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ACADEMICS
Stories by Barry Mcnamara
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NEW FLEXIBLE CORE CURRICULUM HELPS STUDENTS BETTER EXPLORE INTERESTS, PREPARE FOR CAREERS
Monmouth College’s academic “heart” recently underwent surgery, and it emerged stronger than ever. College faculty and staff created a new core curriculum that will be implemented this fall. Students will find it more transferfriendly, it allows them to take more electives, and it continues to help them better prepare for rewarding careers.
For the past three years, members of the Monmouth community were hard at work behind the scenes, preparing the new curriculum.
Funded by a $200,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York, that work is now complete, and the new curriculum will begin when the 2022–23 academic year opens on Aug. 24. Language in a handbook detailing “The Monmouth Curriculum” reads: “The Core Curriculum is at the heart of the transformational educational experience that Monmouth College offers and provides the foundation for students to explore their passions and understand the world and their place in it.” Helping to shape the new core curriculum was art professor “…making connections Stephanie Baugh, whose service across disciplines is to the College includes serving as coordinator of Introduction to Liberal essential to what a liberal Arts, the previous required course for arts college does.” first-year students. —stephanie baugh Baugh, who is now associate dean of academic initiatives, described one of her duties in leading the development of the new core as being “the coordinator of the coordinators.” That includes educational studies professor Brad Rowe, who will oversee the first-year experience requirement, titled “Inquiry & Identity,” which has taken the place of ILA. “The first-year experience course is a key fixture of the curriculum,” said Baugh. “Inquiry is the root of all learning, and identity is a complex and multifaceted topic. What does it mean to be on a college campus? What is going to be expected of them? Who are they as individuals? Who are they as members of a campus community? As members of the local community?”
Baugh said the three-year curriculum revision process was “intentionally inclusive,” soliciting feedback at every step of the way.
“We had two successive teams, each composed of about eight people,” she said. “The process was intentionally inclusive and also included town halls and feedback from students. As we really developed the curriculum and started narrowing down what the changes might be, we got additional feedback from the faculty, the students, everybody.”
In revisiting the core curriculum, the committee focused on three essential components, Baugh said. “First are foundational courses that provide students with the skills and knowledge to move forward with their college courses and with life. Second are the ‘Inquiry’ courses that significantly increase the breadth requirements, now including the areas of the arts, humanities, natural sciences, quantitative reasoning and social sciences.”
Baugh said the breadth component was expanded “because making connections across disciplines is essential to what a liberal arts college does.”
“The new curriculum is intentionally integrated,” she said. “We are trying to establish connections across the disciplines. There are many ways in the core curriculum that students will see the same concepts introduced, reinforced and repeated. We want that to occur throughout the entirety of their Monmouth College experience.”
The third component involves changes that make the new curriculum “particularly interesting and distinctive.”
“Through ‘Engagement’ courses, we will address critical issues that are present in our lives,” said Baugh.
Those course offerings will explore identity, diversity and equity; global learning; community engagement; and languages and cultures.
“We’ll be asking the students to examine how that content connects with them personally,” said Baugh.
The new curriculum will help Monmouth students progress in the four core competencies of the institution—the abilities to inquire and analyze; to synthesize and create; to communicate and interpret; and to become engaged learners.
Previously, in addition to ILA, Monmouth students took an “integrated studies” course in their sophomore, junior and senior years. Baugh said a more “flexible” path has replaced that structured approach.
“It’s a very flexible curriculum that provides students with lots of choices,” she said. “There’s much more space for electives. …. The new curriculum is also very transfer-friendly.”
COAST-TO-COAST RESEARCH
It was a busy spring for Monmouth College students as they presented their research from San Diego to Atlanta, as well as on their own campus.
The latter experience was the 47th annual ILLOWA Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference, which the College hosted in April. Ten Monmouth students participated in the event, the longest-running undergraduate psychology research conference in America.
Among the topics addressed by Monmouth students at the ILLOWA conference were social media and its effects on disordered eating; body image perception; stress intervention; and attachment style.
“This was a great opportunity for our students to experience what attending a psychology conference is like for the academic community, all in the comfort of Monmouth College,” said psychology professor Carolyn Liesen.
Earlier in the semester, seven students attended the American Chemical Society Spring 2022 Experience, a national conference in San Diego, while three English students made the trip to Atlanta for the Sigma Tau Delta 2022 International Convention.
“Being able to present at the ACS conference validated my research, which I have spent countless hours perfecting,” said Gabriela Peterson ’23. “For four days, I learned about chemistry research, advancements in chemistry and what scientists can do to improve chemistry through methodology and expanded education.”
