Trinity Magazine | Fall 2021

THE MAGAZINE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY FALL 2021

Progress.

TRINITY Fall 2021 Editor Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08 Managing Editor Molly Mohr Bruni Art Director Laura Kaples Copy Editor Ashley Festa

Instagram In biology professor David Ribble’s Costa Rican Ecology program—back this past summer after a year-long COVID-19 hiatus—Trinity students discovered how art and cultural skills can make for better biology.

Trinity Online Web Extras

Interact with videos, slideshows, and other content through the magazine’s web extras. A “gotu.us” URL at the end of a story signifies there’s more to experience online— just type the URL as printed directly into your web browser.

Social Media

Follow Trinity on social media and stay updated with stories from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. Show your Trinity spirit with #TigerPride! facebook.com/TrinityUniversity youtube.com/TrinityUniversitySA

Editorial Team Ted Gartner ’91 Jeremy Gerlach Ryan Sedillo Taylor Stakes Contributors Tess Coody-Anders ’93 Courtney Cunningham Tamara Dillow Ryan Finnelly Madeline Freeman ’23 James Hill ‘76 Marisa Kitchen Harrison LaLone Joshua Moczygemba ’05

Justin Parker ’99 Tom Payton Sydney Rhodes ’23 Carla Sierra Samantha Skory Marc Soto Burgin Streetman Alyssa Tayrien ’17 Brian Yancelson ‘22

Trinity is published by the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing and is sent to alumni, faculty, staff, graduate students, parents of undergraduates, and friends of the University.

Editorial Offices Trinity University Strategic Communications and Marketing One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200 jgoodri1@trinity.edu | 210-999-8406

twitter.com/Trinity_U trinity.edu/trinity-magazine

instagram.com/TrinityU gotu.us/linkedin

Instagram In solemn commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Trinity’s Young Conservatives of Texas displayed 2,977 flags near Miller Fountain to honor those lives lost 20 years ago.

President Danny J. Anderson Board of Trustees Ruth K. Agather April Ancira ‘02 Erin M. Baker ‘99 Annell R. Bay ‘77 Ted W. Beneski Stephen W. Butt ‘77 Miles C. Cortez ‘64 Janet St. Clair Dicke ‘68 Cydney C. Donnell Thomas Evans ‘84 Douglas D. Hawthorne ‘69, M’72 Marshall A. Hess ‘88 Gen. James T. Hill ‘68 Jelynne L. Jamison M’88 E. Carey Joullian IV ‘82 The Rev. Dr. Richard R. Kannwischer ‘95 Christopher M. Kinsey ‘79

Katherine Wood Klinger ‘72 John C. Korbell Oliver T.W. Lee ‘93 Michael Lynd Jr. ’95 Steven P. Mach ‘92 Robert S. McClane ‘61 Melody B. Meyer ‘79 Jeffrey Mueller ’00 Michael F. Neidorff ‘65 Thomas Schluter ‘85 L. Herbert Stumberg Jr. ‘81 Jessica W. Thorne ‘91 Scott W. Tinker ’82 Michelle L. Collette ’06 Alumni Adviser The Rev. Dr. James D. Freeman ’83 Synod of the Sun Rep.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CESS C U S T N E STUD

INTENTIONAL INCLUSION BUILDING

FOR THE

FUTURE

Progress.

34 Changing Course: Navigating Academics Through Holistic Advising 38 Resilient Success 42 Professional Pipeline 46 COVID-19 Updates: Here Come the Tigers

DEPARTMENTS 6 Trinity Today 16 Trinity University Press 18 Lit Picks

49 The Kids Are All Right—Kind Of 52 Elevating Inclusive Excellence 54 Active Advocacy

19 In Memoriam 22 Tiger Pride

56 Dicke Hall

66 Class Notes / Club Activities

62 Halsell Center

76 Commentary

64 Trinity Parkway

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE MEET THE STAFF

Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08 editor

Molly Mohr Bruni managing editor

Trinity community, It would be easy—and even tempting—to write off the past year or so as simply “lost time.” In many ways, life at Trinity has mirrored our own personal lives, with bouts of isolation, opportunities lost, and traditions missed. And without question, those feelings are very real for all of us. But sometimes, it’s essential to look back, just to see how far we’ve come.

I’m pleased to report that despite the many obstacles, Trinity remains a resilient force in motion. We are emerging from the pandemic transformed.

We are stronger, and we are even more adaptable in the face of our challenges. We have recommitted to living our values of enduring excellence, intentional inclusion, and perpetual discovery.

I am proud of the incredible strides we have made toward improving an already exceptional experience for all of our students. That’s reflected in an enhanced student advising process, accessibility programs, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Trinity red brick and mortar is making progress, too. As you’ve noticed on our front cover, Dicke Hall, Trinity’s new home for the Humanities, is taking shape. The Halsell Center, a Trinity landmark since 1968, has also undergone a state-of-the-art renovation designed with collaborative learning in mind.

This progress is vitally important in our pursuit of being a nationally recognized, top-tier liberal arts institution. We know Trinity is a very special place, and now it’s time to let the world know, too. The investments from alumni, friends, and Trustees have a direct impact on our progress, and I am grateful for their generous support to ensure Trinity is a force in motion.

Progress is everywhere. You can see it in our faculty and staff, who are rekindling relationships on campus. You can see it in our students, many of whom are on campus full time for the first time. You can even see it in our alumni and community partners, who have remained steadfast and are excited to begin the next chapter of this journey with us.

And finally, speaking of new chapters, I have made the personal decision to retire as Trinity’s president at the end of the school year in May 2022.

The decision is bittersweet, and leaving this close-knit community will be difficult. But I depart knowing Trinity has great momentum and an exceptional team in place to forge ahead even further.

I will always remain a Tiger.

Danny J. Anderson President

2

TRINITY Fall 2021

Ted Gartner ’91 words

Jeremy Gerlach words

Laura Kaples art director

Ryan Sedillo photos + videos

Taylor Stakes photos + videos

EDITOR’S NOTE

Several weeks ago , I, minding my own business but most definitely not looking

LETTER TO THE EDITOR I’m writing to thank you and your staff for the

beautiful work you do on the Trinity magazine.

I recently took some extra time to look and read through most of the Spring 2021 edition. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

My time at Trinity was a challenge for sure, but I always felt a wonderful, understated, but discernible spirit of kindness at Trinity that I’ve never forgotten. I’m 59 now, recently retired and very glad I followed that little voice inside of me that told me years ago that Trinity University would be a great fit for me and my little family.

Again, thanks for all your work on the magazine. It’s really my only connection with the university, and I appreciate it now more than ever. I know it’s a labor of love, which brought me a lot of joy today.

Lance Robinson M’88

YOUR TOP STORIES More than 5,000 Tigers read the Spring 2021 magazine stories online. Here are your top stories from the last issue of Trinity magazine:

Longhorn Leader

at my phone while driving, blew through a red light on Hildebrand Avenue.

I slammed on my brakes almost immediately—there was another red light in front of me—but had to do a double take and crane my neck to look behind me. I wasn’t imagining it, nor was I that distracted by the construction progress on the new Dicke Hall. There was a traffic light where there hadn’t been one before… and after apologizing to the universe, I smiled with joy.

It had been quite a while since I’d traveled eastbound on Hildebrand past Shook, and much, much longer since I’d taken my usual right at Stadium Drive and backed my car into “my spot” on Laurie Auditorium’s yellow level. I hadn’t been there for the planning, disruption, and construction of what would become Trinity Parkway, Trinity’s new grand entrance and open door to the San Antonio community.

Now, I stop proudly at that light and look out over Trinity’s campus to take it all in. I see a university on its way to national recognition, mindful of its history, rooted in a firm belief that inquiry and education should be accessible to all. I see faculty, staff, students, and alumni who are encouraged to answer questions and question answers. I see progress. I see change.

Yet, I think a lot of us see change as a beautiful metamorphosis: a caterpillar, inching along just fine but aching to transform into something new; a solitary cocoon, peacefully allowing nature to take its course; a butterfly, emerging with brilliant colors and a bold new mission, ready to take to the skies.

To passers by—to those who carefully avoid squishing the caterpillar on the sidewalk, or those who don’t notice the cocoon tucked into the tree branches, or those who comment on the butterfly on the flower of a fragrant citrus— maybe this is what change looks like. But for those of us inside the cocoon?

Well, it’s a messy place. It’s hot in here, sticky with the layers of the past. We’re sifting through the parts and pieces of the potential we already possess. We’re pushing against the walls that constrict and confine us. We’re growing, atom by atom and element by element, into what we are determined to become.

Progress is hard. Progress is necessary. Progress is how we confirm our mission, live our values, and deliver our promises. It’s in our 150-plus-year-old DNA, in the vision of our founders, and in the passions of our leaders. It’s how we fuel collaboration and ignite change.

Still, each time I get a red light at Trinity Parkway, I sit there and smile with joy. I’ve never been prouder to be a part of Trinity University—changing, progressing, and forever a force in motion.

Jay Hartzell ’91 named president of The University of Texas at Austin

Hall in the Family

Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08

Trinity trio leads San Antonio government

Multi-Purpose Stadium Undergoes Renovations The home for Tiger Football and Track & Field upgrades its field and bleachers Read these stories and more at trinity.edu/trinity-magazine.

P.S. Congratulations to the magazine team for securing gold in the 2021 MarComm Awards for the Spring 2021 issue, Tunnel, Meet Light. Building publications from concept to completion via Zoom meetings and Google Drive comments is far from ideal, but we have our team and our community to thank for our success. Those of you who drum up story ideas, participate in interviews, submit class notes, write letters to the editor, and send words of encouragement: You’re why we do what we do!

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

3

TRINITY TODAY

President Anderson and his wife, Kimberly, waved hello to new students and families during Move-In Day in 2019. We now give that wave back—not as a “goodbye,” but as a “see you later!”

President Danny Anderson Announces His Retirement Trinity’s thoughtful and supportive leader to remain on campus through May 2022

by Carla Sierra Trinity University President Danny Anderson, Ph.D., has

announced he will retire at the end of the school year in May 2022, after having served with distinction for seven years. Anderson has made his mark as a great leader by putting Trinity on a trajectory to become a nationally recognized school and by embodying a warm, friendly, calming presence on campus. Students fondly refer to him as “Danderson,” his Trinity email user name.

Anderson took the helm as Trinity’s 19th president with a vision that the University become recognized as the model of a 21st-century liberal arts and sciences education. He didn’t foresee a global pandemic that would change the University’s way of doing things.

For Anderson, this never meant wavering on a world-class education for Trinity’s students, but rather as a moment to seek new insights on how to continue moving forward with enduring excellence, intentional inclusion, and perpetual discovery. He

6

TRINITY Fall 2021

also used this time for self-reflection, which led him to decide it was time for him to change course and enter into the next phase of his life: retirement.

“It has been an honor to serve as the president of Trinity University since June 2015. In that time, we have worked together to chart a new trajectory for Trinity, one that will increase our national standing through a focus on student success and belonging,” Anderson says. “While I am enthusiastic about Trinity’s bright future, the pandemic has given me the opportunity to re-examine my personal priorities.”

Anderson has been a hands-on leader. During his tenure, he was instrumental in Trinity’s Campus Master Plan, which was part of the Trinity Tomorrow strategic plan to help guide decisions for renovations, enhancements, space usage, and new construction in the coming decades. To date, the University has broken ground on the new Dicke Hall, reopened the

historic Halsell Center, and just announced its business school naming to the Michael Neidorff School of Business after receiving the University’s single largest donation of $25 million from Trinity alumnus and Trustee Michael Neidorff ’65. The University recently ranked No. 1 in the West for “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report for the 29th time in 30 years.

Trinity celebrated its milestone 150th anniversary in 2019, and with a commitment to institutional growth, Anderson created a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force with the charge to provide actionable recommendations to generate fundamental, sustained change in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“We have worked together to chart a new trajectory for Trinity, one that will increase our national standing through a focus on student success and belonging.”

“I have the utmost respect and appreciation for President Anderson, his many accomplishments, and his future vision for Trinity, so I have a deep sense of loss of his steady leadership,” says Board of Trustees Chair Melody Boone Meyer ’79. “At the same time, I fully respect his decision to retire. Given the tremendous support the Trustees and the entire Trinity community have for his extraordinary leadership, he and I will work together to ensure a highly successful succession.”

Meyer continues, “Under President Anderson’s leadership, Trinity has been laser-focused on student outcomes that make a real difference—from improving graduation and retention rates to creating a sense of belonging and purpose. His advocacy for faculty and staff has been unwavering and critical to achieving our goals as an institution of higher learning.”

The Board of Trustees is currently establishing the search committee, which will be composed of Board members as well as faculty, staff, student, and alumni representatives. “As an alumna, I am deeply appreciative of his efforts to move my beloved alma mater forward; and as a colleague, I respect his wise and patient counsel,” Meyer says. “I admire President Anderson’s steady hand, open mind, and servant’s heart at the helm of our great institution.”

STEADY HAND, OPEN MIND, AND SERVANT’S HEART

Share your stories of President Anderson At Trinity magazine, we take pride in being the University’s storytellers—but no storyteller has been more reliable, authentic, open, honest, willing, and heartfelt than President Danny Anderson.

As Trinity’s self-proclaimed “Chief Storyteller,” President Anderson has shared countless stories with us— stories of energy and excitement, of uncertainty and change, of leading and listening and learning with one another.

Now, it’s our turn. Trinity magazine wants to hear your stories about our Chief Storyteller. What stories of President Anderson will stay with you and your own personal narrative?

Email Jeanna Balreira, editor, at jgoodri1@trinity.edu with your stories, and we will share them with President Anderson in a collection at the end of the academic year.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

7

TRINITY TODAY

Trinity students study abroad in cities across Mexico.

MAS Receives Alvarez Family Gift Donation continues family’s support of a premier interdisciplinary program Trinity’s Mexico, the Americas, and Spain program (MAS) has received a $2 million donation from Carlos and Malú Alvarez, advocates for the program’s promotion of a bilingual and bicultural environment through opportunities for engagement with life and culture from Latin America, U.S. Latinx contexts, Mexico, and Spain. For more than 15 years, The Carlos and Malú Alvarez Fund for MAS has opened doors for students to engage with visiting lecturers and scholars, readings, performances, internships, and workshops, and to become Alvarez Fellows.

The University’s principal education program trains educators to be the leaders of tomorrow.

8

TRINITY Fall 2021

New Majors and Minors University debuts six new programs in two departments and the Michael Neidorff School of Business

A Summer of Discovery More than 300 Tigers research, intern, build businesses, and explore during the summer

In the past year, Trinity has approved three new majors and three new minors. Alongside an applied physics major and a museum studies minor, Trinity approved two majors and two minors in the Neidorff School of Business: majors in human resource management and marketing, and minors in global supply chain management and data science.

Trinity now offers more than 50 majors and more than 60 minors. The addition of these programs to Trinity’s curriculum allows students to use project-based classroom experiences and the liberal arts foundation of their courses to amplify their learning in an integrated, customized way.

This summer, more than 300 Trinity Tigers engaged in experiential learning opportunities on and off campus, in person and virtually. Across 36 academic departments and programs, 165 students engaged in summer research, 35 completed internships, and 12 students participated in the Stumberg Accelerator. These students were mentored by 97 faculty members, and 200 of them presented during the 2021 Summer Experiential Learning Symposium.

Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation Supports Education Gift will benefit Trinity’s Center for Educational Leadership

At the start of each academic year, the Trinity community shares a joint reading experience through the Reading TUgether program, which encourages students, staff, faculty, and alumni to read a selected book.

In the 2021 selection, Long Shot: The Triumphs and Struggles of an NBA Freedom Fighter, two-time NBA champion Craig Hodges chronicles his successes on the basketball court and the social activism that resulted in his being ostracized by powerful forces in and beyond sports. Hodges shares stories of encounters with Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King, Jim Brown, Michael Jordan, and others from his lifelong fight for equality for Black Americans.

Trinity’s Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) received $1.5 million from the Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation, allowing the University to invest in the future of the San Antonio community by strengthening the aspirational and strategic goals of the CEL, the Tomorrow’s Leaders school leadership preparation program, and the Trinity School Design Network. This gift also ensures Trinity’s Department of Education will continue to meet the needs of local Pre-K–12 students by providing resources to local educators and entrepreneurs.

Triumphs and Struggles Reading TUgether not a “Long Shot” for Trinity first-years

MicroLev, the winner of the 2021 Stumberg Competition, spent the summer in a chemistry lab on campus.

Lynd

Mueller

Trinity Adds Two to Board of Trustees Alumni Michael J. Lynd Jr. ‘95 and Jeff Mueller ‘00 bring business expertise Lynd is the CEO of Kairoi Residential, providing strategic direction and leadership across the entire corporate platform. He is a co-founder of the acquisitions and development partnerships in 2003 and 2006 respectively, as well as a founding partner of Kairoi.

Mueller is a partner at Polen Capital, the co-portfolio manager of the firm’s Global Growth strategy, and an adjunct faculty

Strengthening Our Community Trinity places new and familiar Tigers in key positions across campus

Jim Hertel

Interim Chief Human Resources Officer

Erika D. Robinson, J.D.

General Counsel

member at Columbia Business School, where he teaches the course “Compounders” within the Value Investing Program.

Trinity University is governed by up to 36 Trustees who are responsible for establishing policies for the governance of the University. Trinity is committed to recruiting a board that represents a variety of life experiences, perspectives, and talents.

Future generations studying Trinity’s history will look back on the past five years as a period of tremendous change and growth for the Board of Trustees. Fifteen of the current Board members are new; eight are women; one is a veteran; two are African-American, and one is a U.S. citizen through immigration. The University values the diversity of thought and experience brought by these new members and continues to benefit from the leadership of a highly effective and engaged Board of Trustees.

Let the Competition Begin Four teams compete in the Stumberg Finals Four teams competed in the final round of the 2021 Louis H. Stumberg New Venture Competition on Oct. 19: • Commuv | Software to make traffic stops safer • MicroLev | Aerosol research technology • New Works SA | Accessible, local theater productions • WakeScoot | Lightweight water scooter Through the Stumberg Accelerator, the finalists developed and refined their ventures.

During the final round, a pitch to a panel of expert judges—Trinity alumni and community and business influencers—and a solid display of venture trajectory is all it takes for one team to secure the $25,000 grand prize.

More than 40 companies have launched from the Stumberg Competition, which has awarded more than $325,000 to teams since 2015.

MicroLev took home this year’s top prize.

