Centenary Magazine Spring 2019

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Tom Hundemer directs faculty, staff, students, and community members ­during a concert by the Centenary Wind Ensemble. Centenary’s Hargrove Memorial ­Amphitheater, with spring flowers in full bloom, was the perfect setting for the March 24 outdoor concert.

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Centenary Magazine is published by Centenary College of Louisiana for alumni and friends of the College. © 2019 CENTENARY COLLEGE

SPRING 2019 CONTRIBUTORS: Kate Pedrotty, Senior Director of Marketing & ­Communication Lindy Broderick, Chaplain and Director of the Christian Leadership Center Chris Brown ’01, Archivist of the College and Louisiana UMC Sherry Heflin, Visual Identity & Publications Manager Jefferson Hendricks ’75, Professor of English Jeremy Johnson, Director of Digital Media Matthew Lofton, Athletics Writer & Sports Information ­Coordinator Candace Metoyer ’14, Digital Media Specialist Patty Roberts ’82, Coordinator of Grants & Faculty ­Endowments Logan Sledge ’00, Assistant Professor of Theatre Saige Wilhite Solomon ’05, Director of Alumni & Family Relations Curt Youngblood ’07, Lecturer in Art STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHERS: Brandon Armstrong Sabrina Handal

CENTENARY MAGAZINE Office of Marketing & Communication 2911 Centenary Blvd.

Shreveport, LA 71104 PHONE

318.869.5715 WEB SITE centenary.edu/magazine EMAIL news@centenary.edu

COVER PHOTO: In 2016, professor of art Bruce Allen ’75 created original sketches of eight iconic Paris monuments to serve as the centerpiece of the Meadows Museum’s annual Centenary in Paris student exhibit.

He has continued to add sketches which have now been collected in the book Bruce Allen’s Paris in Another Light. See page 18 for more on the new book and a personal reflection from friend and colleague Jeff Hendricks ’75.

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Spring greetings from Centenary!

Commencement is just two weeks away as I write this and we are excited to send another class of graduates on to the next steps of their journeys. We are sad to see them leave, of course, but so eager to see what they do next.

One of the tools we have tried to equip our graduates with is that of selfreflection. Socrates famously observed “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

We challenge our students and ourselves to ask time and again, “How can I live a meaningful life?” I frequently quote Fredrick Buechner’s definition of v ­ ocation: “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep ­hunger meet.” Where can we find that place?

In this edition of the magazine, along with news and updates from campus, you will read about students and faculty exploring and making meaning in their lives. And just as we prepare students to adapt to the dynamic and changing workplace they will enter, they will need to acknowledge and adjust to the way that what makes our lives meaningful changes over time as well. Some of you are undoubtedly familiar with the book by Fr. Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, discussing the different needs we must meet and roles we fill over time. What sparks joy in us, to use a current phrase, will change, just as the demands from our professions will. At Centenary, we believe we have prepared our new graduates to grow and flourish in their careers while also living fulfilled lives. To use the words of noted author and anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson, we look forward to seeing our alumni “as artists of their own lives, working with what comes to hand through accident or talent to compose and re-compose a pattern in time that expresses who they are and what they believe in – making meaning even as they are studying and working and raising children, creating and re-creating themselves.”

I am also writing this just a few days after the fire at the cathedral of Notre Dame. The catastrophe was deeply felt on campus, since almost all of our students and many of our faculty and staff have been inside, and even to the top, of that historic and sacred place during Centenary in Paris. It is too early, I think, to make meaning of this event in a thoughtful way, but while we share the pain of the people of Paris and France, I know our future ­travelers will find a way to use even this tragedy as an opportunity for learning, reflection, and growth.

I hope you are as inspired as I am by these stories from campus.

Please come visit us!

Dr. Christopher L. Holoman President

COLLEGE NEWS (PAGES 6-15)

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CELEBRATING DR. JENIFER K. WARD/LSU LAW PARTNERSHIP

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MUSIC NOTES

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ON STAGE

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SPOTLIGHT ON OPERA

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FEATURES

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CHAPEL SERVICE RETURNS

THE HISTORY BEHIND “THIS IS CENTENARY”

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INAUGURAL CENTTANK COMPETITION

ON BRUCE ALLEN AND LIVING AN ARTFUL LIFE

BY JEFFERSON HENDRICKS ’75

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CORRINGTON AWARD

FACULTY/STAFF KUDOS

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FACULTY CONVERSATIONS

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: COLIN AND COLE SCHULTZ

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SPORTS RECAP

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HOMECOMING 2018

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CLASS NOTES

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IN MEMORIAM

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Celebrating Dr. Jenifer K. Ward On March 18, the Centenary College community received the bittersweet news that Dr. Jenifer K. Ward, provost and dean of the college since June 2014, had been named the 11th president of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Ward leaves behind a rich legacy at Centenary when she takes up her new leadership position at the Iowa liberal arts college on July 1, 2019.

Ward was chosen to lead Luther College after a nationwide search. J. Robert Paulson, Jr., vice chair of the Luther College board of regents and chair of the presidential search committee, described her as a “visionary and passionate leader who has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to effectively lead transformational change.” Ward will be the third sitting president of a selective liberal arts college to have served as a senior

administrator at Centenary, joining former provost Dr. Darrel Colson of Wartburg College and former vice president for advancement Dr. Katherine Fell of the University of Findlay.

“Serving as provost at Centenary, among supportive colleagues committed to liberal arts education, and in a world that needs the kind of graduates Centenary fosters, has prepared me so well for this next step,” said Ward on the day of the announcement. “I have been amazed and humbled by the great work of those in my office, by my faculty and staff colleagues, and by our students. I am especially proud to have contributed to the hiring of the new generation of Centenary faculty. It is a diverse and formidable group, and I look forward to following their success and the evolution of this great college.”

Ward came to Centenary from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where she served as dean of the college. She is a graduate of Hendrix College in Arkansas and holds a PhD in Germanic languages and literatures from

Vanderbilt University. Prior to her tenure at Cornish College of the Arts, she was chair of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures & Cultures at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. She has also held faculty positions at Rhodes College and the College of Wooster.

President Dr. Christopher L. Holoman echoed the sentiments of the Centenary community when he noted both his sadness at Ward’s departure and his excitement at her new position.

“The Luther College presidency is such welldeserved recognition of Jenifer’s inspiring leadership and her passion for articulating the transformative power of a liberal arts education,” said Holoman. “Jenifer and I have enjoyed a wonderful collaborative working relationship, and it has been my distinct pleasure to have her as a colleague at Centenary.”

Dr. Karen Soul has been named interim provost for the 2019-2020 academic year. n

Centenary signs partnership with LSU Law The agreement establishes an exclusive relationship between LSU Law – the flagship state institution law school – and Centenary – the only Tier One National Liberal Arts college in Louisiana.

Centenary students interested in law careers have new options thanks to an agreement signed between the College and the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in January 2019.

“As the oldest private college in Louisiana, we are pleased to enter into Centenary signed a this partnership with the flagship of memorandum of understanding the LSU system. This will allow both with the LSU Law Center to create a partnership that will institutions to better serve all our state’s Centenary provost and dean of the college Dr. Jenifer K. Ward, residents by offering a variety of paths to provide Centenary students Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman, LSU Law dean Tom Galligan, and LSU senior vice provost Jane Cassidy. (Photo courtesy and through law school, preparing them who meet LSU Law admission of LSU Law) requirements and who are to serve the people of Louisiana,” said interested in public interest careers an opportunity for an expedited Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman. admissions review and notification process. (continued on page 11

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Alive with the sound of music!

Centenary is alive with the sound of music!

The Hurley School of Music sponsored three major events this past fall – Rhapsody in View performed by the Centenary College Choir, the wind ensemble fall concert, and Wonders performed by Camerata.

The Centenary College Choir kicked off Homecoming festivities this year with Rhapsody in View. In preparation for the Choir’s international tour of French Canada this summer, the group is weaving a “Deep Roots” theme throughout the season. The theme explores philosophical, religious, and cultural ideas of French – Acadian culture and how it connects to Louisiana.

Pieces in the “Deep Roots” repertoire include Romantic French composer Gabriel Fauré’s beautiful anthem Cantique de Jean Racine and Stephen Hatfield’s French-Canadian folk song setting of the exuberant O-Yo-Yo. South Louisiana culture is represented with familiar settings of Jambalaya and When the Saints Go Marching In. The neo-shape note anthem Emerald Stream and the ethereal Stars by Esenvalds explore a creation theme, while one of the most dramatic pieces of the program, The Conversion of St. Paul by Z. Randall Stroope, recaptures perhaps the most famous Christian conversion story in the Bible.

The Centenary Wind Ensemble performed a concert of classic works for band this fall.

The Centenary Wind Ensemble consists of Centenary students, faculty, and staff along with area educators and musicians. All members

The Centenary College Choir performs at Shreveport’s First Baptist Church during the 2018 Rhapsody in View.

perform on a volunteer basis under the direction of Thomas Hundemer, lecturer in music at Centenary’s Hurley School of Music and principal horn of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra.

The concert featured Julius Fucik’s Entrance of the Gladiators March, von Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture, music from the animated film The Incredibles, and a Mardi Gras preview, March and Procession of Bacchus. There were two special tributes: Leonard Bernstein’s Danzón in honor of Bernstein’s 100th birthday and the legendary Mexican trumpeter Rafael Mendez’s spectacular La Virgen de la Macarena (The Virgin of the Arena) with Centenary faculty trumpeter Michael Scarlato. Other selections included music by Bach, Verdi, and Khatchaturian’s Armenian Dances.

The Wind Ensemble also performed twice in March 2019, offering an eclectic program of music

by Shostakovich, Bernstein, Arturo Marquez, Percy Grainer, and Frank Ticheli.

Centenary Camerata, led by Dr. Cory Wikan, presented Wonders in November 2018. The concert explored concepts such as creation, love, peace, and light through a variety of music styles.

The theme pulled together music from Baroque to contemporary, accompanied piano and violin to a cappella, and English to nonsense language. Wonders featured Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning, a vivid illumination of the Genesis creation story. Centenary artist-in-residence Cindy Sadler performed the solo portions of Copland’s work.

The performance also included pieces from Joan Szymko’s All Works of Love and Thomas Lavoy’s setting of an Emily Dickinson poem, I Shall Not Live in Vain, exploring the wonders of love and peace. Additional works by Lavoy and Eric Whitacre touched on the wonders of sleep and dreams. Grace, light, and eternal life – all marvels of the universe – were woven in through works by J.S. Bach, Dan Forrest, Alice Parker, and Rogers Ames. n [ C E N T E N A R Y

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Marjorie Lyons Playhouse Picasso, Denmark, The Nina Variations, and more The Centenary College Theatre Department has had a productive and exciting year so far, opening the 2018-2019 season with Steve Martin’s absurdist comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by assistant professor of theatre Logan Sledge. This play imagines an electric meeting between Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a bar in Paris in 1904 where these two wild and crazy geniuses, along with a cast of colorful characters, debate a host of topics including art, science, the future, and cheese!

believe is Albert Einstein. I’ve really connected with Einstein’s flair and drive. I think the sparkle in his eye keeps the audience on the tips of their toes.”