Also during the spring, two students presented political science research, with Matt Datlof ’22 attending the Henry Symposium on Religion and Public Life in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Grant Miller ’22 sharing his project virtually at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference.
A ‘high-impact practice’
“We know from Association of American College and Universities studies that undergraduate research is a ‘highimpact practice’ which helps make students’ studies concrete for them, and leads to even better outcomes academically and in their careers,” said Monmouth Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark Willhardt. “That we’re able to take students to national conferences and support their presentations and participation means we’re broadening how they see themselves as students and as developing professionals.”
Political science professor Andre Audette praised “the culture of Monmouth College,” and how it nurtures such experiences.
“This is a place where you can learn new things, where you can experiment and even do things outside your discipline,” said Audette. “Grant is a computer science major, but he’s working on political science research. Matt wants to go to law school, but he was able to tie in elements of history, economics, business and some of the other classes that he’s taken.”
‘Sophisticated’ research
Datlof and Miller did research well beyond their years, said Audette.
“Both of the presentations were very well-received,” he said. “They received a lot of kudos for the ambitious work they’re doing, especially at the undergraduate level. That was recognized by a lot of people within these fields who are experts in these fields.”
English professor Marlo Belschner also came away impressed by the “sophisticated” work done by her students who attended the Sigma Tau Delta conference—Addi Cox ’23, Carrie King ’22 and Kylie McDonald ’23.
“Addi, Kylie and Carrie presented careful, thoughtful analyses that are much more sophisticated than would have been expected of undergraduates even 10 years ago,” said Belschner. “Their analyses of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night incorporate close reading and creative uses of literary theories on gender and on trauma.”
Monmouth psychology students and faculty who hosted the ILLOWA Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference included, in front, from left: Kayla Anderson, Courtney Fisher and Ashling Staunton. Second row: Kendall Burt and Madison Vinyard. Third row: Hailey Beeler, Morgan Kath, Hannah Jones, Kayle Heumann and Kaitlyn Fox. Fourth Row: Professors Joan Wertz, Sydney Greenwalt, Ryan Colclasure and Carolyn Liesen.
ACADEMICS
Student actors get dream opportunity on Broadway
Because of Monmouth College’s address, all of its theatre students get to perform “on Broadway,” the street that borders the south end of campus and is home to Wells Theater.
But in August, Andrew Cliffel ’23 and Gabriela Madu ’23 will be on the real Broadway in New York City, participating in one of four week-long “Broadway Intensives” hosted this summer by the Open Jar Institute, Broadway’s premier actor training program.
Under the direction of Broadway director/choreographer Jeff Whiting, students participate in high-intensity workshops in acting, singing, dance and audition techniques, all taught by Broadway professionals. And if that weren’t attractive enough, the participants also get seats for three Broadway productions.
There are two sessions this summer for college students and two others for high school students. Open Jar’s teaching artists come from a rotating list, and one of the teachers Madu will work with is Stacia Fernandez, who spent part of her childhood in Monmouth as the daughter of the late communication professor Tom Fernandez.
The Open Jar opportunity is an offshoot of Cliffel and Madu’s participation in a regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival earlier this year. There, Madu placed second in the musical theater competition and was a semifinalist in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions. The College has participated in the festival since 1995, and no Monmouth student has previously reached either of those heights.
Cliffel was the first of the pair to hear from Open Jar, receiving an email. He wasn’t quite sure what it meant until Madu told him.
“I thought it was just a general email—something not for just me—probably everyone got one,” said Cliffel. “I showed it to Gabi, and she started screaming. She said, ‘This is the whole point of the (theatre festival) competition—to get one of these invitations.’”
“I told him, ‘This is lit. This is good news,’” said Madu.
“I said, ‘Then please tell me you got one, too,’” said Cliffel. “’I’m not going to New York without you.’”
Madu, indeed, got one, too, receiving her invitation three or four days later.
That was an exciting moment for both students, but there was still another amazing email to come.
Both students were wondering how they’d be able to come up with the approximate $4,000 cost per person for their week in the Big Apple. They were both notified that they’d received small scholarships to attend, but there were still thousands of dollars needed.
A GoFundMe campaign was in the works on campus to help the students, but then another solution emerged.
“On a whim, I shot President Wyatt an email,” said Madu. “I spent a long time on it, crafting it so I said things just right. A few days later, Drew and I were at an all-day tech event for (the College production) The Spoon River Project, and we were just getting ready to go on our lunch break. I got a text from Drew, which was weird because I’d just seen him like two seconds ago. It was to tell me that we just received an email from President Wyatt with the subject line ‘Pack your bags!’”
