanded Student Center project.
Lauren Smith ’17 said her first
climb was a little bit scary. “I’ve
never done rock climbing before,”
she said. “It was fun; I enjoyed it.”
A large retaining wall had to
be built for the reconfigured road
around the Student Center, which
presented recreational and academic
opportunities. A section of that wall
— 25 feet high and 50 feet wide —
is now equipped as a climbing wall
and a bouldering wall, a form of
low-level climbing without ropes or
harnesses.
The wall, which is managed by
the Outdoor Leadership Program,
is available for LC students on a
recreational basis and is also used
for classes in the health and physical
education major and the outdoor
recreation minor.
Paul Stern, coordinator of the
Outdoor Leadership Program and
instructor for the outdoor minor,
said the wall functions much like the
College’s ropes challenge course.
The wall is open only when trained
staff members are on duty. LC departments and outside community/
business groups can also reserve
time for wall climbing.
“This opens up a whole new opportunity for outdoor adventure right
here on campus,” Stern said. “As with
all our programs, students will gain
self-confidence and learn about the
importance of group dynamics in an
experiential environment.”
Tyler Stadtherr ’16, one of the
student climbing wall supervisors for
the Outdoor Leadership Program,
said, “You have a lot of things going
on you need to pay attention to,”
but added that it is a great resource.
“I think it will be a good opportunity
for students if they’ve never tried
climbing before.”
School Initiative promotes
digital learning
Even though she loves her
iPad, college junior Emily Wolfe
says it is not a magic wand.
Digital tools are just one way
teachers can improve the classroom experience.
“What does the student
need to succeed?” she asked
at LC’s eArts Initiative Digital Learning Conference
in November. “It’s not about the tool at all. It’s
about the individualized learning.”
Emily is a presenter for iSchool Initiative, a
student-run grassroots movement advocating for
contemporary technology integration in education.
The group motivates both students and teachers to
become lifelong digital learners by providing comprehensive training in the use of technology.
Emily and fellow presenter Arvin Ross are
among a group of nine students at Kennesaw
State University, where the iSchool Initiative’s
Digital Learning Revolution Tour started. The
group has visited 26 states and interacted with
more than 300,000 students and educators since
the program was founded by then high school
student Travis Allen.
Emily and Arvin presented an “App Smackdown” in which they showed some of their favorite applications covering everything from the
history of US presidents to the digital dissection
of a frog.
Dr. David Freier, associate professor of biomedical
science, said he was pleased he attended: “I found
the iSchool Initiative event to be much more than I
expected. The two students who led the event were
excited and engaged. The personal nature of their
passion for spreading information about how to
use wireless technology such as iPhones and iTablets
is infectious. Their energy created a collaborative
environment where all the participants shared experiences, apps, and thoughts about how to develop
these technologies into effective tools to promote
broader and deeper learning.”
The conference was funded in part by a
$28,000 “e-Arts Across the Curriculum” grant
from the Virginia Foundation of Independent
Colleges (VFIC). With the grant, LC also purchased
33 iPads, which are available for use in a variety of
classes. High school students who attended Governor’s School for Math, Science and Technology
at LC last summer were the first to use them in a
“2D Animation and Media Design” class taught by
Kristin Harris, adjunct professor of art at LC and
technology coordinator for the e-Arts initiative.
LC art professor Richard Pumphrey ’74 serves as
project director.
This fall, LC Theatre
performed Bonnie &
Clyde — A New Musical, a
work about the infamous
Depression-era robbers,
and Lillian Likes It, a new
play that looked into the
difference between the
real lives and social media
personae of college students written especially
for LC by playwright
Joshua Mikel.
An art faculty exhibition at the
Daura Gallery, dubbed {creative
process }, featured the work of
Ursula Bryant, Siobhan Byrns,
Kristin Harris, Richard Pumphrey
’74, Beverly Rhoads, and Mona
Williams. Other fall exhibitions
included The American Folklore
Series with the work of William
Gropper (1897-1977); Andy Warhol and the Studio 54 Years, a
collection donated to the Daura
Gallery by the Andy Warhol Foundation Photographic Legacy Program; and works by Pierre Daura.
Arts
The Department of Music offered
a number of concerts, including
the annual Choral Union performance of Handel’s Messiah and
the Wind Symphony and Orchestra
Holiday Concert.
AROUND THE DELL
Around the Dell
Chandler Eco-Lodge opens doors
A new 16-bed facility is now
open and providing a place for students and others to stay at Claytor
Nature Study Center.
Former LC trustee Charles R.
Chandler was an early donor to the
project and named the Eco-Lodge
for his family.
“The Chandler family (Charles
and Sandra, grandson Houston, and
Ray) has always valued wildlife and
the outdoors,” Charles’ son, Ray,
said. “Growing up around the forests
and streams of central Virginia was
instrumental in leading me to a career
in wildlife biology, and Houston is
now pursuing a similar career as a
graduate student in Virginia.
“Charles and Sandra, on behalf of
the entire family, are thrilled to be
able to support the Eco-Lodge. We
hope that it will expand the possibilities for students at Lynchburg College
to study biology and environmental
science outside of the traditional
classroom. Lynchburg College’s field
station is a tremendous resource for
students and faculty. We hope the
Eco-Lodge will maximize learning
opportunities at this site. Ultimately,
we hope the Eco-Lodge will help create citizens who appreciate the value
of a healthy natural environment.”
The 2,100-square-foot lodge was
sized to accommodate the 14 to 16
students in a typical science lab, Dr.
Greg Eaton, director of the Claytor
Nature Study Center, said. While
it is not what the College initially
envisioned as an “Eco Village,” it is
a good way to start making Claytor
more accessible, he said. Located in
the shadow of the Peaks of Otter in
Bedford County, the 470-acre center
is about a 45-minute drive from LC’s
main campus.
“In an effort to make this as
cost-efficient as possible, we focused
on what would provide the greatest
initial benefit to those students who
are primary users of the Center,” he
said. The lodge is primarily for sleeping
but does include a large living room
for meetings or even classes.
The Chandler Eco-Lodge is built
to EarthCraft certification standards
with energy-efficiency and low-impact design in mind. The design
included tree preservation, use of
permeable surfaces, advanced framing
techniques, and extra insulation of
crawlspace, walls, and windows. The
floor is made from local white oak.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of
the design is a constructed wetland
to handle wastewater. The wetland is
sealed with a rubber lining, much like
a landfill. It has two septic tanks to
treat waste. One has a pump that will
dose the wetland with a prescribed
amount of water to prevent flooding.
The solids will settle in the wetland to
provide nutrients for wetland plants.
The experimental design was approved by the Virginia Department
of Health, which is interested in finding out how well this system works.
There are meters on the wetlands to
monitor flow in and out, and samples
will be taken for chemical analysis to
see how well the wetland cleans the
wastewater.
The wetland will also be able to
handle future construction at the
site. Though there are no firm plans
in place, Dr. Eaton said it would be
nice to include smaller buildings to
accommodate one or two researchers
rather than having to open a facility
for 16. The site plan calls for buildings
to hold up to a total of 60 people.
Dr. Eaton also envisions a rainwater
capture system for drinking water
and solar panels for both hot water
and electricity. He would like to see
people living on site for a semester at
a time — growing their own food and
monitoring water and energy use for a
true experience in sustainable living.
WEB EX CLU SIV E Take a tour of the
new Chandler Eco-Lodge at lynchburg.
edu/spring2014
Chemistry
major named
top scholar
Whether he’s pondering the chemical
properties of molecules or studying federal
court cases, Garrett Corless ’14 brings an inquisitive mind to the task, which contributed
to his being named this year’s Sommerville
Scholar, the highest academic recognition
awarded by the College.
A native of Wallingford, Connecticut,
Garrett is majoring in chemistry with minors
in mathematics and biology. He has been on
the Dean’s List every semester and has served
as a PASS leader in chemistry and a tutor and
laboratory assistant in physics.
“He has a unique ability to think about information, synthesize conclusions, and design
experiments to test specific hypotheses,” said
Garrett’s advisor, associate professor of chemistry Dr. Bill Lokar. “His research abilities are
definitely among the best I have seen at this
level. … He is able to think deeply about
what he is working on.”
Garrett is helping Dr. Lokar conduct research on surfactant adsorption, which has
to do with how well certain materials stick
to surfaces. While their work is theoretical,
real-world applications can be used for everything from how well windshields repel water
to how to remove stains from clothing.
Garrett was initially a biology major, but
he jokes that Dr. Lokar “swindled” him into
switching to chemistry. It turns out to have
been a good fit with his interest in anesthesiology, but Garrett is keeping his options open
for cardiology and surgery as well.
“I’ve been interested in medicine since
the sixth grade,” he said. Garrett was able to
shadow doctors at a hospital in South Carolina
over the summer, and even endured watching
autopsies. He is applying to medical school in
his home state at the University of Connecticut
and Quinnipiac University.
As a Westover Fellow, Garrett has served as
treasurer, vice president, and co-president of
the Westover Honor Society Executive Board.
“Westover is easily one of the top reasons I
came to Lynchburg and stayed at Lynchburg,”
he said, noting that he was able to study topics
in the humanities that he could not have
otherwise. He mentioned a class in the federal
court system with Beth Packert and another in
sports economics with Dr. Dan Messerschmidt
as particularly eye-opening.
Garrett is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma
and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies,
a member of the Beta Beta Beta national
biology honor fraternity, and is active in the
Lynchburg Student Affiliates of the American
Chemical Society.
He also serves as president of the Interfraternity Council and is a member of Phi Delta
Theta. “The brotherhood we share is very important to me,” he said. “It’s another family
I found down here.” He has participated in
Relay for Life for the past three years, the last
two with his fraternity.
Garrett also has an athletic bent. He has
been a member of the Club Lacrosse team,
including the NCLL National Championship
team in 2011. He also plays club soccer and a
variety of intramural sports.
Garrett wrote in his application, “Life at
Lynchburg College … has been the most hectic,
exciting, enriching, and wonderful time of
my life — from Dean Eccles’ ‘Gnarly Beard’
to the delightful spirit of Anne Gibbons at
Relay for Life, LC has proven to me that this
is where I belong physically, mentally, and
academically.”
Four other students were finalists for the
Sommerville Scholar recognition: Karen Butler,
a chemistry major from Madison Heights,
Virginia; Samantha Chapman, an English
major and Westover Fellow from Hampton,
Virginia; Austin John, an economics major
from Forest, Virginia; and Ashley Vogan, a
nursing major from Hanover, Pennsylvania.
Around the Dell
Helping others
Eleven LC students traveled
to the community of Barren Springs,
Virginia, over fall break to help teachers and students at an elementary
school, fill bags of food, and split
wood for elderly residents.
“Working in Barren Springs reminded me that by helping others
in even the smallest way, I can change
someone’s day from mediocre to great,
including my own,” said Evelyn (Evy)
Keeney-Ritchie ’16, a biomedical
science major from Atlanta, Georgia,
who was making her second trip there.
The students traveled with Chris
Gibbons, director of the Office of
Community Involvement (formerly
SERVE), to help out as needed. For
five of the students, it was a return
trip. Since fall 2010, LC students
have created a special relationship
PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK
with the people of Barren Springs,
located in rural Wythe County.
LC’s inaugural visit started as
an alternative service break when
students spent four days helping the
Neighbor-2-Neighbor program, a
community-based effort developed
by the people in Barren Springs
and led by Sam Crawford, who
provides housing and food for the
LC volunteers.
On the most recent trip, LC
students filled bags to help 75 lowincome families who do not have
enough food to make it through the
weekend. The students tucked jars
of peanut butter, packets of crackers, and cans of tuna into the bags.
Nearly 70 percent of students at
Jackson Memorial School are on free
or reduced lunch, Crawford said.
Students also spent a full day in
classes at Oakland Elementary School
in neighboring Carroll County, where
they pitched in with writing assignments, gave reading assessments, and
played with the students on the playground. The volunteers all said they
were worn out by the hard work that
teachers do every day.
“Trying to get everyone to calm
down is like impossible,” said Ryan
Barrera ’16, a business administration
major from Rahwah, New Jersey.
Liz Clemens ’14, a nursing major
from Chesapeake, Virginia, who has
been to Barren Springs several times,
said this trip was bittersweet. “Every
time is filled with new experiences
and adventures,” she wrote in her
reflection after the trip. “This time,
I realized how self-sufficient and sustainable Sam and his family are. Most
of the food they eat is grown or raised
on their farm, even the beef they have
from the cows. I am really fascinated
by and love the rural way of living
demonstrated in Barren Springs. I
think it is really neat how they try to
use every single part of everything
they produce.”
Henry Deadrick ’14, a communication studies major from Dover,
Massachusetts, said the trip provided
an amazing fall break. “I admit I
was hesitant at first but as the trip
progressed I fell in love with the
group and Barren Springs and had a
genuinely great time,” he said. “I have
a very weird philosophy that people
are tied and bound by being the same
species and therefore should help
each other out.”
Around the Dell
Inspiration from Haiti
“My parents have taught
me that education is the
most powerful weapon
I can use to change the
world and that nothing
can stop the man with the
right mental attitude from
achieving his goal.”
First-year student  
is one of the standouts in his class. A member
of the Westover Honors Program, Ancito
comes to LC from his native Haiti, where at
age 15, he helped rescue 15 people from the
rubble after the 2010 earthquake and served
as a translator for American doctors. Later he
collected books and started summer school
programs for his fellow students.
But that’s getting ahead of the story.
At age 12, Ancito felt large lumps in his neck,
but had no idea what they were. “We had
never experienced cancer in my family before,”
he said. Finally, he traveled four hours north of
his hometown to a hospital his parents could
afford, and discovered that he had lymphoma.
In 2008, thanks to Partners in Health (PIH),
Ancito and his father were able to travel to
Boston, Massachusetts, where Ancito received
chemotherapy and radiation for eight months.
“I was fascinated by the way the doctors were
speaking,” he said. “I had never heard English
before.” During his stay, he learned to speak
English, adding to his native Haitian Creole
and French, and he beat the cancer.
On Jan.12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than 100,000
people and doing massive damage. Ancito
happened to be at the Partners in Health
office, where he had been volunteering as a
way to repay all the organization had done
for him. This is how Ancito described, in an
essay, what he saw as he ran outside and the
dust cleared.
“The big old building across the street collapsed, and about 50 people died inside,” he
said. “All we heard was people screaming and
crying and cars honking. I stood there for
about 15 minutes until I could see. When I
was finally able to see, I wished I was blind.”
Ancito ran home, and his family’s rental
house was cracked, but standing, and he found
his parents and four siblings in a nearby field
unharmed. He began going from house to
house to find people to help him pull others
from the rubble.
He soon received another call to help. PIH
said the American doctors needed translators
in the ER, the ICU, and even in the operating
room. “I saw a lot,” Ancito said. “That’s why
I don’t really like medicine.”
Cate Oswald, the woman Ancito worked
with at PIH, was so impressed with him that
she helped him secure a scholarship to attend a two-week summer program at Brown
University on leadership and global health.
At the end of the class, each participant was
to submit an action plan. Ancito’s plan was to
build a library at his school. There is only one
library in Port-au-Prince, the national library,
and students rarely have a chance to go there,
he said.
Ancito managed to round up about 300
books in French and another 400 in English,
though very few Haitians can speak English,
he said. Those books are still in use at his former high school. (Once word of his Haitian
library spread in Lynchburg, the Alliance
Française de Lynchburg collected 10 boxes
of French books from Randolph, Sweet Briar,
and Lynchburg colleges, and shipped them
to Haiti in December.)
