The Magazine for aluMni and friends of Albion Collegefall 2005

Kresge Hall and Palenske Hall Open for Classes 14 Science Symposium Highlights 15 The Best of Homecoming 60V

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A frog’s lifeAlbion College researchers explore what amphibians can tell us about our changing environment

io TriuMphe!

Susan Sadler is a partner in the law firm of Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy, and Sadler, PLC, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She is currently a member of Albion College’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.

The Lux Fiat Society ($50,000 and above)The Io Triumphe! Society ($25,000-$49,999)The Trustees’ Circle ($10,000-$24,999)The President’s Associates ($5,000-$9,999)The Purple & Gold Society ($2,500-$4,999)The 1835 Society ($1,835)The Briton Round Table ($1,000-$2,499)The Crest Club ($500-$999)The Shield Club ($100-$499)The Stockwell Society (Deferred gifts)

Albion College Giving Societies

office of iNstitutioNaL adVaNcemeNt611 e. porter st.aLbioN, mi 49224517/629-0237advancement@albion.eduwww.albion.edu/alumnigiving.asp

Most of us remember Albion as the place where we studied with great professors and gained a lifetime of close friendships.

it is the place that shaped our intellect and developed a work ethic that prepared us for life after graduation. i can truly say that my reconnection with the college in recent years has only reaffirmed those memories and my fondness for the students, faculty, administration, and alumni. by reconnecting, i was reminded of how necessary it is for all alumni to support this special institution.

i would encourage each of you to visit the campus again. the Quad has never looked better. make a decision to support albion college financially. introduce the college to talented college-bound high school students who would thrive in this atmosphere. Your contribution will bring your albion experience full circle and make a significant difference for albion today and tomorrow. Giving back to albion college now ensures that future students will have a college experience that will launch great careers and contributions to society.

Susan Sadler is a partner in the law firm of Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy, and Sadler, PLC, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She is currently a member of Albion College’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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The Magazine for aluMni and friends of albion Collegefall 2005

io TriuMphe!

On the cover: amphibians, including North american green frogs like this one, are often bellwethers of environmental change. science faculty and students from albion examined these animals at mid-michigan’s pierce cedar creek institute for signs of a population under stress. (d. trumpie photo)

8Earthly Discoveries a student-faculty research team adds to our understanding of a global environmental phenomenon.

16Bonded through Booksalumni reflect on the power of books to change our lives.

20‘A Glorious Time’a coed’s letters offer rare glimpses

of albion college in the Jazz age.3 briton bits

24 albionotes

60 alumni association News

65 Li’l brits

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Features

Departments

The Quad decked out in its Homecoming colors. (M. Green Photo, October 2005)

in this issue of the magazine, you will find many of the same elements that have always appeared on these pages, but we are now presenting them in more dramatic (and colorful!) ways. We also have enlivened our campus news section, renamed “briton bits,” with more illustrations and a broader range of stories, and have added a “Li’l brits” kids’ page offering activities the whole family can enjoy. You will also see that we have increased the use of technology in support of the print version of the magazine; in some cases, that means we have simply introduced a story and then directed you to more complete coverage on the Web at www.albion.edu. as time goes on, this technology should allow us to cover even more aspects of living and learning at albion college. We are excited about these changes—which have been months in the planning—and believe we have created a format that is engaging and accessible.

today’s Io Triumphe! both chronicles our shared history and reflects what albion is becoming. We hope you will find Io Triumphe! a celebration of the albion experience over the past 170 years since the college’s founding, and an inspiration as we watch albion move boldly into the future.

please let us know how you like our new look. We’re always happy to hear from members of the family.

sarah briggs, editorsbriggs@albion.edu517/629-0244

Magazine Staff

ediTor: sarah briggs

Class noTes WriTers: Nikole Lee and Luann shepherd

design: richard Harrison bailey/the agency; susan carol rowe

Io Triumphe! is published three times annually by the office of communications, albion college, 611 e. porter st., albion, mi 49224. it is distrib-uted free to alumni and friends of the college.

postmaster: send address changes to office of communications, albion college, 611 e. porter st., albion, mi 49224.

Letters to the editor and alumni news notes may be sent to Io Triumphe! at the address given above. You may also call 517/629-0445 or send e-mail to: sbriggs@albion.edu.

World Wide Web: www.albion.edu

albion college is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability, as protected by law, in all educational programs and activities, admission of students, and conditions of employment.

About Our Name

the unusual name for this publication comes from a yell written by members of the class of 1900. the beginning words of the yell, “io triumphe!,” were probably borrowed from the poems of the roman writer, Horace. some phrases were taken from other college yells and others from a Greek play presented on campus during the period.

in 1936, the alumni of albion college voted to name their magazine after the yell which by then had become a college tradition. for years, albion’s incoming students have learned these lines by heart:

as i watched the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath earlier this fall, i was particularly struck by the stories of families—families that were torn apart as parents and children became separated, extended families that somehow clung together in spite of the swirling forces around them, even pseudo-families that were created as people, thrown together in shelters, formed new bonds to help them ride out the storm together.

and who could not be touched by the extent of the devastation caused by the hurricane? as they returned to their neigh-borhoods to find their homes reduced to fragments of wood and shards of glass, the Gulf coast residents often commented that, beyond the storm’s cost in human lives and livelihoods, the losses hardest to accept were those that reminded them of family ties— the photographs and memorabilia saved and passed down from one generation to the next. We treasure such keepsakes not for their monetary value but because they are laden with meaning and connect us to those we love.

in preparing this edition of Io Triumphe! in this new format, i wanted to make sure that, above all, it conveyed—and nurtured—albion’s strong sense of family. over its long history, Io Triumphe! really has become our “family archive.” Like a family scrapbook, Io Triumphe! has recorded the people, pro-grams, traditions, and celebrations that make up the story of our collective life together.

P e r s P e c t ! v e s

io TriuMphe!

All in the Family

io triumphe! io triumphe!

Haben swaben rebecca le animor

Whoop te whoop te sheller de-vere

de-boom de ral de-i de-pa—

Hooneka henaka whack a whack

a-hob dob balde bora bolde bara

con slomade hob dob rah!

al-bi-on rah!

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Student and Faculty Numbers GrowBy Jake Weber

albion college posted the highest enrollment in its history, as nearly 600 first-year and transfer students began classes in august. total enrollment grew to 1,979 this fall, the highest since the early 1980s.

president peter mitchell attributes the growth to a number of positive factors. “simply put, it’s a tribute to the hard work and creativity of faculty and staff,” says mitchell of the enrollment numbers. “We have a trusting and collaborative community where faculty, staff, students, trustees, and even community

leaders are working together toward shared goals.”mitchell notes that the college is experiencing a parallel growth

in faculty, a trend that increases both the quality and the breadth of students’ academic opportunities. “from 2004 through 2007, we will have made 45 new tenure-track appointments, which represents a 34 percent change in the faculty in a three-year period,” mitchell explains. “these new faculty bring new ideas and will work with senior faculty to expand academic offerings. these are very exciting times.”

Br !tOn B!tsTHe LATeST newS AROunD CAmPuS

The wednesday night Chapel program is a nondenominational service of praise music and reflection organized by students and held in wesley Chapel (and, on occasion, other campus locations). The service is part of a broad range of religious life program-ming for students of all faiths offered through the Albion College Office of the Chaplain. In February 2006 the College will host both the Third Annual methodism & Race Symposium and the statewide united methodist Student Retreat. For more information on these activities, go to: www.albion.edu/chapel and www.albion.edu/chaplain .

the Rock

according to mitchell, the large entering class has shown impres-sive academic achievements as well. “the academic profile of this class is at or slightly above the profile of the last few classes,” he says, with 70 percent ranking in the top quarter of their high school graduating classes.

the college also welcomed new students from 18 states and from albania, the bahamas, china, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, slovakia, and turkmenistan. representation of students of color stands at 11 percent, up from 8.7 percent two years ago.

david Hawsey, vice president for enrollment, says the college has reached its desired size and does not plan further increases. “admis-sion will be even more selective in the coming years,” he adds.

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landmarks & legends class of 1896 Fountain while it no longer serves its original purpose, this bronze drinking fountain is still a fixture on Albion’s campus more than a century after it was presented as a class gift. It now sits just off Cass Street, alongside the plaza honoring Frederick Lutz, a professor at Albion from 1885 to 1920. Here’s what The Pleiad had to say at the time the fountain was presented: “within the past week the ’96 memorial, a beautiful bronze drinking fountain, has been placed on the campus. This custom of each graduating class leaving some memorial of its life here, whether as an adornment to the campus or an ornament to some building, is beau-tiful and appropriate. It is fitting that each class should in some way and as a class recognize the good which their alma mater has done them and their love and respect for her.” (June 16, 1896) members of the Class of 1896 (shown below with the fountain) returned to campus with their families a few years later for a reunion.

