The GēDUNK Summer 2017

GROVE CITY COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Summer 2017

THE COST OF INDEPENDENCE

Safeguarding a heritage of freedom THE MACKENZIE LEGACY

ACS TURNS 60

HOMECOMING 2017

CAMPUS VIEW

Graduates in their caps and gowns are all smiles at Grove City College’s 137th Commencement. The Class of 2017 was the largest in the College’s history

Alumni

COUNCIL CORNER AN

APPEAL

TO

AL L

A LU MN I

Dear Alumni and Friends,

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here is something wonderful about driving onto campus at Grove City College after not being here for a while. It is a great flood of memories as you pass various spots on campus.

There is a palpable sense of action with students darting across campus, heading into buildings, running to catch an intramural game, gathering for a meal or coffee. I love that energy.

On June 30, my two-year term as President of the Grove City College Alumni Association ended. It was an immense honor to serve the College and represent more than 28,000 alumni. That honor now passes to incoming President Steve Solman ’96 and Vice President Jana Volante Walshak ’07.

As my term ends, I would like to appeal to ALL alumni: GET ENGAGED – Your College needs you. I encourage people to truly engage with the school and its students. Look for alumni events in your area, be an ambassador of the school as you talk to students considering their college options, or mentor current students (buy them lunch, offer advice, help them with internships). I have found that the Grove City College alumni network is strong, but we can always work to improve.

Please engage at all levels.

CONNECT WITH THE COLLEGE AND OLD FRIENDS – Regardless of era, activities or geography, the common theme I hear from alumni is that people made the difference in their Grove City College experience. I agree. I encourage everyone to reach out to old friends and reconnect. You can fill hours reminiscing and laughing at many experiences you shared during a special time in your life. I always am refreshed by these encounters. Reach out to your “group,” whether that is a Greek group, the band, the performing arts, a circle of friends, an athletic team, or one of the various other groups on campus. This is a great way to connect.

CAMPUS – Returning to campus ties it all together. Coming back for Homecoming, alumni events, a concert or another special event allows you to feel that flood of nostalgia, see the amazing improvements, get energized by the current student body and even commiserate – “Let me tell you about Saturday classes or the desks in Calderwood,” etc.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Thank you to all who are actively engaged at supporting and giving back to the College. It makes a difference.

EDITORIAL BOARD Jeffrey Prokovich ’89 Vice President for Advancement Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod Senior Director of Alumni and College Relations Jacki Muller Senior Director of Marketing and Communications EDITORIAL STAFF Nick Hildebrand Managing Editor Janice (Zinsner ’87) Inman Associate Editor, Class Notes, In Memory, Babies Brad Isles Associate Editor ALUMNI & COLLEGE RELATIONS OFFICE Charlene (Griffin ’83) Shaw Margaret Perkins Noel ’10 Tricia Corey Carrie Sankey COLLEGE ARCHIVES Hilary (Lewis ’09) Walczak SPORTS INFORMATION Ryan Briggs ’01 Robert Audia DESIGN Justin Harbaugh Art Director/Graphic Designer ALUMNI ASSOCIATION John Mackie ’00, President Steve Solman ’96, Vice President Cover photograph by Edward Paul Macko Interior photography by Tiffany Wolfe, Alan Adams, Jason Jones, Andrew Stein ’18, Frank Walsh, Robert Audia, Brad Isles, Justin Harbaugh, Nick Hildebrand WRITE US, PLEASE Your feedback is very important to our editorial staff and we encourage you to register your comments, questions, concerns, and, hopefully, compliments. Our mailing address is The GeDUNK, 100 Campus Drive, Grove City PA, 16127-2104, but there’s no need to put pen to paper or stamp to envelope, we’ll be happy to hear what you think via email at alumni@gcc.edu. Please use GeDUNK in the subject line and indicate if your letter is intended for publication.

Gratefully,

John C. Mackie ’00 Immediate Past President, Grove City College Alumni Association

Grove City College 100 Campus Drive Grove City, PA 16127 724.458.2300 888.GCC.GRAD alumni.gcc.edu alumni@gcc.edu

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Summer 2017

’mid the pages THE COST OF INDEPENDENCE

Four decades ago, Grove City College made its commitment to independence clear when then-President Charles S. MacKenzie refused to sign a form assuring the federal government that the College wouldn’t do something that it had never done and never intended to do. That momentous act set Grove City College on the road less traveled of American higher education, the road of true independence, where the College now stands, in MacKenzie’s words, “as a beacon light of freedom – religious, social and economic.” But independence has a price. Grove City College knows that there is a cost to pay for maintaining a commitment to faith and learning, to defending academic freedom and standing up for institutional autonomy – and it is worth the price.

FREEDOM’S COST

THE MACKENZIE LEGACY

RATHBURN REFLECTS

The College’s independence is both a strength and challenge for the institution.

Recruited to restore the College, he recreated it as the standard bearer for independent higher education.

The chairman of the Board has a unique perspective on the cost of the College’s independence

DEPARTMENTS 10 | Upfront News about the College, Alumni, Faculty and Students 26 | Features The Cost of Independence 36 | Class Notes Find out what fellow alumni are doing

ON THE COVER: The cupola on the Hall of Arts and Letters provides a literal expression of Grove City College’s position as “a beacon light of freedom – religious, political, social, and economic.”

40 | In Memory Friends we’ve lost and remember 44 | Alumni Babies Introducing our newest Grovers 46 | Faith & Learning A faculty perspective

Connect with us: The GēDUNK, a magazine published for alumni and friends of Grove City College, highlights campus news, student features and alumni achievements. Named after the on-campus gathering place / snack bar for students since the early 1950s, the word Gedunk made its way into the Grove City College vernacular when Navy veterans returned to campus, bringing the term with them. The name stuck. For decades, the Grove City College Gedunk has been the place to come together to share news and ideas, live and learn, and this magazine strives to connect our family in similar style.

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You can ensure that future generations have the education they need to be a positive influence in our society.

Grove City College

Make a gift in your will to Grove City College.

Here’s how it benefits you: • Your gift costs you nothing.

• It may effectively reduce taxes on your estate.

• You make it possible for generations of students to receive a quality higher education they need to be a transformative influence in our society.

“I came to Grove City because of affordability and have come full circle, perpetuating affordable cost by helping other students.”

— Ron Brandon ’64

Contact Adam Nowland ’07, J.D., for more information about how you can create your legacy at Grove City College at 724-458-3865 or by email at avnowland@gcc.edu.

Or, get your free, personalized planning information at http://giftplanning.gcc.edu.

If you would like to support Grove City College through your will, please consider using the following language: “I give and devise to Grove City College (Tax ID 25-1065148), located in Grove City, PA, all (or state a percentage) of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate to be used for its general support (or a specific fund or program).”

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EVERY COMMENCEMENT AT GROVE CITY COLLEGE IS A SPECIAL DAY. For students, it marks the end of their undergraduate years and a new beginning. For their families, it is a time to celebrate a loved one’s achievement and future promise. For faculty, it is bittersweet, seeing favorite students walk across the stage and out of their classrooms.

Each graduating class represents the continuing achievement of the College’s founding mission.

Thanks to the community’s commitment to the College’s vision and values – faithfulness, excellence, community, stewardship, and

independence – every young woman and man who dons cap and gown can say with authority that they are an educated person and prepared for a life in service to the common good.

But Grove City College’s 137th Commencement on May 20 was extra special, and not just because the Class of 2017, with 606 members, is the largest graduating class in College history. And then there was the matter of our speaker, the Vice President of the United States, who truly made this an historic day.

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Grove City College

“Class of 2017, this is your day, the future is yours. Go get it.”

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t was a typical graduation day at Grove City College – up to a point. Pre-dawn rain had threatened to turn the Quad into a muddy mess, but it stopped before the sun began to rise behind Rockwell Hall. The lawn, filled with chairs for grads and guests, was just a little bit squishy. The temperature was unseasonably cool as teams of serious men and dogs fanned out across a section of campus surrounded by temporary fencing.

Until the Secret Service was done with its final security sweep, the Quad was no-man’s land. Afterward, entry into the iconic heart of campus was limited to a few checkpoints and only for ticketholders. While the security bubble around “the bubble” – a double bubble? – was daunting, most took the precautions in stride. Over the next few hours, as more and more people filled the area, the excitement was palpable.

“They won’t forget who spoke at their commencement,” was heard in conversation after conversation. But most of those saying it weren’t there because the College had somehow managed to land Vice President of the United States Mike Pence as its commencement speaker. They were there for one – or more – of the 606 graduates who had earned, over years by diligence and tenacity, through tragedies and triumphs great and small, a degree from Grove City College.

The media may have been focused on the VIP who graced the stage, but the crowd of 4,500 was there to see those who strode across it in a ritual repeated here since 1880 to mark the “commencement” of their postCollege lives.

The Vice President was quick to acknowledge that fact when he addressed the crowd from behind a podium bearing the seal of his office.

“It’s a joy to be with you today. I look out across this gathering, I see 606 men and women of accomplishment, of character, and of great promise. And it really is an honor for me to be with you all. Today is a day of celebration and appreciation – especially for all of those who believed in you and saw you through: your friends, your teachers, and your wonderful families,” he said.

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“It’s especially meaningful for me to have the opportunity to address graduates of a college that for more than 140 years has fostered an identity of excellence and independence, a college that literally rose to national prominence by standing firm for the principles upon which it was founded.”

– Vice President Mike Pence, May 20, 2017, Grove City College.

independence, and you can be proud of it for the rest of your lives. You have received an education not just in facts and figures – but in principled leadership grounded in faith and freedom,” he said.

The Grove City College Class of 2017, he said, joins a long line of leaders “and now their legacy will become your legacy.”

“You are called to lead fearlessly. Be men and women of integrity with a servant’s heart, expect opposition and persevere, and lastly have faith. For as the Good Book says, He knows the plans He has for you – plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Before the Vice President spoke, College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 looked out

across “one of the largest crowds to ever gather on this beautiful Quad,” and opened the ceremony by reflecting on the vision of early leaders who laid out the space as a setting for great things.

“What a fulfillment today is to their greatest hopes,” he said. “Today is about far more than this special place. It is about you, the students, and our vital mission, then and now, which is to equip you to pursue your unique callings in an academically excellent and Christ-centered learning and living community,” McNulty said.

McNulty told the graduates it was a “great privilege and joy to be a part of your lives …

We all share a general calling to be faithful and serve the common good.”

Summer 2017

How did GCC land the VP? Baccalaureate Speaker, Rev. Saleem Ghubril, Executive Director of The Pittsburgh Promise, was awarded and Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree during Commencement Exercises.

David R. Rathburn ’79, Chair of the Board of Trustees, reflected on his fourdecade association with Grove City College and urged the graduates to make a difference.

“Listen for God’s words to lead you in your job, in your community, in your church, in the armed forces, or in public service. Take the principles you learned here and make them the foundation for living a purpose-filled life for which you have been called.”

Rathburn said it was an “exceptional day in our history” and thanked the Vice President for his presence, leadership and example as a Christian leader.

Student Speaker Megan M. Smith ’17, an entrepreneurship major from Tyler, Texas, told her fellow graduates that the College

had prepared them for the future in three important ways: through fellowship, prayer, and love.

“Let us walk forward in quiet confidence that our fight has already been fought, and won. Our worth depends not on how we impact the world, which we surely will, but upon His unrelenting grace and love for us,” Smith said.

After all the speeches, each senior’s name was read and they ascended the stage to receive their diplomas. The Vice President broke with College tradition, which usually sees the commencement speaker seated through the conferring of degrees, and joined President McNulty in greeting each graduate personally with a handshake.

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ice President Mike Pence made only three commencement addresses in 2017. His others were at Notre Dame and the U.S. Naval Academy, among the most famed institutions in the world.

So, how did a small Christian school that values its indpendence from the federal government end up getting the nation’s second highest ranking elected official to address its graduates?

Connections. College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 and his wife Brenda (Millican ’80) have enjoyed a close relationship with the Pences for many years. Mrs. McNulty and Second Lady of the United States Karen Pence worked together at the Northern Virginia Christian School that both couple’s children attended. The two men were Washington contemporaries when Pence was a Congressman from Indiana and McNulty served in top positions in the Justice Department.

“We have always admired them for their sincere faith and humble character,” McNulty said of the Second Couple.

Soon after last year’s elections, the McNultys reached out to the Pences and extended an invitation to speak at Commencement. In many ways, it was a natural fit. The Vice President – whose Christian faith is the driving force in his life, according to his White House biography – embodies many of the values that Grove City College imparts to its graduates, and his record as a Congressman, Governor of Indiana, and now Vice President is a study in persistence and faithful leadership.

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Grove City College

upfront

News about the College, alumni, students, campus, faculty and sports

Grove City College pays you back

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rove City College is among an elite group of 200 schools with a national reputation that deliver a top quality education at an affordable price, according to one of the nation’s premier sources of information about colleges and universities.

The Princeton Review included the College in Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Best Value Colleges and What It Takes to Get In - 2017 Edition. Review Editor-inChief Robert Franek said Grove City College offered a “superb value.”

“Not only will students get a great education, but students benefit from generous financial aid, extraordinary career services programs, alumni connections and career opportunities like internships that will help students find jobs when they graduate,” Franek noted.

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prospects for graduates, according to the college preparation and testing company.

“This major recognition spotlights our unique place in higher education. We are ranked at the top because we combine academic excellence and a Christ-centered mission with a commitment to affordability creating tremendous education value for our students,” College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said.

Statistics bear this out, with a 78-percent four-year graduation rate (20 points higher than the national average) that keeps costs down, a 97-percent placement rate for graduates, higher-than-average starting salaries, and mid-career earnings that outpace national averages.

Recognitions of the College’s quality, affordability, and positive outcomes by Princeton Review, U.S. News and other respected sources are important when it

comes to attracting students. Complicating the picture is the college ranking industry’s increasing reliance on the federal government’s College Scorecard – which excludes Grove City College and other leading institutions that refuse taxpayer funding – as a key data source. That’s costing the College its rightful place on a few highprofile “best of” lists.

Money, Forbes and other outlets that routinely ranked Grove City College among the nation’s best no longer recognize the College because of its exclusion from the Scorecard.

As a result, new and specialized rankings become more important to telling the College’s story. The national salary tracking website Payscale.com began offering up Best Value ratings based on return on investment in 2016. Based on the cost of tuition, starting and mid-career salaries, and job satisfaction, PayScale has identified Grove City College as top 20 best value among national liberal arts, private, religious, and Pennsylvania colleges.

The College also holds the number five spot on an influential list of the nation’s Top 50 Christian Colleges and Universities.

Christian Universities Online’s ranking seeks to highlight intentionally Christian colleges and universities that excel in categories of personal attention to their students, selectivity, readily available financial aid, and overall student satisfaction, according to the website that tracks Christian higher education.

Pair of alumni join College’s leadership

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ichael R. Buckman ’82 was named Vice President for Business and Finance in March, succeeding Roger Towle ’68, who retired last year as vice president for financial affairs after 21 years of service.

