Col. Deborah (Marquart) Liddick '88 Leads Air Force
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WINTER 2014 Commanding Presence Col. Deborah (Marquart) Liddick ’88 Leads Air Force Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas INSIDE: 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEACON president’s letter VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 1 WINTER 2014 WILKES MAGAZINE Wilkes Matters University President Dr. Patrick F. Leahy ince becoming president of Wilkes, I have emphasized time and Vice President for Advancement Michael Wood again the integral role this institution has played in northeast Executive Editor Pennsylvania. Wilkes has always answered a need. In the midst of the Jack Chielli M.A.’08 Great Depression, Wilkes was founded as Bucknell University Junior Managing Editor College to educate the men and women of this community, many Kim Bower-Spence of whom were first-generation college students. In the University’s earliest days, Editor S Vicki Mayk MFA’13 these men and women were the sons and daughters of immigrant coal miners. Creative Services Wilkes continues to educate the men and women of this community, the sons Lisa Reynolds and daughters, fathers and mothers, of a variety of this region’s constituents. Web Services Craig Thomas MBA’11 Wilkes also has always supported its surrounding community. Many of its Electronic Communications degree programs have helped to bolster the local economy by drawing industry Joshua Bonner to the region. Wilkes instituted a degree in electrical engineering in the 1960s Graduate Assistant which helped to bring RCA, now Fairchild Semiconductor, to the area. Later, Bill Schneider, M.A.’13 Francisco Tutella in 1996, Wilkes launched our School of Pharmacy, drawing companies like CVS Intern Caremark to the region. These are just two examples of the many I could cite to Christine Lee demonstrate this school’s commitment to and belief in the region. Layout/Design These examples tell us one indisputable fact: Wilkes matters. Wilkes matters to its Quest Fore Inc. students, both current and past. Wilkes matters to its community and to this region. Printing Pemcor Inc. It is time to celebrate the unique role of our University. This June, we will commemorate Wilkes’ distinctive history while also beginning a new endeavor for EDITORIAL ADVISORY GROUP Anne Batory ’68 the future of our University. On June 7, 2014, the inaugural Founders Gala will Brandie Meng M’08 take place. This event will celebrate our proud history while also raising money for Bill Miller ’81 George Pawlush ’69 M.S.’76 the First Generation Fund, a new initiative established to support our continued Donna Sedor ’85 mission of educating first-generation college students. About half of our incoming ALUMNI RELATIONS STAFF freshmen still identify themselves as the first generation of their family to attend a Interim Director four-year institution of higher learning. The First Bridget Giunta Husted ’05 Generation Fund will support Wilkes’ ongoing Coordinator tradition of educating these young people from Mary Balavage Simmons ’10 this community and beyond. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS As part of the Founder’s Gala, I will award President Tom Ralston ’80 the President’s Medal to honor an individual Vice President who has helped enhance the student experience Cindy Charnetski ’97 here as well as advance the University’s mission. Secretary The inaugural award will honor Joseph Savitz Ellen Hall ’71 Historian ’48, a member of the first official class to Laura Cardinale ’72 From the time of his installation in 2012, graduate from Wilkes College. Joe has been a Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy has trustee of the University for more than 25 years, emphasized the unique role that Wilkes plays in northeast Pennsylvania. chaired the board PHOTO BY EARL AND SEDOR PHOTOGRAPHIC from 1975-1978, Wilkes magazine is published three times a year by the Wilkes University Office and earned the title of trustee emeritus. Joe Savitz of Marketing Communications and Government Relations, 84 W. South St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766, [email protected], (570) 408-4779. Please send epitomizes the mission of Wilkes: a successful individual change of address to the above address. who has made giving back to the University and the Wilkes University is an independent institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence in the liberal arts, sciences and professional surrounding community a priority. programs. The university provides its students with the experience and education necessary for career and intellectual development as well as for personal growth, I invite alumni and friends of the University to engenders a sense of values and civic responsibility, and encourages its students to welcome the opportunities and challenges of a diverse and continually changing join us as we honor Joe and celebrate our extraor- world. The university enhances the tradition of strong student-faculty interactions Dr. Patrick F. Leahy in all its programs, attracts and retains outstanding people in every segment of the dinary University—its history and its future. university, and fosters a spirit of cooperation, community involvement, and individual Wilkes University President respect within the entire university. WINTER 2014 12 6 18 16 contents FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 6 Commanding Presence 2 On Campus Col. Deborah (Marquart) Liddick ’88 uses lessons learned at Wilkes as commander of 5 Athletics Air Force Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. 