Fall 2007 Quarterly

Gustavus Adolphus College Fall 2007THE

GustavusGustavusQUARTERLY

Big stink on campus

Big stink on campus

Plus� Three Views of Virginia� Stadiums Come and Go� Stringing Along with the Rydell Professor

01 Fall 07 masters.2bak:Winter 03-04 MASTERS.1 8/8/07 11:11 AM

Fall 2007 • Vol. LXIII, No. 4

Managing EditorSteven L. Waldhauser ’[email protected]

Alumni EditorsRandall M. Stuckey ’[email protected]

Barbara Larson Taylor ’[email protected]

DesignSharon [email protected]

Contributing WritersLaura Behling, Kathryn Christenson,Gwendolyn Freed, Teresa Harland ’94, Tim Kennedy ’82, Donald Myers ’83, BrianO’Brien, Paul Saulnier, Dana Setterholm ’07,Randall Stuckey ’83, Matt Thomas ’00, Thomas Young ’88

Contributing PhotographersAnders Björling ’58, Ashley Henningsgaard’07, Joel Jackson ’71, Joe Lencioni ’05, TomRoster, Wayne Schmidt, Sharon Stevenson,Matt Thomas ’00, Stan Waldhauser ’71

Articles and opinions presented in thismagazine do not necessarily reflect the views ofthe editors or official policies of the College orits board of trustees.

The Gustavus Quarterly (USPS 227-580) ispublished four times annually, in February, May,August, and November, by Gustavus AdolphusCollege, St. Peter, Minn. Periodicals postage is paidat St. Peter, MN 56082, and additional mailingoffices. It is mailed free of charge to alumni andfriends of the College. Circulation is approximately35,000.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The GustavusQuarterly, Office of Alumni Relations, GustavusAdolphus College, 800 W. College Ave., St. Peter,MN 56082-1498.

St. Peter, Minnesota507/933-8000 � www.gustavus.edu

Chair, Board of TrusteesRuss Michaletz ’74

President of the CollegeJames L. Peterson ’64

Vice President for College RelationsGwendolyn Freed

Director of Alumni RelationsRandall M. Stuckey ’83

Gustavus AdolphusCollege is accreditedby the HigherLearning Commissionand is a member ofthe North CentralAssociation.

The Gustavus Quarterly is printed on Domtar Earthchoicepaper (30% PCR and sustainable source certified bySmartWood) using soy-based inks and alternativesolvents and wetting agents by the John RobertsCompany, Minneapolis, an EPA Green Power Partner.

T H E G U S T A V U S Q U A R T E R L Y

G01 Fall 07 masters.2bak:Winter 03-04 MASTERS.1 8/8/07 11:11 AM

4 From the President

5 On the Hill18 Calendar: What’s happening on campus

20 Enlightenment via a corpse flowerWhen Brian O’Brien received Amorphophallus titanium seeds in

1993, he didn’t realize the impact they would have on the College 14 years later.

22 Remember Thy PastHidden History: Life in the ‘Hilton West’

24 A look at the new footballstadium

25 The College’s most-decorated speakerAndrea Carlile ’07 has nearly swept the field of forensicshonors

26 Three views of VirginiaA plant systematics field trip involves alumni, faculty, andstudents

29 SportsCoSIDA Academic All-America honors � NCAA All-Americapicks � Women win MIAC all-sports, men take third �

Gergen, Miest win NCAA scholarships � Spring summary

28 LegacyGreater Gustavus Fund issues challenge grant to GustavusFund � Matching grant for prairie restoration � Najarianfamily named honorary chairs of A Royal Affair � GustavusFund annual report � Bruce Gray retires . . . again

45 Alumni News

ON THE COVERChemistry Professor Brian O’Brienbraves the “rotten meat” odor toshow President Jim Peterson ’64some of the finer points of lastspring’s rare inflorescence of a corpseflower in the College’s greenhouse.(See article on pp. 20–21.)

Photo by Anders Björling ’58

Decked in appropriate spectacles for the spectacle, elementary education major Shannon Quealy peersinto the photographer’s lens while, behind her, fellow seniors gather to march to Hollingsworth Field forcommencement exercises. (See additional photos from the big day on pp. 6–7.) Photo by Tom Roster.

Gustavus Adolphus College Fall 2007THE

GustavusGustavusQUARTERLY

Big stink on campus

Big stink on campus

Plus� Three Views of Virginia� Stadiums Come and Go� Stringing along with the Rydell Professor

Contents


4 � The Gustavus Quarterly

Those of us who finished college “some time ago” mightfondly remember our academic experience mostly as a setof classroom and laboratory experiences punctuated byquiet study time in the library. I don’t know that it actuallywas that simple for us then, but that pattern most certain-ly does not hold true for students today. I hope that thesnapshots of Gustavus’s current academic program in thisQuarterly will illustrate for you just a bit of the breadth anddepth of the student experience here. These academic ex-periences are the core of what we do.

These snapshots capture some of the varieties of academic excellence we value. TheCarlson Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Faculty Scholarly Achievement Awardcelebrate faculty models for the life of teaching and learning. Students are achievinghigh levels of success in forensics. This fall’s Nobel Conference demonstrates our com-mitment to using high scientific achievement to understand complex questions of envi-ronmental stewardship. On page 11 you’ll find a feature on the growing academic im-pact of the residency sponsored by the Robert E. and Susan T. Rydell Professorship.And, finally, pages 24–26 present multiple perspectives on the value of field work inbotany.

Lying behind all of these examples is an approach to undergraduate education thatis outlined in an emerging “strategic directions” document, summarized in this issue.This important next step in our thinking about our future will direct the paths by whichwe educate “New Leaders for a New Tomorrow.” Central to this academic planning effortis a campuswide concentration on the kinds of learning I mentioned above. Those ef-forts will guide the faculty as they do the important work of curricular planning and willsupport the other key elements of our progress along the path.

Our new provost, Dr. Mary E. Morton, is now on campus. Along with our two aca-demic deans, she will guide the academic program into the future. She also will have re-sponsibility for coordinating planning work for the entire college. Our goal is to havethe strongest academic program possible and to ensure that it is supported by the restof a great student experience.

We have much yet to do to make this college into the very best that it can be. Atthe same time, let’s be clear: this is a college we can hold up with justifiable pride forstrong academic programs and an extraordinary student learning environment.

All of us at Gustavus, especially the students we serve, are grateful for our alumniand friends who with their financial support make this college the academic leader it is.

James L. Peterson ’64President

The excellence we valueFrom the President

Stan

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Gustavus Adolphus College Board of Trustees

Gary F. Anderson ’63 Director, Crossing Bridges – Connecting in MissionHugo, Minn. St. Paul Area Synod, ELCA

Jon V. Anderson Bishop, Southwestern Minnesota Synod,New Ulm, Minn. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,

(ex officio) Redwood Falls

Rodney L. Anderson Pastor, Eden Prairie, Minn. St. Andrew Lutheran Church

Thomas M. Annesley ’75 Professor of Pathology, University Hospital,Ann Arbor, Mich. University of Michigan

Al Annexstad Chair, President, and CEO, Excelsior, Minn. Federated Insurance, Owatonna

Tracy L. Bahl ’84 Chief Executive Officer, Greenwich, Conn. Uniprise, a United Health Group Company, N.Y.

Warren Beck ’67 President,Greenwood, Minn. Gabbert & Beck, Inc., Edina

Rebecca Bergman Vice President of Science and Technology,North Oaks, Minn. Medtronic Incorporated, Minneapolis

Mark Bernhardson ’71 City Manager, Bloomington, Minn. City of Bloomington

Stephen P. Blenkush ’80 Pastor, Milaca, Minn. Zion Lutheran Church

Gordon A. Braatz Retired Clergy and Psychologist Minneapolis, Minn.

David J. Carlson ’60 Retired PhysicianEdina, Minn.

John E. Chadwick ’79 President, Bloomington, Minn. The Chadwick Group, Inc.

Kelly Chatman Pastor,Maplewood, Minn. Redeemer Lutheran Church, Minneapolis

Jerome King Del Pino ’68 General Secretary,Franklin, Tenn. General Board of Higher Education and Ministry,

The United Methodist Church, Nashville

Ardena Flippen ’68 Corporate Compliance Officer,Chicago Provident Hospital of Cook County

James H. Gale ’83 Attorney at Law Washington, D.C.

Tania K. Haber ’78 Senior Pastor, St. Louis Park, Minn. Westwood Lutheran Church

Paul L. Harrington Senior Pastor,Rosemount, Minn. Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Apple Valley

Pat Haugen ’70 Client Executive,Sioux Falls, S.D. IBM Global Services

Alfred Henderson ’62 Retired Financial AdviserChanhassen, Minn.

George G. Hicks ’75 Managing PartnerEden Prairie, Minn. Värde Partners, Inc., Minneapolis

Thomas J. Hirsch ’64 Vice President, Edina, Minn. JEBCO Group, Inc., St. Paul

Ronald A. Jones Retired Partner and Consultant,Barrington, Ill. Hewitt and Associates, Lincolnshire

Linda Bailey Keefe ’69 Vice President, Atlanta, Ga. NAI Brannen Goddard

Daniel A. Kolander ’68 Senior Pastor,Marion, Iowa First Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids

Barbara Eckman Krig ’52 Retired EducatorExcelsior, Minn.

Terry Morehouse Pastor, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, andWaconia, Minn. (ex officio) President, Gustavus Association of Congregations

Marilyn Olson Assistant Director for Colleges and Universities Chicago, Ill. Division for Vocation and Education(ex officio) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Martha I. Penkhus Registered Nurse, Mankato, Minn. Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital

James L. Peterson ’64 President,Minneapolis, Minn. (ex officio) Gustavus Adolphus College

Wayne Peterson ’77 Pastor,Plymouth, Minn. St. Barnabas Lutheran Church

Jason T. Sawyer ’93 Vice President for Sales, Cronin & Co., Minneapolis,Plymouth, Minn. (ex officio) and Past President, Gustavus Alumni Association

Beth Sparboe Schnell ’82 Chief Executive Officer, Corcoran, Minn. Sparboe Companies, Wayzata

Karin Stone ’83 Senior Vice President andCleveland Heights, Ohio Director of Corporate Marketing,

National City Corporation, Cleveland

Sally Turrittin Co-Owner,Long Lake, Minn. Prime Mortgage Corporation, Minnetonka

Chia Youyee Vang ’94 Professor of History,Oak Creek, Wis. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Susan Engelsma Wilcox ’73 Board Member,Edina, Minn. Engelsma Family Foundation

Daniel K. Zismer ’75 Executive Vice President,Bloomington, Minn. Essentia Health, Duluth

Trustee EmeritaPatricia R. Lund Retired Chair of the Board,

Edina, Minn. Lunds, Inc., Minneapolis


by Paul Saulnier

Editor’s Note: The Edgar M.Carlson Award forDistinguished Teaching was es-tablished in 1971 by theGustavus Adolphus CollegeBoard of Trustees to honor for-mer president Edgar Carlsonfor his years of distinguishedleadership and in recognition ofhis commitment to academic ex-cellence. The College’s highestfaculty accolade, it is awardedto a faculty member who hasdemonstrated exceptional skilland effectiveness as a teacherand is selected by the past recipi-ents of the award. Traditionally,the previous year’s recipient an-nounces the new honoree as partof the commencement program;the introduction by last year’swinner, physics professor PaulSaulnier, is excerpted below.

T his faculty member’sGustavus teaching career got

off to perhaps a less than auspi-cious start. As a former studenttells it, when she walked intohis class on the first day ofschool, during his first year ofteaching, he was sitting in oneof the student desks rather thanat the front of the classroom.The first thing she thoughtupon seeing him was, “Ohgreat, another freshman.”Despite this first impression, theclass became one of her fa-vorites at Gustavus and she stillremembers it fondly these

many years later.As the description

of the Carlson awardstates, the recipientshould exhibit excel-lence in his or her dis-cipline and succeed ingenerating enthusi-asm, insight, andthoughtfulness in stu-dents. This year’s win-ner is an examplewhich illustrates a tra-dition. Listen to whatstudents say about thisperson: “. . . inspiringand enlightening”;“. . . an enthusiasmthat permeates theclass”; “. . . passionateabout the details”;“. . . encourages stu-dents to have big ideas.”

And colleagues? What docolleagues have to say aboutthis year’s winner? “. . . Deeplyself-reflective about teaching”;“. . . his passion for what hedoes remains vibrant, as doeshis interest in stretching him-self to try new teaching ap-proaches or content.”

Hear what one colleaguehas to say about the way hehandles difficult conversationswith students when discussingtheir assignments: “Usuallythese meetings are the typicaldiscussion about paper contentor writing style. But more thanonce in these meetings we havehad, students struggle inarticu-lately to describe their paper, orcry, or even become agitated

about how hard the task is forthem. The compassion that hebrings to these situations isvery inspiring. He listens care-fully to what the students haveto say, responds quietly, andasks careful questions—inshort, he is completely presentto the students at these times.”

I would like to say that thisyear’s Carlson award winner is“unique,” but I am sure thatthis faculty member would cor-rect my prose and inform methat in such a context, theword “unique” is “a varmintand should be shot on sight.”Who is this Gustavus literarybig game hunter? None otherthan Professor of EnglishClaude Brew.

Take note of what another

former student has tosay about him: “Thebest lesson I learned . . .was about Claude him-self. He showed by ex-ample what it means tobe a truly good profes-sor—someone who iscommitted to academ-ic rigor, invested in hisstudents, and devotedto his profession. He isnot only an authorityin his field, but he al-ways makes time to lis-ten to his students, andhe is constantly re-imagining his lessonsand re-reading materialto make sure he canstill bring a fresh per-spective to something

he has taught many times be-fore. I have been privileged toknow Claude as both a profes-

OnthehillClaude Brew recognized with Carlson Award

2007 Edgar Carlson Award recipient Claude Brew,professor of English

Stan W

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Fall 2007 � 5

Campus news: 6 • Commencement 20078 • Saulnier’s Honors Day

address9 • Briefly . . .

11 • Experimental physics classtaught by Gates

13 • Nobel Conference focuseson energy issues

14 • Future planning framework14 • New board members13 • Hillstrom Museum of Art

news 14 • Calendar of events

continued on next page


On the hill


sor and a friend over the pastfew years, and those two rolesoften coincided.”

Claude received his bache-lor of arts degree from HamlineUniversity with majors inEnglish and German. He wenton to receive his M.A. andPh.D. from Ohio Universityand subsequently joined theGustavus faculty as an assistantprofessor of English in 1969.During his many years atGustavus, he has taught courseson British literature,Hemingway, Faulkner, Shelley,Tennyson, literary interpreta-tion, poetry, modern Africanfiction, modern war novels, andRussian fiction of the Soviet pe-riod, among others.

Claude’s scholarly work hasdealt with Shelley, Faulkner,Emily Bronte, environmentalliterature, and the scholarshipof teaching in his discipline.Additionally, he was the princi-pal author of and served as theproject director for a five-yeardevelopment program fundedby the National Endowmentfor the Humanities.

Finally, in addition to being ateacher-scholar, Claude has con-sistently been an active and vitalmember of the Gustavus com-munity and has served in numer-ous formal capacities. But per-haps more important than anyof these formal duties, Claudehas served as a respected campusvoice and a role model to otherfaculty. I count myself amongthat group who are grateful tohave such a mentor.

Paul Saulnier, who has taught inthe Department of Physics atGustavus since 1993, received theCarlson Award for Distinguished

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Carlson Awardcontinued from previous page Commencement 2007

On Sunday, May 27, Gustavus Adolphus College graduated 595students with bachelor of arts degrees and welcomed them as itsnewest alumni. Their commencement exercises were the last to be heldon the old Hollingsworth Field site, as the Class of 2008 will march tothe College’s new stadium—weather permitting, of course. Graduatingsenior Marcus Schmit, former co-president of the Student Senate(pictured below, to theright of the shot ofPresident Peterson), spokefor his class.


Fall 2007 � 7Photos by Tom Roster

Members of the platform party—from left, President Jim Peterson ’64,Board Chair Russ Michaletz ’74, Academic Dean Mariangela Maguire, Deanof Students Hank Toutain, and Faculty Marshal Richard Leitch—applaudthe Class of 2007.


On the hill

by Paul Saulnier

Editor’s note: Among the othertrappings that go along withbeing named winner of theEdgar Carlson Award forDistinguished Teaching atGustavus is the opportunity toaddress students and parents atthe Honors Day convocation.2006 recipient Paul Saulnier,professor of physics, presented aparticularly eloquent address atthe 2007 convocation. Wethought a larger audiencewould appreciate the thoughts.

T radition. Besides being theopening song from the

musical Fiddler on the Roof, italso plays an important part ofHonors Day. I am standinghere at this moment because ofone such tradition. In fact,most large institutions likeGustavus have many traditions.In this respect, as in manyother ways, Gustavus is verymuch like the United Statesgovernment. The U.S. govern-ment has a President; we have aPresident. The government hasa group of people (theCongress) who, for free, willstand up and espouse nothingbut the truth. Likewise,Gustavus has a group of people(the faculty) who for no charge. . . Oops—well, at least thefaculty always espouse thetruuu . . . OK, so the analogyis not exact!

Nevertheless, we do havetraditions at Gustavus, andhere today, on Honors Day,

the most important of these isacknowledging and celebratingthe accomplishments of ourstudents. It is right that weshould pause and acknowledgethese accomplishments, forthey represent lessons learned,knowledge gained, and obsta-cles overcome. But today Iwould like to focus on the“why” behind these accom-plishments. Some may thinkthat the “why” is obvious—theneed to do well in college sothat you can get a good job,get into a graduate or profes-sional program, or, perhaps,just so that your parents won’tdisown you. These reasons donot represent the “why” towhich I refer. Rather, I refer tothe “intrinsic why”; namely,the pursuit of truth in its purestform.

Oh, come on, Paul, isn’tthat just a bunch of ivory towernonsense? No, it is not.Indeed, it is the pursuit oftruth that forms the well intowhich the mind dips to findtrue beauty. Beauty and truthhave often been linkedthroughout time. Historically,this linkage has been consid-

ered by many brilliant individu-als including artists, philoso-phers, poets, theologians, andscientists. Today I would liketo consider what the poets haveto say on the subject—actuallyonly two poets at that. Thefirst and perhaps more well-known are these lines pennedby John Keats some 200 yearsago: “Beauty is truth, truthbeauty—that is all ye know onearth, and all ye need toknow.”

There, we have it! Truthand beauty are, in the parlanceof science, positively correlated.(Somehow this scientific ex-pression just does not measureup to Keats, does it?) It is easyfor us to see where Keats wascoming from though. We allcan think of examples wheresomething is so beautiful that itjust has to be true: the musicalcomposition where alteringone note would diminish it, thepoem where its modificationby one syllable would leave itwanting, or the equation wherethe rearrangement of one sym-bol would break the perfectsymmetry. Keats sure knewwhat he was talking about.

Not so fast. There is anoth-er poet who lived a few yearsearlier than Keats—well, actu-ally, some 2,300 years earlier—a Chinese poet named LaoTzu. And this is what he had tosay on the subject: “Truthfulwords are not beautiful.Beautiful words are not truth-ful.” Here too we can readilyembrace this point of view, fortoday, in our world, we can allthink of truthful words that

represent anything but beauty.So, what are we to make of

these two distinct perspectives?How can both of these notionsbe correct? These two conflict-ing viewpoints remind me of aprinciple from physics… (OK,here is where all of my studentsin the audience are saying “Iknew it! I knew we were notgoing to get out of here with-out hearing about some physicstopic.” I would, of course, gen-tly respond with, “Well, that’sbecause there is physics ineverything.” No, really, thereis. And if one day someonechallenges you on this point byproposing a counter exampleto which you are having diffi-culty responding, simply faceyour inquisitor—grand or oth-erwise—and say, “My mind isdrawing a blank, which is infact a vacuous state,” whichis—you guessed it—physics…)

But an idea from the kinetictheory of gases is not what Ihave in mind here. Rather, Iwas thinking about quantumphysics, specifically the princi-ple of complementarity. Thisprinciple refers to a situation inwhich two diametrically op-posed perspectives are bothcorrect, just never at the sametime. It is most often applied tothe notion known as wave-par-ticle duality. One typical exam-ple of such a situation is in aninterference experiment involv-ing light. In one part of the ex-periment the light behaves as awave (a light wave) and in adifferent part of the same ex-periment the light behaves as aparticle (a photon), but never

Of truth and beauty . . . and passionHonors Day address 2007


Paul SaulnierTo

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On the hill

will both attributes be mani-fested at the same time.Perhaps this is what these twopoems separated by thousandsof years are trying to tell us—that truth has a dual nature.

I hope that the students wehonor here today have, duringtheir time at Gustavus, beentouched by Keats’s notion ofthe nature of truth and beauty.And that they realize that this isTHE “why” for which we areall here. I hope that, as faculty,we strive to publicly model thisideal both inside and outside ofour profession. Students, payattention to the examples youhave before you. There aremany. I will highlight but a few.

There is Linnea Wren fromthe Department of Art and ArtHistory, who studies ancientMayan art in Mexico andGuatemala. One day, while shewas part of an archaeologicalproject, she was examining aceramic plate dating fromabout 650 A.D. She reportsthat, as she was looking at thepainted design and its greatbeauty, she was suddenly over-whelmed by the realizationthat 1,400 years earlier, aMayan woman had stood, asshe was standing, and had heldthat same plate in her hands.Linnea says that in that mo-ment she felt an extraordinaryconnection through her re-search to another person’s life,dreams, and sense of beauty.

There is Brian O’Brienfrom the Department ofChemistry, who, in addition tocorpse flowers, finds beauty forall of the senses in his disci-pline: visual beauty in the formof crystals and colors, olfactoryexperiences ranging from ele-gant beauty to sheer horror,gustatory experiences over thesame continuum, and touch—

who can forget the feel of acold, hard ingot of yttrium inone’s hand.

There is Lisa Heldke ’82 ofthe Department of Philosophy,whose philosophical passion isaroused most fervently byquestions about the nature ofreality and truth. For her, theycome together in the study ofobjectivity, a topic that hasvexed her since she was a seniorin college. Like John Dewey,who inspires her, she wants tounderstand how the knowingactivity shapes both knowersand the known.

There is truth, beauty, andpassion all around this place.Let some of it rub off on you.

In closing, I would leaveyou with one more poem. It isby the Chinese poet Lu Ji. Thispoem is one of my favorites,and it speaks about the powerof a poem. For me, the poemabout which it speaks is ametaphor for what we try todo on this hill in Saint Peter,Minnesota, each day.

“The Power of a Poem”by Lu Ji (261–303 A.D.)

(translated by Tony Barnstoneand Chou Ping)

The function of literature isto express the nature of nature.It can’t be barred as it travels

spaceand boats across one hundred

million years.Gazing to the fore, I leave

models for people to come;looking aft, I learn from my

ancestors.It can save teetering govern-

ments and weak armies;it gives voice to the dying wind

of human virtue.No matter how far, this road

will take you there;it will express the subtlest point.

It waters the heart like cloudsand rain,

and shifts form like a change-able spirit.

Inscribed on metal and stone,it spreads virtue.

Flowing with pipes and strings,each day the poem is new.

So go out and find thosepursuits and passions that, foryou, make the poem new eachday. As for me here today, I donot know if I have espousedany truth or revealed anythingof beauty, but one thing I amsure of: there is certainly nocharge. Thank you. G

Fall 2007 � 9

Briefly . . .Faculty promotionsFour members of the Gustavusfaculty were formally grantedtenure during chapel services onApril 27 and promoted to therank of associate professor. Theyare Aaron Banks, Department ofHealth and Exercise Science(joined the Gustavus faculty in2002); Eric Dugdale,Department of Classics (joinedfaculty in 2001); LoramyGerstbauer, Department ofPolitical Science (joined facultyin 2001); and Steve Wright,Department of Music (joined fac-ulty in 1990).

The Office of the VicePresident for Academic Affairsalso announced the promotion offour faculty members to the rankof full professor: Colleen Jacks

’79, Department of Biology(joined faculty in 1988); PegO’Connor, Department ofPhilosophy and Women’s StudiesProgram (joined faculty in1996); Carolyn O’Grady,Department of Elementary andSecondary Education (joined fac-ulty in 1994); and Debra Pitton,Department of Elementary andSecondary Education (joined fac-ulty in 1997).

Stats winnersOn May 18, mathematics majorsDan Johnson ’07 and TylerKramer ’07 were awarded firstplace in the UndergraduateStatistics Project Competition fortheir project, “Numbers Don’tLie,” a comparison of career


\

Pictured at the CAUSE awards ceremony are, from left, Gustavus facultyadviser Carolyn Dobler, CAUSE director Dennis Pearl, Dan Johnson ’07, andTyler Kramer ’07.


homerun patterns of majorleague baseball players who ad-mittedly or presumably usedsteroids and those who did not.Carolyn Pillers Dobler, professorin the Department ofMathematics and ComputerScience, was their faculty spon-sor. Their findings throw a littlecold water on the steroid de-bate, showing that non-usersamong the sample groups of tophome run hitters fared betterover the duration of their ca-reers.

The competition was spon-sored by CAUSE (Consortium forthe Advancement ofUndergraduate StatisticsEducation), and the awards werepresented at the United StatesConference on TeachingStatistics held May 17–19 at TheOhio State University inColumbus, Ohio. There were 36participants in the competitionfrom 21 colleges and universi-ties. Johnson and Kramer alsoreceived a cash prize of $750. Inaddition, another math major,Guy Davis ’07, received honor-able mention for his project,“Who Is Baseball’s BestBatter?” His faculty sponsor wasalso Professor Dobler.

2005 grad wins prestigiousfellowshipKelly Younge ’05, a graduatestudent in physics at theUniversity of Michigan, has beenselected to receive a 2007National Defense Science andEngineering Graduate (NDSEG)Fellowship, sponsored and fund-ed by the Department of Defense(DoD). NDSEG selections aremade by five different labs andresearch programs within theDoD and administered by the

American Society for EngineeringEducation. Younge’s applicationwas selected by the Air ForceOffice of Scientific Research frommore than 3,400 applications re-ceived this year.

The prestigious NDSEGFellowship covers Younge’s tu-ition and required fees for threeyears at any accredited U.S. col-lege or university that providesadvanced degrees in science andengineering. In addition, thefellowship provides a stipend ofmore than $30,000 for each ofthe three years.

Forensics team sets newstandardsFor the first time in its storiedhistory at the College, theGustavus forensics team hasearned a top 20 ranking at theAmerican Forensics AssociationNational Individual EventsTournament (AFA-NIET), which iswidely considered to be the mostcompetitive competition of itskind in the country. Gustavusfielded one of the larger entriesamong the 83 schools fromacross the United States com-peting at the 2007 tournament,held in April at Minnesota StateUniversity, Mankato. Ten stu-dents qualified for 31 entries inthe various categories by earn-ing superior ratings in at leastthree tourneys during the regulartournament season.

The Gusties also earned theirfirst-ever AFA-NIET individualevents placings. Andrea Carlile’07, Chatham, Ill., capped hersenior year by qualifying for thequarterfinals (top 24) in commu-nication analysis among 123 en-trants, and Tasha Carlson, asophomore from Apple Valley,Minn., qualified for the quarter-finals in persuasive speakingamong 126 entrants. With theirplacings in the quarterfinal

round, both ranked among thetop 16 competitors in the coun-try. Carlile was named to the2007 AFA-NIET All-Americateam, becoming only the secondGustavus student to earn thisprestigious honor (RebeccaKuehl ’05 was named All-Americaby both the AFA and Pi KappaDelta in 2005).

A month earlier, the Gustavusteam had finished second in thenation among 57 competingschools in the Individual EventsTeam Sweepstakes at the 2007 PiKappa Delta NationalTournament held at CentralMichigan University. BrittanyLovdahl, a junior from St. Cloud,Minn., and Maria Siegle, a soph-omore from Cologne, Minn., tiedfor national championships intheir respective event cate-gories, and Andrea Carlile wasone of ten students named tothe Pi Kappa Delta All-Americateam.

Professors Rosoff andGilbert honoredMathematics and computer sci-ence professor Jeff Rosoff, whohas taught at Gustavus since1981, was recognized by thestudent body in May with the2007 Swenson-Bunn MemorialAward for Teaching Excellence.The award, nominated by stu-dents and selected by vote ofthe Student Senate, has beenpresented annually since 1990 atthe College’s Honors Day convo-cation. It honors the memory oftwo student senators, GregSwenson and Holly Bunn, whowere killed in a car accident in1989.

Political science professorChris Gilbert, who joined theGustavus faculty in 1991, is therecipient of the 2007 FacultyScholarly Achievement Award for“publishing path-breaking re-

search moving the field of reli-gion and politics forward [andincreasing] our understanding ofthe way in which political valuesand participation in our democ-racy are influenced and informedby faith and participation in reli-gious organizations.” This yearmarks the publication of hisfourth book, Seeds Upon theGround: The Political Influence ofAmerican Churches. First awardedin 1986, the Faculty ScholarlyAchievement Award was revivedin 2004 and is now announcedat the annual Honors Day convo-cation.

Reinholtzen returns asregistrar

Kristianne Reinholtzen, whoworked as an admission repre-sentative and associate registrarat Gustavus from 1988 to 2006,returned to the College as regis-trar effective July 2, 2007.Reinholtzen, a 1979 graduate ofLuther College, had been regis-trar at Willamette College,Salem, Ore., during the 2006–07academic year. G

On the hill


Briefly . . .continued from previous page


On the hill

by Dana Setterholm ’07

It was a case of perfect timing.Professor Sylvester James GatesJr. had been working on an ideafor a physics class for nonmajorstudents at his home universityin Maryland, but wondered howto implement the plan. Gustavuswas looking for a visiting profes-sor and had been impressed byGates’s talk at the 2005 NobelConference. The invitation to bethe Drs. Robert E. and Susan T.Rydell Professor at GustavusAdolphus College offered Gatesthe opportunity to conduct anexperiment in the classroom—tofind out whether he could teachhis specialty, string theory, to agroup of students with non-science majors.

The idea for the class camefrom what Gates calls his popu-lar-level lectures—presentationson string theory designed for thegeneral public. Gates estimateshe’s given 150 of these lecturesduring his career, at universitiesand libraries and museums allover the world, but he says thereremains a common belief thatmost people are not interestedin science or physics. Gates wasinvited to film a DVD seriesbased on some of his popular-level lectures on string theory,and his goal, he says, was “tonot dumb it down. The public issmarter than people think.” TheDVD series, which consists of 24half-hour lectures designed toeducate viewers in basic physicsand string theory, made more

than half a million dollars in thefirst six months of sales, provingthat there is a definite interestin physics among nonscientists.

Gates, who considers teach-ing his first love, wanted toapply this finding to the class-room. “Kids today are moremedia-savvy,” he says, notingthat they have grown up withtelevision and video games. “Ourspecies as a whole is becomingmore visual learners.” Science,on the other hand, is arguablystuck in a 19th-century model ofteaching. Gates, who has morethan 30 years’ teaching experi-ence, knew that this would haveto change if he wanted to keepstudents interested.

The first thing he focused onwas visual learning. In the DVDlecture series, he used computergraphics to convey complexideas, and he does the same inthe classroom, connecting hislaptop computer to a projectorscreen. Short videos or picturesusing Computer GraphicalImagery (the same CGI used tocreate special effects in movies)can show students representa-tions of particles invisible to theeye, and demonstrate their mo-tion or reactions. CGI also hasanother advantage—it can re-place complicated mathematicalequations. A string of numbersand symbols on the chalkboardmeans little to most nonsciencestudents, but a video thatdemonstrates the application ofthe math helps them to under-stand as well as connect themath to the real world.

The Internet has also beenan invaluable resource. Gatescan connect to the Net via hislaptop and show the class 3Dmodels on various physics web-sites (including Gustavus’s ownphysics department site). Sincestring theory is a relatively newsubject, it’s often easiest forstudents to conduct researchusing the Internet, and Gatesoften challenges students tolook up concepts or scientistsdiscussed in class.

Since I had a natural sciencerequirement to fulfill and I’dnever taken physics in highschool, I decided to take theclass. I’m an English major, andmost of my classes were gearedtoward reading and writing criti-cally, so I wasn’t sure what toexpect from a course that prom-ised to teach a beginner theo-retical physics. I was pleasantlysurprised, however, when the

class found a balance betweenscience and the history and cul-ture surrounding it.

When Gates planned theclass to be taught at Gustavus,his goal was to develop an inno-vative way of teaching generalscience to non-STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, orMath) students, using popularinterest in string theory to servean educational goal. The firsthalf of the class was meant togive us a background in physics,so we learned the basics oneverything from Newton’s lawsto quantum theory, as well asgetting an overview on the his-tory of the subject. The secondhalf of the course was devotedto string theory and supersym-metry, Gates’s specialties.

String theory is the idea thatthe most basic units of the uni-verse are not spheres, as has

Fall 2007 � 11

Experimental physics class offerssomething for everyone

Class discussion often continued after the class hour. From left, DanaSetterholm ’07, Jared Sieling ’08, Alex Wauck ’09, Chris Hedberg ’07, andMatt Bergman ’07 quiz their instructors, Professors Steve Mellema ’72 andSylvester James Gates Jr. Gates was in residence on campus frequentlyduring the spring semester as the Drs. Robert E. and Susan T. RydellProfessor at Gustavus Adolphus College.



been previously thought, buttiny strings that vibrate. Thetheory has been tested exten-sively with math, but since thestrings are too miniscule to beseen even with powerful micro-scopes, no physical evidencefrom a laboratory can prove thetheory. Scientists in the field arehopeful that the Large HadronCollider (a particle acceleratorbeing built right now inSwitzerland) will be capable ofobserving these strings in thenear future.

