Monmouth College Magazine - Spring 2019 by Monmouth College

VOL 34 | NO 1 | SPRING 2019

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Building Our College by Building Our Endowment

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

SPRING 2019

PRESIDENT Clarence R. Wyatt BOARD OF TRUSTEES

6 MEET THE NEW DEAN After two decades in the classroom,

Willhardt transitions to administrative role.

8 BONDURANT ALUMNI HOUSE Makeover breathes new life

into familiar campus landmark.

18 3-2-1... IGNITION! Monmouth launches campaign to keep its future burning bright.

34 MARATHON WOMAN Professor takes to the streets as

advocate for benefits of running. OPPOSITE: Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mark Kopinski ’79 officially launches Monmouth’s $75 million capital campaign by lighting a sparkling candle.

campus news 4 student life 10 academics 12 newsmakers 16 books 17 sports 28 alumni news 38 the last word 48

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION

Monmouth College does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, military service, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy or other factors as prohibited by law. Monmouth College admits students of any race, religion, color, sex, and national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to Monmouth students. Monmouth College, an Equal Opportunity Employer, is committed to diversity and encourages applications from women and minority candidates. Any inquiries regarding Title IX or the College’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (www.monmouthcollege.edu/nondiscrimination-policy) should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator identified below. The Coordinator will be available to meet with or talk to students, staff and faculty regarding issues relating to Title IX and this policy. Stephanie Kinkaid Title IX Coordinator 309-457-2272 skinkaid@monmouthcollege.edu

Mark Kopinski ’79, Chairman Dr. Ralph Velazquez Jr. ’79, Vice Chairman Douglas R. Carlson ’66 Daniel Cotter ’88 Robert Dahl Rod Davies ’74 Nancy Speer Engquist ’74 Christine Beiermann Farr ’90 Larry Gerdes William J. Goldsborough ’65 Kevin Goodwin ’80 Augustin Hart III ’68 Mahendran Jawaharlal ’86 F. Austin Jones John Kemp ’82 The Rev. Robert C. McConnell ’72 Michael B. McCulley, Esq. ’70 J. Alex McGehee ’81 Gary Melvin Bradley C. Nahrstadt ’89 Gail Simpson Owen ’74 J. Hunter Peacock J. Stanley Pepper ’76 Anthony J. Perzigian ’66 Dennis M. Plummer ’73 Anita Ridge ’88 Susan Romaine The Hon. John J. Scotillo ’72 Dr. Carlos F. Smith ’90 Sherman Smith ’72 Nancy L. Snowden Mark E. Taylor ’78 Dwight Tierney ’69 George E. Trotter III Beth Bowdoin Tyre ’96 Jean Peters Witty ’88 Richard E. Yahnke ’66 Jackie Bell Zachmeyer ’89 ALUMNI BOARD REPRESENTATIVES TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mary Alexander Corrigan ’82 Jerri Picha ’75 Roy Sye ’13 ALUMNI BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mary Alexander Corrigan ’82, President Andrew Kerr ’73, Vice President Michelle Moy ’89, Secretary Hilary Stott ’07, Member at Large EDITORIAL BOARD Duane Bonifer Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing Trent Gilbert Vice President for Enrollment and Communications John Osterlund Vice President for Development and College Relations Hannah Maher Assoc. Vice President for Development and College Relations Jeffrey D. Rankin College Editor and Historian Barry McNamara Associate Director of College Communications

LETTERS

MON MOU TH COLLEGE MAGA ZIN E VOL. 34 | NO. 1 EDITOR AND DESIGNER Jeffrey D. Rankin ASSOCIATE EDITOR Barry McNamara PHOTOGRAPHY George Hartmann Kent Kriegshauser Monmouth College Magazine is published quarterly for alumni, students, parents and friends of Monmouth College. All opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or the College.

CONTACT US: MAGAZINE EDITOR jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu 309-457-2314 ADDRESS CHANGE monmouthcollege.edu/update 888-827-8268 Development & College Relations Monmouth College 700 East Broadway Monmouth, IL 61462-1998 ALUMNI PROGRAMS 309-457-2331 888-827-8268 alumni @monmouthcollege.edu REGISTRAR 309-457-2326 registrar@monmouthcollege.edu ATHLETICS 309-457-2176 athletics@monmouthcollege.edu GIVE TO MONMOUTH 309-457-2231 888-827-8268 monmouthcollege.edu/give ADMISSION 800-747-2687 admission@monmouthcollege.edu

Peace Corps memories The Monmouth College Magazine article about the new Peace Corps Prep program (Winter 2019) evoked memories of my Monmouth High School and Monmouth College best friend, Dorothy Dee Vellenga ’59. Dee Dee majored in biology, and after teaching it briefly in the U.S., she applied to enter the Peace Corps. I remember how excited she was to be accepted for training and then to be sent to Ghana, as a member of the very first Peace Corps team in 1961. Receiving a letter from Ghana was a “drop everything and read” moment for me. The Peace Corps experience changed Dee Dee’s life: she returned to the U.S. in 1963 and began a doctoral program in sociology, with her West African experiences the foundation of her dissertation. She taught for several more years; she died too young. I was inspired by her courage and sense of adventure in the 1960s; I remember her now with love and respect. May the current MC Peace Corps hopefuls have equally wonderful experiences!

1941 - New Year 1942). I greatly valued his contributions. The book is about the three weeks that Prime Minister Winston Churchill occupied the White House with President Franklin Roosevelt over Christmas 1941. The decisions they made then changed the course of WWII and impact us yet today. Those decisions were perhaps the most important ones of the War. I am hoping that the style in which it was written draws a younger generation into this important collaboration between two giants of the twentieth century to save mankind from tyranny. James Mikel Wilson ’66 Houston, Texas

Jean Beveridge Meyers ’59 West Caldwell, N.J.

Author to author I greatly enjoyed your article about author Peter Grable ’90 and his new book in the Winter 2019 Monmouth College Magazine. There aren’t many alums who have written history books. I’m a graduate of the Class of ’66. After a 43-year global career with Caterpillar as a marketing exec, I focused on writing. Dr. Bill Urban kindly critiqued my second book, Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover At The White House (Christmas

Sharp-eyed ‘engineer’ Nice cover photo and video. However, the electrical diagram is totally non-functional once you get past C3! Lee Schaeffer ’65 Pittsburgh, Pa.

WE WELCOME LETTERS about the College or the magazine. Letters will be printed on a space-available Printed on Cascades Rolland Enviro 100 paper, made with 100 percent post-consumer fiber.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

basis and may be edited for length, style and clarity. Send letters, queries or submissions to: Monmouth College Magazine, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998, or email jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

LIGHT THIS CANDLE! The time for our ambitious campaign is here

ver the next decade, a great sorting-out

will take place among American colleges and universities, especially among residential liberal arts colleges. Some, lacking the resources or will to respond positively, will hunker down and hope to survive. In doing so, they set themselves on a path to stagnation, to declining quality and, in some cases, to extinction. Other colleges are responding by dramatically changing who they are, adopting short-term fixes that dilute or abandon a commitment to the liberal arts. Monmouth is positioned to define another path—creating a more intentional and coordinated program of human development, and ensuring that this experience is responsive and available to a changing American and global society. This path represents the next stage in the evolution of the residential liberal arts experience. In this time of dramatic change for higher education, Monmouth has not just the opportunity, not just the necessity, but the duty to lead. How do we pursue such a path? We start by thinking of and acting on the idea of the “liberal arts” in the true sense of the term—an experience that is liberating, that frees our students to see and seize the possibilities in their lives. We do that not just in the transmission of a body of knowledge, not only the preparation for a career, but in the guided growth of young women and men as intellectual, social, moral and physical beings. Such an experience will allow them to answer challenges and grasp opportunities as yet unimagined—in their professional careers, in their community service, and in all aspects of their rich and fulfilling lives. Guided by such a concept, we build this experience on four principles: Being a place of high opportunity that is devoted to nurturing high achievement among students from all backgrounds. Investing in high quality by recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff and by encouraging and supporting innovation in the teaching and learning experience. Maintaining and enhancing a living and learning environment that empowers that experience. Creating a stronger financial base for the College by building an even stronger culture of philanthropy. Several months ago, the senior administration and the board of trustees began intensive planning for a concentrated fundraising effort to allow us to act on these four principles with even greater ambition and effectiveness. The Board authorized the commencement of a “quiet” phase of this effort, in which leadership commitments were secured—including an extraordinary

commitment of $20 million, by far the largest single commitment in the College’s history. The Board then established a goal of $75 million for this campaign—$50 million in new current commitments and $25 million in new deferred gift commitments. The Board also authorized the administration to announce this campaign publicly upon reaching 60 percent of the goal—a more conservative benchmark than the 50 percent usual for such efforts. The Board set the tentative date for the public announcement for Homecoming 2019. I am very proud to report that, because of the generosity of many individuals, a generosity inspired by their confidence in the faculty, staff and students of the College, we reached that 60 percent benchmark—or $45 million—in mid-February. Thus, we were able to announce publicly Light This Candle—The Campaign for Monmouth College eight months ahead of schedule. The title of the Campaign has two inspirations. Alan Shepard, the first American in space, told Mission Control to launch his rocket by declaring, “Light this candle!” But in addition to Alan Shepard’s call to innovation and adventure, “light this candle” has another meaning, one deeply rooted in the tradition of Monmouth College. “A flame of white and crimson” has lighted the way for generations of young people for more than 160 years. Through the vision, courage and generosity of the Monmouth Family, that flame will burn stronger and brighter. Most of all, through the young men and women whose paths will be illuminated by the Monmouth College experience, the world will be a better place. The College has accomplished much, but those accomplishments pale in comparison to what is now clearly within our reach. Let us capture the possibility in this moment, and pass on to those who will follow us an institution of even greater impact in the lives of young people, and the nation and world they and we serve. Our ability to seize this moment—to place Monmouth College on an irreversible path to greater levels of service, strength and acclaim—lies in our hands. To paraphrase our alma mater, let the devotion of thousands of hearts speak now and for generations to come—let the flame of white and crimson burn forever brighter. Lobie and I, and all of us on the campus, thank you for all that you have done and for all that you will do. My Best,

Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt President

SPRING 2019

CAMPUS NEWS

Home health-care entrepreneur to address senior class in May

ntrepreneur Ron Gold will give Monmouth College’s 2019 Commencement address. Monmouth’s 162nd Commencement will be at noon on May 12 on Wallace Hall Plaza.

Gold is the founder of LeanOnWe, an innovative organization designed to make quality home care accessible to more Americans. Gold founded LeanOnWe shortly after he was paralyzed while in a bicycle accident. Near the end of a routine, 50-mile ride in 2011 in northern New Jersey, a sleeping driver in an SUV struck Gold head-on without braking. The accident, which nearly cost Gold his life, left him paralyzed and in need of home care every day. When Gold and his wife, Betsy, experienced problems finding reliable, affordable private caregivers, he knew

there had to be a better way. So, he started LeanOnWe with a focus on delivering a better home care experience at a more affordable price. Caregivers in the LeanOnWe network provide private, non-medical home care on a part-time, full-time, or live-in basis. Assignments can be short-term or long-term. Before starting LeanOnWe, Gold had a 25-year career in international equity markets, working for both Lehman Brothers and Barclays. Gold holds dual degrees from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s College of Arts and Science, and a master’s degree in business from Columbia University. He serves on the boards of several civic and non-profit organizations.

Alternative Spring Break nets 28,000 pounds of garbage

Monmouth’s Stockdale Fellows pose in Memphis with the mountain of trash they retrieved from McKellar Lake.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

or many college students, spring break is a time for relaxing by the water, but that was far from the case for 29 Monmouth students, who spent their recent break removing 28,444 pounds of trash from the

water. The students, who are members of Monmouth’s prestigious Stockdale Fellows leadership and enrichment program, traveled to Memphis, where their Alternative Spring Break group joined the Living Lands and Waters team to help clean up the McKellar Lake area of the Mississippi River. Founded by environmentalist Chad Pegracke, Living Lands and Waters has set as its 2019 goal removing one millon pounds of trash from the river by the end of the current season. In unspringlike Tennessee temperatures of just above freezing, the Monmouth group worked from around 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Monday through Thursday of spring break. Most of the students’ time was spent on jon boats, removing bottles and other trash from McKellar Lake. They also removed invasive species such as privet, a shrub-like plant. “It was heartbreaking to see all that trash in the water,” said Shannon Wilbourne ’22. “Fixing the problem requires the continued efforts of organizations like Living Lands and Waters to raise awareness and provide opportunities to affect change, but it also demands our everyday participation. We must be intentional with how we dispose of trash and remember that no action is inconsequential.” “I was sobered and disappointed by the trash in the water, but not necessarily surprised,” said Grant Miller ’22. “Environmental issues are huge today, and solving a problem like this completely is likely impossible. But rather than be disappointed by our inability to control these virtually unsolvable problems, communities should do what they can to control as many environmental issues as they can, because the problem does not need to be fully solved for our societies to live in a cleaner, safer world.”

CAMPUS NEWS

PROFESSORSHIP HONORS BOONE A new Monmouth College endowed professorship honoring a legendary faculty member will help prepare students to excel in a data-driven world. “The Commander G.E. Boone Endowed Professorship in the Computational Sciences will honor a life lived in pursuit of knowledge and beauty,” said Mark Kopinski ’79, who established the professorship with his wife, Deborah Kopinski. “It also encourages innovation within the curriculum by supporting faculty within fields of growing interest and importance.” Kopinski, who is chairman of the Monmouth College board of trustees, said the professorship may be awarded to faculty members in mathematics, computer science, data science and statistics, in support of the College’s interdisciplinary innovation in these areas. Monmouth recently launched new majors in data science, engineering and neuroscience. The professorship provides enabling funds to BY THE NUMBERS support research in the faculty NOVEMBER-FEBRUARY member’s area of interest. The professorship honors the life and teaching of U.S. Navy Commander and former Monmouth faculty member AVG. TEMP. (F) Gilbert E. Boone. “Gib,” as he was known to his friends, trained as an architect and served in both World War II and the Korean War. His career culminated at the INCHES OF SNOW beginning of the Cold War, when he helped train Japanese selfdefense personnel in the methods of intelligence gathering. During his work in Japan, POUNDS OF SALT Boone and his wife, Katharine Phelps Boone ’30, began a museum-quality collection of historical East Asian artifacts. After they returned to Katharine’s native Monmouth in EXTRA WORK HOURS 1960, they developed a teaching curriculum for the College’s East Asian Studies program in 1963. The Boones held seminars in their home library, often drawing OVERTIME PAY upon the collection of artifacts.

WINTER 2018-19

21 36.6 97K 340 $10K

Soccer or Stanislavski?

wo of the cast members in Monmouth College’s winter production of The Wolves made their stage debut, but neither was new to performing in front of a live audience. Hannah Lingle ’19 and Brie Stumbo ’22 are both members of the Fighting Scots women’s soccer team. That made them very familiar with the premise of Pulitzer Prize-finalist Sarah DeLappe’s debut play, which focuses on the dialogue among nine teenage soccer players. “My soccer experience helped, because I didn’t have to remember how to pass a ball,” said Lingle of the action sequences in the play, of which there are many. “The other cast members had to remember their lines and remember their soccer movements.” Stumbo (left) and Lingle practice In that sense, Stumbo and Lingle their moves on stage. were the veterans of the cast. “It’s been fun to watch the other girls and see their skills improve,” Stumbo said during rehearsals. “We try to help them a little bit.”

