Issuu

No. 1 Vo lum e 47 / FA L L 2 02 3

Cornell Report

The Experience That Pays Also inside: 18 things we did in 18 days

This screenshot is from the recording of a song Eliza Carlson ’25 wrote in her Fan Fiction course.

We just couldn’t stop at 18 things, so here is a bonus 19th thing a Cornell student did in 18 days.

Composed, produced, and recorded an original song ENG 374: Advanced Topics: Fan Fiction For the final project of this new course with Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing Katie Sagal, we all created original fan works that made some kind of intervention into an existing fandom of our choice. My project was centered around the “Anne of Green Gables” books and the recent “Anne with an E” television adaptation. I wrote, and later recorded at the Academic Technology Studio, an original song inspired by the character of Anne. Anne’s connection to nature and imagination is something I have found deeply inspiring ever since I was young. One of my favorite quotes from “Anne of Green Gables” is this one: “Dear old world, you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.” I wanted this song to represent the feeling of that quote and act as a reminder to go and rediscover that sense of wonder, reconnect with your own imagination, and find and revel in sources of joy, happiness, and good in the world.

—Eliza Carlson ’25 ON THE COVER: Future music teacher Emily Martyka ’24 stage manages Cornell concerts and trains other music work-study students to do the same. Photo by Megan Amr.

WEB EXTRA

Hear Carlson’s song at crnl.co/Anne

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

CONTENTS

18 things we did in 18 days Are we amazing or what?

31 Work-study It’s more than a job

L I F E A F T E R CO R N E L L

Doug ’65 and Joanie Landquist Kirkpatrick ’66

Kristine Diekman ’79

Lauren Buckner ’99

Making art to change the world

Block planning a life

Partners for 6 decades

Ve’Amber Miller-Dye ’15 Sharing public history

DEPARTMENTS

2 You Said

14 Ram Report

53 Losses

4 Around the Block

41 Alumni News

56 Last Word

You Said No. 1

Vo lum e 47 / FA L L 2 02 3

Cornell Report EDITOR

Dee Ann Rexroat ’82 drexroat@cornellcollege.edu 319.895.4241 ASSISTANT EDITOR

Jill Hawk DESIGN

Amy Belice Graphic Design CLASS NEWS CONTRIBUTORS

Maxwell Love Rachel Weber

Well Said “Often the best thing I can do as a leader is get out of the way and let somebody new rise up.” The Rev. Burns Stanfield Sept. 6, 2023, Small-Thomas Lecture,

Cornell Report is published fall and spring for alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the college by the Office of Marketing and Communications, Box 1648, Cornell College, 600 First Street SW, Mount Vernon, IA 52314-1098

877.MVERNON (683.7666) giving@cornellcollege.edu ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT OFFICE

319.895.4204 alumni@cornellcollege.edu REGISTRAR

319.895.4372 registrar@cornellcollege.edu ATHLETICS

319.895.4230 athletics@cornellcollege.edu ADMISSION

800.747.1112 admission@cornellcollege.edu cornellcollege.edu/cornell-report

ONLINE-ONLY OPTION

To opt out of the printed magazine and be notified by email when each issue is online, contact the editor at cornellreport@cornellcollege.edu

“The Spirituality of Organizing” View the talk at crnl.co/stanfield

’70 ALUM ADMIRES TODAY’S STUDENTS I want to commend those multiple current Cornell students and alumni who serve on the Mount Vernon Fire Department and the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service. When I was a Cornell student more than 50 years ago, many on campus thought they were socially aware and politically involved. Me, admittedly, not so much. I mostly limited myself to classes, studying, running, and conversations with friends. I gave no thought to volunteering in the Mount Vernon community; when could I possibly have found the time? The connection would never have occurred to me then, but with the experience of another half century providing perspective, I now realize that the students featured in this story are doing more for their friends and their community, and perhaps also for themselves, than even my most politically active friends were doing during the late 1960s. They have taken Voltaire to heart in working to cultivate their garden by volunteering themselves as their best, sometimes the only, productive response to the vagaries of living. The next person who suffers a fire or needs emergency medical transportation will benefit from their dedication.

WHEN POKER WAS A SERIOUS OFFENSE I write in response to the summer 2023 Cornell Report letter that mentions poker games by certain members of the Cornell faculty and the resulting friendships that have endured. How times have changed, as my roommates, Jack Sherwood ’63 and [the late] Gil Davis ’64 (successful prosecutor of Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones case), and I were threatened with being expelled by Dean Good and Dean Sidles for playing poker in our Olin Hall room. This “offense” was serious enough that letters to that effect were sent to our parents! Needless to say, that threat had no consequence whatsoever and the friendly games continued, as well as closeness with Jack for all these years. Perhaps our poker games and friendship was a harbinger of later events by faculty at Cornell.

David Bruun ’62 Wasco, Illinois

Richard Gast ’70 Bettendorf, Iowa

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION We are delighted to publish letters and social media mentions. Tag @cornellcollege to be considered on social media. Email us or mail them to cornellreport@cornellcollege.edu or Cornell Report, Box 1648, 600 First St. SW, Mount Vernon, IA 52314-1098. Submissions are edited for style, length, and clarity.

IN RESPONSE TO THE POST: IF YOU COULD RELIVE ONE DAY AT CORNELL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Tim Neubert ’94

Wednesday afternoon of a midyear block break!

Trisha Weydert Gehler ’98

Homecoming dance freshman year … the official first date with my husband-to-be.

Jan Lansing Murphy ’83

1st day back sophomore year. Back with my best friends after 3 months apart!

Charles Hayes ’77

April 24, 1977. My senior recital and final Chamber Singers concert.

Michael Christopher ’71

Reporting on the Old Sem crisis for The Cornellian; my senior recital, which included Alf Houkom performing my “Piece for Professor and Chalk Board.”

Tim Maaske ’76

It would be my senior year playing basketball for my dad against arch rival Coe College on the Hilltop.

Wendy Marshall Sheriff ’02 I loved waking up to a snowy campus and heading to class with hot cocoa in hand. Not having to drive in that weather was the best part!

IN RESPONSE TO A POST ABOUT THE THREE NEWEST PROFESSORS EMERITI

John Heaton ’91

Not sure I like this trend of professors who came to campus after I graduated in 1991 having been there long enough to retire with emeritus status. But as John Gruber-Miller taught me, tempus fugit.

Remembering Lisa For 13 issues beginning with Spring 2019, the Cornell Report benefited from the skilled editing and writing of assistant editor Lisa Gray Giurato. Her contributions ended on June 9, 2023, with her unexpected passing. Lisa was an integral part of the team that produced the award-winning “I See You” issue of the Cornell Report in 2021 with guest editor Heather Byrd Roberts ’09. It was Lisa’s passion project. That issue uplifted the voices of alumni of color, and she strove to continue that work in every issue. In 2022 she extended those efforts by accepting a position on Cornell’s Diversity Committee, serving the Cornell campus community and ensuring it is welcoming to all. Lisa overcame many hardships, and her fierce compassion for the underrepresented and underserved defined her outlook on life, permeated her writing, and underscored how she raised her two sons. As a single mother, she based her decisions on what was best for Jack (now a high school junior) and August (a Cornell sophomore) and made sure they grew up to be compassionate and responsible, like her. In 2011 she followed her dream—and the hope for a better life for her boys—when she entered the nonfiction creative writing program at the renowned Iowa Writers Workshop. After earning her M.F.A. and gaining additional experience, in 2016 she joined the Office of Marketing and Communications at Cornell College. She was a gifted writer, editor, strategist, and valued colleague for nearly seven years. Lisa was compassionate, calm, reflective, and known for being prepared. We were wholly unprepared for her loss. —DEE ANN REXROAT ’82

Around the Block

ANGIE SUTTON

A fleet of 60 drones created an aerial light display over Van Metre Field at Ash Park to conclude Cornell’s Homecoming pep rally.

COURTESY ATHRAA MHANNA ’25

Athraa Mhanna ’25 stands in front of King Abdullah I Mosque during her Cornell Fellowship in Amman, Jordan.

Mhanna conducts Fellowship 6,330 miles from campus When Athraa Mhanna ’25 closed her eyes to sleep during her Cornell Fellowship this past summer, she heard a community buzzing with activity, and the sounds of traffic lulled her to sleep. She was 6,330 miles from Cornell College conducting research in Amman, Jordan. “Amman is the city that literally never sleeps,” said Mhanna, a sociology major. “Everything is open almost 24 hours a day, and people are out at all hours of the day and night.” Mhanna spent her Fellowship in Jordan at a local elementary and middle school. While she calls Phoenix, Arizona, home now, Amman was home when she was a young girl. “Upon arriving at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, I immediately felt at home. I was surrounded by my fellow native Arabic speakers in a country that I left when I was just 7 years old. Although my memories in Jordan from that time are fading away, I am beyond grateful to be able to make new memories throughout this internship experience,” Mhanna wrote in her Fellowship blog. Mhanna received the funded Fellowship through Cornell’s Berry Career Institute. She dreamed up the details during her first year at Cornell and has worked with career

coaches and family in Jordan to make it happen. Her goal was to help Al-Resalah School identify gaps in students’ needs and develop equitable strategies for supporting their academic potential. She also developed lesson plans and worked with Jordanian students on their English language skills. Mhanna said this internship has moved her closer to her goal of working on global humanitarian efforts, whether for a nonprofit or a government agency. “I strongly believe in global citizenship, and this internship has opened a door for me to embark on this goal,” she said. She has worked toward her goal for years now. In 2017 she interned for Promise Arizona, a nonprofit organization that serves immigrant communities in Phoenix by empowering them to use their voices to make a political impact. Then, last summer she interned for the Iraqi American Refugee Center in Phoenix, where she used her Arabic language skills to help refugee families. Like thousands of Cornellians before her, Mhanna’s international study experience was life-changing. “Experiences like this can teach you really important skills that you wouldn’t otherwise have and are truly an eye-opening experience,” she said.

“I strongly believe in global citizenship.”

One COURSE

AMERICAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS Assistant Professor of American Politics Megan Goldberg and her students turn a critical eye to our country’s representative government and its elected officials during the course American Political Institutions.

ROBYN SCWAB AARON ’07

those things,” Goldberg said. “This class reveals all of the different Constitutional constraints on members. Representatives are faced with rules and procedures, and in a lot of ways they have to play by the rules to get access to things and to power.”

Assistant Professor of American Politics Megan Goldberg started teaching at Cornell College in 2019.

WHAT THEY LEARN Students explore the major institutions of the U.S. federal government with a special focus on Congress. “We learned about everything from the making and passing of laws to the ways in which candidates interact with their constituents in order to win elections,” said Luke Baldwin ’24. Students think in depth about what it means to live in a representative democracy and leave with a better understanding of how people think about politics and what lawmakers can actually do. “Many people, including students, have an idealistic view of politics—that they can vote for someone who has the views most like them and that those elected will go to Congress and vote for 6

HOW THEY LEARN Class is filled with discussions about assigned readings and what’s happening in real time during the congressional session. Students are also simultaneously working on a block-long research project about a congressional member of their choice. “It’s really unique to do this research project on the block plan because it’s moving at a rapid-fire pace,” Goldberg said. “By the third day of class, they are looking up their candidate’s district on the census website, and by the fifth day of class, they are turning in their candidate’s electoral history. They are coming to class with information about their member that nobody else has, so they can contribute to the conversation in a different way than everybody else.” They also hear from speakers who are invited to class. “My favorite part of this class was the visit by former Cornell College professor and former Congressman Dave Loebsack,” said Benson Fang ’25. “Congressman Loebsack gave us a lot of interesting insider information about individual members of Congress, as well as Congress as a whole.” SELECTED READINGS

Excerpts from “Home Style” by Richard Fenno Excerpts from “Tweeting is Leading” by Annelise Russell

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Life after Student Senate Cornell students have been active in self-governance for over a century. In the process they learn about the complex issues that face Cornell and its students, as well as the importance of leadership to address those issues. Here are three former presidents who leveraged their experiences into their lives after Cornell.

Steve Wieland ’06

Taylor Koch Kinn ’12

PRESIDENT: 2005–06

PRESIDENT: 2010–11

PRESIDENT: 2016–17

JOB TITLE: MANAGING PARTNER, MOONEY WIELAND WARREN

JOB TITLE: ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, STUDENT CAREER ADVISING, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

JOB TITLE: MANAGER OF EQUITY AND CULTURE AT CONSERVATION VOTERS NEW MEXICO

LIVES: WILMETTE, ILLINOIS

LIVES: ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

WHY SHE JOINED SENATE: The feeling of wanting to be connected to the Cornell community was pretty immediate for me. Senate started out as a way to get involved with my first-year classmates and became a way for me to play a small role in making the Cornell experience one that was continuously evolving for current and future students.

WHY THEY JOINED SENATE: I joined because as a Mexican, queer, and non-binary student I wanted to make sure that current and future Cornellians would be represented not just by Senate but by the institution at large. I knew if I wanted policies and curriculum to change to reflect a more equitable and diverse perspective, it would require working with faculty, staff, and student leaders to better the system from within. I ultimately joined because I knew it would allow me to create positive, everlasting changes on campus and advocate for all my peers, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

LIVES: BOISE, IDAHO WHY HE JOINED SENATE: I have an inexplicable interest in the process of making decisions with people who may not all have the same opinions, but do have the same goal of making a community better. CAREER IMPACT: I have a very high-conflict job and often think back to my time in Student Senate in combative situations. I think my experiences made me more comfortable talking constructively with people with whom there is some conflict, so that both sides can find resolution. BEST LESSON: During my presidency we implemented Robert’s Rules of Order. Although it is a dense package of rules, it is first and foremost a system for civil discourse. I learned that by orienting debates around issues (rather than people), directing remarks toward the chair of the meeting (rather than other senators), and imposing certain logistical rules (rather than, well, imposing none), things became a lot more pleasant and efficient. I hope the Senate is still using Robert’s Rules! [Editor’s note: It is!]

CAREER IMPACT: It is because of Student Senate that I met one of my best mentors, John Harp, who was the VP of Student Affairs at the time. Until John encouraged me, I hadn’t considered a career in higher education. BEST LESSON: Your reaction to a bump in the road defines your leadership far more than the challenge itself. Senate manages and distributes a large budget and aims to impact all students on campus. I learned a lot about being a leader and finding the strengths of my team to get through difficult moments that I have applied to all my work after leaving the Hilltop. MAJORS: Anthropology and sociology, Spanish

MAJORS: Sociology and politics; Spanish minor 7

Arturo Castillo ’17

CAREER IMPACT: Being part of Student Senate made a major impact on my current career because I now work in state politics. BEST LESSON: I learned that to create positive changes in the world around us, we must not be complacent and stagnant. We must seek discomfort and find areas in which our lives can be improved. MAJORS: Psychology and Spanish; civic engagement minor.

A ROU N D T H E B L O C K

Celebrating campus landmarks Some of the most iconic buildings on campus are marking anniversaries this year. PHOTOS BY ROBYN SCHWAB AARON ’07

150

YEARS

170

140

YEARS

1853

1873

1883

1938

Old Sem

South Hall

Cornell’s original building has served many purposes. In the beginning it was multipurpose—housing students, faculty, classrooms, a kitchen, and chapel. After serving for more than 30 years as a boarding hall and classroom building, the Seminary Building (Cornell was founded as the Iowa Conference Seminary) was in need of renovation; hence the nickname “Old Sem.” In 1892, a mansard roof was added to create a fourth floor for art studios. After the fire of 1924 left only the masonry walls, Old Sem was rebuilt in its original style. It has housed administrative offices for decades.