In a cast consisting of mostly freshmen and sophomore theatre majors, Charles Peter Roppolo III, from Denham Springs, LA, played the young Albert Einstein.“For me, the most challenging part of this role was trying to find a believable way to play Einstein,” says Roppolo.

“Most of the other actors could create their own characters without anyone noticing, but I had to create a character that people truly

For the second play of the fall semester, senior Tessa Anderson directed the action/adventure horror sequel to Hamlet, Living Dead in Denmark, by Qui Nguyen.

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Carlitos Cesar Ayma Gonzalez also took on a major role in his first appearance on the MLP stage. The freshman from San Antonio, TX, has gained some valuable insight playing Einstein’s counterpart, Picasso. “The most meaningful part of the show for me is Picasso and Einstein finding common ground, demonstrating that no matter how drastically different people are, they can be connected by their ambition and overall thought process.”

Living Dead in Denmark is set five years after the events of Hamlet, in a world in which many of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters – including some from other plays – have been

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resurrected for an epic clash of the undead.

Lady Macbeth and Juliet mingle with Fortinbras, Horatio, and a very angry Ophelia in a funny, fast-paced show that showcases stage combat while grappling with larger philosophical questions of good vs. evil.

This was Tessa Anderson’s directorial debut, continuing the theatre department’s novel idea of giving an undergraduate student the opportunity to direct a main stage production. “I thought it would be great to introduce a show with lots of big fights to both the actors and our audience,” says Anderson. “It’s something that hasn’t been done a lot here. I also love the use of older, well-known characters put into the context of something that the modern audience is so used to seeing: the zombie movie. The comedy is a kind of goofy that I really love.”

For Elizabeth Beagley, a sophomore from Bossier City, LA, playing Ophelia in Living Dead in Denmark has brought both light-hearted fun and deeper insights. “One of the most rewarding things for me during this show was

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finding the reality of the characters,” shares Beagley. “It’s really fun to fight zombies and make a lot of corny jokes, but it’s still real to us on stage. A major theme in the show is learning what you’re willing to fight for, and there’s also some interesting discussion of what it means to be human.”

Closing out the fall semester, the theatre department hosted its annual Regional High School Theatre Festival. This year the festival saw 100 student participants from five area high schools attend workshops, audition for college scholarships, and compete in a one-act play competition.

Another very special event this past fall was the dedication of the Folmer Studio. Last year, department technical director Alan Berry teamed up with Logan Sledge to write a grant proposal to the Centenary Muses to convert the classroom at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse into a small studio performance space. The grant was approved, and the two worked with Chris Sampite and the Facilities Department to renovate the space, adding a small stage and proscenium with storage for props, wall-to-wall blackout curtains, a projector and screen, and a state-of-the-art sound and LED lighting system.

It was decided that the space should be named The Folmer Studio in honor of Ginger Folmer, who taught dance in the MLP classroom for over 30 years as head of the dance program, her husband Richard, and their late son Sloan for their contributions to local community theatre in general and the Marjorie Lyons Playhouse and Centenary College in particular.

Ginger and Richard attended the opening and were surprised by the announcement. “We are proud, humbled, and very grateful for this lasting tribute. It is especially heartwarming that our talented son, Sloan, will be remembered.” In addition to thanking Alan Berry, Logan Sledge, Don Hooper, and all others who helped create the state-of-the-art studio, the Folmers extended

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special thanks to the Centenary Muses for their generous support.

The Spring semester started in full swing with a production of The Nina Variations, Steven Dietz’s tribute to Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, offering 43 funny, fierce, and heartbreaking variations on the famous final scene between Chekhov’s starcrossed young lovers, the actress Nina and the writer Treplev.

“In Dietz’s latest edition of this play, he suggests using a larger cast, where there are perhaps several different actors playing Nina and the same for Treplev,” explains Sledge, who directed the MLP production. “We did just that, using nine actors to play the two characters in different variations. During the process we discovered an interesting tension: embracing the formlessness of the play while attempting to create the specific form needed for the actors to perform it, to create a reality of sorts in which to inhabit.”

Sledge’s unique approach to casting the play presented the actors with new challenges and unexpected opportunities for growth. “The most rewarding aspect of working on The Nina Variations was watching my castmates make their choices for the different variations of their character, and the most challenging was to find what kind of Treplev I am,” shares Eliezer Williams, a sophomore from Shreveport. “I think the audience was intrigued by the fact that all the Ninas and the Treplevs are very aware of each other.”

Sophomore Harrison Starrett, a native of Bossier City, says that working as part of the ensemble cast challenged him to think differently and more

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critically, making him a stronger actor. “The writing is allusive, imaginative, subtextual, and brutally direct throughout the play, guiding the two characters through a roller coaster of emotions and discoveries,” says Starrett. “I really grew in my ability to focus on my wants, desires, and fears as a way to focus and guide myself through intense scenes.”

Finally, members of Centenary’s Theatre Department participated in multiple events at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and the Southeast Theatre Conference.

At KCACTF senior John La Costa received a premiere staged reading of his short play, Hanging Out, while four other students took scene partners to compete in the Irene Ryan Scholarship Competition. Sophomore Marcus Thomas also received recognition for the Music Theatre Initiative Dance Ensemble. At SETC students auditioned for professional acting companies and interviewed for technical positions and summer work. This busy bunch of theatre majors returned just in time to put the finishing touches on Company, our spring musical directed by Cindy Sadler. This production is a collaboration between the Centenary Theatre Department and the Hurley School of Music. n – Logan Sledge ’00, Assistant Professor of Theatre

Eliezer Williams and Madison Gable from The Nina Variations. In the background are Tucker Souther and Elizabeth Beagley.

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Spotlight on Opera

Centenary student Carlos Romero (far right) performs in The Pirates of Penzance during the 2018 Spotlight on Opera summer season.

Spotlight on Opera is a prestigious professional development program for opera singers.

Centenary was honored to host the program for its 12th year this past summer.

Artist-in-residence Cindy Sadler founded Spotlight on Opera in the summer of 2007. It began as a one-week program, but has since grown to an independent non-profit attracting students from all over the country. Sadler thought it would be a great addition to host it at Centenary and be able to bring opera to both Centenary’s campus and the Shreveport community.

“Shreveport has such vibrant arts offerings and Spotlight is thrilled to be a part,” explained Sadler. “Our motto is ‘Opera for Everybody,’ and we’re committed to presenting affordable, 10

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intimate, fun opera to our audiences, while our young artists get amazing training and performance experience.”

Spotlight on Opera performed two major shows in the summer of 2018, The Pirates of Penzance and La Boheme. The program also included an opera showcase, intimate evening performances, and a traveling children’s opera, Little Red Riding Hood, which was performed in several community locations such as the Norton Art Gallery and Shriners Hospital for children.

Spotlight on Opera returns to Centenary’s Hurley School of Music this summer with two new main performances, Così fan tutte and The Consul, as well as a new children’s opera, The Bremen Town Musicians. New offerings S P R I N G

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include a composer workshop with Centenary composer-in-residence Dr. James Eakin, mental preparedness and transformative coaching with Metropolitan Opera baritone Nicholas Pallesen, master classes with international bass baritone Edward J. Crafts, and a career workshop with artists’ manager Shawn Marie Jeffery of ADA Artists Management in New York City.

Spotlight has also awarded four full tuition and housing scholarships to current Centenary juniors Zipphora Hyman, Carlos Romeros, and Sierra Worman and 2019 graduate Victoria Sundin.

More information is available at SpotlightOnOpera.com or by contacting Cindy Sadler at csadler@centenary.edu. n

Corrington Award This year’s John William Corrington Award recipient was Charles Baxter.

During the award ceremony, Baxter gave attendees a sneak peek into some of his current unpublished pieces. Prior to the ceremony, he held an open hour for students and the public to ask questions and share their own work.

Baxter is the author of five novels and several short story collections, including There’s Something I Want You to Do, which was used during the fall semester in all first-year Trek courses at Centenary. This collection, published in 2015, follows a diverse group of Minneapolis citizens whose lives sometimes intersect while illuminating the common human search for love, meaning, and moral goodness.

The John William Corrington Award for Literary Excellence is presented annually by the English Department to an established, critically acclaimed writer. The award honors a Centenary

Professors of English Jeanne Hamming (left) and David Havird (right) congratulate 2018 Corrington Award winner Charles Baxter.

alumnus and English major, Bill Corrington (1932-1988), who was variously an English professor, an attorney in private practice, and, with his wife, Joyce, the head writer for several television series, including Search for Tomorrow and General Hospital.

In 1991, Eudora Welty became the first recipient of the Corrington Award when she read her short story “A Worn Path” at Centenary’s spring

commencement. The award takes the form of a bronze medal designed by the internationally exhibited Louisiana sculptor Clyde Connell.

The medal depicts two primitive figures, one of them slightly in front of the other, carrying a long object. A presentation box, hand-made by a local craftsperson, accompanies the medal.

A full list of Corrington Award winners is available at centenary.edu/corrington. n

(LSU Law Partnership – continued from page 6) With the agreement, graduating students from Centenary who complete an undergraduate minor in Legal Studies, have an interest in public interest work, submit their application by Dec. 1, and complete the LSU Law admissions requirements will receive priority consideration, automatic financial aid consideration, an early admissions decision for the following year’s matriculating class, and will be presumptively admitted assuming they meet LSU Law’s other admissions requirements.

This arrangement offers a pathway to admission with expedited consideration and early decision, but it does not guarantee admission to all candidates who meet the basic requirements. The LSU Law Center’s Admissions Committee still reviews each candidate and reserves the right to approve or deny admission.

Centenary’s Legal Studies minor is an interdisciplinary course of study that exposes students to a range of courses that strengthen their critical thinking and communication skills, hone their ability to interpret and apply case law, and understand the role and effect of law within various societal contexts.

Dr. Mark Leeper, assistant professor of political science at Centenary, helped create the Legal Studies minor and was instrumental in making the LSU agreement a reality.

Seven Centenary graduates currently are enrolled at the LSU Law Center, and more than 70 Centenary alumni have graduated from LSU Law since 1970. Students educated in Centenary’s challenging Legal Studies program are attractive candidates for LSU Law because the program allows them to examine the role and development of law from different perspectives within a liberal arts curriculum.

Centenary’s Office of Development is currently seeking alumni and friends who are interested in supporting students participating in the new law partnership. For more information, please contact Jena McKinzie, director of development, at jmckinzie@centenary.edu or 318.869.5008. n

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Chapel Service returns to Centenary in addition to the special services that Centenary has traditionally hosted with the Centenary College Choir, Christmas Candlelight Service and Easter Sunrise Service.

The six chapel services featured traditional worship, contemporary worship, a modified Taize’/Contemplative service, Lectio Divina, and a special requested Spanish/English service.

“Does Centenary College have a regular chapel service?” Students, parents and alumni alike asked me this question many times during my first year as Chaplain at Centenary College of Louisiana. After completing my first year at Centenary, I decided it was time to address this question straight on!

First, let’s take a look at our tradition and history. The Methodist Church was an early leader in establishing institutions of higher learning in the United States. Centenary College has been affiliated with the Methodist Church since 1839. Chapel was mandatory on Centenary’s campus for more than 130 years. In the 1940s students began to question and protest the mandatory chapel requirement, yet chapel remained compulsory until the 1970s. Chapel services continued, for those who wished to attend, on a weekly basis until the discontinuance of Centenary’s “Stepping Stones” chapel service in 2015-2016.