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A Chemical Attraction

according to a recent Chemical & Engineering News survey, albion’s chemistry department boasts more chemistry graduates annually than the likes of Yale, brown, columbia,

Northwestern, Georgetown, cal tech, or Wisconsin—and several dozen other colleges and universities. in fact, albion also produces more chemistry graduates (24 in the year of the survey) than prominent peer colleges such as denison, Grinnell, Kalamazoo, Kenyon, middlebury, oberlin, and Williams. chemistry faculty cited the college’s strong pre-medical program as a major factor leading to albion’s high number of chemistry majors. Source: Chemical & Engineering News, Feb. 7, 2005

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find it on the web

From e-Postcards to travel Blogs want to send a friend an e-postcard featuring an Albion campus scene? Find a long-lost roommate? watch the progress on the science complex renovation and expansion project via webcam? Check out the web sites listed below.

• Albion e-Postcards www.albion.edu/postcards/

• Online Alumni Directory www.albion.edu/alumni/ (look for Online Directory link)

• Alumni Scrapbook www.albion.edu/alumni/scrapbook2.asp

• useful Alumni Resources www.albion.edu/alumni/alumniresources.asp

• Science Complex updates www.albion.edu/sciencedrive

• Travel Blogs www.albion.edu/blogs/

fare finds

Albion’s ‘Lunch Box café’

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You may have to pour your own coffee when things get busy at the Little Red Lunch Box Café, but the Albion College staffers who are regulars at the eatery just blocks from campus say the down-home cooking and “ambiance” are worth it. “There just aren’t many places left where you can get a complete hot breakfast for just a few bucks,” says Jim whitehouse, ’69, who works in Institutional Advancement. “Friendships are instant at the Box, and insults are dished out free of charge!” Open monday-Saturday for breakfast and lunch.

Denison university

Kalamazoo College

Oberlin College

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the college’s annual isaac student research symposium keynote lecture, which has featured such prominent speakers as doris Kearns Goodwin, salman rushdie, and e.o. Wilson, has recently been endowed through a gift from Joseph calvaruso, ’78, and his wife, donna. the gift was announced at the opening convocation in august.

calvaruso is senior vice president and director of risk management for mercantile bank in Grand rapids. He is also a member of the Visiting committee for albion’s Gerald r. ford institute for public policy and service. the lecture series will bear calvaruso’s name.

this gift follows two major foundation grants awarded last spring. a $1.5-million grant from the rollin m. Gerstacker founda-tion will be equally divided among the current science complex renovation and expansion project, the carl a. Gerstacker Liberal arts institute for professional management, and college-community initiatives. a new 2,600-square-foot greenhouse in the science complex has been funded through a $500,000 grant from the charles J. strosacker foundation.

this past summer, it was announced that albion’s LIBERAL ARTS AT WORK capital campaign had surpassed its $140-

million goal 18 months ahead of the cam-paign’s scheduled conclusion in december 2006. fundraising will continue in order to fulfill campaign goals that are as yet unmet, including approximately $8 million still needed for the science drive.

For more information on the campaign, contact: Ben Hancock, vice president for institutional advancement, 517/629-0242 or bhancock@albion.edu.

Calvaruso Gift to Fund Spring Lecture

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Prestigious Scholarship Opens Door to Medical SchoolBy Jake Weber

may 2005 graduate samata singhi’s career plans include practicing medicine in developing countries and serving with relief aid programs. “i would very much like to work with humanitarian aid organizations like the mercy ships or doctors Without borders,” the native of chandigarh, india, explains.

Now the chief obstacle in her way—coming up with the tens of thousands of dollars needed to fund her medical stud-ies—has been cleared away. this summer she was named a Jack Kent cooke Graduate scholar. the award, from one of the country’s largest scholarship foundations, may provide up to $300,000 toward her graduate study.

this fall, singhi has enrolled in the health eco-nomics and international health policy program at the London school of economics (Lse).

after finishing a master’s program there, singhi will begin work on her m.d. degree at case Western reserve university school of medicine. the cooke Graduate scholarship will cover singhi’s tuition and living expenses over the next four to five years.

“i was, as you can expect, thrilled,” says singhi. “Not only has the scholarship made medical school a reality for me, but it also means that i can pursue both medicine and health policy, which are complementary paths toward my ultimate aim of improving the quality of people’s lives. emerging debt-free from medical school is a great blessing because it will allow me to follow my heart, so that i can provide medical care to under-served communities and spend part of my time on research as well as health policy work.”

a member of the brown Honors institute and the Gerstacker Liberal arts institute for professional management while at albion, singhi spent her junior year at the Lse, supported by a cooke foundation under-

graduate scholarship. this past summer, she completed an internship with the World Health organization in Geneva, switzerland.

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right on time A fascination with time-pieces and a love for his alma mater inspired Ted Hagan, ’51, to donate the new Verdin street clock, located at the corner of Cass and Ingham streets next to Goodrich Chapel. A remote timing unit housed in the chapel ensures that the 12-foot, four-faced clock always keeps the right time. Hagan and his wife, Pat, are the parents of three Albion alumni: David, ’81; Christopher, ’83; and Charles, ’84.

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Joseph, ’78, and Donna Calvaruso have endowed the annual Isaac Student Research Symposium keynote lecture. The gift was announced at the 2005 Opening Convocation.

Samata Singhi

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B r ! t O n B ! t s

short takes two Minutes with . . . Math Professor Mark Bollman By morris Arvoy

Io Triumphe!: You’re a number theorist.

Bollman: Yes, I study interesting sets of numbers to see what they have in common.

Is that what you always thought you would be doing?

In third grade I thought “mathematician” just sounded cool. Before that I wanted to be a baseball player.

You’re known for always wearing red tennis shoes.

well, tennis shoes are comfortable, and red is my favorite color. when the weather is bad I have red leather insulated high-top sneakers. I also have high-top red canvas sneakers for weddings and funerals.

Your office is like a museum. How did that start?

I have 706 calculators that I’ve collected over the years. It got started simply enough: I just wouldn’t get rid of an old calculator when I got a new one. At some point, the idea of actively collecting old calculators became a goal of its own.

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Yes, that is a slot machine in mathematician Mark Bollman’s office. And, no, he isn’t bringing casino gambling to Albion. The slot machine is just one of many devices he uses to teach probability in his First-Year Seminar on chance. And what, you may be wondering, are the odds against your winning at the slots on any given try? Six to one, Bollman says.

You have more than calculators.

every once in a while my mother will see something she thinks belongs in my office. Over the years she has sent me a working gumball machine, a kaleidoscope, a large abacus, a gumball machine that’s been converted to a fish tank….

And a slot machine?

She didn’t send me that! I am teaching a First-Year experience course about chance. Casino gambling is a nice application of the laws of probability. There is nothing that com-pares to dropping a coin in, pulling the handle, and seeing what happens. I also purchased a professional-grade roulette wheel, casino cards, and dice, and we’ll be taking a field trip to the Soaring eagle Casino.

So the slot machine is purely academic.

I suspect I might have a few more visitors once the tokens arrive.

Name your food for life.

Peanut butter. I buy it in four-pound cans.

Is there anything we should know about you but don’t?

I’ve written a novel-and-a-half about “winter Camp,” a reunion of Boy Scouts and former Scouts now in its 29th year.

Describe your strangest Albion experience.

It was before the science complex renovations. I was trapped in the elevator when I was moving out of my office in Palenske and climbed out of the trap door—that’s an experience everyone should have.

What’s your closest brush with fame?

my wife hung up on walter Cronkite once, but that was before I knew her. Does that count?

Who plays you in “The Mark Bollman Story”?

Ben Stiller.

Tell us your favorite sport.

Definitely golf in eight inches of snow on a frozen lake. I have pictures.

We’re at the end. Mark Bollman in one sentence . . .

I am a math geek with red sneakers who doesn’t take life too seriously.

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G O B r ! t s !

Learning from the ProsBy Bobby LeeSports Information Director

a pair of current briton athletes recently “got a shot at the pros”—not as players but as interns with professional sports organizations.

senior chris terry, an economics/man-agement major and member of the carl a. Gerstacker Liberal arts institute for profes-sional management, worked with the detroit tigers’ community relations department in fall 2004. mike sheldon, a junior speech com-munications major, completed an internship with the National football League’s india-napolis colts where he assisted defensive line coach John teerlinck during a summer 2005 mini-camp and learned about field operations at their practice facility, the union federal football center. terry is an infielder for the briton baseball team, and sheldon starts as a defensive lineman on the football squad.

terry literally hit the ground running during his internship with the tigers, taking to the comerica park diamond on his third day to assist with tigers care, the team’s charitable arm that organizes interaction between players and fans prior to the games. He also arranged player visits with children stricken with life-threatening diseases or living with severe disabilities.

“being able to bring smiles to the faces of suffering children by enabling them to meet their favorite baseball player is more reward-ing than words can describe,” terry says.

terry also had the opportunity to help the tigers’ front office plan fan activities for the upcoming winter. a group of tigers play-ers, coaches, and front office staff visited the

albion campus as part of the team’s winter caravan last January.

sheldon, who aspires to become a coach, says he learned some new techniques he may use on the field as well as observing the psy-chology involved in coaching elite athletes. in particular, he gained some pointers on defen-sive strategy by watching the team that tied for third in the NfL in quarterback sacks in 2004.