In 2011, Ancito once again earned a scholarship to Brown for a summer program on organizing and mobilizing leadership for social
change. Ancito created a plan for a summer
class in Haiti on the same topics he studied
at Brown: education, housing, food security,
birth control, and climate change. With the
help of a former social studies teacher, his
program got started in summer 2012 with
15 students and continued in 2013 with 25.
He hopes to be able to go back again next
summer to keep the project going.
In the interim, a woman at Brown was
so impressed with Ancito that she asked
her parents to take him in and found a high
school for him to attend in Rhode Island
for his senior year.
Ancito found Lynchburg College through
Colleges That Change Lives, and LC was able
to provide scholarships to pay half his costs
for a year. His Rhode Island family raised the
other half. Unfortunately, he said, his parents
cannot afford to help him (they have no electricity and only recently moved out of their
cracked house), so he is unsure whether he
will be able to continue college next year. He
remains hopeful.
“My parents have taught me that education is the most powerful weapon I can use to
change the world and that nothing can stop
the man with the right mental attitude from
achieving his goal,” he said.
WEB EX CLU SIV E Watch an interview with
Ancito Etienne at lynchburg.edu/spring2014
LC at EU
LC students, led by Dr. Marek Payerhin, professor of
international relations, received two of the eight awards
presented at the Mid-Atlantic European Union Simulation
in Washington, D.C., Nov. 14-16. Elizabeth O’Hara ’15
won the Outstanding Commissioner Award and
Courtney Elliott ’14 won the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award. For the first time, there were also four honorable mentions presented and two of them went to LC
students Justin Hamlet ’15 and Ryan Connors ’16.
Senior scores record label
Eddy Faulkner ’14 has signed with a record label, Premier Records, Inc., which
released his recording of “O Holy Night”
on a Christmas album November 1.
“I think everyone was shocked it
happened this fast,” Eddy said. “I’ve
been doing this singer, songwriter, and
musician thing for three to four years
and it’s so exciting to see this happen.
I can’t wait to see what happens next in
my career.”
A management major, Eddy started
singing, playing guitar, and writing
songs at the end of his freshman year
at LC. While he has always loved music
(he played trumpet in elementary,
middle, and high schools and discovered
the drums his senior year), he started
finding his voice in college. He is entirely
self-taught.
Eddy has written numerous songs,
which he says fall under the broad umbrella of “pop,” and are about love and
life experiences. Premier Records will
help him promote his first single and/or
album after he graduates in May. “My
goal is to create stuff that’s really universal,” he said. “I hope to write songs
in the future for other people, too.”
Eddy says he connected with Premier
Records via Facebook, where he does
a lot of self-promotion. YouTube and
LinkedIn are other social media platforms that have helped him connect
with others in the music industry.
A native of Arlington, Virginia, Eddy
did an internship over the summer with
a recording studio in Washington, D.C.
He made many new contacts there
including Laura Patterson of Premier Records. “She liked my version of ‘O Holy
Night’,” Eddy said. “She said it brought
tears to her eyes.”
An Eagle Scout who played
baseball through his junior
year in high school, Eddy
said he likes to play
soccer and work
out when he’s not
studying, playing
guitar, or writing
songs.
People often
ask about his
ethnic background and
he is proud to
tell them he is
half Asian (Chinese, Taiwanese,
Vietnamese, and
Japanese) and half
European (German,
Italian, Portuguese, and
Spanish).
What else should people
know? “I’m single,” he says,
“and I just signed a record label.”
WEB EX CLU SIV E Listen to Eddy Faulkner
at lynchburg.edu/spring2014
Around the Dell
Ken Rose ’15 and Dr. Keith Corodimas
Regenerating
brain cells
For generations, college students have been
warned that once they destroy their brain cells,
those cells are gone forever.
In 1998, however, researchers discovered that this is not true, at least in
the brain’s hippocampal area, which
helps move short-term memory to
long-term storage and aids with spatial learning and memory. Now Ken
Rose ’15, one of LC’s brainy students,
is trying to discover what environmental factors might prompt brain
cell regeneration in Louisiana swamp
red crayfish.
Ultimately, work on neurogenesis
could help with brain diseases like
Alzheimer’s, Ken said. In Alzheimer’s
disease, the hippocampus is one of
the first regions of the brain to suffer
damage.
A psychology major with a minor
in biology from Florham Park, New
Jersey, Ken has always been fascinated
by science. At LC, he has been able to
work across disciplines with faculty in
psychology, chemistry, and biology to
do award-winning research.
Ken tied for first place in the
School of Sciences division of the
2013 Student Scholar Showcase for
his study on the effects of serotonin,
a neurotransmitter, on brain cell
regrowth in crayfish. Ken discovered
that serotonin did boost brain cell
regrowth, particularly in the olfactory
lobe. “Crayfish rely on their sense of
smell for everything,” Ken said.
Now he is trying to find out what
environmental factors might boost
serotonin, and therefore, brain cell
regeneration. He is looking at different habitats in crayfish tanks, the
effect of living alone or with other
crayfish, and other enriched vs.
impoverished environments.
Exercise is another way to boost serotonin levels in the brains of humans
and crayfish, but how do you exercise
a crayfish? Ken said he has found clips
of treadmills for shrimp so he may attempt to create them for crayfish.
Dr. Keith Corodimas, Ken’s advisor,
said Ken’s work has led his lab in a
whole new research direction. “It
really has reinvigorated my research
program with students,” he said.
Dr. Don Werner, a colleague in the
Psychology Department, has built several mazes that will enable students to
study spatial learning and memory in
crayfish in Dr. Corodimas’ physiological psychology lab. “There’s a lot that’s
not known about crayfish learning,”
Dr. Corodimas said. “For example,
when does spatial learning develop in
young crayfish?”
Dr. Corodimas said that surprisingly
little experimental research has been
done on how the environment influences the crayfish brain and memory.
“Ken was a tremendous influence in
our moving in this direction,” he said.
Ken has become an expert at handling crayfish brains. They are tiny and
jelly-like, and it’s easy to destroy them.
When Ken first started dissecting them,
it took him two hours. Now he can do
one in 15 minutes.
Ken has plans to publish a paper
before he graduates and moves on to
graduate school. Next summer he will
be at New York University working
with Dr. Corodimas’ research mentor
at the Center for Neural Science.
Before he chose LC, Ken had his
sights on a big university like the
University of North Carolina, but
a campus tour dissuaded him. His
mother forced him to stop at Lynchburg College on the way home and
he instantly felt at home. “I stopped
on campus and never looked back,”
Ken said. “I really do cherish what I’ve
found here. The professors are always
willing to help.”
Dr. Nihad Albatikhi,
a pioneer in women’s
sports in her native
Jordan, is at LC for a
year to compare her
country’s sports and
wellness programs for
women with those in
the United States.
Jordanian
scholar at LC
for year
For International Education Week in
November, Dr. Albatikhi gave a talk titled,
“Arab Spring: Perspectives from the Middle
East.” She said that the kings of Jordan
and Saudi Arabia were proactive when
they saw the unrest in neighboring Arab
countries and took measures to make
life better for their own people. “A lot
of things changed for the better,” Dr.
Albatikhi said.
The story in the countries with uprisings,
however, is quite different. Only Tunisia
seems to be making progress, while Syria
Dr. Albatikhi is interested not only
has descended into a civil war that has
in sports but the importance of exercise
forced one million refugees to flee to
for fitness and good health. “We have too
Jordan and another million to Lebanon.
much stress — all of us,” she said.
Dr. Albatikhi said her country is trying
The Jordanian Table Tennis Champion
to help the refugees, with aid from the
for most of the 1970s and 80s, Dr. Albatikhi international community, but the influx
represented her country in numerous
of people is difficult in a small country
international championships. She started
with five million people. For the first time,
the first and only sports club for women,
she said, the streets are overcrowded and
for which she is now president, and the
movement is difficult.
first women’s soccer team in Jordan in 1994.
As an aside, Dr. Albatikhi told her auAn associate professor of physical
dience that Jordan is a wonderful country
education at the University of Jordan,
where women have freedoms comparable
Dr. Albatikhi said she was looking for
to those that women enjoy in the US.
a US college to do her research when a
She said she would like to educate peocolleague in Canada suggested Lynchburg
ple on Islam and dispel misconceptions
College, thanks to a connection with
about it. While she is Muslim, Dr. AlbaDr. Lindsay Pieper, assistant professor of
tikhi chooses not to wear a scarf, though
sport management at LC.
she prays five times a day.
Dr. Albatikhi said Dr. Pieper, Dr. Alexi
Dr. Albatikhi received King Abdullah
Akulli, director of LC’s Center for Global II’s Independence Medal in 1999 and was
Studies, and many others have made her
a member of the Higher Committee for
feel at home and she loves the tranquil
the Hussein Arab League, chaired by
nature of a smaller campus. Between
Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein.
40,000 and 45,000 students attend the
She earned her BA (1975) and PhD
University of Jordan.
(2000) from Helwan University in Cairo
Dr. Albatikhi is in Lynchburg with her
and her master’s from the University of
husband, Abdullah Suboh, a retired engi- Jordan in 1994.
neer. They have four grown sons, one of
As a mother of four, Dr. Albatikhi
whom lives in Los Angeles, one in Jordan, knows well the difficulty women face
and two in Dubai.
juggling family and career, but she also
While at LC, Dr. Albatikhi attends
emphasizes how important it is for
classes and watches sporting events as
women to be educated so they can raise
part of her research. She offers Arabic
children who will grow up to take better
lessons to anyone interested.
care of the world.
Soccer’s rock (star)
ALL-AMERICAN RACHEL SADOWSKI ’14
W
hen the top studentathletes in LC history are
mentioned, women’s soccer
defender and two-time AllAmerican Rachel Sadowski ’14
will easily stand among the
best. Rachel has achieved
great success by any measure.
Team:
The Hornets haven’t lost an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) game in her four seasons, going 52-0-6 against
conference foes in that span. Lynchburg has claimed ODAC
titles in all four seasons and advanced into the NCAA Division III Tournament. LC has consistently been ranked in the
NSCAA Top 20 the last four years and often in the top 10.
“Winning this fourth title this season was an amazing
accomplishment for our team,” Rachel said. “It’s a
true testament to the hard work, dedication, and
passion for the game that this senior class had and
it also shows the strength of the entire team to be
so consistently great. Every time we step out on the
field we play for each other and to be the best team
that we can be.”
Athletic:
Often the last line of defense on the Hornet backline,
Rachel was an offensive weapon on corner kicks. She
headlined a consistently stingy defense, and this season
Lynchburg allowed just eight goals in 24 matches. Her individual awards have been as plentiful as team successes;
Rachel is a two-time first-team All-ODAC, All-State, and
All-Region honoree. The 2012 All-State Player of the Year
also received the sport’s highest athletic honor the last two
years, being voted an All-American each season.
“Being named a two-time All-American has been a
pretty overwhelming experience and I never imagined that it would happen to me,” Rachel said.
“My goal every year was always to be a better
player than I was the year before so that I could be
in the best position to help my team be successful.
I have had the amazing opportunity to play with
some of the best players in Division III soccer.”
Academic:
The term “true student-athlete” may be overused, but certainly fits Rachel like a glove. With a 3.97 cumulative GPA,
she is set to graduate in May with a degree in environmental science. She was voted the 2013 ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the
fall and is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American (firstteam in 2013). She also earned first-team NSCAA Scholar
All-American accolades in 2012 and 2013.
DUO DYNASTIES
Women’s soccer wins fourth-straight
ODAC
The women’s soccer team has been a
conference, regional, and national powerhouse the last 10 years:
• Four straight ODAC titles
• Winners of five of the last six conference
crowns and eight of the last 10
• Unbeaten in conference play since 2009
• Seven straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and nine in the last 10
• Trips to the NCAA tournament’s Final
Four in 2009 and the Elite Eight in 2007
• Eleven All-Americans in the last 10 years.
The 2013 season was no different. The Hornets
finished with a record of 22-2, and broke program records for wins in a season, goals scored
in a season (111), and total points scored (298).
Following a loss on September 15, the
Hornets went unbeaten for more than two
months, a span of 17 matches. During the
winning streak, LC outscored its opponents’
93-6 and won three straight ODAC Tournament matches with a combined score of 20-1
to capture the conference title. Lynchburg
advanced in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament, but fell in the round of 32.
Dessi Dupuy ’15
Dessi Dupuy ’15 nabbed a spot on the
second-team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)and first-team
All-American honors while playing forward.
Dupuy, the 2013 ODAC Player of the Year,
led a record-breaking Hornet offense with 23
goals and 53 points, leading the conference by
wide margins in both. (See related article on
teammate Rachel Sadowski.)
The driving force behind this dynasty,
head coach Dr. Todd Olsen, was named the
All-State Coach of the Year for the seventh
consecutive season.
Coach Enza Steele and members of the LC Field Hockey team
Field hockey takes eighth-straight crown
The field hockey program has been
synonymous with excellence, with ODAC
crowns eight years running and a career 500
wins for Coach Enza Steele.
Steele has been the motivating power behind this dynasty. Her Hornets have only lost
twice in conference play in the past eight years.
Steele has seen her win total creep higher and
higher as recruits have come from all over to
play in one of the premiere Division III programs in the nation.
Steele currently sits second among all active
coaches for wins after hitting an uncommon
milestone on September 21. After a 1-2 start
to the season, Lynchburg went on a roll. The
Hornets won three straight road matches to
set up the possibility for history on that fall
afternoon on Shellenberger Field. With many
alumni in the stands, Lynchburg took an
early 3-0 lead on York (Pa.) College. When
the final horn sounded and the clock hit zero,
Coach Steele captured career win number 500
with the 5-2 victory. Neither rain nor players
dumping Gatorade on her head could wipe
the smile off her face.
Shannon Allan ’15
Women’s basketball star Shannon Allan ’15 broke the
1,000-point barrier December 15, 2013 at home against
Christopher Newport University and at press time had
1,196 career points. She has surpassed LC softball coach
Dawn Simmons ’97 (1,016), Kerry Womack ’92 (1,026),
and even her head coach, Abby Pyzik ’04, (1,126), and
is LC’s fourth highest scorer ever.
WEB CASTS
Watch the Hornets’
home games LIVE at
athletics.lynchburg.edu/
information/webcasts
PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK
EVERYONE KNOWS
THAT A GOOD
TEACHER IS WHAT
MAKES A GOOD
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE,
AND LC IS FORTUNATE
TO HAVE A TOP-NOTCH
FACULTY.
Fabulous
Faculty
“This is the strongest faculty we’ve ever had,”
says Dr. Julius Sigler ’62, vice president and
dean for academic affairs. “Overall our faculty
has a higher percentage of PhDs, has done
more research, and has much more diversity
in terms of where they are from. I would put
it up against any faculty around — with their
ability to teach, their concern for students, and
their research. The faculty is also the youngest
it has been in a long time; well over half have
been here less than ten years.”
Faculty members from each school have written
a piece for this issue of the Lynchburg College
Magazine to illustrate the range of interests and
expertise found at LC.
Resurrecting tintype
by Siobhan Byrns
Fabulous
Assistant Professor of Art
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND THE ARTS
Faculty
THE TINTYPE is an art form that
has withstood the test of time.
From first-generation family
portraits to the nameless characters found in antique shops,
tintypes have documented everything from personal family histories to the birth of photojournalism
depicted in battlefield horrors of
the Civil War. In so doing, the tintype has captured our hearts and
imaginations.
Lynchburg College has one of the very few
art programs in the country that offer historic
photographic methods. Students in the advanced photography course study the chemical creation of the tintype and other media.
A combination of physics, chemistry, and art,
the tintype provides a strong example of a liberal arts education in action.
As a handmade art object, each tintype has
unique characteristics and qualities. Small
inherent flaws and imperfections create a
unique look and give each image its personality. As an artist, I strive to make timeless
portraits that embrace the individual character
of each subject that sits before the lens.
