Fall 2010

OWL&SPADE T H E M A G A Z I N E O F W A R R E N W I L S O N C O L L E G E FALL 2010

A father-daughter reunion

KATIE SPOTZ ‘08 WORLD RECORD ROWER IMPACTING LIVES AT 101 TEAM RIVER RUNNER: WARRIORS ON THE WATER THE HAPPY ENTOMOLOGIST DANCE

OWL&SPADE T H E M AG A Z I N E O F WA R R E N W I L S O N CO L L E G E

Editor John Bowers Designer Martha Smith Contributing Writer Ben Anderson Interim Alumni Relations Director Rodney Lytle ’73 Contributors Tracy Bleeker John Brock Nicole Connor ’10 Morgan Davis ’02 Melissa Ray Davis ’02 Ally Donlan Sarah El-Attar Katie Green Lizzie Greene ’10 Don Harris J. Sylvester McDermott ‘11 Mallory McDuff Rose McLarney ’04, MFA ’09 Diana Sanderson Kevin Walden Copy Editors Jennie Vaughn Jane Weis

ALUMNI BOARD 2010-11 President Susannah Chewning ’87

Guest Message from Rodney Lytle ’73 I’ve been so lucky—I like to say blessed—to be able to go to school at Warren Wilson, then work here and meet so many kind folks along the way. I can’t even start naming the wonderful students I’ve supervised, friends I’ve worked with and dedicated professors I’ve learned from over the years. There are alums that have invited me into their homes and given me the red carpet treatment. There are those from across the years who have been generous to support the College the way they can. For all the blessings, I have a heartfelt sense of gratitude.

Not one day goes by that I don’t say my prayers for some of these fine people and my family too. I’m a grandfather now, you know. Not that I’m out to pasture! I’m not out to pasture and I’m not a pastor, but I’ll point this out: The work here is as good as ever. Your College is still a place of honor. Our students continue to count on the extremely dedicated faculty and staff. Even in tough times, this is a community that thrives.

By the time you get this magazine, students will have their new work responsibilities, fall classes and service projects. New students will have a funny nervousness as they learn how to manage their time. This has not changed.

Warren Wilson alums go on to do amazing things in the world, and many give back to the College in a way that is such a blessing. Our students have chosen to be here and believe in this place, so we must do the best we can for them. We are a College that makes a real difference in so many lives.

Thanks for all you do for the College,

President Elect Melissa Thomas Davis ’71 Past President Faris A. Ashkar ’72 Secretary Lin Orndorf ‘87

Rodney Lytle Interim Director of Alumni Relations

Class of 2011 Nancy Allen ‘64 James Bailes ‘78 Mark Demma ‘99 Dancia Langley ‘95 Bill Miller ‘51 Bo Walker ‘74 Clipper Holder ‘86 Class of 2012 Dennis Thompson ‘77 Donna Kilpatrick ‘88 Richard Neil Thomas ‘84 Christine Toriello Walshe ‘01 DruAnna Williams Overbay ‘61 Tim B. Deuitch ‘83 Samuel E. Ray ‘56 Class of 2013 Peggy Burke ‘56 Mike Nix ‘70 Benjamin Edson ‘00 Barbara Withers ‘66 Dan Scheuch ‘90 Gretchen Gano ‘92 Wade Hawkins ‘07 Graduating Student Representative Able Allen ‘10

www.warren-wilson.edu/~owlandspade

On the Cover Katie Spotz ’08 sees her father for the first time after she sets the world record as the youngest person to row across the ocean solo—3,038 miles in 70 days. “Those were my final oar-strokes on the Atlantic,” she says.

Mission The mission of Warren Wilson College is to provide a distinctive undergraduate and graduate liberal arts education.

Our undergraduate education combines academics, work and service in a learning community committed to environmental responsibility, cross-cultural understanding and the common good.

Owl & Spade (ISSN Spring/fall publication: 202-707-4111) is published twice a year (spring, fall) by the staff of Warren Wilson College. Address changes and distribution issues should be sent to alumni@warren-wilson.edu or Rodney Lytle, CPO 6376, PO Box 9000, Asheville, NC 28815.

Printed on Environment by Neenah Paper (made with 100% post-consumer waste and processed totally chlorine free). Printed with vegetable oil-base inks. Compared to virgin paper, using this paper saved 81 trees, 29,261 gallons of water, 56 min BTUs of energy (224 days of power for an average American household), 7,049 pounds of emissions, 3,758 of solid waste recycled instead of landfilled! These figures calculated using Environment Savings Calculator at www.neenahpapers.com/environmentalsavings.

OWL & SPADE

OWL&SPADE CONTENTS • FALL 2010 TRIAD NEWS

2 LARGEST GRADUATING CLASS COMMENCES • NATURAL SAINTS • JOAN BEEBE TEACHING FELLOW • MID PURPLE MOUNTAIN MAJESTY • BRYSON GYM RESTORATION • TRIO MEETS TRIAD • HARAMBEE SCHOLARSHIP • NATIONAL GREEN RATING HONOR ROLL • DEBORAH MYERS NAMED DEAN OF STUDENTS • ATHLETICS: THE YEAR IN REVIEW • GILMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP • NAACP LITERARY AWARD • AFRICAN RHYTHM COMES HOME FOR HAITI • STUDY ABROAD IN ICELAND AND DENMARK • JANIS IAN SCHOLARSHIP • OHLER SPIRITUAL CENTER • DERIEUX PRIZES FOR RESEARCH • WORLD RECORD ROWER KATIE SPOTZ ’08 • CULTIVATING SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

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FEATURES

18 HOW TO SURVIVE AS A FOREIGNER IN CHINA WRITING CENTER : IN LOWER SUTHERLAND, THE WORLD’S BEING NAMED ASHEVILLE NORMAL & TEACHERS COLLEGE—PART I GROWING NATIVE

ALUMNI LUMNI PROFILES

24 TEAM RIVER RUNNER: WARRIORS ON THE WATER FROM HARLAN TO HOT SPRINGS MORGAN WILLIAMS ‘08 FOUNDS FLUX FARMS THE HAPPY ENTOMOLOGIST DANCE IMPACTING LIVES AT 101: LLOYD PENLEY ‘28 CONTINUES TO SERVE LARRY AND BUNNY ADAMSON SCHOLARSH SCHOLARSHIP

ALUMNII NOTES

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LOOKING BACK

32 A CENTENARIAN BORN: EVELYN DEVRIES CELEBRATES A CENTURY

COVER: KATIE SPOTZ ‘08

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MFA BOOKSHELF

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

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STRATEGIC TEGIC PLAN

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GROWING NATIVE

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THE HAPPY ENTOMOLOGIST DANCE

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T R I ADNE WS Largest graduating class commences Although Commencement is the single most significant event on campus each year, the ceremony is not exactly sedate. The playful atmosphere reflects the fact that it’s a celebration and a reunion as much as anything else. And the 2010 version, in the spirit of “the more the merrier,” seemed even more festive than usual. For the first time, the College sent more than 200 graduates out into the world—201, to be exact—and the large crowd spilling off Sunderland Lawn likely neared or even surpassed 1,000 people with families, friends, faculty, staff and trustees added to the mix. Morning fog burned off as the processional began shortly after 10 a.m.

Shade from the hemlocks and hardwoods was coveted as the morning progressed.

not half so bad as you currently think. When I graduated, Warren Wilson, of all places, didn’t have a recycling program. Now you can buy organic produce at Walmart. Surely things are averaging out for the better.”

After welcoming remarks from President Sandy Pfeiffer and Ron Hunt, chair of the Board of Trustees, senior class speaker Nadir “Swim” Karim of Charlotte took the stage to deliver the class remarks. He accurately noted that although his class “came in with much, we leave with so much more.”

“I’m asking you to imagine yourself as a single word in a story still being written.

The implications of this particular word will determine whether the story is ultimately one of darkness or one of light. I’m asking you to be the one good word on which everything else depends.”

Commencement was enlivened still more this year by the main speaker, alumnus Tony Earley ’83, whose speech was more fun than the law allows for a commencement address. Earley, acclaimed writer of fiction and nonfiction and Vanderbilt University professor, had both young and old rolling in the aisles with his observations on the art of commencement speeches and nostalgia for his childhood in Rutherford and Polk counties. Earley’s deadpan delivery only enhanced an often irreverent text, as dozens of one-liners produced howls of laughter from the large gathering.

The 2010 Pfaff Cup Award, the College’s highest student honor, went to Lindsay Popper, social work major from Andover, Mass. Geoffrey Black, religious studies major from Arkansaw, Wis., received the Sullivan Award in recognition of spiritual qualities applied to daily living. Other award recipients included Phillip Otterness, faculty member in history/political science, for Faculty Teaching Excellence; and Jessica Wooten, recycling/solid waste supervisor, for Staff Teaching Excellence.

He also told the graduates, “You should know that while you are called as Warren Wilson graduates to leave this valley and save the world, the world will be indifferent, if not hostile, to your attempts to save it. I’m asking you to commence to save it anyway….

“You should know that while you are called as Warren Wilson graduates to leave this valley and save the world, the world will be indifferent, if not hostile, to your attempts to save it.

I’m asking you to commence to save it anyway..”

–Tony Earley ’83

But Earley also had some serious advice to the 2010 graduates: “Accept the fact that being a human being on Planet Earth is a difficult proposition,” Earley said, “but embrace the twisted comfort available in the idea that being a human being on Planet Earth has always been a difficult proposition. The world is a much worse place today than you will remember it 30 years from now, but it’s 2

OWL & SPADE

T R I A D N E WS Natural Saints at Warren Wilson If you can tell a book by its cover, the picture of a globe on the front of Mallory McDuff’s latest book would reveal a wealth of connections at Warren Wilson that involve students, faculty and staff, statewide nonprofits and congregations.

Natural Saints: How Churches are Working to Save God’s Earth by outdoor leadership/ environmental studies professor Mallory McDuff shares stories and strategies of people of faith working to integrate the environment into their ministries. Published

by Oxford University Press, this book tells the stories of contemporary church leaders, parishioners and religious environmentalists working to define a new environmental movement, where justice as a priority for the church means a clean and safe environment for all.

Natural Saints tells the stories of contemporary church leaders, parishioners and religious environmentalists working to define a new environmental movement, where justice as a priority for the church means a clean and safe environment for all.

The book highlights eight key ministries: protecting human dignity, feeding the hungry, responding to natural disasters, seeking justice, making a pilgrimage, creating sacred spaces, educating youth and bearing witness. With two daughters in tow, McDuff traveled across the country to document diverse environmental actions grounded in faith, from installing solar panels to training parishioners in environmental advocacy through Earth Ministry.

With so many examples of religious environmentalism close to home, McDuff features works by past and present staff and students of the College. The chapter on educating youth describes the initiative of former psychology professor Vicki Garlock, who rewrote the Sunday school curriculum at Asheville’s Jubilee Church to integrate earth spirituality. Another chapter focuses on a pilgrimage to mountaintop removal sites in eastern Kentucky that involved student Rachel Rasmussen ’11 and spiritual life director Leah McCollough. Brownie Newman ’02 shares his experience with FLS Energy in a chapter that examines

FALL 2010

financing packages that encourage religious and nonprofit organizations to install solar hot water heating systems. The chapter on creating sacred spaces describes how student The book highlights eight key ministries: protecting human dignity, feeding the hungry, responding to natural disasters, seeking justice, making a pilgrimage, creating sacred spaces, educating youth and bearing witness.

intern Amy Woychoski collaborated with Latino parishioners at La Capilla de Santa Maria to build a cob oven on the church grounds.

During the writing of this book, students in McDuff’s environmental education methods and materials class gave feedback on chapters of the book, and several faculty, who met in a writing group, provided significant guidance. Students also completed service-learning projects in partnership with North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light (NC IPL). One project was designing climate justice tours for faith leaders across the state. The College’s Environmental Leadership Center then provided two students interns, Lacey Cunningham ’11 and David Grace ’12, for NC IPL to implement these tours and plan a statewide IPL conference on faith and the environment. With the College’s commitment to spiritual and ecological stewardship, it makes sense that Natural Saints has its home at Warren Wilson. For McDuff, the journey transformed her own belief that spirituality has an important place in sustainable communities.

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T R I ADNE WS McLarney named Joan Beebe Teaching Fellow Rose McLarney has been selected as the Joan Beebe Teaching Fellow for the 2010-2011 academic year. McLarney, a poet, graduated in 2009 from the MFA Program for Writers and is the 13th Beebe Fellow at the College. The fellowship annually brings an MFA graduate back to Warren Wilson to teach a variety of courses in the undergraduate curriculum.

McLarney also received her bachelor’s degree from the College, in 2004. “We look forward to her contributions to the writing life of the College,” said Gary Hawkins, undergraduate writing director. The Beebe Fellowship is given in memory and honor of Joan Beebe, a former dean of the College.

See related story on page 16.

