Spring 2013 - Oglethorpe University
Spring 2013 - Oglethorpe University
Spring 2013 - Oglethorpe University
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our History<br />
VOL. 10 | NO. 1 | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
2O2O Vision<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Future in Focus<br />
strategic plan | 6 engaged living | 11 engaged difference | 15 alumni SPRING 2011 updates | CARILLON | 21 1
contents<br />
5<br />
8<br />
12<br />
14<br />
30<br />
42<br />
editor<br />
RENEE VARY KEELE<br />
Featured writers<br />
MARGARET DANIEL<br />
CAITLYN MITCHELL ’13<br />
contributors<br />
DEBBIE AIKEN ’12<br />
REED BARRICKMAN ’02<br />
J. TODD BENNETT<br />
LINDSEY CARROLL<br />
JODIE SEXTON GOFF ’01<br />
BARBARA BESSMER HENRY ’85<br />
DON HENRY ’83<br />
SYDNEY MOBLEY MOSS ’59<br />
WEATHERLY RICHARDSON ’13<br />
LINDA SANDERS<br />
SCARBOROUGH ’65<br />
KELLY HOLLAND VRTIS ’97<br />
photographers<br />
ROBERT FINDLEY ’14<br />
AMANDA (BROOKE)<br />
FLOYD ’13<br />
ONE MOMENT MORE<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
www.omm.com<br />
design<br />
em2 Brand Marketing<br />
That Moves You<br />
Carillon is published<br />
twice a year for alumni,<br />
friends, and family of<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, founded in<br />
1835, is a private, liberal<br />
arts college.<br />
Photos Above<br />
The <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> community<br />
gathered in October 2012 to break<br />
ground on the new campus center.<br />
Pictured (l–r): Dean of Students<br />
& Vice President for Campus Life<br />
Michelle Hall, Student Government<br />
Association President Joscelyn<br />
Stein ’13, Trustee Belle Turner<br />
Lynch ’61, President Schall, Board<br />
of Trustees Chair Norman Findley<br />
and Trustee Warren Jobe. Visit<br />
progress.oglethorpe.edu to check<br />
out the progress of the new campus<br />
center, set to open in August <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
Speak Out<br />
We’d love your feedback on this issue as well as what you might like<br />
to see in upcoming Carillons. E-mail: rvary@oglethorpe.edu<br />
or call 404-364-8868.<br />
6 strategic plan | 8 engaged campus<br />
community | 11 engaged living<br />
15 engaged difference | 17 engaged<br />
creativity | 19 engaged life | 21 OUR<br />
alumni | 35 class notes | 41 our<br />
community | 47 our CHANNELS<br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 3
strategic plan<br />
President Schall leads<br />
the groundbreaking<br />
ceremony for the new<br />
Campus Center.<br />
Ask<br />
This involved one of the earliest efforts to develop<br />
a core curriculum, with the twin aims to “make a<br />
life and to make a living.” It was a concept that<br />
attracted nationwide attention.<br />
PRESIDENT’S<br />
LETTER<br />
By Lawrence M. Schall<br />
This year, my eighth as President, has been both a year of exciting<br />
progress on campus and the exercise of leadership on an issue of critical<br />
national importance off campus—gun safety. Let me begin there.<br />
After the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Conn., I made a decision to speak out<br />
and express my personal views on the need for rational and reasonable<br />
gun safety legislation. I shared the open letter I had composed with<br />
a few colleagues who also serve as college and university presidents.<br />
They shared it with others and within 72 hours, more than 150 higher<br />
education leaders had signed on. A few days later, the number grew<br />
to more than 300 and additional presidents have continued to<br />
add their names every week. You can read the letter, see the<br />
signatories, and read the press coverage of our collective effort at<br />
www.collegepresidentsforgunsafety.org.<br />
Our letter (and our university) captured a great deal of attention across<br />
the country and was an important part of the conversation on the<br />
Hill and in the White House as the country works to find solutions to<br />
this ongoing national tragedy. I certainly knew that not everyone in<br />
our community would agree with my views. You can also read on the<br />
website the two pieces I wrote about why I made the decision to write<br />
and distribute the letter. The letter belongs to me and doesn’t purport to<br />
represent the views of our trustees, our faculty, students or alumni. That<br />
said, I do believe the writing of the letter does say something about our<br />
community, about the value we place on rational discussion and debate,<br />
about the connections we make between what we study and how we act,<br />
and finally, about the obligation we all have to speak out.<br />
My vision and hope for <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students<br />
is that each of them becomes active in their<br />
communities and that their life of action<br />
starts during their time with us.<br />
From the start of my tenure at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, I have worked to help our<br />
community connect the deep and rigorous learning that happens inside<br />
our classrooms with real world experiences. You might recall that my<br />
inauguration back in 2006 was a day of service to our community and<br />
that theme of service has carried through until this day. Inside this issue,<br />
you will read about the “<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Idea” and the university’s strategic<br />
plan, which arose out of that idea. For several decades <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has<br />
sought to better integrate our mission and our place to set ourselves<br />
apart from other small colleges whose locations are not as desirable<br />
as ours. The American system of higher education, here in Atlanta<br />
and across the country, is filled with examples of schools that excel at<br />
training students in specialized fields or in educating students broadly<br />
without regard to a career. However, it is rare that a college excels at<br />
both. That is the foundation of the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Idea, which is captured<br />
best in our motto: Make a life, Make a Living, Make a Difference. Our<br />
mission is to provide a rigorous and superior interdisciplinary education<br />
in an intimate learning environment that prepares students to think,<br />
critique and communicate across a broad range of subjects—and to<br />
provide them significant exposure to deep learning experiences in the<br />
real world so they will be prepared to succeed and make a difference.<br />
In this issue of the Carillon, read about the new campus center<br />
scheduled to open in August and the A-Lab (the Atlanta Laboratory for<br />
Learning at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>), which will lie at the center of that<br />
building. The A-Lab, future home to the Center for Civic Engagement,<br />
Center for Experiential Learning and our new Center for International<br />
Studies, is designed to help our students connect theory to practice each<br />
and every day.<br />
I often share with our students the life course of our namesake James<br />
Edward <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> who, at an age not much older than most of them,<br />
led a successful crusade to empty British prisons of the thousands of<br />
debtors who had been confined there. He then founded the Colony<br />
of Georgia as a slave free state, the first among all British colonies.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> was a visionary who was called to act upon his vision. My<br />
vision and hope for <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students is that each of them becomes<br />
active in their communities and that their life of action starts during<br />
their time with us.<br />
Timeless<br />
Questions<br />
Redefining Undergraduate Education<br />
through Unparalleled Engagement<br />
During the middle of the last century,<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> President Philip Weltner<br />
and a group of faculty conceived of a<br />
revolutionary approach to undergraduate<br />
education called “the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Idea.”<br />
Part of what made The <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Idea so<br />
innovative in 1940 was the university’s embrace<br />
of the world beyond its gates—the intentional<br />
goal of using knowledge to prepare graduates<br />
exceedingly well for life and work beyond the<br />
“ivory tower.” Recently, that goal has taken on<br />
another dimension: Atlanta as a laboratory to<br />
test theories learned in the classroom during the<br />
undergraduate years.<br />
Today, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is one of the very few<br />
coeducational liberal arts colleges in a major<br />
U.S. city. Nearly two centuries ago <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
was founded, like many liberal arts colleges, out<br />
in the country. After the Civil War, our founders<br />
transplanted the classic liberal arts ideal to Atlanta.<br />
Their decision gives us an exceptional advantage<br />
that <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has yet to maximize to its fullest.<br />
Because of its size, mission and location, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
is in the unique position to integrate the enduring<br />
knowledge of an interdisciplinary liberal arts<br />
education with the immediate and tangible impact<br />
of real-world experience. Make no mistake—<br />
we are already doing this for many of our students.<br />
The difference, already in motion, is to make<br />
engagement between theory and practice—<br />
on campus, in the city of Atlanta, and beyond—<br />
the hallmark of an <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> education.<br />
Where will <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> be in 2020?<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s current strategic plan sets forth to<br />
fulfill more ambitiously than ever our mission to<br />
“make a life, make a living, make a difference.”<br />
The strategies have been specifically crafted<br />
to build a strong, compelling identity for<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> that will lead to enrollment growth<br />
and improved retention. This growth, along with<br />
new strategic partnerships, many of which are<br />
highlighted in this issue, will lead to greater<br />
financial strength, allowing <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> to<br />
reinvest in our people, programs and facilities.<br />
Such investments will allow us to provide an even<br />
more exceptional education, creating a cycle of<br />
growth, strength and continued excellence.<br />
Adapted from “THE OGLETHORPE IDEA:<br />
Redefining Undergraduate Education through<br />
Unparalleled Engagement, A Strategic Plan for 2020.”<br />
4 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 5
strategic plan<br />
A PLAN OF ENGAGEMENT<br />
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION<br />
ENGAGED<br />
LIFE<br />
ENGAGED<br />
CAMPUS<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
2020<br />
ENGAGED<br />
CREATIVITY<br />
020<br />
ENGAGED<br />
LIVING<br />
ENGAGED<br />
DIFFERENCE<br />
ENVISION.<br />
PLAN.<br />
STRONG IDENTITY<br />
FINANCIAL STRENGTH<br />
ENGAGE.<br />
By 2020, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> will be<br />
a university of first choice for exceptional<br />
faculty and students, where unparalleled<br />
engagement between the highest quality<br />
classroom learning and real-world<br />
application in the city of Atlanta and<br />
beyond, is our hallmark.<br />
ENROLLMENT GROWTH<br />
ENGAGED LIFE<br />
The <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Core provides a common language amongst the<br />
students and with the faculty, strengthening community and<br />
engagement on campus in our common pursuit of how to “make<br />
a life.” Pervasive and ambitious, it serves as students’ intellectual<br />
touchstone from their first day of classes throughout their <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
education. <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> will build upon the Core curriculum to<br />
provide a superlative interdisciplinary foundation while connecting<br />
students to opportunities for deep experiential education and<br />
providing support systems to ensure academic success.<br />
ENGAGED LIVING<br />
Our graduates must be prepared for life in a global society. One of the<br />
distinctions of an <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> education will be intensive experiential<br />
learning through expanded internships and international education.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> will ensure that every student has the opportunity to<br />
complete one or more internships related to his or her field of study and<br />
prepare students to engage with a global society through the increased<br />
internationalization of our campus population and program offerings.<br />
ENGAGED DIFFERENCE<br />
A key to building strong connections between the academic and the<br />
practical is further enhancing the links between the university’s<br />
academic program and the Center for Civic Engagement. Founded<br />
in 2006, the CCE has proved pivotal in enabling engagement with<br />
Atlanta and the world through service learning courses, volunteer<br />
projects and service trips. Service learning courses explicitly link<br />
classroom learning with service to the community (see page 15).<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> will enhance those programs that educate students to<br />
be informed and active citizens.<br />
ENGAGED CREATIVITY<br />
The university will deploy our community’s rich resources, on campus<br />
and off, to provide students opportunities for engagement in the art,<br />
the skill, and the business involved in creative expression. The arts<br />
will be fully realized as a defining feature of an <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> education<br />
by integrating our unique educational opportunities on campus—<br />
a nationally known professional theater company, a museum of<br />
art that presents leading international exhibits (see page 17), and<br />
distinctively excellent curricular and co-curricular programs in<br />
theater, music, visual arts, creative writing, film and new media studies.<br />
ENGAGED CAMPUS COMMUNITY<br />
One of the most visible elements of the plan focuses on improving the<br />
university’s physical infrastructure. The construction or improvement<br />
of campus facilities will enhance the residential student culture and<br />
foster engagement within our community. Our new campus center,<br />
set to open in August <strong>2013</strong>, is one project designed to do just that.<br />
While our improved spaces will develop deeper connections among<br />
everyone on campus, the quality of those connections is improved<br />
further within a productive environment. To that end, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> will<br />
seek additional ways to improve the infrastructure and quality of life<br />
for the entire campus community.<br />
So, what’s<br />
going on NOW?<br />
Capital Projects<br />
The new campus center is<br />
scheduled to open in August<br />
<strong>2013</strong>. Completing the construction<br />
and opening the facility are<br />
top priorities this year. Recent<br />
projects already completed<br />
include a new scene shop for<br />
our theatre program (currently<br />
being used as a temporary<br />
dining facility), a modernized<br />
track and field, renovations to<br />
the basement of Robinson Hall,<br />
a new Academic Success Center<br />
in the basement of Lowry Hall,<br />
new campus signage and<br />
improvements to our fitness<br />
center. Visit progress.oglethorpe.<br />
edu for up-to-date information<br />
about all capital projects.<br />
Academic Strategic<br />
Planning<br />
Another key to exceptional<br />
engagement is the strengthening<br />
of our curriculum and building<br />
the intentional ties between<br />
our curricular and co-curricular<br />
initiatives. Our faculty is actively<br />
engaged in a strategic planning<br />
process to address and prioritize<br />
these issues. The results of their<br />
plan, which we expect to have<br />
completed in <strong>2013</strong>, will be<br />
fully integrated into our overall<br />
strategic plan.<br />
While there have been many parts of the strategic<br />
plan already in motion across all corners of campus<br />
this academic year, here are a few that are of<br />
key importance.<br />
Student Academic<br />
Success<br />
Last year, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> reached<br />
an early milestone in its strategic<br />
plan with the opening of the<br />
Academic Success Center,<br />
which was designed to develop<br />
programs that support student<br />
academic success. The ASC<br />
serves as a one-stop shop for<br />
tutoring, academic advising for<br />
undeclared students, personalized<br />
academic coaching, support for<br />
students with disabilities, and<br />
a variety of workshops and<br />
assessments to help define<br />
success at OU. After the first year<br />
with the ASC, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is<br />
already realizing gains in student<br />
retention. This year, we focused<br />
on continuing the early success<br />
of the ASC resulting in additional<br />
improvements to our student<br />
retention rate.<br />
Atlanta<br />
Laboratory for<br />
Learning (A-Lab)<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s strategic plan<br />
centers on exceptional<br />
engagement. The A-Lab will<br />
be a hub and incubator for<br />
all experiential learning at<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>—internships, field<br />
studies, civic engagement and<br />
study abroad. Located in the<br />
new campus center, the A-Lab<br />
will bring all opportunities for<br />
experiential learning under one<br />
umbrella and in a single location.<br />
With its opening, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
will unveil the new front door to<br />
the world beyond our walls.<br />
Turn the page to learn more.<br />
6 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong>
engaged campus community<br />
A-<br />
Lab<br />
Atlanta Laboratory<br />
for Learning =<br />
New Experiential<br />
Enterprise<br />
By J. Todd Bennett<br />
The value of liberal arts<br />
Ask any <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> graduate if their education<br />
prepared them for the future and you’ll likely<br />
hear a resounding “yes.” But, the case for the<br />
value of a liberal arts education sometimes<br />
can be difficult to make. While employers<br />
say they want graduates with the ability to<br />
reason, analyze and problem solve—the very<br />
skills developed by a liberal arts education—<br />
the mantra “we train you for nothing, but<br />
educate you for anything” is a tough pill<br />
to swallow for financially strained families<br />
looking at a six-figure investment. Students<br />
and their parents want to know that a college<br />
will not just educate, but prepare students for<br />
a career.<br />
In our most recent survey of admitted<br />
students, experiential learning (internships,<br />
research, study abroad) ranked highest<br />
in importance among academic and<br />
co-curricular decision factors, followed<br />
by undergraduate research opportunities<br />
and a career-focused curriculum. Our<br />
challenge is to provide both a strong<br />
theoretical foundation and hands-on,<br />
real-world application.<br />
Experiential learning<br />
Since 1944, the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Core has served<br />
as a model for integrating the disciplines<br />
to develop strong critical thinking skills.<br />
Experiential learning builds upon that<br />
model as students test that knowledge out<br />
in the world and apply new learning to old<br />
constructs. As with the Core, we have long<br />
offered experiential learning opportunities,<br />
but we have yet to take full advantage of our<br />
unique position as a high quality liberal arts<br />
institution located in a major international city.<br />
The university has made great strides in recent<br />
years with the founding of three centers for<br />
experiential learning activities:<br />
> Center for Civic Engagement<br />
> Center for Experiential Learning<br />
> Center for International Studies<br />
(opening in <strong>2013</strong>–2014)<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has already multiplied the<br />
opportunities offered to our students and<br />
expanded our partnerships with organizations<br />
in Atlanta and abroad. However, they are<br />
not yet differentiating <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> in the<br />
competitive higher education marketplace.<br />
In fact, most universities large and small,<br />
urban and rural, classical or vocational, have<br />
centers much like these. Therefore, we must<br />
take advantage of these centers, our location,<br />
and unique Core curriculum by combining<br />
them to create something even more powerful.<br />
Introducing the Atlanta<br />
Laboratory for Learning<br />
Is it a place? A program? A place to experiment?<br />
An experience? The answer is “yes.”<br />
The Atlanta Laboratory for Learning, or A-Lab<br />
for short, is all of those things and more. The<br />
A-Lab will serve as a symbol, both on and off<br />
campus, of our commitment to exceptional<br />
engagement between theory and practice<br />
and will, by its very name, embrace the city of<br />
Atlanta as OUR laboratory.<br />
With the opening of the new campus center,<br />
we will bring all of our experiential learning<br />
centers together under one umbrella, in a<br />
single, highly visible location. The A-Lab will<br />
become the new front door to the world beyond<br />
our campus walls. The physical place, and the<br />
programs within, will serve as an incubator<br />
((top) A rendering of a future A-Lab meeting<br />
room; (middle) Dr. Jeffrey Collins’ class gathers<br />
el fresco during a short-term study abroad trip<br />
