Allegheny Magazine-Summer 2012

v o l . 3 0 • n o . 2 • S u M M e r 2 0 1 2 M A g A z i n e

C o m m e n c e m e n t 2 0 1 2

ommencement 2012 dawned bright and beautiful, setting the stage for theremainder of the day. The Allegheny community honored 456 graduates

and four distinguished leaders: Tom Ridge, E. J. Dionne, Carol Glazer and Arnold Palmer, who received honorary doctorates of humane letters. They are pictured above with members of the board of trustees. Dionne, the keynote speaker, challenged the Class of 2012 to “never lose your desire to transform charity into justice, division into civility, selfishness into generosity, cynicism into hope.”

“ Yo u a r e n o w f u l l - f l e d g e d m e m b e r sof the Allegheny family. You’ll get to read your diploma soon — but here’s what’s unwrit ten: I t comes with membership in a family. An accomplished family. And a deeply caring family whose members, to a person, stand ready to help you, as you carve your way. We ask only this in return: When you have achieved your own individual greatness, give back to future Allegheny family members, as others have given to you.

“By the way, I make no apologies for talking audaciously about the greatness that awaits you. Because, by vir tue of your A llegheny education, greatness is now your destiny. Your Allegheny diploma is a hunting license for greatness.

“To be sure, your greatness will come in dif ferent forms. Some will become national leaders. Others will seek less high-profile but equally meaningful careers. And I believe you will demonstrate greatness where it matters most. As loving spouses. Caring parents. Committed volunteers. And civil citizens. By positively touching all the souls God privileges you to meet. That is the highest greatness of all.”

— Tr u s t e e T im o t hy L . Re eve s ’8 3 , M ay 12 , 2 0 12

*C

On the Hill 15

Reunion Weekend 2012 18

SpoRtS 21

Class noteS 23

Vital StatiSticS 30

The laSt WoRd 36

With a Fond Farewell… 10

2The Confounding Cost of College

Allegheny magazine (ISSN 0279-6724) is published three times a year by Allegheny College, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, PA 16335 for the alumni, parents and friends of the College. Opinions and comments expressed herein are not necessarily those of the College. Postmaster: Send address changes to Allegheny magazine, Allegheny College, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, PA 16335. © 2012 Allegheny College

T r u s T e e s

Eddie Taylor, Jr. ’87, ChairEarl W. Adams, Jr., Ph.D.Christian L. Allison ’83Bishop Thomas J. BickertonAlice Sturgeon Bierer ’59Gladys Mullenix Black ’54Edward J. Borkowski ’81William H. Brown, Jr. ’80Mark R. Campbell ’82Jane Miriam Earll ’80, Esq. Gary M. Elliott ’72Mary H. Feeley ’78, Ph.D.Kimberly Tillotson FlemingJudith Thomas Horgan ’68Steven D. Levinsky ’78Richard W. Maine Isabelle Crabb Moss ’67James H. Mullen, Jr., Ed.D.Herbert H. Myers ’61Jerome V. Nelson ’83James C. New ’67John H. Niles, Jr. ’59, M.D.Martin Pfinsgraff ’77Timothy L. Reeves ’83Mary E. Sceiford ’54, Ph.D.Rev. Dr. Yvonne Reed Seon ’59, Ph.D.Dag J. Skattum ’84Thomas N. SlonakerRobert L. Smith, Jr. ’73William P. Steffee ’57, M.D., Ph.D.Hayes C. Stover ’62, Esq.Bruce R. Thompson ’86William H. Timbers ’72Robert C. Woodworth ’69Douglas F. Ziegler

T r u s T e e s e m e r i T i

Bishop George W. BashoreAnn Simakas Degenhart ’71J. Tomlinson Fort ’50, Esq.Thomas T. Frampton ’70, Esq.Samuel Hellman ’55, M.D.William I. Jack ’57, Esq.The Hon. Jack K. Mandel ’58Frank E. McElree, Jr. ’47, M.D.Silas R. Mountsier III ’52John C. Phillips, Jr. ’56James F. Pomroy ’56Thomas M. St. Clair ’57Ferd J. Sauereisen ’57Henry B. Suhr, Jr. ’55Arthur Tepper ’58Patricia Bush Tippie ’56Robert A. Vukovich ’65, Ph.D.John D. Wheeler ’61, Esq.

e d i T o r

Richard D. Stanley

C o n T r i b u T o r s

Rebecca Cimko Bohnert ’11Diana Brautigam ’80Patrick S. Broadwater ’93 Heather L. GrubbsJames KramerDavid W. McInallyBernadette Wilson

d e s i g n

Jonathan Miller Design

P r i n C i P a l P h o T o g r a P h e r

Bill Owen ’74

P r i n T i n g

Commercial Printing, New Castle, PA

Cover PhoTo

Bill Owen ’74

V o l . 3 0 • N o . 2 • S u m m e r 2 0 1 2 m a g a z i N e

2 A l l e g h e n y M A g A z i n e • S u m m e r 2 0 1 2

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Confounding

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A l l e g h e n y M A g A z i n e • S u m m e r 2 0 1 2 3

et us begin with that question about cost.in 2012-13 allegheny’s comprehensive fee (tuition, room and board) will be $47,150. the college’s total expenses — by which we mean all of the expenditures necessary to enroll and educate the student body — will be slightly less than $111 million. enrollment will be about 2,050, so the cost to educate each student is more than $54,000. the difference between the com-prehensive fee and the actual cost is made up primarily by alumni gifts to the annual Fund — every penny of which goes directly to the operating budget — and the endowment, of which 5 percent is spent each year to support the cost of education. in other words, alumni generosity means that the price to educate each

a

l

It doesn’t.

Why does Allegheny Cost $47,000 per yeAr?

•

•

•

•

•

•

llegheny’s price differs from its cost —whether cost refers to the amount students pay to attend or the expense the college incurs to educate a student. this is one of many puzzling aspects of higher education economics, leading to a series of related questions:

Why has tuit ion gone up faster than inf lat ion?

Why do we discount so heavily?( i .e. , reduce cost through Col lege-funded scholarships )

Has Allegheny’s character changed?Is i t now af fordable only for wealthy famil ies?

What about America’s tr i l l ion-dollar student loan burden?

Is the higher educat ion pricing bubble about to burst?

Above all , why don’t we cut the price?


student is nearly $7,000 less per student than the cost to the College.

at the same time, the actual cost for the average student is quite a bit lower than the published price. total revenues from students (tuition, room, board and bookstore) will be $58.8 million, which comes to almost $29,000 per student. the difference between the $29,000 in revenue per student and the $54,000 in expenses per student — what we will call the cost of college gap — is made up of financial aid and the afore-mentioned gifts. Specifically, about $18,000 of it is in financial aid and $7,000 in gifts.

keep those numbers in mind, for they represent what might be the key strategic issue for allegheny

A l though i t ’s not wide ly

unders tood, the mos t

significant f inancia l

i ssue fac ing co l leges is the

propor t ion o f [ the co l lege ]

gap that is met by g i f t s

versus f inancia l a id .

$18,000 Financial Aid$29,000 Actual average amount paid per student $7,000

$54,000 C o s t t o E d u C A t E A n A l l E g H E n y s t u d E n t

“CosT of College gap”

and other national liberal arts colleges in the coming years. although it’s not widely understood, the most significant financial issue facing colleges is the pro-portion of that gap that is met by gifts versus financial aid. colleges with large endowments fund most of that gap through endowment income, while the less wealthy schools, such as allegheny, need to fund it through fi-nancial aid discount. We call it a discount because this financial aid does not take the form of cash, but rather a reduced price.

Schools that fund the gap entirely with discount are fighting a losing battle. they need to keep spending to compete with the alleghenies of the world, but their revenue is lagging due to steep discounting. if they cut

Gif ts

97% of allegheny students receive some form of aid — 75% of that is need-based


expenses to make up for the reduced revenue, then it is difficult to compete with institutions that can afford better faculty, facilities and equipment.

unfortunately, allegheny’s proportion is weak-er than the schools with whom we compete, most of whom use endowment income to close more than half of their gap. that means that in the short run we must be smarter — getting more value out of all of the re-sources that we have. in the long run we must increase the endowment so that it can close more of the gap. the only alternative — other than large-scale expense reductions and their attendant compromising of edu-cational quality — is to close the gap by discounting less, which will shift the burden to families and greatly restrict access to an allegheny ed-ucation for people who are talented but may not be rich. How many families do you know who can pay the real cost — remember that it’s $54,000 — of educating an allegheny student?

o why doesn’t allegheny simply cut the price to $29,000 — the amount actually paid by the average student — and eliminate financial aid? it’s a reasonable question but the answer is not as easy as it seems. allegheny has historically served a population who may not have great wealth, but who brings exceptional academic ability to the campus. nearly one-half of them will not be able to attend al-legheny at a price of $29,000. For those who do have the means, our competitors offer substantial scholar-ships to high-achieving students, and many of those families prefer a high-priced college where they receive a large scholarship (the prestige factor) to a low-priced college with no scholarship. in order to be fully en-rolled, and to recruit a diverse and academically tal-ented student body, the high-tuition, high-discount model has become the norm among america’s colleges and universities.

of course, another way to cut the price is simply to

salaries & Benefits 29.7%

t o t A l C o l l E g E E x p E n s E t o E n r o l l & E d u c a t e 2 , 0 5 0 s t u d e n t s $111,000,000

55% salaries & Benefits 9% 11%

Physical Plant

FoodService & Residence Halls

97% of allegheny students receive some form of aid — 75% of that is need-based

s reduce expenses. is it possible to cut the budget without a significant impact on academic quality, and without creating a public perception that allegheny is in trouble?

one thing has remained unchanged about allegh-eny over the years: the first priority is personalized education based on individual student-faculty rela-tionships. For that reason, salaries and benefits repre-sent more than 55 percent of the college’s budget. the salaries are keyed to the median of a comparison group made up of similar institutions in order to be competi-tive at hiring and retaining faculty. as long as allegh-eny continues to offer a people-intensive educational model, there will be little opportunity to reduce this expense. the easiest way to cut costs is to have a high-er student-faculty or student-staff ratio, but that will not only detract from the quality of education but also will mean that we no longer compete with prestigious, national liberal arts colleges.

Technology,Scient i f ic Equipment ,Of f-Campus Study,Athlet ics,Admissions,Fund-Raising

25%


other major ex-penses include aux-iliaries (food service and residence hall costs) and the physi-cal plant, which re-spectively account for 11 percent and 9 percent of the bud-get. When we add

those expenses to the 55 percent compensation fig-ure, we see that simply providing a competitive faculty, staff and campus requires more than 75 percent of the resources before we even begin to spend on technol-ogy, scientific equipment, off-campus study, athletics, admissions or fund-raising. Some colleges have been criticized for frivolous spending, but at allegheny ev-ery expenditure is rigorously scrutinized for its contri-bution to teaching and learning.

this means that each year’s budget — as well as multiyear financial forecasts — must strike a balance between spending enough to offer a top-quality edu-cational experience and keeping costs low enough to provide access for students. after all, none of this will

matter if students cannot afford to attend allegheny or if they graduate with such a large debt burden that they cannot prosper in their careers and personal lives.

that’s where financial aid — the discount — enters the picture. it is true that allegheny’s published price has risen at a pace faster than inflation (which is true of most colleges and universities). But the actual cost to stu-dents once financial aid has been taken into account has risen at a much slower pace. this is a critical point that has somehow been missed by the op-ed alarmists.

Four academic years have passed since the american economy entered a recession. in that period, allegh-eny’s net tuition (the tuition price multiplied by the number of students, minus financial aid) has grown 2 percent, or about 0.5 percent per year. this is less than the growth in the consumer price index over the same span. the popular press makes quite a fuss about tu-ition outpacing inf lation, but its calculations are based only on price, without taking into account the actu-al cost for families. When college-funded financial aid is part of the equation, tuition has outpaced inf lation by a much smaller factor, and in many cases — such as the last four years at allegheny — has not outpaced inf lation at all.

[ S tudents ] expec t top

ins t i tu t ions to charge a

high price, bu t they

a lso expec t those ins t i tu-

t ions to have the resources

to prov ide them wi th

f inancia l ass is tance.

students continue to flock to the most expensive institutions because quality always sells


he popular myths also suggest that a lower price will boost enrollment by attracting many

new, highly qualified applicants. this is a reasonable idea, but in fact it has not worked for the few institu-tions that have tried it. Students continue to f lock to the most expensive institutions because quality al-ways sells — and because they know that their actual cost will bear little resemblance to the published price. they expect top institutions to charge a high price, but they also expect those institutions to have the re-sources to provide them with financial assistance.

this high-tuition, high-discount approach to pricing may be confusing, but it actually optimizes allegheny’s ability to provide access for all qualified, interested students. approximately 97 percent of our students re-ceive some form of financial aid, and about 75 percent of that aid is based strictly on need, according to stu-dents’ ability to pay. the remaining 25 percent is used for merit, to recruit students who would otherwise go elsewhere due to the attractive aid packages offered by our competitors.

two key factors must be considered regarding merit

aid. First, the students have earned it. this is a free-market system, and the top performers command the best aid packages. Second, families who receive only merit aid — meaning they are wealthy enough not to qualify for need-based aid — still pay, on average, sig-nificantly more than half of the cost of the allegh-eny education. the lion’s share of the cost is borne by those who have the means, while still rewarding achievement. the system is designed so that students without great wealth can afford to attend, while at the same time not penalizing wealthy families, since the stronger their academic record, the more merit aid they can earn.

unfortunately, allegheny does not have the means to pay for all of this financial aid, which leads to the question of student debt. colleges with large endow-ments subsidize their financial aid budgets heavily so that students do not need to use debt to close the gap between their net cost (after financial aid) and their ability to pay. allegheny’s average student loan bur-den at graduation is in the mid-$20,000s. it is a superb investment in terms of the quality of education and increased earning potential, but we all wish that stu-dents were not encumbered by this burden when they

t

The eas ies t way to cut costs

i s to have a h igher s tudent-facul t y or

s tudent-s taf f ra t io , bu t that wi l l no t

on ly de t rac t f rom the qua l i t y o f

educat ion bu t a lso wi l l mean that we

no longer compete wi th pres t ig ious ,

nat iona l l ibera l a r t s co l leges .


begin their careers. if we remain committed to the pri-vate, personalized residential educational model, then we will need to increase our endowment to reduce this loan burden (either by lowering price or increasing fi-nancial aid).

the nation’s $1 trillion student loan debt is certain-ly a problem, but it is not due to institutions like al-legheny — where graduates have job prospects and the default rate is far below the national average — but rather to schools whose graduates are having difficulty finding work and repaying their loans. in some cases these are for-profit, online institutions, where students have borrowed heavily but have not found that their coursework has enhanced their earning power.

nevertheless, the attention-grabbing trillion-dollar figure raises the question of whether higher education is in a pricing bubble, where the value does not justi-fy the price. the bursting of the dot-com and housing bubbles wreaked havoc on the american economy, and many wonder whether higher education is next.

once again, the question of the financial aid dis-count is paramount. Higher education may well be in a bubble in terms of price, but not in terms of actual cost. in fact, the real cost to families after financial

aid is far below the value of a college degree, whether it is measured in increased earning potential or in the true cost of education.

allegheny employs a set of metrics to evaluate the risk of the bubble bursting, including price cuts at other institutions, declines in admissions yield among prospective students, changes in government aid and more. We would be happy to cut our price and re-duce financial aid, but it will only work if a significant number of other institutions do the same. otherwise, we will “leave money on the table” from families with means, we will have less financial aid for high-need students and we will have less overall revenue to invest in the academic program, causing us to fall behind our competitors.

that is why the fund-raising campaign that we are just embarking on is focused on increasing our endow-ment. if we have the discipline to steer new resources to endowed scholarships — a discipline that many col-leges lack due to demand for new buildings, higher sal-aries, etc. — then we can close the cost of college gap for students and families without compromising educa-tional quality.

imagine an endowment that is $200 million larger

Comparative endowments* for 10 Competitive institutions


than it is now, or roughly the size of our competitors’. Most of those colleges added operational expenses as their endowments grew over time, so they cannot reset their pricing models without significant cuts in their academic programs. allegheny, on the other hand, could use new resources to lead the way in developing a sustainable pricing model. a $200 million increase in endowment would produce $10 million per year (re-call that we spend 5 percent each year), which could cut the price by $5,000 per year for each student — with-out having to reduce need-based aid for those who still cannot afford the lower price, and without abandoning the people-intensive, face-to-face educational approach.

