Carillon magazine Vol. 10 No. 1, Spring 2013 by Oglethorpe University

VOL. 10 | our NO. 1 |History spring 2013

2O2O Vision

Oglethorpeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Future in Focus

strategic plan | 6

engaged living | 11

engaged difference | 15

alumni updates | 21 1 SPRING 2011 | CARILLON

contents

editor RENEE VARY KEELE Featured writers MARGARET DANIEL CAITLYN MITCHELL ’13 contributors DEBBIE AIKEN ’12 REED BARRICKMAN ’02 J. TODD BENNETT LINDSEY CARROLL JODIE SEXTON GOFF ’01 BARBARA BESSMER HENRY ’85 DON HENRY ’83 SYDNEY MOBLEY MOSS ’59 WEATHERLY RICHARDSON ’13 LINDA SANDERS SCARBOROUGH ’65 KELLY HOLLAND VRTIS ’97

photographers ROBERT FINDLEY ’14 AMANDA (BROOKE) FLOYD ’13 ONE MOMENT MORE PHOTOGRAPHY www.omm.com design em2 Brand Marketing That Moves You

Carillon is published twice a year for alumni, friends, and family of Oglethorpe University. Oglethorpe, founded in 1835, is a private, liberal arts college.

Photos Above The Oglethorpe community gathered in October 2012 to break ground on the new campus center. Pictured (l–r): Dean of Students & Vice President for Campus Life Michelle Hall, Student Government Association President Joscelyn Stein ’13, Trustee Belle Turner Lynch ’61, President Schall, Board of Trustees Chair Norman Findley and Trustee Warren Jobe. Visit progress.oglethorpe.edu to check out the progress of the new campus center, set to open in August 2013.

Speak Out We’d love your feedback on this issue as well as what you might like to see in upcoming Carillons. E-mail: rvary@oglethorpe.edu or call 404-364-8868.

strategic plan

Ask Timeless Questions

President Schall leads the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Campus Center.

PRESIDENT’S LETTER By Lawrence M. Schall

Redefining Undergraduate Education through Unparalleled Engagement

This year, my eighth as President, has been both a year of exciting progress on campus and the exercise of leadership on an issue of critical national importance off campus—gun safety. Let me begin there. After the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Conn., I made a decision to speak out and express my personal views on the need for rational and reasonable gun safety legislation. I shared the open letter I had composed with a few colleagues who also serve as college and university presidents. They shared it with others and within 72 hours, more than 150 higher education leaders had signed on. A few days later, the number grew to more than 300 and additional presidents have continued to add their names every week. You can read the letter, see the signatories, and read the press coverage of our collective effort at www.collegepresidentsforgunsafety.org. Our letter (and our university) captured a great deal of attention across the country and was an important part of the conversation on the Hill and in the White House as the country works to find solutions to this ongoing national tragedy. I certainly knew that not everyone in our community would agree with my views. You can also read on the website the two pieces I wrote about why I made the decision to write and distribute the letter. The letter belongs to me and doesn’t purport to represent the views of our trustees, our faculty, students or alumni. That said, I do believe the writing of the letter does say something about our community, about the value we place on rational discussion and debate, about the connections we make between what we study and how we act, and finally, about the obligation we all have to speak out.

My vision and hope for Oglethorpe students is that each of them becomes active in their communities and that their life of action starts during their time with us. From the start of my tenure at Oglethorpe, I have worked to help our community connect the deep and rigorous learning that happens inside our classrooms with real world experiences. You might recall that my inauguration back in 2006 was a day of service to our community and that theme of service has carried through until this day. Inside this issue, you will read about the “Oglethorpe Idea” and the university’s strategic plan, which arose out of that idea. For several decades Oglethorpe has sought to better integrate our mission and our place to set ourselves

4 CARILLON | spring 2013

apart from other small colleges whose locations are not as desirable as ours. The American system of higher education, here in Atlanta and across the country, is filled with examples of schools that excel at training students in specialized fields or in educating students broadly without regard to a career. However, it is rare that a college excels at both. That is the foundation of the Oglethorpe Idea, which is captured best in our motto: Make a life, Make a Living, Make a Difference. Our mission is to provide a rigorous and superior interdisciplinary education in an intimate learning environment that prepares students to think, critique and communicate across a broad range of subjects—and to provide them significant exposure to deep learning experiences in the real world so they will be prepared to succeed and make a difference. In this issue of the Carillon, read about the new campus center scheduled to open in August and the A-Lab (the Atlanta Laboratory for Learning at Oglethorpe University), which will lie at the center of that building. The A-Lab, future home to the Center for Civic Engagement, Center for Experiential Learning and our new Center for International Studies, is designed to help our students connect theory to practice each and every day. I often share with our students the life course of our namesake James Edward Oglethorpe who, at an age not much older than most of them, led a successful crusade to empty British prisons of the thousands of debtors who had been confined there. He then founded the Colony of Georgia as a slave free state, the first among all British colonies. Oglethorpe was a visionary who was called to act upon his vision. My vision and hope for Oglethorpe students is that each of them becomes active in their communities and that their life of action starts during their time with us.

During the middle of the last century, Oglethorpe President Philip Weltner and a group of faculty conceived of a revolutionary approach to undergraduate education called “the Oglethorpe Idea.”

This involved one of the earliest efforts to develop a core curriculum, with the twin aims to “make a life and to make a living.” It was a concept that attracted nationwide attention. Part of what made The Oglethorpe Idea so innovative in 1940 was the university’s embrace of the world beyond its gates—the intentional goal of using knowledge to prepare graduates exceedingly well for life and work beyond the “ivory tower.” Recently, that goal has taken on another dimension: Atlanta as a laboratory to test theories learned in the classroom during the undergraduate years. Today, Oglethorpe is one of the very few coeducational liberal arts colleges in a major U.S. city. Nearly two centuries ago Oglethorpe was founded, like many liberal arts colleges, out in the country. After the Civil War, our founders transplanted the classic liberal arts ideal to Atlanta. Their decision gives us an exceptional advantage that Oglethorpe has yet to maximize to its fullest. Because of its size, mission and location, Oglethorpe is in the unique position to integrate the enduring knowledge of an interdisciplinary liberal arts education with the immediate and tangible impact of real-world experience. Make no mistake— we are already doing this for many of our students. The difference, already in motion, is to make engagement between theory and practice— on campus, in the city of Atlanta, and beyond— the hallmark of an Oglethorpe education. Where will Oglethorpe University be in 2020? Oglethorpe’s current strategic plan sets forth to fulfill more ambitiously than ever our mission to “make a life, make a living, make a difference.” The strategies have been specifically crafted to build a strong, compelling identity for Oglethorpe that will lead to enrollment growth and improved retention. This growth, along with new strategic partnerships, many of which are highlighted in this issue, will lead to greater financial strength, allowing Oglethorpe to reinvest in our people, programs and facilities. Such investments will allow us to provide an even more exceptional education, creating a cycle of growth, strength and continued excellence. Adapted from “THE OGLETHORPE IDEA: Redefining Undergraduate Education through Unparalleled Engagement, A Strategic Plan for 2020.”

spring 2013 | CARILLON 5

A PLAN OF ENGAGEMENT

strategic plan STRO

NG IDENTIT

ENGAGED LIFE The Oglethorpe Core provides a common language amongst the students and with the faculty, strengthening community and

ENGAGED LIVING

engagement on campus in our common pursuit of how to “make a life.” Pervasive and ambitious, it serves as students’ intellectual

TI O N

ENGAGED DIFFERENCE

C EP EX

ENGAGED CAMPUS COMMUNITY

2020

OLLMENT GROW EN R T

AL EDUCATIO

ENGAGED LIFE

ENGAGED CREATIVITY

touchstone from their first day of classes throughout their Oglethorpe education. Oglethorpe will build upon the Core curriculum to provide a superlative interdisciplinary foundation while connecting students to opportunities for deep experiential education and providing support systems to ensure academic success.

ENGAGED LIVING Our graduates must be prepared for life in a global society. One of the distinctions of an Oglethorpe education will be intensive experiential learning through expanded internships and international education.

NCIAL STRENGTH

020

A FIN

ENVISION. PLAN. ENGAGE. By 2020, Oglethorpe University will be a university of first choice for exceptional

Oglethorpe will ensure that every student has the opportunity to complete one or more internships related to his or her field of study and prepare students to engage with a global society through the increased internationalization of our campus population and program offerings.

ENGAGED DIFFERENCE A key to building strong connections between the academic and the practical is further enhancing the links between the university’s academic program and the Center for Civic Engagement. Founded in 2006, the CCE has proved pivotal in enabling engagement with Atlanta and the world through service learning courses, volunteer projects and service trips. Service learning courses explicitly link classroom learning with service to the community (see page 15). Oglethorpe will enhance those programs that educate students to be informed and active citizens.

ENGAGED CREATIVITY The university will deploy our community’s rich resources, on campus and off, to provide students opportunities for engagement in the art,

faculty and students, where unparalleled

the skill, and the business involved in creative expression. The arts

engagement between the highest quality

by integrating our unique educational opportunities on campus—

will be fully realized as a defining feature of an Oglethorpe education

classroom learning and real-world

a nationally known professional theater company, a museum of

application in the city of Atlanta and

distinctively excellent curricular and co-curricular programs in

beyond, is our hallmark.

art that presents leading international exhibits (see page 17), and theater, music, visual arts, creative writing, film and new media studies.

ENGAGED CAMPUS COMMUNITY One of the most visible elements of the plan focuses on improving the university’s physical infrastructure. The construction or improvement of campus facilities will enhance the residential student culture and foster engagement within our community. Our new campus center, set to open in August 2013, is one project designed to do just that. While our improved spaces will develop deeper connections among everyone on campus, the quality of those connections is improved further within a productive environment. To that end, Oglethorpe will seek additional ways to improve the infrastructure and quality of life for the entire campus community.

6 CARILLON | spring 2013

So, what’s going on NOW? Capital Projects

The new campus center is scheduled to open in August 2013. Completing the construction and opening the facility are top priorities this year. Recent projects already completed include a new scene shop for our theatre program (currently being used as a temporary dining facility), a modernized track and field, renovations to the basement of Robinson Hall, a new Academic Success Center in the basement of Lowry Hall, new campus signage and improvements to our fitness center. Visit progress.oglethorpe. edu for up-to-date information about all capital projects.

Academic Strategic Planning

Another key to exceptional engagement is the strengthening of our curriculum and building the intentional ties between our curricular and co-curricular initiatives. Our faculty is actively engaged in a strategic planning process to address and prioritize these issues. The results of their plan, which we expect to have completed in 2013, will be fully integrated into our overall strategic plan.

While there have been many parts of the strategic plan already in motion across all corners of campus this academic year, here are a few that are of key importance.

Student Academic Success

Last year, Oglethorpe reached an early milestone in its strategic plan with the opening of the Academic Success Center, which was designed to develop programs that support student academic success. The ASC serves as a one-stop shop for tutoring, academic advising for undeclared students, personalized academic coaching, support for students with disabilities, and a variety of workshops and assessments to help define success at OU. After the first year with the ASC, Oglethorpe is already realizing gains in student retention. This year, we focused on continuing the early success of the ASC resulting in additional improvements to our student retention rate.

Atlanta Laboratory for Learning (A-Lab)

Oglethorpe’s strategic plan centers on exceptional engagement. The A-Lab will be a hub and incubator for all experiential learning at Oglethorpe—internships, field studies, civic engagement and study abroad. Located in the new campus center, the A-Lab will bring all opportunities for experiential learning under one umbrella and in a single location. With its opening, Oglethorpe will unveil the new front door to the world beyond our walls. Turn the page to learn more.

A-Lab

engaged campus community

The value of liberal arts Ask any Oglethorpe graduate if their education prepared them for the future and you’ll likely hear a resounding “yes.” But, the case for the value of a liberal arts education sometimes can be difficult to make. While employers say they want graduates with the ability to reason, analyze and problem solve—the very skills developed by a liberal arts education— the mantra “we train you for nothing, but educate you for anything” is a tough pill to swallow for financially strained families looking at a six-figure investment. Students and their parents want to know that a college will not just educate, but prepare students for a career. In our most recent survey of admitted students, experiential learning (internships, research, study abroad) ranked highest in importance among academic and co-curricular decision factors, followed by undergraduate research opportunities and a career-focused curriculum. Our challenge is to provide both a strong theoretical foundation and hands-on, real-world application. Experiential learning Since 1944, the Oglethorpe Core has served as a model for integrating the disciplines to develop strong critical thinking skills. Experiential learning builds upon that model as students test that knowledge out in the world and apply new learning to old constructs. As with the Core, we have long offered experiential learning opportunities, but we have yet to take full advantage of our unique position as a high quality liberal arts institution located in a major international city.

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The university has made great strides in recent years with the founding of three centers for experiential learning activities:

for the development of new ideas and novel ways to test classroom learning. The A-Lab will open doors for students and support their experiences. And those experiences will be ambitious, even adventurous.

> Center for Civic Engagement > Center for Experiential Learning > Center for International Studies (opening in 2013–2014)

An integrated approach Oglethorpe’s Core emerged from the premise that sequenced, integrated learning across disciplines results in a stronger intellectual foundation. Each course or experience affects the way students approach the next, and gives new perspective to courses in their major discipline.

Oglethorpe has already multiplied the opportunities offered to our students and expanded our partnerships with organizations in Atlanta and abroad. However, they are not yet differentiating Oglethorpe in the competitive higher education marketplace. In fact, most universities large and small, urban and rural, classical or vocational, have centers much like these. Therefore, we must take advantage of these centers, our location, and unique Core curriculum by combining them to create something even more powerful.

Oglethorpe will take a similar approach with the A-Lab, helping students to gain additional perspective as they apply their learning in the world around them. These experiences, ranging from internships and career planning to service and international study, will build upon their intellectual foundation while also building a resume.

Introducing the Atlanta Laboratory for Learning Is it a place? A program? A place to experiment? An experience? The answer is “yes.”

With all three of our experiential learning centers housed in a single location, students will be able to get information about volunteering, service learning, internships, career planning, study abroad and travel, all in one place.

