The Hendrix College Magazine Spring 2014 Volume 26, Number 2 Chief Communications Officer Frank Cox ’76 cox@hendrix.edu Editor Helen Plotkin plotkin@hendrix.edu Managing Editor Rob O’Connor ’95 Art Director/Designer Joshua Daugherty Staff Photographers Joshua Daugherty Michael Tarne ’14 Alumnotes Editor Ruthie Daniel ’16 Hendrix Magazine is published by Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway, Arkansas 72032-3080. This magazine is published for Hendrix College alumni, parents of students and friends. Permission is granted to reprint material from this magazine provided credit is given and a copy of the reprinted material is sent to the Editor. Postmaster, please send form 3579 to Office of Marketing Communications, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway, AR 72032-3080 (501) 505-2932 Fax (501) 450-4553 Alumnotes submission deadlines: Spring Issue: Feb. 1 Fall Issue: Sept. 1
26 Family Ties Photo by Joshua Daugherty
on the cover Printed on paper containing 10% post-consumer recycled content with inks containing agri-based oils. Please Recycle.
Dr. William M. Tsutsui was named the 11th President of Hendrix College. He comes to Hendrix from Southern Methodist University where he leads Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences as Dean and Professor of History. A Texas native, Tsutsui graduated from Harvard University. He received a Master of Letters from Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. He and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Swann, a Professor of English, arrive in June. Story page 14. Photo by Hillsman S. Jackson
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Professor President
Dr. Bill Tsutsui shares his story, his thoughts on Hendrix, monsters and more
20 Argue Mint
Jim Argue ’73 has transformed United Methodist ministry in Arkansas through philanthropic leadership
23 Guitarzan
Chapel musician Graham Senor ’15 will lead the student body as Senate President
26 Wonder Twins
Hendrix legacies Beth Ayers ’17 and Malachi McDonald ’17 look forward to a future of church service
30 Dr. Strangelove Religion professor Dr. Dan Clanton ’93 uses the Bible and Batman to proselytize for the liberal arts
32 Word!
Arkansas United Methodist editor Amy Meredith Forbus ’96 lifts up anything but church as usual
8 Alumni Voices 4 42 Alumnotes 11 At Home at Hendrix 03 Campus News 13 Editor’s Message 10 Faculty News
12 Hendrix Through Time 47 In Memoriam 02 Inside Perspective 45 Marriages 46 New Children 24 Student Perspective
34 Opening Doors
Minister, missionary and mom of multiples Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder ’83 blazes a trail to the pulpit
inside perspective
Chaplain J. Wayne Clark The Rev. J. Wayne Clark ’84 serves Hendrix as Chaplain and Director of Church Relations.
A: I came here to be a doctor. I took my first science class first term — a 7:40 a.m. class with Dr. Joe Lombardi, in his first year of teaching. I think I made a D on the first test. He worked with me, but I didn’t do much better on my next test. I realized that first semester that I couldn’t be a doctor. It really was a turning point. I remember sitting on top of the roof of the old library when I was a sophomore or junior and realizing that I was supposed to be a minister. Once I decided that, my next thought was that I’d like to come back to Hendrix someday as the chaplain. As I struggled with my decision, I saw the value of having Jon Guthrie ’56 here in a place like Hendrix where I and others could think through all these ideas. Q: Did you come to Hendrix because it was church-related and do you think the College’s United Methodist identity attracts students today? A: I came to Hendrix because my minister, the Rev. Gladwin Connell ’60, told me that if I wanted to become a doctor Hendrix was the only place for me to go. Today’s students still choose Hendrix because of recommendations or because, as was the case for me, their church relationship is important to them and they want to continue that connection. Methodism began on a college campus (Oxford) and has a history of supporting academics. And, the College’s holistic approach encapsulated in our motto (Unto the Whole Person) is appealing to students who see how much richer their lives can be if they develop the mind, body and spirit. Q: Is there a single thing that you are most proud of helping to create or advance during your tenure as Chaplain?
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Photo by Joshua Daugherty
Q: Did you know you wanted to become a minister when you enrolled at Hendrix? Did attending Hendrix play a role in your decision?
A: I would put getting the Lilly Foundation grant at the top of my list and, personally, getting to direct the planning grant through the first-year process was really exciting. The opportunity to ask “If we had $2 million, what would we do with it?” is rare and then getting to be part of putting all of our big dreams together and see it come true … not many people get to do that. The Lilly grant really transformed our programs by providing staff resources and removing the financial barrier for student participation in things like mission trips. After the Lilly grant ended, the Miller family filled the gap. The Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling ignited a conversation about vocation and helped students figure out what they’re supposed to be doing — not just to earn money, but to make a difference in the world. Q: How does being related to the United Methodist Church enhance the Hendrix experience? A: I think it is a mutually beneficial relationship and one that the College and I
are committed to continuing. The College benefits financially: the United Methodist Church is the single largest contributor to the Hendrix Annual Fund, and some of our largest gifts through the years have come from individuals who are United Methodists. I believe that the church benefits, practically, from the ministers who graduate from Hendrix and end up in their pulpits or as their youth directors. The church also benefits from the scholarships and tuition discounts we offer to the children of ministers and to students who enroll here intending to become ministers. Q: How do students who are not United Methodists benefit from the religious life programs and the Chaplain’s Office? A: I think all students benefit from having a safe place to question religious ideas. College students are at a stage in life where they are ready to claim faith as their own, separate from their parents’ beliefs. I hope that all Hendrix students know they can come here with questions and not be judged.
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campus news
Campus News Hit List Hendrix ranked #80 on a list of America’s 501 Smartest Colleges published by Business Insider. The list, based on student test scores, includes universities and liberal arts colleges together. Hendrix ranked #72 on Kiplinger’s list of the best values in private colleges for 2014.
Alison Harrington ’14 and McKenna Raney ’14 were awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Harrington, a biology major from New Orleans, La., will pursue her project titled “Partnering with Fungi to Improve the Human Landscape through Transformative Decomposition,” and travel to Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa, Namibia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Raney, a sociology and anthropology major from Oxford, Miss., will pursue her project titled “Uncovering Emotional Connections in Human-Equine Partnerships,” and travel to Argentina, France, Iceland, Ireland, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan and Australia. Forty-three Watson fellows from 21 states and six countries were selected nationally from more than 700 candidates and 150 finalists.
Prize Fighters Two Hendrix students won first prize for their research presentations at the Arkansas INBRE Research Conference in Fayetteville. Lizzie Goodwin-Horn ’15, a biology major, won first prize for her poster titled “The splice of life: Examining alternative trans-splicing of meiotic genes in the wasp Nasonia vitripennis.” Carrie Yang ’15, a biochemistry-molecular biology major, won first prize for her talk titled “Ibrutinib is a Potential Treatment for Chronic Graft versus Host Disease, Inhibiting T-helper 17 Cell Activation and Reducing Release of IL-17A.”
High Profile The Profile, the Hendrix student news source, was named one of the country’s top 10 college student feature magazines at the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention in New Orleans, La. Other institutions in the top 10 feature magazine category were California Baptist University, Drake University School of Journalism, Elon University, Kent State University, Los Angeles City College, Louisiana State University, University of Miami, University of North Florida and University of Texas Pan American. James Owen ’16 is the editor-in-chief and Grace Oxley ’16 is the managing editor.
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Photo by Michael Tarne ’14
Watson Happening
Research Road Show Adam Bigott ’14, Dalton Hoose ’15, Joshua Smith ’14 and Austin Wofford ’15 presented the results of their undergraduate research to campus, state and national audiences. With financial support from an Arkansas Department of Higher Education Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship and from the Hendrix Odyssey program, the four students were able to conduct full-time summer research in Hendrix biology professor Dr. Ann Willyard’s laboratory. They concluded their research projects by presenting results at two conventions and one on-campus event. The students attended the Central Arkansas Undergraduate Research Symposium at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark., and the National Botany Conference in New Orleans, La.
Alison Harrington ’14 and McKenna Raney ’14 were awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship this spring. Harrington will travel to Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa, Namibia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Raney will travel to Argentina, France, Iceland, Ireland, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan and Australia.
Art Muse Him More than 150 museum-quality works of African art are now part of the permanent art collection at Hendrix. The exhibit was donated by the family of the late Rev. Jon Guthrie ’56. The artwork was on long-term loan to the College from the early 1990s until Rev. Guthrie’s death in 2012. Rev. Guthrie served as Hendrix Chaplain from 1969 until 1996. Guthrie collected artwork from Frenchspeaking Africa during his service as a United Methodist
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campus news
conduct fieldwork research in Rwanda and Ghana with the support of SURF. Luke Evans ’15 received a SURF grant to work over the next year on a project titled “The Chaotic Dynamics and Fractal Dimension of Newton’s Method.” In the project, Evans will consider the surprising chaotic nature of Newton’s Method for polynomials on the Complex Plane, as well as determine the fractal dimension of the sets created by these dynamics, and will form the basis of his senior thesis.
Explorers Club Photo by Michael Tarne ’14
The Hendrix Chaplain’s Office sent six students to the national United Methodist Exploration program in Denver, Colo., this fall. Student attendees were: Beth Ayers ’17, Violet Coker ’15, Alainna Collins ’17, Malachi McDonald ’17, JillAnn Meunier ’14 and Sarah Partee ’17. The program is for young adults, ages 18-26, who feel called to ministry in the United Methodist Church. Environmental studies major Jay Stanley ’16 is the inaugural recipient of the new Scott Henderson Research Fellowship established by Randy Wilbourn ’68 and his wife Judy to honor Henderson, who led the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Foundation (AGFCF), where Stanley will intern this summer.
missionary. His missionary work began in 1959 when Zaire, then known as Belgian Congo, declared its independence. The exhibit includes drums carved in the likenesses of tribal chiefs, ebony water jars, thumb pianos and wooden relief sculptures recounting an African version of the Last Supper. Many pieces in the collection were made by local artists Guthrie knew personally. The African art exhibit is on display in Mills Library in the Mills Social Sciences Center and is open to the public when Mills Library is not reserved.
Mighty Good Fellow Environmental studies major Jay Stanley ’16 from North Little Rock, Ark., is the inaugural recipient of the new Scott Henderson Research Fellowship established by Hendrix alumnus Randy Wilbourn ’68, a member of the Hendrix Board of Trustees, and his wife Judy in honor of Scott Henderson, who led the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Foundation (AGFCF). With the award, Stanley will spend six weeks this summer as an AGFCF intern. Stanley will tour the Natural State observing the agency’s program biologists from different specialties (e.g. waterfowl, bears, etc.). He will receive Odyssey credit in Professional and Leadership Development for completing the fellowship. After Hendrix, he hopes to go to graduate school and teach environmental science.
SURFing Safari Three Hendrix students received Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Austin Wofford ’15 was awarded a SURF grant to travel to Mexico City, Mexico, where he will work with Dr. David Gernandt at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) herbarium. Kyle Wicks ’15 received a SURF grant for his senior thesis project topic “Conflict and Connectivity.” Wicks will study the impact of Internet access on social revolutions. He plans to perform both statistical analysis and
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Engaging Professors Six Hendrix faculty members were awarded Odyssey Professorships for projects that create new engaged learning opportunities for students through Your Hendrix Odyssey: Engaging in Active Learning. Politics professor Dr. Jay Barth ’87 will hold the Bill and Connie Bowen Odyssey Professorship. The professorship will support Barth’s project titled “Developing an Arkansas Policy Program (APP): An Undergraduate Think Tank.” The project builds upon Barth’s ongoing public policy and public opinion research and advocacy work related to Arkansas. Chemistry professor Dr. Courtney Hatch ’00 will hold the Morris and Ann Henry Odyssey Professorship. Hatch’s project is titled “Undergraduate Experiences in Atmospheric Chemistry.” With the support of her Odyssey Professorship, Hatch will help provide opportunities for students to participate in professional atmospheric chemistry research using laboratory, field and theoretical modeling approaches. Economics professors Dr. Megan Leonard ’02 and Dr. Tom Stanley will hold the Julia Mobley Odyssey Professorship. Their project is titled “World Poverty, International Development, and International Research.” Leonard and Stanley will offer students new opportunities to study world poverty and give students guidance about how to extend and apply state-of-the-art systematic reviews by UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) on poverty, inequality, gender and social empowerment. English professor Dr. Alex Vernon will hold the James and Emily Bost Odyssey Professorship. His professorship will support “Vietnam Encounters,” a project that will create student-centered experiential collaborations with Vietnamese partners and a new partnership with Can Tho University that will engage Hendrix students in rural sustainability in the Mekong Delta. Biology professor Dr. Ann Willyard will hold the Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Professorship. Her project, titled “Growing Research: Ponderosa Pine on the Tree of Life,” will build on Willyard’s previous research with students,
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Two for Tikkun Olam Avery Drongowski ’14 and Zach Saul ’14 received the Jewish Federation of Arkansas’ Jane B. Mendel Tikkun Olam Award at a celebration this spring at the William J. Clinton Library in Little Rock. The award honors outstanding volunteers at Jewish organizations and congregations throughout Arkansas. Drongowski and Saul are leaders in Hendrix Hillel, the Jewish student organization on campus. Hendrix Hillel is supported in part by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Arkansas.
International Agents
Men Are From Mars … women Get Physics
Joshua Hall ’15 and Brittany Hearn ’15 received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. Hall will study issues related to the European Union (integration, security, institutions, public policy, etc.) through the Hendrix-in-Brussels program at the Institute of European Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels Free University). Hearn will study abroad through an ISEP exchange program at the Uniwersytet Wrocławski (University of Wrocław), Poland. She will enroll in a variety of classes, mostly with Polish students.
Six Hendrix students attended the 2014 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. Student participants included: Tessa Cook ’15, Ashley Hosman ’14, Angela Lamb ’17, Emily Nichols ’15, Anna Pittman ’15 and Anna Reine ’14. The students were accompanied by Hendrix physics professor Dr. Ann Wright. The students were actively involved in panel discussions, poster sessions of undergraduate research, and professional development opportunities, Wright said. They also made contacts for future research opportunities and graduate schools and experienced different points of view from women with a physics degree who have found careers in academia, in the business world and in government.
Beta Test Passed Two Hendrix students were awarded research grants from the Beta Beta Beta biology honor society. Adam Bigott ’14 and Austin Wofford ’15 were each awarded $525 to purchase laboratory supplies. Bigott’s project is titled “Searching for Cryptic Species: Development and Application of PCR Primers for Nuclear Simple Sequence Repeats in Pinus ponderosa.” Wofford’s proposal was “Investigating intra- and inter-specific relationships of ponderosa pine using mitochondrial DNA markers.”
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Adam Bigott ’14 and Austin Wofford ’15 were awarded research grants from the Beta Beta Beta biology honor society. They were each awarded $525 to purchase laboratory supplies.
Courtesy photo
On to Rwanda Eight Hendrix students will travel to Rwanda this spring on a two-week Odyssey trip to explore some of the tensions and challenges evident in contemporary Rwandan society, focusing specifically on a variety of ethical aspects of its development and post-conflict reconciliation strategies. Lila Coco ’15 will earn undergraduate research Odyssey credit studying “The Mental Health Dimensions of Rwanda’s Reconciliation Process.” Bria Guthridge ’17 will earn global awareness Odyssey credit studying “Civil Society and the Road to Stability in Rwanda.” McKenna Jacquemet ’16 will earn global awareness Odyssey credit studying “Development Ethics in the Rwandan Context.” Chirag Lala ’17 will earn global awareness Odyssey credit studying “Rwanda’s Economic Development Policy.” Andrew McWard ’17 will earn global awareness Odyssey credit studying “Human Rights in the Development Process.” Jill Nguyen ’15 will earn undergraduate research Odyssey credit studying “The Power of Representation: Women’s Political Representation and Crime in Rwanda.” Kay Beth Tyson ’17 will earn global awareness Odyssey credit studying “Ecotourism: Rebuilding the Economy in Rwanda.”
campus news
Kyle Wicks ’15 will earn undergraduate research Odyssey credit studying “Conflict and Connectivity: Why Cellphone Users Rebel.” The Rwanda Odyssey trip will consist of numerous site visits around the country, allowing students to meet and interact with local communities, government officials, local and international NGOs, and international and bilateral assistance organizations. The 2014 Rwanda Odyssey is supported by the Charles Prentiss Hough Odyssey Professorship, held by Hendrix politics and international relations professor and department chair Dr. Daniel Whelan. History professor Dr. Allison Shutt and politics professor Dr. Kim Maslin will join Whelan and the students on the trip.
see their results published and provide further evidence that their hypothesized species are distinct and how they are related to the Mexican taxa.
