Western Washington University Western CEDAR Window on Western Western Publications Fall 1998 Window on Western, 1998, Volume 05, Issue 01 Kathy Sheehan Western Washington University Alumni, Foundation, and Public Information Offices,es W tern Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/window_on_western Part of the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Sheehan, Kathy and Alumni, Foundation, and Public Information Offices, Western Washington University, "Window on Western, 1998, Volume 05, Issue 01" (1998). Window on Western. 10. https://cedar.wwu.edu/window_on_western/10 This Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Western Publications at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Window on Western by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Fall 1998 WINDOWNews for Alumni and Friends of Western WashingtonON University WESTERNVOL 5, NO. 1 ' r.% am 9HI <•* iii m t 4 ; Professor Richard Emmerson, Olscamp award winner Kathy Sheehan photo A youthful curiosity leads to excellence rofessor Richard Emmerson's parents Emmerson, who came to Western in 1990 provided him with a good grounding as chair of the English department, has been in religious matters, helping him to conducting research on the Middle Ages for understand the Bible and biblical his­ nearly 30 years, including a year he spent tory, up to the early Christian church. Later, abroad during his undergraduate days. his high school history teachers taught him During his sophomore year in England, he American history, beginning, of course, with enrolled in his first English literature course 1492. with a teacher who took his students to see a "I had this sense of really old stuff, and I medieval mystery play performed in the ru­ had a good sense of modern history," ins of a medieval abbey. Emmerson said. "And then there was this pe­ He fell in love with British plays and riod of 1500 years," between where the New Chaucer. Emmerson's curiosity about medi­ Testament leaves off and Columbus discov­ eval times was sparked anew. ers America, about which he knew very little. He also became fasci-, "I was curious about nated with castles and this empty space," he the beautiful sheepskin said. Many orhejis in Wesrem's y manuscripts from the fr A Emmerson's curiosity j:a(miy have won wmiing^ Middle Ages. To under­ about the Middle Ages stand the manuscripts led him to become a his­ neseanch^ reaching and better, and because me­ tory major at Columbia dievalists tend to be Union College in Mary­ orhen honoris. educated across a num­ land. There, and while See pages 4, 6 and 7. ber of disciplines, he attaining graduate de- studied Latin, Italian, grees in American and old French, art history, British literature at Andrews University and religious studies and paleography, the study Stanford, he thoroughly immersed himself in of ancient hands. the culture of the Middle Ages. That interdisciplinary education has given Today, Emmerson is an internationally him a unique perspective on the relationship known authority in medieval studies. He has between the text in the manuscripts and their five books, 32 scholarly papers on medieval decorative images, his current research area. art, literature and religion and dozens of ar­ Along with his own research into the lit­ ticles and book reviews to his credit. erature and art of the Middle Ages, Emmerson X e-4. -j fr Emmerson's groundbreaking research, espe­ co-edits two scholarly journals. --Sr . Studies in Ico­ cially his work on the literature and art of the nography, and Traditio: Studies in Ancient and F- Apocalypse, has also earned him this year's Medieval History, Thought and Religion. His lat­ Paul J. Olscamp award at Western. est book, a translation with commentary on : The Olscamp award, which includes a $1,000 the middle-French play. Jour du Jugement, was published in July. Kristie Lundstrom photo check, is named for the man who served as president of Western from 1975 to 1982. "He is the best researcher that I have ever V worked with," said Ronald B. Herzman, dis­ The award recognizes outstanding research tinguished teaching professor of English at bad page holds yd work by a faculty member at Western. the State University of New York (SUNY), one official Homecoming It is the first time since 1984 a faculty mem­ of several academics who recommended invitationland eaten ber in the humanities has won the award. Continued on page 7 Contents Briefly Campus Connections................................................... 