Lake Erie College Magazine: June 2020 Issue

LAKE ERIE

COLLEGE MAGAZINE june 2020

partnership in preservation Looking to the future while reflecting on the past Imagine campaign breaking ground on a new indoor riding arena the beginning Reflecting on fine arts at lec

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In this issue

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The New Normal - A Letter from the 18 Alumna Meet - at the Bottom of the Editor World A Letter from the President 24 The Crowned Virus - Coronavirus - by

Partnership in Preservation - Looking to the

Biology Professor, Dr. Deborah Future While Reflecting on the Past Schulman, PhD

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Imagine Campaign - Breaking Ground on a 26

New Indoor Arena

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Million Dollar Gift Provides Scholarships - 31 Welcome John McCreary- LEC’s new

Lake County Education Majors receive a

Senior Director of Institutional major gift from an LEC alumna Advancement

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The Beginning of the Fine Arts - at

Lake Erie College

Editors

Angela DelPrete Susan Tenon ’06

Art Direction/Design Rachel Usmani

photographers

Elizabeth Wheeler Jamie Castle ’14, MBA ’17 Rachel Usmani Debra Potts ’74

#weatherthestormLEC - See how LEC responded during COVID-19 crisis

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Class Notes

34

In Memoriam

On the cover

Illustration by Rachel Usmani

primary contributor Susan Tenon, ’06 Angela DelPrete

secondary contributors Lake erie | spring 2020 | 2

Debra Remington Tony Fulgenzio Debra Potts, ’06

The New normal

a letter from the editor

These days, every commercial and advertisement uses the buzz phrase “New Normal” to describe the adjustment and adaptability of our global populace during the pandemic. 2020 stormed in with an array of unprecedented events, but from these challenges grew a renewed sense of community evident at Lake Erie College as well.

Starting a new job during the Coronavirus pandemic posed both unique challenges and exciting opportunities for me. I interviewed for the position through online video meetings in the first days of the quarantine, and I came on board during Ohio’s stay at home order.

From the moment I “virtually” arrived on campus, the supportive and caring community of Lake Erie College which focuses on student success has been obvious.

I feel grateful to be here, and the unity of the faculty, staff, students, and campus clearly makes LEC a very special place. While the world around us experiences uncertainty, I am happy to report that Lake Erie College remains resilient and steadfast in its mission of keeping students the number one priority.

We invite you to share in our successes with the return of the Lake Erie College Magazine.

After a long hiatus, we are happy to present the Spring 2020 issue in its new digital format.

Public relations & marketing staff Jamie Castle ’14, MBA ’17, Graphic Designer, Public Relations & Marketing Assistant Angela DelPrete, Executive Director of Public Relations & Marketing Matthew Krotzer, MBA ’20, Web Designer-Developer Rachel Usmani, Associate Director of Creative Design Mallory Wachob, MBA ’20, Graduate Assistant of Marketing & PR Elizabeth Wheeler, Digital Media and Marketing Specialist

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A letter from the president Greetings Lake Erie College alumni, students and friends!

I write to you with deep appreciation for the entire Lake Erie College community who have responded positively to the challenges presented during spring semester. I am so proud of our students who showed patience, our faculty who demonstrated ingenuity and our staff who exhibited continued commitment during an unprecedented time.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! This class is particularly special to me as we both started our journey at Lake Erie College together four years ago. I have had the great privilege of watching them transform from uncertain new students to empowered individuals ready to take the world by storm! I am proud of all they have accomplished and the obstacles they have overcome.

You will notice throughout this issue the theme of looking to the future while reflecting on the past. With a rich history of educating, empowering and preparing students to take on the real-world and live meaningful lives, Lake Erie College is positioned to continue that legacy as each graduating class makes a positive impact on the world and the lives they touch.

Despite the uncertainty that the COVID-19 crisis presents, the College is moving forward on exciting construction projects to enhance our physical campus as well as our student experience. Those projects include the construction of our second indoor equestrian arena, improvements to the front entrance of College Hall made possible through a national grant won by your votes, a renovation to the Theatre in Royce Hall and high-tech classroom renovations.

All projects are moving along as planned and the campus is buzzing with construction crews. It is certainly an exciting time to be a part of the Lake Erie College community.

We are busy preparing to welcome students back this fall. To do that safely, many processes and procedures will need to change. We are committed to doing all that we reasonably can to increase safety, while also protecting the vital core of the Lake Erie College student experience. I greatly appreciate the innovation and care being shown by all of the teams working on the various changes.

While this has been a challenging time for our students and their families as well as the College, I am grateful for the outstanding support and encouragement of the Lake Erie College Community. I’m pleased to reaffirm that Lake Erie College can and will weather whatever storms may come.

Brian D. Posler, PhD President Lake Erie College

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Mission

Lake Erie College provides an excellent, inclusive, and highly personalized education grounded in the liberal arts tradition.

Guided by hope and care, our students are empowered to lead lives of personal significance and professional success as global citizens.

vision

Lake Erie College will empower students by successfully integrating the following elements into the learning experience: • • • •

Self-discovery, The development of strong personal attributes, Creative problem solving, and The balance of personal and professional goals with the needs of others.

The College is committed to being mission-driven, fostering strong partnerships and collaboration in the region, service to the community, embracing diversity and inclusion, and helping students successfully reach their academic goals.

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Partnership in Preserva Looking to the future while reflecting on the past...

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ation

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he most iconic and recognizable building on the campus of Lake Erie College and within the historic district of downtown Painesville will soon be getting a much-needed makeover. College Hall, with her grand entrances... and distinguishable spire will be receiving some tender loving care as part of a comprehensive project to launch a preservation initiative of this beloved building.

progressive

era,

the

woman

suffrage

movement.

In conjunction with the Downtown Painesville Organization and the City of Painesville, LEC will work collaboratively to increase community awareness of the importance of the historic preservation of College Hall and its history. Through this unique partnership, the organizations aim to commemorate the centennial Through a partnership with the National Trust for Historic anniversary of the 19th amendment passage and celebrate Preservation and the Downtown Painesville Organization, the contributions of women – past and present – in competing against sites across the country, Lake Erie Painesville, Ohio. Through sharing of factual stories that College was selected as one of this year’s 20 sites to receive create a context of historical significance and importance, a share of a $2 million grant from American Express, the partners seek to inspire long-term support from where the top Main Streets were chosen for grant funds to the local community and Lake Erie College alumni to preserve a community historic site. Partners in Preservation restore and preserve the historic and iconic College Hall. is a community-based partnership, created in 2006 by The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American LEC’s alumnae, past faculty, and administrators had Express, to engage the public in preserving historic places. a strong historical connection to the suffrage initiative, contributing in many ways to propel the movement.

