Standard PDF - Randolph College
Standard PDF - Randolph College
Standard PDF - Randolph College
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Randolph</strong><br />
The <strong>Randolph</strong> college Magazine<br />
september 2010 Vol. 2 No. 1<br />
Founded as <strong>Randolph</strong>-Macon Woman’s <strong>College</strong> in 1891<br />
This is <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
Class of ’14 Joins Community of<br />
Artists, Scientists, and Scholars
<strong>Randolph</strong><br />
A Publication of<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
Founded as <strong>Randolph</strong>-Macon<br />
Woman’s <strong>College</strong> in 1891<br />
2<br />
John E. Klein<br />
President<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong><br />
is published three<br />
times a year by the<br />
Office of <strong>College</strong> Relations<br />
Michael Quinn<br />
Assistant Vice President of<br />
<strong>College</strong> Relations and Marketing<br />
Brenda Edson<br />
Editor<br />
Dave Blount<br />
Jay Conley<br />
Linda Hoffman<br />
Keeley Cordingley Tuggle<br />
Design<br />
Barbara Harbison<br />
Special Contributors<br />
Jane Campbell ’12<br />
Louise Searle ’12<br />
Ellen Hostetter<br />
Jessie Thompson<br />
John Shupe<br />
Jack Parker<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
Office of <strong>College</strong> Relations<br />
2500 Rivermont Avenue<br />
Lynchburg, Virginia 24503<br />
(434) 947-8142<br />
www.randolphcollege.edu/<br />
magazine<br />
We want to hear your story<br />
ideas and comments!<br />
E-mail us at<br />
magazine@randolphcollege.<br />
edu<br />
12<br />
24<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong><br />
FEATURES<br />
Vol. 2 No. 1<br />
“Luckiest Classicist in the World” 2<br />
Amy R. Cohen, a <strong>Randolph</strong> classics professor, is adding<br />
her own touch to the Greek Play tradition.<br />
COVER: This is <strong>Randolph</strong> 12<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is filled with originals. Meet five<br />
members of the Class of 2014 and find out what<br />
makes them unique.<br />
2010 Summer Research Program 18<br />
Now in its 10th year, <strong>Randolph</strong>’s Summer Research<br />
Program continues to provide faculty members and<br />
students with the opportunity to conduct original research<br />
and share methodologies and results with the entire <strong>College</strong><br />
community.<br />
American Culture Moves Students to Think 24<br />
2010 program encourages students to explore major cultural,<br />
social, and literal movements in American history.<br />
18<br />
From the President 1<br />
New English Curriculum Provides<br />
Innovative Approach to Learning 4<br />
The World in Britain 5<br />
Renovations Enhance Riding Program 6<br />
Family Ties 8<br />
In Print<br />
David Schwartz: Consuming Choices: Ethics in a<br />
Global Consumer Age 10<br />
Marjorie Wheeler-Barclay: The Science of Religion<br />
in Britain 1860–1915 11<br />
Davenport Leaders 16<br />
Pay It Forward 17<br />
Summer Games 22<br />
Standing Out 27<br />
Finding Balance28<br />
Meet Allison Nichols 30<br />
Wanda WildCat Explores Lynchburg 32<br />
Lynn Stuart, Trustee Inside Back Cover<br />
Scan this code to view<br />
randolphmagazine.mobi on<br />
your iPhone, BlackBerry, or<br />
mobile device.<br />
Additional features are available at www.randolphmagazine.com<br />
On the move? Download a mobile device version at www.randolphmagazine.mobi<br />
Correction: Eric Struble’s name was incorrectly spelled in the April issue. The staff of <strong>Randolph</strong> regrets this error.
From the President<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is beginning the 2010–2011 academic year with much<br />
to celebrate.<br />
This academic year marks our first time with four coeducational classes<br />
and, after a challenging transition, we are now investing in the <strong>College</strong>—its<br />
people, academic program, and facilities.<br />
The Class of 2014 and other new students arrived this fall bringing<br />
energy and excitement. They were met<br />
by enthusiastic upperclass women and<br />
men who helped them acclimate to<br />
our traditions and campus life. For the<br />
first time in years, we are enjoying an<br />
increase in first-year and transfer student<br />
enrollment, and the new students bring<br />
to our community many different talents<br />
and diverse backgrounds.<br />
At <strong>Randolph</strong>, academics are the<br />
priority, and we are making investments<br />
in our programs, while keeping a sharp<br />
eye on costs. This year, we had the lowest<br />
tuition increase in 20 years. At the same<br />
time, we have added the new RISE award<br />
program, which encourages student<br />
scholarship with grants, and have hired<br />
nine new faculty members this fall for<br />
art history, economics and business,<br />
communication studies, psychology, theatre, physics, and American<br />
culture.<br />
Campus facilities are an important part of our investment. We are<br />
completing the first phase of renovations to the main (fourth) floor of the<br />
library, with new paint, carpet, and furniture in the two rooms with vaulted<br />
ceilings. We have updated Main Hall lobby to be more welcoming to current<br />
and prospective students. We have sound-proofed the music practice rooms<br />
in Presser Hall, and the Riding Center has been enhanced in anticipation<br />
of supporting more riders. Planning for a major renovation of the Student<br />
Center continues; this exciting $5 million project received a large boost<br />
from Puff Gravely Hampson ’41, who recently announced her $2 million<br />
commitment to the project.<br />
These investments have been supported by the gifts of alumnae, alumni,<br />
friends, and others, which help us continue to provide a quality education<br />
for our students.<br />
This academic year promises to be one we will remember. I encourage you<br />
to visit campus and see all of the wonderful things happening at <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong>.<br />
President John E. Klein and his wife Susan met with new students and Davenport Leaders<br />
during orientation.<br />
John E. Klein<br />
President<br />
“At <strong>Randolph</strong>, academics<br />
are the priority, and we are<br />
making investments in our<br />
programs, while keeping a<br />
sharp eye on costs.”<br />
John E. Klein<br />
President<br />
1
“Luckiest Classicist in the World”<br />
Amy R. Cohen puts her own touch on Greek Play tradition<br />
Amy R. Cohen will never forget<br />
the first time she saw The Dell<br />
and the <strong>College</strong>’s Greek Theatre. It<br />
was a beautiful spring day, and she<br />
was interviewing for her current<br />
position as a classics professor.<br />
As she gazed out at the facility<br />
during a tour of campus, her jaw<br />
dropped. “It was one of those ‘Oh<br />
my God’ moments. They showed<br />
me this amazing space and told<br />
me about the Greek Play tradition.<br />
I just couldn’t believe it.”<br />
Eleven years later, Cohen is<br />
still amazed. “I feel like the luckiest<br />
classicist in the world,” Cohen said.<br />
“I get to teach Greek, and I get a<br />
real laboratory to work in, and I<br />
have these fantastic students.”<br />
The <strong>College</strong>’s first Greek Play<br />
was produced in 1909 when Mabel<br />
K. Whiteside led students in an all-<br />
Greek production of Euripides’<br />
Alcestis. She continued the<br />
productions until her retirement in<br />
1954. With Whiteside’s departure,<br />
regular productions of the Greek<br />
plays lapsed.<br />
Shortly after Cohen arrived<br />
on campus, she was asked to revive<br />
the Greek Play. In 2000—46 years<br />
after Whiteside’s last production—<br />
Cohen and her students produced<br />
Sophocles’ Antigone. “It was<br />
immediately something our<br />
current students took up,” Cohen<br />
said. “They saw its value to the<br />
history of the <strong>College</strong>, and at the<br />
same time, they saw how they<br />
could bring new life to it.”<br />
Now, Cohen’s productions<br />
have their own following and draw<br />
hundreds of spectators, including<br />
schoolchildren and alumnae. Her<br />
plays are performed in English<br />
and adhere to most of the original<br />
Greek drama conventions,<br />
including the use of masks,<br />
which are designed and<br />
created as they were during<br />
ancient Greek times.<br />
Betty Jo Hanna Harper<br />
’50 performed in the chorus<br />
of Whiteside’s productions<br />
and has returned to see two<br />
of Cohen’s productions.<br />
“Miss Mabel wanted this<br />
to continue, not only as a<br />
<strong>College</strong> tradition, but as<br />
a way of informing and<br />
educating people who have<br />
not had the advantage of<br />
studying Greek drama. She<br />
would be delighted,” Harper<br />
said.<br />
With a first scholars’<br />
symposium scheduled for<br />
October, Cohen’s dream of<br />
showcasing the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
unique facility and program<br />
is coming true. The<br />
conference, which coincides with<br />
the 2010 Greek Play, Euripides’<br />
Hecuba, has attracted scholars,<br />
graduate students, and theatre<br />
professionals from around the<br />
nation.<br />
“I’m so proud of what we have<br />
accomplished here,” Cohen said.<br />
“Our students are well educated in<br />
theatre and understand how<br />
important these plays are to the<br />
history of drama. We’ve also been<br />
able to introduce the community<br />
to the power of Greek drama. Every<br />
time I go out to The Dell, I can feel<br />
Miss Mabel. I know she would be<br />
proud of what we are doing.”<br />
this fall<br />
Hecuba<br />
by Euripides<br />
in a new translation by<br />
Jay Kardan and Laura-Gray Street<br />
October 8–10, 2010<br />
4 P.M.<br />
For more information:<br />
randolphcollege.edu/greekplay<br />
(Above) Amy R. Cohen adjusts a mask used<br />
in <strong>Randolph</strong>’s Greek Play.<br />
3
New English Curriculum Provides<br />
Innovative Approach to Learning<br />
In the new program, students<br />
study English literature within<br />
the context of genres instead<br />
of the traditional historical<br />
approach…<br />
Professor of English Dan Stiffler<br />
Survey courses, long a staple<br />
of undergraduate English<br />
programs, offer students a sampling<br />
of authors and works within an<br />
