Spring 2013 - Oglethorpe University

our History
VOL. 10 | NO. 1 | spring 2013
2O2O Vision
Oglethorpe’s Future in Focus
strategic plan | 6 engaged living | 11 engaged difference | 15 alumni SPRING 2011 updates | CARILLON | 21 1

contents
5
8
12
14
30
42
editor
RENEE VARY KEELE
Featured writers
MARGARET DANIEL
CAITLYN MITCHELL ’13
contributors
DEBBIE AIKEN ’12
REED BARRICKMAN ’02
J. TODD BENNETT
LINDSEY CARROLL
JODIE SEXTON GOFF ’01
BARBARA BESSMER HENRY ’85
DON HENRY ’83
SYDNEY MOBLEY MOSS ’59
WEATHERLY RICHARDSON ’13
LINDA SANDERS
SCARBOROUGH ’65
KELLY HOLLAND VRTIS ’97
photographers
ROBERT FINDLEY ’14
AMANDA (BROOKE)
FLOYD ’13
ONE MOMENT MORE
PHOTOGRAPHY
www.omm.com
design
em2 Brand Marketing
That Moves You
Carillon is published
twice a year for alumni,
friends, and family of
Oglethorpe University.
Oglethorpe, founded in
1835, is a private, liberal
arts college.
Photos Above
The Oglethorpe community
gathered in October 2012 to break
ground on the new campus center.
Pictured (l–r): Dean of Students
& Vice President for Campus Life
Michelle Hall, Student Government
Association President Joscelyn
Stein ’13, Trustee Belle Turner
Lynch ’61, President Schall, Board
of Trustees Chair Norman Findley
and Trustee Warren Jobe. Visit
progress.oglethorpe.edu to check
out the progress of the new campus
center, set to open in August 2013.
Speak Out
We’d love your feedback on this issue as well as what you might like
to see in upcoming Carillons. E-mail: rvary@oglethorpe.edu
or call 404-364-8868.
6 strategic plan | 8 engaged campus
community | 11 engaged living
15 engaged difference | 17 engaged
creativity | 19 engaged life | 21 OUR
alumni | 35 class notes | 41 our
community | 47 our CHANNELS
spring 2013 | CARILLON 3

strategic plan
President Schall leads
the groundbreaking
ceremony for the new
Campus Center.
Ask
This involved one of the earliest efforts to develop
a core curriculum, with the twin aims to “make a
life and to make a living.” It was a concept that
attracted nationwide attention.
PRESIDENT’S
LETTER
By Lawrence M. Schall
This year, my eighth as President, has been both a year of exciting
progress on campus and the exercise of leadership on an issue of critical
national importance off campus—gun safety. Let me begin there.
After the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Conn., I made a decision to speak out
and express my personal views on the need for rational and reasonable
gun safety legislation. I shared the open letter I had composed with
a few colleagues who also serve as college and university presidents.
They shared it with others and within 72 hours, more than 150 higher
education leaders had signed on. A few days later, the number grew
to more than 300 and additional presidents have continued to
add their names every week. You can read the letter, see the
signatories, and read the press coverage of our collective effort at
www.collegepresidentsforgunsafety.org.
Our letter (and our university) captured a great deal of attention across
the country and was an important part of the conversation on the
Hill and in the White House as the country works to find solutions to
this ongoing national tragedy. I certainly knew that not everyone in
our community would agree with my views. You can also read on the
website the two pieces I wrote about why I made the decision to write
and distribute the letter. The letter belongs to me and doesn’t purport to
represent the views of our trustees, our faculty, students or alumni. That
said, I do believe the writing of the letter does say something about our
community, about the value we place on rational discussion and debate,
about the connections we make between what we study and how we act,
and finally, about the obligation we all have to speak out.
My vision and hope for Oglethorpe students
is that each of them becomes active in their
communities and that their life of action
starts during their time with us.
From the start of my tenure at Oglethorpe, I have worked to help our
community connect the deep and rigorous learning that happens inside
our classrooms with real world experiences. You might recall that my
inauguration back in 2006 was a day of service to our community and
that theme of service has carried through until this day. Inside this issue,
you will read about the “Oglethorpe Idea” and the university’s strategic
plan, which arose out of that idea. For several decades Oglethorpe has
sought to better integrate our mission and our place to set ourselves
apart from other small colleges whose locations are not as desirable
as ours. The American system of higher education, here in Atlanta
and across the country, is filled with examples of schools that excel at
training students in specialized fields or in educating students broadly
without regard to a career. However, it is rare that a college excels at
both. That is the foundation of the Oglethorpe Idea, which is captured
best in our motto: Make a life, Make a Living, Make a Difference. Our
mission is to provide a rigorous and superior interdisciplinary education
in an intimate learning environment that prepares students to think,
critique and communicate across a broad range of subjects—and to
provide them significant exposure to deep learning experiences in the
real world so they will be prepared to succeed and make a difference.
In this issue of the Carillon, read about the new campus center
scheduled to open in August and the A-Lab (the Atlanta Laboratory for
Learning at Oglethorpe University), which will lie at the center of that
building. The A-Lab, future home to the Center for Civic Engagement,
Center for Experiential Learning and our new Center for International
Studies, is designed to help our students connect theory to practice each
and every day.
I often share with our students the life course of our namesake James
Edward Oglethorpe who, at an age not much older than most of them,
led a successful crusade to empty British prisons of the thousands of
debtors who had been confined there. He then founded the Colony
of Georgia as a slave free state, the first among all British colonies.
Oglethorpe was a visionary who was called to act upon his vision. My
vision and hope for Oglethorpe students is that each of them becomes
active in their communities and that their life of action starts during
their time with us.
Timeless
Questions
Redefining Undergraduate Education
through Unparalleled Engagement
During the middle of the last century,
Oglethorpe President Philip Weltner
and a group of faculty conceived of a
revolutionary approach to undergraduate
education called “the Oglethorpe Idea.”
Part of what made The Oglethorpe Idea so
innovative in 1940 was the university’s embrace
of the world beyond its gates—the intentional
goal of using knowledge to prepare graduates
exceedingly well for life and work beyond the
“ivory tower.” Recently, that goal has taken on
another dimension: Atlanta as a laboratory to
test theories learned in the classroom during the
undergraduate years.
Today, Oglethorpe is one of the very few
coeducational liberal arts colleges in a major
U.S. city. Nearly two centuries ago Oglethorpe
was founded, like many liberal arts colleges, out
in the country. After the Civil War, our founders
transplanted the classic liberal arts ideal to Atlanta.
Their decision gives us an exceptional advantage
that Oglethorpe has yet to maximize to its fullest.
Because of its size, mission and location, Oglethorpe
is in the unique position to integrate the enduring
knowledge of an interdisciplinary liberal arts
education with the immediate and tangible impact
of real-world experience. Make no mistake—
we are already doing this for many of our students.
The difference, already in motion, is to make
engagement between theory and practice—
on campus, in the city of Atlanta, and beyond—
the hallmark of an Oglethorpe education.
Where will Oglethorpe
University be in 2020?
Oglethorpe’s current strategic plan sets forth to
fulfill more ambitiously than ever our mission to
“make a life, make a living, make a difference.”
The strategies have been specifically crafted
to build a strong, compelling identity for
Oglethorpe that will lead to enrollment growth
and improved retention. This growth, along with
new strategic partnerships, many of which are
highlighted in this issue, will lead to greater
financial strength, allowing Oglethorpe to
reinvest in our people, programs and facilities.
Such investments will allow us to provide an even
more exceptional education, creating a cycle of
growth, strength and continued excellence.
Adapted from “THE OGLETHORPE IDEA:
Redefining Undergraduate Education through
Unparalleled Engagement, A Strategic Plan for 2020.”
4 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 5

strategic plan
A PLAN OF ENGAGEMENT
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION
ENGAGED
LIFE
ENGAGED
CAMPUS
COMMUNITY
2020
ENGAGED
CREATIVITY
020
ENGAGED
LIVING
ENGAGED
DIFFERENCE
ENVISION.
PLAN.
STRONG IDENTITY
FINANCIAL STRENGTH
ENGAGE.
By 2020, Oglethorpe University will be
a university of first choice for exceptional
faculty and students, where unparalleled
engagement between the highest quality
classroom learning and real-world
application in the city of Atlanta and
beyond, is our hallmark.
ENROLLMENT GROWTH
ENGAGED LIFE
The Oglethorpe Core provides a common language amongst the
students and with the faculty, strengthening community and
engagement on campus in our common pursuit of how to “make
a life.” Pervasive and ambitious, it serves as students’ intellectual
touchstone from their first day of classes throughout their Oglethorpe
education. Oglethorpe will build upon the Core curriculum to
provide a superlative interdisciplinary foundation while connecting
students to opportunities for deep experiential education and
providing support systems to ensure academic success.
ENGAGED LIVING
Our graduates must be prepared for life in a global society. One of the
distinctions of an Oglethorpe education will be intensive experiential
learning through expanded internships and international education.
Oglethorpe will ensure that every student has the opportunity to
complete one or more internships related to his or her field of study and
prepare students to engage with a global society through the increased
internationalization of our campus population and program offerings.
ENGAGED DIFFERENCE
A key to building strong connections between the academic and the
practical is further enhancing the links between the university’s
academic program and the Center for Civic Engagement. Founded
in 2006, the CCE has proved pivotal in enabling engagement with
Atlanta and the world through service learning courses, volunteer
projects and service trips. Service learning courses explicitly link
classroom learning with service to the community (see page 15).
Oglethorpe will enhance those programs that educate students to
be informed and active citizens.
ENGAGED CREATIVITY
The university will deploy our community’s rich resources, on campus
and off, to provide students opportunities for engagement in the art,
the skill, and the business involved in creative expression. The arts
will be fully realized as a defining feature of an Oglethorpe education
by integrating our unique educational opportunities on campus—
a nationally known professional theater company, a museum of
art that presents leading international exhibits (see page 17), and
distinctively excellent curricular and co-curricular programs in
theater, music, visual arts, creative writing, film and new media studies.
ENGAGED CAMPUS COMMUNITY
One of the most visible elements of the plan focuses on improving the
university’s physical infrastructure. The construction or improvement
of campus facilities will enhance the residential student culture and
foster engagement within our community. Our new campus center,
set to open in August 2013, is one project designed to do just that.
While our improved spaces will develop deeper connections among
everyone on campus, the quality of those connections is improved
further within a productive environment. To that end, Oglethorpe will
seek additional ways to improve the infrastructure and quality of life
for the entire campus community.
So, what’s
going on NOW?
Capital Projects
The new campus center is
scheduled to open in August
2013. Completing the construction
and opening the facility are
top priorities this year. Recent
projects already completed
include a new scene shop for
our theatre program (currently
being used as a temporary
dining facility), a modernized
track and field, renovations to
the basement of Robinson Hall,
a new Academic Success Center
in the basement of Lowry Hall,
new campus signage and
improvements to our fitness
center. Visit progress.oglethorpe.
edu for up-to-date information
about all capital projects.
Academic Strategic
Planning
Another key to exceptional
engagement is the strengthening
of our curriculum and building
the intentional ties between
our curricular and co-curricular
initiatives. Our faculty is actively
engaged in a strategic planning
process to address and prioritize
these issues. The results of their
plan, which we expect to have
completed in 2013, will be
fully integrated into our overall
strategic plan.
While there have been many parts of the strategic
plan already in motion across all corners of campus
this academic year, here are a few that are of
key importance.
Student Academic
Success
Last year, Oglethorpe reached
an early milestone in its strategic
plan with the opening of the
Academic Success Center,
which was designed to develop
programs that support student
academic success. The ASC
serves as a one-stop shop for
tutoring, academic advising for
undeclared students, personalized
academic coaching, support for
students with disabilities, and
a variety of workshops and
assessments to help define
success at OU. After the first year
with the ASC, Oglethorpe is
already realizing gains in student
retention. This year, we focused
on continuing the early success
of the ASC resulting in additional
improvements to our student
retention rate.
Atlanta
Laboratory for
Learning (A-Lab)
Oglethorpe’s strategic plan
centers on exceptional
engagement. The A-Lab will
be a hub and incubator for
all experiential learning at
Oglethorpe—internships, field
studies, civic engagement and
study abroad. Located in the
new campus center, the A-Lab
will bring all opportunities for
experiential learning under one
umbrella and in a single location.
With its opening, Oglethorpe
will unveil the new front door to
the world beyond our walls.
Turn the page to learn more.
6 CARILLON | spring 2013

engaged campus community
A-
Lab
Atlanta Laboratory
for Learning =
New Experiential
Enterprise
By J. Todd Bennett
The value of liberal arts
Ask any Oglethorpe graduate if their education
prepared them for the future and you’ll likely
hear a resounding “yes.” But, the case for the
value of a liberal arts education sometimes
can be difficult to make. While employers
say they want graduates with the ability to
reason, analyze and problem solve—the very
skills developed by a liberal arts education—
the mantra “we train you for nothing, but
educate you for anything” is a tough pill
to swallow for financially strained families
looking at a six-figure investment. Students
and their parents want to know that a college
will not just educate, but prepare students for
a career.
In our most recent survey of admitted
students, experiential learning (internships,
research, study abroad) ranked highest
in importance among academic and
co-curricular decision factors, followed
by undergraduate research opportunities
and a career-focused curriculum. Our
challenge is to provide both a strong
theoretical foundation and hands-on,
real-world application.
Experiential learning
Since 1944, the Oglethorpe Core has served
as a model for integrating the disciplines
to develop strong critical thinking skills.
Experiential learning builds upon that
model as students test that knowledge out
in the world and apply new learning to old
constructs. As with the Core, we have long
offered experiential learning opportunities,
but we have yet to take full advantage of our
unique position as a high quality liberal arts
institution located in a major international city.
The university has made great strides in recent
years with the founding of three centers for
experiential learning activities:
> Center for Civic Engagement
> Center for Experiential Learning
> Center for International Studies
(opening in 2013–2014)
Oglethorpe has already multiplied the
opportunities offered to our students and
expanded our partnerships with organizations
in Atlanta and abroad. However, they are
not yet differentiating Oglethorpe in the
competitive higher education marketplace.
In fact, most universities large and small,
urban and rural, classical or vocational, have
centers much like these. Therefore, we must
take advantage of these centers, our location,
and unique Core curriculum by combining
them to create something even more powerful.
Introducing the Atlanta
Laboratory for Learning
Is it a place? A program? A place to experiment?
An experience? The answer is “yes.”
The Atlanta Laboratory for Learning, or A-Lab
for short, is all of those things and more. The
A-Lab will serve as a symbol, both on and off
campus, of our commitment to exceptional
engagement between theory and practice
and will, by its very name, embrace the city of
Atlanta as OUR laboratory.
With the opening of the new campus center,
we will bring all of our experiential learning
centers together under one umbrella, in a
single, highly visible location. The A-Lab will
become the new front door to the world beyond
our campus walls. The physical place, and the
programs within, will serve as an incubator
((top) A rendering of a future A-Lab meeting
room; (middle) Dr. Jeffrey Collins’ class gathers
el fresco during a short-term study abroad trip
to Italy; (bottom) Professor Roarke Donnelly’s
Urban Ecology class learns about Atlanta’s
BeltLine project
for the development of new ideas and novel
ways to test classroom learning. The A-Lab
will open doors for students and support their
experiences. And those experiences will be
ambitious, even adventurous.
An integrated approach
Oglethorpe’s Core emerged from the premise
that sequenced, integrated learning across
disciplines results in a stronger intellectual
foundation. Each course or experience affects
the way students approach the next, and
gives new perspective to courses in their
major discipline.
Oglethorpe will take a similar approach with
the A-Lab, helping students to gain additional
perspective as they apply their learning in
the world around them. These experiences,
ranging from internships and career planning
to service and international study, will build
upon their intellectual foundation while also
building a resume.
With all three of our experiential learning
centers housed in a single location, students
will be able to get information about
volunteering, service learning, internships,
career planning, study abroad and travel, all
in one place.
A prominent feature of the A-Lab’s physical
space is “the Exchange”—a large, highly
configurable, collaborative workspace and
resource center designed to foster creativity,
exploration and the open sharing of ideas and
experiences. Because the A-Lab is about active
experience, the aesthetic of the location will
emphasize student engagement in activities—
and of course, Atlanta. Global learning
happens here, too, so Atlanta’s role as a leading
gateway to the world will be featured in the
imagery that adorns the walls.
This physical location is more than a matter
of convenience. Indeed, uniting these three
experiences—organizationally and physically—
brings other benefits.
Imagine the possibilities
Through integration, new and expanded kinds
of experiences can emerge. Now, a service trip
abroad combines “civic engagement” with
“global learning.” What else might we create
when we fuse together these three components
in novel ways?
> Imagine an incoming freshman having one
stop to start creating a comprehensive fouryear
experience plan, much like their fouryear
academic plan...and both are integrated
from the start.
> Imagine the formation of an A-Lab
network that brings our Atlanta partners
together with our faculty, alumni and staff
to mentor students and open doors to
career opportunities beginning as early as
freshman year.
> Imagine a creative space that allows
students with diverse academic backgrounds
to seamlessly collaborate both with each
other and with our Atlanta partners.
> Imagine that because the A-Lab simplifies
the process and expands the benefits, it
provides yet another reason for Oglethorpe
to be a school of choice—both for prospective
students and potential partners.
The prospects and possibilities are exciting
and endless.
Why the A-Lab?
> Helps students apply what they learn
through an integrated approach to
experiential learning
> Creates a defining feature that, along
with the Core, will differentiate the
university in a highly competitive higher
education marketplace
> Emphasizes the relevance of an
Oglethorpe education
> Strengthens Oglethorpe’s ties to Atlanta
corporations, agencies and nonprofits
Source: Admitted Student Survey, 2012.
8 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 9