“i got a different understanding of the game and the nature of it,” sheldon said. “the players and coaches may joke around a lot, but when it came to reviewing film they got down to business. coach teerlinck never sugar-coat-ed anything, but he knows how to communi-cate. the coach tries to harness [the players’ energy] and make it the best for the team.”

the internship with the colts also tested sheldon’s technology skills. many of the drills in practice are filmed, and at the end of the

mini-camp he used digital editing equipment to create a tape for each of the linemen.

the tigers position was the first of two Gerstacker-required internships for terry, who also completed an internship in human re-sources at independent bank’s headquarters in ionia. and as he prepares for his senior year on the diamond, he’ll always remember the bright lights of the major leagues and the confidence the internship helped him develop.

“by interning for the tigers, i was able to work for the team i have grown up following as a fan and for the sport that i have grown to love,” terry said. “Not only did i enjoy what i did during my internship because of the history that i have with both the game and the sport, but i was also able to prepare for a lifelong journey in the business world.”

Briton sports on the WebDid you know that you can find all of the following on the Albion College sports web site?

• Sports news and results

• Schedules and rosters

The “A-Club newsletter” also provides season updates for Briton sports fans. To get your copy, send an e-mail to: aclub@albion.edu or call 517/629-0900.

• Sportsnet broadcast schedules

• Sports archives

Follow the Britons at: www.albion.edu/sports/.

It’s the next best thing to being here!

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Chris Terry got an insider’s look at pro sports operations during his internship with the Detroit Tigers.

fall 2005 | 7

Earthly discovEriEs“It’s exciting . . . you never know what’s going to be under the next board. It’s like a sport, really.”

— Keith Sprague

During their 12-week field study last summer at mid-Michigan’s Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Albion biologist Dean McCurdy (in blue shirt) and student researchers Kristen Krum and Keith Sprague tracked local frog and salamander populations and looked for environmental factors that might impact their numbers.

By Jake weber | Photography by David Trumpie

Keith Sprague still grins when he thinks about the day some 10 years ago when his salamanders got loose in his bedroom. He had spent many hours out in the woods near his boyhood home in Spring Arbor assembling his prize col-lection. And then one day they were missing. while Sprague was off at school, his mother, on hands and knees, had to track them down—all 42 of them. “She wasn’t very happy about that,” he admits.

Sprague’s enthusiasm for all things that creep and crawl has continued un-abated, and now this interest is starting to pay off for the Albion College se-nior. This past summer, Sprague, along with sophomore Kristen Krum, was invited to join Albion biology professor Dean mcCurdy in a new research project at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (PCCI) near Hastings, north of Battle Creek. Founded in 1998, PCCI is one of michigan’s ecological gems, a field station set on 660 acres of woodlands and wetlands.

mcCurdy, whose primary research focuses on tiny crustaceans found in the mud flats along the nova Scotia coastline, was looking for other avenues for student research closer to home when he learned about a new grant program at PCCI. He was awarded nearly $20,000 for two proposals to study amphib-ian populations—primarily salamanders and frogs—at the nature preserve. The research was designed, in some respects, with Keith Sprague in mind.

“Keith knows so much about these animals, and I wanted to use that exper-tise—and learn from it myself,” mcCurdy says. So the pair spent 12 weeks tracking down and collecting data on the salamander population of central michigan, to expand biologists’ limited understanding of how these elusive creatures live their lives.

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Earthly discovEriEsstuDent-FAcuLty reseArch teAM ADDs tO Our unDerstAnDinG OF A GLOBAL envirOnMentAL PhenOMenOn

fall 2005 | 9

“My challenge was to get Keith to think like a researcher and get Kristen to understand the fieldwork pro-cess. Students all have interests that attract them, and our job as teachers is to also have them learn something they haven’t had exposure to.”

— Dean McCurdy

if mccurdy’s choice of sprague was a no-brainer, his choice of Kristen Krum, to do a project on frog populations in the same area, might have seemed a bit ill-advised. “i wasn’t really interested in doing research with animals, and i never did anything with frogs in my entire life. i wasn’t even sure i would get along with someone who was such a nature lover,” says Krum, with a laugh. “i told dr. mccurdy i wanted to find a summer project where i could work in a lab. that’s what really interested me.”

What the naturalist sprague and the technician Krum learned and accomplished together, however, illustrates field research’s potential—for students, science, and the environment.

the students received two of pcci’s 12 inaugural undergraduate research Grants for the environment (urGe), which provided not only stipends for doing the research, but room and board at pcci in air-conditioned lodgings. sprague and Krum also enjoyed the company of students from other michigan institutions, all “living the field research life.”

it was a dream job for sprague, getting paid to evaluate various salamander habitats throughout pcci, and to examine what temperature/humidity conditions are most hospitable for the fragile creatures. during the course of the summer, sprague and Krum set up 180 separate coverboards (that is, two-foot lengths of white pine boards placed on the ground) in 20 arrays and eventually made more than 1,000 readings of temperature and humidity conditions under and just outside of the boards.

“i’d be juggling the instruments and the notebook, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, while Keith would be saying, ‘oh, look at this…isn’t it cool?’” recalls Krum. “sometimes i just wanted to get the data and get out of there. but i learned a lot, too, about nature.”

“she definitely kept me in line,” comments sprague, noting Krum’s scrupulousness in helping him gather the data. When they did find a salamander, it was sprague’s job to “tag” it by injecting a permanent colored dye just under the skin. their most frequent finds were red-backed salamanders, about the thickness of a fat earthworm. Not puncturing the tiny animal was nerve-wracking enough, “and it’s even harder to do when your hands are burning and itching from being in nettles,” sprague recalls. “We had nine boards placed in the middle of a nettle field, and that was always the hardest.”

as it turned out, the mosquitoes and nettles were not nearly as much of a problem as the weather; an exceptionally wet spring meant that the salamanders had little need for the board shelters that would have

While Kristen Krum was no fan of the insects and snakes she encountered, she became adept at working with the frogs that were the focus of her research. She found high levels of a bacterial infection in the animals that may be reflective of a population under stress.

“It’s important to do this conservation work, to learn what’s affecting populations positively and negatively, before we’re down to the last 10 frogs of a species.” – Dean McCurdy

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region had put Aeromonas infection at somewhere between five and 10 percent in frog populations, Krum’s cultures revealed infection rates of more than 80 percent.

“We’re wondering if others have underestimated how common the bacteria are because they weren’t using methods as sensitive as ours,” mccurdy says. Krum adds, “it’s fun to look at the frogs and catch them, but the lab work is where you find out things that no one else knows, and that’s cool.”

“this has definitely been one of the most exciting things i’ve done in a long time,” says mccurdy, of the past summer’s research. He cites numerous factors that contributed to the success of the project: the facilities

been more attractive under normal conditions. sprague supplemented his data collection (and love of salamander hunting) with a secondary project evaluating and mapping natural salamander shelters. it all led to an unexpected, although important, lesson.

“When i go out and look for fun, it doesn’t matter whether i catch anything or not,” sprague notes. “but now, when i think of people who are doing this research full-time, especially in a declining population—it can be much more difficult than i realized. they’re not going to be able to find out what’s going on if they can’t catch them.”

a venomous massasauga rattlesnake lurked in the general vicinity of the pcci lab, to sprague’s delight and Krum’s dismay. “We saw a snake pretty much every day,” says Krum, noting that venomous or not, she was not keen on this aspect of the summer. “We saw one eating a frog—i know snakes have to eat, too, but it was still hard to watch.”

Krum’s pro-frog bias is understandable, given that her research focus was frog populations at pcci. and unlike dealing with snakes, Krum quickly discovered handling frogs, while tricky (“they secrete a foamy substance that makes them very slippery,” she says) was fun. even better, lack of data was not a problem.

“With the frogs, we could just go to the pond and catch them. We didn’t have to wait for them to find us,” she says. Krum and sprague caught several hundred specimens for her survey of Aeromonas infection rates among frogs living at pcci. scientists suspect the Aeromonas bacteria may be one of the agents causing a decline in some amphibian populations in the Great Lakes region. at the ponds, Krum took measurements and swab samples of each frog, while sprague injected the marker dye.

Her population study yielded an unexpected discovery. While several previous studies in the Great Lakes

According to Albion biologist Dean mcCurdy, field research on amphibians is timely in that entire populations of these animals are declining or disappearing completely throughout the world. The causes of amphibian population declines are thought to include factors such as increased uV radiation, acid rain, climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, pesticides, and parasitism. “The fact that amphibians are disappearing from apparently ‘pristine’ areas,” he says, “is especially alarming since amphibians are known to be excellent indicators of environmental disturbance.” mcCurdy hopes that the research on michigan amphibians described in the accompanying story will continue in future years and add to the scientific community’s broader understanding of this problem.

thE big picturE

(Above) Once Keith Sprague captured the salamanders in their forest habitat, he tagged the animals by injecting a permanent colored dye just under the skin. (Opposite page) He also studied the temperature/humidity combinations that are most hospitable for these fragile creatures.