South Hall, which was once the southernmost building on campus, opened as the Cornell Boarding Association Hall for men in 1873. But dorm life proved less appealing than that of the rooming houses near campus, and the building was gradually converted for academic use. It was renovated in 1981 and houses the politics and English departments. For a period prior to 1906, Cornell’s Music Conservatory was housed there, and the building was often referred to as Conservatory Hall.

Scott Alumni Center at Rood House

Armstrong Hall of Fine Arts

Originally known as Rood House, this building was three separate houses joined into what was traditionally, but not exclusively, a women’s residence. The last students moved out in January 2007. The north house was removed and the remaining structure renovated for the offices of Alumni and College Advancement. Richard Small ’50 and Honorary Alumna Norma Thomas Small provided lead funding for the project in honor of Paul K. Scott ’29, who was alumni director (1954-76) and coached Cornell’s 1947 NCAA championship wrestling team. The original house was the residence of Col. Henry H. Rood, a local merchant, member of Cornell’s Board of 8

Armstrong was the gift of Blanche Swingley Armstrong, Class of 1891, and one of the first two women to be appointed to Cornell’s Board of Trustees. It was reputed to be the first U.S. structure to house music, art, and theater. During a major renovation in 2002– 2003 a companion building, Youngker Hall (housing Kimmel Theatre), was built contiguous to Armstrong, and the art department moved to McWethy Hall. Trustees, and treasurer of the college. It was designed by Cass Chapman, the architect for King Chapel and Bowman-Carter Hall. The house was a gift from the Class of 1894 in celebration of their 25th class reunion.

ALLAN RECALDE

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

MCCULLOUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

YEARS

1953

1963

2018

Field House

Dows Hall

Pauley Hall

Today’s Richard and Norma Small Athletic and Wellness Center—the SAW—is built around, and incorporates, the former Field House, a project of Cornell’s centennial. In November of 1953 the college held a birthday dinner in the Field House, followed by the American Broadcasting Company staging its popular weekly radio program “America’s Town Meeting of the Air” to a national audience.

Originally a residence hall for first-year women and now co-ed, Dows was named in honor of Sutherland C. Dows Sr., a member of the Board of Trustees from 1932 to 1969 and its president for almost 20 years, and his wife Frances. It was renovated in 2015 and features a demonstration kitchen and an aerobics room.

Pauley opened in 1963 and was joined by Rorem in 1966. Pauley is named for Clarence O. Pauley, Class of 1901, a member of the Board of Trustees from 1944 to 1964, and his wife, Maude Strobel Pauley, Class of 1903. It was a men’s residence until 1971 when an exchange took place between Tarr Hall and Pauley to bring women to the west end of the campus and men to the center. From 1976–1989 Pauley was the Women’s Academic Residence, a counterpart to the Men’s Academic Residence in Altoona Hall (which moved to Rorem in 1984). Pauley was renovated in 2015 and now houses firstyear students.

Russell Science Center

Cornell’s newest building, and the first academic building designed for the block plan, houses chemistry and biology. It was the centerpiece of the $35 million Science Facilities Project, part of the Greater>Than campaign. Jean Russell ’65, a researcher who has made important discoveries about bone disease, kicked off the campaign with a $20 million donation, the largest cash gift in college history. The building’s lounges and atriums have some of the best views on campus.

A ROU N D T H E B L O C K

Hilltop hot sheet Orange Carputt

DEE ANN REXROAT ’82

Finally, just what we all have been waiting for—an advertisement on the kiosks went up saying, Orange Carputt Mini Golf. Although Cornell has an online event calendar that promotes items of interest on campus, you can’t beat the Stone Age method of spreading the word on campus via the concrete pillars known as the kiosks.

Enter through the purple door DEE ANN REXROAT ’82

There is a new student hangout on campus just inside the purple door at Ebersole Health and Wellbeing Center. Called the Living Room, it’s a cozy space where students can chat, study, get snacks, and relax.

A “new” MLK connection

ROYAL PURPLE

Cornell is mentioned in Jonathan Eig’s 2023 bestseller “King: A Life,” but it’s not a reference to Martin Luther King Jr.’s campus visit in 1962. King incorporated passages from “The Philosophy of the Race Problem (From a Negro’s Standpoint)” by Henry F. Coleman, Cornell Class of 1910, in his own speech given at age 15 in a Georgia public speaking contest. Coleman’s speech was reprinted in the 1928 book “Fifty Orations that Have Won Prizes in Speaking Contests.”

Henry F. Coleman, Cornell Class of 1910, junior year.

Raising the rooftops

59% of Cornell’s roofs have been replaced since the 2020 derecho. This past summer Norton Geology Center, Cole Library, and Olin Hall received new roofs. That raised the number to 40 new roofs throughout campus. The final, 41st, roof is expected to be that of King Chapel.

STEM equipment?

We’re getting more of that. The Sherman Fairchild Foundation awarded Cornell College a $500,000 grant to upgrade STEM facilities and add new equipment and technology to our classrooms. We opened a new geology GIS lab, and soon will have a tabletop scanning electron microscope and a high-performance scientific computing cluster.

Now picture this

Sarah Fitzgerald ’84 is Mount Vernon’s very first artist-in-residence. She’s well known in town, having taught art to Mount Vernon’s elementary students for 30 years. The Mount Vernon Area Arts Council appointment includes a stipend and special duties, such as appearing at the annual fall arts festival, organizing an event, and displaying her artwork.

ROBYN SCHWAB AARON ‘07

Ask the Expert What our geology reveals about Mount Vernon

By Professor of Geology Emily Walsh If you have ever walked in Mount Vernon, you will be familiar with the hill along which First Street (aka Main Street) runs. This is a narrow but fairly steep hill oriented in a NW– SE direction, and in geological terms, this hill is known as a paha. Pahas are made of older glacial sediments capped by fine, wind-blown silt (loess) and were sculpted during the last glacial stage (~75,000–10,000 years ago) as the surrounding area was eroded and flattened. Other similar hills stretch out in the same orientation across several counties in eastern Iowa. Underneath the layers of soil and sediment lies the bedrock of limestone and dolostone that you see at Nature Park (an old quarry) and Palisades-Kepler State Park. These rocks are much older (about 420–445 million years old!) and contain marine fossils such as crinoids and brachiopods. Limestone is formed in shallow, tropical ocean environments, which tells us that Mount Vernon was once closer to the equator and covered in warm, shallow seas similar to those near southern Florida or the Bahamas. This central part of the continent spent hundreds of millions of years covered by shallow seas, resulting in bedrock that largely consists of sedimentary rocks like limestones and dolostones. You might also have noticed large boulders at the edges of farm fields or even cobbles and pebbles along the rivers that look entirely different. These are often more colorful rocks with sparkly minerals of different sizes and shapes—different types of igneous and metamorphic rock. These rocks were transported south from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by glaciers and rivers draining glaciers, and they provide a very different origin story from the local rocks. For the most part, these rocks are even older (more than one billion years old!). Some originated as lavas when the continent began to pull apart along a fault reaching from the Lake Superior region down through Iowa and into Kansas. Other rocks are metamorphic rocks that originated in huge mountain belts (like the Alps) that used to exist in what is now Minnesota, as the continent was just being pieced together. Each rock has a unique history and can provide a valuable glimpse into the past. 11

A RO U N D T H E H I L LT O P

Ramily points of pride We asked you to respond to our alum survey and 19% of you did. Thank you! Here are some of our favorite Cornellian points of pride and fun facts that we learned from those who responded:

Top Industries

Credentialed Cornellians 9%

1. K-12 EDUCATION 2. HEALTHCARE 3. HIGHER EDUCATION 4. LEGAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 5. NONPROFIT

COMPLETED A SECOND BACHELOR’S DEGREE

61%

COMPLETED A MASTER’S

21%

AGE OF YOUNGEST SURVEY RESPONDENT

COMPLETED A DOCTORATE

101

AGE OF OLDEST RESPONDENT

COMPLETED A JURIS DOCTOR

Mount Vernon, Iowa

RESULTS INCLUDED THOSE OF YOU WHO

LOCATION OF OUR CLOSEST ALUM RESPONDENT

SAID YOU HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED OR ARE IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING THESE

Gidgegannup, Western Australia

OUTSTANDING CREDENTIALS. WE SALUTE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

ALLAN RECALDE

HOME OF OUR FARTHEST RESPONDENT

LIFE AFTER CORNELL

D O U G ’6 5 A N D J OA N I E L A N D Q U I S T K I R K PA T R I C K ’ 6 6

e was a sophomore defensive end, on campus for preseason football practice. She was a new student attending freshman week. He saw her photograph in a directory, called to ask for a date, then rushed to Pfeiffer Hall to meet her. They’ve been together ever since. Doug Kirkpatrick ’65 and Joanie Landquist Kirkpatrick ’66 were married just after her graduation. They have partnered in such varied activities as running a solo medical practice that delivered more than 5,000 babies, climbing Colorado’s highest mountains, and traveling the world as ambassadors for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. They both majored in biology at Cornell, then went to the University of Iowa, where Doug earned his medical degree and had his first experience in delivering a baby. “It was magical,” he recalled. Joanie worked in a research lab, was certified as a physical therapist, and worked at the university hospital. As Doug fulfilled his internship, military service, and residency requirements, Joanie worked in hospitals and clinics with disabled children. By 1975 they had three children and were ready to set up a solo OB-GYN practice in Denver. Doug accepted the late-night calls and pre-dawn rushes to the hospital because helping a new life into the world “touched my soul.” But he had no taste for the business aspects of the practice. Joanie volunteered. “I felt I could do it,” she said. “I could learn what I didn’t know. Cornell prepared me for that.” Joanie served as office manager and financial advisor for 35 years. “The partnership worked because we had separate roles,” Joanie said. “Doug made the medical decisions, I made the

financial and business decisions.” Doug’s long involvement with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology focused on improving standards of practice, and this led to his being elected president of the 60,000-member organization in 2008. The three-year term involved international travel to strengthen global relationships and share best practices. “Meeting and working with medical leaders throughout the world was the highlight of my career,” Doug said. Joanie joined him, paying her own way. She would not, however, participate fully in Doug’s successful 16-year quest to climb all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000foot peaks. She scaled about half of them, leaving the rest to Doug and his climbing partners. He later summited 48 of them again with daughter Brooke Kirkpatrick ’02 and climbed Tanzania’s 19,300-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in 2006 at age 63. The Kirkpatricks have maintained close ties to Cornell. They have many friends from their undergraduate days, including fellow members of Doug’s football and swimming teams that won conference championships his senior year. Two of their children are graduates: Brooke and Scott Kirkpatrick ’93. Their middle child, Kristin, graduated from the University of Colorado-Denver in 1995. Doug and Joanie were honored by Cornell with a Leadership and Service Award in 2001 for their work in guiding prospective students from Colorado to the college. More recently, they made a gift that established the Kirkpatrick Anatomy Lab in the Russell Science Center. “Small liberal arts colleges need to prosper,” Joanie said. “They’re important.” —DAN KELLAMS ’58

ROBYN SCHWAB AARON ’07

Partners for 6 decades

“The partnership worked because we had separate roles. Doug made the medical decisions, I made the financial and business decisions.”

R A M R E P O RT

Ram Report

Rams master the mind game By Jill Hawk

In the end it’s all about who has the right mindset, who has the best game plan, and who feels the most confident going into it. That’s the team that usually has the best outcome.

magine this–two outs, the bases perspective and help them process are loaded, and the count is full. their feelings and emotions.” All eyes are on you, the star pitcher. If you throw a strike in this final inning, your team wins. If you The big wins come when students don’t—your team loses the game and have exercised their brains. the chance at a championship run. Coaches don’t hesitate to say that Can you handle the pressure? the mental aspect trumps the physical Or does anxiety get the best of you? every time. These are the moments Cornell How much of the game is mental? coaches work on preparing their stuIt’s 80% mental and 20% physical, dent-athletes to handle. said both Curt Lamb, head sports per“Mental performance training is formance coach, and Meredith Meier, HEAD SPORTS PERFORMANCE all about how you think and how you head women’s lacrosse coach. Head COACH, CURT LAMB train your brain to think during these football coach Dan Pifer rates it 90% critical or high-pressure moments,” mental and 10% physical. said Assistant Director of Athlet“We really are working with them ics and Head Softball Coach Jackie about what is going on inside their Sernek Yoder ’14. head, what they are saying to themselves,” Meier said. Cornell coaches are providing teams with opportunities Having the mental capacity to cope with last-minute to work with sports psychologists from an outside consultchanges, mistakes, and bad calls is vital to team success. ing firm. They’re discussing topics like tackling perfor“No matter what, you have to be ready for the next play,” mance anxiety, keeping a positive mindset, dealing with Lamb said. “You go on the field and everyone is going to be stress, becoming a team leader, and understanding team physically ready, because they are supposed to be. In the dynamics, while also learning techniques for overcoming end it’s all about who has the right mindset, who has the struggles related to these issues. best game plan, and who feels the most confident going “We realized it was a lot for the coach to handle the meninto it. That’s the team that usually has the best outcome.” tal performance training aspect, especially after COVID Coaches say that players, however, have to understand when we noticed a lot more anxiety about communication they can’t control every piece of the competition, like the and interpersonal dynamics,” Yoder said. “It was good to bad calls. “If you allow a call you disagree with to affect your emohave someone else our student-athletes could talk to—who tions, it’s also going to affect your gameplay,” Yoder said. is not included in the team—to give them more outside

The mental game

Navy SEALs build mental toughness During the spring of 2023, the Rams football team welcomed three members of the U.S. Navy SEALs to campus for two long days of drills, focusing on their mental performance game. With a young football team, Pifer wanted to build more team leaders. “The best teams are player-led teams, not coach-led teams,” Pifer said. The SEALs focused on leadership and teamwork, asking the athletes to conduct drills and talk about what they learned. “Football is the ultimate team sport because we have 11 guys all doing different things, 11 different job responsibilities, and if one guy doesn’t do his job, the whole thing can just fall apart. The SEALs conducted a lot of activities on teamwork, communication, and listening.” Pifer says during the training, the SEALs often presented the team’s next task, and he could see it in his players’ eyes—they didn’t think they could get it done. But when they broke it down and did one piece at a time, they tackled every goal. They found their mental toughness. Together the team wrote a “Law of The Mob” that they signed and posted on the wall to remember their new team goals. It reads, in part: We expect to fail, but we will always come back harder. We expect discipline, but we will listen with intent to get better. We must be coachable as players and men. Listen to teammates’ and coaches’ input and double the output. Give your two cents and make it a dollar. I will give everything I have on and off the field every day, no matter the circumstances. Our strength relies on the weakest link. Sometimes high, sometimes low, always ready to roll. “We do whatever we can to keep building camaraderie and communication and to keep the mental game going. It’s like having a family of 100 people. It’s fun but then it can get frustrating when it’s not going your way,” Pifer said.

A winning approach With new skills to overcome mental barriers, Rams are more confident. Now, think back to the beginning where all eyes are on that star pitcher. They throw that final pitch. And with the release of the ball—Strike. Rams win.