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campus news
Hits of Lit Hendrix creative writing students received awards from the 2014 Southern Literary Festival Contest. The Treatment, a collaborative writing project featuring 11 Hendrix student writers and the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language visiting writer and editor Heidi Julavits, won first place in the literary e-zine category. Cameron Meek ’17 from Middletown, Ohio, won second place in the formal essay division for his essay titled “The Narcissism of Christopher McCandless.” The Aonian student literary journal was awarded honorable mention in the literary magazine category. Julia Lee McGill ’14, the editor-in-chief, is from Conway, Ark., and the associate editor Alli Dillard ’14 is from Memphis, Tenn.
Psi Chi Nine
Six Hendrix College students were invited to participate in STEM Posters at the Capitol this spring in the state capitol rotunda. The event allowed undergraduate science students to interact with state legislators and their staff. Student participants included Macrina Butler ’14, Gary DeClerk ’15, Meredith McKinney ’14, Rebecca Meredith ’15, Katie Powell ’14 and Claude Shyaka ’16.
Nine students were elected to the Hendrix chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology founded in 1929 to encourage, stimulate and maintain excellence in scholarship, and to advance the science of psychology. New members include David Dobry ’16, Laura Hildebrand ’16, Jessica Himes ’15, Cathryn Johns ’15, Serena Murphy ’15, Lauren Nelson ’15, Chloe Showalter ’16, Neelam Vyas ’14 and Xavier Welch ’16.
was titled “Identifying Potential R/S-Warfarin Metabolite Biomarkers to Improve Anticoagulant Dosing Strategies in Children.” Pouncey completed this work as a participant in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) under the supervision of Dr. Grover Miller in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS.
Roll ’Em Up Hendrix placed 79 student-athletes on the 2013 fall Southern Athletic Association Academic Honor Roll. The Warrior football team had the most honorees with 19. They were followed by men’s soccer with 17, women’s soccer with 15, volleyball with 11, field hockey with nine, women’s cross country with four, and men’s cross country with three. To qualify, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.25 for the term and be a regular member of a varsity athletic team in a sport sponsored by the conference.
Kudos for Bardos
Six Hendrix students were invited to participate in STEM Posters at the Capitol in the state capitol rotunda. The event allows undergraduate science students to interact with state legislators and their staff. Student participants were Macrina Butler ’14, Gary DeClerk ’15, Meredith McKinney ’14, Rebecca Meredith ’15, Katie Powell ’14 and Claude Shyaka ’16.
Carrie Yang ’15, a biochemistry molecular biology major, was recently awarded the 2014-2015 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Thomas J. Bardos Science Education Award for Undergraduate Students. The award includes registration and a $1,500 stipend for travel and lodging for Yang to participate in the 2014 AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif., and the 2015 AACR Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa. This summer, Yang worked in the cancer research lab of Hendrix alumnus Dr. John C. Byrd ’87. Byrd is the D. Warren Brown Chair of Leukemia Research and Professor of Medicine, Medicinal Chemistry, and Veterinary Biosciences and Director of the Division of Hematology in the Department of Medicine at The Ohio State University.
Big IDeA
Chi O Duo
Dakota Pouncey ’15 was awarded the student poster award for first place in cardiovascular research at the Southeast Regional IDeA Meeting in Little Rock. Pouncey is a biochemistry-molecular biology major. His poster
Kaleb Wolfe ’14 from Medina, Tenn., and Chelsea Woods ’14 from Springdale, Ark., are the first Hendrix students to be inducted into Chi Omega Lambda, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)’s National Honor Society. Chi Omega Lambda recognizes exceptional undergraduate juniors and seniors for their scholarly attainment, research accomplishments and outreach activities in the molecular life sciences. Thirty-seven students from across the country were inducted into Chi Omega Lambda this year.
Capitol Defense
Meek Shall Inherit
Courtesy photo
Cameron Meek ’17 of Middletown, Ohio, received the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Arabic at the Beloit Center for Language Studies in Beloit, Wis. A program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program offers intensive summer language institutes in 13 critical foreign languages. The selection process is administered by American Councils for International Education with awards approved by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
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Photo by Joshua Daugherty
The Hendrix College Board of Trustees awarded Odyssey Medals to three Hendrix alumni at the 2013 Founders Day Convocation. Liz Langston ’84 received the Odyssey Medal for Artistic Creativity. Langston, a film writer and producer, is co-founder and executive director of the 48 Hour Film Project, the world’s oldest and largest timed filmmaking competition. “I’m extremely honored and very surprised. It was something of a miracle I got here in the first place,” said Langston, thanking the college’s donors who made her scholarships possible. Langston majored in international relations at Hendrix and got a master’s degree in applied psychology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She researched traffic safety at the Urban Institute and Pacific Institute for Research and Analysis in Washington, D.C., where she and a group of friends first launched the 48 Hour Film Project, which is now active in 120 cities worldwide. Physics major Charles H. “Chuck” Chalfant ’81 received the Odyssey Medal for Professional and Leadership Development. Chalfant is president and CEO of Space Photonics, Inc. (SPI), an Arkansas-based optical communications company. A native of Booneville, Ark., Chalfant earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Hendrix and a master’s degree in laser physics from the University of Arkansas, before moving to California to work for Lockheed Space Systems. He later joined the R&D division of Optivision, a small high-tech company founded at Stanford, and in 1996 moved his family back to Arkansas, while continuing to work for the company. In 1997, he and several Optivision colleagues formed Optical Networks Inc. The company experienced rapid growth and when the decision was made to take it public, Chalfant started Space Photonics, Inc., an optical communications company. More than a decade later, Space Photonics remains a successful privately held company, and Chalfant is now leading the company’s pursuit of commercial laser communications solutions for the wireless information and rural broadband infrastructure. “I never planned on starting my own company,” said Chalfant, who originally wanted to be an astronaut. “It was based on total fear of not having a job.” Derek Lowe ’83 received the Odyssey Medal for Research. Lowe is a research fellow at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and writes the “In the Pipeline” weblog. A native of Harrisburg, Ark., Derek earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Duke University in 1988. He then landed a prestigious Humboldt Fellowship to study in Darmstadt, Germany, for a year. After returning to the U.S. in 1989, he worked at Schering-Plough in New Jersey doing research on schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. In 1997, Lowe began a decade of work for Bayer Pharmaceuticals in Connecticut, working on diabetes, metabolic disorders and cancer. After Bayer closed its North American research operations, he moved to the Boston/Cambridge area to work for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. At Vertex, his work has focused on antibacterials, antivirals and multiple sclerosis. He is currently part of a group investigating “undruggable” targets of all kinds. In 2002, he started a blog site about drug discovery,
campus news
Medal Trio
chemistry and other scientific news that is now the oldest continuously-running science blog on the Internet, garnering about 20,000 page views a day. He also writes a monthly column for Chemistry World, a magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in Great Britain, and a monthly column for Contract Pharma, a U.S. trade publication. In his acceptance speech, Lowe thanked Dr. Tom Goodwin, his organic chemistry professor at Hendrix, for allowing him to do summer research. “There’s nothing like being the first person to do something and understand why it happened,” he said of science research. Lowe presents frequently at national and international conferences, and has an extensive list of scientific publications and more than 25 patents to his credit. The 2014 Odyssey Medals will be presented on Oct. 23, 2014 and nomination deadline for the 2015 awards is Dec. 31, 2014. For more information about the awards and the nomination process visit hendrix.edu/odysseymedal.
2013 Odyssey Medal recipients Derek Lowe ’83, Liz Langston ’84 and Chuck Chalfant ’81 visited campus in October to receive their medals. The 2014 awards will be given on Oct. 23.
Pub Pick Zoë Calhoun ’14 is one of five students whose work was selected for publication in “Cautions, Dreams & Curiosities,” an anthology featuring original science fiction stories and essays from students from around the world, as well as from top science fiction writers, scholars and technologists. The anthology is published by Arizona State
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Photos by Catelyn Gibbs ‘14
campus news
yards (197.1 per game). He was also third in the SAA with 821 yards rushing on 167 carries with 10 touchdowns. Winn was also third in the conference and 32nd in the nation with 96 points scored. Wide receiver Casey Caton ’15 was also named to the first team. Caton led the SAA with 805 yards receiving and was second with eight touchdowns. He was also third with 56 catches. Steve Crenshaw ’17 was a second team selection. Crenshaw led the league with 37 extra points and a PAT percentage of 95 (37-of-39). He was second among kickers with 61 points and second with eight field goals made. Wide receiver Travus McMahon ’17 and safety Caleb Shannon ’17 were honorable mentions. McMahon led the SAA with 64 catches for 568 yards and six touchdowns. Shannon was second in the conference with 86 total tackles and tied for fourth with three interceptions for 42 yards. Spencer Smith ’17 was an honorable mention as a wide receiver and punter. Smith was sixth in the league with 42 catches for 443 yards and two touchdowns. He ranked second in the SAA and 45th in the nation with a 38.3 punt average. Hendrix field hockey players Jennifer Koller ’14, left, and Gabryele Pochron ’17 were named to the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association AllGreat Lakes Region Second Team.
University’s Center for Science and the Imagination and Intel’s Tomorrow Project. Calhoun is an interdisciplinary digital writing and photography and Spanish major from Tucson, Ariz. Her piece is called Sustainable Suburbia and is featured in a section of the anthology called Green Dreams, a series of written pieces and visual art proposing “fact-based, imaginative and beautiful sustainable visions of the future that we can build together.” Calhoun interned for Terrain.org and is a four-year student-athlete on the volleyball team.
Top of the Field Jennifer Koller ’14 and Gabryele Pochron ’17 were named to the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Region Second Team. Koller, a defender, ranked fourth in the nation and led the Southern Athletic Association with a school record 18 defensive saves. Koller ended her career as the all-time leader in defensive saves in program history and was an All-SAA First Team selection this year. Pochron, a goalkeeper, ranked second in the nation with 18.07 saves per game. She was also second in the SAA with 253 saves and recorded a .738 save percentage. Pochron broke the Warrior program record for saves this season. She was the SAA Newcomer of the Year and selected to the all-conference first team. Forward Erika Jasso ’15 was named to the all-conference second team. Jasso led the Warriors with 23 shots and 16 shots on goal.
Touchdown! Seven members of the Hendrix football team were named all-conference by the Southern Athletic Association. Running back Dayton Winn ’17 was selected as the Newcomer of the Year and to first team. Winn ranked third in the nation and led the league with 1,971 all-purpose
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Our 2 D4D Steven Hulsey ’17 and Chirag Lala ’17, both of Little Rock, Ark., were honored by the national office of Project Pericles as one of this year’s winning submissions to the Debating for Democracy competition. In their letter, Hulsey and Lala urge Arkansas State Sen. Joyce Elliott to advocate for the establishment of a public state bank to sustainably finance small businesses, local banks and critical development projects. No Pericles institution has had more finalists in the Debating for Democracy Letter to an Elected Official competition than Hendrix, and only three other schools have had four years of finalists. This year’s other winning teams included students from Macalester College, New England College, Pitzer College, Swarthmore College and Wagner College. Project Pericles will provide a $500 award to fund advocacy and education activities, including lobbying trips and workshops.
Elegant Delegates Hendrix students received Best Senate Delegation at the Arkansas Communication and Theatre Arts Association’s Congress on Human Relations. This is the 35th year that Hendrix has participated in the program. This year’s student delegation included: Luke Castille ’14, Zana English ’16, Barrett Goodwin ’17, Konstantin Gruenwald ’15 (captain), Nigel Halliday ’15, Steven Hulsey ’17, Chirag Lala ’17, John McAvey ’16 and Robert Taylor ’16. The Hendrix student delegation also received numerous excellent and superior awards for caucus, committee, floor debate and parliamentary procedure. Taylor and Castille received Best Bill Awards. Halliday received the Marguerite Pearce Metcalf (a former Hendrix professor) Award for Parliamentary Procedure. Lala received the Best Delegate overall in the Senate. Gruenwald was the team captain and President of the Student Congress and Parliamentary Team organization.
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campus news
Bump, Set, Spike Four Hendrix volleyball players were recognized on the 2013 All-Southern Athletic Association Teams. Outside hitter MC Rogers ’17 was named the Newcomer of the Year and outside hitter Katie Burchfield ’14 was named to the All-SAA First Team. Rogers and middle blocker Grace Griffin ’17 were on the second team, and Samantha Stockdale ’17 was an honorable mention. Rogers ranked third in the SAA in conference play in kills per set. On the season, she averaged 3.19 kills, hit .194 and had 0.83 blocks per set. Burchfield was fourth in the league with a .296 hitting percentage and sixth with 2.93 kills per set. She also averaged 2.61 digs per game. Griffin was second in the SAA with 1.02 blocks per set. She also led the Warriors with a .330 hitting percentage and had 1.58 kills per game. Stockdale hit .247 on the year with 1.57 kills per set and 0.61 blocks per set. In SAA play, she was fourth in hitting and sixth in blocks. Under third-year head coach Ryan Meek, the Warriors had the most wins in program history this year with 19 and secured the program’s first-ever winning season.
On a Mission Courtesy photos
Eleven Hendrix students spent part of their winter break on a mission trip to La Romana, Dominican Republic. The trip was one of three student mission trips this year sponsored by the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling. Students were accompanied by Hendrix Chaplain Rev. J. Wayne Clark ’84 and Brent Owens, assistant director of student activities. The group worked for five days doing construction work (e.g. mixing concrete, hauling gravel, moving cinder blocks, etc.) with an organization called Rivers of the World. They also attended a church service where they assisted local workers in building a school. The school will have eight classrooms and will be used for children during the day and adults in the evening. The group also visited a hospital and an orphanage.
Two for CGIU Samia Nawaz ’14 from Little Rock, Ark., and Jill Nguyen ’15 from Hanoi, Vietnam, were selected to be among 1,000 student leaders to attend the annual Clinton Global Initiative University hosted by President Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton. As attendees, both students have pledged to work on projects. Nawaz will work with She’s The First, a non-profit organization that sponsors girls’ education in developing countries to create first-generation graduates. Nguyen is working on a project that promotes bilingual education
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Eleven Hendrix students traveled to La Romana, Dominican Republic during winter break for a mission trip sponsored by the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling. The group did construction work and assisted in building Peter Butler ’17 of Naperville, Ill., and Anna King ’17 of a school for children Kansas City, Kan., are members of the Hendrix chapter of and adults. Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, a national studentrun think tank affiliated with the Roosevelt Institute. They developed a proposal advocating for state-funded afterschool programs in struggling schools, with activities ranging from study hall and tutoring to physical activities in order to provide a safe place for students to grow and learn outside regular school hours. Their proposal appears in the Roosevelt’s 10 Ideas series, a publication of 60 best policy ideas from chapters and members across the United States. Butler and King co-wrote a letter to Gov. Mike Beebe to advocate for state-funded after-school programs in Arkansas, and they recently were invited to meet with the Governor’s policy director to discuss their proposal. for the H’mong students in northwest Vietnam to preserve the ethnic H’mong language and help students succeed in school with standardized Vietnamese textbooks. Both students were sponsored by the Hendrix chapter of Project Pericles.
After School Special
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 9
Fred Ablondi, Morris and Ann Henry Odyssey Professor of Philosophy, serves as the Vice President of the North American Spinoza Society. Jay Barth ’87, M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Professor of Politics, was awarded the 2013 Diane Blair Award for Outstanding Achievement in Politics and Government, presented by the Southern Political Science Association. Stella M. Cˇapek, professor of sociology, wrote “Socialization and Culture,” Ten Lessons in Introductory Sociology, published by Oxford University Press. Andrea Duina, associate professor of biology, presented “Insights into the process of transcription elongation through the analysis of histone mutants in yeast” at the Winston Lab Reunions and Symposium at Harvard Medical School. Bill Gorvine, associate professor of religious studies, received a $40,000 grant for the AsiaNetwork Post-doc Program. Jonathan Hancock, assistant professor of history, wrote “Shaken Spirits: Cherokees, Moravian Missionaries, and the New Madrid Earthquakes,” published in Journal of the Early Republic. George Harper, Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Associate Professor of Biology, and Randy Kopper, Nancy and Craig
Professor of English/ Film Studies, (with Rashna Richards, Rhodes College) received the ACS Faculty Advancement Grant for Undergraduate Research for “Rhodes-Hendrix Film Studies Research Symposium.”