*Tota l s are in mi l l ion s of do l l a rs, rounded to th e nearest hundred thousand.Source: Nat iona l Assoc ia t ion of Col l ege and Univers i ty Bus iness Of f i cers

d e n i s o n u n i v e r s i t y 654.6

B u c k n e l l u n i v e r s i t y 575.3

d i c k i n s o n C o l l e g e 326.6

F r a n k l i n & M a r s h a l l 303.3

C o l l e g e o f W o o s t e r 247.5

g e t t y s b u r g C o l l e g e 237.7

o h i o W e s l e y a n u n i v e r s i t y 189.2

K e n y o n C o l l e g e 179.9

A l l e g h e n y C o l l e g e 153.5

M u h l e n b e r g C o l l e g e 150.2

W a s h i n g t o n & J e f f e r s o n C o l l e g e 104.0

w

A $200 mill ion

increase in endowment would

produce $10 mi l l ion per year

( reca l l that we spend 5 percent

each year ) , which could cu t the

pr ice by $ 5,000 per year for

each s tudent .

e believe that this goal is achievable

— in fact, that it is essential. anyone with a calculator can see that the published price of tuition will reach an absurd figure if compounding escalation continues, and chasing after it with ever-rising dis-counts is not a good long-term solution. We would like to bring it back down to earth through a measured, reasonable approach that does not compromise allegh-eny’s status as a top national liberal arts college. alter-native plans are in place if the bubble bursts, but they will require sacrifices that change the fundamental nature of an allegheny education. if we can catch up to the Joneses — or the Woosters, denisons and Get-tysburgs — and use our increased resources to control costs for students, rather than for non-essential luxu-ries, we can ensure that talented students have access to an allegheny education for generations to come. =

David W. McInally is the executive vice president and treasurer of Allegheny College.


W i t h a F o n d F a r e W e l l . . .

B y R e B e c c a c i m k o B o h n e R t ’ 1 1

3T h r e e l e g e n d a r y A l l e g h e n y m e n t o r s — Bill Bywater, Scott Choffel and Ward Jamison — have ret i r ed , tak ing more than 100 year s of teach ing exper ience with them. At the same t ime, they leave behind more than a combined century of inspiration and leadership on which to build.

“Each of these individuals has had a profound impact on Allegheny history; each has changed the lives of countless students; each has lef t Allegheny better than he found it ,” says President James H. Mullen, Jr. “On a personal level, I feel so for tunate that Ward, Bill and Scott are colleagues and fr iends.”

As generations of new students come to Allegheny, they will benef it from the work to which these men dedicated their lives. Be it through programs the professors helped establish or through scholarships endowed in their names, future Gators will know the names Bywater, Chof fel and Jamison.

allegheny spent some time with them this summer to f ind out what is in their futures and what they remem-ber best about their years on campus.


B i l l B y w AT e r

in the months leading up to professor Bill Bywater’s retirement, his days were filled with dis-plays of admiration and recognition of his inf luence on campus. the department of philosophy and Religious Studies and the Women’s Studies program co-spon-sored a conference on social justice to honor him. a

group of his peers and students nom-inated Bywater for the 2012 Julian Ross award of ex-cellence in teach-ing as a capstone to his illustri-ous career. al-ways one to insert some humor into an otherwise seri-ous conversation, Bywater says, “i recommend re-tiring as often as possible.”

Bywater’s in-f luence will con-tinue, thanks in part to his sister, Barbara creed, who established an endowed fund to continue his legacy.

“For more than four decades, Bill has been teacher, mentor, coach and scholar for generations of allegheny students. our par-ents, who valued education highly, would be delighted by the creation of this fund to recognize Bill’s achieve-ments and assure that future allegheny students of philosophy have opportunities to enrich their class-room experiences through attendance at philosophy conferences and lectures and exchanges with visiting scholars,” says creed.

this endowed fund will expose allegheny students to socially relevant issues just as Bywater would if he were continuing his teaching career. as an educator, enhancing undergraduate knowledge of the vast pool of philosophical thought was close to his heart.

Says former student peter capretto ’12: “in addition to being a brilliant educator in the classroom, profes-sor Bywater was constantly seeking out opportunities for students to become involved with the wider philo-sophical community. not only did he work with stu-dents to go to conferences in philosophy, but professor Bywater crafted an entire campus-wide curriculum in my sophomore year to create original content and an open format for interdisciplinary thought on race.”

Giving students “the opportunity to be more aware of what the world is like and to look at things in a broader perspective is why i stayed [at allegheny] for 44 years,” Bywater says. this attitude of encourag-ing analytical thinking and exploration of alternative viewpoints is, according to Bywater, “what the liberal arts is all about.”

Since he started here in 1967, he has shared his phi-losophy on education and the liberal arts.

“Bill was hired in the late 1960s to teach a very conservative palette of courses, focused particularly in aesthetics, yet by the 1970s his concern led him to be-come one of the founders of the Women’s Studies pro-gram on campus, and, since then, Bill has consistently contributed his philosophical insight to many of the concerns taken up in interdisciplinary minors,” says professor eric Boynton.

in addition to helping to start the Women’s Studies program, Bywater also led one of the first independent study courses on Black Studies. in that class, Bywater learned a lesson that has stayed with him through his entire career. “the willingness of the black students in the 1970s to share [their experiences] and to help me learn about the life and history of black culture was an important learning experience in modesty and in be-ing sure you don’t know everything,” he says.

With the students’ help, he was able to create a course titled “Black american thinkers” and, eventu-ally, go on to help establish the college’s Black Studies program. His legacy extends into the lesbian and Gay Studies program, the VeSa (Values, ethics and Social action) program and the dance program.

Bywater has seen the growth of allegheny and the progress the college has made in educational theo-ry over the years. during the Vietnam War, “student

A recent photo (above left) of a jaunty, retir ing Bill — and an equally jaunty, but not-so-recent one (above) with his wife, Ruth.

1“The willingness of the black students in

the 1970s to share [their experiences]

and to help me learn about the life and

history of black culture was an important

learning experience in modesty and in

being sure you don’t know everything.”


S c o t t C h o f f e l

Scott choffel enjoys telling the story about how he started working at the college in 1985. during an emotional springtime ceremony in Ford cha-pel noting his retirement, he related it to the audience.

it was his late-wife, Rosie ah Wong choffel, who introduced him to the idea of having a working rela-tionship with the college rather than just an academ-ic one. after graduating from allegheny in 1972, he worked as a mechanic for many years. His career pros-pects began to change when Rosie began working at the college. one day, as he was waiting for her in the storied social hub, the Grill, his former academic ad-visor dick overmyer struck up a conversation and ad-vised him to “watch the paper,” where a few days later, the job of technical theater supervisor appeared. chof-fel applied and was hired, and thus began his career at allegheny.

in 1995, he was able to continue the unique legacy by hiring his former work-study student Jim Sumerfield ’89. “i took an entry-level position at allegheny col-lege in 1995 purely because of my desire to work with Scott choffel. Seventeen years later, his inf luence on my life, my family and my work is immeasurable. His careful hands have left indelible marks all over our campus as well,” says Sumerfield.

throughout his career, choffel participated in many transitions around campus. With his guidance, the theater, dance and music programs within the col-lege saw improvements in facilities and technologies.

pressure to discuss con-temporary issues during class resulted in teach-ins and made allegheny think differently about education,” says Bywater. “[We] now have classes on contemporary social and political issues, but not during Vietnam.”

in addition to the stu-dent-led efforts, his own teaching style was something that has helped inf lu-ence the college. His classrooms were noted for be-ing student-centered, allowing for free expression of thoughts and values. “professor Bywater was exception-ally interested in student intellectual growth and made himself available for meetings and discussions. this commitment to student learning made his courses the highlight of my overall wonderful intellectual experi-ence at allegheny and fomented a lifetime passion for the liberal arts in many of my fellow classmates as well, including some who were not philosophy majors,” says christopher ames ’89, a former student.

Bywater will remain a part of the allegheny com-munity as a professor emeritus, and he will continue enlightening the world through his work on social jus-tice issues from the comfort of his home office, which he has affectionately dubbed the “philosophy cave.” He also plans on continuing to broaden his own social outlook by traveling with his wife, Ruth, and visiting cittanova, italy, where she used to live.

2

“When Choffel taught,

he brought humor,

knowledge and

passion to the topic.”


love for allegheny, an unrivaled institutional mem-ory, terrific taste in music, yet questionable taste in coffee. He’s a patient, earnest and dedicated theatre worker, with a strong f lair for lighting design. in the playshop theatre, Scott was a quietly efficient role model who constantly led by example — the first to

climb our tallest ladders in order to refocus a lighting instru-ment or to hang a piece of molding just minutes before opening night. through-out his years at allegheny, he was completely dedicated to safety and instruction and trained scores of students who are now working in the profession.”

in honor of his teaching and of his service to the col-lege, he received the 2003 Robert t. Sherman distin-guished Service award. the award is given to those em-ployees who go above and be-yond the requirements of their positions. Receiving this award epitomized choffel’s extraordi-nary commitment to allegheny college.

this summer, he moved to louisville, ky., to be closer to a good family friend. He plans to make kentucky his home and will become a volunteer with the ol-msted park conservancy to help maintain the louisville parks.

though anticipating mostly to volunteer and to spend time with his family during retirement, choffel intends to come back to allegheny as a freelance lighting de-signer to assist with student productions. “We’ll miss Scott but we’ve invited him back for two guest art-ist gigs next spring. He’ll be designing the lighting for Anna in the Tropics and The Foreigner in the playshop theatre,” says Watkins.

choffel succinctly sums up his allegheny experi-ence with this statement, “i came. i built. i left with a smile. i’m a lucky guy.”

He was part of the planning process for the Vukovich center for communication arts, and also helped save Montgomery Gym from destruction. choffel and his colleagues applied for and received funding to convert Montgomery Gym into the Montgomery performance Space. they uncovered all the win-dows and transformed this space for allegheny dancers.

“Scott is an incredibly passionate man whose love of the arts infuses everything he does. He has enor-mous respect for the artists he works with, and the touring companies that have come to allegheny have often commented on how Scott’s stewardship of our facilities and his sensitivity to the artists’ work and needs have been incredible. Both Scott and Rosie valued their roles at allegheny because they enjoyed working with students, teaching them, sharing cultural experiences with them and qui-etly encouraging them in their maturation process,” says pro-fessor Beth Watkins.

Being able to work with de-partments across campus as well as being able to introduce stu-dents from all academic fields to the wonder of the arts is what he will cherish most about his career with allegh-eny, choffel says.

He retired in May from his position as the technical director for the playshop theatre and as a part-time instructor in the communication arts and theatre department. “Scott cares deeply about the ed-ucation of our students, and he has mentored students in many different situations that have given them the skills they need for future jobs or the perspective nec-essary to pursue their academics and the ability to combine academic skills and craftsmanship in pursuit of professional or personal goals,” says Watkins.

professor Mark cosdon praises choffel’s dedication to allegheny and his students when he says, “a qui-et, warm and giving colleague, Scott has the deepest

Scott (in black shirt) doing what he does best—working with students—high above the stage at the “Vuk.”

“Scott is an incredibly passionate man

whose love of the arts infuses everything

he does. He has enormous respect for

the artists he works with. . .”

Scott (top) and the backstage crew in a “photoshopped,”

lighter moment.


making their students feel comfortable in finding their true voice and working with each student to discover what keys unlock the voice for them as an individual.”

in honor of their careers and their inf luence on al-legheny, former students, friends and colleagues have established two endowed funds: the Ward and Vicki Jamison Scholarship and the Ward and Vicki Jamison Vocal Studies award. [these two funds will continue the good work of the Jamisons by providing scholar-ship support and financial assistance to offset the cost of voice lessons for eligible students.]

though not leaving allegheny completely, the Jamisons will be reducing their time spent with stu-dents. as a professor emeritus, Ward will transition from full-time to part-time teaching while continuing to assist with the chamber Music program. unlike her husband who is officially retiring, Vicki will be slow-ly decreasing her teaching obligations over the next few years. due to the close academic relationships that have developed among Vicki and her voice students, she has promised to see her current students through their graduations. as she is phasing out her teaching commitments at the college, Vicki will be nurturing her private studio where she teaches local high school students and area adults. Ward and Vicki not only worked in the same department at the college, they also worked in the same room. this close working rela-tionship will continue as they plan to lead workshops for schools, churches and community programs.

their legacy will carry on through the incoming director of choral activities, James niblock ’97, and his wife, carol Bowler niblock ’02, who will follow in Vicki’s footsteps as a vocal instructor. Sharing this ca-reer transition with former students is humbling, the Jamisons say. they say that witnessing the way stu-dents continue to make room for music in their lives amid the strenuous allegheny study schedules is the highlight of their careers. the satisfaction and re-ward of seeing current and former students continue to make room for something so demanding is, as Ward puts it, “the best thing of all.” =

T h e J A m i S o n S

the beauty and precision of the hun-dreds of alumni who returned to the allegheny campus on Reunion Weekend 2012 to celebrate the Jamisons in song was bittersweet. While the gathering meant re-connecting with former students, it also meant that the Jamisons’ exhilarating 31 years at allegheny were com-ing to a close.

professor Ward Jamison, or “chief” as he is fondly known to students, started his career at allegheny in 1981. His wife, Vicki, a part-time vocal music instruc-tor, has been his colleague from the beginning. Work-ing side-by-side, the Jamisons shaped countless lives while continuing allegheny’s musical traditions.

professor alec chien praises the couple and says, “together they taught students values that reach far beyond rehearsals. Students, many from diverse aca-demic backgrounds, learned the importance of perse-verance and commitment from this inspiring couple. they care, and we all benefit.”

professor lowell Hepler is preaching to the choir when he describes his admiration for Ward and Vicki. “over the 31 years as colleagues of Ward and Vicki, it’s sort of like looking back on the time spent with one’s own family. i am very grateful that most of my years on the allegheny music faculty have been shared with these two fine musicians and educators.”

the Jamisons are “fine educators” indeed. they say that watching and partaking in their students’ progress has been reward enough for their hard work. “[i get a lot of ] satisfaction in watching students progress and real-ize their potential through hard work,” says Ward. Vicki adds, “it’s rewarding to see where our students have gone. past students are now teachers, doctors, lawyers and small business owners, the majority of whom still participate in music in some way.”

their passion for education and the musical arts is evident in the relationships they have with their for-mer students. Vicki’s former student and one of al-legheny’s voice instructors diane kalinowski speaks from experience when she says, “Vicki and Ward are both true teachers. they are both incredibly adept at

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On the Hill

Brian m. harward named Director of center for Political Participation

Brian M. Harward, an associate professor of political science, has ac-cepted an appointment as director of the college’s nationally known center for political participation (cpp).

the cpp partners a l leg heny s t udent s and faculty with lo-cal, state, national and international commu-nit ie s to u nder t a ke interdisciplinary ap-proaches to political, economic and social challenges.

“each of the pro-grams and partnerships of the cpp is directed at emphasizing polit ical par tici-pation broadly conceived,” sa id

Harward. “our work is directed at linking the resources of the college and the larger scholarly community with the pressing needs and com-plex challenges facing many of our communities.”

the cpp provides programming through a diverse of fering of col-laborative research, community-

based learning, study away oppor tunit ie s , colloquia, undergrad-uate research, public lectures, seminars and other programs.

“We are fortunate to have Brian take over the reins of the cpp,” said provost and dean of the college linda deMeritt. “as a for-mer faculty fellow at the cpp, he knows the

center’s programs and helped to guide them. as a teacher and mentor who

won teaching awards at Southern illinois university and at the uni-versity of Georgia before coming to allegheny, he is ideally suited to work with cpp fellows and other students to ensure that they have the best possible experience. and as a respected scholar, he has both the perspective and the expertise to lead the cpp in the years ahead.”

the cpp will also benefit from the experience of the current pro-gram coordinator, Mary Solberg, who will continue to assist in program development and communications for the center.

Harward teaches classes in consti-tutional law, judicial process and phi-losophy of law, among other courses in american politics.

