OCR | Digital Collections (2024)

WINTER 2014 / ISSUE 76

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

20
24
26

Passport to the Liberal Arts:
F&M Expands its Global Reach
A Citizen Artist: Stuart Pimsler ’71
in the Realm of Public Discourse
Reflecting, Connecting and Surviving:
A Mother and Daughter Embark
on a Transformational Journey

Flavor from the Soul

Franklin & Marshall Magazine

Shaped by influences in the U.S. and India,
Rahul Akerkar ’81 redefines high-end dining in Mumbai

elements

Winter2 0 1 4

Front cover: Chef Rahul Akerkar '81 in
his thriving Mumbai restaurant, Indigo.
Photo by Sheena Sippy.
Left: Students walk near Old Main
after the second of three snowstorms
blanketed campus during reading
days and final exams in December.
Photo by Eric Forberger.

Departments

Letters

Matters

President’s Perspective

Campus Space

Go Diplomats

Bookshelf

Class Action

History Lesson

Editorial
Flavor from the Soul

Passport to the
Liberal Arts

A Citizen Artist

Reflecting, Connecting
and Surviving

ISSUE NO. 76 A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION / EDITOR CHRIS KARLESKY ’01 / DESIGNERS ANITA FOCHT AND ART270 INC. / CONSULTING EDITORS CASS CLIATT, KEVIN
BURKE, JASON KLINGER AND TODD LINEBURGER / CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PETER DURANTINE AND JULIA FERRANTE / CONTACTS: EMAIL MAGAZINE@FANDM.EDU
P H O N E 7 1 7 - 2 9 1 - 3 8 3 6 / C H A N G E O F A D D R E S S A L U M N I . R E C O R D S @ FA N D M . E D U / C O L L E G E P O L I C Y F & M D O E S N O T D I S C R I M I N AT E O N T H E B A S I S O F
RACE, RELIGION, COLOR, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, OR NATIONAL OR ETHNIC ORIGIN IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF ITS EDUCATIONAL
P O L I C I E S , A D M I S S I O N S P O L I C I E S , S C H O L A R S H I P A N D L O A N P R O G R A M S , AT H L E T I C P R O G R A M S , O R O T H E R C O L L E G E - A D M I N I S T E R E D P R O G R A M S .
©2014 FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE

Letters
From the Editor

Welcome to the Winter 2014 edition of Franklin &
Marshall Magazine, which takes you from Mumbai
to Lancaster to Los Angeles—and many places in
between. In this issue you will meet Rahul Akerkar ’81,
whose liberal arts education helped kindle culinary
stardom in India; Nicki Bosica Durlester ’78, whose
cancer diagnosis led to a life’s passion; Stuart Pimsler
’71, an internationally recognized performer and
cultural activist; and some of the nearly 300 students
at F&M who hail from overseas.
Help us identify intriguing and meaningful stories
for future issues of the magazine by dropping us a
line. Also, write with your comments about previous
editions. You can reach us at magazine@fandm.edu
or Franklin & Marshall Magazine, P.O. Box 3003,
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003. Enjoy this issue—we look
forward to hearing from you.
– Chris Karlesky ’01, editor

On Rett Syndrome
I want to express my appreciation for the very attractive and
informative autumn issue, particularly the article about Rett Syndrome
(“Living with Rett Syndrome”). I suspect this was the first contact many
alumni readers had with this disorder, which is a relatively rare
neurodevelopmental disorder affecting about 15,000 children and
young adults in the U.S. However, it is the subject of primary research
by two F&M alumni, Michael Johnston, M.D., and me, at the Kennedy
Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins. The magazine did a special service
by bringing this article to the attention of its readers. The author,
Daina Savage, and the mother in the story, Susan Long ’90, are to be
congratulated for their efforts to inform F&M alumni and others on
behalf of the Rett community and researchers in that field.
Jay R. Shapiro, M.D., ’53
Baltimore

Memories of the Airwaves
Lowrey Heaver ’63 and Patrick Styer ’59 wrote to correct information
that appeared in our Campus Space section of the Autumn issue,
which highlighted the College’s WFNM 89.1 FM radio station.
The station launched as WWFM in 1957 in the basement of Hartman
Hall—not in Ben Franklin Hall, as the magazine indicated. The alumni
also shared memories:
I was one of about six or seven students who constructed the
station during the summer of 1957. We started with an empty
room about 20-by-20 feet and built a raised floor control room and
broadcast booth in about half the room. The remainder was used
for record storage, files, a desk and a studio for those rare instances

WINTER 2014

when more than one person was on the air. The control room
included a control panel, amplifier, microphone and turntables.
The FCC limited the broadcast area to the campus. This was easily
accomplished since Hartman Hall was the largest student residence.
Patrick Styer ’59
Houston
I was a disk jockey, along with my roommate, at WWFM our
freshman year. I was later the business manager. Unlike the spacious
area shown in the Autumn issue, the control room back then was,
shall we say, very compact. I was told by our chief engineer that,
if atmospheric conditions were just right, we could be heard as far
away as York. The station has a heck of a grand set-up now. It’s come
a long way since my day.
Lowrey Heaver ’63
Malvern, Pa.

The Focal Point of Campus
I very much enjoyed the article about Franklin & Marshall Academy
(“Back to the Academy,” Autumn 2013). I wish, however, to voice
my strong opinion about the demolishing of Hartman Hall many years
ago. When I was a student at F&M, Hartman Hall was the focal point
of the campus. It is disturbing to think that the College’s administration
at the time allowed this beautiful building to be razed. Today’s students
have no knowledge of this building and the tall tales and memories
it represented.
Donald B. Krummrich ’65
Daytona Beach, Fla.

Alumni Physicians Invest
in Students’ Success
MELISSA HESS

Mentors Dr. Cherise Hamblin ’03 (left) and Dr. Daniel Weber ’76 discuss
their medical careers with Kate Trieschman ’16.

and alumni. “It’s valuable to have a chance when you’re 19 or 20 to ask
a physician any question. Almost 50 F&M alumni work at LGH. Let’s
invite those alumni back, reawaken their dreams by connecting them
with pre-med students, and engage them in the life of the College.”
The students meet with alumni several times each semester,
including at a social event that connects the students and mentors
with the liberal arts aspects of F&M. A reception for mentors
and mentees in October was beneficial for Kate Trieschman ’16,
a student from Massachusetts who plans to go to medical school.
“I met with physicians who were speaking casually about their
careers,” Trieschman says. “It gave me a taste of their lives,
and the balance between being a physician and having a family.
That’s important to me.”
Trieschman’s mentor was Hamblin, who invited her to watch
a typical workday at Lancaster’s Women & Babies Hospital. “Being
a physician used to seem so far away, but seeing Dr. Hamblin work
with patients made everything so real. When I saw her work through
cases methodically and interact with patients, I said, ‘Wow, this is
really something I want to do.’”
Those words are familiar to Hamblin. “PMOD is not just about
shadowing on the job,” she says. “This is about mentorship. If you’re
an F&M alum, you have an acute awareness of what these students are
experiencing. We’re invested in their success.” ■ Chris Karlesky ’01

MELISSA HESS

ore than a decade after graduating from Franklin
& Marshall, Dr. Cherise Hamblin ’03 still thinks back to her
sophomore year at the College. Organic chemistry and
numerous lab courses made the journey to medical school
a rigorous—and memorable—challenge.
But it was also the year she met Dr. Daniel Weber ’76,
a local obstetrician and educator. She spoke regularly with
Weber and shadowed him on the job, eventually viewing her
own journey in a new light.
“My sophomore year was my most challenging year at F&M,”
Hamblin says. “Dr. Weber’s mentorship made me realize, ‘Wow, this
is why I’m doing it.’ It gave me fuel to work hard at my studies.”
Hamblin maintained a strong relationship with Weber over the
years and recently began a career as an obstetrician at Lancaster
General Health (LGH). During the fall semester, she joined Weber
and other alumni in Physician Mentoring Opens Doors (PMOD), a
program in which F&M alumni working at LGH provide mentorship
to students interested in health professions. The program launched
in 2013 under the guidance of Weber and Glenn Cummings, Ph.D.,
F&M’s director of health professions advising in the Office of
Student & Post-Graduate Development.
“We hope PMOD enriches the pre-health student experience
at F&M,” Cummings says of the program, which included nine
student-alumni pairs last fall. “This is a way for students to gain
valuable exposure to health care and to doctor-patient
relationships. It’s also a way for students to have conversations
with doctors who are at varying stages of their careers, facing
professional challenges and also dealing with the balancing act
necessary to maintain their personal lives. Good mentoring can
expose them to a lot more than just the daily technical aspects
of their jobs.”
Weber, who now serves as in-house medical expert for the
Pennsylvania Department of State, says PMOD benefits students

Reflections on Writing
F&M writing tutor Stephanie
Palazzo ’14 (left) looks over a paper
written by Chenxue (Sherry) He ’17
in the College’s Writing Center in
Diagnothian Hall. The photo was
part of the College’s “Photo of the
Day” series, which launched last fall
on the F&M home page to provide
snapshots of everyday campus life.
A new photo appears each day at
www.fandm.edu.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Up Close
DAVID L. MCMAHAN

Q: How did you become interested in Buddhism?
It was one of the things I came across when I began to
question the Christianity I was brought up with. I took
a couple of classes in college and appreciated the complex
philosophy, rich aesthetics and meditation practices.

David L. McMahan, the Charles A. Dana Professor of
Religious Studies, joined Franklin & Marshall’s faculty in
1999. He has authored several books on Buddhism, and his
research has taken him to rural and urban communities in
Asia, Europe and North America. In 2013 he received the
Bradley R. Dewey Award for Outstanding Scholarship, the
College’s highest honor for faculty scholarship.

Q: Where is the most remote location to which
you’ve traveled for your research, and what’s
the most fascinating thing you learned there?
Traveling has been a fun and rewarding aspect of my job.
One of the most remote and fascinating trips was to Ladakh,
deep in the Himalayas in northern India. It’s home to a Tibetan
Buddhist culture that lives alongside Islamic societies. A friend
and I took a jeep along harrowing mountain roads and then
trekked for about 90 miles in an ethnically Tibetan area called
Zanskar. We came across villages with no electricity or running
water that grow barley and wheat at 12,000 feet and have
a sustainable, self-sufficient communal life they’ve maintained
for centuries. As we got closer to the small capital, we could
see the effects of development slowly emerging—new roads
being built, western clothes, and the erosion of this way of life.
It was an amazing way to see the effects—both beneficial
and detrimental—of this rapid change and development.

Q: How would you characterize the relationship
between Buddhism and science?
This is a relationship that goes back to the 19th century, when
many predominantly Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka (then
Ceylon) were colonized by European powers. While Christian
missionaries were attempting to displace Buddhism, claiming
it was superstitious and backward, Buddhists (including
the first Western Buddhists) began to reframe Buddhism in
ways that deemphasized ritual, priesthood, hierarchy and
“superstition,” and emphasized philosophy and ethics. They
insisted that Buddhism was more compatible with a modern,
rational and scientific understanding of the world than
Christianity. Today, more recent versions of this interpretation
have gained global prestige. This has been fostered by the
Dalai Lama’s interest in science and the recent spate of
scientific studies of Buddhist meditation, including sticking
meditating monks in functional magnetic resonance imaging
machines and doing other neurological measurements to try
to discern the neurological, psychological and physiological
effects of Buddhist meditation practices.

MELISSA HESS

Q: Why do you think meditation is becoming
increasingly popular in modern society?

WINTER 2014

People meditate for lots of different reasons, from attempting
profound personal and even social transformation to relief
of the stress induced by the frenetic pace of life and the
often-corrosive modern workplace. The isolation of these
techniques from their wider religious and cultural context is
a subject of considerable debate, but one of its effects is that
some of these techniques—basic mindfulness practices—have
been redefined as essentially secular practices for physical
and psychological health. This, in turn, has allowed them to
penetrate some of the most prestigious secular institutions
in the western world, such as public universities, hospitals,
corporations and even the military. ■ Chris Karlesky '01

Latest Edition of
F&M Scientist Showcases
Work of Alumni

rom complex chemistry to fruit flies, Rett Syndrome to total
parenteral nutrition, this year’s edition of F&M Scientist makes Claude
Yoder ’62 marvel at the work of Franklin & Marshall alumni.
“It’s exciting to see the interesting and significant work our alumni
are doing in the sciences,” says Yoder, F&M’s Charles A. Dana Professor
of Chemistry and editor of the science journal. “We have a lot of scientists
and physicians in our alumni community who launched impressive careers
after doing undergraduate research at F&M.”
Published by the College, F&M Scientist debuted in 2013 to highlight
original work and research reviews by alumni in the sciences, mathematics
and computer science. The second edition, which published in January,
includes articles by six alumni and an interview with internationally
renowned physician Stanley Dudrick, M.D., ’57.
“We had such a nice response to the inaugural issue last year,”
Yoder says. “All of the articles in the second edition are submissions
that required no urging
from me. Alumni are
excited to be part of
a College publication
that showcases excellence
in the sciences.”
This year’s edition
features work by Margaret
S. Clark ’73, Sunita
Gupta Kramer ’92,
Jay R. Shapiro, M.D., ’53,
P. Shing Ho ’79, Jeffrey B.
Wagman ’98 and
Donald U. Wise ’53.
A centerpiece of the
issue is Yoder’s interview
with Dudrick, whose
intravenous feeding
system known as
total parenteral
nutrition revolutionized
post-operative patient
care and earned him
worldwide accolades.
“So many influences from Stanley’s upbringing in Pennsylvania’s coal
region had an impact on his career,” Yoder says. “The interview sheds
light on his family, his life growing up on a farm and the many factors
that contributed to the way he cared for his patients.”
The journal is available online at www.fandm.edu/fandm-scientist.
To obtain a hard copy, contact Professor Claude Yoder at
cyoder@fandm.edu. Submissions for the third edition are due to Yoder
by Sept. 1. ■ Chris Karlesky ’01

IN
THE
Franklin & Marshall people, events and ideas
regularly make news. Here are some recent
headlines from national and regional sources.
For more headlines, please visit:

www.fandm.edu/news/f-m-in-the-news
OBAMA WORKING TO MOBILIZE
OUTSIDE COALITION OF GROUPS TO
PROMOTE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA
The Washington Post (Jan. 14, 2014)

Franklin & Marshall and its president, Daniel R. Porterfield,
are part of a Washington Post story previewing the
White House summit on access to higher education.
go.fandm.edu/wash-post-summit

THE WAR ON POVERTY AT 50
Patriot-News (Jan. 10, 2014)

Professor of Economics Antonio Callari and Associate
Professor of Government Stephen Medvic contribute op-ed
pieces to a Patriot-News series on the War on Poverty.
go.fandm.edu/poverty-medvic and go.fandm.edu/
poverty-callari

NOTHING CAN MAKE TRIATHLETE
JOHN HARGREAVES QUIT, NOT EVEN
A HEART STOPPAGE
Pennlive.com (Jan. 6, 2014)

John Hargreaves ’74 talks about how he developed
a passion for running and fitness when he was a student
at F&M—a passion that has endured even as he recovers
from cardiac bypass surgery.
go.fandm.edu/hargreaves

EXPERTS LOOK TO STATE, NATIONAL POLITICS
IN THE NEW YEAR
Lancaster Newspapers (Jan. 2, 2014)

Terry Madonna, director of F&M’s Center for Politics and Public
Affairs, and Associate Professor of Government Stephen Medvic
discuss political issues that could grab headlines in 2014.
go.fandm.edu/politics-in-2014

10 CHATTY AND CREATIVE COLLEGES
ON TWITTER

Chapman University/Sheri Lehman blog (Dec. 9, 2013)
F&M appears in a list of colleges and universities that use
social media creatively.
go.fandm.edu/creative-twitter

LEAVES TELL THE REAL STORY
OF LANCASTER COUNTY
Lancaster Newspapers (Nov. 21, 2013)

Research by Dorothy Merritts, F&M’s Harry W. &
Mary B. Huffnagle Professor of Geosciences, and
Associate Professor of Geosciences Robert Walter ’75
unveils a picture of the pre-settlement landscape in
Lancaster County.
go.fandm.edu/merritts-walter ■
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Matters
At White House, Porterfield Urges Education Leaders
to Dispel Low-Income Myth

peaking at a Higher Education Summit at the White House Jan. 16,
F&M President Daniel R. Porterfield urged a group of influential college
and university leaders to recognize and recruit the high-achieving
academic talent in the nation's low-income student populations.
“We have to attack the myth that low-income kids cannot succeed
in college,” said Porterfield, one of four panelists to lead off the
daylong summit with a discussion about what colleges can do to attract
and retain lower-income students and ensure their success on campus.
“The core reality is that low-income kids are a collection of assets and
talent and striving and drive. They’re not a collection of pathologies
that have to somehow be remediated constantly.”
Participating in the summit at the invitation of President Barack
Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Porterfield cited how F&M
has prioritized closing the opportunity gap by enhancing access
for high-achievers through partnerships with schools, networks,
communities, and K-12 programs that prepare students in ways
predictive of academic success, and by increasing significantly
the resources F&M provides toward need-based financial aid.

College Renews
Commitment
to STEM Posse

Members of F&M’s first STEM Posse celebrate
their enrollment in January 2012.