The University is excited to welcome new faces into familiar roles, and familiar

faces into new roles. Join us in welcoming new Tigers to campus, and say congratulations to those helping propel Trinity forward in profound ways.

Bret Biance

Director for Residential Life

Celeste Mendoza, Ph.D.

Senior Director for Major and Planned Giving

Craig Crow

Chief Investment Officer

Dr. Marcy Youngdahl

Director for Integrated Counseling and Health Services

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

9

TRINITY TODAY

Meet the Class of 2025

9,626 First-Year Applications

34%

Acceptance Rate

663

First-Years Enrolled

42%

Underrepresented

19%

Record-breaking applied Early Decision

10

TRINITY Fall 2021

MEET THE

CLASS OF 2025 Trinity welcomes a record-setting standout class of Tigers

by Madeline Freeman ’23 For more than 150 years, Trinity has been committed to attracting and

enrolling the nation’s best and brightest students. In the midst of a global pandemic, the University welcomed one of its most impressive classes ever, exceptional in size, academic strength, diversity, and confidence in their choice to become Tigers.

Each year, Trinity aims to enroll approximately 640 new first-year students. Despite the many stressors brought on by COVID-19, more than 660 first-years enrolled this fall. Additionally, Trinity welcomed a record number of Early Decision applicants—those who apply for admission with a binding agreement to say “yes” to Trinity—at 19% of the Class of 2025. About 48% of first-years applied under the University’s test-optional policy, implemented in 2020.

Justin Doty, dean of Admissions, notes there were many changes to the recruitment process and new tactics to ensure such a strong incoming class. “Our faculty, coaches, staff, current students, parents, and alumni stepped up immensely for us this year. At every turn, whoever we called on, they said, ‘Yes, what can we do to help?’ because everyone knew what the challenges were,” Doty says. “The entire Trinity community rallied and came together to make this happen.”

Rankings Roundup Trinity’s academic programs and outstanding students are consistently ranked by among the best in the nation each year.

Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, 2022

#38 Liberal Arts Institution and #106 College in the Nation Niche, 2022

#1 Best Small College in Texas

Meet a Tiger Levolea Wallace ‘25 is the first Trinity Tower Scholar from San Antonio ISD. Levolea (Lele) Wallace, a first-year from San Antonio, is part of Trinity’s

stellar Class of 2025. She graduated as valedictorian from San Antonio ISD’s Sam Houston High School and is a recipient of the full-tuition Trinity Tower scholarship.

“Earning the scholarship is a blessing and means a great deal to me to have even been considered to compete for it,” she says. “When my acceptance letter came in attached with the Murchison scholarship, Trinity immediately rocketed to the top of my list because it helped me the most financially. Coming from a low-income background, I needed that.”

“I wanted to attend an openminded community that would make me feel at home—Trinity is just that and more!”

Wallace was then invited to compete for the Trinity Tower scholarship, which only 20 of Trinity’s top applicants can earn. “While being the first in my district to earn the Trinity Tower scholarship, I know I will not be the last,” she says.

While financial aid was a priority for Wallace in choosing a college to attend, she is excited to begin her journey as a Tiger for many reasons, including finding her place in the University’s supportive environment. “I wanted to attend an open-minded community that would make me feel at home—Trinity is just that and more!”

#32

Best Small College in America

#96

Best College in America

U.S. News & World Report, Regional Rankings – West, 2022

#1 in the West #1 for Undergraduate Teaching “Nothing is more rewarding than working with students who want to learn.”

– Lauren Turek, Ph.D., History 2021 Early Career Faculty Award Recipient for Distinguished Research & Teaching

#7 Most Innovative #12 Best Value College Consensus, 2021

#4 Best College in Texas #38

Best Small College in the Nation

#98 Best College in the Nation

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

11

FACULTY FOCUS Read these stories and more in Trinity’s News Center at gotu.us/facultystories.

History professor Gina Tam, Ph.D., was named one of 20 Public Intellectual Fellows through the National Committee on U.S.–

Jason Shearer, Ph.D., the

China Relations, a program that

Semmes Distinguished

mentors and highlights a handful

Professor of Chemistry,

of China specialists from across

received nearly $400,000

the country.

in a National Institutes of Health Research Enhancement Award to continue studying biologically relevant late first-row transition metal compounds.

Mathematics professor Hoa Nguyen, Ph.D., (center) earned her second grant from the National

Biology professor Bethany Strunk, Ph.D., received a

Science Foundation.

$450,000 grant from the Max and Minnie Tomerlin

The $1 million grant

Voelcker Fund for her research into Charcot-Marie-

is split between

Tooth (CMT) disease.

collaborating research groups at Trinity, UC Berkeley,

History professor Carey Latimore, Ph.D., (center)

and Tulane University

received the Z.T. Scott Award, which recognizes the

to advance scientific

top educator at Trinity. Meet the 2021 faculty award

understanding of

winners of the Distinguished Achievement Awards,

the evolution of

the “Best of the Best” Awards, the Trinity Tomorrow

multicellular animals

Awards, and the President’s Award for Excellence in

from a unicellular

Student Advocacy at gotu.us/facultystories.

protozoan ancestor.

12

TRINITY Fall 2021

Commencement 2021 The Spring 2021 undergraduate commencement ceremonies in May were the first ever held in Trinity’s newly renovated Multi-Purpose Stadium. The outdoor, socially distanced events were divided into two ceremonies: the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music ceremonies in the morning, and the Bachelor of Science ceremony in the afternoon.

Despite downpours, Tigers embraced the opportunity to celebrate their graduation in person in the first series of large events held on campus since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

13

TRINITY TODAY

Trinity’s School of Business to be Named the Michael Neidorff School of Business $25 million gift will bolster programs, curricula, and facilities

by Ted Gartner ’91 Trinity University is excited to announce that it has received $25

million from Michael Neidorff ’65 and the Neidorff Family Trust for the University’s AACSB-accredited business school. This transformational donation is the single largest in the University’s history. In appreciation of the gift, Trinity’s business school will be named the Michael Neidorff School of Business.

The funds will ensure Trinity continues to offer an exceptional education to its students through world-class faculty, curricula, and stateof-the-art facilities. This donation will provide multiple scholarships, an endowed faculty position, and improved teaching, collaboration, and working spaces that benefit the entire campus community.

“At Trinity, whether you are a member of the Neidorff School of Business faculty, pursuing a degree in business, or are a student interested in taking a single business class, you will have access to the opportunities created by this generous gift,” Trinity President

14

TRINITY Fall 2021

“I attribute my accomplishments in part to the education I received at Trinity University.”

– Michael Neidorff ’65

left An architectural rendering depicts the entrance to the Michael Neidorff School of Business when Chapman Center renovations

BY THE NUMBERS

are complete in 2023.

200

Danny Anderson says. “On behalf of the University, I want to thank Michael and Noémi for their longstanding support of Trinity.”

This donation will further elevate the University’s impact and prestige as it continues its momentum toward becoming a nationally recognized institution. This gift helps ensure Trinity students will be uniquely suited to enter the workforce or pursue graduate studies.

“I attribute my accomplishments in part to the education I received at Trinity University. Additionally, I believe it is important to support your alma mater to whatever extent you can, therefore helping to ensure opportunities for future generations,” Neidorff says.

Neidorff is chairman and chief executive officer of Centene Corporation, a multinational healthcare enterprise. He is a celebrated corporate leader, and during his time as CEO, Centene has grown from serving thousands of

members to more than 25.4 million individuals across the U.S. and internationally.

Neidorff has served on Trinity’s Board of Trustees since 2005 and was chair from 2016–18. During his time as chair, Neidorff oversaw the completion of the University’s Campus Master Plan, which called for renovation of the Chapman and Halsell Centers and construction of a new building in that complex. In 2021, Trinity embarked on the construction of Dicke Hall and completed the Halsell Center renovation. The Michael Neidorff School of Business will be housed in the Chapman Center, which is slated to be completed in 2023.

The Neidorffs’ impact on Trinity has been felt for many years, most notably through the Neidorff Art Gallery and the family’s support of the University’s Center for the Sciences and Innovation.

graduates earned degrees from the School of Business in 2020–21 accounting • business administration • business analytics and technology • finance • international business • management • marketing

$9 million

endowment funds managed by the Student Managed Fund

40+

faculty and undergraduate research projects across three departments in the School

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

15

TRINITY UNIVERSITY PRESS

West Side Rising: How San Antonio’s 1921 Flood Devastated a City and Sparked a Latino Environmental Justice Movement Char Miller foreword by Julián Castro

The Kronkosky Foundation Story: Creating Profound Good through Community Philanthropy Ingrid Friese Petty foreword by Robert Rivard introduction by J. Tullos Wells

On Sept. 9, 1921, a tropical depression stalled over San Antonio and, within hours, overwhelmed its winding network of creeks and rivers. Floodwaters ripped through the city’s Latino West Side neighborhoods, killing more than 80 people. The death toll was only the beginning of the devastation unleashed on the city’s most vulnerable communities. Environmental historian Char Miller explores the uneven deployment of resources that followed the storm’s destruction and the grassroots response against discriminatory public services that changed the city’s political landscape.

This book is a broad review of the 25-year history of the Albert and Bessie Mae Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. Albert and Bessie Mae Kronkosky were committed to creating a legacy of “profound good” through charitable giving across four Texas counties that were dear to their hearts. The private foundation, formed in 1995 with a mission focused on health and human services, arts, and culture, has had a significant impact on San Antonio and the surrounding area.

Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans Janisse Ray Looking for adventure and continuing a process of self-discovery, Janisse Ray (author of the bestelling Ecology of a Cracker Childhood) has repeatedly set out to immerse herself in wildness, to be wild, and to learn what wildness can teach us. From overwintering with monarch butterflies in Mexico to counting birds in Belize, the stories in Wild Spectacle capture her luckiest moments—ones of heart-pounding amazement, discovery of romance, and moving toward living more wisely.

Trinity University Press is committed to civic engagement with ideas. Published books, public programs, and related media focus on helping us all understand our place in a crowded world with a particular focus on the following areas: bilingual early childhood literacy; the human relationship to the physical environment, ranging from wilderness to constructed, urban life; social equity and justice; the interdependence of animal and human life; and southwestern U.S. and Mexican regional studies. For more information, visit tupress.org.

16

TRINITY Fall 2021

A Note from Tom Payton, TU Press Director and Publisher The Nation Must Awake: My Witness to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 Mary E. Jones Parrish afterword by Anneliese M. Bruner introduction by John Hope Franklin and Scott Ellsworth Mary Parrish was reading in her home when the Tulsa Race Massacre began on the evening of May 31, 1921.

Parrish’s daughter, Florence Mary, called her mother to the window.

“Mother,” she said, “I see men with guns.” The mother and daughter eventually fled and unwittingly became eyewitnesses to the death of hundreds of Black Oklahomans and the destruction of the Greenwood district. The Nation Must Awake is Parrish’s first-person account, compiled along with the recollections of nearly two dozen others, of what is now recognized as the single worst incident of racial violence in U.S. history.

Mary Parrish’s greatgranddaughter, Anneliese M. Bruner, will speak at Trinity in early 2022. Visit tupress.org for the latest information.

We all struggle to understand how the violence in 1921 Tulsa came to be, and how it remained essentially erased from history. “It is my sincere hope that this book will open the eyes of the thinking people of America,” Mary Jones Parrish wrote. Her extraordinary effort to document the Tulsa Race Massacre is finally receiving deserved recognition. The hundredth anniversary drew international attention, and the media recognized their responsibility to amplify Parrish’s long overlooked place in U.S. history. Her story was featured by Good Morning America, NPR, USA Today, CNN, and others here and in England, Australia, India, Nigeria, and China, as well. The New Yorker called it the “most visceral long-form account” of the massacre, while The New York Times hailed it “a story of survival . . . relevant a century later.” Perhaps Parrish’s deepest hopes have started to come true.

This publication comes at a crucial moment for us. As publishers, we have areas of editorial focus, and reexamination is an ongoing process. We have recently shifted our emphasis on environmental studies to what we call “people, place, and planet.” This includes the tangible connections between humans and our natural and built worlds—now critical as we struggle to understand survival and belonging.

The Greenwood district was important culturally and economically, but it was tragically destroyed alongside the agency of thousands of Black Americans. These incalculable losses demonstrate the influence of race and other social constructs on our human potential.

As a nonprofit, cultural organization, we’re proud to have played a role in bringing Parrish’s important work to a wide audience. We’re reminded that our mission is constantly evolving, and it’s critical that we intentionally seek underrepresented perspectives. It calls us to commit more deeply to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in what we publish and how we operate. Thank you, Mary Parrish.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

17

LIT PICKS

Reflections from a Summer in Quarantine Coleen Grissom’s Lit Picks One (at least, if I am that “one”) would like to think that

after a summer lived in quarantine, surrounded indoors

by two dogs and three cats, and outside by the various wildlife—deer, foxes, skunks, raccoons with their growing families, and, probably present but thankfully unseen, snakes—and with, more often than not, only the TV to talk back to (I close with a preposition just so those former C students of mine will feel somehow justified), one would have plenty to express in one’s reflections of such a weird summer.

I, however, find myself ashamed of most of my quarantine reading and embarrassed to recall for sharing with you only what, to me, seemed hilarious behaviors of the two dogs and three indoor cats who run my life. Have I traveled? Of course not; but, come to think of it, I rarely do except for occasional rejuvenating trips to loll on the Texas beach wondering why my once-flattering swimsuit fits strangely these days.

All this being noted, I still appreciate greatly the opportunity to recommend some items for your leisure reading and send these suggestions along. Most of the short stories you can find online, but you will need to visit a good library to find the novels.

My recommendations for you include: • Summer, by Ali Smith. Thank God there are only four seasons; with this, Smith can now move on.

• Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman. Weird, but funny.

• Shell Game, by Sara Paretsky. Sure, there’s an unidentified corpse, but we know our fabulous V.I. Warshawski and her dogs will solve the crime.

18

TRINITY Fall 2021

• Just One Look, by Harlan Coben. I so hoped it would feature Ronstadt’s version, but involved, instead, a package of photos that contained one the camera owner didn’t take. Fascinating, huh?

Basis for a full book? You guess.

• The Snowdonia Killings, by Simon McCleane.

There’s a lot of concern for a veteran police officer about to turn 50. Give me a break.

• The Abbey, by Chris Culver. One review noted that this book makes “no great demands on the intellect.” That says all that needs to be said.

• We Begin at the End, by Chris Whitaker. I even led a discussion of this one at the Cordillera Book Club. Some liked it; some didn’t.

The above, pitiful as they are, pretty much sum up the highlights, which are all pretty low, of my quarantine reading. Lucky for you and for me, I also led discussions of some unforgettable short stories, all of which are available online, most published in the greatest of magazines, The New Yorker.

Let me close with warmest good wishes to you and all you love. Because I remain ever hopeful of your lifelong love of learning and intellectual challenge, I’ll list just a few of the classic short stories available online and convince myself that many of you are rushing to read them: • “A Jury of Her Peers,” by Susan Glaspell • “Why I Live at the P.O.,” by Eudora Welty • “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W.W. Jacobs • “ W here Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

by Joyce Carol Oates • “ For Esmé—with Love and Squalor,” by J.D. Salinger • “Girls, at Play” and “B & B,” by Celeste Ng • “Stone Mattress,” by Margaret Atwood • “The Embassy of Cambodia,” by Zadie Smith • “Interpreter of Maladies,” by Jhumpa Lahiri • “You’re Ugly, Too,” by Lorrie Moore • “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien • “The Shawl,” by Cynthia Ozick • “Brownies,” by ZZ Packer • “The Whore’s Child,” by Richard Russo • “ W hat We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” by Raymond Carver • “Here Come the Maples,” by John Updike

IN MEMORIAM

JOHN MCFADDEN

LUCÍA MENDOZA

MEREDITH ELSIK ’72

John McFadden, former director of Laurie Auditorium, died on Feb. 15 of Parkinson’s disease. He was 94.

McFadden worked at Trinity for more than 30 years, retiring in 2002. He brought many recognizable names to Laurie Auditorium, including Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, and Leontyne Price. A colleague notes that McFadden was always the “consummate professional,” never getting starstruck with the (understandable) exception of one name—actor Cary Grant.

“Simply put, John was a genuine joy to work for,” says Kevin Hawkins, current director of Laurie Auditorium. “He had a boundless love of the arts and was an energetic promoter of all things musical.”

McFadden especially enjoyed opera, traveling to Bayreuth, Germany, three times to experience Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” He was also a board member for the San Antonio Festival and for Arts San Antonio.

McFadden is survived by his wife, Beatrice; two children, Robert Danes and Kathryn Kies; and three grandchildren, Azalea and Aurora Danes and Oliver Kies, among other family members.

Lucía Mendoza, Facilities Services staff member, died on April 9 after being shot during a road rage incident. She was 38.

Mendoza had worked at Trinity since August 2018 through ABM Industries. She primarily worked in Northrup Hall, where she befriended many faculty and staff in the building. Colleagues remembered her in tributes as a happy, welcoming person who proudly spoke of her two daughters and their successes.

“Many of us were fortunate to share each day with Lucía in Northrup Hall, where she was known to all thanks to her quick laugh and smile and her genuine warmth and kindness,” says Danny Anderson, Trinity president.

Mendoza is survived by her two daughters, Kimberly and Alexa; her parents, Mario and Dela Vega; her brothers, Jesus Vega and Mario Vega Jr.; her sister, Maricela; her nieces, Madelyn and Aranza; her nephew, Brayden; and her life partner, Jose Ponce.

Meredith Elsik ’72, retired senior reference assistant, died on June 4 after a long illness.

She was 71.

Elsik worked in Elizabeth Huth Coates Library for nearly 35 years in various areas, including reference, circulation, interlibrary loan, and special collections/archives. She retired in December 2020.

Elsik was widely admired in the library for the care and kindness she showed the colleagues and students she served. She was famous for coming up with creative ideas to attract students to the library on student orientation days, including donning costumes or handing out lemonade on a hot day. Faculty were impressed with the consideration and care Elsik showed in assisting them with research.

“Meredith’s competence, unflappable and cheerful demeanor, thoroughness of assistance, and willingness to do whatever needed to be done were only exceeded by her caring nature and thoughtfulness toward coworkers and library users alike,” says Chris Nolan, University librarian.

Elsik is survived by her husband, Alvin; her son, Andrew; and her brother, Ned Walthall.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

19

IN MEMORIAM

ROBERT E. (BOB) JENSEN

KENNETH KRAMER

DAVID HANS HOUGH

Robert E. (Bob) Jensen, emeritus Jesse H. Jones Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, died on June 20 following a period of failing health. He was 83.

