Allegheny Magazine Spring 2017

ALLEGHENY

SPRING 2017

VOL. 35 • NO. 2

AHEAD OF THE CURVE Infusing the liberal arts, economics into business education

UNPACKING BACKPACKS

JOHN VANCO’S VISION FOR THE ARTS

SHEEHAN ENDS COACHING CAREER

Scene on Campus In March, Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery constructed an intricate mandala sand painting in the College’s art galleries. The monks first drew an outline then used metal funnels to lay grains of sand painstakingly into place over four days. Keeping with tradition, the mandala was destroyed shortly after completion, a metaphor for the impermanence of life.

Watch a video about the mandala’s creation. go.allegheny.edu/mandala

S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 • Vo l . 3 5 • N o . 2 • a l l e g h e n y. e d u /m a g a z i n e

4 Ahead of the Curve

ON THE COVER Bringing the world of business to Allegheny College. (Illustration by Brian Martone.)

In preparing business leaders, Allegheny leverages the liberal arts and alumni involvement.

VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE RELATIONS Susan Salton

10 Unpacking Backpacks Students make a statement with what’s on (and in) their everyday bags.

MANAGING EDITOR Josh Tysiachney EDITOR Rick Stanley ART DIRECTOR Penny Drexel

12 A Vision for the Arts John Vanco closes his five-decade career leading the Erie Art Museum.

16 Our Third Century Quest Jennifer and Dan Van Aken share their commitment to the College.

18 Athletics

Profiles of retiring volleyball coach Bridget Sheehan and student-athlete Silas Garrison.

22 On the Hill

LEAD DESIGNER Brian Martone CONTRIBUTORS Chris Allison ’83 Jim Berger Erica Erwin ’02 Heather Grubbs Jesse Lavery Roberta Levine Sean O’Connor Kevin Orr ’17 Bernadette Wilson PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Lester Derek Li Ed Mailliard Christopher Millette PRINTING Heeter, Canonsburg, PA

FSC Logo HERE

International aerospace manufacturer taps students to create an ad campaign. allegheny.edu/magazine

24 Class Notes

News from around the country from fellow alumni.

facebook.com/alleghenycollege instagram.com/alleghenycollege twitter.com/alleghenycol

TRUSTEES Mark R. Campbell ’82, Chair Christian L. Allison ’83 Kevin W. Baird ’84 Edward Joseph Borkowski ’81 Willow Wilcox Brost ’74 Curt A. Cramer ’84 Jennifer Daurora ’99 Antonio F. Dias ’86 Gary M. Elliott ’72 Mary H. Feeley ’78, Ph.D. Kim Tillotson Fleming Roger A. Gurner ’63 Terrence L. Hartford ’81 Steven D. Levinsky ’78 Robert A. Marchman ’80 Robert E. McGarity ’80 Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi Isabelle Moss ’67 James H. Mullen, Jr., Ed.D. Christine Scott Nelson ’73 Jerome V. Nelson ’83 John Herbert Niles, Jr. ’59, M.D. Martin Pfinsgraff ’77 Timothy L. Reeves ’83 Yvonne Reed Seon ’59, Ph.D. James H. Spalding ’80 Sue E. Steven ’75, Ph.D. Arthur J. Stewart ’80 Hayes C. Stover ’62 John F. Sutphen ’78 Bruce R. Thompson ’86 Karen A. Ubelhart ’77 James O. Wible ’71 Nancy Yovetich ’87, Ph.D. Douglas F. Ziegler TRUSTEES EMERITI Alice S. Bierer ’59 Ann S. Degenhart ’71 J. Tomlinson Fort ’50, Esq. Thomas T. Frampton ’70, Esq. Samuel Hellman ’55, M.D. William I. Jack ’57 The Hon. Jack K. Mandel ’58 Silas R. Mountsier III ’52 John C. Phillips, Jr. ’56 James F. Pomroy ’56 Thomas St. Clair ’57 Ferd J. Sauereisen ’57 M. Peter Scibetta ’54, M.D. Henry B. Suhr, Jr. ’55 Arthur Tepper ’58 William H. Timbers ’72 Patricia Bush Tippie ’56 Robert A. Vukovich ’65, Ph.D. John D. Wheeler ’61, Esq. Robert C. Woodworth ’69

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40 The Last Word How an English degree helped build a tech company.

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Allegheny (ISSN 0279-6724) is issued three times a year

by Allegheny College, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, PA 16335 for the alumni, parents and friends of the College. The winter issue is digital-only, and the spring and summer issues are in print and digital versions.

All material can be found at allegheny.edu/magazine.

Opinions and comments expressed herein are not necessarily those of the College. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Allegheny, Allegheny College, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, PA, 16335. Copyright 2017 Allegheny College

Honoring a Tradition of Innovation

by President James H. Mullen, Jr.

It’s heartening to read headlines like these seen recently in the national media: “We don’t need more STEM majors. We need more STEM majors with liberal arts training.”

“Why liberal arts is the future in age of automation” “Tech leaders’ love letter to the liberal arts”

Even as we remain true to our liberal arts tradition, we must seek ways to enhance learning for today’s students.

We will continue to equip them to become difference-makers as professionals and citizens — as Allegheny has done for more than two centuries.

“Why liberal arts degrees are more valuable than you might think” These reports reinforce with the public what Allegheny College graduates have long demonstrated: that a liberal arts education prepares individuals not only to contribute in the workplace but also to develop into leaders.

Richard Detweiler, founder of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance and president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (of which Allegheny is a member), has recently shared initial results from his study that affirms the positive outcomes of a liberal arts education. Dr. Detweiler’s survey of 1,000 U.S. college graduates found that qualities closely associated with a liberal arts experience led to graduates who are more civically engaged, more likely to be leaders, more ethical and more financially successful over the long term.

These individuals recounted having meaningful interactions during college that are familiar ones at Allegheny: discussing conflicting perspectives with others in courses and having conversations with professors outside of the classroom. At Allegheny, we are firmly committed to providing young people with an education that challenges them to learn and think across disciplines, to consider multiple viewpoints as they formulate their own.

can read about our respected business economics program and Center for Business and Economics.

The positive impact of these innovative programs results from a collaborative effort. It stems from distinguished faculty who are mentoring students through curricular and co-curricular experiences along with dedicated alumni who are sharing their expertise with students and connecting them with valuable internships and employment opportunities.

In addition to assisting students through career guidance, our alumni also show them the satisfaction and importance of giving back to the community. The College’s home region, for instance, has benefited tremendously over the past five decades from the leadership of retiring Erie Art Museum Director John Vanco ’68.

John, who also is featured in this issue, has built a thriving center of culture that has grown to become an irreplaceable community asset. Driven by a dedication to the arts, a forward-looking spirit and a deep sense of civic responsibility, he is a true son of Allegheny and has made his alma mater proud.

Through their achievements and involvement, Alleghenians honor the distinguished history of this great institution each day. They inspire us to build on the College’s strengths while anticipating the needs of a rapidly changing world.

Even as we remain true to our liberal arts tradition, we must seek ways to enhance learning for today’s students. We will continue to equip them to become difference-makers as professionals and citizens — as Allegheny has done for more than two centuries.

That mission is being fulfilled throughout all of our academic programs. In this issue of Allegheny magazine, for example, you 3

Ahead of t Allegheny Infuses the Liberal Arts, Economics into Business Education

Allegheny College economics major Brett Barrett absorbed the energy as he toured the world headquarters of Bloomberg LP in Midtown Manhattan last October.

“It just had one of those atmospheres that make you want to work there,” Barrett, a senior, recalls.

“You could just tell everyone was vibrant and striving to be their best.” The financial information services firm was one of four major corporations that Barrett and two dozen other Allegheny students visited on a two-day tour of New York City.

A few months later, back on the Allegheny campus, College Trustee Jennifer Daurora ’99 shared career insights with several dozen students while they munched on pizza in Quigley Hall.

“I love questions,” Daurora, director of operations for McGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores in Pittsburgh, said as she reached the end of her presentation. Daurora rewarded the first student to raise his hand with a coffee shop gift card.

Though separated by some 400 miles, Barrett’s trip and Daurora’s talk have a common thread.

They’re part of a sustained effort to help prepare Allegheny students for careers in business — in particular through the business economics track in the College’s economics major and the Center for Business and Economics.

(Continued on Page 6)

The Big Idea Competition provides students the opportunity to present business ideas to a panel of judges who are highly successful professionals in their fields as well as network and gain valuable presentation experience.

The Center for Business and Economics provides Allegheny students experiential-learning opportunities that put class discussion and lecture topics into action. The CBE showcases learning experiences that include local in-semester internships and summer study-away internships; community-based service projects; management-based simulation activities and competitions; formal and informal interaction with working executives and distinguished alumni; and career-education skills training and study abroad experiences through the Allegheny Gateway.

The Lunchtime Learning Series provides opportunities to gain valuable information on topics and industries related to internships and careers.

The Executive in Residence connects Allegheny students and faculty with prominent business executives who spend several days on campus speaking about their life experiences in business, paths to success and lessons learned.

Board of Visitors executives, highly successful professionals in their fields, are on campus for one or more days each spring for meetings, to speak in classes, for breakout sessions, for a student luncheon and to attend the Executive Roundtable.

The annual Executive Roundtable brings students together with distinguished business leaders whose perspectives and experiences create educational and career-related value.

the Curve

by Josh Tysiachney photos Derek Li

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Our students learn how to adapt and to be lifelong learners. We teach them all the time that society is not static; society is dynamic. Our students learn how to reinvent themselves.

Stephen Onyeiwu

Economics Department chair

“LIBERAL ARTS-PLUS” Why study business at Allegheny instead of a university with a traditional business administration program? That’s a question that high school students and families at admissions events often pose to Stephen Onyeiwu, Economics Department chair and Andrew Wells Robertson Professor of Economics.

Onyeiwu often frames his answer as “liberal arts-plus.” He explains that Allegheny students can take the courses they would find in business programs, such as finance, management, accounting, entrepreneurship, human resources and more. But they also gain the abilities that are hallmarks

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ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

of a liberal arts education: writing and speaking well, thinking critically, integrating different areas of study in analyzing a problem, and contributing to the good of the community.

helps them become more marketable to employers, says Chris Allison ’83, Economics Department entrepreneur in residence and Center for Business and Economics co-director.

“Our students learn how to adapt and to be lifelong learners,” Onyeiwu says. “We teach them all the time that society is not static; society is dynamic. Our students learn how to reinvent themselves.”

“We’re living in a global economy so you have to be a person of the world,” says Allison, also a member of the College’s Board of Trustees. “The way you become a person of the world is to expose yourself to learn other disciplines.”

Like all Allegheny students, economics majors in the business economics track must also declare a minor (or a second major) in another field. That breadth encourages students to approach problems from multiple perspectives and also

Senior Bethany Bauer is doing just that. A double major in economics and French, she became interested in globalization after an introductory course with Onyeiwu. Bauer also studied abroad for a

We’re living in a global economy so you have to be a person of the world. The way you become a person of the world is to expose yourself to learn other disciplines.

Chris Allison ’83

Economics Department entrepreneur in residence and Center for Business and Economics co-director

semester in France during her junior year.

While her courses there didn’t focus on business, she did observe differences between the retail sector in Europe and the United States, thanks to insight she gained through an internship with the Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle supermarket chain.

Bauer’s Senior Comprehensive Project— which includes a chapter written entirely in French—focuses on foreign aid to Haiti. It’s a topic she developed with the guidance of her advisor, Professor of Economics Tomas Nonnenmacher ’90.

“Without Professor Nonnenmacher’s help, I wouldn’t have even thought to look at a former French colony, to look at one of them through the lens of economics,” says Bauer, who is seeking a career in international business.

A CHANGE IN NAME—BUT NOT IN RIGOR Bauer is among the 50 percent of Allegheny economics majors who pursue the business economics track. Until last fall,

the program was known as the managerial economics track, which was established in 2002 through the leadership of Professor Emeritus of Economics Donald Goldstein.

