Magazine - Spring 2021

WHEATON The magazine of Wheaton College, Massachusetts

Spring 2021

Providing insight into COVID-19

Features 18

Collaborating, contributing to COVID-19 insight Literature review project offers authentic research experience during pandemic

By Laura Pedulli

24

Now showing… A great career in film Warner Bros. executive Nicole Tasker Woods ’04 brings back the magic of classic movies

By Laura Pedulli

29

Remembering President Emerita Dale Rogers Marshall Champion of equity, academic inclusiveness led the institution from 1992 to 2004

By Sandy Coleman

Departments

Between the Lines

2

@DHANNO 3 Around the Dimple

4

Conversation 12 Lyons Pride

14

Campus Scene

16

Alumni Association Network

34

Class Notes

38

In Memoriam

62

Perspective 64

On this page

Photo by Keith Nordstrom

On the cover

Design by David Laferriere

Read us online

Find all our stories and more online at wheatoncollege.edu/wheaton-magazine.

SPRING 2021 1

BETWEEN THE LINES

Hope springs eternal

WHEATON MAGAZINE

Vol. 111, No. 2

Director of communications and magazine editor Sandy Coleman Designer David Laferriere

Multimedia producer Keith Nordstrom Staff writer Laura Pedulli

Administrative assistant Ellen Cataloni

Vice president for marketing and communications Gene Begin

Connect with us on social media

KEITH NORDSTROM

Seeing spring in bloom on campus in April this year was more welcome than ever given what we have been through.

I grew up in Alabama. It has been decades since I lived there, but I only recall three seasons—really hot, hot and less hot (which meant we got excited to put on a sweater, maybe). I didn’t have the opportunity to experience the beauty of the changing seasons until I moved to New England.

While I prefer it so hot that steam rises from the sidewalk versus so cold that I have to navigate the ice in my Massachusetts driveway during winter, I do love the pretty fall leaves and the fresh flower buds making their debut yet again each spring. Both fall and spring urge us to be grateful for the moment while preparing for what is to come.

Spring is my favorite because no matter how gloomy the winter is, spring always arrives with 2 WHEATON MAGAZINE

such joy and promise—bursting with pinks, lavenders and yellows, reminding us of the resiliency of nature, of life really. And, after the pandemic year we have had, spring is more beautiful than I have ever seen it.

There are constant cycles of harshness and hope that we go through—seasons of loss that eventually lead to renewal and restoration. We can’t control the nature of things, but we can control what we notice and appreciate, including our own resourcefulness and resilience in any season. I think this awareness is the key to truly living.

This issue of the magazine has some loss as well as hope. We pay tribute to President Emerita Dale Rogers Marshall, whom we lost in January, on Page 28. Our

cover story shows the promising future we have in the hands of our resourceful professors, students, recent graduates and staff who last summer began collaborating virtually on wide-ranging research analyzing and growing the knowledge about COVID-19.

Throughout the magazine, there are other stories that showcase the resilience of our community as we create solutions together for carrying on in the face of big challenges.

Hopefully, spring finds you well.

Enjoy it.

WheatonCollege @wheaton Email us: magazine@ wheatoncollege.edu

Wheaton , The Magazine of Wheaton College (ISSN 1068-1558), is published three times a year (winter, spring and fall) by Wheaton College and printed by Lane Press of Burlington, Vt. Periodicals postage paid at Norton, Mass., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Wheaton College, Norton, MA 02766.

Wheaton College © 2021

Strengthening community

@DHANNO

There have been only eight presidents at Wheaton College, and Dale Rogers Marshall, our sixth, certainly had a huge impact during her 12 years leading this institution. Since her passing in January we have taken time in many of our virtual meetings to reflect on the role she had here.

Her legacy lives on with the Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning and so many initiatives that she had a hand in creating, especially in establishing connections between people and fostering inclusion.

I was not at Wheaton when she was here, but Dale was the kind Dennis M. Hanno, of person who president continued to have a huge presence even after she was no longer president.

She stayed in touch with Wheaton.

And, on a personal level, from the minute I became president, she was a constant support, friend and an amazing mentor. I would talk to her numerous times during the year and try to visit her at her home in California once or twice a year. I’m glad I got to see her in February 2020 just before the pandemic hit.

I gained so much insight during our many conversations. One of the biggest takeaways was the importance of building community.

Dale helped build a solid foundation for a campus environment that is diverse, inclusive and equitable. She did this

KEITH NORDSTROM

The Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning was named for President Emerita Dale Rogers Marshall.

through institutional initiatives, such as cluster hiring to diversify tenuretrack faculty, as well as through daily interactions.

From what I understand, Dale always got to know everybody and was always willing to stop and talk. I have followed in her footsteps in this regard because I know that it is those seemingly small interactions that let others know that they are welcomed at Wheaton.

We need to continually strive to make Wheaton a place where everyone not only feels welcomed but, more importantly, knows that they are seen, heard and a valued part of this community.

During the spring semester, I was happy to announce that we have taken a major step toward this goal with the appointment of Dean Shaya Gregory Poku to a new leadership role. She is now the inaugural associate vice president for institutional equity and belonging.

Creating a senior-level position focused

on inclusion and equity arises out of our strategic planning process and fulfills one of Wheaton’s 10 action steps toward racial justice developed this year by our Diversity, Equity and Access Leadership team. Poku will oversee the college’s new Office for Institutional Equity and Belonging, which will focus on building new ways of being in community with one another.

Dale—as well as other Wheaton College presidents—built upon the foundation of community, inclusion and equity. That has been a part of the institution’s mission since our start, beginning with providing women access to an equitable education.

We need to remain committed to this work by ensuring that a Wheaton education is available and accessible to every person, today and long into the future.

SPRING 2021 3

AROUND THE DIMPLE

Accolades for Wheaton

Keith Nordstrom

Wheaton continues to make the grade as one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. It captured spots on several distinguished annual rankings for its academic excellence, value and student experience.

Wheaton is among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the United States (84th) in the U.S. News & World Report 2021 Best Colleges, which was released in September 2020. The ranking evaluates colleges on factors that indicate academic quality, including graduation rates and faculty resources.

The publication recognized Wheaton as the 53rd “Best Value Liberal Arts College” nationwide for its achievement in 4 WHEATON MAGAZINE

balancing educational quality and costs.

(Wheaton rose 15 spots in that category from 2019.) For its work to enroll and graduate large proportions of economically disadvantaged students, U.S. News & World Report listed Wheaton as among the “Top Performers on Social Mobility.”

The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education (WSJ/THE) again named Wheaton as a top 50 liberal arts college in their 2021 college rankings, which also were published in September 2020.

The WSJ/THE rankings evaluate institutions based on several categories— student outcomes; academic resources, including how much the college spends

on teaching; student engagement; and the learning environment, including the diversity of the student body and academic staff.

In addition, Wheaton secured a spot in the top 100 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in America (84th) and among the Best Colleges for Film and Photography in America (96th) in Niche 2021 Best Colleges. The college also was included in The Princeton Review’s The Best 386 Colleges: 2021 Edition, which is based on student surveys on various aspects of the college experience.

—Laura Pedulli

KEITH NORDSTROM

Joe Wilson Jr. (above and below), visiting assistant professor in theatre and dance, presented a pre-recorded prelude to the keynote he delivered virtually at the event.

MLK-inspired celebration, reflection The Wheaton community gathered virtually on February 18 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Celebration sponsored by the Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning, the Diversity, Equity and Access Leadership’s Education and Programming Committee and the Office of the President.

The annual event featured the presentation of the MLK Legacy Award to Angel Bird ’21 and staff member Donnie Taveras; the honoring of winners of the Creativity Showcase, Kneeco Hanton ’21 (first place) and Anisa Antonio ’21 and Zano Nkosi ’21 (tied for second place); and the inspiring keynote address “Are We Ready to Reach the Mountaintop?” by Joe Wilson Jr., visiting assistant professor in theatre and dance.

“Tonight is entitled our MLK Legacy Celebration, but it also serves as a checkpoint on our journey toward creating an anti-racist campus and our goal to have an impact on our communities beyond Wheaton,” said President Dennis M. Hanno, opening the evening event attended by nearly 300.

The MLK Legacy Award recognizes those whose actions and leadership help the campus community live in a manner that is equitable, inclusive and consistent

with King’s values. A selection committee that includes the President’s Council and past award recipients determines the winners based on nominations.

Bird is a business and management major and co-president of the theme residence Renaissance House. Taveras is the assistant director of student engagement and leadership development in the Office of Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership.

For the showcase, students were invited to submit work that reflects current times and ties to King’s philosophies and principles of equity, justice and peace.

Hanton, a music major, won first place with a song he composed and performed.

Antonio, a Hispanic studies major, wrote an essay; and Nkosi, an economics major, created a web presence.

In addition to the MLK celebration and as part of Wheaton’s ongoing anti-racism work, Diversity, Equity and Access Leadership (DEAL) and the Marshall Center presented a variety of other events the week of January 18,

including a collection of books by Black authors for local Boys and Girls clubs; a virtual interfaith conversation on leadership, faith and social justice; and a guided meditation and writing workshop led

by Ebony Williams ’08 at the invitation of Stephanie Burlington Daniels ’97, associate professor of theatre and dance and DEAL co-chair.

“Folks often set goals for themselves in the new year or between fall and spring semesters. We know there have been conversations around our commitments to become an anti-racist campus. This will mean campus goals, departmental goals and individual goals toward that work,” said Raquel Ramos, Marshall Center dean and DEAL co-chair. “We designed the week to provide an opportunity for personal reflection, learning and to help folks create goals to move this work forward.”

—Sandy Coleman More online at wheatoncollege.edu/ wheaton-magazine

SPRING 2021 5

AROUND THE DIMPLE

A minute with …

Sarah Simkevich ’22

Keith Nordstrom

Sarah Simkevich ’22, a double major in English and secondary education, has three on-campus jobs as a resident advisor, Admission employee and writing tutor. She still found the time and energy for a winter break internship at Attleboro Enterprises Inc., where she helped individuals with developmental disabilities thrive. The Massachusetts nonprofit offers medical, therapeutic and developmental supports to help its clients live more independently. Her

6 WHEATON MAGAZINE

main responsibilities included teaching pre-employment transition service classes; attending Individualized Education Program and transitional meetings; developing and implementing curriculum for classes; and administrative duties. Engaging an interest: “During the fall 2020 semester, I took a special education class with Professor Sara Donaldson that piqued my interest. I loved everything about the course and wanted to put the strategies I had

learned into action.” Making progress: “One of my favorite parts of the job was getting to know the students in the classrooms I shadowed and being able to teach them and know that it’s making a real difference.” Focusing on career goals: “This internship has changed my perspective on what I want to pursue after college. Seeing the work this nonprofit does for the students definitely makes me want to continue on this path as a career.”

Several other students had funded winternships.

Here are a few:

• Kalum Alldredge ’21, Project Chimps • Margalo Boltin ’21, Sun River Health • Sydney Nance ’22, Attleboro Enterprises Inc. • Allie Roth ’21, The Motherhood Center • Elias Trimbur ’21, Physician Outlook Go online to read more.

Welcome, new tenuretrack faculty

Wheaton welcomed two new tenuretrack faculty members this academic year: Primrose Boynton, assistant professor of biology, and Fatima Jebari, assistant professor of business and management.

Boynton came to Wheaton after working at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, where she was, most recently, a project leader for the Environmental Genomics Group.

She has a Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University. Her research investigates the ecological mechanisms responsible for fitness differences in naturally occurring microbial populations.

Jebari joined Wheaton after being at the University of New Orleans, where she earned a Ph.D. in financial economics. Her research interests include corporate finance and investments, specifically corporate political activism, corporate social responsibility and the performance evaluation of mutual funds.

—Sandy Coleman Read their full interviews online.

“I want students to learn that they can always find a way to get what they want as long as they stay focused and keep trying. I also want them to know that what they read and who they are friends with shape their personality.”

Fatima Jebari, assistant professor of business and management

KEITH NORDSTROM

“I think that every student interested in biology should learn about microbiology.

Our big eyes and bodies bias us toward only seeing and experiencing the biology of big things—plants and animals, and maybe mushrooms—but the microscopic world, while invisible, is full of new and exciting organisms that kind of blow my mind. These organisms are really the things that shape our world and our bodies, and without appreciating them students won’t really understand how life and the greater environment interact with one another.”

Primrose Boynton, assistant professor of biology

KEITH NORDSTROM

SPRING 2021 7

AROUND THE DIMPLE

In harmony Choirs keep the music flowing

For singers in a choir, it’s the beautiful harmonies and thrill of creating music in a group that make the experience so invigorating.

Unfortunately, the act of singing heightens the risk of COVID-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, Wheaton Chorale and Chamber Singers—along with all singing groups on campus—must rehearse virtually. But while the performers may be singing alone, they are finding ways to connect, assemble recordings and grow as musicians—in some ways that are unexpected.

Tim Harbold, professor of music and choral director at Wheaton, has never experienced anything like this in his 25 years at the college.

In this new virtual environment, his biggest aim is nurturing the feeling of community. As such, he has set aside more time for talking during rehearsals to create bonds in the absence of inJillian Hirst ’21 Elio Simpson ’24 person connections.