engaged LIVING
engaged our History living
According to legend, anywhere the
winged horse Pegasus struck his hoof to
the earth, an inspiring spring burst forth.
In the fall of 2012, Oglethorpe’s University
Communications office launched Pegasus
Creative, a student communications agency
which offers hands-on internship opportunities
that allow students to learn and gain skills to help
them advance in their future careers. And
Pegasus Creative also benefits their alma mater.
There’s no pencil-pushing or copy making here.
Pegasus interns work side by side with professional
staff in a collaborative environment. They gain
professional experience and expertise in various
fields, including public relations, journalism, social
media marketing, web content development and
analytics, video production, photography and
market research.
“I believe some of the deepest
learning that can occur at college
is when students are given the
opportunity to apply what they
have studied in class to address
real life, real time problems.”
“We wanted to create a laboratory-like
environment for students to study and practice
their skills through professional development,”
said J. Todd Bennett, executive director of
University Communications. “Students have the
opportunity to generate high-level work that will
be seen by thousands of people. Our goal is to
reach a point where this becomes the place for
students to test out their communications skills
and build a portfolio of cutting edge work that
most students don’t have when finishing college.”
Pegasus interns come from all disciplines
and circumstances. They include traditional
undergraduate students, adult students in the
Evening Degree Program and even an alumnus.
Reed Barrickman graduated from Oglethorpe in
2002 with a B.A. in film and communication and
wanted to brush up on subjects like social media
that had emerged since he graduated. “I joined
Pegasus because I felt like it would be a great way
to learn some new real-world skills in a familiar
and encouraging environment,” said Barrickman.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the creation of Pegasus
because I know firsthand how valuable an
Pegasus Creative:
Inspiration in Action
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13
internship experience can be,” said Deborah
Aiken ’12, who was a summer 2012 intern prior
to being hired permanently to the University
Communications staff. “Without a doubt, this
experience will help put our interns a step above
their peers in a job search.”
The inaugural group of Pegasus interns is
enthusiastic about the precedent they’re setting.
“We’re forging a new path for others to follow,
a new frontier,” said Debra Bryant ’13, an adult
student who works on web content development.
“The attitudes are fun, everybody’s excited and it’s
a positive place.”
Weatherly Richardson ’13, an English major and
a Pegasus campus reporter, says the experience
has surprised her. “I actually get to be out in the
OU community. I realized there would be a lot of
interviewing; I just didn’t realize how much,” she
remarked. “Some days I just go out and talk with
people, and I think it gives me more experience
than if I was just writing a blog. It gives me an
opportunity to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t.”
As a Pegasus features writer for this issue of
the Carillon magazine, my own experience is
similar. I’m gaining skills which are indispensable,
including interviewing and a type of media writing
that’s new to me. I’m benefiting my alma mater
by providing my time and skills while I further my
experience in a field I had not had the opportunity
to explore previously. Each day I love it more and
grow more confident in my ability to do this work
on a professional level.
Pegasus Creative has also earned the presidential
stamp of approval. “I believe some of the deepest
learning that can occur at college is when students
are given the opportunity to apply what they
have studied in class to address real life, real time
problems,” said Oglethorpe’s President Schall.
“The creation of our own student-run creative
agency is just such an opportunity. I’ve already
seen some of the work product that has come out
of Pegasus and couldn’t be more pleased.”
Want to learn more about Pegasus?
Visit their self-published website
at pegasus.oglethorpe.edu or
simply scan this QR code with your
smartphone.
Joe Sutton ‘09, an Oglethorpe alumnus and
rising star at CNN, gave Pegasus members
an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the
news network.
Global Reach
ou’s Center for International Studies
By Margaret Daniel
Oglethorpe’s global reach will soon extend even further with the opening of the Center for
International Studies. Tentatively slated to launch in academic year 2013-2014, the Center
will provide additional support for expanding options for Oglethorpe students to study abroad.
Equally important, the Center will offer support and transitional assistance to international
students at Oglethorpe.
“In the long term, we hope the Center for International Studies will grow the ways that
Oglethorpe relates to the broader international community,” said Dr. Denise Runge, provost
of the university. “This could take the form of professors putting a more international slant on
their courses, or students having more internationally related internships and experiences.”
Dr. Runge envisions the Center for International Studies as providing even more study abroad
opportunities than Oglethorpe currently offers. At present, Oglethorpe offers numerous
short-term study abroad opportunities and has study abroad programs and partnerships with
approximately 50 international universities. With the Center for International Studies, the
university will offer more study abroad partnerships that will give students more options.
In the short term, the Center will have one staff member who helps Oglethorpe students who
want to study abroad as well as international students enrolled at the university. This staff
member will work with the faculty member who oversees study abroad programs. Long-term
plans call for two staff, one who will be dedicated to Oglethorpe students who want to study
abroad, and one who will serve international students.
The Center for International Studies is one component of A-Lab, or the Atlanta Laboratory for
Learning at Oglethorpe University, which is part of the school’s strategic plan. “The Center for
International Studies, like the other components of the strategic plan, will make Oglethorpe
even more attractive to more students,” said Runge.
10 CARILLON | spring 2013 11 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 11

engaged living
engaged living
welcoming the World
to Oglethorpe
When international students come to Oglethorpe, they are greeted at the airport by an OU staff
member. They receive a welcome package containing a pillow, blanket, sheets, toiletries, snacks and
water—items they will need on their first night in the dorm. Oglethorpe ensures that international
students have an auspicious beginning to their university experience.
Oglethorpe has a long tradition of welcoming international students, going back to 1946, when
Norwegian World War II veterans came to the university to study. OU now has 61 international
students, including 10 who recently arrived from Honduras. “Our name has spread, and our visibility
is on the rise,” says Philip Peroune, associate director of admissions in charge of international
student recruitment.
This increased visibility and expanded international student population is the result of a strategic
emphasis on recruiting outside our borders. The week he was interviewed for this article, Philip left
for a 13-day trip to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Oglethorpe now
enrolls students from Saudi Arabia, Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Brazil, Jordan, the United Kingdom,
Colombia, Trinidad, Tobago, Costa Rica, Russia, Cameroon and Honduras.
“There are people here from so many different places,” said Luise Hessing ’16 from Hildesheim,
Germany, “and they all bring a different perspective to class.” Luise, who plans to major in anthropology
and is studying Japanese, says that Oglethorpe does “a really good job of getting students out and
helping them meet each other and find friends.”
Oglethorpe has many resources to meet the needs of international students. Faculty teach a section of
the freshman writing class geared toward international students. The Academic Success Center assists
with cultural transition issues and helps students follow their visa agreement regulations. And, the
Counseling Center helps the students to handle the adjustment to a new environment.
Francesca Garcia ’16, a native of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, enjoys the fact that Oglethorpe combines the
benefits of a small university with the advantages of a big city. “Oglethorpe has opened so many doors
for me and has given me a perspective on life in the United States.”
Global LEAD Expands Students’ Study Abroad Options
Last fall, Oglethorpe University was named
the academic partner institution of Global
LEAD, a nonprofit that provides students
with unique study abroad opportunities in
Ecuador, Greece, and Cape Town, South
Africa. Complementing OU’s strategic vision,
Global LEAD’s innovative model provides
an international experience based on the
core tenets of “Leadership, Action, Adventure
and Diplomacy” (LEAD). Global LEAD helps
students to combine the benefits of studying
abroad with service and adventure into a
holistic life experience.
“There are people
here from so many
different places and
they all bring a
different perspective
to class.”
Oglethorpe students and students worldwide can
earn college credit through Global LEAD in two
courses on Leadership and Service. Oglethorpe
has developed the program’s academically
rigorous coursework, and accredited each
Global LEAD program, approving academic
faculty, syllabi, course pedagogy and materials.
“Global LEAD’s mission complements
Oglethorpe’s commitment to providing students
with hands-on learning opportunities and
experience to expand upon classroom learning,”
said President Schall. “Students who participate
in these programs are better equipped to be
responsible, thoughtful citizens of the world.”
Education First
& Oglethorpe
A Promising Partnership
Based in Zurich, Switzerland, EF is the
world’s largest provider of international
study. Its programs range from educational
tours and two-week language programs,
to 11-month language study immersion
programs, to a pre-Masters program.
Through this partnership, EF international
students live in the Oglethorpe dorms and
take EF English classes in Oglethorpe’s
facilities. This arrangement affords these
students the opportunity to get to know
American students and practice their
English with native speakers. It also has
the benefit of diversifying Oglethorpe’s
community, giving OU students the
opportunity to meet their contemporaries
from other parts of the world. At the time
of this writing, EF students enrolled at
the Oglethorpe office were from Korea,
Taiwan, China, Japan, Mexico, Spain,
Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Saudi Arabia
and Kazakhstan.
“We were looking for a safe environment
that is in a world class city and has an
administration interested in a partnership
for international study,” said Jason Daily,
the school director of EF Atlanta. “The
administration has been eager to work with
us from the beginning. And the physical
beauty of the campus was an added plus.”
John Yager ’15, who spent five months in
Germany with EF and is currently working
as activities/excursions coordinator for
the program at Oglethorpe, has a unique
perspective on its benefits for both the EF
students and the OU students. He finds it
rewarding to see the EF students making
progress through the immersion method
of learning a language, and he also enjoys
seeing Oglethorpe students get to know their
peers from different cultures.
The activities planned for EF students are
also open to Oglethorpe students, providing
opportunities for interaction. These activities
range from low-cost events like an exploration
of the Silver Lake neighborhood and weightlifting
lessons, to higher-priced excursions
like a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. A trip
to the Music Midtown festival drew a large
number of EF and Oglethorpe students.
Janet Wood ’13, a resident advisor for the
EF students, says that these students
typically say that they do not want to leave
when it is time for them to return home.
“EF benefits Oglethorpe by spreading the
word about the school to students in other
nations,” she says. “EF students tell their
peers about Oglethorpe when they return
to their home countries.”
OU has recently begun taking the partnership
a step further. “Oglethorpe is in the process
of becoming a ‘partner school’ with EF,” says
Lucy Leusch, vice president for enrollment
and financial aid. Through this expanded
relationship, Oglethorpe will participate in
Oglethorpe University recently launched a
partnership that is bringing many international
students to its campus. After a national search
of many universities, Education First (EF)
selected Oglethorpe and Atlanta for its
southeastern headquarters.
EF’s University Foundation Year, a program
for high school graduates who want to
study at a two or four-year school in North
America. This program offers TOEFL
(Test of English as a Foreign Language)
preparation; application assistance to
three universities, one of which must be a
partner school; and academic and college
prep-related classes (research writing,
presentations, grammar, etc.). Oglethorpe
will be one of only 60 EF partner schools in
the United States and Canada.
As a partner school, Oglethorpe can take
advantage of EF’s offices around the
world. For example, when OU staff are
on recruiting trips, they can arrange
to speak to EF staff, or when possible,
students and parents. EF staff members
arrange college fairs in their schools and
provide opportunities for partners to make
individual presentations.
“This partnership with EF will make
Oglethorpe an even more diverse,
international community,” says Leusch.
(left) EF offices reside in the renovated
basement of Robinson Hall; (right) EF students
Debora Pascual and Manuel Gutierrez, both
from Venezuela, and Sam Soria and Cesar
Gama, from Mexico, gather in a residence
hall kitchen for a cooking lesson.
12 CARILLON | spring 2013 spring 2013 | CARILLON 13