Wood Odyssey Professor of Chemistry, wrote (with Sloane Zimmerman ’13 and Jessica Hook ’14) “Comparison of total protein and phospholipase A2 levels in individual coral snake venoms,” published in Toxicon.
Rod Miller, Bill and Connie Bowen Odyssey Professor of Art, is the editor for C. S. Lewis and the Arts.
Cathy Jellenik, assistant professor of French, wrote “Worth the Risk, Annie Ernaux Breaks the Silence in L’Evénement,” published in Women Taking Risks in Contemporary Autobiographical Narratives.
Andrew Schurko, assistant professor of biology, received a $200,000 INBRE grant for “Characterization of genes involved in DNA repair in bdelloid rotifers.”
Kiril Kolev, assistant professor of politics and international relations, wrote “Bulgaria: Electoral Volatility, Polarization and Financial Deficits Lead to Reduction in Clientelism,” published in Research and Dialogue on Programmatic Parties and Party Systems.
Stacey Schwartzkopf, assistant professor of anthropology, wrote “Rural Castas, State Projects, and Ethnic Transformation in Western Guatemala, 1800–1821,” published in Ethnohistory.
Lisa Leitz, assistant professor of sociology, (with Maya Lemon ’12) presented “All the Soldiers are Men and all the Families are Women: How media coverage genders social movement constituents” at the Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting.
Tom Stanley, professor of economics and business, received an $18,000 grant for “Technical assistance for the third round of DFID’s systematic review programme.” David Sutherland ’81, associate provost and professor of mathematics, as national past-president, installed a new chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon and gave a presentation, “Permutations & Young Tableaux,” at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
Kim Maslin, professor of politics, wrote “Mobilizing the Mob in Rwanda: The Untrivial Contest,” published in Midsouth Political Science Review. Kristi McKim, Charles S. and Lucile Esmon Shively Odyssey Associate
Picture Perfect
Professor’s book inspires new edition, a fashion line and photo exhibitions A new edition of Hendrix photography professor Maxine Payne’s 2008 limited edition book Making Pictures: Three for a Dime will be published this summer by Atlanta-based publisher Dust-to-Digital. Making Pictures is a book of photographs taken from 1937 to 1941 by Lance and Evelyn Massengill and their family, who built their own camera, as well as a trailer that served as a traveling photo booth. The family took hundreds of photos of babies, children, couples, families, farmers and servicemen. The pictures, which they sold “three for a
10 Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014
dime,” offer candid snapshots of rural Arkansans on the eve of World War II. Payne’s work caught the eye of internationally acclaimed designer Natalie Chanin, whose Alabama Chanin fashion line celebrates the rustic beauty of the American South. Chanin also suggested the two artists collaborate on a new clothing line. New exhibitions of the Massengill photos are scheduled in Alabama, Atlanta and at Phillip March Jones’ Institute 193 in Lexington, Ky., as well as an appearance at the Outsider Arts Fair in New York City in May.
Photo by Sean Moorman
faculty news
Faculty News
In addition to their work in the classroom, Hendrix faculty members engage in research and professional activities that expand their expertise and enrich their teaching. Here is a small sample of the professional activities of Hendrix faculty.
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Courtesy photo
Photo by Michael Tarne ’14
at home at hendrix:
Highlighting Alumni Faculty and Staff
Hilary Stine Keahey ’08
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Then the opening came up in the Admission Office. “The Admission Office really had a lot of things I was looking for, like counseling and helping people by talking through their issues and ideas,” she says. “I got to do that every day. I was also able to share my love for a school that had given so much to me, and help others find their home at Hendrix.” After five years, she knew the pace, volume, and evening and weekend hours of recruiting would not be conducive for family life. Last summer, while she and her husband were volunteering at Ozark Mission Project, she got an email from Associate Provost for Engaged Learning Dr. Peg FallsCorbitt, director of the Miller Center, who told her about the program’s opening. “It really couldn’t have come at a better time,” she says. “I could still be at Hendrix and be off the road, work a normal 8-5 schedule and still interact with students.” “It’s been a major shift. Students come by and I’m here, which never happened in the admission office,” says Keahey, who also supervises student workers and helps cook for weekly fellowship meetings. “I just love being in the kitchen and interacting with students in a different way.” Though the campus has changed, Hendrix students are still Hendrix students, Keahey says. “You can just feel that quirkiness and wanting to be their own person,” she says. Her most important role? “Probably the most impact I have is just being the friendly face at the desk,” she says. “I hope students come to think of me like I feel about [her friend and Miller Center predecessor] Vicki Davis,” she says. “She was my Hendrix mom, and those are definitely big shoes to fill.” Photo by Joshua Daugherty
For Hilary Stine Keahey ’08, most of her extracurricular activities as a Hendrix student revolved around the former Hendrix-Lilly Vocations Initiative (now the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling). She was a student worker in the program office and participated in mission trips to Boston, New York, Peru, San Antonio, San Diego and Tijuana, as well as the Journeys of Reconciliation project serving in historic civil rights sites such as Birmingham, Ala., Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn. Five years after graduating with a degree in religion, Keahey’s professional life revolves around the same program that was such an important part of her student experience. This summer, she became the Miller Center’s office manager. She also oversees administrative duties for the college’s civic engagement programs and the new firstyear student course, The Engaged Citizen. She joined the Miller Center after serving five years as an Admission Counselor and Associate Director of Admission, where she recruited prospective students from north Arkansas, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. Keahey chose Hendrix for a number of reasons. Born in Tulsa, Okla., she lived in Sallisaw before her family moved to Harrison, Ark. She wanted to stay close to her family. A United Methodist, she was active in Conference youth assembly and choir and had several friends who came to Hendrix. She also stayed on campus as a student at Arkansas Governor’s School. “Hendrix really fit the bill,” said Keahey. “I just loved it. It felt like home.” As a Hendrix student, she was a United Methodist Youth Fellowship Scholar, sang in the Hendrix Choir, and helped plan and lead weekly chapel services in Greene Chapel, where she met her husband Jared Keahey ’07, a fellow chapel musician. By the time she was a senior, she had visited seminary and considered ministry, but she was ready for a break from school. “I didn’t feel like it was for me,” she said.
Left: Hilary on a mission trip in Tijuana during spring break 2008 Middle: Hilary with Lauren DeLano ’13, Karyn Kuan ’13 and Jessica Bridges ’06 at a Miller Center reunion during Alumni Weekend 2013
Story by Rob O’Connor ’95, Managing Editor
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 11
Photo courtesy of the Hendrix College Archives
Then Now
Photo by Darrick Wilson ’92
hendrix through time
Hendrix alumni have been getting married in Greene Chapel since Dec. 30, 1951 when Sam Evans ’51 and Phyllis Horn Evans ’50, now of Houston, Texas, became the first couple to exchange vows in the new building. The Evanses were among dozens of alumni couples who returned to Greene Chapel during Alumni Weekend 2001 to celebrate the chapel’s Golden Anniversary with cake and campy photos. Greene Chapel, which opened in November 1951, features a large
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altar window dedicated to the memory of Rev. Thomas E. McKnight, the only UMC chaplain from the North Arkansas Conference killed in World War II. The chapel is named in memory Charles Jerome Greene, professor, dean and vice president (1904-1941). The chapel continues to be a popular location for weddings, including the Dec. 20, 2010 wedding of Alice Holifield Smith ’04 and Michael Smith ’03.
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Photo by Bob Handelman
A Message from the Editor According to John Hugh Reynolds, Hendrix President from 1913 to 1945, “Hendrix was founded by Godly men who desired to link religion and scholarship. The fathers were not religious fanatics — they recognized that society requires well-balanced leaders. Hence, they emphasized scholarship.” Some things never change. This issue of Hendrix Magazine celebrates the close connection of Hendrix and the United Methodist Church by looking at alumni whose lives were shaped by that historic link between religion and scholarship. Today, these alumni are leaders in the church and advocates for the liberal arts. For example, Dr. Dan Clanton Jr. ’93 proudly proselytizes for his alma mater and the virtues of the type of education that led him to become a religion professor at a liberal arts college. Jim Argue Jr. ’73 has helped to transform countless United Methodist congregations in the state through his more than 30 years of leadership at the United Methodist Foundation of Arkansas. As the editor of the Arkansas United Methodist, Amy Meredith Forbus ’96 lifts up the good in the world and in the United Methodist Church, using stories to inspire change and enrich her readers’ faith. Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder ’83 has paved a path of progressive ministry centered on social justice and outreach. Every day, Hendrix serves the United Methodist Church in countless ways through one of the most active and vibrant religious life programs that can be found on a college campus. More than 150 students like Beth Ayers ’17 and Malachi McDonald ’17 participate in weekly religious life programming including chapel, communion, Bible studies,
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a youth group-style program called “Fellowship,” or Tuesday Talks, a discussion of vocation and calling. In the past decade, more than 40 Hendrix graduates have enrolled in seminary, nine former students are currently in seminary, four students will enroll in seminary next year, and at least 15 more students expect to enroll in seminary in the next four years. Each year, Hendrix provides up to $500 per student in travel funds to visit a seminary. Approximately six to 10 students take advantage of this opportunity each year. Hendrix provides more than $4.6 million in financial assistance each year to United Methodist students, including the United Methodist Youth Fellowship Leadership Scholarship Program, now in its 19th year. More than 400 United Methodist churches in all five Arkansas Conference districts have had Hendrix students assist with worship services since the UMYF Leadership Scholarship Program was established. The historic commitment of Hendrix to prepare well-balanced leaders by emphasizing scholarship will be in good hands when Dr. Bill Tsutsui arrives in June as the 11th President of Hendrix. Higher education will be hard pressed to find a leader more devout in his belief in the value of the liberal arts than Professor Tsutsui. Under his leadership, Hendrix will continue to strengthen its unique approach to engaged learning and its rock-solid commitment to the liberal arts and to challenge itself to be the best top-tier liberal arts college that it can be — and nothing less. Stay tuned! The Hendrix Magazine team
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 13
The Prodigal Professor Becomes President Japanese-American, history professor, Kansas art collector, Texas barbecue aficionado, Godzilla authority … Who is Dr. Bill Tsutsui, the 11th President of Hendrix College? The answer — all of the above.
“I grew up around a university and being a professor is my family business,” says Tsutsui, whose parents were scientists and faculty members at Texas A&M University. But the sciences didn’t suit Tsutsui, who eventually became a college history professor. “My father was a chemist and my mother was a biochemist, which guaranteed I wasn’t going to become a scientist,” he says. “It took just one science fair to scare me out of that.” “I remember it was about the fifth grade. I was in the kitchen of our house in Texas. My father was on one side of me and my mother was on the other,” Tsutsui recalls. “They were both shouting, ‘What’s your hypothesis?’ and I was thinking, ‘I just want to make a neat poster for the science fair tomorrow.’ Thank goodness there wasn’t a history fair back in those days because it would have scared me off that too.” Despite his lack of interest in science, Tsutsui is equal parts his parents’ child. “I got a little bit of character from both of them,” he says.
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“My father was from Japan and came to the United States right after the war. My mother was from upstate New York and was as white as Wonder Bread. They met as post-docs in New York City, back when it was very unusual for a Japanese man to marry a Caucasian woman,” he said. “They were written up in The New York Times, not as a society piece, but as a human interest story because their relationship was so extraordinary.” When the family moved to Texas in 1968, the A&M students were all male and most were still in the Corps of Cadets. “My father just loved it. He thrived at a growing university and in the wide open spaces,” Tsutsui says. “My mother was the campus liberal. She was a biochemist, but she was also head of the women’s studies program and one of the founders of the faculty senate.… She was a real rabble rouser.” “That ‘put your head down and work hard’ ethic, I got from my dad,” he says. “And some of my eclectic interests and desire to stir the pot a little, I got from my mother.”
BILL 101 “I’m one of those people who always knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I’ve always been completely wrong,” Tsutsui freely admits. To this day, he is relieved to encounter young people who are the antithesis of his early uber-focused orientation. “Frankly, I’m never so happy as when I meet students and ask what they want to do with their degrees and they reply, ‘I really don’t know.’ That’s a good answer,” Tsutsui says. “Undergraduate life is your time to explore widely, think broadly, and consider anew who you are and what you could be.” Tsutsui went to Harvard in 1981 planning to be an economics major. Then he took the big freshman economics class. “I thought at the time, ‘This is math: it’s all about numbers and not about people. I don’t want to do this,’” he remembers. It was a professor who made all the difference to Tsutsui. “There was a sociologist named Ezra Vogel who was teaching a course called Industrial East Asia. With my father from Japan, I had some interest in Asia, but Ezra really lit me on fire,” Tsutsui says. “He was head of the East Asian studies major. He recruited me for that and completely changed my life.”
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Photo by Hillsman S. Jackson
Bill Tsutsui dreamed of working on Wall Street. One college economics class later, he changed his mind. Inspired by the cool cars and nice suits of the L.A. Law cast, he went to law school. Six weeks later, he dropped out and decided to join the family business. Sort of.
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Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 15
Past Presidents
1876‑1887
Isham L. Burrow
1913‑1945
John Hugh Reynolds
1887‑1902, 1910‑1913
Alexander C. Millar
1945‑1958
Matt L. Ellis
1902‑1910
Stonewall Anderson
1958‑1969
Marshall T. Steel
While he found a rewarding major at Harvard, Tsutsui thinks he might have short-changed himself as an undergraduate. “Like a lot of people, when I look back at college, I think about what could have been rather than what was,” he admits. “I realize now, in retrospect, that I missed so many good opportunities.” “I really wish I’d had more of a complete liberal arts experience and had more exposure to academic fields and world views far outside my comfort zone,” he says. “I realize now that college is a great time to push yourself to the limit and just see how far you can get. College is an important opportunity to see what you are made of. It took me until graduate school, or even until I took my first job, to get to that point.” Tsutsui also wishes he had a more engaged liberal arts experience. “It is so funny the way that college has changed in 30 years,” he says. “When I was going to college, I knew almost no one who did study abroad, and I knew almost no one who did an internship.” Sometimes an internship is a career builder. Sometimes it’s a path killer, and that’s a valuable life lesson too, says Tsutsui. “I worked one summer at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., for the International Trade Administration, and it was a great experience for me because I knew at that moment that I did not want to spend my life in the federal government,” he says. He wishes he had interned in a law office too. “After I graduated from college, I knew exactly what I was going to do and that I was going to be a lawyer,” says Tsutsui, who enrolled in law school at Yale. “I made it six weeks, and then I dropped out.” When he called his mother and told her he had quit, she started crying. “They were not tears of regret. They were tears of joy,” he says. “She was so pleased that I was coming back to the family business and going to get my Ph.D.”
ON TO THE ACADEMY
1969‑1981
Roy B. Shilling Jr.