We prepared to re-instate regular chapel services by asking students, faculty, and staff about their desire to offer a regular worship opportunity on campus. With affirmation and encouragement, we researched the best day and time to offer those services and decided to try once a month chapel services on the third Tuesday of every month.

We decided to experiment with different types of worship so that we might appeal to the diverse religious beliefs that exist on our campus.

During the 2018-2019 academic year, we offered six chapel services

The most popular chapel service was the Spanish/English service held in February 2019 with more than 30 students, faculty, and staff in attendance. Other chapel services featured Centenary president Dr. Christopher Holoman; provost and dean of the College Dr. Jenifer K. Ward; Rev. Kaylan Walker, director of community engagement; Rev. Dr. Wybra Price ’79, Shreveport district superintendent of the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church; and, of course myself as College chaplain.

In the upcoming 2019-2020 academic year, we will see chapel service return on a weekly basis, with three services per month being abbreviated times of prayer, reflection, and contemplation and one service per month offering the traditional sermon and perhaps communion. These chapel experiences will include student, faculty, and staff involvement in leading worship and prayer ranging from traditional to contemporary, silent prayer to praise music, and bible study.

We will also continue the campus ministry organizations that were reintroduced to Centenary’s campus in 2018-2019, including Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM), Catholic Student Organization, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and United Methodist Student Movement (UMSM). Centenary is also fortunate to have the Beliefs and Values organization which supports and affirms students of diverse beliefs and values, religious and non-religious alike. Beliefs and Values promotes an open dialogue on a wide variety of beliefs. In March, Beliefs and Values sponsored a beautiful campus vigil for victims of the terrorist attack at two New Zealand mosques. n – Lindy Broderick, Centenary College Chaplain

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Ready, set, pitch!

Six teams of Centenary students have spent the spring 2019 semester soaking up knowledge from local business professionals and refining their innovative ideas for the debut of CentTank, a new business pitch competition hosted by the Frost School of Business and sponsored by Shreveport’s Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program.

The CentTank competition kicked off with a reception and networking event in Centenary’s Whited Room on January 17, followed by a series of workshops and mentoring sessions spread over the next two months. Several Centenary alumni from the ShreveportBossier City business community volunteered to serve as mentors for the students, whose majors range from business administration and engineering to biology and art. At the CentTank finale on April 13, a panel of judges evaluated each team’s pitch presentation and awarded a variety of prizes, including $3,000 in cash to the first place winner, senior Trey Barstow. Second place went to the team of Lila Beavers and Sarah Philyaw, while Blake Smith took third place.

CentTank provided an opportunity for Centenary students to gain valuable business experience, connections, and access to mentoring, and the unique projects submitted reflected the College’s rich liberal arts tradition.

CentTank kicked off with a campus networking event on January 17.

Teams and Projects SolarGyro – Carlos Ayma Gonzalez (freshman, engineering major/theatre minor) and Ian Veserra (freshman, engineering/geology major) Hobbeez – Trey Barstow (senior, business administration major) Cosmo – Erin Rostro (junior, business administration major) and David St. Etienne, Jr. (junior, biology major) Experience in a Box – McRee Blake Smith (senior, business administration major) MediMac – Iulia Tertilova (freshman, business administration major) Louisiana Local Art Consultants – Lila Beavers (sophomore, undeclared major) and Sarah Philyaw (junior, art major) Mentors Robert Hudnall ’12, Luke Groninger ’17, Gerritt Moeller ’08, Caryn Chalmers, and Archer Frierson ’12 MBA For more information and to get involved in CentTank in 2020, visit centenary.edu/centtank or contact Dr. Elaine Labach, William J. Atkins Dean of the Frost School of Business. n CentTank finalists and winners.

Front row, left to right: Iulia Tertilova, Lila Beavers and Sarah Philyaw (2nd place), Carlos Ayma Gonzalez, Erin Rostro, Ian Veserra.

Back row: Blake Smith (3rd place), Trey Barstow (1st place).

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Honors and Recognitions

Appointments Dr. Elizabeth Rankin, professor of economics, was elected to serve a two-year term as director of the Missouri Valley Economic Association in November 2018.

Conference and Workshop Attendance William J. Atkins Dean of the Frost School of Business, Dr. Elaine Labach, has been invited to attend the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program, Leading Economic Growth. Leading Economic Growth is an executive program that brings together leading experts in economic development with practitioners from around the world to focus on practical approaches to shared growth and development. Dean Labach is also participating in the 2019 Greater Shreveport Leadership Program offered through the Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Chandra Pokhrel, assistant professor of physics, attended the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) winter meeting held in Houston, Texas, January 12-15.

Grant Activity Dr. Rebecca Murphy ’06, associate professor of biology, has received a two-year NSF sub-award grant from the NSF Plant Genome Research Program. As part of the project, Dr. Murphy will instruct Centenary students in a bioinformatics curriculum, LIVE-for-Plants, for which she will develop the wet-lab portion of the curriculum. Two Centenary students will be selected to travel to the University of Arizona each summer to develop their bioin­formatics wet-lab skillset alongside Dr. Murphy and her grant Co-PI, Dr. Andrew Nelson. This project will establish a dedicated bioinformatics course at Centenary that outlasts the grant period.

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Dr. Joshua Lawrence, associate professor of chemistry, is the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Teacher Award. The award was announced during the Founders Day Convocation in February. Dr. Lawrence was chosen from a field of 28 professors with over 87 submissions. Students who nominated Dr. Lawrence cited his availability and his ability to explain complex material without talking down to students.

Dr. Sam Shepherd, professor of history at Centenary, was honored with the Louisiana Historical Association’s Garnie W. McGinty Lifetime Meritorious Service Award at the association’s annual meeting held March 28 through 31 in Lafayette. The McGinty Award recognizes distinguished contributions in the fields of teaching, scholarship, or service, both to the LHA and to the profession of history as a whole.

The announcement and presentation of the McGinty Award was eloquently made by Centenary alumna Dr. Virginia Elaine Thompson ‘94, associate professor of history at Louisiana Tech University.

Dr. William Songock was awarded the Charlton H. Lyons Faculty Research Award at the recommendation of the Faculty Development Committee to support his work on cancers related to the Human Papilloma Virus. The award was announced at Founders Day Convocation.

Performances and Exhibitions Marjorie Lyons Playhouse faculty members Don Hooper and Logan Sledge ’00 were cast in the Stage Center production of the courtmartial drama “A Few Good Men” in January. Hooper, as the fanatical Guantanamo Bay CO, and Sledge, as the prosecuting attorney, costarred with Blayne Weaver and special guest actor Annie Funke as the defense attorneys.

Presentations and Research Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, assistant professor of French and francophone studies, presented “’Tu es ridicule!’: When Women

Finally Speak Out in Ferdinand Oyono’s Novels” at the 68th Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, which was held at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (October 2018).

Dr. Jennifer Stokes, assistant professor of biology, features her students’ summer research projects on her lab website stokeslab. com/summer-2018. Student researcher Jada Faul presented her work at the LSU Scholars Forum in March. All three of the students who worked with Dr. Stokes last summer as part of a Student-Faculty Research award, Jada Faul, Kyle Barron, and Alex Morgan, presented their work at the April 2019 Centenary College Research Conference Day. Dr. Peter Zunick accompanied two of his students, Edvard Granrud and William Morrison, to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual convention in Portland, Oregon, in February. The senior psychology majors attended the meeting to present their honors thesis projects during poster sessions. Read more about their projects and SPSP at centenary.edu/newsmedia/story/centenary-students-recognizedfor-research-at-international-psychologyconvention/ .

Dr. David Havird, professor of English, had the following works published: “Southern Relations: With Robert Lowell at Timrod’s Grave,” a critical memoir, in the fall 2018 issue of The Hopkins Review.

“Near the End: Otherworld, Underworld, Prayer Porch by David Bottoms,” an essay review, in the fall 2018 issue of Literary Matters, the online journal of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers.

Two poems, “Weather on Naxos” and “With Byron at Bandelier,” online in Ergon: Greek/American Arts and Letters (19 Sept. 2018).

His collection of new poems and autobiographical essays, Weathering: Poems and Recollections, was accepted for publication by Mercer University Press in 2020.

“Night and Day,” an essay by Dr. George Newtown, professor of English, won a prize at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Dallas in July 2018. The piece is included in the spring 2019 edition of Ten Spurs, a literary journal produced by the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism.

Christy Wrenn, director of library services, published a second edition of her 2017 children’s picture book Emma’s Funny Birds.

The book was co-authored with her granddaughter, Emma Leigh Ezernack, and selected as a Reader’s Favorite Book Reviews and Awards Contest Winner in 2017. Mrs. Wrenn also published her third book in 2018. Moving Again!!! With Rylan and Henry is dedicated to military families that move thousands of miles each year. She also has a book-in-progress: Olivia Claire Leona and Red Ball. n

Publications Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy’s interview of multi-media artist Lavar Munroe appears in Devil in a White City: A Painting Series by Lavar Munroe (Shreveport: Publications of the Meadows Museum of Art, 2018).

Don Hooper (center) in Stage Center’s A Few Good Men.

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“This is Centenary”

How do you name a Centenary podcast? The Office of Marketing and Communication recently looked for inspiration in the College Archives. The podcast’s chosen name, This is Centenary, previously served as the name of an alumni newsletter, a radio show, and a television program.

The College’s alumni newsletter carried the title This is Centenary from 1942 until 1968.

The publication regularly included articles about student and faculty achievements, campus renovation and construction projects, homecoming activities, and news about alumni. It also linked the College to Shreveport organizations and businesses. As noted in the first issue, “This bulletin is the first of a series sponsored by the Advertising Club of Shreveport to further the interest of one of Shreveport’s greatest civic assets, Centenary College, which has served the South with educational leadership for 118 years” (March 1942).

In the spring of 1952, a student-led radio program adopted the title This is Centenary.

Broadcast over radio station KWKH, the 15-minute show was produced, directed, 16

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Professors Pate, Vogel, and Davidson await their cue from announcer Tony Bridge to begin a discussion on Presidential Elections for This is Centenary (Yoncopin, 1952).

and narrated by junior class member Tony Bridge. The Shreveport Times announced that “programs will feature the Centenary band, students and instructors in the school of music, interviews with faculty and students in the athletic department, drama department presentations, and faculty discussions of the industrial South and problems encountered in a presidential election” (February 7, 1952). When

the show’s season concluded after 13 weeks, Bridge published an article in Centenary’s student newspaper describing the benefits and challenges of the program. He encouraged the involvement of future students and reminded them, “Your efforts will enable us to picture to the public the very best aspects of Centenary College” (Centenary Conglomerate, May 14, 1952).

This is Centenary also served as the name of a weekly television show on KSLA during fall 1955. The first four programs featured Don Brown, head of Centenary’s art department, leading viewers on a journey that included the following themes: Leonardo da Vinci,

The importance of maintaining these connections was emphasized by James Welsh (class of 1931) while serving as mayor of Steubenville, Ohio:

KSLA advertisement (Shreveport Times, October 24, 1955).

