If you can dream it, you can do it - Stetson University

or the past three years Stetson 

University engaged in a 

process of reaccreditation by 

the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools (SACS). 

Involving hundreds of people 

and thousands of work hours, the mandatory 

self-study examined every aspect of the 

university. From the school's mission 

statement to educational programs, Stetson 

addressed some 480 criteria set down by the 

regional accrediting agency. 

The issue of accreditation is a major 

concern for any college or university. While 

SACS accredits the university at large, the 

various schools and colleges of the university 

are accredited by additional associations 

particular to their fields of study: the College 

of Law by the American Bar Association 

and the Association of American Law 

Schools; the School of Music by the 

National Association of Schools of Music; 

and the School of Business Administration 

by the AACSB International. Accreditation 

guarantees that a school is financially viable, 

adheres to agreed upon standards of 

conduct and complies with its stated purpose 

and mission. The benefits of accreditation 

include student access to state and federal 

loans and transfer of credit to other educational 

institutions, as well as recognition by 

one's peer institutions. 

During the fall of 1998, the President's 

Staff - as the primary planning and 

administrative body of the university - 

conducted an initial review of compliance. 

This work was handed over to a Self-Study 

Steering Committee in May 1999. With a 

stated purpose of eliciting broad-based 

participation in an on-going, improvementoriented, 

self-evaluation process, the 

Steering Committee solicited input from 

some 150 additional committee members in 

an effort to establish compliance, as well as 

identify potential areas for self-improvement. 

Over the next two years, several tangible 

and significant changes occurred as a direct 

result of the self-study process: A new 

mission statement addressing the core values 

of the university was ratified; numerous 

policies and procedures were updated; an 

on-line policy manual was developed; the 

function of the Institutional Research Office 

was expanded; a campus study center was 

established with a new staff member hired to 

direct it; improved support for Macintosh 

computer users was developed; and a 

revision of university and division-wide 

annual reports to include a section on 

assessment was instituted. 

More importantly, key issues that speak to 

the heart of the university were identified. 

The first pertains to academic quality, 

specifically as it relates to incoming student 

quality, student retention and the adequacy 

of our academic programs. A second 

concerns the role of faculty. Topics to be 

discussed in the coming year include 

teaching load, research and scholarly 

activity, service obligations, evaluation and 

merit. 

These are formidable issues. The 

strength of the university is that we have 

the will to address them. The thoroughness 

of the self-study review and analysis, the 

candor and openness of our Self-Study 

Report, and the strong participation of the 

university community were noted by the 

SACS visiting team in February 2001. Of 

the 480 required criteria, only 12 were 

deemed insufficient by SACS. These are 

presently being addressed by the 

President's Staff. An additional eight 

suggestions were made and two commendations 

received, which note the integration 

of values throughout the curriculum 

and the partnering that occurs between 

the university librarians and teaching 

faculty in integrating information literacy 

skills into the curriculum. In addition, the 

visiting team recognized the programs at 

the Stetson University Center at Celebration 

as equivalent to those offered on the 

main campus. 

The process of reaccreditation will be 

complete when affirmation is received from 

the Commission on Colleges of the Southern 

Association of Colleges and Schools at their 

annual meeting in December. While we are 

confident of the outcome, the real value of 

the self-study has been the energy we have 

brought to the process as we have worked 

together as an institution of higher education 

to identify our strengths and address our 

weaknesses in our pursuit of excellence. 

- Dr. Kandy Queen-Sutherland 

Queen-Sutherland, a 

professor of Religious 

Studies, directed 

Stetson University's 

self-study for 

reaccreditation. She 

earned a bachelor's 

degree from 

Winthrop College, 

now Winthrop 

University, Rock Hill, 

S. C., and a master of 

divinity degree and doctorate from Southern 

Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. 

STETSON UNIVERSITY

STETSON 

UNIVERSITY 

VOLUME 19 - NUMBER I 

PUBLICATIONS 

ADVISORY BOARD 

ALUMNI 

Corky and George Dannals 

Vincetta Giammanco Ford 

Martha Pollard Holler 

Claire Beth Langston Link 

Evelyn West-Mills 

Todd Richardson 

PARENTS COUNCIL 

Gwendolyn Owens 

Mary Kay Richter 

FACULTY AND STAFF 

Steve Barnett 

Ellen Smith 

Darald Stubbs 

STUDENT 

Shauna White 

H. Douglas Lee, President 

E Mark Whittaker, Vice 

President for University 

Relations 

Brian G. Miller, Executive 

Director of Marketing and 

Communications 

Editor and designer: Danielle 

Laprime '95 MA 

Writers: Cheryl Downs, Betty 

Brady and others as noted 

Cover: A landmark of 

Stetson University's 

beautiful DeLand 

campus, the Cupola 

on Elizabeth Hall, has 

been refurbished. It is 

lighted each evening 

at dusk. 

International Education 

at Stetson University 

STUDYING ABROAD: 

THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME 

If you can dream it, you can do it - 2 

Stetson University takes the high road to Scotland - 4 

My Scotland diary - 6 

Perry finds passion in service to others - 8 

The world is Torres' classroom - 10 

The Alliance for International Reforestation Inc. - 11 

More on Stetson's Guatemalan connection - 13 

Art takes flight - 15 

DAYS TO REMEMBER: STETSON UNIVERSITY 

RESPONDS TO TRAGEDY 21 

STETSON `CELEBRATES' 

NEW $7.2 MILLION CAMPUS - 31 

DEPARTMENTS 

LET'S TALK: ABOUT ACCREDITATION - Opposite page 

CUPOLA: ALUMNI NEWS - 16 

UNDER THE CUPOLA - 22 

CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT: STETSON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 

A WINNING TEAM - 33 

Stetson University is published semiannually by Stetson University, DeLand, 

Florida 32720-3781, and is distributed to its alumni, families, and friends. 

Printed by Independent Printing, Daytona Beach, on recycled paper. 

Visit Stetson University on the Internet: www.stetson.edu 

15 

4 

11 

31

The following pages 

showcase selected 

Stetson University 

programs and student 

and faculty experiences 

abroad. For more 

information on 

Stetson's Study Abroad 

Program, visit the 

Center for 

International 

Education online at 

< www.stetson.edu/ 

Offices/international>, 

on campus at 

202 E. University Ave. 

(behind Health 

Services) or call 

(386) 822-8165. 

If you can dream it, you can do it 

Studying abroad: 

The adventure of a lifetime 

By Nancy Leonard 

Most college students who participate in study 

abroad programs rank the experience among 

the best of their college careers. Study abroad 

offers a chance to learn a second language to 

fluency, gain independence and develop 

maturity. It can be a life-changing 

experience, giving young persons focus and inspiration and making 

them more competitive in the job market with a broader view of the 

world and international culture. 

Stetson University is committed to fostering global awareness and 

international understanding in its students. Stetson offers its students 

an impressive number of opportunities to study abroad, including an 

academic year or semester abroad, internships abroad, off-campus 

programs abroad and summer programs, allowing them to experience -Stetson student in Mexico 

life in another culture firsthand and encouraging them to be citizens 

of the world. Students earn academic credit for all international 

programs offered, and often complete a foreign language minor in a single semester. The university has 

ensured the affordability of study abroad by making financial aid and Stetson scholarships available for 

all semester and academic year abroad sites. Study abroad with Stetson University is safe, affordable 

and educational. 

"I really saw how 

different things 

are compared to 

here, and it makes 

you appreciate 

things more and 

admire the things 

others do." 

A cademic year/semester abroad 

Currently the Center for International Education 

oversees seven permanent sites in Spain, France, 

England, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong and 

Mexico. The programs in Spain, France, 

Germany, Mexico and Russia are primarily 

foreign language programs where students can 

improve or perfect their skills in the host 

country's language. Students with very strong 

foreign language skills are encouraged to take 

courses from the mainstream curriculum at their 

host universities. 

Stetson University employs a resident director 

at each of the foreign language sites to assist 

students in their orientation and adjustment to 

their program abroad, as well as see to their 

Stetson students explore the Palace of 

the Popes in Avignon, Prance. 

2 STETSON UNIVERSITY

overall well-being during their experience. At our 

sites at Hong Kong Baptist University and The 

Nottingham-Trent University in England, our 

students are assisted by the universities' own 

international student offices. 

Study-abroad programs are organized to ensure 

the richest possible cross-cultural experience. We 

emphasize academics and experience. Students are 

encouraged to spend time with the people of the 

host culture. They are housed in international 

student residences or with host families, and are 

encouraged to take part in cultural trips within the 

host country organized by their resident directors 

and international student 

Internships Abroad 

Internships abroad are organized through various 

academic departments and the Center for 

International Education. Stetson's Department of 

Education currently has internships in the local 

schools in Germany and Mexico for teachers-intraining 

and hopes to offer similar opportunities in 

England soon. Latin American Studies and Political 

Science professors encourage students to participate in internships in Central and South 

America. In recent years, LAS and Political Science students have interned in Uruguay, 

Argentina, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The Center for International Education facilitates 

internships in Mexico and offers Stetson students the opportunity to work in the city government of 

Granada, Spain. 

"It's so much 

better to learn 

the language, 

history, culture, 

etc., when 

you're living 

FALL 2001 

in it." 

-Stetson student 

in Hong Kong 

Off-Campus Programs 

For students who are unable to participate in semester-long programs 

abroad, Stetson offers short, intensive study trips abroad during 

semester breaks. Off-campus programs, each with an academic focus, 

are organized and led by Stetson professors. In the past two years, 

these programs have taken our students to more than 20 countries, 

including Vietnam, Singapore and China (business practices in 

Southeast Asia); Mexico; Oxford University, England (creative nonfiction); 

Kyrgyzstan (politics and society); Panama (offshore 

banking); and Greece and Turkey (religious studies). 

Summer Programs 

Each summer the Center for International Education offers a onemonth 

intensive Spanish program in Guanajuato, Mexico, and the 

School of Business runs a very popular program in Innsbruck, 

Austria. 

Leonard, director of International Education, has spent 17 years abroad, 

mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Most recently she was the 

academic director of English Language Service (ELS) institutes in Seoul 

and Taegu, South Korea, and trained English teachers in Rangoon, 

Burma. She is enjoying her second year at Stetson. 

Belkys Torres visits a 

castle in Avila, Spain. 

"Studying 

abroad has 

been the most 

rewarding 

aspect 

of college so 

far." 

- Stetson student in Spain

Holy Trinity Church 

The piper, a young lass 

from just a few miles 

outside St. Andrews, 

led the 52 choristers 

into the church, the 

haunting notes of her 

bagpipes drifting up 

into the hardwood 

rafters more than 100 

feet above the heads 

of the audience. 

Nearly three years of 

rehearsal, preparation 

and fund raising by the 


Children's Choir was 

about to culminate in 

the next 90 minutes of 

performance. It was the 

performance of their 

lives and it kicked off 

more than a week of 

hard work- a week 

that left the best music 

teachers in the world 

using phrases like 

"world class" and 

"professional level" to 

describe the young 

singers from DeLand, 

Fla. 

4 

Photos by Judy Miller, 

Brian G. Miller and 

Mary Beth Heacock. 


Children's Choir takes the 

high road to success 

in Scotland 

By Brian G. Miller 

St. Andrews, Scotland-It is not very original to say, but there was not a dry eye in the 

house. And this house was a church that, if you believed the sign out front that said it 

was 300 years old when it was moved to its present location in 1407, has seen a lot of tears. 

This night the members of the Stetson University Children's Choir encircled the stone 

sanctuary, hand-in-hand with their new best friends from the Lochgelly High School 

Chorus, singing Auld Lang Sync as sweetly as Robert Burns ever imagined it could be sung. 

And these extra special tears shined on the smiling faces of performers and observers alike. 

To understand how this group of young performers made the venue change from the Elizabeth Hall 

Chapel in DeLand to the Holy Trinity Church in one of Scotland's oldest and most famous cities, you 

have to talk to Dr. Ann Small, the founder and artistic director of the choir. In just 15 years (longer than 

most of the current choristers have been alive) Small has taken this group from zero to international 

prominence. 

Members of the Children's Choir, along with the Scottish Lochgelly High School Chorus, were invited 

to be the Young-Artists-In-Residence, the best of the best, at the Choral Music Experience for Choral 

Teacher Education. This is the premiere professional development opportunity in the world, held each 

summer for choral teachers and conductors to learn from some of the top professionals in the world, 

while conducting and practicing on the most talented choirs. Also invited, though not as the coveted 

Young-Artists-in-Residence, were the children's choirs from a couple of other small towns you may have 

heard of-St. Louis and Tampa. 

"This group of wonderful young people deserved so much to make this trip, we knew we had to find a 

way," Small said. 

That is where nearly three years of planning; grant writing; golf tournaments; Christmas ornament 

sales; individual contributions; sponsorships; and the genuine generosity of countless family, friends, 

neighbors, businesses, and 

Stetson administrators, staff, 

faculty, students and alumni 

became involved. Pat Baldauff, 

whose daughter Ginny has been 

a soprano in the choir for nine 

years, agreed to spearhead the 

fund-raising effort. The goal: to 

offset the costs to send 52 

choristers, 26 chaperones and 

three staff members on what 

Choristers take a 

break in St. Andrews 

before one of their 

performances. 

STETSON UNIVERSITY

quickly would become characterized as "a once -in-a-lifetime trip." 

"We call them àngels' in our program- the individuals and companies who 

stepped up with the financial help we needed to make this trip affordable for these 

children and their families," said Claudia Gatewood, director of Stetson's Community 

School of the Arts, of which the Children's Choir is a part. "If we didn't talk to 

everyone in two counties telling our story, they must not have been home or in the 

office that day!" 

These young ambassadors represented Stetson 

University well as they traveled by plane from 

Orlando to London, many of them flying for the first 

time. Two days were spent in London sightseeing and 

resting up for the serious work ahead. (See story p. 6.) 

A train to Edinburgh and finally a bus carried the 

group to the beautiful and gently hilly town of St. Andrews on the 

North Sea coast, and the university residence halls that would be home 

for the second phase of the adventure. Ironically, while Stetson is 

justifiably proud of its 118-year history and status as Florida's first private 

university, the University of St. Andrews bills itself as Scotland's first 

university and was founded in 1411. "I don't think anything in 

Florida is as old as most of the buildings that are still used everyday in 

Scotland," one choir member said in describing the Old World that was 

so new to all of them. 

Chaperones timed their single afternoon off to maximize 

their chances of playing a round of golf on the famed "Old Course" where golf was invented. 

Or they toured local castles or attended the Highlands games held in an open field just at 

the edge of town. 

The week began with a concert in the historic St. Andrews church and ended with a 

concert in the Canongate Church in Edinburgh. The concert repertoire included Poulenc's 

"Litanies a la Vierge Noire," selections from Britten's Ceremony of Carols with 13-year-old 

Cameron Huster of DeLand playing the harp, and "Carol of the Rose" from Randall 

Thompson's Place of the Best. 

The highlight of each performance was the four newly commissioned arrangements of 

Scottish folksongs by Lee Kesselman. The achingly sad and yet uplifting Skye Boat Song tells 

of the centuries of fighting and war that Scotland has seen and the spirit of resiliency that 

the Scots take such pride in: 

"Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, 

Onward, the sailors cry. 

Carry the lad that's born to be king over the sea to Skye. 

Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar, 

Thunderclaps rend the air. 

Baffled our foes stand by the shore, follow they will not dare. 

Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, 

Onward, the sailors cry. 

Carry the lad that's born to be king over the sea to Skye." 

As the choristers from the two groups ended the final concert, they 

hugged their newfound best friends. Both groups, Scottish and 

American, wondered how the other could sing so well with those 

funny accents. They repeated their vows to write and renewed 

invitations to come to Florida for some American hospitality. For 

the second time on the trip, there was not a dry eye in the house. 

Miller is the parent of a chorister, a chaperone for the trip and executive 

director o f marketing and communications for Stetson University. 

FALL 2001 

From left are choristers 

Elizabeth King, Jessica 

Heacock, Cameron 

Huster and Lydia 

Mulkey. 

The group enjoys a 

round of golf on the 

famous "Old Course." 

The choristers perform in 

the historic St. Andrews 

church. 

5

Cortney Miller, 12, is a 

seventh grader at DeLand 

Middle School, where she is 

active in the Junior Beta 

Club. She has been a member 

of the Children's Choir for 

more than three years. Her 

travels through the United 

Kingdom have given her the 

desire someday to live in 

London. 

My Scotland diary 

By Cortney Miller 

Today is the day before the 

Children's Choir leaves for Great 

Britain, and it almost doesn't 

seem real. We have worked 

incredibly hard to get to this 

point, and it still seems like such 

a dream. We've sold so many 

ornaments that I figure the 

whole town of DeLand will be 

sporting commemorative Stetson 

University decorations on their 

Christmas trees this year! The 

lack of T-shirts I sold was made 

up for in donations. In the end, I 

earned all but about $200 of the 

trip's cost. That's not bad, 

considering that we've been 

fund raising since around 

October! 

I'm almost packed. I have 

four new uniforms and numerous 

other things Mom and I had 

to buy for the trip. I got a red 

choir backpack (everyone has to 

have one) to put my music and 

plane stuff in. Stetson also had 

special luggage tags made for us. 

I still can't believe we're actually 

going! 

I got up pretty early this morning 

and finished getting everything 

together. Luckily, I was able to 

fit everything in one suitcase. 

My parents, who are going as 

chaperones, have also finished 

their packing. My excitement 

was mounting by the minute, 

and it skyrocketed when we 

pulled around the corner and I 

saw the two Greyhound-type 

tour buses parked on the street. 

Luggage was scattered everywhere, 

and people were double- 

checking lists and saying goodbyes. 

My friend and I talked about 

what we thought the plane was 

going to be like (the rumor was 

that each of our seats had a 

personal TV in front of it), the 

food we would eat and whom 

we planned to sit next to. Pop 

videotaped a little bit of what 

was going on, while we looked 

at some news reporters questioning 

one of the older girls. 

Soon it was time to leave. Lots 

of parents were crying as they 

watched their children board 

the buses. I realized how lucky I 

was to be able to have both my 

parents go with me. Then again, 

I was really lucky just to be 

going myself! Scotland, here we 

come! 

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!! 

What a day I've had! I didn't 

really sleep on the plane because 

I was too excited to close my 

eyes, so I'm really tired. The 

plane ride was very fun. I read, 

listened to the radio and 

watched TV (the rumor about a 

personal TV in front of our seats 

was true!). They served us food, 

but most of it was super disgust- 

ing. Anyway, we disembarked 

and went through customs. 