Jensen joined Trinity’s faculty in 1982, retiring in 2006 after teaching for nearly 25 years. Before earning his Ph.D. at Stanford University, he worked as a CPA for Ernst & Ernst. Jensen then taught at Michigan State University, the University of Maine, and Florida State University before arriving at Trinity.

Jensen earned a slew of awards throughout his career, including the Outstanding Educator Award in 2002 from the American Accounting Association. He was an invited speaker at more than 350 colleges and universities.

Jensen was predeceased by his wife, Erika. He is survived by his three stepchildren, Maria, David, and Michael, and their families; his first wife, Jane, and their two children, Lisle Moody and Marshall E. Jensen; and two grandchildren, Hilary Wilkens and C.J. Moody.

Kenneth C. Kramer, professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology, died on June 28.

He was 92.

Kramer began working at Trinity in 1959 and served as the chair of the psychology department from 1965 to 1977. He was dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences from 1976 to 1980. After leading the department in establishing graduate degrees, counseling centers, and interinstitutional graduate programs in clinical psychology, he retired in 1992.

Before coming to Trinity, Kramer served as a naval pilot during the Korean War. He flew with Neil Armstrong in VF-51, the U.S. Navy’s first all jet fighter squadron. A lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy, Kramer received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievements in aerial flight.

After retirement, Kramer worked in Austin with progressive legislators. He then moved to Hawaii for several years of competitive sailing before returning to live in San Antonio.

David Hans Hough, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, died on July 14 from complications of polymyositis.

He was 62.

Hough retired from Trinity in 2014 after 25 years at the University, though he still taught a handful of classes for years afterward. He served as the chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Trinity for eight years and also as chair of the Texas section of the American Physical Society.

Hough pursued research in extragalactic radio astronomy for 27 years. His research focused on distant galaxies with powerful cores known as “active galactic nuclei,” using arrays of radio telescopes to produce high-resolution images. In 2014, Hough won the Astronomical League Award, presented to those who have made worthwhile contributions to the science of astronomy on a national or international level.

Hough is survived by his wife, Gina De Gennaro; his children, Lucia Hough and Stephen Hough; and his sister, Linda Stewart, and her family.

20

TRINITY Fall 2021

LESLIE BROOKS HILL Leslie Brooks Hill, professor emeritus in the Department of Speech and Drama, died on July 27. He was 77.

Hill joined Trinity as chair of the Department of Speech and Drama (now the Department of Human Communication and Theatre) in 1988, teaching Tigers for a quarter of a century until his retirement in 2013.

Hill primarily taught public, intercultural, and international communication. During his time at Trinity, he chaired the University Curriculum Council, acted as faculty sponsor of Lambda Pi Eta, and served on a variety of committees.

Hill was beloved by faculty and students alike, with colleagues and alumni calling him a trusted adviser, a welcoming friend, a true gentleman, and “one who could hold a classroom of 30 undergraduates in the palm of his hand.”

Hill is survived by his wife, Gloria; his children, Randall Brooks Hill and Leslie Renee (Hill) Scott; and his granddaughter, Toni Brooke (Scott) Love and husband, Andrew Love.

RICHARD (DICK) BARTELS Richard (Dick) Bartels, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics, died on Aug. 18. He was 83.

Bartels retired from Trinity in 1999 after teaching students for 33 years. During his Trinity career, he served on numerous campus committees, including chair of the curriculum council, chair of the Trinity AAUP Chapter, and chair of the committee charged with oversight of experiments on human subjects.

Beyond campus, Bartels served the American Association of Physics Teachers as the liaison between the national and Texas groups of the organization.

Closest to his heart, however, was interacting with students as a mentor and teacher. In addition to standard courses on general physics, optics, and thermodynamics, Bartels offered a course for non-science majors titled Sound Waves and Light Waves.

During his Trinity career, Bartels taught the course 45 times.

Bartels is survived by his wife, Shirley; their children, Steven ’86, Keith ’86, and Janet; and six grandchildren.

ZACH YOUNG ’22 Trinity mourns the death of student Zachary David Young ’22, who died on Aug. 17 at the age of 22. From Dripping Springs, Texas, Young was described by his family as a “bright, confident, stubborn, handsome, thoughtful, intelligent, ambitious, honest, resilient, determined, humorous Star Wars nerd who loved Xbox and cars and cooked amazing woodfired pizzas.”

Young graduated with honors from Dripping Springs High School, where he played football and baseball. He attended Trinity on an academic scholarship to study neuroscience, with plans to attend medical school and become a neurosurgeon.

Young had been a member of the lab of psychology professor Kah-Chung Leong, Ph.D., since late 2019.

He worked on two projects in Leong’s lab: The first investigated the effects of oxytocin (a neuropeptide) on fear memories, and the second, which Young helped conceptualize, investigated the ability of oxytocin to reduce stress-induced alcohol-seeking behavior.

“Zach became a leader in the lab early on, a role he naturally fit into,” Leong says. “He took great care and pride in his scientific pursuits, and he was a mentor for many student researchers. He genuinely had a passion for learning.”

Young received a 2020 Murchison Summer Research Fellowship and was the co-author of a review paper published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences.

“As a person, Zach was determined, hard-working, and disciplined,” Leong says. “He would overcome challenges with perseverance and resilience. He was warm, friendly, and caring. He had a genuine personality and cared deeply about the well-being of others around him.”

Young is survived by his parents, David Doyle and Jennifer Read Young; his brother, Joshua Read Young; and his fiancé, Elaina Catherine Erickson.

His family will fund an annual memorial scholarship for a Trinity student pursuing better ways to identify the causes of psychosis and options for treatment and cures.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

21

TIGER PRIDE

Summaries below reflect the 2020-21 athletic seasons.

Pettit

Jenkins

Baseball

The Tiger baseball team finished its season with a 28-9 overall record and was second in the SCAC Tournament. Trinity has been first or second in the tournament for seven of the past eight conference tournaments. The team also made its 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Playoffs since 2002. There were 10 Tiger players who earned All-SCAC honors during the season, as well as four who were also named to the ABCA and D3baseball.com All-Region squads. Junior Tyler Pettit earned his way onto both teams, and fellow junior Jack Wisniewski and senior Rafe Chaumette both earned the honor from the ABCA. Sophomore Brian Schaub—who tied Trinity’s single season home run record—joined Pettit as the only Tigers on the D3baseball.com teams. After the season, a pair of outgoing seniors joined a long list of former Tigers to sign professional baseball contracts. Matthew Thomas signed with Great Falls of the Pioneer League, and Mark Tindall joined the Houston Apollos in the American Association. Head Coach Tim Scannell has now seen 29 of his former Tiger standouts go on to sign professional baseball contracts.

Men’s Basketball

The 2020-21 Trinity men’s basketball season brought a new face at the head of the program for the first time since 1999. Head Coach Jimmy Smith made his debut with the Tigers in the spring, leading the team to a 10-2 record and a runner-up finish in the SCAC Tournament. He was named the SCAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, and sophomore Kaleb Jenkins was the league’s Player of the Year last season—the first for

22

TRINITY Fall 2021

a Tiger player since 1999-2000. Junior AJ Clark was a standout both on and off the court, earning Third Team All-SCAC honors to go with a pair of academic awards: the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and the SCAC Elite 19 award. The Elite 19 honor goes to the student-athlete with the top GPA who also is an All-SCAC honoree in each of the SCAC’s 19 sponsored sports.

Rudd

Juran (right)

Cross Country

With the cross country teams also competing in track & field as part of their normal year, Spring 2021 presented a unique challenge for these Tiger men’s and women’s studentathletes. Both teams were able to compete just twice in cross country events—including the SCAC Championships. The women won the meet to secure the 10th overall title (five men’s, five women’s) for Trinity cross country. The men’s team finished second to extend their streak of finishing in the top two in the SCAC to nine straight seasons. Jordan Juran won the women’s event to earn the SCAC Runner of the Year award, while Abby Blackwood—a former Tiger women’s soccer standout—secured SCAC Newcomer of the Year honors by finishing second behind Juran.

Keaton Holt led the men’s team with a fourthplace individual finish and earned the SCAC Elite 19 award for the second consecutive year.

Women’s Basketball

The Tiger women’s team won its eighth overall SCAC Championship after reaching the SCAC Tournament title game for the ninth consecutive season. Five of those titles have come under the leadership of Head Coach Cameron Hill ’99, who produced five All-SCAC performers this season. Senior Jordan Rudd was named the SCAC Player of the Year to lead the group.

Hailey Coleman joined Rudd on the AllSCAC First Team, and she was also named to the D3hoops.com All-Region Team for the first time in her career.

Miller (left)

Football

Limited to just four games during the spring season, the Tiger football team made the most of its opportunities by going 3-1 overall and finishing third in the Southern Athletic

Welcoming New Faces Athletics adds new staff in 2020-21

by Justin Parker ’99

Deadwyler

Hancock

Trinity Athletics welcomed new staff to positions both on and off the field

in 2020-21.

Ramos

Pruden

Downey

Etheredge

DeVore

Wise

Linker

Grauer

Cook

Ramzinksy

Jordan Deadwyler joined the Trinity sports information team in mid-May as the assistant sports information director (SID). A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Deadwyler came to Trinity after serving as the assistant SID at Macalester College in Minnesota.

Over the past two seasons, Trinity has also bolstered its athletic training staff to better provide care and treatment to all 18 Tiger intercollegiate teams. Jill Hancock worked with Tiger student-athletes last year as a part-time employee, but she began her first year as a full-time staff member this year. Also joining the sports medicine staff at Trinity is Chris Ramos, who most recently worked at Schreiner University for five years. Both Hancock and Ramos bring a wealth of experience in the field of sports medicine with colleges and universities as well as professional sports teams.

Cathleen Pruden was hired as the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams; then she hired Assistant Coach Adrien Downey, joining Diving Coach Stan Randall and Assistant Coach John Ryan to round out the coaching staff for both teams. Pruden spent five years coaching at Bowdoin College in Maine and Amherst College in Massachusetts, while Downey came from SUNY-Buffalo State College in New York.

Men’s Golf Coach Sean Etheredge was promoted to director of golf at Trinity following the retirement of Carla Spenkoch after the spring season.

Etheredge led the Tiger men’s team to an 11th-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships. Former women’s golf standout Shelby DeVore ’18 was hired as the assistant director of golf and will coach the Tiger women’s team. DeVore was a three-time All-SCAC honoree who led Trinity’s women to back-to-back SCAC Championships in 2016 and 2017. She was also recently voted to the SCAC 30th Anniversary Team.

Recent graduate Annie Wise ’21 was hired as the assistant women’s tennis coach following her career on both the Tiger women’s tennis and women’s basketball teams. Wise was a two-time member of the SCAC Academic Honor Roll and an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2020. She was also a Strength & Conditioning Student-Athlete of the Month and a SCAC Character & Community Student-Athlete of the Week in 2019.

Three other former Tiger student-athletes have joined the staff as parttime coaches. Maggi Linker ’19 is assisting Trinity’s volleyball program this fall, and Austin Grauer ’17 and Joshua Cook ’17 have joined the Tiger football coaching staff. Part-time assistant Bill Ramzinksy also brings 21 years of coaching experience to the football staff.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

23

TIGER PRIDE

Association standings. Ten players earned All-SAA honors after the season, led by a trio of Tigers that earned top honors. Senior Michael Edmonson was the SAA Special Teams Player of the Year for the second straight season and was also a First Team All-SAA selection at running back. He was also D3football.com’s pick as an All-Region special teams player for the second straight year. Senior Campbell Miller got the nod as the SAA Defensive Player of the Year, while first-year James Ogunrin was the league’s Newcomer of the Year. Both Miller and Ogunrin returned for another season of competition in the fall. In addition to earning First Team All-SAA honors, sophomores Brandon Michels and Ezra Gore were also chosen for the CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict Team.

trinity.edu/live

Hsiu

Women’s Golf

Tiger Network is Trinity’s livestreaming network, covering athletics and special events for a worldwide audience.

Tiger Network showcases #TigerPride in full HD with realtime replays, color commentary by professionals and student-athletes, and on-demand options.

Wisener

Men’s Golf

Watch events ON DEMAND On-demand videos include: • Tiger Enrichment Series webinars • Concerts and performances • Archived speakers and lectures • Commencement exercises • And more!

24

TRINITY Fall 2021

more than 45 years by securing 11th place at the national tournament. Wisener was joined by D.J. Springer and Bryce Pidgeon on the All-Region squad, and Wisener and Springer were also GCAA All-American honorees. Wisener, Pidgeon, Zac Bunder, and Daniel Nunez were all named GCAA All-American scholars.

Despite the distractions of this past spring, men’s golf had one of its best seasons in school history. The Tiger team won the SCAC Championship for the first time since 2013, and Head Coach Sean Etheredge was named the conference Coach of the Year for his efforts. Etheredge was later named the GCAA West Region Coach of the Year after getting the team back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2003. The program swept the conference’s major awards with Holden Wisener taking SCAC Player of the Year honors and Giorgio Gianoulis snagging the Newcomer of the Year award. The team qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2003, then earned its best finish in

The Tiger women’s team won the SCAC title in 2021, assuring Trinity of its first conference championships sweep in women’s and men’s golf. Director of Golf Carla Spenkoch was named the SCAC Coach of the Year, while Kiona Hsiu nabbed Freshman of the Year honors to lead four Tiger players earning All-SCAC status.

Hsiu and fellow first-year Erin Flynn—also one of the four All-SCAC honorees—were chosen as WGCA All-American Scholars.

Spenkoch retired after the season, but one of her former players, Shelby DeVore ’18, took over the Trinity women’s program starting with this season. DeVore, who was recently named to the SCAC 30th Anniversary Women’s Golf Team, was hired as the Trinity assistant director of golf over the summer.

Galan

Men’s Soccer

Men’s soccer went 6-1-1 overall in the shortened season under the direction of Head Coach Paul McGinlay, but was eliminated in the Semifinals of the SCAC Tournament. Jacob Galan headlined nine Tiger players to earn All-SCAC honors by being voted the SCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Galan was also an All-Region selection and was named a Scholar AllAmerican by the United Soccer Coaches.

Fraser Burns joined his teammate on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region squad and was also a First Team All-SCAC honoree. Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Daniel Martinez led senior Neil Verwillow to be named an All-American by the NSCA.

of the season. Kaity Ward stood out among 10 players who earned All-SCAC honors, as she was named the SCAC Player of the Year. Ward also joined a pair of teammates in earning various academic honors last school year. Lindsey Peng became the second Tiger women’s soccer player in the past three years to earn the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship award. She was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar AllRegion squad, along with Ward and Camryn Beall. The CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams featured both Beall and Peng, and the Scholar All-America list from the United Soccer Coaches included Beall and Ward.

Delaluna

Softball

Ward

Women’s Soccer

Led by Head Coach Dylan Harrison ’02, Trinity’s women’s soccer team went undefeated with a 10-0-0 record in the spring, securing its 11th SCAC Championship in the past 12 seasons and its 24th overall conference title. The Tigers were also ranked No. 1 in the final United Soccer Coaches poll

The Tiger softball team finished the year with a 16-15 overall record in the second year with Head Coach Abby Martin, which marked the team’s first winning season since 2016. Trinity had seven players earn All-SCAC honors, led by first-years Marina Delaluna and Jordyn Williams. Delaluna tied the Trinity single season record with seven home runs. The Tigers also got their first SCAC Tournament victory since the 2017 season and finished in third place.

Partalas

Swimming & Diving

Trinity’s men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams, led by Head Coach Scott Trompeter, swept the SCAC Championships in 2021. The men have won 10 of the past 11 conference titles, and the women have been even more impressive with 18 consecutive—and 21 overall—SCAC titles.

Trinity swept the SCAC Coaching Staff of the Year awards and also won the SCAC Swimmer and Diver of the Meet honors.

First-year Michael Kohl (swimming) and first-year Anthony Liva (diving) took the honors on the men’s side, and Mabel Fowler won her second straight Swimmer of the Meet honor. Katarina Partalas was both the women’s Diver of the Meet and the Diver of the Year, and Kohl and Liva also won the SCAC Swimmer and Diver of the Year awards. Annabelle Conde was named the SCAC Elite 19 award winner, marking the second straight such honor for the Trinity women. Three more All-Americans were selected from Trinity after the season—all of whom were Tiger divers. Partalas secured the honor from the CSCAA for the second straight year, and Liva scored his first All-America award in his final season with the team. First-year Konstantine Partalas, Katarina’s younger brother, was also honored as an All-American for his performance this season. After Trompeter resigned shortly after the SCAC meet, Cathleen Pruden took over as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

25

TIGER PRIDE

Krimbill

Men’s Tennis

Trinity won its 11th straight SCAC Championship this past spring—all under the leadership of Head Coach Russell McMindes ’02. The program has also now won a conference-record 25 SCAC titles.

Coach McMindes was named the SCAC Coach of the Year, and Cameron Krimbill kicked off an outstanding awards season for himself with the conference’s Player of the Year honor. Krimbill not only led the Tiger team to the NCAA Quarterfinals and an overall record of 16-8, but he also qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships and earned All-America honors from the ITA. Off the court, he was equally impressive, garnering CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition and the distinction of SCAC Man of the Year for 2020-21. Krimbill was also the Division III choice for the prestigious ITA Arthur Ashe Award.

Championships. Senior Zoe Kaffen brought home a stack of awards after the season. In addition to being named the SCAC Player of the Year and an All-American by the ITA after her performance at the NCAA Singles Championships, Kaffen was a finalist for the SCAC Woman of the Year award. She earned the ITA West Region Most Improved Senior award and earned Academic AllDistrict and Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA. Teammate Megan Flores was the ITA West Region winner of the Arthur Ashe Award.

Jordyn White swept the SCAC Field Athlete of the Year awards. White was named the USTFCCCA South Region Field Athlete of the Year to highlight 11 Tiger All-Region performers. Majors and White both also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the long jump as both Tiger athletes broke the school records in the event this season.

Majors was third in the long jump on the men’s side, and White finished eighth in the women’s competition. Keaton Holt also piled up his third career SCAC Elite 19 award, while four other Trinity athletes also won academic honors. Majors, Johnson, Catron, and Rylie Edwards were all designated AllAcademic by the USTFCCCA, and Majors was voted to the CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict Team.

