Juniata magazine spring summer 2016

Juniata 2016 SPRING-SUMMER

The Education of Politics An Epic Journey At Your Service

Read It and Keep: Juniata Faculty and Staff Recommend...

The Tsar of Love and Techno, by Anthony Marra Marra’s collection of linked stories follow objects and families from Stalinist Russia to the chaos of the post-Soviet oligarch economy to a culminating point somewhere beyond the earth’s orbit. The details of the lives and tragedies accumulating around a modest dacha create one of the most moving works of fiction I have read in many years.—Gabe Welsch, vice president of advancement and marketing

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel It tells the story of a traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors and musicians as they travel from settlement to settlement keeping the arts alive after an apocalypse. This isn’t about survival in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but about how culture returns to the world once basic needs are met.—Matt Powell, associate professor of geology

The Gypsy Goddess, by Meena Kandasamy This a novel about a novel about communism in rural India. It blends historical fiction, cultural analysis, and commentary about the craft of writing. Kandasamy is a rising star among India’s Dalit writers.—Neil Pelkey, professor of environmental science

The Best Place To Work, by Ron Friedman This book helps the reader to understand the psychology behind working environments and the trends in creating great places to work. It’s filled with relatable stories and concrete ideas.—Anne Wood, assistant vice president and chief information officer

A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy, by Susan Klebold

The mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the two Columbine High School shooters, shares the family’s life long before and long after Columbine, as well as her reflections and responses in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. Her story is a reminder to all of us that despite intentions to be “good parents,” we cannot and do not have the ultimate control over our children’s choices.

—Sarah DeHaas, Martin G. Brumbaugh Professor of Education

Baa Baa Black Sheep, by Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, USMC The book deals with his air group VMF-214, “the Blacksheep” as they were called, and its adventures in the Solomon Islands during WWII. They flew the awesome Chance-Vought F4U-1 Corsair fighter plane (nicknamed “whistling death”). It was an awesome ride.

—Hal McLaughlin, general manager, Sodexo

The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson It is about the 1893 World's Fair and details the fair's implementation of the Ferris Wheel, Shredded Wheat, Electricity—even Disneyland emerged from it. The notion of the white city propelled forward many city beautification efforts. I found the book compelling.—Anne Echols, associate professor of business

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison The story is an adventure in self-discovery set between the ’30s and ’60s. The Deads are a privileged well to do African-American family prospering in a small town. Macon Dead grows from a carefree, self-centered boy to someone willing to stand on his own ability and realizes there is more to life than impressing the next woman.—DeLane Crutcher, associate dean of admission

The Island of the Colorblind, by Oliver Sacks Sacks weaves together a story of epidemiology, etiology of rare diseases, the natural history of islands of the South Pacific, and colonialism and imperialism, all while reflecting on his role as a Western medical practitioner.—Dan Dries, assistant professor of chemistry

PRESIDENT’S NOTE Dear Friends,

One of the pillars in the strategic plan focuses on strengthening not only the College’s internal community but also connecting with the businesses and people beyond campus borders. Another pillar references scholarship, and Juniata’s dedication to its “experience-driven approach to inspiring learners.”

Both these values are present in the College’s renewed commitment to service learning.

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

Over the past few issues of Juniata and the President’s Report, the College has outlined how Juniata’s strategic plan, “Courage to Act,” was conceived and enacted. Going forward, many of the stories you’ll read in these pages and in other College publications are less about the plan itself, but more about how the College will use the goals set in “Courage to Act.”

James A. Troha

trohaj@juniata.edu

In the story “Culture of Service,” student writer @juniataprztroha Tyler Ayres ’16 examines how service learning has always been a part of Juniata’s mission, and how hands-on learning that benefits the community is steadily being infused into the curriculum through an expanding list of professors and administrators committed to an ethos of learning via community engagement and service. Tyler also reveals several new initiatives that in the coming years will provide a seamless integration of these principles.

Another priority in Juniata’s plan is to increase the international experience of students on campus as well as those coming to Pennsylvania from other countries.

One of the ways to increase the “presence” of Juniata’s name beyond the Eastern United States is to establish ties to new areas where students yearn for education. In “Survivor, Performer, Scholar,” Tyler Ayres details the educational journey of Liliane Umuhoza ’19, a freshman international student from Rwanda.

Liliane’s path to Pennsylvania was made possible by two new international initiatives: a faculty-driven effort to establish Rwanda as a study-abroad site, and the event “Genocide Awareness Week,” which was created six years ago by a student, Lily Kruglak ’09. How is Liliane getting used to the Juniata experience? Well, she took second prize at the Bailey as a freshman. Check out Tyler’s story to hear more.

Community and hands-on learning is also central to the story “Politically Direct,” which shows that many of the students who choose a POE in politics are opting to jump into the political fray as campaign staffers, lobbyists, state and federal workers, and a few who are running for office. Juniata’s take on teaching politics is centered around citizenship. If, as the late Tip O’Neill once said, “all politics is local,” then Dennis Plane’s efforts to get his students involved in registering voters, working on campaigns, competing for internships, and encouraging them to be “present” where policy is made, certainly is an example other colleges and universities should aspire to.

These stories and other articles should illustrate how dedicated the College is to transform its educational mission—using our strategic plan as a roadmap.

welschg@juniata.edu

Genna Kasun ’06 Director of Social Media and Content Coordination

Luke Fragello Director of New Media Communication

vi ro nm en t .

Angie Ciccarelli Graphic Designer

ATA COLLE G NI

to a

Sustainable

En

XX% 30%

Cert no. SW-COC-002556

Juniata is published two times a year by Juniata College, Department of Advancement and Marketing and is distributed free of charge to alumni and friends of Juniata. Postmaster and others, please send change-of-address correspondence to: Alumni Relations, 1700 Moore St., Huntingdon, PA 16652-2196. Juniata can accept no responsibility for unsolicited contributions of artwork, photography, or articles. Juniata College, as an educational institution and employer, values equality of opportunity and diversity. The College is an independent, privately supported co-educational institution committed to providing a liberal arts education to qualified students regardless of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability. Its policies comply with requirements of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IV of the Education Amendments of 1972, and all other applicable federal, state, and local statutes, regulations and guidelines.

—photo by Amber Boring ’18, Altoona, Pa.

2016 Spring-Summer |

Juniata

Dawn Scialabba Alumni Relations Assistant

U

E

Gabriel Welsch VP for Advancement and Marketing

meadowd@juniata.edu

Rosann Brown Executive Director of Marketing

ed

wallj@juniata.edu 814-641-3132

David Meadows ’98 Director of Alumni Relations

itt Co mm

John Wall Editor Director of Media Relations

J

Sincerely,

1

The Juniata theatre department staged an innovative performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in February.

There were two casts, one all-male and the other all-female. Here, Jamison Monella, of Morrisdale, Pa., performs in the all-male cast.

| Juniata

—Photo by Christine Reilly ’18, Nashua, N.H.

2

With politics expert Emil Nagengast taking on the role of celebrity host Steve Harvey in a Juniata-centric version of Family Feud, various teams of students and staffers competed to raise funds for charity.

—Photo by Klarissa Juliano ’17, Kittredge, Colo.

Juniata instructor Rob Boryk talks about one of his ceramic pieces on display at Juniata's art museum with Robert Washburn, professor emeritus of geology.

—Photo by Amber Boring ’18, Altoona, Pa.

Before

After

Mathematician Kim Roth, who knows all about pi, introduces business professor Wei-Chung Wang to the business end of a cream pie as part of the math department’s Pi Day Celebration.

—Photos by Amber Boring ’18, Altoona, Pa.

2016 Spring-Summer | 3

Juniata

2016 SPRING-SUMMER

CONTENTS Read It and Keep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover President’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Campus News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Education of Politics: Creating a Winning Strategy . . . . 28

An Epic Journey: Rwandan Student Experiences Juniata . . . 38

Juniata

(On the Cover) Posed in the House Chamber in the Pennsylvania Capitol Building, Kelly Fedeli ’92, director of special events in the office of the Speaker of the House, Republican Rep. Mike Turzai of Allegheny County, shows that Juniata politics students don’t have to get elected to office to have an effect on politics and the lives of Pennsylvanians.

Politics POE Anne Wakabayashi ’11 (above), is engaged in a more grassroots effort as she readies a presentation for her group Emerge Pennsylvania, a training program that encourages women to run and compete as Democratic political candidates.

2016 SPRING-SUMMER

The Education of An Epic Journey At Your Service

Politics

1

Liliane Umuhoza ’19, a multitalented student from Gisenyi, Rwanda, came to the College through a serendipitous series of simultaneous events that involve educators in Rwanda, some Juniata faculty on a visit to the recovering African country, and a Rwandan genocide survivor who had visited the College to speak. Read how all these factors coincided to bring Juniata a talented student.

At Your Service: Education Meets Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

5/10/16 4:19 PM

SS16_MAG FRONT.indd

Juniata takes a hands-on approach to teaching students about the political process by emphasizing good citizenship, getting involved in local and regional elections, and occasionally running for office. Many recent Juniata graduates are opting for professional politics soon after shedding their cap and gown.

Juniata has long featured service learning as part of its educational offerings, a tradition that can be traced to the College’s roots in the Church of the Brethren. As the College looks to fine-tune its curriculum, the service learning model is changing on campus. Several faculty are test-driving courses that incorporate educational lessons with service to the Huntingdon community and Juniata’s administrators work with faculty, staff, and students to weave such values deeper into the curriculum.

Faculty Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

PHOTO: RENEÉ ROSENSTEEL COVER PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

Faculty Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Alumni Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

28

New Century Singers Celebrates 50th Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recruit a Student (Gold Card) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Power of the Juniata Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Homecoming and Family Weekend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

360° . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 70 70 71 75

| Juniata

Endpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover

4

28

38

46

From Punisher to Painter: Portraiture Pays

Jonah Plymire ’16, of York, Pa., spent four years punishing runners as an outside linebacker on the Juniata football team, but now the former Eagle is soaring as a portrait painter, just a few months after the budding artist finished his academic career a semester early.

The former defensive player and punter studied studio/fine arts and educational studies at Juniata and is currently enrolled in an art education certification program at Millersville University. In between studying, he has had the time to jump on opportunities to paint with the same quickness he used to display on the football field.

His first commission came at Juniata when teammate Clay Reichart ’17 asked Plymire to create a work honoring the football coaching career of Bill Reichart, Clay’s father and the head football coach for Hanover High School. “Clay had always liked my work and wanted to commemorate his dad’s successful coaching career."

Jonah prepped the canvas and drew the image, which depicts Coach Reichart on the sidelines wearing a headset, onto the canvas while he was at Juniata. He took it home to paint and the final portrait was delivered on Christmas Eve.

“I’d like to be an art teacher and football coach someday,” Plymire says. “Those two careers are not commonly found together, but I have discovered many ways to keep them in harmony.”

One way to channel his inner Picasso/Parcells is to keep painting commissions on the side. He has several new projects lined up. One is a painting for his teammate Frank Marin ’16, of Whitestone, N.Y., and the other is a series commissioned by Ron Johnson, a former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman, who saw Plymire’s “Concussion Series” on Jonah’s Facebook page and commissioned two paintings.

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS (TOP LEFT AND RIGHT): AMBER BORING ’18, (CENTER) J.D. CAVRICH; (AT RIGHT) COURTESY JONAH PLYMIRE ’16

Jonah Plymire ’16, seen here working on a commissioned painting for a classmate, has given up the gridiron for the moment to fulfill his dream of becoming an art teacher.

After he earns his teaching certificate, he wants to coach, so he hasn’t totally given up the art of football.

5

CAMPUS NEWS

The next time you see a in young adult immersed phone communication, don’t despair. She might end up at the White ce House because of it. Gra ed ask s wa ’16 ger Ensmin to go on social media to ’s tweet President Obama last State of the Union address, Jan. 12, 2016.

| Juniata

The next time you see a son, daughter, sister or brother so immersed in their phone or tablet that a 120-piece marching band could pass by without them looking up, don’t immediately start to wag a finger or dust off advice that could be distilled to, “Get a life.” That kind of concentration can get you to the White House.

Grace Ensminger ’16, of Medford Lakes, N.J., was sitting at home during winter break going through her Twitter feed (a running list of people and media you “follow” and read about, for those who still resist the pull of social media) when an opportunity arose.

The White House Twitter feed had posted an application asking people to “flood the zone” of social media

6

during the Jan. 12 State of the Union Address.

“I sort of lucked out, I just happened to be on Twitter at the right time,” she says.

She dashed off an application and a week before the event, she found out she was one of about 100 people asked to cover the address. She had to pay her way to Washington, D.C., but her dad had enough travel points to get a room at the historic Willard Hotel for free. On the night of the event she found herself sitting in plush, comfy chairs in a room in the Eisenhower Executive Building surrounded by technology. On one side was a videographer for National Public Radio, and the other tweeter was a kindergarten teacher. In front of her was a

blogger from an online fashion website.

“I ended up retweeting a lot of things because if I tried to write my own tweets I found that I’d miss what President Obama was talking about,” she says. “I retweeted a tweet by President Troha.”

Although her experience has not energized her to pursue a political career, she is aiming to pursue jobs centered around social media, probably in the entertainment industry. That said, her brush with political reporting did result in one life-changing event. Vice President Joe Biden stopped by before the State of the Union to give the room a pep talk.

“Joe Biden is my idol,” she says.

"I almost cried I was so excited.”

PHOTOS (LEFT): CANDICE HERSH; (RIGHT) J.D. CAVRICH

Senior’s Twitter Skills Net White House Gig

 Editor’s Note: Every year, we ask the winners of Juniata’s teaching awards to list some of the things that have

inspired them in their professional lives, be it a book, a song, a movie, or a combination of those things. Here, the winners pick five inspirations, lessons learned from pop culture, and lessons learned from Bugs Bunny.

Gibbel Award for Distinguished Teaching Regina (Gina) Lamendella, Assistant Professor of Biology

Many people inspired me to pursue my dreams of teaching and research. I remember interviewing for the position at Juniata and I became enthralled by the fact that the biology department embraces the vision of research and teaching being intertwined throughout the curriculum.

As I embarked on designing my “Molecular Methods” course, I dreamed big. That course focused on bacterial communities in a local stream during Superstorm Sandy. We used DNA sequencing to generate a “bacterial census” of the water during and after the storm event. The data we generated in this class have recently been published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology with 10 Juniata students as authors. Seeing a research project develop within a course and having our data published is something I never dreamed could happen. So, here’s the top five (presented in reverse, like Letterman) people who have inspired me to pursue this type of cutting-edge work.

Number 5: Jonathan Eisen, a molecular ecologist at the University of California Davis. Jonathan dedicated his life to educating the public about their microbiome, this microbial cloud that follows us everywhere!

It turns out that these microscopic organisms outnumber the human cells in our body. Research in our laboratory and many others is beginning to unravel the importance of the microbiome in health and disease.

Number 3: My research students.

Starting a research laboratory is no small undertaking. Over the past four years, our laboratory has been built by no other but Juniata students. My research students are committed to excellence of their individual and collaborative research projects. They inspire me on a daily basis by their willingness to go the extra mile to make sure their work is impeccable. In fact, as I write this top five list at 10 p.m. at night, my students are working on troubleshooting a PCR reaction.

Number 2: My son, Joseph Christopher Luedeker. At age 2-and-a-half, I’m confident he possesses more knowledge than any of us can begin to understand or interpret. He sometimes rolls his eyes at me, as I speak slowly in a high-pitched baby talk. My son has enabled me to embrace the “non-scientific” side of myself that I may never have discovered. Even a quick look into his giant brown eyes is enough to inspire a tired, stressed, and newly gray-haired soul.

Number 1: My mother, Marie Rita (Teriaca) Lamendella. She believes in me when no one else, including myself, does. She has passed onto me an unspoken strength, perseverance, and strong work ethic. I hope to pass on these qualities to my family.

She can also cook circles around any Iron Chef, or any of those other popularized cooking shows that I get sucked into watching on Friday nights.

2016 Spring-Summer |

Number 4: Janet Jansson, president of the International Society for Microbial Ecology and director of biological sciences at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Janet is a stellar microbial ecologist who pioneered the application of “meta-omics” methods

toward deconstructing the functional capacities of microbial communities in their natural environment. As my postdoctoral supervisor, she is a most valuable role model, who balances her commitment to scientific research while prioritizing her family and commitment to health and wellness.

7

CAMPUS NEWS

Juniata’s Finance Vice President Steps Aside to Lead Enrollment Rob Yelnosky ’85, vice president for finance and operations at Juniata College since 2007, will transition to a new role as vice president for enrollment as John Wilkin, currently the vice president of administration and business affairs at Heidelberg University, joins the College’s Senior Leadership Team August 1.

“The thing that convinced me to apply to Juniata was the College’s strategic plan; it is one of the most impressive documents of its kind,” says Wilkin. “It’s a concise, welldefined, specific plan to improve the College and it shows a lot of thoughtfulness.”

Rob Yelnosky ’85

| Juniata

Yelnosky and Wilkin will collaborate as their duties allow to ensure a smooth transition.

“As our former finance officer, Rob understands the investment necessary for and revenues generated by a successful enrollment operation and he has developed and sustained relationships with faculty, staff, and alumni that provide him a broad understanding of our students, culture, and resources,” says James A. Troha, Juniata president. “He also serves as both an instructor and an advisor, so

8

he’s engaged with the academic enterprise in ways that will matter to prospective students.”

John Wilkin has been vice president for administration and business affairs at Heidelberg University since April 2012. During his time at Heidelberg, he oversaw financial management, accounting, budgeting, business services, human resources, information technology, and facilities. He also was a major contributor to the implementation of the university’s strategic plan.

“We are fortunate to have attracted such a quality person,” says Troha. “His intellect, experience, and depth of understanding of the current higher education environment will add tremendous value to our campus community.”

Yelnosky’s new duties include running the College’s enrollment office, providing strategic leadership to grow the College’s enrollment, identifying new markets for recruitment, and strengthening existing markets. He will collaborate with senior leadership in retention efforts and enhance communication and enrollment-related efforts throughout the campus community.

Yelnosky has been part of the Juniata College administration team since 2002, first overseeing the College’s Technology Solutions Center. In 2004 he was named assistant to the president for administrative services where his focus was on revenue enhancement, cost control, and sustainability.

Yelnosky was named chief information officer for the College in 2006. Yelnosky graduated from Juniata, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1985 in management information systems.

John Wilkin

Wilkin’s major accomplishments during his tenure at Heidelberg included overseeing the implementation of a major information technology upgrade, creation of a new health benefits option that offered employees more control over their coverage, revision of the university’s budget process, and refinancing of $18 million in long-term debt.

Wilkin began his career in higher education in 2005, starting as budget director for academic affairs at Columbia College Chicago. He was promoted to assistant vice president for budget management in 2008 and became associate vice president for budget management in 2010.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1984 and went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration in 1986, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also earned a master’s degree in education and social policy in 2008 from Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill.

“The thing that convinced me to apply to Juniata was the College’s strategic plan; it is one of the most impressive documents of its kind."—John Wilkin, VP for finance and operations

Although it looks as though Peter Goldstein’s students don’t want their identities revealed as they read and discuss “Bad Literature,” in reality the 20-plus students taking the course are learning how to write well by studying sub-par prose by the likes of Danielle Steel, Dan Brown, and others.

The consensus among employers is that today’s college graduates just don’t write well. One Juniata professor’s solution to this problem is to skip the writing lessons in Shakespeare and Steinbeck and instead focus on lessacclaimed titles like Matters of the Heart, by Danielle Steel.

Yes, that’s right.

Peter Goldstein, professor of English, created the course “Bad Literature,” a spring semester English course where students pore over poorly written pulp. “Analyzing bad literature forces students to go further than saying something like, ‘It’s trashy and awful.’ What do we mean when we say awful?” asks Goldstein.

“Is it a matter of personal taste, or are there objective criteria that you can come up with in order to say a book is bad?”

Goldstein’s selections for the semester include middling masterworks like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons.

Like moths to a flame, many people are unfailingly drawn to literature that doesn’t make them think or help them grow. Much of the discussion students have done this past semester seeks to explain why people are so unfailingly attracted to bad literature.

“People are attracted to characters like Robert Langdon, the main character in Angels and Demons because Brown

comes out and tells you that he is an allaround good person, nice, pretty, talented and accomplished. There’s no complexity,” says DiDi Rizzo ’16, of Altoona, Pa.

It’s easy to bash Dan Brown’s flat characters and Danielle Steel’s predictable plots, but Goldstein and company also spend time slamming heavy-hitters like Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, and William Faulkner. “I’ve asked the students to look at these so-called ‘classics’ with the same critical eye as the other books. I don’t want them to be intimidated by the big names,” says Goldstein.

“The plot pacing was awful. It felt like 200

chapters of nothing,” says Heather Gahler ’16, of Pottstown, Pa., of Dickens’ Old Curiosity Shop.

Students came away from the course with a new appreciation of the worst of tomes, and a keener understanding of the best. “In the same way that you make mistakes in math, when you read bad literature you can identify the ‘mistakes’ and learn from them. It helps you recognize good and bad literature for yourself,” says Gahler.

—Tyler Ayres ’16, a senior from Huntingdon, Pa., is the Juniata Associate for Media Relations 2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS (TOP, LEFT): JUNIATA PHOTO FILE; (LEFT) COURTESY JOHN WILKIN; (RIGHT) J.D. CAVRICH

Bad, Bad Things: English Course Finds Gold in Purple Prose

9

Beachley Award for Distinguished Teaching Jay Hosler, professor of biology Aside from my family, one of the most fundamental influences in my life has been Bugs Bunny. I watched Looney Tunes cartoons everyday after school on Channel 55 out of Fort Wayne, Ind. I saw most of the cartoons a zillion times and memorized every beat. As a skinny nerd, these cartoons celebrated cleverness in the face of brute force.

If you want insight into my teaching and the kind of stories I like to tell, look these cartoons up on the internet.

Below I’ve listed five lessons I learned from Bugs Bunny.