Wyatt had found a trustee who was not only willing to help, but was covering the entire $8,000 cost for the pair. Madu and Cliffel’s New York City dream was going to be a reality.
“I want it to be a wake-up call for me,” said Madu. “Here at Monmouth, we really get to try whatever we want, and it’s a small enough school that we usually get the role or the position we want. But I don’t want to get complacent. I want to know what it is that I need to be striving for—to work for one week with all these other talented performers and see where I stand.”
“The opportunity to get immediate feedback from someone working in the city—it’s the best information you can have,” said Cliffel, who hopes the stage is in his post-Monmouth future. “I definitely want to get into performance. I might go to grad school, eventually, but I definitely want to try acting professionally in some capacity.”
The “Broadway Intensive” experience will complete a busy theatre-themed summer for Madu, who has a two-month internship at the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company. Cliffel might be working one state east in Ohio, potentially on a production of Spring Awakening that had one of its actors leave the show.
Madu, left, and Cliffel rehearse a number prior to their trip to New York City.
ANONYMOUS DONOR ASSISTS D.C. DUO
Hafner, Clay experience career-building summer program in nation’s capital
Ayear ago, Monmouth College student Shay Hafner ’23 was accepted into the prestigious Fund for American Studies summer program in Washington, D.C.
There was only one problem: he couldn’t afford it.
“I applied last year and got accepted, but I didn’t get much of a scholarship from the Fund for American Studies, and it’s expensive to live in D.C. and go to classes there,” said Hafner, who had heard about the program’s benefits through one of several recent Monmouth students to benefit from the experience, Hadley Smithhisler ’20.
“I wanted to apply again this year because it’s a really cool program and working in D.C. and taking classes there is cool, and I did get more money this year,” said Hafner, a political science and data science major who plans to pursue a doctorate in political science after graduation.
“The impact of experiential learning opportunities such as the TFAS program on a student’s overall academic experience cannot be overstated,” said Wackerle Center for Career, Leadership & Fellowships Director Marnie Steach Dugan ’95. “This type of opportunity not only stimulates academic inquiry, but also advances career development, cultural awareness, leadership and other professional skills.”
Some of Hafner’s funding came from a donor to the College, who anonymously stepped up to make the experience more affordable for Monmouth students.
The same was true for Ally Clay ’23, a public relations major who was also accepted into this summer’s program. Clay learned she could afford the summer program when she got some good news from Dugan.
“The Fund for American Studies gave me a $3,000 scholarship, but when Marnie told me the school could give me an extra $3,000, I was like, ‘Oh, I can go now,’” said Clay. “I wouldn’t be going without it.”
Hafner said that Scots’ generosity is “one of the things I love so much about Monmouth.”
“A lot of the donors haven’t met me and don’t know me personally, but they care enough about the school and the people who are going there to give their time and money. That means a lot,” he said. “I hope I can get to a point and do the same thing. That’s kind of what this school is all about.”
Through the public policy and economics track of the two-month Fund for American Studies program, Clay and Hafner took an economics class through George Mason University while attending lectures, briefings and other events at the White House and the Capitol. They also participated in internships.
Clay’s studies at Monmouth have her on a pre-law track—potentially to study at Washington University in St. Louis—and she knows from talking to Smithhisler and others that the Washington program will make her law school application stand out.
“I was able to connect with different alumni who did this program, and I know that some of them who are now in law school, it really helped them on their application,” said Clay. “I really wanted to do an internship for being pre-law, instead of just focused on public relations—something that would set me apart when applying to law school. And especially being able to go to D.C. and be in an area where all that happens in government, and where policy is made.”
In addition to their shared experience in Washington, both Clay and Hafner have participated in the College’s Stockdale Fellows leadership program and Fighting Scots athletics. Hafner is also an editor of the College’s Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research, has served as a resident assistant, is a Writing Center tutor and is on the executive boards of two honor societies, having served as president of Alpha Lambda Delta and vice president of Blue Key.
Clay is actively involved in Kappa Kappa Gamma, serving every year on its leadership board, and has been on the Panhellenic Council executive board in addition to serving as a Scot Ambassador.
Shay Hafner (left) and Ally Clay participated this summer in The Fund for American Studies program in the nation’s capital, following the path of other Monmouth students.
ACADEMICS
Students earn academic credit during memorable Italy trip
The travelers unfurl the Monmouth flag at St. Mark’s Square in Venice.
Like several other Monmouth College students and members of the campus community, Lillian Hucke ’24 was looking forward to a College-sponsored trip to Italy at the end of the semester last fall. Ultimately, though, the pandemic won out.