Everyone had to be really quiet 

and solemn. They let us in and 

we went to find our luggage. 

Once we were all on the bus, we 

started toward our hotel in 

Chelsea, London. I slept a little 

on the bus, but woke up in time 

to see a little of the city. We 

waited about 30 minutes to get a 

room, but were out sightseeing 

in no time. Lunch was on our 

own, so we ate at a pub called 

Brittania down the street. 

We took the tube (the 

London Underground Subway 

System) to Buckingham Palace. 

It was breathtakingly beautiful! I 

couldn't believe my eyes. Our 

next stop was the famous 

Harrods of Knightsbridge. We 

got there via double-decker bus 

and, of course, sat on top. Mom 

really wanted to have high tea 

at Harrods, so we did! I'm really 

glad she insisted because it was 

definitely something I'll tell my 

children about. We nibbled on 

"Mom and I visit 

London." Chaperone 

Judy Miller and Cortney 

tour famous sites. 

everything from cucumber 

sandwiches to scones. Then we 

went shopping! 

Yesterday we went to the Tower 

of London, Westminster Abbey 

and Covent Garden. The Tower 


Cortney visits 

Edinburgh Castle. 

has a glorious view of the Tower 

Bridge and is home to the 

Crown Jewels. Westminster 

Abbey is where the kings and 

queens of England are crowned, 

and where they and their 

children are buried. My favorite 

stop of the day was Westminster 

Abbey, but the most surprising 

was Covent Garden. I expected 

it to be a garden full of beautiful 

flowers and statues. Well, I got 

quite a shock when we pulled 

up to a bustling marketplace. We 

ate lunch and did a little more 

shopping. Once back at the 

hotel, Mom and I took naps 

while Pop got us all some dinner 

(pizza). 

That night was the play, so we 

had to hurry up and get ready. 

We saw Starlight Express - a 

musical play. It was lots of fun to 

watch! The actors and actresses 

were all on skates and had races 

around the stage, which was set 

up to look like a racetrack. 

Their faces were painted and 

they wore shiny, flashy costumes. 

Today we got up early and 

took our motorcoach to King's 

Cross Station for our train out to 

Edinburgh (pronounced Ed-inburr-oh). 

The train ride was a 

first for me and I loved every 

minute of it. 

FALL 2001 

We then took another 

motorcoach from Edinburgh to 

St. Andrews. It took us a while 

to find the right dorm, but we 

got there eventually. We had a 

little social this evening so that 

we could get to know the 

choristers from Lochgelly High 

School in Scotland, who would 

be singing with us. There was a 

rehearsal tonight for our big 

concert tomorrow night. 

There was an opening ceremony 

and our first rehearsal this 

morning. We went over 

everything we are going to do in 

the next week. We rested up for 

the concert this afternoon and 

had another rehearsal tonight. 

After the concert, I really felt 

like we deserved the recognition 

we had been given as the 

Young-Artists-in-Residence. 

Everyone was crying, including 

me. Our last song involved 

holding hands and standing in a 

circle around the audience. 

Even after the last note had 

penetrated the air, I think 

everyone held on a little bit 

longer. 

I was filled with such 

emotion - I was almost 

indescribably happy over how 

well we had done, proud of 

myself and my fellow choristers 

over our efforts and hard work, 

and somewhat sad that it v - was 

already over so quick. I looked 

around and saw the exact same 

emotion on my old and new 

friends' faces. I was also amazed 

that although the Stetson choir 

and the Lochgelly choir were 

very different, we had bonded 

almost instantly. I knew I would 

never, ever forget our concert 

that night. 

Our schedule each day this past 

week was the same, including 

rehearsals, Tai Chi with "Tai Chi 

Bill," meals and an evening 

activity. 

All our meals were in the 

cafeteria, which was in the 

basement of the dorm. We ate 

with all the other choirs, which 

gave us a good chance to get to 

know each other. Rehearsals 

were wonderful! Dr. Rao made 

them lots of fun, and she 

challenged us to use our voices 

to their best. Tai Chi was a great 

relaxer because sometimes 

practice could get a little 

stressful. Master Class was one of 

the highlights of the day. Young 

conductors who are studying 

under Dr. Rao conducted us 

and were graded on how well 

they did. It was fun to experience 

the variety of their 

conducting styles (and watch 

them squirm under the watchful 

eyes of their teacher). Our 

evening activities have been 

another highlight. They've been 

different every night and were 

lots of fun. 

On Wednesday, we got the 

afternoon off, so we went to the 

St. Andrews castle ruins, the 

Cathedral in St. Andrews and 

miniature golfing on the famous 

Old Course. I didn't really know 

what the Old Course was until I 

saw the British Open on TV a 

few days before we went. We 

got to play on the practice green, 

which is sort of like a miniature 

golf course in America, except 

it's on the world's most famous 

golf course. Plus, Tiger Woods 

had walked on the very same 

turf that I walked on! That 

practically makes me famous 

myself! 

The Ceilidh was another big 

trip highlight. We danced with 

our friends from Lochgelly to 

traditional Scottish music 

provided by a kilt-clad quartet. 

We danced until late in the 

evening. Earlier that day, we 

had lunch at the town hall. We 

ate traditional Scottish foods 

that were actually very good! 

I can't believe it's over. This trip 

has been both a blast and a lot of 

hard work. I learned a lot about 

singing, about my fellow choir 

members and about myself. 

Everyone keeps saying this is the 

trip of a lifetime and I see now 

that they're right. I am so 

thankful to Dr. Small, Ms. 

Gatewood, Mrs. Baldauff and 

my family and friends for 

making this possible. I'll never 

forget it. 

The choristers' circle 

of hands was symbolic 

of the friendship and 

mutual respect they 

developed during 

their stay. 

7

STETSON UNIVERSITY

Perry finds passion in service to others 

By Molly Justice 

B 

eing raised in a family with a history of civic 

and community service, Brian Perry has 

always been exposed to the virtue of helping 

others. So the decision he made in 1998 to 

join the Peace Corps came with little surprise. 

"I believe that service to others is imperative 

for a healthy, modern community," said the 31-year-old Stetson 

University political science graduate ('93). "It is not enough to just 

pay taxes and go to work. One must put in considerable sweat equity 

so that the organizations that support our communities are healthy 

and have regular input from citizens. Joining the Peace Corps was a 

natural next step in this philosophy." 

Perry entered the Peace Corps in 1999 and was assigned to work 

in Zouan-Hounien, Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, for two years. Zouan- 

Hounicn is near the Liberian border in the western part of Cote 

d'Ivoire, a nation of about 15.8 million people. Cote d'Ivoire is the 

world's largest producer of raw cocoa and also produces coffee, rice, 

yams and other vegetables. Some of the problems facing the town 

include canals filled with dirt, weeds, trash and water; uncollected 

garbage; stagnant water; wandering livestock; and contaminated 

wells. 

In addition to sanitation issues, the country has weathered a 

period of political instability and civil unrest in the past few years. 

Violence broke out last fall after a controversial vote ousted the 

incumbent dictator from power. More than a dozen civilians were 

killed during the protests. 

Perry and the other 119 volunteers were the first Peace Corps 

group to work in the country. He worked with the urban environmental 

management program, which helps town halls tackle the 

environmental problems facing the region as their areas become 

larger and is responsible for the general environmental management 

of 25 small villages. 

"I have always gravitated toward civil service jobs and 

volunteerism," he said. "As a student of government, I do not believe 

that there is a more direct vehicle to make positive changes in the 

world today than that of government agencies and non-governmental 

organizations." 

After graduating from Stetson, Perry worked for about five years 

for the state court system as a court service officer in the 7C`' judicial 

Circuit, which includes Volusia County. During his last two years 

with the state, Perry assisted with the development and implementation 

of the drug court program, which is a sentencing alternative to 

incarceration designed to rehabilitate qualified drug offenders. 

He received his master's degree in public administration from the 

University of Central Florida in 1998. Less than a year later, Perry left 

Volusia County to go into the Peace Corps. He initially was sched- 

Stetson alumnus Brian Perry in Zouan-Hounlen, 

Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, with a traditional 

"lutter" or wrestler. (Photo courtesy of Brian Perry) 

FALL 2001 

uled to go to Macedonia and work as a consultant with nongovernmental 

organizations in Eastern Europe. His plans changed 

as the conflict in Kosovo escalated. He now was faced with the 

dilemma of mastering the language of the people in Cote d'Ivoire 

-French. Perry said this came easy to him because he had to live 

in a society surrounded by the language. 

"After 18 months, I have mastered the language sufficiently to 

live and work here," he said. "I have not regretted coming to 

Africa for one moment." 

While he cannot pick out one significant person or event from 

his experience, Perry said he's been most impressed with the 

overall resiliency of the people and the way each village tends to 

look after its own. 

"There are many proverbs that are used here in Africa and 

Cote d'Ivoire in general, but one that may embody the spirit here 

is, `Where there is enough for one to eat, there is enough for two. 

Where there is a place for one to sleep, there is a place for two.' 

This puts the idea of a community taking care of its own to a new 

level. Here they do not just say it." 

Perry said many of his Stetson experiences, both in and out of 

the classroom, helped prepare him for his Peace Corps work. 

"My studies in the Political Science Department have given me 

the theoretical framework to understand what is going on around 

me. Since my work is with the local municipality, this has been 

very important," he said. "Also, during my senior seminar with Dr. 

(Gene) Huskey we focused on èthnicity in conflict.' This in 

particular has given me a base with which to watch events in Cote 

d'Ivoire and Africa as a whole." 

Huskey, a Stetson political science professor, said his seminar 

teaches students about how people in other countries divide 

themselves and what conflicts arise out of those divisions. He said 

Africa has the richest human diversity in the world and hoped 

that Perry's studies at Stetson had somewhat prepared him for his 

Peace Corps experience. 

"He is a person who finds hope where others see despair, and so 

he is especially well-suited for service in a region with serious 

economic and political challenges. All of his work has been 

devoted to the service of others," Huskey said. 

Perry completed his Peace Corps service in September and is 

pursuing job opportunities with the U.S. government and international 

non-governmental organizations doing development work. 

He hopes that his future profession will take him overseas. 

"While being in the Peace Corps, I have gained a new appreciation 

for life in the U.S.," he said. "Even more so, it has given me an 

appreciation for life outside the U.S. I have come to receive new 

cultures with great fondness and tolerance -finding the many 

ways in which people organize their lives and communities quite 

fascinating." 

Justice is the associate director of communications in Stetson's Office of 

Marketing and Communications. Before coming to Stetson in January, she 

was a staff writer for The Daytona Beach News-journal. 

9


The world is Torres' classroom 

By Molly justice 

Textbooks can't convey the lessons learned while 

traveling and studying abroad, according to Stetson 

University graduate Belkys Torres. 

During her four years at Stetson, the 22-year-old 

English and Spanish major traveled to both 

Guatemala and Spain through the Alliance for 

International Reforestation (AIR) (see story, p. 12) and study abroad 

program (see story, p. 2), respectively. 

"These experiences changed me completely! I feel I have become 

more open-minded, more open to new experiences and more aware 

that Florida is not the center of the world," Torres said. "I value my 

abilities even more because I have taken on and succeeded in these 

adventures of traveling and living abroad." 

Her most recent trip abroad was to Spain in spring 2000 to study at 

the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. There, Torres studied 

20th - century Spanish theater, popular literature in England and 

works by Miguel Saavedra de Cervantes. 

Torres was one of 20 Stetson students who studied at the university 

in Madrid for a semester and lived with host families. In addition 

to her studies, Torres also traveled to other cities in Spain such as 

Barcelona, San Sebastian, Cadiz and Santiago de Compostela. 

"You walk away with a greater feel of what the culture is actually 

like," she said. Students were able to talk about places they could 

visit and art they could see in person, she said. 

In 1999, Torres traveled to Guatemala with four other Stetson 

students in the AIR program, under the direction of Political Science 

Professor Anne Hallum. Students are able to participate in the 

program through all-expense paid internships funded by Stetson 

Trustee David Rinker. The students spent several weeks in 

Guatemala and spoke with government officials about what they 

were doing to help the ecological efforts of AIR. Additionally, Torres 

said she went into the rural areas of the country and learned about 

the region's agriculture. 

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to get out of the Stetson 

community and use what we learn in the classroom," she said, 

adding that she went to "experience the things the text just can't 

convey." 

By planting trees with the Guatemalan people and living in their 

environment, Torres said she left with a new appreciation for what 

she has and how people in other parts of the world live. 

"You're just more humbled," she said. 

In addition to her experiences abroad, Torres also has been 

involved in raising awareness of cultural diversity at Stetson. She is 

founder and past-president of HOLA, an organization of Hispanic 

Belkys Torres with school children in Guatemala 

where she participated in the AIR program, lived 

with a local family and learned about the region. (Photo 

courtesy of BeIkys Torres) 

students on campus. Torres also was president of the Multicultural 

Student Council and a student assistant in the Latin American 

Studies Program. 

Although Torres was born in the United States, her parents are 

Cuban and she was raised speaking both English and Spanish in 

Miami. 

"I hadn't noticed that I was very different from anyone else until I 

got to Stetson," she said. 

Torres wanted to form HOLA as a support network for other 

Hispanic students. 

"HOLA is a very positive aspect of Stetson's community," she 

said. "I am pleased by that and by the fact that it brings an awareness 

that there is a Hispanic community on campus." 

Not only have her extracurricular interests focused on her 

ethnicity, Torres' studies have also focused on Hispanic culture. 

She received a Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience grant 

in summer 2000 and presented her findings entitled, "Fiction, 

Feminism and Melodrama: Contemporary Hispanic Women's 

Literature," to the university community in January. Her research 

explores how Hispanic-American women writers use their novels to 

disprove commonly held stereotypes of Hispanic women as they are 

portrayed in Latin American soap operas. 

Torres' adviser for the project was Associate Professor of English 

Karen Kaivola. Kaivola said Torres and other equally committed 

students have broadened understanding of cultural diversity at 

Stetson. 

"(They have) given Hispanic culture a much more visible 

presence and developed important connections with other groups 

working to make Stetson a more inclusive community," she said. 

"Owing to their efforts, Stetson is a different place now than it was 

when they arrived on campus four years ago." 

Kaivola said that Torres also brings a passion for understanding the 

dynamics of cultural differences to her course work as well. 

"As a student, she is intellectually ambitious, pushing beyond the 

obvious in order to arrive at more complex and more substantive 

understandings of ideas, cultures and representations," she said. 

"As a person, she is intelligent, energetic, open-minded and 

compassionate." 

Torres graduated in May and is working at the University of 

Miami School of Law. She plans to return to school to earn a 

doctorate in English cross-cultural literature and later teach at a 

university. 

Mary Napier contributed to this article. Napier is a former associate vice 

president for enrollment management and dean of admissions at Stetson 

University. 

FALL 2001 11

Stetson students and members of AIR staff join 

Anne Hallum, second from left. 

Hallum plants trees in 

Nicaragua with AIR-Nicaragua. 

Students and professors build a fuel-efficient stove 

in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. 

1 2 

The Alliance for International Reforestation Inc. 

(AIR) is a non-profit organization based at 

Stetson University and working to make a 

difference for the people of Guatemala and 

Nicaragua. AIR plants trees, establishes tree 

nurseries, provides environmental education for 

teachers and farmers, digs wells, builds fuel-efficient brick ovens 

and helps deal with the many environmental challenges the 

residents face. 

Since 1991, AIR has planted more than 1.9 million trees, helping 

to make areas of Guatemala and Nicaragua green again. AIR's 

U.S. office is housed on Stetson University's campus in DeLand, 

where its founder and U.S. Board Director Dr. Anne Hallum is a 

professor of political science. Permanent staff members live and 

work in Guatemala and Nicaragua. These countries face many 

environmental problems: deforestation, soil erosion and excessive 

dependence on chemical products. 

A population explosion and inequitable land distribution 

practices have forced the poor to either clear land for food 

production or to migrate to urban areas, continuing the oppressive 

cycle of poverty. In addition, the dangerous misuse of chemical 

fertilizers and pesticides in an attempt to increase harvests for 

export crops is ruining soil fertility and endangering the farmers' 

health. Many of these toxic chemical products are even illegal in 

the countries that produce and export them to Central America. 

Almost 1,620 sq. km. of tropical rainforest is destroyed annually. 

Since 1960, more than 54 percent of the forest cover has been 

removed. Furthermore, 71 percent of the inhabitants rely on 

firewood as their sole energy source. 

AIR addresses these problems by rebuilding the environment 

and by teaching sound environmental practices. AIR trains 

community reforestation groups to create reforestation nurseries, 

where they produce and plant native, fast growing trees, fruit trees 

and medicinal plants. In cooperation with a Guatemalan organization, 

BOPAZ (Bosques para el Paz), AIR trains rural teachers and 

provides environmental curriculum that is being used in more than 

100 classrooms. AIR also produces its own radio program about the 

environment and farming concerns and builds brick stoves that 

cut the use of firewood almost in half. The stoves ventilate 

harmful smoke and prevent children from being burned. 

The programs are offered to all members of the community: 

men, women and children. All of AIR's paid employees are 

Guatemalans or Nicaraguans who know the language and culture 

of the region where they work. For more information, please 

contact: 

Dr. Anne Hallum 


421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8301 

DeLand, FL 32720 

Telephone: (386) 822-7575 

e-mail: ahallum@stetson.edu 

Web page: www.stetson.edu/organizations/forest/air 

STETSON UNIVERSITY

More on Stetson's Guatemalan connection 

By Dr. Anne Motley Hallum 

F T 

ormer students of Stetson University often recall the lifechanging 

experiences their university provided during 

their four years here or studying abroad. As a faculty 

member, I also must credit Stetson University for providing me 

with a life-changing opportunity. 

In 1990,1 made my first trip to Latin America as the faculty 

instructor for a political science course on "The Struggle for 

Democracy in Guatemala." I had studied Latin American 

politics at Vanderbilt University and had read a great deal on the 

subject. Since I am an American government specialist, I had 

never actually been to that region and barely knew a word of 

Spanish. Fortunately, with the help of our guides, we were able 

to interview religious and political leaders, including future 

presidents. We also saw scenes of devastating soil erosion and 

deforestation as the livelihood of this agricultural country 

washed away into muddy rivers. And we met the most generous, 

hard-working, peaceful people I have ever known, the indigenous 

Maya. 