1. Rabbit Seasoning (Directed by Chuck Jones, Written by Michael Maltese, 1952) Don’t be afraid to mix lowbrow and highbrow. When a Bugs Bunny cartoon came on in our house, I would yell “It’s a Bug-ser” and my dad would come jogging into the room and join me. Rabbit Seasoning is part of the Hunter’s Trilogy and features Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. I thought the physical comedy was hilarious and Dad loved the word play (i.e. “pronoun trouble”).

From an early age I realized that this cartoon appealed to viewers of all ages in a way most entertainment fails to do. I want my lectures and books to do the same thing.

2. What’s Opera, Doc? (Directed by Chuck Jones, Written by Michael Maltese, 1957) Undermine expectations. Opera is boring, right? Well, no, it is actually magnificent, but it does have a bad rep. Science can suffer from the same unfortunate PR. What’s Opera, Doc? uses art, music and story to present something we think we know in a new context. We are sucked into Wagner’s music and find ourselves humming “Kill the wabbit.” When Elmer actually succeeds in killing Bugs, our expectations are further undermined as the unthinkable happens and Bugs dies (but not really). Stories and classes about science should work to do the same thing by taking what we think we know and surprising readers and students with a new approach or perspective.

| Juniata

3. High Divin’ Hare (Directed by Friz Freling, Written by Tedd Pierce, 1948) Be open to change. High Divin’ Hare is the only cartoon on this list not directed by Chuck Jones and it may be my favorite. Its premise is incredibly simple. Yosemite Sam wants Bugs to jump off a high dive and Bugs doesn’t want to. Bugs outwits Sam,

10

repeatedly sending him off a 500-foot platform into a tub of water. Sam fails because he has a single approach to life: brute force. Bugs succeeds because he fluidly changes with each situation and uses his wits to address the unexpected. Sometimes the way we teach or write doesn’t work. If we want to succeed in reaching people, we need to be responsive to their needs and interests, otherwise we’ll spend our lives repeatedly (and unwillingly) plummeting into a small bucket of water.

4. Rabbit Punch (Directed by Chuck Jones, Written by Tedd Pierce and Michael Maltese, 1948) Don’t take yourself too seriously. I love Rabbit Punch because it features one of the few cartoons in which Bugs takes his fair share of abuse. Facing off in a boxing ring against the “Champ,” Bugs owns the fact that he got himself into this predicament (“Me and my big mouth”) and he knows he is outclassed physically, but he embraces the absurd. The resulting arms race is brutal and ridiculous and culminates with Bugs literally stepping out of the cartoon. For me, it’s important to take teaching seriously, but not too seriously. Any topic can be dry. Embracing the absurdity and sharing it with students and readers helps inject a sense of joy and fun into your work.

5. Haredevil Hare (Directed by Chuck Jones, Written

by Michael Maltese, 1948) Don’t be afraid to see the wonder in things. This is a beautifully animated, elegantly designed cartoon and it presents us with a wondrous glimpse of the moon two decades before we got there. In Haredevil Hare Bugs is an animal test subject launched in a rocket on a lunar expedition. During the flight sequence, Bugs is hilariously terrified. When he steps from the rocket, his situation dawns on him. “I’m alone,” he says timidly. Then his terror wells up as he exclaims, “I’M ALONE ON THE MOON!” And then, almost as suddenly, his terror gives way to wonder. “I’m alone on the moon,” he says calmly. “Well, anyway, I’m the first living creature to set foot on the moon.” The unknown can be scary, but it is inevitably full of something amazing. I hope that I can help students and readers find that wonder despite themselves.

CAMPUS NEWS

Matthew Damschroder, assistant dean of students for campus life at Illinois Wesleyan University since 2010, just started his new job in June as vice president for student life and dean of students at Juniata.

Damschroder, who has worked at Illinois Wesleyan, in Bloomington, Ill., for most of his career, will oversee the college’s residential life program, public safety, athletics, student services, student activities, health and wellness, campus ministry, first-year programs and community service.

“Juniata’s commitment to bridging classroom experiences to out-of-class learning through the lens of the college’s strategic plan is an incredibly exciting opportunity to contribute leadership that impacts students’ education and development throughout their time on campus,” says Damschroder.

At Illinois Wesleyan, Damschroder’s portfolio included residential life, student activities, leadership programs, student center operations, fraternity and sorority life, orientation and summer conferences. During his tenure, he led a campus-wide effort to improve the climate, visibility and support for LGBTQ+ students, advised the National Society of Leadership and Success, which received the organization’s 2012 Chapter of the Year Award, and co-hosted a 10-episode radio program and podcast for parents of first-year students.

Damschroder started his career at Wittenberg University and moved to Illinois Wesleyan in 1998 as a residence hall director. He became assistant director of residential life in 1999 and was named director of residential life in 2000. He was promoted to assistant dean of students for campus life in 2010.

“Matthew demonstrated a breadth of perspective and an institutional vision that was sophisticated and strategic—he will both listen and respect our culture while knowing when

Matthew Damschroder

“Matthew demonstrated a breadth of perspective and an institutional vision that was sophisticated and strategic—he will both listen and respect our culture while knowing when and how to effect change.”

—Lauren Bowen, provost

and how to effect change,” says Lauren Bowen, provost at Juniata.

Damschroder earned a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy in 1996 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

He went on to earn a master’s degree in 2007 from Illinois State University, in Normal, Ill. He earned a doctoral degree in educational administration and foundations in 2015, also from Illinois State.

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS (LEFT): J.D. CAVRICH; (RIGHT) COURTESY ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

Illinois Wesleyan Administrator Named as V. P. Student Life, Dean of Students

11

| Juniata

The sun blazes down on the apron of Oller Hall as Jack Barlow, professor of politics, places the mace in its holder in preparation for the beginning of Commencement.

The sun didn’t last long, but the event provided its own warm feelings from those in attendance.

12

CAMPUS NEWS

Betty Ann Cherry

Betty Ann Cherry, professor emerita of history at Juniata and someone whose personal history is so intricately linked with the College that she recalls serving as a flower girl at the 1940 May Day celebration, straightforwardly told the assembled 2016 graduating class at Juniata’s 138th commencement ceremony on May 14, “Relationships matter.

They are what life is about, and therefore, each of us has a responsibility to know how to initiate and maintain them.”

The graduating class of 359 undergraduate students was awarded bachelor of arts (97) or bachelor of science degrees (262) at the ceremony, and nine students earned master’s degrees: six in accounting and three in nonprofit leadership.

In addition, Carl D. Glaeser ’77, managing partner for Palladian

Capital Partners in New York, N.Y., and his wife, Nancy N. Glaeser ’76 a teacher and math specialist for grades 1-3, received honorary doctor of humane letters degrees.

Cherry, who literally grew up on the Juniata campus as the daughter of Calvert N. Ellis ’23, president of the College from 1943 to 1968, and Elizabeth Wertz Ellis ’26, eventually became professor of history at Juniata from 1962 to 1998. She used a frank and folksy delivery to say, “Whether you believe that ‘No one is an island,’ or ‘it takes a village,’ you are acknowledging the fact that no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you do, you will be and should be in relationships with other human beings.”

Cherry talked of the value in developing skills to build relationships and instructed her listeners that the people they met

at Juniata can become friends for life, saying, “The community called Juniata College will forever have your relationships as an integral part of it. And those stories you tell about Juniata are really about the experiences you had in those relationships.”

She explained that the culture of the Juniata community also plays a role in how students build relationships. “How often do we get leaders who, rather than try to deliberately involve people, set out to tell people what to do, my way or the highway.” She added, “Neither the leader, nor the community of which he or she is a part, benefit.”

Cherry ended her speech telling the assembled graduates that her speech was a challenge because, “Choosing which stories to tell, from the hundreds I know, after a lifetime here, made this a hard assignment. I knew what I

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS: J.D. CAVRICH

Cherry Jubilee: Juniata Historian Instructs Graduates to ‘Nurture Relationships’

13

| Juniata

wanted you to understand about Juniata, namely the importance this community places on relationships.”

The 2015 Senior Class Gift collected more than $51,000 (72 percent of the class contributed to the gift) for an elevator to be placed in Good Hall.

Cherry was married to Ronald Cherry ’53, professor of economics and business administration from 1958 to 1998. She was previously honored with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 2005.

She taught a variety of general education courses over her career, most notably the “Great Epochs” courses, which were the first interdisciplinary, team-taught courses at the College. She believes her lasting contribution to Juniata was her work as an adviser to many Juniata students.

Cherry received the Beachley Award for Distinguished Academic Service in 1990 and received the Beachley Distinguished Professor Award in 1998. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of Wooster in 1956 and

14

earned her master’s degree from Columbia University in 1957.

Carl Glaeser, a current member of the board of trustees, cofounded Palladian Capital after a long executive career at large, medium-sized and entrepreneurial companies. Before his career at Palladian, he was president and chief executive officer of Bowne Global Solutions, a leading provider of business process outsourcing globalization services.

Glaeser started his business career in the consumer goods industry, including positions at Snyder’s of Hanover; H.J. Heinz; and Cadbury Schweppes. He then moved into the technology sector as national sales manager at MECA Software. Glaeser started his entrepreneurial career as co-founder and vice president of Pastel Development Corp., a personal information software developer. Next, he moved to Lucent Technologies, where he served as director of business development, then as vice president and general manager of AG Communication Systems.

CAMPUS NEWS

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS: J.D. CAVRICH

Nancy Glaeser has been a teacher in the Mahwah School District since 2002. She started her career in education right after graduating Juniata, teaching from 1976 to 1990 in various school districts, including Philipsburg, Pa., Greenwich, Conn., Boise, Idaho, and New Jersey. She started as an elementary school teacher and soon specialized as a teacher for the deaf and for communication disorders.

She also worked as a lecturer in special education at Boise State University from 1983 to 1987 while also working as a special education consultant for the Idaho Department of Education. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Juniata in elementary education and went on to earn a master’s degree in communication disorders in 1981 from Penn State University.

The Glaesers have been dedicated to Juniata’s educational mission through their support of Juniata’s “Executive in Residence” program, the College’s greenhouse, enhanced cyber infrastructure, the artificial turf at Knox Stadium, in addition to the Juniata Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

The couple also has endowed a scholarship for students who demonstrate superior academic ability and promise and are pursuing a course of study in business, entrepreneurial studies, or elementary education.

15

Beachley Award for Distinguished Academic Service Dominick Peruso, Professor of Accounting

1. David Lee Roth was (and is again) the flamboyant and iconic frontman for Van Halen, a gamechanging hard rock band now enshrined in the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Roth was famous for his long blond hair, his rock star antics, and his insane demand that no brown M&Ms be in the backstage area.

The “no brown M&Ms” rule initially seems the result of an immature and egotistical rock star drunk on his success.

However, the rule was an efficient means for determining whether concert promoters paid sufficient attention to the safety and electrical requirements in the contract.

Brown M&Ms signaled the need for additional checks to ensure the safety of audience, crew, and band. It also triggered Roth’s obligatory trashing of the dressing room to preserve his rock star reputation. The lesson: Pay attention to detail (or risk the trashing of your office).

| Juniata

2. Ric Flair, the self-appointed “Nature Boy” and “dirtiest player in the game,” was a 16-time professional wrestling world champion. He was a heel, a bad guy in wrestling parlance, and his quotes are high on the macho scale and include “to be a man, you gotta beat the man.” All his interviews were punctuated with his now trademark “Woo!”—a sound still heard at many sporting events.

As a quiet kid with dark hair, it remains a mystery to me that the first two characters on this list are brash, over-confident, long-haired blondes. Flair survived a plane crash early in his career that left him with broken vertebrae. Flair endured strenuous physical therapy and returned to wrestling where, for decades, he traveled around the globe wrestling hour-long matches six days a week and twice on Saturdays to build his career. His

16

lesson, and one I often share with business students preparing for their careers: be prepared to work hard for long hours. Woo! 3. Growing up in western Pennsylvania, you had to be a fan of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers. The team won four Super Bowls before I was eight years old. I insisted on wearing Joe Green’s "75" for Pee Wee football where I imagined I was every bit as dominant as him (but was not). However, the 1980s saw a steep decline and an inability to be competitive. Future Hall of Famers Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and others gradually limped into retirement and the dynasty was over. The names of their replacements, like Mark Malone and Walter Abercrombie, are only remembered by a few old frustrated Steelers fans. The lesson: Enjoy it while it lasts, success doesn’t last forever. In the case of Cleveland Browns fans, success seems perpetually elusive.

4. For a practical guy whose sportiest car was a Pontiac Grand Am with a sunroof and a spoiler, the following characters are unlikely. Thomas Magnum, Sonny Crockett, and Bo and Luke Duke from Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, and The Dukes of Hazzard respectively, were all do-gooders with awesome cars. Remarkably, they all conquered the bad guys within one hour (or two if the dreaded “to be continued” appeared). The lesson: Even the good guys break a few rules to get stuff done. It’s the policy versus practice debate made more exciting with hot cars.

5. Finally, The Incredible Hulk TV series was popular with the males in my house. There still exists a photo of me, age 9 or 10, in a shredded shirt doing my best Hulk pose (a la Lou Ferrigno). The lead character David Banner, the Hulk’s alter ego, was fond of saying “you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” when meeting new people in nearly every episode. I’m not sure this line is the most effective ice-breaker but it does demonstrate some emotional intelligence. The lesson: Be self-aware and know your strengths and weaknesses. You’ll be asked in job interviews.

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

I have worked at Juniata long enough to “expect the uncommon.” As a parent of two young children, I’ve spent time reflecting on my years growing up in rural western Pennsylvania and my memories of wildly uncommon characters. What follows are the top five life lessons I learned from uncommon sources. To be honest, I remember the characters far more than the lessons. Also, for a kid in a house with only two television channels, apparently I watched lots of TV.

CAMPUS NEWS

Five Alumni Receive Achievement Awards PHOTOGRAPHY BY: LAURA HESS ’11

As part of its “Alumni Weekend 2016,” Juniata presented five alumni-related awards Saturday, June 4, during Alumni Assembly.

Maurice C. Taylor ’72, vice president for academic outreach and engagement at Morgan State University, in Baltimore, Md., was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award; William Chew ’64, a retired systems engineer at Lockheed Martin, received the Harold B. Brumbaugh Alumni Service Award; Kelly Wike ’73, an independent agent for State Farm Insurance and Financial Services, received the William E. Swigart Jr. Alumni Humanitarian Award; Scott Kofmehl ’03, senior watch officer in the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Operations Center (who was unable to make the ceremony), received the Young Alumni Achievement Award at a later date; and Dr. Douglas Spotts ’89, family physician and chief medical information officer at Evangelical Community Hospital, in Lewisburg, Pa., received the Health Professions Alumni Appreciation Award.

Maurice Taylor ’72 Watch Maurice's on You Tube: bit.ly/28P yySV

speech

sociology in 2001. From 2005 to 2010, he served as a member of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) board, including a term as board chair. He was promoted to vice president for university operations at Morgan State in 2008.

Before specializing in academic administration, Taylor earned a law degree in 1989 from the Duke University School of Law. He went on to practice as a labor lawyer in the Baltimore-based firm of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger, & Hollander from 1989 to 1991.

Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology. He went on to earn a master’s degree in 1974 in sociology/ criminology and a doctorate in 1978 in sociology/criminology, both from Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio.

He has remained active at Juniata, serving

as a member of the board of trustees from 1993 to 2014. As a trustee, he served on various committees, including Business Affairs, Executive Committee and Investment Committee.

He also chaired the Committee on Academic Affairs and Student Life.

In addition, he served as a Juniata Admission Ambassador and as a Gold Card Recruiter.

He is exceptionally active in his community, serving on the board of directors for the State of Maryland AfricanAmerican Museum since 2015. He also serves on the board of trustees at Baltimore’s Mercy High School and as a member of the Walters Art Museum’s audience committee. He also is a member of the Visit Baltimore Multicultural Advisory Committee and Maryland Campus Compact Senior Advisory Group for Engagement.

2016 Spring-Summer |

Maurice C. Taylor, a 1972 graduate, has been at Morgan State University since 1991, serving as vice president of academic outreach and engagement since 2012. He oversees the university’s online, professional and continuing education

programs, as well as community service, summer school, winter session, and English as a Second Language.

Taylor started his executive career in higher education at Morgan State, starting as an assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1991.

He was promoted to assistant vice president for academic affairs in 1995.

He left Morgan State to accept a job at St. Augustine’s College, in Raleigh, N.C., where he worked as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost from 1997 to 2000. He led the college’s academic and administrative sections and managed the institution’s budget.

In 2000, he returned to Morgan State as special assistant to the president and was named dean of the School of Graduate Studies and professor of

17

William Chew ’64 Watch Bill's speech on You Tube: bit.ly/28Og7uS

| Juniata

Kelly Wike, a 1973 Juniata graduate, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the college.

She started her career as a secondary school teacher in 1973, teaching in the Tyrone Area School District until 1985. She left teaching and became an insurance agent for State Farm Insurance in July 1985 and continues to operate her insurance office in Tyrone, offering home, health, life and auto insurance, as well as financial services.

Wike is active in her community and has served as president, vice president and treasurer of the Tyrone Rotary Club and currently serves as president of the Altoona Sunrise Rotary Club.

She also served as the Rotary’s centennial District Governor from 2004 to 2005. In addition to her international humanitarian efforts, Wike also has hosted 10 Rotary foreign exchange students.

She is president of the board of directors for the Tyrone Regional Health Network, serving previously as treasurer and vice president.

18

William Chew earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1964 at Juniata. He went on to earn a master’s degree in 1966 from the University of West Virginia and also earned a master’s degree in 1971 from Stanford University in operations research.

Chew began his working career in the aerospace industry, starting as a systems engineer in 1966 for TRW Systems, in Houston, Texas, where he worked on the Apollo space missions.

He continued to work for TRW at its Sunnyvale, Calif. offices, specializing in satellites, from 1969 to 1974. From 1974 to 1976, he worked at Systems Control Inc., in Palo Alto, Calif., and returned to TRW from 1976 until 1980.

His career arc turned eastward when he accepted a job at General

Wike has increased her volunteer work in the last decade, working on several humanitarian aid projects for Rotary and other organizations. She has traveled to India six times as part of the Rotary project to eradicate polio all over the world. She also has been involved in helping communities in India build a dam to capture monsoon rainwater that can be used in agricultural irrigation projects. She also traveled to Nicaragua as part of a HungerPlus project to feed and educate poor children

Recently, Wike has become an ambassador for ShelterBox USA, a charitable organization that provides tents, blankets, and other items to refugees from such countries as Syria and Somalia, as well as disaster victims in foreign countries and the United States. She received the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2012.

Wike currently serves on the national Rotary Relations Committee for ShelterBox USA. She also is trained as a member of the Community Emergency Response

Electric, in Valley Forge, Pa., in 1980. He retired as a senior systems engineer at Lockheed Martin, in King of Prussia, Pa., in 2013.

Chew has remained active as a Juniata volunteer since graduating, serving as a class fund agent and reunion planner for his graduating class. He served on the class steering committee from 2004 to 2014. He also served on the College’s Alumni Council from 2011 to 2014.

He has served as a Juniata College Admissions Ambassador for more than a decade and also worked on the Juniata Career Team. Chew also manages his class website.

Chew also is active in the Delaware Valley Regional Alumni Club and helped start the Emeriti Hospitality Lounge at Alumni Weekend.

Kelly Wike ’73

Watch Kelly's speec h on You Tube: bit.ly/28PfjE9

Team (CERT) and is a member of the Tyrone Chamber of Commerce. For Juniata, Wike has volunteered as a Juniata Alumni Ambassador, on the Juniata Career Team and as a Gold Card Recruiter.

CAMPUS NEWS Scott Kofmehl, a 2003 Juniata graduate, has been a Foreign Service officer since 2007.

Kofmehl earned a bachelor’s degree in international political economy from the College and went on to earn a master’s degree in public policy in 2005 from Harvard University. He earned a doctoral degree in 2008 from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

He began his diplomatic career in 2007 as an economic officer at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2010 he became vice consul at the American embassy in Mexico City.

Kofmehl was named chief of staff for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2011, serving there for two years. He returned to the United States in 2013, working as senior Vietnam desk officer at the U.S. Department of State building in Washington, D.C.

Currently, Kofmehl serves as senior watch officer at the state department’s Operations Center, where he manages a team of six watch officers who provide oral and written briefings to senior officials during crises and in support of the Secretary during phone calls to foreign leaders.

The Health Professions Alumni Appreciation Award was given to Douglas Spotts, a 1989 graduate of Juniata College and a family physician and chief medical information officer at Evangelical Community Hospital, in Lewisburg, Pa.

Spotts started his medical career in 1996 as a family physician for the Evangelical Medical Services Foundation. In 2003, he opened his own medical practice, which remained open until 2011, when Spotts started his current job at Evangelical Community Hospital.

Spotts earned a bachelor’s degree in 1989 in biology from Juniata, and went on to earn his medical degree in 1993 from the Penn State University College of Medicine. He served a residency at the Harrisburg Hospital Family Practice Residency Program.

Spotts is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine

and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

He has been an active volunteer at Juniata and served as alumni trustee from 2012 to 2015.

He has served his profession as both past president and past board chair for the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians. He is a trustee of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation board of directors and was recently elected as treasurer.

In 2002 Spotts was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He also holds many professional memberships, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania Medical Association and Union County Medical Society. He also is a member of the American College of Physician Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

He has remained active at Juniata when his schedule and assignments allow. He has volunteered as a class fund agent for his class, became a Gold Card Recruiter and worked with the Juniata Career Team. He has returned to campus periodically to give guest lectures in the politics department.

As a student at Juniata, Kofmehl excelled on the Men's Volleyball team, received the National Security Education Undergraduate Scholarship, the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and the Pickering Fellowship. As a graduate student he received a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Dr. Douglas Sp ot

ts ’89

Watch Doug's speech on You Tube: bit.ly/28PfzD e

Spotts was named an Eagle Scout in 1983 and continues to serve the Boy Scouts in various capacities.

He is an active member of the Lewisburg Sunrise Rotary Club and an active member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Lewisburg.

Do you know someone who is deserving of a Juniata Alumni Award?

Harold B. Brumbaugh ’33 Alumni Service Award • Alumni Achievement Award Young Alumni Achievement Award • William Swigart Jr. ’37 Alumni Humanitarian Award For nominations and more information: www.juniata.edu/alumni/association/awards.html

2016 Spring-Summer |

Help the Alumni Council’s Awards and Nominations committee by submitting a nomination for one of the following:

19

Abby Ebright ’19, of Harrisburg, Pa., follows through on a big swing during a Juniata softball contest.