In the newly-restructured role, Buckman will be responsible for a wide range of enterprise matters including financial planning and analysis, budget development, investment management and revenue stream, in addition to human resources and the implementation of best practices across the organization.

Buckman, an accounting major, earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1990 and served throughout his career in progressively responsible financial positions including accountant, investor relations, controller, and for the last 15 years, chief financial officer primarily in the financial services Buckman ’82 industry. He and his wife Nancy (Elsner ’81) Buckman live in Pittsburgh.

“Mike knows our College and the stakeholders we serve. I am confident that Grove City College will be in good stead as a result of his commitment to our vision, mission, and values,” President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said.

In July, Lee Wishing III ’83, Administrative Director for The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College and Assistant to the President for Student Recruiting and Strategic Initiatives, was named Vice President for Student Recruitment.

This is a new leadership team position approved Wishing ’83 by the Board of Trustees that will provide strategic direction to student recruitment programs to ensure that enrollment goals are achieved in a manner consistent with the vision, mission and values outlined in the College’s new strategic plan.

“Lee has become an integral part of our enrollment plan during the last year. His efforts generated an increase in new student applications and the largest incoming freshman class in a decade,” McNulty said.

Wishing graduated with a degree in business administration and earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Geneva College. He worked in the financial services industry until 1994, when he joined his alma mater as Director of College Relations, where he was instrumental in launching The Center for Vision & Values.

Wishing lives in Grove City, with his College sweetheart (and wife) Dede (Deahl ’86) Wishing. They have four children —Lee IV ’17, Sarah ’18, Mary ’20 and John.

Both serve as officers of the College and member of the senior leadership team, providing direct support to the President and the Board of Trustees and its key committees.

Summer 2017

100K grant will fund innovative inclusion initiatives, scholarships

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rove City College received a $100,000 grant from The Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust that will support efforts to serve children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Grove City area.

The College will use the bulk of grant to create opportunities for inclusion beyond the classroom through community outreach and engagement programming for the disabled, their families, teachers and the community at large. The balance will support scholarships earmarked for students pursuing careers in special education.

“Schools have made great strides with inclusion of diverse learners,” Dr. Connie (Nelson ’93) Nichols, chair of the Department of Education, said. “With this generous grant we want to create greater opportunities to fully engage those with intellectual and developmental disabilities in community life.”

During the three-year life of the grant, funds will be awarded to students and campus groups in a competitive process in which they’ll present their programming ideas to a panel of advisers to evaluate. Winning teams will implement their ideas with support from faculty advisers and community organizations that partner with the College.

Nichols, who notes that the College has a track record of supporting students with disabilities and their families through the work of student teachers and campus groups, sees this as a way for the College to “use our gifts to serve others.” She envisions students from a variety of disciplines and with a range of talents bringing different perspectives and new ideas to the table.

“We want to provide a greater connection to the community for individuals and families after school, in the summer and in the workplace. We want to educate the public about what is possible,” she said.

“There is a need for more inclusive extracurricular activities for children and young adults in our community – and for more teachers certified in special education. Grove City College is grateful for the support of The Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust so it can provide education, outreach and engagement for children with disabilities and their families,” Kelly Conger, director of foundation and corporate relations for the College, said.

The grant’s support for the College’s Special Education Certification Scholarship Endowment will help ease the financial burden for education graduates and benefit areas most in need.

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Grove City College

2017

Family Weekend

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he campus’ population swelled from May 5 to 7 as parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters and everyone else we call family showed up for a weekend filled with fun, tradition, and recognition of the great things that Grove City College students have accomplished. It was an unqualified success, from the annual Spring Dance show to TAP One-Acts to great music and art created by students.

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Summer 2017

alumni All-College Sing hits a milestone

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he highlight of Family Weekend 2017 was the 60th anniversary celebration of All-College Sing.

The milestone provided an opportunity to look back at the history of the popular event.

President J. Stanley Harker ’25 initiated the program that involved sororities and fraternities competing in song. It was incorporated into to Parents’ Weekend (now Family Weekend) as a way to highlight involvement in Greek Life for the families of Greek members.

In the early 1960s, each Greek group assigned a theme to their section and performed at least two songs. Later in the decade, groups performed one song each but added an All-Greek Chorus to the end of the performance. In 1973, the College extended Greek Sing to independent groups and it became known as All-College Sing.

At first, only a few independent groups participated but a number of new groups have joined through the years. This year, 8 sororities, 7 fraternities, and 7 independent groups competed.

The performances themselves have evolved over time. First resembling a choral performance, the early format did not include the costumes, dancing, props, or instruments used today. As the event grew, however, organizers found groups starting to push the rules, including reports of the brothers of Delta Iota Kappa performing a risqué and crude version of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” In 1975, the first independent male housing group, Alpha Sigma, entered the competition. They were disqualified, however – in addition to being fined and barred from competing the following year – due to the fact that they didn’t sing but instead performed as a jazz band. Other such antics continued from different groups until the mid-1980s when the rules were adjusted to allow dance moves, costumes, and theatrics.

New in 2017, the show was livestreamed through the College website to allow fans both far and near to enjoy the program as it took place.

This year, overall winners were the brothers of Adelphikos (top: with a rendition of “Men in Tights”) and the sisters of Gamma Sigma Phi (bottom: singing “Don’t Go Breaking my Heart”).

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Grove City College

All in the family

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ome people “get” Grove City College.

They thrive here as students and, as they move on in life, remember fondly their time ‘mid the pines. They tell their children and their children’s children about this special school.

Legacy families understand the unique value of a Grove City College education.

They are able to communicate their personal experience and understanding of the College to their children and grandchildren, which leads to more family members choosing Grove City College.

Many families have followed the legacy pattern over the school’s 141-year history, some going back five generations. Every year during Family Weekend, the College hosts a special breakfast for legacy families to celebrate the vital role they play in the Grove City College community.

The Jenny family: Christy (Micklow ’97) Jenny, Christian, Fred, Gerri, Alexandra ’20, Eva, and Nate ’99

The Snitchler family: Megan ’19, Cara Reynolds (friend), Nathan ’17, Melanie (Krahe ’92) and Todd ’92

The Menefee Family: Faith ’19, Terrell ’91, Conner, Amy (Wherley ’92), Jay and Anne

The Kegel Family: John, Jacob, Josh ’18, Lynne (Chamberlain ’80)

The Kennedy Family: Becky (Breck ’93), Alexander ’20, Sean, and James ’93

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Summer 2017

One Day devoted to gratitude

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ore than 1,000 Grove City College supporters received a handwritten “thank you” note from a student as part of the annual One Day of Thanks event, now in its fifth year.

The notes of gratitude recognize the importance of philanthropy on campus and raise awareness among students of how much of their campus experience is directly tied to the generosity of alumni and friends of the College. As is tradition, campus was decked out with bright red bows signifying both the highly visible projects and the learning and scholarship opportunities made possible by donations to campus.

“It’s great to know that those who have helped the College can receive a small token of gratitude from the students,” said T.J. Zinn ’17, a mechanical engineering major who participated in the event all four years on campus.

Students from the Crimson & White Society organized the event in partnership with the Advancement Office.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Crimson & White Society in bringing this event to the student body. My office is touched by the thoughtful sentiments shared by students on this day,” Director of Advancement Communications Margaret (Perkins ’10) Noel said.

Refreshments, including coffee and bow shaped cookies, drew hungry students to Breen Student Union to participate in the outreach, but a real sense of understanding and gratitude kept them there to pen their own messages.

A video recapping this year’s festivities is available on the College’s YouTube channel. Visit www.youtube.com/grovecitycollege

Students were asked to guess how many coffee beans – each representing a donation to the College last year – were in a jar that was on display in the student union. What’s your guess? How many donors do you think made gifts to the College last fiscal year? Send guesses to alumni@gcc.edu for a chance to win a Grove City College fun pack!

See the Wolverine Marching Band perform at PNC Park

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how your support for the Grove City College Band on September 4 as they perform “The Star Spangled Banner” during the Pirates pre-game ceremony.

Enjoy a fun-filled day at PNC Park as the Pirates take on their division rival Chicago Cubs.

Tickets are just $30 and include $10 in Loaded Value, good for concessions and merchandise throughout PNC Park on the day of the game.

PERFORMANCE AT 3:30 P.M. • GAME AT 4:05 P.M. Support the Grove City College Wolverine Marching Band by purchasing your tickets online at www.pirates.com/grovecityband.

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Grove City College

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Summer 2017

alumni & friends events Upcoming Alumni & Friends Events August 26 Alumni & Friends Picnic Home of Janice ’05 and Eric ’05 Brenner Wexford, Pa.

September 9

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Showcase Series: Live Theater Organ Performance of The General Blackwood Estate Harrisville, Pa.

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September 19 American Founder’s Luncheon, Dr. Edith Gelles Rivers Club Pittsburgh, Pa.

September 23 Football Night Game Grove City vs. St. Vincent Grove City College

October 6-8 Homecoming Grove City College

October 23

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Ronald Reagan Lecture with Mark Levin Grove City College

Grovers certainly get around as they get together

November 2-17

at Alumni & Friends events. From Pirates spring

(2), a meal (3) in Naples, Fla. , after-work events

World War I Exhibit Grove City College Opening Reception, Nov. 2, 5 p.m.

in Erie (4), Pittsburgh (5) and Cleveland (8),

Dec. 2

school spirit remains strong. Alumni children

Santa Breakfast Grove City College

training (1) in Bradenton, Fla., to a Pittsburgh luncheon for alums who work at Heffren-Tillotson

were entertained by characters (7) from this

Dec. 4

year’s Children’s Theatre production of The

Showcase Series: Danu’ Celtic Christmas Concert Grove City College

Phantom Toolbooth and alumni members of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association turned out in force (9) at a conference on campus. The

Remember to bookmark alumni.gcc.edu/events for more dates and info on registering.

Grove City College community also enjoyed travels to England (6) and the nation’s capital (10) for a Leaders Club event.

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Grove City College

OCtober 6 – 8, 2017

Coming Home is Easy We welcome all alumni, parents and friends to Homecoming 2017 2012 • 5th 2007 • 10th 2002 • 15th 1997 • 20th 1992 • 25th 1987 • 30th 1982 • 35th 1977 • 40th 1972 • 45th 1967 • 50th 1962 • 55th 1957 • 60th

Register Now

GREEK MILESTONE REUNIONS Four fraternities and sororities will celebrate significant anniversaries at Homecoming.

All alumni members are encouraged to attend. Plus, mingle with alums and students in Greek Village for a complimentary on lower campus from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.

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CLASS REUNIONS

α Σίγ μ α Σίγ

Tri-Sig/Tri-Zeta - 100th

Alpha Beta Tau – 70th

Visit: alumni.gcc.edu/zzz

Visit: alumni.gcc.edu/alphabetatau

1975 – 1983 Gathering – 7 p.m. Friday Home of Jocelyn (Moore ’80) Thompson Wexford, Pa.

Anniversary Dinner – 6 p.m. Saturday Villa Banquet Center, New Castle, Pa.

Anniversary Dinner – 6:30 p.m. Saturday Doubletree by Hilton Cranberry Township, Pa.

Registration closes at midnight on Friday, September 29.

Omicron Xi - 70th

Spread the word

this means you Parents and Grandparents of current students are invited to Attend our Parents and Grandparents Luncheon.

Saturday, October 7, 2016 @ 11:30 a.m. Tent on the Main Quad

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Visit: alumni.gcc.edu/omicronxi ΑΘ

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Call, message and e-mail your friends and classmates.

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Beta Sigma - 95th Visit: alumni.gcc.edu/betasigma Anniversary Dinner – 6 p.m. Saturday Oakview Golf Club, Slippery Rock, Pa.

Anniversary Reception – 6 p.m. Saturday Harmony Opera House, Harmony, Pa.

Grove City College

register today

Summer 2017

alumni.gcc.edu/homecoming Schedule of Events Friday, October 6, 2017

11 a.m.

Homecoming Parade Through campus, down Pine and Broad Streets

5:30 p.m.

Jack Kennedy Memorial

Alumni Achievement Awards Reception/Dinner

Carnegie Alumni Center, Colonnade

11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

All-Alumni Lunch (pay at the door) Hicks Cafeteria

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Alumni Association Complimentary Snacks Carnegie Alumni Center, Colonnade

6 p.m.

Alpha Epsilon Chi 40 th Anniversary Dinner Rudy’s, Mercer, Pa.

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Class Reunion Lunch Events*

All Reunions will have a lunch

6 p.m.

Men’s Lacrosse 25th Anniversary Mixer My Brother’s Place, Mercer, Pa.

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Parents & Grandparents Luncheon

Private Tent on the Main Quad

6:30 p.m.

1967 (50 th) Class Reunion Mixer* Hampton Inn

Noon – 3 p.m.

Future Grovers Play Area Main Quad

6:30 – 9 p.m.

Homecoming Hangout for all Reunions (includes dinner) Hicks Cafeteria

Noon – 3 p.m.

Greek Village Bottom of Rainbow Bridge

Noon – 3 p.m.

Organizations, Teams and Groups Main Quad

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Noon – 7 p.m.

Grove Fest Enjoy music, art, wine and beer tastings, children’s activities Downtown Grove City

8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Check-In and Registration

Hall of Arts and Letters, Atrium

Noon

Heritage Luncheon - Classes 1966 & Prior Rathburn Hall, Morledge Great Room

8:30 a.m.

Classes of 1957, 1962 & 1967 Breakfast Morledge Great Room, Rathburn Hall

1:15 p.m.

Float Awards and Pre-Game Show Thorn Field

8:30 a.m.

Pre-scheduled Admissions interviews for children of Alumni only.

Call 724-458-2100 Crawford Hall, Admissions Office

2 p.m.

Football Game GROVE CITY COLLEGE VS. THOMAS MORE Thorn Field

9 a.m.

Ketler and Faith & Freedom Society Breakfast Breen Student Union, Great Room Greeting by President McNulty at 9:15 a.m.

4 p.m.

Alpha Omega 40 th Anniversary Dinner Parent/Grandparent Tent on Quad

9 – 10:30 a.m.

Continental Breakfast with Willie the Wolverine and Cheerleaders Breen Student Union, Gedunk

Evening

Class and Greek Reunion Evening Events* Classes of 1962, 1967, 1992, and 2007

9 – 10:30 a.m.

Academic Department Breakfasts Hall of Arts and Letters and STEM Hall Atrium

3:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Check-In and Registration Hall of Arts and Letters, Atrium

Evening Milestone Greek Reunion Events* Tri-Sig/Tri-Zeta

9:30 – 9:45 a.m. President’s Official Welcome

Breen Student Union

Sunday, October 8, 2017 10 a.m.

Homecoming Worship 25th Warriors Anniversary Service

Message by Kirk Voller ’92

Harbison Chapel

*Note: See online schedule and individual correspondence for specific class and Greek reunion activities and locations. See full schedule at alumni.gcc.edu/homecoming t h e G eD ¯ UNK w w w. g c c.e d u | 19

Grove City College

MEMORIAL

Alumni Achievement Award 2017 Recipients The Grove City College Alumni Association will honor four notable alumni during Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 6 to 8. 2017, with Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Awards. The awards are presented annually to alumni who have had distinctive success in their fields. This year’s recipients encompass a variety of fields, including economics, academia, medicine and the military.