WINTER 2014

“We have to believe in the power of our kids to do it and to make
that education count,” Porterfield said. “We’ll be able to generate
much more support from our legislators and our donors and our
boards and our faculty because people rightly will associate access
with being a key part to academic strength.”
The summit marked the third time this academic year that
Porterfield and F&M have been on the national stage addressing the
issue of college access. In October, Porterfield was picked by producers
at NBC News for a panel discussion of “What It Takes: A Path to Higher
Ed,” a segment of the network’s annual, nationally broadcast Education
Nation Summit in New York City. A month later, he was in the nation's
capital for a meeting of education leaders—“The Next America:
Pathways to Success”—convened by the National Journal.
Moderating the White House discussion was James Shelton, acting
deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S.
Department of Education. Also joining Porterfield in the exchange
were Janet Napolitano (pictured with Porterfield), the former governor
of Arizona and secretary of Homeland Security who now heads the
University of California System; Salman Khan, portfolio manager at
Khan Capital Management and founder of the free education website
Khan Academy; and David Coleman, co-founder of Student
Achievement Partners and current president of the College Board.
Porterfield was among a select few college and university
presidents chosen for leading roles during the summit, which
brought together scores of higher education leaders from across the
country to devise and launch a plan of action for increasing college
opportunities for low-income and disadvantaged students.
For complete coverage of the summit, including information on
F&M’s commitment to continue providing access to high-achieving,
low-income students, visit www.fandm.edu/news. ■ Peter Durantine

s part of President Barack Obama’s Higher Education Summit at the White House Jan. 16,
the Posse Foundation announced that 10 of the nation’s top colleges and universities, including
Franklin & Marshall, collectively will provide science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) scholarships for 500 students during the next five years.
Each college will receive $100,000 per year to help support full-tuition, four-year scholarships
for yearly cohorts of 10 talented students from diverse backgrounds demonstrating interest and
aptitude in STEM fields, for a total of $5 million. The institutions’ additional joint commitment,
estimated at a combined $70 million, “represents a unique national collaborative,” according to
the Foundation, which identifies high-achieving students in underrepresented groups and sends
them to partner colleges across the country.
Franklin & Marshall was the first liberal arts college to create a STEM Posse in 2011, with 10
students from Miami, and is among five schools pledging to continue their STEM Posse programs.
The others are Bryn Mawr College, Brandeis and Texas A&M universities and the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. The five additional colleges signing on to create STEM Posses are
Middlebury and Pomona colleges, which have existing Posse partnerships, as well as Davidson
and Smith colleges, and
Georgetown University, which will
Watch a video highlighting F&M’s partnership
with the Posse Foundation and its impact
welcome Posse cohorts for the
on STEM students from Miami:
first time. ■ Julia Ferrante

go.fandm.edu/stem-posse

President’s

P E R S P E C T I V E

A Shared Vision for National Leadership
I’ve been gratified by the
tremendous encouragement
we’ve received to the articulation
of Franklin & Marshall’s strategic
priorities last fall. Individually and
collectively, those priorities
represent a single shared vision
for F&M’s future—leadership as
a national liberal arts college.
Our enduring mission is to
serve students and society by providing a
transformational liberal arts education. How does that
translate to national leadership and global reach?
Through their research and creative work, our faculty
and students help address pressing issues, from climate
change to public health to economic development. Our
faculty members are nationally recognized for the caliber
of their scholarship with prestigious fellowships—Charles
A. Dana Professor of Sociology Joel Eigen just won a
National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship—
and prizes from their peers for field-changing work and
extraordinary contributions to their profession. F&M
students compete against the best in the country to win
prestigious national fellowships like the Truman,
Fulbright, Pickering and Mitchell scholarships.
The College also sets a national standard for
transformative undergraduate education. At F&M,
learning happens so often while doing—exemplified by
our dance students reviving a Martha Graham piece at
New York’s famed Joyce Theater, our student-athletes
competing at the highest level of Division III athletics,
and our nationally recognized community-based

learning courses. With our College Houses and new
Office of Student & Post-Graduate Development,
F&M is also acclaimed for redefining the residential
college experience and creating more powerful
learning opportunities for our students.
The College has also been recognized for
crafting creative solutions to the national challenge
of “undermatching”—when talented, low-income
high school students don’t apply to the rigorous
colleges they’re qualified to attend. Our F&M
College Prep summer program, partnerships with
leading school networks and college access programs,
and expansion of financial aid are being hailed as the
way forward for highly selective private institutions.
But F&M’s extraordinary community of alumni
has by far the biggest national and global reach.
I’m inspired by all the ways you show leadership;
through your accomplishments in every field,
through your active engagement in your communities,
through your discoveries, entrepreneurship and
insights, F&M is changing the world every day.
Thank you for demonstrating the power of an
extraordinary liberal arts education in all that you do,
and for all the ways you’re making a difference.

If your
actions inspire
others to
dream more,
learn more,
do more
and become
more, you are
a leader.
–John Quincy Adams

All the best,

Daniel R. Porterfield, Ph.D.
President

Above: Charles A. Dana Professor of
Sociology Joel Eigen recently received
an NEH Fellowship. Left: Professor of
Physics & Astronomy Linda Fritz
teaches a student during F&M
College Prep in July 2013.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Campus
S P A C E
Tucked away on the southern end of campus beside Buchanan Park, the Dr. Leon Herman Arts Center is home to
the planning and production of visual works by F&M students and faculty members. The building houses studios
for painting, drawing, architectural design, printmaking and sculpture, a bronze foundry, and a digital photo lab.
During the fall 2013 semester, the painting studio was the site of a course taught by Professor of Art Jun-Cheng
Liu providing students an introduction to oil painting theory and practice. The course emphasized color,
delineation of form and space, light, texture and composition. Pictured working on projects for the class are
(l–r) Amy Eldredge ’14, Vanessa Duarte ’16, Allison Eldredge ’16, Klariobaldo Zavala ’15 and John Mahoney ’15.

Second Floor,
Dr. Leon Herman Arts Center

PaintingStudio
WINTER 2014

A Liquitex Oil Color Chart hangs prominently above the blackboard, serving as a color reference
and mixing guide for students.

An oil painting palette provides a place for students to mix paint of various colors.

Paint splattered on the floor through the years is a reminder of the room’s colorful activity.

Students wear “painting clothes,” such as well-worn jeans and old T-shirts, while working on their projects.

A variety of tools are available to students while they paint, including varnish, turpentine, primer,
linseed oil and a selection of brushes.

Works produced by Professor Liu’s students decorate the north wall. ■

ERIC FORBERGER

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Go
D I P L O M A T S

FALL SPORTS RECAPS
FIELD HOCKEY
The field hockey team rolled to its fifth
consecutive winning season, finishing the year
with a 17-2 mark overall and a 10-0 record
during the conference regular season. The
Diplomats were nationally ranked throughout
the season, including time at the No. 1 position.
The team extended its regular-season
conference winning streak to 33 and advanced
to its second straight CC championship game.
Mary Kate Olson ’16 (below) received AllAmerica recognition after anchoring a defensive
unit that ranked seventh in the nation in goals
against average (0.84) and shutout percentage
(0.47). Olson, Avery Koep ’14, Bethany Vincent
’14 and Maria Guarisco ’16 earned first-team
All-CC honors, while Megan Kelly ’15 claimed
a spot on the second team. Head coach
Melissa Mariano set the program record for
most coaching wins, having led the team to
78 victories in her six-year career.

FOOTBALL
The Diplomats defeated Delaware Valley 38-14 in the Eastern College Athletic
Conference Southeast Bowl for their first postseason win since 2009 and a 7-4 overall
record. Quarterback E.J. Schneider ’14 (above) earned MVP honors in the bowl game,
capping a season in which he broke the Centennial Conference (CC) season record
for total offensive yards. The accolade was one of many for Schneider, who
joined several of his teammates in garnering a multitude of postseason awards.
Ten members of the team were named All-CC, with Schneider, receiver and returner
Jordan Zackery ’15, offensive lineman Sam Dickinson ’14, linebacker Brendan
Wengerter ’14 and defensive backs Aaron Fant ’15 and Brian Velasco ’15 all earning
first-team All-CC honors. Receiver Tim Muller ’14 and linebacker Ryan Young ’15
landed on the second team, while offensive linemen Frank Seitz ’15 and Ryan
Ignatovig ’16 received honorable mention. All told, Zackery earned four postseason
honors, including a D3football.com All-America Third Team nod as a return specialist.
The Diplomats also retained the Conestoga Wagon by defeating Dickinson during
F&M’s Homecoming & Family Weekend, 35-14.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
The Diplomats recorded six shutouts en route to a 5-9-3 overall
record. Goalkeeper Amanda McGowan ’14 (left) continued to
write her name throughout the F&M record books, finishing with
19 career shutouts—tops in program history—and 15 wins,
good for second. McGowan earned first-team All-CC honors for
the third straight year. Also nabbing postseason distinctions for
F&M were Nicole Rynecki ’15 and Stephanie Bartner ’14, who
received honorable mention honors from the CC. Rynecki led
the team in goals (7), while Bartner anchored the defensive unit
and scored a pair of goals.

WINTER 2014

MEN’S SOCCER
A memorable campaign resulted in the Diplomats’ first CC championship and a
trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The team defeated Dickinson 21 in the conference championship, then ousted Catholic (1-0), Dickinson (3-0) and
Rose-Hulman (3-0) in the national tournament before falling to eventual
champion Messiah. The Diplomats finished with a 17-4-2 record—the most wins
in program history—and a No. 8 national ranking. Multiple players received
postseason accolades, led by third-team All-Americans David Rosenfeld ’15 and
Ben Beaver ’14. Rosenfeld earned CC Player of the Year honors while leading
a defensive unit that ranked 10th in the nation in shutout percentage (0.57).
Beaver, who led the CC in goals (15) and set the program mark for career goals
(47), joined Rosenfeld on the All-CC first team along with goalkeeper T.J. White
’15, while Chris Scott '15 landed on the second team. Head coach Dan Wagner
was named the NSCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the
third time in his career.

VOLLEYBALL
With a 24-6 overall record on the season, the
volleyball team produced its highest win total since
2002. The Diplomats went undefeated in the CC for
their second straight regular season crown before
dropping a 3-1 match to Johns Hopkins in the
conference semifinals. Middle hitter Julie Harvey ’15
(above) nabbed her second All-America Honorable
Mention recognition and second CC Player of the
Year honor after placing first in the conference in
total blocks (104) and second in hitting percentage
(.358). Caroline Hubbard ’15 joined Harvey on the
All-CC first team, while Alyssa Sanchez ’16 claimed
a spot on the second team and outside hitter Ellie
Ezekiel ’17 received honorable mention accolades.
Head coach Mary Kate Boland ’01 reached the 200win plateau, and now has 213 victories in her career.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF F&M SPORTS INFORMATION

The Diplomats earned fourth place in the Rich
Achtzehn Classic as Mallory Reed ’16 (below)
finished in seventh place. Julia Zielinski ’16 took
11th and Kimberly Hilfrank ’15 placed 14th.
F&M finished 23rd at the Mideast Regionals,
with Reed crossing the line 79th out of 358
runners. Reed and Zielinski both achieved
top-25 finishes at the Delaware Invitational.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The men’s cross country team posted a victory at York College’s Rich Achtzehn Classic
for the second year in a row. Brian Andrews ’15 led all Diplomat runners with a secondplace finish, followed by Luk Olenginski ’15 (fifth) and Michael Whalen ’17 (sixth).
Andrews earned all-region honors for the second time by placing 31st at the Mideast
Regionals. The Diplomats were runners up in the Little Three Meet at F&M’s Baker
Campus, where Andrews paced the team with a 10th-place finish.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

CURRENT WORKS BY
F & M A L U M N I A N D FA C U LT Y

“Secret History: The Story of Cryptology”
Craig P. Bauer, Ph.D., ’94
Most available cryptology books primarily focus on either mathematics
or history. Breaking this mold, Bauer provides a thorough yet
accessible treatment of both the mathematics and history of
cryptology. Requiring minimal mathematical prerequisites, the book
presents the mathematics in sufficient detail and weaves the history
throughout the chapters. (Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2013)

“A Masterwork of
Doubting-Belief:
R. S. Thomas and His Poetry”
John G. McEllhenney ’56
R. S. Thomas was a poet of the
20th century respected by luminaries
of the literary establishment and
nominated for the Nobel Prize in
1996. He was also a priest of the
Anglican Communion who wrestled
ceaselessly in his poetry with
problems of faith and doubt.
McEllhenney, who developed
a personal relationship with Thomas
during the last decade of the poet’s
life, draws on his conversations and
correspondence with Thomas—as
well as his experiences as a clergyman
and lover of poetry—to offer readers
a distinctive experience that is part
biography, part appreciation and part
religious meditation. (Wipf & Stock
Publishers, 2013)

“700 Years Of Art History: Pre-Renaissance To Modernism”
Fred Dixon, Ph.D., ’60
Fred Dixon has made the unlikely transition from corporate economist
to art historian. This book is a tour of art history, starting with Byzantine
mosaics and continuing into 20th-century modern art. It covers many
of the most important art movements, including the Renaissance,
Post-Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic
periods. It features 250 colored images of many of the most important
art works in history. (Masthof Press, 2013)

“God Revised: How Religion Must Evolve in a Scientific Age”
Galen Guengerich, Ph.D., ’82
Having left an upbringing in a family of Mennonite preachers to
discover his own experience of God, Galen Guengerich understands
the modern American struggle to combine contemporary views of
the world with outdated religious dogma. He proposes that just as
humanity has had to evolve its conception of the universe to coincide
with new scientific discoveries, we are long overdue in evolving our
concept of God. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)

“What a Life!: A Memoir”
Donald Jacobs, Ph.D., ’52
Mennonite missionary and anthropologist Donald Jacobs candidly
explores how he simultaneously held the trust of conservative
North American Mennonites and the respect of African Mennonites
who chose him to be their first bishop. He writes openly about his
parents and their cultural differences, and locates the source of his
ability to swing comfortably between worlds in his childhood home.
(Good Books, 2012)

WINTER 2014

“Wise Men”
Bruce Kilstein, D.O., ’86

“Wilhelm Raabe: ‘The Birdsong Papers’”
Michael Ritterson, Ph.D., ’62, P’91

This book takes place simultaneously in 6 B.C. and the present.
Surprising revelations unfold in each story: the impending birth
of a messiah. In the ancient tale, a young Magus makes the
startling astronomical discovery and must present his findings
to King Herod. In the modern story, an astronomer and
archaeologist are asked by a secret government agency to
investigate a fringe religious group. (CreateSpace, 2013)

This is an English translation of an 1896 novel by German realist
writer Wilhelm Raabe. The original work is widely considered to
have secured Raabe’s place as a precursor of German modernist
fiction writers. (Modern Humanities Research Association, 2013)

“Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost
Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition”
David Newman ’85
Packed with “do-this-now” ideas to attract, engage, and win
more customers and clients, this no-nonsense book reveals
how to use magnetic marketing strategies that pull (not push)
qualified prospects into your world; position you as the
go-to expert in your field; zero in on your customers’ pain/gain
factors; and more. (AMACOM, 2013)

“The Wheatfield: Love and Death
at the Battle of Gettysburg”
David Rieker ’63
What was it like to fight in the swirling violence of The
Wheatfield at Gettysburg? What was it like to be wounded and
treated in a makeshift Civil War hospital? What was it like to
suddenly become a nurse to hundreds of badly wounded boys?
In this new novel, a young lady and a Union soldier face
challenges that confronted thousands of young people during
the battle. Much of the action takes place in or near a field
where thousands of men fought and suffered and died.
Today that field is a famous landmark at Gettysburg, known to
millions as “The Wheatfield.” (Createspace, 2013)

“Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Law:
The Basics”
Daniel J. Siegel, Esq., ’81 and one other
An easy-to-understand guide to Pennsylvania workers’
compensation law, practice and procedure, this book is designed
to be used as a desk reference by injured workers, employers,
attorneys, paralegals, claims adjusters, self-insured employers
and vocational rehabilitation workers. (Outskirts Press, 2013)

“The F**ket List: Things I Will NOT Be Doing
Before I Die”
David M. Stameshkin, Ph.D., retired dean and prefect
of Bonchek College House
Just about everyone these days seems to be preparing
a “Bucket List,” i.e., a compilation of all the things that they
want to do before they die. In addition to making a Bucket List,
Stameshkin started making a F**ket List—the things he was not
going to do before he died. For years, Stameshkin’s students,
colleagues, friends, and family have heard these stories and
have urged him to publish them. (David M. Stameshkin, 2013)

“Dancing for Rumi”
Victor A. Vicente ’98
Based on extensive research conducted in Turkey and around
the world, this book explores the global rise of the Sufi music
phenomenon, focusing on the musical and devotional
activities revolving around Sufi Islam’s most popular figure,
the 13th-century mystic saint Mevlana Jalaleddin Rumi.
(LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2013) ■
To submit a publication for “Bookshelf,” which appears
in the winter and summer issues of the magazine, email
magazine@fandm.edu.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Shaped by influences in the U.S.
and India, Rahul Akerkar ’81 redefines
high-end dining in Mumbai

PHOTOS: SHEENA SIPPY

By Chris Karlesky ’01

WINTER 2014

F&M allowed
me to grow. It taught
me how to think,
not what to think.
It represents an
important and
formative part of
my life.
– Rahul Akerkar ’81,
whose daughter, Shaan ’17,
enrolled at the College this academic year

tantalizing aroma of vegetables, lentil and curry hangs in the atrium of
Franklin & Marshall’s Steinman College Center. It’s Spring Arts Weekend in April
1980, and students around campus are enjoying the musical groups and cultural
activities that define the annual end-of-semester celebration. Seventy-five of them
have trekked up to Steinman’s second floor to partake in a special Indian meal.
Their host is Rahul Akerkar ’81, a junior biology major from Mumbai. Guided by
simple recipes he developed through small dinners for friends and professors—and
the culinary knowledge he picked up watching his grandmother prepare extravagant
meals on a wood-burning clay stove in India—the chef earns high marks.
His “first restaurant,” he says, is a success.
“I needed to tone down the spice for the Western
palate,” Akerkar says, recalling his experimentation
prior to the event.
More than 30 years later, thinking about the palate
is central to Akerkar’s everyday life. He is the founder
and managing director of a thriving restaurant
company in Mumbai, including the award-winning
Indigo, the first standalone high-end restaurant in the
world’s fourth-most populous city. He’s now preparing
to open a version of Indigo in Delhi, taking his modern
European-style cuisine to another city for the first time.
Akerkar is constantly pushing to innovate and think
“outside the box,” a trait he says he developed
at F&M. The approach has led to a level of
success beyond what he ever imagined. Some
of Mumbai’s brightest stars are regular visitors
to Indigo, and others around the world have
followed suit. The Rolling Stones have dined
there. So have actress Marisa Tomei, Chelsea
Clinton, and former U.S. Commerce Secretary
and White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
David Cameron had dinner at Indigo in
February 2013 during a three-day visit to India.
A few days later, the restaurant earned the No. 28 ranking at the San Pellegrino
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards in Singapore. “It was a magical week,” says
Akerkar, who joined the ranks of Asia’s elite chefs in 2001 when he was featured
in Asiaweek’s survey of “Kitchen Gods.”
Akerkar is on top of the restaurant world in India but still feels a strong
connection to F&M and Lancaster, where he launched a three-decade culinary
journey. There have been countless highlights along the way and also a few
challenges, including a change of career plans after a falling out with his dissertation
adviser at Columbia University. Through it all, the chef has remained true to a simple
formula: flavor, hospitality and basics.
“Restaurants are an extension of my home,” he says. “I love feeding people,
and doing it well.”