The Best of

JUNIATA SPORTS | Juniata

PHOTOGRAPHY

20

2016 Spring-Summer |

21

Tee Off: Juniata Adds Three Varsity Sports

| Juniata

Juniata has elected to add three new varsity sports to its lineup of sports teams, beginning with the fall 2017 season. The College will be adding men’s and women’s golf teams, plus women’s lacrosse, giving Juniata 22 varsity intercollegiate sports.

“Adding these sports also will help us to extend our athletic recruiting beyond our traditional reach into states such as Maryland, New York, Virginia, and New Jersey. The demographic profile of athletes playing lacrosse and golf fits our academic profile to a T,” says Greg Curley, Juniata athletic director and head coach for men’s basketball.

Women’s lacrosse is the fastest growing intercollegiate sport, with the number of teams increasing from 100 programs in 1980 to more than 350 today. In addition, adding women’s lacrosse and women’s golf as varsity sports will give Juniata 12 varsity sports available to women. Twelve varsity women’s sports will help Juniata comply with NCAA Title IX requirements.

“The market for college students seeking a personalized, liberal arts education is very competitive and offering these sports can give us a decided advantage in attracting students from northeastern states outside Pennsylvania where lacrosse and golf are hugely popular,” explains James A. Troha, Juniata president.

The college will soon start a national search for a full-time lacrosse coach, according to Curley. The golf teams will be overseen by a part-time coach. A typical lacrosse team has 18 to 24 athletes and men’s and women’s golf teams feature slots for about 8 to 12 players.

Although lacrosse is not traditionally popular in western or central Pennsylvania (most longtime Pennsylvania high school and college programs are east of Lancaster), the sport, particularly among women, is growing at a rapid pace. According to the U.S. Lacrosse Participation Survey, the number of NCAA women’s lacrosse teams jumped 39 percent between 2009 and 2014, while women’s high school lacrosse teams increased by 31 percent.

22

PHOTOGRAPHY

2016 Spring-Summer |

The Best of

JUNIATA SPORTS

Juniata distance runner Kevin Schofield ’18, of Madison, Conn., looks back to see who might be gaining on him. He’s violating Satchel Paige’s maxim about “don’t look back,” but he doesn’t seem to be in any danger of losing his lead.

23

Landmark Conference champion in the triple jump, Alissa Sellers ’16, of Huntingdon, Pa., placed second in the conference championships in the long jump. Here, she’s landing in the pit after an attempt.

The Best of

JUNIATA SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Volleyball player Matt Vasinko ’18 lays out to dig a shot in a men’s volleyball contest. Matt is from Loyalhanna, Pa.

The Best of

JUNIATA SPORTS | Juniata

PHOTOGRAPHY

24

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

The 2016 inductees to the Juniata Sports Hall of Fame are, from left: Ronald Poruban ’63, a retired teacher; Carli (Dale) Lehr ’05, manager at RLH CPAs & Business Advisers; John Creuzberger ’01, PetSmart manager in Concord, N.C.; and Tom Devine ’83, vice president at LMTS, a transportation company.

Juniata Brings Four into Sports Hall of Fame Juniata’s Sports Hall of Fame inducted four former athletes in April at a ceremony in Ellis Hall ballroom.

John Creuzberger ’01, Tom Devine ’83, Carli Dale Lehr ’05, and Ronald Poruban ’63 are part of the new induction class.

John Creuzberger ’01, manager at PetSmart in Concord, N.C., was one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the Juniata Track and Field Program.

He was a five-time Middle Atlantic Conference shot put champion, winning four MAC outdoor shot put championships and the indoor crown his senior year.

He ranks third all-time among Division III outdoor shot put leaders.

Ronald Poruban ’63, a retired teacher, was a threesport athlete as he earned four letters in football, two in baseball, and one in track and field. He was two-time All-MAC selection for football as a quarterback and safety and helped the team post a 22-9 record during his career. He led Juniata in passing all four years and also led the team in total offense for three straight years from 1960-62. He was the team MVP in 1962.

2016 Spring-Summer |

Tom Devine ’83, vice president at LMTS, a transportation company, ranks second all-time on Juniata’s football career and season interceptions lists. A member of the 1981 MAC Co-Champion team, he led the nation in interceptions with 12. He was the MAC Player of the Year in 1982 and Juniata’s defensive team MVP as he picked off 11 passes, ranking him second nationally.

Carli (Dale) Lehr ’05, manager at RLH CPAs & Business Advisors, was a four-year starter on the women’s volleyball team and is the all-time leader in assists with 6,385. She was a four-year First Team Middle Atlantic Conference All-Star and the MAC Player of the Year in her junior and senior seasons. She earned AVCA First Team All-American honors in 2003 and 2004. Her senior season ended with a National Championship in 2004. She was named AVCA National Player of the Year for Division III in 2004. She also was 2004 COSIDA ESPN Academic All-American of the Year for Women’s Volleyball and All Sports.

25

Matyas Kohout ’18, an international student from Krhanice, Czech Republic, finds his power forehand at a men’s tennis match.

The Best of

JUNIATA SPORTS | Juniata

PHOTOGRAPHY

26

The Best of

JUNIATA SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Ichiro Narita ’18, of Brooklyn, N.Y., puts everything into delivering this pitch at a Juniata baseball game.

2016 Spring-Summer | 27

Surrounded by Pennsylvania women who want to learn more about running for elected office, Anne Wakabayashi ’11 spent a weekend in Pittsburgh in April training the group on the ins and outs of the political process.

Wakabayashi is executive director of Emerge Pennsylvania, one of the 16 state affiliates of Emerge America.

| Juniata

PHOTO: RENEE ROSENSTEEL

28

Politically Direct Juniata Graduates Elect to Run Behind the Scenes

By John Wall, director of media relations PHOTOGRAPHY BY: J.D. CAVRICH unless noted

Popular culture and the last two national elections would have the American people believe the image that the practice of politics consists of walking very fast in dim hallways while exchanging snarky witticisms, talking very loudly so the other side can’t be heard, and/or mocking the viewpoints of those who don’t agree with every aspect of a proscribed agenda. In the world beyond Morning Joe, Bill O’Reilly and The West Wing, the truth is most folks enter politics to help change the world for the better or to help change other people’s lives for the better.

2016 Spring-Summer | 29

Politically direct

“My mom thinks I’m basically Amy Gardner from The

Wakabayashi says that many recent college graduates are not waiting to enter the political arena.

She believes younger people want to get involved in issues of personal importance to them.

West Wing. Many people my age want to do things that matter and do things that make a difference in some way. They want to feel part of something bigger.”

—Anne Wakabayashi ’11

| Juniata

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EMERGE PENNSYLVANIA

30

Historically, the end goal for becoming involved in politics was running for elected office. Sure, people have worked behind the scenes in campaigns since the age of Marcus Aurelius, but at some point most of them harbored fantasies of giving a victory speech to a room of cheering supporters.

Well, an odd thing happened on the way to the balloon drop. It seems more and more people are content to and intent on staying in professional politics, working on campaigns, lobbying, entering careers in local, state and federal government, and finding fulfillment in public service.

That trend also is playing out on the Juniata campus. Since 2010, 104 Juniatians have graduated with a Politics POE or secondary emphasis. And many of those recent grads are passing past pathways such as law school and academe in favor of fields where twentysomethings are sought out.

“Politics is still a field where they care only about how good you are, not the number of (credentials) after your name,” says Dennis Plane, associate professor of politics. “It’s high pressure, high activity, and high competition, and there’s always another election around the corner, so it’s easier to get a job than perhaps some of the more traditional options.”

Take Anne Wakabayashi ’11. In the five years since she left Juniata she has worked as political director for the Pennsylvania Senate Campaign Committee, and took over campaign messaging for the same committee.

Then she ran two political campaigns; one for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and one for Philadelphia City Council. In December 2015 she was named executive director of Emerge Pennsylvania, one of 16 state affiliates of Emerge America, a national organization that focuses on recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office.

“My mom thinks I’m basically Amy Gardner from The West Wing,” she says, referencing the fiercely feminist television character played by Mary Louise Parker. “Many people my age want to do things that matter and do things that make a difference in some way. They want to feel part of something bigger.”

PHOTOS: RENEE ROSENSTEEL

Some politics POEs are interested in specializing on a single issue. That’s the path chosen by Ashley DeMauro ’08, who is state director of StudentsFirst Pennsylvania, a lobbying organization that specialized in education policy.

2016 Spring-Summer |

Ashley DeMauro ’08, who has been state director for StudentsFirst Pennsylvania for almost four years, wanted to make a difference on a single issue—education. Her interest in the issue started when she took a College class called "State and Local Government," from former State Representative and Majority Leader Sam Hayes Jr. As the course wound down, Hayes, who retired from teaching last year, offered to recommend Ashley for an internship on the House Republican Education Committee.

Straight out of Juniata, she was hired as a policy analyst for the Pennsylvania House Education Committee. Two years later, she was running the government relations office in the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and 17 months after that she signed on for StudentsFirst.

“At Juniata I came in thinking I would be a social studies teacher but I realized I was much more interested in the policy side rather than the classroom side,” she says.

“In my job now we are working on high quality school choices for students and trying to end seniority-based layoffs for teachers.

Pennsylvania has 500 individual school districts, which means it’s all about building consensus.”

The consensus on campus is that the experiential education approach favored by Plane in most of his classes gives Juniata students early exposure to the political process. In many classes he requires all student do 20 hours of field work ranging from registering voters to working on campaigns.

“Students also do writing assignments that are more applicable to political jobs. I might have them do press releases, opinion pieces, or a candidate bio,” Plane explains. “We focus on writing and analysis, skills that are transferable.”

In addition, Plane also has established a connection with The Washington Center, which offers academic seminars and internships based in Washington, D.C. Plane sends students to these classes every year. Plane also organizes

31

Nicole Houck ’12

Electing to Serve a Community

| Juniata

Unlike the vast majority of Juniata graduates, Nicole Houck ’12 did not leave Huntingdon in the broad daylight a few hours after the Commencement ceremony.

As they say in rural Pennsylvania, she’s dug in.

The community she chose to dig into was an easy decision. Shortly after graduation she was offered a job at Huntingdon House, a local agency offering services for survivors of domestic abuse, as director of education.

“These are causes near and dear to my heart: community outreach, advocacy and nonprofit work,” explains Houck, who grew up in Hollidaysburg, Pa. “This job gives me the best of all three worlds, politics, nonprofit work and lobbying for causes.”

Although Nicole confesses that her original intent for studying politics was to prepare for law school, she’s found a niche that allows her to directly affect the community she lives in. In fact, she’s so interested in making a difference in Huntingdon that she ran for Huntingdon Borough Council in 2015 and started her four-year term in January 2016.

“It pays a $125 stipend per month,” she says.

“The thing I really like about Huntingdon is that the people all know you and feel comfortable talking to me about what’s affecting the whole community.”

So far, she’s enjoying her initiation into politics. “Sometimes it seems as if elected officials forgot they were elected to serve the people of a community,” she says. “Local politics affect everything you do. Having the opportunity to work within the legal system and making a difference in my community is the most important thing for me.”

32

a course around the presidential election every four years and takes about five to 10 students to the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

One of the students who attended Washington Center programs, Alexis Waksmunski ’15, was elected as an at-large delegate for Bernie Sanders.

“Students meet with politicians, lobbyists, think tanks, and really learn how the system works,” Plane says. “They get a sense of the jobs and career opportunities that are available.”

At the same time, Plane foregoes the simon-pure model of teaching politics, where the professor is a nonpartisan arbiter of classroom discussions. “It always seemed disingenuous to pretend I don’t have a point of view,” he says.

“Students are much more likely to be engaged by a presidential election discussion or if they realize an issue they care about is being debated at the state or local level.”

Certainly many of the students studying politics (and many in other POEs) are involved in political activities, either state or local. Many students get local internships or canvass Huntingdon neighborhoods to complete electoral petitions for state and national candidates. “A big part of politics for me is getting involved to help build a better future,” says Kevin Butterfield ’17, of Greenport, N.Y., a member of the JC Democrats student club. So far he’s worked an internship helping out Gary O’Korn, a 2015 candidate for Huntingdon County commissioner, and collected signatures for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The club also organized a voter registration initiative for the presidential primaries and state elections.

“There’s much more activity this year because of the presidential elections,” says Roberto Toro ’18, of Houston, Texas, who chairs the Juniata College Republicans student club. “Students believe the president affects social policy, so they become more active.”

Policy issues in general continue to appeal to college-age students, according to Charlotte

Politically direct

Dennis Plane, professor of politics, isn’t interested in students studying all the books written on politics. Instead, he’s interested in “building good citizens.” Students in most of his classes must get involved in local politics— registering voters, staffing polling places, volunteering on a campaign, anything that helps their political education. Getting involved himself, Plane was selected by the Bernie Sanders campaign to serve on the Platform Committee for the Democratic National Convention.

“Students meet with politicians, lobbyists, think tanks, and really learn how the system works. They get a sense of the jobs and career opportunities that are available.”

—Dennis Plane PROFESSOR OF POLITICS

2016 Spring-Summer | 33

Politically direct

Passion for particular causes can often spark a career in politics. David Grim ’12, western Pennsylvania finance director for (Rep.) Sen. Pat Toomey, has worked in some capacity on Republican campaigns since leaving the College.

“Juniata is the perfect place to learn politics because you’re part of a small community with lots of different people.

You learn to do your best to get along with everybody and when you leave campus it has become second nature.”

—David Grim ’12

| Juniata

WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA FINANCE DIRECTOR FOR U.S. SENATOR PAT TOOMEY

34

Ridge, a lecturer in politics at Juniata who researches the behavior of female officeholders in local governments. She credits the 2008 election of President Barack Obama with energizing the youth vote but adds that other issues have continued to matter to the under-25 voting bloc. “Students are very interested in improving the environment,” she says.

One of Ridge’s courses, “Lobbying,” new this year to the College, gives Juniatians the chance to move beyond the world of theory and practice and enter the realm of advocacy. “The idea is to get them used to taking a position about something they are passionate about.”

Often such passion for causes turns into political commitment, and several recent graduates credit technology for turning every teenager with a smartphone into political players. “The 24-hour news cycle and social media gives us a great ability to be connected and

contribute to the conversation,” says David Grim ’12, western Pennsylvania finance director for U.S. Senator Pat Toomey.

Grim, elected as president of his high school and college classes, and elected president of student government at Juniata, seems destined to run for office but for now, he’s more concerned with applying the lessons he learned at Juniata to the outside world.

“Politics is really hands-on and it gives you a rare ability to leave a mark on your community,” he says. “Juniata is the perfect place to learn politics because you’re part of a small community with lots of different people. You learn to do your best to get along with

Philadelphia resident Ben Waxman ’07, left a job as communications director for Vincent Hughes, a Democratic state senator, to challenge an incumbent state representative from the 182nd District who was running for congress.

Waxman lost in the primary but received 35 percent of the vote and pulled in key endorsements, a showing impressive enough for journalists to label him “someone to watch.”

“We were the first generation after 9/11 and I think we all realized the world is bigger than what is right in front of you.

Politics, particularly in Pennsylvania, ‘Juniata’ is known, is a field where you can advance quickly if you’re willing to work hard.”

—Ben Waxman ’07 FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR PA SEN. VINCENT HUGHES

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS (LEFT): RENEE ROSENSTEEL; (RIGHT) PETER TOBIA

where the name

35

Politically direct

It’s not all chicken dinners and power breakfasts when you're running for office. Here, Waxman greets voters and collects signatures for his petition from residents in his district.

| Juniata

everybody and when you leave campus it has become second nature.”

Such experiential learning certainly helped convince Ben Waxman ’07 to launch a run for state representative in Pennsylvania’s 182nd District. At Juniata, he interned on a State Senate campaign and established a career as an opinion writer, publishing pieces in the Altoona Mirror, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Harrisburg Patriot-News. Those experiences led Waxman to a reporting job at a website sponsored

by Philadelphia radio station WHYY and the Philadelphia Daily News.

Eventually he was hired in 2012 as communications director for Sen. Vincent Hughes, a Democrat, who is chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee. Last year, Waxman learned the sitting representative for the 182nd District was running for Congress. Waxman

36

decided to move from behind the scenes to center stage.

The need to work in politics and indeed run for office has more of a sense of urgency to emerging students. In April, Waxman lost in a four-candidate primary race against Democratic incumbent Brian Sims. Waxman received key endorsements from the American Federation of Teachers and the Democratic City Committee and received 35 percent of the vote, prompting Philadelphia magazine to label him someone “we haven’t heard the last of.”

Another Juniata graduate, Michael Molesevich ’77, is running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional district.

“We were the first generation after 9/11 and I think we all realized the world is bigger than what is right in front of you,” he says. “Politics, particularly in Pennsylvania, where the name

‘Juniata’ is known, is a field where you can advance quickly if you’re willing to work hard.”

For Waxman and other Juniata graduates, the independence and critical thinking the College fosters is paramount in a career field where decisions are often lifechanging, long-lasting, and done quickly.

“There has been a real change in how college students see social movements,” he explains. “Students are more interested, more engaged and there’s a sense you can affect things all over the world. I don’t know of other colleges that offer students the ability to create an academic program that gives them the ability to have specialized careers and then puts energized and engaged faculty on campus to help them achieve it. That kind of thing is built into the DNA of Juniata.” >j<

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS (LEFT): PETER TOBIA; (RIGHT) AMBER BORING ’18

Nathan Kohl Wyatt ’17, of Takoma Park, Md., a member of the Juniata Democrats student club, set up a table in the lobby of Ellis Hall to register voters for the national primaries.

Many of the students in Dennis Plane’s politics classes are required to get involved in some aspect of the political process as part of their assignments.

37

Liliane Umuhoza: Survivor, Performer, Scholar, Ambassador, Juniatian.

By Tyler Ayres ’16 PHOTOGRAPHY BY: AMBER BORING ’18 unless noted DESIGN BY: VALERIE HERSH ’16

| Juniata

Liliane Umuhoza, a first-year student from Rwanda, was worried about fitting in at Juniata, but she soon found her footing. By the time spring semester rolled around, she was competing—and finishing second—at the Bailey Oratorical Contest.

38

For most of the class of 2019, driving to Juniata for the fall semester meant a scant few hours in a car, packed into the back seat along with the foam mattress cover, and maybe a clamoring younger sibling or two.

2016 Spring-Summer | 39

Liliane Umuhoza

the tragedy of genocide, who had passed through the horrors of war.”

In 1994, conflict between Hutu and Tutsi ethnicities sparked a mass killing of Tutsi and moderate Hutus by members of the Hutu majority, leading to the deaths of more than 800,000 Rwandans.

“We didn’t know each other,” says Liliane of Mukeshimana. “She knew of the high school I went to.” Liliane attended the AgahozoShalom Youth Village (ASYV), a remarkable educational community modeled after those that sprang up in Israel after the Holocaust.

Rwanda has the highest proportion of orphans to the total population of under-18-year-old children in the world, and the youth village places students affected by the genocide into surrogate family units, each with a housemother.

“Before ASYV, I was in public school. There are some nice

international high schools back home, but they are very expensive,” says Liliane. Education was a top priority for Liliane and her family, and their dedication paid off. “I started to learn English. That’s when I started to dream big.”

As a member of ASYV’s first graduating class, Liliane was one of five student representatives chosen to travel to the United States for a fundraising event. “Imagine, being one of five students chosen from 125,” she says.

The school chose student representatives based on their grades and how accomplished their English was. Liliane speaks English with a musical lilt and is also fluent in French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda, an official language of Rwanda. “They also chose students who could sing, dance, or do theater.

We spoke and performed in New York and Boston.”

| Juniata

J.D. C PHOTO:

AVRICH

Challenges faced on the typical incoming freshman trip include: bad rest stop coffee, or perhaps the prospect of lasting until Thanksgiving break without seeing their high school BFFs. For Liliane Umuhoza ’19, however, move-in day arrival meant more than Dad getting lost because he absolutely refused to stop for directions at the last gas station. Liliane’s journey to Juniata spanned the Atlantic Ocean and most of Africa.

Liliane is a first-generation college student from Gisenyi, Rwanda. She first heard about Juniata from Eugenie Mukeshimana, a Rwandan genocide survivor and educational outreach coordinator at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

“Eugenie was invited to speak at the College about five years ago,” says Liliane. “She told me that Juniata was interested in supporting students who had been through

40

, first logy class a psycho himana, in es k e u er M h own genie e Liliane, sh Juniata from Eu ho had visited th e out rw d b a ci vo o vi rd r en G ea su l h genocide ’s annua n ta a ia d n n a Ju a Rw er for s a speak n Week.

College a io ct A d n a s Awarenes

Liliane has jum ped into Juniat a activities with both feet. She has performed in theatre and productions in music Rwanda and sh e was part of a performance at Juniata's Multic ultural Storyfes during the Lib eral Arts Sympo t sium.

COURTESY LILIANE UMUHOZA

2016 Spring-Summer |

Although Liliane brought along some traditional Rwandan clothes, she usually wears what other college students wear. This photo is from a friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding ceremony in Rwanda.

41

Liliane Umuhoza

Although Liliane carried an impressive amount of class hours for her freshman year, she still found time to impact the campus.

Here, she speaks about the current situation in Burundi, another African nation experiencing strife, as part of the College’s Genocide Awareness activities. She spoke with Lily Kruglak ’11 (left), the Juniata student who was the first Juniatian to study abroad in Rwanda and who organized the first Genocide Awareness Week.

“The Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies has scholarships that are designated specifically to help support students from high-conflict zones.”

—Celia Cook-Huffman

| Juniata

PROFESSOR OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

42

After ASYV, and before coming to Juniata, Liliane held several jobs in her home city of Gisenyi, an urban center of about 100,000 that shares a border with Goma, a large city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “My favorite job was with a traditional troupe called Mashirika, acting out traditional Rwandan and African folklore, plays, and choreography. I performed at some big events with them—one was attended by the President of Rwanda, and another by the First Lady.”