Ronald E. Yeaw ’65, Captain USN, Retired

Angelo J. Mariotti ’78, D.D.S., Ph.D.

Capt. Ronald E. Yeaw ’65 (ret.) has extensive operational and managerial experience both in the United States military and in private sector professional services and security industries.

A retired U.S. Navy captain within the Naval Special Warfare Community, he served in a variety of highly competitive Navy and joint service operational, command and staff positions from 1965 to 1994. His work included commands of Underwater Demolition Team 21 and SEAL Team Six, the world’s premier maritime counterterrorist force.

Dr. Angelo J. Mariotti ’78 is a dentist, university professor, teacher, researcher and author. As a full professor and chair of periodontology at The Ohio State University, he teaches dental students and residents, conducts original research, authors scientific articles and provides patient care.

Mariotti has received millions of dollars for research and has authored more than 100 articles in professional periodicals. He is an active member and leader in international and national professional associations as well as in his community. He travels the world as a lecturer and guest speaker, organizing seminars and conventions.

Richard G. Jewell ’67, J.D.

Alejandro A. Chafuen ’84, Ph.D.

Richard G. Jewell ’67 served as Grove City College’s eighth President from 2003 to 2014. His tenure was marked by an increased focus on fundraising, completion of major campus construction projects, and burnishing the College’s reputation as one of America’s premier Christian liberal arts institutions.

While a student at the College, he was editor-in-chief of the The Collegian; president of the Student Government Association; captain of the swimming team and 1967 Omicron Delta Kappa Senior Man of the Year.

Dr. Alejandro “Alex” A. Chafuen ’84 is president of the Atlas Network (also known as Atlas Economic Research Foundation), headquartered in Washington, D.C., which helps to create and nurture free-market think tanks across the globe.

A graduate of the Argentine Catholic University, Chafuen studied at Grove City College, and in his doctoral work, under the late Dr. Hans Sennholz. Chafuen received an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala.

Nominations for the Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement and Distinguished Service Awards are accepted throughout the year. Deadline for 2018 nominations is Feb. 1, 2018. Please submit your nominations at alumni.gcc.edu/awards or alumni@gcc.edu

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Summer 2017

students

Empty Bowls, full hearts

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or 10 solid years, Grove City College students have teamed up with youth at George Junior Republic and Grace United Methodist Church in Grove City to hold Empty Bowls, a fundraiser to help hungry area families.

Students from the College’s ceramics class and the facility for adjudicated youth work together to make bowls that are filled with soup and sold at the Church during the annual event.

The joint effort has been underway for 10 years and that milestone was celebrated March 19 at the church, when local churches provided 10 different kinds of homemade soup to go in the 250 bowls the students made together.

As he watched patrons move through the soup line and enjoy the fellowship, Howard Greenfield, the pastor of Grace United Methodist, was all smiles. “Empty Bowls is one of the most joyful, extensive ministries in any community that I have served,” he said.

The relationships formed between college and George Junior is vital all who are involved. Glen Sanders, the fine arts director at the school and an art professor at Grove City College, expressed deep appreciation of the opportunity to watch the students from both institutions to come together to make a visible change in the area in which they live.

In addition to the benefits of George Junior students being exposed to the environment of college life, Sanders said giving back to the community allows the youth to see “their problems aren’t as big.

They realize the need in the community and want to give back.”

All of the money raised was donated to the Grove City Community Food Pantry.

Grove City College President Paul J. McNulty ’80, center, stands with Senior Man and Woman of the Year, respectively, Jordan Coiro ’17 and Maddie Van Dyke ’17 outside Harbison Chapel on campus.

Van Dyke, Coiro earn top senior recognition

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he 2017 Grove City College Senior Man and Woman of the Year awards went to Jordan Coiro ’17 and Maddie Van Dyke ’17, respectively. The two are the latest graduates to win the prestigious award, which is among the highest honors the College can bestow.

Awards are presented by jointly by the leadership honoraries Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa. Nominees are selected on the basis of scholarship, leadership, and service. The candidates are voted on by students and faculty. The names of the award winners are recorded for posterity on a memorial plaque on a boulder outside Harbison Chapel.

Van Dyke, of Fleming Island, Fla., earned a degree in Biology and was a member of the varsity swim and cross country teams. She helped start the Women of Faith mentoring group and contributed to research on cancer cells. She also participated in Crimson & White Society.

Alycia Bini ’17 wrote in nomination of Van Dyke: “Her character is one that is unmatched by many others. Maddie has continually pointed me toward Christ and encouraged me to always do my best. Rarely does anyone leave Maddie’s presence without a smile on their face and joy in their hearts. Her impact is visible through the example her life is to those around her.”

Coiro, of Mentor, Ohio, graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree and was the Student Government Association’s senior class president. He was active in the Society of Automotive Engineers, Student-Faculty Review Committee, was an engineering shop assistant, and an independent researcher. He also served as a resident assistant. “Jordan Coiro has exemplified academic excellence in his major and has also left a legacy of service as an RA, as a member of the Religious Activities Committee, and in his service at church, among other commitments. I think he is well-known among his peers as a man of character,” Alex Watt ’18 wrote in nominating Coiro.

Other finalists for the senior award were: Ryan Buchalter, James Leach, Zachary Pitcher, Dale Reese, and Lee Wishing IV for Man of the Year; Emily El Sanadi, Molly Gallant, Amanda Hutzelmann, Sarah Markley and Kaylee Strawhun for Woman of the Year.

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Grove City College

Pop Quiz!

Longtime faculty members Gary S. Smith ’72 (History), Carolyn (Marziale ’73) Patterson (Education), Timothy Mech (business/finance/Entrepreneurship), and Richard A. Konzen (Music) retired this summer.

Faculty farewells

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ive long-serving Grove City College faculty members retired at the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

Professor of Music Dr. Richard A. Konzen joined the faculty in 1992, serving as College organist and later as facilities director of Pew Fine Arts Center. Konzen was an instrumental partner in the addition of the Miriam (Shellito ’52) Parker Organ in 2007 in Pew, and in the restoration of the Frances St. Leger Babcock Memorial Organ in 2000 in Harbison Chapel. He performed many recitals on campus, and played his final “Pomp and Circumstance” at the recent 2017 Commencement. He also mentored a number of organ majors who continued on to notable graduate programs Professor of French Dr. Céline Léon was one of Grove City College’s longest-serving faculty members, beginning her career here in 1970. She taught many French majors who were later accepted into prestigious foreign language programs. Leon is fluent in five languages and regarded as an expert on French existentialism. A well-known author, her research and writing centered on Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Soren Kierkegaard. Her French Léon department newsletter formed many student and alumni connections.

Dr. Timothy Mech retires as a professor of Business/Finance and Entrepreneurship. During his Grove City College career, which began in 1998, he served as an adviser and mentor to the students in the Department of Entrepreneurship’s VentureLab. He also co-founded, with students, Deep Springs International, an organization provide water purification systems to Haitians. He was a contributing scholar to The Center for Vision & Values as well.

Assistant Director of the Grove City College Early Education Center and Instructor in Education Carolyn (Marziale ’73) Patterson joined the College staff in 1998. In directing the Center on campus, she helped to provide hands-on field experience for the College’s many future teachers. The Center, which is housed on the first floor of HAL, has approximately 80 young students in its preschool classes.

Dr. Gary Smith ’72 joined the Department of Sociology in 1978, moving to the Department of History and becoming its chair in 1999. He also coordinated the College’s Humanities Core.

He was named Grove City College’s first Professor of the Year in 2000, and the next year was named Pennsylvania Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. An award-winning author, his publications examine the faith of American presidents; he is a fellow for faith and politics with The Center for Vision & Values. He advised student organizations including Phi Alpha Theta, New Life and Pi Gamma Mu, and was a frequent participant in Faculty Follies.

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2017 marked the 60th anniversary of the College’s All-College Sing.

What year did the first non-Greek group perform and what was that group?

Respond with a correct answer for a chance to win a prize! Three winners will be chosen at random from the correct responses.

Contact the Office of Marketing & Communications at news@gcc.edu or on Twitter @GroveCtyCollege using #popquiz

Winter issue pop quiz winners!

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ongratulations to the winners of last issue’s Pop Quiz: Katherine Wiley ’58 and Joe ’71 and Bonnie ’72 Hood. Readers were asked to identify Protestant Pioneers depicted on the restored Reformation Window in Harbison Chapel. As well as John Calvin and Martin Luther, the window features John Wycliffe, John Knox, John Wesley, Desiderius Erasmu, Ulrich Zwingli, and Philip Melanchthon.

Summer 2017

faculty Franklin’s book is focus of Responsibility Project

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rove City College Assistant Professor of Philosophy Dr. Christopher Franklin’s upcoming book was the subject of a February seminar conducted by a prestigious Swedish research group.

The book – A Minimal Libertarianism: Free Will and the Promise of Reduction – was selected for review and discussion by the Gothenburg Responsibility Project, which brought Franklin and international scholars who studied individual chapters together at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, to talk about his Franklin work. Franklin also delivered a public lecture at the university.

The Gothenburg Responsibility Project is an initiative of the Swedish Research Council and the university that is focused on research into free will, human agency and incapacity, collective responsibility, excuses and mitigation, the implications of neuroscience for human freedom, and responsibility and the normative principles governing practices relating to accountability and punishment.

“I argue that human freedom consists of two dimensions,” said Franklin, whose work focuses on metaphysics, philosophy of action and mind, and philosophy of religion. “The first dimension consists in the powers of reflective self-control: powers to reflect on, evaluate and modify our fundamental desires, aims, or purposes. The second

dimension is the freedom to exercise these powers in variety of different ways.”

“While human biology, social environment, laws of nature, and even God’s providence constrain how humans act, these factors nonetheless leave open a range of alternatives for how humans exercise their powers of reflective self-control,” Franklin said.

The workshop was challenging and rewarding, Franklin said.

“It is rare to have one’s work receive the level of sustained scrutiny the workshop afforded my book manuscript. The scholars who participated in the three-day workshop exemplified the full range of views on the nature of free will and moral responsibility. It was trial by fire,” he said.

The book is slated for publication later this year by Oxford University Press.

Members of the research group are also concerned with more applied aspects, including responsibility and mental illness, business and corporate responsibility, medical ethics, and the political dimension of responsibility as it arises in problems such as immigration, social justice and the environment. The primary aim of the Gothenburg Responsibility Project is “to generate and deliver substantial research contributions on this wide set of problems and issues and to become a leading center for the study of these fundamental problems and concerns in all aspects of human life.”

Powell earns Professor of the Year honor

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r. Scott Powell, professor of marketing in the Department of Business and Finance, said he thought his future was in furniture when his career plans took an unexpected turn more than 20 years ago.

It was the early 1990s and Powell – who had earned a degree in business management from Anderson (Indiana) University and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh – was considering buying the retail furniture company that he was working for. He had also taught a class in sales at a community college and found it an interesting diversion from his expected career path. The next year he visited Grove City College looking for a part time teaching job.

A cold call at Crawford Hall resulted in a job offer, but not for the teaching position Powell was expecting. After some thought and prayer, he agreed to take a job as Assistant Dean of the College and business instructor. “I thought I was going to be a furniture mogul,” he said when he accepted the ODK Professor of the Year award on May 4. “I remember leaving the building, shaking my head, thinking, ‘God, what in the world are you up to? What just happened in there? I don’t know anything about academia,’” Powell said.

Powell also served as assistant to the president of the College from 1991 to 2005, working on special projects and serving as admissions marketing coordinator. In 2005 he joined the faculty full-time. “My path was not a random one, but one that was divinely guided … without me even realizing it. As Proverbs 16:9 says, ‘A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.’”

Powell said he was surprised, honored, and humbled to win the award, which he said “suggests what I am passionate about – teaching marketing from a Christian perspective – is making an impact.” His students agree. College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said Powell’s “incredibly high scores in student evaluations” impressed the selection committee, as did the number of students who identified him as a teacher who is having an impact on their lives.

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Grove City College

White, Christiansen and Reese are top student-athletes

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occer star Jordyn White ’17 picked up the College’s Sportswoman Performer for track. He won the 10,000 meters three times during his of the Year award while cross country/track and field performer career and is an overall 6-time conference champion in track and field.

Daniel Christiansen ’17 and senior soccer player Dale Reese ’17 Last fall, Christiansen earned the conference’s MVP award in shared Sportsman of Year honors. cross country. He earned First Team All-Conference in each of his White, of Mars, Pa., is one of the most decorated players in Grove four seasons and twice earned All-Mideast Region recognition.

City College women’s soccer history.

Christiansen qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships She earned First Team All-PAC honors at defender in each of her as both a junior and a senior. This year, he finished 56th out of 278 final three seasons and helped Grove City record nine shutouts this runners at the national championships in Louisville, Ky. He owns five year while compiling a record of 17 wins, the most in one season in of the top eight times for 8 kilometers in program history. the 25-year history of Grove City women’s soccer.

A four-year starter at midfield for the Grove City men’s soccer team, Offensively, White Reese capped a stellar career ranked second in the by earning PAC Player of the Presidents’ Athletic Year honors last fall. This Conference with a teamseason, Reese recorded 10 leading 10 assists. She goals and nine assists. He earned All-Great Lakes led the conference with six Region honors for the game-winning goals and second consecutive year ranked second in the league after the 2016 season. White in assists. His 10 goals and also earned All-ECAC South 29 total points both ranked recognition after her junior third. and senior seasons. She set Reese also earned a program record by playing All-Great Lakes Region in 90 career matches for the following the 2016 Wolverines. season. He earned AllIn addition to her stellar Conference honors three defensive work, White times, including First concluded her career with Team recognition in 2013 nine goals and 20 assists. and 2016. He helped lead She earned a Business Grove City to a 15-5-1 Management degree in May. College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 is flanked by Sportsman of the Year co-honoree overall record and a berth Dale Reese ’17, left, Sportswoman of the Year honoree Jordyn White ’17, and Sportsman in the ECAC Division III Sportsman of the Year of the Year co-honoree Daniel Christiansen ’17. voters tied up on the men’s Championship Tournament. side, selecting Christiansen, a cross country and track standout Reese finished his career with 28 goals and 19 assists. Reese’s from Frederick, Md., and Reese, of Rock Hill, Conn., a leader on the 75 career points are the fifth-most in program history, and he ranks Wolverine soccer squad. second all-time at the College in career assists and seventh in career Christiansen, who earned a degree in Biblical and Religious goals.A CoSIDA Academic All-District selection this year, Reese Studies, excelled in both cross country and track and field for the earned accounting and finance degrees.

College over the past four years. He earned four letters in each sport Grove City College’s annual athletic award dates back to 1948. In while also cementing his place as one of the top distance runners in 1982, a second award was created so the College could recognize its Grove City history. top male and female athletes. Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board Christiansen capped his career at this spring’s PAC Championships honorary societies sponsor the awards. by winning both 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He set a program record while winning the 10,000 and earned the conference’s Most Valuable

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Summer 2017

sports Lamie new Associate AD

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elissa Lamie, head women’s soccer coach, was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Leadership Development and Senior Women’s Administrator in July.