A Taste of Lancaster
As the son of a German-American mother and Indian father, Akerkar had
a well-traveled childhood. He visited the United States on a regular basis, often
spending summers in New York, home of his maternal grandparents. He says he
knew nothing about F&M until learning about the College from the associate dean
of New York University Medical School, an old college friend of his parents, who said
F&M was an excellent pre-med school. Later, the College asked Andre Bernard ’79,
a religious studies major doing a semester in India, to meet with Akerkar and speak
about F&M.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

“F&M approached me on a very personal level,” Akerkar says.
“That sealed it.”
A self-described “science nerd,” Akerkar enrolled at the
College for its science courses and pre-med track. But classes
across the curriculum had an equally significant impact on him.
“F&M really opened my eyes and taught me how to live a full life,”
he says. “I took courses in anthropology, sociology, philosophy
and religious studies. They also started modern dance around
that time, and I think I was the first male to sign up for it. Those
experiences changed the way I look at things. It gave me strength
for out-of-the-box thinking.”
Outside the classroom, Akerkar was quietly developing
a passion for cooking. He missed the food his family prepared
back home, so he attempted to recreate its flavor in Lancaster.
He had a general idea of how to cook by watching his mother and
grandmother, who prepared eight-course, three-hour meals on
weekends. The Orange Street Tea Shop in downtown
Lancaster was his go-to place
for spices; cooking was not
difficult, he says, once he
found the proper mix of spices.
Akerkar’s first culinary break
came at Jethro’s Restaurant,
a Lancaster establishment he
frequented during the summer
after his junior year. Then owned
by F&M grads Ed Diller ’72
and D.J. Korns ’69, the
restaurant had a reputation for
outstanding martinis. “I loved
their martinis,” Akerkar says.
“When I ran out of money near the end of the summer, I told Ed,
‘If you want me to keep coming back, you’ll have to give me a job.’”
Diller took him up on it, and Akerkar went to work as a
dishwasher. When a line cook was fired after stealing strip steaks,
the F&M senior earned a position in the kitchen. Diller celebrated
the restaurant’s third anniversary by allowing the budding chef to
turn Jethro’s into an Indian establishment for an evening. The
resulting dinner—titled “Currying with the Maharaja”—included
Indian specialties kali daal (black bean soup cooked in ginger),
dahi gosht (tender cubes of lamb) and aaloo gobi (seasoned
potatoes and cauliflower). Akerkar played the sitar for his guests.
“Rahul is unflappable and fearless,” says Diller, who now
operates the Gypsy Kitchen, a restaurant near F&M at Lancaster
Theological Seminary. “He was fascinated by the whole cooking
process, from deboning fish to everything else. He was extremely
curious. I was amazed when I learned that he’s become such
a big figure in India with so much success. But it’s not surprising.”

Home Cooking
Akerkar intended to go to medical school but changed his
mind after discovering biomedical engineering. He headed to
Columbia University, where in the 1980s he earned a B.S. in
chemical engineering and M.S. in biochemical engineering.
But he soured on academia after having a disagreement with his
dissertation adviser about his research. He was at a crossroads.
18

WINTER 2014

“I was into real estate for a while, did
some computer consulting work for an
investment bank, and sold silver jewelry
at flea markets in New York. I wasn’t like
most of my friends, who by then had
2.5 kids and a house.”
Cooking remained the one constant
in Akerkar’s life. He had worked at
a variety of eateries while studying at
Columbia, doing everything from flipping burgers to working in
the kitchens of some of New York’s top fine-dining restaurants.
For his next career move, he went home to cook.
“In hindsight, it was the best thing I ever did,” he says.
Akerkar moved to Mumbai in 1989 and launched a catering
business out of his home. It was popular with locals, and so were
his other restaurants, Just Desserts and Under The Over. He and
his wife, Malini, co-founded deGustibus Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. in
1996 to operate their growing chain of successful establishments.
Malini works on the company’s marketing and brand development,
the look and feel of restaurants, and also serves as the in-house
vegetarian critic, Akerkar says.
The current deGustibus lineup includes several Indigo
Delicatessens, New York-inspired delis; Neel, a specialty Indian
restaurant serving cuisine of old Muslim nobility; Moveable Feast,
a catering company capable of servicing everything from small,
elegant, sit-down dinners to “the big, fat Indian wedding” for
many hundreds; and Tote on the Turf, a hub for gourmet banquets.
The company employs more than 1,000 people.
Indigo remains the shiniest jewel in the crown. It garnered
critical acclaim soon after opening in 1999 as it departed from
the typical model of high-end dining in Mumbai, where fine-dining
establishments had exclusively operated in association with
five-star hotels. Indigo’s menu is based on Western cooking—
“modern European,” Akerkar says—with local ingredients used
as much as possible.

“Someone came into our kitchen one day and said, ‘There was
great food cooked here. I can’t put my finger on it, but I loved it,’”
Akerkar says. “That’s what it’s all about. We aim for balance on the
palate, between soft and hard, sweet and sour. I live for someone
telling me they had a great meal.”
Akerkar says he draws strength from his self-criticism and
insecurity. “Maybe that’s what’s always kept me on my toes.
I’m always thinking that perhaps people aren’t going to like what
I’m doing. Food fulfills a very basic need and function, but it must
take people somewhere, or invoke memories of something in
their past. I hope I’m able to contribute to that.”
And he doesn’t mind if customers are a bit unconventional in
their food habits, as he was as a college student—the chef was
once known to enjoy potato wafers doused with ketchup.
“I can’t dispute taste,” he says, laughing. “There’s no
right or wrong. Who am I to tell someone not to put
Tabasco sauce on something if they want to? I don’t
get steamed. I want people to enjoy their food.”

One of Akerkar’s fondest memories happened during
a final exam in a biology course with Professor Ira Feit in 1981.
The exam took place during the launch of the first space shuttle,
and Akerkar had followed the U.S. space program closely since
he was a young boy.
“I went up to Professor Feit and asked if I could watch the
launch in the College Center, where it was playing on television.
He said ‘Go ahead, you’re on your honor. When you return, I’ll be
here until you finish your exam.’ To have a professor like that was
just amazing. Seeing that launch meant so much to me.”
He’s never forgotten the gesture. Now he’s creating new
memories through engagement with the College, both in Mumbai
and Lancaster. In April 2012 he hosted an F&M alumni gathering at
Tote on the Turf coinciding with a visit to India by Penny Johnston,
F&M’s director of international admission. He plans to return to
campus regularly while his daughter works toward her degree.
Until then, he’ll continue creating memorable moments
for others through his prosperous—and expanding—chain
of restaurants.
“I have no notion of being a cutting-edge chef,” he says.
“I just want people to say, ‘I had a good time, and I want to
come back.’” ■

JETHRO’S MENU COVER AND FAMILY PHOTO:
COURTESY RAHUL AKERKAR ’81

SHEENA SIPPY

Opposite, center: The cover of the menu for Rahul Akerkar’s dinner at
Jethro’s Restaurant in 1980. Left: Constantly pushing for innovation,
Akerkar has regular discussions with his staff about the Indigo menu.
Below: From left, Malini, Shaan ’17 and Rahul Akerkar ’81 on the
F&M campus in August 2013 as Shaan joins F&M's first-year class.

A New Link to F&M
In August 2013, Rahul and Malini Akerkar
returned to the campus where the seeds for
Indigo were planted. They brought along their
daughter, Shaan ’17, who enrolled at F&M
as a first-year student this academic year.
“I had such a great time at F&M that
there’s no way I could imagine Shaan
going anywhere else. Now I get to
re-live F&M vicariously through her,”
the chef says with a smile. “F&M
allowed me to grow. It taught me
how to think, not what to think.
It represents an important and
formative part of my life. I hope
Shaan has the same experiences.”
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

International students seek
higher education in the United States

Passport

as F&M expands its global reach

totheLiberalArts

here was a trip to Hong Kong in September. To Calcutta and other destinations in India
in mid-October. A few days in beautiful Muscat, the capital of Oman, in November.
They are just a few places Penny Johnston, Franklin & Marshall’s director of international
admission, visited last fall on recruiting trips for the College. As a key cog in the College’s efforts
to attract students from around the globe, she is constantly on the move—or about to be.
She estimates she’s made approximately 100 trips for F&M overseas. You might find her in
China one week, Lancaster the next, and Jordan a few weeks later.
She might also be in Myanmar, as she
was in 2003 when a 14-year old soldier
refused to let her leave the airport to go
home. “I was so nervous. I didn’t know what
to do,” Johnston recalls in a quiet conference
room at F&M’s Wohlsen House, home of the
College’s Office of Admission and a world
away from the Southeast Asian country.
Johnston eventually boarded her flight,
thanks to help from a local university student.
It was one of countless adventures she has
had in three decades traveling the globe to
meet with counselors and prospective
students—work that has been rewarding,
both for Johnston and F&M. “You get to
know counselors overseas, and they get
to know the College,” Johnston says.
“They know we do a fantastic job educating
– Daniel Lugo,
their students.”
F&M’s vice president
Johnston has witnessed a dramatic
and dean of admission and financial aid
increase in the number of international
students at F&M throughout her career,
especially recently, with nearly 17 percent of the Class of 2017 hailing from outside
the United States compared to 9 percent of the graduating class just three years ago.

Vast regions
of the world are
becoming aware
that having a liberal
arts education is
a value to their
students and to their
future leaders.

By Peter Durantine

WINTER 2014

and financial aid. The College has been educating students from
overseas since the mid-19th century, with the first international
students arriving in the 1850s.
“In comparison to our peers, we have always had a substantial
international student body,” Lugo says, noting that the percentage
of international students in the Class of 2017 was higher than
the College expected, and that the Class of 2018 will likely have
a slightly lower percentage. “We want to build on our long-term
strategy to be a leader in international education. We’d like to
expand the diversity of countries from which our students originate.
We’re not looking at international students as one homogenous
group, but as many students from all over the world.”

Expanding Global Reach
It’s a frigid December morning, and light snow is falling on
the F&M campus. Hector Ferronato ’17, a first-year student from
São Paulo, Brazil, is taking pictures of the wintry scene in front of
Shadek-Fackenthal Library.
“This is the first time I’ve seen snow in my life,” Ferronato says,
holding an umbrella in one hand and a camera in the other. “It’s so
beautiful and amazing.”
Ferronato is an example of the College’s efforts to recruit
more students from countries not historically represented in high
numbers at F&M. While the College has drawn deeply from
China and India over the past two decades, Lugo says it is turning
more recruiting attention to South America, Africa, Europe
and Southeast Asia.
The deciding factor for Ferronato was F&M’s brand
of liberal arts education—access
to professors, small class sizes, and
opportunities for undergraduate
research.
“In Brazil, you don’t have liberal
arts education,” he says. “A 17-yearold graduates from high school and
then has to decide what to do for
the rest of his or her life. That’s
not enough. You have to
experience things first.
I know many people in
Brazil who would love
a liberal arts education
because they don’t know
what they want to major
in [immediately after high
school],” he says.

ERIC FORBERGER

Overall, 293 international students from 48 countries attend F&M
this academic year. The international boom on campus is part of
a national trend, as the Institute of International Education reported
in November that a record 819,644 international students studied
at American colleges and universities in 2012-13.
F&M has been ahead of the international student curve, says
Daniel Lugo, the College’s vice president and dean of admission

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Ambassadors Abroad
While Lugo is F&M’s admission
version of a secretary of state
and Johnston an ambassador,
the international students are the
College’s “diplomats,” sharing their
F&M experiences with family and friends
back home.
“We now have F&M graduates from
around the world who are making an
impact on their communities,” Lugo says.
“The world is a very small place these days, and the power of our
recruitment is only as good as where we have representation.”
Those representatives include China native Lin (Vanessa) Nie ’10,
who in 2009 co-authored “A True Liberal Arts Education,” a book
written for Chinese students considering college in the United
States The first 8,000 copies, distributed in China’s large cities, sold
out within a few months. Nie wrote about the analytic nature of the
liberal arts; higher education in America tends to be more abstract,
she says, than what Chinese students typically experience.

“Creativity and self-reliance are stressed at F&M,” Nie said
when the book was published. “I tried to reflect on the culture,
the people, and the academic and social environment. I thought
a lot about what influenced me, and how.”
Nie’s book reflected what Johnston says is China’s increasing
interest in liberal arts and F&M. “They are becoming so much more
aware of the liberal arts,” the international admission director says.
“They are recognizing there is such a real value in it.”
The liberal arts message has
also spread to Ghana, home to
F&M student Mawupemor “Kofi”
Penny Johnston,
Alorzuke ’16. An economics
F&M’s director
and applied mathematics major,
of international
admission
Alorzuke learned about F&M from
friends in the West African nation.
“F&M is a college that is known to
be prestigious,” says Kofi, who
grew up in the Atlantic port city of
Tema. “I also had some friends
attending F&M.”
Alorzuke, who graduated
from Ghana’s international high
school, said he chose F&M for its
challenging academic programs
and the opportunities to
contribute to the local and global
communities. He is one of a dozen international students working
with Patricia Ressler, the College’s international records associate,
sharing their F&M experiences with prospective students overseas
through email and social media.
Tekla Iashagashvili ’17, a native of Georgia in Eurasia, began
helping F&M’s recruiting efforts overseas during her first semester
on campus. “It’s very interesting to get to know the people who
want to apply here, but it’s also a great responsibility,” says
Iashagashvili, who hails from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. “You’re
making a contribution as to whether a student is accepted or not.”
TIM BRIXIUS

Ferronato is considering majors in computer science,
philosophy and psychology, but he says that could change.
“I really like art as well, and this semester I’m taking my first art
class. Maybe I’ll fall in love with art.”
Lugo says education systems in many countries focus students
on individual disciplines, while the liberal arts approach directs
them to a range of disciplines that allows them to connect the
strands of various fields necessary for leadership, a learning
process that empowers students.
“Vast regions of the world are
becoming aware that having a liberal
arts education is a value, to their
students and to their future leaders,” he
says. “As a result of that we, as a liberal
arts college, benefit tremendously.”

Continuing an International Tradition

ranklin & Marshall has educated international students
since the mid-19th century, just after the merger of Franklin and
Marshall colleges.
According to records in the College's Archives & Special
Collections, the first international student at F&M was
F. Strassner of Bremer, of Germany, who enrolled in 1854.
Michael Lear, archives and special collections assistant, says
A.C. Hoehing of Heilbron, Germany, followed Stassner in 1859.
Two students from Switzerland arrived in 1860 and 1861.
F&M’s affiliation with the German Reformed Church created
a bridge to Asia, where the church’s missionary work in China
and Japan opened access to several Japanese students in the
1880s, according to Lear.

WINTER 2014

Masataka Yamanaka appears to have been the first Asian
international student. He arrived at the College in 1881,
graduating in 1885. “Others included Takeo Noya (1890),
George Kinzo Kaneko (1891) and Kenjiro Satow (1892),”
Lear says.
Around the same time, F&M developed a strong connection
with Tohoku Gakuin University in Sendai, Japan. TGU was
founded in 1886 under the aegis of the German Reformed
Church by Masayoshi Oshikawa and an F&M alumnus,
William Hoy (1882). Another alumnus, David Schneder (1880),
served as the institution’s second president. The relationship
between TGU and F&M continues today, as the schools have
had a formal exchange program since 1986.
– Peter Durantine

NICK GOULD

Having current international students conduct social media
and email outreach has had a positive effect on recruitment,
Ressler says. “I think that personal touch is what made the
difference last year in recruiting the largest international cohort
in F&M’s history. That’s when we expanded the students’ role to
interviewing prospective students.”
While email and social media outreach helps the College
recruit students overseas, Johnston has shaped F&M’s
International students carry flags on College
international recruitment efforts by developing
Avenue prior to the inauguration of F&M
President Daniel R. Porterfield in 2011.
connections with school counselors around
the globe. “We have really benefitted from
Penny’s hard work and the recognition she has
Iashagashvili has been at the
brought through her leadership,” Lugo says.
center of the sharing on a regular basis.
Johnston arrived at F&M 25 years ago,
Her homeland of Georgia, at the
and her journey to director of international
crossroads of Eastern Europe and
admissions began when she was assigned
Western Asia, has been a conversation
to read the applications from overseas
starter because it bears few cultural
applicants. She had much to learn, such as
similarities to America’s southern state
what the grades from the overseas schools
by the same name. Iashagashvili often
actually measured. An F&M professor from
introduces American students to her
India helped her understand applications
native country when they hear its name
from Indian students. “He really got me
without the southern accent.
started with the Indian applications, and
“A lot of people are very curious
then it just expanded as the applicant pool
about
Georgia,” Iashagashvili says.
grew,” Johnston recalls.
– Hector Ferronato ’17
“It has helped me meet people,
Johnston soon began traveling overseas,
and I’ve found other students to be
first in groups with other recruiters and then
genuinely interested in my country. I’ve said, ‘If you ever get to
independently. Now F&M alumna Carly Mankus ’07, assistant
Georgia, just give me a call.’”
director of international admission, also travels overseas for
As an overseas student, Iashagashvili’s experience reflects one
the College.
of the purposes of the College’s international recruiting efforts—
The key to Johnston’s recruiting success has been her
exposing students to world cultures, and allowing them to trade
relationships with the counselors, who are often American, British
ideas and viewpoints. “We all look at the world from different
or Canadian expatriates who like to move from one country to
perspectives,” she says.
another, exploring different cultures. The counselor who invited her
Ferronato has had similar experiences in his first months as
to Myanmar in 2003 was an American she had first met in Japan.
an F&M student. “My roommate tells me every day that not only is
Johnston also knew a different American counselor in Myanmar
he teaching me about American culture, but also that he’s learning
who departed the Southeast Asian country several years ago.
from me about Brazilian culture,” Ferronato says. “It’s giving us
Suddenly, Johnston says, Myanmar applications dropped off,
both a broad education.” ■
but Ethiopia applications started coming in—and Johnston knew
where the counselor landed a job. An Ethiopian student is among
In F&M’s Joseph International
the international students in the Class of 2017.

In Brazil, you don’t
have liberal arts education.
A 17-year-old graduates
from high school and then
has to decide what to do
for the rest of his or her
life. That’s not enough.
You have to experience
things first.

Center, students swap stories
about their home countries.

Cultural Exchange

ERIC FORBERGER

The results of F&M’s recruiting efforts are on display every
August during convocation, the formal ceremony welcoming the
incoming class to the campus community. Colorful international
flags flank the Convocation stage, representing the home
countries of new students and signifying the cultural exchange
set to take place on campus during the next four years.
The exchange takes place in College Houses, in the
dining hall, in classrooms, and countless other spaces
where students of different cultures converse. It often
happens in the Joseph International Center, a central
resource for international students that hosts coffee
hours, organizes events and provides visa and
immigration advising.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

V. PAUL VIRTUCIO

Stuart Pimsler ’71
explores the role
of the artist in
the realm of
public discourse

CitizenArtist
T

By Chris Karlesky ’01

V. PAUL VIRTUCIO

he images continue to stir passion in Stuart Pimsler ’71 more
than four decades later: caskets, thousands of them, draped
in American flags. Vigorous campus protests. A nation divided
by war in a land far away.
Recounting those tumultuous days that defined his
undergraduate career, Pimsler is contrastingly quiet and reflective,
sitting in a coffee shop in Franklin & Marshall’s Distler House.
“I was at F&M during an amazing time in American and
world history,” Pimsler says, gazing through the window toward
grounds that once were the site of student unrest. “We watched
daily as man after man died in Vietnam.
Faculty joined students in protest. It was a war
many of us felt we had no business being part
of, and there was fervor on campus.”
That fervor planted the seeds for Pimsler’s
career as a performer and cultural activist.
For the past 35 years, he has embraced issues
of social conflict, love and loss through
Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (SPDT),
a internationally recognized performance
company he founded in 1979 with his wife,
Suzanne Costello (left, in performance with
Pimsler). The company has performed at
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
The American Dance Festival, and Jacob’s
Pillow Dance Festival, to name a few. It has
traveled to communities in Europe, Israel,
Mexico, Taiwan and Russia.
And in November, Pimsler brought the company to F&M
for a weeklong residency with support from the College’s Miller
Humanities Fellowship. The company used various forms of artistic
expression—including dance, acting and music—to engage
members of the campus community around issues from public
health to political conflict. Pimsler and his troupe visited classes

WINTER 2014

and delivered several performances, constantly exploring the role
of the artist in the realm of public discourse.
“Our best work is presenting a plethora of instigations for
audiences to consider,” Pimsler says. “We ask questions about
things that don’t have easy answers. The more complex the
question, the more intriguing the answer.”

