Io Triumphe! The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Albion College

spring-summer 2010

io Triumphe!The magazine for alumni and friends of albion College

‘Albion Advantage’ Takes Off 19 Linda Yonke, ’75, on School Reform 22 Matt Roush, ’78: Moving Beyond Print 25 V

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Albion College at 175 Years

Lux Fiat

The 1835 Society honors Albion College’s

founding and heritage. As an elite group of

donors, members of the 1835 Society are

committed to investing $1,835 annually in a

scholarship fund that recognizes hardworking

students who also have financial need.

Recipients of the scholarships are engaged,

thoughtful students who truly exemplify

Albion’s liberal arts tradition. For most of the

recipients, support from the 1835 Society

enables them to pursue their education at

Albion.

As a member of the 1835 Society, you will

receive special recognition throughout the year.

Your membership will truly make a difference

in the lives of today’s Albion students.

Susan Sadler is a partner in the law firm of Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy, and Sadler, PLC, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She is currently a member of Albion College’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Albion College Giving Societies

oFFiCe oF iNSTiTuTioNAL AdVANCemeNT611 e. poRTeR ST.ALbioN, mi 49224517/[email protected]/giving

The Lux Fiat Society ($50,000 and above)The Io Triumphe! Society ($25,000-$49,999)The Trustees’ Society ($10,000-$24,999)The President’s Society ($5,000-$9,999)The Purple & Gold Society ($2,500-$4,999)The 1835 Society ($1,835)The Briton Society ($1,000-$2,499)The Crest Society ($500-$999)The Shield Society ($100-$499)The Stockwell Society (Deferred gifts)

In honor of Albion College’s 175th Anniversary, you are invited to become a member of the 1835 Society.

It is easy to join the 1835 Society! Learn more at www.albion.edu/giving/societies.

In your communications, please note that your gift is for the 1835 Society.

• Makeagiftonlineatwww.albion.edu/givenow.

• Makeagiftoverthephonebycalling 517/629-0347.

If you have any questions, please contact: Libby Crabb, assistant director of annual giving, [email protected]/629-0410.

io Triumphe!

Staff

Editor: Sarah briggs

Contributing Writers: marian deegan, bobby Lee, matthew Roush, Jake Weber

Class Notes Writers: Nikole Lee, Luann Shepherd

Design: Susan Carol Rowe

Web Communications: Nicole Rhoads

Io Triumphe! is published twice annually by the office of Communications, Albion College, 611 e. porter St., Albion, mi 49224.

it is distributed free to alumni and friends of the College. The paper for this magazine contains 10% post-consumer fiber.

poSTmASTeR:

Send address changes to office of Communications, Albion College, 611 e. porter St., Albion, mi 49224.

World Wide Web: www.albion.edu

Albion College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability, as protected by law, in all educa-tional programs and activities, admission of students, and conditions of employment.

About Our Name

The unusual name for this publication comes from a yell written by members of the Class of 1900. The beginning words of the yell, “io Triumphe!,” were probably borrowed from the poems of the Roman writer, Horace. Some phrases were taken from other college yells and others from a Greek play pre-sented on campus during the period.

in 1936, the alumni of Albion College voted to name their magazine after the yell which by then had become a College tradition. For years, Albion’s incoming students have learned these lines by heart:

io Triumphe!

io Triumphe! io Triumphe! Haben swaben rebecca le animor Whoop te whoop te sheller de-vere de-boom de ral de-i de-pa— Hooneka henaka whack a whack A-hob dob balde bora bolde bara Con slomade hob dob rah!Al-bi-on Rah!

Cover Photo by David Trumpie

Features

13Signature Momentson the occasion of Albion College’s 175th anniversary, alumni remember quintessential Albion moments.

spring-summer 2010 The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Albion College

(Top) Qian Wang explains her chemistry research at this year’s Isaac Student Research Symposium.

Departments

2 presidential ponderings

3 briton bits

28 Alumni Association News

34 Albionotes

25Black and White and Read All Over?Journalist matt Roush, ’78, says it’s time to embrace the changes made possible by digital technology. His own career is a case in point.

22Getting It RightTo help students succeed, our schools should focus more on collaboration and less on com-petition, asserts educator Linda Yonke, ’75.

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19A Distinct AdvantageAlbion unveils a new four-year program of academic and career exploration.

Spring-Summer 2010 | 1

Today, we are seeing signs of funda-mental change across the higher education landscape, as colleges and universities of all sizes respond to the current economic challenges. Higher education is approaching a “new normal” in which both staffing and curricula are being reshaped. The world is not the same as it was five years ago. The principles and practices that guided us in the past will not suffice in this transformed environment. Higher education has always provided a critical service to our nation. However, today we in the higher education com-munity must rethink what we offer, and at what price, if higher education is to continue as an engine of innovation and growth. We must anticipate the future needs of our society and ready our students for the careers that will emerge in a knowledge-based economy over the coming decades. At the same time, we must ensure that higher education remains affordable for talented students, regardless of their socio-economic background. Colleges and universities may dilute their chance at excellence by trying to be “all things to all people.” We must refocus on areas of strength, set priorities, and make difficult choices about what can—and cannot—be offered. This new discipline in operations is imperative if an institu-tion is to move from “good” to “great.” Furthermore, we must relentlessly demand excellence in all we do.

Albion’s 175th anniversary—which is celebrated in the cover story for this edition of Io Triumphe!—represents a marvelous opportunity to honor Albion’s distinguished past and to look ahead to a vibrant future. Albion College has weathered turbu-lent times during its history—the Great depression and two World Wars, among them. And now new challenges have arisen, stemming from the difficult economic conditions that have beset our state and our nation. As you know, in may the College’s board of Trustees announced its decision to realign our faculty size with our student enroll-ment. This action, which has resulted in the loss of the equivalent of 15 full-time faculty positions, represents the latest stage in a series of strategic cost reductions carried out over the past two years across the College. There’s no question that these reductions have been difficult for everyone involved. However, the trustees believe these cost-cutting measures are absolutely necessary to maintain our educational and fiscal integrity over the long term. Through prudent man-agement of our annual operations, and with the solid foundation of our $154-million endowment, Albion will remain on sound financial footing and can look forward to a more secure future.

A ‘New Normal’

P r e s ! D e n t ! a L P o n D e r ! n g s

At Albion, we are witnessing this new discipline at work. While holding fast to our liberal arts foundation, we are also devoting increased intellectual and financial resources to developing programs and opportuni-ties that are forward-looking and that will enable our graduates to thrive on—and lead—change in their working lives and in the communities where they reside. Taking charge of our future, rather than simply reacting to the present, is exhilarating and can become a means for stimulating our imagination and acting both creatively and strategically. As has been proven so many times before, Albion’s people—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—are both courageous and resilient. i am confident that Albion will overcome the immediate challenges we face and emerge from this period stronger, more focused, and ready to reach new heights. We stand on the shoulders of those who built Albion College over 17 decades. We are thankful for the sturdy founda-tion that has been laid, appreciative of the breadth of opportunities that surround the College today, and eager to advance the prominence, visibility, and contributions of Albion in the years ahead.

donna [email protected]

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Sustainability Takes Center Stage in 2010-11

Br !ton B!tsTHElaTEsTnEwsaROUnDcaMPUs

As spring semester drew to a close, Albion studentsorganizedanEcoswap,promotingit as “a flea market event where you can buy, sell,andtradegentlyuseditems...andworktowardsustainabilityatalbioncollege.”Theidea was to encourage reuse of dorm room furnishings, rather than sending them to the dumpster.Thecollege’sFacilitiesOperationsOfficealsoorganizedaweeklong“e-cycling”program on campus in May for the recycling ofoldcomputers,audio/visualequipment,andotherelectronics.

the Rock

mayor George Heartwell, ’71, will offer the William K. Stoffer Lecture at opening Convocation Aug. 26, and will reflect on the innovation that cities, including Grand Rapids, have shown in advancing sustain-ability. Grand Rapids was recently honored as the “most sustainable city” of its size in the nation. environmental activist Annie Leonard will be the Calvaruso Lecturer for the 2011 elkin R. isaac Student Research Symposium next spring. A critic of excessive consumerism, she is best known for her animated film, The Story of Stuff. To learn more about Albion’s sustainabil-ity efforts and the 2010-11 programming on this topic, visit: www.albion.edu/sustainability.

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“Recyclemania” is just one of many national initiatives that Albion College has adopted to promote environmental conservation in recent years. The College has also signed the College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

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Sustainability has been designated as the theme for all major activities, speakers, and events for the 2010-11 academic year. The fall semester will open with a “Week of impact,” a series of daily immersions in the sub-themes—community service, lifestyle challenge, water, food, walking, and recycling—that will continue through earth day in the spring. over the course of the year, sustainability will also recur as a theme in common readings, major lectures, class projects, career fairs, and film series. At the same time, Albion will continue to expand its sustainability efforts in dining services, building operations, and grounds management. The College’s two annual convocations will feature speakers who have providednotable leadership in this area. Grand Rapids


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Albion Signs Agreements Expanding Global ExchangesBy Jake Weber

Albion College has recently developed educational partnerships in France, China, and malaysia. Reflecting the strategic plan’s emphasis on global diversity, these programs expand the scope of international exchange for Albion students, and help bring increased numbers of international students to the College.France: Last fall, president donna Randall signed a mobility agreement with administra-tors from the university of Versailles Saint-Quentin (uVSQ). Along with providing exchanges for Albion and uVSQ under-graduates, the agreement opens uVSQ’s master’s program in eco-innovation (taught in english) to Albion alumni. president Randall also signed a letter of intent with the Chamber of Commerce and industry of Versailles (CCiV), which should lead to development of further agreements with 16 French colleges and universities affiliated with the CCiV. These exchanges build on the

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During a visit to China in January to formalize teaching opportunities at a secondary school in Wuhan, Debra Peterson (second from left), director of Albion’s Center for International Education, and Provost Susan Conner (center) met with Albion students Yang Chen (left) and Shu He. Shu’s father, Benzhong He, is at right.

longstanding sister city relation-ship that Albion maintains with Noisy-le-Roi, France.China: With the agreement signed this past January between Albion and Wenhua middle School in Wuhan, Albion stu-dents have the opportunity to earn academic credit teaching in english language and American culture programs during Albion’s semester breaks. Founded by a Harvard-educated Chinese intellectual 100 years ago, Wenhua middle School is also the alma mater of Yang Chen, ’10, who helped initiate the academic agreement. Albion has graduated several Chinese students since the 1990s, and currently has 21 Chinese students on campus.Malaysia: Higher education in malaysia is intensely focused on preparing students for international success. Albion formalized agreements with iNTi College and Nilai university College, easing the way for

students from those institutions to transfer up to two years’ worth of study toward an Albion College degree. Lewis Cardenas, Albion’s associate director of international student recruitment, explains that the program greatly reduces the cost of an American education for participating students. The liberal arts experi-ence, not available within malaysia’s exclu-sively public system, is another attraction. The first malaysian transfer student enrolled at Albion last fall.