to Italy; (bottom) Professor Roarke Donnelly’s<br />
Urban Ecology class learns about Atlanta’s<br />
BeltLine project<br />
for the development of new ideas and novel<br />
ways to test classroom learning. The A-Lab<br />
will open doors for students and support their<br />
experiences. And those experiences will be<br />
ambitious, even adventurous.<br />
An integrated approach<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Core emerged from the premise<br />
that sequenced, integrated learning across<br />
disciplines results in a stronger intellectual<br />
foundation. Each course or experience affects<br />
the way students approach the next, and<br />
gives new perspective to courses in their<br />
major discipline.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> will take a similar approach with<br />
the A-Lab, helping students to gain additional<br />
perspective as they apply their learning in<br />
the world around them. These experiences,<br />
ranging from internships and career planning<br />
to service and international study, will build<br />
upon their intellectual foundation while also<br />
building a resume.<br />
With all three of our experiential learning<br />
centers housed in a single location, students<br />
will be able to get information about<br />
volunteering, service learning, internships,<br />
career planning, study abroad and travel, all<br />
in one place.<br />
A prominent feature of the A-Lab’s physical<br />
space is “the Exchange”—a large, highly<br />
configurable, collaborative workspace and<br />
resource center designed to foster creativity,<br />
exploration and the open sharing of ideas and<br />
experiences. Because the A-Lab is about active<br />
experience, the aesthetic of the location will<br />
emphasize student engagement in activities—<br />
and of course, Atlanta. Global learning<br />
happens here, too, so Atlanta’s role as a leading<br />
gateway to the world will be featured in the<br />
imagery that adorns the walls.<br />
This physical location is more than a matter<br />
of convenience. Indeed, uniting these three<br />
experiences—organizationally and physically—<br />
brings other benefits.<br />
Imagine the possibilities<br />
Through integration, new and expanded kinds<br />
of experiences can emerge. Now, a service trip<br />
abroad combines “civic engagement” with<br />
“global learning.” What else might we create<br />
when we fuse together these three components<br />
in novel ways?<br />
> Imagine an incoming freshman having one<br />
stop to start creating a comprehensive fouryear<br />
experience plan, much like their fouryear<br />
academic plan...and both are integrated<br />
from the start.<br />
> Imagine the formation of an A-Lab<br />
network that brings our Atlanta partners<br />
together with our faculty, alumni and staff<br />
to mentor students and open doors to<br />
career opportunities beginning as early as<br />
freshman year.<br />
> Imagine a creative space that allows<br />
students with diverse academic backgrounds<br />
to seamlessly collaborate both with each<br />
other and with our Atlanta partners.<br />
> Imagine that because the A-Lab simplifies<br />
the process and expands the benefits, it<br />
provides yet another reason for <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
to be a school of choice—both for prospective<br />
students and potential partners.<br />
The prospects and possibilities are exciting<br />
and endless.<br />
Why the A-Lab?<br />
> Helps students apply what they learn<br />
through an integrated approach to<br />
experiential learning<br />
> Creates a defining feature that, along<br />
with the Core, will differentiate the<br />
university in a highly competitive higher<br />
education marketplace<br />
> Emphasizes the relevance of an<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> education<br />
> Strengthens <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s ties to Atlanta<br />
corporations, agencies and nonprofits<br />
Source: Admitted Student Survey, 2012.<br />
8 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 9
engaged LIVING<br />
engaged our History living<br />
According to legend, anywhere the<br />
winged horse Pegasus struck his hoof to<br />
the earth, an inspiring spring burst forth.<br />
In the fall of 2012, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s <strong>University</strong><br />
Communications office launched Pegasus<br />
Creative, a student communications agency<br />
which offers hands-on internship opportunities<br />
that allow students to learn and gain skills to help<br />
them advance in their future careers. And<br />
Pegasus Creative also benefits their alma mater.<br />
There’s no pencil-pushing or copy making here.<br />
Pegasus interns work side by side with professional<br />
staff in a collaborative environment. They gain<br />
professional experience and expertise in various<br />
fields, including public relations, journalism, social<br />
media marketing, web content development and<br />
analytics, video production, photography and<br />
market research.<br />
“I believe some of the deepest<br />
learning that can occur at college<br />
is when students are given the<br />
opportunity to apply what they<br />
have studied in class to address<br />
real life, real time problems.”<br />
“We wanted to create a laboratory-like<br />
environment for students to study and practice<br />
their skills through professional development,”<br />
said J. Todd Bennett, executive director of<br />
<strong>University</strong> Communications. “Students have the<br />
opportunity to generate high-level work that will<br />
be seen by thousands of people. Our goal is to<br />
reach a point where this becomes the place for<br />
students to test out their communications skills<br />
and build a portfolio of cutting edge work that<br />
most students don’t have when finishing college.”<br />
Pegasus interns come from all disciplines<br />
and circumstances. They include traditional<br />
undergraduate students, adult students in the<br />
Evening Degree Program and even an alumnus.<br />
Reed Barrickman graduated from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> in<br />
2002 with a B.A. in film and communication and<br />
wanted to brush up on subjects like social media<br />
that had emerged since he graduated. “I joined<br />
Pegasus because I felt like it would be a great way<br />
to learn some new real-world skills in a familiar<br />
and encouraging environment,” said Barrickman.<br />
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the creation of Pegasus<br />
because I know firsthand how valuable an<br />
Pegasus Creative:<br />
Inspiration in Action<br />
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13<br />
internship experience can be,” said Deborah<br />
Aiken ’12, who was a summer 2012 intern prior<br />
to being hired permanently to the <strong>University</strong><br />
Communications staff. “Without a doubt, this<br />
experience will help put our interns a step above<br />
their peers in a job search.”<br />
The inaugural group of Pegasus interns is<br />
enthusiastic about the precedent they’re setting.<br />
“We’re forging a new path for others to follow,<br />
a new frontier,” said Debra Bryant ’13, an adult<br />
student who works on web content development.<br />
“The attitudes are fun, everybody’s excited and it’s<br />
a positive place.”<br />
Weatherly Richardson ’13, an English major and<br />
a Pegasus campus reporter, says the experience<br />
has surprised her. “I actually get to be out in the<br />
OU community. I realized there would be a lot of<br />
interviewing; I just didn’t realize how much,” she<br />
remarked. “Some days I just go out and talk with<br />
people, and I think it gives me more experience<br />
than if I was just writing a blog. It gives me an<br />
opportunity to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t.”<br />
As a Pegasus features writer for this issue of<br />
the Carillon magazine, my own experience is<br />
similar. I’m gaining skills which are indispensable,<br />
including interviewing and a type of media writing<br />
that’s new to me. I’m benefiting my alma mater<br />
by providing my time and skills while I further my<br />
experience in a field I had not had the opportunity<br />
to explore previously. Each day I love it more and<br />
grow more confident in my ability to do this work<br />
on a professional level.<br />
Pegasus Creative has also earned the presidential<br />
stamp of approval. “I believe some of the deepest<br />
learning that can occur at college is when students<br />
are given the opportunity to apply what they<br />
have studied in class to address real life, real time<br />
problems,” said <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s President Schall.<br />
“The creation of our own student-run creative<br />
agency is just such an opportunity. I’ve already<br />
seen some of the work product that has come out<br />
of Pegasus and couldn’t be more pleased.”<br />
Want to learn more about Pegasus?<br />
Visit their self-published website<br />
at pegasus.oglethorpe.edu or<br />
simply scan this QR code with your<br />
smartphone.<br />
Joe Sutton ‘09, an <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> alumnus and<br />
rising star at CNN, gave Pegasus members<br />
an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the<br />
news network.<br />
Global Reach<br />
ou’s Center for International Studies<br />
By Margaret Daniel<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s global reach will soon extend even further with the opening of the Center for<br />
International Studies. Tentatively slated to launch in academic year <strong>2013</strong>-2014, the Center<br />
will provide additional support for expanding options for <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students to study abroad.<br />
Equally important, the Center will offer support and transitional assistance to international<br />
students at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>.<br />
“In the long term, we hope the Center for International Studies will grow the ways that<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> relates to the broader international community,” said Dr. Denise Runge, provost<br />
of the university. “This could take the form of professors putting a more international slant on<br />
their courses, or students having more internationally related internships and experiences.”<br />
Dr. Runge envisions the Center for International Studies as providing even more study abroad<br />
opportunities than <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> currently offers. At present, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> offers numerous<br />
short-term study abroad opportunities and has study abroad programs and partnerships with<br />
approximately 50 international universities. With the Center for International Studies, the<br />
university will offer more study abroad partnerships that will give students more options.<br />
In the short term, the Center will have one staff member who helps <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students who<br />
want to study abroad as well as international students enrolled at the university. This staff<br />
member will work with the faculty member who oversees study abroad programs. Long-term<br />
plans call for two staff, one who will be dedicated to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students who want to study<br />
abroad, and one who will serve international students.<br />
The Center for International Studies is one component of A-Lab, or the Atlanta Laboratory for<br />
Learning at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>, which is part of the school’s strategic plan. “The Center for<br />
International Studies, like the other components of the strategic plan, will make <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
even more attractive to more students,” said Runge.<br />
10 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong> 11 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 11
engaged living<br />
engaged living<br />
welcoming the World<br />
to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
When international students come to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, they are greeted at the airport by an OU staff<br />
member. They receive a welcome package containing a pillow, blanket, sheets, toiletries, snacks and<br />
water—items they will need on their first night in the dorm. <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> ensures that international<br />
students have an auspicious beginning to their university experience.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has a long tradition of welcoming international students, going back to 1946, when<br />
Norwegian World War II veterans came to the university to study. OU now has 61 international<br />
students, including 10 who recently arrived from Honduras. “Our name has spread, and our visibility<br />
is on the rise,” says Philip Peroune, associate director of admissions in charge of international<br />
student recruitment.<br />
This increased visibility and expanded international student population is the result of a strategic<br />
emphasis on recruiting outside our borders. The week he was interviewed for this article, Philip left<br />
for a 13-day trip to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> now<br />
enrolls students from Saudi Arabia, Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Brazil, Jordan, the United Kingdom,<br />
Colombia, Trinidad, Tobago, Costa Rica, Russia, Cameroon and Honduras.<br />
“There are people here from so many different places,” said Luise Hessing ’16 from Hildesheim,<br />
Germany, “and they all bring a different perspective to class.” Luise, who plans to major in anthropology<br />
and is studying Japanese, says that <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> does “a really good job of getting students out and<br />
helping them meet each other and find friends.”<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has many resources to meet the needs of international students. Faculty teach a section of<br />
the freshman writing class geared toward international students. The Academic Success Center assists<br />
with cultural transition issues and helps students follow their visa agreement regulations. And, the<br />
Counseling Center helps the students to handle the adjustment to a new environment.<br />
Francesca Garcia ’16, a native of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, enjoys the fact that <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> combines the<br />
benefits of a small university with the advantages of a big city. “<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has opened so many doors<br />
for me and has given me a perspective on life in the United States.”<br />
Global LEAD Expands Students’ Study Abroad Options<br />
Last fall, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> was named<br />
the academic partner institution of Global<br />
LEAD, a nonprofit that provides students<br />
with unique study abroad opportunities in<br />
Ecuador, Greece, and Cape Town, South<br />
Africa. Complementing OU’s strategic vision,<br />
Global LEAD’s innovative model provides<br />
an international experience based on the<br />
core tenets of “Leadership, Action, Adventure<br />
and Diplomacy” (LEAD). Global LEAD helps<br />
students to combine the benefits of studying<br />
abroad with service and adventure into a<br />
holistic life experience.<br />
“There are people<br />
here from so many<br />
different places and<br />
they all bring a<br />
different perspective<br />
to class.”<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students and students worldwide can<br />
earn college credit through Global LEAD in two<br />
courses on Leadership and Service. <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
has developed the program’s academically<br />
rigorous coursework, and accredited each<br />
Global LEAD program, approving academic<br />
faculty, syllabi, course pedagogy and materials.<br />
“Global LEAD’s mission complements<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s commitment to providing students<br />
with hands-on learning opportunities and<br />
experience to expand upon classroom learning,”<br />
said President Schall. “Students who participate<br />
in these programs are better equipped to be<br />
responsible, thoughtful citizens of the world.”<br />
Education First<br />
& <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
A Promising Partnership<br />
Based in Zurich, Switzerland, EF is the<br />
world’s largest provider of international<br />
study. Its programs range from educational<br />
tours and two-week language programs,<br />
to 11-month language study immersion<br />
programs, to a pre-Masters program.<br />
Through this partnership, EF international<br />
students live in the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> dorms and<br />
take EF English classes in <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
facilities. This arrangement affords these<br />
students the opportunity to get to know<br />
American students and practice their<br />
English with native speakers. It also has<br />
the benefit of diversifying <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
community, giving OU students the<br />
opportunity to meet their contemporaries<br />
from other parts of the world. At the time<br />
of this writing, EF students enrolled at<br />
the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> office were from Korea,<br />
Taiwan, China, Japan, Mexico, Spain,<br />
Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Saudi Arabia<br />
and Kazakhstan.<br />
“We were looking for a safe environment<br />
that is in a world class city and has an<br />
administration interested in a partnership<br />
for international study,” said Jason Daily,<br />
the school director of EF Atlanta. “The<br />
administration has been eager to work with<br />
us from the beginning. And the physical<br />
beauty of the campus was an added plus.”<br />
John Yager ’15, who spent five months in<br />
Germany with EF and is currently working<br />
as activities/excursions coordinator for<br />
the program at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, has a unique<br />
perspective on its benefits for both the EF<br />
students and the OU students. He finds it<br />
rewarding to see the EF students making<br />
progress through the immersion method<br />
of learning a language, and he also enjoys<br />
seeing <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students get to know their<br />
peers from different cultures.<br />
The activities planned for EF students are<br />
also open to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students, providing<br />
opportunities for interaction. These activities<br />
range from low-cost events like an exploration<br />
of the Silver Lake neighborhood and weightlifting<br />
lessons, to higher-priced excursions<br />
like a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. A trip<br />
to the Music Midtown festival drew a large<br />
number of EF and <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students.<br />
Janet Wood ’13, a resident advisor for the<br />
EF students, says that these students<br />
typically say that they do not want to leave<br />
when it is time for them to return home.<br />
“EF benefits <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> by spreading the<br />
word about the school to students in other<br />
nations,” she says. “EF students tell their<br />
peers about <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> when they return<br />
to their home countries.”<br />
OU has recently begun taking the partnership<br />
a step further. “<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is in the process<br />
of becoming a ‘partner school’ with EF,” says<br />
Lucy Leusch, vice president for enrollment<br />
and financial aid. Through this expanded<br />
relationship, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> will participate in<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> recently launched a<br />
partnership that is bringing many international<br />
students to its campus. After a national search<br />
of many universities, Education First (EF)<br />
selected <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> and Atlanta for its<br />
southeastern headquarters.<br />
EF’s <strong>University</strong> Foundation Year, a program<br />
for high school graduates who want to<br />
study at a two or four-year school in North<br />
America. This program offers TOEFL<br />
(Test of English as a Foreign Language)<br />
preparation; application assistance to<br />
three universities, one of which must be a<br />
partner school; and academic and college<br />
prep-related classes (research writing,<br />
presentations, grammar, etc.). <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
will be one of only 60 EF partner schools in<br />
the United States and Canada.<br />
As a partner school, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> can take<br />
advantage of EF’s offices around the<br />
world. For example, when OU staff are<br />
on recruiting trips, they can arrange<br />
to speak to EF staff, or when possible,<br />
students and parents. EF staff members<br />
arrange college fairs in their schools and<br />
provide opportunities for partners to make<br />
individual presentations.<br />
“This partnership with EF will make<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> an even more diverse,<br />
international community,” says Leusch.<br />
(left) EF offices reside in the renovated<br />
basement of Robinson Hall; (right) EF students<br />
Debora Pascual and Manuel Gutierrez, both<br />
from Venezuela, and Sam Soria and Cesar<br />
Gama, from Mexico, gather in a residence<br />
hall kitchen for a cooking lesson.<br />
12 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong> spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 13
engaged difference<br />
engaged difference<br />
Service Learning<br />
Educating Citizens<br />
of the World<br />
by Weatherly Richardson ’13<br />
Service learning has become a vital part of the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> experience. This innovative way of teaching<br />
