370 Berry Mag Spring 04 - Berry College

News of Note
BERRY
magazine
Published three times per year
for alumni and friends
of Berry College
Editor
Dawn Tolbert
Assistant Director, Public Relations
Executive Editor
Karilon L. Rogers
Director, Public Relations
Century Campaign
Debbie Rasure
Design/Production
Shannon Biggers (81C)
Stacy Cates
Photography
Paul O’Mara
Alan Storey
Class Notes
Justin Karch (01C)
Contact Information
E-mail: publicrelations@berry.edu
Mail: Berry Magazine, P.O. Box
490279, Mount Berry, Ga. 30149
Voice: 706-236-1716
Class Notes Submissions
E-mail: alumni@berry.edu; online:
www.berry.edu/alumni, then “online
community”; or mail: Class Notes,
c/o Berry Alumni Office, P.O. Box
495018, Mount Berry, Ga. 30149.
Moving?
Send address changes or corrections
to alumni@berry.edu or mail to
Berry Alumni Office, P.O. Box
495018, Mount Berry, Ga. 30149.
Berry Alumni Association
President: Ed England (57C)
President-elect: Ouida Word Dickey
(50C, FS)
Vice Presidents: Alumni Events,
Frances Richey-Goldby (83A,
87C); Association Awards, Larry
Sculley (65C); Berry Heritage,
Reginald Strickland (51C);
Financial Support, Bill Roseen
(78C); Institutional Relations,
Genyth Travis (96C, FS).
Parliamentarian: Bart Cox (92C)
Secretary: Kathleen Sundy (94C,
98G)
Director of Alumni and
Constituent Relations: Scott
Breithaupt (91C, 96G, FS)
1974 graduate named to Board of Trustees
Indianapolis business executive
Steven J. Cage (74C) has
been elected to the Berry
College Board of Trustees.
Mr. Cage is founder, president
and CEO of Product
Action International Inc., the
leading provider of supplier
quality improvement services for
the automotive industry, including
inspection, engineering and
education. With more than
2,200 employees, Product
Action inspects parts for Toyota,
General Motors, Mercedes,
Honda, Ford, DaimlerChrysler
and numerous Tier 1 and 2
suppliers.
Mr. Cage earned a Bachelor
of Science degree in business
administration from Berry in
1974. He attended Michigan
State University for corporate
tax planning; GM University for
containment controlled shipping
level II (CS2), quality
systems basics (QSB) and label
error proofing systems training;
and Lloyd’s Quality Registrar
Quality Systems Basics for ISO
9002 and ISO 9001;2000.
Steve Cage (74C)
“Steve is driven to succeed at
anything he does,” said Berry
President Scott Colley. “Having
built his own company into a
successful, multimillion dollar
venture, he brings an astute
business sense to the board. As
an alumnus, he is familiar with
Berry. He has served on our
Board of Visitors and has knowledge
of our strategic plan and
the college’s direction. We are
excited about the strengths he
brings to our board.”
Southern Women Writers Conference
Books and stories turned into flesh and blood for the 200
participants in Berry’s 2003 Southern Women Writers Conference in
October. The three-day event allowed attendees to rub elbows with
some of the South’s most successful female authors. The 18 featured
speakers included renowned children’s
book author and Berry alumna Faye
Gibbons (61C), left. [For more on her
career, see “Sounds of Success” in the
fall 2003 issue of Berry at
www.berry.edu/publications.asp.] In
addition to the featured
speakers, more than 65
scholars and creative
writers presented their
work in conference
sessions.
JOHN BRAGG
Mountain Day
Oct. 1-3, 2004
Mark your calendars now.
Reunions slated for the classes of
1999, 1994, 1989, 1984 and
1979. Watch for details.
Berry goes to GACC
In a move to focus on the
“student” in student-athlete, Berry
has announced that it will return
to the Georgia Alabama Carolina
Conference (GACC) for athletic
competition beginning with the
2004-05 academic year.
Athletic Director Todd
Brooks explained that the
average distance to other
GACC schools is only 138
miles, compared to 285 miles for
TranSouth Conference schools.
“One of the primary reasons
we’ve decided to join the
GACC is to do what is best for
the student-athlete,” he stated.
“We are reducing our average
trip from about four hours to
two. That makes a big difference
to our students. They will miss
less class time and spend less
time on the road.”
Berry left the GACC in 1996
to become a charter member of
the TranSouth Athletic
Conference. Berry has won 42
TranSouth team championships.