He earned his doctorate at the university of Georgia and his bache-lor’s degree from Gettysburg college, where he helped establish the center for public Service. Harward worked for several years at the american association for Higher education in Washington, d.c., developing a na-tional program on civic education.

Harward’s wife, ashley, a psy-chotherapist trained at Washing-ton university in St. louis, works in allegheny’s counseling center. they have two children, Wynn and catherine, and live in Meadville.

allegheny Selects Students for Research awards

allegheny recently announced its first two recipients for the Beckman Scholars program award, which en-courages talented undergraduate stu-dents to pursue ambitious research projects.

abigael l. dishler will work with faculty mentor Marty Serra, profes-sor of chemistry and biochemistry, on the project, “determining Rna Secondary Structure using the Fluo-rescent probe 2-aminopurine.” abby is a rising senior from Baden, pa. She is a biochemistry major with a mi-nor in history. She is the daughter of clifford and diane dishler and a

allegheny college honored its retirees, 25-year employees and the Robert t. Sherman Distinguished Service Award recipient during a May ceremony in Ford Memo-rial Chapel. Pictured, front row, from left, are Sharon Ann Byers, Kathy Symons, Sandra DuChene, W. Scott Choffel and William G. Bywater, Jr. Middle row, front left, Michael N. Keeley, Eric T. Pallant, Melissa Mencotti, Deborah S. Zinz and Amelia J. Carr. Back row, from left, David M. Bachman, Daniel R. Hetrick, Ward M. Jamison, Vicki Jamison, Michael J. Barry, Peter M. LeBar and President James H. Mullen, Jr. Not in the photo were Aurora B. Curl and Asuman N. Baskan.

Reunion Weekend 2012 Reunion Weekend 2012 Reunion Weekend 2012 Reunion Weekend 2012 Reunion Weekend

Return ing and reconnect ing , a record number of A l leghenians ce lebrated cher ished t rad i t ions , decades-o ld f r iendships , nat iona l championships and a lmost four days of rea l l y n ice weather ! I f you weren’ t here, we missed you.

an outpouRing of appReciation and emotion foR 31 yeaRs of dedication to allegheny ’s long histoRy of choRal excellence . BRavo, WaRd & vicki !

nd in the end . . .

A l l R e u n i o n p h o t o s by M i k e WA l k e R e xc e p t W h e R e n o t e d

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RecoRd-setting AttendAnce — What a memorable event it was for the 1,198 alumni who attended. Among the highlights was the emotionally charged Reunion Choir Concert where Ward “Chief” Jamison and his wife, Vicki, offered their final official performance at Allegheny, helped by 292 friends and former students. There weren’t many dry eyes in Shafer Auditorium at the conclusion of the performance. Overall, it was a weekend of reconnecting and rejoicing among former classmates. You can find many more Reunion Weekend 2012 photographs at https://picasaweb.google.com/AlleghenyGatorAlumni

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= Allegheny College received a $1.5 million undergraduate science education grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). This grant will be used to build a global health program. It will support the establishment of an interdisciplinary major, creation of two tenure-track faculty positions, resources for faculty and curriculum development, collaborative research opportunities for students on and off campus, and opportunities for students to engage in health-related study-away experiences abroad and domestically. Lee Coates, professor of biology and neuroscience, is the project director. “This grant dem-onstrates HHMI’s confidence in Allegheny’s leadership role in higher education and our faculty’s strength in cultivating creative and innovative researchers and practitioners in the science and medical f ields,” said Allegheny President James H. Mullen, Jr. “Our students have educational, collaborative research and experiential learning opportunities in the natural sciences that are second to none, and this grant recognizes that fact. We are honored to have been se-lected and look forward to sharing the expertise and knowledge we gain with other educational institutions.”

= Allegheny received a grant of $200,000 from the Booth Ferris Foundation in support of the renovation of Carr Hall to house the Environmental Science Department and signif icantly improve Physics Department space.

= Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Mark Neff received a grant of $164,111 from the National Science Foundation’s Science of Science and Innovation Policy program in support of his project, A Comparative Study of Structural Influences on User-engaged Ecology Research. His project explores potential limitations on user-engaged research imposed by publication require-ments, using an international comparative ethnographic approach. This grant represents 100 percent of the total cost of the project.

= Assistant Professor of Chemistry Mark R. Ams received a $35,000 Cot-trell College Science Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement for his project, Molecular Torsion Balances for Probing the Distance Dependency of CH-pi Interactions. Allegheny is matching Research Corporation’s funds with $15,060 for a total project cost of $50,060. The goal of this award program is to promote basic research as a vital component of undergraduate education. It provides seed money to jump-start productive research programs, engaging students in independent research and inspiring a passion for discovery and self-inquiry.

= Al legheny received a $30,000 grant from the Grable Foundation to support Creek Connections’ operations in Pittsburgh. Creek Connections is a partnership between Allegheny’s natural science division and 40 elementary, middle and high schools that uses rivers and streams in the schools’ watersheds as outdoor laboratories for ongoing water quality investigations done by K-12 students.

= Allegheny received $200,000 from Barbara B. Creed (pictured at right) to establish the Professor Bill Bywa-ter Endowment. The income from this fund will be used primarily to provide support for undergraduate philosophy conferences at Allegheny. Funds also may be used to pro-vide enrichment of the undergraduate experience, including scholarly lectures, visiting scholars and student travel to philosophy conferences.

= Richard J. Timer ’76 and friends of Sam Timer have established the Timer Memorial Fund to maintain and enhance the Frank B. Fuhrer Field at the Robertson Athletic Complex.

= The Sutton Fund, established by Robert L. Sutton, Jr. ’63, in honor of Dr. Edward L. Sutton and Dr. John B. Henderson, will be used to pro-vide scholarship support for eligible students interested in pursuing managerial economics studies related to economic development.

= The Karl Fund, established by James D. Karl in memory of his brother, John E. Karl, Jr. ’51, is used to provide scholarship assistance to eligible students.

challenge, collectively purchasing more than 1.8 billion kWh of green power. EPA’s Green Power Challenge is open to all U.S. colleges, universi-ties and conferences. In order to qual-ify, a collegiate athletic conference must include at least one school that qualifies as a Green Power Partner, and the conference must collectively purchase at least 10 million kWh of green power.

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. Pur-chases of green power help accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.

A New Ride for Creek Connections

The Creek Connections program at Allegheny College in July won a new van in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Program, through which the automaker gave 100 vehicles to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days. Creek Connections was selected as one of 500 nonprofit finalists — from more than 4,000 applications nationwide — earlier in the year. On July 20, Creek Connections support-ers registered the most votes on Face-book among five organizations that were vying for the vehicle that day.

An outreach program of Allegheny College, Creek Connections brings hands-on, inquiry-based education about watersheds to students rang-ing in age from elementary to high school. Throughout the school year, participating students retrieve water samples and conduct research on wa-terways, monitoring the conditions that affect the creeks’ water quality.

Creek Connections staff members had been using their own vehicles to travel to schools and research sites.

More information on Creek Con-nections can be found at http://creek-connections.allegheny.edu/. =

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the lAndMARk 50th Reunion drew 75 members of the Class of 1962, shown at the bottom of the page. At the Alumni Award Lun-cheon, a group of dedicated alumni were recognized for their ser-vice to Allegheny (Blue Citation) and volunteer and professional ac-complishments (Gold Citation). In the photo below, from left, are Michael Alch ’78, Trustee Hayes C. Stover ’62, Peggy Toman Siegle ’70, Philip L. St. Moritz ’61, Dr. W. Peter Peterson ’59 and President James H. Mullen, Jr. Standing in front is Trustee Mary Elizabeth Sceiford ’54, recipient of the Alumni Medal, the College’s oldest and most prestigious award. Inset photo is Melissa Mencotti, recipient of the Robert T. Sherman Distinguished Service Award.

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Reunion Weekend 2012 included a celebration of the College’s athletics program, highlighted by a celebra-tion of the 1990 NCAA Division III Championship Football Team and the Hall of Fame ceremony. This year’s inductees, seen below, included Coach Ken O’Keefe, Renea Surrena Gaus ’92, Shane Ream ’02, Tony Pendolino ’90 and Patrick Stewart ’89. Members of the 1990 Division III Championship Team, seen above, celebrated their remarkable achieve-ment. Also attending was Joe Philbin, pic-tured at right with current coach, Mark Matlak ’78. Philbin was an assistant coach on the 1990 championship team, and is now head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Also pic-tured at right are former athletic director, Norm Sundstrom, and his wife, Betty. Coach O’Keefe, who is now an assistant coach for the Dolphins, told his audience: “Everyone is capable of doing something great in their lives and that’s what Allegheny does — it leads and prepares us for that greatness.”

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2009 graduate of new Brighton area Senior High School.

Michael J. Vlah will join faculty mentor Scott Wissinger, professor of biology and environmental sci-ence, on the project, “Role of cad-disflies in liberating detritus-bound nutrients and energy to Food Webs in temporary alpine ponds.” their research will be conducted at the Rocky Mountain Biological labora-tory in crested Butte, co. Mike is a rising senior from ellwood city, pa. He is a biology major with a minor in environmental writing. He is the son of John and Marsha Vlah and is a 2009 graduate of north Hills High School.

allegheny is one of only 11 col-leges and universities nationwide to receive a 2012 Beckman Scholars program award. the program was es-tablished in 1997 by the arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, and its purpose is to help “stimulate, encour-age and support research activities by exceptionally talented undergradu-ate students at our nation’s universi-ties and colleges; young people who ultimately will become prominent leaders in their scientific and pro-fessional pursuits.”

the $77,200 award to allegheny will support a total of four students across the next three years as they conduct research in chemistry, bio-chemistry and biology. Selected as sophomores or juniors, the students will conduct research with faculty members full time during two sum-mers and part time during the inter-vening school year.

Bowden Receives USDa Grant

the college received a $35,500 grant from the u.S. department of agriculture’s (uSda) national in-stitute of Food and agriculture in support of professor of environmen-tal Science Rich Bowden’s project, “long-term controls on forest soil carbon quantity and quality.”

the primary goal of professor Bowden’s project is to examine the ability of forests to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in soils. carbon dioxide is the primary pollutant involved in human-induced climate change. the project continues a two-decade experiment at allegheny college’s Bousson experimental Forest that examines exchanges between forest trees and soil. this work is part of a larger network of simila r ex-per iments be-ing conducted across the u.S. a n d e u r o p e . investigators from a number of universities, including Har-vard university, oregon State university, and the universities of pennsylvania, Michigan, new Hamp-shire, oregon, california (davis) and toronto, are also assisting with the study. “these institutions are invaluable in providing additional analyses of soil biology and chem-istry, thus enhancing the overall value of this uSda support,” said Bowden. “Furthermore, our students learn additional field, laboratory and networking skills through these collaborations.”

allegheny earns another Sustainability honor

allegheny has been recognized by the u.S. environmental protection

agency as the 2011-2012 individu-al conference champion for using more green power than any other school in the north coast athletic conference.

Since april 2006, epa’s Green power partnership has tracked and recognized the collegiate athletic conferences with the highest com-bined green power purchases in the nation. the individual conference champion award recognizes the school that has made the largest individual purchase of green power within a qualifying conference.

allegheny college beat its confer-ence rivals by using nearly 15 mil-lion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power, representing 100 percent of the school’s annual electricity usage. allegheny purchases renewable en-ergy certificates from constellation newenergy, helping to reduce the en-vironmental impacts associated with the campus’s electricity use.

“epa applauds allegheny college as the north coast athletic confer-ence champion in this year’s college and university Green power chal-lenge,” said Blaine collison, director of epa’s Green power partnership. “By purchasing 100 percent renew-able electricity, allegheny college is reducing harmful carbon dioxide emissions and showing that small schools can make a big difference for the environment.”

according to the epa, allegheny college’s green power use of nearly 15 million kWh is equivalent to avoid-ing the carbon dioxide (co2) emis-sions from the electricity use of more than 1,000 average american homes annually, or the co2 emissions of more than 2,000 passenger vehicles per year. the north coast athletic conference’s collective green power purchase of nearly 28 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the co2 emissions from the electricity use of more than 2,000 average american homes, or the annual co2 emissions of nearly 4,000 passenger vehicles.

thirty collegiate conferences and 73 schools competed in this year’s

Michael J. Vlah Abigael L. Dishler

SpoRtS


Softball — From Worst to First

after having finished the 2011 season with its worst record in team history, allegheny softball authored the largest single-season turnaround in north coast athletic conference history en route to the program’s eighth conference championship and top seed in the ncac tourna-ment in 2012.

the Gators improved by 16.5 games and finished the year with a 27-11-1 record. on the heels of an-other banner season for the program, the Gators collected a bevy of post-season honors, including a sweep of the ncac’s major awards. Junior Stephanie Fort was named ncac player of the Year, rookie caitlin nealer was named pitcher of the Year and Head coach Sandra Sanford earned coach of the Year honors.

Sophomore Maureen pallone and nealer were named First team all-central Region by the national Fast-pitch coaches association (nFca), while Fort was named Second team all-Region as the Gators boasted three all-region players for the first time since 1999 and two first-team se-lections for the first time since 1997.

Women’s Golf extends national Record

allegheny women’s golf extended its national record as the first golf team across any ncaa division to qualify for the national champion-ships its first seven years as a var-sity program.

Behind another sensational cam-paign that included four tournament titles, the blue and gold was awarded a coveted at-large bid into the na-tional field.

Junior liz Blyth birdied the final hole of the competition to lift al-legheny into a tie for ninth place as the Gators secured their sixth con-secutive top-10 finish at the ncaa division iii championships. Blyth

finished 20th overall to lead allegheny with a four-day total of 313, while sophomore Sarah Vorder Bruegge and se-nior lauren Hammell tied for 34th.

earning all-america honors

Junior Brandon in-t r ier i spl it 20.57 in the 50-yard f reestyle at the 2012 ncaa di-vision iii Swimming and diving champi-onships en route to his third career all-america citation, while se-nior Mir no pasquali made the most of his first trip to the nation-al championships by earning all-america honors in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.54 as allegheny men’s swimming and diving added to its rich history.

pasquali’s swim at nationals established a new program record. For intrieri, who earned his fourth career all-conference accolade w it h a s ci nt i l l at i ng swim in the 100 f ly (49.63), h i s second consecut ive ncaa championship appearance was punctuated with a strong finish in the 100 free (46.09).

evanoff named coach of the Year

Sophomore emily capone, who didn’t begin her season with the Ga-tors until the second semester, en-joyed a stellar second half of the year on the board as she helped propel a program that has won 15 ncac diver of the Year honors back into

the league spotlight. in the final dual meet of the season, capone totaled a score of 402 on the one-meter, which was seven points above the 395 needed to qualify for nationals. She rode that momentum into the conference championships where she became the first Gator in four years to secure all-ncac honors on both boards.

With capone and rookie danielle Hollenbeck both delivering great seasons, Fred evanoff was honored as the 2012 ncac diving coach of the Year. =

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Vaulting to the o l Y m P i c S !

Jeremy Scott ’03 earned a spot on the pole-vaulting team that represented the United States at the Olympic Games in London this summer. He did so with a stunning performance at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in June. Competing at one of the most hallowed sites in all of sports, Scott cleared 18-feet, 4 ¼ inches at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, while qualifying for his first Olympic Games with a second-place finish. Scott placed 15th in the qualifying round on Aug. 8 and didn’t advance to the pole vault finals at the London Olympic Stadium. Allegheny will report on Scott’s experience in its winter issue.

As a senior at Allegheny, Scott competed as the only collegian on the U.S. Track and Field Indoor team at the IAAF World Championships in England in 2003. He was a two-time national champion in the pole vault as a member of the Gators and earned four All-American honors in the event while donning the blue and gold.

Scott graduated with honors with a degree in neuroscience. He earned a master’s degree in exercise science from the University of Arkansas.


reunite, reconnect and celebrateHere are just a few of the planned activities:

• Alumni and student tailgator luncheon

• Football game vs. oberlin

• Creek Connections Alumni Breakfast

• Women’s Basketball Alumni game

• Cornerstone Award —Celebrationofrecipientsfrompast10years

• Fraternity and sorority Events —includinganAll-GreekAlumniBrunch

• Recent graduate gathering — Classesof2008-2012

View a complete Homecoming schedule and RSVP for events at w w w.al legheny.edu /alumni or call the Alumni Office at 814-332-5384 for more information.