was first introduced at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> in 2006, just months after the Center for Civic Engagement was<br />
founded. The emphasis on service learning is one of the reasons an <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> education stands<br />
apart from the typical undergraduate experience.<br />
Service learning (SL) courses are for-credit<br />
classes that allow students to gain experiential<br />
learning in conjunction with their traditional<br />
lecture or lab-style classes. These courses<br />
integrate academic learning with community<br />
involvement. Service learning helps implement<br />
a rigorous academic curriculum while meeting<br />
real community needs.<br />
SL courses may be created by a faculty member<br />
“from scratch,” based on the issues that the<br />
faculty member wants to address within the<br />
academic discipline. An SL course may also be<br />
an enhanced version of a course that already<br />
exists—but now includes a requirement of<br />
volunteer service (a minimum of 25 hours) to be<br />
completed with a nonprofit organization. This<br />
“The beauty of service learning<br />
courses is that students have an<br />
opportunity to apply the theory<br />
they learn in the classroom<br />
immediately in the real world,<br />
helping real people.”<br />
volunteer experience is directly linked to the<br />
issues and topics covered in the class.<br />
The move toward a more service-minded<br />
curriculum is gaining popularity throughout the<br />
country. While many graduate schools have SL<br />
courses and consider this component to be an<br />
essential part of their education, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is<br />
taking SL to a higher level.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is one of the few undergraduate<br />
colleges offering such an in-depth SL program,<br />
including summer courses and “mini-mesters”<br />
focused on fitting volunteer opportunities into<br />
an already challenging curriculum. The Center<br />
for Civic Engagement holds partnerships with<br />
many nonprofits and has a history of extensive<br />
volunteer effort in the community, making it<br />
easy for students to volunteer with a program<br />
that interests them.<br />
Yet even more innovative is the fact that<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> offers incentives encouraging<br />
faculty to participate in and develop more SL<br />
courses to advance students’ education in new<br />
and broader ways. “We make service learning a<br />
priority,” said Tamara Nash, executive director<br />
of the Center for Civic Engagement.<br />
Incentives such as offering stipends to faculty<br />
who are developing and teaching SL courses,<br />
hosting workshops where faculty can hear from<br />
experts who are leading SL and civic-minded<br />
work at other universities, and even creating<br />
a faculty liaison position have been met with<br />
enthusiasm from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s ever-creative<br />
faculty. <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> now offers seven service<br />
learning courses, which have all been developed<br />
from the ground up or enhanced from traditional<br />
courses by OU’s faculty. Courses offered during<br />
the spring <strong>2013</strong> semester were: General Biology<br />
II Lecture and Laboratory; Special Topics<br />
in Biology: Cancer Biology; Foundations of<br />
American Education; Special Topics in Politics:<br />
March on Washington 50th Anniversary; and<br />
Sociology: Social Problems.<br />
Volunteer placements that have been part of<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> courses have been eclectic: The Blue<br />
Heron Nature Preserve (for biology); a Russian<br />
orphanage (for history); PATH Academy and<br />
Refugee Family Services (for education); and<br />
The Latin American Association, Peachtree<br />
Elementary School After-school Program,<br />
Atlanta Catholic Charities, Haitian Relief<br />
Center, MorFiss Foundation, Serve Haiti,<br />
French Alliance, Ties that Matter, Theatre<br />
du Reve and Books for Africa (all for French/<br />
Spanish Crossroads service learning class).<br />
In 2010, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> created a position for a<br />
faculty member to serve as liaison to the Center<br />
for Civic Engagement in order to facilitate and<br />
strengthen communication and collaboration<br />
between faculty and Center staff. During<br />
2010-2011, Dr. Ron Bobroff, associate professor<br />
of history, was named the first director for<br />
Curricular Development in Service Learning. In<br />
this position, Dr. Bobroff created a section in the<br />
Weltner Library for service learning resources,<br />
including websites and best practices, a master<br />
list of SL course syllabi, and procedural guidelines<br />
and procedures for development and approval of<br />
SL courses. He has attended an annual workshop<br />
on SL and civic engagement. Each semester, the<br />
director hosts a workshop for faculty, providing<br />
an opportunity for faculty teaching SL courses to<br />
share information and experiences with faculty<br />
who are considering the option.<br />
During spring 2011, Dr. Bobroff convened a group<br />
of faculty from the departments of Business,<br />
Communications, Politics and Urban Ecology to<br />
create the Nonprofit Management Minor. The<br />
minor includes four required courses (16 credits)<br />
and one elective course (four credits) selected<br />
from the departments of Arts, Museum & Theater,<br />
Business, Politics or Urban Ecology. The Nonprofit<br />
Sector course, the first required course in the<br />
minor, is an SL course requiring 35 hours of<br />
volunteer placement at an Atlanta nonprofit. The<br />
course was launched in fall 2011, one year ahead<br />
of schedule, with an enrollment of 18 students.<br />
Sixty-five additional hours of volunteer work<br />
are required, for a total of 100 volunteer service<br />
hours, at Atlanta nonprofits to complete the minor.<br />
Record enrollments in the program continue.<br />
During 2012–<strong>2013</strong> while Dr. Bobroff was on<br />
sabbatical, Dr. Karen Schmeichel, associate<br />
professor of biology, has been fulfilling the<br />
role of director of Curricular Development in<br />
Service Learning.<br />
Student interest in service learning is growing<br />
steadily. Ten percent of the OU student<br />
population enroll in SL courses each year. Why<br />
the emphasis on service learning? A cornerstone<br />
of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s philosophy is the<br />
belief that community engagement and making a<br />
difference help to form a complete education.<br />
“We want to make sure that our students<br />
understand that this is an important part<br />
of their education: to become a truly global<br />
citizen,” said Tamara. We want them to know<br />
that contributing locally, regionally, nationally,<br />
globally, is part of your education and…that<br />
as a citizen, you have a responsibility to give<br />
back to your community. You determine which<br />
community you will impact, and on what scale<br />
and to what level you will do that.”<br />
(above) Volunteer service placement<br />
complements classroom learning and reflects<br />
the individual interests of the student.<br />
Living in Atlanta, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students are in a<br />
unique environment to see civic engagement at<br />
work. “Atlanta is so civic-minded that there’s no<br />
way to live, work and play here and not notice<br />
it. From corporate to nonprofit, to community,<br />
to grassroots—this is a hands-on, working-tomake-it-better<br />
kind of place,” said Tamara.<br />
“The beauty of service learning courses is that<br />
students have an opportunity to apply the theory<br />
they learn in the classroom immediately in the<br />
real world, helping real people. That approach is<br />
a different kind of pedagogy.”<br />
Weatherly Richardson ‘13 is an English major<br />
who recently co-founded Doing Stuff Badly, a<br />
production company with one goal: comedy. She<br />
is a professional freelance writer and one day<br />
hopes to transition to being a published novelist,<br />
writing comedy for television..and to live in Italy.<br />
Find out why by reading her story<br />
about her short term study abroad<br />
trip to Italy.<br />
14 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong><br />
SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 15
engaged creativity<br />
engaged creativity<br />
Bringing<br />
‘Engaged<br />
Creativity’<br />
to Life<br />
Last fall, the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> Museum of<br />
Art, perched on the third floor above the library,<br />
welcomed its first new director since it was founded<br />
nearly 30 years ago. Elizabeth Peterson, who<br />
succeeded founding director Lloyd Nick, is building<br />
on the foundation he established and starting a new<br />
chapter in the museum’s life.<br />
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13<br />
“Elizabeth Peterson is a collaborative, creative and highly energetic<br />
artistic administrator who will be a tremendous asset to the<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> Museum of Art and the entire campus<br />
community,” said Dr. Denise Runge, provost and vice president<br />
for academic affairs at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. “This is an exciting time to<br />
welcome Elizabeth to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, as we continue to expand students’<br />
opportunities for ‘engaged creativity’ as part of the unique liberal arts<br />
education we provide.”<br />
Elizabeth brings 15 years of experience in museum management,<br />
exhibition and gallery programming and arts education to her new<br />
role. Most recently she served as director of the Julian Akus Art<br />
Gallery, coordinator of Gallery and Museum Services, and adjunct<br />
professor at Eastern Connecticut State <strong>University</strong>. Prior to that,<br />
she was director of the Print Research Foundation (Connecticut),<br />
a privately owned fine print and library collection. For seven years,<br />
Elizabeth worked in exhibitions administration for the Museum of<br />
Modern Art in New York City. A graduate of Wells College, Elizabeth<br />
earned an M.S. in both art history and conservation from Pratt<br />
Institute. Yet perhaps even more important than her extensive<br />
experience and education are the inspiration, passion and creativity<br />
that she brings to her position.<br />
Elizabeth’s vision for the museum fits beautifully with <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
strategic plan, which emphasizes “engaged creativity” and putting<br />
classroom theory into practice. What she envisions for the new face<br />
of OUMA is a reintegration of the museum with the student body.<br />
Elizabeth plans “to get the students involved and have exhibits that<br />
directly relate to classes or student interests, to evolve the exhibit<br />
space into a quiet, comfortable area for students to be beyond the<br />
classroom, where they can enjoy art for itself, study or have a quiet<br />
space just to think in. I’d like it to be a learning lab for students.”<br />
Going forward, OUMA will be a teaching museum; curriculum will<br />
drive exhibits rather than exhibits driving curriculum.<br />
With her background in curatorial work both within and beyond<br />
academia, Elizabeth understands the challenges and opportunities<br />
before her. “A lot of people might walk into a gallery setting and,<br />
first, feel it’s not relevant to them, and second, feel incredibly<br />
uncomfortable,” she says. “I want students to feel comfortable and<br />
to feel a sense of ownership of the space. This is a place to study,<br />
a place to be, a place to meet or spend your lunch hour if you feel<br />
overwhelmed and just need to reflect.”<br />
Elizabeth is clearly dedicated to making OUMA as open to students—<br />
and the community—as possible. She is planning exhibits three<br />
years in advance so that students, faculty and staff will have plenty<br />
of advance knowledge of what will be featured in the museum. The<br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> exhibition was “Beta Israel: Ethiopian Jews and the<br />
Promised Land,” which featured a series of photographs documenting<br />
the past 30 years of emigrants moving from the horn of Africa to<br />
Israel. This exhibit not only reached out to Atlanta’s international<br />
community, but also directly addressed the diversity of students<br />
at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. “It’s an international story; it’s an interfaith story,”<br />
said Elizabeth. “<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students are passionately interested in<br />
international studies and civic engagement, and that’s what this<br />
show was about.”<br />
The summer <strong>2013</strong> exhibition will feature Japanese porcelains and color woodcuts drawn from<br />
regional private collections and will be on view May 12–August 25, <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
“This is a university gallery, but it’s right in the heart of a world-class city,” said Elizabeth about<br />
OUMA. And while the opportunities that such a world-class city affords to any gallery are<br />
boundless, her focus always comes back to the students. “I’d like to see this space filled with<br />
students, and to have the students who work here as engaged as possible; to have students come in<br />
and speak, not just as guest lecturers, but as leaders. I’m very eager to try to foster and retain those<br />
connections to the membership and the donors and the students, and to grow that.”<br />
Elizabeth jumped into her role even before her start date, working remotely from Connecticut<br />
to organize her first exhibit at OUMA, Burden of Proof: National Identity and the Legacy<br />
of War, that ran during the fall semester. The exhibition was inspired by the campus-wide<br />
reading of The Things They Carried, a fictionalized account of author Tim O’Brien’s time as<br />
an American soldier in Vietnam. The exhibit’s goal was to bring art that would tie in directly<br />
with the classroom, giving students visual points for discussion. It featured artists Dinh Q.<br />
Lê, Sheila Pree Bright, Keisha Luce and Kirk Torregrossa, and included Vietnamese-woven<br />
c-prints, a sculpture series depicting the forms of those battling with Agent Orange-related<br />
disfigurements and a selection of original North Vietnamese propaganda posters from the<br />
Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection.<br />
“...I’m very eager<br />
to try to foster<br />
and retain those<br />
connections to the<br />
membership and<br />
the donors and the<br />
students, and to<br />
grow that.”<br />
– Elizabeth Peterson<br />
As a graduate of Wells College, Elizabeth is familiar with<br />
the small liberal arts environment and understands the<br />
dynamic of this sort of community. At Wells, she was part<br />
of an honor system similar to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s and enjoyed<br />
one-on-one interaction and accountability with professors,<br />
as well as the unique traditions of a small academic<br />
community. It’s not surprising that Elizabeth says that she<br />
feels as if she has, in a sense, come home. “I’m reminded<br />
what it was like to be on a small campus where you’re vitally<br />
connected, where you’re learning and you’re charged up,”<br />
she said.<br />
“This is absolutely my dream job. <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s commitment<br />
to liberal arts, combined with the unique and beautiful<br />
mission of OUMA, provides a wonderful opportunity for<br />
students to enjoy and learn by employing the museum as<br />
a learning lab,” said Elizabeth. “It’s an honor to build upon<br />
the legacy of founding director Lloyd Nick and a thrill to<br />
lead the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> Museum of Art into the next<br />
chapter of its future.”<br />
Caitlyn Mitchell ’13 is an English major, editor of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
student literary magazine The Tower, and a member of ODK<br />
National Leadership Honor Society. In her spare time, she<br />
writes fiction in hopes of becoming the next Tolkien, and has<br />
worked at southeastern Renaissance Festivals for seven years.<br />
She will work for Whitman Publishing after graduation.<br />
Jiki to Hanga<br />
Japanese Porcelain and Prints<br />
May 12–August 25, <strong>2013</strong><br />
This exhibition at the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> Museum of Art includes 28<br />
color woodcuts by Hiroshi Yoshida<br />
(1876–1950), one of the greatest<br />
Japanese artists of the modern mid 20th<br />
century shin-hanga style. Yoshida’s work<br />
and several other Japanese prints will<br />
be on loan, courtesy of the Collection<br />
of Dr. and Mrs. Terry Taylor. Porcelain,<br />
books and other ephemera on view will<br />
include 18th century Kakeimon ware and<br />
19th century Imari vessels, which are a<br />
gift from Ms. Carrie Lee Henderson, the<br />
granddaughter of former <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
President Thornwell Jacobs. An exhibit<br />
program series will include a Japanese<br />
tea ceremony, workshops in ikebana,<br />
origami and bonsai, and lectures.<br />
The children of the Seigakuin Atlanta<br />
International School will present haiku,<br />
bi-lingual essays and calligraphy.<br />
16 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 17
engaged life life<br />
engaged life<br />
A Day of<br />
Scholarship<br />
Students “Create a Course”<br />
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13<br />
If you could create an academic class out of thin air, what would you choose?<br />
In the spring of 2011, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students had the chance to decide just that.<br />
Students from every major and discipline were invited to put their heads together<br />
to engage in the selection and creation of a new academic course. The student<br />
community wrote potential course plans and materials lists, voiced their opinions<br />
and made their cases for which subjects they wanted to know more about and<br />
how the class should be taught.<br />
OU’s Liberal Arts &<br />
Sciences Symposium<br />
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13<br />
(above) The Symposium’s poster sessions<br />
give students the chance to share and discuss<br />
their research.<br />
Every year <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
classes are suspended for a<br />
day dedicated to celebrating<br />
the liberal arts and sciences.<br />
The annual Symposium in the Liberal Arts<br />
and Sciences is a day to revel in educating,<br />
exploring and sharing knowledge. This<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> tradition gives students and<br />
faculty the opportunity to share their<br />
analytical and creative works from the<br />
previous academic year. For nearly 12 straight<br />
hours, students and faculty, as well as their<br />
guests, indulge in a “cornucopia of academia.”<br />
Panels, roundtables, poster presentations, art<br />
exhibitions and performances showcase the<br />
fruits of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s liberal arts and sciences<br />
curriculum, as well as student-driven initiatives.<br />
Joscelyn Stein ’13 described this beloved<br />
tradition as “a day seeing what other students<br />
have been pouring all of their time and<br />
energy into…I love getting to be a part of all<br />
the other students’ work.”<br />
Made up of a series of hour-long sessions,<br />
the day moves nonstop from the moment it<br />
begins this year with a keynote address<br />
about the importance of the liberal arts,<br />
by Dr. Catherine Lewis from Kennesaw<br />
State <strong>University</strong>. During the “Meeting<br />
of the Majors,” students meet with their<br />
department faculty, discuss upcoming<br />
opportunities within and beyond university<br />
boundaries and socialize with their<br />
contemporaries. As the day continues,<br />
students are encouraged to cross disciplines<br />
and hear about subjects beyond their normal<br />
academic realms.<br />
“I just watched an awesome presentation<br />
about Mormonism…a very specific, very<br />
interesting presentation on something I never<br />
would have known anything about if it hadn’t<br />
have been for the Liberal Arts Symposium,”<br />
said Weston Manders ’13 during the 2012<br />
Symposium. “I love seeing all my fellow<br />
Oglethorpians…engaged in the pursuit of<br />
knowledge and supporting their friends<br />
who are really reaching out there to better<br />
themselves through independent research.”<br />
At the Liberal Arts and Sciences Symposium,<br />
a physics major can attend a poetry reading,<br />
and a studio art major can learn the basics of<br />
chemical bonding. Participants can attend<br />
a panel on such differing and fascinating<br />
subjects as “Cosmology and Questions: An<br />
Ever Moving Cycle,” “New Media and Our<br />
Brains,” “Performance Art: A Catalyst for<br />
Change in Modern Art,” “Sports, Media and<br />
Body Image,” and “Horror-Comedy: The<br />
Chaotic Spectrum and Cinematic Synthesis.”<br />
The Symposium gives students a chance to<br />
reach outside of their fields of study and<br />
make connections between their own<br />
work and others’ passions. And it’s an<br />
indescribable day for anyone who wishes to<br />
witness the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> education in action.<br />
Visit <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s YouTube<br />
channel (youtube.com/<br />
oglethorpeuniversity) to view<br />
videos and commentary about<br />
the symposium.<br />
The suggestions were a mixed bag, reflecting the passions and diversity of the<br />
student body. The proposals mirrored a mixing of the minds, combining traditional<br />
and modern pursuits as well as cross-disciplinary studies. And no doubt there<br />
was probably a “Core moment” involved in the creation of many of the offerings.<br />