Ram student-athletes in all sports have access to mental performance training, giving them confidence during high-pressure situations. PHOTOS: CORNELL SPORTS INFORMATION

LIFE AFTER CORNELL

KRISTINE DIEKMAN ’79

Making art to change the world

ALEJANDRO SOTO CARREÑO

“I never applied to Cornell. I just showed up with a check. But it was a perfect fit for me. Cornell turned my life around.”

ristine Diekman ’79 is a media artist who tells stories of social significance using sight, sound, and touch. In “Behold the Tilapia,” a video she created to address ecosystem sustainability, the desiccated body of a fish slowly disintegrates and is buried in sand. In a collaborative installation called “Secret Reception,” visitors touch the images of insects to hear the sounds and feel the vibrations insects make to communicate with one another. Diekman has been making videos, films, and interactive art for 40 years— and teaching these disciplines for nearly as long. She is professor emerita of media theory and practice at California State University San Marcos but continues to teach courses in sound design and theory while pursuing her own projects. At the university she founded a media arts project, Video in the Community, to achieve social change. She continues to hold media workshops independently, with assignments in Mexico and Kazakhstan, among other countries. “I believe media artists can tell important stories about people and our society that not only will be learning experiences for viewers but will become integrated into their lives, leading to personal and global change,” Diekman said. She has directed video documentaries on how factory farming in the San Joaquin Valley has poisoned the wells of nearby small farmers, how parenting approaches can prevent unplanned pregnancies, and how young men and women have successfully broken free of gang life. Diekman grew up in the Chicago area. “I rebelled against the conventional learning environment in high school so strongly that I had no hope of going to college,” she said. A creative writing instructor, sensing untapped

talent and dedication to learning, mysteriously arranged for her to enter Cornell. “I never applied to Cornell,” she recalled. “I just showed up with a check. But it was a perfect fit for me. Cornell turned my life around.” She majored in English and Chinese studies and graduated summa cum laude. She was accepted at the Rhode Island School of Design on the strength of her college record, life experience, and a portfolio of drawings, and earned an M.F.A. in sculpture. She then worked in video production in New York City for about 10 years, pursuing her art at the same time. Choosing art over commerce, she accepted a job offer from the Kansas City Art Institute that led to her joining California State University in 1997. She has received more than 50 grants and awards for her art and teaching projects, with hundreds of exhibitions and screenings. She has mounted three installations at Cornell, including a multimedia history of corn, which was made with help from Cornell students and faculty in 2004. “For me, collaboration is a very important part of the artistic process,” Diekman said. She remains in close contact with friends from the college and is making a major gift to support the new digital arts lab. “I still feel connected and committed to Cornell,” she said. —DAN KELLAMS ’58

WEB EXTRA

See some of Diekman’s work at www.kristinediekman.net

Built Composed Created Completed Designed Experienced Explored Helped Initiated Invented Investigated Launched Learned Produced Read Saw Started Traveled

18 things we did in 18 days AT CORNELL the territory we cover in each class is the same as on a semester system. The path we take, however, is an entirely different journey. By immersing ourselves for 18 days, One Course At A Time, we mimic the working world where projects are finished in weeks, not months. Students take pride in finishing a semester’s work in three-and-a-half weeks. Alumni routinely say One Course prepared them for graduate study and their careers. Thus, a common motto of Cornellians since 1978, sprinkled in conversations, posted on social media, and printed on T-shirts, is “I can do anything in 18 days!” In that spirit we surveyed faculty, students, and alums to gather a list of 18 things they worked around the block to complete.

We were amazed at what we found.

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Produced a stunning digital Shakespeare story ENG 327: Shakespeare after Shakespeare In this course taught by Shakespearean scholar Kirilka Stavreva, students learn about historically and culturally diverse forms of Shakespearean performances on stage and screen. Then they learn to record and edit audio and video and begin creating their personal digital story. They record themselves reading a selection by Shakespeare, then enhance it with audio effects, the development of a personal story that echoes it, and a complementary section from Shakespeare or contemporary writing—weaving it all together with visuals and audio. The Stephen Lacey Memorial Shakespeare Fund enables the course.

One of the most stunning projects was by Natalie Neuhaus ’25, illustrated in these screenshots.

WEB EXTRA

View the 3:36 minute video at crnl.co/ neuhaus

Designed a wheelchair that climbs curbs

In this capstone course for engineering and physics majors taught by Professor Derin Sherman, my group designed and built a wheelchair that climbs street curbs and door thresholds. We divided our efforts between the members of the group to explore two possible solutions. The solution I worked on essentially wrapped a ramp around the wheels of the chair. It was great because we used concepts we had learned from almost all of our engineering classes. We used decision-making strategies we had learned from our first Intro to Engineering class, as well as knowledge from classes such as Engineering Materials, Manufacturing Processes, and Mechanics of Deformable Bodies. I found the capstone particularly enjoyable because I was able to commit nearly all of my time throughout each day to the project. I could go to our project workspace early in the morning or late at night to work on our design or check on 3D printers.

—Peter Weber ’22, engineering technician for Cornell’s Department of Physics and Engineering

PETE

RW EB E

R ’2

During their engineering capstone course, Peter Weber ’22, Easton Jensen ’22, Justin Howe ’22, and Ryan Rader ’22 designed and built a wheelchair that climbs curbs.

COURTESY OF RICK SIMKINS ’15

PHY 312: Advanced Experimental Physics EGR 385: Engineering Design Project

Rick Simkins ’15 tried starfish at an outdoor food market in China.

Experienced China’s economy, culture, and cuisine ECB 321: Macroeconomics Seminar In one block we traveled to Shanghai, Chengdu, and Beijing to get a hands-on look at how China went from an insulated, largely agrarian, economy representing less than 1% of global trading in 1978, to a diverse and largely global economy built on trade. Most days we spent the mornings doing regular classwork with Professor of Economics Todd Knoop, and the afternoons were filled with cultural activities and business visits. We visited temples, cruised the Bund, saw baby pandas in their nurseries, and walked the Great Wall of China. We visited businesses ranging from street vendors to a family-owned box factory. We also had the opportunity to visit a large multinational corporation, Lenovo, and talk with some of their mid-level leaders. We were able to see the full range of the Chinese economy from farms and steel manufacturing all the way up to the building of laptops. We also had the opportunity to enjoy the best of Chinese cuisine, which cannot be underestimated.

—Rick Simkins ’15

KATIE SAGAL

From left: Greta Henderson ’23, Alary Schmitt ’23, Lauren Johnson ’23, Elise Kalin ’23 (back to camera), and Becca Gutierrez ’23 learn how to use microphones in Cole Library’s Academic Technology Studio. All but Schmitt worked on the podcast “Exposing Your High School Reading List.”

Initiated a podcast critiquing high school reading lists ENG 411: Senior Seminar

WEB EXTRAS

Hear “Exposing Your High School Reading List” on Spotify, Amazon Music, and at crnl.co/hsreading

The final course for English majors last fall culminated in a series of projects to benefit the world beyond campus. One of them was “Exposing Your High School Reading List,” a professional quality podcast dedicated to unpacking and improving the high school English curricula in the United States. Greta Henderson ’23, part of that podcast team, said the goal was to share research in the English field with a general audience in the same way other disciplines do. “Scientists get to share their research by explaining how it has an impact on health or the environment, for example. English doesn’t get to do this as often. Professor Katie Sagal wanted us to examine how our learned abilities to analyze and process English literature could be valuable when marketed correctly to a general audience. That’s how all of our projects, but especially ‘Exposing Your High School Reading

Read more about the Senior Seminar projects at crnl.co/srsem

List,’ was born.” 20

ROOK WAITZ ’23

Invented a new lab experiment CHE 485: Chemical Research Larry Tieken ’24 worked on an independent research project during the fall of 2022, and in 18 days we created a new “green” experiment for the organic chemistry lab. The experiment uses microwave ovens to prepare an environmentally friendly polymer. The biodegradable polymer is polylactic acid and is used in 3D printing and many other applications. It is also used for internal sutures because, over time, it can decompose into lactic acid, a molecule that is already metabolized in the body. The experiment was tested in both organic lab courses last year with a good deal of success, and it will continue to be used. This is part of an ongoing tradition of developing new experiments at Cornell in the spirit of Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Addison Ault.

Natalie Zenk ’25 at The Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

Explored Rome in depth ART 364: Rome Reborn: Caput Mundi I absolutely loved my trip to Rome with Professor of Art History Christina PennGoetsch. We explored major sites within Rome, like the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and many beautiful churches. We also were able to explore Vatican City and received a special, once-in-a-lifetime tour beneath St. Peter’s Basilica by an archaeologist. There was even a day trip to Pompeii, which as an archaeology and art history major was such an exciting experience! We took a day in Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, where we ate lunch inside an ancient Roman bath. We explored culture, art, architecture, and history through a vast range of years, from the beginning of the Roman Empire through World War II. Even though our days were full of walking around Rome and exploring countless museums, we still wrote about what we were learning and read books and articles to help expand our understanding. Very little information was provided on-site for the art we saw or the places we visited, which allowed us to do our own research, talk to one another, and use our own interpretations to better understand what we were seeing. The trip really allowed me to develop my observation skills, practice a foreign language, use research, and even just helped me learn how to navigate a different city and country on my own! The block plan provided us with just the perfect amount of time to explore, and learn so much along the way.

OWEN HAMM ’25

— Professor of Chemistry Charley Liberko

Fabian Brandenburg ’25 prepared this molded PLA polymer dinosaur in an organic chemistry lab. The experiment was developed by Larry Tieken ’24 during an independent study with Professor Charley Liberko.

—Natalie Zenk ’25 21

Completed a financial analyst report ECB 359: Asset Valuation

REL 390: Individual Project During my years at Cornell College I studied Biblical Hebrew with Professor Steven Sacks. The first skill we honed was to sightread the Hebrew alphabet, allowing us to sound out (more or less) sentences in a new language. After our introductory course I continued in an independent Hebrew reading class with a couple of other students, where we slowly translated passages from Genesis. We would read simple passages and parse lines together while drinking tea. The greatest challenge for me was mastering the vocabulary and learning how to quickly look up words in our huge dictionary. But I loved the small class size with the four of us—it gave me lots of opportunities to improve and set me up for success in graduate school studying Middle Egyptian hieroglyphs.

— Associate Professor of Finance Huan Cai

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEON TABAK

Learned to translate in Hebrew

In the Asset Valuation course, my students experience a financial analyst’s main job duties by researching a publicly traded company and writing a report. Each group of three to five students picks a public company and conducts analysis. Every day their task is closely related to the lecture content, which is based on knowledge and skills they have learned in economics, accounting, and finance courses. With rich information from Cornell’s subscription to the S&P Capital IQ database, students learn about how to collect and process information to write a professional report, using rigorous reasoning skills, language in the finance industry, appropriate tables and figures, and user-friendly formats. They also learn about potential problems and difficulties that a financial analyst may face in preparing for the report, actively look for sound solutions, and learn from their mistakes. This course helps students prepare for a career as a financial analyst.

—Paige Brevick ’13, Ph.D. candidate, Institute of Archaeology, University College London

Zach Perry ’24 (center) saw Asset Valuation course content in practice during a trip with Professor of Computer Science Leon Tabak (left) to Berkshire Hathaway Corporation’s shareholder meeting. Along with Simon Mumford ’26 (right), they heard talks by legendary investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. 22

COURTESY OF SCOTT OLINGER

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Students in Theatre and the Arts in Chicago enjoy a Segway tour of Chicago.

Saw 18 shows in 18 days THE 349: Theatre and the Arts in Chicago In Theatre and the Arts in Chicago, we typically spend two-and-a-half to three weeks seeing a variety of shows in venues ranging from small storefront theatres to major regional theatres, including Goodman, Steppenwolf, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Lookingglass Theatre. We generally see between 18 and 24 shows each trip, and watching three shows in one day is not uncommon. The class discusses each production as part of the course and select performances have talkbacks with the artists directly (we met with members of Blue Man Group, for example, on the last trip). Students also meet a variety of professional alumni in the Chicago area. The class regularly visits the Art Institute of Chicago and often also visits the Museum of Contemporary Art. We tour the Chicago Scenic Studios, a major scenic fabricator, and Broadway Costumes, one of the largest costume rental houses in the country. Students also tour the harbor and museum campuses via Segway.

Read all of Goethe GER, FRE, ENG In 18 days I • Read “all” the major works of German author Goethe in an upper-level German course taught by Professor Charles Connell. • Read “all” the major works of 19th-century French authors (Hugo, Baudelaire, Rimbaud). Same for the French Middle Ages and Renaissance! • Wrote and revised three short stories in Professor Robert Dana’s fiction writing class.

—Ric Morris ’90, professor of Spanish and linguistics at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A 14-volume set of Goethe’s writings sits on a shelf in Cole Library.

DEE ANN REXROAT ’82

— Professor of Theatre Scott Olinger

Created a class quilt exploring social issues ART 200: Art and Community (Second-Year Seminar) In this Second-Year Seminar—a series of courses across the curriculum taken during Block 1 of the sophomore year—students investigated the intersection of art and community through hands-on studio art projects. Professor of Art Susannah BiondoGemmell’s course included one project where each student created a quilt block expressing an opinion on one enduring or current social issue. Students learned to record and edit audio so they could include a spoken reflection. Then, as a class, they created a physical quilt from the blocks, along with a digital quilt that includes written and audio narratives on issues ranging from sexism to police killings to rising sea levels.

WEB EXTRA

See the project at crnl.co/quilt A selection of quilt blocks, each created by a second-year student in response to a societal issue.

Helped address homelessness in Cedar Rapids

Members of the class visit Terezin, a former Nazi concentration camp north of Prague. This room was a barracks for Jewish prisoners such as those who had tried to escape or had been involved with the resistance.

Traveled Europe exploring the Holocaust and human rights POL 244: Holocaust and Human Rights in Europe In Holocaust and Human Rights we visited Germany, Czechia, and Poland to learn about the Holocaust, the events that led up to it, and its repercussions later, as well as more current human rights situations such as the refugee crises during the wars in Syria and Ukraine. We explored five concentration and extermination camps—Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, Terezín (Theresienstadt), Auschwitz, and Majdanek—and numerous museums and cultural sites devoted to history and remembrance. We met with U.S. embassy officials in Warsaw and Berlin to learn about how our diplomats do their work abroad and how they address human rights concerns and memorialization. As challenging as this material is emotionally and intellectually, we also had the opportunity to spend time experiencing the food, culture, and customs of several vibrant and beautiful European cities: Berlin, Prague, Kraków, and Warsaw. We had a group dinner together in each city to experience traditional local cuisine and visited tourist highlights such as Berlin’s Tiergarten and Cracow’s Wawel Castle. The students had a free day in each city and time every evening to follow their own interests.

— Professor of Politics David Yamanishi 25

Students in my Second-Year Seminar: Housing is a Human Right learn about the ways housing issues in the U.S. are emblematic of and perpetuate social inequality. As a way to address the problem, we work directly with Willis Dady Homeless Services in Cedar Rapids to research best practices for homelessness services. At the beginning of the block, we tour Willis Dady Shelter and work sites, meet the leadership staff, and learn about their programs. Small groups are assigned to work directly with a staff member on their specific topic. They meet weekly to gather information, explore ideas, and share progress. I meet with the groups to ensure their projects are rooted in both the academic research we’ve engaged in throughout the course, as well as the practical industry research and literature related to their topics. We then host Willis Dady staff at Cornell at the end of the block and the groups present their research.