historical time period. For English<br />
majors, they form the foundation<br />
of the work necessary to acquire a<br />
degree.<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is about to<br />
rewrite the book on learning about<br />
English literature.<br />
The changes were sparked by<br />
the English department faculty<br />
recognizing three trends: more<br />
students were expressing interest<br />
in the creative writing emphasis;<br />
creative writing students were<br />
taking historical survey courses,<br />
which did not serve their needs<br />
well; and the students in the<br />
creative writing and literature<br />
emphasis areas were not learning<br />
together—even though they were<br />
all English majors.<br />
“Our students did not work<br />
together until their senior seminar,”<br />
said Dan Stiffler, a professor of<br />
English. “We decided to integrate<br />
the learning experience for creative<br />
writing and literature students.”<br />
After a six-year process of thought<br />
and planning, and plenty of<br />
input from students already in<br />
the program, an innovative new<br />
English program rolled out at the<br />
beginning of this semester.<br />
In the new program, students<br />
study English literature within the<br />
context of genres instead of the<br />
traditional historical approach<br />
that is often presented in<br />
anthologies published by Norton,<br />
for example.<br />
To ensure that all English<br />
majors have an understanding of<br />
the creative process—whether they<br />
intend to write or analyze English<br />
literature—students are required to<br />
complete Introduction to Creative<br />
Writing. They also complete three<br />
core courses dealing with poetry,<br />
prose, fiction, and drama. The core<br />
courses are designed to provide<br />
a basic understanding of English<br />
literature, reveal the structure<br />
of literary expression, and help<br />
students develop skills in critical<br />
analysis and creative expression.<br />
Students select their advanced<br />
courses in three categories:<br />
genre or mode; period, topic, or<br />
movement; and author(s). Within<br />
the categories, they will find, for<br />
example, existing courses, such as<br />
Magical Realism, a world literature<br />
course; courses that have been<br />
refocused, such as The Concord<br />
Circle, about the discourses of<br />
Romanticism; and new courses,<br />
such as Inspired by the Sea, about<br />
the sea not only as a setting but also<br />
as a transnational theory.<br />
The changes in the English<br />
program have spun off four new<br />
minors: drama, fiction, literature,<br />
and poetry. The minors provide<br />
English majors, and all <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
students, with an opportunity to<br />
delve into specific genres in which<br />
they are interested.<br />
“We’re excited about this fresh<br />
approach that offers our students<br />
a variety of tantalizing ways to<br />
engage literature and learn from it,”<br />
said Heidi M. Kunz, chair of the<br />
English department.<br />
4
The World in Britain<br />
Lars Franke continues family atmosphere, makes his mark<br />
on <strong>Randolph</strong>’s flagship study abroad program<br />
Lars Franke had the East Coast<br />
at his fingertips when he spent<br />
a week on American soil in the<br />
spring. But he did something<br />
very American, which is also very<br />
European. Instead of beating a<br />
path to Washington, D.C., New<br />
York City, or some other metropolis<br />
known for its tourist attractions,<br />
Franke went camping.<br />
It is one of his passions back<br />
in Reading, England, where Franke<br />
is beginning his second year as<br />
director of <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s The<br />
World in Britain program at the<br />
University of Reading.<br />
Before bedding down in his<br />
rented RV at a campground near<br />
Natural Bridge, Virginia, Franke<br />
spent time on <strong>Randolph</strong>’s campus<br />
in Lynchburg meeting with faculty,<br />
administrators, and students. He<br />
also delivered the <strong>College</strong>’s Quillian<br />
Lecture, “Study Abroad and the<br />
Shaping of Western Culture.” With<br />
a year under his belt in Reading,<br />
Franke is excited about the Reading<br />
program and his plans for the current<br />
academic year. He is also looking<br />
forward to the Reading Reunion<br />
planned for July 15–17, 2011.<br />
“It’s been everything I hoped it<br />
would be and more,” he said, adding<br />
that the chance to take the helm of<br />
the Reading program has given<br />
him “a real sense of feeling that<br />
I’ve finally found my spot rather<br />
than feeling like it’s a job.” Franke<br />
previously served as a visiting tutor<br />
and an interdisciplinary instructor<br />
of music for <strong>Randolph</strong> students in<br />
Reading. In addition to his duties as<br />
director, Franke is also an assistant<br />
professor of music at Reading<br />
and leads experiential learning<br />
tours. He earned his Ph.D. in<br />
musicology from the University of<br />
Southampton and holds master’s<br />
and bachelor’s degrees from the<br />
University of Surrey.<br />
Franke is emphatic about<br />
carrying on the familial atmosphere<br />
displayed by his predecessor,<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> Ivy, who retired in 2009<br />
after 31 years of service. “The<br />
students know they can come and<br />
talk to me about things that aren’t<br />
necessarily academic,” Franke said.<br />
“That’s just as much a part of the<br />
program. The students are there<br />
to learn academically, but also to<br />
experience the culture and to learn<br />
about other ways of living, and to<br />
develop as human beings.”<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> students spend<br />
either a semester or a year in<br />
England during the program. All<br />
students take the course The World<br />
in Britain, an interdisciplinary<br />
seminar that explores—in large part<br />
through day and weekend trips to<br />
a variety of locations—the politics,<br />
social issues, literature, art, and<br />
science of England spanning the<br />
Renaissance to the present.<br />
Originally from Germany,<br />
Franke has gained a wealth of<br />
knowledge from traveling and<br />
living abroad. “I would thoroughly<br />
recommend it to anyone who feels<br />
that they are interested in opening<br />
up to other cultures,” Franke said.<br />
“For anyone who attempts it, it will<br />
be a life-changing experience.”<br />
“The students are there<br />
to learn academically,<br />
but also to experience<br />
the culture and to learn<br />
about other ways of living,<br />
and to develop as human<br />
beings.”<br />
<br />
Lars Franke<br />
Director<br />
<br />
The World in Britain<br />
Lars Franke, director of <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
Abroad: The World in Britain program<br />
5
Renovations Enhance<br />
Upgrades provide better facilities for riders and horses<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s Riding<br />
Center is not just a facility to<br />
riders like Lorna McFarlane ’12.<br />
For these students, the 100-acre<br />
horse center with its rolling hills<br />
and mountain views is a kind of<br />
sanctuary.<br />
“Having access to a reputable<br />
facility and a coach who helps<br />
me consistently improve is very<br />
important,” McFarlane said. “Not<br />
only is riding my all-time favorite<br />
sport, but the <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
Riding Center is also a great place<br />
to go to get off campus for a bit.<br />
Working with horses is a great destressor.”<br />
Recent improvements to<br />
the Riding Center are benefiting<br />
students—and horses. One major<br />
project for the summer involved<br />
replacing fencing, a daunting task<br />
on such a large property. Other<br />
renovations include an addition to<br />
the main building, which houses<br />
tractors and other equipment, hay,<br />
sawdust for bedding, and additional<br />
stalls for the horses. Renovations to<br />
the offices in the main building are<br />
expected to come later.<br />
Students and staff are excited<br />
about the changes. “Renovations<br />
and updates are extremely<br />
important to the maintenance of<br />
the Riding Center as it is the only<br />
way we can provide the care our<br />
horses deserve,” McFarlane said.<br />
“Having access to a<br />
reputable facility and<br />
a coach who helps me<br />
consistently improve is<br />
very important.”<br />
Lorna McFarlane ’12<br />
Maintaining a first-rate<br />
facility is also important for a<br />
riding program that is nationally<br />
recognized. <strong>Randolph</strong>’s program,<br />
led by J.T. Tallon, has a longstanding<br />
reputation for excellence. Last year,<br />
Lizzie Kerron ’13 was named the<br />
ODAC Rookie of the Year. In<br />
addition, the WildCats have won<br />
three ODAC championships in<br />
the last 10 years and have placed<br />
riders on the All-ODAC Equestrian<br />
Team every year for the last 18 years.<br />
Tallon has been named the ODAC<br />
Coach of the Year three times since<br />
2000. He is also one of only three<br />
licensed hunter course designers<br />
in Virginia.<br />
The <strong>College</strong>’s riding program is<br />
designed to offer riders of all skill<br />
levels the training and experience<br />
they need. Students can receive<br />
lessons, the option to participate<br />
in extra rides, special coaching<br />
for schooling and showing, and<br />
opportunities to participate in<br />
clinics.<br />
“We teach all levels of<br />
experience,” said Tallon. “We offer<br />
a beginner class in the fall for those<br />
who have never ridden before. We<br />
start them from scratch. And by<br />
the end of the semester, they’re<br />
walking, usually cantering, jumping<br />
some small jumps, and that sort of<br />
thing.”<br />
The program also attracts<br />
more-experienced riders. “We get<br />
some very good technicians, riders<br />
with a great deal of horse show<br />
experience,” Tallon said.<br />
6
Riding Program<br />
The Riding Center complex<br />
includes two outdoor rings, a<br />
jumping amphitheatre, a schooling<br />
ring, the Claire Noyes Cox Indoor<br />
Riding Center, a hunter trial course<br />
and outside schooling jumps, and<br />