“Normally in rehearsal when singing together, that sense of community facilitate a community,” said Hirst, who is naturally formed. Now we have to be serves as chorale assistant. intentional. I’ve invited one student per Harbold said he carefully selected music class to share a piece of music with the in which the elements of a piece aren’t as group. We listen to the recording, then reliant on a strong group dynamic. everyone will comment,” he said.

Some aspects of rehearsals remained Jillian Hirst ’21, a music and sociology the same. When students “meet,” they double major, is writing an honors thesis participate in a series of exercises and measuring feelings of belonging within an warmups. Afterward, the students in-person and virtual choir. For her, this rehearse independently, as an audio experience has not only been interesting delay makes it difficult to sing together. as a singer but also as a researcher.

Students are tasked with sending their “Professor Harbold integrated discusbest recordings to the professor. sions on many musical topics, from the Harbold notes that the experience role of cultural appropriation in music to of singing alone may reveal areas to discussing music TikTok trends. Through improve. “Normally, in a choir setting, you these discussions, we’ve been able to are with other people. If you are a little 8 WHEATON MAGAZINE

The chorale’s first project was a homecoming piece called “The Road Home,” which was made into a video with the students’ individual submissions and performed in October 2020.

off, you are not necessarily forced to confront that. Now you can listen to exactly what you did and decide if it’s good enough to record.”

Elio Simpson, a firstyear student, described one challenging obstacle: perfectionism.

“Since the recording is my voice alone, I can hear every wrong note and breath in the wrong spot. In person, a small mistake wouldn’t take away from the overall sound of the rehearsal or performance,” Simpson said.

However, there are many unexpected benefits.

“I enjoy that I can move at my own pace, and choose which pieces I personally need to spend more time on. Also, I still get to see everyone’s smiling faces and share laughter and joy with my fellow singers, even if over Zoom,” Simpson said.

—Laura Pedulli

New York Times shoutout

Assistant Professor of Music William Mason and Kate Gentile, with the band Happy Place

BRYAN SARGENT

Article notes professor’s new album, cutting-edge music skill Noting that he grew up in the preYouTube days when “my access to cutting-edge music came mostly from reading my parents’ copy of The New York Times,” Assistant Professor of Music William Mason was particularly honored to find himself in the newspaper recently for his own cutting-edge music.

Mason and his group Happy Place released their second album, “tendrils,” in October 2020. The New York Times article “7 Things to Do This Weekend” included the album release in its recommended list of cultural events to enjoy virtually or in person in New York City. The band is based in New York City, where Mason lived for eight years before coming to Wheaton.

“Composers working with microtonality—or with the pitches found between the notes on traditionally tuned Western instruments—are having a banner year.

And that’s particularly been the case when they’re simultaneously embracing pop, rock or jazz flourishes,” Seth Colter Walls wrote. “Microtonal projects led by the pianist Cory Smythe and the guitarist David First have impressed in the past few months. And now drummer Will Mason’s most recent works for his band Happy Place join those experimental-yetstill-catchy ranks.”

The writer also pointed out that the group’s “expanded ensemble sound has only deepened the range of Mason’s writing.”

Mason composed all the music for the album, played one of the drum set parts, all of the electronics and carried out a few other production tasks. The group recorded the album in New York City in early March 2020, about two days before New York went into pandemic lockdown.

“These are amazing, world-class musicians, who I’m also happy to count

as friends,” said Mason. “It is always amazing to me how they’re able to play this strange and challenging music with such skill and grace.”

Mason teaches a wide range of music courses at Wheaton, including theory and music technology, and his scholarly and performance interests encompass electronic music, avant-garde jazz and modern composition.

“I’ve always felt that the most interesting music is, first and foremost, made by interesting people, and that’s part of why I’m committed to teaching in a liberal arts setting like Wheaton,” he said. “I see my polyglot music-making as a reflection of the broad range of interests that I have. I try to encourage students to adopt a spirit of inquiry and exploration, and to embrace their own wide-ranging passions and let them go wherever those passions guide.”

—Sandy Coleman SPRING 2021 9

AROUND THE DIMPLE

Pandemic people-watching Michael Berg examines public behavior in study

When news of the COVID-19 pandemic first swept the U.S., many people seemed receptive to heeding safety guidance to stay virus-free.

However, while many countries succeeded in reducing the spread of COVID-19, new cases in the U.S. remained high. It is clear that noncompliance with preventative measures is at the heart of the spread of any infectious disease, but what leads to these behaviors?

In a journal article based on their collaborative research, Wheaton Professor of Psychology Michael Berg and Linda Lin, a professor of psychology at Emmanuel College, provide some answers.

“Prevalence and Predictors of Early COVID-19 Behavioral Intentions in the United States” was published in the September 2020 issue of Translational Behavioral Medicine, a quarterly by the Oxford University Press covering behavioral medicine.

As part of their research, Berg and Lin (his wife) created a survey to examine patterns in the relationship between people’s health beliefs and behaviors at the outset of the public response in March 2020. In part, their goal was to identify the factors that are most associated with following prevention guidelines and behaviors known to reduce the chances of catching or spreading the virus.

Their study examined participants’ reported likelihood of engaging in eight behaviors designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as critical for the prevention of COVID-19 at the outset of the epidemic.

Already, what has been learned is being used in the classroom at Wheaton and may be of use in future efforts to control the spread of infectious disease, said Berg, co-coordinator of the college’s public health program.

10 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Professor of Psychology Michael Berg

“The theories that we tested are the same ones that I teach on campus,” he said. “In my ‘Health Psychology’ course, this new research will present some clear examples of how some of the field’s theories can be applied to real-life situations.”

“More than anything, at the beginning of this epidemic, the key factors that were associated with actively participating in the prevention behaviors were how severe people thought the illness was and how much they believed or had faith in health officials,” noted Berg. “And if you think about both of those things, we had mixed messages from the beginning of the epidemic in the United States that have evolved over time.”

One of the biggest events that appeared to persuade people to take the pandemic seriously was school closings. In the weeks that followed the initial news of the pandemic’s spread, communication

LINDA LIN

greatly influenced how the public behaved, according to the researchers.

“The other piece was the role that people viewed health officials playing in their own health,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of messages since the beginning of the epidemic where people have either gained or lost faith in some officials and organizations like the CDC. Our research indicates that the more you believe that people play a role in your health, the more likely you are to listen to them.”

For future policymakers and health officials, the biggest takeaways from the findings are: at the beginning of a pandemic like COVID-19, the severity of the health crisis has to be clearly and consistently communicated. Also, the ease of following protocols needs to be stressed and the expertise of health officials must be reinforced, Berg said.

—Randell Kennedy

Well-deserved endowed chairs

Provost Renée T. White announced the 2020–25 faculty endowed chair recipients during the fall semester. Endowed chairs were created through gifts from alumni and friends of the college in honor of those who have served notably over the years. The award recognizes outstanding teaching, research, service and an ability to engage students and the community. Each recipient is released from a total of six courses during the five years of the award and receives yearly funding to support research expenses.

Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, professor of religion

Matthew Evans, professor of chemistry and geology

Karen McCormack, professor of sociology

“The award means a lot to me. It is an honor to be recognized for the work I’ve done at Wheaton, especially by the teaching and learning community that has been so central to my life and to who I am as a teacher of the humanities during the past 25 years.”

“It’s an honor to have been selected. These are pretty prestigious, and a commitment from the college to support my work. In a practical sense, the most valuable resource that comes with the chair are the course releases; it’s not often that one can generate ‘time.’”

“I am honored to hold the Dorothy Reed Williams Professorship—a chair that emphasizes student engagement in the community.

This will allow me to build stronger connections with local nonprofit organizations, which will create new opportunities for students to engage in research, internships and other work that serves the community while preparing them for their future.”

Henrietta Jennings Faculty Chair for Outstanding Teaching

Robert C. and Mary P. Brown ’43 Chair in Urban Planning and Environment

M. Gabriela Torres, professor of anthropology

Francisco Fernández de Alba, professor of Hispanic studies

“The endowed chair affords me the time to further my publicly engaged scholarship on asylum, cascading disasters in Puerto Rico and sexual harassment in the academy. It is a welcomed recognition of the value of public scholarship in our community.”

“As the first person in the Hispanic and Italian Studies Department to receive an endowed chair, I value the attention this brings to research in the humanities. This chair will allow me to pursue my next book project on mountains and politics, which involves a combination of archival and field research in Spain.”

William Isaac Cole Chair in Sociology and Anthropology

Howard Meneely Professorship

Dorothy Reed Williams Professorship in the Social Sciences

Rachelle DeCoste, professor of mathematics William and Elsie Prentice Professorship

DeCoste said she plans to examine her own practices and focus on pedagogical methodology that applies a humanistic approach to mathematics in the classroom to encourage students to engage their unique strengths to grow as mathematicians.

—Sandy Coleman SPRING 2021 11

CONVERSATION

Perspective on working mothers during global health crisis The Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, Mass.) in December 2020 took a look at the impact that the global health crisis is having on women in the story “For working mothers, the pandemic heightens challenges between work and home.” Professor of Economics Brenda Wyss, whose scholarship explores women and work, was featured providing insight. Her research at Wheaton focuses on how gender shapes economies and people’s economic interactions and outcomes. We asked her some questions: What lessons are we learning from the pandemic regarding working mothers?

“Women still have primary responsibility for unpaid household work in the U.S., including care of children and other dependents, and this role remains at the heart of economic gender inequality. The pandemic is shining a bright light on long-standing economic inequalities and structural weaknesses.

More U.S. women than men have lost jobs, left the labor force or cut back on hours of paid work during the pandemic. This is partly because women tend to work in sectors hit hardest by shutdowns. But it’s also because women have picked up the largest share of additional child care and other housework necessitated when schools went remote and much of the commercial economy shut down.

“Not all mothers have been impacted in the same way. Racial, ethnic and income differences in women’s employment are dramatic. Black women and 12 WHEATON MAGAZINE

SOFIA SHELLEY-WYSS

Professor of Economics Brenda Wyss

Latinas are more likely to be sole family breadwinners than white women, and, yet, they’ve lost more jobs than white women. Many women of color have jobs that cannot be done remotely, including the essential jobs in food service, health care and public transportation.

A large share of the essential jobs held by women resembles housework traditionally assigned to moms. Labor markets do not value this work very highly. Caregiving occupations pay less than non-care-related occupations requiring similar levels of education and experience. The U.S. labor market is not structured to support workers with family responsibilities.”

How are you incorporating these observations into your courses?

“In my ‘Women in the U.S. Economy’ course, we used the pandemic as a

case study of how gender shapes the operation of the economy, and of how gender impacts vary within groups.

In one major course module, we study how gender operates in labor markets and in a second module, we examine gender in household economies. The pandemic has exacerbated gender inequalities in both spheres. I’m cooking up a focused research assignment for students to make presentations about disparate gendered impacts of the pandemic. I want students to explore how salient factors such as educational background, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, occupation or parenthood status have shaped the economic impact of the pandemic for particular gender groups.”

More online

PUBLICATIONS, HONORS AND CREATIVE WORKS

Faculty Alberto Bianchi, associate professor of Italian studies, wrote “Abbazia e i fantasmi della Belle Époque in Lucio d’Ambra e Vitaliano Brancati” (loosely translated as “Abbazia and the Ghosts of the Belle Époque in Lucio D’Ambra and Vitaliano Brancati”), published in Fabrizio Serra Editore, December 2020.

Delvyn Case, associate professor of music, wrote “How a Literary Bible Translation Transformed My View of Scripture” published in The Biblical Mind in December 2020. He also was named the Maine Music Teachers Association Commissioned Composer 2021 to write a new work for the group’s annual conference. In January, his setting of video to music composition titled “Psalm 19,” for baritone and piano, was selected for inclusion in the Global Psalm Gallery, a resource from the Calvin Symposium on Christian Worship. His holiday overture “Rocket Sleigh” was performed by orchestras in six states in December 2020.

Imran Chowdhury, associate professor of business and management, wrote “Bridging the rural–urban divide in social innovation transfer: the role of values,” published in Agriculture and Human Values in December 2020. He also co-wrote “The missing link: Communities of practice as bridges between institutional entrepreneurs and frontline practitioners in institutionalizing a divergent practice,” published in Research in the Sociology of Organizations in January.

Nancy Kendrick, professor of philosophy, was invited to present a virtual lecture celebrating the unveiling of a bust of Mary Wollstonecraft at the Providence Athenaeum in Rhode Island in October 2020.

Alumni

Kate Mason, assistant professor of sociology/women and gender studies, co-edited and was author for the introductory chapter of The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Body and Embodiment (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Christine Koh ’95 wrote “Why working moms deserve a tantrum (and how to get through the remainder of the pandemic),” published in The Washington Post in February and “Parents can care about education and still be OK writing this school year off,” published in The Boston Globe in February.

Srijana Shrestha, assistant professor of psychology, co-wrote “An Examination of Positive and Negative Dementia Caregiving Experiences,” published in Clinical Gerontologist in December 2020.