HLC renews accreditation After completion of a comprehensive three-year selfstudy and a focused visit last October, the Higher Learning Commission in March reaffirmed Monmouth College’s accreditation for a 10-year period. Included in the commission’s report was a recommendation that Monmouth retain its “Open Pathway” status, granted to stronger institutions, that allows them “the independence to pursue improvement projects that are geared toward their current needs and aspirations,” according to Associate Dean Frank Gersich, who chaired the College’s steering committee. The HLC visiting team made only one recommendation— that Monmouth report on its progress and peformance on program review and a college-wide assessment program. That is “an expected and welcome recommendation,” said President Clarence R. Wyatt, “for it provides impetus for us to accelerate and expand a process that was already underway.” The progress report will be issued in 2022-23. “While the HLC review process addresses specific issues and criteria,” Wyatt said, “its ultimate goal is to reaffirm a college community’s dedication and ability to provide a high quality educational experience to its students. The visiting team saw that clearly, and now it has again been recognized by the HLC itself.”

SPRING 2019

Drawing on DNA MARK WILLHARDT

BRINGS DEEP FAMILY ROOTS TO TOP ACADEMIC POST By DUANE BONIFER

onmouth College has played a big role in Mark Willhardt’s professional development and his

family. It’s where his parents met, where his father spent a distinguished academic career and where he has spent the last two decades mentoring students as an English professor.

Now Willhardt has been given a new opportunity to shape the College’s academic direction as dean and vice president of academic affairs. Willhardt, who has been an English professor at the College since 2000 and has served as interim dean since June, assumed the office full-time on March 1. “We attracted an outstanding national pool of candidates for this position, and Mark stood out because of his leadership skills and creative vision for the College’s academic programs,” said President Clarence R. Wyatt. “Mark’s knowledge of and commitment to the College is unquestioned. He has demonstrated leadership in a variety of faculty governance roles, and he has done an outstanding job in the interim role. Mark will help the College continue and accelerate its momentum.” Willhardt said this is a good time to be the College’s chief academic officer. “The College is moving in a singular direction—faculty, administration and trustees are working together to take this College to an exciting place,” he said. “We are supporting students across campus in various ways, whether that means building new ma-

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

A young Mark Willhardt poses with his father, Gary ’59, in 2000, when they were colleagues in the English Department.

jors, creating a new center or continuing to develop our athletic programs. We are building curricular and cocurricular elements that are moving this college forward.”

Building on Monmouth’s strengths

KENT KRIEGSHAUSER

Another reason it is a good time to be dean of the Monmouth faculty is because of development and innovation in academic programs. While interim dean, Willhardt played an essential part in the development and implementation of Monmouth’s new majors in data science, “This is a great engineering and neuroscience, college because and the Center for Social and Civic Change was launched it is a community while he was interim dean. “This College’s strength is that thinks through that we continue to develop a complex problems and curriculum that understands the traditions from which it challenges, develops grew, but it has also evolved into something new and new ideas, and different,” Willhardt said. eagerly moves ahead “Our disciplines have never been static, and that’s because while always keeping this institution supports students at the center departments evolving and encourages faculty to bring in of everything we do.” new courses and fresh ways to present their discipline. Evolution is not radical change, MARK WILLHARDT but rather it is slow growth in which something changes because of the environment it is in.” Willhardt said that academic departments “can be just like our faculty, who constantly evaluate their work and try to do better.” “Departments should evaluate the things they do great, and then ask questions about how to improve other areas,” he said. “A dean’s role is to help foster those discussions when necessary, help find the resources to support them, and also connect them to other departments who are having similar conversations and eager to have new developments.” Monmouth’s outstanding faculty members are distinguished for offering students myriad research opportunities from the moment they arrive on campus, as well as serving as excellent academic advisers and career mentors. “Advising has been one of the strengths of Monmouth’s faculty for a very long time,” Willhardt said. “Our professors do more than simply teach students or guide them through undergraduate research. They also become lifelong mentors who our alumni

return to time and time again for professional advice and counsel. And as our student body continues to change and bring new demands upon advising, it will continue to evolve as we examine how we do it.” Informing faculty, both about the College and the changing landscape of higher education, is another responsibility of the dean’s office. “The dean is in a position to help faculty understand some of the other conversations going on at other campuses and at the senior staff level,” he said. “That helps faculty understand how their work fits within the broader context of the College and within academe.”

Growing up in Monmouth Willhardt holds a bachelor’s degree from Macalester (Minn.) College, and a master’s degree and a doctorate from Rutgers University. He grew up in Monmouth, the son of Professor Emeritus of English Gary Willhardt ’59 and the late Jan Miller Willhardt ’60. “With Mom’s and Dad’s history at the College, my connection with Monmouth goes beyond a job—it’s been the family business for a very long time,” he said. Willhardt said that the synergy that has been developed at the College over the years has helped Monmouth position itself as a college that is not hesitant to change or embrace innovation. “My connections are generational and also from growing up in this community,” he said. “This is a great college because it is a community that thinks through complex problems and challenges, develops new ideas, and eagerly moves ahead while always keeping students at the center of everything we do.” As the global knowledge economy continues to put a premium on college graduates who can think critically, communicate and write clearly, and lead diverse groups of people, Willhardt said a liberal arts education is more relevant than ever. “My colleague (English professor) Craig Watson has long characterized liberal arts students as ‘talented amateurs,’” he said. “That’s my favorite description about what we do at Monmouth College. All of us profess a discipline and operate within certain fields of study, but the truth is outside that one area, we are all talented amateurs. We have an interest in the world around us. And what Monmouth should do is foster students to be talented amateurs—smart enough to know what you don’t know, then go out and discover it because the world is a fascinating place. Monmouth College is a community of people who want to be better and better talented amateurs.” SPRING 2019

FROM ‘THE MANOR’ BORN DISTINGUISHED COLLEGE PROPERTY BEGINS NEW INCARNATION AS

BONDURANT ALUMNI HOUSE

By Jeff Rankin, Editor

Alumni House donor Shaddock poses by the sign bearing her name as a student.

hile grand old homes typically have a vast array of residents over the generations, it’s likely that no Monmouth house has seen more occupancy changes than a stately red brick house at 701 East Broadway. Known for decades as “The Manor,” the property has served as a family residence, a home for Monmouth College presidents, a fraternity house, an office building, a family residence again, and a guest house. Last fall, the building began an exciting new chapter, as the Bonnie Bondurant Alumni House. The gift of trustee emerita Bonnie Bondurant Shaddock ’54, the house was initially presented to the College by Shaddock and her late husband, Shad, in 2006 to be used as a guest house for visiting dignitaries, alumni and prospective faculty and staff. When the Office of Alumni Programs was searching for new quarters on campus in 2018, she graciously agreed to convert the house into a space that would house offices for the department while also serving as a welcome center for alumni. Located across the street from the admission building, the house provides a convenient access point for staff to interact with and serve alumni, especially during major events such as Homecom-

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

ing and the Golden Scots Celebration. Its spacious living room and kitchen are comfortably equipped for hosting receptions. A notable example of American Foursquare architecture, the home was constructed in 1902 by the superintendent of a local plow manufacturing company, but for much of its life it was the residence of Monmouth’s prominent Pattee family. Purchased by the College in 1949 to serve as the residence of President and Mrs. James Harper Grier, it was officially dubbed “The Manor.” President and Mrs. Robert W. Gibson lived there from 1952 until his retirement in 1964. One of the most memorable guests during Gibson’s presidency was actress Agnes Moorhead, who performed at the College’s Liberal Arts Festival in April 1959. A requirement of Moorhead’s contract was a private bathroom adjoining her bedroom. No such accommodation existed in The Manor, so the college physical plant staff hurriedly converted a bedroom closet into a bathroom. Thereafter, the former closet was lovingly known as “The Moorhead Head.” In 1965, when President Duncan Wimpress moved into the newly acquired Quinby House, The Manor was converted into a home for senior women. In 1968, it became home to a local fraternity chapter, Phi Epsilon Phi, which the following year obtained a national charter with Zeta Beta Tau. When The Manor became vacant in 1975, it was rented to Professor Rod Lemon ’63 and his wife, Hallie Simpson Lemon ’63 . In 1980, the college relations office moved in and remained there until 1996, when the renovation of

Carnegie Library into Poling Hall opened up new office space. Richard Valentine, Monmouth’s then vice president for external relations, and his wife, Lorna ’97, purchased the property and converted it back to a private residence.

LEFT: The living room provides a comfortable atmosphere for receptions and discussions.

BELOW: An elegant leaded glass window graces the stairwell.

ABOVE: A well-equipped kitchen doubles as a food preparation and serving area.

RIGHT: One of the spacious secondfloor offices.

LEFT: The Alumni House’s airy floorplan offers visibility and a welcoming atmosphere for entering guests.

SPRING 2019

STUDENT LIFE

Moot Court challenges young legal minds By Duane Bonifer

onmouth College student Hadley Smithhisler ’20 still has more than a year before she can begin law school. But judging by her success in the College’s Moot Court competition, she’s well on her way toward a successful career in law.

“The whole process felt a lot calmer this year. I didn’t have to deal with that blind panic of not knowing what the process was like.” TWO-TIME COMPETITION WINNER SMITHHISLER WITH RETIRED JUDGE GREG McCLINTOCK.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Smithhisler was named Top Advocate in the College’s eighth annual Moot Court competition in November. It’s the second consecutive year she’s received the honor. A total of 14 Monmouth students participated in the competition, sponsored by the Political Science Department and the Wackerle Career & Leadership Center. The preliminary round was held in the Center for Science and Business and judged by a group of legal professionals, including alumni Dan Cotter ’88, Brad Nahrstadt ’89 and Kate Cross ’08. Four students advanced to the final round, which was held the following week in the Morgan Room of Poling Hall and judged by a three-member panel consisting of retired circuit judge Greg McClintock, Monmouth psychology professor Tara McCoy and then-Interim Dean of the Faculty Mark Willhardt. The students argued over the topic of whether a baker had a constitutional right to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Smithhisler said she felt “a lot more comfortable this year.” “The whole process felt a lot calmer this year,” said the history and French major. “I didn’t have to deal with that

blind panic of not knowing what the process was like. So I felt a lot more comfortable, and I felt more comfortable with the case and the facts of the case this time around.” Also qualifying for the final round were Joe Doner ’21, Mackenzi Lafferty ’19 and Kaniesha Whatley ’20. In addition to developing a better grasp of legal terms, Smithhisler said she also learned this time around to have more faith in her own knowledge of the case. “I’m more comfortable with trusting myself more, rather than just memorizing an outline of facts,” she said. “I’m a lot better about just knowing the facts and trusting that I know the facts so that I can dole them out as necessary as I get questions thrown at me.” Doner, who also competed in the final round for the second consecutive year, said Moot Court has improved his public speaking as well as his knowledge of the law. “Even though I dread it, I enjoy being up on the podium and arguing my position, because up there you are able to lay out your argument, interact with the judges, and either make yourself look really good or really bad depending on how things go.” Whatley, who competed in the

ABOVE: Fourteen students and four judges participated in the opening round. Front Row (from left): Kate Cross ’08 (judge), Anna Brown ’20, Kaniesha Whatley ’20, Elizabeth Morales ’22, Emma Hildebrand ’20, Frida Gonzalez ’21, Mackenzi Lafferty ’19 and Debby Nahrstadt (judge). Back Row: Daniel Cotter ’88 (judge), Sean Young ’20, Tyler Buchanan ’20, Matt Datlof ’22, Grant Miller ’22, Hadley Smithhisler ’20, Joe Doner ’21, David Keyearts ’22 and Brad Nahrstadt ’89 (judge). Not pictured: Billy Savage ’19.

ABOVE: Political science professor Andre Audette (left) goes over notes with the team of Anna Brown and David Keyearts, who competed as petitioners in Round 1 of the preliminary competition.

LEFT: Joe Doner argues a point in front of the three-judge panel in the final round.

final round for the first time, said the competition helped her develop public speaking skills, as well as appreciate the nuances and subtitles of a legal argument. “In society we tend to think about these issues as black or white, but I learned through this competition that there are a lot of facts to consider and implications

that have a lot of gray lines,” she said. Lafferty, who was named Top Advocate in 2015, said participating all four years “has definitely helped me articulate my professional goals.” She originally planned to attend law school, but now wants to attend graduate school to study international economics and work with international trade. She’s also

become friends with the legal professionals who judge the event. “I’ve loved the opportunity,” she said. “When we finished this year’s preliminary rounds, it was a little bittersweet to tell the attorneys who judged that round that this was my last year. It’s nice to know that I have that connection with alumni now.”

SPRING 2019

ACADEMICS

Esther Hubbard ’20 is a member of four-woman research team developing methods for measuring nitrogen concentrations in plants.

THE PHYSICS OF AGRICULTURE By Barry McNamara

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

wo years into her study of chemistry at Monmouth College, Esther Hubbard ’20

made an important discovery—she wanted to learn more about physics. So Hubbard added physics to her existing majors of chemistry and mathematics (her self-described “fun” major). She is in the midst of two nuclear physics research projects, both under the direction of Professor Chris Fasano. One is part of Fasano’s ongoing lightning research, trying to determine what types of reactions are happening to cause the radiation that’s been detected in lightning. The other is an interdisciplinary project, merging nuclear physics with agriculture. “It’s a beautiful project,” said Fasano. “It combines physics and chemistry and engineering and biology. It could even be a good data science project in time.”

Hubbard said she enjoys the project’s interdisciplinary nature. “We’re talking to almost everybody here,” Hubbard said of the College’s Center for Science and Business. “We’ve talked to the biology department, we’ve talked to the chemistry department. It’s been very interdisciplinary.” Fasano said the agriculture project is very timely, as “modern farmers want to optimize nitrogen application to produce the best yields but also do that in an environmentally friendly way.” “Nitrogen is found in fertilizers, and scientists and farmers are interested in how much of that nitrogen is getting into plants, getting into the soil,” said Hubbard. “Through a chemical method—mass spectrometry—we can track that, but it’s an expensive method. We’re trying to create a simpler method through nuclear physics, using nitrogen with one extra neutron (15N), which acts as a tracer in the plants.” Fasano, who has connections with the Midwest Big Data Hub, funded by the National Science Foundation, called the project part of his department’s attempt to solve problems through solutions that are “better, faster, cheaper.” “We’re not trying to design the perfect experiment,” he said. “Perfect is the enemy of good. We’re trying to get possible solutions up and running and just see what you have. These are ideas that students are really learning here, and Esther is really good at it. She’s organized in her thinking and very structured. It takes a kind of creativity to do this, and Esther has a knack for it.” Hubbard was part of a group of students who discussed the project last fall at the National FFA Convention & Expo, held in Indianapolis. The invitation was issued by former vice president for development and college relations Molly Ball, who is now president of the National FFA Foundation. “I let our students—both our nuclear ag group and our digital ag group—do the talking,” said Fasano. “I just made sure I was going out and getting them coffee to keep them going.” The digital ag group, which like the nuclear ag group has four student researchers, is focusing its efforts on using drones to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Monmouth trustees Gary Melvin and Nancy Speer Engquist ’74 have generously supported the project, which currently has three drones and will be surveying local fields this summer. That research will be augmented by a $5,000 mini-grant Fasano obtained from the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University to support a summer research student and

purchase an additional drone. “Our students are using 3D printers to build sensor packages and circuits that will be suspended from the drones,” Fasano said. A resident of Sandy, Ore., Hubbard was drawn halfway across the country to Monmouth by its water polo program and by ample opportunities in the sciences, including the potential of a 3:2 engineering program. “I interviewed for a Doc Kieft Scholarship, and I asked a lot of questions,” Hubbard said of her campus visit. “I really liked the huge professor-student relationships I heard about, and I also noticed how the College really wants to set you up for the next step in your life. Plus, as I visited the labs, I could see there were huge research opportunities here.” A summer research opportunity altered Hubbard’s course in the sciences. Last year, she was one of just 24 students in the nation selected to attend an American Chemical Society Nuclear Chemistry Summer School session. Hubbard was joined by 11 other students in the program at San Jose State University, while another dozen students attended the session at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. (which Monmouth graduate Carley Folluo ’17 attended in 2016). “All you learn is nuclear physics,” Hubbard said of the intensive, six-week, for-credit program. “It gives you a good idea of what graduate school is like.” In California, the students were exposed to many opportunities, including visits to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as a series of outstanding guest lecturers. As she soaked in all the prestigious summer school had to offer, Hubbard had a recurring thought: “I wish I knew more physics.” She is now doing just that, both in and out of the classroom. In addition to traveling to Indianapolis, she and Bridgette Davey ’19 recently attended a regional Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Northwestern University. Last fall, Hubbard traveled to the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physical Sciences at the University of Nebraska. Looking ahead, Hubbard said graduate school is “definitely in my plans. I’d like to pursue something that uses both chemistry and physics. Pursuing nuclear physics or nuclear chemistry would be a way to do that with a narrower focus, while pursuing materials science would be a broader option.”