The process, first developed by Frederic
Scott Archer in 1851, was later modified into
several photographic processes and patented
in 1856 by Ohio chemistry professor Hamilton
Smith, making the tintype a uniquely American photographic method.
Formally named ferrotypes, tintypes were
originally made on thin sheets of iron coated
with black lacquer. This dark lacquer both
provided a smooth surface on which to develop a one-of-a-kind positive image of the
As
an artist, I strive
to make timeless
portraits that embrace
the individual character
of each subject that sits
before the lens.
subject, as well as prevented the iron from
exposure to the elements.
The unique look created by the tintype process is sensitive only to the blue and ultraviolet
end of the light spectrum, which is invisible
to the human eye. Therefore, the natural blue
of eyes appears white in the image, while the
lush skin of a yellow lemon will register as
black. The tintype also has an extremely low
ISO (International Organization of Standardization) value of less than one. By comparison, the lowest ISO available on modern
digital cameras is 80. This gives the tintype its
extreme detail on the object in focus.
With a working time of approximately 10
minutes from coating to development, each
image requires patience and attention, along
with a creative vision and collaboration with
the portrait subject.
Each modern tintype begins with a raw
sheet of clean blackened aluminum. The plate
is hand-coated with a thick, syrupy solution of
collodion or nitrocellulose, dissolved in ether
and alcohol. Once this coating begins to set,
the plate is dipped in a bath of silver nitrate to
Simina Quorishi ’16,
an economics major from Afghanistan
Faculty and staff:
At left:
Geoff Kershner
assistant professor of
theatre
Dr. Laura Henry-Stone
environmental studies
Dr. Richard Burke
professor of English
Ursula Bryant
associate professor of art
Dr. Jong Kim
professor of music
Anne Gibbons
associate chaplain
Dr. Kevin Peterson
professor of mathematics
Dr. Sabita Manian
professor of international
studies
John McCormick
college photographer
Above:
Dr. Kara Eaton
assistant professor of music
Dr. Beth Savage
English
John Eccles
vice president and dean for
student development
In
my series of LC
faculty and staff,
models are braced with
a traditional head stand
to keep them in place for
the long exposure. Subtle
movements are always
expected and add to the
experience and aesthetic
of the plates.
photosensitize it. The plate is then placed in a
holder, ready to make the exposure. Exposures
can range anywhere from one to two seconds
on a beautiful summer day to the 20-second
exposures displayed in this series.
In my series of LC faculty and staff, models
are braced with a traditional head stand to
keep them in place for the long exposure.
Subtle movements are always expected and
add to the experience and aesthetic of the
plates. The development of the plate must
happen immediately after the exposure is
made and is accomplished by pouring a small
amount of developer carefully over the plate
and then rinsing it in water. The final step of
fixing the plate can happen in daylight, allowing the subject to watch as the image magically transforms from a bluish negative into a
richly toned and beautifully detailed positive
image on the plate.
The tintype enjoyed the longest success of any
19th-century photographic process in history. Even
though its popularity was replaced by new paper images
in the 1860s, it continued to be produced until the early
1900s.
Lynchburg College students, in collaboration with the
Appomattox Court House National Park, will put their
developed skills in action as they photograph the 150th
anniversary of the end of the Civil War in April 2015.
Armed with large-format cameras and the chemical recipes of the time, students will have several stations set up
to document the soldiers, volunteers, and participants of
the reenactment, using the same methods pioneered by
photographers Mathew B. Brady, Alexander Gardner,
and Timothy O. Sullivan.
The Photography of Frank Cash
In July 2014, Siobhan Byrns will present a collection of
prints of more than 300 glass plate negatives of Frank
Cash’s photographic work at the Academy of Fine Art in
downtown Lynchburg. Cash worked as a photographer
in Amherst, Sweet Briar, Lynchburg, and Nelson County
from 1890 to 1910. This collection, never before printed,
displays a rare look at the men and women who built
this area into the towns, railroads, and colleges we
know today.
Fabulous
Faculty
brother is watching
by Dr. Eric Kyper
Associate Professor of Management Information Systems
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
BIG DATA IS ALL AROUND US.
You see it in your inbox. You see it
in the coupons Kroger gives you at
the cash register. You see it in your
mailbox at home. The government
uses big data in the name of homeland security, pharmaceutical companies use big data for advertising
purposes, financial institutions use
big data to determine mortgage eligibility, and finally, employers use
big data to make hiring decisions.
There are few aspects of modern
life that are not somehow influenced by big data.
Big data simply refers to all the information
gleaned from data mining and it is used to
discover previously hidden patterns. The most
notable uses are in national security and marketing. While there are benefits to big data,
the costs are real.
Probably the most contentious areas of big
data in the United States are the government
surveillance programs recently highlighted in
the media. It’s no secret that the US government listens in on international phone calls
crossing our borders. However, it may surprise a few that they also monitor our emails,
text messages, and financial transactions.
This is all possible because of the architecture of the Internet we rely so heavily upon.
The telecommunication companies share
fiber optic lines and communications satellites, which means that our communication
structure is based on a number of central hubs
where essentially all data (including voice)
is funneled. The National Security Agency
(NSA) has installed splitters in those hubs
to create exact copies of all the data flowing
It
is sometimes hard
to fathom how the
information we divulge
will later be used.
through the lines. One copy is sent on to us
as users; the other copy is sent to a data storage facility for analysis. This process was first
made public by an AT&T technician on the
west coast.
All this data is stored as part of project
Stellar Wind at NSA’s new $2 billion facility
outside Salt Lake City, Utah. The NSA argues
this is in the best interest of national security.
However, in December of 2013, US District
Judge Richard Leon found the NSA’s collection of phone data unconstitutional. (Another
judge subsequently ruled that the collection
is constitutional.) Judge Leon restricted his
finding to five plaintiffs in a specific case, but
said that the government “does not cite a
single instance in which analysis of the NSA’s
bulk metadata collection actually stopped an
imminent attack, or otherwise aided the government in achieving any objective that was
time-sensitive in nature.”
The NSA story will continue to unfold, but
people should also be concerned about how
marketers use their personal information. For
example, many people aren’t aware there is a
cost associated with the “savings cards” that
stores provide. That cost is the information
we give away about ourselves and our buying
habits. The personal information is used to
the retailers’ benefit, which sometimes is not
in our best interest.
If you knew exactly how many spam emails,
unsolicited pieces of mail, and telemarketing
calls you would receive from a so-called “free”
service online, would you still accept that service? That is a question I pose to my students
each year and some of their answers might
surprise you. Research demonstrates that
younger people generally see the exchange
of personal information as fair trade for a
free service. More mature generations tend to
place a greater value on privacy. I try to make
students realize that the exchange of our
personal information is the price we pay for
a “free” service.
It is sometimes hard to fathom how the
information we divulge will later be used.
For example, telemarketers historically did
not target cellular phones; however, as people divulge their numbers more frequently,
telemarketers have started calling and texting
them, with charges going to the cell phone
owners.
Even more significantly, some large retailers now use data mining to screen applicants
during the hiring process. Often they will
calculate the chance that a new hire will
last more than a certain time period (say six
months). This is not based on an in-depth
psychological test, but on some broader
characteristics the applicant shares with
previous people who have quit prematurely,
including credit scores, education, or even
zip codes. While employers can argue that
this predictive modeling can decrease turnover, it does make the application process
less personal.
What we need to ask ourselves as citizens is
if the collection and monitoring of so much
private information violates the idea of unreasonable search and seizure as set forth in the
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of
the United States.
Fabulous
Faculty
Sex testing
plagues
Olympics
by Dr. Lindsay Parks Pieper
Assistant Professor, Sport Management
SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE
IN THE 800-METER FINAL
OF THE 2006 ASIAN GAMES,
25-year-old Indian runner Santhi
Soundarajan finished second.
Her triumph, however, proved
short-lived. Concerned with the
runner’s muscular stature, event
organizers forced her to undergo
a gender verification test.
Although the International Association of
Athletics Federation (IAAF) had abandoned
genetic exams in 1990 and the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) followed suit
nine years later, sport authorities maintained
the right to check any “suspicious” female
athletes. Days later, Soundarajan learned from
the evening news that she had failed the test.
The IAAF immediately revoked her medal
and barred her from future competition.
Three years later, 18-year-old South African runner Caster Semenya similarly burst
into the spotlight. The middle-distance
athlete gained notoriety at the World Track
and Field Championships for defeating her
competitors by a margin of more than two
seconds, considered a tremendous gap in the
800-meter race. Semenya’s impressive victory
was also quickly overshadowed; those she
defeated voiced vicious criticisms about her
appearance, physique, and deep voice. Once
again skeptical, the IAAF required that her
sex be genetically verified.
I first learned of the abuses that Soundarajan and Semenya faced as a graduate student.
Geneticists reasoned that the two athletes
suffered from undiagnosed disorders of sex
development — conditions in which anatomic,
chromosomal, or gonadal sex varies from what
is considered normal. Soundarajan was likely
born with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome
(AIS). Individuals with this disorder are genetically male, with one X chromosome and
one Y chromosome but due to the inability
to respond to androgens, appear anatomically
and physically female. Semenya’s medical results were not disclosed.
Both reportedly attempted suicide as a
result of the international hostility they experienced. Unfortunately, I discovered that
Soundarajan and Semenya were not alone in
such mistreatment.
In the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics, the IOC Medical Commission implemented compulsory sex testing for all female
Olympians. Suspicious of the powerful builds
of the (successful) Eastern European track and
field competitors, the IOC reasoned that the
mandatory chromosomal control would guarantee the authenticity of female athletes and
unmask male masqueraders. Thus, for three
decades, Olympic authorities required that all
women undergo a genetic test. Male Olympians never endured similar scrutiny.
The IOC’s stated motivation stemmed
from the desire to catch males posing as females; however, those who actually “failed”
the test were women deemed to possess
“abnormal” chromosomes or DNA, not men
trying to pass as women. These participants
were told to feign injury, return home, and
never again compete in international events.
While the IOC refuses to publish the number of women barred from the Olympics —
citing privacy and ethical concerns — scholars
utilize known statistics of disorders of sex
development in the general population and
approximate that 1-in-400 likely failed.
My
research argues
that the IOC
implemented genetic
control to deter strong,
powerful females from
competition.
As both a former Division I athlete and
scholar, I was disturbed by the implications
of the IOC’s gender policy. After completing a master’s degree in women’s history, I
began my doctoral studies in sport humanities and started to examine the history of
sex testing in Olympic competition. My
research argues that the IOC implemented
genetic control to deter strong, powerful
females from competition.
To enhance my studies, I earned a position
at the International Olympic Academy and
traveled to Olympia, Greece, in 2011. While
there, I worked with such renowned Olympic
scholars as Mark Dyreson, Sigmund Loland,
Heather Preston, and Thomas Scanlon to critically assess the modern Olympic movement.
I also presented on sex testing, which provided
the foundation for my dissertation.
In my first year at Lynchburg College, I
applied for an IOC Postgraduate Research
Grant. Every year, the IOC Olympic Studies
Centre (OSC) awards scholars from around
the world grants to complete social science
research on various Olympic phenomena.
I was one of nine candidates selected in 2013.
Over the summer, I traveled to Lausanne,
Switzerland, to conduct research in the IOC
archives. I spent a month in the Olympic
Museum analyzing the past policies, papers,
and correspondences related to sex testing. As
part of the grant requirement, I presented my
findings to members of the OSC.
While in Lausanne, I also met with Richard
Budgett, the IOC Medical and Scientific
Department director and overseer of the
IOC’s medical policies, including gender
verification. We discussed the history of sex
testing and the complexities of the current
Olympic gender policies. After our conversation, he acknowledged the arbitrary lines
the IOC attempts to draw when demarking
women’s competition. Sadly, the arbitrariness continues.
Influenced by both Soundarjan’s and
Semenya’s physical appearances and the specter
of unfair advantage in women’s competition,
the IOC, in conjunction with the IAAF,
reintroduced gender verification for the 2012
London Games.
Outlined and published by the IOC Medical and Scientific Department on June 22,
2012 — mere weeks before the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Games — the novel
stipulations targeted “deviant” female athletes.
Women with higher-than-average levels of
naturally produced testosterone were deemed
ineligible to compete; no parallel testosterone
limit was placed on the men. This new iteration of gender control resembles the checks
first implemented in the 1968 Olympics, again
subjectively drawing a genetic line and condemning certain female athletes.
When I discuss the issues and history of
sex testing in “Sport Ethics and Current
Controversies,” my students are shocked.
Most have never heard of the Olympic gender regulations. This surprise typically gives
way to anger. The students — the female
student-athletes in particular — express resentment that no male Olympian ever faced
similar treatment and question why the IOC
continues to maltreat powerful women.
To end this criminalization, I believe the
IOC must abandon its novel restatement of
an old test. In my opinion, the newest rendition of sex testing reaffirms an assumption of
male superiority, casts women as inferior and
in need of protection, and limits the possibility for female success.
Fabulous
Faculty
Innovative
teaching
by Dr. Virginia Cylke
Associate Professor of Psychology
SCHOOL OF SCIENCES
TEACHING at Lynchburg College
is a privilege, particularly because
I am free to design a variety of innovative courses.
In “Psychology of Sex and Gender,” we
examine the societal expectations of masculinity and femininity, and as a class we
attempt to create a gender-neutral magazine
that presents positive, obtainable, and desirable images of men and women. We also
have guest speakers via Skype who discuss
some of the more intense concepts in the
course. We have spoken to experts on single
parenthood by choice, polyamory, and many
other sex and gender-related issues.
In “Social Psychology,” we complete a
variety of projects over the semester involving
breaking social norms and addressing prejudice on campus. Students in my courses are
encouraged and expected to immerse themselves in the campus community to apply
the knowledge they gain in the classroom. I
have found that applying course concepts in a
meaningful way is the best way for students to
truly learn.
Designing such courses is my passion, and
this enthusiasm comes to life most notably
in “Psychology of Law,” a class designed to
engage students from all majors in the psychological processes underlying our criminal
justice system. Because not all students are
from my discipline, it is vital to connect the
material to their interests.
Students learn not only about psychology
but much, much more by stepping away from
the traditional lecture format. “Psychology of
Law” encourages learning through a semester-long murder mystery with an academic
twist. At the beginning of the semester, I
stage a murder in a very public way. We alert
the campus ahead of time so no one will be
startled by realistic pools of blood or the
chalk outline of a body.
“P
sychology of Law”
encourages learning
through a semester-long
murder mystery with an
academic twist.
As the semester unfolds, class members
work together to investigate, interrogate,
profile, and arrest a suspect. The course culminates in a trial in which students play roles
of the media, lawyers, expert witnesses, and
judges. Members of the campus community
serve as the jury.
Throughout the semester the students
interact with people on campus, following
leads and evidence that have been carefully
designed to keep them guessing. The timing
of our murder case lines up with the material
we are covering in class each week. For example, when we are discussing various interrogation processes in the United States and other
countries, the students playing the roles of
detectives are honing in on suspects and preparing for interrogations.
With each step in the process, students are
excitedly engaged in and out of the classroom
and begin asking deep and interesting questions. They become active participants in the
learning process as opposed to being passive
recipients of information. As the project progresses, they learn that each role is dependent
on how well the previous players did their
part. They become intertwined with each
other and do not want to let each other down.
This leads to mutual commitment, support,
and encouragement to overcome obstacles
and tackle challenges.
Each student creates peer relationships
that aid in the learning process. They are
empowered to feel useful and needed in the
acquisition of knowledge and know that
their mastery of a certain area will help the
student in the next role perform his or her
job effectively.