Initially, naming the program something other than “business” served as a differentiator among other colleges, Onyeiwu explains. However, as increasing numbers of students expressed an interest in the field, the Economics Department and admissions office saw an opportunity.

“The change in name has allowed Allegheny to connect more directly with students interested in business and more effectively share the program’s longstanding strengths with them,” says Cornell LeSane II, vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions. “We have eliminated a barrier for students and families who might not have even considered Allegheny simply because they didn’t see ‘business’ on a list of our academic programs.”

consider more than simply what makes a business successful. They also examine its place in the overall market and how economic principles and strategies influence a company’s day-to-day operations.

“Some people in business, I think, not only do they get the answers wrong, they don’t know the questions to ask,” Allison says.

“Because we’ve got that really, really strong underpinning in economics, I think our students know how to ask not only ‘why,’ but ‘why not’” when studying an issue.

The renaming hasn’t diminished Allegheny’s emphasis on situating the study of business in the broader context of economics, Allison says. It’s a rigorous curriculum that requires students to 7

It doesn’t stray away from that liberal arts foundation, but rather tries to build on those ideals such that our students are ahead of the curve when they are hired because of what they’re doing here.

Russell Ormiston

Center for Business and Economics co-director and assistant professor of economics

A CENTERED APPROACH The business economics track also complemented a recent initiative to create the College’s Center for Business and Economics (CBE). Part of the Allegheny Gateway, the CBE helps connect students of all majors with business-related learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

(See sidebar, page 4).

BUSINESS ECONOMICS TRACK Business economics is a track within the economics major for students interested in careers in business or graduate education in this area. Through case studies, internships and interactions with practicing managers, students learn how economic theory and quantitative methods can be used to solve managerial and business problems.

Allegheny College is one of the few undergraduate liberal arts programs to offer a special emphasis in business economics.

8 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

“It doesn’t stray away from that liberal arts foundation, but rather tries to build on those ideals such that our students are ahead of the curve when they are hired because of what they’re doing here,” says Russell Ormiston, CBE co-director and assistant professor of economics.

firm—College Trustee William Brown Jr. ’80, Andrew Niklaus ’15 and Anton Plantz III ’07—mentored Barrett and provided one-on-one help with navigating the wealth management industry.

“I was able to learn so much and ended up falling in love with the profession and am pursuing it as a career opportunity,” says Barrett, a Spanish minor. “The internships are a great opportunity, and Allegheny alumni are the best way to go about getting one because they know how qualified you’re going to be.”

REMEMBERING THEIR ROOTS

Helping students find internships has become a key part of the CBE’s work in partnership with the Gateway. Students in the business economics track are required to complete an internship and many complete more than one.

As Barrett discovered, students pursuing business careers gain access to a powerful network of Allegheny graduates. “The alumni engagement has been tremendous,” Ormiston says. “It’s wonderful as an educator to have those kinds of resources available.”

Prior to his fall visit to Bloomberg, Barrett spent two summers interning with The Brown Hurray Plantz Group, a Merrill Lynch branch office in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Three Allegheny alumni at the

That connection translates into alumni executives like Daurora visiting campus to teach and advise students in the classroom, on panels and through one-on-one mentoring. In addition, Allegheny grad-

That is what often carries our students into that second or third job, when you have that network of alumni and former classmates. Our students are very close—they learn collaboratively, they do things together, they work as a team. Then they use that teamwork to build a network when they graduate.

Stephen Onyeiwu

Economics Department chair

uates are opening doors at their places of employment for students, including a biennial trip to visit firms in New York City.

The New York City visit last October included meetings with John Gregory ’89, managing director at Wells Fargo Securities; Bruce Thompson ’86, an Allegheny trustee and vice chairman at Bank of America; Karen Ubelhart ’77, an Allegheny trustee and industry analyst with Bloomberg; and Jonathan Drescher ’84, senior vice president of project development for The Durst Organization.

they do things together, they work as a team. Then they use that teamwork to build a network when they graduate.”

Alumni also are providing generous financial support for business education at Allegheny. The members of the CBE Board of Visitors, an advisory group of executives, recently established an endowed fund to support internships. Additional resources, Ormiston says, expand the learning opportunities the CBE and the Gateway can offer to students.

Allison, who has taught at the College since 2006, notes that it’s especially gratifying when students he has mentored return to help current students. “That’s the best for me,” Allison says. “It’s really fun to watch them come back and see how they’ve developed into seasoned executives.”

Adds Onyeiwu: “Allegheny graduates don’t forget their roots.”

Alumni involvement not only helps current students learn about careers and find internships, but it also supports graduates as they seek to advance in their careers.

Those relationships often result in firms hiring several Allegheny graduates, Onyeiwu says.

“That is what often carries our students into that second or third job, when you have that network of alumni and former classmates,” he says. “Our students are very close—they learn collaboratively,

9

UNPACKING MARCO LAGNESE ’17 major: Economics minor: Spanish hometown: Pittsburgh I purchased the backpack the day after first-year move-in day … I decided on a bright green backpack with hints of orange throughout.

All throughout high school, I was quiet and reserved, so going into college I tried to have the mentality of “be like the backpack.” Basically meaning that I should put myself out there, try to be outgoing but at the same time not trying to be someone that I am not. At first, I found being outgoing to be very difficult since I am naturally shy. But as a current senior, I can safely say that I broke out from my shell and blossomed into being very sociable and involved on campus. To this day, I still use the same backpack.

JOE BRUCH ’17 major: Communication Arts minor: History hometown: Wooster, Ohio

HANNAH KITCHEN ’20 major: Undeclared hometown: Washington, Pennsylvania

I used my equipment and my book bag to film my senior comprehensive project this past summer. Allegheny has broadened my knowledge of not just how films are made, but why they are made and the many different ways in which material can be told. Filmmaking can bring people and ideas together, and this is something I feel is very important, especially right now.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is something I’ve been helping raise money for since my freshman year of high school, so I was thrilled that Delta Delta Delta gives so many opportunities for me to continue supporting such an important cause.

JOHANNA STANLEY ’17 major: Neuroscience minor: Theatre hometown: Windham, Maine

I’ve had this bag since I was in seventh grade, and I think it was my freshman year of high school that my friends and I started drawing on it ... almost like a wearable yearbook. While some are just silly sayings, others are memories that I really enjoy keeping of good times and home.

BACKPACKS (INSIDE AND OUT)

JACKIE VERRECCHIA ’17 major: Environmental Studies minor: Political Science and Global Health Studies hometown: Arlington, Virginia I did a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course of 30 days backpacking in Alaska between my freshman and sophomore year.

The first-year seminar I took with Professor Rich Bowden piqued my interest in protected wilderness spots and the power of outdoor education. The experience of being in the wilderness was incredible.

The Zion, Death Valley, Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon patches are from a trip my mother (Margaret Walters ’81) and I took out west last year. We both see the importance of national parks (she works for the EPA), and with the 100th anniversary of the national park system, it seemed like the perfect time to finally see the national parks I read about in so many of my ES classes.

HALIE GARY ’17 majors: Art & Technology and Chinese Studies hometown: Detroit

WALTER STOVER ’17 major: Economics minor: Chinese Studies hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

There have been many times where I’ve decided to go off campus after classes or visit a friend in their dorm or wanted to study in a new area for the day.

In order to allow myself options, I take everything I may ever need so that I don’t have to go back to my room and waste time.

At the cost of a small amount of carrying capacity, I think getting used to messenger bags and briefcases cultivates a professional look that will serve a student well after graduation. I also find it very convenient for travel, as backpacks can become chaotic no matter how carefully arranged initially.

Get a closer look and view more photos at

allegheny.edu/magazine

by Roberta Levine photos Christopher Millette

a FOR THE

John Vanco to Retire After a Half Century Leading, Transforming the Erie Art Museum John Vanco ’68, a farmer’s son and first of his family to attend college, fell in love with art after one class with Professor Dick Kleeman.

Vanco considered Kleeman “the coolest guy on campus.”

It was his art history course at Allegheny that awakened a long-sleeping seed in Vanco. That seed led him to become the director and chief curator of a sleepy arts organization in Erie that, under his tutelage, grew into the award-winning Erie Art Museum (EAM).

13

“John is a visionary,” says Kathy Dahlkemper, Erie County executive. “He saw a greater role for the art museum than just a building holding art. He saw it as integral to the fabric of the community.”

After 50 years as the director and chief curator of the EAM, Vanco is retiring in June. Over the decades he — and a parade of people who’ve worked with him — have developed an artistic center that nourishes an entire region.

“The Erie Art Museum is a treasure, both for what it is — an important gathering place and shelter for citizens, art and artists — and for what it represents — the power of change, given one man’s lifetime of devotion, commitment and hard work,” says photographer and author Mark Perrott ’68.

Often in larger cities, there’s a tradition of arts patronage. But that wasn’t the case when Vanco began his work in Erie. In order to raise money for the museum, he curated traveling exhibitions that toured college art galleries across America. He also invoked his parents’ do-it-yourself ethos and built, on a shoestring, a dark room, frame shop, ceramics studio and theater, recognizing that Erie’s working artists needed studio space or a theatrical venue.

Since the EAM was initially conceived of as an artists’ organization, Vanco has remained true to that mission, saying with pride, “Artists in the area feel it’s their museum.”

Over the years he’s shown a profound commitment to the art of our time while promoting an ethos of radical innovation. In 1968 art was primarily thought of as painting and sculpture, discounting the decorative arts, posters, craft-based media and popular culture. Vanco thought “those traditional definitions (of art) never made sense,” and over the years his broader sense of what constitutes art has been vindicated — and is reflected in the museum’s diverse collection of more than 8,000 items.

As chief curator, he’s organized more than 400 exhibitions, including 17 traveling exhibitions that toured coast to coast. “I want to learn about everything; that’s what collecting is,” says Vanco. His personal vinyl and 78 record collection is in the tens of thousands.

14 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

As curator, his need to learn new things drove him from project to project, including music. So in 1982 he started a series of new music and jazz concerts. Over the years that series has presented more than 300 of the most important composers and performers in serious contemporary music. Ten years later Vanco inaugurated the wildly popular EAM Blues & Jazz Festival, which he will continue to direct after he retires.

Photographer Bill Owen ’74 characterizes Vanco as “very funny and very caring; when he talks about his employees, it’s with real warmth.”

Vanco is a humanist. He understands the need for arts programming for everyone. Under his leadership, the museum instigated and underwrote Art Works, a service program for artists providing studio, exhibition and performance facilities. EAM also initiated the planning process that brought about Discovery Square, a collaborative facility project that created the expERIEnce Children’s Museum.

Says Jay Badams ’86, superintendent of Erie’s Public Schools: “As an educator, I am indebted to John for his selfless work with both the students and teachers of Erie’s Public Schools. At a time when shrinking school budgets have jeopardized art programs in the schools, John has ensured that our children benefit from the Erie Art Museum in such notable programs as Kids as Curators, teacher professional development and Old Songs—New Opportunities.”

Tireless, Vanco led a major expansion project resulting in a LEED Gold-certified building that connected EAM’s five historic buildings into one complex. It opened in 2010. Later that same year, Vanco was honored with the Governor’s Award for the Arts in Pennsylvania. In 2013, he was given the College’s Gold Citation, honoring Vanco for his professional and volunteer activities.

“It’s impossible to overestimate the influence John has had not only on the visual fabric of the neighborhood of the museum,” says Meadville area graphic designer Jed Miller ’69, “but also on the countless visual artists and musicians he has worked with and championed over a 50-year span.”

Through John Vanco’s leadership, the Erie Art Museum now houses a vibrant collection with strengths i n A m e r i c a n c e ra m i c a r t , photography, Asian decorative arts, graphics, Tibetan p a i n t i n g s , c o n te m p o ra r y baskets, and Indian classical bronze and stone sculpture.

It offers a range of programs in the visual arts — painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, film, video and performance — complemented by offerings in other art forms, such as experimental theater and literary readings.