“Originally, I was supposed to go on the winter Scots Term trip to Italy with the classics and art departments,” said Hucke. “That trip was canceled due to the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases and the new variant of the coronavirus.”
But Hucke still got to see the sights in Italy—including Venice, Florence and Rome—thanks to another College-sponsored trip in May. And, this time, it was even in her major. Through the course “Cross-Cultural Psychology in Italy,” 20 students made the trip to Italy May 17–26, earning academic credit on top of the wonderful learning experience. “The idea behind the course was examining different cultures in the United States and Italy, such as differences in art, culture and religion,” said psychology professor Carolyn Liesen, who led the trip along with department colleagues Joan Wertz and Ryan Colclasure. Monmouth Director of Global Engagement Christine Johnston was also part of the 29-member travel contingent.
“For students considering or even slightly thinking about going on a study-abroad trip, I would advise them to do it,” said Hucke. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. There are not many times where you have your trip completely planned, get course credit, and get to travel with your friends.”
In terms of comparisons, “Italy is a much older culture than the United States,” said Liesen, a point that was driven home repeatedly to Monmouth’s students.
“Being able to see parts of the world that are so historic—not only to Italy but to human history overall—helped me to gain a better perspective about the world and my own life,” said Emma Wolfe ’23, who had also been scheduled to go on the December trip to Italy.
Before spending the summer on campus as a Doc Kieft Scholar, Luis Castillo ’24 took part in the trip.
“The old history that is connected to Italy is so rich and really puts into perspective how long humans have been on this world and how young our own nation is,” he said.
The group first visited Venice, then headed to Florence. After a day trip to Assisi (the birthplace of St. Francis), the travelers completed their tour of Italy in Rome.
“They had to do daily journals, addressing various prompts, then write a paper upon their return,” said Liesen, noting that subjects covered in those papers included fashion and the idea of collectivism versus individualism.
“Every night, I wrote in my journal,” said Hucke. “The prompts were fun because they allowed me to reflect upon my day and trip thus far, but they also pushed me to reflect critically about Italy’s culture and my own.”
Liesen had been to Italy before, but many others in the group were in a foreign land for the first time.
“I was really excited to show the students what I love about Italy,” said Liesen. “Many of them hadn’t been outside the U.S. before, so we were exploring new experiences. I got a lot of joy out of their joy.” “There were two or three additional excursions that made the trip even more special,” said Kaitlyn Fox ’23. “One was a cooking class, and another that was mind-blowing was our catacomb tour where we got to see a little section of where the dead used to be laid to rest. These hidden surprises were the cherries on top of this trip.”
Even within Italy itself there were cross-cultural experiences, said Liesen.
“In Rome, there were so many instances of ancient structures standing right next to modern buildings. That juxtaposition was fascinating.”
It was Wolfe’s first trip abroad, and now she’s ready to go again and again.
“It was such a great experience being able to go with a group of people I knew and trusted for my first time traveling outside of the country,” she said. “This trip helped me realize that other parts of the world, even though they may be far away, are not so different than where we live. I am now much more confident in myself and my travel capabilities, and I’m eager to go back to Europe to explore new places. It is kind of addicting—once you go and see one place, you want to see them all.”
lillian hucke
MMXXII WAS A BANNER YEAR FOR CLASSICS
Monmouth College’s Department of Classics had quite a year in 2021-22.
It surely would’ve been enough for the department to put on another successful Classics Day, which it did the first Saturday in October, and to graduate another strong group of seniors, which it did during Commencement weekend in May.
But in between, the department received special recognition at every turn, with individuals within the department receiving accolades, to go along with group honors.
When classics professor Robert Holschuh Simmons arrived on campus in 2014, he brought with him an idea he started at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro—Classics Day.
“The thing about the classical world is that one cannot travel there,” said Simmons. “So when we put on this event, it’s an opportunity for people to have that sort of immersive experience that is not possible generally.”
Monmouth’s fifth installment of Classics Day featured a new addition—a collaboration with the College’s theatre department, which staged adaptations of classical works as part of its annual theatre festival, known as FusionFest.
“The theatre department gets a lot of credit,” said Simmons. “Their participation made the event as a whole even more vibrant and energetic.”
Outside sources agreed. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South’s Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek honored Classics Day V with its Outstanding Promotional Activity award.
“This is, in many ways, the best honor we’ve received yet,” said Simmons. “And the thing that made this one stand out for me was how much student ownership there was. The responsibilities that the students took on and their level of professionalism was outstanding.”
The honors for the department kept coming during April’s annual Highlander Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the campus community.
