Washington College Magazine, Forging a Legacy

WASHINGTON COLLEGE MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Forging a Legacy The Campaign Issue

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WASHINGTON COLLEGE MAGAZINE

What Comes Next?

Speaking at Commencement ceremonies held May 20, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, encouraged the 292 graduates to keep an open mind to the constant question of “what comes next,” while knowing that their education has given them the strongest footing from which to answer it throughout their lives.

“We have all been trained from a young age to have an answer at the ready. But the reality is that the answer is not what matters most — it is knowing how to find the answer that is key. Your education — this wonderful, complex, classical, liberal arts training – has given you the foundation you need to begin to solve the puzzle of ‘What comes next?’’’

After presenting the honorary doctor of laws degree to Lagarde, President Sheila Bair announced several other major awards, as follows: James Allen Hall Alumni Association’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Alex Aiello Roberts George Washington Medal and Award Anna Elizabeth Inserra Clark-Porter Medal Alexandra D. Kurtz Louis L. Goldstein ’35 Award Erika Louise Koontz Eugene B. Casey Medal Patrick S. Ginther Henry W.C. Catlin 1894 Medal Laura Elizabeth King and Ryan Manning Jane Huston Goodfellow Memorial Prize Madeleine Morrissette ’17 and Edward P. Nordberg ’82 Gold Pentagon Awards Catalina Righter Sophie Kerr Prize Watch the entire ceremony here: http://bit.ly/234Commencement

SUMMER 2017

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F E AT U R E S

24 Living Legacies The $150 million campaign will have a major impact on students. by karen m. jones

30 The Crucible of

Contents

Opportunity

With his pledge to open all of Chino Farms to WC’s oversight, Harry Sears offers a world of possibility. by wendy mitman clarke M’16

34 The Landgraf

Presidency

The new president discusses the importance of the liberal arts and his priorities for the months ahead. by marcia c. landskroener M’02

D E PARTM E NTS

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Picture This

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Editor’s Note

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President’s Letter

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News Campaign launch showcases Eastern Shore Food Lab. Capital Hill veterans kick off Women’s Centennial Series.

16 Faculty Artist Heather Harvey explores “interior architectures.” Dramaturg Michele Volansky wins a Tony.

20 Students History major wins $25K scholarship to study at St. Andrew’s. Baseball pitcher turns pro.

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Alumni Update Class notes. Alumni spotlights.

52 Development College prepares to break ground for Hodson Boathouse. Donor bequeaths $1.7 million in scholarship funds.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Volume LXVII No. 1 Summer 2017 ISSN 2152-9531

ABOUT THE COVER: College Trustee Harry Sears, whose family has owned Chio Farms for decades, wants Washington College to use the land for environmental research and science programming in perpetuity. His intent was announced at the launch of the public phase of the $150 million compresensive campaign.

See story on page 30. Photo: Mark Swisher

EDITOR

Marcia C. Landskroener M’02 ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Wendy Mitman Clarke M’16 ASSISTANT EDITOR

Karen M. Jones CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR

Marie K. Thomas STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Shane Brill ’03 M’11 CLASS NOTES EDITOR

Erin Oittinen EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

Rolando Irizarry CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

T. Christian Landskroener Meghan Livie ’09 Brooke Schultz ’18 Phil Ticknor

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ORIGINAL MAGAZINE REDESIGN

Dear Readers, O

n one of my early evening drives home from Chestertown in late June, something magical happened. On a back country road, hanging close above the ground like tiny stars, clouds of fireflies flickered. I don’t recall seeing that many fireflies since I was a child, running around on summer nights to capture lightning bugs in an empty jam jar.

One mile. Two miles. Lightning bugs everywhere, broadcasting the good news that here, at least, the earth is sweet, the habitat healthy. marcia c.

I was passing by the fields landskroener and meadows of Chino Farms, m’02 the expanse of preserved land to which, thanks to philanthropist Harry Sears, Washington College students now have full access. This is where they have come to study migratory bird patterns, restore grasslands habitat, forage for wild food sources, and measure water quality. This is where rare Lady’s-slipper orchids grow in untouched forests, where black locust and serviceberry attract the endangered honey bees, where the northern bobwhite quail is making a comeback. This is where the magic happens every day.

For those of us who care about environmental sustainability, about climate change and biodiversity, about what kind of earth we will leave to our grandchildren, this is an extraordinary opportunity that deserves our financial support. Let us imagine what’s possible, and then let the magic happen.

B. Creative Group agencybcg.com PRINTING AND MAILING

HBP

Washington College Magazine (USPS 667260) is published three times a year by Washington College, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 Copyright 2017 Washington College.

www.washcoll.edu

Address correspondence to Washington College Magazine, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620, or by email to mlandskroener2@washcoll.edu. (Telephone: 410-778-7797). www.washcoll.edu. PRINTED IN THE USA.

WashingtonCollege @washcoll WashingtonCollege @washcoll

SUMMER 2017

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Honoring Our History WHAT A LOVELY PIECE SHANE BRILL wrote for the current Washington College Magazine. And how nice of him to mention the time my mother and I spent with Sophie at her Murray Hill brownstone. I was 15 years old when I first met her in 1964 and I think of her fondly, especially whenever I’m using her beautiful Haviland dessert plates, personally made for her (and signed on the back) and given to me by her.

(We bonded pretty quickly over our shared love of all things feline.)

Because of the query at the conclusion of the article — and the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any link noted in the magazine of the relationship between my father [former College President Daniel Z, Gibson] and Sophie — I will share what I know of the development of the relationship between Sophie and the College. I know Dad was very interested in her because of her connection to the Eastern Shore and the fact that she had been the recipient of an earlier honorary degree and he worked hard to cultivate a closer association with the College.

However, I do not know whether my father or Sophie initiated the communication that led to her bequest. I remember Dad saying that Sophie’s ultimate decision was based on the fact that her alma mater, Hood College, had never given her an honorary degree and Washington College had. The estate actually originally included the Murray Hill brownstone and a rather large yacht, which the Board decided to sell, proceeds from which went into the estate.

Further, when the news of the bequest was first announced, Dad was pretty clear that her reasoning behind the Sophie Kerr Prize was to enable a budding writer to spend a year or two focusing on writing and not having to make a living. She had always regretted that she had to support herself in her early career and couldn’t devote the time necessary to her writing career. Sophie was a big part of our lives during the 1960s. She was quite a woman!

Jillian Clark Gibson Arlington, Virginia

THANK YOU FOR REPRINTING THE STORY “THIS LITTLE GIRL” BY SOPHIE Kerr in the latest Washington College Magazine. I’m embarrassed to admit (and I suspect that I have a lot of company among alumni here) that this was the first of Kerr’s writings that I have ever read. It was marvelous, and touched me deeply. Thank you for making this available to your readers.

Dana Chatellier ’78 Bear, Delaware

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ADDENDUM IN THE LAST ISSUE OF WCM DEVOTED TO THE literary life at Washington College, we neglected to mention some important historical points. Norman James (the English professor pictured on page 39), along with his departmental colleagues Nick Newlin and Nancy Tatum, were responsible for establishing the general outline of how the Sophie Kerr funds should be spent.

Walter Beacham, the president of Beacham Publishing who established what is now the Veryan Beacham Scholarship at Washington College, reminds us that Professor of English Robert Day was not only the driving force behind the creation of the Literary House, but also saved the AWP from extinction. In 1971, the infant Association of Writers & Writing Programs was about to go under when Beacham and Day arranged new financing for the organization and brought it to Washington College, where Kathy Walton served as AWP’s executive director. Day remained director and/or president of the AWP until 1982.

And finally, upon her death in 2002, Maureen A. Jacoby bequeathed nearly half a million dollars to endow the Literary House Press at Washington College. Jacoby, the former assistant director and managing editor of the Smithsonian Institution Press, became involved with the College when she retired to Chestertown in 1991. In addition to supporting the operation of the Print Shop, the Maureen Jacoby Fund supports student internships and grants for individual projects in writing, editing, and publishing.

Washington College’s literary history is rich indeed, and we have the men and women who came before us to thank for that. — MCL Read more about the early days of the AWP. www.awpwriter.org/magazine_media/writers_ news_view/2869/the_early_days_of_awp

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

The Right Place, The Right Time

by Kurt M. Landgraf

T Photo by Tamzin B. Smith

Portrait Photography

Isn’t it ironic that President Bair’s success and my own disappointments— not getting the top job at DuPont and then being initially passed over for the Washington College presidency—have brought me back to this institution that I so admire, to a job that will allow me to support and nurture this and future generations of students? Washington College offered me a mulligan, a second chance to help one of the nation’s oldest colleges remain true to its mission of educating thoughtful, empathetic, morally grounded citizen-leaders. As songwriter Alanis Morissette reminds us, “Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you, and helping you out.”

I’m excited by all the possibilities I see here to get Washington College on a stronger financial footing, to take full advantage of our location on the Chester River, and to continue to build experiential learning opportunities that will help position our young graduates for success.

The Forge A Legacy campaign comes at a pivotal time in the history of Washington College, and I invite you all to join me in building a brighter future for this gem of a college and for the world where our graduates can make a real impact.

My wife, Rita, and I are so delighted to join the Washington College family, and we look forward to meeting as many of you as possible over the course of the coming months.

wo years ago, I was a top finalist in the search for Washington College’s next president. At the time, I was 18 months into retirement from Educational Testing Service and itching to get back into the fray, to give something back, to do something meaningful. I’ve been pretty successful in leading teams at large organizations, and through my tenure as a commissioner of the New Jersey Higher Education Commission, my work with the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Sciences, and my experience in the classroom, I thought that a college presidency was a logical next step for me. Steeped in history, located in a beautiful part of the world, and committed to providing exceptional opportunities for its students, Washington College seemed perfect.

I didn’t get the job.

When I learned that Sheila Bair had been selected instead, I understood why.

What an incredible advocate she has been for the American people—whether those caught up in the subprime mortgage crisis or those facing exorbitant student debt. With families struggling to pay for the kind of extraordinary education we offer here, Washington College became the testing ground for some bold new approaches to problems plaguing American higher education. Under her leadership, Washington College implemented George’s Brigade, Dam the Debt, the Saver’s Scholarship, and FixedFor4, to help make a college education more accessible and affordable, and President Bair found herself on the national stage, pushing for financial reform once again.

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Photos by Tamzin B. Smith Portrait Photography

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WASHINGTON COLLEGE MAGAZINE

CAMPUS NEWS

A Modern Take on Ancient Foods The Eastern Shore Food Lab’s lavish spread of locally sourced, student-prepared artisanal fare is just the appetizer for changing attitudes about health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability.

By Wendy Mitman Clarke M’16

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or many, the highlight of the May party kicking off the College’s Forge a Legacy campaign wasn’t the gigantic tent complete with chandeliers, the esteemed speakers, or selfies with George Washington’s framed visage. Rather, it was a groaning board of cheeses, sourdough breads, charcuterie, cricket tacos, house-made cultured butter, and more that reflected months of work by Bill Schindler and a handful of students—all to highlight the College’s fledgling Eastern Shore Food Lab. Schindler, chair of the Department of Anthropology, an international expert in primitive technologies and foodways, and the inaugural director of the Food Lab, along with four students —Erika Koontz ’17, Katie Walker ’17, Angelica Mullins ’17, and Kai Clarke ’20—fed a slow-moving line of donors, staff, and faculty. Everyone who grabbed a plate got an education along with their ancient-grain fermented crispbreads with wild field greens, wild greens kimchi, and local-milk cheeses including cacciota, tomini, caciocavallo, mozzarella, and chevre.

For each type of food they presented to visitors, Schindler and the students detailed where every bit of its ingredients had come from, how it had been made, how long it had taken, and why it’s important to care about such things. The more connected people are to their foods and ancient methods of preparing them, and the more wild and nutrient-dense that food is, the better for your health and that of the planet, they explained.

It’s this philosophy that is at the core of the Eastern Shore Food Lab (ESFL), an interdisciplinary research, teaching, and production laboratory dedicated to studying and experimenting with sustainable food systems, using the Eastern Shore food-shed as its primary context. By researching the resources unique to the region based on weather, climate, soil chemistry, and microbial biology— and fusing historical foodways with modern

technologies—faculty, students, community members, and collaborative researchers will re-envision our food system, from how we define food to how we grow it and prepare it.

The Food Lab received a huge boost early this year when the Maryland Department of Commerce, as part of its Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative (MEI), granted $944,000 to match gifts of $1 million from donors to create an endowed chair in sustainable food systems for the lab. The MEI grant was made possible by a pledge of $1 million from Daryl Swanstrom ’69, a member of the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors, with transitional funding by board members Edward P. Nordberg ’82, Ann Horner ’80, and Patrick W. Allender P ’11, who helped meet the immediate grant requirements.

By fall of 2018, the Lab will have a presence in downtown Chestertown and operate out of Cromwell Hall, the new academic building dedicated to the departments of Environmental Science and Studies and Anthropology. Schindler also expects to utilize the thousands of acres at Chino Farms to expand students’ knowledge in wild foraging and alternative food sources such as insects.

Just a few days before the campaign launch, Schindler and the students were featured in a story on WUSA-Channel 9 in Washington, D.C., for which they took reporter Bruce Leshan foraging on the streets of Chestertown and into Schindler’s kitchen, where they were prepping for the campaign launch party.

“Squeamish?” he asked the students, as they pureed pig livers into what Koontz called a kind of strawberry smoothie for paté.

“Nope,” Walker replied nonchalantly.

“We helped butcher the pig, too, so nope.”

Watch Bill Schindler and his students prepare food for the campaign launch. on.wusa9.com/2qfWa7Q Find out more about the Food Lab at www.washcoll.edu/ESFL

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CAMPUS NEWS

Under the Big Top Nearly 300 guests gathered under the largest tent on the Eastern Shore to celebrate the launch of the Forge a Legacy campaign. On the menu were charcuterie, cheeses, and breads made by students working within the Eastern Shore Food Lab, the region’s choicest oysters, dinner platters of locally sourced dishes, wine from nearby Crow Vineyard & Winery, and Evolution craft beer donated by alumni Sonya ’93 and John Knorr ’93.

Photos by Tamzin B. Smith Portrait Photography

“While this campaign is about an investment in people, it’s also about ideas and forging a new path toward a sustainable future. It’s about securing that bright future so that for generations to come, Washington College will be a viable and stronger institution.”

– Ann Horner ’80, Vice Chair of the Board of Visitors & Governors and Campaign Co-chair

“I choose to teach at Washington College because our students here, every day, challenge me to live what I extol: to embrace the fears, to do all the things and not just some of the things, and to leave the world a little bit better than how I found it. I believe that at this special place, our students become not only better citizens, but better people.”

– Michele Volansky, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance

“Support for our students – financial aid, programming, athletics – these, too, are ways in which the Forge a Legacy campaign will make such a tremendous difference in the lives of the young people who choose to attend here. Their success will become our success as they go out into the world after graduation and make their mark on the world.”

– Ed Nordberg ’82, Board of Visitors & Governors and Campaign Co-chair

“Thank you to all of the donors who have made my experience here a remarkable one – a time of my life that I will forever treasure. I feel confident that I am going to be fully equipped for success when I graduate next year. I’ve come to realize that without philanthropy, so much of my experience here would not have been possible.”

– Me lat Kiros ’18, President, Student Government Association

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WASHINGTON COLLEGE MAGAZINE

With what you spend on one restaurant meal each month ... ... in one year, you can provide a scholarship student with a semester’s worth of textbooks.

Just one year of a $25 monthly recurring gift – set up once with a few clicks online or a text – will put centuries of discovery in the hands of deeply grateful students.

Forge a Legacy of launching future leaders, and provide a lifetime of learning in just 3 minutes.

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To make your recurring gift in any amount, visit forge.washcoll.edu/give-now, or text @washcoll to 52014 and follow the simple prompts.

SPRING 2017

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CAMPUS NEWS

Poet, Journalist Wins the Sophie Righter’s portfolio reflected flexibility with and commitment to the written word across genres, finding purpose in columns and stories for the student newspaper, The Elm, as well as elegance and depth in her personal essays and poetry.

Her wry sense of humor is evident in work such as “A Beginner’s Guide to Not Crying at the Birthday Ball,” and her lyricism and sharp eye for detail revealed in poems like “Route 213 Poet” (which was also runner-up for this year’s Pat Nielsen Poetry Prize, see below).

Righter served as editor-in-chief of The Elm, layout editor of The Collegian, the student review, and she was a poetry screener for Cherry Tree, the national literary journal published by the Literary House Press.

This summer, she is interning with The Summerset Review.