Whether a print newsletter, radio show, or television program, This is Centenary has consistently connected the College to its alumni and the general public. May the new podcast continue the tradition!

I have just finished a publication of This is Centenary, and I cannot describe in words how pleasant it is to receive some news of what is going on at the old Alma Mater. Perhaps those who are close to the school do not quite appreciate the value of these publications as much as we who are twelve or fifteen hundred miles away.

Such a publication is of unlimited value in holding together the alumni of Centenary (This is Centenary, May 1943).

May the new podcast continue the tradition! Visit centenary.edu/podcast to listen and subscribe. n – Chris Brown ’01, Archivist of the College

This is C e

ntenary,

March 19

42.

AVAILABLE ON “Art 20,000 Years Ago,” “Art of Ancient Egypt,” and “What is Modern Art?” (Centenary Conglomerate, November 11, 1955).

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On Bruce Allen and Living an Artful Life

Thoughts and Thanks From a Friend and Colleague

By Jefferson Hendricks ’75 18

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If you someday somehow found yourself on a literal deserted island in the steamy South Seas with only one other living person…you would want that person to be Bruce Allen. While your spouse or partner or Bradley Cooper or Beyoncé might make the island momentarily delightful, Bruce would find a way to get you OFF THAT DESERTED ISLAND and back home to civilization.

For Bruce is a Problem Solver, a Doer; Bruce “Gets to Work” and Makes Things, whether beautiful or practical – or both. th.

If that island had a stand of bamboo, Bruce would somehow create a bamboo Swiss Army Knife, and with that knife, slice and shape and strip and strap together enough bamboo to make a raft. And it would be an aesthetically pleasing raft too. It would certainly be as sturdy as Gericault’s raft – though not as gruesome – for Bruce would have also made bamboo lances to spear a sea bass or two. And there would be bamboo knives and forks and you would be eating Sea Bass Ceviche out of bamboo bowls. Bruce would make that raft more livable than the one spilling over with Gericault’s pathetic creatures, who unfortunately had no Bruce on board.

And as you reclined in your bamboo rocker, dreaming of rescue, waiting for a ship to intersect the monotonous

horizon or an airplane to hum across the blue canvas over you, you would at least be shaded by your bamboo hat, and your teeth picked clean by bamboo picks delicately carved by Bruce.

But, no, let’s go to another picture; Gericault’s raft is not quite Bruce’s.

That image is a little too academic and Romantic, like Gericault. Bruce’s raft would probably be more modern, a little more American, maybe like George Caleb Bingham’s canoe/ dugout in his Fur Traders Descending the Missouri: long, sleek, agile, and supremely functional. More sculptural than architectural, Bruce’s canoe off that desert island would perhaps be more like a floating bamboo Tilted Arc- sliver of a raft. Minimal, clean, and streamlined: think…a Donald Judd table top. Like Bingham’s Fur Traders, you and Bruce would slide across the water, leaning and loafing at your ease – and observing, always observing.

Because Bruce is practical, you’d have your ceviche, and the shelter of that bamboo hat, but your Bruce/Bingham “raft” would glide through the watery world around you, not bounce and flounce like a buffeted Gericault raft.

So you would indeed have the leisure to look, and listen, and feel that world.

With Bruce, any experience – perhaps even a life-threatening one – seems to be transformed into a possible learning moment, a possible artful moment, certainly a thoughtful moment.

Bruce has always appeared serene, always mindful, always insightful about the world around us. I first met him as a freshman at Centenary in the fall of 1971; we both pledged TKE, a fraternity which very much reflected the diversity and the

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broad range of political and social changes that the country was going through in the late 60s and early 70s. It was the fraternity to be in for free-thinking (but no less fun-loving) students at that time. During those years Bruce was often very quiet, but you always knew he was looking – and seeing – deeply.

take yourself too seriously. Like Warhol, Bruce understood that Art was often conceptual playfulness. And while sometimes a Brillo Box was just a Brillo Box, sometimes it could be Art, because an artist made it so. (Duchamp-WarholBruce.)

When he and I returned to Centenary in the fall of 1983 as young assistant professors, we realized we had grown in graduate schools along similar paths: we had been immersed in and enthralled by the dynamism of Modern art and culture.

More specifically, we – like many in our generation – were molded in that period of American culture (the 60s-80s) that was trying to articulate a Post-Modernism. For Bruce, working across different media, from sculpture to painting to printmaking…and beyond, this meant sustaining the faith of Modernism in “Art” as an almost sacred activity, but simultaneously realizing that as an “Artist” you should never

The past thirty-five years with Bruce at Centenary have been a time of wonder and adventure: from helping shepherd Bruce’s “I Walk the Line” mechanical sculpture through the streets of Fort Worth to admiring smiles, to staring steadily into the magnetic eyes of Laurie Anderson during a chance-meeting at her exhibit in Houston, to feeling Philip Glass vibrate all our spinal cords during a raucous concert at the intimate Perot Theatre in Texarkana where young male Texarkansans in Stetsons and cowboy boots whooped and hollered in rodeoesque celebratory glee, to more recently marveling at John Berger’s sense and sensibility as he spoke in Shakespeare

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Their primary colors and strong black outlines suggest the solidity of stained glass (referencing the panes of Chartres, Sainte Chapelle, and Notre Dame, as well as the workshop at Ed’s Emporium/ Stained Glass Studio in Bossier City – his family’s business). The looseness of the lines and shading, though, reflects a Paris that is never quite completely stable, one that is ever-moving, everbecoming, a Monumental City that reveres its history but that continues to embrace the future.

Bruce instructs students at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

and Company in Paris just a few months before he passed on. All these moments – and many, many more – eventually “will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” However, unlike Rutger Hauer’s android in the original Blade Runner, Bruce’s art and his example of how to be – that will survive.

While Bruce is retiring from Centenary, he is hardly retiring from life – or art. His digital drawings that make up Bruce Allen’s Paris in Another Light – most of which were drawn recently during the seventeen years that he and I took Centenary students to Paris every May from 2002 to 2018 – celebrate that city’s artistic and historical heritage.

They were casually created, on-the-fly, while guiding our students through the city.

Bruce, too, is not standing still, as he begins another life after Centenary. He will, I imagine, become even more of a Buddha Bruce: living in the moment, looking, seeing, and meditating on how to live a life full of art. But…most of all, he will continue to model for his students (and his friends) his advice and command through all these years. He will, no doubt, continue to… “Get to Work!!” n

Bruce’s original Paris sketches have been collected in the book Bruce ­Allen’s Paris in Another Light.

For further ­information or to order, email storyport@centenary.edu.

The book is $29.95, including shipping and tax.

Jeff Hendricks ’75 and Bruce Allen ’75 receive the Alumni Loyalty Award in 2014.

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New Faculty ­reflect on first year In the fall of 2018, Centenary welcomed not only a new freshman class but also a large and diverse group of new faculty members. Provost and Dean of the College Dr. Jenifer K. Ward recently sat down with some of these new community members for a look back at their path to Centenary and their experiences at the College so far. Participants included (clockwise from left) Michael Hicks, assistant professor of education, Mandi Donahoe, assistant professor of political science, Elaine Labach, dean of the Frost School of Business, William Songock, assistant professor of biology, Dr. Ward, and Emily Leithauser, assistant professor of English.

Ward: So, you are all new faculty members at Centenary this year. You come from varied backgrounds, from varied places – some of you are more local, and some from farther away. Can you say a little bit about what the journey was like that brought you to Centenary?

Donahoe: I joined Centenary most recently from Tufts University – before that, I was teaching at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. But I’m originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, and somewhere in there I also spent time in graduate school in Paris and in Washington, D.C., and did my undergrad at Utah State. So…being in the south is a first for me – this is the first time to spend sustained time in this region of the world, and for my family, too. I’ve sort of given my kids an unintended tour of the U.S. 22

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Ward: How has everyone liked winter relative to, say, the Boston area?

Donahoe: Walking on the ground and having it suck at my shoes like a sponge in December is a brand new experience for me, for sure. But we’re certainly enjoying these sunnier 60 and 70 degree days a whole lot more than my friends who are snowed in, both in Colorado and in Boston.

Ward: Michael, you actually are from Shreveport and have been here for a while.

Tell us a little bit about your story.

Hicks: My story is…unique. I was born and raised here, educated in the public school system, went off for my undergraduate degree but earned my masters and doctorate in the region. Being

at Centenary has pretty much been an answer to my prayers to be of service to my community. And when I say “my community,” I mean Shreveport. I’ve served in the Caddo Parish school system as an employee, a student, and now as a parent, and so the fact that I can continue my activities and scholarship in education at this storied liberal arts college that is in my community, is a blessing. I’m preparing for great things for myself, for my department, and especially for my students, because I do have that local knowledge.

Ward: Centenary, in its strategic plan, has made a very specific point of saying that it wants to “be ShreveportBossier’s college.” If you look at higher education in this country right now, there is a kind of distinction arms race – everybody is trying to claw and scratch to find that distinctive thing that “only they do.” But you can only have a distinctive idea for about five minutes before the next institution grabs your idea. What you can’t take away from an institution is its place, its groundedness in a local community. And so to have someone who has come up through that community and is committed to that community, I think provides a kind of synergy that is really great.

Hicks: Yes, and I think probably unlike any other new faculty member at this table, I came with that appreciation of Centenary. I often think about George P. Hendrix – he was one of, if not the first, African-American instructors at this college and he was able to teach in the department that I’m now teaching in. And I don’t come here any day without thinking about him. And just as

“That’s one thing I really like about our students – they really listen and they change.”

– WILLIAM SONGOCK

Centenary gave him that opportunity, it has given me this opportunity. My relationship with this college is a dynamic one – it is changing me, it is changing my research agenda. I have an opportunity to take my expertise, which is good teaching – culturally relevant teaching is good teaching – and I’m able to spread that message to my students, white and black, undergraduate and graduate. And I just don’t take it lightly.

Leithauser: I always thought of myself as ending up in a small college, and at a liberal arts college. I think part of that is a function of having grown up basically on the Mount Holyoke college campus,

where my parents were professors for most of my life. So I always had a kind of emotional childhood connection to college campuses, specifically the nurturing, small, liberal arts college. In my experience, small colleges actually think more creatively about the relationship between two things that I do, which are literary studies and creative writing. So what really attracted me to Centenary in particular was that it seemed like this position was really going to enable me to teach in both fields equally. The other piece I would say is that I spent some time when I was growing up in France, and I was a French major in college – I almost went and got a PhD in French literature/ comparative literature, but ended up doing English. So part of my dream has been, will I also be at a place where there will be a French connection, or people who were interested in French literature and a real French department? And that’s also the case here – where there is the Centenary in Paris program, and the Modules, and how close the English and French departments are here.

Mandi Donahoe (second from right) applauds MLK Convocation Speaker Doratha Smith-Simmons.

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an offer from a coach saying, “Hey, you want to run for me?” So I got a visa and came to the United States. I was at Middle Tennessee State and ran track for four years, and that was an intense program.