Supersymmetry is the ideathat every fundamental particlein the universe has a “superpart-ner,” similar to a mirror image,which would explain two currentpuzzles of particle physics.

Gates co-taught the coursewith Gustavus physics professorSteven Mellema ’72, and the twoworked together to plan a cur-riculum. They based their sched-ule on Gates’s DVD lectures,which were shown to students inclass, but interspersed the lec-tures with hands-on laboratoryactivities, readings, and demon-strations. The RydellProfessorship, a scholar-in-resi-dence program designed to bringNobel laureates, NobelConference presenters, and simi-larly distinguished scholars andscientists to the College for en-hanced learning and teaching,provides necessary funds toallow the professor to commute,so Gates split his time betweenteaching at Gustavus and his re-sponsibilities at his home uni-versity in Maryland. He typicallytaught two days per week atGustavus with Mellema teachingtwo more, and they stayed incontact by e-mail when Gateswas not in Minnesota.

Commuting was difficult forGates, but he says his family wasvery understanding about hishectic schedule. He was worriedthat the Minnesota weathermight interfere with his weeklyflights, and several winterstorms brought snow to campusover the semester, but oddlyenough, the only real problemwas an ice storm on the EastCoast that cancelled flights onthe Maryland end. The notoriousMinnesota winter was a deter-rent, but it didn’t affect Gates’sdecision to teach at Gustavus.“It’s a beautiful campus,” hesays, and the fact that he en-joyed it so much during theNobel Conference influenced himto accept the RydellProfessorship.

Students and professors atGustavus were also a part of hisdecision to return again. Gatessays Mellema has been invaluableas a co-instructor, expanding thecourse in ways he couldn’t him-self, and that the students in theclass have been “everything Ihoped for and more.”

As an experiment, the courseactually developed better thanexpected. More STEM studentstook the course than Gates hadexpected, but this turned out tobe an advantage, as it led tocollaboration between STEM andnon-STEM students. Gates calls it“P2Pm”—Peer-to-Peer mentor-ing, a reference to computerfilesharing—and he says he’snever seen it occur on a levelsimilar to this. “It allows majorsto mix and provides differentthings for two different audi-ences,” he says, benefiting bothgroups. When dividing the classinto lab groups, he and Mellemawere able to assign a physicsmajor to each small group. These“designated physics majors,” aswe called them, were able to an-

swer questions about laboratoryor course work, acting as infor-mal teaching assistants. Thiscollaboration helped the non-STEM students build confidence—“Non-STEM students learn thatthey can ‘get it,’ contrary to theirown expectations,” Gates says.

But they weren’t the onlyones learning. “STEM studentswere forced to confront issuesoutside of science that are im-portant,” Gates notes. Since theclass was designed for non-STEMstudents, assignments includedessays on the ways culture, his-tory, philosophy, and religion in-teract with science, which gaveSTEM students a chance to thinkand write about their chosenmajor in a new way. “It alsohelped mainstream science ma-jors,” Gates says. “They can getisolated. And it gives them apreview of communication skillsneeded after college,” like theability to write and speak wellabout scientific concepts.

Surveys taken by class mem-bers indicated a high degree ofsatisfaction with the course, andGates and Mellema are alsopleased with how well thecourse went. The professors planto compile the class data into adocument (or possibly even abook) to provide a guideline forother educators who want toteach science to non-majors,

and both hope to teach a similarclass in the future.

I found the class both inter-esting and challenging. Learningalmost 400 years of physics inthe first seven weeks wasn’teasy, and grasping some of thetheoretical concepts of stringtheory was difficult at times, butdiscovering a new way to look atthe world made the steep learn-ing curve worth it. English majorsdon’t usually get to play withanything more exciting thanbooks or writing implements, soit was fun to do hands-on exper-iments in a laboratory. It was alsointeresting to examine physicsthrough writing assignments.English majors are well-trainedto see the impact of history andculture on literature, but it wasa completely different experienceto write about the impact of his-tory and culture on science. Ilearned a lot in this class—notjust about theoretical physics,but about science and the worldaround us. If my experience isanything to go by, the experi-ment has been a success.

Dana Setterholm ’07, an Englishmajor from Marine on St. Croix,Minn., who graduated in May,interned in the Office of CollegeRelations during the spring 2007semester, assisting withproduction of the Quarterly.

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On the hill


Experimental physicscontinued from previous page

Joining forces to teach the experimental class were Gustavus physicsprofessor Steve Mellema ’72 (left) and visiting Rydell Professor Jim Gates.


On the hill

by Tim Robinson

Fueled by rising gasoline prices,the “energy debate” is a topicabout which more of us have be-come increasingly aware andformed strong opinions. Doesglobal warming really exist and,if so, who is to blame?Governments and businesses arepoised to invest a lot of moneyin alternative energy sources,but . . . can we realistically ex-pect ethanol to replace oil andcoal? Didn’t we hear this before,in the 1960s, about deuteriumfrom seawater and the possibili-ty of controlled thermonuclearfusion providing most of our fu-ture energy?

The annual Nobel confer-ences are noted for timely andconstructive discussions of im-portant scientific and social is-sues. This year’s conference,“Heating Up: The EnergyDebate,” to be held on October 2and 3, 2007, in Lund Arena, willfocus on the looming problems

of declining fossil fuels and theglobal warming that results fromburning them, and present ahardheaded examination of pro-posed alternative forms of energyand the likelihood that they willbe effective and affordable.Scheduled to present lectures are: Steven Chu, 1997 Nobel laureate

in physics and director of theLawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory in California;

Kenneth S. Deffeyes, professoremeritus of geosciences,Princeton University, NewJersey;

James E. Hansen, lead climatescientist and director, NASAGoddard Institute for SpaceStudies (GISS), New York;

Paul L. Joskow, professor ofeconomics and director ofthe Massachusetts Instituteof Technology’s Center forEnergy and EnvironmentalPolicy Research Management;

Lee Rybeck Lynd, professor ofengineering at the ThayerSchool of Engineering,Dartmouth College, NewHampshire;

Joan M. Ogden, associate pro-fessor of environmental sci-ence and policy and co-direc-tor of the Hydrogen PathwaysProgram at the Institute ofTransportation Studies,University of California,Davis; and

Will Steger, polar explorer,writer, educator, photogra-pher, and lecturer andNational Geographic SocietyExplorer-in-Residence.

For those of us who remem-ber the Earth Day movement ofthe early ’70s and the gas short-

ages that followed, these argu-ments about declining oil re-sources and global warming havea familiar ring. For example, wesometimes hear about the ur-gency for more exploratorydrilling because of declining oilproduction, but in a 1913 spe-cial issue of the ScientificAmerican, the authors conclud-ed, “The question of the possibleexhaustion of the world’s oilsupply deserves the greatestconsideration. There is every in-dication that we are face to facewith this possibility.”

Although there has neverbeen a Nobel Conference devot-ed solely to energy, future man-agement of energy was describedby Nobel laureate Glenn Seaborgat the 1966 Nobel Conference inan address titled “The Control ofEnergy.” Since he was one of thediscoverers of plutonium, itshouldn’t come as a surprise thathe spoke optimistically aboutthe future of nuclear energy.However, he also left the audi-ence with a prescient warning.He quoted a report by PresidentLyndon Johnson’s ScienceAdvisory Committee in 1965:“Carbon dioxide is being addedto the Earth’s atmosphere by theburning of coal, oil, and naturalgas at the rate of 6 billion tons ayear. By the year 2000 there willbe about 25 percent more car-bon dioxide in our atmospherethan at present. This will modifythe heat balance of the atmos-phere to such an extent thatmarked changes in climate, notcontrollable through local oreven national efforts, couldoccur. Clearly, we need to under-stand this problem and follow

the details of change. Thus, itmay be very important to findmeans of preventing or counter-acting the changes, or to changeour source of energy to one thatproduces less carbon dioxide.”

The topics in the energy de-bate are familiar and well docu-mented, and there is optimismabout progress. A number ofstates, including Minnesota,have established legislation orassembled panels to find ways toreduce greenhouse gases. Andbusiness leaders are discoveringwhat evolutionary biologistshave long known—that in theevent of a changing environmentthere will be winners and losers.Someone stands to profit. Thefact is that some large compa-nies are taking the lead in es-tablishing green practices whilethe number of smaller energyentrepreneurs also appears to begrowing.

Decisions we make today rel-ative to global energy sourcesand how they are used will af-fect the world for decades of to-morrows. I suspect that we willcome away from this conferencebetter informed about energy-re-lated science and public policy,and what role we must play inchanging how we think aboutour energy future.

More information on the con-ference and ticket orders isavailable by phone at 507/933-7520 or through the College’swebsite, gustavus.edu/nobelconference.

Tim Robinson ’65, professor ofpsychology at the College, hasbeen director of the annualNobel Conference since 2000.

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2007 Nobel Conference tackles energy issues

Fall 2007 � 13


by Gwendolyn Freed

Gustavus’s institutional vi-sioning work reached a

milestone in June, when theGustavus Board of Trustees en-dorsed an internal planningdocument titled “New Leadersfor a New Tomorrow.”

The document, a frameworkfor planning, was developed onthe basis of extensive dialoguethroughout the Gustavus com-munity. It reaffirms theCollege’s commitment to the

liberal arts and its relationshipwith the Lutheran Church andidentifies eight strategic areasof focus (see accompanyingchart) for a more formal phaseof strategic planning soon tocommence under the leader-ship of Gustavus’s new provostand vice president of academicaffairs, Mary E. Morton.

“Educating and challengingGustavus students as ‘NewLeaders for a New Tomorrow’is a powerful vision and signifi-cant responsibility that willguide our strategic work,” said

Morton, who assumed her rolein early July. She continued:“Our dynamic world calls forleadership grounded in reason,compassion, and faith in orderto provide the freedom to leadand serve our communities. AGustavus education providesboth the grounding and thefreedom for our students toembrace lives of leadership andservice for a new tomorrow.”

Gustavus is known for culti-vating students as whole peo-ple, encouraging their develop-ment as critical-thinking,

grounded, creative, ethical, andemotionally intelligent adults.Responding to contemporaryneeds and opportunities,Gustavus will invest more inthis uniquely holistic approach.Specifically, the College willbuild major programs in en-gaged learning, faith and voca-tion, and integrated health andwellness.

The phrase New Leaders re-calls that Gustavus was foundedby and for Swedish Lutheranimmigrants, a growing minori-ty group in 1862. Tomorrow’sGustavus leaders, while theymay not be predominantlySwedish, will bring to campusthat same blend of drive, faith,and talent. The College em-braces the region’s and nation’schanging demographics, andwill work very hard in the com-ing years, in the spirit of itsfounders, to increase need-based scholarship aid.

Gustavus is planning for thefuture in a whole-world con-text of accelerating change andcomplexity. The words NewTomorrow suggest the global

On the hill

Gustavus establishes key directionsfor future planning


New board members announced

N ew board members wereseated when the

Gustavus Adolphus CollegeBoard of Trustees met on cam-pus in June 2007. Joining theboard for the first time wereRebecca Bergman, NorthOaks, Minn., vice president ofscience and technology atMedtronics Incorporated,Minneapolis, and parent of2007 graduate Matt Bergman;the Rev. Wayne Peterson ’77,Plymouth, Minn., pastor at St.Barnabas Lutheran Church,Plymouth; and SusanEngelsma Wilcox ’73, Edina,Minn., board member of theEngelsma Family Foundation.Warren Beck ’67, Greenwood,Minn., president of Gabbert &Beck, Edina, rejoined theboard after previously serving

from 1986 to 1993 and 1995to 2004. Returning to theboard in an ex officio capacityafter being elected presidentof the Gustavus AdolphusCollege Association ofCongregations earlier this yearwas the Rev. Terry Morehouse,Waconia, Minn., pastor at

Mount Olivet Lutheran Churchin Minneapolis; he previouslyhad been a member of theboard from 1985 to 1991.

Jim Gale ’83, Washington,D.C., was named chair of thebody for the 2007–08 schoolyear. G

New board members pose with President Peterson and incoming board chair

Jim Gale; from left, President Jim Peterson ’64, the Rev. Wayne Peterson’77, Rebecca Bergman, Susan Engelsma Wilcox ’73, Jim Gale ’83, and

Warren Beck ’67.

Mary E. Morton, Ph.D.

Joe Len

cioni ’0

5

Matt Th

om

as ’00

01 Fall 07 masters.4:Winter 03-04 MASTERS.1 8/9/07 8:22 AM

On the hill

21st-century challenges andopportunities that will call ouralumni to exercise intellect,courage, morality, and re-sourcefulness. Gustavus’sSwedish Lutheran legacy of so-cial justice, together with thecore values of excellence, faith,service, and community, pointthe College toward threestrategic, globally-minded ini-tiatives: internationalization,cultural competency, and envi-ronmental stewardship.

Gustavus believes in lifelongeducation and is eager to pro-vide more intergenerationalopportunities for learning incommunity. As the post-WorldWar II Baby Boomer cohortnears traditional retirementage, many Gustavus alumniand friends will be poised fornew and productive chapters.Some will find second callingsin life. For many, there will bethe opportunity and desire toteach and learn together withstudents and faculty on cam-pus. The College will be con-sidering programs to moredeeply and meaningfully en-gage learners of all ages.

The past year’s preplanningdiscussion at Gustavus has beencharacteristically broad, rich,and reflective in nature. “Oneof Gustavus’s great strengths isits vocational approach to lead-ership, not just for students butfor the institution as a whole,”said President Jim Peterson ’64.“Under Dr. Mary Morton’sguidance, the College will en-deavor to match its greatest as-sets and potential with ourworld’s greatest contemporaryand future needs.”

Gwendolyn Freed joined theGustavus administration inDecember 2006 as vice presidentfor college relations.

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Fall 2007 � 15

We are a college that thrives at the intersection of faith andreason. We hold fast to our defining traditions: the liberal arts

and Lutheran ideals of higher education.

Gustavus Adolphus College is a church-related, residential liberal arts collegefirmly rooted in its Swedish and Lutheran heritage.

The College offers students of high aspiration and promise a liberal artseducation of recognized excellence provided by faculty who embody the higheststandards of teaching and scholarship. The Gustavus curriculum is designed to

bring students to mastery of a particular area of study within a generalframework that is both interdisciplinary and international in perspective.

The College strives to balance educational tradition with innovation and to fosterthe development of values as an integral part of intellectual growth. It seeks topromote the open exchange of ideas and the independent pursuit of learning.

The College aspires to be a community of persons from diverse backgrounds whorespect and affirm the dignity of all people. It is a community where a mature

understanding of the Christian faith and lives of service are nurtured andstudents are encouraged to work toward a just and peaceful world.

The purpose of a Gustavus education is to help its students attain their full potential as persons, to develop in them a capacity and passion for lifelong learning, and to prepare them for fulfilling

lives of leadership and service in society.

We are a people grounded in the ideals of community, excellence, faith, justice, and service.

We pursue academic rigor through a culture of close-knitrelationships, serious work, spirited enjoyment of life,

and uncommon mutual support.

We aspire to be a college committed to and known for preparing New Leaders for a New Tomorrow.

Linking a rich immigrant past with a new demographic future,we will provide new access and opportunity for ALL students

of high aspiration and promise. Our students will be fullyprepared to make a difference through integrated,

interdisciplinary, engaged learning.

Whole-Person Focus

Why do weexist?

IDENTITY

MISSION

Who are we?

What values do we hold?

CORE VALUES

What is ourcharacter? CULTURE

How do we see

the future?VISION

To achievethis, in whatkey areas will

we focusattention and

build resourcesover the next

five years?

STRATEGICDIRECTIONS

(Some specificinitiatives)

NEW HORIZONSFORPHILANTHROPY

Whole-World Horizon

Whole-Life Perspective

Engaged LearningLeadership and

ServiceFaithIntegrated Approach

to Health andWellness

InternationalizationCultural CompetencyEnvironmental

Stewardship

Lifelong Learning

• Endowment • Operational Funds • Capital Investment

Whatresources will

we seek toachieve these

ends andother

institutionalpriorities?

New Leaders for a New Tomorrow: A Framework for Planning


On the hill


by Donald Myers ’83

T he Hillstrom Museum ofArt was recently given

three significant prints fromDr. David and KathrynRydland ’71 Gilbertson, in-cluding a fine lithograph byfamed Regionalist artist GrantWood (1892–1942): hishaunting, wintry image ofhorses on a frigid evening, ti-tled February (1941).

The Gilbertsons have beenactive participants in theMuseum’s goal of obtaining all19 of Wood’s lithographs,which constitute a major por-tion of the artist’s oeuvre. In2005, they donated funds usedto purchase Midnight Alarm(1939), and, together with theReverend Richard L. Hillstrom’37, were responsible for fund-ing the Museum’s 2004 pur-chase of Wood’s hand-coloredprints of Fruits, Vegetables,Tame Flowers, and Wild Flowers(1938). With the addition ofFebruary, the Museum nowholds nine of Wood’s lithos,and the Gilbertsons havepromised to give an additionalfive that they own, which willbring the Museum’s holdingsto 14.

Those interested in joiningthe effort to acquire the re-maining five of Wood’s printsnot currently owned by orpromised to the Museum are

urged to be [email protected].

The two other prints do-nated by the Gilbertsons areetchings by Kerr Eby(1889–1946). Rough Goingand The Last Supper are bothpart of the artist’s War series, agroup of images based onEby’s experiences in World WarI that he published as an anti-war book in 1936 (theMuseum in 2005 exhibited itsexample of Eby’s lithographWhere Are We Going?, also partof that series). Rough Going

depicts a team of horses strug-gling to pull a heavy caisson ona carcass-strewn battlefield,while Last Supper is a disturb-ing evocation of the ChristianEucharistic theme showingdead soldiers seated at andlying near a dining table onwhich a wine bottle still standsafter a bomb blast.

Eby, like many artists of hisera, studied at the Art StudentsLeague in New York City,which is the subject of the ex-hibition The Art StudentsLeague of New York: Highlights

from the Permanent Collection,on view from September 10through November 4 (with anopening reception during theNobel Conference, on October2, 6 to 8 p.m.). A key impetusfor the Museum hosting thisexhibit is the fact that a largenumber of the artists in theHillstrom Collection studiedand/or taught at the League.

The exhibition featuresmore than 70 paintings, draw-ings, and sculptures from theschool’s collection, ranging indate from about 1885 to

Hillstrom Museum of Art receivessignificant donations, hosts exhibitionfrom one of nation’s oldest art schools

Grant Wood (1892–1942), February, 1941, lithograph on paper, 8-7/8 x 11-3/4 inches, gift of Dr. David andKathryn Gilbertson.


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2002. The Art StudentsLeague was formed by studentsin 1875 as an alternative to theNational Academy of Design(also in New York), then thepre-eminent art school in theUnited States. The NationalAcademy, which had beenfounded 50 years earlier, was,in the view of many, becominginadequate and overly conser-vative, and the dissatisfactionbecame acute in 1875 when,for financial reasons, classes atthe Academy were cutback. The newly-formedLeague filled the void. Whenthe Academy later resumed itsfull course schedule in 1877, itwas decided to keep theLeague running, and by about1920 it had become the mostprominent art school in thecountry. The League, which isstill a vital, flourishing institu-tion, was more open in mem-bership than the NationalAcademy, and it aimed to beless old-fashioned and moreaware of European trends. Itsacademic structure reflectedmethods used abroad, in Parisand Munich in particular, and

featured tutelage under individ-ual, fairly independent instruc-tors.

The League’s Permanent

Collection—which was formedby purchase, by donationsfrom patrons, instructors, andstudents, and from works re-quired of students as part oftheir scholarship agreements—reflects major trends inAmerican art. It includes earlyworks in traditional modessuch as romantic landscape orstill life, works of the gritty re-alism associated with the“Ashcan School,” works of ab-stract expressionism that flour-ished in the 1950s, and worksby artists active today.

An early painting in the ex-hibit is Fish Still Life (1908) byWilliam Merritt Chase(1849–1916), one of the coun-try’s leading artists of the timeand one of the most prominentand popular of the early instruc-tors at the league. Chase’s oil

shows his typical loose, experthandling, and is likely a“demonstration piece” paintedin less than an hour to instructonlooking students. One suchof Chase’s students was GeorgiaO’Keeffe (1887–1986), whoseown still life of a Dead Rabbitwith a Copper Pot—whichearned her a scholarship at theleague—is also in the exhibit.O’Keeffe, in reminiscing aboutChase’s teaching, describedhow the students were to painta new still life each day, andChase would criticize their ac-cumulated paintings on aweekly basis. She recalled thatthe works had to be “alive withpaint” in order for them tomake an impression on Chase.O’Keeffe would later abandonthis kind of painting, since shefelt others had mastered it so

Fall 2007 � 17

William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), Fish Still Life, 1908, oil on canvas,26-1/4 x 30-1/2 inches, Art Students League of New York, PermanentCollection.

Jan Matulka (1890–1972), Still Life with Horse Head and Phonograph (detail), 1930, oil on canvas on board,24 x 40 inches, Art Students League of New York, Permanent Collection.


On the hill

well that she could not do anybetter, and she moved to themore abstract, more thinly-painted floral and architecturalimages for which she becameknown.

Another early work in theexhibition is Academic Study ofa Male Nude, drawn around1885 by Frank VincentDuMond (1865–1951), who,like Chase, was a very influen-tial instructor at the League(he is also represented in theexhibit by a landscape paintingdepicting a Trout Stream).This work was done duringDuMond’s period as a Leaguestudent, and indicates the im-portance of figure drawing inthe curriculum, following thepractice of European acade-mies. A League student wouldtypically spent three hours eachof five days working on such adrawing, an exercise repeatedmany times.

Given that the League wasformed partly in response tothe conservativism of theNational Academy of Design, itis not surprising that it tooksteps to avoid becoming neo-

conservative. Artist John Sloan(1871–1951) noted in 1931that one of the reasons for theLeague ’s continuing successwas that it offered exposure toultra-modern art alongsidemore traditional work. Sloan,in fact, resigned in 1932 fromhis role as League presidentwhen his proposal that theLeague hire German modernistGeorge Grosz (1893–1959) asa teacher was turned down.The decision was soon reversedand Grosz became another im-portant teacher at the League,and Sloan returned as an in-structor. Grosz’s 1949 oilpainting titled The CrucifiedHam is included in the exhibit,as is Sloan’s 1905 etchingConnoisseurs of Print (Sloan isrepresented in the HillstromCollection by a drawing and anetching).

Another progressive and in-fluential instructor at theLeague was Jan Matulka(1890–1972), a Czech-bornartist interested in surrealismand cubism. The painter wasconsidered a principal propo-nent of American Modernism


Theodoros Stamos (1922–1997), Sounding #2, undated, oil on canvas, 18 x 48 inches, Art Students League of New York, Permanent Collection.

Frank Vincent DuMond (1865–1951), Academic Study of a Male Nude, c.1885, graphite and charcoal on paper, 24 x 18 inches, Art StudentsLeague of New York, Permanent Collection.


On the hill

along with better-known artistssuch as his friend Stuart Davis(1894–1964). Matulka’s workin the exhibition is a Cubist-in-spired oil painting titled StillLife with Horse Head andPhonograph (1930), which waspurchased for the League ’scollection in 1969 by a groupof dedicated former studentsand associates of the painter.

Figurative artists likeMatulka tended to be eclipsedin the 1950s by the AbstractExpressionists, such as JacksonPollock (1912–1956) and MarkRothko (1903–1970), both ofwhom were League students,and Rothko’s friend TheodorosStamos (1922–1997). Stamoswas a self-taught artist who in-structed at the League formany years. His oil paintingSoundings #2 is included in theexhibit.

The most recent works inthe exhibition are an aquatintprint from 2001 titled Of

Land and Sea, by current in-structor William Behnken (b.1943), and a DemonstrationPortrait of Ira Goldberg, paint-ed in 2002 by former Leagueinstructor Daniel Greene (b.1934). Behnken, a past presi-dent of the Society ofAmerican Graphic Artists, hasalso taught at the City Collegeof New York and the NationalAcademy of Design. Greene isknown for his portraiture,which is found in the collec-tions of the White House andthe Smithsonian Institution;Ira Goldberg, his subject in theportrait, is the current ArtStudents League director.

On view in the HillstromMuseum of Art concurrentlywith the Arts Students Leagueexhibit is a group of Selectionsfrom the Hillstrom Museum ofArt Collection, which includesthe Grant Wood February do-nated by the Gilbertsons; a re-cent acquisition by American

Impressionist Julian AldenWeir (1852–1919), who washired as an instructor at the ArtStudents League in the early

1880s (The Statue of Liberty isa drypoint etching the artistmade in 1893); and an oilpainting titled Mozartiana (c.1940) by Esther Williams(1907–1969), who studied atthe Art Students League. TheWilliams painting is the subjectof another of the Museum’sFOCUS IN/ON projects, inwhich works from theHillstrom Collection are col-laboratively explored by theMuseum director and a campusmember from outside the visu-al arts area. Mozartiana, a stilllife of a vase of anemones and apiece of Mozart sheet music seton a piano, is the subject of anextended essay co-written withDavid Fienen, chair of theDepartment of Music.

Donald Myers ’83 has directedGustavus Adolphus College’sHillstrom Museum of Art since itsopening in 2000. He is also aninstructor in art history at theCollege.

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Fall 2007 � 19

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), Dead Rabbit with a Copper Pot, 1908, oilon canvas, 19 x 23-1/2 inches, Art Students League of New York,Permanent Collection.

John Sloan (1871–1951), Connoisseurs of Prints, 1905, etching on paper, 4-3/4 x 7-3/4 inches, Art StudentsLeague of New York, Permanent Collection.



Old friends, new beginningsFrom the State Fair to A Royal Affair

August23–Sept. 3

Gustavus at the Fair:College booth in theEducation building at theMinnesota State Fair,staffed 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Wearyour Gustie gear to theFair and stop by ourbooth!

September4 Opening Convocation for

the 146th academic yearof the College, ChristChapel, 10 a.m.

10–Nov. 4 Art Exhibitions: The ArtStudents League of NewYork: Highlights from thePermanent Collection andSelections from theHillstrom Museum of ArtCollection, HillstromMuseum of Art. Open tothe public without charge;regular museum hours: 9a.m.–4 p.m., Mon.–Fri.;1–5 p.m. Sat. & Sun. NobelConference reception: Oct.2, 6–8 p.m.

14 Theatre: Teatro delPueblo, performing Echoesfrom the New World,Courtyard Café, 7 p.m.,leading off HispanicHeritage Month. Open tothe public without charge;sponsored by OLAS and theDiversity Center.

19 Twin Cities “Come On,You Gusties” AlumniBreakfast, featuringPresident Jim Peterson ’64,Doubletree Hotel,

Minneapolis-Park Place,8–9:30 a.m. Reserve bycalling Don Swanson ’55 at763/533-9083.

22 Gustavus HeritagePartnership Luncheon, C.Charles Jackson CampusCenter banquet rooms,11:30 a.m. By invitation;for more information, con-tact the Office of GiftPlanning (800/726-6192).

24 Gustavus LibraryAssociates’ MembershipTea, hosted by Jim andSusan Pepin Peterson ’64’65, Folke BernadotteMemorial Library, 10:30a.m.–noon. Open to thepublic without charge;reservations requested.

27 “Reading in Common”Author Visit: Tracy Kidder,author of MountainsBeyond Mountains: TheQuest of Dr. Paul Farmer, aMan Who Would Cure theWorld, Alumni Hall, 7:30

p.m. Open to the publicwithout charge.

28 Artist Series: LadysmithBlack Mambazo in Concert,Christ Chapel, 8 p.m. Ticketrequired; contact theGustavus Ticket Center(507/933-7590).

30 Gusties Gather! Alumnigatherings at sitesthroughout the country. Formore information, contactthe Office of AlumniRelations (800/487-8437or gustavus.edu/alumni/).

October2–3 Nobel Conference® 43:

“Heating Up: The EnergyDebate,” Lund Arena,opening at 9:30 a.m. onTuesday. For ticket informa-tion, contact the Office ofCollege Relations(507/933-7520), see regis-tration form inserted inthis magazine, or visit theNobel Conference website

(gustavus.edu/nobelcon-ference/).

2 Music: The NobelConference Concert, TheGustavus SymphonyOrchestra, Warren Friesen,conductor, Christ Chapel,8:15 p.m. Open to the pub-lic without charge.

12–14Homecoming and FamilyWeekend: Receptions anddinners for classes of 1967,1972, 1977, 1982, 1987,1992, 1997, 2002 inMankato and the TwinCities on Friday evening;reunion events on campuson Saturday (see schedulein Alumni section). FamilyWeekend concerts on Oct.14, 1:30 p.m. For more in-formation, contact theOffice of Alumni Relations(800/487-8437 orgustavus.edu/alumni/).

16 Artist Series: The CzechPhilharmonic Chamber

Calendar

The Czech Philharmonic will perform October 16 in Björling Recital Hall as part of the Gustavus Artist Series.


Orchestra in Concert, JussiBjörling Recital Hall, 8p.m. Ticket required; con-tact the Gustavus TicketCenter (507/933-7590).

17 Twin Cities “Come On,You Gusties” AlumniBreakfast, featuring arecap of the 2007 NobelConference with chair JeffJeremiason, DoubletreeHotel, Minneapolis-ParkPlace, 8–9:30 a.m. Reserveby calling Don Swanson’55 at 763/533-9083.

25–28Theatre: The United StatesTheatre Project’s columbi-nus, written by StephenKaram and PJ Paparelli, di-rected by Henry MacCarthy,Anderson Theatre, 8 p.m.(Oct. 25–27) and 2:30p.m. (Oct. 28). Ticket re-quired; contact theGustavus Ticket Center(507/933-7590).

27 Gustavus LibraryAssociates’ biennial gala:Razzle Dazzle • A RoyalAffair, benefiting FolkeBernadotte MemorialLibrary, SheratonBloomington Hotel, 5:30p.m. Reservations re-quired; see registrationform inserted in this mag-azine or contact the Officeof College Relations(507/933-7520).

November3 Athletics Hall of Fame

Banquet and Induction,Alumni Hall, 6 p.m.Reservations required; seeinformation in Alumni sec-tion or contact the Officeof Alumni Relations(800/487-8437).

3 Music/Dance: SumunarIndonesian Gamelan andDance Ensemble, Jussi

Björling Recital Hall, 7:30p.m. Open to the publicwithout charge.

9 Music: The GustavusPhilharmonic Orchestraand The GustavusSymphony Orchestra,Warren Friesen, conductor,Jussi Björling Recital Hall,7:30 p.m. Open to thepublic without charge.

11 Music: The GustavusWoodwind Ensemble andThe Gustavus Flute Choir,Ann Pesavento, conductor,Jussi Björling Recital Hall,3:30 p.m. Open to thepublic without charge.

15–18Theatre: FestivalShowcase: A Celebrationof Student Work; one-acts,dance gallery, and “LateNite Soup.” Tickets required;contact the Office of FineArts Programs (507/933-7363) for dates and timesof various events.

16 Music: The Gustavus WindOrchestra and The VasaWind Orchestra, DouglasNimmo, conductor, ChristChapel, 7:30 p.m. Open tothe public without charge.

17 Music: The Gustavus JazzEnsembles’ Fall Concert,Steve Wright, director,Jussi Björling Recital Hall,7:30 p.m. Open to thepublic without charge.

18 Music: The GustavusPercussion Ensembles’Fall Concert, Robert Adneyand Paul Hill, conductors,Jussi Björling Recital Hall,1:30 p.m. Open to thepublic without charge.

18 Music: The BirgittaSingers and St. Ansgar’sChorus, Gregory Aune,conductor, Christ Chapel,7:30 p.m. Open to thepublic without charge.

19–Jan. 13, 2008Art Exhibitions: NightVisions: The SecretDesigns of Moths andDestination Anywhere: ANational Juried Exhibitfor Young Artists withDisabilities, Ages 16–25,Hillstrom Museum of Art.Open to the public withoutcharge; regular museumhours: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.,Mon.–Fri.; 1–5 p.m. Sat. &Sun. Opening reception:Monday, Nov. 19, 7–9 p.m.

21 Twin Cities “Come On,You Gusties” AlumniBreakfast, featuringcoaches John Carlson ’88,men’s and women’s swim-ming, Mark Hanson ’83,men’s basketball, and BretPetersen, men’s hockey,Doubletree Hotel,Minneapolis-Park Place,8–9:30 a.m. Reserve bycalling Don Swanson ’55 at763/533-9083.

30, Dec. 1 & 2Christmas in ChristChapel 2007: “The WordBecomes Flesh,” ChristChapel, 3:30 p.m. (Dec. 1& 2 only) and 7:30 p.m.Ticket required; see regis-tration form inserted inthis magazine, or contactthe Office of CollegeRelations (507/933-7520).

December6 Festival of St. Lucia,

Christ Chapel, 10 a.m.Lucia Luncheon sponsoredby Gustavus LibraryAssociates, featuring fid-dler Brian Wicklund ’87,Alumni Hall, 11 a.m.Reservations accepted fol-lowing mailing of invita-tion in mid-October; con-tact the Office of CollegeRelations (507/933-7520).

Please Note: Times and dates of the events listed on this page are subject tochange. Please call to confirm events of interest.

Additional schedules, information and updatesSports � Up-to-date sports schedules may be found on the World Wide Web,

through the Gustavus homepage (gustavus.edu). For a printed schedule of any orall of the Gustie varsity athletic squads, download from the Web or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Tim Kennedy ’82, sports information director,Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 W. College Ave., St. Peter, MN 56082-1498. Also,you can listen to selected Gustavus athletics broadcasts over the Internet throughRealAudio. Broadcasts may be accessed through a link on Gustavus athleticswebsite, where a broadcast schedule also may be found.