Majors

Tuggle (left)

Volleyball

White

Track & Field

Kaffen

Women’s Tennis

Head Coach Andrew Cohn opened up his career at Trinity by leading the Tiger women’s team to a 9-8 overall record and a second-place finish at the SCAC

26

TRINITY Fall 2021

Trinity swept the men’s and women’s SCAC Championships for the first time since the 2016 season. It was the 14th overall title— and sixth straight—for the women and the 12th overall championship for the men.

Head Coach Marcus Whitehead and his assistants were named the SCAC Coaching Staff of the Year for men and women. Justin Johnson and Ellie Catron were named the SCAC Newcomers of the Year for the men’s and women’s teams, and Sean Majors and

Trinity finished the spring season with a 13-3 overall record and was the runner-up at the SCAC Tournament. During the spring, the Tigers achieved the No. 1 spot in the AVCA Division III poll for the first time in school history, and Trinity was also voted to the top spot in this fall’s 2021 preseason poll for the first time. Avery Tuggle and Annie Rose Leggett led a group of five All-SCAC honorees from Trinity, and the Tiger duo earned First Team accolades for the second straight season. Tuggle was also honored for her strength and conditioning work with Coach Daniel Martinez, joining men’s soccer senior Neil Verwillow as an NSCA AllAmerican in 2021.

2020-21 Tiger Athletics By the Numbers

Winning Culture Women’s soccer student-athlete awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

by Jeremy Gerlach Lindsey Peng ’21 is used to winning.

As an all-SCAC conference defender for Trinity women’s soccer team and a biology major on the pre-med track, she was awarded last spring with the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, given out to just 126 student-athletes spanning all athletic divisions nationwide.

After an injury her junior year followed by the pandemic disruption to the season, Peng finally made her return back on the field in Spring 2021. Trinity’s team was able to play a limited schedule this past spring in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions. Peng was the only senior on the team to return to competition.

“I couldn’t be happier with my decision to keep playing—and I couldn’t be more thankful to the University and the team for pushing to give us the opportunity to at least have something of a season this year,” she says.

“I couldn’t be more thankful to the University and the team for pushing to give us the opportunity to at least have something of a season this year.”

Peng is also grateful for the scholarship, which awards recipients $10,000 for postgraduate studies. She hopes to use it for medical school.

“I was just elated,” Peng says. “It’s money that goes toward part of my future, and it’s another way sports are going to contribute to the rest of my life. And that wouldn’t have happened without my coaches, my teammates, and my professors at this school.”

10 10th

SCAC Championships consecutive and 21st overall

SCAC President’s Trophy Awarded to the best overall athletics program

11 All-Americans 1

CoSIDA Academic All-American

1

NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Zoe Kaffen, Women’s Tennis

Lindsey Peng, Women’s Soccer

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

27

Abra Schnur, University archivist and records manager; Ardi Saunders ’22; Zoe Grout ’22; Lauren Turek, assistant professor of history; Samantha Henry ’22; and Hope Walker-Tamboli ’23 worked on the Trinity University Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics History Project this summer.

Game, Set, Past Four students help shine light on history of Trinity’s women student-athletes

by Brian Yancelson ’22 While many students may run away from

school the moment finals end, four Trinity

University students used the summer of 2021 to dive headfirst into the University’s past.

Thanks to the Trinity University Mellon Initiative Summer Institute, Zoe Grout ’22, Samantha Henry ’22, Ardi Saunders ’22, and Hope Walker-Tamboli ’23 spent the summer contributing to the Trinity University Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics (TUWIA) History Project. This project aims to highlight the experiences of women student-athletes at Trinity, especially in the decades after the landmark Title IX passed in 1972.

“What drew me to this project was my connection to the idea. I am a student-athlete with an anthropological background, so

28

TRINITY Fall 2021

I had a perspective that could contribute to the project,” says Henry, who is a member of Trinity’s women’s basketball team.

The TUWIA History Project officially began in 2015. That’s when Shirley Rushing Poteet, a former physical education instructor at Trinity; Professor Emeritus Doug Brackenridge; and Betsy Gerhardt Pasley ’77 teamed up after an inquiry from Peggy Kokernot Kaplan ’75 into history about the first women’s track team at Trinity revealed a lack of stats available online for teams before the 1990s. “[Doug] stopped me one day and said, ‘Betsy, we’re thinking of doing a project to try to capture what happened with women’s sports at Trinity,’” Pasley says. “As soon as

Doug said that, I just immediately thought, ‘This would be a heck of a lot of fun.’”

While Poteet, Brackenridge, and Pasley started the project, Grout, Henry, Saunders, and Walker-Tamboli expanded upon the team’s findings. The students produced a directory of intercollegiate sports teams involving women from 1973 through 1999 and a timeline of women’s athletics at Trinity.

Additionally, two online exhibits, titled “Home Field Disadvantage” and “Playing Outside the Lines,” explore the inequities women athletes faced on campus and how Title IX along with playing in Division III impacted women student-athletes at Trinity.

Mellon funding was also used to transcribe and make accessible 25 oral history inter-

Trinity Women’s Athletics

Through the Decades

1900s

views conducted by Pasley, Brackenridge, and Poteet.

Abra Schnur, University archivist and records manager, served as a mentor for the students alongside history professors Lauren Turek, Ph.D., and Carey Latimore, Ph.D. Schnur says it was easy to see the drive the students had to work on the project, despite the often tedious research process.

“I think it really resonated with them, especially for the athletes, to see how the challenges have evolved and how they’ve remained the same over the decades,” Schnur says.

For Henry, looking back at what women student-athletes once dealt with at Trinity made her appreciate the opportunities she’s been given to compete today.

“My biggest takeaway is that pioneer women truly fought for women like myself to be able to compete in sports at a high level today. Without their fight, strength, and empowerment, women’s sports would not have achieved the success that it has,” Henry says.

As for the larger TUWIA History Project, these new online exhibits will soon be joined by a book capturing Trinity’s 150year women’s sports history, published by TU Press. Both Henry and Pasley agree that whether it’s digitally or in print, the story of women student-athletes at Trinity will hopefully live on forever.

“This exhibit is meant to be ongoing for generations of Trinity women athletes to continue to contribute to,” Henry says. “If anyone has any information they feel should be heard for this project, we encourage them to reach out and let us know.”

1960s

in 1915

A Trinity women’s physical education class stretching in the early ’60s

1970s

1980s

Trinity women’s basketball team in Sams Center in 1975

Trinity students playing intramural field hockey, circa 1980

Amy Waddell ’93 returns a serve

1990s

against St. Mary’s University. She was interviewed for the TUWIA History Project.

2000s Explore the TUWIA History Project at

Trinity women’s tennis team

A Trinity swimmer competing in a meet, circa 2000

playingfield.coateslibrary.com, where you can also contribute your own items to the collection or contact the research team with any questions.

Photos courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Coates Library

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

29

TIGER PRIDE

Beyond the Podium compiled by Molly Mohr Bruni

Sure, the athletes who compete in the Olympic Games get the glory, and rightly so—but in the days, months, and years before they step out into the international spotlight, there are tens of thousands of people who help prepare them to reach the pinnacle of athletic competition. Meet seven Tigers who dribbled, batted, outfitted, and advised behind the scenes to help Team USA take home more than 100 medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Tiger alumni Terris Tiller ‘00 and Brianna Tammaro ‘13 represent Trinity at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Brianna Tammaro ’13

Brianna Tammaro ’13 was one of the first people the U.S. Olympic athletes met when they arrived in Tokyo. As part of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), she helped outfit and orient the athletes at the Team USA Welcome Experience.

Though it’s behind the scenes, Tammaro says apparel distribution is one of the key moments when athletes fully realize they’re representing the nation on a global scale.

“When the athletes put on the gear, the Olympic Games become real for them. They arrive as individuals and leave as Team USA, ready to compete on the world’s biggest stage” she says.

When she’s not working at the Olympic Games, Tammaro serves as an athlete healthcare program specialist at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Tiller decked out his room in the Tokyo Olympic Village with #TigerPride.

30

TRINITY Fall 2021

Terris Tiller ’00

As the manager of athlete engagement and inclusion for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), Terris Tiller ’00 helps Olympic and Paralympic athletes with personal and professional development both during their time as athletes and afterward. Now going on 17 years with USOPC, Tiller worked his sixth Olympic Games managing the Athlete Resource Center for Team USA in Tokyo’s Olympic Village.

Over the years, Tiller has collaborated with Trinity professor Jacob Tingle ’95, Ph.D., to place more than a dozen Tigers in mentorship programs, internships, and full-time positions with the USOPC. “The sports industry is massive, so it’s helpful to have Trinity connections who can give students that insight into what opportunities are available,” Tiller says.

left to right Kaleb Jenkins ‘23, Tanner Brown ‘24, AJ Clark ‘22, and Ben Hanley ‘22.

Photo courtesy of USA Basketball.

Training for Gold

Trinity Men’s Basketball runs the court with USA 3x3 Olympic squad

by Brian Yancelson ’22 As the world’s eyes turned to Tokyo for the

Jeremy Wolf ’16

A former Minor League Baseball player for the New York Mets, Jeremy Wolf ’16 helped his home country, Israel, qualify for the Olympic Games baseball tournament in Tokyo.

“You want to be able to represent your country in a way that is lasting and sustaining,” Wolf says. “To have the opportunity to wear Israel across my chest was the honor of a lifetime.”

While Wolf didn’t make the team that played at the Olympic Games, he is continuing his role as co-founder and outreach director of More Than Baseball, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting players in the Minor League system with housing, food, equipment purchases, mental health counseling, and career guidance for life after baseball. Just last year, More Than Baseball raised $1.6 million for its programs.

delayed 2020 Olympic Games, four members of Trinity’s men’s basketball team had already done their part to help Team USA bring home the gold.

AJ Clark ’22, Ben Hanley ’22, Kaleb Jenkins ’23, and Tanner Brown ’24 spent a week in July training in Las Vegas with the first U.S. Olympic 3x3 Women’s Basketball Team. This came after earlier training sessions in North Carolina and at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

USA Basketball “reached out to us and told me what kind of players they were looking for,” says Jimmy Smith, head men’s basketball coach at Trinity. “I think it was a benefit of being a really good school in San Antonio that they reached out, and it all kind of took off from there.”

The invitation came in March as the USA 3x3 Women’s National Team conducted a minicamp during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in San Antonio.

The members of the USA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Team who came to train in San Antonio were Stefanie Dolson of the Chicago Sky, Allisha Gray of the Dallas Wings, and Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces.

When the four Tigers first saw who they would be training with, they could not help but be a bit starstruck.

“Trying to talk to the women was pretty intimidating knowing that they were these

high-caliber players, super famous, but once we got in between the lines, it was just basketball, so we were fine,” Jenkins says.

After the minicamp in San Antonio, Clark, Hanley, Jenkins, and Brown all impressed Team USA enough to be invited back to train with the team in North Carolina and then in Las Vegas just before the 3x3 team took off for Tokyo.

“They were so influential in preparing us for this tournament,” Plum says. “I think a lot of times, especially in the beginning, we would probably be pretty even for the first couple minutes, and then they would just kind of take off, keep hitting shots, keep getting stops. To beat them, we always had to play a full game.

“They took it really seriously,” Plum continues. “They knew their job going in— it was to help us be ready—and I think they did that, and they did an amazing job.”

“I wouldn’t take any credit,” Clark said ahead of the Games, “but I will feel a small sense of pride if they come away with the gold, knowing that I played a very small part in that.”

Spoiler alert: The women’s team did, in fact, bring home the inaugural 3x3 basketball gold after defeating the Russian Olympic Committee in the final.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

31

S S E C C U S TUDENT

RE

FAC ES

CA

S INTENTIONAL INCLUSION

ER RV

NEW

SE

FUTURE

ES

FOR THE

IC

BUILDING

HEA

LTH

LLN & WE

ESS

PO TRINI

TY PA

LI

S CIE

&P

IC CT A R

ES

RKWA Y

Trinity University spent 2019, our 150th anniversary year, accelerating what’s next for the future of our institution. But none of us could have seen it coming, and “what’s next” brought us to a grinding halt: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of higher education as we know it.

32

TRINITY Fall 2021

HA

SS

IN

G

CE AC IBI LIT

AD VIS

LS

EL

LC

EN

TE

DI R

CK

EH

AL

L

Y Nearly two years later, Trinity is emerging from the pandemic as a changed, yet stronger and more resilient, institution that has recommitted itself to living out values of enduring excellence, intentional inclusion, and perpetual discovery. We are taking significant steps forward on our journey toward becoming a nationally recognized liberal arts institution. We’ve fully realized the value of the Trinity experience, and it’s about time the nation does, too.

It’s progress. It’s slow, it’s steady, and it’s a climb. But we have our sights set again on what’s next, and what’s next is all in pursuit of an exceptional and accessible student experience. Onward.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

33

Sinclair Preston Ceasar III advises a student in the Office of Academic Advising’s new home in Coates Library.

D A E H A S E C I CHO PLANNING

LIBERAL ARTS HUMAN

ITIES

ID

FINANCIAL A 34

TRINITY Fall 2021

Changing Course: Navigating Academics Through Holistic Advising Meet the academic advisers revamping the first-year advising process

by Sydney Rhodes ’23

With hundreds of courses to choose from, dozens of programs to major in, and a whole slew of new vocabulary to learn, the switch from high school to college academics can be dizzying.

Enter Trinity’s Office of Academic Advising. Led by the office’s director, Lapétra Bowman, Ph.D., the team of six dedicated academic advisers begin guiding new students through Trinity’s curriculum before they even step foot on campus.

This new office, formed over the past two years, is a result of Starting Strong, Trinity’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The QEP is a component of the reaffirmation of accreditation process the University undergoes every 10 years by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. After identifying a goal

right and bottom Students can choose to speak with advisers over Zoom or in person.

through the QEP—that first-year students will become more aware of and engaged in practices that lead to success— Trinity committed significant resources toward improving advising, teaching, and academic support at the University.

In years past, first-year students had met with faculty advisers in their intended majors. But with dozens of faculty advisers spread across many departments, there were varying levels of understanding about general academic and Pathways’ requirements at Trinity as well as the intricacies of developing a degree path for exploring students.

With the QEP underway alongside the creation of a Retention and Graduation taskforce by President Danny Anderson, Bowman was tasked with restructuring academic advising at Trinity. In the summer of 2020, Trinity officially shifted from a faculty advising model to a total-intake advising model. Professional academic advisers officially began to onboard and advise first-year students, working with them until their major declaration. (Students will subsequently be reassigned to a faculty adviser in their respective major academic areas of interest.) These new academic advisers serve as a touch point for incoming students and as a resource for students registering for classes during the summer in preparation for fall and taking on the process of exploring and declaring their major.

Bowman recently won the NACADA Outstanding Advising Administrator Award for her work.

“It’s important to understand that advising is its own pedagogy, its own curriculum, and it has to be studied,” Bowman says. “It has to be learned.

When you have individuals who have actively sought out advising work, who are committed to working with students in this capacity, what you have are individuals who are committed, hardworking, dedicated, inquisitive, collaborative in nature, and supportive. And I could not ask for a better team.”

“It’s not just about picking classes, but it’s also about understanding who the student is academically, who the student is personally, and making the connections between those two spaces.”

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

35

Who is on this stand-out team? Meet Trinity’s new academic advisers, who all agree that proactive and holistic advising is at the heart of beginning any academic journey.

36

Sinclair Preston Ceasar III

Jennifer Reese

Ceasar meets students with empathy and humor, and his goal is to empower students to think critically, adapt to challenging situations, and build the educational experience of their dreams. He has worked in residential life, in service learning, and for a variety of nonprofit organizations as well as with global wellness companies. Ceasar works with students primarily interested in biology, biochemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, computer science, neuroscience, and physics; he also specializes in working with health professions students.

Reese helps students explore the Trinity curriculum to reach their personal and academic goals. She has worked at Trinity for more than 17 years, supporting students in the past as a records specialist, graduation coordinator, and degree audit coordinator in the Office of the Registrar. Reese works with students interested in engineering science, mathematics, mathematical finance, and programs in the Neidorff School of Business, though she is well-versed in all of the programs Trinity offers. She also assists students interested in health professions.

Soleil Gaffner ’19

Regina Romero

Gaffner is dedicated to caring for the student’s whole success, including mental, emotional, and physical health. She approaches her advising meetings with tools to help guide a student through difficult decisions, identity exploration, and academic development. After graduating from Trinity, Gaffner worked in San Antonio’s local nonprofit system as an administrator, college access adviser, and grant writer. Though a generalist, Gaffner primarily works with students interested in the liberal arts, humanities, social sciences, and health professions.

Romero’s advising approach is student-centered and solution-focused. She empowers students to identify and build on their own individual interests, talents, and strengths. As a first-generation graduate with more than 10 years of experience in higher education, Romero encourages students to discover what success means for them and how they want to impact the world around them. She primarily works with students interested in biology, biochemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, computer science, neuroscience, physics, and health professions.

Julia Poage ’19

Katie Welch ‘18

Poage looks for ways to support students academically, emotionally, and socially. As a Trinity alumna, Poage loves connecting students with both academic and extracurricular on-campus resources. After graduating from Trinity, Poage served for two years as the college adviser for Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio, assisting high school seniors with college applications, financial aid, and post-secondary planning.

Like Gaffner, Poage is a generalist but works primarily with students interested in the liberal arts, humanities, social sciences, and health professions.

As a first-generation graduate, Welch is dedicated to helping students learn to navigate their college experience and connect with resources on campus. After graduating from Trinity, Welch spent two years as a college adviser with the Trinity University College Advising Corps. She worked with students at Fox Tech High School on postsecondary planning that included college and financial aid options, scholarships, and career and major exploration. While a generalist, Welch also specializes in advising students interested in engineering science, the Neidorff School of Business, and mathematics and mathematical finance.

TRINITY Fall 2021

FACULTY ADVISING

So They Can Take Over the World

Distinguished mentor reflects on the role of faculty advising

by Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08

This team of advisers had a busy summer, helping more than 670 Trinity students— more than 100 students per adviser!—prepare for their first semester on campus.

“We hope that the advisers are oftentimes one of the first people a student might trust on campus,” Bowman says. “Academic advising is so many things. It’s not just about picking classes, but it’s also about understanding who the student is academically, who the student is personally, and making the connections between those two spaces. Helping students pivot when they need to, helping students troubleshoot and rise from the ashes when they have had a moment where they just felt really beaten down. We’re there to remind students how amazing and resilient they are. We are here to teach them how to pivot and adapt accordingly.

“Most importantly,” Bowman continues, “we are here to teach students how to connect their personal interests and values to their academic interests and aspirations, and to truly engage in the process of self-discovery through curricular inquiry.”