Lee University also is joining
the GACC. Other GACC
schools include Shorter College,
Auburn-Montgomery, Brenau,
Brewton-Parker, Emmanuel,
Faulkner, Georgia Southwestern,
North Georgia, Reinhardt,
Southern Polytechnic State and
Southern Wesleyan.
2 BERRY
DAWN TOLBERT

Berry tomorrow at
today’s price
If you want little Susie or
Tommy Jr. to go to Berry like
you but are worried about future
tuition costs, look into the
Independent 529 Plan, the
newest college tuition program
established under section 529 of
the Internal Revenue Code.
Berry is one of more than
220 private colleges and universities
participating in the
prepaid college tuition plan
tailored specifically for private
colleges. The plan received
accolades in the Dec. 15, 2003,
issue of BusinessWeek as one of
the “Best Products of 2003.”
In brief, the plan allows you
to lock in current tuition rates
for future use at any participating
institution, assuming academic
admission to that institution.
The plan provides the following
example: Participating College
A has a tuition cost of $30,000
for this current year, and participating
College B has a tuition cost
of $10,000. A person who makes
a $10,000 contribution into the
Independent 529 Plan this year
would receive tuition certificates
that would cover 33.3 percent of
College A’s tuition for one year or
an entire year’s tuition at College
B – regardless of what tuition costs
are at the time the certificates are
used. And that percentage will
continue to grow until you are
ready to pay for tuition.
If your child doesn’t attend a
participating private college,
you can get a refund (adjusted
for market performance of the
program – see program details).
The plan is managed by
TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing
Inc. For more information, call
1-888-718-7878 or visit
www.independent529plan.org.
ALAN STOREY
Carver retiring as dean of students
R“Retiring” is not likely a
word that has ever – until
now – been used regarding
Vice President for Student
Affairs and Dean of Students
Tom Carver. But at the end of
the 2003-04 academic year,
the 26-year veteran of Berry’s
student affairs office will
hang up his dean of students
hat and enter the world as a
mere mortal.
How does one sum up the
career and impact of an
individual who has been such
a central part of the Berry
community for a quartercentury?
Perhaps the most apt
tribute to Dr. Carver came
from Capt. Alexander “Whit”
Whitaker (81C) during the
2003 Mountain Day Chapel
service. Before his days as a
JAG lawyer for the Navy,
Whit was among the Berry
students selected to
interview the finalist
candidates for the dean of
students post.
He recalled, “One of those
candidates was a memorable
fellow – quite the character –
from Westminster College in
Pennsylvania. Now that I finally
have this public forum, in front
of all of you as witnesses, I
finally want to make the record
clear. I did my duty. I told the
truth about this man... But did
they listen to me?
“Of course they did. They
listened to all of us. For us there
was only one selection for dean
of students, and that was Tom
Carver. Before he ever came to
“ And through the years
he has touched deeply the
lives of thousands of
students, mine included. He
is not merely the dean of
students, but he is the
student’s dean.”
Capt. Alexander “Whit”
Whitaker (81C)
Berry, Tom Carver was
already Berry through and
through. He shared her
values, her mission, her
dedication to students. He
has given himself root and
branch to this school and
especially to its students. And
through the years he has
touched deeply the lives of
thousands of students, mine
included. He is not merely
the dean of students, but he
is the student’s dean.”
An untold number of
Berry students likely share
Capt. Whitaker’s appreciation
for Dr. Carver. His contributions
to Berry and its
students have been many,
and he will be missed as the
head of the student affairs
staff.
But, don’t warm up the
rocking chair yet; Dr. Carver
is staying on to teach
psychology courses at the
college.
PAUL O’MARA
SPRING 2004 3

PAUL O’MARA
Whosaid that?
“
A high
number of deervehicle
collisions has
prompted a state
study aimed at finding
ways to prevent such
accidents.
“The three-year,
$300,000 study begins
in February. It is being
conducted by the Georgia
Department of Transportation,
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, the University
of Georgia and Berry College.
– From “State studies ways to
prevent deer-vehicle
crashes,” Associated Press,
Nov. 16, 2003. Dr. George
Gallagher, professor of
animal and plant
sciences, has
conducted research on
deer on Berry’s campus
for several years and is one
of the principle investigators.
“ “
‘No one is really a fan of
an organization in the same
way they are a fan of a particular
athlete or team,’ said
Vassilis Dalakas, a professor at
Berry College’s Campbell
School of Business, who has
studied the relationship
between NASCAR fans and
their driver’s sponsors. …
“Dalakas, in a soon-to-bepublished
paper, found evidence
to support his theory that fans
support only the brands that
sponsor their favorite driver and
steer away from brands that
fabulousFACULTY
I am a student at Berry
College. Berry awarded me a
scholarship to study in Dijon,
France, for spring 2002. Now I
have finished my third year at
Berry and have been given the
opportunity to study in Seoul,
South Korea, during the month of
July. Studying abroad has changed
my life and has become part of
who I am as a person. My view of
the world is much broader and
more open. Even if there are difficulties,
I would recommend the
experience to anyone.