Into a Complex World
Pimsler, who grew up in lower Manhattan, says enrolling
at F&M in 1967 was like jumping into a new culture. “This was
a world unknown to me,” he says. “Being immersed in this small
community was truly life-changing.”
He began as a pre-med student but switched to English after
developing a passion for writing. Working toward his degree, he
became increasingly interested in the political turmoil permeating
the campus and American culture. “It was a time when campus
looked quite different than it does today. There were no women
until my third year (coeducation at F&M began in 1969). We
studied hard, but our passion and energy and commitment really
took shape when we became involved in Vietnam.”
Fittingly, Pimsler describes the Vietnam era as he sits just a
stone’s throw away from the Protest
Tree, a white ash outside Distler
that was once a center of student
protest—where Pimsler and others
nailed posters voicing their opinions
on Vietnam, the F&M
administration, and other topics.
“F&M launched what I believe
is my sense, my responsibility, my
role as an artist in the world,” he
says. “This is where I developed
a wide focus on the world in which
we live. It’s where I began to

Below, center: Costello at work with
students during the company’s visit to
campus.
Below: Pimsler performs “The Men from
the Boys” with company member Brian
Evans at Common Hour.

question things that troubled me. Some of that came from F&M’s
intellectual rigor, and some with the times.”
A fierce passion for politics led Pimsler to apply to law school,
and he enrolled at Catholic University with a goal of becoming
a legal aid attorney. He landed a job at the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to pay for his schooling, traveling across
the country to ensure organizations were following new federal
laws relating to race and sex discrimination.
Then, one day in 1973, he walked into a dance class at Catholic.
“It was my own salvation,” Pimsler says. “I loved it immediately.”

Dance, Theater and Voice

MELISSA HESS

Pimsler passed the bar in 1974, but dance beckoned. He soon
learned about a heralded dance program at Connecticut College
led by acclaimed teacher Martha Myers, former dean of the
American Dance Festival and someone who had a reputation for
mentoring dancers with eclectic backgrounds. Myers accepted
Pimsler into the MFA program. “That’s where the core of my
training, and understanding of aesthetics, took place,” Pimsler says.
In the 35 years since, Pimsler has developed his voice on
the stage through SPDT, now based in Minneapolis. He’s received
many awards and fellowships, but he’s most proud of the
community engagement his company has kindled. The National
Endowment for the Arts has cited the company’s contributions

to the fields of arts and
health care, and the
Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts has
noted it as a model for
community programs.
Participants in SPDT
productions have
included physicians,
social workers,
chaplains, homeless families, teen parents, and numerous others.
“I always wanted to take art into the community,” says Pimsler,
noting the company regularly gives workshops for caregivers
that explore connections between health care and creative
expression. “Individuals must take responsibility for their own
health. With this thinking in fashion, health care providers look
for nontraditional ways to be well. The arts have always been
a place for spiritual sustenance.”
At F&M in November, Pimsler returned to his roots by
introducing students to his role as “citizen artist.” He met with
classes in public health, dance, and government, among others.
Lynn Brooks, F&M’s Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of
Humanities and Dance, praised Pimsler’s engagement with
students when she introduced him at F&M’s weekly Common Hour.
“It’s been so wonderful having one of our own here on campus.
Stuart and the company were remarkably gracious and inspiring in
their work,” she said.
During his performance at Common Hour, Pimsler gave the
audience a broad overview of his company’s current repertoire.
It included a piece inspired by the Iraq War titled “Ways to Be
Hold”—a tie to Pimsler’s roots in political protest at F&M.
“Visiting F&M reminded me of my constant questioning of
values and privileges over time,” he says. “That’s still well and alive,
even though we’re in a different time.” ■
MELISSA HESS

Right: Pimsler and members of his
company engage the audience at F&M’s
Common Hour in November 2013.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

A gene mutation linked to breast cancer sends a mother
and daughter on a transformational journey

REFLECTING,
CONNECTING
By Anthony Salamone

LESLIE TALLEY

Ally Durlester ’09 (left) and
Nicki Boscia Durlester ’78 meet with
Dr. Kristi Funk of Pink Lotus Breast
Center. Funk performed a double
mastectomy on Nicki in 2010, and
will perform the same procedure
on Ally early in 2014.

WINTER 2014

hen actress Angelina Jolie decided in early 2013
to undergo a prophylactic double mastectomy to prevent breast
cancer, and later announced her life-altering decision in an op-ed
piece for The New York Times, a mother and daughter with strong
ties to Franklin & Marshall could relate.
Nicki Bosica Durlester ’78, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., underwent
a double mastectomy in 2010 performed by the same surgeon
who operated on Jolie, Dr. Kristi Funk of Pink Lotus Breast Center
in Beverly Hills. Boscia Durlester spent years before her procedure
agonizing that she was a likely candidate for breast cancer due to
a gene mutation she inherited from her mother. Doctors discovered
she had a mutation of the BRCA2 gene—one of the most wellknown genes linked to breast cancer risk—in 2001. Eight years
later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
While she has been free of cancer since her surgery, Boscia
Durlester still deals with the threat of the disease in her family. Her
daughter, Ally Durlester ’09, tested positive for the BRAC2 gene
mutation in 2010. Ally told her mother that she did not want to
continue undergoing preventive care and medical surveillance.
She decided to undergo a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy
to be performed by Dr. Funk early in 2014. Ally’s plastic surgeon
is Dr. Jay Orringer, who also operated on her mother and Jolie.
“I feel like I’m choosing my life,” says Ally, of Hollywood, Calif.
After discovering she had the gene mutation, Ally says she went
through a difficult period. She felt anxious, even overwhelmed.
“But I’ve come to a point now where I realize I have an incredible
support system,” says Ally, who recently became program director
at Pink Lotus Petals, a separate, nonprofit entity of the Pink Lotus
Breast Center. “Fortunately, I’ve had a mother who went through
the process and did so much research. I can take care of this
(dealing with the BRCA2 gene mutation). It’s a pre-emptive strike.”

procedures at the Pink Lotus Breast Center on April 27 that
included the mastectomies and reconstruction.
“My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast
cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is
different in the case of each woman,” Jolie wrote. “Once I knew
that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize
the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive
double mastectomy.”
Jolie’s mother, actress and producer Marcheline Bertrand,
died of ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 56. Jolie is 38.
Nicki’s story began decades earlier, when her mother,
Bianchina “Irene” Boscia, was diagnosed with the disease. It was in
1962—a time when breast cancer was seldom openly discussed,
and long before many women took an active role in their diagnoses
and treatment.
Bianchina Boscia, who died in 1977, when Nicki was 20,
was part of a large Italian-American family who wound up settling
in the small community of Martins Creek, Pa. Most in the family
were diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer, because, it was
learned, the family was afflicted with the BRCA2 mutation.
The cancer proved to be a detour after the successes in Nicki’s
life: a college degree, career in banking, marriage, two grown
children, owner of an executive search firm, retirement. But she
hasn’t let it overwhelm her. And she’s making sure it doesn’t
overwhelm others.

THE BEST DEFENSE

journey after being diagnosed with breast
cancer. She also launched a Facebookbased support group and followed up her
first book in March 2013 with a second,
“The Pink Moon Lovelies: Empowering
Stories of Survival.” The book includes
accounts of 50 women, including survivors
of breast and ovarian cancer, and
“previvors”—those with the BRCA gene
mutation, such as Ally—who reflect on
their personal battles with the disease.
The Facebook page has grown to
more than 1,800 members in 20
countries, Nicki says. Managing the page with a partner, Melissa
Johnson Voight, of Newport News, Va., Nicki says the process has
been time-consuming yet rewarding.

A TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY
A native of Easton, Pa., Nicki has been chronicling her cancer
experiences post-surgery through books and social media.
In 2010 she published a book, “Beyond the Pink Moon: A
Memoir of Legacy, Loss and Survival,” about her transformational

AND SURVIVING
Many factors come into play before women choose a
preventative mastectomy, Funk said during a recent appearance
on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Live.” She said medical surveillance,
while highly useful, does not stop the disease.
“Prevention does not exist,” Funk told Morgan. “So early
detection is our best defense against this disease and our only
chance at a cure.”
Everyone has BRCA genes, which make proteins that suppress
tumors, according to the National Cancer Institute. But either
parent can pass down BRCA gene mutations, which are known
as BRCA1 and BRCA2 (the acronyms come from BReast CAncer),
and harmful mutations of either could lead to cancer.
Jolie wrote her New York Times column last May explaining
why her BRCA1 gene mutation led her to get a preventive double
mastectomy. Jolie said she finished three months of medical

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Cancer affects one in every eight
women. These tips, from Dr. Kristi
Funk, a breast surgeon and founder
of Pink Lotus Breast Center in
Beverly Hills, Calif., can help prevent
you from becoming a breast-cancer
statistic. Funk performed a
prophylactic double mastectomy on
actress Angelina Jolie and a double
mastectomy on F&M alumna Nicki
Boscia Durlester ’78. These tips
appear in Boscia Durlester’s book,
“The Pink Moon Lovelies:
Empowering Stories of Survival.”
• Cut it. Alcohol increases estrogen
levels, impairs immune function and
inactivates folic acid, which is important
for repairing DNA.
• Lose it. Obese women are at
an increased risk for breast cancer.
Cut weight and eat more raw veggies,
which have been associated with
a decrease in cancer risk.
• Move it. Women who exercise for
three to four hours per week have at
least a 30 percent lower incidence of
breast cancer than sedentary women.
• Eat it. A healthy meal snapshot should
include high fiber, low fat, lean meat,
fresh fruits and vegetables and better
oils, including olive oil.
• Forget it. Stress from anger,
resentment and depression creates
chronic inflammation.
• Get squished. Start your yearly
mammogram at the age of 40.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Facebook group for
“Beyond the Pink Moon”

facebook.com/groups/
beyondthepinkmoon
“The Pink Moon Lovelies:
Empowering Stories of Survival”

pinkmoonlovelies.com
28

WINTER 2014

LESLIE TALLEY

TOP RISK
REDUCERS

“We have the potential to save lives,” she says. “That’s what it’s about for me.
I feel like my diagnosis led me to do something I was meant to do. People ask me all
the time to talk to someone who has just been diagnosed, who feels lost or doesn’t
even know where to start in the process. I make myself available.”
Nicki also has found a side benefit from her books and online support group:
meeting new people or
reconnecting with old friends
at F&M and in Pennsylvania.
Julie Kerich ’81, director of
admission at F&M, got to know
Nicki through the Durlester
children, Ally and Matthew
Durlester ’12. Ally worked as a
school tour guide in Admission
and was student president of
the Diplomatic Corps Program
for prospective students.
Kerich, who calls Nicki an
“incredible woman,” keeps
up with the Durlesters through
the Facebook group. Their
story has special meaning
for Kerich because her sister
waged a battle against breast
cancer—and is now free
of the disease.
“I see this internal
strength that I admire
greatly,” Kerich says of Nicki.
“I see a positive attitude
throughout everything, and
she’s got this generosity of spirit.
She has an aura about her that
exudes kindness and warmth and
fun. She’s created a support group
that really takes care of its own.
There are women affected by
this every day, every hour.”
The social media outreach has
allowed Nicki to reconnect with
a high school classmate, Nancy-Jo
Bruno, who has dealt twice with
breast cancer and once with thyroid
– Ally Durlester ’09,
on her decision to undergo
cancer. “The most important thing
a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy
about the Facebook page is how
connected everybody is,” says
Bruno, of Bethlehem, Pa. “It’s kind of a cool thing to have that many people from all
over the world. It’s not always easy to talk to people who haven’t been through it.”
While news is spreading nationally about the science of BRCA mutations and
cancer, and the increase in genetic testing, Nicki has seemingly been at the forefront
of it all. At the least, she tries to do everything in her power to support others.
“I’ve learned that cancer is not a death sentence, and it’s definitely not a gift,”
she says. “But it led me to my life’s passion, doing what I can to raise awareness.” ■

Fortunately, I’ve had
a mother who went
through the process and
did so much research. I
can take care of this. It’s a
pre-emptive strike.

Anthony Salamone is an assistant news editor at The Express-Times in Easton, Pa.
A portion of this story first appeared last fall in The Express-Times and
Lehighvalleylive.com for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Class Action
Class notes, weddings, obituaries and more

Letters to the Editor
The magazine welcomes
submissions to be included
in the Letters to the Editor section of
the magazine. Email your letter to
magazine@fandm.edu.
Please limit your sentiments to
200 words and include
contact information.
Letters are edited for length,
style and grammar.

Class Notes
How to submit
Email:
magazine@fandm.edu
Go to:
http://magazine.fandm.edu/submit-a-class-note
Postal mail:
Franklin & Marshall Magazine
P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster PA 17604-3003

When to submit
Spring issue deadline: 3/13

Stay in Touch
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FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
1945
Dr. Robert Schimek has retired from
his private ophthalmology practice,
and Tulane ophthalmology faculty and
hospital staffs, but will be working on a
few more scientific publications to add
to an already very long list. He hopes to
soon visit the old landmarks on the F&M
campus that were his fond favorites in
1944 and 1945.

1950
Donald B. Aulenbach, Ph.D., writes:
“Our children are scattered to Boston,
Atlanta, San Bernardino and Oregon.
Getting them all together is a challenge.
Nevertheless we all got together in July
for a week in Rockaway Beach, Ore. The
most interesting part of the reunion was
that our one son arranged three of the
parties to both arrive and depart the
Portland airport within the same hour.
That saved much traveling. A good time
was had by all.”
The Rev. Dr. David Mair writes: “My
wife, Pat, and I have moved to assisted
living here in Marquette, Mich., at a
place called Mill Creek. On behalf of
the Marquette Ministerial Association

I have been invited to lead a worship
service on the first Sunday afternoon of
each month for the residents. At the first
service, during the middle of my sermon,
my pants fell down. That has ensured a
good attendance ever since. On a more
serious note, I enjoy writing a monthly
article for the Mill Creek newsletter and
also an article for the monthly newsletter
of the Upper Peninsula Home Health and
Hospice Association, of which I am one
of two chaplains.”

1952
Donald Jacobs writes: “It was time to
think about life. To prime the pump
I wrote two books that came out this
year: ‘As the Wind Blows,’ published by
Masthof Press in Morgantown, Pa., and
‘What a Life: A Memoir,’ by Good Books
of Intercourse, Pa. The memoir is a sweep
of my own life of 85 years, including my
years at F&M.”

1954
The Rev. Daniel W. Reid, who retired
in 1998 after 27 years as pastor of the
Lenape Valley Presbyterian Church,
will complete 10 years in March as the
part-time stated supply pastor of Roslyn
Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.
Alan M. Stoneback writes: “Hello
’54ers. We now have a 2-year-old greatgrandson in Colorado, completing three
generations of Stonebacks in the state.
New Jersey is cool enough for us. The
next two generations recently moved
from 9,600 feet elevation to about 4,600
feet, so we can consider visiting again. I
graduated from Penn Dental in 1957 and
retired in 1998 from group practice in
Bordentown, N.J.”

1955
Bob Friedenberg ’57, Ed Dobin ’57 and
Abe Rosenthal ’57 got together for a
mini Zeta Beta Tau reunion in August
in Atlantic City. (Image courtesy of Abe
Rosenthal)
30

WINTER 2014

J. Jerry Rodos, D.O., received the New
York Institute of Technology Riland Medal
for Public Service at the 20th orientation
of the Health Policy Fellowship in August
2013 in Old Westbury, N.Y. His 50-year
career includes experience in clinical
medicine, behavioral medicine and

medical education, as well as leadership
positions in state and national osteopathic
associations, and federal health policy
organizations. A graduate of what is now
A.T. Still University-Kirksville College
of Osteopathic Medicine, in Kirksville,
Mo., he is board certified in psychiatry,
forensic psychiatry, family medicine and
correctional health care. He currently
operates Transitions Counseling and
Consultation in Matteson, Ill.

1956
Richard A. Sheppard recently moved
from Colorado to Lancaster, Pa., after
living in Colorado for 50 years. He writes:
“Lancaster is the place of my birth, so I
have returned home, sort of.”
Len Sklar writes: “Next May, I turn 80.
Thank heaven I’m healthy as can be,
physically and, according to some,
mentally. To celebrate this awesome
birthday, I’ll be taking my wife on a river
cruise from Prague to Budapest, with
stops along the way. I figure I deserve it,
and my wife definitely does.”

1957
P. William Hutchinson, Ph.D., received
the 2013 Leonidas A. Nickole Educator
of the Year Award from the New England
Theatre Conference at the annual awards
ceremony in October. Professor Emeritus
of Theatre at Rhode Island College,
Hutchinson served as professor and as
administrator within the Department of
Music, Theatre, and Dance from 1968
until his retirement in 2004, after which he
served part-time for four years.
Paul Huzzard writes: “Having retired
from engineering with GM in 1997, I
have become interested in genealogy
and ’family trees.’ To my surprise, I
found that I have relatives who owned
property on what is now the Valley
Forge Historical Park, endured the winter
there with the Continental Army under
George Washington, and fought with the
army at Monmouth, N.J. My fifth greatgrandfather indentured himself to travel
to this country from England, and it was
his son who was with the Continental
Army at Valley Forge. I was able to
visit the area this fall, and located the
graveyard near Paoli where he and his

immediate family members are buried
along with other Continental Army
members who did not survive the winter
in the Valley Forge encampment.”

biography (now in final proofing stage)
of Maryland/Delaware regional author
Gilbert Byron titled ’Gilbert Byron, A Life
Worth Examining.’ It is anticipated that it
will be released in early 2014.”

1958

Dr. David Rosenthal writes: “I’m still
enjoying group dinners three or four
times a year with Art Magilner ’59, Les
Wurtele, Bill Schur ’59, Bob Moss ’59,

Jacques Baker Jr. writes: “After more
than five years, I recently completed a

Mike Blumberg ’56, Joel Schwartz
’62, Joel Marmar ’60 and Mark Plafker
’61. I’m keeping busy volunteering as
officer, board and committee member
at Congregation Keneseth Israel in
Elkins Park, Pa., and at The Reserve at
Gwynedd where we live. I’m enjoying
time in Margate, N.J. and Longboat Key,
Fla. Life is very good.”