As associate athletic director, Lamie will support and build upon the strong leadership programs already established within the athletic department while also developing new ways for Lamie student-athletes to become better leaders on and off campus. She will also serve as a mentor and advocate for Grove City’s female athletes and coaches.

“Melissa is uniquely equipped to mentor our student-athletes and coaches in developing the servant leadership we strive to demonstrate in our actions as an athletic department,” Athletic Director Todd Gibson ’02 said.

Lamie, who has led the Wolverines women’s soccer team since 1993, is the alltime winningest women’s soccer coach in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. She has also coached College golf and basketball teams.

Jernstedt to helm lacrosse

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uke University assistant lacrosse coach Alec Jernstedt will serve as the College’s first Head Men’s Lacrosse

Coach.

The College approved lacrosse as an NCAA Division III varsity sport last year. The team’s inaugural season kicks off in March.

“Under Coach Jernstedt, Jernstedt men’s varsity lacrosse at Grove City College will continue in the tradition of faithful sportsmanship and servant leadership that defined it when it was a club program, due in large part to the volunteers and alumni who coached and advised the club,” Gibson added. “We are grateful to Zach Jew ’11 and club Coach Bill Sigmund their work,” Athletic Director Todd Gibson ’02 said.

Emigh steps down as head trainer

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fter 32 years of dedicated service to Grove City College and its athletic department, head athletic trainer Kay Mitchell Emigh stepped down from her position in March due to medical reasons.

Emigh joined the athletic department in 1985 and became head athletic trainer in 1986.

Throughout her career at the College, she worked with thousands of Grove City student-athletes in 22 varsity sports.

“I’ll remember games, record-breaking performances, moments of victory and moments of defeat,” Emigh said. “But what has stood out the most is the relationships I’ve formed. I’ve been able to form lifelong friendships that I will always cherish.”

Prior to Emigh’s arrival in fall 1985, Grove City College did not have an athletic trainer or athletic training program. In her role as head athletic trainer, Emigh had the opportunity to build a program from its infancy.

“Jack Behringer put his faith in a young person to head up a new athletic training program,” Emigh said of Grove City’s athletic director from 1957 to 1996. “Having the opportunity to establish a new program is something that I have always been proud of.”

Long considered one of the top collegiate athletic trainers in the country, Emigh was one of only three athletic trainers to participate in the NCAA Division III Health and Safety Summit in October 2015.

From 2001 to 2004, she served as northwest representative for the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers’ Society Board of Directors. Emigh has also been a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association (EATA) and the College Athletic Trainers Society.

“I have been very fortunate to work with Kay in several roles in Grove City College athletics,” Grove City College Athletic Director Todd Gibson ’02 said. “Kay took care of me as an athlete for four years and she has continued to help me as an assistant coach, head coach and athletic director.

“Kay embodies the College’s values of faithfulness, excellence and love for one another,” Grove City College President Paul J. McNulty ‘80 said. “We deeply appreciate her years of dedication and outstanding service.”

“It’s a hard decision to accept, but it’s the right decision,” Emigh said. “I’ve been able to work with great people at Grove City. It has been great to watch our coaching staff doing what they love while making an impact on young people through sports. Grove City College has always been about relationships, and in the end, relationships with people are what’s important.”

A native of Elizabeth, Pa., Emigh earned her bachelor’s degree at Slippery Rock University in 1983. She then completed her master’s degree at SRU in 1986.

“I want people to remember that I cared about the student-athletes, the coaches, the teams and Grove City College,” Emigh said. “If it was all about wins and losses, there would be no emotions. It’s about the people and that’s what makes it emotional.”

Follow Grove City College Sports on Facebook, Instagram (gcc_wolverines) and Twitter (@GCC_Wolverines)

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Grove City College

The Cost of Independence GROVE CITY COLLEGE VALUES ITS INDEPENDENCE AND INTENDS TO SAFEGUARD THAT BLESSING OF AMERICA’S HERITAGE OF FREEDOM FOR THE FUTURE.

By President Paul J. McNulty ’80 26 | w w w. g c c.e d u t h e G eD ¯ UNK

Summer 2017

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Grove City College

America was a much different place when Isaac Ketler opened his Pine Grove Normal Academy on April 11, 1876. Emerging from the devastation of the Civil War and looking toward the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States numbered 37 rather than 50, and higher education in America was essentially a private enterprise.

The overwhelming majority of colleges in the growing nation had been founded

by Christian denominations, and federal involvement in postsecondary education was limited to providing public lands for state colleges.

However, as the nation expanded and evolved, so too did the federal government’s role in higher education. In time, Dr. Ketler’s educational legacy, Grove City College, would arrive at a fork in the road — would the College submit to federal overreach that could prevent pursuit of its institutional mission, or would it risk significant resources to stand on principle?

The Expansion of Federal Involvement The moment of decision was many years in the making. For a century, Grove City College simply went about the business of providing a high-quality education in a Christian environment at an affordable price, even as the federal government gradually extended its influence over American higher education. Major milestones in this progression included the Second Morrill Act in 1890, through which the United 28 | w w w. g c c.e d u t h e G eD ¯ UNK

States Congress began providing annual subsidies to state land grant institutions, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the G.I. Bill, which provided payments to returning veterans for college tuition and living expenses, and the National Defense Education Act (1958), which in 1958 established a student loan program for students in science, mathematics, engineering, and modern languages in response to the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik. Each of these laws represented significant federal involvement in the American system of higher education, and would set the stage for the wide-ranging Higher Education Act of 1965.

Following on the heels of landmark civil rights and antipoverty legislation, the Higher Education Act advanced President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society domestic policy agenda into the realm of postsecondary education. In addition to providing institutional funding to support libraries, undergraduate teaching, and continuing education programs, Title IV of the bill established Educational Opportunity Grants for low-income students as well as a new subsidized loan program not limited to particular academic disciplines.

Federal support now extended to every postsecondary institution in the country, and increased federal oversight would eventually follow.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Education Amendments, which included Title IX, a prohibition against

discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program that received federal financial assistance. Three years later, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) issued its final regulations regarding Title IX enforcement. Grove City College would soon be pulled into the national spotlight.

Standing on Principle In 1977, Grove City College President Charles S. MacKenzie received a Title IX assurance of compliance form issued

by HEW, which asked him to certify the College’s compliance with all current— and future—federal regulations. Although strongly in support of equal opportunity, MacKenzie viewed the compliance form as a blank check that “would give the federal government jurisdiction over a private college that accepts not one penny of direct federal funding.” Up until that point, Grove City College had operated as a private institution in the tradition reaching back to the founding of America’s earliest colleges, and its long history of educating women was rooted in the conviction that all persons had dignity and deserved equal opportunity, a far more effective motivation than a government mandate. This new federal requirement threatened to render the College’s private status meaningless and alter its fundamental character. Standing up for independent higher education, MacKenzie refused to sign the compliance form, which set in motion a seven-year-long legal dispute with the federal government that would lead all the way to

the United States Supreme Court.

On February 28, 1984, the Supreme Court issued its opinion on Grove City College v. Bell, which found that the Department of Education’s regulatory power extended to programs directly benefiting from federal aid. In response, the College withdrew from all federal student grant programs affected by the case and raised funds to replace the federal grant aid with private dollars. Regulations governing the federal student loan program continued to proliferate over the next decade, and in 1996, Grove City College decided to completely withdraw from all federal financial aid programs. Commenting on the decision, College President John Moore noted that “there is no way to be sure that the government would not add regulations that would strike at the heart of the College’s mission. As a private, Christian college, we have a legitimate concern about federal interference in what we teach and how we teach it. This was the most compelling reason for deciding to withdraw from the program.”

The caretakers of Grove City College have protected its independent status, not as an affront to government, but rather as a safeguard for its institutional mission.

From its founding, the College has existed to teach students from all walks of life about America’s religious, political, and economic heritage, so that they might lead lives of engaged citizenship across a wide range of occupational callings. As cultural and political winds have shifted over the years, Grove City College’s independence has enabled it to pursue this mission without interruption or undue federal interference.

The Challenges of Independence Freedom, however, is never free, and the College’s independence has come at a cost.

Grove City students and faculty members must forgo federal funding opportunities available to their counterparts at other institutions, including Christian liberal arts colleges. For example, Grove City professors cannot qualify for federally funded research grants offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and the Institute of Education Sciences, while students cannot use federal Pell Grant or G.I. Bill funding to pay for a Grove City College education. Through the support of generous donors, the College has built a sizeable endowment to fund student financial aid, and specific funds have been established to support student-faculty research. However, as government spending on American higher education increases, so too does the cost of independence.

Summer 2017 The market decline that accompanied The Great Recession of 2008 negatively affected college endowments nationwide.

Because financial aid at Grove City College is fully-funded by its endowment, the financial downturn resulted in fewer scholarship dollars for incoming students.

Further threatening the College’s competitive position, the Obama Administration increased the maximum Pell Grant award amount and expanded Pell eligibility to more students. Consequently, competitors that enrolled a large percentage of Pell Grant recipients reaped a financial windfall while the College was forced to recruit students with fewer financial aid resources from its endowment.

Through consistent, principled action, Grove City College has become the unquestioned leader in independent Christian higher education, a status with significant benefits — and challenges.

Today, Grove City’s competitors receive a tremendous amount of financial aid from the federal government. For example, roughly 40 percent of students who attend a Christian college receive Pell Grants, and their home institutions receive an average of $3 million each annually in Pell funding alone—an amount equal to 6.25 percent of their annual operating budgets. By accepting federal Pell Grants, these institutions gain access to a reliable revenue stream for need-based student aid that would cost each school an additional $60 million in endowment funding to replace.

Since the Great Recession, Grove City College has made the investments necessary to continue to provide an academically excellent living and learning experience for its students, and the College’s perennially high graduation rates, job placement rates, and national rankings attest to its enduring

quality. However, providing an excellent education at an affordable price has proven more difficult. Although the College has maintained tuition rates at less than half of the national average for four-year private institutions, the net cost of a Grove City College education has increased by more than a third over the past decade.

As a consequence, one hallmark of the College’s identity — the economic diversity of its student body — has declined. In particular, the average family income of Grove City College students increased by 10 percent while the proportion of lowincome students who enrolled at the College remained flat. In contrast, Christian liberal arts colleges that accepted need-based federal financial assistance were able to increase their low-income student enrollment by 40 percent during the same period.

Extending the Legacy Isaac Ketler endeavored to create an academically excellent educational institution that was committed to Christian principles and distinguished by its egalitarian spirit.

Today, the College’s independent status protects its ability to operate according to its historic Christian character, but maintaining an academically excellent educational program that is accessible to students from diverse economic backgrounds will require the financial support of those who believe in the Grove City College ideal.

In less than a decade, the College will celebrate its sesquicentennial anniversary, an occasion for reflection upon the sacrifices and achievements of those who through the years have strengthened and sustained the College ‘mid the pines. In anticipation of that event, the current stewards of Ketler’s educational legacy—alumni, students, faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees — have the opportunity to consider what contribution they will make to ensuring independent Christian higher education will continue to flourish for future generations.

Building the College’s endowment in order to provide more need-based student financial aid must remain a top priority. 

INDEPENDENT HIGHER EDUCATION NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT. To find out how to contribute, please visit www.gcc.edu/giving or call 1-866-386-3422

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Grove City College

MacKenzie Legacy

the

By Nick Hildebrand Editor’s note: Before his death, Dr. MacKenzie collected his thoughts on his years as president of Grove City College in a long essay titled Reminiscences of the HopemanMacKenzie Era at Grove City College (1971-1991) and sat for an interview for the College’s Oral History Project.

This story relies on those and other sources to tell the story of his tenure as the College’s fifth president.

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Charles Sherrard MacKenzie, Grove City College’s fifth president, was recruited by the school’s longtime benefactor and powerful Chairman of the Board J. Howard Pew to strengthen the school’s Christian mission and clean up student social life on campus.

MacKenzie, who died Jan. 26 at the age of 92, did that – and much more during his years as president.

He moved into the paneled president’s office in Crawford Hall in August 1971. By the time he left that chamber in 1991, the College had reclaimed its Christian heritage, the anything-goes party culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s was a dim memory, a groundbreaking core curriculum designed to provide every student with a firm academic foundation was established as a hallmark of

the Grove City College experience and the College was known across the country – and the globe – as a beacon of academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

At a special service in his memory April 29 in Harbison Chapel, MacKenzie was eulogized as the man most responsible for the Grove City College that we know today and one of the College’s greatest leaders.

MacKenzie was born August 24, 1924 in Quincy, Mass. His family, once prosperous, was wiped out by the Great Depression.

Asked what his interests were as a child, MacKenzie simply said: “Survival.”

Advice from a clergyman pushed the young MacKenzie to pursue an education and he secured a scholarship to Boston

University. While wandering the streets of that city one evening, the “mixed-up kid” was drawn to a Baptist church by the music.

“And there in that church that night for the first time in my life I think I heard the Gospel, that Jesus loved me, that he wanted to forgive me my sins, wanted to guide my life. And that evening I mark as probably the night when I made my first commitment to Christ,” he recalled.

MacKenzie dove into his twin passions of the church and education, which included studying theology at Gordon College. A stint in the Navy – where he was a Golden Gloves boxer – interrupted his studies, but he returned to the classroom and graduated from Gordon. MacKenzie, committed to an intellectual exploration of his faith, went onto study and earn advanced degrees at Princeton University and its theological seminary. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister and a leading authority on the French philosopher Blaise Pascal.

He secured a teaching position at Princeton and began pastoring a Presbyterian Church. He followed this pattern in New York City, where he taught at Columbia and served the Broadway Presbyterian Church – which he successfully integrated in the early 1960s – and California, where he joined the faculty of Stanford University and pastored the First Presbyterian Church in San Mateo.

He and his wife Florence were living the good life in the Golden State when a “gruff voice from the past” called out to MacKenzie over the telephone, asking him to consider becoming president of Grove City College.

The call came from Pew, the Philadelphia philanthropist – and member of the class of 1900 – whose family had supported the College since 1895. The scholar/clergyman and the tycoon had formed a friendship more than a decade earlier over “a common love for our Lord and a shared concern over the theological drift of the Presbyterian church,” MacKenzie recalled. Hungry for a new challenge, but uncertain if becoming president of a small liberal arts college was the right one, MacKenzie met with Pew, who asked him: “Are you strong enough to run a college?”

“I was a bit taken aback in that moment.

I was generally considered to be a strong leader. I didn’t realize fully the great strength needed to deal with students, faculty, trustees, the government, alumni, etc., so I

Summer 2017 naively answered, ‘With God’s help, I believe I can,’ ” MacKenzie wrote.

In MacKenzie, Pew saw a suitable and capable heir to the educational legacy he and his family had supported for threequarters of a century, a strong leader and accomplished scholar whose worldview was determined by a deep faith and evangelical understanding of Christian mission and a commitment to American values.