engaged difference
engaged difference
Service Learning
Educating Citizens
of the World
by Weatherly Richardson ’13
Service learning has become a vital part of the Oglethorpe experience. This innovative way of teaching
was first introduced at Oglethorpe in 2006, just months after the Center for Civic Engagement was
founded. The emphasis on service learning is one of the reasons an Oglethorpe education stands
apart from the typical undergraduate experience.
Service learning (SL) courses are for-credit
classes that allow students to gain experiential
learning in conjunction with their traditional
lecture or lab-style classes. These courses
integrate academic learning with community
involvement. Service learning helps implement
a rigorous academic curriculum while meeting
real community needs.
SL courses may be created by a faculty member
“from scratch,” based on the issues that the
faculty member wants to address within the
academic discipline. An SL course may also be
an enhanced version of a course that already
exists—but now includes a requirement of
volunteer service (a minimum of 25 hours) to be
completed with a nonprofit organization. This
“The beauty of service learning
courses is that students have an
opportunity to apply the theory
they learn in the classroom
immediately in the real world,
helping real people.”
volunteer experience is directly linked to the
issues and topics covered in the class.
The move toward a more service-minded
curriculum is gaining popularity throughout the
country. While many graduate schools have SL
courses and consider this component to be an
essential part of their education, Oglethorpe is
taking SL to a higher level.
Oglethorpe is one of the few undergraduate
colleges offering such an in-depth SL program,
including summer courses and “mini-mesters”
focused on fitting volunteer opportunities into
an already challenging curriculum. The Center
for Civic Engagement holds partnerships with
many nonprofits and has a history of extensive
volunteer effort in the community, making it
easy for students to volunteer with a program
that interests them.
Yet even more innovative is the fact that
Oglethorpe offers incentives encouraging
faculty to participate in and develop more SL
courses to advance students’ education in new
and broader ways. “We make service learning a
priority,” said Tamara Nash, executive director
of the Center for Civic Engagement.
Incentives such as offering stipends to faculty
who are developing and teaching SL courses,
hosting workshops where faculty can hear from
experts who are leading SL and civic-minded
work at other universities, and even creating
a faculty liaison position have been met with
enthusiasm from Oglethorpe’s ever-creative
faculty. Oglethorpe now offers seven service
learning courses, which have all been developed
from the ground up or enhanced from traditional
courses by OU’s faculty. Courses offered during
the spring 2013 semester were: General Biology
II Lecture and Laboratory; Special Topics
in Biology: Cancer Biology; Foundations of
American Education; Special Topics in Politics:
March on Washington 50th Anniversary; and
Sociology: Social Problems.
Volunteer placements that have been part of
Oglethorpe courses have been eclectic: The Blue
Heron Nature Preserve (for biology); a Russian
orphanage (for history); PATH Academy and
Refugee Family Services (for education); and
The Latin American Association, Peachtree
Elementary School After-school Program,
Atlanta Catholic Charities, Haitian Relief
Center, MorFiss Foundation, Serve Haiti,
French Alliance, Ties that Matter, Theatre
du Reve and Books for Africa (all for French/
Spanish Crossroads service learning class).
In 2010, Oglethorpe created a position for a
faculty member to serve as liaison to the Center
for Civic Engagement in order to facilitate and
strengthen communication and collaboration
between faculty and Center staff. During
2010-2011, Dr. Ron Bobroff, associate professor
of history, was named the first director for
Curricular Development in Service Learning. In
this position, Dr. Bobroff created a section in the
Weltner Library for service learning resources,
including websites and best practices, a master
list of SL course syllabi, and procedural guidelines
and procedures for development and approval of
SL courses. He has attended an annual workshop
on SL and civic engagement. Each semester, the
director hosts a workshop for faculty, providing
an opportunity for faculty teaching SL courses to
share information and experiences with faculty
who are considering the option.
During spring 2011, Dr. Bobroff convened a group
of faculty from the departments of Business,
Communications, Politics and Urban Ecology to
create the Nonprofit Management Minor. The
minor includes four required courses (16 credits)
and one elective course (four credits) selected
from the departments of Arts, Museum & Theater,
Business, Politics or Urban Ecology. The Nonprofit
Sector course, the first required course in the
minor, is an SL course requiring 35 hours of
volunteer placement at an Atlanta nonprofit. The
course was launched in fall 2011, one year ahead
of schedule, with an enrollment of 18 students.
Sixty-five additional hours of volunteer work
are required, for a total of 100 volunteer service
hours, at Atlanta nonprofits to complete the minor.
Record enrollments in the program continue.
During 2012–2013 while Dr. Bobroff was on
sabbatical, Dr. Karen Schmeichel, associate
professor of biology, has been fulfilling the
role of director of Curricular Development in
Service Learning.
Student interest in service learning is growing
steadily. Ten percent of the OU student
population enroll in SL courses each year. Why
the emphasis on service learning? A cornerstone
of Oglethorpe University’s philosophy is the
belief that community engagement and making a
difference help to form a complete education.
“We want to make sure that our students
understand that this is an important part
of their education: to become a truly global
citizen,” said Tamara. We want them to know
that contributing locally, regionally, nationally,
globally, is part of your education and…that
as a citizen, you have a responsibility to give
back to your community. You determine which
community you will impact, and on what scale
and to what level you will do that.”
(above) Volunteer service placement
complements classroom learning and reflects
the individual interests of the student.
Living in Atlanta, Oglethorpe students are in a
unique environment to see civic engagement at
work. “Atlanta is so civic-minded that there’s no
way to live, work and play here and not notice
it. From corporate to nonprofit, to community,
to grassroots—this is a hands-on, working-tomake-it-better
kind of place,” said Tamara.
“The beauty of service learning courses is that
students have an opportunity to apply the theory
they learn in the classroom immediately in the
real world, helping real people. That approach is
a different kind of pedagogy.”
Weatherly Richardson ‘13 is an English major
who recently co-founded Doing Stuff Badly, a
production company with one goal: comedy. She
is a professional freelance writer and one day
hopes to transition to being a published novelist,
writing comedy for television..and to live in Italy.
Find out why by reading her story
about her short term study abroad
trip to Italy.
14 CARILLON | SPRING 2013
SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 15

engaged creativity
engaged creativity
Bringing
‘Engaged
Creativity’
to Life
Last fall, the Oglethorpe University Museum of
Art, perched on the third floor above the library,
welcomed its first new director since it was founded
nearly 30 years ago. Elizabeth Peterson, who
succeeded founding director Lloyd Nick, is building
on the foundation he established and starting a new
chapter in the museum’s life.
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13
“Elizabeth Peterson is a collaborative, creative and highly energetic
artistic administrator who will be a tremendous asset to the
Oglethorpe University Museum of Art and the entire campus
community,” said Dr. Denise Runge, provost and vice president
for academic affairs at Oglethorpe. “This is an exciting time to
welcome Elizabeth to Oglethorpe, as we continue to expand students’
opportunities for ‘engaged creativity’ as part of the unique liberal arts
education we provide.”
Elizabeth brings 15 years of experience in museum management,
exhibition and gallery programming and arts education to her new
role. Most recently she served as director of the Julian Akus Art
Gallery, coordinator of Gallery and Museum Services, and adjunct
professor at Eastern Connecticut State University. Prior to that,
she was director of the Print Research Foundation (Connecticut),
a privately owned fine print and library collection. For seven years,
Elizabeth worked in exhibitions administration for the Museum of
Modern Art in New York City. A graduate of Wells College, Elizabeth
earned an M.S. in both art history and conservation from Pratt
Institute. Yet perhaps even more important than her extensive
experience and education are the inspiration, passion and creativity
that she brings to her position.
Elizabeth’s vision for the museum fits beautifully with Oglethorpe’s
strategic plan, which emphasizes “engaged creativity” and putting
classroom theory into practice. What she envisions for the new face
of OUMA is a reintegration of the museum with the student body.
Elizabeth plans “to get the students involved and have exhibits that
directly relate to classes or student interests, to evolve the exhibit
space into a quiet, comfortable area for students to be beyond the
classroom, where they can enjoy art for itself, study or have a quiet
space just to think in. I’d like it to be a learning lab for students.”
Going forward, OUMA will be a teaching museum; curriculum will
drive exhibits rather than exhibits driving curriculum.
With her background in curatorial work both within and beyond
academia, Elizabeth understands the challenges and opportunities
before her. “A lot of people might walk into a gallery setting and,
first, feel it’s not relevant to them, and second, feel incredibly
uncomfortable,” she says. “I want students to feel comfortable and
to feel a sense of ownership of the space. This is a place to study,
a place to be, a place to meet or spend your lunch hour if you feel
overwhelmed and just need to reflect.”
Elizabeth is clearly dedicated to making OUMA as open to students—
and the community—as possible. She is planning exhibits three
years in advance so that students, faculty and staff will have plenty
of advance knowledge of what will be featured in the museum. The
spring 2013 exhibition was “Beta Israel: Ethiopian Jews and the
Promised Land,” which featured a series of photographs documenting
the past 30 years of emigrants moving from the horn of Africa to
Israel. This exhibit not only reached out to Atlanta’s international
community, but also directly addressed the diversity of students
at Oglethorpe. “It’s an international story; it’s an interfaith story,”
said Elizabeth. “Oglethorpe students are passionately interested in
international studies and civic engagement, and that’s what this
show was about.”
The summer 2013 exhibition will feature Japanese porcelains and color woodcuts drawn from
regional private collections and will be on view May 12–August 25, 2013.
“This is a university gallery, but it’s right in the heart of a world-class city,” said Elizabeth about
OUMA. And while the opportunities that such a world-class city affords to any gallery are
boundless, her focus always comes back to the students. “I’d like to see this space filled with
students, and to have the students who work here as engaged as possible; to have students come in
and speak, not just as guest lecturers, but as leaders. I’m very eager to try to foster and retain those
connections to the membership and the donors and the students, and to grow that.”
Elizabeth jumped into her role even before her start date, working remotely from Connecticut
to organize her first exhibit at OUMA, Burden of Proof: National Identity and the Legacy
of War, that ran during the fall semester. The exhibition was inspired by the campus-wide
reading of The Things They Carried, a fictionalized account of author Tim O’Brien’s time as
an American soldier in Vietnam. The exhibit’s goal was to bring art that would tie in directly
with the classroom, giving students visual points for discussion. It featured artists Dinh Q.
Lê, Sheila Pree Bright, Keisha Luce and Kirk Torregrossa, and included Vietnamese-woven
c-prints, a sculpture series depicting the forms of those battling with Agent Orange-related
disfigurements and a selection of original North Vietnamese propaganda posters from the
Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection.
“...I’m very eager
to try to foster
and retain those
connections to the
membership and
the donors and the
students, and to
grow that.”
– Elizabeth Peterson
As a graduate of Wells College, Elizabeth is familiar with
the small liberal arts environment and understands the
dynamic of this sort of community. At Wells, she was part
of an honor system similar to Oglethorpe’s and enjoyed
one-on-one interaction and accountability with professors,
as well as the unique traditions of a small academic
community. It’s not surprising that Elizabeth says that she
feels as if she has, in a sense, come home. “I’m reminded
what it was like to be on a small campus where you’re vitally
connected, where you’re learning and you’re charged up,”
she said.
“This is absolutely my dream job. Oglethorpe’s commitment
to liberal arts, combined with the unique and beautiful
mission of OUMA, provides a wonderful opportunity for
students to enjoy and learn by employing the museum as
a learning lab,” said Elizabeth. “It’s an honor to build upon
the legacy of founding director Lloyd Nick and a thrill to
lead the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art into the next
chapter of its future.”
Caitlyn Mitchell ’13 is an English major, editor of Oglethorpe’s
student literary magazine The Tower, and a member of ODK
National Leadership Honor Society. In her spare time, she
writes fiction in hopes of becoming the next Tolkien, and has
worked at southeastern Renaissance Festivals for seven years.
She will work for Whitman Publishing after graduation.
Jiki to Hanga
Japanese Porcelain and Prints
May 12–August 25, 2013
This exhibition at the Oglethorpe
University Museum of Art includes 28
color woodcuts by Hiroshi Yoshida
(1876–1950), one of the greatest
Japanese artists of the modern mid 20th
century shin-hanga style. Yoshida’s work
and several other Japanese prints will
be on loan, courtesy of the Collection
of Dr. and Mrs. Terry Taylor. Porcelain,
books and other ephemera on view will
include 18th century Kakeimon ware and
19th century Imari vessels, which are a
gift from Ms. Carrie Lee Henderson, the
granddaughter of former Oglethorpe
President Thornwell Jacobs. An exhibit
program series will include a Japanese
tea ceremony, workshops in ikebana,
origami and bonsai, and lectures.
The children of the Seigakuin Atlanta
International School will present haiku,
bi-lingual essays and calligraphy.
16 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 17

engaged life life
engaged life
A Day of
Scholarship
Students “Create a Course”
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13
If you could create an academic class out of thin air, what would you choose?
In the spring of 2011, Oglethorpe students had the chance to decide just that.
Students from every major and discipline were invited to put their heads together
to engage in the selection and creation of a new academic course. The student
community wrote potential course plans and materials lists, voiced their opinions
and made their cases for which subjects they wanted to know more about and
how the class should be taught.
OU’s Liberal Arts &
Sciences Symposium
By Caitlyn Mitchell ’13
(above) The Symposium’s poster sessions
give students the chance to share and discuss
their research.
Every year Oglethorpe’s
classes are suspended for a
day dedicated to celebrating
the liberal arts and sciences.
The annual Symposium in the Liberal Arts
and Sciences is a day to revel in educating,
exploring and sharing knowledge. This
Oglethorpe tradition gives students and
faculty the opportunity to share their
analytical and creative works from the
previous academic year. For nearly 12 straight
hours, students and faculty, as well as their
guests, indulge in a “cornucopia of academia.”
Panels, roundtables, poster presentations, art
exhibitions and performances showcase the
fruits of Oglethorpe’s liberal arts and sciences
curriculum, as well as student-driven initiatives.
Joscelyn Stein ’13 described this beloved
tradition as “a day seeing what other students
have been pouring all of their time and
energy into…I love getting to be a part of all
the other students’ work.”
Made up of a series of hour-long sessions,
the day moves nonstop from the moment it
begins this year with a keynote address
about the importance of the liberal arts,
by Dr. Catherine Lewis from Kennesaw
State University. During the “Meeting
of the Majors,” students meet with their
department faculty, discuss upcoming
opportunities within and beyond university
boundaries and socialize with their
contemporaries. As the day continues,
students are encouraged to cross disciplines
and hear about subjects beyond their normal
academic realms.
“I just watched an awesome presentation
about Mormonism…a very specific, very
interesting presentation on something I never
would have known anything about if it hadn’t
have been for the Liberal Arts Symposium,”
said Weston Manders ’13 during the 2012
Symposium. “I love seeing all my fellow
Oglethorpians…engaged in the pursuit of
knowledge and supporting their friends
who are really reaching out there to better
themselves through independent research.”
At the Liberal Arts and Sciences Symposium,
a physics major can attend a poetry reading,
and a studio art major can learn the basics of
chemical bonding. Participants can attend
a panel on such differing and fascinating
subjects as “Cosmology and Questions: An
Ever Moving Cycle,” “New Media and Our
Brains,” “Performance Art: A Catalyst for
Change in Modern Art,” “Sports, Media and
Body Image,” and “Horror-Comedy: The
Chaotic Spectrum and Cinematic Synthesis.”
The Symposium gives students a chance to
reach outside of their fields of study and
make connections between their own
work and others’ passions. And it’s an
indescribable day for anyone who wishes to
witness the Oglethorpe education in action.
Visit Oglethorpe’s YouTube
channel (youtube.com/
oglethorpeuniversity) to view
videos and commentary about
the symposium.
The suggestions were a mixed bag, reflecting the passions and diversity of the
student body. The proposals mirrored a mixing of the minds, combining traditional
and modern pursuits as well as cross-disciplinary studies. And no doubt there
was probably a “Core moment” involved in the creation of many of the offerings.
Classic Rock: the ’60s to the ’90s sound interesting? It didn’t make it to the final
voting block, but ideas just as varied and wildly inspired flooded the selection
committee as students responded to the challenge.
The selection committee evaluated the pool of proposals, and seven possible
subjects rose to the top. Students voted online between History of Fashion,
Sherlock Holmes, Positive Psychology, From Emma to Clueless, Pop Culture
and Propaganda, Science Fiction and Fantasy: 20th–21st Century and Political
Assassination. Where else could one find such a succinct summation of the
various interests of the Oglethorpe student body? History, fashion, literature,
politics and modernism versus antiquity!
But in the end, there could only be one selection. By popular demand, Positive
Psychology became the choice that was integrated into the official fall 2012
course schedule. The class explored “the science of how to be happy” and “the
resiliency, self-efficacy and ability to create and live a happy life.” After such
a positive initial response, this could very well become a beloved Oglethorpe
tradition. Who knows what we’ll see next on the scholarly line-up? Entomology?
3-D Filmmaking? Marvel vs. DC Comics? The possibilities are as endless as the
imaginations and interests of Oglethorpe students.
18 CARILLON | spring 2013 spring 2013 | CARILLON 19