The Atlanta Laboratory for Learning, or A-Lab for short, is all of those things and more. The A-Lab will serve as a symbol, both on and off campus, of our commitment to exceptional engagement between theory and practice and will, by its very name, embrace the city of Atlanta as OUR laboratory. With the opening of the new campus center, we will bring all of our experiential learning centers together under one umbrella, in a single, highly visible location. The A-Lab will become the new front door to the world beyond our campus walls. The physical place, and the programs within, will serve as an incubator

((top) A rendering of a future A-Lab meeting room; (middle) Dr. Jeffrey Collins’ class gathers el fresco during a short-term study abroad trip to Italy; (bottom) Professor Roarke Donnelly’s Urban Ecology class learns about Atlanta’s BeltLine project

A prominent feature of the A-Lab’s physical space is “the Exchange”—a large, highly configurable, collaborative workspace and resource center designed to foster creativity, exploration and the open sharing of ideas and experiences. Because the A-Lab is about active experience, the aesthetic of the location will emphasize student engagement in activities— and of course, Atlanta. Global learning happens here, too, so Atlanta’s role as a leading gateway to the world will be featured in the imagery that adorns the walls.

This physical location is more than a matter of convenience. Indeed, uniting these three experiences—organizationally and physically— brings other benefits.

Imagine the possibilities Through integration, new and expanded kinds of experiences can emerge. Now, a service trip abroad combines “civic engagement” with “global learning.” What else might we create when we fuse together these three components in novel ways? > Imagine an incoming freshman having one stop to start creating a comprehensive four- year experience plan, much like their four- year academic plan...and both are integrated from the start.

Atlanta Laboratory for Learning = New Experiential Enterprise

By J. Todd Bennett

Why the A-Lab? > Helps students apply what they learn through an integrated approach to experiential learning > Creates a defining feature that, along with the Core, will differentiate the university in a highly competitive higher education marketplace > Emphasizes the relevance of an Oglethorpe education > Strengthens Oglethorpe’s ties to Atlanta corporations, agencies and nonprofits

> Imagine the formation of an A-Lab network that brings our Atlanta partners together with our faculty, alumni and staff to mentor students and open doors to career opportunities beginning as early as freshman year. > Imagine a creative space that allows students with diverse academic backgrounds to seamlessly collaborate both with each other and with our Atlanta partners. > Imagine that because the A-Lab simplifies the process and expands the benefits, it provides yet another reason for Oglethorpe to be a school of choice—both for prospective students and potential partners. The prospects and possibilities are exciting and endless.

Source: Admitted Student Survey, 2012.

spring 2013 | CARILLON 9

engaged LIVING

our History engaged living

Global Reach

According to legend, anywhere the winged horse Pegasus struck his hoof to the earth, an inspiring spring burst forth. In the fall of 2012, Oglethorpe’s University Communications office launched Pegasus Creative, a student communications agency which offers hands-on internship opportunities that allow students to learn and gain skills to help them advance in their future careers. And Pegasus Creative also benefits their alma mater. There’s no pencil-pushing or copy making here. Pegasus interns work side by side with professional staff in a collaborative environment. They gain professional experience and expertise in various fields, including public relations, journalism, social media marketing, web content development and analytics, video production, photography and market research.

“I believe some of the deepest learning that can occur at college is when students are given the opportunity to apply what they have studied in class to address real life, real time problems.” “We wanted to create a laboratory-like environment for students to study and practice their skills through professional development,” said J. Todd Bennett, executive director of University Communications. “Students have the opportunity to generate high-level work that will be seen by thousands of people. Our goal is to reach a point where this becomes the place for students to test out their communications skills and build a portfolio of cutting edge work that most students don’t have when finishing college.” Pegasus interns come from all disciplines and circumstances. They include traditional undergraduate students, adult students in the Evening Degree Program and even an alumnus. Reed Barrickman graduated from Oglethorpe in 2002 with a B.A. in film and communication and wanted to brush up on subjects like social media that had emerged since he graduated. “I joined Pegasus because I felt like it would be a great way to learn some new real-world skills in a familiar and encouraging environment,” said Barrickman. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the creation of Pegasus because I know firsthand how valuable an

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ou’s Center for International Studies By Margaret Daniel

Pegasus Creative:

Oglethorpe’s global reach will soon extend even further with the opening of the Center for International Studies. Tentatively slated to launch in academic year 2013-2014, the Center will provide additional support for expanding options for Oglethorpe students to study abroad. Equally important, the Center will offer support and transitional assistance to international students at Oglethorpe.

By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13

“In the long term, we hope the Center for International Studies will grow the ways that Oglethorpe relates to the broader international community,” said Dr. Denise Runge, provost of the university. “This could take the form of professors putting a more international slant on their courses, or students having more internationally related internships and experiences.”

Inspiration in Action

internship experience can be,” said Deborah Aiken ’12, who was a summer 2012 intern prior to being hired permanently to the University Communications staff. “Without a doubt, this experience will help put our interns a step above their peers in a job search.” The inaugural group of Pegasus interns is enthusiastic about the precedent they’re setting. “We’re forging a new path for others to follow, a new frontier,” said Debra Bryant ’13, an adult student who works on web content development. “The attitudes are fun, everybody’s excited and it’s a positive place.” Weatherly Richardson ’13, an English major and a Pegasus campus reporter, says the experience has surprised her. “I actually get to be out in the OU community. I realized there would be a lot of interviewing; I just didn’t realize how much,” she remarked. “Some days I just go out and talk with people, and I think it gives me more experience than if I was just writing a blog. It gives me an opportunity to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t.” As a Pegasus features writer for this issue of the Carillon magazine, my own experience is similar. I’m gaining skills which are indispensable, including interviewing and a type of media writing that’s new to me. I’m benefiting my alma mater by providing my time and skills while I further my experience in a field I had not had the opportunity to explore previously. Each day I love it more and

grow more confident in my ability to do this work on a professional level. Pegasus Creative has also earned the presidential stamp of approval. “I believe some of the deepest learning that can occur at college is when students are given the opportunity to apply what they have studied in class to address real life, real time problems,” said Oglethorpe’s President Schall. “The creation of our own student-run creative agency is just such an opportunity. I’ve already seen some of the work product that has come out of Pegasus and couldn’t be more pleased.”

Dr. Runge envisions the Center for International Studies as providing even more study abroad opportunities than Oglethorpe currently offers. At present, Oglethorpe offers numerous short-term study abroad opportunities and has study abroad programs and partnerships with approximately 50 international universities. With the Center for International Studies, the university will offer more study abroad partnerships that will give students more options. In the short term, the Center will have one staff member who helps Oglethorpe students who want to study abroad as well as international students enrolled at the university. This staff member will work with the faculty member who oversees study abroad programs. Long-term plans call for two staff, one who will be dedicated to Oglethorpe students who want to study abroad, and one who will serve international students. The Center for International Studies is one component of A-Lab, or the Atlanta Laboratory for Learning at Oglethorpe University, which is part of the school’s strategic plan. “The Center for International Studies, like the other components of the strategic plan, will make Oglethorpe even more attractive to more students,” said Runge.

Want to learn more about Pegasus? Visit their self-published website at pegasus.oglethorpe.edu or simply scan this QR code with your smartphone.

Joe Sutton ‘09, an Oglethorpe alumnus and rising star at CNN, gave Pegasus members an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the news network. 11 CARILLON | spring 2013

spring 2013 | CARILLON 11

engaged living

welcoming the World to Oglethorpe When international students come to Oglethorpe, they are greeted at the airport by an OU staff member. They receive a welcome package containing a pillow, blanket, sheets, toiletries, snacks and water—items they will need on their first night in the dorm. Oglethorpe ensures that international students have an auspicious beginning to their university experience. Oglethorpe has a long tradition of welcoming international students, going back to 1946, when Norwegian World War II veterans came to the university to study. OU now has 61 international students, including 10 who recently arrived from Honduras. “Our name has spread, and our visibility is on the rise,” says Philip Peroune, associate director of admissions in charge of international student recruitment.

Education First & Oglethorpe

This increased visibility and expanded international student population is the result of a strategic emphasis on recruiting outside our borders. The week he was interviewed for this article, Philip left for a 13-day trip to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Oglethorpe now enrolls students from Saudi Arabia, Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Brazil, Jordan, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Trinidad, Tobago, Costa Rica, Russia, Cameroon and Honduras. “There are people here from so many different places,” said Luise Hessing ’16 from Hildesheim, Germany, “and they all bring a different perspective to class.” Luise, who plans to major in anthropology and is studying Japanese, says that Oglethorpe does “a really good job of getting students out and helping them meet each other and find friends.” Oglethorpe has many resources to meet the needs of international students. Faculty teach a section of the freshman writing class geared toward international students. The Academic Success Center assists with cultural transition issues and helps students follow their visa agreement regulations. And, the Counseling Center helps the students to handle the adjustment to a new environment.

A Promising Partnership “There are people here from so many different places and they all bring a different perspective to class.”

Francesca Garcia ’16, a native of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, enjoys the fact that Oglethorpe combines the benefits of a small university with the advantages of a big city. “Oglethorpe has opened so many doors for me and has given me a perspective on life in the United States.”

Global LEAD Expands Students’ Study Abroad Options Last fall, Oglethorpe University was named the academic partner institution of Global LEAD, a nonprofit that provides students with unique study abroad opportunities in Ecuador, Greece, and Cape Town, South Africa. Complementing OU’s strategic vision, Global LEAD’s innovative model provides an international experience based on the core tenets of “Leadership, Action, Adventure and Diplomacy” (LEAD). Global LEAD helps students to combine the benefits of studying abroad with service and adventure into a holistic life experience.

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Oglethorpe students and students worldwide can earn college credit through Global LEAD in two courses on Leadership and Service. Oglethorpe has developed the program’s academically rigorous coursework, and accredited each Global LEAD program, approving academic faculty, syllabi, course pedagogy and materials. “Global LEAD’s mission complements Oglethorpe’s commitment to providing students with hands-on learning opportunities and experience to expand upon classroom learning,” said President Schall. “Students who participate in these programs are better equipped to be responsible, thoughtful citizens of the world.”

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, EF is the world’s largest provider of international study. Its programs range from educational tours and two-week language programs, to 11-month language study immersion programs, to a pre-Masters program. Through this partnership, EF international students live in the Oglethorpe dorms and take EF English classes in Oglethorpe’s facilities. This arrangement affords these students the opportunity to get to know American students and practice their English with native speakers. It also has the benefit of diversifying Oglethorpe’s community, giving OU students the opportunity to meet their contemporaries from other parts of the world. At the time of this writing, EF students enrolled at the Oglethorpe office were from Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. “We were looking for a safe environment that is in a world class city and has an administration interested in a partnership for international study,” said Jason Daily, the school director of EF Atlanta. “The administration has been eager to work with us from the beginning. And the physical beauty of the campus was an added plus.” John Yager ’15, who spent five months in Germany with EF and is currently working as activities/excursions coordinator for

Oglethorpe University recently launched a partnership that is bringing many international students to its campus. After a national search of many universities, Education First (EF) selected Oglethorpe and Atlanta for its southeastern headquarters.

the program at Oglethorpe, has a unique perspective on its benefits for both the EF students and the OU students. He finds it rewarding to see the EF students making progress through the immersion method of learning a language, and he also enjoys seeing Oglethorpe students get to know their peers from different cultures. The activities planned for EF students are also open to Oglethorpe students, providing opportunities for interaction. These activities range from low-cost events like an exploration of the Silver Lake neighborhood and weightlifting lessons, to higher-priced excursions like a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. A trip to the Music Midtown festival drew a large number of EF and Oglethorpe students. Janet Wood ’13, a resident advisor for the EF students, says that these students typically say that they do not want to leave when it is time for them to return home. “EF benefits Oglethorpe by spreading the word about the school to students in other nations,” she says. “EF students tell their peers about Oglethorpe when they return to their home countries.” OU has recently begun taking the partnership a step further. “Oglethorpe is in the process of becoming a ‘partner school’ with EF,” says Lucy Leusch, vice president for enrollment and financial aid. Through this expanded relationship, Oglethorpe will participate in

EF’s University Foundation Year, a program for high school graduates who want to study at a two or four-year school in North America. This program offers TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) preparation; application assistance to three universities, one of which must be a partner school; and academic and college prep-related classes (research writing, presentations, grammar, etc.). Oglethorpe will be one of only 60 EF partner schools in the United States and Canada. As a partner school, Oglethorpe can take advantage of EF’s offices around the world. For example, when OU staff are on recruiting trips, they can arrange to speak to EF staff, or when possible, students and parents. EF staff members arrange college fairs in their schools and provide opportunities for partners to make individual presentations. “This partnership with EF will make Oglethorpe an even more diverse, international community,” says Leusch.

(left) EF offices reside in the renovated basement of Robinson Hall; (right) EF students Debora Pascual and Manuel Gutierrez, both from Venezuela, and Sam Soria and Cesar Gama, from Mexico, gather in a residence hall kitchen for a cooking lesson.

spring 2013 | CARILLON 13

engaged difference

Service Learning

Educating Citizens of the World by Weatherly Richardson ’13

Service learning has become a vital part of the Oglethorpe experience. This innovative way of teaching was first introduced at Oglethorpe in 2006, just months after the Center for Civic Engagement was founded. The emphasis on service learning is one of the reasons an Oglethorpe education stands apart from the typical undergraduate experience. Service learning (SL) courses are for-credit classes that allow students to gain experiential learning in conjunction with their traditional lecture or lab-style classes. These courses integrate academic learning with community involvement. Service learning helps implement a rigorous academic curriculum while meeting real community needs. SL courses may be created by a faculty member “from scratch,” based on the issues that the faculty member wants to address within the academic discipline. An SL course may also be an enhanced version of a course that already exists—but now includes a requirement of volunteer service (a minimum of 25 hours) to be completed with a nonprofit organization. This

volunteer experience is directly linked to the issues and topics covered in the class. The move toward a more service-minded curriculum is gaining popularity throughout the country. While many graduate schools have SL courses and consider this component to be an essential part of their education, Oglethorpe is taking SL to a higher level. Oglethorpe is one of the few undergraduate colleges offering such an in-depth SL program, including summer courses and “mini-mesters” focused on fitting volunteer opportunities into an already challenging curriculum. The Center for Civic Engagement holds partnerships with many nonprofits and has a history of extensive volunteer effort in the community, making it easy for students to volunteer with a program that interests them.

“The beauty of service learning courses is that students have an opportunity to apply the theory they learn in the classroom immediately in the real world, helping real people.”