Mid Purple Mountain Majesty Mid Purple Mountain Majesty, a creation of the Presbyterian National Missions, was a student recruitment tool and a fund raising message for the College’s forerunner, Asheville Farm School. Part 2 of the film is based on the experience of Paul James from Newport, Tenn. James is a member of the Asheville Farm School class of 1937 and still lives in Newport. Being from rural Appalachia and used to farming, he was chosen because he represented many of the boys who attended the Farm School. A portion of the film used actors to portray James’s parents and girlfriend, but most of the people are Farm School staff and students from the 1930s. James says the film was produced by a man from New York driving a big Packard car with a trailer full of cameras. After leaving school, James started a career with the A.C. Lawrence Leather Co. and eventually managed several of the company’s facilities. In addition to his business career, Paul went on to be a community and church leader 4

as well as a strong supporter of the College. He credits his time at the Farm School for giving him the work and leadership skills that made him a success in life. James received a copy of the original 16 mm film after its completion and has kept it for many years. WWC director of development Don Harris visited James at his home and learned of the film. You can find a digital version of the film at www.youtube.com/ user/WarrenWilsonCollege.

T R I A D N E WS Bryson Gym restoration recognition Each year during National Preservation Week, the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County announces recipients of Griffin Awards for outstanding historic preservation. The conservation of Bryson Gym won a 2010 award in the commercial restoration category. On May 22, 2008, a section of Bryson Gym collapsed just hours before the weekly Old Farmers Ball contra dance. After a controlled collapse of the roof, workers began the Bryson rebuild. The gym reopened in fall 2009. Built in 1920 for $45,000, Bryson is one of the oldest wooden floor gymnasiums in Western North Carolina and one of the oldest buildings on campus. The gym is named for Holmes Bryson, an Asheville Farm School graduate and one-time mayor of Asheville.

Harambee Scholarship honors Deborah Bailey Deborah Bailey is a longstanding friend of the College and served on the Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2009. The Harambee Scholarship was created to honor Bailey’s many years of service to the College and her commitment to international students. “It is just wonderful, how much Deborah means to me,” Tabitha Ndung’u ’12 says. “She cares about me as a whole person and also about my family. She is very goal-oriented, and I admire that. She is more of a mother than a sponsor to me. I really thank God for her, to say the least.”

In Swahili, “harambee” means working together in unity. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide recognition and financial assistance to outstanding international undergraduate students who have a demonstrated financial need to attend the College. With a leadership gift from trustee Ross Arnold, the scholarship was endowed with an initial principal of $25,000. “The College is grateful for Ross’s generosity and thankful to Deborah for her dedication and support of international students at Warren Wilson,” says Richard Blomgren, vice president for advancement, admission and marketing.

If you are interested in contributing to the Harambee Scholarship, email advancement@warren-wilson.edu or call 828.771.2042.

TRIO meets Triad In June the Office of Admission welcomed fourteen prospective students to campus for a three-day program introducing them to the Triad. The students are part of TRIO, a group of federal programs to increase access to higher education for economically disadvantaged students. The group hiked trails with sustainable forestry professor David Ellum, worked in the College Garden with Jennifer Miyakawa ’10 and served the community at MANNA FoodBank with director of service-learning Brooke Millsaps. Stan Cross, ELC education director, led the group on a Green Walkabout, and professor Ed Raiola guided an outdoor leadership session. The program included forums on educational access, academic success, multicultural affairs and college search/application processes. Four WWC students—Gerrica Watson ’12, Iman Khree-Johnson ’12, Adon Adon ’12 and Michael Carter ’13—helped to plan and implement the program and continue to serve as mentors to the visiting students.

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T R I ADNE WS National green rating honor roll Warren Wilson is among 18 colleges nationwide to be included on The Princeton Review’s 2011 Green Rating Honor Roll. The College received the review’s highest possible green rating of 99 and is the only N.C. institution on the honor roll.

According to The Princeton Review, “criteria for the green rating cover three areas: whether the school’s students have a campus quality of life that is healthy and sustainable; how well the school is preparing its students for employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges; and the school’s overall commitment to environmental issues.”

The website also noted that “the institutional survey for the rating included questions on energy use, recycling, food, buildings, and transportation as well as academic offerings and action plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Princeton Review developed its Green Rating with ecoAmerica (ecoamerica.org), a non-profit environmental organization.”

EcoDorm

The recognition by The Princeton Review is the latest in a long list of green accolades Warren Wilson has received for its environmental and sustainability initiatives.

On the Web: princetonreview.com/green

Deborah Myers named dean of students Deborah Myers has begun her role as the new dean of students at the College. She succeeds Cathy Kramer, who has accepted the position of dean of service-learning after five years as dean of students.

Myers was formerly the director of student activities, leadership and Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University. Her previous experience includes positions at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, Central Washington University, Goddard College, University of Vermont and Willamette University. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Central Washington University and a master’s degree in education, higher education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont.

“I am very excited about joining the Warren Wilson community and serving as the dean of students,” Myers said. “The College’s unique Triad, focus on environmental sustainability and commitment to social justice are in tune with my personal philosophies and initially drew me to the position.”

In addition, President Sandy Pfeiffer promoted Richard Blomgren, dean of admission and director of marketing, to the position of vice president for advancement, admission and marketing.

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“The College’s unique Triad, focus on environmental sustainability and commitment to social justice are in tune with my personal philosophies and initially drew me to the position.”

–Deborah Myer

OWL & SPADE

T R I A D N E WS Athletics—the year in review

By Kevin Walden, Sports Information Director Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team ended their 2009 campaign with a 6-6-1 record.

Senior goalkeeper Brett Buffington was named United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) honorable mention All-American for his efforts throughout the season. Buffington started in 12 games for the Owls and tallied 84 saves and two shutouts. Fellow senior Max Bressor was voted the team’s most valuable player and junior Ethan Frei won the Fighting Owl award.

Women’s basketball players Kelsey Chandler, Laura Dison, Alissa Gore, Jessica Bailey, Diana Diamant and Philippa Sanders were named to the USCAA 2009-2010 All-Academic Team.

In order to be eligible for the award, players must have sophomore standing and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average.

Swimming

The women’s soccer team finished their 2009 season with a 5-6 record. Firstyear player Megan Gold was voted the team’s most valuable player after leading the Owls in goals, shots and points. She was also the United States Collegiate Athletic Association player of the week Oct. 6, helping the Owls to a 3-1 victory over Pikeville College. Gold had a hand in all three goals tallying two goals and one assist, including the game-winning goal. Senior goalkeeper Rachel Schonberg was voted the Fighting Owl Award winner.

The swimming team had a successful 2009-2010 campaign capped off at the Appalachian Conference Championships in February at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. The women finished in 11th place with 54 points; the men finished in 8th place with 114 points.

Sophomores Amelia Hubbard (200-yard freestyle) and Johnathon Bland (200-yard breaststroke) each swam qualifying times for the 2010 NAIA National Swimming Championships. Amelia broke, for a second time, two varsity records: 200-yard freestyle, 2:05.24 for 12th place; and 500yard freestyle, 5:39.65 for 15th place. The men’s 400-yard freestyle relay was seventenths off of the NAIA qualifying time.

Cross-Country

Women’s Basketball

The cross-country team competed at the 2009 USCAA National Cross Country Championships held in Concord, N.H. The women finished sixth in the nation in the 6K with 148 points.

Sophomore Hope Davis was the top finisher for the Owls as she placed 18th with a time of 27:13. Senior Erin Pesut crossed the finish line just 16 seconds later for a 21st place finish. The men did not compile a team score but were led by sophomore Phelan O’Connor’s 22nd (29:44) and senior Tal Gold’s 26th place (30:11) overall finishes.

The women’s basketball team finished 210 on the season. Senior Laura Dison led the Owls in scoring averaging 10 points per contest. Women’s basketball players Kelsey Chandler, Laura Dison, Alissa Gore, Jessica Bailey, Diana Diamant and Philippa Sanders were named to the USCAA 20092010 All-Academic Team. In order to be eligible for the award, players must have sophomore standing and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average.

Women’s Soccer

Mountain Biking

The mountain bike team finished third at the 2009 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships in Truckee, Calif. The mountain bike program has now finished in the top three of the Division II portion of the past seven National Championships. To go along with their third place finish, junior FALL 2010

Linden Blaisus finished fifth in the Men’s Omnium highlighted by a 4th place finish in short track and a 13th place finish in the cross country. Other highlights included senior Ileana Anderson’s 3rd place finish in the Four Cross, junior Becca Parish’s 4th place finish in the downhill and senior Nina Otter’s 6th place finish in the crosscountry.

Men’s Basketball

After a five-game win streak to end the season, the men’s basketball team claimed their second consecutive 10-win season finishing 10-13 on the year. The Owls have not had back-to-back 10-win seasons in over 16 years. The Owls were lead by junior MVP Royal Prendergast’s 15 points per game. Sophomore Matt Kantor was voted the team’s Fighting Owl Award winner.

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T R I ADNE WS Students receive Gilman International Scholarship Cody Goss ’11 and Isaiah Thalmayer ’10 have received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to participate in a study abroad program during the 2010-2011 academic year. Goss will study mathematics in Hungary; Thalmayer will study biodiversity and natural resource management in Madagascar. Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad program costs; critical need language scholarships are given each year for a total award of $8,000.

The goal of the Gilman Scholarship Program is to “better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.” The U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors the program. Since the establishment of the Gilman International Scholarship Program by the International Academic

Opportunity Act of 2000, over 6,000 students have received the award.

“Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates,” said Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee. “Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”

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Hungary

Madagascar

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On the Web: iie.org

MFA graduate receives NAACP literary award R. Dwayne Betts, a 2010 graduate of the College’s MFA Program for Writers, received the NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work—Debut Author. Betts, who was a Holden Scholar in the MFA program, won the NAACP award for his memoir, A Question of Freedom.

Freedom.

The book recounts his journey from being sentenced to nine years in prison for carjacking at age 16 to developing a love for literature in his personal quest for identity.

His poetry collection Shahid Reads His Own Palm, the 2009 Beatrice Hawley Award winner, was released in May

by Alice James Books.

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OWL & SPADE

T R I A D N E WS African rhythm comes home for Haiti

By J. Sylvester McDermott ’11

African rhythms and traditional sounds blending with solid American rock echoed as the Warren Wilson community got down to Toubab Krewe, a big band playing a big beat. By the time the band played the first note, the intimate crowd was gathered close to the stage, dancing in time and full of life. The show, held March 2 in Bryson Gym, was organized by Conscious Alliance to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. It was a sold-out show that raised over $3,000.

“Coming to Warren Wilson is coming home.

It takes us back to our roots.”

–Drew Heller ‘03, Toubab Krewe guitarist

Toubab Krewe formed in 2005. Many of the members are childhood friends from Asheville and Wilson alumni. “Coming to Warren Wilson is coming home,” says guitarist Drew Heller ’03. “It takes us back to our roots.”

The band developed their music over the course of numerous trips to Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, where they learned from local musicians and studied music

in African culture. They have played at music festivals across the country, including Bonnaroo, a popular Tennessee festival with a green bent.

Guitar, bass and drums are the foundation of the band, but it’s the use of traditional African instruments that gives Toubab Krewe its distinct sound. Justin Perkins plays the kora, a traditional African harp made from a gourd covered in cowhide.

The kamelengoni, a six-stringed harp, also accompanies the instruments of rock’n roll.

David Pransky, the newest member, brings the mandolin and banjo to the mix, adding a layer of bluegrass.

The love for music has carried Toubab Krewe far and wide on their journey. What started as a close group of musicians at Warren Wilson and Asheville has expanded into a world-renowned band, but Toubab Krewe still holds close their rooted traditions. They expressed gratitude and excitement while playing on their home turf and performed a well-orchestrated and intimate show for the College. They donated all proceeds to the cause of Haiti. It is this awareness and conscious community that Toubab Krewe is playing for. There is nothing like music to work for a cause and bring together many worlds under one roof.

Study Abroad in Iceland and Denmark In spring 2010, students traveled to Iceland and Denmark as part of a new academic course paired with study abroad. The course, taught by chemistry/ environmental professor John Brock, focused on global climate change and energy—conventional and renewable. In Iceland, Brock and Karen Joslin, WWC garden manager, led the students to examine geothermal energy in greenhousebased agriculture. The group made “snowmen” of ash in the valley covered by the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajokull and toured a geothermal electrical generation plant. In Denmark, the group stayed on Samoe, the first energy- independent island, and climbed atop a one-megawatt wind turbine. The trip ended in Copenhagen with a final dinner in Danish pub with authentic, local food and that coziness that the Danes value so greatly. “Learning can in fact be fun,” says Brock.

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The group made “snowmen” of ash in the valley covered by the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajokull and toured a geothermal electrical generation plant.

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T R IADNE WS Janis Ian’s Pearl Foundation establishes scholarship The Pearl Foundation, founded by Grammy Award winner Janis Ian and named in honor of her late mother, has established the Pearl Foundation Scholarship at Warren Wilson. The scholarship, endowed with an initial principal of $60,000, is intended to benefit full-time students with demonstrated financial need who have been out of school for several years. Ian’s mother herself returned to school later in life—after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis—to receive two degrees from Goddard College in Vermont.

The Pearl Foundation received initial funding of more than $70,000 from the Janis Ian Online Auction in the late 1990s. Today, Ian performs Living Room Concerts for up to 40 people to provide continuing funding for the foundation.