When I got done there, I came down to LSU Med School and spent a good amount of time there and got my PhD, then after that I really didn’t want to move too much. When I was applying to teach at colleges, I really tried to stay local. Centenary was my first interview and I had other interviews lined up, but when I came for the visit the students really drew me in. They seemed engaged, they asked really relevant questions, and they cared about their success. And then the department – the collegiality, they seemed to get along well.

Emily Leithauser delivers a poetry reading at the Meadows Museum in November 2018.

Ward: And you’re going to do Centenary in Paris this year, right?

You’re teaching in the program?

Leithauser: Yes – just met about it today!

Labach: When I was interviewing, I had never lived in the south – I’ve lived on the east coast, and the west coast, and lived north, but never south. And when this position came open, I really didn’t know a lot about the College. I think what really changed my mind was the visit, the campus visit. It’s a beautiful campus, and I got to meet a lot of the faculty and staff, and they made me feel very welcome.

And the Center for Family-Owned Business is a great group, and they won me over, too. I think what you were saying, Jenifer, about finding that niche and sustaining it – I’ve been working really hard on that. It’s just so competitive out there. I think that what I’ve learned is you have to be scrappy, and secondly, the relationships – that’s the leverage. Getting to know about opportunities, getting in on the ground floor and being able to develop those I think is going to be the key. I think we have a good opportunity to grow Centenary and become more of Louisiana’s college of choice. I think we have the quality and the faculty and the programs that will win in the long term.

Ward: Let’s talk a little bit about your students. What do you admire about them, what are some of the things that you think are unique about our students relative to where you’ve taught before?

Donahoe: I was concerned when I first got here that it would take me a very long time to figure out how to relate to them, and it has been very exciting to find that it isn’t true. Emily talked about the warmth and community of small college life and campus. My students know where to find me, and they expect me to be there because they want me to be there. They want to come and sit down, they want to have a conversation – a number of them have met my kids, I’ve had students at my dining room table working on things when I can’t be in my office. I have movie nights with one of my classes. We come and pop popcorn and have a discussion about great film that’s relevant to the class. I was really worried that the distinction between professor and student would mean that I wouldn’t get to know them or that they wouldn’t want to get to know me. I have just been so pleasantly and warmly surprised that I get to care about them, and they care about me and about who I am. And

Ward: William, you’ve probably come the farthest in terms of your life path and also in terms of coming to us more directly from a medical school as opposed to another small college or private college.

Songock: So, my story is long and winding. I hail from Africa, from Kenya. When I was in Kenya I got this offer – I am a runner – I got 24

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William Songock in class.

Elaine Labach speaks at the ceremony establishing the William J. Atkins Endowed Deanship at the Frost School of Business.

capitalized on or seen as real time. I also feel that the students tend to be more respectful and well-mannered, although that can sometimes be a challenge because if you’re respectful and well-mannered, you might not disagree with someone or you might not speak up.

my word – the learning that we get to do collectively is so much stronger for that!

Ward: Do you find that your students do speak up and challenge you and critique?

Leithauser: I’ve had a similar experience. When I was at Emory, I felt that office hours were sort of a formality.

It wasn’t something that was actually

Leithauser: Slowly, yeah. It takes a while to kind of work up to the place where that does not seem rude to them.

Songock: In biology, we have a variety of students. Most students come in wanting to go to med school, and they come in with a lot of expectations of what they want to do – whether it’s them who wants to do it or their parents who are pushing them. I have realized that there is a big distinction between the freshmen and the senior students. By the time they become seniors, they kind of know where they want to go and where they are headed: med school, grad school, PT. The freshmen students are very accepting, very willing to come to the office, very friendly.

They come to my office and they share their concerns, and they listen. That’s one thing I really like about our students – they really listen and they change.

Ward: When you think back to your own

Keep a Great Teacher Teaching. Keep Great Scholars Learning. centenary.edu/scholarsfund

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Ward: Even the most well-resourced colleges and universities all over the country have to watch their budgets, and we all have things we’d like to do if we had more money. If you were made the steward of $10 million at Centenary College, but you can’t spend it on your own department, where does that money need to go?

Michael Hicks teaching in the Department of Education.

careers as students, how are you different than your professors were?

Songock: I know the names of all of my students by the second week of school. I don’t think my professor knew my name by the time I graduated! I know all my students. I grade my exams, and I give them to the students on time. I remember in college I would just wait for a year for feedback from my teacher. And I think I am approachable to my students. We also do a lot of dissections and the experiments are very hands-on – these are things I never got to do in my undergrad.

Ward: I actually went to a school very, very similar to Centenary, so in some ways I feel like I unknowingly have become my major professor. I’m very much like he was, and I think it’s been later in my career that I realized how much was seeping out of his style.

Hicks: One of my most influential courses in college as an undergrad was a cultural anthropology course and the 26

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instructor had written the textbook – Johnnetta Cole is her name. She was the president of Spelman College. In fact, that class was taught sometimes on her front yard at the president’s home, with Southern tea and the whole nine yards.

The reason why she stands out as a professor to me is because Morehouse (my alma mater) and Spelman are both historically black colleges and universities, and as a student, graduate, and former employee of one, I can say that you feel the mission of supporting and nurturing on those campuses. I think when I was a student in her class, what was transmitted to me was that, no matter what you do, no matter how far you may rise in the ranks of academia, there is a need for you to serve, to teach, to help the next generation. She kind of planted that in me. As William was talking, I was thinking, “Man, I’m becoming Johnnetta Cole!” She was a great president – she did not have to be teaching a course. I hope I’m becoming her.

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Leithauser: I think it would go toward bringing people to campus – it’s getting more and more expensive to bring the best kind of academics and speakers and cultural celebrities. It would go toward a speaker series that would be multidisciplinary, getting the kinds of people whose agents will not let them come for a small amount of money. I don’t think that’s right – I think that people should come for a small amount of money and make it part of their mission to care about college students. The reality is different.

Donahoe: The fact that we do Centenary in Paris is so spectacular, but I want all of our students to have an international service-learning experience. To have a face-to-face encounter with people who are actually struggling with survival is such a good way to put your interests, your worldview, your drives and ambitions, in check. And to improve compassion as we’re sending students out to be global citizens.

Hicks: I would start right here in our own backyard. Because I have the essential discipline, which is education, I can look at this many ways. One way would be to look at what’s good about our faculty right now. We’ve identified William’s department as being top of the bar in collegiality and they draw in a large number of students.

What if with $10 million dollars, we could

say to Dr. Scott Chirhart in biology – y’all do a great job, let’s let more of those students be from underrepresented or marginalized communities right here in Shreveport.

Donahoe: All right, I’ll split it with you!

Songock: That’s good!

Hicks: Let’s get this thing going!

Ward: Access is enormously important.

And wouldn’t it be great if one of the ways that we lived into that mission, that strategic initiative of being ShreveportBossier’s college was to be more accessible to Shreveport-Bossier?

Hicks: Right – and it could be a model for the nation. We’ve identified that we do something well, and we’re going to give more people more access to it. It takes a concerted effort. Someone had to say that it was worthwhile for Centenary to redesign the undergraduate education program to include courses in community and social justice. No one made Centenary do that – so the germ of that thought exists on this campus right now.

realize maybe we don’t know what these words mean – so, words are hard. And it’s important that we spend the time to figure out how to use the words that are actually meaningful, not just throwing them around. And after we’ve had these very heady conversations, class draws to a close, and I tell them, “Go be and do good things.”

Labach: I teach statistics, so I find that some of the students think it’s going to be harder than it is. So I’ll always say, “Easy peasy, nice and easy, kind of squeezy, American cheesy…” And I’ll just keep going until they stop me - they’re so sick of it! But it’s now kind of funny, and they just laugh every time I start.

Leithauser: I’m noticing a lot lately – it’s such a cliché – but I’m always saying, “If you were on a desert island…if you could only take one paragraph out of this essay, what would you take?” But no one’s going to take a paragraph to a desert island!

Hicks: Did you binge-watch Survivor over break or something?

Leithauser: I don’t know what it is!

Hicks: Can you answer that question, Madame Provost?

Ward: Diseases????

Ward: I do often refer to what I think we’re up to at these kinds of institutions as trying to mend the artificial split between thought and practice, and that if we do anything I’d like for us to be able to say that we send people out into the world as “practical thinkers and thoughtful practitioners.” So I say that phrase all the time.

Songock: I mean, I teach microimmunology, so….

Donahoe: I remember you said that to me during my interview.

Ward: All diseases, all the time.

Ward: Oh did I? See – all the time! n

Ward: William?

Songock: Diseases.

Ward: Let me ask you one final question that’s more light-hearted. If I went and asked your students, “What’s Dr. so-andso’s catchphrase?” – what would they say?

Donahoe: I have two – the first is something that I say nearly every day in class: “Words are hard.” When we’re struggling to find the right word for something, or when we’re using something and we figure out we’re not using it correctly, or when we take the time to say, today we’re going to talk about politics. But what does politics mean?

And then we have that silence where we

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27

Exceeding Expectations: Colin and Cole Schultz Summa cum laude. All-state.

All-district. These accolades are the hard-earned markers of a pattern of academic and athletic achievement that Colin and Cole Schultz established early on at Live Oak High School in Denham Springs, Louisiana, where the twin brothers excelled in the classroom and on the field as members of the varsity soccer team.

Since enrolling at Centenary in August 2018, they haven’t missed a beat. Both Colin and Cole played for the Gents soccer team and made the Dean’s List in the fall. And though the brothers say that balancing athletics and college-level academics has been the most challenging transition between high school and college, it is a challenge they approach with a calm confidence rooted in both their unique relationship and their extraordinary history.

As is the case with many sets of twins, the Schultz brothers are very close, enjoying the benefits of having “…a built-in best friend, like our mom always says,” according to Colin. Cole appreciates always having a friend around, especially a friend who happens to share all of his interests. The brothers are also quick to point out that they are, in fact, different people, despite their similar personalities and interests. But it is also true that they are deeply connected in a way that is not typical, even for twins.

Colin and Cole were born at 30 weeks’ gestation, but the twins did not have the same prognosis upon leaving the hospital.

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Colin (left) and Cole Schultz (right) team up to tackle an experiment in chemistry lab.

Colin’s condition was much more fragile – he was born with 12 congenital anomalies, and doctors told his parents not to “get their hopes up” about his future. Colin’s physical challenges were so numerous that doctors chose to medically paralyze him for a time while they tried to address his issues, warning his parents that he would never eat, never speak, and might struggle to keep up academically with his brother and other peers, especially in math and science.

Of course, this article started with a spoiler.

Almost nothing the doctors predicted about Colin was correct, because there were a few factors in his case that couldn’t be accounted for. One of them was Cole. As the boys grew, it quickly became obvious that this twin relationship went far beyond built-in best friends – Cole would be a teacher, an encourager, and an inspiration for Colin.

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in school and in sports,” says Colin. “All through our life, I always wanted to do what he did, and he always wanted to do what I did. This made me take the more challenging classes and do challenging activities to push me out of my comfort zone.”

Colin’s willingness to repeatedly leave his comfort zone to follow his brother and other peers ultimately gave him the power to shape his own reality, to build a life that daily defies the grim expectations his parents were given 18 years ago.