In 2011, the EAM was awarded the nation’s highest honor for museums: The National Medal for Museum Service.

And at the annual meeting of the American Alliance of Museums in 2015, the museum received the AAM’s Sustainability Excellence Award for large museums.

John is a

He saw a greater role for the art museum‌

OUR ALLEGHENY: OUR THIRD CENTURY QUEST CAMPAIGN

THE VAN AKENS SHARE THEIR COMMITMENT TO ALLEGHENY

by Richard Stanley

We believe that alumni are responsible for the long-term well-being and health of the College. Our monetary gift is just one way we can provide support.

Jennifer Van Aken ’97

Jennifer ’97 and Dan ’95 Van Aken have made a significant impact on dozens of young men and women who have followed them at Allegheny.

many of whom I am still in touch with. I hope that by supporting Allegheny, others will be able to share in similar experiences.”

The Van Akens have donated financially to the College every year since they graduated, most generously to the Annual Fund Grant Program, which awards named scholarships to deserving students every year. The Van Akens, who live in Chicago and were both Alden Scholars and math majors at Allegheny, are engaged with the College, both having served on their Reunion Committees and currently on the Timothy Alden Council Executive Committee. Dan also has helped to provide internships and job opportunities for Allegheny students.

Dan, who received his MBA from the University of Texas, is a manag-

“I received a lot of financial support that made it possible for me to attend Allegheny College,” Dan says. “Our gifts are a small way of helping others receive the quality of education that Allegheny offers. It’s simply one way to give back.”

“I choose to support the College because what I learned in the classroom helped me to be successful both in graduate school and in my career,” says Jennifer.

“I also have great memories of the time I spent on campus with my friends, 16 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

I really value the education and the opportunity to be at this institution.

Alyssa Mann ’20 ing director at Wells Fargo. “My best experience with Allegheny has been introducing students to internship opportunities at Wells Fargo, some of which have developed into full-time job opportunities. All it took was a few emails to notify students of an opportunity and their talent did the

rest. Overall, it’s a great feeling when you play a role, albeit it a little one, in someone’s career.”

Jennifer is assistant treasurer at GATX Corporation and earned her MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. “We believe that alumni are responsible for the long-term well-being and health of the College,” she says. “Our monetary gift is just one way we can provide support.”

The Van Akens also support other nonprofits in their community, including Junior Achievement of Chicago and their local public schools and church.

“We choose to be involved and support organizations that we believe in,” says Jennifer, who is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. “You have to have a passion for the organization you work with because if you don’t, the experience just won’t be rewarding. With two daughters (ages 8 and 4), the school and church are extremely important.”

The Van Akens support the College’s Annual Fund Grant Program “because Allegheny is a private institution and the need for alumni support is critical,” says Dan, a Theta Chi member. “Also,

it is our hope that those receiving the grants will, in turn, support the College once they graduate.”

The Van Akens have supported four students since 2015–16. The minimum named Annual Fund Grant currently is $5,000. One of the rewarding aspects of providing an Annual Fund scholarship is that the grant recipient often corresponds with the donors, giving them some insight into his or her life on campus.

Find out more about the Annual Fund Grant Program at sites.allegheny.edu/annualgiving or call (866) 332-3853.

First-year student Alyssa Mann from Brooklyn, New York, received one of the scholarships provided by the Van Akens in 2016–17. Like the Van Akens, Alyssa says she has an affinity for math.

“With the education I will receive from Allegheny, I hope to have the necessary skills to study at Columbia University for graduate school in chemical engineering. Being at Allegheny really means a lot to me because I know that this school is known for its undergraduate research and rigorous academics,” Alyssa says. “I really value the education and the opportunity to be at this institution.”

As a member of the financial services industry, Dan says he sees a need for strong liberal arts education as more important than ever. “In the business world, diversity has become a huge topic of focus for managers. We too often fail to think of diversity in terms of experiences,” he says. “What I really liked about my experience at Allegheny was that it exposed me to a variety of subjects.

“My education trained me to think more broadly about subjects — math, philosophy, fiction writing, history and humanities. It armed me with a somewhat unique approach to problem solving. It provided me with a rich, diverse skill set upon graduation,” Dan says. “That to me is worth supporting.”

MISSING: THREE GATORS(OUT OF FOUR) Right now, only one in four Gators makes a gift to Allegheny each year.

When more alumni give, Allegheny can:

Climb higher in national rankings

Leverage more support from foundations

Do more for students

Become stronger

Join fellow Gators and make your gift at

allegheny.edu/giving 17

by Jim Berger

635 WINS

SHEEHAN ENDS COACHING CAREER WITH 635 VICTORIES Head Volleyball Coach Bridget Sheehan announced her retirement in February, capping a 30-year career at Allegheny.

Sheehan, who took a leave of absence for the 2016 season as she battled cancer, leaves as the winningest coach in the history of Allegheny athletics, compiling a record of 635-484. She also earned three North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coach of the Year awards and led the Gators to four trips to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

“I’ve had an amazing experience being a part of the Allegheny community for the past 30 years,” said Sheehan, who was hired prior to the 1986 season. “It has been a pleasure to have coached and mentored so many Allegheny student-athletes over the years. I’ve seen them mature and become not only successful players on the court and in the classroom at Allegheny, but more importantly, become respected leaders, professionals and contributors to their communities.”

Allegheny Director of Athletics and Recreation Portia Hoeg talked about the impact the coach has had on the volleyball program and the College as a whole.

“Bridget has been a tremendous member of Allegheny for 30 years,” Hoeg said.

“She has coached hundreds of Gators throughout her tenure at the College, while she has been an incredible mentor and influence on countless fellow coaches and co-workers. I could not be more proud of the first-class job that she has done with Gator volleyball, and of all of her contributions to the athletic department, Allegheny College and the Crawford County community.”

At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Sheehan ranked 25th all-time in Division III volleyball history in career wins, while she ranked ninth among active coaches.

The 635 wins are the most of any volleyball coach in NCAC history. Sheehan’s squads finished over .500 in 19 seasons, including 14 years with at least 20 wins, and four with over 30.

“Bridget and I have been colleagues for over 30 years,” said Jamie Plunkett, longtime Allegheny athletic trainer. “I am proud to say that I have been a part of arguably the greatest era of Allegheny sports, and under Bridget, the volleyball team played a major role in the successes that we experienced as a department.”

I have enjoyed a great career. …I will always be a Gator at heart.

Bridget Sheehan

In addition to the Gators’ team success, Sheehan has coached a number of players who have earned major awards. She coached three NCAC players of the year, including Gwen Herron ’86, Carol Frederick ’89 and the only three-time NCAC Player of the Year, Molly Dietz Pickett ’92.

In addition, Pickett was named Verizon Academic All-America in 1991, as was Missy Rau ’97 in 1995 and 1996. Under Sheehan, 70 Gators have earned AllNCAC accolades, and eight have been named All-Region, including the 2004 Great Lakes Region Player of the Year, Traci Stoner ’08.

“Playing for Coach Sheehan was tough, but a good kind of tough,” said Renea Surrena Gaus ’92. “She has very high expectations for everyone on the team.

You were expected to give 100 percent effort, 100 percent of the time. She had the ability to bring out the best in each athlete and bring each athlete together as a team. Our success was the result of teamwork more so than individual talent.

We played for Coach Sheehan and for each other, not for ourselves.”

Sheehan joined the 500-win club with a 3-0 victory over Piedmont College on Sept.

16, 2005, while in 2008, she guided the Gators to their 20th NCAC tournament appearance in 25 years. In her final season on the Gators’ bench in 2015, Sheehan led the team to an 18-13 mark.

Prior to the 2016 campaign, Sheehan announced that she would take a leave of absence to undergo treatment for cancer. The Allegheny and NCAC communities joined to honor the legendary coach. Throughout the season, the Gator volleyball team collected donations to the Meadville Medical Center’s Yolanda Barco Oncology Center on behalf of Sheehan, culminating with a near-capacity crowd on hand at the Wise Center for an October match against Denison on #Battle4Bridget Day. Two weeks later, at the NCAC tournament, the conference coaches unanimously selected Sheehan as the conference’s Coach of the Year.

“I have enjoyed a great career,” Sheehan said. “I have been fortunate to have had great staff, colleagues and administrators who have shown tremendous support throughout my tenure, which is the key to staying in coaching for so long. I look forward to continuing my connection with the College, and I will always be a Gator at heart.”

19

by Roberta Levine

STUDENT-ATHLETE BRINGS “ENDLESS POTENTIAL” On a January evening, Silas Garrison ’20 stood before 150 people at Meadville’s 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Fellowship Dinner, captivating them as he expounded on five of Dr. King’s quotes. Garrison, a broad-shouldered football player, spoke at the annual event with a practiced ease that seemed at odds with his youth.

Darnell Epps, assistant director of Allegheny’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEAS) Center, suggested Garrison speak at the dinner because of the first-year student’s “great promise and endless potential to change the world for the better.” Epps was also struck by the expansiveness of Garrison’s vision, by “his ability to build bridges between diverse groups of people while helping them find common ground.”

Others have recognized Garrison’s strengths. The first was his grandfather, a church pastor and later a traveling pastor. Garrison characterized his grandfather, who died last year, as “stern, strict and fair” and credits him with his speaking skills.

“My upbringing was the absolute reason why I was able to do it,” Garrison said. “It starts at home, seeing him speaking at different churches.”

Garrison also spent four years under the aegis of another inspirational speaker: Joe Pargano, his high school football coach. “He could motivate anyone; see someone (who) needed that spirit brought up, and always had the right thing to say,” Garrison said of his coach.

Garrison’s love for football and his intellect carried him to Allegheny College, with initial plans of becoming a teacher. He also chose Allegheny because he felt an affinity for the college’s tradition. Tradition is important to Garrison. His grandparents, who live in DePew, New York, a suburb 15 miles east of Buffalo, infused in Garrison a “powerful sense of tradition,” rearing him in the overlapping spheres of the church, school and football.

…he’s the perfect example of everything a studentathlete at Allegheny College should be.

B.J. Hammer

During his first semester at Allegheny, Garrison took a philosophy class with Associate Professor Steven Farrelly-Jackson and found the class, as well as the professor, exhilarating. Said Garrison of Farrelly-Jackson: “He doesn’t make himself seem important, but you know he is, and so does everyone else.”

Apparently it was a meeting of minds.

“I was immensely impressed with the quality, energy and depth of his thinking,” Farrelly-Jackson said of Garrison.

“He seems to have the ability to cut to the real heart of an issue. He has genuine intellectual integrity; he doesn’t try to impress; he tries to get to the/a truth about an issue.”

Garrison also took a course in multicultural education with Heather Moore, assistant professor of com-

munity and justice studies. In 2016 she spoke with impressive verve at the MLK dinner. “Professor Moore might be the biggest role model I have on campus,” Garrison said. “I heard her speak so many times; if I could implement anything from the ways she does it, I would.”

Moore noted how receptive Garrison was to new ideas. At the end of his first semester, he confided to her that he didn’t want to be a teacher anymore. “I tried to fight it, but I’m starting to realize I want to do activism work,” Garrison told Moore.

“That’s going to be my career goal.”

Moore thinks Garrison certainly can do that work. “He listens and responds,” she said. “He has the ability to accept constructive criticism. That will make him a better community worker.”

Allegheny Head Football Coach B.J. Hammer also has seen Garrison’s determination and drive. Garrison had a solid first season as a Gator, contributing as a backup in the defensive backfield and on special teams. And Hammer said Garrison is looking to be a threeyear starter beginning next season and a key figure in the program’s continued growth.

“He has done a great job in the offseason to really improve himself physically with his work in the weight room,” Hammer said of Garrison. “He’s continued to do a good job in the classroom, and he’s the perfect example of everything a student-athlete at Allegheny College should be.”