Faculty Research Leads to New BooksBy Bobby Lee

All Latino students still encounter challenges in higher educa-tion settings, she adds, including institutional racism, pressure to assimilate, and ignorance of Latino/a values. Scott melzer’s book, Gun Crusaders: The NRA’s Culture War, examines the National Rifle Association’s dra-matic transformation from a recreational firearms interest group into a conservative activist organi-zation. The change began to appear, melzer con-tends, in the 1960s when gun control legislation was introduced in response to the assassinations of president John Kennedy, martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. The predominantly male NRA members felt threatened at the same time by movements promoting women’s, civil, and gay rights, he says. “The book reveals how men respond to threats from changes in society,” melzer says. “Fear is a driving factor, and it has been the NRA’s most effective mobilizing tool.” melzer researched the book by attending NRA events, analyzing NRA materials, and interviewing members. For many, he explains, “their gun is a symbol of their freedom, and if they lose that gun they believe the country will be lost to socialism or communism.”

The research specialties of Albion College sociologists diana Ariza and Scott melzer are reflected in books published in recent months. diana Ariza’s work, Latino/a Youth Identity and Adaptation: A Socio-Cultural Comparison of Mexican and Mexican American Students at a Predominantly White Campus, analyzes how several generations of Latinos have adapted on college campuses. From interviews, Ariza found that Latino stu-dents from families that have lived in the united States for generations struggle more in college than students whose families just entered the country. She argues that institutions do not provide sufficient support for second- and third-generation students because they believe those students have already assimilated into the culture. “With second- and third-generation Latinos, institutions assume that they are doing fine because they have been here long enough,” Ariza says. “Those Latinos who have recently arrived in the u.S. have an eagerness to be successful. They have this very strong work ethic, even when they come from lower income levels or when their parents had little education.”

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pollum says the main goal is to under-stand the physics of chemical reactions at low temperatures and extend that knowledge to chemical reactions at warmer temperatures. She adds, “it is truly novel work, and as a researcher, you can hardly ask for more than that.” pollum already has an impressive record of scholarly accomplishments, having com-pleted FuRSCA-funded research on campus with Albion chemistry professor Lisa Lewis and National Science Foundation-funded Research experience for undergraduates programs at the university of California, irvine and the Graz university of Technology in Austria. “Albion has opened a lot of doors,” pollum says. “i have had [faculty] mak-ing sure i’m on the right track in terms of research experience and preparation for graduate school. That’s one of the things i’ve gotten at Albion that i might not have had at a bigger school.”n Ryan Stowe, ’10, will head to Scripps Research institute in Jupiter, Fla., next fall to earn a ph.d. in organic chemistry with a focus on the synthesis of medicinally active compounds. The largest non-profit biomedi-cal research institute in the world, Scripps “has unparalleled resources toward medicinal chemistry,” Stowe says.

in addition to the fellowship he has been awarded at Scripps, Stowe completed a research fellowship at the university of illinois last summer. He began his research career at Albion, working with organic chemistry profes-sor Andrew French. “i was able to work in dr. French’s labs on meaningful projects in organic chemistry from day one at Albion,” Stowe says. “He showed real interest in my development as a student and as a researcher. it is that kind of faculty attention which really sets Albion apart.” n Becca Putans, ’10, was one of 14 students nationally to win an undergraduate Student Award in environmental Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (ACS) this spring. Working with chemistry professor Kevin metz, she studied how palladium nanoparticles could be applied to filtration devices for the cleanup and reuse of water. putans will pursue a ph.d. at the university of Wisconsin beginning this fall.n The Klein Kup has returned to Albion’s campus, after the team of Chen Chen, ’11, Mingjia Yang, ’13, and Sining Gu, ’13, emerged victorious in the Lower michigan mathematics Competition (LmmC) this spring. The britons posted 90 points to hold a 19-point margin over the second-place team from Kalamazoo College.

Science and Math Students Make Their MarkAlbion science and math students have reaped their share of honors recently.n Laura Pollum, ’10, has landed a Clarendon Scholarship at oxford university where she will pursue a doctorate in physical and theoretical chemistry. Just seven percent of the applicants received the Clarendon last year. She will work under the direction of professor Tim Softley to research cold chemi-cal reactions.

Commencement 2010Friends, family, faculty, and other well-wishers filled Albion’sLomas Fieldhouse to celebrate commencement for the 382 members of the Class of 2010. Commencement speaker doug parker, ’84, (above right) chairman and Ceo of uS Airways Group and one of the airline industry’s preeminent exec-utives, encouraged the gradu-ates to identify their personal strengths, and combine them with effort. “i never set out to be a Ceo,” he said. “What i did was work hard at different experiences, and i gravitated toward those opportunities that felt best to my heart.” He added, “Simply finding [your] gift is not sufficient. You have to open it and put it to work.” erika Nichols spoke on behalf of the graduating class, and Charles Green announced the senior class gift, a contribution toward the landscaping of the new green space on the southeast cor-ner of the Quad. Tim Newsted, ’78, welcomed the gradu-ates as alumni, on behalf of the Alumni Association.

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Miller Lands $900,000 NSF GrantBy Bobby Lee

Albion physics profes-sor Aaron miller is one of the principal inves-tigators on a project that received $900,000 in National Science Foundation funding earlier this year. The grant will support development of an instrument to measure individual particles of light to do quantum computing. miller will work with co-researchers at the university of Virginia and the National institute of Standards and Technology (NiST) on creating high-performance transition-edge sensor superconducting pho-todetectors which could spur improved speed in computers. “Quantum computing,” miller says, “has an overarching goal of exploring an alter-nate model of how we do computation.” eventually we will reach a point where com-puter transistors cannot be made any smaller with current technology, he explains. “The field of experimental quantum com-puting is so wide open that nobody knows what technology is going to win,” miller says. “The best system to use to develop the quantum transistor is not yet known.” miller notes that quantum computing projects have received significant funding because of their implications for defense and national security.

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Jeffrey CarrierProfessor of BiologyBy Sarah Briggs

Jeff Carrier believes in living life large. The same passion and high energy he shows sit-ting astride his Harley on a cross-country ride or videotaping mating nurse sharks in the Florida Keys have been on display in Albion’s biology labs for the past 31 years. Carrier recalls his visit to Albion as he was searching for his first college teaching job. “The first group i interviewed with was students,” he says. “No faculty. No staff. Just a group of students. i thought, if this place has the gumption to lead with its students, then i’m interested.” offered the job, he canceled two other interviews and immedi-ately accepted, even though it was only for a one-year appointment at the time. Working in a location hundreds of miles from the ocean has never kept him from pursuing his research in his specialty, marine biology. Virtually every summer he has headed to the Florida Keys to continue his studies of nurse shark mating behavior. “ours is the first systematic field study of shark mating behavior that has ever been done,” he says. “The project started 20 years ago, and there’s still nothing out there that can compare to it.” His groundbreaking work on shark physi-ology and movement patterns has led to four books, dozens of journal articles—and plenty of acclaim from his colleagues in the scien-tific community. but for Carrier, that’s not enough. “We need to show people what we’re doing and what it means to them,” he says. “if you continue to speak the language of sci-ence [only to other scientists], then you stand no chance of science being accepted by the general public. And in a time when so much around us is being influenced by develop-ments in science and technology, public understanding of basic research is essential.”

Carrier’s involve-ment in documen-taries, aired on such series as National Geographic Explorer and the discovery Channel’s Shark Week, has brought his work to a national audience and has increased public awareness of the fragility of marine ecosystems and the remarkable creatures that inhabit them. Since 1995, Carrier, along with his research colleagues and students, has been featured on 17 programs on network and cable television. He has routinely involved students in his research, and a number of them are now fol-lowing his lead, continuing behavioral studies on different shark species and applying Carrier’s techniques in their research on other marine animals. For Carrier, teaching is at its best out in the field, and he created a marine biology field course that included an intensive experi-ence in his research area in the Keys. “The field classes in Florida have been par-ticularly important to me,” Carrier reflects, “because they get my students out of the classroom and into the real world of biology. These classes have been a chance for me to share my world and my passion for the sea with them in a way i can’t in southcentral michigan. if they can see what it means to me, then i would hope that would inspire them to develop their own passions in the same way.” To protect the nurse shark mating grounds around dry Tortugas National park in the Keys, Carrier proposed legislation, approved in 2000, to close the underwater area of the park to tourist traffic during the mating season. “This was a first for an underwater preserve,” he notes, “offering protection to a shark species during the critical time of mating.” over the course of his career at Albion, Carrier has held the A. merton Chickering professorship in biology and the W.W. diehl endowed professorship and served as vice

president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty from 1996 to 2001. He has been recognized as Albion’s Scholar of the Year on two occasions. Next fall Carrier will be back in the classroom on an interim basis, and on Saturdays he will be behind the microphone in the football press box, carrying on the field announcing he has done for 30 years as the “Voice of the britons.” He’ll also be preparing the second edition of his book, The Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives, which in its first edition was named outstanding Academic Title of 2004 by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine. once the book-editing is completed next spring, he says, he hopes to get back to other interests that he has set aside for lack of time, includ-ing wildlife photography. And no doubt he’ll have many more hours for fly-fishing on the Au Sable River near his cabin in northern michigan.

Gene ClineProfessor of PhilosophyBy Jake Weber

Gene Cline came to philosophy almost acci-dentally, he says, after a semester in seminary and a short time studying medieval history in graduate school. philosophy, he says, was a lot more challenging and fun. He arrived at Albion in 1979, having done a doctoral thesis which also followed a rather unusual path in the philosophical world at the time—he examined similarities in how humans and other mammals respond emotionally to their environments, research that aligned closely

Beginning New JourneysThe following profiles salute the six Albion faculty and academic staff members who retired this spring. All were honored with emeritus status at commencement.

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Jeff Carrier: Life preserver (‘on location’ in Florida with former students Amy Hupp, ’06, and Derek Burkholder, ’04).

