OWUOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY | SPRING 2020 MAGAZINE Cheers! It’s a spirited life in the wine & beer business IN THIS ISSUE TOP 10 OF THE ’10S MOCK CONVENTION HALL OF FAME COACH The first warm spring days always bring some classes out into the sunshine on the historic campus. Though the campus will be empty in the spring of 2020, we know this scene will be repeated in years to come. (Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12) 14 16 features 21 14 The Best of the Bishop Decade It was a decade of achievement at OWU. What were the top 10 highlights from the departments past 10 years? 2 LEADER’S LETTER 16 Cheers! OWU alumni in this unique and tough 4 FROM THE JAYWALK industry know the joys and challenges of 7 GREEK LIFE running a brewery, creating a tasty wine, and 8 BISHOP BATTLES delivering booze. 9 CLASS ACTS 21 How to choose a good beer 10 COMFORT ZONES or bottle of wine 12 ALUMNI PROFILE Do you like grapefruit? Your answer may 13 TIMESCAPES help you select your next bottle of wine. 24 ALUMNI HAPPENINGS 26 GIFTS AND GRATITUDE On the cover: Amy Prosenjak ’94, 27 CALENDAR CEO of A to Z Wineworks in 28 FACULTY NOTES Newberg, Oregon 30 CLASS NOTES 48 FINAL WORD Cover photo by John Valls SPRING 2020 | 1 leader’sletter Liberal arts degree is today’s best career preparation he Ohio Wesleyan Board bottom quintile of of Trustees held a retreat family income to in February to consider the the top quintile. challenges and opportunities facing Our institutions OWU over the next decade. The Board are the ladder of heard reports on the characteristics opportunity. of Generation Z, the very different The Board generation of students entering acknowledged that college now. The Board reviewed the we live in a time impact of changing demographics on of unprecedented American higher education, including disruption and the fact that the number of students change in higher entering college in this country has education. Such declined each year for the past six a time requires years, and they considered the impact our university to of technology on higher education in examine every the future. aspect of the Photo by Paul Morton Schapiro, president of Vernon ways in which we As an Arkansas delegate, Rock Jones addresses the 2020 Mock Northwestern University and an organize to educate Convention in February. The convention was a showcase for liberal arts economist who has devoted 40 years students. At the same learning, as students debated issues of science, economics, the arts, education, and, of course, politics. to the study of the economics of time, the Board was higher education, was the keynote clear at the conclusion that has changed dramatically over the speaker. Morton shared data from his of the retreat that our future rests in past 25 years. Together, they exude research showing that a liberal arts continued excellence in liberal arts the values and benefits of liberal arts education is the best preparation education. education. for students who will move across I marvel at the stories I hear from Ohio Wesleyan will continue to multiple occupations over the course our alumni about how their liberal arts adapt to serve the changing needs of of their lifetime. He noted that the education has propelled them into lives our students, including ensuring our of meaning and impact, enrichment and curriculum prepares students for lives fulfillment. of meaningful and productive work and “Our institutions In this issue of OWU Magazine, you providing increasing support through will read about alumni who followed our Career Connection program. are the ladder of their passions to the wine and beer We will do this while preserving our industry. Some are entrepreneurs who abiding commitment to the values and opportunity.” started their own companies, created benefits of an education grounded in their own brews, and developed their the liberal arts. skills needed for the 21st-century own distribution networks. Others are As you read this issue, I encourage workforce include quantitative skills, senior executives in larger organizations. you to consider the ways in which your deep aesthetic appreciation, respect for Their undergraduate majors include life has been enriched by your liberal diversity and inclusion, empathy, tools accounting, chemistry, philosophy, arts education, and in your own way for lifelong learning, and the humility politics and government, and to raise a glass to your alma mater and to acknowledge how little one knows psychology. They studied broadly across to the enduring values that give and how much one must learn. These the disciplines, and they studied deeply OWU a memorable history and a skills are deeply embedded in liberal in their chosen major. They developed bright future. education. the tools of creativity, inquiry, analysis, Morton further noted that studies of entrepreneurship, teamwork, and economic