The Classics Club received the Service Excellence Award, while Simmons was selected to receive the Advisor Excellence Award. Megan Dailey, a freshman classics major, was honored with the Emerging Leader Award.
There was another honor to come later in the month for Dailey, who is also majoring in art and educational studies. She was chosen as the Freshman Woman of the Year by the Tau Pi chapter of Mortar Board.
The same organization named classics and English major Olivia Matlock the Senior Woman of the Year.
Both students were actively involved in putting on Classics Day V and both earned a Maxima Cum Laude distinction on the National Latin Exam.
A student who could one day follow in their footsteps is incoming freshman Kailyn Gore of Marlton, New Jersey. Gore, who received one of the College’s prestigious Trustees’ Scholarships, was referred to Monmouth by her high school Latin teacher, Mathew Underwood ’04.
“Mr. Underwood has repeatedly said that Monmouth College changed his life for the better, and he’s probably been one of the best teachers I’ve had,” said Gore, who plans to major in international studies and continue her study of classics at Monmouth in preparation for law school.
Professor Simmons is flanked by two of his awardwinning students— Megan Dailey (left) and Olivia Matlock.
PHILANTHROPY
Smiths’ $1 million gift commitment moves Light This Candle past its goal
Sherm Smith ’72 and his wife, Diane, have made a $1 million deferred gift commitment to Monmouth College. Their gift supports the College’s Light This Candle Campaign and was the specific gift that pushed the Campaign past its $75 million goal, a full eight months ahead of its planned Dec. 31 conclusion. A member of the College’s Board of Trustees from Irvine, Calif., Smith recently retired from his roles as owner, president and CEO of the Chambers Group, an environmental consulting firm that has completed numerous multi-million dollar projects throughout the southwestern United States, including habitat restorations. “I sold the business, and I walked away from that in a good position financially,” said Smith, who spent his career in various roles connected with environmental engineering and consulting and was a champion of the College’s Center for Science and Business, which was built a decade ago.
The $42 million facility represented a major change in the landscape from Smith’s time as a student, but as he’s remained active with his alma mater, he’s observed that Monmouth has remained the same as an outstanding place to receive a liberal arts education.
“Monmouth College very much has been a family affair,” said Smith, whose mother, Mary Uhler Smith, graduated in 1941, and whose brother, Greg Smith ’74, followed him to campus
from their Burlington, Iowa, home. Mary was active in Pi Beta Phi, Greg was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Sherm joined Tau Kappa Epsilon. “I really love Monmouth,” he said. “It meant the world to me when I was there. I would recommend that anybody really consider talking to their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews about going to Monmouth. It’s a wonderful school.” Smith elaborated, citing a recent tagline that Monmouth used to market itself. “A few years ago, the College had the slogan ‘What college was meant to be.’ And that really resonated with me. I was at Iowa State for one summer term, and that was enough for me. Monmouth was such a better experience for me.” While majoring in psychology and taking classes from professors Charles Meliska, Dean Wright and Bill Hastings, Smith was active in TKE, was a disc jockey for WRAM in downtown Monmouth and was named Blue Key’s Senior Man of the Year. “I’ve always wanted to give back to Monmouth,” he said. “I was there at a real turning point in my life. I was just getting back from the service (three years of active duty, including one in Vietnam), and I needed some place like Monmouth to get re-grounded and refocused. Monmouth provides a great sherm smith: “I made nurturing attitude and environment. Not to mention all the wonderful friendships that I’ve developed through Monsome lifelong friends, mouth over the years.” Smith intends for his gift to go toward capital improveand it (Greek life) was a ment, perhaps a new facility to house Greek life residents. “Greek life isn’t for everybody, but it was for my mother, wonderful experience. I’d brother and me,” said Smith. “I made some lifelong friends, and it was a wonderful experience. I’d like to help folks out like to help folks out who who choose to go that route.” “Sherm wanted to make a leadership statement and push choose to go that route.” us past our goal in the campaign,” said Monmouth Vice President for Development and College Relations Hannah Maher. “The process was relatively easy with an adjustment in their will.” Smith hopes the gift will make an impact on students who come to Monmouth in need of the same nurturing he received. “I just hope that my donation will be able to help folks that are in the same type of situation that I was in and helps get them on track for what they can be in life,” he said, “especially as it relates to students in the Greek system.” —Barry McNamara
Noted philosopher Ann Garry creates social engagement fund
A pioneering scholar in feminist philosophy has started a fund to support Monmouth College faculty and students.
A planned gift from Ann Garry ’65 of Beverly Hills, Calif., will “benefit students and faculty participating in socially engaged study and work.” The gift is part of the College’s ongoing Light This Candle Campaign.