We’ve talked to the biology department, we’ve talked to the chemistry department. It’s been very interdisciplinary.”

SPRING 2019

ACADEMICS

GOING VIRAL Monmouth students contribute to helping understand mysterious phage organism

BY BARRY MCNAMARA

onmouth College students continue to contribute to a “tremendous resource to the scientific community” by helping unlock mysteries about a virus. Phage are viruses that infect bacteria, and they “are everywhere that bacteria are found,” said Monmouth biology professor Eric Engstrom, who is working with Monmouth students on learning more about phage, along with department colleagues Tim Tibbetts and James Godde. During the fall semester, students isolated phage, finding it on campus near Fulton Hall and at the College’s LeSuer Nature Preserve. Once the phage was isolated from the mixture of soil, bacteria and other phages, phage was grown to a sufficient titer, which is the number of phage in a potential unit. That growth allowed for an exciting next step, as four samples have been genetically sequenced. The students also have “some fantastic images” of the samples through the University of Iowa’s imaging facility. Monmouth samples in national database “They’re in there—they’re archived,” said Engstrom of the samples in the Actinobacteriophage Database at PhagesDB.org, an interactive site that collects and shares information related to the discovery, characterization and genomics of phages that infect bacterial hosts. “It’s a very high-quality database that continues to improve with more annotation. It’s a tremendous resource to the scientific community.” Monmouth students aren’t the only undergraduates sending samples to the database. Administered by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES), is a nationwide discovery-based undergraduate research initiative. Other schools participating range from community colleges to large research institutions such as Johns Hopkins University.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

“They’re fascinating things, but we don’t know how to think about phage,” said Engstrom. “We’re trying to broaden our understanding. Most of its genes, we have no idea what they do. This opens up a lot of questions, such as are they phage-specific? We just don’t know until we have lots of samples.” Research was conducted in the 1950s on using phage to treat infection, but that information was pushed to the back burner because of the rise of antibiotics. Phage has become relevant again because some diseases, such as tuberculosis, are resisting antibiotics. “We’re becoming interested in this again,” Engstrom said last fall. “We let it rust. Can we clean it up and put it back to use?” This spring’s lab work Students who hunted phage during an introductory laboratory course in the fall are now working on “annotating” their samples, a process Engstrom said could take from six weeks to the entire spring semester. Although a computer, known as the Phamerator, can do gene annotation, Engstrom said humans have an advantage. “Computers can do a crude job, but it’s not good

They’re fascinating things, but we don’t know how to think about phage.” BIOLOGY PROFESSOR ERIC ENGSTROM

Professor Eric Engstrom assists students in Monmouth’s phage lab.

enough,” he said. “The process really requires human eyes, a human brain. ... The better we get at this, we can fix the errors. We’re a part of that process here in our lab.” Within the process, Engstrom said three questions are posed: “Is there a gene here? Where does the gene start? Where it ends is easy to discern, but the start can be very ambiguous. And what does the gene do—are there assignable functions?” He said those questions open up fascinating science. “For many of the genes, the functions are unknown. It gives us new things to figure out.” The students are working in groups of three on the annotation process. The first few labs of the semester have served as a review, as well as an introduction to Phamerator and other software. Looking ahead

Microscopic photograph of a phage sample discovered at Monmouth College’s LeSuer Nature Preserve.

When the annotation process is complete, Monmouth students will be listed as “authors for each GenBank entry,” said Engstrom. Produced and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the GenBank sequence database is an open-access, annotated collection of all publicly available nucleotide sequences and their protein translations. Two Monmouth students will be selected to attend the 12th annual meeting of SEA-PHAGES in June at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus near Ashburn, Va. Engstrom expects about 20 members of next fall’s incoming freshman class to participate in the next phage-hunting lab. He said it’s possible that in years to come, the phage lab will be the default biology lab for all incoming students, “but we’re not there yet.” “The very first thing they encounter is real, functional science,” Engstrom said of freshman students working in the phage lab. “This is an authentic research lab. It’s different from the typical lab experience. We’re getting new knowledge and learning about the world.”

SPRING 2019

NEWSMAKERS LECTURE FOUNDER SIENKEWICZ SPEAKS

GRISSOM, RANKIN WIN THEATRE HONORS

Tom Sienkewicz, professor of classics emeritus, delivered the 2019 Fox Classics Lecture in February. Sienkewicz, who retired in 2017, founded the lecture series in 1985 to honor his former colleague, the late Bernice L. Fox, who taught English, Latin and Greek at Monmouth from 1947-81. Fox gave the inaugural lecture SIENKEWICZ and for many subsequent years, Sienkewicz invited her former students and colleagues to be the featured speaker. Sienkewicz is currently secretary-treasurer of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South and business manager of The Classical Journal.

Amanda Grissom ’19 won the Best Director Award for the 10-Minute Play Festival at the Region 3 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival held in January in Madison, Wis. Theatre professor Doug Rankin ’79 was honored with the 2019 Region 3 Faculty Service Award of Illinois for his many years of service to KCACTF. Before winning her event, GRISSOM Grissom first had to be selected to be a participant in the competition. Only six directors were chosen from RANKIN the five-state region. Grissom, who participated in several festival events, was one of five Monmouth students nominated for Irene Ryan Acting Awards who competed at the festival. Others were Amelia Chavez ’21, Terry Harris ’19, Noah Harshbarger ’21 and Miles Rose ’19.

GREEK LEADERS ATTEND CONFERENCE Emily Krueger ’21 and Mollie Paisley ’21 attended the National Panhellenic Conference Academy, held in January in Indianapolis. Because of their Greek affiliations at Monmouth, the two enjoyed a kind of celebrity status. A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Krueger is presiKRUEGER (left) dent of the College’s Panhellenic Council, and PAISLEY while Paisley, a member of Pi Beta Phi, is vice president of finance. Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma, both founded at Monmouth, are known internationally as the Monmouth Duo. Krueger said the conference “was enriched with discussions, speakers and resources to use for bettering our Panhellenic and overall Greek life communities on campus.”

RULE, MAURER RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS Kaitlyn Rule ’18 and Ashley Maurer ’19, both members of Alpha Xi Delta, were awarded scholarships from the Order of Omega, a national organization that recognizes outstanding leadership in the fraternity and sorority community on college campuses. Rule, who graduated in December, served as RULE the alumnae and family relations chair for Alpha Xi Delta, was president of the student group People of Change, and was secretary of the Order of Omega. Maurer, who is currently president of Monmouth’s chapter of the Order of Omega, also serves as the ritual MAURER and heritage director for Alpha Xi Delta.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

THORNDIKE ARTICLE PUBLISHED Jennifer Thorndike , assistant professor of modern languages, literatures and cultures, recently had an article published in Paradoxa Journal. Titled “Commercial Transactions with Sick Bodies, Unborn and Neomorts in the Era of Biopolitics,” the article analyzes how the individual deprived of value THORNDIKE for productive activity is reinserted into the market through alternative forms of production in the novel Fruta Podrida by Lina Meruane. It is Thorndike’s fifth published article related to her research, which is the representation of illness, health and medicine in Latin American literature.

TRUMPETER QUALIFIES FOR NATIONALS Nick Thomas ’21 qualified to compete at the National Trumpet Competition March 15-16 in Lexington, Ky. One of 64 college trumpeters to advance to the prestigious event, his selection comes a year after his first attempt fell short. Last fall, Thomas submitted a video of a performance of a challenging trumpet and THOMAS flugelhorn piece called “Nightsongs” by Richard Peaslee. In the performance, Thomas switches between the two instruments. He is a member of the College’s Monmouth Winds and Jazz Ensemble.

BOOKS

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS Attorney seeks to lift shroud of mystery from Supreme Court by chronicling the lives and times of its influential leaders

ince the establishment of the Supreme Court in 1789, only 17 men have held the chief justice position. The first three held the position for a total of 11 years, while the next two—John Marshall and Roger Taney—held the position for the next 63 years. The Chief Justices takes an in-depth look at the powerful top court post, including its origins and duties, and explores the court under each of the 17 chiefs. “I wrote it mostly as a civics educational project,” said Cotter, who stressed that the book is not intended to serve as a textbook or scholarly work. “It’s something that has fascinated me since my law school days. We learn very little about the lives of the justices and the inner workings of the court in law school.” Cotter said one example of how the Supreme Court is misunderstood by the public happened in 2012 when Chief Justice John Roberts issued his opinion on the Affordable Care Act. In a rush to report the decision, reporters from CNN and Fox News mistakenly announced that the ACA had been overturned. Cotter said the error occurred because the reporters were not familiar with the idiosyncracies of how Supreme Court decisions are written. Drawing on his personal library of more than 200 books about the Court, past columns for the Daily Law Bulletin and original sources such as personal letters, Cotter explores the chief justices’ early lives and careers and discusses the cultural times that gave rise to their appointments and temperaments. Also included is background on some key associate justices who sat with each of the chiefs. Each chapter

THE CHIEF JUSTICES: The Seventeen Men at the Center Seat, Their Courts, and Their Times Twelve Tables Press Paperback, 484 pages $26.95

also focuses on some key decisions of the Chief Justice’s courts, including Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson and Roe v. Wade. Cotter began writing the book in the fall of 2017 after securing a contract with Twelve Tables Press, a small Manhattan publisher founded to celebrate individuals in law who have made a mark on society or helped shape the U.S. legal system. As his deadline approached, most of his weekends were consumed with writing and documenting sources. At the back of the book, Cotter ranks the chief justices prior to John Roberts. His top three picks are John Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes and Earl Warren. The Chief Justices is available for purchase at Amazon.com, beginning April 19.

Daniel A. Cotter ’88 is a partner at Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC in Chicago. An expert on corporate law and litigation, he is past president of the Chicago Bar Association, is an adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School and writes a column for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. He has been a member of the Monmouth College Board of Trustees since 2009.

SPRING 2019

“This is a watershed moment in the life of our College. Our ability to seize this moment — to place Monmouth College on an irreversible path to greater levels of service, strength and acclaim — lies in our hands. Let the devotion of thousands of hearts speak now and for generations to come. Let the flame of white and crimson burn forever brighter.”

— President Clarence R. Wyatt

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

ur national and global societies yearn for people empowered to lead us through these challenging times.

Chairman of the Board Mark Kopinski ’79 announces the Light This Candle campaign at a March 16 kickoff event in Chicago.

Monmouth College has not just the opportunity, not just the necessity, but the duty to lead. Monmouth is distinctively positioned to create a more intentional, purposeful and coordinated program of human development, and to ensure that this experience is responsive and available to a changing American and global society. This path represents the next stage in the evolution of the residential liberal arts experience.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE LAUNCHES $75 MILLION CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO BOOST ENDOWMENT flame of white and crimson” has lighted the way for generations of young people for more than 160 years. Through the vision, courage and generosity of the Monmouth Family, that flame will burn stronger and brighter. Most of all, through the young men and women whose paths will be illuminated by the Monmouth College experience, the world will be a better place. Through the Light This Candle campaign, which was officially launched March 15-16, Monmouth will continue to build its endowment by raising a minimum of $75 million by December 31, 2022. The campaign was announced publicly more than seven months earlier than planned because a strong level of early support resulted in gifts and pledges of more than $45 million through the end of February. Most campaigns are not made public until they have secured at least 50 percent of their goal. The Light This Candle campaign will strengthen the College, now and for the long run, by focusing on four objectives: increase (Continued on page 21) SPRING 2019

LIG

THIS CA N T

IGN OBJEC

V TI

Student Financial Aid and Scholarships Monmouth has long made a challenging educational experience available to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. For Monmouth to remain a college of high opportunity and high achievement, bright and ambitious young people must be able to flourish without regard to their financial backgrounds and without asking them to shoulder overwhelmingly burdensome debt.

Faculty Support and Academic Innovation Faculty and staff are the sparks that light the candles of ambition, possibility, achievement and service within our students. They eagerly embrace their responsibility as mentors and role models, as well as teacher/scholars. A stronger endowment will enable Monmouth to continue to attract outstanding faculty and staff who understand that the residential liberal arts experience is focused on the growth of the whole person.

Living-Learning Environment Much of the power of the Monmouth Experience flows from its highly residential nature, where the teaching and learning experience is a round-the-clock, seven-days-a-week pursuit. Through an endowed Capital Improvements Fund, Monmouth will maintain and enhance a living-learning environment that mirrors and supports the College’s mission—the development of young men and women as intellectual, social, moral and physical beings.

A Culture of Philanthropy By creating an even more ambitious sense of the College’s possibilities, Monmouth can inspire even greater levels of generosity and commitment. An enhanced culture of philanthropy will increase annual giving—focusing on donors at the $1,000 and higher levels—and also add significantly to the College’s register of deferred and planned gifts, which helps guarantee a strong Monmouth College for future generations of Noble Scots.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

LIGHT THIS CANDLE

(Continued from page 19) student financial aid and scholarships, encourage academic innovations, enhance the living-learning environment, and expand the College’s culture of philanthropy. “This is a campaign about moving Monmouth to the next level,” said Mark Kopinski ’79, Monmouth College Board of Trustees chairman and campaign co-chairman. “This is a campaign that builds on the College’s strengths. It’s about supporting the institution to move it to the next level.” Kopinski’s predecessor as board chairman, Bill Goldsborough ’65 , said a college’s endowment is its “foundation” that can also serve as a springboard. “I was in the investment business for over 30 years, so I understand the importance of having a strong foundation to any institution,” said Goldsborough, who is also campaign co-chairman. “At Monmouth College, that foundation is our endowment. The larger our endowment is, not only will we survive, we will thrive.” Goldsborough said a healthier endowment is “critical for the College’s future” because it will allow Monmouth to take care of more student needs. “The endowment will support student scholarships and financial aid,” he said. “It will help hire and retain good faculty. It’s important for our physical plant to be as up-to-date and as modern as possible. The endowment will take care of all these needs of the College. It’s critical for the College’s future.” When Goldsborough looks to the long-term impact of the Light This Candle campaign, he also sees a distant horizon that must be addressed in the present. “One of the things that we have to remember is the board of trustees is responsible not only for today’s College, but the Monmouth College of the future—the Monmouth College of 2050,” he said. “There are no advocates for that college, except the members of the board of trustees. The way we’re going to be successful in the year 2050 is to continue to grow and make the endowment work for the College’s advantages in terms of student financial aid,

in terms of academic support, in terms of taking care of our physical plant.”