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with the field of ethology and the then-developing field of neuroscience. Today, as a specialist in political philoso-phy, Cline has worked hard to make his field accessible for students, regardless of their aca-demic interests. The point is to learn to think like a philosopher, and that comes down to carefully crafted logical analyses. “The idea,” he says, “is to make an argument simple and clear enough that anyone can see that it’s so. or, alternatively, to plainly see why it is not so.” Cline’s expertise in political philosophy led him to co-develop one of Albion’s earliest and most innovative first-year seminars, on justice, taught simultaneously by faculty in four different departments. A notoriously tough grader, Cline recalls that for many years his class average was well below 3.0. “philosophy was always the tough-est course in the humanities in the ’80s and ’90s,” he says, making it excellent prepara-tion for graduate and professional study. He notes that Albion’s philosophy majors fill many seats in good law schools and have recently gotten ph.d.s in philosophy from the university of Chicago, duke, and the university of California, San diego. “philosophy intersects with the College’s strategic plan in serious ways,” he says, not-ing the department’s offerings include the philosophy of law, as well as biomedical, busi-ness, and environmental ethics. philosophy also intersects with other fields, including the natural sciences, psychology, and history, he adds. Associate director of the prentiss m. brown Honors program in the late 1990s and director since 2006, Cline has enjoyed particular success increasing both recruitment and retention of brown honors students.

“You’ve got to like people, you’ve got to tell the truth, and you can’t ‘sell’ a liberal arts education unless you genuinely believe in it and understand it,” he explains. Author of the book Introducing Logic, Epistemology and Ethics: An Integrative Companion to Classical and Contemporary Readings and several articles, Cline says he hopes to publish a second book in retire-ment, a consilience argument examining race-related social issues. “evidence for the theory of evolution goes from phylogenetics to embryo development to biochemistry and geology—when you get different fields that point to the same conclusion, it’s hard to say it shouldn’t be taken as a true conclusion,” Cline says, by way of explanation. “if you take the history of race and law, segregated housing, first-in/last-out labor practices, racially targeted criminal “justice”—looking across a whole series of fields, you get an argument for why black America often looks the way it does. i’m laying out this argument in the first part of my book.” The second part of the argument—finding a solution to the problem of racial discrimi-nation—is much more complex, and provides a great starting point for class discussions and student papers. Cline will continue to teach in the Honors program next fall as its interim director and plans to put student power to work on his research. That’s a strategy that has proven suc-cessful in past courses, he notes. “The mate-rial i’m working on is very much supported by the work that my terrific Albion students have done and will continue to do. it helps me to better integrate and to rethink my own work. i often learn as much from my student colleagues as they do from me.”

Looking back over his 31 years on campus, Cline says there’s no question his interaction with students in the classroom has meant the most to him. “i’ve always thought that any student who comes here and who is willing to work hard will get an education as good or better than any place i know of. other colleges may claim to deliver a premier liberal arts education, but it is no simple matter to match Albion’s deeply embed-ded 175-year-old ethos, our long history of providing liberal education in the intensely personal and engaged way that we so often do.”

David Egnatuk, ’71Professor of Physical EducationBy Bobby Lee

The mentors dave egnatuk had when he was a student at Albion established the standard for the environment he wanted to create as he left military service in November 1974 to begin a career in teaching and coaching at the College. egnatuk, who grew up in a Clinton Street house just a mile from campus, never expected an opportunity to open up at his alma mater and bring him back to his hometown. but the College came calling, and he has since served as a mentor for genera-tions of britons during more than 35 years as professor of physical education, head coach of the men’s track and field program, assistant football coach, and longtime adviser of Alpha Tau omega fraternity.

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Gene Cline: Thinker’s thinker. Dave Egnatuk, ’71: Mentor and motivator.


When he returned to Albion in January 1975, egnatuk believed he was just filling in for a semester. He has been reminding students of his motto, “it’s a great day to be alive!,” ever since. “i had great mentors when i was a student here in Tom Taylor, morley Fraser, ike isaac, and bob Wikstrom, and early in my career, Frank Joranko and Char duff. They set a high standard,” egnatuk recalls. “The com-passion and caring they had for students and student-athletes challenged me to live up to that standard.” in following their model, egnatuk has developed friendships with students that have lasted over the years. “one of the great things about teaching and coaching,” he explains, “is that you get the opportunity to impact the lives of young people with your attitude and sensitivity to their needs. To provide an environment that is nurturing and to be a mentor is very rewarding.” egnatuk crafted the nurturing environ-ment through creating teaching moments in everyday situations. Students recall how egnatuk would search the headlines for sto-ries about billie Jean King and Jack Johnson for the Gender and Sport course or how a trip with the track and field team to Atlanta would include a visit to the martin Luther King Center and the Andersonville, Ga., National Historic Site where 45,000 union soldiers were confined during the Civil War. “everything was a teaching moment,” ben engelter, ’98, says. “No matter where we were or what we were discussing in class, dave never missed an opportunity to put in those teaching moments.” egnatuk also stressed the importance of self-image with his students, as he shared articles on how their body is an investment or on the empowerment of women. “my No. 1 goal in my activity classes was i wanted the students to realize what an asset they have in their physical health, and they need to find time in a very hectic lifestyle as a student and as an adult to maintain it. it’s like putting money into the bank and withdraw-ing it later,” egnatuk says. “As the father of three daughters, i think i became more concerned about women stu-dents taking charge of their body,” he adds. “it is something i’ve tried to push in terms of fitness level and feeling confident enough to

walk into a weight room.” The nurturing environment was crucial as egnatuk has navigated the high tide of success and the turbulence formed by tragedy. in track and field, he guided Tracy Garner, ’83, dan pekrul, ’87, Steve Gilbert, ’93, Tom Reason, ’94, and Nick morgan, ’04, to individual NCAA division iii national championships. His athletes have achieved All-America status 31 times, and he led eight of his teams to miAA track and field titles. during his 23 seasons as an assistant football coach, he worked with the defensive linemen and was on the staff for the 1994 national championship season. While stepping down as head coach for the men’s track program, egnatuk will still be working with the briton runners as an assistant next year. Administrators and athletes alike leaned on his strength in the wake of the deaths of former football coach pete Schmidt and Hall of Fame athletes like Gilbert and Kris Knobloch, ’93. “Students felt good when he said, ‘it’s a great day to be alive!,’” notes Frank Joranko, ’52, the former football and baseball coach and athletic director who hired egnatuk. “Students who weren’t athletes lined up to be in his classes. He is what Albion is about when it comes to mentoring students.”

John KondelikDirector of LibrariesBy Sarah Briggs

Reflecting on his 44-year career as a librarian recently, John Kondelik quoted his favorite adage, “The journey, not the arrival, matters.”And then he added, “The journey’s not over—it’s beginning again.” Not surprisingly, he will be taking along many books on his retirement journey. Among the titles he plans to get to right away are: Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt,

From Gibbon to Auden by G. W. bowersock, Education and Democracy: Re-imagining Liberal Learning in America edited by Robert orrill, and (for fun) Dark Light by Randy Wayne White. Though he didn’t realize it at the time, his library career actually began during his undergraduate days when he served as a page, retrieving books for patrons from the then-closed stacks at the university of Florida library. in the ensuing years, he has seen a transformation in the ways libraries operate that is nothing short of astonishing. Today, not only are individual library catalogs available to users at the click of a mouse, but library collections worldwide can be accessed wherever the internet is available. And the laborious process of poring through the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, volume-by-volume, has given way to online searches that deliver not just authors and titles but complete texts of the articles instantaneously. “Libraries have always been early adopt-ers of technology,” Kondelik notes. “We’ve always looked at ways to streamline what we do.” The real advantage of technology from a librarian’s perspective is that it allows more time for working with patrons on their research. As data of all types have become increasingly available online, Kondelik explains, “information literacy” has never been more important. To be able to search well is still both art and science. “You have to know where to look for the best information,” he says, and that goes way beyond Google. He and his staff at the Stockwell-mudd Libraries believe “every question from a student is a teaching moment,” and they use

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John Kondelik: Perennial bookman.

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those opportunities to help students become more discriminating about the resources available to them. The staff also works closely with the faculty, and they monitor where the curriculum seems to be heading. “We see our mission as supporting the academic program,” he says. “We set our goals around that.” Technology has become a means of stretching tight budgets. Rather than buying single subscriptions to journals today, most libraries now subscribe to online databases that include thousands of titles. From the 1,700 journal titles available in Albion’s library about a decade ago, the number has grown to over 20,000 today—and for less money per title than was spent previously. during his 17 years as Albion’s library director, Kondelik has continually made increased access to materials a priority. in 1997, Albion was one of a handful of institu-tions that pioneered what eventually became the michigan electronic Library and melCat, which now draws on the databases of about 200 libraries in the system. Anyone with a michigan driver’s license can borrow materi-als from any of the participating libraries. Kondelik obtained a mcGregor Fund grant for loading government documents in the College’s online catalog and a mellon Foundation grant for a collaborative educa-tion and collection development program with Hope and Kalamazoo Colleges. He also co-authored a proposal that yielded a W. K. Kellogg Foundation grant for over $1 million for College and community technology, under Albion College’s “Smart Community” initiative, and he worked with the Albion district Library to establish an innovative College-community shared system. His stint at Albion College is the culmina-tion of a career that took him from eckerd College in Florida to olivet College and later to butler university in indiana. At a retirement party this spring, library staff member Claudia diaz closed with this tribute: “John has made the library a much better place, he has made us better at our jobs, and he has enriched the College, the library, and our lives beyond our ability to adequately describe.”

Gaylord SmithProfessor of Economics and ManagementBy Jake Weber

As was the case for many of his peers, Gaylord Smith’s career path was changed by the Vietnam War. Working as an auditor for peat, marwick, mitchell, Smith was drafted as a finance clerk for the u.S. Army, an experience that led him to realize he wanted to continue his education in accounting and become a C.p.A. He already had an m.b.A., so he enrolled in the ph.d. program at michigan State. The program required Smith to work as a teaching assistant, and he began to realize he enjoyed the classroom environment. “it was tough, deciding to leave the business world and those big bucks,” says Smith, but teach-ing offered other rewards. “making this my career was a great choice for me.” Having attended the university of michigan as an undergraduate, Smith had no thoughts of working at a small college until an alumnus friend persuaded him to apply for an opening at Albion. He joined the faculty in 1976. As it turns out, Albion has been a good fit: in 1994 Smith won both the College’s Teacher of the Year award and the united methodist board of Higher education exemplary Teacher award. during

the 2009-10 academic year, he received the educator of the Year award from the michigan Association of Certified public Accountants and Albion’s putnam Award for Faculty mentor of the Year. Smith’s teaching career coincided with the advent of personal computing and the development of spreadsheet software. Fascinated by the potential of the computer as both an educational and business tool, Smith began designing spreadsheet problems for his accounting students. He showed one to a representative for South-Western College publishing Co. in the early 1980s, launching a publishing career that includes 49 work-books and other titles to date. Games and play, Smith asserts, may have been central to his popularity both as a teacher and a developer of educational mate-rials. “A lot of educational software is hand-holding and restrictive. A wrong answer is immediately graded or corrected. And printed textbook problems come down to a single answer, and then you’re done. my philosophy has been to let students use the spreadsheet problem for aiding in decision-making. With my books, the students can go beyond the initial answer and perform ‘what-if ’ analyses with different data.” understanding accounting as a decision-making tool is critical to the students’ eventual success in business, Smith main-tains. “preparation of financial statements and reports allows decision-making with respect to business operations, investments, and risk. Accounting really is an intersection with communication theory—we’re taking the numbers that describe a company and making them meaningful for the people who are making decisions.” people with the ability to interpret the numbers in this fashion are invaluable, he says. Smith is also committed to helping students apply their education toward com-munity service. He founded Albion’s iRS Volunteer income Tax Assistance program, in which aspiring accountants prepare tax returns for some 200 College and community members each year. The program is particu-larly aimed at those who cannot afford a tax preparation service. “This is good experience for my students,” says Smith, who reviews each return they prepare. “it also provides goodwill for the College and helps a lot of folks.”