14 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

Yet even more innovative is the fact that Oglethorpe offers incentives encouraging faculty to participate in and develop more SL courses to advance students’ education in new and broader ways. “We make service learning a priority,” said Tamara Nash, executive director of the Center for Civic Engagement. Incentives such as offering stipends to faculty who are developing and teaching SL courses, hosting workshops where faculty can hear from experts who are leading SL and civic-minded work at other universities, and even creating a faculty liaison position have been met with enthusiasm from Oglethorpe’s ever-creative faculty. Oglethorpe now offers seven service learning courses, which have all been developed from the ground up or enhanced from traditional courses by OU’s faculty. Courses offered during the spring 2013 semester were: General Biology II Lecture and Laboratory; Special Topics in Biology: Cancer Biology; Foundations of American Education; Special Topics in Politics: March on Washington 50th Anniversary; and Sociology: Social Problems. Volunteer placements that have been part of Oglethorpe courses have been eclectic: The Blue Heron Nature Preserve (for biology); a Russian orphanage (for history); PATH Academy and Refugee Family Services (for education); and The Latin American Association, Peachtree Elementary School After-school Program, Atlanta Catholic Charities, Haitian Relief

Center, MorFiss Foundation, Serve Haiti, French Alliance, Ties that Matter, Theatre du Reve and Books for Africa (all for French/ Spanish Crossroads service learning class). In 2010, Oglethorpe created a position for a faculty member to serve as liaison to the Center for Civic Engagement in order to facilitate and strengthen communication and collaboration between faculty and Center staff. During 2010-2011, Dr. Ron Bobroff, associate professor of history, was named the first director for Curricular Development in Service Learning. In this position, Dr. Bobroff created a section in the Weltner Library for service learning resources, including websites and best practices, a master list of SL course syllabi, and procedural guidelines and procedures for development and approval of SL courses. He has attended an annual workshop on SL and civic engagement. Each semester, the director hosts a workshop for faculty, providing an opportunity for faculty teaching SL courses to share information and experiences with faculty who are considering the option. During spring 2011, Dr. Bobroff convened a group of faculty from the departments of Business, Communications, Politics and Urban Ecology to create the Nonprofit Management Minor. The minor includes four required courses (16 credits) and one elective course (four credits) selected from the departments of Arts, Museum & Theater, Business, Politics or Urban Ecology. The Nonprofit Sector course, the first required course in the

minor, is an SL course requiring 35 hours of volunteer placement at an Atlanta nonprofit. The course was launched in fall 2011, one year ahead of schedule, with an enrollment of 18 students. Sixty-five additional hours of volunteer work are required, for a total of 100 volunteer service hours, at Atlanta nonprofits to complete the minor. Record enrollments in the program continue. During 2012–2013 while Dr. Bobroff was on sabbatical, Dr. Karen Schmeichel, associate professor of biology, has been fulfilling the role of director of Curricular Development in Service Learning. Student interest in service learning is growing steadily. Ten percent of the OU student population enroll in SL courses each year. Why the emphasis on service learning? A cornerstone of Oglethorpe University’s philosophy is the belief that community engagement and making a difference help to form a complete education. “We want to make sure that our students understand that this is an important part of their education: to become a truly global citizen,” said Tamara. We want them to know that contributing locally, regionally, nationally, globally, is part of your education and…that as a citizen, you have a responsibility to give back to your community. You determine which community you will impact, and on what scale and to what level you will do that.”

(above) Volunteer service placement complements classroom learning and reflects the individual interests of the student. Living in Atlanta, Oglethorpe students are in a unique environment to see civic engagement at work. “Atlanta is so civic-minded that there’s no way to live, work and play here and not notice it. From corporate to nonprofit, to community, to grassroots—this is a hands-on, working-tomake-it-better kind of place,” said Tamara. “The beauty of service learning courses is that students have an opportunity to apply the theory they learn in the classroom immediately in the real world, helping real people. That approach is a different kind of pedagogy.” Weatherly Richardson ‘13 is an English major who recently co-founded Doing Stuff Badly, a production company with one goal: comedy. She is a professional freelance writer and one day hopes to transition to being a published novelist, writing comedy for television..and to live in Italy. Find out why by reading her story about her short term study abroad trip to Italy.

SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 15

engaged creativity

Bringing ‘Engaged Creativity’ to Life

The summer 2013 exhibition will feature Japanese porcelains and color woodcuts drawn from regional private collections and will be on view May 12–August 25, 2013. “This is a university gallery, but it’s right in the heart of a world-class city,” said Elizabeth about OUMA. And while the opportunities that such a world-class city affords to any gallery are boundless, her focus always comes back to the students. “I’d like to see this space filled with students, and to have the students who work here as engaged as possible; to have students come in and speak, not just as guest lecturers, but as leaders. I’m very eager to try to foster and retain those connections to the membership and the donors and the students, and to grow that.”

Last fall, the Oglethorpe University Museum of

Elizabeth jumped into her role even before her start date, working remotely from Connecticut to organize her first exhibit at OUMA, Burden of Proof: National Identity and the Legacy of War, that ran during the fall semester. The exhibition was inspired by the campus-wide reading of The Things They Carried, a fictionalized account of author Tim O’Brien’s time as an American soldier in Vietnam. The exhibit’s goal was to bring art that would tie in directly with the classroom, giving students visual points for discussion. It featured artists Dinh Q. Lê, Sheila Pree Bright, Keisha Luce and Kirk Torregrossa, and included Vietnamese-woven c-prints, a sculpture series depicting the forms of those battling with Agent Orange-related disfigurements and a selection of original North Vietnamese propaganda posters from the Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection.

Art, perched on the third floor above the library, welcomed its first new director since it was founded nearly 30 years ago. Elizabeth Peterson, who succeeded founding director Lloyd Nick, is building on the foundation he established and starting a new chapter in the museum’s life. By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13

As a graduate of Wells College, Elizabeth is familiar with the small liberal arts environment and understands the dynamic of this sort of community. At Wells, she was part of an honor system similar to Oglethorpe’s and enjoyed one-on-one interaction and accountability with professors, as well as the unique traditions of a small academic community. It’s not surprising that Elizabeth says that she feels as if she has, in a sense, come home. “I’m reminded what it was like to be on a small campus where you’re vitally connected, where you’re learning and you’re charged up,” she said.

“Elizabeth Peterson is a collaborative, creative and highly energetic artistic administrator who will be a tremendous asset to the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art and the entire campus community,” said Dr. Denise Runge, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Oglethorpe. “This is an exciting time to welcome Elizabeth to Oglethorpe, as we continue to expand students’ opportunities for ‘engaged creativity’ as part of the unique liberal arts education we provide.” Elizabeth brings 15 years of experience in museum management, exhibition and gallery programming and arts education to her new role. Most recently she served as director of the Julian Akus Art Gallery, coordinator of Gallery and Museum Services, and adjunct professor at Eastern Connecticut State University. Prior to that, she was director of the Print Research Foundation (Connecticut), a privately owned fine print and library collection. For seven years, Elizabeth worked in exhibitions administration for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. A graduate of Wells College, Elizabeth earned an M.S. in both art history and conservation from Pratt Institute. Yet perhaps even more important than her extensive experience and education are the inspiration, passion and creativity that she brings to her position. Elizabeth’s vision for the museum fits beautifully with Oglethorpe’s strategic plan, which emphasizes “engaged creativity” and putting classroom theory into practice. What she envisions for the new face of OUMA is a reintegration of the museum with the student body. Elizabeth plans “to get the students involved and have exhibits that directly relate to classes or student interests, to evolve the exhibit space into a quiet, comfortable area for students to be beyond the classroom, where they can enjoy art for itself, study or have a quiet space just to think in. I’d like it to be a learning lab for students.” Going forward, OUMA will be a teaching museum; curriculum will drive exhibits rather than exhibits driving curriculum. 16 CARILLON | spring 2013

With her background in curatorial work both within and beyond academia, Elizabeth understands the challenges and opportunities before her. “A lot of people might walk into a gallery setting and, first, feel it’s not relevant to them, and second, feel incredibly uncomfortable,” she says. “I want students to feel comfortable and to feel a sense of ownership of the space. This is a place to study, a place to be, a place to meet or spend your lunch hour if you feel overwhelmed and just need to reflect.” Elizabeth is clearly dedicated to making OUMA as open to students— and the community—as possible. She is planning exhibits three years in advance so that students, faculty and staff will have plenty of advance knowledge of what will be featured in the museum. The spring 2013 exhibition was “Beta Israel: Ethiopian Jews and the Promised Land,” which featured a series of photographs documenting the past 30 years of emigrants moving from the horn of Africa to Israel. This exhibit not only reached out to Atlanta’s international community, but also directly addressed the diversity of students at Oglethorpe. “It’s an international story; it’s an interfaith story,” said Elizabeth. “Oglethorpe students are passionately interested in international studies and civic engagement, and that’s what this show was about.”

“...I’m very eager to try to foster and retain those connections to the membership and the donors and the students, and to grow that.” – Elizabeth Peterson

“This is absolutely my dream job. Oglethorpe’s commitment to liberal arts, combined with the unique and beautiful mission of OUMA, provides a wonderful opportunity for students to enjoy and learn by employing the museum as a learning lab,” said Elizabeth. “It’s an honor to build upon the legacy of founding director Lloyd Nick and a thrill to lead the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art into the next chapter of its future.” Caitlyn Mitchell ’13 is an English major, editor of Oglethorpe’s student literary magazine The Tower, and a member of ODK National Leadership Honor Society. In her spare time, she writes fiction in hopes of becoming the next Tolkien, and has worked at southeastern Renaissance Festivals for seven years. She will work for Whitman Publishing after graduation.

Jiki to Hanga Japanese Porcelain and Prints May 12–August 25, 2013 This exhibition at the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art includes 28 color woodcuts by Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950), one of the greatest Japanese artists of the modern mid 20th century shin-hanga style. Yoshida’s work and several other Japanese prints will be on loan, courtesy of the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Terry Taylor. Porcelain, books and other ephemera on view will include 18th century Kakeimon ware and 19th century Imari vessels, which are a gift from Ms. Carrie Lee Henderson, the granddaughter of former Oglethorpe President Thornwell Jacobs. An exhibit program series will include a Japanese tea ceremony, workshops in ikebana, origami and bonsai, and lectures. The children of the Seigakuin Atlanta International School will present haiku, bi-lingual essays and calligraphy.

spring 2013 | CARILLON 17

engaged life

engaged life engaged life

A Day of Scholarship Students “Create a Course” By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13 If you could create an academic class out of thin air, what would you choose? In the spring of 2011, Oglethorpe students had the chance to decide just that. Students from every major and discipline were invited to put their heads together to engage in the selection and creation of a new academic course. The student community wrote potential course plans and materials lists, voiced their opinions and made their cases for which subjects they wanted to know more about and how the class should be taught.

OU’s Liberal Arts & Sciences Symposium By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13

Every year Oglethorpe’s classes are suspended for a day dedicated to celebrating the liberal arts and sciences. The annual Symposium in the Liberal Arts and Sciences is a day to revel in educating, exploring and sharing knowledge. This Oglethorpe tradition gives students and faculty the opportunity to share their analytical and creative works from the previous academic year. For nearly 12 straight hours, students and faculty, as well as their guests, indulge in a “cornucopia of academia.” Panels, roundtables, poster presentations, art exhibitions and performances showcase the fruits of Oglethorpe’s liberal arts and sciences curriculum, as well as student-driven initiatives. (above) The Symposium’s poster sessions give students the chance to share and discuss their research.

18 CARILLON | spring 2013

Joscelyn Stein ’13 described this beloved tradition as “a day seeing what other students have been pouring all of their time and energy into…I love getting to be a part of all the other students’ work.”

Made up of a series of hour-long sessions, the day moves nonstop from the moment it begins this year with a keynote address about the importance of the liberal arts, by Dr. Catherine Lewis from Kennesaw State University. During the “Meeting of the Majors,” students meet with their department faculty, discuss upcoming opportunities within and beyond university boundaries and socialize with their contemporaries. As the day continues, students are encouraged to cross disciplines and hear about subjects beyond their normal academic realms. “I just watched an awesome presentation about Mormonism…a very specific, very interesting presentation on something I never would have known anything about if it hadn’t have been for the Liberal Arts Symposium,” said Weston Manders ’13 during the 2012 Symposium. “I love seeing all my fellow Oglethorpians…engaged in the pursuit of knowledge and supporting their friends who are really reaching out there to better

themselves through independent research.” At the Liberal Arts and Sciences Symposium, a physics major can attend a poetry reading, and a studio art major can learn the basics of chemical bonding. Participants can attend a panel on such differing and fascinating subjects as “Cosmology and Questions: An Ever Moving Cycle,” “New Media and Our Brains,” “Performance Art: A Catalyst for Change in Modern Art,” “Sports, Media and Body Image,” and “Horror-Comedy: The Chaotic Spectrum and Cinematic Synthesis.” The Symposium gives students a chance to reach outside of their fields of study and make connections between their own work and others’ passions. And it’s an indescribable day for anyone who wishes to witness the Oglethorpe education in action.

The suggestions were a mixed bag, reflecting the passions and diversity of the student body. The proposals mirrored a mixing of the minds, combining traditional and modern pursuits as well as cross-disciplinary studies. And no doubt there was probably a “Core moment” involved in the creation of many of the offerings. Classic Rock: the ’60s to the ’90s sound interesting? It didn’t make it to the final voting block, but ideas just as varied and wildly inspired flooded the selection committee as students responded to the challenge. The selection committee evaluated the pool of proposals, and seven possible subjects rose to the top. Students voted online between History of Fashion, Sherlock Holmes, Positive Psychology, From Emma to Clueless, Pop Culture and Propaganda, Science Fiction and Fantasy: 20th–21st Century and Political Assassination. Where else could one find such a succinct summation of the various interests of the Oglethorpe student body? History, fashion, literature, politics and modernism versus antiquity! But in the end, there could only be one selection. By popular demand, Positive Psychology became the choice that was integrated into the official fall 2012 course schedule. The class explored “the science of how to be happy” and “the resiliency, self-efficacy and ability to create and live a happy life.” After such a positive initial response, this could very well become a beloved Oglethorpe tradition. Who knows what we’ll see next on the scholarly line-up? Entomology? 3-D Filmmaking? Marvel vs. DC Comics? The possibilities are as endless as the imaginations and interests of Oglethorpe students.