M. Gabriela Torres, professor and chair of anthropology, co-edited with Kersti Yllö, professor of sociology emerita, Sexual Violence in Intimacy: Implications for Research and Policy in Global Health (Routledge, 2020) A. Javier Trevino, professor of sociology, wrote “William G. Sumner e Theodor J. Geiger: verso una teoria sullo sviluppo dei fenomeni giuridici,” (translated: “William G. Sumner and Theodor J. Geiger: Toward a Developmental Theory of Legal Phenomena”) in L’eredità di Theodor Geiger per le scienze giuridiche.

Deborah “Deb” Figart ’81 received the 2021 Veblen-Commons Award, a top economics honor from the Association for Evolutionary Economics.

Constance “Connie” Werner Ramirez ’61 was honored with a 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from Historic Annapolis.

Nicole “Nickie” Lee Tadgell ’91, a graphic designer and award-winning illustrator, had several books that she illustrated featured in various ways: Tiara’s Hat Parade was chosen to be included as part of Read Across America; Talking in Crayon was released for school and library markets; and Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town was selected as a 2020 Kansas Notable Recipient.

SPRING 2021 13

LYONS PRIDE

Winning conversations The athletics department launched “Lyons in the Field,” an alumni career panel series with events in January and February, and hosted two other panels in March. Former student-athletes engaged with current student-athletes to provide information about their career success, answer questions and to network.

“Right before the holidays, we started a LinkedIn group and business page for Wheaton athletics. Mia Len ’21 and I worked to put together two alumni career panels to kick off the semester. This was a great opportunity to network and gain some valuable insight into life postWheaton,” said Gavin Viano, director of athletics and recreation.

The career panels featured Braden Marstaller ’18 (cross country), a brand marketing associate at Cogo Labs; Dylan Janovic ’20 (lacrosse), a business analyst at Mobomo; Ajay Sisodia ’06 (track and field), a managing director in business development and innovations at Truth Initiative; Amy Moreira ’13 (lacrosse), director of enterprise business systems at Bottomline Technologies; John Sutyak ’00 (baseball), director of athletics at Ferrum College; Oscar Medina ’97 14 WHEATON MAGAZINE

(soccer), supplier performance and innovation lead at Takeda; Matisse Baumann ’16 (soccer), digital project coordinator at The Kraft Group and Affiliates; Michael Cannon ’15 (basketball), financial advisor at Morgan Stanley; Damel Ling ’99 (basketball), assistant basketball coach at Caldwell University; Amber James ’04 (track and field), lead accessibility content strategist at Twitter; and Savannah Geasey Kacher ’12 (track and field), regional development officer at Scripps College.

In celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day in March, Lisa Yenush ’90,

From left: Athletics department director Gavin Viano, Mia Len ’21, Matisse Baumann ’16, Savannah Geasey Kacher ’12, Michael Cannon ’15, Damel Ling ’99, Dylan Janovic ’20, Amber James ’04 and Lisa Yenush ’90

associate director of athletics, Leah Niederstadt, associate professor of museum studies/history of art, and Barbara Darling, assistant professor of religion, co-organized two panels in collaboration with Len. Len is a business and management major, former member of the basketball team and an external relations intern in the athletics department. In addition to coordinating the “Lyons in the Field” career panels, she also served as a panelist on the Women’s History Month panel.

“Having the privilege of organizing the department’s first virtual alumni event was so special and rewarding,” Len said. “The fact that each panelist was more than happy to give back to their college and athletics department

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID LAFERRIERE

During the spring semester, Wheaton hosted several virtual conversations featuring alumni, current student-athletes and club sport participants, who shared professional advice, reflected on the liberal arts and celebrated Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.

Alex DuBrow ’20 signs with professional basketball league Alex DuBrow ’20, who was co-captain and guard on Wheaton’s basketball team, signed a professional contract with Maccabi Carmiel of the Liga Artzit Israeli Professional Basketball League.

“I’m thankful for Maccabi Carmiel for taking a chance on me and allowing me to prove that I belong out here,” said DuBrow, who majored in business and management.

“My whole basketball career has been a roller coaster of a journey from high school until now, and this just adds to my story. I am forever thankful for Wheaton College, especially Coach [Brian] Walmsley and the basketball program for believing in me from the first day that I stepped on campus.

This school gave me the chance to grow as an athlete and as a person, which really allowed me to turn this dream of playing professional basketball into a reality.”

During the winter season his senior year, DuBrow averaged 14.6 points per game, made 75 percent of his free throws

speaks so highly of the type of people in our Wheaton athletics family.

“It’s not every day that you get a group of alumni who are willing to give an hour of their time on a Friday night. The stories that each panelist shared were inspiring and unique, but the one commonality among them all was their genuine excitement for Wheaton as well as their gratitude for all of the people who have helped them get to where they are. Wheaton community members are one of a kind, and I’m so glad that I was able to witness that—yet again—through these panels.”

The idea for the Women’s History Month panel originated from Associate

and had 126 assists, 39 steals and 321 points in 22 games.

A 5-foot-9 guard, his top performance came in his final home game on Feb. 22,

Professor of Theatre and Dance Stephanie Burlington Daniels ’97, who reached out when she was collaborating with faculty and staff on Wheaton’s annual International Women’s Day event, Niederstadt said.

Professors Niederstadt and Darling are faculty athletics representatives and Yenush is the athletics department liaison.

The Women’s History Month panel, “Women and Athletics: Sports and the Liberal Arts,” featured Adaeze Anaebonam ’18 (club soccer and rugby), associate video producer at Condé Nast Entertainment; Indira Henard ’03 (track and field), executive director of the DC Rape Crisis Center;

2020 in which Wheaton defeated Clark University 82–79.

DuBrow scored a career-high 29 points, along with hitting the game’s biggest shot with a little more than one second remaining. He shot 10 of 12 from the free-throw line while dishing out eight assists.

DuBrow ended his career with 749 total points in 2,131 minutes played in 79 games.

“Our Wheaton basketball team is so excited and proud of Alex for this great accomplishment,” said head basketball coach Brian Walmsley. “Alex has shown great courage and confidence in himself to go to a foreign country during these trying times and earn himself a professional contract. I have known Alex since he was a fourth-grader attending my summer basketball camp and have watched him develop so much over the years to reach KEITH NORDSTROM this ultimate basketball goal.

He comes from a wonderful and supportive family and I am so excited for all of them.”

—Kaylyn Smith

Margaret “Meg” Walker ’22 (track and field), psychology and education double major; Yenush (soccer, basketball and softball) and Len. The International Women’s Day panel, “Women and Athletics: International Perspectives,” included: Emily Berardi ’15 (softball), Latin teacher at Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart; Lauriina Heinonen ’22 (synchronized swimming), business and management major; Helene Mantineo ’21 (ultimate Frisbee), biochemistry and statistics double major; and Eva Pet ’21 (swimming and diving), biochemistry and economics double major.

—Sandy Coleman SPRING 2021 15

CAMPUS SCENE

Abram Buehner ’23

Special delivery

“Postcards from the Pandemic” addresses isolation through collective art

Everyone is experiencing the same global pandemic, but how each individual is managing it greatly differs. “Postcards from the Pandemic,” an exhibition presented during the fall 2020 semester in the Beard and Weil Galleries, sought to capture those varied vantage points. The call to artists for the exhibition, which was curated by galleries director Elizabeth Hoy, was an open invitation to the entire Wheaton community and the general public. Here is a sampling of some of the small-scale work that included drawings, paintings, photography and writing. All are now part of the Permanent Collection.

Aine McDonald ’24

Anna Phou ’21

View more online wheatoncollege.edu/gallery/current/#postcard

16 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Deborah Macheski-Maison ’88

Sasha Kasem-Beg ’20

Cole Paul ’23

Nathan Domingos ’20

Jill Dalury Sullivan ’83

Olivia Weadock ’23

Perrin O’Cone ’23

Drew Spirito ’22

Emma Yount ’22

SPRING 2021 17

Collaborating, contributing to COVID-19 insight

Literature review project offers authentic research experience during pandemic

By Laura Pedulli

In late spring 2020, with the rise of the coronavirus and widespread lockdowns in place, Wheaton College students grappled with how to spend their summer.

“As a rising senior biology major, I was looking for some additional research experience to prepare for graduate school. My options were getting more and more limited as companies and schools shifted to remote

work,” Benjamin Hanna ’21 recalled.

Anna Lally ’21, a neuroscience major, meanwhile, was eager to spend time in the lab.

“Third- and fourth-year STEM students tend to look for outside, hands-on experience during the summer. Because of the pandemic, so much of our ability to work in institutions was eliminated,” she said.

Fortunately, Professor of Biology Robert Morris reached out to Hanna and Lally

Helene Mantineo ’21

Benjamin Hanna ’21

Caitlin Daley ’20

Anna Lally ’21

with a potential summer research project that not only would give them the realworld research experience they craved, but a chance to study the most critically important topic of the day: COVID-19.

Hanna and Lally were not alone; they were among dozens of students, including graduating seniors, who took up Professor Morris’s offer to join a project that would contribute to answering questions that science and medicine had about the novel virus.

In its totality, the AI-assisted COVID-19 Literature Review Research Project was wide-reaching in scope. It involved the virtual collaboration of more than 50 students and recent alumni, four faculty members and staff from the Wallace library.

“The project gave students who thought they would have nothing to show for this lost summer an authentic, mentored research experience that they can put on their CVs,” Morris said.

Solving a problem while engaging an opportunity

Amanda Flanagan ’20 18 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Nick Kelly ’21

Sydney Murphy ’21

Ilyan Lin ’23

In spring 2020, Tayab Waseem—a software engineer and medical student—reached out on the COVID-19 National Scientist Volunteer Database for assistance on a project to test the

KEITH NORDSTROM

Professor of Biology Robert Morris leaped at the opportunity to engage students and faculty on a project to better understand COVID-19.

effectiveness of a program he developed that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct literature reviews.

Professor Morris immediately recognized the opportunity this would present for students unable to secure internships or other research positions due to the pandemic.

To assist Waseem, Morris recruited students to the project. The group was organized into teams, each led by one of four participating faculty members: Morris, Associate Professor of Psychology Kathleen Morgan, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Hilary Gaudet and Faculty Associate in Biology Shari Ackerman-Morris. In Zoom meetings, Wheaton Sciences Liaison and Technologist Jillian Amaral provided training on proper techniques for conducting literature reviews, while Waseem taught the students how to use his AI software.

“There was warm reception and enthusiasm from students. We didn’t know what was going to happen, and it was exciting that way,” Professor Morris said.

“The project gave students who thought they would have nothing to show for this lost summer an authentic, mentored research experience that they can put on their CVs.” Professor of Biology Robert Morris

From May to June, students identified questions they found interesting regarding COVID-19. They then mined databases for scholarship articles related to these questions using Waseem’s AI software and standard research methods, and subsequently wrote mini-reviews summarizing the research.

In late summer and fall, a subgroup of students stayed on to synthesize their findings into review papers, which they submitted to scientific journals and open source sites like medRxiv during the fall and winter.

Hanna said he enjoyed being a part of

the project, as he learned new research approaches, team skills and was able to have a productive summer.

“I greatly improved my reading and writing, my ability to analyze papers quickly, and data collection and processing. I also developed important teamwork skills that I will carry with me to any lab in the future,” he said.

The experience showed Lally that inperson collaboration is not the only way to conduct successful research.

“This project was a unique learning experience that taught me that virtual collaboration, while occasionally difficult and frustrating—because who doesn’t want to just be talking with their peers in Emerson—is very possible and can lead to great work,” Lally said.

“It speaks to the Wheaton science community as a whole and the mentorship of many professors to give such a group of students not only the opportunity to work on a project such as this, but the confidence to do it as well,” she added.

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Question: What is the incubation time of COVID-19?

Principal investigator: Shari Ackerman-Morris For Megan Fydenkevez ’22 and Caitlin Daley ’20, the chance to research COVID19 was one they could not pass up.

Fydenkevez, a neuroscience major on a pre-med track, already was learning about COVID-19 as part of her summer Wheaton course, “Virology,” taught by Amy Beumer, visiting assistant professor of biology.

“I had been perusing online journals and following the latest information about SARS-CoV-2 prior to and during this class. I immediately knew that I had to be a part of this project,” she said.

Daley, a biology major, was excited about the prospect of contributing to a quickly growing research base about COVID-19. “I hoped that our research would have a small impact on the global efforts to understand and overcome the virus.”

Fydenkevez and Daley served as leaders of Faculty Associate Shari Ackerman-Morris’s team of 13 students.

They focused on determining the average incubation time of COVID-19 while taking into consideration a number of factors, including age, sex and location of those who contract the virus.

Once the summer phase was over, the team leaders delegated research assignments among the remaining students to search for additional papers on that topic, extract more data, and then synthesize the research and write specific areas of their review paper.

Their group’s paper, “A Systematic Review of the Incubation Period of SARS-CoV-2: The Effects of Age, Biological Sex, and Location on Incubation,” was compiled and analyzed using 21 quantitative studies. The paper was posted on medRxiv, an internet site that distributes unpublished online articles about health sciences, on Dec. 24, 2020.

