How Does a Community Grow?

Ohio Wesleyan Magazine OWU VOLUME 86 ISSUE NO.4 r WINTER 2009 r How Does a Community Grow? Our OWU Community New Life for a Landmark An Afternoon with Byron Pitts ’82 VOLUME 86 ISSUE NO.4 r WINTER 2009 Find YOUR Passion OWU Ohio Wesleyan Magazine www.owualumni.com Ohio Wesleyan Alumni Online Community FEATURES // Editor Pamela Besel Assistant Editor 9 MY OWU COMMUNITY Ericka Kurtz Building a “Circle of Care” via Ohio Wesleyan’s residential living Class Notes Editor experiences. Andrea Misko Strle ’99 [email protected] Designer Sara Stuntz 16 A COMMUNITY OF CHARACTER Contributing Photographers How three students found and have thrived at OWU. Meet Farooq, Betsy, Amy Allan and Hung. Jeff Bates Doug Martin Paul Molitor John Holliger 21 WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND Marketing and Communication Office (740) 368-3335 Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. Staying connected at Ohio Wesleyan. Director of Alumni Relations Brenda DeWitt Alumni Relations Office Phone: (740) 368-3325 22 THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN Fax: (740) 368-3328 Email: [email protected] As Director of Human Resources, Troy Washington helps employees feel a sense of community at OWU. It’s all about customer service, and as he Web site: www.owu.edu says, “going the extra mile to support each and every employee.” OWU Magazine: http://magazine.owu.edu The Ohio Wesleyan Magazine (ISSN 0030-1221) is published in Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring by Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio. 23 UNITY THROUGH COMMUNITY Periodicals postage paid at Delaware, Ohio and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send A look at a few of OWU’s many student activities and groups. address changes to The Magazine, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio 43015. General University telephone number: (740) 368-2000. Printed on recycled paper EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Pam Besel, Marketing and Communication Mark Cooper, Marketing and Communication Karen Crosman, University Relations Carol DelPropost, Admission & Financial Aid Brenda DeWitt, Alumni Relations Roger Ingles, Athletics Ericka Kurtz, Marketing and Communication Ed Lenane, Alumni Relations Ida Mostofi, Marketing and Communication Charlie Powell, University Relations William Preble, Enrollment and Strategic Communication Melinda Rhodes, Journalism Department David Robbins, Provost Hon. ’08 Sara Stuntz, Marketing and Communication DEPARTMENTS // 4 // FROM THE JAYWALK Sagan Fellows Spring Courses Set Linda Earle Heads New York Arts Program Byron Pitts ’82 Visits OWU Meet Dean of Students Kimberlie Goldsberry New Life for a Landmark: Stuyvesant Hall 26 // GIFTS AND GRATITUDE Greetings from Kathy Butler ’74 Chatting with Charlie Powell 30 // IN WRITING A Commentary on Virgil, Aeneid XI, published by Professor Lee Fratantuono 31 // BISHOP BATTLES Letter from Roger Ingles Staying on Track with Sean Patrick ’11 34 // ALUMNI HAPPENINGS HOMECOMING & Campus Events Vote for Alumni Trustees Calendar Off Campus Events Family Weekend Alumni Glee Clubbers Reunite Class Notes Picture-perfect weather and laughter everywhere. 2009 Visit our photo gallery and share the magic at links.owu.edu/homecomingphotos r OWU WINTER 2009 1 Leader’s Letter >> What makes a community strong? ONE OF THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES These include volunteer work with local OF A RESIDENTIAL LIBERAL ARTS non-profit organizations, internships, UNIVERSITY IS THE STRONG SENSE off-campus research, and study travel. OF COMMUNITY THAT CAN FORM ON There is, however, something special THE CAMPUS. In a rather extraordinary about the feeling of the campus itself way that may be unmatched anywhere and the community that is fostered here. else in American society, small residential colleges bring together young In my 18 months as president, I have adults from every family background experienced that community in large and from all corners of the globe. and small ways. Earlier this fall, on We house them in residence halls in the Friday afternoon of Homecoming, proximity to one another. They share the entire campus gathered in Gray meals together. They enroll in classes Chapel to hear Susan Eisenhower and devote large amounts of time to discuss issues related to energy in the life of the mind. But they also find the 21st century. In the question and time to pursue and develop all sorts answer session that followed, questions of interests beyond the classroom. were posed by students, by faculty, President Rock Jones Along the way, they become part of the by alumni, by parents, and by other community of scholars we know as the guests. The lecture was followed by an OWU community. And by the time they all-campus dinner. Some alumni spoke graduate, most students can describe for fondly of their memories of the entire you what they perceive to be the unique campus coming together in Gray Chapel attributes of this particular community. three times a week for the common It is extraordinary to think about the experience of lectures, concerts, and ways in which diverse individuals from other