STOCKING THE BOX OF POSSIBILITIES Whether it’s for a Monmouth student coming to campus next year, or for one who’s not yet been born, a stronger endowment will open more possibilities for them at the College. Kopinski spoke to those possibilities when he reflected on his own undergraduate experiences at Monmouth in the 1970s. “There is a huge box that you open up, and when you open that up and you reach inside, there are so many different things that you can touch and do, and eventually achieve your potential as a human being,” he said. “And that involves learning different things. When I was a Monmouth student, I had the chance to do a lot of things, including be a radio disc jockey. Now I have an affinity for radio because of that experience at Monmouth. It wasn’t an epic experience that changed my life goals, but it was a diversifier that broadened me, and I had such a great time doing it.” About two decades later, Kunal Kapoor ’97 was a Monmouth student. Now the chief executive officer of Morningstar Inc., Kapoor constantly appreciates that “box” of opportunities he opened at the College. “Coming from a small school, I learned the importance of sticking with things, the importance of being open to trying different things,” he said. “So when I came to Morningstar and people said, ‘You should do something outside your comfort zone,’ the decision for me was less about stepping outside my comfort zone, because Monmouth had taught me how to do that. Instead, the question for me was, ‘Does that interest me? And how can I make that interesting?’” Kapoor recalled taking an art history class that was far outside his comfort zone. “When I look at my career and things I’ve been able to do, as well as the impact that I’ve been able to have, I think it’s often because at Monmouth, the answers were not always handed to me, and I was put in uncomfortable situations,” he said. “I was put in an art history class, and I came out of it with a new appreciation for art history. That experience gave me a perspective that I otherwise would not have. I think in life, as

When I look at my career and things I’ve been able to do, as well as the impact that I’ve been able to have, I think it’s often because at Monmouth, the answers were not always handed to me.”

KUNAL KAPOOR ’97

SPRING 2019

LIGHT THIS CANDLE

Funding a student scholarship can allow a student to be open to possibilities that they may never have had before. That’s such a strong gift that you can give to a student.”

DR. JEAN PETERS WITTY ’88

in business, you need to have different perspectives, because there are different paths to success.” To describe Monmouth’s many opportunities and the willingness to try some of them, Kapoor reduced it to one word: “flexible.” “It’s funny, I’ve done a lot of things in my career, a lot of things I didn’t really imagine I’d be doing,” he said. “I probably along the way never ascribed it to the fact that I had comfort in a system that allowed for that kind of exploration, and I had done that in college. But I think my whole upbringing and education prepared me to be flexible in that way, and flexibility is a great way to build versatility, which in turn tends to build grit.”

FREEING THE POSSIBLE Dr. Jean Peters Witty ’88, who has been a trustee for almost two decades, has supported her alma mater over the years because of the transformational power of a college education. “My husband and I have been committed to donating to a student scholarship in the science field,” said Witty, who is a longtime high school science teacher. “One of the reasons why we’re so committed to that scholarship is because we see the lifelong commitment that it makes to a student. Not only are you giving them financial support right now, but you are helping them get opportunities at the next level of their education and then beyond.” Witty is especially excited about scholarships that enable students to travel down a path they might never have considered before coming to Monmouth. “Funding a scholarship allows a student to be open to possibilities that they may never have had before,” she said. “That’s such a powerful gift that you can give to a student.” Some of those scholarship recipients are the first members in their families to attend college, which not only changes that student’s life but an entire generation of that student’s family. “They have the ability to make good on the hopes and dreams that either they or their family members have had for them,” said Witty. “They’re able to take where they are in life and then extend their growth, extend their minds and develop that line of inquiry that they’re interested in. That’s something that is such a strength of this place —helping students realize their potential and then pushing them to go a little beyond what they thought was possible.”

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Maggie Bruckner ’20 and Jeren Stewart ’20, who serve as president and vice president, respectively, of the Associated Students of Monmouth College, said that makes Monmouth the perfect environment for students with big ideas. “We may be a small college,” said Bruckner. “However, we’re big in ideas, and there are are a lot of big problems out in the world that need some big changes. Society needs people who aren’t afraid to make changes, who aren’t afraid to go against the status quo, and who make sure that those big changes happen. Monmouth has prepared students like us to do that.” Stewart agreed. “I think ‘small but mighty’ is something that really captures Monmouth’s identity,” he said. “Just taking it back to the Bible with the story of David and Goliath, being small but being able to conquer anything that comes your way, I think that’s

LEFT: Jeren Stewart ’20 and Maggie Bruckner ’20 serve, respectively, as vice president and president of the Associated Students of Monmouth College.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

something that Monmouth encourages students to do. The world has those Goliath problems out there, and Monmouth College does a great job at training students like us to go out there and be David.” Stewart said that a more robust endowment will allow Monmouth to provide even greater resources to students, freeing them to think even more creatively. “Having those interpersonal relationships with faculty who always have the best interests of their students in mind, just building the relationship constantly and continually, helping students out from the second they get into the door, I think that’s something Monmouth does really well,” he said. “We have a great support system at Monmouth. I think a stronger endowment will help the College offer students even more support so that they can pursue some of their big ideas.”

A few generations back, MTV co-founder and Monmouth trustee Dwight Tierney ’69 was part of a team at the cable channel Nickelodeon that started a TV revolution. Tierney said for colleges to successfully serve this generation of students, they must create and maintain challenging academic programs and majors, introduce courses that are vibrant and exciting, and pay attention to new career opportunities. “Half of the jobs that our students are going to have don’t exist today, and we’ve got to anticipate where they’re going to be, and how they’re going to get there,” he said. “And there is no way in the world to do that unless you have an endowment that allows you the financial freedom to be able to go chase these things and design a college that is uniquely different by being able to talk about, ‘This is what’s happening in the future; this is how we’re prepared to make your son, your daughter ready for that.’ Without a healthy endowment, it is almost impossible to achieve.” In addition to ensuring that the cost of a college education remains within reach of working-class families, Kopinski said a healthy endowment benefits students in numerous other ways. “It can also help in the experience that the student has, whether that is a travel-abroad opportunity, a research opportunity at the school, a semester at another institution where they could do even more research—it all helps with diversifying the student experience,” he said.

Half of the jobs that our students are going to have don’t exist today, and we’ve got to anticipate where they’re going to be, and how they’re going to get there.”

‘ALL OF US HAVE PERSONAL BOARDS’ A stronger endowment will not only help Monmouth students, it also will benefit the faculty, who Kapoor said are the backbone of the College. “One of the most important concepts that I think a lot about is having my own personal board,” he said. “You have a formal board of directors when you work at a company, or you may have a board at the College that kind of oversees the operations, but I think all of us have person-

DWIGHT TIERNEY ’69

SPRING 2019

LIGHT THIS CANDLE

We’re developing collaborations with other institutions nearby, and a strong endowment helps us to be able to form those relationships and to pay for the students to be able to travel to those places to work on other research.”

PROFESSOR MARSHA DOPHEIDE

al boards. And Monmouth really filled out my personal board. If I look at the people that I look to for wisdom or insight, many of them were my professors at Monmouth, and here we are all these years later, and I would still trust them with decisions that I need to make and call them as sounding boards. And that’s important. It means that they impacted me in ways that you would expect educators to make an impact.” Tierney can also attest to the “personal board” he developed at Monmouth. One of the 1960s-era Monmouth professors on his board was Tom Fernandez . “I think he probably saved Monmouth for me,” said Tierney. “He had both the faith in me that I was more than I was showing, and he knew that he needed to be tough, not huggy, and he gave me a really hard time. And it worked, because he just questioned what I was doing with my free time. He questioned and challenged the people I was hanging around with. He made no bones about what he thought I could be. … He had this come-to-Jesus conversation with me that I’ve never forgotten. It pretty much changed the direction of my college experience, which changed the direction of my life, really.” Over a bottle of wine some 25 years later, Tierney discovered a little more about what drove Fernandez to reach out to him. “I learned that we came from very similar backgrounds, we had fathers who left and never showed up again, that kind of thing,” he said. “And he knew that about me, and I never connected it until we had that bottle of wine over dinner one night.” Today’s Monmouth includes professors who are also on their students’ “personal boards.” Psychology professor Marsha Dopheide certainly fits that description. “Speaking from my own personal experiences, I know as an undergraduate I was terrified to walk into a faculty member’s office,” she said. “But our students, they see that we have an open-door policy. If we’re in our office, the door is open, we want them to come in.” And her students frequently walk through the door. “It’s fun, because you get to know them on a more personal level,” said Dopheide. “But sometimes those conversations lead to more meaningful

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

conversations, where you can talk about how they’re doing in their classes or some of the concerns they might be having with their dorm-mate or maybe thinking about future career paths or the upcoming GRE (Graduate Record Exam) they have to take in order to get into graduate school. They know that we really do care about them and we want the best for them. When we say that, we’re not just talking about their performance in the classroom — we’re thinking about them holistically, and we want them to succeed in all aspects of their life. It’s definitely a closer-knit kind of relationship.” Dopheide said that a larger Monmouth endowment will benefit faculty in many ways. For example, it will help those faculty and students who are part of the College’s new neuroscience major, which she helped start and now coordinates. She said a stronger endowment will provide more opportunities for students and faculty in neuroscience and other sciences, such as creating more collaborations and hands-on work in medical facilities. “That type of experience would be good for neuroscience students who want to go into the medical field, nursing, occupational or physical therapy,” she said. “We’re developing collaborations with other institutions nearby, and a strong endowment helps us to be able to form those relationships and to pay for the students to be able to travel to those places to work on other research.” Witty says strengthening the College’s endowment has been a topic that she and several of her fellow board members have looked forward to addressing. Now that the Light This Candle campaign has been launched, she said the College is poised to make another historic move. “It’s always been a dream of mine to get to the conversation about the life of the College where we’re talking about growing our endowment,” she said. “Growing the endowment can only make our campus more robust, and it can help fill those vital functions that a lot of times students don’t ever see. When there are people who are willing, because of their blessings, to be gracious donors, there’s nothing more positive that I can think of that someone could do for the life of a campus than giving to the endowment. “A strong college endowment makes our campus go from a level of good to a level of great.”

CELEBRATING THE LIGHTING OF THE CAMPAIGN CANDLE at the campus kickoff were, from left: John Osterlund, vice president for development and college relations; the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott, chaplain; Maggie Bruckner ’20, president of ASMC; Gus Hart ’68, trustee; Joan Wertz, chair of Faculty Senate; First Lady Lobie Stone and President Clarence Wyatt.

THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS.

he candle is lit. Monmouth College officially kicked off the public phase of

its $75 million Light This Candle campaign on March 15 with a campus announcement ceremony in the Center for Science and Business. The following evening, the launch was celebrated with a gala celebration in Chicago.

For several months, the College has been in the “silent but not secret” stage of the campaign, which has a goal of supporting its endowment by securing $75 million in new current and deferred gift commitments by Dec. 31, 2022. In making the campus announcement before a crowd of faculty, staff, students and friends of the College, President Clarence Wyatt said the campaign is already running ahead of schedule. “It is common practice for campaigns such as this to make their public announcements upon reaching 50 percent of the goal,” he said. “However, we wanted to wait until reaching 60 percent—in this case, $45 million in gifts and commitments.”

Wyatt and other administrators and board members anticipated reaching that 60 percent level in the fall and making the official announcement at Homecoming in October. “But because of the great early response, we reached $45 million in February,” Wyatt told the crowd. “Thus, we are able to make this public announcement months ahead of schedule. We are able to do this because of our donors’ belief in each

A campus audience applauds the premiere showing of the campaign video.

(continued on page 26)

SPRING 2019

LIGHT THIS CANDLE

College leaders toast the announcement of Light This Candle at the Chicago launch party.

CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED Continued from page 25

of you and all that you accomplish each day.” Wyatt told the audience the campaign will support four objectives or “candles”: •Endowment for student financial aid and scholarships; •Endowment for faculty and staff support and academic innovation; •Endowment for facilities; •Increased annual giving and a larger register of deferred gift commitments. Each of those objectives was addressed by a speaker during the ceremony, including, respectively: Maggie Bruckner ’20, president of the Associated Students of Monmouth College; psychology professor Joan Wertz, chair of the Faculty Senate; College trustee Gus Hart ’68; and Mary Corrigan ’82, president of the Alumni Board. Wyatt said the current landscape in higher education is a challenging one, and “a great sorting-out will take place among American colleges and universi-

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

ties.” Institutions can react in different ways, choosing to “hunker down and hope to survive,” which can lead to a path of stagnation, or to “dramatically change” the identity of their institution. “Monmouth is distinctively positioned to define another path—creating a more intentional, purposeful and coordinated program of human development, and ensuring that this experience is responsive and available to a changing American and global society,” said Wyatt. “This path represents the next stage in the evolution of the residential liberal arts experience. In this time of dramatic change for higher education, Monmouth has not just the opportunity, not just the necessity, but the duty to lead.” Vice President for Development and College Relations John Osterlund used a quotation attributed to Abraham Lincoln to summarize that path, and the campaign’s role in achieving it. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” Opening the Chicago event, Chairman of the Board Mark Kopinski ’79

told the audience that the campaign represents “our opportunity, our necessity, and our duty to help Monmouth define this path by contributing our time, our talent and our treasure. ... Tonight we celebrate all that Monmouth College has accomplished. Even more, we resolve here tonight to ensure that Monmouth College will be an even greater force for good in the lives of young people, and through them, in the life of our nation and world, for generations to come.” Trustee Stan Pepper ’76, who chairs the campaign subcommittee for the Living and Learning Environment, spoke about the importance of Monmouth’s endowed Capital Improvements Fund, which allows for the maintenance and renovation of existing facilities, as well as the development of new ones. He said that growing the fund “will enable the College to plan its facililties to work in a more strategic and systematic way, and to serve the College’s mission even more effectively.” Dr. Carlos Smith ’90, representing the Development Committee of the Board of Trustees, spoke about the campaign objective titled “The Culture of Philanthropy.” He said that increasing the number of annual gifts in excess of $1,000, as well adding significantly to the College’s register of deferred and planned gifts, will “have a dramatic impact...in creating an even more ambitious sense of the College’s possibilities and inspiring even greater levels of generosity and commitment.” During both events, the official Light This Candle video was premiered. In it, Wyatt discusses how Monmouth College “frees the possible” for its students. “But to do that, we first have to free the possibilities that are inherent in Monmouth College,” he says. “This moment—this campaign—is all about being able to do that; to free our possibilities at the College at an even higher level.”