The Arts � To receive a more complete fine arts schedule or more information onfine arts events noted in the calendar, contact Al Behrends ’77, director of fine artsprograms, by phone (507/933-7363) or e-mail ([email protected]). Tickets fortheatre and dance performances are available two weeks in advance of theperformance through the Gustavus Ticket Center (507/933-7590).

Fall 2007 � 21


enlightenment via a corpse flower

by Brian O’Brien


I n 1993, an event occurred in a Sumatran rainforest that wouldhave massive consequences for Gustavus Adolphus College in

the spring of 2007. Dr. James Symon, a San Francisco physician, hadsucceeded in his quest for seeds of Amorphophallus titanium—theTitan Arum or corpse flower (so named for the odor it emits when itflowers)—an endangered rarity and one of the most majestic won-ders of the natural world. The seeds were to be distributed to institu-tions around the world to ensure preservation of this charismaticplant.

A short time later, I received a small package of seeds of the veg-etable Titan. Most of the seeds germinated, and the seedlings weretransferred to the Gustavus greenhouse. The most vigorous seedlingwas chosen for growth to flowering size, while the others, destinedfor donation to other institutions, were kept small.

Fast forward through the next 14 years, ever-larger pots, and as-sistance by many enthusiastic students, to March 2007. The enor-mous pot that contains the 90-pound corm has been sitting, with noobvious change, for ten months. One day in late March a crack isseen in the potting mix, squarely in the center of the pot. Frissons ofanticipation crackle through the network of Gustavian titaniumwatchers. Is the plant producing a shoot? If it is, will the shoot be-come a leaf? Or is the Titan producing an inflorescence? A few dayslater a shoot emerges, and growth measurements begin. Three weekslater, the results are in—the Titan will flower! An announcement ofthe rare occurence is made on the Gustavus website, and contin-gency plans for accommodation of massive numbers of visitors areimplemented.

The ensuing corpse flower event was the most surreal experienceof my life, and was a surreal educational opportunity as well. The at-mosphere of the campus was deeply altered for a few weeks duringthe event—overheard scraps of conversation as one walked by tablesin the cafeteria often included the phrase “corpse flower”; a steadystream of visitors had formed three weeks before the inflorescenceopened in May; and students, faculty, staff, and visitors were trans-fixed by the corpse flower (aka “Perry,” short for Hyperion, one ofthe Titans). Some students had the webcam stream on their televi-sion sets 24 hours a day, others described themselves as “addicted” toPerry, and many made a daily pilgrimage to personally check onPerry’s growth.

Gustavus was an ideal venue for this botanical extravaganza. Thecampus and greenhouse are easy to access, eager student volunteerswere abundant, and the late-spring botanical beauty of the campuswas in full swing. The weeks-long event was an outstanding opportu-nity for education of a broad array of people on the importance ofworldwide conservation of biological diversity, through personaltours and presentations by Gustavus faculty, students, and staff. Inaddition to Gustavus people, visitors included groups of schoolchild-ren, teenagers, and adults from all walks of life, all of whom left thePerry room smiling. Thousands of people visited Perry via the web-cams and news coverage that Perry generated (including a story onCNN). Their encounters with this magnificent plant were education-al, unforgettable, and uniquely associated with Gustavus.

Brian O’Brien, associate professor of chemistry, has taught at Gustavussince 1985.

G

Fall 2007 � 23Photos by Joel Jackson ’71

Top: Associate Professor of Biology CindyJohnson-Groh explained the corpse flower’sinflorescence to some of the more than 7,000visitors and community members who passedthrough the Nobel Hall of Science’s greenhouseas word got out about the rare event. Inaddition, “Perry’s” website was viewed by morethan 150,000 unique visitors.

Immediately above: A bloomingAmorphophallus titanium, which is native tothe island of Sumatra in the Indonesianarchipelago, exposes a spathe, a sheath-likestructure that hides and protects the flowersinside and may grow up to eight feet tall.

Left: The male and female flowers areseparate. The female flowers are receptive firstand are on the bottom, appearing dark in color.The male flowers release pollen a day after thefemale flowers are receptive and are higher upthe spadix (central column); they appear pearl-like (what appears to be fuzz is pollen).


Faculty Perspective – CindyJohnson-Groh, AssociateProfessor, Biology

I first met Bruce and Susan Hill Jones ’64’64 while on a Linnaeus Arboretum trip inOctober 2006. (Bruce had been instru-mental in helping to develop wetlands forour arboretum, and one of the pond instal-lations has been named in their honor.) Ivisited their home in Virginia and we im-mediately hit it off, spending most of ourvisit comparing notes on plants and touringtheir acreage to view the wonderful gar-dens and restoration work they have com-pleted. In parting, Bruce loosely indicated awillingness to host a student or two inter-ested in botanical study.

Back on campus I was preparing for myspring plant systematics class, a class onplant identification, evolution, and ecology.The Department of Biology strongly en-dorses and encourages field experiences,and I usually take this class to the MissouriOzarks for a five-day field trip in late Aprilto see a different ecosystem and to put intopractice all that we have learned. Ready forsomething new, I approached Bruce andSusan about hosting a few students—well,maybe a whole class of seven students—fora few days. Almost immediately, I receiveda wildly enthusiastic e-mail back: “Whencould you come?”

So began the preparations and mo-ments of nervousness. Would the Jonesesunderstand that this was a “working” trip

and that students had to learn some newplants? Moreover, would the students un-derstand this? As the professor, I needed toensure that this trip was first and foremosteducational! I needn’t have worried, as theylearned not only plants, but history, geolo-gy, and even culinary arts and new cardgames. Though the Joneses had to becoached and sometimes reminded, theyquickly learned not to enthusiastically blurtout the name of a flower when I was tryingto quiz the class. They soon got the hangof it and were quizzing students with theaudacity of any professor!

Thanks to the Joneses’ hospitality, theenthusiasm of the students, and the missionof Gustavus to maximize student experi-ences, we had a terrific experience inVirginia. In addition to experiential learn-ing, the Joneses graciously modeled life-long learning as involved and committedalumni. Gusties, be they alumni, students,or professors, are eager to engage and pos-sess a natural curiosity and desire to learn.

Alumni Host Perspective – Bruce and Susan Jones ’64 ’64,Washington, Va.

I’m not sure what the seven students in Dr.Johnson-Groh’s plant systematics class ex-pected of April in Virginia. It is not quite asrenowned as “April in Paris,” but beautyabounds in the foothills of the Blue RidgeMountains. Rappahannock County is rural,sparsely populated, far from a bustling me-


VirginiaEditor’s note: In each of the past few years, Professor Cindy Johnson-Groh’s Bio 377 class on“Plant Systematics” has taken a field trip in late April to the Missouri Ozarks to explore adifferent ecosystem from that of southern Minnesota. In 2007, however, an alumni invitationprompted a new experience, which is presented here from the perspectives of the professor, thealumni hosts, and the students.

A day’s work is never done. Students work onidentifying plants in the comfort of theJoneses’ home.

“On your mark, get set, go!” ProfessorJohnson-Groh explains the ground rules for alittle competitive bio-sleuthing. The teamwith the most correctly identified plants wins.

Members of the plant systematics classidentify wildflowers in the Joneses’ back yard.


tropolis, and tolerates few towers, cell orEiffel. Spring lushness usually begins herein April, and it is normally much warmer inVirginia than in St. Peter, Minnesota. InVirginia the botanicals begin to show theirgreen heads about then. Would the stu-dents really be able to find more plants andtrees to study in Virginia than would bepossible in Minnesota?

I’m not sure what we expected of sevencollege students and one professor comingto visit us. What would it be like to shareour native plant sanctuary—let alone ourcouches, dining room table, bedrooms/fu-tons, and bathrooms? Would our plants beup? Would the class understand our floraand fauna? Would we have enough food?Whatever we imagined or questioned, thepleasure of their company far exceeded ourexpectations!

From the late-night arrival to an early-morning departure four days later, we joy-ously exchanged many thoughts, muchlaughter, and great quantities of Virginiaham. From the beginning the four guysand three women were open to learningabout life here, were enthusiastic abouttheir course of study, and pitched in to helpwith meals and clean up. They studied lateinto the evenings after gathering and iden-tifying plant specimens all day. They lis-tened to and questioned intently a natural-ist from the National Wildlife Federationwho came for dinner and then talked with

them far into the night. The students explored the woods,

ponds, and meadows at our place as well asin nearby Shenandoah National Park. Atthe park, they followed a part of theAppalachian Trail in their quest for identifi-cation of the many native plants. They ex-amined bud, bark, and leaf with their eyesand their loupes. They quizzed each otherendlessly about plants, but especiallyMertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells).

They shared their lives with us, and wetold them about ours. We learned aboutrural life in Minnesota and Wisconsin,hunting and fishing customs, and alsoabout Gustavus today—the campus, dormlife, and the college scene. They learnedabout our lives, including the transitionthat we experienced going from urban tocountry living. They also learned from usthat attending chapel was required whenwe were freshmen at Gustavus, and aboutthe ensuing pranks that occurred there.

When Professor Johnson-Groh visitedVirginia in 2006, she saw that bringing herstudents to Virginia might expand the rich-ness and variety of her plant systematicsclass studies. Because of her broad vision,our cross-generational exchange with plantsand life was made possible. Total immer-sion in the plant/student kingdom with fel-low Gustavians was an experience we’lltreasure. We hope that it will happen again.

Student Perspectives – Michael Lynch ’07, Rachel Dorr ’08,Pamela Nguyen ’07, StephanieErlandson ’09

Michael Lynch: As students in GustavusAdolphus College’s BIO 377 (PlantSystematics) class, we had spent our semes-ter building up to this trip. Up to this mo-ment our course work had been to learn anew language—botanical terms and Latinbinomial plant names. . . . This was ourlevel of preparation; but until this point, wehadn’t had the opportunity to put it to usein a natural setting.

So off we headed. Upon leaving campuswe knew we were heading to Virginia tostay with some retired Gustavus alumni,but this was about all we knew. None of ushad been to Virginia; and only a few hadbeen to any part of Appalachia. At thispoint we were prepared for anything; whatwe most wondered about were our hosts.When we got to Dulles InternationalAirport we discussed how we would identi-fy out host, who had volunteered to driveout to pick us up.

Well, it turned out not to be very hard.Bruce Jones introduced himself to us in theperfect way—with a Saint Olaf sign! Weknew at that very moment we had nothingto worry about; they were Gusties.

That night we traveled up into the BlueRidge Mountains to the Joneses’ property

Fall 2007 � 25

A group photo: front, Stephanie Erlandson (student), Susan Jones ’64 (host), Cindy Johnson-Groh (professor), Aaron Roessler (student); back row (all

students), Ian Ruppel, Pam Nguyen, Rachel Dorr, Michael Lynch, Matt Downing. Photo taken by Bruce Jones ’64 in Shenandoah National Park.


. . . The next morning we woke up to seethis place in the daylight. We were amazedto see a beautiful log home nestled within astand of Virginia pines (Pinus virginiana)and flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida).From the porch we had an excellent perchto view, through a large picture window, anassortment of birds and mammals whocame to the Joneses’ feeders.

Once we journeyed outside, we realizedwe would not have to go far to see a widearray of native flora. The Joneses’ propertywas ideally suited to serve as a base of oper-ations for our exploration of Virginia’s na-tive plants. On their 80- to 90-acre parceland an additional 100-acre lease, they havea large pond, a creek, a prairie, a maturehardwood forest, a young hardwood forest,some conifers, and a mix of native and or-namental gardens planted around the prop-erty. Due to this diversity of habitats and as-sociated plants it took us a couple of hoursto leave the front yard. As we movedthrough the property, Mr. Jones’s enthusi-asm was consuming; he could not wait toshow us the next plant and was truly excit-ed we were getting the opportunity to learnon their property.

Rachel Dorr: Our hosts, Bruce and SusanJones, were very enthusiastic Gustavusalumni who shared many fond memories oftheir time at Gustavus with us. The Jonesesnot only introduced our class to the flora ofthe region, but also the food. I have a new-found love for Virginia ham, which I had atlunch and dinner every day during our trip.

For me and many of my classmates, thiswas our first visit to this region of the coun-try. The Joneses’ property was a great in-

troduction to the flora of Virginia and in-cluded habitats ranging from orchid gar-dens to deciduous forest. We also visitedShenandoah National Park and hiked a trailwith views of the Shenandoah Valley at4,100 feet. It was very rewarding to be ableto apply what we had learned earlier in theclassroom to the outdoors.

This trip wasn’t all work though; theJoneses introduced the class to a new cardgame that brought out the competitivespirit and was a nightly activity. . . . As aclass we worked together to cook and alsoclean up after meals; even those who feltthey had little cooking aptitude did well inthe kitchen!

Pamela Nguyen: At the beginning of the se-mester, our professor, Dr. Johnson-Groh,established that her main objectives were toprovide her students with an environmentthat would foster creative hands-on learn-ing and promote strong camaraderieamong the students and the professor. Shewanted us not only to develop an apprecia-tion for flora and an inclination towardplant conservation, but also to understandthe importance of working together andchallenging ourselves to perform at ourfullest potential.

As a class, we decided the best way forus to test our flora knowledge would be togo to an unfamiliar area. Earlier in the se-mester, we had received an invitation fromBruce and Susan Jones to venture out toVirginia. This decision was difficult as it wasa tradition for the class to travel to theMissouri Ozarks every year. We fed our cu-riosity and hunger for adventure by choos-ing Virginia. . . .

During our time at the Joneses’ proper-ty and Shenandoah Valley, observing floraand applying concepts that were learned inthe classroom were not ignored. We oftentook breaks during our walks and hikes tosit down and observe, identify, and recordthe existing flora species and the nature oftheir habitats. In the evenings, we enjoyedthe Joneses’ wonderful hospitality by hav-ing our discussions, doing our assignments,and logging our journals on the Joneses’patio or in their great room. These conver-sations were filled with excitement, ques-tions, and newly acquired knowledge thatwas both valuable and pertinent to thecourse.

Stephanie Erlandson: The Joneses had allthese rare, beautiful, ephemeral wildflowersgrowing just yards away from the house.They were growing things like Dutchman’sbreeches, bloodroot, hepatica, wild ginger,golden club, trillium, and many other flow-ers that I knew were not common backhome in Minnesota. I couldn’t get over thefact that these were wildflowers growing intheir garden. And then I got to see sometruly rare species of orchids and lady slip-pers. I was overwhelmed. I saw otherspecies I had never seen before, but onlybecause they don’t grow in Minnesota. Myfavorite was the sycamore tree, which wascommon in Virginia but which I had neverseen in my life.

Not only did I get to see gorgeous wild-flowers, but the Joneses and their friendSandy showed me some of the edible plantsin their garden. The eastern redbud be-came a favorite when I learned the flowersand young seed pods were edible. It just sohappens that it’s in the pea family, and thebright purple flowers are very tasty. Thesecond day there we made tea using thebuds and young twigs from the black birchtree. It tasted sweet and as good as any teafound at the grocery store.

The trip did end up feeling very muchlike a plant immersion course, like the im-mersion courses taken for languages. Yetthere was definitely time for fun! Susan andBruce taught us this amazing card gamecalled “99,” which we played just aboutevery night. And we were able to see somenight-time visitors, namely a raccoon, anopossum, and some cute little flying squir-rels as they ate out of the bird feeder. I real-ly had a good time bonding with my class-mates as well. I admit that one night afriend and I stayed up until two in themorning just talking and discussing.

Michael Lynch summed up the feelings ofthe entire class when he wrote that theVirginia trip “provided an excellent cap-stone to this course, as it allowed us to reaf-firm our knowledge of the floral terms,learn new species, see a new part of thecountry, and get to know each other better.But what we feel particularly fortunateabout is that it allowed us meet some won-derful people—from a different generation,in a different part of the country, but allsharing a common bond. When it comesdown to it, we’re all Gusties.” G


Class members investigate a large red maple(Acer rubrum).


Fall 2007 � 27

For Andrea Carlile ’07, forensicshas been more than just an extracurricularactivity—it’s been a way to make a differ-ence. Carlile, a member of Gustavus AdolphusCollege’s forensics team for four years whohas amassed a boatload of awards and certifi-cates for her prowess, sees forensics as aforum to discuss issues she is passionateabout. “It’s more than just speaking well; it’sabout conveying a message you believe in,”she says. “It’s about doing good for society.”

Carlile, who is from Chatham, Ill., first be-came interested in forensics because herolder brother was on a team, and when shejoined herself she loved the activity enoughto stay with it through high school and allfour years of college. At first, it was becausespeech was fun, but later Carlile realized justhow valuable the experience could be.Besides learning to speak well, she has devel-oped skills in advocacy, research, and team-work that will be useful in a future career.But most of all, she has learned just how im-portant one speech can be.

This is the reason she enjoys the persua-sive category of speaking: “It provides aforum to talk about things I’m passionateabout, and allows me to make an impact.”Carlile saw this firsthand last year, when shegave a speech on the detrimental effect ofwater privatization, based on her experiencestudying abroad in India. In the speech, sheencouraged listeners to stop buying bottledwater, as that supports water privatization.

At the same tournament this year, organizersprovided small Nalgene bottles for contest-ants rather than the usual bottled water.“One speech for ten minutes can impact a lifeand make a change,” Carlile says.

This year Carlile chose a House bill thatwould require photo identification to vote asthe topic of her persuasive speech, arguingthat the bill (and similar state laws) wouldbe disenfranchising for citizens who, due todisability, age, or place of birth, do not haveany form of government-issued identification.She chose the topic because “it spoke tome—we live in a democracy, but we’re stop-ping people from voting. That’s the biggestcrime to me.” The speech earned Carlile first-place honors in oratory at the MinnesotaCollegiate Forensics Association StateChampionships held in February of 2007 andqualified her for competition at theInterstate Oratorical Association’s NationalContest. The Interstate Contest is the na-tion’s oldest annual public speaking competi-tion, with past speakers including thefounder of the Republican Party and UnitedNations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It’salso Carlile’s favorite tournament. This is thethird time she has qualified for the InterstateContest, making her the first person in 116years of Gustavus forensics to attend thetournament three times—the previousrecord-holder, who attended twice, graduatedduring the 1970s.

Carlile also participated in seven othercategories at the Minnesota Collegiate

Forensics Association State Championships,and competed at the 30th annual AmericanForensics Association National IndividualEvents Tournament (AFA-NIET) with Gustavusteammates on April 6–9. There, she qualifiedfor the quarterfinals in the CommunicationsAnalysis division and was named to the All-America team. Carlile was one of two Gustiesto reach the quarterfinals (the only Gusties inschool history to do so) and she was just thesecond student in Gustavus history to receivethe All-America honor. The Gustavus teamhad 31 entries at the tournament, the mostthey’ve ever had, and earned a top-twentynational ranking for the first time, one ofonly six non-Division I schools to do so.Carlile was also one of ten students namedAll-America by Pi Kappa Delta (a forensicshonor society for undergraduate students),which honors students who excel in commu-nity influence and academics as well asforensics, making her just the secondGustavus student in school history to receivethis award.

Carlile is not sure yet how forensics willfit into her future. Her immediate plans are toattend graduate school to get a master’s de-gree in political science, but her career plansafter that are yet to be determined. No mat-ter what the profession, forensics has provid-ed her with skills in advocacy, research,teamwork, and speaking well, as well as valu-able experience. And, most importantly, ithas allowed Carlile the opportunity to make adifference. G

Awards pile up for College’s most-decorated speakerby Dana Setterholm ’07


“Pretty soon it will be gone.One of the oldest buildingson the Gustavus campus, it

survived all the weather hazards MotherNature dished out for decades. Even theterrible tornado of a few years ago hardlyleft a mark on it. A limited-use facility mostof the year, it really came to life for a fewmonths in the fall, when it was the place tobe for great football games. . . . But there isa chapter in the history of the old stadiumthat few people remember, that for a fewyears it was a kind of dormitory for thirty-some students, most of them athletes onGustie teams.”

C. Eddie Johnson ’42, who wrotethose words, should know—he, and BobHansen ’42 and Vic Gustafson ’42 andMike Nielsen ’42 and around 30 others,were “stadium rats,” living in convertedhandball courts in the “Hilton West” dur-ing their careers at Gustavus.

When the stadium was built in 1929, itincluded three handball courts, a gangshower, a couple of sinks, a couple of toi-lets, and a forced-air furnace under thetiered stands. However, it was never used asan athletic facility. In the mid-’30s, the ad-ministration thought of another use: put ar-tificial ceilings in the courts, bring in beds—about 12 per court—fire up the furnace and


Hidden history: Life in the

‘Hilton West’

by Bob Hansen ’42 and C. Eddie Johnson ’42, as told to Steve Waldhauser ’70

Remember Thy Past

The stadium, circa 1939.

“X” marks the room where BobHansen ’42, C. Eddie Johnson’42, and their roommates lived

from 1938 to 1942.


the plumbing, and rent it out to studentswho needed some financial help. But let the“rats” tell the tale:

Bob Hansen: “[There were] 12–15 ofus to a room. Every two of us shared adresser, and we had a common ‘closet’ atone end of the room. A couple of tablesnear the windows, a few chairs, and our in-dividual cots made up the furniture.”

Johnson: “Some guys found wooden or-ange crates for book cases . . . A variety oflamps came later after a trip home. At oneend of the room there was a long polewhere the fellows hung their clothes. Therewas always plenty of space for this purpose,since sweat shirts and jackets were usuallythe order of the day.”

Hansen: “We had a washroom adjacentto the furnace area [with] toilets, somewash basins, and a gang shower. . . . Thisarea also served as the location for ‘Spook’[Bernard ’39] Atkinson’s barber shop. . . .When Atkinson graduated, he turned hisbarber shop over to Ralph Pernula ’42, wholike Spook was a native of New York Mills.”

Johnson: “The charge per student was$2 a month. Remember that in those daystuition was $75 a semester, and meal ticketswere $9 for $10 worth of tickets, but $2 amonth was still cheap for a room . . . Costof a haircut was 15 cents in meal tickets,and Spook ate well.”

Bob Hansen remembers that, althoughthe men who lived in the stadium were “alot of Swedish American Lutherans” whowere “a cross section of the Upper MiddleWest,” they shared a common desire to get

an education and to take part in athletics atthe college level. “They were also perpetual-ly hungry,” Hansen says. “And poor,” addsfellow rat Mike Nielsen.

“Our parents must have had enoughmoney to do considerable baking,” Hansenremembers, “as we usually had a supply ofcookies, pastries, and other edibles. Sharingwas a cardinal rule. . . . As a group we wereobsessed with food. This frequently led toexcursions into the countryside in search ofwatermelon, cantaloupe, and apples. Welost a promising athlete one night who,while trying to avoid a hostile landowner,ran into a foundation and ended his athleticcareer.”

The stadium was a good distance fromother campus facilities, and the sense of iso-lation was intensified in 1940, when the fa-mous Armistice Day blizzard stranded thestadium occupants for days. But, by andlarge, the memories of life in the stadiumare good ones.

Hansen recalls, “Three of us were con-fined to the stadium on Christmas Day1941, as we had no place to go. A carpulled up and Arne Langsjoen ’42 enteredthe stadium with a complete Christmas din-ner cooked by his mother. What a daybrightener that was! Arne went on to be-come head of the Chemistry Departmentand spent a lifetime at Gustavus. His father,Nels Langsjoen, served as head of theModern Language Department.”

Hansen concludes, “Living in the stadi-um prepared us for what was soon to fol-low, as most of us ended up in military serv-ice in World War II. Military life was a larkfollowing life in the stadium. That experi-ence [also] served us well later in life. . . .Almost all of us graduated and, strangelyenough, ended up in some field of educa-tion as teachers, coaches, or administrators,many very successful.”

As the old stadium becomes anothermemory, there will be a few in the crowd atthe new stadium who will look out andcount themselves fortunate to have livedwith (and in) the old one.

Bob Hansen ’42 retired in 1981 to his lakecabin near Richville, Minn., after a career ascity manager of Madison, Minn. C. EddieJohnson ’42, who retired as public informationofficer for the Minnesota Community Collegesystem, has been class agent for the Class of1942 for more than 45 years.

G

Fall 2007 � 29

Mike “Scooter” Nielsen ’42, GrandRapids, Minn., and “stadium barber”

Ralph Pernula ’42, New York Mills, Minn.(now living in Lancaster, Calif.), standingoutside the entrance to their quarters in

the stadium.

Left: Co-author Bob Hansen ’42 came toGustavus from Thief River Falls, Minn. (henow lives in Richville, Minn.), and roomed

in the stadium for four years.



New stadium will debut with football season opener

Gustavus Adolphus College will begin a new era of Golden Gustie football on Saturday, Sept. 8, when the college’s new football stadium isdedicated and its inaugural game played. A day of events is planned and will include the following:

• an 8 a.m. fun run• an open house from 9 to 11 a.m. at which attendees will be allowed on the field, in the stands, and in the press box• a dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. • a family-friendly tailgating opportunity from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.• a 1 p.m. football game vs. Willamette University.

Construction of the stadium, which is sited west of Lund Center, has proceeded on schedule through the summer months.The new stadium replaces a 78-year-old stadium that was decommissioned at the final home football game in 2006. The new football

stadium and relocation of the football field (Hollingsworth Field) will allow for completion of a “west mall” for new campus academic andresidential facilities.


Fall 20077 � 31

The new stadium’s field is synthetic for long-term and inclement weather use. It is re-cessed below ground level for improvedsightlines and features an earthen berm,which surrounds the entire field and pro-vides additional informal seating. Spectatorsenter the stadium through a visually appeal-ing arched entryway called the “TraditionsPlaza.” The home section of the stadium in-cludes bleacher seating for 2,400 spectatorsand a stadium tower that houses a press boxand presidential suite. A visitors’ seatingsection across the field accommodates 1,000additional fans. The grassy berm area canhold another 1,500.


Sportsnotes

Gustavus has captured the 2006–07 MinnesotaIntercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC)

Women’s All-Sports Award. For the Gustie women, itis their fifth All-Sports Award in the last seven sea-

sons. The traveling trophy is awarded annually tothe institution that accumulates the best all-sportsrecord during the MIAC academic year. St. John’sUniversity won its second consecutive men’s all-sports title and 14th overall championship, whilethe Gustavus men finished third behind theJohnnies and St. Thomas.

The Gustie women edged St. Thomas by onepoint (104–103) to claim the Pat Wiesner Women’sAll-Sports Award. Gustavus captured three team ti-tles and five second-place finishes in 2006–07, win-ning team championships in hockey, swimming anddiving, and tennis and added seconds in volleyball,golf, basketball, outdoor track and field, and soft-ball.

The Gustie men scored 81 points in the race forthe George Durenberger Men’s All-Sports Trophy.Gustavus won or shared MIAC titles in tennis andsoccer and finished second in golf and swimming

and diving. St. John’s finished first with 96.5points and St. Thomas placed second with 83points.

The MIAC All-Sports trophy had its begin-ning in the 1963–64 school year, when BobSchabert, a writer for the St. Paul PioneerPress, began determining men’s all-sports re-sults. The current men’s trophy, the GeorgeDurenberger Trophy, was donated by St.John’s University beginning in the 1972–73school year. On the women’s side, the PatWiesner Trophy was donated by MacalesterCollege beginning in the 1983–84 schoolyear, a year after women’s sports competitionbegan in the MIAC. G

Women win MIAC All-Sports title,Men finish third

The 2007 MIAC championwomen’s tennis team – front row,

from left: Darcy Haubrick, Alison

Utke, Kelsey Brugger, Jennie

Andersen, Jill Bailey, Laura

Arnebeck; middle row: assistant

coach Heidi Rostberg Carlson ’93,

Kristina Kelly, Hannah Frericks,

Haley Prittinen, Lauren Hom, Jenni

White, head coach Jon Carlson ’88;

back row: Lisa Gruenisen, Jaime

Gaard, Alex Burleigh, Jenny Anfelt,

Christine Reimer, Sierra Krebsbach,

Erica Dobson.

The 2007 MIAC championmen’s tennis team – front

row, from left: John Kauss,

Dan Suchy, Andy Bryan, Mike

Burdakin; back row: Jesse

Brauer, Nick Hansen, Charlie

Paukert, Ben Tomasek,

assistant coach Thomas

Valentini, head coach Steve

Wilkinson.



TM

Sports notes

Six Gustavus student-athletes were named to the presti-gious Academic All-America teams administered by the

College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)and sponsored by ESPN The Magazine. The individuals hon-ored were men’s tennis player Andy Bryan (jr., Edina,Minn.), softball player Rachael Click (soph., Rochester,Minn.), hockey player Margaret Dorer (jr., St. Paul, Minn.),cross country runner Hailey Harren (sr., Cold Spring,Minn.), hurdler Tanner Miest (sr., Willmar, Minn.), and

cross country and track com-petitor Alex Zupan (sr.,Monona, Wis.).

Bryan, an all-conferenceand All-America performer whoplayed #1 singles and #1 dou-bles on the men’s tennis team,maintains a 3.80 GPA with amajor in biology.

Click, an all-conferenceand all-region shortstop onthe softball team, maintains a3.85 GPA with a major in ele-mentary education.

Dorer, an all-conference and All-America defensemanon the hockey team, maintains a 3.85 GPA with majors inScandinavian studies and psychology.

Harren, a two-time All-America selection and 2006 NCAA

champion in cross country,earned Academic All-Americahonors for the second consecu-tive year. She graduated with a3.80 GPA with majors in politicalscience and financial economics.

Miest (photo on p.35), athree-time MIAC champion inthe 110-meter hurdles and anAll-America selection in 2006,graduated with a 3.96 GPA inbiology.

Zupan, a two-time all-con-ference performer in both crosscountry and track and field,graduated with a 4.0 GPA withmajors in mathematics andmusic.

Gustavus now ranks 14thamong the more than 700 in-stitutions in the CollegeDivision of the Academic All-America program (NCAADivision II, NCAA Division III,and NAIA) in number ofAcademic All-Americans with64. G

by Tim Kennedy ’82

Baseball – Coach Mike Carroll’s squad finished fourth in the MIACregular-season standings with a record of 14–6 and qualified for theMIAC post-season tournament. The Gusties fell to St. Olaf (9–3) andSt. John’s (4–3) at the tournament and ended the year with an overallmark of 21–15. Four players were named to the all-conference team:third baseman Tony Konicek (sr., Rochester, Minn.), shortstop MikeDesLauriers (soph., Minnetonka, Minn.), second baseman Nate Ruff(soph., Bloomington, Minn.), and first baseman Pat Siering (jr., EdenPrairie, Minn.). Konicek and DesLauriers also received All-MidwestRegion honors.

Softball – The Gusties finished second in the MIAC regular-seasonstandings with a record of 20–2 and received a bid to participate inthe NCAA tournament for only the second time in the program’s

history. Coach Jeff Annis’s squad participated in the seven-team NCAACentral Regional in Decorah, Iowa. Gustavus, which finished with anoverall record of 32–10, won one game and lost two to finish fifth outof seven teams at the regional. The squad shattered several schoolrecords, including wins in a season (32), home runs in a season (37),runs scored (268), and hits (356). Four players were named to the all-conference team: pitcher Joyce DeWitz (sr., Good Thunder, Minn.),catcher Abby Bernstein (sr., St. Paul, Minn.), second baseman JulieMahre (jr., White Bear Lake, Minn.), and shortstop Rachael Click(soph., Rochester, Minn.). DeWitz, Mahre, Click, and centerfielder EmilyKlein (soph., Red Wing, Minn.) were also named to the All-MidwestRegion team.

Men’s Tennis – Coach Steve Wilkinson’s squad claimed its 19thconsecutive MIAC championship by posting a perfect 9–0 mark during

Spring Sports Summary

Andy Bryan

Rachael Click Hailey Harren

Margaret DorerAlex Zupan

Six named to CoSIDA Academic All-America teams

Fall 2007 � 33



TM

regular-season play. The Gusties then went on to win the MIAC post-season tournament and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA teamchampionship. Gustavus posted NCAA regional tournament wins overLuther (6–1) and UW-Whitewater (6–0) to advance to the NCAAfinals. At the finals, the Gusties defeated Williams College (5–4) in thequarterfinals, but then lost to eventual champion UC-Santa Cruz (5–0)in the semifinals, and Middlebury College (5–1) in the third-placematch to finish fourth nationally. Wilkinson’s squad finished with anoverall mark of 27–10. The Gusties’ win over Williams at the NCAAtournament was the 1,000th victory in the program’s history.

Women’s Tennis – The Gusties claimed their 16th consecutive

MIAC championship with a perfect 10–0 record during regular-seasonplay. Coach Jon Carlson’s squad then went on to win the MIAC post-season tournament and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA teamchampionship. Gustavus posted NCAA regional tournament wins overCoe College (5–0) and Carthage College (5–1) to advance to the NCAAfinals. The Gusties fell to Amherst College 5–4 in the quarterfinals ofthe NCAA finals to finish in a tie for fifth nationally with an overallrecord of 26–6. Lauren Hom (sr., Stevens Point, Wis.) and SierraKrebsbach (fy., North Oaks, Minn.) were both selected to take part inthe NCAA singles and doubles tournaments. Hom and Krebsbach bothlost in the first round in singles, but rebounded to win a first-roundmatch in doubles before being knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Men’s Golf – The Gusties saw their string of 22 consecutiveappearances in the NCAA championships come to an end when they

Members of the Gustavus AdolphusCollege women’s golf team show off

their hardware after placing third in the

nation at the NCAA Division III Women’s

Golf Tournament. Pictured from left are

Coach Scott Moe ’95, Rachel Roberg, Kali

Griggs, Breanne Staples, Amanda

Johnson, and Kimbra Kosak.


Sports notes

Spring Sports SummaryContinued from previous page

T he Gustavus men’s and women’s athletic teams combined to score633.5 points and finished 11th out of 435 competing NCAA

Division III institutions in the 2006–07 Directors’ Cup standings. TheDirectors’ Cup competition is sponsored by the National Association ofCollegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the United States SportsAcademy.