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Gaylord Smith: Numbers guru.


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Smith notes that the economics and management department’s liberal arts approach to education has been consistently appreciated by the business world. “i really enjoy seeing the recruiters react to our students,” he explains. “The recruiters go to business schools and see accounting students and finance students and marketing students. We have the bare minimum of instruction in any of those areas, but our students have such a broad background as decision-makers and problem-solvers that they can compete with anybody.” in retirement, Smith will continue writing instructional books for his publisher. And you’ll probably find him wearing the newest edition of his “Accounting is Fun” button, recently presented by him to the Accounting Society, which he has advised for many years. “i’ve been handing these buttons out as prizes for a long time, and i always wear one on test days,” he remarks. “i think it keeps the students and me on the same wavelength. Accounting is fun.”

Royal WardProfessor of TheatreBy Jake Weber

For much of his Albion tenure, theatre pro-fessor Royal Ward has also been the College’s organist, performing at the Festival of Lessons and Carols, Honors Convocation, and other important events. Not surprisingly, he began college as a music major—but musical talent was only part of his motivation to perform. “i tried out for plays in high school, but i never got cast,” Ward says, explaining that it wasn’t until his senior year of high school that he managed to get onstage as an actor. Nonetheless, he auditioned for a play his first week at macmurray College, and by the end of the first semester, “i was a theatre major.” Ward eventually taught theatre at macmurray and at Hiram College, where the trustee chair was father of the actor Austin pendleton. “if i ever said i wished we had something in the department, the next thing

i knew, a truck would pull up and deliver it,” he says. it was a dream job, but Ward knew he wanted to finish his doctorate at the university of michigan. His search for a college position near Ann Arbor led him to Albion’s Theatre department in 1979. “i thought i’d finish my doctorate and move on, but i really liked the people here and the school . . . and here i am.” Ward joined colleagues Tom oosting and Helen manning in teaching and running the theatre program. Versatility was key. “if Tom or Helen was directing, i’d design the set. When i directed, Tom would design,” Ward recalls. “We supervised the shop, did the lighting, and taught a lot of overloads because we were such a small department.” The department’s small size didn’t limit their ambitions when it came to the range of their productions, however. The faculty trio was committed to introducing their students to new and different directions that were emerging in theatre at the time. “one of my favorite productions from that period,” Ward says, “was Wendy Wasserstein’s early play, Uncommon Women and Others. it was an all-female cast—seniors at a women’s college who were about to graduate and go out into ‘the real world,’ and their housemother who was about to retire and start the next phase of her life. i convinced Helen (who was about to retire herself ) to play the housemother, and Helen’s daughter, Lora, played one of the students. it was the only time the two of them ever appeared together on stage, and Helen’s por-trayal of the indomitable housemother was particularly touching.” Ward also convinced his colleagues that they should produce a Shakespeare play every other year, an idea that was—and still is—distinctive. “i don’t think any other colleges produce as much Shakespeare as we do,” notes Ward, explaining that “a lot of directors step back from Shakespeare, because without the training it can be a daunting task. it takes a big cast, and to put it onstage is always difficult. but i enjoy it. i think we owe it to our students and to our audiences.” He often collaborated in these productions with Albion english professor Charles Crupi.

Ward’s intimate understanding of Shakespeare, as a scholar and a director, led him to a long association with the Shakespeare Bulletin, a publication devoted primarily to performance-related issues. For many years Ward contributed reviews of regionally and internationally recognized programs, including Canada’s Stratford Festival and the National Shakespeare Theatre, until a new direction at Albion curtailed his time. in 1996, Jeff Carrier, who at the time was serving as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, approached Ward to serve as the associate dean. “i told him i would do it as long as no one asked me to be the vice president and dean,” Ward recalls with a smile. Ward eventually served three years as Carrier’s associate, then held the vice presidential post from 2001 to 2008. in this administrative role, he says, he especially enjoyed interviewing and hiring new faculty. “The faculty we hired were just extraordinary. They’re the future of the College, and i think we’re in good hands.”

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Royal Ward: Play-maker.

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short takes two Minutes with . . . Drew Christopher By Jake Weber

Drew Christopher is chair and professor of psychological science at Albion.

Io Triumphe!: Your undergraduate degree is in economics and finance—how did you end up as a psychology professor?

Christopher: For my second semester of college I signed up for Philosophy 101 but got placed in Psychology 101, probably because my handwriting is so bad the data entry clerk could notreadit.Icouldn’tgetintothephilosophyclass after registration ended, but psychology turned out to be pretty interesting so I minored init.Itwasn’tuntilmysenioryearthatmyroom-mate pointed out that even though my major was economics and finance I spent most of my timestudyingandtalkingaboutpsychology.That’s when it finally hit me: I probably should lookintopsychologyformycareer.

Does any of your economics major apply to what you’re doing now?

I do social psychology, which is a social sci-ence like economics, and there’s a lot more overlapthanmightmeettheeye.Financeand accounting are not intuitive—you have to understand how people think and make decisions, so you can provide comprehensible information.Managementandmarketingarelikewise associated with social psychology, even though marketing in particular is also starting to use neuroscience research in its scientific investigations.

like I know that’s the case, I think that makes a difference, particularly to the first-year and sopho-more students who are still trying to acclimate themselvestotheworld. It’saboutmaintainingasenseofperspective.Ilivemylifein14-weekblocks.nothinglastsfor-ever,andthat’sespeciallytrueinthislineofwork.So you always know there’s a fresh beginning just ahead.

It sounds like you’re a philosopher after

all. . . .

You know, I never did get to take that philosophy class.

Since 1999, you’ve published 44 journal articles, 21 of them with Albion students. And the topics range all over the place: Protestant work ethic, authoritarianism, financial risk-taking, voting behavior, sexism. . . .

Sometimes I entice bright students into working on my research interests by having them read backgroundmaterialstoseeiftheygetexcited.But some of what I’m working on comes from whatstudentsareinterestedin.Mysecondyearat Albion, a student came to me with a great idea forastudyonsexism.sincethen,I’vehadfourorfivestudentswho’veexpandedonthattopic.I work on what’s fresh at hand, and that changes withthestudentswhoareworkingwithme.That’swhy I wouldn’t want to work at a Level I research institution.IfIhadtodoawholelotofresearchinonearea,I’dgetbored.

You’ve won several teaching awards . . . talk a little bit about how you approach your role as teacher.

Teaching students how to think, more than whattothink,isimportant.That’swhyIaskmystudents not just to present a conclusion but to show evidence of how they reached that conclu-sion.Youcan’tgetboggeddownintheminutiaeof what you’re doing as a teacher, but, rather, you need to provide a bigger context of why the informationisimportant. whenIwalkintoclassatthestartofthesemester, I remind myself that this isn’t going to be every student’s favorite class, even though it mightbemine.I’llprobablybemoreenthusiasticabout 90 percent of the subject matter than the students, and for the students who want to delve deeper I can give more learning opportunities outsideofclass.Itrytorememberthattheclassisnotthecenterofthestudents’universe.IfIact

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Honored for his teaching and research at Albion, Drew Christopher is also editor-in-chief of the American Psychological Association’s journal, Teaching of Psychology. That role keeps him in touch with the latest trends in teaching in his discipline.


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“i remember the moment in class when ethnic studies profes-sor diana Ariza asked, ‘How do you identify?’” Turay says. “i’m not Lebanese, but it made me think about what ethnicity means. i wanted to explore how things change through generations. What does being Lebanese in Scotland, or monroe, michigan, or in Lebanon—all within the same family line—mean? “After talking with some family members, i found they had contact until the early ’60s,” Turay adds. “in the ’90s, a cousin—who is a professor at the university of edinburgh—was teaching or doing research at the American university, and he looked up the name in the phone book and called and said, ‘i think we’re related.’ i had to tap into the resource after hearing about the history.” despite some reservations of family members, Turay used the break between semesters in december and January to visit the extended stepfamily in Scotland and

Lebanon. She is working to counter stereo-types of the middle east by accurately depict-ing what she saw, noting the area she visited is far less dangerous than it is portrayed on television. “There were people who thought i was playing hopscotch with landmines,” she recalls. Still, she found the challenges currently facing the middle east both complicated and perplexing. “There are some issues that are difficult,” Turay says. “There is a responsibility as a writer to explain what you experience with as much truth as possible, but readers also have a responsibility to put what they read into a larger context.” The may graduate hopes to continue to explore the world as she is in the process of applying to join AmeriCorps.

A Matter of IdentityBy Bobby Lee

Sandra Turay was so busy this spring that she had to miss a portion of the track and field season. The ishpeming (mich.) native, who competes in throwing events for the britons, was rewarded for her scholarly analysis of differences between cultures with selec-tion as a student presenter at the National Association for ethnic Studies Conference in Washington, d.C. in April. Turay has added to the body of Arab-American literature with a paper that addresses the key moments for several generations of a Lebanese family as they navigate their identity in America, Scotland, and Lebanon. Her interest in the fields of anthropology, sociology, and ethnic studies began during a First-Year experience trip to puerto Rico and continued while studying abroad in Ghana. Her semester in Africa led to a 40-page independent study project about the Fulani, an ethnic group not indigenous to Ghana. in search of a topic for her senior honors thesis, Turay turned to her stepfamily’s Lebanese roots—which were rediscovered after a phone call in the 1990s—and her research began in February 2009.

A discus specialist on the Briton track and field team, Sandra Turay has also been a strong competitor in the classroom. She was one of only a few undergraduates chosen to present their research at a national ethnic studies conference this spring. A member of the Brown Honors Program, she also wrote for the pleiad.

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Head men’s basketball coach Jody May (right) met with former 1942 MIAA honoree, Bob Lynn, ’43, when Lynn watched the Britons’ 58-48 victory over the University of La Verne, La Verne, Calif., Dec. 18, 2009. This game was the first Briton hoops contest Lynn had seen in 67 years. The team’s travel to southern California was made possible, in part, through the Michael and Peg Turner Endowment, which pro-vides supplemental funds for edu-cational and competition travel.