Faculty advisers have long been at the heart of academic exploration

at Trinity. Educational experts who help students navigate the nuances of a field of study, faculty advisers give voice to focused professions and careers.

Dania Abreu-Torres, Ph.D., a Spanish professor who has called Trinity home for more than a decade, won Trinity’s 2021 Distinguished Advising Award for her work advising Spanish, international studies, and global Latinx studies majors in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. In a brief Q&A, Abreu-Torres reflects on her role as an adviser—but maybe more important, as a mentor, future colleague, and friend.

1. Why is it important at Trinity that faculty are able to serve in the advising role for student majors?

Advising is all about having a personal relationship with your students. When I was an undergraduate in Puerto Rico, I was just a number. I never had a relationship with my professors, nor a serious adviser. By being faculty advisers, we are letting our students know that they matter and that their plans and ideas for the future matter.

2. How do faculty work with majors to serve as advisers and mentors?

We are role models of the disciplines our students would like to pursue. By showing our passion for our work, both in teaching and research, we are modeling to our students the possibility of making a living doing what you love. As mentors, we open their perspectives and guide them how to best negotiate their passions with a career.

As advisers, we are able to help them with the planning of that negotiation and to have a solid path for their future endeavors.

3. What is most memorable about being a faculty adviser?

Seeing my students graduate—it is a feeling very similar to being a mom, but of another kind. As an adviser, I see students coming in scared; I teach them how to not only not be scared, but to also deal with fear and look for ways to empower themselves. After some time, they return to vist with all these stories and experiences, and I see them in a different light. They become my colleagues, and often they are now mentors. This is most memorable for me: I helped them with this part of the journey, so they can take over the world.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

37

ES

C RESOUR

NEW GOALS

Resilient Success Innovation at Student Accessibility Services helps students thrive

by Jeremy Gerlach

You might already know Student Accessibility Services (SAS) as the team that helps determine accommodations for students needing them.

But for Spencer Scruggs, director of SAS, this goal extends beyond equity and accessibility. It is also about perspective.

“We all know there is a much more robust conversation in the classroom when students with different backgrounds come to Trinity,” says Scruggs, who’s overseen a burgeoning SAS expansion of new, innovative resources over the past year. “Because of these specific learning needs our students have, we fully believe they belong here at Trinity. And so we are not afraid to get creative with accommodations—and to make sure our faculty are empowered to provide them.”

38

TRINITY Fall 2021

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

39

Tech It Out

top Engineering science professor Wilson Terrell works closely with SAS to support his students. bottom Spencer Scruggs tries out one of the new telepresence robots that facilitate remote student attendance for in-person classes.

This year, SAS has launched several creative initiatives to improve opportunities for the more than 387 students it serves—about 15% of the entire student body.

“The landscape of available technologies is ever-changing, and our SAS staff works hard to remain current on ways to improve students’ access to new tools for participation and learning,” says Betty Curry, director for Academic Support. “Our staff provides valuable, forward-thinking resources that played an integral role for students when remote learning was necessary and continues as we have returned to in-person classes. There is an ongoing dialogue among students, faculty, and SAS staff about what works well for students’ access.”

Scruggs’ team has launched new literacy tools, telepresence robots, captioning solutions, and Glean, a new intuitive note-taking software for use both in digital and physical classrooms. They have implemented a new accommodation management portal called SAS Link, streamlining student requests for accommodation letters, the quick delivery of Faculty Notification Letters, scheduling exams in the Accommodated Testing Center, and more.

“I really enjoy collaborating with the SAS staff,” says engineering science professor Wilson Terrell, Ph.D. “They take the time to meet with me if I have any questions regarding a student in my course who has received accommodations, and they provide suggestions for how best to support the student.”

Terrell shares that the new portal fits into a bigger series of shifts at Trinity for digital transformation. “The SAS Link Instructor Portal allows instructors to have all the information about accommodations, instead of having to search for previous emails. I especially like the listing of all textbooks converted into accessible versions, and that I can complete forms for students to take exams through the Accommodated Testing Center. All of this streamlines transactional processes regarding accommodations, so staff can spend more time supporting students in more transformational ways.”

Rooted in Personalization

SAS’s new learning specialist, Myron Hodge, is a pivotal advocate for many Trinity students with multiple challenges. “At SAS, we do way more than accommodations. We talk about the importance of accessible education and are connected to deeper, bigger issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” he says.

Hodge, as part of his efforts to create individualized plans for the students he works with, has pioneered an initiative called the ROOTS program. Short for “Reset,

40

TRINITY Fall 2021

left SAS and Academic Support initiatives have shown promising results, even during a challenging year. right Betty Curry (right),

Organize, Overcome, Transform, and Smile,” this effort combines concepts involving Hodge’s personal mindfulness practices, cognitive behavioral therapies, and self-management techniques into personalized learning strategies for each student who comes through his door.

And the data has been encouraging. The GPA of each student involved in the ROOTS initiative has risen by 23%, on average.

“We’re going to keep pushing and moving that needle forward,” Hodge says.

“In all our students, we’ve seen a palpable joy to be back, which is a great reminder of the value of engagement in our classes.”

A Community of Connections

This fall, there has been a renewed sense of community and connectedness as most classes and services have returned to being in-person. “In all our students, we’ve seen a palpable joy to be back, which is a great

reminder of the value of engagement in our classes,” Curry says. “Whether remote or all together on campus, we continue to ask ourselves, ‘How do we create a better learning environment for each student, with or without technology? And how do we foster students’ ability to embrace new challenges and find new solutions?’”

Being back on campus has also helped foster one of Trinity’s best resources, Curry says: its people. SAS has continued to cultivate partnerships with offices across campus, including Information Technology Services, Trinity’s Collaborative for Learning and Teaching (a space for faculty-driven development), and the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success (CELCS).

A key boost for Student Accessibility Services has been its home in the Tiger Learning Commons (TLC) with the other services of Academic Support. The TLC is a unique space located on the main floor of Coates Library where students can easily find their way to see academic coaches, SAS staff, and peer tutors in the Writing Center, Quantitative Reasoning and Skills Center, and other peer-tutoring initiatives.

Curry adds that SAS will continue to encourage students to find new ways to be successful and to embrace who they are: “We see amazing growth in our students every day and love celebrating the victories they are earning, one challenge at a time.”

director for Academic Support, says students are happy to return to in-person learning at Trinity.

Student Accessibility Services

By the Numbers

400

Almost students are registered with SAS (about 15% of the student body)

23%

average increase in GPA for participants in the ROOTS pilot program.

67%

increase in students registered in SAS between Fall 2016 and Fall 2021

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

41

Students and alumni network with professionals at Making Connections events, which have now become specific to industries and locations.

Professional Pipeline As CELCS connects Tigers with career opportunities, employers are hungry for more

by Jeremy Gerlach

Across job markets, nonprofit sectors, research labs, and volunteer opportunities, Trinity students are in high demand.

89% of the Class of 2020

is now employed or accepted to graduate school

42

TRINITY Fall 2021

Katie Ramirez, interim director for the University’s

Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success and director of Career Services, says the past year has been a time of immense innovation, agility, and employer developments for CELCS. “The job market is very exciting for Trinity students and recent graduates right now,” Ramirez says. “Once companies hire one Trinity student, whether for an internship or a job, they often come back, eager for more.”

left Trinity has developed pipelines to internships and job opportunities around the country. below CELCS connects students to more than jobs—the office also plays a role in helping students find undergraduate research opportunities. bottom Career Services staff member LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd says employers seek the “Trinity Difference.”

And why is that? LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd, J.D., assistant director for programming and marketing for Career Services, aptly calls it the “Trinity difference.”

“We believe the ‘Trinity difference’ is a unique combination of intelligence, hard work, various transferable skills, and natural leadership that employers seek,” Rimes-Boyd says.

Ramirez notes that developing the “Trinity difference” can begin on Day One. “Some people assume that all we do is help juniors and seniors with job or internship searches,” Ramirez says, noting that more than 20% of CELCS’ interactions are with first-years and sophomores. “We’re here every step of the way to help students find their direction and prepare for life after Trinity.”

In addition to jobs, students coming to CELCS can get help with finding volunteer opportunities, micro-internships, internships (including those for credit), work-study opportunities, and undergraduate research openings, and they can use other Career Services offerings such as career exploration, interview preparation, graduate school applications, and more.

Ramirez says her team at CELCS has been busy establishing these opportunities over the past year by being proactive “sales reps” for Trinity.

“We don’t wait for employers to come to us—we’re working on all cylinders to nurture relationships and develop new pipelines for Trinity talent, proactively engaging employers across the United States,” Ramirez says. “We even provide informal consulting with employers to help them find ways to connect to the phenomenal talent here at Trinity.” Ramirez says this hard work is paying off, adding that “the Class of 2021 is on track to have one of the best years for employment outcomes in Trinity’s recorded history.”

Ramirez points to CELCS initiatives such as the Find Your Direction Fund, a donation-based fund through the University’s development arm that allows students to pursue an internship that is either unpaid or would in some way represent a significant financial barrier.

“In addition to funding unpaid internships, this fund allows us to support students in other ways. Perhaps a student has

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

43

TIGERWORKS “When my summer internship got canceled [because of COVID-19], like many, I had to pivot. TigerWorks not only connected me with a prominent company in San Antonio, but granted me the opportunity to get paid for experiential learning! Instead of having a professor strike a red pen through my work, I had an industry veteran help develop my writing for future endeavors.”

-Nicholas Friendman ’22

47 TigerWorks

short-term projects completed

In 2020-21, CELCS hosted

92 events with 1,650 in attendance

including 6 industry-specific career fairs and 1 graduate school fair

95 networking sessions for

students with alumni/parents through Tiger Connections

900 interactions between

students and employers at fairs

44

TRINITY Fall 2021

CELCS hosts general and industry-specific career fairs throughout the year to connect students with employers.

secured a great internship, but they don’t have the equipment they need to be successful or they don’t have funding to travel to their internship. This fund allows us to meet those needs,” Ramirez says. “This year, for example, one student needed virtual reality goggles. Through this fund, we were able to supply that equipment, and the student was able to complete the internship. We don’t want any student to face a barrier to accessing experiential opportunities.”

CELCS’ TigerWorks program has been another point of pride, receiving national recognition from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Participating students complete short-term projects or micro-internships with organizations all over the country—“a creative approach to providing students a chance to test out career paths and gain experience while supporting organizations, especially small businesses and nonprofits, that may be struggling from the pandemic,” says Maranda Larsen, associate director of Career Services.

And CELCS, even during a year when operations shifted toward a remote model, has still been able to host a successful series of job fairs and recruiting events, shifting from two in-person fairs per year to six virtual fairs instead. The team’s Tiger Connections program, where alumni connect with Trinity students seeking career advice, has also been a particular point of pride.

“There’s a myth we hear from students that networking has to mean, ‘If I come out of a networking event without a job or internship offer, I’ve failed,’” Ramirez says. “We’re coaching students to look at networking a bit differently—starting with what they have in common. In this case, that’s through informal, low-stakes career chats with former Tigers and Trinity parents, asking questions

“At a liberal arts institution, what you major in may not be directly related to your career, which is OK.” about career paths, their Trinity experience, or for advice—a mindset shift that can be critical for students who are anxious or feel pressure around networking.”

CELCS has also worked tirelessly to continue to build relationships on campus, too.

Ramirez says her team works collaboratively with many departments across campus, including Trinity’s Office of Academic Advising: “At a liberal arts institution, what you major in may not be directly related to your career, which is OK,” she says. “We’re not

just helping students with their resumes— we’re helping students find their unique paths, identify ways to add to their resumes, connect the dots between all of their Trinity experiences, and ultimately help them tell those stories in different ways to different audiences. Our staff often helps students who feel lost or uncertain about their future find their direction through career coaching, our career course, class presentations, course assignments, and more.”

The Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success

members, chairs, task force members, thought leaders, and more, to giving 11 conference presentations in the past year, the Trinity CELCS team members are seen as leaders in our field.”

“Our team members are diverse in backgrounds and experiences,” Rimes-Boyd agrees. “Our team is agile and, more than ever, during the past year we’ve been able to use this agility to meet student needs in various situations, building relationships

By the Numbers 2020-21

70% of the student population engaged with CELCS

3,492 appointments with

“We’re here every step of the way to help students find their direction and prepare for life after Trinity.”

The CELCS team has also been busy increasing Trinity’s visibility in other ways.

“The ‘Trinity difference’ definitely carries over to staff,” Ramirez says. “We have an amazing, high-energy team of professionals who are incredibly active in leadership roles throughout Texas and the U.S. From acting as association presidents, board

and sharing connections. Each of us shares all that is within our disposal to make more pathways for students.

“We couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished,” she continues, “and we look forward to developing more connections and innovation as we continue to serve students.”

CELCS staff (30% increase from 2019-20)

more than 32,000 positions posted through Handshake, Trinity’s online employment platform

more than 2,400

resumes, cover letters, grad school statements, and professional documents reviewed

Trinity’s Career Services and Alumni Relations offices have partnered to offer Making Connections events in Alumni Club cities. trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

45

Tiger Football decisively beat Macalester College 64-0 during the team’s home opener on Sept. 11.

COVID-19 UPDATES

COVID-19 CAMPUS UPDATES

By the Numbers as of Sept. 15, 2021

Trinity community returns to campus vaxxed and masked for a semester that feels nearly normal

96%

by Molly Mohr Bruni

Campus Vaccination Rate

91.9%

student vaccination rate

99.8%

employee vaccination rate

more than

1,000

people vaccinated during campus vaccine drives from April through September

more than

23,000

COVID-19 tests administered on campus since Aug. 1, 2020 with fewer than

200

positive test results

46

Here Come the Tigers

TRINITY Fall 2021

On a particularly hot and humid September evening, under the shade of the visitor-side bleachers, dozens of football players huddled together, bouncing on their tiptoes, ready to storm the field. The crowd in the stands rose.

“Here come the Tigers!” The unmistakable voice of commentator James Hill ’76 boomed over the loudspeaker, accompanied by the sounds of whoops, hollers, claps, and homemade cowbells as the players streamed onto the field, coaches jogging behind them, referees tailing.

Football was back. With fans.

For the first time since the fall of 2019, parents, alumni, students, and friends outfitted in maroon poured into the newly renovated stadium to cheer on Trinity Football.

But not without precautions, of course. Tailgating was nonexistent, and concession stands were closed. Coaches struggled to be heard through their masks, while students sat separated from the general public. Fistbumps were the primary form of greeting.

But when the floodlights flickered on, and “Eye of the Tiger” rang out as players lined up for kickoff, and anticipation crackled through the stuffy, stiff air—for that sweet, special moment, life finally felt normal.

Athletics is just one part of campus finding its footing in Fall 2021. Once again, students are raising their hands in the classroom, dunking friends in Miller Fountain, lining up for Thursday milk and cookies, hanging twinkle lights in their dorm rooms, perusing a printed Trinitonian, and laughing on the lawn. Campus feels alive.

That would not have been possible, Tess Coody-Anders ’93 says, without the entire Trinity community’s buy-in.

“Because we’re a primarily residential community, we think of Trinity as a small town where people learn, live, and play together,” the vice president for Strategic Communications and Marketing said in an interview with KSATTV. Coody-Anders also heads up the Nerve Center, Trinity’s cross-departmental task force charged with managing all things COVID-19.

“Because we live in that congregate setting, we have to take some extra precautions in order to mitigate the potential for the spread of the virus in our small community.”

above Students enjoy the mask-optional outdoors during the fall semester. below LeeRoy welcomes families to Trinity on Fall 2021 move-in day.

“We think of Trinity as a small town where people learn, live, and play together.”

Those extra precautions began with a lofty community vaccination goal. The Nerve Center aimed for an 80% vaccination rate by July 1 to begin lowering COVID-19 safety protocols on campus, including a return to in-person living and learning. Tigers met that challenge head-on.

As of press time, more than 96% of the Trinity community—99% of faculty and staff and 92% of students—are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s a number frequently seen by the more than 700 universities around the country that have made the vaccine a requirement for returning to campus.

Trinity, however, had no such mandate.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

47

left Look out! Students get competitive in the Hallympics during 2021 New Student Orientation. right A student proudly shows off their vaccination card during a campus vaccine drive.

“I think Trinity people really believe they are part of a community they have an obligation to,” Coody-Anders says. “Whether it’s faculty, staff, or students, people are committed to doing the right thing by each other.”

Dr. Marcy Youngdahl, Trinity’s director for Integrated Counseling and Health Services, agrees.

“As a small residential college, Trinity emphasizes community and really values being on campus,” she says.

“I think our students wanted to be on campus in a safe way and make this semester successful. They took that call to get vaccinated to say, ‘This is the way that we’re going to do this, together.’”

Even amid the frustration of lifting most of these protocols in the summer and reinstating them once the delta variant began spreading, Coody-Anders says Tigers have held up their end of the bargain.

“The unspoken social contract is real, and it was tested,” Coody-Anders says. “We always talk about relationships and connections being at the heart of the Trinity experience. Well, if anything has ever tested our mettle, it was COVID-19. People rallied—for each other as well as for themselves.”

This community-wide commitment has not only allowed students to return to living and learning on

“Whether it’s faculty, staff, or students, people are committed to doing the right thing by each other.”

That’s why, once the Health and Wellness workgroup finally procured a batch of the then-scarce COVID-19 vaccines in April, Tigers flocked to Murchison Hall en masse to get their shot. So far, Trinity’s COVID-19 Health Team has vaccinated more than 1,000 people on campus.

Alongside the high vaccination rate, Trinity implemented numerous safety protocols for the fall, including mandatory masking indoors, baseline testing, and daily health checks. Trinity’s COVID-19 Health Team still diligently tests community members for COVID-19, assists in contact tracing, quarantines exposed students, and creates custom treatment plans for those who test positive.

Unvaccinated people undergo weekly surveillance tests.

48

TRINITY Fall 2021

campus, but it has also green-lit various community events. Commencement in spring was the first test, where hundreds of people filled the Multi-Purpose Stadium for graduation on the field. Since then, the University has welcomed thousands of visitors for athletic events, move-in day, and Fall Family Weekend, with the caveat that they, too, follow the safety protocols in place at Trinity.

And when they do arrive, those visitors find a community of Tigers resilient and caring, eager and hopeful, determined to make the most of this time on campus once taken for granted.

Here come the Tigers, indeed.