The 2019 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets sites The college is commemorating its role in the movement focused a special emphasis on historic places that by hosting a yearlong Centennial Suffrage Celebration celebrate the contributions of women in Main honoring Lake Erie College alumnae who Street communities across America, honoring played an instrumental role in the movement. the upcoming 100th anniversary of the One of those alumnae, Frances Jennings passage of the 19th Amendment. Nestled in Casement, was born in Painesville, Ohio Painesville, Ohio and located just minutes and the daughter of Charles Jennings and from Painesville’s charming downtown, Lake Mehitable M. Park. Frances was a graduate Erie College stands as one of the oldest of the Willoughby Female Seminary and institutions for higher learning in the Western founded the Painesville Equal Rights Reserve. From its start as a female seminary Association, as well as, the Ohio Woman’s in 1856 to a coeducational institution Suffrage Association. Because of her friendship with of today, Lake Erie Elizabeth Cady College is proud of its Stanton and Susan B. long heritage leading Anthony, she hosted higher education for both suffragettes in her more than 160 years. home and organized At the center of this their speaking circuit picturesque campus, in Painesville and College Hall stands northeast Ohio while as the grand dame hosting “parlor talks” of hallowed grounds to educate local where more than a women about the century ago, women right to vote. Frances were leading the is just one of the charge to advance their many women who education and blaze were instrumental new trails, including to the woman the most significant suffrage movement. achievement of women in the

Over the past 13 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has provided more than $25 million in support of more than 250 historic sites across the United States and has engaged more than a million people. The project connects people across the country through a common rallying point: saving local history and recognition for important places in their communities. Preservation of our Main Streets is important not only to understand our nation’s past, but also to create local economic opportunities and provide a space where communities can come together.

Due to the tremendous outpouring of support from the broader Painesville community and LEC’s alumni, faculty, staff and friends – by casting a vote every day over a four-week period – Lake Erie College was successful in securing a $150,000 grant. This will be used to begin the important mission of preserving this iconic building by restoring its grand entrance; welcoming all who enter to experience her rich and significant history.

Commissioned in 1857, College Hall, a four-story Italianate structure was designed by Charles Wallace Heard, a protege and son-in-law of Western Reserve architect Jonathan Goldsmith. College Hall was the only building on campus for the next 40 years, housing student and faculty residences, as well as, dining services, administrative offices, social areas, and a gymnasium. It only seems fitting that College Hall, her history, and her grandeur will continue to be revered as the symbol of Lake Erie College.

Renovations and restoration repairs are scheduled to begin spring 2020.

A letter found in the LEC archives from Susan B. Anthony, the National Woman Suffrage Assocation, to LEC President Mary Evans.

Frances Jennings Casement

LEC Suffrage Group

To learn more...

To find other 2019 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets sites and their projects, scan the QR code.

Scan this QR Code to learn more about Lake Erie College’s Centennial Suffrage Celebration.

The new entrance of College Hall will serve as a first on-campus impression for new prospective students.

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After two years of campaigning, construction on the second arena for the School of Equine Studies is underway!

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n increase in EQ enrollment, coupled with the success of competitive riding teams at the College, have created the need for another indoor arena. Two years ago, LEC embarked on an ambitious initiative, The Imagine, Equine Arena Campaign. Now, thanks to generous support from donors and EQ alumni, construction is underway.

MJM Industries, a world leader in electronics, based in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, stepped up early in the project with their corporate support. The company’s leadership team, Jim Heighway, Chairman, and Eric Wachob, President, are passionate about the EQ program at the college and

have been generous supporters of the school’s International Horse Show Association (IHSA) Western riding team.

Also lending generous support is the Triple T Foundation, a long-time supporter of the equestrian program at LEC. Allison “Sunny” Jones and her family are lifelong equestrian enthusiasts, dedicated to education and horsemanship.

“The construction of a new additional indoor riding arena will bring transformational change to our riding programs at Lake Erie College. Since Laddie Andahazy built the equestrian program over 50 years ago, our

indoor riding spaces have remained the same,” says Pam Hess, DVM, Dean of the School of Equine Studies.

“Our spacious 250-by-100-foot indoor surface, flanked by bleacher seating for over 500 people, is one of the finest of any college in the nation. The smaller 70-by-120-foot indoor warmup ring attached to the main ring has served us well for half a century.”

Andahazy is considered by most to be the father of Lake Erie’s equestrian program. His vision for the college began in 1955, and his contagious enthusiasm for horsemanship transformed a small shed into a 12-horse stable barn and the groundwork for a first-class equestrian educational and competitive facility. The equestrian The School of Equine Studies new Western riding team will program at LEC began as a full-fledged major in 1973. be able to ramp up their season again with a 2nd arena.

When the proposed new arena opens in fall 2020, LEC riders will have greater choices for riding classes, intercollegiate team practices, and recreational riding lessons. Hess says, “We will expand our therapeutic horsemanship riding lessons and other offerings for equine-assisted activities utilizing the new 90-by-250-foot facility.”

The equine industry is vibrant and represents nearly seven million horses nationally with an annual economic impact of over $100 billion. Across the Buckeye State the economic impact is also impressive with goods and services valued at $1.4 billion listing Ohio sixth in the nation.

Lake Erie College’s reputation is known nationwide as a top equestrian program, with students traveling from as far away as Italy, Washington state, California, Arizona, and Alaska. The second arena will double the program’s available riding time.

For the indoor arena, Lake Erie College has partnered with builder, Ron Wenger of Weaver Commercial Contractor Inc. in Wooster, Ohio providing 40 years of commercial building expertise.

Dean Hess says this is an exciting time to be part of the growing EQ program at LEC. “We can’t wait until the facility is completed, and we can open for students, faculty, and the community.”

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Teaching licenses issued to in-state educators

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he timing couldn’t be more serendipitous.

With the number of in-state teaching applications on a downward slope for the last ten years and schools across the nation implementing remote learning due to Covid-19, qualified and dedicated teachers are needed today more than ever.

This donation will help Lake County education majors achieve a teaching degree by providing scholarships for those students who pursue their degree at Lake Erie College.