MONMOUTHIANA

MONMOUTH’S MEMORABLE FIRST CAPITAL CAMPAIGN By Jeff Rankin Editor & Historian

ight This Candle represents the eighth major capital campaign in the history of Monmouth College, but the College’s most remarkable campaign may well have been its first. It started out rather modestly, shortly after the inauguration of President Thomas Hanna McMichael in 1903. The 40-yearold son of Monmouth’s second president, McMichael had been called back to Monmouth, where he had graduated in 1886, following a successful career as the pastor of a large church in Cleveland. He had inherited a physical plant valued at just $90,000 that consisted only of a recitation hall, an auditorium, the president’s house, the janitor’s house and a tiny wooden gymnasium. In 1906, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie offered McMichael $30,000 toward a library if the College could raise matching funds. In less than a year, the energetic young president had raised the necessary funds, and the Carnegie Library cornerstone was laid during the 1907 commencement week. Concurrently, plans were underway to build a central heating plant (to protect buildings from fire), a science hall and the College’s first residence hall. A campaign had already begun to construct the residence hall—named for Monmouth’s first president, David A. Wallace—to provide a safe and comfortable environment for female students. Despite a bankers’ panic in October 1907 that caused the New York Stock Exchange to lose half its value, a sense of optimism pervaded the Monmouth campus, as the library was quickly nearing completion. But on the morning of Nov. 14, hopes would be suddenly dashed, as “Old Main,” Monmouth’s principal building, housing all the classrooms, laboratories, literary society halls and administrative offices, was destroyed by fire. While many believed that in the face of

Wallace Hall rose from the ashes of the Old Main fire in just 14 months, despite a recessionary economy and without the benefit of modern construction equipment.

the bank panic Monmouth College could likely never recover, President McMichael sprang to action and promised to rebuild. He announced a $150,000 campaign to replace Wallace Hall, as well as construct a modern science building and the longneeded residence hall. Prominent alumni, trustees and local business leaders stepped forward to lead the effort, which had a preliminary goal of $80,000 for the new “Old Main” and science building. Fortunately, after the San Francisco earthquake of the year before, the College had increased its insurance coverage and was able to collect $28,000 in fire reparations. Alumni who had already given toward the dormitory named for Wallace graciously agreed to have their gifts diverted to the new academic building, which would now be the one named for him. The citizens of Monmouth came forward with $35,000, including two gifts of $5,000 each and one gift of $2,500. The remainder consisted of more than 2,000 gifts, ranging from 25 cents to $1,000. The crowning gift came from none other

than Andrew Carnegie, who announced he would donate the last $17,000 needed to construct the two buildings. In the meantime, efforts were made to rush Carnegie Library to completion, affording temporary offices, while the auditorium, gymnasium, churches and professors’ homes were put into service to serve as classrooms. A competition for architectural plans for Wallace Hall was hurriedly organized and famed New York architect and alumnus Dan Everett Waid selected the winning design from seven plans. Less than seven months after the devastating fire, the cornerstone for Wallace Hall was laid. Just months later—on Washington’s Birthday 1909—completion of the massive brick and stone building was formally celebrated. Attention immediately turned toward the new science building, which was being planned under the supervision of chemistry and physics professor John Nesbit Swan. Swan toured the east coast, looking for the latest designs in laboratory and classroom design. So urgent was the call to finish the building that the contractor took advantage of a mild December and had his builders work by moonlight. The building was opened for use in the spring of 1910. The cost of Wallace Hall and McMichael Science Hall turned out to be greater than anticipated, so the women’s dormitory was put on hold for a time. But President McMichael persisted, and by the beginning of the 1914 school year, McMichael Residence Hall opened its doors. One of the finest dormitories in the country, its cost was a then-staggering $120,000— equivalent to more than $3 million in today’s currency. Within the span of seven years following a devastating fire, Monmouth had added a library, a main building, a science building and a residence hall to its campus. It was a capital campaign that defied the odds and set the stage for future successful campaigns over the next 11 decades that dramatically transformed the landscape, the endowment and the reputation of Monmouth College.

A lapel pin commemorating the Old Main fire may have been used as a fundraising device for the first capital campaign.

SPRING 2019

SCOT SPORTS

WITH AN AVERAGE OF OF 16.3 POINTS per game, Rebecca Gallis was named to the All-Midwest Conference first team. Photos by Kent Kriegshauser

28â€ƒ

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

CARLEY TURNBULL

SHAYNE SMITH

SWEET SURPRISE PICKED TO FINISH SEVENTH IN MWC, WOMEN REACH CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

ate last season, coach Kyle Wilson’s team won four out of six Midwest Conference contests. The surge didn’t propel the Fighting Scots to a postseason berth—they finished 9-16 on the year—but Wilson’s young squad had begun to find its way.

By Barry McNamara

Wilson knew this year’s team had the potential to take the next step, but league coaches didn’t realize that yet in the preseason, picking the Scots to place seventh. All the Scots did was improve by 10 wins to close with a near-record mark of 19-8. With proven scorers Becca Gallis, Carley Turnbull and Shayne Smith returning to lead the way, Monmouth won its first nine games and was in the race for the regular season

title all year, finally settling for a runner-up league mark of 13-5. The Scots were also runner-up in the MWC tourney, winning their semi-final matchup against Lake Forest before falling 55-48 to host Ripon in the championship game. It was sixth time Monmouth’s women made the tourney and the fifth time they reached the championship game. “I didn’t expect us to start with nine straight wins, but it gave us a lot of (Continued on page 30) SPRING 2019

SCOTSPORTS

Coach Wilson addresses his players before a game on Thanksgiving weekend. The Scots would reel off nine straight wins to start the season.

WOMEN’S HOOPS Continued from page 29

confidence,” said Wilson. “It was nice to finish with 19 wins and threaten the 20-win mark. That should give the women some confidence going into next year. Really, we were only three or four possessions short of going to the NCAA tournament. We have a lot yet to accomplish with this group.” For the first time in more than 20 years, three Scots made the All-MWC squad: Gallis was named to the first team and Turnbull and Smith were on the second unit. All three players saw their scoring averages jump at least five points from a year ago, with Gallis’s 16.3 points per game leading the team. The trio each had at least one 30-point game to their credit during the season, and Smith had a particularly memorable performance, scoring all 25 of Monmouth’s second-half points on her way to a season-high 36 against Lawrence.

Wilson loses just one senior—Demi Johnson—from this year’s squad, giving him reason for optimism for the 201920 season. “We love the fact that we were successful and got to the conference championship game,” he said. “If all goes as planned, and everyone stays healthy throughout the year next year, we’ll have all five starters back. We need to find and develop a couple more pieces to get a little deeper. Our lack of depth started to show down the stretch when fatigue began to set in with our starting group. That’s a huge focus for us going forward.” The Scots figure to be a huge focus for their opponents next season. “Our challenge for next year is to realize we’re going to get everybody’s best shot every single game,” said Wilson. “It will be harder to duplicate our success next year. We’ll have to buckle down and be a bit more focused and increase our effort if we want to be better than we were this year.”

The Scots finished their season with a 19-8 record, a 10-win improvement from 2017-18.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Photos by Kent Kriegshauser

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Following in the footsteps of his father, former Scot standout Brant Carius ’89 (right), Northern Michigan transfer Will Carius dominated the Glennie Gym court in his debut season at Monmouth.

ALL-AMERICAN WILL CARIUS LEADS SCOTS TO CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

ill Carius had quite a debut

season for the Fighting Scots. The Northern Michigan University transfer—and son of former Monmouth standout Brant Carius ’89: • Set the single-game scoring record, netting 62 points in Monmouth’s first game against Grinnell; • Tied the single-game rebounding record, pulling down 25 boards in the rematch with the Pioneers; • Broke the single-season scoring record with 664 points; • Was named to the National Association of Basketball coaches and D3hoops.com All-Central Region first teams. • Was named the Midwest Conference’s Player of the Year; and • Led the MWC in scoring (25.5) and rebounding (11.0) while also being named its Newcomer of the Year. On top of those accolades, Carius was the first basketball Fighting Scot to be named All-American since Roger Sander ’78, more than four decades ago. With Carius providing much of the inside punch and sophomore point guard D.J. Swift—a returner from last year’s MWC champions—leading the way on the perimeter, Monmouth once again reached the playoffs, where it fell 73-72 to host St. Norbert in the semifinals. The game was

played six days after the Scots topped the Green Knights 74-63 on the final day of the regular season to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot. In that Monmouth win, Carius scored 25 points and Swift got hot beyond the arc in the second half, finishing with 23 points as the Scots beat a Knights team that came into the game with a 16-1 league record. “We earned our spot and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys,” said Monmouth coach Todd Skrivseth following the big win. “They stepped up and delivered.” The must-win game in front of a large Glennie Gym crowd had a playoff feel, which Skrivseth acknowledged. “When we lost those three straight at the end of January, we immediately had to switch into tournament mode and began playing with a real sense of emergency.” Monmouth’s other big win down the stretch was a 66-63 victory at Ripon, which ultimately gave the Scots the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Red Hawks. Carius starred that afternoon with a dominant 35-point, 12-rebound performance. One year after winning the MWC title— but graduating three key seniors—the Scots returned to the playoffs with an 11-7 (Continued on page 32)

Sophomore D.J. Swift recorded two 23-point games, one of which lifted the Scots to a dramatic victory over regular-season champion St. Norbert.

SPRING 2019

SCOTSPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL Continued from page 31

league mark and a 13-13 overall record. “From where we started to where we finished was rewarding to see,” said Skrivseth after his team opened league play 1-3, but rolled to a 10-4 MWC record after Jan. 1. “At the same time, (the semifinal loss) is disappointing because I felt like we were the best team in the tournament. This team just kept getting better and better.” The Scots will hope to make it three straight playoff appearances in 2020, as there will be no players lost to graduation. Carius, Justin Batterton (9.9 ppg), Tyler Houston (7.0 ppg) and Trey Swearingen (24 treys) will all be seniors, while Swift (15.5 ppg) will be a junior. Skrivseth also hopes that younger players such as freshmen Jonathan Ordiegwu and Devin Yocum—who both

showed flashes during the season— continue to develop. “Every team is different,” said Skrivseth. “Last year we were very balanced offensively. This year not so much. We had to rely on Will and D.J. to consistently carry us. We had guys develop into various roles. Maybe they didn’t score at a high rate, but they brought something to the table to make us successful and complete our team. “Tyler Houston is a prime example. He developed into a really good defender. Jake Rueter did a great job of running the team and getting us into our offense and defended at a very high level. Justin Batterton did a great job of being a third offensive option and brought the experience. We had guys off the bench like Trey Swearingen who knocked down some shots. There were a bunch of guys who grew and fit into the system.” —Barry McNamara

Junior forward Justin Batterton contributed valuable experience to the young Scots team, which will lose no players to graduation.

THEBEAU ASSUMES VOLLEYBALL HELM Emily Thebeau was named the 10th head coach in the 45-year history of the Monmouth College volleyball program in January. “I am excited to get started at Monmouth because it’s a place where a young person can be a true scholar-athlete,” said Thebeau, who served the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Greenville University, her alma mater. A four-year member of the Greenville volleyball team as a setter and defensive specialist, Thebeau played in the NCAA tournament during her junior and senior seasons. She then experienced immediate success after she joined the Greenville coaching staff, as the Panthers last season made their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance. Active with club volleyball in the St. Louis area and director of the Panther Volleyball Academy clinics, Thebeau succeeds Kari Shimmin ’97, Monmouth’s winningest and longest-serving women’s coach, who retired from coaching at the end of last season so she

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

could spend more time with her family and focus on her teaching responsibilities at the College. Thebeau inherits a team that returns all but two graduating seniors and produced back-to-back American Volleyball Coaches’ Association academic team awards. “The tradition is rich at Monmouth, which allows for a very unique, comfortable and welcoming community,” said Thebeau. “I am excited to expand and grow with such a great group of student-athletes. These women are special, with high academic achievements and determination. We will build on that tradition, both on and off the court. Their drive to excel in all facets of college athletics and academics will be a major key for the next season.” A native of DeSoto, Mo., Thebeau is a 2017 graduate of Greenville with a degree in biology. She will earn a master’s degree in business administration from the institution this spring.

SCOTSPORTS

FRESHMAN SWIMMER SETS SCOT RECORDS For the third straight year, a Monmouth freshman made a big splash at the Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships by winning multiple events. Andrew Shie set school records while winning two events and was named the MWC’s Newcomer of the Year, helping the Fighting Scots to a third-place finish. Shie swam a schoolrecord time of 57.66 in the prelims of the 100 breaststroke and nearly rewrote the record book again to win the event. He

Andrew Shie

finished nearly two seconds ahead of the runner-up to win the title in 57.72. Shie also claimed the

200 breaststroke crown, with his time of 2:06.60 bettering the next swimmer by nearly four seconds. “I was confident he’d have a good weekend, but the drops he made in prelims were phenomenal,” said coach Tom Burek. “And then he had another big time drop in the 200 final.” Last year’s impact freshman, Preston Bocchi, added a title in the 50 freestyle, with his time of 20.89 missing the school record by just one onehundredth of a second. The sophomore set a pair of

Please join us for the 6th annual

FIGHTING SCOTS SOCIETY

GOLF OUTING FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2019 GIBSON WOODS GOLF COURSE MONMOUTH, ILL.

Proceeds from the outing support Monmouth student-athletes and coaches by funding travel, uniforms, equipment, training and rehab, recruiting outreach, and other benefits. For more information or to register:

monmouthcollege.edu/golf-outing

school records while placing second in the 100 and 200 backstroke in 51.20 and 1:52.23. “Preston had an outstanding meet,” praised Burek. “It took a phenomenal swimmer to beat him in the backstroke. He had some great individual swims and put up some tremendous numbers with his relay splits. You couldn’t ask for more from him.” Bocchi and Shie helped set four relay records and record two more runnerup finishes. In all four swims, they were joined by seniors Jake Hall and Logan Hoepfner. “Jake and Logan were huge in those relays,” said Burek. “They had big time drops as seniors and that serves a message to the underclassmen. They kept working and improving and it paid off in their final meet.” On the women’s side, sophomore Miranda Pasky had Monmouth’s top individual finish, placing sixth in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.93) as the Scots took sixth as a team. “I was really pleased with the weekend,” said Burek. “The men were a solid third and that’s huge without any points in the diving well. ... The kids did all the work and swam season- or personal-bests in 99 of our 107 swims. You can’t ask for more than that.” SPRING 2019

SCOTSPORTS

FROM COUCH POTATO TO MARATHON MAVEN Professor embraces the transformative power of running By BARRY McNAMARA

Wunderlich (above, right) competes with her sister in her first marathon in 2010.

t age 35, Monmouth College art professor Janis Wunderlich had high cholesterol and was overweight. Not helping matters was that she was “completely unathletic.” “My 2-year-old was faster than me,” said Wunderlich, who is in her second year on Monmouth’s faculty. She decided to do something about her health, and her story might just be the inspiration others can use to make a lifestyle change in 2019. “My doctor recommended that I take up exercise,” said Wunderlich. “At that point in my life, I had never even owned a pair of tennis shoes. I was completely unathletic.” Fast forward to today, about a dozen years later: Wunderlich has completed 10 marathons, including qualifying for and competing in the Boston Marathon.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

“Running has become so much a part of my day,” said Wunderlich, who logs between 5-10 miles a day, usually in the morning. “It’s my coffee.” The “steps” Wunderlich took to get from no tennis shoes to running 10 marathons offer some practical lessons for individuals looking to make a change in their fitness level. Sean Schumm, chair of Monmouth’s kinesiology department, said Wunderlich’s steps provide “the framework that generally works.” •She found an accountability partner. “Having a partner made a huge difference,” said Wunderlich of her workout buddy during the first years of her new commitment. Added Schumm, “Another name for that is ‘intentional community.’ People think ‘I’m more likely to keep going if someone else is going through this with me,’ and that’s

a huge thing. It’s not that people don’t know that running or exercise is good for them—it’s getting their behavior to change.” •She started small. “We used city blocks as our measurement,” Wunderlich said of her and her partner’s early ventures. “We’d walk the longer blocks and run the shorter blocks. As we got more into it, we switched to running the longer blocks and walking the shorter blocks.” Schumm said that strategy is spot on. “My rule of thumb when getting started is to start too easy —easier than you think you need to. Short term, we can do a hard workout in the moment, but as we get older, we can’t recover as easily.” So just like you wouldn’t want to put too much salt in a dish before you’ve tasted it, you don’t want to work out too hard before you know your limits. You can always add later. •She gradually progressed. “Eventually, we didn’t need those little rests,” said Wunderlich. “And we went from running two miles, to running three miles, to running five miles. And I transitioned to having multiple running partners,” keeping a regular workout schedule with several different people. Schumm said another rule of thumb

Wunderlich is all smiles at the 2017 Monumental Marathon in Indianapolis.

applies for progressions. “No more than a 10 percent increase in time or distance per week,” he said. “You might feel that’s excruciatingly slow, but that’s the way to do it. ... Your cardiovascular system adapts faster than your legs. You might think, ‘I know I can do more than I’m doing,’ but then you get a stress fracture because your legs weren’t ready for that amount of time or distance yet.” •She set a big goal. “I decided to ‘reward’ myself by running a marathon for my 40th birthday,” she said. And it was a reward. “I was so happy when I finished it. It gave me so much self-confidence. ... I have a journal entry from when my sister ran a marathon. I thought it was impossible for me to do something like that. I wrote that I wouldn’t be able to run 26 miles, ever. And now I’ve done it, and I’ve done it 10 times. We think things

can’t be done, but then the impossible becomes possible.” After Wunderlich got into running, she lost 40 pounds, which she’s kept off. “It’s also positively affected my heart rate and helped me lower my cholesterol,” she said. “My doctor told me this is the best gift that I could give myself.” Schumm said the reason lies in the heart. “The more you run, the stronger the left ventricle in your heart gets,” he said. “It gets bigger, and it has a bigger capacity to pump blood. So your heart can pump more blood with each beat. You still move the same amount of blood, but your heart can pump the blood better.” Related to that is that regular exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect on the heart. “The big culprit of heart and cardiovascular events is inflammation,” said Schumm.