Based on the data extracted, the team found an overall mean and median incubation period for SARS-CoV-2 of 5.894

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Shari Ackerman-Morris, faculty associate in biology, with research students

days and 5.598 days, respectively. They also concluded that the incubation period did not statistically vary for biological sex or age, but some studies suggest a longer incubation period in the young and elderly.

The team also reported that researchers have discovered an inverse relationship between incubation period length and virus severity.

“We suggest that people who experience more severe disease due to SARS-CoV-2 may have a shorter incubation period,” according to the paper.

Faculty Associate Ackerman-Morris lauded the students, who developed skills in paper writing, statistical analyses and generating tables and figures—all while

KEITH NORDSTROM

working as part of a team.

“It was an interesting collaboration, from my part, because I wasn’t in the trenches. I took a step back and let the students lead. I got to play a mentor,” Ackerman-Morris said. “They really did fabulous research, which showed when they finally condensed and wrote the paper.”

Through the research project, Fydenkevez said she vastly increased her understanding of the research process and COVID-19.

“I cultivated research and leadership skills while working toward a published review paper. I was very pleased with the experience of working with our team,” she said.

Question: What is the risk posed by common domestic animals to humans, regarding transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus?

Principal investigator: Kathleen Morgan For Anna Lally ’21, a neuroscience major, the COVID-19 project helped restore her mental health at a time when so much in the world was on hold.

“I was living at home, with no physical contact with friends I’d made in college thus far. That lack of agency and interaction seemed to have a great impact on myself and many of my peers,” Lally said. “Participating in this project helped me feel that I got a bit of that agency back, simply by learning and educating myself, working with peers, and knowing that the work we were doing had the capacity to be meaningful for not only us, but our family and friends, and potentially the scientific community.”

Lally, Amanda Flanagan ’20 and llyan Lin ’23 led a team of 11 students who data-mined a total of 127 manuscripts published between November 2019 and August 2020 for relevant information regarding transfer of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from animals to humans.

Based on their findings, ferrets, cats, minks and golden Syrian hamsters seem like the best candidates for future research since they are highly susceptible to COVID-19. They also found it unlikely that domestic pets, such as dogs and cats, will transmit the virus to humans, but infected owners have a chance of infecting their pets.

According to their research, they identified multiple factors that seem to matter regarding animals and possible COVID-19 transmission. Animals in whom the structure and expression of ACE2 receptors (a type of protein on the surface of cells) were most similar to those same things in humans tended to be most susceptible to the virus. The density of an enzyme called TMPRSS2 protease in different parts of the animal’s body, which can alter ACE2 receptors to permit entry by the virus, also increased the probability of transmission.

Kathleen Morgan, associate professor of psychology, with research students

The group submitted their paper to Animals, which is publishing a special issue on the impact of COVID-19 on animal management and welfare.

The three students who led the process of synthesizing the studies into one complete paper said the project taught them how to collaborate in a virtual environment.

For example, Lin explained that the group wrote the paper as a team.

“We would volunteer to do different sections of the paper, but it wasn’t one person editing or one person working on the introduction. Personally, I’d skip around from editing what we have, writing and doing research as new information came up,” Lin explained.

Lally said collaborating virtually proved to be challenging, as she wasn’t able to rely on body language and other cues when communicating with her peers.

“When all of that disappears, you’re left trying to navigate the new Zoom

KEITH NORDSTROM

workspace, and it is difficult to be as efficient and effective when working as a team,” she said. “I learned willingness to hear constructive criticism, even when you’ve been on Zoom for an hour and it becomes hard to believe there’s another tired, hardworking student behind the little image at the top of your screen.”

Flanagan said she gained insight into the publication process for scientific papers.

“It was great to work with people from different biological science backgrounds and interests,” she said.

Associate Professor of Psychology Kathleen Morgan said this type of virtual project was unprecedented for Wheaton, but ultimately a success.

“I think it was an incredible model for how to do this kind of collaborative work.

Students were incredibly responsive to each other and great collaborators, learning to criticize each other’s work in a good way,” she said.

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Question: What is the COVID-19 nasopharynx viral shedding time period and what are the implications on testing effectiveness?

Principal investigator: Hilary Gaudet

Nick Kelly ’21, a biochemistry major on a pre-med track, received the email about helping out with this project right when he started an internship at the Fertility Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he worked on a different AI-based study.

“The fact that AI was such an ongoing theme in both research studies helped prove to me that this sort of software will help change how both research and medicine are practiced. If AI is making such a big difference, then an opportunity to study COVID-19 using AI was too hard to pass up,” he said.

Sydney Murphy ’21 said she loved the idea of testing AI software.

“My motivation was not only because it was a timely topic, but it was also to have the opportunity to create an aid for other researchers. This includes students similar to myself who were in need of a cohesive summary of the current research on the virus to launch new research projects leading to a vaccine,” said Murphy, who is majoring in neuroscience and German.

Kelly and Murphy joined the 13-student team of Hilary Gaudet, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, that examined different methods of performing COVID-19 tests. Their work culminated in the paper “Testing and viral shedding detection of SARS-CoV-2 via nasopharyngeal swabs and other methods,” which the team submitted to Advances in Virology in September 2020.

Gaudet’s team researched how effective the nasal swab is at picking up the virus at different time points during an infection.

They looked at other forms of testing, including upper respiratory tract sputum sampling, saliva and oropharyngeal sampling, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid testing, blood sampling and fecal sampling.

Five students stayed on in the fall to draft the paper, which they divided into designated sections for each student.

“We all participated in proofreading 22 WHEATON MAGAZINE

KEITH NORDSTROM

Hilary Gaudet, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, with research students

and worked together to improve the paper as it was going through the peer editing process,” Kelly said. “Collaboration with our professor, Hilary Gaudet, was most helpful in guiding us through the editing process. By the final submission of the paper, I felt that I had developed a more in-depth understanding of the research and publication process and felt more confident in my research and writing skills, which I anticipate will aid in the success of my future career.”

Their results confirmed the accuracy of nasal swab testing. They found that fecal sampling has shown that shedding of the virus in the digestive tract can extend far longer than through nasal tests. Oral samples have proven to be a second specific testing method that is much less invasive than nasopharyngeal testing, making it an ideal new candidate for wide-scale testing,

according to their research.

Murphy said she enjoyed learning a lot about SARS-CoV-2 infections—enough to be able to educate others about the dangerous effects and best prevention methods against infection.

“I feel more informed of the current situation than if I had not taken this research opportunity and am thankful to have had the privilege of doing so,” she said.

For Kelly, his research during this project steered him to the subject of his honors thesis.

“Now, I am using a meta-analysis to see if there are any significant differences between blood types and COVID-19 severity and infection rates. In my current honors thesis study, I am seeing a very significant correlation with O type blood and a lessening in the COVID-19 positivity rate,” he said.

Professor of Biology Robert Morris (top, middle) meets virtually with his student collaborators: (top row) Julia Doo ’20 and Benjamin Hanna ’21; (middle row) Sadie Drouin ’23, Helene Mantineo ’21 and Quinn Goble ’21; and (bottom row) Kellia Karambizi ’22.

Question: What is the correlation between humidity and temperature and the number of COVID-19 cases?

Principal investigator: Robert Morris In spring 2020, the topic of climate impacts on COVID-19 transmission was both timely and significant, especially as U.S. researchers speculated that COVID19 might die out in the summer, as many viruses do. At that time, scientists were concerned about increased transmission in the following colder months.

The question Professor of Biology Robert Morris and his team of 13 students posed was whether there is a correlation between humidity and temperature and the number of COVID-19 cases. The team analyzed and extracted data from 125 relevant articles and compiled the information into one comprehensive spreadsheet.

Benjamin Hanna ’21 served as one of the lead writers. He organized frequent Zoom meetings during which everyone shared their progress and findings and discussed formatting spreadsheets and data, and various ideas for constructing the final paper.

Their work resulted in a paper, “Correlation of humidity and temperature with COVID-19 transmission: a systematic

review of published literature,” which they will be submitting to medRxiv and a peer-reviewed journal that co-author Tayab Waseem is identifying.

The results of a meta-analysis of correlational data indicate that temperature and humidity are both positively and negatively correlated with COVID-19 cases, with no obvious patterns emerging.

Their results indicated that temperature and humidity are both poor predictors for COVID-19 transmission when taking multi-country and single-country studies into account since, when looked at systemically, published correlations contradicted each other.

“The unexpectedly wide range in the published data suggest that the seasonal factors of temperature and humidity alone will not be sufficient for predicting trends in SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility,” according to the team’s abstract.

Hanna said he was definitely surprised by the findings of the research.

“I expected there to be clearer data that indicated COVID-19 transmission would be worse at high temperatures or low temperatures,” Hanna said.

Biochemistry major Helene Mantineo

’21, who led the team in compiling the research, said she enjoyed learning more about COVID-19 and growing as a scientist. She developed leadership skills managing a group of students with different levels of experience—from first-year students to graduating seniors.

“I had never led a whole team before, so it was a big growing experience. It can be hard to balance what you know and what other people know on the team. I had to let go of controlling the process and gain trust with everyone,” she said.

Hanna said his biggest insight from this project is seeing how research is not just done in a lab with samples, solutions, pipettes—but that you can also make discoveries through reviewing literature.

“Data analysis is a critical component of science and it is important to look through published articles for similarities and differences in data so that there can be a better overall understanding of a specific topic,” he said.

Morris said his team truly enjoyed the ability to help the scientific and medical community by creating a resource that didn’t exist without their research.

SPRING 2021 23

Now showing…

A great career in film Warner Bros. executive Nicole Tasker Woods ’04 brings back the magic of classic movies

By Laura Pedulli

Nicole “Nicki” Tasker Woods ’04 is an expert at making the old “new” again.

In fact, it’s her job.

As vice president of alternative content sales at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Woods brings classic films and television to new audiences at venues around the world, both large and small.

At Warner Bros., she has the job of booking more than 7,000 titles at her disposal. As the company is nearly 100 years old (it was founded in 1923), there are decades worth of films from which to choose, including “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), “Citizen Kane” (1941), “Casablanca” (1942), “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971), “The Color Purple” (1985), “The Bodyguard” (1992), “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (2001–03) and “Inception” (2010).

24 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Nicole “Nicki” Tasker Woods ’04

SPRING 2021 25

“My job is to find the right timing and marketing angle for a film, then engage our exhibitor partners to play it. Not all films are created equal. Some less mainstream, artsy films need to be placed strategically in art house cinemas instead of commercial theaters next to summer blockbusters,” said Woods. “Every film can be ‘eventized.’ You just need to find the right audience.”

Following her passions The agility, creativity and drive in her work at Warner Bros. fueled Woods’s rise from sales assistant to vice president.

Woods’s imagination and expressiveness in many ways were formed at Wheaton, where she learned to put her passions first as an English major with a poetry concentration.

As a first-year student, Woods eyed a major in psychology, but a conversation with Professor of English Sue Standing led to a change of heart.

“Professor Standing listened intently to me ramble on about how I did not know what I wanted to do after college or where I wanted my life to go. Then she asked, ‘What do you enjoy doing right now?’ and my answer was, ‘I love writing poetry.’ I can still remember her smiling back at me when she said that it was more important to enjoy these four years at Wheaton doing something I love than struggling with something I thought I was supposed to do,” Woods recalled.

The decision to declare an English major felt like a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, she said.

At Wheaton, her fondest classroom memories were in the English Department, working alongside Professor Standing and Professor of English Beverly Clark.

“Writing assignments for both of these professors was not a daunting task as those assignments can often be. They allowed me to perfect each project, reviewing multiple drafts before submitting the final version for grading. They challenged me to think

26 WHEATON MAGAZINE

critically, outside the box, in ways that I have utilized in my post-Wheaton life to advance my career,” she said.

Standing (now professor emerita) recalls Woods’s talents well.

“I remember particularly a superb analysis she wrote on Stanley Kunitz’s poetic sequence, ‘The Wellfleet Whale.’

The poems she wrote often used fixed form in surprising ways, such as a ghazal titled ‘How High.’ Would I have predicted she’d end up in the film industry? Not necessarily, but she had a highly developed visual imagination and a real affinity for sensory images, along with well-honed

Nicki Woods ’04 at graduation with sweetheart (now husband) Ryan Woods ’03

analytical skills, so it seems a perfect fit for her,” Standing said.

Woods said that everything she experienced during her time at Wheaton contributed to her growth as a career woman.

“It didn’t matter my college major or my final GPA, but that I left campus with confidence in myself. I found what I love and truly love what I do,” she said.

A new direction For Woods, originally from Northwood, N.H., the stars aligned in many ways for her to land on the West Coast.

Her relationship with Wheaton sweetheart (and now husband) Ryan Woods ’03 was a big part of that move.

With graduation looming and their relationship getting serious, she spent the summer before her senior year in his hometown in Westlake Village, Calif., to determine if life in California was a good fit for her.

“I was an English major, but did not want to be a teacher or go to graduate school; I was still searching for what those next steps after college might be,” she recalled. “In California, I got an internship at a film studio in the creative marketing division, where I was exposed to the entire process of filmmaking, marketing and distribution to theaters.

That summer, I knew that I was destined to have a career in the film industry.”

Two weeks after she graduated in May 2004, she boxed up her life and shipped off to California to meet up with Ryan, whom she married a year later. She secured her first post-Wheaton position at a film transportation company called ETS (Entertainment Transportation Specialists) from 2004 to 2007.