Williams College (Mass.) won the Division III title for an 11th con-secutive year with a total of 1,137.5 points. The Directors’ Cup, whichis the only all-sports competition in intercollegiate athletics, is award-ed to four-year institutions in the NCAA and NAIA with the best overallathletic programs. In Division III,standings are based on national tour-nament finishes in 25 sports, withpoints awarded based on the numberof teams participating in each specificnational championship.

Gustavus recorded national finishesin 11 sports, including women’s golf(3rd, for 85 points), men’s tennis (4th,83), women’s ice hockey (5th, 25),women’s tennis (5th, 73), men’s swim-

ming (5th, 75), men’s soccer (17th, 50), women’s outdoor track andfield (28th, 44), men’s indoor track and field (28th, 43.5), women’sswimming (30th, 44), women’s basketball (33rd, 25) and softball(33rd, 25).

Gustavus is one of only seven institutions in Division III that havefinished in the top 11 in the Directors’ Cup Standing in five of the pastsix years (Williams, College of New Jersey, Emory, Gustavus, Middlebury,UW-La Crosse, and Washington University). Gustavus is also the onlyschool from the MIAC to place in the top 20 in 2007. G

Gustavus 11th in 2006–07 NACDA Directors’ Cupstandings


Gustavus Adolphus College student-athletes Nicole Gergen (gymnas-

tics) and Tanner Miest (track and field)have both been named NCAAPostgraduate Scholarship winners.Gergen, a spring graduate fromHastings, Minn., and Miest, a springgraduate from Willmar, Minn., will re-ceive $7,500 scholarships to pursuegraduate study at the institutions oftheir choice.

Since the start of the 2003–04 aca-demic year, Gustavus ranks third for themost postgraduate scholars among allNCAA schools (Division I, II, III). Emory has the most postgraduatescholars with 22, followed by Stanford with 19 and Gustavus with 12.Gergen and Miest are the 21st and 22nd Gustavus student-athletes toreceive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in the history of the pro-gram and the third and fourth this academic year, following HaileyHarren (women’s cross country) and Alex Zupan (men’s cross country).

Gergen, a native of Hastings, Minn., finished 11th on the balancebeam and 29th on the floor exercise at the National CollegiateGymnastics Association Championships in March, earning Second TeamAll-America honors on the beam. A three-time qualifier for the NCGADivision III Championships on both the balance beam and floor exer-cise, Gergen finished eighth on the floor at the 2005 national meet andrecorded the fourth-highest floor exercise score in school history witha 9.75 at the 2004 national meet. She was also recognized three timeson the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Scholastic Honor

Roll. A chemistry major enrolled in thepre-medicine program at Gustavus,Gergen graduated with a 3.81 cumula-tive GPA. She will attend medical schoolat the University of Minnesota next fall.

Miest, a native of Willmar, Minn.,was a three-time MIAC champion in the110 high hurdles (2005, 2006,2007). He finished first in the 110 hur-dles in five of seven meets this seasonand 11 of 14 over the past two seasons.Miest placed 13th at the 2007 NCAADivision III Outdoor Track and FieldChampionships after earning All-America

honors with an eighth-place finish in 2006. He also earned 2007 MIACOutstanding Performance of the Meet honors for winning the 110 hur-dles in a time of 14.58. Miest holds the school record in the 110 hur-dles at 14.53 seconds. A biology major enrolled in the pre-medicineprogram at Gustavus, Miest graduated with a 3.97 GPA. He has beenadmitted into the M.D./Ph.D. program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

To qualify for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athletemust have an overall GPA of at least 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or itsequivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member ofthe varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nomi-nated. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic workbeyond the baccalaureate degree as a graduate student. G

Nicole Gergen

Gergen, Miest named NCAA PostgraduateScholarship winners

failed to receive an at-large bid to the national tournament. CoachScott Moe’s squad played in four tournaments in the spring season andits top effort was a second-place finish (out of 16 teams) at the BobbyKrig Invitational. A.J. Olson (fy., White Bear Lake, Minn.) was namedthe Freshman of the Year in the MIAC. Erik Tone (sr., Willmar, Minn.),Mark Stuckey (jr., St. Peter, Minn.), and Jordan Hawkinson (jr., ChisagoLakes, Minn.) were honored as All-America Scholars by the GolfCoaches Association.

Women’s Golf – The women’s golf team completed a strongspring season with a third-place finish at the NCAA championships,which were played in Orlando, Fla. Coach Scott Moe’s squad finishedsecond at the Carleton Invitational and the Minnesota Women’sCollegiate Golf Association (MWCGA) State Tournament, and won dualmatches against Webber International and St. Olaf before finishing at

the national tournament. Kimbra Kosak (soph., Grand Rapids, Minn.)finished fifth individually at the NCAA championships to pace theGusties. Two players received awards from the MWCGA—Rachel Roberg(jr., Rice Lake, Wis.), who was named Player of the Year, and KaliGriggs (fy., Burnsville, Minn.), who was named Freshman of the Year.

Men’s Track and Field – The Gusties finished third at theMIAC outdoor championships, which were held at St. John’s University.Four individuals won event titles, including Drew Hood (jr., Mankato,Minn.) in the pole vault, Andy Klaers (sr., Loretto, Minn.) in the ham-mer throw, Alex Zupan (sr., Monona, Wis.) in the 3,000-meter steeple-chase, and Tanner Miest (sr., Willmar, Minn.) in the 110-meter hurdles.Klaers went on to place fifth in the discus at the NCAA championships,held in Oshkosh, Wis., while Miest placed 13th in the hurdles.

TM

Sports notes

Fall 2007 � 35


Tanner Miest


Ten awarded All-America honors in spring sports

A very productive spring sportsseason that saw the men’s ten-

nis team, the women’s tennis team,the softball team, the women’s golfteam, and both the men’s andwomen’s track and field teams partic-ipate in NCAA championship eventsled to an impressive group of ten in-dividuals receiving All-America hon-ors. This special group includes AndyKlaers (men’s track and field), SariLindeman and Lisa Brown (women’strack and field), Lauren Hom andSierra Krebsbach (women’s tennis),Andy Bryan and Jesse Brauer (men’stennis), Breanne Staples and RachelRoberg (women’s golf), and TonyKonicek (baseball). More than 500athletes (505 to be exact!) repre-senting the Gustavus athletic pro-gram have now received All-Americarecognition since 1937, when foot-ball player Wendell Butcher was thefirst Gustie to be honored.

Andy Klaers (sr., Loretto, Minn.)finished fifth at the NCAA champion-ships in the discus. Klaers is a two-time All-America selection.

Sari Lindeman (jr., Cannon Falls,Minn.) finished eighth in the triplejump at the NCAA championships.Lindeman received All-America hon-ors for the first time.

Lisa Brown (soph., Lake Crystal,Minn.) finished second in the javelinat the NCAA championships. Brown isa two-time All-America selection.

Lauren Hom (sr., Stevens Point,Wis.) and Sierra Krebsbach (fy., NorthOaks, Minn.) advanced to the quarter-finals of the NCAA women’s doubleschampionship. Hom was honored forthe fourth consecutive year, whileKrebsbach was honored for the firsttime.

Andy Bryan (jr., Edina, Minn.;photo p.33) and Jesse Brauer (sr.,Mankato, Minn.) advanced to thequarterfinals of the NCAA men’s dou-bles championship. Bryan and Brauerare both two-time All-America selec-tions.

Breanne Staples (sr., Windom,Minn.) played the #2 position for the#2-ranked Gustie golf team all seasonand received All-America honors byvirtue of a vote of the National GolfCoaches Association. Staples is a first-time All-America selection.

Rachel Roberg (jr., Rice Lake, Wis.)played the #1 position for the #2-ranked Gusties all season and receivedAll-America honors by virtue of a voteof the National Golf Coaches Association. Roberg is a first-time All-America recipient.

Tony Konicek (sr., Rochester, Minn.; photo p. 37)played third base for the baseball team and led the squadin hitting for the second straight year. He was selected bya vote of the American Baseball Coaches Association.Konicek, who was also a first-team selection last year, isthe first Gustavus baseball player to receive All-Americahonors in multiple years. G

TM

Women’s Track and Field – Coach Tom Thorkelson’s squadposted a strong second-place finish at the MIAC championships. TheGusties, who were in first place after the first day of the two-daycompetition, had four individuals win event titles: Ashley Clemens (sr.,

Appleton, Minn.) in the discus, Sari Lindeman (jr., Cannon Falls,Minn.) in the long jump, Lisa Brown (soph., Lake Crystal, Minn.) in thejavelin, and Janna Castellano (sr., Blaine, Minn.) in the polevault. Brown went on to finish second in the javelin, Lindeman eighthin the triple jump, and Castellano 18th in the pole vault at the NCAAchampionships, which were held in Oshkosh, Wis.


Sports notes

Spring Sports SummaryContinued from previous page

Andy Klaers

Sari Lindeman

Lisa Brown

Lauren Hom

Sierra Krebsbach

Jesse Brauer

Breanne Staples

Rachel Roberg


TM

Sports notes

Fall 2007 � 37

Hailey Harren (photo on p. 33), a senior cross country runner atGustavus, has been named the College Sporting News website’s

MIAC Senior Female Student Athlete of the Year for the 2006–07 schoolyear. Kirby Carr, a football and baseball player at Bethel, was namedthe Men’s Student Athlete of the Year. Harren is the first student-ath-lete from Gustavus to receive this award.

A selection committee comprising coaches, administrators, and for-mer MIAC athletes chose Harren and Carr from a group of 23 seniorsnominated by the schools. They were honored for excellence on theplaying field, coupled with superior academic performance and involve-ment in community service. This is the second year that College SportingNews has selected a Senior Student-Athlete of the Year from the MIAC.

Harren, a native of Cold Spring, Minn., finished eighth at the NCAADivision III Cross Country Championships last fall after winning the na-tional individual title in 2005. She claimed the MinnesotaIntercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Central Region individualtitles this past fall and was named both the MIAC and NCAA CentralRegion Runner of the Year. A political science and financial economicsdouble major, Harren has compiled a 3.80 cumulative grade point aver-age. Harren has also been very active in the community, working as aStudy Buddy at a local elementary school and visiting local nursinghomes as a part of the Elders program. G

Harren named MIAC Senior Female Student-Athlete ofthe Year by the College Sporting News website

F or a second consecutive season,Gustavus Adolphus College third

baseman Tony Konicek (sr., Rochester,Minn.) has claimed conference, regional,and national honors for his baseballprowess. He received the Max MolockAward as the Most Valuable Player inMIAC baseball for the second consecu-tive year, was honored as the MidwestRegion Position Player of the Year by theNational Collegiate Baseball WritersAssociation (NCBWA) for the second yearin a row, and was also named for a sec-

ond time to the NCAA Division III All-America First Team by theAmerican Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

A three-time All-MIAC selection, Konicek made the transition fromcenter field to third base midway through the 2007 season. He led theleague in hits (38), RBI (38), and slugging percentage (.986), and fin-ished second in batting average (.535). Konicek also added 25 runsscored, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, and 12 walks in 20 MIACgames.

Konicek finished as the Gustavus career leader in batting average(.440), hits (228), triples (12), RBI (178), and runs scored (135, tie)and ranks second all-time in home runs (31), doubles (53), and at-bats(518). He is Gustavus’s single-season record-holder in at-bats (171 in2004) and hits (74 in 2004) and has posted the top three marks forRBI (55 in 2007, 54 in 2004, and 48 in 2006).

Konicek is only the fourth player to be named the league’s MVPtwice and he is the first player from Gustavus to receive the honor inmultiple years. G

Tony Konicek

Konicek honored for second straight season

Tom Thorkelson ’70, head coach of the Gustavus women’s track and field team, has been selected as the MinnesotaIntercollegiate Athletic Conference’s 2007 Coach of the Year for women’s outdoor track and field. This is the sec-

ond consecutive year that Thorkelson has been chosen by his peers to receive this prestigious award.Thorkelson directed the Gustavus women to a second-place finish at the MIAC outdoor championships. Four

Gusties won individual event titles and 12 others received all-conference honors by virtue of placing in the top threein their events. Thorkelson, who has directed both the men’s and women’s track and field teams for the past nineyears, has led the women’s program to second-place finishes in each of the past three seasons. G

Thorkelson repeats as MIAC Coach of theYear in women’s track and field

Tom Thorkelson ’70



The Gustavus Fund is pleased to announce theGreater Gustavus Fund challenge grant for

2007–08. In May, the Greater Gustavus FundBoard of Trustees approved a $50,000 challengegrant for unrestricted gifts of $1,000 and aboveto the Gustavus Fund made during the2007–08 fiscal year, ending May 31, 2008.

The Greater Gustavus Fund has been a long-time supporter of the College. Since its incep-tion in 1927, the Greater Gustavus Fund has

made gifts totaling over $3 million for numerous projects.Here’s how the grant works: The Greater Gustavus Fund challenge

grant will match new and increased gifts at a 1:1 ratio. The challengegrant emphasizes acquisition of new donors who make an initial gift of$1,000 or more, and donors who increase their giving to the$1,000–$4,999 (Ren Anderson Society) or $5,000+ (President’s Circle)levels.

“The Greater Gustavus Fund wants to support significant unrestrict-ed giving to the College,” says Rob Linner ’74, president of the GreaterGustavus Fund. “We are in the business of making gifts that not onlysupport the College but also help donors think about their personalgiving in a more significant way.”

“Not only will this grant generate new revenue, but it helps us cre-ate a culture of philanthropy that celebrates habitual and significant

giving to the Gustavus Fund,” states Teresa Harland ’94, associate vicepresident for advancement.

Help the College meet and exceed the $50,000 challenge grant for2007–08 by leveraging your Gustavus Fund gift! Go online togustavus.edu/giving, call the College at 866/487-3863, or mail yoursignificant gift. Make your gift now! G

Gustavus Fund announces challenge grant

Legacy

Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundationleadership grant supportsarboretum prairie restoration

G ustavus is pleased to announce a matching grant of $200,000from the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation in St. Peter to help

restore a 70-acre prairie in an undeveloped area of LinnaeusArboretum.

The restoration of a 70-acre parcel due west of the currently devel-oped arboretum will provide a prairie that is larger than other restora-tions in the region (Kasota, Ottawa). It also will increase both the na-ture and extent of outreach activities, educational opportunities for

Gustavus faculty and students, and ecological diversityand conservation, thereby expanding upon the long-standing commitment of the Linnaeus Arboretum toserve both on- and off-campus constituencies.

Given the extreme loss of prairie in the southern andwestern portions of the state, restoring a large prairietract in the arboretum not only serves as an educational,recreational, and historical linkage for people of allages, but also is an act of good stewardship that, amongother things, will promote ecological diversity and pro-vide erosion control, nutrient cycling, and water purifi-cation.

Carl Schmidt ’25 was a Gustavus graduate who wasvery interested in projects relating to conservation. Heand the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation have had along history of involvement in and support of theLinnaeus Arboretum.

This leadership award and the restoration project arepart of a new vision for the arboretum that views theentire campus as a natural space for education. Thisnew, integrated plan includes the proposed prairierestoration, the development of the south and westmalls on campus, enhancement of the hardwood andconiferous forests of the arboretum, and endowment ofthe naturalist program. G

Class of 1957 Reunion Class GiftPresident Jim Peterson ’64 accepted the Class of 1957 reunion class gift of$631,115 during Reunion Weekend. The class’s reunion committees of class gift,communication, and event generated, respectively, their class gift, 10 classletters, and 40 percent reunion attendance. Pictured from left are class gift co-chair Roger Anderson ’57, Susan Pepin Peterson ’65, class gift co-chair JudyLund Erdman ’57, and Jim Peterson ’64.


Fall 2007 � 39

Gustavus Library Associates anda cadre of enthusiastic volun-

teers are busy preparing for yet an-other significant fundraising event,the widely anticipated biennialRoyal Affair to benefit FolkeBernadotte Memorial Library.

As a guest at a family reuniontwo summers ago, Susan EngelsmaWilcox ’73 was listening to theSteele family, entertainers for theevening, when the idea hit her,“Why not expand our entertainmentfor the next Royal Affair from theSteele sisters, Jearlyn and Jevetta,to include the entire Steele family and celebrate the Gustavus familyconnection.”

And that’s how it will be at Razzle Dazzle • A Royal Affair, sayWilcox and Nacia Dahl ’92, co-chairs of the

2007 event, scheduled for Saturday,October 27, at the Sheraton

Bloomington Hotel inBloomington, Minn.

The concept of theGustavus family ex-tends beyond thepurely literal defini-tion of family to in-

clude alumni, parents,extended family, friends,

and friends of friends whoknow and love the College.

Whether you are a family of one or many in number, you are importantto us. That’s why an underlying family theme for the October RoyalAffair seems fitting and a reason to celebrate.

It seems only appropriate then that we designate a family as hon-orary chairs. Exemplifying a generational family of Gustavus is that ofJohn and Mignette (Anderson ’50) Najarian. Grandparents, parents, andchildren all share in support of the College. And their involvement withthe design and production of each Royal Affair through the years islegendary. At almost every Royal Affair, Mignette’s famous baklava hasbrought a king’s ransom from the top bidder. Her sons could usually befound effortlessly lifting and toting—whether items from her store-rooms or auction items for display. And, in recent years, Dr. John couldbe observed rehearsing his lines for his role as emcee or auctioneer forthe event. Whatever the call, this family answered.

Join with the Najarian and Steele families in celebration of yet an-other library benefit gala, Razzle Dazzle • A Royal Affair.

A Royal Affair will indeed be a family affair . . .

The John and Mignette (Anderson ’50) Najarian family, honorary chairs of the 2007 A Royal Affair.

Volunteer opportunitiesThere are still opportunities for anyone who wishes to volunteer to help with the party.

To donate auction items, contributefinancially, or for tickets and/or information,call the Gustavus Office of College Relations,

507/933-7520. Watch the website,gustavus.edu/gla, for posting of online auction items, too.

Centennial class gives nearly $1.8 million to the CollegeBen Leadholm ’62 (right), representing the CentennialClass of 1962, presented a check for $1,796,363 toPresident Jim Peterson ’64 on behalf of his classmatesas they celebrated their 45th anniversary reunion oncampus in May. Co-chairs of the class gift committeewere Sandy Luedtke Buendorf ’62, Jan EiffertHoomani ’62, and Leadholm. The class’s reunioncommittee generated their class gift (a total as of May31,2007, of $546,390, with cumulative GustavusHeritage Partnership commitments of $1,298,111), sixclass letters, and 38 percent reunion attendance.



Legacy

by Randall Stuckey ’83 and Tom Young ’88

Younger alumni of the College are proving that it’s possible to assistin enabling others to afford the cost of a college education while

raising their own families and realizing their own goals and priorities.Here are two great examples.

Annual Alumni Fund giving has been an important part of BradSomero’s lifestyle since his graduation in 1983. After marrying hiswife, Paige, in 1998, it became part of their lifestyle together. “Givingback is important to us,” says Paige. “Brad and I believe the Lord hasblessed us and we wish to return his blessings.”

After the birth of their daughter, Madison, in 1999, they began tothink deeply about the future, and that led to a discussion about thepast. Brad and Paige wanted to do more for Gustavus and give aboveand beyond their regular Annual Fund giving. About three years afterthe birth of their son, Caleb, Brad and Paige started an endowed schol-arship in their name to enable students of high ability and need attendGustavus. “With our scholarship, we hope to educate and motivate othersto do the same, especially the Class of 1983, for our 25th class reunion.”

“I benefited so much from my time at Gustavus,” says Brad, “got agreat education, sang in a great college choir, established lifelong rela-tionships, and developed a sense of family and connectedness—allthese things have helped me to this day. The liberal arts educationhelped me learn to experience and appreciate a variety of things lead-ing to lifelong growth.”

“A good deal of my tuition was paid with scholarships and grants,”says Brad. “Paige is the economist and has made it possible for us togive.” Knowing the value of time and compounding, the Someros start-ed their scholarship with an initial gift and add to it each year.

Disbursement of the funds willbegin when the fund reaches$25,000.

In addition to their annualand scholarship giving, Bradserves the College as co-classagent for his class and is co-chapter agent in Phoenix. Bradand Paige are active in theirchurch, Esperanza LutheranChurch, with Brad serving ascouncil president, leading com-mittees, and singing in the choir,while Paige and their childrenperform in musicals and choirs.

Brian Bowers ’87 grew up ona farm in southern Minnesota. He

enjoyed great teachers,but the class offerings athis smaller school werenot as extensive as somelarger schools. EnteringGustavus in the fall of1983, he focused onbusiness, economics, andpolitical science. He cred-its his Gustavus instruc-tors for the extra timeand energy they gave toenable him to developas a student. With theirhelp he secured a double major in accounting and political science.

He leveraged the education and friendships he developed atGustavus to excel in business. Together with Wade Davis ’88, hefounded Financial Recovery Services, Inc. (FRS), in Edina, Minn., whichhas grown to be a nationally recognized leader in the debt collectionservices field.

“I recognize the role that my four years at Gustavus plays in my lifeand the lives of those around me,” he says. “It gives me great joy to beable to help others attend Gustavus, and especially to support thosewith rural backgrounds to have an opportunity for a great educationlike I did.”

Brian has established an endowed scholarship that provides annualfinancial support for students from southern Minnesota for whom fi-nancial aid is essential in order to permit them to attend Gustavus. Hisscholarship, together with many others, is a piece of the financialbackbone of the College.

“What is more important than education and giving?” Brian asks.“This scholarship enables me to do both at the same time. I encourageeveryone who is passionate about what Gustavus offers to consider fo-cusing their philanthropic investments there for the students of the fu-ture.”

Why not make the “gift of Gustavus” one of your philanthropic pri-orities? The success of Gustavus has been and will always be anchoredby the generous support of its alumni and friends.

If you wish to join Brian Bowers and the Someros in providingscholarship support to today’s Gustavus students, please call the Officeof Institutional Advancement at 800/726-6192 and ask to speak toTeresa Harland ’94.

Co-author Randall Stuckey ’83, who interviewed classmate Brad Somero’83 for this article, is director of alumni relations at Gustavus. TomYoung ’88, who contributed the profile of Brian Bowers ’87, has been agift planner for the College since 2005.

G

Younger alumni establish scholarships in gratitude

Brad ’83 and Paige Somero

Brian Bowers ’87


Gustavus Adolphus College

Fall 2007 � 41

Seniors meet 50th-anniversary class challengeSeven members of the Class of 1957 challenged the Class of 2007 to up their seniorclass gift with a matching gift up to $1,000. The 2007 seniors responded with aclass gift total of $3,776.21 ($4,776.21 with the Class of ’57’s addition). Picturedwith the 2007 senior class gift committee are the seven alumni from the 50th-anniversary class: front row from left – Travis Michelson ’07, Judy Lund Erdman’57, Tommy Elton ’07, Megan Tepper ’07, Roger Anderson ’57, Erica Brown ’07,Chris Skordahl ’07; middle row – Nancy Reiter Grimes ’57, Kara Knutson ’07,Marlys Mattson Nelson ’57; back row – Clem Nelson ’57, Vada Peterson Carlson’57, Dennis Carlson ’57.

ONLINE information, resources, ideasHave you looked at the “Giving to Gustavus” website lately?

Just enter gustavus.edu/giving. The list of resources includes:

� Staff to contact for personal assistance� Secure online giving and other electronic giving options.� Matching gift database—will your company match your gift?� Information on giving stock and other appreciated assets� Suggestions on giving for scholarships, both annual and endowed� Planned and estate giving resources—everything you need at

gustavus.edu/giving/plannedgiving/index.cfm� Recommended language for including Gustavus in a will or estate plan� Financial and estate planning ideas, and gifts that pay you (with a “gift

calculator” to help your planning)� E-brochures on planned gifts, wills, estate planning, to study on your own

or to take to your financial adviser� The Honor Roll of Donors, at gustavus.edu/giving/honorroll.

Honor Roll of DonorsIf you haven’t had a chance

to find yourself online, please go togustavus.edu/giving/honorroll to check out

the 2006–2007 Honor Roll of Donors. The honorroll recognizes those who made gifts to

Gustavus between June 1, 2006, and May 31,2007. To find your name or check out yourclass results, just point and click from your

home or office computer. For those who do nothave access to a computer, you may call toll-free 866/487-3863 to receive a copy in themail (supplies are limited). To be included inthe 2007–2008 Honor Roll of Donors, go to

https://secure.gustavus.edu/giving/giving.cfm

to make a gift online, or call 800/726-6192 by May 31, 2008.



Legacy

% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)2006 81 11.6% $2,477.56 Eckman/Forbes/Olson/Parks/Peterson/Swenson2005 76 11.8% $4,993.01 Hansen/Lewis/Michaletz/Neitzke/Nelson/Shipley2004 89 14.3% $4,840.01 Frie/Michael/Nelson/Williams2003 109 17.1% $10,199.81 Bakke/Beer/Gusenius/Wilcox2002 105 16.5% $14,723.56 Katherine Oleson and Karen Warkentien2001 101 18.1% $5,902.32 Hal DeLaRosby and Cassie Larson2000 105 17.6% $9,752.50 Corey Bartlett and Bonnie Dahlke1999 87 15.5% $15,751.76 Phil Eidsvold and Jesse Torgerson1998 94 17.9% $13,011.01 Dobosenski/Halverson/Peterson1997 140 24.7% $16,796.07 LeVesque-Piela/Peterson/Swanson/TuckerTotal 987 16.5% $98,447.61

% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)1996 132 25.3% $17,863.54 Shawn Mayfield and Allie Newman1995 128 24.4% $15,600.43 Sara Tollefson Currell and Amy Seidel1994 125 26.2% $38,455.55 Munsterman/Ripken/Zinsli1993 127 25.6% $12,251.00 Craig Anderson and Kris Lamont1992 182 34.7% $19,945.30 Annie Marshall1991 148 25.2% $37,532.82 Kim Osland1990 123 23.8% $18,835.28 Batz/Michel/Miller/Nelson1989 108 21.1% $30,152.50 Anderson/Dueber/Mocchi1988 112 23.3% $93,335.99 Ericson/Hagen/Pieper/Quackenbush1987 151 37.3% $67,508.94 Fahrenz/Harstad/Koch/PearseTotal 1336 26.7% $351,481.35

% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)1986 149 30.9% $20,353.94 Batz/Meyers/Murray/Rekow1985 114 25.2% $30,485.00 Susan Chwalek1984 149 29.8% $115,506.22 Carole Arwidson and Ken Ericson1983 167 33.2% $80,909.54 Brad Somero and Karin Stone1982 171 36.7% $129,963.61 Anderson/Olson/Wasson1981 166 36.2% $63,004.52 Steve Heim and Leslie Nielsen1980 171 35.7% $89,238.26 Steve Sayre and Kent Stone1979 121 27.4% $59,393.171978 125 29.5% $19,806.50 Mike Stanch1977 135 31.3% $51,047.50 Al Behrends and Terri DeleboTotal 1468 31.6% $659,708.26

% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)1976 132 32.0% $59,419.56 Ginny Leppart and Bruce Olson1975 130 33.5% $121,680.80 Paul Heckt1974 98 29.6% $128,335.00 Rob Linner and Jan Michaletz1973 135 32.9% $49,122.25 Matt Peterson1972 127 33.8% $28,768.69 Todd Dokken and Melanie Thornberg1971 116 31.2% $26,977.05 Bruce Johnson1970 119 37.3% $44,473.90 Karol Greupner and Lindy Purdy1969 151 40.5% $80,052.17 Dave and Jane Leitzman1968 139 40.8% $26,155.00 John and Kris Moorhead, Paula Navarro1967 101 45.3% $75,825.79Total 1248 35.7% $640,810.21

Firs

t Dec

ade

(199

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Seco

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% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)1966 106 43.6% $57,178.53 Engman/Ramseth/Slinde1965 116 47.2% $28,230.09 Bev Hedeen and Elaine Stenman1964 139 58.2% $44,087.85 Linda Hallman and Joanna Swanson1963 154 62.1% $65,315.00 William Lahti and Paul Tillquist1962 150 62.5% $492,700.36 Buendorf/Hoomani/Leadholm1961 134 65.1% $67,524.39 Virgene Sehlin1960 145 65.6% $105,079.20 Dennis Johnson1959 132 61.7% $54,087.50 Carol Heyl1958 126 67.4% $38,035.72 Owen Sammelson1957 143 79.0% $118,843.94 Nancy Grimes, Clem and Marlys NelsonTotal 1345 61.2% $1,071,082.58

% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)1956 106 65.0% $62,343.02 Carolyn Brusseau and JoAnn Lundborg1955 97 68.8% $91,231.13 Dick DeRemee1954 91 65.0% $29,380.09 Forrest Chaffee and Helen Hokenson1953 103 58.2% $48,071.77 Thomas Boman and Marv Larson1952 96 62.3% $32,515.79 Barb Krig1951 142 60.7% $85,210.86 Dorothy Lutz1950 123 67.2% $128,280.54 Gloria Benson1949 79 56.8% $18,630.00 Peter Erickson1948 38 48.1% $23,710.00 Lorrie Leaf1947 29 50.0% $11,880.12 Bob WiemanTotal 904 60.2% $531,253.21

% Alumni Class Donors Part. Fund Class Agent(s)1946 36 54.6% $135,661.61 Arlene Higgins1945 34 72.3% $6,072.501944 23 53.5% $2,007.861943 57 78.1% $9,286.50 Elmer Anderson and S.Bernhard Erling1942 33 51.6% $1,171,291.79 C. Eddie Johnson1941 24 58.5% $18,931.00 Charles Lusk1940 14 46.7% $11,941.00 Carl Lofgren and Evelyn Pearson1939 13 61.9% $4,527.50 Carl and Miriam Manfred1938 9 56.3% $72,217.45 Frank Gamelin1937 8 42.1% $22,932.45 Frank Gamelin1936 0 0.0% $0.001935 6 66.7% $2,675.001934 5 62.5% $53,035.001933 2 66.7% $430.00 Ruth Larson1932 1 16.7% $0.001931 0 0.0% $0.001930 2 40.0% $6,195.00 Hildur Anderson Swenson1929 1 33.3% $100.001928 1 33.3% $0.00Total 269 47.1% $1,517,304.66

Four

th D

ecad

e (1

967–

1976

)Fifth Decade (1957–1966)

Sixth Decade (1947–1956)Seventh and Eighth Decades

2006–2007 Alumni Fund reportResults through May 31, 2007.To make your 2007–2008 gift, go online to gustavus.edu or call 866/487-3863 prior to May 31, 2008.


Fall 2007 � 43

Gustavus Adolphus College

Ren Anderson ’34 was a creative leaderand administrator in the development ofGustavus. He launched the first AlumniFund in 1954, the initial phone campaignin 1959, and the G-1000 program in1966.

Total Dollars – Ren Anderson AwardDecade Class Year AmountFirst (1997–2006) 1997 $16,796

Second (1987–1996) 1988 $93,336

Third (1977–1986) 1982 $129,964

Fourth (1967–1976) 1974 $128,335

Fifth (1957–1966) 1962 $492,700

Sixth (1947–1956) 1950 $128,281

Seventh & Eighth (1928-1946) 1942 $1,171,292

Decade Leaders Cecil Eckhoff ’56 retired from Gustavusin 1994 after serving 31 years as head ofalumni affairs. With his high energy, en-thusiasm, and love for the College, he ledGustavus to national recognition for per-centage of participation in alumni giving.

Number of Donors – Cec Eckhoff AwardDecade Class Year NumberFirst (1997–2006) 1997 140

Second (1987-1996) 1992 182

Third (1977–1986) 1980 & 1982 (tie) 171

Fourth (1967–1976) 1969 151

Fifth (1957–1966) 1963 154

Sixth (1947–1956) 1951 142

Seventh & Eighth (1928-1946) 1943 57

Participation Percentage – Cec Eckhoff AwardDecade Class Year PercentageFirst (1997–2006) 1997 24.7

Second (1987–1996) 1987 37.3

Third (1977–1986) 1982 36.7

Fourth (1967–1976) 1967 45.3

Fifth (1957–1966) 1957 79.0

Sixth (1947–1956) 1955 68.8

Seventh & Eighth (1928–1946) 1943 78.1

Top Six Participation Rates by Class SizeClass Size 601–700

Class Year Percentage2003 17.12002 16.52004 14.32005 11.82006 11.6

Class Size 501–600Class Year Percentage

1992 34.71983 33.21996 25.31991 25.21997 24.7


1987 37.31982 36.71981 36.21980 35.71973 32.9


1968 40.81969 40.51970 37.31972 33.81975 33.5


1960 65.61961 65.11962 62.51963 62.11959 61.7


1957 79.01955 68.81958 67.41950 67.21956 65.0



During a career with Gustavus that hasspanned more than 40 years, Bruce Gray ’61

has taken on a variety of responsibilities and proj-ects for the College. His latest project is trying toretire.

Gray was first hired as an admissions represen-tative and is credited with formalizing theschool’s program to recruit minority students andwith helping to establish the Black StudentOrganization (now the Pan Afrikan StudentOrganization) at Gustavus. In 1966 he acceptedan assignment as financial aid director and in thisposition helped to successfully lobby theMinnesota State Legislature to establish theframework for what is now the Minnesota StateScholarship and Grant Program.

After a stint as dean of students, he joined theinstitutional advancement staff in 1986 as a senior development asso-ciate, becoming a national figure in the area of planned giving. Twospecific IRS rulings, with favorable implications for all of charity, aredirect results of his work. He also developed a pioneering venture withLutheran Brotherhood (now part of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans)that promoted a multi-million dollar Pooled Life Income Fund withGustavus as the sole beneficiary.