“It’s important to do this conservation work, to learn what’s affecting populations positively and negatively, before we’re down to the last 10 frogs of a species.” – Dean McCurdy

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and staff of pcci, the thrill of finding radical new in-formation about Aeromonas infection rates, the sheer fun of netting frogs and hunting salamanders.

mccurdy is also excited about the contribution this research can make to environmental preservation efforts, both in michigan and farther afield. “We know it’s important to conserve all frog and salamander populations, because they’re such a crucial barometer to the health of an ecosystem,” he says. “at the same time, there are enough of these particular frogs and salamanders so we can test questions on them and apply the results to rarer species.”

this work, says mccurdy, offers a direct response to Harvard biologist e.o. Wilson’s challenge, issued during Wilson’s visit to campus last april, that all humans should be concerned about the earth’s biodiversity. “these animals we’re studying are common and accessible to anyone who cares to look, yet we still know almost nothing about how they live. Without that knowledge, we can’t come up with real long-term solutions for management and preservation of the environment,” mccurdy continues. “this research is important conservation work, to learn what’s affecting populations positively and negatively, before we’re down to the last 10 frogs of a species.”

mccurdy explains that this type of research, combining field observation with laboratory analysis, reflects the “new wave” for field research. “field researchers are embracing molecular biology, and it’s changing what we learn,” he enthuses. “there are questions that biologists have asked for hundreds of years—paternity, relatedness—and it’s only now that we can start to answer them. the most amazing and important discoveries today incorporate molecular biology with organismal biology.”

mccurdy is eager to draw talented students into this work and sees research as a prime means to do so. “i chose Keith and Kristen because they each had

skills that i knew would be good for the project, and i thought they’d complement each other,” he says. “my challenge was to get Keith to think like a researcher and get Kristen to understand the fieldwork process. students all have interests that attract them, and our job as teachers is to also have them learn something they haven’t had exposure to.”

snakes notwithstanding, Krum admits that she gained not simply appreciation of, but enthusiasm for, the interplay of field and lab work. “before, i didn’t think about all the bugs in the leaf litter, and the salamanders under the logs and stuff,” she says. “Now i have a different respect for the animals.”

With the early success of her project, Krum is already envisioning new directions. she would like to explore why Aeromonas infection is so prevalent and the possible links between stress, disease, and environmental conditions.

it’s clear, too, that even a consummate nature-watcher like sprague has had his skills sharpened by the research process. “Looking at this many different frogs, you get to appreciate how unique they are. they all have their own patterns, and they act differently. some are more fidgety, and some are more content to sit in your hand,” he recalls. “they may look very similar, but you can still find differences.”

it’s this variety that keeps drawing him back to the woods.

“they’re still life, they’re still precious,” sprague says of the frogs and salamanders they studied. “that’s part of the reason i want to learn more about them, to get a much better appreciation of their lives. if you’re not valuing them at that level, the only meaning is how much you get paid to do research or how the organisms interact with humans. if you value them as they are, there’s more value in it for you.”

Based on the success of her research on local frog populations this past summer, Kristen Krum would like to further explore the possible links between stress, disease, and environmental conditions as she looks ahead to graduate study. After graduating next May, Keith Sprague plans to seek employment in the field of conservation biology.

“It’s a common misconception, but the era of discovery is not over, in terms of field research. You could set up beetle traps in a parking lot and probably describe several new species a year.” – Dean McCurdy

“It’s fun to look at the frogs and catch them, but the lab work is where you find out things that no one else knows, and that’s cool.”

— Kristen Krum

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“It’s a common misconception, but the era of discovery is not over, in terms of field research. You could set up beetle traps in a parking lot and probably describe several new species a year.” – Dean McCurdy

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A work in progress: excitement grows as new science facilities open

e | Atrium | interior The glass-walled atrium, now taking shape, will be used

primarily for small-group meetings and as lounge space, but it will also be a venue for receptions, presentations, and film showings. Interactive science exhibits will be a key feature.

f | Putnam hall | interior renovations Interior demolition work is under way in Putnam Hall. The

renovations will add new research and teaching labs for analytical and physical chemistry, and for geochemistry. Plans for norris Center, also under renovation, include a museum area.

to learn more about the science complex renovation and expansion project, go to: www.albion.edu/sciencedrive .

… and the beginning of the end.

the end of the beginning

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a | Kresge hall | exterior Bruce A. Kresge Hall, a four-story labora-

tory building with attached greenhouse, opened for classes in August. It represents a major step forward in Albion’s $41.6-million science complex renovation and expansion project, to be completed in 2006.

b | Kresge hall | Laboratories Kresge Hall’s state-of-the-art facilities

for teaching and research in biology and chemistry include this organic chemistry lab.

c | Palenske hall | information technology

During its renovation, Palenske Hall was outfitted with new computer labs, like this one for geographic information systems, and with a wide array of multimedia technology. Palenske houses the geology, mathematics/computer science, and physics departments.

d | science complex | Lounges Comfortable lounges are offered

throughout the complex.

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A work in progress: excitement grows as new science facilities open

Alumni science symposium:

A Look at Preparing the Next Generation of ScientistsBy Jake Weber and Sarah Briggs

in keynoting albion college’s alumni science symposium, sept. 29-30, massachusetts institute of technology professor Harvey Lodish discussed the groundbreaking research he and his colleagues are pursu-ing in the field of human genetics. the heart of his message, however, was not his work, but the work of liberal arts colleges like albion in perpetuating scientific literacy and discovery in the 21st century.

Lodish cited current events as evidence of the importance of sound scientific education for all students and the public. stem cell research, genetic engineering, and the study of evolution, he noted, have led to complicated debates that are now being played out in government and in society at large. “We desperately need leaders who understand how science is done and how it impacts society,” Lodish said, adding that “we as a nation count on small liberal arts colleges to produce leaders in science, and also leaders outside the sciences, who under-stand the role of science as they formulate sound policy.”

in reflecting on future directions in science education at the college level, he stressed the growing importance of mathematics as a scientific tool. “We’re beginning to look at biological processes with an entirely new technology—and the essence of this technology is computation,” Lodish said. “more and more students are going to need computational skills to become successful in science. that’s a challenge for teaching scientists.”

symposium chair John Vournakis, ’61, noted in the keynote introduction that Lodish returned his honorarium to albion college, to be used in creating an endowment for undergraduate research. a Kenyon college graduate, Lodish observed that small liberal arts colleges fill a special niche in higher education. “Liberal arts colleges

produce a disproportionate share of leading american scientists and engineers,” he said. “colleges like albion are doing a really good job.”

the symposium also included panel discussions featuring albion alumni and faculty on “medicine today: High tech/High touch,” “confronting Global change and its implications for biodiversity,” and “science Literacy and the Liberal arts college.” the nearly 200 alumni, faculty, students, and staff who attended the symposium also had the opportunity to tour albion’s new and renovated science facilities and participate in poster sessions.

in a luncheon address, Jim Wilson, ’77, a professor of research medicine at the university of pennsylvania, noted that one reason liberal arts colleges have produced so many scientists is their commitment to excellence in teaching. today, he said, these colleges must find a way to enable faculty to remain current in their fields through active scholar-ship without losing sight of that “core commitment to teaching.”

Wilson applauded albion’s support for undergraduate research as a means for teaching students how to approach scientific questions in ways that will yield meaningful results.

providing a strong foundation in ethics is also essential, Wilson said, noting “the better equipped scientists can be to anticipate and address ethical issues, and to engage in dialogue, the better off we’re going to be as a society.”

For more details on the Alumni Science Symposium, including a complete schedule of events, photos, and audio recordings of the presentations, go to: www.albion.edu/sciencesymposium/ .

a | Symposium keynote speaker Harvey Lodish.

b| Geneticist nancy Carpenter, ’68, with physicians Robert Bartlett (left), ’60, and Gregory eastwood, ’62, panelists for “medicine Today: High Tech/High Touch.”

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c | Biologist Ted Fleming, ’64, panelist for “Confronting Global Change and Its Implications for Biodiversity.”

d | Alumni and faculty poster session.

e | Gwen Hetler, ’61, with Keith moore, professor emeritus of mathematics.

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Great escapesBy Anne Hittler Hunter, ’81six years ago, quite by accident, i discovered the magic of bedtime stories for adults. my book club had decided to read J.K. rowling’s first Harry potter book, and i was less than enthused about the choice. in fact, i fell asleep halfway through chapter one. my husband, scott, a ph.d. with a Huck finn appetite for adventure stories, offered to read the first chapter to me aloud. the next night, i read to him. by chapter three, we were hooked—both on Harry potter and the habit of reading books to each other in bed.

in the beginning, our recitations had all the drama of traffic court. as we got more comfortable with our roles as undercover storytellers, our yarns became more animated. scott developed a repertoire of vocal sound effects that rivaled bobby mcferrin’s. it’s amazing what he can do with a bookmark and a little hot air. Not to be outdone, i created voices for each character, fancying myself the mel blanc of minnesota.

as we searched for new books to try, a librarian rec-ommended philip pullman’s Dark Materials, a fantasy trilogy popular among young adults. the vocabulary was so advanced that we brought The Oxford English Dictionary to bed with us. one read, the other looked up erudite words. it was an intimate tête-à-tête, if not terribly romantic.

diana Gabaldon’s time-travel adventures in 18th-century scotland came next. for that series, my british accent morphed into a Highland brogue, ye kin, and we abandoned our one-chapter-a-night rule. the suspense was too much for us.

sleep-deprived but bonded through books, as i write this we’re reading the latest book by candlelight, wands at the ready.