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atalina Righter, an English major and creative writing minor whose literary work spans genres from wry journalistic essay to tightly woven, searing poetry, took home the 2017 Sophie Kerr Prize. Poet Elizabeth Spires announced the award on May 19 at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the nation’s largest undergraduate writing award, this year valued at $65,768.

“Catalina has an eye for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. She brings to bear on her poems a reporter’s objectivity and a journalist’s sense of what makes a story both memorable and beautiful,” noted James Allen Hall, director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House.

“Catalina’s writing evinces her remarkable ability to capture both the outrageous and the mundane, and to find surprising humor and beauty in both,” said Professor Kathryn Moncrief, chair of the Department of English and curator of the Sophie Kerr program.

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Rt. 213 Poet Day-in, day-in, driving past signs for beer so cold it'll hurt your teeth, the peeling swayback porches, and men who yell as you pass.

It takes a patient woman to look at so much corn.

Hemmed in by the rust undersides of magnolia leaves, You are hunting for a pleasure that does not promise soreness, cruising past each field with spoonedout hope that the husks will flare rose gold for you and the crop duster will dip low over your car so you can finally write truth and beauty in one line.

Philbrick Takes the Washington Prize

Best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick has won the coveted George Washington Prize for his book, Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution (Viking). Now in its 12th year, the George Washington Prize recognizes the year’s best new books on the nation’s founding era, especially those that engage a broad public audience. Conferred by George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and Washington College, the $50,000 award was presented to Philbrick on May 25 at a black-tie gala at Mount Vernon.

In Valiant Ambition, Philbrick creates a complex and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and of the war that gave birth to a nation. He focuses on loyalty and personal integrity as he explores the relationship between Washington and Arnold—an impulsive but sympathetic hero whose misfortunes at the hands of self-serving politicians fatally destroy his faith in the legitimacy of the rebellion.

As a country wary of tyrants suddenly must figure out how it should be led, Washington musters his unmatched ability to rise above the petty politics of his time and win the war.

“Philbrick brings both careful craftsmanship and propulsive energy to his storytelling—a hallmark of all his widely read and acclaimed books,” says Adam Goodheart, the Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

“Moreover, Valiant Ambition is also an impressive feat of research: it offers dramatic episodes that have been largely forgotten, such as a naval battle fought

by Arnold on Lake Champlain in 1776, which Philbrick turns into a heart-racing adventure story.”

Working on “The Way We Worked”

by Megan Livie ’09

LEFT Kent County Middle School students visit “The Way We Worked” at Sumner Hall. RIGHT Washington College students (from the GRW class Making Meaning in Museums) curated the companion exhibition “Tools of the Trades” as part of a class project. They are on one of their working visits to Sumner Hall.

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his spring, Kent County paid tribute to the workers who have made the Chestertown community what it is today. Through the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition, The Way We Worked—which traces the contributions of American workers across the country over the past 150 years—many local institutions, businesses, and organizations told stories of The Way We Worked in Kent County through lectures, discussions, exhibits, musical performances, and dramatic presentations. More than 15,500 people visited the many exhibits dotted throughout town at businesses and organizations.

The local community, along with the Washington College contingent, came out in full force to showcase the evolving lives and livelihoods of Chestertown’s population, from early enslaved workers all the way up to today’s working class. The College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience partnered with Sumner Hall to tell the story of the black labor experience in Kent County. The Grand Army of the Republic

Ciaudella, along with seven other interns, a videographer, and staff from the Starr Center and Sumner Hall, interviewed almost 40 African American community members about their work.

Ciaudella says, “I am overjoyed with the museum. Having contributed mostly on the oral history, which is mostly digital, I didn’t really see the other aspects of the museum until opening day. I was just blown away by the way that everything came together.”

Interns were involved in many aspects of museum curation, from designing the actual exhibit to being docents at Sumner Hall. “The students really got to be a part of the entire process, seeing ideas transform from thoughts into reality,” Wortman says.

“Seeing how enthusiastic the community was to work with our students and vice versa was the most exciting part of this whole experience.”

Hall (Sumner Hall) is just one of two existing African American Civil War veterans’ halls remaining in the United States.

Jean Wortman, assistant director of the Starr Center and co-director of the exhibit with Carolyn Brooks, a member of the Sumner Hall board, said, “Carolyn and I worked together: she with the local partnerships, and I with Washington College partnerships. People were very willing to be part of this—the community and College were so excited and really ready to participate. Being able to tell your own story or the stories of your community is incredibly important—and it showed.”

Among the many hands that touched this project, approximately 80 students played a part in the exhibit’s success, from Starr Center interns interviewing local workers to an entire Global Research and Writing class, Making Meaning in Museums, that was dedicated to researching work tools for an exhibit. Cherie Ciaudella ’19, a Starr Center intern, worked as a student leader for the oral history branch of the project.

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CAMPUS NEWS | BY THE NUMBERS

How the Campaign Dollars Stack Up When Washington College launched the public phase of its $150 million comprehensive campaign in mid-May, the clock began ticking toward June 2020. With early commitments of more than $88 million already in hand, the push is on to raise an additional $62 million over the next three years.

$88,046,764

CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES

Committed

$29,171,434

$25,540,294 Money raised in FY17

$11,268,523

Faculty Excellence

Student Engagement

GOAL: $25,000,000

GOAL: $35,000,000

TOTAL DONORS SINCE START OF CAMPAIGN:

$33,561,869

$13,095,468

Alumni: 4,686 Parents: 1,473

The Learning Environment

Access & Affordability

GOAL: $30,000,000

GOAL: $60,000,000

Friends: 1,660 Institutional (Corporations and Foundations) 494

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

TOTAL GIFTS SINCE START OF CAMPAIGN: Alumni: $30,857,142

Parents: $6,352,407

CURRENT USE $28,396,064

ENDOWMENT $52,108,265

Friends: $16,240,128

Institutional (Corporations and Foundations): $34,533,049

CAPITAL/ BUILDINGS $7,542,435

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CAMPUS NEWS

CES on the Move The Center for Environment & Society recently relocated to a suite of offices on Cross Street in downtown Chestertown.

The new headquarters house the Public Archaeology Lab on the ground level, where students and community volunteers can explore artifacts recovered from Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

On the second floor are offices for energy sustainability programs, the Chester River Field Research Station at Chino Farms, the Chester River Watershed Observatory, STEM programming, the College research fleet, meeting space for students and interns, as well as classroom and office space for the Chesapeake Semester. Visitors are welcome to stop in at 210 South Cross Street any time.

Prepping for Success From kayaking the Chester River, to gaining certification in CPR and AED, to refining poetry, there is a summer pre-orientation program for every incoming student.

by Brooke Schultz ’18

Fiske Guide Recommends WC In the search Featured in for the best and most interesting 2018 colleges and universities in the nation, millions of prospective students, parents and guidance counselors turn first to the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Once again, the highlyrespected college guide counts Washington College among the best schools in the U.S. Canada, Britain, and Ireland.

The Fiske editors note: “After being around for more than 200 years without making much of a stir beyond the Chesapeake Bay, Washington College now seems bent on carving out a niche for itself in academic areas where it has a comparative advantage, especially creative writing, American history, and the environment.”

The guide is compiled by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske, the top independent voice in college admissions. Washington College’s profile is based on a broad range of subjects, including student body, academics, social life, financial aid, campus setting, housing, food, and extracurricular activities.

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Baker ’19 created Capital Crawl. Students will tour the White House, attend a show at the Kennedy Center, and have tea at the British Embassy. It was among the first to fill when registration opened.

“As current students, we have a unique advantage of understanding what incoming freshmen want in a pre-orientation program,” says Peterson. “There will be plenty of time for them to experience a traditional learning environment. We really wanted to offer them opportunities they could never get sitting in a classroom or a Model UN committee.”

Pre-orientation helps students transition into college life and develop “a sense of responsibility and beginning independence,” according to Wilson. It also connects students with similar interests.

“By the time their classes start on Monday, all the anxiety about who their friends are going to be is over, so they can focus on their studies. They don’t have to worry who they’re having dinner with,” she says. “It’s expanding exponentially their network of friends.”

ncreasing about fivefold in four years, the four-day pre-orientation program has grown to include 28 offerings that program director Laura Johnstone Wilson says “introduce firstyear students to what we have [here] so that they’re comfortable” before classes begin.

Incoming students can choose sessions focused on community and service, the environment and outdoor adventure, or leadership and academic enhancement.

Animals Abound connects first-years with Jennie Carr, assistant professor of biology, while visiting farms, wildlife refuges, and the zoo. With Shore Fit, Aundra Anderson ’08, director of admissions communications, will take students on hikes, hold yoga classes, and teach them how to make healthful meal choices in the dining hall. Students will be immersed in the Chestertown community through Creative Spirits, led

by Kay MacIntosh, Chestertown’s arts and entertainment director.

Inspired by their participation in Model UN and their own pre-orientation experience, Josh Peterson ’19 and Tyanna

SUMMER 2017

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CAMPUS NEWS

Climbing the Hill

Students Conduct Summer Research

Looking ahead to the 2020 centennial of legislation that gave women the right to vote, the Women’s Centennial Series began with a conversation about the changing roles and influence of women in public life.

by Brooke Schultz ’18

ABOVE Barbara Mikulski and Cokie Roberts share "war stories" from their days on the Hill.

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he 100-year anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment is just three years away and, as a kick-off to the celebration, Washington College welcomed two of D.C.’s most influential women to campus.

On March 3, retired Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski and journalist Cokie Roberts took the stage in Decker Theatre as part of the Harwood Series in American Journalism. Introduced by John Harwood of CNBC, Roberts was described as “a role model who was authoritative, held a deep knowledge of her subject, and sympathetic understanding of humans.” And Sen. Mikulski, Harwood noted, was well ahead of her time.

“By the time more women were elected to Congress in 1992 [then known as the Year of Women], Sen. Mikulski was up for re-election, meaning she was six years ahead,” he said.

Following the introduction, Roberts interviewed Mikulski about her life and career in politics beginning with 14

WASHINGTON COLLEGE MAGAZINE

her Baltimore origins, her sense of community and service, and her work in the House of Representatives and Congress, including the formation of women’s caucus, which she spearheaded.

“Every issue is a women’s issue.

It was not a matter of gender, but of an agenda,” Mikulski said. In conclusion to the talk, thenPresident Sheila Bair awarded the two women Awards of Excellence.

“Veteran journalist and news correspondent Cokie Roberts is a true example of truth in American journalism,” noted Bair. “Sen. Mikulski had many firsts in her career: the first woman elected to Congress who did not succeed her husband’s chair, the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee, and the first woman to spark ‘Pantsuit Nation.’ To quote William Shakespeare, ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce.’”

Mikulski was also awarded the Women’s Inaugural Centennial Citation and gifted a photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt receiving her honorary WC diploma in 1942.

“Instead of being the first and only,” says Mikulski, “I wish to be the first of many.”

Over the next four years, the Women’s Centennial Series will bring outstanding American women to campus, honoring and chronicling the achievements of women in leadership and public life from 1920 to the present day.

Even through the dog days of summer, the John Toll Science Center is buzzing with activity.

Sixteen students are pursuing undergraduate research projects in collaboration with their professors in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science, physics, and psychology.

Here are just a few examples: Maija Adourian ’18 and Mindy Reynolds, associate professor of biology, are testing for relationships between metal toxicity and cancer.

Rose Adelizzi ’19 and Robin Van Meter, assistant professor of environmental science, are looking at the effects of pesticides in frogs.

And Kaitlyn Marino ’19 is working with James Windelborn, assistant professor of biology, to develop a laboratory model to determine how stroke causes the death of neurons in the brain.

For this project, Marino is generating genetic bits called plasmids that she can use to target specific molecules in adult specimens of zebrafish.

“The really exciting thing about this model is that the genetic change is inducible,” says Marino, “so we as researchers can say, ‘Ok, we want this gene to stop functioning now.’ We allow the zebrafish to develop into adulthood normally, and then once we induce that stroke, we can observe metabolic and behavioral changes in the presence or absence of the gene of interest.”

The next step, says Windelborn, is to develop the system to identify specific genes that play a role in brain damage following a stroke. As for Marino, a dual major in biology and psychology, she intends to pursue a PhD in neuroscience and then focus on research and teaching.

“Looking at the cellular mechanism behind the behavior, and seeing how that behavior changes when the cell mechanism changes, that’s what I find really interesting, because you have this cause-and-effect relationship happening that you can ground in quantitative data.”

To see some of the John Toll Fellows in action, visit http://bit.ly/TollFellows.

‘

The Writing Life

“The Sophie Kerr Prize is gifted to one graduate based on his or her perceived literary ‘ability and promise,’ which means it is subjective and imperfect, like all awards. But I have always been serious about making good on the potential the prize committee saw in me. On the day of the 2017 Sophie Kerr Prize announcement, for example, I was busy with a range of literary matters. I worked on a new short story. I read a client’s novel in preparation for our manuscript consultation meeting. I perused a few chapters of Peter Turchi’s Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, which I was reading for both research and pleasure. (Turchi, by the way, is also a past winner of the Sophie Kerr Prize.)

I wrote a congratulatory email to a friend whose agent is preparing to send her book out on submission, and then I reviewed an email from my own agent and pondered her revision suggestions for my novel. I’d like to think that my former self would be pleased to know how my writing life has shaped up in the years since graduating from Washington College.”

Laura Maylene Walter ’03, writing about the Sophie Kerr Prize and interviewing the 2017 winner, Catalina Righter, in The Kenyon Review. http://bit.ly/2rDtR78

CAMPUS NEWS | CITED IN THE NEWS

Ancestral Wisdom

Troubled Waters

“Claude Lévi-Strauss, the French ethnologist, famously claimed that civilization has been in decline since the Neolithic period. Schindler sounds a similar note. Most of us equate technological development with progress.

Archaeologists, however, judge technologies not by their novelty, but by their impact on all aspects of life. By that criteria, recent technological advances may ultimately prove a failure. They not only are devastating our climate and environment, Schindler says, they have given us weapons that could destroy the world as we know it. ‘Homo erectus was around for almost 2 million years,’ he adds.

‘We’ve been here for 200,000 years. There is no way we are going to be around for 2 million years unless we radically change our behavior.’’’

“Additionally, Washington’s hope that China will rein in North Korea has called into question the timing of the next freedom of navigation sail.

“Andrew L. Oros, the author of the newly published Japan’s Security Renaissance, said it was far more important now to address North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons development than to pick a fight over the Navy navigation trips. “‘That’s clearly the case,’ Mr. Oros said. But, he said, the Trump administration still must closely monitor China’s activities and not give ground in the disputed islands. ‘And I hope this doesn’t give the Chinese the impression that this is a tacit acknowledgment of Beijing’s outrageous claims of sovereignty over international waters,’ he said.”

Bill Schindler, chair of the Department of Anthropology, in a story in The Atlantic about his methods and philosophy behind teaching students the value of primitive technologies. http://theatln.tc/2mVKngg

Andrew Oros, professor of political science and international studies who specializes in Asian studies, quoted in The New York Times http://nyti.ms/2pHHcKu.

Making a Case for Environmental Protection

“As the GOP finds itself with a surprising amount of federal control, there is much anxiety that it will put an end to the climate progress our nation has made. Federal programs that mirror Maryland’s are under siege.

And the typical rationale used by conservative lawmakers for striking these programs?

They just cost too much.

“But Gov. Hogan knows better than this.

The case has been made here that improving our environment need not impose economic hardships. We have created jobs, we have saved money and we have improved our environment.

“All this is to say that Maryland’s model of addressing climate change has proven to be more than environmentally sound. It’s fiscally conservative. Above all, this opens an opportunity for Gov. Hogan to lead on the national stage. The Republican governor has evidence to make the case to other leaders in the GOP that a national replication of Maryland’s climate programs is well in line with the party’s platform and will fulfill the party’s core ideals.”

Grant Samms, ShorePower project coordinator for the College’s Center for Environment & Society, in a column for the Annapolis Capital-Gazette and Baltimore Sun, http://bsun.md/2rIlZPb.

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FA C U LT Y

The Poetics of Science and Space Heather Harvey will use a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council to create her next installation exploring what she calls “interior architectures.”

“Even as a child, she had a way of putting things together that were shockingly beautiful.”

Heather Harvey

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f she weren’t an artist, professor Heather Harvey might have become a scientist. Fascinated by concepts such as gravity, quantum physics, and radio waves, she says they provide metaphors for ideas that are difficult to talk about—topics such as class and gender disparity, depression and anxiety, aggression and hostility.

Using found objects—trash that she collects on her daily walks—Harvey began constructing threedimensional pieces that employ scientific references to explore what she calls invisible architectures.

In the process, something of no perceived value— discarded items each with its own story of previous owners—is transformed into something beautiful, dynamic, and powerful. That tension is palpable in each of Harvey’s works.