Classic Rock: the ’60s to the ’90s sound interesting? It didn’t make it to the final<br />
voting block, but ideas just as varied and wildly inspired flooded the selection<br />
committee as students responded to the challenge.<br />
The selection committee evaluated the pool of proposals, and seven possible<br />
subjects rose to the top. Students voted online between History of Fashion,<br />
Sherlock Holmes, Positive Psychology, From Emma to Clueless, Pop Culture<br />
and Propaganda, Science Fiction and Fantasy: 20th–21st Century and Political<br />
Assassination. Where else could one find such a succinct summation of the<br />
various interests of the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> student body? History, fashion, literature,<br />
politics and modernism versus antiquity!<br />
But in the end, there could only be one selection. By popular demand, Positive<br />
Psychology became the choice that was integrated into the official fall 2012<br />
course schedule. The class explored “the science of how to be happy” and “the<br />
resiliency, self-efficacy and ability to create and live a happy life.” After such<br />
a positive initial response, this could very well become a beloved <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
tradition. Who knows what we’ll see next on the scholarly line-up? Entomology?<br />
3-D Filmmaking? Marvel vs. DC Comics? The possibilities are as endless as the<br />
imaginations and interests of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students.<br />
18 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong> spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 19
alumni<br />
alumni<br />
Dear Friends,<br />
On April 8, 1906, not long before<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> was rechristened<br />
along Peachtree Road, the New York Times<br />
published what many believe to be the first<br />
printed version of the beloved book The Little<br />
Engine That Could. In the tale, a rail yard<br />
superintendent seeks out an engine to haul<br />
an extremely heavy train up an unusually<br />
steep grade to reach its destination. As<br />
we all know, the perfect engine for the job<br />
finally responds, “I think I can.” Generations continue to be inspired by its<br />
message of the power of positive thinking and willingness to try.<br />
In years gone by I have considered <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> to be the little<br />
engine that could. I have realized, however, that my way of thinking was<br />
mistaken. The university is not the engine at all. The university cannot pull<br />
itself up any grade. It is those of us who love the institution—alumni, trustees,<br />
volunteers, friends, donors and leaders—who must serve as the engine to<br />
help pull <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> up the grades it faces and toward its destination.<br />
What a great journey we are on together!<br />
Through the amazing efforts of many who believe in <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, the new<br />
campus center is rising toward the sky and will welcome its first visitors<br />
into its beautiful spaces in fall <strong>2013</strong>. We thought we could; and we did. A<br />
new scene shop has been constructed for use by our theatre program and<br />
Georgia Shakespeare. We thought we could; and we did. The <strong>University</strong>’s<br />
track has been completely overhauled, the area has been lighted, and our<br />
athletes will have a space where they can train and compete with pride. We<br />
thought we could; and we did. Efforts on campus to nurture and educate<br />
our students inside and outside the classroom have improved our retention<br />
1 2<br />
3<br />
rates, ensuring our student’s success today and the university’s success into<br />
the future. We thought we could; and we are.<br />
The Alumni Board continues to provide valued leadership and support to<br />
the university. In fall 2012, we developed and hosted a new tradition for our<br />
sophomores called the Thornwell Jacobs Legacy Celebration. An excited<br />
group of sophomores gathered on the academic quadrangle to hear the<br />
story of Dr. Jacobs and the monument to his parents inscribed “May He<br />
Make Noble Use of a Life Purchased at Such a Price” found in the front drive<br />
of the school. Through this annual event sophomores will learn about the<br />
university’s rich history, its mission and purpose, and begin to see themselves<br />
as philanthropists in their own right. We see it as part of our mission to train<br />
our future alumni about giving back and using their lives with purpose. By<br />
leading positively and impacting the lives of today’s students, we show the<br />
alumni of tomorrow that if they think they can, they will.<br />
At the conclusion of the 1906 publication, it says of the little engine: “And<br />
signing its triumph, it rushed on down toward the valley.” I like to think<br />
that when he arrived there wasn’t much time to rest, but instead he faced<br />
another mission to accomplish, another steep grade to climb. The same is<br />
true for our dear <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. We should sing of our great triumphs of the<br />
last year, but we cannot rest. New challenges await us! Can we continue<br />
this great momentum? Together, I know we can.<br />
With all my best,<br />
John Cleveland “Cleve” Hill ’01<br />
President, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> Alumni Association<br />
Member, Board of Trustees<br />
alumni highlights<br />
1 President Schall and Kevin Smyrl, vice president for development and<br />
alumni relations, visited alumni and friends in four West Coast cities in late<br />
September. Stops included San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco (pictured)<br />
and Seattle. 2 Alumni Relations hosted a reception for New York alumni in<br />
October at the Charles Bank Gallery. Pictured (l-r) are: Melanie Wong ‘02,<br />
Chris Fitzpatrick and Kat Andersen ‘02. 3 Alumni in the DC area gathered<br />
for a reception in October. Pictured (l-r) are: Former Dean of Students Artie<br />
Travis, Jaime Wojdowski ‘03 and Kristy Stevens-Haverwoody.<br />
4<br />
4 The Raleigh Alumni Group came together<br />
in November at Caffe Luna in Raleigh, N.C.<br />
Pictured (back row): David Hardin, Bruce Crain<br />
‘88, John Day ‘64, Chelcie Rowell ‘99, Jessica<br />
Daniel ‘09, Cindy Larbig Rowe ‘84, (front row)<br />
Lindsey Carroll (Alumni Relations Manager),<br />
Nicole Crain ‘89, Maureen Whalen Hardin ‘87<br />
and Barbara Bessmer Henry ‘85 (Director of<br />
Alumni Relations).<br />
By Don Henry ’83<br />
Stormy Petrels<br />
Soar to Cuba<br />
“Que Bola? Que Bola?” That was<br />
our familiar refrain each morning.<br />
(English translation: “What’s up?”)<br />
And with this hip Cuban greeting,<br />
a new day’s journey began.<br />
Fourteen <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> alumni and friends traveled<br />
to Cuba in the fall of 2012 for a deep dive into<br />
the history, politics, art, music and cuisine of<br />
this geographically close but politically distant<br />
Caribbean island.<br />
Led by our intrepid tour guide, Hoji Silva, we<br />
spent eight amazing days in the capital city of<br />
Havana and the small town of Trinidad, a quaint<br />
UNESCO World Heritage site. Hoji proved to<br />
be a knowledgeable guide, well versed in all<br />
things Cuban, and in American pop culture and<br />
slang. We appreciated his political spin-free<br />
commentary, which demonstrated an objective,<br />
factual understanding of Cuba, its history and its<br />
standing in the current world order.<br />
What were the highlights? Ask our 14 travelers and<br />
you’ll no doubt get 14 (or 140) different replies.<br />
Perhaps it was the raw beauty of the country and<br />
the magnificent architecture of the buildings in<br />
Havana. Despite little new construction since the<br />
early 1960s and crumbling facades, the buildings<br />
have retained their charm and grandeur. It’s easy<br />
to see why the rich and famous chose Cuba as a<br />
favorite pre-revolution vacation destination.<br />
Or maybe it was the people. Everywhere we<br />
turned, we met locals who were friendly, gracious<br />
and eager to meet us. We were impressed<br />
with their knowledge of our country and their<br />
willingness to share their story of life in Cuba and<br />
their hopes of visiting relatives in the US.<br />
Without a doubt, the community visits were among<br />
the highlights. Prior to our departure, we collected<br />
household items, school supplies and over-thecounter<br />
medicines to donate to various charitable<br />
groups. And did we ever come prepared!<br />
Many of us lugged additional suitcases chock<br />
full of such items. It was a privilege to visit these<br />
organizations—a daycare center for seniors and<br />
children, a synagogue and a rural community<br />
center—and meet with our newfound friends.<br />
For many travelers, a discussion led by Dr. Carlos<br />
Alzugaray Treto, a local university professor and<br />
diplomat, was a highlight of the trip. Dr. Treto<br />
provided color commentary on Cuba’s history<br />
and its notable figures, including Batista, Che<br />
Guevara and Castro. This session, along with a<br />
pre-trip class hosted by <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s own Drs.<br />
Mario Chandler and Viviana Plotnik, served as<br />
an informative backdrop to our visits to various<br />
historical sites, including the Bay of Pigs and the<br />
Che Memorial.<br />
Other highlights worthy of mention were our<br />
guided tour of the Museum of Fine Arts; visits<br />
to two local artists’ homes for lunch and private<br />
conversations; retracing the steps of Ernest<br />
Hemingway, including visits to his home, Finca<br />
Vigia, and his favorite watering hole, the Floridita<br />
Bar; dining at Palaldares (private restaurants run<br />
out of restaurateurs’ homes); and nighttime musical<br />
entertainment reminiscent of night clubs portrayed<br />
on the old “I Love Lucy” show.<br />
Rest assured we spent plenty of time discussing the<br />
day’s highlights over late-night Cuban cigars and<br />
rum. And plotting our next alumni trip to another<br />
exotic locale!<br />
Don Henry ’83 graduated with a degree in<br />
psychology, and currently works in commercial<br />
real estate investment and management. He was<br />
inducted into <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Athletic Hall of Fame<br />
for Cross Country in 1996 and has served on the<br />
Alumni Board.<br />
(below) <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> alumni and friends<br />
explored the historic and exotic sites of Cuba,<br />
and reconnected with each other along the way.<br />
20 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong> SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 21
alumni<br />
Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65<br />
is living proof that the liberal<br />
arts at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> prepare<br />
students for a wide variety of<br />
careers. A math and physics<br />
major when few women<br />
ventured into these fields,<br />
Linda entered <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> with<br />
the idea of becoming a teacher.<br />
However, she changed her<br />
plans in 1964, when she<br />
went to Oak Ridge National<br />
Laboratories for a summer<br />
computer program designed for<br />
students at small colleges.<br />
“I feel the success I have<br />
had financially and in career<br />
fulfillment comes from<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. And giving back<br />
is a good thing.”<br />
–Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65<br />
Giving Back<br />
is a Good Thing<br />
By Margaret Daniel<br />
For most of her career, Linda was a computer programmer, but also spent time<br />
in management. She worked 30 years for Western Electric, which was bought<br />
by AT&T in 1984 and then became Lucent Technologies in 1996. Lucent later<br />
outsourced its computer division to IBM, where Linda spent her last three years<br />
before retirement. Originally from Atlanta, she also lived in Nashville, Tenn., and<br />
Morristown, N.J. while working for Western Electric.<br />
Now retired, Linda stays busy with various interests. She is in her third term on<br />
the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Alumni Board of Directors and serves on its Communications<br />
Committee, writing articles for the Carillon. She’s enjoying meeting many of<br />
the younger alumni through her work with OU. In addition to giving time to<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, Linda volunteers with the Alliance Theatre and the Atlanta Symphony<br />
Orchestra. She also enjoys visiting national parks and monuments and traveling to<br />
other places in the U.S., including Cody, Wyo., where her daughter lives.<br />
Linda says that <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> prepared her well for her career. She is especially<br />
grateful for the opportunity the school gave her to meet a wide variety of people<br />
who came from different places and represented different religions. She values the<br />
personal interaction with professors that <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s small size afforded her.<br />
A veritable Renaissance woman, Linda was involved in a wide variety of activities<br />
during her years at OU. She was a cheerleader, the features editor on the newspaper,<br />
and a member of both the LeConte Society for Honors in Science and the Duchess<br />
Club, the women’s honor society.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> was a school of only 500 students when Linda attended. She is happy<br />
to see <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s current growth and thinks the university is managing it well.<br />
She is particularly pleased with the enhancement of the Core curriculum. “The Core<br />
curriculum was at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> when I was there, but over the years they have revised<br />
it to make it even more meaningful,” Linda says. She also is gratified to see the caliber<br />
of the current students and the number of international students at the school.<br />
Linda has been giving to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> for 30 years. “I went to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> on a<br />
scholarship and did work study. I was so happy to be there,” she says. “I feel the<br />
success I have had financially and in career fulfillment comes from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>.<br />
And giving back is a good thing.”<br />
Chris Rylands ’01<br />
a grateful<br />
graDuate<br />
gives back<br />
By Margaret Daniel<br />
Chris Rylands ’01 started giving<br />
to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> when he was a<br />
cash-strapped law student and<br />
could only give about five or ten<br />
dollars. “I knew,” he said, “that<br />
it was important to give even if I<br />
could only give a small amount.<br />
And I wanted <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> to be<br />
able to keep track of me so they<br />
could contact me when I could<br />
give more.”<br />
Chris credits <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> with preparing him<br />
for Vanderbilt Law School. “I had spent a lot of<br />
time at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> reading difficult texts and<br />
had learned the art of critical thinking,” he says.<br />
While at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, Chris was involved in a<br />
wide variety of extracurricular activities. He was<br />
a member of the Christian Fellowship and the<br />
Psychology/Sociology Club and was involved in<br />
Student Government. Chris was also a DJ for the<br />
campus radio station.<br />
When asked what he is most grateful for about<br />
his <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> experience, he says it’s the<br />
people as well as the education. “It’s the sort of<br />
place that allows you to build relationships with<br />
people,” he comments. He still keeps in touch<br />
with a number of his classmates and professors.<br />
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Chris is now an<br />
attorney with Bryan Cave in Atlanta. He writes<br />
employee benefit and health plans, and “fixes”<br />
them when they’re broken. He is now able to give<br />
at a higher level than in his law school days and<br />
has continued his habit of giving to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>.<br />
Chris is also giving back to the university by<br />
serving as the young alumni representative<br />
on the Board of Trustees. Prior to joining the<br />
Board in July 2011, he helped with <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
scholarship competition and hosted various<br />
alumni events.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has prepared him not only for work,<br />
but also for life in general. “Because of the small<br />
but diverse nature of the university, it gave me the<br />
ability to look at issues more broadly and consider<br />
things from various different perspectives.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> enabled me to reach that point more<br />
quickly,” he says.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> was a school of some 950 students<br />
when Chris was enrolled. He enjoys seeing<br />
the students’ energy and watching the school<br />
as it grows, makes efforts to modernize, and<br />
establishes programs to create more real-world<br />
applications.<br />
“<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> has been a tremendous influence on<br />
my life,” Chris says. “I’m thankful for it all the time.<br />
I would encourage everyone to give as they are<br />
able. The important thing is not how much you<br />
give, but the fact that you make a gift.”<br />
our History alumni<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Carillon Club<br />
recognizes alumni, parents and<br />
friends who distinguish themselves<br />
through their legacy of philanthropy<br />
for three or more consecutive years<br />
regardless of their level of giving.<br />
OGLETHORPE<br />
CARILLON<br />
CLUB<br />
As a member, your<br />
consistent giving<br />
provides a vital base<br />
of support each year<br />
for scholarships and<br />
student assistance,<br />
faculty support,<br />
campus needs and improvements and<br />
more. Carillon Club members receive<br />
window decals at the 3, 5, 10 and 20-year<br />
milestones as a means of celebrating their<br />
dedication and receive special recognition<br />
in the annual Honor Roll of Donors. View<br />
a list of Carillon Club members on the OU<br />
website (keyword: Carillon Club) or scan<br />
this QR code with your smartphone.<br />
22 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 23
alumni<br />
alumni<br />
Road Trip<br />
unplugged<br />
In April, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> officially<br />
dedicated Lupton Hall’s bell tower as<br />
The Lale Özgörkey Bell Tower.<br />
The dedication ceremony featured special guest speakers<br />
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Muhtar Kent, chairman<br />
and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. The name recognizes a<br />
generous gift from the Özgörkey family to benefit <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
new campus center. Cemal Özgörkey ’84, chairman of<br />
Özgörkey Holding, is a member of the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Board of<br />
Trustees. Both he and his brother, Armagan Özgörkey ’85, vice<br />
chairman of Özgörkey Holding, are <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> alumni. The<br />
bell tower’s new name honors their mother, Lale Özgörkey.<br />
New Sophomore Tradition Celebrates<br />
the Legacy of Thornwell Jacobs By Weatherly Richardson ’13<br />
The <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> sophomore<br />
class gathered in October<br />
for the inaugural Thornwell<br />
Jacobs Legacy Celebration, a<br />
new annual tradition for the<br />
sophomore class. The event<br />
celebrated Thornwell Jacobs,<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> President from<br />
1915–1943, who fulfilled a<br />
lifelong dream of restoring<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> to its present location<br />
on Peachtree Road in Atlanta.<br />
Georgia Governor Nathan<br />
Deal, Cemal Özgörkey<br />
’84, Armagan Özgörkey<br />
’85, Coca-Cola’s Chairman<br />
& CEO Muhtar Kent and<br />
President Schall.<br />
Sophomore students gathered<br />
to learn interesting history and<br />
facts about President Jacobs and<br />
his mission from award-winning<br />
author and historian Dr. Paul<br />
Hudson ’72. Later over dinner<br />
in Hearst’s Great Hall, students<br />
heard from Sophomore Class<br />
President Kurt Reynolds, Alumni<br />
Association Vice President<br />
Austin Gillis ’01, and Georgia<br />
State Representative Dar’shun<br />
Kendrick ’04, an alumni<br />
volunteer who spoke about<br />
her OU experience and how it<br />
helped to shape her career and<br />
future. View the video about the<br />
event on <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s YouTube<br />
channel, or scan this QR code<br />
with your smartphone.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Georgia Eta Chapter, founded in 1859 as<br />
the 11th Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon National Fraternity,<br />
celebrated its 40th Re-Charter Anniversary Celebration in<br />
September 2011. The celebration brought more than 120 active and<br />
alumni brothers, spouses and guests to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. On October<br />
2, 1971, 35 brothers were initiated on campus, marking the first<br />
initiation of Georgia Eta brothers since 1863.<br />
By Barbara Bessmer Henry ’85<br />
What does an international studies major soccer player,<br />
who moonlights as a music producer, have in common<br />
with a thespian, fraternity brother who is still known for<br />
the funky neon green 1967 VW bus he drove during his<br />