2001‑2013
J. Timothy Cloyd
1981‑1991
Joe B. Hatcher
1992‑2001
Ann H. Die
Learn about each of the presidents online
hendrix.edu/leadership/presidents
16 Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014
Before law school, Tsutsui went to Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College on a Marshall Scholarship to study Japanese history. “When I went to Oxford, I thought that I would get this Japanese history thing out of my system and then I’d move on with my life,” he says. “But I found that there was something about history — being in the archives, wrestling with complex problems from the past, trying to interpret them for modern audiences — that, to me, was deeply compelling.” Tsutsui can pinpoint the moment his path was set. “I was at the National Archives doing research on the occupation of Japan after World War II, and I was going through these huge files. So I opened up one box, hoping that it was economic records and instead it happened to be import statistics on bananas — a whole box of facts and figures on the fruit trade. I flipped through it quickly to make sure that there wasn’t anything else hidden in there, and I found one stray file folder that was tucked in amidst the banana statistics but had fallen down a little bit so you couldn’t see what it was,” he remembers. “It turned out to be a folder of personal letters from the Japanese prime minister, Yoshida Shigeru, who was a major figure in Japanese history, to General
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In 17 years at KU, Tsutsui’s faculty colleagues encouraged him to accept administrative roles, such as department chair and associate dean for international studies in the College of Arts & Sciences, founding executive director of the Confucius Institute, and director of the Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia in KU’s Center for East Asian Studies. In 2010, he returned to Texas as Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, the largest of seven colleges and schools at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Tsutsui wasn’t hunting for a college presidency when he was approached last year by a consultant who was leading a national search for the next Hendrix leader. He knew Hendrix was in Arkansas but not much else. “The search consultant was great. She described the culture of Hendrix as quirky and individualistic but serious,” he remembers. “I said, ‘That does sound interesting to me.’” When he met the Hendrix students, faculty, staff and trustees on the search committee, he was sold. “You could just tell these were authentic people who really cared about the place, who cared about the community and who really wanted to find someone who was a good fit for them,” Tsutsui remembers. “I immediately realized that these were just the kind of people I would like to be around. That was the first sell for me.”
Photo by Hillsman S. Jackson
Douglas MacArthur, thanking him personally for assisting with several important policy issues. I’m probably the first historian ever to have seen those letters. I felt transported back into history and I remember thinking, ‘This is really special.’” In historical research, Tsutsui felt the same exhilarating sense of discovery that his parents had experienced in their labs. “It really goes to that whole idea of being hands-on in learning, both as a student and as a scholar. I think that is absolutely critical,” says Tsutsui, who received a Master of Letters in modern Japanese history from Oxford in 1988. “You can read books all you want, but there is something so immediate and so rewarding about learning by doing.” Tsutsui completed his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1995 and joined the faculty at the University of Kansas as a professor of history. “I still remember my first year of teaching and that feeling of butterflies in my stomach before going into class. And then it began to click. It began to feel natural to me,” he says. “Classroom teaching is a tremendous challenge, but it is also incredibly rewarding.” “One of the things I loved about a big state institution was that many of the students at KU came from rural areas and many of them were from less-than-privileged backgrounds,” he remembers. “Education really meant something for those young people because it opened doors. For them, college became the enlightening experience that truly changed their lives. I really enjoyed being a part of that.”
The President’s Office will soon see some of Professor Tsutsui’s monster memorabilia, including gifts given to him over the years by former students.
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Bill and the Monster Bill Tsutsui is a monster scholar, figuratively and literally. As a Japanese historian, he has published extensively on Japan’s banking system, business culture and economy. However, he owes his scholarly calling card to a man in a big rubber lizard suit. Tsutsui’s book Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters will forever secure his position as the country’s leading academic authority on Godzilla. “There is no question it is my greatest scholarly contribution,” he admits with a laugh. “It has sold more copies than all my ‘serious’ academic books combined.” While Tsutsui has been seduced by the subject since elementary school, the book’s inspiration began when a colleague mentioned that the 50th anniversary of the first Godzilla movie was coming up. “I remember remarking, very casually, ‘Yeah, isn’t that cool? We should do a conference or something,’” he says. What began as a small academic symposium turned into an over-the-top international spectacle with original plays, art exhibits, film screenings, and a huge inflatable Godzilla on the roof of a historic movie theater in downtown Lawrence, Kan. An editor and fellow Godzilla fan Continued on page 19
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 17
About Bill Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Southern Methodist University • Dean and Professor of History • Led development and implementation of College’s first strategic plan, spearheaded College’s efforts in $750 million SMU Second Century Campaign, and commissioned brand study and oversaw development of new visual identity, tag line and marketing plan • Established Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute and Center for Drug Discovery, Design, and Delivery; revitalized Richard B. Johnson Center for Economic Studies • Secured resources to create 11 new full-time faculty positions, including three endowed professorships, and established new Dedman College Student Advisory Council
University of Kansas • Professor of History, Chair of Department of History • Associate Dean for International Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences • Director of the Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia, Center for East Asian Studies • Founding Executive Director, Confucius Institute • Led planning and establishment of the Center for Global and International Studies • Coordinated efforts to win $8 million in federal funding for KU’s five area studies centers • Launched new major in global and international studies, a concentration in Islamic and Arabic studies, and new M.A. degrees in African and African-American studies and interagency studies
The close relationship with the United Methodist Church initially attracted him as well. “The United Methodist tradition is inclusive and welcoming, just like the community at Hendrix, and a vibrant affiliation with the church brings to campus a reflective awareness of values and the spiritual life that enriches the student experience,” he says. For Tsutsui, the final sell was actually coming to campus. “I drove up to Conway one weekend before I was hired and just walked around. I wandered through campus and there were groups of students sitting outside talking. I went into the library, and it was full of people. I went behind them to peek at their computers and they weren’t on Facebook or Twitter, they were actually working in the library late on a Sunday afternoon,” he says. “That, to me, was exciting. The strong sense of community at Hendrix was obvious, but so too was a very real sense of focus. Every teacher and academic administrator dreams of working in such an environment.”
DOUBLE DOWN ON LIBERAL ARTS Hendrix is “one of the great success stories of American higher education,” Tsutsui believes. “Over the past 15 years, Hendrix could have gone the way of many small liberal arts colleges that, faced with financial challenges, have opted for expedient solutions and made bad, short-sighted decisions. All across the country, strapped institutions have desperately started nursing programs in strip malls, opened campuses in Malaysia and offered online degrees in China.” But while other schools chased fads and filled their catalogs with en vogue specialty programs, Hendrix focused on the core, Tsutsui says. “Hendrix doubled-down on liberal arts education, and that was exactly the right decision. Be good at what you’re good at and stay close to your mission,” he says. “All those other colleges that patched holes in their budgets with low-quality programs and quick-fix solutions just look like third-rate public institutions now. Hendrix, by contrast, was and is a great liberal arts college.”
THE SWEET SPOT
• Marshall Scholarship (1985-1987)
Though Hendrix is a top-tier college, it sits firmly between elite institutions with substantial endowments and small schools struggling with declining enrollments and deficit budgets. “Hendrix is in an enviable position nationally right now. The handful of extremely wealthy liberal arts colleges have the luxury of complacency. They don’t have to innovate because they have endowments that will keep throwing off interest and reputations that will keep the applications flowing,” Tsutsui observes. “Meanwhile, there are a lot of other institutions that are living so close to the bone that they can’t be creative or make prudent investments because they have to focus on just meeting payroll.” “Hendrix is in a sweet spot,” he explains. “With a history of innovation (as exemplified by the Odyssey program) and a tradition of strong support from alumni and the community, I am confident that Hendrix has what it takes to stay at the forefront nationally.” “Because of its location, Hendrix doesn’t have the kind of name recognition that it should. And that is one of the things that I hope we can work on,” Tsutsui says. “Enhancing Hendrix’s national profile won’t require big changes in what we do here, because what we do is already absolutely world-class.” The trick going forward is for Hendrix to challenge itself to be the best that it can be, but not to lose its distinctive identity in the process. “Alumni should be able to come back and recognize that the values that they cherish in this school are still here,” Tsutsui says. “Hendrix should always be Hendrix.”
18 Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014
www.hendrix.edu
Education • Princeton University, Ph.D. in History (1995), M.A. in History (1990) • Oxford University, Corpus Christi College, M.Litt. in Modern Japanese History (1988) • Harvard University, A.B. in East Asian Studies (1985)
Selected Awards & Scholarship • Published extensively on Japan’s banking system, business culture and economy, including Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization (2010) and Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters (2004) • Kauffman Entrepreneurial Faculty Scholar (2004-2005) • W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence (2001) • Fulbright-IIE Graduate Research Fellowship (1991-1992)
Photo by Hillsman S. Jackson
Continued from page 17
The Dynamic Duo Not only will Hendrix have a new leader when Bill Tsutsui arrives in June as president, but students will also have a new professor. Dr. Marjorie Swann, Tsutsui’s wife, will join the Hendrix faculty as Professor of English and teach Poetry (ENGL 221) this fall. “I love teaching students how to make sense of poems,” says Swann. “Reading poetry is the ultimate aerobic workout for your brain and gives you turbo-charged critical-thinking skills.” While her spouse vacillated on a career in academia, Swann was smitten with teaching from the start. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but until I went to college and was encouraged by my professors, I never dreamed that I might pursue a teaching career at the post-secondary level,” she says. Her dedication to teaching was shaped by her own experience as a student. “I’m a living example of the transformative power of superb undergraduate education,” she says. “When I entered college as a freshman, I was a shy kid from a small, rural high school who was woefully unprepared for the rigors of higher education. My English professors saved me: they simultaneously challenged and encouraged me, would never accept anything less than my best work, demanded that I shoot for the stars, and supported me unstintingly.”
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Like Tsutsui, Swann comes to Hendrix from Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University. She is excited to be part of an institution whose “unique identity is inseparable from its devotion to excellence in undergraduate education.” “After spending more than two decades at schools whose goals and energies inevitably tilt toward graduate programs, I’m excited to finally have the opportunity to teach at a school that truly puts undergraduates front and center of everything it does,” she says. A native of St. Joseph Island, Canada, Swann earned her doctorate from Oxford University, where the couple met. Her research focuses on 17th-century English literature and culture and how literature is related to material culture, gender and sexuality, and environmental history. Swann recently edited a new edition of Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler that was published this spring by Oxford University Press. In her introduction and notes, Swann emphasizes Walton’s importance as a pioneering environmental writer. Swann, who is now working on a book about The Compleat Angler and its post-17th-century afterlives, will be the keynote speaker at the Izaak Walton League of America convention this summer in Anaheim, Calif.
agreed to publish the conference papers and floated the idea of commissioning a prominent journalist to write a massmarket book about Godzilla. Put off by the publisher’s assumption that an academic couldn’t write something that appealed to a large audience, Tsutsui drafted the book’s introduction in two days. “I just started putting down my reflections, what Godzilla meant to me and what Godzilla meant to other people,” he says. “I’ve loved Godzilla since I was 6 or 7 years old. I watched all the movies growing up. It became something of a secret hobby during college because Godzilla is not that cool, so I was not exactly overt about loving the King of the Monsters at that point.” “I came back to Godzilla after I started teaching and used the films in my classes. Students really responded to them,” he says. “Watching the movies, it is very easy to get wrapped up in the spectacle and, frankly, the humor of seeing a guy in a rubber suit destroying toy cities. But the 28 Godzilla films also offer remarkable insights into Japan’s history after World War II, exploring important themes from nuclear fear in the 1950s to government corruption in the 1960s to the nation’s economic ascent in the 1980s. I make use of whatever teaching methods are effective, and students can learn a surprising amount about Japan from watching giant lizards wrestling in Tokyo.” Tsutsui cemented his rock-star status in Godzilla fandom when he spoke to a packed ballroom at G-Fest, the convention that attracts thousands of Godzillalovers to Chicago every summer. “People had me autographing the casts on their broken arms. They had me signing T-shirts for their kids,” he recalls. “It was really wild.” Tsutsui is “cautiously optimistic” about the upcoming Hollywood reboot of the Godzilla franchise, which is scheduled to be released in May. “American studios have not done all that well with giant monster movies, at least since 1933 when King Kong came out. I’m very hopeful, however, about the new Godzilla,” says Tsutsui, who was contacted via email by the film’s screenwriter and producer. “This picture is not going to have a man in a rubber suit, which to me will always be the real Godzilla, but what’s there not to love about an overgrown radioactive reptile tearing up cities?”
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Building a Foundation Alumnus sees church and college connection as head of United Methodist Foundation of Arkansas
Jim Argue Jr. ’73 didn’t major in religion at Hendrix. Nor did he follow his father, a United Methodist pastor, into ministry. But for more than 30 years, Jim Argue Jr. has faithfully served the church as president of the United Methodist Foundation of Arkansas. Under his leadership and with the generosity of generations of donors, the organization has grown into the country’s fifth-largest United Methodist foundation and affected countless congregations and ministries.
Photo by Joshua Daugherty
IN THE BEGINNING Born in Texas, Argue moved to Arkansas in 1964 when his father, the late Rev. Jim Argue Sr., became senior pastor at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock. When it came time for college, Hendrix wasn’t Argue’s first choice. “I wanted to go to Duke, but I can’t remember why,” he says. But his dad said he’d help pay for Hendrix so, as a senior at Hall High, Argue attended a GTAHAH (Great Things Are Happening at Hendrix) Weekend on campus.
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“That was the beginning … and I liked it,” says Argue, whose father arranged for another Methodist student, Mackey Yokem ’72, now director of ministries for Arkansas Conference, to chaperone Jim Jr. “I loved Hendrix and never had any regrets.” As a student, Argue was freshman class president and played intramural football and basketball, as well as pickup basketball games with the late Bob Meriwether ’49. He fondly recalls playing bridge in the student union and badminton in old Grove Gymnasium with classmate Tim Armstrong ’73. “We just had a blast,” says Argue, who lived
in Martin Hall for his first two years. With “no orientation toward math and science,” Argue majored in history and political science. He enjoyed courses with Dr. Garrett McAinsh and his faculty advisor Dr. George Thompson, as well as the last philosophy course former Hendrix President Dr. Matt Ellis taught in 1969. Argue’s original goal was to go to law school, but he admits he was “not a good student” until his junior year when a classmate, who was a returning military veteran, demonstrated good study discipline. “Until then, I kind of took a seat-of-thepants approach,” says Argue, who ultimately lost interest in pursuing law. “I wanted to get out of school and start my career,” he says. In 1973, Arkansas banking laws were liberalized when the state legislature authorized full-service branch banks and banks were eager to hire young management trainees. So Argue joined Commercial National Bank, working for one of his heroes, Bill Bowen, the bank’s president and namesake of the law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “It was a great business career opportunity and a tremendous learning foundation for a business career,” says Argue, who became a vice president at the bank.
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BUILDING A FOUNDATION After eight years in banking, Argue knew he “didn’t want to grow old in a bank lobby.” “I was kind of lost,” he says. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do.” Some friends started recruiting him to lead the newly formed United Methodist Foundation for Arkansas. Newly married, Argue wasn’t sure about walking away from the security of his banking career. But a friend and mentor told him he could make the foundation whatever he wanted it to be. “That sparked an entrepreneurial spirit in my soul that I didn’t even know was there,” he says. When he started in 1981, he admits he had a four- to five-year focus. In the beginning, the foundation “had nothing … no staff, no resources,” he says. “We were scratching just to buy typewriters.” Richard C. Butler, chairman of the bank’s board, was also chairman of the United Methodist Foundation’s board when Argue joined the organization. “He was an incredible mentor, friend and philanthropist.” says Argue. “He nurtured the foundation’s development at every opportunity and his legacy strengthens the church in Arkansas in very significant ways.” Thirty-three years and $128 million in assets later, Argue is grateful to all the donors who have enabled the foundation to become such a strong force for good. He feels blessed to have devoted his career to such a fulfilling endeavor. “We’re changing the church, and we’re strengthening the church to be both more effective and more faithful,” he says. Arkansas’ Methodist foundation is one of the country’s top foundations in terms of discretionary grant making, says Argue, who estimates he spends half of his time administering grants in support of United Methodist ministry in Arkansas. The foundation’s grants have underwritten the Imagine Ministry strategic planning process for the Arkansas Conference, sent dozens of pastors and lay leaders to professional development programs, and supported future ministers with full scholarships to United Methodist seminaries.
BECOMING A PUBLIC SERVANT In the 1980s, then-Arkansas Gov. Clinton was aggressively pursuing reform in the state’s public schools, but the legislature was “less than supportive,” Argue says.