Actively engaging the students in the
criminal justice process allows them to gain
firsthand experience with criminal profiling,
criminal interrogation, eyewitness testimony,
chain of evidence, pretrial publicity, voir
dire (jury selection), jury deliberation, jury
instructions, expected courtroom protocol,
sentencing, and corrections. The process
moves them away from the “Is this going to
be on the test?” mentality toward a “How can
I learn more?” process. My goal is to stimulate
their curiosity, encourage their creativity, and
teach them that learning is truly an exciting
and interdependent endeavor.
Fabulous
Faculty
Sounds
of Resistance
by Dr. Eunice Rojas
Assistant Professor of Spanish
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
and Dr. Lindsay Michie
Assistant Professor of History
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
THE IDEA of editing a book about
music’s influence on revolution
first came to us after Dr. Michie
presented a paper on the role of
music in the South African antiapartheid movement in 2010 for
LC’s history seminar series.
Not long after this presentation, we had
lunch together and discussed music and
resistance in the world. We began to see
connections and themes that crossed cultural
boundaries — for example, the use of music
by resistance movements as codes that authorities could not understand, making songs
a type of underground communication for
oppressed groups rebelling against a system
or a mindset.
In South Africa, black activists sang freedom songs in their own language, one that
white people could not understand. During
the slavery era in the United States, gospel
songs were used to communicate messages
along the Underground Railroad. In Franco’s
Spain, the mere act of singing anything in
Catalan was considered subversive by the central government whose censors were usually
not fluent in the language.
Another connection we noticed was the
obvious unifying effect of music and how it
has been used in communicating the message
of a movement and rallying people to a cause,
especially during strikes and demonstrations.
The more we discussed this, the more
intrigued we became. This led us to edit a
series of academic essays that culminated in a
two-volume collection, Sounds of Resistance:
The Role of Music in Multicultural Activism,
published in 2013.
We enlisted contributors from our own
circle of colleagues and through a call for papers. In 2009, Dr. Chip Walton, LC associate
professor of sociology, gave a presentation on
the 1990s “riot grrl movement” in the US,
so we asked him to contribute. Dr. Marek
Payerhin, professor of international relations
In addition to co-editing this series, Dr. Lindsay Michie
painted the artwork for the cover.
and political science, discussed with us the
musical influences on the fall of communism
in his native Poland, so we asked him to
join our endeavor. When we mentioned the
project to Dr. Brian Crim, associate professor
of history, he was eager to write a chapter on
punk music, long one of his personal areas
of interest.
“Dr. Michie and Dr. Rojas were able to
recruit scholars from so many distinct disciplines, which I’m sure contributed to the richness of the book as a whole,” Dr. Walton said.
“Even among the five of us at LC, there are
four disciplines represented. I think such an
interdisciplinary project speaks to the strength
of our faculty. In the future I will consider
using the book for SOCI 233: Music, Culture,
and Representation.”
Dr. Payerhin said, “Working on this project stirred up quite a few emotions since I
lived through most of the circumstances that
gave birth to the protest songs I investigated.
Writing with a lump in your throat makes for
an interesting and inspiring research experience. There are some jaw-dropping moments
in social protest mobilization, such as when,
in the supposedly worker-controlled Communist Poland, protesting workers faced their
Communist overlords’ machine guns by singing proletarian revolutionary songs.
“It is just as exciting to see unique characteristics of protest songs in various social settings as it is to see striking similarities among
them, across cultures and time periods. The
idea that ‘we shall overcome’ is a powerful
common refrain for a lot of quite disparate
movements.”
While we were not able to cover all the
resistance movements and musical styles
that we would have liked (such as the recent
Arab spring uprising and reggae music), the
essays we chose from outside the College represented a fascinating range of cultures and
musical connections from inside, as well as
beyond, the US.
Because a majority of topics covered in this
series form part of contemporary history, elements of resistance music recur in both volumes, most notably the ubiquitous influence
of activist songwriter Pete Seeger and the use
of hip-hop music in so many recent resistance
movements.
Both of us also had our own pet projects
and interests related to music and rebellion:
in Dr. Michie’s case, anti-apartheid music in
South Africa and the music of Fela Kuti called
Afrobeat in Nigeria; and with Dr. Rojas, it
was both the Catalan singer-songwriter Lluis
Llach and his resistance against the linguistic
oppression of the Spanish centrist government under Franco, as well as anti-Imperialist
Puerto Rican protest music.
Fabulous
Faculty
Understanding
autism
by Dr. Gena Barnhill
Associate Professor of Special Education
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
MY CURIOSITY REGARDING
AUTISM began in 1973 when I
first heard a lecture about this
unusual condition at Bellevue
Hospital. At the time, I was
completing a clinical psychiatric
nursing rotation in this renowned
New York institution.
We were told that autism was caused by the
“refrigerator mother,” the mother who was
so cold that she was unable to bond with her
child, thereby triggering the child to retreat
into his own world to escape her iciness.
Unfortunately, I did not know that Bernard Rimland had actually dispelled that
myth in 1964 and that mothers were suffering
needless blame and guilt. Providentially by
the time I became a mother, the refrigerator
mother theory was almost passé. Still, I had
not personally met anyone with autism, so
those seeds remained dormant for 20 years.
I had no idea that I would later join the ranks
of these mothers.
Fast forwarding, I changed careers and
was working as a school psychologist when
we moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1993.
There I met an eight-year-old girl who displayed the classic signs of autism spectrum
disorder (ASD), and yet she was not diagnosed with this condition. I was fortunate to
lead the school team in her psycho-education
evaluation that determined that she indeed
had autism. In my zeal to learn more about
the disorder to assist this young girl and her
family, I began to take graduate courses at
the University of Kansas. I later completed a
doctoral program in ASD under the direction
of Brenda Myles, who would be recognized as
the No. 2 researcher in the world on Asperger
Syndrome (AS), a form of autism.
It was during the early part of my doctoral
studies in 1997 that it became apparent that
our son, who was then 21 years old, also had
AS. He had been to numerous doctors and
had many evaluations as a child because of
concerns with behavior and social skills, but
no one had suggested AS. However, the disorder was only recognized as a developmental
disability in 1994, just three years prior.
I attribute all of these situations as divine
appointments rather than coincidences.
From that time on, my passion became focused on learning as much as possible to help
our son and others like him. I published several articles about AS, wrote a book about our
experiences titled Right Address … Wrong
Planet: Children with Asperger Syndrome
Becoming Adults, and started a support group
for 350 families of children with ASD in the
Kansas City area.
When Dr. Ed Polloway, the Rosel H.
Schewel Distinguished Professor in Education
and Human Development, was looking for
someone during the summer of 2004 to teach
a special topics graduate course on ASD at
LC, he contacted Brenda Myles, who suggested me. I came to teach at LC that summer
with the clear understanding that this was a
one-time invitation. However, when I arrived
on campus that first morning, I truly felt as
A
utism is no
longer the
unusual or rare
condition as it
was described in
1973. It affects
one in 88 children
and is the fastestgrowing serious
developmental
disability in the
United States.
Autism is no longer the unusual or rare
condition as it was described in 1973. It affects
one in 88 children and is the fastest-growing
serious developmental disability in the United
States. According to Autism Speaks, approximately 50 percent of the increase in autism
prevalence can be explained by changes in
diagnostic approaches (broader diagnosis),
greater awareness, and increased parental
age; however, the reasons for the remaining
50 percent of the increase are still unknown.
While genetic susceptibility is likely involved
in the majority of cases, it is believed that
environmental factors play a role. There is no
medical detection or cure for autism.
Identified Prevalence
of Autism Spectrum Disorders
ADDM Network 2000-2008 • Combining Data from All Sites
Surveillance
Year
Birth Year
Number of ADDM
Sites Reporting
Prevalence per
1,000 Children
(Range)
This is about 1 in
X children
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
6
14
8
11
14
6.7 (4.5-9.9)
6.6 (3.3-10.6)
8.0 (4.6-9.8)
9.0 (4.2-12.1)
11.3 (4.8-21.2)
1 in 150
1 in 150
1 in 125
1 in 110
1 in 88
Table obtained from: www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html
though I was where I was supposed to be.
I was excited at the end of teaching that
course to find out that the invitation had been
extended to the following summer. This led
to another summer invitation and a full-time
tenure track position in 2006.
Having a son with Asperger Sydrome
changed my career path and afforded me the
opportunity to meet countless families and
professionals whom I would not have met
otherwise. It brought me to LC to start and
teach the ASD Certificate Program and join
the newly formed Virginia Applied Behavior
Analysis (ABA) Consortium to offer BACB
approved coursework for individuals interested in becoming Board Certified Behavior
Analysts (BCBAs). A critical need exists for
these trained professionals in Virginia, given
the increased prevalence of ASD and the new
medical insurance laws covering these services.
LC is a key player in training professionals to
fill this needed void.
Our work in the field of ASD is far from
done. I continue to provide presentations and
trainings on ASD locally, nationally, and internationally to increase awareness and equip
professionals and families to support persons
with ASD. My research at LC has focused
on ASD university personnel preparation
practices, college support for students with
the disorder, and adult outcomes associated
with AS. These findings are published in
journal articles and three book chapters, and I
co-authored Parents of Children with Disabilities: A Survival Guide for Fathers and Mothers
with my husband, Henry Barnhill. Still more
research efforts are needed to determine best
practice interventions for ASD adults and
college students, as well as determining the
causes and the reasons for the increased prevalence. New divine appointments are on the
horizon.
DRYSDALES
PLEDGE
$3 MILLION
FOR STUDENT CENTER
by Shannon Brennan
D
ouglas and Elaine Drysdale’s
pledge of $3 million for the
renovation and expansion of the
Student Center reflects their high
regard for the College. Since Doug
joined the Board of Trustees, the
couple has become increasingly
appreciative of what they see
happening at LC.
“We’re very high on Lynchburg College,” said
Doug, who attended the College from 1941 to
1943 before earning his BA in economics from
the University of Virginia. “Lynchburg is my
hometown and I see Lynchburg College as
being a very important part of the Lynchburg
community, the economy, the quality of life,
and the culture of the surrounding area.”
Elaine agreed, adding, “Both of us feel
strongly that education is very important.
Because of educational opportunities, we
both have had better lives than we might
have imagined as young people. Lynchburg
College hit home with us. A lot of the students are first-generation.”
The renovated Student Center will be
a 72,000-square-foot facility designed to
include much-needed space for student organizations with a focus on leadership, service, diversity, and wellness. The $12 million
addition will open in fall 2014 and will also
feature: a welcome center, a fitness center,
meeting rooms, multicultural center, a Commons space, veterans’ lounge, dance and
aerobics space, a game room, and additional
venues for dining.
“In recognition of the Drysdales’ leadership,
service, and generosity to the College, we
are pleased to name the Douglas and Elaine
Hadden Drysdale Student Center in their
honor,” said Denise McDonald, vice president of advancement. “We will also continue
to recognize Percy and Gertrude Burton,
keeping their names on the Percy Burton
Dining Hall and the Gertrude Burton
Dining Room.”
“Both of us feel strongly
that education is very
important. Because
of educational
opportunities, we both
have had better lives
than we might have
imagined as young
people. Lynchburg
College hit home with
us. A lot of the students
are first-generation.”
“We are thrilled with this generous gift to
the Student Center,” said LC President Kenneth
Garren. “Our current facility was built in 1968
and our student body has more than doubled
since then. This new Student Center will allow
us to have facilities that match the quality of
our academic programs.”
The Drysdales both said they have been impressed with the dedication, enthusiasm, and
commitment of the people they have met at
LC at all levels, and that convinced them to
make a significant gift to the College.
Doug, one of the original members of the
Caplin & Drysdale law firm with offices in
Washington, D.C. and New York City, is
now retired, and Elaine is retired associate
dean for management and finance at the
UVa School of Law.
Doug and Elaine both consider themselves
first-generation college graduates, though they
have different stories to tell. Doug’s father
Duncan had only a fourth-grade education
in Scotland and lived in England and Canada
before immigrating to the United States. He
ran a small business in Norfolk, Virginia, and
eventually convinced Richmond College (now
the University of Richmond) administrators
to give him a spot in law school. Within a
few years, Duncan Drysdale opened a law
office in Lynchburg and became, Doug says,
a “poor man’s lawyer,” an attorney who often
accepted produce or other items for payment.
Elaine said she is definitely first generation,
earning her bachelor’s from a small college
in Boston. Over the years she did social work
and then worked as a writer, editor, and
grants administrator before moving into law
school administration at UVa.
A 1941 graduate of E.C. Glass High
School, Doug received a $150 scholarship
to attend LC, where he wanted to pursue
journalism. He co-edited The Critograph,
was managing editor of the Prism literary
magazine, and worked on the board for the
Argonaut yearbook.
Doug left LC after only two years because
he couldn’t afford to continue his studies at
the College. However, UVa offered Doug a
full scholarship and stipend, and he made it
through three semesters there before he was
drafted into the Army. Crediting four months
of his military service toward his degree (a fairly
standard crediting practice during World
War II), UVa awarded him a BA in 1944.
He became a commissioned officer, eventually stationed in Hawaii, where he met his
first wife (who died in 1977). The young couple moved to Lynchburg in 1947, and Doug
briefly re-enrolled at LC before returning to
UVa for graduate study in economics and a
law degree.
Doug practiced law for about 10 years in
Charlottesville, mostly with a firm where he
worked closely with Mortimer Caplin, a professor at UVa Law who became head of the
IRS in 1961. In 1964, Caplin asked Doug to
join him at a new firm in Washington, D.C.
Their firm has become one of the leading tax
law practices in the country and is internationally known.
Doug reconnected with LC in the 1980s.
He also renewed ties with his old friend Elliot
Schewel, a fellow Boy Scout and school classmate from sixth grade forward, who, with his
wife Rosel, has been a generous friend of LC.
Since joining the Board of Trustees in 2008,
Doug has become one of the College’s biggest
supporters. Elaine has been right beside him
all the way.
Alumni Association
Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Bryce C. Legg ’81, Hunt Valley, Md.
VICE PRESIDENT
John P. Reilly ’86, Midlothian, Va.
ALUMNI OUTREACH COMMITTEE CHAIR
Jamar M. Hawkins ’04, Woodbridge, Va.
ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
Hannah Howe Besanceney ’96, Orlando, Fla.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
Lesley Day Villarose ’02, Eden, N.C.
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING COMMITTEE CHAIR
Gerald J. “Jerry” Daniello ’93, South Orange, N.J.
TRADITIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Wendy Bradley ’91, Woodstock Valley, Conn.
WESTOVER ALUMNI SOCIETY CO-PRESIDENTS
Ben Smith ’67
Elizabeth “Betsy” Carter Smith ’67, Lynchburg, Va.
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Christopher D. “Chris” Barclay ’89, North Wales, Pa.
John M. “Johnny” Black ’08, Towson, Md.
Emily G. Brown ’02, Washington, D.C.
David J. Capps ’77, Lynchburg, Va.
Melissa MacGregor Centanni ’81, Glen Ridge, N.J.
Laura Miller Crank ’79, Midlothian, Va.
Tracy K. Epps ’01, Manassas, Va.
Mark B. Flynn Sr. ’77, ’82 M.Ed., New Church, Va.
Paul E. Goldenbaum ’66, San Antonio, Texas
C. Randall“Randy” Harlow ’73, Lynchburg, Va.
Robert P. “Bobby” Kelland ’77, Richmond, Va.
Kathryn E. McDaniel ’12, Orange, Va.
Lynda Touzeau Parker ’85, Basking Ridge, N.J.
Randi Alper Pupkin ’84, Baltimore, Md.
David A. Rosser ’90, Waxhaw, N.C.