A Quarterly staffer sat down with Bruce recently for a quick interview.How long have you been at Gustavus? I arrived on campus in 1958

with a wife, child, and the GI bill. My adviser, John Kendall ’49,counseled me to graduate in three years and continue on to gradu-ate school. After graduate school, Howard Holcomb ’49 and EdgarCarlson ’30 [then admissions director and president, respectively]invited me to begin working in the Admissions Office. In 1966 I be-came the College’s first director of financial aid. In 1975 I becamedean of students, a position I held for 11 years. In 1986 BobPeterson ’58 and John Kendall—now the president—invited me tojoin the Development Office staff to work with foundations and cor-porations. The next year I began to work with individual donors andalso traveled part-time interviewing and recruiting minority stu-dents for the College.

When had you planned to retire? A few months before the 1998 tor-nado I announced that I would retire at the end of the 1997–98school year. After the tornado President Axel Steuer asked me tostay on to assist with the rebuilding effort. I agreed to a half-timeposition, which turned out to be a nine-year stint!

What has been the College’s best gift? Bob Peterson received thebest gift many years ago when, on the day before Christmas, aGustavus cleaning lady came to his office with a crumpled five dol-

lar bill and said, “I want to help support theCollege.” Every gift is important.What types of gifts have donors given theCollege? We have received homes, farms, busi-nesses, stock, IRAs, mutual funds, stamp and coincollections, cattle, soy beans, farm machinery, au-tomobiles, cash, paid-up insurance policies, andjust about anything you can imagine. We never say“no” to a gift until we have to. Once we said no toa gasoline station in Illinois—contaminated land.What types of planned gifts has the College es-tablished? We have many different types of trustsincluding educational trusts for grandchildren anda variety of specialized trusts for individuals. Manydonors have Gustavus annuities. Planned gifts pro-vide an immediate tax benefit and income for therest of the donor’s life. There are many different

ways to support Gustavus.What has been the most significant gift you’ve been involved with?

In 1989 Bob Peterson and I traveled to New York City to meet withthe president of the Olin Foundation to present our case for a majorgift. The meeting resulted in a $5.1 million gift to build, furnish,and landscape Olin Hall. It was a major factor in strengthening ourscience program.

What was your most exciting gift? Establishing the “Rawhide Trust,”which placed cattle into a trust, was my most creative gift. It hadnot been allowed until we received an IRS private letter ruling. Thesame trust has also been funded using soy beans. It turned out tobe a creative opportunity for the donor and the College.

In your 44 years of working at Gustavus how has the campuschanged? Great changes have taken place. The physical plant isspectacular, our faculty superb, and our administrative leadershipexcellent. Thanks to the Admission Office we attract fine students.With the support of our alumni and friends of the College we willcontinue to educate leaders of the future. The wind is at our back.

What will you do in retirement? Volunteer for the college! Our rela-tionships with donors have turned into friendships. Sue and I lovegolf and travel. We also will begin the research to write the historyof the minority movement on our campus.

Any advice for Gusties and friends? Include Gustavus in yourestate planning and support the Gustavus Fund! If you have ques-tions, call or e-mail the Advancement Office. “Sue and I love thisplace!” G

‘Time to go’

Bruce Gray ’61 tries to retire . . . again

Bruce Gray ’61

Legacy


alumniContentsnews � Athletics Hall ofFame 46 � Tennis gala 47� Homecoming & FamilyWeekend schedule 48 �Come On You Gustiesbreakfasts 53 � serviceand retirement awards 62� weddings 62 � GustieBlack & Gold Fridays 63 �births 64 � in memoriam66 � Alumni awards andcitations 68

Gustavus AlumniAssociationThe mission of the AlumniAssociation is to facilitate amongformer students lifelong relationshipswith Gustavus and with each otherto enable alumni to actively advanceand engage in the mission of theCollege.

Class news and information to beincluded in the Alumni section ofthe Quarterly should be sent to:Alumni Relations OfficeGustavus Adolphus College800 West College AvenueSt. Peter, MN 56082-1498phone • 800/487-8437e-mail • [email protected] • gustavus.edu

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Alumni Fall 2007 masters.4:Alumni Fall 03 MASTERS.2 8/8/07 10:04 AM Page 1

28e-mail: [email protected]

Pearl Johnson, Minneapolis, recent-ly phoned the Alumni Office to con-firm her Minneapolis address and toadvise that she is doing very wellconsidering she is 101 years old.

39Class Agents:Carl and Miriam PetersonManfred

e-mail: [email protected]

John Thoreen, Oak Park Heights, re-tired as chief reviewer of TozerFoundation scholarship applications,having reviewed more than 30,000applications and selecting about

7,000 in the 60 years he has servedin the role.

43Class Agents:Elmer Anderson, S. Bernhard Erling


Alvin Mueller, New Ulm, receivedthe 2006 Sertoma Club of New UlmService to Mankind Award � HowardOlson, Sun City Center, FL, has print-ed his second volume of sermons,The Immortal Word � LesliePeterson, Menomonie, WI, celebrat-ed his 60th wedding anniversarywith his wife, Ruth, and his 60th an-niversary of ordination this year.

45e-mail: [email protected]

Audrey Egerstrom Peterson,Kerkhoven, spends time in Texas andMinnesota and enjoys visiting withfive grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.

46Class Agent:Arlene Sorenson Higgins


Ione Knudson Dopp, Lake HavasuCity, AZ, directs the bridge co-op inLake Havasu City.

50Class Agent:Gloria Martell Benson


Ken Nelson, Shoreview, is active atIncarnation Lutheran Church, enjoysgolf, bridge, traveling and reading.

51Class Agent:Dorothy Johnson Lutz


Betty Correll, Black Mountain, NC,volunteers with North CarolinaChristian Believers United � ElmerLuke, Maple Grove, was inductedinto the Hopkins High SchoolAthletic Hall of Fame � CarolynPeterson Ruggles, Mounds View,buys, fixes, and sells foreclosedproperties � John Solensten, Ames,IA, had his fourth play, There’s TalkIn Town, performed by the Lex/HamCommunity Theatre in St. Paul; hisnovel, Good Thunder, has been rateda “best read” about life in SouthDakota by the South DakotaMagazine.


Fourth-generation GustieWhen Katelyn Johnson ’10 enrolled at Gustavus for last fall she became a fourth-generation Gustie. Pictured from left are all four generations: Katelyn Johnson’10, Kelly Rome Johnson ’84, Connie Wold Rome ’57, and Marguerite HerbergWold Schmidt ’32. This spring Marguerite celebrated the 75th anniversary of hergraduation and Connie her 50th. Connie and her husband, Dick, are also the par-ents of Stuart ’82 and Amy ’88, and Marguerite also the mother of NormanWold ’60 (father of Kristin Collins ’88) and Stephen Wold (father of Allison ’04and David ’08).

50 YearCLUBMay 30–31

2008

GUSTAVUSALUMNIASSOCIATION

OFFICERS

Jan Ledin Michaletz ’74President

Ron White ’75Vice President

Jason Sawyer ’93Past President & Ex-OfficioMember, Board of Trustees

Randall Stuckey ’83Executive Secretary

Kelly Waldron ’84Treasurer

BOARD MEMBERS

term expires Fall 2007

Ann Wilsey Gesme ’86,Deephaven

Jeff Heggedahl ’87, Atlanta, GAKristin Miller Prestegaard ’99,

St. PaulMary Sutherland Ryerse ’90,

WoodburyBetsy Starz ’02, Maple GroveRichard Swenson ’64,

MinneapolisRon White ’75, Eden Prairie


Cathy Edlund Bussler ’00,Chanhassen

Scott Gilyard ’83, Maple GroveDavid Johnson ’84, EaganJanna King ’76, MinneapolisPaul Koch ’87, PlymouthPeter Nyhus ’60, Park RapidsRichard Olson ’82, Edina


Liesl Batz ’90, MinneapolisVivian Foyou ’02,

Morgantown, WVDerek Hansen ’94, MinnetonkaJan Eiffert Hoomani ’62,

Raleigh, NCJim “Moose” Malmquist ’53,

ScandiaJan Ledin Michaletz ’74, Edina

Athletics Hall of FameNovember 3, 2007

Gustavus will induct new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame ata banquet at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 3, in Alumni Hall,

following the Concordia College football game. Selection of athletesis based upon athletic achievement while a student at Gustavus and

honors graduates with outstanding athletic accomplishment andsignificant contribution to the field of athletics.

Inductees

Tim DeJarlais ’91, golfJohn Erickson ’81, hockey

Dave Hultgren ’92, baseballCraig Miller ’91, cross country

Mindy Mayerchak Oosten ’88, softball, soccerMike Schumacher ’91, football

Ann Sommerness Simms ’92, swimmingRyan Skanse ’92, tennis

Banquet tickets are $12 per person. Reservations are requested byOctober 26. Call the Alumni Office at 800/487-8437, e-mail

[email protected], or register online at the alumni eventssection of the Gustavus website at gustavus.edu. Tickets for the

banquet will be held at a registration desk near Alumni Hall. Tickets for the football game may be purchased at the gate.


Fall 2007 � 47

52Class Agent:Barb Eckman Krig


Marie Schafer Benson, St. Peter,wrote her memories, Marie’s Memoirs—Farmer’s Daughter in Africa, in cel-ebration of her and Stan’s (’51)50th wedding anniversary � VanceEckstrom, Lindsborg, KS, teachespart-time at Bethany College andserves as interim pastor or Sundaysupply pastor as needed � DeaneLundell, Minneapolis, owns andmanages a grain farm near Vasa �Lee Jaenson Zopff, Minneapolis, ishelping to organize the Gunflint TrailHistorical Society.

53Class Agents:Thomas Boman, Marv Larson


Elaine Nagel Nelson, Albert Lea,quilts weekly for Lutheran WorldRelief and her church � CarlPeikert, Forest Lake, retired as afamily physician at Allina MedicalClinic in Forest Lake.

54Class Agents:Forrest Chaffee, HelenForsgren Hokenson


Janet Hanson Jones, St. Peter, andhusband, Ellis ’52, downsized after48 years in the same house, sendingmany items to the Gustavus archivesin the process � Paul Vollan, Spicer,is chairman at Lake Region Bank.

55Class Agent:Dick DeRemee


Jackie Carlson, Minnetonka, workspart-time as a hostess in modelhomes for home builders, volunteersat the Minneapolis Institute of Artand in the medical library at the VAMedical Center, is flutist with theWayzata Flute Ensemble, and is anactive artist � Gerald Christianson,Gettysburg, PA, debated with RonBroad against the University ofLondon team composed of MissJennifer Cooperman and LesterBorley.

57Class Agents: Nancy Reiter Grimes,Clem and Marlys MattsonNelson


Peace Johns Finlayson, Rochester,traveled this year to Mexico � GaryGabel, Ivanhoe, served as interimminister from 2002–2007 at TracyLutheran Church � Barbara CarlsonGlenzinski, Eden Prairie, works at

All in the familyMildred Gulberg Gilbertson ’40 and her daughters—all of whom are Gusties—embarked on a “roots” trip to Småland and Skone in February 2007. Pictured atthe airport from left are Debbie Gilbertson Olberschelp ’74, Mildred, RebeccaGilbertson Merritt ’68, and Rachel Gilbertson Lind ’66. Mildred’s Gustavus con-nection goes beyond her immediate family: she taught in Clarissa, Minn., for 39years and was responsible for sending dozens of students to Gustavus from thisrural town (pop. 500). Debbie and Mildred returned to Gustavus in May for the75th-anniversary reunion of the College’s concert choir, where Mildred was recog-nized for being the oldest former member in attendance (she sang with the1938–39 and 1939–40 choirs).

Class of 1942 – 65th Anniversary ClassAlton Berg, Jeannette Anderson Eide, Vic Gustafson, Ardyce ThompsonChristianson.

Another generation of Swenson GustiesJacob Erik Swenson (son of Josh Swenson ’97 and Jill Swenson) and Oskar Jon Magnusson (son of Amy SwensonMagnusson ’97 and Kris Magnusson ’95) were baptized together at the Mayo Clinic Charter House Chapel so that GreatGrandma Connie Swenson (wife of the late Wendell Swenson ’42) could be present. Performing the ceremony was Jacob’sgrandpa (and Oskar’s great uncle), the Rev. David Swenson ’70. Members of the extended Swenson family were there to cele-brate. Pictured are, front row from left, Connie Swenson H’42 and Amy Swenson Magnusson ’97; back row, David Swenson’70, Josh Swenson ’97, Kris Magnusson ’95, Becky Swenson ’05, Jeanne Carlson Swenson ’71, and Norm Swenson ’65.

TennisGALA

October 6, 2007The 16th annual GustavusTennis GALA is Saturday,October 6, 2007, at theSwanson Tennis Center.

Gustie friends from acrossthe country will attend, so

join us for an exciting day ofplaying or watching tennis

at the indoor SwansonTennis Center courts andBrown outdoor courts.

Contact Steve Wilkinson at507/931-1614 or

[email protected].

12:30 p.m. Registration foralumni playersand spectators

1:00 p.m Greeting fromPresident JimPeterson ’64and AthleticsDirector AlMolde ’65

1:20 p.m. Round-robin playbegins

3:50 p.m. Awards ceremony



Gustavus alumni

Homecoming&FamilyWeekend2007Friday, October 12

5 p.m. 1982 Social & Dinner – Best Western, Mankato 6 p.m. 1997 Class Party – The Clubhouse at Brit’s Pub, Minneapolis7 p.m. 2002 Class Party – The Hollow at The Local, Minneapolis7 p.m. 1992 Class Party – Caterpillar Lounge at Azia, Minneapolis

Campus Class Visits – Families are invited to attend classes throughout theday and experience firsthand the academic programs with your student.Your student should tell his or her professor(s) if you are planning to attend.

7 p.m. Homecoming King and Queen Coronation – Alumni Hall7 p.m. and Weekend Movie: Shrek the Third – Wallenberg Auditorium

10 p.m.

Saturday, October 139 a.m. Fun Run – Three Flags (5K run around Campus Drive; $3

payable onsite includes a shirt)9 a.m. Cec Eckhoff Society, Ren Anderson Society, and President’s

Society Reception – President’s House9 a.m. Seminar: “Outsmarting the Idiot Box: A Critical Approach

to TV’s Impact on Our Identity” – Heritage Banquet RoomJoin Communication Studies professor Martin Lang ’95 for alook at the impact of television on our lives, from the choiceswe make to how we view ourselves and others.

9 a.m. Seminar: “How Not to Hover” – St. Peter Banquet RoomAdmission staff share tips on how to guide your studentthrough the college search without being a “helicopter parent”or grandparent.

10 a.m. Morning Praise and Memorial Service – Christ Chapel10:30 a.m. Seminar: “Parenting Successful College Students” – St.

Peter Banquet RoomTalk with Gustavus faculty and staff about your collegestudent’s academic and personal development.

10:30 a.m. Seminar: “Paying for College” – Heritage Banquet RoomCollege is expensive, yet it’s the best investment you can makefor your child or grandchild. Learn the basics of financing acollege education at Gustavus . . . or anywhere.

10:30 a.m. 1987 Football Championship Reunion – Lund Center10:30 a.m. 1972 Reunion Breakfast – Tent by Hollingsworth Field10:45 a.m. “International Memories” – Courtyard Café

Special gathering of students who studied abroad andinternational student alumni.

11 a.m.– Homecoming Lunch – Evelyn Young Dining Room1 p.m. Souvenir photo button with Gus the mascot, “Dancing with the

Profs” preview, cotton candy and popcorn, and lunch a la carte.11 a.m. Football 50 Year Club Reunion Lunch – Campus Center

Banquet Rooms11 a.m. 2002 Tailgate Picnic – Tent by Hollingsworth Field

11:30 a.m. Homecoming Parade – Pittman to Norelius around CampusDrive

11:30 a.m. 1997 Tailgate Picnic – Tent by Hollingsworth Field11:30 a.m. 1992 Class Social – Tent by Hollingsworth Field 11:30 a.m. 1987 Pre-game Class Party – Tent on Eckman Mall11:30 a.m. 1982 Class Brunch – Alumni Hall11:30 a.m. 1967 Class Luncheon – The Dive

1 p.m. Football Game vs. St. John’s – Hollingsworth FieldWomen’s Soccer vs. Bethel – Soccer Field

1:30 p.m. Discover Linnaeus Arboretum with a Gustavus naturalist –Lind Interpretive Center

2:30 p.m. Seminar: “The Global Terrorist Threat” – Olin 103Gustie parent and terrorism expert Tom Maertens will reflect ondevelopments in the last year from his vantage point as formerU.S. Department of State Deputy Coordinator forCounterterrorism.

3 p.m. Weekend Movie: Shrek the Third – Wallenberg Auditorium4 p.m. 1972 Class BBQ – Tent by Hollingsworth Field

4:30 p.m. 1987 Class BBQ – Tent on Eckman Mall5 p.m. 1977 Class Dinner – Alumni Hall5 p.m. Homecoming/Family Weekend Banquet – Jackson Campus

Center Banquet RoomsAll alumni, students, and families are invited to attend thisbanquet featuring a college update by President Peterson andthe awarding of the 1997 First Decade Awards to Alex Hill ’97and Jennifer Pleuss Spande ’97. Pre-purchased tickets arerequired.

7 p.m. Chicago Comedy Company – Jussi Björling Recital Hall7 p.m. Weekend Movie: Shrek the Third – Wallenberg Auditorium

9–11 p.m. Sky Watch – Olin ObservatoryStop in to gaze into the starry sky

10 p.m. Weekend Movie: Shrek the Third – Wallenberg Auditorium

Sunday, October 148 a.m. Morning Coffee and Sunday Papers – Courtyard Café

10 a.m. Holy Communion Worship Service – Christ ChapelFeaturing the Choir of Christ Chapel and the GustavusPhilharmonic Orchestra

11 a.m.– Jazz Brunch, featuring the Gustavus Jazz Ensembles – 12:30 p.m. Evelyn Young Dining Room

Noon Vikings vs. Bears on TV – The Dive1:30 p.m. Music Performances – Christ Chapel

Gustavus Choir, Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, Gustavus WindOrchestra, Lucia Singers, Vasa Wind Orchestra

4:30 p.m. Diversity Center Banquet – Campus Center Banquet RoomsA program to celebrate and honor students and alumni involvedwith diversity initiatives and their families and host families for

their hard work and love.

Prospective Gusties!Stop by the

Admission Office during Homecoming/Family Weekend

with your high school-age child or grandchild

to receive a FREE Gustavus T-shirt.

For more information and to register for events, go to gustavus.edu/alumni.


Fall 2007 � 49

Whymsy in the Galeria and withGentle Transitions helping move peo-ple over age 65 � Lois Knapp,Arlington, VA, is a retired occupa-tional medicine physician � CarolLindig, St. Paul, retired fromChildren’s Hospital � LaurelWestern Peterson, Brush Prairie,WA, is very active traveling, this yearto the Amazon and Hawaii.

58Class Agent:Owen Sammelson


Beverly Duncan Anderson, Sun CityWest, AZ, works part-time as churchrelations associate in the GrandCanyon Synod for California LutheranUniversity � Bud Boberg, Excelsior,is a lay pastor for outreach atRidgewood Church and is a volunteerMinnetonka Police Department chap-lain � Dennis Erickson, St. Peter,volunteers for Heifer Internationaland Habitat for Humanity and enjoysattending Elderhostels and skiing inColorado � Carol Lund Garone,Andover, MA, did a Reformation tourwith her church to Europe last year� Edward Gutzmann, Inver GroveHeights, is on the board of directorsat Mainstreet Bank � Lois WalfridJohnson, Alexandria, is a self-em-ployed author, speaker, and writingteacher and had her Viking Questnovel, Heart ofCourage, selectedas a finalist forthe Retailer’sChoice Award �Aaron Moen,Canastota, NY, en-joys travel to visit chil-dren and grandchildren inMinnesota, California, and Hawaii.

59Class Agent:Carol Johnson Heyl


Evelyn Bonander, Cambridge, MA,traveled this year to Israel and thePalestinian territories � Deone(Nordquist) and Larry Cartford,Wautoma, WI, traveled this year toBhutan and India, went on a cruiseto Hawaii, and split residency be-tween Arizona and Wisconsin �Lynda Johnson Minnick, Chicago,IL, is a student in a two-year coursein ornamental plants at the ChicagoBotanic Gardens.

60Class Agent:Dennis Johnson


Lorna Chumley Berlin, Williamsville,NY, was elected to signature mem-

bership status in the AmericanWatercolor Society � Karen OlsonBrown, Vadnais Heights, took an ex-tended driving trip this year to theGreat Smoky Mountains and farthersouth � Jan Jensen Eilers, Belview,enjoys spending time with her firstgrandchild � Martha Jonson Miller,St. Charles, IL, is active travelingand volunteers at church and the St.Charles Heritage Center.

61Class Agent:Virgene Grack Sehlin


Virginia Gerdes, Waite Park, is in-volved with prayer and Bible studygroups at her church and is activevisiting family � Judie BrownMortenson, Bloomington, retired aschurch secretary at St. StephenLutheran Church.

62Class Agents:Sandra Luedtke Buendorf,Jan Eiffert Hoomani, BenLeadholm


Doug Anderson, Mankato, is em-ployed at DDD Motel Corporation �Marcia Grann-O’Brien, Wakefield,RI, is editor/general of the Dioceseof Providence newspaper � JudySamuelson Hane, Duluth, is a part-time anesthesia assistant and directsthe Salem Lutheran Senior Choir andWest Duluth American Legion Chorus� Dick Hane, Duluth, is a part-timevisitation pastor at Lutheran Churchof the Good Shepherd, involved inthe Port of Duluth Kiwanis Club, andwent on a mission trip this year toHonduras � Weston Johnson, CastleRock, CO, is an avid bike rider �Carol Harvey Schutte, Reno, NV, is aself-employed lymphatic therapist �Sandra Springer Smith, FountainHills, AZ, volunteers at the HeardMuseum in Phoenix and her church� Irene Penner Van Norman, St.Charles, took a quilting-themedcruise to Hawaii � Pete Wold,Bloomington, traveled this year toSweden; he enjoys the Bloomingtonparks and nature center and spend-ing time with seven grandchildren.

63Class Agents:Bill Lahti, Paul Tillquist


Ken Abram, Noblesville, IN, spendstime in Indiana and Florida, enjoyswatching the sports activ-ities of his grandchil-dren and training hisred Lab � DorothyJacobson Delegard,Minneapolis, is ac-

Gustie surpriseThree generations of Gusties on the Mortensen side of the family were among the27 family members gathered in St. Paul on Easter Weekend to celebrate the life ofC. Harold Peterson ’47, who died last April, and a surprise 80th birthday party forJim Mortensen ’49. Pictured front row are Duane Flink ’49, Joanne MortensenPeterson ’44, Jim Mortensen ’49, and Joyce Flink Mortensen ’49. Second roware Dawn Flink Silvius ’68, Millie Anderson Flink ’49, Bill Mortensen ’58, andMimi Peterson Lewell ’75. Back row are Tony Peterson ’96, Jill Ulrich Steeves’76, Rick Peterson ’76, Jill Mortensen ’78, and Drew Peterson ’68.

Class of 1947 – 60th Anniversary ClassVernis Olander Strom, Marion Anderson Redman, Betty Johnson Gove, CecileCarlson Ellis, Paul Anderson.

1950 grads enjoysemi-annualluncheonTwice a year—everyspring and fall—five1950 graduates gath-er at the LexingtonCafe in St. Paul to talkover old times atGustavus. They metagain on June 11,when they posed for

this photo. Pictured front row from left are Oliver Reimer, Dale Kleven, andDennis Johnson; back row, John Myhr and Don Dick.

50thANNIVERSARYMay 30–31

2008

45thANNIVERSARYMay 30–31

2008



tive playing bridge, attending the-atre and movie shows, gardening,playing poker, traveling, is in an in-vestment club, and spending timewith grandchildren � Tim Gamelin,Jamestown, NC, is pastor atEmmanuel Lutheran Church and ac-tive with refugees from Sudan �Ralph Johnson, St. Petersburg, FL,spends time each year in Minnesota,Pennsylvania, and Florida � JerryRaedeke, Nisswa, is exhibiting 40original oil and watercolor paintingsat the Jaques Art Center in Aitkinand at Game Fair in Anoka �Claudia Hayden Schroeder,Flagstaff, AZ, volunteers for theAssistance League, Symphony Guild,and Family Food Center, enjoys pleinair painting and ceramics, andspending time with all six grandchil-dren, who live nearby � JimStephan, Parma Heights, OH, sinceretiring, works at a hunger center inCleveland � Nancy Beck Strom,Eagan, is owner of Tahitian NoniHealth.

64Class Agents:Linda LeonardsonHallman, Joanna CarlsonSwanson


Emmy Hanson Abello, Santa Ynez,CA, traveled this year to the CanaryIslands and toured with a choralgroup to Europe � Paula YocumOlson, Amery, WI, serves as activi-ties director at Riverbend AssistedLiving � Carla Johnson Stoneberg,McCordsville, IN, is caregiver for heryoungest grandchild � NancyJohnson Vrieze, Rice Lake, WI,teaches part-time at WisconsinIndianhead Technical College and ispresident of her church council.

65Class Agents:Bev Nordskog Hedeen,Elaine Buck Stenman


Julie Stensland Andrews, Aurora,CO, became director of communica-tions for United Launch Alliance,which is a joint venture of Boeingand Lockheed Martin combining therocket launch businesses of the twocompanies � Sue WidstromGamelin, Jamestown, NC, is pastorat Emmanuel Lutheran Church activewith a ministry for Sudaneserefugees � Judy Hultgren Gilbert,Zimmerman, enjoys traveling, spend-ing time with her six grandchildren,and finishing home projects � MaryBeth Schwanke Loosen, Cincinnati,OH, enjoys spending time with herfirst grandchild and touring the na-tional parks � Charles Rodning,Semmes, AL, was selected as a mem-ber of the Gold Humanism HonorSociety at University of SouthAlabama College of Medicine � IrisBenson Smyth, Arlington, MA,works part-time as a geriatric nursepractitioner.

67Class Agent:position open


Linda Ek Asplin, Sparks, MD, is em-ployed by the Maryland HigherEducation Commission � DonnaOradei Berger, SanDiego, CA, retired asdirector of behav-ioral health servic-es at SharpHealthcare �Douglas Jones,Minneapolis, is an activesupporter of the Minnesota Zoo andthe Zoomobile program � WayneSwanson, Edina, is in marketing atNilfisk-Advance.

68Class Agents:John and Kris LundbergMoorhead, PaulaNavarro


John Knox, Pocatello, ID, is dean ofacademic programs at Idaho FallsCenter for Higher Education and aprofessor of physics at Idaho StateUniversity, Pocatello.

69Class Agents:Dave and Jane NormanLeitzman


Dave Benson, Aitkin, is president ofFirst Lutheran Church, was namedKinship Mentor of the Year for AitkinCounty and volunteers at the com-munity food shelf � Greg Benson,

Gustavus alumni

40thANNIVERSARYOct. 132007

Together yet againFour boyhood friends, who graduated from Benson (MN) High School and went on together to Gustavus and then toAugustana and Luther Seminaries to become pastors, took a cruise together with their wives to the Virgin Islands in January2007. Pictured from left are Chuck Jacobson ’53, Marilyn Anderson Jacobson ’53, Arthur Dale ’53, Marian Dale, BettyNess Dale ’53, Fran Dale ’53, Carole Swedberg, and Paul Swedberg ’52.

Sixty years in coachingPhoenix-area community newspapers recently fea-tured Sam Odell ’51, Queen Creek, AZ, for hislongevity in coaching area youth. “Coaching wasalways my dream,” says Odell, who taught physi-cal education and biology and coached inScottsdale, Ariz., schools from 1957 to 1989 andhas continued to coach in Gilbert and QueenCreek schools since his “retirement” in 1989.“I’ve been blessed to be able to teach life lessonsthrough working with youth in developing theskills needed to succeed and excel. It has givenme so much satisfaction to see the developmentof thousands of individuals with whom I havehad the pleasure to work.”

Odell, a three-sport letter winner himself atGustavus, has now coached for close to 60 years and has more than 1,500 winsand an 80 percent overall winning percentage in all the sports he’s coached. Mostof his time has been spent with football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, track, tennis,and golf at the high school and college level, but he has also coached softball atdifferent levels. During his career he has helped develop numerous All-Americans,and his teams have earned more than 80 championships and several national fin-ishes.

Hawaiian gourmetsIn March 2007, Jo Kendall H’49 (left) and Barb Eckman Krig ’52 were guests ofScott Jacobson (center; son of Dr. Maynard Jacobson ’52) at Mama’s Fish House,the restaurant Scott manages on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Krig adds thatMama’s Fish House is “probably the best restaurant in Hawaii.”


Fall 2007 � 51

Scandia, retired from First StateBank and Trust � Sue BrekkeBenson, Aitkin, retired from teach-ing English and as a media specialistat Aitkin High School and nowteaches English online to Frenchbusiness people � Ronald Kirchoff,West St. Paul, is an attorney withthe Kirchoff Law Firm � KarenMatteson Knox, Pocatello, ID, is as-sistant principal at Irving MiddleSchool.

70Class Agents:Karol Klint Greupner,Lindy Turner Purdy


Connie Ericson, Arlington, VA, is anattorney for Kay Scholer � KarenEnzenauer Lee, Rochester, is assis-tant director of the Office ofBusiness Continuity Management atthe Mayo Clinic and received thehighest national service award givenby a local Boy Scout Council, theSilver Beaver � Sandy MacKenzieMadsen, Hudson, WI, retired as aphysical education and healthteacher.

71Class Agent:Bruce Johnson


Carolyn Westerberg Callahan, ParkRidge, IL, is a school social worker inthe North Shore ISD � RobynWieman Hansen, St. Paul, was ap-pointed to the board of trustees forthe Wilder Foundation and is ashareholder at Leonard, Street, andDeinard � Linda NordlundPedersen, North Oaks, retired as ateacher from Mounds View Schools.

72Class Agents:Todd Dokken, MelanieOhman Thornberg


Linda Christenson Chmielewski,Sauk Rapids, is vice president/hospi-tal operations for St. Cloud Hospital� Becky Jensen Detert, Welcome,teaches English, health, and driver’seducation at Martin County WestHigh School and is co-owner of OldAlley Quilt Shop � Bonita BarnesEliason, Shoreview, is regional man-ager of the division of ecologicalservices of the DNR � Leland

Erickson, Longview, TX,is executive assistant

to the field team di-rector for The SeedCompany, an affili-ate of Wycliffe Bible

Translators that en-ables national speakers of

a language to translate theScriptures for their own language

group � Kathy Westman Halvorson,Excelsior, is employed by GeneralMills � Paula Ward Hill, LakeZurich, IL, is business manager atAT&T Telephone Co. � JaniceJenson, Berne, NY, retired as pastorof Saint Paul’s and Saint John’sLutheran Churches � RonMacKinnon, Dryden, Ontario, is adevelopment coordinator for HockeyNorthwestern Ontario � JanicePeake McMahon, Dulles, VA, is anelementary computer teacher atInternational Community School ofAddis Ababa � Jack Pedersen,North Oaks, is credit risk manager forBremer Financial � Mark Phillips,Oakdale, works for Kraus-AndersonConstruction Company � DureneDoering Rogers, Salem, VA, is ateacher trainer for Stevens LearningSystems � Diane SchedinSchimelpfenig, Eden Prairie, hasbeen appointed Hopkins PublicSchools’ director of teaching andlearning � Jeff Thauwald, SpringValley, is a mortician for ThauwaldFuneral Homes, Inc. � Marty OddenVoshell, Cumberland, WI, is a staffRN at Cumberland Memorial Hospital� Dianne Johnson Voss, Lakeville,is a paralegal for Hoffman, Usem,Faboe, Crawford, Greenburg.

73Class Agent:Matt Peterson


Laurinda Hanson Erickson,Longview, TX, is missions administra-tor for Wycliffe Bible Translators �Anne Johanson Ingold, Geneva, IL,works at Trader Joe’s Grocery � LarsLagerman, Phoenix, AZ, is partner atBryan Cave LLP � Susan BordenLagerman, Phoenix, AZ, is a stay-at-home mom � Mary ChristensenMatter, Mankato, teaches fifth gradeat Eagle Lake Elementary � GregQuist, Spring, TX, is a captain forSouthwest Airlines celebrating 20years with the company.

74Class Agents:Rob Linner, Jan LedinMichaletz


Kirk Detlefsen, Lakeville, is ownerof Detlefsen Insurance and was in-ducted into the Burnsville HighSchool Hall of Fame � JimKunelius, Waterville, is employed byR.R. Donnelley.

75Class Agent:Paul Heckt


Rhonda Beane Bakke, Duluth,teaches special education at Duluth

East High School � MaureenTwining Farrell, Excelsior, workswith the State of MinnesotaRestorative Justice Board � LindaFuller Howard, Flossmoor, IL, re-

ceived an MBA and provides nursingand nutrition to children from birthto age 3 as an RN.


Legeros creates ThreeCrowns for GustavusFor many years PaulGranlund ’52 produced sculp-tures for Gustavus 35-yearservice recipients. Granlunddied in 2003 but the Collegesecured enough of his sculp-tures to award recipientsthrough 2006. To continueGranlund’s legacy of bronzesculptures, Gustavus commis-sioned Granlund’s protégé,Nick Legeros ’77, to create ameaningful piece, and hisThree Crowns sculptures werefirst awarded this spring toWill Freiert and DeanWahlund ’72.