Pearl Foundation scholarships also have been established at Goddard and Berea colleges. Janis Ian and Patricia Snyder direct scholarship funding.

Ohler Spiritual Center The College is establishing the Ohler Spiritual Center, named in honor of the late Rev. Frederick G. Ohler, who served as chaplain, professor and counselor at the College from 1958-1995. The center will encompass the existing College Chapel, Ransom Fellowship Hall and Christian Education Building. Dedication is planned for Homecoming Weekend Oct. 1-3, 2010.

A profound speaker who delivered eloquent sermons, Ohler touched and transformed the lives of many students, faculty and staff during his nearly four decades at the College. He was involved in the College’s transition from a junior college to a four-year college in the 1960s, and in the integration of service into the College’s Triad educational philosophy of academics, work and service.

“For almost four decades Fred drew us together in times of tragedy and times of great joy, times of abundance and times of need, to celebrate passings and commencements, deaths and births. He helped us always to recall our high purpose, its frailty and strength—and our own,” wrote Virginia McKinley, former dean of the College.

In addition to the Ohler Spiritual Center, the College also has established the Ohler Service Scholarship to ensure that Ohler’s commitment to service is shared with Warren Wilson students for generations to come.

For more information, contact Richard Blomgren, vice president for advancement, admission and marketing: 828.771.2050 or rickb@warren-wilson.edu

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Four students receive Derieux prizes for research Four Warren Wilson students who presented their research at the 107th meeting of the N.C. Academy of Science have been awarded Derieux Prizes for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. The following Warren Wilson students—all of whom graduated in 2010—received prizes for original research presented at the annual NCAS meeting March 26-27 in Greensboro: Amy Kunkel, first place, zoology/ behavioral sciences & physics; Isaiah Thalmayer, first place, environmental science/ecology & botany; Rachel Kivela, second place, cell & developmental biology/ chemistry & biotechnology; and Stephen Somerville, third place, zoology/ behavioral sciences & physics.

OWL & SPADE

T R I A D N E WS World record rower Katie Spotz ’08 continues her fundraising journey Spotz set a world record as the youngest person to row across the ocean solo, covering 3,038 miles in 70 days while increasing awareness and raising money for safe drinking water worldwide.

One of the strongest motivators for 2008 alumna Katie Spotz to row solo across the ocean was knowing that every one of her one million oar strokes was helping to make a difference in the world. Spotz set a world record as the youngest person to row across the ocean solo, covering 3,038 miles in 70 days while increasing awareness and raising money for safe drinking water worldwide. She accomplished both her goals and to date has raised $100,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a non-profit organization that funds safe drinking water projects for people around the world in need.

Spotz began her journey in early January from Dakar, Africa; 70 days later, on March 14, she landed in Guyana, South America. “Originally my goal was to help 1,000 people gain access to safe drinking water, and with the generous support of people all over the world, we have now enabled over 3,000 people to gain access to safe water for life. A $30 donation to the Blue Planet Run is enough to provide one person access to safe water, and now, for every one of the 3,038 miles I covered, we provided safe drinking water for life for one person,” Spotz said.

“Knowing that just one person will have safe water for life has made every one of the million oar strokes it took to get across, worth it,” she added. “Reaching the $100,000 mark is an example of how one idea can spark a thousand small acts, and I am continually amazed and humbled by the support behind this journey.”

Lisa Nash, CEO of Blue Planet Run, says Spotz continues to spread the word about the need for safe drinking water around the world. “Her efforts will transform the lives of over 3,300 people—we can’t wait to see what Katie will do next.”

In her home state of Ohio, Spotz is a marketing representative for Kinetico Inc., an international home water systems company based in Newbury. She speaks at schools and health/fitness centers across the United States and Canada to promote greater personal responsibility for water conservation.

Photo by Ken Blaze for the New York Times

On the Web: rowforwater.com

“When I found out about ocean rowing, I didn’t know how to row; it was on the WWC crew team that I learned. Oh, Lake Julian!” writes Spotz in an email.

“Her efforts will transform the lives of over 3,300 people—we can’t wait to see what Katie will do next.”

–Lisa Nash, CEO of Blue Planet Run

FALL 2010

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T R I ADNE WS Cultivating shiitake mushrooms at the College Forest

By Cella Langer ‘11 and Laurel Thwing ‘11

Originally published in Forest Wisdom

Founded in 1894, Warren Wilson College lies just outside of Asheville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The school is home to 950 full-time, undergraduate students who all participate in a unique, Triad-style education that includes academics, work, and service. Each student is required to complete 15 hours a week on a designated work crew. Started in 1979, our forestry crew’s shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes) operation was one of the first outside of Japan to commercially harvest this valuable non-timber forest product. By using the by-products of hardwood thinnings produced elsewhere on campus, the crew started producing mushrooms in an old-growth stand. Since then, the operation has tripled in size. The current three-quarters-of-an-acre plot hosts just over 1,500 inoculated logs.

The forestry crew inoculates the logs with several mushroom species such shiitakes, oysters (Pleurotus sp.), reshi (Ganoderma lucidum) and lion’s mane (Hericium Erinaceus), on any useable hardwood byproducts. A major function of the operation is to transform otherwise wasted resources into a valuable educational experience and an economically viable forest product.

Logs ranging from three to eight inches in diameter are cut into four-foot lengths.

Oak (Quercus sp.) is the preferred growing medium for the shiitakes, while tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is ideal for oysters. However, oak and poplar are not always readily available as by-products, in which case any available hardwood is

used, including sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), cherry (Prunus serotina) and others. Logs are cultivated by placing plugs of mycelium-inoculated dowels into holes drilled into suitable logs.

Started in 1979, our forestry crew’s

Prior to 2007, the mushroom harvests were dependent on rainfall and moisture.

A crew of two to four students visited the site daily between the spring and fall months to harvest any mushrooms. The harvests were irregular, and the quality of the product mediocre. When the

this valuable non-timber forest product.

shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes) operation was one of the first outside of Japan to commercially harvest

Lentinula edodes

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T R I A D N E WS operation was increased in 2007, forced fruiting methods were implemented that entailed soaking colonized logs in livestock troughs filled with water provided from an on-site well. Upon removal, the logs are pounded against large rocks and returned to their ricks for four to six weeks, when the process is repeated. The intention of forced fruiting is to control and regulate harvests. By following a sequence of soaking and pounding, the colonizing mycelium is “shocked,” thereby producing the mushroom. A dependable harvest can be expected three to four days following this process.

Not only has the site transitioned from rainfall-dependant harvests to forced fruiting, but the arrangement of the logs has also been changed. The original layout of the site grouped the logs in a log cabin formation. The resulting microclimate allowed for more retained moisture, but the finished product was often damaged by pests and of lower quality. Because the logs no longer rely on these microclimates, they rest on ricks in space-efficient, long rows.

Since 2007, the volume of mushrooms harvested has increased significantly.

In addition, the product is consistently cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing. The majority of the mushrooms are marketed directly to the Warren Wilson community, campus cafeterias and local restaurants.

Without the forced fruiting process, establishing a permanent relationship with many of our restaurant customers would not have been possible. Ongoing management of these sales also provides the students with an educational marketing experience.

While not directly applicable, the student work program may present a unique context for assessing economic viability and applicability for larger operations.

At Warren Wilson, the crew is granted a budget in which fixed costs of the operation, such as mushroom spawn, are included, and labor is paid by the institution at a rate near minimum wage. If the crew accounted for labor and was not provided a budget, the current operation would not be economically viable. However, the production operates on an economy of scale.

The crew intends to increase the number of logs by 50 percent in 2010, while yearly labor will remain relatively the same. Fixed costs of spawn and inoculating labor are expected to increase by only 10 percent over five years, a 50 percent increase in profitability is predicted.

In all, the mushroom production and marketing operation at the College has demonstrated one potentially viable ecosystem service solution for woodland owners.

A major function of the operation is to transform otherwise wasted resources into a valuable educational experience and an economically viable forest product.

FALL 2010

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FACULT Y&STAFF NE WS Geography/social sciences professor David Abernathy’s article “Global studies abroad: toward a more integrated and meaningful study abroad experience” was published in global-e, a global studies journal.

English professor David J. Bradshaw joined with other scholars to produce a book concerned with Victorian habits of concealment and repression. Published in spring 2010 by Ashgate Press in England, the book has the attention-getting title, Victorian Secrecy. Professor Bradshaw has written on the autobiographical fiction of Cardinal Newman; his chapter has the less gaudy title “Secrecy and Reticence in John Henry Newman’s Loss and Gain.”

Allbery’s book selected for 2010 Grub Street poetry prize As director of the College’s MFA Program for Writers, Debra Allbery is accustomed to seeing people associated with the program almost routinely pile up awards.

But Allbery is no slouch herself when it comes to being recognized for her work.

Her forthcoming book, Fimbul-Winter, has been selected as winner of the 2010 Grub Street National Book Prize in Poetry. With the award comes a $1,000 prize, along with a reading and reception in Boston where Grub Street is based. Allbery also will have the opportunity to teach a craft class there, likely soon after the January 2011 MFA residency. Allbery’s many previous awards include the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, a “Discovery”/ The Nation award, a Hawthornden Fellowship and two NEA fellowships. Her first book, Walking Distance, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Fimbul-Winter will be published in October by Four Way Books.

Grub Street is a highly regarded writers’ organization that offers classes, workshops and readings for poets and novelists. And, as Allbery noted, “They’ve provided the training ground for a few of our MFA students.”

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Christey Carwile led a summer study abroad course to Ghana. The course focused on the intersections of culture, globalization and development in Ghana and culminated in a two-week, in-country visit. While in Ghana, the students stayed with families in Accra, did service at a secondary school in the Volta region, learned about the work of non-governmental organizations, and became aware of the importance of tourism for the Ghanaian economy.

The Earth Science Picture of the Day on July 30 featured physics professor Don Collins’ photograph of the Sagittarius region of the Milky Way from the dark skies of Vermont. These daily photos are posted as a service on NASA’s Earth Science Division and the EOS Project Science Office (at Goddard Space Flight Center) and the Universities Space Research Association. See it on the Web: http://epod. usra.edu/blog/2010/07/the-milky-way-insagittarious-.html

Assistant supervisor of landscaping Renee Fortner’s University of North Carolina at Asheville senior research project, “Photosynthetic Characteristics of the C4 Invasive Exotic Grass Miscanthus sinensis Andersson Growing Along Gradients of Light Intensity in the Southeastern United States,” was published in the scientific journal Castanea.

Over the past several years many members of the Warren Wilson community were photographed for art instructor Arlin Geyer’s MFA thesis project, “Images of Intimacy.” The project is on exhibit in the Elizabeth Holden Gallery Sept. 10 through Oct. 15.

History/political science professor Dongping Han was invited to an international conference in Guangzhou, where he discussed issues regarding Chinese rural areas. He also presented the paper “Rural China should be given Priority Consideration in China’s future development strategy” at an international conference on rural Northern China.

Assistant dean of work Karen Huntley is pursuing a master’s degree in higher education administration from Georgia Southern University.

Paul Magnarella, director of peace and justice studies, delivered the World Affairs Council Great Decisions Lecture, “Preventing Genocide and Mass Atrocities.”

He spoke on “Environmental Stress and the Rwandan Genocide,” at the Passport to Peace Conference at Lander University.

In May he delivered a report on “Turkey’s Legal Reform Package,” at the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria, and an illustrated presentation on “Hayriye, a Georgian

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FAC U LT Y& S TA F F N E WS Village in Turkey,” at the Georgian Cultural Center, Istanbul. He also authored a number of articles: “The European Court of Human Rights Addresses the Issue of Gay Rights in Poland,” Peace Studies Journal; “Africa Becomes a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone,” The Peace Chronicle; and three entries in The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace. In his spare time he edited the August 2010 issue of Peace Studies Journal, on the web at peacestudiesjournal.org.

Father-daughter academic duo

Outdoor leadership/environmental studies professor Mallory McDuff has been invited to speak about her book, Natural Saints: How People of Faith are Working to Save God’s Earth, at the North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light Critical Issues Forum and Sustainability: A Matter of Faith, a conference at Kanuga. See related story on page 2.

It was Peacock’s idea for the fatherdaughter team to work together.

When asked to write a chapter for the book, he decided to bring Konz into the project. “He thought it would make it interesting for us to compare our teaching methods,” Konz says. “I was very excited, because I had not written with my dad before.”

Health Center counselor Jil Meadows ’84 is an item writer for the Association of Social Work Boards. She writes licensure examination questions for masters-level social workers in the United States and Canada.

Both of the sites discussed in the chapter, the cathedral La Sagrada Familia in Spain and the Buddhist monument Borobudur in Java, were places the pair had visited together on family trips, then separately while leading academic courses. “It was fun, because we’ve always traveled together; in the chapter, we were able to compare our different visions of sites,” Konz says. She and her father discussed how they each approached the sites with their students and how anthropologic and artistic understandings of the sites played into their lessons.

Andrew Pulsifer, director of aquatics, won the 40-44 age group 200-yard backstroke and open water one-mile championship at the 2010 United States Masters Swimming Nationals.