— Professor of Sociology Tori BarnesBrus ’97

WILLIS DADY HOMELESS SERVICES

DAVID YAMANISHI

SOC 200: Housing is a Human Right

Sophomores work directly with staff members at Willis Dady Homeless Services in Cedar Rapids to research best practices, then present them at the end of the block.

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Investigated a little-known slave narrative ENG 351: The Slave Narrative During my Slave Narrative class we were asked to first study and understand more popular narratives and the historical climate of the 19th century so we could apply that knowledge and awareness to a lesser-known text. For that unfamiliar text, I selected Solomon Bayley. His narrative was published in 1825, before the Civil War. It’s important because it was published by a white man named Robert Hurnard, who helped him write his narrative based on correspondence through a series of letters. From his narrative I learned about the importance and influence of religion, the authenticity of the narrative when it’s attached to a white person’s name and reputation, and problems and approaches when using testimonies of ex-slaves. As a person of color, learning about Black history through narratives, documentaries, and media helped me better understand a difficult and less-approached subject in history. Professor of English Rebecca Entel taught us how to approach narratives both analytically and empathically.

—Ava Devaud ’26

Ava Devaud ’26 discovered this little-known slave narrative, which “helped me better understand a difficult and lessapproached subject in history.” MSS 684, SHIPLEY-BRINGHURST-HARGRAVES FAMILY PAPERS, UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE LIBRARY, MUSEUMS AND PRESS, NEWARK, DELAWARE. PHOTO BY ALEXANDER JOHNSTON

Composed a research presentation on transitioning singers MUS 308: Vocal Pedagogy I took Vocal Pedagogy with Dr. Chris Nakielski in Block 5 of my sophomore year. In the class, we learned about the structure of the vocal folds and the throat and how they produce sound. About halfway through the class, we had a guest speaker talk to us about how the structure of the throat and vocal folds change after someone undergoes a gender-affirming physical transition. That really piqued my interest as someone who doesn’t identify as cisgender and is part of the LGBTQ+ community. Dr. Nakielski told us that for our final we had to do a research project to expand on a topic we discussed in class, and after that speaker came to class, I knew that I wanted to research it further. Originally I was going to research both male-tofemale and female-to-male singers, but there wasn’t enough time to give both of them the justice they deserve. I settled on male-to-female because it consists of more change to the throat and vocal structure. In the remaining 7-9 days of class, I was able to put together a 32-slide presentation that covered terminology, hormone therapy, laryngeal surgeries, examples of current transgender or non-binary singers, and repertoire suggestions for transitioning voices. This research inspired me to participate in the Cornell Summer Research Institute the summer before my senior year and expand on what I have already learned.

These screenshots of Nevaeh Quimby ’24’s project show an image of Genghis Khan with a narrative about his dynasty, and a map of conquests.

Built a digital travel narrative of the Mongol Empire HIS 259: Travel Tales: Encounters with Others in the Premodern World Students in Professor of History Michelle Herder’s course read travel accounts from the medieval and early modern world (some real-life, some fictional), then created their own digital storytelling travel narrative using ArcGIS StoryMaps. Students researched their subject, learned the software, and built interactive maps that incorporated text, images, art, and other multimedia. Nevaeh Quimby ’24 created a beautiful scrolling webpage offering an overview of the expansion and cultural differences of the Mongol Empire’s Khanates, dating back to Genghis Khan. The journey through her pages shows movement over space and time through global maps, colorful images, art, and destinations.

—Luna Higgins ’24

A LL A

N RE

CA LD E

Luna Higgins is a senior music education major.

WEB EXTRA

See the full webpage at crnl.co/khan

Launched a teaching career

KERRY KAHL

Numerous EDU methods courses

Hilltop Sports Report podcaster Jack Carlson ’26 is the live stream announcer for numerous Rams sports events.

Started my podcast, the ‘Hilltop Sports Report’ KIN 106: Introduction to Sports Journalism Professor Justus Hallam’s KIN 106 class really delivers the essentials of sports journalism, and I particularly enjoyed learning about podcasts. The course explored Audacity, a podcast editing software, and included a dedicated class session in the Academic Technology Studio to learn more about the preparation process. Justus also explained how to approach interviewing guests in multiple forms (podcasts, feature articles, game recaps, and more). He provided encouraging and constructive feedback, which I consider instrumental in shaping my podcasting abilities as I continue beyond the classroom. In fact, I enjoyed my podcast assignment so much that I worked with Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications Kerry Kahl to create a Rams Athletics podcast, “The Hilltop Sports Report.” I had a blast working on the nine podcast episodes during the last academic year, and I am looking forward to continuing the podcast. It has been incredible to chat with Rams student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. I am grateful to Justus for giving me the framework and tools to begin my podcasting journey!

—Jack Carlson ’26

WEB EXTRA

Follow “The Hilltop Sports Report” at crnl.co/ram-podcast

Our junior education majors complete their first teaching methods course Block 1 where they put theory into practice by spending an entire week in the public schools. This unique opportunity, made possible by the block plan, sets them on a path toward professional development that culminates in their student teaching experience. During that one short week, they have the opportunity to plan and teach individual lessons and learn the subtle nuances of managing students in the classroom space. Afterward they reflect on this first leg of their professional journey through group discussions and complete a two-week unit plan that allows them to use their content area knowledge and pedagogical expertise.

—Professors of Education Jill Heinrich and Kerry Bostwick

COURTESY OF TIERNEY ROWE

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Cari Pickup ’24 on her first day of student teaching at Washington Elementary in Mount Vernon Block 1. She was well prepared after spending a week in the school during her junior year. 29

ARIELLE LEWIS STUDIOS

LIFE AFTER CORNELL

L AU R E N B U C K N E R ’9 9

Block planning a life

s an entrepreneur with multiple businesses, Lauren Buckner ’99 is often asked how she juggles it all. Her solution is to block plan her life. “I just mimic Cornell. I time block and I day block. I don’t touch every business every day. I have systems and automation in place and an assistant,” she says. “In life you don’t always have a lot of time, and Cornell taught me how to consume a lot of information at one time and how to mentally organize it.” Buckner is a Washington, D.C.-based real estate development and business attorney. After dedicating 17 years to law firms and serving as an assistant

attorney general, she transitioned to the role of founder and owner of Buckner Consulting. Through her consulting firm, Buckner empowers women to build strong businesses on a solid foundation. Her entrepreneurial pursuits are expansive and include Body by Buckner, her health and wellness company, and managing a diverse real estate investment portfolio. None of these careers was on her radar when she made an overnight bus trip to Cornell from St. Louis as a high school senior. She found a community at Cornell and felt like she was in a movie, complete with a castle. An early disappointment in her first

“In life you don’t always have a lot of time and Cornell taught me how to consume a lot of information at one time and how to mentally organize it.” 30

year on campus changed her life. She failed the German proficiency exam after studying the language for six years. She decided to start over with Spanish, which led her to Professor Sally Farrington-Clute. She encouraged Buckner and prepared her to go to Guatemala in her junior year, sparking her love for Latin America and the language. Professor of Spanish Carol Lacy-Salazar and her husband, Lecturer Hernan Salazar, a native of Bolivia, further encouraged her, and by senior year Buckner was in Bolivia for two blocks. After graduating with majors in Spanish and psychology, Buckner moved to Bolivia and stayed for two years teaching, dancing professionally, and appearing on the cover of three magazines. She returned to the U.S. and soon entered Saint Louis University School of Law. But even that did not go according to script. During her second year of law school she fostered her newborn and 3-yearold nephews. Though people thought she couldn’t do it, she graduated from law school as a single mom. She adopted the boys a week later. “I used every skill that I had in my life to do that,” she says. “I just did what I needed to do, and then I went on to build this life. Everything I do is based on helping other people, serving other people, making sure other people feel better—whether it’s that they have a better business, they have a safe home because I’m working with developers, or motivating young girls of color with health and wellness.” Buckner knows what it’s like to need that help. When she was 15 her mother died and she was separated from her siblings. It wasn’t until she arrived at Cornell that she felt safe again. “I lacked some love, I lacked some support … and then I found this community of people at Cornell who loved me and saw value in me,” she recalls. “Cornell is where I experienced my happiness. I felt really safe there. The best of the best people from everywhere came there.” —DEE ANN REXROAT ’82

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

More than a job THEY KEEP THE LIBRARY OPEN late at night and on weekends. They run gameday live streams for fans and parents at home. They are stage managers, food servers, tutors, and much more. Cornell work-study students help make this college run and we couldn’t do it without them. Forty percent, or 437 Cornellians, were awarded work-study as part of their financial assistance packages this academic year. These part-time jobs can come with substantial responsibilities. The student employees earn money and gain skills, often selecting positions that can improve their resumes for their future careers. We asked seven of our student workers to share how they serve the campus through their work, and what they enjoy about it.

Photos by Megan Amr 31

Caitlyne Mar ’24

Caitlyne Mar ’24 had never held a job before working in the Dungy Writing Studio, where she has excelled at helping peers with their assignments.

Dungy Writing Studio Peer Consultant INDIVIDUALIZED MAJOR: Criminal Psychology in Society HOME: San Francisco, California

I’m learning professionalism BEFORE COMING TO COLLEGE I NEVER really held an official job. My job, as my mom would say, is to do well in school. The only work I did was volunteer work. So working at the Dungy Writing Studio was my first job, and it has been an enlightening experience. I have worked with all disciplines, from creative writing essays to chemistry papers, and all types of students. I never have the same type of appointment twice. Every student has a different focus and a different need. Not only am I here to help students with their assignments, but I am also here to give students confidence. I try to make them feel comfortable in the studio space so we can work together on their problem. My favorite part of this job is the flexibility and independence I have. As a student-athlete, my schedule can be busy and complicated, but Laura [Farmer, Writing Studio Director] is so good about working with us about our hours.

The other consultants are also very good about helping each other out. I also love the ability I have to work independently during each of my appointments. I have the freedom and discretion to consult how I choose and how I view is best. That allows me to grow as a writing consultant, learning how to better interact with all the different disciplines and types of students. This work-study job has taught me discipline, time management, and professionalism. I also get to interact with all sorts of people, many of whom I would not have interacted with otherwise, made great friends with the other consultants, and learned how to better help people in the process.

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

My job turned me into an extrovert IF ANYONE ASKED MY FRIENDS WHAT the first thing I said to them was, it would probably be “Can I take your picture?” For my work-study, I get the glamorous job of going to events and taking photos for social media—but it isn’t just that. I am the current student social media team manager here on campus, which means I do way more than just take pictures of students. My daily schedule for work includes taking photos, creating engaging captions, scrolling through comment sections, and looking for events that would be fun for an Instagram post. There’s never a dull day when you work online and with other people, because you never know what new thing is going to pop up. Since I got my job, my already high amount of screen time

(don’t judge me; I am a young adult) on Instagram has skyrocketed because now I use it for work. My job has helped me make friends, attract new students, and give other students unique opportunities—and I love that. Working for social media has made me an extrovert. If you asked me in high school to ask someone to take their picture, I would have run away screaming, but now it’s as natural as asking how someone’s day is. Going to events my first year wouldn’t have seemed as attractive if I weren’t also getting a paycheck for it. Now I am one of the most involved students on campus and I owe that to what the social media team has allowed me to do. Next time you see me holding my phone up on campus, don’t be surprised if I ask to take your picture.

Donivan Jones ’24

Social Media Team Manager MAJOR: Sociology

HOME: Geraldine, Alabama

Student Senate president Donivan Jones ’24 is highly visible on campus in his job as manager of the student social media team.

Will Ironside ’25 Student Mail Clerk

Will Ironside ’25 loads mail and packages in Frank, the mail van, before making campus deliveries.

MAJOR: Engineering

HOME: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I help put the ‘service’ in Mail and Service Center PEOPLE RECOGNIZE ME FOR TWO THINGS: my bucket hat, and from waiting on them in the Mail and Service Center. I started working there my freshman year as a delivery driver, and I loved it. Later on, I started to cover the mailroom front counter as well. It has been a great experience, and I’ve learned a lot about shipping, making things like notepads, and how to work the postage metering machine. I’m happy I have this opportunity. During the time spent waiting for packages to come in, there is a lot that may need to get done. If there’s a laminating project that needs cutting, I’m on it. There will also probably be letters that need forwarding, perhaps a printing job that needs folding, or envelopes that need to be sealed and metered.

When we receive packages I route them to their mailboxes, or put them on the shelves if they won’t fit. Retrieving packages for customers is generally where I interact with people the most. Shipping items for people is always fun to do because sometimes it can be a challenge depending on what’s being sent. Finding the correct size boxes or envelopes is occasionally a little struggle as well. Personally, my favorite part of the work day is in the afternoon when I get to drive Frank (our work van) out on the delivery route. Everyone I interact with when I’m working is nice and respectful. I truly feel honored to be of service.

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

My job in athletics doesn’t feel like work with the various people who come and go, getting in a workout. I also enjoy controlling the music that is played on the sound system when I can. In addition to doing laundry, I can also get some homework done, which is convenient for me, as we student-athletes can be very busy during certain blocks. Working the athletic games, whether controlling the scoreboard or playing music, is a pleasure because the games are always entertaining, especially when they are close. Believe it or not, my favorite sporting events to work are normally the sports that I don’t really watch in my free time. My interest in these particular sports stems from a desire to learn more about how they work.

WORK-STUDY IS A GREAT WAY for me to make some extra money in a place where I truly love to be. Whether doing laundry for athletic teams, working scoreboards for athletic events, or staffing the front desk, I always feel at home because of the people I am surrounded by in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center (SAW). Not only do I work with great people, but the coaching staff at Cornell is filled with amazing people who not only support their own student-athletes but support athletics here at Cornell as a whole. Most of the time, working at the SAW doesn’t even feel like work at all, because of who I am surrounded by. I am quite visible on campus, thanks to my job, so my favorite thing to do while working at the front desk is talking

Gabriel Smith ’26

Game Day Management Assistant MAJOR: Finance

HOME: Pullman, Washington

Wrestler Gabriel Smith ’26 works the SAW front desk, where he enjoys engaging with faculty, staff, and students who come in for a workout.

Julissa Rivera ’24 Admission Visit Team Specialist MAJOR: Spanish

MINOR: Applied Statistics

Julissa Rivera ’24 leads a campus tour.

HOME Houston, Texas

I help students feel comfortable Cornell experience transcends space and time. We can joke about the block plan, or who painted The Rock at midnight. My favorite part is making an impact on campus and in prospective students’ decisions. My job is to help students feel comfortable and informed about Cornell and all the good we do here. It feels great to know I’m helping guide someone in their first “adult” decision. Over the years I have grown very close to my supervisors, Megan Dietsch and Teresa Stenstrup. If I ever need help I know I can go to them, whether I’m trying to figure out a difficult social situation or get a stain out of a shirt. I never realized working here would foster such wonderful relationships.