– Berry College senior Marju
” ”
support their least favorite
driver. Given his study, Dalakas
reasons that Nextel is playing it
safe by sponsoring the series
instead of a particular driver,
” “
but that the payoff might not be By pursuing a diversified
as great.
strategy, Griswell seems to be
– From “Nextel hopes 75 distinguishing himself and his
million fans embrace it,” an company from the crowd of
article released Dec. 5, financial services providers,
2003, on ESPN.com. many of whose fortunes have
waxed and waned with the
financial markets. It’s also
tough for the six-foot, 10-inch
former basketball player at
Berry College in Rome, Ga.,
not to stand
”
out from the
crowd.
– From “Interest in
Principal,” in the Nov. 3,
”
2003, issue of Barron’s.
J. Barry Griswell (71C) is
chairman, president and
CEO of The Principal
Financial Group (NYSE:
PFG).
Berry self-reports rules violation,
forfeits 10 wins
A self-reported accidental violation of National Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) rules has led to forfeiture
of 10 victories by Berry’s men’s basketball team.
The violation occurred when a transferring honor student’s
transcript was misinterpreted by college officials regarding
hours actually earned. When it was discovered that the student
was not eligible to play under the NAIA rule that requires
students to have earned 24 credits in the two preceding college
terms, he was immediately removed from the active roster, and
the mistake was reported to the NAIA. While the games in
which the student played had to be forfeited, Berry was not
sanctioned in any other way and remained eligible for postseason
play.
The college took full responsibility for the mistake and,
according to head coach Jeff Haarlow (96C), the team remains
positive and focused on “doing the things that have made this
a successful program over the past two years.”
Purin (above) in the
September 2003 issue of
Annabella, a popular
Estonian women’s magazine.
fabulous
4 BERRY

Julie Johnson-Pynn
Paul Wallace
Virginia G. Troy
Vassilis Dalakas
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Charter School of Education
and Human Sciences
Baseline Facts
• Conducts research in comparative
developmental and applied
developmental psychology.
• Ph.D., biopsychology, UGA.
• Berry faculty, 1999.
Globetrotting Research
• Chosen as an up-and-comer
in the field of primatology at
an international meeting
hosted by the Japanese
government’s Committee on
Excellence.
• A co-investigator with Georgia
State’s Language Research
Center on a National
Institutes of Health-funded
project on numerical reasoning
in chimpanzees and children.
• Partners with her sister, a
cross-cultural psychologist, to
evaluate the Jane Goodall
Institute’s conservation education
programs for youth.
Tangible Results
“Through the Goodall
Institute, I was invited to
present my research at a conservation
education symposium in
Beijing. After my presentation,
participants from India asked
me to help develop a youthawareness
campaign for tiger
conservation.”
– Julie Johnson-Pynn
Assistant Professor, Astronomy and
Physics; Chair, Department of
Physics, Astronomy and Geology
School of Mathematical and
Natural Sciences
Personal Universe
• An astrophysicist utilizing
multi-wavelength techniques
to identify unexplained
sources of gamma rays in
space.
• Ph.D., nuclear physics, Duke.
• Berry faculty, 1998.
Reaching for the Stars
• Published findings that
identified a young, developing
galaxy (known as 3EG J2006-
2321) as the source of one
unexplained point of gammaray
light in space.
• Successfully changed orbits by
moving into astronomy after
graduate school and is now
publishing in the field.
• Organizing Berry’s first physics
study-abroad program, which
will take students to Europe to
study the science of the
Copernican Revolution.
Cosmic Purpose
“I am most proud of helping
to develop the curriculum and
community that is propelling
Berry physics students to
graduate school success.”
– Paul Wallace
Assistant Professor, Art History
Evans School of Humanities and
Social Sciences
The Basic Palette
• Art historian who studies Pre-
Columbian art and early
20th-century European and
American art, specializing in
textiles.
• Ph.D., art history, Emory
University.
• Berry faculty, 1998.
Threads of Research
• Hailed by American Craft as
“one of the finest contemporary
writers on textiles.”
• Author of Anni Albers and
Ancient American Textiles:
From Bauhaus to Black
Mountain. Will publish The
Modernist Textile: Europe and
America, 1890-1940, in 2006.