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“We were depriving kids of educational opportunity,” he says. “To do that dooms us to repeat the cycle of poverty in Arkansas. Quality education for all is not some alternative economic development strategy. It’s a prerequisite to any strategy.” To Argue, education reform is a moral obligation. “My generation’s greatest obligation is to give children educational opportunity to enable them to make the most of their potential,” he says. Argue would often “rant and rave about the legislature” to his friend and fellow Hendrix graduate Stacy Sells ’82. After enduring Argue’s repeated rants, Sells finally told him to drop it or get more involved. “She kind of challenged me that way,” says Argue, who got his wife’s blessing to run for office on the condition that he couldn’t borrow money or spend their savings. He also got Sells to chair his campaign. “Getting Jim elected in Little Rock was not very difficult,” Sells admits. “His network of friends was huge, not to mention his longtime service in the community. Add to that Jim’s personal style, his value system and his beliefs about what’s important in this world. He was not the traditional candidate, but in my opinion, almost the perfect candidate for his district.” Argue was elected to the legislature seven times without a defeat. In 1991, he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives. He served six years and became very specialized in public education policy. In 1996, he was elected to the State Senate and seven years later served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee and President Pro Temp of the Senate. “After he was elected, Jim usually was included in every list of Top 10 legislators every year,” says Sells. “He was very well respected by the media and most political pundits, even conservatives who admired his agenda and his way of handling legislative business. When he was term-limited and could no longer run for the legislature, there were some who joked that he could probably be elected Pope of Pulaski County.” The 2003 U.S. Supreme Court’s Lakeview decision ruled Arkansas schools unconstitutional. The decision, Argue says, was an “opportunity to take a giant step forward.” “I was very fortunate that I was at the right place at the right time,” he admits. “To the legislature’s credit, they embraced the court’s decision. It was a great and exciting time, and I think we improved educational opportunity for hundreds of thousands of children,” he says, citing improvements in teacher salaries, accountability, curriculum,
small district consolidation, and standards. “As a legislator, Jim brought with him an enormous sense of purpose — to improve educational opportunity and outcomes for Arkansas kids,” Sells says. “And while all legislators have to get into the weeds about other state government issues, every day Jim walked into the state capitol with his mind on improving schools, and he influenced a cadre of colleagues to join his crusade. Together, and under his leadership, they made progress never before made in our state. I’ve long said that the stars were aligned when Jim was President of the Arkansas Senate and Chair of the Senate Education Committee during the Lake View School District special session. What a fortunate coincidence that was for all of us.”
CHURCH AND SCHOOL Argue sees Hendrix as a fundamental part of the future of the United Methodist Church and Arkansas. “The United Methodist Church and Hendrix embrace a social gospel,” he says. “The church is not an escape from the world. It’s a place to have an impact in the world.” The college and the church are perfect partners to produce that impact, he thinks. “I think a part of Hendrix’s mission is to develop church and community leaders who can initiate and achieve goals consistent with social principles,” he says. “Having worked for the United Methodist Church for 33 years, I can certainly attest to the high percentage of Hendrix graduates doing great things.” “Hendrix is a place that instills a desire in students to change the world, whether it’s in the classroom, the board room, or state capitol,” says Argue, adding that he would love to see Hendrix graduates be more of a presence in the Arkansas legislature. “Liberal arts learning and college education is not just about career development. The values taught at Hendrix are not about greed and intolerance. They’re about service and justice.” Looking back, Argue says he was fortunate to have found those values. “I was not a scholar particularly but I did leave Hendrix with an urge to learn that I’ve pursued over a lifetime,” says Argue. “I left Hendrix with a sense of humility that I didn’t have all the answers and didn’t know it all. I think that graduating from Hendrix as a mediocre student gave me a sense of confidence. The life view that I embraced at Hendrix included faithfulness, learning, service and self-awareness. All of those things have served me well over the years.” Story by Rob O’Connor ’95, Managing Editor
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Photo by Michael Tarne ’14
A Joyful Noise Most Mondays on campus, students gather in Greene Chapel to hear Hendrix chaplains and other guest preachers and enjoy music, contemporary and traditional, from their classmates. Fayetteville native Graham Senor ’15 serves as chapel music coordinator. Senor started playing piano when he was four. He took up guitar a few years later and played percussion in his middle school band. Though he says neither would admit it, his parents are musical. His father plays guitar; his mother plays piano. Both sing very well, Senor says. His older sisters have beautiful voices, much better than his, he adds. Senor took voice lessons at Hendrix for three semesters. He even tried violin lessons for a semester and was pretty proud when he got “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” down at half speed. Senor made his Greene Chapel debut as a freshman, playing “As The Deer” for an offering. “I was too afraid to sing in front of people until my junior year of high school. My mom [a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Ark.] really encouraged me to
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Chapel musician, football player, Senate president in tune with student experience
step out of my comfort zone in that way,” he says. “I had been playing piano and guitar for our Youth Worship Team since 9th grade and eventually, somehow, my mom convinced me one Sunday morning to sing on my own; it went pretty well, and I decided it wasn’t so bad. I’ve been doing it since.” Each week, he gets together with [Hendrix Chaplains] Rev. J. Wayne Clark ’84 and Rev. J.J. Whitney ’96 and Liz Forester ’15, the chapel coordinator, to talk about the next week’s theme, scripture readings and sermon topic. “We try to keep our songs in line with the theme for that Monday. This past year we’ve been doing a ‘Faith and Music’ series, in which Wayne and J.J. pick modern songs to preach their sermon on, and the chapel band performs those songs,” he says. “We’ve played songs from artists such as Mumford and Sons, U2, and the Indigo Girls. So I learn them over the course of the week, the chapel band gets together and practices a few days before we perform them that Monday.” “It really is a team sport, and I’m lucky to be a player on it,” he says. “I cannot
emphasize enough how wonderfully fantastic the chapel band is and how I could not lead worship without them. Nini Hoang ’16, Julie McCarthy ’15 and Taylor Pate ’16 have some of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. Drew Allen ’15, Austen Gnad ’16 and Patrick Rogers ’16 can both play guitar and sing absolutely wonderfully. Rachel Collins ’14 plays a mean piano. She does the hymns almost every Monday and does a fantastic job with them.” Chapel music isn’t the only group activity he’s involved in. Senor also played wide receiver on the first football team at Hendrix in 53 years. He also served as a freshman and sophomore Hendrix Student Senate representative and, this year, as assistant to Senate President Neelam Vyas ’14. This spring, Senor was elected Senate President. “While I really do enjoy performing just with the chapel band, or even by myself, I get the most joy out of hearing the congregation joining together in song,” he says. “It gives me goose bumps almost every Monday.” Story by Rob O’Connor ’95, Managing Editor
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student perspective
Fam on the Run Photo by Wil Chandler ’14
Anvesh Kompelli ’14 sets the pace for the Family Weekend 2013 5K. The race kicked off this year’s Campus Kitty program. This spring, student Campus Kitty committee members announced that 11 local charitable organizations received more than $40,000 in grants from this year’s student-sponsored Campus Kitty events.
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Legacies for the Future Freshman friends find connection as they explore call to church service
Photo by Joshua Daugherty
When Beth Ayers ’17 and Malachi McDonald ’17 arrived at Hendrix this fall, they didn’t know their history. That’s not to say the two freshmen were unprepared for the academic rigor of college. But it wasn’t until Ayers and McDonald were on a plane bound for Denver, Colo., that they realized they shared something more than a love of Hendrix and a commitment to serving the United Methodist Church. During the trip, Ayers and McDonald discovered that not only are they both Hendrix legacies but that their families included United Methodist clergy who served together in the Arkansas Conference and were close friends. The two families even vacationed together on Greers Ferry Lake. Ayers came to Hendrix from Franklin, Tenn., just a few miles away from the United Methodist Church’s headquarters in Nashville. Fortunately, her mother Jeannie WilderAyers ’82, didn’t insist she go to Hendrix. “She never even pushed it, which probably helped,” Ayers says.
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Other Hendrix ties for Ayers include her aunts Elizabeth Betsy Wilder ’84 and Rev. Mary Wilder Cartwright ’79 and uncle Rev. Michael Cartwright ’79, both United Methodist ministers, and her cousin Bethany Cartwright ’16. Her grandfather is Rev. William Wilder ’45, a United Methodist minister. McDonald’s Hendrix roots run deep. He is a six-generation Hendrix legacy. His parents are Kelley Wetzel McDonald ’92 and Rev. Mark McDonald ’88, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Ark. His sister Maddie, a high school junior, will be
in the Class of 2019. McDonald’s uncles include David McDonald ’72, Ronald McDonald ’73, Donald McDonald ’75 and Thomas McDonald ’78, and his cousin is Jonah McDonald ’01. McDonald’s grandparents are Rev. Dr. Charles McDonald ’46 and Lois King McDonald ’49, and previous generations of his family include his great-grandmother Evangel Galloway McDonald ’21, greatgreat-aunt Christina Galloway ’24, greatgreat-uncle Bishop Paul V. Galloway ’26, and great-great-grandfather J.J. Galloway 1890. When Ayers and McDonald discovered their family’s connection, their destination was Exploration 2013, a national event for 18-24 year old students who are exploring a call to ministry. They were going with a group of Hendrix classmates Violet Coker ’15, Alainna Collins ’17, JillAnn Meunier ’14 and Sarah Partee ’17, sponsored by the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling. Ayers was “already assured that Hendrix was a good fit academically” and that campus religious life was well-suited to her. It was the ample volunteer activities for Hendrix
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Tenn.), I definitely wanted to keep that type of community,” she says. Ayers is also part of a small group of freshmen women involved in campus religious life that gets together weekly. “It was very important to me.” EMT is led by Hendrix Chaplain Rev. J. Wayne Clark ’84 and Associate Chaplain Rev. J.J. Whitney ’96, who serves as associate director of the Miller Center. The program began in 2003 as part of the Hendrix-Lilly Vocations Initiative, the precursor to the Miller Center, and the group called themselves Future Preachers of America (FPA). “As we began mentoring more students for professional ministry, I thought it might be a good idea to meet weekly with students for mentoring and connect them to a group of peers to honestly share their joys and struggles in discerning a call to ministry,” explains Whitney. “We host speakers who share their particular ministries or call to ministry stories. We talk about practical ministry skills (e.g. how to make a hospital visit, how to pray in public, how to prepare a sermon) and also discuss the theology behind things like baptism and communion.” “These students continue their connections after this place as they encourage one another
in seminary or even in ministry settings across the United States,” Whitney says. Since 2004, 40 Hendrix graduates have attended seminary. About 75 percent of them were a part of this ministry exploration group. Though Ayers and McDonald are both active in EMT, the program is helpful to them in different ways. “I’m one of the few people in EMT who is not dead set on ministry at the elder level but maybe working through the church in the community,” she explains. “Through EMT, we look at different aspects of ministry, not necessarily the ministry you see as church pastor.” McDonald is leaning strongly toward going to seminary after graduation. And he’s well on his way. This year, he was asked by the District Superintendent to preach the second, fourth and fifth Sundays at Bethel United Methodist Church in Jacksonville to relieve the church’s senior pastor, who was having health issues. “I was presented with the opportunity not necessarily because I’m at Hendrix but because Bethel has a long history of Hendrix preachers,” he says. “I felt confident in taking on this extra responsibility because of my
Photo by Wil Chandler ’14
students that really sold her. “That hooked me and pretty much felt right,” she says. “I want to work with people with special needs. That’s a particular passion of mine.” Ayers is exploring both social work and ministry though she hasn’t decided which path she’ll take. In addition to the United Methodist connection, McDonald says he was looking for a small liberal arts college that would allow him “to explore all different aspects of college life and academics” and offer a strong foundation for seminary after graduation. Both students have wasted no time getting involved. Together, they volunteer with junior high youth at First United Methodist Church in Conway. They are also active in Exploring Ministry Together (EMT), a group of five to 10 students that meets every Monday night to explore all different facets of going into ministry. “One of my favorite parts of Hendrix is having that small group to explore all those things together,” says McDonald. Ayers agrees. “Coming out of a really good youth group at Christ United Methodist Church (Franklin,
Pictured, left to right, at Family Weekend 2013 are Jeannie Wilder-Ayers ’82, Emily Ayers, Abby Ayers, Bethany Cartwright ’16, Beth Ayers ’17, Greer Ayers and Dan Ayers.