Visit Oglethorpe’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/ oglethorpeuniversity) to view videos and commentary about the symposium.

spring 2013 | CARILLON 19

alumni alumni

alumni By Don Henry ’83

Dear Friends, On April 8, 1906, not long before Oglethorpe University was rechristened along Peachtree Road, the New York Times published what many believe to be the first printed version of the beloved book The Little Engine That Could. In the tale, a rail yard superintendent seeks out an engine to haul an extremely heavy train up an unusually steep grade to reach its destination. As we all know, the perfect engine for the job finally responds, “I think I can.” Generations continue to be inspired by its message of the power of positive thinking and willingness to try. In years gone by I have considered Oglethorpe University to be the little engine that could. I have realized, however, that my way of thinking was mistaken. The university is not the engine at all. The university cannot pull itself up any grade. It is those of us who love the institution—alumni, trustees, volunteers, friends, donors and leaders—who must serve as the engine to help pull Oglethorpe up the grades it faces and toward its destination. What a great journey we are on together! Through the amazing efforts of many who believe in Oglethorpe, the new campus center is rising toward the sky and will welcome its first visitors into its beautiful spaces in fall 2013. We thought we could; and we did. A new scene shop has been constructed for use by our theatre program and Georgia Shakespeare. We thought we could; and we did. The University’s track has been completely overhauled, the area has been lighted, and our athletes will have a space where they can train and compete with pride. We thought we could; and we did. Efforts on campus to nurture and educate our students inside and outside the classroom have improved our retention

rates, ensuring our student’s success today and the university’s success into the future. We thought we could; and we are. The Alumni Board continues to provide valued leadership and support to the university. In fall 2012, we developed and hosted a new tradition for our sophomores called the Thornwell Jacobs Legacy Celebration. An excited group of sophomores gathered on the academic quadrangle to hear the story of Dr. Jacobs and the monument to his parents inscribed “May He Make Noble Use of a Life Purchased at Such a Price” found in the front drive of the school. Through this annual event sophomores will learn about the university’s rich history, its mission and purpose, and begin to see themselves as philanthropists in their own right. We see it as part of our mission to train our future alumni about giving back and using their lives with purpose. By leading positively and impacting the lives of today’s students, we show the alumni of tomorrow that if they think they can, they will. At the conclusion of the 1906 publication, it says of the little engine: “And signing its triumph, it rushed on down toward the valley.” I like to think that when he arrived there wasn’t much time to rest, but instead he faced another mission to accomplish, another steep grade to climb. The same is true for our dear Oglethorpe. We should sing of our great triumphs of the last year, but we cannot rest. New challenges await us! Can we continue this great momentum? Together, I know we can. With all my best,

John Cleveland “Cleve” Hill ’01 President, Oglethorpe University Alumni Association Member, Board of Trustees

alumni highlights 1 President Schall and Kevin Smyrl, vice president for development and alumni relations, visited alumni and friends in four West Coast cities in late September. Stops included San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco (pictured) and Seattle. 2 Alumni Relations hosted a reception for New York alumni in October at the Charles Bank Gallery. Pictured (l-r) are: Melanie Wong ‘02, Chris Fitzpatrick and Kat Andersen ‘02. 3 Alumni in the DC area gathered for a reception in October. Pictured (l-r) are: Former Dean of Students Artie Travis, Jaime Wojdowski ‘03 and Kristy Stevens-Haverwoody.

20 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

Stormy Petrels Soar to Cuba

4 The Raleigh Alumni Group came together in November at Caffe Luna in Raleigh, N.C. Pictured (back row): David Hardin, Bruce Crain ‘88, John Day ‘64, Chelcie Rowell ‘99, Jessica Daniel ‘09, Cindy Larbig Rowe ‘84, (front row) Lindsey Carroll (Alumni Relations Manager), Nicole Crain ‘89, Maureen Whalen Hardin ‘87 and Barbara Bessmer Henry ‘85 (Director of Alumni Relations).

“Que Bola? Que Bola?” That was our familiar refrain each morning. (English translation: “What’s up?”) And with this hip Cuban greeting, a new day’s journey began. Fourteen Oglethorpe alumni and friends traveled to Cuba in the fall of 2012 for a deep dive into the history, politics, art, music and cuisine of this geographically close but politically distant Caribbean island. Led by our intrepid tour guide, Hoji Silva, we spent eight amazing days in the capital city of Havana and the small town of Trinidad, a quaint UNESCO World Heritage site. Hoji proved to be a knowledgeable guide, well versed in all things Cuban, and in American pop culture and slang. We appreciated his political spin-free commentary, which demonstrated an objective, factual understanding of Cuba, its history and its standing in the current world order. What were the highlights? Ask our 14 travelers and you’ll no doubt get 14 (or 140) different replies. Perhaps it was the raw beauty of the country and the magnificent architecture of the buildings in Havana. Despite little new construction since the early 1960s and crumbling facades, the buildings have retained their charm and grandeur. It’s easy

to see why the rich and famous chose Cuba as a favorite pre-revolution vacation destination. Or maybe it was the people. Everywhere we turned, we met locals who were friendly, gracious and eager to meet us. We were impressed with their knowledge of our country and their willingness to share their story of life in Cuba and their hopes of visiting relatives in the US. Without a doubt, the community visits were among the highlights. Prior to our departure, we collected household items, school supplies and over-thecounter medicines to donate to various charitable groups. And did we ever come prepared! Many of us lugged additional suitcases chock full of such items. It was a privilege to visit these organizations—a daycare center for seniors and children, a synagogue and a rural community center—and meet with our newfound friends. For many travelers, a discussion led by Dr. Carlos Alzugaray Treto, a local university professor and diplomat, was a highlight of the trip. Dr. Treto provided color commentary on Cuba’s history and its notable figures, including Batista, Che Guevara and Castro. This session, along with a pre-trip class hosted by Oglethorpe’s own Drs. Mario Chandler and Viviana Plotnik, served as an informative backdrop to our visits to various historical sites, including the Bay of Pigs and the Che Memorial.

Other highlights worthy of mention were our guided tour of the Museum of Fine Arts; visits to two local artists’ homes for lunch and private conversations; retracing the steps of Ernest Hemingway, including visits to his home, Finca Vigia, and his favorite watering hole, the Floridita Bar; dining at Palaldares (private restaurants run out of restaurateurs’ homes); and nighttime musical entertainment reminiscent of night clubs portrayed on the old “I Love Lucy” show. Rest assured we spent plenty of time discussing the day’s highlights over late-night Cuban cigars and rum. And plotting our next alumni trip to another exotic locale! Don Henry ’83 graduated with a degree in psychology, and currently works in commercial real estate investment and management. He was inducted into Oglethorpe’s Athletic Hall of Fame for Cross Country in 1996 and has served on the Alumni Board.

(below) Oglethorpe alumni and friends explored the historic and exotic sites of Cuba, and reconnected with each other along the way.

SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 21

our History alumni

alumni

Chris Rylands ’01 Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65 is living proof that the liberal arts at Oglethorpe prepare students for a wide variety of careers. A math and physics major when few women ventured into these fields, Linda entered Oglethorpe with the idea of becoming a teacher. However, she changed her plans in 1964, when she went to Oak Ridge National Laboratories for a summer computer program designed for students at small colleges.

Giving Back is a Good Thing By Margaret Daniel For most of her career, Linda was a computer programmer, but also spent time in management. She worked 30 years for Western Electric, which was bought by AT&T in 1984 and then became Lucent Technologies in 1996. Lucent later outsourced its computer division to IBM, where Linda spent her last three years before retirement. Originally from Atlanta, she also lived in Nashville, Tenn., and Morristown, N.J. while working for Western Electric. Now retired, Linda stays busy with various interests. She is in her third term on the Oglethorpe Alumni Board of Directors and serves on its Communications Committee, writing articles for the Carillon. She’s enjoying meeting many of the younger alumni through her work with OU. In addition to giving time to Oglethorpe, Linda volunteers with the Alliance Theatre and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. She also enjoys visiting national parks and monuments and traveling to other places in the U.S., including Cody, Wyo., where her daughter lives.

–Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65

22 CARILLON | spring 2013

By Margaret Daniel

Chris Rylands ’01 started giving to Oglethorpe when he was a cash-strapped law student and could only give about five or ten dollars. “I knew,” he said, “that it was important to give even if I could only give a small amount. And I wanted Oglethorpe to be able to keep track of me so they could contact me when I could give more.”

A veritable Renaissance woman, Linda was involved in a wide variety of activities during her years at OU. She was a cheerleader, the features editor on the newspaper, and a member of both the LeConte Society for Honors in Science and the Duchess Club, the women’s honor society.

Chris credits Oglethorpe with preparing him for Vanderbilt Law School. “I had spent a lot of time at Oglethorpe reading difficult texts and had learned the art of critical thinking,” he says. While at Oglethorpe, Chris was involved in a wide variety of extracurricular activities. He was a member of the Christian Fellowship and the Psychology/Sociology Club and was involved in Student Government. Chris was also a DJ for the campus radio station.

Oglethorpe was a school of only 500 students when Linda attended. She is happy to see Oglethorpe’s current growth and thinks the university is managing it well. She is particularly pleased with the enhancement of the Core curriculum. “The Core curriculum was at Oglethorpe when I was there, but over the years they have revised it to make it even more meaningful,” Linda says. She also is gratified to see the caliber of the current students and the number of international students at the school.

When asked what he is most grateful for about his Oglethorpe experience, he says it’s the people as well as the education. “It’s the sort of place that allows you to build relationships with people,” he comments. He still keeps in touch with a number of his classmates and professors.

Linda has been giving to Oglethorpe for 30 years. “I went to Oglethorpe on a scholarship and did work study. I was so happy to be there,” she says. “I feel the success I have had financially and in career fulfillment comes from Oglethorpe. And giving back is a good thing.”

A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Chris is now an attorney with Bryan Cave in Atlanta. He writes employee benefit and health plans, and “fixes” them when they’re broken. He is now able to give at a higher level than in his law school days and has continued his habit of giving to Oglethorpe. Chris is also giving back to the university by serving as the young alumni representative on the Board of Trustees. Prior to joining the

Linda says that Oglethorpe prepared her well for her career. She is especially grateful for the opportunity the school gave her to meet a wide variety of people who came from different places and represented different religions. She values the personal interaction with professors that Oglethorpe’s small size afforded her.

“I feel the success I have had financially and in career fulfillment comes from Oglethorpe. And giving back is a good thing.”

a grateful graDuate gives back

Board in July 2011, he helped with Oglethorpe’s scholarship competition and hosted various alumni events. Oglethorpe has prepared him not only for work, but also for life in general. “Because of the small but diverse nature of the university, it gave me the ability to look at issues more broadly and consider things from various different perspectives. Oglethorpe enabled me to reach that point more quickly,” he says.

Oglethorpe’s Carillon Club recognizes alumni, parents and friends who distinguish themselves through their legacy of philanthropy for three or more consecutive years regardless of their level of giving. OGL E T H ORP E

CARILLON

CLUB

As a member, your consistent giving provides a vital base of support each year for scholarships and

Oglethorpe was a school of some 950 students when Chris was enrolled. He enjoys seeing the students’ energy and watching the school as it grows, makes efforts to modernize, and establishes programs to create more real-world applications. “Oglethorpe has been a tremendous influence on my life,” Chris says. “I’m thankful for it all the time. I would encourage everyone to give as they are able. The important thing is not how much you give, but the fact that you make a gift.”

student assistance, faculty support, campus needs and improvements and more. Carillon Club members receive window decals at the 3, 5, 10 and 20-year milestones as a means of celebrating their dedication and receive special recognition in the annual Honor Roll of Donors. View a list of Carillon Club members on the OU website (keyword: Carillon Club) or scan this QR code with your smartphone.

spring 2013 | CARILLON 23

alumni

Road Trip

unplugged By Barbara Bessmer Henry ’85

What does an international studies major soccer player, who moonlights as a music producer, have in common with a thespian, fraternity brother who is still known for the funky neon green 1967 VW bus he drove during his freshman year?

New Sophomore Tradition Celebrates the Legacy of Thornwell Jacobs By Weatherly Richardson ’13

What about an Aussie with career interests in human resources, and the co-captain of the cross country team who plans to return to Moldova after graduation to work with an organization that assists in the prevention of sex trafficking amongst young girls?

The Oglethorpe sophomore class gathered in October for the inaugural Thornwell Jacobs Legacy Celebration, a new annual tradition for the sophomore class. The event celebrated Thornwell Jacobs, Oglethorpe President from 1915–1943, who fulfilled a lifelong dream of restoring Oglethorpe to its present location on Peachtree Road in Atlanta.

Sophomore students gathered to learn interesting history and facts about President Jacobs and his mission from award-winning author and historian Dr. Paul Hudson ’72. Later over dinner in Hearst’s Great Hall, students heard from Sophomore Class President Kurt Reynolds, Alumni Association Vice President Austin Gillis ’01, and Georgia State Representative Dar’shun

Kendrick ’04, an alumni volunteer who spoke about her OU experience and how it helped to shape her career and future. View the video about the event on Oglethorpe’s YouTube channel, or scan this QR code with your smartphone.

As you likely have guessed, all of these students are “typical” Oglethorpe students with impressive career ambitions and interesting backgrounds. During the fall 2012 semester, these eclectic students and others were selected as members of the

(above) Members of the O Team include (l-r) Tirzah Brown ’14, Stephanie Croston ’13, Justin Munson ’14, Krista Gray ’14 and Kai Street ’14.

new O Team. This group travels to alumni events with President Schall and Alumni Relations staff to present “OU Unplugged,” a

Myers, Fla. I treasured every conversation with each graduate and

panel presentation about student life at Oglethorpe today. During

I enjoyed observing people who had never met connecting over

the fall semester, O Team members Stephanie Croston ’13, Kai

their shared Oglethorpe experiences and memories. I look forward

Street ’14, Weston Manders ’12, Krista Gray ’14, Justin Munson ’14

to attending alumni events when I graduate and meeting OU

and Tirzah Brown ’14 presented to alumni in New York City and

students of the future.”

Washington, D.C. Several of the traveling students had never visited either city and

In April, Oglethorpe University officially dedicated Lupton Hall’s bell tower as The Lale Özgörkey Bell Tower. The dedication ceremony featured special guest speakers Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. The name recognizes a generous gift from the Özgörkey family to benefit Oglethorpe’s new campus center. Cemal Özgörkey ’84, chairman of Özgörkey Holding, is a member of the Oglethorpe’s Board of Trustees. Both he and his brother, Armagan Özgörkey ’85, vice chairman of Özgörkey Holding, are Oglethorpe alumni. The bell tower’s new name honors their mother, Lale Özgörkey. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, Cemal Özgörkey ’84, Armagan Özgörkey ’85, Coca-Cola’s Chairman & CEO Muhtar Kent and President Schall.

24 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

Oglethorpe’s Georgia Eta Chapter, founded in 1859 as the 11th Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon National Fraternity,

“The whole experience was special from beginning to end, but the star attraction of our trip was definitely the conversations we had with alumni.”