• Partnered with The Martha
Berry Museum to develop
“The Weaving Room,” a
history of textiles at Berry.
Reading History in Art
“An ancient medium, textiles
are both artistic and practical.
They are visual and material
documents that tell us about the
culture that produced them.
Textiles are similar to written
texts; you can read them if you
look closely enough.”
– Virginia G. Troy
Assistant Professor, Marketing
Campbell School of Business
Brand Analysis
• A researcher of consumer
behavior with specialization
in sports marketing and
sponsorship.
• Ph.D., marketing, University
of Oregon.
• Berry faculty, 1999.
Brand Differentiation
• Performed innovative research
on the reverse effects of sports
sponsorship – the negative
reactions created among those
who dislike the sports figure or
team sponsored.
• Integrates the business
community into his classroom
through the use of clientbased
marketing projects that
provide real-world experience
for students and service to
local organizations.
• In four years, has co-authored
work with more than 15 Berry
undergraduate students with
several publications and conference
presentations resulting.
Customer Satisfaction
“I like to think that I help
my students grow. I am thrilled
that alumni stay in touch – that
they tell me my classes have had
an impact on their lives.”
– Vassilis Dalakas
Photos by Paul O’Mara
SPRING 2004 5

★
Outstanding!
★
Berry’s Campbell School of
Business is attracting national
attention. It was one of only two
undergraduate programs in the
country invited by the
Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB), the blue ribbon
accrediting organization of
business schools, to showcase its
success at a national session on
excellence in learning outcomes.
The AACSB also invited Berry
to make a presentation on the
strategic management of business
schools in small institutions at
their International Conference
and Annual Meeting, which will
be held in Montreal this April.
In addition, Dr. Krishna Dhir
was one of only four business
school deans in the nation
selected to participate in a
program titled “Globalization of
the M.B.A. Program” at the 2003
Decision Sciences Institute
meeting. The other deans were
from the Georgia Institute of
Technology, Texas A&M and
Northeastern University.
Berry’s 2002-03 Cabin Log
yearbook earned a national fifthplace
award in the Associated
Collegiate Press Best of Show
Contest at the National College
Media Convention.
One of the world’s top
chemistry journals, the Journal of
Organic Chemistry, recently
showcased an article by Berry
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Gary Breton and John Shugart
(00C) of Atlanta, who worked on
the project as an undergraduate.
The National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
has selected Berry as a
Champions of Character
Institution and named the men’s
running squad, which finished
16th in the national
championships, as a scholar team.
In addition, seven Berry athletes
were named Daktronics NAIA
All-America Scholar-Athletes:
runners Brett Dettmering, Brad
Franklin, Erin Hardin, Zach
Huston, Matt Lucas and Caio
Soares and soccer midfielder
Kristin Johnson.
Two of the three top-tier
awards given at the Southern
Regional Model United Nations
Conference were claimed by
Berry’s Model United Nations
Organization. In addition, the
Berry group won one of five
second-place awards, and senior
international studies major Jeff
Shaw won the Outstanding
Counselor Award for his
simulation of a prosecutor on the
International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda.
Braggin’ rights!
Berry’s alumni
publication claimed the
equivalent of an SEC
championship when Berry magazine received
the Grand Award for alumni magazines at colleges with
enrollments less than 5,000.
The award was presented in the Council for Advancement and
Support of Education’s District III awards competition. The district
includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
“We have felt that Berry magazine is a fantastic publication
and have heard that from a number of alumni and friends as
well,” said Berry President Scott Colley. “The Grand Award tells
us that professionals in our field agree with us. Of course, the
magazine’s only purpose is to tell the Berry story in the most
effective ways possible. Thanks to our accomplished alumni,
faculty, staff and students, we continually have great stories to
tell. Their accomplishments make the magazine possible, and we
are both proud and grateful.”
Also of note, Berry’s Alumni Accent e-newsletter claimed an
Award of Excellence, or second-place award, in competition with
all colleges and universities in District III.
Berry’s men’s soccer team
had its best season in college
history, finishing 21-2-1 overall
and ranked second in the final
NAIA national poll. Several
players from both the men’s and
women’s soccer teams earned
NAIA All-America honors.
Daniel Niedzkowski (right) was
named to the first team while
Jeff Dolbeer earned second-team
honors. Honorable mention
awards went to Audrey
Fonnegra, Nicole Heidler, Becky
Ferguson, Byron Schueneman,
Daniel Ullrich, Maren Henseler
and Jon Mastrangelo.
6 BERRY