“Feynman’s Sister and Other Space Weather Hazards” was informed by the life and research of astrophysicist Joan Feynman, the younger sister of a Nobel Prizewinning theoretical physicist who was encouraged— rather than dissuaded—from studying science.

With “Periodicities in Chaotic Forcing,” Harvey’s work evolved into a more open-ended dialogue about aggression and violence.

And with her most recent show, “Encampment,” Harvey says she moved even further from hard data to celebrate marginality. Shadows are as prominent as the pieces fabricated, again, from the trash she found on her evening walks. This spring, based upon power of these installations, the Maryland State Arts Council

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presented Harvey with an Individual Artist Award, a grant she’ll use to delve more deeply into intimate interior spaces as a tribute to her recently deceased aunt who was not much older than Harvey.

“She showed me how to be an artist,” Harvey says. “Even as a child, she had a way of putting things together that were shockingly beautiful.” Using a close reading of Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics of Space combined with the childhood memory

of an object that her aunt made, Harvey says the project “will have an elegiac quality and will explore the fluidity and unreliability of memory.

I remember the object’s effect, but cannot recall its specifics. Its details remain vague and change every time I try to recall it. Through repeated attempts to recreate the object—as 2D paintings, 3D sculptures, and an installation—I will explore the inherent untrustworthiness of what we think we know.”

Japan Rises to Its Defense

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Explore Heather Harvey’s portfolio online at www.heather-harvey.net

n late February, a week after his new book, Japan’s Security Renaissance, was published by Columbia University Press, Andrew Oros was at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington D.C., having breakfast with the head of Japan’s navy as part of a small group of researchers organized by the defense attaché at the Japanese embassy.

It’s not the first time that Oros, a political science and international studies professor, was sought for his expertise in the comparative study of East Asia and the advanced industrial democracies like the United States.

But it was, he says, a prime example of what his book discusses—how the Japanese military has changed dramatically in the last decade, and how the past still constrains Japan and informs its future thinking in terms of its security in the world.

“The idea that I and a few other researchers would have an open breakfast with five uniformed members of the Japanese military would be completely unthinkable 10 years ago,” Oros says. “It’s not that we wouldn’t have met, but they wouldn’t have been wearing uniforms, and we definitely wouldn’t have been in that kind of public place. Part of what Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe has done, and this change in attitudes about the military, is that the military has become much more respected in Japan.”

The launch for Oros’s book at the East-West Center in Washington, D.C., also happened just after Abe made his first visit to President Donald Trump’s White House, an event that landed Oros in The Washington Post and in Japan’s second biggest newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, discussing how the election of Trump should be beneficial for Abe’s security agenda.

“The book doesn’t talk about Trump; it was written before the election,” Oros says. “The focus is on the political

constraints on Japan to act in the region now, and the things that the political leadership in Japan, the conservative party and Prime Minister Abe, would like to do. And in both areas, it’s showing that Japan wants to do more, so it’s kind of perfect timing, because President Trump wants allies to do more.”

As China tries to lay claim to the Senkaku Islands in the South China Sea, and as North Korea rattles its nuclear sabers, Japan is in a more precarious situation than at any time in recent history, Oros notes, “so they’re trying to create new security partnerships and streamline the laws that restrict their self-defense forces.

The book is primarily about that.”

The world is watching—and listening. Earlier this summer, Oros embarked on a book tour that took him to at least 10 countries that are directly interested in strategic security partnerships with Japan.

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Volansky Wins Tony Oslo, J.T. Rogers’ sprawling geopolitical drama that Professor Michele Volansky helped bring to life at PlayPenn, has won a Tony for Best Play.

ABOVE Drama professor Michele Volansky celebrates the Tony win with playwright J.T. Rogers (center) and Paul Meshejian, artistic director at PlayPenn.

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s Oslo producer André Bishop reminded the theater community gathered for the 71st Tony Awards ceremony at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, “We are in a Golden Age of American playwriting.” Michele Volansky, chair and associate professor of theatre at Washington College who has been conference dramaturg and associate artistic director with PlayPenn in Philadelphia since its inception in 2005, can attest to that. She and her PlayPenn colleagues—including 80 Philadelphia-based theater artists—read more than 800 scripts just last year. Among them was an early version 18

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of J.T. Rogers’ Oslo, winner of the American Theatre Wing’s Tony Award for Best Play; it was the fourth Rogers play that Volansky has helped bring to the stage. And she has taught them all at Washington College.

“At PlayPenn, we read every play blind,” says Volansky. “We never know who the playwrights are. And when we narrowed the selections down, one of them was not really complete; that play turned out to be Oslo by J.T. Rogers.”

Volansky had a suspicion, though, that the play about the back-channel talks, unlikely alliances, and quiet heroics that led to the

1993 Oslo Peace Accords between the Israelis and Palestinians was the work of her friend and colleague, J.T. Rogers.

“Few people write plays of such scope and depth and nuance.”

Pre-PlayPenn, Volansky first met Rogers when the Philadelphia Theater Company (where she served as dramaturg/literary manager) produced his play White People. In 2005, Rogers’ play, The Overwhelming, was one of the first four plays developed by PlayPenn.

That play went on to the National Theatre in London. In 2009, Rogers submitted a second work to PlayPenn, Blood and Gifts, which was produced by the Lincoln Center and the National Theatre in London.

The first reading of Oslo took fourand-a-half hours, Volansky says. “Even so, people were totally captivated.” After the team whittled it down to three-anda-half hours, the play was scheduled to be produced at Lincoln Center. “We did another workshop in September, and by that time it was pretty clear that the play was going to have a life.”

Nominated for seven Tony Awards, Oslo opened last fall at a small offBroadway space, the Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, then in April moved to the larger Vivian Beaumont Theater, where it will run through the end of July. A new production will be staged at the National Theatre in London in the fall, and audiences may soon be able to watch Oslo on the big screen; Rogers has been optioned to translate the play to film. Volansky was in the audience when, in accepting the Tony, Rogers gave a shout-out to PlayPenn.

“That was huge,” she says. “The energy in the room was incredibly supportive. A lot of things don’t impress me, but going to the Tony Awards is kind of on your bucket list, if you are a theater person.

James Earl Jones won the Lifetime Achievement Award, and there were a lot of celebrities there, but the cool thing is that there were also a lot of hardworking, long- serving theater people. It was great to celebrate theater at this particular moment in time, and to acknowledge that the plays we do have meaning in the larger cultural discourse.”

Intellectual Risk-Taking Bridget Bunten, associate professor of education, and Ryan Kelty, associate professor of sociology, are the co-editors of Risk-Taking in Higher Education: The Importance of Negotiating Intellectual Challenge in the College Classroom, which was released by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers at the end of March. They are also the co-authors of three of the volume’s chapters—the introductory essay: “The Importance and Challenge of Risk-Taking in Higher Education,” chapter three: “Falling Through the Looking Glass: Personalizing Privilege to Foster Understanding of the Social Nature of Stratification,” and the concluding essay, “The Risk-Taking Imperative.”

Aaron Krochmal, associate professor of biology, and his colleague Timothy C. Roth co-authored chapter seven: “From Comfort to Confidence: Modeling Science as a Process of Risk-Taking in the Classroom,” and former provost and dean of the College Emily Chamlee-Wright wrote the foreword.

Best in Class On a college campus renowned for its excellent teachers and mentors, choosing a single individual to receive a distinguished teaching award can be a tough decision. Yet when faculty leaders and top students from every major convened to decide upon the 2017 recipient of the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award, James Allen Hall won handily.

A widely published poet and lyrical essayist, Hall is associate professor of English and director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House.

“James is a genuine, warm, caring instructor who is really dedicated to his students and to social justice,” says environmental economist Brian Scott, who won the prize in 2016.

Hall will give the keynote address at Fall Convocation on September 7, at 4 p.m. in Decker Theatre.

World Literature

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he act of writing literary fiction is largely a labor of love, poor in the promise of financial gain but rich in the hopefulness of bringing something fresh and thoughtful into the world. As a translator of literary fiction, Roy Kesey ’91 says that labor of love is taken one step further—to bring another writer’s voice into a new culture, language, and audience.

Kesey, a visiting lecturer in English and the 2015 Literary House writer-inresidence, has just published to strong reviews his first literary translation, of upcoming Argentinian writer Pola Oloixarac’s first novel, Savage Theories (Soho Press, 2017).

“It’s a fascinating process and not one I ever want to give up,” he says. “There’s the idea that you’re bringing a book you love to a new market, and that this will hopefully do something positive for the author and for the people who are reading the work.

Good things happen when we’re reading each other’s work, and translation is the only way.”

In the January 2017 issue of Words Without Borders, reviewer David Varno credits Kesey with a masterful translation of a complex, wild ride of a book: “The perversions of language is one of Oloixarac’s central themes, and this, along with the nuanced references to Argentina’s Dirty War and the country’s political history following Peronism, plus the characters’ tenuous interpretations of various philosophers expressed in murky academic syntax, must have made the book particularly challenging to translate,” Varno writes. “Roy Kesey succeeded in creating a text that is immersive, multilayered, sensual, and cerebral, and it captures Oloixarac’s wicked brand of humor, which often triggers bark-like laughs followed by pangs of guilt.”

Kesey calls the book “very dense, very complicated, very layered. This was slow work.” And although the process is intensely creative, it is not the same as crafting one’s own work. Translators, he says, have to choose how they want to approach a piece of writing, because they

ABOVE Roy Kesey ’91 signs books at a Lit House talk on the craft of writing.

are essentially rebuilding a completed work into something new. They can be entirely literal, or they can be more radical in terms of interpreting the text. What they can’t do is be both.

“Most of us fall somewhere in the middle,” he says. “And you’re constantly fighting to stay there. The one thing that’s fatal to a project is if you’re sliding on the spectrum in the middle of the project. You can’t decide on a certain level of literality and then invent a new character, or treat this as a language you don’t actually speak.”

Kesey, who first began experimenting with translation while living in Peru, is now translating Oloixarac’s next book, which is out in Spanish.

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Alumna Hosts Externship for Premed Student An “I’ll just go and see” opportunity turned into a day of unexpected learning.

ABOVE Beatrice Keller ’19 enjoyed an externship arranged by alumna Leslie Lighton-Humphreys ’82.

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eatrice Keller ’19, an aspiring doctor, had hoped to participate in a one-day externship at a public health institution. When that didn’t pan out, Andrea Lange, interim associate provost of academic services, convinced her to spend a day at a pharmaceutical company instead.

At the invitation of Leslie LightonHumphreys ’82, a quality assurance analyst for AmerisourceBergen, Keller spent the day touring each department of the corporate offices in Valley Forge. “During her visit, Beatrice received a brief overview

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of AmerisourceBergen business operations, before learning how a cross-section of employees perform their individual roles and responsibilities in order to produce the company’s computerized business supply chain solutions that ensure patients receive accurate and on-time deliveries of their healthcare products,” Lighton-Humphreys said.

Keller learned that companies like AmerisourceBergen act as the middleman between pharmaceutical manufacturers and the hospitals and pharmacies that use these products.

“It’s a very important aspect of the medical field,” she says. It was also one she knew very little about before her externship.

She was surprised, for example, by the high level of computerization. “That was interesting. I didn’t know there was much IT within pharmaceutical companies, but they develop software to order drugs, and if that’s not working, nothing works.”

One aspect she found particularly thrilling was the company’s research on marketing innovation. “They’re trying to do something like the Amazon Dash Button,” Keller explains. “When you have a medication in the hospital and it’s about finished, you just click a button and it will fill that prescription.” They also work with augmented reality, which Keller said was “really cool.”

Even her lunch break was informative.

“I learned a lot about the history of America,” she says. She ate at the Black Powder Tavern in nearby Valley Forge, a spot frequented by George Washington.

After graduation, Keller plans to work in public health. “I was born in Liberia, so I want to help improve the health care system back home. Global health is something I’m really interested in,” she says.

Her externship at AmerisourceBergen gave her a fuller perspective on the organizational structure of the medical field. “I was not really interested in pharmacies or medical carriers,” she says, “but by not limiting yourself to what you think you have an interest in, you can actually learn things that you didn’t know about before.”

The Dolphins of Kiawah

Off to the Minors It may seem a giant leap from the pitching mound of Athey Field to the bullpens of Major League Baseball, but Shoreman relief pitcher Wes Robertson ’18 has a shot.

About an hour or so from Charleston, South Carolina, sits Kiawah, a barrier island on the Atlantic coast. Along with its luxurious beach and golf resorts, it is home to dolphins exhibiting unique feeding behavior. As a NOAA intern, Patricia Valerio ’17 has a front row seat.

At a certain small inlet, two hours before and two hours after low tide, the dolphins team up to create a whirl of miniature waves next to the shore. Then, they will corral schools of fish and drive them close to shore.

“They’ll do a quick hop out and just scoop as many as they can,” says Valerio, an environmental science major. “All the pelicans come by and they try to get in on it. It’s really cool to watch.”

Hanging out at the beach is just part of her job as a volunteer for National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration. She also educates beachgoers and lifeguards about this unusual phenomenon, and reaches out to environmentally minded groups to recruit volunteers to help collect data and to protect the pod from curious beachgoers getting too close.

NOAA was interested in Valerio because of her experience in community outreach, she says. She conducted similar work in Costa Rica, protecting turtles from poachers, and worked for several years with the Sea Grant Consortium, teaching children about environmental stewardship.

“I guess my job is managing people, which is something I do pretty well,” she jokes. “I was in a sorority at WAC and, as head of philanthropy, I put together all our events and told people what they had to do. But I do want to keep a trend going with marine jobs.”

For someone who studied invasive sponges for her senior capstone project, it’s “really awesome now to get to work with mammals,” she says. “I totally love the program, and NOAA is just a super good thing to have on your resumé.

Everyone knows what that is, so people pay attention.”

ABOVE Wes Robertson ’18 gave up his final year of college eligibility to go pro.

W

es Robertson ’18, a business management major with a phenomenal pitching arm, has signed a professional contract with the Texas Rangers organization.

Robertson will be assigned to the Rangers’ Arizona League Rookie League-level affiliate as a pitcher.

Ironically, Robertson spent most of his collegiate baseball career as a catcher. When he was sidelined with injuries this spring, the coaching staff helped transition Robertson to pitcher.

Robertson made four relief appearances for the Shoremen, striking out six batters in three and two-thirds innings of work while allowing just one earned run. He recorded two saves and one loss. “[Pitching coach] Pat Lemmo supplied me with a good baseline for the basic fundamentals of pitching and helped me to begin developing a slider

and change-up,” notes Robertson.

Robertson continued to develop his pitching with the Seacoast (New Hampshire) Mavericks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League earlier this summer. He made four relief appearances for the Mavericks, striking out six batters and walking none while allowing one earned run in four innings of work. He also tallied one save for the Mavericks. Robertson credits the Mavericks’ coaching staff for his continued improvement.

Robertson was a career .292 hitter for the Shoremen, leading them this past spring with a .333 batting average.

His strong arm was on display behind the plate as he threw out 38 of 100 would-be base stealers during his collegiate catching career, including 20 of 50 over his final two seasons.

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STUDENTS

Great Scot!

Winning Scores in the Classroom

History major Faith Stahl ’19 took first place in stiff competition for a $25,000 scholarship from the Saint Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia to study in Scotland.

ABOVE Faith Stahl ’19 has her sights set on a PhD program in British history and a career in museum curation.

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ighteen-year-old Faith Stahl has never been abroad, but she can’t wait to visit the home of her Celtic ancestors so she can delve more deeply into the history of the Tudor dynasty that has fascinated her since childhood.

Stahl grew up in Minnesota, where Swedish traditions overshadow any Anglophile affections a young girl might harbor after reading the works of Shakespeare, Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis. She and her three siblings were home-schooled, “so we got to do and see a lot of things that helped me connect to people of different ages.”

Stahl also enjoyed the freedom to explore topics that piqued her interest. For her, that was the Tudor dynasty (1485-1603), when Tudor monarchs from Henry VII to Elizabeth I ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms.

“Great Britain has a deeper and more intricate history than we have here in the United States,” says Stahl. “I’m very interested in that era.” And because of her poise and her grasp of British history, it was 22

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relatively easy during the interview process, she says, to converse with “11 men in kilts.”

The St. Andrew’s delegation of Scotsmen shared Stahl’s enthusiasm for the Tudor period and then lobbed an open-ended question whose answer likely sealed their decision to rank her first among applicants from participating schools on the East Coast.

“They asked me to compare the War of the Roses to the political climate in the United States,” Stahl recalls. “I was thrown off initially because the War of the Roses reference was a small part of my application essay, but I managed to pull it together and talk about the chaotic climate in Washington.