“Our primary focus is expanding the number of highquality teachers here in Lake County and our region,” said Katharine Delavan, Dean of Lake Erie College’s School of Joanne Cole Bhatta of Naples, Florida attended Lake Education. “This transformative gift allows us to eliminate Erie College where she studied education. Bhatta some of the financial barriers to degree attainment.” passed away in May of 2019 and her estate included a $1 million gift to establish the Mary Barnes Cole According to the Ohio Department of Education, Endowed Scholarship in honor of her mother. the number of newly issued in-state teaching licenses decreased by 36% since 2008-2009 – from 7,447 Lake Erie College alumna, Joanne Cole Bhatta to 4,752 in 2018-2019. Schools across the state are couldn’t have known about Covid-19 and the impact discussing the possibility of blended learning for the it would have on education at the time of her million- 2020-2021 school year where the school day will consist dollar bequest, but based on her career as a teacher, of in-person teaching and learning and remote learning. she certainly knew the importance of teachers This is a monumental change in practice for teachers, and their impact on students and the community. students, and families. Versatile and technologically savvy teachers are going to be needed now more than ever.

Bhatta’s career as a teacher included time spent with The Mary Barnes Cole Endowed Scholarship the U.S. Army Special Services where she taught on will help in supporting those Lake Erie College U.S. bases in Germany, France, Japan and Cuba. She students who want to pursue a career in teaching. served proudly on the education faculty at Lake Erie College. To receive the scholarship, students must For more information about enrolling in be a resident of Lake County, Ohio, and enrolled as a the School of Education or about the Mary student in Lake Erie College’s School of Education. Barnes Cole Endowed Scholarship, email Katharine Delavan at kdelavan@lec.edu.

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“Our primary focus is expanding the numbers of high-quality teachers here in Lake County and our region.�

s e d i v o r s r P o j a t M f n i io t G a c u r d E a ty l n u l o C o e k D a L r n o f o s i e i MSchiollalrship Opportunit

3D renderings of the new classrooms and the various configurations the furniture and space will provide to both faculty and students.

The Beginni

of the Fine Arts at Lake Erie C Excerpt from Dancing on the Tables by Margaret Grossman Gross ’43

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No men performed in these productions until 1951, when Eldon Winkler, then director of theater arts, organized the Lake Erie College Community Theater.

According to the Alumnae Bulletin of that time, its purpose was to provide a comprehensive and realistic theatrical experience for the students of the college, whether or not they were primarily interested in the The early days of theater Very early in the seminary days, Lake Erie students theater as a major. Thus, for the first time, roles were cast put on plays, class competitions for original plays, and realistically – men by men, women by women, middleusually an annual outdoor Shakespearean drama during aged people by those in the community or faculty, etc. the commencement season (always with problems of mosquitoes). Some were performed in College Hall, This college-community theater was operated by the some in the chapel; when the new gymnasium was built, staff of the theater arts department in cooperation with performances were given there. And there was a small a board of directors and executive committee, composed theater in Bentley Hall of Science, used until that building of students and community members. The college was torn down, which was carved out of what had been a provided the facilities and equipment and the talents biology amphitheater. The fine arts weren’t confined only of the theater arts staff; the community and students to the campus. One alumna recalls a pageant of Greek provided the labor and talent required to maintain the drama being performed on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie. organization and produce its programs. These college-

he fine arts have always been synonymous with Lake Erie College. Some of the very first courses at Lake Erie Seminary were those in drawing and painting, and early descriptions of displays at commencement always included drawings of plants and natural items.

Susan Ulle, ‘19, presenting her BFA in 2019

ing

College

Dominick George playing the flute at Vespers Christmas Concert 2019.

“Part of the history of Lake Erie College is a celebration of the arts and this investment in the Rickel Theatre signals Lake Erie’s ongoing commitment to the arts as a means of human expression.”

Also at this time, a children’s theater offered Saturday morning creative dramatics classes for grades 1-4 and twice-a-week classes for grades 5-9 to work with puppets and stage plays. Jack Hunter, theater arts instructor, and several students were responsible for this program, and the Painesville City Recreation Commission provided considerable financial support.

performances each year of three or four one-act plays that dramatized family life and family problems.

These “small-cast, expertly-written plays” were booked throughout the college year and presented free of charge to civic, church, service or social groups within 30 miles of Painesville. The theater arts department also conducted workshops and demonstrations on stage lighting, as well as talks and discussions led by artists from New York or Ohio theater organizations.

Also during the winter term, the theater department presented in The Helen Rockwell Morley Memorial Music Building an eight-week series of Sunday night programs of American and foreign sound or silent films.

In 1970, the college-community theater and concert series were combined into a unified organization – the Guild of the Arts. After over 25 years of this organization, it has ceased to exist, but hopes for its revitalization persist.

community plays were performed in the Bentley theater.

For six years, with a financial subsidy from the State After the Royce Hall for the Fine and Performing Arts of Ohio: Division of Mental Hygiene, the Lake building was opened in 1970, some of the theater Erie College Community Theater offered up to 60 students rebelled against the conventional proscenium

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Students rehearse for Valentine’s Day weekend of The Man Who Couldn’t Dance and Other Short Love Stories.

original educational material presented to schools.

This program continued for several years, until the stage and the new art studios. According to Jake Rufli, director left, and the college did not hire a replacement. head of the theater department from 1958-1989, “They felt [the new theater] was a step back into the In 1983-1984, Rufli wrote and produced a fourRenaissance, and we should have a ‘black box’ avant- character play, A Wild Night with Wilde, performed garde theater. The art students said you can’t work in by four faculty members and given as a fund-raiser fanciness; they wanted it to be like garrets in Paris.” before alumnae groups all over the country and twice in Mexico. The cast consisted of Lake Erie College For this reason, the students made their own theater in president, Charles Simmons; The Phillips Osbourne Bentley and performed plays in the then empty Murray School’s principal Margaret Bowers; Dan Anker, Dean Library. Rufli budgeted for these rebel efforts and had of Garfield Senior College; and Rufli. The production the administration’s permission to use the buildings. included music written and performed by Harold Fink.

Traditional theater continued, however, as Rufli During Rufli’s tenure, all of the fine arts realized the need for teaching in “the kind of theater faculty members were also practicing artists. the students would be working with.” At that time, the department was producing 15-20 performances a year. A summer dinner theater began in 1979 with 30 professional actors and technicians, performing five plays Plays were still being produced in Bentley until was during the season. Under the direction of Bob Zyromski, razed in 1973 at which time, the performances moved associate professor of theater and speech, the group also to the then empty Murray Library building which took classes in acting, directing, music, and dance between was eventually renamed Kilcawley Hall in 1976. rehearsals. This program continued for several seasons.