freshman year?<br />
What about an Aussie with career interests in human resources,<br />
and the co-captain of the cross country team who plans to return<br />
to Moldova after graduation to work with an organization that<br />
assists in the prevention of sex trafficking amongst young girls?<br />
As you likely have guessed, all of these students are “typical”<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students with impressive career ambitions and<br />
interesting backgrounds. During the fall 2012 semester, these<br />
eclectic students and others were selected as members of the<br />
new O Team. This group travels to alumni events with President<br />
Schall and Alumni Relations staff to present “OU Unplugged,” a<br />
panel presentation about student life at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> today. During<br />
the fall semester, O Team members Stephanie Croston ’13, Kai<br />
Street ’14, Weston Manders ’12, Krista Gray ’14, Justin Munson ’14<br />
and Tirzah Brown ’14 presented to alumni in New York City and<br />
Washington, D.C.<br />
“The whole<br />
experience was<br />
special from<br />
beginning to<br />
end, but the star<br />
attraction of our<br />
trip was definitely<br />
the conversations<br />
we had with<br />
alumni.”<br />
Tirzah admits that “before the trip, I<br />
was quite familiar with the passionate,<br />
interesting and altogether wonderful<br />
students at OU. However, I learned<br />
from my conversations that alumni<br />
who graduated before I was born share<br />
those same traits. Every person that I<br />
spoke with is living a life of purpose. I<br />
had the opportunity to connect with a<br />
fellow Alpha Phi Omega brother, discuss<br />
economics with a software engineer<br />
originally from Cameroon, and meet a<br />
sweet elderly couple that spends part<br />
of each year in my hometown of Fort<br />
(above) Members of the O Team include (l-r) Tirzah Brown ’14, Stephanie<br />
Croston ’13, Justin Munson ’14, Krista Gray ’14 and Kai Street ’14.<br />
Myers, Fla. I treasured every conversation with each graduate and<br />
I enjoyed observing people who had never met connecting over<br />
their shared <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> experiences and memories. I look forward<br />
to attending alumni events when I graduate and meeting OU<br />
students of the future.”<br />
Several of the traveling students had never visited either city and<br />
one student enjoyed his first trip on an airplane. Following the<br />
alumni events, the O Team wasted no time sprinting to visit as<br />
many important sites as they could fit into their 40-hour visit.<br />
Photos posted on Facebook revealed the busy students at Times<br />
Square, Ellis Island and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.<br />
The trip became a chance for the group to explore undiscovered<br />
places, but the personal connections made really stood out. “The<br />
whole experience was special from beginning to end,” said Tirzah,<br />
“but the star attraction of our trip was definitely the conversations<br />
we had with alumni.”<br />
24 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 25
alumni<br />
Charles Allen<br />
Stillman<br />
1841-1895<br />
Charles Allen Stillman, D. Div., (1841)<br />
died in 1895, but his legacy endures.<br />
A member of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s first graduating<br />
class, Stillman earned his degree 20 years<br />
before the Civil War broke out and 24 years<br />
before the 13th Amendment freed the slaves.<br />
He was born, raised and educated in the<br />
antebellum South, but Stillman transcended<br />
the time and place in which he lived.<br />
a man<br />
Ahead of<br />
His Time<br />
By Margaret Daniel<br />
Stillman was at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> during the<br />
university’s infancy, when the school barely<br />
had classroom buildings and flogging of<br />
freshmen and sophomores was allowed.<br />
After graduating from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, he earned<br />
his divinity degree at Columbia Theological<br />
Seminary in Atlanta. Stillman was drawn to<br />
the seminary after being influenced by one of<br />
the leading ministers of his day, the Reverend<br />
Thomas Smyth, the minister of his hometown<br />
church in Charleston, S.C. Smyth was<br />
dedicated to improving the lives of African-<br />
Americans, and his church membership<br />
included a substantial number of African-<br />
Americans. It was in Smyth’s church, the<br />
Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston,<br />
that Stillman launched his career in 1844.<br />
From Charleston, Stillman went on to<br />
pastor several churches in Alabama. After<br />
leading churches in Eutaw and Gainesville,<br />
Stillman was called to the First Presbyterian<br />
Church of Tuscaloosa in 1870. This call to<br />
First Presbyterian brought with it a unique<br />
challenge. A group of church members there<br />
wanted to start a school to train African-<br />
American ministers, and they selected<br />
Stillman as the individual to lead the effort.<br />
To lay the foundation for the school, Stillman<br />
began teaching and preparing a few African-<br />
Americans to be spiritual leaders of their<br />
community. He spent many years teaching<br />
and making annual proposals to the General<br />
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the<br />
South for a minister training school. His efforts<br />
paid off in 1876, when the General Assembly<br />
accepted Stillman’s proposal and established a<br />
school that was originally called the Tuscaloosa<br />
Institute for Training Colored Ministers.<br />
This school has undergone many changes<br />
during its history, evolving to meet the needs<br />
of its community. It opened to women in<br />
1899, an unusual move for that time. The<br />
institute went on to become a junior high<br />
school, a senior high school, a junior college,<br />
and finally a four-year liberal arts college.<br />
Charles Stillman laid the groundwork for the<br />
school’s evolution into a liberal arts college by<br />
expanding its offerings beyond study for the<br />
ministry and raising the level of its academic<br />
program. Stillman oversaw the institute until<br />
1893, when ill health forced him to resign. In<br />
honor of its founder and first leader, the school<br />
was named the Stillman Institute in 1894.<br />
Today the school, known as Stillman College,<br />
is a four-year liberal arts college serving 1,000<br />
students. It has survived numerous economic<br />
depressions, including those of 1893, 1907<br />
and 1929, and more recently the economic<br />
downturn that started in 2008. The college<br />
describes itself as “a private college with a<br />
public mission.” It was ranked in the top tier of<br />
comprehensive colleges in the South offering<br />
Bachelor’s degrees by U.S. News & World<br />
Report in 2008. Stillman College is known<br />
for its programs in biological sciences, teacher<br />
education and business administration. One of<br />
the college’s most outstanding early graduates,<br />
William Henry Sheppard, was a missionary<br />
to the Belgian Congo from 1890-1910 and was<br />
influential in exposing the exploitation of the<br />
peoples of the Congo.<br />
Stillman lived out the<br />
university’s motto<br />
“make a life, make a living,<br />
make a difference.”<br />
In his role as founder of Stillman College,<br />
Charles Allen Stillman reflects many of<br />
the principles that distinguish <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>,<br />
including a vision for the future, a<br />
commitment to meeting the needs of the<br />
community and a dedication to a broadbased<br />
field of liberal arts study. Like the<br />
students and alumni of today, he balanced<br />
many roles, serving as pastor of a church<br />
while leading an institute to train ministers.<br />
And like the students and alumni who<br />
followed him, Stillman lived out the<br />
university’s motto “make a life, make a<br />
living, make a difference.”<br />
Alumnus<br />
Headlines<br />
at CNN<br />
By Debbie Aiken ’12<br />
Joe Sutton is putting his OU liberal arts education to work<br />
as a news editor and journalist for CNN. He oversees the editorial direction<br />
and news gathering for 13 states and serves as the liaison between the<br />
Washington, D.C. bureau and CNN headquarters. Joe has worked for<br />
CNN and other Turner Broadcasting companies since he was a junior in<br />
high school. He has won several Peabody Awards for outstanding public<br />
service and had one of his articles submitted as evidence in a federal court<br />
case. The kicker? Joe Sutton is only 25 years old. When asked how he was<br />
able to accomplish so much at such a young age, Joe candidly says, “It’s a<br />
cliché, but hard work pays off.”<br />
Joe started working with Turner Broadcasting in high school through a<br />
scholarship from the Emma Bowen Foundation, which helps prepare<br />
minority youth for careers in the media industry. Joe wanted to pursue<br />
higher education, but wasn’t sure how he could attend college while<br />
maintaining his employment.<br />
“The day my mother and I drove by OU was serendipity,”<br />
says Sutton. It was a “remarkable relief” when he learned about<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s adult education program that would offer “a fantastic<br />
education at a reputable, credible institution.”<br />
Joe majored in communication & rhetoric studies with a minor in politics.<br />
On top of working full time and carrying a full course load at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>,<br />
he completed three internships during his college career. Two internships<br />
were with CNN, one in the CNN.com division and the other in CNN’s<br />
marketing department. At CNN.com, he spearheaded a project to follow the<br />
efforts of the Bauder Campus Crime Club, a group of college students who<br />
were researching cold cases, including the famous missing persons cases of<br />
Chandra Levy and Natalee Holloway.<br />
alumni<br />
Joe also interned with the 2008 NBC Olympics and traveled to China for<br />
six weeks. He interviewed various athletes, including Michael Phelps and<br />
members of the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team, and helped to supervise<br />
2,200 hours of live competition coverage—a record in NBC Olympics<br />
history. He calls the job “the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had.”<br />
Joe often volunteered at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s open houses so he could share the<br />
benefits of the evening program with prospective students. “Being in an<br />
intimate setting at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is such an advantage. Being able to connect<br />
with students and teachers and being able to approach someone with<br />
concerns sets <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> apart from other institutions in the area.”<br />
Joe graduated from OU in 2009 while working at CNN’s<br />
Headline News. He quickly moved into a new position with the CNN<br />
Newsroom as a producer and has held twelve different positions at CNN in<br />
nine years. He aspires to work his way up to the management level and says,<br />
“I know for a fact that I will be an executive.”<br />
Joe’s advice for other students and working adults is to not be afraid to try<br />
new things: “Curiosity is the best thing one can have. Take courses that you<br />
aren’t familiar with. There is so much out there in the world to take advantage<br />
of.” And he credits <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> for helping him reach his goals:<br />
“I look at my degree every day,” he remarks. Without his education and<br />
experiences in college, he says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”<br />
Debbie Aiken graduated from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Evening Degree Program<br />
in 2012 with a major in communication & rhetoric studies and a<br />
minor in English. During her last semester she was an intern in the<br />
<strong>University</strong> Communications department at OU, where she now works<br />
as Assistant Director.<br />
26 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong> spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 27
alumni<br />
New<br />
Frontiers<br />
When the news broke last year about<br />
one of the greatest scientific discoveries<br />
of all time, the so-called “God particle,”<br />
The New York Times wrote that the<br />
“discovery will change our view of<br />
ourselves and our place in the universe.<br />
Surely that is the hallmark of great<br />
music, great literature, great art….and<br />
great science.” And one <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
alumnus was a part of it.<br />
Ronald Charles Remington (Ronny) was born<br />
and grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., where<br />
his parents still live. He attended Seabreeze<br />
High School, which is where he first learned<br />
about <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> in 2002. Ronny<br />
was impressed with what OU had to offer and<br />
was particularly attracted to the Core program.<br />
Competing against a large number of other<br />
students, he was awarded the JEO (James<br />
Edward <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>) scholarship, which paid his<br />
tuition, room and board for four years.<br />
Ronny first became interested in physics while<br />
studying for the JEO competition. Although he<br />
had not studied physics in high school, he was<br />
drawn to the subject by being required to read<br />
and discuss Thomas Kuhn’s philosophical work,<br />
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. His college<br />
advisor, Dr. Michael Rulison, spent many hours<br />
with Ronny and was a major influence on his<br />
approach to understanding physics, one that<br />
Ronny and his wife, Jeanette, stand in front of<br />
the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.<br />
remains with him today. Ronny also received<br />
significant guidance from Dr. Nardo in the math<br />
department and from Dean Doyle. Both of these<br />
mentors took a personal interest in his success.<br />
Ronny feels that he could have “fallen through<br />
the cracks” at a larger university that doesn’t<br />
have the close student/professor relationship<br />
that exists at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>.<br />
In addition to excelling in the classroom, Ronny<br />
was involved in various extracurricular activities<br />
at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. He played varsity soccer and was<br />
a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.<br />
Ronny graduated from OU in 2006, earning a<br />
B.S. in physics with honors and a second major in<br />
mathematics. After completing his undergraduate<br />
degree, he enrolled in the graduate school of<br />
physics at the <strong>University</strong> of Florida in Gainesville.<br />
There he joined the Compact Muon Solenoid<br />
Experiment (CMS) to pursue his Ph.D. research in<br />
high energy particle physics.<br />
CMS is one of two massive particle detectors<br />
built to search for new particles produced by<br />
the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN<br />
laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is<br />
the world’s most powerful particle collider and<br />
is designed to steer beams containing trillions of<br />
ultra-relativistic protons into each other at a rate<br />
of 40 million times per second. The energetic<br />
debris that rapidly emerges from these collisions<br />
is captured by very sophisticated detectors like<br />
the CMS experiment, and studied with the aid<br />
of high-performance computing resources by<br />
large teams of scientists. Ronny was among<br />
these scientists for several years, designing<br />
algorithms to help make sense of the data and<br />
By Sydney Mobley Moss ’59<br />
Ronny Remington ’06 discovers a smashing career path<br />
search for signals. The most sought-after signal<br />
among the scientists working on CMS was that of<br />
the Higgs boson, also known by its more popular<br />
name, the “God Particle.” The Higgs boson is<br />
tied to the mechanism that gives mass to all of<br />
the fundamental particles. It has eluded scientists<br />
for decades, and its discovery would vindicate<br />
the prevailing theory of particle physics, known<br />
as the Standard Model. The CMS collaboration<br />
made headlines in early 2012 for publishing the<br />
first observation of the Higgs boson. Ronny is<br />
very proud to have played a small part in that<br />
momentous accomplishment during his years at the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Florida.<br />
It was at the <strong>University</strong> of Florida in 2008 that he<br />
married his high school sweetheart, Jeannette,<br />
who is a strong supporter of his scientific<br />
endeavors. Ronny gives Jeannette a great deal<br />
of credit for his success. During their first year of<br />
marriage, they moved to a location near CERN<br />
(the European Organization for Nuclear Research)<br />
in Geneva, Switzerland, and the home of the<br />
Large Hadron Collider. They lived in a small<br />
French village on the Swiss border. While working<br />
on CMS, Ronny made significant contributions<br />
to several papers that were accepted by wellrespected<br />
scientific journals.<br />
Ronny and Jeannette now live in Bethesda, Md.,<br />
where he is a senior research scientist at the Johns<br />
Hopkins <strong>University</strong> Applied Physics Lab. Although<br />
he had an opportunity to return to Geneva for<br />
additional work, he chose to stay in the U.S. and<br />
pursue his career goals. Ronny is an excellent<br />
example of someone who is “making a life,<br />
making a living and making a difference.”<br />
Sydney Mobley Moss ’59 is a retired SunTrust<br />
banker. She and her husband, Jack, live in<br />
Flowery Branch, Ga. and enjoy traveling. Sydney<br />
serves on the Alumni Board as a member of the<br />
Communications Committee.<br />
Future Thinking<br />
with Deep Roots<br />
By Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65<br />
Robert Currey ’66 and Suzanne Straub Currey ’65 are<br />
enjoying their retirement by starting another business—one far<br />
different from their original work and a little more “down to earth,”<br />
you might say.<br />
After graduating from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, the Curreys developed the furniture<br />
chain Storehouse, beginning in 1969 with one store on Peachtree Street in<br />
Atlanta. The chain expanded to 28 stores by the early 1980s, when they sold<br />
their shares in the business. After a few years, they opened another store<br />
specializing in outdoor furniture, which grew into the current Currey &<br />
Company, a wholesale business now managed by their son, Brownlee.<br />
For most of these years, the Curreys lived in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta,<br />
not too far from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. They enjoyed gardening in their small backyard,<br />
and they learned about sustainable gardening practices from cousins in<br />
Tennessee. As vegetarians, they appreciated the taste of sustainably grown<br />
produce and heirloom varieties of various vegetables and fruits. In the early<br />
2000s, they visited friends in Hancock County in middle Georgia and<br />
decided to buy a historic home in Sparta. Since they had moved to a rural<br />
area, they were able to adopt sustainable gardening practices for their new<br />
garden in Sparta.<br />
Over time the garden plot grew in size and with the extra acreage available<br />
for further growth, it eventually became a commercially viable business<br />
called Elm Street Gardens. As sustainable gardeners, the Curreys use no<br />
artificial fertilizers or pest control products and employ a “no-till” farming<br />
method. Their garden beds are enriched with natural compost to provide<br />
nutrients for the vegetables and fruits grown throughout most of the year.<br />
Two “hoop houses” (domed greenhouses) provide additional growing space<br />
for both summer and winter crops. They are currently restoring an old cotton<br />
warehouse near the gardens to add shiitake mushrooms to their offerings<br />
and expand wholesale opportunities.<br />
The harvest from Elm Street Gardens is sold through farmers’ markets and<br />
through a subscription delivery service. “Farm Box” is their collaboration<br />
with two other middle Georgia farms to provide<br />
weekly delivery of seasonal produce<br />
to service subscribers. This<br />
differs from other community<br />
supported agriculture (CSA)<br />
programs because it allows subscribers<br />
to add locally raised heritage<br />
breed pork, grass fed beef and farm<br />
eggs to their weekly orders.<br />
Suzy and Robert value the liberal<br />
arts experience they found at<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, which they say has broadened their lives and perspectives in<br />
business and in community activities. The Curreys enjoy sharing their<br />
knowledge with the various groups that visit the gardens. A group of<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students visited in March 2012 as part of the one-day “short<br />
courses” launched by the Campus Life offices last year. And this summer,<br />
several <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students will be working onsite at Elm Street Gardens<br />
as part of a new live/work internship partnership program that includes<br />
students from Agnes Scott College.<br />
“It was great to see the interest in and concern for sustainable farming in this<br />
diverse group of young people,” says Robert, who is a former OU Trustee.<br />
“This interest from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> ties in well with our vision of engaging more<br />
young people in these practices.”<br />
Elm Street Gardens has also nurtured a sense of community. For the past<br />
three years, Robert and Suzy have hosted a Labor Day picnic for Hancock<br />
County residents with a potluck dinner and games for the kids. More than<br />