Give

Why I

J. Thomas Dunlevy ’54

J. Thomas Dunlevy ’54 believes strongly in Franklin &
Marshall’s commitment to providing a broad-based liberal
arts education—so strongly that he has a provision for F&M in
his will, in addition to the annual support he gives the College.
“Franklin & Marshall is doing the right thing for students,”
he says. “The College Houses, the exposure to international
students, the study abroad programs, the strong academics,
the commitment to Lancaster—it’s all so good for today’s
students.”
Dunlevy, a member of F&M’s Board of Visitors and a
former member of the College’s Leadership Council, fondly
remembers his own days as a student, more than 60 years ago.
“I was excited about being a geology major when I went to
F&M, but I ended up minoring in geology and majoring in
history,” he says. There was a lot of memorization in classes
back then, he says—he recalls memorizing every king and
queen of England in the correct order—but he also took
classes that challenged the imagination and encouraged him
and his fellow students to ask questions and think critically.
He remembers working hard for Professor John Moss in
geology, and for Professors Fred Klein and Glenn Miller in
history. He worked in the College bookstore for Mrs. Hook.
He also participated in intramural basketball and track and
helped with the props for the Green Room Theatre.
But Dunlevy’s most vivid memories are of the older students
who had been in World War II and were in school on the
G.I. Bill. “They had been through the war and appreciated the
education,” he says. “They were grateful for F&M. It made
them great examples of hard-working, diligent students for
the rest of us to follow.”

Dunlevy joined the Air
Force Reserve Officers
Training Corps at
F&M. The corps offered
deferment so that the
student could complete
J. Thomas Dunlevy ’54 (Image
courtesy of Melissa Hess)
his college degree without
interruption by the draft,
with the agreement that the student would serve no less than
two years in the Air Force after graduation. After graduating
from F&M, Dunlevy married his wife, Janice, and spent three
years in the Air Force. He later worked for a local Lancaster
insurance company before entering the investment world,
ending his career as executive vice president of estate and trust
management for the Glenmede Trust in Philadelphia.
He remains grateful for his F&M education, and is eager to
support future generations of students.
“I did very little for F&M for a long time,” he says. “But then
I started to get excited about what’s been happening on
campus. And now I’m inspired by (College President) Dan
Porterfield. His focus on the students and the academics is
perfect. It’s what the College should be focusing on now.”
For 2013, Dunlevy made his annual gift to F&M through an
IRA rollover distribution. Plus, he’s created a bequest for his
final gift to his alma mater.
“I can get dollars and cents out of my estate while supporting
F&M during an exciting time in the College’s history,” he says.
To learn how to craft your own legacy gift to F&M, please
contact Stefanie Valar, director of gift planning, at 717-2914272 or stefanie.valar@fandm.edu.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action

1959

Roger Bolton, Ph.D., writes: “Recently
I ended 25-plus years as book review
editor of the Journal of Regional Science,
a multidisciplinary professional journal
in regional and urban analysis drawing
on economics, geography, planning,
transportation, demography and history.
I arranged and edited reviews of more
than 1,200 books, and reviewed 36 more
books myself. The main editors wrote a
nice tribute to me in the May 2013 issue.
My main professional activity now is (pro
bono) work with the Berkshire Regional
Planning Commission, a council-ofgovernments organization in our region.”

1962
Michael Ritterson ’62, P’91 completed
two books, including “The Birdsong
Papers,” an English translation of an
1896 novel by German realist writer
Wilhelm Raabe, and “At the Sign of The
Wild Man,” another translation of Raabe.
Both volumes are part of the Modern
Humanities Research Association New
Translations Series.

In December, members of the Class of
1963 gathered in Miami for a Zeta Beta
Tau reunion at the home of Cliff Foster
’63. Seated are Peter Tilles ’63 (left)
and Jerald Brownstein ’63. Standing are
(l – r) Gene Balis ’63, Foster and Mike
Hershfield ’63. Neal Penneys ’63 also
joined the group. (Image courtesy of Cliff
Foster)
32

WINTER 2014

John A. Vincze, Ed.D., and his wife,
Joanne, have four children and six grandchildren. He is employed by the state of
Connecticut as director of business and
industry services at Gateway Community
College. Prior to arriving at Gateway
full time in 1993, he was the owner or
principal of several businesses along
the shoreline. In 1961 he developed
mechanical controls that were used in
aerospace applications. Those controls
were used in the Apollo, Skylab and
LEM modules. He has been a principal
in one of the largest roofing construction
companies in Connecticut, and was
part of the team that built One Century
Tower in New Haven. His engineering
achievements include the development
of the elbow controls for the Boston Arm
(a prosthetic device that controls the
motion in an artificial arm) and the first
use of high-speed Polaroid photography
for thin molded sections in plastics.

1963
John Bowman writes that he and his
wife, Melva, recently traveled to Cancun,
Mexico, to celebrate their 43rd wedding
anniversary. While there, they took a day
trip to visit the Mayan archeaological site
at Chichen Itza. John is retired from the

then-Panama Canal Commission, as well
as from the Army Reserve (Col.), and has
lived in Panama for 46 years.
Dr. Alan Clifford Foster writes: “On
Dec. 5 there was a meeting of eight of
the 1963 alumni from Zeta Beta Tau
at Turnberry Resort and golf course in
Miami, Fla. When we connected at our
50th Reunion in June, we decided that
we should try to get together more
frequently than every half century. The
events included dinner at my house,
another dinner at The Bourbon Steak
House, and two days of golf. We also got
to visit Art Basil and South Beach. It was
great seeing each other, and we hope to
make this a yearly event. Joining me were
Jerald Brownstein, Peter Tilles, Gene
Balis, Warren Gewant, Mike Hershfield,
Neal Penneys and Jerry Calica.”

1964
Mitchell Blum, M.D., writes: “After
four years as chief of plastic surgery
at the Sacramento/Roseville office of
Lifestyle Lift, and a year serving on the
organization’s physicians council, I have

Dr. Howard Patton ’71, P’08 updated the “F&M Wall” at his home in Los Alamos,
N.M., when his son, Sean Patton ’08, married Laura Selway ’07 in November. It now
displays his diploma and those of his father (Dr. Howard Patton ’29), Sean and Laura;
pictures of Old Main, Ben Franklin and John Marshall; his father’s academic transcript;
an F&M banner with John Marshall Society medals; an F&M pennant; a framed letter
from President John Fry on the occasion of his father’s 100th birthday; and framed
copies of two endowment agreements he and his family have established at F&M
over the past five years—one in his parents’ name, and one for the Patton Family
Geophysics Endowment. (Image courtesy of Howard Patton)

Twenty-one members of Phi Sigma Kappa celebrated 55 years of friendships Oct. 5, 2013, in Richmond, Va. Pictured in the front
are (l – r): George Trail ’58, William Eyerly ’58, Dave Horner ’57, Kent Rush ’60, John Aaron ’57 and Robert Hitchings ’57. Back
row (l – r): Robert Ford ’58, Richard Peterson ’58, Jim Ackerman ’58, Doug Trent ’60, Roger Harless ’60, Tom Kanouse ’58, Joe
Ventimiglia ’58, Charles Smith ’58, Charles Clark ’57, Richard Hart ’60, Don Roeder ’57, Richard Schmidt ’57, Edward Keyser ’60,
Dan Witmer ’60 and Roy Hankee ’58. The fraternity has established a scholarship fund to support a deserving F&M student each
year. The fund has reached $200,000 in contributions from Phi Sigma Kappa alumni. (Image courtesy of Robert Hitchings)

moved to the lead physician spot at the
San Francisco Bay area office of Lifestyle
Lift in San Ramon, Calif.”

1965
Kenneth Duberstein ’65, P’09, P’12,
former chief of staff to President Ronald
Reagan, has been appointed to serve as
chair of the Senior Advisory Committee
of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics
(IOP) at the John F. Kennedy School
of Government. He succeeds former
committee chair Caroline Kennedy, now
the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, who
will serve as the committee’s honorary
chair. The committee is responsible
for guiding and advising institute staff
toward fulfillment of the IOP’s mission
of inspiring young people to careers in
politics and public service.
John Snyder and his fiancée, Jill
Brenner, have moved to a new home in
Middletown, N.Y. They will be married
on Feb. 15. John and Jill are high school

sweethearts who reconnected after
nearly 50 years, and are both retired
schoolteachers. John continues to be
active in motorsports.

1966
James Cappola, M.D., Ph.D., has been
inducted into the River Dell High School
Hall of Fame, Class of 1962.

1967
Graham Clark and Tony Foster
participated in the annual USA
Community Chorus Veterans Day
program in Swanville, Minn., for the
second straight year. Clark, a veteran
of the U.S. Navy, appeared as Lt. Rip
Crandall, who in 1943 commanded the
U.S.S. Echo, later seen on film as “The
Wackiest Ship in the Army.” Foster, an
Air Force veteran, read passages from
Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart’s diary
detailing missions he piloted over Europe

in 1943. In October Foster received
the Distinguished Flying Cross, which
he earned flying missions in Southeast
Asia in 1972. Foster separated from
active duty before the medal could be
presented, so he received it from the
post commander at Camp Ripley, Minn.,
during an open-house program at the
facility.
Jay Wolkov, D.O., writes: “After 40 years
of family and ER practice, I have recently
retired. Patsy, my fiancée, and I will be
traveling, skiing, hiking, and jeeping in
the mountains of southwest Colorado
near Gunnison, where I have lived for 40
years. Life is, has been, and will continue
to be fabulous!”

1968
Nathan Rosenblum, M.D., has retired
after 33 years in practice. He remains
involved in medicine doing peer review.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action

1969
Bruce Croushore writes: “My wife,
Michele Hilmes, and I are living in
England this academic year. She is
a Fulbright research fellow looking
into the social and cultural impact of
co-productions done by the BBC and
American networks. Think ’Downton
Abbey.’ Michele’s fellowship is a nice
capstone to her career at the University of
Wisconsin and well-deserved recognition
of her contributions to the field of media
and culture. The last time I lived abroad
for a year was my junior year at F&M. My
classmates have heard me joke that my

best year at F&M was the year I spent
in Paris. Spending time in a foreign
country—even one as historically and
socially connected as England—forces
you to think about life in the U.S. and the
many things it has going for it, as well as
its striking shortcomings. Public transit
in the U.K, for example, is fantastic. We
would never think of attempting to live
in the U.S. without a car, whereas here
the trains, buses and ferries are viable
alternatives to the automobile.”

1970
Richard Block, M.D., writes: “I just
retired after 31 years as a perinatologist
taking care of high-risk, complicated
pregnancies. I look forward to spending
more time with my wonderful wife of 31
years, Jan, and with my two daughters,
Ashley and Lindsey. Jan and I will
continue to live in San Diego, enjoying
the best weather in the country.”

1971

Forty years after they were F&M
roommates, four members of the Class
of 1976 met for some fun in Baltimore
last fall. From left, Nancy Bergstrom
Fichtler ’76, Rosemary Calabrese
McDonough ’76, Becky Reed ’76 and
Sue Boylan ’76. (Image courtesy of
Rosemary Calabrese McDonough)

Dr. Howard J. Patton P’08, a
seismologist employed at the Los Alamos
National Laboratory in New Mexico,
mentored F&M student Matthew
Klimuszka ’14 last summer through the
Patton Family Geophysics Endowment.
Howard and his wife, Mary, established
the endowment in 2011 to foster closer
ties between the Departments of Physics
and Earth & Environment, and to support

F&M’s Homecoming & Family Weekend in October provided a
chance for roommates from the Class of 1977 to relive old times.
Pictured at Lancaster’s Aussie and The Fox restaurant are (l – r) Paula
Moritz Spock ’77, Marianne Gaffey Montgomery ’77, P’16, Laurie
Schorsch Webber ’77 and Rachel Jordan Hall ’77. Spock is now the
owner of Twisted, an ice cream shop in Pittsburgh; Montgomery
serves on multiple boards in her community in Connecticut; Weber
started a mathematics tutoring business in Bethesda, Md., and
travels extensively; and Rachel is a client executive at NetApp in
Atlanta. (Image courtesy of Rachel Hall)
34

WINTER 2014

student research internships in the field
of geophysics. The endowment also
celebrates an academic tradition of three
generations of Patton alumni, including
Howard’s father, Howard R. Patton ’29,
his son, Sean O. Patton ’08, two uncles,
and three cousins. Howard received a
Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in 1978, and for 35 years
has conducted research at national
laboratories in Livermore, Calif., and Los
Alamos, N.M., applying seismology to
monitor compliance with nuclear test ban
treaties. Howard also hosted a workshop
last summer at the Bradbury Museum
in Los Alamos for a field contingent
organized by F&M Professor of
Geosciences Robert Sternberg, studying
magnetic and geochemical properties
of obsidians at Valles Caldera near Los
Alamos and other sites in New Mexico.
The one-day workshop, and Klimuszka’s
summer research project, focused on
the geophysics needed to understand
sources of seismic waves, especially
buried explosions. Howard and Mary
have three sons and five grandchildren.
Their youngest son, Sean, married Laura
Selway ’07, of York, Pa., in November,
enhancing the Patton family’s F&M
tradition.

1972
The Rev. Dr. Art McClanahan has been
named Communicator of the Year by
the United Methodist Association of

Stephen K. Keat ’78, who retired from the United States
Foreign Service in 2012, visited campus in November and
gave a talk titled “An Experience in Foreign and Economic
Policy: Career Opportunities for F&M Students.” Stephen
(second from left) had dinner afterward with Tammy
Halstead (left), F&M’s director of alumni advising and
development, and Emeritus Professors Stanley Michalak
(second from right) and William Whitesell (right). (Image
courtesy of Stephen Keat)

Communicators (UMAC). He received
the award Oct. 26 at the Gala Awards
Banquet during the UMAC’s annual
meeting in Chicago. He has served as
director of communications for the Iowa
Conference since 2005. The UMAC is the
professional association for those working
or volunteering in communications
for the United Methodist Church, or
Methodists who work in communications
for another organization. Contenders
for the award must have made recent
striking achievements in communication,
that have had a broad impact. The
Rev. David Wendel, who nominated
McClanahan for the award, indicated
in his nomination that McClanahan
brought a wealth of knowledge as United
Methodist pastor, as someone who
had significant hands-on experience
in reporting the news of the United
Methodist Church, and whose work
on the volunteer staff of the National
Communications office at several General
Conferences was very notable. “Art’s
skill as a communicator was head and
shoulders above any of the other eight
nominees,” Wendel said.
Dr. Lawrence Wallack writes: “After nine
years I have stepped down as dean of
the College of Urban and Public Affairs
at Portland State University. For the next
year my primary affiliation will be senior
public health fellow with the Moore
Institute for Nutrition and Wellness at
Oregon Health and Science University.
My main focus will be on translating
recent research on epigenetics and the
developmental origins of health and
disease into public health policy and
practice. I will also be serving as senior
scholar at the Berkeley Media Studies
Group in California to continue my work
on the intersection of values, media
and public policy. I continue to live
in Portland, Ore., with my wife, Linda
Nettekoven.”

1973
Glenn Jochum writes: “2012 was the
year my fifth CD, ’Not Long Ago,’ was
released. It features songs written
while living on the estate of wildlife
photographer Peter Beard in Montauk,
N.Y. I am also tweeting student photos
via SBU Buzz and writing student and
alumni-based stories in my job as a
writer for Stony Brook University. I’m in
my 13th year in the position. Finally, my

Friends who previously served on the F&M Alumni Board gather under the Lux et Lex
arch at F&M’s Klauder Apple Walkway on Homecoming & Family Weekend. The group
had envisioned an arch being constructed for many years, and their dreams were
realized when it was built in 2013 as a gift of the Class of 2008. Pictured (l – r) are Jim
Campbell ’78, Gwin Krouse ’75, Beverly Tarulli ’76, Reeve Askew ’66 and Elizabeth
Mackey ’75. (Image courtesy of Gwin Krouse)

son, Brandon, moved to Asheville, N.C.,
where he is an RN. My daughter, Nicole,
who is a teacher in Memphis, Tenn., gave
birth to her second child, Lukas, this past
July.”

1974
Marc S. Hecker, O.D., writes: “My wife,
Phyllis, and I announce the marriage
of our older daughter, Jenna Lauren
Hecker, to Jack Pitera in Gibraltar this
past August. Our younger daughter,
Melanie Paige Hecker, has become
nationally recognized as an advocate
and motivational speaker on behalf of
young people like herself with the dual

diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder
and bipolar syndrome. She is employed
by a New York statewide organization
called Youth Power, which is dedicated
to increasing financial and programming
benefits for youths with these and
other disabilities. She also attends
Hudson Valley Community College,
majoring in social services. I am a staff
optometrist at the Stratton VA Medical
Center in Albany, N.Y., and perform
semi-professionally as a folksinger and
classical guitarist. I have also served
professionally as a High Holiday cantor at
area synagogues over the years.”

1975
Maria Cognetti writes: “I am pleased
to announce that I have recently
been inducted as the president of the
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Weddings

Thomas O’Brien ’99
– Mary O’Sullivan

Maryam Namdari ’03
– Michael Bickell

Stacey Blanck ’06 – Barak Kassutto

Laura DePalma ’05 – Zachary Englert

Liz Webber ’08 – Stephen Wurster ’08

Laura Selway ’07 – Sean Patton ’08
Thomas O’Brien ’99 married Mary
O’Sullivan June 15, 2013, in Upper
Saddle River, N.J. The couple
celebrated at The Tuxedo Club in
Tuxedo Park, N.Y., with F&M alumni Ryan
Gold ’99, Philip Hall ’99, Christopher
Pappas ’99, Brendan Bigos ’00, Rami
Abdel-Misih ’01, MaryAnn O’Brien ’08
and Ann Alexander ’15.

Williams ’04, Sander Levin ’67, DePalma,
Jonelle Coletta Parker ’05, Anthony
DePalma ’03, John DePalma ’02 and
Richard Gebauer ’05.

Maryam Namdari ’03 married Michael
Bickell July 20, 2013, at the Please Touch
Museum in Philadelphia. Erin Chiarello
Marmara ’03 was in attendance. The
couple resides in Narberth, Pa.

Stacey Blanck ’06 married Barak
Kassutto Nov. 23, 2013, at Stokesay
Castle in Reading, Pa. Celebrating with
the couple were (l – r) Tamara Agee
Powers ’08, David Powers ’06, Stacy
Ellen Raisman ’05, Lydia Vollmann Marin
’06, Kassutto, Blanck, Colin Presby ’06,
Jennifer Hazen ’06, Elizabeth Eby ’06,
Matthew Taylor ’06, Meghan Marazas ’06
and Ethan Zimman ’06.