20 Alumni News Col. Deborah (Marquart) 12 Editorial Octogenarian 22 Class Notes Liddick ’88 reviews the Wilkes’ student newspaper has chronicled troops completing Air Force basic military training at campus developments, student life and world Lackland Air Force Base. PHOTO COURTESY U.S. AIR FORCE events for 80 years. Have a story idea to share? Contact us at [email protected] 16 Illuminating Engineer or Wilkes magazine, 84 W. South St., Caleb McKenzie ’70 is a leader in the field Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18766. of architectural lighting design with work gracing buildings worldwide. Wilkes magazine is available online at www.wilkes.edu/wilkesmagazineonline 18 Sportacular Winter 2014 | The inductees to Wilkes Athletic Hall of Fame set records on Wilkes sports teams spanning five decades. WILKES 1 on campus Phage Hunting is Focus for States. Member schools all focus on teaching students biological techniques via hands-on research. At Wilkes, it’s being done in Wilkes First-Year Students this class for freshmen in their first semester. It’s Tuesday afternoon in the Cohen Science Center and “The class works the same way that science works,” Laing students in Christian Laing’s first-year foundations class are explains. That means each student engages in the scientific discussing new viruses named Pebbles, SVS7 and Two Ks. The process that begins with collecting soil samples, putting the soil strangely named viruses are actually groundbreaking discoveries through an enrichment process and then plating the samples on made by members of the class. Fifteen freshmen—including petri dishes. The students then track the growth of the viruses. pre-pharmacy students, undecided majors and others—are Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. engaged in scientific research that has led to the discovery The students concentrated on a unique group of viruses that of previously undiscovered viruses known as bacteriophages. fall under Pidcock’s area of expertise as a microbiologist: viruses Students have the privilege of naming their discoveries. associated with the bacteria streptomyces. The viruses associated The phage hunting class was developed by Laing, assistant with this bacteria have the potential to be used as an alternative professor of mathematics, biology and computer science, and treatment against some bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Kenneth Pidcock, associate professor of biology, through their This focus makes the group unique among Science Education participation in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Alliance schools. The alliance schools have isolated about 4,000 Education Alliance. The two Wilkes faculty members received new viruses in this research. a membership grant from HHMI to participate in the alliance, Laing uses a step-by-step process to introduce the class to the which comprises 26 colleges and universities across the United aseptic techniques needed for scientific research. The multi-step approach to isolate the viruses is a lesson in the painstaking work that scientists must use. “They need to isolate and purify the samples, and they need to do it at least three times to be sure they have a pure phage, a pure virus,” Laing says. “They’re getting to know the science behind the big picture.” The long process ends when the DNA of the virus is sent to a genomics center that sequences the genomic DNA—the final confirmation that the virus is a newly discovered phage. Sergey Svintozelskiy, a freshmen biology major from Wilkes-Barre, says the research focus separates it from traditional laboratory classes he’ll be taking. “This is more the way it really works in science. Here, everyone is working at their own pace,” he says. Freshman Emily Gicewicz, a pre-pharmacy major from Albany, N.Y., says, “I really like the fact that we are doing techniques that most people won’t be doing until they’re upperclassmen. And I like that it’s really cutting-edge research. You won’t get to do that in many other classes.” Students in the class are continuing their work in the spring 2014 semester. “They’re getting to know the science behind the big picture.” Winter 2014 | Freshman Sierra Smith of Lewistown, Pa., samples her newly discovered bacterial virus, which she named Pebbles. PHOTO BY VICKI MAYK WILKES 2 on campus ON THE MENU The location of the dining hall may have changed from the Dining Commons to the Henry Student Center, but food remains central to the college experience for Wilkes Wilkes Senior Dominick Costantino Receives students. Vegetarian and other healthy dining options have been added to the menu over the National Public Relations Scholarship years, but traditional fare like pizza, burgers Dominick Costantino, a senior communication studies major, received the 2013 Betsy and pasta remains among the most popular.