Legeros describes hisThree Crowns piece as fol-

lows: “Three crowns have long served as the symbol of Sweden and GustavusAdolphus College. The origin and meaning of this symbol is unknown but has beenused by Swedish royalty since the mid-1300s. As I thought about what form tocreate to best represent the experience of Gustavus Adolphus College, I saw in mymind’s eye a young woman walking across campus. The wind was of course blow-ing, so she clutches her books as she stridesconfidently along the path. To create a senseof place I included the woman’s shadow. Thesun is shining and casts her shadow as well asthe shadow of the spire of Christ Chapel andthe shadow of the sculptural portrait of KingGustav Adolph. As the sculpture took shape, Isaw the shadows as the true three crowns ofGustavus. The first crown is faith, the secondtradition and history of the College, and thethird crown the people who attend this place.The depths of the shadows are varied to repre-sent a time quantity. Our time on campus isbrief in comparison to the faith that we walktoward or the traditions we come from.”

Theological reunionClassmates from the Class of 1953 celebrated the 50th anniversary of their grad-uation in 1957 from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago on May 19 & 20.Pictured are Charles Jacobson, David Holmes, Irven Nelson, and J. GlenSandquist. Not able to attend was J. Dean Gevik.



76Class Agents:Ginny Kirkegaard Leppart,Bruce Olson


John Bernhardson, Eden Prairie, isan internal medicine physician andcardiologist at the Minneapolis HeartInstitute at Abbot NorthwesternHospital and provides outreach serv-ices in Arlington, LeSueur, NewPrague, and Sleep Eye � CarolTenney Dillahunty, San Marcos, CA,is a pediatric RN at Rady Children’sHospital � Jenny Steiner Tongen,Waconia, retired from teaching atSouthview Elementary.

77Class Agents:Al Behrends, Terri Novak Delebo


Joel Fridgen, Greencastle, PA, is aconsultant for Taylor Corporation �Louise Otto Groskreutz, Faribault,is an RN/nurse consultant forJennie-O Turkey Store Co. � BillHansen, Bloomington, is controllerfor Dichtomatik � StevenHeckenlaible, Minneapolis, is a self-employed manufacturer’s representa-tive � Neil Jonason, Detroit Lakes,is a physician � Lola Ecker Lucas,Loveland, OH, is ministry assistantat Faith Bible Church � Craig Maki,Marshall, is a physician assistant atAffiliated CommunityMedical Center � DebWagner Maki,Marshall, teacheskindergarten at TracyElementary School �Lois Ziehl Schulstad,Chanhassen, is a retiredR.N./housewife � Becky Swan,Spokane, WA, is an attorney forSpokane County � John Taylor,Sebastapol, CA, is CEO for Full CircleFull Cycle � James Thompson, EauClaire, WI, is president and CEO atBrickwell Community Bank � LoisVan Valkenburg, Tucson, AZ, is em-ployed at Borman Elementary at theDavis-Monthan AFB � PatriciaWalker, Afton, is publishing the firstmedical textbook on immigrant med-icine.

80Class Agents:Steve Sayre, Kent Stone


Kathryn Reid Walker, Milwaukee,WI, was ordained to the PresbyterianChurch (USA) and is currently servingas interim minister at St. Paul’s UCCin Erin, WI.

81Class Agents:Steve Heim, Leslie Nielsen


Renae Crosby, Hillsborough, NC, is asenior scientist working in infectiousdiseases at GlaxoSmith Kline �Dawn Ebeling, Ellicott City, MD, is atax manager at Gross Medelsohn �Brian Fragodt, Andover, is pastor atOur Saviour’s Lutheran Church in EastBethel � Jim Swanson, Big BearLake, CA, is a partner with UniqueMountain Development, a land de-velopment/construction firm thatspecializes in high-end secondhomes and condos � CorlissRobinson Vadner, Forest Lake, re-ceived a master’s degree in theologi-cal studies from Bethel Seminary and

Gustavus alumni


Class of 1952 – 55th Anniversary ClassFront row: Walter Vomhof, Gloria Anderson Samelian, Ruth Lundvall Zahller. Backrow: Ellis Jones, Lois Oleson Krantz, Jerry Emholtz, Lee Jaenson Zopff, DeaneLundell, Barb Eckman Krig, Shirley Huselid Anderson, Marie Schafer Benson.

Class of 1957 – 50th Anniversary Class, #1Front row: Ellen Anderson Jacobson, Judy Lund Erdman, Ann Russell Johnson, Peace Johns Finlayson, Beth Carlson Helgoe,Jerry Carlson, Ron Berg, Verlin Carlson. Second row: Paul Eddy, Roger Dahlin, Sharon Johnson Eddy, Barbara CarlsonGlenzinski, Marlaine Barlau Gnan, Marian Hennix Gabel, Marcia Halgren Dale, Bernadette Anderson Galvin. Third row: RogerAnderson, Marcy Rhyne Herr, Nancy Reiter Grimes, Vada Peterson Carlson, Ron Cadwell, Jim Ellingson, Dick Gastler, WallyJohnson. Back row: Charles Hendrickson, Dennis Carlson, Ted Granquist, Don Eckberg, Gale Falk, Jon Berglund, Dave Borg,Cubby DeCorsey.

Class of 1957, #2Front row: Joanna Spooner Lundblad, Carole Swanson Minor, Carol Lundberg Owen, Jayne Arvidson Thrasher, Ruth SwanbergSanders, Joyce Kirkvold Knoll, Ramona Lovold Hawkinson, Marlys Mattson Nelson. Second row: Glen Mauston, Lois LarsonMauston, Connie Wold Rome, Phyllis Fox Paulson, Phyllis Holmberg Olsson, Patsy Truhn Schumacher, Ardel Waxlax Markitans,Gary Knoll. Third row: Rod Westrum, Barbara Ford Olson, Barbara Bredsten Stephens, Bev Bloomquist Todaro, Sandra ClarkVollan, R. John Singh, Pat Hoecke Olson, Lois Knutson Keech, Gene Sandvig, Roger Krantz. Back row: Lowell Madsen, RogerLundblad, Fred Steiner, Bud Peterson, Moon Mullen, Roger Olson, Bob Larson, Clem Nelson, Bob Wahman, Arnie Walker.


Fall 2007 � 53

works as an admissions representa-tive at Minnesota Teen Challenge.

82Class Agents:J.C. Anderson, Richard Olson, Ann McGowan Wasson


Kristy Barnes, Minneapolis, is em-ployed by Dakota County � MarkBenke, Loveland, CO, is a qualitycontrol manager for Amgen, Inc. �Laura Nielsen Berkas, Gem Lake, isa kindergarten teacher/ATPPS LeadTeacher in the Roseville SchoolDistrict � Sue Ellingson Busch,Chanhassen, is director of the EdenPrairie Family Center � DaveFreedholm, Hopewell, NJ, is ateacher for the Princeton Day Schooland was awarded a FulbrightScholarship and studied in China

during the summer �Deb LuconicFreedholm,Hopewell, NJ, is sen-ior director/out-

sourcing for Merck &Company, Inc. � Steve

Heitzeg, St. Paul, is a self-employed composer � RobertaKitlinski, Staten Island, NY, is a re-

habilitation teacher for LighthouseInternational � Gregory Koch,Eagan, is director of education sup-port services for Oracle � JamieMarston Kovacs, White Bear Lake, isa teacher in the White Bear LakeArea Schools � Denise AndersonLant, Tulsa, OK, is a financial plan-ner � Mert Lilja-Johnson, Granville,MA, is product manager forMassMutual � Marlys SandveMcDevitt, Lakeville, is a family nursepractitioner and teaches graduateschool at University of Minnesota �Julie Moses, Alexandria, VA, wasdecorated with the CivilianAchievement Medal for distinguishedperformance as a senior physical sci-entist assigned to the ChiefScientist’s Office at the Air ForceOffice of Scientific Research inArlington, VA � Tracie HansonPelton, White Bear Lake, is vocal di-rector at Tartan High School �Shaloy Morten Peterson, TwoHarbors, is resource nurse at St.Mary’s Duluth Clinic Health System� Stuart Rome, Asbury, IA, is OEMproduct manager for Thermo FisherScientific � Susanne BauerSkarolid, Brooklyn Park, teacheskindergarten at R.L. Stevenson

McPherson adds to his Civil War publicationsJames McPherson ’58, Princeton, NJ, has released anoth-er book examining the Civil War, titled This MightyScourge: Perspectives on the Civil War (Oxford UniversityPress). Pulitzer Prize-winner McPherson, who in thewords of Sam Allis of The Boston Globe is “our premierliving Civil War historian,” has gathered an illuminatingcollection of essays that reflect his latest thinking onthe Civil War. Filled with new interpretations and freshscholarship, these essays address many of the mostenduring questions and provocative debates aboutthe Civil War. In some, McPherson distills the wisdom ofmany years of teaching and writing about the meaning of the war andabout slavery and its abolition. In others, he makes use of primary research thatbreaks new ground on such topics as Confederate military strategy, foreign viewsof the war, soldiers and the press, the failure of peace negotiations to end thewar, and Southern efforts to shape a heroic memory of the war. The selection in-cludes several never-before-published essays, including one on General Robert E.Lee’s goals in the Gettysburg campaign, and another on Lincoln as commander-in-chief. The book also features a typescript of McPherson’s 2000 NationalEndowment for the Humanities Jefferson Lecture about Lincoln’s legacy, which hasnever been published in its complete form. As a whole, these essays provide a richinterpretive history of the Civil War and its meaning for America and for the world.

McPherson was recently named the first recipient of the Pritzker MilitaryLibrary Literature Award for lifetime achievement in military writing. The award of$100,000 is “to acknowledge the highest levels of scholarship and writing in afield that does not gain appropriate recognition,” according to James N. Pritzker,founder and chief executive of the library. The award is to be presented on Oct. 6at a dinner in Chicago.

Costa Rican connectionLast January Gustie graduates provided mission services at Camp Penuel, CostaRica, and met graduating senior Mike Kamrath of Hutchinson, MN. Pictured fromleft are Karen Pierson Tommeraasen ’63, Linda Pierson Engebretson ’60, PaulEngebretson ’59, Nancy Pierson Laible ’67, and Mike Kamrath ’07.

Class of 1960 Nurses’ Biennial Tradition ContinuesThe Gustavus Nursing Class of 1960 celebrated a “Colonial Gathering” in NewBern, NC, last May. Hosting the event was Ruth Walfrid Dettor, who greeted the ar-rivals in colonial dress. Pictured front row are Yvonne Harvey Daily, CarolSchumacher Vamvakias, Karen Carlson Danielson, Char Benjamin Schoen,Margo Pinney Cotton, Karin Olson Brown, Lois Swanson Johnson, and LoisAnderson Nelson. Back row are Carolyn Anderson Kvam-Hausman, RuthWalfrid Dettor, Lois Lindall Miller, Carol Berg White, and Jo Jensen Tollefson.

Twin Cities “Come on, You Gusties” Breakfast

Join other Gusties for a morning cup of coffee and breakfastwhile getting an update on Gustavus—a great way to meet andnetwork with Gusties in the Twin Cities. The group will meet the

third Wednesday of each month at:8–9:30 a.m., Doubletree Hotel, Minneapolis-Park Place

1500 Park Place Boulevard (Hwy. 394 & Hwy. 100)$10 per person

Reserve by calling Don Swanson ’55 at 763/533-9083

September 19 President Jim PetersonOctober 17 Jeff Jeremiason, recap of Nobel Conference: The Energy

DebateNovember 21 Winter Sports Coaches John Carlson ’88, men’s and

women’s swimming; Mark Hanson ’83, men’s basketball;Bret Petersen, men’s hockey

December 19 Margaret Kelliher ’90, Speaker of the House, MinnesotaHouse of Representatives

January 16 Greg Aune, Gustavus Choir; Doug Nimmo, Gustavus WindOrchestra; Warren Friesen, Gustavus Symphony Orchestra

February 20 Mary Morton, Provost and Vice President of Academic AffairsMarch 19 Hank Toutain, Dean of StudentsApril 16 Cindy Johnson-Groh, Executive Director, Linnaeus

ArboretumMay 21 Tim Kennedy ’82, sports information director

25thANNIVERSARYOct. 12 & 132007



Elementary School � Bruce Soyring,Elmer, NJ, is a stay-at-home dad �Pamela Dais Strom, Eagan, is astay-at-home mom � Jane BjerkengSuhr, Plymouth, is retirement servic-es specialist for the MinneapolisTeachers Retirement Association �Stephen West, Denver, CO, is an

AutoCadd craftsman/designer forFarnsworth Group � Eunice CarlsonWoodberry, Moorhead, received amaster’s degree in divinity fromLuther Seminary � FermanWoodberry, Moorhead, is special as-sistant to the president, lead investi-gator, at St. Cloud State University.

83Class Agents:Brad Somero, KarinStone


Jill Johnson Allison, Edina, is vicepresident of Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc.and president of OilTek � NancyJohnson Dahl, Bloomington, is ex-ecutive vice president of sales andmarketing for Cambria � Kim BeyerFragodt, Andover, is music directorat Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church andis working on her first jazz CD �Laurie Iverson Hassenstab, Chaska,is a registered nurse in endoscopy atMethodist Hospital � SolveigRobinson, Tacoma, WA, has beenpromoted to associate professor ofEnglish at Pacific LutheranUniversity � C. Scott Winter,Minneapolis, was married to AndrewBlauvet in Vancouver, BC.

84Class Agents:Carole Arwidson, Ken Ericson


Allyson Hasselbring Tarnowski,New Hope, is an independent con-sultant in service, hospitality, andfood service.

85Class Agent:Susan Johnson Chwalek


Marcio Barbosa, Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, is a business developmentmanager for IBM � Scott Fritz,Princeton, is vice president at theState Bank of Delano � Jim Hicks,Hopkins, is managing director at

CarVal Investors � Donald McNeil,Burnsville, is president of PACERCenter � Eric Peterson, Moorhead,teaches chemistry at ConcordiaCollege.

86Class Agents:Melinda Moen Batz,Dave Meyers, DanMurray, Sara FreemanRekow


Danny Jansen, San Francisco, CA, isvice president and technology man-ager in software development in theInternet Services Group at WellsFargo Bank � Rebecca SteuartJones, Cedar Rapids, IA, is doingBraille transcription work and ispart-time leader for Weight Watchers� Dan Murray, Oakdale, co-hosts aweekly XM Radio show coveringtransportation issues � KathrynMitchell Niewolny, Wausau, WI, ishuman resources manager atModuline Window Systems �Annette Schweisthal Schwartz,Apple Valley, is owner of Kiwi Beachat the Mall of America.

87Class Agents:Lee Fahrenz, SteveHarstad, Paul Koch, HeidiJo Wilking Pearse


Steve Beckendorf, Ventura, CA, is aclaims specialist for Liberty MutualInsurance � Paul Beuning, Brooten,teaches physical education andhealth in the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa School District � Mary Frey,Wilmington, CA, is manager of newproduct logistics at Human Touch �Linda Ieleja Gerstman, Winnetka,IL, is a branch chief for the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission� Libby Glimsdal, Northfield, is anacademic administrative assistant atSt. Olaf College � Kristin MolenHarbin, Maitland, FL, is a stay-at-home mom � Lisa Hertzberg, St.Paul, is program director, LifeSmarts, for National ConsumersLeague � Janet Bahls Johnson,Lakeville, is a Kindergarten Plus su-pervisor for Lakeville ISD #194 �Shelly Johnson Larkin, Andover, isa senior project manager at QwestCommunications � Patti BoyceLeaf, Maple Grove, is anindependent represen-tative for SilpadaDesign � KristinShover Lokkesmoe,Altoona, WI, is a stay-at-home mom � AnnJaeger Malm, St. Paul, is aphysical therapist for UnitedHospital � Scott Malm, St. Paul, ismanaging director for Baring Point

Gustavus alumni

Johnsons again host Gustie golf teamsFor the third spring break in as many years, Bill and Sharon Hansen Johnson ’65 ’64 (center) hosted the Gustavus men’s andwomen’s golf teams at their home in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The Johnsons housed both squads, provided fully-cooked break-fasts and dinners, and arranged golf at area courses, including TPC at Sawgrass, for the entire week of spring break. This year,in addition to the golf teams, the Johnson’s own children and families visited, which added to the festivities, as well as thenumber of dirty dishes to wash! Bill and Sharon look forward to hosting the teams again in 2008, and the teams and CoachScott Moe ’95 are looking forward to returning to visit their dear friends.

Gusties were hereLast March, Eunice MadsenCarlson ’65 traveled to CampVictor in Mississippi with herchurch group as part ofLutheran Social ServicesDisaster Response. She wassurprised to find a legacy ona wall left by the Gustavuslacrosse teams. Gustavuslacrosse members spentJanuary Interim on a servicetrip at the camp and left theirartwork on the wall.

Re-elected bishopCraig Johnson ’69, Bloomington,MN, was re-elected bishop of theMinneapolis Area Synod, theELCA’s largest synod, and beginshis second six-year termSeptember 1. Before being elect-ed bishop, Johnson was associatevice president for church relationsat Gustavus from 1996–2001.Prior to that, he served as pastorof Nativity Lutheran Church,Shreveport, LA; Mount OlivetLutheran Church, Minneapolis;and Transfiguration LutheranChurch, Bloomington, MN.



Fall 2007 � 55

� Anne McComb, St. Paul, is ITproject manager for Medtronic �Marni Myles-Vollan, Willmar, teach-es biology at the Willmar AreaLearning Center and is area managerfor Arbonne International � Kelly

Grapentin Nelson, Andover, is aschool nurse for St. Paul ISD #625 �Nancy Johnson O’Rourke teachessecond grade at Feltwell ElementarySchool for the Department ofDefense Education Activity � Corey

Peterson, West Hobart, Tasmania,Australia, is working at RaytheonPolar Services Corporation, U.S.Antarctic Program, and is networkmanager for Mackillop College � RozJohnson Peterson, Lakeville, is a

commercial Realtor with D & TProperty and a member of theLakeville Schools Board of Directors� Kurt Raatz, Apple Valley, is acompliance analyst for WachoviaBank � Tim Rask, Iowa City, IA, is

Class of 1962 – 45thAnniversary Class, #1 (left, top)Front row: Charlotte Tesberg Stanley.Second row: Hap LeVander, JoanneStollenwerk, Sandra LuedtkeBuendorf, Brenda Pick Keith, NicoleBlake ’08 (recipient of a Class of ’62Scholarship), Lynda Hamlin Murray,Sandy Johnson Neagle. Third row:Kay Estesen Mowbray, KarenLundquist Meyer, Solveig OverdahlGoldstrand, Gail Nelson Helgeson,Sandy Berge Bearson, Karen StennesOsmundson, Jan Eiffert Hoomani, GeriSparks Evans. Fourth row: MargoCallaghan, Audrey Kylander Kramer,Jackie Falk Anderson, Margaret HelvigSediva, Judy Flom Hill, Ruth JohnsonLeadholm. Fifth row: ElizabethElstrom Bergquist, Linda JohnsonBlanding, Roz Johnson Anderson,Sandy Hendrickson Walls, MaryLinnerooth Petersen, JulianneJohnson Blaese. Sixth row: AlexanderKestly ’05, Vail Peterson Parsons,Joan Boyum Tavares. Back groupfrom left: Terry Skone, Paul Peterson,Al Henderson, Bruce Seastrand, JimGilbert, David Keith.

Class of 1962, #2 (left, bottom)Front row: Sam Forsythe, LynnRosendahl-Johnson, Joan Rahm Roy,Toni Bennett Easterson, Sandy SpringerSmith, Louise Spong Rodine-Doucette,Mary Roggow Rogers, LouAnn EckbergReese. Second row: Ed Blair, KermitSwanson, Dale Johnson, KarenHawkinson Summers. Third row: JudySamuelson Hane, Karen Noren Talle,Jan Swanson Swanson, Mary JoAnderson Kuhn, Karen Anderson,Barbara Johnson Schmidt. Fourth row:Dick Hane, Diane Kolander Loomer,Diana Jacobson Martens, MickeyMontague McBride, Carolann BelmontMinor. Fifth row: Sharon Maurer Edberg,Gordy Edberg, Gail Lindsey Breen,Correen Silseth Morrill, Dianne SkalbeckThunhorst, Jan Swanson Sammelson,Karen Koehn Anderson. Sixth row:Gerald Swanson, Rolf Nelson, GayleGarven Hanson, Janyce Helgeson Olson,Gwendolyn Westman Nesburg. Seventhrow: Alan Lorentzen, John Engstrom,Jon Buss, Jerry Springston. Back groupleft to right: John Lundblad, JimAnderson, Bob Johnson, MatthewEckman, Lowell Anderson, Craig Martens,Charles Kampen, Steve Hanson, BenLeadholm, Pete Lindell, Jim Swanson,Dick Moody.



employed by Vangent, Inc. �Jennifer Reed, Simsbury, CT, teach-es science at King Philip MiddleSchool in the West Hartford PublicSchools � Jay Schultz, St. Paul, is asenior financial analyst for the na-tional headquarters of the AmericanRed Cross � Cheryl Flor Scott,Arlington, WA, is a property claimsmanager for SAFECO InsuranceCompany of America � JohnStandbrook, St. Louis, MO, is vicepresident for Strategic Tax CostManagement Company � PeterStapay, Breckenridge, CO, is generalmanager of healthcare for Avolent,Inc. � Joni Roust Stapfer, Cedar, isgreen goods buyer for BebergLandscape Nursery � BethGustafson Sudduth, St. Petersburg,FL, is the HIV/AIDS surveillance pro-gram manager at the Pinellas CountyHealth Department � Kelly Thomton,Sartell, is human resources directorat CentraCare Health System � SueWeiskopf-Larson, Lino Lakes, is aprincipal at HLB Tautges, Redpath,Ltd. � Gwen Wilson, Minneapolis, isprogram director and executive di-rector of Girls Incorporated at theYWCA of Minneapolis.

88Class Agents:Gail Chase Ericson,Luther Hagen, Dave Pieper, JoAnnWackerfuss Quackenbush


Chris Beckman, Farmington, is pas-tor at Highview Christiana LutheranChurch � Chris Calhoon, Lakeville,teaches physical education andhealth at Falcon Ridge Middle School� Julie Jung Gullickson, Edina, is astay-at-home mom with four chil-dren � Rob Melin, Saukville, WI, isvice president of private banking andwealth management for AMCOREBank � Tammy Bonnes Root,Oakdale, teaches preschool atGethsemane Lutheran School inMaplewood � Jill Smook, AppleValley, is co-chair of the ECFEAdvisory Council, volunteers at theFamily School in Eagan, and runs theCub Scout Pack 290 food drive �Kelley Swansson, Sartell, teacheshealth and physical education at theSartell Middle School � DaveWerner, Omaha, NE, is plant manag-er for a 3M facility.

89Class Agents:Scott Anderson, Mike Dueber,Francine Pawelk Mocchi


Karen Chinander Dye, Palm BeachGardens, FL, is an assistant professorin the information technology and

operations management departmentin the College of Business at FloridaAtlantic University. In April 2006,she received the Florida AtlanticUniversity Award for Excellence andInnovation in Undergraduate Teachingand the 2006 Exceptional Faculty MACAward for the College of Business. �Tom Ett, Northfield, is working atWells Fargo � Karen Falkingham,Seattle, WA, is director of develop-ment for LAW Fund (Legal Aid forWashington) � Andrea ArendtFeliciano, Eden Prairie, is vice presi-dent at MRC Reinsurance Services,LLC � Kerri Nelson, Minneapolis, isan attorney with Holstein Kremer �Jay Peaslee, Littleton, CO, is vicepresident at Key Investment Services� Marc Setterlund, Alma, MI, waspromoted to full professor at AlmaCollege � Brian Swearingen,Appleton, WI, is a professional driverfor Action Marketing/Toyota.

90Class Agents:Liesl Batz, Anne K.Miller, Dan Michel, Scott Nelson


Cara Gould, Edina, is a financial ad-viser for Ameriprise FinancialServices, Inc. � Eric Hemme, EdenPrairie, is a public sector portfoliosales executive for Unisys Corp. �Sue Goehl Hemme, Eden Prairie, isan infertility nurse practitioner foran alliance between Serono andFreedom Fertility Pharmacy � ScottKneeskern, Stillwater, is creative di-rector at the Minnesota Orchestra �Darin Luehrs, Champlin, teachesphysical education and health and isdepartment chair at ColumbiaHeights High School � JodiErickson Luehrs, Champlin, is a sen-ior occupational therapist in thehand therapy department at ParkNicollet Clinics � Shari ZeiszlerMcGuire, Maple Grove, is an assis-tant vice president at Wells Fargo ininformation technology � EricReinicke, Platteville, WI, is a part-ner in the law firm of Day &Reinicke, LLP.

91Class Agent:position open


Brian Moore, Besigheim, Germany, isglobal enterprise strategy consultantfor Microsoft Corporation � PeterWestberg, London, England, is asenior manager forPriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Gustavus alumniNew book explores faculty collaborationCarol Hamrum Rutz ’71, Faribault, is co-editor of anew collection of essays on teaching, learning, and fac-ulty collaboration titled Building IntellectualCommunity Through Collaboration (Northfield, Minn.:College City Publications, 2007). Rutz and her co-edi-tor, Mary Savina, solicited and gathered contribu-tions documenting the programs, courses, and re-search that their fellow Carleton College facultymembers have designed, taught, or conducted withcolleagues as well as staff and students.

Rutz, who is a lecturer in English and directorof the Writing Program at Carleton, has co-edited

three previous volumes in the field of faculty developmentand teaching, including Dilemmas in Teaching (Madison, Wis.: Atwood

Publications, 1988), Classroom Spaces and Writing Instruction (Cresskill, N.J.:Hampton Press, 2004), and Reflections on Learning as Teachers (Northfield,Minn.: College City Publications, 2004).

Steiner’s band inducted into Hall of FameCity Mouse, the band Billy Steiner ’72 started while a student at Gustavus in1971, was inducted last April into the Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fameat the Medina Entertainment Center. In addition to Steiner, Mike Pengra ’80 isalso a member of the band, and the late Dr. Doug Dungey ’72 played with theband in the ’70s. Pictured front row from left are Dave Pengra (son of JimPengra ’50) and Tim Waters. Back row are Billy Steiner ’72, Dale Haefner,Mike Pengra ’80, and Ron Arsenault.

Bernhardson appointed to FourthDistrict benchOn April 27, 2007, Minnesota Governor TimPawlenty announced the appointment of IvySchutz Bernhardson ’73 to one of three trialcourt bench vacancies in the Fourth JudicialDistrict in Hennepin County.

Bernhardson had been chief legal officer atthe Hazelden Foundation since 2004. She was ashareholder at the law firm of Leonard, Streetand Deinard in Minneapolis from 2000 to 2004,except for four months in 2002 when she served

as senior vice president and general counsel with Medica Health Plans inMinnetonka. Prior to joining Leonard, Street and Deinard, she was a staff attor-ney, associate counsel, senior associate counsel, and associate general counselwith General Mills, Inc., in Golden Valley. She earned her J.D. degree cum laudefrom the University of Minnesota in 1978.

“Our courts are best served by judges who bring a variety of professional expe-riences with them to the bench,” Governor Pawlenty stated in announcingBernhardson’s appointment. “Ivy has excelled in civil law, and her expertise in thisarea will be a great benefit to the Hennepin County courts.”


Fall 2007 � 57

92Class Agent:Annie Marshall


Kim Hoglund Barth, Champlin, isaccounting manager for Great

Northern Equipment � PamCarlson, Shakopee, is a

program facilitator forRichfield IntermediateSchool District �Stephen J. Carlson,

Bemidji, is a member ofthe Department of Music at

Bemidji State University �Dennetta Isley Carmick, Batavia,IL, is a travel specialist nurse forMidwest Travel Medicine � PatrickDaugherty, Morrison, CO, is vicepresident for The Integer Group �Drew Davis, Bloomington, is districtsales manager for the business pay-roll division of Wells Fargo � AmyPacovsky DeGrote, Inver GroveHeights, is a stay-at-home mom �Ryan DeGrote, Inver Grove Heights,is a career-channel marketing man-ager for Thomson Learning � DanDissell, Baxter, is a science teacherat QSI International School ofBratislava � Christine BensonGiesing, Evergreen, CO, is a physi-cian at Exempla St. Joseph’s Hospital� Angela Vorwerk Gottschald,Dusseldorf, Germany, is a projectmanager for Cargill, Inc. � LauraOlson Houfek, Maple Grove, is anoccupational therapist for theMinnesota Masonic Home � SteveHoufek, Maple Grove, is funeral di-rector at Cremation Society ofMinnesota � Marna Kinney, NewHope, is meeting and event managerfor Carlson Companies, Inc. � JasonKnudtson, Belmont, MA, is a physi-cian at Midwest Surgical, P.A. �Steven Koch, Orr, is general contrac-tor and owner of Koch Construction� Beth Kueppers Martin,Shoreview, is on a leave of absencefrom Anoka-Hennepin ISD #11 and isa freelance sign language interpreter� Nicole Mattila Martin, Otsego, isa service consultant for The Hartford� Laura Mueller, New York, NY, isgallery director at Joan B. MirvissLimited Gallery � Peter Nee,Bloomington, is an EDI analyst forWilliams and Associates � JasonRipley, Northfield, received a Ph.D.in Biblical studies from PrincetonUniversity and is assistant professorof religion at St. Olaf College �Melissa Otto Rossow, South St.Paul, is assistant Ramsey County at-torney � Linda Anderson Sherman,Eden Prairie, is employed byMedtronic Neurotechnologies �Douglas Sipfle, Chino Hills, CA, is asoftware engineer for Robertson’s

Ready Mix, Inc. � Patrice Stamps,Minneapolis, is a public health nursefor the Minnesota Visiting NurseAgency � Peter Strom, Bozeman,MT, is self-employed � Kathy SheaZent, Minneapolis, is an editor forBest Mark.

93Class Agents:Craig Anderson, Kristen Lamont


Chad Bray, Red Wing, teaches mathat Red Wing High School � HeatherMcCleery Capistrant, Woodbury, isassistant Ramsey County Attorneyand was named one of 15 lawyers tothe Minnesota 2007 Rising Stars list� Chris Olson, New Prague, teachesbiology/science at MontgomeryLonsdale � Amy Beck Strom,Bozeman, MT, is fitness instructor forThe Ridge Athletic Club.

94Class Agents:Renae Munsterman,Anita Stockwell Ripken,Gretchen Anderson Zinsli


Amy Becker, Denver, CO, is a childand adult psychiatrist for JeffersonCounty � Andrew Berg,Chanhassen, is a partner at Abdo,Eick & Meyers � Chrissy EilertsonBronson, Eagan, has been appointeddeputy commissioner of theMinnesota Department of HumanServices � Daniel A. Carlson,Wayzata, is employed by AlliantMortgage � Jeremy Diamond,Brooklyn, NY, is executive vice presi-dent of finEye Corporation � SarahBoehlke Gilbertson, Chaska, teach-es choir at Chaska High School �Krista Martens Hitchcock,Chanhassen, is a stay-at-home mom� Ben Johnson-Markve, MiamiBeach, FL, is a doctoral candidate inclinical neuropsychology and is com-pleting an internship at University ofMiami/Jackson Memorial Hospital �Sarah Johnson-Markve, MiamiBeach, FL, is a graphic designer forCarlson Marketing � Knute Nelson,Edina, is senior education technolo-gy specialist for First Tech Computer� Shannon Eliason Thorsell,Woodbury, is employee relationsconsultant for Boston Scientific �Lori Klug Trocke, Norwood YoungAmerica, is a marketing manager forUnitedHealthcare � Beverly Weberis assistant professor of German atUniversity of Colorado at Boulder �Gretchen Anderson Zinsli, AlbertLea, graduated from University ofMinnesota School of Nursing and isan RN in the organ transplant ICU atRochester Methodist Hospital.

Lammers recognized by TaylorBruce Lammers ’80, Jordan, MN, was recognized byTaylor Publishing as a top sales representative withTaylor’s most prestigious award, The Founders Club.Criteria for the Founders Club encompass all aspects ofthe representative’s business, including both sales per-formance and customer satisfaction. Gustavus is one ofLammers’s clients, with Taylor producing both the 2006and 2007 Gustavian yearbooks.

Medford GustiesGusties employed by the Medford School District include Gabrielle Precilio Thon’82 (RN, health services), Gary Braun ’89 (special education and high potentiallearners coordinator), Judith Larson Slarks ’76 (elementary teacher), RachelDoppelhammer Yetzer ’98 (elementary teacher), and Julie Langenfeld ’03(physical education teacher).

Berkeley GustiesKathryn Day ’78 and ErinCunningham Dueber ’95are both associated withthe Miller Institute for BasicResearch in Science at theUniversity of California,Berkeley. Kathryn has beenthe administrative managerof the institute since 1989,and Erin was awarded aMiller Research Fellowshipfor three years, 2004–2007.This photo was taken at the

institute’s annual Interdisciplinary Symposium, held at Tomales Bay, CA, the week-end of June 1–3, 2007.

Recognized for refugeeservicesBarbara J. Day ’75 (left),Ellicot City, MD, has receivedan award from the Office ofthe Secretary of State for herwork with North Koreanrefugees. Day is the DomesticResettlement Section Chief,Office of Refugee Admissions,in the Bureau of Refugees,Population, and Migration atthe Department of State. TheSuperior Honor Award was

given to Day by Ellen Sauerbrey, the Assistant Secretary of State in the same bu-reau, and commends Day for “extraordinary effort and teamwork which has brokenthrough the substantial obstacles posed to the processing of North Koreans for ad-mission as refugees and ensured that they received a positive and dignified reset-tlement experience in the United States.” Day worked as part of a five-personteam to integrate the first North Korean refugees admitted to the United Statesunder special legislation.