When the Pit was remodeled, with new openings in the walls, installation of lighting control equipment In 1991, a full-time theater person was hired again--the in the attic space, and new raised seating and new first in seven years. The program had limped along with platform steps, increasing the capacity from 110 to 145. an occasional guest director doing a show. But Dr. Tom Gambill was really impressed with the terrific theater The Lake Erie Arts Program (LEAP) was started in 1978 complex and offered courses in all phases of theater arts.

by Clyde Blakeley of the theater arts department. In The plays he produced were often experimental ones which cooperation with other faculty members and community would not fit into a regular community theater schedule; he volunteers and working through the Guild of the Arts and believed in casting from the student population wherever with a Federal grant from Comprehensive Employment possible, then filling in with community actors if necessary.

Training Act (CETA), Blakeley founded a children’s theater and adult touring company, which performed The C.K. Rickel Theatre will be renovated over the summer and will welcome students and patrons in the

Fall 2020 season with a new look. Thanks to a successful arts gala, which is entering its fifth year and has supported several renovation projects in the Royce Hall for Fine and Performing Arts, the focus of this past year’s gala was a near-total theatre restoration. Approximately $60,000 will be invested in new painting, new carpet, new seating, and, most importantly, better ADA accessibility.

Dr. Jerry Jaffe, professor of theater, states, “As a public place, the Rickel Theatre is the face of the college. This renovation will create a fresh, as well as a comfortable new look. Hopefully audiences will really enjoy it, and it will increase our visibility in the community. It will also be a great stop on any campus tour, showing prospective students and their parents a beautiful space that also signals the college’s commitment to the arts.”

One of the hallmarks of the Lake Erie College theater program has been a commitment to producing a wide variety of plays and musicals, ranging from Shakespeare to experimental one-act plays and the Solo Show Festival, to more modern shows such as I Hate Hamlet and Next to Normal.

Dr. Jennifer Swartz-Levine, Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences notes, “part of what sets the Lake Erie College theatre major apart is that our students experience a broad array of genres and styles, and this theatre renovation will positively impact the student learning experience as our majors are able to learn, create, and perform in a comfortable, modern space.

Part of the history of Lake Erie College is a celebration of the arts and this investment in the Rickel Theatre signals Lake Erie’s ongoing commitment to the arts as a means of human expression. We’re looking forward to welcoming more students and community patrons into the theatre to enjoy our productions. We hope our audiences are thrilled to experience the renovated space.”

This until

year’s 2021

arts gala has been due to the Covid-19

postponed pandemic.

The Umbrella Project reception displaying the work of area high school art students.

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ALUMNA MEET AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD Deb Potts ’74 chronicles her memorable journey to the bottom of the world and her serendipitous reunion with a fellow alum, Cathy Lincoln ’78.

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ntering a meet-and-greet in Ushuaia, Argentina, the last person I expect to meet and greet is another LEC alumnus. But as conversation unwinds as it tends to do and reveals mutual friends and a once-shared Shaker Heights location, Cathy Lincoln and I are delighted to discover that we share a collegiate ancestry as well. With apologies to Shakespeare, journeys begin with alumnae meeting!

Once the travel bug bit in our LEC Winter Terms Abroad, it never let go, and we’ve both been on the move since, exploring new places and cultures. Now we’re about to embark on an epic 22-day Zegrahm Expeditions’ voyage to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Antarctica.

What we experience on this adventure will be difficult to surpass – the ferocity of the deservedly notorious Southern Ocean. This is an environment that climate change and ranges from harsh to sublime, and extreme biodiversity - not so much in breadth (few species are sturdy enough to survive this climate) but in depth, the sheer numbers, including the largest colony of

chicks. Over the blue water, thousands of white dots seem to float in the air.

The cacophony is unholy and the winds thankfully carry away much of the scent.

It’s bedlam, and a pure privilege to witness, hard-fought and worth every small ache Saunders Island, Falkland Islands (photo 3) It’s otherworldly, this narrow band of land with the sea crashing on either side and a Gentoo penguin colony in the center. They wander over to greet us wearing their crazy orange lipstick while some cavort in the surf. The light is ethereal, the sea bright blue, surf foaming – I would have thought this more a concept than an actual place in this world, it’s so beautiful.

black-browed albatross on the planet and thousands upon thousands of King penguins literally at our feet.

Our trip aboard the Island Sky lacks for nothing – drama, a frisson of danger, good company, learned lectures on our at-sea days for those not stricken by mal de mer, spontaneous fun, and let’s not talk about the food. (no one starves). We’re most fortunate to have an expedition team determined to get us into difficult-toaccess landing sites despite environmental and logistical challenges. The itinerary is fluid, which distinguishes an expedition from a cruise in the travel industry: one doesn’t know what the day will bring. Schedule, sch-medule.

Some highlights drawn from communications at the time: Steeple Jason, Falkland Islands (photo 2) Seventy-five percent of the black-browed albatross in the world reside in this tiny northwest corner of the Falklands archipelago where 120,000 of them are nestled in a breeding colony. The island isn’t populated for the same reason landings are generally impossible: winds and weather.

After hiking across the island, we come over a rise, and there they are: albatross as far as the eye can see. Large gray chicks on nests practice flapping their wings, ready to fledge in about four weeks. Adults clack their bills in courtship, and swoop in from the sea with food for the

We wander, mouths agape, grins plastered.

Farther along the coast, who’s this big guy?

My first King penguin, preening in the surf.

Up a hill heading inland, a group of five Kings head down towards me, looking weirdly regal - more stately, more elegant than the squabbling Gentoos. Behind them, Magellanic penguins and sheep dot the hillside. Surely, there is no other locale on the planet that shares this rare combination of biomass.

Elsehul Bay, South Georgia (photo 4) One look at South Georgia and you understand why people come great distances from faraway places at great inconvenience: to bear witness to this rare and raw display of nature at its most basic and abundant. A tiny speck in the world’s stormiest seas, it makes for a savage panorama.

Crossing the Antarctic Convergence (where the cold water of the Southern Ocean that surrounds the Antarctic continent meet the warmer waters of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans – a climatic frontier rather than a latitudinal delineation) is like stepping through the looking glass into a wildlife nirvana. Hundreds of marine mammals crowd the shoreline, and seabirds wheel overhead. Fur seals and their squabbling pups and blubbery elephant seals sprawl amid a colony of Kings. Nimble Macaroni penguins clamber up cliffs, gray-headed albatross nest high up in the tussock grasses, and tiny pipits flutter like so many butterflies.

