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ANDERSON UNIVERSITY Alumni Magazine | SPRING 2016 New spaces BIG OPPORTUNITIES ANDERSON UNIVERSITY Alumni Magazine, Spring 2016 1 FROM THE EDITOR Signatures Magazine Anderson University Alumni Magazine editor contributing writers NOTHING STALE ABOUT AU Deborah Lilly BA ’90, MTS ’11 Lindsay (Thompson) Conner BA ’05 (765) 641-4238 Amanda (Steiner) Graham BA ’08 [email protected] Lindsey Hrinowich BA ’19 SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT LIBERAL Ashley Kelly BA ’15 design/layout Maryann (Koopman) Kelly BA ’04 arts colleges today are stale. In other words, we don’t grow with the Larry Stuart BA ’84 John S. Pistole BA ’78 times. We hide behind dusty books and dead languages completely Scott Rees BA ’01, MDiv ’15 editorial assistants Merle Strege BA ’69, MDiv ’72 unaware of the world changing around us. That is simply not true — Rebecca Fuller Beeler BA ’00 especially at Anderson University. Scott Gower contributing photographers Stefanie Leiter BA ’05 Dale Pickett Three new forward-thinking spaces have created enthusiasm on Kerry Shaw project assistants campus. Our engineering program, which has been at capacity since Mike Baker BA ’08, MBA ’15 its inception, is enjoying the donation of new equipment and has Elizabeth Murray expanded in physical space on campus as well. Our growing dance Signatures Online program is celebrating its first-ever dedicated dance studio, the size of www.anderson.edu/signatures which will accommodate future growth. And thanks to a Lilly grant, Address Changes the university has installed its own technology-equipped think tank of Call (765) 641-4100 The official alumni periodical of Anderson University, Signatures magazine, is published sorts on campus for students and members of the local community. three times a year by the Office of Communication and Marketing. The magazine is distributed free of charge to alumni, friends, faculty, and staff. Editorial offices are located In our 98th year as a Christian liberal arts college, we have hosted a in Smith House on the AU campus. The mailing address is Anderson University, ATTN: Signatures magazine, 1100 E. Fifth St., Anderson, IN 46012. Signatures is a registered VEX robotics competition, made headway for two new athletic sports trademark of Anderson University. on campus (see page 10), announced new majors current with the Printed by EP Graphics, Berne, Ind. times (see page 4), and spent a year getting to know our new presi- dent, John S. Pistole. “Stale” does not describe us. As we approach the beginning of our centennial celebration during Homecoming 2016 (Oct. 7-8), we decided to also take a look into 1100 E. 5th St., Anderson, IN 46012-3495 www.anderson.edu the past. Dr. Merle Strege has been gracious enough to share excerpts from his upcoming book, The Desk as Alter, a history of Anderson Rebecca Fuller Beeler BA ’00 Admissions University. In this issue’s excerpt, Dr. Strege takes us back to the assistant vice president of (800) 428-6414 communication and marketing [email protected] 1930s, when dating couples were closely monitored and any student Stefanie Leiter BA ’05 with a vehicle was cause for concern. director of content strategy Alumni and public relations (765) 641-4100 Class notes have returned to the printed copy of the magazine. If you Mike Baker BA ’08, MBA ’15 Career Development designer have news to share with your classmates and former professors, please (765) 641-4196 go online to anderson.edu/alumni/signatures/submit or send your news Scott Gower website editor/seo specialist Development through the postal service to Anderson University, ATTN: Signatures (800) 421-1025 Elizabeth Murray magazine, 1100 E. Fifth St., Anderson, IN 46012. project coordinator Registrar — DEBORAH LILLY, EDITOR Ra’Lynn Kelly MBA ’15 (765) 641-4169 manager of integrated media Anderson University is a four-year liberal arts institution with approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, the university offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, theology, nursing, and music. The Anderson University logo shown above is a registered trademark of Anderson University. 