On campus, MacKenzie found the College at odds with itself. On one side was a vocal, some say radical, element of students along with some faculty and administrators who wanted the College to change with the times.

“With God’s help, I believe I can.”

On the other was Pew, a majority of College Trustees and a (not-quite silent) majority of students and their families who only wanted what Grove City College had always promised: An excellent education at an affordable price on a Christ-centered campus.

MacKenzie was squarely in the second camp. In his inaugural address he made it clear that he had “certain convictions about my calling and about the future of this great school.”

The College must rediscover its identity to help students “discover who they are and what they can become,” he said. A Christian college, MacKenzie asserted “should seek that wholeness which is the essence of salvation … Unlike many schools where specialization and secularism have fragmented knowledge, for us all knowledge should be seen as unified and integrated in the revelation of Him is who is the ultimate truth … We have an Omega Point about which all knowledge becomes unified into meaningful wholeness.”

MacKenzie said Grove City College must give priority to learning, strive for excellence in a “relentless, never-ending search for the finest and best curriculum possible” while maintaining a “caring, learning Christoriented community” and look to the future with a “faith perspective which inculcates hope and courage.”

Pew’s death in November 1971 didn’t stop MacKenzie from moving on his patron’s

priorities. Albert Hopeman, Pew’s successor as chairman of the board, became a key partner to the new president and stalwart supporter through the years ahead.

MacKenzie found the College’s challenges weren’t limited to students inclined to party and faculty who weren’t interested in what one professor termed “this God talk.” The College’s curriculum was fragmented and didn’t provide students with a common experience, many classes were less than challenging and the faculty harbored some weak links. The College’s administrative structure was concentrated in the president’s office, which meant MacKenzie’s time and energy was divided and diffused.

In those early years, MacKenzie found hope and support in the students, faculty and staff who shared his vision and calling.

With a faculty committee he helped create the Keystone Curriculum, a set of courses that every student would take to introduce them to the vital concepts, ideas and methodologies of the humanities, social and physical sciences. Infused with a reverence for western civilization, Christianity and civil discourse, the core has evolved over the decades but still reflects the original concept. Thousands of Grove City College students have benefitted from the approach and the classes that make up the core have much to do with the shared worldview that many Grovers hold.

While the core curriculum idea’s value was acknowledged and largely accepted, the College’s attempts to crack down on de-facto off-campus fraternity houses and the culture of the “sinful seventies” weren’t met with unanimous approval.

MacKenzie’s commitment to doing what was right and his adherence to the advice of his predecessor Weir Ketler ’08, the College’s third president and son of founder Isaac Ketler, that it was better to be respected than liked, kept the pressure on. It took more than a decade, but eventually all non-commuter students were required to live in residence halls and now the campus is routinely ranked as one of the nation’s most sober colleges.

A systematic effort to infuse campus life with a Christian spirit through faculty hires, chapel programming, student ministries, admissions and the student life office gained traction in the 1970s. By the end of the MacKenzie era, an evangelical spirit pervaded campus and persists to this day.

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Grove City College

“After further consultation with the Trustees, we decided not to have even one department of the College under federal control. We didn’t want even the nose of the camel in our tent”

Dr. Charles S. MacKenzie, here with his wife Lavonne (Rudolph ’56) MacKenzie, was honored during Homecoming 2015 with the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

The greatest outward challenge the College faced during MacKenzie’s tenure was one that ultimately defined Grove City College for many observers. In 1975 the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare sent a compliance form to all colleges and universities to ensure that they would comply with Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting gender discrimination by any “education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Grove City College had resisted direct federal funding throughout the 1950s and 1960s, funding that many other schools had taken advantage of to grow their campuses and academic programs. It was part of the College’s commitment to independence and self-reliance. But by the 1970s, many students depended on federal grants and loans to cover the cost of their education.

MacKenzie said he was distressed as he read the form, which committed the College to complying with all existing and future government regulations: “It seemed that would be tantamount to turning over control of the College’s future to the federal government.”

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Discrimination was not the issue.

MacKenzie had no problem with women’s rights and he had been a promoter of civil rights in New York and California. The College did not discriminate and had been open to students of all genders, creeds and colors since its founding as a matter of Christian conviction. “… (I)t seemed totally wrong for the federal government to claim control over a successful Christian college which took no federal funds and which did not discriminate. I thought, ‘If the government can take control of such a college, it can effectively control and secularize any Christian institution in America.’ ” After consulting with the trustees and faculty, it was decided that MacKenzie would not sign the form. Initially a few hundred other colleges followed the same path, but a pattern of harassment by the government pressured most to eventually comply. Since the College didn’t take federal money, threats to withhold it had little influence on Grove City College until December 1976, when then-HEW Secretary Joseph Califano announced that the government would

terminate grants to students at schools that hadn’t signed the compliance form.

While the College maintained the grants were direct aid to students and not the College, it came to their defense and, with four students as plaintiffs, sued the federal government. An early victory in Federal Court in Pittsburgh was overturned. It was decided, “with much discussion and prayer,” MacKenzie said, to press on. Over the next few years, as the case wound its way through the federal courts and on to the U.S. Supreme Court, MacKenzie became the public face of the College’s quest to remain independent, appearing in media interviews and articulating the essence of the case to anyone who asked.

“We feel somewhat like David facing Goliath on this issue. Yet because we believe we are right in seeking to maintain our integrity as an independent college, we will continue to reject both government funding and this type of government intervention,” he said.

The College’s stand attracted national media attention and support from varied corners. Conservatives, civil libertarians, editorial boards and columnists backed the fight, with some rooting for a victory over big government, others seeing it as a test of the First Amendment or a statement about educational independence and academic freedom.

In 1981, MacKenzie was consumed by his own “personal Gethsemane.” HIs wife Florence was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Days in the office gave way to nights at home caring for her. “Somehow God gave me the strength to endure,” he wrote. She died on Dec. 8, 1981, a day he described as “one of the hardest of my life.”

Summer 2017

“I am at peace, knowing I did my very best for Grove City College and its Lord ...”

“Yet those bitter days brought me closer to my Lord … More than ever in my life I needed and wanted only Him. In my terrible loneliness and pain, He was with me, reshaping my life and my goals,” MacKenzie wrote.

Work on campus did not abate. During the early 80s, MacKenzie oversaw the construction of new buildings – The Weir C. Ketler Technical Learning Center, Mary Ethel Pew Hall and Phillips Field House – and the renovation of others. The College’s Middle States accreditation was reviewed and myriad other duties of the president consumed MacKenzie’s time. His personal darkness was lifted by the courtship of his second wife Lavonne (Rudolph ’56) Gaiser. They met in 1983 and were married in 1985 in Harbison Chapel by Dr. Richard Morledge ’54.

On Nov. 29, 1983, Grove City College v. T.H. Bell was argued before the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nearly 50 students, MacKenzie and other representatives of the College – all wearing crimson carnations – travelled to Washington for the hearing. In February 1984, a unanimous ruling came down. The court rejected the essence of the College’s argument, but even in concurrence, Justice Lewis F. Powell noted “the independence and admirable record of this College.”

MacKenzie called it a partial loss and a partial victory. The grants were found to be government aid to the institution, but the federal oversight that followed the money would only extended to the office or department that accepted it. In other words, if the College wanted to continue to allow students to receive federal grants, it would have to let the federal government regulate the Financial Aid office.

“After further consultation with the Trustees, we decided not to have even one department of the College under federal control. We didn’t want even the nose of the camel in our tent,” MacKenzie wrote.

The College immediately withdrew from the federal grant program and began a fundraising campaign to help students who would otherwise have used the grants.

By 1996, the College’s position was strong enough to withdraw from the federal student loan program as well, providing today’s students both grants and access to private loans to cover their tuition bills in place of the lost federal assistance.

That Grove City College v. Bell cemented the College’s reputation for independence goes without question. The Court Case put Grove City on the map, MacKenzie said. It drew national attention and the College’s reputation rose with the publicity.

The principles the College stood up for – freedom from government interference and self-sufficiency – resonated as the nation’s political landscape changed in the eighties and nineties. The College became for many synonymous with the conservative thinking that had always been a part of the campus’ culture.

MacKenzie’s final years as president were devoted to bolstering the curriculum, beefing up the College’s administrative structure and improving the campus. Years of work and planning were paying off as the school’s

reputation grew and selectivity increased to the point where there four applicants for every spot on a campus that was much different, physically and spiritually, than it was in 1971.

“Seeds had been planted years before which blossomed in the mid and late 1980s,” MacKenzie wrote. “The College became known far and wide not only for its staunch advocacy of independence and freedom from government but also for its student selectivity and academic strength. Christian moral standards were revived as was evangelical Christian teaching. The historic posture of no indebtedness and low charges was maintained.”

Though he accomplished many of his goals, MacKenzie acknowledged the difficulties of presiding over Grove City College, calling his years on campus “the most painful, lonely and difficult” of his life.

He stayed because “I recognized the College’s incredible potential for greatness. I also felt I had been called to Grove City and was not free to leave until at least some of that potential had been realized …”

In Grove City College, MacKenzie saw an outpost of truth, faith and hope. “Like the monasteries of the Dark Ages, Grove City, if she keeps the light of Christian truth burning in the midst of darkness which has shut down upon today’s world, will make a vast difference in tomorrow’s world,” he wrote soon after his retirement.

“I am at peace, knowing I did my very best for Grove City College and its Lord,” MacKenzie concluded. ”My critics have been many, but I know I did my best. Now judgement is in the hands of God.” 

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Grove City College

“It has been one of the great privileges of my lifetime to serve the school in the best way that I know how to serve. God has provided much for my family and me, and we are blessed to able to return some of those blessings to the College.”

WITH DAVID R. RATHBURN ’79 CHAIR, GROVE CITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

D

avid R. Rathburn ’79, who has been on the College’s Board of Trustees for 25 years and Chair since 2003, has a unique perspective on the cost of Grove City College’s independence.

Rathburn was a student in the 1970s when then-President Charles S. MacKenzie, backed by a Board chaired by Albert Hopeman (who Rathburn later worked for), was restoring the College’s foundational principles and taking a stand against the federal government’s overreach in regulating private colleges and universities. He was a young alum at the beginning of his career when a U.S. Supreme Court case forever changed the reputation of his alma mater from a regional Christian college into a nationally recognized defender of private education and institutional independence.

In 1992 he joined the Board of Trustees and has served and led Grove City College through a period that has seen the College extricate itself from the federal student loan program; establish a robust network of support; become one of the premier Christian colleges in the U.S.; raise half a dozen new structures – including a namesake Christian activities building – and restore as many more; all while thriving in a culture that sometimes seems to hold the College’s values – faithfulness, excellence, community, stewardship and independence – in contempt.

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Summer 2017

Q A

WHY IS INDEPENDENCE SO IMPORTANT AND HOW DO YOU SEE THE COLLEGE CONTINUING TO UPHOLD THIS VALUE? “Independence means that we can be who we want to be, not what someone else, most particularly in a position of federal bureaucracy, deems to be appropriate. We are free to pursue our commitment to building leaders ready for the future in every walk of life. We want to educate men and women of strong moral character who understand God’s calling for their life, and we do so unapologetically. Independence gives us the ability to follow God’s plan for our institution without the interference, opinion, or perspective of those outside of the institution.

Independence is core to who and what we are.

The Board of Trustees is firmly committed to our independence, and we work hard to make sure that even those actions by others that nibble at the edges of our freedom are met with the strength of our convictions.”

Q A

WHAT CHALLENGES DOES MAINTAINING THE COLLEGE’S INDEPENDENCE PRESENT? “The challenges are clear – in this environment of declining demographics and challenging admissions forces, we must recognize that those who feed at the federal trough have some significant advantages over a school that refuses to accept federal money of any kind. They have access to federal loans at preferential rates, to Pell grants, to grants for faculty and institutional grants for research into science, technology, engineering and math. As a result, we must find more and better ways to provide financial assistance to our students. It is understandable that some parents and students look only at the bottom line when making a college choice.

But in doing so, they choose not to consider what we believe are the strong foundational values that a Grove City College education brings, and also our extraordinary job and graduate school placement rate. The vast majority of students that go to college – and their parents – say finding a good job is one of the most important things they will get from their educational experience. Our statistics show that there are few, if any, places better positioned to provide that opportunity than Grove City College.”

Q A

WHAT IS THE COLLEGE DOING ABOUT THOSE CHALLENGES AND WHAT CAN ALUMNI AND FRIENDS DO TO HELP? “We are, of course, working to make sure that our annual budget is as efficient as possible. We have renewed our efforts to raise money for scholarships. The biggest thing that alumni and friends can do is help us in that venue – we simply need to raise

more than $100 million in scholarship money over the next decade or so. That investment by supporters of the College will assure our independence as well as make sure that we can continue to fulfill the mission of generating a new group of moral and ethical leaders each year from our graduating classes.”

Q

WHEN YOU WERE A STUDENT IN THE 1970S WERE YOU AWARE OF THE TECTONIC SHIFT THAT WAS GOING ON AT GROVE CITY COLLEGE? “It would probably be an exaggeration to say I was aware of a “tectonic shift,” but as a member of student government, and in regular conversations with President MacKenzie, I was well aware of the vision and change that Dr. MacKenzie and Mr. Hopeman were bringing to the College. We didn’t always agree on that perspective, but I see more of the wisdom in their actions when I am on this side of my diploma than when I did when I was a brash 20-year-old. The fight they led wasn’t one the College went looking for. It came to us when the federal government said that the money students received in grants and loans gave it a blanket right to regulate what had always been a private, intentionally self-sufficient institution. Our critics say we refuse federal money so that we can discriminate, but the reality is that our history of independence was, and is still, worth preserving. No matter the cost.”

A

Q

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR ROLE AS CHAIRMAN IN RELATION TO THE VISION OF PAST COLLEGE LEADERS LIKE J. HOWARD PEW, DR. MACKENZIE AND MR. HOPEMAN? “I view my job today as Chair as preparing us for the future while preserving all that is good about Grove City College. Each of those men were great leaders in their time, and the college is extraordinarily fortunate to have had them in those positions for such extended time. They built the foundations that I think

A

we sometimes take for granted, but should always be careful to honor. Those foundations, along with the Ketler family’s extraordinary gifts and commitments to the school, are what make us different today – and I mean different in the most positive way.”

AFTER 25 YEARS ON THE BOARD, WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR LEGACY AT GROVE CITY COLLEGE WILL BE? “It has been one of the great privileges of my lifetime to serve the school in the best way that I know how to serve. God has provided much for my family and me, and we are blessed to able to return some of those blessings to the College. I would hope to be viewed as a committed Christian leader who helped the board craft its first ever strategic plan (now on its third iteration); who helped change the manner in which the board engaged with constituents and practiced governance; and who presided over the continued growth in the recognition of God’s calling for our institution. I care deeply about the people and the College, and I hope that my passion for all things Grove City College is apparent in my engagement with the school.”