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Use gatorlocator.org to connect with classmates and friendsplanningtoattendReunionWeekend.Thispowerfulsearchengineletsyoulocateclassmatesbyname,graduationyear,city,studentorganization,etc.

Keep your information current in order to receive communicationfrom the Alumni Affairs Office about these, and other, upcomingalumnievents.Logonto:www.allegheny.edu/updaterecord

200820031999/1998/199719881979/1978/197719731963torchbearers—all graduates from 1962and earlier, including the 55th (class of 1958) and the 60th (class of 1953)

In addition to gatherings for members of the classes shown above, we will welcome

the Association of Black Collegians/the Advancement of Black Culture (ABC) for a special reunion.

For more information about Reunion Weekend plans, visit www.allegheny.edu/reunion

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as an early commemoration of his 80th birthday, D. Donald Cervone ’54, above, assembled former members of the Brockport Singers, a chamber chorus he conducted from 1968 to 1982, while on the faculty at Brockport State College in New York. Two days of rehearsals culminated in a public pre-sentation at the First Baptist Church of Brockport on June 10, 2012. The program included the first performance of Cervone’s second setting of the text of Nunc dimitiis, composed especially for the occasion in memory of deceased members of the Brockpor t Singers and deceased colleagues of the Music Department.

Jay Raskin ’42 hosted allegheny students from the hillel group at his california home on March 21, 2012. The group was in California on an Experiential Learning trip. Front, from left: Julie Payner ’15, Jill Breit ’14, Brianna Zins ’14, Jay Raskin ’42, Kath-erine Katilius ’15, Kerry Bornstein ’12 and Andrea Bloodworth, Allegheny advancement officer. Back, from left: Rachel Dingman ’08, Zeben Ashton ’12, Sam Moritz ’12, Erik Giangregorio ’14, Michael Kilcoyne ’12 and Aman Biswas ’13.

’52 The Mizel Museum in Denver, Colo., honored Glenn R. Jones w i th the 2012 Community Enrichment Award in May. His shor t l ist of successful business endeav-ors inc ludes founding Jones Intercable, Jones International University (JIU), Jones Knowledge Group, Jones e-global Library and Jones International, Ltd., among others.

’56 Bill Deane completed the true crime novel Smooth Criminal, A One-Man American Crime Wave in May 2012. This story exposes the consequences of our government re-leasing hardened criminals back into society where some run amok, stealing, drugging, even murder ing some American cit izens. The suspense novel is the result of more than four years of investigative research that Bill began after taking early retirement from his 30-year assignment editor position at CBS in New York City. Smooth Criminal is available on Amazon as well as by order at any bookstore and was designed and published by his daughter, Jennifer Deane ’86, through her book publishing company, Muse Media LLC.

’57 Dr. art Blank Jr. repor ts that he continues in ful l-t ime pr ivate practice of psychoanalysis and psychiatry in a new of-fice in Chevy Chase, Md., near Washington, D.C. His wife, Donna hepler Blank Brown ’64, is a Feldenkrais trainer and practit io-ner, and also has a full-t ime practice.

tom Jones wi l l r e l ease a book , Ag ing Aggressively, this year with the research and marketing help of Phoebe Jones Zayas ’87, todd Jones ’88 and Stefan Jones ’90.

Dorothy k . tol ley morgan sends th i s

message: “Bucking the downsizing trend, we are adding a real guestroom to our tiny home, hoping for visitors – but not just yet! The southern Appalachians are beauti ful any time of the year. Reach us at [email protected]. We can’t do everything, so hope to see you for the 60th in 2017! Cheers to all.”

Sander ’59 and Sharon Romick’s Shabbat service was held march 23, 2012, and Allegheny students and alumni attended in California. Front row, from left: Christie Newman, Judy Mandel P’90, P’91, Michelle Mandel, Katherine Katilius ’15, Julie Payner ’15, Sharon Romick, Sander Romick ’59, Brianna Zins ’14, Jill Breit ’14, Kerry Bornstein ’12 and Andrea Bloodworth, Allegheny advancement officer. Back row: Rachel Ding-man ’08, Zeben Ashton ’12, Michael Kilcoyne ’12, Erik Giangregorio ’14, Sam Moritz ’12, Josh Mandel ’91, Mike Newman ’94, Aman Biswas ’13 and the Honorable Jack Mandel, ’58, P’90, P ’91.

ClassnoteS


maryann Snavely little sends this post: “Where, oh where, have the wonderful mem-ories and years gone? While the years are behind us, the memories are forever. And such wonder ful memories we made. With love to all.”

’59 nancy and Jonathan helmreich say they now split their time between homes in Jamestown, Pa., and Sanibel, Fla.

Robert W. Smith, a resident of Key West, Fla., for the past 30 years, sti l l sings in the Keys Chorale, he says.

’62 maida c. Boswell repor ts that she is retired and, along with husband, Michael, divide their t ime between Mystic, Conn., and Cape Coral, Fla.

andy Sheffler, a Pennsylvania resident, re-ports that he recently retired af ter 40 years in the pension fund industry. He served 14 years as a chief executive of f icer of a ma-jor state public pension fund and 26 years as a senior marketing/sales executive in investment management.

’66 Dick alfred is emeritus professor of h igher educat ion at the Univers i t y of Michigan following his retirement in April 2011. His most recent book Performance: The Dynamic of Results in Postsecondary Organizations was published in June 2012. He and his wife, Pat, reside in Arizona dur-ing winter and return to Ann Arbor for the rest of the year.

lou Schultz was quoted in an ar ticle in the Columbus Dispatch in June regarding the War of 1812 and his role as a member of the Ohio War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

’67 Veteran cruisers John and Susanne Buyck completed their first exciting pilgrim-age to the Holy Land last fal l. Their ship was approaching the southern Israeli por t of Ashdod in the ear ly-morning hours of Oct. 30, 2011, when the area was shelled by rockets launched from Gaza. Diver ting to the nor thern Israeli por t of Haifa, (which set a record of six cruise ships in por t that day) the Buycks explored the region for four wonder ful days, v is i t ing Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Masada, Dead Sea, Nazareth, Gali lee, Golan Heights, River Jordan and Tel Aviv. (This tr ip was almost as exciting as their ’09 cruise through pirate-infested waters of f Somalia enroute to Dubai!)

Dr. thomas B. miller sends this note: “Our recent move to Durango, Colo., enables us to par take of and suppor t the l ives of three very special grandkids (and their busy parents) as well as enjoy and become in-volved in the multiple bounties of the Four Corners area.”

’68 Shelley koltnow has been appointed

to the Audit Committees of Presence Health in Chicago (Resurrection / Provena Health, a merged entity since 2011) and the Arthritis Foundation’s National Office in Atlanta, Ga.

mark kravetz reports that he has retired as family service counselor, CSP, at Carolina Memorial Park in North Charleston, S.C., and moved with his wife, Carol, to Carrowdore, Nor thern Ireland, U.K.

Barbara Yell ig lupfer was featured in a n ew s p a p e r a r t i c l e i n h e r h o m e tow n o f A i k e n , S .C . , f o r h e r wo r k w i t h c h i l -dren in the Nature’s Classroom program. S h e a l s o d o n a t e d books, c raf t mater i -als, videos, bird nests, a fea the r co l l ec t ion and rock col lect ions to several nature fa-ci l i t ies in the region. Teaching children about the natural world is one of Lupfer’s joys. “It ’s been a lifelong passion of mine, and getting kids involved early on is really impor tant,” she told the Aiken Standard. “I am now amazed at the status of Allegheny’s environmental stud-ies curr iculum and wish it had been there back in ’68,” she tells Allegheny magazine. “Af ter retir ing from my professional l i fe, I returned to what I loved — nature and the environment, and earned a degree in hor-ticulture and became a cer tif ied arborist, as well as volunteered over 1,000 hours to the master gardener volunteer program in Leesburg, Va.”

’69 Barb Pelander hanniford retired in July 2011 as dean of continuing education at Cleveland State University. She is now an adjunct instructor at Cleveland State, teach ing graduate courses in the adu l t learning and development master’s degree program.

’70 lyn hainge was named a dis t in-guished alumna at George Mason University in March 2012. She received her master’s degree in heal th systems administrat ion in 2005. She is the assistant Public Health D iv i s ion ch ie f (ch ie f ope ra t i ng o f f i ce r ) for Arl ington County, Va. She has been a leader in the Nor thern Virginia health care “safety net” for more than 20 years, hav-ing helped create, govern and/or manage such organizations as Hospice of Nor thern Virginia (now Capitol Hospice), Nor thern Virginia AIDS Ministry (NOVAM), Alexandria Neighborhood Heal th Ser v ices Inc. ( the area’s f irst federally qualif ied health cen-ter) and the Nor thern Virginia Area Health Education Center (NVAHEC). As founding executive director of NVAHEC, she led the agency to local and national prominence in the f ie ld of heal th care interpretat ion and translation services. In addition to her

work in health care, Lyn is a member of the Fair fax Choral Society and a past chair of its board of directors.

Dianne mccoy has joined Prudential Gray Greene Realtor partners in Houston, Texas, as director of professional development.

’71 Dan kuehl is retir ing (as he says, “redeploy ing” ) af ter more than 18 years a s a p r o f e s s o r a t the National Defense University’s College in Washington, D.C. He’ll be leaving federal ser-vice to move back to his roots in Erie, where he’s jo in ing the fac-u l t y a t M e r c y h u r s t Un ive rs i t y. Dan was one of the founders of NDU’s program in information operations and its component activit ies such as psy-chological operations and cyberwar fare. More than 1,000 senior mi l i ta r y of f icers (such as Marine Colonel medio monti ’79) and government civil ians shared his explo-ration of information as an element of na-tional power and how we as a nation use it in our national security strategy. Now he’s joining the Intell igence Studies program at Mercyhurst, where he’l l be teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, bring-ing to bear his more than four decades of experience in the active military (he’s a re-tired l ieutenant colonel USAF) and its pro-fessional military education community. He acknowledges the dif ference in students — “when I tel l a colonel to do something he does it!!” — but relishes the challenge of developing his students’ analy tical, com-municat ions and inte l lectual sk i l ls , such as his mentors at Allegheny, including the la te Professor Jay Luvaas, d id fo r h im. He is going to miss going to Washington Nat iona ls games wi th h is brothers f rom Theta Chi (ken kolson ’67, George clack ’68, and Bill Penniman and Steve Smith ’69) but expects them to get him tickets for the Nats’ playof f games this year!

’72 lanning m. melville repor ts that he’s sti l l a psychotherapist /psychoanalyst in Southern Cali fornia with a horseback-r iding 12-year-old daughter. He is pursu-ing a doctorate and says he enjoyed see-ing fr iends at the Reunion Weekend. He is married to wife, Carol.

’73 Jim mika recently became a board- cer tif ied coach specializing in career and l i fe coaching.

John morris, a professor of pharmacol-ogy and tox ico logy in the Unive rs i t y of Conne c t i cu t S cho o l o f Pha r macy, wa s honored as a 2011 board of trustees dis-tinguished professor during a ceremony at the UConn Foundation. The designation is


assistant secretary of labor, is now com-missioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Oppor tunity Commission (EEOC). She was nominated on Nov. 3, 2009, and received a recess appointment to the posit ion by President Barack Obama on March 27, 2010. Lipnic’s government experience includes service as assistant secretary of Labor for Employment Standards from 2002 to 2009. “I believe equal opportunity in work is criti-cal to all Americans and to how we define ourselves as a nation,” Lipnic said. “I look forward to working with Chair Berr ien and my fe l low commiss ioners in th is cr i t ica l task. I hope that I will carry out my respon-sibil i t ies in a manner that wil l do honor to al l who have advanced the cause of civi l r ights in our country — with understanding and respect toward all.” Lipnic received her juris doctor from George Mason University School of Law. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

’84 William S. Demchak has been elected president of PNC Bank and PNC Financial S e r v i c e s G r o u p . D e m c h a k h a d b e e n senior vice chairman of PNC since 2009 and had held supervisory roles for all PNC busi-n e s s e s s i n c e 2010 . Demchak f irst joined PNC in 2002 as CFO. In 2005, he was ap-pointed head of cor-porate and institutional banking, respon-sible for PNC’s middle market and large

was executive director of education for The New York T imes Co. where she was responsible for d eve l o p in g a n d ove r-seeing education initia-tives, including The New York Times Knowledge Net work . Be fo re jo in -ing The New York Times, Fel ice served as exec-utive director for Pace U n i v e r s i t y ’ s S c h o o l o f Edu c a t i o n , r e c e i v -ing Pace’s Outstanding Contr ibution award for her work.

Da n ie l P. R e in i n g a , president and chief ex-ecutive of f icer of Lake Shore Bancorp Inc., and Lake Shore Savings in N e w Yo r k S t a te , wa s the subject of a lengthy i n t e r v i e w i n M a r c h 2012 in The Wall Street Transcr ipt, a resource for investors and busi-ness researchers.

’81 edward Borkowski has been named chief financial officer for ConvaTec, a world-wide developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospi ta l care. Ed had served as CFO at CareFusion Corp. and CFO of Mylan Inc. prior to his most recent appointment. He earned his MBA from Rutgers University.

Brian Forbes was recent ly promoted to assoc ia te professor of pediat r ics /pedi -atr ic ophthalmology at the Univers i ty of Pe n n sy l va n i a S c h o o l o f M e d i c i n e a n d serves clinically at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He has been elected one of Philadelphia’s Top Doctors twice in recent years and has lectured worldwide on shaken baby syndrome as it relates to the eyes, his primary area of research. In addition he has done about 20 international medical mis-sions operating on children in underserved nat ions wi th var ious eye condi t ions. He sends this update: “Personally, I’ve been married 19 years to Marianne McCormick, M.D., and have six children, ranging in age from 5 to 15. Enjoying infinite number of car r ides to baseball, basketball, soccer and various track meets has not kept me from running, having completed 18 marathons and var ious other runs in my days since Al legheny. Though I l ive in Phi ladelphia, my hear t remains with Pit tsburgh spor ts. I have recently taken up golf (though I stink) as my hips have become r ickety. I would enjoy being beat on the l inks by any Gator who’s up to the challenge.”

’82 Victoria a. lipnic, a former U.S.

the university’s highest honor for faculty.

Gregory l. Peterson, a Jamestown, N.Y., law yer, was g iven a 2011 D is t ingu ished S e r v i c e Awa r d by t h e L aw, Yo u th a n d Ci t izenship Commit tee of the New York State Bar Association. The award recog-nizes someone from the legal profession who has made an outstanding contribution to law-related education.

’76 June F. Swanson has jo ined the Pi t tsburgh pract ice of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott as par t of the f irm’s real estate and lending practice group. She focuses her pract ice on commercia l, rea l estate and risk management issues facing businesses and nonprofit corporations. She received a jur is doctor f rom Duquesne Univers i ty School of Law.

’77 John lydon, chief executive of f i-cer of Auberle, a social service nonprofit, was the Commencement speaker on May 5, 2012 for the graduating class of Penn State Greater A l legheny in McKeespor t , Pa. John was also appointed as a member of Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s Human Services Vision Team.

andy Williams sends this note: “Three old friends and Delt brothers have departed way too soon: Pete maropis ’76, Van Spitzer ’77 and Gary kelsey ’76. We had many great times at Allegheny and many stories from Baldwin Hall 3rd Prospect to the Delta Tau Delta house. I’m sad! My email address is a-1anycredi t@comcast .net . I would love to hear from others with any memories of them. And to my uncle, friend and godfather, D. Armour Hil lstrom ’37, we all miss you.”

’80 Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon m. Davis has been appointed as the deputy com-mander of U.S. Cyber Command. He had been commanding general of the 2nd Marine Aircraf t Wing in Nor th Carolina.

Fields Jackson Jr. has been nominated for a 2012 Small Business Inf luencer Award. He is the founder and chief execut ive of f i -cer of Racing Toward Diversity magazine in Cary, N.C., and an ad-junct professor, teach-i n g e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l s a l e s a n d m a r k e t -ing at Chicago State University in Chicago. From 1994 to 2011, he served as president of Charles Fields Inc., providing artwork, lithographs, posters and premium items to colleges, universities and corporations.