In 1992, less than two years after our first visit, one of the 

students and I decided to form our own environmental organization 

to tackle the problem of deforestation in Guatemala: The 

Alliance for International Reforestation Inc. (AIR). The student 

soon went on to a more lucrative profession than fund raising 

(law), but AIR Inc. has remained a central part of my life and 

has grown beyond my fondest hopes. It is also a wonderful source 

of educational experiences for students, now that the civil war in 

Guatemala is over. 

Fast-forward to the year 2001 and 26 more trips for me to 

Guatemala and several to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador 

and Honduras. Some of these trips were solo; some involved 

church groups; several included students doing field research; 

and some occurred during my own sabbatical granted by Stetson 

so that I could conduct research in Central America. 

AIR Inc. now operates in 35 villages in Guatemala and has 

expanded to Nicaragua as well. We have built 35 tree nurseries 

with an average of 20,000 tree seedlings each. We have printed 

environmental textbooks and manuals for farmers on improved 

farming techniques. More than 500 fuel-efficient stoves save 

almost 500 tons of firewood each year. 

The chairman of Stetson University's Board of Trustees, Dr. 

David Rinker, has earmarked a grant each summer so that two 

students may travel to Guatemala or Nicaragua for an internship 

experience with AIR. (See stories, p. l l and p. 14.) My thanks to 

Dr. Rinker, to Certified Public Accountant Ann Rigsby and 

Attorney Janet Martinez for their professional expertise, and to 

all the individuals and organizations who support this exciting 

work and to Stetson for providing so many opportunities for 

growth. 

Hallum teaches political science and Latin American studies at 

Stetson. 

Stetson in the village of All Saints 

By Dr. Robert Sitler 

odos Santos Cuchumatan is a municipality in the northwest 

Guatemalan highlands inhabited by people known as 

"Mam," a word that refers to the revered elders and ancestors 

of the ancient Mayan Indian tradition. The Mam of Todos Santos 

("All Saints") farm rugged slopes that soar from banana and coffee 

groves at 4,000 feet to dwarf evergreens swaying in frigid winds at 

nearly 12,000 feet. Their history has been marked by epic struggles 

with adversity and triumphs of the human spirit. They grow their own 

food, make their own elaborately woven clothing and bathe in 

earthen saunas on cold, starry nights. As part of my work at Stetson 

University, I've had an opportunity to develop a transformative 

relationship with this community that has enriched my life in ways I 

never imagined. 

Stetson has established a fledgling relationship with Todos Santos 

that has been mutually beneficial. Mayan families and civic organizations 

hosted two university students as interns, one as a language 

program coordinator and another as a nursery worker in a reforestation 

program. Stetson has contributed computer hardware to the 

blossoming Todos Santos public library. Todosanteros facilitated a twoweek 

course on Mayan culture for five Stetson students who studied 

the Mam language, weaving and herbal medicine, besides participating 

in community work projects and celebrations. Shortly thereafter, 

the Pablo-Mendoza family came from Todos Santos for two weeks of 

sharing the Mayan world in enlivening cultural programs and classes 

on the DeLand campus. The Stetson-supported Alliance for International 

Reforestation Inc. (AIR) helps maintain the vibrant Todos 

Santos nursery that produces some 100,000 seedlings annually, and 

the university hosts a web site for the community's civic improvement 

projects. (See http://www.stetson.edu/-rsitler/TodosSantos/ ) In 

March, Desiderio Martin, the nursery supervisor and one of the most 

respected native elders in the region, visited Stetson along with his 

wife, Tecla, who is a master weaver, and their youngest son, Juan 

Andres, who is currently pursuing a degree in forestry. For details on 

this visit, see . 

The overwhelming richness of the human environment in Todos 

Santos flows naturally from several millennia of continuous habitation 

in the same valley by people deliberately attentive to the earth's 

rhythms. Nearly every person in Todos Santos is a talented artisan, 

either brocading patterns of astonishing complexity in their clothing 

or crocheting rainbow-hued handbags. The work provides all with an 

outlet for creative expression and an invaluable tool for mental selfdiscipline. 

Mirroring the love and appreciation for newborns, elders of the 

community are revered for their years of experientially acquired 

wisdom. Such traditions represent just a few of the numerous ways 

that Mayan culture might help us to find greater balance and peace 

in the midst of our own societal confusion. Clearly, both Stetson 

and Todos Santos have much to offer one another in our future 

collaborations. 

Sitter teaches Spanish and Latin American studies at Stetson. He also won 

the 2001 McEniry Award. See p. 28. 

FALL2001 13

Individuals can make a difference 

AIR's Projects 

By Molly Justice and Mary Napier 

One Stetson University student who took Dr. Anne Hallum's 

environmental politics lessons to heart was 21-year-old 

Brooke Lacy of Edgewater. 

Lacy, now a political science senior, was one of two 

students who traveled to Nicaragua for five weeks in the 

Reforestation nurseries 

Thirty-five community-run nurseries annually 

produce more than 200,000 trees. As each permanent 

nursery becomes self-sufficient, Alliance for 

International Reforestation Inc. moves on to another 

community. 

summer of 2000 to participate in the Alliance for International Reforestation 

Agroforestry systems 

(AIR) Inc. program. Students are able to participate in the program thanks to AIR has trained more than 300 farmers to incorpo- 

all-expense-paid internships funded by Stetson Trustee David Rinker. 

rate trees into agricultural fields. They're also 

"I was impressed with the things they did and that it was community- 

training them in non-chemical farming practices that 

based," Lacy said of the program. 

The students divided their time between planting trees; working in the 

are safer and cheaper. 

three established nurseries in Rio Abajo, Casa Blanca and El Mango; and 

Fuel-efficient stoves 

providing education about the environment to children of all ages. 

Since 1995, AIR and the community members and 

"We kept our programs with the children fun and interactive, even 

visiting work teams have built more than 500 brick 

providing competitions complete with prizes, such as donated stuffed animals 

and bubbles," she said. "Because the nurseries had been previously established 

stoves, saving 500 tons of wood a year. 

in their villages, the children were already aware of AIR, which made our 

Environmental education 

work easier." 

AIR provides textbooks and educates more than 120 

Lacy said the most surprising thing she learned during the experience was rural teachers annually to implement a reforestation 

the Nicaraguan people's desire for their country to be more like the United curriculum in their classrooms. More than 4,000 

States. 

students learn the basics of ecology 

"They all wanted to come here," 

she said. 

and participate in planting trees. 

However, Lacy said she tried to 

Radio 

convey to the people that they possess 

Another key part of environmental 

many non-material gifts that most 

education has been the weekly 

Americans lack. 

radio program produced by and 

"I went with the intention of 

featuring AIR staff. The show 

figuring out what I could do to make 

includes practical information on 

Nicaragua more like the United 

soil conservation, organic fertilizers, 

States, but I left trying to figure out 

how I could make the United States 

fruit tree grafting and much more. 

operate more like Nicaragua from a 

Medicinal plants 

human perspective," she said. "They 

Since 1997, AIR has worked in the 

were just so humble, so caring and 

production and packaging of 

sharing. They never lost sight about 

what life is really about." 

The lessons Lacy learned in 

Nicaragua were exactly what Hallum 

is trying to teach her students. 

"I want students to see how 

Brooke Lacy, back left, and Ashleigh 

Miller, back right, are surrounded by 

bubble-blowing Nicaraguan children 

during their summer 2000 internship 

with AIR in Esteli, Nicaragua. 

medicinal plants in six communities. 

The indigenous local Mayan 

women have been instrumental in 

sharing their wisdom about these 

gardens. 

individuals can make a difference," Hallum said. "They will begin to see 

Stetson University internships 

the reality of how two-thirds of the world lives and know that the United A new grant creates summer internships for Stetson 

States is part of the exception. I want them to be critical of our weaknesses, University students to work in Guatemala or 

which can be brought on by overabundance. Sometimes students start to 

realize that the most important values are not those of materialism." 

Lacy, a Pelham Scholar at Stetson, is involved in church activities and 

played professional women's tackle football with the Daytona Beach 

Barracudas last fall/winter. She plans someday to pursue a career in politics. 

Nicaragua with AIR staff. 


In Michael Klant's work: 

At the Massey Ranch Airport in 

Edgewater, a Piper Super Cub 

"snatched" conceptual artist 

Michael Klant's banner painting, "German 

Sky Piece," and flew north to Daytona 

Beach over the Southeast Museum of 

Photography. The banner pilot, Peter J. 

Hurley of Aerial Sign Co., then turned 

south, heading past the lighthouse at Ponce 

Inlet, and on to the John E Kennedy Space 

From left, Carl Hollingsworth, the local 

coordinator, Michael Klant and Gary 

Bolding paint the banner. 

After all the unforeseen problems - the 

first flight date had to be canceled due to 

Hurricane Gordon - the project came 

together. It had not been easy to get the 

team together one more time: three pilots, a 

dozen photographers and videographers, 

the Internet webcasting crew, and all the 

people at Stetson who did the logistical and 

media relations work once again. But on 

the 23rd of September, Florida could not 

have presented a more beautiful background 

to the project. 

Meeting of the clouds over DeLand Airfield shortly before the jettisoning of the banner - 

Florida clouds seem to reach out for Black Forest clouds. 

Center. From the space center the plane 

turned northwest toward Volusia County 

and its destination, DeLand, where the 

banner painting soared over the historic 

downtown area and Stetson University. In 

the finale, the art piece was released 300 

feet above an airfield near SkyDive 

DeLand. 

Hurley was escorted by two "chase 

planes," one by professional pilot 

Charlie Kenlin, who had on board Stetson 

Art Professor Gary Bolding and two Stetson 

students, Kevin Hale and Brian Campbell, 

who did the live 

webcasting via 

camcorder, laptop and 

cell phone. The other 

plane belonged to Ed 

Whitten, a Stetson 

electrician, who had 

Stetson Professor Becca 

Albee, a video artist, and 

Klant on board. 

Klant also presented a 

video exhibit in the 

Duncan Gallery in Sampson Hall 

documenting his work. 

The exhibit was the second of the series. 

Klant had a similar flight performance titled 

"Florida Sky Piece" depicting the clouds of 

the Florida Keys, which was flown over 

Freiburg, Germany, and the Black Forest in 

May-June 1999. 

He also planned a film premiere at the 

Galerie Rasche in Freiburg at the opening of 

an exhibit where the Florida banner would 

be shown together with photographs and box 

constructions containing relics of the 

performance. 

"1 consider the flight of a Black Forest sky 

over the Kennedy Space Center as a sort of 

ironical invasion, compared to all the bad 

things Germans have sent òut the blue' 

during the past century. But it is, I hope, 

Right after its jettisoning, 

banner fell freely, then hit the 

ground at DeLand Airport. 

more than that, a poetical action in contrast 

to all the practical-bound operations of 

NASA," Klant said. 

"I would love to go on making sky piece 

exchanges between other countries of the 

world, especially those who are enemies. 

"Why not `swap' art of the Havana, Cuba, 

sky with one from Washington? Imagine 

some (cigar-shaped) clouds floating over the 

White House. Wouldn't that let the Cold 

War atmosphere still existing between these 

two countries seem unnecessary, if not to say 

ridiculous?" 

Bolding and fellow 

Stetson Art Professor 

Dan Gunderson, 

helped Klant paint and 

prepare the 20 x 60 foot 

banner of the "German 

Sky Piece" in a hangar 

at the DeLand Airport. 

Working with acrylic 

enamel Chevy Truck 

White, the trio painted 

the huge nylon work 

that was stretched on a frame and mounted 

on a wall. 

Klant is a professor of art at the Institute 

of Arts, Paedagogische Hochschule, 

Freiburg, Germany, with which Stetson 

maintains an exchange program. His latest 

works include a video installation for a group 

show in Basel, Switzerland, and a project in 

the south of France. - Danielle L aprime 

Klant 

and the 

German 

Sky Piece 

banner 

after its 

flight. 

FALL 2001 15

Please send alumni news and photos for future 

publication by January 15, 2002, to Alumni News Editor 

Jackie Hays, Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., 

Unit 8257, DeLand, FL 32720-3756, or e-mail 

< jhays@stetson.edu >. Digitized photos in tif format should 

be a high resolution scan (at least 300 dots per inch). For 

questions about photos contact < dlaprime@stetson.edu>. 

Original photos will not be returned. 

'24 

Charlotte Farrington Vogler, 

Delray Beach, was 

one of 150 women honored in Tallahassee in June 

by the Florida Supreme Court as a pioneering 

Florida female lawyer. "These were women who 

literally suffered scorn and indignities, as they 

ended the centuries-old tradition that only men 

could practice law," said Florida Chief Justice 

Major B. Harding in a statement. Vogler was the 

first woman to practice law in Palm Beach 

County, setting up shop in 1922. She earned her 

law degree from Stetson University in 1924, but 

chose to raise her children and assist her husband 

in his Delray Beach medical practice. 

'34 

The late Catherine Howarth Carter, Deland, 

was among 10 others from Volusia and Seminole 

counties honored at a ceremonial session of the 

state Supreme Court recognizing Florida's first 

150 women attorneys. The session also recognized 

the state's first five African-American 

women lawyers. Carter was the first woman to 

graduate from Stetson's College of Law in 1908 

and was the first woman lawyer recorded in 

Florida Supreme Court records. She practiced law 

with her family in DeLand and later moved to 

Memphis. 

'36 

The late Wm. Amory Underhill, 

a long-time 

attorney and influential political leader in 

DeLand and Washington, D.C., was named a 

Great Floridian 2000. The program recognizes 

people who played key roles in Florida's historical 

and cultural heritage. Plans are under way to 

display a Great Floridian plaque at the old 

Volusia County courthouse to honor him. 

'44 

Dennis C. McNamara Sr. , Orlando, sold his 

three auto dealerships to Kelley Automotive 

Group in September. He plans to step back, catch 

up on things and spend time with his family. 

Walter Ret Turner, Los Angeles, Calif., was 

featured in an article in The Reporter: Seven 

Decades in Hollywood, 

November 2000 issue 

entitled, "70th 

Anniversary Empowering 

Their Own." A 

member of the 

Costume Designers 

Guild, he works as a 

consultant and 

associate designer on 

many awards shows, 

including the Emmys 

and the Academy 

Awards. He has 

received five Emmys as 

well as 21 Emmy 

nominations. 

'53 

George H. Shriver, 

Statesboro, Ga., 

recently authored a 

book entitled, "Pilgrims Through the Years," a bicentennial 

history of the First Baptist Church, 

Savannah, Ga. 

'54 

Stafford Lee Win g, Chapel Hill, N.C., is an 

associate professor and chairman of voice in the 

University of North Carolina Department of 

Music, Chapel Hill. 

'59 

Gary A. Meadows , DeBary, former associate 

vice-president for alumni relations at Stetson 

University; received Stetson's Distinguished 

Service Award during the 2000-01 year. This 

award is presented to individuals who give 

selflessly of time and energy to Stetson, who 

demonstrate a personal commitment to the ideals 

and objectives of the Alumni Association and 

who are dedicated to the advancement of the 

goals of the university. The Alumni House on the 

DeLand campus also was named the Meadows 

Alumni House in his honor. Elizabeth Butcher 

Rhinehart,West Windsor, N.J., has retired from 

her teaching position at Oak Park Elementary 

School. William A. Watson Jr., Jacksonville, son 

William A. Watson III '96, and daughter 

Carlotta Landschoot, were featured in an article 

in an advertising special section of the Florida 

Times Union - Real estate -A family affair. His 

entire family is involved in the real estate 

business. 

'60 

William E. Rhinehart I II, West Windsor, N.J., is 

an educational consultant at Justens Learning 

Corporation in San Diego, Calif. 

'63 

Richard E Reiff, Athens, Ga., has been named 

interim associate provost for international affairs 

at the University of Georgia. 

'65 

Paul C. Bremer, Palm Beach Gardens, has joined 

the board of directors of the Fidelity Federal Bank 

and Trust. Charles N. Cole, St. Paul, Minn., is a 

principal applications engineer for Lucent 

Technologies in Bloomington. Cheryl Peters 

Lamar, Houston, Texas, is the dean of academic 

development at Houston Community College, 

Central Campus. 

'66 

Priscilla Jones Tunnell, Rome, Ga., was ordained 

as minister of faith development at First Baptist 

Church of Rome in September 2000. Gary W 

Hanson, Florence, S.C., has been a member of 

the Francis Marion University psychology faculty 

since 1971 and served as department chair from 

1986-97. He has also taught at the University of 

Georgia at Thomasville. Hanson was chair of the 

faculty for three years and also served as an 

associate provost for three years. He holds the 

Walter Douglas Smith Professorship of Psychology 

and was named the university's Distinguished 

Professor for the Year for 1997-98. 

' 67 

Murray Arnold, DeLand, has retired as Stetson 

University's men's basketball coach. In four years 

at Stetson, he compiled a won-lost record of 42- 

47. Curtis H. Hutchings, DeLand, served as 

marshal of the Volusia County Veterans Parade in 

downtown DeLand. Richard K. Knapp, Apex, 

N.C., and Charles W Wadelington recently coauthored 

a book entitled, Charlotte Hawkins 

Brown and Palmer Memorial Institute: What One 

Young African-American Woman Could Do. 

'68 

Timothy H. Baughman, Atchison, Kan., was 

named dean of the College of Liberal Arts of the 

University of Central Oklahoma. Jeffrey H. 

Ledewitz, Daytona Beach, who was instrumental 

in obtaining a $1 million pedestrian overpass at 

no cost to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 

has been appointed vice president of government 

relations for the Daytona Beach-based university. 

He also has served as acting president, vice 

president, dean of students and director of 

counseling. He assists ERAU President George 

Ebbs with Governor Jeb Bush's Florida Commission 

on Aeronautics and Space. Leon Moody, 

Jacksonville, is a sales manager for Zephyr Stripe 

N' Seal. He is one of six new Wesley Chapel 

Chamber of Commerce board members. Ned B. 

Ricks, Houston, Texas, is a senior training 

manager at New York Life Insurance Company. 

'69 

Barbara Barnes Plourde, New Smyrna Beach, 

took a semi-solo kayak trip from her home to 

Charleston, S.C., to raise awareness and funds to 

benefit The American Liver Foundation for 

research of hepatitis C. Jean Studeman, Blowing 

Rock, N.C., is a tour director for Christian Tours 

in Newton. David E. Sumner, Anderson, Ind., 

published an article about his great-great 

grandfather, "Everybody's Cousin: John J. 

Thrasher Was One of Atlanta's Founders and 

Most Colorful Figures," in Georgia Historical 

Quarterly, summer 2000. 