alumni
alumni
Dear Friends,
On April 8, 1906, not long before
Oglethorpe University was rechristened
along Peachtree Road, the New York Times
published what many believe to be the first
printed version of the beloved book The Little
Engine That Could. In the tale, a rail yard
superintendent seeks out an engine to haul
an extremely heavy train up an unusually
steep grade to reach its destination. As
we all know, the perfect engine for the job
finally responds, “I think I can.” Generations continue to be inspired by its
message of the power of positive thinking and willingness to try.
In years gone by I have considered Oglethorpe University to be the little
engine that could. I have realized, however, that my way of thinking was
mistaken. The university is not the engine at all. The university cannot pull
itself up any grade. It is those of us who love the institution—alumni, trustees,
volunteers, friends, donors and leaders—who must serve as the engine to
help pull Oglethorpe up the grades it faces and toward its destination.
What a great journey we are on together!
Through the amazing efforts of many who believe in Oglethorpe, the new
campus center is rising toward the sky and will welcome its first visitors
into its beautiful spaces in fall 2013. We thought we could; and we did. A
new scene shop has been constructed for use by our theatre program and
Georgia Shakespeare. We thought we could; and we did. The University’s
track has been completely overhauled, the area has been lighted, and our
athletes will have a space where they can train and compete with pride. We
thought we could; and we did. Efforts on campus to nurture and educate
our students inside and outside the classroom have improved our retention
1 2
3
rates, ensuring our student’s success today and the university’s success into
the future. We thought we could; and we are.
The Alumni Board continues to provide valued leadership and support to
the university. In fall 2012, we developed and hosted a new tradition for our
sophomores called the Thornwell Jacobs Legacy Celebration. An excited
group of sophomores gathered on the academic quadrangle to hear the
story of Dr. Jacobs and the monument to his parents inscribed “May He
Make Noble Use of a Life Purchased at Such a Price” found in the front drive
of the school. Through this annual event sophomores will learn about the
university’s rich history, its mission and purpose, and begin to see themselves
as philanthropists in their own right. We see it as part of our mission to train
our future alumni about giving back and using their lives with purpose. By
leading positively and impacting the lives of today’s students, we show the
alumni of tomorrow that if they think they can, they will.
At the conclusion of the 1906 publication, it says of the little engine: “And
signing its triumph, it rushed on down toward the valley.” I like to think
that when he arrived there wasn’t much time to rest, but instead he faced
another mission to accomplish, another steep grade to climb. The same is
true for our dear Oglethorpe. We should sing of our great triumphs of the
last year, but we cannot rest. New challenges await us! Can we continue
this great momentum? Together, I know we can.
With all my best,
John Cleveland “Cleve” Hill ’01
President, Oglethorpe University Alumni Association
Member, Board of Trustees
alumni highlights
1 President Schall and Kevin Smyrl, vice president for development and
alumni relations, visited alumni and friends in four West Coast cities in late
September. Stops included San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco (pictured)
and Seattle. 2 Alumni Relations hosted a reception for New York alumni in
October at the Charles Bank Gallery. Pictured (l-r) are: Melanie Wong ‘02,
Chris Fitzpatrick and Kat Andersen ‘02. 3 Alumni in the DC area gathered
for a reception in October. Pictured (l-r) are: Former Dean of Students Artie
Travis, Jaime Wojdowski ‘03 and Kristy Stevens-Haverwoody.
4
4 The Raleigh Alumni Group came together
in November at Caffe Luna in Raleigh, N.C.
Pictured (back row): David Hardin, Bruce Crain
‘88, John Day ‘64, Chelcie Rowell ‘99, Jessica
Daniel ‘09, Cindy Larbig Rowe ‘84, (front row)
Lindsey Carroll (Alumni Relations Manager),
Nicole Crain ‘89, Maureen Whalen Hardin ‘87
and Barbara Bessmer Henry ‘85 (Director of
Alumni Relations).
By Don Henry ’83
Stormy Petrels
Soar to Cuba
“Que Bola? Que Bola?” That was
our familiar refrain each morning.
(English translation: “What’s up?”)
And with this hip Cuban greeting,
a new day’s journey began.
Fourteen Oglethorpe alumni and friends traveled
to Cuba in the fall of 2012 for a deep dive into
the history, politics, art, music and cuisine of
this geographically close but politically distant
Caribbean island.
Led by our intrepid tour guide, Hoji Silva, we
spent eight amazing days in the capital city of
Havana and the small town of Trinidad, a quaint
UNESCO World Heritage site. Hoji proved to
be a knowledgeable guide, well versed in all
things Cuban, and in American pop culture and
slang. We appreciated his political spin-free
commentary, which demonstrated an objective,
factual understanding of Cuba, its history and its
standing in the current world order.
What were the highlights? Ask our 14 travelers and
you’ll no doubt get 14 (or 140) different replies.
Perhaps it was the raw beauty of the country and
the magnificent architecture of the buildings in
Havana. Despite little new construction since the
early 1960s and crumbling facades, the buildings
have retained their charm and grandeur. It’s easy
to see why the rich and famous chose Cuba as a
favorite pre-revolution vacation destination.
Or maybe it was the people. Everywhere we
turned, we met locals who were friendly, gracious
and eager to meet us. We were impressed
with their knowledge of our country and their
willingness to share their story of life in Cuba and
their hopes of visiting relatives in the US.
Without a doubt, the community visits were among
the highlights. Prior to our departure, we collected
household items, school supplies and over-thecounter
medicines to donate to various charitable
groups. And did we ever come prepared!
Many of us lugged additional suitcases chock
full of such items. It was a privilege to visit these
organizations—a daycare center for seniors and
children, a synagogue and a rural community
center—and meet with our newfound friends.
For many travelers, a discussion led by Dr. Carlos
Alzugaray Treto, a local university professor and
diplomat, was a highlight of the trip. Dr. Treto
provided color commentary on Cuba’s history
and its notable figures, including Batista, Che
Guevara and Castro. This session, along with a
pre-trip class hosted by Oglethorpe’s own Drs.
Mario Chandler and Viviana Plotnik, served as
an informative backdrop to our visits to various
historical sites, including the Bay of Pigs and the
Che Memorial.
Other highlights worthy of mention were our
guided tour of the Museum of Fine Arts; visits
to two local artists’ homes for lunch and private
conversations; retracing the steps of Ernest
Hemingway, including visits to his home, Finca
Vigia, and his favorite watering hole, the Floridita
Bar; dining at Palaldares (private restaurants run
out of restaurateurs’ homes); and nighttime musical
entertainment reminiscent of night clubs portrayed
on the old “I Love Lucy” show.
Rest assured we spent plenty of time discussing the
day’s highlights over late-night Cuban cigars and
rum. And plotting our next alumni trip to another
exotic locale!
Don Henry ’83 graduated with a degree in
psychology, and currently works in commercial
real estate investment and management. He was
inducted into Oglethorpe’s Athletic Hall of Fame
for Cross Country in 1996 and has served on the
Alumni Board.
(below) Oglethorpe alumni and friends
explored the historic and exotic sites of Cuba,
and reconnected with each other along the way.
20 CARILLON | SPRING 2013 SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 21

alumni
Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65
is living proof that the liberal
arts at Oglethorpe prepare
students for a wide variety of
careers. A math and physics
major when few women
ventured into these fields,
Linda entered Oglethorpe with
the idea of becoming a teacher.
However, she changed her
plans in 1964, when she
went to Oak Ridge National
Laboratories for a summer
computer program designed for
students at small colleges.
“I feel the success I have
had financially and in career
fulfillment comes from
Oglethorpe. And giving back
is a good thing.”
–Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65
Giving Back
is a Good Thing
By Margaret Daniel
For most of her career, Linda was a computer programmer, but also spent time
in management. She worked 30 years for Western Electric, which was bought
by AT&T in 1984 and then became Lucent Technologies in 1996. Lucent later
outsourced its computer division to IBM, where Linda spent her last three years
before retirement. Originally from Atlanta, she also lived in Nashville, Tenn., and
Morristown, N.J. while working for Western Electric.
Now retired, Linda stays busy with various interests. She is in her third term on
the Oglethorpe Alumni Board of Directors and serves on its Communications
Committee, writing articles for the Carillon. She’s enjoying meeting many of
the younger alumni through her work with OU. In addition to giving time to
Oglethorpe, Linda volunteers with the Alliance Theatre and the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra. She also enjoys visiting national parks and monuments and traveling to
other places in the U.S., including Cody, Wyo., where her daughter lives.
Linda says that Oglethorpe prepared her well for her career. She is especially
grateful for the opportunity the school gave her to meet a wide variety of people
who came from different places and represented different religions. She values the
personal interaction with professors that Oglethorpe’s small size afforded her.
A veritable Renaissance woman, Linda was involved in a wide variety of activities
during her years at OU. She was a cheerleader, the features editor on the newspaper,
and a member of both the LeConte Society for Honors in Science and the Duchess
Club, the women’s honor society.
Oglethorpe was a school of only 500 students when Linda attended. She is happy
to see Oglethorpe’s current growth and thinks the university is managing it well.
She is particularly pleased with the enhancement of the Core curriculum. “The Core
curriculum was at Oglethorpe when I was there, but over the years they have revised
it to make it even more meaningful,” Linda says. She also is gratified to see the caliber
of the current students and the number of international students at the school.
Linda has been giving to Oglethorpe for 30 years. “I went to Oglethorpe on a
scholarship and did work study. I was so happy to be there,” she says. “I feel the
success I have had financially and in career fulfillment comes from Oglethorpe.
And giving back is a good thing.”
Chris Rylands ’01
a grateful
graDuate
gives back
By Margaret Daniel
Chris Rylands ’01 started giving
to Oglethorpe when he was a
cash-strapped law student and
could only give about five or ten
dollars. “I knew,” he said, “that
it was important to give even if I
could only give a small amount.
And I wanted Oglethorpe to be
able to keep track of me so they
could contact me when I could
give more.”
Chris credits Oglethorpe with preparing him
for Vanderbilt Law School. “I had spent a lot of
time at Oglethorpe reading difficult texts and
had learned the art of critical thinking,” he says.
While at Oglethorpe, Chris was involved in a
wide variety of extracurricular activities. He was
a member of the Christian Fellowship and the
Psychology/Sociology Club and was involved in
Student Government. Chris was also a DJ for the
campus radio station.
When asked what he is most grateful for about
his Oglethorpe experience, he says it’s the
people as well as the education. “It’s the sort of
place that allows you to build relationships with
people,” he comments. He still keeps in touch
with a number of his classmates and professors.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Chris is now an
attorney with Bryan Cave in Atlanta. He writes
employee benefit and health plans, and “fixes”
them when they’re broken. He is now able to give
at a higher level than in his law school days and
has continued his habit of giving to Oglethorpe.
Chris is also giving back to the university by
serving as the young alumni representative
on the Board of Trustees. Prior to joining the
Board in July 2011, he helped with Oglethorpe’s
scholarship competition and hosted various
alumni events.
Oglethorpe has prepared him not only for work,
but also for life in general. “Because of the small
but diverse nature of the university, it gave me the
ability to look at issues more broadly and consider
things from various different perspectives.
Oglethorpe enabled me to reach that point more
quickly,” he says.
Oglethorpe was a school of some 950 students
when Chris was enrolled. He enjoys seeing
the students’ energy and watching the school
as it grows, makes efforts to modernize, and
establishes programs to create more real-world
applications.
“Oglethorpe has been a tremendous influence on
my life,” Chris says. “I’m thankful for it all the time.
I would encourage everyone to give as they are
able. The important thing is not how much you
give, but the fact that you make a gift.”
our History alumni
Oglethorpe’s Carillon Club
recognizes alumni, parents and
friends who distinguish themselves
through their legacy of philanthropy
for three or more consecutive years
regardless of their level of giving.
OGLETHORPE
CARILLON
CLUB
As a member, your
consistent giving
provides a vital base
of support each year
for scholarships and
student assistance,
faculty support,
campus needs and improvements and
more. Carillon Club members receive
window decals at the 3, 5, 10 and 20-year
milestones as a means of celebrating their
dedication and receive special recognition
in the annual Honor Roll of Donors. View
a list of Carillon Club members on the OU
website (keyword: Carillon Club) or scan
this QR code with your smartphone.
22 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 23

alumni
alumni
Road Trip
unplugged
In April, Oglethorpe University officially
dedicated Lupton Hall’s bell tower as
The Lale Özgörkey Bell Tower.
The dedication ceremony featured special guest speakers
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Muhtar Kent, chairman
and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. The name recognizes a
generous gift from the Özgörkey family to benefit Oglethorpe’s
new campus center. Cemal Özgörkey ’84, chairman of
Özgörkey Holding, is a member of the Oglethorpe’s Board of
Trustees. Both he and his brother, Armagan Özgörkey ’85, vice
chairman of Özgörkey Holding, are Oglethorpe alumni. The
bell tower’s new name honors their mother, Lale Özgörkey.
New Sophomore Tradition Celebrates
the Legacy of Thornwell Jacobs By Weatherly Richardson ’13
The Oglethorpe sophomore
class gathered in October
for the inaugural Thornwell
Jacobs Legacy Celebration, a
new annual tradition for the
sophomore class. The event
celebrated Thornwell Jacobs,
Oglethorpe President from
1915–1943, who fulfilled a
lifelong dream of restoring
Oglethorpe to its present location
on Peachtree Road in Atlanta.
Georgia Governor Nathan
Deal, Cemal Özgörkey
’84, Armagan Özgörkey
’85, Coca-Cola’s Chairman
& CEO Muhtar Kent and
President Schall.
Sophomore students gathered
to learn interesting history and
facts about President Jacobs and
his mission from award-winning
author and historian Dr. Paul
Hudson ’72. Later over dinner
in Hearst’s Great Hall, students
heard from Sophomore Class
President Kurt Reynolds, Alumni
Association Vice President
Austin Gillis ’01, and Georgia
State Representative Dar’shun
Kendrick ’04, an alumni
volunteer who spoke about
her OU experience and how it
helped to shape her career and
future. View the video about the
event on Oglethorpe’s YouTube
channel, or scan this QR code
with your smartphone.
Oglethorpe’s Georgia Eta Chapter, founded in 1859 as
the 11th Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon National Fraternity,
celebrated its 40th Re-Charter Anniversary Celebration in
September 2011. The celebration brought more than 120 active and
alumni brothers, spouses and guests to Oglethorpe. On October
2, 1971, 35 brothers were initiated on campus, marking the first
initiation of Georgia Eta brothers since 1863.
By Barbara Bessmer Henry ’85
What does an international studies major soccer player,
who moonlights as a music producer, have in common
with a thespian, fraternity brother who is still known for
the funky neon green 1967 VW bus he drove during his
freshman year?
What about an Aussie with career interests in human resources,
and the co-captain of the cross country team who plans to return
to Moldova after graduation to work with an organization that
assists in the prevention of sex trafficking amongst young girls?
As you likely have guessed, all of these students are “typical”
Oglethorpe students with impressive career ambitions and
interesting backgrounds. During the fall 2012 semester, these
eclectic students and others were selected as members of the
new O Team. This group travels to alumni events with President
Schall and Alumni Relations staff to present “OU Unplugged,” a
panel presentation about student life at Oglethorpe today. During
the fall semester, O Team members Stephanie Croston ’13, Kai
Street ’14, Weston Manders ’12, Krista Gray ’14, Justin Munson ’14
and Tirzah Brown ’14 presented to alumni in New York City and
Washington, D.C.
“The whole
experience was
special from
beginning to
end, but the star
attraction of our
trip was definitely
the conversations
we had with
alumni.”
Tirzah admits that “before the trip, I
was quite familiar with the passionate,
interesting and altogether wonderful
students at OU. However, I learned
from my conversations that alumni
who graduated before I was born share
those same traits. Every person that I
spoke with is living a life of purpose. I
had the opportunity to connect with a
fellow Alpha Phi Omega brother, discuss
economics with a software engineer
originally from Cameroon, and meet a
sweet elderly couple that spends part
of each year in my hometown of Fort
(above) Members of the O Team include (l-r) Tirzah Brown ’14, Stephanie
Croston ’13, Justin Munson ’14, Krista Gray ’14 and Kai Street ’14.
Myers, Fla. I treasured every conversation with each graduate and
I enjoyed observing people who had never met connecting over
their shared Oglethorpe experiences and memories. I look forward
to attending alumni events when I graduate and meeting OU
students of the future.”
Several of the traveling students had never visited either city and
one student enjoyed his first trip on an airplane. Following the
alumni events, the O Team wasted no time sprinting to visit as
many important sites as they could fit into their 40-hour visit.
Photos posted on Facebook revealed the busy students at Times
Square, Ellis Island and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
The trip became a chance for the group to explore undiscovered
places, but the personal connections made really stood out. “The
whole experience was special from beginning to end,” said Tirzah,
“but the star attraction of our trip was definitely the conversations
we had with alumni.”
24 CARILLON | SPRING 2013
spring SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 25