3.4 Viking 23 brings home $1,000 in prizes from raily Western celebrates its centennial next year. Do you have trea­ Besting torrential rains and a field of eight other electric sures in your attic to donate for the archives project? Also, read hybrid experimental vehicles, the Viking 23 came in a de­ about athletics, aesthetics and academics. cisive first in-class in the American Tour de Sol road com- petition. The team received a $500 prize for winning the hybrid/ Investments in Excellence.......... .....................................5 electric class. It also won free entry in next year's event, The phonathon and other fund-raising programs have made an I worth $500, for best energy efficiency. indelible mark on academic excellence. Despite drenching rains which flooded all contestants' batteries - plus its own clutch cable malfunction - Viking Accent on Alumni.............................................................6 23 chalked up 688 tour miles for its first-place finish. Russ Wilson takes over as Alumni Association president. Read about award-winning alumni and students. Grist of Goldsmith. Shannon Point wins grant for minority education A $545,000 grant from the National Science Foundation has been awarded to the Minorities in Marine Science Un­ Literary and Other Honors........... ............... 7 dergraduate Program at Western's Shannon Point Marine Center. Shannon Point has operated the program with NSF The Fresh Connection .......................................... 8-9 support since 1990. This grant will extend the program an Our new chapters and a 56-year-old round-robin letter connect additional five years, beginning in 1999. alumni all over the country with the campus on Sehome Hill. Western graduates find employment plentiful Reflecting a five-year, nationwide expansion in job pros­ Class Notes & Memoriams........................ 10-11 pects for college graduates, nearly 80 percent of Western Short notes and announcements about Western's alumni. Washington University's 1996-97 bachelor's degree gradu­ ates - and more than 95 percent of teacher certificate re­ Honor Roll of Donors..................... 12-15 cipients - have found employment, according to a survey Our annual list of supporters appears in this issue conducted by Western's Career Services Center. Of those with a bachelor's degree, 52.6 percent said they were working in a job related to their area of study, with Calendar of Events and Homecoming Invitation........16 26.5 percent in non-related jobs, and 12.6 percent pursu­ ing further education. Teacher certificate recipients reported 89.3 percent em­ .j, , " '■i. • ployment in a related field, 6.2 percent in work not related ^ "■‘*1 to their degree and slightly more than 1 percent seeking Alumni further education. James E. Shaw named campus police chief Officers Russ Wilson, 79, Ferndale, president; Tony Larson, '88, Bellingham, president­ James E. Shaw, who has 30 years experience in law en­ elect; Lyle Morse, 70, Olympia, immediate past president; Jim Ferguson, '84, forcement, has been named chief of public safety at West­ Woodinville, treasurer. ern. Shaw, 55, has held the same position at California State University, Stanislaus, since 1988. He holds a management Executives-at-Large ■ degree from St. Mary's College inMoraga, Calif., and a spe­ Karen Hulford, '69, Bellingham; David Moore, '84, Mt. Vernon; Lori Riffe, '93, Seattle; Bart Shilvock, '76, Seattle; Larry Taylor, '72; Seattle. cialized teaching credential in police science earned at the University of California, Berkeley. Board Members Mel Blackman, '74, Nanaimo, B.C.; David Britton, '70, Federal Way; Martin Chorba, '66 & '75, Bellingham; Beth Cooley, '67, Samish Island; Bunny (Martha) New women's basketball coach hired Cummins, '69, Lynnwood; Allan Darr, '85, Everett; Cheryl Dickerson, '80, Gina Sampson, a former All-American and Athlete of the Bellingham; Jaihonna German, '93, Seattle; Kelly Guise, '91, Seattle; Brad Haggen, Year at Western, will replace Lori deKubber as assistant coach '90, Bellingham; Patrick Halcomb, '83, Medina; Marv Toland, '83, Kirkland; Reed Zulauf, '83, Puyallup. of the women's basketball program. Sampson, 24, coached and played for a pro team in Australia last year. She holds Chapter Contacts 18 Viking records. Kelly Follis, Juneau, AK; Crystal Nygard, Anchorage, AK; Gene Langille or June Hartstra, San Francisco Bay Area; Susan Neighbors, Santa Barbara, CA; Sam Porter, San Diego; Paul SchUchting or Dean Wilson, Los Angeles Area; Patricia Swenson, Provost De Lorme to retire in September 1999 Portland/Vancouver; Denny Freebum, Boise; Kristine Worland, Phoenix; Charles Ss’S Provost Roland De Lorme will retire in September 1999. Odell, Washington, D.C.; Marty Brown, New York; Laura May, Hawaii. De Lorme, who served as acting president from March Regional Coordinators through July 1993, was appointed associate provost in 1989, Chet Ullin, Kitsap Peninsula; Grant Boettcher, Raleigh, N.C.; Frank Williams, acting provost in 1990 and provost in 1991. A specialist in Australia; Patrick Lovell, Tokyo, Japan. western U.S. history, he came to Western in 1966 as an assistant professor of history and became a full professor in 1978. He chaired the history department from 1971 to 1980 and from 1984 to 1989. Conferences bring Whatcom County $1.9 million Conferences held at Western contribute at least $1.9 mil­ lion annually to the Whatcom County economy, accord­ ing to the university's director of conference services, Diana WINDOW ON WESTERN Bakkom.