They seemed pleased to see that I could connect something from the past with something from the present.”

In the search for colleges with strong history programs, Stahl found Washington College, “applied on a lark,” and enrolled last fall from Rochester Community & Technical College in Minnesota, where she earned college credits as a high school student.

Awarded a Presidential Fellows scholarship, she began taking German, got involved in the theater department, and began working in the Washington College Archives after taking Heather Calloway’s pre-orientation program, “Washington’s Secret History.”

The art history minor created a database of digital portraits found on campus and began organizing alumni files from the 1800s.

“She has found several treasures among the alumni records,” says Calloway. “Working with her renews my appreciation for what I do. In my 20 years of working with college students, Faith is by far the most talented student I’ve been fortunate to work with.”

Her thesis advisor, associate professor of history Janet Sorrentino, is also impressed with this young historian, and urged her departmental colleagues to award her the 2017 Guy Goodfellow Scholarship to help fund her research efforts. “She is bright and articulate, with a purpose and focus remarkable for someone just starting out.”

Washington College athletes definitely know how to perform on the field and in the classroom. Up three percentage points from the fall semester, 71.4% of student-athletes had a grade point average of 3.0 or better this spring, and 39.6% had a GPA of 3.5 or better, up nearly six points from the fall.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the accomplishments of our athletes in the classroom,” says Thad Moore, director of athletics,. "They continue to put the student in student-athlete and prove that you can do both sports and academics successfully.”

Moore hopes the upward trend continues. “This group has set the bar incredibly high. It’s up to next year’s student-athletes to beat it. This is great motivation for them.”

Talking Science Behind every scientific discovery is the person who communicates it to the public. This summer, Daniel Teano ’18 is getting a taste of what that’s like during his internship at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

“My project is much different from that of other college interns here,” says Teano, a double major in environmental studies and economics. “Their work is research-based. I focus on science communication and scientific outreach.”

Teano’s project focuses specifically on ocean acidification, a fundamental change in sea chemistry caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“My job is to figure out how to communicate this phenomenon to the public so they can engage and volunteer in outreach or citizen science programs,” he says. “I do think that understanding how to get people’s attention is a valuable skill. Whether it’s social media marketing, science communication, or any type of sales product, what connects us is the person at the other end.”

Rowers Finish Sixth For the fifth consecutive year, the 13th-ranked women’s rowing team made it to the NCAA Division III Championship. This year, they placed sixth in the final team standings.

ABOVE At the national rowing championship races in Indianapolis, the women's rowing team never gave up their competitive drive.

D

uring the three-day rowing championship in late May, the program’s first varsity eight placed third out of four boats in its heat. The second varsity eight finished dead last. It could have been a morale buster.

Instead, fortunes changed the following day when both boats competed in the petite final, with the first varsity eight surging ahead in the final 1,000 meters to pass seventh-ranked Pacific Lutheran and win the race. The second varsity eight finished just two seconds behind RIT, placing the team in sixth place, with 17 total points.

“They’ve been training since September with the goal of winning a medal at the NCAA,” head coach Karin Hughes says. “I think that was a really good goal for us to have; it raised everyone’s performances, some very dramatically, both on the water and off.”

said. “It’s really repetitive. It’s physically grueling; mentally, it’s very taxing. As a team, we prepared by learning how to trust the process and how to get satisfaction out of working really hard every day. And we got the payoff at NCAA.” That performance also extends to the classroom. Morrissette was among five members of the women’s rowing team to be named a National Scholar-Athletes by the College Rowing Coaches Association.

Seniors Jackie Creitz and Danielle Huston Hakey and sophomores Emily Booth and Kelin McCloskey were also among those honored.

“It’s nothing to scoff at, to be sixth in the nation, but I’m more excited for the future of the program,” says Hughes. “This is a stepping stone. A few years from now, we’re going to look back at sixth place and laugh.

That’s the hope.”

Although the team didn’t reach that goal, they were not disheartened.

“Knowing that their goal was no longer attainable, we, as a coaching staff, were really interested to see what they would do Saturday morning,” Hughes says. “True to form, both boats came out with everything they had. Both boats laid down really good, solid, aggressive races. In the finish, even though we weren’t where we wanted to be placement wise, both the coaching staff and the athletes felt very, very good about the way they finished their season and how they represented Washington College on the national stage.”

Maddie Morrissette,’17 was the program’s first rower to compete in the first varsity eight at four consecutive NCAA Division III Championships. They got there by a lot of hard work, she said.

“Rowing is not fun inherently,” she

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Living Legacies As Washington College begins the public phase of a groundbreaking campaign, the impact is best illustrated in the stories of our students.

by Karen M. Jones

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Watch our progress at

forge.washcoll.edu

t’s the highest fundraising goal in the institution’s 235-year history. At stake is the enduring value of a liberal arts education to generations of students at Washington College, now and to come.

“What we are doing here today at Washington College—in our interdisciplinary, hands-on approach to education, in our programmatic initiatives that take advantage of our setting here on the Eastern Shore, in our commitment to environmental sustainability, and in our efforts to reimagine how American families can better afford to send their children to this amazing place—is revolutionary,” former President Sheila C. Bair said at the campaign launch in May. “Already, through the foresight and generosity of individual and corporate donors, board members, alumni, and others, we have

taken meaningful strides to build a powerful base for this effort,” says H. Lawrence Culp ’85, chair of the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors and co-chair of the Campaign Steering Committee. “Now, we come to the next steps, securing the legacy of this College by empowering the futures of the students who come here to learn, grow, and pursue their dreams.”

Because this campaign is focused on the students at the heart of Washington College —on the resources and opportunities that support their success—we thought we’d let them tell you, in their own words, what’s made the difference for them so far, and what will help make their futures brighter. The stories we share here offer a glimpse of the hopes, talents, and achievements of today’s students and those who will follow for years to come.

the campaign: Forge a Legacy the goal: $150 million by june 2020 raised to date : more than $88 million (since July 2012)

Gifts to Forge a Legacy will support: • Student Engagement: We want our students to benefit from study abroad; internships and job-shadowing; and independent and faculty-led research projects that put students in the field, in the lab, on the stage, or on Wall Street. Raised to date: $29 million.

Goal: $35 million.

• Access and Affordability: Scholarships and accessibility programs will make a WC education available to more students. Raised to date: $33.5 million. Goal: $60 million.

• Faculty Excellence: This priority includes endowed chairs; diverse teaching hires; and the opportunities, money, and tools for innovation, creativity, and research. Raised to date: $11 million. Goal: $25 million.

• The Learning Environment: Following the opening last fall of Barbara and George Cromwell Hall, the College now looks forward to breaking ground this September on the new Hodson Boathouse and additional academic space. Raised to date: $13 million.

Goal: $30 million.

Tamzin B. Smith Portrait Photography

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Rachel Treglia ’19 Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows Math Club Team Leader, StoryQuest, Starr Center Dance Club Crew Employee and Event Manager, Gibson Center for the Arts Student Blogger, WC Admissions Stage Manager, Crew Member, Department of Theatre and Dance

achel Treglia’s enthusiasm is contagious. A theatre major and math minor with a love of history, she speaks of all her passions with obvious joy.

She credits her professors at WC with helping her to pursue and even blend them.

“I was going to go into history,” she says.

“Coming into college, I was sure I was going to be a curator. But I always loved theater. If I hadn’t come to Washington College, I most likely never would have gone into theater, which means I would have never learned my passion. I would have just watched from the audience.”

She discovered her starring role was off stage. “‘Dramaturg’ is a position in theater where you are in charge of knowing all of the elements of that time period or the world you’re living in,” she explains, “and you make sure the production accurately reflects that.”

Treglia has even found a way to dramatize history itself, inspired by her work as a StoryQuest interviewer with the College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, collecting and sharing the stories of World War II veterans.

“Over the summer, I’ll be doing a research project with A.T. Moffett [visiting assistant professor of dance],” she says. “She’s choreographing a dance that tells the story of veterans coming home from war. I’m going to be the dramaturg who oversees the storyline so it follows the details specifically. We’re giving

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Ana Reynoso-Zimmerer ’20 Varsity swim team George’s Brigade scholar Alpha Omicron Pi Planning Committee, Latinx Heritage Month SafeRide team driver Lifeguard, Casey Swim Center Resident Assistant 26

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na Reynoso-Zimmerer thought the opportunity to attend Washington College as a George’s Brigade scholar— with tuition, room, and board fully covered— was reason enough to leave her home state of California for Maryland’s unfamiliar Eastern Shore. But in leaving one home, she found another.

“From the moment I got here, the campus was so gorgeous, I knew this was where I wanted to be,” she says. “I like the small campus, the small classes. You get to know people, you get to know your professors. You can ask questions.”

Reynoso-Zimmerer received not just answers to those questions, but helping hands. “The relationships I have with my professors, I wouldn’t find anywhere else,” she says. “There also are course mentors who are so helpful, and support centers like the Writing Center.”

It wasn’t long before she made even tighter connections as a student-athlete. Her friends on the swim team—Reynoso-Zimmerer swims backstroke and freestyle events for the Shorewomen—and her recently acquired Alpha Omicron Pi sorority sisters seem like family. “Finding groups to join really makes

back to the veterans, in an artistic way, which is something I love.”

The collaboration with Moffett is just one opportunity Treglia has had to partner with faculty. “It’s amazing to be around professors who want to help you with internships, research projects, homework, just checking in—to be in a caring environment. And you’re not just a number; you’re a name, you’re a face, and they know what you’ve done in the past.”

Treglia intends to make a career as a stage manager on Broadway. When asked to imagine that day when she can help other WC students, she sees a ripple effect from giving.

“I would love to donate to the theatre department, because even if you’re funding a senior thesis, you’re not just helping that one person,” she says. “You’re helping the whole environment, everyone who’s involved, and you’re inspiring others who go to see the production.”

She would also boost the math department and the Starr Center for all they’ve done for her, so they can do the same for tomorrow’s students. “When you’re giving back to Washington College, you’re not just giving back to a certain area,” she says. “You’re giving back to everything. ”

“That’s the best part about liberal arts: when you give to one area of study, you give to all.”

a difference,” she says. “There are so many opportunities to create small groups within the College.”

After just one year on campus, ReynosoZimmerer already recognizes the value of experiential learning opportunities available to WC students, and she’s looking forward to her own adventures as a Spanish and psychology major with a sociology minor.

But being 2,800 miles from home gives her a unique perspective: she hopes one day to support students who need help with travel and living expenses while interning and jobshadowing long distance.

Imagining her own next steps, ReynosoZimmerer sees wide horizons. “I’m going to end up doing ‘real-world’ things— internships,” she says.

“I’m going to be equipped for whatever I do. So, I’m not anxious about my future; I’m excited.”

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hreyas Suresh traces his fascination with finance back to his childhood in Mumbai, when his father’s bedtime stories featured not fairy tales, but stock market news. His early passion has blossomed at Washington College into a focus on microfinance.

“I’ve seen people in India who don’t have access to basic banking,” Suresh says. “There are a lot of people who are talented but don’t have access to resources. Just trying to bridge that gap between the knowledge and the talent and the resources—that’s what I want to do.”

He came a long way to do it, landing in America for the first time the day before freshman orientation. “Coming from a city of 20 million people to a town of 5,000 people—it was a big change,” he says. “It took me a while to adjust, but now I love the place.”

Majoring in business management and economics with concentrations in finance and accounting, Suresh has settled in with the signature WC support.

“What I love most are the relationships that we’re able to form with anybody at any level in the College,” he explains.

Shreyas Suresh ’18 President, WC Enactus Enactus U.S. Service Leadership Award Co-Chief Investment Officer, Corporate Governance, Brown Advisory Student-Managed Investment Fund Project Director, Soap with Hope Treasurer, Phi Delta Theta Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows Omicron Delta Upsilon International Economics Honor Society Sigma Beta Delta International Business Management Honor Society Sustainable Finance Colloquy Student Member, Kent County Economic Development Commission Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting 2016 Q&A with Warren Buffet 2017

“If I have a question about my visa requirements, I can just walk into the [Global Education Office] and say, ‘I need help with this.’ I’ve had dinner with a professor at his home. Mr. [Thomas] Crouse, who’s on the board, invited me and a friend to his house in New Hampshire to talk about our experiences as international students. That’s something you would never find at a bigger school.”

As early as his freshman year, Suresh found his purpose in Enactus, an organization of students using entrepreneurship to solve social issues. He now serves as its president. “We have this project called Soap With Hope. Initially we were making soap in the dorm rooms and selling it. The end goal was to raise money for a trip to Haiti so we could establish a soap business and help with sanitation there. Now the people at the Kent Center, who are developmentally disabled, make and package all of it. We see how happy they are to make the soap, and we’re giving them a source of income. That makes me feel like I’m doing something important.”

In January, as part of a small group of business and economics students, Suresh traveled with then-President Sheila Bair to meet the Oracle of Omaha. “Meeting Warren Buffet was an incredible experience,” he says. “We actually got to sit down with him for lunch, and we got to learn so much. His question-answer session was incredible.”

Not one to wait for opportunity to find him, Suresh has big plans for his senior year. “I’ll be going to the Philippines this summer for an internship, an eight-week program where I’ll be placed with a grassroots NGO that works in economic development. I’ll help women get small loans to set up businesses.

And I applied for a Cater grant for an internship in Ghana in December. After people receive a loan, I’ll work with them to make sure their businesses are successful.”

With scholarship funding, Suresh has made the world his classroom, from advising overseas to planning in Kent County, where he is the student representative on the Economic Development Commission. “The most learning I’ve gotten is through internships,” he says. “I’ve applied for a lot of scholarships, and I know if I didn’t get that money, I wouldn’t be having these experiences.”

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s an ambitious high school student searching for her next academic home, Heidi Butler didn’t know a lot about Washington College. But the College seemed to know her. She was invited to join the Presidential Fellows and to apply for the Quill & Compass Scholarship. On Admitted Students Day, at an information session on American studies, the professor recognized her name. She recalls him saying, “We really want you here, Heidi.”

“I couldn’t believe it, the fact that he remembered me from my application essay,” she says. “It felt like I would be able to make a difference here and be known.”

That connection with faculty continued through her junior year as an American studies and music major. It delivered an Explore America internship through the College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. “It was a dream of my life, to be able to work at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History for a summer,” she says.

Butler has also taken advantage of grant money from the Cater Society to fund unique educational experiences.

“They’ll give you money to travel, to do research in various places, to attend conferences,” she says. “The experience of applying for a grant and doing your own personal research is an important skill to have.”

“I was able to go on a Cuba trip last January. Because our faculty is so specialized and good at what they do—Professor [Kenneth] Schweitzer’s specialty is in Afro-Cuban drumming— we didn’t just do touristy things. We talked to actual musicians.

We stayed in the homes of people living in Havana.”

Not one to let such opportunities pass, Butler’s ready for more. “I’m hoping that next winter break, I can go on the India trip that’s running for the first time, also with the music department,” she says. “I’m only a junior, and at the end of this summer, I will have had four, maybe five, funded research projects, which is just amazing.”

Butler envisions a career as a professor of American studies and history “at a school like Washington College” with a sideline teaching piano in area schools, doing community theater, or working with a local choir. Ever mindful of her own extraordinary experiences as a student, she’d like to ensure the same for others.

“One of the things I’d hope to support at the College is tuition help for students who are not able to make WC work on their own,” she says. “Without that, I wouldn’t have been able to go here. A lot of the time, very smart students who have a lot of potential are not able to go to a school where they have this kind of individualized attention and they have these opportunities, because they can’t make it work financially.”

Amid a list of campus activities and community service projects that make one’s head spin, Butler has found a second family. “What I love most is the tightness of the community,” she says. “[The Starr Center’s] Adam Goodheart had a small, low-key Christmas party at his house in Centreville. He invited a bunch of students and all the staff of the Starr Center. He made lamb, and we all wore funny historical costumes, and it was really fun, 15 or 20 of us sitting around a long table, eating dinner, celebrating together. That’s the kind of community you get at WC.”

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Heidi Butler ’18 Vice President, Best Buddies (WC chapter) Team Leader, StoryQuest, Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience President, College Democrats Campus Christian Fellows Secretary, Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows Admissions Fellow Peer Consultant, Writing Center Symphonic Band Early Music Ensemble Driver, SafeRide Clarence Hodson Prize Recipient 2017 Roy Ans Research Fellow 2017 Department of Theatre & Dance Accompanist, Chester River Youth Choir

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hen Connor Lugo-Harris talks about the career paths he might pursue, his mood is bright and crackling with energy. So, it’s no surprise that he wants to create fireworks. The melding of theater and chemistry into a job with pyrotechnics is just one way he connects the dots between his double major in the two and a double minor in music and business.