'70 

Ronald A. Crews, Tucker, Ga., former pastor of 

New Covenant Community Church, is president 

of the Massachusetts Family Institute. J. Mitchell 

16 ALUMNI NEWS- STETSON UNIVERSITY

Grant II, Birmingham, Ala., is an executive vice 

president for Compass Banks. 

'7I 

Susan Jones Cooper, La Belle, a chemistry and 

physics teacher at La Belle High School, 

completed her review to become a National 

Board Certified Teacher, the first in Henry and 

Glades counties. Rochelle Waters McTureous, 

Gainesville, was named a member of Phi Delta 

Kappa in November 2000. She is the supervisor 

for secondary mathematics for the school board of 

Alachua County. Denny W Powell, Folsom, 

Calif, is an administrator for the Methodist 

Hospital of Sacramento. 

'72 

Lawrence R. Johnston, Louisville, Ky., is the 

president and chief executive officer of General 

Electric Appliances. Gary D. Reddick, The 

Woodlands, Texas, who has served as executive 

Cheryl Brown Peters, '65, to Burdette Lamar, '68, April 17, 1999. 

Joseph Cejka, '75, to Melissa Byrd, Nov. 1, 2000. 

Richard 1. Gaylord, '81, to Maureen E. France, Oct. 22, 1999. 

Kathleen A. Murphy, '82, to R. Brooks Robey, Oct. 4, 1997. 

William Hodgman Bitting, '83, to Kim Young, Sept. 25, 1999. 

Linda Louise Garland, '83, to Mark Dodson, April 29, 2000. 

Vann Pasco Cade, '84, to Linda Kathleen Ballard, April 15, 2000. 

Tracey Lee Queen, '84, to Robert James Gibson, '83, Sept. 1, 1985 

Michael Edward Bitter, '87, to Ashlee Davis, Jan. 2, 1999. 

Monique Delia Cortes, '87, to James M. Massaro, Dec. 28, 1996. 

Kenneth O'Neill Keck, '88, to Julie Johnson, March 21, 1998. 

Kevin Eugene Keith, '90, to Lorajean Sue Hirshfield, Nov. 20, 1999. 

Quinn Charisse Fazio, '91, to Brad Goodchild, June 6, 1998. 

Rebecca L. Palmer, '91, to David Eric Cannella, Sept. 4, 1999. 

Stephanie Paige Wilson, 92, to Darryn DiFrancesco, Oct. 4, 1997. 

Elizabeth Ann Kinane, '93, to Robert M. Maxwell, May 23, 1995. 

George Craig Morhack, '93, to Andrea Marie Francis, June 17, 2000. 

Suzanne Helen Stockman, '93, to Curry Michel Mahaney, Aug. 22, 2000. 

Tina Louise Beach, '94, to Richard T Myers, June 19, 1999. 

Richard Arthur Kinne, '94, to Karen Lee Butterworth, Sept. 30, 2000. 

Kristen Victoria Kane, '94, to Matthew Frank Atwood, May 5, 2000. 

Bryan C. Hains, '95, to Erin Jean McNeff, Oct. 15, 2000. 

Dana Marie Faircloth, '96, to Brian Kyle Sumner, June 24, 2000. 

Elena Christine Pfarr, '96, to Scott Forse, May 27, 2000. 

Kristen Elaine Worden, '96, to James Neil Holland, July 17, 1999. 

Krisa Anna Gionis, '97, to Arte C. Roman, Feb. 26, 2000. 

Anastasia Marie Picras, '97, to Jeffrey E. Bergen, May 20, 2000. 

Keri Kristen Bell, '98, to Keith A. Yeager, July 31, 1999. 

Janet Susan Dowling, '98, to Ken Brashear, June 10, 2000. 

Grace John, '98, to Aji Kurian, May 27, 2000. 

Brandy Denise Lord, '98, to Eric Kamm, July 1, 2000. 

Brande Barbara Martin, '98, to Christopher Robertson, '98, June 17, 

2000. 

Anthony Robert Morelli III, '98, to Andrea Lee Hoskins, June 24, 2000. 

Heidi Luisa Ribback, '98, to Scott George Stevens, June 17, 2000. 

W Marie Bacon, '99, to L. Troy Appling, Aug. 5, 2000. 

Sara Anne Musgrove, '99, to Jeffrey Robert Hirter, '98, April 29, 2000. 

Autumn Jean Snyder, '99, to Justin Caine Harrell, May 20, 2000. 

Kathleen Marie Pelletier, '00, to Matthew Timothy Donovan, '00, 

May 21, 2000. 

vice president and chief administrative officer - 

corporate operations since December 1999, will 

assume the added responsibilities of administration 

and insurance operations for American 

General's life insurance division. 

'73 

Lawrence W Arrington, DeLand, former Volusia 

County manager, is a private consultant. Jeannine 

Murphey Cawthon, Gainesville, was recently 

elected to serve on the Alachua County School 

Board. 

'74 

Leslie Adams Bell, Plantation, is a destination 

services specialist for Renaissance Cruises Inc. in 

Fort Lauderdale. Carol Barlow Haskitt, 

Clearwater, is a principal at Lelia Davis Elementary 

School. John Harris Hewett, Fort Worth, 

Texas, is director of development for the Dallas 

Symphony Orchestra. Florence M. Jowers, 

Hickory, N.C., 

presented a program of 

music by Johann 

Sebastian Bach in 

October 2000 at the St. 

Martin's Evangelical 

Lutheran Church in 

Annapolis, Md. She is 

an assistant professor of 

music and organist at 

Lenoir Rhyne College. 

Pamela A. Keene, 

Marietta, Ga., has a 

public relations agency 

in Atlanta, which she 

founded in 1984. An 

active freelance writer, 

she contributes 

regularly to several 

sailing publications. 

Pam sails a Morgan 25 

sailboat on Lake Lanier 

and she participated in 

the 38.5-mile long 

"Mug Race" on the St. 

Johns River, earning a 

second-place finish in 

her fleet. James 

Gregory Merritt, 

Lithonia, Ga., has been 

elected president of the 

Southern Baptist 

Convention. William 

T. Newsome III, 

Stanford, Calif., was 

elected a member of 

the National Academy 

of Sciences. Newsome, 

an investigator with the 

Howard Hughes 

Medical Institute and 

professor of neurobiology 

at the Stanford 

University School of 

Medicine, is one of 60 

new members and 15 

foreign associates from 

nine countries chosen 

in recognition of 

distinguished and continuing achievements in 

original research. 

7J 

Joseph Cejka,Exeter, Calif, is a parish associate 

for Westminister Presbyterian Church in Bakersfield. 

For a pleasant midlife crisis, he is carving out 

a career as a minister, writer and university 

instructor. Wendell H. Colson Jr., Holiday, is a 

minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Port 

Richey. Peter W Gibbons, Fairfax, Va., is vice 

president of human resources at SITEL Corporation 

in Baltimore, Md. Deborah Jane Haines, 

Daytona Beach, is co-owner of Classy Consignments 

in Port Orange. Linda Grayson Jones, Salt 

Lake City, Utah, is a research specialist at the 

University of Utah, Department of Biology. Judy 

Waiman Murray-Mathys, DeLand, celebrated the 

silver anniversary of the founding of her business, 

the Family Book Shop Inc. Her store grew from 

fewer than 3,000 books for sale on her front porch, 

to a newly expanded location and an inventory of 

more than 200,000 volumes. Roderick M. 

Wilson, Neptune Beach, is a math teacher in 

Duval County at Fletcher High School. 

'76 

Chak-Tong Chan, Universal City, Texas, received 

a Fulbright Lecturing Scholarship to teach in the 

People's Republic of China from September 2000 

to July 2001. He taught two graduate level 

accounting classes in auditing and managerial 

accounting at the University of International 

Business and Economics in Beijing. Ralph D. 

Gaines III, Birmingham, Ala., is an attorney for 

Gaines, Wolter & Kinney, PC. Michele Crews 

Murray, Anderson, Ind., her husband, Mark, and 

their children, Andrew and Elizabeth, gave a 

concert at the First Baptist Church of Vero Beach. 

She has served as a pianist with the Anderson 

Symphony Orchestra and performed as a piano 

soloist with the Anderson Community Band. She 

has written four volumes of hymn arrangements 

for piano, published by Fred Bock. 

'77 

Jose Rafael Acosta, Annandale, Va., is a design 

manager at the U.S. Mint, Treasury Department, 

in Washington, D.C. William Clay Henderson, 

DeLand, heads Friends of Spruce Creek Preserve, 

a non-profit charitable organization founded in 

1994 to help preserve land in Spruce Creek 

Preserve and keep it from developers. Peter O. 

Lehman, Mount Pleasant, S.C., has been 

promoted to director of planning and business 

development for the South Carolina State Ports 

Authority in Charleston. Maria M. Makela, 

Chicago, Ill., is a professor at the Art Institute. 

Samuel Brenton McClung, Duluth, Ga., is a 

teacher at Gwinnett County Public School. 

'78 

Nancy Prosser-Marshall, DeLand, teaches 

English as a second language at Taylor Middle- 

High School in Pierson. John Paul Parks, 

Scottsdale, Ariz., owns a professional limited 

liability company, counsel to the law firm of 

Lowry, Clements & Powell, PC. He will concentrate 

his practice in business law, estate planning, 

wills, trusts, probate and trust administration 

FALL 2001 1 7

and related litigation. Ronald L. Wilson, 

Washington, D.C., is a senior manager for 

PricewaterhouseCoopers, L.L.P in McLean, Va. 

'79 

Donald J. McCullough, Washington, D.C., was 

the music director for the Regal Glories Master 

Chorale of Washington which performed the 

Christmas Candlelight concerts in December at 

the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Gary Robert 

Mills, Marietta, Ga., has been promoted to vice 

president of business alliances at Cox Interactive 

Media. Nolan A. Raybon, Winter Park, is a 

superintendent of Peter R. Brown Construction 

in Largo. 

'80 

Jeffrey B. Crowe, Ocala, is an area director of 

marketing for Shangri-La. Debra Anderson 

Faulkner, Wallingford, Conn., has been promoted 

to Web manager at Choate Rosemary Hall, a 

boarding and day school for grades 9-12. 

'81 

Richard I. Gaylord, DeLand, is a lieutenant 

specializing in criminal investigations for the 

DeLand Police Department. Dedra Stewart 

Harmody, Vero Beach, is a biologist for Harbor 

Branch Oceanographic in Fort Pierce. Barry L. 

Unterbrink, Fort Lauderdale, is an operations 

manager for Keating Investment Management in 

Boynton Beach. 

'82 

Allen Williams Groves, Atlanta, Ga., is an 

attorney for Seyfarth Shaw. 

' 83 

Gwendolyn Azama-Edwards, Daytona Beach, is 

president of the Florida Association of City 

Clerks for 2000-01. William Hodgman Bitting, 

St. Louis, Mo., is a vice president of sales for 

property assessment review. John Stephen Clark 

Jr., Pensacola, U.S. Air Force, has been selected 

for promotion to colonel. He is serving as the 

executive officer of VT 10 at Naval Air Station in 

Pensacola. Robert James Gibson Jr., Orlando, 

was recently promoted to director of marketing at 

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. He received a master 

of business administration from Florida Atlantic 

University. Rhonda Harrell-Kastner, Titusville, 

is the owner of Rhonda Harrell Associates. 

Robert W Koslow Jr., Deltona, is the assistant 

West Volusia bureau chief of The News-Journal in 

Daytona Beach. Steven D. Losner, Homestead, 

is an attorney for Weller & Losner Attorneys at 

Law. Joseph Negron Jr., Stuart, was elected to 

the Florida House of Representatives for District 

82, serving Stuart and northern Palm Beach 

County. Bruce C. Paulk,Green Cove Springs, is 

a consumer banker at Bank of America. Donna 

Hensley Roguska, Port Charlotte, was promoted 

to lieutenant-district commander for the 

Charlotte County Sheriff's Office in Punta 

Gorda. 

'84 

Frances Ellen Chandler, DeBary, has been 

promoted to deputy county manager, Seminole 

County. William Charles Cooper, Daytona 

Christine Brown Goozee, '82, aria hu husband Steven, '81, adopted a girl from Romania, Alexandra 

Kent, November 2000. She was born May 15, 1998. 

Kathleen Murphy Robey, '82, and husband R. Brooks, a son Jack MacPhail, May 6, 2000. 

William Hodgman Bitting, '83, and wife Kim Young, a son William Hodgman Bitting Jr., July 30, 

2000. 

Sharon Swanbery Forrest, '84, and husband Steven, a daughter Sydney Marie, Oct. 29, 2000. 

Janet Young Seeling, '84, and husband Mark, a daughter Gretchen Lee, July 24, 2000. 

Leah Williams Tobin, '84, and husband Patrick, a daughter Britney Ann, Feb. 10, 2000. 

Robert Gregory Hulsman, '85, and wife Andrea, a son, Daniel Gregory, Oct. 13, 2000. 

Roger Norman Swanger, '85, and wife Lillian, a daughter Catherine Taylor Rose, Sept. 23, 1999. 

Edward K. Graham, '86, and wife Sandra, a son Jack Edward, Dec. 9, 2000. 

Susan Carter Reynolds, '86, and husband Timothy, a daughter Megan Rose, Jan. 25, 2000, a 

daughter Emily, Dec. 22, 1995, and a son Daniel, Jan. 27, 1998. 

Monique Cortes Massaro, '87, and husband James, a daughter Alaina, March 11, 1998, and son J. 

D., May 4, 2000. 

Mayte Figueiras Casella, '88, and husband Robert, a daughter Grace Anastasia, Nov. 27, 2000. 

Nancy Drumov Dubuk, '88, and husband Danny, a daughter Madelyn Kate, April 23, 2000. 

Susan Dorsey Williams, '88, and husband Mark Hunter, '88, a daughter Emily Rae, Sept. 2, 2000. 

Michael Douglas Houck, '89, and wife Kristina, a daughter Sarah Katherine, Nov. 4, 2000. 

Elizabeth Laney Johnson, '89, and husband Donald D., a son Caleb Edward, June 29, 2000. 

Antonio Charles DaSilva, '90, and wife Barbara Layfield, a daughter Reagan Elizabeth, Nov. 1, 

2000. 

Robert Patrick Ridgeway, '90, and wife Deborah Freeborough, a son John Patrick Thomas, Oct. 5, 

2000. 

Quinn Fazio Goodchild, '91, and husband Bradley, a son Bradley MacGregor, Oct. 11, 1999. 

Angelica Ginn Makuch, '91, and husband Richard, a daughter Katerina Elena, Oct. 4, 2000. 

Alicia Raffa Mullis, '91, and husband Clarence Tres Mullis III, '88, a son Brinson Edwin, Nov. 

21, 2000. 

Tracey MacLeod Gieson, '92, and husband Richard, a son Alexander MacLeod, July 19, 2000. 

Kathryn Koch-Churms, '92, and husband Joseph, a daughter Hannah Elizabeth, July 24, 1999. 

David Frederick Mack, '92, and wife Diana, twin daughters Ashley Jane and Christina Marie, 

June 16, 2000. 

Jennifer Isaly Allebach, '93, and husband Kurt Erich, a daughter Bailey Isaly, March 19, 2000. 

Gregory Alan Hetherington, '93, and wife Kimberly, a daughter Erin Leigh, May 6, 2000. 

Kelly Richardson Muscaro, '93, and husband Kent, a son Kent Nicholas, July 26, 1999. 

Lara Klund Wheeler, '93, and husband Bradley Everett, '94, a daughter Kira Yates, Jan. 28, 2000. 

Lee Larson Holmes, '94, and wife Kathleen, a daughter Sarah Rose, July 6, 1999. 

Penelope Potts-Hawk, '94, and husband Benjamin, a daughter Harper Emma, Nov. 17, 2000. 

Patricia Forrand Schwan, 95, and husband Timothy, '95, a daughter Katherine Jeanne, Aug. 30, 

2000. 

Ondrea Mault Willis, '95, and husband Brent, '96, a son Blaine Dawson, March 19, 2000. 

Tammy Collins Wszola, '95, and husband Peter, a daughter Lily Katherine, April 4, 2000. 

Beach, is an administrative manager for the First 

Baptist Church in Hickory, N.C. Rodney Todd 

Darville, Alexandria, Va., is an army budget 

analyst for the U.S. Army in the Pentagon. Tracey 

Queen Gibson, Orlando, is a curriculum resource 

elementary school teacher in Orlando. She 

earned a master of education at Florida Atlantic 

University. Luis G. Pedraja, Dallas, Texas, has 

been hired as the new academic dean at Memphis 

Theological Seminary. 

' 85 

William C. Bredbenner, Brandon, is a director of 

development for The Florida Aquarium in Tampa. 

John George Ebenger, Weston, is a real estate 

advisory service for PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP 

in Miami. Augustus Way Fountain III, West 

Point, N.Y, is a director at Photonics Research 

Center at the United States Military Academy. 

Lori Grubbs Goitia, Daytona Beach, an account 

manager at The News-Journal, completed the 

certified public accountant examination. Charles 

Brian Hill, DeLand, has been elected chairman 

of the board of the Florida Restaurant Association. 

Dale L. Ingham, Palm Harbor, is general 

manager at National Home Community in 

Odessa. George Glenn Johnson, Titusville, is a 

manager for the Science Applications International 

Corporation in Satellite Beach. 

'87 

Suzanne Eileen Forbes, DeLand, CPA, has been 

named the member-in-charge for the James 

Moore & Company in Daytona Beach. Kenneth 

Errol Leeman, Coconut Creek, is a lead 

occupational therapist for Select Medical 

Corporation in Margate. Lisa Sumner 

Messersmith, New Smyrna Beach, is an artist who 

1 8 ALUMNI NEWS- STETSON UNIVERSITY

combines printmaking and sculpture, two 

processes that led her to the art form she has 

been working with for ten years. The process, 

called monotype assemblage or printed construction, 

involves embossing and adding texture to 

the monotype and then adhering the print to a 

sculptured form. She is currently working on a 

new series of printed constructions called "Spirit 

Cradle." Her work is part of many permanent 

collections and she has received numerous and 

prestigious awards. Mark Durham Montgomery, 

Jupiter, is a client representative supervisor for 

Marsh Inc. i n Palm Beach Gardens. 

'88 

Michael Phillip Blazer, Aiken, S.C., is a 

financial consultant for Salomon Smith Barney. 