21

On the Hill

News from Campus

Allegheny Students Develop Ad Campaign, Film Commercial for Aerospace Manufacturer

Meadville-based Acutec Precision Aerospace Inc. tapped three Allegheny students — seniors Shu Yi Tang and Lily Loreno and sophomore Margaret West — to create a commercial that would re-introduce the company to the community after a rebranding and, ultimately, encourage more prospective employees to walk through Acutec’s doors. The project is just one part of a larger multidisciplinary effort, still in the pilot stage, to create a student-run media agency at Allegheny that would connect students with local businesses and nonprofit organizations that need media, marketing and advertising services.

Vice President of College Relations Susan Salton proposed the idea of a student-run media agency when she came to Allegheny in 2015. Intrigued, Assistant Professor of Communication Arts/Theatre Julie Wilson started talking about the possibility with other faculty partners across departments.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to showcase the creative talents of our students and serve the community in a real, tangible way at the same time,” Salton said. “Our students gain experience working with clients in professional settings, applying what they’ve learned in the classroom to the benefit of our region.”

Tang, Loreno and West handled all the pre-planning and contract logistics. They hired a makeup artist and another person to help with some technical aspects of the shoot, scouted Acutec’s Meadville and Saegertown plants, and shot the video over the course of several days. Tang relished the opportunity to put what she’d learned in her advertising and video production classes into practice.

“You get to have a real-life experience and talk to a client and get to know people. Why not take part?” she said. “It’s a very valuable experience, something I can talk about.”

Learn more and watch the commercial at

go.allegheny.edu/aerospacead

On the Social Circuit On and off campus, students and alumni show their Gator pride on social media all year round.

GRANTS AND GIFTS Constellation, an Exelon Company To build a demonstration greenhouse for the Carr Hall Garden — the “Carrden” — this summer. This project, “Growing zero waste, organic food using photovoltaics and waste vegetable oil,” is part of Constellation’s 2016 E2 Energy to Educate Grants program for student projects focusing on energy science, technology and education. The greenhouse will generate electricity using semi-transparent photovoltaic windows and heat using vegetable oil waste from campus dining halls. The greenhouse will be used to teach Allegheny and K-12 students as well as community members and prospective students and families about energy resources derived from recoverable waste. The grant also will fund two students to design and build portions of the greenhouse over the summer.

The Energy to Educate program funds projects related to energy that are educational and serve as a learning opportunity for students. Ian Carbone, assistant professor of environmental science, and Kelly Boulton, sustainability coordinator, are the project directors.

c.apiendum Finals week officially begins in 4 hours and 10 minutes

Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program Each year, Allegheny receives a number of donations from businesses to the EITC Program, which offers companies the opportunity to direct a portion of their state tax dollars to support innovative educational programs that benefit students in Pennsylvania’s public schools. Businesses that make contributions to approved educational improvement organizations (such as Allegheny) may receive tax credits of 75 percent or 90 percent of their contribution, up to $750,000 per tax year.

rachsteiner sometimes you’ve got to kiss a few gators before you find your prince

brassylibrarian My husband may not have gone to @alleghenycollege but he understands just how awesome it is. This custom made Lego Chompers makes Christmas merry. #acgatorgram

Funds to Allegheny through the EITC Program support two programs: Creek Connections and the Middle and High School Arts and Sciences Immersion Program. Creek Connections, a partnership between Allegheny’s natural science division and regional schools, allows K-12 students to use the French Creek and Allegheny and Ohio River watersheds as outdoor laboratories for ongoing water quality investigations. The Middle and High School Arts and Sciences Immersion Program is a collaboration among Allegheny and three local school districts to provide programs for gifted and talented middle and high school students.

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Program, via Erie Arts & Culture To support shows and events at the Allegheny Bowman-Penelec-Megahan Art Galleries, including exhibitions, educational lectures and opportunities for student engagement with nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Often, artists and lecturers stay on campus several days, meeting with classes and individual students in addition to their speaking and artistic engagements.

All exhibitions and lectures are free and open to the public. Examples of recent programming funded in part through PPA include the Mystical Arts of Tibet, which hosted seven monks from the Drepung Loseling monastery making a sand mandala for a week; Persuasion, a survey of government-sponsored efforts at persuasion in the 20th century through the use of graphic art; Marking Place, a three-person exhibition of international artists who considered how we define, interrupt and interact with our geographic, political and cultural landscapes; and 8 Hour Projects, an annual event that featured 12 artists creating art on-site with the public invited to observe (and participate if the artist desires).

Allegheny has received support each year for many years from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts. Darren Miller, associate professor of art and curator of the Allegheny galleries, is the project director.

23

Class Notes

News and Events from Alumni

Notes 1950s ’52

Frederick Goodill reports: “I have been retired since January 2000 after 30 years practicing anesthesia in the Bay Area of California. I moved to Avila Beach (Central Coast) in 1991 and practiced anesthesia half-time at a surgery center until 2000.”

James Young sends a note that he has returned to Oregon, Illinois, after the death of his wife so he could be near the couple’s three sons who live in the area.

’55

Bill and Ellen Hedling and George Bottcher—a great time was had by all, the Andersons report.

Jackson Blair and Pam Blair ’68 have retired and moved from Massachusetts to Virginia. Their new address is The Club at Ironwood, 12 Lofting Iron, Verona, VA 24482.

’67

Gary Burg conducted a week-long seminar in June 2016 at Ashland University on atmospheric science. The featured guest speaker was Dr. Karen Mueller, a severe weather expert.

Allegheny Trustee Emeritus Samuel Hellman, M.D., has published a book, Learning While Caring: Reflections on a Half-Century of Cancer Practice, Research, Education, and Ethics (Oxford University Press). The book delves into the issues brought about by advances in medicine over the last 50 years. Hellman is a radiation oncologist who has served as dean of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and physician-in-chief at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dana Williams Toedtman received the Honorary 1689 Award from the William Penn Charter School, which is given to someone who “has shown extraordinary commitment to the school by demonstrating pride and excellence in the performance of their duties and by consistently providing encouragement and support to the student body.” She lives in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Notes 1960s

’68

’60

Peter Winters reports that he met with classmate and fraternity brother Bob Judd, “who was in town for a bridge tournament. I met him at the Indianapolis airport hotel between games. We had a great time discussing old and new memories. Fifty years. Lots of catching up.”

’61

Mimi Jackson Lewellen was the Allegheny delegate for the October 2016 inauguration of the College of Wooster’s 12th president, Sarah Bolton.

’65

Carl and Candy Anderson have a winter residence in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. They also enjoyed a mini-reunion with ’65 grads Tom King, Jeff Baldwin,

Stephan C. Hansbury, a former State Superior Court judge, has joined the law firm of Wilson Elser in Florham Park, New Jersey, as counsel.

John Vanco will be leaving the Erie Art Museum in the summer of 2017 after taking the job one year after graduSee article ating from Allegheny. on Page 12 Vanco has led the growth and expansion of the museum into its new 80,000-square-foot downtown campus that now features an art collection of 8,000 pieces.

’69

Gail Mallory has been inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Notes 1970s ’72

Tina Zogott retired as director of sales and marketing, North America, for Otto Harrassowitz GmbH of Wiesbaden, Germany, a supplier of European books and journals to academic/research libraries.

During a 42-year career working in and for libraries, Tina was awarded the 1994 Ulrich’s Serials Librarian Award by the American Library Association (ALCTS Division) and the 2005 NASIG Championship Award by the North American Serials Interest Group. She and her husband, Howard Zogott, live in New Jersey and plan to move to Arizona. She can be reached at tinhow@comcast.net.

Peter Hodge ’68 sent this message: “I have found Allegheny College to be well represented in the National Park Service. I worked as a seasonal interpretive ranger in summer 2016 at Mesa Verde National Park with Kristy Sholly ’95, pictured with Hodge, and this past fall at Lyndon B. Johnson National Park with Betsy Keene ’12 of the curatorial staff.”

’73

John McDermitt says: “After 42 years in human resources, I have retired and am embarking on a new path: teaching at a college part-time. Volunteer work in the community (Fremont, Ohio) will also play a big role during the ‘second half’ of my life.”

’74

Anthony Magistrale has published a book, The Shawshank Experience: Tracking the History of the World’s Favorite Movie, through Palgrave Macmillan. He is a professor at the University of Vermont.

Pat McDermott Nixon ’69 and classmates Lynn Detrick, Jean Basehore Thomson and Barb Pelander Hanniford gathered in Washington, D.C., in October 2016 to celebrate friendships begun 51 years ago as first-year hallmates on 2C South.

’75

Robert Ruhl was named to serve a fiveyear term on the Vermont Board of Dental Examiners. He also has been appointed as an assistant professor at the University of New England College of Dental Medicine.

’76

Blaine Aikin has been named chair of the board of directors for Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. In his role as board chair, Aikin will lead the panel as it sets policy and further defines the organization’s strategic direction. He holds a master’s degree in public management and policy from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University.

In September 1974, this group met as first-year students living in Walker Annex.

“As the years have passed,” says Linda Sowers Luvaas ’78, “our friendships have only grown stronger so it was fitting that we would celebrate another ‘milestone’ birthday together. In October 2016, we shared a wonderful week in Sonoma, California, enjoying wine, food and Allegheny memories (with a lot of laughter, of course). Pictured from left: Linda Sowers Luvaas, Pamela McKee Dumpe, Pamela Mayer, Sharon Richey McClendon, Elaine Andersen Burns and Elisa Frey Fernbach.

25

Dennis Bires has been elected to the board of trustees of the Tulsa Arts Management Consortium, which provides joint use of a software platform for memberships, ticketing, donations and sponsorships to the Tulsa Symphony, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Ballet Theater, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa Botanic Garden and the Woody Guthrie Center.

Sarah Erickson rotated off the board of UKIRK/Presbyterian Campus Ministry at Agnes Scott College, serving the last several years as board chair. She is serving her second year as president of the Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning for Ministry, having previously served two years as vice president. When not volunteering, she remains employed as director for the Center for Lifelong Learning and adjunct professor of Christian education and formation at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

’77

The Schizophrenia International Research Society presented Anthony Grace with its Outstanding Basic Research Award during its biennial conference in Florence, Italy, in April 2016. The award is based on the quality of the research and its impact in advancing schizophrenia research. He also received the Gold Medal Award for Translational Research from the Society of Biological Psychiatry in May. Grace is a distinguished professor of neuroscience and a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Notes 1980s ’81

Lori Pollock has been named alumni distinguished professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences.

’82

Victoria A. Lipnic was named acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in January 2017. Lipnic has served as an EEOC 26 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

commissioner since 2010. “I am honored and humbled to be chosen by President Trump to serve as acting chair of EEOC, the agency which safeguards the civil rights of American workers,” Lipnic said.

’83

Sue Thomas has been named president of Truman State University. After two years as Truman’s provost, Thomas was selected in July 2016 to be the interim president, and the institution’s governing board made the appointment permanent in February 2017.

’84

’87

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has appointed Richard R. Titus as associate judge of the Circuit Court for Carroll County. Titus graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1990 and had practiced law for 23 years in Westminster, Maryland, with Hollman, Maguire, Titus and Korzenewski prior to his appointment.

’88

’85

Dorcas Bethel is attending the Salvation Army College for Officer Training and is scheduled to graduate in 2018 as part of the “Messengers of the Gospel” session. “This college is accredited so I will receive an associate degree on top of my bachelor’s and two master’s,” she says. “The academic year is divided into three terms with six classes each(!), a worship winter intensive and bell ringing next to the Red Kettles. Pray that I can figure out a way to get to our 30th Reunion in 2018. I finally got my driver’s license this year, too.”

Ray Morandell has been named executive vice president, national sales director, for Crestmark Bank. He has more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance.

Kurt Holmes has been named executive director of LifeCare Hospice. Holmes served as the dean of students at the College of Wooster for 14 years and most recently was the interim vice president for student affairs at Ohio Wesleyan University. He and his wife, Gina, live in Wooster.

He received his master’s degree in public policy from West Virginia University.