“This past semester, I’ve been working on a research proposal to study pyrotechnics, looking at how to make them more environmentally friendly,” Lugo-Harris says. “I asked my chemistry adviser if she knew any way I could get my foot in that door—an internship or someone I could talk to.”

To his delight, Professor of Chemistry Anne Marteel-Parrish referred him to retired chemistry professor John Conkling ’65, one of the world’s leading experts on pyrotechnics. “While I was doing my research, I’d been citing him as a source,” a wideeyed Lugo-Harris says. “I met him and had tea at his house. We talked about pyrotechnics and fireworks. It was amazing!”

This encounter demonstrates the opportunities LugoHarris says make Washington College the perfect place to explore a wide range of interests. Other professions he’s considering include chemical sales, musical theater, and arts administration. The latter has been one of his favorite classes.

“It teaches students how to be a working professional in the arts—not the ‘show biz’ kind of thing, but how to make money doing your art,” he says. “We learn so many different things, from how to do a budget for an arts organization to how to approach a marketing strategy.”

Lugo-Harris praises the Center for Career Development for helping him channel his interests into viable options.

“It’s insane, how many opportunities we have at the Career Center. When I was doing a chemistry seminar class, the first third of it was job search, and the final project was a mock interview for a position. You write a résumé and a cover letter, and you interview at the Career Center. They will also pay for you to live somewhere while you’re doing an unpaid internship.”

Connor Lugo-Harris ’18 WACappella Washington College Improv Troupe Steel Revolution Steel Pan Ensemble Actor, Director, Designer, Crew, Department of Theatre Student Photographer, Office of College Relations & Marketing Resident Assistant Peer Mentor Crew, Gibson Center for the Arts Webmaster, Department of Chemistry Black Student Union Kappa Sigma Fraternity

“I’m an RA, and I tell my residents, here are opportunities you have to take advantage of!”

As with his range of vocational passions, for Lugo-Harris, the sky’s the limit as he considers where he might channel his own giving in the future. “I’d love to see more money for projects— for example, the Mary Martin Program in the Performing Arts lets us pursue research projects and special skills training. And I’d love to see more research money for my faculty members; the chemistry department is so awesome! Studying abroad is another cool opportunity. One thing that deters people from studying abroad is the cost. Scholarships and funding for that should be available to everybody.”

Whatever path he ultimately chooses, Lugo-Harris will remember his undergrad years fondly. “My freshman year, the Presidential Fellows sailed out on the Chester River on the Sultana—it was so beautiful. We had a little banquet afterward by the Custom House. I remember coming home thinking, this is the place I need to be.”

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THE CRUCIBLE OF

OPPORTUNITY With his remarkable pledge to open some 4,700 acres of Chino Farms to Washington College’s oversight, Harry Sears offers a world of possibility for the College, from its environmental and science programs to the new Eastern Shore Food Lab. by Wendy Mitman Clarke M’16

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If you have ever gone along a road lined with locust trees in full sweet perfumed flower, or seen a symmetrical black oak turned into a giant autumnal bouquet, or looked at the spires of dark cedars along a pasture fence, or at a wild persimmon tree full of subtle purplish-gold fruit, you will realize that these offer rare and precious delight to the spirit of mankind. They deserve more appreciation and protection than they get.

–“Maryland’s Eastern Shore” by Sophie Kerr

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een from above, the property that Harry Sears has known since boyhood is a tapestry of possibility and balance. Crisp rectangles of cultivated land that resemble Zen sand gardens in color and uniformity are juxtaposed with bushy beards of green, where the forest holds sway. A tendril of water curls from the thick brown stem of the Chester River until it is lost to sight, its path revealed only in meandering thickets of velvet woodland.

On the ground, the 5,000 or so acres that comprise Chino Farms are a myriad of moving ecological parts, a collaboration of wild spaces and agricultural land, cultivated ranges of restored grasslands and depths of untouched hardwood forest, freshwater creeks and rare Delmarva bays. Each of these interconnected realms supports an enviable diversity of species, many of which come here specifically for the habitat that Chino offers.

Perhaps the one word that best describes this place is crucible —a singular space in which different elements interact, in tension and in concert, to create something new. From such a place emerges what Sears calls the art of the possible, and in his decision to bequeath the College majority shares in the corporation that owns Chino Farms, he is presenting both opportunity and challenge.

“There’s so much left untouched. There’s so much that can be done,” says Sears, a member of the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors whose family has owned Chino since World War II. “My vision has come from John [Seidel, Director of the College’s Center for Environment & Society], Truman [Semans, co-founder of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation], and all of the people who have been sort of feeding me information about what’s the art of the possible. And from what I’m gathering, the art of the possible is much more than can possibly be done.”

Chino Farms is already the home of the Chester River Field Research Station, which is overseen by the College’s Center for Environment & Society (CES) and encompasses Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory, the Natural Lands Project, the Grasslands Restoration Project, and part of the Chester River Watershed Observatory. The property includes 2.5 miles of Chester River waterfront, 600 acres of forest containing ecologically

unique Delmarva bays, and a 90-acre waterfowl sanctuary. Nearly all of it is protected from development—a result of Sears’ decision in 2001 to partner with The Conservation Fund to create the largest conservation easement in the State of Maryland.

Its established role as a test bed for exploring how commercial agriculture can work hand in hand with conservation and restoration efforts, and as a place for faculty and student research and collaboration in everything from soil chemistry to bird migration, will continue. But the breadth of possibilities that Chino offers the College—among them a source of wild foraging and innovative food production for the College’s fledgling Eastern Shore Food Lab—is unprecedented, propelling the College to become a national leader in undergraduate environmental programming and education.

“You’ve heard one constant theme with respect to the environment, and there’s probably no more pressing issue in our society today,” said Larry Culp ’85, chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors, as he announced Sears’ decision at the May launch of Forge a Legacy, the College’s $150 million comprehensive campaign. “We are so well equipped to play an important role. We’ve had someone step forward to help us begin to realize the vision of having the best undergraduate program in the country for the environment. That is ambition … Harry Sears has not committed to share his jewel of 5,000 acres up the river at Chino Farms with Washington College in perpetuity for himself. He does it for us.”

“Harry loves that land,” Seidel says. “He wants to see it preserved in agriculture and wild spaces. And, he sees it as a laboratory for testing ideas and for education. Those twin objectives go hand in hand, they’re not separate in his mind. He has been amazingly open and welcome to anybody who has a great idea and can articulate it in a research plan or in some fashion and say, ‘OK, let’s try and make this possible.’ We are continuing that, and we are going to make it an even more powerful venue for learning and for experimentation and research. That’s what we do. So I think it’s a match made in heaven in many ways. It’s a perfect fit.”

Many institutions have and continue to work on projects at

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Conservationist Harry Sears has long recognized that preserving habitat is critical to supporting the Eastern Shore’s rural heritage that includes waterfowl and quail hunting—two of his passions. For nearly two decades, Sears, pictured with his companions Hal and Lily, has provided farm access to scientists and students interested in habitat restoration, soil chemistry, migratory bird populations, and other studies.

“I’m looking for an environmental arrangement, which means someone’s thinking a little outside of the box, someone’s accepting ambiguity, someone is dealing with conflicting aspirations —all the things I think are part of the liberal arts education.”

- Harry Sears

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Chino, among them the University of Delaware and the University of Maryland. But Sears believes Washington College is the ideal curator of this resource, and not just because it’s only a ten-minute drive from the campus, offering students an unparalleled living classroom in subjects ranging from biology and chemistry to environmental art and anthropology.

“This speaks to liberal arts,” Sears says. “I’m looking for an environmental arrangement, which means someone’s thinking a little outside of the box, someone’s accepting ambiguity, someone is dealing with conflicting aspirations—all the things I think are part of the liberal arts education.”

That means that Chino, while continuing its role as a living laboratory, and as a microcosm of the Chesapeake Bay as a whole and of estuarine watersheds around the world, will enormously expand opportunities for students, staff, and faculty, says Michael Hardesty ’05, associate director of programs and staff for CES. A significant example of this is the new Eastern Shore Food Lab as it gets off the ground in 2018. Led by Bill Schindler, chair of the Department of Anthropology and internationally known for his work in primitive technologies and food production, the Food Lab will be based in Chestertown, but Chino will offer wild food foraging, as well as an opportunity for College students to learn about farming programs that will support traditional harvests of organic vegetables in addition to cutting-edge sustainable food sciences like entomophagy—insects as a highly sustainable and nutrient-rich source of protein.

“This provides the Eastern Shore Food Lab with unique teaching and research opportunities,” Schindler says. “One of our first initiatives is the creation of a wild food laboratory. I know of no other institution in the world that has anything like it—a true outdoor classroom and laboratory dedicated to experimenting with and pushing the limits of wild food resources, from wild plants, insects, animals, to microflora.”

As an interdisciplinary research, teaching, and production laboratory dedicated to studying and experimenting with sustainable food systems, the Food Lab will research the resources unique to the region based on weather, climate, soil chemistry, and microbial biology, and fuse historical food methods with modern technologies. The goal is to address issues of food, diet, health, access, sustainability, and human and environmental relationships—to re-envision our food system, from how we define food to how we grow it and prepare it.

“Natural resources are my passion, but I realize you have to plow, plant, and put food on somebody’s table,” Sears says, “and this is why I’m looking forward to Bill Schindler coming on board at Chino. He’s going to bring all sorts of controversy to this.”

Like much of the work based at Chino and the CES, the solutions and innovations the Food Lab develops will be scalable to other food-sheds around the country and the world. This element of transferability is another reason why Seidel believes that Chino—combined with the work already happening there, such as the Natural Lands Project and grasslands restoration, as well as the planned new waterfront environmental sciences building on the Chester River, the College’s fleet of research vessels, and the recent addition of the environmental sciences academic majo—will catapult the College’s environmental program to among the most hands-on and innovative in the country.

“I see this as a huge step forward for the College and for our aspirations for our environmental science and sustainability programs.

The size and scope of what we are doing here is just amazing,” he says.

“We’re blowing any small liberal arts college out of the water and we’re going to be challenging many of the larger universities. And what we are doing is fundamentally different ... the Eastern Shore Food Lab, for instance, will be a liberal-arts, multidisciplinary approach to food systems. And our mix of habitat restoration, ecology – all of those things make it broader and different from what other schools are doing.”

The commercial farming currently on Chino, operated by Evan Miles, will continue as a partner in the ongoing examination of how commercial agricultural and conservation can work side by side. This intersection, Sears says, is a perfect example of the interdisciplinary

AT LEFT: The capture of this chick at Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory bodes well for the return of the northern bobwhite quail, which has seen population declines over the past several decades. AT RIGHT: Maren Gimpel, a field ecologist at Chester River Research Station and a lecturer in the biology department, works with Kailani Clarke ’20 in the bird banding station.

“The size and scope of what we are doing here is just amazing.

We’re blowing any small liberal arts college out of the water and we're going to be challenging many of the larger universities.”

- John Seidel

opportunities Chino offers students, giving them a chance to conduct research and propose solutions applicable to real issues, not just in Queen Anne’s County but across the world.

“An economist would be interested in what’s going on with the environmental practices as a cost to the landowner, or what are the tradeoffs for protecting water supplies, habitat, all those things which would be good environmentally, but many landowners say, ‘it’s not for us,’” Sears says. “That could be a student project. The faculty will be able to see Chino through a new lens.”

Ecologically, there are places on Chino that have never been studied and have the potential to provide entirely new avenues of research, Sears says.

“I’ve been to most of the areas of the farm once every three or four years, but there are places I haven’t been for 20 years. There are places that have been untouched.” For example, about 20 years ago, researchers from the Stroud Water Research Center studied

“There’s something really powerful about a student going out to a wild space and just connecting,” Hardesty says. “Some of our best and most thoughtful writers and nature thinkers do just that alone without taking a book. It’s just being there. When you talk about bringing on 4,700 acres of this magical mix of marsh, field, creek, forest, I think it could be really powerful.”

The greatest challenge for the College, Sears believes, will be exploring—and supporting with necessary staff and funding—all that could be possible at Chino. He floats the idea of a separate campus there devoted entirely to environmental studies and the sciences, as well as the intersection of the environment and the arts and other disciplines.

“I’m thinking ridiculous and long term, but I think it’s an opportunity,” he says. “It may have to wait for another two or three administrations. But Chino is still going to be there.”

one section of forest and found a stream they believed had never felt the effects of development or modern agriculture. “They thought it was absolutely pristine, because it was sheltered from everything around. It meandered through and got all the way into the headwaters of our lake and Foreman’s Branch. And in that stream were all kinds of creeper crawlers, little tiny things, and the thought was these would be the same species that would have been in streams all over a hundred years ago … I could take Bill Schindler out foraging and show him an area where things are not very different than they were a hundred years ago.”

The diversity of habitat and sheer size of Chino also offers entirely new opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to camp, hike, and explore, to immerse in untrammeled wilderness—an intangible but substantial benefit especially to young people who are interested in a deeper connection with the natural world than today’s society and environment tend to offer.

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Kurt M. Landgraf believes that Washington College's role in instilling students with a strong moral compass is imperative to the success of the American democracy.

PHOTOS BY TAMZIN B. SMITH PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

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The Landgraf Presidency WCM asked Kurt M. Landgraf, a former senior executive with DuPont and CEO of Educational Testing Service, why he came out of retirement to lead Washington College, how his corporate experiences will inform his leadership style, and what his priorities will be in the coming months. by Marcia C. Landskroener M’02

What attracted you to WC in the first place?

The student-centric approach. Washington College is all about the students, and that’s increasingly rare in the world of higher education. I remember being most impressed with a young man on the Search Committee. When I asked him what he had learned at WC, he told me that he learned the concept of moral courage. If one of my kids would’ve ever said anything like that, I would’ve been applauding. So, it always stuck with me that this is a place that cares about students.

What was your own undergraduate experience like?

It was life-changing. I grew up in an orphanage and never thought I would go to college. Right out of high school, I went to play professional baseball and, after a short, not particularly thrilling career with the Philadelphia Phillies organization, I got an athletic scholarship to go to a little liberal arts school called Wagner College. I was massively underprepared and, quite frankly, my self-image and self-esteem were not high. I ran into a professor there and he was the first person in my entire life who decided that I was smart. He literally changed my life. He made me believe I could be more, and from that moment on I got to love economics, and I went on to get a graduate degree in economics. It’s an interesting story, because for me it shows that a single person can have a massive impact on someone’s life. I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t run into him, so I was very lucky.

Being a college president is maybe one of the toughest jobs of modern times. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges this institution faces, and how can we rise to meet them?

I think that in general, higher education is facing some serious headwinds. First, demographics. The cohort of students who are going to college is shrinking, and right now, because of immigration policy, fewer foreign students are coming here. From my time at ETS, I happen to know that TOEFL applications are down 49% this year, which means next year’s headline is going to be that the number of foreign students coming to U.S. institutions is down dramatically.

Second, there are some socioeconomic concerns in our country now about the value of higher education in general; it’s very much a cost/benefit mentality. I like to remind people that the sign [on Route 213] says “Washington College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.” That’s really important to remember, because the [interdisciplinary approach] matters a tremendous amount. The challenge facing us, is that even with the significant affordability initiatives that President Sheila Bair put into place, this is a relatively expensive place to go to school. It’s in a geographic area that I think is gorgeous, but it’s not the kind of place that every young high school senior wants to come to. You also have significant challenges in dealing with all the various constituencies: students, faculty, alumni, the board, state legislators. This is an all-consuming position.

What we have to do is understand what our value proposition is and use that to our advantage, to grow enrollments and be sustainable. That’s the bottom line.

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ABOVE President Landgraf meets two peer mentors, Jamie Solomon ’20 (left) and Alexis Desai ’20, as they prepare materials for the incoming Class of 2021.

Inauguration is set for Sept. 23, 2017, during Fall Family Weekend.

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What would you like to accomplish in your first year in office?

My highest priority is getting an enrollment VP in here and start to work on a three-year plan to move enrollments forward.

I want to take a very close look at what we can do to continue the important financial initiatives that President Bair initiated, and look at the impact they’re going to have going forward.

The other really big thing is, I want to get to know and work with and understand the faculty, the students, and the staff. As I said at my first staff meeting, “I need you more than you need me.” And I mean that. A lot of very fine people have gone on to do other things. That’s the past, we can’t do anything about it, so we’ve got to take the team we have now and concentrate on moving forward.

How daunting is it for you to step into this role just as we’ve announced a $150 million comprehensive campaign?

Well, you know I’ve never been a college president and I’ve never run a capital campaign.

From what I’ve read, the staff here has a good plan going forward, and I understand my role in that. Maybe because I don’t understand it exactly I don’t feel daunted by it at all. My biggest challenge is going to be making sure that I can manage the time constraints that all these things require, but I clearly understood that this was an important initiative when I took the job and I’m going to do everything I can to help make this come to fruition.