95Class Agents:Sara Tollefson Currell,Amy Seidel


Jen Borer Bayley, Plymouth, is dis-trict manager for Mothers Work, Inc.� Lori Biederman, College Station,TX, received a Ph.D. in rangelandecology and management from TexasA & M University � Nancy Fleischer,Bloomington, is employed by HealthFitness Corporation � Jamie M.Kagol, Idaho Falls, ID, is a meteorol-ogist at the ABC affiliate in IdahoFalls � Kris Magnusson, Stillwater,is owner of The House-Board Shop �Brett Mitchell, Belton, TX, is assis-tant professor of medicine/nephrolo-gy & hypertension at Texas A&MHealth Science Center � MichelleNikels, Denver, CO, is assistant pro-fessor of internal medicine atUniversity of Colorado HealthScience Center � RaymondPeterson, Duluth, has been named apartner with the law firm of Maki &Overom � Kari Carlson Takahashi,Rochester, received a master’s degreein adult education and is finishing amaster certificate program in humanresource development at Universityof Minnesota � Mark Umbreit,Faribault, sold ownership and willclose a family owned store, TowerLiquor.

96Class Agent:Shawn Mayfield


Steph Gripne, Boulder, CO, is theland conservation program managerat The Nature Conservancy � PatrickHaugen, Bemidji, is special educa-tion teacher for Cass Lake-BenaSchools � Steven Lommen,Minneapolis, is a recruitment and re-tention specialist for PPL LearningCenter.

97Class Agents:Melissa LeVesque-Piela,Josh Peterson, JonSwanson, Stef Tucker


Kimberly Bangstad Anders,Shakopee, is marketing process de-signer for Best Buy � TroyBachmann, Chaska, is an attorneyfor American Family Insurance �Christopher Choukalas, Chicago,resident physician at the Universityof Chicago Hospitals, has been select-ed as a Foundation for AnesthesiaEducation and Research (FAER)Resident Scholar and will attend thisyear’s American Society ofAnesthesiologists annual meeting inSan Francisco in October � KendraKnutson Ferreyra, New Hope, is a

weight loss consultant for JennyCraig � Patrick Fischer,Chattanooga, TN, is anorgan builder forRichards, Fowkes &Co. � Staci WaszGrigg, Carthage, NY, isa full-time nursing stu-dent � Brian Hansen,Kilkenny, is a representative withEdward Jones � KarissaWicklander, White Bear Lake, is abuyer for Target Corporation �Marsha Richardson Koski, Duluth, isemployed by Granite Works �Jonathan Kujawa is an assistantprofessor at University of Oklahoma� Tarek Lada’a, Knoxville, TN, isproject manager for environmentalrestoration of former Myrtle BeachAir Force Base � Amy HerbertLeval, Norrkoping, Sweden, is a clin-ical nurse researcher atUniversitetssjukhuset i Linköping �Amy Fisher Manahan, Minneapolis,is an accounting supervisor forUnitedHealthcare � AdamMcFarlane, Mound, is a senior courtclerk for the Fourth District Court ofMinnesota � Terri Carlin Mikolich,Otsego, is a homemaker � OllethaMuhammad, St. Paul, is lead train-er/retention specialist for Project forPride in Living � Rachel MichaelNilsson, Minneapolis, is a usabilityarchitect for Unisys Corporation �Peter O’Keefe, Washington, DC, isCFO for BTX Industries, Inc. � JeffRasmussen, Farmington, is em-ployed by Hennepin FacultyAssociates � Maren HenryRasmussen, Farmington, is a home-maker � Noah Rouen, Minneapolis,is vice president of accounts forPublic Affairs Company � ThomasRydland, St. Paul, is a student atLuther Seminary � Kate BlanchardShiroff, Denver, CO, is a legislativeauditor for the Colorado Office of theState Auditor � Megan CroninSimonson, Edina, is a stay-at-homemom � Rolf Simonson, Edina, is afamily physician at Park Nicollet �Noel Stout, Austin, TX, is an attor-ney for Aikan and Almanza �Danette Schultz Tolan, Milford, IA,is associate resident instructor atHope Haven � Darin Tysdal,Chanhassen, is vice president of fi-nance and administration forAmerican Spirit Graphics.

98Class Agents:Gigi Wait Dobosenski,Erin Tripp Halverson,Brad Peterson


Keith Carlson Fredrick, Big Lake, isa production manager for MinnesotaNative Landscapes � Bob Fossum,

Gustavus alumni

Providing healthcare in BangladeshDiane Bergman Petersen ’81, Edina (right), is serving as president of the boardfor Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh and has traveled to that country three of thelast four years, the first time in 2003 with Dr. Maynard Jacobson ’52, retired pro-fessor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Veterans Medical Center. LHCB ispart of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is dedicated to serving thewomen, children, and families in rural southern Bangladesh. LHCB provides mater-nal and child healthcare, education, community development programs, micro-savings group formation, safe water, and improved sanitation projects. The com-prehensive healthcare facility is located in the village of Dumki in southernBangladesh. The people in the surrounding villages are served through their com-munity outreach programs and mobile health clinics. Petersen is pictured withJacobson at a Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh Board of Directors meeting. Learnmore at lhcb.org.

’81 grads meetClassmates from the Class of 1981 gathered at the home of Brenda BendorfEbanks on Star Lake near Dent, MN. Pictured are Brenda Bendorf Ebanks, BethOnkka Stuckey, Julie Altman Simacek, Kathy Carson Klug, Becky WaldnerLingl, and Regan Barke Allen.

Elementary P.E. Teacher of the YearMarci Mannella Wills ’81 was named 2006Elementary Physical Education Teacher of theYear by the Minnesota Association for Health,Physical Education, Recreation and Dance(MAHPERD) at its annual fall conference inNovember. The award is given to practitionerswho are members of MAHPERD and AAHPERDand who demonstrate exemplary teaching abili-ties in their respective grade levels and disci-plines. Wills now teaches at ParksideElementary School in Buffalo, MN, after servingfor 19 years in the St. Peter school system. Shealso recently received her National Board ofTeaching Certificate in Early and Middle Childhood Elementary PhysicalEducation—the only one in the state to date.



Fall 2007 � 59

St. Paul, is employed at CapitolRegion Watershed District � BenHaddorff, West Bend, WI, is a finan-cial adviser for Waddell & Reed �Ryan Hagemeier, Madison, WI, iscorrective and preventative actionprocess leader for GE Healthcare �Christine Nelson Karki,Robbinsdale, is curriculum managerfor the Guthrie Theater � GlennKranking completed a year of re-search in Sweden, Estonia, andRussia for his doctoral dissertationfunded by a scholarship from theAmerican Swedish Institute and theAmerican Scandinavian Foundationand is returning as a doctoral candi-date in the department of history atOhio State University � KeeganO’Brien Louis, Colorado Springs, CO,teaches kindergarten at ChristaMcAullife at Cimarron HillsElementary School � RuebenNilsson, Minneapolis, is quality sys-tems coordinator for Faribault Dairy� Landon Pirius, Bloomington, re-ceived a Ph.D. in educational policyand administration from Universityof Minnesota � Jennifer RobeReiland, Oshkosh, WI, is an op-tometrist in Oshkosh � AndreaMenge Tysdal, Chanhassen, is vicepresident and general manager forJEM Technical Marketing, Inc. �Rachel Whitcomb Fossum, St. Paul,is a business analyst for TargetCorporation.

99Class Agents:Philip Eidsvold, Jesse Torgerson


Kadie Stone Davis, St. Peter, is aprogram manager for ScholarshipAmerica � Melissa Miller Dols,Rogers, is product manager, women’shealth for Gyrus ACMI � ElizabethReed Eden, Queen Creek, AZ, is anurse educator for Phoenix Children’sHospital � Matt Eden, Queen Creek,AZ, is vice president for J. P. MorganChase � Kerry Eisenbarth, St. LouisPark, teaches in the Shakopee SchoolDistrict � Amanda Wright Elfstrum,Minneapolis, is healthcare economicsmanager for Medtronic � TorunnAllen Harty, New Hope, received amaster of arts degree in special edu-cation from University of St. Thomas� Christie Larson Kroells,Rosemount, is a postal inspector forthe U.S. Postal Inspection Service �Tara Ferguson Lopez, St. Cloud, isan assistant Mille Lacs County attor-ney � Ann Melchert Meverden,Oakdale, is senior program managerfor StayWell Health Management �Heather Nielsen, Montpelier, VT, iseducation and training manager forthe Vermont Youth Conservation

Corps � Joanna Josephson Roberg,Fargo, ND, received a doctor of phar-macy degree from North DakotaState University � Keri EngelRouen, Minneapolis, is merchandisebuyer for The Foursome � BobSouthworth, St. Peter, is vice presi-dent and branch manager forHometown Bank � Sara SchonrockSouthworth, St. Peter, is an ac-countant for Osborne Hicks � JulieLandreman Sulamoyo, Kenosha, WI,received a master of arts degree inteaching from Cardinal StritchUniversity � Rob Williams,Deerwood, teaches third grade and isgirls’ basketball head coach in theAitkin School District.

00Class Agents:Corey Bartlett, Bonnie Dahlke, Meghan Krause


Christian Albert, Chiba-ken, Japan,teaches English at Senshu UniversityMatsudo High School in Japan �Alicia Barron, Manvel, TX, received amaster’s of social work degree fromUniversity of Houston GraduateCollege of Social Work � Sonya GeeCalgren, Minneapolis, received amaster of social work degree fromCollege of St. Catherine/University ofSt. Thomas � Katy Fraser, New York,NY, is a post-doctoral fellow atMount Sinai School of Medicine �David Gullickson, Hopkins, is amedic in the U.S. Army � RhondaJohnson, New York City, NY, receiveda master’s degree in public healthfrom University of Medicine andDentistry of New Jersey � AngieHendrickson Kerkman, Hercules,CA, is human resources manager forHomeGain � Brooke Lundquist,Washington, DC, received a Ph.D.from George Washington UniversityLaw School and is director of govern-ment and political affairs at DowChemical Company � MelanieLarsen Sinouthasy, Osseo, is work-ing with multicultural and women’saffairs at Dunwoody College ofTechnology � Krissa A. Skogen,Storrs Mansfield, CT, is a Ph.D. candi-date at University of Connecticut �Brian Smith, Oxford, England, isstudying physics at Oxford University.

01Class Agents:Hal DeLaRosby, Cassie Carver Larson


Victoria Czupryna, Plymouth, isutility account coordinator forAppliance Recycling Centers ofAmerica, Inc. � Doug Everling,Minneapolis, is a wholesaler withTransamerica Life Distributors �

Brad Gustin, Bethel, MO, is a tourguide for Heartland Ministries innortheast Missouri � RandeeScheffert Onken, Le Center, is a Webmarketing specialist for James Tower� Megan Gunderson Paredes, Napa,CA, is an assistant winemaker forHall Wines � Kenneth Pritchard,Stillwater, is employed by RetailConstruction Services � Anne

Spence, Bloomington, is a mentalhealth clinician for CrossroadsCounseling Services.

02Class Agents:Katherine MedberyOleson, Karen Warkentien


Joe Altermatt, Le Sueur, is a projectmanager for IEA � Melissa

Alum journalist visits campusJohn Biewen ’83, Durham, NC, returned to campus April 16 and 17 to spend timewith students and share his expertise in radio journalism and documentary pro-duction. Biewen is audio program director at the Center for Documentary Studiesat Duke University, where he produces documentaries and features for NPR,American Public Media, and other public radio audiences. During his visit, Biewenspent time in classes in communications ethics, video presentation, and philoso-phy; presented a workshop titled “Ethics for the Media Reporter/Producer”; andaddressed the topic “Embracing a Social Conscience in Your Career” at an eveninglecture open to the public.

Biewen’s visit was sponsored and orchestrated by the Campus Media Boardpictured with Biewen. Clockwise from left are Martin Lang ’95, instructor in com-munications studies and Media Board adviser, Biewen, Greg Boone ’09, DavidKogler ’01, assistant director of admission and Weekly adviser, Siddarth Selvaraj’08, and Tane Soeldner-Danger ’07. Not pictured is Katherine Mason ’09.

Allison leads technology initiativeJill Johnson Allison ’83, Edina, MN, hasbeen appointed president of OilTek and vicepresident for Avalon Oil and Gas. Oiltek, Inc,is a subsidiary of Avalon and develops tech-nology for application to oil and gas explo-ration and production enhancement.

In leading Avalon’s new technology initia-tives, Allison brings over 20 years of diversi-fied management experience in business de-velopment and technology commercializationto the table. Prior to joining Avalon, shemanaged a technology strategy consultingpractice with focus in the market convergence

of physical and IT security industries. Her venture development background in-cludes market leadership positions with Monsanto, Iridian Technologies,Pinkertons, and Cylink Corporation.

After majoring in economics at Gustavus, Allison went on to earn a master’sdegree in international management (MIM) from the American Graduate School ofInternational Management (Thunderbird), Glendale, AZ, and an MBA in strategicand entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School of the University ofPennsylvania, where she focused on strategic alliances and management of tech-nology.



Barkalow, Arlington, VA, sells realestate for Coldwell Banker � LauraBeduhn, Golden, CO, teaches sixthgrade at Summit View ElementarySchool in Highlands Ranch � EricBell, St. Anthony, is self-employed� Kevin Bergeson, MendotaHeights, received a master’s of divin-ity degree from Luther Seminary �Leah Nelson Bulver, Savage, teach-es second grade at WestwoodElementary � Christine Carlson,White Bear Lake, is an environmentalgeologist for SEH, Inc. � LisaAtterberry Cogswell, Eden Prairie,teaches for the Fridley SchoolDistrict � Jon Dale, Tucson, AZ, isstudying cultural anthropology atUniversity of Arizona � KatyDuncan Davenport, Savage, is man-ager of financial reporting at UnitedHealth Group � Brooke Dirtzu,Cottage Grove, is a Ph.D. student inhistory at Emory University � KatieErickson, Bemidji, is a judicial lawclerk for the State of Minnesota �Kjirsten Holmquist Everling,Minneapolis, is a program managerwith Ryan Partnership � HeatherPearson Gammon, Minneapolis,

graduated from Universityof Minnesota MedicalSchool and is a OB/GYNresident � Sara BriggerGleason, Apple Valley, leadsthe sales communication team atNorthwest Airlines � Chris Greavu,Los Angeles, CA, is manager of retailmarketing operations for 20thCentury Fox Studios � Luke Harper,Minneapolis, is starting a recordingstudio called Audio Altimeter �Mandy Havnen, Winston-Salem, NC,received a Ph.D. in biomedical engi-neering from Wake Forest University� Chris Huizinga, St. Paul, is assis-tant manager and Scotch buyer forSutter’s Wines & Spirits � MollyO’Keefe Kramer, St. Michael, is abuyer for Target Corporation � MaryDahmen Lundquist, Isanti, teacheshigh school English at St. Francis ISD#15 � Matt Miller, Madison, WI, isa physics graduate student atUniversity of Wisconsin � KatherineMedbery Oleson, Des Moines, WA,works at Bellevue Community College� Keely Johnson Pearson,Richfield, is an environmental con-sultant for Barr EngineeringCompany � Dan Routh, AppleValley, is general manager forAmerican Eagle Outfitters � KirstenFrydenlund Rueckert, Rochester, isemployed by the Rochester SchoolDistrict � Mark Schwanke,Woodstock, IL, is employed byMotorola, Inc. � Cindy Sonntag,White Bear Lake, is in the doctor ofphysical therapy program at Collegeof St. Catherine � Lyric St. John,Reno, NV, is employed at CharlesRiver LLC � Allie Ziegler Tilbury,Woodbury, is a customer relationsmanager for Pulte Homes � TracyVicory, Seattle, WA, is a graduatestudent in creative writing in Seattle� Laura Wagner is 1st Lt., SpecialOperations, for the U.S. Air Force �Sarah Wagner, West Des Moines, IA,is a merchant for soybean meal atCargill, Inc. � Jill Wendorff,Hutchinson, is a graduate student inarchitecture at University of Kansasand had a home design featured inArchitecture magazine � ErinHolloway Wilken, Maple Grove, isassociate director of youth and fami-ly ministries at Lord of Life LutheranChurch � Mike Wilken, Maple Grove,is a transportation sales representa-tive for C.H. Robinson Company.

03Class Agents:Jenny Lingle Beer, MikkelGusenius, Jade Bakke,Leslie Wilcox


Gina Sehnert Burmeister, AppleValley, is a customer service manager

Gustavus alumni

Celebrating in SonomaLast May several Gusties gathered at an event in Sonoma, CA, including five members of the Class of 1987 who will celebratethe 20th anniversary of their graduation in October. Pictured from left are Kevin Sheys ’84, Andrea Chilkott Sheys ’87, RobCornish, Susi Herrick Cornish ’87, Ann Jaeger Malm ’87, Rudy Gulstrand ’61, Julie Gulstrand St. Leger ’90, Carolyn FalkSund ’87, and Amy Lindblom Vargo ’87.

Chance meeting in ManzanilloWhile visiting her brother, Scott, in Manzanillo, Mexico, last March, Tari GouldRiley ’85, Fairmont, MN, had the opportunity to meet Bridget Daniel ’03 afterScott had a chance meeting with Bridget at the airport and invited her to hishome. In conversation with Bridget, Scott learned that she had met Tari’s friendLydia Flora Radke ’84 in Portland, OR, after Lydia called Bridget about socialwork. Pictured from left are Bridget Daniel ’03, Sasha Riley, Scott Gould, andTari Gould Riley ’85.

Gullikson releases two tennis instructional DVDsBruce Gullikson ’85, tennis professional at the 98th StreetAthletic Club, has released two tennis instructional DVDs, titledBruce Gullikson: Games & Drills to Build a Successful HighSchool Tennis Program, featuring Steve Paulsen, and Drillsand Games for High Performance Tennis.

Games & Drills to Build a Successful High School TennisProgram is filled with a dozen drills and games that Paulsenuses every day in practice that have helped build the EdinaHigh School girls’ tennis into a tennis powerhouse. Doublesdrills work on serve, volley, movement, and consistency, whilesingles drills focus on ground strokes. The DVD concludes with a

number of games that stress fundamentals but are done in a fun atmosphere. Drills and Games for High Performance Tennis shares many new and creative drills for improved tennis. The drills featured

are very demanding and push players to play while fatigued. Dozens of innovative, fundamental drills make this excellent pres-entation on tennis drills and games a valuable coaching tool. More information is online at www.championshipproductions.com.



Fall 2007 � 61

The Gustavus Office of Alumni Relations was the“client” for Professor of Economics and ManagementBruce Johnson’s spring marketing research class. Theclass divided into two teams to research alumni percep-tion of church relatedness and their perception ofGustavus’s endowment, average gift size, and percent-age of alumni who contribute annually. The results oftheir surveys are summarized below:

Church relatednessThe purpose of this survey was to learn more about theoverall attitude of alumni regarding church relatednessat Gustavus Adolphus College. Knowledgeable professorson the topic were interviewed on campus; Arne Selbyg,director for colleges and universities of the ELCA, wascontacted; and an electronic survey was sent to morethan 3,600 random Gustavus alumni. The team ana-lyzed trends between women and men, perceptions ofchurch-relatedness, and lifestyle trends. Here is a briefsummary of their findings:

• 1,232 alumni responded from the original 3,600• The majority of respondents graduated in the past 20

years. • 35 percent would like to see more religious class re-

quirements, compared to five percent in favor offewer religious class requirements.

• Many alumni appreciated that classes they had takenwere not restricted to the Lutheran faith alone, butwere often eye-openers to other religious beliefs,and offered a foundation for individual moral andspiritual growth.

• Almost 70 percent were in favor of seeing no changein Gustavus’s affiliation with the Lutheran Church.

• Women were more involved in church-related activitiesand had stronger responses than men.

• Overall, men and women both shared the same view-points towards Gustavus’s church relatedness.

• The majority of respondents saw the level of religiousaffiliation at Gustavus as “just right.”

• Alumni appreciate that the Lutheran religion is pres-ent but not forced upon the students.

Endowment, average gift size, percentage ofalumni participation

A survey was designed to learn alumni perception re-garding Gustavus’s endowment, average gift size, andpercentage of alumni who give annually to the College.

Peer schools used in the survey for comparison wereAugustana College-Rock Island, (IL); Luther College(IA); St. John’s/St. Benedict (MN); St. Olaf (MN); andWittenberg (OH). Seven hundred alumni respondedfrom electronic surveys sent to 2,000 alumni.

Endowment• 83 percent of alumni knew very little or had no under-

standing of the relationship of budget and endow-ment.

• Although 76 percent thought Gustavus’s endowmentis equal to or greater than peer schools, in 2006Gustavus’s endowment was less than all peerschools. 54 percent were surprised by this fact.

• After comparing Gustavus’s endowment with peerschools, 81 percent said Gustavus’ endowmentneeds to increase.

Average gift size• 76 percent of alumni knew very little or had no under-

standing of the relationship of budget and annualgiving.

• Although 67 percent of alumni thought Gustavus’s av-erage alumni gift was equal to or greater than peerschools, in 2006 Gustavus’s average gift was greaterthan only one peer school. 68 percent were not sur-prised by this fact.

• After comparing Gustavus’s average alumni gift sizewith peer schools, 55 percent responded Gustavus’saverage gift needs to increase.

Percentage of alumni giving• 76 percent of alumni thought the percentage of

Gustavus alumni who contribute annually to theCollege was equal to or greater than peer schools;in fact, in 2006 Gustavus’s percentage of participa-tion was less than only one peer school. 43 percentwere surprised by this fact.

• After comparing Gustavus’ alumni participation in giv-ing with peer schools, 70 percent said Gustavus’sparticipation is adequate.

Overall, most alumni feel that Gustavus’s resources aregreater than they actually are. They were surprised atGustavus’s endowment in comparison with peer schoolsand felt the endowment should be increased. The surveyalso revealed a substantial lack of knowledge regardinghow the College’s endowment and annual giving affectseveryday operations.

Students survey alumni perceptions

The church-relatedness survey team: from left, KaseNiles ’07, Mitch Anderson ’08, Vince Oldre ’08,Tiffany Plante ’07, and Lisa Chmielewski ’07.

The endow-ment surveyteam, MeganTepper ’07,BobbyBonine ’07,Russ Gerads’07, andMikeHosfield ’07.

for US Bancorp � Kirsten Hall Juhl,Richfield, received an M.D. degreefrom University of North DakotaSchool of Medicine and HealthSciences � Lindsay Larson, St. Paul,is senior editor for Thomson WestPublishing � Erica Lindroth,Lincoln, NE, is an entomology Ph.D.student at University of Nebraska,Lincoln � Rachel Lohn,Minneapolis, is a senior member ad-vocate for the Employee AssistanceProgram at CIGNA Behavioral Health� Adam Long, Lincoln City, OR, isassistant manager at Walgreens �Semonti Mustaphi, Arlington, VA,works in the office of Senator AmyKlobuchar � Spencer Seamans,Minneapolis, graduated fromUniversity of Minnesota Law School� Aeleah Soine, St. Paul, received amaster’s degree in European historyfrom University of Minnesota.

04Class Agents:Amanda Frie, GuthrieMichael, Marnie Nelson,Josh Williams


Corinne Carlson, St. Cloud, receiveda master’s degree in industrial andorganizational psychology from St.Cloud State University � GillDawson, Appleton, WI, received amaster’s degree in library and infor-mation science from University ofWisconsin-Madison and is a teenservices librarian at the OutagamieCounty Public Library � MattFitzthum, Minneapolis, is a com-modity trader for CommoditySpecialists Company (CSC) �Amanda Frie, St. Peter, is a fieldrepresentative for Congressman TimWalz � Melissa Haley, Rochester,received a master’s degree in schoolpsychology and is a working as aschool psychologist in the MankatoArea Public Schools while completingan educational specialist degree �Sara Halle, Des Moines, IA, is a judi-cial law clerk for the state of Iowa �Hillary Harms, St. Paul, graduatedfrom Hamline School of Law � SaraSchewe Kalis, Prior Lake, graduatedfrom University of Minnesota LawSchool � Nicole Nesseth, Windom,is a marketing representative atFederated Insurance � DianaWichmann Reindal, Alden, is an ac-countant for South CentralManagement Services � AdamRupp, Mankato, is a member ofHome Free, an a cappella group �Katy Berquam Vrieze, Coralville, IA,is studying molecular and cellular bi-ology at University of Iowa �Lindsey Weis, Mankato, is an admis-sions officer at Minnesota StateUniversity, Mankato � Josh



Williams, Burnsville, is marketingand communications manager forRonald McDonald House Charities,Upper Midwest � Lindsay Wurst,Urbandale, IA, is production coordi-nator of Figure magazine, a new mag-azine targeted for plus-size women.

05Class Agents:Kevin Hansen, LizZappetillo Lewis, Anne Michaletz Viljaste,Becky Neitzke, JessicaNelson, Anne Shipley


Betsy Appleton, Washington, DC, isdigital serials integration librarian

for George Washington University �Linnea Bjorkman, Denver, CO, is awomen’s resource advocate at theGathering Place, a center for home-less and low-income women andchildren � Stacy Boesch, Shakopee,is account planner for the WahlstromGroup � Steve Chismar,Bloomington, is a marketing repre-sentative at Federated Insurance �Kari Den Otter, Washington, DC, re-ceived a master’s degree in politicalmanagement from GeorgeWashington University � KimEisenreich, Providence, RI, is a com-munity organizer for Neighbor WorksBlackstone River Valley � Aaron

Flohrs, St. Paul, is an analyst atMcKinsey and Company � BrandonGillette, Lawrence, KS, is a Ph.D.student in philosophy at Universityof Kansas � Jacob Granholm, ArdenHills, received a master’s degree inpublic policy from the HumphreyInstitute of Public Affairs and is amanagement analyst for theMinnesota Department ofEmployment & EconomicDevelopment � Jill Hiscock isstudying education and educationleadership at University ofMinnesota, Duluth � CraigJankowski, Bondurant, IA, is a mar-keting representative at FederatedInsurance � Hannah Julien,Minnetrista, is studying for a mas-ter’s degree in speech/languagepathology at University of Minnesota� Erin Klein, Baltimore, MD, gradu-ates from the M.D./Ph.D. programthis fall at University of NorthCarolina-Chapel Hill � GwenKoenig, East Lansing, MI, received amaster’s degree in counseling fromMichigan State University � BradyKrusemark, Chaska, is director ofbands at Waconia High School �Carmen Leger, Alexandria, is banddirector for the Ashby School District� Lyz Baranowski Lenz, CedarRapids, IA, is a documentary filmwriter for American Visions Group �Nichole Petersen Porath, Eagan, re-ceived an MBA from Carlson Schoolof Management and is a pricing ana-lyst at Lockheed Martin and is crosscountry coach at Academy of HolyAngels � Seth Richtsmeier,Peabody, MA, is associate inventoryanalyst for TechTarget, an IT mediacompany � Kristi Paulsen Ringen,Mankato, is a graduate student inspecial education and teaches fifthgrade in Le Sueur � KatieSchoeneck, West St. Paul, is doingan internship with the GuthrieTheater � Elizabeth Seefeldt, St.Paul, is a graphics designer for thein-store marketing team at Target �Kallie Kachelmyer Stroh, Chaska, isdirector of youth and family ministryat Faith Lutheran Church � LindenZakula, Arlington, VA, is press secre-tary for Senator Amy Klobuchar �Shawn Zellman, St. Louis Park, is anengineering recruiter for NorthlandEmployment Services.

06Class Agents:Anders Eckman, MattForbes, Jessica Olson,Katie Parks, MolliePeterson, Matt Swenson


Jose Alba Hernandez, Mankato, is amedical researcher at DukeUniversity � Sara Burns, St. Paul, is

serving with AmeriCorps withAdmission Possible � ConnieGardner, Conway, AR, is an area co-ordinator for Hendrix College � SaraGove, Chicago, IL, is a developmentassociate for Community NutritionNetwork and Meals on WheelsFoundation of Cook County � TrentHollerich, Good Thunder, is a claimsrepresentative at FederatedInsurance � Mark Iverson,Washington, DC, enlisted in theMarine Corps � Hannah Johnson,Osceola, WI, is a master of divinitystudent at Luther Seminary � SarahKarulf, Fort Collins, CO, is a claimsrepresentative at FederatedInsurance � Eva Landeros, LosAngeles, CA, is starting law schoolthis fall at University of St. ThomasSchool of Law � Kate Lawson,Seattle, WA, is doing EarthCorps,which is an AmeriCorps program �Megan Olson, Eden Prairie, teachesfirst grade in the Belle Plaine SchoolDistrict � Brianna Sander, Osseo, isan intern at River Bend NatureCenter in Faribault � Mary Scheller,St. Peter, works in nursing at St.Peter Community Hospital � AndyTimmer, Shakopee, is program man-ager for the Scott County HistoricalSociety � Katy Warren, Papillion,NE, is a youth director atThanksgiving Lutheran Church �Laura Carr Whittaker, Duluth, is aproject coordinator for the AmericanLung Association � Matt Whittaker,Duluth, teaches English at MarshallSchool.

WeddingsRhonda Beane ’75 and Richard

Bakke, 7/31/05, Duluth, MN.Marci Mannella ’81 and Robert

Wills, 6/3/06, Osseo, MN.Kari Boorsma ’84 and Bill Woodson,

2/3/07, Apple Valley, MN.Greg Schaeffer ’87 and Marilee

Cowan, 6/9/07, Burnsville, MN.Chris Calhoon ’88 and Mary

Cleveland, 3/15/06, Lakeville,MN.

Karen Chinander ’89 and ThomasDye, 3/24/07, Palm BeachGardens, FL.

Kari Hatlen ’92 and Jay Aiken,6/21/07, Bigfork, MT.

Dave Hultgren ’92 and ReneeHultgren, 10/7/06, Shawnee, KS.

Angela Vorwerk ’92 and JanGottschald, 4/15/06, Dusseldorf,Germany.

Paul Djupe ’93 and Kate Morrisey,4/14/07, Columbus, OH.

Michael Weber ’93 and AmberHvang, 10/23/06, New York, NY.

Gustavus alumni

Service and Retirement RecognitionThe Gustavus Alumni Association honored faculty and administrators withservice and retirement awards at a banquet last May.

30 YearsSteve Waldhauser ’70, directorof editorial services; JulieJohnson ’69, director of aca-demic advising; and AlBehrends ’77, director of com-munication services and finearts programs. Not pictured areDeborah Downs-Miers, associ-ate professor of English, andKaren Larson, professor of an-thropology and interdisciplinarystudies.

35 YearsWill Freiert, professor of clas-sics, and Dean Wahlund ’72,director of communication serv-ices and special events.

RetireesFront row: Roger McKnight, professor of Scandinavian studies; RobGardner, professor of theatre and dance; Allan Splittgerber, professor ofchemistry. Back row: David Wicklund ’63, registrar; Judy Gardner, associ-ate professor of nursing; Michael Haeuser, professor, academic librarian,and college archivist; and Jane Coleman, associate professor of nursing.


Fall 2007 � 63

Miriam Vos ’96 and Dey Perez,12/30/06, Burbank, CA.

Amy Fisher ’97 and MichaelManahan, 9/16/05, Minneapolis,MN.

Michael Reed ’97 and Angela Greer,4/10/07, St. Louis Park, MN.

Kristin Beard ’99 and Luke Harper’02, 4/28/07, Minneapolis, MN.

Christine Larson ’99 and RyanKroells, 9/10/05, Rosemount, MN.

Angela Hendrickson ’00 and AlanKerkman, 2/17/07, Hercules, CA.

Sarah Jenkins ’00 and NathanEvans, 4/21/07, Rohnert Park,CA.

Andrew Shallue ’00 and HeatherEvert, 6/10/06, Madison, WI.

Brad Gustin ’01 and MaryKristensen, Bethel, MO.

Lisa Atterberry ’02 and TrevorCogswell, 2/17/07, Eden Prairie,MN.

Laura Beres ’02 and Andrew Bristle,5/26/07, Montevideo, MN.

Kirsten Frydenlund ’02 and JesseRueckert, Rochester, MN.

Krista Fuerstenberg ’02 and ChadThomas, 4/26/07, Woodbury,MN.

Leah Nelson ’02 and Brad Bulver,3/24/07, Savage, MN.

Allison Opay ’02 and Jimmy Wong,5/19/07, Woodbury, MN.

Heather Pearson ’02 and BrandonGammon, 3/24/07, Minneapolis,MN.

Alyssa Stanley ’02 and ErikStroemer, 5/5/07, Lakeville, MN.

Annika Wilson ’02 and Dan Hanson,5/22/07, Maple Grove, MN.

Allison Ziegler ’02 and Todd Tilbury,9/3/05, Woodbury, MN.

Berit Aune ’03 and Aaron Allar ’03,5/19/07, St. Paul, MN.

Rebecca Boesen ’03 and ThomasAnderson, 4/21/07, Plymouth,MN.

Beth Jorgenson ’03 and MattGissibl, 5/27/07, Wauwatosa,WI.

Nick Peterson ’03 and Kristina Glad,10/14/06, Riverside, CA.

Jennifer Schmitz ’03 and RobertBarnes, 10/14/06, Marion, IA.

Amanda Smith ’03 and DavidGullickson ’00, 5/22/07,Hopkins, MN.

Vanessa Young ’03 and ThomasBurton, Minneapolis, MN.

Angela Janda ’04 and AaronGoldstein, 4/13/07, Santa Fe,NM.

Andrea Kleven ’04 and DanielCroaston, 5/12/07, Rogers, MN.

Claire Mielke ’04 and BryantRogness ’04, 5/5/07,Mahtomedi, MN.

Diana Wichmann ’04 and HeathReindal, 11/11/06, Alden, MN.

Thriving in the CaribbeanThrivent financial advisers from the Twin Cities region went on a Caribbean cruise last February and gathered for a groupphoto. Front row from left are Bruce Ensrud ’90, Nicole Davis Ensrud ’92, Melissa Golberg Molin ’98, Sheryl RussethElvestrom ’92, Diane Mickelson Brady ’70, Jennifer Johnson Cords ’97, Sarah Handahl Ahlberg ’03, Anne Marie MillerWinskowski ’04, and Lucas Winskowski ’04. Back row are Chad Henke ’02, Kyle Molin ’98, Jim Elvestrom ’92, Matt Cords’97, Lucas Ahlberg ’04, Tim Jenneke ’98, Betsy Starz ’02, and Mark Ohlmann ’96. Not pictured was Dan Myers ’04.