Robert C. Wonderling, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, was appointed chairman of the Ursinus College board of trustees in January 2017.

Jim Gossweiler has founded the National Environmental Site Assessment Depository Inc., a national depository-archive of environmental and structural real estate due diligence documents. He is also principal geologist of Federated Environmental Associates Inc., an environmental consulting firm he founded in 1992. He holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and geology.

’86

Jay Badams accepted the post of superintendent of Hanover and Norwich schools in Vermont and New Hampshire, starting July 1, 2017.

Carmen Ramsey Ellington has joined the board of Pittsburgh Musical Theater and is serving a three-year term. She is proud to help the organization celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Kent McFarland received the 2016 Sally Laughlin Award for the Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Species in Vermont. This award from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources “recognizes individuals who have advanced the knowledge, understanding and conservation of endangered and threatened species and their habitats in Vermont.”

William White officiated the Big 33 Football Classic played in June 2016 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Played since 1957, the Big 33 Classic is one of the oldest and most prestigious high school all star games in the

country. Wil is entering his 11th season as an NCAA football official and worked a full Division 1 schedule last season. He lives in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Amy, and their three daughters.

’89

Daniel A. Nathan, professor and chair of the Department of American Studies at Skidmore College, co-edited and co-authored the introduction to a book, Baseball Beyond Our Borders: An International Pastime. It is published by the University of Nebraska Press.

José Rodriguez has been appointed to the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee. His term on the committee will continue through August 31, 2020.

Yeager Marketing, owned by Renee Bracken Yeager and Mark Yeager ’90, made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies for 2016. The firm is a speciality marketing agency focused on helping

Fortune 500 technology companies and their channel partners accelerate growth.

The firm’s website is yeagermarketing.com.

Notes 1990s ’90

Eric Fedyk says the family (Owen, Quinn, Emma, Amelia and Eric) relocated to metro West Boston after a sojourn on the North Shore of Chicago and wants to catch up with some New England Gators. He is now working with Gator Penny Carlson ’97 at Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Kelly Monkelian Hughes received her doctorate in computer science in March 2014.

’91

Paul Caswell was selected as the Florida Elementary Reading Teacher of the Year in October 2013. In January 2015, Governor Rick Scott honored Caswell as a Governor’s Shine Award for Inspirational Teachers recipient.

Michelle Henry has been named Pennsylvania’s first deputy attorney general. She will be responsible for all legal, criminal and civil matters of the office. Henry, a graduate of the Widener University School of Law, is the first woman to hold the second-in-command position in the attorney general’s office.

’93

Stan Drayton is the associate head coach and running backs coach at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously coached running backs for the Chicago Bears in the NFL and Ohio State.

’94

Michael Madigan Jr. is overseeing KeyBank’s Central New York East area, which has 13 branches and more than 65 retail banking employees. He has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Jen FitzPatrick ’95 says: “I’m writing to share a photo of a group of Alleghenians who gathered for a meal at our annual National Association of College Admission Counseling Conference. This picture was taken on Sept. 23, 2016, at the Athletic Club of Columbus. This is the third year we have all had a chance to get together at this conference, and we just love seeing each other. Folks came from all over: South Korea, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland and New York!” Back row, from left: Terry Giffen ’73, Jenn Decker Winge ’96, Ann Marie McFall Strauss ’96, Jennifer Firek FitzPatrick ’95, Tracy Stih Stockard ’97, Jennifer Jones Keegan ’00, Keith Bryner ’01 and Bruce Hunter ’77. Front row, from left: Trevor Rusert ’94, Linda Gibson Clune ’86, Rachel Siegel ’01, Christina Sutphen ’09 and Cornell Lesane, vice president of enrollment and dean of admissions at Allegheny.

27

’96

Megan Bleil has joined Pennington Partners & Co., a private multifamily office, as partner and head of client service. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, Pennington provides advisory services to successful families who have built wealth through privately held businesses and real estate.

Tricia Moore has been appointed senior vice president of investments and portfolio management at First Potomac Realty Trust’s Washington office.

Vivian Silverio says she lives in London and operates her own online business, where she is selling digital art images she creates for other businesses or just for buyers to enjoy. Her website is fullpotentialisaboutyou.myshopify.com.

’97

Robb Smith has taken the job as defensive coordinator for the Wake Forest University football team.

’98

Arthur Payne completed a master’s in community mental health in 2014.

Scott Reed, a lieutenant colonel, is the commanding officer of Marine Corps Security Force Battalion Bangor in Silverdale, Washington, and was selected to attend the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Notes 2000s ’00

Timothy Grahl has been named a project developer at Pfister Energy in Maryland.

He has a master’s degree in business administration from Florida International University.

Jennifer Ortiz teaches AP Biology for the North Hills School District in Pittsburgh.

She earned her National Board Certification in 2011 and for the last few years has been an AP exam reader for the College Board.

28 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

’01

Kristopher Knepper has joined the Lawson Cos. in Virginia Beach as director of development and acquisitions. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Old Dominion University.

’02

Aaron Cecala has been awarded tenure in spring 2016 and is associate professor of biology at Elizabethtown College. In December 2016, Rebecca Johnson Cecala received her Ph.D. in American studies from Penn State University.

’03

Karen Zannini Bull earned her doctorate in December 2015 from Syracuse University in instructional design, development and evaluation. Norma Blouch ’66 was paired through Allegheny with Bull in 1999 as an alumni mentor, and the two have continued their friendship to this day. In May 2016, Norma and Karen celebrated in Syracuse at commencement weekend.

Megan Romano has joined the faculty of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where she is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology.

’05

Jonathan Cilley was promoted to vice president of information technology at Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union in Poughkeepsie, New York. Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union is one of the top 30 credit unions in the country with more than $4.5 billion in assets.

Jeff Weimer has been promoted to partner at Reed Smith in the law firm’s Pittsburgh office. He was previously an associate.

He is a member of the Complex Litigation Group and frequently manages high-profile cases for companies in Pittsburgh, in Western Pennsylvania and across the nation.

’06

Aubrye Green Gugger and her husband, Ian Gugger, completed a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail on September 13, 2015. After completing their five-month trek, the two, introduced by Allegheny alumna Allison Foote, tied the knot in a small ceremony on November 11, 2015, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. They purchased a home north of Boston, and in May 2016 Aubrye accepted a position as an environmental analyst with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Kellyn Rielly has joined the medical staff at Tomball Regional Medical Center in Texas. She specializes in providing comprehensive health care in all stages of women’s lives, including routine gynecological services, high-risk pregnancies and menopause management. She was previously the chief resident of obstetrics and gynecology at Wellspan York Hospital in Pennsylvania.

’08

Katharine L. Platt has joined the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson.

She practices labor and employment law in the firm’s Southpointe office located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. She earned her law degree from the Duquesne University School of Law.

’09

Erin Foster began working at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh in 2015 and has recently become exhibitions content developer and graphic designer. In 2010, she received a degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In 2013, she pursued her dream of living in England while earning her master’s degree in art gallery and museum studies from the University of Leeds. Her undergraduate degree is in art history.

John J. Heurich Jr., has joined the Pittsburgh office of the law firm of Rawle & Henderson as an associate. He focuses his law practice in the areas of insurance coverage, medical professional liability, construction, casualty and premises

liability, product liability and environmental torts. He earned his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 2013.

Kyrie Kowalik published “Defining Refugees in Terms of Justice” in the Peace Journal:, available at tandfonline.com/ eprint/RYsZseyDXG8R75prm7zC/full Bradley Landgraf successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in chemistry at Pennsylvania State University in August 2016. He is completing a postdoctoral fellowship at New England Biolabs in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Emily Ricotta has accepted a position as a research analyst at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease in the Epidemiology Unit/Division of Intramural Research. Her research involves statistical and geospatial analysis of big data for studies relating to infectious diseases such as non-tuberculous mycobacteria and antibiotic resistance.

Notes 2010s ’10

David Siekkinen obtained his certification as a licensed professional geologist by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in March 2016.

’11

Kaitlyn Anne Katherman of Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, received a doctor of dental medicine degree from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine— School of Dental Medicine in June 2016 at the Bradenton Area Convention and Civic Center.

’12

Steven Jones served as one of the seven Democratic electors in the state of Connecticut for the 2016 presidential election’s Electoral College. He also started a new job with S&S Management Services in Bloomfield, Connecticut, as executive assistant to the Connecticut Association of Healthcare Underwriters and to Core Content Review of Family Medicine.

Deborah Landau received a master of arts in international affairs from American University School of International Service in December 2016. She serves as a contractor at the U.S. Institute of Peace and plans to continue working on gender and global-security issues in Washington, D.C. Christina Moreschi accepted a position at Allegheny College as an assistant director of career education in July 2015.

’13

Marshal Bratten and Sarah Labarre ’14 became engaged on July 3, 2016, in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Dana D’Amico completed her MFA in nonfiction at the University of Minnesota in 2016. She was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to collaborate with the Minneapolis City Health Department in 2017, writing about local science for the community. She currently works for the Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor and the Minnesota State Commerce Department.

Kimberly Langin and Sam Rigotti ’10 became engaged on September 4, 2016, in Portland, Maine. They live in Brooklyn and are excited to start planning their wedding.

Dylan McCreary and Jennie Vorhauer ’14 are engaged to be married on August 12, 2017. Last year, McCreary completed a master of science in biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and is currently a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Surgery. Vorhauer is a Ph.D. candidate in the pathology department at the University of Pittsburgh.

’14

Kathleen Macie became engaged to Anthony Grkman on October 1, 2016. He proposed while hiking in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. They are planning a wedding in October 2017. Also this year, Kathleen accepted a position with QPS Engineering as an environmental scientist, joining fellow Gator Kirsten Williams ’08.

’15

Raymond Jozwiak has been promoted to senior analyst at Denali Sourcing Services, a WNS Company.

Andrea Sharfman has graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s master of arts program in professional writing.

’16

Rebecca Fox accepted the position of new media specialist in University Communications at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Alumnae, from left, Olivia Newman ’15, Rachel Klingensmith ’16 and Natasha Marzolf ’16 proudly represented the Gators during their white coat ceremony at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine on October 15, 2016.

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honor Kait Galbraith ’11 and groomsmen Naveed Ismail ’12 and Aaron Ingley ’10. Schulz and Phillips began their relationship as students at Allegheny and were excited to celebrate their wedding someplace that was special to both of them.

’12 Andrea Kessler and Arnold Padillo were married on July 22, 2016, at Salvage One in Chicago. Gators in attendance were Arthur Martinucci ’88, Deb Bartle ’88, Sarah Packosky ’04, Elizabeth Klinnert ’07, CJ Brown ’08, Julie Mach ’08, Lisa Freeman ’08, Calley Garnon ’08, Samantha Sabah Essa Kunvatanagarn ’09, Amanda Bresnehan ’09 and Katie Flood ’10. The newlyweds live in Indianapolis.

Tom Richardson and Heather Aley Richardson ’90 were married in Old Lyme, Connecticut. The Richardsons have seven children between them and are in the process of combining households. Allegheny alumni in attendance were Heather Matter McBrier ’90, Katy Wright Everett ’88, Kevin Dwyer ’90, Megan McKechnie Byrne ’90 and Shannon Casgar ’91.

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Elizabeth Claire Benvin and Carlos Antonio Feliciano were married on May 21, 2016, at Ford Chapel on the Allegheny campus. The bride has a degree in international studies and a double minor in Chinese and Spanish languages. She is employed by Ariba, an SAP company. The groom, an opera singer, is a 2005 graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and holds a dual master’s degree in pedagogy and vocal performance from Pennsylvania State University. The couple plans to move to Tucson, Arizona.

Hallie Dilley and Josh Hurwitz (University of Florida ’12, but still a Gator) were married on October 21, 2016, in Saint Augustine, Florida. Several Allegheny Gators made the trip to the Sunshine State: Meaghan Volek ’12, Megan Silbaugh ’12, Andrew DeJong ’12, Leah Weimerskirch ’12 and Darla Martin.