alumni
Charles Allen
Stillman
1841-1895
Charles Allen Stillman, D. Div., (1841)
died in 1895, but his legacy endures.
A member of Oglethorpe’s first graduating
class, Stillman earned his degree 20 years
before the Civil War broke out and 24 years
before the 13th Amendment freed the slaves.
He was born, raised and educated in the
antebellum South, but Stillman transcended
the time and place in which he lived.
a man
Ahead of
His Time
By Margaret Daniel
Stillman was at Oglethorpe during the
university’s infancy, when the school barely
had classroom buildings and flogging of
freshmen and sophomores was allowed.
After graduating from Oglethorpe, he earned
his divinity degree at Columbia Theological
Seminary in Atlanta. Stillman was drawn to
the seminary after being influenced by one of
the leading ministers of his day, the Reverend
Thomas Smyth, the minister of his hometown
church in Charleston, S.C. Smyth was
dedicated to improving the lives of African-
Americans, and his church membership
included a substantial number of African-
Americans. It was in Smyth’s church, the
Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston,
that Stillman launched his career in 1844.
From Charleston, Stillman went on to
pastor several churches in Alabama. After
leading churches in Eutaw and Gainesville,
Stillman was called to the First Presbyterian
Church of Tuscaloosa in 1870. This call to
First Presbyterian brought with it a unique
challenge. A group of church members there
wanted to start a school to train African-
American ministers, and they selected
Stillman as the individual to lead the effort.
To lay the foundation for the school, Stillman
began teaching and preparing a few African-
Americans to be spiritual leaders of their
community. He spent many years teaching
and making annual proposals to the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the
South for a minister training school. His efforts
paid off in 1876, when the General Assembly
accepted Stillman’s proposal and established a
school that was originally called the Tuscaloosa
Institute for Training Colored Ministers.
This school has undergone many changes
during its history, evolving to meet the needs
of its community. It opened to women in
1899, an unusual move for that time. The
institute went on to become a junior high
school, a senior high school, a junior college,
and finally a four-year liberal arts college.
Charles Stillman laid the groundwork for the
school’s evolution into a liberal arts college by
expanding its offerings beyond study for the
ministry and raising the level of its academic
program. Stillman oversaw the institute until
1893, when ill health forced him to resign. In
honor of its founder and first leader, the school
was named the Stillman Institute in 1894.
Today the school, known as Stillman College,
is a four-year liberal arts college serving 1,000
students. It has survived numerous economic
depressions, including those of 1893, 1907
and 1929, and more recently the economic
downturn that started in 2008. The college
describes itself as “a private college with a
public mission.” It was ranked in the top tier of
comprehensive colleges in the South offering
Bachelor’s degrees by U.S. News & World
Report in 2008. Stillman College is known
for its programs in biological sciences, teacher
education and business administration. One of
the college’s most outstanding early graduates,
William Henry Sheppard, was a missionary
to the Belgian Congo from 1890-1910 and was
influential in exposing the exploitation of the
peoples of the Congo.
Stillman lived out the
university’s motto
“make a life, make a living,
make a difference.”
In his role as founder of Stillman College,
Charles Allen Stillman reflects many of
the principles that distinguish Oglethorpe,
including a vision for the future, a
commitment to meeting the needs of the
community and a dedication to a broadbased
field of liberal arts study. Like the
students and alumni of today, he balanced
many roles, serving as pastor of a church
while leading an institute to train ministers.
And like the students and alumni who
followed him, Stillman lived out the
university’s motto “make a life, make a
living, make a difference.”
Alumnus
Headlines
at CNN
By Debbie Aiken ’12
Joe Sutton is putting his OU liberal arts education to work
as a news editor and journalist for CNN. He oversees the editorial direction
and news gathering for 13 states and serves as the liaison between the
Washington, D.C. bureau and CNN headquarters. Joe has worked for
CNN and other Turner Broadcasting companies since he was a junior in
high school. He has won several Peabody Awards for outstanding public
service and had one of his articles submitted as evidence in a federal court
case. The kicker? Joe Sutton is only 25 years old. When asked how he was
able to accomplish so much at such a young age, Joe candidly says, “It’s a
cliché, but hard work pays off.”
Joe started working with Turner Broadcasting in high school through a
scholarship from the Emma Bowen Foundation, which helps prepare
minority youth for careers in the media industry. Joe wanted to pursue
higher education, but wasn’t sure how he could attend college while
maintaining his employment.
“The day my mother and I drove by OU was serendipity,”
says Sutton. It was a “remarkable relief” when he learned about
Oglethorpe’s adult education program that would offer “a fantastic
education at a reputable, credible institution.”
Joe majored in communication & rhetoric studies with a minor in politics.
On top of working full time and carrying a full course load at Oglethorpe,
he completed three internships during his college career. Two internships
were with CNN, one in the CNN.com division and the other in CNN’s
marketing department. At CNN.com, he spearheaded a project to follow the
efforts of the Bauder Campus Crime Club, a group of college students who
were researching cold cases, including the famous missing persons cases of
Chandra Levy and Natalee Holloway.
alumni
Joe also interned with the 2008 NBC Olympics and traveled to China for
six weeks. He interviewed various athletes, including Michael Phelps and
members of the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team, and helped to supervise
2,200 hours of live competition coverage—a record in NBC Olympics
history. He calls the job “the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had.”
Joe often volunteered at Oglethorpe’s open houses so he could share the
benefits of the evening program with prospective students. “Being in an
intimate setting at Oglethorpe is such an advantage. Being able to connect
with students and teachers and being able to approach someone with
concerns sets Oglethorpe apart from other institutions in the area.”
Joe graduated from OU in 2009 while working at CNN’s
Headline News. He quickly moved into a new position with the CNN
Newsroom as a producer and has held twelve different positions at CNN in
nine years. He aspires to work his way up to the management level and says,
“I know for a fact that I will be an executive.”
Joe’s advice for other students and working adults is to not be afraid to try
new things: “Curiosity is the best thing one can have. Take courses that you
aren’t familiar with. There is so much out there in the world to take advantage
of.” And he credits Oglethorpe University for helping him reach his goals:
“I look at my degree every day,” he remarks. Without his education and
experiences in college, he says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Debbie Aiken graduated from Oglethorpe’s Evening Degree Program
in 2012 with a major in communication & rhetoric studies and a
minor in English. During her last semester she was an intern in the
University Communications department at OU, where she now works
as Assistant Director.
26 CARILLON | SPRING 2013 spring SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 27

alumni
New
Frontiers
When the news broke last year about
one of the greatest scientific discoveries
of all time, the so-called “God particle,”
The New York Times wrote that the
“discovery will change our view of
ourselves and our place in the universe.
Surely that is the hallmark of great
music, great literature, great art….and
great science.” And one Oglethorpe
alumnus was a part of it.
Ronald Charles Remington (Ronny) was born
and grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., where
his parents still live. He attended Seabreeze
High School, which is where he first learned
about Oglethorpe University in 2002. Ronny
was impressed with what OU had to offer and
was particularly attracted to the Core program.
Competing against a large number of other
students, he was awarded the JEO (James
Edward Oglethorpe) scholarship, which paid his
tuition, room and board for four years.
Ronny first became interested in physics while
studying for the JEO competition. Although he
had not studied physics in high school, he was
drawn to the subject by being required to read
and discuss Thomas Kuhn’s philosophical work,
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. His college
advisor, Dr. Michael Rulison, spent many hours
with Ronny and was a major influence on his
approach to understanding physics, one that
Ronny and his wife, Jeanette, stand in front of
the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
remains with him today. Ronny also received
significant guidance from Dr. Nardo in the math
department and from Dean Doyle. Both of these
mentors took a personal interest in his success.
Ronny feels that he could have “fallen through
the cracks” at a larger university that doesn’t
have the close student/professor relationship
that exists at Oglethorpe.
In addition to excelling in the classroom, Ronny
was involved in various extracurricular activities
at Oglethorpe. He played varsity soccer and was
a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Ronny graduated from OU in 2006, earning a
B.S. in physics with honors and a second major in
mathematics. After completing his undergraduate
degree, he enrolled in the graduate school of
physics at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
There he joined the Compact Muon Solenoid
Experiment (CMS) to pursue his Ph.D. research in
high energy particle physics.
CMS is one of two massive particle detectors
built to search for new particles produced by
the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN
laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is
the world’s most powerful particle collider and
is designed to steer beams containing trillions of
ultra-relativistic protons into each other at a rate
of 40 million times per second. The energetic
debris that rapidly emerges from these collisions
is captured by very sophisticated detectors like
the CMS experiment, and studied with the aid
of high-performance computing resources by
large teams of scientists. Ronny was among
these scientists for several years, designing
algorithms to help make sense of the data and
By Sydney Mobley Moss ’59
Ronny Remington ’06 discovers a smashing career path
search for signals. The most sought-after signal
among the scientists working on CMS was that of
the Higgs boson, also known by its more popular
name, the “God Particle.” The Higgs boson is
tied to the mechanism that gives mass to all of
the fundamental particles. It has eluded scientists
for decades, and its discovery would vindicate
the prevailing theory of particle physics, known
as the Standard Model. The CMS collaboration
made headlines in early 2012 for publishing the
first observation of the Higgs boson. Ronny is
very proud to have played a small part in that
momentous accomplishment during his years at the
University of Florida.
It was at the University of Florida in 2008 that he
married his high school sweetheart, Jeannette,
who is a strong supporter of his scientific
endeavors. Ronny gives Jeannette a great deal
of credit for his success. During their first year of
marriage, they moved to a location near CERN
(the European Organization for Nuclear Research)
in Geneva, Switzerland, and the home of the
Large Hadron Collider. They lived in a small
French village on the Swiss border. While working
on CMS, Ronny made significant contributions
to several papers that were accepted by wellrespected
scientific journals.
Ronny and Jeannette now live in Bethesda, Md.,
where he is a senior research scientist at the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. Although
he had an opportunity to return to Geneva for
additional work, he chose to stay in the U.S. and
pursue his career goals. Ronny is an excellent
example of someone who is “making a life,
making a living and making a difference.”
Sydney Mobley Moss ’59 is a retired SunTrust
banker. She and her husband, Jack, live in
Flowery Branch, Ga. and enjoy traveling. Sydney
serves on the Alumni Board as a member of the
Communications Committee.
Future Thinking
with Deep Roots
By Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65
Robert Currey ’66 and Suzanne Straub Currey ’65 are
enjoying their retirement by starting another business—one far
different from their original work and a little more “down to earth,”
you might say.
After graduating from Oglethorpe, the Curreys developed the furniture
chain Storehouse, beginning in 1969 with one store on Peachtree Street in
Atlanta. The chain expanded to 28 stores by the early 1980s, when they sold
their shares in the business. After a few years, they opened another store
specializing in outdoor furniture, which grew into the current Currey &
Company, a wholesale business now managed by their son, Brownlee.
For most of these years, the Curreys lived in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta,
not too far from Oglethorpe. They enjoyed gardening in their small backyard,
and they learned about sustainable gardening practices from cousins in
Tennessee. As vegetarians, they appreciated the taste of sustainably grown
produce and heirloom varieties of various vegetables and fruits. In the early
2000s, they visited friends in Hancock County in middle Georgia and
decided to buy a historic home in Sparta. Since they had moved to a rural
area, they were able to adopt sustainable gardening practices for their new
garden in Sparta.
Over time the garden plot grew in size and with the extra acreage available
for further growth, it eventually became a commercially viable business
called Elm Street Gardens. As sustainable gardeners, the Curreys use no
artificial fertilizers or pest control products and employ a “no-till” farming
method. Their garden beds are enriched with natural compost to provide
nutrients for the vegetables and fruits grown throughout most of the year.
Two “hoop houses” (domed greenhouses) provide additional growing space
for both summer and winter crops. They are currently restoring an old cotton
warehouse near the gardens to add shiitake mushrooms to their offerings
and expand wholesale opportunities.
The harvest from Elm Street Gardens is sold through farmers’ markets and
through a subscription delivery service. “Farm Box” is their collaboration
with two other middle Georgia farms to provide
weekly delivery of seasonal produce
to service subscribers. This
differs from other community
supported agriculture (CSA)
programs because it allows subscribers
to add locally raised heritage
breed pork, grass fed beef and farm
eggs to their weekly orders.
Suzy and Robert value the liberal
arts experience they found at
Oglethorpe, which they say has broadened their lives and perspectives in
business and in community activities. The Curreys enjoy sharing their
knowledge with the various groups that visit the gardens. A group of
Oglethorpe students visited in March 2012 as part of the one-day “short
courses” launched by the Campus Life offices last year. And this summer,
several Oglethorpe students will be working onsite at Elm Street Gardens
as part of a new live/work internship partnership program that includes
students from Agnes Scott College.
“It was great to see the interest in and concern for sustainable farming in this
diverse group of young people,” says Robert, who is a former OU Trustee.
“This interest from Oglethorpe ties in well with our vision of engaging more
young people in these practices.”
Elm Street Gardens has also nurtured a sense of community. For the past
three years, Robert and Suzy have hosted a Labor Day picnic for Hancock
County residents with a potluck dinner and games for the kids. More than
300 people attended this year.
For more information about the garden and other farms in the area, visit
www.elmstreetgardens.com, and check out Suzy’s blog about current crops
and activities at the garden.
Linda Sanders Scarborough ’65 was a math and physics major at
Oglethorpe. She worked for AT&T in information technology until her
retirement. She serves on the Alumni Board and volunteers at the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theatre.
(below left) OU students toured Elm Street Garden as part of Oglethorpe “short
courses,” which focus on fun topics and experiences.(below right) Suzanne and
Robert Currey, pictured on the front porch of their Sparta home, received the 2013
Spirit of Oglethorpe Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni who live by the
Oglethorpe motto: “Make a life. Make a living. Make a difference.”
28 CARILLON | SPRING 2013
SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 29