Tirzah admits that “before the trip, I

one student enjoyed his first trip on an airplane. Following the

was quite familiar with the passionate,

alumni events, the O Team wasted no time sprinting to visit as

interesting and altogether wonderful

many important sites as they could fit into their 40-hour visit.

students at OU. However, I learned

Photos posted on Facebook revealed the busy students at Times

from my conversations that alumni

Square, Ellis Island and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

who graduated before I was born share those same traits. Every person that I

The trip became a chance for the group to explore undiscovered

spoke with is living a life of purpose. I

places, but the personal connections made really stood out. “The

had the opportunity to connect with a

whole experience was special from beginning to end,” said Tirzah,

fellow Alpha Phi Omega brother, discuss

“but the star attraction of our trip was definitely the conversations

economics with a software engineer

we had with alumni.”

originally from Cameroon, and meet a sweet elderly couple that spends part of each year in my hometown of Fort

celebrated its 40th Re-Charter Anniversary Celebration in September 2011. The celebration brought more than 120 active and alumni brothers, spouses and guests to Oglethorpe. On October 2, 1971, 35 brothers were initiated on campus, marking the first initiation of Georgia Eta brothers since 1863.

spring SPRING 2013 2013 | CARILLON 25

alumni

alumni Charles Allen Stillman, D. Div., (1841) died in 1895, but his legacy endures. A member of Oglethorpe’s first graduating class, Stillman earned his degree 20 years before the Civil War broke out and 24 years before the 13th Amendment freed the slaves. He was born, raised and educated in the antebellum South, but Stillman transcended the time and place in which he lived.

a man Ahead of His Time By Margaret Daniel Stillman was at Oglethorpe during the university’s infancy, when the school barely had classroom buildings and flogging of freshmen and sophomores was allowed. After graduating from Oglethorpe, he earned his divinity degree at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Stillman was drawn to the seminary after being influenced by one of the leading ministers of his day, the Reverend Thomas Smyth, the minister of his hometown church in Charleston, S.C. Smyth was dedicated to improving the lives of AfricanAmericans, and his church membership included a substantial number of AfricanAmericans. It was in Smyth’s church, the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston, that Stillman launched his career in 1844.

Charles Allen Stillman 1841-1895

26 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

From Charleston, Stillman went on to pastor several churches in Alabama. After leading churches in Eutaw and Gainesville, Stillman was called to the First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa in 1870. This call to First Presbyterian brought with it a unique challenge. A group of church members there wanted to start a school to train AfricanAmerican ministers, and they selected Stillman as the individual to lead the effort. To lay the foundation for the school, Stillman began teaching and preparing a few AfricanAmericans to be spiritual leaders of their community. He spent many years teaching and making annual proposals to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the South for a minister training school. His efforts paid off in 1876, when the General Assembly accepted Stillman’s proposal and established a school that was originally called the Tuscaloosa Institute for Training Colored Ministers.

This school has undergone many changes during its history, evolving to meet the needs of its community. It opened to women in 1899, an unusual move for that time. The institute went on to become a junior high school, a senior high school, a junior college, and finally a four-year liberal arts college. Charles Stillman laid the groundwork for the school’s evolution into a liberal arts college by expanding its offerings beyond study for the ministry and raising the level of its academic program. Stillman oversaw the institute until 1893, when ill health forced him to resign. In honor of its founder and first leader, the school was named the Stillman Institute in 1894. Today the school, known as Stillman College, is a four-year liberal arts college serving 1,000 students. It has survived numerous economic depressions, including those of 1893, 1907 and 1929, and more recently the economic downturn that started in 2008. The college describes itself as “a private college with a public mission.” It was ranked in the top tier of comprehensive colleges in the South offering Bachelor’s degrees by U.S. News & World Report in 2008. Stillman College is known for its programs in biological sciences, teacher education and business administration. One of the college’s most outstanding early graduates, William Henry Sheppard, was a missionary to the Belgian Congo from 1890-1910 and was influential in exposing the exploitation of the peoples of the Congo.

Stillman lived out the university’s motto “make a life, make a living, make a difference.”

In his role as founder of Stillman College, Charles Allen Stillman reflects many of the principles that distinguish Oglethorpe, including a vision for the future, a commitment to meeting the needs of the community and a dedication to a broadbased field of liberal arts study. Like the students and alumni of today, he balanced many roles, serving as pastor of a church while leading an institute to train ministers. And like the students and alumni who followed him, Stillman lived out the university’s motto “make a life, make a living, make a difference.”

Alumnus Headlines at CNN By Debbie Aiken ’12

Joe Sutton is putting his OU liberal arts education to work as a news editor and journalist for CNN. He oversees the editorial direction and news gathering for 13 states and serves as the liaison between the Washington, D.C. bureau and CNN headquarters. Joe has worked for CNN and other Turner Broadcasting companies since he was a junior in high school. He has won several Peabody Awards for outstanding public service and had one of his articles submitted as evidence in a federal court case. The kicker? Joe Sutton is only 25 years old. When asked how he was able to accomplish so much at such a young age, Joe candidly says, “It’s a cliché, but hard work pays off.” Joe started working with Turner Broadcasting in high school through a scholarship from the Emma Bowen Foundation, which helps prepare minority youth for careers in the media industry. Joe wanted to pursue higher education, but wasn’t sure how he could attend college while maintaining his employment. “The day my mother and I drove by OU was serendipity,” says Sutton. It was a “remarkable relief” when he learned about Oglethorpe’s adult education program that would offer “a fantastic education at a reputable, credible institution.” Joe majored in communication & rhetoric studies with a minor in politics. On top of working full time and carrying a full course load at Oglethorpe, he completed three internships during his college career. Two internships were with CNN, one in the CNN.com division and the other in CNN’s marketing department. At CNN.com, he spearheaded a project to follow the efforts of the Bauder Campus Crime Club, a group of college students who were researching cold cases, including the famous missing persons cases of Chandra Levy and Natalee Holloway.

Joe also interned with the 2008 NBC Olympics and traveled to China for six weeks. He interviewed various athletes, including Michael Phelps and members of the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team, and helped to supervise 2,200 hours of live competition coverage—a record in NBC Olympics history. He calls the job “the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had.” Joe often volunteered at Oglethorpe’s open houses so he could share the benefits of the evening program with prospective students. “Being in an intimate setting at Oglethorpe is such an advantage. Being able to connect with students and teachers and being able to approach someone with concerns sets Oglethorpe apart from other institutions in the area.” Joe graduated from OU in 2009 while working at CNN’s Headline News. He quickly moved into a new position with the CNN Newsroom as a producer and has held twelve different positions at CNN in nine years. He aspires to work his way up to the management level and says, “I know for a fact that I will be an executive.” Joe’s advice for other students and working adults is to not be afraid to try new things: “Curiosity is the best thing one can have. Take courses that you aren’t familiar with. There is so much out there in the world to take advantage of.” And he credits Oglethorpe University for helping him reach his goals: “I look at my degree every day,” he remarks. Without his education and experiences in college, he says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today.” Debbie Aiken graduated from Oglethorpe’s Evening Degree Program in 2012 with a major in communication & rhetoric studies and a minor in English. During her last semester she was an intern in the University Communications department at OU, where she now works as Assistant Director. spring SPRING 2013 2013 | CARILLON 27

alumni

By Sydney Mobley Moss ’59

Ronny Remington ’06 discovers a smashing career path

New Frontiers When the news broke last year about one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time, the so-called “God particle,” The New York Times wrote that the “discovery will change our view of ourselves and our place in the universe. Surely that is the hallmark of great music, great literature, great art….and great science.” And one Oglethorpe alumnus was a part of it.

Ronald Charles Remington (Ronny) was born and grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., where his parents still live. He attended Seabreeze High School, which is where he first learned about Oglethorpe University in 2002. Ronny was impressed with what OU had to offer and was particularly attracted to the Core program. Competing against a large number of other students, he was awarded the JEO (James Edward Oglethorpe) scholarship, which paid his tuition, room and board for four years. Ronny first became interested in physics while studying for the JEO competition. Although he had not studied physics in high school, he was drawn to the subject by being required to read and discuss Thomas Kuhn’s philosophical work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. His college advisor, Dr. Michael Rulison, spent many hours with Ronny and was a major influence on his approach to understanding physics, one that Ronny and his wife, Jeanette, stand in front of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

28 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

remains with him today. Ronny also received significant guidance from Dr. Nardo in the math department and from Dean Doyle. Both of these mentors took a personal interest in his success. Ronny feels that he could have “fallen through the cracks” at a larger university that doesn’t have the close student/professor relationship that exists at Oglethorpe. In addition to excelling in the classroom, Ronny was involved in various extracurricular activities at Oglethorpe. He played varsity soccer and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Ronny graduated from OU in 2006, earning a B.S. in physics with honors and a second major in mathematics. After completing his undergraduate degree, he enrolled in the graduate school of physics at the University of Florida in Gainesville. There he joined the Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment (CMS) to pursue his Ph.D. research in high energy particle physics. CMS is one of two massive particle detectors built to search for new particles produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is the world’s most powerful particle collider and is designed to steer beams containing trillions of ultra-relativistic protons into each other at a rate of 40 million times per second. The energetic debris that rapidly emerges from these collisions is captured by very sophisticated detectors like the CMS experiment, and studied with the aid of high-performance computing resources by large teams of scientists. Ronny was among these scientists for several years, designing algorithms to help make sense of the data and

search for signals. The most sought-after signal among the scientists working on CMS was that of the Higgs boson, also known by its more popular name, the “God Particle.” The Higgs boson is tied to the mechanism that gives mass to all of the fundamental particles. It has eluded scientists for decades, and its discovery would vindicate the prevailing theory of particle physics, known as the Standard Model. The CMS collaboration made headlines in early 2012 for publishing the first observation of the Higgs boson. Ronny is very proud to have played a small part in that momentous accomplishment during his years at the University of Florida. It was at the University of Florida in 2008 that he married his high school sweetheart, Jeannette, who is a strong supporter of his scientific endeavors. Ronny gives Jeannette a great deal of credit for his success. During their first year of marriage, they moved to a location near CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the home of the Large Hadron Collider. They lived in a small French village on the Swiss border. While working on CMS, Ronny made significant contributions to several papers that were accepted by wellrespected scientific journals. Ronny and Jeannette now live in Bethesda, Md., where he is a senior research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. Although he had an opportunity to return to Geneva for additional work, he chose to stay in the U.S. and pursue his career goals. Ronny is an excellent example of someone who is “making a life, making a living and making a difference.”

Future Thinking with Deep Roots By Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65

Robert Currey ’66 and Suzanne Straub Currey ’65 are enjoying their retirement by starting another business—one far different from their original work and a little more “down to earth,” you might say. After graduating from Oglethorpe, the Curreys developed the furniture chain Storehouse, beginning in 1969 with one store on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. The chain expanded to 28 stores by the early 1980s, when they sold their shares in the business. After a few years, they opened another store specializing in outdoor furniture, which grew into the current Currey & Company, a wholesale business now managed by their son, Brownlee.

with two other middle Georgia farms to provide weekly delivery of seasonal produce to service subscribers. This differs from other community supported agriculture (CSA) programs because it allows subscribers to add locally raised heritage breed pork, grass fed beef and farm eggs to their weekly orders. Suzy and Robert value the liberal arts experience they found at Oglethorpe, which they say has broadened their lives and perspectives in business and in community activities. The Curreys enjoy sharing their knowledge with the various groups that visit the gardens. A group of Oglethorpe students visited in March 2012 as part of the one-day “short courses” launched by the Campus Life offices last year. And this summer, several Oglethorpe students will be working onsite at Elm Street Gardens as part of a new live/work internship partnership program that includes students from Agnes Scott College.

For most of these years, the Curreys lived in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta, not too far from Oglethorpe. They enjoyed gardening in their small backyard, and they learned about sustainable gardening practices from cousins in Tennessee. As vegetarians, they appreciated the taste of sustainably grown produce and heirloom varieties of various vegetables and fruits. In the early 2000s, they visited friends in Hancock County in middle Georgia and decided to buy a historic home in Sparta. Since they had moved to a rural area, they were able to adopt sustainable gardening practices for their new garden in Sparta.

“It was great to see the interest in and concern for sustainable farming in this diverse group of young people,” says Robert, who is a former OU Trustee. “This interest from Oglethorpe ties in well with our vision of engaging more young people in these practices.”

Over time the garden plot grew in size and with the extra acreage available for further growth, it eventually became a commercially viable business called Elm Street Gardens. As sustainable gardeners, the Curreys use no artificial fertilizers or pest control products and employ a “no-till” farming method. Their garden beds are enriched with natural compost to provide nutrients for the vegetables and fruits grown throughout most of the year. Two “hoop houses” (domed greenhouses) provide additional growing space for both summer and winter crops. They are currently restoring an old cotton warehouse near the gardens to add shiitake mushrooms to their offerings and expand wholesale opportunities.

For more information about the garden and other farms in the area, visit www.elmstreetgardens.com, and check out Suzy’s blog about current crops and activities at the garden.

The harvest from Elm Street Gardens is sold through farmers’ markets and through a subscription delivery service. “Farm Box” is their collaboration

Elm Street Gardens has also nurtured a sense of community. For the past three years, Robert and Suzy have hosted a Labor Day picnic for Hancock County residents with a potluck dinner and games for the kids. More than 300 people attended this year.

Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65 was a math and physics major at Oglethorpe. She worked for AT&T in information technology until her retirement. She serves on the Alumni Board and volunteers at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theatre. (below left) OU students toured Elm Street Garden as part of Oglethorpe “short courses,” which focus on fun topics and experiences.(below right) Suzanne and Robert Currey, pictured on the front porch of their Sparta home, received the 2013 Spirit of Oglethorpe Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni who live by the Oglethorpe motto: “Make a life. Make a living. Make a difference.”

Sydney Mobley Moss ’59 is a retired SunTrust banker. She and her husband, Jack, live in Flowery Branch, Ga. and enjoy traveling. Sydney serves on the Alumni Board as a member of the Communications Committee.

SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 29

alumni

Fresh off her successful re-election campaign, Mayor Mimi Elrod of Lexington, Va., is no stranger to public service. An Oglethorpe graduate of the class of ‘66, Mimi has devoted her life to education, community service and civic leadership, the very building blocks of the Oglethorpe experience. Mimi transferred to Oglethorpe from Florida Presbyterian College. Following her marriage to John Elrod, the couple lived in Atlanta, where her husband served as the youth director at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Mimi finished her undergraduate degree at Oglethorpe in the summer of ’65, officially graduating in ‘66. Her sister, Eleanor Milner Newland of Douglas, Ga., also graduated from Oglethorpe, finishing in ‘63.