WORKING WITH ADMISSIONS during my time at Cornell has been one of my most rewarding experiences in college. I started as a tour guide in the fall of my first year and joined the visit team the following year. I’m now in my fourth year with the admission office. I schedule on-campus visits for prospective students, ensuring they are connected with the right people to get the most out of every second they spend here. This can include sending emails to faculty and staff, corresponding with families about schedules, escorting, greeting guests, and talking about my student experience. The visit team is in the Welcome Center of the Thomas Commons and we are the first line of communication to most campus visitors. I talk to those who wander in and want to try out our purple gumball machine and to alumni who are visiting the campus (in some cases for the first time in decades). I get to hear all their stories; it’s funny to think the 36

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Work-study jobs they never forgot Victor Furnish ’52

Carol Fair Mishler ’70

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Retired vice president, Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, Wisconsin President of the Board, American Recorder Society

First-floor Bowman-Carter janitor

Assistant to the Buildings and Grounds secretary

“Men were allowed on the residential floors only for some special event. Despite that, there were times when Mrs. Coleman, the head resident, needed my help with something upstairs, and I had no option but to oblige. Nonetheless—perhaps reflecting my upbringing as the child of a Methodist minister, I couldn’t help feeling that I was breaking a rule! It was rewarding to experience Mrs. Coleman’s kindness, support, and encouragement.”

“I helped Director Cecil Thomas’ secretary, Lucille, answer the phone, write up repair assignments for maintenance staff, and set out hospitality for the staff daily break. While I likely developed some skills, most importantly, the job gave me a place on campus where I fit in and was valued. For a first-generation college student, the leap into Cornell can be great. This modest job helped me make that leap.”

Keith Ketelsen ’59

Dianne Hugh Freeze ’85

Retired healthcare administration executive and commercial real estate agent, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Retired food stylist, Freeport, Illinois

Library circulation and food service

Cleaning at Olin and contracting to clean at Cole Library

“My Cole Library job gave me plenty of time to read and study, which was great because I loved and continue to love doing both those things. Libraries have always been a happy place for me as they offer knowledge and opportunity for everyone. I also worked at Saga and I remember cooking and sharing vegetarian meals. Three years after graduating I returned to school at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago to get some food science knowledge so that I could pursue a freelance career as a food stylist, something I did for 27 years.”

“My regular job was sweeping the stairs and doing minor maintenance at Olin Hall. When Cole Library opened in 1957 I went to the dean of men and said their housekeepers would probably like to have their weekends off; and I’d be happy to get some guys to clean the social center [on the library’s first floor] on Sunday mornings. They hired me. I’ve always liked the challenges of being my own boss.”

Ann Archer Harsh ’61 Retired teacher; volunteer, Madison, Wisconsin

Secretary to Professor of History Eric Kollman

Did your work-study job impact your future career or life? Let us know by emailing cornellreport@cornellcollege.edu, subject line: Work-study

“I was assigned to work for Dr. Eric Kollman in the fall of 1957. During the first week he dictated the word honorarium. I had never heard of the word, so I asked him to repeat it a couple of times. Obviously frustrated with me, he raised his voice and questioned, ‘What do they teach you in American schools these days?!’ Upon finishing that session, I went right over to Old Sem and resigned. A couple of days later I was told that Dr. Kollman did want me as his secretary. I worked for him until my graduation in 1961. Dr. and Mrs. Kollman attended my wedding in Allee Chapel to David Harsh ’61 and the reception in Bowman Hall Lounge the afternoon of our graduation.” 37

Kachana Myrville ’24

Career Assistant Student Manager MAJOR: Finance

Kachana Myrville assists a student at the Berry Career Institute.

MINOR: Philosophy

HOME: Riverdale, Maryland

My job gave me a community Working at the Berry Career Institute has been crucial to my Cornell experience. I have worked several places on campus and done many things to maintain myself in the Cornell community, including participating in Student Senate as a representative and executive board member and joining Cornell’s oldest fraternity, Mu Lambda Sigma. But nothing has been as consistent, rewarding, and enriching as the Berry Career Institute. Coming from across the country during COVID times, it was easy for me to feel alone and disconnected from the community, but even during this time the Berry Career Institute continued to send emails and have virtual events that pulled me in and made me feel connected and seen on campus. This connection is what enticed me to apply to work there. As restrictions lessened, coming into work was always welcoming. There are career cluster coaches either engaging

with students or having their doors open waiting to talk, the yellow hand chair, and our new pink hand addition, or just sitting at the front desk and greeting students who come in for headshots and appointments. Even the slowest days at the Berry Career Institute are a pick-me-up. Every day is different but allows me to grow professionally and personally. Whether it’s our trainings, learning better customer service and management skills, or just talking about my class and my day, I always feel more focused and sound after leaving my job here. The community I sought during COVID times is with me at the Berry Career Institute.

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Emily Martyka ’24

Manager of Music Work-Study/Music Librarian MAJOR: Music education HOME: Roselle, Illinois

I ensure concerts run smoothly

MY POSITIONS AS MUSIC WORK-STUDY manager and music librarian have helped me develop skills to become a professional and well-rounded music educator. My jobs include filing and organizing music and assigning roles for events such as recitals, music seminars, and concerts. Each worker must learn stage management, ushering, lights, and set up and take down in order to make the performers and directors feel comfortable and the shows run smoothly. Working as the music librarian here on campus, I’ve learned how to file music and gained a better understanding of why a music library is crucial to a successful music program. Serving in these positions has given me the opportunity to learn not only technical skills, but also leadership, communication, and professionalism. Managing students has allowed me to experiment with techniques that I can use in my future classroom. I am grateful to the music department and Cornell for allowing me the opportunity to work these jobs. At a bigger school I may not have been given this type of a leadership position. One of my favorite moments as manager of music work-study was last spring when we did Opera Scenes. Not expecting a huge turnout, we decided to hold the event in Ringer Recital Studio instead of Kimmel Theatre. While receiving instruction on stage manager duties, I received word from Dr. Laur that we were at capacity. We had to start pulling chairs from classrooms, and even seat people in our sound booth. Though my workers and I felt panicked, we were able to work together, seat all the patrons, and appear professional. Emily Martyka ’24 often wears concert black for her job as the music work-study student manager, allowing her to fill any roles that come up during a performance.

LIFE AFTER CORNELL

V E ’A M B E R M I L L E R - D Y E ’ 1 5

WILL KIRK/JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

Sharing public history

“That fast pace of the block plan prepared me for getting my master’s degree in public history. My cohort was just like, ‘Whoa, what do you mean we have to read a book in a week?’ ”

e’Amber Miller-Dye ’15 landed on the Hilltop by what she calls the magic of Google. From her home in the south Chicago suburb of Matteson, a computer search for out-of-state archaeology programs led her directly to Cornell. The block plan would be a bonus, she thought. Eight years after graduating, MillerDye has a master’s degree in public history, six years of experience as a ranger at national parks, and a job at a major research university. In February she moved from Chicago to Baltimore to work at Johns Hopkins University as the digital content and outreach coordinator for Hopkins Retrospective. That project is reexamining Hopkins’ history and illuminating past inequities. “I thought it was really powerful that Hopkins was willing to talk about their history, and I wanted to get involved with that,” she says, “Living in northern Midwest states, I didn’t notice how baked in the history of slavery can be to an institution. The legacy of it is still very much part of who we are as a nation.” Her career path included an internship at the Office of the State Archaeologist, summer research in Mexico, and Roman Archaeology in Italy. Equally important, she says, were the close friends and mentors she remains in contact with. “By sophomore year I had my friends and clubs, and I had a homeaway-from-home,” she says. “It was really important for me to have a network of people who had my back and understood the experience I was going through.”

Her core student organizations were Sister 4 Sister, the dance team PINQ, and SLAB (Student Literary Advisory Board), for which she was a founding member. After graduating with majors in archaeology and English-creative writing, Miller-Dye completed a dig in Japan and held a one-year internship as a conservation associate at Weir Farm in Wilton, Connecticut, a national park site. Then she returned to Chicago where she helped establish the Pullman National Historical Park. As a ranger at a new site, she gained a wide range of experience. Remember how the block plan was a bonus when she chose Cornell? She says it prepared her well for grad school at Loyola University Chicago while working full time at Pullman. “That fast pace of the block plan prepared me for getting my master’s degree in public history. My cohort was just like, ‘Whoa, what do you mean we have to read a book in a week?’ ” Last year she knew she was ready for a new adventure. “Having those six years as a park ranger has really shaped my life, and from that I moved on to a career that is taking me to the next step in my life and my biggest challenge—moving to a totally new city, and this one isn’t for a finite time like four years of college.” She’s far from home but not alone. She has her husband and childhood best friend, Owen Miller-Dye, and a sister and family living nearby. She also stays in contact with Cornell mentors and peers and is part of a group chat with 10 Cornell friends who are planning their next mini-reunion—at a national park. —DEE ANN REXROAT ’82

Alumni News

COURTESY OF KYRA KOEHLER ’16

Kyra Koehler ’16 (left) visited Caitlin Dugas ’16 in California, where they are seen at Top of the World scenic lookout in San Carlos. “It’s so great to see friends and to explore new places in the process,” Kyra says.

ALUMNI NEWS

CONTRIBUTE

We love receiving updates. Submissions may be edited for style, length, and clarity. Submit your news to crnl.co/classnews

1940s

1960s

Ridge, Tennessee, writes, “On my recent 98th birthday I noticed in the mirror that I have my flute’s lip plate imprinted on my chin! So this is what has happened after playing the flute and piccolo for much of my life. It makes me wonder what souvenirs you may be getting from your life.”

Falmouth, Massachusetts, is professor emeritus of geology at Yale University. He wrote a memoir that recalls meeting his life partner on his first day at Cornell. “This event, lasting only a few seconds, changed my life. This angel was

Donald Rhoads ’60,

Jean Newton Box ’47, Oak

Christy Kramer Rhoads ’60 (1936-2019). In my senior

year she became my wife. Christy was the single most important person in my life for over 60 years. As my wife, she supported me financially during graduate school days and raised our two wonderful boys, Mark and Douglas. She was like a second mother to Yale students, post-doctoral fellows, and staff. A major factor in our long-term success was that Christy did not mind being left alone during my extended absences working in China and Europe.”

1950s

Janice Linsey Rudzik ’56,

Glendora, California, still keeps in touch with Barbara Klein Johnson ’56, Nadine Fortna Tope ’56, Beulah “Boo” Newton Erickson ’56, Hilda Peterson Wales ’56, Phyllis

McCannon Townsend ’55, Phyllis Hogle Newton ’57, and Marge Heitman Price ’59. “My husband and

I are getting rid of stuff from our home in case we move unexpectedly,” she writes. “We are enjoying the friends we have, our health, our life together, and the fact we can still drive—all very important priorities now!”

Donald Utroska ’60, Lake

Forest, Illinois, and his wife, Candy, were honored by the Nigerian school where they taught in the Peace Corps. The school invited them to a reunion in Texas, asked them to present, gave them plaques, and thanked them for their service. “Long after teaching in Nigeria in 1964 and 1965, 58 years ago, we are still remembered and not just remembered, but honored for our service. I don’t think anyone could receive a greater gift. And to have it happen after so many years is even more satisfying. It is the ultimate treat to be fêted together for our work.”

Kevin McPherrin ’69 took third place at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals in the 100 meter individual medley, 75–79 age division. He was a member of the 1967 conference championship Rams swim team.

John McCammant ’61 divides

his time between a Wisconsin lake home and his home in Eldridge, Iowa. “I am happy to be one of those old folks who can truthfully say, ‘I don’t know when I ever found time to work!’ Sorry to hear Neil Eckles ’62 passed away. He was a good friend.”

Henry Winokur ’74 joined his wife, Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein, as she co-led a seven-day trip to Poland with North Carolina secondary school educators who teach about the Holocaust. 42

Dennis Bark ’64, Portola

Valley, California, writes that after 49 years of going to France, where his wife was born, they sold their property there and will return to New York City this fall for the first time in 20 years. “We live in a retirement community west of Stanford University, called The Sequoias—the best decision we’ve ever made—following my retirement as a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution 13 years ago.”

John Lisle ’64, Clarinda, Iowa,

still works as a board chairman because he enjoys the work. During COVID sequestering he authored a small book of five short stories—all fiction but one.

Arlene Cutshall Rengert ’65, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, moved into the assisted living part of the Kendal at Longwood retirement community. “It is a lovely place, and my husband’s increasing medical needs are well addressed. I am still directing the Laundromat Library League, centered in Pennsylvania with branches and children’s book distribution sites in over 30 other states.”

Ellie Rowlson-Hall ’66,

Lynchburg, Virginia, writes, “The first two grandkids, Sasha and John, will both head off to college in August: University of Virginia and University of South Carolina. Romeo still has about 19 years to go. I’m loving the wee one stage again. I just wish there were a way to beam myself up to New York from Virginia on a weekly basis.”

Peggy Woodruff Samuelson ’66, Wheaton, Illinois, reports that her family all gathered in Switzerland to visit her daughter. They spent a week touring the countryside and then traveled for a week in Marbella, Spain.

DAN KEMPF/JOE PHOTO

Cornell inducts 3 to Athletics Hall of Fame Our 2023 Hall of Fame recipients each struck a pose representing their sport after the ceremony on Oct. 7. Bill Maxson ’74 specialized in backstroke

The most accomplished volleyball player in

Chris Heilman ’08 was a three-time all-

and individual medley races as a four-year

Cornell history, Kathleen O’Connor ’14

letterman on Cornell’s swim team; he enjoyed

was the 2013 AVCA First Team All-American

school record for technical falls in a season and

a distinguished coaching career and rose to

outside hitter and the program’s all-time leader

career; he is assistant wrestling coach at the

become executive director of USA Swimming.

with 1,743 kills.

U.S. Air Force Academy.

Paul A. Lubenkov ’67, La

Grange, Illinois, and his wife celebrated 50 years of marriage. They attended their son Byron’s wedding and, a few months later, watched him sail from the Chicago Yacht Club as a crew member on the J120 sailboat the Black Swan en route to the starting line for the CYC Race to Mackinac. “My writing also met with good fortune and my recent short story, ‘The Exorcism of Frankie Vlaha,’ was accepted for publication in Cutthroat, a Journal of the Arts, while my book ‘Tap Dancing on the Razor’s Edge’ was included in the collection of the Illinois State Library and was among the books selected to promote the 50-year celebration of the University of Arizona’s M.F.A. program in creative writing.”

Carol Monson Reinhard ’67 and Tom Reinhard ’65,

St. Louis, Missouri, completed their tennis bucket list by attending the French Open tournament at Roland-Garros

in May. “Our children treated us to center court tickets where we got to see Novak Djokovic play. We’re looking forward to a National Geographic Alaskan cruise in late August. Thanks to Linda Crissey Cotten ’67 for lending me this comment: ‘In retirement, I have found my calling.’”

American wrestler at 125 pounds and holds the

Bethlehem Steel executive. “Her letters are vibrant and meditative. Her stitched work includes two decades of canvases portraying the Steel business with a Modernist and Surrealist flair, to later works reflecting the peace of mind inspired by Zen and the Japanese tea ceremony. I am delighted that my brother Larry Shiner, who once taught at Cornell, will visit. Larry, now 89, published with Oxford University Press at age 86.”

Jack Carbee ’68, Eaton Rapids, Michigan, and Marseillan, France, released his first book for kids, “The Adventures of Too Short Thomas.” It follows the vertically challenged middle schooler through six adventures as he overcomes obstacles that might stymie the best of us. It’s available on Amazon, along with two short story collections and three novels.