Psychology professor and department chair Bob Swoap delivered the presentation “Promoting Health in the Recovery of Individuals with Persistent Mental Illness” at the 2010 Art and Science of Health Promotion conference.

By Lizzie Green ’10

Louly Konz, art professor, recently had a chance to do academic work with one of the people whose life inspired her career: her father.

Konz collaborated with James Peacock, professor of anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill, on a chapter in the book Viewpoints: Visual Anthropologists at Work, published last year.

Konz says her father’s work and her childhood travels influenced her career choice. “The family would travel for his work when I was a kid, and it gave me a wanderlust and an interest in different cultures and their art,” she says.

Having published an award-winning book on artist Marie Bashkirtseff and finished this collaboration, Konz now has new projects planned. She is currently working on an article about Icelandic singer Björk and her artistic relationship with artist Matthew Barney. In the summer she researched French artist Niki de Saint Phalle. There are a number of writing projects that she would like to finish or take on, including a possible collaboration with a student about Lady Gaga and Madonna. Teaching is high on her priority list.

“I enjoy the students and want to keep developing art history here and continue getting students excited,” Konz says. “That’s my goal.” She recently led an art history trip to France.

“I want to take more trips, because that was a really mind-blowing experience. It’s really inspirational to have young students running around with great ideas.”

Laura Vance was elected LGBT Caucus Chair for the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association at the annual meeting.

FALL 2010

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The Writing Center: In lower Sunderland, the world’s being named

By Rose McLarney ‘04, MFA ‘09

painted with a challenging quote from Thomas Mann—“A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” The Writing Center staff strives to both make writing more approachable and improve the craft.

Warren Wilson College is a place to which I keep returning. I earned my BA at the College, and then my MFA from the Program for Writers. Currently, I have the pleasure of spending time in the familiar classrooms in a new role—as the Joan Beebe Teaching Fellow, teaching poetry and composition. Warren Wilson has long been known to draw writers and has always had much to offer them.

But the Writing Center, I’d heard, had been transformed, thanks to the work of a new coordinator, a committed crew, and the College’s growing emphasis on writing. So, I went to find out about the revamped place I’d been told was more welcoming and more active than ever—and had the best couch on campus.

—Rose A tutor and writer lean toward each other on the couch talking excitedly. Across the room, a pair of students bends over a text, working through it together. A group is cutting and gluing, hand making thankyou cards for participants in a recent spelling bee to benefit the Literacy Council of Buncombe County. More students are gathered around a table discussing the Muse Collective creative writing group. They’ve had students paint and play in mariachi bands to prompt ideas for writing—what next? The Writing Center is “a hive, a hub of campus activity,” a crew member says.

It’s a place, as coordinator Julie Wilson says, “defined by the energy created when students come together and exchange ideas.” It is a place that embodies the enthusiasm for writing that is strengthening and expanding programs throughout the College.

Intense as the Center is, its space, nestled in the basement of Sunderland, is welcoming.

The casual conversations, artwork, and pleasant clutter of cups and books make 16

the Center feel more like a coffee shop than a classroom. When a student enters the Center, he’s greeted by a friendly tutor.

She’s a fellow student—students staff the Writing Center as a part of the College work program—and the two have an instant rapport. She offers him tea or coffee, engages him in a conversation about his feelings related to writing and inquires about how he best likes to learn.

But the tutor doesn’t call him a “student”— she calls him a “writer.” Hannah Inglesby ’10, who has been a tutor at the Center for three years, says she is intentional about this terminology. She wants all to think of themselves as writers. “You know how to talk. You know how to tell a story. And so you know how to write.”

Look around, and you’ll see evidence of other aspects of the Writing Center’s philosophy. The coffee table offers a stack of reassuring brochures entitled “The Demons of Writing Anxiety” and illustrated with quirky monsters. But a large poster is also

“This is a place for all writers.” “It’s not remedial.” “We’re not just fixing writing.”

These are refrains frequently heard in the Writing Center. The staff seeks students from all disciplines to work as tutors, and to make use of the Center’s wide range of services. Tutors will help generate ideas; tackle forms of writing that may be new to students, such as lab reports; give input on job applications; workshop creative writing; help students whose first language is not English better understand assignments; and more.

The way tutoring is conducted is tailored to the writer’s needs. Hannah develops individualized worksheets and activities for different projects. Recently, she collaborated with a writer to translate a poem composed in Chinese to English. Hannah doesn’t speak Chinese but she discussed what the writer was trying say with her until, together, they found the right words.

Stop in at the Center while Sari Causey ’10, another crewmember, is working and you’ll see her meeting with a writer who wants to revise a class assignment to submit it to a contest. After the one-on-one work, Sari turns to the ongoing project of developing teaching methods at the Center, making notes in the crew members’ shared log.

She records her feelings of satisfaction about accommodating a writer’s preference for learning outdoors by setting up a special meeting site. The Writing Center also sponsors tutoring in the community beyond campus. Alongside students from a service-learning course Julie teaches, crew members work on writing with teenagers and adults through collaborations with Owen High School in Swannanoa and the Literacy Council. In their service work, tutors continue to stretch the limits of the classroom. For example, to help women learning English as a second language, tutors take them on walks to practice giving directions.

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Tutors’ goals extend beyond the particular assignment at hand—they want to empower writers through what Sari calls dynamic tutoring and Hannah calls compassionate tutoring. “We have freedom when we work. We have conventions, but we also adapt to the writer,” says Hannah. Peer tutoring can offer greater flexibility, director of undergraduate writing Gary Hawkins, observes. Young writers are sometimes more willing to engage with a peer, rather than just “doing what you say,” as they may for an instructor. And young tutors can be more flexible and willing to take risks (not to mention hikes) while teaching.

Warren Wilson students are eager for leadership roles, as Julie learned early on.

She remembers, “When I started my job two years ago, it was summer and only a few students were here. I wanted to get rid of some books in the Center and asked one of the students to sort through them. She said, ‘We should wait for the crew to get back and see what they think.’” That little exchange was an important clue that shaped how Julie would interact with students from then on. She waited to let them contribute other ideas too—even choose the color of paint.

Students’ desire for input was confirmed when Julie got a letter from a student on vacation, filled with ideas for the Center, and found a manual addressed “to the future director of the Writing Center.” Rachel Edidin ’04, a former peer tutor who ran the Center upon graduating and cared deeply about it, created the manual. “There is so much student interest and excitement,” Gary says. “Developments in our writing program, such as the hiring of a writing center coordinator, allow us to harness and direct that.”

The Writing Center is a place “defined by the energy created when students come together and exchange ideas.”

–Coordinator Julie Wilson

FALL 2010

Writing Center crew members don’t just teach—they learn too. At some schools, tutors don’t even have time to see all the students who want basic help with editing their papers. At Warren Wilson, not only are Writing Center users actively recruited, crew members are given ongoing training and time to discuss ideas and try out new approaches. Gary’s view is, “Work should complement academics, and there’s nothing like teaching something to help you figure out how to do it.”

Several student crew members hope to have careers related to tutoring. Sari wants to start her own writing center in an underserved location. In the meantime, she tells stories about all the outlets for her interest in facilitating writing she’s already found. At the end of a full day at the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Louisville, Ky., she sat on a park bench with a musician and helped him compose a song.

Another crew member, Thomas Belmore ’12, has acquired skills that will be useful in any career—he’s learned how to give presentations, work in large groups and juggle priorities. He also notes that he’s learned things that will serve him well throughout his life: “being a better listener and having empathy.”

Thomas says he is having a “Triad Thursday.” He attended his “Skills of Helping Others’ Class,” which informs his work; worked at the Writing Center; and is now on his way to use his tutoring expertise at Owen High School. He’s engaged in all three aspects of Warren Wilson’s Triad philosophy: academics for the mind, work for the hands, service from the heart. He provides evidence that the Center has succeeded, as Julie notes, in “connecting as many aspects of campus life as possible.”

The Writing Center is one initiative of the College’s growing Undergraduate Writing Program, which through all of its initiatives aims to impact those studying creative writing, those engaged in writing for any project and those who will use writing to shape ideas for a variety of purposes and for diverse audiences. In short, the program aims to impact everyone, because everyone uses writing skills to communicate. As Gary notes, “Writing is the thing that we share in the liberal arts.”

Wr i t i n g P r o m p t s Encouraged to do some writing yourself? Try out these prompts, used by the Muse Collective, a writing group organized by the Writing Center.

1. List poem Start by making a list of things (you lost, you smell, you sold; or things that remind you of autumn, your friend Jerry, your home town, etc.). Fill in the connections.

2. Postcard Imagine yourself in a place (physical or otherwise) you’ve actually been.

What haven’t you told anyone about this place that you want to tell them now? (Note: make it short enough to fit on a postcard.) If you’re really inspired, write it on the back of a postcard and mail it anonymously (or not) to someone, even a stranger.

3. Cross-Out Are you having trouble writing a poem? Pick up a magazine and select one article. Read through the article, crossing out sentences, words, fragments, until you reveal your own work.

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Gary’s self-described “omnivorous notion of writing” is at home at Warren Wilson—the College’s interdisciplinary approach incorporates writing throughout the curriculum. To recognize and further this approach, the College has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation to help fund the Presidential Interdisciplinary Writing Initiative.

components of the learning Triad. The Writing Center will likely assist students in creating the portfolios. Portfolios will document writing done throughout their education, beginning with their freshman letter, ending with their senior letter, and including representations of the writing they do in between, ranging from academic papers to creative writing to reflections on service.

The writing initiative will enable the College to integrate various aspects of students’ Warren Wilson experience. One of the goals is set out by the College’s recently completed Strategic Plan: Strengthen the undergraduate writing major and its connection to the well-respected MFA for Writers. The initiative will also place greater emphasis on environmental writing—a broadly defined category of writing with wide appeal and relevance.

Already, the Center serves as one testament to why the College won the grant, and “the energy around writing that is driving all these projects,” Gary says. Hannah points out, observing her peers at work in the Center, “This is what the college experience should be—talking through ideas with another person, and figuring out how to articulate them.”

To further support the writing that students do across campus and cohere their Warren Wilson careers, the grant will significantly support the development of a writing and learning portfolio system that uses writing to connect the academic, work and service

Several Writing Center tutors mention that part of their teaching philosophy is to provide guidance, but also to step back, and to let writers know they are in control of their writing and tell their own story.

In that spirit, let’s close with Julie’s own writing about her “chief joy from my first term as writing center coordinator” from

the Center’s zine, Toy Piano. Her words evoke the atmosphere of the Center—and explain why writing, in its many forms, is so important at the College: “I admit to getting a little teary-eyed the first afternoon that this place was really buzzing. Lindsy’s with a writer talking about taking a stand; Elena’s gone outside with another writer to work under the trees; Hannah’s developing a prompt for Muse Collective; a writer comes in —“Can anyone help me with this paper?”

—and Janai responds, not missing a beat, “Sure, have a seat. What did you want to work on?” I’m over at my desk creating a hand-out for a first year seminar, and I feel it, that suffusing happiness that keeps me going, watching students move off into their own territory, listening to the conversations they’re starting without me. Paulo Freire called conversations that transcend traditional hierarchies dialogue, people finding their own words to name their worlds. During buzzing moments in dusky lower Sunderland, the world’s being named.”

Davis Foundations grant supports writing initiative The College has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to help fund the Presidential Interdisciplinary Writing Initiative. The writing initiative seeks to accomplish two important goals of scholastic integration. One is the development of a writing and learning portfolio system that uses writing to connect the academic, work and service components of the Warren Wilson learning Triad. The second is the broadening the College’s undergraduate writing program by promoting greater emphasis on environmental writing and stronger ties with the MFA Program for Writers.

With grant support, student writing is envisioned as the primary means of bridging undergraduate disciplines and providing interdisciplinary learning opportunities for Warren Wilson students. Positive outcomes are anticipated in the areas of student learning, Triad education and faculty/staff development. The writing initiative is seen as a model for other colleges to replicate.

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Asheville Normal and Teachers College—Part I

By Nicole Connor ’10

It is likely that since the Asheville Normal and Teachers College (ANTC) Memorial Cottage opened its doors August 5, 1995, many have wondered, “What is ANTC?” From its strange name to the plaque adorning the wall, the residence hall remains something of a mystery to most of those who pass in and out of its doors. Spurred by these questions, I decided to focus my senior history seminar research on ANTC in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the school. Somewhat to my surprise, I discovered a rich history and a fascinating story of struggle, hope, and, ultimately, the closure of the school in 1944. I met and spoke with two of its alumnae, Fran Suttle and Miriam Plexico. These two women represent graduates who are fiercely proud of the school they once called home.

ANTC was originally known as the Home Industrial School for Girls, which opened in October 1887 and was owned and operated

by Dr. and Mrs. Louis Pease. The Peases had always dreamed of opening a school for girls in rural Appalachia but did not have the financial resources. Instead they owned and operated a boarding house and 33 acres of land. Fortuitously, Dr. Thomas Lawrence stayed at the boarding house and later recommended it to the Presbyterian Church as a perfect location for a girls’ school the Church sought to open. The Presbyterian Church approved and granted the Peases funding for the school in exchange for the Pease property; it was an offer the Peases eagerly accepted. Initially, the school had space for only sixty students, grades one through six. The school grew quickly and by 1888, the enrollment grew to 115.