“You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the

Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, Mimi and her husband moved to New York City, where she attended Columbia Teachers College and taught in central Harlem. The Elrods then moved to Iowa, where Mimi received her Ph.D. in child development and taught in the departments of Psychology and Child Development at Iowa State University before moving to Lexington, Va. Lexington is a small city with approximately 7,000 citizens, but with two institutions of higher education—Washington & Lee University and Virginia Military Institute.

Lorna Burrows Gordon ’04 and her husband Jeremy have done something many of us only dream about. They packed up their belongings and hit the road to explore the country. However, their choice of transportation may surprise you.

conjectures and descriptions in the world.” —William Hazlitt

“We were at the Union Square farmers’ market in New York, and a lot of the vendors from upstate use old school buses to transport their crops,” recalls Lorna, who is a marketing and design professional for a textile and linens company. “Jeremy tossed out the idea that it would be fun to convert a bus and travel the country, not really thinking I’d be on board. But I was!”

Life on the Road And so the journey began. The first step was to secure a bus. They opted for a 1998 diesel school bus that had about 150,000 miles on it. After picking it up in Pittsburgh, Jeremy drove it to his parents’ home in Ohio to work on the renovations with his stepfather. They used two solar panels to charge marine batteries for power, and added a small kitchenette, table and bed. Back home in Brooklyn, Lorna and Jeremy added the finishing touches and christened the bus “Ramblin’ Annie,” named after one of their pets, an outdoor cat that wandered off. Their journey began in August 2012. Lorna and Jeremy (plus Jaeger the dog and Lou the fish) first traversed New England, hitting spots in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. “Acadia National Park was a favorite—it’s so pristine and beautiful!” Lorna notes.

30 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

They then made their way through North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Ohio. Some of the locations were ones they’d been to before, and others were places they’d always wanted to go. They spent two to five days at each destination, but were not tied to a schedule. “Our plan was to be on the road for six to nine months,” says Lorna. “We didn’t plan too far ahead so we could just enjoy the trip, without added stress.” At many of their destinations, they were able to meet up with friends who were also eager to share in the thrill of the journey. And of course, they enjoyed sampling local eateries and getting to know the locals. They modeled some of their activities after the popular New York Times “36 Hours” weekly column (and subsequent book) that offers up dream weekends with practical itineraries for a variety of cities. The duo was fortunate to be able to continue working remotely with their employers while on the road. And, after seven months and 11,000 miles, Lorna and Jeremy settled in Austin, Tex., where they first met while pursuing post-graduate work. Read more about the adventures of Ramblin’ Annie, and see some spectacular photos captured across the country by visiting their blog, “A Long Way Home: A Record of Our Journey in a School Bus” at www.alongwayhome.us. Kelly Holland Vrtis ’97 lives in Dallas, Tex., where she is the marketing communications manager for The Container Store. She currently chairs the Alumni Communications Committee of the Alumni Board.

Upon moving to Lexington, John assumed the position of dean of the College at Washington & Lee, eventually becoming president in 1995. During this time, Mimi worked in the Admissions Office and then in the Office of Special Programs (including alumni programs). In this role, she directed a program for high school seniors to help introduce and prepare them for college. Following her husband’s passing in 2001, Mimi continued to work at Washington & Lee. However, she knew she needed a change, so in 2002, she made a run for the Virginia House of Delegates. While unsuccessful in this particular bid, she became heavily involved in many areas of public service and was eventually elected to the Lexington City Council. She served on the City Council for six years and continued to be very active on local Boards of Directors. In 2008, Mimi ran a successful campaign for mayor of Lexington and began her second term in January 2013. In 2000, Mimi returned to Oglethorpe’s campus to attend her delayed induction into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society into which she had previously been inducted by Washington & Lee. When she was a student at Oglethorpe, Mimi had the GPA and required activities to become part of the predecessor organization to ODK, but was inadvertently left out of the society while she was a student. When reflecting on her experience at Oglethorpe, Mimi says the most important component was the professors. Her studies focused on politics, history and secondary education, and she remarked on how much she learned from Professors Cresky, Walton, Abbott and Glenco. Mimi Elrod is indeed a credit to these and all the professors she had at Oglethorpe. She is truly making a life and making a difference while making a living.

Mimi Elrod ’66

Lead by Example By Jodie Sexton Goff ’01

Jodie Sexton Goff ’01 is the Chief Operating Officer for Federal Reserve System Large Bank Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a member of the Alumni Board. At OU, Jodie majored in business and minored in music. Both of Jodie’s parents, Bob Sexton ’64 and Jane Connor Sexton ’65, as well as her sister-in-law, Ashley Everhart Sexton ’92, are OU graduates.

spring SPRING 2013 2013 | CARILLON 31

alumni

Dr. G. Malcolm Amerson

Life Sciences Professor Enjoys Lively Retirement

“

By Sydney Mobley Moss ’59

How do retired college professors spend their time? According to Dr. G. Malcolm Amerson, they’re just like any other retirees. But upon further investigation, we find that Dr. Amerson is anything but typical. Dr. Amerson spent his entire teaching career at Oglethorpe University, starting in 1968—on September 1 to be exact. But when he arrived at the school, the campus was deserted and only then did he realize it was the Labor Day holiday! This unforgettable start was the beginning of an even more memorable career. Dr. Amerson retired in August 2003 after teaching biology and related subjects for 35 years. While at OU he advised the Georgia Eta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), the oldest and largest fraternity on campus. SAE honored him in 2006 with the Order of Minerva Award in recognition of leadership, dedication and loyal service. Dr. Amerson received many other honors, including 32 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

the Donald C. Agnew Award for Distinguished Service. This award is presented annually by members of the Oglethorpe Student Association and is chosen by that body to honor the person who, in their opinion, has given distinguished service to the university. Dr. Agnew served as President of Oglethorpe University from 1957 to 1964. In his retirement, Dr. Amerson has chosen to stay in Atlanta and has continued to make numerous contributions. A year after retiring, Dr. Amerson organized a retired faculty club at OU that meets in September and March each year on campus. Current faculty and staff are often asked to present an educational program for the club. On average, 80 percent of all faculty retirees attend these meetings, allowing them to stay involved and keep up with what’s new at Oglethorpe. Dr. Amerson’s background in biology continues to shape how he spends his time. Upon retirement, he became very interested in gardening and traveled extensively to collect various species of Hosta plants. Unfortunately, voles discovered his

Hosta beds and feasted on them. As a result, Dr. Amerson looked for a different type of plant that wasn’t so appetizing to voles. He now has several varieties of fig trees, large and small, which thrive under his care. He makes fig preserves, fig cakes and even chocolate fig cakes, which he enjoys sharing with friends and family. A graduate of Berry College in Rome, Ga., Dr. Amerson earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Clemson University after spending two years in the U.S. Army. His family includes his wife Jo, son Todd in Orlando, Fla., and daughter Jennifer in South Bend, Ind. Dr. Amerson keeps an online journal for his grandchildren, recording significant (or amusing) events in their lives.

(above) Dr. Amerson, shown relaxing in his Oglethorpe office, and at an Oglethorpe event, post-retirement with Steve Malone ’73.

flexibility that retirement allows him: he can now plan his schedule on his own terms. How fortunate we are that Dr. Amerson appeared on campus on that Labor Day in 1968! He continues to enrich the Oglethorpe community in retirement as he did while a professor.

”

I’ll take ‘Liberal Arts Education’ for a $1000.

In the last year, three Oglethorpe alumni appeared on Jeopardy!, the popular game show that requires its contestants to have a broad base of knowledge. Congratulations to Natalie Knowles ’92, Tom Conn ’93 and Dave Leach ’97, who all successfully showed off their liberal arts education! Dave appeared in the Tournament of Champions in February 2013.

Dr. Amerson has taught Sunday school for many years at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Ga. He organized a “breakfast club” for the members of his class, which meets twice a month at a nearby restaurant. Although he is just as busy now as he was as a professor at Oglethorpe, he does enjoy the spring SPRING 2013 2013 | CARILLON 33

class notes

Class Notes 1

2 1960s

1 Larry King ’62 is currently assistant to the controller at Global Resort Homes in Orlando, Fla. He recently applied for a Florida real estate license specializing in vacation rental homes. Robert Currey ’66 received the inaugural Museum of Design Atlanta’s Design Legend Award. The award, presented to him in November 2012, honors individuals who have demonstrated design excellence, innovation and contribution to their field of design both locally and nationally. For more news on Robert Currey, see “Robert and Suzanne Currey: A New Chapter for a New Season”, page 29. Mimi Milner Elrod ’66, mayor of Lexington, Va., recently joined the Board of Trustees at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va. Read more on page 31. 2 Dr. Louis Rossman ’69 was honored with the Alumni Award of Merit from Penn Dental Medicine. The award recognizes a leader in the dental profession, a contributor to his or her alma mater and an individual who has made outstanding contributions 34 CARILLON | spring SPRING 2013

in community involvement. In April 2012, Dr. Rossman was elected as president-elect of the Foundation for the American Association of Endodontists.

1970s 3 Bert Meyers ’70 married Patti Woodall in Barbados on November 11, 2011. They are enjoying a full retirement life in Dunedin, Fla. Joanne Hubbard Folger ’71 retired in 2010 after teaching high school math for 31 years. She taught in DeKalb County, Ga, for 11 years and Gwinnett County, Ga, for 20 years. She is now enjoying reading mystery novels, knitting and traveling with her husband.

1980s 4 Gina Marie Sacer ’84 and Adam William Acker were married on June 30, 2012, in Brewster, N.Y., in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. The couple honeymooned in Prince Edward Island, Canada. They now live in Pawling, N.Y., where they enjoy their combined family of 11 children.

Daniel Duncanson, M.D., C.P.E., ’85 was recently named chief executive officer of Southeastern Integrated Medical, P.L. (SIMED) in Gainesville, Fla. SIMED is a physician- owned, multi-specialty physician group in north central Florida. Dan has been a practicing physician in internal medicine in Gainesville for the last 20 years. Prior to assuming the CEO position, he was the vice president of operations and director of primary care for SIMED. In 2010, Dan achieved certification as a certified physician executive. Ralph Haynes Gunn ’85 and his wife adopted two boys in October 2011. The Gunns were previously the boys’ foster parents for DFACS for two years. Brandon David Gunn is four and Braylen Zachary Gunn is three. 5 Dr. Casey Chosewood ’86 and Deborah Cardone Chosewood ’87 are the parents of Cadet Alec Chosewood of Lilburn, Ga., who completed Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military Academy. 6 Donna Adair Breault ’88 accepted a new position as associate professor of graduate curriculum studies at West Virginia University. Earlier this

4 year, she and her husband Rick co-authored a book entitled Professional Development Schools: Researching Lessons from the Field (Rowman Littlefield Publishers). This book critiques the quality of research in a specific area of teacher education and offers organizational implications for teacher education programs. Donna recently finished another book, Red Light in the Ivory Tower: Contexts and Implications of Entrepreneurial Education (Peter Lang Publishers – David Callejo-Perez, co-author).

1990s 7 Joseph Shelton ’91 is an attorney at Fisher & Phillips, LLP, in Atlanta and is listed in Georgia Super Lawyers 2012 for his work in employment and labor law. Joe is currently serving on the Oglethorpe Board of Trustees as vice chair. David M. Ross ’93 received his MPA in nonprofit management from Georgia State University in December 2011. In February 2012, he joined the staff of the American Cancer Society as a writer and editor at the Society’s national headquarters in Atlanta.

Kimberly Kirner Lohoar ’93 is now a full-time English teacher in a secondary school in Hampshire, England. Kim worked as a news editor for more than 12 years in the U.S. and the U.K. before completing a Masters level teacher-training course at the University of Southampton. So far, she is enjoying her new post! In other news, Kim became a British citizen in July 2012, just before the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Kim has lived in the U.K. since 2003. Thom McCague ’93 published his first historical novel in October 2012. Adventures on the Great River Road: 1814 is the result of an independent history research paper completed for the late Dr. David Thomas. The book is available through smashwords. com, kobo.com and other online e-book outlets. There are plans to write a second book in the future. Rev. Dave Barnhart ’94 associate pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood, Ala., formed a new church in May 2012 with the assistance of Trinity Methodist Church. 8 Jennifer Chiofalo Tomasino ’94 and Clint Tomasino are excited to announce the birth of

their second son, Lucas Andrew Tomasino, who was born on August 29, 2011. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19.75 in. long. He was welcomed by his big brother Wyatt, who celebrated his second birthday on August 1, 2012. 9 Barbara Miller Hall ’94 earned her Ph.D. in instructional design from Capella University. The title of her dissertation was, “How Cognitive Requirement of Prompt and Time in Course are Correlated with Intersubjectivity within Threaded Discussions.” Beth Pethtal ’94 and fellow designer Ginny Lassiter showed their exhibition, “Feed Your Electric Soul” in May 2012 in Calabash, N.C., at Gallery Sunset River Marketplace. The exhibition was a showing of custom design ideas, fine crafts and gently loved pieces from the past.

this organization. Walter is the president/CEO of Beaufort Engineering Services, Inc.

for COX Enterprises and provides strategic direction on all treasury issues for the company.

10 Amy Marie Puckett McGee ’95 graduated in August 2012 with a master’s in library and information science from the University of North Texas.

Rev. S. Chadwick Vaughn ’97, former rector of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Macon, Ga., was the featured preacher April 15, 2012 on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally syndicated ecumenical radio program. His “Day 1” sermon, based on the story of “Doubting Thomas” in John 20:19-29, was entitled “Missouri, My Fair Lady and the Mission of the Church.” Chad and his wife Amanda Smith Vaughn ’01 recently moved back to Atlanta with their twin daughters. Chad is currently the priest in charge at St. Bedes Episcopal Church, and Amanda is the director of communications at St. Patrick’s in Dunwoody.

11 Lu Green ’95 and Nick LeRoy joyfully announce the adoption of their son, Nate William LeRoy. After a three and a half year wait, they celebrated their Family Day on Christmas Day 2011. Thomas Barker ’95 was promoted to associate professor with tenure at Georgia Institute of Technology in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Shana Bowes ’94 joined the MNS firm as a project manager and listings specialists. She brings more than 15 years of experience to her new position.

12 Jenifer Parks ’96 earned her Ph.D. in Russian/Soviet history from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2009. In August 2012, she moved with her husband to Billings, Mont., where she is assistant professor of history at Rocky Mountain College.