Marc Christiansen ’69,

Wagram, North Carolina, attended the 52nd reunion of his U.S. Air Force pilot training class in Dayton, Ohio. Highlights were a day spent at the U.S. Air Force National Museum, as well as a visit to the Wright Brothers National Museum.

Carol Shiner Wilson ’68,

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is taking a leave of absence from the board of the Society of the Arts, to resume scholarly work on Mildred Johnstone, fiber artist and wife of a senior

Along with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law, Keith Collins ’69 is singing in a choir participating in the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt

and Vienna, Austria. They are all members of the Palouse Choral Society of the Pullman, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho, area. Keith lives in Washington state and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, After earning his Ph.D. at Indiana University, Jeffrey Folks ’69, Miyazaki, Japan, taught at the university level for 31 years, receiving three Fulbright fellowships and seven National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships. Jeffrey published 11 books and hundreds of academic articles. He retired from one of Japan’s top universities.

Kevin McPherrin ’69, Boca

Raton, Florida, took third place at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals in the 100 meter individual medley, 75–79 age division. He was a member of the conference championship 1967 Rams swim team.

ALUMNI NEWS

As part of their 50th reunion celebration, the Class of 1973 presented a check for $300,073 to President Jonathan Brand establishing the Class of 1973 Endowed Scholarship. This is the largest gift ever raised by a reunion class.

1970s

Jim Coddington ’70 and Linda Kellenberger Coddington ’71, Mason City,

Iowa, report that they really enjoyed their delayed 50th Cornell class reunions together. Jim has made 75 beds for child victims of domestic abuse who have slept on the floor after escaping, with their mothers, the horror of abuse. Linda has been instrumental in bringing sculptures to Mason City and has developed a sculpture walk of over a mile. They are enjoying their volunteer work.

Tom McKay ’70, Hampton,

Illinois, has a new novel titled “Lost in the Black Hologram.” It’s a story of race in America and includes a discussion guide written with Tracy Williams, President and CEO of the YWCA of Southeastern Wisconsin. It can be found in independent bookstores in eastern Iowa, northern Illinois, and southern Wisconsin.

Tim Willis ’70, Corvallis, Oregon, met with Bob Lund ’70 (New York), Art Ushijima ’70 (Hawaii), and Tom Shives ’70 (Arizona) at Tom’s Scottsdale home for four days of storytelling and fun.

Pat Mahin ’71 and Cheri Johnson Mahin ’74 celebrated 50 years of marriage in June. They are enjoying condo life in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

In 2019 Dewey Birkhofer ’73 and his wife had severe toxic mold illness and still are challenged by residual symptoms. “I encourage everyone to educate yourselves about mold toxicity, as mainstream medicine says there is no cause or cure for many chronic neurological illnesses … As a family practice MD, I was unaware of mold toxicity until after I had retired from active practice and became quite ill. Without the internet, I would still be sick or worse. Helpful internet sites include survivingmold.com, ISEAI.org (International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness), paradigmchange.me (a site devoted mainly to chronic fatigue), and mastcell360. com.” They reside in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Class of 1973 50th reunion

Max Elsey ’73, DeKalb, Illinois,

recently published new research in The Journal of Transformative Education. The article is “ITAF Pedagogy in Theory and Practice: An Action Research Study of Transformative Growth and Development in University Classrooms.” He credits his theatre and English majors at Cornell for inspiring him to earn M.F.A. and Ed.D. degrees. Max loves his work and has no intention of retiring.

our daughter Beth lives in Glasgow, we also got to spend a few weeks in Scotland for the occasion. In other news, I just played my first game of pickleball this morning.”

Kathryn Deason Frieden ’73, Nottingham, New Hampshire, went on a birding trip to the Galapagos and spent a week on a catamaran sailing to the different islands. “It was an experience of a lifetime! In March we welcomed our second granddaughter into the world—Tova Rose. And since

Randy Loftus ’73, Annapolis,

Maryland, was featured on “Voices of the Chesapeake Bay” interview series (voicesofthechesapeakebay. net) in 2021. “I went to sea on the research vessel, Ridgely Warfield, operated by the Johns

Hopkins’ Chesapeake Bay Institute for 18 years. During that time I organized and conducted over 500 research cruises, which represented about 3,200 research days in the coastal mid-Atlantic and the Chesapeake, Delaware, and New York estuaries. After Chesapeake Bay Institute (CBI) was downsized, I worked for the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Biological Lab and became the campus IT specialist. I then joined the

FRONT ROW: Cleda Houmes, Peg Dunlap, Nancy Plummer Drago, Joan Watson-Nelson, Catherine Sun, Gail Lundeen Brand, Ann Schultis, Dave Hansen, Jo Ellen Bailey Kimball, Phyllis Gebhardt Lia, Kathryn Deason Frieden, Dave Turnball. ROW 2: Roger Higbie, Jim Yager, John Delibos, Karen Schneeberger Moody, Marty

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office as a computer specialist and was later promoted to regional IT specialist, and then I retired after 25 years. My hobby is wildlife photography.” During COVID Scott Simmer ’73 and his wife, Peg Schoen, vacated their Silver Spring, Maryland, home and are now living mostly full-time in the home they built on the Delaware beach south of

Benson McGrane, Susan Zimmerman, John McClelland, Bill Rapier, Kathleen Rhynas Bognanni, Peg Sellen Dana, Liz Seyforth Black, Rodney Black, Ray Ramey, Linda Meyer Renner, Melinda Murphy Driscoll, Steve St. Clair. ROW 3: Tob Trickey, Steve Espe, Rob Ash, Jen Fais, Tom Bayles, Dewey Birkhofer, Bruce Frana, Max Hansen, Kevin Stingley, Walt

Rehoboth. Scott continues his active law practice representing whistleblowers in claims that the government has been defrauded. He writes that the work is very engaging. He also still manages his Washington, D.C., office, but mostly all remote now. After dealing with COVID and treatments related to Peg’s breast cancer (successful) over the past year, they are starting to travel more. Scott is actively engaged on the Cornell Board of Trustees,

Steggall, Robert Reimann, Douglas Smith, Alex Chang. ROW 4: Steven Fulton, Bill Sharar, Scott Simmer, John McGrane, Greg Ippen, Rick Diachenko, Andy Taylor, Todd Ririe, Ted Van Dorn, Tommy Hoff, Susan Shillinglaw, Al Allphin.

which he says has been a great experience and allows him to get back to Mount Vernon regularly and check in with John McGrane ’73 and Marty Benson McGrane ’73. He also reconnected with John McClelland ’73 and his wife, Ket, recently.

Howard Williams ’73, San

Diego, California, still works full-time in internal medicine private practice. He is president of Mercy Physicians Medical

Group, an independent physician association with 140 primary care doctors and 600 specialists. “My youngest is a second-year vet student in L.A., so I have a few more years to go. I feel great, though, and will keep working as long as I still enjoy doing it.”

RAFAEL SANCHEZ

ALUMNI NEWS

COURTESY OF NAOMI HANNA BINSFELD ’87

After five years of dating, Jessica Uriostegui Gomez ’20 and Jonathan Gomez ’18 got married on July 2, 2022, in Chicago, Illinois, with many Cornellians in attendance. Third row from left: Morgan Casarez ’20, George Zimmerman ’18, Gabi Hiatt ’21, Sofia Lopera Cardona ’22, Abby Herrick Sterchele ’17, Lily Dahlstrom ’20, Auston Sack ’18, Ylana Padgett ’19, Ryan Belle ’20, Gus Turyn ’18, Cade Rihani ’19. Second row: Jani Mustaffa ’17, Idalis Feliciano ’17, Alex Pazaran ’17, Daniella Gonzales ’19, Raquel Ruiz ’20, Alex Brewster ’18. Front row: Brett Krull ’17, Joe Sterchele ’17, Jonathan Gomez ’18, Jessica Uriostegui Gomez ’20, Martin Rosenfeld ’20, David Pollicita ’19, Tucker Lewis ’17, and Riley Bell ’18.

Naomi Hanna Binsfeld ’87 joined a group of knitters at Spirit of Hope church in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and discovered that three of this group of 10 or so graduated from Cornell. From left: Tina Prokosch ’96, Trudy Hoag ’70, and Naomi Hanna Binsfeld ’87.

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

ZEGER FAMILY

NOEL IRION

Melissa Wood ’82 (right) met Jan Lansing Murphy ’83 (left), Dan Ricklefs ’79, and Jenny Riggs Ricklefs ’82 when she traveled to Denver, Colorado, in July. She also saw Karin Kadlec Barthel ’82 in Golden, Colorado.

On July 15, 2023, Gabrielle Zeger ’21 celebrated her marriage to Jayden Johnston-Zeger. Back row from left: John Turner ’94, Ann Loewe Turner ’94, Jen Lindstrom ’93, Kim Novak, Kelly Neppl ’93, Lorry Dickinson ’93, Kelly Close Howe ’93, Vickie Wessels-Murphy ’93, Jen Vogt Devine ’93, Deidra Schleicher ’92, Madeleine Kleckner ’21, Tim Devine ’92. Front row: Nolan Zeger ’23, Andrew Lopez ’23, Wesley Zeger ’93, Heather Biga Zeger ’93, Gabrielle Zeger ’21, Maricruz Hernandez ’24, and officiant Cal Gibler ’21.

Planning a Wedding?

Henry Winokur ’74, Chevy

Chase, Maryland, joined his wife, Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein, as she co-led a seven-day trip to Poland with North Carolina secondary school educators who teach about the Holocaust. They visited Kraków, the AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camps, Warsaw, Treblinka extermination camp, and Majdanek concentration camp.

Congrats!

After seven years of retirement and various projects, including grandparenting and houseflipping with her real estate agent husband, Susan Schuler Glenn ’75 has embarked on a new project. As a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, she’s forming a 501(c)(3), Friends of Minnehaha Park. The 193acre park features a 53-foot waterfall and is the most visited park in Minneapolis, but lacks a friends group supporting it. She has connected with some wonderful people, with knowledge, experience, and a willingness to help.

Remember to take a photo with your Cornell guests and share it with us to be included in Class News.

Jim Musca ’75 reports, “We

Send the picture from your special day to classnews@cornellcollege.edu with your wedding date, location, and the names of your guests.

Best wishes!

Jerry Harrington ’77, Iowa

City, Iowa, published “Thunder from the Prairie,” exploring the life of Harold E. Hughes, a man of working-class origins who overcame severe alcoholism to become Iowa governor and a U.S. Senator (University Press of Kansas, 2023). In his preface Jerry wrote about how his interest in Iowa history blossomed at Cornell, “helped by two classes I took in my junior year. One was a 20thcentury U.S. history course taught by Professor Richard Thomas, who was also chair of the State Historical Society of Iowa and promoted the study of Iowa history among students, including me. The other was a 20th-century American literature course taught by Professor Richard Martin, where I was introduced to the works of William Faulkner. Faulkner spent nearly his entire literary career writing about a single mythical county in Mississippi, and studying him made me realize that the universal can be found in the local.”

moved to San Diego to chase grandkids around and then, after two years, had enough of the ‘beautiful’ weather and moved back to St. Louis and wonderful changes of season and trees!” They live within walking distance of three children and five grandchildren. In addition, they are next to Forest Park “and are in it every day at the St. Louis Zoo, the Art Museum, St. Louis Symphony, tennis, walking, or running. While we love and play tennis, we are also enjoying pickleball. In addition to traveling wherever our Tesla wants to drive us, I am the treasurer of our HOA and the lead maintenance/vendor manager for my daughters.”

Susan Emmons ’78, York,

After 50 years of loving Iowa, Mary Bryan ’77 moved to DeLand, Florida.

In May Cindy Polson Rubenstein ’78, Dena Baugh Banker ’78, Janet Heger Larson ’78, Nancy Currie Barnes ’78, and Paula Krahn Merkle ’78 resumed their semiregular-since-the-1990s city weekend reunions. This time they enjoyed Chicago’s architecture, museums, restaurants, and theatre, and reminisced plenty about their days at Cornell.

Pennsylvania, retired as a senior deputy prosecutor with the local district attorney and has been volunteering for the local legal aid program. She is also supply preaching (temporarily filling the pulpit) for a downtown church and handling their pastoral care. “We have time to travel to visit our three grandchildren, Hannah, Leah, and Finnegan, which is our great joy. Our daughter Rachel works on Capitol Hill. We watched fireworks on July 4 from the Capitol steps, which was magical! I am continuing to lead my best life, and rediscovering the value of time with family and friends.”

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Amy Brophy Steinkraus ’78 and Larry Steinkraus ’78, Rochester, Minnesota,

report that Larry became emeritus at Mayo Clinic just as the pandemic began. He and Amy then experienced more togetherness than they had in their 45 years of marriage. Their relationship survived and even thrived, for which they are both grateful. Once things opened up they took their first Road Scholar tour, traveling to Quebec. Amy works part-time at Mayo as a standardized patient, an acting job where she enjoys training medical and nursing students and physicians in various realistic scenarios. She continues to serve on the board of the Tango Society of Rochester, helping organize practices and events for a small community of dancers. She and Larry are excited that their daughter has moved to

town with her family to begin a fellowship in preventive medicine at Mayo.

output instead of input. Dean’s episode is No. 33 (July 14, 2022). Dean is a former Cornell Trustee married to Bambi Hull Riesen ’82.

Dean Riesen ’79, Scottsdale,

Arizona, was featured on the podcast GDT (Givers, Doers, Thinkers) about his efforts to deliver clean water in Tanzania and what others can learn from his work. He founded and serves as chairman of the Tanzania Water Fund, which has completed over 35 community-based water systems there. In the podcast, he outlines what he calls the human development pyramid and why clean water is even more essential than economic development or healthcare for many developing communities. He ends by offering wisdom on starting new endeavors and charitable work, noting the importance of patience and persistence when things fail, and measuring the desired

Pope Francis appointed Most Reverend Thomas Zinkula ’79 as Archbishop of Dubuque. Tom was ordained in 1990 and has served as bishop of Davenport in Iowa since 2017. He holds a degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and practiced law in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for three years before studying for the priesthood at Theological College at the Catholic University of America, earning a master’s degree in theology in 1990. In 1998 he received a licentiate in canon law from St. Paul’s University, Ottawa, Canada.

1980s

In 2022 Dana Dahl Touzelet ’81, Les Paccots, Switzerland, retired from Edwards Lifesciences’ European headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, as vice president of ethics and compliance for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and Latin America “after over 14 years of service and a great deal of gratitude for the many wonderful opportunities and professional challenges provided by a very rewarding international career. My husband and I look forward to enjoying retirement in the Swiss Alps and pursuing various interests, including golf, cycling, and travel,” she writes.

Kristin Caskey ’84,

Richmond, Virginia, serves on the leadership team at Virginia Commonwealth University where she has been a faculty

ROBYN SCHWAB AARON ’07

High school chemistry and physics teacher Mervin Tuzon ’93 and his wife, Beth, recently created the Professor Truman Jordan and Professor Cynthia Strong Experiential Learning Fund. Tuzon recognized and thanked his mentors during remarks at The President’s Reception during Homecoming 2023 and recalled how his high school classmates at state universities were shocked that he was in small classes taught by Ph.D. faculty. FROM LEFT: Truman Jordan, Mervin Tuzon ’93, and Cindy Strong.

ALUMNI NEWS

member for 25 years. Her new position is senior director for the fine arts and interim chair of sculpture and extended media. “It is a really interesting time to lead in higher education, and our team needs to be flexible and innovative as we navigate huge changes in the education industry,” she writes.

