CLASS NOTES
In Memoriam Kenneth D. Stevens ’61 (chemistry) passed away
Oct. 8, 2016, after a long decline due to Alzheimer’s disease. He was a member of the Founding Class and played on the first and only tri-college (Pomona/ CMC/HMC) freshman football team, one year before the first CMC/HMC Stags athletic teams were formed. A running back and kicker (his two PATs won the first Stags/Sagehens football game) and four-year letterman, Ken was named captain and most valuable player in his senior year. One of the first student dorm proctors, Ken married Claire Culley POM ’61 shortly after graduation. Ken went on to the University of Washington (PhD, physical organic chemistry, 1966), completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York (1966–1967) and served as assistant professor of chemistry at Harvey Mudd from 1967 to 1969. During that time, he took a class in ceramics at Scripps College that was to change his life forever. He became an MFA student at the University of Puget Sound, then, when a science faculty member became ill, he was called upon to teach chemistry as lecturer and, eventually, became a full-time, assistant professor of chemistry. In 1971–1972, he became assistant professor of art after earning his MFA in ceramics. Over the subsequent 30 years, until his retirement in 2001, Ken served in a variety of roles, including as chair of the department of art. His professional affiliations included the American Crafts Council, the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts, the College Art Association and Tacoma Art Museum. During his career as a ceramist, artist and teacher, it was Ken’s overall “Harvey Mudd education,” not just his chemistry, that enabled him to develop new and unique glazes for his ceramic creations. He paid attention to “cause and effect” with “no fudging” and to the “repeatability” of his experiments. Ken valued highly his role as a teacher of studio art in a liberal arts setting, approached the studio as “a guide and a resource” to student-artists, and—amid his work to teach craft and history—affirmed that “it is my goal to reawaken in [students] the ability to take an imaginative idea or concept that does not
depend on logical thinking for its existence and then be able to create a physical object that somehow expresses that idea.” Known for his work with porcelain, “particularly with respect to glazes and high-temperature saggar-fired ware,” Ken accumulated an extensive list of shows to his credit and was one of the members of a group of Tacoma clay artists known as “Club Mud.” He was generous in sharing his art and love of ceramics broadly, including talks and exhibits at local high schools and colleges, civic organizations and events and in galleries and festivals throughout the Western United States and abroad. Internationally renowned for his work, on several occasions Ken was selected to be a Monbusho Fellow (Japanese Ministry of Education Fellow) and researched ceramics in Japan, where he enjoyed “Honored Artist” status. Ken developed a teaching partnership with Mrs. Mutsuko Miki, wife of former Prime Minister of Japan Takeo Miki, making possible her summer workshops at Puget Sound. He was the first Puget Sound faculty representative to visit Naruto University, spending his 1995 sabbatical in Tokushima. In 2001, Ken was honored with an exhibition entitled “Works by the Students of Ken Stevens” at the Kittridge Gallery at UPS. That same year, Ken’s own works were presented in an exhibition at UPS titled “Full Circle.” The exhibition was also featured in a tribute to Ken and his approaching retirement in the December 2001 issue of Ceramics Monthly. Read more about Ken in Arches magazine bit.ly/2hlq3Pq and in Dwell magazine bit.ly/2hlr5L7.
Geradette “Geri” Murray Dyche ’73 of Hoyt, Kansas, died Sept. 30, 2016, at age 64. Geri was involved in her church as well as the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and the Topeka Chamber of Commerce. She worked for many years at Adams Business Forms then built and managed her own business, eBiz Software. She is survived by her husband, Steve, as well as a son, stepson and stepdaughter. Keith Meyer ’80 (engineering) passed away Aug. 24, 2016. He worked as a defense engineer for Rockwell and
spent 31 years working at Northrop Grumman.
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HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE
Elise Brown ’95 (biology) was an integral part of the strong, tough, supportive and fantastic women of the Harvey Mudd Class of 1995. She went on to earn a master’s in public health at San Diego State University followed by an M.D. from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Elise was unwavering in her pursuit of a career in medicine and was dedicated to being the best doctor possible. On Friday, June 24, 2016, Elise began having symptoms of an intracranial hemorrhage. A thorough and valiant effort was made to try to fix the problem, but unfortunately, Elise succumbed to complications of a bleeding cerebral aneurysm and died late that night. Elise made an amazing impact. As a physician, she was recognized as a champion for advocating for her patients, often going above and beyond to ensure they received the best care possible and tending to the needs of families during critical times. Her peers remember Elise as being one of the most astute clinicians they had ever worked with. She was also known for her dedication to medical education and for sharing her knowledge with nurses, medical students and fellow colleagues. Elise embodied the values that Harvey Mudd holds dear—a commitment to making the world a better place—through her continual pursuit of knowledge and her compassion for her patients, her peers and her loved ones. In tribute to Elise, several of her Mudd classmates rallied to raise funds to establish the endowed Elise C. Brown ’95 Memorial Scholarship, which will provide financial aid for a female Harvey Mudd student who intends to pursue a career in medicine. With the overwhelming, additional support of other alumni and Elise’s friends, the initial goal of $50,000 was met to create a permanent legacy for Elise at the College. With this endowment officially created, additional funds are still being raised to increase the value of this scholarship each year. To add your support to this scholarship, please visit hmc.edu/campaign/ permanent-legacy-for-elise-brown-95/ or contact Dan Macaluso (909.607.7069, dmacaluso@hmc. edu) or Christine Harrison (909.621.8335, charrison@hmc.edu).