Lila A. Jaber,Tallahassee, is a Florida public 

service commissioner at Florida Public Service 

Commission. Kenneth O'Neill Keck, Lakeland, 

is the director of legislative and regulatory affairs 

for Florida Citrus Mutual and is a member of the 

Florida and District of Columbia bars. Lisa 

Marie Ogram, DeLand, is a financial consultant 

for Merrill Lynch in Daytona Beach. Jonathan 

Frank Pequignot, Miami, was featured in Florida 

Trend's July 2000 issue. 

'89 

Tamara Firman DeVore, Sherman Oaks, Calif, 

is a senior finance manager of parks and resorts 

for The Walt Disney Company in Burbank. Joel 

Patrick Dunahoe, Sarasota, is a technology 

manager for Arthur Andersen Technology 

Solutions. Kimberly Ann Gould, Lake Worth, is 

a specialist in computer science for the School 

District of Palm Beach County in West Palm 

Beach. Anne-Marie Lill Hughes, Daytona 

Beach, is a realtor for Adams, Cameron & Co. 

Kevin Richard Weickel, Orlando, was recently 

named the director of the National Car Classic. 

'90 

Paula Kiwala Anthony, Bunnell, professor at 

Daytona Beach Community College, teaches 

algebra to a GED class that was recently 

established at Hudson Tool & Die in Ormond 

Beach. Hudson is one of a few local businesses 

that provides secondary education opportunities 

to its employees. Shannon Strickland Brown, 

Tampa, is a program coordinator for affiliate 

marketing for the Home Shopping Network in 

St. Petersburg. Tami P. Gunderson, DeLand, is 

vice principal at DeBary Elementary School. 

Michelle Elizabeth Kocsis, Palm Harbor, is an 

education consultant/trainer at Nielsen Media 

Research in Dunedin. 

'91 

Elizabeth Annette Brooks, Durham, N.C., is a 

mathematician and the director for Outcomes 

and Marketing Research/PPD Development in 

Morrisville. David Ernest Klan, Scarborough, 

Ontario, is a national advertising and promotions 

manager for Mazda Canada Inc. Peter 

David Loguidice, Boca Raton, has been named 

vice president of estate planning for the Barry 

Financial Group. Rebecca L. Palmer, Orlando, is 

a manager for Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, 

Kantor & Reed. David A. Paul, Orlando, is an 

FALL 2001 

attorney at the law office of David A. Paul, PA. 

Charles Blake Rambo, Rutherfordton, N.C., is a 

rector priest at The Episcopal Diocese of Western 

North Carolina, St. Francis' Episcopal Church. 

Durham, N.C., received her juris doctorate from 

the North Carolina Central University School of 

Law. 

'92 

'94 

Dimitri Diatchenko, Los Angeles, Calif, a 

William Bradley Cloys, Gainesville, is an 

classical guitarist and professional actor, 

operations auditor for the CSX Corporation in performed in concert at Yancey Music Center in 

Jacksonville. Stephanie Darr Coleman, 

Ormond Beach. Arthur Hale Hassall, Oakland, 

Gainesville, was recently promoted to profes- Calif, is a field engineer for PC Professional. 

sional territory manager for Pfizer in New York Brandy Nichole Hare, Margate, is a chief 

City. Stephanie Wilson DiFrancesco, Miramar, compliance officer at Kovack Securities Inc. in 

is a manager of the early learning center at the Pompano Beach. Lee Larson Holmes, 

Palm Beach Community College in Palm Beach Clearwater, is a senior instructional user support 

Gardens. Denise Karachuk Feikema, Washing- analyst for Pinellas County Schools in Largo. 

ton, D.C., is the director of admissions for 

Jane Yeager Keller, DeLand, is a financial 

Georgetown University. Michael John 

analyst at Newport Group in Heathrow. Richard 

Haridopolos, Melbourne, is an assistant history Arthur Kinne, Rocky Hill, Conn., is a planner/ 

professor for Brevard Community College. Laura buyer for Novametrix Medical Systems in 

Carmen Lancaster, Morrisville, N.C., received Wallingford. Jenifer Susan Schembri, Myakka 

her doctorate in management science from City, joined the law firm of Abel, Band, Russell, 

Clemson University. Kelly Abbondondolo 

Collier, Pitchford and Gordon as an associate in 

Maddox, Miami, is an account supervisor for its corporate, tax and estate-planning depart- 

Fleishman-Hillard International Communicament. Lance Edward Starr, Melbourne, is a 

tions in Coral Gables. David J. Masterson, 

Naples, a trust officer at KeyTrust Co., has earned 

software engineer at Exigent International Inc. 

the certified trust and financial advisor (CTFA) '95 

designation. Robert James O'Neal, DeLand, is Ivette Andrea Alvarado, Los Angeles, 

the minister of education at the First Baptist Calif., received her doctorate in clinical 

Church in DeLand. Claudia Alexandra Palmer, psychology from the University of Alabama in 

Miami, is a senior credit analyst for BAC Florida Birmingham. Shannon Lynee Cook, 

Bank. Craig Richard Risdon, Jacksonville, is a Wilmington, Del., received her master's degree 

general manager for Florida Automotive 

at Stetson in 1997 and is working as a mental 

Restyling in Orange Park. Traci Sangster 

health counselor in Philadelphia, Pa. Evan 

Roethel, Franklin Square, N.Y., is a math 

Lamar English, Veto Beach, joined Northern 

consultant for grades 3-6 at Vernon School in Trust Bank as second vice president and 

East Norwich. David Clarence Smith, Rome, commercial banking relationships manager. 

Ga., is an attorney for Brinson, Askew, Berry, Bryan C. Hains,Galveston, Texas, attends the 

Seigler, Richardson & Davis, L.L.P. Ian 

University of Texas Medical Branch as a doctoral 

Alexander Watson, Tampa, is a senior GIS candidate in neuroscience. Michael Frederick 

analyst/project manager at Dames and Moore/ Holbein, Atlanta, Ga., is an attorney at Clark & 

URSCORP 

Washington, P.C. Megin Elizabeth O'Donnell, 

Middletown, Conn., is golf professional at Blue 

'93 

Fox Run Golf Course in Avon. Cassandra 

Erik Andrew Ehrhardt, Lakeland, is an attorney Tromley Scalf, Port Orange, a certified public 

at Harbsmeier, DeZayas, Appel & Hernandez, accountant with James Moore and Company, 

LLP. Gregory Alan Hetherington, Louisville, Ky., completed a continuing education course on the 

is a purchasing agent at Beach Mold & Tool Inc. Florida Single Audit Act. Mona Jugalkishor 

in New Albany, Ind. Michelle Jo Emrich 

Shah, Clearwater, is an attorney practicing in the 

Jelniker, Palm Beach Gardens, is a circulation areas of construction litigation insurance defense 

analyst for The Mark Group in Boca Raton. and civil litigation for Forizs & Dogali, P.L. in 

Elizabeth Kinane Maxwell, Orlando, received Tampa. She received a juris doctorate from the 

her master's degree in business administration 

from Chaminade University, Honolulu, Hawaii. 

University of Florida College of Law. Kurt D. 

Swartzlander, DeLand, is a director of contract 

Ashley Perry Patrick, Wellington, is a teacher management and project administration for Telfor 

the Palm Beach County School Board at 

Western Pines Middle School in West Palm 

Tron Systems Solutions in Daytona Beach. 

Beach. Mitchell Jerome Pineault, New York, '96 

N.Y., is director of sales for Liquidnet. John Shane Thomas Cadden, Wilson, N.C., is an 

Anthony Sanchez, Waterford, Mich., is a senior assistant director of residential and judicial 

financial analyst for Malan Realty Investors Inc. affairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, 

in Bingham Farms. Michele Lee Taylor-Torres, Tenn. Jamey Lynn Cournoyer, New London, 

APO, AE, began law school at George 

Conn., is director of financial aid at Mitchell 

Washington University in August. Jennifer College in New London. Gerald Stanley 

Kohms VanHoorebeck, Smithfield, Va., was DeGray Jr., Longwood, is a research assistant for 

promoted to public relations coordinator of the the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences 

Daily Press, a daily paper owned by the Tribune at the University of Central Florida in Apopka. 

Co. Elizabeth Williams, Ormond Beach, is a Thomas Montgomery Drybrough, Louisville, 

certified public accountant for Daytona Beach Ky., is an office supervisor for AAA-Kentucky. 

Community College. Michele Ingram Yuan, Matthew Arthur Helming, Orlando, is an 

19

investment consultant for SunTrust Securities. 

Kristen Warden Holland, DeLand, advisor to 

the Atlantic High School Key Club, is this year's 

recipient of the Harvey M. Gulkis Faculty 

Advisor of the Year award. Amy Elizabeth 

Johnson, Atlanta, Ga., is a science teacher for 

Wheeling High School in Wheeling, Ill. Dawn 

Marie Kirkwood, Cockeysville, Md., is a law 

clerk for Baltimore City Orphans' Court in 

Baltimore. James Anthony Murphy IV, Webster, 

has been hired as an instructor of biology at 

Monroe Community College. Jonathan Michael 

Rose, Greenville, S.C., is a server at Chili's Bar & 

Grill. Marti Russell Stuedle, Stone Mountain, 

Ga., is an educator at Westchester Elementary in 

Decatur. Dana Marie Faircloth Sumner, Eton 

College, N.C., is an assistant director of career 

development at Meredith College in Raleigh. 

Susanne Tomas, DeLand, a physics and physical 

science teacher at New Smyrna Beach High 

School, was awarded a FUTURES grant for her 

proposal to create an outdoor classroom for her 

physical science students on Smyrna Creek. Kim 

Marie Whitaker, Hollywood, is a recruiting 

specialist for Hospitalhub.com in Boca Raton. 

Brent Roy Willis, Springfield, Mo., will receive 

his doctorate in psychology from Forest Institute 

of Professional Psychology. 

'97 

Sarah R. Sturdivant Al-Atrakchi, Orlando, is a 

network administrator for Future Media Products 

Inc. Kimberly Renee Cummings, Altamonte 

Springs, is a Florida region financial analyst for 

Hertz Corporation in Orlando. David Michael 

Gould, Tampa, received his juris doctorate from 

Mercer University's Walter E George School of 

Law. Leila Chisholm Grassman,Kingwood, 

Texas, is an assurance and advisory services 

assistant for Deloitte & Touche, L.L.P. in 

Houston. Julie Anne Hudson, Columbus, Ohio, 

is a program manager for Living in Family 

Environments Inc. in Gahanna. Nicole Christine 

Mendez, Atlanta, Ga., is an information 

technologies consultant with Renaissance 

Worldwide Inc. Kellie Colon Pabon, Clarksville, 

Tenn., is a 92Y supply (unit) specialist in the 

U.S. Army. Tammara Kristen Reed,Tallahassee, 

is attending Florida State University with a 

graduate assistantship to pursue a doctorate in 

flute performance. She won the audition to play 

piccolo for the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. 

Stephanie Suzanne Shafer, DeLand, is a box 

office manager for the Florida International 

Festival in Daytona Beach. Dennis Andrew 

Simmons, Arlington, Va., is an associate director 

for Western European management and operations 

for the U.S. Department of Commerce in 

Washington, D.C. Christopher Allan Weinrich, 

Port Orange, is a teacher with Volusia County 

Schools in Daytona Beach. 

'98 

Stephanie Joy Clark, Davenport, Iowa, is 

studying massage therapy at the New Hampshire 

Institute for Therapeutic Arts. She is pursuing a 

degree from the Palmer College of Chiropractic. 

Nicolette Maria Corso, Gulfport, will take a 

position in Gray, Harris & Robinson's litigation 

department after completing her bar exam. 

20 

April Lynn Farson, Satellite Beach, received her 

master of science degree from the University of 

Central Florida and is senior human resources 

administrator at Intersil Corporation in Palm Bay. 

Patricia Adrienne Hernandez, DeLand, is a 

semi-senior accountant at James Moore & Co., 

PL. in Daytona Beach. Jeffrey Robert Hirter, St. 

Petersburg, is an account manager at TEK 

Systems Inc. in Tampa. Lizhou Hong, Delray 

Beach, is an analyst for Office Depot Inc. Brandy 

Lord Kamm, DeBary, plans to attend the 

University of Florida, Gainesville, for a doctorate 

in educational leadership. Jo Ann Kissel, Tampa, 

is a teacher with Hillsborough County schools. 

Grace John Kurian, Orlando, is a consultant for 

Stonebridge Technologies in Lake Mary. Anthony 

Robert Morelli III, Clearwater, is an affiliations 

manager for Valpak.com . Carrie Lee Perman, 

Holly Hill, had her first solo exhibition, "Screens, 

Prints and Things," a compilation of works, on 

exhibit at the African American Museum of the 

Arts in DeLand. Erika Seablom Raefski, Dayton, 

Ohio, is an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

'99 

Jonathan William Anderson, Louisville, Ky., is 

an actuarial assistant for Aegon Financial 

Services. Andrew David Dehnart, Chicago, Ill., 

was one of four finalists for the title of American/ 

-ES Greatest Thinker in The Great American 

Think-Off, a debate competition which provides 

a forum in which important life questions can be 

discussed among everyday people. James Patrick 

Fleming, Atlanta, Ga., is an institutional sales 

trader for Salomon Smith Barney. Sara Musgrove 

Hirter, St. Petersburg, is a first-grade teacher for 

the Pinellas County School System. Kevin M. 

Kendrick, Orlando, was named the new assistant 

principal for Palmetto Elementary School. 

Russell Lee Kelton, Orlando, is an auditor for 

Ernst and Young. Anna Berkey McFarland, 

Orlando, is a business analyst at Hewitt Associates. 

Jennifer Rebecca Pawlak, Newnan, Ga., is 

manager for O'Charley's Restaurant. Judson 

Benjamin Renee, Longwood, is a U.S. postal 

clerk. Sandie Lynn Sauerland, Alexandria, Va., 

is a management trainee at Enterprise. Jolie 

Marie Sciturro, Orlando, is an associate scientist 

at Breedlove, Dennis & Associates Inc. Kristy 

Leigh Thomson, Tampa, is an analyst for 

Andersen Consulting in St. Petersburg. 

'00 

Holly Justine Culver, Orlando, is a store area 

manager for Kmart Corporation. Lisa Carole 

Fifelski, Orlando, is a process analyst for 

Accenture in St. Petersburg. Grace John Kurian, 

Orlando, is a computer consultant for 

Stonebridge Technologies. Courtney Leigh 

McLean, Miami, has been awarded a scholarship 

to study piano in Madrid, Spain, at the Real 

Superior Conservatorio de Madrid. Jackie Etta 

Ogden, Longwood, is a teacher at Seminole 

Community College in Sanford. Taryn Kelly 

Lynn, Eustis, was named to the 2000 GTE 

Academic All-American Second Team for spring 

sports. Ranell Margarette Tinsley, St. Petersburg, 

is an annuity analyst for Bankers Life Insurance 

Co. 

N MEMORIAM 

Correction to Winter 1999 issue: 

We're glad to find that Eleanor 

Hillman Harper, '42, is alive and well. 

It was her husband, Wayne W. Harper, 

who died on June 11, 1998, rather 

than Eleanor. We humbly apologize 

to Eleanor and her classmates for 

this error. 

S. Elizabeth Slater, '27 

Kathleen B. Deatherage, '28 

Horace B. Gray, '29 

Fannie Farr Collins, '30 

Ruth Foard Hutchings, '30 

Catherine Howarth Carter, '34 

John L. "Jack" Hughes, '36 

Edward C. Furlong Jr., '38 

Eleanor Alyce Metz, '38 

Donald E. Pounds, '38 

Dorothy Pope Karns, '40 

Charlotte Werwage Furlong, '41 

Ray Anastasia Jordan, '41 

Barbara Moore Stephens, '41 

Mary Smith Lancaster, '43 

Jerre Jay Haffield, '44 

Russell L. Dixon, '47 

Virginia Rich Aspy, '48 

Howard E. Kurtz, '48 

Alan E. Bailes, '49 

Fred A. Geromanos, '49 

John B. Kirkpatrick, Jr. '49 

Joseph Lawrence McKelligan Jr., '49 

Glenna Steele Chandler, '50 

Walter B. Feagins Jr., '50 

George R. Thompson Jr., '51 

James Marvin Whittle Jr., '51 

James D. Johnston, '52 

J. Kermit Coble, '53 

Peggy Holmes Hurst, '53 

Betty Ivey Cramer, '54 

Ralph D. Marsico, '55 

Janice Raie Krueger, '58 

Barbara Freeman Tow, '58 

Don Delano Tullis, II, '58 

Cecil C. Bellwood, Sr., '59 

Harry Lee Coe III, '62 

Wayne A. Myett, '63 

Estelle Sanner McConnel, '70 

Julia Easterly Williams, '74 

Julie Weatherholtz, '84 

Robert Alan Hudgins, '87 

Tibor Brown, '93 

Doris "Doc" Leeper, Hon '97 

ALUMNI NEWS - STETSON UNIVERSITY

Stetson alumnus Christian 

Wemmers, San Francisco, 

was lost in the World Trade 

Center collapse, while 

attending a trade show on 

the 106th floor of the north 

tower. A 1981 Stetson 

graduate with a degree in Humanities, 

he worked for Callixa Corp., a 

software integration company. A 

memorial service was held for him 

Oct. 12 on Mount Tamalpais, a 

peak just north of San Francisco's 

Golden Gate Bridge, and one of 

his favorite places. His mother and 

sister traveled from Hamburg, 

Germany, for the service. 

Stetson alumnus 

Christopher Lunder 

was working for Cantor 

Fitzgerald on the 104th floor 

of the World Trade Center's 

north tower when the 

building collapsed. A 

1989 graduate with a degree in 

Finance, Lunder had worked for 

the company for six years as a 

government bond broker. His wife, 

Karen Bittenbinder Lunder, is a 

1990 graduate. A memorial service 

was held Nov. 3. 

FALL 2001 

In Memoriam 

A Letter from the President 

Dear Stetson University Family and Friends: 

We were all shocked and deeply saddened by the violence and suffering 

imposed upon our nation on Tuesday, Sept. 11. Our lives have been changed 

forever, yet our steadfast commitment to the principles of freedom, democracy 

and inclusive community remains. 