As people consider increasing their fitness, Schumm issued an important reminder: “Performance and health are not the same thing. You cross the threshold when you try to do too much.” Schumm said studies by the American College of Sports Medicine say that 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise (such as fast walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (including running) provide the lion’s share of health benefits. Going much beyond those markers before your body is ready can do more harm than good. “Don’t focus on the speed or time or distance you want at first,” he said. “Just decide, for example, to run at least two days a week for 25 minutes to get started, and the weight you’re trying to lose or that 5K you want to run will take care of itself in time. Once the behavior is ingrained, then you can shift your focus.” On Thursdays, Wunderlich is part of a walking/running group that meets in the late afternoon on Monmouth’s campus. Organized by educational studies professor Brad Rowe, the group includes as many as 12 participants. Faculty and staff—including a pair of the College’s senior administrators – make up some of the group, which also includes local school teachers. “Some are runners, some are walkers,” said Wunderlich. “We usually pair up in groups of two or three, matching up with someone who runs around your pace. It’s a great way to meet new people.” “It’s not really a training group; it’s a social running group,” said Rowe. “One of the things we want to do with it is make it as inclusive as possible. The primary purpose is to build and maintain a community.”

SPRING 2019

SCOTSPORTS

TWO NEW ALL-AMERICANS HELP

pair of amazing streaks continued for the Fighting Scots track and field program this season. Throwers John Hintz

and Joe Krall earned All-American honors at the national indoor meet in Boston, continuing a streak of at least one Monmouth All-American per year that dates to 1985.

And for the 20th consecutive season, Monmouth’s men won the Midwest Conference indoor team championship, with the milestone occurring at the Huff Athletic Center, where the Scots topped St. Norbert by more than 70 points. The Fighting Scots women claimed their fourth straight runner-up finish, trailing only five-time champion St. Norbert. The Scots also claimed three special MWC individual honors. Roger Haynes was named the Men’s Coach of the Year, sophomore Seth Andersen claimed the men’s field event performer honor and freshman Jordan Peckham was voted the women’s Newcomer of the Year. Hintz was one of the stars of the meet, unleashing a conference-record weight

throw of 65-4. The senior’s effort tied Krall’s record, set earlier in the year. Krall placed second at 64-3¼ and won the shot put with a heave of 50-4¾. Sophomore Drew Thaxton placed runner-up (49-7). At nationals, Hintz and Krall placed fifth and sixth, respectively, to earn All-American honors in the weight throw. Hintz, who threw 64-5√, also qualified in the shot put thanks to a big throw at Monmouth’s last-chance meet. At the conference meet, the Scots were impressive across the board, said Haynes. “The men had a very high number of season-best performances.

They exceeded my expectations by 35 or 40 points, and that’s hard to do at a championship meet. They were very good in nearly every event group.” Andersen claimed two league titles after turning in a personal-best mark in the triple jump. His mark of 45-8∏ placed him ahead of runner-up Austin Pfau’s 445∏ leap. Andersen also led a 1-2 Monmouth finish in the long jump, soaring 22-9 to narrowly outdistance teammate Darius Williams (22-6∏).

Joe Krall, left, and John Hintz congratulate each other following personal bests in the weight throw at Monmouth’s Midwest Invitational indoor track meet in January.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

TRACK & FIELD

SCOTS CONTINUE HOT STREAK Andersen also placed second in the high jump, clearing 6-6√. On the track, Stone Darrow was part of two titles, winning the 60-meter dash (6.95) and a relay. He also took the runner-up spot in the 200 in 22.65. Darrow and Lucas Sondgeroth teamed with sophomores Williams and Zach Vancil to break the tape in the 4x200 relay in 1:30.58. Tate Heiple added the 800 title for the Scots. The senior won at the wire with a time of 1:58.85 to clip the runner-up by a mere two one-hundredths. In the women’s competition, Peckham made her first MWC meet one to remember, adding a school record and a relay title to her top rookie honor. Her record came in the 60-meter dash, where she ran a prelim time of 7.87 seconds before ultimately placing fourth. She was joined by her sister, freshman Payton Peckham, and by sophomore Kenzie Baker and junior Vanessa Caldwell on the winning 4x200 squad (1:45.67). She also had a fourth-place finish in the 400 (59.52) and was joined by her sister, Caldwell and freshman Arika Hoffmann on the runner-up 4x400 squad (4:04.29). Hofmann, Baker,

Junior Aleeka Gentzler took first in the high jump at the Midwest Conference indoor meet.

Payton Peckham and freshman Catelyn Hofmann placed second in the sprint medley in 4:15.96. “The women came through with big performances in the relays,” said Haynes. “It was a very representative effort for the women. They’re a young team and have the foundation, but they will have to decide where they want to go from here.” Junior Aleeka Gentzler had Monmouth’s other win, clearing 5-3∑ in the high jump. Sophomore Leigha Sebben’s 50-6√ effort took second in the weight throw and Caldwell added a runner-up

finish in the hurdles in 9.27. “We had some veteran kids and some young ones step up,” said Haynes of the MWC meet. “We talked as a group about the meet and the progression as an athlete. Joe Krall, Stone Darrow and Lucas Sondgeroth were the examples I used. They’re juniors and won conference titles this year. As freshmen, they didn’t even score. Our process has always been that it’s most important to score at the conference meet. My hope is that everyone left the meet feeling like they have more to accomplish.”

INVEST IN HER FUTURE, AND YOURS. annuity to Monmouth College,

SAMPLE ANNUITY RATES FOR INDIVIDUALS:

SAMPLE ANNUITY RATES FOR TWO LIVES (JOINT & SURVIVOR):

you can enhance student

Age 70 5.60%

Age 70 5.00%

scholarship, receive tax

Age 75

By making a charitable gift

benefits and lock in a guaranteed lifetime income.

6.20%

Age 80 7.30%

Age 75

5.50%

Age 80 6.20%

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 309-457-2323 development@monmouthcollege.edu

SPRING 2019

ALUMNI NEWS WE WELCOME NEWS AND PHOTOS related to your career, awards, reunions or travel with your Monmouth College friends, and any other information of interest to your classmates or alumni. We also welcome announcements and photos of alumni weddings and births, as well as alumni obituaries. Please see page 38 for submission guidelines.

ALEXANDER

1956 1959 1964 1969

Ruth Goss McKay has moved into the city, relocating from suburban Helotes, Texas, to San Antonio. 60th

REUNION

JUNE 6-9, 2019

55th

REUNION

JUNE 6-9, 2019

50th

REUNION

JUNE 6-9, 2019

Rossann Baker owns the Performing Arts Academy of Galesburg (Ill.) and I Do Honeymoons & More Travel.

GIBSON

1972

The Rev. Blair Schultz is rector at the All Saints Anglican Church in Bolingbrook, Ill. In 2017, he was consecrated Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of the Western States. He serves as president of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of the Atlantic States.

1974 1975 1976

SCUDDER

45th

REUNION

JUNE 6-9, 2019

Eddie Tolliver has taken over the helm of the Kewanee (Ill.) Salvation Army, where he’s worked since 2011.

Neil Alexander is one of eight finalists for the 2019 National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year in boys’ basketball after recording his 800th win last year as head basketball coach at Lincoln (Ill.) Community High School. Awards will be announced at the national convention in Bismarck, N.D., in June. Lyle Gibson of Burlington, Iowa, was inducted into the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a contributor. A designated hitter for the Fighting Scots while at Monmouth, Gibson has had his hand in baseball in one way or another for 62 years, including stints as a standout player at Burlington High School, a high school coach and a talented age-group player into his 60s.

WRIGHT

1978

Kathleen Savage of Plainfield, Ill., is an intake coordinator for Educational Advocacy and Consulting in Naperville, Ill.

STOYANOFF

1979

40th

REUNION

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Master potter Gary Carstens ’77 (right) spent three days on campus in February demonstrating his art, meeting with and critiquing art students, and lecturing on the business of art. He also presented one of his signature landscape ceramic discs to President Wyatt for the College’s permanent collection.

1983

David Scudder of Wauconda, Ill., has been appointed to serve as national wealth management leader at RSM US LLP. In his new role, Scudder will be responsible for driving growth for the wealth management practice and positioning RSM as the preeminent first-choice advisor for middle market leaders’ wealth management needs. Scudder, who joined the firm in 1986, holds an MBA in finance from DePaul University.

1984 1987

35th

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Dwayne Hughes was named Operations Executive of the Year by Baking & Snack magazine. Hughes is a senior vice president at Hearthside Food Solutions in Downers Grove, Ill. A leader in nutrition bars and healthy snacks, the company is one of the food industry’s largest co-manufacturers.

1989

30th

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Jonathan Wright of Hartsburg, Ill., has been named resident circuit judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit in Illinois. The Logan County state’s attorney is serving a one-year term.

1992

Laura Liesman has been elected chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council. She is the assistant vice president for athletics at Georgian Court University in Lakewood Township, N.J. Recently, Liesman received her second Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Athletic Director of the Year honor. Dawn Pfeiffer Stoyanoff has been named the new associate vice chancellor of information technology services and chief information officer at the University of Arkansas. Previously, she was the higher education and academic practice director for Information Services Group in Austin, Texas.

1994 1998

25th

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Eric Hanson is now the assistant city manager in Normal, Ill. He spent the five previous years in Ballwin, Mo., as its city administrator.

ALUMNI NEWS | CLASS NOTES

Jennifer Eyre of Palm Desert, Calif., received the 2019 CUE (Computer Using Educators) Site Leader of the Year award from the local affiliate’s board of directors. The prestigious award recognizes a school site principal or assistant principal who has made a noteworthy contribution to promoting educational technology within his or her school. Sarah Botkin has begun a new position as event coordinator for Indian Creek Nature Center, an educational, recreational and environmental preserve in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She previously spent nearly 20 years working in higher education student engagement. Josh Oakley has been named head coach of the Spring Arbor (Mich.) University men’s soccer program. He spent the past eight years coaching the men’s soccer team at Alma (Mich.) College, which in 2016 went 14-6-1 and made its second straight conference championship appearance. He previously coached nine years at Asbury (Ky.) University.

1999

Stephanie Orsi Dare is a math teacher in Peoria, Ill., In 2017, she completed her second master’s degree, studying educational technology through the American College of Technology.

2001

Trent Cox of Galesburg, Ill., was recognized by the Galesburg Chamber of Commerce for its “20 Under 40” award. He is vice president/commercial banking manager for F&M Bank in Galesburg.

2004

15th

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Michael Malone has been named chief financial officer of SRAX, a digital marketing and consumer data management technology company headquartered in Los Angeles. Malone most recently served as vice president of finance for Westwood One and has also held positions of rising responsibility at Cumulus Media and Citadel Broadcasting.

2006

Rachel McCombs Robertson of Colona, Ill., is a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Unity Point Health. Emily Zvolanek of Darien, Ill., presented a seminar on Geographic Informaton Systems (GIS) at the College of DuPage, as part of its STEMinar series. A senior GIS analyst at Argonne National Laboratory’s Environmental Science Division, she discussed how GIS connects geographical features with tabular data to analyze spacial data and extract useful information.

Blaise Rogers lives in Monmouth, where he is a partner in the law firm Gullberg, Box, Worby & Rogers. He is the youngest partner in the tri-county area.

2009

10th

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Crystal Chalkey is an adult educator at the Pontiac (Ill.) Correctional Center. Matt Henning of Wexford, Penn., is assistant director of student accounts at Carnegie Mellon University. Megan LaLonde Parsons works at Security Savings Bank in Stronghurst, Ill.

2010

BOTKIN

Chris Anderson of Centennial, Colo., works for Fidelity Investments.

Alexis Keller Gill of Lima, Ohio, is an industrial account manager for Kirby Risk Electrical Supply. Jessie Howes of Aiken, S.C., is property manager at Stable View Farm.

OAKLEY

Kris Judd is a fourth grade teacher in Morning Sun, Iowa. Lindsey Lipp of Midlothian, Ill., is an occupational therapist for Healthpro.

2011

Adam Keller of Grayslake, Ill., is a senior technologist at the United States Gypsum Corporation. A manufacturer of construction materials, most notably drywall and joint compound, USG is the largest distributor of wallboard in the United States.

ZVOLANEK

Brooke Potendyk is a junior high physical education/health teacher in East Peoria, Ill. Sybille Rizzolli of San Francisco, Calif., is director of marketing for the North America division of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati. She previously held similar positions with Faraday Future, Tesla Motors and BMW. Jenna Leighton Stancil is a kindergarten teacher in Peoria, Ill.

RIZZOLLI

Andrew Watson of Oswego, Ill., is a seller engagement manager for Reverb.com.

2007

Scott Coles of Chicago (see photo, right) has been named the 2019 Horseplayer of the Year by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Coles won the first-place prize in the National Horseplayers Championship, held in Las Vegas in February. Topping a field with 668 entries, he is the tournament’s youngest-ever champion. A full-time futures trader, Coles said he only began playing the races about seven years ago and really got serious during American Pharoah’s Triple Crown year in 2015. He began focusing on tournaments the last two and a half years. Coles’ share of the $2.8 million purse was $800,000.

2008

Joanna Martorelli of Norfolk, Va., is a deployed resiliency counselor for the Department of Defense, working with Navy families. She built upon her art and psychology degrees at Monmouth to earn a master’s degree in art therapy, with a concentration in counseling.

Scott Coles ’07 won the National Horseplayers Championship in February.

SPRING 2019

ALUMNI NEWS | CLASS NOTES

2012 2013

Cody Rogers is worship pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Davenport, Iowa.

Kayla Cherry-Bernard of Suisun City, Calif., is an analyst for Montrose Air Quality Services.

Andrew Anselmi is a teacher in the Moline, Ill., school district.

Kylee Winiecki is a staff accountant for Porte Brown LLC in McHenry, Ill.

Malissa Larson Beckmann is a teacher in Geneva, Ill. Bo Bohlander is theater director and chair of the fine arts department at Resurrection College Prep High School in Chicago. She is pursuing a master’s degree in directing from Roosevelt University.

HODIERNE

Arica Brazil of Hoffman Estates, Ill., is a career adviser for BCS, Inc. BCS helps government, research and private sector clients implement their programs and missions and achieve success. She earned a master’s degree in higher education, college administration and leadership through Purdue Global University. Aaron Bubb of Palatine, Ill., is an inventory planner for True Value Corporation. Danielle Diamond Franklin of Carol Stream, Ill., is a consultant with Lauterbach and Amen.