Q A

David R. Rathburn earned a degree in accounting from the College and went on to work for Price Waterhouse before joining Hopeman Brothers Marine Division of AWH Corp. He worked for the company in various capacities before being named president in 1991 at age 33. He served in that position for 22 years before forming marine interior outfitter US Joiner LLC. He and his wife Jayne sold the company to J.F. Lehman and Co. in 2011 and he now serves as vice chairman of Trident Marine Systems.

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class notes examines what the federal courts have done and why. It is available through Amazon.

1977

KEEP IN TOUCH! We want to keep in touch with you electronically! If you have an email address, or have recently changed your address or work information, make changes through

alumni.gcc.edu/update.

WHOVILLE FRIENDS | Have exciting news? Submit a class note for the magazine and for viewing online at

alumni.gcc.edu/classnote.

Remember to let the alumni office know that you are having a “Grover Gathering!” We’d love to send you some fun “stuff” for your event.

Email alumni@gcc.edu for more information.

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These freshman hall friends, part of the “Whoville” singing and social group, celebrated with classmate Holly Shipman on her Sept. 4, 2016, wedding. All are members of the Class of 2012 and still best friends. In front, from left: Molly DePew and Leah (Huston) Stawicki. Back: Blake Garmon, Holly (Shipman) Garmon, Kristi (Walsh) Norman, Evan Embleton and Jasmine (Fereshetian) Shishmanian.

1949

1973

Gordon Mellish continues to enjoy biblical archaeology and has written two books on the Civil War and one on the birth of Jesus.

Three national organizations and Mellish’s newspaper published the birth article, including creationmoments.com.

Dennis Majewski retired in June 2015 after serving 13 years as director of district services of the Franklin Regional School District in Murrysville, Pa. He previously worked as a project engineer for Westinghouse Electric Corp., where he obtained several patent disclosures on robotic positioning systems, and as engineering manager for Elliott Co. in Jeanette, Pa. In retirement, he will continue his hobby of restoring classic muscle cars.

1970 Dr. Larry Horton, a Christian survivalist author from Katy, Texas, published the first book of The Final Journey trilogy: A Diary of Survival about a Christian couple who begin a new life after a divisive election.

1976 Dean Waldt published a book in January, When the Echo Dies, on the U.S. Supreme Court’s samesex marriage decision. The book

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Patterson was inducted into the Allegheny Valley School District (Pa.) (Springdale High School) Hall of Fame in April for his commitment to lifelong learning and public service. A pastor in the United Methodist Church since 1977, he has led the Erie-Meadville District of the UMC as superintendent since 2011, overseeing 15,000 people in 86 churches. He and his wife, LuAnn, have two sons.

1979 Dr. Michael Donahoe was named to the Best Doctors in Western Pennsylvania in January by the Pittsburgh Business Times. He works at the UPMC Comprehensive Lung Center in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Kathryn Jackson was appointed to the board of Cameco in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, in December. The company is one of the world’s largest uranium producers. She is a corporate director and a former senior vice president and chief technology officer of RTI International Metals.

1984 The Rev. Dr. Michael Staples assumed the interim role of CEO of The Scripture Union/ USA, Valley Forge, Pa. He is the group’s national director of field ministries.

Jim Segerdahl was named global managing partner for the Pittsburgh law firm K&L Gates in March. He is handling day-today leadership of the 2,000-plus lawyer firm.

1987 Ann (Sphon) Nicholson was named “Best IR Professional” in Institutional Investor magazine’s 2017 All-America Executive Team. She is a division vice president, investor relations, with Corning Inc.

1988 Bill Hagenbuch is the author of Jesus Cloned, a novel that tells in a new way how Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. He is the pastor of First Congregational-UCC in Harford, Pa. Jeffrey Mooney and his wife, Melissa Marcario, welcomed son Tyler Joseph on Sept. 2, 2014.

1989 John Henne was inducted into the National Jewelers Retailer Hall of Fame. He is the fourth-generation owner of Henne Jewelers in

Summer 2017 Pittsburgh. Henne is the 2017 single-store independent inductee.

1990 Patty (Brain) Cekella was named a Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Finalist for 2017. She was one of 12 selected from 120,000 teachers across the state. She teaches 7th and 8th grade math at PineRichland Middle School in Gibsonia.

1995 Erin (Hanselman) Abeyta and her husband, Thomas, welcomed daughter Grace Autumn on Oct. 14, 2016. Grace joins siblings Grant, 8, Aubrey, 8, Faith, 4 and Levi, 4.

1996 Dr. David Rice was named to the Best Doctors in Western Pennsylvania in January by the Pittsburgh Business Times. He works with Pulmonary Partners at UPMC Passavant in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Jeffrey Stivason authored a new book, From Inscrutability to Concursus: Benjamin B. Warfield’s Theological Construction of Revelation’s Mode from 1880 to 1915, with P&R Publishing.

Stivason is pastor of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gibsonia, Pa.

1999 Jeremy Sherman and his wife, Alison, welcomed daughter Katelynn Florence on July 6, 2016.

Daniel Smith was promoted to counsel at Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg, LLP, located in Washington, D.C. His practice focuses on international trade and intellectual property litigation. He is a contributing author to the second and third editions of A Lawyer’s Guide to Section 337 Investigations Before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

2000 Jeremy Bowers was promoted to principal at Karpinski Engineering.

He is based at the company’s Akron-Canton, Ohio, office.

Anna Marie (Zambito) and Andrew ’01 Kibler announce the birth of son Luca Pasquale on Nov. 17, 2016. Big brother is Rocco.

Gino Perrotte recently published the book From Student to Professional - An Essential Communication Soft Skills Guide for Aspiring STEM Professionals.

Benjamin Vilkas completed his

doctoral degree at Grand Canyon University in February. His also serves the university as a faculty chair.

2002 Eric Golz is the new women’s soccer coach at the University of Dayton (Ohio). He accepted this position after two seasons as head coach at Illinois State.

Lauren (Neuhart) Norman and her husband, Kevin, welcomed son Greyson Gary on April 23, 2017.

He joins sister Liliana Kristy (Kegg) and Joshua Storms are the parents of son Luke Robert, born Dec. 24, 2016.

2003 Amanda (Dillon) Kintzler and her husband, Steve, welcomed son Benjamin Frank on April 3, 2016.

2005 Aimee (Myers) and Charles ’06 Cotherman welcomed son Benton James on March 21, 2016.

Sisters are Elliana and Anneliese.

Alyssa Dillon completed the Walt Disney World marathon in January. It was her first marathon.

Elizabeth (Congdon) and Jesse ’03 Helms announce the birth of son Owen Charles on Oct. 27, 2016.

TENNESSEE EVENING | NATIONAL PARKS |

Sisters Katie ’11 and Hannah ’12 Tubb joined Jennifer (Senkowski ’07) Smith for July 2016 camping trip through Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, visiting three national parks. Jennifer met Hannah at The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs, where they both teach chemistry. From left: Jen, Katie and Hannah.

In November, Allan ’80 and Paula (Hoffman ’80) Beck hosted an evening for alumni living in Tellico Village outside of Knoxville, Tenn. From left: Marcia (Sabol ’61) Bachura, Richard Knight ’64, Linda (Neuman ’64) Knight, Earle Boyer ’56, Barb (Davies ’55) Boyer, Ed Ziobro ’59, Sue (Griffin ’63) Hall, Bill “Meadowlark” Lemon ’65, Alyce (Anderson ’63) Anthony, Perry Anthony ’63, Paula and Alan Beck.

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’66 CHIX |

These self-named ’66 Chix met for lunch in March at MiraMare Restaurant in Naples, Fla. From left: Gail (Holmgren) Hunter, Barbara (Studley) Burdette, Sherry (Mizer) Hardgrove, Louise (Luther) Classen, Pennie (Martin) Clifford and Sandy (McCracken) Gurgovits.

ALUMNI ALOHA |

From left, Tom Montgomery ’71, Connie (Farren ’71) Montgomery, Barb (Edwards ’68) Bancroft, Brian Bancroft ’68, Betty McMillan and Dick McMillan ’69, enjoy a Grover/Epsilon Pi reunion in Kauai, Hawaii, in October 2016.

FOOD TOUR |

These Sigma Theta Chi sisters completed a food tour in downtown Asheville, N.C. From left: Sue (Kerman ’73) Hitchcock, Mimi (Zargo ’73) Shiveley, Martha (Penar ’74) Drobnak, Leslie (Andrews ’73) Bartok, Sandee (Smith ’73) Leibson and Wendy Cardell ’73.

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Charlie Hildbold and Carolann Wentz were married Dec. 28, 2016, in Jennerstown, Pa. They make their home in Addison, Texas.

Sonja (Berglund) and Mark Ingram welcomed daughter Lyndi Faith on Dec. 12, 2015. She joins siblings Adelaide, Asher and Levi.

Malinda (Heist) and Nicola ’01 Vitiello announce the birth of son Michael Benjamin on Jan. 27, 2017.

2006 Richard Ernst and his wife, Rachel, announce the birth of twins, John Richard and Winfield Isaac, on Aug. 22, 2016.

Becky (Codner) Glasser and her husband, Kevin, welcomed daughter Mia Catherine on Dec. 21, 2016.

Beth (Grant) and Adam ’05 Loretto announce the birth of daughter Eleanor Ruth on April 2, 2017.

Daniella (Cosentino) Smith and her husband, Josh, are the parents of son Andrew Michael, born Nov. 1, 2016.

Lindsey (Inman) and Peter ’07 Swift welcomed son Isaac David on April 12, 2016. He joins twin sisters Audrey and Nora.

2007 Christopher Aitken and his wife, Jennifer, announce the birth of daughter Annabelle Sara on Jan. 29, 2017.

Lauren Gallo married Richard Lucian on Dec. 4, 2015, in Portsmouth, Va. Lauren and Rick now reside in northern Virginia.

Rebecca (Warner) and Erik Johnson are the parents of daughter Rachel Elizabeth, born Sept. 27, 2015.

Stephanie (Warner) and Alex ’08 Linn announce the birth of son Jacob Alex on Sept. 22, 2015.

Kevin McGuire and his wife, Rachel, welcomed daughter Catherine Gloria on Dec. 28, 2016.

Jonny Priano and his wife, Ashley, announce the birth of son Luca Anthony on Dec. 3, 2016.

Leah (Ayers) and Andy ’06 Stapleton welcomed son Theodore Ransom “Teddy” on May 4, 2017.

He joins sisters Ida and Amy at home in Mason, Ohio, where Andy is a faculty member at Mars Hill Christian Academy.

Claire (Hewett) State and her husband, Kyle, are the parents of daughter Ruby Hewett, born Nov. 1, 2016.

Katelyn (Kettering) and Andrew ’06 Struthers welcomed son Nathan Adam on July 21, 2015.

He joins brother Jordan, 3.

Jana Volante Walshak was named to the board of directors of Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. She is an associate with Fox Rothschild LLP.

2008 Cassandra (Cisek) Doggrell was promoted to principal of Haine Middle School in Cranberry Township, Pa. Rochelle (Ritchey) Kennedy and her husband, Micah, began a ministry podcast “Better Together Podcast – A Christian Marriage and Family Show” and website www.micahandrochelle.com to encourage healthy, Christ-centered marriages and families.

Caitlyn (Crawshaw) and Taylor ’07 McCown welcomed son Caleb Richard on March 12, 2016. He joins brother Judah.

Jan (Henricks) and Chris ’09 Vermilya announce the birth of son Tucker Christopher on Dec. 28, 2016.

2009 Laura (Heim) and Mike ’07 Carlson welcomed son Benjamin on Jan. 14, 2017.

Kelly (Anderson) and Tucker ’10 Gregg welcomed daughter Cora Lynne on Jan. 2, 2017. Big brother is Tag. Rebekah (Collipp) Lang and her husband, Ross, are the parents of daughter Penelope Jane, born March 28, 2017.

Tamara (Nations) McIntire and her husband, Micah, welcomed twin daughters, Madison and McKinley, on March 12, 2017.

2010

Summer 2017

Gray MacKenzie and his wife, Julie, welcomed son Bennett Nathaniel on Nov. 19, 2016.

Faith (Beitler) and Benjamin ’09 Mahtani welcomed son Israel Xane on April 22, 2016.

Sadie (Hogan) and Timothy ‘12 Steffens announce the birth of son Elliot Isaac on Oct. 13, 2016.

Hannah (Moffett) and Zachary ’10 Wilson are the parents of son Judah Matthew, born April 22, 2016.

Selah Grace on March 17, 2016.

Kate (Schaffner) and Zach Mills announce the birth of daughter Maeve Virginia on June 15, 2016.

Claire (Haines) Rikard graduated from The University of Tennessee College of Medicine on May 26, 2017. She continues on to a three-year residency in pediatrics at the University of Tennessee/Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, where she lives with her husband, Will. She says that during her four years at UT, there were six GCC alumni in medical school with her.

2012

2015

Julie (Strickland) and Ian ’12 Harrold announce the birth of daughter Eliza Rose on Dec. 1, 2016.

2011

Laura (Hermesmann) and Joel Bretheim welcomed son Owen Zachary on Oct. 17, 2016.

Brianna (Cavanaugh) and Brandon ’13 Jones announce the birth of son William Matthew on Dec. 17, 2016.

Brent Ulreich was named a financial adviser at HefrenTillotson Inc.

2013 Caleb Koch and his wife, Faith, announce the birth of daughter

STEWART DEDICATION | Jan (Hosler ’74) Stewart, right, threw out the first pitch at Greensburg Salem High School’s home opener in March after the new scoreboard was named in her late husband’s honor. James Stewart ’72 passed away Oct. 2, 2015, after more than 40 years of coaching in Greensburg, Pa. Wearing Jim’s Greensburg Salem jackets are, from left, Karen (Weinstein ’75) Hopper, Chris Smith ’72 and Jan Stewart.

CHRISTMAS COUSINS |

Pictured are the children of Ron ’96 and Sarah (Otto ’97) Lang; Andy ’97 and Laura (Otto ’98) Gaydos; and Bonnie and Jeremiah ’03 Otto.

Ashley (Lindow) and Michael ’14 Miller announce the birth of daughter Magnolia Faye on Nov. 16, 2016.

2017 Elisabeth Kruizenga and Jacob Schumaker ’16 were married Dec. 30, 2016.

The couple now lives in Michigan.

SKIING UTAH |

Eight Grovers spent a week in March carving it up on the slopes at Park City, Deer Valley and the Canyons, Utah. From left: Ken Gritzan ’81, Nancy Foster ’91, Jenny (Friend ’83) Jamison, Tim Jamison ’82, Gene Nowak ’81, Sue (Shields ’81) Nowak, Bill Rogers ’81 and Louise (Joseph ’81) Rogers.

DEEP CREEK EL ED LADIES | Class of 2005 elementary education majors celebrated friendships during their 5th annual Deep Creek (Md.) GCC EL ED girls’ weekend.

Front row, from left: Jenn (Hicks) Hughes and Rachel (Throckmorton) Reedy. Back row: Megan (Schleiden) Simmons, Elaine (Rodemoyer) Aretz, Erin Smith, and Nicole (Leasure) Bull.