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in considering how to recognize Albion’s 175th anniversary

this year, we thought it was most appropriate to turn to you,

our alumni, for your remembrances of quintessential Albion

moments—moments that have often been life-changing.

despite the fact that our writers span seven decades of College

history, commonalities endure of friendship and family, living

and learning in this special place. We hope you will identify

with the experiences described here and enjoy reliving your

own “signature moments” at Albion. — Sarah briggs, editor

Signature Moments

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We were two frightened college freshmen in September 1959, standing in the hallway outside the studio door of professor david Strickler, waiting to audition for the Albion College choir. it was only the second day on campus for both of us. Coming from opposite sides of the state of michigan, we did not know each other but had shared (though we did not know it at the time) a love of choral music performance as high school students. There was “magic” in that first meeting. i knew that i wanted to spend more time with this dark-haired girl with the beautiful smile . . . and the feeling seemed to be mutual. She accepted my offer of a date for the freshman mixer, and neither of us ever looked back. i gave her my fraternity pin the following year and an engagement ring the year after that. We were married a few weeks after graduation. We sang together in the choir throughout our college years . . . and have been “making music” together for nearly 50 years now.

James, ’63, and Tamara Transue Royle, ’63

I was the first in our extended family in more than 30 years to go to college. my mother was in bad health, but she insisted on going with my dad and me the day we drove to Albion. She had not been able to go to college so was determined that i would! When she returned home to detroit that evening, she went to bed and remained there until she died five days before my graduation. our family was aware that mom might not live long enough to see my graduation ceremony in 1941, so president Seaton, being very understanding, gave me my diploma a few days ahead of time to show mom her goal and mine had been accomplished. She fingered the diploma with care and said, “Finally a college graduate in the family.” Then she closed her eyes for the last time. The diploma was returned to president Seaton, and i received it again at graduation the following weekend. only at Albion could

such things happen in those days! i have been part of other colleges since that time, but Albion will

always have a special place in my heart.

Phyllis Wagner Gore Houghton, ’41

Several classmates and I were studying for an exam,which was being held the next day in dr. eugene miller’s HarlemRenaissance literature class. At about 7:45 p.m., after studyingfor several hours and still not fully understanding what we werestudying, i called dr. miller at home. i told him that a few of uswere studying and were not making any sense of the material. Hereplied, “Let me tuck my kids in bed, and i’ll be right over.” At 8 p.m. he was sitting on the floor of my dorm room reviewing the material with us. After about two hours, he said, “You’re right—this isn’t hanging together. i’ll make the exam a take-home, and you can work on it over the weekend.” All of us breathed a sigh of relief, although for me, it was a mixed blessing. my take-home exam ended up being 18 pages long. However, i will never forget how impressed i was by his selflessness, his sincere interest in our educa-tion, and his desire to see us succeed. i try to emulate his example.

Coletta Nelson Thomas, ’76

It’s rare that one event in a lifetime can be such a defin-ing moment that it changes your goals and aspirations from that point forward. The biochemistry research that i did with dr. Chris Rohlman for my honors thesis redefined my career path. The ben-efit of working daily with dr. Rohlman, along with support from many other professors in multiple departments, solidified my confi-dence as a researcher and led me to pursue graduate school with the eventual idea of doing medical research. While scientific research can be carried out by undergraduate students at other colleges or universities, the mentoring that Albion College enables is beyond measure, and i am grateful to have had the chance to take part in the Albion experience.

Michael Marvin, ’04

I had many memorable experiences at Albion that have shaped my career—although at the time i thought it was going to be a career as a music educator. i originally came to Albion on a music performance scholarship (French horn) and played in all the ensembles: the british eighth, the orchestra, wind ensemble, brass quintet, and eventually jazz ensemble. i thought i would go off to be a band director and change the world as professors Steve eggleston and Rick blatti did as my directors at Albion. i experi-enced more music under their batons than i could ever have imag-ined playing in a lifetime, let alone in four years. i had attended a small rural high school that didn’t even have an orchestra. one of my fondest memories was playing in an orchestra con-cert on campus under the famous composer Howard Hanson. Not only did i have the opportunity to play under his baton, but we had coffee with him after the concert! Now after 22 years as an arts manager presenting artists from around the world, i realize what an amazing moment that was to have such access to a composer of his stature. Through the years, i have kept in touch with both Steve egglestonand Rick blatti. They were more than professors who cared deeply about our success as students—they became extended family.

Anna VanBruggen Thompson, ’80


something, that something takes on meaning, and your life and your world are richer for it. i also learned what i was capable of doing, and the level at which i could perform. These lessons have stayed with me, and even now i draw on them as i practice law. in fact, when preparing for my first significant argument in federal court, and i was jittery, i thought to myself, “Well, come on, you got through Literary Theory with dr. Collar—surely you can do this.”

Susan Quinn, ’95

The two faculty members most significant to my Albion experience were english professors mary Collar and Judy Lockyer. At the beginning of every semester, it was the same—i would be so excited to get to the first class with one of them, and once there i would wonder, “What was i thinking? i don’t feel like doing all this reading, and they ask questions that are too hard, and there are too many papers to write.” but as the semester went on, i would remember why i loved their classes—they felt like they mattered. And in that way, i learned something truly important—that you get out of life what you put into it. When you invest time and effort into

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At times, the core requirements seemed to get in the way of what i really wanted to take at Albion. in an inspired moment, my adviser, dr. Tom oosting, suggested i take a philosophy course with dr. Jack padgett to meet one of the requirements. i was quite con-cerned. i didn’t think philosophy was going to appeal to me, and i was intimidated by what others had told me about the workload. but dr. oosting pointed out that my love of words and reasoning was a good match for the class. Well, he was so right. i absolutely loved that class, and went on to take ethics with dr. Ned Garvin. i owe dr. oosting a debt of gratitude for “opening my mind”—it truly made a difference in my life.

Angela Scott Sheets, ’82

Outside of my immediate family members, football coach Pete Schmidt is the person who has had the largest influence on my life. There were many lessons that he taught his players, but the thing that has had the most lasting impact on me is to take respon-sibility for my actions as well as those of the people around me. if i am in a group that is going in the wrong direction, it is up to me to do something about it. We cannot sit back and expect someone else to improve our circumstances for us. All upperclassmen on Coach Schmidt’s teams were expected to be leaders because we had been taught what was expected of us by the players who came before us, and it was our responsibility to teach that to the younger players.

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because he instilled in us that it was our responsibility to make sure that the team was ready to play on Saturdays, we took ownership of our teams. We each became responsible for our successes and failures. it was for this reason that our football national championship in 1994 was so special. We weren’t the most talented division iii team in the country that year. Few would say that ours was the most talented team that Albion College has ever had. However, through the leader-ship of the senior class, our team came together like no other team that i have ever been a part of. The players had a tremendous amount of respect for each other and that showed in the way we played together. When i think about my time playing football at Albion, i very rarely think of the games. The times that i remember the most are the times on the practice field, in the locker room, in the weight room, and in the film room with Coach Schmidt. Those were the times when we were learning to become responsible for ourselves and each other.

Kyle Klein, ’97

Living together in Susanna Wesley Hall (it was an all-women’s residence back in the ’50s) meant that we formed friendships that have lasted—and grown even richer—over the ensuing years. About 14 years ago, some of us began gathering once or twice a year to reconnect with one another, tell stories of children and grandchildren, and explore the locale where we happen to be staying. our California destination has afforded us many interesting places for hiking and sightseeing. We also have enjoyed making evening meals for each other. it’s amazing how you begin to feel like a college student again after spending all those hours together! While we all bring our own perspectives and life experiences to these gatherings, it’s our shared history from four years at Albion that binds us together and keeps us coming back each time.

Connie Blessing Burt, ’56

My defining Albion moment was my first written examination for history professor Julian Rammelkamp. i had a conflicting event at the Ford institute, so dr. Rammelkamp told me i could take the exam in the evening. by reputation, dr. Rammelkamp’s courses were rigorous, and, as a freshman taking my first set of exams, i was ner-vous and a bit intimidated. After dinner, i met dr. Rammelkamp at North Hall. i expected someone to hand me the exam paper and watch me take the test for an hour. dr. Rammelkamp was different, much different. He showed me to his office, and sat me at his desk. He simply said to turn out the lights and lock the door when done. i asked him the time limit for writing the exam, and he said there was none.

That moment previewed in many ways what would become a profound academic relationship and personal friendship with dr. Rammelkamp. He trusted me fully just as he believed in my potential fully. There was no time limit on his exams, just as there was no limit on how much he would teach us (and just as sometimes it seemed there was no limit to the assigned reading for a term). He showed me a new capacity for work and learning. He even gave me summer reading lists, and, when finished, we would sit in his living room or on his sun porch and discuss the books at length. each of us sees a horizon. Some are fortunate to meet a giant who lifts them up to see far beyond that horizon. dr. Rammelkamp was a legendary professor who, by his intellect and personal dedication to teaching, inspired me and many other Albion students to believe there was no limit to what we could learn or to what we could accomplish.

Jeffrey Battershall, ’86

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albion unveils a four-year program of academic and career exploration.

Albion College shares wholeheartedly in these goals expressed in a Change magazine article a few years ago. But now the College is poised to significantly change how it delivers on its promise to prepare students for fulfilling lives after graduation. The Albion Advantage, which will officially begin with the first-year class entering this fall, represents a bold new approach to career readiness melded with a liberal arts education. Beginning in their first semester on cam-pus, students will integrate their academic work and their career exploration, creating a comprehensive life plan that will lead them to graduation and beyond. Along the way, they will gain the professional skills and practical experience needed for career success. The program culminates in the Albion Advantage Pledge, the College’s assur-ance that students will have post-graduate support, such as an additional research experience, an internship, or extended career services, if desired, as they go on to pursue their life’s work.

The Albion Advantage was featured in a front-page story in the Chronicle of Higher Education in April. In the interview below, President Donna Randall talks about how the Albion Advantage will reshape our students’ educational experience.

“[Liberal arts colleges] seek nothing less than to prepare students for extraordinary

lives that will make significant contributions to the larger society. And, the results

are impressive—inordinately large numbers of liberal arts graduates go on to

pursue graduate degrees, make impressive contributions in the arts and the sciences,

and become leaders in business, government, and non-profit organizations.”

Io Triumphe!: the albion advantage grew out of the College’s recent strategic planning process. What specifically drove this new initiative?

President Randall: We realized as we were developing our strategic plan that we needed to make an Albion College education more distinctive—to create our own competitive niche. There are many fine liberal arts institutions in the nation, and we needed to figure out what we could do better than these other institutions in order to distinguish Albion in a highly competitive and crowded higher education landscape. That strategic thinking led to the Albion Advantage. We envisioned this model to provide a value-added component to our students’ liberal arts education.