a modern 40-stall barn with 30<br />
horses.<br />
“The improvements not only<br />
are aesthetically more pleasing, but<br />
they improve significantly the<br />
effectiveness and efficiency of the<br />
barn operations,” said Tina Hill,<br />
athletic director. “We take great<br />
pride in the facility. When it<br />
functions well and looks beautiful,<br />
it provides a wonderful learning<br />
environment and place where both<br />
the students and horses can excel<br />
and achieve greatness.”<br />
“We take great pride in the facility. When it functions<br />
well and looks beautiful, it provides a wonderful learning<br />
environment and place where both the students and<br />
horses can excel and achieve greatness.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Tina Hill<br />
Athletic Director<br />
(Top) Gillian Baird ’10 takes Romeo out for<br />
a ride near the fence at the <strong>College</strong>’s Riding<br />
Center.<br />
(Right) Gillian Baird ’10 spends time with<br />
Romeo.<br />
7
Family Ties<br />
Judy Eagle Shelton ’98 shares connection<br />
to <strong>College</strong> and her career with two daughters<br />
8<br />
(Left to Right) Judy Eagle Shelton ’98 and daughters Lauren Shelton ’12 and Kayse Shelton ’10
“The girls were always on<br />
campus with me. … We<br />
would walk around the<br />
campus, and they loved it.<br />
So when they chose to go<br />
there, I think they just felt<br />
right at home.”<br />
Judy Eagle Shelton ’98<br />
Judy Eagle Shelton ’98 smiles<br />
brightly, clearly enjoying her<br />
job hosting the morning radio<br />
show with her husband Kenny on<br />
108 WYYD-FM Country. Shelton,<br />
who graduated from the <strong>College</strong><br />
with a communication degree and<br />
a teaching certificate, has always<br />
loved radio and has passed that<br />
passion on to her daughters.<br />
But radio is not the only thing<br />
the Shelton family shares. Kayse<br />
Shelton ’10 graduated from the<br />
<strong>College</strong> in May with a double major<br />
in political science and psychology,<br />
and Lauren Shelton ’12 is currently<br />
studying studio art.<br />
Shelton could not be happier.<br />
Twelve years ago, she earned her<br />
degree after returning to college<br />
as an adult student.<br />
“The girls were always on<br />
campus with me,” Shelton<br />
recalled. “Kenny would meet me<br />
down there, and I would bring the<br />
girls, and we would have dinner<br />
in the cafeteria. We would walk<br />
around the campus, and they<br />
loved it. So when they chose to go<br />
there, I think they just felt right<br />
at home.”<br />
Kayse considered other<br />
schools during her college search.<br />
But as the deadline drew near to<br />
commit to a college, the Sheltons<br />
made a visit to campus.<br />
“We sat there in those chairs<br />
in front of Leggett, and we were<br />
just talking,” Judy Shelton said.<br />
“And Kayse said ‘This feels right.’<br />
I think that’s how it is for many<br />
students. They walk on campus,<br />
and it just feels right.”<br />
The characteristics Shelton<br />
found at her alma mater remain<br />
the same for her daughters.<br />
“Academically, it was rigorous,<br />
but you really do feel like you know<br />
your professors, and they get to<br />
know you,” she said.<br />
After graduation, Shelton<br />
spent nearly a decade teaching<br />
at a local middle school. But she<br />
missed radio. So in 2008, she went<br />
back on the air. “It’s a dream come<br />
true,” Shelton said.<br />
She is pleased her daughters<br />
found a home at <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong>.<br />
Kayse said her professors held<br />
students accountable.<br />
“That’s something that I really<br />
like about them. And they’re really<br />
friendly. I always felt comfortable<br />
asking them questions or e-mailing<br />
them,” she said.<br />
Lauren knew from her mother<br />
and sister that her classes and<br />
instructors were going to be<br />
challenging.<br />
“As far as the professors and<br />
the classes go, it’s what I expected,”<br />
she said.<br />
Just like their parents, Kayse<br />
and Lauren have been bitten by the<br />
radio bug. Kayse works part-time at<br />
WYYD while she contemplates law<br />
school and charts her own career<br />
path. Lauren had her own show<br />
last school year on <strong>Randolph</strong>’s<br />
radio station, WWRM, known as<br />
The Worm. “I’ll probably do that<br />
again [this year],” she said.<br />
Sharing the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
traditions has given the Shelton<br />
women a unique bond. Lauren<br />
even served as her sister’s squire at<br />
Commencement in May.<br />
“It’s special for me because my<br />
mom went there and Kayse went<br />
there,” she said.<br />
9
in<br />
print<br />
Consuming Choices:<br />
Ethics in a Global Consumer Age<br />
David Schwartz’ newest book examines consumerism, ethics<br />
The buying power and ethical<br />
responsibility of today’s<br />
consumer are at the core of David<br />
Schwartz’ latest book, Consuming<br />
Choices: Ethics in a Global Consumer<br />
Age.<br />
Schwartz, a philosophy<br />
professor at <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>, said<br />
the book originally focused on an<br />
ethical critique of purchasing meat<br />
from factory farms or confined<br />
animal feedlot operations. He<br />
said he has a strong interest in<br />
animal welfare issues and planned<br />
to examine whether it was moral<br />
for the consumer to purchase and<br />
eat products from these types of<br />
companies.<br />
“However, I soon realized<br />
that the questions at issue, and<br />
the arguments involved, had<br />
application and implications far<br />
beyond meat-eating,” he said. “They<br />
really applied to any product we<br />
might buy—food, coffee, clothing<br />
or electronics—that were produced<br />
with unethical means. These means<br />
include not only animal suffering<br />
but also worker exploitation, child<br />
labor, and serious environmental<br />
damage.”<br />
The book, published in<br />
May by Rowman and Littlefield,<br />
examines the ethical dimensions<br />
of consumer life and what sorts of<br />
unethical practices are at issue with<br />
today’s products. Consuming Choices<br />
assumes that a certain amount<br />
of wrongdoing by companies is<br />
known to consumers, who in turn<br />
commit wrongdoing by buying<br />
those products. “We are the crucial<br />
cog in these unethical machines,”<br />
Schwartz said. “Each of us must<br />
ask, ‘Ought I to purchase and<br />
benefit from products made with<br />
exploitative labor or the production<br />
of which caused environmental<br />
harm?’ In the end, ethics is about<br />
our own personal choices, regardless<br />
of how others may choose.”<br />
Schwartz finds the topic<br />
interesting for many reasons,<br />
especially for its practical import<br />
for trying to live ethically.<br />
“From a purely philosophical<br />
perspective, perhaps the most<br />
interesting conceptual aspect is the<br />
phenomenon of collective action,<br />
in this case collective wrongdoing,”<br />
he said.<br />
Schwartz added that in most<br />
instances of collective wrongdoing,<br />
a given action causes harm only<br />
when many other people also<br />
do the action. For example, one<br />
person driving a car does not<br />
harm the environment. However,<br />
when billions of cars are driven<br />
simultaneously, the environmental<br />
impact is tremendous.<br />
Schwartz’ interests in the arts,<br />
moral values, and public policy<br />
are reflected in the ethics and<br />
philosophy courses he teaches. In<br />
2000, he wrote Art, Education, and the<br />
Democratic Commitment: A Defense of<br />
State Support for the Arts.<br />
“Currently, I am reading a lot<br />
about the relation of ethics and<br />
aesthetics, particularly the question<br />
of whether one should take ethical<br />
considerations into account when<br />
judging artworks,” he said.<br />
10
The Science of Religion<br />
in Britain, 1860–1915<br />
Marjorie Wheeler-Barclay’s upcoming book hailed as<br />
“major contribution to the history of ideas, the history<br />
of religion, and British history”<br />
When Marjorie Wheeler-<br />
Barclay’s book is released<br />
in November, it will represent<br />
more than 20 years of research and<br />
work.<br />
“Some people get really tired<br />
of something when they do it over<br />
a period of time,” said Wheeler-<br />
Barclay, the Charles A. Dana<br />
Professor of History. “I never did.<br />
I kept reading new things and<br />
learning new things, and that<br />
kept me excited about what I was<br />
doing.”<br />
Wheeler-Barclay’s book, The<br />
Science of Religion in Britain, 1860–<br />
1915, is part of the Victorian Literature<br />
and Culture Series published by the<br />
University of Virginia Press. “I’m<br />
particularly pleased that it is going<br />
to be published in a series that has<br />
a good reputation for Victorian<br />
history,” Wheeler-Barclay said.<br />
She began work on the project,<br />
which is based on her dissertation,<br />
more than 20 years ago. During<br />
that time, Wheeler-Barclay’s<br />
research has taken her to London,<br />
Oxford, Cambridge, and Scotland,<br />
where she spent time delving into<br />
archives of personal papers and<br />
other documents of six scholars<br />
from the late 19th century who<br />
studied religion as a social and<br />
human institution.<br />
“What they accomplished<br />
was not so much to persuade<br />
people that religion was true or<br />
false, but rather to contribute<br />
to a changing understanding of<br />
what religion itself was,” she said.<br />
“For many years, the consensus<br />
among scholars in different fields<br />
was that as societies become more<br />
industrialized and modern, they<br />
become more secular, and religion<br />
seems to be less meaningful. The<br />
past 20 years would suggest it is not<br />
that simple. Religion just doesn’t<br />
go away because people aren’t living<br />
in peasant societies.”<br />
A graduate of the University<br />
of Illinois in Chicago, Wheeler-<br />
Barclay earned her Ph.D. from<br />
Northwestern University. She came<br />
to the <strong>College</strong> in 1986 and teaches<br />
modern European history.<br />
The book has received favorable<br />
reviews from fellow scholars.<br />
Jeffrey Cox, author of The British<br />