GROWING FRIENDSHIPS |

These 2005 classmates reunited in February 17 at Buck’s Peak Cabin in Luray, Va. They say that since graduation, they’ve added nine wives, one fiancée and 25 kids.

Enjoying the fellowship were, Row 1, from left: Andrew Hollands, David Lindemann, Steve Bradbury, Bryce Anderson, JK Park and Kris Marshall. Row 2: Chris Schwartz, Jonny Norman, Dan Hedgecock, Jeff Mohrman and Sam Richard.

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Grove City College

in memory The Grove City College Alumni Association places a book in Henry Buhl Library in memory of each alumnus for whom the Office of Alumni and College Relations receives written notification of death, including a copy of the obituary. This pays tribute to the lives of deceased alumni while benefitting current and future students.

To notify the Office of Alumni and College Relations of the passing of a loved one, please send an obituary to alumni@gcc.edu.

Helen (Carper) Smouse ’38 died April 30, 2017. A Bedford Pa., resident, she taught in three schools, directed her church choir and played piano and organ. Surviving are two children, four grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Mary Elizabeth “Betty” (Whitesell) Garoutte ’40 died Jan. 5, 2017. She led many civic groups while living in North San Gabriel, Calif.

Surviving are four children, six grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren.

Jean A. MacKinney ’40 died Dec. 21, 2016. She retired as head librarian at Mount Lebanon (Pa.) Senior High School. Recently, she lived in Thomasville, Ga. Mildred (Lester) Carroll ’41 died Oct. 22, 2016. She taught, then she and her pastor husband served churches across the country. A music lover, she formed and directed youth and adult choirs and orchestras. Surviving are three children, six grandchildren and a sister.

Arlene (Mathews) Kaufman ’41 died Feb. 20, 2017. She enjoyed travel and golfed until age 95. Surviving are two children, including Dennis Kaufman ’69, five grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.

Linda “DeDe” (Byers) Feightner ’43 died Jan. 27, 2017.

Living in Greensburg, Pa., she served on the library board and hospital auxiliary. She is survived by three children,

4 0 | w w w. g c c.e d u t h e G eD ¯ UNK

five grandchildren, a greatgranddaughter and a sister.

11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

Jack C. Ferver ’44 died Jan. 2, 2017. He retired from the University of Wisconsin – Madison as an emeritus professor in education. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and published three books. Five children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren survive.

Virginia (Schutt) Freeman ’47 died Dec. 24, 2016. Her home was in Webster, N.Y., where she taught piano and organ, directed music for the Webster Theatre Guild, and was a church organist. Surviving are three children, five grandchildren and a great-grandson.

Maxine (Templeton) Gill ’44 died April 22, 2017.

She taught for 20 years in South Bend, Ind., then in Kalamazoo, Mich., until retirement. Survivors include two children, three grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren.

Shirley (Oberman) Barnhart ’45 died Dec. 23, 2016. A lifelong resident of Chester, W.Va., she was a former city clerk, legal assistant, civic leader, and member of the town’s Hall of Fame. Surviving are two children, a grandson and two great-granddaughters.

Lois (Hanna) Abbey ’46 died June 14, 2016. She worked as a nurse before raising her family in Bradford, Pa. Survivors include four children and nine grandchildren.

Dorothy (Karper) Aderton ’46 died May 14, 2017.

A longtime resident of Lynchburg, Va., she was a homemaker and taught kindergarten for 15 years. She enjoyed singing in choirs and traveling. Survivors include her husband, Victor, five children,

Lee S. Robertson ’47 died Jan. 9, 2017. An Army and Air Force veteran of World War II, he lived in Zelienople, Pa., and retired from a sales career with Shenango, Inc. He was an active church member and appeared on the cover of the Spring 2015 issue of The GeDUNK. Surviving are his wife, Jean (McIntyre ’50) Robertson, three children, seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

D. Kendall Thorne ’47 died Feb. 27, 2017. He was a veteran and was living in Cherry Hill, N.J. Survivors include son David Thorne ’73.

Kathryn M. Urey ’47 died Dec. 4, 2016. She retired in 1982 from the Grove City Area School District’s business office. She helped with the children of her church.

Surviving are two nieces.

Marian (Patton) Bentel ’48 died April 7, 2017. She was a homemaker, Sunday school teacher, and school volunteer in Meadville, Pa. Surviving

are her husband, Charles, a daughter and a granddaughter.

Robert R. Esler ’48 died Jan. 30, 2017. He worked for PPG for 32 years, retiring as director of compensation and benefits. The Army veteran was a church trustee and an avid gardener. Surviving are his wife, Virginia “Teddy,” two daughters, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Stewart A. Himes ’48 died Feb. 2, 2017. He was a World War II Navy veteran living in Amelia, Ohio. Survivors include his wife, Betty, two daughters, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Donald M. Bergreen ’49 died April 10, 2017. The World War II Army veteran owned and operated Hunter Insurance Agency in Olean, N.Y., for 33 years. A ham radio enthusiast, he served the United Way, YMCA, school board and his church.

Surviving are two daughters, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Marilyn (Weaver) Bissel ’49 died April 17, 2017. A fourterm member of the North Carolina General Assembly, she represented Mecklenburg County and served as a district court judge for 12 years.

She earned a Juris Doctorate in 1980 and practiced law in Charlotte, N.C. Surviving are three daughters, three grandchildren and a greatgrandchild.

G. Elaine (Myers) Flinn ’49 died Jan. 12, 2017. She lived in Fort Myers, Fla., after the family resided in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Colorado. She was active in her churches. Survivors include her husband Richard Flinn ’50 and four children.

Dorothy (Fitzgerald) Daubenspeck ’50 died Jan. 5, 2017. She lived in Grove City,

Summer 2017 where she had been a teacher, homemaker, and active church member. Surviving are her husband, Paul, five children, 10 grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren and a sister.

H. David Whieldon ’50 died March 22, 2017. An Air Force veteran of the Korean War, he lived in Emerson, N.J., and worked as a writer and senior editor. He was active in the Revolutionary War Roundtable and the historical society. A brother survives.

James R. “Russ” Wylie ’50 died May 6, 2017. He owned and managed three golf courses, including Lindenwood in Canonsburg, Pa. He was an active community member and a 50-year Rotarian in McMurray. Surviving are his wife, Marilyn, a son, three granddaughters and three great-grandsons.

John O. Heyser ’51 died Feb. 22, 2017. After Army service, he began a 33-year accounting career with Reynolds Metals.

He lived in Richmond, Va. Two children and two granddaughters survive.

Dorothy (Pelz) Paxton ’51 died April 9, 2016. Three children and two grandchildren survive.

Robert G. Poppleton ’51 died March 8, 2017. He is survived by wife Gertrude (Shogren ’53) Poppleton and a son.

Eleanor (Coleman) Bixby ’52 died Dec. 26, 2016. She worked in medical technology at Kettering (Ohio) Medical Center until retirement.

Survivors include her daughter, two grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

Nancie (Hunter) Concato ’52 died Nov. 22, 2016. She had a catering career and helped her family to build and operate Six Oaks Restaurant in Blairsville, Ga. She was active

in church activities and loved to knit. Surviving are three children and a grandson.

Rose (Hagen) Cory ’52 died April 11, 2017. After working for several florists, she worked in Allegheny College’s library for 17 years. She lived in Meadville, Pa., taught piano and loved animals. Survivors include three children.

Frances (Spang) Fetterolf ’52 died April 20, 2017. Living in Sewickley, Pa., she worked as executive assistant to the president of Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation and was deeply committed to community service, especially for youth. She was board chair for Saltworks, Pittsburgh; served on her church vestry; and with her husband, the late C. Fred Fetterolf ’52, nurtured Imani Christian Academy.

Surviving are two children, five grandchildren, a greatgrandchild and a sister.

Robert A. Mousseau ’52 died Feb. 5, 2017. The World War II Army veteran taught high school physics and mathematics and co-authored a related book. He coached four sports and sang in several choirs. Survivors include his wife, Betty, two children, four grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.

Thomas E. Rahe ’52 died Dec. 7, 2016. An Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War, he worked for John Motter Printing Company of York, Pa., designing printing presses. He was a life member of the fire company and a ski instructor for Special Olympics. Surviving are his wife, Mary Jane, four daughters and five grandchildren.

The Rev. Dr. Wayne W. Allen ’54 died April 23, 2017. He pastored three Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania and

held executive positions with the Synod of the Trinity. He was involved with Boy Scouts, Rotary, and recently lived in Mechanicsburg, PA. Survivors include his wife Lillian “Sandy” (Rodgers ’52) Allen, three children, three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and a brother.

Jane (Wertman) Carlson ’54 died Jan. 4, 2017. She taught high school math both in the United States and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Recently, she lived in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Survivors include three sons and seven grandchildren.

Robert F. Hartung ’54 died Feb. 27, 2017. He worked in the import/export business and loved to travel. An outdoorsman, he lived in Laramie, Wyo. Survivors include his brother.

Dr. Donald D. Neish Jr. ’54 died Jan. 21, 2017. A former Army surgeon, he held several academic appointments before focusing on his private practice in internal medicine.

He was medical director at nursing homes. He lived in Atlanta and played saxophone in various bands. Surviving are his wife, Florence, four children and seven grandchildren.

Dr. Sally (Friesell) Porterfield ’54 died Jan. 18, 2017. After teaching in public schools, she was director of theater arts at the University of Hartford (Conn). She sang, acted and was president of the Simsbury Light Opera Company.

Surviving are her husband, Dean, three children, seven grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren and a sister.

Kathryn (Haritos) Forrest ’55 died Feb. 10, 2017. She taught high school and middle school and was a volunteer docent for the Smithsonian Institution. She retired to t h e G eD ¯ UNK w w w. g c c.e d u | 41

Grove City College Williamsburg, Va. Surviving are her husband, John, two children, two grandsons and a sister.

Donald R. Johnston ’55 died January 16, 2017. He studied environmental health at Research Triangle Institute, also working for the U.S. Public Health Service and North Carolina State University.

An Army veteran, he was an avid reader and enjoyed American history. He lived in Raleigh, N.C. Surviving are his wife, Shirley (Bissonette ’55) Johnston, two sons, grandchildren and a sister.

Martha (Sterrett) Kreiling ’55 died Jan. 12, 2017. She was a development officer with the Presbyterian Foundation, who retired to Tuscon, Ariz., then Boise, Idaho. She loved opera and played flute with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra. Survivors include her husband, Sam, two children, two grandchildren and two brothers, including James Sterrett ’55.

Richard A. Greco ’56 died March 8, 2017. After Army service, he began a career in sales of construction and mining equipment. He lived in Pittsburgh and loved sports. Surviving are his wife, Diane (Carr ’59) Greco, three children, a brother and six grandchildren. Memorial gifts can be made to Grove City College.

Montreal, Paris, and Ellwood City, Pa. She loved the arts, people and travel. Surviving are her husband, Remi; five children, including Joelle Planche-Ryan ’85; and seven grandchildren.

Barbara (Polley) Schrader ’57 died March 17, 2017. She taught business subjects in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey high schools and recently lived in Berlin Center, Ohio. She loved singing, the ocean and did notable crossstitching. Surviving are a son, five grandsons, six greatgrandchildren and two sisters.

Barbara (Peterson) Phillips ’58 died March 23, 2017.

She lived in Jamestown, N.Y., and was a talented artist and cook. Surviving are three daughters, eight grandchildren and a sister.

Jean (Kettering) Wright ’58 died April 8, 2017. She lived in Pittsburgh, was a homemaker, a 50-year member of the South Hills Chorale and loved to travel. Survivors include two children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and a sister William M. Elliott ’59 died Dec. 16, 2016. An Army veteran of the Korean War, he was an electrical engineer. He lived in Oil City, Pa., and his survivors include wife Beverly.

Elizabeth (Lengel) Kuehnle ’56 died Dec. 27, 2016.

She taught both French and Latin, and helped to start D&L Manufacturing in Madison, Ohio. She enjoyed raising sheep. Surviving are her husband, Richard, two children and three grandchildren.

Thomas R. Minshull ’59 died March 11, 2017. An Air Force veteran, he worked in mechanical engineering for Joy Manufacturing, Greenville Steel Car Co., and Trinity Industries. He lived in Sharon, Pa., was a 50-year Mason and enjoyed woodworking.

Survivors include his wife, Audine, two children, a grandson and a brother.

Bonnie (Wallace) Planche ’56 died May 5, 2017. She taught both English and French, and with her family lived in

Susan (Kerber) Shearer ’59 died Jan. 28, 2017. She worked in schools, churches and community organizations,

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and aided her husband’s work as a Presbyterian minister.

She sang with choirs and for special events, and recently lived in Fairborn, Ohio, Surviving are her husband, Robert Shearer ’59, three children and three grandchildren.

Robert B. Hetzler ’60 died Dec. 5, 2016. He was a mechanical and design engineer holding several patents. He had worked for Chicago Pneumatic, REICHdrill and Douglas Drill Service. He lived in Emlenton, Pa., and operated a family farm. Survivors include his wife, Yvonne, five children, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and two siblings.

Robert M. Adams ’61 died Jan. 20, 2017. A Navy veteran, he was a lifelong Grove City resident and retired from a commonwealth career. Two siblings survive.

Terrell R. Atwell ’61 died May 7, 2017. He had a 25-year career at the Brockway (Pa.) Glass Company, followed by working as business manager of the Brockway Area School District. He served the Army in Korea and was a long-time church treasurer. Surviving are his wife, Martha, three children, seven grandchildren and five siblings.

Rudy A. Orman ’61 died Jan. 19, 2016. He lived in Florida and is survived by two children, a sister and five grandchildren.

Patricia (Jordan) Knapp ’62 died Jan. 26, 2017. She lived in St. Petersburg, Fla., and survivors include her husband, Don, and two children.

James S. Catalano ’63 died Dec. 6, 2016. In Monterey, Calif., he worked with Firestone Tire & Rubber

Co., the Pebble Beach Co., and was a tour guide. He was active in dog obedience training. His wife, Carol, survives.

John B. Bair ’64 died Aug. 21, 2016. He lived in Crossville, Tenn., and was retired from many years as a quality engineer with Illinois Power.

He was a Vietnam War Army veteran and a Habitat for Humanity volunteer. Surviving are his wife, Heather (Campbell ’64) Bair, two sons, a sister and two grandchildren.

John A. Arnett ’65 died Dec. 7, 2016. He worked in marketing for The Kansas City Star and other newspapers. He later owned and operated a nursery in New York state. Surviving are two children and six grandchildren.

Maj. Richard C. Hague Jr. ’65 died Jan. 7, 2017. He resided in Tucson, Ariz.

The Rev. Thomas R. Stout ’66 died Dec. 2, 2016.

Before retirement, he served pastorates in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware. Currently, he was parish associate at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Del. Surviving are his wife, Nancy, three children, three granddaughters and two siblings.

W. Barry Wasson ’66 died April 22, 2017. He lived in Basehor, Kan., and had a career in the insurance industry. Surviving are his wife, Margaret, four children, five grandsons, his mother and a brother.