Helen Hebb Stidham ’66, Manassas, Va.
Jan Colleary Timmer ’77, South Riding, Va.
Sherwood N. Zimmerman ’64, Forest, Va.
LC Alumni
on the Internet
Alumni News
Faculty at core of college experience
When visiting Lynchburg
College, people immediately
notice the beauty of the campus.
Our 250-acre campus is graced
with mostly Georgian architecture and offers views of the bucolic Blue Ridge Mountains.
The setting epitomizes the image
of how a college should look.
A college, however, is much more than bricks
and mortar. The academic experience depends
on the intellectual opportunities students encounter. Outstanding faculty members, combined with a strong liberal arts focus, are central
to a Lynchburg College education. The added
dedication of our staff makes the entire community committed to educating and preparing
students for life.
LC has always been the kind of place that
promotes student-faculty interaction. Many
of us had favorite professors with whom we
not only chose to take multiple classes, but
with whom we also developed real friendships.
These friendships often lasted well beyond our
time on campus.
Today’s LC faculty is accomplished and exceptionally talented. They are passionate about
their areas of expertise and skilled at nurturing
similar passions in their students. Many choose
to teach at a place like Lynchburg College
because they are better able to know their
students and more effectively share with them
their knowledge and experiences.
Lynchburg College is a very special place
— an institution where you can receive an
outstanding liberal arts education in a beautiful
academic setting. Regardless of whether you
are an alumnus/alumna, parent, or friend of
the College, I encourage you to find ways to
stay engaged and to maintain those personal
connections to LC.
Bryce C. Legg ’81
President, LC Alumni Association
Homecoming
2014
OCTOBER 17–19
Save the Date
Join your classmates for a great fall weekend!
Reconnect with classmates,
teammates, roommates, and friends
Facebook
Lynchburg Alumni Association
LinkedIn
Lynchburg College Alumni & Friends (group)
Twitter
@LburgAlumni
Office of Alumni Relations
434.544.8293 • 800.621.1669
www.lynchburg.edu/alumni
Class Notes
50s
Classes of ’54 and ’59 in Reunion
April 25-27, 2014
Wilbert “Hank” Norton Jr. ’51 was honored on
Sept. 14, 2013 with the dedication of the new
Norton-Tolley Press Box at W.B. Adams Stadium at
Ferrum College. The facility was named in honor of
Hank, who was head football coach, educator, and
athletic director from 1960-93, and in memory of
Rick Tolley, former Ferrum assistant coach. Hank
lives in Deltaville, Va.
Adrian “Yon” Schoenmaker ’53 and his wife,
Sara Lee Street ’53, celebrated their 60th wedding
anniversary in August. Sara Lee is suffering from
Alzheimer’s and is now in a local care center. Yon
remains at home, adjusting to living alone. They live
in Iowa City, Iowa.
Thomas “Tom” Bennett ’59 was elected mayor of
Southern Shores, N.C., where he and his wife Jayne
Wyatt ’61 live.
Roger Long ’59 was featured in the September
edition of the Virginia School Board Association
(VSBA) newsletter. Roger is a Halifax County School
Board member and the VSBA southern region chairman. He and his wife Maxine Jennings ’59 live in
South Boston, Va.
60s
April 25-27, 2014
Kenneth “Bugs” Burnett ’60 was honored in
November when his city’s first community center was
named the “Falls Church (Va.) Community Center
Kenneth R. Burnett Building.” Bugs was the first
director of Falls Church’s recreation and parks department and served in that role for 28 years from 19621990. Bugs and his wife Nancy Chiles ’59 live in Falls
Church and have another home in Hilton Head, S.C.
James “Jimmy” L. Davidson ’60
received the T. Gibson Hobbs
Memorial Award at Homecoming
2013, named for a member of
the College’s first graduating
class (1904). This is the highest
honor given by the Alumni Association to alumni who demonstrate an exemplary record of service in three areas:
church, community, and alma mater. Jimmy graduated with a BA in business administration. He has
been a community leader and served as president of
the Greater Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce,
Lynchburg Retail Merchants Association, and Lynchburg Area Development Corporation. He was president of First Federal Savings Bank, chairman of the
board of One Valley Bank of Virginia, and a director
of BB&T Bank of Virginia. He served as chairman of
Centra Foundation and is past director of Federal
Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. He was a member of
the Commonwealth Transportation Board and served
on the boards of Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Central Virginia, Step with
Links, Greater Lynchburg Transit Co., and James River
Day School. A lifelong member of St. John’s Episcopal
Church, Jimmy taught Sunday school, headed the
Church’s Every Member Canvass, and served two
terms on the church Vestry. He served on the finance
committee of the Southwestern Virginia Diocese of
the Episcopal Church. Jimmy served LC as a trustee
from 2004-2010 and is a former member of the
School of Business and Economics Advisory Board.
In 1998 he was inducted into the LC Business Hall
of Fame. He funded the Davidson Tutoring Center
in Schewel Hall and has participated in LC’s Annual
Shellenberger Golf Tournament to raise funds for
scholarships. Jimmy and his wife, Trudy Braun ’66,
live in Lynchburg, Va.
is helping children with mental illness, emotional,
and behavioral problems. Nancy received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995 and the Richard
H. Thornton Award for Excellence in 2001. She lives
in Chesapeake, Va., where she is the public health
director at the Chesapeake Health Department.
Walter Bass Jr. ’65 won first place in the shot
put in the 70-year-old division of the 2013 National
Senior Games, which he and his wife, Lou Ann
Carter ’68, attended in July in Cleveland, Ohio.
The couple resides in Gladys, Va.
J. Robert “Bob” Bradshaw ’76 has a road in Davidsonville (Md.) Park named in his honor for his work with the
Davidsonville Athletic Association to establish a facility
for school-aged children.
Bernard Reams Jr. ’65 is the director of St. Mary’s
University School of Law Institute on World Legal
Problems in Innsbruck, Austria. Barney has been a
professor of law at St. Mary’s since 2000 and this is
his 40th year as an attorney and law professor. He
and his wife, Lee Anne, divide their time between
homes in San Antonio, Texas, and Innsbruck.
Dennis Craddock ’67 was inducted into the US
Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Hall of Fame. With 44 years of coaching across the
collegiate and high school levels, Dennis amassed a
legendary resume that includes two women’s NCAA
cross country team titles (1981, 1982), a women’s
indoor NCAA team title (1982), and an unparalleled
45 ACC team titles via coaching tenures at the
University of Virginia and University of North Carolina.
Dennis retired from UNC in June 2012.
Kathrine Switzer ’68 was in Lynchburg, Va.,
in September as a special guest speaker at the
Genworth Virginia 10 Miler. Kathrine was the first
woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967,
breaking the gender barrier in distance running.
She lives in New Paltz, N.Y.
Nancy Welch ’68 has published a book, Healing
Emotional Wounds: A Story of the Long Hard Road to
Recovery from Abuse and Abandonment, scheduled to be in bookstores by April 2014. Her focus
70s
October 17-19, 2014
Classmates from 1970-1973 met Nov. 2-3, 2013 at the
Baltimore Inner Harbor for a mini-reunion. Attending
were: Daniel “Dan” Cronin ’71; Douglas “Doug”
Melroy ’72; Melvin “Mel” Jacob ’71; Ronald “Ron”
Shipley ’72 and wife, Suzanne; Philip “Phil” Mazzara
’70 and wife, Dee Daly; Gary Dolgins ’70; Henry
“Al” Prillaman ’70 and wife Challis Fox Prillaman
’73; Stuart “Stu” Friedman ’71 and wife, Lynn Dunn
Friedman ’73; Donald “Don” Prout ’72 and wife,
Deborah “Debbie” Harris Prout ’74; Harvey Ernest
’72 and wife, Pam; and William “Bill” Weld ’70.
Frank Murray Jr. ’70, ’77 MEd has retired after 10
years as the director of the Avoca Museum in Altavista,
Va. The museum was the home of Revolutionary
War patriot Charles Lynch. Frank currently lives in
Lynchburg, but has plans to move to eastern Virginia.
George Grzenda ’71, ’73 MEd was the recipient of
the 2013 Distinguished Service Award by the Virginia
High School Coaches Association for his 20 years of
service. He continues to serve as the Virginia High
School League’s rules interpreter for boys and girls
soccer. He lives in Forest, Va.
Class Notes
Kathryn “Kate” Pike ’72 has retired from the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where
she worked as an administrative assistant in the
departments of Interior Architecture and Human
Development and Family Studies. Kate lives in
Greensboro, N.C.
R. “Nowlin” Wingfield Jr. ’72, ’81 MS was inducted
into the 2013 Amherst County Sports Hall of Fame at
an awards ceremony and banquet in October.
Dr. Kathryn Mitchell Pumphrey
’75, ’88 MEd received the T. Gibson
Hobbs Memorial Award at Homecoming 2013, named for a member
of the College’s first graduating
class (1904). This is the highest
honor given by the Alumni Association to alumni who demonstrate
an exemplary record of service in three areas: church,
community, and alma mater. For the last 16 years,
Kathryn has served as executive vice president of the
Centra Foundation. Previously, she served as director
of institutional advancement at Central Virginia
Community College, director of development at
James River Day School, and director of development at Seven Hills School. Kathryn is a trustee at
LC and was president of the Alumni Association
during one of its most significant periods of
advancement. A member of First Presbyterian
Church, Kathryn served as a deacon, chaired the
stewardship committee, and served on the World
Missions Committee. She also sang in the church
choir from 1981 until 1991 and served on the
church’s music and planned giving committees.
She is a member of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest
Board of Directors and of the Opera on the James
advisory committee. She earned her doctor of
education from the University of Virginia, and is
a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). She and
her husband, Richard “Dick” ’74, LC professor of
art, live in Lynchburg.
William “Bill” Childs IV ’76
is CEO of Chaney Enterprises
and has been elected chairman
of the Board of Directors of the
National Ready Mixed Concrete
Association (NRMCA), where he
will lead the concrete industry
organization as it prepares for
dramatic growth. The industry employs 175,000
people who produced 300 million cubic yards of
concrete in 2012 with a sales volume of $48 billion.
Bill lives in Friendship, Md.
H. Gregory “Greg” Reid ’76 has retired after working 36 years for several local governments in Virginia.
Greg lives in Goochland County (Va.) and is now
working part time at The Country Club of Virginia
in Richmond.
Sports Hall of Fame Team Awards
Teams are recognized as “teams of distinction” based on athletic performance and
achievement in sports competition as
evidenced by exceptional accomplishments
at or above the conference level including
advancement to NCAA regional or national
competition, regional or national titles,
school records, and undefeated seasons.
1981- 82 Field Hockey Team
The 1982 yearbook headline says it all: Lady
Hornets Second in the Nation. The team posted
a 22-4-1 record, winning the state and regional
championships. The women advanced all the
way to the finals of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women’s National Championship, where they were edged in the title
match-up 3-2. Led by senior co-captains Molly
Brogan Judge ’82 and Suzanne Corns ’82, the
women’s hard work paid off. Brogan and sophomore Phoebe Phelps Long ’84 earned All-State
recognition and were named as strong contenders for All-American honors. Phelps smashed
LC’s record by netting 26 goals. Through steady
improvement and perseverance, the women
earned their greatest mark ever: second in the
nation. Other individuals who contributed to the
team’s success are: Kerry Berman Armbruster ’83,
Nancy Bower, Sally Breckenridge, Trudy Marschean Coffer ’83, ’92 MEd, Gail Aleixo Curry
’85, Joyce Darrell ’84, Terry Apperson Jubb ’85,
Penelope “Penny” Morris Kelley ’83, Carolyn
Hess MacMillan ’85, Kate Resor Martin, Rose
Rowland McKinney ’86, Donna Landmann
Passante ’82, Holly Phillips, Mary Ferraro Russell
’85, Melinda Harper Stensrud ’85, and Coach
Enza Inturrisi Steele.
1977-78 Men’s Basketball Team
This team won the Dixie Conference Championship
in 1976 and earned a berth in the 1978 NCAA
tourney. They were ODAC runner-ups in 1977
and 1978. The Hornets defeated Division II national
runner-up Randolph-Macon in 1977 in Turner
Gymnasium. The team won the Radford University
Holiday Tournament in 1976, won the Lebanon
Valley Classic in 1978 in Anneville, Pa., and
defeated Division II Bloomsburg State in triple
overtime in 1977. Jim Crawford ’78 led the state
in scoring (all three levels: Divisions I, II, and III)
in 1975-1976 with a 25.5 pt. per game average.
Tom Selinger ’78, E.D. Schechterly ’80, Wayne
Davis ’78, Chip Berry ’78, Crawford, and Rick
Purcell ’80 were named to the All-ODAC team.
Schechterly and the team’s coach, E. Wayne
Proffitt ’67, ’73 MEd, are the only LC basketball
players to be All-Americans. Schechterly is the
only LC player to be first team All-ODAC for
four years. In addition, he was ODAC player of
the year his junior and senior years. He holds
the school record for highest field goal percentage in a season (71 percent) and was ranked
second nationally for field goal percentage.
Selinger is the career and season assist leader
for LC; Schechterly is the career and season
rebound leader. Selinger, Crawford, Davis,
Shechterly, and Proffitt are in the LC Hall of
Fame individually. Other individuals who contributed to the team’s success are: Thomas M.
Adkins ’82, Robert “Robbie” Beard ’81, John
Flynn, Robert “Rob” Hammersley Jr. ’81, ’87
MBA, Robert Layne ’80, Darrell Mann, and
Matthew “Matt” Zielinski ’80.
Save the Date
Garry Davis ’77, senior probation officer with the
Lynchburg Court Services Unit (CSU), received the
2013 Virginia Correctional Association’s Lifetime
Achievement Award. Garry has been with the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice for 35 years.
He lives in Lynchburg, Va.
Charles “Chip” Berry ’78 was inducted into the
Virginia High School Hall of Fame in October. This
organization is a joint venture of the Virginia High
School Coaches Association and the Virginia High
School League. Chip is the athletic director and
a former social studies teacher, head boys soccer
coach, and junior varsity boys basketball coach at
E.C. Glass in Lynchburg, Va., where he lives.
Linda Robinson Doughty ’79 MEd is the director
of a California state initiative to help low-income and
first-generation individuals go to college. She also
oversees the University of California San Diego federal GEAR Up grant, which serves 10,000 students
in San Diego and Imperial counties with six staff and
100 college students who work as tutors and college
peer advisors. Linda lives in Lemon Grove, Calif.
80s
October 17-19, 2014
Richard “Ricky” A. LaReau ’80
received the Sports Hall of Fame
award at Homecoming 2013 in
recognition of his performance in
golf. In 1979 the golf team finished
the season as the fourth-best
Division III team in the NCAA, with
Ricky as the team’s top player.
He placed sixth overall in that year’s ODAC tournament. He was named the Most Valuable Golfer for
the Hornets’ golf team and earned ODAC Golfer of
the Year honors in his senior season. In 1980 he
received Honorable Mention All-American recognition.
Ricky serves as president and CEO of Worth Higgins
& Associates in Richmond. He lives in Glen Allen, Va.
Honorary Alumni
Award Winner
In 1985 the Alumni Association established
the Honorary Alumni Award. This distinction is given to non-alumni for exceptional
interest, dedication, and service to the
College.
Elizabeth “Betty” Howell
received the Honorary
Alumni Award at Homecoming 2013. As administrative assistant for the
Office of Alumni Relations,
Betty is the face of Alumni
Relations at LC. Her perpetually cheerful disposition has welcomed
alumni guests to campus for more than 15
years. Betty both mourns and celebrates with
alumni who have family changes. Of special
note is Betty’s work with Jim Flynn ’75 to
conduct the most recent all-alumni survey,
leading to a revitalization of the Alumni
Association. Betty has been married to her
husband, Don, for 40 years. They have two
daughters, Carrie and Sarah Howell Hamilton
’03, and four granddaughters.