Missionary Enterprise since 1700,<br />
said Wheeler-Barclay’s book was a<br />
“major contribution to the history<br />
of ideas, the history of religion, and<br />
British history … Wheeler-Barclay<br />
has succeeded in defining ‘the<br />
science of religion’ and put each<br />
of its practitioners into an entirely<br />
new light. It is a considerable<br />
achievement.”<br />
She wanted her book to<br />
provide a different perspective of<br />
the Victorian era. “It’s important<br />
for people to know that during the<br />
second half of the 19th century,<br />
debates about religion were not<br />
just about whether the Bible was<br />
literally correct. There was a much<br />
wider grappling of problems going<br />
on. A lot of American and European<br />
culture today ignores big questions<br />
because we don’t think they can be<br />
answered. In the 19th century, they<br />
had more of a tendency to tackle<br />
things head on. I find it admirable,<br />
and it’s certainly more fascinating<br />
as you get to know about Victorian<br />
culture.”<br />
Now that her book is finished,<br />
Wheeler-Barclay is wasting no time<br />
starting a new project. She began<br />
work on her latest research this<br />
summer. She is studying the history<br />
of the 19th century controversies<br />
surrounding Stonehenge.<br />
“I think,” she laughed, “I’ll just be<br />
doing an article for that one.”<br />
11
This is<br />
Amy<br />
Mike<br />
12
<strong>Randolph</strong><br />
Kelsey<br />
Trey<br />
McKinley<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is a community filled<br />
with originals: women and men who<br />
are not afraid to be who they are—or to<br />
admit they are still figuring it out. Behind<br />
the Red Brick Wall, these individuals merge<br />
into a family, one in which academics,<br />
honesty, and tradition are top priorities<br />
and intelligence is assumed. A shared<br />
desire to make a difference in the world<br />
is a hallmark that has not changed in<br />
more than 119 years. This fall, <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
welcomed the Class of 2014—another class<br />
of unique thinkers. Here are a few of their<br />
stories.<br />
be an<br />
original<br />
Amy Jacobs<br />
What started as a way to be more involved in the<br />
competitive horse show arena ended up a profitable<br />
business for Amy Jacobs ’14. After receiving her first<br />
camera during her freshman year in high school, Jacobs<br />
immediately took it to her favorite place—the horse<br />
ring.<br />
A year later, she owned an upgraded camera and her<br />
own photography business.<br />
“It started out really small,” said Jacobs, who is a<br />
competitive rider from York, Pennsylvania. “I would<br />
go to shows with my friends and take pictures. Word<br />
started getting around in the horse community, and it<br />
blossomed and grew from there.”<br />
While her focus has remained primarily on equine<br />
photography, Jacobs has expanded recently to include<br />
senior portraits.<br />
Owning and managing a small business while in<br />
high school was difficult for Jacobs, but fulfilling. In<br />
addition to juggling her riding schedule, academics,<br />
and shooting photographs, she also had to learn about<br />
tax returns, Web site design, marketing, and other<br />
logistics.<br />
“I’ve been my own boss,” Jacobs added. “I’ve dealt<br />
with customers. I’m a teen, but I’m in that more-adult<br />
world of running a business. I work mostly with adults,<br />
so I had to learn how to be on the same terms with<br />
them.”<br />
She feels fortunate to have a customer base<br />
interested in her product. “I can’t imagine myself doing<br />
13
e an<br />
original<br />
Meet the<br />
Class of<br />
2014<br />
“I absolutely love to learn, and I want<br />
to try everything. I want to learn from<br />
different people and take advantage<br />
of every opportunity. I want to know<br />
that I made the best out of my college<br />
experience.”<br />
McKinley Worley ’14<br />
a regular job now,” she said. “I love having the freedom<br />
to create my own schedule, and I like taking charge and<br />
doing what needs to be done.”<br />
Above all, she loves being able to merge her passions<br />
for photography and horses. “I just love doing this,” she<br />
said. “It doesn’t even seem like work to me.”<br />
be an<br />
original<br />
Michael Ehilegbu<br />
If Michael Ehilegbu ’14 has learned anything from<br />
his time with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), it is<br />
how to balance a rigorous academic load with a love<br />
for competitive basketball. Ehilegbu has traveled and<br />
competed with an AAU group in his hometown of<br />
Raleigh, North Carolina, since he was 12. He also played<br />
the sport for his high school.<br />
“It’s definitely fun,” he said. “You get to meet a lot of<br />
new people, see lots of new places, and play everywhere.<br />
The core of our team had been together since we were<br />
little kids. We had a close bond.”<br />
The AAU tournaments have taken him all over<br />
the United States including Florida, New York, and<br />
Tennessee. “The traveling has taught me responsibility,”<br />
he said. “I’ve learned to manage money, and I’ve gotten<br />
used to being away from my parents.”<br />
It has also taught him to manage his time. A<br />
graduate of Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, Ehilegbu<br />
met the demands of a challenging academic program<br />
while spending dozens of hours a week in practices and<br />
games. “Getting a great education is really important,”<br />
he said. “I had to work hard to manage my time. You<br />
have to stay on top of everything.”<br />
Ehilegbu wasn’t always a success on the basketball<br />
court. He started playing when he was 6, but realized<br />
the sport didn’t come naturally. “I always work hard,<br />
finish everything out, and don’t ever give up,” he said.<br />
“Basically, I just try to work hard and get better.”<br />
He is excited about his first season with the<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> WildCats. “I have the opportunity to get a<br />
great education and play basketball with a great team,”<br />
he said. “That’s important.”<br />
be an<br />
original<br />
Kelsey Abell<br />
Kelsey Abell ’14 comes from a long line of sports fanatics.<br />
Her father coaches college baseball, her uncle coaches<br />
college football, and her older brother played in the<br />
minor leagues. “I used to go watch my brother play<br />
when he played for the Broxton Rox,” she said. “I loved<br />
14
watching him play and seeing the relationships he built<br />
with his teammates.”<br />
Abell has found her own place on the softball field—a<br />
sport she has played since the third grade. “My dad<br />
encouraged me to try it, and I ended up loving it,” said<br />
the Rustburg, Virginia, native. “It’s a very competitive<br />
sport, and you make so many friendships from it. You<br />
become this really big family, and I like that bond.”<br />
She has played on her high school softball team,<br />
as well as on traveling teams. “I’ve learned a lot about<br />
leadership through softball,” she said. “And you learn<br />
a lot about responsibility.”<br />
Sports aren’t the only thing that runs in Abell’s<br />
family. Her grandmother and both of her parents have<br />
teaching backgrounds, and Abell wants to follow in<br />
those footsteps. “I was always in my mom’s classroom<br />
growing up, and I had some really good teachers who<br />
have inspired me. I want to do that for someone else.”<br />
be an<br />
original<br />
McKinley Worley<br />
When McKinley Worley ’14 goes shopping, she picks<br />
a bit of everything and puts it together to create her<br />
own style. Her approach to life embraces that same<br />
concept.<br />
“I don’t follow a statistical pattern,” she said. “I love<br />
being full of contradictions. When I’m shopping, I get<br />
clothes in all sorts of different styles and from different<br />
places and throw them together. People always tell me<br />
they couldn’t have pulled that off.”<br />
She sees her life as the same type of blank canvas.<br />
“I don’t worry about fitting in a certain way,” Worley<br />
said. “I am who I am, and I’m going to do what makes<br />
me happy.”<br />
At the same time, she’s happiest with schedule and<br />
order. “I’m organized, and I like to do what needs to<br />
be done.”<br />
A free spirit, Worley is a vegetarian and loves to just<br />
let go and dance. But when she wants to relax, she does<br />
math problems. Trigonometry was one of her favorite<br />
classes in high school. “If I’m stressed, I go home and do<br />
a math problem,” she said. “It centers me and focuses<br />
me.”<br />
French culture fascinates her, and she spends her<br />
free time playing for a band.<br />
“I absolutely love to learn, and I want to try<br />
everything,” said Worley, who is from Lynchburg,<br />
Virginia. “I want to learn from different people and take<br />
advantage of every opportunity. I want to know that I<br />
made the best out of my college experience.”<br />
be an<br />
original<br />
Trey Gaylor<br />
Trey Gaylor’s ’14 first foray into science was second<br />
grade. His teacher told students to catch an insect and<br />
track its behavior and lifespan. His lightning bug only<br />
lived two days, but Gaylor was hooked permanently.<br />
“That was the first thing that got to me on how science<br />
works,” he said.<br />
Gaylor’s fascination with science developed into a<br />
preference for medical biology and how the human body<br />
works. “I really like how the body works and how cells<br />
work with other cells,” he said. Originally from Bassett,<br />
Virginia, Gaylor enjoys the dynamics and intricacies of<br />
science. “I hate not being able to find an answer,” he<br />
said. “I’m a hands-on person, and I like being able to<br />
see how things work. You have to be creative and think<br />
outside of the box to see what will happen if you do<br />
this or that.”<br />
He plans to study biology and hopes to one day work<br />
in a diagnostic laboratory for a hospital. “I want to be<br />
in a profession where I can do my day-to-day job, but<br />
while I’m doing that, I can help people,” he said. “Even<br />
though it may not seem like it to me when I’m doing a<br />
test in the lab, I might be able to catch something that<br />
nobody else did. I might be able to help diagnose that<br />