The Antioch University Board of Governors has appointed Felice nudelman as its f if th chancel lor, ef fective July 1, 2012. Fel ice

Sue Steven ’75, above, and her husband, craig Blasingame, completed a coast-to-coast bicycle trip from San Diego, where they live, to St. Augustine, Fla. Sue got her start in bike touring on a weekend trip to Bousson while at Allegh-eny and then expanded to weeklong trips when she lived in Europe. “For anyone who has thought of doing a trip like this, do it while you are young. The bike riding is the easy part; the camping is the challenge,” says Sue.


Western New York community, Smith has been a volunteer counselor for 25 years at Camp Good Days and Special Times, which has recognized her many years of service at i ts annual gala event. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in English from the University at Buffalo and received her bachelor’s degree in English.

’87 The H i l l G roup Inc. o f Carneg ie , Pa . , a nnounc e d tha t chr is Brussa l is , p r e s i d e n t a n d C E O of the f i rm, was ap-pointed to the National Board of Trustees for the ALS Association. The ALS Association is the world leader in the fight to treat, cure and ra ise awareness about amyotrophic lat-era l sc le ros is (ALS), the disease that took Lou Gehrig’s l i fe and then his name. “I am very eager to begin my work with the ALS Association and to con-tinue honoring the legacy of Lou Gehrig,” said Chris. Chris has served as president and CEO of the Hil l Group Inc. since 1996 and is adjunct professor of management and policy at the Heinz College of Carnegie Mellon University. The Hill Group Inc., a na-tional management consulting firm founded in 1953, is a premier provider of manage-ment counsel, specializing in strategy, op-erations and measurement.

Scott liotta was among 47 people honored as Shining Stars by Baltimore, Md., County for his volunteer work in youth soccer.

’88 Dick Bondi has been honored with the Five-Star Wealth Manager award in the P i t t sburgh a rea . He has earned this honor i n 2 0 0 9 , 2 0 10 a n d 2011. T h i s awa rd i s voted on by peers and clients and is given to less than 7 percent of wealth managers. Dick is a vice president and f inanc ia l adv isor in the Upper St . C la i r branch of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Dav id a . Bornste in ha s l au n c h e d h i s graphic design f irm. You can visit the web-site at www.davidbornsteindesigns.com.

megan k. murphy was recently named the executive director of the National Coalition of Gir ls’ Schools (NCGS), a leading advo-cate for gir ls’ education. The coalit ion is an associat ion of independent and pub-lic, day and boarding schools that acts at the forefront of educational thought, ded-icated to empowering and educating gir ls to be inf luential and meaningful contr ibu-tors to the world.

corporate businesses, as wel l as capita l markets, real estate f inance, equity man-agement and leas ing. He a lso ove rsaw PNC’s a s se t a nd l i ab i l i t y ma nage me nt function. Pr ior to jo ining PNC, Demchak was head of structured f inance and credit por tfolio for JPMorgan Chase. He received his MBA from the University of Michigan.

Faheem masood has been named president and chief operating of f icer of ESL Federal Credit Union. Faheem most recently served as ESL’s senior v ice president and market-p lace d i rec tor s ince 20 03. He w i l l re ta in h i s cu r re n t r e sp on -s ib i l i t i e s , w h i c h i n -clude ESL Investment Services, marketing, con tac t and b ranch cente r s and co rpora te p lann ing. In h i s new role, he wil l also assume responsibil-ity for ESL’s operations and lending cen-ters. Founded by George Eastman in 1920, ESL Federal Credit Union is a full-service f inancial institution with more than $4 bil-l ion in assets. Faheem began his career at ESL in 1991, as senior f inancial analyst. In 1994, he was named manager of f inancial planning and analysis, and in 1997 he was appointed president and chief operating of-f icer of ESL Investment Services. In 2000, he was named v ice pres ident /corporate product development. Prior to joining ESL, he received a bachelor’s degree in eco-nomics and earned a master’s in business administration from Buf falo State College. He is a member of the board of directors of Unity Health System and the Rochester Downtown Development Corp. He and his family l ive in Fairpor t, N.Y.

’85 Stephan ie P lank l i vengood i s co-author of the ar ticle “Financial Literacy: a Pr imer for L ibrar ians, Educators , and R e s e a r c h e r s ,” w h i c h a p p e a r e d i n t h e February 2012 edition of College & Research Libraries News. Here is the l ink: http://crln.ac r l .o rg /con ten t / 73 /2 /88 . fu l l .pd f+h tm l . Stephanie is a l ibrarian at the University of Akron Wayne College.

’86 Hi lber t Col lege in Hamburg, N.Y., honored amy Smith, chairperson of the school’s Division of Ar ts and Sciences and director of the Honors Program, with i ts Excellence in Service award in the spring of 2012. Amy was honored with her third Excellence in Service Award, a recognition she previously received in 2008 and 2000. Since joining the Hilber t faculty in 1996, she’s overseen and been involved in sev-eral college community service projects and service learning endeavors, including the Kenya Krew international service learning tr ip and various student projects to benefit local families and communities. Active in the

’89 In h i s fou r th yea r o f be ing head coach for the men’s and women’s cross country programs at Penn State Abington, Jose Rodriguez was honored with the Jim McGettigan Coach of the Year award. This award is given to a coach who best demon-strates leadership by meeting all require-ments of his or her position, who motivates players through positive reinforcements, and recognizes and rewards players who con-sistently work hard. The team maintained a commitment to academic achievement, handled adversity well and honors the spirit of their spor t through showing respect to opponents, of f icials and the game.

’90 el len kemp krumm r e ce i ve d a master ’s degree in psychology/systems counseling. She works as a counselor at reSTART, an Internet addiction facility, and recently started a private marriage and fam-ily therapy practice. She and her husband, John, l ive in Redmond, Wash., with their two teenage daughters.

Rober t l . manue l h a s b e e n s e l e c te d as the new p res ident o f the Un ive r s i t y o f Ind ianapo l i s , be -coming the universi-t y ’s n in th p res iden t in July. An estimated 5 , 5 0 0 s t u d e n t s a t -tend the pr ivate uni-v e r s i t y l o c a t e d o n t h e s o u t h s i d e o f Indianapol is . Rober t had been Georgetown Univers i t y associate provost and dean. He received his bache-lor’s degree in history and political science, a master’s degree in higher education ad-ministration from Syracuse University and a doctorate in higher education adminis-tration from New York University. He and his wife, Wilmara, have three daughters, Sophia, Alexandra and Margaux.

Dr. Jonathan Woodman of Town & Country Veterinary Services, P.A., in Minnesota has joined with a group of the world’s leading business exper ts and author and speaker, Br ian Tracy, to publ ish the for thcoming book t i t led Cracking The Success Code: The World’s Leading Exper ts Reveal Their Top Secrets to Help You Crack the Code for Optimum Health, Wealth and Success. It will be published by CelebrityPress. Jonathan is co-founder and head veterinarian at Town & Country Veterinary Services, a companion animal veterinary clinic in Hastings, Minn. As a veterinarian he’s worked in emergency medic ine, fa rm animal ambulator y care, exotic animal medicine, and general com-panion animal medicine and surgery. As a business owner, he’s worked to develop Town & Country Veterinary Services from a part-time, one-doctor ambulatory service to a thr iving full-service clinic and hospi-tal employing two additional veterinarians,


d o c t o r a t e i n e d u c a -tion policy and leader-s h ip , w i th a n e mp ha -sis in higher education, f rom the Univers i t y of Maryland College Park.

’94 Rebekah ash -more Woodworth is the p roduc t ion and fac i l i -t ies manager for Lonza R o c k l a n d I n c . , w h i c h develops and manufac-tures products used in molecular and cell biol-ogy research. She l ives in Rockport, Maine, with her husband, Tim, son, Paul, 15, and daughter, Fran, 12.

’95 emily macQuarrie h innov, a f te r ho ld ing several full-t ime teach-i n g a p p o i n t m e n t s ( a t B o w l i n g G r e e n S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y - F i r e l a n d s College, Southern New Ha mpsh i re Un i ve r s i t y and Boston University), has star ted a po-sit ion as assistant dean of curr iculum in undergraduate s tud ies a t Gran i te State College in Rochester, N.H. Also, her lat-est book, and edited collection, Communal Modernisms: Teaching Twentieth-Century Literature and Culture in the Twenty-first-Century Classroom, wil l be published with Palgrave in 2013. She l ives in Exeter, N.H., with her husband, erik ’90, and their son, Eli Magnus.

Joy kosiewicz has been named a par t-ner in the law f irm of Brouse McDowell in Cleveland. Joy earned her law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

craig malagise has been named corpo-rate sales executive at Krof f Chemical Co. Inc., in Pit tsburgh. Krof f is a water treat-ment company. Malagise previously served as corporate sales manager for ChemTreat Inc. His career star ted at HRP Metals Inc., where he held several leadership roles and progressed to positions with BetzDearborn and Ashland Specia l t y Chemica l— Drew Industrial. He holds a master’s degree in en-vironmental health and toxicology from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s de-gree in environmental science and biology.

Jason mettley has joined Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP in Pit tsburgh as an associate at torney. Jason focuses h is pract ice on representing plan sponsors and individuals in a var iety of employee benef it matters, including plan design and draf t ing, f idu-ciary responsibil i ty and plan governance. He earned his law degree f rom Widener University School of Law.

four veterinary technicians, along with f ive other staf f members.

’91 Darrell Park has published his book, Better Than We Found It: Simple Solutions to Some of the World’s Toughest Problems. Darrel l donates 20 percent of the book’s proceeds to charity.

timothy R. Walmsley has been appointed to the Superior Court of the Eastern Judicial Circuit in Savannah, Ga. Tim and his wife, Alison, have l ived in Savannah for the past 17 years and have two sons, Adle r and Gavin. Before his appointment, Walmsley had been a l i t igat ion par tner at Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn.

An update from Barbara l. Werner: “We are back in Colorado where my husband is teaching at the Air Force Academy. I am composing music for handbells and volun-teering at school for my three boys, Wil l, 12, Noah, 10, and Zeke, 6. This summer, E.J. and I are renewing our vows for our 20th anniversary.”

’92 eric Deemer has accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University ef fective in August 2012.

kelly coursey-Gray had an exhibition of her wildlife photographs in a one-woman show at the Community Ar ts Center of Cambria County in the spring of 2012.

Stephanie Glasser repor ts that she and husband, Ka r l Boehm, ce lebra ted the i r 15th wedding anniversary on June 30, 2011.

’93 Jody l. o’Grady was recently pro-moted to director of sales operat ions at Taylor Technologies Inc. in Sparks, Md., a manufacturer of water-test kits.

mary-kate o’hare has been named cu-rator of American Ar t at the Newark, N.J., Museum. She joined the museum’s American Ar t Depar tment in 2000 as research asso-ciate, becoming assistant curator and, in 2007, associate curator. She holds a mas-ter’s degree and doctorate in Ar t History from Rutgers University.

andre Perry of New Orleans was awarded the Kappa Alpha Psi Citizens Award in April 2 012 . T h e C i t i z e n s Award recognizes and honors the contr ibu-t i o n s o f i n d i v i du a l s who have d isp layed excel lence in human endeavors . Andre is the associate d i rec-to r f o r e d u c a t i o n a l in i t iat ives for Loyola Ins t i tu te fo r Qua l i t y and Equi t y in Educat ion. He earned h is

’98 craig Szalai has joined the Jones Group Inc. as talent acquisition specialist, focusing on design and creative recruiting for the group’s 30-plus apparel brands, in-cluding Rachel Roy, Stuar t Weitzman and Rober t Rodriguez, in New York City.

’99 Jeremy alcorn is one of 10 authors included in the book Climate Change: What You Can Do Now. The book discusses how the issue relates to public health, IT and communications, land use, infrastructure, vehicles and f leets, supply chain and na-t iona l secur i t y. A lcorn led the deve lop-ment of the chapter on national security, which discusses the relationship between a changing climate and ef for ts to protect our nation’s interests at home and abroad.

michael crawford has been retained by Towers Watson in Pit tsburgh as its newest consultant in the health and group benefits practice. “Af ter six years at a competing global consult ing f i rm and the last e ight yea rs as one of the reg ion’s top g roup health underwriters, I am extremely excited to bring my experience in the market and my exper tise in the f ield back to consult-ing. I can be reached via email at [email protected].”

’00 andy Walker has been named as-sistant city manager/city clerk for the City of Meadvil le. Walker had been director of the nor thwest Pennsylvania of f ice of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Walker and his wife, Brooke, are the parents of two sons.

kara harchuck has joined Hunt Companies

every year, seven friends from Baldwin hall (3rd Prospect) get together for a long weekend of fun and catching up. This year they met in Santa Anna Island in Florida. Shown here are Elizabeth Pohley Spencer ’96, Andrea Kotjarapoglus Kruger ’97, Christina Miller Dolan ’96, Nikki Sikora Richardson (at-tended 1992-1993), Jennifer Moorefield Schwanke ’95, Sheila Christopher Gokkaya ’96) and Leslie Gallagher Craig ’96.


Inc., serving in the newly created role of executive vice president and general coun-

se l . P r io r to j o in ing Hunt Companies, Kara represented a spec-t r u m o f r e a l e s t a te cl ients, including in-stitutional lenders and investors, developers, public companies and rea l es ta te funds in her role as a real es-tate attorney at Mayer

Brown LLP in Chicago. In her new job, Kara leads the legal services department for Hunt Companies. She wil l be based in the com-pany’s Chicago of f ice. Kara received her juris doctor from Northwestern University School of Law and graduated magna cum laude from Allegheny.

’01 A planning director and project man-ager with nearly a decade of experience in regional, municipal and county planning, David m. Jirousek owns and operates Horizon Planning and Consult ing LLC, in Beaufor t, S.C. David launched his career following receipt of his bachelor’s degree in env i ronmenta l s tudies and maste r of community p lanning f rom the Univers i ty of Cincinnati, where he also served as a graduate assistant.

Justin Shear has joined Coppertree Homes in Columbus, Ohio, as the director of sales and marketing. The company was featured in The Builders Magazine due to its rapid growth and its personalized treatment of customers. “We build the highest quality homes in Columbus but build relationships even bet ter. I t fee ls great work ing for a

company that does the right thing every time, no exceptions,” says Justin.

’03 J o s e p h c . c o w a r t h a s b e e n named head coach o f t h e N e w C a s t l e , Pa . , R e d H u r r i c a n e s fo o t-ball team. He has been o n t h e s c h o o l ’s f o o t-ball staf f for four years, two of which he served a s d e f e n s i ve c o o r d i -n a to r. B e f o r e r e t u r n -ing to h is a lma mate r, J o e c o a c h e d a t t h e University of Clarion.

’04 Jef frey David Fromknecht announced his engagement to Anne Elizabeth George in May. Jef f rey earned a mas-te r of soc ia l work de-gree a t the Un ive rs i t y of Pit tsburgh and grad-u a t e d i n J u n e f r o m

Duquesne University School of Law. Jeffrey is employed with UCP of Pit tsburgh. Anne graduated from the Dreyfus School of the Ar ts in 2003 and f rom the Univers i t y of Flor ida in 2007. She earned a master of public health degree from the University of Pit tsburgh. Anne is employed with the National Center for Juvenile Justice. The couple is planning a New Year’s Eve wed-ding in Singer Is land, Fla . A postnuptia l celebration wil l be held in Erie the summer of 2013.

andrea mcmillen recently star ted a new pos i t ion wi th the Eco log ica l Soc ie t y of America in Washington, D.C., as its edu-cation programs coordinator.

krystal Baldwin Roth recently earned her master’s degree in applied behavior analy-sis from the Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg. Her master’s thesis focused on developing a comprehensive functional be-havior assessment training manual for men-tal health professionals. She plans on tak-ing the board cer tif ication exam in the fall.