You’ve said that you believe the albion advantage is particularly compelling, given the current economic environment. Could you explain that further?

There are a number of surveys that are conducted on a regular basis to sample the opinions of first-year college students, and these can help us understand what drives

a Distinct advantage

students’ college choice. one of the major surveys, from uCLA’s Higher education Research institute, found that well over half—nearly 57 percent—of the first-year students responding say they place high importance on choosing a college where graduates get good jobs. What’s significant is that this is the highest percentage since this question was introduced in 1983. This is a reflection of the times, of the economy. other surveys have also shown that today’s college students are more focused on their future careers than perhaps many of us were when we were in college, and because of the escalating price of college they want some assurance that after they graduate there will be career opportuni-ties out there that will be satisfying and productive. And we’re not just hearing this from the students. parents are also expecting that, given their investment in their son or daughter’s education, their student will be prepared for a career. When we were developing the Albion Advantage, we were planning with this genera-tion in mind, and we believe that this career-oriented mindset will continue for many years into the future. Albion is being responsive to the students’ and society’s needs.


be visionary—and help us translate their ideas into the preparation we are offering students. The institutes will also be the home of many of the experiential learning opportunities that we will provide to students. We believe that giving students an oppor-tunity to experience what it means to be a professional in a given area is very valuable. We want our students to see whether there’s a fit between their evolving inter-ests and a particular career. Their experiential education will also set them apart from their peers who may not have hands-on experience. employers and graduate school admissions officers tell us that this is a key char-acteristic of successful applicants.

Will the College’s liberal arts focus change under the albion advantage?

Albion College has provided an exceptional liberal arts education for 175 years. We fully intend to continue to do that. However, under the Albion Advantage, stu-dents will have the opportunity to combine that with career readiness, enabling them to better articulate their learning and preparedness to employers and graduate schools. Albion has integrated professional prepara-tion into the liberal arts for decades. We’ve done this primarily through the institutes, but there are many places on campus that offer students experiential learn-ing opportunities. The Albion Advantage represents an enhancement of that approach. one of the distinctive things about the Albion Advantage is that the four-year model seeks to reach every student who wants to participate in this program on our campus. We want to ensure that all students can explore careers and start doing that in their first year. Some students are very focused when they come here—they have a career plan and take the appropri-ate steps needed to achieve their goals—but others are not as decisive or assertive, and we want to be certain that those students have a structure that will assist them in their decision-making for their next major life transition.

How will we involve alumni in the albion advantage?

Albion has over 22,000 loyal alumni, and there are many ways alumni can help us with the Albion Advantage. They can inform prospective students about this new program. They can help by serving as mentors—students need to solidify their career inter-ests, and alumni perspectives can be invaluable. Alumni can present a realistic assessment of the pros and cons of a particular profession.

What are the elements of the albion advantage that make it distinctive in comparison to career preparation programs at other institutions?

The Albion Advantage is not an either-or choice. A lot of people ask, “Are you providing a liberal arts educa-tion or career preparation for students?” What Albion is doing is providing a liberal arts education and a career readiness focus. We are helping students prepare for their careers, building on the liberal arts foundation. We’re doing this in a very thoughtful, intentional, and strategic fashion. Some institutions are pure liberal arts; some simply do career preparation. What Albion is doing is blending the liberal arts and career readiness throughout our four-year program. We are looking at career readiness as a process that students begin in their first semester on campus, and it’s integrated with their academic planning right through their last semester as seniors—with care-ful academic and career advising by faculty and staff. Facilitated by an electronic portfolio, students will reflect on and synthesize their learning throughout their years on campus, ensuring both quality and depth in the connections students are making. We believe that under the Albion Advantage we will be giving students the skills and experience they need to be successful after graduation, and we are backing that up with a pledge to assist them after graduation, should they need that. While the pledge begins with the first-year class entering this coming fall, our upper-class students will also have access to the career services and experiential learning offered to the first-years. All of our students will be encouraged to take advantage of career development opportunities.

What will be the role of our Institutes going forward?

institutes are an integral part of the Albion Advantage. We intend to enhance them and provide increased staffing to better serve our students. The institutes will help formulate future-oriented career tracks. one of the exciting things about the institutes is that they will be charged to look to the future and anticipate where the new careers are going to be in the coming years. We need to prepare our students not just for life right after graduation but for their career changes later on. The institutes can help students prepare for those future careers, and provide the knowledge and skills students will need to succeed in those careers. We will be creat-ing institute advisory committees composed of faculty, staff, alumni, and leading professionals in related fields. We will be asking these committees to help us

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Recent surveys have shown that students are more focused than ever before on their future careers, notes President Donna Randall, and they expect their college education will help them achieve their goals. The Albion Advantage meets that need by integrating academic work, experi-ential learning, and the development of professional skills.

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We’d love for our students to engage in job-shadow-ing with alumni, to learn what a job is like on a daily basis. We strongly encourage our students to do intern-ships, and if our alumni could be internship sponsors, it would be wonderful. Alumni could be excellent “career coaches” for students, offering advice by phone or e-mail. i would love to have alumni come back to campus on a regular basis to serve as guest speakers or executives- or artists-in-residence. And alumni could assist students with relocation after graduation—offer-ing advice to ease the transition after college.

What do you see as the long-term benefits of the albion advantage—for our students and for the College as a whole?

Through the Albion Advantage, we’re providing our students with the timelessness of a liberal arts educa-tion and the timeliness of career preparation. We want our students to be prepared for their first job . . . and for the long-term career decision-making that will follow. Today’s students want to know they will be ready for those first steps after graduation, whether that means heading to graduate or professional school or entering immediately into a career. That’s where the Albion Advantage’s career readiness focus is invaluable. However, we know that many of the careers that our students will eventually go into do not even exist today.

That’s why we want to keep the strong liberal arts foundation so that they are able to adapt and pursue emerging career opportunities. We will make a conscious effort to have each stu-dent explore various careers. Rather than waiting until their senior year to determine their career path, under the Albion Advantage, students will ponder who they are, what they value in life, and what they want to do, right from the beginning of their time on campus. We want to be able to give them the experiences over their four years here to enable them to choose wisely and be confident as they move forward with their careers after graduation. We believe our students will graduate from Albion and become successful on their own terms, sat-isfied with their life’s work and with the education they received from Albion. And they in turn will provide critical leadership in their communities and beyond, changing society for the better. For the College, i am excited about having this new strategic focus. Faculty and staff will all work together, blending our knowledge and expertise in support of students and helping them reach their goals. The students are the ultimate beneficiaries, but the Albion Advantage reinforces for each of us as faculty or staff why we are here. The heightened sense of purpose that we will gain through the Albion Advantage is incredibly energizing, and i can’t wait to see it begin to play out starting next fall.

To learn more about the Albion Advantage, goto:www.albion.edu/advantage.


To help students succeed,

our schools should focus

more on collaboration

and less on competition,

asserts educator

Linda Yonke, ’75.

By Marian Deegan

a.caMPBEllPHOTO

22 | io Triumphe!

To help students succeed,

our schools should focus

more on collaboration

and less on competition,

asserts educator

Linda Yonke, ’75.

By Marian Deegan

Talking about educational innovation is easy. Making it happen is often far more difficult. Yet at suburban Chicago’s

New Trier High School, innovation has become a way of life—resulting

in improved student learning as well as national recognition as one of

America’s top schools. Last fall, under the leadership of Linda Carmitchel

Yonke, ’75, New Trier was named a national Blue Ribbon School by the

U.S. Department of Education, the latest in a long series of honors from

organizations including the National Association of Secondary School

Principals.

As superintendent of the New Trier Township High School District,

Yonke holds strong opinions about the knowledge and skills required to

successfully prepare students for careers in the 21st-century economy.

“New Trier has its roots in the progressive education movement, and a history of outstanding achievement that stretches back more than 100 years,” she says. “our academic records are highly visible, but our curriculum encompasses more subtle components of service and global awareness and interdisciplinary connec-tions as well. Students need to understand that what they’re learning is important in a broader social context.” in looking back over her own schooling, Yonke reflects that sometimes it’s the unexpected experiences that can influence an educational path. Students need to be open to those as well. during her first semester at Albion, simple class sched-uling conflicts nudged her into courses in history and field hockey. The changes affected her professional evolution in ways she could not have predicted. “i’d hated history in high school,” she says, “but my first history course at Albion was a revelation.” Yonke became a history major, and credits one of Albion’s legendary history professors for galvanizing her fascination with the power of the past to shape the future. “i took every course taught by Julian Rammelkamp,” she remembers. “He was fabulous. i still have notebooks filled with copious notes from his courses. We read 10-15 books a semester to gather varying historical perspectives, and his lectures made the connections that wove everything together.” And field hockey? “i had never played a sport,” she laughs, “but Char duff asked me to join the field hockey team, and i went on to be the high scorer in my senior year. At the time, i found it fun and physically challenging, but i have come to appreciate how much athletics teaches girls about working as a team, gaining confidence, and experiencing their body as an athlete rather than a sexual-ized object. it was an important experience for me.” After a college internship at a law firm, Yonke decided to remain with her ini-tial choice of a career in education. She taught english for 13 years while earning a master’s in language and literature. A national conference showcasing the Reagan administration’s educational reforms fired her desire for a leadership role.

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As superintendent of New Trier Township High School District in suburban Chicago, Linda Yonke, ’75, maintains it can be misleading to apply business models to educa-tion. “Results [in education],” she says, “aren’t measured in profit and loss. For us, it’s about seeing the student outcomes. There’s an interesting dilemma in education. Everyone has experienced education. Everyone has a certain understanding of what education is all about. But their understanding is limited by their own experiences. We need to do a better job of communicating what teaching is, what learning is, and what the challenges are today.”