person, and that diagnosis may end up saving a life.”<br />
Gaylor’s need to help others stems from his family<br />
and religious faith. “I<br />
try to go through life<br />
doing the right thing,”<br />
he said. “I’m a friend to<br />
everyone because it’s<br />
the right thing to do. I<br />
want to be in a situation<br />
where I can help people<br />
or do some small thing<br />
that helps a lot of<br />
people. That’s how I<br />
was raised.”<br />
15
Davenport Leaders<br />
New Summer Institute prepares students to lead<br />
The Davenport Leadership<br />
Institute was designed to<br />
build community and develop<br />
the <strong>College</strong>’s promising student<br />
leaders.<br />
The three-week Institute<br />
is a new part of the Davenport<br />
Leadership Program, which was<br />
created by Joseph Davenport<br />
in memory of his wife Susan<br />
Funkhouser Davenport ’69.<br />
Forty students, ranging from<br />
rising sophomores to seniors,<br />
applied for the 17 available spots<br />
in the summer Institute, and<br />
participants were selected based<br />
on written applications and an<br />
intensive interview process.<br />
“We are training our current<br />
students in areas we think are<br />
important for them and for the<br />
<strong>College</strong>; things like principles of<br />
leadership, how we understand<br />
community, and how we build<br />
community,” said Kim Sheldon,<br />
director of student success.<br />
During the session, workshops<br />
and seminars focused on such<br />
topics as leadership principles,<br />
conflict resolution, intercultural<br />
understanding, and mentoring<br />
skills.<br />
“It is highly important<br />
for students, not faculty<br />
and staff, to explain the<br />
<strong>College</strong>’s traditions to the<br />
first-years.”<br />
Allie Starbuck ’12<br />
<br />
Davenport Leader<br />
In addition to the leadership<br />
curriculum, Davenport students<br />
helped lead <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
early orientation programs this<br />
summer. In the past, orientation<br />
for new students was held the week<br />
before classes began. This year, two<br />
sessions were held in June as a way<br />
to ease the transition to college.<br />
“I am extremely excited to be a<br />
role model for my sister class, the<br />
first-years,” said Allie Starbuck ’12,<br />
one of the Davenport Leaders.<br />
The student leaders were<br />
enthusiastic about sharing their<br />
experiences on campus with the<br />
newest class of <strong>Randolph</strong> students.<br />
“It is highly important for students,<br />
not faculty and staff, to explain<br />
the <strong>College</strong>’s traditions to the<br />
first-years,” Starbuck said. “These<br />
traditions are something that the<br />
students share as a common bond<br />
between classes.”<br />
The end result of the new<br />
Davenport program was a winwin,<br />
according to Tina Johnson,<br />
director of <strong>Randolph</strong>’s Experiential<br />
Learning Center.<br />
“You get the benefit of a small<br />
group of students connecting with<br />
each other and having this leadership<br />
opportunity, and at the same time,<br />
having a big impact on the entire<br />
first-year class,” she said.<br />
16
Pay It Forward<br />
1941 Alumna Makes<br />
$2 Million Commitment<br />
Sadie “Puff” Gravely Hampson ’41 is long-time supporter<br />
of student initiatives<br />
1941 <strong>Randolph</strong>-Macon Woman’s <strong>College</strong> alumna who helped pay her<br />
A way through college by waiting tables in the dining rooms has made a<br />
$2 million commitment toward <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s planned Student Center<br />
renovation.<br />
The gift by Sadie “Puff” Gravely Hampson ’41, a long-time<br />
supporter of the <strong>College</strong>, kicks off fundraising for a $5 million<br />
renovation of the Student Center. The project is currently in<br />
the design phase.<br />
Puff’s gift is another opportunity for her to support the<br />
school that had a profound impact on her life. “I’m often asked<br />
about my favorite memories from my R-MWC years,” she said.<br />
“The honor system, to me, was one of the great things about<br />
the <strong>College</strong>. I loved playing basketball, the faculty, and the<br />
many lifelong friends I have from the school. It is a unique<br />
and special place.”<br />
After graduation from R-MWC, Puff taught high school<br />
before accepting a job with a DuPont nylon plant in Manassas,<br />
Virginia, which was producing nylon material for the war effort. She enjoyed<br />
her job but felt called to join with friends who were enlisting in the military.<br />
She served as an officer in the Navy through the Women Accepted for<br />
Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and was stationed in Buffalo, New<br />
York. It was there that she met her husband. “I always teased Bob that I<br />
outranked him, even though it was only by three months!” she laughed.<br />
After the Navy, the couple married and raised five children in Detroit,<br />
where Bob became an executive at Ford Motor Company. Throughout their<br />
lives, the Hampsons have remained staunch supporters of the <strong>College</strong>. In<br />
addition to the Gravely-Hampson Global Studies Fund, which provides<br />
stipends for students going abroad, the Hampsons funded many other<br />
<strong>College</strong> initiatives, including the Hampson Lecture Hall in the Martin Science<br />
Building. Bob, who died in 2009, also served as a trustee from 1971–77.<br />
“<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is fortunate to have the support of R-MWC alumnae<br />
like Puff Hampson,” said John E. Klein, president. “We are so very grateful for<br />
Puff’s commitment to the <strong>College</strong> and to our students and our community.<br />
The generosity of Puff and her husband Bob will continue to make a difference<br />
at <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> for years to come.”<br />
Puff is proud of <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> and sees her gift to the Student Center<br />
project as a way to improve the quality of student life. “She loves being<br />
involved with her college,” said Puff’s daughter, Jane. “It means a lot to her<br />
to be able to do this in her lifetime.”<br />
17
010<br />
Summer Research Program<br />
Students, faculty investigate everything from cryptology to historic districts<br />
A<br />
decade ago, the <strong>College</strong>’s Summer Research<br />
Program kicked off its inaugural year with just<br />
eight faculty members and 11 students. Today, the<br />
program represents a broad range of disciplines and is<br />
attracting a growing number of participants.<br />
During the 2010 program this summer, 20 students<br />
worked with 17 faculty members on projects ranging<br />
from cataloging<br />
historic architecture in<br />
Lynchburg to creating<br />
a plan to reduce the<br />
<strong>College</strong>’s greenhouse<br />
gases. The result was<br />
an eight-week program<br />
that provided students<br />
and faculty with the<br />
opportunity to focus<br />
on research and share<br />
methodologies and<br />
results with the entire<br />
<strong>College</strong> community.<br />
“One of the<br />
biggest benefits of<br />
the Summer Research<br />
Program is the<br />
opportunity it presents<br />
to bring all of these<br />
people together from<br />
different disciplines,”<br />
said Peter Sheldon,<br />
physics professor and director of the program. “Everyone<br />
is able to share not just their results, but how they do<br />
research in a close community setting.”<br />
Student and faculty research projects are selected<br />
through a competitive proposal process. During the<br />
program, which was established through a grant from<br />
the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, students work one-on-one<br />
with professors in active laboratory and field studies,<br />
and receive housing and a stipend for their work.<br />
Nick Marshall ’11 (left) and Associate Professor of<br />
History Gerry Sherayko<br />
Special seminars with guest speakers enrich the learning<br />
experience, and students share the progress of their<br />
research through casual forums and more formal oral<br />
presentations at the end of the session.<br />
Understanding the Past<br />
For Nick Marshall ’11, summer research was<br />
an opportunity to learn more about the historic<br />
architecture surrounding the <strong>College</strong>.<br />
Rivermont Avenue, on which <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is<br />
located, was designated Lynchburg’s largest historic<br />
district in 2003 by the Virginia Department of Historic<br />
Resources.<br />
“This project allowed me to step back and realize<br />
how amazing the district is,” Marshall said. “I gained a<br />
better appreciation of both the <strong>College</strong> and where it’s<br />
situated in Lynchburg.”<br />
Gerry Sherayko, a <strong>Randolph</strong> history professor, is<br />
Marshall’s faculty mentor and president of Friends of<br />
Rivermont, a community organization dedicated to<br />
preserving the district’s history. The research conducted<br />
by Sherayko and Marshall this summer is helping<br />
create the first comprehensive record of the history of<br />
the district. They researched and categorized the area’s<br />
structures and the people who lived, worked, studied,<br />
and worshipped in them.<br />
The majority of the original homes and buildings<br />
remain standing, largely unaffected by recent<br />
development. “It’s amazing how many of these buildings<br />
are still here from pre-World War II,” said Sherayko.<br />
Marshall, a history major, said architecture has<br />
always interested him. “As someone with an ‘historical’<br />
mind, I view structures as necessary pieces of the<br />
historical record that represent a lasting statement of<br />
the people who built them and of the people who used<br />
them,” he said.<br />
Sherayko said the project will significantly expand<br />
Marshall’s experience as an historian. “By working with<br />
primary and archival sources, and engaging with the<br />
18<br />
(Opposite, left to right) Christine Gnieski ’13, Karl Speer ’12, and<br />
Associate Professor of Music Randall Speer are digitizing more than 200<br />
reel-to-reel tapes of historical <strong>College</strong> musical performances.