’05 lindsay Baxter, a p ro jec t man-a g e r w i t h t h e P i t t s b u r g h o f f i c e o f t h e Pennsylvania Environmental Council, has been named a 2012 “Champion of Change” by President Barack Obama. Lindsay was one of on ly n ine Amer icans nat ionwide recognized in May and was selected for “her innovative energy prior it ies and sus-tainable l iving practices making a greener community a possibi l i ty in any American city or town.” All nine were honored at a Whi te House event in Washington, D.C. Lindsay earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science. “These Americans

are helping our country r ise to the many challenges of the 21st century,” said Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama. “The White House is proud to feature the stories of these Americans who are doing ex traordinar y th ings in their communit ies to out- innovate, out-educate and to out-bui ld the rest of the wo r l d .” I n t h i s r o l e with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, L i n d s ay wo r ks w i t h communities ranging in population from 75 to more than 300,000, to implement sus-tainability efforts that reduce environmental impact and climate change, help local gov-ernments save money and improve quality of l i fe for local residents.

k r i s t en Wa lco t t - J u s t i ce c o m p l e t e d her doctorate in computer science at the University of Virginia in May 2012. Her thesis is tit led “Testing in Resource-Constrained Environments.” In the fall, she will be joining the Computer Science Depar tment at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, as an assistant professor.

’06 Jessica henriquez completed her four-year program at Temple Univers i t y Kornberg School of Dentistry and received

nathan haines ’07 and Julie Reisz are excited to share the news of their May 2011 engagement. Na-than received his MD from Wake Forest School of Medicine, also in May 2011, and is an ophthalmology resident at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Julie earned a doctorate in chemistry at Wake Forest Uni-versity in December 2011 and is a postdoctoral research fel low in the Departments of Biochem-istry and Internal Medicine also at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Nathan and Julie are plan-ning a September 2012 wedding in Pittsburgh.

adam Duncan ’06 proposed to Daphne Saavedra ’08 on April 3, 2012 at their favorite local sushi restaurant in Pittsburgh. As traveling enthusiasts, they have decided to wed on the beach in Cancun, Mexico, on July 20, 2013. Both are very excited and looking forward to celebrating in the sand and sun with friends, family and the Most Interesting Man in the World. Salud!


h e pl a n wa s—t h e r e wa s no pl a n . and it worked out perfectly for elizabeth Geller.

the Sewickley, pa., native graduated from allegheny in 2005 with a degree in art and technology and a minor in economics. But aside from a summer internship with ama-ra Geffen and the pennsylvania department of transportation, working on the Read Be-tween the Signs community art project on Route 322, Geller had no clue what she was going to do next. She only knew that, rath-er than return home, she would take a more adventurous route and go live with her aunt and uncle outside of Boston.

a little more than two years later, that adventure turned into a dream job.

“it was a whirlwind,” said Geller, who is head of the corporate art lending program at decordova Sculpture park and Museum. “it was the happenstance of know-ing what you want and being aggressive and having the goal and somebody seeing that in you and help-ing you get there.”

in Boston, Geller immersed herself in the local em-ployment scene by taking a job at Starbucks and vol-unteering at the Museum of Fine arts. after about a year, she landed a fellowship interview with Jennifer Roff at decordova. Geller didn’t get the job, but Roff recommended her for a job at a nearby gallery, then hired her at decordova when another full-time posi-tion opened up. a few months after hiring her, Roff went on maternity leave and didn’t return, and Geller took over as head of the program.

“the first time i visited decordova i told myself, ‘this is where i want to work,’” Geller said. “it took two years, but then i made it in the door.”

the decordova art loan program, which turns 40 in 2013, is a membership initiative that provides busi-nesses with original contemporary art exhibitions in exchange for philanthropic support. More than 100 companies and 220 artists, mostly in the Greater new england area, participate in the program.

Geller is its public face, responsible for building and maintaining relationships with corporate clients and artists, and she is ideal for the job. With a pas-sion for both art and economics, she’s able to speak knowledgeably about the business aspect of the pro-gram as well as the artistic side.

“i feel i provide a point of access for the general public,” Geller said. “My studio art background pro-vided me with the vocabulary in which to speak of art with clients, and the economics minor assists me

with the day-to-day administrative and budget respon-sibilities and evaluating the big-picture operations of the program.”

Geller may have been new to the city and lacked a built-in peer support group when she moved to Bos-ton, but it didn’t take her long to build a network of allegheny connections, including trustee christine Scott nelson ’73. the first time Geller installed an exhibit for the longtime clients at cornerstone Re-search, she recognized one of the consultants — Matt armstrong ’03 — from their overlapping years at al-legheny. in the course of their conversation, Geller learned that nelson, director and founder of the Bos-ton office, was also an allegheny alumna.

“She’s a very impressive young lady,” nelson said. “She’s a terrific communicator and someone who can really identify with individuals with whom she’s speaking.”

decordova’s corporate loan program has no adver-tising budget, so word-of-mouth marketing is the best tool Geller has at her disposal. keeping clients and art-ists happy is a major part of the job. Geller has done well enough in that respect to secure the museum’s first member from new York state: Westchester capital Management. But success can also be measured by the reaction Geller and her team receive when they make their annual visits to rotate the exhibitions for mem-ber corporations. the artwork often resonates with the staff who shares the workspace. and at some compa-nies, like cornerstone Research, a spot on the com-mittee that makes the final determination of which art is selected for display is highly prized.

“Routinely we hear, ‘decordova art day, my favor-ite day!’ it adds a little variety to the employees’ day,” Geller said. “it really does make such a difference.”

– P a t R i c k S . B R o a D W a t e R ’ 9 3

Elizabeth Geller ’05 fuses her art and economics background as director of museum’s corporate program

An Eye for Art and Opportunity

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Emmanuel M. Weinberger pr ize f rom the Depar tment of Internal Medicine for excel-lent work in the f ield of gastroenterology. In June, Stacy began a genera l surger y residency at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pit tsburgh.

Zachary Smith recently graduated f rom Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. He has joined the practice of Leefer Chiropractic Center in Pleasant Hills, Pa., as an associate and is accepting new patients.

’09 emily Ricotta graduated from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a master’s of science degree in molecular microbiology and immunology. She then accepted a full-t ime position at the Maryland State Health Depar tment in June 2012.

’10 katie Donahoe received her master’s degree in l ibrary and information science from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, in December 2011. She is currently employed at the Brentwood Library in Pit tsburgh, Pa. Katie was recently named the chair of the Allegheny County Library Association Adult Programming Forum.

’11 michelle levesque is joining 220 other people f rom across the countr y in Vinton, Iowa, where they are devoting the next six months to giving back to commu-nities in that area of the country. Michelle has been serving with the National Civil ian Communi t y Corps, an Amer iCorps pro -gram, since February and says she enjoys it. Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies.

’79 nancy hulit marr ied for the f irst t ime on Dec. 29, 2011 to Jess Barr ientes, who, in his 64 years had also never mar-r ied. Fe l low A lpha Chi’s Sallie Spencer Graziano and karen hughes joined her in Austin, Texas, for the grand occasion and a super reunion. Sall ie acted as matron of honor. Robert Graziano ’78 also attended.

’84 michael higgins marr ied Melissa Van Houten on Aug. 9, 2011 at Aina Moana State Park on Waikiki Beach, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in a small ceremony. It was the sec-ond marriage for both of them. The couple resides in Easton, Pa.

’90 Susan Burgess and Rich tencza ’89 were married on Hilton Head Island, S.C., on March 31, 2012 at the Westin Resor t. It was a beautiful beachfront ceremony in front of 50 close fr iends and family. Gators in at tendance, p ic tured f rom lef t , were: Katherine Baur Aracri ’90, Joe Aracri ’90, Eric Hern ’90, Rich Tencza, Susan Burgess, Jef f McGeary ’88, Susan Button McGeary ’87 a n d C h r i s t i n e M a s l o We i g h e l l ’ 9 0 . Not pictured but in at tendance was Hank Corson ’89. The br ide and groom reside in Pi t tsburgh and plan to honeymoon in September to Spain and France.

Scott knox Grosjean and Jennifer Lynn Coutley married on April 5, 2012 in an out-door ceremony overlooking the mountains at St. Regis, Deer Valley, Utah. The couple is residing at 1321 W. Addison, 3A, Chicago, I l l. 60613, following a honeymoon at Deer Valley. The bride received her bachelor’s degree f rom De Paul Universi ty and is a f l ight at tendant with Southwest A ir l ines. Scott is a pilot with Southwest Air l ines.

’93 lisa Drew married Tony Kropinak on Sept. 4, 2010. Allegheny fr iends Chris Anderson, Sue Alisanksi, Rob and Carolyn Allen Dubois, Shawn Amy, Scott and Sharon Smi th Brumagin, and Debb ie Tregask is Buckner and her husband, Steve, attended. “Then on May 20, 2011 we had our daughter Adalyn Glor ia who came so fast she was born on our couch! The EMTs barely got there in t ime. I hope she wil l be a future Allegheny singer. In July 2011 I became a licensed local pastor in the United Methodist Church and am serving Windham UMC in

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the degree of doctor of dental medicine. “I plan on moving to Boston to star t work this summer. I am extremely excited about this next stage in my l i fe. If anyone is l iving in the Boston area please contact me! I’d love to hear from you and learn more about the area,” Jessica says. ’07 Seen running in the Pittsburgh Mara-thon in May were: marco Dozzi and Bryan Jordan ’06, who both ran the full marathon. Also, Zachary Best ’09 and Jamie Pletz Jordan ’06 ran the half marathon.

mario tarquinio and Sandie Garcia were engaged in February. They wil l be getting married in spring of 2013 in Key West, Fla. Mario works in the f itness industry, while Sandie is in communications and public re-lations for a trade organization. They both reside in Washington, D.C., with their dog, and in their spare t ime, enjoy competing in bodybuilding and f itness competitions.

’08 Stacy kowalsky received a doctor of medicine degree from the Temple University School of Medicine in Ph i l ad e lp h i a . S t acy received a bachelor’s degree in biology and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She was in-ducted into the Alpha Omega A lpha Honor Medical Society and was the rec ip ient of the W. Emory Burnett Prize in Surgery for outstanding work per formed in the f ield of surgery. Stacy was also the recipient of the

eight Gator alumni became doctors on June 3, 2012 when they graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. From left: Dr. John Dudzinski ’08, Dr. Alison Helfrich ’08, Dr. Jared Nemeth ’06, Dr. Jayson Loeffert ’08, Dr. Caitlin Holt ’07, Dr. Katie Stock ’08, Dr. Caroline Lewis-Steinman ’08 and Dr. Brian Stephenson ’08.

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Ohio. Peop le can f ind me on Facebook or emai l at songbird9497@hotmai l.com,” says Lisa.

’05 lisa timbers married nick Girard ’04 on May 26, 2012 at the Timbers’ fam-ily home in Potomac, Md. “There were 22 Alleghenians in attendance, including a cou-ple of trustees — we had our own reunion of sor ts!” Front row, f rom lef t , Rhiannon Mauk ’05; Phoebe Chadwick-Rivinnus ’05; Adam Homoki ’05; Robert Clark ’06; Kirsten Santiago ’07; Sarah Wilson ’05. Back row, Tom Slonaker P ’84, P ’93, Trustee; Nick Timbers ’72, P ’05, Trustee; Nicole Scatena ’07; Katie Bradshaw ’05; Dave Roberts ’06; Angelica Runova ’06; Rick Podbielski ’04; Mat t Wi lson ’05; L isa T imbers ’05; Nick Girard ’04; Ji l l Mat tson Fl inchbaugh ’77; Andrew Rielly ’05; Wil l McMahon ’04; Nick Johnson ’07; Rick Seward ’04.

’06 hikmat Daghestani was mar r ied to Sarah Mar tini on May 27, 2012 in Oak Brook, I l l. In at tendance were fel low Gator a lums Vah id A zamta r rah ian ’07, Aa r i sh Riaz ’08 and Carlyn Johnson ’11. Hikmat is a postdoctora l research assoc iate at Duke University Medical Center, and Sarah wil l begin graduate studies in rehabil i ta-tion counseling at the University of Nor th Carolina-Chapel Hil l beginning in the fal l of 2012.

N e w a r r i V a l S

’88 tim o’connor and wife, Mary, wel-comed the i r second daughte r, V ic to r i a Elizabeth, who was born April 4, 2012.

’91 clare Bojarski Puerzer and hus-band, Rich, welcomed a daughter, Addison, on Leap Day 2012! Addison joins big broth-ers Casey, Aaron, and Josh. Everyone is doing well. You can contact them at: r [email protected].

kevin Shivers and wife, Karen, welcomed daughte r, Kathe r ine E l izabeth, on Apr i l 28, 2012. “Kat ie” ar r ived at 7:16 p.m. at 6 pounds, 11 ounces. She is the couple’s first child. They reside near Harrisburg, Pa.

’97 tracy Stih Stockard and her hus-band, Tom, welcomed a daughter, Dana Christine, on Feb. 17, 2012. Dana was seven pounds and 20 inches long. This is the f irst child for the elated mom and dad.

’98 adam Vanho and h i s w i fe , T ina Merlit ti, welcomed their f irst child, Michael Anthony VanHo, on Nov. 18, 2011 at Akron

City Hospital. Mikey was born at 7 pounds, 4 ounces and joins Adam and Tina’s canine “son,” Bexley. Adam serves as counsel with the Akron law f irm of Burdon and Merlit t i, where he focuses on civi l and criminal l i t i-gation, and recently opened a second office in the Cleveland suburb of Independence..’00 Sarah nelson cahill and Richard Cahill welcomed their son, Seamus Richard, on Oct. 20, 2011. They are l iving in Nor th Walpole, N.H.

’99 Jeffrey akers repor ts the bir th of Claire Harper Akers on May 4, 2012. Mom and big brothers are great!

’08 laurie hanniford and Eric Sloan marr ied on May 29, 2011 in Car l is le, Pa. There were many Gators in at tendance: Fron t row, s i t t i ng on g round / k ne e l i ng , le f t to r ight: Marc Scui l l i ’05, A lan Car r ’07, Chr is Fede le ’07, Ben Montgomer y ’05, Berardo Diamante ’09, John Pappas ’07(mostly hidden), Erik Johnson ’06, Tad Rupp ’06, Dan Carr ick ’07, Ryan Kelly ’07, Bob De lGreco I I I ’08, Jonathan Buggey ’0 8 , R yan L a rk in ’0 8 and Dave Re cke r ’06 . Second row, s i t t ing in cha i r s: Ne i l Hanniford ’73, Sarah Greenbaum Hanniford ’75, Eric Sloan ’08, Laurie Hanniford Sloan ’08, Jay Lewis ’70, Beth Greenbaum Lewis ’71, Barbara Pelander Hanniford ’69 and Glenn Hanniford ’68. Back row, standing: Cour tney Hol land Montgomer y ’05 (wi th daughter Anna Caroline, future Gator), Gina Panzetta, Angelo Panzetta, Linda Pehel ’75, Sigmund Pehel ’74, Rober t DelGreco Jr. ’76, Rita Cherry DelGreco ’77, Robin Bunch ’07, Nicole Trerotola ’10, Dan Monarko ’06, Lindsey Crookshanks ’08, Jessica Humphrey ’08, Lindsay Stenberg ’08, Kelsie Cajka ’08, Hope Mar i jan ’08, Devin Fackenthal ’08, Elizabeth Smith ’08, Kristyn Paone ’08, Ian Coyle ’08 (he was our DJ!), Melissa Geer ’08, Lauren Porter f ield ’08, Jamie Lee Skender ’08, Julie Cain ’08, Rebecca Rotoloni ’08, Natalie Baldauf f ’08, Patr ick Bowman ’08, Jessica Heuer Stutzman ’08 and Andrew Stutzman ’08.

’09 emily larimore marr ied John A. Bohn II on July 30, 2011. Surrounded by fam-ily and fr iends, they celebrated their union in Pittsburgh, Pa. For their honeymoon, the couple traveled to Italy. They currently l ive in Minneapolis, Minn., where Emily is a kin-dergar ten teacher and John is a manager for impor ts at Target Corp. headquar ters.

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’34 melvin R. meadowcroft on March 24, 2012. He lived in the same Trafford, Pa., house where he was born, completing 101 years of a full l i fe. He and his three broth-ers, now deceased, all attended Allegheny College. Many nieces and nephews and their children also at tended Allegheny, fol low-ing the brothers’ example. He had received the Torchbearer’s Medal from the College. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the Allegheny Singers.