“This was back when film was exhibited in 35mm. When a movie was first released in 2,500 to 3,500–plus theaters, the studio would create one 35mm print for every screen it would be shown on.

Big movies would be shown on two to five screens in a theater—sometimes more,” she said.

After the first round of theaters played the film for a couple weeks, her transportation company was responsible for circulating film, which entailed arranging to have one theater break down the 35mm film off the projector for a courier to pick it up and move to another theater.

Warner Bros. opportunity In 2007, Woods successfully pursued an opening at Warner Bros. for a sales assistant in the studio’s branch office in Encino, Calif.

For the first four years, she worked in sales of first-run, new films. She then transitioned to a position at the studio’s home office in Burbank.

by identifying titles in the Warner Bros.

Classics library that could be shown again on the big screen as part of special events—making old films ‘new’ again.

Scott Forman, the Warner Bros. executive vice president and general sales manager who first met Woods as a sales assistant, credits her for thriving at this task.

“Nicki is an incredibly smart, talented and accomplished professional who played a huge role in the success of the classics department,” Forman said.

He said she has a knack for digging deep into the company’s extensive library of films and finding audiences for them.

This means everything from bringing favorites like “Elf” to the theaters during the holiday season to hosting film screenings at non-traditional exhibition venues like film festivals, military bases, community centers or boutique theaters.

She also couples the screening of a feature film with something “extra”— whether that means never-before-seen onscreen content, new artwork or themed product giveaways. That results in new audiences and enthusiasm for a film.

Keeping the magic alive

There is no place like. ... work? Woods sits inside an oversized model of Dorothy’s “The Wizard of Oz” red slipper surrounded by her colleagues from Warner Bros. Classics.

“I was immediately interested in making the move. I loved the small sales team in Encino and the family-vibe, but needed to be exposed to the studio world,” she said.

She moved to a department called Distribution Services, where she managed how many prints to order for a specific film.

“It was at this time that digital started to become more relevant and theaters started to turn in their 35mm projectors for digital projectors. The change in format was a turning point for the industry; one hard drive could be sent to one theater and played on all screens in that complex,” she said.

To streamline operations, the oversight

of Warner Bros. Classics was transitioned under her in the Distribution Services department for theaters in North America.

It was in this capacity that Woods harnessed her creativity to help breathe new life in an underperforming area of the business with undetermined potential.

She and her team developed and implemented an exhibitor-facing website to make it easier to book classic films. This resulted in an increase in activity—as well as revenue.

“People wanted to see classic films in theaters and now it was easier than ever for exhibitors to program it,” she said.

Woods also has increased bookings

Woods’s responsibilities at Warner Bros. have steadily grown. Today she oversees the sales, distribution and marketing of Warner Bros. Classics films and alternative content across the globe.

Woods, whose favorite classic films are “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Casablanca,” said one of the things she enjoys most about her job is bringing the joy of movies to audiences around the world.

There is nothing quite like reexperiencing films on the big screen, Woods said.

“I saw one of my favorite films in a packed movie theater. Everyone was screaming with laughter together. I had seen the movie once before, but seeing it a second time with the public was so much better. It was like we were all friends for those two hours. Fully enjoying a movie is a very communal experience and the best way to do it is on the big screen,” she said.

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President Emerita Dale Rogers Marshall in a photo taken by Danielle Mourning ’99 in 2012 28 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Remembering President Emerita Dale Rogers Marshall Champion of equity, academic inclusiveness led the institution from 1992 to 2004

By Sandy Coleman

Anyone who ever encountered Wheaton College President Emerita Dale Rogers Marshall recalls her laughter. It was big, openhearted and lingering. The same can be said of her presence at Wheaton and in the world, which lost her on January 14. She died at the age of 83 in Berkeley, Calif.

She served as Wheaton’s sixth president from 1992 to 2004. At Wheaton, President Marshall pushed to recruit and hire academics from under-represented groups, as she had at Wellesley College, where she served as dean of the college from 1986 to 1992 and acting president from 1987 to 1988, and at the University of California, Davis, before that as associate dean in the College of Letters and Science.

Under her leadership, Wheaton underwent a planning process that led to great economic and academic expansion. The number of students applying to the college doubled; Wheaton grew in reputation as a leading liberal arts

institution; and students regularly won many national awards and scholarships, including Watson fellowships, Truman scholarships and Fulbright honors.

President Marshall oversaw the Campaign for Wheaton that raised $90 million in support of student scholarships and academic inclusiveness, creating more than 70 new student scholarship funds, 12 new endowed faculty chairs, new programs such as the Davis International Fellows program and the Jane E. Ruby Lecture Series, as well as several new facilities. The campaign was capped by the construction of the Mars Arts and Humanities building and

An introduction on the fall 1992 magazine cover

renovation of Meneely Hall and Watson Fine Arts Center.

During her first year in 1992, Wheaton experienced two other milestones: the graduation of the first coeducational class and the enrollment of the largest freshman class in the college’s history at the time. The growth encouraged the construction of Keefe and Beard

SPRING 2021 29

residence halls.

Her presidency also marked a recommitment to the college’s Global Awareness Program and emphasis on multiculturalism. Her commitment to diversity and social justice enabled the college to recruit a diverse and exceptional group of scholars to join Wheaton’s faculty, and to institute new programs aimed at increasing diversity on campus. In April 2005, Wheaton named the Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning in recognition of her.

In an email sent to the campus community noting her passing, President Dennis M. Hanno said, “President Marshall remained connected to Wheaton long after she served as its president and maintained close relationships with the many people she became friends with here. ... Each time I spoke with her, I was reminded of how fortunate I was to be following in the footsteps of someone as great as President Marshall.”

President Marshall attributed her interest in equity to her years as a teenager in segregated Washington, D.C. She was born on March 22, 1937, in Ithaca,

MARION B. GEBBIE ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

President Marshall laughing with two students at the Academic Festival in April 1992

N.Y., where her parents were students at Cornell Law School. Her family moved often while her father, William Rogers, served in the Navy. The family settled in Bethesda, Md., in 1950, when Rogers

took a position as counsel to the United States Congress. He would go on to serve as deputy attorney general and attorney general under President Dwight Eisenhower, and secretary of state under

Reflections paint portrait of Since the news of President Marshall’s passing, the outpouring of tweets, Facebook posts, emails and reflections shared during virtual meetings have painted a full portrait of her—one inspiring aspect at a time. Here we share a few of the comments.

“I found her to be truly committed to multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion. She was genuine. My first interaction with her was in my first semester here. I was one of the faculty members who came in on a cluster hire [aimed at increasing diversity], and I was walking

30 WHEATON MAGAZINE

across campus and she was walking across campus going somewhere and spotted me. She came to me, stopped me and said, ‘Hey, you haven’t come to my office yet. I haven’t met you.’ And she invited me to join the Multicultural Advisory Committee. She was just very

authentic, a real person, very elegant.

I enjoyed working with her and I think Wheaton is better for her having been president.”

Deyonne Bryant, associate professor of English “As a student and as a new faculty member, whenever I was in a show or whenever I directed a show, she would come with The New York Times and she would be there a half-hour before anyone else. She would find her spot, bury herself in The New York Times until the opening lights, and she was just there, she was present.

And, of course, I remember lots of young

A farewell on the spring 2004 magazine cover

MARION B. GEBBIE ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

President Marshall had a way of being truly present, especially when connecting with students.

President Richard Nixon.

When President Marshall announced her resignation at Wheaton, Patricia King ’63, chair of the Board of Trustees at the time, expressed personal appreciation for

her guidance. “She has been a very skillful, collaborative leader who understands how to build consensus and inspire others to commit themselves to the college’s advancement.”

In recognition of her successful leadership of Wheaton, President Marshall received the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award for women leaders in 2002.

In an interview published in the spring 2004 issue of the Wheaton Quarterly, President Marshall was asked what she enjoyed most about her time as president. She replied: “I’ve thought

genuine, engaged leader alumni cocktail events in her house and just her great spirit of joy and pride and presence, and I carry that with me.”

Stephanie Burlington Daniels ’97, associate professor of theatre and dance “When I was leaving campus, Dale was coming back on campus. I would often pass her as I was heading to the parking lot at the end of the day. She was coming back for the evening version of Wheaton. She would be at plays, at talks, athletic events.

It was incredible how much time she gave to the college.”

Nancy Kendrick, professor of philosophy

“She knew everybody. Everybody on the staff called her by her first name. She was an accessible president. The students felt that they could go to her on the weekends and say, ‘Where do I go apple picking in the fall?,’ and she would look up some names and sometimes she would drive them. She was a wonderful person to serve with on the Tenure Committee and the Educational Policy Committee. She was wise and judicious and tried every way possible to be fair. She also made tremendous progress in our thinking about race.

I was heartbroken when she died.”

Donna Kerner, professor of anthropology

“I want to recognize Dale for her leadership in helping us to diversify in unique ways, because it was under Dale that we started the Posse program. It was also under Dale’s leadership that we did cluster hiring of faculty. It was quite clear to us at Wheaton that if we were going to make any real difference in diversifying the faculty body that we had to bring a cohort of several together. So this idea of cluster hiring of diverse faculty came from the top and it was Dale who encouraged it and drove the departments to go look for, recruit and hire in different ways. That initiative, along with Posse, went very close to who Dale was.”

Hyun Kim, professor of sociology Continued on next page SPRING 2021 31

about that a lot. I feel good about all of the positive things that have happened at Wheaton during my term. Yet when it all boils down, it comes to the most common point. It’s platitudinous, but it’s really the people that you get to know and connect with while working on meaningful projects. When you get to meet such interesting people—on campus and all over the world—you develop an insight into different lives, different worlds and different generations. It’s extremely rewarding.”

While serving as president, she remained active as a scholar and a faculty member, regularly teaching and writing in her field of concentration.

Her own research underlined the importance of equal representation in positions of power—in particular for those making low incomes, people of color and women.

A political scientist who specialized in urban politics, President Marshall was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and earned her bachelor’s degree, with high honors, in government from Cornell University in 1959. There, she met

Reflections continued

“It is so appropriate that the Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning is named after Dale. The center would not exist in the ways it does without her support and leadership. She supported the hiring of staff and the financial resources for us to be able to grow the space into the center.

She was very involved in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. She was responsive to students’ concerns and regularly attended meetings, potluck dinners and programs students hosted. Students approached Dale to bring Maya Angelou to campus and she worked with them to make that happen.”

Raquel Ramos, Marshall Center dean, and Diversity, Equity and Access Leadership co-chair “I credit Dale with taking sciences at Wheaton and elevating them into a

32 WHEATON MAGAZINE

President Marshall at Commencement in 2002

her future husband, engineer Donald Marshall. They married shortly after graduation and moved to California.

MARION B. GEBBIE ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

She received a master’s degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, where she studied

position that they had never occupied before. I remember being at a meeting with her and she kind of looked up at us—we didn’t expect this—and she says, ‘When are you people going to start talking about a new building?’ That was kind of transformational for us. She also came out to our vernal pool study site wearing her heels and bringing a couple of trustees in tow to see what we were doing out there. She was also sitting in the bleachers with me and my wife at an Indigo Girls concert in the gymnasium.”

Scott Shumway, professor of biology

having lunch together, and I was sharing with her my desire to move to Washington, D.C. I told her that I was a little nervous, and wondered whether I could make it in that city. She looked me in the eye and said ‘not only will you make it, but you will take Washington, D.C., by storm.’ She then went on further to say, ‘Indira, you are Eliza’s daughter, Wheaton has prepared you, and no matter where you go, you will be covered by the Wheaton network.’”

Indira Henard ’03, alumni trustee and executive director of the DC Rape Crisis Center

“President Marshall and I had a very close relationship throughout my four years at Wheaton. As a student leader and athlete, I spent a great deal of time in meetings with her and having dinner at her home.

My senior year at Wheaton she and I were

“I will never forget my second day on campus. President Marshall just pointed to me, this guy from Maine, and said, ‘You, come join this committee to plan for the next freshman orientation and join my speaker committee.’ Dale changed

NICKI PARDO

Presidents emeriti Ronald Crutcher and Dale Rogers Marshall with President Dennis M. Hanno

as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and earned a Ph.D. in 1969 from UCLA, where she held a Regents Fellowship.

An accomplished author and editor, she co-wrote Protest Is Not Enough: The Struggle of Blacks and Hispanics for

my life and so many others. She provided opportunities for me to realize my potential and for challenging me as I studied throughout my four years at Wheaton.

She was an authentic leader who didn’t shy away from debate and pushed all those she led to go further.”

Chris Paquet ’03, alumni trustee and assistant commissioner in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, New York City Health Department “Dale Marshall loved Wheaton. While she arrived at the college at a challenging time, it was the right time for Wheaton.

She made a long-lasting impact, for which we can all be grateful. My more recent memories are after Dale and Don returned to California. Dale, Dellie [Smith] Woodring ’62 and I would meet for lunch several times a year. She always wanted

Equality in Urban Politics (UC Press, 1984).

