THE MAGAZINE OF OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Fall 2016 Page 12 4 Write Like 20 Paradise 24 Muses 30 LAX HOF the Bard Preserved and Mentors Alumni enjoy a sunny evening at the Alumni Weekend Blues & Barbecue on the Stuyvesant Patio, May 13. Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12 See more images on Instagram @OhioWesleyan. 12 20 24 Features 12 Boom! When a tsunami called the baby boom generation began hitting Ohio Wesleyan in 1964, our University would never be the same. 20 Preserving a Paradise Lush forests, gorgeous blue sky, crystal-clear ocean, tropical birds—Amy Work ’04 is teaming up with OWU geography faculty and students to preserve Costa Rica’s rich environment. 24 A Launching Pad for Writers Prize-winning authors Amy Butcher, David Caplan, and Robert Olmstead lead Ohio Wesleyan’s creative writing program, carrying on a rich OWU tradition in the literary arts. Departments 02 LEADER’S LETTER 10 COMFORT ZONES 36 CALENDAR 04 FROM THE JAYWALK 30 BISHOP BATTLES 37 CLASSNOTES 07 OWU TIMESCAPES 31 ALUMNI PROFILES 48 THE FINAL WORD 08 GIFTS AND GRATITUDE 34 ALUMNI HAPPENINGS ON THE COVER: From 1964 to 1969, changes nationally and on OWU campus defined the emergence of the baby boom generation. Cover collage by Bill Walker. 2 | OWU Leader’s Letter TIMES OF TRANSFORMATION IN ’60S AND TODAY New questions challenged campuses n May of 1968 the Commission to Study topics of: in the campus culture between the Student Life Outside of the Classroom Barn parties (They will grow legally, if time of their matriculation and the Ipresented its report for consideration by permitted, illegally if not allowed.) time of their graduation. The lengthy the Ohio Wesleyan University Faculty, Deferred rush (Early rush splits the and comprehensive report of the Administration, and Board of Trustees. new student’s interest and attention Commission to Study Life Outside of the The commission, chaired by Professor between orientation to academic pursuit Classroom serves as a reminder that Libuse L. Reed, was appointed 12 months and Greek rushing.) this transformation did not happen in a earlier by President Elden Smith. For Campus dining (Recommend that dining vacuum, nor did it happen without deep a year, the commission worked in nine in the new hall be coed.) and careful reflection. While in places committees to explore every aspect of Attractive university housing and co-curricular life. furnishings (The current furniture situation has been “I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE described as ACADEMY’S COMMITMENT Early Ugly.) Visitation policy TO CIVIL DISCOURSE IN (Despite the motives WHICH THOSE WHO occasionally imputed to it by the adult DISAGREE VEHEMENTLY world, the pressure AGREE TO LISTEN TO ONE for men and women visiting in each ANOTHER.” other’s rooms is the language seems quaint to our 21st- probably rooted in century minds, the report addressed a simple plea for questions largely unasked prior to that privacy. How many time. engagements are Since the founding of the first made or broken in European institutions of higher learning the public privacy of nearly a millennium ago, the university a dormitory lounge?) campus has been a focal point for Discriminatory examination of and at times confrontation housing with the most pressing issues of the (Recommend that all time. Half a century ago those issues Rock Jones chats with Eilish Donnell '16 and Bhuneshwar Arjune '16. entering students be included a growing awareness of the I recently reviewed the full contents required to agree in writing to accept insidious impact of racial discrimination, of this report. It is a remarkable archive the initial assignment of roommate gender inequity, economic disparity, of this institution’s experience of the without regard for race or creed.) and international warfare. A generation dramatic and rapid changes that occurred Health and safety (Recommend hiring a was maturing in a time when technology, on college campuses across the country full-time clinical psychologist to provide mass communication, advances in health half a century ago. Perhaps the most professional counseling.) care, and an emerging popular culture lasting legacy of the commission was Alcoholic beverages (The committee is coincided with calls for freedom of the recommendation that the Board deeply sensitive to the fact that no more expression and self-determination, new of Trustees delegate responsibility for emotionally charged issue is before the tastes in music, and an entirely new sense student life policy away from a faculty University community than the issue of of fashion. committee on student life and to a newly liquor use by students.) Some saw this as a threat to the formed Council on Student Affairs (now And more. fundamental values that shape our WCSA) with a majority of its membership I often hear alumni who were society. Others saw it as the coming of coming from the student body. students in the late ’60s talk about the age of a people that sought to claim for The 1967-68 commission explored the dramatic transformation that occurred every member of society, not just those Leader’s Letter THE MAGAZINE OF OHIO TIMES OF TRANSFORMATION IN ’60S AND TODAY WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY New questions challenged campuses privileged by race, gender, or economic The discomfort of that moment is the station, the inalienable rights of life, price of a free and open conversation. But FALL 2016 | Volume 93 Issue N0. 