And then … as foretold by the spaceship-shaped lenticular clouds, katabatic winds whip up. Screaming down from the mountains and glaciers, they come on in minutes and stir

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Photo 3: Saunders Island, King penguin

Photo 4: Elsehul Bay’s Macaroni penguins

Photo 6: An expert ornithologist leading a birding group declared our time at Gold Harbor the best day of his life. Sadly, he described returning to the site several years ago after a long absence: when he saw the glacier that was calving at the edge of the sea reduced to a shelf glacier high in the mountains to the south, he sat down on the beach and wept.

Photo 9: St. Andrews Bay / The largest colony of Kings on the planet have a majestic backdrop

Photo 7: Sparring juvenile male elephant seals

Photo 10: The cemetery in which Shackleton is interred at Grytviken, South Georgia.

Photo 12: It doesn’t get much better than this: mother and calf humpbacks between my Zodiac and another in Hughes Bay

Photo 5: Dawn at Gold Harbor

Photo 11: Point Wild and a 400-foot glacier backdrop

Photo 13: Gigantic tabular icebergs can take years to melt

Photo 8: King penguins up waterspouts that spin across the sea. We’re caught out, plain and simple. Unloading our Zodiacs –small inflatable rubber motorboats with a rigid bottom - is tricky, and the ship’s crew does a yeoman’s job dragging us out. Anything can happen down here, and it seems something always does.

systemically slaughtered the humpbacks, blues, and fins, and helped wipe out the Southern Right Whale (“right” because it was slow, easy to kill, and floated once dead). Now managed by the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT), the island has since been cleared of vermin and ecological balance restored, an arduous, Gold Harbor, South Georgia (photos 5, 6 and 7) decades-long effort. We undergo another in a series of We’re offered a rare optional treat, to wake up with the necessary biosecurity drills, vacuuming our clothing and animals. Fear of missing out (FOMO), so into a Zodiac I dipping our boots in a chemical wash lest we transfer go in the predawn. Absolute magic, watching the sun rise as much as a small seed to this pristine wilderness. sitting amidst Kings while keeping an eye out for the always feisty fur seals. Young male elephant seals fight up and down Ghostly and eerie, the monstrous rusted boilers, blubber the coast in the dawn light, spar and joust, practicing for the cookers and grinders bear mute witness to the fifty years of deadly adult territorial battles ahead. At their size, it’s still a systematic slaughter that lasted into the 1980s. Fur seals, risky business: blood can be drawn, pups can be squished. over one and a quarter million, were similarly devastated.

Just a few yards from my boots, these massive brutes Now, one area is the abandoned whaling station and a small rear back and clash, red mouths agape, and bellow deep, museum, and another houses a small group of residents, shockingly loud vocalizations that echo through the dawn mainly scientists and people with the SGHT. And, of air. Steamy exhalations reek of their fish and squid diet. course, Grytviken is Shackleton’s final resting place. Buried here and not in England at the request of his wife, he St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia (photos 8 and 9) lies as close as possible to Antarctica, where his heart lay.

Home to the largest King colony on earth, somewhere between 500,000 and one million, spread along a four-mile The whales, unlike the birds, have been slow to return stretch of moraine at the base of three glaciers, on a sunny day to South Georgia, perhaps because of their slow birth – exquisite. Kelp forests and rock formations millennia-old, rate, and without them the fur seals have no natural great drifts of penguin feathers against the teal glacial water. predator (and protected, no predator at all). In the The Kings are in the middle of their ‘catastrophic molt,’ 1980s, scientists on nearby Bird Island logged each when all their feathers are replaced at once, and everywhere rare sighting. Now, however, the population explodes we go, feathers lie in clumps and float by on the wind. unabated and is estimated at six to eight million. Every small flat stretch of beach is amply stocked with them, We land smack in their midst, Kings of every age and and since a bite would invariably mean horrible infection stage of development and in such density that it’s difficult and immediate medical evacuation, we stay alert. The to photograph. Their orange beaks glow like thousands of “furries” emit a strange, eerie cry, audible even from the lit matches as they stand ramrod straight and emit their ship over the thrum of the engine, that haunts dreams. strange songs – one like a kazoo and another reminiscent of a happy elephant. They seem dressed in uniform, Point Wild, Elephant Island, South Shetlands (photo 11) gathered to inspect us. Roly-poly chicks whistle at each You can read about Shackleton’s Endurance epic journey, passing adult, asking them to please offer up a fishy slurry. but when you see this desolate frozen outpost for yourself, you appreciate anew how very little your nature resembles Grytviken, South Georgia (photo 10) that of the polar explorers. It’s a bleak, rocky, solitary spec on Grytviken was once an industrial whaling station that a 150-mile-long island that’s ominous even in the Antarctic

Lake erie | spring 2020 | 21

summer. Imagine how the 28 men Shackleton left behind felt as they watched him sail away into these hopeless seas. Four and a half months, waiting.

Every day, despair taking a firmer hold, optimism waning. Every day, watching for a ship. Every day but the last, nothing. It’s named after Frank Wild, charged with keeping morale high, a difficult duty.

Now Chinstrap penguins feed at the base of a rusted statue erected to honor the captain of the vessel that brought Shackleton back to retrieve his men. Metamorphic, forbidding peaks jut from the sea, and a 400-foot glacier calves and calves again into the gray waters.

Antarctic Peninsula (photo 12) Another day tossed about by the Southern Ocean, and we arrive in Antarctica, where we make a series of landings on the Peninsula. Unseen until 1821, Antarctica is a continent of superlatives: the highest, the windiest, the clearest and, counterintuitively, the driest. One-and-a-half times the size of the U.S., 98 percent of it is covered with ice an average of one-mile thick. Its vast ice sheets contain 90 percent of the ice on Earth and 70 percent of its fresh water, and sea levels worldwide would rise by over 200 feet if it melted. And it’s melting.

Climate change is tangible and measurable here, and the desolate emptiness somehow makes it easier to see its effects in real time. As glaciers melt, fresh water enters the saline sea and disturbs its equilibrium. This affects ocean currents and the entire marine food web. Antarctica is the messenger, and the message is loud and clear.

Regarding this continent at the bottom of the world, I can’t add to this observation from Andrew Denton: “If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo.

Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it.”