Garry is an emerita professor of philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles, where she was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities. An early entrant into feminist philosophy, she was responsible for a significant amount of foundational work in the new field, including the development of early courses in feminist philosophy, early efforts to integrate feminist philosophy into other philosophical areas, and the creation of a new journal, Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, which remains the premier journal in the field.
Garry said that part of the motivation behind her gift is a simple desire to pay it forward.
“I got a scholarship to attend Monmouth,” said Garry, who came to campus in 1961 from Jacksonville, Ill. “People long ago gave money to fund that scholarship, and I want to give something back, too.”
She said she likes to support institutions and organizations with which she has a personal connection and “who aren’t going to waste it.”
“I’ve been back to Monmouth a few times in recent years for a variety of reasons, and I like the spirit of the place,” said Garry. “The College is doing a really good job these days of trying to stay abreast of what students need, and doing that within the framework of a liberal arts education.”
Learning from Sam Thompson
One of Garry’s trips to campus was in 2019 to present the College’s annual Sam Thompson Lecture. The series honors the legendary Monmouth philosophy professor and 1926 graduate who taught at his alma mater for 46 years. In between graduating and teaching, Thompson earned a master’s degree from Princeton University and a doctorate from Yale University.
“He treated students with respect,” said Garry as she recalled her days as a philosophy major. “He didn’t make you do silly assignments that were trivial or petty. His assignments really made sense for what you should be learning. And that’s something I tried to emulate when I taught.”
She continued other aspects of Thompson’s teaching, as well.
“He was critical, but supportive, also,” she said. “That’s an important combination to have. He was a good mentor.”
While some female students found they weren’t taken as seriously as their male counterparts in the early 1960s, Garry said that wasn’t the case with how Thompson made her feel.
“He had daughters, and even though they were older by that time, he knew what it was like to be 18 to 22 years old and be a smart girl,” she said. “Although he lived long enough to know that I became a philosophy professor, he would have been surprised that we could create an entire field of feminist philosophy and that I then continued to specialize in it. But it’s who I am.”
Becoming more open-minded
Garry said another takeaway from her Monmouth education was learning that “every student is not alike. Or, more frankly, that not every student is like me. This can be surprisingly hard, but very important, for a teacher to learn.”
But Garry recalls a moment when it was driven home, as she had an impromptu tutoring session with another member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
“I remember trying to help one of my sorority sisters with the logic course,” she said. “I learned right then that people’s ‘learning styles’ are different.”
Garry also recalled being exposed to views from the other side of the aisle in an introductory political science course taught by (former dean) Harry Manley.
“We read Supreme Court cases that taught me that many sides of an issue can be argued equally well. This was important to me because I’d come from Jacksonville, a typical little town in Illinois where almost everybody had the same political viewpoint, so that’s something I first figured out while I was at Monmouth. … I became more open-minded in college, and I think that’s something that’s served me well my entire life.”
Garry graduated magna cum laude from Monmouth, then received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1966 and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Maryland in 1970.
During her tenure at Cal State L.A., Garry served several terms as the chair of the philosophy department. She has also held teaching appointments at UCLA and USC. After retiring from Cal State, she served as the Humphrey Chair of Feminist Philosophy at the University of Waterloo in Canada and held Fulbright lectureships at the University of Tokyo and Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.
—Barry McNamara
Garry delivers a lecture at Monmouth College in 2015.
Retirements Stories by Barry McNamara
Marjorie Bond
For 26 years, she gave students ‘the tools to be lifelong learners’
The data have been collected, and they lead to a convincing conclusion: Marjorie Bond had a rich and meaningful career in her 26 years as a Monmouth College professor, excelling not only as an educator but also as a researcher and a vital member of the larger campus community.
“I believe in the Phi Beta Kappa motto of ‘Love of learning is the guide to life,’” said Bond, who has retired from her position as a professor in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science. “Being a lifelong learner was essential to my professional career, and my hope is that I inspired my students and colleagues to let the love of learning be their guide to life.”
Evidence of Bond’s love of learning can be found in a development that occurred late in her Monmouth career—teaching data science, which she called “a combination of statistics, computer science, mathematics and a domain field.”
“The more that I learned about data science, the more that I wanted to learn,” said Bond. “And the more I learned, the more I realized that I was a student again—no longer the master guiding students along a path so often traveled. Instead, I was leading my data science students through material that I was synthesizing. I found my teaching revitalized and a desire to be involved with other educators who are developing, implementing and assessing data science curricula and to work with undergraduate and graduate students through either formal coursework or research.”