Laura DePalma ’05 tied the knot with
Zachary Englert Sept. 7, 2013, in Trenton,
N.J. The couple met in medical school at
the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic
Medicine in 2005. Pictured (l – r) are Kelly

Laura Selway ’07 and Sean Patton ’08
tied the knot Nov. 2, 2013, in Lancaster.
Pictured are, top row (l – r): Ken Rehders
P’08, Elissa Boyer ’08, Amanda Smaniotto
’07, Stephen Wurster ’08, Liz Wurster ’08,

WINTER 2014

Tom Miller ’08, Jeff Rowand ’07, Patrick
Godfrey ’06, JJ Czaplicki ’06, Ashley Orth
’07, Sean Patton ’08, Dan Tischler ’08,
Julia Lange ’09, Dan Kritzer ’08, Ryan
Cassidy ’11 and Amanda McDonald ’08.
Front row (l – r): Ang Millham ’08, Mark
Minutaglio ’08, Meg Rehders P’08, Matt
Kalos ’08, Laura Selway ’07, Howard
Patton ’72, P’08, Denie Kossuth ’10,
JP Kelly ’09, Levi Schy ’11 and Ryan
Corbalis ’06.
Liz Webber ’08 and Stephen Wurster
’08 tied the knot on June 15, 2013.
Pictured (l – r) are Julie Stein ’08, Daniel
Tischler ’08, Ilena Ryan ’08, Alexa Gould
’08, Matt Kalos ’08, Jeff Rowand ’07,
Webber, Wurster, Sean Patton ’08,
Julia Lange ’09, Laura Selway ’07, Mark
Minutaglio ’08, Carolyn Chen ’08 and
Sarah Stern Stein ’08.

American Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers.”
Michele Buhrman Colburn writes: “It
was a great year for exhibitions and my
work. I participated in group exhibitions
in Washington, D.C., Baltimore,
Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and at George
Mason University. F&M’s alumni art
exhibition also took place earlier in
the year. In addition, I completed a
residency with the School of Visual Arts in
Manhattan last summer, and will attend
The Vermont Studio Center as a fellow
in 2014. I also have a new studio space
at Arlington Arts Center in Northern
Virginia.”

1977
William Jeff Barnes has recently
established statewide decisional law
from appeals he filed in the Supreme
Courts of Oregon and Montana on a
significant issue involving non-judicial
foreclosures. The decisions stopped
all non-judicial foreclosures in Oregon,
and have caused a significant decrease
in non-judicial foreclosure activity in
Montana. Jeff has spent the past six years
defending foreclosures in 38 states, and
has established a nationwide network of
attorneys comprising more than 40 law
firms. His firm and network firms have
established law on foreclosure-related
issues in numerous states. Jeff, who is
licensed in Florida and Colorado and has
been admitted to numerous state and
federal and bankruptcy courts through
and with his local counsel, operates
from his offices in Boca Raton, Fla., and
Beverly Hills, Calif.
P. Douglas Folk writes: “I was recently
recruited to become a partner in Clark
Hill, PLC, a national law firm with offices
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the eastern
U.S. My firm merged its practice into
Clark Hill’s Construction and Corporate
Practice Groups. This has been a great
move for us, and even better now that
we are meeting other F&M alums in our
new firm.”
David Plott writes: “I spent three weeks
this past spring rowing an 18-foot raft
280 miles down the Colorado River
through the Grand Canyon with my wife,
Judy, daughter, Caroline, and several
friends. Otherwise, I continue to practice
real estate and environmental law in
Annapolis, Md., and sail, whitewater

kayak and bicycle in my free time. In
September, Judy and I had a great visit
with my F&M roommate, James McKay,
and his wife, Joan, at their cottage on
Cape Cod.”

1978
Reagan McLane writes: “My dear bride
died Dec. 10, 2012, due to stage IV
ovarian cancer. Our marriage lasted
more than 30 years. Fortunately, my
late spouse lived to see the birth of our
grandson in November 2012.”

1979
Steve Randall writes: “After 32 years in
the great state of Texas, Kathy McDonald
and I graduated the kids and moved
the nest to Denver. Along the way we
swung by Hannover, Germany, to drink
a few beers with fellow alumnus and
Sig Pi brother Jeff Simons ’80, and his
wonderful wife, Mandy.”

F&M College Alumni Association Board
Seeks New Members
Would you like to be more involved in the success
and growth of your alma mater?
The Franklin & Marshall College Alumni Association Board, the governing
body of the Franklin & Marshall Alumni Association, is seeking candidates for
board service beginning in July 2014.
The mission of the Franklin & Marshall College Alumni Association is to
advance the welfare of the College and its alumni by engaging alumni in the life
of their alma mater; fostering and strengthening the connections between and
among alumni, students, and the rest of the college community; and inspiring in
alumni and students a lifelong sense of loyalty toward, pride in, and support of
the College.
Members of the Alumni Association Board are responsible for providing
leadership to the Alumni Association by reconnecting alumni, parents and
friends to the College through volunteer opportunities and programs. Board
members are expected to attend three on-campus meetings a year, participate
in monthly committee conference calls and support the College in its programs,
events and fundraising efforts.
In considering individuals for membership, attention will be given to attracting
alumni who have demonstrated significant service, interest and commitment
to the College since graduation. Effort shall be made to ensure that board
membership reflects the diversity of the 25,000-member Franklin & Marshall
Alumni Association.
To learn more about the Alumni Association, please visit our website at
fandm.edu/alumni. Nominations will be accepted until Feb. 17, 2014.
To recommend yourself or someone else for the Alumni Association Board,
please fill out the form online at go.fandm.edu/aab_nominate or send
an email to Krista.Mattern@fandm.edu. For any additional questions, please
contact Dave Taylor ’81, past president and chair, Membership & Awards
Committee, at dt@taylorbrandgroup.com.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
Diane Reiter is currently working as a
contract technical writer at BNY Mellon
in Brooklyn, N.Y. She writes: “My son is
a senior at the University of Connecticut
and is currently spending the semester
in Dublin, Ireland, so I’m entering the
empty nesting years. I recently earned
a certificate in accounting from a local
community college.”

their youngest child, Joseph ’15, to
F&M. Carl is managing a water resource
assessment project covering the western
side of Saudi Arabia from the Yemen
border to the Jordan border. The couple
is using vacation time to supervise the
construction of a hygienic spring-fed
water supply system for a shanty town on
the outskirts of Addis Ababa.

1980

1981

Carl Mohrbacher and his wife, Yvonne,
returned to the Middle East after sending

Lew Bryson and his wife, Catherine
Childs Bryson ’83, visited Rome in
November on a pilgrimage with their
parish choir. They sang the 5:30 mass at
St. Peter’s with the Cappella Giulia, and
got great reviews from the director and
the cardinal who celebrated mass. Lew
reported from Rome: “It was a fantastic
experience. Tomorrow, we sing a
concert at Chiesa Nuovo. We are
drinking wine, and also hitting the Italian
craft beer bars!”

F&M pals Stephen Keat ’78 (l) and Bill
Lipinski ’87 caught up when Bill visited
Stephen’s house in Alexandria, Va., in
October. (Image courtesy of Stephen
Keat)

1982
Gerard Brandon, Ph.D., retired from
the position of assistant executive
director for human resources at the

Pennsylvania State Education Association
last August after 26 years of employment.
Gerard is a visiting assistant professor at
Gettysburg College in the Department of
Organization and Management Studies for
the 2013 –14 academic year.
Lorraine Bruce, M.D., writes: “A year ago,
our 12-year-old daughter, Bethany, was
fighting pneumococcal meningitis in the
PICU in Greenville Health System in South
Carolina. My husband wrote a book,
“Timeline of a Miracle,” to celebrate her
recovery, and I added medical details.
As a pediatrician who has watched the
incidence of meningitis dramatically
decrease during my 24 years in practice,
this event was terrifying. We attribute her
recovery not only to excellent medical
care, but the grace of God and the prayers
of friends and strangers across the U.S.”

1984
Patricia Claybrook, founder and owner
of South Jersey cleaning company Jidan

Carolyn Heckman Katz ’88 and Andy Katz ’87 celebrated with Fummers as their daughter, Emily, became a Bat Mitzvah on April
6, 2013. In attendance were (l – r): David Schaumberger, Stacey Weiss Schaumberger ’88, Carolyn Heckman Katz ’88, Andy Katz
’87, Nancy Hernandez Modarress ’87, Greg Walsh ’87, Karla Schnase ’87, Hilary Hoffman and Mark Hoffman ’87. (Image courtesy of
Carolyn Heckman Katz)
38

WINTER 2014

Cleaning, was one of 23 entrepreneurs
to graduate from the inaugural
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
Philadelphia class during a ceremony
Sept. 7 at Community College of
Philadelphia. She was part of a diverse
group of business leaders who were
hand-selected to spend 14 weeks at
the college studying a business and
management curriculum designed by
Babson College and customized by
CCP faculty.
Timothy Quinn writes: “My son,
Spencer, is a volunteer firefighter and
enrolled in the emergency medicine
program at Penn State. I recently saw
my buddy Kip Walk on ‘The Today
Show’ talking about the worldwide cocoa
shortage—he’s famous!”
Dr. Tom Schermerhorn reports that
he is the proud father of a recent F&M
alumnus. His oldest daughter, Demetra,
graduated from F&M in May 2013 and is
now working on her master’s degree at
Boston University with her sights set on
medical school. His daughter, Sophia, is a
Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his
son, Janse, is a senior in high school. A
retired commander in the U.S. Navy, Tom
is currently in private practice (Ob/Gyn) in
Burlington, N.C., where he lives with his
wife, Theodora.

1985
John P. DiFiori, M.D., was installed
as president of the American Medical
Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) in
April 2013. The AMSSM is composed of
2,300 sports medicine physicians whose
goal is to provide a link between the
rapidly expanding core of knowledge
related to sports medicine and its
application to patients in a clinical
setting. AMSSM members serve as
team physicians at all levels, including
the Olympic Games, NFL, NBA, MLB,
NCAA, and high schools across the
country. DiFiori is professor and chief of
the Division of Sports Medicine and nonoperative orthopaedics at UCLA.
Ray Murphy is now the director of
advancement at Holy Name High School
in Parma Heights, Ohio, responsible for
the strategic direction and oversight of
all alumni engagement and solicitation
efforts.

CONNECTIONS
WANT TO STAY CONNECTED WITH THE WORLD OF F&M AND
EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALUMNI IN YOUR HOMETOWN?
Look for F&M Connections—our semimonthly e-newsletter for alumni. It’s your
best source for exciting event announcements, local F&M opportunities and
alumni news.
Just update your contact information—especially your email address—with the
College by emailing us at arecords@fandm.edu, and you will receive breaking
news about alumni gatherings like those listed below. Connecting with fellow
Diplomats in your area is a wonderful way to engage with your alma mater and
enjoy uniquely F&M experiences. Join us!

“THINK PINK FLOYD” AND
F&M RECEPTION AT BERGEN
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

MONTHLY BEACHSIDE
LUNCHEON WITH F&M FRIENDS
AT HB’S ON THE GULF

Englewood, N.J.

Naples, Fla.

Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

MONTHLY BEACHSIDE
LUNCHEON WITH F&M FRIENDS
AT HB’S ON THE GULF
Naples, Fla.

BENCH TO BEDSIDE TO
COMMUNITY: F&M ON
THE LEADING EDGE OF
HEALTHCARE

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014

Philadelphia, Pa.

TOAST TO THE CLASS OF 2013
AT SCHOLARS
Boston, Mass.

Friday, Feb. 21, 2014
F&M NIGHT WITH THE HERSHEY
BEARS AT GIANT CENTER
Hershey, Pa.

Saturday, March 2, 2014
“GLEN BURTNIK’S SUMMER
OF LOVE CONCERT” AND
F&M RECEPTION AT COUNT
BASIE THEATRE

Saturday, April 5, 2014
MONTHLY BEACHSIDE
LUNCHEON WITH F&M FRIENDS
AT HB’S ON THE GULF
Naples, Fla.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014
SUMMER SHORE KICKOFF
AND CLAMBAKE AT
JENKINSON’S INLET
Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Red Bank, N.J.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

F O R D E TA I L S A N D T O R E G I S T E R , V I S I T W W W. F A N D M . E D U /A L U M N I

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
1986
William Davis retired from the Air Force
Reserve as a Lt. Col. in November after
serving more than 24 years on active
and reserve service. Bill served in the Air
Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps
as a military attorney. In civilian life, he
practices law as a senior acquisition
attorney with the Army at Redstone
Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.

1987
Jeffrey Nytch, D.M.A., writes: “I’m
happy to share news of the premiere
of my ’Symphony No. 1: Formations,’
inspired by the geology of the Rocky

Mountains and co-commissioned by the
Boulder Philharmonic and the Geological
Society of America. The piece premiered
in Boulder on Sept. 8 and was performed
again at the GSA’s annual convention in
Denver.”

1988
Bradlee Godshall, a special agent with
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
received the 2013 Director’s Award
for Investigative Excellence for his
investigation of an international babyselling ring. The award is the highest
investigative award the FBI can bestow,
and is given annually to a single special
agent. The investigation, which has come

to be known worldwide as the San Diego
“baby-selling” case, exposed the uglier
side of reproductive surrogacy. The case
resulted in the imprisonment of three
women, two of whom were attorneys
who lost their licenses to practice law as
a result of the investigation. Godshall
is an 18-year veteran of the FBI who
specializes in health-care fraud.

1989
Dr. Beth Clark Pawlowicz writes: “After
20 years of dental practice, I have begun
a new professional challenge. I am now
the director of admissions for Cardinal
Wuerl North Catholic High School. Our
school is moving from its 80-year home
in the Troy Hill section of Pittsburgh
to a new and beautiful state-of-the-art
suburban campus. I’m loving spending
my days with bright, talented teens who
are anxious to make their mark in the
world. Viva the liberal arts education!”

1991
Therese Coffeen and Rich Coffeen
live in the Chicago area and have seven
children. Rich is a pastor, while Therese
is a homemaker. Their second child,
Caylah, is now a first-year student at F&M
as a member of the Class of 2017.
Tony Ross writes: “After much prayer
and reflection, I accepted the position
of national president of Opportunities
Industrial Centers (OIC) of America. OIC
is a nonprofit organization that operates
through a national network of local
affiliated organizations in 22 states and
the District of Columbia. In 2014 the
network will mark 50 years of experience
in serving the poor, unemployed,
underemployed, youth and families.”

1995

2014
JUNE 6 –8
40

WINTER 2014

Rick Rosbach has been promoted to
resident director of the Merrill Lynch
office in Bellingham, Wash. Rick has
been with Merrill Lynch since 2002, and
is now a Wealth Management Advisor
with the firm. He is a partner in the
Kehoe Rosbach Group, a family team
specializing in wealth management
solutions for individuals and families.

Alumna Profile

Joanne

ALTMAN

’84

After more than two decades as an animal behaviorist, Joanne
Altman ’84 says she wanted to do more to “pay it forward,”
as her undergraduate mentor at F&M, Professor Roger
Thompson, had done for her.
“Dr. Thompson is totally responsible for helping me find my
way in my career path,” she says of Thompson, F&M’s Dr. E.
Paul and Frances H. Reiff Professor of Biological Sciences.
After 20 years teaching as a psychology professor at
Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, Altman become
the inaugural director of undergraduate research and creative
works at High Point University in North Carolina in 2011.
She focuses almost exclusively on encouraging, facilitating
and promoting undergraduate research and mentoring
undergraduates. It’s taken her back to her own undergraduate
days, when she had no idea she’d become an animal
behaviorist.
“I didn’t think I could work with animals. I had to grow
up,” says Altman, whose father, Robert Altman ’54, was a
veterinarian. “And Dr. Thompson said, ‘Well, your father
never grew up.’”
With Thompson’s urging, Altman chose a graduate school
where she could continue studying animals. Then, through
her doctoral program at Temple University, Altman started
teaching undergraduates. “Almost as soon as I started
teaching, I realized that was what I really enjoyed doing,” she
says. “But I also had this passion for animals. So I put those
two together and went into the field of animal behavior and
became an academic.”
After a post-doctoral position at Johns Hopkins School
of Medicine, Altman spent the next two decades teaching
at Washburn. She won awards for her teaching, service
and research as a psychology professor, and mentored
undergraduates, helping them find their passion in
scholarship.
Altman has examined animal behavior in several species of
monkeys, great apes, big cats and bears, and has influenced
how zoos accommodate animals. In addition to her own
research trips, she has taken students to observe animals in
Borneo, Costa Rica, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Rwanda,
Swaziland and South Africa.
At High Point, Altman continues to pursue her own research,
but now focuses on the field of animal cognition. She studies
decision-making in gibbons, a tree-dwelling ape. She ran the

Joanne Altman ’84 prepares for an afternoon safari in South
Africa with undergraduates. (Photo courtesy Robert Frederick)

Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (BigSURS)
in April 2013, and in May took students to South Africa to
observe animals.
“Most of the students that go on these trips are not necessarily
people who want to pursue a career in animal behavior,”
Altman says. “But these trips have changed some students’
lives. When you see that special undergraduate change from
working at an undergraduate level to working at a professional
level, it’s terribly exciting.”
—Robert Frederick
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
1997

1998

Jeremy Fishman writes: “On Oct. 3
my wife, Alicia, and I welcomed future
Fummer Samuel Mikey Fishman to the
world. Sam, Alicia and I live a stone’s
throw from Philadelphia in Morton, Pa.
Sam looks forward to enjoying his first
visit to campus in 2014.”

Marc Friess was elected partner at
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, a law firm in
New York City, where his practice focuses
on corporate finance transactions. He
resides in Roslyn, N.Y., with his wife, Roni,
and their two sons, Asher, 7, and
Harris, 2.

Tricia Kissinger writes: “It was an
eventful summer in 2013. In June, I was
promoted to assistant vice president at
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. I
am a manager in the Emerging Markets
and International Affairs Group, which
analyzes international economic and
financial sector developments. In July, my
husband, Matt Nemeth, and I welcomed
our second daughter, Catherine (’Cate’)
Kissinger Nemeth. Big sister Caroline, 3,
is enjoying showing the ropes to her little
sister.”

Tam Lynne Kelley writes: “I graduated
with a master’s of social work from the
University of Maryland, Baltimore, last
spring. I also recently completed a
graduate certificate in global health.”

1999
Becky Allen writes: “Life in the Allen
house is good, but moving quickly. It’s

y
e
s
r
e
j
w
ne
CELEBRATE THE REVIVAL OF THE NEW JERSEY CHAPTER OF THE F&M
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BY CONNECTING WITH YOUR FELLOW DIPLOMATS IN
THE GARDEN STATE!

UPCOMING EVENTS
FO R E VE N T D ETAILS AND TO REGISTER, VISIT WWW.FAND M .ED U/ALUM NI.