It was during this academic hiatus that Liliane spent two days with a group of Juniatians.

Mukeshimana put Liliane in touch with Alison Fletcher, associate professor of history, who started a short-term study abroad program in Rwanda together with Celia Cook-Huffman, professor of conflict resolution. “Liliane met our group at the hostel where we were staying,” explains Fletcher. “She took us around the genocide museum, where a quarter of a million people are buried, and then talked with us for a while about her dreams for Rwanda.”

Spending time with Juniatians in her home country made the decision easy for Liliane. “I applied to Juniata, and they accepted and gave me a full scholarship,” she says. “When I heard news of my acceptance, I felt like everything was going to change, like I could achieve anything. I knew it was my time to fly.”

“The Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies has scholarships that are designated specifically to help support students from high-conflict zones,” says Cook-Huffman.

Transitioning from Rwanda to Huntingdon has been difficult in some ways for Liliane, though central Pennsylvania is more similar to home than she expected.

“When I finally got here, I was glad that Juniata was a small college in a rural area,” she explains. “In my country, we have a lot of hills and trees. They call Rwanda the Land of a Thousand Hills.”

Within those thousand hills, Liliane has three younger siblings in Rwanda whom she misses very much. Because of the Rwandan

genocide, Liliane explains, tightknit families became even tighter.

“We’re a very close family, we’re very connected,” says Liliane. “Many of us don’t have first cousins, and many of our second and third cousins don’t have parents. We all take care of each other.”

Even after two semesters studying in a new social environment, there are some differences in lifestyle that, to Liliane, still don’t quite make sense.

“One day, a friend here at the College told me her roommate wasn’t there for a week. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I said to her. ‘You’ve been alone all week! Are you okay?’ She said she loved it, that it was nice. I was quite surprised,” says Liliane. “People here like to do things alone, not because they aren’t

"People here use their voices. In my country, people share a lot, but they don’t speak their minds. Students say what they’re thinking in class here, even if the answer might not be correct."

—Liliane Umuhoza ’19 PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES

2016 Spring-Summer |

Liliane reads a poem she wrote at the “Trauma Through the Generations” event at the Juniata Museum of Art. The reading was part of Genocide Awareness and Action Week.

43

| Juniata

Liliane characterized the Rwandan culture as one where the focus is not on the self, but on others. After Juniata, she would like to return to Rwanda to work with women to speak out more on issues affecting their gender in Rwanda.

44

friendly, but because it’s just part of the culture. Sharing is something that is very important back home.

“At home, friends and coworkers all make it a point to get together in one place every evening,” she adds. “I do miss that aspect. We do work hard at home, but it’s in the culture, I think, to be very social.”

It turns out that the perennial student gripe with school food knows no cultural boundaries. “For the first two weeks at Juniata I only ate fruit. We eat lots of beans, rice and vegetables at home, but when I got here there was sugar in the beans. Sugar! There’s sugar in everything.”

Even in the face of so many radical changes, Liliane has found a sense of belonging at Juniata. “At a small college, everyone knows everyone. You see the same friends every day, and your professors know your strengths and weaknesses. It’s like another family here.”

Liliane and her roommate, Lucie Case ’19, have become fast friends. “She has an overwhelming kindness and accessibility to her,” says Case. “If you talk to her for just 10 minutes, she’ll be your best friend for life.”

Lynn Cockett, professor of communication, who taught Liliane in “Introduction to Human Communication,” agrees: “I knew she was our first student from Rwanda, so I made it a point to get to know her. She has a very warm personality. You feel like you know her well, even if you don’t.”

In addition to Juniatian camaraderie, Liliane enjoys the way that people on campus don’t hesitate to express themselves. “People here use their voices. In my country, people share a lot, but they don’t speak their minds. Students say what they’re thinking in class here, even if the answer might not be correct.”

“We’ve grown up in a culture where women are supposed to be quiet and humble nice to everyone.

We don’t focus on ourselves at home, we focus on others.”

—Liliane Umuhoza ’19 PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES

“Especially women back home, they don’t speak for themselves.

They wouldn’t ever do something like deliver a speech,” she explains.

Liliane, however, managed to find her voice. Competing against dozens of upperclassmen, almost all of whom are native English speakers, Liliane took second place this year at the Bailey Oratorical Contest.

One of Liliane’s areas of study includes helping women realize and attain agency in their societies.

She is considering a Program of Emphasis combining women and gender studies, peace and conflict studies and communication.

“We’ve grown up in a culture where women are supposed to be quiet and humble, nice to everyone.

We don’t focus on ourselves at home, we focus on others,” notes Liliane. “Rwanda is changing slowly, but it’s not where it needs to be.”

“I want to go back to Rwanda after my studies, because I know my country needs me. I want to work with women at home, to give them some of the voice that people have here in this country.”

As a nation, Rwanda has made great strides since the atrocities of the genocide. “Most of my generation is affected by the Rwandan genocide. Many don’t have parents and were raised in orphanages,” says Liliane. “But people need to know that we are no longer the divided country that we once were.”

Liliane helped organize Genocide Awareness and Action Week this year at Juniata, which was started by Lily Kruglak ’11.

Kruglak returned to campus for the week’s events, and she and Liliane spoke at a dinner sponsored by PAX-O, Juniata’s student peace organization, about the ongoing civil war and political persecution in Burundi, a country that shares a border with Rwanda.

Liliane also read one of her poems at an event at the art museum.

With a year at Juniata successfully under her belt, Huntingdon is starting to feel like home. “I’m even starting to dream in English,” she exclaims. Though she probably won’t stop missing her siblings or get used to sugared everything, Liliane has discovered another family here. “Even though I’m the only Rwandan here, my country’s flag flies at the Oller Center. Juniata has given me that respect and acknowledgement.”

Though Liliane and her fellow Rwandans endured immeasurable loss, they are not victims. Hers is a generation of peaceful warriors, endowed with the strength and experience to change the world.

“We have something different.

It’s terrible that we lost so many people, but it’s given us the courage to dream big and dream far. We grew up knowing that we had to work hard for those we lost, and we’ll pass that spirit on to our children and our grandchildren.” >j<

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

Liliane Umuhoza

45

Culture of Service

Juniata to Infuse Service Learning Further into Curriculum

| Juniata

PHOTO BY: J.D. CAVRICH

46

2016 Spring-Summer |

Shannon Wray â&#x20AC;&#x2122;13, environmental science technician, takes a look at one of the sapling chestnut trees in the Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chestnut orchard. Shannon, shown here with student George Harchack â&#x20AC;&#x2122;16, monitors the tree stand for signs of chestnut blight, the fungal disease that devastated the American chestnut population in the 20th century.

47

O

n a blustery day last spring, George Harchack ’16 and Shannon Wray ’13, an Environmental Science and Studies Technician at Juniata, crest the hill behind the Paul Hickes Observatory. Heads down against the wind, the two hike toward Juniata’s chestnut orchard, the brainchild of then-environmental science student Ashley Musgrove ’08. Sheltered by natural windbreaks on two sides and fenced in against whitetail deer, the roughly 200 saplings have already reached heights of roughly 25 feet.

By Tyler Ayres ’16 PHOTOGRAPHY BY: AMBER BORING ’18

| Juniata

unless noted

48

Culture of Service

JUNIATA'S MISSION STATEMENT

The height of this plot of saplings mirrors the growth of this service learning project, started in 2007 by Musgrove and Uma Ramakrishnan, associate professor of environmental sciences.

Aided by funding from the Pennsylvania chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation, the student and professor laid the groundwork for the chestnut orchard.

As George and Shannon examine a blighted trunk, they discuss the significance of the project that Ashley started years ago. The American chestnut tree, the East Coast’s most valued hardwood, which is thought to have accounted for 25 percent of Appalachian forests before 1880, fell victim to a fungal blight accidentally introduced by overseas commerce in the ’20s.

The end goal of the project is to create viable seed stock of blightresistant AmericanChinese Chestnut hybrids.

“It’s important to bring

American Chestnuts back,” explains George.

“They’re only found in this part of the world, and they’re part of our culture.”

George has worked with Juniata’s chestnut orchards since 2014, and also does work with the Army Corps of Engineers at a chestnut grove near Juniata’s Raystown Field Station. Between planting, crossbreeding and hybridizing, and orchard maintenance, he has accumulated valuable experience that will help him secure a career as a park ranger after graduation.

The benefits of projects like Juniata’s American Chestnut orchard are most apparent at a local level, engaging generations of Juniatians in meaningful conservation work in our own backyard. Local high school students have the opportunity to do valuable fieldwork at the orchard as well, and the site regularly

draws volunteers from the broader community.

Eventually, though, the effects of this project will be felt far beyond Huntingdon County, when America’s landscape could be reforested with hybrid chestnuts.

With a sustainable, multigenerational scope focused on both local and global landscapes, Juniata’s chestnut orchard epitomizes the high-impact teaching strategy known as service learning.

Colleges and universities across the country are strengthening their understanding of their societal responsibilities and embracing service learning as a way to prepare their students to lead lives of civic engagement.

Service to the greater community is an inextricable part of Juniata’s Brethren roots and resonates strongly with our mission statement (shown above).

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

To provide an engaging personalized educational experience empowering our students to develop the skills, knowledge and values that lead to a fulfilling life of service and ethical leadership in the global community.

49

Culture of Service

Sarah Worley ’00, second from left, gesturing, is chair of the Service Learning Advisory Committee, which meets monthly to manage and oversee how service learning concepts are embedded into Juniata curriculum. In addition to its regular members, Provost Lauren Bowen, far left with her back to the camera, sometimes sits in. Other members, moving clockwise around the table, are: Deb Roney, director of Language in Motion; Dave Witkovsky, chaplain; Daniel Welliver ’79, associate professor of sociology; Kim Roth, professor of math; Uma Ramakrishnan, associate professor of environmental science; Ann Echols, associate professor of business; and Jessica Maxon, then director of community service and service learning.

Sarah Worley ’00, assistant professor of communication, serves as chair of Juniata’s Service Learning Advisory Committee, an entity working toward embedding service learning on campus. “We’re following a trend that is bigger than any one school, the sense of returning to our mission and a democratic sense of participation,” explains Worley.

Worley and members of the Service Learning Advisory Committee work with faculty who wish to incorporate service learning in their courses.

Any professor can take their students out for community service at a soup kitchen or a trash cleanup, but effectively implementing service learning in a curriculum takes training, planning and partnership. This is one of the most important functions of the committee: to establish the distinction between service for and service with the community. Worley recently was named director of service learning, a portfolio that includes working with colleagues to strengthen service learning as a teaching philosophy. She also will work closely with the community service office to establish and nurture community partnerships.

| Juniata

While both community and service are at the crux of the College’s institutional mission, service learning is very different from community service. Community service is usually ad hoc, need-based service for a community, while service learning takes place with a community partner and is supplemented by for-credit course work. “There are key components that are different than dropping in, performing service, and being done,” Worley says.

Jessica Maxon ’09 has been another key player in defining and developing service learning at Juniata. Formerly director of both community service and service learning, Maxon was responsible for orchestrating much of the outreach at the College. (Just prior to the magazine's press deadline, Maxon left Juniata to become director of first-year programs at New College of Florida.) There are currently around a dozen current courses that implement service learning in their curricula.

50

“Our community partners have come to rely on the extra hands on deck.

We have a student body with diverse interests and skills that can be utilized locally."

—Jessica Maxon ’09 THEN DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND SERVICE LEARNING

Members of Sarah Worley’s Group Communications class, which has integrated a significant group service learning project into its syllabus, take part in some exercises designed to build confidence and teamwork at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center.

2016 Spring-Summer |

“Our community partners have come to rely on the extra hands on deck. We have a student body with diverse interests and skills that can be utilized locally,” says Maxon. “Without our students, those programs wouldn’t run the same way.” Ironically, because of the value that students can have in a community, the line between help and harm can be a fine one. “By the nature of a four-year institution, students eventually graduate and move on,” she adds. “That’s why we make sure that sustainable and mutually reciprocal relationships are what come out of this office.

“We do offer sweat equity—we will lick your stamps, drill your holes, be in the trenches with you— but I always request that our community partners be involved with defining and developing the project, in terms of time and labor,” continues Maxon.

At its core, however, service learning is much more than self-sustaining community service for credit.

Much of the value for students comes from applying classroom knowledge and theory in the real world, rather than merely in tests and essays.

An example of this practical application is evidenced in the work done by Juniata’s environmental science students in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection. “The DEP is required to do surface monitoring around the area,” explains Ramakrishnan. “They were noncompliant because they simply didn’t have the staff. Our seniors, however, have the training to do a lot of water chemistry. The DEP trained students in government-approved sampling and techniques that they find acceptable.”

Because of successful participation in projects like this, the College creates further opportunities in the area. “The trout project (covered in Juniata Spring-Summer 2015) that our students worked on last year spun off into many other projects,” continues Ramakrishnan. “The Little Juniata River Association, a small NGO, approached our department and asked if we could help them. While they have a lot of manpower, they don’t have the skills that our students have.

“We found that some of the trout transmitters were being dropped, and so we started another project with a hatchery in State College to try and figure that out.”

This second project led to a third, where Gina Lamendella, assistant professor of biology, sought to identify a correlation between the movement of trout and their aquatic microbial communities. “Because of these community projects,” concludes Ramakrishnan, “we have a detailed analysis that a lot of other agencies are interested in. Different disciplines, different agencies, can come together through service learning.”

In addition to applying knowledge acquired in the classroom to practical situations, students who are involved with service learning are exposed to valuable professional development. Reading about business models and personnel management is important, but working with and learning from actual entrepreneurs, managers, and employees in an on-the-clock setting is entirely different.

“I used to have them role-play in class,” recalls Worley. “I don’t think there was much value for the

51

Culture of Service

Members of the Group Communications class meet with the director of Huntingdon County United Way to discuss ways to make operations at the local charity more sustainable.

| Juniata

students in that. Now, they’re living it. They’re in real workplaces, there are real people to answer to, and there are real results to measure.”

One of those real workplaces is Standing Stone Coffee Company.

Located on the corner of Mifflin and 13th Street, Standing Stone is a fairtrade roastery and café that serves ethically grown coffee from around the world and fresh produce and baked goods from the Huntingdon area.

In the spring of 2014, Standing Stone owner and operations manager Greg Anderson ’99 teamed up with Worley’s Group Communication class to better understand the tastes and habits of his customers. Suzanne Jlelaty ’16 was a student in the course that spring, and served as the liaison between her group and the coffee shop.

Before they began work in earnest, Jlelaty and her classmates did a full needs assessment, replete with five focus groups and surveys that garnered 300 responses. The results of their initial study led to some main areas of focus: menu offerings, restaurant ambience, and an increase in community presence.

“Standing Stone has community outreach programs where they offer

52

“Service learning creates connections between students and the community, which isn’t always easy. It humanizes us to the community, and them to us, by removing barriers and preconceptions."

—Suzanne Jlelaty ’16 ASTORIA, N.Y. HUMAN SERVICES AND COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES

scholarships and other resources that people don’t tap into,” says Jlelaty. “We wanted to make those programs better known.”

“Their findings were critical to the changes we made,” explains Anderson. “In the fall of 2014 we rolled out a new menu, with latenight options, breakfast selections, and half-sized offerings. A lot of those changes have taken off.

“We’ve tried some different advertising approaches as a result of the students’ market research, and have seen some increased traffic. The level of insight and care put forth by them was great—we still refer back to those reports,” Anderson adds.

This past spring, Jlelaty was a teaching assistant in Worley’s “Group Communication” course.

The class worked with Huntingdon County United Way, the local branch of a global humanitarian organization that connects donors and volunteers with groups of people in need.

Students worked on making operations at United Way more sustainable. “We made standardized documents that volunteers from the community could consult,” explains Jlelaty.

“They’re also working on letting the community know that United Way is still in Huntingdon. They moved locations, and are much less visible now, so we’re working on increasing community visibility.”

Students further boosted the organization’s visibility by creating decals for donors. In addition to boosting United Way’s presence, the decals are a way for the organization to show appreciation to donors.

Another group of Worley’s students consulted this year with John and Dianne Bittikofer, a local couple that has been training future service dogs together for more than 12 years.

“Service learning creates connections between students and the community, which isn’t always easy,” says Jlelaty. “It humanizes us to the community, and them to us, by removing barriers and preconceptions.”

“We'd like more coordination across those high-impact practices such as undergraduate research, study abroad, internships— and service learning is definitely part of that menu."

—Lauren Bowen PROVOST

Continued evolution isn’t optional at this point, and recognizing the latest best practices is crucial to any institution’s relevance in today’s competitive landscape. Juniata’s increasing incorporation of service learning in its curricula does not involve radical changes. There are no wheels to reinvent, no mountains to move. Service learning isn’t a trend at Juniata—it has resided at the College’s core since 1876.

The way that students learn and interact with one another in higher education is faster, broader, and greater than ever before.

Technology has built bridges that span continents and centuries, but whom do those bridges cross over?

Aren’t we forgetting something?

“We live in an age where people identify with communities they aren’t geographically connected with,” admits Worley. “We all identify on a national level because we’re tapped in to these national platforms, rather than recognizing the community we’re in. Service learning reconnects us to the places where we are.” >j< —Tyler Ayres ’16, a senior from Huntingdon, Pa., is the Juniata Associate for Media Relations

Provost Bowen, center, is working with the service learning committee and other leaders on campus to restructure how service learning works and how to coordinate service learning experiences with other undergraduate rites of passage—undergraduate research, study abroad and internships.

2016 Spring-Summer |

A restructuring of the way that service learning is addressed at the College is on the horizon.

The exact changes are still being discussed, but the future looks promising. The construction of a new Learning Commons in the foreseeable future has been the topic of discussion among administration and faculty. The idea is to expand Beeghly Library and relocate various entities associated with experiential education and student success in a central location for students in need. This facility will serve as a literal and figurative hub, a forum meant to increase the speed and efficiency of communication between offices.

“Service learning can propel students to the kind of internships they’d like to have, the type of research they’d like to conduct,” explains Lauren Bowen, provost.

“We’d like more coordination across those high-impact practices such as undergraduate research, study abroad, internships—and service learning is definitely part of that menu.”

Bowen knows firsthand the myriad benefits of service learning, both for communities and for students. Before joining the Juniata community in 2014, Bowen and a colleague started a service learning program at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Under Bowen’s leadership, undergraduate students at John Carroll taught principles of the U.S. Constitution to children in the area’s public schools.

“We had a relationship with teachers and principals of East Cleveland public schools,” she says.

“The program helped our students understand the Constitution better, helped them hone their public speaking skills, and helped the 5th graders see themselves as U.S. citizens.”

With a background rooted deeply in community outreach, Bowen is the kind of advocate for service learning that will ensure its place in the future of the College.

Her commitment to experiential learning will be important as Juniata continues to evolve.

53

FACULTY FEATURE

ELECTING TO ENGAGE Politics Professor Dennis Plane Finds Smooth Landing at Juniata College

By John Wall director of media relations PHOTOGRAPHY BY: J.D. CAVRICH

E

| Juniata

vidently when your life’s dream is to teach at a small liberal arts college, it helps to be as contrarian as possible. When all your professors are telling you to apply for prestigious research internships that would put you on the road to being hired at a prestigious research university, blow them off. When every political scientist tells you to never reveal your true political beliefs in class, channel Nancy Reagan and “Just Say No.”

Politics professor Dennis Plane tells these backstories a bit more judiciously, but these two tenets of how he prefers to approach teaching are the backbone of what he wants to accomplish at Juniata—which is to build good citizens.

Perhaps this innate belief in choosing one’s own path springs from growing up in the American West— Colorado, specifically—where there is an epic cultural history of rugged individualism.

Or maybe he has an idea that is long overdue. That students learn best when engaged in life and in class, whether that is electoral politics, or arguing climate change, or just deciding where to go to lunch.

“I like to discuss my beliefs in class,” Dennis says.

“This idea that a politics professor must remain neutral limits the exchange of ideas.”

Really, what the political expert is interested in is recreating the hothouse atmosphere of his undergraduate experience at Rollins College, a Winter Park, Fla. liberal arts institution near Orlando.

But his path to the liberal arts was pre-ordained in a way. His father was a business professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy and then at the University of Colorado at Boulder. So, Dennis’s childhood was less about intently discussing election results than electing whether to go to Vail or Jackson Hole for a ski weekend.

The younger Dennis might have been fated to become a ski instructor or a film festival coordinator

54

had he stayed in Colorado, but his father accepted a job at Rollins College and the entire family moved to snowless Florida. Dennis, his older brother, and younger sister all graduated from Rollins.

“There was never any pressure to find some sort of high-paying job,” Dennis says, laughing. “It was more like find something to do that makes you happy.”

For a short while, doing math is what made Dennis happy. “I was good at math, it’s always been easy for me,” he corrects. “One day I had this epiphany—I really didn’t enjoy doing math, so now I needed to look for a new career after majoring in math for three years.”

Luckily Dennis had minored in political science and in his senior year he switched all his math courses with politics courses and the numbers meshed enough to allow him to graduate in 1993. Still he had a problem. “I went to one of my advisers and said ‘I have this weird expertise in math and politics, what can I do with that?’ and he told me the entire field in political science was turning toward quantitative analysis.”

“I like to discuss my beliefs in class. This idea that a politics professor must remain neutral limits the exchange of ideas.”

—Dennis Plane PROFESSOR OF POLITICS

After doing a little quantitative analysis of his own, Dennis, who had not applied to graduate schools and in truth had not even thought about graduate schools, soon found himself deciding where to send his test scores for the next step in his academic career. He ultimately decided to spend a year earning some cash to fund his graduate education and returned to Colorado to work as a tour guide in the San Isabel, Arapaho, and Rio Grande national forests and during the winter he donned a cowboy hat, boots, and a long western duster coat to entertain out-of-town diners who were riding in a mountain sleigh up to Beano’s Cabin, a gourmet restaurant perched on the side of a mountain in Vail.

Considering Dennis’s western roots, perhaps it’s not surprising that he ended up at the University of Texas-Austin to earn a doctorate in political behavior.

He loved the work, loved the school, and found love with his now-wife, Becky. The thing was, he didn’t really love what his advisers were advising him to do.