2 liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. it is precisely that conversation that in the There is a sense in which history is end creates the opportunity for a more repeating itself half a century later. humane world, provided others respond www.owu.edu/alumni-and-friends/ Ohio Wesleyan Alumni Online Community Campuses across the country are appropriately. being challenged to think deeply and In this issue of OWU Magazine, we Vice President for University Advancement critically about the experiences of reflect on that time of extraordinary Colleen Garland those who in one way or another may change half a century ago. Whether you Editor and Chief Communications Officer be marginalized in our society. Some have the years that give you firsthand Will Kopp are concerned that universities are memory of that time or you are sufficiently Director of Alumni Relations losing their sense of true purpose. And young to know this only as a chapter of Katie Webster in some cases, demands of students history, I encourage you to reflect on the may cross that line. But on the whole, idealism that captured that generation Managing Editor Lisa Lopez Snyder the issues attracting media attention and that led to such dramatic change. on campuses today (the experience And I encourage you to consider the Class Notes Editor of people of color, sexual assault, the ways in which today’s students reflect a Amanda Zechiel-Keiber ’09 [email protected] LGBTQ community, student debt and the similar idealism as they seek to make the loss of opportunity as a result of college world a better place. Designer cost, the exaggerated influence of big- I welcome your thoughts in response. Walker Design & Marketing time athletics in Division I, to name just Contributing Writers a few) are reflections of tensions that Mark Beckenbach, Jeff Bell, Kathy Lynn Gray, exist throughout our society and that cry Abby Hanson ’16, Cole Hatcher, Megan Pinto ‘14, Julia Stone ’16 out for careful examination and critical thought. Contributing Photographers Sarah Blake, Lisa Di Giacomo, Spenser Hickey ’15, I, for one, am grateful for the historic Rock Jones President, Ohio Wesleyan University Mark Schmitter ’12, Paul Vernon commitment of the American academy Twitter: @owu_rockjones to foster an environment where the free Editorial Board Colleen Garland, Emily Gattozzi, Will Kopp, and open exchange of ideas, even those Mike Plantholt, Nancy Rutkowski, Katie Webster we may find most offensive, is protected as a virtue not to be compromised. I am Office of University Communications (740) 368-3335 grateful for the academy’s commitment to civil discourse in which those who Alumni Relations Office disagree vehemently agree to listen to (740) 368-3325 [email protected] one another and where questions can be asked about our social structure and our Website: www.owu.edu commitment to equity and justice. OWU Magazine: http://magazine.owu.edu The Ohio Wesleyan Magazine At times, these commitments lead ISSN 0030-1221 me to a position of great discomfort. Sometimes the discomfort results from a challenge to my own position and the recognition that the challenge has a point worthy of my consideration and Printed on recycled paper perhaps even worthy of the changing of my mind. Sometimes the discomfort comes because I know the position being CORRECTIONS: In the Leader’s Letter, Spring 2016, the name of Arthur Sherwood Flemming, Class of advocated has no merit and perhaps no Elden T. Smith ’32, 11th President of 1927, was misspelled. We regret the error. basis in historical fact. Ohio Wesleyan 4 | OWU Letters From the JAYwalk Round Robin Telling Our Stories In looking over Class Notes in the The current issue of the magazine Step 1: Get a quill pen most recent OWU Magazine, it was riveting to read, right to the occurred to me that a “Round Robin” last page. The magazine does a Step 2: Be a genius letter that began in 1951 might be most effective job of telling our To commemorate the 400th anniversary of of interest. The Pi Beta Phi grads of stories through excellent writing Shakespeare’s death, Ohio Wesleyan Associate the great Mid-Century Class started and colorful photography. Kudos Professor of English and Department Chair Zack this personal epistle, and it has to Larry Hamill for ‘Elliot Hall at Long designed a course with the goal of having continued to this day.