Walter Bolton ’94 was honored as the 2012 Mobile Area Council of Engineers (MACE) Engineer of the Year, the most prestigious of the awards presented by

Anita Patterson ’97 was selected by Treasury & Risk to their 2012 list of 100 Most Influential People in Finance. Anita is currently the director of treasury services

Yvette Nemeth ’98 married Steve Jones on September 3, 2011, in Franklin, N.C. Aimee Thrasher Hansen ’98 was promoted to library supervisor I and is now the branch manager of the Lillian Marrero Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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class notes

Karen Head ’98 is an assistant professor at the School of Literature at Media and Communication at Georgia Institute of Technology. She has been selected to lead a First Year Composition Course with a $150,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Georgia Institute of Technology will develop three massive open online courses targeted at those who have yet to pursue or complete a college degree. Linnea Dyer Hegarty ’98 was selected by the D.C. Public Library Foundation as the organization’s executive director. DCPLF is a nonprofit organization that provides a margin of excellence to the D.C. Public Library with resources that supplement local government funding. Prior to taking her new position, Ms. Hergarty was the director of development for the Alliance for Climate Protection, the organization founded and chaired by former Vice President Al Gore. 13 Amy Katz Bonn ’99, her husband Dave and their son Henry welcomed Warren Judd Avrahm Bonn on September 22, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nev. Warren weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz. and measured 20.5 in. 36 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

14 Kristine Lawrie Williams ’99 and her husband, Kristian Williams, announce the birth of their son Wyatt Joseph on December 16, 2011. The baby’s gender was a surprise until the delivery. Although he arrived 10 days early, Wyatt came in at a substantial 8 lbs., 12.9 oz. and measured 20.25 in. Big sister Samantha, who turned two in March 2012, is slowly transitioning from hitting him to kissing him!

2001 15 Michael Newkirk ’01 and Erin Sellers Newkirk ’03 welcomed a baby girl, Tinsley Anne Newkirk, on October 20, 2011. 16 Ashley Zimmerman Hamilton ’01 and Hunter Hamilton are happy to announce the birth of their baby girl, Sydney Harper, who was born on November 2, 2011. Sydney weighed 8 lbs., 5 oz. and measured 20 in. Sydney is their first child and their best holiday gift! 17 Reagan Fisher Wyssbrod ’01 and Mark Wyssbrod became the parents of Lawrence Andrew

Wyssbrod on August 7, 2012. The baby weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs. 7 oz. and is thriving!

2002 18 Cody Partin ’02 and his wife Sara recently welcomed twins to their family. Andrew McGuire and Nora McPherson Partin were born on March 16, 2012. Big brother Charlie welcomed them with open arms. Cody was also promoted to assistant vice president of real estate & strategic investments at Cox Enterprises. 19 Richard Cartwright ’02 and Shanna Hobson ’02 were married on May 21, 2011, in the Philip Weltner Library. Although Jesus was predicted to return on this date, none of the attendees, the bride or the groom was raptured during the ceremony and subsequent reception. The couple met while attending Oglethorpe University, and both graduated with degrees in English. Shanna currently works as a R.N. in the emergency room at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Richard is

currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of Tennessee. 20 Jeffrey Poole ’02 and Robin Elms ’02 celebrated the birth of twins, Finnegan and Eleanor, in October 2011. The babies weighed 7 lbs. and 6 lbs. respectively. Amy Arden ’02 married Vincent Tubayan on November 30, 2011. The ceremony took place in Las Vegas, Nev.

2003 Nobles Green II ’03, senior medical animator for Nucleus Medical Media, has earned an Award of Excellence for his “STAR Ankle System” animation during the 2012 Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) Conference. His company also achieved an Award of Merit for the “iStent” app for the iPad, for which Nobles served as lead animator.

Kristi Dosh ’03 accepted a job as ESPN’s sports business reporter. She will have a page on ESPN.com and will be featured on all other ESPN platforms, including ESPN the Magazine and ESPN TV and radio programming. In addition, Kristi has contracted with Wiley to author a book entitled Saturday Millionaires: Why College Athletes Will Never Be Paid and Other Untold Truths about the Business of College Football, which will be published in the late summer of 2013. 21 Emily Lawson ’03 recently married Valur Gudmundsson with ceremonies in both Texas and Valur’s home of Iceland. Zhena Kavelin-Milani ’03 was a reader in the Texas wedding. Heather Staniszewski ’02 and Mark DeLong ’03 celebrated with the happy couple at their Icelandic ceremony. Emily and Valur are now living in Portland, Ore. where Emily practices homebirth midwifery and Valur works as a research analyst for Intel. 22 Michelle Parks Carey ’03 and Conor Carey ’06 are excited to announce the birth of

Ryleigh Aimee Carey, born July 2, 2012. She weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz. and measured 20 in.

2004 Rachel Lehr ’04 recently departed Cairo, Egypt, where she worked at the U.S. Embassy for two years, and has since arrived at her new posting at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. What a change in climate! 23 Stephanie Bryan’s ’04 photographs were featured in The Circle Gallery at the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design, which will host her exhibit entitled “American Dreams: The Paradox of Failed Subdivisions in Georgia.” During the past three years, Bryan has spent her free time traveling throughout Georgia to document changes in rural and suburban landscapes through photography and writing. She would like her photographic essay to convey the serious effects of these changes and hopes that “American Dreams: The Paradox of Failed Subdivisions in Georgia” will inspire people to consider how overdevelopment can be prevented.

24 Lisa Gossett ’04 married Donny Smith on June 4, 2011, at Harrahs Casino Tunica in Robinsonville, Miss. The reception featured the dueling pianos of Hudson & Saleeby. Oglethorpe alumni in attendance included bridesmaids Anna Rhett Cobb Miller ’04, Kelley Napier ’04, and Melinda Vegso Blonshine ’03. Lisa and Donny live in Hernando, Miss. 25 Leigh Cooper ’04 and Mark Godfrey are proud to announce the birth of their first child, Cecil Cooper Godfrey. Cecil was born on August 4, 2012, at 5:23 p.m. in Atlanta. He weighed 7 lbs., 2 oz. and measured 20.5 in.

2005 26 Virginia Brown ’05 was married on May 19, 2012, to Shaun McGonigal. Joy Simmons ’05, Ginny’s long-time best friend and roommate for all four years at Oglethorpe, was the maid of honor. Ginny and Shaun live in Philadelphia, where Ginny is in graduate school.

Carlissa Carson ’05 was named one of the 99 most influential foreign policy leaders under the age of 33, or the “99 Under 33” by Diplomatic Courier, a global affairs magazine. 27 Tom Collens ’05 and Mandy Eckerl Collens ’06 proudly announce the birth of their son, Thomas W. Collens V, on September 15, 2011. He weighed 9 lbs., 2 oz. and measured 21.75 in.

2006 28 Kirbie Compston ’06 welcomed Jackson Toland Smith Compston on November 22, 2011. He weighed 8 lbs., 11 oz. and measured 21.5 in. He is their first child and a blessing and a joy. Travis Griffin ’06 graduated from Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in May 2012 and passed the bar exam. He is an associate attorney at the criminal defense firm of Hogue & Hogue LLP in Macon, Ga. He married Alesha Tentiger ’09 on October 13, 2012.

SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 37

class notes

29 29 Sean Raleigh ’06 joined the Army in January 2007 and gained commission as a 2nd Lieutenant through Officer Candidate School (OCS). He was branched in the Adjutant Generals Corps, the Human Resources branch of the Army. His first duty station was Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was the battalion personnel officer for an organization of 800 soldiers. Two weeks after arriving in September 2008, he was deployed to Iraq for 12 months. He returned to Alaska in September 2009. He was promoted to captain in September 2010. He was deployed again to Afghanistan in April 2011. He returned from Afghanistan in August 2011 to attend the Adjutant Generals Captain’s Career Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he is currently stationed. Sean married Vara Lyngklip of Winona, Minn., in December 2007. 30 Jennifer K. Wilson, ’06 earned a master’s in clinical counseling psychology from Brenau University in 2011 and is now serving the Gainesville, Ga. community as the children’s program coordinator and domestic violence community educator for Gateway Domestic Violence Center. In addition to her work at Gateway Domestic Violence Center, Jennifer serves as the chair of the Community Education Committee of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Task Force. Jennifer also teaches Psychology 101 and human growth and development undergraduate courses online for Brenau University

class notes

as an adjunct instructor. She lives in Gainesville with her husband Matt Loggins and two young sons.

2007 Laura Fitzgerald ’07 joined Orbit Books and continues to work in digital marketing. Orbit Books is a science-fiction publisher and an imprint of Hachette Book Group. 31 Rachael Maddux ’07 married Joe McCormick, a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, on August 6, 2011 in Cleveland, Tenn. Rachael is assistant editor of the Georgia Tech alumni magazine and a freelance writer. Joe is an editor with Discovery Communications. They live in Decatur, Ga. 32 Lindsey Dyan Callaway ’07 married Captain Darrell E. Fawley III, West Point ’05 on September 17, 2012, at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Washington, Ga. Darrell is commanding HHC of 1-23 Infantry Regiment, and Lindsey is finishing her Master of Education in Montessori elementary education. Emily E. Macheski-Preston ’07 was named the “2012 Young Professional of the Year” for the Valdosta-Lowndes County area. This award is given to the young professional in the Valdosta-Lowndes County area who has made “an impact on their business’s bottom line.”

Emily was recognized for both her success as a litigation attorney and her active involvement in the community. Emily is a litigation associate at Coleman Talley LLP, which has offices in Valdosta and Atlanta. She focuses on employment law, local government law and insurance defense.

2008 William Patrick Edwards ’08 was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests on December 8, 2011, by the Right Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr., at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. Christina Renee Tyler MacRosty ’08 earned the degree Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine on May 26, 2012. She and her husband, Sean MacRosty ’03, live in Charleston, W.Va., where Dr. MacRosty will begin a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics.

2009

33 2010 Chloe Edwards ’10 graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a master’s in information studies in August 2012. She wrote her graduate thesis on the social role of library classification practice, under the supervision of Drs. Melanie Feinberg and Nathan Ensmenger.

2011 LaDonna Barnes ’11 is working towards a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at Mercer University. Class notes deadline was 11/9/12. View more or submit your class note

Shaquitta Denise Brookins ’09 graduated from Ohio State University with her master’s degree in city and regional planning. 33 Rose-Gaëlle Belinga ’09 completed her master’s degree in software engineering at Auburn University and joined Morgan Stanley in New York in August 2012 as a technology analyst.

via ePetrel: www.alumni. oglethorpe.edu.

Longtime trustee and one of Oglethorpe’s most active alumni, O.K. Sheffield, Jr. ’53 died December 19, 2011, three days after emergency coronary surgery. While at OU, O.K. was elected president of the student government, voted “Lord Oglethorpe” by the student body, awarded the James Edward Oglethorpe Cup by vote of the faculty and administration and elected to Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honorary fraternity. During his long career in banking, he also helped lead many major community-wide fundraising efforts, including the United Way campaign. Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church and Oglethorpe University were his favorite outlets for engagement, and he played important leadership roles with both for many years. For Oglethorpe, O.K. served as president of the National Alumni Association twice and was an active member of the President’s Advisory Council before being elected to the Board of Trustees in 1997. He remained active on the Board of Trustees through the end of his life. One of the highlights of his life was the establishment of Oglethorpe’s Sheffield Alumni Center in March 2001. During the last 26 years of his life, O.K. manifested one of his central gifts as friend, counselor, resource and mentor to scores of men and women in recovery from addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Former Oglethorpe staff member Paul Dillingham Jr. passed away on July 15, 2012. He was born in Madisonville, Ky., on November 16, 1927, to Elizabeth and Paul Dillingham, Sr. In 1978, was named vice president of international operations at Coca-Cola, ultimately retiring from Coca-Cola in 1984 after 27 years. He began a second career as vice president for development and later as assistant to the president of Oglethorpe University. He completely retired in 2002 after a 52-year business career. Paul served as a volunteer Board member of numerous local and national organizations, including United Way, Life Member of Salvation Army, Boy Scouts, MS Society, Heart Fund, Oglethorpe University, The Tax Council, AICPA, Financial Executives Institute, Georgia Council on Economic Education, Rotary Club of Atlanta and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Paul was an elder at Peachtree Presbyterian Church and an active member of the Gene Wilson Sunday School Class. (Pictured above with his wife Barbara and retire faculty member Vicky Weiss.) Former longtime staff member Elgin Fleming MacConnell passed away on September 30, 2012. Better known as “Dean Mac” at Oglethorpe, Elgin was a veteran of World War II and retired from Oglethorpe University with 34 years of dedicated service. At the end of the war, he earned his B.A. in history and education at Allegheny College. Still hungry for more, he enrolled in New York University, where he was awarded his Masters in education. By this time, his parents had moved to Atlanta, where his father accepted a position as a professor in the department of education at Oglethorpe University. Elgin began his career in education when he was hired by DeKalb County schools as a teacher and later an assistant principal. He was especially proud of being one of a group of three to start the after-school recreation program.

IN MEMORIAM Ruth Zimmer Phillips ’37 December 1, 2011

Joseph Overton ’52 October 12, 2011

Barbara Hawes Walker ’62 October 14, 2012

Walker Lanier Whaley ’69 May 31, 2012

Dixie Woodford Long ’39 November 12, 2011

O.K. Sheffield ’53 December 19, 2011

John Warren ’62 January 5, 2012

Diana Rowles ’71 April 19, 2012

W. Elmer George ’40 August 13, 2012

Mary Normal Stone ’53 December 1, 2011

Bette Tomlinson Wall ’63, MAT ’75 October 27, 2012

Leroy Thacker ’72 November 11, 2011

John Malpass ’40 January 5, 2012

Sarah Bradley Letchas ’54 December 7, 2011

A. Corry Arensbach ’64 October 12, 2011

Veronica Bowen Beck ’80 October 1, 2012

Reba Ramsey Rich ’40 October 23, 2012

Joan Joseph ’55 May 12, 2012

Gloria Early Daniel ’64 August 25, 2012

Jane Peters ’89 February 15, 2012

Betty Axelberg ’42 June 1, 2012

Opal Perry Watson ’55 April 4, 2012

Haynes McFadden ’66 June 10, 2012

Suzanne Riordan ’99 May 18, 2012

Bettye Ray DeJon ’43 December 9, 2011

Dr. Paul Hawkins ’56 December 26, 2011

Richard Laurence Baron ’68 December 29, 2011

Joan Robb Butler ’49 April 19, 2012

Webb Vermilya ’57 May 17, 2012

Barry Wiesner ’69 November 20, 2011

Edmund Martin, former faculty May 22, 2012

Wesley Joseph Martin ’49 January 16, 2012

Lawrence B. Knapp ’58 April 29, 2012

Margaret Robinson ’50 March 28, 2012

Barbara Powell Sykes ’59 October 11, 2011

James Carr “Jimmy” Grizzard ’69 March 22, 2012

Paul Dillingham Jr., former staff July 16, 2012 Elgin MacConnell “Dean Mac,” former staff September 30, 2012

Submit your class note via ePetrel: www.alumni.oglethorpe.edu 38 CARILLON | spring 2013

spring 2013 | CARILLON 39

OUr community

our community

In 2010, Betty Londergan, the wife of Oglethorpe’s President Schall, spent a year on a project through which she gave away $100 a day for 365 days and wrote about it on her blog, “What Gives 365.” At the end of this undertaking, she wanted another way to give back. Enter Heifer International, a nonprofit founded in 1944 on the idea of “helping others help themselves.” The concept is simple: buy an animal for a family in need. That gift can then provide food, labor and perhaps even a new means of income for struggling families. However, Betty says that a donation to Heifer is much more than that. “An animal is such a simple thing, but everything that comes with it—from sharing and caring, passing on the gift, environmental integrity... to taking more pride in themselves, taking control of their education, nutrition and environment, all this really helps to lift people out of poverty in a lasting way,” explained Betty. She has seen firsthand the change that Heifer makes in the world. In a project called Heifer 12x12, Betty visited 12 Heifer-assisted countries the 12 months of 2012 and blogged about her experiences (heifer12x12.com).