300 people attended this year.<br />
For more information about the garden and other farms in the area, visit<br />
www.elmstreetgardens.com, and check out Suzy’s blog about current crops<br />
and activities at the garden.<br />
Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65 was a math and physics major at<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. She worked for AT&T in information technology until her<br />
retirement. She serves on the Alumni Board and volunteers at the Atlanta<br />
Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theatre.<br />
(below left) OU students toured Elm Street Garden as part of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> “short<br />
courses,” which focus on fun topics and experiences.(below right) Suzanne and<br />
Robert Currey, pictured on the front porch of their Sparta home, received the <strong>2013</strong><br />
Spirit of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni who live by the<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> motto: “Make a life. Make a living. Make a difference.”<br />
28 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong><br />
SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 29
alumni<br />
alumni<br />
Fresh off her successful re-election campaign, Mayor Mimi Elrod of<br />
Lexington, Va., is no stranger to public service. An <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> graduate of<br />
the class of ‘66, Mimi has devoted her life to education, community service<br />
and civic leadership, the very building blocks of the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> experience.<br />
Mimi transferred to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> from Florida Presbyterian College. Following<br />
her marriage to John Elrod, the couple lived in Atlanta, where her husband<br />
served as the youth director at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Mimi finished<br />
her undergraduate degree at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> in the summer of ’65, officially<br />
graduating in ‘66. Her sister, Eleanor Milner Newland of Douglas, Ga., also<br />
graduated from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, finishing in ‘63.<br />
Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, Mimi and her<br />
husband moved to New York City, where she attended Columbia Teachers<br />
College and taught in central Harlem. The Elrods then moved to Iowa, where<br />
Mimi received her Ph.D. in child development and taught in the departments<br />
of Psychology and Child Development at Iowa State <strong>University</strong> before moving<br />
to Lexington, Va. Lexington is a small city with approximately 7,000 citizens,<br />
but with two institutions of higher education—Washington & Lee <strong>University</strong><br />
and Virginia Military Institute.<br />
“You know more<br />
of a road by<br />
having traveled<br />
it than by all the<br />
conjectures and<br />
descriptions in<br />
the world.”<br />
—William Hazlitt<br />
Lorna Burrows Gordon ’04 and her husband Jeremy<br />
have done something many of us only dream about. They<br />
packed up their belongings and hit the road to explore<br />
the country. However, their choice of transportation may<br />
surprise you.<br />
“We were at the Union Square farmers’ market in New<br />
York, and a lot of the vendors from upstate use old school<br />
buses to transport their crops,” recalls Lorna, who is<br />
a marketing and design professional for a textile and<br />
linens company. “Jeremy tossed out the idea that it would<br />
be fun to convert a bus and travel the country, not really<br />
thinking I’d be on board. But I was!”<br />
Life on<br />
the Road<br />
And so the journey began. The first step was to secure<br />
a bus. They opted for a 1998 diesel school bus that<br />
had about 150,000 miles on it. After picking it up in<br />
Pittsburgh, Jeremy drove it to his parents’ home in Ohio<br />
to work on the renovations with his stepfather. They used<br />
two solar panels to charge marine batteries for power,<br />
and added a small kitchenette, table and bed.<br />
Back home in Brooklyn, Lorna and Jeremy added the<br />
finishing touches and christened the bus “Ramblin’<br />
Annie,” named after one of their pets, an outdoor cat<br />
that wandered off.<br />
Their journey began in August 2012. Lorna and Jeremy<br />
(plus Jaeger the dog and Lou the fish) first traversed New<br />
England, hitting spots in Massachusetts, Maine, New<br />
Hampshire and Vermont. “Acadia National Park was a<br />
favorite—it’s so pristine and beautiful!” Lorna notes.<br />
They then made their way through North Carolina,<br />
Georgia, Alabama and Ohio.<br />
Some of the locations were ones they’d been to before,<br />
and others were places they’d always wanted to go. They<br />
spent two to five days at each destination, but were not<br />
tied to a schedule. “Our plan was to be on the road for six<br />
to nine months,” says Lorna. “We didn’t plan too far ahead<br />
so we could just enjoy the trip, without added stress.”<br />
At many of their destinations, they were able to meet up<br />
with friends who were also eager to share in the thrill of<br />
the journey. And of course, they enjoyed sampling local<br />
eateries and getting to know the locals. They modeled<br />
some of their activities after the popular New York Times<br />
“36 Hours” weekly column (and subsequent book) that<br />
offers up dream weekends with practical itineraries for a<br />
variety of cities.<br />
The duo was fortunate to be able to continue working<br />
remotely with their employers while on the road. And,<br />
after seven months and 11,000 miles, Lorna and Jeremy<br />
settled in Austin, Tex., where they first met while<br />
pursuing post-graduate work.<br />
Read more about the adventures of Ramblin’ Annie, and<br />
see some spectacular photos captured across the country<br />
by visiting their blog, “A Long Way Home: A Record of<br />
Our Journey in a School Bus” at www.alongwayhome.us.<br />
Kelly Holland Vrtis ’97 lives in Dallas, Tex., where<br />
she is the marketing communications manager for<br />
The Container Store. She currently chairs the Alumni<br />
Communications Committee of the Alumni Board.<br />
Upon moving to Lexington, John assumed the position of dean of the College<br />
at Washington & Lee, eventually becoming president in 1995. During this<br />
time, Mimi worked in the Admissions Office and then in the Office of Special<br />
Programs (including alumni programs). In this role, she directed a program for<br />
high school seniors to help introduce and prepare them for college.<br />
Following her husband’s passing in 2001, Mimi continued to work at<br />
Washington & Lee. However, she knew she needed a change, so in 2002,<br />
she made a run for the Virginia House of Delegates. While unsuccessful in this<br />
particular bid, she became heavily involved in many areas of public service<br />
and was eventually elected to the Lexington City Council. She served on the<br />
City Council for six years and continued to be very active on local Boards of<br />
Directors. In 2008, Mimi ran a successful campaign for mayor of Lexington<br />
and began her second term in January <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
In 2000, Mimi returned to <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s campus to attend her delayed<br />
induction into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society into which she<br />
had previously been inducted by Washington & Lee. When she was a student<br />
at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, Mimi had the GPA and required activities to become part of<br />
the predecessor organization to ODK, but was inadvertently left out of the<br />
society while she was a student.<br />
When reflecting on her experience at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, Mimi says the most<br />
important component was the professors. Her studies focused on politics,<br />
history and secondary education, and she remarked on how much she<br />
learned from Professors Cresky, Walton, Abbott and Glenco. Mimi Elrod is<br />
indeed a credit to these and all the professors she had at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>. She is<br />
truly making a life and making a difference while making a living.<br />
Jodie Sexton Goff ’01 is the Chief Operating Officer for Federal Reserve<br />
System Large Bank Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a<br />
member of the Alumni Board. At OU, Jodie majored in business and minored<br />
in music. Both of Jodie’s parents, Bob Sexton ’64 and Jane Connor Sexton ’65,<br />
as well as her sister-in-law, Ashley Everhart Sexton ’92, are OU graduates.<br />
Mimi Elrod ’66<br />
Lead by<br />
Example<br />
By Jodie Sexton Goff ’01<br />
30 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong> spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 31
alumni<br />
alumni<br />
Dr. G. Malcolm Amerson<br />
Life Sciences Professor<br />
Enjoys Lively Retirement<br />
By Sydney Mobley Moss ’59<br />
“<br />
Education’<br />
I’ll take ‘Liberal Arts<br />
for a $1000.”<br />
How do retired college<br />
professors spend their time?<br />
According to Dr. G. Malcolm Amerson, they’re<br />
just like any other retirees. But upon further<br />
investigation, we find that Dr. Amerson is anything<br />
but typical.<br />
Dr. Amerson spent his entire teaching career<br />
at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>, starting in 1968—on<br />
September 1 to be exact. But when he arrived at<br />
the school, the campus was deserted and only<br />
then did he realize it was the Labor Day holiday!<br />
This unforgettable start was the beginning of an<br />
even more memorable career.<br />
the Donald C. Agnew Award for Distinguished<br />
Service. This award is presented annually by<br />
members of the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Student Association<br />
and is chosen by that body to honor the person<br />
who, in their opinion, has given distinguished<br />
service to the university. Dr. Agnew served as<br />
President of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> from 1957<br />
to 1964.<br />
In his retirement, Dr. Amerson has chosen to stay<br />
in Atlanta and has continued to make numerous<br />
contributions. A year after retiring, Dr. Amerson<br />
organized a retired faculty club at OU that meets<br />
in September and March each year on campus.<br />
Current faculty and staff are often asked to present<br />
an educational program for the club. On average,<br />
Hosta beds and feasted on them. As a result, Dr.<br />
Amerson looked for a different type of plant that<br />
wasn’t so appetizing to voles. He now has several<br />
varieties of fig trees, large and small, which thrive<br />
under his care. He makes fig preserves, fig cakes<br />
and even chocolate fig cakes, which he enjoys<br />
sharing with friends and family.<br />
A graduate of Berry College in Rome, Ga., Dr.<br />
Amerson earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at<br />
Clemson <strong>University</strong> after spending two years in<br />
the U.S. Army. His family includes his wife Jo, son<br />
Todd in Orlando, Fla., and daughter Jennifer in<br />
South Bend, Ind. Dr. Amerson keeps an online<br />
journal for his grandchildren, recording significant<br />
(or amusing) events in their lives.<br />
(above) Dr. Amerson, shown relaxing in<br />
his <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> office, and at an <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
event, post-retirement with Steve Malone ’73.<br />
flexibility that retirement allows him: he can now<br />
plan his schedule on his own terms. How fortunate<br />
we are that Dr. Amerson appeared on campus on<br />
that Labor Day in 1968! He continues to enrich<br />
the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> community in retirement as he did<br />
while a professor.<br />
In the last year, three <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> alumni appeared<br />
on Jeopardy!, the popular game show that requires<br />
its contestants to have a broad base of knowledge.<br />
Congratulations to Natalie Knowles ’92, Tom<br />
Conn ’93 and Dave Leach ’97, who all successfully<br />
showed off their liberal arts education! Dave appeared in<br />
the Tournament of Champions in February <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
Dr. Amerson retired in August 2003 after teaching<br />
biology and related subjects for 35 years. While<br />
at OU he advised the Georgia Eta chapter of<br />
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), the oldest and largest<br />
fraternity on campus. SAE honored him in 2006<br />
with the Order of Minerva Award in recognition<br />
of leadership, dedication and loyal service. Dr.<br />
Amerson received many other honors, including<br />
80 percent of all faculty retirees attend these<br />
meetings, allowing them to stay involved and keep<br />
up with what’s new at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>.<br />
Dr. Amerson’s background in biology continues to<br />
shape how he spends his time. Upon retirement,<br />
he became very interested in gardening and<br />
traveled extensively to collect various species of<br />
Hosta plants. Unfortunately, voles discovered his<br />
Dr. Amerson has taught Sunday school for many<br />
years at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church in<br />
Alpharetta, Ga. He organized a “breakfast club”<br />
for the members of his class, which meets twice a<br />
month at a nearby restaurant.<br />
Although he is just as busy now as he was as<br />
a professor at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, he does enjoy the<br />
32 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 33
class notes<br />
class notes<br />
Class Notes<br />
5 6 7 8<br />
1 2 3 4<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
1960s<br />
1 Larry King ’62 is currently<br />
assistant to the controller at Global<br />
Resort Homes in Orlando, Fla.<br />
He recently applied for a Florida<br />
real estate license specializing in<br />
vacation rental homes.<br />
Robert Currey ’66 received the<br />
inaugural Museum of Design<br />
Atlanta’s Design Legend Award.<br />
The award, presented to him<br />
in November 2012, honors<br />
individuals who have demonstrated<br />
design excellence, innovation<br />
and contribution to their field of<br />
design both locally and nationally.<br />
For more news on Robert Currey,<br />
see “Robert and Suzanne Currey:<br />
A New Chapter for a New Season”,<br />
page 29.<br />
Mimi Milner Elrod ’66, mayor<br />
of Lexington, Va., recently joined<br />
the Board of Trustees at Virginia<br />
Intermont College in Bristol, Va.<br />
Read more on page 31.<br />
2 Dr. Louis Rossman ’69 was<br />
honored with the Alumni Award<br />
of Merit from Penn Dental<br />
Medicine. The award recognizes<br />
a leader in the dental profession,<br />
a contributor to his or her alma<br />
mater and an individual who has<br />
made outstanding contributions<br />
in community involvement. In<br />
April 2012, Dr. Rossman was<br />
elected as president-elect of the<br />
Foundation for the American<br />
Association of Endodontists.<br />
1970s<br />
3 Bert Meyers ’70 married<br />
Patti Woodall in Barbados on<br />
November 11, 2011. They are<br />
enjoying a full retirement life<br />
in Dunedin, Fla.<br />
Joanne Hubbard Folger ’71<br />
retired in 2010 after teaching<br />
high school math for 31 years.<br />
She taught in DeKalb County,<br />
Ga, for 11 years and Gwinnett<br />
County, Ga, for 20 years. She is<br />
now enjoying reading mystery<br />
novels, knitting and traveling<br />
with her husband.<br />
1980s<br />
4 Gina Marie Sacer ’84 and<br />
Adam William Acker were<br />
married on June 30, 2012, in<br />
Brewster, N.Y., in a beautiful<br />
outdoor ceremony. The couple<br />
honeymooned in Prince Edward<br />
Island, Canada. They now live in<br />
Pawling, N.Y., where they enjoy their<br />
combined family of 11 children.<br />
Daniel Duncanson, M.D.,<br />
C.P.E., ’85 was recently named<br />
chief executive officer of Southeastern<br />
Integrated Medical, P.L.<br />
(SIMED) in Gainesville, Fla.<br />
SIMED is a physician- owned,<br />
multi-specialty physician group<br />
in north central Florida. Dan has<br />
been a practicing physician in<br />
internal medicine in Gainesville<br />
for the last 20 years. Prior to<br />
assuming the CEO position, he<br />
was the vice president of operations<br />
and director of primary care for<br />
SIMED. In 2010, Dan achieved<br />
certification as a certified<br />
physician executive.<br />
Ralph Haynes Gunn ’85 and his<br />
wife adopted two boys in October<br />
2011. The Gunns were previously<br />
the boys’ foster parents for DFACS<br />
for two years. Brandon David<br />
Gunn is four and Braylen Zachary<br />
Gunn is three.<br />
5 Dr. Casey Chosewood ’86 and<br />
Deborah Cardone Chosewood ’87<br />
are the parents of Cadet Alec<br />
Chosewood of Lilburn, Ga., who<br />
completed Cadet Basic Training<br />
at the U.S. Military Academy.<br />
6 Donna Adair Breault ’88<br />
accepted a new position as<br />
associate professor of graduate<br />
curriculum studies at West<br />
Virginia <strong>University</strong>. Earlier this<br />
year, she and her husband Rick<br />
co-authored a book entitled<br />
Professional Development<br />
Schools: Researching Lessons<br />
from the Field (Rowman<br />
Littlefield Publishers). This book<br />
critiques the quality of research in<br />
a specific area of teacher education<br />
and offers organizational<br />
implications for teacher education<br />
programs. Donna recently finished<br />
another book, Red Light in the<br />
Ivory Tower: Contexts and<br />
Implications of Entrepreneurial<br />
Education (Peter Lang Publishers –<br />
David Callejo-Perez, co-author).<br />
1990s<br />
7 Joseph Shelton ’91 is an<br />
attorney at Fisher & Phillips,<br />
LLP, in Atlanta and is listed in<br />
Georgia Super Lawyers 2012<br />
for his work in employment and<br />
labor law. Joe is currently serving<br />
on the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Board of<br />
Trustees as vice chair.<br />
David M. Ross ’93 received his<br />
MPA in nonprofit management<br />
from Georgia State <strong>University</strong><br />
in December 2011. In February<br />
2012, he joined the staff of the<br />
American Cancer Society as a<br />
writer and editor at the Society’s<br />
national headquarters in Atlanta.<br />
Kimberly Kirner Lohoar ’93<br />
is now a full-time English<br />
teacher in a secondary school<br />
in Hampshire, England. Kim<br />
worked as a news editor for more<br />
than 12 years in the U.S. and the<br />
U.K. before completing a Masters<br />
level teacher-training course at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of Southampton.<br />
So far, she is enjoying her new<br />
post! In other news, Kim became<br />
a British citizen in July 2012,<br />
just before the Queen’s Diamond<br />
Jubilee. Kim has lived in the U.K.<br />
since 2003.<br />
Thom McCague ’93 published<br />
his first historical novel in<br />
October 2012. Adventures on the<br />
Great River Road: 1814 is the result<br />
of an independent history research<br />
paper completed for the late<br />
Dr. David Thomas. The book is<br />
available through smashwords.<br />
com, kobo.com and other online<br />
e-book outlets. There are plans to<br />
write a second book in the future.<br />
Rev. Dave Barnhart ’94<br />
associate pastor of Trinity United<br />
Methodist Church in Homewood,<br />
Ala., formed a new church in May<br />
2012 with the assistance of Trinity<br />
Methodist Church.<br />
8 Jennifer Chiofalo Tomasino<br />
’94 and Clint Tomasino are<br />
excited to announce the birth of<br />
their second son, Lucas Andrew<br />
Tomasino, who was born on<br />
August 29, 2011. He weighed 7 lbs.<br />
7 oz. and was 19.75 in. long. He<br />
was welcomed by his big brother<br />
Wyatt, who celebrated his second<br />
birthday on August 1, 2012.<br />
9 Barbara Miller Hall ’94<br />
earned her Ph.D. in instructional<br />
design from Capella <strong>University</strong>.<br />
The title of her dissertation was,<br />
“How Cognitive Requirement of<br />
Prompt and Time in Course are<br />
Correlated with Intersubjectivity<br />
within Threaded Discussions.”<br />
Beth Pethtal ’94 and fellow<br />
designer Ginny Lassiter showed<br />
their exhibition, “Feed Your<br />
Electric Soul” in May 2012 in<br />
Calabash, N.C., at Gallery Sunset<br />
River Marketplace. The exhibition<br />
was a showing of custom design<br />
ideas, fine crafts and gently loved<br />
pieces from the past.<br />
Shana Bowes ’94 joined the<br />
MNS firm as a project manager<br />
and listings specialists. She<br />
brings more than 15 years of<br />
experience to her new position.<br />
Walter Bolton ’94 was honored<br />
as the 2012 Mobile Area Council<br />
of Engineers (MACE) Engineer<br />
of the Year, the most prestigious<br />
of the awards presented by<br />
this organization. Walter is<br />
the president/CEO of Beaufort<br />
Engineering Services, Inc.<br />
10 Amy Marie Puckett McGee<br />
’95 graduated in August 2012<br />
with a master’s in library and<br />
information science from the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of North Texas.<br />
11 Lu Green ’95 and Nick<br />
LeRoy joyfully announce the<br />
adoption of their son, Nate<br />
William LeRoy. After a three<br />
and a half year wait, they<br />
celebrated their Family Day<br />
on Christmas Day 2011.<br />
Thomas Barker ’95 was promoted<br />
to associate professor with tenure<br />
at Georgia Institute of Technology<br />
in the Department of Biomedical<br />
Engineering.<br />
12 Jenifer Parks ’96 earned<br />
her Ph.D. in Russian/Soviet<br />
history from UNC-Chapel Hill<br />
in May 2009. In August 2012,<br />
she moved with her husband<br />
to Billings, Mont., where she is<br />
assistant professor of history at<br />
Rocky Mountain College.<br />
Anita Patterson ’97 was selected<br />
by Treasury & Risk to their 2012<br />
list of 100 Most Influential People<br />
in Finance. Anita is currently<br />
the director of treasury services<br />
for COX Enterprises and provides<br />
strategic direction on all treasury<br />