It was fitting to see Bond working right up to the end of the spring semester, as she led the faculty and the College’s graduating Class of 2022 up the sidewalk to Wallace Hall Plaza and to their seats for the Commencement ceremony. Bond became a faculty marshal in 1999 and has been chief marshal for the past 14 years. Bond has also been an award-winning adviser, first for Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity and, for the past 12 years, for Blue Key. One of the last pre-COVID events she helped organize in her latter role was a Pumpkin Fun Run in fall 2019. The combined efforts of several student organizations raised $2,000 for mammogram equipment at OSF Holy Family Medical Center. Advising students is near and dear to Bond’s heart. She was an integral part in developing what is now known on campus as Mentoring Day—a time especially devoted to having Monmouth students meet with their academic advisers to make sure they are still on track with their college plans or, perhaps, to come up with a new-and-improved Plan B.
While some of her areas of service to the College have not, directly, been related to her academic field, another of her roles put her right in her element. Bond served as the College’s quantitative reasoning coordinator. Like her other roles, it required plenty of behind-thescenes diligence.
As just one example, she played a vital role in determining whether students needed to take a foundational course in QR when Monmouth went “test-optional,” since ACT or SAT mathematics scores were previously used to determine placement.
It all boils down to helping Monmouth students get the most out of their college education, while also conveying one of Bond’s core beliefs.
“Our students need to become independent learners to thrive in this ever-changing world, and we need to ensure that our graduates leave the academy with the tools to be lifelong learners,” she said. “The student evolution to scholar may begin in a quantitative literacy course or in an introductory course in which the student is just passing through to other fields.”
Bond completed her doctoral degree at Kansas State University, where she also taught for a year during a sabbatical from Monmouth. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees at the University of New Mexico. “Learning how to teach statistics during the statistics education reform movement ensured that I teach concepts over calculations and that I use active learning and real data.”
Bond played a major role in that reform.
From 2006–15, “the Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics occupied most of my research time,” she said. “Candace Schau —the creator of SATS—and I collected The SATS Project that is a publicly available database containing data from students and instructors using three surveys. In the midst of that, we formed the first of several research groups that studied statistics attitudes.”
In 2016, Bond received a membership initiative grant from the American Statistical Association for the Research on Statistics Attitudes project.
“Essentially, through ROSA, the decision was made to create new statistics attitude instruments instead of adapting the SATS,” said Bond. “ROSA’s executive board formed the MASDER (Motivational Attitudes of Statistics and Data Science Education Research) group that eventually received a National Science Foundation grant in 2020. Using NSF’s funds, the MASDER group will create a family of instruments, called the Survey of Motivational Attitudes.”
Next up for Bond will be a stint as a teaching professor in the Department of Statistics at Penn State’s main campus, University Park, where she will teach upper-level probability courses.
Frank Gersich and Judy Peterson
Husband-and-wife team had significant impact on accounting students
For the better part of a quarter-century, it could be said that the husband-and-wife team of Frank Gersich and Judy Peterson had a “monopoly” on the accounting program at Monmouth College.
The duo arrived on campus in 1998 and quickly became the heart of the program. In addition, Gersich took on a key administrative role, serving as associate dean of academic affairs, where one of his major tasks was preparing the College for its vital accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission.
As they move on to their next stop in Peterson’s hometown of Salina, Kansas, the couple is being celebrated by a generation of Monmouth accounting students who’ve gone on to career success.
“Frank and Judy single-handedly have helped me to be in the life I currently am,” said certified public accountant Emily Flint Schmidt ’16, who works at Crowe LLP. “Judy helped teach me the fundamentals of accounting through a crazy adaptation of (the board game) Monopoly. Her classes laid the integral foundation for how accounting works, allowing me to take the very basic accounting concepts and apply them to technical and complex real-life client situations.”
“Frank and Judy were certainly a huge part of the accounting program at Monmouth and are going to be missed,” said Nyle Stevens ’17, an audit manager at RSM. “They both made things interesting in their own way—Frank with his dry wit and Judy with her happy-go-lucky attitude and finding a way to involve Monopoly in accounting. Their instruction was a big reason why I was able to get my foot in the door working in public accounting and gave me the foundation I needed to be able to pass the CPA exam.”
“I brought it from a previous institution, and I’d seen it before that, but I made it my own,” said Peterson of her Monopoly activity, which she also taught to accounting instructors at conferences. “It could be hard to grade, but I got so good at it, I could tell very quickly what they’d done wrong.”
Schmidt also enjoyed her relationship with Peterson outside the classroom.