The study won the 1985 Ralph J. Bunche Award for best book on ethnic relations and the 1985 Gladys M. Kammerer Award for best book on U.S. national policy. She also co-edited Racial Politics in American

to know about my visits to Wheaton for meetings, eager for my details. While she retired, she never left Wheaton. In addition to this love for the college, Dale was kind, thoughtful and caring. A very special person. In fact, unforgettable.”

Jane Rowe Mraz ’57, recipient of the Dale Marshall Award (2005) “While I was already an alum when Dale became president, I got to know her a bit through my work on the Alumni Board of Directors from 1996 to 1999. It was not until years later that I would come to truly appreciate her. After I wrote a piece on [Trustee Emerita, Class of 1963] Ruth Ann Stewart’s passing for the magazine, Dale reached out to me. We talked and she invited me to join her at a Wheaton event in San Francisco to welcome the new president. She suggested we ride together,

Cities (Longman Pub Group, 1990, first edition).

She chaired the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts and the American Council on Education’s Leadership Commission; was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration in 1987; and became a member of the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in 1996.

She also served on numerous public and private boards. Like her mother, Adele Rogers, before her, President Marshall was a member of the Cornell University Board of Trustees. She also served as vice president of the American Political Science Association and president of the Western Political Science Association.

After her retirement from academia, she was a devoted volunteer, working with Girls, Inc., as a mentor for the East Bay College Fund, a writing coach with WriterCoach Connection, and as a docent and board member at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

so I drove to her beautiful home and she drove us to the city. On the ride we talked about all of her volunteer work [I was amazed]. We also talked about Ruth Ann and about dying. Dale told me that she and her friends had promised one another that if they were sick or dying that they would tell each other, reach out and care for one another. I was so touched by our conversation. When I heard of her passing, I wept and remembered that ride to the city and how much I learned from her that evening. She was really special.”

Lisa Webb ’83, dean of counseling, equity and achievement, Merritt College Do you have fond memories of President Marshall that you would like to share? Email us at magazine@wheatoncollege.edu. We will include some of them in our online version of the magazine.

SPRING 2021 33

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NETWORK

Focused on video support When Wheaton decided to adopt a hybrid tutorial model for the 2020–21 academic year, Associate Professor of Filmmaking Patrick Johnson could see a clear need for technical support. So, he reached out to familiar sources—his own former students.

Using the Caroline Edwards ’70 Fund for Film and Visual Studies, he hired Keegan Douglass ’20 and Dominick Torres ’20. Starting in August 2020, the two film and new media studies majors spent the fall semester working on a wide range of video projects, and Torres continued during the spring semester as a film instructor for a course taught by Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Stephanie Burlington Daniels ’97.

The opportunity allowed Torres and Douglass to take what they learned in their coursework as students and put it into professional practice as they launch their careers.

Torres was involved in video recording the summer Wheaton Inclusive STEM Excellence lecture series and helping with several online courses. He also was the producer of the Diana Davis Spencer ’60 inaugural debate series event that was recorded in New York City and on campus.

Douglass recorded classes and labs with several professors; interviews with students, faculty, President Dennis M. Hanno and Provost Renée T. White; and innovation lab tutorials.

Torres hopes to start his own business to make films, commercials and music videos. “I want to create a production company that focuses on bringing to screen the complexities and intersections of identity,” he said.

“I have always had an interest in education and the learning process and how my skills as a filmmaker can be a part of 34 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Dominick Torres ’20, left, and Keegan Douglass ’20

“I have always had an interest in education and the learning process and how my skills as a filmmaker can be a part of education.”

Dominick Torres ’20

“Other jobs that I was close to securing pre-pandemic are all gone, so it has been a blessing to utilize my video production skills.”

Keegan Douglass ’20

education. So, when I was tasked with helping to make in-person coursework into a consumable online format, I jumped at the opportunity to combine my interests. What I enjoy most is trying to find creative solutions to help engage students,” Torres said.

Douglass hopes to do work recording, designing and mixing sound for films,

KYRA LEFEBVRE ’20

podcasts or radio. “My main area of interest is audio production. I could also see myself making videos for businesses and organizations as I have in the past,” he said.

“I’m extremely thankful to have had work during this erratic moment in history. Other jobs that I was close to securing pre-pandemic are all gone, so it has been a blessing to utilize my video production skills. This job has allowed me to enhance my skills, gather more portfolio material and secure recommendations from clients,” Douglass said.

Johnson said he has enjoyed watching the growth of his former students.

“I’ve taken an enormous amount of pride in seeing how professional and independent they are. Honestly, I simply played matchmaker between them and faculty. They handled everything else: scheduling, pre-production, filming, directing and editing. I didn’t feel like I was working with former students. I felt like I was working with professional colleagues,” he said.

—Sandy Coleman

Sharing creative journeys

Visiting artists Cliften Bonner-Desravines ’13 (also known as Cliff Notez), Tonga RossMa’u ’08 and Ebony Williams ’08 connected with Wheaton students virtually during the fall semester to share their career journeys. The opportunities were sponsored by the Evelyn Danzig Haas ’39 Visiting Artists Program, which has brought artists to campus since 2003 to deliver public lectures, mount gallery exhibitions, collaborate on installations and performances, and work with students and faculty.

Tonga Ross-Ma’u ’08, an established San Diego-based musician, has played 10 different instruments at various points during his career. Nowadays, he focuses on piano, bass and guitar, but still loves playing saxophone or steel drums whenever he gets the chance. During his presentation, “What It Means to Live as an Artist,” he discussed his process for creating music, collaborating with other artists and how to make music a full-time career.

Cliften Bonner-Desravines ’13, also known as Cliff Notez, is an awardwinning multimedia artist, musician, producer and filmmaker. He led two virtual discussions, one with students in a course with Instructor of Music Julie Searles and Professor of Music Matthew Allen and another with this year’s cohort of Posse students. He also hosted the virtual event “Digitally Disturbed: An Exploration of Mental Illness and Health and Digital Media.”

Evelyn Danzig Haas ’39 Visiting Artists Program alumni during spring: • Kurt Adametz ’08

• Emily Bergmann ’16

• Meghan Donnelly ’07 • Walker Downey ’13 • Charlotte Hall ’17

• Taylor Kaufman ’20

Ebony Williams ’08, a therapist and writer, shared her work helping others overcome their trauma during virtual visits to Wheaton. She gave a communitywide presentation, “Process over Production: Healing, Growing and Embodying Our Humanity,” on how to tap the creative arts to help process abuse or trauma. She also led a workshop in Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Stephanie Burlington Daniels’s “Theatre and Social Change” course as well as a guided mediation and writing workshop during a week of Martin Luther King Jr. programming.

—Laura Pedulli

• Soraya Matos ’14

SPRING 2021 35

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NETWORK

Environmental justice for all Science course explores equity issues

Seeking to infuse his “Environmental Science” course with broader topics related to racial justice and equity, Professor of Biology Scott Shumway invited Heather Andrade Spitzberg ’96 and Ciara Sidell ’15, among others, to be guest speakers.

Spitzberg is an environmental analyst for the state of New York and Sidell is an urban farm manager in New York City.

The two shared information about their careers and how they intersect with environmental justice.

“It’s a small step in a class that is usually limited to talking about conservation biology,” Shumway said.

Spitzberg said she was excited to learn that Wheaton seeks to incorporate antiracist teachings into its curriculum and was eager to contribute her knowledge.

She is the director of the environmental analysis unit at Homes and Community Renewal, the state of New York’s affordable housing agency.

“It is a broad topic on the cutting edge, especially as it pertains to climate change, and a ripe area for students who will soon be graduating to pursue careers,” said Spitzberg, who majored in environmental science.

During her extensive presentation, she discussed her work ensuring that everyone has access to housing that abides by environmental laws and regulations.

She also explained how the state has designated “environmental justice areas,” where residents are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues. In those areas, the state requires consideration of whether new development will further exacerbate these inequalities.

The pursuit of environmental justice is key to Sidell’s mission as the urban farm manager of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance in New York City. In that role, she conducts urban farm edible education programs for K–12 students.

36 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Ciara Sidell ’15, urban farm manager, Randall’s Island Park Alliance

Heather Andrade Spitzberg ’96, director of the environmental analysis unit, New York State Homes and Community Renewal

At the farm, which features a 40,000-square-foot sustainable garden and outdoor classroom, students have the opportunity to plant, harvest and compost as well as learn sustainable gardening practices. The food produced is helping feed families struggling with food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a farmer, our lens is related not only to the environment as a whole, but also equity. Food equity means that all people have the ability and opportunity to grow healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate food. Everyone must have access to food systems we all are eating in,” said Sidell, who graduated from Wheaton with an independent major in environmental studies.

Nikki Vaynshteyn ’22 said the course’s focus on environmental justice is an important step in the inclusion of diverse

perspectives and racial justice in academia.

“Environmental justice was discussed in a way that emphasized the inequities faced by historically marginalized communities. Furthermore, an emphasis was made on the working solutions to resolve climate inequity issues, and the guest speakers outlined tangible paths of action we could take to tackle environmental justice problems,” she said.

Mia Murray ’22 said she enjoyed learning about the careers of the guest speakers and how they relate to the environmental justice movement.

“Ciara and Heather ultimately found their passions by trying new things and putting themselves out there and are now able to use their experiences to help those who are under-represented,” she said.

—Laura Pedulli

Honoring Helene Pruszynski ’80 Classmates raise money for scholarship fund in friend’s memory To the public, Helene Pruszynski ’80 was a young woman who was abducted and murdered in Colorado four decades ago.

When DNA evidence led to the conviction of her killer in 2020, and long-overdue justice for her, the case received widespread media attention—including on “Dateline” on NBC. But for those who knew her at Wheaton, she was a mentor, friend, role model, a talented musician (and member of the Wheatones) and someone with a fun sense of humor.

“If you were walking across campus and passed Helene, your day was made better by seeing her smile, even if you didn’t stop and talk with her. Her enthusiasm was infectious. She was caring, patient and wanted to help others,” recalled Ellie Horlbeck Thompson ’81.

Darlene Boroviak, professor emerita of political science, recalled her as invariably upbeat, even in difficult times.

“Helene combined an impressive level of maturity with a special type of adolescent fun and enthusiasm,” she said.

After her death, classmates and friends established the Helene Pruszynski Leadership Award, which is given to a senior who has enriched the campus environment through contributions to student life and commitments to others.

They also created The Helene Pruszynski ’80 Scholarship, which is awarded to a senior, with preference to an English or biology major.

A group of Wheaton alumni and friends—including Thompson, Monique Shire ’81, Rosemarie Bruno ’81 and Kitsey Snow ’80—are leading efforts to increase donations to the scholarship fund.

Their work is paying off. Since June 30, 2020, more than 50 new donors have given $40,281. The endowed scholarship fund totals $116,889.

“The genesis of this effort is inspired by who Helene was to each of us and to

Helene Pruszynski ’80

After her death, classmates and friends established the Helene Pruszynski Leadership Award, which is given to a senior who has enriched the campus environment through contributions to student life and commitments to others.

They also created The Helene Pruszynski ’80 Scholarship, which is awarded to a senior, with preference to an English or biology major.

the Wheaton community. She was such an exceptional person. She embodies Wheaton in the best possible ways,” Bruno said.

At a time when the alumni are feeling the weight of the loss anew, with the conviction of her murderer, they hope that the

scholarship fund will give future students the benefit of the Wheaton experience.

“All of our loss of Helene has been magnified and we have been reliving it.

We want to take this horrible situation and turn it into something unbelievably positive and wonderful—for Helene,” Bruno said.

Boroviak, who noted that the classmates suffered the loss at a time before the era of grief counseling, said she admires how they’ve come together to honor their friend’s memory.

“In remarkable ways, her classmates and friends found their own comfort in working together on ways to remember Helene as a leader, and their efforts to fund what was then a very new idea on campus—a leadership award—allowed them not only to honor her but also to keep her memory alive for generations to follow,” Boroviak said. “They found their own way to achieve both solace and hope. I was and continue to be proud of them.”

—Laura Pedulli SPRING 2021 37

CLASS NOTES

Jane Protzman ’59 loves taking imaginative photos of herself; this one captures her shadow on marshlands near her home. Read more, Page 42

Craftsman Erik Betti ’03 carves out time for his woodworking hobby, building stunning ukuleles and guitars, like the lap steel guitar pictured above. Read more, Page 57

MARIELA VASQUEZ GONZALEZ

In the field: Jordan Rogan ’14 investigates the impact of development on mammal biodiversity in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Read more, Page 60 38 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Need help submitting your Class Notes or photos? Page 40 Class years in BLUE are Reunion years. Commencement/ Reunion is May 21-23, 2021

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Report changes of address and email to Alumni Relations at 508-286-8207 or alum@wheatoncollege.edu.

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Contact us at classnotes@ wheatoncollege.edu and we will put you in touch with your class secretary.

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Contact our Alumni Relations Office to get involved at 508-286-8207.

For class secretaries: How to submit your Class Notes

By email: Submit Class Notes to classnotes@wheatoncollege.edu.