You did a great job at ETS, which was in some financial trouble when you first came aboard.

They were in the process of liquidating.

It is, in fact, a true story that my first week there, the CFO told me they didn’t have enough money to make the payroll. When I left 14 years later, it was a $2 billion organization. We had 2,000 employees at the beginning; we ended up with 6,000.

How’d you do that? What is your strength as a leader to make that kind of turnaround?

There’s a PhD dissertation on exactly this subject. [The doctoral candidate] took my leadership style at DuPont Merck where I was chairman and compared it to what I did at ETS. I always feel a little uncomfortable talking about myself, but I will say that I got the buy-in and concurrence of the staff. They understood we were all in the same boat together.

I put into place a performance metric system that made everyone feel that if we won, we won together. Then we took a look at the assets and we started to drive our key product lines. When I first came to ETS I was probably their nightmare. I’m a corporate guy from DuPont coming to run an educational icon like ETS. But I will say this to you, and I say it because I’m so proud of it. The day I left ETS, they named a $100 million building after me. In this world, if you don’t buy the building and it’s named after you, that’s a pretty good accomplishment.

I’m proud of my experience there and it’s a viable organization now, doing great.

the

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Landgrafs

I believe that the fundamental thing that a leader must do is communicate in a transparent way, be honest, and be a caring person for every one of the constituencies.

They need to know what’s expected of you and what I expect of them. Having worked 50 years, I’m pretty good at that. Here, the thing that I’m going to have to pay closest attention to is this whole concept of co-governance. I’ve never been in an environment before where co-governance was so important. So, you not only have a lot of constituencies, you just can’t make decisions without the buy-in of the key entities, especially the faculty.

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I think it’s one of the things that they want me to do. But what they would really like to see happen here is a bit of a restart: grow enrollment, normalize discount rates, reinvigorate our academic programs, and continue our relationship with Chestertown.

Obviously fundraising is an important role.

As president, I will rely heavily on a talented Advancement team that will allow me to close leads on major donations and engage with key donors.

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How do you translate that experience into the realm of higher education?

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So, how do you see your role as a fundraiser? Is that your primary objective from the Board’s perspective?

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INGTON CO

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KURT M. LANDGRAF, A FORMER CORPORATE executive with deep experience in financial accountability, information technology, and integrated business strategies, was named President-elect of Washington College in May of 2017; he took office July 1.

President Kurt M. Landgraf, 71, comes to Washington College with a decades-long résumé as a senior executive with DuPont and a 13-year tenure as President and CEO of Educational Testing Service (ETS). There, Landgraf led the financial turnaround of the organization from near-bankruptcy to create a $2 billion global, technology-based concern.

He previously held senior leadership positions at DuPont, including chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chairman of DuPont Europe Middle East and Africa, chairman and chief executive officer of the DuPont Pharmaceutical Company, and president and chief executive officer at the DuPont Merck Company. Landgraf also served as vice chairman of New Jersey’s Higher Education Commission, the state’s governing board for colleges and universities, and president of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Landgraf earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Wagner College and then launched his business career in the pharmaceuticals industry. He went on to earn three master’s degrees: an M.A. in economics from Pennsylvania State University, an M.Ed. in educational administration from Rutgers University, and an M.S. in sociology from Western Michigan University.

He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

His wife, Rita M. Landgraf, is the former secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, and now teaches in University of Delaware’s College of Health Services.

Let’s talk about the decline in international student applications.

How can we offset those declines and become a more diverse campus?

I think that at least for the next couple of years, we’re just going to have to face the reality that applications are going to be down. But I don’t think it’s a long-term problem, I really don’t. It’s got to be part of an enrollment strategic plan that includes international students and George’s Brigade. If you think about diversity in terms of international, ethnic, and geographic diversity, I believe we need to face the fact that our primary market for students is in this mid-Atlantic area.

Any final thoughts?

In the last two or three years, I can’t remember being as happy as I am now. I am excited every day. I get up every morning and I come in and I look forward to what I’m going to do. The most thrilling thing for me is the fact that every day, I get one intelligent person after the other walking in here and talking to me. The one thing I really missed [in retirement] was working with a group of people who are intelligent and committed. Washington College is phenomenal, plus I don’t think I’ve met a single person who isn’t committed to the best interests of the students. That’s why I came here.

That’s what I think we have to maintain as a priority: How does this place help students find a way to meaningfully take advantage of this education? We absolutely need to do that, because we owe that to the kids and we owe that to the people who have paid for them to come here.

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CLASS NOTES 40 | OBITUARIES 45

| WEDDINGS 48

| BIRTHS & ADOPTIONS 49

Seventy-five years after his own graduation, Dr. Henry Maguire ’42 traveled all the way from California to Chestertown to see his grandson, Andrew J. Wink, graduate with the Class of 2017. Dr. Maguire, a former biology major who earned his medical degree at University of Maryland, delivered babies for many years; Andrew is a double major in music and theatre. The two are pictured outside West Hall, where Dr. Maguire lived when it was known as “Rat Hall.” Photo by Matt Spangler

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Girl Fight Playwright Stephen Spotswood ’99 is this year’s recipient of the Charles MacArthur award, one of the annual Helen Hayes awards for Outstanding New Play.

By T. Christian Landskroener

ABOVE In Stephen Spotswood's “full contact drama,” actors Maggie Donnelly (at left), as an MMA semi-pro, and Audrey Bertaux, as Halo, go for a round in the cage. Photo by Teresa Castracane

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ometimes, girls just need to fight their way back. In Stephen Spotswood’s latest play, Girl in the Red Corner, he explores the journeys of four women struggling to overcome the forces that threaten to defeat them.

Girl in The Red Corner is brisk and brutal.

Minimally staged, the play offers the actors rich characters to explore, giving them good and bad choices to make. The audience is witness to family ties that resonate deeply and produce heartbreak and even a little humor. In the end, all the hard work becomes its own reward and provides a springboard for the future.

Spotswood can barely recall the acceptance speech he gave at the Helen Hayes

Awards ceremony held at D.C.’s Lincoln Theatre on May 15: “Much of that Monday night is a blur. Whatever I said onstage is definitely a blur.” What remains clear to him is that the work was highly collaborative; in fact, the fight choreographer, Cliff Williams III, garnered his own Helen Hayes Award.

The lighting was designed by Washington College’s own Laura Eckelman, the associate professor of drama about whom Spotswood says: “She has always been able to do more with less than any lighting designer I know.” The two met during Eckelman’s first year of teaching at WC, but it was a mutual connection, one of the Welders who knew her during her undergrad years at Middlebury, who suggested that Eckelman would be the

ideal person to create the lighting for Girl in The Red Corner.

Eckelman says that she was most impressed by Spotswood’s “extraordinary empathy and his interest in stories not told before. He is interested in taking under-represented themes to create stories from a different point of view.”

Girl in The Red Corner certainly fits the mold. Much of the play takes place in a gym where the lead character, Halo, has come to train in mixed martial arts despite her complete inexperience. Her trainer is a recovering opioid addict, and Halo is rebounding off the ropes from a divorce, living with a boozy mom whose hours at the checkout line are being systematically cut back. Halo takes a job in “direct sales,” a more palatable term for telemarketer, to make ends meet.

Her training is physical and emotional therapy. As her trainer pushes her hard and harder still, she ultimately steps into the ring to face off against her mom, her sister, and her brother-in-law. In the end, after the stylized bout, she offers to train her sister, hinting that the circle of female strength will grow ever wider.

The production was staged at the Atlas Performing Arts Center by the Welders, a playwrights’ collective in Washington, D.C., focused on the creation and production of new plays. Founded in 2013, the Welders produce one show by each member playwright before passing the entire company on to a new generation of artists. In 2016, Spotswood was selected to present his work as the first of the new group’s productions.

The success of Girl in the Red Corner bodes well for D.C. theater-goers and for Washington College students; Spotswood is slated to teach a class in playwriting this fall.

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WC Alumni: Share your news!

We are proud to share your stories with our community in “Class Notes.” Submit your alumni news and photos to CLASS_NOTES@WASHCOLL.EDU

1945

Charlotte Hignutt lives happily in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, just outside of the rapidly growing town of Palenque, at Km1 on the road to the Mayan ruins. The name of her property is Las Palomas, and her house is large enough to accommodate four guests, should any Washington College people happen by. At 93, she remains quite active and often walks several miles a day to look at birds and iguanas. She has no regrets about changing cultures; it is sometimes dangerous, always an in-depth learning experience, and compels adaptation to other points of view.

Mystery Photo

1950

Howard Tilley just celebrated his 90th birthday. He lives in an independent living facility in suburban Atlanta and has been there for six years. His wife, JoAnn, died in 2013 of Alzheimer’s — life sure is different when you lose your partner of 62 years. He is very fortunate to have a wonderful family consisting of three children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. To his former classmates and friends, he says, “Hi!”

1958

Bill Litsinger and his wife, Ellen Jo ’59, wore out their traveling shoes last year: southern France river cruise and Paris, The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Ocean City with high school friends, and California to see their daughter and her family in Sonoma.

In January, Bill was elected to the Resident Advisory Council of the Oak Crest retirement community in Parkville. They take in many Terps field hockey games at University of Maryland, where their oldest granddaughter plays as a redshirt junior.

1959

Bruce T. Briggs lives in Becker County, Minnesota, where he relocated from the East Coast some years ago to serve as vice president of planning and marketing for a large health system based in Fargo, North Dakota. In retirement from his marketing post, he established an undergraduate program in health administration at Minnesota State University in Moorhead, a sister city of Fargo. He is now fully retired, enjoying the area’s 400 lakes and beautiful weather during its short summers.

1972 John Richey ’56 and Donald “Doc” Owings ‘55 wrote in to identify several of their classmates pictured in the c. 1953-54 photo of Professor Norman James’ class.

Among them: Sue Stallings ’54, Jennifer Dobbs ‘56, Charles Wetzel ’54, Eleanor Hempstead ’56, and Doc Owings ’55.

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Frank Ogens writes that his son-in-law Denis Oliverio is featured in President George W. Bush’s new book, Portraits of Courage. Denis, a U.S. Marine now retired, was seriously wounded in Iraq in 2005. The original painting

is on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

1976

Linda Drawsky is enjoying life, getting older (and wiser?), and journeying abroad to the Arctic, Africa, and, in 2017, Russia! She is trying to reconnect with some old classmates but needs contact information.

1977

Diana Woodward-Duvall Grunow recently completed her first screenplay, Mateus, inspired by a manuscript by fellow grad Keith Twitchell ’77.

1979

Jean Dixon Sanders has illustrated an adult coloring book, riding the final wave of that trend.

In My Garden was published by Ellie Claire, a division of Worthy Publishing, and is available at bookstores worldwide or on Amazon. In 2015, she moved from Florida to New Bern, North Carolina.

New Bern, which is a small, quaint, historical town, is not quite as lovely as Chestertown, she says, but it is home to the colonial governor’s mansion and about 60 life-sized fiberglass bears. Jean illustrated 50 of the bears, and published them in two coloring books, Bears! and Bears, Too! She continues to write and illustrate a weekly food column for fellow alum Dave Wheelan ’79 in The Chestertown Spy and The Talbot Spy. The Reid Hall Red Hots are still going strong. Last year they had two gatherings at Mimi and Tom Wood’s adorable beach house on Isle of Palms in South Carolina.

1982

W. Winston Elliott III founded the journal The Imaginative Conservative in 2010 and continues as publisher. He enjoys promoting liberal learning as visiting professor of liberal arts at Houston Baptist University, as a member of the President’s Council at St. John’s College, and

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serving on the Board of Wyoming Catholic College. He welcomed his eighth grandchild in May.

Life Happens

1983

Byron Welch is an advisory software engineer at IBM, supporting business intelligence and data warehouse applications. He is currently working with the IBM Emptoris brand, producing contract management software. Byron lives with his wife, Michelle Shelley Welch, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

In her memoir, The Misfit Miracle Girl, the woman whose unexpected recovery from a serious childhood illness became the basis for the canonization of a new Catholic saint inspires others to recognize and embrace their own miraculous selves, even if that’s not what they’d call it.

1984

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Lucille “Lucie” Hughes P’10, vice president for institutional advancement at Chesapeake College, was chosen to participate in the professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of its local business and community leaders. She was one of 52 individuals chosen for Leadership Maryland’s 25th class – the Class of 2017 – who will complete the eight-month hands-on learning program focused on the state’s most vital social, economic, and environmental issues.

1985

Chris Santa Maria was recently elected to a four-year term on the Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania School Employee Retirement System. PSERS is the 19th largest public pension fund in the nation, with approximately $51 billion in assets and serving over 350,000 active and retired members. Chris is also in his 24th year of teaching in the Philly suburbs, and his 10th year as president of the Lower Merion Education Association.

1986

Peter Shafer has joined Brunswick Group, a global consultancy specializing in communications and research, as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. He previously spent five years as senior vice president at Toluna.

He is hoping to see fellow alumni who commute on the Amtrak/ MARC train and in downtown D.C. or NYC.

atholic or non-believer. Saint or sinner. Miracle or misfit. Kate Mahoney ’00 isn’t interested in defining people in “either/or” terms; it’s the whole person that matters to her. She has been: “The girl we prayed for.” “The one saved by the divine intercessions of [Saint] Mother Marianne Cope.” “The girl who met—and head butted—the Pope.” She has also been an unemployed actor, the dutiful daughter, and now, an author, international speaker, and patient and caregiver advocate.

Her professors and classmates at Washington College, who knew her life story from the monologue she wrote and staged as her senior thesis, would describe the theatre major as empathetic, funny, irreverent, and a bit baffled by a course of events that derailed her childhood and propelled her onto the international stage as “The Miracle Girl.”

“The packaging of a person is very overwhelming,” says Mahoney. “I became the vehicle for a Vatican-approved miracle, but that label sometimes got lumped on to me at the expense of open and honest friendships.”

When Mahoney was called home from theatrical pursuits in Chicago to care for her ailing parents, she lost all sense of selfidentity as she dealt with one medical crisis after another. She experienced a moment of epiphany on a trip to Colorado, she says, when “no one asked what I did. They asked instead, ‘What do you do that makes you happy?’ All of a sudden I found the voice of the storyteller.”

The collection of personal essays she wrote as she cared for her parents became the basis for the book, The Misfit Miracle Girl: Candid Reflections, published in January 2017 by Divine Phoenix Pegasus Books. Her book tour included a stop in Chestertown during Alumni Weekend, although she says seeing former professors and colleagues was far more important than book sales.

ABOVE Kate Mahoney ’00 hopes to interpret her memoir, The Misfit Miracle Girl, for the stage. Photo by Tamzin B. Smith Portrait Photography

“I wanted to be present with the people in the place that mattered to me,” she says of her visit. “Chestertown holds such a strong sense of place for me, because this is where my classmates and I were encouraged to get to know each other. This is where I could just ‘be,’ without the labels. It still is. I survived multisystem organ failure. A saint may have brought me back to life, but my Washington College community helped give me back my life, too.”

To schedule Kate Mahoney to speak at your book club or organization, visit katedmahoney. com or email mahoneykated@gmail.com.

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1990

Following the Money As part of a financial intelligence unit at Citi, a former international studies major is fighting terrorism.

by Marcia C. Landskroener

A member of the Washington College Alumni Board, Latoya Gatewood-Young ’11 co-chairs the Reunions Committee and is an adviser for her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi. Photo by Tamzin B. Smith Portrait Photography

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hen individuals try to launder money or circumvent banking regulations for nefarious purposes, Latoya Gatewood-Young ’11 knows all the signs. The use of shell companies and the rapid movement of funds certainly raise red flags. An assistant vice president at Citi who earned an MBA in Homeland Security, Gatewood-Young monitors accounts for suspicious activities, such as tax evasion or money laundering, that could be financing criminal activity, including the work of terrorist cells.

“I never saw myself in this role,” she admits. The international studies major with concentrations in global business, peace and conflict studies, and African studies had every intention of pursuing graduate work in international studies at the University of Pittsburgh and then launching her career with a non-governmental organization.

Thanks to the opportunities she was given as 42

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an undergraduate, she had already traveled the world — studying at Rhodes University in South Africa and at the London School of Economics, and taking advantage of a summer language immersion program in Arabic at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco. But, when her parents “dropped the bomb” and told her that they couldn’t pay for graduate school, the firstgeneration college student decided to join the military.

Gatewood-Young joined the U.S. Air Force in 2012, and now serves as a paralegal with the 166th Airlift Wing as part of the Delaware Air National Guard.