alumni
alumni
Fresh off her successful re-election campaign, Mayor Mimi Elrod of
Lexington, Va., is no stranger to public service. An Oglethorpe graduate of
the class of ‘66, Mimi has devoted her life to education, community service
and civic leadership, the very building blocks of the Oglethorpe experience.
Mimi transferred to Oglethorpe from Florida Presbyterian College. Following
her marriage to John Elrod, the couple lived in Atlanta, where her husband
served as the youth director at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Mimi finished
her undergraduate degree at Oglethorpe in the summer of ’65, officially
graduating in ‘66. Her sister, Eleanor Milner Newland of Douglas, Ga., also
graduated from Oglethorpe, finishing in ‘63.
Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, Mimi and her
husband moved to New York City, where she attended Columbia Teachers
College and taught in central Harlem. The Elrods then moved to Iowa, where
Mimi received her Ph.D. in child development and taught in the departments
of Psychology and Child Development at Iowa State University before moving
to Lexington, Va. Lexington is a small city with approximately 7,000 citizens,
but with two institutions of higher education—Washington & Lee University
and Virginia Military Institute.
“You know more
of a road by
having traveled
it than by all the
conjectures and
descriptions in
the world.”
—William Hazlitt
Lorna Burrows Gordon ’04 and her husband Jeremy
have done something many of us only dream about. They
packed up their belongings and hit the road to explore
the country. However, their choice of transportation may
surprise you.
“We were at the Union Square farmers’ market in New
York, and a lot of the vendors from upstate use old school
buses to transport their crops,” recalls Lorna, who is
a marketing and design professional for a textile and
linens company. “Jeremy tossed out the idea that it would
be fun to convert a bus and travel the country, not really
thinking I’d be on board. But I was!”
Life on
the Road
And so the journey began. The first step was to secure
a bus. They opted for a 1998 diesel school bus that
had about 150,000 miles on it. After picking it up in
Pittsburgh, Jeremy drove it to his parents’ home in Ohio
to work on the renovations with his stepfather. They used
two solar panels to charge marine batteries for power,
and added a small kitchenette, table and bed.
Back home in Brooklyn, Lorna and Jeremy added the
finishing touches and christened the bus “Ramblin’
Annie,” named after one of their pets, an outdoor cat
that wandered off.
Their journey began in August 2012. Lorna and Jeremy
(plus Jaeger the dog and Lou the fish) first traversed New
England, hitting spots in Massachusetts, Maine, New
Hampshire and Vermont. “Acadia National Park was a
favorite—it’s so pristine and beautiful!” Lorna notes.
They then made their way through North Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama and Ohio.
Some of the locations were ones they’d been to before,
and others were places they’d always wanted to go. They
spent two to five days at each destination, but were not
tied to a schedule. “Our plan was to be on the road for six
to nine months,” says Lorna. “We didn’t plan too far ahead
so we could just enjoy the trip, without added stress.”
At many of their destinations, they were able to meet up
with friends who were also eager to share in the thrill of
the journey. And of course, they enjoyed sampling local
eateries and getting to know the locals. They modeled
some of their activities after the popular New York Times
“36 Hours” weekly column (and subsequent book) that
offers up dream weekends with practical itineraries for a
variety of cities.
The duo was fortunate to be able to continue working
remotely with their employers while on the road. And,
after seven months and 11,000 miles, Lorna and Jeremy
settled in Austin, Tex., where they first met while
pursuing post-graduate work.
Read more about the adventures of Ramblin’ Annie, and
see some spectacular photos captured across the country
by visiting their blog, “A Long Way Home: A Record of
Our Journey in a School Bus” at www.alongwayhome.us.
Kelly Holland Vrtis ’97 lives in Dallas, Tex., where
she is the marketing communications manager for
The Container Store. She currently chairs the Alumni
Communications Committee of the Alumni Board.
Upon moving to Lexington, John assumed the position of dean of the College
at Washington & Lee, eventually becoming president in 1995. During this
time, Mimi worked in the Admissions Office and then in the Office of Special
Programs (including alumni programs). In this role, she directed a program for
high school seniors to help introduce and prepare them for college.
Following her husband’s passing in 2001, Mimi continued to work at
Washington & Lee. However, she knew she needed a change, so in 2002,
she made a run for the Virginia House of Delegates. While unsuccessful in this
particular bid, she became heavily involved in many areas of public service
and was eventually elected to the Lexington City Council. She served on the
City Council for six years and continued to be very active on local Boards of
Directors. In 2008, Mimi ran a successful campaign for mayor of Lexington
and began her second term in January 2013.
In 2000, Mimi returned to Oglethorpe’s campus to attend her delayed
induction into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society into which she
had previously been inducted by Washington & Lee. When she was a student
at Oglethorpe, Mimi had the GPA and required activities to become part of
the predecessor organization to ODK, but was inadvertently left out of the
society while she was a student.
When reflecting on her experience at Oglethorpe, Mimi says the most
important component was the professors. Her studies focused on politics,
history and secondary education, and she remarked on how much she
learned from Professors Cresky, Walton, Abbott and Glenco. Mimi Elrod is
indeed a credit to these and all the professors she had at Oglethorpe. She is
truly making a life and making a difference while making a living.
Jodie Sexton Goff ’01 is the Chief Operating Officer for Federal Reserve
System Large Bank Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a
member of the Alumni Board. At OU, Jodie majored in business and minored
in music. Both of Jodie’s parents, Bob Sexton ’64 and Jane Connor Sexton ’65,
as well as her sister-in-law, Ashley Everhart Sexton ’92, are OU graduates.
Mimi Elrod ’66
Lead by
Example
By Jodie Sexton Goff ’01
30 CARILLON | SPRING 2013 spring SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 31

alumni
alumni
Dr. G. Malcolm Amerson
Life Sciences Professor
Enjoys Lively Retirement
By Sydney Mobley Moss ’59
“
Education’
I’ll take ‘Liberal Arts
for a $1000.”
How do retired college
professors spend their time?
According to Dr. G. Malcolm Amerson, they’re
just like any other retirees. But upon further
investigation, we find that Dr. Amerson is anything
but typical.
Dr. Amerson spent his entire teaching career
at Oglethorpe University, starting in 1968—on
September 1 to be exact. But when he arrived at
the school, the campus was deserted and only
then did he realize it was the Labor Day holiday!
This unforgettable start was the beginning of an
even more memorable career.
the Donald C. Agnew Award for Distinguished
Service. This award is presented annually by
members of the Oglethorpe Student Association
and is chosen by that body to honor the person
who, in their opinion, has given distinguished
service to the university. Dr. Agnew served as
President of Oglethorpe University from 1957
to 1964.
In his retirement, Dr. Amerson has chosen to stay
in Atlanta and has continued to make numerous
contributions. A year after retiring, Dr. Amerson
organized a retired faculty club at OU that meets
in September and March each year on campus.
Current faculty and staff are often asked to present
an educational program for the club. On average,
Hosta beds and feasted on them. As a result, Dr.
Amerson looked for a different type of plant that
wasn’t so appetizing to voles. He now has several
varieties of fig trees, large and small, which thrive
under his care. He makes fig preserves, fig cakes
and even chocolate fig cakes, which he enjoys
sharing with friends and family.
A graduate of Berry College in Rome, Ga., Dr.
Amerson earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at
Clemson University after spending two years in
the U.S. Army. His family includes his wife Jo, son
Todd in Orlando, Fla., and daughter Jennifer in
South Bend, Ind. Dr. Amerson keeps an online
journal for his grandchildren, recording significant
(or amusing) events in their lives.
(above) Dr. Amerson, shown relaxing in
his Oglethorpe office, and at an Oglethorpe
event, post-retirement with Steve Malone ’73.
flexibility that retirement allows him: he can now
plan his schedule on his own terms. How fortunate
we are that Dr. Amerson appeared on campus on
that Labor Day in 1968! He continues to enrich
the Oglethorpe community in retirement as he did
while a professor.
In the last year, three Oglethorpe alumni appeared
on Jeopardy!, the popular game show that requires
its contestants to have a broad base of knowledge.
Congratulations to Natalie Knowles ’92, Tom
Conn ’93 and Dave Leach ’97, who all successfully
showed off their liberal arts education! Dave appeared in
the Tournament of Champions in February 2013.
Dr. Amerson retired in August 2003 after teaching
biology and related subjects for 35 years. While
at OU he advised the Georgia Eta chapter of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), the oldest and largest
fraternity on campus. SAE honored him in 2006
with the Order of Minerva Award in recognition
of leadership, dedication and loyal service. Dr.
Amerson received many other honors, including
80 percent of all faculty retirees attend these
meetings, allowing them to stay involved and keep
up with what’s new at Oglethorpe.
Dr. Amerson’s background in biology continues to
shape how he spends his time. Upon retirement,
he became very interested in gardening and
traveled extensively to collect various species of
Hosta plants. Unfortunately, voles discovered his
Dr. Amerson has taught Sunday school for many
years at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church in
Alpharetta, Ga. He organized a “breakfast club”
for the members of his class, which meets twice a
month at a nearby restaurant.
Although he is just as busy now as he was as
a professor at Oglethorpe, he does enjoy the
32 CARILLON | SPRING 2013
spring SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 33

class notes
class notes
Class Notes
5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4
9
10
11
12
1960s
1 Larry King ’62 is currently
assistant to the controller at Global
Resort Homes in Orlando, Fla.
He recently applied for a Florida
real estate license specializing in
vacation rental homes.
Robert Currey ’66 received the
inaugural Museum of Design
Atlanta’s Design Legend Award.
The award, presented to him
in November 2012, honors
individuals who have demonstrated
design excellence, innovation
and contribution to their field of
design both locally and nationally.
For more news on Robert Currey,
see “Robert and Suzanne Currey:
A New Chapter for a New Season”,
page 29.
Mimi Milner Elrod ’66, mayor
of Lexington, Va., recently joined
the Board of Trustees at Virginia
Intermont College in Bristol, Va.
Read more on page 31.
2 Dr. Louis Rossman ’69 was
honored with the Alumni Award
of Merit from Penn Dental
Medicine. The award recognizes
a leader in the dental profession,
a contributor to his or her alma
mater and an individual who has
made outstanding contributions
in community involvement. In
April 2012, Dr. Rossman was
elected as president-elect of the
Foundation for the American
Association of Endodontists.
1970s
3 Bert Meyers ’70 married
Patti Woodall in Barbados on
November 11, 2011. They are
enjoying a full retirement life
in Dunedin, Fla.
Joanne Hubbard Folger ’71
retired in 2010 after teaching
high school math for 31 years.
She taught in DeKalb County,
Ga, for 11 years and Gwinnett
County, Ga, for 20 years. She is
now enjoying reading mystery
novels, knitting and traveling
with her husband.
1980s
4 Gina Marie Sacer ’84 and
Adam William Acker were
married on June 30, 2012, in
Brewster, N.Y., in a beautiful
outdoor ceremony. The couple
honeymooned in Prince Edward
Island, Canada. They now live in
Pawling, N.Y., where they enjoy their
combined family of 11 children.
Daniel Duncanson, M.D.,
C.P.E., ’85 was recently named
chief executive officer of Southeastern
Integrated Medical, P.L.
(SIMED) in Gainesville, Fla.
SIMED is a physician- owned,
multi-specialty physician group
in north central Florida. Dan has
been a practicing physician in
internal medicine in Gainesville
for the last 20 years. Prior to
assuming the CEO position, he
was the vice president of operations
and director of primary care for
SIMED. In 2010, Dan achieved
certification as a certified
physician executive.
Ralph Haynes Gunn ’85 and his
wife adopted two boys in October
2011. The Gunns were previously
the boys’ foster parents for DFACS
for two years. Brandon David
Gunn is four and Braylen Zachary
Gunn is three.
5 Dr. Casey Chosewood ’86 and
Deborah Cardone Chosewood ’87
are the parents of Cadet Alec
Chosewood of Lilburn, Ga., who
completed Cadet Basic Training
at the U.S. Military Academy.
6 Donna Adair Breault ’88
accepted a new position as
associate professor of graduate
curriculum studies at West
Virginia University. Earlier this
year, she and her husband Rick
co-authored a book entitled
Professional Development
Schools: Researching Lessons
from the Field (Rowman
Littlefield Publishers). This book
critiques the quality of research in
a specific area of teacher education
and offers organizational
implications for teacher education
programs. Donna recently finished
another book, Red Light in the
Ivory Tower: Contexts and
Implications of Entrepreneurial
Education (Peter Lang Publishers –
David Callejo-Perez, co-author).
1990s
7 Joseph Shelton ’91 is an
attorney at Fisher & Phillips,
LLP, in Atlanta and is listed in
Georgia Super Lawyers 2012
for his work in employment and
labor law. Joe is currently serving
on the Oglethorpe Board of
Trustees as vice chair.
David M. Ross ’93 received his
MPA in nonprofit management
from Georgia State University
in December 2011. In February
2012, he joined the staff of the
American Cancer Society as a
writer and editor at the Society’s
national headquarters in Atlanta.
Kimberly Kirner Lohoar ’93
is now a full-time English
teacher in a secondary school
in Hampshire, England. Kim
worked as a news editor for more
than 12 years in the U.S. and the
U.K. before completing a Masters
level teacher-training course at
the University of Southampton.
So far, she is enjoying her new
post! In other news, Kim became
a British citizen in July 2012,
just before the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee. Kim has lived in the U.K.
since 2003.
Thom McCague ’93 published
his first historical novel in
October 2012. Adventures on the
Great River Road: 1814 is the result
of an independent history research
paper completed for the late
Dr. David Thomas. The book is
available through smashwords.
com, kobo.com and other online
e-book outlets. There are plans to
write a second book in the future.
Rev. Dave Barnhart ’94
associate pastor of Trinity United
Methodist Church in Homewood,
Ala., formed a new church in May
2012 with the assistance of Trinity
Methodist Church.
8 Jennifer Chiofalo Tomasino
’94 and Clint Tomasino are
excited to announce the birth of
their second son, Lucas Andrew
Tomasino, who was born on
August 29, 2011. He weighed 7 lbs.
7 oz. and was 19.75 in. long. He
was welcomed by his big brother
Wyatt, who celebrated his second
birthday on August 1, 2012.
9 Barbara Miller Hall ’94
earned her Ph.D. in instructional
design from Capella University.
The title of her dissertation was,
“How Cognitive Requirement of
Prompt and Time in Course are
Correlated with Intersubjectivity
within Threaded Discussions.”
Beth Pethtal ’94 and fellow
designer Ginny Lassiter showed
their exhibition, “Feed Your
Electric Soul” in May 2012 in
Calabash, N.C., at Gallery Sunset
River Marketplace. The exhibition
was a showing of custom design
ideas, fine crafts and gently loved
pieces from the past.
Shana Bowes ’94 joined the
MNS firm as a project manager
and listings specialists. She
brings more than 15 years of
experience to her new position.
Walter Bolton ’94 was honored
as the 2012 Mobile Area Council
of Engineers (MACE) Engineer
of the Year, the most prestigious
of the awards presented by
this organization. Walter is
the president/CEO of Beaufort
Engineering Services, Inc.
10 Amy Marie Puckett McGee
’95 graduated in August 2012
with a master’s in library and
information science from the
University of North Texas.
11 Lu Green ’95 and Nick
LeRoy joyfully announce the
adoption of their son, Nate
William LeRoy. After a three
and a half year wait, they
celebrated their Family Day
on Christmas Day 2011.
Thomas Barker ’95 was promoted
to associate professor with tenure
at Georgia Institute of Technology
in the Department of Biomedical
Engineering.
12 Jenifer Parks ’96 earned
her Ph.D. in Russian/Soviet
history from UNC-Chapel Hill
in May 2009. In August 2012,
she moved with her husband
to Billings, Mont., where she is
assistant professor of history at
Rocky Mountain College.
Anita Patterson ’97 was selected
by Treasury & Risk to their 2012
list of 100 Most Influential People
in Finance. Anita is currently
the director of treasury services
for COX Enterprises and provides
strategic direction on all treasury
issues for the company.
Rev. S. Chadwick Vaughn ’97,
former rector of St. Francis
Episcopal Church in Macon,
Ga., was the featured preacher
April 15, 2012 on “Day 1” with
host Peter Wallace, the nationally
syndicated ecumenical
radio program. His “Day 1”
sermon, based on the story of
“Doubting Thomas” in John
20:19-29, was entitled “Missouri,
My Fair Lady and the
Mission of the Church.” Chad
and his wife Amanda Smith
Vaughn ’01 recently moved
back to Atlanta with their twin
daughters. Chad is currently
the priest in charge at St. Bedes
Episcopal Church, and Amanda
is the director of communications
at St. Patrick’s in Dunwoody.
Yvette Nemeth ’98 married
Steve Jones on September 3,
2011, in Franklin, N.C.
Aimee Thrasher Hansen ’98
was promoted to library
supervisor I and is now the
branch manager of the Lillian
Marrero Branch of the Free
Library of Philadelphia.
34 CARILLON | spring SPRING 2013
SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 35