Polly Pendleton Smith ’82, ’92 MEd, ’10 MEd was
named principal of Hutcherson Early Learning Center
in Lynchburg, Va. in June. She has been employed by
Lynchburg City Schools as an early childhood special education lead teacher since 1989. Polly lives in Goode, Va.
Arthur “Art” Criss ’83 returned to his home state
of New Jersey to become director of admissions at
Ocean County College in Toms River, N.J. He is also
officiating high school football for the Shore Conference and American Youth Football in Ocean and
Monmouth counties. The family is excited to be living
in Toms River.
Homecoming
2013
n
photo gallery
see more of the weekend at
Westover Alumni
Society Weekend
April -, 
Classes of 1954, ’59, ’64, and ’69
will celebrate their class reunions on campus
60th Reunion Committee
Nancy Cochran Wooldridge ‘54
Larry Martin ‘54
Eva Price Brockman ‘54
Barbara Jones Walker ‘54
Don Jones ‘59
Nancy Chiles Burnett ‘59
Bill Brown ‘59
Courtney Jones ‘59
Betty Carr Jones ‘59
Buddy Leffers ‘59
John Moore ‘59
Dorothy Bundy Turner Potter ‘64
Deloris Dula Donnelly ’64
Claude Mays ‘64
Merrie Childrey Ligon ‘64
Carol Overstreet Lee ‘64
Carolyn Hodges Crosby ‘64
Sherwood Zimmerman ‘64
Billie Rae McClung Younger ‘64
Marc Jordan ‘69
Diana Creighton Trent ‘69
Judy Goding ‘69, ‘75 MEd
alumni profile
Engaged in the world
by Shannon Brennan
Adam Smith ’04 has worked in Africa and
Asia amid poverty, disease, and war, and
everywhere he has seen resilience.
People with little share a lot, as they did
in Lesotho, where he worked for three years.
People in Afghanistan want clinics and schools
amid terror and violence.
“I am constantly surprised and inspired by
the warmth and generosity of communities in
the face of some of the direst circumstances
on earth,” Adam said.
He turned his LC international relations
major into a career of helping people help
themselves; he knows that he can’t just drop
off food or build a school to have an impact.
“I tried as much as I could to build the
capacity of my local counterparts,” he said.
Shortly after graduation, Adam joined
Population Services International (PSI), a
global health non-governmental organization
(NGO) based in Washington, D.C. He
spent more than a year supporting programs
in east and southern Africa before receiving a
fellowship that took him to the mountainous
southern African Kingdom of Lesotho.
In Lesotho, Adam worked with local
nurses, doctors, and public health officials
on nationwide HIV testing, prevention, and
behavior-change programs. Near the end of
his second year, he was granted an extension
of his fellowship to spend one more year developing HIV/AIDS testing and prevention
programs for such high-risk populations as
migratory factory workers, commercial sex
workers, and the military.
Lesotho is also where he met his fiancée,
Elizabeth Hamilton, who was there as a Peace
Corps volunteer.
Upon returning to the United States in
2009, Adam used his field experience to improve disaster response programming with
the Stamford, Connecticut-based NGO
Americares. He worked with field staff to
develop strategic and operational plans for
disaster responses and risk reduction efforts.
After nearly two years back home, Adam
headed to Afghanistan as a senior field program officer for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in western
Kandahar, an extremely volatile region.
Adam was embedded with a US Army brigade combat team as a governance and development adviser, overseeing more than $65
million in USAID projects including roads,
irrigation systems, schools, and clinics.
“When I arrived, there were no functioning
clinics, and when I left, there were six,” he said.
His work resulted in the opening and staffing of more than 30 schools, where there had
previously been none, and enrollment of more
than 12,000 students, including nearly 1,000 girls,
an achievement inconceivable just a year prior.
“I certainly hope a lot of that sticks,” Adam
said, noting that 32 Americans and hundreds
of Afghans died while he was there. He said
he doesn’t want to work in another war zone.
Adam returned to Washington, D.C.,
where he currently works for the Geneva-based
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
(GAIN), coordinating governments’ responses
to nutrition and food security crises. His job
has taken him to Afghanistan, Kenya, Lesotho,
Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, and Tanzania. GAIN’s primary focus
is on improving food systems from farm to
fork to make sure everyone has access to
nutritious foods.
“It’s so cheap to run out and buy a bag of
chips for your kids, whether in the US or
Africa,” Adam said.
Adam returned to his alma mater in October to participate in the Hornet-2-Hornet
College-to-Careers Conference, where he encouraged students to make the most of their
time here.
“Lynchburg pushed me to get out there and
be an active member of our global society,”
Adam said. “This lesson has guided both my
career and my way of life.”
SPORT YOUR ALUMNI
Susan “Sue” Boucher ’87, ’90 MEd is the coordinator
of volunteer and intern services for the Fairfax County
Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Fairfax,
Va. Sue lives in Falls Church, Va.
Julieanne “Julie” Fischer ’87 was named senior
visual effects producer for Pixeldust Studios, an
Emmy Award-winning digital animation and visual
design company with studios in the Metro D.C. area
and New York City. She has previously worked with
world-class visual effects and post production companies based in Iceland, London, Beijing, and across
the United States. She was involved with the visual
effects on the feature film 2 Guns, starring Denzel
Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Julie lives in Silver
Spring, Md.
Alexander “Alex” Graham ’88 was named executor director of the Council for Exceptional Children
in Arlington, Va., in October. The CEC works to
improve the educational success of children and
youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. Alex
and his wife, Melissa Dillon ’87, live in Oak Hill, Va.
Rebecca Eastwood ’88 MEd is the director of human
resources for Roanoke County Public Schools. She
previously held positions as assistant principal and
principal. She lives in Roanoke, Va.
90s
October 17-19, 2014
Sarah-Kate Hawkins ’91 MEd delivered her PhD
dissertation, The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Elderly
Caregivers in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and has earned
her doctorate. The commencement ceremony was
held at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in
January 2014. She and her husband, Jeffrey Lynn
’95 MEd, are living in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
David Raphael ’91 has joined the Harrisburg (Pa.)
law firm of K&L Gates LLP as a partner in its environment, land, and natural resources practice. He previously served as chief counsel for the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). David
lives in Carlisle, Pa.
Robin Coracci Robertson ’92 has joined Cardinal
Bank as senior vice president, assistant director of
marketing. Robin has 20 years of banking experience
in branch management and operations, as well as
bank marketing. She lives in Alexandria, Va.
Michael “Mike” Marchetti ’94
was inducted into the Sports Hall
of Fame at Homecoming 2013 in
recognition of his participation in
the lacrosse program. Mike holds
multiple records in lacrosse: most
points scored in a game (goals
plus assists–12), most goals in a
game (nine), most points in a single season (85), and
most goals in a single season (67). He is fifth in alltime points, with 162 goals and 45 assists, for 207
total points, and second in all-time career goals, with
162. He earned Honorable Mention All-American
recognition and was named ODAC Player of the Year
and LC Male Athlete of the Year in 1994. Mike lives
in San Francisco, Calif.
Chad M. Evans ’95 received the
Sports Hall of Fame award at
Homecoming 2013 in recognition
of his performance on the baseball team. While at LC, his slugging percentage was .865, with
nine triples. He had a batting
average of .490, leading all
ODAC players. In 1992 he had 51 hits, 31 runs,
nine triples, and 32 RBI. He was named First Team
ODAC, First Team All-Region, First Team All-State,
and Honorable Mention All–American. In his senior
year he received All-ODAC and All-Region recognition. Chad lives in Lynchburg, Va.
Michael Bremer ’96, ’01 MEd was chosen, with
his “Spartans for a Cure” Relay for Life Team, to
receive the 2013 Youth Philanthropy Award from
the Virginia Piedmont Chapter of the Association of
Fundraising Professionals. Michael has led the team
for seven years at Sandusky Middle School. He and
his wife, Mari Normyle ’97 MEd, former associate
dean of student success and engagement at LC,
live in Lynchburg, Va.
Parents Family
Weekend
2013 photo gallery
n
see more of the weekend at
HORNET
PRIDE
WITH CROSSWIND
SWEATSHIRTS
This quarter-zip sweatshirt features
soft ring-spun cotton, an antique
nickel-finished metal zipper, and
side pockets.
$29.95 plus $12.95 shipping.
Virginia residents pay sales tax.
Order online at
www.lynchburg.edu/CampusStore
Click mail order catalog on left menu bar and
select the “clothing sweatshirts” category.
All major credit cards accepted.
LC Campus Store
Hours of operation:
Weekdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
434.544.8241 for mail orders
Class Notes
supporting families in need, including the Hunton-Randolph Community Center and Divas of Lynchburg
Program for at-risk youth. In 2012 John coordinated
musical services for the first Legacy Ball at Homecoming 2012, organized by Tracy Epps ’01 and Veronica
Soles ’98, and his band donated part of its services.
John lives in Lynchburg, Va.
Adam Atenasio ’05, Sean Dew ’08, and Phil Hoon ’07
at the wedding of Win Wharton ’07 and Elizabeth
Langis ’10 in Newport R.I., on August 17, 2013.
Christopher “Chris” Boyd ’97 successfully
completed his dissertation defense for his PhD in
organizational leadership at the School of Global
Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Regent University, Virginia Beach, Va. His dissertation was titled,
The Effect of Eudaimonic Well-Being and the Impact
of Life Experience on Authentic Leadership. Chris
and his wife, Jennifer Mul-Key ’95, live in Jonesboro, Ga. with their three children. Jennifer is an
instructor for gifted students at Mt. Zion Primary
School in Morrow, Ga., and Chris is the executive
pastor at Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral
in Austell, Ga.
John H. Hughes ’98, ’00, ’09
MBA received the Distinguished
Alumni Award at Homecoming
2013 in recognition of his outstanding personal and professional contributions and
achievements. John earned three
degrees from LC, including two
undergraduate degrees in social sciences and business administration. John serves as the Community
Services Agency coordinator for the City of Lynchburg Human Services Department. He is active in the
National Forum of Black Public Administrators, Toastmasters International, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity,
Inc., where, for the last decade, he has served as
president of the Gamma Omega Chapter and supervisor of its third district. He is a board member of the
Mary Bethune Academy. John has organized AdoptA-Street programs, created the Carter G. Woodson
Luncheon, participated in several local initiatives
Kelli Rainey ’99 has been promoted to dean of academic support services at Johnson C. Smith University
in Charlotte, N.C. She serves as chief administrative
officer of the division and oversees management
of information technology, library services, and
institutional planning, assessment, effectiveness,
and research. Kelli joined the university as director
of student activities in 2004, and was appointed
director of institutional research in 2006. She is
completing an approved dissertation, Succession
Planning — Ensuring Leadership Continuity at
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, at Benedictine University for an EdD in higher education and
organizational change. Kelli lives in Charlotte, N.C.
00s
October 17-19, 2014
Cheryl Hodges Bratton ’00 is an editor for the
Department of the Army, US Army Center of Military
History, located at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.
This organization is responsible for recording the official history of the Army and advises the Army regarding historical matters. Cheryl and her husband, Tom,
had their third child, Charlotte Joy, on August 20,
2013. She joins big sister, Chloe, 7 and big brother,
Aiden, 4. The family lives in Alexandria, Va.
Delano P. Douglas ’00 received
the M. Carey Brewer Alumni
Award at Homecoming 2013.
This award was established to
honor Dr. Carey Brewer ’49 for
his distinguished career as seventh president of the College
(1964-1983). The award recognizes young alumni who have made contributions to
society and have brought distinction to themselves
and their alma mater. Delano graduated from LC
with a degree in religious studies and is director of
the Virginia State University (VSU) Campus Ministry.
After graduating from LC, he served the Corporation
for National Service as a volunteer with Virginia One
Church and One Child, an adoption recruitment
agency. At VSU, Delano created a male mentoring
program for students at VSU and Ettrick Elementary
School. He leads a 25-member student music ministry, Avodah. Delano is a member of the Petersburg
(Breakfast) Rotary Club, Union Presbyterian Seminary
Black Alumni Association, Nehemiah Project of
Petersburg, and Avoca Museum and Historic Society
in Altavista, Va. He earned his master of divinity and
a master of theology from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond and lives in Petersburg, Va.
Kacey Crabbe Anderson ’01, ’05 MEd has been
appointed principal of Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle
School for Innovation in Lynchburg, Va. She has been
assistant principal at Dunbar since July 2009 and spent
many years as a special education teacher. She and
her husband, Karl ’02, live in Lynchburg.
Tracy K. Epps ’01 received the
M. Carey Brewer Alumni Award
at Homecoming 2013. This award
was established to honor Dr.
Carey Brewer ’49 for his distinguished career as seventh president of the College (1964-1983).
The award recognizes young
alumni who have made contributions to society and
have brought distinction to themselves and their
alma mater. While at LC, Tracy double majored in
French and business management. She recently
joined Science Applications International Corporation
(SAIC) as a senior technical writer. For the past 10
years, she has worked for major corporations such as
Booz Allen Hamilton, AT&T, and BAE Systems. Tracy
serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors
and was instrumental in helping establish affinity
groups that afford alumni the opportunity to connect
and engage according to their student interests.
Tracy has been actively involved in Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority, Inc., for more than 15 years through
food drives, service projects, career workshops, and
clothing drives. In 2012, she helped charter Psi Rho
Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in
Loudoun County (Va.) and served as technology
chair. Tracy earned a master of arts in technical and
scientific communication at James Madison University in 2004. She resides in Manassas, Va., and enjoys
an active membership in LC’s Northern Virginia
Alumni Club.
Jeremy “Jer” Bryant ’03, ’10 MA, adjunct instructor
of English at LC, was appointed director of the College’s
Wilmer Writing Center. He lives in Amherst, Va.
Scott Graham ’03, ’08 MEd is principal at Body
Camp Elementary School in Bedford County (Va.).
Scott has previously been a teacher and a coach and
lives in Bedford, Va.
Gregory “Greg” Useem ’03 is chief performance
officer for the City of Alexandria, Va., and is responsible for leading, implementing, and managing the
city’s performance management system, including
using data and strategic information to inform budget decisions. Greg was previously the director of
budget and policy for Wake County, (N.C.). He lives
in Alexandria, Va.
alumni profile
Megan A. Wiseman ’03 was
inducted into the Sports Hall of
Fame at Homecoming 2013 for
her indoor and outdoor track
performance. Megan earned
All-American honors in the heptathlon in 2002 and 2003. She
was a national qualifier in the
800 meter and 400 hurdles and still holds LC and
ODAC records in those events. She is on LC’s all-time
list in nine events as first-, second-, or third-place
finisher. Megan lives in Hoboken, N.J.
Joshua A. Zobenica ’04 was
inducted into the Sports Hall of
Fame at Homecoming 2013 for
his contributions to the track and
field program. Josh competed for
four years at the varsity level in
cross country and indoor and
outdoor track. He earned
All-American honors in the 800 meter, with a school
record that still stands. He is the conference recordholder in the 800 meters and school record-holder in
the distance medley relay. He was a member of the
storied 2001 cross country team that beat favored
Roanoke College for the ODAC title. Josh lives in
Annapolis, Md.
Julie Austin-Witcher ’04 represented Virginia in the
“Mrs. National” pageant held in August in Williamsburg, Va., where she was second runner-up. The
Mrs. National pageant is a community service-based
beauty pageant for married women. Julie chose
saving the arts in school systems as her platform for
the national pageant. Some of her service projects
include collections of school and art supplies for the
Miller Home for Girls, the Patrick Henry Boys and
Girls Homes, and the Bedford Domestic Violence
Women’s Shelter. Julie lives in Altavista, Va.