Heifer International: Giving Back for a Better World

“The first country I went to was Uganda, as kind of my test run. I wanted to see what it was going to be like to work on the Heifer project, so I did that. Then I went to Guatemala, Haiti and Peru, then China and Nepal, then Cameroon, Romania, Appalachia, Rwanda, Armenia and Cambodia,” said Betty, who was interviewed for this article in fall 2012. She concluded her journey in Malawi and Ecuador. During her travels, Betty was a journalist. She took photographs, connected with local inhabitants, listened to their stories and shared them on her blog so others could learn about the impact of Heifer’s work on the lives of people around the world. “I’m not doing it as the voice of Heifer; I’m doing it in my own voice,” said Betty. “These are really human stories. The culture, the environment, the history of a place really informs and influences how poverty is expressed and how it’s embedded in the society, so I’d like to try and help people understand the country, understand the people, understand the history and the cultures. And I find it so fascinating personally that I can’t wait to tell people about it.” The 12x12 blog combined beautiful photographs with touching, sometimes funny, very real stories from her travels. “I get to engage with people. I’ve never considered myself a photographer with a capital ‘P’, but I really love it. I’m in such incredibly photogenic places. I take it very seriously and try to do my best. I’m around incredible people and incredible places that not very many people get to see. If I didn’t photograph them, shame on me,” she said.

(above) Oglethorpe hosted the Heifer International Sustainability Summit in the fall, welcoming speakers from around the world. (left) Orientation leader Jasmine Irish ‘13 gathers freshmen for First Year Seminar class. (left, inset) Oglethorpe’s First Lady Betty Londergan photographs residents in one of the many countries to which she traveled over the course of 12 months.

Betty’s involvement with Heifer has helped to start a wave of engagement between Oglethorpe and Heifer International. Oglethorpe sponsored and hosted the international nonprofit’s Heifer Sustainability Summit in October 2012. The meeting brought leaders from around the world to campus to discuss how Heifer International is addressing the needs of a world stricken by hunger, poverty and environmental degradation. During the Summit, Oglethorpe students officially launched a Heifer Club on campus, the first of its kind at a Southeastern college. Sophomore Ruwa Romman and a small group of OU students were inspired by Betty’s work and decided to get active and make a difference. “We hope to get a movement going,” said Ruwa. “We can’t donate huge sums of money, but if we can donate $10 for chickens and help send someone’s kid to school, that’s still huge. It’s all about giving back.” The club’s main concern? Getting the word out. “When you tell people you’re part of the Heifer Club, they’re like ‘what’s Heifer?’ Raising awareness is our main goal,” said Ruwa. She believes that recruiting her fellow Petrels to get involved is the key to making a difference.

“Oglethorpe’s a good place to have a grassroots initiative [like Heifer]. The school focuses on self-sustainability, on passing on the gift. Students here are perfectly suited for it, and we want as much involvement as possible!”

by Weatherly Richardson ’13 40 CARILLON | spring SPRING 2013

SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 41

OUr community

Picture a two-story home that has limited dimensions of 10’x 10’x 10’, yet offers a bed, kitchen, study area, storage space, solar

panel electricity, and a bathroom complete with a shower. That’s what a small group of Oglethorpe students have spent much time, passion and energy working to create over the past year.

Sophomore Mon Baroi came up with the initial idea for the project when he discovered a $300 house challenge posted on the Harvard Business Review online. He found that while many blueprints had been submitted for this challenge, no one had actually built the house they’d proposed. He wanted to change that. The house that the Oglethorpe group plans to construct on campus will cost $400, just a bit more than the $371 it costs to build an average home in developing countries around the world.

“We can accelerate the improvements in the tiny home concept by sharing it with more people and allowing them to think of further

ways to innovate.” These enterprising students (Mon, plus Jacob Tadych ’14, Naomi Carroll ’14, Cartrez Wilson ’15, Will Jones ’14 and A.J. Arend ’13) combined their knowledge in business, finance, science, sociology, engineering and psychology into thinking through the design of their home. The vision started with a Popsicle stick model and has evolved into a 3-D computerized model for the house.

The group has gathered nearly every Friday since last summer, and they divide the time and labor between planning and constructing the building materials. Each member of the “Tiny Home” team makes their own contributions to the project, based on their skills and interests. Together they have spent hundreds of hours working on the house—even before construction begins. The project has proven to be a genuine work in progress and learning process throughout this academic year, with several rounds of trial and error. The group extensively experimented and tested various potential building materials. They first planned to construct the house out of papercrete (made of sand, Portland cement and recycled paper), combined with straw 42 CARILLON | spring 2013

our community

bale. The papercrete concoction is light and strong, water resistant and carbon neutral, important considering one goal for the house is for it to be environmentally friendly. However, making the papercrete bricks proved to be time intensive and required hardy equipment to produce. In order to make the house more easily replicable, the group finally settled on a combination of stabilized adobe, straw bale and earthbags. While the team is clearly enjoying the challenge of planning for building this tiny home, this project is much more than an academic exercise. The group envisions this small building to be a model for people in developing nations with minimal resources or as a potential solution for chronically homeless individuals. A political science major, Mon has spent his share of time living in small spaces. Mon and his parents and sister were refugees from Bangladesh. Mon’s father was a writer who wrote about the Muslim majority oppressing the non-Muslim minority. As a result, the family became victims of violence and had to flee the country. When they left Bangladesh, they could only take a small amount of money with them. When his family first moved to New York, they lived in a three-room apartment with eight other people for several months. “We couldn’t afford beds when we arrived in New York,” Mon said, “so we slept on newspapers on the floor.” Mon shared that his family became closer during this time and that he gained a valuable sense of perspective. “I learned that it’s important to determine your worth based on your self worth, not your net worth.” The Tiny Homes Project team is committed to staying within their budget of $400. Funding has been provided by My Part Foundation, a nonprofit that supports humanitarian service projects led by people of different ethnicities, cultures and faiths working together. However, the Tiny Homes team has (politely) refused additional donation offers, acknowledging that anyone who tries to replicate their tiny home concept in real life situations likely will not have the advantage of benefactors. In fact, they plan to “open source” their ideas and concepts—sharing everything online, forsaking any rights or credit, monetary or otherwise, for any innovations.

tiny solution for a

10’10’10’ x

Big Problem By Margaret Daniel

“Two heads are better than one, two million are even better,” said Mon. “We can accelerate the improvements in the tiny home concept by sharing it with more people and allowing them to think of further ways to innovate.” Their project has already attracted attention. Several team members are among four Oglethorpe students who were invited to attend the annual Clinton Global Initiative University conference in April. CGIU was launched in 2007 by President Clinton to engage the next generation of leaders from college campuses around the world. The students will have the opportunity to meet with students, youth organizations, topic experts and celebrities to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. Watch for the house to take shape behind Oglethorpe’s Goodman Hall this year. For the latest project updates, visit “Oglethorpe’s Tiny Homes Project” on Facebook.

(this page) Papercrete was one material considered by the Tiny Homes team, which experimented extensively to find the most effective and economical solution for their building materials. (top) Mon Baroi whiteboards next steps; (middle) Mon, Cartrez and Jacob around the homemade tow mixer that blended the papercrete ingredients; (bottom) Mon and Jacob haul the tow mixer across the residence quad. spring 2013 | CARILLON 43

OUr community

our community

A graduate of Urbana University, where she was a star softball player, Becky joined the Oglethorpe community in May 2012. She spent the past 15 years systematically working her way up the ranks in the athletic department at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH, where she most recently was the assistant athletics director.

Taking the Stormy Petrels to the Top of Their GAME By Debbie Aiken ’12

Two things are clear about Becky Hall, Oglethorpe’s new athletic director: she is passionate about taking the Stormy Petrels to the next level, and she has a penchant for acronyms.

Becky brings a hands-on, no-nonsense approach to her role, and she doesn’t bother with fancy titles. “Some people call me Coach Hall or Director Hall, but I’m really fine with just Becky,” she said. Becky can be found at almost every athletic game, “usually announcing or selling admission—I’m not above getting dirty.” She’s also jumped right into making some changes in the athletic department, aiming for some lofty goals. “Oglethorpe is a great academic school,” said Becky. “It pushes students outside of their comfort zone and makes them think more globally. That is what I want our athletic department to do—to push our student athletes out of their comfort zone and up to the next level.” To do this, Becky wants coaches “to shoot for the stars. Within the next six or seven years,” she said,” I want our teams to finish in the top three in the Southern Athletic Association.” Her plan for accomplishing this starts with one of her trusty acronyms. “CODE,” Becky explained, “stands for communication, organization, documentation and evaluation.” She is adamant about having frequent communication with the 14 coaches she supervises—via email, text message or face-to-face—however she can reach them. Becky wants to know what all the coaches have planned for their teams, so that all teams can share their ideas and resources. “In the past each team has done its own thing,” she said, and she wants to change that. Organization comes into play with some changes Becky has made to the functionality of the athletic department to ensure everyone is working together toward the same goals. “We are running a little differently,” she said, “and it’s not just what I’m doing; it’s what we are all doing.” One of the first things Becky organized was the creation of athletic study tables, where four hours of studying each week is mandatory for students struggling academically. No electronic devices are allowed during study time, including laptops or cell phones.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE JOINS THE STORMY PETRELS LINE-UP Oglethorpe women’s lacrosse played its inaugural game on February 20 against LaGrange. The historic night also marked the first official NCAA event on the new Oglethorpe track and field.

44 CARILLON | spring SPRING 2013

“A few students have accused me of not living in this century,” Becky admitted, but she wants her students to be focused on improving their ability to “read, retain and reproduce” the material they are learning in class. An unexpected benefit of these study hours is that even non-athlete students are using the time to study. “It’s actually been quite rewarding for both student athletes and the general student body because it’s quiet in the dorms and it’s a good time to get some studying done,” she commented. Documentation is important for tracking progress and determining which strategies and tactics work and which don’t, to maximize effectiveness in meeting goals. Yet perhaps most intriguing is CODE’s last component. Not only will all coaches receive employee evaluations this year, but “student athletes are evaluating their head coaches, something that’s never been

done before. That way we can see if we are providing the service and experiences that benefit students most,” Becky said. At the same time, she doesn’t take the coaches’ dedication for granted. “It’s a thankless, 24/7 job,” Becky said. “I try to start every coaches meeting by thanking them for their hard work.” Another acronym pops up when Becky explains the types of experiences she wants to provide to student athletes. She calls it her GAME plan— global, academic, mentoring and engagement. “Well, actually it’s ‘GAMES’, because I added an ‘S,’ for sportsmanship,” she said with a smile. It starts with the global experiences that Becky hopes the athletes will have. “Our teams are either going out of the country to compete, or they are going to different parts of the country that they may have never been to before,” she remarked. Academic success is another important component essential for student athletes’ overall success. “We want athletes to outperform the general student population in the classroom,” Becky said. She supports this goal by providing opportunities for current students and alumni to mentor freshman athletes to help them become acclimated to the often rigorous schedule student athletes must keep. Becky also wants to include a component of community service engagement in her athletes’ experiences. She explained that “it’s about getting all of our teams to rally behind a couple of big service events as well as projects that they each do on their own throughout the year.” A new Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) helps to plan many events throughout the year that are fun and make a difference in the community. SAAC organized sports clinics for school-aged girls on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and will collaborate with the Special Olympics to host an event next year. The SAAC also organizes “black-outs” at home games to encourage attendees to support the Petrels by wearing black. Many student athletes are looking forward to the first annual athletic awards ceremony, which will bring together all of OU’s sports teams to recognize the outstanding achievements of students. Becky is full of enthusiasm for all of the projects under way in the athletics department. “There is a lot of possibility here for us to go above and beyond and to be better and actually be great, and that is what I would like to see happen in my time here,” she said. She said that her own mentor gave her good advice: “If you can leave something better than you found it—that is a sign of success. So that’s my mantra. If the athletic department is better 10 years from now, then I will consider my time here a success.” (left) Becky Hall, holds the National Championship trophy won by the 2012 Oglethorpe’s Men’s Golf team. Pictured with Matt Rebitch ’12 and Jordan Hall ‘12.

SPRING 2013 2013 || CARILLON CARILLON 45 45 spring

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Read our latest OU STORIES, our blog.oglethorpe.edu

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Find us on FLICKR and view more than 6,000 photos—and growing! flickr.com/oglethorpe-university 46 CARILLON | SPRING 2013

SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 47

Non-Proﬁt Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Atlanta, GA 30319 PERMIT No. 523

4484 Peachtree Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30319 www.oglethorpe.edu

4484 Peachtree Road NE Atlanta, Georgia 30319 www.oglethorpe.edu

Blast from the everyone Past We hope enjoyed Alumni Weekend 2013!

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year! The annual Masquerade Ball of 1950 was held in October, and students who attended were to dress in costume. The fall of 1950 saw several other student celebrations, one of which was the Boar’s Head Fat-Man Thin-Man basketball game on November 16. All participants and attendees were charged a twenty-ﬁve cent admission fee and were encouraged to dress in burlesque fashion, as it was the theme for the game. See more of Oglethorpe from the 1950s on page 24.

April 24–27,

2014