public, Nick is honing his history research skills, which<br />
will better prepare him for his senior research and for<br />
his career after graduation,” he said.<br />
Earthquakes in Virginia<br />
When most people<br />
think of earthquakes in<br />
the United States, the West<br />
Coast typically comes to<br />
mind. Earthquakes are<br />
not frequent in Virginia,<br />
but they do happen. Using<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s own<br />
seismograph, Tatiana<br />
Gilstrap, an environmental<br />
science professor, and<br />
Qingping Yu ’13 began investigating alternative<br />
methods for identifying and locating local seismic<br />
events this summer. Their research is the first step in<br />
a larger study.<br />
“I have been interested in earthquake engineering<br />
and geophysics since I was in high school,” said Yu. “I<br />
am really curious about the science of earthquakes.”<br />
The pair worked with semblance analysis to study<br />
the microseismicity of Central Virginia. They used<br />
the seismograph at <strong>Randolph</strong>’s Riding Center, one<br />
of a number of seismic stations throughout the state<br />
operated by Virginia Tech.<br />
(Left to right) Qingping Yu ’13 and<br />
Assistant Professor of Environmental<br />
Science Tatiana Gilstrap<br />
Preserving the <strong>College</strong>’s Musical History<br />
For decades, the <strong>College</strong>’s music department has<br />
sponsored performances by students, faculty, and guest<br />
artists. The events were recorded on reel-to-reel tape and<br />
stored in the Lipscomb Library. Some of 200 plus tapes<br />
are nearly half a century old, and their sound quality<br />
is degrading. Under the guidance of Randall Speer, a<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> music professor, Christine Gnieski ’13 and<br />
Karl Speer ’12 are cataloging the performances, digitizing<br />
them, and converting them to compact discs. This is the<br />
second year of the painstaking project. Ultimately, the<br />
performances will be made available to the community<br />
at large through an online library catalog.<br />
“This project bears considerable significance in<br />
preserving primary historical data related to the musical<br />
heritage of this institution,” said Randall Speer. “When<br />
these materials become available to students and faculty,<br />
we will have a very valuable resource, unique to this<br />
institution.”<br />
His students agree. Gnieski found it intriguing to<br />
listen to the tapes and to relate to what students were<br />
experiencing decades ago, while Karl Speer enjoyed the<br />
span of music. “To be able to go through the music<br />
produced at this <strong>College</strong>, to hear that evolution, that<br />
growth, is a wonderful thing,” he said.<br />
A Climate Action Plan<br />
When the <strong>College</strong> became the first school in<br />
Virginia to sign the American <strong>College</strong> and University<br />
Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in<br />
2006, the institution agreed to create a plan to reduce<br />
emissions of greenhouse gasses and ultimately<br />
approach “climate neutrality.” A student’s work is<br />
now moving the <strong>College</strong> closer to that goal.<br />
“I’m very passionate about the environment,” said<br />
Ludovic Lemaitre ’11, who is working to develop the<br />
plan with Karin Warren, the Herzog Family Chair of<br />
Environmental Studies. “Such research will benefit me<br />
because the environmental field is getting larger and<br />
more competitive every day, but a climate action plan<br />
is something very unique and valuable for a college<br />
student.”<br />
A climate action plan is a detailed description of<br />
strategies that an institution plans to use to reduce<br />
direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gasses<br />
like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. The<br />
emissions result from a range of common activities on<br />
a college campus, like travel, laboratory activities, and<br />
landscaping. Climate neutrality is a long-term goal that<br />
is attained only after several decades of using a range of<br />
planned mitigation strategies.<br />
Warren said Lemaitre’s work on the plan will give<br />
him valuable experience in sustainability planning<br />
and make him proficient in a number of practical<br />
skills, including energy analysis, data compilation and<br />
presentation, communication, writing, and creative<br />
collaboration.<br />
Deciphering the Ciphers<br />
Using science to understand<br />
cryptology was the focus of<br />
summer research for Thawda<br />
Aung ’13 and Yesem Kurt,<br />
a <strong>Randolph</strong> mathematics<br />
professor. The duo used the<br />
software program Mathematica<br />
to look at cryptology, the<br />
study and practice of hiding<br />
(Left to right) Thawda Aung ’13 and<br />
Assistant Professor of Mathematics<br />
Yesem Kurt<br />
information. Aung researched how common ciphers<br />
20
were encrypted, how to break their codes, and methods<br />
for better encrypting information so that only those<br />
with the key can decode the messages.<br />
“I was fascinated with the subject,” Aung said. “It<br />
blends together many theories from math and computer<br />
science.”<br />
Aung’s calculus, physics, and graph theory courses<br />
helped him understand some concepts in cryptology<br />
related to math, such as linear algebra and how<br />
algorithms work..<br />
“The Summer Research Program is a great<br />
opportunity to teach students about one of the most<br />
relevant and recent applications of mathematics and to<br />
better prepare students for a career in academia,” Kurt<br />
said. “Thawda is an outstanding student who is<br />
determined to study mathematics and physics. I strongly<br />
encourage him to do so because with his enthusiasm,<br />
diligence, and talent, I am confident he will be a<br />
successful scientist or mathematician.”<br />
(Left to right) Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Karin Warren<br />
and Ludovic Lemaitre ’11<br />
The 2010 Summer Research Programs<br />
Cryptology with Mathematics<br />
Thawda Aung ’13 and Yesem Kurt,<br />
assistant professor of mathematics<br />
Science and Math Links: Research-<br />
Based Teaching Institute<br />
Courtney Collier ’12, Meredith<br />
Humphreys ’12, Peter Sheldon,<br />
professor of physics and astronomy,<br />
and Peggy Schimmoeller, professor of<br />
education<br />
A Climate Action Plan for <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong><br />
Ludovic Lemaitre ’11 and Karin<br />
Warren, associate professor of<br />
environmental studies<br />
A History of the Rivermont Historic<br />
District<br />
Nick Marshall ’11 and Gerry Sherayko,<br />
associate professor of history<br />
Earth’s Body II: An Anthology of<br />
Contemporary American Ecopoetry<br />
Anneka Freeman ’11 and Laura-Gray<br />
Street, assistant professor of English<br />
Four Writing Projects in Psychology<br />
Jerry Wells ’12 and Beth Schwartz,<br />
professor of psychology<br />
“Burn Her Who Is No Bride”: A<br />
Feminist Assessment of Theclan<br />
Traditions<br />
Lindsay Wood ’11 and Gordon Steffey,<br />
associate professor of religion<br />
Non-Repetitiveness As It Applies to<br />
Shortest Paths in State Graphs and to<br />
Integer Sequences<br />
Richard Coultas ’11, Neo Wang ’11, and<br />
Marc Ordower, associate professor of<br />
mathematics<br />
Using Semblance Analysis to Study the<br />
Microseismicity of Central Virginia<br />
Qingping Yu ’13 and Tatiana Gilstrap,<br />
assistant professor of environmental<br />
science<br />
Screening Indigeneity: The National<br />
Film Board’s First Nations Films,<br />
1939–2009<br />
Julianna Joyce ’13 and Jennifer Gauthier,<br />
associate professor of communication<br />
studies<br />
Memory As a Political Strategy: The<br />
Politics of Stalin Remembrance in<br />
Russia<br />
Kathleen Conti ’11 and Mari Ishibashi,<br />
associate professor of political science<br />
Sustainable Urban Development in<br />
Lynchburg<br />
Louise Searle ’12, Erinn Sudol ’12, and<br />
Rick Barnes, professor of psychology<br />
and environmental studies<br />
Investigation of the Properties<br />
of Luminescent Transition Metal<br />
Compounds in Silicon Dioxide Polymers<br />
and in Ionic Liquids<br />
Poojan Pyakurel ’11 and Bill Bare,<br />
associate professor of chemistry<br />
The Presence and Absence in the Works<br />
of Juan Rulfo<br />
Lis Chacon ’13 and Chet Halka,<br />
professor of romance languages<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s Musical Heritage:<br />
Exploring and Preserving Decades of<br />
Musical Performances at <strong>Randolph</strong>-<br />
Macon Woman’s <strong>College</strong><br />
Karl Speer ’12, Christine Gnieski ’13<br />
and Randall Speer, associate professor<br />
of music<br />
A Theoretical Investigation of Oxidative<br />
Pathways of Peroxynitrite<br />
Rosha Poudyal ’11 and Kurt Seidman,<br />
professor of chemistry<br />
Learn more about all of the 2010 Summer Research projects at www.randolphcollege.edu/magazine.<br />
21
Cameron Shepherd ’11 is one of several players who helped lead <strong>Randolph</strong>’s youth basketball camp.<br />
22<br />
“One of the things that college athletics does is teach life lessons. Sometimes<br />
that comes in ways you would never expect—like at a camp trying to teach<br />
a group of 8-year-olds. My players get the chance to serve as mentors while<br />
helping kids develop skills and an enjoyment of the game of basketball.”<br />
<br />
Men’s Head Basketball Coach Clay Nunley
Summer Games<br />
Athletic camps provide service to community, mentoring opportunities for student-athletes<br />
Derrick Woods-Morrow ’12 takes his role as a<br />
WildCat student-athlete seriously. So when the<br />
2009 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Rookie of<br />
the Year in basketball heard about <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
athletic summer camps, he jumped at the chance to<br />
help.<br />
“I want these kids to understand that basketball<br />
is fun and can take you far, but academics is the most<br />
important part of your growth,” said the forward and<br />
art major. He saw <strong>Randolph</strong>’s skill-builder camp as a<br />
way to share his love of the game with young fans and to<br />
teach them what it really means to be a college studentathlete.<br />
“Coaching at the camp helped me recognize<br />
my off-court impact not only at <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>, but<br />
within the greater community as well.”<br />
In addition to the youth basketball camp, <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong> offered camps in softball and volleyball this<br />
summer. The camps ranged from overnight weekend<br />
sessions for older students to week-long day camps<br />
for younger children. Coaches said their players often<br />
gain more than the campers. “Having to teach a camper<br />
different skills and strategies is a great teaching tool for<br />
our athletes,” said Jennifer Steele, who led the softball<br />
camps. “It’s sometimes much easier to perform a skill<br />
than teach it. So when our athletes have to actually sit<br />
down and think about how to teach a skill to a beginner,<br />
it takes their understanding of the skill and strategy to<br />
an entirely different level.”<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> coaches often see strong relationships<br />
develop between the campers and the student-athletes.<br />
“One of the things that college athletics does is teach<br />
life lessons,” said Clay Nunley, men’s head basketball<br />
coach. “Sometimes that comes in ways you would never<br />
expect—like at a camp trying to teach a group of 8-yearolds.<br />
My players get the chance to serve as mentors while<br />
helping kids develop skills and an enjoyment of the<br />
game of basketball.”<br />
Johnathan Willis, head volleyball coach, has seen the<br />