presentations. I doubt we will different backgrounds with wide-ranging ever return to the practice of required interests come together to form this attendance at events in Gray Chapel community of scholars. three times a week, but the Homecoming gathering provided a model for the In some ways, this is all a bit unreal. We power of a shared experience, including sometimes hear people talk about the vibrant intellectual exchange and OWU bubble, implying that the campus dynamic social interaction, in the sits enclosed in a bubble, isolated from context of this community. the real world. We work to offset that by creating real-world opportunities as Communities of smaller sorts are formed part of the OWU student experience. in hundreds of places on this campus. r 2 OWU WINTER 2009 >> Leader’s Letter What makes a community strong? Recently Melissa and I have had dinner facilities and development of programs in several of the Small Living Units (SLUs) that foster community and enhance on the perimeter of campus. Each of these personal development. SLUs organizes its life around a theme of common interest to the students who live In this issue of the Magazine, we share with there. Students apply and are selected you stories of community at OWU. These by their peers based on their interest in stories reflect the narrative that shapes the theme of the house. We have been and defines Ohio Wesleyan today. We hope impressed by the intellectual vitality, they bring forth memories of the OWU the social commitment, and the strong you experienced in past decades, even as sense of community that these students they help shape the experience of future experience. The same thing happens in generations of OWU students. I welcome fraternities and sororities, in academic your reflections on the community you societies, in athletic teams, and in the experienced in your years on this campus dozens of student organizations that exist and your aspirations for the community on the campus. we create for our students today. And I ask for your support as we work together to We know prospective students take stock sustain the legacy of OWU and to preserve of the campus climate when they visit the values of this dynamic community of and when they make their decisions scholars. about where to enroll in college. We also know the feeling of that environment shapes much of the experience students have here. Their academic success, their intellectual development, their social maturation, and their overall satisfaction with their college experience grow in Rock Jones large part from their comfort with the President of Ohio Wesleyan University community that is reflected on the campus. So we pay a lot of attention to the intellectual and social climate of the campus and to the numerous ways in which community develops. Our strategic plan includes specific initiatives relating to our campus community, including thorough renovation of our residential r OWU WINTER 2009 3 From the JAYwalk >> Blending Theory-Practice and Travel OWU’s Sagan Fellows Courses Economics professor Bob Gitter will performing in their own contemporary take several Ohio Wesleyan students “The courses offered by Sagan Fellows political and social material. enrolled in his “Mexican Migration this spring provide excellent examples of • Robert Harmon (Physics and Experience” Sagan Fellows course the ways in which OWU faculty challenge Astronomy), “International Competition to Mexico during spring break, to and Cooperation in the Exploration of stay with families there and gain an students to connect theory and practice,” Space,” will trace the development of understanding of their lives. Gitter’s is says OWU President Rock Jones. Each space exploration by all participating one of six OWU spring courses that is of these courses includes rigorous nations while focusing on exploring part of the carefully designed Sagan possibilities that the future holds for academic work that will be enriched by Fellows courses approved recently our global society. Considering that by the University’s Academic Policy practical experiences. The majority of the a manned mission to Mars may well Committee. courses includes substantial international occur in the coming decades, this sort Following the fall semester’s full exposure with three of the six courses of international venture will promote palette of speakers who engaged international harmony and global students and the rest of the Ohio including travel outside the country and understanding. Students will study in Wesleyan community to think about another course including significant Japan. the Sagan National Colloquium theme, interaction with international communities • Chris Wolverton (Botany- “Renewing America for a Global in Columbus. It is my hope that we will Microbiology), “Biofuels” will focus Century: From Theory to Practice at on biofuel development from the Ohio Wesleyan University,” the spring increase the number of Sagan Fellows next molecular and cell biological levels to courses have been created as interactive year, building on the important pioneering discussions about the manufacturing learning opportunities to put theoretical work of this year’s Fellows.

Load more