’11 Mary Olson married Matthew Meyers on October 7, 2016, in Pittsburgh. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Josephine Olson Meyers, on June 1, 2016.

Bobbi Ruddock married Christy Balmos ’99 on September 3, 2016, at Clifton United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Both Ruddock and Balmos received their master’s degrees in education at Xavier University. Ruddock teaches ninth-grade math at Milford High School, and Balmos teaches fourth-grade science and social studies at Willowville Elementary. They live in Loveland with their sons, Carter and Landon.

30 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

On July 16, 2016, Samantha Schulz and Dalton Phillips ’11 married at Ford Chapel on Allegheny’s campus. They celebrated with friends and family, including many fellow Allegheny alumni.

Their wedding party included maid of

Submit your newsworthy events for inclusion in Class Notes by logging in to Gator Connect (allegheny.edu/gatorconnect) or emailing items to clnotes@allegheny.edu.

On October 1, 2016, Fred Krauss ’01 married Charlie Rolison at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Krauss works at the Big Ten Conference as the assistant director of policy. The couple reside in Chicago. Allegheny was well represented in the wedding party as Daniel Krauss ’00 served as best man, John Carberry ’02 as a groomsman, and Carissa Huebner Krauss ’00 as a bridesmaid.

Additionally, those in attendance included Matt Fox ’00, Andy Eaglen ’01, Alyson Lightner Eaglen ’03, Jay Sofranko ’02 and Shirley Cronin (Allegheny Bookstore).

Doug Price ’09 married Nicole Kacerik ’10 on August 20, 2016, at Bella Sera, south of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Many Gators traveled from near and far to be a part of the celebration, including Alex Letizia ’08, Katie Damico ’08, Michael Fish ’07, Victoria Lipnic ’82, Katie Richter Fish ’08, Adam Simbeck ’09, Alex Habay ’09, Bill Babe ’08, Tiffany Shento ’10, Craig Devinney ’10, Trevor Coffey ’09, Andrew Barker ’10, Jenette Smiddle Lani ’10, Patrick Juber ’10, Stephanie Elkins ’10, Kelly Marker ’10 and Pat Kahle ’09.

Nicole Mascia ’11 and Christopher Cantwell ’09 were married on June 25, 2016, at Liberty Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania.

They enjoyed the company of many fellow Gators at their wedding, including Amy Graham ’09, Mallory Bastin ’09, Christy McShea ’09, Beth Stern ’09, Jessica Boyle ’11, Jon Cantwell ’99, Brent Chaney ’08, Pat Doherty ’09, Dave Boger ’84, Dan Austin ’09, Alex Habay ’09, Eric Sharrow ’10, Ashley Sharrow ’10, Katie Damico ’08, Katie Murphy ’09, Kelsie Mozzoni ’11, Joelle Tighe ’10, Katie Lewish ’10, Josh Hopkin ’11, Colleen Silky ’11, Zane Miller ’09 and Benny Limegrover ’09.

Joshua Hamblen ’13 married Jessica Giles Hamblen ’13 on September 17, 2016. The two met their senior year at Allegheny, and had a mini-Allegheny reunion at their wedding.

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(ages listed at time of Ellie’s birth). The majority of the Herring family resides in Waukesha, Wisconsin, while Marcus resides in Bozeman, Montana.

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Josh Paradise and Erin Brockett ’15 were married on July 30, 2016, in Ford Chapel at Allegheny. Many Gators joined in the celebration, including maid of honor Melissa Brockett ’07, bridesmaid Katie Mohan ’15, groomsman Thad Mitchell ’15, groomsman Chris Patrick ’16 and groomsman Steve Nymick ’15.

Other Gators there to celebrate included: Rosalie Evans ’16, Emily Marecic ’15, Lucas Morton ’16, Chris Bourne ’16, Jesse Battaglia ’15, Steph Walker ’15, Zack Palmer ’15, Allison Porco ’07 and Cindy Hoesch ’18.

Judson Wible and his wife, Devon, welcomed a second son, Robert, on November 7, 2015 (their sixth anniversary).

Grandparents Norma ’71 and James ’73 Wible are thrilled as well.

’00

Sarah Hall Herring and her husband, David, welcomed a daughter, Eliana Brielle Herring, on July 31, 2015. Ellie joins Marcus, 22, Romeo, 17, Zoe, 15, and Naiya, 4

Sarah Viselli and husband, Karl, welcomed their daughter, Grace Ann Fulkert, on February 9, 2015. Big brother Jack completes the family.

Carly Colatch Hill and her husband, Jordan, welcomed their first child, daughter Ivy Elizabeth Hill, on December 4, 2016.

The family lives in Leeds, England.

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Arrivals Peter Cino and his wife, Lisa, welcomed their fifth child, Jonathan Phillip, on February 9, 2016.

Neetu Sehgal, her husband, Sachin Dewagan, and their son, Akash Sehgal Dewagan, 2, welcomed baby brother Lakhan Sehgal Dewagan to their family on April 22, 2016.

Meghan Bredahl Murphy and her husband, Brian, welcomed their first baby, Declan Patrick, on August 20, 2015. At 9 months old, Declan was thrilled to make his first road trip to Allegheny’s 15-Year Generational Reunion.

Frank Palermo and Amanda Kopnitsky Palermo ’06 announce the birth of their second child, a daughter, Lucille Beatrice, on October 18, 2016. Lucy joins her big sister Nora at home in Pittsburgh.

Michelle Holcomb ’14 and Trevor Colvin ’14 were married on September 16, 2016, in Chautauqua, New York. A reception followed at the Athenaeum Hotel at the Chautauqua Institution.

There were 25 Allegheny alumni in attendance, including friends, roommates, teammates, and fraternity brothers and sisters.

32 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

’08

Blaire Luciano Constable and Nathan Constable welcomed their first child, Callahan Michael Constable, on June 7, 2016. The Constables live in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Leah Hengelbrok and her husband, Kevin, welcomed their second child, Cecilia Elise, on April 15, 2016.

Megan McShea Tomaino along with husband, James, and daughter, Olivia, 2, welcomed Natalie Marie Tomaino on October 18, 2016.

Ashlee Lang Sydlik and her husband, Ryan Sydlik, welcomed a baby girl, Ainsley Olivia Sydlik, on June 17, 2016, in Pittsburgh.

Jessica Minsterman Leehan and her husband, Peter, welcomed a baby girl, Abigail Rae Leehan, on November 17, 2016, in Pittsburgh.

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Theresa Henzler and her husband, David, welcomed their second child, a daughter, Addison Renee, on April 21, 2016. They live in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and Theresa is a registered nurse. David is a cable technician. They welcomed their first son, Ethan Robert, on January 15, 2015.

Tenille Williams and fiancé Wesley Henderson welcomed a baby boy, Tanner Henderson, on April 2, 2016. They live in Cranberry, Pennsylvania.

’07

Stephanie Kirklin and Brian Kirklin ’09 welcomed their first child, Alana Claire Kirklin, on August 29, 2016, in Madison, Wisconsin. She weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 19 inches long at birth.

“IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST, GO ALONE. IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR, GO TOGETHER.”

allegheny.edu/gatorconnect Search for Fellow Gators • Use the Job & Internship Database • Volunteer for Allegheny • View or Submit Class Notes

Obituaries ’34

Virginia Miller Shaffer on December 16, 2016. She graduated magna cum laude and then attended graduate school at Yale University and finished her master’s degree at Stanford University. She briefly taught English, speech and drama both at the high school and college levels. Later, she taught a public speaking course to ophthalmologists at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco. She is survived by two sons, John and Stuart.

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Evelyn Longwell Matthews on October 19, 2016. She worked with the Steuben County, New York, Children’s Services, primarily in foster care and adoption services, eventually becoming a supervisor. She is survived by her daughters, Linda Tetor, Laurie Grimes and Deb Picciano, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

’40

Catherine Reynolds Martin on December 30, 2016. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She worked at Viscose. Following Pearl Harbor, she answered a call for typists needed in Washington, D.C., and she moved there in 1942 to assist the war effort. She entered and trained as an officer in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service program at Northampton and Smith College and achieved the rank of lieutenant. She is survived by three children, Dr. Catherine Anne Martin, Charles David Martin and Richard Douglas Martin, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

’43

J. Henry Gardner on February 8, 2017.

He earned his degree in economics and served as editor of The Campus, and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, including 25 months in the South Pacific. Following his discharge, he enrolled at Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, receiving an M.B.A. He worked at LTV Corporation for 15 years, where he led public relations, advertis34 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

ing and marketing. In 1970, he changed careers and became a regional representative at Fiduciary Counsel, Inc., where he served as an investment advisor. He served as governor, Harvard Business School Association of Pittsburgh; treasurer and president, Pittsburgh Graduate Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta; and elder, Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1995, he published his World War II diary, Beachheads and Black Widows, which chronicles his life while serving in the South Pacific. He is survived by a daughter, Anne Gardner Tripp, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Eleanor Sterett Roberts on November 28, 2016. After graduating from Allegheny, she joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, during World War II. She then attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and practiced medicine in Queen City, Missouri, retiring in 1988. Surviving are two sons, Alfred and James; a daughter, Marjorie Carpenter, and many grandchildren and step-grandchildren.

Helen McNair Sinnett on October 30, 2016. She is survived by her children, William Sinnett, Nancy Doman and Mary E. Sinnett-Brush, and several grandchildren.

’44

Claire Nevins Bongiovanni on January 3, 2017. She was employed briefly at Alcoa.

’45

Dorcas Minick on November 6, 2016.

She was a Luvaas singer and later sang for many years in the Meadville Chorale and then the College Chorus. She was also a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She taught biology at Dunbar Township High School in Leisenring, Pennsylvania, and English at Meadville High School, retiring in 1987. At the Allegheny Bicentennial Choir Reunion, she was the oldest singer in the choir. She is survived by two sons, Daniel C. and Robert S; a daughter, Heidi Minick Starke; three grandsons and three great-grandchildren.

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Frances W. Bell on August 30, 2015. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega and graduated with a degree in sociology.

Following college, she worked at Gulf Oil and Koppers Co. in Pittsburgh. She taught Sunday School and volunteered with both Contact Ministry and Meals on Wheels.

She is survived by her daughter, Lauren Todd Schuler, and two grandchildren.

Miriam Wesbecher Finfrock on November 30, 2016. She worked at a Cleveland hospital before returning home to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where she continued to work as an operating room nurse at what was then Westmoreland Hospital. After a 12-year break to raise her family, she obtained a master’s degree and returned to the medical field. She was a nurse at several elementary schools in the Greensburg-Salem School District. She is survived by three sons, Randy, Jeff and Mark, and eight grandchildren.

Mary Pagliaroli Harris on August 19, 2016. She graduated magna cum laude from Allegheny, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She moved to California in the late 1940s to attend UCLA for her master’s degree and teach at Occidental College. She switched from college-level teaching to working in the public schools as an elementary school teacher, and taught in the primary grades at Canoga Park Elementary School for 34 years. She is survived by her children, Ed, Jack and Mary Harris, and several grandchildren.

Shirley Clothier Maddy on January 15, 2017. She was a graduate of the Boston School of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University. She worked as an occupational therapist in hospitals and medical facilities throughout the country. She is survived by her husband, William; her children, John R., Carol Lee Maddy and Jeffrey S.; her brother, John Watts Clothier; 12 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Joyce Lidstone Thornburg on December 2, 2016. She received her master’s degree from Fairfield University. She

worked as an English teacher for the Norwalk, Connecticut, High School for many years and also had been employed at Westchester Community College. As a volunteer she spent more than 10 years as a docent at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. She is survived by her husband, Richard; her sons, Richard W. and John D.; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

’48

James E. Holmes on November 4, 2016.

He attended Allegheny and then entered the military. He served in World War II with the Army as a radar technician.

When he returned from service, he finished his degree at Allegheny. From there he went on to the University of Michigan

and received his master’s degree. He was a woodmill-work estimator. Survivors include his wife, Ruth, and one sister.