As we continue to deal with the aftermath of the losses 

suffered by our country, we turn to our friends and family for 

comfort and help. Stetson students, faculty and staff have 

faced the horror of Sept. 11 by drawing together to grieve, 

remember and offer support. After classes were canceled 

Sept. 11, we met within hours in Elizabeth Hall Chapel for a 

vigil of prayer and peace. The Counseling Center has 

helped us find solace in coping with the assault upon, or 

death of, immediate and extended family and friends. The 

university chaplain continues to support us through special 

ti mes of prayer and meditation. Faculty, students and staff 

have enlightened us through educational forums, focusing 

on the problems we face as a nation and helping us understand the common 

bond of faith in God and values we share with our brothers and sisters of 

different cultures in the Middle East. For these and all other efforts to bring 

healing, we are grateful. 

We are concerned about our off-campus family, too. We have confirmed the 

loss of two alumni, Christian Wemmers and Christopher Lunder. Another alumnus 

escaped from the World Trade Center after it was hit. Christopher Manning, who 

received his Business Administration degree in May 2000 and works for Morgan 

Stanley,managed to make it down safely from the 61st floor of the south tower. 

His story is available on Stetson's web page at http://www.stetson.edu/deck/SUAlum1.htm 

in an e-mail letter he sent to Finance Professor Jim Mallett. 

We cannot help but feel unsettled and numb in the face of the tragedy and 

evil unleashed on innocent people. Yet, we can also feel inspiration and 

hope from the countless acts of heroism, compassion and unity. 

Stetson students are contributing to relief efforts and showing support in a 

variety of ways. Groups such as Stetson's Into the Streets (ITS) and Delta Delta 

Delta sorority distributed red, white and blue ribbons. ITS members also asked 

people to write letters of support in honor of the victims of the attacks and of 

efforts by law enforcement, fire fighters and rescue teams. Several groups are 

collecting donations for relief efforts. 

We are trying to find other ways to pay tribute to members of the Stetson family 

who were lost, and to help those who lost loved ones in New York, Washington, 

D.C., and Pennsylvania as a result of the attacks. If you or someone you know 

were affected, please contact Susan Anderson, Executive Director of Alumni 

Relations, at (800) 688-4287 or via e-mail at < sanderso@stetson.edu >. We 

would also like to know of any alumni who might be working in the cleanup 

efforts in New York City or Washington, D.C. - whether firefighters, police 

officers or humanitarian aid workers - and of any alumni who have been 

called to duty in the Armed Forces Reserves or National Guard because of the 

ongoing crisis. 

We continue to keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult 

time. May God bless you. 

Sincerely yours, 

Doug Lee 

21

Stetson's Florida 

birthday celebration 

recognized in 

Congressional Record 

U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) 

placed recognition of Stetson 

University's Celebration of Florida's 

156th birthday in the May 10 

Congressional Record. 

Alumni and friend of Stetson's four 

colleges and schools, including the College 

of Law in St. Petersburg, met at the Rayburn 

House Office Building in Washington, D.C., 

for the birthday reception. Stetson President 

Doug Lee and College of Law Dean W 

Gary Vause were on hand to greet guests. 

For Mica's complete remarks in the 

Congressional Record, visit http:// 

thomas.loc.gov/home/rl07query.html . (Type 

Stetson into the search field.) Joining Mica 

as honorary co-chairs of the event were U.S. 

Sen. Bob Graham and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, 

both Florida Democrats, and U.S. Rep. C.W 

"Bill" Young, a Florida Republican and 

senior member of the state delegation. 

In addition to College of Law alumni and 

friends, graduates and supporters of Stetson s 

College of Arts and Sciences, School of 

Business Administration and School of 

Music in DeLand, as well as the new Stetson 

University Center at Celebration, came 

together at the March 7 event. 

From left, Doug Lee, Pat Mica and 

Congressman John Mica cut the birthday cake. 

22 

Stetson, neighbors meet on Amelia Avenue, 

Lynn Business Center projects 

Stetson University hosted a special meeting to discuss its Amelia Avenue 

streetscape and Lynn Business Center renovation projects with area 

neighbors. 

In January, the DeLand City Commission and Volusia County Council unanimously 

approved Stetson's proposal to increase safety and aesthetics on Amelia Avenue as it runs 

through the Stetson campus. The first phase of the project was completed this summer and 

includes new campus entry signs. The project, when completed, will include new landscaping, 

lighting, curbs, sidewalks and intersection crosswalks. Stetson has agreed to pay the 

majority, if not all, of the costs of the Amelia Avenue improvements. 

Stetson officials, along with project design and construction representatives, also discussed 

the $12 million Lynn Business Center reconstruction. The renovation will dramatically 

transform the former bank building into a state-of-the-art academic center for Stetson's 

School of Business Administration at the southwestern corner of Stetson's campus. 

Stetson's International Guitar Workshop 

concert series features five performances 

The music of 10 international artists highlighted the 11th 

Annual Stetson University International Guitar Workshop 

concert series in June. 

The festival, acknowledged as one of the finest in the world, drew 14 

international artist faculty members, as well as 150 classical guitar students 

from the United States, Canada, Europe and Central and South America. This 

year's event included master classes, seminars, a guitar orchestra, concerts and a 

luthiers' exhibition. 

Housed in Stetson's Duncan Gallery of Art, the free luthiers' exhibit showcased 

the exquisite instruments of renowned builders Manuel and Alfredo Velazquez, 

Eduardo Moreno More, Hector Marrero, Augustino LoPrinzi, Pablo Quintana, Rawdon Hall 

Guitar, Royal Anderson and Robert Desmond, among others. 

The concert series featured performances by world-renowned guitarists Dr. Stephen 

Robinson, Lily Afshar, Denis Azabagic, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Michael Chapdelaine, Oscar 

Ghiglia, Nicholas Goluses, Antigom Goni, Raphaëlla Smits and Fabio Zanon. 

The artist faculty gave four concerts, and both students and 

faculty performed a fifth concert during the workshop. 

Robinson is the founding artistic director of the International 

Guitar Workshop and a professor of guitar at Stetson. His recent 

concert season included performances in Italy, Germany, Canada 

and the United States. 

Becky Thyhsen named Stetson University 

head volleyball coach 

Stetson University Director of Athletics Jeff Altier has 

announced the promotion of Becky Thyhsen to head 

volleyball coach. Thyhsen, who joined the Hatters as an 

assistant coach in January, takes over for Janiece Holder, 

who resigned. 

"We are excited about having Thyhsen in charge of our volleyball 

program," Altier said. "She is a proven, outstanding athlete and has 

experience at both the high school and collegiate levels. " 

Thyhsen has extensive coaching experience at the high school 

level, including a recent two-year stint at Centennial High School in 

STETSON UNIVERSITY

Franklin, Tenn. She compiled a 72-49 record 

as Centennial's head girls' Volleyball coach. 

From 1994-98 Thyhsen served as the 

athletic director and both the head girls' and 

head boys' volleyball coach at Trinity 

Christian Academy in Deltona. Thyhhsen 

led the Eagles to four consecutive state 

playoff appearances and an 81-32 record in 

her four seasons at Trinity. She also served as 

the head boys' volleyball coach at Deltona 

High School from 1992-94. 

A two-time All-American volleyball 

player at Florida Southern College, 

Lakeland, Thyhsen set eight school records 

and four NCAA Division 11 records during 

her three-year playing career. She collected 

over 1,000 kills and over 1,000 digs, and was 

named Champion Woman of the Year. She 

graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree 

in secondary education. 

Piero Demichelli, Analia 

Longoni named first team 

All-TAAC In tennis 

Stetson men's tennis junior Piero 

Demichelli of Lima, Peru, and 

women's tennis sophomore Analia 

Longoni of Caracas, Venezuela, 

were named to the first team 

All-Trans America Athletic 

Conference for the 2001 season. 

Playing entirely at No. 1 singles, 

Demichelli posted a 17-5 singles record, 

including a winning streak of 14 matches in 

a row from Feb. 19 to March 26. He also won 

a key match against Troy State University's 

Will) , Campos in the 2001 TAAC Men's 

Tennis Championship. In doubles action, he 

finished the season with an impressive 13-6 

record. 

The Hatter junior earned first team 

honors for the third consecutive season. He 

owns 49 career wins at the No. I position, the 

second-highest total in school history. 

Longoni, meanwhile, was 15-5 at the 

No. I singles positions for the Stetson 

women's tennis squad. She was also 10-9 in 

doubles competition for team-leading 25 

overall victories. Longoni tied a career-high 

by winning I1 matches in a row from March 

8 to 26. It was her first all-conference 

selection. 

The Stetson men's tennis team was 19-5 

in 2001, while the women's tennis team 

finished the season with a 13-8 record. 

FALL 2001 

'Ballpark Thanks 2001' provides 

free days of Hatter baseball 

Stetson University invited the community to root for the 

home team - free of charge - at the Hatters' season 

opener at Melching FWd at Conrad Park in DeLand. 

As a thank you to residents of DeLand and Volusia County, 

Stetson distributed complimentary general admission tickets to the 

first Hatter baseball game of the season, "Ballpark Thanks 2001." 

"Stetson University is proud of our 118-year relationship with DeLand and Volusia County 

and this is a great way to say thanks," said Brian G. Miller, executive director of marketing 

and communications. "We hope families will enjoy `Ballpark Thanks' this year and for years 

to come." 

Although general admission, which is normally a $4 value, was free for opening day, only 

1,000 tickets were available. In addition to the free afternoon of baseball, Stetson gave away 

prizes throughout the day. The tickets were "sold out" due to an overwhelming response 

from the community. So Stetson gave away an additional 1,000 tickets for the Hatters' 

Sunday game. 

Stetson University Race for Restoration 

benefits Athens Theatre 

Stetson University and downtown DeLand welcomed runners and fitness 

walkers in January for the Second Annual Stetson University Race for 

Restoration, a benefit for DeLand's historic Athens Theatre. Stetson University 

was the presenting sponsor. 

Participants in the 5 K race took on downtown streets, residential areas and Stetson's 

beautiful campus. 

"My family and I walked in the race last year through historic downtown DeLand," said 

Brian G. Miller, Stetson's executive director of marketing and communications. 

"The history of DeLand and Stetson University are so intertwined that becoming the 

primary sponsor of this race was natural for us," Miller said. "Preserving local history is a 

Stetson priority. The funds raised will be used for work on the Athens' interior." 

Books, etc. 

CASSADAGA: The South's 

Oldest Spiritualist Community, 

edited by Associate 

Professor of Religious 

Studies Phillip C. Lucas, 

John J. Guthrie Jr. and Gary 

Monroe, is a collection of 

essays and photographs 

exploring the history, 

people, cultural environment and religious 

system of Cassadaga. Founded in 1893 as a 

Spiritualist winter camp, the small town 

located 25 miles north of Orlando is now on 

the National Register of Historic Places. The 

book's interviews, analysis and photographs 

give both insiders' and outsiders' perspectives 

on this living Spiritualist community. 

(University Press of Florida, 2000) 

GAIL RADLEY, lecturer in English, has 

written four books explaining the extinction 

of animals to children. Vanishing from Forests 

and Jungles, Vanishing from Grasslands and 

Deserts, Vanishing from the Skies and Vanishing 

from Waterways 

each present 

10 creatures 

whose 

existence is in 

danger. With 

Jean 

Sherlock as 

illustrator, the books 

explore the balance 

between life forms and their habitats, using 

essays, poems and key facts to show how the 

threatened animals live and how concerned 

people can help them. 

(Lerner Publishing Group, 2001) 

23

Stetson University's retiring 

Gary Meadows receives 

Distinquished Service Award 

Gary Meadows says Stetson University has a 

number of qualities that made him want to 

begin and end his career here, but one 

characteristic rises to the top-the caring 

environment. 

"It's a people-related institution," said the 

former associate vice president for Alumni 

Relations. "People are important." 

For his dedication of more than 41 years 

to Stetson, Meadows was honored with the 

university's prestigious Distinguished Service 

Award. Meadows, who retired from the 

university at the end of February, received 

the award at a Board of Trustees dinner. 

"As associate vice president for Alumni 

Relations, Gary made a strong contribution 

to the success of the university's recently 

completed $200 Million Campaign," said 

Mark Whittaker, vice president for University 

Relations. "Serving in this capacity, he 

took Stetson's alumni program to an entirely 

new level." 

Meadows earned his bachelor's degree in 

psychology in 1959 and began working as an 

admissions counselor the next day. He 

earned a master's degree in counseling from 

Stetson five years later. During his 30-year 

tenure in admissions, Meadows served as 

assistant director, director and dean. 

While in Admissions, Meadows helped 

bring fine students to the university and 

counseled them when making education 

and career decisions. He saw some of those 

same students give back to Stetson and 

become re-involved in the university while 

working in Alumni Relations. 

"It's just been a wonderful experience 

both ways," he said of his years in 

Admissions and Alumni Relations. "I 

wouldn't trade it for anything." 

In addition to his duties in the Admissions 

and Alumni offices, Meadows has been the 

voice of the Hatters at various times at the 

24 

Members of the Meadows family join Gary 

Meadows, center, at the dedication of the 

Meadows Alumni House. 

men's basketball games for 35 years. 

Stetson also honored Meadows by 

naming its Alumni House the Meadows 

Alumni House March 30. Whittaker said 

he, President Doug Lee and the Alumni 

Board wanted to name the house for 

Meadows because of his loyalty and 

dedication to Stetson over many years. "He 

is dearly loved by the alumni and the 

Alumni Board, and this action will recognize 

him in a timeless way," Whittaker said. 

Meadows said the announcement took 

him by surprise and that the honor exemplifies 

the caring environment of the university. 

"That was the last thing in the world that I 

expected or anticipated ... What greater 

compliment can you get?" he said. 

Meadows plans to continue his involvement 

with the university as an alumnus and 

volunteer. "I'm definitely a member of the 

extended Stetson family," he said. "It's been 

a love affair. I really, truly love the place. It's 

just home to me." 

In retirement, Meadows hopes to spend 

more time enjoying some of his hobbies, 

which include singing, fishing and traveling. 

Over the years, he has lent his deep bass 

voice to the Stetson Choral Union and is on 

the board of directors of the Bel Canto 

singers. He also is a soloist in the choir at 

First Baptist Church of DeLand and is 

president of the DeLand Breakfast Rotary 

Club. 

Meadows has three grown children and 

lives in DeBary with his wife, Gail Kadlec 

Meadows. 

Stetson University honors 

DeLand couple with Doyle E. 

Carlton Award 

Harold and Rabel Moremen Parson of 

DeLand, both Stetson University alumni, 

received one of the university's highest 

honors, the Doyle E. Carlton Award, during 

a meeting of Stetson's Board of Trustees. 

Named for former Florida governor and 

Stetson alumnus and trustee, Doyle E. 

Carlton, the award recognizes "extraordinary 

contributions to the life and development 

of Stetson University, the City of 

DeLand, the state of Florida, and devotion 

to Christian higher education," said Stetson 

President Doug Lee. 

"The Parsons' concern for others has 

always guided them, and it is in the pattern 

of their everyday living that they best 

exemplify the spirit of this award," said Dr. 

David B. Rinker, chairman of Stetson's 

Board of Trustees, in honoring the couple. 

DeLand residents since 1974, when 

Harold Parson retired from a distinguished 

22-year career as a special agent with the 

Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Parsons 

have strong ties to West Volusia. A DeLand 

native who studied music as a child in 

Stetson's piano department, Rabel Moremen 

met the young Harold Parson, a Stetson 

business administration student from Miami, 

when both were singing in the First Baptist 

Church choir. 

World War II interrupted their education. 

He served as a Navy pilot and flight 

instructor; she became DeLand's first female 

postal letter carrier in a program to replace 

men at war. They married in 1945, and 

returned to Stetson in 1946. They took turns 

caring for their first child so both could 

attend classes, and she taught music and 

played the piano and organ for a variety of 

groups. He graduated in 1948, and they 

moved to Fort Pierce where he worked 

briefly in the business world before joining 

the FBI in 1952. 

His FBI career took them to Philadelphia, 

Washington, D.C., Miami and Fort Pierce, 

and she served as a church organist and 

choir director wherever they lived. She also 

taught fifth grade in Fort Pierce, where she 

was selected Teacher of the Year. 

Rabel Parson returned to Stetson to finish 

her music degree 

after her husband 

retired, and taught 

music at Orange 

City Elementary 

School until her own 

retirement in 1986. 

Wanting to share her 

students' talents, she 

led them to produce 

elaborate musicals 

each year before 

community groups. 

She served for 

several years as one 

of the directors of 

the annual county 

The Parsons in 

1948. 

STETSON UNIVERSITY

music festival. N Named Orange City's 1985 

Teacher of the Year, she also won the Volusia 

Educators Association's Mary Karl Award 

for "a lifetime of distinguished service to 

quality education." She continues to be 

active in many community and church 

groups, often sharing her musical talents 

with them. 

An active church layman, Harold Parson 

served as an elder and chaired a capital gifts 

campaign for First Presbyterian Church of 

DeLand. He also works with many West 

Volusia community groups, including the 

chorus, Great Expectations, which sings for 

many charitable events. 

The couple has contributed year after 

year to a variety of Stetson scholarships, so 

that others may follow their path. He 

chaired Stetson's Homecoming in 1979 and 

served as president of the DeLand Alumni 

chapter in 1982-83. She worked with 

Stetson to establish Florida's only collegiate 

chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, which leads 

students into community service. Both 

remain active in the Alumni Association 

and co-chaired the 45th and 50th reunions for 

the Class of 1948. Their DeLand-area ranch 

is often the scene of alumni get-togethers, as 

well as fundraisers for St. Jude Children's 

Hospital and the American Cancer Society. 

Strong supporters of the Friends of the 

School of Music, Hatter Boosters and School 

of Business Administration, they are also 

Stetson Society members and Presidential 

Counsellors. 

They have four children: the late Harold 

Parson Jr.; Charles Parson, a professor at 

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, 

Denver, Colo.; Linda Parson Davis, associate 

vice president for planned giving at Stetson; 

and Nets Parson, land use coordinator for 

the St. Johns River Water Management 

District. 

Three alumni earn `S' Club 

lifetime achievement awards 

Walter S. `Bud' McLin III '57, Robert Ervin 

Montgomery '70 and the late Edward C. 

Furlong '38 were awarded Stetson `S' Club 

lifetime achievement awards. 

Walter S. "Bud" McLin III was born in 

Tallahassee in 1935. After graduation from 

Leon High School with both athletic and 

scholastic honors, he accepted a football 

scholarship to Stetson University where he 

played as a solid and productive team 

member from 1953-57. 

McLin completed his bachelor of arts 

degree from Stetson in 1957 and his law 

degree from the University of Florida in 

1962. Commissioned through the Stetson 

ROTC program, he served his country from 

1957-59 as a U.S. Army first lieutenant. 