Jeremy Sink ’04 was inducted into the James River
High School Sports Hall of Fame in September.
Jeremy is a teacher in Rockbridge County (Va.) and
a coach at James River in Buchanan, Va. He was
recently named head coach for the Roanoke Rails of
the Carolina Virginia Collegiate League. He lives in
Thaxton, Va.
Lucas Jones ’05 is head baseball coach and an
associate instructor in recreation/parks and physical
education at Patrick Henry Community College in
Martinsville, Va. He previously was an assistant men’s
baseball coach at George Mason University in Fairfax,
Va. He lives in Martinsville.
Thomas Foster ’06 was named to the (Virginia)
Governor’s Teachers Cabinet, where he and his
colleagues focus on strategies for greater community engagement, ways to improve K-12 education,
and identifying federal Department of Education
resources for local school divisions. Thomas is an
eighth-grade science teacher at Dunbar Middle
School in Lynchburg, Va., where he also lives.
Speaker Boehner’s right hand
Trevor Kolego ’99 is in the thick of things
on Capitol Hill as the director of Member
Services for House Republicans. Among
his duties, Trevor represents Speaker John
Boehner when he’s not on the floor of the
House of Representatives.
“You certainly have to have some knowledge of everything,” Trevor said.
Members come to Trevor to ask about
scheduling questions and explanations of
why the speaker chose to consider a specific piece of legislation.
Trevor also works closely with targeted
Republican members and freshman legislators to ensure their re-election.
Having worked with Boehner since
2007, Trevor says he has the highest
respect for his boss: “He’s the most level-headed person I’ve seen at the Capitol.”
While most people would think Trevor is
in a political hot spot, he said Boehner helps
him stay cool during difficult times, such as
during the government shutdown: “We had
members sticking to a core set of beliefs and
principles,” Trevor said. “We worked each
and every day to get through it.
“We feel the heat a lot, but I try to emulate the speaker and not let it bother me.”
Trevor said Boehner is a tactical thinker
who helps him learn how to navigate a
variety of situations. He said the hardest
part of his job is making sure he always
represents Boehner in a way that doesn’t
reflect poorly on the speaker.
by Shannon Brennan
After graduating from LC, Trevor
started his Washington, D.C. career with
McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander,
Inc., a mining industry lobbying firm,
where he served for three years as a legislative and staff assistant. He then went to
work for US Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah)
as a legislative assistant and then US Rep.
Jon Porter (R-Nevada) as legislative director.
A politics major and history minor at
LC, Trevor said he loves taking friends
through the Capitol at night and talking
about the history of the place. When he’s
not at work, he likes riding his bicycle.
A native of Fallston, Maryland, Trevor
learned about LC from playing lacrosse
in high school. He played for the Hornets
for two years before doing his junior year
abroad in Tasmania.
Like many alumni, he wanted a small
school experience, which he said helps
him daily in his job in the nation’s capital.
At LC, he said, he knew everyone and
had to develop good people skills “not
dissimilar to what we have here” with 231
House Republicans.
Trevor came back to visit campus in
April 2013 and still had the same feeling
he had when he first visited. “If you stand
in the middle of the Dell and look at all
the brick buildings and green grass, it’s
hard not to pick Lynchburg,” he said.
Bethany White ’11 to Dennis Jordan
Cameron Craddock ’11 to Samuel “Sam” Howe ’10
Jessica Barcola ’10 to Michael Butzgy ’10
Laura Heltzel ’10 to Jeffery “Mitch” Poole ’12
Brian Parker ’00 to Laura Schottel
Kate Habicht ’03 to Nathan Quinn
Casey Greene ’06 worked with well-known poet
Nikki Giovanni at the Blue Ridge Writing Project
(BRWP) Invitational Summer Institute at Virginia Tech.
The BRWP is committed to improving writing and
learning in Southwest Virginia schools from kindergarten through university classrooms, and recognizes
and values teacher knowledge, creativity, and leadership. Casey teaches English at Altavista (Va.) Combined School. She lives in Lynchburg. Va.
Marcia Bennett ’07 has published a book, Please
Don’t Send Me to the Office: Tips for Teachers in the
21st Century Classroom, a guide for teachers that
offers practical advice on classroom and time management, communication skills, and organizational
strategies. She has started a tutorial service for young
people in Central Virginia. She lives in Lynchburg, Va.
L. White, the pen name for a 2007 LC alumna,
released her first book, The Graceful Art of Falling,
in the fall of 2013. The book is a memoir about her
experiences living with FSH muscular dystrophy. She
hopes her book will raise awareness of muscle disorders and help others experiencing similar challenges. Lucy Turner Little ’09 has joined Paul D. Camp
Community College in Franklin (Va.) as a skills/simulation lab instructor in nursing and allied health. She
was previously a registered nurse in the emergency
room at Southampton Memorial Hospital. She lives
in Courtland, Va.
10s
Charlotte Arbogast ’10 was named Virginia’s first
dementia care coordinator as the state attempts to
increase research, tracking, and services to persons
with dementia and their families. Virginia’s dementia
plan was developed about the same time as the national
plan in 2012. Charlotte lives in Harrisonburg, Va.
Cassandra “Cassie” Sexton-Riggs ’10 was ordained
into the Christian Ministry on July 18, 2013 at Bethany
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lakeland,
Fla. In addition to her parents, in attendance were
Rev. Diane Elston Clark ’62 and her husband
Rev. Galen Clark, and Tom Cassidy ’73, LC director
of advancement special events and initiatives.
Cassie lives in Tulsa, Okla.
Beverly Hoath ’11 and Shane Spanninger ’12,
both environmental science majors, purchased property in Gladstone, Va., and have started Turnip the
Beets Farm, an organic farm that has an expansive
variety of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits. They
sell their products on Saturdays locally as well as at two
farmer’s markets in Richmond, Va. The farm also offers
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) plans, where
members pay before the season with a discounted debit-style account. They reside in Gladstone.
Kate Habicht ’03 to Nathan Quinn on Oct. 13, 2012
in Dallas, Texas, after which they honeymooned in
Hawaii. The couple lives in Richardson, Texas where
Kate works for Young Life and is working on her
master’s degree in biblical counseling from Dallas
Theological Seminary.
Mallory Williams ’10, Chelsea Jones ’10, Sarah
Wilson ’10, Ellen Giermak Sewell ’10, Jon Sewell ’10,
Catherine Murphy ’10, Jessica Barcola Butzgy ’10,
Hunter Fairchild ’10, and Sarah Ridgeway ’09 attended
the 2013 Montpelier Hunt Races in Orange, Va.
Amanda Bailey ’12 is employed by Genworth Financial
in Lynchburg, Va., as a processing/customer service
associate for annuities. Amanda is engaged to be
married in February 2014. She lives in Rustburg, Va.
Tiffany Frye Cantrell ’12 is head field hockey coach
at Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg, Va. She
was married in December 2012 and is expecting a
son in March 2014. She lives in Williamsburg.
Kristin Marstin ’13 has a new job with Babcock
& Wilcox (B&W) in Lynchburg, Va., as a technical
specialist with the Nuclear Operations Group. Kristin
worked as a student assistant in Alumni Relations
for four years. She lives in Lynchburg.
Shelly Milks ’13 was selected as one of 30 nominees
from among 450 across the country for the 2013
NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Shelly is a student
in LC’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She lives
in Orange, Va.
John Pastorius ’13 graduated with a degree in
music performance with the help of his golden lab
guide dog, Houston. Now, Houston is with him in
Vancouver, Wash., where he is taking classes at the
School of Piano Technology for the Blind, one of
only two piano technology schools in the country,
and the only one for blind students. He was one
of 12 students selected for the two-year program
where he’ll learn to tune pianos. John, originally
from Smithfield, Va., lives in Vancouver.
Marriages
Corri Pfister ’05, ’07 MEd to Brett Sullivan ’10 MBA
on Oct. 12, 2013 in St. Patrick’s Church in Richmond,
Va. The wedding was officiated by Anne Gibbons,
associate chaplain at LC, and her husband Chris
Barrett. Following their reception at the Omni Hotel,
the couple honeymooned in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Corri is director of new student transitions at Marymount University in Alexandria, Va., and Brett is a
federal project controller for Deloitte in Arlington, Va.
The couple resides in Alexandria.
Jessica Barcola ’10 to Michael Butzgy ’10 on
July 20, 2013 in Wilmington, Del. The wedding
party included Catherine Murphy ’10, Mallory
Williams ’10, Laura Davis ’10, Kyle Edwards ’09,
Christian Robin ’11, and Michael Colantonio ’10.
The couple honeymooned in Antigua following
their wedding and now resides in Wilmington, Del.
Laura Heltzel ’10 to Jeffery “Mitch” Poole ’12 on
June 29, 2013. Laura and Mitch met at LC working
as enrollment student ambassadors, where they
greeted freshmen and parents during check-in 2009.
Their first date occurred a few weeks later. The couple
resides in Whispering Pines, N.C., where Mitch is
teaching math and coaching basketball and Laura
is working on the cardiac specialty unit in the Reid
Heart Center at Moore Regional Hospital.
Cameron Craddock ’11 to Samuel “Sam” Howe ’10
on May 26, 2013 by Rev. Mark Furlow ’13 MBA
at Historic Riverview on the James. Included in the
wedding party were Jennifer La Plante ’09, ’12
MA, Spencer Pyke ’10 and Lauren Ewing ’10.
The couple honeymooned in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Cameron is working for Horizon Behavioral Health
as a mental health clinician and Sam works for Genworth Financial as a supplier management specialist.
The couple resides in Lynchburg, Va.
Bethany White ’11 to Dennis Jordan on Oct. 5, 2013
at the University of Maryland Memorial Chapel in
College Park, Md. The wedding party included
Michelle Scharfe McGehee ’10, Natalie Rose
Holthouser ’10, Mandy Watts ’10, Brandy
Allen Jones ’09 and Kimberly Frieburg ’11.
The couple honeymooned in Ocho Rios, Jamaica
at the Sandals® Grande Riviera Resort. Bethany is a
senior technical recruiter lead for Aerotek Engineering.
The couple resides in Columbia, Md.
Brian Parker ’00 to Laura Schottel on Aug. 31, 2013
at Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis in St. Louis, Mo.
Included in the wedding party were Drew Miller ’00,
Chris Chumley ’02, Micah Quick ’02, and Ryan
Hendricks ’01. The couple lives in St. Louis.
alumni profile
Tracking the weather
by Pamela Carder
As senior meteorological officer for The
Bahamas Department of Meteorology, you
might think Geoffrey Greene ’05 only
deals with great weather. But the threat of
hurricanes, tsunamis, and climate change
keeps him ever watchful.
Geoff gives timely warnings to the public
of imminent weather events, including
dangerous Atlantic hurricanes and severe
thunderstorms. He works with Bahamian
climatologists who keep a close eye on
changing temperatures and the rise of
lakes, seas, and oceans in The Bahamas
and around the world.
A native of New Providence, Bahamas,
Geoff says that some Bahamians are really
laid back when it comes to hurricane
preparations; they don’t pay much attention to the most dangerous storms unless
they affect them directly.
Geoff’s job, however, is to be vigilant,
and he says the department has noticed
an increase in occurrences of severe
weather activity such as waterspouts over
the lakes of New Providence. This is
atypical — waterspouts are common over
the sea and usually dissipate before hitting
land; however, once ashore, they can do
much damage.
Meteorologists like Geoff are also
monitoring coastal erosion and sea wall
damage created by strong storms and
large sea swells. “We have noticed most
of the significant changes in the last
10 years,” he says, noting that melting
glaciers and icecaps have exacerbated the
situation as The Bahamas are low-lying
islands with the highest natural height at
Mount Como Hill, Cat Island, measuring
206 feet.
Geoff is also part of his department’s
Quality Management System that is working to meet the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) standards as
they relate to Aeronautical practices of the
International Civil Aviation Authority
(ICAO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). To this end, he recently
attended a workshop in Trinidad to train
in-house auditors in assessing the quality
of work done by his department.
While at LC, Geoff says he deeply enjoyed his environmental sciences courses,
especially his classes with Dr. David Perault.
He also said he liked history: “Dr. (Dorothy)
Potter ’64 was able to teach us the facts of
American history, and at the same time
add her own take on the events, which
brought the subject to life for me.”
He was an active participant in extracurricular activities; in particular he
remembered a Spanish language event
in downtown Lynchburg that included
dancing and a mariachi band.
He says Annette Stadtherr ’86 in the Office
of Multicultural Services played a vital
role in helping him feel at home as he
adjusted to college life overseas. “Annette
made sure I had a computer and was all
set up; she and her staff were invaluable
to my transition to life at LC,” he said.
During his time at the College, he also
enjoyed experiencing the Virginia seasons.
“We had a snowstorm, and hail,” he remembers fondly. “My housemates and I
played touch football in the snow in our
backyard and that was definitely not an
everyday experience.”
Geoff took an interest in the sciences at
an early age, like many other members of
his family. His sister Sheena is a laboratory
technician; another sister, Christine, also
works for the government in environmental sciences. Geoff says his father is an avid
gardener, which nurtured his interest in
the natural sciences and the Bahamian
environment.
Geoff and his wife, Brenda (who also
works for The Bahamas government) have
three children: Brittney, a graduate nurse;
Nina, an eleventh-grader, and Geoffrey
Matthew, a second-grader.
New Arrivals
To Christopher “Chris” Dodge ’91, ’07 MEd, ’10
MEd and wife Carrie, a daughter, Ella Claire, born
Sept. 21, 2013. She joins big sisters Anna, Sophie,
and Phebe. The family lives in Forest, Va.
To Prudence Cordts-Bloom ’92 and husband
Todd, a daughter, Harlow Scott, born June 24,
2013. She joins big brother Hawk, 4. The family
resides in Boulder, Co.
To Jason Ryan ’93 and wife Susannah, a daughter,
Annabella McLaughlin, born May 15, 2013. She
joins big sister Savannah, 4.
To Jason Campbell ’97, ’98 MBA and Katherine
Maxey Campbell ’07, ’11 MSN, a son, Weston
Elliott, born June 18, 2013. He joins older sisters Lexi
and Maelynn. The family lives in Lynchburg, Va.
To Leigh Anne Strutt Boonzaier ’00 and husband
Robert, a son, Christian Robert, born May 2, 2013.
He joins a big brother and big sister. The family lives
in Puplinge, Switzerland.
To Kelli Craig Anderson ’03 and husband Barclay, a
daughter, Mallory Carrington, born on July 11, 2013.
Mallory joins big brother Peyton, 2. The family resides
in Glen Allen, Va.
To Renata Tesija Basic ’03 and husband Ivan, a
daughter, Leonarda, born Sept. 29, 2012. The couple were married on Nov. 6, 2010 in Solin, Croatia,
where they live.
To Katherine Hill Hall ’03, ’05 MEd and husband
Barry, a son, Graham Carter, born May 16, 2013.
The family lives in Pinehurst, N.C.
To Caitlin O’Leary Lalia ’04 and husband Doug, a
daughter, Natalie Paige, born May 8, 2013. She joins
big brother Brayden, 3. The family lives in Bel Air, Md.
To Jacquelyn “Jackie” Sigler Timmons ’04 and
husband Brian ’05, a daughter, Sadie Elizabeth, born
June 26, 2013. The family resides in Sterling, Va.
To Holly Barbour Wales ’05 and husband Geoffrey,
a son, Alexander Jerre, born July 9, 2012. The family
lives in Smithfield, Va.