COVID-19 UPDATES

The Kids Are All Right— Kind Of Pandemic spotlights ongoing mental health struggle for college students nationwide

by Molly Mohr Bruni

According to Trinity psychologist Richard Reams, Ph.D., the media has overstated the impact of COVID-19 on college students’ mental health.

And he has the data—at least on Trinity students—to prove it.

“This semester, compared to two years ago, students are not reporting more intense depression,” the director for Counseling Services says.

“They’re not reporting more intense anxiety. They’re not reporting more intense distress. Symptom severity is not up compared to pre-COVID among our clients.” Counseling Services also did not see the increase in clients they had anticipated during the first month of this semester.

Reams explains that, in general, Trinity students aren’t citing COVID-19 as a primary reason for seeking counseling this semester. Instead, the effects of the pandemic are residual. Students might need help brushing up on their rusty social skills, or they want to discuss newfound self-awareness resulting from expanded time for self-reflection during their quarantines.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

49

“Broadly speaking, the kids are all right.

Or, I should say, they’re about as distressed as they were before COVID.” Richard Reams, Ph.D., has served Trinity students in Counseling Services for 27 years.

“Of course, there are certainly individuals who are really struggling,” Reams says, especially those who were already working through pre-existing health conditions.

“But, broadly speaking, the kids are all right,” he says.

“Or, I should say, they’re about as distressed as they were before COVID.” And that clarification reveals a world of difference.

Zoom out to look at the bigger picture, and you’ll find that the pre-COVID level of distress was high— very high—for students nationwide. Study after study indicates students are more burdened by pressure than ever before, with perfectionism and expectations—from themselves, from their family, from society—rising for several decades, as psychologists Thomas Curran and Andrew P. Hill reported in their 2019 review of 25 years of research on perfectionism. At Trinity, Reams conducted a survey in early 2020 (pre-pandemic), randomly sampling more than 400 Trinity undergraduates about dozens of stressors, including perfectionism. More than 80% of them were moderately or highly stressed by their own perfectionist expectations and high standards.

In this same survey, Reams also found that news and current events were a major source of distress for Trinity students.

“COVID is the latest current event. But before that, Trinity students were worried about mass shootings, deportations at the border, climate change, the future of the planet, et cetera,” Reams says. “In the panoply of stressors they’ve got, COVID is just one more thing.”

Reams has been at Trinity for 27 years, so he’s personally seen this shifting burden with college students.

50

TRINITY Fall 2021

In Reams’ first 15 years with Trinity, he says, Counseling Services steadily saw about 10% of Trinity students a year. But for the past 10 years, that percentage has slowly risen. He anticipates Counseling Services seeing about 20% of the student body this academic year.

To keep up with this rising trend, Trinity has added more staff to Counseling Services over the past five years. Most recently, the University funded Counseling Services to add a half-time counselor for this academic year. Early in 2022, the University will launch a national search to turn the part-time position into a full-time role.

The staff expansion has allowed counselors to increase support groups from one pre-pandemic to three now.

Interestingly, there was insufficient interest in a fourth group focused on COVID-related stress.

This investment in Counseling Services is part of a commitment to support holistic student health. Trinity promoted University physician Dr. Marcy Youngdahl into a new role as director of Integrated Counseling and Health Services. This role is meant to deepen the relationship between Health Services and Counseling Services because, as Reams explains, “that’s the way we human beings work,” referring to the relationship between the two spheres.

“Multidisciplinary collaboration lets us focus on the whole person—not just their physical health, and not just their emotional health, because each can affect the other,” Reams says. For example, a student who visits Health Services with gastrointestinal issues might find the root of their issue is underlying anxiety. Or a student with depression might need blood work to see whether there is a

Health Services and Counseling Services have expanded to better serve students—but free hugs always help, too!

medical cause. Youngdahl’s new role helps intertwine the two offices to work even more collaboratively on treating the student, not the symptoms.

To have the bandwidth to do more of this collaboration, Health Services has also expanded. The University hired staff to work specifically on the COVID-19 Health

Youngdahl says that once the worldwide pandemic is no longer in the foreground, the two offices will look for more ways to integrate, such as collaborating on app-based population health management, as well as for more opportunities to work with other areas in the Division of Student Life.

“Our work at Trinity helps our students develop into people who understand that they need balance in their lives.”

Team, monitoring testing, contact tracing, and treatment of patients. That frees up space for the rest of Health Services to do what they do best: preventive care, acute care, phlebotomy, and vaccine administration. Health Services is currently searching for a new full-time prescribing provider, too—a position Youngdahl says will be a game-changer for some students.

“One thing that I’m really excited about is that we are going to reduce some stress for our students with chronic illnesses,” Youngdahl says. In the past, these students would often need to maintain a relationship with a local primary care provider to manage their illnesses. “Now with increased availability of a prescribing provider, we’ll be able to provide chronic disease care within our scope of primary care, which is huge. It’s going to really help reduce a barrier to receiving care, since locating an available primary care physician and going off campus for services can be difficult.”

“Everything we do in the Division of Student Life supports student wellness. It’s a lot more than just mental and physical health,” Youngdahl says. “Our work at Trinity helps our students develop into people who understand that they need balance in their lives. We know their success depends on them leaving Trinity understanding there are multiple areas they can focus on to help them achieve a fulfilling life: mental health, physical health, financial health, spiritual health, and career satisfaction. Maintaining a balance of those things are what we want them to leave here understanding and having developed during their time at Trinity.”

Clinical psychologist B. Janet Hibbs M’77, Ph.D., pens this issue’s Commentary to show how you can support these kids—especially the ones who aren’t always all right.

Read more on page 76 .

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

51

Elevating Inclusive Excellence

University continues progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts

by Ted Gartner ’91

DEI Leadership

The University is finalizing its plans for the structure of a central leadership position tasked with overseeing Trinity’s efforts on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In recent months, Trinity has brought on new leaders that have background or expertise in diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Read more from these leaders on page 54.

Progress continues in the

University’s efforts to make the campus intentionally inclusive. As a result of its August 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Task Force report, Trinity has embarked on a comprehensive mission to form permanent and foundational initiatives that can build strong anti-bias and anti-racist structures on its campus and beyond. The journey toward a more inclusive Trinity community is continual, and the University has committed itself to these goals through several initiatives and programs.

52

TRINITY Fall 2021

DEI Center

Trinity continues to develop concepts for a center that brings together research and teaching on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This vision will guide efforts to fund the center through philanthropic support. A DEI center can provide an engaging framework for students, faculty, staff, and alumni and serve as a home for programs focused on understanding differences, promoting racial and ethnic healing, and examining historic restoration.

Campus Programming and Mentorship

The Division of Student Life has launched dozens of new programs that tackle bias training and DEI education for new and current students. The division offers mentoring programs for underrepresented populations, promotes new resources for disability inclusion and academic support, and furthers the empowerment of the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office.

As a biochemistry and molecular biology major at Trinity, Liezelle Lopez ’16 worked as an undergraduate researcher alongside chemistry professor Laura Hunsicker-Wang. Lopez went on to earn her M.D. from the Baylor College of Medicine in 2020.

STEM Roots in DEI

Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant addresses STEM accessibility Professional Development

Faculty and staff have worked collaboratively to establish purposeful and cohesive approaches to professional development. Some workshops have already occurred this year, and the University will link meaningful professional development and personal DEI goals to the annual review process. University leadership has engaged in weekly professional development work, and many have conducted similar workshops in their divisions.

Policy Updates

Trinity has put in place concrete policies and procedures tackling bias and discrimination, including a new Policy Prohibiting Harassment and Discrimination as well as the new Student Disability Accommodation Grievance Policy. Both of these policies are a direct result of Trinity’s commitment to the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force’s recommendations, as well as shared governance.

In addition, the University is conducting an “equity audit” of all Trinity policies as they come up for review and renewal.

LACRELA

Trinity University enrolled as an inaugural member of the Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA). The consortium helps universities strategically develop and achieve equity goals, better understand and correct climate problems, avoid and recover from racial crises, and foster a sustainable culture of inclusion.

Trinity has received a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical

Institute designed to make its first- and second-year STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses more inclusive of all students. Chaired by biology professor Michele Johnson, Ph.D., and co-chaired by chemistry professor Laura Hunsicker-Wang, Ph.D., the grant connects leaders from more than a dozen other colleges and universities across the nation who are seeking to transform their curricula.

Twenty-four faculty members from Trinity’s STEM departments have formed three learning communities. “The faculty learning communities are meeting regularly to talk about areas of inclusion and exclusion in our curricula and how we can better identify and then address them,” Johnson says. This semester, these faculty will complete an online course titled “Inclusive Teaching in STEM” as they identify next steps for introductory courses at Trinity. “We have a strong commitment from Academic Affairs to support these initiatives as we determine what works and what we need to invest more in.”

The faculty are also partnering with a paid student leadership council to ensure there is equal access and opportunity for every student who wants to pursue a STEM-related major or career. Student participation, through a program dubbed AXIS (Ambassadors for eXcellence in STEM), will help faculty understand the student perspective on inclusiveness and belonging. Their work kicked off at the beginning of the fall semester.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

53

Active Advocacy University leaders reflect on DEI background and experiences

Nurturing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at Trinity starts with identifying leaders who understand the importance of living out our value of intentional inclusion.

Within the past year, the University has welcomed four new leaders who possess significant experience and expertise in DEI initiatives. This breadth of knowledge will help ensure the entire student experience will be viewed through a DEI lens. Trinity magazine asked our new leaders three questions.

1

2 3

What is your professional experience with with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)?

How are you integrating your DEI experience with your role at Trinity?

What are you most looking forward to as Trinity makes significant progress with DEI efforts?

“We need to grow together in our ability to grow together.”

Megan Mustain, Ph.D.

Demi Brown

Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dean of Students

1. As a philosophy professor, I invite my students to interrogate assumptions, and I seek to have that critical stance embodied in the course itself. I’ve always worked to create an inclusive classroom, and I create space for my students to do the same. As an administrator, I see my role as broadening this critical lens to the structures, policies, and institutional cultures that bake assumptions into our work together.

2. From reviewing hiring and evaluation practices to disaggregating data to better see how our choices create barriers to access and success, DEI is integral to my work. Most importantly, though, I want to help create structures for ongoing community reflection and dialogue; we need to grow together in our ability to grow together.

3. Thinking in decades instead of days or weeks, I look forward to seeing the ways that incremental changes build into institutional transformation. I dream of the day I walk onto campus to find that the things I helped build are being rebuilt, renovated, or even replaced with something better. When that happens, I’ll know I helped create and sustain a culture of renewal and ongoing improvement.

54

TRINITY Fall 2021

1. I arrived at Millsaps College in Mississippi in 2016 in a role akin to a senior diversity officer. It was my first professional role specific to diversity, equity and inclusion. As a professional in higher education with multiple socialized visible and invisible minoritized identities, my work really began with understanding myself. My first goal was to be able to show up to work for students operating in as much authenticity as possible, giving me the knowledge and skills to serve all of our students better.

2. Simply put, if I am going to be an effective dean of students, I have to be able to connect with as much of the student body as possible, across all identity dimensions. Through conversations with students, I am getting a better sense of what the students want. My goal is to be able to help move this campus forward in a way that’s consistent with institutional values.

3. I am really looking forward to fully understanding the full breadth of student experiences at Trinity. I am learning how they feel about their classroom experiences, what happens in their social engagements with other students, where they find challenges, and where they find support. Ultimately, we want our students equipped to create the experiences they value on campus and to leverage what they learn into meaningful lives for themselves.

“My DEI experience helps me identify potential systemic challenges embedded in our institution.”

“Mindfulness, humility, and empathy allow for the creation of bridges across experiences.”

Erika Robinson, J.D.

Courtney Balderas

General Counsel

Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion

1. Before attending law school, I served as a student affairs professional at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire on the residence life team and participated in the Social Justice Training Institute. Then, as the inaugural executive director for the Office of Strategic Diversity and Inclusion at Georgia Gwinnett College, I structured the office to ensure compliance with the college’s obligations under Title VII and Title IX, which prohibit protected class discrimination. Additionally, I earned an executive certificate in strategic diversity and inclusion management from the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies and participated in the Standards of Professional Practice for Chief Diversity Officers in Higher Education Institute organized by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.

2. As the University’s general counsel, my primary role is to provide strategic legal advice using a deep understanding of Trinity’s mission, vision, and strategic goals as my framework. However, my experience as a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner informs my approach to engaging in difficult conversations related to complex issues. My DEI experience also helps me identify potential systemic challenges embedded in our institution that hinder progress in achieving the University’s goals of promoting inclusive excellence.

3. I look forward to supporting the work of the University in actualizing the recommendations made in the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force report. I also will help develop a legally appropriate framework that allows Trinity to fully realize our goal of creating an educational and working environment that demonstrates our value of intentional inclusion.

1. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with on- and off-campus stakeholders to create sustainable programming and partnerships that directly impact accessibility, campus climate, and support services. My creation of the Dreamer Council and service on the Inclusive Excellence Advisory Board at UTSA were both excellent opportunities to pool resources and implement systemic changes.

2. At the core, I believe DEI efforts seek to address inequities in systems and to achieve social and racial justice through inclusive practices that involve engaging diverse perspectives and lived experiences. My approach is grounded in mindfulness, humility, and empathy, which allows for the creation of relational bridges across varied cultural, social, and emotional experiences.

3. With intentional inclusion as one of our core values, I find the prospect of our collective pursuance and implementation of inclusive excellence strategies at Trinity incredibly exciting. Over the past year, as a community, we have done an immense amount of work, some of it behind the scenes and in our respective areas, to advance our DEI goals. Now is the time for us to continue with this great momentum to institutionalize prioritized recommendations in partnership with the new additions to the Tiger family.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

55

56

TRINITY Fall 2021

Dicke Hall A new home for the Humanities

At Trinity University, the Humanities have long stood as an integral part of an interdisciplinary liberal arts and sciences education. By Fall 2022, several of Trinity’s Humanities departments will have a dedicated home in a state-of-the-art building that will define a presence for Trinity on Hildebrand Avenue and provide a visible connection to the San Antonio community.

Dicke Hall, part of the broader overall project called the Chapman-Halsell-Dicke Complex, is designed to honor the architectural legacy of O’Neil Ford, who designed Trinity’s current skyline campus, and to maintain the University’s 2018 designation as a National Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.

above A rendering depicts the completed Dicke Hall at sunset, emphasizing intentional similarities between the lift-slab method and the design of this mass-timber building. left Construction progress

Excited to see what’s inside?

Let’s open the Humanities’ new front door and take a peek ➝

as Dicke Hall takes shape.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

57

Amenities

Dicke Hall will house the Humanities Collective, the Department of English, and the Department of Religion. Building amenities are student-centered to create collaborative environments that reflect modern educational practices.

• State-of-the-art classrooms • Ample writing surfaces and movable furniture • Improved classroom acoustics and screen projection • Offices, conference rooms, and collaborative common spaces

Building Specifications 40,000 square feet 3 stories 2 department homes (English and Religion) 6 classrooms 1 lecture hall 1 screening room multiple collaborative common spaces

Location

DICKE HALL

Dicke Hall is part of the Chapman-Halsell-Dicke Complex, situated north of Halsell Center and adjacent to the Elizabeth Huth Coates Library.

58

TRINITY Fall 2021

Mass-Timber Construction

In a nod to O’Neil Ford’s tradition of engineering innovation, Dicke Hall uses a

mass-timber structural system. A combination of aesthetics, structural performance, and opportunity for innovation has allowed mass-timber construction to take root. Mass-timber buildings have primary load-bearing structures—wall, floor, and roof construction—made of either solid or engineered wood. They have a lighter carbon footprint, provide fire and life safety, and include biophilic aspects that have been linked to improved health and well-being.

“When the doors finally open at Dicke Hall, I hope to see a lot of activity, a lot of interaction—not only between students from different departments, but also interaction between faculty and their students, breaking down some of the artificial boundaries between what happens in the classroom and what happens in the hallways.”

– Tim O’Sullivan, Ph.D., Classical Studies Professor and Chapman-Halsell-Dicke Complex Project Co-Chair

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

59

The Dicke Legacy Dicke Hall is a reality thanks to the generosity of Trinity alumni Janet ’68 and Jim ’68 Dicke, for whom Dicke Hall is named.

Additional significant support was provided by: • Semmes Foundation, Inc.: Thomas R. Semmes, President and former Trustee • Former Trinity Board Chair and alumnus L. Herbert Stumberg Jr. ’81 and Paula Stumberg • The Sunderland Foundation: Trinity alumni Kent ’80 Sunderland and Charles ’78 Sunderland • The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, Inc. • Trinity Board Chair and alumna Melody Boone Meyer ’79 and Kim I Meyer View a full list of supporters at gotu.us/DickeHall under “Words of Gratitude.”

Breaking Ground Trinity University broke ground on Dicke Hall on May 20 in a small outdoor ceremony. Pandemic policies and procedures, which are still in place on the Trinity campus, prevented a larger community-wide groundbreaking. View video footage from the groundbreaking and find more information on the building project at gotu.us/DickeHall.

60

TRINITY Fall 2021

“Dicke Hall will serve as the centerpiece of modern teaching and learning on the Trinity campus. This space will provide the technology and tools necessary for our worldclass faculty to meaningfully engage with their students.”

– Danny J. Anderson, Ph.D. Trinity University President

“The nature of a renovation in college is that our current students don’t get to experience the end result after we have picked their brains, which is why we will be excited to host alumni events so we can invite them back and keep these conversations going.”

– Rubén Dupertuis, Ph.D., Religion Professor and Chapman-Halsell-Dicke Complex Project Co-Chair

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

61

Halsell Center

Reimagining a state-of-the-art experience You may be tempted to think of its dusty smells, dim lighting, and whirring hums in the middle of the

night from the mainframe.

Think again. On Aug. 11, Trinity University officially reopened the newly renovated Ewing Halsell Center, an anchor in the Chapman-Halsell-Dicke Complex. This reimagined building is now the dedicated home of the Departments of Classical Studies, History, and Philosophy.

The Ewing Halsell Center, which originally opened in 1968, was the 41st and last building that famed architect O’Neil Ford designed as part of Trinity’s Centennial Program, and it is one of 26 buildings on campus that are part of Trinity’s National Historic District. It was also the original home to the University’s first computer, an IBM System/360 Model 44, which at that time was considered the height of state-of-the-art technology.

The Halsell Center renovation was made possible through the generosity of the Ewing Halsell Foundation and other philanthropists.