2 VOLUME 96 ISSUE 1 Contents Signatures Magazine | Spring 2016 16 SPACE TO LEARN, CREATE, AND DREAM Pictured to the right and on the cover, engineering students experiment with some of the department’s new equipment. Also enjoying more space is the university’s dance program. The newly installed IDEA-U Lab is a creative place for students of all disciplines. Have you moved to a new AU NEWS ALUMNI JOURNAL address or finally decided to tackle Twitter? We want to know! From the President 4 Joe Benson shares stories, wisdom 21 If you have any changes for your mailing address, email address, twitter handle, MLK celebration 5 Beth Tharp and success of her 22 Instagram name, or phone number, Harp Camp part of summer program 6 MBA project please fill out the form on the back of this Sweet to address graduates 6 Dave Shore connecting through 23 issue and send it to the Anderson Univer- broadcasting sity Office of Alumni, 1100 E. Fifth St., Pistole installed at inauguration 7 Anderson, IN 46012. You can also send Ben Risinger succeeds through 24 Passing of Gertrude Wunsch 8 us your updated information by email to social media [email protected]. Liverett presents portrait 8 Rachel Mehaffie enjoying 25 New Raven coaches 9 New York City Athletic teams expand 10 Travis Taflinger and Casey Cline 26 reach out to Kokomo youth Faculty Q&A: Lisa Pay 11 Chris and Marah Steele 27 promoting agriculture REMEMBERING Class Notes 28 OUR HISTORY Obituaries 28 AU’s Depression-era rules of conduct 12 Homecoming 2015 31 FIND US ONLINE ANDERSON UNIVERSITY Alumni Magazine, Spring 2016 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT Changes ahead but mission the same This is my first opportunity to share with you inSignatures feedback and my own assessment these last several months, I Magazine as the fifth President of Anderson University, and believe we are in a time of transition, and I want share changes I what an honor it is. In early October, I was privileged to have already undertaken. participate in my first college inauguration, and it was nothing On Dec. 1, we consolidated all of our communication and short of inspiring. I was so proud of all the women and men of marketing efforts into one office under Rebecca Fuller Beeler AU who worked tirelessly to produce an outstanding program. BA ’00, associate vice president. This will help us communicate Many of you heard the same compliments I heard about the consistently about who we are and what we stand for as a professionalism and quality of the speakers and the overall university. I also announced a voluntary retirement initiative program. Most importantly, I heard comments about the strong to offer an incentive to approximately 41 eligible Staff and sense of God’s presence there among us. So many, many thanks 30 Faculty members as we deal with the reality of lower than to everyone who planned and carried out the inauguration and anticipated student enrollment for several years now. Lastly, to all those who attended. We were blessed. we will offer new majors in the fall in national security studies, You may know I began my tenure last March and promptly information security (cyber security), and sport marketing. Over followed the lead of the university’s board of trustees by going the next two years, we will be adding two new NCAA Division on a listening tour. I heard from students, faculty, staff, pastors, III sports (see page 6). alumni, donors, and city and state leaders as well as others in These initiatives are all designed to best position higher education. I asked each of them one simple question: Anderson University as we prepare to enter our second What you think about AU? I received a lot of informative century of service. Our centennial celebration theme will feedback and have incorporated that into my framework for be “Lighting the Path,” the dream the university’s founders moving forward. expressed for young members of the Church of God in 1917 Most people view AU very positively and want to see us and a commitment we continue to make to students from succeed. A number of folks raised concerns about the direction around the world who join our campus each fall. I look of the school, with some opining we’ve become too liberal forward to working with each of you to accomplish these and others saying we’re too conservative. Based on the overall goals. Go Ravens! —JOHN S. PISTOLE 4 MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATION 2016 Anderson University suspended classes on Monday, Jan. 18, so students, faculty, and staff could celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The events began in Miller Chapel with Dr. James Morehead, professor in the Department of Communication and Design Arts, leading a re-enactment of a 1960s Civil Rights Rally. Afterwards, the crowd loaded into buses and sang songs from the Movement as they headed to the citywide celebration in downtown Anderson. Carrying signs, the AU group marched back to Reardon Auditorium over the Eighth Street Bridge. The balance of the afternoon included service projects around the city. The day concluded with a viewing of the movie Selma on campus. (Photos by Dale Pickett) ANDERSON UNIVERSITY Alumni Magazine, Spring 2016 5 AU NEWS AU OFFERS CAMP FOR HARPISTS Every summer the The harp students also watched the documentary Harp Anderson University Dream about the USA International Harp Competition in School of Music, Bloomington, Ind. Through the film, campers learned how Theatre, and Dance harpists prepare for such a prestigious competition, how they welcomes musicians travel with the harp, and how the musicians are judged.