Several Centenary events throughout the 2018-2019 academic year have explored the theme of what it means to live a “meaningful life,” and Colin and Cole have both found profound meaning in their unique experiences as individuals and as part of a pair. Colin recognizes not only that challenges and obstacles have the potential to create meaning but also that he possesses incredible agency through his response.

“God gave everyone challenges in their life, even normal people,” says Colin. “Although your challenge may be different or harder than their challenges, God gave you these specific challenges for a reason - a reason you have to find out for yourself, something that I am still doing. Also, don’t look at your challenge as something negative that defines who you are as a person. This challenge, whether emotional, physical, or mental, is a defining characteristic of yourself that makes you who you are, so accept that it is a part of you, and do not reject it.”

Cole’s vision of a meaningful life is one in which he is constantly striving to be the “best version” of himself, less for his own personal fulfillment than for the impact that his efforts will have on others. And though he often played the role of a guide or trail­ blazer for his twin, Cole also recognizes the ways that Colin has led him to greater understanding.

“Growing up as Colin’s twin changed my outlook on life for the better,” says Cole.

“Even though I did not walk in his shoes,

“God gave everyone challenges in their life, even normal people.”

I do have a partial understanding of the challenges that special needs people undergo. From Colin, I have learned that no matter how bad life hits you, you will always be able to get up with determination and strength in the face of adversity.”

The Schultz twins’ different but complementary approaches to living a life of purpose and meaning propelled them through high school and on to Centenary, where they continue to operate as a closeknit unit while pursuing their dream of dental school. Through grueling soccer practices and challenging chemistry labs, Colin and Cole keep each other company and keep each other motivated, just as they did back in the days when Cole helped Colin find his voice.

In February 2019, Colin used that voice to speak to nearly 3,000 people at the Council for Exceptional Children’s annual convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, as he accepted his award as a national winner in the academics category of the council’s Yes I Can awards program. It was a powerful milestone in an extraordinary journey, and the twins’ mother, Angelique Schultz, captured the unique contributions of each of her boys in a post on Facebook: “We are proud beyond words for Colin Schultz to be recognized for never giving up and exceeding expectations for a child with a disability…it all started with a bossy twin brother who never gave up on him. Thank you, Cole Schultz, for being that constant motivator always.”

There could not be a more aptly named award than “Yes I Can” to recognize the crucial symbiotic relationship between Colin’s determination and Cole’s motivation.

Through all of the challenges that the Schultz twins have experienced or witnessed in the first 18 years of their lives, more often than not this has been their unified answer: Yes, we can! n

Colin (second row, fourth from right) and Cole (second row, far left) pose with their teammates on the 2018 Gents soccer squad.

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sportsRECAP Women’s Soccer It was a monumental year for Ladies Soccer and second year head coach Greg Cathell. After starting off the season 6-0-0, tied for the best start to a season in program history, Centenary finished the season 9-6 overall and 6-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

The Ladies began the season at home with easy wins against Belhaven and Millsaps, but after the first home conference weekend, it became clear that 2018 might be special for the Ladies. Against Texas Lutheran, the Ladies faced a two goal deficit in the first half. Down 3-2 late in regulation, the Ladies scored the equalizer and freshman Amy Moreno cleaned up her own miss shortly into the second overtime to give Centenary the thrilling onegoal win.

The Ladies followed up the victory against the TLU Bulldogs with a 3-2 overtime win against Schreiner in which the Ladies overcame a 2-0 deficit in the second half. Junior Kyra Montes recorded her first of two hat tricks for the season, also scoring three goals in the Ladies’ 3-2 win at Louisiana College to begin October.

Later in the season, Centenary became the only team in the conference, for the second straight year, to score a goal off of eventual SCAC Champion Trinity. Centenary closed out the regular season with a thrilling 2-1 win in overtime at SCAC-newcomer Johnson & Wales.

In the SCAC Tournament, the fourth-seeded Ladies dominated Schreiner statistically but fell short to the Mountaineers 1-0 in double overtime.

The .667 winning percentage for the season was the best in Centenary’s NCAA Division III era. The Ladies also received four All30

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Conference accolades as juniors Emilee Byrd and Kyra Montes (First Team), junior Betzabet Bravo (Second Team), and freshman Kat Martinez (Honorable Mention) were the most All-Conference players for the program in more than 20 years.

In addition, the two First Team selections are the most in a single season since Centenary was in the Mid-Continent Conference in 2004.

Montes became only the second player in school history to be named First Team AllConference in back to back seasons. She also received First Team All-Louisiana accolades, becoming the first Centenary player in nine years to receive that honor. Montes finished 2018 second in game-winning goals (six) and third in the conference in both goals (14) and points (33) – breaking the goals mark and ranking second in both game-winning goals and points in the Ladies single-season record book during the non-scholarship era despite Centenary losing five games due to weather.

In only two seasons, Montes already owns the Centenary non-scholarship career record for goals (17), points (41), and game-winning goals (eight).

It was the first All-Conference accolade for Byrd. She finished second on the team with two goals, both of which were game winners. The first goal of her collegiate career came on the Mayo Field pitch in the season opener against Belhaven on September 1, breaking a 1-1 tie.

Bravo made an appearance on the SCAC AllConference team for the second consecutive season after being named to the Honorable Mention team in 2017. Martinez became S P R I N G

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the first freshman to receive All-Conference accolades for Centenary since the 2014 season.

Volleyball After setting a school record for conference wins in a season by a single game in both 2016 and 2017, the Ladies easily broke that record again in 2018 for second year head coach Caroline Carlton.

Centenary finished the season 18-18 and 7-9 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

It was only the third time in program history, and the first in seven seasons, that the Ladies finished the season with a .500 or better record.

The 18 wins was the second most in school history.

The Ladies also claimed their first conference tournament win in program history. After losing a tough fought five set match at Dallas in the SCAC Tournament Quarterfinals, the Ladies swept Austin College to beat the ‘Roos for the third time in two weeks.

After beginning the season 0-5, Centenary won 4-of-5 matches. That stretch includes a five-set win at Hendrix at their own tournament, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season. On September 12, Centenary knocked off NCAA Division I member and in-state rival Grambling State. Freshman Rachel Demerjian nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing the match with 34 assists, 10 digs, and nine kills.

SCAC play saw the Ladies sweep both regular season matches from Schreiner, Johnson & Wales, and Austin College.

In the final home weekend of the season, senior Hailey Lawson broke the program dig record as an outside hitter. In the Ladies’ match against Trinity, Lawson broke the Centenary career digs

record during the seventh point of the first set. She finished her four year career with 1,305 digs.

She adds the digs record to her aces career record, which she broke during the 2017 season. She completed her career with 211 aces.

However, junior defensive specialist Marissa Sandoval is already right behind Lawson in digs after only three seasons. She has 1,239 digs after the best season of her career with more than four digs per set. Her 518 digs this season ranks third overall and tops during the NCAA Division III era for a single season.

Freshman Rachel Demerjian, who received a vote for Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, finished the year with 1,015 assists – the third most in program history and the most ever in the NCAA Division III era. Her 55 assists in a win against Johnson & Wales was the most in a single match by a Lady in the NCAA Division III era.

Senior Shyann Pisano finished the season with 45 aces, the ninth most for a single season. Classmate Michaela Brantley finished her career with 196 blocks, the third most in program history.

Freshman Alyssa Davis led the team and finished fourth in the conference with 353 kills (2.94 per set). Classmate Lauren Kelley added 268 kills (2.37 per set) while Brantley contributed 1.80 kills per set and led the team with 0.55 blocks per set.

Gents Soccer The 2018 edition of Gents Soccer finished the season 2-14-2 and 0-13-1 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

Centenary started off the season fast, earning a huge come-from-behind win at Hendrix on September 2, the second game of the season.

Andre Anassi attacks the ball during a game against SCAC newcomer Johnson & Wales.

After the Warriors scored the first goal of the game just minutes into the contest, Gents sophomore Gin Pau scored the equalizer about 15 minutes later. Sophomore Greg Petreas scored the game-winning goal with less than 20 minutes left to give the Gents the victory.

After a tough 3-2 loss to Texas Lutheran to begin conference play on September 7, the Gents fought Schreiner to a scoreless draw just two days later. Neither the Mountaineers or Gents managed a shot on goal in the first half. Each team managed a shot on target in the overtime periods, but the game ended in a draw.

Playing its third home game in five days on September 11, Centenary lost a heartbreaker to Dallas. Freshman Sami Borchalli was able to stop eight Dallas shots, but the ninth shot on target in the 89th minute was ripped from midfield and took a lucky bounce off the post into the goal to give the Crusaders the 1-0 win.

Borchalli finished the season with a conferenceleading 121 saves, breaking the seven-year-old single season saves record and finishing seventh in the nation in that category. He also finished ninth in NCAA Division III with 7.56 saves per game. [ C E N T E N A R Y

Borchalli also recorded the most saves in a game since Centenary became an NCAA Division III member, stopping 16 shots in a 4-0 loss to nationally-ranked Trinity on October 7.

However, weather wreaked havoc on the Gents schedule as two games were cancelled and five others were moved to local C.E. Byrd High School. Despite all of this, Centenary was able to celebrate Senior Day at Mayo Field against Mississippi University for Women with a win on October 13.

Down 1-0 against the Owls at the intermission, Centenary scored a trio of goals in the second half for the 3-1 win. Pau scored the equalizer and junior Gabe Rodriguez tallied his first collegiate game-winner in the 68th minute.

Sophomore Matthew Young, who came off the bench for three goals on the year, added an insurance goal with less than four minutes left despite the Gents being shorthanded.

Pau led the team with five goals on the season, while Rodriguez added three assists to pace the Gents.

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Swimming It was a great year for the Ladies and Gents Swimming teams, who both finished fourth at the 2019 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in February.

Individually, multiple athletes etched their names on the performance list of the top ten times in program history. Usually, those marks do not come to fruition until the conference championships in February.

However, it became very evident early on that the 2018-19 would be a record-breaking season. In the home opening weekend in October against Colorado College and Hendrix, Ladies freshman Kaylin Swoboda won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:11.24, which was the eighth fastest time in program history.

The top ten times continued to be set and broken all season, but by the time the SCAC Championships took place, records were broken.

In the 100 breaststroke at the conference championships, Swoboda knocked more than five seconds off her time from November, breaking the eight-year-old school record by more than six-tenths of a second. She touched the wall at the SCAC Championships in 1:05.99 to earn All-Conference accolades.

Swoboda followed that up with an AllConference finish in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:27.12 for the secondfastest time in program history.

Freshman Brianna Serret also finished AllConference in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes.

She swam the fifth-fastest time in program history in the 100 (59.66) and sixth-fastest time in the 200 (2:10.14). The 800 freestyle relay team of Swoboda, Serret, and freshmen Lindsay Strohm and Sarah Harrison earned AllConference honors, touching the wall in 8:07.76.

At the conference championships, the Gents claimed their first overall SCAC event championship in five years and their first relay conference championship in six years. The quartet of senior Blake Smith, junior Eddie Dyess, and freshmen Mitchell Lulich and Miguel Vasquez won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:25.75.

Along with the 200 freestyle relay, the 200 and 400 medley relay teams also finished in the top three to earn All-Conference status. The quartet of Vasquez, Lulich, Smith, and freshman Tripp Montgomery finished with a time of 1:34.93 in the 200 medley. In the relay, Vasquez swam the

opening leg, the 50 backstroke, and broke the six-year school record with a time of 23.04.