David B. Eakin ’68 died March 3, 2017. An Army veteran, he taught high school English in New Jersey then started the David the Village Sweep chimney sweeping business, which he ran with his family.

Surviving are his wife,

Teresita (Quinto ’69) Eakin, two daughters and three grandchildren.

Barbara (Northeimer) Fish ’68 died Dec. 14, 2016. Living in Parkersburg, W.Va., she raised her family and led many community and church organizations. She served a term on the W.Va. State Board of Education, co-authored a book, and received honors for her work in health and wellness. Surviving are her husband, Bob, two sons and her brother.

M. Joanne (Mottern) Shively ’68 died Feb. 2, 2017. She taught piano and keyboard for 40 years and helped the Punxsutawney (Pa.) Area Historical & Genealogical Society. Surviving are her husband, Thomas, two children, two grandchildren and a brother.

J. David Bartholomew ’69 died May 27, 2017. A Marine, he served two tours in Vietnam.

He worked professionally in skiing and golf, including as head instructor at the Wintergreen Golf Academy in Virginia. Survivors include his wife, Sally, and a brother.

Maj. Daniel K. Carnes ’69 died Dec. 31, 2016. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, retiring in 1989. Most recently, he lived in Rapid City, S.D. Survivors include his wife, Karen.

Judith (Keller) McAlarnen ’69 died Dec. 23, 2016. She lived in Ocean View, N.J., and taught English and social studies for 27 years at Harbor Elementary School. Surviving are her husband, Raymond, four children and three grandchildren.

Michael J. Murphy ’69 died June 14, 2017. A chemical engineer, he worked with DuPont and Fiber Industries

Summer 2017 before retiring. He lived in Salisbury, N.C., and enjoyed gardening. Survivors include his wife, Pamela; a daughter; and sisters Diane (Murphy ’70) George and Judy (Murphy ’71) Gray.

James A. Etzel ’70 died May 25, 2017. A Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, he taught science in Oil City and Warren, Pa. Changing careers, he worked as a stockbroker and investment banker. He also was a tactics instructor for the Marines at Quantico, Va., president of the Oil City Boat Club, and an avid golfer.

Survivors include his wife, Judith (Olmes ’70) Etzel, a son and two granddaughters.

Janet (Williamson) Bliss ’71 died April 11, 2017. She worked as a chemist at Valspar Corporation for 38 years. The Pittsburgh resident loved to travel. Survivors include two siblings.

Alexander S. McCurdy ’72 died Jan. 27, 2017. Living in Greenville, Pa., he worked at the family business, S.S. McCurdy Jewelry and Sporting Goods, then retired as a clinical manager from George Junior Republic, Grove City.

He liked hunting and golfing.

Survivors include three children, five grandchildren, his mother and two siblings.

Roberta (Hornfeck) Tritch ’72 died March 14, 2017.

She was a business teacher and guidance counselor at Mars (Pa.) High School until retirement. She loved theater.

Surviving are her husband, Timothy, two sons, four grandchildren and a sister.

The Rev. Robert D. Hopper ’73 died June 12, 2017.

He served as a pastor for 39 years throughout the U.S. and worked with an orphanage in Bryansk, Russia. He also was a master firearms

instructor. Survivors include his wife Tacey (Keller ’73) Hopper, three children, eight grandchildren and a sister.

Jacquelyn (Jett) Norine ’73 died Dec. 7, 2016. After working at a law firm and with the NRA as chief of staff, she began a real estate career.

Most recently, she lived in and enjoyed her Myrtle Beach, S.C., community. Surviving are two stepchildren, four grandchildren and a brother.

Lance A. Marguglio ’74 died Nov. 30, 2016. He lived in Strongsville, Ohio, and is survived by wife Linda (Keller ’75) Marguglio, two sons, his mother and two siblings.

David A. Yurkutat ’74 died in September 2015. He had lived in the San Jose, Calif., area for 30 years.

Robert B. Gallagher ’75 died Feb. 16, 2017. He was an Army Green Beret during the Vietnam War and worked in manufacturing management, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Lou, and his sister.

Dr. Arlene (Brown) Townsend ’75 of Villanova, Pa., died March 16, 2017. Her life of adventure included medical missions in Asia, Africa and Central/South America and she was active in Bible teaching at Church of the Saviour in Wayne, Pa. She is survived by her husband, Ray, four children and eight grandchildren.

Douglas R. Meek ’76 died March 26, 2017. He worked for Magnatech Industrial Services and later City Mechanical in Youngstown, Ohio, for 20 years. He was an avid bowler. Surviving are his mother and a brother.

William W. Menzies ’79 died May 20, 2017. The Johnson City, N.Y., resident first worked

as a realtor, then joined Maines paper and Food for 20 years. He loved golf and chess. Survivors include his wife, Ginger and a son.

James R. Reader ’82 died Dec. 23, 2016. He was living in Pittsburgh, Pa., and is survived by his mother and sister.

Ann Marie (Moffitt) Hartle ’84 died Dec. 28, 2016. She lived in Murfreesboro, TN., and worked in finance for Nissan North America. She volunteered with church children’s ministries and liked the outdoors. Surviving are her husband, Robert; daughter Rochelle (Ritchey ’08) Kennedy; three grandchildren; her parents and seven siblings, including Steven Moffitt ’81.

Alexander G. Hutnik ’85 died Feb. 16, 2017. He worked in the hospitality industry, opened two silk-screening shops and made wine. He also was a golf instructor and coach, most recently living in Napa, Calif. Survivors include his wife, Lou Wellah, and two daughters.

Amy (Fredley) Shuffler ’88 died Feb. 12, 2017. She lived in Charlotte, N.C., for the past 26 years, teaching elementary music for many of those years in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District. She was her church pianist. Survivors include two children, her mother and four siblings.

Nathan L. Berry ’04 died April 11, 2017. He was attending UC Berkeley Law School with a projected graduation date of May 2018. Previously, he was a cryptologic linguist for the U.S. Army and a defense analyst for a military contractor in South Korea.

Surviving are his wife, Yeonsil, and his parents.

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Grove City College

alumni babies Justus Aldrich Born 10-7-15 Stephanie (McNeill ’11) and Matthew ’11 Aldrich

Owen Zachary Bretheim Born 10-17-16 Laura (Hermesmann ’12) and Joel ’12 Bretheim

Grady Christopher Frengel Born 10-15-14 Ellie (Smith ’03) and James ’02 Frengel

Elliya Jean and Mark Steven Gibbs Born 9-28-15 and 4-15-17 Sandra (Kraynik ’14) and Christopher ’14 Gibbs

Rachel Elizabeth Johnson Born 9-27-15 Rebecca (Warner ’07) and Erik ’07 Johnson

Caleb Joseph Wayne Jones Born 12-14-15 Kendra and Daniel ’02 Jones

Colin Anthony Keith Born 1-5-16 Nicky (Lipartito ’08) and Nathaniel Keith

Luca Pasquale Kibler Born 11-17-16 Anna Marie (Zambito ’00) and Andrew ’01 Kibler

Benjamin Frank Kintzler Born 4-3-16 Amanda (Dillon ’03) and Steve Kintzler

Winfield Thomas Kruse Born 5-25-15 Lauren (Thomas ’12) and Derek ’10 Kruse

Benjamin Walter Kumpar Born 7-6-16 Julie (Covert ’00) and Matt Kumpar

Noah John Landis Born 5-16-15 Emily and Shane ’10 Landis

CONGRATULATIONS NEW PARENTS! Grove City College welcomes your new bundle of joy. We want to send your newborn a Grove City College T-shirt.

So between the feedings and late-night lullabies, be sure to send the Office of Alumni and College Relations your child’s name and date of birth. Shirts are available only in infant size.

Due to the popularity of the Alumni Babies feature, photos will be limited to babies under the age of 3 in Grove City College shirts only. Digital photos must be high resolution, 300 dpi. Please do not embed photos in the body of an email message, but rather attach a high-resolution image.

Submit photos at alumni.gcc.edu/babyshirt or email to alumni@gcc.edu. You can also mail pictures to: Office of Alumni and College Relations, Alumni Babies, 100 Campus Drive, Grove City, Pa., 16127.

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Summer 2017

Caroline Susan Lipinski Born 2-25-16 Laura Metz-Crothers ’94 and John Lipinski

Tyler Joseph Mooney Born 9-2-14 Jeff Mooney ’88 and Melissa Marcario

Kayla Morgan Born 3-4-16 Holly (Fleischman ’07) and Michael ’07 Morgan

Ethan Wade Nye Born 11-8-13 Corrie (Lindey ’00) and Kevin Nye

Grant Harrison Parker Born 10-4-16 Sarah (Schroeder ’05) and Joseph Parker

Luca Anthony Priano Born 12-3-16 Ashley and Jonny ’07 Priano

Charlotte Priester Born 3-22-16 Marlena (Breitenstein ’14) and Jacob ’12 Priester

Liam Reese Born 12-28-15 Kelly (Beisel ’07) and Brandon Reese

Elias Steven Saba Born 3-9-17 Abigail (McCloy ’05) and Fadi Saba

Elisha Owen Stahl Born 10-5-14 Mandie (Becker ’08) and Ben ’08 Stahl

Luke Robert Storms Born 12-24-16 Kristy (Kegg ’02) and Joshua ’02 Storms

Nathan Adam Struthers Born 7-21-15 Katelyn (Kettering ’07) and Andrew ’06 Struthers

Isaac David Swift Born 4-12-16 Lindsey (Inman ’06) and Peter ’07 Swift

Tucker Christopher Vermilya Born 12-28-16 Jan (Henricks ’08) and Chris ’09 Vermilya

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Grove City College

faith & learning A faculty perspective into the mission of Grove City College, the role of Christian scholarship in higher education and the connection between faith and learning.

Studying nature and scripture with integrity

By Dr. Kevin S. Seybold

Dr. Kevin S. Seybold is chair of the department of Psychology at Grove City College and has been on the faculty for 32 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Greenville (Ill.) College, his master’s at Marquette University and his Ph.D. at University of Wisconsin.

He has published many articles in the areas of physiological psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience.

He is the author of Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion (2007) and Questions in the Psychology of Religion (2017). Dr. Seybold’s academic interests include neuroscience, the psychology of religion, self, identity, personhood, and religion and health.

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“The word ‘integrity’ itself has two meanings. The first is ‘honesty’ … We have to be honest in facing our limitations, in facing the sheer complexity of the world, honest in facing criticism even of things which are deeply precious to us. But integrity also means wholeness, oneness, the desire for single vision, the refusal to split our minds into separate compartments where incompatible ideas are not allowed to come into contact … An undivided mind looks in the end for an undivided truth, a oneness at the heart of things. And this isn’t just fantasy. The whole intellectual quest despite its fragmentation, despite its limitations and uncertainties, seems to presuppose that in the end we are all encountering a single reality, and single truth.” – John Habgood

I

n some of my undergraduate psychology courses I include the above quote in the syllabus. Habgood studied natural science at Cambridge University and taught physiology and pharmacology there for several years. He was ordained in the Anglican Church, eventually becoming Archbishop of York, a position he held until his retirement in 1995, and as both a scientist and theologian, he explored the integration of science and religion.

One of the objectives I have for the courses I teach is to develop in students the ability to see ways that science (psychological science in particular) and religion, both very important in our culture, can work together instead of seeing them as fundamentally incompatible or in conflict, a view, unfortunately, that many people hold. I want the students in my courses to read or hear

about various ideas, findings, and theories coming from psychology and to honestly consider them, even if the ideas, findings, and theories might be thought “inconsistent” with what they have learned in church, Sunday school, or Christian high school. The students do not necessarily have to agree with these new ideas, but at least understand them, think about them, and to try to work out how the apparent “inconsistencies” or “incompatibilities” can be resolved.

In my classes, I follow what is typically called the Two Books approach, the origin of which can be traced back, at least, to Augustine (354–430). According to this perspective, there are two books, Nature (sometimes called General Revelation) and Scripture (sometimes called Special Revelation), that God provides for us. God, as Creator, gives us nature and God inspired the authors of scripture. Because God is the author of both books, both must be true.

The information found in the Book of Nature and in the Book of Scripture is all true, and so cannot be contradictory or incompatible.

What we learn in our study of nature is ultimately consistent with what we learn in our study of scripture.

Of course, a book has to be read and interpreted. Scientists read and interpret the Book of Nature by using the procedures we call science; scientists look for natural mechanisms revealed in the natural world. Psychological scientists study that part of nature involving human (and animal) behavior and mental processing.

Psychologists look for natural mechanisms involved in why human beings act, feel, and think the way they do. When Christian psychologists study this aspect of nature,

they believe they are investigating how God created human beings. What natural causes, biological, environmental, cognitive, etc., did God use (or is God using) to make humans the way we are?

The Bible also has to be read and interpreted, and biblical scholars or theologians use procedures (e.g., learning the original languages, studying the original cultures, learning about different genres of literature, etc.) to try to correctly interpret what God is telling us in the scriptural revelation. Sometimes scientists make mistakes as they try to interpret nature and theologians or biblical scholars make mistakes as they try to interpret scripture.

When this happens, there might appear to be some “conflict” between nature and scripture, but the conflict is only apparent. Both nature and scripture are true, so they cannot be, if correctly understood, in conflict.

The Habgood quote is intended to remind us that we need to study both nature and scripture with integrity – honestly recognizing that as humans we are limited in what we know. We also need to be humble in recognizing that we might be wrong about what we think either nature or scripture is saying. Both nature and scripture are true, and as Christians we need to try to find that wholeness or unity – that single reality and truth.

One way to think of psychology from a Christian perspective is to understand it as trying to study the Book of Nature, what God has created. Humans are part of God’s creation, and psychological science is interested in finding the natural mechanisms mediating human behavior, thought, and emotion. Whether we are

Summer 2017

One of the objectives I have for the courses I teach is to develop in students the ability to see ways that science (psychological science in particular) and religion, both very important in our culture, can work together instead of seeing them as fundamentally incompatible or in conflict ...

away by these mechanisms. (There might also be supernatural explanations for the experiences.) Finding the natural processes merely recognizes that, as physical beings, human behavior and mental activity are going to involve biological and psychological mechanisms, and psychology is interested in knowing what those mechanisms are.

There is a unity, an undivided truth, a oneness at the heart of things. Integrity, honesty, and humility. These are good virtues to pursue as we attempt to integrate psychological science with religion.

Editor’s note: The above is adapted from the Introduction to Dr. Seybold’s recentlypublished book Questions in the Psychology of Religion, ISBN: 9781498238816.

considering morality, religious experience, religious beliefs, the soul, or any other issue that is relevant to the relationship between psychology and religion, psychology is looking for natural processes. There may be non-natural mechanisms that are also involved. If there are, however, psychology will not find them. Science is limited to discovering natural causes, and psychology is limited to looking for the natural mechanisms of human behavior and mental processing. Identifying, for example, the natural processes involved in religious experience does not mean that religious experience has been explained

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Grove City College Alumni Magazine

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