issues for the company.<br />
Rev. S. Chadwick Vaughn ’97,<br />
former rector of St. Francis<br />
Episcopal Church in Macon,<br />
Ga., was the featured preacher<br />
April 15, 2012 on “Day 1” with<br />
host Peter Wallace, the nationally<br />
syndicated ecumenical<br />
radio program. His “Day 1”<br />
sermon, based on the story of<br />
“Doubting Thomas” in John<br />
20:19-29, was entitled “Missouri,<br />
My Fair Lady and the<br />
Mission of the Church.” Chad<br />
and his wife Amanda Smith<br />
Vaughn ’01 recently moved<br />
back to Atlanta with their twin<br />
daughters. Chad is currently<br />
the priest in charge at St. Bedes<br />
Episcopal Church, and Amanda<br />
is the director of communications<br />
at St. Patrick’s in Dunwoody.<br />
Yvette Nemeth ’98 married<br />
Steve Jones on September 3,<br />
2011, in Franklin, N.C.<br />
Aimee Thrasher Hansen ’98<br />
was promoted to library<br />
supervisor I and is now the<br />
branch manager of the Lillian<br />
Marrero Branch of the Free<br />
Library of Philadelphia.<br />
34 CARILLON | spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong><br />
SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 35
class notes<br />
class notes<br />
13 14 15 16 21<br />
22<br />
23<br />
24<br />
17 18 19 20 25 26 27<br />
28<br />
Karen Head ’98 is an assistant<br />
professor at the School of<br />
Literature at Media and<br />
Communication at Georgia<br />
Institute of Technology. She<br />
has been selected to lead a<br />
First Year Composition Course<br />
with a $150,000 grant from the<br />
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.<br />
The Georgia Institute of Technology<br />
will develop three massive open<br />
online courses targeted at those<br />
who have yet to pursue or complete<br />
a college degree.<br />
Linnea Dyer Hegarty ’98<br />
was selected by the D.C. Public<br />
Library Foundation as the<br />
organization’s executive director.<br />
DCPLF is a nonprofit organization<br />
that provides a margin of excellence<br />
to the D.C. Public Library with<br />
resources that supplement local<br />
government funding. Prior<br />
to taking her new position,<br />
Ms. Hergarty was the director<br />
of development for the Alliance<br />
for Climate Protection, the<br />
organization founded and chaired<br />
by former Vice President Al Gore.<br />
13 Amy Katz Bonn ’99, her<br />
husband Dave and their son Henry<br />
welcomed Warren Judd Avrahm<br />
Bonn on September 22, 2011 in<br />
Las Vegas, Nev. Warren weighed 8<br />
lbs., 6 oz. and measured 20.5 in.<br />
14 Kristine Lawrie Williams<br />
’99 and her husband, Kristian<br />
Williams, announce the birth<br />
of their son Wyatt Joseph on<br />
December 16, 2011. The baby’s<br />
gender was a surprise until the<br />
delivery. Although he arrived<br />
10 days early, Wyatt came in at<br />
a substantial 8 lbs., 12.9 oz. and<br />
measured 20.25 in. Big sister<br />
Samantha, who turned two in<br />
March 2012, is slowly transitioning<br />
from hitting him to kissing him!<br />
2001<br />
15 Michael Newkirk ’01 and<br />
Erin Sellers Newkirk ’03<br />
welcomed a baby girl, Tinsley Anne<br />
Newkirk, on October 20, 2011.<br />
16 Ashley Zimmerman<br />
Hamilton ’01 and Hunter<br />
Hamilton are happy to announce<br />
the birth of their baby girl,<br />
Sydney Harper, who was born<br />
on November 2, 2011. Sydney<br />
weighed 8 lbs., 5 oz. and<br />
measured 20 in. Sydney is<br />
their first child and their best<br />
holiday gift!<br />
17 Reagan Fisher Wyssbrod<br />
’01 and Mark Wyssbrod became<br />
the parents of Lawrence Andrew<br />
Wyssbrod on August 7, 2012.<br />
The baby weighed in at a healthy<br />
7 lbs. 7 oz. and is thriving!<br />
2002<br />
18 Cody Partin ’02 and his<br />
wife Sara recently welcomed<br />
twins to their family. Andrew<br />
McGuire and Nora McPherson<br />
Partin were born on March<br />
16, 2012. Big brother Charlie<br />
welcomed them with open arms.<br />
Cody was also promoted to<br />
assistant vice president of real<br />
estate & strategic investments<br />
at Cox Enterprises.<br />
19 Richard Cartwright ’02<br />
and Shanna Hobson ’02 were<br />
married on May 21, 2011, in<br />
the Philip Weltner Library.<br />
Although Jesus was predicted<br />
to return on this date, none<br />
of the attendees, the bride or<br />
the groom was raptured during<br />
the ceremony and subsequent<br />
reception. The couple met while<br />
attending <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>,<br />
and both graduated with degrees<br />
in English. Shanna currently<br />
works as a R.N. in the emergency<br />
room at the <strong>University</strong> of Tennessee<br />
Medical Center. Richard is<br />
currently a Ph.D. student in the<br />
Department of Earth and<br />
Planetary Sciences at the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Tennessee.<br />
20 Jeffrey Poole ’02 and<br />
Robin Elms ’02 celebrated the<br />
birth of twins, Finnegan and<br />
Eleanor, in October 2011. The<br />
babies weighed 7 lbs. and 6 lbs.<br />
respectively.<br />
Amy Arden ’02 married Vincent<br />
Tubayan on November 30, 2011.<br />
The ceremony took place in Las<br />
Vegas, Nev.<br />
2003<br />
Nobles Green II ’03, senior<br />
medical animator for Nucleus<br />
Medical Media, has earned<br />
an Award of Excellence for his<br />
“STAR Ankle System” animation<br />
during the 2012 Association<br />
of Medical Illustrators (AMI)<br />
Conference. His company also<br />
achieved an Award of Merit for<br />
the “iStent” app for the iPad,<br />
for which Nobles served as<br />
lead animator.<br />
Kristi Dosh ’03 accepted a<br />
job as ESPN’s sports business<br />
reporter. She will have a page on<br />
ESPN.com and will be featured<br />
on all other ESPN platforms,<br />
including ESPN the Magazine<br />
and ESPN TV and radio<br />
programming. In addition,<br />
Kristi has contracted with<br />
Wiley to author a book entitled<br />
Saturday Millionaires: Why<br />
College Athletes Will Never Be<br />
Paid and Other Untold Truths<br />
about the Business of College<br />
Football, which will be published<br />
in the late summer of <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
21 Emily Lawson ’03 recently<br />
married Valur Gudmundsson<br />
with ceremonies in both Texas<br />
and Valur’s home of Iceland.<br />
Zhena Kavelin-Milani ’03 was<br />
a reader in the Texas wedding.<br />
Heather Staniszewski ’02 and<br />
Mark DeLong ’03 celebrated<br />
with the happy couple at their<br />
Icelandic ceremony. Emily<br />
and Valur are now living in<br />
Portland, Ore. where Emily<br />
practices homebirth midwifery<br />
and Valur works as a research<br />
analyst for Intel.<br />
22 Michelle Parks Carey ’03<br />
and Conor Carey ’06 are<br />
excited to announce the birth of<br />
Ryleigh Aimee Carey, born July<br />
2, 2012. She weighed 8 lbs.,<br />
6 oz. and measured 20 in.<br />
2004<br />
Rachel Lehr ’04 recently departed<br />
Cairo, Egypt, where she worked<br />
at the U.S. Embassy for two<br />
years, and has since arrived at<br />
her new posting at the U.S.<br />
Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.<br />
What a change in climate!<br />
23 Stephanie Bryan’s ’04<br />
photographs were featured<br />
in The Circle Gallery at the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Georgia College<br />
of Environment and Design,<br />
which will host her exhibit<br />
entitled “American Dreams: The<br />
Paradox of Failed Subdivisions<br />
in Georgia.” During the past<br />
three years, Bryan has spent her<br />
free time traveling throughout<br />
Georgia to document changes<br />
in rural and suburban landscapes<br />
through photography and writing.<br />
She would like her photographic<br />
essay to convey the serious<br />
effects of these changes and hopes<br />
that “American Dreams: The<br />
Paradox of Failed Subdivisions<br />
in Georgia” will inspire people<br />
to consider how overdevelopment<br />
can be prevented.<br />
24 Lisa Gossett ’04 married<br />
Donny Smith on June 4, 2011,<br />
at Harrahs Casino Tunica in<br />
Robinsonville, Miss. The<br />
reception featured the dueling<br />
pianos of Hudson & Saleeby.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> alumni in attendance<br />
included bridesmaids Anna<br />
Rhett Cobb Miller ’04, Kelley<br />
Napier ’04, and Melinda Vegso<br />
Blonshine ’03. Lisa and Donny<br />
live in Hernando, Miss.<br />
25 Leigh Cooper ’04 and Mark<br />
Godfrey are proud to announce<br />
the birth of their first child,<br />
Cecil Cooper Godfrey. Cecil was<br />
born on August 4, 2012, at 5:23<br />
p.m. in Atlanta. He weighed 7<br />
lbs., 2 oz. and measured 20.5 in.<br />
2005<br />
26 Virginia Brown ’05 was<br />
married on May 19, 2012, to<br />
Shaun McGonigal. Joy Simmons<br />
’05, Ginny’s long-time best<br />
friend and roommate for all<br />
four years at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, was<br />
the maid of honor. Ginny and<br />
Shaun live in Philadelphia,<br />
where Ginny is in graduate school.<br />
Carlissa Carson ’05 was named<br />
one of the 99 most influential<br />
foreign policy leaders under the<br />
age of 33, or the “99 Under 33”<br />
by Diplomatic Courier, a global<br />
affairs magazine.<br />
27 Tom Collens ’05 and<br />
Mandy Eckerl Collens ’06<br />
proudly announce the birth of<br />
their son, Thomas W. Collens<br />
V, on September 15, 2011. He<br />
weighed 9 lbs., 2 oz. and<br />
measured 21.75 in.<br />
2006<br />
28 Kirbie Compston ’06<br />
welcomed Jackson Toland<br />
Smith Compston on November<br />
22, 2011. He weighed 8 lbs., 11<br />
oz. and measured 21.5 in. He is<br />
their first child and a blessing<br />
and a joy.<br />
Travis Griffin ’06 graduated<br />
from Walter F. George School<br />
of Law at Mercer <strong>University</strong><br />
in May 2012 and passed the<br />
bar exam. He is an associate<br />
attorney at the criminal defense<br />
firm of Hogue & Hogue LLP in<br />
Macon, Ga. He married Alesha<br />
Tentiger ’09 on October 13, 2012.<br />
36 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong> SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 37
class notes<br />
class notes<br />
29 30 31<br />
32<br />
29 Sean Raleigh ’06 joined<br />
the Army in January 2007 and<br />
gained commission as a 2nd<br />
Lieutenant through Officer<br />
Candidate School (OCS). He was<br />
branched in the Adjutant Generals<br />
Corps, the Human Resources<br />
branch of the Army. His first duty<br />
station was Fort Wainwright in<br />
Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was<br />
the battalion personnel officer for<br />
an organization of 800 soldiers.<br />
Two weeks after arriving in<br />
September 2008, he was deployed<br />
to Iraq for 12 months. He returned<br />
to Alaska in September 2009.<br />
He was promoted to captain<br />
in September 2010. He was<br />
deployed again to Afghanistan<br />
in April 2011. He returned from<br />
Afghanistan in August 2011 to<br />
attend the Adjutant Generals<br />
Captain’s Career Course at Fort<br />
Jackson, South Carolina, where<br />
he is currently stationed. Sean<br />
married Vara Lyngklip of Winona,<br />
Minn., in December 2007.<br />
30 Jennifer K. Wilson, ’06<br />
earned a master’s in clinical<br />
counseling psychology from<br />
Brenau <strong>University</strong> in 2011 and is<br />
now serving the Gainesville, Ga.<br />
community as the children’s<br />
program coordinator and domestic<br />
violence community educator<br />
for Gateway Domestic Violence<br />
Center. In addition to her work<br />
at Gateway Domestic Violence<br />
Center, Jennifer serves as the<br />
chair of the Community Education<br />
Committee of the Northeastern<br />
Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence<br />
Task Force. Jennifer also teaches<br />
Psychology 101 and human growth<br />
and development undergraduate<br />
courses online for Brenau <strong>University</strong><br />
as an adjunct instructor. She lives<br />
in Gainesville with her husband<br />
Matt Loggins and two young sons.<br />
2007<br />
Laura Fitzgerald ’07 joined<br />
Orbit Books and continues to<br />
work in digital marketing.<br />
Orbit Books is a science-fiction<br />
publisher and an imprint of<br />
Hachette Book Group.<br />
31 Rachael Maddux ’07 married<br />
Joe McCormick, a graduate of<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of Tennessee at<br />
Chattanooga and the <strong>University</strong><br />
of North Carolina at Greensboro,<br />
on August 6, 2011 in Cleveland,<br />
Tenn. Rachael is assistant editor<br />
of the Georgia Tech alumni<br />
magazine and a freelance writer.<br />
Joe is an editor with Discovery<br />
Communications. They live in<br />
Decatur, Ga.<br />
32 Lindsey Dyan Callaway ’07<br />
married Captain Darrell E. Fawley<br />
III, West Point ’05 on September<br />
17, 2012, at St Joseph’s Catholic<br />
Church in Washington, Ga.<br />
Darrell is commanding HHC<br />
of 1-23 Infantry Regiment, and<br />
Lindsey is finishing her Master<br />
of Education in Montessori<br />
elementary education.<br />
Emily E. Macheski-Preston ’07<br />
was named the “2012 Young<br />
Professional of the Year” for<br />
the Valdosta-Lowndes County<br />
area. This award is given to<br />
the young professional in the<br />
Valdosta-Lowndes County area<br />
who has made “an impact on<br />
their business’s bottom line.”<br />
Emily was recognized for both<br />
her success as a litigation attorney<br />
and her active involvement in the<br />
community. Emily is a litigation<br />
associate at Coleman Talley LLP,<br />
which has offices in Valdosta<br />
and Atlanta. She focuses on<br />
employment law, local government<br />
law and insurance defense.<br />
2008<br />
William Patrick Edwards ’08<br />
was ordained to the Sacred Order<br />
of Priests on December 8, 2011,<br />
by the Right Rev. Morris K.<br />
Thompson, Jr., at St. Margaret’s<br />
Episcopal Church.<br />
Christina Renee Tyler<br />
MacRosty ’08 earned the<br />
degree Doctor of Osteopathic<br />
Medicine from the West Virginia<br />
School of Osteopathic Medicine<br />
on May 26, 2012. She and her<br />
husband, Sean MacRosty ’03,<br />
live in Charleston, W.Va., where<br />
Dr. MacRosty will begin a<br />
combined residency in internal<br />
medicine and pediatrics.<br />
2009<br />
Shaquitta Denise Brookins ’09<br />
graduated from Ohio State<br />
<strong>University</strong> with her master’s degree<br />
in city and regional planning.<br />
33 Rose-Gaëlle Belinga ’09<br />
completed her master’s degree in<br />
software engineering at Auburn<br />
<strong>University</strong> and joined Morgan<br />
Stanley in New York in August<br />
2012 as a technology analyst.<br />
33<br />
2010<br />
Chloe Edwards ’10 graduated<br />
summa cum laude from the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Texas at Austin<br />
with a master’s in information<br />
studies in August 2012. She<br />
wrote her graduate thesis on the<br />
social role of library classification<br />
practice, under the supervision<br />
of Drs. Melanie Feinberg and<br />
Nathan Ensmenger.<br />
2011<br />
LaDonna Barnes ’11 is working<br />
towards a master’s degree in<br />
clinical mental health counseling<br />
at Mercer <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Class notes deadline was<br />
11/9/12. View more or<br />
submit your class note<br />
via ePetrel: www.alumni.<br />
oglethorpe.edu.<br />
Longtime trustee and one of<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s most active alumni,<br />
O.K. Sheffield, Jr. ’53<br />
died December 19, 2011,<br />
three days after emergency<br />
coronary surgery. While at OU,<br />
O.K. was elected president<br />
of the student government,<br />
voted “Lord <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>” by<br />
the student body, awarded<br />
the James Edward <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
Cup by vote of the faculty and<br />
administration and elected to Omicron Delta Kappa, a national<br />
honorary fraternity. During his long career in banking, he also<br />
helped lead many major community-wide fundraising efforts,<br />
including the United Way campaign. Saint Anne’s Episcopal<br />
Church and <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> were his favorite outlets for<br />
engagement, and he played important leadership roles with both<br />
for many years. For <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, O.K. served as president of the<br />
National Alumni Association twice and was an active member<br />
of the President’s Advisory Council before being elected to the<br />
Board of Trustees in 1997. He remained active on the Board of<br />
Trustees through the end of his life. One of the highlights of his life<br />
was the establishment of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Sheffield Alumni Center in<br />
March 2001. During the last 26 years of his life, O.K. manifested<br />
one of his central gifts as friend, counselor, resource and mentor<br />
to scores of men and women in recovery from addiction to drugs<br />
or alcohol.<br />
Ruth Zimmer Phillips ’37<br />
December 1, 2011<br />
Dixie Woodford Long ’39<br />
November 12, 2011<br />
W. Elmer George ’40<br />
August 13, 2012<br />
John Malpass ’40<br />
January 5, 2012<br />
Reba Ramsey Rich ’40<br />
October 23, 2012<br />
Betty Axelberg ’42<br />
June 1, 2012<br />
Bettye Ray DeJon ’43<br />
December 9, 2011<br />
Joan Robb Butler ’49<br />
April 19, 2012<br />
Wesley Joseph Martin ’49<br />
January 16, 2012<br />
Margaret Robinson ’50<br />
March 28, 2012<br />
Joseph Overton ’52<br />
October 12, 2011<br />
O.K. Sheffield ’53<br />
December 19, 2011<br />
Mary Normal Stone ’53<br />
December 1, 2011<br />
Sarah Bradley Letchas ’54<br />
December 7, 2011<br />
Joan Joseph ’55<br />
May 12, 2012<br />
Opal Perry Watson ’55<br />
April 4, 2012<br />
Dr. Paul Hawkins ’56<br />
December 26, 2011<br />
Webb Vermilya ’57<br />
May 17, 2012<br />
Lawrence B. Knapp ’58<br />
April 29, 2012<br />
Barbara Powell Sykes ’59<br />
October 11, 2011<br />
Former <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> staff member Paul Dillingham Jr.<br />
passed away on July 15, 2012. He was born in<br />
Madisonville, Ky., on November 16, 1927, to Elizabeth and<br />
Paul Dillingham, Sr. In 1978, was named vice president of<br />
international operations at Coca-Cola, ultimately retiring<br />
from Coca-Cola in 1984 after 27 years. He began a<br />
second career as vice president for development and later<br />
as assistant to the president of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>. He completely retired in 2002<br />
after a 52-year business career. Paul served as a volunteer Board member of numerous<br />
local and national organizations, including United Way, Life Member of Salvation Army,<br />
Boy Scouts, MS Society, Heart Fund, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong>, The Tax Council, AICPA,<br />
Financial Executives Institute, Georgia Council on Economic Education, Rotary Club of<br />
Atlanta and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Paul was an elder at Peachtree Presbyterian<br />
Church and an active member of the Gene Wilson Sunday School Class. (Pictured above<br />
with his wife Barbara and retire faculty member Vicky Weiss.)<br />
IN MEMORIAM<br />
Barbara Hawes Walker ’62<br />
October 14, 2012<br />
John Warren ’62<br />
January 5, 2012<br />
Bette Tomlinson Wall ’63, MAT ’75<br />
October 27, 2012<br />
A. Corry Arensbach ’64<br />
October 12, 2011<br />
Gloria Early Daniel ’64<br />
August 25, 2012<br />
Haynes McFadden ’66<br />
June 10, 2012<br />
Richard Laurence Baron ’68<br />
December 29, 2011<br />
Barry Wiesner ’69<br />
November 20, 2011<br />
James Carr<br />
“Jimmy” Grizzard ’69<br />
March 22, 2012<br />
Submit your class note via ePetrel: www.alumni.oglethorpe.edu<br />
Former longtime staff member Elgin Fleming MacConnell<br />
passed away on September 30, 2012. Better known<br />
as “Dean Mac” at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>, Elgin was a veteran of<br />
World War II and retired from <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
with 34 years of dedicated service.<br />
At the end of the war, he earned his B.A. in history and education at Allegheny College.<br />
Still hungry for more, he enrolled in New York <strong>University</strong>, where he was awarded his<br />
Masters in education. By this time, his parents had moved to Atlanta, where his father<br />
accepted a position as a professor in the department of education at <strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong>. Elgin began his career in education when he was hired by DeKalb County<br />
schools as a teacher and later an assistant principal. He was especially proud of being<br />
one of a group of three to start the after-school recreation program.<br />
Walker Lanier Whaley ’69<br />
May 31, 2012<br />
Diana Rowles ’71<br />
April 19, 2012<br />
Leroy Thacker ’72<br />
November 11, 2011<br />
Veronica Bowen Beck ’80<br />
October 1, 2012<br />
Jane Peters ’89<br />
February 15, 2012<br />
Suzanne Riordan ’99<br />
May 18, 2012<br />
Edmund Martin,<br />
former faculty<br />
May 22, 2012<br />
Paul Dillingham Jr.,<br />
former staff<br />
July 16, 2012<br />
Elgin MacConnell “Dean Mac,”<br />
former staff<br />
September 30, 2012<br />
38 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 39
OUr community<br />
our community<br />
In 2010, Betty Londergan, the wife of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s President<br />
Schall, spent a year on a project through which she gave<br />
away $100 a day for 365 days and wrote about it on her<br />
blog, “What Gives 365.” At the end of this undertaking, she<br />
wanted another way to give back.<br />
Enter Heifer International, a nonprofit founded in 1944 on<br />
the idea of “helping others help themselves.” The concept is<br />
simple: buy an animal for a family in need. That gift can then<br />
provide food, labor and perhaps even a new means of income<br />
for struggling families. However, Betty says that a donation to<br />
Heifer is much more than that.<br />
“An animal is such a simple thing, but everything that<br />
comes with it—from sharing and caring, passing on the gift,<br />
environmental integrity... to taking more pride in themselves,<br />
taking control of their education, nutrition and environment, all<br />