In 1916 John Calfee became president and paved the way for numerous changes, including the creation of dairying, weaving, furniture-making and gardening programs.

Most notably, he established the highly popular summer school in 1918, which offered continuing education for teachers and drew over 1,300 students by 1922. The school underwent many changes during this period and officially became the Asheville Normal and Teachers College in 1931.

In addition to the Boyd Chapel curricular changes, the student body changed, with student agitation culminating in early March 1937 when the students created a list demanding increased social privileges. After Calfee initially rejected the students’ demands, four hundred students refused to back down and occupied the chapel, skipping classes and meals.

Reportedly, Calfee acquiesced and said, “I guess I will have to feed them.”

Of course, not all students felt that the strike and subsequent changes were positive for the school. Fran Suttle, a 1942 alumna, does not hold a positive view of the strikers but recalls, “They were very proud that they had enough strength to carry through with what they felt was the right thing to do.” Despite the strikers’ success, the protest provided a compelling reason for the Board of Missions to discontinue funding the school—a move that it had considered since 1931. Miriam Plexico, another 1942 alumna, believes that, although the student strikers had good intentions, “It probably hurt the school in the long run.”

Regardless of the reasons, a June 1937

report to Board of National Missions concluded that, despite its “record of useful service,” ANTC was no longer required in Western North Carolina because other institutions could serve the purpose. The report further recommended the merger of ANTC with Dorland-Bell School and Asheville Farm School (Warren Wilson’s founding institution). An updated report in November attributed part of the decision to close the school to the “student restlessness” of 1937, and asserted that the school should close no later than the end of the 19391940 school year.

By 1940, ANTC, located where Mission Hospital now stands, had become an integral aspect of the Asheville community.

Asheville citizens had contributed over $75,000 to the school through the years, and many were emotionally and financially invested in the school. One editorial in the Asheville Citizen-Times argued that “the college belongs today more completely to Asheville than it has at any other time its history of half a century.” On campus, students rallied to ensure the future of their school; alumnae donated $3,000, graduating seniors pledged $500 and student organizations donated their remaining funds for a total of $603. Those who loved the school fought to keep it open; although the school ultimately closed, it did not close without a struggle.

Part II of this story will appear in the Spring 2011 issue of Owl & Spade.

FALL 2010

19 Stephenson Hall

Growing Native

with Sadie Adams ’09 and Liz Martin ’08

Sadie Adams ’09 has always loved plants.

An environmental studies major at the College, she worked on the Environmental Leadership Center (ELC) Crew and the Landscaping Crew learning about nativeplant landscaping. With her passion, it’s no surprise that when she graduated, she and her classmate Liz Martin ’08 started Growing Native Nursery in Asheville.

Adams and Martin met in a plant taxonomy class and worked together on the Landscaping Crew. “The dream was planted my sophomore year, while weeding with Liz,” Adams says. At the time, it was only a dream. Upon Martin’s graduation, however, Adams says, “Her parents asked her what she was doing with herself, and she said, ‘We’re starting a business.’”

That was the first time they had voiced their dream to anyone else, but they leapt into the work required to make it real. They formed an LLC, and a neighbor lent them the use of a greenhouse. The College helped with a scholarship to Mountain Bizworks, a local nonprofit that provides business training for aspiring entrepreneurs. There, Adams took an intense, three-month training course.

Adams’ interest in native plants was piqued by her Warren Wilson experiences. As a student, she completed an ELC internship researching a grant to plant native plants on roadsides. Working on the grant made her realize that her interest in native plants was

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useful. Utilizing native plants for roadside landscaping cuts down on watering, mowing and plant shipping—beneficial for maintenance purposes and the environment.

“I realized how valuable they were beyond aesthetics,” she says. “Instinctively, I knew, but the internship validated it.”

Her work on the Landscaping Crew taught her more about native plants. “I learned so much with landscaping. Tom LaMuraglia has been, and still is, one of the best teachers I’ve ever had,” Adams says. “I’m really lucky to have worked with him.”

“She was so enthused with what she was doing,” LaMuraglia says of Adams. “She was into what she was doing and why she was doing it, recognizing it as what she wanted to do with her future.”

During her time on the crew, Adams talked with LaMuraglia about her plans for the nursery. “I watched the whole thing formulate while she was here,” he says.

Though Adams is researching other growing and landscaping processes, she says that Growing Native Nursery currently uses most of the process that she and Martin learned on the Landscaping Crew: seed harvesting and preparation; greenhouse propagation of young plants; installation planning; and site preparation, installation and maintenance. Her enthusiasm for the work is apparent as she speaks about the crew: “I could’ve spent most of my time

here doing landscaping, and it would’ve been great.”

Adams says her environmental studies major and WWC faculty helped her build her dream. “The teachers who really influenced my path were Amy Boyd (biology) and Dave Ellum (sustainable forestry),” Adams says. She also credits faculty members Louise Weber (biology) and Laura Lengnick (sustainable agriculture) for support and inspiration.

“It’s funny. I never did well scholastically,” Adams says. “But here, there was an opportunity to succeed that fed my passions.” Adams notes that outdoor leadership/environmental studies professor Mallory McDuff’s program planning and design class was particularly useful for the presentations on native plants that she does as part of her nursery work. “That really influenced the way I present,” Adams says.

“Mallory McDuff has a great technique for teaching people and getting them excited about their topics.”

Growing Native Nursery gives presentations as a public education effort. Adams and Martin do all of their presentations together, working as a team. Their biggest audience is

with the Organic Growers School; the pair began presenting sessions there before they graduated. They often present at community meetings and co-ops. “I’m trying to spread the word about native plants and become a specialist people can identify,” Adams says.

“It has become priceless,” Adams says of her Warren Wilson experience. Her friendship

with Martin, her academic experiences and her work crews all contributed to the future that she and Martin are now building with the Growing Native Nursery. “I have the confidence to pursue a dream I never would have had.”

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How to Survive as a Foreigner in China Chris Biddle ’11 spent his junior year studying abroad at Liaocheng University in China’s Shandong Province. As part of his creative writing major, he’s writing a blog, “The Otherside: An American student living in China.” Here’s an excerpt: Bring your own deodorant. Bring your own coffee. Get used to the smell of urine. Smile, a lot. Learn how to say where you’re from. Understand that it’s not rude if someone asks how much money you make. Listen to music. Read. Be patient.

Don’t drink tap water. Try everything at least once, especially the stuff that grosses you out—it will make for a better story. Get out there and do stuff. Try not to use the train of thought, “Well, I deserve this.” If you’re a man, carry a pack of cigarettes with you and offer them to any man you meet. They will most likely not take one, even if they do smoke, but they will appreciate the sentiment.

Try not to think in terms of right or wrong, rude or polite, dirty or clean. Ask as many questions as you can. Don’t talk about politics. Eat lots of noodles. Eat lots of fruit, but always clean it. Don’t be shy.

Go to karaoke. Don’t talk about Japan. If you like basketball, play a pick-up game with some strangers. Don’t worry about looking both ways before crossing the street, just listen for car horns. Bring your own earplugs. Bring your own dental floss. Never pay full price. Don’t do anything that could

land you in jail. Find out what can and can’t land you in jail—you’ll be surprised.

Don’t freak out when someone invades your personal space. Try not to eat Western food; it’s expensive and oftentimes unsatisfying. Visit the Great Wall, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Summer Palace, but don’t linger. Get off the beaten path. Get lost. Take your time. Man zou. Walk slowly. Learn how to use chopsticks. Buy or rent a bike—weaving in and out of traffic, dodging taxis and donkey-pulled carts, and ringing your bell at pedestrians in your way will make you feel like you’re one of them. Don’t go in the water. Get used to sleeping on a hard bed.

The West Lake was once a series of marshes that were dredged to create the lake.

Try to reserve “thank you” for times when people really do help you, and try to reserve “I’m sorry” for times when you’ve truly inconvenienced someone. It will only make them laugh if you overuse it. If you learn to read any characters, learn foods first. Don’t worry about table manners.

Talk with your mouth full of food.

Burp. Slurp your tea as loud as you can. Go to a teahouse and try many different varieties.

Keep your eyes open. Don’t get discouraged. It will be hard, but try not to think about home. Remind yourself every day that you’ve somehow ended up on the other side of the world, in the oldest civilization in the world. Ask yourself unanswerable questions and find satisfaction in this. Go fly a kite. It’s not just for kids.

My most pleasant and tranquil experiences were found wandering amongst the many gardens that dot the shores of West Lake.

On the Web: othersidechina.wordpress.com

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OWL & SPADE

I took this snapshot of a couple walking in Qingdao.

It’s pretty common to see couples wearing matching T-shirts. Clothing companies make his and her shirts, and sometimes you even see a young married couple and their baby wearing matching shirts.

In the states, perhaps one out of every ten people will take flyers that people are handing out on the streets. But in China literally every person will take them. I think it has something to do with the incredible consumer-driven society. But nontheless many of the flyers end up on the ground, so wherever there are flyers being handed out there are street scavengers, usually elderly people who can’t work anymore, who collect the little sheets of paper and return them to redemption centers for 2 mao (.2 yuan) each.

DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’! HOLD ONTO THAT FEELIN’!

FALL 2010

It’s summer now and the heat is borderline unbearable, and as a result a lot of Chinese men find shirts rather obsolete. Even Mr. Wang, pictured here at what’s supposed to be a business lunch, opts to go shirtless.

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A LUMNI PROFIL E Team River Runner: Warriors on the water Only those that have the patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skills to do difficult things easily.

–John C. Shilling This is the mantra of Will Leverette ’78 for teaching paddling and for life in general.

For years he has utilized this philosophy to teach Warren Wilson students paddling skills; now, he uses the words as he instructs veterans from the Asheville VA Hospital how to kayak. Leverette, Asheville Team River Runner (TRR) organizers Becca Carter and Steve Heiselman, and a host of volunteers have led veterans from practicing in the College pool to a trip down the Tuckasegee River in Dillsboro.

With the athletics department and outdoor programs, Leverette worked out the College pool as the host site. In the pool, volunteers, including Warren Wilson students, teach veterans wet exits and basic strokes. Leverette also arranged for TRR to get outdoors and use the pond at Bull Creek Ranch. “We’ve been overwhelmed with success and interest,” Leverette says.

“Everyone in the boating community wants to give us what we need. I’ve never been on the receiving end of generosity like this in my life.”

Team River Runner at the Tuckasegee

On the last day of July, TRR Asheville took veterans to the Class II-III Tuckasegee for their first whitewater trip. “On the trip, we broke into two smaller crews, with each veteran paired with a volunteer,” Mike Nail, TRR Asheville volunteer, writes on his website. “The vets really had a wonderful time. We worked on catching eddies, ferrying and river-reading skills.” You can see Nail’s photos of the Tuckasegee run at www.creeking.info.

TRR volunteer John “Lightning” Griffith, WWC electrical supervisor

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TRR is a nonprofit organization that gives active duty service members, veterans, and their families an opportunity to find health, healing and new challenges through paddle sports. The benefits of TRR have as much to do with creating a social network and support system as they do with learning water sports skills that provide an exciting adventure lifestyle that suddenly seemed lost due to injury. TRR was established in 2004 by kayakers in the Washington, D.C. , area to help active duty military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan who were recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. After its success there, TRR expanded to other Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs chapter sites in 2007.

The Asheville chapter is one of two in North Carolina; the other is based in Raleigh. TRR chapters across the country are a growing network dedicated to creating innovative paddling programs designed to assist with the recovery of those injured while serving our country.

On the Web: teamriverrunner.org On Facebook: TRR Asheville

OWL & SPADE

A LU M N I P RO F I L E From Harlan to Hot Springs

By Hazel Mason Tisdale ’44

Hazel Mason Tisdale ‘44

It is so amazing how lives intertwine. . .

The thing I liked about Warren Wilson so much was that you were exposed to so many wonderful people.

When I came to the Farm School from Harlan, Ky., during the Depression, it was under the Presbyterian Board of National Missions. I started school at Dorland Bell in Hot Springs, N.C, in 1942. The Board of Missions let us come to Asheville Farm School because they didn’t have the money to keep all their schools open and needed to consolidate. I was not the first girl at the Farm School, but it was the first year that there was a group of girls on campus. I was 16 years old, stayed there for two years and graduated in 1944. We loved it there; I didn’t even want to go home for Christmas break.

him in Texas in 1944, but after he got out of the service we came back to Asheville. Fessor Laursen was moving a bunch of log cabins from Bee Tree Mountain. We asked him to sell us one of the cabins, and he did—for $100. The Bannermans were the first faculty members who came to see our log cabin. If you were a good student, they went out of their way like that to show appreciation.

I majored in home economics. Mrs. Kathrine Laursen taught us cooking.

Bernhard “Fessor” Laursen headed up the paint crew, the plumbing crew and oversaw all the farmland, too. I was on the basketball team, and we practiced at Bryson Gym. In learning, we were always moving ahead, and it wasn’t just learning from books.