The 400 medley team of Vasquez, Lulich, Smith, and Dyess touched the wall in 3:30.00 to earn All-Conference selection.

Individually, Vasquez earned runner-up honors in the 100 backstroke. With the time of 50.66, he broke the six-year old school record by nearly half a second.

Other top ten times in program history on the season for the Gents include Vasquez in the 100 (46.19, seventh) and 200 freestyles (1:44.05, ninth), Vasquez (51.75, ninth) and Smith (51.96, 10th) in the 100 butterfly, Lulich in the 100 (58.78, third) and 200 breaststrokes (2:09.44, second), and Montgomery in the 200 breaststroke (2:10.81, eighth).

Top ten times for the Ladies include Strohm in the 500 freestyle (5:24.20, 10th), Strohm and Harrison in the 1000 (11:15.43 and 11:19.50, eighth and ninth respectively) and 1650 freestyles (18:42.92 and 18:45.91, seventh and eighth respectively), Swoboda in the 50 backstroke as part of the 200 medley relay (28.39, fifth), and Swoboda in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.12, second) and 200 IM (2:12.52, eighth).

Ladies Basketball It was a year of transition for Ladies basketball in welcoming Jason Schmitz as the new head coach. Despite losing their first six games, they won eight of 19 to end the season to finish 8-17 overall and 6-10 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play, and finished tied for sixth.

After falling in six games in November, the Ladies began December with three straight wins. After a dominating 78-45 win against Southeastern Baptist, Centenary took part in the third annual Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission Holiday Classic against I-20 rival LeTourneau in the Gold Dome. After falling behind at halftime, Centenary rallied behind Na’Lani Zeno (25), Priya Ponia (1), and Bre Frierson (41) represent the Ladies at home in the Dome.

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sophomore Bre Frierson’s then-career high 18 points off the bench. The Ladies knocked off the YellowJackets 65-62.

The Ladies began SCAC play with a 76-55 win against Dallas. In conference play, Centenary swept the Crusaders as well as SCACnewcomer Johnson & Wales.

Frierson led the team with 11.7 points per game to be named Third Team All-Conference.

She also led the team, finished second in the conference, and placed fourth in the nation with a field goal percentage of 61.4. She recorded her lone double-double in the win against Dallas in the Gold Dome December 18, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Sophomore Haylee Washington led the Ladies with 7.8 rebounds per game. She finished the season with three double-doubles, including a career best 17 points as well as 10 rebounds at SCAC Champion Trinity February 2.

Centenary also celebrated two accomplished seniors with a wire-to-wire win against Johnson & Wales in the Gold Dome February 9, 63-44. Senior Jasmine Morris, who averaged double-digits in all four seasons with Ladies basketball, finished second on the Centenary all-time scoring list with 1,345 points, the 27th most in SCAC history. Last season, she became the fastest player to 1,000 points in Ladies basketball history. She made 530 career free throws, the most in the program’s career annals and the third-most in conference history.

The other senior for the Ladies, Savanah Doty, was a prolific scorer and a deadly three-point shooter in her own right, finishing her four years with the Ladies with 893 points. It was a fitting end in her final game in the Gold Dome.

In the Ladies’ dominating win against Johnson & Wales, Doty broke the school record with her 198th career made three-pointer, the 10th best total in SCAC history.

Despite being only a 5-8 guard, Doty is among the best shot blockers in school history. Last season, she became only the third Ladies basketball player to record 100 blocks or more.

Doty finished her career with 134 total rejections, the second most in program history. She also routinely ranked near the top among guards in the country in blocks.

In the final home games of his career, Matthews made sure it would be a memorable senior weekend. On February 8 against Colorado College, the Gents rallied from a 49-42 deficit to win 66-62. The victory gave Centenary its seventh straight berth in the SCAC Tournament, the longest streak in the conference. Matthews poured in a career high 34 points.

Gents Basketball

In the final home game of the season, Centenary never led Johnson & Wales for the first 39:58.4 of the game. The Gents made the final 1.6 seconds count, winning on a buzzer beater by Matthews. Down by double digits with eight minutes left, the Gents rallied within three with less than two minutes remaining.

Matthews buried a deep three to tie the game and then hit a jumper just inside the arc to cap a frantic comeback.

A 1-6 start record in November was not exactly what second year Gents basketball head coach Chris Dorsey had in mind, but Centenary went 12-7 over the final three months to finish 13-13 overall. Centenary also went 10-6 in conference play to finish third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.

The Gents began the season with a hard fought 84-79 win on Homecoming November 10. After a six-game losing streak, Centenary knocked off I-20 rival East Texas Baptist in the Gold Dome in the third annual Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission Holiday Classic December 15.

One of the strengths for Centenary on the season proved to be its defense. The Gents easily finished first in the conference and 30th in the nation by allowing only 66.2 points per game.

From the first conference game of the season December 18 in the Gold Dome, that became clear. Centenary knocked off Dallas with a stifling defensive effort, 57-39. The 39 points given up by the Gents were the fewest in a game in nearly 70 seasons.

After falling in the next two contests, Centenary finished 2018 with both a dazzling offensive display and a record-setting first half defensive effort. Centenary raced out to a 50-10 halftime lead against eventual SCAC Champion Texas Lutheran, going on to knock off the Bulldogs 89-69.

In an 81-61 win at East Texas Baptist January 12, senior Treylan Matthews became just the 34th Gents Basketball player to reach 1,000 career points. [ C E N T E N A R Y

Following his great senior weekend, Matthews received SCAC Player of the Week honors.

Leading the team with 16.6 points per game, Matthews earned First Team All-Conference accolades. Junior Cedric Harris led the team with 6.5 rebounds per game and finished second with 15.4 points per game to be named Second Team All-Conference.

Freshman Ty Prince became the fourth Gent in seven seasons to be named the SCAC Newcomer of the Year. Prince averaged 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds and added 21 blocks (fifth in the SCAC) for the Gents during the regular season. He led all firstyear conference players in rebounding and was second in both scoring and blocks per game. Prince also shot 45.0 percent from the field (ninth in the SCAC among players with more than four made field goals per game).

He was the overwhelming choice of the SCAC coaches to be named Newcomer of the Year, receiving six of nine votes. n

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Forward, Forward Homecoming 2018 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Martha Chaney Siskron ’96 and former teammates Debra Snyder ’96 and Shelley McMillian ’94 pose for a photo with former Soccer Coach Glenn Evans.

2018 Ho norary A lumna D ­ usband h r. Gale O John Od dom and om.

Save the Date!

Homecoming 2019 November 2-10 ty Owen

pient Pat

Reci lty Award mni Loya 2018 Alu ’60.

Lindsey

s ’08 and es Coate tailgate. th Down e b za m li E eco ing Alumna the ­Hom y jo n e n re her child

A week full of activities for all members of the Centenary family.

Stay tuned for details!

Members of the Cla ss of 200 reunion 8 celebra at the Ho te their 10 mecomin g tailgat th e.

Alumna Elaine McArdle ’79 (left) and panelists Dr. Elizabeth Disbrow (center), director of the new LSU Health Shreveport Center for Brain Health and Stacey Hand (right), director of the Alzheimer’s Agency of Shreveport/Bossier discuss mental health following a reading from Elaine’s recent book The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind that she co-authored with Dr. Barbara Lipska.

Do you know an alumnus or friend of the College that is deserving of an alumni award?

34 [ C EVisit N T E Ncentenary.edu/alumni/alumni-awards/ A R Y M A G A Z I N E , S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 ] to nominate someone today!

ngregation at dresses the co Dr. Holoman ad Church during ist od th ited Me Broadmoor Un . ay ­services ­Centenary Sund

ll ’16, , Matthew Ferre Eric Paulsen ’18 the joy en ’16 (Left to right) re po Le ’18, and Loren Nathan Hooper ng Tailgate.

2018 Homecomi

Homecoming King Harrison Folse and Homecoming Queen Summer Terrell.

Alpha Ph i Alpha A lumni en the Gold joy the H Dome. omecom

ing game

Ellen Cole Gerdes ‘78 enjoyed seeing a photo of herself and her teammates on Centenary’s first women’s tennis team during Homecoming 2018. The photo was part of a special archives exhibit highlighting the history of women’s athletics at the College.

s in

2019 You ng Alum ni Leade and curr rship Aw ent Alum ard Reci ni Associ Cole ’06 pient ation Pre . sident Pat rick

2018 Bentley Sloane Award Recipient Dawson Taylor ’01 (center) with parents and fellow Centenary alumni Bill ’72 and Roxanne ’72 Taylor.

2018 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee Marty Vaughan ’66.

Homecoming Court: King Harrison Folse, Cami Chopin, John Curtis Creed, Amanda Farr, Reggie Porter, Rachel Hughes, Amir Kaskas, Liz Knight, Ahmad Kasabali, Peyton Miller, Paul Ahluwalia, Madelyn Frederick, Zackry Dick, and Queen Summer Terrell. Not Pictured: Makenzie Shaw and Regis Johnson.

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Class Notes The following class notes were submitted by alumni between August 28, 2018-April 12, 2019.

Class notes are subject to content editing by the Offices of Alumni and Family Relations and Marketing & Communication.

moved from west Tennessee, and daughter, Sam, are also part of the new household.

The Centenary Alumni Association seeks news of Centenary alumni.

Please send news and information to alumni@centenary.edu

1974

Office of Alumni and Family Relations Centenary College of Louisiana 2911 Centenary Blvd.•Shreveport, LA 71104 318.869.5115 • alumni@centenary.edu

1969 James Henry (Jim) Davis, Hughes Springs, TX, the Texas Civil War Museum in Ft. Worth has included Davis as one of eight authors presenting in their Summer 2019 Speaker Series. Davis will be signing books and speaking at noon on Saturday, July 6, 2019. The museum is the largest Civil War Museum west of the Mississippi River, housing thousands of items of memorabilia from both the North and South, as well as a collection of uniforms and women’s wear of the period. For more information, contact Cindy Harriman, Texas Civil War Museum, Ft. Worth, TX or see the website.

Charles Williams, Greenwell Springs, LA, published a novel late last year entitled Aftermath – ­Corruption and Intrigue in Post Katrina New Orleans.

In the story, three men are in conflict over an ambitious development project that could ignite the city’s revival from the hurricane. It’s available on Amazon in hard copy and for Kindle.

1971 D. Cragin (Craig) Shelton, Little Rock, AR, and Kay ’72, now fully retired, have relocated from ­Alexandria, Virginia, in the DC suburbs to Little Rock, Arkansas. Kay’s mother, who

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Tom Guerin, Warwick, RI, has retired after 42 years of being involved in underwriting fire insurance programs for national and international clients, most recently in the Reinsurance Department of FM Global.

He, along with his wife of five years, Nancy, is looking forward to volunteering with several organizations, sailing on the bay, and learning to weld in order to build a few projects for the gardens.

1975 Gladys ­Vanderpool, Pampa, TX, was named the 2018 Citizen of the Year by the Pampa Chamber of ­Commerce.

1977 Joel Treadwell, Covington, LA, Cr. Photog., CPP of Joel Treadwell, Fine Portraiture has earned the Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) designation from Professional ­Photographers of America (PPA).