“The idea of major educational change was very exciting to me,” Yonke recalls. “i thought i could have the most impact in an administrative role.” She became the first female administrator in her own former high school. “There was certainly some resistance to a woman in the position,” she remembers, “but i knew that i could do the work. Within three years, i became the first woman principal. i think it’s difficult for young women today to understand what that was like, but i’m glad they don’t have to go through what we did.” She went on to earn a doctorate in educational administration at the university of illinois. Today, Yonke oversees the education of 4,150 students at New Trier. Curriculum is guided by a stra-tegic plan that encourages a climate of exploration, global citizenship, a healthy, balanced life, commu-nity service, and ethical conduct. “There’s no one ideal way for students to learn,” she says. Lecture-based teaching is not a particularly effective way to reach today’s students, she continues. it’s essential to use multiple teaching methods—including writing, oral presentations, and hands-on use of technology—to make course material mean-ingful to the students. And, she believes, the most effective learning environment is found in schools where standards are set high and where teachers col-laborate to help every student achieve his or her best. “i think we should focus on moving everyone up.” beyond the curriculum, New Trier takes a unique approach to student counseling. instead of traditional guidance counselors, the school assigns a group of about 25 students to a same-gender classroom teacher who serves as advisor to each of the students through graduation. Advisors help plan course work, conduct advisee home visits, and know each student’s outside interests. “it’s a wonderful way to ensure that an adult knows each student well and has a close connection with the student’s family and school life,” Yonke explains. The district’s merit pay system for teachers is another distinctive feature. Though New Trier’s initial pay scale is based on years of experience and level of education, compensation advancement requires a rig-orous peer review and development of defined master teacher skills. To qualify for the top level of compen-sation, teachers must reaffirm master teacher skills

and demonstrate leadership at the school or in the teaching profession as a whole. “our teachers aren’t just accumulating credits, course work, or years of experience,” Yonke says. “They are developing their craft and leadership skills. our system has helped us attract and retain dedicated, high-quality teachers.” She has concerns about the trends she sees in cur-rent federal educational initiatives. “i believe in local community responsibility for education,” she observes. “Funding is tied to estab-lishing your priorities as a community. i think the founding fathers were very wise to make education the responsibility of local government. i’m fearful that a national curriculum overemphasizes the areas of english and math to the exclusion of other sub-jects. Learning is an interactive and socially dynamic process. Students need exposure to the arts, physical education, science, and social studies. i’m concerned about standardization of curriculum. . . . i worry that this approach will narrow the full curriculum that students need, and trend toward a standard of minimal competency instead of encouraging teachers to teach to the students’ highest capability.” Yonke knows firsthand about the funding challenges of public education after the February defeat of a referendum that would have provided $174 million for school additions and improve-ments. “We hoped that the availability of [federal]stimulus funding might help convince people to vote for the referendum, but clearly it did not,” she says. “Certainly the economy was a factor, but there were other concerns as well. it’s complicated. We are evalu-ating community opinion, and taking another look at how best to make needed changes.” Through her leadership, Yonke is carving out her own role in the history of New Trier’s academic success. “it’s exciting to see the changes in educa-tion right now,” she says. “We are in a time of great opportunity and expanded availability of informa-tion. Science is giving us insight into how kids learn most effectively, and we are translating those insights into our curriculum. i’m looking forward to how things will play out. our teachers invite me to classes, and i love to sit in and observe. The best part of my day is seeing our students engaged in innovative learning.”

Marian Deegan is a freelance writer from St. Paul, Minn.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The most effective learning environment is found in schools where standards are set high

and where teachers collaborate to help every student achieve his or her best, Linda Yonke says.

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How to survive in

today’s media marketplace

has become the new riddle

for newspapers today.

Journalist Matt roush, ’78,

says it’s time to embrace

the changes made possible

by digital technology.

His own career

is a case in point.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Black and White and read all over?

not so much any more. By Matthew Roush, ’78

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Hello, my name is Matt, and I’m a recovering newspaperman.

i have lots of company. Soon enough, the media that haven’t already done so will lose their addiction to newsprint. They won’t have a choice. When i took my first job at the Three Rivers Commercial shortly after my graduation from Albion College in 1978, they gave me a telephone, a manual typewriter, the last guy’s Rolodex, and said, “Go get ’em, kid.” When i got my fifth journalism job in 1990—at a business publication, Crain’s Detroit Business—they gave me a telephone, a monochrome monitor unit that was an only slightly glorified typewriter, and the last guy’s Rolodex, and said, “Go get ’em, uh, 33-year-old.” Not much had changed in those 12 years. Journalistic research was still manual drudgery. You wanted court records, you had to stand in line at the courthouse. You wanted business records, you had to stand in line at the Corporation and Securities bureau in Lansing. but then all hell broke loose. We got LexisNexis so we could request legal and news searches on com-panies and individuals from digital databases. pCs came along, and internet speeds increased. Courts began putting their records online. Newspapers and magazines put up back issues. And everything changed. in our articles, the qual-ity of the research, its breadth and depth, improved by orders of magnitude. it became much harder to lie to us. if there was a bankruptcy or a fraud charge in your background, we were going to find it. if you had left a trail of broken companies or irate customers, we would know. Today it’s like that—only more so. An entire world of information about everyone i write about, covering technology in michigan, is at my fingertips. it’s called Google, and it’s free. Ah, yes, free. That’s also the problem. because newspaper content is also now free online, and a significant chunk of the population has been born since 1990 and thus doesn’t remember a time without the internet, for them it has always been so.To say the newspaper industry is in crisis is a laugh-able understatement. Circulation is plummeting;

more and more newspapers are choosing to cut back or eliminate the printed product. meanwhile, news-papers have not yet figured out how to monetize their millions of online eyeballs at the same profit margins that they enjoyed in print. And so we have this death spiral of declining revenue, and a management response to cut the news-gathering staff, which makes the content less compel-ling, which results in fewer readers, which results in revenue declining still further. opinion media—including most blogs, talk radio, and much of cable TV news—have grown amid this decline, but most of their audiences remain small compared to the traditional media. (even Fox News is viewed at most times by only about 1 million of the nearly 100 million homes where it is available. That’s far less than the former circulation of the detroit newspapers.) What has happened is the atomization of media, their splintering into thousands of fragments. They used to say that freedom of the press was reserved for those who owned one, but the internet has broken down this barrier. Anyone with a computer and access to the Web can begin writing news—whatever they may believe the news to be—and reach a world-wide audience of well over a billion people. The First Amendment of the united States Constitution pro-hibits restrictions on the media, outside of libel and slander, so the lines have blurred still further between fact and opinion. The internet has forced all media into each other’s businesses. Newspaper Web sites now feature audio and video. TV stations now write stories like a news-paper for their Web sites. And at my employer, WWJ Newsradio 950, we’re moving into video. We’ve been in e-mail newsletters that are sort of like specialty newspapers since 2000. WWJ hired me in 2001 to create something called the Great Lakes information Technology Report, an online newsletter covering what was then called the “technology industry” in michigan—hardware, software, and iT and internet consulting.

26 | io Triumphe!

over the years our coverage has broadened to include michigan’s economic transformation away from heavy manufacturing and into the industries that the michigan economic development Corp. is chasing—yes, still iT, but also the life sciences (including pharmaceutical research and produc-tion, medical device research and manufacturing, and health services), advanced manufacturing, and all things green (including wind power, solar power, advanced batteries, fuel cells, and advanced power-trains for vehicles). We’ve even changed the name, to the Great Lakes innovation and Technology Report—a new focus with the same acronym, GLiTR. We’ve grown from a few thousand readers a day to upwards of 50,000 people, a deeply commit-ted and intelligent audience interested in news of michigan’s ongoing attempts at economic rebirth in a knowledge-based economy. i’d like to think GLiTR is a poster child for where the media have to go. They need to give up attachments to dead technologies. The media need

to realize they’re in the information business, and all the ways they get it to people—print, radio, TV, Web—are just the trucks they send it in. You can’t get too attached to one of the trucks; remember, you’re in the information business, not the truck business. Journalists today must feel comfortable in any medium, and have skills in Web, video, and audio production, along with the ability to write quickly and accurately on tight deadlines. Way back in 1988, then-Saturday Night Live performer Al Franken did comedic coverage of the presidential campaign in New Hampshire as an early prototype of today’s media one-man band. He wore a satellite dish on his head, providing his own video uplink. That’s pretty much what i do today, with cell phone-based internet access in place of the dish. (As for Al Franken, he’s now a united States senator. isn’t the media landscape an amazing place?) Here’s what i tell young people about journalism: if you had your heart set on being a big-city newspa-per columnist, i’m so sorry. but if you want to be a great reporter, there’s never been a better time. There’s an audience of a billion people out there crying out for useful information.


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s

A capacity crowd filled the science complex atrium for the Young Alumni Awards ceremony. Catherine Fontana, ’08, spoke on behalf of the award recipients.

The 2010 Young Alumni Award winners: (seated, left to right) Yukiko Tanaka, ’02, Allison Moore Beers, ’01, James Gignac, ’01, Levi Straight, ’04; (standing) Sam Hogg, ’05, Anna Stroud Gladstone, ’06, President Donna Randall, Catherine Fontana, ’08, Nick Whitney, ’00. Not pictured: Ligia Paina, ’05, Nate Sowa, ’03.

Inaugural Young Alumni Awards Celebrate ‘Top 10 in 10’Albion honored some of its many outstanding alumni April 23, as alumni, faculty, staff, family, and friends gathered for the inaugu-ral “Top 10 in 10” Young Alumni Awards ceremony. The award, established as part of the College’s 175th anniversary celebration this year, recognizes noteworthy and distinctive achievements made by alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years. it willnow be presented annually in the spring in conjunction with the elkin R. isaac Student Research Symposium.

Accepting on behalf of the 2010 honorees, Catherine Fontana noted the diversity of their achievements. “We are the future faces of medical advancement, economic stability, political activism, climate change solutions, and creative expression,” Fontana said. “These are the futures that a liberal arts education must prepare students for, and we feel incredibly fortunate that Albion College unwaveringly supported this academic mission. . . . This is the education the world demands of us.” —Jake Weber

2010 Young alumni awardsallison Moore Beers, ’01Owner,EventsnorthTraverse City, Michigan

Catherine g. Fontana, ’08Ph.D.student,YaleUniversity

School of Forestry and Environmentalstudies

newHaven,connecticut

James P. gignac, ’01Midwest Director, Beyond

Coal Campaign, Sierra ClubChicago, Illinois

anna stroud gladstone, ’06D.O.candidate,MichiganstateUniversitycollegeofOsteopathic Medicine

Eastlansing,Michigan

samuel e. Hogg, ’05FounderandcEO, GiftZip.comLansing, MichiganMarket Specialist, nextEnergy

Detroit, Michigan

Ligia Paina, ’05Ph.D.student, JohnsHopkinsUniversityBaltimore, Maryland

nathaniel a. sowa, ’03M.D.candidate,Universityofnorthcarolina

chapelHill,northcarolina

Levi J. straight, ’04Mathematics Department

Chair and Instructional Support Teacher, northwesternHighschool

Baltimore, Maryland

Yukiko tanaka, ’02Musician/concertPianistnewYork,newYork

nicholas M. Whitney, ’00Postdoctoral Scientist, Mote Marine LaboratorySarasota, Florida

To learn more about the Top 10 or submit a nomination for the 2011 Young Alumni Awards, go to: albion.edu/alumni/awards/youngalumni.


Please join other albion alumni and friends at the following activities:

these dates are accurate at time of publication, with additional dates/activities pending. For updates and details, please check the office of alumni engagement Web site, www.albion.edu/alumni, or call the office at 517/629-0448.