It is so amazing how lives intertwine. After my first husband passed, I later married a Yale graduate that I met in the hiking club at the College. He and Ben Holden had been at Yale together. I always thought it was incredible that a poor girl from a small town in Kentucky could come to marry a man who was a classmate of Mr. Holden.

The thing I liked about Warren Wilson so much was that you were exposed to so many wonderful people.

Dr. Bannerman was the president of the College, and I used to do Mrs. Bannerman’s hair; that’s how I got into the beauty shop business. I had a shop in the basement of each of my three homes in Asheville.

We went to the Warren Wilson Church at that time, and Dr. Ohler gave wonderful sermons. I also remember Dr. May, Helen May, Dr. Biggers and Mrs. DeVries, who just turned 100.

For our graduation exercises they took us to Chimney Rock. It was a big, out of the world place to us because we were only 15 and 16 years old. I was sitting there late in the evening and realized that I had just graduated. There on the pier at Lake Lure, I started crying my eyes out and thought about a song that we sang in choir, “A Song at Twilight.” How many heartbeats are weary…but at twilight comes a sweet story… .

Mr. Connet, the choir director, taught us that song.

The first time I wed, I married the first president of the student body, Emery Miller ’43. He went into the Air Force. I married

Emery Miller ‘43

FALL 2010

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A LUMNI PROFIL E Morgan Williams ’08

By Tracy Bleeker

Morgan Williams, executive director and co-founder of the Flux Farm Foundation, is a 2008 graduate making a difference in the Intermountain West. The mission of Flux Farm is “to contribute to the economic viability of agriculture by providing landowners with research-driven information on how to profitably integrate renewable energy and carbon sequestration technologies.”

The foundation supports research in the areas of biochar, biofuels and microhydroelectric technologies. This research is being conducted at Flying Dog Ranch, a 500-acre working ranch south of Carbondale, Colo.; the 80-acre Colorado State University Western Colorado Research Center at Fruita; and a 205-acre property near Rifle, which houses the largest municipally owned solar array in the state.

“What you have is 150 million acres of privately owned pastureland in the Intermountain West, most of which is not making money; in fact, almost all of it is losing money,” Williams explains. Ranchers are given the choice of holding on to the land with skeleton-thin profits or selling out to the recreation and second home sectors.

Williams, who grew up in Carbondale, Colo., was a WWC student 2006 when he and George Stranahan, now the Flux Farm chair, filed the paperwork for the non-profit foundation. “We felt renewable energy development and soil carbon sequestration might be ways to provide ranchers with a diversified income stream so they could keep their land and continue ranching,” Williams says. “We understood that many unknowns remained and inhibited the development of these alternative revenue streams. We started a research foundation to address the unknowns through applied scientific inquiry.”

Williams was drawn to Warren Wilson for the sustainable agriculture program, along with the farm and garden work crews.

Initially, he worked on the Garden Crew while pursuing a degree in sustainable agriculture; however, as a junior he decided to focus on the physical sciences and worked on the Chemistry Crew.

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During his senior year, Williams lived off campus and developed Flux Farm instead of working on campus. He says, “Flux Farm was my own project, but what I learned in sustainable agriculture and the physical sciences proved to be very helpful. I use a lot of the analytical skills I gained at the College. Both of my work crews proved to be valuable learning experiences, particularly the garden crew. There, I became more confident with tractor work, field preparation, planting and irrigation. These skills have been useful in developing and managing multiyear agronomic research trials with grasses and biochar.”

Flux Farm Foundation has received $540,000 in federal, state and Morgan Williams ‘08 private funding, including two competitive block grants from the Department of Agriculture, along with a Conservation Innovation Grant from the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

“The majority of our current research efforts include developing and testing scalable biochar application methods and lowinput/high productivity perennial crops for bioenergy production,” Williams says.

In summer 2009, Williams helped form the Western Colorado Carbon Neutral Bioenergy Consortium (WCCNBC) along with Colorado State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Colorado Mountain College and the City of Rifle.

The consortium was formed to determine the ability of the region to produce and process biomass for biofuels and carbon sequestration. This interdisciplinary, applied

science, research consortium seeks to collect both quantitative and qualitative data on the costs and benefits of land transition, agronomic analysis of high-biomass perennial crops, field analysis of carbon sequestration potential, laboratory- and pilot-scale analysis of biomass conversion to biofuels, and economic analysis of the production and marketing of carbon-neutral biofuels.

In December 2009, Flux Farm Foundation received $50,000 from the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Advancing Colorado’s Renewable Energy (ACRE) program to conduct the WCCNBC’s first study—“Evaluation of Perennial Plant Species and Production Inputs for Sustainable Biomass and Bioenergy Production in Western Colorado.” Biomass crops will be converted to ethanol and butanol at Colorado Mountain College’s West Garfield Campus in Rifle, representing one of the state’s first bioenergy processing facilities housed at a community college.

Several months ago, Williams and his colleagues applied for a $1million grant from the USDA to conduct a broader bioenergy study over the next five years.

“This type of agricultural research takes four to five years once you see what you’re working with,” Williams says. “But so far we’ve been successful in garnering support from the right organizations. As far as successes, we’re lucky to be doing the right thing in the right place in the right way at the right time.”

OWL & SPADE

A LU M N I P RO F I L E The happy entomologist dance

By Sky Stephens ’01

Ant species Pheidole stephensi named after Sky Stephens ‘01

In 2004 I started my Northern Arizona University doctorate research in West Africa.

One component of that work was using ants as indicators of land use, forest type and as general measures of biodiversity. I was familiar with ant taxonomy after working with ants in Arizona during my master’s program. I’m a self-professed ant geek. The diversity of ants I was collecting in Africa was at least tenfold more than the diversity of ants in Arizona with more morphospecies and genera than I had seen. While I was collecting the few and generally very old taxonomic works on African ants, I came across the work of Dr. Brian Taylor. He was working on a compilation of ant taxonomy keys for Africa. I corresponded with him and was able to get beta versions of the key, which are now available on the Internet for use in Africa. We kept in touch, and I often sent him specimens of ants or digital photos of ants. I sent him a collection of particularly difficult ants to identify and about eight months later, in summer 2007, when returning to Arizona from Ghana, I spent ten days working with Dr. Taylor at the Natural History Museum in Oxford improving my ant taxonomy skills. I should mention that he’s a charming chap, as they’d say in England, and we enjoyed several local pubs while talking ants.

Fast-forward to February 2010. I came into work one morning and found this message in my inbox: The long time lag for International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) consideration of the inevitable recognition of the Web as a true form of publication and on-going developments in ant taxonomy lead me to give formal names and a set date to the one new genus and 34 new species that I believe to be sound and have posted on my Ants of Africa website (www.antbase.org). A number of you will find I have given new species your name in appreciation of your efforts in collecting and sending specimens to me to try to identify.

If you object in any way to this please let me know.

With Best Regards, Brian Taylor

FALL 2010

I looked at the link, and under the list of new species in 2010 there was Pheidole stephensi. When I clicked on the link, there it was—named in recognition of me!

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so ridiculously flattered. I did the happy entomologist dance in my office. The irony of this story is that the Pheidole genus is one of my least favorites. They’re a great group of ants, but the taxonomy is a complete bear. So, Pheidole stephensi might not be the most impressive ant on the block, with no crazy spines or stylish hairs, but it does have a strong median tooth and “appears to be completely unique in having the frontal carinae excavated so as to expose the base of the scape and the torus, also in having quite distinct antennal scrobes; the scape itself has a well developed basal expansion or flange; scapes and frontal carinae reaching three-quarter point of face; antennal scrobes while superficial quite distinct; alitrunk with transverse mesonotal welt; propodeum with sharp lateral margination and quite deeply longitudinally concave; with large distinctive propodeal spiracle; postpetiole from above smoothly ovoid; with faint rugae on the anterior dorsum of the head; other sculpturation restricted to weak spiculation on the lateral mesonotum and propodeum; erect hairs relatively long, fine and moderately abundant; colour yellowbrown, gaster darker.” All that was complete ant geek speak. For pictures of a specimen I collected and other information on the ant, go to http://tinyurl.com/24pdcwz Sky is now a forest entomologist with the Colorado State Forest Service, based at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Her position is a mix of research, academics and landowner assistance.

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A LUMNI PROFIL E Impacting Lives at 101: Lloyd Penley ’28 Continues to Serve

By Brooke Seufert

As a young boy, Lloyd Penley ’28 recognized the importance of education and always “really wanted to go to school.” He almost literally paved his way to an education— only instead of asphalt he made a dirt road, using two mules and a scoop, on which he traveled to school each day. “I pulled the dirt and moved it over and so forth,” Penley remembers. “They paid me $100.”

Penley walked that road in Candler, to and from school until he finished seventh grade, the highest level of schooling available near his family’s farm. At that point he knew how he wanted to spend his $100, so in 1925 at the age of 13, Penley headed to Asheville Farm School, the precursor to Warren Wilson, and had used his earnings to pay tuition. “When I was young, I lived on the family farm and not everyone got to go to school. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to go to the Farm School,” reflects Penley. “I lied about my age because I was really too young [to start eighth grade].”

“I assume,” shares Penley, who is now 101, “that much of my life’s good fortune can be traced back to the time I spent at Warren Wilson.” After he left the Farm School, Penley finished his high school education at Sand Hill and then secured a job at American Enka, where he worked for 42 years. He started out doing cleaning jobs and was later promoted to supervisor. His education helped in his career with Enka, but it also taught him life lessons, including the importance of hard work.

While at the Farm School, Penley had two jobs to help cover his tuition, room and board; he worked in the school office taking attendance in each class, and he worked in the barn. For most of his life, he continued to hold down two jobs. “I had to farm and work at the Enka plant to make ends meet with four girls,” says Penley.

Penley’s work ethic is notable, but even more impressive is his generosity. Serving and loving others has always been important in the Penley family; Penley says his mother 28

and wife “would have it no other way. Back when we were growing up, nobody had a lot, but it seemed like everyone had enough to get by. We all just helped each other,” he says. As an example, Penley and his wife Laura began caring for a four-year-old boy when the boy’s mother became ill, and the youngster lived with the Penley family until he finished high school. “The girls loved him to death, and so did I, because he was just like a son to me,” Penley remembers.

Penley continues to impact lives today; recently, he opened his Candler farmland to be the second Fields of Hope community garden location in Western North Carolina.

The land, which has not been cultivated for the past few years, is once again utilized— this time to feed those in need. Volunteers helped plant and harvest potatoes that were distributed through MANNA FoodBank.

“I love to see the ground plowed up and the hay cut,” Penley says. “It’s nice that the potatoes will be used to feed hungry people.”

And because of Penley’s generosity, hundreds of disadvantaged mountain children enjoy summer recreational and enrichment activities through a program

Penley at his Fields of Hope Farm.

Penley’s service to others is not limited to his local community. In 2001 Penley supported a spring break trip through Upper Room Ministries that reconstructed 18 homes in Honduras. The homes had been destroyed in a flood, and Penley found the thought of families living in stick structures and sleeping on dirt floors unsettling. “It breaks my heart to hear about those poor families in Honduras,” Penley says. Again, he provided help where he could and now those families have solid structures they call home.

Lloyd Penley’s life story is one of loving God and loving others. His generosity has provided opportunities for complete strangers—from the basic needs of food and shelter to the simple desire of summertime fun. Here’s the advice he has to offer from his century-plus years of living: “Do a little more than is expected of you every day.”

Church relations director Julie Lehman and Penley

called Summertime Kids. The program provides summer opportunities, such as camp and vacation Bible school, to children who otherwise would not have those options. It’s important, Penley believes, for all kids to “get out and play in the summer.”

He helps make that possible.

Penley’s life reflects his own advice. He continues to live by it, regardless of age, inspiring others—family, friends and strangers—to live and love abundantly.

OWL & SPADE

A LU M N I P RO F I L E Larry and Bunny Adamson Scholarship Many will remember Larry Adamson, biology faculty and dean of student affairs in the 1960s, and his late wife, Bunny, who passed away in 2008. Adamson has arranged a lasting legacy for Warren Wilson students. After he passes, the Larry and Bunny Adamson Scholarship will become effective with an initial gift from the estate. The scholarship will provide annual financial support for student tuition. Adamson says neither he nor his children have the funds now to create a scholarship, but forming one through estate plans is an ideal solution. His grandson Ben is a sophomore in preveterinarian studies at the College. Adamson told President Pfeiffer that Warren Wilson is a perfect place to nurture Ben, as it is, and has been, for so many students. If you would like to join Adamson by contributing to this scholarship so a student can receive funding, call 828.771.2042 or email advancement@warren-wilson.edu.

Adamson was interviewed by Tracy Bleeker and shared recollections about his years in the Swannanoa Valley.

The arrival

Bunny and I came to Warren Wilson sight unseen. I had finished my master’s degree at the University of Houston and was interested in teaching in one of the Presbyterian National Missions colleges. I wrote to the Board of National Missions, and there was an opening at Warren Wilson. When we turned onto Warren Wilson College Road—it was Asheville Farm School Road then—we came to a little Baptist church. At first we thought it was part of the school. Then we drove on up and, as you know, you ascend the hill and it opens up—heaven on Earth.