Photo 14: Porpoising Gentoo penguins

Photo 15: Crabeater seal

Photo 16: Chinstrap penguins greet the day on Half Moon Island

We were so fortunate to be able to witness its immense natural beauty before the world exploded and withdrew from itself. Returning at the tail end of January, we were also very lucky in our timing. Now we’re trapped in an entirely unexpected adventure, but when this ends at last, I hope Cathy and I – and you – can roam the world once more. Ever onward!

Photo 17: Mother and calf humpback whales

Photo 18: A King penguin just reaching adulthood and about to lose the remainder of his fuzzy down

Lake erie | spring 2020 | 23

The Crowned Virus,

coronavirus

by Deborah Schulman, PhD Dr. Schulman been a Professor of Biology at Lake Erie College since 2008 and holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Case Western Reserve University.

She and and

regularly teaches Microbiology Immunology, as well and Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics.

H

ow is SARS-CoV2, the causative agent of COVID-19 infection, different from other viruses?

How and why is this virus causing so much trouble?

Is social distancing really necessary or appropriate?

to the outsides of cells, or to dock. The docking process allows the virus to get inside new cells and to reproduce.

Unfortunately, the newly made viral particles cause significant damage to the tissues on their way out.

Last question first. Yes, the measures being taken by individuals, businesses, and government officials to “flatten the curve” are an essential step in slowing the spread, preventing the overload of our medical facilities, and speeding humanity’s recovery from this pandemic.

Essentially, we are using the power of our spectacular immune systems as a group rather than individually.

Poetically, we are working together by staying apart.

Different viruses have different spikes, so this is a way researchers can distinguish between viral strains. The SARS-Cov2 virus has spikes that indicate it came from an animal, likely bat, population. Some viral particles had changes in the genetic information encoding these spikes that resulted in a version of the spikes that bind to human cells, resulting in the jump into the human population.

In more clinical terms, there are two possible endpoints for an individual infection event: recovery or, unfortunately, death. If every individual with virus hiding within their cells effectively prevents the spread of the virus to others, they become a dead end for the virus, for better or worse.

Once most of the infections resolve, the immediate danger will have passed. This does not work if there are breaks in the isolation protocol that result in new infections.

Viruses are not technically alive; they can’t reproduce without a cell to occupy. The SARS-CoV2 virus is an enveloped virus with an RNA genome. This type of virus can remain infective (“live”) on surfaces for a period of time, but after that, they are done. No hosts, no virus.

So what is an enveloped RNA virus? It is an acellular package containing a few types of protein and genetic information, its blueprint for construction, in the form of RNA. RNA is a molecule similar to DNA, which is the genetic material of cells. During infection, viruses occupy and reprogram cells into factories producing more virus.

When new particles are released, they steal pieces of the outside of the cell on the way out to wrap themselves in. So, the exterior of this type of virus includes an envelope, which is literally a piece of the outside of the cell it came from (red in the figure, Wikipedia). This is a clever strategy for the virus, as it serves to camouflage the particles from the immune system. It is also a weakness for this type of virus, however, as the envelope can’t stand up to the detergent action of simple hand soap.

Interestingly, the progression of COVID-19 in different people exists on a spectrum; many report mild to no symptoms and others need hospitalization and even ventilators. It is interesting that the virus doesn’t cause much trouble in many people, but still, it is reproducing at levels high enough for those seemingly healthy people to transmit the virus to others through respiratory droplets. In other individuals, however, the immune system responds in a dangerous way, resulting in extreme damage to the lungs, in part through the actions of the virus replication process and in part due to the fact that the immune system fights viruses by killing infected cells. That is the only way to get them!

If a virus is hiding in a cell, the only way to stop it is to kill the cell. That can result in substantial damage to the infected tissues, in this case the lungs, which are already suffering damage due to the action of the virus itself.

There is not yet a solid way to predict how a patient will react to infection, but in broad terms, the elderly and immunocompromised are more adversely affected. The only way to protect vulnerable people is to cut the virus off within each infected individual and by removing it from hands and surfaces.

Viruses are elegant packets of evolution. If they were sentient, they would be brilliant. But they are not; and we are. We can outsmart them if we work together, coordinating our actions and implementing strategies grounded in science. Physically distance, but remain connected and hopeful; consider carefully whether medical intervention is truly needed (don’t An important tool the coronaviruses use as part of go to the ER if you wouldn’t do so for your level their reproductive strategy are the glycoprotein spikes, of symptoms normally); and wash, wash, wash! shown in pink in the figure. They are used to latch on

Lake erie | spring 2020 | 25

Weathering

The storm

Together Along with colleges across the nation, the Lake Erie College community was thrown into responding to the Covid-19 global crisis, where the College was forced to transition to remote learning, working, and teaching.

President Posler was filmed for the Tribute to the Class of 2020. Due to the pandemic, the Commencement Ceremony has been postponed to August 1, 2020.

T

his past semester, Lake Erie College adopted the theme Weather the Storm Together to rally support during the uncertainty of the Coronavirus and its dramatic impact upon our community.

Although students switched to distance learning, they received the same care and attention hallmark to the College’s mission. The student experience remained at the heart of the administration’s decision-making, and every department worked hard to help. From the information technology staff who stayed on call to assist both students and employees as they navigated online learning and doing business to the faculty members who tirelessly filmed courses for their students, the vibrancy and dedication of the Lake Erie community remained steadfast throughout the semester.

Communication played a key role in keeping the Lake Erie community informed and engaged.

“I am extremely proud of our students, faculty and staff who have not only managed to be flexible, but have also remained committed to their work through these uncertain times,” said Lake Erie College’s President, Brian Posler, PhD. Learning quickly shifted from traditionally faceto-face courses to a distance/online format as part of Covid-19 precautions and guidelines.

According to Eric Oestmann, Director of Online Learning, Lake Erie College’s online education program began in 2015. “Our Learning Management System (LMS) was applied to all Spring 2020 courses in March and the College provided resources and support to faculty and students during the transition.

Our LMS is also being upgraded for Fall 2020 term in preparation for any additional distance/online learning requirements as applicable. Additional faculty and student online training will be provided through Summer and Fall 2020 terms,” commented Oestmann.

The unique student experience including small class size, personal learning environment, and relationship-building sets Lake Erie College apart from its competitors.

Faculty members maintained that experience despite the adversity in customizing each class. “To the best of my ability, I wanted to continue with what has worked well over my past 23 years of teaching so I jumped at the chance to tape my lectures and in class homework review. I wanted to make sure my students could continue learning accounting in a format that they were

accustomed to, especially my accounting majors who needed to finish the semester but more importantly needed to learn and master the material in order to pass the CPA exam,” said Julie Ziemak, Accounting professor.