With a good day job and an MBA from Wilmington University, she is now considering going back to school to earn a law degree, as a way to advance her career in compliance and regulatory banking.

“The military paved the way for me to use my international background and complete an MBA program that I could pay for myself,” she says.

“And my experience at Washington College was unparalleled. It was the best four years of my life.”

Despite the student debt she carries from her time at Washington College, she is the first to urge young alumni to give back as much as they can — just as she does as an associate member of The 1782 Society.

“I think of the advantages the school gave to me. My parents didn’t go to college. They were blue-collar workers, and they knew the value of an education.

That’s the main reason I give back,” Gatewood-Young says. “I have a lot of pride in the school.”

Graduating among the top five percent of her class at Bohemia Manor High School in Cecil County, Maryland, Gatewood-Young tells the story of how she came to join Goose Nation.

“I applied to nine schools and was accepted everywhere — except Washington College,” she laughs. “When I got a deferred letter from WC, my guidance counselor insisted on calling the Admissions Office, and I was invited to tour campus. When I walked into the Casey Academic Center, I absolutely fell in love.” An acceptance letter, and a generous merit scholarship, soon followed.

“I’m definitely a go-getter and make my own path.

But I’m so grateful for people like Dr. [Tahir] Shad, who told me if you want people to take you seriously, you have to build a portfolio that separates you from your peers. That has stuck with me. He pushed me to go abroad for a year. It was a good experience. And the Moroccan trip was funded through the Margaret Bennett Endowment for International Students. That was pretty huge. Experiences like that are what make Washington College great.”

Mary Lee Barry Scott has been making dreams come true, working at Walt Disney World Resort since 2004. She recently built a beautiful new home in Kissimmee about 20 minutes from Disney. Alumni planning a trip to Florida are encouraged to look her up: she loves having visitors and would love to show you around Disney!

2005

Yukiko Omagari is working at the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral, focused on addressing sexual violence in conflict.

Matt Kibler is the new director of institutional research and assessment at Washington College. Matt has worked at WC as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science since 2008 and as director of the Quantitative Skills Center since 2012.

He successfully secured national certification for the tutor training program and received a fellowship from the College’s Cromwell Center for Teaching and Learning to develop online review modules to support the Introductory Microeconomics and Introductory Macroeconomics courses. Matt received a master’s in applied statistics from Penn State University in 2013 and is pursuing an EdD degree in higher education leadership at Wilmington University. He is vice chair of the Staff Council at WC and serves on the Benefits and Finance Committee, the Discrimination and Dispute Resolution Committee, and the Academic Resources Committee.

2008

Katie Juromski Kennedy, M.D., is now working at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in pediatric allergy and immunology.

She graduated from the general pediatrics residency program at Thomas Jefferson University/AI duPont Hospital for Children and recently completed a chief residency.

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To show what an incredibly small world it is, Katherine Wellington ’16 and Nadine Massad ’16 met with two other alumni, Mohammed Abu Dalhoum ‘17 and Mohammed AlZaben ‘05, in Amman, Jordan. By the end of the visit, Katherine felt like she was back in Chestertown for the night.

2009

Scott Abel graduated with a doctorate in history from Northern Illinois University in December 2016. His main focus was on Southeast Asian history, but he also looked at U.S. diplomatic and British imperial histories. His dissertation was titled A Covert War at Sea: Piracy and Political Economy in Malaya, 1824-1874.

Seth Olson, a former economics major, was accepted to three MBA programs, ultimately choosing Yale’s School of Management over University of Chicago and Georgetown University. He begins his studies at Yale this July.

2012

Rivi Feinsilber received her M.A. in history from Virginia Commonwealth University in December 2015. In fall 2018, she will begin a M.S. in library and information science at Simmons College with a concentration in archive management

After graduating, Priyanka Deepak Parikh worked for a year with AmeriCorps at Ramapo for Children (a summer camp) and then at Triform Camphill

Community, offering residential and dayhab services for young adults with special needs. After that, she became certified to teach yoga, gathered patient contact hours working as a dialysis technician and as a patient care technician, and started an accelerated BSN program in September 2016.

Since graduating, Zechariah M. Rodgers has been on active duty with the U.S. Marines, gotten married to his wife, Erin, and now has a son, Matthew.

Katelyn Laury Schmidt graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school in 2016 and is a veterinarian at Wright Veterinary Medical Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She married Tom Schmidt on Sept. 25, 2016. Natalie Butz Longwell ’12 and Virginia Long ’12 were bridesmaids in her wedding.

2013

Allison Kvien, who earned a juris doctor degree in environmental law at the University of Minnesota, has accepted a position as assistant attorney general in

Janice Daue Walker ’85, vice president of corporate communications at the U.S. Postal Service, led the dedication ceremony of the Forever stamps honoring Oscar de la Renta, one of the world’s leading fashion designers. Among those attending the ceremony at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal were Michael Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, and Anderson Cooper.

Cheyenne, Wyoming. She will be focused primarily on Clean Air Act enforcement and litigation.

2015

Greg Lee, a former computer science major with minors in mathematics and information systems, has accepted a job as a software developer with Amazon.

As an undergrad, Greg was an All-America swimmer.

2016

Raquel Gomez Fernandez started a new job at the InterAmerican Development Bank on May 1. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., IDB is the main source of multilateral financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Raquel is a case assistant for the compliance review phase at the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI). The MICI functions independently to assure accountability, transparency, and effectiveness at the IDB and serves as a last resort alternative for addressing the concerns of those affected by the bank’s failure to comply with its relevant operational policies. As a case

assistant, Raquel is responsible for providing assistance and helping draft MICI policies and guidelines, keeping up to date with cases and their status, and researching and gathering documentation. The position allows her to use her language skills and work in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

Katie Washart finished her last semester of graduate studies at Loyola Marymount University on a high note and has been accepted into LMU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where she expects to complete her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2021. She credits her experience as Honor Board Chair with helping her distinguish herself in the veterinary school application process.

“When I started talking about the position and the lessons I learned, I realized it taught me so much about life and respecting others, while also standing up for what is right,” she says. “That’s something most classes will never be able to teach. It is also something that is so very important in vet medicine.”

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Portrait of a Changed Man A former Starr Center fellow has developed his senior thesis project into an acclaimed biography of Robert Kennedy.

Political history never gets old for Jack Bohrer ’06, who spent the past 10 years working on his book about Robert Kennedy. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Bohrer ably captures Kennedy at his lowest moment, far from Camelot, as he...grappled with JFK’s legacy.”

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eteran freelance political reporter, historian, and TV news producer Jack Bohrer ’06 published his first book this spring to gratifying reviews.

Matt Bai, one of the country’s finest political pundits, declared The Revolution of Robert Kennedy: From Power to Protest after JFK “fast-paced and full of new detail” and said it “signals the arrival of an unusually gifted writer and historian.” The Wall Street Journal praised Bohrer’s use of telling detail and called the book a “worthy contribution” to the already burgeoning library of Kennedy biographies.

Publisher’s Weekly pronounced it “wellwritten and well-documented,” and Kirkus Reviews described it as a “poignant sketch of a lost champion of social justice from an age when it could still be said that ‘politics is still the greatest and most honorable adventure.’”

Published in early June by Bloomsbury Press, The Revolution of Robert Kennedy is 44

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the story of three critical years in the life of a national icon—the poignant period that followed his brother John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Bohrer argues that Bobby—a less than charismatic attorney general and JFK’s reputed hatchet man—was transformed by the events of 1963 and emerged from that crucible the champion of the dispossessed who captured our collective imagination.

The Revolution of Robert Kennedy has been more than a decade in the making. It began as Bohrer’s Senior Capstone project, penned in the Custom House attic where he worked as one of the first student fellows at the College’s Starr Center. Bohrer has spent countless hours since in libraries and archives culling new material, a habit inspired by his mentor Adam Goodheart, the bestselling historian and Starr Center director who has inspired and instructed a generation of students in the art of original research.

Bohrer has returned frequently to Chestertown to speak and to mentor students. He helped develop a Starr Center series on electoral politics in 2012, moderating a panel of top political reporters including Jonathan Martin, who now writes for The New York Times, and Betsy Fischer Martin, who was at the time executive producer of Meet the Press.

Remarkably, Bohrer labored on The Revolution of Robert Kennedy while working as an overnight producer for MSNBC’s popular Morning Joe, and writing about politics for The New Republic, Salon, Politico and other publications. He lives in Brooklyn with his girlfriend, Teresa Gianotti, and their cat, Tux.

Smith Receives High Honors

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ifty years ago, Marvin M. “Marty” Smith ’67 was one of the first four AfricanAmerican students to graduate from Washington College. In May, the sole survivor of that painful club returned to campus to receive the Alumni Citation for Excellence, given in recognition of his work in economics.

Smith’s career as an economic analyst propelled him into the highest orbits of government service, banking, and public affairs. With master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Cornell University, he launched his career as a research associate at the Brookings Institution. The defense policy study examining representative populations in the armed forces that he helped conduct, published in 1982 under the title Blacks and the Military, remains a landmark resource of political, social, and national security significance.

More recently, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Smith spearheaded a five-year, multi-million-dollar study on the effectiveness of homeownership counseling. HUD cited his study in its decision to allocate $36 million in grants to hundreds of organizations counseling potential homebuyers, and the international community validated the strength of this experimental design study when he was invited to present his findings at an international symposium at the University of Cambridge in England.

Now, the home foreclosure crisis has come under his scrutiny. Smith’s volume: The American Mortgage System: Crisis and Reform, is a collection of studies offering solutions to the problems facing the future of American home ownership—including identifying asset price bubbles, calculating risk, and preventing discrimination in lending.

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In Memoriam

In Memoriam: Frank Deford H’11 Legendary sports writer Frank Deford, who received the honorary degree Doctor of Letters from Washington College in May 2011, has died. The Sporting News once described Frank Deford as “the most influential sports voice among members of the print media.” Yet those who read his columns, heard his commentary on National Public Radio, watched his screenplays, or read any of his 16 books recognized the extraordinary breadth of his talent as a storyteller. At the time of his campus visit, he had just published a novel, Bliss, Remembered, told from the perspective of a champion swimmer who trained in Chestertown for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Addressing the Class of 2011, the Baltimore native warned the graduates against the “entertainment complex”—which he likened to President Eisenhower’s post-World War II warning against the developing military-industrial complex—and urged them to “let yourself be surprised by life…. Keep your mind open at all times, at the strangest of times, because you will probably learn the best things in the most unlikely places.” He passed away May 28, 2017.

Helen Burriss Brockmeyer ’39, of Woodstock, Connecticut, died August 30, 2016. She was 97.

Following her time at WC, she graduated from Fairfield University with a master’s in education.

She worked in the Danbury school system as a special education teacher and taught Sunday school at Christ Church in Pomfret. She is survived by three children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Donald Hearn Horner ’42 died March 22, 2017. He was 95.

Donald was born Dec. 9, 1921, in Wetiquin, Maryland, and graduated from Nanticoke High School and Washington College. After serving in the army in World War II, he taught at Berlin and Mardela before working with his brother Louis at Horner Motor Sales and Horner Honda. He was a lifelong resident of the Eastern Shore.

Miriam S. Perkins-Cronshaw ’42 died on April 6, 2017, at Whispering Pines Assisted Living in Rock Hall, Maryland. She was 96. Miriam was born in Chestertown on Aug.

23, 1920, and graduated from Chestertown High School before enrolling at Washington College.

She began her teaching career in Chesapeake City and completed 36 years at Galena High and Galena Middle schools. She was a member of Christ United Methodist Church, Daughters of the American Revolution, Chester River Yacht and Country Club, and Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Laureate Tau Chapter. She was also a past member of the Kent County Historical Society.

Mary Edith Pierre ’43, of Potsdam, New York, died Jan. 15, 2017, at age 94. Edith graduated from Buckingham High School and won the “Old Home Prize” in 1933. She graduated cum laude from Washington College and was a teacher in Elkton, Maryland, before moving to New York.

A leader in 4H, she was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Methodist Adult Fellowship, Potsdam Garden Club, St. Lawrence County Home Demonstration, the N.Y. Genealogy Society, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Arnold Leitner Hayes ’48, of Finksburg, Maryland, died Dec. 26, 2016. He was 92. Born in Baltimore, Arnie graduated from City College High School, Washington College, and Loyola College with higher degrees in education.

He began his teaching career in Baltimore City and then moved to Carroll County, becoming a principal within the county’s public school system; he retired in 1979. He enjoyed performing in local community theater and September Song productions.

He was an avid reader and writer of poetry.

Phyllis Davidson Pippin ’48, of Stevensville, Maryland, died June 20, 2016. She was 88.

Sarah L. Gooden Hastings ’49 died March 6, 2017, at her home in Delaware. A lifelong resident of Dover, she married her college sweetheart, Turner B. Hastings, in 1949. They had a wonderful life and raised five children together before Turner’s untimely death in 1971. Sarah was a “beach person” and enjoyed sailing with her husband and children. She also loved tennis, skiing, traveling, and going to baseball games. She was a life member of People’s Church in Dover and sang in the choir for most of her life. More recently, she helped deliver meals to shut-ins through Meals on Wheels. She was the grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of three.

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Henry Donald Tolj ’49 passed away Feb. 17, 2017 in Naples, Florida. He was 91. Born in Baltimore, he was a graduate of City College High School and attended Washington College before enlisting in the Army Air Force, where he served as a radar mechanic navigator and was qualified as a pistol marksman during World War II. After the war, he returned to college at University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

Upon graduation, he worked for Bendix Radio, where he and his team were awarded patents on Doppler radar. Don was recruited

by Westinghouse Electric BWI as a designer for the AWACS and TWS systems. He retired in 1986. Don married Violet Jean Whittaker in 1952 in Wellsville, Ohio. They were happily married for 65 years. Don was a member of East Naples United Methodist Church. He enjoyed playing bridge and pinochle with friends, reading, math, science, and astrophysics.

He was an avid horseman and liked to report that more than one of his thoroughbreds had set track records.

William Elwood Wright ’49 of Galena, Maryland, died Sept. 11, 2016. He was 88. An avid Boy Scout, Bill attained the rank of Eagle Scout at 16. He also discovered a lifelong love of chemistry at a young age, which he went on to study at WC. Following graduation, Bill served in the U.S. Army from 1951-1953. Bill married his college sweetheart, Dorothy Groves Wright ’52, in 1955 – the same year he received his master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Delaware. He worked for the Tennessee Eastman Company, and then in research and development for IBM for 24 years. After retiring to Virginia with his wife, Bill pursued his second passion, raising Scottish Highland cattle. Bill is survived by his wife and three sons, and six grandchildren.

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Raymond O. Hollis ’50, of Newton, North Carolina, died Aug. 1, 2016. He was 88. Raymond became an executive in the insurance industry and was a member of the Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ. He founded a tutoring system in his community, matching students with older adults so that both could be enriched by the experience.

Rev. John G. Shoemaker ’50, of Salem, Oregon, died July 29, 2016. He was 87. Jack graduated from Virginia Seminary in 1954.

He was an Episcopal priest for 62 years, taking his ministry from the Washington National Cathedral in D.C. to Honolulu, where he met and married his wife, Roxanne.

He remained passionate about civil rights in all its forms throughout his life. Jack and Roxanne began serving as Protestant chaplain and flutist on cruise ships and were fortunate enough to travel much of the world during this 20-year ministry.

Ries E. Daniel ’51 died Dec. 18, 2016. Throughout his adult life, Ries retained a love of flying and pride in his service in World War II as a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot. He was a beloved husband, devoted father, loving step-grandfather, and the favorite uncle of many nieces and nephews.

George C. Eichelberger ’54, of Hockessin, Delaware, died Jan. 31, 2017. He was 85. Following graduation, he joined the Insurance Company of North America, which ultimately merged into CIGNA. His 40-year career took him throughout Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. After retirement, he kept busy with his own insurance bond loss consulting business. He and his wife, Helen, were married for 59 years. They loved camping, vacations in Myrtle Beach, and visiting with their children and grandchildren. George was active in Grace Lutheran Church in Hockessin, as well as with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

John P. Justis ’54, also of Hockessin, died March 25, 2017.

He was 86. With a degree in economics, he went to work for the Dupont Company and retired in 1988 after 29 years. He was a veteran of the Korean War and a member of Hockessin United Methodist Church. John was also a member of the Armstrong Lodge No. 26 for more than 50 years. He enjoyed gardening, hunting, fishing, clamming, crabbing, walking with the Wilmington Trail Club, and volunteering at the Ashland Nature Center. An avid traveler, he counted his trips to Africa and New Zealand among his favorites.