Dodge was a faculty home then, and we lived on the second floor. We then moved to a log cabin on College View. The place was once one of a group of summer houses rented by Uncle Charlie, the former owner of the property. One room in the house had gorgeous knotty pine walls added by Bernhard “Fessor” Laursen. It was a wonderful place to live and raise our children; we walked out the door and had a panorama of the College and Farm with the Four Brothers and Craggy Mountains in the distance. My years at the College were by far the most exciting and productive years of my working life. Bunny and I both felt they were the best years of our married life. We had two children when we arrived at the College and left with two more.

FALL 2010

On teaching

I taught biology and microbiology. We did not have an autoclave—a large sterilizer— so I used a canning pressure cooker to sterilize the media for the micro class.

Warren Wilson didn’t have as much money as other colleges, but we believed in the mission. We made do.

I used the student-centered teaching concept in my comparative anatomy course. At Warren Wilson we had the freedom to do what we needed to enhance our teaching. Dr. Jensen encouraged this. In student-centered teaching the students are responsible for generating the information. There are no lectures. Using the text, students ask questions. Students are led and come to proper conclusions on their own; they have ownership and learn more. They also determine their grades, and when I first discussed this with the class, the students said, “We’ve got to have something to go by.” I developed a series of questions for each chapter of the book, relating to the development of each organ system. Each student discussed the material with me individually and demonstrated their dissections. Only two students assessed their performance differently— lower—than my evaluation and grade for the course. The others were right on target.

On becoming the dean of student affairs

We had been integrated for years at Warren Wilson, even before I came. But because of different pressures of constituencies who supported the school and because of the neighboring community, we needed

to be careful about how we went about integrating campus. Dr. Jensen had felt we should not have interracial dating at the time, but we had an interracial couple.

I took some of the lead in generating ideas that helped in the resolution of the interracial issue. Because of that and other responsibilities I had assumed, I was offered the dean of student affairs position; I remained in that position for my last six years at the College.

At the Chapel

College activities were required at that time, including church. Fred Ohler’s sermons were brilliant and beautifully expressed. His work was so important to us. Of course, some of the students felt imposed upon to have to get up on a Sunday morning. But they got so much from it; we all did. We had a student choir who sang beautifully for church services.

Occasionally, I would sing solos. One time, I was singing and looking out at my family.

My children were embarrassed, scrunched down with their fingers in their ears.

Kinship

In 1970 we moved back to Texas for multiple reasons. All these years later, I still feel a kinship with the College. Many of the students we had in the ’60s still feel that Warren Wilson is home. They come back for Homecoming, and it’s so good to see them. Warren Wilson gets in your blood; it is such a special, wonderful place.

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A LUMNI NOTES ’50s

Daisy Fulton ’56 and her husband,

Robert, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 16, 2010.

Matthew M.K. Whong ’56 and his

wife, Dixie, recently visited Sao Paulo, Brazil, where they were missionaries from 1967 to 1977.

His memoir, Power of Dream, Love, and Mission, has sold 1,000 copies in its new Portuguese translation.

He preached fifteen times over three weeks, and one Sunday set a personal record by preaching six times on the same day.

’60s Randi Tuxen Rinkjøb Baade ’60

would like to let everyone know that she has six grandchildren. The youngest, Linnea, was baptized on April 18, 2010. The two oldest were confirmed on May 8 and 9.

Both are 15 years old.

Helen Byrd ’61 graduated from

Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education (now Union Presbyterian Seminary) in May 2007. After completing ordination exams, she served in a pastor’s associate-type position for 18 months before being called to pastor Covenant Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, Va., in July 2009. She is gladly answering God’s call to this ministry.

Joy Ritchie Powers ’61 and her

husband, Scott, have been retired for 16 years and are still enjoying their health. They live in the country and enjoy gardening, fishing, and being with their children and grandchildren.

They regret they won’t be at Homecoming this October but plan to come next year.

Rev. James “JD” M. Hilliard ’66

retired from the church pulpit in June 2009. He has kept himself busy since then by leading a men’s retreat, developing a Bible course, leading a small Alpha group, and assisting another pastor with church duties. After fully customizing his “iron horse” last winter, he will continue his biker ministry with CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association). He can be reached at 865 Pleasant Hills Dr., Washington, PA 15301, 724.229.8488, or JD4CJ@juno. com.

’70s

Martin Jones ’79 received the

2010 Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics from the Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America for his work at the College of Charleston.

’80s

Karen Hatter ’80 is still teaching

science to ninth graders at Blythewood High School in South Carolina. It’s a great life!

J. Kim (Zapata) Wright ’81 now

has a best seller: Lawyers as Peacemakers: Practicing Holistic Problem-Solving Law. Her web site, cuttingedgelaw.com, is gaining in popularity. Kim has also created a strategic partnership with the Arbinger Institute, authors of The Anatomy of Peace and Leadership and Self-Deception. Kim has been “location independent” for two years (meaning she travels full-time and has no home base).

Joanne Lincoln ’84 entered the

Black Mountain Library Writing Contest and won first prize.

Andy Ruben ’85 and Nancy (Olsen) Ruben ‘84 are both

elementary school guidance counselors in Naples, Florida.

They have two children, Abbey (15) and Connor (13), and report that life is good in Naples.

Ralph J. Forrest-Ball ’86 (formerly

Ralph J. Ball) reached the level of certified master locksmith, the highest level of certification from the Associated Locksmiths of America. He is one of only four CMLs in the entire state of Oregon. Also, Ralph wrote a three-part series of articles that appeared in the trade journal Keynotes earlier this year.

Stephen Peter ’86 says hello to

alumni from the classes of 1983 to 1987. He reports that he was happy to host 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer fans and would love to hear from friends at stephenpeter63@hotmail.com.

Lin Orndorf ’87 is the managing

editor of Stereotypd, an LGBTQ magazine published in Asheville and distributed in North and South Carolina.

’90s

Gregory T. Wilkins ’90 received

the Vic Swenson Student Friendly Award from the Minnesota State Student Association at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He also received the Jim Chalgren Award from MSU for his professional work, assisting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allies in the second-oldest LGBT center at a college or university in the US. Lauren (Hoffman) Rodin ’91

graduated from Berry College with a master’s in education in December 2009. She is in her fourth year teaching fifth-grade reading, language arts, and social studies. In May, she completed her first century (cycling 100 miles in a single day) in the Tour de Cure to raise money for the American Diabetes Association.

Greg Walters ’91 and his family

(wife Amy and children Benji and Mika) are enjoying their second year of teaching in Nagoya, Japan.

Brett James ’92 had success with

SIGNME UP! Email alumni@warren-wilson.edu to subscribe to the Warren Wilson College E-newsletter.

You’ll get monthly news, feature stories, event notices and links to keep you updated and in tune with Warren Wilson College.

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his self-published debut novel The Deadfall Project. After rising to No. 304 on Amazon’s Bestsellers list and No. 3 on Amazon’s Movers and Shakers list, it was picked up

by Fallacy Publications in February for publication.

Mandy Pearson ’95 and her

husband, Will, announce the birth of their third child, Ruth Townsend Dornan, born January 4, 2010. Ruth joins Sam (3) and Margaret (1). The family continues to live on their ranch outside of Jackson Hole, Wyo., surrounded by Grand Teton National Park. They hope all is well at WWC.

OWL & SPADE

A LU M N I N OT E S Anna Morrison Thomas ’95 is

currently living in Marshall with her husband, Pete Thomas, and 2 year-old daughter, Annajean.

She is a Head Start teacher and would love to hear from any of her WWC classmates. Write to petean dannathomas@charter.net.

Jane Bradshaw ’98 was elected

President of the Young Democrats of Georgia. She can be reached at jcb5858@yahoo.com or on Facebook.

Julia (Minor) Tarr ’99 and her

husband, Jeremy Tarr, welcomed twins Lily and Forest in February.

’00s

Sky Stephens ’01 has been

the forest entomologist for the Colorado State Forest Service since September 2009. She also had a species of African ant named after her, Pheidole stephensi, after a number of years of forestry work in Africa. See related story on page 27.

Michelle Blau ’02 moved to

Kazakhstan in August to join the Peace Corps. She will work with local community leaders to develop programs to address human trafficking and AIDS and help young people build life skills.

Eric Jackson Smythers ’02 recently

bought his first house in North Asheville with his wife, Laura.

Jakob Morris Karpen was born to Sarah (Cox) Karpen ’03 and her husband, Josh, on December 26, 2009.

Melissa Lenzen ’03 graduated

from Lesley University with a master’s in art therapy in May. Nicholas Klosterman ’04

completed the Michigan State veterinary program. She will practice large animal medicine.

Caleb Grant Culpepper-Martin was born to Jessica Culpepper ’04 and Justin Martin ’06 on March 7, 2010, topping the scales at more than 9 pounds. He has been a “big ball of wonderful” ever since then and his parents are thrilled with the newest member of the WWC community.

Thomas Nelson McWhorter ’04

was elected Litter Spokesperson for Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood.

Janna Willoughby ’04 and her

band, BloodThirsty Vegans, released their debut album, Let the Feast Begin, in April. They were nominated for three “Best of Buffalo Awards” in Artvoice

Magazine: Best HipHop Group, Best Original Music, and Best Band Name. Janna was also nominated for Best Spoken Word Performer. She has been working as a teaching artist and program coordinator in Erie and Chautauqua counties in New York since August 2008.

Brie Noiseux ’05 has big news to

share with her WWC family. She expected to receive her masters in physical therapy from Western Carolina University in August and is expecting a baby in November.

She’ll move back to the Asheville area this fall.

Ahliae Toulouse ’05 married former WWC student Gabrielle Haynes on September 22, 2009.

Tracy Tarbutton ’06 was named

Mental Health America of Northeast Georgia’s Mental Health Professional of the Year. She is program coordinator for the Athens-Clarke County Treatment and Accountability Court, which serves individuals whose crimes are related to mental illness. The mission of this mental health court is to decriminalize mental illness, prioritize appropriate treatment over incarceration and facilitate recovery within the community.

Adam Stegall ’07 bought a tandem

bike. Come ride with him!

Amanda Bilyk ’08 is helping to

build a temple, healing center, a school, a pilgrimage retreat and other initiatives in her new home in Cuzco, Peru, in the Sacred Valley after a trip through South America led her there. She is also attending Goddard College’s master’s program in health arts and sciences to help her work in Peru.

Brian Fisher ’08 and Kaitlin Tripi ’08 were married on May 1, 2010,

in Rochester, NY.

Morgan Williams ’08 is executive

director of Flux Farm Foundation and is highly active in bioenergy and soil carbon sequestration research in the Intermountain West. See related story on page 26.

WA RREN W ILSON COLLEGE LO S S E S Asheville Normal and Teachers College

Warren Wilson College If you are aware of a loss

Thelma Eaddy ’34 • February 28, 2010

Daniel W. McMurry ’50 • March 27, 2010

Lalage Freeman ’36 • July 28, 2010

Josephine Moseley ’51 • March 3, 2010

Inez DeBord ’39 • February 16, 2010

Bebe Huggins ’52 • June 24, 2010

Frances Gleichmann ’42 • February 13, 2010

John Pitman ’58 • March 1, 2010

Vivian Holder ’43 • February 15, 2010

Freddie H. Robbins ’81 • July 30, 2010

Pearl McBee ’43 • June 21, 2010

Linda G. Young ’84 • April 7, 2010

Delia Richey ’45 • March 13, 2010

Faculty & Staff Barbara Young • June 19, 2010

FALL 2010

we have failed to acknowledge, please contact Rodney Lytle, Interim Alumni Relations Director, at 828.771.2046 or rlytle@warren-wilson.edu.

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LOOKINGBACK July 11, 1910: A Centenarian Born Evelyn DeVries celebrated her 100th birthday on July 11, 2010. Mrs. DeVries and Sam “Coach” DeVries were at the College from 1934-1976. Mrs. DeVries served as the dining room host and postmaster. Coach DeVries was the director of athletics, the work program and the auto shop.

Note from spring 2010 Looking Back: Peter Lorenz ’76 was in touch to let us know he was on the 1974 College choir trip to Bucharest. He was in the choir for five years and remembers those in the photograph (L-R): Sharon Nichols ’77, Tom Sanders ’77 and Cindy Wilson ’77. Thanks to Mr. Lorenz for identifying his classmates in the photograph.

M FA B O O K S H E L F Awards and works by MFA for Writers alumni Dilruba Ahmed ’09

Sue Chenette ’97

Rebecca Foust ’10

K. Alma Peterson ’07

of poetry, was awarded the 2010 Bakeless Prize and will be published by Graywolf Press next year.

of poems, was published by Guernica Editions.

a poetry book, was published by Many Mountains Moving Press and God, Seed is out this fall from Tebot Bach.

Interlude When Light Sprawled the Fen, was published by

Dhaka Dust, her first book

Beverley Bie Brahic ’06

Three of her translations have been published. Unfinished Ode to Mud by Francis Ponge (poems) was published by CB Editions and shortlisted for the Corneliu M. Popescu Prize for Poetry Translation; This Incredible Need to Believe by Julia Kristeva (nonfiction) was published by Columbia University Press; and Hyperdream by Hélène Cixous (novel) was published by Polity Press.