A senior partner in the law firm of McLin, 

Burnsed, Morrison, Johnson, Newman & 

Roy of Leesburg, McLin's professional 

affiliations include Pi Delta Phi Legal 

Fraternity, the American Bar Association, 

Florida Bar Association and Lake-Sumter 

Bar Association, which he served as 

president, 1967-68. His awards and honors 

include Outstanding Young Man of the Year, 

Leesburg, 1965; Omicron Delta Kappa 

National Leadership Fraternity Award; and 

Outstanding Service, Florida Bar Association, 

1972. He serves on the Board of 

Governors of the Elks Club and is a past 

president of the University of Florida 

Alumni Association. He also received a 

Stetson University Distinguished Service 

Award. 

McLin has served the State of Florida as 

chair of the Capital Center Planning 

Commission, 1972-74; as a member of the 

Board of Business Regulation, 1974-80; Fifth 

District Court of Appeal and Circuit Court 

Nominating Committee; and Chair of the 

Governor of Florida's Select Committee on 

POW/MIA Families of Southeast Asia, 

1975. In addition, he served as a member 

and chair of the State Pari-mutuel Wagering 

Commission, 1978-80; and as a member of 

the House of Representatives Select Water 

Task Force, 1983. 

His business relationships include the 

board of directors, Citizens Bank of 

Leesburg; board of directors, Blue Cross and 

Blue Shield of Florida; and board of 

directors, Florida Combined Life Insurance 

Company. 

McLin is an active member of St. James 

Church in Leesburg and also is a devoted 

Rotarian. He and his wife, Gwen, have one 

daughter, Mary Shannon Carlyle. 

Robert Ervin Montgomery was born and 

raised in the Lake Wales and Fort Meade 

areas of Florida. He graduated from Fort 

Meade High School in 1966 and, along with 

Ken Showers, Ron Beal and Jimmy Johnson, 

was among the first African-American 

athletes to be recruited by Stetson. While at 

Stetson, he was involved in numerous 

organizations, including Scabbard and 

Blade, Student Senate, Omega Phi Fraternity, 

the Baptist Student Union, the 

Accountancy Club and intramural athletics. 

He played for Coach Glenn 

Wilkes and the Hatter 

Basketball Program as a 

freshman and sophomore. 

Montgomery graduated 

from Stetson in 1970 with a 

bachelor of business administration 

degree in finance. He 

Montgomery continued his education at 

Columbia University where he earned his 

master of business administration degree in 

1972. 

His professional career includes working 

at Ford Motor Company from 1972-73 as an 

analyst; Chevrolet Division of General 

Motors as an analyst/supervisor from 1973 

through 1980; Gulf and Western as a 

director of business planning from 1980 to 

1985; and a GM Dealer School trainee from 

1985 to 1986. 

In 1988, Montgomery purchased the 

Mountain Home Ford dealership in Mountain 

Home, Idaho. He is currently the owner 

and CEO of Flagler Ford Inc. in Palm Coast. 

His most recent professional associations 

include serving on the Stetson University 

Board of Trustees; membership in Alpha Phi 

Alpha; holding a leadership position on the 

board of directors of the Ford-Lincoln- 

Mercury Minority Dealers Association; and 

appearing in Who's Who Among African 

Americans. 

He and his wife, Valorie, have two grown 

children, Ryan and Raven. 

The late Edward C. Furlong was born 

and raised in West Virginia and enrolled as 

a transfer student at Stetson University in 

1936 on a football scholarship. Furlong was 

an outstanding lineman for the Hatters 

while earning honors as a student body 

leader. He was named "Most Popular Boy" in 

his 1938 graduation class. After graduation, 

he was asked to join the faculty of the 

School of Business, where he served as an 

instructor while continuing his studies. In 

1940, he earned a master's degree in 

economics from Stetson. 

During World War 11, Furlong served in 

the U.S. Army and rose from private to 

FALL 2001 25

John Jett knows the day will come 

when Americans won't have any 

choice but to be environmentally 

conscious. But he wants the Stetson 

community to do its part to help put 

off that day by becoming good 

environmental stewards now. 

Jett was hired late last year as the 

university's first director of environmental 

affairs. In this position, he is responsible for 

providing direction and coordination for the 

development, maintenance and enhancement 

of environmental stewardship within 

the campus community. He's 

also a key member of the 

Environmental Responsibility 

Council, which was created 

under Stetson's Values 

Council to advance ecological 

causes. 

"Stetson's approach to 

environmental stewardship is 

unique in that we have 

support from the top down," 

Jett said of Stetson's administration. 

"Most colleges 

Jett 

experience stewardship from a 

grassroots standpoint and 

struggle for recognition and funding." 

The Values Council was founded in 1998 

to lead campus conversation about values 

and to establish a commitment to action in 

key areas, including the environment. As 

part of the university's values and vision, 

Stetson has collectively affirmed the 

obligation of individuals and communities to 

act as responsible stewards of the natural 

environment. 

Jett received his bachelor's degree in 

environmental studies at the University of 

Kansas and his master's degree in environmental 

science from Oklahoma State 

University. Before coming to Stetson in 

November 2000, he was a bacteriologist at an 

animal disease diagnostic laboratory and a 

graduate research assistant at OSU. For 

several years, Jett was an animal behaviorist 

working with killer whales at Sea World in 

Orlando. 

His hiring is yet another example of 

Stetson's increasing commitment to the 

environment. Jett said Stetson is probably 

substantially ahead of most universities in 

the nation in commitment to environmental 

stewardship. In addition to support from the 

university's administration, Stetson is unique 

because of the leadership role the Facilities 

Management Division has taken in many of 

the university's environmental initiatives. 

"Facilities Management is not afraid to 

diverge from the `normal' way of business in 

order to explore new and novel approaches 

to environmental friendliness," he said. 

Jett said one of the school's strongest 

environmental programs is recycling. This 

school year, Stetson has 

recycled 570 pounds of 

plastic, 19,200 pounds of fiber 

and 366 pounds of aluminum. 

Additionally nearly 6 million 

pounds of material has been 

recylcled from the Lynn 

Business Center. 

Another environmental 

initiative the university is 

currently working on is 

making the renovated Lynn 

Business Center a green 

building under the Leadership 

in Energy and Environ 

mental Design rating system. Some of the 

extra steps the university is taking to 

accomplish this are recycling demolition 

material, installing low-organic emission 

carpeting and using reclaimed water for 

irrigation. 

In the future, Jett plans to move out into 

the community to spread the word of 

Stetson's commitment to the environment. 

He also hopes that students who leave the 

university will take the message of environmental 

stewardship with them. 

"It is vitally important that we, staff and 

faculty, create a learning environment that 

instills in our campus community the desire 

to do the right thing while on campus, but 

also inspires people to continue the good 

work when they graduate or otherwise move 

on," Jett said. "Since the majority of those 

on our campus are students who will be gone 

in four years or less, it's important to educate 

them to carry on with small contributions 

such as recycling and energy conservation." 

captain during the 1942-46 war years. After 

the war ended, he returned to Stetson and 

was named dean of the business school in 

1947, a position he held until his retirement 

in 1979. In recognition of Dean Furlong's 

many contributions to the university, Stetson 

conferred on him an honorary doctor of laws 

degree in 1983. 

Furlong served the university as business 

manager for several years in addition to his 

duties as dean. He also served the City of 

DeLand as a city commissioner 

and mayor, and was 

president of the DeLand 

Chamber of Commerce. 

Both Furlong and his 

wife, Charlotte, were loyal 

Stetson alumni. All five of 

their children are Stetson 

graduates. He was also an 

active member of St. Furlong 

Bamabas Episcopal 

Church, where he served on the vestry and 

sang in the choir. 

Knight, Maldonado earn Stetson 

University leadership honors; 

Knight also wins Turner Award 

Stetson University graduates Melissa Jill 

Knight of Merritt Island and Luis 

Maldonado of LaBelle were the 2001 

recipients of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan 

Award, the top leadership honor for Stetson 

graduates. 

Knight, who served on Stetson's Values 

Council and Environmental Responsibility 

Council, also won the university's 2001 Etter 

McTeer Turner Award for outstanding 

academic performance, leadership and 

community service. 

The Sullivan award goes annually to a 

woman and a man in the senior class "whose 

personal example and influence throughout 

the campus best exemplify the noblest 

human qualities ... and the finest values that 

Stetson nurtures." 

Presented by President H. Douglas Lee to 

cap Stetson's annual Academic Honors 

Convocation, the Sullivan Award is made 

jointly by the New York Southern Society of 

the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation 

and by Stetson University. 

Citing Melissa Knight for her community 

service efforts, Lee called her "a pioneer for 


positive change," noting that she has worked 

with Stetson's Values Council and Environmental 

Responsibility Council. She helped 

raise money for charity through the campus 

Greenfeather campaign and organized the 

campus OXFAM fast to fight world hunger. 

She took part in Model Senate, and 

served as a student intern in Stetson's 

Community Service Office, the Florida 

Farmworkers' Association and the Volusia 

County Environmental Management 

Agency. 

In addition, she served on Stetsonsponsored 

summer mission and service 

trips to Belize, and has been a resident 

assistant and hall director in the university's 

Residential Life program. An environmental 

science major, Knight earned a cumulative 

grade point average of 3.7 and was selected 

for membership in several honor societies, 

including Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar 

Board and Phi Beta Kappa. Her immediate 

goal is to work with the Peace Corps. 

Lee described Luis Maldonado as a 

Winner o f the 

Turner and the 

Sullivan awards, 

Melissa Jill Knight 

is congratulated by 

School of Music 

Dean Jim Woodward, 

chair o f the 

Council of Deans. 

Mark your calendars for Stetson Weekend 2002 

Plans are in progress to make Stetson Weekend 2002 new and exciting! 

Join us on February 22-24, 2002, for a fun-filled weekend. Here's what's 

iin store for you... 

We'll kick off Stetson Weekend on Friday evening, with Decade 

Parties hosted by the two reunion classes in each decade. Decade 

Parties provide a unique opportunity to bring everyone together from the same 

"era." Classes celebrating a reunion in 2002 are: '47, '52, '57, '62, '67, '72, '77, 

'82, '87, and '92. For information about the Decade Parties, or if you would like to 

assist with your class's reunion plans, call the Alumni Office at (386) 822-7481 or 

800-688-4287, or the following class contacts: 

Class of 1947 - Ruth Cobb Arnold, (386) 734-8855 or Dee Rutledge, 

(386) 822-8920, drutledg@stetson.ed u 

Class of 1952 - Carl "Sonny" Gaffe, (912) 649-3400 

Class of 1957 - Grady Snowden, (386) 228-2532, RGSnowden@juno.com ; 

Tom Allerton, (407) 339-9085, TDAllerton@aol.com ; or John Morgan, 

(703) 978-6408, morganjamjr@aol.com 

Class of 1962 - Millie Schibanoff Dykes, (386) 736-4208, or Bill Siegel, 

(863) 293-5214 

Class of 1967 - Maggi Smith Hall, (386) 740-1009, maggi@cfl.rr.com or 

Gena Medrano Swartz, (352) 343-9174, genamswartz@aol.com 

Class of 1972 - Tina Wolf-Wiley, (386) 740-0068, fasttina@mindspring.com ; 

Wayne Dreggors, (386) 947-4270, wayneceo@aol.com ; Barry Brassard, c/o Jan 

Nestle at the Alumni Office; or Terry Rhodes, (850) 410-1094, trhodes@ounce.org 

Class of 1977 - Still need Class Co-Chairs and committee members 

Class of 1982 - Cindy Gilliland Hedgepeth, (386) 738-5531, 

chedgepe@bellsouth.net 

Class of 1987 - Corinne Chatfield Gaertner, (813) 348-0039, 

gaertner@tampabay.rr.com or Kimberly Harrison Pertler, (352) 365-7204 

Class of 1992 - Mickey Desai, (404) 245-4458, mdesai@mindspring.com ; 

or Stephen Wright, (919) 846-0142, sbwright@pobox.com 

On Saturday, start the day right by 

connecting with classmates and 

current and former faculty at the 

President's Home, where you'll enjoy a 

delicious brunch. Following the Alumni 

Buffet Brunch, head over to Elizabeth 

Hall for the new and improved All- 

Alumni Gathering, with an update from 

President Doug Lee and musical 

entertainment provided by students in 

the School of Music. A university-wide 

cookout is scheduled for noon, followed 

by student-sponsored family fun 

and games. Later in the afternoon, join 

us for a pep rally, block party with food 

and beverages, and bonfire-guaranteed 

to generate spirit and enthusiasm 

for the men's basketball game against 

Florida Atlantic University. We'll snake 

dance over to Edmunds Center for the 

game (GO HATTERS!), and conclude the 

evening's festivities with the Homecoming 

Dance, where the king and queen 

will be crowned. 

Alumni Chapel and a continental 

breakfast on Sunday morning will 

conclude Stetson Weekend 2002. 

Other events are being planned by the 

Class of 1947, the Law Class of 1952, 

the "S" Club, the Roland George 

Investments Program, the School of 

Music, Stover Theatre, Lambda Chi 

Alpha and other fraternities and 

sororities, the Ministerial Alumni 

Association, the Black Alumni Council 

and other campus organizations. Stay 

tuned in the coming weeks for more 

information on Stetson Weekend 2002 

and check out the Alumni page at 

www/stetson/edu for updates. Mark your 

calendars, and start spreading enthusiasm 

NOW, by encouraging everyone 

you know to spread the word that 

Stetson Weekend 2002 is not to be 

missed. 

FALL 2001 2 7

Meeting the Challenge 

Richard Carl George graduated 

from Stetson University in 1976 as a 

political science major. After 

graduation, George became 

involved in local government in 

Volusia County, and eventually started R. 

George and Associates, 

a library furniture 

and equipment firm 

based in DeLand. 

When Stetson 

launched its major 

renovation and 

expansion project of 

the duPont-Ball Library 

in 1998, he expressed 

his interest in assisting. 

The library project, 

initiated to relieve 

existing space 

limitations within the 

library, makes 

Lilis and 

Richard George 

sophisticated media services available, 

enhancing learning and supporting the 

technology necessary to create an electronic 

library for onsite and offsite users. A new 

three-story north wing was added to the 

library - an additional 13,000 square feet. 

Richard and Lilis George recognized this 

project was necessary to lead the university 

into the 21st century. They made a generous 

contribution of six study carrels to the library. 

These carrels are designed specifically for the 

space in the duPont-Ball Library and offer 

areas for study and computing applications. 

The Georges also underwrote the acquisition 

of furniture for the Reference Service Desk, 

the center of the library's main floor and the 

information focal point for the facility. 

George also agreed to assist Stetson 

University in fulfilling the study carrel portion of 

the library campaign. Twenty-two carrels are 

needed to complete the project. Richard has 

issued a challenge to Stetson alumni and 

friends and has agreed to donate a $1,500 

study carrel for each set of oak chairs that the 

university receives. The chairs are available as 

gift opportunities for $250 each. So, for every 

$500 donated for the purchase of oak carrel 

chairs, the university will receive $2,000 in 

benefit because of the Georges' generosity. 

An engraved dedication plate will be 

mounted on each chair in recognition of 

each donor's gift to this effort. 

Please contact Jenine Rabin at (386) 822- 

7738 for further information on contributing to 

the duPont-Ball Library study carrel challenge. 

student with "a passionate commitment 

to social justice and social change, whose 

efforts have enriched our campus and 

helped further our commitment to creating 

an open, enlightened and diverse community." 

A leader in many Stetson organizations, 

including Circle K International, the 

Student Government Association, Common 

Ground, the Multicultural Student Council 

and the Hispanic Organization for Latin 

American Awareness, he was an English 

major with a minor in French. 

He maintained a grade point average of 

3.7 and served as a tutor in both Spanish and 

French in Stetson's foreign language lab. In 

the summer of 2000 he won a Stetson 

Undergraduate Research Experience grant 

to study the loss of native languages as a 

problem in post-colonial identities, and 

presented a report on his research to the 

National Conference on Undergraduate 

Research. 

The first person in his family to attend 

college, Maldonado was recognized in April 

as one of Florida's 20 outstanding students in 

a competition sponsored by Florida Leader 

magazine, SunTrust Bank and Publix Super 

Markets. He also won Stetson's June Brooks 

Memorial Award for Community Activism, 

as w ell as first place in the Ann R. Morris 

Women and Gender Studies Essay and 

Creative Writing Competition. He was one 

of two student speakers at Stetson's May 12 

Commencement. 

He plans to pursue a career in public 

interest law and currently attends the 

University of Florida's Levin College of Law 

on a full scholarship. 

The Turner Award, won by Knight, 

honors Stetson's first woman dean of 

students and was established by the family 

of former Stetson President J. Ollie 

Edmunds, through their Gualala Foundation. 

It is presented annually during Spring 

Commencement to a graduating senior who 

excels both academically and in campus 

activities. 

In nominating Knight for the Turner 

Award, members of the Student Life staff 

called her "an outstanding motivator and 

role model in all aspects of life (and) a 

true portrait of the well-rounded college 

student." 

Stetson students win Sullivan 

Endowment for Writing awards 

Four Stetson University students, all English 

majors, won Tim Sullivan Endowment for 

Writing awards during Stetson's April 

Academic Honors Convocation. Presented 

by English Professor Terri Witek, two 

awards went to Gina Welker of Altamonte 

Springs: the poetry award for her poem, 

"Hermanito," and the playwriting award for 

her play, Queen of Hearts. Also honored 

were Michael Hoffecker of Port Orange, 

who received the fiction award for "To Have 

and Have Not"; Katheryn Wright of 

DeLand, who earned the creative nonfiction 

award for "Holding Hands"; and 

Robert Pagliazzo of Orlando, who received 

the graduate portfolio award for "First and 

Last Words to Finnegan's Wake." 

Now in its sixth year, the Tim Sullivan 

Endowment for Writing Program funds 

scholarships and prizes for student writers, 

visits by professional writers and student trips 

to national writing conferences; and helps to 

hire extra faculty members to teach regular 

English courses, freeing members of the 

English faculty with writing experience to 

teach special workshop classes. The 

endowment is funded by a gift from Stetson 

Trustee Art Sullivan of Stuart, a 1962 

graduate, and his wife Melissa, in remembrance 

of Art's son Tim, who died in an 

accident at the age of eight. 

Stetson Professor wins McEniry 

Award for outstanding teaching 

Dr. Robert K. Sitler, who teaches Spanish 

language and culture at Stetson University, 

is the 2001 recipient of Stetson's McEniry 

Award for Excellence in 

Teaching. English 

Professor Terri Witek, the 

2000 McEniry Award 

inner, made the 

announcement during 

Stetson's Spring Commencement. 