mobility show that selective resilience required for success in a liberal arts colleges have the best record rapidly changing world. Rock Jones in all of higher education for providing With those tools, they have taken President, Ohio Wesleyan University pathways for students to climb from the their place in leadership in an industry Twitter: @owu_rockjones 2 | OWU Adapting and pivoting covid-19: as the world shifts OWUOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY The deadline for this issue of OWU Magazine hit just as the COVID-19 MAGAZINE pandemic was closing schools and businesses and transforming all of SPRING 2020 | Volume 97 Issue No. 1 our lives. The coronavirus has flipped our world upside down, and spring semester at OWU is equally upturned. At the time of this writing (mid- Vice President for University Advancement Natalie M. Doan, J.D. ’03 March), we have ended in-person classes for the semester, and faculty are working together—at a safe social distance—to rework classes and teach Director of Alumni Relations remotely to students scattered across the country and around the world. Katie Webster The crisis is rapidly changing from day to day. We have postponed Commencement with the goal of rescheduling it to celebrate our seniors Editor and Chief Communications Officer Will Kopp sometime this summer. [email protected] This situation is most distressing to our seniors, who are missing their final spring semester on campus with their friends. In his Class Notes Editor message to seniors committing to rescheduling rather than canceling Reilly Wright ’20 Commencement, President Rock Jones wrote: “As much as you want to Copy Editor be here to complete your senior year, we want you here, too. We have Susan Kopp watched you grow and mature so much over the past four years as your Ohio Wesleyan classes and experiences have opened your eyes to the Editorial Assistant world and helped you to define your role in it. How could we not gather Christina Semeraro ’20 to celebrate something so significant?” Designer We have also had to cancel Reunion Weekend, and we plan to invite Jennifer Brinckerhoff 2020 reunion classes to a grand celebration with 2021 reunion classes next spring. Contributing Writers At this time of crisis and Cole Hatcher, Ericka Kurtz uncertainty, we are inspired by “This situation is Editorial Advisory Board the creativity and resilience of Natalie Doan, Erin Fletcher, Shala Hankison ’95, OWU students, employees, and Ericka Kurtz, Stefanie Niles, Mike Plantholt, alumni. In that truly liberal arts most distressing Eugene Rutigliano, Nancy Bihl Rutkowski, Katie spirit, Chris Sayer ’99, featured Webster, Doug Zipp in our cover story as the founder to our seniors, Printed by Lane Press, South Burlington, Vt. and owner of Connecticut’s who are missing Brewery Legitimus, told us on St. Office of University Communications Patrick’s Day: “We are in good 740-368-3335 shape here for the moment. Still their final spring [email protected] able to sell curbside, and luckily Alumni Relations Office we have the education and semester.” 740-368-3325 life-skill set to hold out better [email protected] than others. (On our staff are) two MBAs, a JD, and two years in the Peace Corps. We can pivot and adapt to a situation quicker than most!” OWU Website: www.owu.edu On behalf of President Rock Jones and all of those who have been OWU Magazine: owu.edu/magazine separated from the OWU campus in this time of remote work, teaching, The Ohio Wesleyan Magazine and learning, the OWU Magazine staff wishes you health, happiness, and ISSN 0030-1221 the spirit to adapt, pivot, and persevere as we continue to navigate this most challenging time. Share your opinions! Send us a letter: OWU Magazine Letters may be Email us at: [email protected] Office of Communications edited for length tweet @OhioWesleyan 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware, OH 43015 and clarity. SPRING 2020 | 3 jaywalkfrom the Having a ball During President’s Ball, an annual dance hosted by OWU’s President’s Club, students celebrate the end of fall semester with music and dancing. President’s Ball was established in 1985 and has provided students with a memorable night ever since. Pictured from left, first-year students Julia Molino, Elle Dickey, and Olivia Guenzel dance the night away at their first Pres Ball. Photo by Paul Vernon Hayes connects OWU and Paraguay Embassy of Paraguay Ambassador Manuel Cáceres (left) and University President Rock Jones sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Jan. 10 creating a new Rutherford B. Hayes Scholarship Program to support Paraguay’s best and brightest high school students. Hayes, a Delaware native, is considered a hero in Paraguay. The program will provide one student from Paraguay with a full-tuition scholarship of about $47,000, and up to five others with scholarships of $40,000 based on their academic record.