The Office of Admission also adjusted to distant recruiting by implementing new practices including video tours, virtual visits, and Zoom meetings with prospective families. “Ideally, we welcome students and families to campus to visit with students, faculty, and staff and to tour the facilities. Because that has not been possible, virtual tours were created and put online. The videos did not just include pictures of buildings with descriptions, but instead prospective families are guided by an individual showing them around campus as if they were actually visiting Lake Erie College. A video conference option was also added for any prospective student to have the opportunity to virtually meet with admission staff,” said Vice President of Enrollment, Mike Brown.

Lake erie | spring 2020 | 27

To watch the video, scan the QR code above with the camera app on your mobile device.

move to a completely online format posed a few challenges.

“We have shifted to using remote support tools almost exclusively as well as utilizing more collaborative project management software that we normally wouldn’t need to use due to our small, close-knit operation. We saw an initial increase in support requests as the campus adjusted to new methods of collaboration, administration, and course delivery, but the demand normalized within a Ensuring student safety also topped the list in adjusting couple of weeks. Everyone has been excellent at adapting to life during a pandemic. Billie Dunn, Vice President and putting their best foot forward,” said Luhta. for Student Affairs and Coordinator of the Emergency Response Team stated, “Student Affairs professionals are trained and prepared to respond to the unknown and Covid-19 has proven to be the best learning experience for us all. In times of crisis, we rise; we respond with compassion, logic and empathy. I am fortunate to serve Lake Erie College in the many ways I do, but most importantly, to be able to make decisions that support why we exist - our students. Even in this remote time, they remain at the heart of every decision and movement I make.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of my team and how they have responded to every challenge that has come up because of the pandemic. The team has been creative with processes and adapted to everchanging circumstances. We will continue to adjust to and overcome each new challenge that may arise up in the weeks and months to come,” said Brown.

According to Brad Luhta, the College’s Director of Information Technology, the

The reality of spending their last semester learning online certainly created a memorable experience for the class of 2020. A Tribute to Seniors video and a virtual Honors Convocation, combined with messages from faculty and staff commending them on their achievements, highlighted their accomplishments and positive impact.

“One of our primary goals was to make sure we recognize our fantastic graduates, and we’ve worked together to find creative ways to honor their achievements. Being a small institution, we have the ability to shift gears quickly. I’m so proud of my staff in the Registrar’s Office who have worked closely with our wonderful public relations department and our faculty and staff to film videos for these tributes.

We wish we could celebrate with the class of 2020 in person, but until we’re able to do that, we’re thrilled that we could find an alternative way of commemorating their many successes,” said Lake Erie College’s Registrar, Barbara Helms.

Moving forward, the College will provide ways for the campus community to gather in a safe, supportive, and flexible way by re envisioning shared spaces for instruction, learning, working, and living. Modifications to previous ways are necessary in moving forward in this new era.

We remain committed to being flexible and a College guided by hope and care. For ongoing updates regarding Covid-19, please visit lec.edu/covid-19-coronavirus-information.

To watch the video, scan the QR code above with the camera app on your mobile device.

Commencement ad august 1st?

August 1, 2020 at 10am Celebrate the unique Class of 2020 when we hold our Commencement ceremony on August 1, 2020 at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic and Wellness Center.

Congrats to the Class of 2020!

Join us in welcoming John McCreery is joining the Division of Institutional Advancement as the Director of Development. He spent 22 years at Cleveland State University in various roles that included development, alumni relations and corporate outreach.

John mccreery director of development

His career before Cleveland State University included raising support for last dollar grants for the Cleveland Scholarship Program. He also has experience in marketing and promotions at various television and radio stations in Cleveland.

John received a Bachelor of Science in Communications degree from Ohio University. He lives in Chardon with his wife, Holly, and their two children, JJ and Kayla.

Weather the storm together

These are uncertain times with so much anxiety over COVID-19 and social distancing. We are moving forward with plans for a traditional Homecoming Reunion Weekend September 18-20, 2020. But like just about everything else these days, plans change. We’ll keep you updated as we move forward.

Meantime,we celebrate the innovative spirit of our LEC students, especially our seniors who have overcome much in this very different final semester. Our faculty and staff have become very creative and resourceful by offering virtual classes so that our students can remain current with their studies.

We realize that the single most important thing is the wellbeing of your family and friends. But remember, that contributions from generous donors like you help ensure that we can remain flexible. That is why your support now will help shape the future for our students as well as Lake Erie College.

Give online at LEC.edu/giving Lake erie | spring 2020 | 31

Class notes 1950s

CONNIE BROWN ’52

is now fully retired after 58 years as an international travel agent. She has ten expired passports, has visited all of the continents, and is writing a travel agent perspective from the late 1920’s – 2010. Connie still plays golf in her free time.

1960s

MARY (SCARRATT) JENKINS’ ’60 husband, Gary

Jenkins, passed away on March 18, 2019.

DONNA (DUDOIS) NANNEN ’69 and Jim have

operated a chain of Animal House Pet Centers in Massachusetts and now in Florida.

1970s

ANNE MARILYN LUCAS ’72 has been in theater all her life both at LEC and abroad. Her plays have been produced in NYC, Boston, Greece, and cities across the Midwest. She has two children and lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts and is now a grandmother.

1980s

BETTY (YOPKO) WEIBEL ’80 just released her new inspirational nonfiction book, Little Victories: A True Story of The Healing Power of Horses, which takes readers behind the scenes in the world of therapeutic riding. A section of the

book includes Lake Erie College and visits Gretchen Singleton’s classroom during the 1970s. The paperback book is available on Amazon and the LEC Bookstore.

CAROLINE “CARRIE” (BETTS) SALEVITZ ’83,

after 24 years, has moved from Scottsdale to Phoenix, Arizona. With three horses, she and her husband are thrilled to live on Equestrian Trail. Carrie is grateful for Facebook and her ability to keep in touch with her College Hall friends who are still the most wonderful people.

1990s

HEATHER KINNEY, DVM ’92

was able to horseback ride in Virginia and Missouri this year. Her son enjoyed his first year in 4-H showing a horse and a dog.

2000s

STACEY ALLAN ’02

has recently been named the new Assistant Dean of Students for Fraternity and Sorority Life at Bowling Green State University.

SUSAN TENON ’06

co-authored a book, Evaluations of Principles and Best Practices in Personalized Learning which IGI Global will be publishing this summer.