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Photo by Frank Cox ’76
Pictured, left to right, at Family Weekend 2013 are Michael Hoffman, Maddie McDonald, Ben McDonald, Nick Versluys, Malachi McDonald ’17 and Mark McDonald ’88. EMT experience and with guidance from Wayne and J.J. and the Miller Center.” Last semester, McDonald took a course on John Wesley and Methodism, taught by Clark. “It was really cool to study the history of the church and the life of John Wesley,” says McDonald. “I already see it bettering my ministry.” In addition to preaching at Bethel, McDonald enlisted in the Arkansas Army National Guard as a chaplain’s assistant. “It’s certainly something different, but I see it as another good opportunity to serve people that serve,” he says. “I think that’s one of my callings.” His military commitment includes six years in the National Guard and two years in the Reserves. McDonald was awarded a stipend through the Miller Center to visit seminaries. He’s currently considering Candler School of Theology at Emory University, as well as Duke Divinity School and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Preparation for seminary was one of the reasons McDonald chose Hendrix. “It’s definitely a school that produces great
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ministers,” he says. “Not only does Hendrix give you the college experience, but with liberal arts ideals and knowledge through all areas, it builds a strong foundation for the theological ideas you learn in seminary,” says McDonald, who hopes to continue to serve as a military chaplain in the National Guard after seminary. This summer, Ayers will travel to Atlanta, Ga., to study how different nonprofits treat poverty. The trip is part of the Word in the World course taught by Hendrix religion professor Dr. Robert Williamson, an ordained Presbyterian minister. The course’s theme is “On Living Christian Faith” and students in the class interact with visiting theologians Lauren Winner, Walter Brueggemann and Peter Rollins. Last semester, Ayers took New Testament with Williamson, along with a course on social justice with sociology professor Dr. Stella Capek and accounting, something she “didn’t foresee enjoying it at all” but did. “There are just too many good classes,” says Ayers, adding that she might not have had such a diversity of classes at a larger school. “I was liberal arts all the way, and I’m
definitely not regretting that decision at all.” After Atlanta, Ayers will return home to Tennessee, where she will work with youth in music ministry, a summer internship funded by the Miller Center. Ayers plays trumpet in the Hendrix Wind Ensemble. She also plays piano and has just started playing the organ. “One of my favorite things about Hendrix is that you can use opportunities that are given and make others, which is awesome,” she says. “I see myself continuing to be fulfilled through the Chaplain’s Office and Miller Center.” McDonald concurs. “It’s a pretty focused religious life,” he says. “You never feel like a number at Hendrix in anything but certainly not in religious life. Being a Methodist school, there’s a strong emphasis on the United Methodist Church but everyone’s so accepting of whatever denomination students are. And even if you take out religious life, Hendrix still does a good job of teaching the values of the church, but not forcing religion on students. That’s one of the benefits of being on a campus this open.” Story by Rob O’Connor ’95, Managing Editor
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Pop Culture Prof Religion professor Dr. Dan Clanton Jr. ’93 shares love of liberal arts with students Photo by Eileen Chalupa
Conway native Dr. Dan Clanton Jr. ’93 grew up near the Hendrix campus. He was close friends with Paul Guthrie ’93 whose father, the late Rev. Jon Guthrie ’56, was the longtime College chaplain. He knew tons of Hendrix folks from his church, First United Methodist Church in Conway. Clanton didn’t consider another school. But four weeks into his first term as a freshman student, he was “upset and confused.” Inspired by his television hero Dr. Hawkeye Pierce from M.A.S.H., Clanton was “gung-ho pre-med.” “It took half a trimester of cell biology to disabuse me of that notion,” Clanton said. “But I had no other plan.” So he confided in religion professor Dr. John Farthing, with whom Clanton was taking two courses — Latin and “Histo Christo,” the history of Christianity. Farthing asked him what subjects he liked. Clanton was a musician who played guitar and mandolin, as well as violin, which earned him a music scholarship to perform with the chamber orchestra at Hendrix. In addition to music, he enjoyed art, history, literature and religion. Farthing encouraged him to consider religion an umbrella discipline that includes all of those subjects and more. “That one conversation completely changed everything for me,” Clanton says. “It was like a whole new world opened up for me. It was
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that powerful for me.” “He demonstrated the value of breadth that comes with a liberal arts degree, how never again would I be able to dip my toes into so many ponds, and that was tremendously freeing for me once I figured that out,” he says. Now Clanton, a religion professor at Doane College, a private liberal arts college in Nebraska, shares similarly encouraging words to his students. When he uses Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf in class, he tells students about the time he heard the Irish poet give a reading at Hendrix. As a student, Clanton was “completely wrapped up in dorm life and campus life” as treasurer and later president of Martin Hall. After Hendrix, Clanton briefly considered graduate school at Vanderbilt but was encouraged by his Bible professor, Dr. Dana Thomason ’76, to consider the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. One campus visit to the Rocky Mountains later and Clanton knew his mentor was right. He started Iliff in August 1993 and, two years later, received his master’s degree in Biblical interpretation. In fall 1995, he began a joint Ph.D. program between Iliff and the University of Denver with the goal of becoming a teacher at a school like Hendrix. “After pre-med, the only thing I ever wanted to be was a teacher,” says Clanton, whose mother is a junior-high and high school science
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Photo by Eileen Chalupa
teacher and his father Dan Sr. briefly taught. His sisters Kristin Clanton Ferryman ’98 and Kara Clanton, a 2007 University of Central Arkansas graduate, both have education degrees, and his brother Jeff Clanton ’00 is a musician and music teacher. Before he completed his doctorate, Clanton began teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He taught a full load and took care of his newborn son, Dan Clanton III [daughter Hannah arrived five years later], while his wife, Melissa Stutsman Clanton ’95, worked full-time as the assistant registrar at the University of Denver. He also taught as a visiting lecturer at the University of Denver and at a nearby community college. As a graduate student, Clanton focused on non-canonical Biblical literature produced during the second temple period, roughly 515 BCE to 70 CE. For his dissertation, he examined Renaissance interpretations of the story of Susanna through art, drama and music. “I got to be much broader, and that was enormously liberating,” says Clanton of his doctoral research. After Clanton interviewed with faculty at Doane, a search committee member told him he “spoke liberal arts.” “I had the same kind of experience they wanted their students to have,” he says. Once Melissa, an avid hockey fan and follower of the Colorado Avalanche, was wooed with a promise of a satellite subscription to keep up with the NHL action, their move from the mountains to the plains was a done deal. An offer to work as an assistant registrar at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln didn’t hurt either, Clanton said. In Doane’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Clanton teaches all religious studies classes, including comparative religion, introduction to Old and New Testaments, and world religion courses in Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. He also integrates his scholarly interest in religion in popular culture into his teaching, including television and music. In a first-year seminar on heroes, Clanton balances traditional texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, and Beowulf with stories from DC Comics, like Batman and Wonder Woman. “It’s a ton of fun,” says Clanton, who has also used the graphic novel Watchmen in an honors program course. Clanton continues to call on his Hendrix experience in class. “Masterworks had a huge impact on me,” says Clanton, recalling the former interdisciplinary seminar course. “We had a different professor each week teaching material outside their discipline. That really demonstrated a commitment to breadth in teaching … They really modeled that for me.” For Doane’s inter-term in January, Clanton teaches a course on the history of jazz, which he hopes will be converted to an honors class. Another Hendrix experience that continues to inspire Clanton is a course he took from music professor Dr. Norman Boehm that was entirely focused on the composer Gustav Mahler. Clanton was recently asked to write an entry on Mahler for the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Arts. “That whole project started with Norman Boehm,” he says. Clanton’s current research interests include artistic, musical and literary interpretations of Biblical literature and the intersection between religion and culture. He has presented and published on topics including NBC drama Law & Order, the view of Hanukkah in such shows as Friends and South Park, the Jewish identities of modern musicians such as Matisyahu and the Hip Hop Hoodios, how sexual violence is understood in the Prophetic books and on television police dramas like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the overlap between the book of Jonah and the comic book series Jonah Hex. His recent publications include his book Daring, Disreputable
and Devout: Interpreting the Hebrew Bible’s Women in the Arts and Music, published in 2009, as well as editing The End Will Be Graphic: Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels and Understanding Religion and Popular Culture, both of which were published in 2012. Despite the possible less-than-academic connotations associated with popular culture, Clanton considers it a great entrée into serious study. “There’s a body of scholarship and a history of interpretation and criticism, like anything else,” says Clanton. “Students engage in different ways with popular cultural products like graphic novels than they do with traditional texts and discover a new way to read the material, which they find more interesting and rewarding.” On campus, Clanton continues to proselytize for the liberal arts to prospective students and families. “I tell them all the benefits I got out of Hendrix,” he says. “Liberal arts education encourages you to be broad, to engage in different disciplines and ideas, to make connections between them and to consider how they might work together.” “I tell them that, as a professor at a school like Doane and at Hendrix, I get to develop stronger relationships with students and to be an advocate for them, which is helpful when it comes to writing recommendation letters,” says Clanton, who remembers his largest class at Hendrix included 40 students and the smallest class had four students. “I’ve taught 150 students. At that point, you’re really just talking at them,” he says. “There’s no substitute to going to a class with five students and the attention you get and the detail you can go into. I tell them that you will not be anonymous. You just can’t do it. And for me, that was extremely welcoming.” “People nurtured in a liberal arts environment are going to be more competitive in the job market because they can work with others, produce quality writing, and take ideas and analyze and evaluate them,” he continues. “You can’t nurture that in a larger community … and there’s something so rewarding about that as a student and a faculty member.” Story by Rob O’Connor ’95, Managing Editor
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Calling Out
Photo by Joshua Daugherty
PR professional finds her voice in the United Methodist Church
When Amy Meredith Forbus ’96 read in her church newsletter that the church council was considering hiring a “PR-type person,” she highlighted the note and told her pastor, “I want to know what this means.” “How serious are you?” he asked. “Very,” she replied. A double-digit percent pay cut and a “huge leap of faith” later, Forbus was on the parttime staff at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Carrollton, Texas, where she and her husband John, a mechanical engineer, also worked with church youth and taught Sunday School. “I was absolutely thrilled,” says Forbus, who filled her payable hours with substitute teaching. The job change was part of “a process of discernment,” she says. “I wasn’t sure if I was called to ministry or running away from an imploding industry,” remembers Forbus, who was working in public relations for Springbok Technologies on the brink of the burst of the country’s tech bubble. When Forbus, a Hot Springs native and lifelong United Methodist, was contemplating going to college, she only applied to Hendrix, a seed that was planted in 1978 when her brother Dennis Meredith ’82 was a freshman. “I adored everything about my brother,” she says. “And when I got old enough to actually make college visits, Hendrix was what looked right.” Her family connections to Hendrix now include her sister-in-law Nancy Alagood Meredith ’83, nieces Meredith Hawthorn Embree ’06 and Rebecca Meredith ’15 and nephew John Meredith ’11. Her brother also sang in the Hendrix Choir,
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which was formative for Forbus. “Being in the choir was very important to me,” Forbus says, who likewise performed in the Hendrix Choir as a student and stayed active as a church musician long after graduation. An English major, Forbus admits she wasn’t sure what she was going to do when she and her husband moved to Dallas for his job. She tried ad copywriting for a couple of years, but when an ad she wrote appeared in the Dallas Morning News, she wondered how many people could be fed for the cost of one of her high-end retail clothing client’s products. “Advertising felt too much like lying, convincing people to buy things that they don’t need,” says Forbus, who then transitioned into technical writing. After two and a half years of writing and editing employee benefits guides, she went into “high-tech” public relations, working with clients such as Rackspace Managed Hosting. Working with entrepreneurs — without the potential for crisis communications issues like environmental disasters — suited her better. “I really thought PR was where I was going to stay,” she said. Until she read that note in the church newsletter. While serving her local church, she added a part-time job at UMR Communications, which published the United Methodist Reporter, a national UMC-focused publication. She eventually transitioned to full-time staff there, staying eight years and working in a variety of roles, including as digital community builder for the UMR news staff. In 2010, Forbus was offered the opportunity to return to Arkansas as editor of the Arkansas United Methodist newspaper.
“I walked in to the interview and knew almost everyone in the room from my relationships in the UMC,” she says. “I even said to one person, ‘Please don’t tell my family I’m here — they don’t even know it’s a possibility that I could move back to Arkansas!’” When the offer came through and John found out he could get a transfer, the couple moved to Little Rock. In her role, she is responsible for writing and editing the content of the number one news source for the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church. She also helps guide strategic communication planning for the Arkansas Conference and supports Arkansas United Methodist Bishop Gary Mueller and his vision for the conference. “Ultimately it’s about lifting up the good in the world and in the United Methodist church,” she says. “My goal is to use one church’s or one person’s story to inspire others to think they can change their corner of the world in a way that makes a positive difference and enriches someone’s life of faith.” The work is not always uplifting, says Forbus, who occasionally has to cover stories that deal with topics like arson and embezzlement in churches. “It’s hard to do the negative stories. That hurts on a personal level when you’re as involved in the UMC as I am,” she says. “It can get emotional because there’s love and loyalty, but there’s also the need to tell the truth.” The need to tell the truth is more important than covering “church as usual,” she thinks. “I think we need to guard against a ‘church as usual’ mentality,” Forbus says. “I hope my work can get people to look at what Jesus said to do, and go do it.”
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 33
On a Mission When Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder ’83 became interested in ministry, there were very few women clergy in Arkansas. Now, at 52, she’s one of the United Methodist Church’s longest-serving women clergy in the state. “At the time, people thought ‘We’re not going to force these women on people,’” she recalls. “I thought, ‘That doesn’t have anything to do with it!’ It’s about your gifts and graces and are you called?” From her first post-seminary assignment as a United Methodist minister to three small churches in south Arkansas to her current post as senior pastor at Little Rock’s Trinity United Methodist Church, Snyder has made a career of challenging expectations of what clergy and their congregations can and should do. “Faith is about carving a tunnel through the mountain,” Snyder adds. “And people will go a long way with you if you love and care about them and forget about the obstacles.”
THE PATH TO THE PULPIT Snyder, the youngest of five children, grew up in North Little Rock and graduated from Oak Grove High School. She came by her faith naturally. Her family was very involved at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock, where her mother taught Sunday school. Her earliest church memories are of attending services with her mother and grandmother at the former Winfield United Methodist Church location, which is now Quapaw Quarter UMC, where Snyder would
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later build an urban arts ministry and serve as pastor. Her Hendrix roots were likewise solid. Her oldest brother Rev. Jack Singleton ’64 became a United Methodist minister and her great uncle Rev. Daniel Hammons 1899, a United Methodist minister, served as a vice president at Hendrix from 1938 to 1942. At Hendrix, she was originally an art major and was interested in going into advertising. She switched her major to English during her second year. “It just didn’t occur to me to be a religion major,” she says. As an English major, Snyder took Biblical Literature and Thought with Dr. Francis Christie ’44, which blended her interest in writing and religion. “I fell in love with the Bible in a new way, in a way that made sense to me,” she says of the course’s impact on her. “It was very inspiring. I realized it really lived and breathed.” Wanting to study the work of George Bernard Shaw during her senior year, Snyder’s advisor Dr. Chuck Chappell ’64 arranged an independent study for her with Dr. Joe B. Hatcher. Dr. Hatcher had just become Hendrix president during Snyder’s senior year and had focused on Shaw for his doctoral research in English. “We met every week and read a play each week,” she remembers. “Who gets that?” “He really saw himself as an educator,” she said. “I admired Dr. Hatcher greatly as a human being and as a leader.”
After Hendrix, Snyder enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin’s master’s degree program in communication with an emphasis in copywriting. Though she loved UT and Austin, she was “absolutely miserable” after a semester. “I had been too exposed at Hendrix to the idea of liberal arts and thinking, and I really wanted to pursue creative writing,” says Snyder, who returned to Little Rock, where she worked at the Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods advertising agency and took creative writing and French classes at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. As she was planning to get a master’s degree in creative writing, she also became more involved in Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, where associate pastor Rev. John Christie ’77, Dr. Christie’s son, encouraged her to consider ministry. PHUMC’s previous associate pastor Rev. Beverly Sawyer was also very influential, says Snyder. Snyder applied to three graduate writing programs and three United Methodist seminaries. Her Hendrix classmate Rev. Ellen Alston ’82 encouraged her to apply for the Nicholson Scholarship, a full scholarship at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. For the application, Snyder had to write about a religious figure, a requirement she didn’t feel quite up to. Snyder chose to write about Flannery O’Connor and got the scholarship.
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Photo by Joshua Daugherty
Methodist minister mixes sermons with social justice
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Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 35
Snyder completed seminary at Perkins in 1991. After one year in south Arkansas, Rev. Vic Nixon ’62 asked her to serve as his associate pastor at Pulaski Heights UMC. “I wanted to learn from him,” she says of Nixon. With Nixon’s encouragement, Snyder became involved in mission work in Ekaterinburg, Russia, working with churches and ministering in Russian prisons. “That was a big part of my life for a decade,” she says. “I was very proud of that particular mission.” After eight years at PHUMC, Snyder took a year’s sabbatical. Halfway through, she was appointed to the Hazen and Devalls Bluff charge as an interim. Six months later, Snyder was commissioned as a local missionary by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) to head the Heartwork Arts Mission at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock. To appeal to artists and urban dwellers, the mission rented space to artists and “tried to be a little edgier,” with different music each week and performances by actors from such venues as Little Rock’s Weekend Theatre. After three years, the church had grown enough for Snyder to stay on as its full-time pastor. While supporting the capitol city’s artists at a Louis Jordan festival at Vino’s, Snyder began talking to her future husband, U.S. Congressman Dr. Vic Snyder, about mutual international missionary experiences. Rep. Snyder asked her if he could come to church the next day. A week later, the day before her 40th birthday, he asked her out. The couple married in 2003 and welcomed their first son, Penn, in 2006. When Snyder started, Quapaw Quarter had about 30 in worship attendance. “Quapaw became an urban melting pot,” she says. “We had a lot of diversity.” Looking to Glide Memorial UMC in San Francisco as a model for what an urban church could do in the community, Quapaw created a new community breakfast to add to its Stone Soup meal on Sunday afternoons. The church later added animal food for pets for its working poor who visited the food pantry. The church’s community events also included a summer camp for at-risk youth led by the late Broadway star Lawrence Hamilton and an annual Christmas in the Quarter tour of homes. Eight years later in 2009, there were nearly 200 in worship at Quapaw when Snyder left on maternity leave expecting triplets Wyatt, Sullivan and Aubrey.
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Photo by Cocoa Laney
WOMAN ON A MISSION
Trinity UMC senior pastor Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder ’83 and her husband, former U.S. Congressman Dr. Vic Snyder, and their four children, Wyatt, Sullivan, Aubrey and Penn.
REBIRTH Though birthing triplets was an “amazing journey,” it wasn’t without risk. Her doctors discovered a virus attacked her heart, causing heart failure, and Snyder spent three days in a coronary care unit. Her sons were healthy, but she spent an additional week in the hospital after their birth. In 2011, Snyder was honored as a survivor by the American Heart Association’s Go Red program. After the triplets’ birth, Snyder shared her experiences as a mother of multiples in the “mommy blog” for Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s littlerockmamas.com. “I enjoyed the process of writing on a regular basis,” she recalls. “I needed that during that time.” Snyder would like to write a book for women “who are trying to balance everything” and another on the church and “what discipleship means in the 21st century.” “We still need some Methodist voices talking about that and some women’s voices,” says Snyder, who would also like to pen a children’s book. After two and half years away from active ministry, Snyder was cleared to return to fulltime work in January 2011. That spring she was appointed senior pastor at Trinity UMC. With nearly all Christian denominations suffering from decreases in attendance, Snyder sees an incredible opportunity to draw young adults back into church. Numerical growth and adding depth to what the church is doing in the community are two ways that churches can grow, she says.