Anne Hittler Hunter runs a Minneapolis marketing company by day and a candlelight book club by night.

Sources of inspirationBy James Gignac, ’01Great books, in my view, are those that tell stories and tell them in such a way that the reader becomes im-mersed in the narrative, grows attached to the charac-ters, and begins to actually experience the emotions. in other words, i think great books are those that have a capacity to change people.

The Riverkeepers is one book that changed me. Written by John cronin and robert f. Kennedy, Jr., the book chronicles the formation of the riverkeeper organization and its campaign to clean up the Hudson river. i read this book around the time i took Wes dick’s environmental history course at albion, and i still remember a tremendous feeling of energy and ex-citement as cronin and Kennedy recounted one victory after another on behalf of all the people who depended on the Hudson for their livelihoods and for their well-being. the authors’ thoughts on environmental politics also resonated strongly with me, particularly their point that “[i]f the environmental movement is to be a force in american politics, it must have relevancy in the daily lives of the majority of americans.”

i recently heard robert Kennedy speak at an oceans festival in alaska and was reminded of the inspiration i felt when i first read The Riverkeepers. more than anything, this book convinced me to pursue a career in environmental law. books have the capacity to tell stories and to influence people that other, more popular, information media like the internet can never hope to match.

James Gignac graduated from Harvard Law School in 2004, clerked for the Alaska Supreme Court in Anchorage, and this fall moved to Chicago to begin a career in environmental law.

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Images of homeBy Bud Johns, ’51in 1993 i attended Homecoming with my recent bride. Having grown up on a small college campus in Virginia, she wanted to see albion. somewhere in the material we were given that weekend was a list of contemporary novels students were reading. We zeroed in on China Boy, Gus Lee’s autobiographical novel about growing up in a 1950s san francisco neighborhood where his was the only chinese family. it had been published just two years before. We bought a copy as soon as we got home.

fran had moved to san francisco the year before, and Lee’s tale became a tour guide as well as a gripping story. We frequently interrupted reading to view places—cut-ty’s Garage, reliance market, the double olive bar, and brooks mortuary—that were thinly disguised but easily identifiable to me.

street names and intersections—central avenue, masonic and fulton, Lyon and Golden Gate—were unchanged. so were some key sites, most notably central city Ymca where cutty’s mechanics sent “china boy” to learn to box and defend himself.

invariably we think about the book when passing a location it mentions. Now we’re about to reread it. san francisco finally is participating in the “one city, one book” program, and China Boy is its initial selection. rereading it will be a bit different. fran now knows the territory, we’ve met Gus Lee briefly … and his literary agent is also hers.

When io triumphe! asked Bud Johns to write about a book that was important to him, he refrained from mentioning one of his own. He is president of Synergistic Press in San Francisco.

Links to the larger worldBy Gary Noble, ’57reading has been central to my education and my view of the larger world. in fact, i was such an avid reader as a child that i can still remember my mother saying in exasperation: “You would probably stop to read the newspaper if the house was burning.” in her defense, my mother greatly valued education and the importance of reading, but my fascination with the written word did sometimes interfere with getting my farming and garden-ing chores done!

my maternal grandfather subscribed to National Geographic, and i can remember vividly the photos and stories of the world outside the confines of our farming life, and the fascination that this publication brought to my young mind. as i later learned from travel to many parts of the world, each of us can benefit from an under-

standing of what life is like beyond the parochial limits of the communities in which we live.

in recent years, i have been attracted to biographies, and recently finished michael bliss’s 1999 biography of sir William osler, the great physician of montreal, Johns Hopkins, and oxford. interestingly, oxford is celebrating this year the 100th anniversary of osler’s arrival there to become the regius professor of medicine, a position created in 1546 by Henry Viii. While at oxford in the late 1950s, i enjoyed meetings of the oxford medical society in sir William’s former home, which was occupied by the then-current regius professor of medicine.

Gary Noble, a physician and former Rhodes Scholar, is now retired after a career with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Johnson & Johnson.

Portraits of human natureBy Jordan Lindberg, ’91ernest Hemingway’s Nick adams stories are meant to be read in a north-woods cabin, aside an open window, on a rainy september day, the musty fragrance of the yellowing paperback mixing with the smell of wood smoke and wet cedar.

they’re all gems, but the diamonds are “the battler,” “a Way You’ll Never be,” “big two-Hearted river,” and—my all-time favorite—“the three-day blow.” Heming-way’s style is aphoristic and oracular, a quality of writing that holds my attention even though i’m distractible to a fault. Like reading Nietzsche or Wittgenstein, Hemingway isn’t easy, and what you see in his stories might ultimately reveal more about you than you’ll want to admit.

Hemingway said that he wanted to write about places in the way that cézanne painted them, and in this he succeeded masterfully. reading these stories transports me back to the forests, shorelines, and trout streams of my Northern michigan adolescence, oftentimes to places more real in my imagination than they ever were in real life.

in this ‘p.c.’ era where the line between literature and politics has gotten as thin as tissue, admitting a fondness for Hemingway’s stories can brand you as misogynistic or, perhaps worse, clichéd. that’s a shame because Heming-way writes as well as anyone, and the Nick adams stories are insightful, pointillistic portraits of human nature.

Why do the Nick adams stories exert such gravitational pull on my life? simply put: because they make me think and feel as no other writing does. that’s reason enough.

Jordan Lindberg is a philosophy professor, occasional freelance writer, and trout bum . . . not necessarily in that order.

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Barbara Bush promotes literacy during campus visitin a speech spiced with humorous stories about her life since leaving the White House, 2005 stoffer Lecturer barbara bush reflected on lessons she has learned in 80 years of living. Nearly 4,000 students, faculty, parents, and community residents packed the Quadrangle to hear the former first lady during albion’s opening convocation aug. 25.

she brought a message of compassion and tolerance. “my first advice to each of you is to remind you

that none of us are the same, none of us are perfect,” she said. “it’s our cracks and flaws that make our lives together so very interesting. i know that albion college has a big emphasis on building character, which in-cludes learning to respect and celebrate the differences in all of us. please do not forget to take that lesson with you when you leave here. if we can all learn to respect each other more, i truly feel many of the other prob-lems we face could be solved.”

bush also teased the students in the audience about their high-tech vocabulary—joking about “foreign”

terms like tiVo, pda, Wifi, and blogs. “Just in case you think i am hopelessly stuck in the 20th century,” she added, “i do want you to know my blackberry is in my purse, and i can Google with the best of you.”

today, bush presides as honorary chair of the barbara bush foundation for family Literacy, which she founded. the foundation has donated more than $16 million to 500 literacy programs in 48 states.

“When i first became interested in literacy,” she noted, “i never dreamed that 25 years later i would still be encouraging parents to read to their children…. please remember one of the most important gifts you can give your children is to help them develop a love of reading and learning.”

in recognition of her efforts to advance family literacy, bush received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the convocation. she also partici-pated in an intimate question-and-answer session with students in the fritz shurmur education institute and other guests prior to her evening lecture.

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(Clockwise from left) As Albion College’s 2005 Stoffer Lecturer, Barbara Bush advised the college students in the audience “to get involved in your communities, to figure out a niche for yourself, and to remember that no act of kindness or caring is too small.”

Bush met with prospective teachers in the College’s Fritz Shurmur Education Institute, co-sponsor of this year’s Stoffer Lecture.

During an informal question-and-answer session moderated by Royal Ward, vice president for academic affairs, Barbara Bush reflected on why she had chosen to take up the literacy cause. “What could I do that would help the most people possible? There is no question in my mind—everything would be better if more people could read and write. I believe that to the tip of my toes. So I chose literacy.”

“Please remember one of the most important gifts you can give your children is to help them develop a love of reading and learning.”

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‘A Glorious T ime’

A coed’s letters offer rare glimpses of Albion College in the Jazz Age.

Dorothy Hill, ’32, enrolled at Albion College in the fall of 1928 and

began a series of letters to her family that reveals in eloquent fashion

her personal coming of age, while at the same time telling much about

student life on Albion’s campus. In compiling these letters, Dorothy’s

daughter, Mary Althaver, says she wished to preserve her mother’s

“powerful legacy” and to pass it on to her children and future generations.

We are privileged that she allowed us to reprint the following excerpts

from this delightful correspondence.

