Published Sept. 28, 2017
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with our alumni and friends affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Homecoming
With sunny, blue skies above, hundreds of alumni gathered on campus to enjoy Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, Sept. 14-17. The weekend included class gatherings, the Legacies & Leadership philanthropy celebration, alumni awards, the Athletics Hall of Honor induction ceremony, an alumni career panel, an archaeological dig, the Pam Evans Smith Memorial 5K, and plenty of Tiger victories.
Upward Bound
Thanks to the work of a bi-partisan coalition of elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), funding for Wittenberg鈥檚 TRIO Upward Bound Program has been restored. The program, which has been preparing low-income high school students for college opportunities for more than 50 years, will receive a five-year grant in the amount of $516,958 per year from the U.S. Department of Education.
Enlight
Ranked 46th among the 鈥淢ost Entrepreneurial Colleges in America鈥� by Forbes, Wittenberg has a distinguished history of producing innovators who are passionate about taking start-up ideas and turning them into successful operations. To show this success, a new programming series debuted during Homecoming. Called Enlight, the series kicked off with an all-entrepreneur alumni panel and post-event networking reception, Sept. 15. The next event on Oct. 6 is Taste of Witt and will feature alumni entrepreneurs who have found success in the food industry.
Bold Thinking
Entering its 35th season, this year鈥檚 Wittenberg Series includes such distinguished guests as J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis; Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family; Iraqi poet Dunya Mikhail; filmmaker Elisabeth Haviland James; community activist Bernadette Evans 鈥�89, evolutionary biologist Sean B. Carroll, theologian Joy Schroeder and the Seraph Brass quintet. The free programming Series kicked off with President Frandsen presenting the Opening Convocation address, Aug. 22.
On The Airwaves
Wittenberg's student-run radio station, WUSO 89.1-FM, recently re-established ties with Dayton-based public radio station WDPR 88.1-FM to enhance its visibility within the Springfield community, diversify its programming and connect students to professional opportunities.WUSO will now simulcast WDPR's classical music programming seven days a week, in addition to local information, weather updates and broadcasts of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra concerts.
Teaching Excellence
Jeremiah Williams, associate professor of physics and three-time recipient of a National Science Foundation grant for his dusty plasma research, has added another NSF grant to his impressive external funding portfolio, bringing the total amount received to more than $1 million. Because of these grants and Wittenberg's commitment to hands-on learning, Williams said he is able to "give students cutting-edge research opportunities that they might otherwise have to wait until graduate school, if that, to experience." His latest award will provide funding to support research activities, including those needed to develop a time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry system.
Alumni In The News / #LifeAfterWitt
Josh Dean 鈥�95 was interviewed on NPR鈥檚 All Things Considered about his latest book, The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History. Dean is a correspondent for Outside, a founding editor of Play: The New York Times Sports Magazine, and a regular contributor to national magazines, including GQ, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Popular Science.
Megan Bobbitt 鈥�17 has been hired by Nestl茅 as a regional sales representative in Stamford, Conn. She credits Wittenberg鈥檚 Communication and Business Leadership Program (CABLE) with helping her to land the position, and the university鈥檚 study-abroad program in Wittenberg, Germany, with helping her to choose a career path.
Lambert, Edwards & Associates, Michigan's largest public relations and public affairs firm and a top-15 investor relations firm nationally, has hired veteran automotive and business journalist Brent Snavely '92 as a director. An award-winning journalist, Snavely most recently served as the lead automotive writer at the Detroit Free Press where he served as a key member of the team that covered Detroit's bankruptcy and closely chronicled the transformation of Chrysler from a bankrupt American automaker into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Meet The Board
The three members of the Wittenberg Board of Directors featured in this edition are: The Rev. Catherine Schibler Keegan '82, Dr. Wendell Lutz '66 and Dr. Alan Stewart '69.
Schibler Keegan is a Lutheran pastor and assistant to the bishop in the Northwestern Ohio Synod. She is the regional representative for that synod with Portico Benefits Service, a group that provides retirement and life insurance to pastors, ministers and lay employees within the ELCA. She holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary. In addition to her service on the Board, she has been a volunteer for the Office of Advancement and is a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
A world-renowned expert in radiation oncology, Lutz is a retired medical physicist with the University of Arizona鈥檚 hospital system. Prior to that, he worked at Harvard Medical School as a physicist and radiation therapist and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in a similar role. In 2016, he received the Edith H. Quimby Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Physics. A member of Phi Mu Delta fraternity and an active volunteer for the Office of Advancement, Lutz received an honorary doctorate of science from Wittenberg in 1991 and the Distinguished Alumni Citation in 2002.
Stewart is an internal medicine physician with Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Ind. He also has served as medical director of Good Samaritan鈥檚 rehabilitation unit and as director of medical education for the hospital. He previously owned a private practice. In 2008, he was named Citizen of the Year for his work within the Vincennes community. A founding member of the Wittenberg Communication Parents Leadership Council, an Office of Advancement volunteer and a member of Beta Theta Pi, he received the Class of 1914 Award in 2010.
Engaging Alumni
The Office of Advancement is taking Wittenberg's new president, Dr. Michael L. Frandsen, on a year-long, cross-country tour to introduce him to as many alumni as possible. First stop: Indianapolis, Ind., on Sept. 27. See full list and make your plans to attend an event in your area today.
A Time To Sing
Wittenberg will welcome back all choir alumni for a reunion, Nov. 9-12, on campus. Special events and classes, and the sharing of history and traditions will serve as the backdrop for the four-day reunion, which will culminate in an all-alumni choir concert.