KERULIS

Aimee Hodierne of Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, is a professional peace coordinator at Maharishi Global Administration Through Natural Law. She has a master’s degree in Maharishi Vedic Science through Maharishi University of Management. Amy Kerulis of Port Washington, N.Y., was recently promoted to assistant professor at Touro College, after completing her Ph.D. in applied organizational psychology from Hofstra University. She is working on starting her own organizational development consulting firm.

FOX

2014

5th

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Kate Pfau Grzegorek of Chicago is a preschool teacher at New Einsteins Academy. Jayme Homer of Peoria, Ill., is a human resources assistant at Backlund Investment Co. She is pursuing a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology. MALCHODI

Mackenzie Mahler of Normal, Ill., is a customer communications writer for Country Financial. In 2017, she completed a master’s degree in communication and media studies at Illinois State University. Christina Durante Smith of Galesburg, Ill., was recognized by the Galesburg Chamber of Commerce for its “20 Under 40” award. She is director of development for KCCDD, a developmental training program in Galesburg.

BARBERO-ESTRADA

2015

Joy Meyer of Waunakee, Wis., has been promoted to director of marketing and events at U.S. Cellular.

Tory Philbin of Milan, Ill., is a news producer for WQAD-TV. Megan Shultz Sellman of Madison, Wis., has worked her way up the ranks at her first place of employment after graduation. She is now fuel tax manager at Fleetworthy Solutions. Brooklynne Springer of Denver, Colo., is a registered behavior technician at Gold Star Learning Options.

2016 40

Brittany Shumaker Berg of Le Sueur, Minn., is a staffing specialist at Doherty Staffing.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

2017

Tyler Altfillisch of Freeport, Ill., is a customer service team supervisor for MetLife.

Samantha Barbero-Estrada of Galesburg, Ill., is a graduate assistant in the psychology department at Western Illinois University, where she is studying for an advanced degree in school psychology. Jessica Fox of Carthage, Ill., was crowned Miss Quincy at the 2019 Miss Quincy Scholarship Program in January. Fox received a $3,000 scholarship and sponsor gifts worth $7,000. She will compete for the title of Miss Illinois in June. Tia Graham of North Liberty, Iowa, is a specialist in the U.S. Army. Amanique Jones of Galesburg, Ill., works for DD Homes. Nick Malchodi of Traverse City, Mich., is funeral director at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home & Cremation Services. He recently received his mortuary science degree from Worsham College. Antoinette White Meciej of Sandwich, Ill., is a specialist in communications, marketing and public programs for the Kendall County Forest Preserve District. Ellie Peterson of Milan, Ill., is a human resources specialist at the Rock Island Arsenal. Taylor Welch is an andrologist/clinical assistant at Advanced Fertility Care in Scottsdale, Ariz

2018

1st

REUNION

OCT. 18-20, 2019

Mary Kate Luzzo is the marketing, communications and event coordinator for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in Park Forest.

Submission Guidelines Submit your news online at monmouthcollege.edu/ alumni/updates, by email to alumni@ monmouthcollege.edu, or by mail to Monmouth College Magazine, Attn: Alumni Programs, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998. Digital photos should have a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Please include a photo caption with full names that clearly match faces, class years, date and location. We reserve the right to reject images for any reason, especially those with low resolution and those that require purchase from a photo gallery website. Submissions will be published at the discretion of the editors on a space-available basis.

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

KRISTEN WYSE WAGNER ’11 From local chapter president to national Alpha Xi Delta leader

By BARRY McNAMAR A

risten Wyse Wagner ’11 loved every minute of her Alpha Xi Delta experience at Monmouth College.

Today, she serves the next generation of Alpha Xis in her role as manager of educational initiatives for the national women’s fraternity, headquartered in Indianapolis. Wagner recently helped Alpha Xi Delta receive a national award from the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, which honored the women’s fraternity for its leadership education program, The Founders’ Academy. The Founders’ Academy was designed for chapter presidents and emerging leaders. Held biennially in even years, the four-day academy alternates with Alpha Xi Delta’s national convention, which is held in odd years. Wagner, who is in her fourth year with the women’s fraternity, was not yet on staff for the first academy in 2014, but she has since taken it under her wing, leading the 2016 and 2018 programs. “It’s really my baby,” Wagner said from her home in Madison, Wis., where she works remotely. “I’m very proud of the program. We see a lot more women who have been part of the academy applying for leadership positions. And their positive experiences come back around in more ways than that.” Wagner said a “hefty amount of curriculum” is part of The Founders’ Academy, which strives to meet Alpha Xi Delta’s vision of inspiring women to realize their potential. Participants are challenged to use their individual strengths based on Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment to honor AXD’s ritual, heritage and founders while leading their chapter to success. “Academy attendees pledge to implement goals, and we check in every three months to see how they’re doing with those,” said Wagner. “The theme changes for every academy, and the curriculum changes with it to align with needs that our chapters are facing.” Karen Ogorzalek, Monmouth’s associate dean of students, was a facilitator at last summer’s academy. She said the program does a great job connecting with participants. “All the sessions were so interactive, it was nearly impossible not to get involved,” said Ogorzalek. “The whole weekend

instilled an enormous sense of pride in Alpha Xi. It was rewarding for me to meet inspiring collegiate women and alumnae from Alpha Xi.” Although not a requirement for Alpha Xi Delta members, last summer’s academy drew 134 members. “It’s a pretty meaningful experience for them,” said Wagner. That also describes Wagner’s time as a student at Monmouth College and as an active member of Alpha Xi Delta. As a freshman, she wasn’t interested in participating in Greek life. Even after joining the women’s fraternity, she had no designs on leadership positions. “I joined as a sophomore,” she said. “I just wanted to be a part of it and not lead, but other people saw leadership capabilities in me.” Eventually, Wagner served as president of Monmouth’s chapter. “Alpha Xi Delta helped me become who I am and become a leader,” she said. “That’s why I’m so grateful to be working for them now and really giving back to the organization.” Following graduation, Wagner earned a master’s degree in college student personnel from Western Illinois University. She then worked three years at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, focusing on fraternity and sorority life among other student activities, before taking her current position. In addition to The Founders’ Academy, Wagner is involved with Inspire, Alpha Xi Delta’s new membership development program. Chapters can choose from more than 40 programs to meet the intellectual, professional and personal growth needs of their members. “I love the aspect that my job has given me such a strong connection to Alpha Xi Delta and provides tools that current members can use,” she said.

Although she was somewhat slow in discovering the leadership opportunities available through fraternities and sororities, Kristin Wagner is today an advocate for Greek life on the national stage.

SPRING 2019

WEDDINGS 2007 Elizabeth Martin and Vince Antonucci

September 20, 2018

2010 Misty Czapla and Kevin Grady

September 29, 2018

Alexis Keller and Justin Gill

October 20, 2018

2013 Alexis Fulkerson and Sebastian Garren September 29, 2018

Malissa Larson and Alex Beckmann

July 6, 2018

Rebecca Riggs and Josh McEwen ’11

May 12, 2018

2014 Kara Durward and Kaleb Hermeyer

September 1, 2018

December 15, 2018

Kate Pfau and Nathan Grzegorek

2015 Kelcey Duy and Adam Duffield ’16

Mackenzie Mahler and Melissa Stover

2016 Brittany Shumaker and Chris Berg 2017 Antoinette White and Aaron Meciej

August 18, 2018 July 28, 2017 October 7, 2017 December 28, 2018

REBECCA RIGGS ’13 AND JOSH McEWEN ’11

KELCEY DUY ’15 AND ADAM DUFFIELD ’16

MISTY CZAPLA ’10 AND KEVIN GRADY

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

ELIZABETH MARTIN ’07 AND VINCE ANTONUCCI

BIRTHS 1998 Michelle and Reese Berry a son, Everett Reese June 14, 2018

2010 Christina and Chris Anderson a son, Elliott Hillard August 20, 2018

2006 Rachel McCombs Robertson and Dustin a son, Lucas James August 3, 2018

2011 Samantha Latora Baker and Kris a son, Kainen Andrew November 23, 2018

2007 Paige Taylor Leath and Quinn a son, Paxton David October 15, 2018

2014 Leslie Legg Colegg and Jeffrey a daughter, Rozzlyn Elizabeth December 4, 2018

2008 Carly Wolf Scott and Chad ’04 a son, Luca Scott December 3, 2018

2016 Brittany Shumaker Berg and Chris a son, Bennett September 29, 2018

2009 Noelle Shafer Bourne and Matt a son, Cormac Reed September 7, 2018

Kelsey Marie Weyforth a son, Theo Gerard Hooper January 17, 2019

Breanna Webb Schwarz and Christopher a son, Stanton Charles June 16, 2018

LUCA SCOTT

ROZZLYN ELIZABETH COLEGG

KAINEN ANDREW BAKER

EVERETT REESE BERRY

CORMAC REED BOURNE

STANTON CHARLES SCHWARZ

SPRING 2019

OBITUARIES

1936

Margaret Grier Beste, 103, granddaughter of former Monmouth president James Harper Grier, died Nov. 27, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. She graduated with a degree in Spanish and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. The following year, she earned a master’s degree in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin. In 1959, Beste began a 20-year career in administrative positions in the Department of Foreign Languages at Louisiana State University. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, George Beste ’36. Survivors include six grandchildren, including Michael Cortina ’95.

1940

Jean Turnbull Campbell, 99, of Peoria, Ill., died Jan. 2, 2019. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. A teacher in Illinois and Pennsylvania, she was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Charles Campbell ’40. Survivors include a daughter, Sue Campbell Jones ’70. The Rev. James G. Manor, 100, of Lakeland, Fla., died Feb. 9, 2019. A graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he served as pastor of Presbyterian churches in Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania. During his retirement, he served as interim pastor of churches in New York and Florida.He was preceded in death by his wife, Ann Jones Manor ’41. Survivors include a sister, Barbara Manor Nichol ’53 and brother-in-law Thomas Nichol ’54. He was awarded an honorary degree by Monmouth College in 1953.

1942

Harriet McHard Napiecinski, 96, of Bellingham, Wash., died Feb. 26, 2017. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Delta before earning a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin. Napiecinski taught for 13 years, then later returned to the work force as a library technician at Western Washington University, where she worked until her retirement.

1945

Sue Gordon Kimmel of Midland, Texas, died Nov. 4, 2018, one day shy of her 94th birthday. A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, she graduated with a degree in chemistry. She was a silicon chemist for Dow Corning Corp. in Midland.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

1946

Richard Keith, 92, of San Anselmo, Calif., died March 30, 2017. A World War II veteran who served as a paratrooper in the Pacific, he received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. After the war, he continued his dedication to the military, rising to the rank of major general with the California State Military Reserve. At Monmouth, Keith studied English and was a member of the track team. A respected salesman, he was vice president of Haggar Co., and founder/chairman of Keith Sportswear International.

1948

William Butcher, 93, of Bettendorf, Iowa, died Nov. 7, 2018. A high school graduate at the age of 16, his time at Monmouth was interrupted by World War II, during which he was a Navy radioman in the Pacific theater. Butcher graduated with a degree in history and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon before embarking on a long career with Deere & Co. in Moline, Ill., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Phyllis Voigt Dobrenick, 91, of Yelm, Wash., died Dec. 16, 2018. A member of Alpha Xi Delta, she also studied at Northwestern University. Dobrenick worked in accounting for such companies as Allstate and U.S. Life.

1949

Betty Smith Brown, 90, of Pittsburg, Calif., died Jan. 21, 2018. She graduated with a degree in speech/ communication and theater arts and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. Called a “theater icon” by her hometown newspaper, Brown was the founder of the Pittsburg Community Theater, which she started in 1973. She took on many roles, including actor, director, producer, board member, fundraiser and teacher. “She was a truly gifted, talented and dedicated theatre aficionado who was willing to bring her passion to this small community and share it,” said a longtime PCT member. Brown was also a school teacher and counselor and continued her work in adult education into her 80s. She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years and a brother, William Smith ’53.

Una Swanson Bowman, 91, of Oneida, Ill., died Nov. 11, 2018. A home economics major, she completed her degree at Bradley University. She was a proud farm wife who greatly enjoyed working the farm with her husband of 52 years, who died in 2003. James E. Jirak, 94, of Glenview, Ill., died Dec. 31, 2018. A business administration major, he was a member of Theta Chi. He served as an Army Air Corps B-24 navigator in the Pacific theater during World War II. Peggy Boatright Nolan, 91, of Savoy, Ill., died Nov. 1, 2018. She studied Spanish and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Theodore Vlahos, 91, of La Grange Park, Ill., died Nov. 5, 2018. He studied business administration and was a member of Theta Chi. Vlahos left Monmouth to work at Peoples Cleaners, which he later purchased. After a military stint, which included serving as an officer in Korea, he signed the very first franchise agreement with Sandy’s Franchise Company (later Hardee’s) during the dawn of the fast-food business. At one time, he owned 17 restaurants. He also founded the Rochelle Broadcasting Company, an AM-FM radio station, serving as president of the company until he sold his share in 2018. Survivors include daughters Emily Vlahos Rehn ’79 and Mary Vlahos Velisari ’85.

1950

Alice “Shan” Reed Emmons, 89, of Evansville, Ind., died March 29, 2018. She graduated with a degree in English. Emmons co-founded the Casa De La Paz Hospice and Forgach House and counseled many individuals through Catholic Community Services. Survivors include a daughter, Luella Emmons ’82. C. Robert “Bob” Toal, 93, of Arvada, Colo., died Jan. 24, 2019. He served as a medic in Europe during World War II and spent most of his career as a tooling inspector, first in southern California and then in Denver.

1951

David Camp of Sunnyvale, Calif., died Dec. 27, 2018. A government major, he was a member of the track team and Sigma Phi Epsilon. After graduation, he served in the Air Force during the Korean War, analyzing surveillance photos. Camp was a financial analyst for Ford Aerospace. Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Janet Gotthart Camp ’53.

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

Gerald Yeager, 90, of West Caldwell, N.J., died May 6, 2017. He served in the Air Force during World War II. Yeager graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. He worked for CBS/Columbia Records for 34 years, retiring as manager of market research. Alice Johnson Meredith and Joseph Meredith ’52 of Spring, Texas, died within three months of each other in 2018. Joseph, who passed away Sept. 5, studied elementary education and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Alice graduated with a degree in music. She died Dec. 7. John Ohler, 89, of Valparaiso, Ind., died Feb. 9, 2019. He made his career for 35 years with Montgomery Ward in Chicago as a store layout design manager, commuting daily from Indiana. A retirement business called Puckerbrush, Inc., allowed him to expand his artistic talents and travel internationally from 1981-95 for shows and research. A gifted artist, he painted, sculpted, drew and built custom furniture throughout his life.

1952

Joyce Totten Apitz, 88, of Rockford, Ill., died Dec. 14, 2018. She graduated with a degree in home economics and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Apitz worked for Barber Coleman shortly after college and retired from Rockford Standard Furniture in 1992. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Apitz ’52, and her identical twin sister, Barbara Totten Sales ’52. Survivors include a granddaughter, Allyson Doran ’14. Stanley Grace, 88, of Evanston, Ill., died Aug. 2, 2018. He was involved with the Boy Scouts of America and helped more than 100 boys achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. Joseph Meredith (See 1951)

1953

Gloria Harger Gildemeister, 87, of Nashville, Tenn., died Oct. 31, 2018. She studied English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Gildemeister founded the first suicide prevention hotline in Montgomery, Ala., and helped in the founding of the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Survivors include her husband of 68 years, Henry Gildemeister ’51. Joanna Gillespie Rubin, 84, of Columbus, Ohio, died April 17, 2018. She studied chemistry. A 40-year survivor of breast cancer, she became chairman of the Lucas

County American Cancer Society.