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september 18, 1928

dear family,i am all registered and ready for school to really begin. it was quite simple—got over to the gym early and waited an hour or more and then pushed and jammed my way into the gym. they all seem a jolly crowd, and i think everyone looks quite interesting. Had trouble getting in all the subjects i wanted to take, but end-ed by taking these classes: Greek—3 hours, biology—4 hours, History—3 hours, bible—3 hours, and philosophy—3 hours, for a total of 16 hours. my expenses were $270.00. General fee $15.00, Gym $10.00, biology $9.00, $65.00 for tuition, $108.00 for room and board, plus a few miscellaneous charges.

october 7, 1928

dear mother,You might be pleased to know that i went Kappa delta, after much thought and worry. the atmosphere was electric saturday morning, and there was even some weeping by the girls who were torn between sororities. However, they all seemed happy at night and ate with their different sororities.

saturday night was informal pledging and after going to the lodge and being hugged and kissed all around and getting our green and white ribbons to wear, we all piled into cars and went down to mitchell’s and had ice cream.

october 31, 1928

dear mother,thought i would get a letter off to you this afternoon, but stayed at the library instead and did some much needed work. everything is coming along swimmingly, i think. i’m buckling right down to studying and really hope i’ll make some decent grades. We had a house meeting tonight and were duly scolded for not observing quiet hours, so we feel quite humiliated. tonight d. Hawley and i took a late permission as it was the last of the month, and stayed out until 9 p.m.!

said, “i am sorry,” and walked calmly off the platform. i sat down and thought, well, mother said i’d do this someday and now i have. i didn’t feel like crying or anything. When the orations were over and the winner named, i congratulated them and then left.

as it happened, the judges were dean Gray, dr. Harrop, dr. Goodrich, prof. Hendrickson, and prof. Weiss! (a fairly complete list of my teachers, it seems.) don’t feel too badly about it, for i believe it was one of the best things that ever happened to me in several respects. dean Gray called me into her room that night to talk about it and asked me what was the trouble and i told her. she was perfectly adorable and told me that she was interested in me from the standpoint of the judges. she told me that when the judges met, dr. Harrop said, “i wish we could have heard the rest of dorothy Hill’s oration. she had a winsome way of speaking.” she made me promise that i would work up my oration and give the same one next year and win first prize. dr. Goodrich and dr. Harrop also talked to me yesterday and told me that i had great promise! dr. Goodrich offered to help me with mine next year and said that he had had the privilege of training albion’s first state [woman] orator, and he thought i could be a state orator if i would.

so perhaps, after all, i have aroused some interest at least. so please don’t feel disgraced! my oration is going to be a WoW next year.

december 12, 1928

dear mother,so many things have happened thick and fast that i hardly know where to begin. tonight was the christmas party and birthday din-ner combined. it was lots of fun. i wore my taffeta dress, and we had chicken and mince pie to eat.

it has been my heavy day and i am very tired, but i will attempt to tell you of the colossal failure i made tuesday. miss Hill got what was coming to her for not starting to write her oration soon enough. i was discouraged with it, but finally decided to give it. i worked all day monday on it and had very little sleep and only one meal (aren’t you horrified!!) and then tuesday was too busy finishing it and attempting to learn it so i didn’t eat that day either. i took an aspirin tablet and departed to the chapel with great foreboding and the queerest feeling i ever had. i was fatally calm and composed, was handed a program, and found that of the six orators, i was third on the program.

Well, to make it short—my oration was “price tags” and rather good, i thought, but no sooner had i gotten to the platform than i knew it would never be given. i started out, though, and got through a part of it and suddenly—my mind absolutely refused to function! there i stood—i was never so calm in all my life! i started on again and finally realized i should have to give up. i paused, then

susanna Wesley Hallalbion college

september 17, 1928

dear mother,arrived, settled, enthralled! it was a long afternoon and a busy one. Have unpacked and stowed away everything. the room is dusted and the lace doilies are under the glass on the dresser, the other lace doily on the little bookshelf.

i had to pinch myself at dinner to realize that all the surroundings were real! i wore my brown outfit, and the dinner was delicious! everyone is very friendly and anx-ious to get acquainted. Have seen every type of girl and of dress. our rooms are so lovely we hate to leave them.

after dancing and being entertained tonight we roasted marshmallows and sang with only the fire for light. it is all so wonderful it seems like some cameo of exquisite dancing, living figures caught for a second in their joy. then they sang “Good-Night, Ladies,” and before we knew what had happened we were climbing the stairs to our rooms. Now it will soon be time for lights out. (i have a whole little book of rules, you know!)

i shall never forget our firelight and singing. the andirons were cut in intricate lacy patterns and glowed in the firelight, and all was happiness, radiance, and beauty. albion does truly live up to the highest. ‘A Glorious T ime’

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January 15, 1929

dear mother,monday night the pledges gave their party to the ac-tives. it was a sleigh ride party, and, if you remember, monday night was perfect for a sleigh ride. the snow was freshly fallen and sparkled like diamonds (or ten-cent store snow), and it was still and there were stars and it snowed big, soft, white flakes. We met at the lodge at 7 p.m. and had two sleighs loaded. i wore all my shirts and sweaters as well as a pair of wool socks and Wes Vancamp’s suede jacket. We were all tucked in warm in the hay and didn’t get very cold. i got out and ran once, and it was gorgeous. We went to a farmhouse out near parma and had a lovely lunch—chicken sandwiches, coffee, fruit salad, and the most luscious homemade chocolate and white cakes. the actives all seemed to enjoy it. then we piled into the sleighs once more and drove home. it was all like a picture, two sleighs, one drawn by white horses, the other by black ones, and the lanterns casting shadows on the sparkling snow. the trees were half-covered with white and stood straight and silent in the night as we slipped by them, singing all the songs we knew. the sleigh drew up right at the steps of the dorm and how we did laugh and shout as we shook ourselves and our blankets and then rushed to sign in.

march 10, 1929

dear mother,it seems that i have had all the happy little excursions, parties, and all the joys that i can conceive of.

i will begin with saturday. the day dawned bright and miss dorothy definitely and completely loafed! slept until 9:30, then got up and did my recreation room work, washed, pressed, and bathed and various other things. i really splurged and had a finger wave saturday afternoon. [i] had no sooner reached the dorm [again] than i was informed that i had some flowers [for the formal that evening]!

immediately my interest mounted. i ran upstairs and opened them. i had the dearest corsage of pink roses with a little lavender and blue sprinkled in among them and pink ostrich feathers forming a background. they were tied with yellow and pink ribbons, and it all harmonized beautifully with my dress. i wore my hair parted on the side and had little curls low on the left side and wore one earring. i believe i looked quite all right.

We went downstairs, and the lobby was full of men in tuxes. m. Nash, ernie, and evan and i parted from the crowd and went out to find a brand new chevy waiting. evan drove, and [the others] sat in back. When we arrived still i was calm, cool, and collected (that’s what comes of being 21). We went in and found ourselves at the very head table, and evan and i were at the very head of it. the dinner was wonder-ful, and we had such a jolly time at our table.

march 14, 1929

dear dad,again i take my pen in hand to let you know the state of affairs and, incidentally, the state of my bank book. i have not heard from home since i wrote about my $3.00 check being returned. i think my account is all straight now except the $3.00 i still owe to Harriet. it seems that all i do lately is write home for money. i’m begin-ning to get the point of those “college letter” jokes! However, i hope after this there will be no more expense.

i am having a glorious time, though, and am thrilled through and through with everything that happens. i am surely having the happiest year a girl could have, with work and play and excitement mixed in perfect proportions. i feel intensely and vigorously alive and full of pep!

march 17, 1929

dear mother,at peace at last! the turmoil of the last month seems to be about over. our room is clean and shining and cozy. my studying for monday is all done! my washing and mending are finished, my drawers and closet in almost perfect order, and i have a box of red, cold, juicy apples under my bed. What more could any sane person want? it is a lovely, sparkling, tingling cool spring day, and the tree by our window stretches old gnarled branches as if it too were completely enamored by the sunshine and blue, blue sky.

if i never have another year in college, i shall never forget what this one has meant to me in a multitude of ways. it seems that it is equivalent to about three years in the strides i have taken in every way. i shall never forget how loyal my dear family has been and how they have sacrificed that i might be perfectly happy. i hope someday i can give back at least a part of that debt. in social, religious, and intellec-tual ways, i cannot even measure what college has meant

Susanna Wesley Hall was Dorothy Hill’s campus home. (1932 Albionian Photo)

22 | io triumphe!

Tips on Preserving Your Own Family History

5 Never use “sticky” tapes on documents, no matter how tattered or torn. such tapes can cause lasting damage and staining. this is also true of so-called “repair” tapes. remove metal fasten-ers, such as staples, paper clips, and pins. if neces-sary, use plastic paper clips instead.

6 do not laminate items you value.

