ON THE COVER Junior business major Marcus Stone leads the new TLU Drumline.The Drumline joins a long list of musical opportunities for both music majors and non-music majors who just love music. PHOTO BY JOAN MEREDITH SNOW. THIS PAGE Students participate in an experiential workshop to process the emotions of hate and hope.The fall workshop preceded the 27th annual Krost Symposium,“The Creative Journey of the Heart: Hate, Tolerance, Forgiveness, Hope.” PHOTO BY DUSTIN WYATT. Winter 2007 | Table of Contents 2 From the President 19 Growing and Giving Celebrating the gift of music Muellers pledge $1 million 3 Notable & Quotable 21 Lucky’s Pack Heard here and there Alumni events 4 TLU Today 22 Homecoming 2006 What’s going on at TLU 23 AlumNotes 8 In the News The latest on TLU alumni The reality of Facebook 32 Catching Up With 10 Music – Rick Flores, band director The Soul of TLU It is and always has been a vital 34 First Person part of life at Texas Lutheran Confessions of a non-music major 14 Faculty Q&A Composer, professor, alumnus 36 Remember When Take a trip down memory lane 15 Applause Accomplishments lauded 37 Happenings What’s coming up at TLU 16 Scoreboard Catch up on the sports scene AlumNotes • Torch Winter 2007 | 1 FROM THE PRESIDENT From the President Dr. Jon N. Moline The mission of Texas Lutheran Celebrating the gift of music University is us near to the infinite.” to prepare The very attempt to dictate musical undergraduates norms can backfire. During Stalin’s Music is arguably academically, bloodiest purges in the late 1930s the most effective spiritually the Fourth Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovitch was attacked in Pravda, “emotional language for and socially in the party newspaper. Such an attack a residential could be a prelude to imprisonment communicating across community In this issue of the Torch we or execution. So Shostakovitch quickly barriers of all sorts. of faith and celebrate the gift of music. It is a composed his Fifth Symphony and learning for powerful gift. Plato thought it so entitled it “The Response of a Soviet powerful that it could subvert any Composer to Just Criticism.” It is So did the writer Boris Pasternak, service and existing culture or constitution, and brassy, militaristic in places, and who exclaimed, “He said everything, leadership. so he advised controlling it to exploit carefully written to end on the and nobody did anything to him!” the good effects it could have and politically correct optimistic note. Stalin’s minions weren’t very good at avoid the bad. It even includes one of Stalin’s favorite understanding the speech of angels! As in all authoritarian proposals, folk-tunes. Felix Mendelssohn once remarked, the catch is in who gets to decide what Shostakovitch was spared as a “It’s not that music is too imprecise is good or bad. Many dictators and result, although many western critics for words, but too precise.” Music is their minions have tried to reserve this thought that this symphony showed arguably the most effective emotional power to themselves by censoring and he had become a political hack. But language for communicating across even prescribing music. That is akin to had he? Did the angels speak over the barriers of all sorts – cultural, linguistic, trying to give the angels orders about heads of the censors? Recent critics ideological, and even religious. what to say or not say. Thomas Carlyle and interpreters have suggested that TLU is blessed with a strong music once remarked that “Music is well said they did – with irony, sarcasm, and program, and this shows most vividly to be the speech of angels; in fact, caricature. They take the composer every year in the Christmas Vespers. nothing among the utterances allowed to have been subtly mocking, not The music speaks to the soul. Thanks to man is felt to be so divine. It brings flattering, Stalin and his goons. be to God for the gift of music! I STAFF Editor and Senior Writer Editorial Advisory Board Kathy (Walter) Hughes ’73 Stephen Anderson ’77 Director of Communications Senior Vice President for University Relations Founded in 1891,Texas Lutheran University Gail Randle Art Director and Designer offers degrees in 39 academic disciplines and Director of Alumni Relations pre-professional programs.The university is Yoshiko Okano Guy Susan Rinn located in Seguin, near San Antonio, and is a Director of Publications Assistant Vice President for University Relations university of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Sports Editor in America. Stephen Skinner Tim Clark ’94 Development Writer and Prospect Researcher Texas Lutheran University admits students of Director of Sports Information any race, color, or national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the university. The Torch, the magazine of Texas Lutheran University, is published by the University Relations Member of the Council for the Advancement Office of Texas Lutheran University and is distributed without cost to alumni and friends of and Support of Education (CASE). the university. Please address all correspondence and address corrections to Torch,Texas Lutheran University, 1000 W. Court St., Seguin,Texas 78155. 