Snyder has seen both. At Trinity, Snyder has led sermon series on addiction, mental health and other social justice issues. “We have to cross over and make an effort to deal with injustice and ask, ‘What can we do?’ Taking the fingers out of our ears is the first step,” she says. “Hendrix taught me that.” “The church doesn’t exist for itself,” she says. “There has to be fruit.” Her congregation has also partnered with local elementary schools, hosting backto-school parties and a backpack program to collect school supplies for students in need. The church is a Partner in Education with Brady Elementary School. Since Trinity’s involvement, the school has improved test scores. “That’s the kind of stuff Trinity does,” she says. “We’re all in this together. Those kids belong to us, and they need the intervention of loving people.” Snyder has modeled the hands-on community involvement her congregation is committed to. She has served on the Arkansas Hospice Foundation Board and on the founding board of the Harmony Health Charitable Clinic, among numerous civic activities. As a member of the Little Rock Zoo Foundation Board, she’s championed the zoo as a conservation institution and has brought the zoo’s penguins into worship services. “I don’t sit in my office, and I don’t think clergy or Christians should sit in an office,” she says. Story by Rob O’Connor ’95, Managing Editor
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Giving Challenges Impact Fundraising This spring semester four donor challenges were issued to increase both dollars raised and donor participation for the Hendrix Annual Fund. Each challenge provides an opportunity to energize prospective donors and to match funds for donors who want to renew their support to Hendrix. The thoughtful donors who sponsored these challenges and those who responded will help sustain the College by providing $150,000 in increased gifts for the Hendrix Annual Fund. “The collegiate experience is more than just earning class credits,” said Tim Lomax, former parent and sponsor of the Lomax-Hoffman Challenge. “The opportunity for experiences and involvement outside of the classroom is as important as the official curriculum,” he continued. “Hendrix places a high premium on experiential learning, and we are happy to play a small part in supporting Hendrix’s ability to offer such experiences.” This spring’s giving challenges include:
matched 10 new gifts of $1,000 or more. This challenge was also completed in March. • The Ellis Arnold Leadership Challenge was established in late March by the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees to honor Acting President W. Ellis Arnold III ’79. At press time, this challenge is still in place and matches 15 new gifts of $1,000 or more.
• The Worsham Leadership Giving Challenge, sponsored by Dr. Gordon Worsham of Dallas, Texas, matched 30 new gifts of $1,000 or more. This challenge was completed in March.
• The Baltz Alumni and Parent Participation Challenge, sponsored by Dr. Brad Baltz ’84 and Amy Baltz, will match 100 new gifts of $200, for a total of $20,000. At press time, this challenge is still in place.
• The Lomax-Hoffman Challenge for the Hendrix Parent Fund was sponsored by former parents, Tim and Jeannine Lomax, and
For more information about how to participate in the remaining challenges or to see a list of donors, please visit hendrix.edu/matchinggrant.
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Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 37
alumni weekend 2014
Celebrating & Remembering Your Hendrix Experience
Have you ever been to Alumni Weekend? If you think it isn’t for you, it is. It’s for every Hendrix alumna or alumnus. This year, we welcomed more than 900 people to events connected to Alumni Weekend 2014. From the Class of 1937 to the Class of 2013, everyone was represented. Alumni were “reunionpartying” on campus, in Conway and in Little Rock. Our classmates and friends were getting their mug shots taken or running a 5K or swinging a golf club or singing in Trieschmann. We helped honor the longest-tenured Hendrix College employee, induct members into the Warrior Hall of Honor, remember deceased friends and listen to farewells from Dr. Joe Lombardi, Dr. Nancy Fleming and Ansley Fleming. Mark your calendar and make plans to join us April 17-19, 2015. We’d love to see you here! Find these and other photos online at www.flickr.com/hendrixcollege.
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Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 39
Reconnect with friends,
hear Hendrix updates
and have fun! Hendrix alumni and friends had great fun together north and south of the equator recently. Twenty friends and alumni traveled to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions in September. We celebrated Hendrix Legacies during Family Weekend with current students and their families. The 2013 Odyssey Medals were awarded to Charles Chalfant ’81, Liz Langston ’84 and Derek Lowe ’83 at the Founders Day Convocation on campus in the morning. We continued celebrating Founders Day with a reception at the Clinton Library Great Hall that evening.
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See more photos from these and other Hendrix-sponsored events on Flickr at www.flickr.com/hendrixcollege.
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Hendrix Memorial Garden opens in July 2014 Over the past several years, Hendrix College alumni and friends have asked about the possibility of dedicating a sacred place on campus where those who love or are connected to Hendrix may choose to be interred. In response, Hendrix is introducing the Hendrix Memorial Garden, located directly to the south of Greene Chapel. Chaplain J. Wayne Clark will serve as the curator of the Memorial Garden. Contact Rev. Clark at (501) 450-1263 or clark@hendrix.edu or visit www.hendrix.edu/memorialgarden for more information.
40 Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014
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Founders Day Reception Oct. 24, 2013, Little Rock, Ark. A1 Tom Goodwin and Derek Lowe ’83 A2 Bill Fiser ’75, Dub Fiser, Liz Langston ’84, May Poulin, Margaret Langston and Kelly Langston A3 Bishop Gary Mueller, Ginny McMurray, Dede Roberts, Charla Chalfant, Thomson Murray and Ken Pearson ’80
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A4 Vic Nixon ’62, Joe Hollyfield ’60 and Mary Reyburn A5 Rob Nichols ’91 and Ann Spatz Nichols ’91 A6 Stephen Carter ’81, Brooks Clem ’81, Chuck Chalfant ’81 and Todd Shiver ’82
Galapagos Cruise with Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Sept. 13-22, 2013, Ecuador
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B1 Charlie DeBoard, Bill Patterson ’66, Cecilia Riley Patterson ’67, Joan Davis Wagnon ’62, Pamela Owen ’82, Sylvia McDaniel Hoke Roland ’84, Ricky Pearce ’72, Glen Douglas ’65, Gay Tennison, Bill Wagnon ’62, Bonnie Moser McIlroy ’84, Susan Farris DeBoard ’71 and Jamie Brainard B2 Sylvia McDaniel Hoke Roland ’84 and Bonnie Moser McIlroy ’84 B3 Bill Wagnon ’62 and Joan Davis Wagnon ’62 B4 Ethan Colley, Mary Margaret Capps White ’73, Blaine White Colley ’99, Jonathan Colley, Lee White ’72 and Jerod Colley B5 Espanola Island finch of the Darwin finches and marine iguana
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B6 Cecilia Riley Patterson ’67 and Bill Patterson ’66 B7 Gay Tennison and Glen Douglas ’65 B8 Ricky Pearce ’72, Cecilia Riley Patterson ’67 and Bill Patterson ’66
Family Weekend Legacy Luncheon Sept. 29, 2013, Hendrix College C1 Colin Emery, Clark Emery, Jennifer Daugherty Emery ’88, Kate Emery ’16 and Rob Emery ’89
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C2 Cathy Engelkes ’78, Julia Lee McGill ’14, Allison Marr ’84 and Holly Marr ’86 C3 Savannah DuBose , Callie Bowling, Jace Bowling, Jeff DuBose ’14, Maureen Cohen Steinmetz Leverett ’63, Tony DuBose and Lisa Steinmetz DuBose C4 Pam Turner ’83, Evan Mitchell ’16 and Chris Mitchell ’83 C5 Molly Lentz ’14, Clay Lentz ’85 and Pam Porter Lentz ’86
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C6 Danny Traylor ’78, Mary Parkerson Traylor ’79, Allison Traylor ’15, Bob Traylor ’49, Scottie Traylor, Henry Traylor, Courtney Niven Traylor ’91 and David Traylor ’90
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alumnotes
Alumnotes
connecting with classmates
Share your news with other alumni by visiting www.hendrix.edu/alumni and using the online form. Information received after Feb. 3 will appear in the fall edition. Photos smaller than 1440 x 960 pixels cannot be accepted for publication.
1959
1983
1986
Jim Shamburger is the managing partner of the Best Western Winners Circle Inn in Hot Springs, Ark. Jim serves as the Natural State Golf Trail president and has been involved with the Arkansas Hospitality Association since 1993.
Scott Walker recently joined Reveille Software in Alpharetta, Ga., as the Director of Services and Support.
Rev. Robert E. Walden is the new Interim Director of Epiphany Episcopal Church, Honolulu, Hawaii.
1962
Patsy Crow King was honored to have her name added to the large glass wall of The Main Downtown Library in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 26, 2013. The wall of the Main Downtown Library displays the names of many local authors.
1966
J. Randy Hudson received the honor of having a room in the new science building at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, named after him. The room was given by pre-health science alumni in appreciation for his many years of service on the biology faculty and as the health sciences advisor.
1968
Roelof de Boer was an exchange student from 1964-1965. He has retired from being a pediatrician in the Netherlands. Vickie Witt Draper retired after 36 years with Fayette County Schools serving as an English teacher, school counselor, and supervisor of pre-kindergarten testing, assessment and federal programs (Title I, II and III). See Marriages.
Janice Eifling retired after serving 44 years at the USDA National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa.
1969
Robert Taylor is the associate regional counsel for Housing Finance and Programs in the Little Rock office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
1972
Rich Livingston is an expert quoted extensively in Beth Alison Maloney’s new book, Childhood Interrupted, about autoimmune neurological and psychiatric problems in children, especially those caused by previous strep throat.
Beverly Villines retired after serving 41 years at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
1978
Dr. Tim Barger is religion editor of The Blade, the daily newspaper in Toledo, Ohio.
1981
Bob Staab has been named Director, Bartlesville Employee Services for Phillips 66 in Bartlesville, Okla. Groups reporting to him include move services, interior space design, conferencing services, the warehouse, and mail, shipping and ground transportation.
Kimberly Hollis Barton has accepted a position as the school counselor at Boone Park Elementary School in North Little Rock, Ark.
1985
Jeff McCoy is Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at Chase in Marietta, Ga.
Karen S. Billings was awarded the American Guild of Organists’ Service Playing Certificate in 2012. She serves as the pianist at the Basilica of San Albino in Mesilla, N.M., and as the organist at University Methodist Church in Las Cruces.
1988
John C. Wyvill has been named Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Jenifer Ward ’80 named provost of Centenary College Jenifer Ward ’80 has been appointed provost and dean of Centenary College in Shreveport, La. She will leave her role at Cornish College of the Arts and begin her new role at Centenary July 1. Jenifer earned her B.A. in German from Hendrix College and later earned her Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures from Vanderbilt University. She has brought her strong academic
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background in foreign languages to Rhodes College, the College of Wooster and Gustavus Adolphus College. “Liberal arts colleges occupy a unique place on the evolving landscape of higher education, and Centenary’s distinction lies in the intersection of its compelling history and its outward and forward-looking vision,” she said.
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alumnotes
On track for success in the communications field In 2016, Hendrix Alumna Amanda Brooks ’08 will board a plane to the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to represent USA Track and Field’s athletes. Amanda currently works as the marketing and communications director for USA Track and Field and she credits Hendrix with much of her success. “Hendrix made me fiercely independent, taught me to demand the best from myself and let me know that my hard work will pay off. My professors and mentors supported and challenged me from day one and without every single one of them, especially Danny Powell and Jennifer and Thad McCraken, there is no way I’d have the confidence and drive I do now as a female in the sports world,” said Amanda. Amanda majored in Religion with an emphasis on the Dead Sea Scrolls and minored in English with an emphasis on English Literature and poetry. Amanda played volleyball for three years at Hendrix and was involved with Hendrix Intramurals all four of her years. She attended Vanderbilt University where she earned a master’s degree in ethics. While at Vanderbilt, she began a work-study job in athletics communications. She worked with every sport at Vanderbilt and traveled with
1989
Leigh Abernathy was named to the board of Arkansas Craft Guild in 2012. Kathryn Davitt of Fort Worth, Texas, is the recipient of the Mary Barkey Clinical Excellence Award by the Child Life Council, a prestigious national award for her work as a child life specialist. Greg Joslin of Little Rock, Ark., was named a principal partner at Irwin Partners, a full-service commercial real estate investment, brokerage and development firm based in Little Rock with a branch office in Fayetteville. Paul Smith resigned after 20 years as a finance and consumer research
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the football, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer and women’s track and field teams. She “was hooked” on athletics communications as her work-study job put her on the sideline when Vanderbilt beat Auburn. From there she went on to be a graduate intern with the Nashville Predators. Later, she began working with the Florida Gators as an intern, and was eventually hired full time where she coordinated media requests, wrote features and handled press needs for game days. In August 2013, USA Track and Field approached Amanda and she began work in November 2013. She has similar duties as she did at her other jobs, but she is also solely responsible for social and new media [strategic communications]. In addition to managing USA Track and Field’s social media, she is helping develop the new USATF app and assisting in their rebranding process. She works with professional athletes as well as profiling retired athletes like Olympians and Hall of Fame inductees Dan O’Brien and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. In 2014, Amanda will represent USA Track and Field at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor
executive at The Procter & Gamble Company to become a full-time author and speaker. His first book, Lead with a Story, is in its fifth printing in the United States and has been translated into five languages. His second book is expected in fall 2014.
1990
Robin Green is a Circuit Judge in Arkansas. Before Green began serving as judge, she was the first female prosecutor in Benton County and was also Benton County’s civil attorney. Scott Simpson recently relocated with his wife and two children to Smyrna, Tenn. He is the multimedia program developer at Cross Country Education. He develops and coordinates
webinars and online modules that health care professionals around the country complete to receive continuing education credit.
1991
Devon Cockrell serves as the Course Manager, responsible for Active Army, sister service, Allied and Army Reserve Psychological Operations officer training at 5th Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was recently promoted to Major. Glen Hooks has accepted a position as the first-ever Chapter Director of the Arkansas Sierra Club after 11 years as a member of the Sierra Club’s national staff.
Amanda Brooks ’08, left, with Dan O’Brien, 1996 Olympic decathlon gold medal winner and three-time world champion. Championships in Sopot, Poland, and the International Association of Athletics Federations World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas. Amanda will travel in 2015 with USA Track and Field to the International Association of Athletics World Outdoor Championships in Beijing, China, and in 2016, she will travel to the Summer Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
1993
Wendy Anderson is Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s Deputy Chief of Staff.
1995
Rev. Barkley Thompson, dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas, was the featured speaker on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally syndicated ecumenical radio program, on Jan. 5 and 12. He wrote and published his first book, Elements of Grace.
1996
Regina Lichti Binz serves as president of the board and founder of Holy Sews, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is
offering support to those experiencing perinatal bereavement. Amy Dunn Johnson was honored by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law as the 2013 recipient of the Alumni Outstanding Public Service Award.
1997
Sean McConnell is Director of Engagement at Episcopal Relief and Development in New York.
1998
Regina Ott and her husband, Jeremy Bragg, have purchased River City Tea, Coffee & Cream in Little Rock’s historic Hillcrest neighborhood. The new name is River City Coffee.
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alumnotes
Young poet credits Hendrix emphasis on excellence for her success Author of four poetry chatbooks, Jessica Crenshaw ’08 has had her work praised by Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni. After sending her books to Angelou and Giovanni, Jessica received hand-written notes from the authors. “I wanted to show them that the language of poetry is still alive and that there are still young, talented African-American women poets going strong,” she says. Jessica feels inspired by life — everyday events, she says, “from love to overcoming obstacles, these inspire me to make beautiful and truthful poetry.” Everyone she encountered at Hendrix
1999
David Curran was named Deputy Attorney General for Civil Division for the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office. Amanda Bolls Smith has accepted a position at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as the Associate Director of Development and Communications for the Myeloma Institute.
was part of her success, Jessica says, citing “everyone, from my professors to the sweethearted Lunch Ladies” as contributors. Following her passion and always pursuing excellence are the two great lessons that Hendrix taught her, Jessica adds. “Whether it was academics, sports, or poetry, I held fast to these lessons. Because these lessons were stressed every day at Hendrix, they have become second nature to me,” she says. “When I’m passionate about something, nothing can stop me. When I pursue my passion with excellence, I know that the sky’s the limit.”
2001
Bryan Borland’s Sibling Rivalry Press published work that won the Pushcart Prize and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry in 2013. Other titles were featured in Publishers Weekly, The Village Voice and Poets & Writers Magazine. See Marriages. Kate Matlock is a senior digital strategist for Ketchem and recently celebrated her fifth anniversary of living in England. In summer 2013, Kate was published in The Practical
Be Smart About Art Susan Johnson-Mumford ’00 is facilitating and working with Be Smart About Art to launch a new collective. Be Smart About Art fosters many talented artists’ passion for art and provides a place for them to meet and further develop their talents. Susan founded the Association of Women Art Dealers in 2009, where she helps artistic women succeed in their careers. She also manages art commissions and curates exhibits in Arkansas. Johnson-Mumford currently resides in London.
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Handbook for PR and Social Media Professionals, contributing a chapter on changes in etiquette due to social media and mobile devices.