FEB. 8 — Think Pink Floyd with reception at the Bergen
Performing Arts Center in Englewood

MARCH 15 — Glen Burtnik’s Summer of Love Concert with reception
at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank

MAY 4 — Summer Shore Kickoff at Jenkinson’s Inlet in Point
Pleasant Beach
TO GET IN VOLVED WITH THE N EW JERS EY CHAPTER, CONTACT
CHA IRP ER SON ANDY WOL FENS ON ’ 88 AT ANDYWOLF@V ERIZON.NET.

WINTER 2014

hard to believe we just celebrated our
little boy’s first birthday in September.
Emmett’s birthday is only three days after
big sister Evie’s, who turned 3 this year.
I am still working at a media company as
the finance special projects manager—
I’ve been there for eight years. All in all,
we can’t complain. We smile often, laugh
a lot, and dance like fools with our kids
most days. I’m looking forward to getting
back for F&M’s Reunion Weekend in
2014!”
John Stacey, Esq., writes: “I have
spent the last eight and a half years as a
member of the commercial real estate
and business/transactional practice of
Kurtz & Revness, P.C. in Wayne, Pa., and
became a partner of the firm last year.
My practice focuses on representing
property owners in connection with the
acquisition, sale, development, leasing
and financing of commercial properties
utilizing tax credits and traditional
debt/equity sources. I also represent
privately held companies in a variety of
industries, handling general business
matters, such as start-up counseling, tax/
succession planning, intellectual property
exploitation strategies/licensing and joint
ventures. My beautiful wife, Meghan, and
I, together with our daughter, Isabelle,
(future F&M Class of ’30), recently moved
to Exton, Pa. We will be celebrating
10 wonderful years of marriage in
November.”

2000
Dr. Jacob Bleacher was one of two
authors of a science article published
by the journal Nature in October. The
article was chosen by the journal to be
represented on the cover of the issue.
The article’s title was “Supervolcanoes
within an ancient volcanic province in
Arabia Terra, Mars.”
Katie Farinas and Manuel Farinas are
proud to announce the birth of their
son, Santiago Manuel Farinas (“Santi”),
on Oct. 19, 2013. They write: “Big sister
Ana is excited to have a little brother.
Everyone is doing well.”
Ana Gutierrez-Dooley writes: “I have
returned to Teach For America as
the chief of staff for teacher support
and development. I look forward to
continuing to work for educational equity
for all children while also being a mom to
my 1-year-old, Carmen.”

Dr. Jason D. Nicholas, an assistant
professor in the Michigan State University
Department of Chemical Engineering
and Materials Science, has received a
National Science Foundation CAREER
award. Funding from the five-year,
$400,000 grant, which began Aug.
1, 2013, will support his research
to reduce operating temperatures,
improve performance, lower costs and
extend the operational lifetime of Solid
Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). Fuel cells are
electrochemical devices used to convert
the energy stored within the chemical
bonds of the fuel into electrical energy
and/or heat.
Dr. Michael Rothrock Jr. was recently
named lead scientist for his work
on microbiological food safety in
organic and natural sustainable poultry
production with the USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service in Athens, Ga. He
writes: “My wife and I also welcomed our
third child, Warrick Angus Rothrock, on
Aug. 21. His 7-year-old brother, Damian,
and 3-year-old sister, Vivian, couldn’t be
happier.”

2001
Dr. Jacqueline Julius Bhandari and her
husband, Amar, welcomed their second
son, Damian Amar Bhandari, on April 12,
2013. She writes: “Big brother Naveen is
very excited and can’t wait for Damian to
get older so they can play together. We
moved to Binghamton, N.Y., two years
ago, and I am currently on the faculty
at the UHS Family Medicine Residency
Program as a family physician.”
Erica Franklin writes: “During the end
of July, my fiancée and I both drove
approximately 2,500 miles from New
Jersey to Arizona, where we now reside.
She proposed to me on my birthday
(Sept. 2) during a hot-air balloon ride!
I will soon be entering a program to
become a physician’s assistant.”
Annie Lyon recently switched careers
and became a children’s librarian in
the District of Columbia Public Library
system. She works at the main branch
and is deliriously happy.
Leslie Cohen McGregor and Brian
Cohen report: “We had a baby boy,
Timothy Parker Harrison Cohen, on Nov.
1. He joins his big brother, 3-year-old
Nathaniel Jeffrey.”

Six F&M women’s lacrosse alumni helped team Greene Turtle go 5 -1 and advance to
the Final Four at the Ocean City Lacrosse Classic in August 2013. Pictured (l – r) are
Lidia Sanza ’10, Erin Dunne ’12, Ashley Bevington ’09, Allison Solomon ’09, Sarah
Meisenberg ’09 and Blake Hargest ’10. (Image courtesy of Allison Solomon)

2002
Meghan McManus Campfield and her
husband, Brian, are happy to announce
the arrival of Cormac James Campfield,
born June 24, 2013. He joins older
brother Owen, 5, and sister Quinn, 2.
Matt Kendall and Shana Dastur proudly
welcomed a daughter, Natalia Ruth
Kendall, into the world on March 20,
2013.
Nicole Galdieri Lick reports: “On Aug.
16 we welcomed our little girl, Magnolia.
Nollie loves to smile, and has already
brought tremendous joy to all of us,
especially her big brother!”
Jesse Yoburn and Tewlyn Underwood
Yoburn welcomed their second
daughter, Evan Louise Yoburn, on Sept.
23, 2013.

at Main Street Veterinary Hospital and
Matt is a pharmacy technician and is
applying to pharmacy school to become
a pharmacist.
Elizabeth “Bess” Marks and James
Mitchell welcomed Edwin “Win” Victor
Mitchell on July 15 in Arlington, Va.
Rachel Vaden Michael and her husband,
Chuck, were happy to welcome Caroline
Rosemary Michael on Aug. 22. The family
also recently moved into their new home
in Baltimore.
Alison Reindle Stone and Bill Stone
welcomed their second son, Nathan
Theodore, on May 23, 2013. He joins
his 3-year-old big brother, Will. The
family recently moved to Doylestown,
Pa. Alison is a science teacher at Central
Bucks West High School, while Bill is the
director of business affairs for Souderton
Area School District.

2003
Jessie Adkins and her husband, Bob
Jacobsen, welcomed a son, Luke William
Jacobsen, on Oct. 4.
Katie Saltysiak Borrison and her
husband, Matthew, welcomed twin
daughters on Dec. 20, 2013. Violet Helen
was born at 12:14 pm, while Annie Leigh
arrived a minute later. The family lives in
Baltimore, where Katie is a veterinarian

2004
Ellen Baier and her partner, Eddie
Plantilla, welcomed a daughter, Audrey
Baier Plantilla, on May 23 in Burlington,
Vt.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
Eric Ellison reports: “My wife, Irina,
and I welcomed our first child, Danielle
Susan-Maria Ellison, on Dec. 13, 2012,
at Massachusetts General Hospital. We
relocated to Boston in 2012 for work,
and I have since lived in the Capitol
View community in Atlanta for a work
assignment while making trips up north.
I’ve enjoyed the weather in Atlanta, but
I think I need to be somewhere where
there is snow. My wife’s family lives in
Russia and my mother-in-law kindly
visited this year to spend time with
Danielle. We’re excited to have her learn
both Russian and English words from
an early age. We hope to make a trip to
campus at some point in the next year.”
Michael R. Galey was selected for
inclusion in “Pennsylvania Super
Lawyers–Rising Stars” in 2013.

2005
Margaret Mitter started a Ph.D. program
in ecology and evolutionary biology at
the University of Colorado at Boulder this
fall and also got engaged.

2006
Ethan Zimman, of Reston, Va., and
Meghan Laurel Schneider, Esq., of
Ashburn, Va., were married Oct. 6, 2013,
at Merriweather Manor in Leesburg,
Va. Fummers in attendance included
Will Hemminger ’02, Rebecca Zahler,
Lydia Marin, Sara Skillman and Stacey
Kassutto. The Zimmans are excited to
make their home together in Sterling, Va.

2007
Richard Maleski has joined the Miami
office of Cozen O’Connor Subrogation
and Recovery Department as an
associate.

Keely Swan writes: “I graduated from
Brandeis University in May 2013 with a
joint master’s degree in anthropology
and women’s and gender studies. In
September, I also started a new job at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s
Public Service Center, working as
the administrator of the MIT IDEAS
Global Challenge—a competition that
encourages students to develop and
implement innovative solutions to
community challenges and problems.”

2008
Chris Hudock writes: “I got married in
October to my longtime girlfriend, Karla
Korn, in Easton, Pa. It was a nice change
of scenery to get back to Pennsylvania,
and of course it was also an excuse to
see friends from F&M.”
Andrew Olen has joined the
Pennsylvania law firm of Hamburg, Rubin,
Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, PC, where he
is a member of the municipal law and
real estate law departments. Prior to
joining the firm, he served as a judicial
fellow to the Hon. Leon W. Tucker in
the Philadelphia Court of Common
Pleas. A member of the Pennsylvania
Bar, he graduated from the University of
Maryland School of Law, where he served
as associate editor of the Maryland
Journal of Business & Technology
Law and student editor-in-chief of The
Authority.
Meredith Rich is now a digital editor
at Bloomsbury Publishing in New York
working on young adult eBooks with her
own imprint, Bloomsbury Spark. In her
free time she is also a member and the
marketing director of Original Binding
Productions, an independent theater
company focused on creating new work.
Her first one-act play was produced in
August.

Each issue of Franklin & Marshall Magazine links to a video
spotlighting an alumnus or alumna doing exciting work. In this
profile, Sarah Waybright ’06 discusses her passion for nutrition
education and her experiences leading healthy, interactive dinner
parties in Washington, D.C. go.fandm.edu/winter-profile
(video produced by Alexander Monelli)
44

WINTER 2014

2009
Dr. Katherine Krol graduated from
Pennsylvania State University College of
Medicine in May 2013. She was inducted
into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical
Society. She is currently an internal
medicine-pediatrics resident at University
of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital.

2010
Courtney Hair, Esq., graduated magna
cum laude from the Widener University
School of Law in Harrisburg in May 2013
where she was the internal supervising
editor of the Widener Law Journal and
a member of the Moot Court Honor
Society. She was recently admitted to
practice in both Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, and is currently serving as a
judicial law clerk for the Northampton
County Court of Common Pleas in
Easton, Pa.

2011
Leo McFarland recently graduated from
Johns Hopkins University with a master’s
in global security studies and works for
the government in Washington, D.C. He
looks forward to catching up with other
Fummers in the D.C. area.
Megan Nicholson writes: “I started a
new job with the School for Field Studies
at their Centre for Rainforest Studies in
Tropical North Queensland, Australia.
I am working with a rainforest ecology
professor, and we just started directed
research projects that will finish up the
semester here. I’m assisting a group of

students doing behavioral research on
yellow-bellied gliders in the Tumoulin
rainforest.”
Ben Litvinas recently started a new job
as an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton in
Philadelphia. He recently got engaged
to Alexandra Merrick ’10, and they are
planning a summer 2014 wedding.

2012
J.T. Triantos writes: “I am currently in
my first semester at Rutgers School of
Law-Camden. While my first semester
of law school is keeping me busy, I have
also been heavily involved in mentoring
children and high school students in
low-income areas. In Big Brothers, Big
Sisters, I have witnessed my little brother
succeed in the classroom and become
one of the best players on his baseball
team. Through City Year, I serve as a
mentor to a child who has quickly risen
to the top of his high school class and is
aspiring to go to college and become
a cardiologist. I am also in the process
of becoming a court-appointed special
advocate, where I will advocate for
neglected and abused children. These
are very exciting times!”

2013
Schuyler Routt writes: “In starting a new
chapter of life after college, I have settled
into a career in New York City, where I
am working as an analyst with Crossix
Solutions. I have had a wonderful six
months, developing skills in computer
programming and operations research,
as well as connecting with friends and
F&M squash alumni here in the city.”

Obituaries
The Rev. J. Richard Bishop ’40, of
Elizabethtown, Pa., died Oct. 18, 2013.
He was 94. A graduate of Lancaster
Theological Seminary, he was an
ordained minister of the United Church
of Christ for 70 years. He served churches
in Hagerstown, Md., Terre Haute, Ind.,
and Philadelphia before serving at Zion
Evangelical and Reformed Church in
Millersville, Pa. He is survived by three
sons, three grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren, a sister, and many nieces
and nephews.

The Rev. Paul L. Rahn ’41 died Aug. 12,
2013, in Wernersville, Pa. He was 94. He
was a graduate of Lancaster Theological
Seminary and Temple University. He
served as pastor of Grace Evangelical
and Reformed Church in Northampton,
Pa. (1944 –1950), Grace (Alsace) United
Church of Christ in Reading, Pa.
(1950 –1983), and as stated supply pastor
of Shalter’s UCC Church in Pricetown,
Pa. He always enjoyed attending F&M’s
Reunion Weekend. He is survived by two
daughters, a son, and five grandchildren,
including Matthew Manon ’02.
J. Stephen Kurtz ’42, P’76, P’79, G’07,
G’09, of Philadelphia, died Sept. 30,
2013. He was 92. He was a graduate
of Temple University Medical School.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy,
serving from 1946 to 1948. He practiced
obstetrics and gynecology for more
than 50 years, delivering more than
6,000 babies, and was one of the first
obstetricians in Philadelphia to practice
the Leboyer method of natural childbirth.
He was affiliated with Germantown,
Abington, and Roxborough Hospitals,
and later with Chestnut Hill Hospital. A
member of Sigma Pi, he is survived by
his wife, Jane; three daughters, including
Gretchen Kurtz Mertz ’79 and Katrina
Kurtz Shuptar ’76, P’07, P’09; two
grandsons, Daniel Shuptar ’09 and J.
Alexander Shuptar ’07; and many nieces
and nephews.
Stanley S. Kurash ’44 died Oct. 5,
2013, at the age of 90. He served as a
captain in the 307th Bomb Squadron
in the southwest Pacific as a B-24 pilot.
He and his family lived in New Rochelle,
N.Y., Tunkhannock, Pa., and Hollywood,
Fla., where he served as president of the
Hollywood Board of Realtors. A member
of Zeta Beta Tau, he is survived by his
wife, Naomi; one daughter; one son; and
a sister.
Armon Cairo, M.D., ’45, of Bethesda,
Md., died Sept. 15, 2013. He was 88. A
psychiatrist and internist, he practiced at
Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington
for more than 45 years and taught at
the Georgetown University School of
Medicine. He earned his medical degree
at Georgetown. He served in the Navy
during World War II and was a division
medical officer in the Korean War. He
was a past psychiatric consultant to
the mental-health commission at St.
Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, the

Washington Clinic and the juvenile court
of Montgomery County. He is survived by
his wife, Laurie; five children; and seven
grandchildren.
Milton Canter, M.D., ’45, of Cherry Hill,
N.J., died Aug. 31, 2013. He was 88. He
completed his education in medicine at
the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic
Medicine and was a practicing physician
for more than 55 years. A member of
Zeta Beta Tau, he is survived by his wife,
Dorothy; two daughters; one son; 17
grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; his
brother; and many nieces and nephews.
The Rev. Carl K. Marks ’45, of Rochester,
N.Y., died Nov. 25, 2013. He was 88.
He attended Lancaster Theological
Seminary. As a United Church of Christ
pastor he served churches in East
Petersburg, Pa; Baltimore; Richmond,
Va.; and North Tonawanda, Buffalo and
Jamestown, N.Y. A member of Phi Kappa
Tau, he is survived by his wife, Jane;
two daughters; four grandchildren; four
great-grandchildren; two step-children;
four step-grandchildren; three step-greatgrandchildren; and a sister.
Robert Long Bomberger ’47, of Lititz,
Pa., died Sept. 7, 2013. He was 90. He
served in World War II and in the Korean
War as a captain in the U.S. Air Force. He
was a member of and elected to serve
on the board of the Military Officers
Association of America. He served as
president of Long & Bomberger building
materials company for 36 years. He
was a member of the 97th legislative
district advisory council with former State
Representative John Bear. A member of
Phi Kappa Psi, he is survived by his wife,
Yvonne; four sons; eight grandchildren;
one sister; and numerous nieces and
nephews.
Jack B. Metzger, D.D.S., ’47, of
Lancaster, died Dec. 6, 2013. He was 88.
He graduated from Temple University
Dental School in 1951. He was a veteran
of the U.S. Navy and served in the South
Pacific during World War II. He began his
dental practice on West Chestnut Street in
Lancaster in 1951, serving patients there
until 1993. He was a resident dentist at
the Conestoga View Retirement Facility
and an active member of the staff of the
former St. Joseph’s Hospital. He also
served as president of the Lancaster
Dental Society and as the dentist of the
Lancaster County Prison. A member of
Phi Sigma Kappa, he is survived by his
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
wife, Virginia; a daughter; two sons;
eight grandchildren; and two greatgrandchildren.
Donald E. Butler ’49 died Nov. 24, 2013,
at the age of 86. He was a member of
the Naval Air Cadet V-12 program in
World War II. He was president and chief
executive officer of SSP Industries and the
Employers Group of Los Angeles, and
served as vice chairman for the National
Association of Manufacturers. He was
also past president of the Glendale
School Board and Glendale Symphony. A
member of Sigma Pi, he is survived by his
wife, Laura; two sons; four grandchildren;
and three great-grandchildren.
David R. Stoltz, D.D.S., ’49, of
Spartanburg, S.C., died Oct. 24, 2013, on
the eve of his 88th birthday. He earned
his D.D.S. in 1953 from the University of
Pennsylvania Dental School. He was a
decorated veteran of World War II and
the Korean War. After graduating from
dental school, he served for two years as
a dental officer in the U.S. Navy Medical
Service Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C.,
and moved from there to Spartanburg
in 1955, where he practiced until his
retirement in 2000. He is survived by
three daughters, two sons, and 10
grandchildren.
Kennth K. Coddington ’50, of Leesburg,
Va., died Oct. 30, 2013. He was 89. In
high school he was awarded the Boy
Scout Medal of Honor for saving the life
of a U.S. Air Force pilot who crashed his
plane off the Delaware coast, swimming
more than 300 yards in winter to pull
the officer out of the sinking aircraft. He
enlisted in the U.S. Navy and qualified as
a combat air crewman in 1943. He totaled
34 years of active and reserve duty in the
Navy. As a businessman, he worked for
the Upjohn Company, progressing from a
sales representative to district manager to
manager of the Western Region Clinical
Laboratory Division. He was also field
epidemiologist for the western half of
the United States. A member of Kappa
Sigma, he is survived by a daughter, a
son, six grandchildren, and nine greatgrandchildren.
Herman L. Glatt ’50 died Sept. 8, 2013,
at the age of 84. He was a founder of the
law firm Stutman, Treister & Glatt and a
luminary in the field of bankruptcy and
corporate restructuring. He attended the
University of California Los Angeles and
Harvard Law School. He served in the
46