’36 The Rev. Ronald W. ober on May 27, 2012. He is survived by his daughter, Ellen Mar tin; a sister, Wilda Coppersmith, grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

’37 norman Stoner on Oct. 21, 2011. He at tended Allegheny College from 1933 to 1934, and later graduated Phi Beta Kappa

from Princeton University. He then attended Stanford Law School, Class of 1940. He served during World War II in the U.S. Naval Communications Intelligence unit that deci-phered the Japanese code. After the war, he set up a private law practice in estate and trust affairs in San Jose, Calif., and was later associated with the Sil icon Valley law f irm now known as Mount, Spelman & Fingerman LLP. He practiced law for 50 years in San Jose. He is survived by three sons, Rober t, Martin and Douglas, and his brother, Gerald, who also at tended Allegheny College for the academic year 1938-39, before trans-ferr ing to Stanford University.

’40 elizabeth Buttermore Spray on Feb. 11, 2012. She had been active with St . Andrew Uni ted Methodist Church of Beaverc reek , Greene Count y H is to r ica l Society, Beavercreek High Band Parents Association, scouting and was a Paul Harris Fel low. She was marr ied for 67 years to the la te Wayne Spray. Af te r g raduat ing from Allegheny she taught high school in Pennsylvania. She is survived by three chil-dren, Elwin, Elaine and Carl.

Genevieve Gehrlein Stock on June 15, 2012. She marr ied Wil l iam R. Stock, who preceded her in death. She was a member of the Sacred Hear t Church, the American Association of University Women and the Chr is t ian Fami ly Movement . She is sur-vived by two daughters, Anne Bet ts and M a r y S to c k ; f i ve s o n s , W i l l i a m R . J r. , Gregory L., Dr. Roger D., Carl J. and Dr. Paul A .; e ight g randch i ld ren; and e ight great-grandchildren.

’42 Richard R. caldwell on Apr i l 19, 2012. He attended Allegheny College unti l he enlisted in the Navy at the star t of World War II. Af ter the war, he f inished his bach-elor’s degree at Case Western Reserve. He is survived by his children, Deborah McNeil, Caro lyn Caldwel l , Renny Caldwel l , Jane Bridges and Timothy Caldwell, as well as six grandchildren.

’43 Rober t W. thomas on March 2, 2012. He received his bachelor’s degree in business. It was at Allegheny that he met his wife, Louise Parsons Thomas, who died before him. During World War II, he served as a l ieutenant in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Anne Arundel. He returned to Meadville in 1946 and joined McCrosky Tool Corp. He became president in 1956 and later chief execut ive of f ice r unt i l h is re t i rement in 1986. Noted for his community service, he was a member of Stone United Methodist Church where he served as a trustee. He also served on the board of directors of the Meadville Housing Corp.; as vice president of the board of corporators and chairman of the f inance commit tee of the fo rmer Meadville City Hospital; as a char ter mem-ber of the Meadvil le Jaycees, and on the

board of directors and as fund chairman of the United Way of Western Crawford County. In a business and professional capacity, he served on the advisory board of Mellon Bank, formerly Northwest Pennsylvania Bank and Trust Co. He is survived by his three children, Christopher, Molly Lundquist and Janet Kenney; his sister, Sylvia Mountsier; and three grandchildren.

’44 Wallace e. Borger in January 2010. He was a World War I I veteran, Army Air Corps, and p i loted a B-17 Bomber over Europe. He was an entrepreneur and focused h is e f fo r ts in hous ing const ruc t ion and the sales f ield. He is survived by a daugh-ter, Shelley koltnow ’68, a son, thomas Borger ’72 and eight grandchildren.

’45 Barbara moran Brickett on March 5, 2012. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She worked at the Belgian Economic Mission in Washington, D.C., be-fore moving to New York City to work at the Psychological Corp. She married John A. Brickett, who died before her. Among the organizat ions for which she volunteered were the Franklin County Association for Reta rded Ch i ld ren (now the Un i ted A rc of Franklin and Hampshire Counties), the G i r l Scouts , the Four Corners PTA , the Greenfield Visit ing Nurse Association, the American Association of University Women, the Fresh Air Fund and the Junior SPCC Thrif t Shop. She is survived by her daugh-ters, Diane E. Brickett Allis, Gwen Brickett, Bonnie Brickett and Janice Brickett, grand-children and great-grandchildren.

’46 Shirley mcDonald newcomer on June 27, 2012. Shi r ley graduated wi th a bachelor’s degree in psychology and soci-ology. She worked in human resources for Bell Telephone and later was a substitute el-ementary school teacher in the Northeastern School Distr ict in Pennsylvania. She held many volunteer positions with the United Methodist Women on the distr ict and con-ference level, as wel l as local ly with her home church, Otterbein United Methodist in Mount Wolf. Shirley was a charter member of York Hospital Auxiliary in the Northeastern Branch and also a char ter member of the Normandie R idge Aux i l i a r y. She is sur-v ived by three daughters, Sue Hershey, Ann Str ick le r and Jane Shade; her son, Phil Newcomer; eight grandchildren; and f ive great-grandchildren.

Phyllis Zorrilla on April 4, 2012. She had been l iving in Coral Springs, Fla., and en-joyed her pets and playing bridge. She is survived by her daughter, Sandra Zorr i l la.

’47 loa etta Bartlett Dowler on Sept. 16, 2011, just nine days af ter her husband, Rober t E., died. She taught business edu-cation for 29 years, retiring in 1976 from the General McLane School District in Edinboro,

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’01 Brian adams and angela Giorgianni Adams ’02 welcomed their first child, Maria Angelina, into the world Nov. 2, 2011. They l ive in Pit tsburgh, Pa.

’05 celeste lindahl halcomb and her husband, Tony, are proud to announce the

bir th of their f irst child, Madelyn Elizabeth. She was born March 2, 2012 in Corbin, Ky. They are very thankful for this new bless-ing in their l ives!

’06 Jennifer knapp Rioja and husband, Brandon, welcomed their first child, Holden Rioja, into the world July 16, 2011. The fam-ily currently resides in Lower Burrell, Pa.

Dale Meadowcroft ’68, left, his father, Melvin, and James Meadowcroft ’64.


Pa. She was a member of the Pennsylvania Assoc iat ion of School Ret i rees and the A lp h a O m e g a C h a p te r o f D e l t a K a p p a Gamma, an international honor society of women educators.

edgar h. Ward, M.D., on Feb. 20, 2012. He also was a graduate of the Universi ty of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War I I . He practiced internal medicine in Er ie at Saint Vincent Health Center and Hamot Medical Center. He served his internship at the Lankenau Hospital in Phi ladelphia and his fellowship in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. He was past presi-dent of the Er ie County Medical Society, and a prior chairman of the Depar tment of Medicine at Hamot Hospital. In post-retire-ment, he returned to serve several years in the Outpatient Clinic at Hamot. He is sur-vived by his wife, Jeanne Seltzer Ward; a daughter, Barbara Ann Ward; a son, John Chr istopher; a s ister, Mar jor ie York; and four grandchildren.

’48 Robert n. Waterhout on Apr i l 8, 2012. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1947. He at tended Al legheny Col lege, Notre Dame and Washington Univers i t y, where he graduated with a business degree. He founded Waterhout Construction Co. in 1962 and was active in the Home Builders Association, providing thousands of homes in the St. Louis, Mo., area. He was a 32nd Mason of the Scottish Rite. He is survived by h is wi fe, Joyce; ch i ldren, Rober t C., Renee Bell, Heather Wilmesher, Nicholas Rober ts, Anthony Rober ts and Mikal Ann Di l lon; s isters, Lorraine Dunn and Grace Tamantini; and grandchildren.

’49 William Blackburn on Feb. 18, 2012. He graduated from Allegheny, where he met his wife of 59 years, the former Joann Dilley, who survives. He received his master’s de-gree and doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Blackburn (as he was known to his students) retired from the Bethel Park, Pa., School Distr ict af ter a long career in teaching. He is also survived by two daugh-ters, Ann and Susan.

Dr. edgar S. henry Jr. on Apri l 4, 2012. Af te r A l legheny, he graduated f rom the University of Pit tsburgh Medical School. He was a practic ing ophthalmologist for 35 years in Sewickley, Pa. He was married to Honor Linton Henry. His children include Janet Pastors and Greg. He also is survived by several grandchildren.

elizabeth R. Scheid mcclowry on Apr i l 16, 2012.

Barbara J. Platt on Feb. 1, 2012. She grad-uated from Allegheny with honors in psy-chology and earned a master’s degree in psychology from Ohio State University. She

was on the administrative staf f and served as a laboratory instructor in biology and psychology at Get tysburg College where her husband, Charles, was a member of the psychology depar tment. She also served for 25 years as a volunteer at Gettysburg National Military Park and was named out-standing volunteer for the Northeast Region of the National Park Service in 2005. She was a member of the Gettysburg National Mil i tary Park Advisory Commission for 15 years. She authored This Is Holy Ground, a history of the Gettysburg battlef ield from 1863 through 2009. Survivors include her son, Ronald, and her sister, marjorie laffer cull ’60.

John D. Smith on May 20, 2012. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and served as a message decoder on the Phil ippines Front of Wor ld War I I . He marr ied Dor is Irene Romasser, who died in 2000. After the war, he graduated from Allegheny College with a degree in economics. He was hired at Gelvin, Jackson & Starr Inc. and even-tua l ly became pres ident of the f i rm. He served on the board of incorporators of Meadvil le Medical Center, volunteering his “talents” for years in the Charity Follies, as president of the Allegheny College Alumni Association, member and past president o f Me adv i l l e K iwa n i s C lub, me mbe r o f Meadville Roundtable, past board member of the Meadvil le Public Library, member of the Army of the Cussewago, member and past master of Masonic Lodge 408, member of Crawford County Shrine Club and Zem Zem Shrine Temple, Erie, member of Elks Lodge 219, past president of the Meadville Countr y Club, Veterans of Fore ign Wars Post 2006, American Legion Post 111 and First Presbyterian Church. He was also a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. In 1984, he received the Blue Citation from Allegheny in recognition and appreciation of outstanding service to the College. He was a student of the Civil War and held a signif icant war l ibrary that he donated to the Crawford County Historical Society. He retired in 1987 and spent many years enjoy-ing travel abroad. He is survived by his son, Peter O.; a daughter, Carole Andreas; his companion, Gerr i Heibel; three grandchil-dren; and two great-grandchildren.

’51 marshall l. Wheeler Jr. on March 24, 2012. He was a former Olean, N.Y., city clerk who was awarded a Purple Hear t in Wor ld War I I . Born in Jamestown, N.Y., he earned a bachelor’s degree in chem-istry. He served with the U.S. Marines in the South Pacif ic during World War II and was awarded a Purple Hear t af ter suf fer-ing a bayonet wound. He had worked a few years as a sc ient is t at Scr ipps Inst i tute of Oceanography in La Jolla, Cali f. From 1952 to 1968, he was a research chemist at the Linde Division of Union Carbide in the Town of Tonawanda, N.Y. While there, he

developed several polymer patents. Af ter leaving Union Carbide, he served a decade as the Olean city clerk. He moved to Florida in 2010. Survivors include his wife, the for-mer Helen Gamble; two sons, Joseph and Marshall I I I; two daughters, Nancy Manus and Becky Musselwhite; a brother, Rober t; and f ive s isters, Mar ion McKinna, Helen Corda, Norene De l ia , Donna Fisher and Carol.

’52 margaret Seib culbertson on April 5, 2012. While at Allegheny, she was a mem-ber of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and served as its president her senior year. She was also vice president of her graduating class. She attended a session at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute during the summer of 1953, af ter having taught at Dormont High School in Pi t tsburgh, and before teach-ing for two years at Mil lcreek Junior High School in Erie. Af ter her marriage to John S. Culber tson, she was a homemaker, en-joying her family and serving as a volunteer for the Meadvil le Garden Club, especially the Trees of Christmas, Meadvil le Market Authority and Meadville Medical Center. She was active in church organizations, most recently as a member of First Presbyterian Church in Meadville. In addition to her hus-band, survivors include three daughters, Annet te Calderwood, Connie Culber tson and Janie Lehman, and four grandchildren.

’53 William J. anderson on March 30, 2012. He attended Allegheny College prior to enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1951. He retired in 1981 with almost 31 years of service in the Air Force. He is survived by his wife, Doris; daughters, Sandy Salazar and Leslie Gril lo; and grandchildren.

Donald W. neely Sr. on Feb. 19, 2012. He was a chemist for the U.S. Army during the Korean War and then for I.E. DuPont and for Rohm & Haas in New Jersey. Following retirement, he was Coll ingswood Board of Education health and safety inspector and grounds and maintenance supervisor, re-tir ing again in 1996. He is survived by his daughter, Anne Neely, and a son, Donald Jr.

Dorothy e. Welsh on Feb. 27, 2012. She wa s a l s o a g r a du a te o f t h e Un i ve r s i t y o f P i t t sbu rgh and a t tended Kent S ta te U n i v e r s i t y . S h e t a u g h t s c h o o l i n t h e Parma and Brecksvil le, Ohio, school sys-tems; subs t i tu te d in a numbe r o f sub -u r b a n A l l e g h e ny C o u n t y s c h o o l s ; a n d worke d fo r the A l l e gheny In te rme d ia te Unit, working with under-achieving gif ted students. She worked for many years as

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the volunteer coordinator for the East End Cooperat ive Min is t r y and was the te le -phone contact during the early years of the Of f the Floor, Pit tsburgh program. She en-joyed her years working with the Contact /Stand-by Telephone Ministr y, the Fr iday Book Group at Fox Chapel Presby ter ian Church and the Lifelong Learning studies at Carnegie Mellon University. She was the wife of Richard L. Welsh. She is survived by her sister, Rose Mary Walker.

’55 charles t. arther on May 31, 2012. Ted graduated wi th a degree in h is tor y. Following college, he was commissioned as a second l ieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He was tra ined as a pi lot on F-86 Sabre f ighter jets. He began his career in 1958 with Jones and Laughlin Steel, working at its offices in Manhattan, San Francisco and Buf falo, eventually transit ioning from the sales to the service side of the steel indus-try. As an industry innovator and through his company, Furnco Construction Inc., he consulted to steel production facil i t ies on the repair and maintenance of blast fur-naces and coke ovens from Pit tsburgh to Luxembourg to New Delhi. He was a mem-ber of the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Duquesne Club and St. Clair Country Club. Ted is survived by his wife, Shir ley Mertz Ar ther; a daughter, Elizabeth Wilson; a son, Theodore; f ive grandchildren; and a brother, John R. Ar ther Jr.

marva Digby mcarthur on Jan. 20, 2012. She is survived by her husband, Bill; daugh-ter, Karen; son, Mark; her sister, Pat; and grandchildren.

Robert c. thurston on April 27, 2012. He spent the majority of his career at General Electr ic working in the Re-Entry Systems Division in Philadelphia, Pa. Upon his re-tirement from GE in 1989, he taught math, statistics and calculus at Rowan University, Penn State University-Great Valley and sev-eral other community colleges. He received his master’s degree f rom RPI. He was a professional engineer and also taught the class to others seeking their PE designa-t ion. He was a Korean War Veteran and received the Camden County Korean War Service Medal in 2003. He is survived by his wife, carol J. Demson ’55; four sons, Douglas C., David E., Dana R. and Rober t Craig; and six grandchildren.

’56 Robert D. evans on May 14, 2012. He married the former M. Eleanore Reynolds who died in 2003. He was the co-owner of the Hearing Aid Center in New Castle, Pa., with his wife for more than 35 years. He was a hearing aid specialist. He was a former member of the New Castle Rotary. He was an act ive member of Thi rd Presby ter ian Church, where he former ly served as an elder. He is survived by his former wife, Susan C. Lynn; a daughter, Debra Anne

Evans; two stepdaughters, Patr icia Rielly and Christine Bil lyk; two stepsons, Peter M. Thomas and Dominic Lynn; two sisters, Barbara Donaldson and Joan Jud; 11 grand-children; and two great-grandchildren.

’57 Shirley ann o’connell on May 29, 2012. While at Allegheny, she was a mem-ber of Kappa Alpha Theta. She was an ar-dent bridge player, a golfer, and a l ibrary volunteer. She is survived by her husband, alexander ’54; her mother, Pearl McCune; her sister, Beverly Perry; two sons, Scott and David; and one daughter, Kim Canfield.