830-372-8020, www.tlu.edu. 2 | Texas Lutheran University “ Notable & Quotable “If you have a university where there is dissent – a “You know you are a member of the Golden Group if Members of MASA difference of opinion – thank God! Then you have you can remember when this place was known as the perform a number growth.” Chapel of the Required Presence – and you really, from “Grease” at the really, really know if people have forgotten your Bulldog Revue during – Dr. Carmen Tafolla, well-known author and TLU alumna, homecoming. reputation and invite you back to speak in this discussing Texas Lutheran during a presentation to the chapel.” Mexican American Student Association (MASA) – The Rev. Ron Birk ’56 during Homecoming Chapel services at the Chapel of the Abiding Presence “This may sound like an annual echo, but Texas Lutheran University is good… the consistency speaks volumes about not only the university as it is now, “It’s kind of an eye-opener.” but its unwavering commitment to welcoming – Alicia Davis, junior psychology major, commenting on the students and sending them back out into the world first African-American Leadership Conference at TLU and not only smarter – but better people in general.” how it facilitates students learning more about leadership – From an editorial in the Seguin Gazette Enterprise, and what it’s like to be an African American on campus Wednesday Sept. 6, 2006 “It was very diverse. There were women wearing “You should know and learn as much as you possibly head scarves and others that were not. Some people can. At this time in your life you have the capacity to had very little education and others we met could do this. Always be skeptical when someone tells you speak seven different languages. Some of the people you don’t really need to know something. You never were very friendly and others were a little hostile.” know when you may need this knowledge.” – Samantha Bryant, junior English major, in her blog – Opening Convocation speaker Dr. Neal Pellis, NASA’s describing her impressions of Morocco during a trip she associate director of the Human Research Program, took while studying abroad in Granada, Spain. Read more challenging the student body from student blogs at www.tlu.edu. “ Notable & Quotable • Torch Winter 2007 | 3 ” TLU TODAY Physics major Joseph Panzarella participates in functional neuroscience and medical physics research at the Research Imaging Center of the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio. His focus was on an automated blood activity sampler system required to quantify cerebral blood flow rates in subjects undergoing PET scans. Summer research was funded by an AT&T fellowship and the Budwine Foundation. TLU receives overall quality among degree programs in the liberal students at 361 top colleges undergraduate colleges in the arts and sciences and in responded to a survey by recognition Western United States. professional fields such as the Princeton Review, and The annual study evaluat- business and education. the Web site www.princeton- For the 23rd year, TLU ed TLU in the “comprehen- To determine the quality review.com features student has been listed in the U.S. sive colleges – bachelors” rankings, U.S. News opinion data. Princeton News & World Report college division, which ranks compares statistical data Review reported that TLU’s rankings as one of the nation’s regional schools with a regarding student selectivity students said that the uni- best regional comprehensive comprehensive focus on and retention, class size and versity’s instructors prioritize colleges. In this year’s report, undergraduate education graduation rate, faculty teaching and monitor student TLU was tied for fifth in and that offer a range of resources, financial resources, progress to “make sure that alumni giving rate, and every individual in the class academic reputation among is learning.” Dr. Gerhardt honored peer institutions. TLU was one of 21 Texas For the fourth consecutive schools receiving the Best in year, Princeton Review has the West designation. named Texas Lutheran a Dr. Ray Gerhardt was “Best College in the Western remembered at home- Region” in recognition of TLU Salutes coming when a tree TLU’s quality education. was planted on campus The Princeton Review, one honors 2006 in his honor. His wife, Anita, his children, and of the nation’s most respected inductees grandson (pictured), and popularcollege admis- joined the TLU commu- sions resource organizations, A college president, a nity and Guadalupe reported that “Texas Lutheran noted author, and a young County Democrats to University fits an attractive doctor were among those honor his memory.