June8 175thanniversarycelebration,MetropolitanD.c.areaalumniwithPresidentRandall

June21-23 Grandparentscollege,albion

July12 BattlecreekBombersalumniFamilyOuting

July19 DetroitTigersalumniFamilyOuting

July21 lansinglugnutsalumniFamilyOuting

July23 westMichiganwhitecaps(GrandRapids)alumniFamilyOuting

July24 Greatlakesloons(Midland)alumniFamilyOuting

July28 TraversecityBeachBumsalumniFamilyOuting

July30 chicagowhitesoxalumniFamilyOuting

August 9 175th Anniversary Celebration, San Francisco area alumni with President Randall

August 10 175th Anniversary Celebration, Seattle area alumni with President Randall

August 23 First semester, 2010-11 classes begin, Albion

august26 Openingconvocation/stofferlecturebyGeorgeHeartwell,’71,albion

September 10 Stockwell Society Brunch, Albion

september13 175thanniversarycelebration,newYorkareaalumniwithPresidentRandall

september18 175thanniversarycelebration,albionRocks“TheD,”DetroitDayofservice/celebration

september24-26 175thGrandGetaway,alumniandFriendsatGrandHotel,MackinacIsland

October1-2 Homecomingweekend

October TBA 175th Anniversary Celebration, Los Angeles area alumni with President Randall

October TBA 175th Anniversary Celebration, San Diego area alumni with President Randall

October 12 175th Anniversary Celebration, Chicago area alumni

October 18 175th Anniversary Celebration, Denver area alumni with President Randall

October30 Family/communityDay;Football:albionvs.adrian

november8 175thanniversarycelebration,atlantaareaalumniwithPresidentRandall

november9 175thanniversarycelebration,charlotte,n.c.areaalumniwithPresidentRandall


u P C o M I n g e V e n t s

30 | io Triumphe!

a L u M n ! a s s o C ! at ! o n n e W s

Help us celebrate Albion’s proud heritage throughout Homecoming Weekend!

2010 Homecoming award recipients

Albion College will honor the following individuals during Homecomingweekendfortheircontributionstoandpassionforalbioncollege,theircommunities,andtheirprofessions.

Distinguished alumni awardForrestw.Heaton,’60Michaela.Jurasek,’81walterl.Pomeroy,’70williamH.Richardson,’62Jesswomack,’65

athletic Hall of Fame InducteesIndividualswilliamM.Barker,’90(Baseball,Football)stevenJ.cohen,’94(Men’sswimming)Victors.cuiss,’51(Men’sGolf)F.scottnewsome,’92(Track)PatrickD.slone,’00(Football,Track)Kathryns.snedeker,’82(women’sFieldHockey,softball)Tonyaa.Taylor,’96(women’ssoccer)Ronalda.Vanderlinden,’78(Baseball,Football)

teams1978women’sFieldHockeyTeam1979women’sFieldHockeyTeam1989 Football Team

Homecoming Queen and Court, 1950

Below you’ll find the events you have always enjoyed at Homecoming, plus a new day and time for the Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, a religious heritage celebration, a parade reviving a tradition of Homecomings past, and the Family Tent with activities for all ages.

Friday, oct. 110 a.m. Fourteenth annual Briton Classic golf tournament, The Medalist Golf Club, MarshallstartoffHomecomingweekendwithagreatdayofcompetitionandcamaraderieonthebeautifulMedalistcourse.allalumni,parents,andfriendsarewelcome.Youcanlineupyourownfoursomeorjoinwithotherplayersonthedayoftheevent.Moreinformationisat:www.albion.edu/sports/britonclassic/.

12 noon Distinguished alumni awards Ceremony, Science Complex AtriumA luncheon and awards ceremony will honor this year’s Distinguished alumniawardrecipients.

3 p.m. 175th anniversary religious Heritage Celebration, Kellogg CenterCome celebrate Albion’s rich Methodist heritage and its influence on today’sdiversity.

6 p.m. athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony, BaldwinHallHelpushonorthisyear’sathleticHallofFameinducteesfortheircontri-butionstoathleticsasstudentsoralumni.

Homecoming Parade, 1965

alBIOncOll

EGEaR

cHIVEs

PHO

TOs

ALBION COLLEGE

HomecominG 2010


Classes of 1950 and 1955BaldwinHall,albionCoordinated by Albion College

Class of 1960Schuler’s Restaurant, Marshallchairs:ForrestHeatonandwandaReadBartlett

Class of 1965Schuler’s Restaurant, MarshallChairs: Charles and Kristine

Puvogel Munson

Class of 1970IsmonHouse,albionchairs:Ricklangeandwilliam

Rafaill

Class of 1975The Medalist Golf Club, MarshallChairs: Lynn Stevenson Sztykiel andamyBeechlerwolbert

Class of 1980Daryl’sDowntown,Jacksonchair:MeggenUrkanagy

Class of 1985Davan’s, AlbionChair: Mary Brown Lenardson

Class of 1990BellenotteRistorante,JacksonChair: Colleen Pearl McDonald

Class of 1995cerealcityGrill,HolidayInn,

Battle Creekchair:nicoleDuPrawcarter

Class of 2000Arcadia Ales, Battle Creekchair:Herblentz

Class of 2005Cascarelli’s, Albionchairs:EmilyGiaconaand samHogg

Class of 2010norton’scountrylanes,albionChair: Allie Lewis

2010 Class reunionsClass reunions are located in Albion, Battle Creek, Marshall, and Jacksonthisyear.

saturday, oct. 2 8 a.m. golden Years Breakfast, Bellemont Manorallalumniwhograduatedin1960orbeforeareinvitedtothiscomplimentarybreakfast.

8:30 a.m. alumni Band rehearsal, Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium (west end zone)JointheBritishEighthasanalumnibandguest.Formoreinformation,please contact Sam McIlhagga, director of bands, at [email protected].

11:15 a.m. 175th anniversary Parade JoinusforaparadethroughtheheartofcampusonHannahstreetaswecelebrate175yearsofalbioncollege.

12 noon all-Class Picnic Luncheon for alumni, Faculty, and students,lomasFieldhouse,DowRecreationandwellnesscenterallalumniareinvitedtoapre-gameluncheon.Therewillbereservedseatingforreunion-yearclasses.

12-3 p.m. Family tent, Sprankle-Sprandel StadiumStop by the Family Tent, which will be hosted by the Alumni Association BoardofDirectorsagainthisyear.Yourentirefamilyisinvitedtoenjoyfree Albion goodies, snacks, a bounce house, sand art, tattoos, photo opportunities, and lots more!

1 p.m. Football vs. Kalamazoo College, Sprankle-Sprandel StadiumThehalftimeprogramwillfeaturetheHomecomingcourt,theBritishEighth,andthealumniBand.

open Houses/receptionsPleasegotowww.albion.edu/homecoming/formoreinformationaboutopenhousesandreceptions.Departments,Institutes,fraternities,andsororitieswillbehostingHomecomingeventsduringthedayonsaturday.

art exhibit, Bobbitt Visual Arts CenterJillMason,’02:newworks

saturday Class reunionsForclassesendingin“0”or“5,”1950-2010.Reunioninformationwillbepostedonthewebasdetailsbecomeavailable:www.albion.edu/homecoming/.

sunday, oct. 3 11 a.m. Worship and Praise service wesleychapelsundayworshipservicesatFirstUnitedMethodistchurchofalbion.9a.m.,contemporary.11a.m.,Traditional.allarewelcome.Formoreinformation,contactthechurchat517/629-9425ortheOfficeofthechaplainat517/629-0492.

4 p.m. Homecoming Choir and orchestra Concert Goodrich ChapelThe Albion College Choir and Albion College Orchestra will present their traditionalHomecomingconcert.

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a L u M n ! a s s o C ! at ! o n n e W s

saturday, sept. 18, 2010

Metro Detroit alumni Day of service and Celebration:Bring your family and friends!

albion rocks “the D”

9 a.m.-3 p.m. serve the Communityparticipate in any one of a number of service projects throughout metro detroit benefiting such organizations as North oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy, Turning point, Forgotten Harvest, Gleaners, Cass Community Social Services, Crossroads, detroit public Schools, and others.

6-9 p.m. Celebrate with FriendsJoin fellow alumni and families for an old-fashioned barbecue picnic, meet and greet president donna Randall, and welcome a delegation visiting from Albion’s sister city, Noisy-le-Roi, France. enjoy the company of Albion College alumni from throughout the region!

Come for the entire day or just one activity. We will celebrate albion’s 175th anniversary, contribute to the betterment of our region, and reconnect with albion friends.

All participants will receive a commemorative t-shirt. There will be a nominal charge for the picnic. Complete details for specific service projects and the picnic will be available after June 15, 2010 with online registration at www.albion.edu/alumni/detroitserviceday. Some service projects will have capacity limits so register early! For further information, please e-mail alumniengagement @albion.edu or call the office of Alumni engagement at 517/629-0448.

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a grand 175th getawayspend a glorious fall weekend at the

grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, sept. 24-26!All Albion alumni and friends are cordially invited to join President Randall at the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Sept. 24-26, 2010 to celebrate Albion College’s 175th anniversary. Group activities will be featured throughout this family-friendly weekend, and Saturday night entertainment will be provided by talented Albion College students. This event has been made possible by the generosity and hospitality of trustee dan musser, ’86, Grand Hotel president.

Exclusively for Albion alumni, the room rate is $75.00 per person, per night during the weekend. The rate is subject to the hotel’s 19.5% added charge, michigan’s 6% sales tax, and a one-time baggage handling fee of $7.50 per person. included in the rate is a full breakfast and five-course dinner daily, and a reception Friday and Saturday evenings hosted by dan musser.

Rooms are limited and may be reserved after June 15, 2010 by downloading the reservation form at www.albion.edu/alumni/grandgetaway. Additional details are available on the Web site. For a printed copy of the reservation form or for further information, please call the office of Alumni engagement, 517/629-0448.

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity!

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Io TrIumphe!The Magazine for aluMni and friends of albion College

salutingOurYoungalumniawardwinnersAlbion’s first class of Young Alumni Award winners was honored April 23 during a special ceremonyinthecollege’ssciencecomplexatrium.Eachyeartheawardswillrecognize10alumni who have graduated in the past decade and have distinguished themselves through professionalorcommunityachievements.Picturedare:(frontrow,lefttoright)allisonMooreBeers,’01,levistraight,’04,catherineFontana,’08;(secondrow)samHogg,’05,YukikoTanaka,’02,annastroudGladstone,’06,JamesGignac,’01,andnickwhitney,’00.HonoreesligiaPaina,’05,andnatesowa,’03,wereunabletobepresentfortheceremony.Morecoverageoftheawardsprogramappearsonpage28.

Io Triumphe! The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Albion College

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