“At Texas, the whole political science department is about producing top scholars who will go on to excel at top research universities,” he says. “I wanted to be part of a small community where I could foster citizenship.

I just couldn’t imagine not having real interaction with my students.”

As he earned his doctoral degree in 2002, he sent out applications to smaller institutions where he thought he could best find the student-teacher interactions he was interested in. He found in intriguing opportunity at Gallaudet University, the Washington, D.C.-based institution for the Deaf and hard of hearing. He taught most of his classes in American Sign Language and found connections at The Washington Center. Unfortunately, the internal politics of Gallaudet were tricky to navigate, even for a politics professor, so, when Dennis found an ad for a job at Juniata, he decided to go for it.

Becky Plane ’08 ge ts son Austin, 10, an d daughter Rosemary, 9, ready for a photo shoot.

2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTO: JASON JONES

fully does not nnis Plane purpose In the classroom De his students know s let impartiality. He the maintain an air of es neutrality limits views are. He believ . ing rn what his political lea ts ar l era crucial to lib exchange of views

“I liked that Juniata was an intimate community,” he explains. “Juniata was not pretending to be something that it wasn’t and the College was doing what it does (educating students) very, very well.”

While at Juniata, Dennis has found the perfect laboratory for his mission of building citizenship. As readers saw in the story (Politically Direct, page 28), Dennis encourages his students to get involved in politics early and often. He is very active in local Democratic politics and has made sure his son, Austin, 10, and daughter, Rosemary, 9, have gone down to the voting booth with him so they understand the political process.

Dennis’s political affiliation has also gone through a political transformation as well. When he entered Rollins he was sure he was a Republican. “I was attracted to this notion of working hard, taking care of yourself and not relying on the government to take care of you,” he says.

But then as he began voting regularly after high school, he found that the candidates who resonated with his beliefs were, more often than not, Democrats.

“When I started to think about what is important about the political promise—that not everyone starts out equally—it became clear I was a Democrat.”

Party affiliations aside, Dennis has found Juniata to be a place where the community allows everyone to follow their destiny. Indeed, his wife, Becky ’08, was able to return to college and earn a bachelor’s degree in education. She now is one of the teachers at the College’s Early Childhood Education Center. Dennis himself harbors no illusions of greater political glory.

“I would love being a member of Congress, but I would hate the process of getting there,” he says, with a laugh. “It requires a lot of money and a lot of time—those are things that I don’t have a lot of these days. With two kids who love television, I’m just grateful Becky and the kids allowed me to veg out in front of the TV to watch all the results on Super Tuesday.” >j<

55

FACULTY NOTES Jack Barlow, Charles Dana Professor of Politics, wrote two articles, “Constitutional Government” and “General Welfare Clause,” in the book American Governance.

Bethany Benson, associate professor of art, received a Purchase Award at the Strictly Functional Pottery National in Lancaster, Pa. John Bukowski, professor of mathematics, co-organized and performed in the concert, “Mathematicians by Day, Musicians by Night” at MathFest in Washington, D.C., in August 2015. He accompanied the association’s choir, which featured Cathy Stenson, professor of mathematics, and Kim Roth, professor of mathematics.

Bukowski also spoke about mathematician Christiaan Huygens at Villanova University in November 2015 and on “av der Pol’s tablecloth” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Seattle, Washington, in January Jonathan Burns, lecturer in anthropology, spoke to the Huntingdon County Historical Society in January and the Western Maryland Archaeological Society in March on his archaeology field course at Fort Ligonier.

Sarah DeHaas, Martin Brumbaugh Professor of Education, presented “Watch and Learn: Using Film in the Social Sciences” at the Annual Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, in Washington, D.C., in June, and moderated a session on social media bullying at the

Annual Lehigh University Special Education Law Conference in May. Lynn Cockett, professor of communication, presented “The Walk and Talk Protocol: An Investigation of the Effect of Walking on Learning and Retention” at the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Va. Jonathan Revely Cohen, college counselor, became a Licensed Professional Counselor in March by the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors.

Doug Glazier, professor of biology, published two papers: one on isopod crustaceans in Journal of Zoology, and another on fish species in American Naturalist.

Christopher Grant, assistant research professor, with co-author Christopher McLimans ’17, published an article on a new method of using dissolved oxygen to observe animal behavior in the Journal of Visualized Experiments. The journal also made a film about the new process for its website.

biology, published an article on secretion and cell function in mice with co-author Justin Wright ’15 in Cell and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Monika Malewska, associate professor of art, had a solo show, “Bacon Anthology,” at the Bellefonte Art Museum in Bellefonte, Pa. and exhibited work in “Open (C)all: up for Debate” at Gallery BRIC House in Brooklyn, N.Y., “Synesthetica” at Parallel Space Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, “Positive/Negative 31,” at Slocumb Galleries at East Tennessee State University, and “What’s Right, What’s Left: Democracy in America,” at Phoenix Gallery, New York, N.Y. Malewska’s art was featured in Artists To Look Out For -Vol. 2, and was an IAU College resident Fellow in Aix-en-Provence, France, in June.

Mark McKellop, professor of psychology, presented “Good Movies and the (sometimes) Messy World of Clinical Ethics” at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association in New York, N.Y., in March.

Debra Kirchhof-Glazier, professor of biology, was keynote speaker at the Huntingdon Health and Wellness Association Taste of Health and Food-As-Medicine Dinner.

George Merovich, assistant professor of environmental science, spoke on watershed restoration at the Pennsylvania America Fisheries Society meeting in February and spoke on lake sturgeon at the Southern Division American Fisheries Society meeting.

Gina Lamendella, assistant professor of

Andy Murray, professor emeritus of peace

Further Explanation...

Vince Buonaccorsi, professor of biology, with co-author Benjamin Fowler ’16 published an article on sex identification markers in rockfish in Molecular Ecology (2016). The journal also published a paper by other researchers specifically praising the paper. Buonaccorsi also spoke at a yellowtail amberjack aquaculture workshop at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, in La Jolla, Calif., in January.

Q: Fowler is the lead author of the article in Molecular Ecology. How rare is that for an undergraduate student?

A: I would say fairly rare, but Juniata students have been doing it a lot more recently. To qualify as a lead author they have to write the project up themselves and the senior thesis that many biology students do is a good mechanism for that.

Q: How did the research project come about? What in particular was unique about the paper?

A: Most of the research in population genetics is looking for subtle patterns in the data, and finding sex-specific genetic markers seemed like something we should be able to find that would also contribute to general knowledge.

Ben came up with a laboratory validation technique that was praised by a renowned professor in the field, Tony Gamble, a professor of biology at Marquette University. In every issue of the journal there is a section called “Perspectives,” in which a scientist writes about one of the research articles.

Ben’s article was chosen, and Professor Gamble wrote the article. The intent is to highlight the article and “bring it to the attention of a broader audience.”

Q: To bring this full circle, how rare is it to have a research article highlighted in this way?

A: Very rare, but Ben is a rare talent. He has an ability to integrate and synthesize information that he’s heard in other classes or from other sources and apply those ideas to the problem he is working on. Currently, he’s working at the Clinic for Special Children, in Lancaster, Pa., with Dr. Holmes Morton, who studies genetic disorders in the Amish. He is going to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in the fall.

| Juniata

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

56

Further Explanation...

Robert Miller, Rosenberger Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Thought, published a new book from Cascade Books, Helping Jesus Fulfill Prophecy, in January.

Miller outlines how writers of the Gospels manipulated prophecies to convince readers that Jesus had fulfilled them.

Q: What was the genesis of the idea for your book?

A: It comes from my earlier book, Born Divine: The Birth of Jesus and Other Sons of God. I was analyzing some of the Christmas stories in the Bible and I noticed there was something inexact about the way prophecies are used. Here’s a simple example: According to the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus was a baby he was taken to Egypt to flee the king’s order to kill him. Matthew claims that this fulfilled the prophecy “I called my son out of Egypt” (suggesting that the Jewish prophets, in this case Hosea, predicted the life of Jesus). In fact, Hosea wrote, “When Israel was a child, I loved him. I called my son out of Egypt.” Hosea is clearly referring to the people of Israel, not an individual son. The prophet is also clearly recalling a past event—Moses’ leading the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt—not predicting something in the future.’

I discovered that many of these ancient prophecies were edited, taken out of context or straight-out rewritten. The evangelists, particularly Matthew and John, sort of cut and pasted these prophecies to match what Jesus later did to fulfill them. In other words, the Christian authors “helped” Jesus fulfill the words of the prophets Hosea, Isaiah, and others.

PHOTO: MEGAN BRENNEMAN

Q: What was the outcome of this sort of “manipulation” of these ancient writings?

and conflict studies, is serving this year as moderator for the Church of the Brethren, the highest elected office in the Church and the official representative of the Church.

Norris Muth, associate professor of biology, hosted an invited webinar on invasive species management in January, and was an invited panelist for Western New York PRISM (Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) in February. He also was an invited speaker for the Biology Graduate Student Association at Fordham University Bronx, N.Y. Ei-lchiro Ochiai, professor emeritus of chemistry, published an article: “The Human Consequences of the Fukushima dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accidents” in The Asian Pacific Journal, Japan Focus in September 2015.

Dennis Plane, professor of politics, reviewed Barry Eichengreen’s Exorbitant Privilege in the Review of Political Economy.

Todd Quinter ’00, part-time assistant coach, football, received the Huntingdon Chamber of Commerce “Educator of the Year” award in October 2015.

Q: So the writers of the Gospels were sort of “spin-disciples” for Christianity?

A: That’s not how I would put it, but the analogy is appropriate.

Q: How can people buy your book?

A: The book is published by Cascade Books, which specializes in scholarship on religion.

I wrote the book to be accessible to any educated reader willing to endure 400 pages of textual analysis. I’m sure it will sell dozens of copies.

Rockland, Md., and published an op-ed in Counterpunch Jan. 18. He also was named to the national Council for the Fellowship of reconciliation. Ragland also delivered talks or presentations at Mount St. Mary’s College (March), Susquehanna University (March), University of Mount Union, Selkirk College (April), Portland State University, and Brooklyn Commons. He also made presentations to city officials in Jennings, Mo., New York City, and Santa Barbara, Calif.

Polly Walker, associate professor of peace and conflict studies and head of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, presented “Indigenous Approaches to Peace,” at the Exploring Peace: International Studies Association Annual Conference in Atlanta, Ga. in March. She also published chapters in the books Breaking Cycles of Repetition: A Global Dialogue on Historical Trauma and Memory and Soul, Community Social Change: Theorising a Soul Perspective on Community Practice.

James A. Troha, Juniata President, was named as Government Relations Liaison for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania.

Kathy Westcott, professor of psychology, with Jenifer Cushman, chancellor at Penn State Beaver, co-wrote a chapter in Internationalizing the Undergraduate Psychology Curriculum: Practical Lessons Learned at Home and Abroad.

Jim Tuten, professor of history, spoke on “Lincoln’s Mercy: The President’s Pardons and Motivations,” for the President’s Day Lecture at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. in February. He also published “On President’s Day Let’s Remember Lincoln for This,” History News Network, Feb. 15, 2016.

Neal Utterback, assistant professor of theatre, published “The Olympic Actor: Improving Actor Training Through Sports Psychology” in the book Theatre, Performance, and Cognition. He also directed Hamlet at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival in Scotland.

David Widman, professor of psychology, was elected to a second term as the treasurer for the NorthEast Evolutionary Psychological Society.

W. David Wilkins, instructor in College Writing Seminar, performed “Shattering Shakespeare” at the Summit Playhouse Association in Summit, N.J. 2016 Spring-Summer |

David Ragland, assistant professor of peace and conflict studies, delivered the Martin Luther King Day address Jan. 18 in

A: Much of the second half of the book analyzes how the belief that Jesus had fulfilled prophecies morphed into an argument or theory to justify that Christians had replaced Jews as God’s chosen people. Theologians then used these (supposedly) fulfilled prophecies to promote anti-Jewish attitudes. Christian writers, for instance, accused Jews of deliberately denying the “obvious” truth that Jesus was the Messiah. My final chapter shows how this anti-Judaism is a toxic legacy that still affects Christianity today.

57

ALUMNI FEATURE

Born to Run Kelly Fedeli ’92 Keeps Things Moving at Pennsylvania’s State House

By John Wall director of media relations PHOTOGRAPHY BY: J.D. CAVRICH

It might go without saying that when a third grader is elected class president after handing out keychains with the slogan “Vote for Kelly!” to all her classmates (“It was those freebies that put me over the top,” she recalls, smiling.), that

| Juniata

person is a born politician.

58

Photographed in the House Chamber, Kelli Fedeli ’92 has arranged a multitude of events as part of the everyday schedule of legislation at the Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg. As director of special events, she has arranged for war veterans to be recognized, celebrated heroic public servants, ushered a Pittsburgh Steeler through backrooms to avoid getting mobbed by fans, and helped get the entire chamber swaying while singing We Are Family.

delegations, and celebrities to appear on the floor of the House. In a 30-second soundbite: she helps make every event in Pennsylvania’s House run smoothly.

Kelly’s long run to her career in Harrisburg actually began when she and her mother, Bonnie ’64, a teacher, helped her dad, James Crawford, a full-time dairy farmer, run for school board. As an only child, she often accompanied her parents during their campaigning and met many of Tyrone’s community leaders.

“My mother had gone to Juniata, but she didn’t push me to go,” Kelly says. “I chose it because I wasn’t intimidated by the campus. I think I would have been lost at a bigger university.”

Well, she wasn’t lost at Juniata. She ran for and was elected as a class officer and her initial dream was to go to law school. Then she started getting internships. She went to Sam Hayes, then Tyrone’s state representative, and he got her a summer job as a researcher for the House’s Urban Affairs committee. The next summer she worked with Tyrone’s Main Street Manager. The summer after that she interned at Pennsylvanians for Effective Government.

2016 Spring-Summer |

In the case of Kelly Fedeli ’92, who secured her first political office as Kelly Crawford at Lincoln Elementary School in Tyrone, Pa., that would be true, but in a different sense. She does not seek the spotlight in the way that an elected official does and she’s never going to be on TV analyzing elections. Her interest is definitely not politics as usual—it’s politics as it should be.

For Kelly, who earned a Juniata bachelor’s degree in political science in 1992, politics has never been about career building and running for ever-higher office (although she did get elected as a Derry Township supervisor from 2008 to 2014). She dove into politics because she likes helping people. In other words, she is the most retail of politicians—she’s never happier than when she can help make people’s lives better, easier, or celebrated.

Today, Kelly is director of special events in the office of the Speaker of the House, Republican Rep. Mike Turzai of Allegheny County. In addition to having one of the plushest offices just off of the statehouse’s glorious central rotunda, her duties include arranging for swearings-in, special guests, ambassadors, international

59

| Juniata

Fedeli ’92, a native of Tyrone, Pa., started her career in politics as an assistant in the district offices for former state Rep. Larry Sather. She found purpose and a passion for helping people, and took those qualities with her when she moved to Harrisburg. Since then she has worked in many different offices, including for the House Majority Whip and the Speaker of the House.

60

“Through those internships I became familiar with Harrisburg, which sort of opened up the possibility of going beyond Tyrone,” Kelly says. So, when she graduated from Juniata, she stepped into—a job at the Logan Valley Mall. By that time, she had decided law school was not an appealing option and she always remembered the advice she received from her favorite politics adviser at Juniata, Gary Aichele: “Always follow what you’re passionate about.”

Still, her prospects were looking up because Sam Hayes retired from politics in 1992 and Kelly volunteered for the campaign of the man who succeeded Rep. Hayes, Larry Sather, a Republican from Huntingdon County.

“Larry didn’t know the Blair County parts of the district well and he asked if I would introduce him to community and business leaders,” she says. “When Larry was elected I went to work in his district offices in Tyrone and Huntingdon.”

It was in those offices, answering phones, talking with people who walked in expecting to talk with their elected official, where Kelly found her passion.

“You are working directly with people on their problems whether it’s a pothole, a driver’s license problem or getting child support,” she says. “It’s here that you really learn people’s doubts, fears, and dreams. You never lose that perspective of the people in your district.”

It would be at this point in the tale that Kelly should have an epiphany to move her passion for helping people to Harrisburg, but in reality she moved to Pennsylvania’s capital because Shane Fedeli, who has known Kelly since her thirdgrade election days, had asked her to marry him, and he happened to be working in Harrisburg. “I asked Larry if he could help me get a job in Harrisburg and I ended up getting a job in the Members Services Department,” she says. Her job was to help draft and research constituent letters.

In 1998, she returned to school, earning a master’s degree in public administration in 2001 from Penn

Fedeli got her start in politics when she ran for class president in third grade. But she was hooked when she helped her dad run for the school board in Tyrone, Pa.

“You are working directly with people on their problems whether it’s a pothole, a driver’s license problem or getting child support,” she says. It’s here that you really learn people’s doubts, fears, and dreams.

You never lose that perspective of the people in your district.”

—Kelly Fedeli ’92

when Kathy Sledge, a member of the group Sister Sledge, led all the Representatives in a rousing rendition of Sister Sledge’s soul classic We Are Family. “Everyone was swaying and moving that day,” she laughs.

Shortly after taking her job, she attended the Protocol School of Washington, D.C., where diplomatic and other protocol officers are trained. The lessons have been invaluable as she works more closely with international visitors and delegations. She’d also like to work more closely with Juniata delegations. She’s had just one intern from Juniata, Ashley DeMauro ’08, who is now state director for StudentsFirst in Pennsylvania, and would be happy to hear from other students seeking experience in state politics.

She’s even become a Gold Card recruiter, convincing a high school videographer who was covering a Hershey-area event to apply to the College.

Although she’s moved to a bigger stage, Kelly still finds the most satisfaction in every personal interaction she has with visitors to the Capitol building. She finds it lifechanging—for her and for them.

“When you see the family of a police officer or a soldier that has fallen in the line of duty being applauded by the members, or see a World War II veteran of the Battle of the Bulge with tears streaming down his face, you cannot help but be changed by those emotions.” >j<

2016 Spring-Summer |

State Harrisburg. She also moved into another challenging job in the Communications Department of the House of Representatives.

She oversaw the public relations operations of seven representatives in various districts and as a result she found herself working many nights and weekends to ensure the representatives’ press releases were getting out and events were scheduled.

She recalls her big career break as the moment when the thenRepublican Majority Whip, Don Snyder, from Lehigh County, asked her to oversee communications and policy research. Then, in 2000, Snyder decided to retire. “We were all shocked,” she recalls. “When a new person comes in there is no guarantee that all the members of the previous whip’s staff will stay in the same jobs. I admit that I thought, ‘Now I have to get another job!’”

As it turns out she did not have to change jobs. The new majority whip in 2001 was Rep. Sam Smith, of Punxatawney, who became House Leader in 2003 and was named Speaker of the House in 2011. Kelly worked for him for 14 years until his retirement in November 2014.

During that time she was named director of public relations for the House of Representatives in 2005, where she oversaw a staff of 50 radio, video, print and social media specialists and coordinated press conferences and other events.

When Smith was named Speaker, he asked if she would consider working as his director of special events.

In that position for the past five years, Kelly has overseen countless special events, presentations, and celebrity visits. Her biggest celebrity encounter was not with Brad, Angelina, or even one of the Kardashians. The visitor that caused the biggest stir was Hines Ward, the retired Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver and current NFL commentator.

“We had to sneak him from the Senate chamber to the House chamber through all these back hallways and rooms so he wouldn’t get mobbed,” she says. She says another memorable day occurred

61

class notes

1957

Mark your calendar for your 60-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

John W. Staley

celebrated his 80th birthday in Rome, Italy, during a 32-day tour of every country in Europe plus Greece and Turkey.

1959

Charles C. Brown

retired as senior judge of Blair County (Pa.), after serving in that role for

seven years. Previously Chuck had served as Centre County district attorney for three terms and Centre County judge for 30 years.

1961

John Z. Pessy

was re-elected as president of the Coraopolis (Pa.) borough for a 4-year term.

John was also elected to serve as treasurer of the Char-West Council of Government, representing 16 communities in western Pennsylvania. He continues as a member of the

Coraopolis Water Authority and as secretary of the Coraopolis Civil Service Committee.

1962

Mark your calendar for your 55-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

1965

William F. Fisher

retired as professor emeritus in 2001 from Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga. He and wife

Verna, who have three children and seven grandchildren, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are enjoying retirement traveling, camping, kayaking, and biking. Bill enjoys woodworking and is currently building blanket chests for each of his grandchildren.

1966

Carolyn (Ambler) Walter

co-authored the book, Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan, published by Springer Press.

These members of the Class of ’66 gathered for a group photo during their 50-Year Class Reunion, during Alumni Weekend in June 2016.

Pictured left to right are:

| Juniata

(l-r) Row 1: Kathleen “Kay” (Stevens) Hoover, Carol (Heaton) Pletcher, Lorna (Pollock) Dieter, Kay (Spencer) Cypher, Rosalita Leonard, Donna (Jones) Hopkins, Judy (Steinke) Svoboda, Dianne (Bombaugh) Bayless, Carol (Keffer) Graff, Anne Szczepanik (l-r) Row 2: Shirley (Hoover) Hercules, Carolyn (Ambler) Walter, Louise (Wian) Stoner, Carol (Vint) Spearly, W. Stephen Engle, Daniel Wilshire, Robert Miltenberger, Lynn (Bergstresser) Schaffer, Peter Grandy, Patsy Bruno (l-r) Row 3: Thomas Snyder, Helen (McGinley) Ballard, William Kauffman, Joan Van Note, William Alexander, Robert Klug, Alaine (Siena) Tremel, Darlene (Williams) Zuercher, Judy (Warren) Searles, Nancy (Williams) Peters, Ray Gsell, John “Jack” Lowe (l-r) Row 4: Courtenay Dodge, Harold “Hal” Hall, K. Peter Halewski, Thomas Pheasant, James Bronson, J. Jackson Warfield, Robert Clark, David Norris, Calvin Smith, David Phillips, Mary Ann (Reynolds) Guentzel, Barbara (Heyderhoff) Engelbart (l-r) Row 5: Cecil Cuppett, John Stauffer, Galen Dively, Lewis Rarig, Stephen Gillingham, James Cremer

62

1967

Mark your calendar for your 50-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

1971

James L. Madara

launched Health2047, a new venture to connect physicians with new information technologies.