1955

Nancy Minor Roettiger of Hudson, Wis., died March 20, 2018. She graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

1956

Ronald Uhle, 84, of Tucson, Ariz., died Nov. 10, 2018. A member of Theta Chi, he graduated with a degree in biology before earning master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and Colorado State University. Uhle had a long and distinguished career as an industrial hygienist, living in seven different states. He retired from Eastman Kodak in 1993 and moved to Tucson the following year. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Jane Frederick Uhle ’56.

1957

JoAnne McWhorter Tiffany, 83, of Naples, Fla., died Jan. 12, 2019. A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, she was described as “a tireless volunteer,” in addition to her role as a mother of four children and a homemaker.

1958

Les Dollinger, 82, of Monmouth, died Nov. 30, 2018. He graduated with a degree in physical education and was a member of the football and baseball teams and Theta Chi. Dollinger served as a sergeant in the Monmouth National Guard for four years. He taught and coached in three Illinois communities, then at Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College. The rest of his 36-year career in education was spent in three communities in Iowa. A teacher, coach, athletic director, principal and superintendent, he held a master’s degree from South Dakota State and an education specialist’s degree from Northeast Missouri State University. He served as a student teacher adviser for Monmouth College and was a member of its Alumni Board of Directors. Dollinger was inducted into several halls of fame, including Marion (Iowa) High School, and the coaching halls of fame for Illinois and Iowa. Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Jo Ellen Hamilton Dollinger ’58, who was his high school sweetheart. Eric P. Shaver, 82, of Galesburg, Ill., died Jan. 27, 2019. An elementary education major, he began his career as a bank teller in Galesburg, eventually advancing to the position of vice president. He then established Shaver Insurance Agency, which he

operated for more than 40 years. He was active in the Kiwanis Club, Jaycees, Chamber of Commerce, United Way, YMCA and his church. The son of former Monmouth music professor Glenn Shaver, he was the brother of the late Glendora Shaver ’49 and the father of Scott Shaver ’83.

1958

Carole Graham Walton, 81, of Wilton, Iowa, died Nov. 4, 2018. She graduated from Monmouth with a degree in biology and also completed studies at the Mercy Hospital School of Medical Technology in Springfield, Ohio. In early years, she was a medical technologist at Moline (Ill.) Lutheran Hospital.

1961

Bill Merry, 82, of Monmouth died Jan. 4, 2019. Raised and educated in Monmouth, Merry graduated with a degree in business administration. Ronald Pinson, 79, of Monmouth, died Nov. 3, 2018. He was active in the Army Reserve unit in Galesburg, Ill., serving as a master sergeant. Pinson worked in Galesburg for 38 years at Puritan Churchill Chemical Company, retiring as plant manager.

1962

Jean Johnson Derby, 78, of Monkton, Md., died Oct. 26, 2018. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Delta before completing a master’s degree in teaching at Duke University and teaching in Jacksonville, Fla. After raising a family, she was a freelance editor for medical and scientific journals for 18 years at Tesso Technologies, a Baltimore firm. John M. Kriegsman, 78, of Pekin, Ill., died Feb. 3, 2019, after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. An economics major and a member of Alpha Tau Omega and Pi Alpha Nu music fraternity, he was also active in the band as a trombonist. He enlisted in the Army, where he played with the bands at Fort Sheridan (Ill.) and Fort Collins (Colo.) and served in Southeast Asia. After working for the family moving and transfer business, he opened a new branch office in Hong Kong and later became the U.S. liaison for Crown Pacific, Ltd., traveling extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia and South America. In the 1980s, he returned to Illinois, where he joined Polar Supply Corporation and served on the board of First Federal Savings and Loan of Pekin. He later rejoined the family moving company, serving as chairman of the board.

SPRING 2019

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

1964

Michael Hornsby, 76, of Machesney Park, Ill., died Oct. 20, 2017. After serving in the Army, he entered the finance and banking industry. He later ran a home maintenance company, worked in the wholesale floral business and was a professional referee. Glenda Wise Rosenbloom of Woodland Hills, Calif., died July 22, 2016. She was a member of Kappa Delta. Hans Christian Sorensen, 88, of Menom onee Falls, Wis., died Jan. 3, 2017. Sorensen also attended Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa), excelling in football. He spent his career in education as a teacher, coach and principal.

1958

Gerald Gold of Weston, Conn., died Dec. 13, 2015. He studied history and was a member of the tennis team and Sigma Phi Epsilon. He spent most of his career as a special education teacher but frequently served as a print and design executive alongside his father.

1970

Wallace Campbell III, 72, of Newport, R.I., died Oct. 26, 2018. He graduated with a degree in government and was a member of the football team. He had a career in banking.

1971

Raymond Toal of Burlington, Iowa, died Dec. 5, 2018. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. For six years, he was a drill sergeant in the Army Reserves. Toal retired in 2008 as the maintenance chief of streets, sewers and vehicles in Burlington.

1972

Wayne Anderson of La Crosse, Ill., died Oct. 28, 2018. During the Vietnam War, he was a combat and surgical medic at the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku. A psychology major at Monmouth, he trained as a physician associate at Duke University, graduating in 1974. Anderson spent the last decades of his medical career as a PA in cardiology at Gundersen Health System. Ernest Roggelin, 67, of Clearwater, Fla., died Aug. 31, 2018. He was a member of Beta Beta Beta and graduated with a degree in biology. He worked as a restaurant inspector and environmental manager.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

IN MEMORIA M

Alicia Phillips Pence ’11 Alicia Phillips Pence, 30, of Stronghurst, Ill., died Jan. 31, 2019, after a six-year battle with brain cancer. A humanitarian with strong Christian faith and principles, Pence put her liberal arts education to work in learning how to become a successful social enterepreneur. During her junior year at Monmouth, Pence was working at her church in rural Stronghurst when she noticed that many of the children in the congregation were wearing clothing that either didn’t fit them or was torn. She also heard stories about parents who were fasting so their children could eat. She thought to herself, “Someone should do something about this.” Pence ended up being that “someone.” Working her way through college with two campus jobs and one off-campus job, she had developed a strong work ethic, but had no idea how to start a non-profit organization. Encouraged by psychology professor Kristin Larson, Pence conducted extensive online research and met with non-profits in the area, learning about its demographics, poverty levels and challenges. While still a senior, she and her best friend founded the Family Outreach Community Center in Stronghurst. After graduating with a major in psychology in December 2010, she became its first executive director. A non-government funded organization, the FOCC provides nutrition programs that include a food pantry and a community garden, parenting and family assistance programs, and employment and career development programs. She established a 10-member board of directors from a variety of backgrounds and drew her employees from the Vista volunteer program. Following a stint as a program coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association in 2012, Pence returned to her post at the FOCC for another three and a half years, then spent two years as a donor relations consultant for the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center. Her volunteer activities included serving as a financial coach, working as an ambulance EMT, assisting her church youth program and serving as president of the Stronghurst Booster Club. Pence’s passion for volunteerism grew out of her experiences at Monmouth College, where she served as a student chaplain, an orientation leader, a Scot Ambassador, a commuter liaison and as a participant in Alternative Spring Break and Relay for Life. She also was a member of Alpha Xi Delta, Students Organized for Service, the softball team, the choir, the radio station staff, Blue Key and Psi Chi. Despite her long struggle with cancer, Pence found time to be a devoted mother and assist her husband, Travis, with his automotive graphics company. “I love helping people,” she said in a 2012 interview. “I especially enjoy seeing their smiles and hugs and in making a difference in people’s lives. It really keeps me going.”

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

1975

Kathryn Leuder Waecker, 65, of A rling ton Height s, Ill., died Jan. 16, 2019. An art major and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, she earned a master’s degree in art from Northern Illinois University and worked as an elementary school speech language pathologist. She is survived by her husband, Garrett Waecker ’74, and two daughters.

1980

Donald Reinoehl, 61, of Siloam Springs, Ark., died Nov. 5, 2018. A member of the Sound of Five, Crimson Masque and Sigma Phi Epsilon, he graduated with a degree in economics. He worked at St. Edwards Mercy and Mercy Health, the latter as lead project manager.

1995

secretary, and retired in 2008 as academic secretary.

2001

Marilyn Nickols, 82, of Monmouth, a former College secretary, died Jan. 2, 2019.

Danial Bieze, 46, of Chicago, died Jan. 15, 2019. He graduated with a degree in business administration was a member of the football team and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Bieze served in the Chicago Police Department for 20 years. Vanessa Armstrong Vassell, 39, of Frankford, Del., died Dec. 22, 2018. She graduated with a degree in psychology and was a conference-champion thrower on the track team. Word has also been received of the following deaths: Janet Hull, 83, of Monmouth, died Jan. 2, 2019. She began her College employment in 1985 as career planning and placement

Gordon Millar, 94, a former member of Monmouth’s board of trustees, died Nov. 2, 2018, in Port Orange, Fla. He was a retired vice president of engineering at Deere & Company.

Joe Pelisek, 95, of Lincoln, Neb., head coach of Monmouth’s football, wrestling and baseball teams in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died Jan. 7, 2019. After leaving Monmouth, he coached at Peru State (Neb.) College.

READING DAY SEEKS TO HONOR LIFE OF YOUNG TEACHER Friends from her alma mater are helping to create a day to honor the late Julie Cahill McVey ’05. A Monmouth College elementary education major who went on to teach at three schools in western Illinois, McVey died last July at the age of 37. “Julie was a strong advocate for reading and education,” said Evy Lipecka ’06, who is helping to organize an annual Julie McVey Reading Day, which will debut this July 27. “During her short life, she touched many people with her teaching and community work. The event will celebrate Julie’s impact on the kids in her community and is an opportunity for us, her friends, to keep her memory alive by continuing her life’s work.” The day’s activities will include a virtual walk/run, live toddler walk/run and a morning reading festival on the Monmouth Public Square. Alumni and friends can participate in the virtual seven-mile race at their own pace over the course of three months using an iPhone, Apple Watch or Fitbit. Other organizers include Kendra Schlesinger Preston ’06, who wrote a children’s book dedicated to McVey, and Jeannie Weber, executive director of the Warren County Way. McVey was a member of the United Way board. The 2019 fundraising goal is $27,000 to finance the installation of several “Julie’s Little Libraries” around the Monmouth community and begin a college fund for the McVeys’ 2-year-old daughter, Lucy. Some volunteers, including family and friends, will solicit peer-to-peer pledges for the steps/miles they accumulate. Others can help by making a pledge to one of the participants or by simply making a donation. “We hope to have donation boxes at businesses around town,” said Lipecka. “Other ways to help are spreading the

JULIE CAHILL McVEY ’05

word about the initiative, sharing our fundraising page on social media, and coming out for the event on July 27.” Registration for the virtual race opens April 27 at: www.charityfootprints.com/juliemcveyreadingday. After graduating from Monmouth, McVey earned a master’s degree in reading from Western Illinois University. She taught in Galesburg and Macomb before assuming her most recent position as the response to intervention (RTI) coordinator at United West Elementary School in rural Monmouth.

SPRING 2019

THE LAST WORD

WHY ENDOWMENT AND WHY NOW?

any American colleges and universities fall into one of two categories based upon the major source of their annual revenues. The first are tuition-driven institutions, while the second, smaller, group includes endowment-driven institutions. The tuition-driven institutions derive most of their revenue from student fees—predomiBILL GOLDSBOROUGH ’65 nantly tuition but also room and board charges—and they tend to have more modest endowments. At these institutions, revenue derived from so-called spending formulas from endowment returns are important, but only account for a modest portion of total revenues. Monmouth is a member of this group. In the endowment-driven universe are universities and colleges with huge endowment (Harvard, Yale and Amherst College, for example). These schools are less dependent on student fees to cover operating expenses and benefit from the stability of ongoing income from a large endowment. These often larger institutions have less concern about the logistics of incoming freshman class numbers and ongoing retention rates. The larger an institution’s endowment, the more secure is its revenue stream and the more easily it can handle unfavorable short-term trends in admissions and retention. College and university trustees carry out a unique responsibility to: 1) their institution today in 2019; and 2) their institution in the distant future, say the year 2050. The socalled “college of today” faces many demands with often only limited resources—demands from students, parents, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and even neighbors in their town. Those many constituents have demands that usually exceed available financial resources. Unlike today’s college, the college of 2050 has only a single advocate—today’s trustees. The students of 2050 haven’t been born yet, few of today’s faculty and staff will still be around in 31 years and the administrative staff will nearly all be new at that time. Only the current board of trustees can balance the complicated intergenerational needs of the institution. While every American university and college would benefit from a larger endowment to enhance the stability of its revenue stream, institutions with less robust financial resources would find major increases in their endowments especially welcome. At Monmouth College we clearly understand the

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

need to substantially increase our endowment to ensure that we meet the College’s needs both today and into the distant future. The College has embarked on Light This Candle: The Campaign for Monmouth College, a capital campaign to raise $75 million to significantly expand our endowment. These new funds will serve four key purposes: 1. Student Financial Aid and Scholarships This will allow Monmouth to continue to be a place of high opportunity, especially given the uncertainty of federal and state financial aid programs. 2. Faculty and Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development Our faculty and staff need sufficient resources to enhance teaching, allow them to remain current in their specialties and enable them to be active in service on campus and in the community. 3. Capital Improvements Academic, residential and athletic facilities must continue to be current, functional and attractive to both current and future students. Curb appeal matters. 4. An Intensified Culture of Philanthropy The goals are improved annual giving, a larger deferred gift registry and great, deep engagement with all of the College’s constituents. Students and alumni are not the only beneficiaries of a Monmouth College education. Our society depends on people who are broadly educated, who can communicate effectively and who wish to serve others. The many benefits found in a close-knit small residential liberal arts college environment like Monmouth compare very favorably to the educational experience found at our large public universities. I am confident that the Campaign will be successful. It has been carefully planned over the last two years with the direct involvement of the College’s constituents who all know and love Monmouth. To date, we have attracted strong support, including a $20 million leadership gift. It is a distinct privilege to serve as chairman of the Light This Candle campaign. As an alumnus, I am committed to Monmouth College because it offers a superior educational experience while continuing to be a place of high opportunity and high achievement. Please join me—with your help, we will reach our goal. Bill Goldsborough is a private investor and the former chairman of the Monmouth College Board of Trustees.

WHERE THEREâ€™S A WILL, THEREâ€™S A WAY. We invite you to make a charitable bequest and to document your commitment so we can acknowledge your gift and factor it into our planning process. Your bequest advances the mission of Monmouth College, and it is not subject to federal estate tax.

Bequests are flexible in that donors may use and control assets during their lifetime; it is only upon death that the asset transfers to the College. To make a provision for Monmouth College in your will or to add a codicil to your existing will, please contact the Office of Development and College Relations at 309-457-2323 or www.monmouthgift.org

Want to make your reunion even more memorable? Volunteer for your reunion committee today! Classes celebrating reunions are: 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014

HOMECOMING 2019 OCTOBER 18-19

Contact Maeve Reilly at mreilly@monmouthcollege.edu

WEâ€™RE SOCIAL! Monmouth College Monmouth College Athletics Monmouth College Alumni @Monmouth @MCFightingScots @Monmouth_Alumni @MonmouthCollege @MonmouthCollegeAthletics @ThisisMonmouth

Monmouth College Magazine SPRING 2019

Monmouth College 700 East Broadway Monmouth IL 61462-1998

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

BOLINGBROOK IL PERMIT NO. 467

www.monmouthcollege.edu

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

ThisIsMonmouth

@MonmouthCollege soundcloud.com/ monmouthcollege #MonmouthCollege #RollScots #ItsGreatToBeAScot

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL WAS NEVER SO MUCH FUN!

Special reunions for the classes of 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974