John Houserman on November 13, 2016. He was a pilot during World War II. After graduating from Allegheny, he worked for General Electric for 33 years in Pittsburgh.

He was an active member in Kiwanis and served on the board for the Splendido retirement community in Arizona.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia Anderson Houserman ’48; his son, Rex Houserman; two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

James P. Nordstrom on November 8, 2016.

Charles Piper on October 4, 2016. He attended the University of Pittsburgh Medical School from 1948 to 1952 followed by an internship at Allegheny General Hospital. He was admitted to surgical residency at the Mayo Clinic in 1953 through 1956 and also completed a preceptorship at Louisville Children’s Hospital. He served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy on the USS Burton Island during the Korean War and at San Diego Naval Hospital. He practiced general surgery in Santa Barbara. He was a fellow in the American College of Surgeons and the Priestley Society. He is survived by his wife, Judy; two daughters, Cynthia Heise and Susan Nielsen; and four grandchildren.

Philip M. Young on January 18, 2017. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Young, and their children, Scott, Stephen and Susan.

Gladys Mullenix Black ’54 Trustee

Gladys Mullenix Black, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, died on February 21, 2017.

“Gladys Black was a proud daughter of Allegheny who set an inspiring example through her most selfless service, caring spirit and leadership,” said James H. Mullen, Jr., Allegheny president. “We mourn her passing, yet we celebrate her life and the special legacy that will continue to shine for generations at her alma mater.”

In 2015, Black was honored with the Alumni Medal, the College’s oldest and most prestigious recognition, for steadfast loyalty and many years of distinguished service to Allegheny. Her volunteer service included hosting and mentoring students, serving on the Alumni Council, and volunteering on her 50th Reunion Committee. She was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2006 and served on the

Alumni Affairs and Development Committee, First Year Experience Task Force and the Visibility Task Force.

Her generous financial support of the College directly touched the lives of countless students. She funded the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts in 2006. She also made gifts to support the College’s general endowment, the Annual Fund, the Playshop Theatre in Arter Hall and residence hall renovations.

In addition to her involvement with Allegheny, Black was a major supporter of The Pennsylvania Ballet and People’s Light, of which she was an honors board member and a private sponsor of several plays. She also served on the board of directors of the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls.

A membership volunteer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for 20 years, Black remained an associate member of the museum after her retirement. She was also a supporter and devoted member of St. David’s Episcopal Church (Radnor).

Philabundance, Episcopal Community Services and Orion Communities also counted her among their loyal supporters.

In 1997, after the death of Joseph Black, she became acting president of The Valley Forge Group, comprised of Valley Forge Technical Communications in Exton, Pennsylvania, and Detroit; Valley Forge Technical Information Services in Munich, Cologne and London; and Sun Technicom in Detroit.

Survivors include a daughter, Sandra Collins; a son, Steven; four grandchildren, including Matthew Collins ’05; and two great-grandsons.

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Willard W. Klapthor on November 17, 2016. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. He had a long career in accounting, working for Erie Burial Case and the Erie Resistor Corp., in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Bastian Blessing and Screw Machine Specialities in Grand Haven, Michigan. He served as an official for high school football and basketball in the west Michigan area for several years.

He sang in the choirs at the Church of the Covenant in Erie and First Presbyterian Church in Grand Haven. He also served the community for several years on the Grand Haven Zoning Board of Appeals.

He is survived by his children, Robert Klapthor, Joan Ramp, Marky Trinkle, Nancy Wells, Patricia Klapthor and James Klapthor, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

’50

David Feigert on December 26, 2016. A Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude graduate, he graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1953. He practiced in local, state and federal courts, and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955.

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Fred W. Mitchell on October 2, 2016.

While attending his senior year of high school and participating in the Meadville chapter of the Civil Air Patrol, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy after the attack at Pearl Harbor. As a seaman 1st class, he survived the sinking of the destroyer USS Drexler on May 28, 1945, in the battle of Okinawa, receiving the Purple Heart. Upon discharge he completed his education at Allegheny and had a 40-year career with the Pennsylvania Railroad as a freight salesman. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and a sister, Stella Superson.

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Marie McCreary Cooley on May 31, 2016.

While at Allegheny, she studied history and chemistry and began dating her future husband, Harold Cooley ’52. Both sang in the a capella choir. She went to work in Washington, D.C., as a laboratory

36 ALLEGHENY Spring 2017

technician. The couple moved to Germany in 1953, where they spent three years stationed with the Air Force. After the war, her faith grew with her devotion to the local Catholic parishes wherever she lived.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by two children, David and Suzanne; four grandchildren; one great-grandson; and her brothers, Dr. Thomas W. McCreary III and Father Robert McCreary.

Mary Yates Lowe on November 3, 2016.

She worked as a service representative for the Social Security Administration. She is survived her children, Cynthia Damon, James Lowe and William Lowe Jr., and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Richard J. Steele, Jr. on September 21, 2016. He was a baseball pitcher while at Allegheny. After graduation, he attended the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained a Presbyterian minister.

He served at the Gibson Heights Church in Youngstown, Ohio, for more than 40 years until his retirement. He then served as a substitute minister in Presbyterian churches in northeast Ohio. His love of sports continued throughout his life, umpiring baseball and softball games, as well as serving as chaplain to a local high school football team. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Engber, and his sister, Betty Everett.

Paul E. Storing on February 8, 2017. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and history with Phi Beta Kappa honors. During the Korean War, he served as a corporal in the U.S. Army in Dreux, France. He served as a foreign service officer in the Department of State for 25 years.

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Eleanor Kuhlman Bone on October 28, 2016. She lived in Florida for 38 years, spending 17 years as a teacher at Brookshire Elementary School. She worked another 10 years at Hunter & Marchman law firm.

She was an accomplished pianist, violinist and painter. She is survived by her three children, Fred Bone, Marcia Rabun and Diane Pou, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Lucianne Bonds Carmichael on November 25, 2016. She was the former principal of McDonogh 15 Elementary School, an award-winning potter and co-founder of A Studio in the Woods artists retreat in Algiers, Louisiana. She earned a graduate degree at Tulane University, and, by 1969, was made principal of a public elementary school in the French Quarter. Her 1986 book “McDonogh 15: Becoming a School” is remembered as a call for individualism in school management. Upon retirement from school management, she took up ceramics. She is survived by her husband, Joe Carmichael, and three siblings, Renee Woodsend, Jody Morgan and Michael Bond.

William W. Woodrow Jr. on December 8, 2016. He served in the U.S. Army’s 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, in the Korean War, and served in Korea and Japan. He was awarded numerous personal and service medals, including the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart. He worked in sales at Robertshaw Controls Co., where he was based out of Chicago and Mansfield, Ohio, over the years. He eventually served as vice president of marketing and sales for Robertshaw, before retiring to Mansfield in 1996. He is survived by his daughter, Diana G. Woodrow; two sons, William W. Woodrow III and Paul F. Woodrow; a stepdaughter, Kristy Damron; a stepson, Randall Derror; a brother, Dr. Thomas W. Woodrow; and several grandchildren.

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Robert A. Digel Jr. on November 24, 2016. He graduated with a degree in economics and was a member of Air Force ROTC. He met his wife, Shirley Jones ’54, at Allegheny. Following college, he spent three years in active duty, where he piloted and maintained B-25s. Returning to Smethport, he managed family interests in oil and gas production, the local water utility and in later years, was chairman of Hamlin Bank and Trust Co. He served on the Smethport Board of Education and the Bradford Hospital board and sang in his church choir all of his adult life. Besides his wife, he is survived by three sons, Jeffrey, Martin and Peter;

his daughter, Julia Kopp; several grandchildren; and his siblings, Anne D. Potter and Mirabel D. Sweet.

Phillip E. Haddad on January 23, 2017.

He was a U.S. Army veteran.

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Robert M. Bailey on September 19, 2016.

At Allegheny, he pledged Delta Tau Delta.

He served as a minister in the Florida United Methodist Conference. Survivors include his wife, Franki Jean; his children, Deborah Swineford, Rhoda Morgan and John Bailey; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his sister, Gwen Clawson.

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Caroline O’Nan on November 27, 2016.

She taught elementary school in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

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John H. Carman on December 8, 2016. He received All-American honors for football in 1956, and in 1957 was named Allegheny College Athlete of the Year. He received his master’s degree from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and his Ph.D. in geological sciences from Pennsylvania State University. He joined the Geology Department at the University of Iowa in 1968. Early in his career he also carried out research at the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Geophysical Laboratory. In 1977, he left the university to pursue his own research interests. He is survived by his children, Jeffrey, Craig, Kate and Glen; eight grandchildren; and his former wives, Joyce Carman-Baldus and Carol Weeks.

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William C. Severn on July 5, 2016. He served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Chopper and graduated from Allegheny with a degree in geology. He worked as a material scientist of industrial crystal and process engineer in the semiconductor industry. He started his career in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but later took jobs in California, Utah and Japan. For the past 30 years, until his recent move to Tilton, he resided in Nashua and Temple, New Hampshire. He was once a Cessna pilot, a sloop sailor and a beekeeper. He is survived by his companion, Asako N. Severn; his daughter, Susan M. Severn; his son, Kenneth M. Severn; his sister, Ann Severn; his brother, Thomas E. Severn; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Giles Wayland-Smith Professor Emeritus of Political Science

Giles Wayland-Smith died on October 28, 2016.

Born in Oneida, New York, he received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1957, worked for Chemical Bank in New York for four years, and earned his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1968.

Wayland-Smith joined the Allegheny faculty in 1967. Throughout his 32-year tenure at the College, he mentored hundreds of students and is remembered for his passionate teaching, both in political science and international studies. In 1995, he was honored with the Julian Ross Award for Excellence in Teaching.

As a scholar, Wayland-Smith specialized in comparative politics with a major focus on Latin America, where he conducted field research. He chaired the Department

of Political Science and Faculty Council and also founded the College’s Amnesty International chapter. In the 1980s, he was instrumental in petitioning the Somali government to release an Allegheny alumnus who had been sentenced to death for criticizing the regime.

“Giles was a man of high principle,” said Bruce Smith, Arthur E. Braun Professor in the Department of Political Science.

“While personally modest, he also possessed a steely conscience. He was actively involved in the effort to persuade the College to divest its holdings in apartheid South Africa and was appointed the first chair of the Committee on Racial Issues.

He was an early participant in interdisciplinary studies and curricular reform, and toward the end of his career, a daring experimenter with team teaching. He loved to read, and read widely, and his stu-

dents benefited from the ease with which he integrated literature and politics. And not least, he loved to talk.”

After his retirement from Allegheny, Wayland-Smith continued to share his love for teaching—as an adjunct faculty member at Hamilton College, as a faculty member in the Semester at Sea program and as a lecturer for adult education seminars on American utopian communities.

Wayland-Smith was a direct descendant of the Oneida Community in central New York State, and he served on the Board of Trustees and as interim executive director of the Oneida Community Mansion House museum.

Wayland-Smith is survived by his wife, Kate; daughters, Ellen and Sarah; five grandchildren; and brothers, Robert and Paul.

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Marjorie Long Stadtmiller on January 10, 2017. She taught first grade in Indiana, Pennsylvania, prior to starting her family.

She also was an administrator for an orthodontist. She is survived by husband, Larry Stadtmiller; her sons, Jeff, Chris and John Edwards; a stepdaughter, Stephanie Lefevers; and several grandchildren.

Marjorie Smock Westberry on December 22, 2016. She enjoyed an academic career which spanned more than 30 years. She taught throughout the United States as well as in Africa (in Zimbabwe as a United Methodist missionary-teacher and in Swaziland as a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Swaziland). She had earned her master’s degree at Wayne State University. She is survived by her husband, James R. Westberry; her children, Justin Thomas Schuchat, Jennifer Lee Schuchat Nichols, Diana Westberry Fink, Tom Westberry and Phil Westberry; and several grandchildren.