Jim, who is a physician and the chief executive officer of the American Medical Association (AMA), will serve as co-chairman of Health2047, a San Franciscobased company that will work with startups and established healthcare and technology corporations to build products that physicians will use.

1972

Mark your calendar for your 45-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

Diane (Reklis) McAlpine

was elected vice chair of the board of directors at Calais Regional Hospital in Calais, Maine.

1973

Linda (Huenecke) Gilbert joined the Norwex company as an independent consultant.

Thomas S. Wynn

served as the Glaeser executive-in-residence at Juniata in October 2015, hosted by the College’s Department of Accounting, Business, and Economics.

1975

Kimber Hershberger

was honored with the 2015 Alumni Excellence Award by the Penn State University College of Education. The award is the highest honor bestowed upon alumni by the College of Education and recognizes career-long, sustained excellence of contribution and achievement in the recipient’s profession.

Kimber earned a master’s degree in science education from Penn State and is retired from the State College Area School District.

George P. Valko

is a physician and vice chair of the Family Medicine Department at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa. George has been keeping track of all the Juniatians who have been in rotation under his supervision and shared this photo of himself with Mark Berguson ’11, one of those medical students.

1977

Mark your calendar for your 40-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

Michael D. Busch

was named a member of the Board of Directors of the Western PA Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Mike also serves as a board member of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, Medcare Equipment Company, and the Arnold Palmer Cancer Center.

1980

George I. Meyer

was elected to serve on the board of directors for the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago, Ill. The organization is dedicated to preserving and protecting all remaining structures designed by Wright.

1981

John A. Cook

was named publisher of the Daily News in Huntingdon, Pa.

Beth (Butler) Lambert

is the author of The Harvester Chronicles: JP Knights, her third published work of Christian fiction.

Beth is a pediatrician in Johnstown, Pa.

Mark A. Sather

was elected in November 2015 as Huntingdon County (Pa.) Commissioner.

1982

Mark your calendar for your 35-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

Nancy J. Gonlin

is the co-editor of Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica: Empirical Approaches to Mesoamerican Archaeology, published by the University Press of Colorado.

2016 Spring-Summer |

was named a member of the board of directors for Down East Hospice, an all-volunteer hospice group.

Diane, of Crawford, Maine, also volunteers at Alexander Elementary School library, serves on the school board, and is the financial chair at People’s United Methodist Church.

Ronald A. McAlpine

63

1983

Franz-Josef Meiers

is the author of Germany’s Role in the Euro Crisis: Berlin’s Quest for a More Perfect Monetary Union. Franz-Josef is a senior lecturer at the Institute of Political Science of the University Erlangen-Nuernberg in Germany, where he teaches courses on international relations and the American political system.

Kathleen (Murphy) Peters

retired from employment in the hotel business in Park City, Utah, and moved to St. Louis, Mo., where she works in sales and training for Big River Running. Kathy is very involved in the distance running community and has run more than 100 races in a variety of distances and terrains, including 17 marathons.

Kathy is the mother of son Sean, a high school student, and a daughter, Shannon, who is getting married in October.

Lynanne M. Schaeffer

was elected to the board of directors for CASA Philadelphia. CASA (court-appointed special advocates) mobilizes community volunteers to help abused and neglected children in Philadelphia’s foster care system.

1984

Michael D. Appleby and Jan (Trissler) Appleby ’86

shared a photo from a Thanksgiving gathering of Juniatians at their home in November 2015. These alumni and their families have been sharing summer vacations and Thanksgiving dinners together for 20 years. Pictured in the photo are: (first row l-r) Robin McKenna, Rich Graver, and Robin (Bird) Rome ’86; (second row l-r) Holly (Crable) Graver ’85, holding Peyton Miller, Ellen Borza, Ann (Cameron) Borza ’87, Margaret Borza, Eric Rome ’86, Katie Appleby, and Gordon Miller; (third row l-r) Jan (Trissler) Appleby ’86, Marie (Glendenning) Makdad ’84, LeeAnne (Ardan) Kaminski ’84, Steve Borza ’86, Paige McKenna, Chloe Makdad, Erin Rome, Leah Rome, Brian Appleby, Drew McKenna, Colby Rome, Marino Kaminski ’81, and Mike Appleby ’84.

Richard J. Burgan III

was named bureau director of special funds for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Insurance Department. Rick is responsible for oversight of the Worker’s Compensation Security Fund, the Automobile Catastrophic Loss Benefits Fund, and the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund.

Frank C. D’Amico

joined the medical staff of J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital in Huntingdon, Pa., as a urologist. His new office is part of a larger group, Urology of Central Pennsylvania, Inc., which also has offices in Harrisburg and Camp Hill.

1986

Michael H. Wojcik

was elected in November 2015 as Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge. The Commonwealth Court is a statewide court having both appellate and original jurisdiction over matters where the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, its agencies, and political subdivisions are parties.

1987

Mark your calendar for your 30-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

Jane Solomon

| Juniata

is living happily in northwest England, and working in the family business. Jane is engaged to Marc Bernstein and they

64

recently bought and renovated a new home. She would love to reconnect with anyone who remembers her and would like to get in touch.

1988

Lisa (Rummel) Getty

shared a photo of a group of Juniatians who completed the Across the Bay 10K race at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Nov. 8, 2015.

Pictured with their medals are (l-r): Jodie Monger Gray ’88, Lisa Getty ’88, and Linda Lloyd ’89.

Andrew S. Rhinehart

moved, after 20 years of clinical practice with a specialty in diabetology, to the position as national chief medical officer for Glytec, an enterprise software company specializing in computerized insulin dosing.

1991

This…is…Jeopardy…with Brad Rudy ’75

Michael S. Buchheit

joined Marcum LLP in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., as director of assurance services. Marcum LLP is one of the largest independent public accounting and advisory service firms in the nation.

Mike and his wife, Kristin, live in Downingtown, Pa., with daughter Ashley and son Patrick.

John B. Bulger

was promoted to chief medical officer for Geisinger Health System, based in Danville, Pa. John has been employed with Geisinger since 1998, serving in the Department of Internal Medicine and most recently as the chief quality officer. He developed the Geisinger Medical Center’s hospitalist program.

Beno A. Thomas

was promoted to managing director at LiquidHub. Beno has been employed with LiquidHub for more than six years, building global delivery and operations.

1992

Mark your calendar for your 25-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

Brad Rudy’s love of Jeopardy began during the Art Fleming era. That’s right; Alex Trebek wasn’t always the host. Brad’s enthusiastic personality and his varied interests (history, literature, music, theatre, and science) made him the ideal Jeopardy contestant. Thank you, Juniata!

Q: Explain the testing process to become a contestant on Jeopardy.

A: The process begins with an online test, which I took in 2013 and 2014. In April 2015, I was invited to the audition in Savannah, Ga. Each year, auditions are held in 12 cities across the country. More than 3,000 people are invited and roughly 300 people are selected. Luck plays a big factor as they select people for the auditions based on a lottery system. The audition includes a written test, a mock game, and an interview. In July 2015, I received the invitation to attend a taping.

Q: What happens at the taping?

A: Just because you’re invited to a taping doesn’t automatically mean you’ll become a contestant. All of the potential contestants meet each other and take part in two hours of practice games before the taping. During this time, everyone is sizing up the competition. They tape a week’s worth of games in one day. Again, they use a lottery system to select contestants.

Q: What was it like meeting Alex Trebek?

A: In preparation for the taping, you’re asked to provide five items you can talk to Alex about. One of my items was how I met my wife during a theatre production. Alex is a Lionel train fan and asked me about that instead. Alex is pretty standoffish and doesn’t mingle. Contestants don’t see him until two minutes prior to the game. He didn’t mess up many of the questions. He receives the list of questions for the entire day’s taping two hours in advance. He spends that time running through the questions and practicing pronunciations.

Q: You were one of the lucky ones to be selected. How did you prepare? How did you do?

A: Well, I prepared by brushing up on my weaker subjects, like geography. I was selected for the third taping and it really came down to the wire. By Final Jeopardy, I was $400 behind the leader, and of course the subject was geography-focused. Unfortunately, I came in third, winning $1,000. This didn’t come close to covering the cost of my family’s trip to Los Angeles.

Q: How did you celebrate your episode airing?

A: People don’t realize that contestants aren’t allowed to share how they did or how many games they played. My friends held a party for me on the air date (Dec. 2, 2015), but I couldn’t tell them that I came in third.

—Christina (Garman) Miller ’01, assistant director of alumni relations 2016 Spring-Summer |

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF BRAD RUDY ’75

65

Changing Lives: Alumnus Oversees Organ-Donation Program If you have the Organ Donor designation on your driver’s license, you’re in good company. More than 50 percent of Americans are donors. In 1994 Pennsylvania governor Robert Casey signed into law the bill that became a national model. Much of that had to do with the Philadelphia-based Gift of Life Donor Program lead by Howard Nathan ’75, president and CEO. Gift of Life, the organ and tissue donation organization serving Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware, has coordinated more than 40,000 life-saving organ transplants and more than 550,000 tissue transplants.

Q: How did your career with Gift of Life begin?

A: After graduating from Juniata I worked at Wistar Institute, an independent research lab on University of Pennsylvania’s campus. I think they hired me because I had learned how to use an electron microscope at Juniata. Following that, I earned a master’s in Public Health in Pittsburgh, returned to Philadelphia, and offered to work for Gift of Life for free. As one of three transplant coordinators, I thought I’d stay there for a year and then attend medical school. But I really connected with the work and the people we were helping, and it was exciting to be on the ground level of a growing field, so I stayed. Nearly 40 years later, I’ve dedicated my life to this endeavor.

Q: You travel and work internationally. What are some of the challenges other countries face?

A: I travel all over the world—Brazil, Philippines, Korea, China, India—to teach and train others about organ and tissue donor programs. A director of a new program in Korea which managed 50 cases came to Philadelphia for training on our systems and best practices. He created a parallel system when he returned home, and five years later they manage 500 cases.

Q: Since 2011, the Delaware Valley Juniata Club has supported the Donor Dash. How did this event come about?

A: A local woman whose husband died while waiting for a transplant suggested that we organize a run.

Eventually, we found a way to make it happen.

This year approximately 12,000 people participated and raised more than $756,000 to benefit our public education goals and fund the Family House and the Transplant Institute.

Q: What does the future hold for this field?

The Gift of Life Dash 2016 Team: (l-r) front row: Dane Jenkins, Lisa (Kotary) Jenkins ’90, Ken VanLuvanee, Elise Mihranian ’14, Grayson Jenkins, Emma VanLuvanee (l-r) standing by Juniata sign: Michael “Mick” McVey ’73, Gabriel “Gabe” Castro ’12, standing behind Juniata sign: Howard Nathan ’95

A: Last summer, we helped to coordinate the first of its kind, double-hand transplant for an 8-year-old boy who lost his hands from an infection. He was a good candidate for this ground-breaking surgery because he was already on the antirejection drug due to having had a kidney transplant at the age of 4. The hand transplant was incredibly successful, and he’s doing well. The question that drives us is “How far can we go to change someone’s life?”

—Katie (Padamonsky) Dickey ’97, associate director of alumni relations

| Juniata

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF HOWARD NATHAN ’75

66

Christopher E. Bair

was promoted to director in the public sector practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP. Chris leads and manages the delivery of large-scale information technology projects for state government health and human service agencies.

He has been working for Deloitte for the last 15 years. Chris and his wife, Annette (Reeder) Bair ’93, relocated to Atlanta, Ga., in January 2016.

Glenn J. Smith

was appointed solicitor by the Commissioners of York County, effective Feb. 1, 2016, becoming the county’s top legal advisor. Glenn represents the county before local, state and federal courts; advises the Board of Commissioners, other County boards and County departments on various matters; and performs other duties assigned by law or by the Board of Commissioners, including contracting, employment matters, general legal advice and public relations.

1993

Charles W. Gojmerac

was named to the position of park and recreation director for Morrisons Cove Memorial Park, a community nonprofit family recreation facility in Martinsburg, Pa.

1996

Kimberly (Najduch) Police accepted a position in May 2015 as director of learning exchange and instructional technology at Ferrum College in Ferrum, Va.

Robert L. Selfridge

was recognized by Pennsylvania Business Central as one of its Top 100 People of 2015. Bob is the co-founder and chief operating officer of TMMData, a leading provider of intelligent data software, which is on Inc. Magazine’s 2015 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

1997

Mark your calendar for your 20-Year Reunion during Alumni Weekend on June 1-4, 2017.

If you are interested in being on your reunion committee, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@juniata.edu or 1-877-JUNIATA.

Matthew E. DiLauri

was elected in November 2015 as the mayor of Boonton, N.J.

2000

Whitney (Cramer) Bellomo

was selected by WGAL-TV 8 and Rotary District 7390, comprised of nearly 50 Rotary Clubs across the Susquehanna Valley (Pa.), as a recipient of one of its Teacher Impact Awards.

Recipients were recognized for being educators who have influenced students’ lives academically and personally. Whitney is a teacher at Leaders Heights Elementary School in Dallastown, Pa., and has collaborated with Olivia’s House, a grief and loss center for children, in supporting grieving children in her school district.

Khara L. Koffel

exhibited art works in several exhibitions and juried shows in November and December 2015, including the “Art St. Louis XXXI” exhibition in St. Louis, Mo., the “Telling Tales” exhibit at the TEJAS Gallery in Dayton, Ohio, the “Small Works 2015” show at the Main Street Arts gallery in Clifton Springs, N.Y., the “Gendered Perspectives” exhibit at the Hartman Center Gallery in Peoria, Ill., and the “Small Wonders” show at the Circle Gallery in Annapolis, Md. Khara is an associate professor of art at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill.

2001

We hope to see you at your 15-Year Reunion during Homecoming & Family Weekend on Sept. 23-25, 2016!

Alana (Malar) Roberts

Michael E. Thompson

graduated with honors in May 2015 with a master’s degree in law and public policy from California University of Pennsylvania in California, Pa.

2003

Rachel (Gabor) Eicher ’03 and Ryan P. Eicher ’03

moved as expats to The Hague, Netherlands. Ryan will be working in a 2- to 3-year assignment as the regional director of finance for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, for Compressor Controls Corporation.

Rachel, who is a registered nurse, initially will be a stay-at-home parent for their two daughters.

2016 Spring-Summer |

was promoted to regional affairs director at PPL Electric Utilities, where she coordinates employee volunteerism, community outreach, legislative affairs, and media relations in the company’s Northeast Region. Alana serves on the

board of directors of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, Greater Pocono Chamber of Commerce, Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company, Lackawanna County Conservation District, and Leadership Lackawanna.

67

2005

Kelly (Ashcraft) Pearce

Breanna (Daum) Henry

earned a doctorate in osteopathic medicine from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2009, and completed a residency in family medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa., in 2012. She now enjoys working in a private family medicine practice in Schnecksville, Pa., where she has the opportunity to teach medical students in her office. She also writes practice test questions for a company that prepares medical students and residents for board certification examinations.

When not at work, Breanna likes to spend time running, kayaking, bicycling, and traveling with her husband, Matthew Henry ’04.

Lynette (Nolt) Luke

has been teaching science at Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School for the last 10 years. During that time she earned a master’s degree in education from Gannon University. In addition to teaching, Lynette serves as a cross country coach and National Honor Society Adviser. She recently received a grant from the Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees to fund a classroom project on bonding and development of process skills. Lynette and her husband, Eddy Luke, Jr. ’02, have two children. Lynette is an avid runner and enjoys scrapbooking and sewing.

2006

We hope to see you at your 10-Year Reunion during Homecoming & Family Weekend on Sept. 23-25, 2016!

2007

Claire M. Dempsey

completed a master’s degree in education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa. in December 2014. Claire moved to Lancaster, Pa., and accepted a position as a development associate at Lancaster Country Day School.

Celina (Isenberg) Seftas

was promoted to the position of Huntingdon County (Pa.) Conservation District manager.

2009

Travis D. Hull

completed the doctorate of philosophy component of a combined Ph.D./M.D. program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

He continues his medical studies, with an anticipated graduation in May 2017.

Travis is currently employed as a tutor with Tutor.com, an online tutoring company.

Tyler Kochel

| Juniata

earned a doctoral degree in molecular medicine in November 2015 from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

68

was presented with the Outstanding Wildlife Student Award by the MD-DE Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Kelly is a doctoral student in the marine estuarine and environmental science program at the University of Maryland in College Park, and her studies are based at the university’s Center for Environmental ScienceAppalachian Laboratory.

Kelly is studying river otters in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as part of a study designed to determine if the species will be useful for promoting aquatic conservation. She also serves as an instructor in the Department of Biology and Natural Resources at Frostburg State University (Md.) and is conducting research on spotted-skunks in western Maryland through a grant awarded by Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which she co-authored. Kelly is a co-author on a peerreviewed chapter in Status of the North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) in the United States and Canada: Management practices and public perceptions of the species.

2010

Lindsay (Norton) Campbell

earned a doctorate in osteopathic medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in June 2015. She is continuing her medical training in psychiatry at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa.

Brittany A. Everett

is the owner of a new Grace and Glory Yoga studio in Fishtown, Pa. Brittany also is an instructor at the studio, which offers Baptiste-inspired power yoga classes.

Ryan C. Johnson

earned a doctoral degree in emerging infectious diseases from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Ryan will start a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in August 2016.

2011

We hope to see you at your 15-Year Reunion during Homecoming & Family Weekend on Sept. 23-25, 2016!

Joseph M. Basil

was named manager of Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Cumberland County (Pa.).

Blake A. Colaianne

was selected by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers as the 2015 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher for the state of Pennsylvania.

Teresa M. Giannini

studied diverse terrestrial, coastal, and coral reef communities in the Central American country of Belize, as a participant in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions global field course in the summer of 2015. Tessa, an aviculturist and zookeeper at National Aquarium in West River, Md., took the graduate course in pursuit of her master’s degree from Miami University’s Global Field program.

2012

Like Father, Like Daughter

Nicole M. Houck

was elected to Huntingdon Borough Council in November 2015.

Michael J. Ford ’82 believes in planting seeds. Throughout more than 20 years in outdoor and youth ministry, one can only imagine the many kernels of possibility he has planted in the hearts and minds of young people. As a father of four, Mike hopes to instill in his children a sense of adventure, a love of the outdoors, and a willingness to take smart risks. His daughter Bekah ’19, soon to be a sophomore at Juniata, is living proof that seeds have taken root.

2014

Mary Agnes H. Burkett

gave a presentation at the Society for Historical Archeology conference in January 2016. Maggie, who is employed at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum in St. Augustine, Fla., presented on “The Archaeology, Conservation, and Interpretation of the Storm Wreck, a Wartime Refugee Vessel Evacuating Charleston, South Carolina at the End of the American Revolution and Lost at St. Augustine, Florida on 31 Dec. 1782.”

Jordan A. Hileman

earned her certified public accountant credentials after passing the CPA exam.

Jordan works as a staff accountant at Boyer & Ritter LLC, an accounting firm with offices in Camp Hill, Carlisle, Chambersburg, and State College, Pa.

Zachariah Y. McCaulley

graduated in Dec. 2015 from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. Zack is stationed in Bedford, Pa.

Q: Why is adventure so important to you?

A: There’s something about setting out to do what seems impossible. One summer many years ago, I cycled across the country in six weeks. These kinds of experiences have a way of helping us to live life better.

Q: How did your adventurous spirit trickle down to your kids?

A: We spent a lot of time outdoors. When I worked as the program director at Camp Hebron, in Halifax, Pa., the property abutted the Appalachian Trail. I remember taking Bekah for a 12-mile hike when she was 8 years old. Then when she was in ninth or tenth grade, we took one of her friends on an overnighter. At our stop, Bekah was reading the trail logs and realizing how cool it is that people come from all over to do this. She eventually chose the trail for her senior project at school, deferred admission to Juniata, and took a gap year to hike the trail.

Q: How did you feel about it?

A: I was all for it. My wife, Valerie (Schmoyer) Ford ’90, had concerns, but was ultimately supportive. Other people thought we were crazy sending our 18-year-old daughter into the woods for five weeks by herself. So I started with her in Georgia, joined her again in the middle, and then the final day in Maine. Val was able to join us for a day in central Pennsylvania. But, one of the highlights was meeting people the first week—a pair of sisters and a young man—who were a good match for Bekah. They ended up hiking most of the trail together.

Q: What did you hope she would take away from the experience?

A: I hoped it would be a tremendously maturing experience. Even though people returning from the trail often go through culture shock similar to coming back from study abroad, I hoped it would make her college experience and the next chapters of her life easier. The first few weeks at Juniata were rough, but she has settled in and loves it. I believe she’s a better learner and a better person because of the experience.

—David Meadows ’98, director of alumni relations and parent programs

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MICHAEL J. FORD ’82

2016 Spring-Summer |

A brief conversation with Bekah suggests that Mike’s hopes have been fulfilled. But, how did 135 days on the AT impact her most? “There was a sense of accomplishment, appreciation for nature, and I learned a lot. But, I didn’t expect that the people would end up being the most important part. I learned about community… how to be in deep community.” Words to make a father proud.

69

Back in the Day… Encouraged by H.B. Brumbaugh ’33, then Juniata’s Vice President, Steve Engle ’66 formed the New Century Singers in the spring of 1964. The group originally included Steve Engle ’66, Bill Brubaker ’67, Dean Buckwalter ’65, Jack Crissman ’65, Dave Gould ’67, Kirsten (Miller) Gould ’67, Paul Morse ’67, and Susan Shaffer-Welch ’66. Throughout the years other members included Don Armstrong ’68, Susanne (Judy) Wright ’65, Bob McDowell ’67, John “Pogo” Russell ’68, and Patricia Dove-Beahm ’67.

The group performed widely with the help of H.B. and William “Whitey” Martin ’59, then Director of Alumni Relations, becoming the highlight of many events at Juniata. Their reputation grew so rapidly that the New Century Singers turned semi-professional. They received many requests from service clubs, charities, high schools, colleges, and other private organizations throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. Highlights include numerous radio and television appearances, recording two singles and an LP album, opening for comedian-activist Dick Gregory at Lycoming College, and receiving an invitation to appear on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.