“Not only is Judy a wealth of knowledge, she is like a mother —kind, easy to talk to and always welcoming,” she said. “Additionally, Judy advocates for the VITA program each year, which is not only instrumental for students to learn real-world tax, but is also so important for the Monmouth community.”
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which provides free income tax preparation to the local community, seemed to grow a little more every year through the start of the pandemic. In 2019, for example, the Internal Revenue Service program, which Peterson started on campus in 2000, prepared an even 1,000 returns at no cost to area residents, earning the Service Excellence Award at the College’s Highlander Awards ceremony.
“I believe VITA is the most impactful thing I’ve ever done,” said Peterson, who plans to stay involved with the program as a volunteer in Salina. “It made a difference for this community. It meant a lot to them, to the students and to me. I always believed that it wasn’t simply about accounting. It was about the community, and it really opened the students’ eyes.”
VITA brought Monmouth’s students into the public eye, but former students said there were plenty of contributions by the couple that went unnoticed by many.
“I have always felt that Frank and Judy both excelled at experiential learning opportunities for students,” said Jessica DeVore Johnston ’04, a commercial consultant in Caterpillar’s Enterprise Strategy Division. “Frank’s integration of the ‘Accounting Systems’ class into the upper level curriculum was an intentional—and for those like me, painful—way to set students up for success in the workplace. Less than one month in to my professional career, however, I was exceptionally grateful that he had pushed us and prepared us with the technological tools we would need to excel— pun intended.”
Johnston also said both professors were ahead of their time in encouraging their students to seek internships.
“While I didn’t spend as much of my time with Frank, one pivotal piece that he accomplished for the College was getting the Monmouth accounting curriculum pre-approved for eligibility to take the CPA exam,” said Schmidt. “This allowed me to fast-track my way into sitting for the CPA exams, as I already had all the required courses necessary.”
“The biggest takeaway for me is the students,” said Gersich. “We pushed them and challenged them, but we were also there to support them. Some of them would come into my office and take a look at my cat pictures and just zen out a bit. I really enjoyed the camaraderie.”
“I’m going to miss them terribly,” said Peterson.
BRING ON THE BANDS
Hosting a large band at Monmouth College this summer could lead to having a large marching band on campus in the fall for years to come.
That’s the thinking of first-year Director of Athletic Bands John Eckstine, whose pre-Monmouth experience included leading marching bands in the Hollywood Christmas Parade in California, the Miracle Mile Holiday Parade in Chicago and the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Shortly after beginning his position last November, Eckstine invited a few select drum corps organizations to use the Monmouth campus as the site of their “band boot camp.”
The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa, accepted the invitation. The organization sent several dozen band members to campus in February for a weekend on campus. The Colts returned in June for an intensive month of practice before departing on their summer tour. It will culminate with the Drum Corps International World Championship Finals Aug. 11–13 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“I wanted to find something that would put this place on the map,” said Eckstine of hosting a drum corps.
Of the four drum corps organizations that Eckstine invited to practice at Monmouth, he said the Colts were a great match.
“They are a perfect fit for us, and we’re a perfect fit for them,” he said.
Colts Brass Arranger Mike Miller said the group enjoyed its new summer place.
Miller said instruction is focused on three main areas— brass, percussion and color guard. Monmouth’s campus provides ample space for the Colts to spread out and receive proper group training. “Also, having (April Zorn Memorial Stadium) here puts us in a mock performance venue,” he said. “It allows us to better prepare our show and help make it more presentable to the audience.” Founded in 1963, the Colts are one of the most consistently successful drum corps in the nation. Since formally adopting the “Colts” name in 1976, the organization has grown considerably, reaching more than 500 students annually through its
THE IDEA IS TO two drum corps, a summer band and steel drum
GET THEM ON ensembles, as well as thousands of fans who see CAMPUS TO LET THEM SEE THAT THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING the groups perform every season. Including staff, about 160 members of the Colts team were housed in the College’s LiedPLACE TO man Hall.
COME TO AND In addition to getting Monmouth on a musi-
PERFORM IN cal map, Eckstine said it’s also important to get
A MARCHING Monmouth on musicians’ minds. BAND.” “The idea is to get them on campus to let them
JOHN ECKSTINE see that this is an outstanding place to come to and perform in a marching band,” he said. Eckstine hopes the Colts will, in turn, attract other talented musicians to campus. “I would like to see high school band kids get here and observe,” said Eckstine. Throughout the summer, Eckstine is making preparations to host his own band boot camp—the annual weeklong training for the Fighting Scots Marching Band, Aug. 16–22. —Barry McNamara
Eckstine at an evening drill by the Colts in June at April Zorn Memorial Stadium.