7 Never use “magnetic” albums—the adhesives in these discolor and cause ir-reparable harm to photo-graphs and documents.

Jennie thomas, albion’s marilyn crandell schleg archivist, offers the following advice on preserving your important family papers and memorabilia.

memorial day, 1929

dearest mother,i went to convocation tonight at the chapel to hear dean Williams speak. He spoke on “religion and experience,” and i enjoyed it as i always enjoy him.

it was beautiful there in the chapel at that sunset hour when it is still bright outdoors. even the old chapel didn’t seem bad. the pipes of the organ with their gold bands gleamed softly and radiantly. everything was alive, even to the green leaves which peeked in at the windows. it was a dream fulfilled, just to be seated there. it seemed as if the opportunities for real living just tumbled over each other in a riotous tangle of ideas.

You know if i should die tonight—just slip out of the cosmos—i should thank God for giving me all the love and joy i have, for nothing can take from me what i have had, and life is only more full when touched by a little sadness—a little disappointment.

i have a queer feeling that no matter what happens, i have a place of retreat—no—not retreat, just a sense of holding the world in my hands whether it offers pain or pleasure and of lifting up my head and knowing that nothing can take from me the joy of living life to the full.

for as long as i can take life and hold it off a little distance—gain a little perspective—see its defects and its purpose—as long as i can look at life—see its problems and love it—so long as i can do that, i am free. for who can feel de-feated by a world which he recognizes as imperfect and which he knows he cannot make perfect, but which is still a world in which his influence may count for little or much—as he wills it.

Postscript

mary althaver adds the following postscript: dorothy graduated from albion college on June 6, 1932, with honors. she was also awarded a lifetime teacher’s certificate. unable to attend albion in the year following the stock market crash of 1929, she graduated after spending only three years on campus.

dorothy was vice president of the senior class, president of chevron (senior women’s honorary society), secretary of the Histrionic club, associate editor of the Albionian, and the winner of the baldwin oratorical contest, taking first place in 1931 and 1932. dorothy won second place in the state oratorical contest in 1932 and third place in 1931, and placed second in the Women’s state extempore speaking contest in 1931. she was a member of Kappa delta sorority, a proctor in susanna Wesley Hall, and a debater.

she truly made the most of her college experience. Her family’s sacrifices during the Great depression helped to make it possible, but her love of learning and enthusiasm for the experience of college life were the deciding factors in her success.

1 materials need a clean environment with good air circulation, low light, and moderate constant temperature and relative humidity. avoid warm, damp storage locations where mold can develop.

2 acid-free folders and storage boxes are best for archival storage. uni-versity products (www.archivalsuppliers.com/) is a good company for storage materials that will preserve your family’s collections for years to come, on a budget.

3 if you use plastic enclosures for your materials, only use polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene sleeves. other forms of plastic will be damaging to your materials.

4 modern newsprint (after the mid-1800s) is not stable—it degrades and becomes yellow and brittle. most fax paper is also inher-ently unstable. to preserve the information contained on these materials, best practice is to photocopy these onto acid-free paper.

8 if you are displaying items such as photographs or documents, avoid direct sunlight or substi-tute a color photocopy in the original’s place.

if you have especially valuable or historically significant items in your family archives (civil War-era letters, for example), you might want to consider donating those to a public archive where they can be conserved by professionals. if you wish to donate to the albion college archives any items related to student life (scrapbooks, photos, memorabilia), please contact: archives@albion.edu.

for more preservation tips, go to Io Triumphe! online at: www.albion.edu/iotriumphe/ .

fall 2005 | 23fall 2005 | 23

60 | io triumphe!

A L u M n ! A s s O c ! At ! O n n e W s

over 3,500 returning alumni and friends celebrated albion’s proud heritage at this year’s Homecoming. to recognize key developments in the college’s history since its founding in 1835, historic markers were on display in buildings through-out the campus (you can brush up on your college history with the quiz on page 61). the weekend kicked off with the alumni science symposium (see coverage on page 15) and

Homecoming 2005 Salutes 170 Years of History

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also included the ninth annual briton classic Golf tournament; a bicycle ride and fun run; a recital in memory of Jacqueline maag, professor emerita of music; the prentiss m. brown Honors institute reunion; and many other special events and receptions. alumni, along with many community friends, “rocked the night away” as the temptations review featuring dennis edwards performed in concert saturday evening at Goodrich chapel.

Emotions ran high on the sidelines as the Britons took on the Adrian College Bulldogs at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium. The Homecoming contest wasn’t decided until Adrian kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime to win the game, 30-27.

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President and First Lady Peter and Becky Mitchell congratulate this year’s Homecoming royalty, seniors Kristen Lake and Mike Garabelli.

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And the Alumni Band played on … this year with guest director (and former British Eighth director) Rick Blatti (far left).

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Sunny skies and warm temperatures brought Albion’s loyal fans out in full force for Saturday’s football game.

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fall 2005 | 61

Albion College History Quiz

how well do you know your Albion college history? the quiz below offers a chance to look back on Albion people, places, and events over the past 170 years.

1. WhatwereAlbion’sschoolcolorsbeforetheybecamepurpleandgold?

________________________________

2. WhatwasAlbion’sfirstlibrarybuildingcalled?

________________________________

3. WhatwasthefirstnationalGreek-letterorga-nizationtoestablishachapteratAlbion,and(forextracredit)inwhatyeardidthisoccur?

________________________________

4. Whattwobuildingsburneddownduringthe1922-23academicyear?

________________________________

5. PlacetheseAlbionpresidentsinchronologi-calorderfromearliesttomostrecent:

___WilliamWhitehouse

___LewisFiske

6. WhatwastheformernameofVulgamoreHall?

_______________________________

7. Whatgraduatingclassleftapileof13bouldersasamemorial?

_______________________________

8. NamethetwoU.S.firstladieswhohavegivenguestlecturesatAlbionCollege.

_______________________________

HISTORY QuIz PROVIDeD BY ALBIOn HISTORY CLuB memBeR, JAYne PTOLemY, ’06.

___BernardLomas

___SamuelDickie

Tim Royle, ’89, (right) joined Albion’s Director of Media Relations Morris Arvoy, ’90, in the press box to assist in the Internet broadcast of the Briton football game. The entire Royle family, including parents James and Tamara Transue Royle, both ’63, as well as Tim’s siblings, Megan, ’95, and Mike, ’92, were honored during the game for their active involvement in the life of the College.

Former Albion President Bernard Lomas, ’46, took the podium at the College once again, this time as the recipient of a Meritorious Service Award at the Alumni Awards Ceremony in the Kellogg Center’s Gerstacker Commons (known to many alumni as the College Chapel). For more on the ceremony, see page 62.

Purple and gold was the order of the day, even for the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards. The Temptations Review, including trombonist Nick Cucinella, ’01, kept the capacity crowd in Goodrich Chapel on its feet with hits from years past like “Can’t Get Next to You” and “My Girl.”

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History Quiz answers:1. Pink and green. 2. Lottie L. Gassette Library. 3. Delta Tau Delta fraternity, 1876. 4. The original College gymnasium and Robinson Hall. 5. Lewis Fiske, Samuel Dickie, William Whitehouse, Bernard Lomas. 6. North Hall. 7. Class of 1870. 8. Eleanor Roosevelt (1961), Barbara Bush (2005).

62 | io triumphe!

A L u M n ! A s s O c ! At ! O n n e W s

2005 Alumni Awards Honor Achievements of ‘Head and Heart’

This year’s alumni award recipients, pictured with President Peter Mitchell, ’67, (far right), included: (front row) Margaret “Peg” Mitchell Turner, ’69, Duncan Beagle, ’70, (back row) Bernard Lomas, ’46, William Ferguson, ’52, George Heartwell, ’71, and Faith Fowler, ’81.

The Alumni Awards Ceremony was held Oct. 1, 2005, during Homecoming Weekend.

Distinguished Alumni Award recipients

the distinguished alumni award recognizes college alumni for their genuine leadership and dedicated service to others.

Duncan M. Beagle, ’707th circuit court Judge flint, mich.

Faith E. Fowler, ’81executive directorcass community social servicesdetroit, mich.

George K. Heartwell, ’71mayor Grand rapids, mich.

Margaret Mitchell Turner, ’69teacher and mentoralbion public schoolsalbion, mich.

Meritorious service Award recipients

the meritorious service award recognizes individuals for their commitment and service to albion college.

William C. Ferguson, ’52chairman and ceo (retired)NYNeX (now Verizon)armonk, N.Y.

Bernard T. Lomas, ’46president emeritusalbion collegeGrand rapids, mich.

For more information on this year’s honorees, go to: www.albion.edu/alumni/ daa_criteria.asp .

To submit a Distinguished Alumni Award nomination, contact marcia Hepler Starkey, ’74, associate vice president for alumni/parent relations, at 517/629-0284 or via e-mail at mstarkey@albion.edu, or go to: www.albion.edu/alumni/nomination_form.asp .

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fall 2005 | 63

Ceremony Reunites 1977 Champion Football Squad

at this year’s athletic Hall of fame induction ceremony, players and fans alike relived the victorious 1977 football season that led to albion’s first appearance in Ncaa postseason competition. the 1977 football squad, with 33 team members in attendance, was recognized along with 10 individual honorees and the 1970 men’s golf team.