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Slender Human Weight, a book

Randall Couch ’03

Madwomen, a bilingual edition of

All That Gorgeous Pitiless Song,

Her first book-length poetry collection, Was There No BlazeVOX books.

poems by Chilean Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral, won Britain’s biennial Corneliu M. Popescu Prize for Poetry Translation. It was published by University of Chicago Press.

Marjorie Hudson ’00

Cynthia Phoel ’03

a Novello Literary Award finalist.

It is forthcoming from Press 53.

set in Bulgaria, was published by Southern Methodist University Press.

Billy Lombardo ’09

The Man with Two Arms, a

Marisa Silver ’96

Rachel Contreni Flynn ’01

Tongue, her second poetry

collection, won the Benjamin Saltman Award and was published

by Red Hen Press.

Accidental Birds of the Carolinas, a story collection, was

novel, was published by Overlook Press.

Cold Snap, a collection of stories

Alone with You, Silver’s second collection of stories and fourth book, was published by Simon & Schuster.

OWL & SPADE

Warren Wilson College

P R E S I D E N T ’S R E P O R T Dear Community Member,

As this summer’s hot days fade into crisp fall mornings, the academic year starts anew.

The routine of classes, work crews and service trips once again has become a natural rhythm here at Warren Wilson. I find this to be a good time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished in the past year because of your commitment and support.

A major achievement of the past year was the formation of a Strategic Plan for 20102015. As our community engaged in this process, we discussed our shared core values and developed a vision that will guide us as we put the Strategic Plan into action. In fact, there are over 100 discrete actions in our five-year plan. Please see the following pages for more detail.

To continue our success, we must stay focused on our unique Triad education of academics, work and service—complemented by robust environmental and international activities. Our students and their families realize that the value of a Warren Wilson liberal arts education has never been more timely, and our graduates overwhelmingly report that the Triad has served them well.

On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of Warren Wilson, I thank you for your involvement in the life of the College.

Sincerely,

Sandy Pfeiffer

FALL 2010

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2010–11 Projected Expenses

All Other Expenses

30%

Salaries, Benefits, Stipends & Student Labor

47%

2010–11 Projected Revenues

Tuition-Related Revenue

87%

Auxiliary Services* 1%

Financial Aid Funded from Operations 19%

All Other Revenue

8%

Debt Retirement Funded from Operations 3%

Auxiliary Services* 1% Annual Fund Support 2% Endowment, Trust, & Interest Income for Operations 2%

*Auxiliary Services: Bookstore, Farm, Sage Café, and similiar enterprises

Market Value of College Endowment as of June 30 of each fiscal year

$50,000,000 $40,000,000 $30,000,000 $20,000,000 $10,000,000 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Warren Wilson students work hard in the classroom and laboratory, in majors ranging from biology to outdoor leadership. They also work hard on their campus work crews, with each student toiling 15 hours per week in jobs scattered across a 1,100 acre campus. And they work hard doing service in the community—not only to meet the College’s 100-hour graduation requirement, but also in a heartfelt effort to make a difference beyond Warren Wilson. This Triad of academics, work and service is singular in higher education.

Student Enrollment

as of June 30 of each fiscal year

1000

Total FTE Enrolled

800 600 400

New Enrolled

200 0

'90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10* *2010 figures are estimated. These are planned decreases to adjust for capacity.

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All Giving by Source Alumni

$4,000,000 $3,500,000

Parents & Grandparents

$3,000,000

Friends

$2,500,000

Churches & Interfaith

$2,000,000 $1,500,000

Businesses

$1,000,000

Foundations

$500,000

Other Organizations 2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

Bequests Unowned Assets/Other

Warren Wilson College Fund Giving by Source Bequests not included

$600,000

Alumni

$500,000

Parents & Grandparents

$400,000

Friends

$300,000

Churches & Interfaith

$200,000

Businesses

$100,000

Foundations

Earning a college degree takes hard work, perseverance, dedication—and financial assistance from people like you who care enough to help. Endowed and annual scholarships play an essential part in making a Warren Wilson education more affordable for many deserving students, now and for years to come. Thanks to the support of many people who have created and continue to add to the College’s scholarship funds, more students can obtain the benefits of the Warren Wilson experience and become the leaders of tomorrow.

Other Organizations 2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

Giving Participation 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Alumni Alumni Board Faculty & Staff Trustees

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-9

2009-10

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The Warren Wilson College Fund: Leading the Way The books for 2009-2010 fiscal year closed June 30, 2010, and we reflect on the generosity of community members who gave this year. Many gave despite their own hardships because they believe in the importance of leading the way for our students, our community and our world. Often, the importance of doing so was realized here in the Swannanoa Valley through interactions with our College community.

Now that we have entered into a new fiscal year, we understand that these are challenging times, but we also understand that where there are challenges, there are opportunities. The goal for the 2010-2011 Warren Wilson College Fund is $500,000. It’s an ambitious goal, but we know that nothing worthwhile is ever easy, and the Warren Wilson College Fund is certainly worthwhile. Support through this fund helps our College community by making resources for scholarships available for students and by supporting the educational Triad of academics, work and service.

Passion about and dedication to the College is a common thread in our Warren Wilson family. What better way to reflect this than by giving to the College? When each of us gives at the level we can, we not only strengthen our College community but also inspire others to do the same. If every alumnus, employee, friend and parent contributes what they can this year, we’ll easily reach our $500,000 goal. Some can contribute less than they’d like this year; some can contribute more than they have in the past—let’s focus on what we can do together.

The Bannerman Society Individuals who inform the Office of Advancement of their decision to give to Warren Wilson College through wills, trusts and other planned gifts are recognized through membership in Bannerman Society. This group, named for Arthur M. Bannerman, the first president of the College, joins Dr. Bannerman and the rest of our founders in securing the College’s financial future. Many members of the Bannerman Society have chosen to ensure a bright financial future for Warren Wilson by including the College in their wills or estate plans, with their giving largely targeted towards increasing endowment support of student scholarships and faculty and staff salary support. If you have questions about gift planning, or if you would like to inform the Office of

“Like a thousand stars by night, we shall faithfully lead the way.”

– WWC Alma Mater

by Henry Jensen

Thank You, Members of the Bannerman Society!

Many thanks to the generous members of the Bannerman Society for investing in the future of Warren Wilson students.

In 2009-10, the College received over $600,000 from bequests and other planned gifts. These gifts ranged from $1,000 to $500,000. These gifts make an important difference in students’ lives.

Advancement of your decision about a planned gift, please call 828.771.2042.

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OWL & SPADE

Strategic

2010–2015

Plan

Core Values All proceedings, programs, and initiatives of the College are grounded in a commitment to the following core values: • The Triad: Academics, work, and service • Community: Civic engagement and participatory governance • Liberal Arts: Experiential and innovative education • Sustainability: Environmental responsibility, social and economic justice • Diversity: Inclusivity, international and cross-cultural understanding • Wellness: Personal growth and well-being

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

Vision Warren Wilson College will lead the nation toward a new model for liberal arts education through the innovation of its Triad educational program, the quality of its academic engagement, the fulfillment of its sustainability principles, the depth of its commitment to diversity, the vitality of its community, and its nurturing of individual well-being.

FALL 2010

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Strategic Priorities and Goals 1 Strengthen the Triad of Academics, Work, and Service

Goal 1.1 Integrate objectives of the Triad and continually assess student learning Goal 1.2 Increase experiential and innovative learning opportunities through academics, work, and service Goal 1.3 Ensure a productive and educational work experience for students Goal 1.4 Support staff and faculty development as teachers and mentors, including appropriate facilities for all areas Goal 1.5 Engage in service-learning outreach that reflects the College’s values and addresses the needs of community partners

2 Honor the Liberal Arts Tradition through Rigorous and Innovative Academics

Goal 2.1 Determine where the mission of the College belongs in the broad arena of higher education and establish clear goals for improving academic standing in that arena Goal 2.2 Identify, support, and increase distinctive academic experiences Goal 2.3 Increase opportunities and resources for classroom teaching, faculty and student research, and student academic success

3 Foster Environmental Responsibility and Action

Goal 3.1 Encourage innovation, and implement and assess best practices across campus in operations, policy, and education Goal 3.2 Honor the College’s formal environmental commitments

4 Promote Personal Growth and Responsibility

Goal 4.1 Advocate health, safety, personal responsibility, and wellness on campus Goal 4.2 Provide opportunities for personal, physical, moral, and spiritual development

Goal 3.3 Share best practices through educational outreach to the greater community

Goal 2.4 Assess the academic curriculum to identify strengths and to address areas of weakness, making decisions that further highlight the distinctive strengths of the College’s curriculum Goal 2.5 Make the academic program more visible and engaging

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OWL & SPADE

Strategic Priorities and Goals 5 Enhance Civic and Community Engagement and Promote Social Justice

Goal 5.1 Increase programs on and off campus that deepen a sense of civic and community engagement and promote social justice Goal 5.2 Support co-curricular activities and civic and community engagement by ensuring adequate facilities and resources

FALL 2010

6 Increase Diversity and Advance Cross-Cultural and International Understanding

Goal 6.1 Establish and sustain a community that reflects our commitments to inclusivity and diversity Goal 6.2 Increase domestic and international cross-cultural opportunities for students, staff, and faculty

7 Ensure Sound and Responsible Fiscal Position and Practices

Goal 7.1 Increase fundraising and meet enrollment goals to support scholarships, financial aid, salaries, and capital expenditures Goal 7.2 Explore options for nontraditional revenue that reflect College core values Goal 7.3 Use all resources responsibly and efficiently to support College operations

8 Nurture an Unwavering Sense of Community

Goal 8.1 Determine the enrollment size that best fits the College mission, market, budget, and sense of community Goal 8.2 Improve the quality of life on campus Goal 8.3 Support participatory governance to honor community values, give voice to all, and conduct business effectively

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Make a gift to Warren Wilson and get guaranteed income

for life

“The gift annuity has produced regular quarterly income

In these uncertain times, a gift annuity is a way to guarantee an income for life. A gift annuity to Warren Wilson College could help you while supporting current and future Warren Wilson students.

To learn more about this WIN-WIN gift opportunity, call Don Harris or Janet Doyle, the College’s Development Directors, at 828.771.2042.

for me and given me a real feeling of financial security.”

Jane Weis, advancement office volunteer and long-time friend of the College

You can email Don at dharris@warren-wilson.edu or Janet at jdoyle@warren-wilson.edu.

How did you find out about Warren Wilson College?

TWO WAYS YOU CAN HELP US RECRUIT WONDERFUL STUDENTS • Refer a student to us. If you know a great fit for Warren Wilson College please give us that student’s contact information and we will follow up.

• Sign up as a college fair volunteer in your area.

This will only take a few hours of your time. Also, it is fun and easy and helps us out immensely.

New students are our future.

CALL 800.934.3536 or EMAIL ADMIT@WARREN-WILSON.EDU 40

OWL & SPADE

Return to campus and reconnect with all that made your time here special. Reminisce with classmates, feast on barbecue, kick up your heels square dancing, run the Homecoming 5K or simply relax in a rocking chair. Regardless of how you spend your time here, be sure to…

return, reconnect and reminisce.

HOME

COMING 2 0 1 0 October 1-3

2010 Class Reunions

It’s your reunion year if you graduated in a year ending with a 0 or a 5.

If you have questions concerning Homecoming, please email alumni@warren-wilson.edu, call 866.992.2586, or visit warren-wilson.edu/homecoming

W

HAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE? A new job, a new home, a wedding or birth of a child? Please take a few minutes to let us know about the latest developments in your life by filling out this form. Please print clearly and indicate dates and/or places of events so we get the facts straight. We generally refrain from publishing events that are expected to occur in the future to avoid any mishaps.

If you have a picture of an event or child, please send it along. ❏ I would like the news below printed in the Class Notes section of the Owl & Spade. ❏ It is not necessary to print this news in Class Notes.

Name (Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms.) ___________________________________________________________________ Class ____________ Street address ______________________________________________________________________ City ____________________ State ____________ Zip _________________ Country __________________ Email _____________________________________ Home phone ________________________ Office phone _______________________ Cell phone ___________________________ Job title _______________________________________ Company ___________________________________________________ Marital status ________________________ Spouse’s name ___________________________________________________________ Class Notes News: Please limit to 50 words or less. Alumni Office reserves the right to edit for space and content. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please fill out this form and send it to: Alumni Office, Warren Wilson College, CPO 6324, PO Box 9000, Asheville, NC 28815-9000 Fax 828.771.5850 • alumni@warren-wilson.edu FALL 2010

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

PA I D Permit #272 Asheville, NC

PO BOX 9000 ASHEVILLE, NC 28815-9000 Address Service Requested

“I’m asking you to imagine yourself as a single word in a story still being written. The implications of this particular word will determine whether the story is ultimately one of darkness or one of light. I’m asking you to be the one good word on which everything else depends.”

Tony Earley ‘83 Commencement 2010