“When Trinity opened this building in 1968, this current campus wasn’t even 20 years old, yet even then, Trinity was building for the future,” President Danny Anderson said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We give thanks to a half-century’s worth of ideas exchanged and knowledge gained within these walls. May this center continue to serve as a vessel for oceans of opportunities for many years to come.”

62

TRINITY Fall 2021

left “Mr. Ewing Halsell and His Foreman at the Ranch,”

by Peter Hurd, remains the centerpiece of the Halsell lobby after a complete restoration. right The Halsell Center ribbon-cutting, a private ceremony due to pandemic restrictions, was held in May. far right The building’s skylight now brings light to all three floors of the building. below Students enjoy a gathering space on Halsell’s second floor overlooking the lobby.

Building Specifications 25,000 square feet 3 stories 3 department homes (Classical Studies, History and Philosophy) 2 classrooms 1 seminar room multiple collaborative common spaces

“Our new seminar room looks like it will be excellent for research and classes alike.

With its cozy atmosphere and vast amounts of white board space, it really captures the spirit of the small class sizes and discussion-based learning that Trinity prides itself on.”

– Meg McDonald ’22 Classical Studies Student

Trinity Parkway Starting this fall , directions to the Trinity University campus from your favorite map app will point you to

Trinity Parkway. The new street and grand entrance, located on the far north side of campus off Hildebrand Avenue, will serve as a welcoming beacon for students, alumni, and visitors alike. The combo crosswalkintersection-entrance north of Coates Library and just west of City Vista opened in late September.

The intersection is a key part of the University’s Campus Master Plan, which introduces the new campus entrance as the main arrival to the campus and envisions a future welcome center along the road’s path with space for Admissions and Alumni Relations.

“The architects talk a lot about that feeling people get when they come on to different campuses. We want it to be welcoming, warm, and accepting to everyone coming into the Trinity community.”

– Justin Doty, Dean of Admissions, quoted from the San Antonio Express-News

64

TRINITY Fall 2021

Welcome to our community: monument signage and landscaping, signaling clear arrival on the University’s campus

sidewalks along Hildebrand widened to 10 feet to encourage foot and bicycle traffic

acceleration and deceleration lanes for eastbound Hildebrand vehicular traffic

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

65

CLASS NOTES

1952

1968

Julian Dewell retired from the

After teaching elementary school for 25 years, Pearl Raikin worked for the local American Federation of Teachers chapter of the union as a labor relations specialist for 12 years for Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. “We moved to a wonderful 55-and-over community that is very active and, even with everything that is going on today with the pandemic, we manage to do things carefully and still have a good time,” Raikin says.

practice of law in 2006. Dewell now volunteers with Washington Trails Association, and he wrote a trail-building book, Tread and Retreat the Trails, which is in its third edition.

1965 Steve Albers has been retired

since 2010 from his own marketing and communications firm. Albers now spends time between homes in Southern California and Henderson, Nevada, with his wife, Kathy.

Show your #TigerPride Submit your updates online at gotu.us/alumniupdates

While performing a cesarean delivery one night as part of her OB/GYN residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), Rachel (Barnes) Deutsch ’11 handed the baby over to one of her Trinity classmates, Jacob Hall ’15, who is doing a pediatrics residency at NMCP. “It is something very special to have two Trinity alumni serving the same community over in Virginia!” Deutsch says.

66

TRINITY Fall 2021

1969

Vintage Beauty, the art of Susan (Masinter) Riley, was on display at Art Gallery Prudencia in San Antonio. The black and white photos of fabulous actresses and dancers are restored, colored, and embellished with jewels, pearls, and hand painting.

areas such as medicine, science, military history, and military science. He has a passion for the linguistic field and has taught Vietnamese at the Defense Language Institute. Nguyen works part time as a certified court interpreter in California while also dabbling in linguistic fields as a poet and lyricist of several famous Vietnamese songs. He enjoys traveling with his wife, playing tennis, and singing ’50s and ’60s love songs.

1970 Christopher Nguyen published

The Rains on Tan Son Nhat, his first novel and the product of his 25 years’ labor of love. Nguyen came to the United States as an international student in 1966 during the Vietnam War. In his first summer months, he stayed in Los Fresnos, Texas, where he was befriended and taken in by a Japanese-American family. This experience greatly influenced him to choose the persona of the novel’s protagonist, Major James Saito. Nguyen began his career as an entrepreneur, which led to the first successful interstate Vietnamese food processing company in the U.S. In 1987, he was asked to represent the United States in the International Marketing Symposium in Niort, France, where he was awarded the grand prize for marketing creativity. Subsequently, he received the 1988 Entrepreneur of the Year award given by Merrill Lynch, Ernst and Young. Nguyen reads extensively on numerous

Since retiring from classroom teaching, HB Paksoy, Ph.D., has written novels. The latest is titled She Was Walking and was published in July 2020.

Geary Reamey

has been appointed presiding judge of the Municipal Court of Shavano Park, Texas. He will continue to teach at St. Mary’s University School of Law while carrying out his judicial duties.

1971 Dr. Griffin T. Murphey received

the 2021 Wings Award from the Fort Worth Aviation Museum.

The award recognizes people who have made significant contributions toward promoting and preserving aviation heritage.

1972

1975

Rhonda Brink was honored by

the State Bar of Texas with the 2020 Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in the area of Real Estate, Estate, and Probate Law.

Sarah Janosik completed

Tom Masinter composed the

music for Davy Crockett, which returned to New York City in July for a workshop at The Irish Repertory Theatre. This musical show features Davy Crockett with his friends in a tavern in Memphis the night before he leaves for Texas. Bart Shatto, known for playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables on Broadway, played the lead role.

Davy Crockett has also had a reading at the Dramatists Guild headquarters, a producers-directors showcase at The Cell Theatre in New York, and a full production at The Josephine Theatre in San Antonio.

1974

the Flow Coaching Institute training to add professional coaching to her skills. She provides individualized coaching and retreats that incorporate equine-facilitated learning as well as assess skills and develop new strategies for personal and professional growth.

1976 Tom Davenport is a visit-

ing professor at Oxford’s Saïd Business School. He remains a distinguished professor of information technology and management at Babson College and a fellow of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. Davenport has written 20 books and is working on three more.

The latest play of Elaine Liner, Dear Donald/Dear Hillary (Their Secret Correspondence), co-starring Bob Hess M’82, will headline the 2021 San Francisco Fringe Festival, with performances this past summer and fall at Fringe Festivals in: Halifax, Nova Scotia; Guelph, Ontario; Kansas City, Missouri; Boulder, Colorado; and Queensland (Australia). She performed her solo show, Sweater Curse: A Yarn about Love, at the Fort Worth Fringe in September, the latest for the comedy that enjoyed two full runs at Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe and in theater fests across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Liner lives and writes in Dallas.

1977 Beverly Sortland, after

serving 21 years abroad in international schools in six different

countries, retired and repatriated to New York. She is now very happy to be settled in one place with her husband, Philippe, and their cat.

1979 Sarah Cleveland retired after

more than 16 years as a physical/lymphedema therapist at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

She now spends her time doing volunteer work, traveling, and social dancing.

Linda Smith is still the chief

executive officer of the company she created 20 years ago, En Su Casa Caregivers, located in San Antonio. She loves making a difference in people’s lives. A few years ago, she and her husband, Paul, bought a vacation home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It has slowly transitioned into their full-time home because she feels such a connection to the earth and sky in New Mexico.

She is now honing her writing skills as she works remotely.

William “Billy” Johnson M’76

Naomi Shihab Nye received

the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement by the National Book Critics Circle. Nye serves as the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate. She released her newest collection of poems, Cast Away: Poems for Our Time, in February 2021.

co-published a novel titled The Casserole Ladies, available in eBook and paperback on Amazon. It is a screwball comedy about five older, unmarried Southern womens’ zany misadventures on a quest for postmortem romance.

Linda Smith ’79 (right) with her husband, Paul Smith III, and Naomi Shihab Nye ’74 (left) at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, where Linda took a poetry class in 2017 taught by Nye. She says Naomi “brings out the best in those who want to express themselves through the written word.”

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

67

CLASS NOTES

1982

1983

Jenny Boteler celebrated the

Martin Rizley and his Sicilian

MARRIAGES Lindsey Hovland ’11 and Blake Bondurant Nov. 30, 2020

Angela Wilson ‘18 and

Alecia Jarrett ’14 and

Austin Guerrero ‘18

David Bean

Dec. 31, 2020

Jan. 23, 2021

Chris Taylor ’07 and

Daniel Mitchell ’20 and

Sara Breshears ’14

Anne Wellford ’20

Feb. 27, 2021

April 16, 2021

35th anniversary of her ordination into the United Church of Christ on June 29, 2021. For the past nine years, Boteler has served as the lead pastor of Union Congregational UCC in Green River, Wyoming. In September 2019, the church was awarded a Clergy Renewal Grant through the Eli Lilly Foundation to fund a sabbatical leave for Boteler in 2020. Unfortunately, that was postponed. Her sabbatical finally began mid-July 2021 and included time in Costa Rica, Greece, and Israel. Activities included Spanish immersion, yoga, kayaking, hiking in Crete, and a pilgrimage in the Holy Lands.

Scott Tinker, Ph.D., joined the

NEW ADDITIONS

Josie

Calvin Shepard

Julia Charlotte

to Steven

to Nathaniel

to Ashley

Mickey ’13 and

Longfellow

Stenoien ‘10,

Allison Mickey ’13

’09 and Shelby

M’13 and Greg

Dec. 29, 2020

Longfellow

Stenoien ‘10

Jan. 15, 2021

April 23, 2021

68

TRINITY Fall 2021

Trinity University Board of Trustees and began his service at the February board meeting.

Tinker is the director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin (UT), the State Geologist of Texas, and a professor who holds the Edwin Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at UT.

wife, Paola, along with his daughter, Melody, have been living on the southern coast of Spain since 2015. Rizley serves as pastor of the Iglesia Bautista de la Gracia (Grace Baptist Church), a Spanish-speaking congregation.

1984 Ronald Glazener Jr. retired

on June 1 after 37 years of working with the public and private school sectors as a teacher and administrator. Glazener joined his spouse, Lois Straub Glazener ’84, who retired in 2017 after spending 33 years as a public school educator.

1985 Marygrace Sorensen was

ordained as a Unity Minister in June 2018.

1986 Andy Cochrane M’90 was

named chief hospital officer for North Memorial Health in Minneapolis. Since 2008, Cochrane has served North Memorial as chief executive officer of Maple Grove Hospital, which was recognized by Fortune/IBM Watson Health as a Top 100 Hospital for the third time.

director of the San Antonio Women’s Business Center.

East Campus and market chief operating officer of The Hospitals of Providence in El Paso, Texas. Vargas-Mahar is chair of the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives and was appointed by the American Hospital Association to its Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award Committee. She also serves on the board for Trinity’s health care administration program, for the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, and for Loretto Catholic High School.

1998

1999

1992 David Imhoof helps direct the

San Antonio Alumni Club members and their families gathered at the Palladium at the Rim for a sold-out private screening of Marvel’s Black Widow on July 11.

Corinne Smith hosts a new

podcast series titled On Her Shoulders, which features inspiring women who work to ensure the female voice is heard. The podcast, sponsored by Winstead’s Women’s Alliance, releases new episodes each month on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the firm’s website.

1988 Christopher Branch published

the paper “Perceptions of Ethics in Persuasive User Interfaces” (Persuasive Technology), based on research conducted for a master’s thesis in human-computer interaction presented at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

1990 Hugh Coleman retired on Dec. 31,

2021, from Denton County after more than 24 years as an assistant district attorney, assistant county attorney, and county commissioner. Coleman now serves as the city attorney for Sanger, Texas.

Margaret Oertling Cupples,

a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Jackson, Mississippi, has been

named Lawyer of the Year for Product Liability Litigation-Defendants in The Best Lawyers in America for 2022. Recognition

by The Best Lawyers in America is based entirely on peer review.

Methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Only one lawyer is recognized as the Lawyer of the Year for each specialty and location.

1991

requirement at Susquehanna University that all students study abroad. He also recently published a textbook on European history with Bloomsbury Press.

The textbook is titled So, About Modern Europe: A Conversational History from the Enlightenment to the Present Day. Margaret Wilson-Anaglia is

Monica C. Vargas-Mahar

joined Carondelet Health Network as market chief executive officer in the Tucson, Arizona, area. Vargas-Mahar has more than 20 years of experience in health care administration in multiple leadership positions.

Prior to joining Carondelet, she served as chief executive officer of The Hospitals of Providence

Photo Credit: Courtney Perry ‘99 Robyn (Byrd) Michalove

graduated from Brite Divinity School with a Doctorate in Ministry in December. As an associate pastor for mission at

Lee Koch presented his work,

titled “A discussion of the merits and constraints of various methods for peer-sharing of scholarly teaching practices in medical and healthcare professional education (flipped contribution),” at the 2021 Conference of the German Medical Educators Association in Zurich, Switzerland, on Sept. 17, 2021.

Heidi (Lorch) Odenius works as a

customer service representative for David’s Bridal. Welcoming new guests into the store brings joy to her days!

Austin Alumni Club members joined students from Trinity’s entrepreneurship program for mentorship and networking on July 22. Tiger alumni shared their experiences and advice on working in the startup and technology industry over food at Better Half Coffee & Cocktails.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

69

CLASS NOTES

Record-Setting Giving

Thousands of Tigers banded together this year to provide millions of dollars in gifts that support student success at Trinity.

28.5 million gifts pledges

$

raised in and highest amount raised in 3 decades

15.5

%

percentage of undergraduate alumni donors continues a three-year trend of high giving rates

First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, Michalove focused her research project on transforming congregational outreach to those in material need by reflecting on systemic wealth inequities and moving away from unhelpful models of charitable action.

Joshua Searcy was appointed by

2001

the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to a 14-year term as a United States bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Texas. He previously practiced bankruptcy law for 15 years with Searcy & Searcy and is finishing a one-year term as chair of the Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Clay Allen was promoted to

2004

general counsel of the Houston Rockets. He had served as the team’s associate general counsel since 2013.

2003

2021’s 1869 Challenge

3,340 donors

Jennifer Bergman was sworn

in as the first female district attorney in Liberty County, Texas, on Jan. 4.

raised $827,904, breaking all-time records for both number of donors and giving total

Read more at Meera (Rava) Deters is the

proud owner of Super Speech Solutions, a private practice providing online speech therapy to Texans. She helps children and adults improve their speech and language skills so they can communicate better. She is passionate about her work and loves being able to make a difference in other people’s lives. For more information, visit superspeechsolutions.com.

Pamela Raybon Owens, a

“Fantastic time in the Rocky Mountains with these guys. First time we’ve all been together since graduation in ‘88.” - David Roper ‘88 left to right Kevin Saul ‘89, Roper, Carlos Miranda ‘88, Scott Fasser ‘87, Eric Hilty ‘88, Greg Wolff ‘89, Sean McNelis ‘89, and Will Shortt ‘88

70

TRINITY Fall 2021

teacher at Weatherford Elementary School, was named Teacher of the Year in the Plano Independent School District.

gotu.us/jenniferbergman.

2007 John Phillips, president of

Methodist Dallas Medical Center, presented a webinar in April titled “OR Optimization: Executive Insights from Methodist Dallas Medical Center.” The webinar covered the economic impact of a robotics service line, leadership best practices to influence care teams in pursuit of the quadruple aim, and how to leverage an ecosystem of support tools and services to get the most out of an investment.

2010

Kristen Lovell Joseph Stieb, Ph.D.,

published his first book, The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003, with Cambridge University Press.

2011 Lindsay (Hovland) Bondurant

serves as chief of the animal cruelty section at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

serves as both head of brand for Biko Flower and creative operations director for Gateway Proven Strategies. Biko Flower is a licensed social equity cannabis manufacturer in Los Angeles, and Gateway Proven Strategies is a consulting agency focused on global cannabis and hemp markets.

Stephen Regina graduated from

a nephrology fellowship at Methodist Health System in Dallas.

He joined Dallas Nephrology Associates in September 2021.

Stay Connected “Trinity University Alumni Association” “Trinity University Alumni Group” @TrinityUAlumni @trinityu.alumni “Trinity University Alumni” group Trinity University Alumni Association

She’s Trinity True Child family recognized for more than 50 years of consecutive giving Betty Child ’60, M’64 and her husband, Don ’60, M’64,

were not typical college students. They had been married 10 years, had raised two children, had moved to Wyoming and back to San Antonio, and Don had served two years overseas during the Korean conflict.

“It had taken that long for us to realize we would be better off with more education,” Betty says.

Thanks to the timing and a suggestion from a junior college dean, the couple earned matching bachelor’s and master’s degrees and have since become one of Trinity University’s longest-giving and most devoted donor couples.

“Not long after receiving our Trinity degrees, we started to realize how much we had received from Trinity,” Betty says. When the Childs received a request for a donation the year after they graduated, they responded promptly. “Ever since, we have made a yearly donation,” she says. More than five decades of loyalty and annual support have earned them recognition as Trinity True, a designation for Trinity supporters with a history of continuous annual giving over a number of years.

Linda Child Narin ’71, M’79, like her mother and father before her, earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Trinity. When Linda and her children sought to express their own gratitude, they honored Betty and Don by establishing an endowed scholarship in their name.

Sadly, in 2016, Betty lost her husband of 69 years.

Still a dedicated educator, she tutors at a nearby elementary school and remains close to Trinity.

Find an Alumni Club Network, volunteer, and attend events with Tigers in your area.

There are Alumni Clubs throughout the United States—visit gotu.us/alumniclubs to find one near you!

Trinity encourages Alumni Clubs to follow local best practices and guidelines regarding COVID-19 protocols.

Learn more about becoming Trinity True!

Trinity True celebrates the spirit of consecutive giving and faithfulness to Trinity University, honoring loyal alumni, faculty, and staff of the University who support Trinity consistently over time, regardless of the amount.

gotu.us/TrinityTrue

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

71

CLASS NOTES

2013

2019 Jacob Hugentobler

North Texas Alumni Club members laughed all night as they gathered to hear The New York Times bestselling author, comedian, actor, and Trinity alumnus Josh Wolf ’93. The show took place at Hyena’s Comedy Club in Dallas on Aug. 7. Following Wolf’s show, the group walked over to Trinity Hall Irish Pub to reminisce and catch up with other local alumni.

graduated from law school and moved back to San Antonio in 2019. He now serves as a Social Security disability attorney.

2014 Sarah Luginbill received her

doctoral degree in history from the University of Colorado at Boulder in May. She is a FirstYear Experience instructor at Trinity this fall.