this really helps to lift people out of poverty in a lasting way,”<br />
explained Betty.<br />
(above) <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> hosted the Heifer International<br />
Sustainability Summit in the fall, welcoming speakers<br />
from around the world. (left) Orientation leader<br />
Jasmine Irish ‘13 gathers freshmen for First Year Seminar<br />
class. (left, inset) <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s First Lady Betty Londergan<br />
photographs residents in one of the many countries to which<br />
she traveled over the course of 12 months.<br />
Heifer<br />
International:<br />
Giving Back for<br />
a Better World<br />
by Weatherly Richardson ’13<br />
She has seen firsthand the change that Heifer makes in the<br />
world. In a project called Heifer 12x12, Betty visited 12<br />
Heifer-assisted countries the 12 months of 2012 and blogged<br />
about her experiences (heifer12x12.com).<br />
“The first country I went to was Uganda, as kind of my test<br />
run. I wanted to see what it was going to be like to work on<br />
the Heifer project, so I did that. Then I went to Guatemala,<br />
Haiti and Peru, then China and Nepal, then Cameroon,<br />
Romania, Appalachia, Rwanda, Armenia and Cambodia,”<br />
said Betty, who was interviewed for this article in fall 2012.<br />
She concluded her journey in Malawi and Ecuador. During<br />
her travels, Betty was a journalist. She took photographs,<br />
connected with local inhabitants, listened to their stories and<br />
shared them on her blog so others could learn about the<br />
impact of Heifer’s work on the lives of people around the<br />
world.<br />
“I’m not doing it as the voice of Heifer; I’m doing it in my own<br />
voice,” said Betty. “These are really human stories. The culture,<br />
the environment, the history of a place really informs and<br />
influences how poverty is expressed and how it’s embedded<br />
in the society, so I’d like to try and help people understand the<br />
country, understand the people, understand the history and the<br />
cultures. And I find it so fascinating personally that I can’t wait<br />
to tell people about it.”<br />
The 12x12 blog combined beautiful photographs with<br />
touching, sometimes funny, very real stories from her travels.<br />
“I get to engage with people. I’ve never considered myself a<br />
photographer with a capital ‘P’, but I really love it. I’m in such<br />
incredibly photogenic places. I take it very seriously and try<br />
to do my best. I’m around incredible people and incredible<br />
places that not very many people get to see. If I didn’t<br />
photograph them, shame on me,” she said.<br />
Betty’s involvement with Heifer has helped to start a wave of<br />
engagement between <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> and Heifer International.<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> sponsored and hosted the international nonprofit’s<br />
Heifer Sustainability Summit in October 2012. The meeting<br />
brought leaders from around the world to campus to discuss<br />
how Heifer International is addressing the needs of a world<br />
stricken by hunger, poverty and environmental degradation.<br />
During the Summit, <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students officially launched a<br />
Heifer Club on campus, the first of its kind at a Southeastern<br />
college. Sophomore Ruwa Romman and a small group of OU<br />
students were inspired by Betty’s work and decided to get<br />
active and make a difference. “We hope to get a movement<br />
going,” said Ruwa. “We can’t donate huge sums of money, but<br />
if we can donate $10 for chickens and help send someone’s<br />
kid to school, that’s still huge. It’s all about giving back.”<br />
The club’s main concern? Getting the word out. “When you<br />
tell people you’re part of the Heifer Club, they’re like ‘what’s<br />
Heifer?’ Raising awareness is our main goal,” said Ruwa. She<br />
believes that recruiting her fellow Petrels to get involved is the<br />
key to making a difference.<br />
“<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s a good place to have a<br />
grassroots initiative [like Heifer]. The<br />
school focuses on self-sustainability, on<br />
passing on the gift. Students here are<br />
perfectly suited for it, and we want as<br />
much involvement as possible!”<br />
40 CARILLON | spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 41
OUr community<br />
our community<br />
Picture a two-story home that has limited dimensions of<br />
10’x 10’x 10’, yet offers a bed, kitchen, study area, storage space, solar<br />
panel electricity, and a bathroom complete with a shower. That’s what a<br />
small group of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students have spent much time, passion and<br />
energy working to create over the past year.<br />
x<br />
x<br />
Sophomore Mon Baroi came up with<br />
the initial idea for the project when he<br />
discovered a $300 house challenge posted<br />
on the Harvard Business Review online.<br />
He found that while many blueprints<br />
had been submitted for this challenge, no<br />
one had actually built the house they’d<br />
proposed. He wanted to change that. The<br />
house that the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> group plans to<br />
construct on campus will cost $400, just<br />
a bit more than the $371 it costs to build<br />
an average home in developing countries<br />
around the world.<br />
“We can accelerate<br />
the improvements in<br />
the tiny home concept<br />
by sharing it with more<br />
people and allowing<br />
them to think of further<br />
ways to innovate.”<br />
These enterprising students (Mon,<br />
plus Jacob Tadych ’14, Naomi Carroll<br />
’14, Cartrez Wilson ’15, Will Jones ’14<br />
and A.J. Arend ’13) combined their<br />
knowledge in business, finance, science,<br />
sociology, engineering and psychology<br />
into thinking through the design of their<br />
home. The vision started with a Popsicle<br />
stick model and has evolved into a 3-D<br />
computerized model for the house.<br />
The group has gathered nearly every<br />
Friday since last summer, and they<br />
divide the time and labor between planning and constructing the building<br />
materials. Each member of the “Tiny Home” team makes their own<br />
contributions to the project, based on their skills and interests. Together<br />
they have spent hundreds of hours working on the house—even before<br />
construction begins. The project has proven to be a genuine work in<br />
progress and learning process throughout this academic year, with several<br />
rounds of trial and error.<br />
The group extensively experimented and tested various potential building<br />
materials. They first planned to construct the house out of papercrete<br />
(made of sand, Portland cement and recycled paper), combined with straw<br />
bale. The papercrete concoction is light and strong, water resistant and<br />
carbon neutral, important considering one goal for the house is for it to be<br />
environmentally friendly. However, making the papercrete bricks proved<br />
to be time intensive and required hardy equipment to produce. In order<br />
to make the house more easily replicable, the group finally settled on a<br />
combination of stabilized adobe, straw bale and earthbags.<br />
While the team is clearly enjoying the challenge of planning for building<br />
this tiny home, this project is much more than an academic exercise. The<br />
group envisions this small building to be a model for people in developing<br />
nations with minimal resources or as a potential solution for chronically<br />
homeless individuals.<br />
A political science major, Mon has spent his share of time living in small<br />
spaces. Mon and his parents and sister were refugees from Bangladesh.<br />
Mon’s father was a writer who wrote about the Muslim majority oppressing<br />
the non-Muslim minority. As a result, the family became victims of<br />
violence and had to flee the country. When they left Bangladesh, they could<br />
only take a small amount of money with them. When his family first moved<br />
to New York, they lived in a three-room apartment with eight other people<br />
for several months.<br />
“We couldn’t afford beds when we arrived in New York,” Mon said, “so<br />
we slept on newspapers on the floor.” Mon shared that his family became<br />
closer during this time and that he gained a valuable sense of perspective.<br />
“I learned that it’s important to determine your worth based on your self<br />
worth, not your net worth.”<br />
The Tiny Homes Project team is committed to staying within their budget<br />
of $400. Funding has been provided by My Part Foundation, a nonprofit<br />
that supports humanitarian service projects led by people of different<br />
ethnicities, cultures and faiths working together. However, the Tiny Homes<br />
team has (politely) refused additional donation offers, acknowledging that<br />
anyone who tries to replicate their tiny home concept in real life situations<br />
likely will not have the advantage of benefactors. In fact, they plan to “open<br />
source” their ideas and concepts—sharing everything online, forsaking any<br />
rights or credit, monetary or otherwise, for any innovations.<br />
“Two heads are better than one, two million are even better,” said Mon. “We<br />
can accelerate the improvements in the tiny home concept by sharing it<br />
with more people and allowing them to think of further ways to innovate.”<br />
Their project has already attracted attention. Several team members are<br />
among four <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> students who were invited to attend the annual<br />
Clinton Global Initiative <strong>University</strong> conference in April. CGIU was<br />
launched in 2007 by President Clinton to engage the next generation of<br />
leaders from college campuses around the world. The students will have<br />
the opportunity to meet with students, youth organizations, topic experts<br />
and celebrities to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing<br />
global challenges.<br />
Watch for the house to take shape behind <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Goodman Hall<br />
this year. For the latest project updates, visit “<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s Tiny Homes<br />
Project” on Facebook.<br />
tiny solution for a<br />
10’ x10’ x10’<br />
(this page) Papercrete was one<br />
material considered by the Tiny<br />
Homes team, which experimented<br />
extensively to find the most effective<br />
and economical solution for their<br />
building materials. (top) Mon Baroi<br />
whiteboards next steps; (middle)<br />
Mon, Cartrez and Jacob around the<br />
homemade tow mixer that blended<br />
the papercrete ingredients; (bottom)<br />
Mon and Jacob haul the tow mixer<br />
across the residence quad.<br />
Big Problem<br />
By Margaret Daniel<br />
42 CARILLON | spring <strong>2013</strong><br />
spring <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 43
OUr community<br />
our community<br />
WOMEN’S LACROSSE JOINS<br />
THE STORMY PETRELS LINE-UP<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> women’s lacrosse played its<br />
inaugural game on February 20 against<br />
LaGrange. The historic night also marked<br />
the first official NCAA event on the new<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> track and field.<br />
Taking the<br />
Stormy Petrels<br />
to the Top<br />
of Their GAME<br />
By Debbie Aiken ’12<br />
Two things are clear about Becky Hall,<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s new athletic director: she is<br />
passionate about taking the Stormy Petrels<br />
to the next level, and she has a penchant<br />
for acronyms.<br />
A graduate of Urbana <strong>University</strong>, where<br />
she was a star softball player, Becky joined<br />
the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> community in May 2012.<br />
She spent the past 15 years systematically<br />
working her way up the ranks in the athletic<br />
department at Wittenberg <strong>University</strong> in<br />
<strong>Spring</strong>field, OH, where she most recently<br />
was the assistant athletics director.<br />
Becky brings a hands-on, no-nonsense approach to her role, and she<br />
doesn’t bother with fancy titles. “Some people call me Coach Hall or<br />
Director Hall, but I’m really fine with just Becky,” she said. Becky can<br />
be found at almost every athletic game, “usually announcing or selling<br />
admission—I’m not above getting dirty.” She’s also jumped right into<br />
making some changes in the athletic department, aiming for some lofty<br />
goals.<br />
“<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> is a great academic school,” said Becky. “It pushes students<br />
outside of their comfort zone and makes them think more globally. That<br />
is what I want our athletic department to do—to push our student athletes<br />
out of their comfort zone and up to the next level.” To do this, Becky wants<br />
coaches “to shoot for the stars. Within the next six or seven years,” she<br />
said,” I want our teams to finish in the top three in the Southern Athletic<br />
Association.”<br />
Her plan for accomplishing this starts with one of her trusty acronyms.<br />
“CODE,” Becky explained, “stands for communication, organization,<br />
documentation and evaluation.” She is adamant about having frequent<br />
communication with the 14 coaches she supervises—via email, text<br />
message or face-to-face—however she can reach them. Becky wants to<br />
know what all the coaches have planned for their teams, so that all teams<br />
can share their ideas and resources. “In the past each team has done its<br />
own thing,” she said, and she wants to change that.<br />
Organization comes into play with some changes Becky has made to<br />
the functionality of the athletic department to ensure everyone is working<br />
together toward the same goals. “We are running a little differently,”<br />
she said, “and it’s not just what I’m doing; it’s what we are all doing.”<br />
One of the first things Becky organized was the creation of athletic study<br />
tables, where four hours of studying each week is mandatory for students<br />
struggling academically. No electronic devices are allowed during study<br />
time, including laptops or cell phones.<br />
“A few students have accused me of not living in this century,” Becky<br />
admitted, but she wants her students to be focused on improving their<br />
ability to “read, retain and reproduce” the material they are learning in<br />
class. An unexpected benefit of these study hours is that even non-athlete<br />
students are using the time to study. “It’s actually been quite rewarding for<br />
both student athletes and the general student body because it’s quiet in the<br />
dorms and it’s a good time to get some studying done,” she commented.<br />
Documentation is important for tracking progress and determining which<br />
strategies and tactics work and which don’t, to maximize effectiveness in<br />
meeting goals. Yet perhaps most intriguing is CODE’s last component. Not<br />
only will all coaches receive employee evaluations this year, but “student<br />
athletes are evaluating their head coaches, something that’s never been<br />
done before. That way we can see if we are providing the service and<br />
experiences that benefit students most,” Becky said. At the same time, she<br />
doesn’t take the coaches’ dedication for granted. “It’s a thankless, 24/7<br />
job,” Becky said. “I try to start every coaches meeting by thanking them<br />
for their hard work.”<br />
Another acronym pops up when Becky explains the types of experiences<br />
she wants to provide to student athletes. She calls it her GAME plan—<br />
global, academic, mentoring and engagement. “Well, actually it’s<br />
‘GAMES’, because I added an ‘S,’ for sportsmanship,” she said with a<br />
smile. It starts with the global experiences that Becky hopes the athletes<br />
will have. “Our teams are either going out of the country to compete, or<br />
they are going to different parts of the country that they may have never<br />
been to before,” she remarked.<br />
Academic success is another important component essential for student<br />
athletes’ overall success. “We want athletes to outperform the general<br />
student population in the classroom,” Becky said. She supports this goal<br />
by providing opportunities for current students and alumni to mentor<br />
freshman athletes to help them become acclimated to the often rigorous<br />
schedule student athletes must keep. Becky also wants to include a<br />
component of community service engagement in her athletes’ experiences.<br />
She explained that “it’s about getting all of our teams to rally behind a<br />
couple of big service events as well as projects that they each do on their<br />
own throughout the year.”<br />
A new Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) helps to plan many<br />
events throughout the year that are fun and make a difference in the<br />
community. SAAC organized sports clinics for school-aged girls on<br />
National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and will collaborate with the<br />
Special Olympics to host an event next year. The SAAC also organizes<br />
“black-outs” at home games to encourage attendees to support the Petrels<br />
by wearing black. Many student athletes are looking forward to the first<br />
annual athletic awards ceremony, which will bring together all of OU’s<br />
sports teams to recognize the outstanding achievements of students.<br />
Becky is full of enthusiasm for all of the projects under way in the athletics<br />
department. “There is a lot of possibility here for us to go above and<br />
beyond and to be better and actually be great, and that is what I would<br />
like to see happen in my time here,” she said. She said that her own<br />
mentor gave her good advice: “If you can leave something better than<br />
you found it—that is a sign of success. So that’s my mantra. If the athletic<br />
department is better 10 years from now, then I will consider my time here<br />
a success.”<br />
(left) Becky Hall,<br />
holds the National<br />
Championship<br />
trophy won by the<br />
2012 <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s<br />
Men’s Golf team.<br />
Pictured with Matt<br />
Rebitch ’12 and<br />
Jordan Hall ‘12.<br />
44 CARILLON | spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> spring SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 45
OUR alumni channels<br />
our voices<br />
engaging online<br />
Telling the <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> Story to you and the world!<br />
OUR stories<br />
Read our latest OU STORIES, our<br />
“online magazine” updated weekly.<br />
blog.oglethorpe.edu<br />
TWITTER lets you know the word on<br />
FACEBOOK is always a good way to connect<br />
the street. Check out what we’re saying at<br />
with the entire <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> community!<br />
twitter.com/<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>Univ<br />
facebook.com/oglethorpeuniversity<br />
facebook.com/<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>AdultDegrees<br />
facebook.com/TheArtsAt<strong>Oglethorpe</strong><br />
Tune in to our YOUTUBE<br />
CHANNEL to view our new video<br />
“<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong> at the Core,”<br />
the most recent lectures at the OU<br />
Museum of Art, “My Core Stories”—<br />
students’ testimonials about the Core<br />
program, and much more!<br />
Do you pin? So does OU! Explore our<br />
youtube.com/<br />
PINTEREST profile to see <strong>Oglethorpe</strong>’s 20+<br />
oglethorpeuniversity<br />
boards and hundreds of pins worth repinning.<br />
Find photos of our beautiful campus,<br />
“flashback” images from the archives, and<br />
boards about alumni and OU traditions.<br />
pinterest.com/oglethorpeu<br />
Picture this! Use the INSTAGRAM app<br />
to search “<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>Univ” to see<br />
our photos on the go!<br />
STORIFY gives the full<br />
and complete story! Visit<br />
to see what we mean!<br />
storify.com/<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong>Univ<br />
<strong>Oglethorpe</strong> uses READABOUT.ME to highlight students’<br />
achievements and to help them to build a positive online<br />
presence. Search: <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
The PROGRESS WEBSITE chronicles the many<br />
completed and ongoing capital projects on<br />
campus, including the Campus Center, track and<br />
field, scene shop and fitness center. Bookmark the<br />
page to follow our future projects!<br />
progress.oglethorpe.edu<br />
Connect and network with fellow Petrels on LINKEDIN.<br />
linkedin.com (Search: <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> U)<br />
The PEGASUS CREATIVE WEBSITE<br />
shows off our new on-campus student<br />
communications agency. Be sure to<br />
watch the video, produced entirely<br />
by Pegasus members!<br />
pegasus.oglethorpe.edu<br />
Find us on FLICKR and view more than<br />
6,000 photos—and growing!<br />
flickr.com/oglethorpe-university<br />
46 CARILLON | SPRING <strong>2013</strong><br />
SPRING <strong>2013</strong> | CARILLON 47
4484 Peachtree Road, N.E.<br />
Atlanta, GA 30319<br />
www.oglethorpe.edu<br />
4484 Peachtree Road NE<br />
Atlanta, Georgia 30319<br />
www.oglethorpe.edu<br />
Non-Profit<br />
Organization<br />
U.S. POSTAGE<br />
PAID<br />
Atlanta, GA 30319<br />
PERMIT No. 523<br />
Blast from the Past<br />
We hope everyone<br />
enjoyed Alumni<br />
Weekend <strong>2013</strong>!<br />
The annual Masquerade Ball of 1950 was held in October, and students who<br />
attended were to dress in costume. The fall of 1950 saw several other student<br />
celebrations, one of which was the Boar’s Head Fat-Man Thin-Man basketball<br />
game on November 16. All participants and attendees were charged a<br />
twenty-five cent admission fee and were encouraged to dress in burlesque<br />
fashion, as it was the theme for the game. See more of <strong>Oglethorpe</strong> from the<br />
1950s on page 24.<br />
Be sure to mark your<br />
calendars for next year!<br />
April 24–27,<br />
2014