Both students and 

Sitter 

professors praised him for 

going beyond the 

classroom to engage his students in the 

outside world. A colleague noted that "his 

contributions to the cultural life of Stetson 

University through his contacts in Central 


America have provided a unique insight to 

our students, especially in terms of his 

indigenous contacts and friends. ... His 

gentle persuasiveness has (also) introduced 

many to the need for an environmentally 

friendly approach to living, learning and 

teaching." 

A member of Stetson's modern languages 

and literatures faculty since 1994, Sitter 

earned a doctorate in Hispanic literature 

from the University of Texas at Austin, and 

his master's and bachelor's degrees from 

Kent State University. His specialty is Mayan 

culture, and he has published several articles 

and speaks frequently on the Mayan 

influence in Spanish American literature. 

(See story, p. 13.) At Stetson, he chairs the 

Environmental Responsibility Council, one 

of six groups making up the Values Council, 

and directs the Discovery Program for firstyear 

students. A member of the Latin 

American Studies committee, he serves as 

director of internships in the Mexican- 

American community and helped institute a 

Stetson study-abroad program at the 

University of Guanajuato, Mexico, serving as 

its program director for several years. 

In the summer of 2000, Sitter studied in 

Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, as part 

of a National Endowment for the Humanities 

Summer Institute, examining the Mayan 

movement in those countries. 

Sitter spends time each year in the Mayan 

community of Todos Santos Cuchumatdn in 

Guatemala, to immerse himself in the 

culture and to study the Main Mayan 

language. 

The McEniry Award is the most prestigious 

award given to a DeLand campus 

faculty member. Selections are made jointly 

by faculty and students and recipients must 

be both outstanding scholars and excellent 

teachers. Stetson's 27 McEniry Award 

winners share a common goal: to excel as 

teachers, sharing knowledge of their chosen 

fields with students in ways that excite and 

stimulate them to achieve their fullest 

potential. 

Former Stetson President J. Ollie 

Edmunds established the award in 1974 to 

honor William Hugh McEniry, former dean 

of the university, who led the academic life 

at Stetson during the years following World 

War II to 1966. The Gualala Foundation, 

established by the Edmunds family, continues 

to support the award. 

THE HOWARD THURMAN 

PROGRAM 

LECTURE SERIES 

Stetson's Howard Thurman Program was 

established in partnership with New Birth 

Inc., a national board of African-American 

leaders headed by the Rev. Jefferson 

Rogers. The program's goal is to unite 

scholars and community leaders in seeking 

solutions to social, religious and ethnic 

problems, and to extend the legacy of Dr. 

Howard Thurman. A Daytona Beach 

native, Thurman was a mentor and 

spiritual guide to leaders of the civil rights 

movement. 

Biblical scholar Dr. Cain Hope Felder 

launched Stetson University's Fall 2000 

Thurman Lecture Series. Felder discussed 

"Rediscovering the Bible in an Age of 

Multiculturalism: Troubling Biblical Waters.' 

A leading Biblical scholar and prolific 

author, Felder taught at 

Princeton Theological Seminary 

in New Jersey and was the 

first national director of the 

United Methodist Black 

Caucus, then headquartered in 

Felder 

Atlanta. 

Felder holds a bachelor's degree in 

philosophy and classics from Howard 

University, Washington, D.C.; a master of 

divinity from Union Theological Seminary, 

New York City; and a diploma of theology 

from Oxford University, England; as well as 

master's and doctoral degrees in Biblical 

languages and literature from Columbia 

University, New York City. 

Attorney and public policy analyst Andrea 

Young, the daughter of Andrew Young, 

gave a lecture, "In Praise of Women," based 

on her book, Life Lessons My Mother Taught 

Me, a tribute to her mother, Jean Young, a 

respected advocate for social justice through 

her work in the civil rights movement. 

Educated at Swarthmore 

College and Georgetown 

University, Andrea Young has 

worked for the United Church 

of Christ as director of the 

African Mission Program. A 

former vice-president of 

Planned Parenthood of 

Metropolitan Washington, D.C., she has 

served as the keynote speaker for many 

educational and religious institutions. 

Anthropologist and social activist Dr. Niara 

Sudarkasa addressed "Reclaiming the 

Anchors." Sudarkasa has achieved many 

significant "firsts" in her academic career. 

From 1987 to 1998, she served as the first 

woman president of Lincoln University, Pa. 

At the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 

she was the first African-American woman 

to be awarded tenure in the arts and 

sciences, the first to become a 

full professor, the first to head 

an academic center and the 

first to be appointed associate 

vice president for academic 

affairs. 

Sudarkasa I 

Sudarkasa attended Fisk 

University, Nashville, Tenn., and Oberlin 

College, Ohio, on Ford Foundation early 

entrant scholarships. She graduated from 

Oberlin in 1957 at the age of 18. She 

earned a master's degree and a doctorate 

in anthropology from Columbia University, 

New York City. 

Religion historian and author Dr. Andrew 

Manis discussed "Civil Religions and the 

Problem of Race in the New Millennium," 

highlighting his view of history and his 

thoughts on the future of religion and race. 

Since 1996, Manis has 

been editor at the Mercer 

University Press in Macon, 

Ga., where he also teaches in 

Mercer's College of Liberal 

Arts and McAfee School of 

Manis 

Theology. A native of 

Birmingham, Ala., Manis earned a 

bachelor's degree from Samford University. 

He holds a doctorate from the Southern 

Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. 

The first Stetson University Howard 

Thurman lecture of the Spring 2001 term 

featured the Rev. Marvin Chandler, a 

musician and pastor emeritus of San 

Francisco's Church for the Fellowship of All 

Peoples. 

Chandler's lecture, "Deep River and the 

Mountaintop," celebrated the lives of 

Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King 

Jr. in meditation and song. 

Executive director of the Howard 

FALL 2001 29

Thurman Educational Trust in 

San Francisco from 1980 to 1984, 

CI Chandler was director of the 

San Francisco Interfaith Choir 

Chandler and pastor of the Church for the 

Fellowship of All Peoples. 

Executive director of the San Francisco 

Council of Churches in the mid-1970s and 

an executive with the Rochester Council of 

Churches in New York from 1963 to 1975, 

he created the first black congregationbased 

ecumenical organization in the 

country. 

A graduate of Colgate Rochester Divinity 

School in New York, Chandler holds a 

master's degree in divinity. 

Jill Nelson offered empowering words for 

African-American women on the topic 

"African American Women: Finding Voice 

and Taking Action." 

Nelson, a working journalist 

for more than 20 years, is a 

graduate of the City College of 

New York and the Columbia 

Nelson University School of Journalism 

in New York City. 

Her first book about her experiences at 

the Washington Post, "Volunteer Slavery: My 

Authentic Negro Experience," was a bestselling 

memoir and earned an American 

Book Award in 1994. 

Nelson currently is a journalism professor 

at City College of New York and a freelance 

writer. 

Performer and educator Rawn Spearman 

spoke about his life as a musician in a talk 

titled "My Life: A Singer's Quest for Soul." 

Spearman, a former member of the famed 

Fisk Jubilee Singers in the 1940s, has 

appeared on Broadway in productions of 

"Let's Make an Opera," "Kwamina," "Four 

Saints in Three Acts" and "Nude with 

Violin." In another Broadway 

show, "House of Flowers," he 

performed with musicians 

Pearl Bailey, Ray Walston, 

Juanita Hall and Diahann 

Carroll. 

Spearman 

Spearman has been 

honored with the Marian Anderson Award, 

the Roland Hayes Award, the American 

Theatre Wing Award, Jon Hay Whitney 

Award and the Ville de Fountainbleau 

Award. The National Opera Association 

30 

Black Alumni Initiative draws interest 

In an effort to reconnect black alumni with their alma mater, Stetson Trustees Bob 

Montgomery '70 and Tom Stringer JD '74, in collaboration with the Office of Alumni 

Relations, are leading the new Black Alumni Initiative. This fall the Black Student 

Association hosted a reception at the President's Home for black alumni and community 

leaders. The Black Student Association, along with the Values Council, will be hosting 

another black alumni event during Stetson Weekend. A luncheon will be held Saturday, 

Feb. 23, from noon to 2 p.m., with a performance by Stetson's Gospel Choir to follow. 

For information, contact Susan Anderson, executive director of Alumni 

Relations, at 800-688-4287, or via e-mail at sanderso@stetson.edu 

also has recognized him as an African- 

American trailblazer in opera and musical 

theater. 

A graduate of Florida A&M University in 

Tallahassee and the Columbia University 

Teachers College in New York City, he was 

supervisor of cultural affairs for an antipoverty 

program in Harlem, a faculty 

member of Hunter College in New York 

City and coordinator for the college's 

Harlem education center. 

One of New York City's prominent 

African-American leaders addressed the 

issue of violence during the final spring 

Howard Thurman lecture. The Rev. 

Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Harlem's 

Abyssinian Baptist Church and president 

of the State University of New York 

College at Old Westbury, delivered a 

From left, the Rev. Jefferson 

Rogers, director of Stetson 

University's Howard 

Thurman Program; Bob 

Montgomery '70; Tom 

Stringer JD '74; and 

President Doug Lee. 

From left, Chabre Upshaw '03, 

candidate for JD/MBA at the Stetson 

University College of Law; Lisa Rowe 

' 01; Iris Owens '00; Millesa Edwards 

'04; and Latoya McClam '03. 

From left, students Sidney 

Jackson '04; Chabre 

Upshaw '03; April McCray 

'04; Jamil Turner '02; Mary 

Rodgers '04; and Michaelle 

Finch, associate director of 

Residential Life. 

lecture titled Àn Apology for 

Violence." 

Butts earned his bachelor's 

degree in philosophy from 

Morehouse College in Atlanta, 

a master of divinity degree in 

Butts 

church history from Union 

Theological Seminary in New York City 

and a doctorate of ministry in church and 

public policy from Drew University, 

Madison, N.J. 

Butts has taught at City College and 

Fordham University in New York City. 

President of the Council of Churches of the 

City of New York and vice chairman of the 

board of directors of the United Way in 

New York City, he serves as chairman of the 

National Affiliate Development Initiative of 

the National Commission on AIDS and as 

president of Africare in New York City.

Ron Clifton, 

associate vice 

president and 

director of the 


Center at 

Celebration, 

surveys the new 

landscape. 

The theater space 

at the Stetson 

University Center 

at Celebration is 

designed to seat 150. 

Stetson 'celebrates' new 

$7.2 million campus 

By Molly Justice 

S 

tetson University and its 118-year history in Central Florida now have 

a place of their own in the community of Celebration with the opening of 

the $7.2 million Stetson University Center. 

The center, which has become one of the distinctive landmarks in 

downtown Celebration, moved into its 36,000-square-foot facility on 

Celebration Avenue in late August, in time for fall classes. 

"Stetson University brings a rich academic heritage that will 

complement and broaden the existing opportunities for life-long learning in the 

town," said Perry Reader, president of The Celebration Co. "The addition of a university is a great 

milestone in Celebration's history." 

While Stetson has had a presence in Celebration since the early '90s, the university began leasing 

space in the town's Teaching & Learning Center for its graduate and training programs after receiving 

a Ford Foundation grant in 1997. About three years later, Stetson broke ground for a permanent center. 

"I think the Stetson University Center here is in fact a reflection of the values commitment of the institution 

in DeLand itself," said Dr. Ron Clifton, associate vice president and director of the center. "It's a reflection 

of the institution's interest in providing life-long learning; providing high-quality education, counseling and 

business programs; and providing the kinds of opportunities that are needed for professionals and for others 

who are interested in a richer cultural life." 

The exterior of the center is brick, in keeping with the brick architecture of Stetson's historic DeLand 

campus. The semi-circular format was used to meet both site and programmatic requirements and creates a 

distinctive icon for downtown Celebration. 

The building was designed by the New York architectural firm of Deamer + Phillips. Schenkel Schultz of 

Orlando and Foley & Associates of Daytona Beach are the architect of record and contractor respectively. 

David Noyes, Stetson's vice president for facilities management, supervised the construction project. 

The Stetson University Center has become one of more than a dozen icon buildings located throughout 

the town. These buildings possess a character of their own, while providing a variety of styles within the overall 

traditional design theme at Celebration. The town's center is a showcase of the work of some of the world's best 

known, acclaimed architects. 

Clifton said the Stetson University Center at Celebration was planned for flexibility, with multi-use space 

within it. For example, a video-conference room can be used for distance learning or as a seminar classroom 

with break-out rooms. A theater space designed to seat 150 can be used for a conference or an exhibit space. 

"It's a uniquely planned building," he said. 

Other features of the building include a room with a wooden floor and mirrored walls that will be used for a 

dance studio, music practice rooms, faculty offices, counseling rooms and a media/library resource center. The 

state-of-the-art building has more 

than 260 active computer ports; 

wireless connectivity; and 

integrated cabling for video, 

computers and telephones. The 

center also houses about 20 

commercial office spaces available 

for lease to professionals. 

Clifton said it's hard to 

estimate how many students the 

center can serve because of the 

variety and number of programs 

being offered. In about five 

FALL 2001 31

The three-story atrium looks out onto undisturbed wetlands. It will serve as a venue for events ranging from art exhibits to 

music and theater performances. 

years, he said the university plans to serve 80 students in the business program, 

between 50 and 60 in education and between 50 and 60 in counseling. This enrollment 

would be in addition to participants in professional development and other 

specialized programs offered at the center throughout the year. For example, Stetson's 

Community School of the Arts has provided individual music lessons to residents 

from ages 3 to 50 since 1998. 

The center currently offers graduate courses in business, counseling and education. 

The master of business administration program moved to Celebration last year from 

Disney University, where the degree was limited to Disney employees. The center's 

counseling program offers degrees in marriage and family therapy and school counseling 

- preparing students for work in venues such as schools, social service agencies, 

hospitals and churches. Those interested in teaching can earn a master of education 

degree in educational leadership at Celebration. 

In addition to offering graduate courses, Stetson's Center for Information Technology 

manages the Celebration Community Network, including the Front Porch 

Intranet. And through a newly developed program named SUITE (Stetson University 

Institute for Technology Education), the university also plans to form strategic 

partnerships with national and international corporations to offer high-tech training 

programs at the center. 

Stetson's involvement with Celebration dates back to 1992 when the university 

began participating in the early development phases of Osceola County's public K-12 

Celebration School. Two years later, the university launched a nationally recognized 

teacher training program called "Best Practices." The Celebration School now works 

with Stetson and three other universities participating in a professional developmental 

consortium. The other institutions involved in the consortium include Johns 

Hopkins University, Auburn University and the University of Central Florida. 

The university continues to be involved at the Celebration School on a daily basis 

though faculty and teacher intern visits. 

"From the initial phases of the town's planning, Stetson University has played a 

critical part in nurturing Celebration's education cornerstone," Reader said. 

"Completion of the Stetson University Center brings another source of vitality and 

strength to Celebration." 

Go to www.stetson.edu/celebration for more information. 

32 

Technology to enhance learning is a key 

component of the facility's design and 

programs. 

A graduate course in counseling is just 

one of a wide variety of course offerings. 

STETSON UNIVERSITY

Women's 

Basketball 

No. 21 Audrey 

Kull 

Stetson University Women's Basketball: A winning team 

By Jamie Bataille 

The Stetson University Women's Basketball 

Team recently began a new year, hoping to 

build on one of its most successful seasons in 

school history. The Hatters finished last 

season with a 22-7 mark, breaking the 

school record for most wins in a season. The team also 

posted one of the best home records in the country (14-1) 

and placed third in the Trans America Athletic Conference 

with a 13-5 league record. While Stetson fell just 

short of its goal of making the NCAA Tournament, the 

team can proudly look back on its achievements in 

the 2000-01 campaign. 

Stetson's offense was in high gear all season as 

the Hatters averaged a TAAC-best 74.2 points per 

game. And as Stetson's opponents found out, the 

scoring did not come from just one individual; four 

players averaged over 10 points per game. 

"Our balanced scoring made it very difficult for 

opponents to defend against us," Head Coach Dee 

Romine said. "They could not focus on one player 

when everyone on the court was a threat to score." 

Leading the way was 6-3 center Kaisa Tuure, a 

junior transfer from Seminole Community College. 

Tuure averaged a team-high 13.8 points, 7.5 

rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. A first team allconference 

selection, Tuure was named TAAC 

Player of the Week three times during the season. 

Senior guard Cher Dyson, another first team all- 

TAAC selection, averaged 13.1 points per game. While 

Dyson finished her career with well over 1,300 points, 

her claim-to-fame is the 403 career steals she collected 

in a Hatter uniform. That total ties her for 11th-place 

all-time in NCAA women's basketball history. 

Joining Dyson in the backcourt was freshman point 

guard Linda Palonen, who led the team with 102 assists. 

Forwards Audrey Kull and Amy White each put forth an 

outstanding season. Kull, a senior, excelled in all facets of 

her game, averaging 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists 

and 2.0 steals per game. She registered a career-high 29 

points in Stetson's 26-point win over Georgia State on Jan. 

6, and was named TAAC Player of the Week two days 

later. White, a junior, averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 

rebounds a game and recorded six double-doubles on the 

year. 

Opponents didn't get a reprieve when the Hatters went 

to their bench. Post players Eboni Long and Lisa Terry 

crashed the boards and wreaked havoc in the lane. Point 

guard Sally Spooner helped run the offense while shooting 

guard Satu Raimesalo provided a three-point threat. 

Ginny Bencivenga's outside shooting ability added 

depth to Stetson's backcourt. Stephanie Parnell and 

Stephanie Mullis have also contributed off the bench this 

season. 

The Hatters were a perfect 6-0 in the month of 

December and put together a school-record seven-game 

winning streak. After a one-point loss at home to 

Campbell (Stetson's only defeat at the Edmunds Center), 

the Hatters strung together another five-game winning 

streak. 

The momentum carried over into the TAAC Tournament 

where the Hatters defeated arch-rival University of 

Central Florida 73-61 in the quarterfinals. It was Stetson's 

first post-season victory in four years. Eventual tournament 

champion Georgia State ended the Hatters' run in the 

semifinals, but not before Stetson capped off a very 

successful season. 

Bataille is the sports information director in the Stetson 

University Athletics Department. 

Stetson Women's Basketball No. 51 Kaisa Tuure

If you can dream it, you can do it - Stetson University

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