Cynthia J. Hodges ’54, of Wilmington, Delaware, died Oct. 17, 2016. She was 83. Cynthia was a medical receptionist and worked at WSFS Bank. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Roy E. Bud MacDonald ’55, of Rosemount, Minnesota, died Nov. 18, 2016, at 83. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

James M. Connell ’57, of Edgewater, Maryland, died Aug. 15, 2016. He was 81. Mac became a budget officer in Anne Arundel County after college and retired as Anne Arundel County’s fire chief in 1991. Mac was a lifetime member of Woodland Beach Volunteer Fire Department and the Annapolis Elks Lodge. His hobbies included collecting model trains and antique cars. Mac is survived by his wife, two children, and four grandchildren.

Rodney L. Harrison ’58, of Annapolis, died Aug. 21, 2016. He was 93. Rodney enlisted in the Navy V-5 Aviation Cadet Program during World War II, graduating with a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1943. He was assigned to pilot the Dauntless dive bomber and received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Star for his courage and expert airmanship during

54 missions. After returning to Oxford, Maryland, he earned his degree in physics at Washington College, followed by graduate studies in aero- and hydrodynamics at Johns Hopkins University.

He worked for a series of small naval architecture firms in Annapolis and Washington, D.C., and was especially proud of his work on the Ridgely Warfield, a 100-foot research vessel operated by the Chesapeake Bay Institute. Until his retirement in 1989, Rodney was a key member of Westinghouse Oceanographic Division’s Naval Architecture Group.

Bruce Hartwell McGarey ’58, of Key West, Florida, died Nov. 4, 2016. He was 79. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he worked for Sears for many years, retiring as store manager. Bruce began painting and building boat models in his workshop. His boats have been sold to museums and displayed at the Gallery on Greene in Key West.

He also enjoyed playing tennis.

Donald R. Clausen ’59, of Edison, New Jersey, died Feb. 16, 2017. He was 84. A member of the U.S. Air Force, he served in the Korean War from 1951 until 1955, when he was honorably discharged as an airman first class. Upon returning home, Donald enrolled in Washington College, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and played baseball. He worked for many years for New Jersey’s Division of Actuarial Services in the Department of Insurance and retired in 1987.

Donald was a lifelong member of the Grace Reformed Church in Edison. He was an avid golfer and reader.

Thomas A. Dixon III ’62, of Marlton, New Jersey, died Sept.

8, 2016. He was 80. Following his college graduation, Thomas founded Marlton Rental and Winslow Rental companies, which he owned for more than 40 years.

He enjoyed boating, fishing, the shore, and spending time with his family.

A L U M N I U P DAT E | O B I T U A R I E S

Donna Richardson Rossbach ’64, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, died Aug. 7, 2016. She was 73.

Donna met her best friend and soulmate, William Rossbach, at Washington College. They were married in 1963 and celebrated 53 years of life together. She worked for the Department of Defense before having children. Donna was known for her intelligence, polite demeanor, and adventurous spirit.

In 1971, she convinced her husband to buy The New Plymouth Inn in Abaco, Bahamas, which led to a nearly 35-year career in the hospitality industry. Donna and Bill also owned several delis in the Boca Raton area known as the Sugar Shacks. After retiring, she enjoyed traveling the world on cruise ships and spending time with her family.

Martha Kate Martin ’79 died March 21, 2017, in Lewes, Delaware.

She served in various roles at Douglas Noyes, Dean Witter, Morgan Stanley, and First Manhattan Co. A watercolorist of great delicacy, she loved the beach and her host of animals.

Marc Alexander Ball Nied ’84 died unexpectedly in Aiken, South Carolina, on Feb. 20, 2017. Born in Summit, New Jersey, and raised in Bernardsville, he attended the St. James School in Hagerstown and Washington College, before graduating from Hunter College in New York City. More recently, he had been awarded his master gardener certification. A lifelong equestrian, he particularly loved fox hunting. He was passionate about gardening and garden design and in recent years made annual pilgrimages to the Chelsea Flower Show in London. He loved antiques, bridge, and animals. His contributions to silent auctions were legendary and helped raise funds for the not-for-profit organizations he supported.

Dianne Maloney Stovall ’84, of Farmington, Connecticut, died Sept. 30, 2016. Dianne was a

licensed insurance agent. She was an active, creative woman who loved gardening and photography.

Her three children were the light of her life.

William Moody Goodrich ’86 P’15 died March 13, 2017 at his home in Lewes, Delaware. He was 54. A lacrosse player at Washington College, he was often seen coaching his young daughter on Hudson Field in Milton. He enjoyed playing chess with his grandfather in their summer house in Indian Beach. Bill loved the beach, the ocean, and especially fishing. He was the owner of Sounds of the Sea, Records and Tapes, and was employed by many restaurants in Rehoboth Beach throughout his career as a cook and kitchen manager.

Rosalind Everdell Havemeyer 1917-2017 Rosalind Everdell Havemeyer, who received an honorary doctoral degree in the arts from Washington College in 1989, died peacefully at her home in New York City on March 8, 2017. She was 99. A graduate of Foxcroft School, Rossie was devoted to her family, the opera, the sea, and gardening. She was a great sailor who started a small yacht club in Islip, Long Island. She was a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood and a historic preservationist who transformed two 17th century farmhouses into homes with beautiful gardens—first in Dix Hills, New York and then in Chestertown. In 1997, she helped start the Sultana Education Foundation by supporting the construction of the schooner Sultana, a full-scale reproduction of a vessel that sailed the Chesapeake in the years before the American Revolution. Rossie said she had “a love affair” with Union Theological Seminary, where she joined the board in 1965 and, in 1970, became the first woman to chair the Board of a Seminary in the U.S. In 1988, she received the Seminary’s highest honor for her service “because she embodied the prophetic role of women in theological education.”

Ronald Morris Knox ’87 died unexpectedly March 21, 2107. A 1983 graduate of Horseheads High School, he studied computer science at Herkimer College and was an All-America lacrosse player. He completed his education at Washington College, where he majored in business management.

He was employed by Amerigroup.

Ron is survived by his wife and two children.

Asa G. Tibbs M’14, a veteran of the Vietnam War, died April 6, 2017. He was known for his wit and infinite wisdom, and was deeply loved and respected in his community for his art and music.

A self-taught musician and artist, he was always welcome to sit in with many local bands across the region. A lifelong learner, he earned his master’s degree from Washington College at 65 years of age.

Ann F. Jackman Hynes ’86 died Jan. 31, 2017 after a 26-month battle with leukemia. She was 52. Ann majored in drama and acted on stage at Washington College. After graduation, she worked at Studio Theatre, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. She served as a Helen Hayes Award nominator. She married Richard Hynes in 1989. After leaving the theater to start a family, Ann designed, produced, and marketed her own lines of jewelry and objets d’art. Through her illness, she continued to work as a freelance writer and researcher. Ann is survived by her husband and their children, Grace and Liam.

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Just Married Rebecca Winterburn ’13 and Travis Leary were married Oct. 22, 2016, at The Ward Center for Contemporary Art in Petersburg, Virginia.

Washington College Habitat for Humanity was well represented.

Pictured left to right: Stag McDyre ’15, Claire McDyre ’13, Maid of Honor Kodi Webb ’14, the groom and bride, Shannon Shirk ’15, Kristin Moore ’14, and Maria Hynson ’15.

Ryan Bankert ’13 and Kathleen Insetta were married Jan. 14, 2017 in Baltimore.

Alumni in attendance included (left to right): Rob Storck ’12, Anthony Cairo ’14, Jeff Nutting ’13, Megan Kummerlowe ’13, Parker McIntosh ’13, and Mitch Witherow ’13. (Not pictured: Matt Bankert ’17)

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A L U M N I U P DAT E | B I R T H S & A D O P T I O N S

Oh Baby!

Allison LaMarca Lamb ’04 and husband, Brandon, welcomed their son Kellan on Jan. 18, 2017, in Falls Church, Virginia. Ryleigh, 3, is enjoying her new role as big sister.

April Podolinsky Fernandes ’00 and her husband, Kevin, welcomed a baby boy, Avery Cole, on Nov. 29, 2016. Daughter Kinley is excited about her new role as big sister.

Martin Dunphy ‘06 and Beth Anne Hartman Dunphy ‘07 added two children to the family. Johnathan Charles Dunphy, 4, was adopted Dec. 2, 2016, and Alec Janner Dunphy was born June 18, 2016. They join siblings Emma, 8, Will, 4, and Gwen, 3

Allison Sullivan Thomas and husband, Aaron, welcomed their first child, daughter Luna Ray, in September.

Teresa Amasia ’07 and husband, Zach Keifer, welcomed their son Clement Bryan Keifer to the world on Feb. 7, 2017. He was born a tiny peanut at 5 lbs., 14 oz., but is now a chubbier, much heavier peanut. His mom is making him start his Sophie Kerr portfolio immediately.

Lindsay Merhige Nardozzi and her husband, Dave, welcomed their daughter Elliott Constance Nardozzi on Nov. 30, 2016. She arrived in a hurry at 3:12 a.m., weighing 6 lbs., 6 oz.

Jacob Risner ‘07 and Emily Storm Risner ‘07 welcomed their daughter Corinne Storm Risner on Aug. 24, 2016. Corinne was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where the family lives. She is pictured with siblings Titus, Phoebe, and Ingrid.

Jillian Ward Liles ‘07 and her husband, Michael, welcomed a daughter on Oct. 28, 2016. Mila Ivy joins brother Oliver, 3.

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DEVELOPMENT

A Place on the River The College will break ground for the Hodson Boathouse on Sept. 13, with completion expected by March 2018.

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ashington College’s sailing and rowing teams, as well as other students, faculty, and community members, will have a striking new facility next year, thanks to a generous $2.5 million naming gift from The Hodson Trust, a $1 million gift from College Trustee Regis de Ramel ’97 (see p 53), and additional support from other College trustees and donors.

“Few schools are lucky enough to have a river as beautiful and storied as the Chester as part of their history and fabric, yet Washington College’s waterfront has long been one of our most underutilized and unsung assets,” says College President Kurt M. Landgraf.

“I’m excited that, at last, we will have a facility that does justice to the efforts of our athletes and coaches; provides our faculty, staff, and students an attractive gathering place and safe, convenient access to the water; and impresses visiting teams, as well as prospective students and their families. I can’t thank 52

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our donors enough for giving the College the opportunity to finally create the beautiful boathouse it has aspired to for so long.”

The 12,750-square-foot facility replaces the function of a small, outdated building that will continue to store shells and rigging. The Hodson Boathouse will house workout equipment, a tank room, and locker rooms. A wraparound deck will offer expansive views of the river.

“Over the years, the Washington College rowing and sailing teams have grown both in size and competitiveness, but without comparable improvements to their facility,” says de Ramel. “It was high time we built the athletes a facility that reflects their talents and rewards the coaches for their commitment.”

The new boathouse will be the site of the College’s sailing class, which blends nautical knowledge with other liberal arts disciplines, exploring wind and tidal dependence with an emphasis on safety. The facility will also play a central

role in Chestertown’s annual RiverFest, co-sponsored by Chestertown RiverArts and the College’s Center for Environment & Society, with kayak races, rowing demonstrations, environmental displays, and a cardboard boat parade and race.

The Chester River Rowing Club, a community group of masters racers and recreational rowers, is expected to use the new boathouse, as well.

Support for the $5 million project came from more than 150 donors, including former team members and other alumni. “The new boathouse will be a tremendous addition for our three varsity boating sports, enhancing the student-athlete experience and giving us a significant advantage in the recruitment of prospective studentathletes,” says Director of Athletics Thaddeus Moore. “I cannot thank the project’s numerous donors enough for giving our current and future studentathletes this wonderful gift.”

Alumnus Gives $1 Million to Fund New Boathouse

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ecalling his own indelible experiences as a member of the crew team at Washington College, Regis de Ramel ’97 served as co-chair of the Hodson Boathouse campaign, along with Jayne Conroy P’12 P’15, and contributed $1 million to ensure completion of the muchanticipated project.

“I’ve always been attracted to the boathouse project for the simple fact that it leverages Washington College’s ideal location on the Chester River and the Eastern Shore,” de Ramel says. “The new boathouse will no doubt attract more attention to our college.”

De Ramel earned a degree in economics from WC, and served on the President’s Leadership Council and the Visiting Committee.

He now serves on the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors.

De Ramel has been involved in the field of aviation for more than 20 years and has logged more than 5,000 flight hours. He

“I’ve always been attracted to the boathouse project for the simple fact that it leverages Washington College’s ideal location on the Chester River and the Eastern Shore.”

Regis de Ramel ’97

is founder and CEO of flyADVANCED, a private aircraft management and services company with three locations throughout the mid-Atlantic region. His customers include individuals, share owners, or companies that own aircraft and enlist de Ramel’s company to manage operations, compliance, and maintenance.

Previously, de Ramel worked for Cirrus Design, an aircraft manufacturer of advanced single-engine aircraft, and in commercial real estate investment and management. In addition to his service to his alma mater, he is also on the boards of the Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Oliver Hazard Perry Education at Sea program in Newport, Rhode Island.

Local Leader Funds Kent County Scholarships

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ent County students can attend Washington College on a new scholarship, thanks to a generous gift of $1.7 million from the late T. Allan Stradley, a former WC student, county native, and successful local businessman. The gift is a bequest from the estate of Stradley, who died in 2000.

The funds will establish an endowment at the College in Stradley’s name for Kent County student scholarships, to be awarded annually on the basis of academic promise and financial need. The first funds will be awarded in 2018.

“As a lifelong member of Chestertown’s rural community who served it in so many significant ways, T. Allan Stradley understood well the economic challenges that face many young people and their families,” says College trustee Ann Horner ’80, who serves as co-chair of the Forge A Legacy campaign.

“By providing a scholarship for Kent County students to achieve a well-rounded, liberal arts–based education at Washington College, he is ensuring that these students will have the opportunity they deserve to pursue their passions and realize their full potential.”

Stradley attended Washington College for two years before transferring in 1930. He remained a strong supporter of the

College, contributing to The Washington Fund and Hodson Hall improvements, and volunteering on the committee of the College’s 1984 Community Campaign. He was a member of the 1782 Society, the College’s leadership giving circle, from as early as 1993. He also was a fan of the lacrosse team, often traveling with his wife, Andretta, to away games.

Stradley served on the advisory committee to the Agriculture Department of the University of Maryland. He was a former president of the Maryland State Farm Bureau for two years, and served as president of the Kent County Farm Bureau for eight years. He was a former member of the advisory board of the Chestertown branch of Signet Bank and former chair of economic development for Kent County. He served for 20 years on the board of Kent and Queen Anne’s Hospital, Chestertown, and as board chair for two years.

College officials recognize Stradley as someone who cared deeply about keeping a college education affordable for future students. “Mr. Stradley clearly had a vision for the impact of a Washington College education on the futures of Kent County students, and we are deeply grateful for his generosity,” Horner says. “These local students—their achievements and realized dreams—will be his legacy and would surely make him proud.”

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College Magazine 300Washington College Avenue Volume LXVII No. 2 Spring 2017 ISSN 2152-9531

Chestertown, Maryland 21620 Washington College Magazine Volume LXVII No. 3 Summer 2017, ISSN 2152-9531

In Person: Anya L. Bent ’84 A high school teacher and adjunct professor of education, Anya Lipnick Bent ’84, wouldn’t describe herself as enormously wealthy, but she is enormously grateful for the liberal arts experience she enjoyed at Washington College. For the past 28 years — since her fifth class reunion — the former English major has consistently demonstrated her appreciation through annual giving.

“I thought I should give back to the college that gave me so much,” says Bent, who teaches 11th and 12th grade English at Pentucket Regional High School in Massachusetts.

“Washington College gave me a good foundation, indirectly, for my career in education,” she says. “It was at WC that I found a passion for literature. The undergraduate experience allowed me to grow, explore, read, make friends, and then ultimately pursue my master’s and doctoral degrees in education.”

To those fellow alumni who might be reluctant to give, Bent says she would ask them to reflect on their own experiences. “If WC has impacted you positively, and you tend to smile as you remember your time there, it’s not going to hurt to give $10, $20, or even $100.”

Her undergraduate experience continues to influence how she teaches and mentors her students, and she often recommends WC to those who would benefit from the opportunities found at a small liberal arts college.

One of her course offerings, Experiential Leadership, evolved from her doctoral dissertation on student engagement. The service leadership course is philosophically aligned with WC’s teaching approach, she says, with a focus on research, writing, and doing.

“The students and I assess the needs in the community and match that to their interests. They blossom in this class. Some of my aspiring engineers wanted to rewire the world, or find alternative energy sources, and one budding architect developed a community garden. It’s a nice way for them to learn to be independent before they go off to college.

“Like my leadership class, Washington College afforded me opportunities, and for that I am grateful.”

Katlyn Ashley Photography