class notes
class notes
13 14 15 16 21
22
23
24
17 18 19 20 25 26 27
28
Karen Head ’98 is an assistant
professor at the School of
Literature at Media and
Communication at Georgia
Institute of Technology. She
has been selected to lead a
First Year Composition Course
with a $150,000 grant from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Georgia Institute of Technology
will develop three massive open
online courses targeted at those
who have yet to pursue or complete
a college degree.
Linnea Dyer Hegarty ’98
was selected by the D.C. Public
Library Foundation as the
organization’s executive director.
DCPLF is a nonprofit organization
that provides a margin of excellence
to the D.C. Public Library with
resources that supplement local
government funding. Prior
to taking her new position,
Ms. Hergarty was the director
of development for the Alliance
for Climate Protection, the
organization founded and chaired
by former Vice President Al Gore.
13 Amy Katz Bonn ’99, her
husband Dave and their son Henry
welcomed Warren Judd Avrahm
Bonn on September 22, 2011 in
Las Vegas, Nev. Warren weighed 8
lbs., 6 oz. and measured 20.5 in.
14 Kristine Lawrie Williams
’99 and her husband, Kristian
Williams, announce the birth
of their son Wyatt Joseph on
December 16, 2011. The baby’s
gender was a surprise until the
delivery. Although he arrived
10 days early, Wyatt came in at
a substantial 8 lbs., 12.9 oz. and
measured 20.25 in. Big sister
Samantha, who turned two in
March 2012, is slowly transitioning
from hitting him to kissing him!
2001
15 Michael Newkirk ’01 and
Erin Sellers Newkirk ’03
welcomed a baby girl, Tinsley Anne
Newkirk, on October 20, 2011.
16 Ashley Zimmerman
Hamilton ’01 and Hunter
Hamilton are happy to announce
the birth of their baby girl,
Sydney Harper, who was born
on November 2, 2011. Sydney
weighed 8 lbs., 5 oz. and
measured 20 in. Sydney is
their first child and their best
holiday gift!
17 Reagan Fisher Wyssbrod
’01 and Mark Wyssbrod became
the parents of Lawrence Andrew
Wyssbrod on August 7, 2012.
The baby weighed in at a healthy
7 lbs. 7 oz. and is thriving!
2002
18 Cody Partin ’02 and his
wife Sara recently welcomed
twins to their family. Andrew
McGuire and Nora McPherson
Partin were born on March
16, 2012. Big brother Charlie
welcomed them with open arms.
Cody was also promoted to
assistant vice president of real
estate & strategic investments
at Cox Enterprises.
19 Richard Cartwright ’02
and Shanna Hobson ’02 were
married on May 21, 2011, in
the Philip Weltner Library.
Although Jesus was predicted
to return on this date, none
of the attendees, the bride or
the groom was raptured during
the ceremony and subsequent
reception. The couple met while
attending Oglethorpe University,
and both graduated with degrees
in English. Shanna currently
works as a R.N. in the emergency
room at the University of Tennessee
Medical Center. Richard is
currently a Ph.D. student in the
Department of Earth and
Planetary Sciences at the
University of Tennessee.
20 Jeffrey Poole ’02 and
Robin Elms ’02 celebrated the
birth of twins, Finnegan and
Eleanor, in October 2011. The
babies weighed 7 lbs. and 6 lbs.
respectively.
Amy Arden ’02 married Vincent
Tubayan on November 30, 2011.
The ceremony took place in Las
Vegas, Nev.
2003
Nobles Green II ’03, senior
medical animator for Nucleus
Medical Media, has earned
an Award of Excellence for his
“STAR Ankle System” animation
during the 2012 Association
of Medical Illustrators (AMI)
Conference. His company also
achieved an Award of Merit for
the “iStent” app for the iPad,
for which Nobles served as
lead animator.
Kristi Dosh ’03 accepted a
job as ESPN’s sports business
reporter. She will have a page on
ESPN.com and will be featured
on all other ESPN platforms,
including ESPN the Magazine
and ESPN TV and radio
programming. In addition,
Kristi has contracted with
Wiley to author a book entitled
Saturday Millionaires: Why
College Athletes Will Never Be
Paid and Other Untold Truths
about the Business of College
Football, which will be published
in the late summer of 2013.
21 Emily Lawson ’03 recently
married Valur Gudmundsson
with ceremonies in both Texas
and Valur’s home of Iceland.
Zhena Kavelin-Milani ’03 was
a reader in the Texas wedding.
Heather Staniszewski ’02 and
Mark DeLong ’03 celebrated
with the happy couple at their
Icelandic ceremony. Emily
and Valur are now living in
Portland, Ore. where Emily
practices homebirth midwifery
and Valur works as a research
analyst for Intel.
22 Michelle Parks Carey ’03
and Conor Carey ’06 are
excited to announce the birth of
Ryleigh Aimee Carey, born July
2, 2012. She weighed 8 lbs.,
6 oz. and measured 20 in.
2004
Rachel Lehr ’04 recently departed
Cairo, Egypt, where she worked
at the U.S. Embassy for two
years, and has since arrived at
her new posting at the U.S.
Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.
What a change in climate!
23 Stephanie Bryan’s ’04
photographs were featured
in The Circle Gallery at the
University of Georgia College
of Environment and Design,
which will host her exhibit
entitled “American Dreams: The
Paradox of Failed Subdivisions
in Georgia.” During the past
three years, Bryan has spent her
free time traveling throughout
Georgia to document changes
in rural and suburban landscapes
through photography and writing.
She would like her photographic
essay to convey the serious
effects of these changes and hopes
that “American Dreams: The
Paradox of Failed Subdivisions
in Georgia” will inspire people
to consider how overdevelopment
can be prevented.
24 Lisa Gossett ’04 married
Donny Smith on June 4, 2011,
at Harrahs Casino Tunica in
Robinsonville, Miss. The
reception featured the dueling
pianos of Hudson & Saleeby.
Oglethorpe alumni in attendance
included bridesmaids Anna
Rhett Cobb Miller ’04, Kelley
Napier ’04, and Melinda Vegso
Blonshine ’03. Lisa and Donny
live in Hernando, Miss.
25 Leigh Cooper ’04 and Mark
Godfrey are proud to announce
the birth of their first child,
Cecil Cooper Godfrey. Cecil was
born on August 4, 2012, at 5:23
p.m. in Atlanta. He weighed 7
lbs., 2 oz. and measured 20.5 in.
2005
26 Virginia Brown ’05 was
married on May 19, 2012, to
Shaun McGonigal. Joy Simmons
’05, Ginny’s long-time best
friend and roommate for all
four years at Oglethorpe, was
the maid of honor. Ginny and
Shaun live in Philadelphia,
where Ginny is in graduate school.
Carlissa Carson ’05 was named
one of the 99 most influential
foreign policy leaders under the
age of 33, or the “99 Under 33”
by Diplomatic Courier, a global
affairs magazine.
27 Tom Collens ’05 and
Mandy Eckerl Collens ’06
proudly announce the birth of
their son, Thomas W. Collens
V, on September 15, 2011. He
weighed 9 lbs., 2 oz. and
measured 21.75 in.
2006
28 Kirbie Compston ’06
welcomed Jackson Toland
Smith Compston on November
22, 2011. He weighed 8 lbs., 11
oz. and measured 21.5 in. He is
their first child and a blessing
and a joy.
Travis Griffin ’06 graduated
from Walter F. George School
of Law at Mercer University
in May 2012 and passed the
bar exam. He is an associate
attorney at the criminal defense
firm of Hogue & Hogue LLP in
Macon, Ga. He married Alesha
Tentiger ’09 on October 13, 2012.
36 CARILLON | SPRING 2013 SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 37

class notes
class notes
29 30 31
32
29 Sean Raleigh ’06 joined
the Army in January 2007 and
gained commission as a 2nd
Lieutenant through Officer
Candidate School (OCS). He was
branched in the Adjutant Generals
Corps, the Human Resources
branch of the Army. His first duty
station was Fort Wainwright in
Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was
the battalion personnel officer for
an organization of 800 soldiers.
Two weeks after arriving in
September 2008, he was deployed
to Iraq for 12 months. He returned
to Alaska in September 2009.
He was promoted to captain
in September 2010. He was
deployed again to Afghanistan
in April 2011. He returned from
Afghanistan in August 2011 to
attend the Adjutant Generals
Captain’s Career Course at Fort
Jackson, South Carolina, where
he is currently stationed. Sean
married Vara Lyngklip of Winona,
Minn., in December 2007.
30 Jennifer K. Wilson, ’06
earned a master’s in clinical
counseling psychology from
Brenau University in 2011 and is
now serving the Gainesville, Ga.
community as the children’s
program coordinator and domestic
violence community educator
for Gateway Domestic Violence
Center. In addition to her work
at Gateway Domestic Violence
Center, Jennifer serves as the
chair of the Community Education
Committee of the Northeastern
Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence
Task Force. Jennifer also teaches
Psychology 101 and human growth
and development undergraduate
courses online for Brenau University
as an adjunct instructor. She lives
in Gainesville with her husband
Matt Loggins and two young sons.
2007
Laura Fitzgerald ’07 joined
Orbit Books and continues to
work in digital marketing.
Orbit Books is a science-fiction
publisher and an imprint of
Hachette Book Group.
31 Rachael Maddux ’07 married
Joe McCormick, a graduate of
the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga and the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro,
on August 6, 2011 in Cleveland,
Tenn. Rachael is assistant editor
of the Georgia Tech alumni
magazine and a freelance writer.
Joe is an editor with Discovery
Communications. They live in
Decatur, Ga.
32 Lindsey Dyan Callaway ’07
married Captain Darrell E. Fawley
III, West Point ’05 on September
17, 2012, at St Joseph’s Catholic
Church in Washington, Ga.
Darrell is commanding HHC
of 1-23 Infantry Regiment, and
Lindsey is finishing her Master
of Education in Montessori
elementary education.
Emily E. Macheski-Preston ’07
was named the “2012 Young
Professional of the Year” for
the Valdosta-Lowndes County
area. This award is given to
the young professional in the
Valdosta-Lowndes County area
who has made “an impact on
their business’s bottom line.”
Emily was recognized for both
her success as a litigation attorney
and her active involvement in the
community. Emily is a litigation
associate at Coleman Talley LLP,
which has offices in Valdosta
and Atlanta. She focuses on
employment law, local government
law and insurance defense.
2008
William Patrick Edwards ’08
was ordained to the Sacred Order
of Priests on December 8, 2011,
by the Right Rev. Morris K.
Thompson, Jr., at St. Margaret’s
Episcopal Church.
Christina Renee Tyler
MacRosty ’08 earned the
degree Doctor of Osteopathic
Medicine from the West Virginia
School of Osteopathic Medicine
on May 26, 2012. She and her
husband, Sean MacRosty ’03,
live in Charleston, W.Va., where
Dr. MacRosty will begin a
combined residency in internal
medicine and pediatrics.
2009
Shaquitta Denise Brookins ’09
graduated from Ohio State
University with her master’s degree
in city and regional planning.
33 Rose-Gaëlle Belinga ’09
completed her master’s degree in
software engineering at Auburn
University and joined Morgan
Stanley in New York in August
2012 as a technology analyst.
33
2010
Chloe Edwards ’10 graduated
summa cum laude from the
University of Texas at Austin
with a master’s in information
studies in August 2012. She
wrote her graduate thesis on the
social role of library classification
practice, under the supervision
of Drs. Melanie Feinberg and
Nathan Ensmenger.
2011
LaDonna Barnes ’11 is working
towards a master’s degree in
clinical mental health counseling
at Mercer University.
Class notes deadline was
11/9/12. View more or
submit your class note
via ePetrel: www.alumni.
oglethorpe.edu.
Longtime trustee and one of
Oglethorpe’s most active alumni,
O.K. Sheffield, Jr. ’53
died December 19, 2011,
three days after emergency
coronary surgery. While at OU,
O.K. was elected president
of the student government,
voted “Lord Oglethorpe” by
the student body, awarded
the James Edward Oglethorpe
Cup by vote of the faculty and
administration and elected to Omicron Delta Kappa, a national
honorary fraternity. During his long career in banking, he also
helped lead many major community-wide fundraising efforts,
including the United Way campaign. Saint Anne’s Episcopal
Church and Oglethorpe University were his favorite outlets for
engagement, and he played important leadership roles with both
for many years. For Oglethorpe, O.K. served as president of the
National Alumni Association twice and was an active member
of the President’s Advisory Council before being elected to the
Board of Trustees in 1997. He remained active on the Board of
Trustees through the end of his life. One of the highlights of his life
was the establishment of Oglethorpe’s Sheffield Alumni Center in
March 2001. During the last 26 years of his life, O.K. manifested
one of his central gifts as friend, counselor, resource and mentor
to scores of men and women in recovery from addiction to drugs
or alcohol.
Ruth Zimmer Phillips ’37
December 1, 2011
Dixie Woodford Long ’39
November 12, 2011
W. Elmer George ’40
August 13, 2012
John Malpass ’40
January 5, 2012
Reba Ramsey Rich ’40
October 23, 2012
Betty Axelberg ’42
June 1, 2012
Bettye Ray DeJon ’43
December 9, 2011
Joan Robb Butler ’49
April 19, 2012
Wesley Joseph Martin ’49
January 16, 2012
Margaret Robinson ’50
March 28, 2012
Joseph Overton ’52
October 12, 2011
O.K. Sheffield ’53
December 19, 2011
Mary Normal Stone ’53
December 1, 2011
Sarah Bradley Letchas ’54
December 7, 2011
Joan Joseph ’55
May 12, 2012
Opal Perry Watson ’55
April 4, 2012
Dr. Paul Hawkins ’56
December 26, 2011
Webb Vermilya ’57
May 17, 2012
Lawrence B. Knapp ’58
April 29, 2012
Barbara Powell Sykes ’59
October 11, 2011
Former Oglethorpe staff member Paul Dillingham Jr.
passed away on July 15, 2012. He was born in
Madisonville, Ky., on November 16, 1927, to Elizabeth and
Paul Dillingham, Sr. In 1978, was named vice president of
international operations at Coca-Cola, ultimately retiring
from Coca-Cola in 1984 after 27 years. He began a
second career as vice president for development and later
as assistant to the president of Oglethorpe University. He completely retired in 2002
after a 52-year business career. Paul served as a volunteer Board member of numerous
local and national organizations, including United Way, Life Member of Salvation Army,
Boy Scouts, MS Society, Heart Fund, Oglethorpe University, The Tax Council, AICPA,
Financial Executives Institute, Georgia Council on Economic Education, Rotary Club of
Atlanta and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Paul was an elder at Peachtree Presbyterian
Church and an active member of the Gene Wilson Sunday School Class. (Pictured above
with his wife Barbara and retire faculty member Vicky Weiss.)
IN MEMORIAM
Barbara Hawes Walker ’62
October 14, 2012
John Warren ’62
January 5, 2012
Bette Tomlinson Wall ’63, MAT ’75
October 27, 2012
A. Corry Arensbach ’64
October 12, 2011
Gloria Early Daniel ’64
August 25, 2012
Haynes McFadden ’66
June 10, 2012
Richard Laurence Baron ’68
December 29, 2011
Barry Wiesner ’69
November 20, 2011
James Carr
“Jimmy” Grizzard ’69
March 22, 2012
Submit your class note via ePetrel: www.alumni.oglethorpe.edu
Former longtime staff member Elgin Fleming MacConnell
passed away on September 30, 2012. Better known
as “Dean Mac” at Oglethorpe, Elgin was a veteran of
World War II and retired from Oglethorpe University
with 34 years of dedicated service.
At the end of the war, he earned his B.A. in history and education at Allegheny College.
Still hungry for more, he enrolled in New York University, where he was awarded his
Masters in education. By this time, his parents had moved to Atlanta, where his father
accepted a position as a professor in the department of education at Oglethorpe
University. Elgin began his career in education when he was hired by DeKalb County
schools as a teacher and later an assistant principal. He was especially proud of being
one of a group of three to start the after-school recreation program.
Walker Lanier Whaley ’69
May 31, 2012
Diana Rowles ’71
April 19, 2012
Leroy Thacker ’72
November 11, 2011
Veronica Bowen Beck ’80
October 1, 2012
Jane Peters ’89
February 15, 2012
Suzanne Riordan ’99
May 18, 2012
Edmund Martin,
former faculty
May 22, 2012
Paul Dillingham Jr.,
former staff
July 16, 2012
Elgin MacConnell “Dean Mac,”
former staff
September 30, 2012
38 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 39