To Koryn Johnston Looney ’05 and Robert
“Robb” ’05, a son, Nolan Tennyson, born Oct. 6,
2013. The family resides in Arlington, Va.
In Memoriam
Lorraine “Claire” Alvis Phipps ’36, Aug. 30, 2013
Frances Averett Marshall ’37, June 14, 2013
Margaret “Mae” Wilson Ingleman ’41,
Sept. 1, 2013
Elsie Wright Buford ’42, July 13, 2013
Annie Norris Benson ’47, Mar. 7, 2013
Gerald Kirschner ’78 MS, July 7, 2013
Edna Norris Wood ’47, Aug. 3, 2013
William “Bill” Ferrell ’48, Aug. 1, 2013
Jeanette Pannill Dawkins ’82, ’96 MEd,
Aug. 17, 2012
John “Jack” Hamill Jr. ’48, Sept. 14, 2013
Brett Beasley ’85, Oct. 25, 2013
Sally Cook ’83, father, Oct. 28, 2013
Calvin Garrett ’49, July 28, 2013
Patricia “Pat” Foster-Wood ’85, ’86 MEd,
Sept. 29, 2013
Mary “Beth” Potts Brogan ’85, father, Sept. 30, 2013
Beverly Davis Lowry ’86 MEd, Dec. 2, 2013
Rodney Lee ’85, father, Nov. 25, 2013
Christian Hutter ’87, Oct 14, 2013
Laura Ellington Vassar ’85, son, Nov. 8, 2013
Bernice Childress Johnson ’87, Oct. 14, 2013
Holly Beasley Hale ’86, brother, Oct. 25, 2013
Caroline Lee Hill Self ’91 MEd, Oct. 14, 2013
Randy Krantz ’86, father, Nov. 12, 2013
Yvonne Young ’95, Mar. 1, 2013
Alison Beasley Marshall ’86, brother, Oct. 25, 2013
Cynthia “Cindy” Arnold Creacy ’99, June 22, 2013
Robert “Bob” Viszneki ’86, wife, Nov. 28, 2012
Christie Billodeau Fazio ’10, Dec. 14, 2013
William “Kirk” Basnight ’87, father, Nov. 13, 2013
Cecil Keeling ’49, Oct. 6, 2013
John “Jack” McCarthy ’49, Aug. 4, 2013
Alyce Johnson West ’49, July 26, 2013
Paul Beam ’50, Nov. 5, 2013
Robert “Bob” Bowen ’50, Aug. 7, 2013
Wade Bralley ’50, July 30, 2013
Jean Elswick Curtis ’50, Oct. 3, 2013
Janet Snead Henderson ’50, Nov. 20, 2013
Ida Eckstein Shadonix ’50, Dec. 10, 2012
Charles Lineberry ’51, July 11, 2013
Thomas McCraw ’51, Sept. 9, 2013
Richard “Dick” Wingfield Jr. ’51, Dec. 3, 2013
Beulah White Knieriem ’52, July 4, 2013
Clarence “C.B.” Morris Jr. ’52, Nov. 26, 2013
Robert “Bob” Smoot ’52, Oct. 25, 2013
Ramona Taylor Layno ’53, July 30, 2013
John DuVal Jr. ’56, Oct. 19, 2013
Beulah Austin Waller ’56, Aug. 26, 2013
Hugh T. Pendleton ’58, Dec. 24, 2013
Guy Bowen ’59, Oct. 26, 2013
James Franklin ’59, Aug. 10, 2013
Shelby Thompson Harper ’59, Sept. 3, 2013
Arthur “Art” Johnston ’59, Sept. 12, 2012
Cassell Basnight ’60, Nov. 13, 2013
Donald “Don” Layne ’60, July 30, 2013
William “Bill” Biederman ’63, Aug. 3, 2013
Thomas Crafton ’63, June 22, 2013
Thomas “Tom” Quantrille Jr. ’63, May 5, 2013
Dean “Larry” Potts ’64, Sept. 30, 2013
Claude “Bill” Smith Jr. ’64, Sept. 30, 2013
Gilbert Brooks ’67, Dec. 6, 2013
Nathanael “Nick” Habel ’68 MEd, July 29, 2013
Dennis Osborne ’69, Nov. 11, 2013
Robert “Monk” Mandetta ’70, July 23, 2013
Dan Justice ’71, Aug. 15, 2013
Elizabeth “Beth” Ward McGavock ’71,
Sept. 15, 2013
Marie Demarco Northcutt ’72, Sept. 23, 2013
Marcia Glover ’73 MAT, Oct. 3, 2013
Henry “Ed” Teets ’73 MEd, Oct. 31, 2013
Charles “Charlie” Cobb ’82 MBA, mother,
Mar. 16, 2013
Lauren Jones ‘82, father, Nov. 12, 2013
Mark Johnson ’85, mother, Oct. 22, 2013
Gretchen Bach Duffett ’87, husband, Aug. 11, 2013
In Sympathy
Cynthia O’Brien Hopkins ’87, father, Sept. 8, 2013
Jeffery Krantz ’87, father, Nov. 12, 2013
Warwick “Rick” West Jr. ’43, wife, July 26, 2013
Joyce Pool Williams ’87 MEd, father, Nov. 17, 2013
Robert “Bob” McCarthy ’49, brother, Aug. 4, 2013
Robert “Rob” Hinkle Jr. ’88, father, June 26, 2013
Ronald “Ron” Elswick ’51, sister, Oct. 3, 2013
Allene Parks Pack ’88 MEd, son, Sept. 2, 2013
Linton “Lin” Beasley ’52, son, Oct. 25, 2013
Grant Azdell ’89, father, Nov. 10, 2013
Martha Via Wingfield ’52, husband, Dec. 3, 2013
Timothy Johnson ’89, mother, Oct. 22, 2013
Norma Penny Kline ’53, husband, Oct. 16, 2013
Scott Neilson ’89, father, Oct. 14, 2013
Jean Sims Peterson ’55, husband, Aug. 29, 2013
Joseph Williamson ’89, mother, Oct. 25, 2013
Bettye Shelton Lee ’59, husband, Nov. 25, 2013
Dirk Beasley ’90, brother, Oct. 25, 2013
Margie Ferguson Layne ’60, husband, July 30, 2013
Ethel Leftwich Mangum ’90, father, Aug. 17, 2013
Mary Biederman Owens ’60, brother, Aug. 3, 2013
Sharon Franklin Haley ’91, mother, Dec. 4, 2013
Randolph Marshall II ’63, mother, June 14, 2013
Anne Spencer Gillispie ’93, husband, June 18, 2013
Martha Vestal Cowles ’64, mother, July 18, 2013
Trina Wood Carter ’94, father, July 17, 2013
P. Douglass “Doug” Osborne ’65, brother,
Nov. 11, 2013
Melissa Breedlove Denny ’94, mother, Oct. 11, 2013
Martha Phipps Winkeler ’66, mother, Aug. 30, 2013
Yuille “Skipper” Holt III ’67, mother, Aug. 21, 2013
Charles “Butch” Kitts ’96 MEd, daughter,
Jan. 5, 2014
Raymond Rowland Jr. ’69, father, Oct. 29, 2013
Maria Lengua Johnson ’96, father, March 30, 2013
Winifred “Winnie” Slater Hazelton ’70, father,
Sept. 8, 2013
Alice Kline Sereno ’96, father, Oct. 16, 2013
Richard “Rick” Thompson ’70, sister, Sept. 3, 2013
Kelley Morrison-Kennedy ’98, brother, April 23, 2013
Janet Randall Brown ’71, husband, June 28, 2013
Thomas “Tom” Byrd ’71, father, July 30, 2013
Deborah Baile Ferrone ’73, father, Oct. 20, 2013
Marlina Kidd Doss ’95, mother, Nov. 13, 2013
Holly Hayden Tuck ’96, father, Sept. 2, 2013
Stacie O’Brien Swan ’98, father, Sept. 8, 2013
Regina Eubank Desper ’99, mother, June 30, 2013
Michel Regignano ’73, mother, Nov. 25, 2013
Randolph “Sonny” Hannah Jr. ’02, father,
Dec. 5, 2013
Jane Gordon Rigoulot ’73, son, Sept. 29, 2013
Christopher Lawrence ’05, father, April 1, 2013
Mary Pinchbeck Teets ’73 MEd, husband,
Oct. 31, 2013
Robyn Sharkey Torkelson ’10, ’13 MEd, mother,
Oct. 3, 2013
Via Ann Wingfield Jewell ’76, father, Dec. 3, 2013
Ann Sites Johnson ’77 MEd, husband, Nov. 11, 2013
Charles “Ray” Underwood ’73, July 21, 2013
Phronia Owen Massie ’77, ’83 MEd, mother,
Nov. 14, 2013
James Stevens ’74, Aug. 28, 2013
Jeanette Hartigan Hatcher ’78, son, Mar. 21, 2013
Walter Keyes ’75 MEd, Aug. 10, 2013
Lynne Anne Sabol Romanoski ’77, July 21, 2013
Barbara Schlesinger Nash ’78, ’85 MAd, father,
Sept. 30, 2013
Margaret “Maggie” Burks Sherbin ’77, July 5, 2013
Alan Williamson ’80, mother, Oct. 25, 2013
Lewis Johnson Jr. ’78, Nov. 11, 2013
Edwin Dovel Jr. ’81, father, Oct. 17, 2013
Class Notes
We Remember
Lucille Jennings Ferrell, longtime secretary
to the chaplain, died December 2, 2013 in
Greenville, South Carolina. She was 90. Born
in Lynchburg, she graduated from Brookville
High School and Phillips Business College.
She began her career at Craddock Terry Shoe
Company; following her husband’s death
in 1968, she worked at Lynchburg College,
retiring after 20 years of service. As secretary
to the chaplain, Lucille was the consummate
professional and greeted all with kindness and
grace. She received the College’s Honorary
Alumna Award in 1990. Her spirit of warmth
and welcome was also evidenced through
her service as a volunteer at Virginia Baptist
Hospital, where she staffed the information
desk for 24 years and retired with more than
4,300 hours of service. She was a member of
the Fairview Rebekah Lodge #52 and a lifetime
member of Fairview Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), where she served in various capacities
that included teaching Sunday School for
nearly 70 years and being the first woman
elected president of the congregation.
Floyd Withers (Sonny) Merryman Jr. of
Rustburg, Virginia died December 7, 2013.
He was 89. Sonny was a friend to many local
nonprofits, including LC, where his daughter
A. Patricia “Pat” Merryman serves on the
Board of Trustees. Sonny and his family have
given generously to LC scholarships and the
Student Center renovation. Sonny graduated
from Rustburg High School in 1942 and
matriculated to Virginia Tech. In 1967, he
and his wife, Lou, founded Sonny Merryman
Inc. – a small trailer equipment and bus dealership. Six decades later the company is widely
respected as one of the nation’s most prominent bus dealers. Upon his death, Sonny’s
family requested that donations go to local
organizations, including LC’s Student Center.
A memorial service and celebration of Sonny’s
life were held in Snidow Chapel.
Judge Vernon L. Neilson, honorary lifetime
member of the LC Board of Trustees, died
Oct. 14, 2013. He was 87. He served on the
bench of the Anne Arundel County (Maryland)
District Court from 1971 until his retirement
in 1985. He served as a trustee of LC from
1975 to 1987. He and his wife Lois had four
children. Vernon was born in Baltimore and
raised in Lansdowne, Maryland. He enlisted
in the Navy and served in the Pacific as quartermaster aboard the attack transport USS
DuPage. He participated in the invasions of
Kwajalein, Guam, Palau Islands, Peleliu, the
Philippines, and Leyte. He received a Purple
Heart for wounds suffered during a 1945
Japanese kamikaze attack on his ship that
killed 35. He enrolled at the University of
Baltimore School of Law on the GI Bill and was
admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1951. In the
late 1950s, Vernon began practicing law and
in 1964 established his own general law practice in Odenton. In 1968, he was appointed to
the People’s Court of Anne Arundel County,
and three years later was appointed to the
District Court. Vernon was a member of the
Trial Judges Association and was active in the
Kiwanis Club and the Howard Lodge of the
Masons. He enjoyed fishing, boating, goose
hunting, and ballroom dancing. He visited all
50 states and many of the Canadian provinces.
He was a member for 81 years of Lansdowne
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where
he rose to become an elder and member of
the board.
Robert Jere Real, longtime professor of English at
LC, died November 16,
2013. He was 79. A native
of Mississippi, Jere was
also a journalist and former
publicity executive for
Mercury Records. He began his journalism
career in Jackson, Mississippi, on the Jackson
Daily News and later moved to Richmond,
Virginia, where he was an editorial page writer
with conservative columnist James J. Kilpatrick.
He left Richmond to join Mercury Records in
Chicago where he participated in the Grammy
Awards each year and worked with a variety
of musical artists. While at Mercury, Jere was
a critical annotator for more than 75 albums
of music. He held degrees from Virginia Military
Institute (1956), the University of Mississippi
(1961), and the University of Virginia (1969).
He served as a United States Air Force Officer
on active duty from 1956 to 1959. He began
teaching at Lynchburg College in 1969 and
retired in 1999 after 30 years. He brought an
impressive array of literary stars and other
celebrities to the College, including James
Baldwin, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote,
James Dickey, and Edward Albee. He created
the film class at LC, and from his connections
in the film industry, brought Mercedes McCambridge, Rob Lowe, Roddy McDowell, and many
others to campus. He was also known for his
love of art and photography.
Mary Clayton Scudder, director emerita
of the Knight-Capron Library, died December
28, 2013. She was 85. She graduated from
the University of Alabama with a bachelor of
science in education and a certificate in library
science and earned a master’s in library science
from the George Peabody College for teachers. She worked at LC from 1969 to 1994.
Because of her dedication, service, and contributions, LC established an academic award
in her honor. The Mary C. Scudder Award is
presented to a senior (majoring in a humanities
and social science discipline) whose senior
paper best exemplifies the qualities of excellent
scholarship. She is survived by her husband Dr.
John “Jack” Scudder, professor emeritus of
philosophy and education, who taught at LC
from 1967 to 1993, and now resides in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Mary Shoemaker, former director of Senior
Symposium from 1995 to 2000, died November
30, 2013. She was 78. Mary retired from the
Department of State in 1992 after a career
as a Foreign Service Officer. Her assignments
included Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and
Micronesia, as well as a number of tours at the
US Department of State in Washington, D.C.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. M. Wesley
Shoemaker, professor emeritus of history, who
taught at Lynchburg College between 1971 and
2000, and now resides in Arlington, Virginia.
Kenneth Wayne Wade, longtime groundskeeper, died December 11, 2013. He was 62.
Born in Bedford County, Kenneth worked for
the Physical Plant department at Lynchburg
College from 1972 to 2012. The Wade family
has deep roots at the College with several of
Kenneth’s siblings also employed at LC over
the years.
Students sign a steel
beam during Student
Center construction.
STUDENT-CENTERED
Don’t miss the opportunity
to be a part of LC’s Student
Center expansion!
As the Drysdale Student Center nears completion, the time to give is now.
The new center will foster leadership, service, diversity, and wellness.
Give online today at www.lynchburg.edu/giving
or call 800.621.1669 or 434.544.8289.
T HE 2 0 1 3 -1 4 LYN C HB UR G C O LLE G E ANNU AL FU ND
Naming opportunities and bricks available!
Visit www.lynchburg.edu/scgiving
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
1501 lakeside drive
lynchburg, virginia 24501-3113
CHANGE SERVICES REQUESTED
NUTS TO YOU
LC squirrels, who have
two Twitter accounts and
a Pinterest page, are not
above bribery as they wage
a campaign to bump off
Elsie as our mascot.
Lynchburg, VA
Permit No. 27

PDF Only - Lynchburg College Magazine

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