Missy Gehler ’85, Lancaster,

Pennsylvania, was honored to be invited to join Cornell’s Alumni Board. Her husband, Matt Schousen ’83 teaches at Franklin & Marshall College. “We went from one small liberal arts college on a hilltop to another! I work as a freelance technical writer and still indulge my passion for horseback riding on a regular basis,” she writes. Their son, Stephen, is a junior at Bucknell University.

Leslie Grau Frady ’86,

Ladera Ranch, California, joined the Cornell College Alumni Association Board of Directors in April.

Louis Feldman ’87, Portland,

Oregon, works with a team that runs a Wells Fargo-Allspring mutual fund based in Portland. “I have also spent many days following my eldest teenager around the country as he

competes in various curling bonspiels (tournaments) as one of the top-ranked junior curlers in the country,” he writes. His younger son starts his senior year of high school this fall.

career. She lives in Philadelphia while her husband, Bill Bauman, remains at the homestead in Corning, New York, where he practices chiropractic. She is missing the block breaks needed to enjoy longer weekends together.

Don Furman ’88 was

elected president of the Iowa Optometric Association in 2023. He has practiced fullscope optometry in two offices for nearly 30 years. He and

Jen Wilcock Edmondson ’89 moved to Cat Spring,

Texas, in 2019 to take over her family’s cattle ranch. “Matt Edmondson ’89 is now a fullfledged cattle rancher (who’d have thunk?!) in addition to holding down a full-time job at a marking company in the Chicago suburbs (he works remotely). I am still running our small biz, Laughing Frog Studio, for the 12th year and continue to love it,” she writes. Their daughter recently graduated from the University of Texas, and their son is in Asheville, North Carolina, getting his electrician license.

Melinda Frericks Furman ’88 live on an acreage outside of Forest City, Iowa.

Alicia Risner-Bauman ’88,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, celebrated the graduation of her youngest, Matthew, from Drexel University this year. Her daughter, Elizabeth, graduated from Binghamton University in 2019. After almost 30 years of practicing dentistry in private practice, clinics for underserved populations, and as a consultant, she is happy to report that the third class at the University of Pennsylvania College of Dental Medicine has started its clinical experience in the Care Center for Persons with Disabilities. Helping to get this program off the ground and operational is what she considers the crown jewel of her

1990s

Lisa Johnson Utschig ’90,

Naperville, Illinois, was one of three scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory who were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her citation credits her “distinguished contributions to the field of solar/photochemical energy conversion in natural and bioinspired photosynthesis, particularly for developing novel assemblies to advance approaches to convert solar energy into energy-rich chemicals.”

Jen Wilcock Edmondson ’89 and Matt Edmondson ’89 moved to Texas to take over her family’s cattle ranch. Matt is a full-fledged rancher while working remotely full-time. Jen runs their small business selling upcycled vintage silverware jewelry.

Carolyn Kerr Armstrong ’92, Winnetka, Illinois, has

published another children’s book, “At the Edge of the Ice,” book one in her Eco Warriors series. “Each story highlights a habitat affected by climate change. It’s fact-based fiction with a touch of fantasy. I also have a monthly newsletter called the Earth-friendly Edition For People Who Love the Planet. It offers super easy ways to be more sustainable,” she writes. Book and newsletter info is at ckabooks.com

Carolyn Kerr Armstrong ’92 published “At the Edge of the Ice,” book one in her Eco Warriors children’s series. Each story highlights a habitat affected by climate change and is factbased fiction with a touch of fantasy. 50

Lorry “Lou” Hainsworth Dickinson ’93 retired after 31

years in education. “Thirteen of those years were spent teaching 6th–12th graders and the rest of my career was spent in teacher leadership and student intervention. My son and I also moved from Houston, Texas, to Two Harbors, Minnesota, to pursue life on the north shore. I will be pursuing a second career after a few months off,” she writes.

Don Kasak ’93, Manchester,

Missouri, has several trips planned prior to the Class of ’93 30th reunion at Cornell Homecoming 2023. He’ll be with his wife’s family for three weeks in New Hampshire, with trips to Boston, the Maine coast, and parts of New Brunswick. Just before Homecoming they’ll head to Oklahoma City for his brother’s wedding.

Christopher George ’94 and Jennifer Miller George ’94,

Slinger, Wisconsin, are having a year full of milestones. They celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and the graduation of their youngest child from high school. Jennifer has been a family physician for 22 years and Christopher has been a project manager with US Biologic for eight years. They are planning some adventures now that they are empty-nesters.

Matt Shelton ’96, Pacific

Grove, California, was promoted to senior supervisory attorney and deputy staff judge advocate at the Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey. He, Sarah Frahm Shelton ’98, and their three kids traveled last summer to Lucerne, Switzerland, to visit family, and also toured Colmar, Strasbourg, and Stuttgart.

Stephen Day ’97 and Jen Delhaye Day ’97, Elgin, Illinois,

had the pleasure of touring five countries in Europe last June with several hundred student musicians. Their children, Hannah and Norah, were invited to participate in the Illinois Ambassadors of Music program. High school students from

Ignite curiosity. Inspire an interest in college. Share the immersive experience of One Course At A Time. Learn more at crnl.co/ocsi

One Course Summer Institute

for ambitious high school students

across the state performed in a variety of venues in the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

Cheyenne McClure Martin ’97, Mountville, Pennsylvania,

published another novel, “A Sapphire Sun: Orbital Decay,” book two of the Shadow Factor series.

Jen Klein O’Keefe ’98,

Morehead, Kentucky, was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA). Her nominator wrote that she “has made fundamental contributions to coal geology, palynology, and terrestrial paleoecology. Her pioneering work on fungal palynology and paleoecology gives us a new tool to understand fungal decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems through deep time. Her service as chair of GSA’s Energy Division and president of AASP [The Palynological Society] is meritorious.”

2000s

Jennifer Carrell ’99,

Enumclaw, Washington, started a new job as cartographer and GIS specialist for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

BIRTHS Sophia Maureen Drewitz, June 25, 2022, to Lauren Beck Drewitz ’05 and Ryan

William J. Dennison II ’99,

Wonder Lake, Illinois, starred in a feature film that was released in July, “Chi Town Thunderfist,” a 1970s-style kung fu movie. This was Will’s second feature film after starring in “By Sword or By Fire” the previous year. “By Sword or By Fire” is still in post-production, but “Chi Town Thunderfist” is available on DVD and Blu-ray. William also joined the Cornell College Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Drewitz ’05

Adeline Hope and Taylor Madison Kline, May 8, 2023, to Laura Allis Kline ’07 and Perry Kline Persephone Kate Bevan, Feb. 4, 2023, to Tatiana Batson Bevan ’10 and Scott Bevan

After over 20 years in Colorado, Toby Brown ’01 and Angela Bird ’00 are moving to New Hampshire. “I will still be teaching, but am changing from mostly teaching French to only teaching science,” Angela writes. “Toby is working toward his master’s of divinity. Our children are both grown and graduated.

RJ Holmes-Leopold ’99,

Eagan, Minnesota, co-authored a chapter on career education and includes the Cornell Fellows Program as an example.

July 7-24 2024

Anabelle will stay in Colorado at CU Boulder. Kavan will be moving to New Hampshire with us and will continue to pursue his degree to become a library technician.”

Michael Burke ’01,

Northglenn, Colorado, completed his fourth and final year as principal of Prairie View High School and is now director of postsecondary workforce readiness and career and technical education for 27J Schools in Colorado. This past summer he and Justine Stewart Burke ’03 and their kids Colton, Jackson, and Elliott, spent 3½ weeks (a block!) in their camper going to Minnesota to see a whole host of Cornell alums: Richard Shelly ’01, Katie Rudd Shelly ’01, Jessica and Jeremy Koch ’01, Ericka and Eric Medberry ’00, Brett Dennis ’01 and Marie Griffin Dennis ’01, and Joe Wallace ’01. They also worked the Rooftop Rodeo in Estes Park to round out the trip.

ALUMNI NEWS

Michael Burke ’01, Justine Stewart Burke ’03, and their three kids spent nearly a month in their camper visiting a whole host of Cornellians.

BIRTHS Ethan Huang Patzke, Feb. 5, 2023, to Andrew Patzke ’11 and Jiaqi Huang Tobias Mitchell Kolterman, Jan. 16, 2023, to Ashley Crump Kolterman ’13 and Charles Kolterman

Both Maddie Althoff ’22 and Emma Burnett ’23 are resident artists— Maddie at Pocosin Arts, Columbia, North Carolina, and Emma at the Iowa Ceramics Center in Cedar Rapids.

Anna Norstedt ’02, St. Paul, Minnesota, quit her job in January and went back to her previous employer, so she’s once again working in a public pre-K program.

Lindsey Carlson Martens ’03, Ankeny, Iowa, graduated with an MBA from Drake University. She and Jeff Martens ’03 have two boys.

Katie Crooks ’04, Ashburn,

Virginia, moved back to the U.S. with her husband and son after seven years in Asia. In 2022 Katie started her new job as director of the Lucy Burns Museum at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C.

Dawn Niederschulte Trujillo ’05 lives in Topeka, Kansas, with her husband, son, and twin daughters. She’s in her 17th year of teaching in elementary schools with a special interest in special education as she raises two autistic children. “I am working hard to get the government to properly fund special education everywhere, so that students with special needs are supported and can access their environment. I would love for our world to be more inclusive of people with different abilities,” she writes.

Cate LiaBraaten ’12 and Tim Bingham ’13 moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Clarksville, Tennessee, this summer. After completing a dual Ph.D. in U.S. history and public history, Cate has accepted a position as a professor at Austin Peay State University. Tim will be back on the Hilltop teaching constitutional law for a block.

Amelia Brandt ’06, Seattle,

Washington, reunited with fellow grads Sarah Goldman ’06, Nikki Bonar Hinton ’06, Anna Doorenbos ’06, and Stacy Weinberg Tyman ’06, all within the last year. She recently had her professional responsibilities expanded to include overseeing sustainability strategy for her company, Chicago-based communications firm Zeno Group, and plans to lead the company in setting a climate goal. Amelia and her husband, Matt, enjoy hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with their corgis.

Courtney Olson ’14, Las

Vegas, Nevada, bought a condo and got a new job as a restaurant manager for Giordano’s on the Las Vegas Strip.

MacKenzie Dreeszen Rutter ’14, Ankeny, Iowa,

was re-elected as the national committeewoman for the Iowa Federation of Young Republicans in June 2023.

Ve’Amber Miller-Dye ’15,

Baltimore, Maryland, accepted a job at Johns Hopkins University for Hopkins Retrospective as their digital content and outreach coordinator. She moved there from Chicago with her spouse and pup.

Sarah Brungard Clough ’07, Lisbon, Iowa, was promoted to vice president of philanthropy insights and analytics at Marts&Lundy.

Fiona Flynn ’16 will attend the

2010s

master of agriculture program part-time and online at Virginia Tech, “which will allow me to keep my current amazing job as the kitchen garden coordinator at the Morven Sustainability Lab of the University of Virginia in scenic Charlottesville, Virginia. I know that this course of study will help me take my growing skills to the next level, and allow me to pass those skills on to my wonderful farm crew here.”

WEDDINGS Jonathan Gomez ’17 to Jessica Uriostegui ’20, July 2, 2022

Katie Stieber ’18 to Alex Ellis, Oct. 14, 2022

Marin Dettweiler ’19 to

Justin Noska, Sept. 18, 2021

Justin Futrell ’16, Denver,

Colorado, is pursuing his master’s degree in healthcare innovation from The Ohio State University.

Kyra Koehler ’16 moved

from North Carolina to Omaha, Nebraska, to start a job at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center as a certified child life specialist. “I made a trip from North Carolina to Washington to visit Brandon Davis ’16 and Leah Bedatsky ’16 and to meet their sweet daughter, Lainey. We had the pleasure of exploring many places, but we made sure to visit Mount Vernon, Washington. I also went to California to see Caitlin Dugas ’16 before returning to North Carolina. While in California, I met the donkey who was the model for Donkey in the Shrek movies, as he lives near Caitlin.”

Sanjuanita “Sam” Martinez ’16, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, accepted a position with the Western District of Oklahoma as an assistant federal public defender.

Johnathan Bendewald ’17, Wheeling, Illinois, became an official member of The Magic Castle, a world-renowned magician’s club in Hollywood.

Hannah Robertson ’18,

Cardiff, Wales, finished her master’s degree in international journalism from Cardiff University in 2019 and recently returned to Wales to live with her fiancé. She works remotely for a news organization in Colorado called the Local NEWS Network.

Marin Dettweiler Noska ’19, Marion, Iowa, took a new

position at Willis Dady Homeless Services in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as an employment case manager. She’s been with Willis Dady since September 2021 and writes, “I’m loving my work in social services!”

2020s

Lily Hartney ’23 moved to

WEDDINGS

Clara Haverstic ’23 will

2022

be attending Maastricht University in the Netherlands for a master’s degree in political culture.

Gabrielle Zeger ’21 to Jayden

Abby Heims ’23, Solon, Iowa,

Jace Bricker ’20, Woodland

Hills, California, opened a comprehensive financial planning practice on the Northwestern Mutual platform. “In essence, I help busy people protect what they have and get what they want. I specifically enjoy working with current college students, recent graduates, as well as young families. I find great satisfaction in equipping clients with the financial know-how and tools needed to achieve financial security.” he writes.

George Ziama ’20, Columbia, Missouri, is an environmental research analyst for Saoradh Enterprise Partners, a top environmental firm in the U.S.

Robert Petrie ’21, Minneapolis, Minnesota, works at an elementary school in South Minneapolis as an associate educator.

Maddie Althoff ’22 received

an artist residency at Pocosin Arts, Columbia, North Carolina.

Drew Bruck ’23 is working for an environmental consulting firm in Iowa City.

Emma Burnett ’23, Norwalk, Iowa, is a resident artist at the Iowa Ceramics Center in Cedar Rapids.

CORNELL COLLEGE

Plano, Texas, for a position with Toyota Motor North America.

Jessica Uriostegui ’20 to Jonathan Gomez ’17, July 2,

Johnston-Zeger, July 15, 2023

Losses

is working at Integrated DNA Technologies and refining applications to med schools.

Greta Henderson ’23 was

awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Germany, after which she will attend graduate school for literary translation at the University of Iowa.

Addison Ault A legendary mentor, researcher, and author, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Addison Ault died Sept. 27, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at age 90. He taught organic chemistry at Cornell for 50 years, from 1962–2012. Ault earned a B.A. from Amherst College and a Ph.D. from Harvard University, then taught for two years at Grinnell College. In 1961 he moved to Chicago where he spent a year at the Argonne National Laboratory as a faculty representative for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. While there he met Cornell Chemistry Professor William Deskin, who influenced him to come teach at Cornell. Ault was not entirely happy with the lab manuals of the time, and he spent part of a sabbatical writing “Techniques and Experiments for Organic Chemistry,” now in revision for a seventh edition. In the early 1970s he wrote a grant that allowed Cornell to acquire a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR) at a time when few academic institutions of its size possessed one. Among his over 50 publications— including five books—are two books related to the NMR. A lover of classical music, he learned to play the cello in middle age and participated in orchestras at Cornell and the Harvard Summer School. His enjoyment of athletics was expressed in the many games of touch football he played with students on the front lawn of the Carnegie Building (Norton Geology) when the chemistry department was housed there, his faithful attendance at the home and away events of the Cornell men’s cross country team, and his occasional participation on Cornell’s RAGBRAI team. In nominating him for an award after his retirement, the chemistry department wrote of Ault: “His great intellect, Harvard training, NIH fellowship, and experience in a national lab would have allowed Addison to spend his career almost anywhere. He chose to pursue excellence at an institution that specializes in undergraduate education.” In addition to Janet Ault ’78, his wife of 65 years, Dr. Ault is survived by their five children and 10 grandchildren.