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Jane Wicker Guy on October 4, 2016.

She tutored Vietnamese immigrants in English. In Erie, where she was a member of the Elmwood Avenue Presbyterian Church, she was an ordained elder and deacon, and coordinated the church’s auxiliary for the Elmwood Gardens / Presbyterian Lodge assisted living home. She was also a member of Aglow and served on its prison ministry. She was a musician, playing piano and singing. She is survived by her son, Stephen Guy; a daughter, Linda O’Marra; a sister, Mary Spaan; and several grandchildren.

Daniel Koch on November 27, 2016. He worked to put himself through school at Allegheny and graduated early to pursue a degree in dentistry, which he received from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a captain in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Fort Worth, Texas, and in Germany. Upon his return in 1964, he established a dental practice in Brentwood, Pennsylvania. He ultimately relocated his practice to Whitehall in 1987. He was part of the surgical staff at Shadyside Hospital until 1991, and was a clinical instructor in the dental school of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

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He is survived by his wife, Sandee; his children, David and Kristen; his siblings, Natalie and Conrad; and several grandchildren.

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Norbert Adam Cyterski on December 29, 2016. He earned his master’s degree in guidance from Allegheny. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict from 1953 to 1955, earning the rank of corporal. He retired as a teacher in the Fort LeBoeuf School District after 35 years of teaching, guidance counseling and coaching. Survivors include his three daughters, Linda Noble and Jackie and Beverly Freeman; several granddaughters and great-grandchildren; and one sister, Irene Hesch.

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William G. Ross on December 6, 2016.

He earned his law degree from Temple University. He served in the U.S. Army.

He served as a Moot Court judge and was a past president of the Northampton County Bar Association. He was a certified trial attorney for 45 years. He was also a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Court of Appeals of Pennsylvania, the 3rd Circuit U.S. Federal Court, and the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Survivors include a daughter, Kirsten Ross-Hillard, and a son, Tobin Ross.

Linda Viney Sharpe on November 9, 2016. She majored in American history and minored in Latin and art. She participated in many charitable pursuits, including Creche, Habitat for Humanity, St. Susan’s Soup Kitchen, the Bemus Point Fire Department and the Chautauqua Humane Society. She enjoyed the academic and charitable pursuits of the American Association of University Women in Jamestown, New York, and Greenville, South Carolina. She was a board member of the Home Owners Association of Rolling Green in Greenville.

She is survived by her children, James L.M. Sharpe and David S. Sharpe, and two grandchildren.

’62

William G. Sutter Jr. on October 2, 2016. He began his career as managing partner of Sutter, Sutter and Adams, a Pittsburgh firm. He also was general counsel for the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh. In 1969, he was a partner in the development of Central Medical Pavilion, one of the first new-construction proprietary hospitals east of the Mississippi River. He worked his way through college by singing doowop music with his tenor voice and his band, Willie Sutton and the Innocents. He earned his juris doctor from Duquesne University. As a hobby and side business, he carved and painted detailed replicas of birds, mostly waterfowl. He was known as WG the Carver. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Snyder; his sister, Marian Sutter; his brother, Paul E. Sutter; his daughter, Eden Reynolds; his son, William G. Sutter III; and several grandchildren.

Mary E. Ball Tonelli on November 21, 2016. She received her master’s in library science from Edinboro University. She enjoyed the Broadway Series in Erie, reading and the Erie Philharmonic. She is survived by two daughters, Livia Tonelli Komosa and Theresa Tonelli; three grandchildren, and a sister, Beth Onspaugh.

’63

Victoria Lukavich Cline on October 23, 2016. She was the first in her family to attend college, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English. Soon after graduation, she moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of becoming a writer. She almost immediately began working in the marketing and advertising industry, serving clients such as Ferrari, JC Penney and Hang Ten. A pioneer for women and women’s rights, she was a born entrepreneur and opened her own advertising agency, Victoria Basler & Associates, in the 1980s and she became pivotal in the resurgence and rebuilding of what is now Old Town Pasadena. She is survived by her daughters, Eva Marie Basler and Amy Basler Hammond; a sister, Antoinette Benecki; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

’64

David J. Fulton on September 11, 2016.

He earned a master’s and a doctorate in history at Indiana University. He held a number of posts, including chancellor, at Indiana University East. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; his children, Alex, Benjamin, Alison and Kate; a brother, Woody Fulton; a sister, Carolyn Howell; and several grandchildren.

Robert M. Whitbeck on November 11, 2016. He enjoyed a 40-year career as an electrician, was a member of IBEW Local 712 and served as its treasurer. He also was a master woodworker. He is survived by his wife, Kay Huckleberry Whitbeck; his children, Laura Whitbeck, Susan Whitbeck, Clifford Davis, William Davis, Holly Tucci and Rebecca Humes; six grandchildren; and his siblings, Donald Whitbeck, John Whitbeck and Barbara Barron.

’65

Roy A. Gilliland Jr. on January 8, 2017. He entered the U.S. Air Force immediately after college and retired after serving as a command pilot for 20 years. With his passion for numbers, he switched careers after he retired and became a CPA. He is survived by his wife, Joan; three children, Trey, John and Robyn; five grandchildren; and his sisters, Barbe Johnson and Dottie Miller.

’66

Henry E. Sewinsky Jr. on November 17, 2016. He earned his law degree from Dickinson College and practiced law for 47 years. He was a partner at Rodgers, Perfilio, Heiman & Sewinsky in Sharon, Pennsylvania, which later was sold to Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth Elberty Sewinsky; a son, Greg Sewinsky; two grandchildren; a step-granddaughter and a step-great-granddaughter.

’72

Pauline Wolford Mooney on January 27, 2017. She was the original executive director of Active Aging Inc. in Meadville, where she worked from 1974 to 1995. She

graduated from Warren Business College with an associate’s degree in 1939. From 1960 to 1974, she was employed by Allegheny in Quigley Hall, where she worked in various departments, and was a friend, cookie supplier and secret term paper editor to numerous students. While still working full time at Allegheny and raising her two sons, she returned to college at age 44, graduating from Allegheny in 1972, the same year her son, Mike, graduated from the University of Illinois School of Law and her son, Tom, graduated from Ohio State University. She served on the regional board for the American Red Cross and on the board of directors of the former Quality Living Center. She was an active member of Kiwanis Club of Meadville, Rails to Trails and the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In 2000, Allegheny and the Meadville Area Chamber of Commerce awarded her the Governor Raymond P. Shafer Award for Distinguished Community Service to the Meadville Area. Besides her sons, she is survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Rex A. Shoup on December 1, 2016. He received an MBA at Gannon University.

He had a love for family, traveling and history, and was an avid sports fan, especially for Pittsburgh teams. He is survived by his children, David Shoup, Steven Shoup ’05 and Megan Hollern; several grandchildren; and his brothers, Rob Shoup and Scott Shoup.

’74

Paul R. Weigand on November 11, 2016.

He met his wife, Carol Fanning ’75, at Allegheny in a pottery class. He completed his Ph.D. in counselor education at Kent State University. He started a private practice serving older adults and people living with disabilities in nursing homes across northeast Ohio with his brother, John, at Central Ohio Geriatrics. He and his wife were members of a group of Alleghenians known as “Fangand,” with a pink flamingo as its mascot. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Sarah McDonald; a son, Michael Weigand; two sisters, Ann Weigand LaTour and Mary Jane Weigand Tanaka; his brother, John; and a grandson.

’82

Wendy Berg Bailey on December 20, 2016. She earned her master’s degree in theology from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She had been serving as the executive presbyter for Monmouth Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in New Jersey. She is survived by her husband, Dwayne ’82; her daughter, Kate Farmer; her father, Peter Berg; and her brothers, Michael and Matthew.

’88

Darlene Henel Balzotti on February 9, 2017. She earned her degree in Spanish and economics. She then graduated from Southern New Hampshire College with an MBA. She was employed as a director of customer service at Smith & Nephew in Andover, New Hampshire, for 16 years.

She is survived by her husband, Paul E. Balzotti, Jr.; her father, Robert Henel; a daughter, Angelina M. Balzotti; a sister, Sue Pitz; and a brother, Robert Henel.

’04

Alissa A. Muhleman on December 24, 2016. She was a graduate of the Shadyside School of Nursing in Pittsburgh. She was employed as a registered nurse for Dialysis Clinic Inc. in Bellevue. Survivors include her mother, Sandra Muhleman; her maternal grandmother, Anna Mary Milkovich Czadankiewicz; and two brothers, David L. Muhleman Jr. and Ryan A. Muhleman.

Friends

Efthimios C. Farantzos on Oct. 26, 2016.

He taught economics at Allegheny.

Jason Huth on December 14, 2016.

He was executive sous chef for Parkhurst Dining.

Rhoda Sherwood on July 8, 2016. She taught English at Allegheny.

Carlton R. Woods on Feb. 21, 2017. He was chair of the music department at Allegheny and founded the Allegheny Summer Music Festival.

39

The Last Word

by Chris Allison ’83 Entrepreneur in Residence; Co-Director, Center for Business and Economics; Allegheny College Trustee

How My English Degree Helped Build A Tech Company Why would CEOs need to understand how to leverage the power of stories to lead their companies? Wouldn’t most people say businesses are about profit and loss, not about narrative?

I was amazed at how much my English degree helped me when my Dad got sick and asked me to take over as CEO of the tech company that he started.

The late Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, was a worldrenowned mythologist. He believed that all hero myths follow essentially the same story arc.

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder,” Campbell wrote. “Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Director George Lucas found the theory so compelling that he structured the tale of Luke Skywalker so it precisely followed Campbell’s storyline.

Don’t such tales resemble most business school case studies?

When our students become executives serving customers, employees, investors and the community, they won’t simply regurgitate data…

During my decade running a publicly traded tech company, I found that using narrative was essential to helping employees, customers and investors visualize “the possible.” We went from a struggling start-up to a NASDAQ company with a market capitalization of $2 billion.

In a “region of supernatural wonder,” our road of trials included a rescue by angel investors, the magic of a Yoda-like design engineer, the death of a sales patriarch, a seismic technology shift called the Internet, the bursting of the tech bubble, and a corporate resurrection through two strategic acquisitions.

But in the end, our success depended on one thing, what financial underwriters call “The Story.” What was the customer value proposition? Did we own proprietary technology? Was there a large, unaddressed market with growth potential that could be reached efficiently?

Floating our company’s IPO shares involved a truly “mysterious adventure,” with 10-a-day presentations to mutual fund managers over a globetrotting fortnight and a half. Wall Street veterans call these financial barnstorms “The Road Show.”

And a “decisive victory” was won. We priced our deal at the high end of the estimated trading range.

Since returning to Allegheny to teach in 2006, I’ve come to fully value the liberal arts approach to a business education with a strong foundation in economics.

Complementing my English degree with economics courses would have prevented much heartache along my journey. I needed to teach myself the management, accounting and finance lessons that I hear every day while roaming Quigley Hall.

My colleagues aren’t building business robots though. They’re molding first-year students into out-of-the-box thinkers who can analyze a problem and apply economic theory to create innovative solutions. Most important, they teach our students to learn how to listen, observe and communicate.

When our students become executives serving customers, employees, investors and the community, they won’t simply regurgitate data using stylized diagrams in a PowerPoint presentation weighed down by clip art.

They will take them on a journey of discovery. They will show them how to make their lives easier and more profitable. They will convince them of their greatness.

They will tell them a story.

I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley “Invictus” Shared by Chris Allison ’83 Entrepreneur in Residence and Allegheny College Trustee

Allegheny Magazine

Allegheny College 520 North Main Street Meadville, PA 16335

In his Printmaking I and II course this spring, Assistant Professor of Art Steve Prince showed his students how to etch plexiglass, render an image and pull it using a press to create a print. Students then produced their own prints, based on the theme of social commentary, from a variety of found and manufactured materials. “The structure of the course involves me setting the parameters of a visual problem and offering the students a process to execute their ideas,� Prince says.

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