We congratulate the New Century Singers as they celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the group’s Farewell Concert at Juniata!

The Power of the Juniata Network

Gold Matters

35%

| Juniata

through is coming to Juniata ss cla an m sh fre ’s of next year m. The support of Scholarship progra ni um Al rd Ca ld Go the ow a high al impact! If you kn vit a es ak m u yo e alumni lik for Juniata, don’t would be a good fit o wh t en ud st ol ho sc recruit ld Card and help us to forget to submit a Go in the n. Look for the card your future Juniatia azine, or visit middle of this mag ldcard. www.juniata.edu/go

70

During Juniata Caree r Day 2016, Adena De lozier ’16 happened upon the tab le of Colton Hallabuk ’15, who was representin g the Olympus Fellows at Olympus Corporat program ion of the Americas.

Colton convinced Adena to apply for the Olympus Fellows pro gram, a twoyear rotational leade rship development pro gram for recent graduates. With Colto n’s help and guidanc e, Adena secured an interview and acce pted an offer to be a Corporate Fellow with Olympus, where she will rotate through the company’s corporate functions every 6-9 months du ring her two-year fellowship. Adena is excited to start her ca reer with Olympus and hopes to follow Colton’s example by “paying it forward” in the future with oth er Juniata students and alumni!

A de

na Delozier ’16

Co l ton Ha buk ’15 ll a

& Family Weekend Sept. 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;25, 2016

Fun for All Ages!

Class Reunions

2001 2006 2011

juniata.edu/hc 2016 Spring-Summer | 71

Marriages Cynthia L. Cooper ’86

married Richard Mapes on Aug. 22, 2015, in Batavia, N.Y.

Matthew D. Zimmerman ’98

and Andrea McNeely were united in marriage on June 27, 2015, at the University of Virginia Chapel in Charlottesville, Va. Matt is an instructor of research with the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics at the university.

Stacy L. Wenger ’99

and Michael Holderbach were united in marriage on Aug. 23, 2014, in Macungie, Pa. Juniata alumni and friends in attendance were (l-r) William Booth ’98, Christina (DeCesare) Booth ’99, Ellen (Heinly) Sosnoski ’98, Heidi (Kratzer) John ’97, Stacy (Wenger) Holderbach ’99, Michael Holderbach, Kelli Sheesley ’98, Jessica Kaminski ’99, and Matthew Cassidy ’99.

Jennifer A. Jurcik ’00

and Stanley Wilson were married on Dec. 7, 2014. Jennifer is employed as an engineer with NextEra Energy Resources and completed her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix in May 2015.

The couple resides in West Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Gaia R. Eirich ’05 and Mark P. Barnsley ’04 were united in marriage on Oct. 28, 2015.

Ibada A. Wadud ’07

and Philip Tuson were united in marriage on Aug. 14, 2015, in a ceremony at the District of Columbia War Memorial, followed by a small reception at their home in Washington, D.C. Mary (Gardiner) Stephan ’07 presided over the ceremony, Emily Eller ’06 shared a reading during the ceremony, and Sarah Anne (Wharton) Kuhn ’06 was the photographer. Other Juniatians in attendance were Marissa Gunn ’05, Claire Fultz ’06, and Claire Dempsey ’07.

Gloria-Ann Seel ’08 and Maggie A. Wolenter ’10

were united in marriage on Aug. 1, 2015, in Clark, Colo.

Juniata alumni attending the wedding included Brosi Bradley ’08, Colleen Cribbs ’10, Shane Gallagher ’10, Heather (McMinn) Haines ’08, and Kaleigh (Driscoll) Hunt ’08.

Ashley L. Folk ’09

and Chris Frantz were united in marriage on May 23, 2015.

Evan T. Heisman ’09

and Morgan Kelly were united in marriage on Sept. 12, 2015, in Annapolis, Md. Juniata alumni in attendance were (l-r) Zachary Keach ’10, Andrew “AJ” Ewing ’09, Alissa (Murphy) Smethers ’09, Joshua Smethers ’09, groom Evan Heisman ’09, and Liana James ’09.

Kaylee L. Kachik ’09 | Juniata

and James Smead were united in marriage on July 25, 2015.

72

Cassandra M. Hale ’10 and Andrew S. Miller ’10

were united in marriage on July 18, 2015, in Lancaster, Pa. In attendance at the wedding were Juniata alumni (front row l-r) Shelby Hodgkins ’10, Alex Snyder ’10 (kneeling), Matthew Dunker ’10 (kneeling), and Kaitlyn (English) Cunningham ’10; (second row l-r) Sara Hodgkins ’12, Luke Jensen ’10, Tyler Hall ’10, Cassandra (Hale) Miller ’10, Andrew Miller ’10, Justin Reiter ’02, Christopher Stephens ’11, Jessica (Winemiller) Gibboney ’09, and Priscilla (Grove) Gibboney ’78; (third row l-r) Austin Ankney ’12, Beau Ryan ’10, Thomas Grove ’10, Christopher Esperance ’09, Zachary Wakefield ’10, Matthew Legander ’08, Brandon Spayd ’10, and Thomas Gibboney ’78.

Michael W. Cassatt II ’12

and Alyssa Weaver were united in marriage on June 11, 2015.

Jennifer L. Frazier ’12

and Kevin Diehl were united in marriage on Aug. 15, 2015, in Altoona, Pa. Jennifer also earned her degree in special education with an emphasis in autism from Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pa. in May 2015.

Sara M. Garside ’12

and Benjamin Ellis were united in marriage on Dec. 20, 2014.

Megan M. Peterson ’10

and Josh Slocum were united in marriage on Aug. 1, 2015, in Williamsport, Pa. Juniata alumni in attendance at the wedding were (l-r): bride Megan Peterson Slocum ’10, Jordan Yeagley ’10, Alyssa (Kress) Reed ’11, Daniel Reed ’10, Kerri Magerowski ’10, Molly (Painter) Jennings ’09, Brittany Everett ’10, Carlee (Dickey) Slocum ’10, Lindsay (Norton) Campbell ’10, Mary Howser ’12, Laura Rupprecht ’10, Anne Wakabyashi ’11, Caroline Morgan ’13, Paul Dennehy ’10, and groom Josh Slocum.

Lauren N. Seganos ’11

and Jason Cohen were united in marriage on Jan. 9, 2016, in Huntingdon, Pa. The ceremony, at Stone Church of the Brethren, and the reception, on campus in Baker Refectory, brought in many Juniata alumni, former and current faculty and staff, and friends. Pictured are: (front row l-r, kneeling) Sandra Altman, Rylan Good, David Meadows ’98, (front row, standing) Clare Coda ’10, Sheena Zolla ’11, Kelsey Thrush ’10, bride Lauren Seganos Cohen ’11, groom Jason Cohen, Andra Sipols ’10, Rachel (Lachat) Dubois ’10, and Maria Engels; (second row l-r) Dawn Scialabba, Lindsay Monihen, Dessie Schwentner ’11, Clay Cooper ’13, Blake Colaianne ’11, Grant Miner ’12, Bethany (Kozak) Chamberlain ’09, Casey Dale ’07, Lauren (Gates) Leonard ’07, Lisa Baer, Lisa Hershey, and Meghan Shoff; (third row l-r) David Witkovsky, Kristin Noetzel ’11, Joel Rhodes ’13, Andrew Murdock ’11, Stephanie Strauss ’11, Erik Dulick ’11, Aaron Chamberlain ’07, Michael Zauzig ’08, Richard Cartwright, President James Troha, Jennifer Troha, Joanne Krugh, Kaleigh Herring, and Blair Taylor; (back row l-r) Daniel Dubois, Steven Ankney, Jon Cutright, and Lorri Shideler. Also in attendance but not pictured were James Tuten, Belle Tuten, and Jesse Leonard ’06.

2016 Spring-Summer | 73

Melanie (Cegelski) Weaver ’04

and husband David are proud to announce the birth of their son, Harrison David, on Aug. 15, 2015.

Marisa L. Gunn ’05

and husband Nicholas Elton are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Oliver Quinn Gunn Elton, on Aug. 26, 2015.

Joseph J. Viscomi ’05

and partner Maria are proud to announce the birth of their son, Mateo “Teo” Joseph, on March 12, 2016.

Angela (Condor) Waligora ’05 and Andrew C. Waligora IV ’05

are proud to announce the birth of their son, Andrew Cazimer, on March 1, 2016.

Elizabeth (Bartosik) Haas ’06

and husband Geoff, who were married in May 2013, are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Wayne, on March 13, 2015.

Stacy L. Bashore-Steury ’07

and husband Josh are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Olivia Grace, on Sept. 22, 2015.

Births Gregory S. Anderson ’99

and wife Jessie are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Emma Jane, on Jan. 2, 2016. Emma was welcomed home by big brother Ezra.

Gregory A. Strunk ’00

and wife Jennifer are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Duncan Allen, on March 3, 2016.

Michaeleen N. Wilson ’00

and husband Marc Davis are proud to announce the birth of their son, Paxton Nicholas Davis, on Dec. 29, 2015.

Parisha P. Shah ’01

and husband Dmitri Islam are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Neela Shah Islam, on Dec. 19, 2015.

Big brother Naveen helped welcome Neela home.

Janine (DiFrancesco) Dudash ’02

and husband Andy are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Miles Joseph, on Oct. 15, 2015.

Kerry (Fagan) Harper ’04 and Jacob W. Harper ’05

| Juniata

are proud to announce the birth of their son, Noah William, on May 30, 2015. Noah was welcomed home by big sister Ava.

74

Daniel L. Long ’07

and wife Aimee are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Annie Rosaleen, on Jan. 17, 2016.

Derek J. Pavlovic ’07

and wife Erica are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Molly Rian, on Nov. 25, 2015.

Nicole (McCloskey) McCray ’08

and husband Matthew are proud to announce the birth of their son, Jude Elwood, on Dec. 28, 2015.

Michael W. Cassatt II ’12

and wife Alyssa are proud to announce the birth of their son, Zaiden Michael, on Aug. 21, 2015.

Jessica L. Stevens ’13

is proud to announce the birth of her daughter, Candice Alexis, on May 5, 2015.

I met a Juniata alum

in the most unusual place...

While attending the annual conference in Boston, Mass., of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, I was walking the Freedom Trail with my Juniata colleague, Shya (Price) Erdman ’03, international education advisor. We heard someone ask, “Excuse me, did you say Juniata?” I turned around to see Chelsea Wilson ’13, who was attending the same conference. Chelsea is the international programs specialist in the Office of International Studies at Goucher College in Baltimore, Md. Chelsea was a recipient of the Chumpol Phornprapha Experiential Learning Travel Grant to study abroad in India while at Juniata, an experience she reports as having changed her life. Chelsea lived and worked in China and Spain following her undergraduate studies. It was awesome to meet up with Chelsea and to learn of her career in international education.

— Kati Csoman, Dean of International Education

My neighbors were moving to California and had a going-away party before their departure. While at the party, I met Eric Bortell ’87.

I ran back across the street to my home and got some Juniata window clings from an alumni event I hosted to share with Eric!

— Carol Connell Cannon ’86

X

WE WANT TO PRINT YOUR STORY . . .

Tell us the most unusual place or circumstance where you met another Juniata alumna/us and we will highlight it in an upcoming Juniata Magazine.

2016 Spring-Summer |

PLEASE SEND YOUR STORY TO . . .

Dawn Scialabba, Alumni Relations Assistant Alumni Relations Office, Juniata College 1700 Moore Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652 Email: scialad@juniata.edu

75

Obituaries Mildred (Wertz) Crawford ’37 Oct. 9, 2015—Mildred, who was 100 years old at the time of her death, was a school teacher in the Perry, Dauphin, and Franklin County school districts during her career. She was a very active member of the McCoysville United Presbyterian Church and the East Waterford Senior Citizens Center.

Philip J. Hahn ’38 Dec. 27, 2015—Philip is survived by his brother, Erwin L. Hahn ’43.

Gladys (Mock) Shaner ’38 Dec. 24, 2015—Gladys, who was 100 years old at the time of her death, began her teaching career in the elementary schools in Bellwood, Altoona, and Saxton, Pa., and went on to teach for 35 years at the Spring Cove School District in Martinsburg, Pa. She was a member of the Memorial Church of the Brethren in Martinsburg, where she served as a Sunday School teacher, a deaconess, and a quilter. Gladys enjoyed ballroom dancing, sewing and other types of crafting, and

| Juniata

PHOTO: VALERIE HERSH ’16

76

playing cards. She also loved spending time at her cottage along Yellow Creek in Bedford County. Gladys was preceded in death by husband Chester and sister Helen (Mock) Metzler ’34.

Dwight W. Rieman ’40 Jan. 25, 2016—Dwight earned a master’s degree in social work from Case Western University in Ohio. As a conscientious objector, he served during World War II in the Civilian Conservation Corps and as a noncombatant in the U.S. Army. At the end of the war, Dwight crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a cargo ship full of cattle as a volunteer with the Church of the Brethren’s Heifer Project, supplying livestock to warravaged Poland. Dwight worked as a psychiatric social worker for the Texas Department of Health and the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. In the late 1950s, he traveled to Hollywood as an on-set consultant for a docudrama about juvenile delinquency called Community Mental Health, starring Eddie Albert and Ruth Storey. Since the director needed a believable social worker character, Dwight was cast in the film in a supporting role. Dwight was active in the civil rights and social justice movements and was a member of the All Austin Nursery School cooperative, which pioneered integrated education in Austin, Texas. In 1968, Dwight moved to Columbia, Mo., where he was an associate professor of social work at the University of Missouri.

Dwight was a founding member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia. Dwight was preceded in death by his wife Emily, son Eliot, sister Gaye, brothers Glenn W. Rieman ’29 and T. Wayne Rieman ’33, and niece Elaine (Hay) Holsinger ’47. He is

survived by daughter Elizabeth and Janice, son Michael, and two grandchildren.

Robert J. Barben ’41 Dec. 29, 2015—Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, becoming a pilot and then a training instructor. After the war ended, he attended Dickinson School of Law and then worked in the family citrus and cattle operation. Bob later established his own citrus farming business, Robert J. Barben, Inc. He was a founding director of the Highlands County Growers Association, served on numerous councils and boards related to citrus, agriculture, and conservation.

Along with many other recognitions, he was inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 2012. Bob was very involved in his community, serving as mayor of Avon Park, Fla., a member of the Avon Park Noon Rotary Club, and as a Sunday School teacher and superintendent. He is survived by wife Jane, daughters Anne, Jane, Melinda, and Patricia, sons Robert, John, and William, and 17 grandchildren.

Wilmer C. Knepper ’43 March 27, 2016—Wilmer worked as a chemical engineer for Celanese Company in Cumberland, Md., and Pet, Inc. in Chambersburg, Pa. He was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church and the Kiwanis Evening Club in Chambersburg. Wilmer was a past president of the American Chemical Society and a member of the American Instrument Society. He was a dedicated Red Cross blood donor, donating 17 gallons of blood in his lifetime.

Wilmer was preceded in death by wife Agnes, daughter Elizabeth, and sons Timothy and Daniel.

He is survived by son Dennis, daughter Colleen, and three grandchildren.

Ruth (Brumbaugh) Birch ’44 March 15, 2016—Ruth had a long career as an elementary school teacher in the Hollidaysburg (Pa.) Area School District, retiring with 39 years of service. She was a lifetime member of Clover Creek Church of the Brethren in Martinsburg, Pa., where she served as organist, Sunday School teacher, on the district board and also served as a member of the Juniata Church-College Relations Council. She was active in many professional associations and volunteered with numerous community service organizations.

Ruth enjoyed music, reading, and traveling. She was preceded in death by husband Levi, sister Helen, and brother Clyde.

Della (Swartz) Rand ’44 Jan. 5, 2015—Della was a nurse and homemaker, who was active as a Girl Scout leader and with her church. She was an avid bridge player. Della was preceded in death by husbands Clyde Snavely, Albert Pharis, and Stew Rand. She is survived by sons Bert, David, and Bob, daughter Cathy, and seven grandchildren.

Dorothy (Baughman) Ayers ’46 Jan. 30, 2016—Dorothy was an elementary teacher and a homemaker. She was active in her church and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star West Chester Chapter 532. She was preceded in death by husband Guy, and is survived by daughter Jolinda and son Guy.

Virginia (Baker) Shallenberger ’46 July 10, 2015 William G. Wolfgang ’46 Oct. 9, 2015—Bill earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a faculty member at Philadelphia College from 1951 until his retirement in 2002. Bill also served as an expert witness and an industry consultant. In retirement William published three books: Modern Magic, Magic and Gods, and Magic in Space. Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Ruby (Sheterom) Wolfgang ’45, and son Michael. He is survived by son Paul, daughters Ann and Toni, and 13 grandchildren.

Leonard L. Fuoss ’47 Jan. 15, 2016—Leonard served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, attaining the rank of ensign. He began a professional career as an instructor in economics and business administration at Juniata College. Leonard then left the College for a job as treasurer and a member of the board of directors of Mutual Benefit Group in Huntingdon, Pa., until retiring.

He also served as a member of the

board of directors of the Huntingdon Savings Bank and its predecessor, Huntingdon Savings and Loan Association. He also was a member of the board of trustees of J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. He is preceded in death by wife Joanne and is survived by sons William, John, and Robert, and one grandson.

Elaine (Hay) Holsinger ’47 Dec. 6, 2015—Elaine was an elementary school teacher in Somerset Area (Pa.) schools for 25 years. She also served as choir director at the Somerset Church of the Brethren for many years and was a longtime volunteer at the Somerset food pantry. Elaine was preceded in death by her husband, Philip W. Holsinger ’48, and is survived by daughter Gaye and son Grant, three grandchildren, and nephew Stephen J. Holsinger ’76.

Edward J. Bowser, Jr. ’48 March 6, 2016—Ed served two years in the armed forces as a small arms instructor and as a dental lab technician. He then continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania Dental

2016 Spring-Summer |

James J. Headings ’46 Sept. 21, 2015—James worked as a medical research assistant, primarily with Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa. He was an active member of the First Unitarian Church and took a variety of noncredit college courses at the University of Pittsburgh during his retirement years. James is survived by his sons, Mark and David.

PHOTO: DAVE WITKOVSKY

77

square dancing, tennis, swimming, flag football, and bowling. He is survived by wife Elaine (Seese) Keafer ’52, daughter Joy, sons Bruce, Wayne, and Dale, and his grandchildren.

PHOTO: AMBER BORING ’18

School, graduating first in his class in 1951. He practiced dentistry in York, Pa., for 35 years.

Ed loved the outdoors and nature, serving for 10 years as deputy wildlife conservation officer for the Pennsylvania State Game Commission. He was a charter member of the York Archery Club, a member of the American Dental Association and the Pennsylvania Dental Association, president of the York County Dental Society, and a fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Constance (Atwater) Bowser ’47.

He is survived by his second wife, Hazel L. Brashear-Bowser ’49, sons Carl E. Bowser ’77 and John J. Bowser ’73, daughter Amy (Bowser) Wherley ’81, brother Michael W. Bowser ’49, and eight grandchildren, including Robert W. Bowser ’06.

| Juniata

Lloyd S. Keafer, Jr. ’49 Feb. 26, 2016—Lloyd served in the U.S. Navy during World War II prior to enrolling at Juniata. After starting his career as a science and math teacher, Lloyd then had a long career in government

78

service, first teaching electronics and radar systems to U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force recruits during the Korean War. After the war, he began work at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, later renamed NASA) at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where he worked for the next 30 years as an aerospace research scientist.

He was particularly proud to have helped frame the scientific experiments on the two Viking spacecrafts that landed successfully on Mars in 1976.

Lloyd continued his aerospace career at Bionetics after retiring from NASA, working on numerous microgravity experiments destined for NASA space shuttles.

Church and community service was always a part of Lloyd’s life.

He completed coursework for ordination as a minister in the Church of the Brethren and served the Ivy Farms church as a moderator and teacher and as a volunteer leader in many disaster response events, often following hurricanes in the Virginia/North Carolina Tidewater region. Lloyd’s hobbies included both round and

Miriam (Dickey) Pierce ’49 Dec. 4, 2015—Following graduation, Mim was a high school Latin teacher and an assistant librarian at Juniata College. She then earned her master’s degree in library science from Case Western Reserve University in 1955, following which she took a position in Berlin, Germany, with the U.S. Army Special Services as supervisor of libraries. She returned to the United States in 1958, where she joined the Penn State University faculty as a reference librarian until her retirement in 1990. She advanced to the position of head of the mathematics library. Mim was active in the State College Choral Society, State College Design Review Board, Planning and Traffic Commissions, Centre County Elections Board, and Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. After retirement Mim and her husband, Bill, moved to Pinehurst, N.C., where she was active in the Pinehurst Choral Ensemble and as a library volunteer. Following the death of her husband, she moved to Bethesda, Md., to reside with her daughter. Mim was preceded in death by husband Bill, and is survived by sons David and Morgan, daughter Rosalind, and five grandchildren.

Paul D. Rhodes ’49 March 7, 2016—“Dusty” served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, prior to enrolling at Juniata. After graduation, he taught on a Navajo Indian reservation. In 1950 Dusty relocated to State College, Pa., where he embarked on a career as a high school earth science

teacher. Dusty was an aviation instructor, teaching the ground school course for those pursuing their aviation license. After retirement in 1986, he enjoyed woodworking and refinishing antiques, silversmithing, and jewelry making. He also enjoyed traveling throughout the United States in his recreational vehicle.

Dusty was preceded in death by his wife, Myrna (Ankeny) Rhodes ’49, and is survived by son Mark and daughter Dauba.

Alva (Smith) Wilhelm ’50 March 8, 2016—Alva worked as an elementary school teacher and as office manager for Wilhelm Energy Services, Inc. She was a member of Salem United Methodist Church in Hebbville, Pa., and of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Sykesville, Pa. Alva was preceded in death by husband William and son David.

She is survived by daughters Kimberley and Lynda, son Joseph, and two grandsons.

Norman J. Gerri ’50 March 25, 2016—After high school, Norm attended Princeton University until he left to serve as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After the war, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Juniata and his master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Delaware. Norm worked in the Ballistics Research Lab at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground for 55 years until retiring in 2007. He was a voracious reader, a wonderful storyteller, and an avid dog lover.