Include your class year in the subject line (e.g., “Class Notes, 2001.”) Also, we accept Class Notes by snail mail: Class Notes Wheaton Magazine Wheaton College 26 E. Main St. Norton, MA 02766

Deadlines

Fall: June 1, 2021 Winter: Sept. 28, 2021 Spring: Jan. 17, 2022

Invest Today. Inspire Tomorrow.

Jordyn Paul ’21

Psychology major, student-athlete Kristen Bettencourt ’89 Wheaton Fund Internship recipient

“My internship last summer with a clinical social worker prepared me well for the future. It allowed me to put into practice my knowledge from coursework and helped me realize that I would love a career helping people—especially youths.”

Give to the Wheaton Fund today to support the dreams of tomorrow.

Go online to learn more about how your support creates opportunities for Jordyn and other students.

Photos

To submit digital photos (preferred), email them as an attachment to classnotes@wheatoncollege.edu. For full guidelines, visit wheatoncollege.edu/wheatonmagazine/submitting-digitalimages. Mail photographic prints (at least 4x6 inches in size) to address above. Please send copies only; we cannot return photos.

For all photos: Please supply a brief description of the event and all the names and class years of the alumni in the picture.

Please note: The photos you send in must be sharp and clear.

Photos that are out of focus, or that have harsh shadows, overexposed areas or “red-eyed” subjects may not be usable. Often we receive more photos than we can use in any one issue. When this happens, we will select photos that represent a variety of class years and timely events.

Alumni recognition comes in many forms

The Alumni Board of Directors is interested to know about alumni whose work deserves to be recognized or whose talents enrich our community. Please share their stories (or yours) with the Alumni Board at alum@wheatoncollege.edu or call 508-286-8207. To learn more, please visit wheatoncollege.edu/alumni SPRING 2021 39

CLASS NOTES

Finding yourself everywhere Long before the term “selfie” gained prominence, Jane Protzman ’59 began taking imaginative photos of herself during her worldly travels. She shared several of these photos from journeys over the years, and what inspired them: Left, St. Petersburg, Russia (2007):

“This photo was at the Summer Palace of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia.

There was so much gold and so many mirrors for reflections.”

Middle, Reykjavik Opera House, Iceland (2014): “This photo shows how you can have a photo of self in the context of a place.”

40 WHEATON MAGAZINE

Right, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City (2014): “I took this photo on the roof of the museum for a summer installation of glass walls and ivy.”

—Laura Pedulli

Indira Henard ’03 makes 2020 Washingtonians of the Year list Washingtonian magazine, in December 2020, published its list of 2020 Washingtonians of the Year. Those receiving the honor are described as locals who make Washington, D.C., “even better.”

Indira Henard ’03, the executive director of the DC Rape Crisis Center, is among those who made the list, which includes the mayor of D.C. The Washingtonian article featuring the winners described the start of Henard’s leadership of the center in 2016 as lifesaving—both for survivors of assault as well as for the organization, which was financially struggling.

“She acted quickly, securing multimilliondollar funding, recruiting a brand-new board, overseeing a renovation and retiring the nonprofit’s debt. The swift reform was so impressive that Henard became a consultant for rape crisis centers nationwide and traveled abroad to open the first one in Lagos, Nigeria,” according to the article.

Henard majored in political science at

Wheaton and earned a master’s degree in social work from the Catholic University of America. Currently, she is an alumni trustee on the Wheaton Alumni Board of Directors. She said she is deeply humbled to receive the recognition.

“This award is not only an affirmation of our work, and how tirelessly the staff at the DC Rape Crisis Center works on behalf of survivors of sexual violence, but it also represents the importance that the center has held in the Washington, D.C., community for the last 49 years,” she said.

Originally from Chicago, Henard has lived in Washington, D.C., for nearly 20 years. Currently, she is preparing for the center’s 50th anniversary celebration that will take place in 2022. The organization is the oldest rape crisis center in the country. Henard also is working on a project that examines the long-term reproductive health needs of Black women who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

—Sandy Coleman

Indira Henard ’03

Khrystian King ’95 in Wall Street Journal Finding common ground when tensions are heated on two sides of an issue—especially when the divide is over race, violence and institutional structures—is complicated, difficult work and often leaves all involved not fully satisfied with the results. However, Worcester City Councilor-At-Large Khrystian “Khrys” King ’95 has been committed to doing what is necessary to work with officials in his city toward racial justice, equity and unity.

On Dec. 11, 2020, The Wall Street Journal took a long, deep dive into what trying to make progress looks like, in the article “A Local Police Chief Struggles to Bridge 2020’s Bitter Divisions: Worcester, Mass., Chief Steven Sargent stood between residents seeking to revamp the police department and those angry over claims the institution was racist.”

King’s work, as well as that of other officials, was part of the exploration.

The Worcester police chief and city leaders have been working together to try to mend divisions among residents. According to the Wall Street Journal article, King, “one of three people of color on the 11-member city council, said some residents wanted to dissolve the Worcester police department

and others called it the best in the country.

He, too, was caught in the middle, criticized by constituents who said he didn’t push hard enough to change the department and threatened by others for trying.”

In addition to being a city councilor, King is a social worker in the Worcester office of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. He says he has used all of his experiences as well as his educational background to help find balance and provide insight in challenging public conversations about what changes are necessary for improvement.

King, who majored in social psychology at Wheaton and was a student-athlete on the basketball team, received an honorary degree from Wheaton in 2020. He earned a master’s degree in social work from Simmons College as well as a public management and leadership certificate from the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University in 2014.

“The skills I learned at both the Moakley Center [at Suffolk] and Wheaton have shaped me as a city councilor and leader at the Department of Children and Families. I’ve been able to apply these real-life, real-time skills in a practical way in Worcester,” he said.

—Sandy Coleman

Khrystian King ’95

SPRING 2021 41

CLASS NOTES

Gabe Amo ’10 appointed to White House role Gabe Amo ’10 continues to excel in his political career. The White House has appointed him as deputy director in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, according to a February 23 article in The Boston Globe.

The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs serves to engage state, local and tribal governments—in addition to elected officials across Puerto Rico and U.S. island communities—to address the most pressing issues impacting the country and communities.

As deputy director, Amo serves as the liaison between President Joe Biden and state and local elected officials across the United States.

Prior to this role, Amo worked on intergovernmental affairs for the Biden-Harris Transition Team and served as states strategy and program advisor for Biden for President.

From 2015–19, he was the director of public engagement and community affairs in the office of Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo.

As a political science major at Wheaton

College, Amo served on the Student Government Association and the College Hearing Board and was president of Wheaton’s chapter of The Roosevelt Institute. He received numerous scholarships and awards while at Wheaton, including the Davis International Fellowship, which enabled him to teach at a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana the summer after his sophomore year.

His junior year, Amo was one of just 60 college students in the U.S. to win a Truman Scholarship for graduate study.

And his senior year, he received a Marshall Scholarship, which supported his graduate studies in comparative social policy at Oxford University.

Since Wheaton, Amo has worked at the White House’s Office of Political Affairs (Summer 2010), the Obama-Biden campaign (2012) and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (2013–15).

—Laura Pedulli

Gabe Amo ’10

Excellence in conservation Jordan Rogan ’14 received a prestigious fellowship from Texas A&M University in recognition of her research on the impact of land-use change on mammal biodiversity in Monteverde, Costa Rica, as well as her mentorship and teaching at the university.

The award—the U.S. Senator Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellowship—is given annually to doctoral students whose excellence in both research and teaching exemplifies the meaning of scholar/mentor in the highest sense, according to the university.

“I am thrilled and humbled to be named one of the 2020 recipients. Teaching and mentoring have played a large role in my graduate career thus far. Both outlets have allowed me to engage with and provide learning opportunities and guidance to a wide variety of students, the majority of whom are very passionate about science, research and learning,” said Rogan, who was an environmental science major at Wheaton.

Rogan currently is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University’s Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology and a member of the Applied Biodiversity Science (ABS) multi-disciplinary doctoral program. At the

42 WHEATON MAGAZINE

university, she has taught undergraduate lab courses, served as a guest lecturer in several courses, and mentored students in the ecology and conservation biology department in field research and data analysis, as well as in the ABS Conservation Scholars Program.

Rogan’s passion for conservation and scientific research first began at Wheaton, she said.

“Courses with field components in particular, especially ecology and ornithology with [Professor of Biology] John Kricher, and an independent field-based research project with Professor Kricher, were truly inspirational to me and cemented my goals to pursue a career as a conservation research scientist,” Rogan said. “I will always look back fondly on my time at Wheaton among the small cohort of fellow environmental science majors, and with so many other bright minds and inspiring professors. I am eternally grateful for Wheaton’s foundational role in career.”

Rogan plans to present her final thesis to the community of Monteverde to aid in on-the-ground, collaborative conservation initiatives.

—Laura Pedulli

Jordan Rogan ’14

Making guitars strikes a chord with craftsman By day, Erik Betti ’03 is a digital imaging specialist who retouches photographs. But when he has free time, the alum loves nothing more than “coaxing tree slices into becoming guitars.”

Betti is an aspiring master at carving guitars, ukuleles and Erik Betti ’03 other stringed instruments from a variety of wood, including mahogany, maple and yellowheart. He does not rush the process; he eschews power tools for the slow satisfaction of using simple tools like a hand plane, chisel or cabinet scraper.

Betti’s favorite guitar is one he is working on now for Chicago blues guitarist Toronzo Cannon.

“It’s a reimagining of a Gibson LP Special, originally a budget instrument from the late 1950s, but entirely handmade and uniquely personalized. The body is fully chambered; the top is beautifully flamed and spalted maple. I spent the better part of a week designing and creating the Chicago Flag inlay on the 12th fret. It’s nearing completion, and I’ve never been so excited to see an instrument finished,” he said.

Betti majored in English with a focus on creative writing—but took many art courses that fueled his passion for hands-on creative pursuits. He also honed his digital media skills and gained experience managing a photo lab on campus.

Learning to build instruments came as the result of experimenting as a student, Betti said. He and Aaron Stronge ’03 received a Wheaton Foundation Grant to investigate the confluence of electronics, wood and sound.

“We were taking ‘Electronic Circuits’ with [library/information technology specialist]

Shaoping Moss and wanted to try our hand at building guitar amplifiers. That led to trying to build both electric guitars and amplifiers from scratch,” he said.

While the duo didn’t make much headway with the amplifiers, they were able to rough cut the bodies and necks of a guitar. As Betti gained more woodworking experience, he managed to finish the guitar in 2016.

“It’s the first one I ever completed. Looking back on it now, it seems unrefined and slightly childish, but it’s a good reminder of how I got started down this path, so many years ago,” he said.

—Laura Pedulli Betti crafted (right) the hollow body of an acoustic/electric ukulele; (bottom right) the body of the guitar for Toronzo Cannon; and (below) the Wheaton guitar that he finished in 2016.

SPRING 2021 43

IN MEMORIAM 1943

Alice Reed Buchanan, 99, of Oakmont, Pa., wife of the late Gibson Buchanan, died on Nov. 7, 2020. She was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Navy. She worked in public relations for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and in human resources at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. She was involved in many civic and cultural organizations and had a deep, lifelong love for Pittsburgh. She lived at Longwood at Oakmont for more than 20 years, where she was an active member of its community.

She also was a devoted listener of classical music and an avid reader.

1944

Adrienne Sheridan Denno, 98, died on Dec. 20, 2020, in San Diego.

She graduated from Wheaton with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

1947

Pat Gumble Grayson, 94, died on Dec. 2, 2020. After graduating from Wheaton with a bachelor’s degree in history, Pat returned to her hometown, Columbus, Ohio, to marry Elliott Grayson. A devoted wife and mother, she founded the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of Women’s American ORT, an organization for which she made several international fact-finding and training trips. Pat was an avid golfer, winning several club championships in her younger years. She also was an accomplished pianist, having written songs in college and for Winding Hollow Country Club revues.

1948

Barberie Harmer Van Valey, 95, formerly of Carlisle and Sudbury, Mass., died on Dec. 30, 2020.

Barberie attended Wheaton.

1949

Anne Rice Berntsen, 93, died on Dec. 27, 2020. She attended Wheaton.

1953

Louise Billo Shissler, 89, of Newland, N.C., died on Dec. 3, 2020. She attended Wheaton.

1954

Lucia Long Gray, 88, died on Nov. 8, 2020, in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Lucia met her lifelong partner, Dick Gray, shortly after graduating from Wheaton with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She moved to Allentown, Pa., and immersed 62 WHEATON MAGAZINE

herself in family, charitable and volunteer endeavors such as Meals on Wheels, the Allentown Art Museum and the Junior League.

In Hilton Head, she continued her volunteer work at The Bargain Box. Eleanor McKnight Haupt died on Dec. 16, 2020, in Newtown Square, Pa. She majored in economics at Wheaton and served as the director of the reading program at Episcopal Academy.

1956

Caroline Abell Coleman, 86, died on January 11. Caroline attended Wheaton.

1957

Emily Lynch Barrett, 85, died on Dec. 29, 2020, in Hyannis, Mass.

She was married to the late Edward Barrett for 45 years. Together, they raised four children. She pursued a career working at independent schools. She served in administration at the all-girls Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md., and then served as director of admissions at the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School of Potomac, Md. Emily was active in local theater, acting and producing plays. She played bridge regularly and was an accomplished tennis player.