camps have an impact on recruitment, especially from<br />
the local area. “Parents and students really appreciate<br />
the time we invest. When they have a positive experience,<br />
they share that experience with other area students<br />
and parents,” he said. “That helps us get our name out<br />
there.”<br />
Last year’s camps showed the impact <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
students can have on children in the community.<br />
Athletic Director Tina Hill said campers returned to<br />
campus later in the year to cheer on the <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
students during their games. “It’s a wonderful tribute<br />
to both our students and the members of the community<br />
to see how easily and eagerly these relationships<br />
develop,” she said.<br />
23
American Culture Program<br />
Moves Students to Think<br />
“Perpetual Motion: Americans on the Go” covers movement of ideas in America<br />
Cynthia Leonard ’10 entered the American Culture<br />
Program thinking she would be learning about<br />
transportation issues. Little did she know that a lettuce<br />
plant would have the biggest impact on her thinking.<br />
With a 2010 theme of “Perpetual Motion: Americans<br />
on the Go,” the spring American Culture Program<br />
explored movement and mobility in America. “I was<br />
thinking roads and cars and maybe moving products,”<br />
Leonard said. “I had no idea that movement was so<br />
broadly defined, that it could include the movement<br />
of ideas.”<br />
American Culture’s interdisciplinary approach<br />
uses classroom discussions, guest speakers, readings,<br />
and trips to immerse students in a general topic from a<br />
variety of perspectives.<br />
“The whole point of the American Culture Program<br />
is getting students to understand America and to give<br />
them context for understanding what is going on around<br />
them,” said Ellen Hostetter, the 2009–2010 Helen<br />
and Agnes Ainsworth Visiting Professor of American<br />
Culture. “We take a general theme and look at it from<br />
every angle possible.”<br />
During the spring, students studied everything<br />
from transportation and suburbanization to gay and<br />
civil rights to the growing sustainable food movement.<br />
The idea was to look at major cultural, social, and literal<br />
movements in American history.<br />
The program’s design “brings the material to life,”<br />
said Gerry Sherayko, history professor and American<br />
Culture faculty member. “You read the books. You<br />
hear the speakers, and then you go to the sites. This is<br />
experiential learning at its best.”<br />
Students traveled to sites in Virginia as well as<br />
Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, and New Jersey.<br />
Each trip focused on a different movement in American<br />
history. They studied jazz in Harlem, talked with the<br />
first female mayor of a New Jersey town, learned about<br />
the civil rights movement, and talked with participants<br />
in the Stonewall Riots. They traveled to Ellis Island and<br />
toured the Museum of Modern Art.<br />
“There is a different perspective to every facet of<br />
American history,” Leonard said. “They don’t teach<br />
this in high school. You might study the civil rights<br />
movement, but you don’t study the people who sparked<br />
it. You don’t study the harsh realities. Going through<br />
and critically examining it from every angle makes<br />
you understand it so much more. You learn the actual<br />
moment, the other people’s points of view, their history,<br />
and their version of the American dream. You take away<br />
from it that other people see things differently from you,<br />
and this is why.”<br />
“The whole point of the American Culture<br />
Program is getting students to understand<br />
America and to give them context for<br />
understanding what is going on around<br />
them.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Ellen Hostetter<br />
The 2009–2010 Helen and Agnes Ainsworth<br />
Visiting Professor of American Culture<br />
(Above right) Ellen Hostetter looks at the Statue of Liberty during the<br />
American Culture trip to New York.<br />
25
During one trip, students visited the site of the<br />
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City, where<br />
nearly 150 workers were killed in 1911. The tragedy<br />
led to improved working conditions for millions of<br />
Americans. “It gives it meaning for students,” Sherayko<br />
said. “America changed for the better out of a terrible<br />
tragedy. It is a powerful thing to be there and see that<br />
after reading about it.”<br />
Julio Rodriguez, associate professor of sociology (left), talks with Will Berke ’12 during an<br />
American Culture trip.<br />
On a tour of highways in Pennsylvania, the group<br />
talked with engineers and other transportation experts<br />
about the evolution of highways and the differences<br />
between roads like the Lincoln Highway and the<br />
Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Lincoln Highway, the first<br />
transcontinental highway in the United States, was<br />
designed to encourage travelers to stop at towns along<br />
its route. In comparison, the Pennsylvania Turnpike was<br />
designed to get travelers to their destinations as quickly<br />
as possible.<br />
“The students were able to ride on those highways<br />
and think about what they had learned,” Sherayko said.<br />
“They were able to get a feel for how different things are<br />
now and what that has done to the American psyche.”<br />
The program’s approach provides students with<br />
hands-on knowledge of what they are studying. “It<br />
was hard at first, but it pays off when you start seeing<br />
things from so many different perspectives,” said Jane<br />
Campbell ’12. “You read about things. You listen to<br />
speakers. You look at images. You go on trips where you<br />
can see the places where these major events happened<br />
and experience them with your professors. You are not<br />
just being lectured. It makes it more real and much<br />
more interesting.”<br />
Faculty members in the program try to incorporate<br />
alumnae as much as possible. This year,<br />
students were taken on a behind-the-scenes<br />
tour of the Nemours Mansion and Gardens<br />
in Delaware by Grace Gary ’76, who serves<br />
as the executive director. They also met with<br />
Lynn Kehoe Rollins ’64, who talked about<br />
her role as senior advisor for women’s issues<br />
for George E. Pataki, the former governor<br />
of New York.<br />
“This program made me think more<br />
critically,” Campbell said. “It made me think<br />
about the country in a different way.”<br />
A favorite trip for many of the students<br />
was to visit Margaret Krome-Lukens ’07,<br />
who is assistant director of the Pickard<br />
Mountain Eco Institute in Chapel Hill,<br />
North Carolina. Students met people<br />
involved in the local food movement and<br />
were able to spend time working on the<br />
farm with Krome-Lukens.<br />
The discussions about sustainable food<br />
included a visit on campus from the market<br />
manager of Lynchburg’s Community<br />
Market and discussions about waste, American<br />
consumption, and the growing movement toward<br />
purchasing more local food.<br />
After the session on food, Leonard went out<br />
immediately and bought a lettuce plant. Today, she<br />
harvests leaves from the plant daily. “I see so many things<br />
from a completely different angle now,” Leonard said.<br />
“Take my lettuce plant. If everyone had their own plant,<br />
it would make a huge impact. That applies to everything<br />
in the American Culture Program: the movements, the<br />
civil rights, the transportation, the prison movement, the<br />
gay rights movement. All of them started with individual<br />
people. Enough people started paying attention, and<br />
eventually American thought changed.<br />
“Having that lettuce plant is a constant reminder to<br />
me of what I learned in American Culture,” she added. “It’s<br />
something I can do. It’s a way I can play a part.”<br />
26
Standing Out<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> one of just 10 schools in Virginia to receive national TEAC accreditation<br />
It took two years of preparation,<br />
but <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> is now one<br />
of just 10 schools in Virginia—and<br />
the first in Lynchburg—to earn<br />
national accreditation from the<br />
Teacher Education Accreditation<br />
Council (TEAC).<br />
National accreditation,<br />
especially from a respected program<br />
such as TEAC, gives colleges and<br />
Jamie Steigerwald ’10 teaches physical<br />
education at a local private school.<br />
their graduates an edge. “The<br />
reputation as a college that prepares<br />
its students to be highly qualified,<br />
caring, and competent teachers<br />
is extremely important to our<br />
students as they enter today’s<br />
job market,” said Gail Brown, a<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> education professor.<br />
Founded in 1997, TEAC is a<br />
non-profit organization dedicated<br />
to improving academic degree<br />
programs for professional<br />
educators. The organization has<br />
accredited more than 100 schools<br />
in 21 states. TEAC requires<br />
schools to examine goals and<br />
student outcomes and to show<br />
that graduates meet criteria<br />
quantitatively and qualitatively.<br />
TEAC then sends an audit team<br />
for review.<br />
“I always thought our<br />
program was good,” said<br />
Consuella Woods, a <strong>Randolph</strong><br />
education professor. “But TEAC<br />
gave us an opportunity to make it<br />
even better. We have documented<br />
proof that our program can be<br />
compared, not just with other<br />
institutions around the state, but<br />
also at the national level.”<br />
In the review, TEAC<br />
recognized a unique aspect of<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong>’s undergraduate and<br />
master’s programs—the heavy<br />
emphasis on practical experiences<br />
in the classroom. Students receive<br />
classroom experience each year, a<br />
requirement hailed by students<br />
and graduates as a key element for<br />
preparing them for success. For<br />
Jamie Steigerwald ’10, it meant<br />
she was ready to handle her own<br />
classroom when she was offered a<br />
paid, part-time teaching position<br />
as a physical education teacher at<br />
a local private school during her<br />
senior year.<br />
The classroom placements<br />
help students develop and practice<br />
teaching strategies with the support<br />
and guidance of faculty members.<br />
In Steigerwald’s case, she was able<br />
to adjust to teaching in both a<br />
classroom and a gymnasium.<br />
“The strategies I learned were<br />
very helpful, and it was nice to be<br />
able to talk to professors about<br />
what things could be changed<br />
and modified to help,” she said.<br />
“Without all of the real experience<br />
I have received, I would not feel as<br />
prepared to teach.”<br />
Steigerwald believes the<br />
national accreditation will help<br />
her in the job market. Others agree.<br />
“For me, there is a great sense of<br />
pride in my alma mater as well as<br />
the security of knowing that I have<br />
been prepared to teach anywhere,”<br />
said Sandra Goldman ’10.<br />
Though the TEAC accreditation<br />
process was intense, faculty<br />
members said the time and effort<br />
was worth it. “This national<br />
recognition is a proud distinction<br />
for <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>,” said Peggy<br />
Schimmoeller, an education<br />
professor. “TEAC accreditation<br />
further validates the quality of<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong>’s teacher education<br />
program, its comprehensive<br />
curriculum, and the committed<br />
faculty and highly qualified teacher<br />