2002
Larry Dunn, Ph.D., is an Industrial Liaison Officer with the NSF-funded Nanomanufacturing Systems for Mobile Computing and Energy Technologies Engineering Research Center headquartered at the University of Texas at Austin.
Jackson Jennings earned his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology in Jyvaskyla, Finland, and now teaches Genetics and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arkansas.
and he hopes it will lead to Arkansas-based manufacturing of the equipment.
2003
Keeley Murray L’Esperance accepted a position as the Campus Librarian for The Chef’s Academy in Morrisville, N.C. See Marriages.
Paul Prewitt-Freilino was appointed Associate Vice President for Academic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at Becker College.
2004
Dr. Stephen Routon completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology and a fellowship in Breast Imaging. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the University of Arkansas Medical School Department of Radiology.
2005
Douglas Hutchings is president of Silicon Solar Solutions. The company was recently awarded $500,000 to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s prestigious SunShot Initiative. Hutchings said the goal of the project is to improve the technology on industrial cells,
2006
2007
Andrew McCormick has joined the corporate team in Hogan Lovells’ Denver, Colo., office. Lizzy Price accepted a position as the Communications Director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas in Little Rock.
2008
Stephen Dyle of Springfield, Mo., has been promoted to Senior Archaeological Crew Chief at C Dimensions, Inc.
2009
Leslie Till Irle currently works at Garden Hills Elementary as an English as
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Jessica Sweatt graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Master of Science degree in biomedical research. She will be teaching high school biology at Metro Nashville in Tennessee in fall 2014.
2010
Robert Kempton is living in Shanghai, China, working for a leading global engineering consulting firm (Bureau Veritas), managing the
commercial negotiations for U.S. companies that are expanding operations into Mainland China. Paul Yin has joined Thompson & Knight LLP’s Tax Practice Group.
2011
Brandie Maraziti accepted a position as Surgery Scheduling Coordinator at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Her small business, Blue Morpho Apothecary, an artisanal line of organic bath and body products, celebrated
its second year of operation in December.
2012
Trent Whitehead, Zac Hale and Dylan Veron just released their first album titled “On Being Alone” with their band Swampbird.
2013
Adam Grippo is a chemistry research specialist at the University of California, Berkeley.
www.hendrix.edu
Matthew Ormsbee ’07 has recently published a book, Law School 20|20, where he details the benefits and risks of studying and practicing law giving a “20|20” perspective. He describes his book as an “admissions guide” to the American legal education. Matthew is now living in New York where he practices law.
Marriages
Roger Morse ’87 to Kevin Utter, August 2013.
Vickie Witt ’68 to Roy Draper, Jan. 11, 2014.
Bryan Borland ’01 to Seth Pennington, 2013.
Nell Meadows Doyle ’71 to Patrick Thompson, Sept. 21, 2013.
Keeley Murray ’06 to Matthew L’Esperance, July 6, 2013.
Jon Mourot ’76 to Kyle Boswell, Nov. 2, 2013.
Britney McCarthy ’07 to Langston Lee ’07, July 2008. See New Children.
Stan Cheyne ’84 to Linda Hart ’87, November 2011.
David Keine ’10 to Dorothy Schuler ’12, June 29, 2013. Pictured from left to right: Eric Mathis ’11, LaRonda Mitchell ’12, Kate Moran ’12, David Hagan ’11, Dorothy Schuler Keine ’12, Aaron Gankofskie ’09, David Keine ’10, Kirk Kimery ’10, Matt Gaglio ’10 and Cassandra Heimann ’12.
Learning about law school
Jason Wendt ’09 to Meagan Alban ’10, Dec. 1, 2013. Olivia Wallace ’10 to Brandon Meadows, July 6, 2013. Laura Rowe ’11 to Daniel Zollers, Aug. 17, 2013. Amy Fontenot ’12 to Alex Ireton, Aug. 3, 2013.
Leslie Till ’09 to Matthew Irle, June 29, 2013.
Cory Barbot ’04 to Nadia King, May 25, 2013. Pictured from left to right: Chad Clay ’03, Nadia Barbot, Leighanne Alford ’05, Ellie Wheeler ’09, Rachel Clay ’04, Christopher Osborn, Wes Alford ’04, Jessica Osborn, Kristen Bailey, Andrew King ’09, Cory Barbot ’04 and Adam Perdue ’04.
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 45
alumnotes
a Second Language teacher. See Marriages.
alumnotes
New Children Samuel Stephen and Thomas Blakely, twins to Elizabeth A. Storm ’96 and Adam Rule, Nov. 2, 2013. Ruby Louise, first daughter, third child, to Mickey McFarlin ’98 and Cathleen StaggsMcFarlin ’00, Sept. 25, 2013. Elizabeth Bailey, second daughter, fourth child, to Kelle Reach Franklin ’00 and Corey, Oct. 30, 2012.
Isaac Henry, first son, first child, to Mary Crouch Young ’00 and Bobby, Feb. 18, 2013.
Matthew Rhys, first son, first child, to Matt Price ’03 and Kayce Green ’04, Nov. 30, 2013.
Colette Steele, first daughter, first child, to Amanda Dupree ’01 and Cassidy Dale, Dec. 22, 2013.
Zachary Jordan, first son, first child, to Amanda Baugh ’04 and Jason Lee, Oct. 31, 2013.
Della Claire, first daughter, second child, to Angela Disch Gray ’01 and Tommy, Sept. 28, 2013.
Emma Grace Cassidy, first daughter, second child, to Liz Burba-Carter ’05 and Brett, June 5, 2013.
Murrell English, first son, first child, to Emily English ’02 and Wes Craiglow, Jan. 11, 2014.
Devdas Bazil, first son, first child, to Madeline Couch Desai ’05 and Mandar, Sept. 8, 2013.
Samuel Lee, first son, second child, to Jennifer Patterson ’02 and Michael Wright ’02, Sept. 7, 2013.
Julian Francis, first son, first child, to Sean Mehl ’11 and Elizabeth DeGlopper, Nov. 17, 2013, makes his first campus visit.
Oliver Stanley Grant, son of Joyce Holaway Fletcher ’91, devours a marshmallow during Memorial Day Weekend.
46 Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014
Lucy Faith, daughter of Jennifer Burger Carter ’94, shows her Hendrix pride.
James Callahan, first son, first child, to Britney McCarthy Lee ’07 and Langston Lee ’07, Oct. 13, 2013.
Stephen, son of Rob Nichols ’91 and Ann Spatz Nichols ’91, at his first Hendrix football game.
www.hendrix.edu
alumnotes
A Legacy of Support
Lucile Esmon Shivley ’32 (1911 — 2013) Lucile Esmon Shivley ’32 died on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in Little Rock. She was born Oct. 21, 1911, and grew up on her family’s farm near Corning, Ark. She married Charles Shivley in 1932. The couple shared a passion for service, social justice, world travel and the United Methodist Church. An enthusiastic advocate for higher education, Lucile inspired Hendrix alumni to increase their support for student scholarships and financial aid through a series of challenge grants, and she encouraged initiatives that enhance social justice and help students expand their understanding of other cultures. Through her support of Your Hendrix Odyssey: Engaging in Active Learning, she helped initiate student projects that incorporate service
learning into international travel or study abroad experiences in developing countries. Among her many activities and interests were volunteering for and supporting Camp Aldersgate, Heifer International and the American Red Cross. She directed volunteers in making doll costumes for the Salvation Army sale, organizing and working on the annual Parkway Village garage sale and making turbans for cancer patients. Lucile received the 2005 Kresge Award from the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation and the 2007 Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Arkansas chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). In 2009, the Hendrix College Board of Trustees awarded Lucile an honorary degree.
In Memoriam Euphemia Clemmons Boyd ’32 Carleton Coppack Conrad ’32 Lucile Esmon Shivley ’32 Ruth Elizabeth Lindley Williams ’32 Catherine Coles Bruce ’37 Doris Roebuck Hansen ’40 Robert E. Dunn ’41 Ellen Victoria Wiggins Hummelstein ’41 Inis L. Claude ’42 Harry L. Dietrich Jr. ’42 Gloria Besser Fulks ’42 Doris Williamson Mapes ’42 Nancy Dowell Moranda ’42 Mary Jane Norman Poole ’42 Dorothy Armstrong Rorex ’42 James Henry McCown ’43 Julia Ann Hathcoat States ’43 Magaret Teeter Bishop ’44 Sidney B. Bryant ’44 Doris Owens Johnston ’44 Riley Sloan Rainwater Jr. ’45 Marie Harrel Christie ’46 James R. Ricks ’46 Everett Russell Baxter ’47 Charles C. Callaway ’47* Sidney Chafetz ’47* Albert B. Christman ’47* Nancy Gage Dalton ’47 Henry P. Ebensperger ’47* Edwin E. Epstein ’47* Murray Fox ’47* Laurence P. Gaush ’47* Alfred J. Gernsbacher ’47* Carroll C. Goodman ’47* William M. Hannafan ’47* Tilden T. Head ’47*
www.hendrix.edu
Jack G. Hebert ’47* Bertrand L. Hewett ’47* Bettie Harris Hill ’47 Walter W. Hillenbrand ’47* Francis N. Iglehart Jr. ’47* Howard A. Isenberg ’47* Albert C. Mazukna ’47* Robert J. Mesler Jr. ’47* Jesse W. Morris ’47* William I. Rainwater ’47 (former trustee) Gerhard H. Schulze ’47* William C. Utsch ’47* Eloise Payne Williams ’47 Glo Hutcheson Atkinson ’48 L. Terry Atkinson ’48 Thomas E. Hervey Jr. ’48 John Edward Hilliard ’48 Colleen Ford Graves ’49 Ellen Gene Singleton Townsley Jamar ’49 Lois Lee King McDonald ’49 C. Gibbs Henley ’50 Hal R. Sessions Jr. ’50 Pete Norman Snapp ’50 John S. Workman ’50 (former trustee) Daniel G. Baldridge ’51 Robert B. Howerton Jr. ’51 (former trustee) Clinton David Burleson ’52 Mary Antoinette “Mimi” Cazort ’52 Victor Virgil Cummins Jr. ’52 Della Juanita Eberdt Deen ’52 Effie Elise Hyatt Frazier ’52 Susan Henry Massey ’52 John D. Scougale ’52 Charles Rayburn Dougan ’53 Ruby Meacham Hutto ’53 Rodney G. Stebbins ’53
Mary Joyce Richardson Arnold ’54 Raymond H. Lewis ’54 William Edward Steel ’54 Sarah Ford Bilberry ’55 Katherine Tyler Steel Dean ’56 Edward L. Bryant ’57 Harold James Wells ’57 James T. Randle Jr. ’58 Carvil L. Trammel Jr. ’58 John Werner Trieschmann III ’58 Harvey Crowley Couch III ’59 Robert Alexander Sanford ’63 Thomas Pearce Wilson ’63 Mike Edward Biggerstaff ’64 Billie Lou Mabry Cannon ’64 Charles W. Cusick ’64 Carl Reyburn Holman ’64 James A. Means ’65 Paul James Hogue ’66 Paul Martin Fiser ’67 Timothy Paul Olmstead ’68 Robert Allen Rosen ’69 Claudia Cox Van Deusen ’70 Edward A. Doren ’74 William C. Rainey ’76 Ralph Charles Haskew Jr. ’77 Holly Ford Madsen ’84 Dianne Wetsel ’85 Catherine Barron Nienaber ’87 Maurice Roland Bryant ’90 Robyn Dawn Rogers ’90 Dennis Michael Lensing ’93 Tyler Reid McBay ’13 * Arkansas Specialized Training Corps, World War II
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014 47
alumni voices: Whitney Palmer Griggs ’96
Like many other incoming freshmen, Rev. Mike Wondel ’96, Jill Champney Wondel ’99, Walt Wilcox ’08 and I entered Hendrix College with service to others in our hearts. We had volunteered in soup kitchens, hospitals and rescue missions through our churches and National Honor Society chapters. Throughout our Hendrix years, there were “service Saturday” painting projects, trips to Heifer International and Camp Aldersgate, Spring Break Habitat trips and countless on-campus volunteer activities. Helping others was simply part of the Hendrix experience for us, which we carried into our adult lives, as we pursued careers in the ministry, the classroom, an inner-city hospital and the State Department. It was as a continuation of this lifelong commitment that the four of us traveled to Haiti in July 2013. More than three years after the devastating January 2010 earthquake and the cholera epidemic that followed, Haitians are still just beginning to rebuild their lives. The earthquake and cholera epidemic exacerbated the already high rate of infectious disease in Haiti. Waterborne diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever are especially prevalent due to the unsafe water, inadequate housing and unsanitary living conditions. To help address the problem, the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church began its Haiti Water Project in January 2011. The members of Trinity United Methodist Church of Moberly, Mo., led by Rev. Wondel, dedicated the Christmas Eve 2012 offering to purchase 100 water filters for individuals and families in Haiti. The four of us volunteered to be part of the team that would deliver the filters to their eventual owners. After a night at the Methodist Guest House in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, we headed north to the town of Arcahaie, where we had a quick lesson in the assembly and care of the water filters we would give away over the next six days. Program participants were required to attend a water filter demonstration given by a Haitian employee of the Missouri Conference who oversaw the program locally and acted
48 Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2014
Courtesy photo
Haiti Experience Changes Understanding of ‘Service’
as our guide. Our team assisted with several demonstrations. Once the filter was installed and filled with well water, a member of our team was always the first to take a sip of the freshly-purified water. Invariably, this caused dramatic gasps of disbelief from the audience, who were astonished to see an American drinking water they were told was unfit for anything beyond washing. Our team, accompanied by a translator, driver, local guide and often the pastor of the Methodist Church of Haiti, would visit individual homes to meet the families, go over the assembly and maintenance of the filtration system, and dedicate the system in prayer. Being welcomed into the communities was a humbling experience. We listened to people describe painful medical conditions for which they could not get or afford treatment, as well as the community’s need for basics we take for granted, such as schools and electricity. But we also saw many reasons to be hopeful for these communities. We met so many people living in these under-resourced communities who were passionate about improving their own lives and the lives of those around them. Perhaps our favorite memory came the last day. While the vast majority of the filters we gave out went to family homes, we gave
a couple to a local minimum-security jail, where an inmate told us that the stomach aches he had lived with for a long time had disappeared since he started drinking filtered water. We were absolutely overcome with joy for this man whose pain had apparently been eased by the gift of clean water. In mission work — or any type of service, for that matter — the task presented is different from, though related to, the purpose of the work. Yes, we gave away 100 water filters. But beyond that, we made genuine connections with the people we met. We laughed with those we served and prayed alongside them at Sunday’s church service and in their homes. We let them know that people a thousand miles away held them up in prayer. And the way we saw them care for one another inspired us to bring their sense of community to the places where we live, work and worship. The Haiti experience isn’t for everyone. It was HOT. Communication was difficult. Our living conditions were primitive, yet luxurious compared to those of most Haitians we met. But for the four of us, it brought a whole new meaning to the word “service.” Whitney Palmer Griggs, who majored in biology at Hendrix, lives in St. Louis, Mo.
www.hendrix.edu
Dr. Richard Yates, Professor of History (1938-1974) For a Hendrix history student in 1974, no memory is clearer than that of Dr. Yates delivering his last Civil War lecture. Including his gift for teaching by telling tales — just as his hero Abraham Lincoln did. If you cherish your memories of Hendrix, you can provide the same kind of memories for generations to come. A designated or planned gift provides life-changing experiences for students and it creates a legacy that will endure. Although the names and faces change over time, the memories remain. Share the gift of Hendrix memories. Support the Altus Bell Society.
please join us
For more information, contact Lori F. Jones ’81, CFP® Director of Planned Giving (501) 450-1476 or email JonesL@hendrix.edu www.hendrixaltusbell.org
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Photo courtesy of the Hendrix College Archives
1600 Washington Avenue Conway, Arkansas 72032
In this photo, circa 1988, Hendrix students work in the computer lab in Fausett Hall. The old Apple Macintosh computers are long gone now, but technology is more visible than ever. This year, the Hendrix network was accessed by 9,765 unique computing devices (e.g. PCs, tablets, smartphones and gaming systems).