Deborah Dean Pennels, 84, died in Falmouth, Mass., on January 14. Deborah earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wheaton.

After a whirlwind tour of Europe, she settled in Greenwich Village, New York City, and worked for New York Life Insurance Co. until meeting and marrying Stuart Pennels in 1958. Then, having spent several years navigating corporate America and moving from New York City to Chicago, on to Houston, back to Chicago, west to Seattle and south to San Francisco, they eventually decided to head to Maine to put down firm roots in 1970. Initially settling in Windham, Deborah volunteered at the Windham library for years, was a member of the Windham Hill Club and St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Windham.

Joan Munyan Swope, 85, died on January 15. Joan was the beloved wife of Jack Swope for 63 years.

They met in Ocean City, N.J., in 1951, where Jack taught Joan to sail. Joan graduated from Wheaton with a bachelor’s degree in English.

She loved traveling, playing tennis, gardening and volunteering at

Wills Eye Hospital, Paoli Hospital and The Academy of Sciences. She served as a deacon and an elder with Wayne Presbyterian Church.

She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends in Royal Oak, Md., and Sanibel Island, Fla.

1960

Judith Clemence Brownell, 81, of South Dartmouth, Mass., died on January 4. She majored in music at Wheaton and received her master’s degree in musical theory from Boston University. Professionally, Judith’s passion for music led her to teach at Friends Academy and in the Dartmouth public school system. For almost three decades she was the music director at the First Unitarian Church of New Bedford.

Judith also served as director for the New Bedford Choral Society and was the musical director of the Woods Hole Cantata Consortium for many years. Judith was a talented researcher and self-employed as a title examiner. She worked on complex and historic properties that required delving into the earliest records of Bristol and Dukes counties. She also served on the Dartmouth Conservation Commission.

1963

Gretchen Kerkhof Crosby, 79, died on Oct. 28, 2020. She majored in French at Wheaton and later taught French at Northrop School in Minneapolis for three years. Gretchen and Bob were married in 1965. She became an excellent golfer who loved to play with friends and family. She also became active in women’s golf in Minnesota and nationally with the United States Golf Association. She served on the boards of the Minnesota Women’s Golf Association and the Minnesota Golf Association, where she was vice chair of the Metropolitan Golf Association Centennial Committee. She also organized numerous amateur events. Gretchen loved to cook and was an accomplished chef.

1964

Mary Marsh Adams died on Sept.

1, 2020, in Juno Beach, Fla. She attended Wheaton.

1965

Jane Nichols Clifford, 77, died on January 3. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wheaton, she received her master’s degree in education from

Wheelock College and taught in the Boston area before returning home to Rochester, N.Y., to teach.

In 1969, Jane married Gerald, and they spent 49 happy, fun-filled years together until his passing in 2018. As a couple, they enjoyed fun times with friends and trips to Palm Beach and New York.

Jane was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and loyal friend to many. After raising their boys, Jane ventured into development at Allendale Columbia School. She volunteered with many organizations and served on the Norman Howard School and Gould Academy boards.

1967

Ellen Boyd Brandenburg, 75, of Salem, Mass., died on Sept. 4, 2020.

She attended Wheaton.

1969

Susan “Barrie” Matthews Peltz, of Lexington, Mass., died on February 2. She double majored in philosophy and religion at Wheaton. She worked as a Beth Israel Hospital administrator and met and married Mason Peltz in 1973. Barrie contributed her talents and humor to numerous companies and organizations, but it was her volunteer efforts for, and political involvement in, the town of Lexington that most gratified her. In addition to promoting the campaigns of several elected town leaders, she served as a member of the PTA, chaired the Lexington School Committee and was a member of the Lexington Historical Society. A gifted fiber artist, Barrie shared her knitting, needlepoint and fabric projects with all of her loved ones.

1970

Lesley Loser Johnston, 72, of Skillman, N.J., died on Dec.22, 2020. She followed in her mother’s footsteps as a Wheaton graduate. After college, Lesley became a social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead, N.J., before devoting herself full time to raising two boys. She embraced New York City and never tired of its rush and excitement, especially the Upper West Side.

1972

Louise Priscilla Kountze, 70, died on Oct. 19, 2020, in Denver. She attended Wheaton.

Beverly “Bev” Clark, professor of English Beverly “Bev” Clark, 72, a longtime professor of English at Wheaton, passed away on March 18.

Professor Clark taught at Wheaton for 44 years and was loved and respected by generations of faculty, students and staff. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the founder of the peer tutoring program at Wheaton, a tireless book reviewer, a dedicated studentfaculty research partner and a prolific scholar.

“Bev was a beloved colleague, mentor, leader and friend, but most of all, she was a great teacher whose dedication to her students was unparalleled,” said Provost Renée White. “Bev enriched the lives of all those she encountered.”

Samuel Coale, professor of English, described Professor Clark as one of the best

1976

Mary Martha Schroeder, 65, died in Plymouth, Mass., on Oct. 29, 2020. She was a registered nurse and licensed nursing home administrator. She retired in 2014.

She served as an officer in the United States Army Reserves for 20 years. She also attended the Boston University School of Business and received a master’s degree in business administration. Mary loved traveling, as well as spending time at home in Plymouth and Provincetown. She and her beloved wife, Lillian, hosted many happy events together, including their wedding in 2004 and their annual New Year’s Day gathering for family and friends.

1977

Barbara Bowen Bowes, 65, died on January 12. She majored in music at Wheaton. In her work life, she assisted in a veterinary clinic and owned a kennel; worked for a travel company as a guide; apprenticed and then worked as a master weaver; and, later in life, worked for herself as a seamstress and tailor. Barbara was a private pilot who flew her own plane solely for her own enjoyment. She also skied, kayaked and biked and she loved traveling and dancing. Barbara particularly loved cruising and traveled the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean, the Caribbean and along the rivers

chairs his department has ever had.

“She knew her facts, strategies and tactics, and her enthusiasm erupted with her discussions of children’s literature—she had so much to do with it actually becoming a recognized academic field,” he said.

Claire Buck, professor of English, added, “Bev concentrated her entire being on the growth of those around her, encouraging and inspiring us to become our best selves as writers, scholars, artists, mentors, feminists and teachers. This is how lasting change is made.”

Professor Clark was the author of 13 scholarly books on children’s literature.

These works include Kiddie Lit: The Cultural Construction of Children’s Literature in America, The Afterlife of Little Women and

of Europe. In 2008, Barbara met Michael Bowes and they married in 2012, moving to Heron Creek Golf and Country Club in North Port, Fla.

1978

Cynthia Straggas, 64, of Concord, Mass., died on Nov. 1, 2020. She double majored in economics and government at Wheaton. Throughout her professional career in banking, investments and technology, she was employed in operations management for Baybanks, Inc., Businessland and Anderson Consulting in Boston; Tenor Networks, Inc. in Acton; and Massachusetts Medical Society in Waltham. She was a former member of the Massachusetts Women in Technology and Boston Security Analysts Society.

Possessing many talents, Cynthia was an accomplished cook, baker, knitter and artist. She was committed to serving others and was a devoted volunteer at Open Table in Concord and The Concord Players.

1986

Noreen O’Doherty Cacchione, 56, died in Morristown, N.J., on Oct. 30, 2020. She majored in political science at Wheaton. Noreen began traveling the world at a young age with many visits to family in Ireland and Canada, which sparked

Regendering the School Story. She co-edited Little Women and the Feminist Imagination and Girls, Boys, Books, Toys: Gender in Children’s Literature and Culture.

Her work also has appeared in numerous journals, including Studies in Popular Culture, Contemporary Literature, College Composition and Communication, Children’s Literature Association Quarterly and American Literature.

Professor Clark graduated from Swarthmore College in 1970 and served in the Fiji Islands as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1971 to 1974. She received her Ph.D. in English literature from Brown University in 1979.

As a hobby, she collected Little Women memorabilia, from scarfs featuring June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor to paper dolls, coloring books and editions in many different languages. In January, she donated much of her personal children’s book collection to Wheaton’s archives and special collections.

a passion to see the world. She was fierce about her Irish heritage and instilled the love of her own culture in her family. In 1993, Noreen married Tony Cacchione and they raised two daughters together.

After a long career in corporate banking, Noreen owned and operated Northern Elite Gymnastics and Cheer.

1988

Jenica Forslund, 54, died on Oct. 17, 2020, in Marston Mills, Mass. She was married to William Hutchinson. After graduating from Wheaton, she pursued her graduate studies at New England College of Optometry. She loved the practice of optometry, but her greatest and most cherished role in life was mother and homeschooling teacher to her daughter.

1994

Pamela Bubier Sirois, 48, a resident of Greene, Maine, died on January 5. She attended Wheaton.

Friends

Lora Sharpe, former director of donor relations, in January Dale Rogers Marshall, president emerita, in January

Relatives

1951 Robert Hughes, husband of Anne Weller Hughes, in April 2020 1954 Richard Gray, husband of Lucia Long Gray, in February 2020

1957 Russell Beede, husband of Patricia Fleet Beede, in November 2020 1961 Richard Thornburgh, husband of Virginia Judson Thornburgh, in December 2020 1963 John Hager, husband of Margaret Chase Hager, in August 2020 1964 Maynard Witherell, husband of Jill Eiseman Witherell, in January 1969 Peter Teets, husband of Vivian Brearley Teets, in November 2020 1971 David Watts, husband of Lynne Bond, in January 1972 Barberie Harmer VanValey, mother of Barberie VanValey, in December 2020 1975 Robert Hughes, father of Laura Hughes, in April 2020 1976 Donald Kreutzer, husband of Charlotte Kowalcek Kreutzer, in June 2020 1983 Deborah Dean Pennels, mother of Melissa Pennels Best, in January 1983 Emily Lynch Barrett, mother of Katharine Barrett, in December 2020 1984 M. Aileen Murphy, mother of M. Michele Murphy Reilly, in October 2020 1986 M. Aileen Murphy, mother of Maura Murphy, in October 2020 1992 Herbert Caldwell, father of Haley Caldwell Blacklow, in November 2020 SPRING 2021 63

PERSPECTIVE

Time to reflect To say that it has been a tough year with the impact of the global pandemic and other challenges (some of them not new) is such an understatement that it leaves one craving new words.

To pause and reflect on what has been lost—the lives, opportunities, experiences—and the pressing challenges facing us, including COVID-19 and racial injustice, Wheaton’s Residential Life and the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life staff coordinated an evening of remembrance on March 25.

64 WHEATON MAGAZINE

The campus community was invited to note their personal losses in messages written on luminaria that also noted the staggering number of COVID-19 deaths in various states, including Massachusetts.

Students and staff helped set up the luminaria along pathways, and a walk for justice was held on campus before an evening moment of silence presented on Zoom.

“COVID-19 unexpectedly forced all of us into an ongoing period of traumatic loss and isolation. No matter our background,

KEITH NORDSTROM

we have been impacted by COVID-19 and the unrest both in the United States and abroad,” said Caleigh Grogan ’18, Center for Social Justice and Community Impact interfaith engagement coordinator.

“The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, along with the COVID-19 Return to Campus Task Force and Residential Life, wanted to acknowledge the varying experiences of COVID-19 within our community and create time and space to honor and mourn those whom we have lost.”

—Sandy Coleman

Planning the future.

“When I was at Wheaton, I initially struggled with my grades until Miss Leota Colpitts [dean of students from 1949 to 1968] called me into her office one day my freshman year and offered me some strong advice about being more passionate about my academic pursuits.

She inspired me to focus, set priorities and find balance with my extracurricular activities. Long after graduating, I remembered her wisdom as I balanced hobbies such as art, writing and dance with parallel careers in fundraising, education and fashion. I treasure my Wheaton experiences and have included the college in my estate planning. Wheaton’s ability to adjust to the needs of the times while maintaining consistently high standards is admirable. Education is the key to our future. I’m doing my part to contribute to that future.”

Helen Condon Powell ’65

Retired fundraising manager, WGBH Educational Foundation

Giving possibility.

For information, call Amy Dumont ’09 in the Office of Gift Planning at 508-286-3391 or visit giftplanning.wheatoncollege.edu.

Wheaton College, 26 E. Main Street, Norton, MA 02766 wheatoncollege.edu

Invest Today. Inspire Tomorrow.

Wheaton Fund donor and volunteer “The two things I treasure most about my Wheaton experience are the lifelong friends I have made and the true liberal arts education I received. I took courses in as many disciplines as I could. That breadth in knowledge and perspective has been invaluable throughout my professional career in sales and my volunteer vocation. I attribute much of my confidence and ability to relate to anyone to my Wheaton education. Our youngest daughter is a Class of 2016 alumna and her experiences were as outstanding as mine. I believe pursuing a liberal arts education is more important today than ever. It’s too early to predict what colleges are going to be like when we get on the other side of the pandemic. So, it is critical that we do everything we can to keep Wheaton sustainable by contributing to the Wheaton Fund.”

Carol Isenberg Barnett ’81 Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care volunteer

Wheaton Fund Your investment today inspires the dreams of tomorrow.

Learn more at wheatoncollege.edu/giving.

TOM BARNETT

Mid-America Merchandising, Inc. co-owner