Tyler Cagle won The Milton

S. Thompson, MD Award for Most Outstanding Research in the Field of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. Cagle presented his research at the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center for the Military Health System Research Symposium in August.

2016

Albuquerque Alumni Club members cheered on the Albuquerque Isotopes baseball team as they faced the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Aug. 6. The group welcomed the newest members of the Albuquerque Alumni Club and caught up with other Tiger alumni in the Rio Grande Credit Union Field’s best suite while watching the game.

Jeremy Wolf played for the

More Alumni Club Activities

Israel national baseball team, helping them qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Read more on page 31.

Members of the New York and Houston Alumni Clubs went

2018

head to head in a virtual trivia night on June 22. Alumni joined virtual trivia host George Moon, who led the battle with a range of trivia topics and questions both snarky and serious.

The Seattle Alumni Club hosted a summer happy hour at Fremont Brewing Company on July 20. Alumni, family, and furry friends enjoyed gathering outdoors and making connections with each other.

Members of the Atlanta Alumni Club gathered for an end-ofsummer happy hour at Cultivation Brewery Co. on Aug. 26. Tiger alumni and their families indulged in crab cakes and spent the evening reconnecting and meeting new graduates.

72

TRINITY Fall 2021

Isaiah Mora began a new role

in April 2021 as a fundraising specialist with the nonprofit Merced Housing Texas.

Erin Crooks was awarded Best

News Anchor in a small market by the Colorado Broadcasters Association for 2020. She began her broadcasting career at KKCO/KJCT News in Grand Junction, Colorado, in the summer of 2019. Crooks solo anchors the morning broadcast, Daybreak, and anchors and produces the noon broadcast, Midday Live, every weekday.

Aida Kajs is a program associate

with the Schuler Education Foundation, working with liberal arts schools across the country to increase access for Pell-eligible and undocumented students.

Alumni Leadership Academy More than 40 alumni graduated from Trinity’s 2021 Alumni Leadership Academy (ALA) program. The ALA aims to create a cohort of leaders who can become further engaged with Trinity. Facilitating networking and professional growth, this year’s program included conversations with vice presidents who shared an insider’s view on Trinity University as well as faculty, staff, and alumni experts who provided training on what it takes to become an effective volunteer leader.

To learn more about the Alumni Leadership Academy, visit gotu.us/ALA.

2020

2021

Victoria Brown started graduate

school at Ohio University this fall for a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs.

Trinity Alumni Relations wants to give a warm thank you to the talented alumni who have volunteered over the past year to write dozens of stories about fellow Tigers: Shelly (Armstrong) Arneson ’88 Lydia Benedict ’16 Gwen Blank ’94 Beth Williams Cusack ’94

David Clark accepted a position

Emily Fitzgerald ’95

teaching English at the University of Strasbourg in France.

Carol Folbre ’81 Rocío Guenther ’16 James Hill ’76

Daniel Mitchell began attending

Kassie Kelly ’18

UTHealth School of Dentistry at Houston this fall.

Marjorie (McLane) Maxfield ’69 Margaret Philbrick ’84 Manuela Jambrina-Escobar

William Razavi ’95

moved to Boston in September to attend the New England College of Optometry.

Joy Rosser ’94, P’22

Lisa Vetyuhova is working as a

Read the profiles at gotu.us/alumnistories. If you’re interested in writing for Alumni Relations, reach out to alumni@trinity.edu.

paralegal with Pulman Cappuccio & Pullen LLP.

David B. Schlosser ’90 Hawes Spencer ’88

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

73

IN MEMORIAM

Lelia (Owen)

Clara (Walvoord)

Ralph Schlueter ’58

Dean Benson ’61

Alan Byars ’64

Lawrence

Hamilton ’40

Hudspeth ’53

Sept. 21, 2020

March 15, 2021

April 20, 2021

Inouye ’69

Sept. 13, 2020

April 28, 2021 Josephine Curry ’59

Doris Brown ’61

William

Jan. 25, 2021

Feb. 2, 2021

Grossenbacher ’65

Robert Eason ’70

Dec. 17, 2020

Jan. 30, 2021

Robin (Martin)

James Nail ’53

Callahan ’48

June 14, 2021 Betty Lou

Catherine

Jim Erwin ’54

Hamilton ’59

Carson ’61

Charlie Meismer ’65

Sharry (Crofford)

June 23, 2021

April 6, 2021

April 2, 2020

March 5, 2021

Gould ’70

Daniel Perkins ’54

Frank Johns ’59

Frederick

Sheila

Oct. 12, 2019

May 3, 2021

Petmecky ’61

(McDonough)

Linda Bye ’71

June 23, 2021

Reese ’65

Dec. 25, 2020

Aug. 3, 2021 Ernest Pipes ’48

Feb. 2, 2021

Feb. 10, 2021 Patricia (Malloy)

March 26, 2021

Crain ’49 May 14, 2021

William Stutts ’54

Richard Kuepper ’59

June 6, 2021

March 13, 2021

Jean McGarr ’49 Dec. 19, 2020 Peggy East ’50

Marilyn (Wade)

Emily Rodriguez ’59

Warrens ’54

Feb. 6, 2021

Jan. 10, 2020 Clifford Smith ’59

April 1, 2021 Harold Windus ’54 Arnold Nitishin ’50

Terry (White) Pamela Tackett ’65

April 27, 2020

March 26, 2021

Margaret Hard ’62

Louise Wissler-

Perron ’71

Nov. 11, 2020

Estep ’65

May 29, 2021

Marc 30, 2021 Franklin

David Trice ’71

Huebner ’62

Mary (Beitel)

Vernon Zunker ’54

Thompson ’59

Aug. 9, 2021

Canion ’66

March 26, 2021

April 18, 2021

Aug. 8, 2020 Elise (Aulgur)

Ann (Dawson)

Marvin Hess ’72 July 9, 2021

Homer

Huntsman ’62

Michael

June 30, 2021

Tumlinson ’59

Nov. 20, 2020

Gilhousen ’66

William Howe ’72

Feb. 3, 2021

Jan. 24, 2021

Woodrow

David Stump ’72

English ’67

Feb. 5, 2021

Jan. 29, 2021 Warren Kohls ’55 Dec. 25, 2020

Marguerite

Marie McClane ’62 David Byrd ’60

Jan. 23, 2021

Jan. 27, 2021

Jordan ’52

Carlos

Sept. 17, 2020

Fernandez ’57

Norann (Melliff)

Powell ’62

Jan. 27, 2021

Marshall ’60

March 6, 2021

R.L. Patterson ’52 Nov. 17, 2018

March 23, 2021

Olga Chavez ’55 Geisler ’52 Aug. 5, 2021

March 29, 2021 Andrea (Gillespie)

James

Oct. 3, 2020

Armistead

Aug. 2, 2021 Earl Heath ’57 March 13, 2021

Edwina (Johnson) George Jageman ’57

May 8, 2021

Jan. 17, 2019 Terrelita

Carson ’53

Maverick ’57

Aug. 17, 2019

May 20, 2021

June 16, 2021

June 12, 2019

Jan. 15, 2021

Gene Camargo ’63

Deborah L. Leann Parker ’67

Ghirardi ’73

June 13, 2020

Feb. 27, 2021

Evangelos

Richard Harwell ’73

Voutsinas ’67

Dec. 1, 2020

April 9, 2021 Michael Matthes ’73

May 11, 2021 Daniel Saucedo ’60

Jane Graves ’53

Patricia (Brown)

Jan. 28, 2021

Hutchinson ’58

Evelyn Sparks ’60

July 26, 2020

Jan. 21, 2021

Feb. 18, 2021

Dana Wilbanks ’62 May 12, 2021

July 5, 2021

Jerold Widish ’67 Jess Foster ’63

John Rinset ’73 Morris Slugg ’68

Edward Poole ’63

Jan. 24, 2021

April 18, 2021

June 27, 2021

Aug. 13, 2021

TRINITY Fall 2021

Bobbie Boening ’73 William Marler ’67

Lewis Stewart ’62 Pamela (Anderson)

Roland O’Con ’60 Ernestine (Jessup)

May 8, 2019

Feb. 3, 2021

Morris ’60

Watson ’52

74

James Elkins ’71

Clegg ’62

June 17, 2021

July 16, 2021

June 2, 2020 James Gorman ’51

March 11, 2021

July 24, 2021

Oct. 6, 2019

Becky

Kay (Cottingham)

Hugh

Whitehead ’73

Bridges ’80

Fitzsimons ’85

Jan. 15, 2021

July 19, 2021

May 16, 2021

Margaret Clark ’74

Jean Stucky ’80

Leslie Hendrix ’85

Feb. 4, 2021

Nov. 7, 2020

Jan. 18, 2021

James Dubensky ’74

Gary Wachs ’80

Virginia Russ ’86

Jan. 16, 2021

Jan. 29, 2021

June 4, 2021

John Andrews ’75

Anita

Teri White ’86

Nov. 17, 2020

Worthington ’80

April 3, 2021

July 14, 2021 Saundra (Batson)

Douglas Carnes ’87

Ashworth ’75

Dan

July 3, 2021

Goodenough ’81 July 18, 2021

Timothy Lee ’75 June 27, 2021

Aug. 12, 2021 G. Gregory Combs ’90

Eleanor Komet ’81

May 26, 2021

Feb. 17, 2021 Albert Rodriguez ’76 Nov. 25, 2019

Joe McKinney ’92 Cecil Scanlan ’81

July 13, 2021

Feb. 11, 2021 Vick Zamora ’76 Feb. 2, 2021

John Vines ’94 Thomas Swift ’81

Jan. 18, 2021

July 8, 2021 William Zwartjes ’76 Feb. 4, 2021

David Plaut ’95 Frances

Jan. 27, 2021

Whitehead ’81 Diana Diaz ’77

May 1, 2021

Michelle Grambeau ’10

Aug. 6, 2021 Ginger (Dreyfus) Catherine

Karren ’82

MacKenroth ’77

May 29, 2021

Feb. 3, 2021

Feb. 4, 2021 Jacob Pekarek ’15 March 10, 2021

Jane Rowe ’82 Jack Northcutt ’77

Feb. 13, 2021

Feb. 11, 2021

Aug. 17, 2021 Gary Chavenson ’83

William Scanlon ’78

June 17, 2021

June 2, 2021 Betty Daniel ’83 Gayle (Thompson)

April 12, 2021

Crocker ’79 Nov. 20, 2020

Lum Edwards ’84 Jan. 15, 2021

Martin Yearout ’79

Zachary Young ’22

Remembering the Legacy of President Emeritus Ronald K. Calgaard Memorial service celebrates life, community The Trinity community celebrated the life and

legacy of President Emeritus Ronald K. Calgaard, Ph.D., at the Margarite B. Parker Chapel on Wednesday, Aug. 4. The service of remembrance and gratitude was open to the community and attended by family, friends, and Tigers on whom President Calgaard had a monumental impact.

Contributing to the service were friends and loved ones past and present, including: David Heller, DMA, University organist; the Rev. Alex Serna-Wallender ’08, M’09, University chaplain; Danny Anderson, Trinity president; Drew Cauthorn; daughter Lisa Calgaard Sands; son Kent Calgaard; grandson Eliot Sands; granddaughter Kathleen Calgaard; the Rev. Raymond Judd ’56, University chaplain emeritus; and Jacquelyn Matava, DMA, soprano.

“Without life, there’s no living. And what does living mean? And here I must become personal: Living means something like Ronald K. Calgaard.

I have known few people in my life who have loved life and living any more than Ron,” the Rev. Judd said in his homily. “Someone wrote long ago, ‘Institutions like Trinity are the length and shadows of many faithful persons. Some, however, do cast longer shadows.’ Ron’s long shadow will be with us who love Trinity and love San Antonio for the rest of our lives.”

Calgaard, who died in April 2020, served at Trinity’s helm from 1979 to 1999 and was the longest-serving president in the University’s history.

Under his leadership, Trinity achieved national recognition for excellence in liberal arts and sciences education, redefining the institution’s mission. That mission essentially continues to guide Trinity’s pursuits and reputation today.

March 9, 2021 View a photo gallery from the service at gotu.us/CalgaardMemorial, or email jgoodri1@trinity.edu for a link to the full-length recording.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

75

COMMENTARY

Parents as Partners Clinical psychologist and Trinity alumna calls on the Trinity network to be there for young adults

by B. Janet Hibbs M’77, LMFT, Ph.D.

College is the last major institution that provides a transition from

“adulting-lite” to the autonomy, financial independence, and responsibilities of full adulthood. Yet, while many parents fondly recall college as the “best years of your life,” these years arguably entail some of life’s most challenging developmental tasks.

The stress youth feel begins long before college. In the time-compressed span of just one generation, rapid economic and societal changes have created a simple and powerful cultural narrative that pummels parents, educators, and youth alike with the constant drumbeat of harsher, more competitive realities of globalization, economic scarcity, and narrowed opportunities to achieve “the good life.” Today’s college students have adapted to this narrative with endless striving on behalf of an uncertain future, accompanied by an escalation of mental health problems.

In today’s brave new world of pandemic-borne uncertainty, one in four college students has been treated for a mental health condition, and 91% of Gen Z’ers between 18 and 21 report one or more emotional or physiological stress-related symptoms in the past year. And their parents? As the 2021 trial of the Varsity Blues scandal reflects, some parents were desperate enough to use bribery to gain their child’s admission to “the good life.” More commonly, anxious parents fearfully question: “Will my child be OK?” Today, “being OK” is often reduced to metrics: GPA, SAT, GRE, future earnings. College debt and the pressure to make good money often lead students to believe that if you flounder or fail even once—in high school or in college—your entire future is ruined. This distorted belief pushes students over the edge, or perilously close to it. Beyond academics, college success depends on belonging, now lived out in a social media culture of self-branded curation to look good.” In college, these pressures often combust in anxiety, depression, or in heightened risk-taking awash in substance use.

Parents are often perplexed and in a bind. Have they either done too much—hovering, helicoptering, and spoiling their kid—or too little?

They ask: “Why is it harder now? Why do kids need so much more extra support at college than I ever did?” They protest: “We’ve been so involved; we’ve done so much for them.” They blame: “What’s wrong with kids today? Isn’t the problem overindulged kids who aren’t interested in growing up?”

Unsurprisingly, kids also blame themselves. Most have bought into the prevailing narrative of “strive harder, achieve more, be perfect.”

Let’s stop the blame game, the whack-a-mole pathologizing of parents and youth. Instead, let’s strive for an understanding of how to ease the emotionally logical and anxious responses to what feels so out of control to both generations.

Let’s focus on helping our kids flourish amid today’s stressors and uncertainty. Protective processes include helping parents and youth detect distortions and let go of unrealistic expectations that there is a linear path to “the good life.” Life is not linear, nor is there only one path to the good life. We learn by making mistakes, recovering from them, and building resilience. Colleges are providing needed wellness and mental health support to maintain student resilience and are encouraging parents as partners to help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Parents can begin at home by calmly talking about emotional illness and what runs in the family. After all, one in two Americans will encounter a mental health problem over the course of a lifetime, and most first show up between the ages of 14 and 24.

Parents can encourage their children to embrace the fact that seeking help when needed is a sign of maturity and emotional strength.

It may be useful to lend an example from your own life. Parents can be there, listening, not lecturing or judging their teens and young adults— who, after all, still need their parents’ and mentors’ helpful emotional support. The decade through college and the 20s can be the most exciting, important, and stressful time of life. Parents, educators, and mentors: Being there for young adults is the new normal.

B. Janet Hibbs M’77, LMFT, Ph.D., is a

clinical psychologist and co-author of The Stressed Years of Our Lives: Helping Your Kid Survive and Thrive During Their College Years. She currently resides in Philadelphia but misses the great food and vibe in San Antonio. Sources cited in this article can be found in her book.

76

TRINITY Fall 2021

Your Trinity Alumni Chapters and Network Cities are now…

Alumni Clubs Through Alumni Clubs, participate in gatherings and events that encourage alumni networking and #TigerPride in cities and regions across the United States. Join thousands of Tigers nationwide in volunteering and networking with local alumni.

There may be an alumni event near you!

Clubs across the country host events— in person and virtual—throu ghout the year.

events.trinity.edu/alum

ni

Albuquerque Alumni Club Katie Ogawa Douglas ’14 Albuquerque@alum.trinity.edu

New York Alumni Club Helen Harris ’92 NewYork@alum.trinity.edu

San Antonio Alumni Club Gina Gaedke ’89, P’20 SanAntonio@alum.trinity.edu

Atlanta Alumni Club Christina Meeks ’10, M’11 Atlanta@alum.trinity.edu

North Texas Alumni Club (Dallas) Stacy Rusek ’07 NorthTexas@alum.trinity.edu

Seattle Alumni Club Ashley Grounds ’03 Seattle@alum.trinity.edu

Austin Alumni Club Andy Cates ’04 Austin@alum.trinity.edu

North Texas Alumni Club (Ft. Worth) Whitney Fournier ’15 NorthTexas@alum.trinity.edu

St. Louis Alumni Club Allison Hawk ’88, P’19 StLouis@alum.trinity.edu

Denver Alumni Club Bob Trigg ’86 Denver@alum.trinity.edu

Phoenix Alumni Club Devon Rood ’13 Phoenix@alum.trinity.edu

Washington, D.C., Alumni Club Erin Whitaker ’00 Douglas Black ’94 WashingtonDC@alum.trinity.edu

Houston Alumni Club Susan Kittey ’06 Houston@alum.trinity.edu

Portland Alumni Club Leslie Wilkins ’06 Portland@alum.trinity.edu

Los Angeles Alumni Club Matt Clark ’92, P’22 LosAngeles@alum.trinity.edu

Rio Grande Valley Alumni Club David Girault ’91 RioGrandeValley@alum.trinity.edu

If you would like to be involved in club activities or to serve on the board of your local Alumni Club, please contact the respective club leaders.

For more information, visit gotu.us/AlumniClubs.

trinity.edu/trinity-magazine TRINITY

77

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PA I D Permit No. 210 San Antonio, TX 78212

One Trinity Place San Antonio, TX 78212-7200 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Progress, to be continued.

Designed by O’Neil Ford, Chapman Graduate Center opened in 1964 to house the University’s graduate school. Now part of Trinity’s National Historic District, Chapman is slated to undergo significant renovations to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration between undergraduate and graduate work in the Michael Neidorff School of Business, health care administration, and economics.

An anchor of the Chapman-HalsellDicke Complex, Chapman will retain connections to the Center for the Sciences and Innovation and the campus as a whole.