Norm was preceded in death by wife Irene and son Norman. He is survived by son Steven and three grandchildren.

George R. Wolf ’50 Sept. 23, 2015—George earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and held positions as a chemist and a manager at Wacker Chemical Corporation in Adrian, Mich. He was a U.S. Army veteran, serving during World War II. He was a supporter of the Croswell Opera House and attended church faithfully. George was preceded in death by wife Nelia and is survived by daughters Elizabeth, Nelia, and Cynthia, sons Robert and Peter, and 15 grandchildren.

David L. Armacost ’51 Sept. 22, 2015—David had a career as an elementary school and middle school social studies teacher. He was active in Boy Scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and enjoyed hiking and camping. David is survived by wife Millie, daughters Barbara, Donna, and Susan, and five grandchildren.

Edwin B. Bridenbaugh ’51 March 21, 2016—Edwin was the owner and operator of Bridenbaugh Orchards in Martinsburg, Pa. He served as president of the Tri-County Fruit Growers, and was a member of the Pennsylvania Farmers Association and Cove Apple Packers. Edwin was an active member and former deacon of Memorial Church of the Brethren in Martinsburg. He enjoyed playing softball and baseball, officiating basketball games, and shooting billiards. Edwin was

PHOTO: KENNETH CAMPBELL ’14

2016 Spring-Summer |

Joan (Stayer) Hall ’50 March 24, 2016—Joan was an elementary music teacher in Altoona and Roaring Spring (Pa.) until her retirement in 1985. She also served as secretary of her family business, W.L. Hall Lime and Coal from 1976 until 2012. Joan loved music and was a member of the various vocal performance groups. She was a member of the Loysburg (Pa.) United Methodist Church, where she was church organist and choir director for many years. Joan was preceded in death by husband Herbert and is survived by son Douglas and two grandsons.

William M. Wright ’50 Jan. 26, 2016—Bill earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City and had a distinguished career in education as a school teacher and guidance counselor. He also worked as a college student affairs professional and faculty member. Bill held positions as dean of students at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Bill served during World War II. Bill was active in numerous professional, civic, community service, and religious organizations, and was a Red Cross water safety instructor for more than 50 years. Bill traveled extensively, visiting all 50 U.S. states and every continent except

for Antarctica. Bill is survived by his wife, Nancy, daughters Nancy, Mary, and Susan, and eight grandchildren.

79

preceded in death by wife Betty and sister Mary Jane (Bridenbaugh) Hinish ’56. He is survived by sons Glenn, David, and Roger, six grandchildren, including Eric Bridenbaugh ’06, and brothers George Bridenbaugh ’47 and Robert Bridenbaugh ’54.

Thomas N. Gates ’51 Sept. 20, 2014—Tom was married to Elizabeth (Dively) Gates ’53, who passed away in 2015.

Lois (Nale) Jensen ’51 March 26, 2016—Lois taught high school for three years in Tyrone, Pa., then was a dedicated mother and homemaker for over 60 years.

She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Roanoke, Va. Lois is survived by her husband Boyd Jensen ’45, sons Eric Jensen ’77, Kurt, and Karl Peter, daughters Gretchen and Johanna, and five grandchildren.

Anne (Webber) Montgomery ’52 Jan. 24, 2016—Anne lived in Charlotte, N.C., at the time of her death. She is survived by her husband, Howard C. Montgomery ’51.

Elizabeth (Dively) Gates ’53 Nov. 28, 2015—Betsy was preceded in death by her mother, Marjorie (Patterson) Dively ’27, and her husband, Thomas N. Gates ’51.

Richard W. Barefoot ’54 March 8, 2016—Richard owned and operated two businesses, Barefoot Sanitary Service and R.W. Barefoot Co., both of Duncansville, Pa. He was a charter member of Iron Masters Country Club, a member of Blair Racquet Club, and the Jaycees and Kiwanis clubs. He served as a PIAA and YMCA swimming official for more than 40 years. He is survived by wife Vera, daughters Elizabeth, Cathy, and Amy, sons Richard and Michael, nine grandchildren, and brother N. Fred Barefoot ’54.

Harry J. Martin, Jr. ’54 July 18, 2015—Harry was preceded in death by son Kevin, stepdaughter Linda, and former wife Janet. He is survived by wife Dorothy, son Jeffrey, daughter Diane, stepchildren Arnold and Deborah, and 12 grandchildren.

Charles Pagana ’54 Feb. 4, 2016—Charlie attended Juniata after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After graduation, Charlie spent more than 30 years working for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Department of Corrections. He was a member of VFW Post 7530. Charlie is survived by wife Joyce, daughters Lorie and Dawn, son Brian, and eight grandchildren.

Diane (Bramhall) Snowney ’54 Dec. 23, 2015—Diane, a homemaker, lived in New Jersey, Florida, and North Carolina during her life. She is survived by husband Frank, sons Brian and Brad, daughter Leanne, and 11 grandchildren.

| Juniata

PHOTO: KLARISSA JULIANO ’18

80

William J. Straughen ’54 Dec. 27, 2015—After attending Hahnemann Medical School, Bill had a long career in health care, working for the Public Health Service and then on the staff of Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio. He was an avid bird watcher and bicyclist and an active member of Normandy United Methodist Church. Preceded in death by wife Betty, Bill is survived by daughters Polly and Heidi, son Joel, and seven grandchildren.

Marjorie L. Lentz ’56 Nov. 14, 2015—Marjorie served as a housekeeper, cook, and nanny for the family of Drs. James and Doris Maxwell for 40 years. She was an avid dog lover, an enthusiastic fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a talented pianist, playing during worship services at Grace Baptist Church in Greensburg, Pa., for more than five decades.

John T. Yates, Jr. ’56 Sept. 26, 2015—John earned a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and began his career as an assistant professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His career continued with positions at the National Bureau of Standards, the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Pittsburgh. At the time of his death, John was a professor of chemistry at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He was a pioneer of modern surface science and the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for his work. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. John was an accomplished amateur astronomer and woodworker and had a lifelong interest in clocks and precision instrumentation.

John served the College as a

member of Alumni Council and was the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award in 2000.

He is survived by his wife, Kerin (Narbut) Yates ’58, sons Geoffrey and Nathan, and six grandchildren.

William E. Hershberger ’57 Jan. 2, 2016—Bill was a dedicated supporter of Juniata College, serving as a member of the Board of Trustees and on Alumni Council, and was honored with the Alumni Service Award in 1993.

Bill had a distinguished career in corporate finance. He is survived by wife Marlene, sons William E. Hershberger ’73 and Jeffrey G. Hershberger ’85, and five grandchildren, including William E. Hershberger III ’94.

Shirley, daughter, Ann, son John, and three grandchildren.

George B. Cline ’58 Jan. 11, 2016—George earned a doctoral degree in physiology and was a research associate at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for five years, followed by 25 years as a faculty member in the biology department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 1992 George moved to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he was active in St. John Rescue and the St. John Ham Radio Club. George is survived by his wife Hermina Joyce (Bayer) Cline ’61 and sister Janet (Cline) Champion ’54.

Gordon M. Shedd ’58 Nov. 1, 2015—Gordon earned masters and doctoral degrees in English from Penn State University. He had an accomplished career on the Penn State faculty and was honored with the Award for Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities. He enjoyed tackling new projects and had a great interest in woodworking and gardening.

Gordon was preceded in death

by son James. He is survived by wife Nancy (Swigart) Shedd ’62, sons Gordon M. Shedd, Jr. ’74, Alex, and Chris, and two granddaughters.

George D. Harrison ’59 Jan. 15, 2016—George served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and worked in several positions for U.S. Steel, as a systems analyst for the state of New Jersey, and as a school crossing guard. He enjoyed gardening and golfing. George is survived by wife Dolores, daughters Natalie and Diane, sons Jeff, David, and Michael, and nine grandchildren.

Ruth (Diehl) Purnell ’61 Nov. 30, 2015—Ruthie spent most of her career as a teacher. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and shopping.

Ruthie is survived by husband Kenneth, son Dave, and eight granddaughters.

Linda (Smith) Bradley ’62 Feb. 6, 2016—Committed to both public and private education her entire life, Linda began her career teaching biology at Easton (Pa.)

2016 Spring-Summer |

Joseph Bozicevic ’58 March 2, 2016—Joe was born in Croatia in 1925. After fleeing from communist Yugoslavia, Joe spent four years in Great Britain, where he was employed as an interpreter at a brick factory and in the judicial court before gaining admission to the United States. He earned a master’s degree from Middlebury College (Vt.) and a doctorate from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Joe was professor emeritus at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., where he taught Russian language, literature, and culture for 30 years. He was an active member of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages and contributed extensively to the Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic History and other publications on topics concerning Slavs, Slavic reciprocity, and East European matters. He was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, Va., and of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America. Joe is survived by wife

PHOTO: VALERIE HERSH ’16

81

accomplished fine furniture craftsman and teacher and served on the board of directors of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. He was an avid sports fan and participant. He especially liked racquetball and bowling (even bowling a 300 game), and was a runner for many years. He played piano and guitar, and sang bass in his church choir and with the Kingsmen, a men’s a cappella group. Craig is survived by wife Lesley, daughter Laura, stepson Cary, and three grandchildren.

PHOTO: SAMUEL KARZEN ’12

High School. After moving to California in 1973, she served as a teacher’s aide and supervised enrichment programs at Carmel River School. She began a 25-year career at All Saints’ Day School in 1977. Initially a fifth grade teacher, she moved on to teaching math and science in the upper grades.

She was particularly talented in motivating students of all levels, and regardless of gender, to excel in mathematics. She closed out her tenure as head of the school, retiring in 2002. Linda is survived by husband Gordon, son John, daughters Kate and Eileen, and five grandchildren.

| Juniata

Lynnea (Knavel) Detwiler ’63 Jan. 9, 2016—Lynnea was a dedicated substitute teacher for the Altoona Area School District for many years. She was a member of First United Methodist Church, where she was involved in various committees and also taught Sunday and Bible school.

Lynnea was a Girl Scout leader and served on the board of Big Brothers-Big Sisters, American Rescue Workers, and Easter Seals.

82

She enjoyed biking, skiing, tennis, traveling, and playing bridge.

Lynnea is survived by husband, Donald Detwiler ’64, daughters Kim (Detwiler) Van Buren ’86 and Karen, and four grandchildren.

Cora (Cunningham) Sharp ’64 July 14, 2015—Cora is survived by her brothers, David Cunningham ’66 and Barry Cunningham P’11, and niece Ashley Cunningham ’11.

Craig B. Satterlee ’65 Nov. 16, 2015—Craig earned a master’s degree in biology from the University of Richmond (Va.) and a master’s degree in hospital administration from the Medical College of Virginia. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1970-73, attaining the rank of captain. He then had a successful career in hospital administration, serving various hospitals and finally as a senior regional vice-president with Hospital Corporation of America. Craig provided leadership to several nonprofit organizations, including FCS Urban Ministries and Cobb County Habitat for Humanity. He was an

Barbara (Antes) Walker ’65 Nov. 22, 2015—Barb taught high school English and literature for most of her career. After her retirement, she took classes and volunteered as an instructor at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Wilmington, Del. Barb loved traveling in the Caribbean and supporting her children’s and grandchildren’s interests. She was preceded in death by her husband, M. Robert Walker II ’64, and is survived by sons Jeffrey and Michael and six grandchildren.

Marilyn A. Grove ’67 Nov. 24, 2015—Marilyn worked as a senior social worker for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Eastham, Mass. She also was the owner of the 444 Shop, which offered antiques, curios, and furniture for the home. She was a member of the Provincetown United Methodist Church, where she served as choir director and thrift shop manager. Marilyn loved dogs, dancing, softball, and gardening. She is survived by her partner, Darlene Cordeiro.

T. Hartley Severns ’67 Jan. 25, 2016—Hartley was a jazz musician, research assistant, and instrument repairman. He was active in the New York City and Boston music scenes and toured with T-Bone Walker in the 1970s.

He enjoyed a variety of interests, including painting, sketching, reading, storytelling, films, animals, and food. Hartley is survived by wife Nadia and children Maya, Zoe, and Aeron.

Adam J. Barnhart, Jr. ’70 Nov. 2, 2015—Adam was retired from Annville-Cleona High School (Pa.), where he taught mathematics. He served as a coach for junior and senior high school boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Annville-Cleona and at Hershey High School. He was a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in York, Pa. Adam is survived by wife Patricia, daughters Lauren and Ashley, and three grandchildren.

Linda (Perin) Hosie ’70 Nov. 25, 2015—Linda worked for IBM as a programmer and in sales. After retiring from IBM, she established a process management consulting business, Haventerprises. She was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Marietta, Ga., where she was active with the St. Vincent DePaul Society and other ministries.

Iris L. Craft ’72 Jan. 24, 2016—Iris was a homemaker and active volunteer throughout her life, living in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Texas.

She volunteered with 4-H and was an active leader in her church.

She is survived by husband Thomas, daughters Susan and Amy, son Jeff, and five grandchildren.

5K race held in Charlotte, N.C., that benefits the Colon Cancer Coalition. Susan is survived by husband John and daughters Mia and Ava.

Douglas R. Martin ’72 Oct. 2, 2015—Doug was a partner at M&H Sales for more than 20 years. He is survived by wife Sandy, sons Steve and Bob, stepsons Curt and Eric, and three grandchildren.

Douglas K. Feagley ’97 Sept. 30, 2015—Douglas was employed as an operations manager for Amazon.com. He enjoyed carpentry, the outdoors, and watching Pittsburgh Steelers football games. Doug is survived by son Matthew, daughter Hayley, and stepson Brandon.

Edgar D. Wert, Jr. ’72 Feb. 2, 2016—Ed started his professional career at Family Guidance Center in Reading, Pa., as a therapist. He then was an intensive mental health case manager for Service Access Management, Inc. Ed was an active member of Christ Church United Church of Christ in Temple, Pa., and served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He loved cooking, especially for church functions.

He is survived by wife Marietta and daughter Christine.

Nicholas M. Stuck ’13 Sept. 16, 2015—At the time of his death, Nick was working toward a degree in hotel and restaurant management from Penn State University. He worked as a supervisor at the Nittany Lion Inn in University Park, Pa. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and spending time at camp with his family and friends. He is survived by parents Melinda and Michael, sister Allison, and brother Skyler.

Thomas W. McClain ’73 Feb. 6, 2016—“Tee” had a long career as a postal clerk for the U.S. Post Office in Monaca, Pa. He was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and a social member of American Legion Post 580 and the Bandroom, all in Monaca. Tee was a dedicated walker and an avid sports fan. He was preceded in death by his brother, Harold, and is survived by siblings Terry, James, and Wendy.

Susan (DeSesso) Falco ’91 Jan. 3, 2016—Susan had a successful career as a software trainer before discovering her true passion for photography, which she pursued through her photography studio, Sue Falco Photography. She established Get Your Rear in Gear, a national PHOTO: JESSICA KAPLAN-BIE ’14

2016 Spring-Summer |

Robert. G. Dapp ’72 Jan. 20, 2016—Bob began his career working in forestry camps, assisting youth with developmental needs. He then transitioned to working in his family business, Dapp Real Estate and Builders, and as a certified tax

preparer and consultant for H&R Block. He also was a skilled photographer who photographed numerous weddings in southern New Jersey.

83

IN MEMORIAM

Remembering Ron Wertz ’59 Ron Wertz ’59 enjoyed the competitions in life. And he used that spirit to make a difference for many people and communities— strangers and friends—over the course of eight decades. His spirit will be seen for years to come through the lives of Wertz Scholars educated at Juniata, healthy and curious children growing Ron Wertz ’59 up in western Pennsylvania, and the thousands of beneficiaries of the vision and philanthropy of the Hillman Foundation, which flourished under Ron’s guidance. His spirit also lives on because of his extraordinary partnership with Henry and Elsie Hillman.

Ron liked to keep score—and he didn’t like to lose. Just ask anyone that saw him on a basketball court or played against him on a golf course or at a card table. That tenacity served him well and truly made a difference in raising critical funds and momentum for worthy philanthropic initiatives. It also served him as he pushed for answers, better treatments and, most importantly, hope for those dealing with a life-altering health challenge—such as the Parkinson’s disease he faced with confidence and vigor for more than a dozen years.

Ron’s persistence and drive clearly came in a significant way from the basketball point guard mentality learned as a standout student-athlete at nearby Lewistown High School and later here on College Hill. It was also shaped by a love of family and community that grew out of those central Pennsylvania roots and eventually blossomed during his leadership of the Hillman Foundation. While he may have officially retired in 2009 as Hillman’s executive director, Ron and his wife, Ann, never slowed down in their offerings of time, talent and dedication to numerous charitable causes.

Ron Wertz will be remembered for a quiet demeanor, easy wit and caring personality. It was also his unique competitiveness and drive that helped Ron lead a life of leadership and accomplishment. For that, so many, including the Juniata College community that he loved so dearly, will benefit for years to come.

| Juniata

—Joe Scialabba ’86, director of major gifts

84

Ronald W. Wertz ’59, former Juniata Trustee from 1987 to 1993, died April 1, 2016, at age 78.

Wertz was named president and trustee of the Hillman Foundation in 1990, a title he held until retiring in 1989.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Juniata College in 1959. He started his career in higher education, working at Juniata in 1959 as assistant director of admissions. He was promoted to director of admissions in 1960. In 1963, he moved to Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., where he initially served as director of financial aid and placement, and later as director of development.

In 1969, he left Franklin & Marshall to join the Hillman Foundation as its first executive director. During his tenure at the foundation, he worked with members of the Hillman family developing their philanthropic interests.

He also was a consultant to the Hillman Company, a private investment firm.

Through his leadership, the Hillman Foundation was able to establish such nonprofit initiatives as Hillman Cancer Center, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, and the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. In 2007, the Carnegie Museum created the Wertz Gallery of Gems & Jewelry within the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.

Wertz was actively involved at Juniata. In addition to his term on the Board of Trustees, he served on the President’s Development Council and in 1994, he received the Harold B. Brumbaugh Alumni Service Award.

In 2007, the Hillman Foundation donated $500,000 to Juniata to fund the Ronald W. And Ann L. Wertz Endowed Scholarship. The same year, the College presented Wertz with a doctor of humane letters degree at the 2007 Commencement.

During his working life, Wertz was active in a variety of professional and community associations, including the Philanthropy Roundtable, the Council of Foundations and the Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania.

He also served on the board of directors of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, St. Clair Hospital and the St. Clair Hospital Foundation.

Wertz is survived by his wife, Ann ’59, daughter Laurie, sons Michael and Jeffrey, and four grandchildren.

END PAPER

In the Moment: Witnessing the Joy of Giving

A

They had led lives with meaning. Their business aim was to make enough money to take care of the family, their employees, and their community, and they succeeded. They sent a child to college and then welcomed a grandchild. They each recalled lean years, or times when they delayed purchasing a car or patching the roof. They helped employees at tough times.

In the end, they discovered they had resources to share. They met at Juniata, married shortly after graduation, and came back periodically. In the 59th year after graduation, they were with me, in the midst of kitchen clatter and the smell of bacon and butter, to make real a gift to their college.

As they signed, they looked at one another. I admit I can be a sentimental guy, but it was a special moment. In their gaze, six decades passed between them, countless choices and opportunities—the vacation they didn’t take, the kitchen never updated.

In that moment, I was certainly miles away from the understanding they exchanged.

When they pushed the paper over to me, my face tingled, as it does every time I tell this story.

Their lives made many things, and among them was a special tribute to their alma mater and its students of tomorrow.

I tell this story for many reasons. I hope our students and alumni realize that when they see or saw a name on a scholarship, on a building, on a

plaque near a tree or window, it represents someone who saved resources they could have spent on anything, and chose to help Juniata serve its students. I tell this story because not everyone gets to witness when people decide to make opportunity for others, right at the moment that the decision becomes reality.

I tell it because sometimes our students, on top of their responsibilities, wish we didn’t remind them so much, or so tersely, about writing a note of thanks. I usually say, I get it.

You’re busy. Then I tell the story of a person who never missed a single year of giving to the College because of how the gifts of others once kept her in college when, due to her father’s job loss, it appeared she might have to leave. Or how the name on a residence hall belonged to a woman who lost her son in an air battle in World War II. Or how a favorite professor had a title reflecting the name of someone who gave to honor his favorite professor. Students finish their notes quickly after hearing these stories.

In the last few issues of this magazine, we have featured stories about new construction on campus, students achieving more than they thought possible, and faculty members who partner with students to push beyond the borders of research. We’ve highlighted people who made incredible gifts, the kinds few of us are in a position to make.

But they are not alone. Each year thousands of people make

PHOTO: MEGAN BRENNEMAN

bout a year ago, I sat in a six-table diner sipping coffee and chatting with a couple from the classes of 1956 and 1957. They were signing a document indicating they would leave a substantial gift to Juniata in their wills.

Gabriel Welsch

the decision to help Juniata in ways meaningful to them.

They show faith in people they probably don’t know, to do something great for people they’ve yet to meet. Their gifts shape and support the work of students and faculty as they learn together.

When I have the chance to talk to people about their gifts, the conversation is almost always the same: rarely is it about the money, but about the promise, the faith in the good things that happen next, and the pleasure of being a part of it.

Remember the couple at the beginning of this story?

The glance they exchanged— containing the knowledge of what they had worked together to do—is a moment that will live with me for a long time. At the moment they realized the promise of their gift, their gaze exchanged more than I can grope for in this clumsy writing. But the moment is a reminder to us all of what generosity can feel like, and what it can do.

—Gabriel Welsch is vice president for advancement and marketing.

NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Office of College Advancement 1700 Moore Street Huntingdon, PA 16652-2196

We’re social.

JUNIATA COLLEGE

www.juniata.edu

Tour Juniata Today

www.juniata.edu/virtualtour

Member Institutions: 271

E Recycle this magazine Give it to a high school student and help spread the word about Juniata.

PHOTO: J.D. CAVRICH

Julia Rippel ’16 and members of her family brave some falling raindrops at the end of Commencement to celebrate her graduation. Julia, of Pittsburgh, Pa., earned a degree in peace and conflict studies and Spanish.