Joel earned this designation after completing an intensive program that measures his artistic and technical competence. Professional Photographers of America currently recognizes fewer than 3,000 CPPs. Mike Warner, San Mateo, CA, retired from Pfizer Inc. about three years ago and started work as General

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­ ounsel for ALX Oncology Inc. in C Burlingame, CA. ALX is a clinicalstage biotech startup in immunooncology. In September, Mike published his first book, A Lyle Saxon Reader (available on Amazon.com). It is a curated collection of Saxon’s works from 1919 to 1923, and most of its stories have been unpublished for nearly a century.

His next book will be a biography of New Orleans artist Charles Whitfield Richards (1906-1992).

1981 Robert Darrow, Shreveport, LA, earned an EdD in Leadership Studies from LSUS in August 2018.

1985 Leigh Fontana, Fayetteville AR, her daughter, Gabbie, are franchise owners of Pure Barre Fayetteville which they opened in June 2018.

They will open a second studio in Northwest Arkansas later this year.

1991 Chase Waites, Montgomery, TX, was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Medallion in 2018 for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region 6. Each year, the eight KCACTF regions honor individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and production of theatre and that have significantly dedicated their time, artistry, and enthusiasm to the development of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Most importantly, recipients have demonstrated a strong commitment to the values and goals of KCACTF and to excellence in educational theatre. It is the most prestigious regional award given by KCACTF and is considered one of the great honors in theatre education.

1992

2005

2011

Carolyn Kapinus, Denton, TX, has served as the dean of the ­Graduate School at Texas Woman’s University since 2017.

Lisa Bounds, Buda, TX, is teaching while also working on her MBA at McCombs School of Business at University of Texas at Austin. She will finish the MBA in May 2020.

In 2012, Lisa earned her MA in ­literature.

Erik Champney, New York City, NY, is the author of a new play, ­SPARKLER, which had a private ­industry reading in New York City on March 29. The cast includes Alan Cumming, Erich Bergen, ­Garrett Clayton, and Christy Altomare. Erik earned an MFA in dramatic writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts after graduating from ­Centenary with degrees in ­English and theatre. He has produced plays all over the country and has been honored twice by the ­Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his writing.

1994 Denis Poljak, Shreveport, LA, was named to Forbes Magazine’s 2019 list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors.

2003 Dr. Billy Pritchard, Baton Rouge, LA, teaches U.S. History, Honors AP U.S. History, and courses on the American Presidency and the Civil Rights Movement at ­Episcopal School of Baton Rouge. He ­recently attended a Harvard Business School (HBS) professional development workshop and has brought the HBS “case method” to his teaching at Episcopal. The method requires students to read complicated case studies and work through the ­material in rigorous and vibrant class discussions.

Students learn by reading, thinking, and ­doing. Pritchard blogged about his ­innovative teaching ­approach at bit.ly/2JNiJ1R.

2004 Carla Alsandor (MBA), The ­Woodlands, TX, joined the ­Institutional ­Advance­ment team at the ­University of St. Thomas in ­Houston as the director of alumni relations in September 2018. ­Serving the ­University and its Alumni Association reminds her of many great experiences she had working with the alumni at ­Centenary College from 2004-2010.

Henry Jin, Cincinnati, Ohio, was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Miami University, effective July 1st, 2019.

Sherricka Fields Jones, ­Shreveport, LA, was named chief administrative officer for the city of Shreveport by Mayor Adrian Perkins in March 2019. Fields Jones is the city’s first African American woman in the position of CAO.

2008 Alexandra Hilsher, Eugene, OR, has become a partner with ­Hershner Hunter, LLP. Hilsher joined the firm in 2013. She graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law, Order of the Coif, in 2011. Her practice focuses on litigation and appeals.

2009 Daniel Gehrig, Shreveport, LA, co-founded Revere Resources.

They’ve been in business for two years, but they just successfully raised $300 million. Read more here: bit.ly/2KYxtvw.

Additionally, ­Centenary alumnus Colton Robey ’12 is a partner of Gehrig’s.

2012 Jessica Hunter, New York, NY, is an independent art appraiser in New York, where she serves as an associate appraiser for New Yorkbased Michael Capo and regularly consults for Penelope Dixon and Associates. After graduating from Centenary with degrees in art and visual culture and English, ­Jessica obtained an MA in art history from the University of Arizona and an MA in art business from ­Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.

2015 Paul Savage, Jr., Shreveport, LA, has been named ­director of ­marketing, communications, and public relations for the Greater Shreveport Chamber of ­Commerce. He will be working closely with business owners to help further the Chamber’s ­efforts to grow business and build ­community.

Want to include an update in the next Centenary magazine?

Share your good news with us today! Visit centenary.edu/alumni/update-us/

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Back row, left to right: Mary Walter ’08, Dr. Steven Deas ’05, Michael Collette ’07, Sammy Williams ’05, Ryan Goodwin ’06, Paul Morrow ’06, Andrew Deas ’08, Emily Argue Stotts ’06, Jeff Stotts ’05, Dr. David McElroy ’08. Front row: Patrick Cole ’06, Emily Evans ’06, Debbie Elsen Deas ’06, Laura Deas Collette ’09, Lauren Frost McElroy ’06, Colleen Young ’07 (behind Lauren), Jared Frank ’06, Ashlie Junot Hilbun ’06, Andrew Barkley ’05.

2017

as they go through the process of adopting children who are currently in foster care.

December 29, 2018 surrounded by many friends from Centenary.

(Pictured above)

Cheredith Rhone, Shreveport, LA, was recently appointed D ­ ivision Manager of Administration for Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation (SPAR) by Shreveport mayor Adrian Perkins.

BIRTHS

MARRIAGES Chelsea Glaspie, Jackson, MS, is currently in her second year of law school at Mississippi College Law. On January 22, 2019, she became a limited practice attorney (law ­student attorney). Through the limited practice program, she will have an incredible opportunity to gain practical experience (client interaction, court appearances, etc.) while she continues to pursue her law degree.

This semester, Chelsea will be working in the adoption clinic and will represent potential a ­ doptive parents

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Cory Goodwin Salgado ’08, Saint Cloud, FL, married Geyzer J. ­Salgado on April 8, 2018, after a short engagement.

Amy Gardner ’03, Shreveport, LA, and Patrick Day were married in an intimate ceremony in Roatan, ­Honduras on October 24, 2018.

Richard Murphy ’92, Philadelphia, PA, married Leigh Anne Hunt on December 1, 2018.

Sammy Williams ’05, Little Rock, AR, married Wren Williams on

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Lindsay Bekelja ’08, League City, TX, and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Ainsley Joelle, on August 29, 2018.

Cory Goodwin Salgado ’08, Saint Cloud, FL, and husband Geyzer J. Salgado celebrated the birth of their first child, Sebastian Geyzer Salgado, on November 11, 2018.

Natalie Atkins ’08, Monticello, AR, and husband, Justin ’08, welcomed their first child, William James “Will” Atkins, on January 10, 2019.

Elizabeth Allen ’06, Little Rock, AR, and husband, Carey, welcomed a daughter, Claire Marie Guidry, on January 29, 2019. She weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20-1/2 inches long. She was welcomed home by big brothers, Drew and Will.

In Memoriam RECEIVED BETWEEN AUGUST 28 – MARCH 12, 2019

Pattie Mae Fuller Smith ’38 6/7/2018 Hessie Gaston Watson ’41 11/30/2018 Helen Kendall Cooke ’42 10/4/2015 Anne Robinson Edmonds ’42 12/4/2018 Harriet Lieber Thompson ’44 12/31/2018 Myrtle Canon Fuller ’45 11/19/2018 Merrie Fowler Hearne ’45 11/7/2018 Louis Barre ’47 11/20/2018 Betty Mosely Soloman ’47 5/30/2018 Julia White Weyman ’47 8/27/2018 Jim White ’47 9/21/2018 Dale Armstrong ’48 12/31/2018 Thomas Barham ’48 9/14/2018 Lois Smith Curtis ’48 12/24/2018 Elizabeth Fields ’48 1/16/2019 Emmet McGovern ’48 12/14/2012 Rose Audrey Randall Patton ’48 9/10/2018 Louis Yazbeck ’48 4/27/2016 Edward Blanchard ’49 4/16/2017 Dean Duncan ’50 2/13/2019 Pat Purnell Holtsclaw ’50 11/4/2018 Alice Massey Smith ’50 12/13/2016 Ralph White ’50 10/18/2018 Douglas D. Webb ’50 11/22/2018 Jo Ann Zeigler Clark ’51 12/19/2018 Katherine Barnett LeBlanc ’51 2/19/2019

Dorothy Yearwood McGovern ’51 12/18/2018 John Renfro ’51 8/22/2018 Jay A. Barton ’51 2/22/2019 Betty McKay Whitler ’52 11/20/2018 Joan Marie Conway ’52 12/7/2018 Johnny Bonomo ’53 8/3/2018 Warren Blakeman ’54 10/2/2018 Walter Dobie ’54 9/29/2018 Robert Robinson ’54 1/30/2017 Jack Halliburton ’55 2/2/2019 Hugh Lewing ’55 12/20/2018 Betty Willis Brooks ’56 12/26/2018 Barbara Jean Meades ’57 10/19/2018 Mary Ann Wilhelmi Betke ’58 8/13/2018 Bob Holleman ’58 1/11/2016 Grover Royston ’58 7/31/2016 Byron Rutledge ’58 2/23/2018 Walter Schrimsher ’58 2/2/2019 Gene Slusher ’58 12/21/2008 Jack Gray ’59 8/22/2018 Gloria Gaffney Hocking ’59 11/28/2018 Billy Pat Tipton ’59 9/19/2018 Ken Hayes ’60 9/16/2018 Ann Deshazo Herndon ’60 2/4/2019 Margie Dukes Ponthie ’60 11/8/2018 Wayne Stoddard ’60 10/18/2018

Billy DeLoach ’61 4/30/2018 Ben Chamness ’62 12/22/2018 Michael Franklin ’62 9/15/2017 Fred Schwendimann ’62 10/18/2018 Sandra McCuistion Elder ’63 1/12/2019 Paula Jahnke Maxwell ’65 9/11/2018 Rob Tinsley ’66 1/8/2019 Tom Bitterwolf ’68 1/30/2019 Peggy Pardue Wagner ’68 9/25/2016 Stephen Gaignard ’69 2/9/2019 Jimmy Lynn ’70 9/14/2018 Patrick J. White IV ’71 10/11/2018 Philip Lea ’72 2/5/2005 Byron McNeil ’72 12/29/2018 Virginia Fullerton Russell ’83 12/23/2014 Robert Swift ’86 10/30/2016 Mary Laing Springs ’87 2/13/2019 Jon Berman ’90 12/8/2018 Jan Rusteen Buseick ’90 11/5/2018 Angela Morris Dockum ’90 10/16/2018 Anne Scarborough Higdon ’91 10/29/2018 Bob Buseick H ’94 11/18/2018 Dianna Hoover ’97 2/3/2019 Chelsi Hefner ’13 10/28/2018

We celebrate the lives and legacies of these members of the Centenary family.

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