’59 mason c. cady on March 3, 2012. Af te r A l legheny, he earned h is master ’s degree from the University of Pit tsburgh. He was a social studies teacher from 1960 to his retirement in 2000 with Moon area schools where he coached many of the dis-tr ict’s spor ts teams. He was also a mem-ber of the Pennsylvania State Education Associat ion. He is sur v ived by h is wi fe, Marlene Shannon Cady; three children, Lee Ann Rinderknecht, Matthew and Gregg; a sister, Carol Kadar; and eight grandchildren

Richard J. engel on May 2, 2012. Af ter Allegheny, he earned his MBA from Syracuse University. He served in the Coast Guard Reserves for e ight years. He star ted his career as a CPA with Haskins & Sel ls in New York City and then worked in f inancial management for companies in New Jersey and Atlanta. In 1979, he moved his family to Manchester, Vt., where he established his own CPA practice, which today is Engel Spivey Lemonik PC. In 2000, he became a l icensed cer tif ied f inancial planner and established Wealth Management Par tners. He retired in December 2010. He was on the board of the Vermont Chi ldren’s A id Society for more than 15 years. In 2005, he received the Asa Gif ford Award for Wise and Dedicated Leadership from the soci-ety. He was also active with the Vermont Society of CPAs and served as board chair-man from 1999 to 2000. He was a mem-ber of the Manchester chapter of Rotary Internat ional where he served a term as pres ident and was named a Paul Har r is Fellow. He is survived by his wife, Pamela Enge l; h is son, John; daughters , Susan Engel and Stephanie Zoufaly; his brother, Rober t; and grandchildren

’60 arthur Young on Feb. 7, 2012. He was professor emer i tus of astronomy at San Diego State University. In his almost 35-year career, he was a highly respected researcher, professor and author of numer-ous scientif ic publications. He was recog-nized for his innovative research in stellar astrophysics. His book, It’s Turtles All the Way Down, is an analysis of the structure of scienti f ic thought. Af ter graduation at A l legheny, he ser ved three years in the U.S. Air Force. After his military service, he

entered the graduate program in astronomy at Indiana University, where he earned his doctorate. He joined the astronomy faculty at SDSU in 1967. He is survived by his wife, Candice, and two sons, Greg and Bruce.

’62 John c. macivor on May 30, 2012. He graduated with a degree in geology and retired from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is survived by his children, Tracey Moat, Cyndy and Craig; a brother, Harvey, and several grandchildren.

William F. Peters on May 1, 2012. He was an accomplished athlete in football, basketball and tennis. He earned a degree in polit ical science, and in 1963 he received a master’s degree in polit ical science and economics at Tuf ts University. He then was hired as assistant wrestling coach at Conneaut Lake High School where he taught history and Spanish. In 1969, he was hired at Meadville Area Senior High School as an assistant football coach and social studies teacher, where he taught U.S. history and world cul-tures for a decade. He continued his edu-cation, receiving a law degree and gradu-ating cum laude from Cleveland-Marshall Law School. In 1979, he was admit ted to the Crawford County Bar. In 1981, he was appointed to the newly created position of Crawford County Juvenile Cour t Master, a posit ion he held unti l retirement in 2010. During his time of service he received the “2008 Permanency Advocate Recognition” from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He served on the City of Meadvi l le Civ i l Service Board and the City Zoning Board. He is survived by his wife, Linda A. Peters; son, Floyd William James Peters; two step-children, Donald A. Osborne II and Leslie D. Berger; two sisters, Gretchen Bar th and Sondra Curth; numerous grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

’66 Penny J. hruska on Dec. 8, 2011. She ret i red as assistant pr incip le of Elk Grove High School District 214 in Elk Grove, I l l . , in 1999. She earned her bache lor ’s degree in English from Allegheny and her master’s degree in special education from Northeastern Illinois University. She was an avid world traveler, visiting all seven conti-nents. She is survived by her brothers, Ron Nichols and David Nichols.

’68 karen Forssmark nagel on Apr i l 21, 2012. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. While at Allegheny she met her husband, Ar t Nagel. She volunteered a t the Ga les Fe r r y L ib ra r y and worked at Gales Ferr y Tax Service f rom 1983 to 1986. She was one of the f irst volunteers for the Women’s Center of Southeastern Connecticut. She then earned a master’s de g re e in account ing f rom New Haven Univers i t y. She worked for Sonalysts in Water ford from 1988 to 1989 and then was employed as an accountant at Doherty Beals


and Banks in New London. She became a cer tif ied public accountant in September 1992. She retired from Doher ty Beals and Banks in 2000. After retirement, she served as treasurer on the board of directors for Martin House and Thames River Community Ser v ices in Nor wich f rom 2000 to 2010 and as treasurer on the board of directors of Child and Family Agency (New London) f rom 20 0 0 to 20 09. She was the cha i r-man of the board of directors of Child and Family Agency from 2009 to 2010. She was awarded the 2011 Child and Family Volunteer of the Year award. She is survived by her husband; a daughter, Jennifer McCracken; a son, Joe; a sister, Cindy Det tman, and grandchildren.

’71 michael J. Baughman in February 2012. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics and also earned a jur is doctor from the University of Pittsburgh Law School in 1975. He worked in the legal departments of International Paper from 1979 to 1990 and General Electric from 1990 to 2007. He served on the Fairview School Board in the 1980s. Along with his wife, Diane Parker-Baughman, he leaves two daughters, Natalie Baughman and Lindsey Baughman-Dalton, and four stepsons, Capt. Rober t Parker III, First Lt. David Parker, Sgt. Brydon Parker and Ensign Drew Parker.

’72 John taylor on Apr i l 9, 2012. He joined Stars and Stripes in 1988 and worked in various positions, including features, the news copy desk and as spor ts copy editor. Richard Braun, general manager of Stars and Stripes’ European edition, said, “An organi-zation consists of all k inds of individuals. Some are more noticeable and attract at-tention. Others, l ike John, are low-key and simply get the job done without a lot of fan-fare.” For more than a decade, he headed up the features sections of the newspaper, including Europe’s popular Travel section and Quick Trips features, as well as being lead copy editor on local spor ts content. His organizational skil ls made him the per-fect choice to help Str ipes move its of f ice from Macedonia to Kosovo in 2000 when the paper sent repor ters to cover the con-flict there and its af termath. He is survived by his wife, Chris Taylor, a daughter, Laura, and a son, Alex.

’75 christopher a. Beck on Jan. 17, 2012. He received a jur is doctor from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 and earned an MLLS from Duquesne University in 1999. Chris worked in the Pit tsburgh area as an attorney for many years, star ting at Phil ips & Galanter; then at Ravick, Beck & Henny; at Riley & DeFalice; at Israel, Wood & Puntil; at Thorp Reed and Armstrong; and most re-cently for Liber ty Mutual. He was a mem-ber of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Wes t V i rg in ia Ba r As soc ia t ion , the Allegheny County Bar Association, and the

Ohio State Bar Association. Chris most re-cently special ized in personal injury and workers’ compensation law. He was active in the Rotary of Pit tsburgh for many years and had served terms as Three Rivers Club president, as district governor and as chair-man of Youth Exchange. He served in many capacities, including elder and a deacon, at Southminster Presbyterian Church of Mt. Lebanon, Pa. He was the son of Dr. Roger S. and Ruth Beck and the brother of holly clark ’77.

’76 Dr. Peter S. maropis on April 14, 2012. He was a member of the Athletic and Academic Hall of Fame at Allegheny College. He went on to play professional baseball for the Chicago White Sox for four years. After his baseball career, he became a self-employed dentist, serving the Murrysvil le, Pa., community for 31 years. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn Stewar t Maropis; two sons, Dr. Peter S. and Matthew; and two brothers, Michael and Patr ick.

’81 Dr. Joseph W. Scerbo on May 1, 2012. A f te r A l l egheny, he a t tended the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine. He owned and operated his podiatry prac-tice in Somerset for more than 25 years. He was well-known in the local youth and high school wrestling communities. He played the cello in the Livingston Symphony Orchestra. He is survived by his wife, Christine Scerbo; two sons, Thomas and Joseph; and his fa-ther, Constantine.

’82 Dr. Renay manley on Feb. 28, 2012. She worked as an optometrist at Wal-Mar t V i s ion Cente r i n O lean and L akewood, N.Y., for 18 years and previously at Sterling Optical in Olean. She received other degrees from Perkins School for the Blind and New England College of Optometry. She is sur-vived by her husband, Dave, and their two sons: Dylan and Aaron; her mother, Donna Pacit ti; a brother, Gary Glazer; three step-brothers; and two half-sisters.

’04 ethan J. VanDervort on May 19, 2012. Af te r A l legheny, he at tended L i fe Chiropractic College in Mariet ta, Ga. He loved the ou tdoor s , snowboard ing and mountaineering. He summited Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams in Washington state as well as peaks in Brit ish Columbia, Canada and the A l inhorn in Swi t ze r land. H is t rave l -ing took him to places such as Egypt and Kenya, Africa, throughout Europe, the British Isles, Switzerland, and Central and South America. He is survived by his parents, Dr. Jack K. and Maureen E. VanDervor t; a sis-ter, Sarah E. Hunter; maternal grandfather, William Rio; paternal grandfather, J. Kenneth VanDervort; and his childhood nanny, who helped to raise him, Ada Coblentz.

’08 Gregory D. Richards on Feb. 21, 2012. He played basketball for four years at

Allegheny and served as a captain his senior year. He is survived by his f iancee, Melissa Joyce Bit tner; his parents, Catherine and David Richards; two sisters, Emily Richards and Meghan DelGiacco; his brother, Kevin, and his grandparents, Edward and Margaret Durham and Patr icia Richards.

Janet R. Demmler on May 27, 2012.

Joseph Fetcko on Nov. 20, 2011. He was a senior advancement of f icer at Allegheny.

J. Warren higgins on June 2, 2012. He was a professor in the Economics Depar tment in the 1950s.

theresa a. Piccoli hogue on Feb. 12, 2012. She was a production worker at Talon for 30 years , re t i r ing in 1987. She was for-merly a member of the Allegheny College Community Choir.

Robena l. lawson on April 6, 2012. She retired from Allegheny College with more than 15 years of service as a cook. She previously had been employed as director of the food program for the former Unity Institute and worked for the former Talon Inc. for seven years unti l the plant closed.

James B. lowing on April 13, 2012. He had worked in the maintenance depar tment at Allegheny College for 18 years.

Dr. kate madden , a fo r me r A l l e gheny College professor, on April 10, 2012. She most recently had taught at Brockport State College in New York.

charlotte Vivian ours on June 19, 2012. She was a former head cook at Allegheny College.

helen c. hilbert Peterson on March 4, 2012. She was the mother of alumni karen l. lingelbach ’69 and kirsten Peterson ’78.

lawrence t. Silvis on May 4, 2012. He had been the director of police safety for eight years at Allegheny College.

James howard St r ick ler on A p r i l 28 , 2012. He jo ined the faculty at A l legheny College in 1989 as an adjunct instructor in the Communication Ar ts Depar tment, later was named lecturer and continued in that position unti l 2009.

Bessie Blye Spencer taylor on April 25, 2012. She retired from Brooks Hall kitchen af ter several years of employment.

Gino a. Zappia on May 9, 2012. He had worked as a security guard for Allegheny College.

F r i e N D S


The laSt WoRdB y P o R t i a h o e G

Gator athletics…Winning in the Classroom and Community

it is often said that athletics is the front porch to an institution. a quality athletics program

provides wonderfully positive visibility to higher education. as a former division iii student-athlete, i discovered my alma mater, trinity university, through its athletics program. i grew as a profes-sional, however, through my strong liberal arts education and life lessons learned as a member of the women’s basketball team. My time as an undergraduate was so impactful that i decided to blend my educational pursuits as a business major and my passion for athletics to pursue a career as an athletics administrator. i am proud to say i now have my dream job as the director of athletics and recreation at allegheny college.

My goal, simply put, is to Win — win in the classroom and community, on the field of play and in life.

in the true spirit of division iii athletics, the “student” in student-athlete comes first and foremost. Fifteen of our 21 varsity sports teams compiled a grade point average of 3.0, and the overall athletic department Gpa was above a 3.0 this past year. in fact, Gator student-athletes earned a higher ag-gregate Gpa than the general student population. three of the last four valedictorians at allegheny have been student-athletes (women’s golfer abby Sorensen ’12, women’s soccer player Monica Schaffer ’10 and men’s basketball player adam Simbeck ’09). three football players were among the 12 inductees into phi Beta kappa, an honor society, in 2012. academic excellence is evident; however, it is my desire to maintain and surpass this standard.

philanthropic activities continue to be a staple among each athletic program as student-athletes volunteer in the Meadville community with Seton catholic School, Bethesda children’s Home, the american cancer Society and many more organiza-tions. Being engaged in the community supports the college’s mission to enhance the student experience. While student-athletes accumulated more than 400 hours of documented community service last fall, it is my expectation that we will continue to be involved in camps, clinics, tutoring, neighborhood cleanups and more.

We are a solid athletic program with unlimited potential to be great. i am driven to champion an athletics program that embodies developing the best and brightest student-athletes. Since the program has been in existence, we have won at least one conference championship in each year we belonged to the presidents’ athletic conference (1959 to 1983), as well as each year we have been affiliated with the north coast athletic conference (1984

to present). that signifies more than 50 years of stel-lar Gator athletic teams represented by a variety of varsity sports!

in addition to these de-partment accolades, there were several noteworthy individual awards. Former Softball coach Sandra Sanford and diving coach Fred evanoff earned coach of the year honors in the north coast athletic conference this past year. two softball players, Stephanie Fort ’13 and caitlin nealer ’15, were honored as conference player of the year and pitcher of the year, respectively; two men’s swimmers, Brandon intrieri ’13 and Mirno pasquali ’12, quali-fied for the ncaa national swim championship, and two basketball players, Heidi Goeller ’13 and James ness ’12, joined the 1,000-point club. With an unmatched work ethic, quality liberal arts education, personalized recruiting strategy, dedicated staff and proactive, innovative techniques, the Gators will rise to exceptional levels of greatness. not only will being “great” become the benchmark by which we measure ourselves, but it also will become the adjec-tive that is synonymous with who we are and what we stand for as a college, on and off the field of play.

lastly, the final component of winning is to excel in life. the overarching goal for our student-athletes is to graduate in four years. they will progress to graduate schools or secure a career. Student-athletes typically have a strong affinity toward their college because of the time, dedication and energy put into competing at a high level. i seek to encourage our student-athletes to give back to the college. Giv-ing back is not necessarily calculated on a financial basis, but as alums donating their time in committee service and participating in alumni events/games. allegheny is truly a place made special by its people. the spirit of our community is unmatched, and that is why alumni favorably recall their time spent at the college.

to be a Gator means greatness, and it is great to be a Gator. as one of the newest members of the Gator family, this phrase speaks to everything i aspire to be while i am the athletic director and where i intend to lead the athletics program. as the college proceeds toward a new and exciting chapter of Gator athletics, we will strive for greatness in all aspects of the department. the attainment of greatness and winning are my focus for the amazing journey our athletes, coaches, staff and alumni will embark upon. i hope you will join us on our road to greatness, conveying excellence, pride and passion in all that you do. =

. . . M o r e C o m m e n c e m e n t 2 0 1 2

MaY 12, 2012 — It was a day for graduates to revel in their successes and for dignitaries to enjoy the hospital-ity and beauty of a visit to the Allegheny campus as the College celebrated its 193rd Commencement. In the photo to the far right, President James H. Mullen, Jr. welcomed professional golfer and humanitarian Arnold Palmer. The golf legend said that “as an old Pennsylvanian it is quite an honor for me to be part of the graduation ceremony at Allegheny … I just wish I were one of the kids graduating. That would be the nicest thing that could happen to me.” President Mullen later told graduates: “I charge you to love this place that has been your home for the last four years. As it approaches its third century, I ask you to help it as it sets the standard of excellence for liberal arts learning in America.”

Allegheny gets A ‘new, green CArr’ — On Oct. 12, 2012, the College will dedicate its newest campus jewel – a renovated and environmentally friendly Carr Hall that includes the Richard J. Cook Center for Environmental Science. Environmental science students and instructors now enjoy their own teaching and research facilities in Carr Hall. The biology and chemistry depart-ments also have new teaching space in the refurbished building.

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Allegheny Magazine-Summer 2012