2005 Athletic hall of Fame inductions

IndividualsGary e. allore, ’85robert L. basselman, ’75John W. dunlop, ’89debra frey fadool, ’85daniel m. Korson, ’85catherine marcos-millet, ’89brian G. mcpheely, ’78Harry (rick) otis, ’77timothy H. Williams

For more information on this year’s inductees, go to: www.albion.edu/sports/halloffame/2005.asp .

To submit a Hall of Fame nomination, contact marcia Hepler Starkey, ’74, associate vice president for alumni/parent relations, at 517/629-0284 or via e-mail at mstarkey@albion.edu, or go to: www.albion.edu/sports/halloffame/nomination_form.asp .

Special Recognition daniel boggan, ’67

Teams1970 men’s Golf1977 football

(Above left) Dan Boggan, ’67, former chief operating officer of the NCAA, offered the acceptance speech on behalf of the inductees at the Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony during Homecoming Weekend. (Above right) An All-MIAA honoree in cross country and track, Debra Frey Fadool, ’85, (with President Mitchell) was among the 10 individuals inducted this year.

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(Left) After coaching stints at Colorado, Northwestern, and Maryland, Ron Vanderlinden, ’78, is now linebackers coach at Penn State.

(Below) The 1977 Briton football squad, with Vanderlinden at center, became the first MIAA team ever to compete in the NCAA postseason tournament, facing off against the University of Minnesota-Morris.

Where Are They Now?An update on Albion hall of Famer ron vanderlinden, ’78By Bobby Lee

a four-year starter at center while at albion, ron Vanderlinden, ’78, twice earned all-miaa honors while helping the briton football team claim league championships in 1976 and 1977. the 1977 team was also the first to represent the league in Ncaa division iii postseason competition. at Homecoming 2005, Vanderlinden was inducted along with his teammates from the 1977 squad into the athletic Hall of fame.

the awards and trophies have provided many fond memo-ries of albion; however, Vanderlinden says the mentors he had at albion and elsewhere were crucial in grooming him for a success-ful collegiate coaching career that has taken him to all parts of the country, including his current position as linebackers coach at penn state university.

“i had great role models,” Vanderlinden said from his office in university park, pa., in between meetings for this year’s grid cam-paign. “frank Joranko was an outstanding coach and an even better person. i not only learned good football but also lessons of character and motivation.”

among his favorite briton football memories, he says, are the vic-torious road trips to Hope and alma that in 1976 helped the squad claim its first league title in seven years.

Vanderlinden went on to serve as an assistant football coach at the university of colorado for nine years, during which time the buffaloes won three conference titles and the 1990 national championship.

following the success at colorado, he began a five-year stint as

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the defensive coordinator at Northwestern university (helping the Wildcats to back-to-back big ten championships as well as a berth in the 1996 rose bowl and 1997 florida citrus bowl) and a four-year tenure as head coach at the university of maryland.

today, Vanderlinden keeps tabs on albion’s football program through former albion quarterback (and son of current briton head coach craig rundle, ’74) travis rundle, ’02, now a graduate assistant coach at penn state.

“[albion’s] is a score i always look for,” Vanderlinden said. “i’m updated immediately now that travis is here.”

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this year albion college celebrates 170 years! congratulations to the faculty, staff, alumni, and friends who have contributed so much to its success over the years. certainly, this notable achievement was attained through commitment, the continual recognition of traditions, and the invigoration of vision delivered by dedicated people. in some respects, the albion college of today may be different from how we remember it. as with other dynamic institutions, albion’s leaders realized that organizations need to change based on external and internal influences. While change may sometimes be difficult to accept, it is the connections between the old and new that help us make the next leap.

i think back to my own college days and easily see some threads to the current times. my class learned the word “sesqui-centennial” as albion college celebrated 150 years in 1985. (can it really be 20 years have passed?) many new buildings have gone up since the mid-1980s; however, many others were renovated or restored so that a certain continuity with the past remains. even this new Io Triumphe! magazine format exhibits traditions long observed while boldly and progressively moving forward.

my summer this year included two poignant reads: The Gift of Asher Lev (chaim potok) and The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (thomas L. friedman). modification in perception, expansion of vision, connectivity between peoples, challenge of assumptions, and struggle to reconcile the “way it was done” with the “way it will be” are similar themes in these books. all of these ideas are relevant to the times in which we find ourselves. the ability to guide this ebb and flow of change will be furthered by understanding how peoples and systems are connected, challenging the ways we envision global exchange now, yet recognizing the important lessons of the past. so it goes with albion college: steeped in tradition, yet embracing the future.

the concept and intent of “my albion” extends well beyond undergraduate years. if it can be agreed that change will continue and that value exists in observing traditions of the past, i would encourage all alumni and friends to remain involved with albion college over many years. for example, update yourself on college affairs using the Web site (www.albion.edu), visit the campus and reconnect with a professor or tour a new building, e-mail president peter mitchell (ptmitchell@albion.edu) with ideas, inquire how you might become involved with alumni association activities, or encourage high school students to check out albion college. We, as students of the liberal arts, are encouraged and challenged to link together the past with the future, to be agents of change yet standard bearers of traditions. such is the “Gift of albion college.”

y O u r A L u M n ! A s s O c ! At ! O n

Steeped in Tradition, Yet Embracing the FutureBy James Cox, ’87President, Alumni AssociationBoard of Directors

L ! L B r ! t s

Try These at Home!

identify snowflakes

Materials:

black velvet fabric

small embroidery hoop (available at craft stores)

magnifying glass

Make your Own Play Putty

Ingredients:

elmer’s Glue® (original formulation)

1 teaspoon borax powder dissolved in 1 cup of warm water. (it may not all dissolve, but stir for at least 5 minutes.)

food coloring

Play with numbers

Materials:

plain white paper or card stock for scorecard

dice

pencil

How to play: the first player rolls the dice to get a number and then draws that many circles on the scorecard. she rolls the dice again and, using this second number, draws that many stars inside each circle. the player then counts the stars and records the total on her scorecard. the second player follows the same process. Whoever has the higher total wins. this introduction to multiplication can be done with stickers, photocopied pictures, colored dots, etc., and can also be tied to seasons of the year or holidays such as Halloween or thanksgiving.

stretch the black velvet on the hoop. on a snowy day, head outdoors and collect snow-flakes on the velvet. examine the distinctive shapes with the magnifying glass. these spe-cial forms are among the easiest to identify: lacy dendrites, thin hexagonal plates, hollow columns, or needles. snowflake shapes vary with the weather conditions (temperature and humidity) that produced them, so each time you catch them, you likely will find different shapes.

–Tamara Crupi Director of Whitehouse Nature Center Albion College

in a small “zipper”-style plastic bag, add 2 tablespoons of elmer’s glue and any food coloring you wish to add to make your putty colorful. add 1 teaspoon of the borax solution, seal the bag, and mix the ingredi-ents together well. the glue should begin to clump immediately. continue to mix in the plastic bag until the putty is formed. remove the putty from the bag and work it into a ball and rinse with water while kneading the putty. When the water runs clear and all the unreacted glue is removed, your putty is yours to enjoy. store in a clean bag to maintain “freshness.”

–Andrew French Associate Professor of Chemistry Albion College

Help Your Kids Love Science:Here are some mid-michigan locations that offer family-oriented science education activities. a more complete list of Lower peninsula science centers is available online at: www.albion.edu/iotriumphe/fall2005 .

ALBiOn Kids ’n’ Stuff: An Interactive experience for Kids[ i ] www.kidsnstuff.org[ P ] 517/629-8023

Albion College whitehouse nature Center[ i ] www.albion.edu/naturecenter[ P ] 517/629-0582

Ann ArBOr Ann Arbor Hands-On museum[ i ] www.aahom.org[ P ] 734/995-5439

BAttLe creeKKingman museum[ i ] www.kingmanmuseum.org[ P ] 269/965-5117

hAstinGsPierce Cedar Creek Institute[ i ] www.cedarcreekinstitute.org[ P ] 269/721-4190

KALAMAZOOKalamazoo Valley museum[ i ] www.kalamazoomuseum.org[ P ] 800/772-3370

LAnsinGImpression Five Science Center[ i ] www.impression5.org[ P ] 517/485-8116

Your whole family can enjoy these simple science and math activities.

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Steeped in Tradition, Yet Embracing the FutureBy James Cox, ’87President, Alumni AssociationBoard of Directors

fall 2005 | 65

Albion’sNewObservatoryAtopPalenskeHallPalenske Hall’s new Astronomy Observation Deck, made possible by a gift from Linda and Richard Baird, ’78, boasts a 16-foot Ash Dome that will house the College’s 14-inch Celestron telescope. The rotating dome is equipped with data ports linked to computers that will display astronomical images and data in real time. See page 14 for an update on the progress of the science complex renovation and expansion project.

commuNicatioNs office611 e. porter streetaLbioN, mi 49224-1831

address serVice reQuested

Io TrIumphe!The Magazine for aluMni and friends of Albion College

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