MARK J. SHANNON ’09

is the Pro Bono Coordinator for Cuyahoga County Common

Pleas Court. He is also an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice at Cuyahoga Community College and Youngstown State University.

2010s

BRIAN TURK ’10

recently became a proud uncle for the second time to baby nephew Andrew English in August 2019.

Brian is currently working as a Dual Diagnosis Counselor for Glenbeigh Hospital in Rock Creek, Ohio. He was promoted to Captain at the Windsor Fire Department in January 2018.

HEATHER (GRECO) KURTZ ’11 and MICHAEL KURTZ ’13 welcomed their

second child, Natalie Kurtz on November 14, 2017. Heather has won an Excellence in Teaching award for National Heritage Academies.

This is her third nomination for the award.

RACHEL (SMALLWOOD) GIRTON ’12 and Kyle Girton

were married on September 7, 2018 in Clearwater Beach, Florida surrounded by their closest family and friends. They met in 2015 and live in the Cincinnati area.

POLLY SUE POPPY ’12

teaches at Andrews Osborne Academy. She is grateful for the opportunities and professional connections she made during her time at LEC, including the thriving equestrian program. Polly continues

to be involved with CANTER Ohio and serves on the board of the Ohio affiliate chapter, as well as, the National CANTER USA board.

STEPHANIE (TAMBLYN) ANDERSON ’12 and husband,

George, welcomed their daughter, Mila Grace on Friday, September 13, 2019. She was born at 10:15pm weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 19.5” long. They could not be more in love!

BRANDON CAMPBELL ’15 teaches English Language Arts at Harding High School in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. He is currently finishing the Ohio Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA) in order to obtain his professional teaching license.

Lake erie | spring 2020 | 33

in memoriam We offer our deepest sympathy and well wishes to the family and friends of our beloved alumni and friends who have passed. Memorial gifts may be made in their name by contacting V.P. of Advancement, Tony Fulgenzio at 440375-7255 or giving@lec.edu.

1940s

ELIZABETH D. GILLILAND ’60

Lansing, Michigan. June 16, 2019

SOPHIE RODNEY PYLE HOMSEY ’60

MARJORIE BELL BECKWITH ’44 REBECCA CAMPBELL BENNETT ’49 Poland, Ohio. April 8, 2020

DRUCILLA JANE HAYDEN ’48

Midland, Michigan. September 28, 2019

ESTHER P. HOY-COLTON ’48

Midland, Michigan. October 2, 2019

JOAN DOREMUS LENGEMANN ’48 Moorseville, North Carolina. May 29, 2018

1950s

MARIANNE SMITH BEESON ’62 Radford, Virginia. June 25, 2019

BARBARA B. CHURCH ’52

Poughkeepsie, New York. June 11, 2019

FRANCES L. DIETRICH ’50 Willoughby, Ohio. July 26, 2019

JUDITH WILLIAMS FORBES ’56 Madison, New Jersey. May 31, 2019

JUANITA M. SAMMON ’57

Willoughby, Ohio. October 22, 2019

MARCIA WRIGHT TALCOTT ’58

Norwalk, Connecticut. December 26, 2019

ESTELLE DEWOLF TANNER ’53 Concord, New Hampshire. April 19, 2020

1960s

GAIL D. ANDERSON ’67

Willoughby, Ohio. December 1, 2019

Mars, Pennsylvania. August 26, 2019 Venice, Florida. June 24, 2019

RUTH ANN LAUTANEN ’67

Palm Harbor, Florida. May 24, 2019

ELIZABETH “BETTY” ANN LISTON ’60 Independence, Missouri. June 7, 2019

MARLENE C. NEASE ’67

Federal Way, Washington. April 7, 2019

PATRICIA S. PAGOLA ’63

Huntersville, North Carolina. October 19, 2019

ANN BURKHART SQUIRES ’63 Beaufort, South Carolina. May 3, 2019

ROWENA S. WILSON ’63

Norman, Oklahoma. November 15, 2019

PHYLLIS YOUNG ’60

Erie, Pennsylvania. May 10, 2019

1970s

BUFF BETZ ’75

Sarasota, Florida. July 7, 2019

MARGARETTA M. BRANTHOOVER ’72 Shelburne, Vermont. October 19, 2019

JOANN MAHONE ’72

Youngstown, Ohio. January 26, 2020

CLOTILDE V. NOVAK ’73

Stevens, Pennsylvania. April 29, 2019

MARY S. SAVAGE ’71

Cleveland, Ohio. October 21, 2019

LINN T. SCOTT ’71

Hampton, Virginia. January 29, 2020

SHARON A. SPENCE ’77

Painesville, Ohio. February 6, 2020

TIMOTHY R. TERRILL ’78

Painesville, Ohio. January 29, 2020

ROBERT VOELKEL ’74

Chardon, Ohio. August 19, 2019

CHRISTINE ELIANE RINAS WOLF ’70 Painesville, Ohio. August 8, 2019

1980s

JOHN “JACK” HANRATTY ’83 Plymouth, Missouri. May 16, 2019

THOMAS VINCENT FIEBIG ’85 Mentor, Ohio. May 21, 2019

CYNTHIA MILLS ’83

Mentor, Ohio. June 6, 2019

CYNTHIA L. PANTON ’83 Mentor, Ohio. June 6, 2019

LINDA S. RUHL ’83

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. November 1, 2019

CHARLES P. WENTZ ’85 Canton, Ohio. March 2, 2020

BUD C. WOLFE JR. ’89

Madison, Ohio. April 11, 2019

1990s

JUDITH CAROLINE BAKER ’95 Novelty, Ohio. June 22, 2019

MARYLYN G. BIELFELT ’95 Mentor, Ohio. January 17, 2020

MARILYN GABOR GREGORY ’93 Punta Gorda, Florida. April 20, 2020

Lake erie | spring 2020 | 35

391 WEST WASHINGTON ST. PAINESVILLE, OHIO 44077

Since 1856, our students have been activists on and off campus. From the days of Lake Erie College students participating in the suffrage movement, our students have taken on social justice causes and made significant strides in creating a more equal society. There is still much work to be done. Together we grieve for the individuals who have lost their lives as a result of racism. We are outraged and we know our students are reflecting on what this moment means. We support the citizens around the world, across the country and here in Painesville, including our Lake Erie College students, faculty and staff who are demonstrating passionately but peacefully.

We understand that we must all be the change we want to see. Rage on, Lake Erie community, together we can make a difference!