OUr community
our community
In 2010, Betty Londergan, the wife of Oglethorpe’s President
Schall, spent a year on a project through which she gave
away $100 a day for 365 days and wrote about it on her
blog, “What Gives 365.” At the end of this undertaking, she
wanted another way to give back.
Enter Heifer International, a nonprofit founded in 1944 on
the idea of “helping others help themselves.” The concept is
simple: buy an animal for a family in need. That gift can then
provide food, labor and perhaps even a new means of income
for struggling families. However, Betty says that a donation to
Heifer is much more than that.
“An animal is such a simple thing, but everything that
comes with it—from sharing and caring, passing on the gift,
environmental integrity... to taking more pride in themselves,
taking control of their education, nutrition and environment, all
this really helps to lift people out of poverty in a lasting way,”
explained Betty.
(above) Oglethorpe hosted the Heifer International
Sustainability Summit in the fall, welcoming speakers
from around the world. (left) Orientation leader
Jasmine Irish ‘13 gathers freshmen for First Year Seminar
class. (left, inset) Oglethorpe’s First Lady Betty Londergan
photographs residents in one of the many countries to which
she traveled over the course of 12 months.
Heifer
International:
Giving Back for
a Better World
by Weatherly Richardson ’13
She has seen firsthand the change that Heifer makes in the
world. In a project called Heifer 12x12, Betty visited 12
Heifer-assisted countries the 12 months of 2012 and blogged
about her experiences (heifer12x12.com).
“The first country I went to was Uganda, as kind of my test
run. I wanted to see what it was going to be like to work on
the Heifer project, so I did that. Then I went to Guatemala,
Haiti and Peru, then China and Nepal, then Cameroon,
Romania, Appalachia, Rwanda, Armenia and Cambodia,”
said Betty, who was interviewed for this article in fall 2012.
She concluded her journey in Malawi and Ecuador. During
her travels, Betty was a journalist. She took photographs,
connected with local inhabitants, listened to their stories and
shared them on her blog so others could learn about the
impact of Heifer’s work on the lives of people around the
world.
“I’m not doing it as the voice of Heifer; I’m doing it in my own
voice,” said Betty. “These are really human stories. The culture,
the environment, the history of a place really informs and
influences how poverty is expressed and how it’s embedded
in the society, so I’d like to try and help people understand the
country, understand the people, understand the history and the
cultures. And I find it so fascinating personally that I can’t wait
to tell people about it.”
The 12x12 blog combined beautiful photographs with
touching, sometimes funny, very real stories from her travels.
“I get to engage with people. I’ve never considered myself a
photographer with a capital ‘P’, but I really love it. I’m in such
incredibly photogenic places. I take it very seriously and try
to do my best. I’m around incredible people and incredible
places that not very many people get to see. If I didn’t
photograph them, shame on me,” she said.
Betty’s involvement with Heifer has helped to start a wave of
engagement between Oglethorpe and Heifer International.
Oglethorpe sponsored and hosted the international nonprofit’s
Heifer Sustainability Summit in October 2012. The meeting
brought leaders from around the world to campus to discuss
how Heifer International is addressing the needs of a world
stricken by hunger, poverty and environmental degradation.
During the Summit, Oglethorpe students officially launched a
Heifer Club on campus, the first of its kind at a Southeastern
college. Sophomore Ruwa Romman and a small group of OU
students were inspired by Betty’s work and decided to get
active and make a difference. “We hope to get a movement
going,” said Ruwa. “We can’t donate huge sums of money, but
if we can donate $10 for chickens and help send someone’s
kid to school, that’s still huge. It’s all about giving back.”
The club’s main concern? Getting the word out. “When you
tell people you’re part of the Heifer Club, they’re like ‘what’s
Heifer?’ Raising awareness is our main goal,” said Ruwa. She
believes that recruiting her fellow Petrels to get involved is the
key to making a difference.
“Oglethorpe’s a good place to have a
grassroots initiative [like Heifer]. The
school focuses on self-sustainability, on
passing on the gift. Students here are
perfectly suited for it, and we want as
much involvement as possible!”
40 CARILLON | spring SPRING 2013 SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 41

OUr community
our community
Picture a two-story home that has limited dimensions of
10’x 10’x 10’, yet offers a bed, kitchen, study area, storage space, solar
panel electricity, and a bathroom complete with a shower. That’s what a
small group of Oglethorpe students have spent much time, passion and
energy working to create over the past year.
x
x
Sophomore Mon Baroi came up with
the initial idea for the project when he
discovered a $300 house challenge posted
on the Harvard Business Review online.
He found that while many blueprints
had been submitted for this challenge, no
one had actually built the house they’d
proposed. He wanted to change that. The
house that the Oglethorpe group plans to
construct on campus will cost $400, just
a bit more than the $371 it costs to build
an average home in developing countries
around the world.
“We can accelerate
the improvements in
the tiny home concept
by sharing it with more
people and allowing
them to think of further
ways to innovate.”
These enterprising students (Mon,
plus Jacob Tadych ’14, Naomi Carroll
’14, Cartrez Wilson ’15, Will Jones ’14
and A.J. Arend ’13) combined their
knowledge in business, finance, science,
sociology, engineering and psychology
into thinking through the design of their
home. The vision started with a Popsicle
stick model and has evolved into a 3-D
computerized model for the house.
The group has gathered nearly every
Friday since last summer, and they
divide the time and labor between planning and constructing the building
materials. Each member of the “Tiny Home” team makes their own
contributions to the project, based on their skills and interests. Together
they have spent hundreds of hours working on the house—even before
construction begins. The project has proven to be a genuine work in
progress and learning process throughout this academic year, with several
rounds of trial and error.
The group extensively experimented and tested various potential building
materials. They first planned to construct the house out of papercrete
(made of sand, Portland cement and recycled paper), combined with straw
bale. The papercrete concoction is light and strong, water resistant and
carbon neutral, important considering one goal for the house is for it to be
environmentally friendly. However, making the papercrete bricks proved
to be time intensive and required hardy equipment to produce. In order
to make the house more easily replicable, the group finally settled on a
combination of stabilized adobe, straw bale and earthbags.
While the team is clearly enjoying the challenge of planning for building
this tiny home, this project is much more than an academic exercise. The
group envisions this small building to be a model for people in developing
nations with minimal resources or as a potential solution for chronically
homeless individuals.
A political science major, Mon has spent his share of time living in small
spaces. Mon and his parents and sister were refugees from Bangladesh.
Mon’s father was a writer who wrote about the Muslim majority oppressing
the non-Muslim minority. As a result, the family became victims of
violence and had to flee the country. When they left Bangladesh, they could
only take a small amount of money with them. When his family first moved
to New York, they lived in a three-room apartment with eight other people
for several months.
“We couldn’t afford beds when we arrived in New York,” Mon said, “so
we slept on newspapers on the floor.” Mon shared that his family became
closer during this time and that he gained a valuable sense of perspective.
“I learned that it’s important to determine your worth based on your self
worth, not your net worth.”
The Tiny Homes Project team is committed to staying within their budget
of $400. Funding has been provided by My Part Foundation, a nonprofit
that supports humanitarian service projects led by people of different
ethnicities, cultures and faiths working together. However, the Tiny Homes
team has (politely) refused additional donation offers, acknowledging that
anyone who tries to replicate their tiny home concept in real life situations
likely will not have the advantage of benefactors. In fact, they plan to “open
source” their ideas and concepts—sharing everything online, forsaking any
rights or credit, monetary or otherwise, for any innovations.
“Two heads are better than one, two million are even better,” said Mon. “We
can accelerate the improvements in the tiny home concept by sharing it
with more people and allowing them to think of further ways to innovate.”
Their project has already attracted attention. Several team members are
among four Oglethorpe students who were invited to attend the annual
Clinton Global Initiative University conference in April. CGIU was
launched in 2007 by President Clinton to engage the next generation of
leaders from college campuses around the world. The students will have
the opportunity to meet with students, youth organizations, topic experts
and celebrities to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing
global challenges.
Watch for the house to take shape behind Oglethorpe’s Goodman Hall
this year. For the latest project updates, visit “Oglethorpe’s Tiny Homes
Project” on Facebook.
tiny solution for a
10’ x10’ x10’
(this page) Papercrete was one
material considered by the Tiny
Homes team, which experimented
extensively to find the most effective
and economical solution for their
building materials. (top) Mon Baroi
whiteboards next steps; (middle)
Mon, Cartrez and Jacob around the
homemade tow mixer that blended
the papercrete ingredients; (bottom)
Mon and Jacob haul the tow mixer
across the residence quad.
Big Problem
By Margaret Daniel
42 CARILLON | spring 2013
spring 2013 | CARILLON 43

OUr community
our community
WOMEN’S LACROSSE JOINS
THE STORMY PETRELS LINE-UP
Oglethorpe women’s lacrosse played its
inaugural game on February 20 against
LaGrange. The historic night also marked
the first official NCAA event on the new
Oglethorpe track and field.
Taking the
Stormy Petrels
to the Top
of Their GAME
By Debbie Aiken ’12
Two things are clear about Becky Hall,
Oglethorpe’s new athletic director: she is
passionate about taking the Stormy Petrels
to the next level, and she has a penchant
for acronyms.
A graduate of Urbana University, where
she was a star softball player, Becky joined
the Oglethorpe community in May 2012.
She spent the past 15 years systematically
working her way up the ranks in the athletic
department at Wittenberg University in
Springfield, OH, where she most recently
was the assistant athletics director.
Becky brings a hands-on, no-nonsense approach to her role, and she
doesn’t bother with fancy titles. “Some people call me Coach Hall or
Director Hall, but I’m really fine with just Becky,” she said. Becky can
be found at almost every athletic game, “usually announcing or selling
admission—I’m not above getting dirty.” She’s also jumped right into
making some changes in the athletic department, aiming for some lofty
goals.
“Oglethorpe is a great academic school,” said Becky. “It pushes students
outside of their comfort zone and makes them think more globally. That
is what I want our athletic department to do—to push our student athletes
out of their comfort zone and up to the next level.” To do this, Becky wants
coaches “to shoot for the stars. Within the next six or seven years,” she
said,” I want our teams to finish in the top three in the Southern Athletic
Association.”
Her plan for accomplishing this starts with one of her trusty acronyms.
“CODE,” Becky explained, “stands for communication, organization,
documentation and evaluation.” She is adamant about having frequent
communication with the 14 coaches she supervises—via email, text
message or face-to-face—however she can reach them. Becky wants to
know what all the coaches have planned for their teams, so that all teams
can share their ideas and resources. “In the past each team has done its
own thing,” she said, and she wants to change that.
Organization comes into play with some changes Becky has made to
the functionality of the athletic department to ensure everyone is working
together toward the same goals. “We are running a little differently,”
she said, “and it’s not just what I’m doing; it’s what we are all doing.”
One of the first things Becky organized was the creation of athletic study
tables, where four hours of studying each week is mandatory for students
struggling academically. No electronic devices are allowed during study
time, including laptops or cell phones.
“A few students have accused me of not living in this century,” Becky
admitted, but she wants her students to be focused on improving their
ability to “read, retain and reproduce” the material they are learning in
class. An unexpected benefit of these study hours is that even non-athlete
students are using the time to study. “It’s actually been quite rewarding for
both student athletes and the general student body because it’s quiet in the
dorms and it’s a good time to get some studying done,” she commented.
Documentation is important for tracking progress and determining which
strategies and tactics work and which don’t, to maximize effectiveness in
meeting goals. Yet perhaps most intriguing is CODE’s last component. Not
only will all coaches receive employee evaluations this year, but “student
athletes are evaluating their head coaches, something that’s never been
done before. That way we can see if we are providing the service and
experiences that benefit students most,” Becky said. At the same time, she
doesn’t take the coaches’ dedication for granted. “It’s a thankless, 24/7
job,” Becky said. “I try to start every coaches meeting by thanking them
for their hard work.”
Another acronym pops up when Becky explains the types of experiences
she wants to provide to student athletes. She calls it her GAME plan—
global, academic, mentoring and engagement. “Well, actually it’s
‘GAMES’, because I added an ‘S,’ for sportsmanship,” she said with a
smile. It starts with the global experiences that Becky hopes the athletes
will have. “Our teams are either going out of the country to compete, or
they are going to different parts of the country that they may have never
been to before,” she remarked.
Academic success is another important component essential for student
athletes’ overall success. “We want athletes to outperform the general
student population in the classroom,” Becky said. She supports this goal
by providing opportunities for current students and alumni to mentor
freshman athletes to help them become acclimated to the often rigorous
schedule student athletes must keep. Becky also wants to include a
component of community service engagement in her athletes’ experiences.
She explained that “it’s about getting all of our teams to rally behind a
couple of big service events as well as projects that they each do on their
own throughout the year.”
A new Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) helps to plan many
events throughout the year that are fun and make a difference in the
community. SAAC organized sports clinics for school-aged girls on
National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and will collaborate with the
Special Olympics to host an event next year. The SAAC also organizes
“black-outs” at home games to encourage attendees to support the Petrels
by wearing black. Many student athletes are looking forward to the first
annual athletic awards ceremony, which will bring together all of OU’s
sports teams to recognize the outstanding achievements of students.
Becky is full of enthusiasm for all of the projects under way in the athletics
department. “There is a lot of possibility here for us to go above and
beyond and to be better and actually be great, and that is what I would
like to see happen in my time here,” she said. She said that her own
mentor gave her good advice: “If you can leave something better than
you found it—that is a sign of success. So that’s my mantra. If the athletic
department is better 10 years from now, then I will consider my time here
a success.”
(left) Becky Hall,
holds the National
Championship
trophy won by the
2012 Oglethorpe’s
Men’s Golf team.
Pictured with Matt
Rebitch ’12 and
Jordan Hall ‘12.
44 CARILLON | spring SPRING 2013 spring SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 45

OUR alumni channels
our voices
engaging online
Telling the Oglethorpe Story to you and the world!
OUR stories
Read our latest OU STORIES, our
“online magazine” updated weekly.
blog.oglethorpe.edu
TWITTER lets you know the word on
FACEBOOK is always a good way to connect
the street. Check out what we’re saying at
with the entire Oglethorpe community!
twitter.com/OglethorpeUniv
facebook.com/oglethorpeuniversity
facebook.com/OglethorpeAdultDegrees
facebook.com/TheArtsAtOglethorpe
Tune in to our YOUTUBE
CHANNEL to view our new video
“Oglethorpe University at the Core,”
the most recent lectures at the OU
Museum of Art, “My Core Stories”—
students’ testimonials about the Core
program, and much more!
Do you pin? So does OU! Explore our
youtube.com/
PINTEREST profile to see Oglethorpe’s 20+
oglethorpeuniversity
boards and hundreds of pins worth repinning.
Find photos of our beautiful campus,
“flashback” images from the archives, and
boards about alumni and OU traditions.
pinterest.com/oglethorpeu
Picture this! Use the INSTAGRAM app
to search “OglethorpeUniv” to see
our photos on the go!
STORIFY gives the full
and complete story! Visit
to see what we mean!
storify.com/
OglethorpeUniv
Oglethorpe uses READABOUT.ME to highlight students’
achievements and to help them to build a positive online
presence. Search: Oglethorpe University
The PROGRESS WEBSITE chronicles the many
completed and ongoing capital projects on
campus, including the Campus Center, track and
field, scene shop and fitness center. Bookmark the
page to follow our future projects!
progress.oglethorpe.edu
Connect and network with fellow Petrels on LINKEDIN.
linkedin.com (Search: Oglethorpe U)
The PEGASUS CREATIVE WEBSITE
shows off our new on-campus student
communications agency. Be sure to
watch the video, produced entirely
by Pegasus members!
pegasus.oglethorpe.edu
Find us on FLICKR and view more than
6,000 photos—and growing!
flickr.com/oglethorpe-university
46 CARILLON | SPRING 2013
SPRING 2013 | CARILLON 47

4484 Peachtree Road, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30319
www.oglethorpe.edu
4484 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30319
www.oglethorpe.edu
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Atlanta, GA 30319
PERMIT No. 523
Blast from the Past
We hope everyone
enjoyed Alumni
Weekend 2013!
The annual Masquerade Ball of 1950 was held in October, and students who
attended were to dress in costume. The fall of 1950 saw several other student
celebrations, one of which was the Boar’s Head Fat-Man Thin-Man basketball
game on November 16. All participants and attendees were charged a
twenty-five cent admission fee and were encouraged to dress in burlesque
fashion, as it was the theme for the game. See more of Oglethorpe from the
1950s on page 24.
Be sure to mark your
calendars for next year!
April 24–27,
2014