candidates.”<br />
27
e an<br />
original<br />
Finding Balance<br />
Dennis Stevens sees training for Fifth Degree Black Belt as next step in personal journey<br />
As vice president for academic<br />
affairs and dean of the <strong>College</strong><br />
since 2008, Dennis Stevens oversees<br />
and guides the academic operations<br />
of a liberal arts institution known<br />
for innovation.<br />
“My martial arts study<br />
has taught me the value of<br />
perseverance. You engage<br />
issues multiple times,<br />
and even fail, to achieve<br />
success.”<br />
<br />
Dennis Stevens<br />
Vice President for Academic Affairs<br />
and Dean of the <strong>College</strong><br />
He also embodies a fascinating<br />
quality of the liberal arts:<br />
combining diverse disciplines to<br />
create unexpected benefits.<br />
Stevens, a Fourth Degree<br />
Black Belt, applies his training and<br />
insight on campus in a confluence<br />
of vocation and avocation,<br />
intellectual and physical. This<br />
unique combination has a practical<br />
impact on his interactions with<br />
colleagues.<br />
“My martial arts study<br />
has taught me the value of<br />
perseverance,” said Stevens, who<br />
earned his Ph.D. in political science<br />
at Boston <strong>College</strong>. “You engage<br />
issues multiple times, and even fail,<br />
to achieve success.”<br />
Although he is considered an<br />
advanced martial arts practitioner,<br />
his quest for new challenges never<br />
ends. “It’s all about personal<br />
improvement,” said Stevens. “I<br />
reached a certain level and wanted to<br />
challenge myself again. It’s exciting<br />
to keep pushing yourself.”<br />
In recent months, Stevens has<br />
been training for his next challenge:<br />
successfully completing a test<br />
with the International Combat<br />
Arts Federation to acquire a Fifth<br />
Degree Black Belt. During the test,<br />
he will re-affirm his mastery of all<br />
of the skills required to attain his<br />
current level and also demonstrate<br />
mastery of the bo. This ancient<br />
weapon, a wooden staff made of<br />
oak that is six feet in length and<br />
one and a half inches in diameter,<br />
is used to strike an opponent and<br />
disrupt balance.<br />
Stevens was introduced to the<br />
weapon by Master Zefo in Illinois,<br />
with whom he trained in kuk<br />
sool won, a martial art technique<br />
used in the Korean royal court to<br />
protect the emperor. While the<br />
bo is an impressive implement, its<br />
origin is a simple stick or branch.<br />
“In the past, people used what<br />
they could find around them for<br />
defense, especially when weapons<br />
were prohibited,” Stevens said.<br />
“Weapons training is about having<br />
the implement become an extension<br />
of your body.”<br />
“Master Zefo passed his bo to<br />
me,” he said, “as a sign of respect.<br />
Now I’m honoring him by studying<br />
its use.” The student has also<br />
become the teacher. Stevens has<br />
taught self-defense to colleagues<br />
and students for more than 20<br />
years.<br />
His leadership style is deeply<br />
rooted in the philosophical aspect<br />
of his training. Stevens places value<br />
on the principle of water, a core<br />
tenet that emphasizes fluidity and<br />
flexibility. These characteristics are<br />
important in an environment that<br />
places increasing demands on the<br />
liberal arts to demonstrate value for<br />
students’ careers and futures.<br />
“You let your actions flow like<br />
water instead of opposing force with<br />
force,” he said. “The principle<br />
enables you to modify, redirect, and<br />
use force against itself. It’s not about<br />
brute force. You move, channel, and<br />
ultimately succeed. I try to apply<br />
that in my life as well.”<br />
28
Meet Allison Nichols<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong>’s close-knit community, academic focus, and athletic talent attract Lynchburg native<br />
standout on the court in<br />
A high school and college,<br />
Allison Nichols has always enjoyed<br />
basketball. But early on, she knew<br />
her favorite place wasn’t on the<br />
court—it was on the sidelines.<br />
“I’ve always loved playing,” said<br />
the WildCat’s new women’s head<br />
basketball coach. “But deep down,<br />
I really just wanted to coach.”<br />
Nichols took over the reins of<br />
the team in May, following Melissa<br />
Wiggins, who coached the WildCats<br />
for 12 seasons.<br />
The move to Lynchburg was a<br />
homecoming for Nichols, who grew<br />
up in nearby Campbell County.<br />
Nichols is familiar with the Old<br />
Dominion Athletic Conference;<br />
while earning her undergraduate<br />
degree at Bridgewater <strong>College</strong> in<br />
Bridgewater, Virginia, she was part of<br />
a team that won two regular season<br />
conference titles. After graduation,<br />
Nichols traveled to Augusta State<br />
University in Augusta, Georgia,<br />
where, in addition to earning a<br />
master’s in kinesiology and health<br />
science, she began her coaching<br />
career as the assistant women’s<br />
basketball coach.<br />
Nichols helped lead the Lady<br />
Jaguars to a top three finish in<br />
the South Atlantic region, a Peach<br />
Belt Conference regular season<br />
co-championship, and an NCAA<br />
Tournament berth. In 2008, she<br />
joined East Carolina University’s<br />
women’s basketball program as<br />
director of basketball operations.<br />
The move to <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
was a chance for Nichols to return<br />
to Division III. “This is where I<br />
belong,” she said. “I believe that<br />
part of my job is to help my players<br />
meet their goals off the court. That<br />
means if they tell me they want to<br />
make the Dean’s List or become a<br />
teacher, it’s my responsibility to<br />
help them do that.”<br />
“What is most important<br />
to me is that we are building<br />
and improving and putting<br />
a better product out there<br />
with every game. Winning<br />
or losing aside, I want<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong> to have an<br />
exciting brand of women’s<br />
basketball.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Allison Nichols<br />
Women’s Head Basketball Coach<br />
Tina Hill, <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
athletic director, said Nichols’<br />
experience and dedication to<br />
students will be a valuable addition<br />
to the WildCat coaching staff. “She<br />
is a great motivator and will have<br />
high expectations for our students<br />
to excel in the classroom and on the<br />
court,” she said.<br />
The team’s first game is in<br />
November, and Nichols wasted<br />
no time getting started. She met<br />
with returning players in May<br />
when she arrived on campus and<br />
made contact with new players<br />
throughout the summer. She has<br />
already started recruiting efforts<br />
for next year.<br />
“It takes time to build a<br />
winning program,” she said. “What<br />
is most important to me is that<br />
we are building and improving<br />
and putting a better product out<br />
there with every game. Winning or<br />
losing aside, I want <strong>Randolph</strong> to<br />
have an exciting brand of women’s<br />
basketball.”<br />
She believes the team has what<br />
it takes to do just that. “This is a<br />
great group of players,” Nichols<br />
said. “They take their academics<br />
seriously, and they are willing to<br />
put forth the effort we need to be<br />
successful.”<br />
Nichols hopes her local<br />
connections will help with<br />
recruitment, and she believes<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong>’s close community is a<br />
selling point in itself.<br />
“There is something unique<br />
about this place,” she said. “To be<br />
able to bring a student on campus<br />
with their parents and be able to<br />
introduce them to the dean or the<br />
president in the Skeller or the<br />
dining hall is amazing. There is<br />
such a family atmosphere here.<br />
People don’t just say ‘hey’ to<br />
someone. They know them and<br />
genuinely care about them. It is<br />
impressive.”<br />
30
e an<br />
original<br />
Wanda WildCat Explores Lynchburg<br />
32
Decade of Service Provides Unique<br />
Perspective to Lynn Hume Stuart ’60<br />
“She really has a genuine<br />
interest in the future of the<br />
<strong>College</strong>, particularly how the<br />
campus will develop over the<br />
next 20 years.”<br />
The <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong> Board of Trustees<br />
Rick Barnes<br />
Professor of Psychology and<br />
Environmental Studies<br />
and member of the<br />
Facilities Master Plan Committee<br />
Lynn Hume Stuart ’60 cannot drive by the entrance to the <strong>College</strong> without<br />
feeling at home. “I get a psychological lift every time,” she said. “It’s a<br />
beautiful campus, but there is so much more to it than that. There<br />
is tradition and the people. I’m proud of this place.”<br />
After serving for 10 years on the Board of Trustees, Stuart will<br />
be stepping down this year. Trustees may only serve two terms<br />
consecutively. What she will not do is disappear. Stuart, who lives<br />
in Lynchburg, plans to remain involved on campus.<br />
A history major, Stuart met her future husband Bill during<br />
her junior year, and the two married shortly after she graduated.<br />
She pursued graduate work while he was in the military, and<br />
she taught at Virginia Tech when he attended graduate school<br />
there. They moved to Lynchburg in 1963 when he was hired at<br />
Wiley|Wilson, an engineering firm.<br />
“This <strong>College</strong> prepared me for my life,” she said. “I learned<br />
how to do research and how to write well. It gave me a broad<br />
perspective on the world.”<br />
Stuart was involved with the <strong>College</strong> for years before joining<br />
the Board of Trustees. She was one of the first docents at the<br />
<strong>College</strong>’s Maier Museum of Art. She also served as president of<br />
the Alumnae Association and co-owned a local travel business<br />
with Marie Woody Harris ’57.<br />
A Texas native and mother of three, Stuart began her tenure<br />
on the Board of Trustees as a way to be more involved with her alma mater.<br />
She served on various committees including the Buildings and Grounds<br />
Committee and the Facilities Master Plan Committee.<br />
“She really has a genuine interest in the future of the <strong>College</strong>, particularly<br />
how the campus will develop over the next 20 years,” said Rick Barnes, a<br />
psychology and environmental studies professor who worked on the Facilities<br />
Master Plan with Stuart. “She brought a perfect balance of seriousness and<br />
purpose but was also able to keep things in perspective.”<br />
Stuart enjoyed being a part of the planning process. The 10-year plan,<br />
which was approved by the Board in 2008, will guide <strong>Randolph</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
future growth. “It was interesting to get input from faculty and students and<br />
staff and to see it all evolve,” she said. “Being involved in something from<br />
start to finish was satisfying. So many master plans go on the shelf. This one<br />
is being used, and it’s being considered when we build for future growth. It<br />
is a workable plan.”<br />
Stuart is looking forward to watching <strong>Randolph</strong> grow during the coming<br />
years. “This <strong>College</strong> has really shown that it has staying power and values that<br />
are going to persist,” she said. “We have an amazing group of people here.”
Office of <strong>College</strong> Relations<br />
2500 Rivermont Avenue<br />
Lynchburg, Virginia 24503-1526<br />
NON-PROFIT ORG.<br />
U.S. POSTAGE<br />
PAID<br />
LYNCHBURG, VA<br />
PERMIT NO. 6<br />
Save the Date<br />
2010 Family Weekend<br />
September 24–26, 2010<br />
www.randolphcollege.edu/familyweekend