Elise Kalin ’23, Bettendorf,

Iowa, is working as a technical communicator for Fast Enterprises.

Sarah Mumford ’23 has

moved to Beaverton, Oregon, and is working in the field of mental health for adults and the elderly.

Abigail Patten ’23 is

attending the University of Iowa for a master’s degree in finance and business analytics, and she is Cornell’s cheerleading and dance coach.

Skylar Vos ’23 is a senior legal assistant at the Department of Justice located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Marlo Webster ’23, Mount

Vernon, Iowa, reports: “I got a new kitten! His name is Emi-Rat, short for Emergen C. Rations. I’ve also been working at the alumni office and bartending at Chameleon’s. During the school year I’m going to be baking and catering at Bon Appétit.”

Nick Campbell ’23 is pursuing a master of music degree in classical guitar performance at Illinois State University. “I can’t wait to return to Cornell someday and talk to all of my professors!” Nick writes.

Becca Gutierrez ’23 is

attending graduate school at the University of Sheffield in England to get a master’s degree in librarianship.

ALUMNI NEWS

Jon M. Stark ’52 Former Trustee Jon M. Stark ’52 died in Santa Rosa, California, on May 2, 2023. He was 93. An Iowa native, Stark was the first in his family to attend college, calling it a life-changing experience. He served on Cornell’s Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1997. In 2016 he and his wife, Terry, donated $1 million to create the Stark Endowed Fellowship to fund experiential learning opportunities through the Berry Career Institute. At Cornell he joined Gamma Tau Pi, played basketball, and worked in the Bowman Hall kitchen. After graduating with a degree in economics and business, he served as a Naval officer, then earned an MBA at Stanford University. He and Terry lived in Zurich, Switzerland, and London, England, before landing in California, where he established himself in mortgage banking and financial consulting. As he approached retirement age, he left the corporate world to work with small companies that used his financial expertise to grow and succeed. Stark loved Dixieland jazz, good wine, golf with friends, tennis when he was younger, and travel. He was a member of Rotary for more than 25 years and served on the Santa Rosa Symphony Board. He had a deep concern for people who are homeless, and he was a member of the Burbank Housing board until the time of his death. Jon is survived by his wife of 60 years, Maria Teresita (Terry) Esteva; daughter Annemarie (James Bailey); son Eric Stark ’89 (Jeannette Schram); four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

CORNELL COLLEGE

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

Losses

L. Jackson Roberts II ’65

David U. Van Metre

Dr. Lyman Jackson “Jack” Roberts II ’65, an internationally known clinical pharmacologist in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, died May 31, 2023, in Nashville. He was 79. When he enrolled at Cornell he expected to return to Muscatine, Iowa, and work for the family auto parts businesses. Instead, he took a physiology course from Professor T. Edwin Rogers ’39 that sparked an interest in science. Many years later, when he was honored with an endowed chair at Vanderbilt, he named it the T. Edwin Rogers Chair in Pharmacology. Following graduation from Cornell, Roberts earned a medical degree from the University of Iowa, completed a residency at Washington University in St. Louis, and began a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Vanderbilt. He joined the faculty in 1977. Among his best-known work was the discovery, with Jason Morrow in 1990, of isoprostanes and for subsequently pioneering research that established their role in atherosclerosis, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. In the 1980s he and three colleagues showed that low-dose aspirin halted downstream production of a blood-clotting compound, providing the basis for clinical trials utilizing low doses of aspirin that demonstrated a reduced risk of clot-induced heart attacks. He authored more than 400 scientific publications. In 2001 he received the National Institutes of Health MERIT Award. Roberts had a passion for boating, was an excellent water and snow skier, and a talented pianist. He is survived by his wife, Vicky, two sons, seven grandchildren, and three step-grandchildren.

Dave Van Metre died May 11, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was the lead donor for renovations that significantly improved Cornell’s stadium, which was dedicated in 2018 as Van Metre Field at Ash Park. A Mount Vernon native, Van Metre had extensive Cornell family connections— including his alumni parents, aunt, uncle, and brother, the late Douglas C. Van Metre ’50—as well as childhood memories of running and playing all around the Hilltop. “He always wanted to help Cornell,” said President Jonathan Brand. “At the same time, he was most excited when we had projects that benefitted both Mount Vernon and Cornell. Because he was such a believer in the power of sport to develop leaders, it comes as no surprise that facilities shared by the Mount Vernon Community School District and Cornell College were of greatest interest to Dave. Those projects brought Mount Vernon and the college closer together.” Van Metre was an All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tight end for Colorado College and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. Following his football career and service in the Army, he and his wife, Carol, moved to Omaha in 1968, where he worked in municipal bonds. He ran the New York, Twin Cities, and Los Angeles marathons and had a lifelong passion for fitness, taking pride in upgrading fitness facilities and athletic venues of schools and community centers in Omaha and Mount Vernon, including the Van Metre Family Softball Field shared by Mount Vernon High School and Cornell. He is survived by a son, Jim (Stacey), daughter-in-law Robin, and four grandchildren.

HONORARY ALUMNUS

CORNELL COLLEGE

C O R N E L L R E P O RT | FA L L 2 0 2 3

Robin Reid Robert “Robin” Reid, who worked in student affairs from 1965–1974 and maintained a strong connection to Cornell, died May 15, 2023, in San Diego, California. He was 85. Reid studied American history at Colorado College, graduating in 1959. He then spent two years in the Army, two years teaching high school history, and became a student again, earning a master’s degree in history at the University of Colorado Boulder. He arrived at Cornell College in 1965 during an era of unrest on U.S. campuses. In addition to serving as assistant, then associate, dean of students, he became director of The Commons after it opened in January of 1966. In 2013 Reid and his former wife, a Cornell sociology associate professor, established the Robin Reid and Sue Titus Reid Experiential Learning Endowment. In 2014 he returned for the dedication of the renovated Thomas Commons. Reid left Cornell in 1974 for San Diego, California, where he spent the rest of his life. He initially worked for University Associates Publishers, Inc., then became a management consultant, diving into the emerging discipline of organizational dynamics. He flew around the country consulting with managers of companies including Coors and Genentech. He teamed up with like-minded colleagues in consulting groups, worked in-house for the city of San Diego, then independently. He was well known for his collaborative demeanor, and team building was his favorite work. He is survived by his brother John, two nephews, and three nieces. Contributions may be made to the Robin Reid and Sue Titus Reid Experiential Learning Endowment at Cornell.

Virginia Swaney Fehrenbacher ‘44, Ridgecrest, California, May 22, 2023

Charles Price ‘57, Chico, California, July 22, 2023

Wayne Larson ‘45, Ripon, Wisconsin, June 27, 2023

Thomas Anderson ‘58, Decorah, Iowa, June 28, 2023

Carol Hall Colburn ‘47, Bellingham, Washington, January, 2023

Helen Dude ’58, Hoyleton, Illinois, Sept. 25, 2023

Helen Gustafson Ringgenberg ‘47, Iowa City, Iowa, May 10, 2023

Marilyn “Jo” Pullen Jacobson ‘58, Boulder, Colorado, July 16, 2023

Richard Dvorak ‘48, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 30, 2023

John Williams ‘58, Stockton, California, July 25, 2023

Wayne Lyford ‘48, Flandreau, South Dakota, Sept. 5, 2023

Judith Hawks Williamson ‘58, Rock Island, Illinois, April 25, 2023

Evelyn Melton Peterson ‘48, DeKalb, Illinois, Aug. 4, 2023

Don Henderson ‘59, Rockford, Illinois, Aug. 22, 2023

Patricia Hall Wright ‘48, Ames, Iowa, Nov. 16, 2021

Donald Butterfield ’60, Aspen, Colorado, Sept. 9, 2023

Margaret Leland Dietz ‘49, Paris, Tennessee, Sept. 30, 2021

Beverly Ingols Mumm ‘60, Roseville, California, July 31, 2023

Eizabeth Marshall Mansfield ‘49, Iowa City, Iowa, May 7, 2023

David Fergesen ‘61, Hillsborough, New Jersey, Aug. 5, 2023

Robert Cooper ‘50, Salem, Oregon, July 21, 2023

Kenneth Leary ‘63, Glastonbury, Connecticut, May 15, 2023

Normakay Marthinson ‘50, Lake Mills, Iowa, Aug. 14, 2023

Carol Jean “Sally” Johnson Kelsey ‘64, Huntley, Illinois, Aug. 23, 2023

Ben McAdams ‘50, Moline, Illinois, July 10, 2023

Sally Erickson Maly ‘64, Shaver Lake, California, Feb. 21, 2023

Jane Graham McGinn ‘50, Madison, Wisconsin, July 24, 2023

James Thompson ‘64, Normal, Illinois, March 8, 2023

Audrey Evans DeRango ‘51, Tampa, Florida, July 28, 2023

Carol Robertson Brown ‘65, Austin, Texas, June 3, 2023

Thomas Harvey ‘51, La Porte City, Iowa, July 3, 2023

Helmut Reiter ‘67, McHenry, Illinois, Dec. 29, 2022

Luella Heitshusen Stone ‘52, Des Moines, Iowa, March 10, 2023

Robert Drury ‘69, Dubuque, Iowa, Aug. 4, 2023

Kathleen “Katie” Barkman Walther ‘52, Freeport, Illinois, June 25, 2023

Craig Phair ‘71, New Brighton, Minnesota, July 8, 2023

Jeanette Frahm Wilson ‘52, Miles, Iowa, May 17, 2023

Beth Scholl Oujiri ‘74, Iron River, Wisconsin, March 2, 2022

Payson Lowell ’53, Overland Park, Kansas, Sept. 23, 2023

Tryon Wells ’74, Bethesda, Maryland, July 8, 2023

Richard E. Miller ‘53, St. Louis, Missouri, Aug. 5, 2022

Craig Margulis ‘77, Iowa City, Iowa, April 19, 2023

Hughes Morris Jr. ‘53, Lincoln, Nebraska, Aug. 20, 2023El

Michael Eganhouse ‘80, Tucson, Arizona, May 9, 2023

Robert “Warren” Sonneman ‘53, Palm City, Florida, Jan. 21, 2022

Paulette Reed ‘80, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Aug. 6, 2023

Shirley Anderson Warren ‘53, Rochester, New York, June 14, 2023

Brad Shaffer ‘86, Mount Prospect, Illinois, April 23, 2023

Roger Love ’54, Erie, Colorado, Sept. 29, 2023

Jacob Shipley ‘00, Woodbridge, Virginia, Aug. 19, 2023

Patricia Tarr Mildvan ‘54, Baltimore, Maryland, July 29, 2023 James Hardin ‘56, Bellingham, Washington, Sept. 1, 2023

Walter Borenstein, associate professor of Spanish, 1964-1969, Southbury, Connecticut, Sept. 2, 2022

Jeanette “Jan” Horstman Govig ‘57, Scottsdale, Arizona, May 11, 2023

Jeanette Gordon, assistant registrar, 1997-2012, Marion, Iowa, May 17, 2023

L A S T WO R D

From gray to green:

A colorful journey from Oklahoma to Cornell By Ken Roden ’24

hile the average American has been to 12 states, for some (like me), dropping anchor in a whole new state for college was a big change. I’d never stepped foot out of my hometown in Oklahoma until I came to Cornell. Not only was it a big step, but it was a colorful one too. Oklahoma had always been gray winds and yellow-green grass; turbulent tornadoes and black asphalt shaken by earthquake after earthquake. Between the dry summer sun of Tulsa and the long winding road through Missouri, everything I’d ever imagined was bigger and brighter than I could have dreamed of. And that’s why, when I first walked onto campus, I could only think to myself, Green. And no, I’m not just talking about the miles of corn and soybeans I drove by just to get to Mount Vernon or the countless trees that Oklahoma just doesn’t seem to have anymore. Of course, Oklahoma has trees and fields just like the rest of the world. But after driving through Missouri and half of Iowa, I could only think back to times and things I had forgotten. Backyard gardens and bobcats weaving through the trees behind my home, green garden snakes that fell from those very trees in late summer, and copperheads that made their way from the pond near the train tracks and across the road to my home. At the end of this new road, there was Cornell with students from all around the country, even the world, ready to set foot on campus. Not only was the campus green with summer and purple

with the namesake Royal Purple everywhere, but it was filled with other students just like me: so new to college, to a smaller community, to the block plan, and so much more. Many of us were starting in a new place during a new time in our lives. It seemed like such a long way to Mount Vernon all that time ago. But now, after meeting people who traveled from farther states and even other countries, it doesn’t seem all that long after all. I was glad to meet others who’d had so many experiences, who’d colored my dull gray world into something like the kiosks or The Rock: layer after layer of something discovered, something treasured, something beautiful beyond one city or state or country. One of the first things another first-year and I talked about during orientation was the brick buildings. We both came from towns that were a little bigger than Mount Vernon, but as we walked through campus on the red-hued Ped Mall and into downtown, we were amazed by how beautiful everything was. The flowers and banners that seemed to hang from every shop and corner were reminiscent of the people that greeted us at every turn. Everything was beautiful and colorful, and so very much alive. We were all just as green as the grass that greeted us when we stepped foot onto Cornell’s campus, and I hope we continue to have those green experiences for more colorful lives that await us. Ken Roden ’24 is majoring in English: Creative Writing and works in the Dungy Writing Studio, the Berry Career Institute, and in Cole Library. He wants to work in a library and write books. 56

Consider investing in your

legacy as you’ve invested in your IRA Alex Chang ’73 and Anna Chang

“It is time for me to pay forward to help others financially access a college education at Cornell. I’m thankful for former Cornellians who helped realize my mother’s dream of having a college graduate (later Ph.D.) son. At this stage in my life, the ability to make donations directly from my IRA provides me with a perfect vehicle to contribute to a scholarship fund in memory of my mother.”

—Alex Chang ’73

For more information about tax-smart giving through your IRA, visit crnl.co/ira-rollover (or use the QR code), or contact Director of Planned Giving Tom Hanschman ’88, 319.895.4335 or thanschman@cornellcollege.edu

FROM LEFT: Diane Sergeant Ramsey ’88, Julia Gutz Moller ’88, Beth Lingwall Carlson ’88, Sue Caponi Arvidson ’88, Dave Arvidson ’88, Gretchen Liebenow Buchmeyer ’88, and Andrew Buchmeyer ’86 paused for a photo at the Cornell sign during Homecoming 2023. The women—three Arrows and two Thetas—refer to themselves as The Runaway Girls. Over the years their husbands, children, and extended families have supported them as they’ve run away together; Gretchen describes their friendship as “the emotional scaffolding needed to survive and thrive through the joys and challenges of life.”

SMRITI NEUPANE ’26

600 FIRST STREET SW MOUNT VERNON, IA 52314–1098

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CORNELL COLLEGE