Contributes to Katrina chronicleKaty Reckdahl ’87 was one of seven journalists commis-sioned by the Center for Public Inquiry to investigate andreport on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in NewOrleans. The journalists interviewed homeowners, first re-sponders and politicians, evacuees and ordinary citizensto explore the devastating effect of the storm fromevery angle, including healthcare, social services, hous-ing and insurance, and emergency preparedness. Theirreports were collected into a book, City Adrift: NewOrleans Before and After Katrina (Louisiana StateUniversity Press, 2007), which uniquely details not onlywhat went wrong in the Big Easy but also provides a road map to avoidingsimilar disasters in the future.

Reckdahl, a freelance writer who has written about New Orleans since 1999,has tackled topics ranging from homelessness and HIV-positive women to MardiGras Indians and jazz musicians. She has won numerous awards for her work, in-cluding a Casey Journalism Center Medal, the James Aronson Award for SocialJustice Journalism, and the Press Club of New Orleans’s Alex Waller MemorialAward for three consecutive years. She also has been awarded a Katrina MediaFellowship from the Open Society Institute. On August 28, 2005—the day beforeHurricane Katrina struck—she gave birth to her son, Hector, in a New Orleans hos-pital. She left the city two days after the storm, then lived as an evacuee inPhoenix, Ariz., before returning to New Orleans in July 2006.

Multhaup receives teaching awardKristi Multhaup ’87, associate professor of psy-chology at Davidson College, Davidson, NC, receivedthe college’s Hunter-Hamilton Love of TeachingAward this year. Each award includes $7,500 forthe recipient, and $7,500 more for the recipient todesignate to a college cause. Multhaup joined theDavidson College faculty in 1996 and specializes incognitive aging and memory. She was recentlynamed a Fellow of the American PsychologicalAssociation, an honor that recognizes outstandingnational contributions in the field.

Elected to lead Iowa funeral directorsDaniel Eckhoff ’91, funeral director with Christy-Smith Funeral Home in Sioux City, IA, was installed as president-elect of theIowa Funeral Directors Association (IFDA) during the 127th annual IFDA Convention held in April in Ames, IA. Eckhoff waselected to serve a one-year term in this capacity by his peers in the association, which represents more than 640 licensed fu-neral directors in the state and promotes high standards within the field of funeral service through continuing education pro-grams, legislative representation, and service to Iowa communities.

Eckhoff managed Behrens Mortuary in Rapid City, SD, before joining Christy-Smith Funeral Homes in August of 2000 as fu-neral director and COO for the firm.

GustieBlack&Gold Fridays

On campus andthroughout the country,Gusties are encouragedto wear your favoriteGustie apparel andblack and gold onFridays. See how manyGusties work in yourschool—see how manyGusties you’ll meet inyour city—see howmany Gusties you’ll beable to network with inthe MinneapolisSkyway.



Nate Lund ’05 and Christine Kosel,5/26/07, Minneapolis, MN.

Anne Michaletz ’05 and DavidViljaste ’04, 5/19/07, Edina,MN.

Laura Odland ’05 and Zach Zimmer’03, 10/28/06, Shakopee, MN.

Jennifer Rieke ’06 and DustinGroehler, 7/22/06, Hillsboro, OR.

Andy Timmer ’06 and AnnieRzepecki, 6/10/06, Shakopee,MN.

Jenna Stevens ’07 and Luke Royer’07, 6/9/07, North Mankato, MN.

BirthsClaire, to Mary Goodman-Theurer

’87 and James Theurer, 9/27/06.Katelyn, to Kelly Grapentin Nelson

’87 and Steve Nelson, 5/16/02.Kaitlyn, to Beth Gustafson Sudduth

’87 and Richard Sudduth,1/18/07.

Grace, to Julie Jung Gullickson ’88and Tad Gullickson, 3/13/06.

Annika, to Steve McCarthy ’88 andKatrina McCarthy, 12/19/06.

Jack, to Dave Werner ’88 andDebbie Werner, 3/6/07.

Bronwyn, to Kerri Nelson ’89 andMichael Kmiecik ’88, 3/9/07.

Trevor, to Shari Zeiszler McGuire ’90and James McGuire, 4/13/07.

Luke, to Mary Sutherland Ryerse’90 and Mac Ryerse ’87, 4/9/07.

Madeline, to Lizanne Hart ’91 andDouglas Foote, 10/3/06.

Hannes, to Brian Moore ’91 andTanja Moore, 2/11/07.

Twins, Elizabeth and Eleanor, byadoption from Ethiopia, toJennifer Ek Bolsoni ’92 andMichael Bolsoni ’94, adopted2/3/07.

Bergen, to Tonia ChristophersonHall ’92 and Andrew Hall,12/5/06.

Martin, to Angela VorwerkGottschald ’92 and JanGottschald, 10/11/06.

Brittyn, to Kristina LehmannJohnson ’92 and AaronJohnson ’92, 2/25/07.

Sierra, to Christine ThompsonKrause ’92 and Thomas Krause,3/14/07.

Allison, to Shannon Freer Banitt ’93and John Banitt ’91, 10/23/06.

Linnea, to Nicole Misewich Brown’93 and Trent Brown ’93,8/26/06.

Cole, to Jennifer Ford Goodwin ’93and Jason Goodwin, 9/16/06.

Callie, to Jennifer Illies Heath ’93and John Heath, 5/3/06.

Kai, to Aaron Matz ’93 and KeiaiMatz, 4/18/07.

Jenna, to Jill Wissink McCurry ’93and Mark McCurry, 9/20/06.

Lilyanna, to Bethany JohnsonNissen ’93 and Brian Nissen,9/17/06.

Henry, to Greg Sedgwick ’93 andJoy Szarke, 9/19/06.

Celia, to Krista Martens Hitchcock’94 and Steven Hitchcock,11/14/06.

Ella, to Lynette Moechnig Matzke’94 and Christopher Matzke,12/14/05.

Andrew, to Michael T. Mertz ’94 andVictoria Mertz, 12/22/06.

Sam, to Aleta Gilbertson Schulte’94 and Darrell Schulte,3/20/07.

Connor, to J.D. Anderson ’95 andHolly Anderson, 5/12/06.

Isabelle, to Caren Parmer Berger ’95and Per-Johan Berger ’93,1/2/07.

Olivia, to Cindy Bartel Cox ’95 andPaul Cox, 2/13/07.

Hannah, to Elisabeth Potts Dellon’95 and Evan Dellon, 6/2/07.

Elise, to Deb Dorn Erickson ’95 andKarl Erickson ’96, 9/20/06.

Lauren, to Jessica Bohn Kottke ’95and Douglas Kottke, 3/6/07.

Brady, to Jennifer HainlinLindstrom ’95 and JeffLindstrom ’95, 1/19/07.

Madison, to Traci McNelly Lowman’95 and Richard Lowman,10/10/06.

Kenna, to Brett Mitchell ’95 andEricka Mitchell, 2/19/07.

Carson, to Nikki Plocher Peacock’95 and Greg Peacock, 6/23/06.

Kyle, to Ray Peterson ’95 and SaraPeterson, 3/27/07.

Twins, Maxx and Maya, to BrettRichards ’95 and JessicaRichards, 12/29/06

Wade, to April Kukuck Spence ’95and John Spence, 2/4/07.

Caroline, to Ellie Merritt Zeiger ’95and Matthew Zeiger, 1/17/07.

Souri, to Shradha Tailor Ahmed ’96and Shabbir Ahmed ’98,12/3/06.

Justin, to Lynn Cordes Kelly ’96and Jody Kelly, 12/26/06.

Anna, to Kathy Scott Koch ’96 andNate Koch, 4/18/07.

Leo, to Amy Larkin Lee ’96 andAaron Lee ’96, 4/15/07.

Nathan, to Denise Kisely Martin ’96and Milo Martin ’96, 4/3/07.

Carter, to Sara Mattson Mayfield ’96and Shawn Mayfield ’96,4/10/07.

Krista, to Jane Haase McGinty ’96and Christopher McGinty,10/30/06.

Erin, to Jennifer KnoebelMesserschmidt ’96 and JohnMesserschmidt, 9/7/06.

Gustavus alumniChamberlain receives tenure at LutherBradley Chamberlin ’94, Decorah, IA, has been con-ferred tenure and promotion to associate professor ofchemistry at Luther College. At Luther he teaches avariety of chemistry courses and labs and develops re-search projects aimed at student development. Hiscollaborative faculty-student research at Luther hasbeen presented at national and regional conferences.A member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American ChemicalSociety, and the Council of Undergraduate Research,Chamberlain has published numerous academic arti-cles and has served as editor for professional publica-

tions including Macromolecules, Biomacromolecules, and Journal of PolymerScience, Part A: Polymer Chemistry. He received his doctoral degree in inorganicchemistry from the University of Minnesota and, prior to joining the Luther facultyin 2001, was a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University.

Portage palsJacob Hauck ’04 and Beth Jorgenson ’03 had a chance meeting after a mile-long portage in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota.

Humphrey gradsRobyn Bipes ’96 (left) and JesseBenson ’94 were graduated togetherfrom the Humphrey Institute of PublicAffairs, University of Minnesota, in May.Both received master’s degrees from theinstitute after attending there togetherfor the past three years. The two had metand become close friends more than 10years ago at Gustavus after living in near-by sections in Wahlstrom Hall. Jesse grad-uated with a degree in urban planning, and Robin earned her degree in public poli-cy with a concentration on economic development and housing. Both are employedin the Twin Cities, already working in the fields they’ve just studied.


Fall 2007 � 65

Emmett, to Jody FrykmanNahlovsky ’96 and MarkNahlovsky ’96, 8/1/06.

Lilly, to Katie Beilfuss Wall ’96 andKeynen Wall, 12/17/06.

Twins, Samuel and George, to NancyPeterson Wilhelmi ’96 and JeffWilhelmi ’98, 3/22/07

Robert, to Corey Bloom ’97 andWendy Bloom, 4/16/07.

Danielle, to Leah Schultz Cook ’97and Jeffrey Cook, 4/22/07.

Zachary, to Holly Wangsness Dau’97 and Jacob Dau, 5/18/07.

Graciela, to Kendra Knutson Ferreyra’97 and Moises Ferreyra, 5/24/06.

Soren, to Andy Gunsaullus ’97 andShawn Gunsaullus, 9/24/06.

Ellie, to Julie Heer Heno ’97 andSteve Heno, 11/17/06.

Solveig, to Melissa Stirn Johnson’97 and Erik Johnson, 3/15/07.

Brendan, to Tracy Prin Klaphake ’97and Damon Klaphake ’96,12/22/06.

Asher, to Preston Kranz ’97 andRebecca Kranz, 1/24/06.

Jonathan, to Allison Davis Manley’97 and Paul Manley ’96,3/27/07.

Michael, to Terri Carlin Mikolich ’97and Joel Mikolich, 5/13/06.

Maxwell, to Sarah Ulwelling Nguyen’97 and Thang Nguyen, 2/20/07.

Michael, to Megan Cronin Simonson’97 and Rolf Simonson ’97,3/8/06.

Ian, to Beth Haugen Todd ’97 andThomas Todd, 2/27/07.

Andrew, to Tina Smith Walker ’97and Ralph Walker, 3/11/07.

Haley, to Amy Yilek ’97 and MichaelYoungquist, 12/19/06.

Reuben, to Mark Youngdahl ’97 andBrooke Youngdahl, 12/8/06.

Charles, to Holly ChelesnikAugustin ’98 and Tim Augustin,2/15/07.

Tate, to Jennifer Pulford Brink ’98and Derek Brink ’98, 5/11/07.

Jace, to Jennifer Hennen Griffin’98 and Ben Griffin, 2/20/07.

Georgia, to Ben Haddorff ’98 andSusan Haddorff, 10/17/06.

Ella, to Tiffany Krohn Hommes ’98and Tony Hommes ’98,3/21/07.

Olivia, to Sarah Meyer Korreck ’98and Brian Korreck, 5/18/07.

Annalisa, to Kathy Liggett Patton’98 and Marc Patton, 12/9/06.

James, to Sarah McCormick Rahkola’98 and Rauha Rahkola ’97,4/22/07.

Parker, to Shane Thielke ’98 andJennifer Thielke, 4/18/07.

Elliot, to Andrea Menge Tysdal ’98and Darin Tysdal ’97, 6/17/06.

Jane, to Rachel Whitcomb Fossum’98 and Bob Fossum ’98, 4/7/06.

David, to Laura NickersonBirkmaier ’99 and DougBirkmaier, 5/30/07.

Micah, to Melissa Miller Dols ’99and Aric Dols, 1/24/07.

Marisol, to Elizabeth Reed Eden ’99and Matthew Eden ’99,10/24/06.

Nicholas, to Amanda WrightElfstrum ’99 and Geoff Elfstrum,11/8/06.

Marit, to Laura Horstman Gennrich’99 and Matt Gennrich ’97,5/2/07.

William, to Jennifer Marohn Haas’99 and Chad Haas, 12/24/06.

Quinne, to Tara Ferguson Lopez ’99and Thomas Lopez, 3/19/07.

Dominic, to Joy Johnson McGrath’99 and Mark McGrath,12/30/06.

Olivia, to Ann Melchert Meverden’99 and Ryan Meverden,4/21/07.

Olivia, to Lisa Bauer Millin ’99 andMatthew Millin, 3/1/07.

Lydia, to Megan Halvorsen Peterson’99 and Leif Peterson, 3/22/07.

Maxwell, to Tiffany Oslund Richter’99 and Jason Richter, 3/6/07.

Weston, to Tamara Schult ’99 andClint Schult, 12/1/06.

Annika, to Sara SchonrockSouthworth ’99 and BobSouthworth ’99, 3/29/07.

Jenna, to Heather Raway Voight ’99and Brent Voight ’00, 2/25/07.

Selah, to Abby Nelson Andrusko’00 and Marcus Andrusko,2/27/07.

Aine, to Emily Brand-Cleary ’00 andKevin Cleary ’00, 5/8/06.

William, to Mike Durfee ’00 andSarah Horner Durfee ’03,4/2/07.

Laila, to Lissa Cordie Nikodym ’00and Matthew Nikodym, 3/6/07.

Twins, Lauren and Chelsea, toKristen Savage ’00 and MichaelSavage, 10/30/06.

Luke, to Molly Pedersen Thomas ’00and Matt Thomas ’00, 6/29/07.

Averil, to Amy Buran Finnern ’01and Brady Finnern ’02,4/28/07.

Alexander, to Carlie ThompsonSevcik ’01 and Joseph Sevcik,3/23/07.

Johnathan, to Katie Lovas Vick ’01and Ryan Vick ’99, 4/6/07.

Amelia, to Karen Heidesch Weber’01 and Chris Weber ’01,4/18/07.

Inara, to Garret Zayic ’01 and OanaZayic, 10/27/05.

Clara, to Courtney Metzroth LaTour’02 and Chuck LaTour ’01,6/17/07.

Shea, to Renee Carlson Meyer ’02and Jon Meyer ’03, 4/16/07.

Class of ’98 volunteersMembers of the Class of ’98 volunteer at Feed My Starving Children. Pictured fromleft are Kristina Johnson Milinkovich, Sarah Behnken, Heather Lang, BetsyBohline Landon, and Molly Milinkovich Wengler.

Optical EffusionFriends and fellow alumni gathered in San Jose, CA, to celebrate the graduation ofBrian Smith ’00. Brian graduated from the University of Oregon in March 2007with a Ph.D. in physics and specialized in quantum optics at the Oregon Center forOptics. Pictured from left to right are: Brian Smith ’00, Chris Holstrom ’00,Nelson Kotte ’00, Jana Dilley Holstrom ’00, Kelly Colvin Smith ’00, and SonLe. Brian and Kelly now have relocated to Oxford, England, where Brian works as aRoyal Society postdoctoral research fellow with the Quantum Optics Group in thephysics department of the University of Oxford. The Royal Society, the independ-ent science academy of the United Kingdom, awarded Brian a research grant aspart of their support for collaboration between American and British scientists.

Thenand nowFour class-matesfrom theClass of2000 gottogetherin May2007 andhad aphototaken tomark 10yearssince theywere lastphotographed together, at the 1997President’s Ball. Pictured from left in thenewer shot are Libby Kastens, KateMartin Mclean, Amy Morrisey, andMelisa Rhoads. (In the photo from thePresident’s Ball, Melisa is on far left andthe others are in the same order.)



Ella, to Cory Starkweather ’02 andSarah Starkweather, 9/29/06.

Ellissa, to Nikki Martinson Francek’03 and Matt Francek ’03,3/12/07.

Tyler, to Sarah Nerland Sparks ’03and Timothy Sparks, 1/4/07.

Adelyn, to Katie Carver Zabel ’03and Jeremy Zabel ’01, 2/8/07.

Callen, to Andrea Kleven Croaston’04 and Daniel Croaston, 5/11/06.

Mateya, to Tona Schmidtke Speltz’04 and Luke Speltz ’03,1/19/07.

InMemoriamDoris Appelquist Anderson ’31,

Gaylord, MN, on May 30, 2007.She is survived by two sons, Karl’64 and Joel ’70.

Arthur W. Anderson ’32, Brookings,SD, on November 23, 2006. He issurvived by his wife, Signe, andsix children.

Alfhild Peterson Maedl ’35,Fayetteville, AR, on May 13,2007. She was a retired publicschool teacher and administratorand is survived by daughtersPatricia Krough ’61 and PamelaGutowski ’71, and brother CarlManfred ’39.

Dagmar Abrahamson Breck ’38,Rockford, IL, on July 7, 2007.She was a retired English andmusic teacher and is survived bythree sons and sister AinaAbrahamson ’35.

J. Hilding Sorenson ’39,Paynesville, MN, on June 12,2007. He was a former teacher,

school principal, and rural mailcarrier and served as a Gustavusclass agent. He is survived by hiswife, Clara, daughter Marlys ’72,and sister Arlene Higgins ’46.

Emelyn Larson ’40, Mankato, MN,on July 18, 2007. She was a re-tired music teacher for MankatoSchools and is survived by sisterCarol Weech ’46.

Bob Gove ’46, Plymouth, MN, onApril 9, 2007. He was a retiredsocial studies teacher and foot-ball coach at Mound High Schooland is survived by his wife, Betty(Johnson ’47), one daughter, andthree sons including Nathan ’85.

Sherman W. Burns ’47, White BearLake, MN, on April 24, 2007. Hewas a retired salesman from LandO’Lakes and farm mediator. He issurvived by his wife, Candace(Westberg ’49), and four chil-dren.

Allen C. Nelson ’49, Rock Island, IL,on April 22, 2007. He was a re-tired ELCA pastor and is survivedby his wife, Naomi, and foursons.

Wallace Wang ’50, Key West, FL, onJune 12, 2007. He was retiredfrom ALCOA Aluminum and issurvived by one daughter andtwo sons.

Ruth Holle Collard ’51, EastWenatchee, WA, on June 25,2007. She is survived by her hus-band, Ernest, and two sons.

Robert E. Jensen ’52, Bloomington,MN, on May 24, 2007. He was aretired contract consultant forControl Data and is survived byhis wife, Jeanette (Fetchenhier’54), two children including Rand’76, and sister JosephineTollefson ’60.

Verner R. Johnson ’58, Woodbury,MN, on March 17, 2007. He wasa former farm equipment dealerfor Hogan and Johnson MachineCo. and is survived by daughtersColeen Swanson ’72 andCatherine Jahde ’77.

Jean Hagglund Parshall ’58,Auburndale, FL, on April 27,2007. She was a retired nurseand is survived by her husband,Robert.

Gene Lampi ’61, Stillwater, MN, onAugust 30, 2006. He was a re-tired quality control manager/rocket scientist for Buckbee-Mears and is survived by hiswife, Karen, and four daughters.

Karen Nielsen Pike ’66, St. Paul,MN, on June 10, 2007. She issurvived by one son and two sis-ters including Mary Allan ’65.

S. Anita Stauffer ’69, Melrose Park,IL, on June 26, 2007. She was

Gustavus alumni

Synchronized skating champMichelle Dillavou ’01 (front row center, holding the bouquet) is a member of Denver Synchronicity, the synchronized skatingteam that won the 2007 U.S. championship in February. The competition took place on Feb. 21–24 at the World Arena inColorado Springs, CO, home ice of the Broadmoor Figure Skating Club and the Div. I Colorado College hockey team. Eight teamscompeted in the Adult Synchronized skating event, including the highly regarded Synchro Panache from the Figure SkatingClub of Minneapolis. Denver Synchronicity won the event with a combined artistic and technical score of 53.62, a personal bestfor the team, whose best previous national finish was third place in 2005. Denver Synchronicity, which was organized in 1991,includes 21 members ranging in age from 24 to 46.

When not performing on the ice, Michelle is a media buyer for Karsh/Hagan in Denver.

Something to celebrateSix alums got together to celebrate the completion of their second year at theUniversity of Minnesota Medical School in Duluth. Pictured from left are DaveBaldes ’05, Heather Sieben ’05, Daryn Collins ’02, and Christina Diller ’03.(Hannah Brandts ’05 and Meghan Harney ’02 missed the photo op.)


Fall 2007 � 67

former study secretary for wor-ship for The Lutheran WorldFederation and is survived by abrother.

Marsha L. Olson ’86, Solvang, CA,on March 7, 2007. She was acharge nurse in the neonatal in-tensive care unit at CommunityMemorial Hospital in Ventura,CA, and is survived by her hus-band, David Lopez.

Brian Swanson ’00, Long Lake, MN,on June 29, 2007. He was a con-struction project manager forCBS Construction of BrooklynPark and is survived by his wife,Cindy, his parents, Thomas andDeborah, and one brother.

Bethany Hartung ’07, Clackamas,OR, on June 24, 2007, after athree-year battle withleukemia. She is survived by herfather and mother, Rick and Toni,two sisters, and one brother.

Emily Gentholts ’09, Bozeman, MT,in an automobile accident onJune 27, 2007. She is survivedby her father and mother, Davidand Jane.

Ethel Haack, Cleveland, MN, on July18, 2007. She worked in theGustavus Dining Service for 20years as a cashier and is survivedby her husband, Arvid, two sons,and one daughter.

Gordon Thom, Nicollet, MN, on April2, 2007. He was a retired safetyand security officer at Gustavus.

Taking in the DistrictCollege roommates from the Class of 2004—from left, Jill Hubers Haspert, LisaSwenson, and Melissa Habedank—recently got together in Washington, DC,where Melissa is now working for North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan.

Nothing fishy hereFive friends gathered with Spencer Seamans at Stella’s Fish House in Minneapolis to celebrate his graduation from theUniversity of Minnesota Law School last May. Pictured from left are Derek Nelson ’03, Beau Gehler ’03, Jason Flohrs ’03,Jesse Brekke ’03, Spencer Seamans ’03, and Andy Odden ’03.

Alumni Soccer GameLast May alumni soccer players returned to campus to join with the team’s graduating seniors for a game versus the squad’s returning players. Seated from left are under-grads Stefan Kolis, Gabe Joyes, Chris Adams, Jesus Espina-Velosa, Brett Vanderstreek, Matt Strom, Todd Johnson, and Tim Gendron. Kneeling are Greg Holker ’07, ChrisHolze ’98, Kyle Sommer, Vince Oldre, Kyle Johnsrud, Matt Broin ’07, Neil Nelson, Tyler Garry ’07, Ben Eriksson, Nick Wornson, Adam Zard, Eric Carl ’03, and MikeAdkins ’02. Standing are Dan Dietl ’03, Sam Barthel, Abdul Suleyman, Josh Busacker, Skylar Schulz, Trevor Brown, Caleb Bousu ’06, Tom Lersten ’88, Jeremiah Becker’07, Louis Trejo ’07, Morgan Rapp ’06, Nate Hitch ’05, Andy Moulton ’05, Mike Butterworth, Jens Hagstrom, Flynn Stewart-Franzen, Jordan Iblings ’06, AdamMacLeod-Roth ’03, Steve Young ’06, and Alex Groth ’07.

Gusties have alwaysgathered, and now Gustiesaround the country will begathering on the same day

—September 30. Gatheringsare focused on fun, food, and

Gustie friendship. Attend agathering or host an eventyourself! Contact the Office

of Alumni Relations by phoneat 800/487-8437, by e-mail

at [email protected], oronline at gustavus.edu/

alumni/Gusties_gather.cfm!

GustiesGather!

GustiesGather!

Gustavus_Fall07_45-72:Alumni Fall 03 MASTERS.2 8/8/07 1:28 PM Page 23

Her voice is confident, persuasive, and re-assuring, everything Minnesotans couldwant to hear in a leader. MargaretAnderson Kelliher ’90, Speaker of the

Minnesota House of Representatives, is second inline of succession to the governor.

Even when there are differences on policy,“House members hold Speaker Kelliher in high re-gard because of her character and integrity,” formerstate legislator Ruth Johnson ’69 said, introducingKelliher for a Distinguished Alumni Citation in gov-ernment service at this year’s alumni banquet inMay. “Hers is a steady, sure, fair hand on the gavel.”

Kelliher welcomes hard work. She brings peoplefrom disparate segments of the state together. Herconsiderable leadership skills were apparent tothose who knew her as a Gustavus student. Theseare the virtues most often attributed to Kelliher.

She learned to work hard, growing up theyoungest of six on a southern Minnesota farm.“Gustavus reminded me of the farm in that therewas always more work to be done,” Kelliher says.She recalls, “Don Ostrom was the first to tell me Ishould consider running for office some day. Isn’tthat a strange thing to say to a sophomore?”

Consider, though, that she was state 4-H presi-dent and Gustavus student body co-president.“Margaret had the benefit of a wonderful group of

politically active students during her years atGustavus,” says Ostrom, her political science profes-sor and adviser.

She was one of 29 students traveling to NewHampshire in 1988 for Ostrom’s January Termcourse, “Nominating the Next President.” She andAnn Vos Greenawalt ’90 became so involved withPaul Simon’s presidential campaign, Ostrom says,“that they flew back to New Hampshire the night ofthe presidential primary to watch the results, thenpersuaded Simon to come to Gustavus for a cam-paign visit . . . the only time in my 32 years atGustavus that we had a presidential candidate oncampus.”

Kelliher and Greenawalt were the two youngestdelegates to the national Democratic Party conven-tion in summer 1988. Kelliher met her future hus-

band, David, a Michael Dukakis activist. Togetherthey campaigned for Paul Wellstone in his success-ful 1990 run for U.S. Senate. Today the Kellihershave a son, Patrick, 13, and daughter, Frances, 10.

After Gustavus, Margaret Kelliher worked on thestaff of Robert Vanasek, Speaker of the MinnesotaHouse. She was campaign manager for anotherSpeaker, Dee Long, the first woman to hold thatpost. When Long retired in 1998 Kelliher won theseat herself and, in Ostrom’s words, “quickly workedher way up the ladder in the House, being electedassistant minority leader in 2000, minority whip in2004, and Speaker after the 2006 election.”

Ostrom continues, “Margaret gets along wellwith a wide variety of people. She’s a farm girl whorepresents a district in Minneapolis. That districthas some of the wealthiest, best educated people inthe city, and also areas of poverty. She was aSwedish Lutheran from rural Minnesota who marriedan Irish Catholic from Boston.” Under a BushFellowship, Kelliher earned a master’s degree inpublic administration from the Kennedy School ofGovernment at Harvard.

“When I think of my role as Speaker of theHouse, in addition to presiding, I’m there to helppeople to achieve their legislative goals,” Kellihersays. “This connects with what I learned atGustavus. Each of us has a higher calling to a life ofservice, to make this state a better place.”

Kathryn Christenson is a staff writer for MetroLutheran newspaper

Distinguished Alumni Citation – Margaret Kelliher ’90

Steady hand, skilled leaderby Kathryn Christenson

2007

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Margaret Kelliher ’90


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In the fall of 1993, Paul Peterson ’94 took asocial studies methods course that JeffreyOlson, then the principal of St. Peter HighSchool, was teaching for the Department of

Education at Gustavus. Olson remembers that it was“crystal clear from the outset” that the Annandale,Minn., native was a very special and talented youngman. “I thought that if I ever had a chance,” he ad-mits, “I would actively try to hire Paul as a teacherat St. Peter High School.”

Five years later, Olson got his opportunity andwas able to “steal” Paul from Monticello HighSchool. Paul quickly distinguished himself as one ofthe best and most respected teachers in the St.Peter school district. In 2003, when Olson wasnamed superintendent of St. Peter Public Schools,he recruited Paul again, to be the high school prin-cipal. In four years, Peterson moved from thenovice category to being the state’s High SchoolPrincipal of the Year—a startling accomplishment.

Over the past four years, Peterson has facilitatedand led a number of changes and initiatives in the7–12 high school program. Three of his initiativesstand out. First, he worked with a site-leadershipteam to have St. Peter High School selected as oneof ten “Lighthouse” High Schools in Minnesota.Through this selection, the high school has initiat-ed the “Get Ready, Get Credit Program,” a new ad-viser/advisee homeroom system, and an emphasison science, technology, engineering, and mathe-matics (STEM) in the 7–12 curriculum.

Second, he guided the entire 7–12 learningcommunity through a comprehensive review of the

high school’s safety and security system. He accom-plished this by establishing the 7–8 middle schoolwing as a pilot site for the Kentucky Safe SchoolsAssessment. Through surveys, interviews, and a visitfrom outside consultants, a variety of new safetyand security measures were crafted and implement-ed.

Finally, Peterson has led an effort to improveteacher quality. He implemented a new teacherevaluation system, introducing a so-called “three-minute walkthrough” as part of the process. He re-cruited promising candidates for, and led themthrough, the National Board Teacher Certification

process, and he has implemented ProfessionalLearning Communities with a focus on data-driveninstructional improvement.

None of this was missed by the MinnesotaAssociation of Secondary School Principals (MASSP),which honored him in January 2007 as the MetLife/MASSP Principal of the Year. Peterson was sub-sequently recognized by his alma mater with aDistinguished Alumni Citation in the field of educa-tion at the 2007 alumni banquet held duringCommencement and Reunion Weekend “for hisachievements as a public school teacher and admin-istrator, which had brought honor to both himselfand his alma mater.”

“Paul Peterson is a star principal,” says Olson,who introduced him at the banquet. “I can think ofno individual who exemplifies outstanding and ex-ceptional achievement in the field of public educa-tion better than Paul Peterson does.”

2007 Distinguished Alumni Citation

Paul Peterson ’94

Distinguished Alumni Citation – Paul Peterson ’94

Star Principal

Fall 2007 � 69

Tom

Roster



Russ and Jan LedinMichaletz ’74 ’74 receivedthe Gustavus AlumniAssociation’s highest

award, the Greater Gustavus Award,during the Alumni Association’s2007 banquet, held on May 26 dur-ing the College’s 2007 ReunionWeekend.

The Greater Gustavus Award isawarded to those “who by deed,have notably advanced and aidedGustavus Adolphus College.”Introducing them at the alumnibanquet, retired Director of PublicAffairs Elaine Brostrom lauded them“for their fantastic volunteer and fi-nancial support, for their contagiousenthusiasm, for their encouragingexample, for their never-ending lovefor Gustavus and all of its people,and for their lifetime of aiding andadvancing Gustavus AdolphusCollege.”

Both Russ and Jan have servedGustavus in multiple leadership ca-pacities dating back to their studentdays at the College. Jan worked withstudent and residence hall governance and was amember of the Gustavian Weekly staff. Russ, too,was on the Student Senate and was active in the-atre and in musical organizations, serving as presi-dent of the Gustavus Choir in 1973–74. After grad-

uating, they returned to the campus often, as Janhas been a class agent since graduation—for 33years now.

Russ, a native of Glencoe, went on to attend theUniversity of Minnesota Law School, graduatingwith the J.D. degree in 1977. He is now a partnerwith Deloitte Consulting in Minneapolis. Russserved as chair of the College’s Board of Trustees forthe past three years and just completed his thirdterm on the board. Besides his service as a trustee,Russ has been involved in the Founders Society, theGustavus Heritage Partnership, the Building aGreater Gustavus Campaign Council, the Economics

and Management Advisory Group, the ExecutivesForum, the Crown Council, the Alumni Board ofDirectors, and Gusties in Volunteer Endeavors(G.I.V.E.).

Jan is currently serving as chair of the AlumniBoard of Directors. Her past involvement in volun-

teer leadership opportunities in-cludes a three-year stint as presi-dent of Gustavus LibraryAssociates, during which time shealso chaired one of the organiza-tion’s biennial galas supportingthe College’s library. She has beena class agent for 33 years whilealso being involved in theFounders Society, the Gustavus

Heritage Partnership, and the Building a GreaterGustavus Campaign Council, and as a State Fairbooth and Phonorama volunteer. Jan has also beenactive at the American Swedish Institute, servingon the board and chairing several projects for ASI.In addition she works with the Edina CommunityFoundation and is a director for the MinnesotaOrchestra volunteer association.

The Michaletzes, who reside in Edina, Minn., arealso the proud parents of four children—three ofwhom are Gusties (Mara ’02, Anne Viljaste ’05, andJohn ’08). Their youngest, Peter, is a senior at EdinaHigh School this fall.

Greater Gustavus Award – Russ and Jan Ledin Michaletz ’74 ’74

Everything Gustavus

2007

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Russ and Jan Ledin Michaletz ’74 ’74

alumni awards & CitationsTo

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arts on campusThe renowned South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo visits Gustavus on September 28. The group will performin Christ Chapel, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are available from the Gustavus Ticket Center (507/933-7590).


Fall 2007 Quarterly

Documents

Transcript of Fall 2007 Quarterly