WINTER 2014

U.S. Army and was stationed in England
during the Korean War. He served
as chair of the Business Bankruptcy
Committee of the Business and Banking
Section of the American Bar Association,
and was a fellow of the American College
of Bankruptcy. A member of Zeta Beta
Tau, he is survived by his wife, Jeanne;
four daughters; three sons; and five
grandchildren.
Benjamin F. Harry ’50, of Ocean City,
N.J., died Sept. 16, 2013. He was 86.
He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from
1945 to 1946. He was a member of Phi
Kappa Tau.
William R. Hearter ’50, of Harrisburg,
Pa., died Nov. 14. He was 85. He served
in the U.S. Army as a G2 intelligence
staff sergeant located in the Philippines.
He retired from AMP Inc. after 35
years of service. He is survived by his
wife, Shirley; one daughter; two sons;
10 grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren.
Robert M. Lowy ’50, of Lancaster, died
Nov. 19, 2013. He was 87. He served
as a radio operator with the U.S. Navy
in World War II in the Philippines. He
started as an analytical chemist with
Westinghouse Electric Corp. and rose
through the ranks during 36 years,
becoming manager of advanced
chemical research. A member of Phi
Kappa Tau, he is survived by a son,
daughter-in-law, and nieces and
nephews.
Robert William McClellan Miller ’50,
of York, Pa., died Sept. 5, 2013. He was
89. During World War II, he served in
the U.S. Army Air Corps as a pilot in the
98th bomb group stationed in Leece,
Italy, and flew the B-24 Liberator. He
was a teacher at Dover High School
and York Suburban High School. He
also worked at Danskin Inc. for 20 years
and served three terms as tax collector
for West Manchester Township. He is
survived by one daughter, one son, four
grandchildren, and one sister.
Richard E. Orton ’50 died July 21, 2013,
in Austin, Texas, at the age of 88. He
was a bombardier in the Army Air Corps
for more than three years. He served six
federal agencies over 25 years, working
with presidents from Harry Truman to
Richard Nixon. His last federal position
was director of Project Head Start. He
later became assistant professor of public

administration with New College of St.
Edward’s University, and also became
ordained as a deacon in the Catholic
Church. He is survived by two daughters
and five stepchildren.
The Rev. George Shultz ’50, of Spring
Township, Pa., died Aug. 7, 2013. He
was 86. He was a U.S. Navy veteran
of World War II. He graduated from
Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1953.
He served numerous churches, including
Christ Evangelical & Reformed Church
in Alexandria, Pa., Faith UCC near
Littlestown, Pa., and St. Mark’s UCC in
Lebanon, Pa. In retirement he served as
interim pastor to several congregations.
He is survived by a daughter, three
sons, four grandchildren, and a greatgranddaughter.
Mortimer Cohen ’51, P’84, of Aventura,
Fla., died June 9, 2013. He was 84. He
was a graduate of the University of Miami
School of Law and a 50-year member
of the Florida bar. He continued his
education into his later years, auditing
classes at Florida International University.
He attended F&M events in South
Florida and was active with the College’s
Alumni Association. A mason, fisherman
and photographer, he had an active
hobby life. A member Zeta Beta Tau, he
is survived by his wife, Marilyn; a son,
Mitchell Cohen ’84; and a sister.
William F. McClune ’51, of West
Chester, Pa., died Nov. 1, 2013. He was
85. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World
War II. He served as editor-in-chief of
the Powder Diffraction File for 20 years
at the International Centre for Diffraction
Data (ICDD). In 2000, he was elected
as a fellow of ICDD, and in 2003 he
was designated a distinguished fellow.
He is survived by his wife, Betty; two
daughters; two grandchildren; and nieces
and nephews.
The Hon. Calvin E. Smith ’51 died
Nov. 28, 2013, at the age of 86. He
served in the U.S. Army and spent much
of his service time at the Pentagon.
He attended Duke Law School and
became the business manager of the
Duke Bar Journal. He was admitted to
the Pennsylvania Appellate Courts and
federal courts, including the Supreme
Court of the United States. After
practicing with the law firm of Stevens
& Lee for more than 30 years, he was
elected and served as a judge of the
Court of Common Pleas of Berks County

from 1986 to 1996. The Pennsylvania
Supreme Court appointed him senior
judge in 1996. He is survived by his
wife, Jacqueline Ann; three children; five
grandchildren; and a step-granddaughter.
Dr. Raymond L. Martin Jr. ’52 died Oct.
31, 2013, in Boyertown, Pa., at the age of
83. He earned his dental degree in 1956
from Temple University School of Dental
Medicine. A veteran of the U.S. Navy,
he later became a dentist in Shillington,
Pa., for three decades. A member of Phi
Sigma Kappa, he is survived by his wife,
Nancy; a daughter; and a son.
William Brosius ’53, of Lancaster, died
Dec. 14, 2013. He was 82. He worked at
the former Bank of Lancaster County until
1961 before serving five years as assistant
business manager for the School District
of Lancaster. He was later employed
as an accountant for 20 years for the
Redevelopment Authority of Lancaster
County, and also worked as a consumer
credit counselor for Tabor Community
Services and as an accountant for AAA of
Lancaster County until his retirement. A
member of Phi Kappa Tau, he is survived
by his wife, Lorraine; one daughter; one
son, Jeffrey Brosius ’80; five grandsons;
and one great-granddaughter.
John P. Mahan III ’53 died Nov. 3, 2013,
at the age of 82. He was employed by
Armstrong Cork Company, Kerr Glass and
the National Can Company. Following
retirement, he worked for his son-in-law
David Rockwell’s company, Modular
Tech Inc. A member of Phi Kappa Psi,
he is survived by his wife, Joan; two
daughters; six grandchildren; two greatgrandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
Dr. Chong W. Lee ’53, of Amherst,
Mass., died Oct. 20, 2013. He was 86.
When he was 11, his mother put him
and his 13-year-old brother on a ship
to America from China. They sailed by
themselves across the Pacific and crossed
the continent on a train through Canada.
They were among the last group of
immigrants ever processed through Ellis
Island. At age 16, he lied about his age
and enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving
on a hospital ship until the end of World
War II. He went to F&M on the G.I. Bill.
After a counselor there told him he had
the analytical skills and dexterity to be a
dentist, he went to Tufts Dental School
and had a 30-year career in dentistry. He
is survived by his wife, May; four sons;
and six grandchildren.

Frank L. Pierce III ’53 died Aug. 27,
2013, at the age of 82. He served in the
U.S. Army, after which he worked in New
York as an insurance underwriter. He
taught German language and literature
for 34 years, and also had a lifelong
interest in ceramics. A member of Delta
Sigma Phi, he is survived by a son, a
daughter, two sisters, and two cousins.
David Lynch ’54, P’83, G’15, of
Lancaster, died Sept. 14, 2013. He was
83. He was a graduate of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. He practiced
architecture in Lancaster for more than
50 years, and his work can be found
throughout the region’s school districts,
colleges, churches and businesses. A
member of Kappa Sigma, he is survived
by two daughters, including Lizabeth
Lynch Jones-Hill ’83; two sons; six
grandchildren, including Patrick Hughes
’15; and one sister.
James M. Sillaman ’54, of Ephrata,
Pa., died Oct. 19, 2013. He was 87. He
served in the Army Air Corps during
World War II as a gunner/radio operator
on a B-17 bomber. He achieved the rank
of corporal. He attended the University
of Pennsylvania veterinary school. He
started his career in medical research at
Merck Sharp & Dohme, and eventually
transferred to Wyeth Laboratories in
Marietta, Pa. He is survived by his wife,
Ida Frances “Fran”; three daughters;
four sons; 14 grandchildren; four greatgrandchildren; two brothers; and a sister.
The Rev. Frank B. Christ ’55 died Dec.
3, 2013, at the age of 80. A graduate of
McCormick Theological Seminary, he
served for 40 years in Presbyterian and
presbyteries in North Dakota, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. A member
of Chi Phi, he is survived by his wife,
Helen; one daughter; two sons; and two
grandchildren.
Dr. Eugene W. Shuke ’56, of Six Mile
Run, Pa., died Nov. 22, 2013. He was 84.
He received his doctorate in dentistry at
Temple School of Dentistry. He served
in the U.S. Army during the Korean
War. He operated a private dental
practice in Saxton, Pa., from 1958 until
his retirement 1986. He is survived by
his wife, Betty; four sons; one daughter;
14 grandchildren; and two adopted
grandchildren.
The Rev. Dale R. Groff ’57, of York,
Pa., died Oct. 25, 2013. He was 82.

A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean
War, he received a bachelor of divinity
degree from the Lancaster Theological
Seminary in 1960 and was ordained by
the Potomac Synod of Maryland the same
year. A United Church of Christ pastor of
the Evangelical and Reformed tradition,
he served churches in Cavetown, Md.,
Reading, Pa., and Mahanoy City, Pa.
He was also supply pastor at numerous
churches in Schuylkill and Berks counties
through age 78. He is survived by his wife,
Patricia; two daughters; one son; seven
grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and
cousins.
Milo W. Phillips ’57, of Fleetwood, Pa.,
died Sept. 21, 2013. He was 78. He was a
consulting industrial hygienist. A member
of Delta Sigma Phi, he is survived by two
daughters, a son, six grandchildren, one
great-grandchild, and his companion,
Jeanette.
Charles J. Deininger Jr. ’60, of Seaville,
N.J., died Oct. 23, 2013. He was 82.
A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he later
embarked on a career in teaching,
serving for 27 years, mostly in the Sea
Isle School District. A member of Chi Phi,
he is survived by his wife, Lorraine; one
daughter; one son; three grandchildren;
and his brother.
Richard A. Hartman ’63, of Lititz, Pa.,
died Oct. 31, 2013. He was 71. He was
general manager of the former Gladell
Shops in Elizabethtown, Middletown and
Lititz, and worked as an insurance agent
and real estate agent. He is survived by his
wife Sandra; two sons; two grandchildren;
two sisters; a brother; his stepfather; an
uncle; and nieces and nephews.
Joseph P. Emmi ’64 died Oct. 26, 2013,
at the age of 71. He served his country
in Vietnam as an officer in the Marine
Corps. He learned programming in the
infancy of the computer age and applied
that knowledge and passion to local
companies in Lancaster County to assist
them in automating their processes.
He later moved to Fresno, Calif., and
assisted in the installation of many vital
systems, such as Ambulance Dispatch,
Medical Reporting and Library Information
Services. A member of Lambda Chi
Alpha, he is survived by a son, his father, a
brother, and a nephew.
Gary R. Haines ’65 died Sept. 7, 2013,
at the age of 70. He served in the U.S.
Navy as CIC officer on the U.S.S. Algol
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

Class Action
during Vietnam. He worked for Marine
Midland Bank in New York City and was
responsible for worldwide oil and gas
accounts. Later he was chief financial
officer of Towner Petroleum in Ohio and
Texas. A member of Phi Kappa Psi, he
is survived by his wife, Janice; his father;
one son; his brother; two grandchildren;
one great-grandchild; and two nephews.
John T. Chew Jr. ’68, of St. Davids,
Pa., died Dec. 24, 2013. He was 67. He
served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves
and was stationed at Lackland Air Force
base in San Antonio, Texas, Sheppard Air
Force base in Wichita Falls, Texas, and
Willow Grove Naval Air Force base in

Willow Grove, Pa. He was a professional
photographer who specialized in art and
antiques. His clients included Sotheby’s
and Christie’s, along with many leading
museums, including The Philadelphia
Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum
of Art. His photographs appeared in
editorials and advertisements in such
publications as The Magazine Antiques,
House & Garden Magazine, and the
New York Times Sunday Magazine. He is
survived by a son, a sister, a brother, and
a niece and nephew.
Charles W. Scott Jr. ’68 died Aug.
18, 2013. He was 67. He served in the
U.S. Army, including a tour of Vietnam.

Trustee Emeritus and Ford Executive
Kenneth F. Smith ‘55 Dies
Kenneth F. Smith ’55, P’78, G’10, Trustee emeritus of
F&M and former executive at Ford Motor Company, died
Aug. 26, 2013, in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 79.
Smith was born in Bridgeton, N.J., on Feb. 10, 1934. He
graduated from F&M with a B.S. in economics and was
a member of Chi Phi and numerous other organizations.
He later received a graduate fellowship to Cornell
University, where he received an MBA in 1957.
He worked for Ford Motor Company from 1957 until he
retired in 1995, with assignments in the areas of finance,
Kenneth F. Smith ’55
marketing and product planning. In 1976 he moved to
(Photo courtesy of
Smith family)
Ford Asia Pacific as truck operations manager, and in
1977 became president-director of Ford of Japan. During
his assignment in Japan he chaired the Mazda Study Group, which negotiated
Ford’s acquisition of a 25 percent equity stake in the Japanese automaker.
Smith also served two years as vice president for export operations with Ford of
Europe, and later became director of marketing strategy for Ford North American
Automotive Operations. He returned to Truck Operations in 1983 and assumed
responsibility for Heavy Truck Operations in 1985.
In 1991, Smith was one of seven U.S. industry executives enlisted by the U.S.
Department of Defense to visit the Soviet Union as it was disintegrating and make
recommendations for the conversion of production facilities to non-military uses.
Smith served on the Board of Trustees of Franklin & Marshall College from 1994
to 2004 and was a member of the Executive, External Relations, Finance, Facilities
Planning and Public Safety, and Marketing & Communications Committees. He
was a member of the College’s John Marshall Society, Nevonian Society, William A.
Schnader Society and the Board of Visitors.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Susanne, and three children, Kenneth F.
Smith Jr. ’78 (Caroline ’85); David B. Smith (Marta); and Kyle Smith Chase (Peter).
He was predeceased by a daughter, Donna Smith Bosshard. He is also survived by
eight grandchildren, including a granddaughter, Taylor F. Smith ’10; a son-in-law;
and a brother.
48

WINTER 2014

He earned an MBA from Hampton
University. He worked at several
banks and as a real estate agent and
accountant. He is survived by a sister, two
brothers, two cousins, and nieces and
nephews.
D. Stuart McGeorge ’69, of Harpswell,
Maine, died Nov. 30, 2013. He was 66.
He began his career at Sears, Roebuck
& Co. in Connecticut before progressing
to the home office at the Sears Tower in
Chicago. He later relocated his family to
Maine, where he continued his career at
L.L. Bean. He retired as the vice president
of the international division in 2002. A
member of Lambda Chi Alpha, he is
survived by a daughter, a son, a sister, a
brother, and his partner of many years,
Suzanne.
Ramon E. Martinez ’70, of Limerick
Township, Pa., died July 10, 2013. He
is survived by his wife, Donna; two
daughters; a granddaughter; and sister.
Theodore F. Luty Jr. ’71 died Sept.
10, 2013, at the age of 65. He was chief
executive officer of Dorsey Metrology
International, formerly Dorsey Gage
Company Inc., both in Poughkeepsie,
N.Y., where he worked since 1975. He
was proud of his family’s Polish heritage
and was a lifelong member of the Polish
Club in Poughkeepsie. He is survived
by his wife, Annie; two children; two
grandchildren; two sisters; and many
nieces, nephews and godchildren.
Christopher M. Heyn ’72 died Oct. 29,
2013, at the age of 64. He taught middle
school science in New Hampshire before
taking a teaching position at Baltimore
Friends School in Maryland. An avid
swimmer, he enjoyed lifeguarding at
F&M. He is survived by his wife, Corien; a
daughter; a son; and three grandchildren.
Robert A. Henry ’74 died Sept. 24,
2013, in Lewistown, Pa. He was 66. He
retired with 25 years of service as a CPA
for the Pennsylvania Department of
Revenue. He is survived by his mother,
one brother, and two nephews.
Mark D. Jancin, Ph.D., ’76, of State
College, Pa., died Oct. 21. He was 59.
After college he became a graduate
assistant in geosciences at Penn State
University, where he earned a Ph.D. His
work with a fellow graduate student
resulted in the first geologic map of an
entire peninsula in Iceland. The results of

this research were published in 1985, and
are still frequently cited by researchers
concerned with the evolution of Iceland
and the North Atlantic. He was manager
and consulting geologist for groundwater
projects at many sites across the United
States, including Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and
Virginia, and in Trinidad.
J. Roger Masi, Esq., ’76, of Ridgewood,
N.J., died Aug. 22, 2013. He was 59. A
graduate of Temple School of Law, he
practiced law for more than 25 years.
He also served on the zoning board
in Ridgewood for four years and was
a former member of the AM Rotary.
A member of Delta Sigma Phi, he is
survived by his wife, Sherrill; three sons;
and his brother.
Frederick H. “Chip” Smedley III ’78, of
Lancaster, died Nov. 1, 2013. He was 57.
He joined Lancaster Newspapers in 1974,
first serving on the Intelligencer Journal
sports staff. He wore many hats during
his career, including newspaper reporter,
history teacher, mayoral assistant, public
relations man, chef, bartender, musician,
ice hockey goaltender, softball player
and lacrosse coach. In 1985 he became
a history teacher and later also dean
of Upper School students at Lancaster
Country Day School. For 23 years, he
taught hundreds of students, many
of whom called him “Smeds.” He is
survived by his wife, Kelly; his father; his
stepmother; a daughter; a son; and two
sisters.
Dr. Daren F. Emery ’79 died Dec. 25,
2012, at the age of 55. He graduated
from the College of Osteopathic
Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines,
Iowa, and completed his pediatric
residency at the University of Kentucky.
He is survived by his wife, Cheri; five
children; and a brother.
David R. Keller, Ph.D., ’87, of Salt Lake
City, died Dec. 28, 2013. He was 51. He
earned a master’s in philosophy at Boston
College and his doctorate in philosophy
from the University of Georgia. He
taught at Utah Valley University, serving
as professor of philosophy, professor of
environmental studies, and director of
the Center for the Study of Ethics. He
advocated for philosophers, scientists
and policymakers to work together for
environmental stewardship. He and his
wife, Anina, had a penchant for travel that
took them around the globe, including

trips to southeast Asia, Bali, Australia,
New Zealand, the Middle East, Europe,
Mexico and Alaska, among other
destinations. In addition to his wife, he is
survived by a sister and a brother.
Sheryl B. Kessler-Clemens ’90 died
Sept. 2, 2013. She was 45. She is survived
by her husband, Lawrence; two sisters;
numerous sisters-in-law and brothersin-law; aunts; uncles; and nieces and
nephews.

Joshua Lee Harmon ’96, of Las Vegas,
died Aug. 2, 2013. He was 39. He
earned a law degree at Washington
and Lee School of Law and began his
career in Las Vegas practicing labor and
employment law until 2007, when he
opened his own law office specializing
in personal injury. Later, Harmon Wang
LLC was established. A member of
Delta Sigma Phi, he is survived by his
wife, Tracey; two children; his parents; a
brother; and a sister.

Richard B. Hoffman, Longtime Professor
and College Administrator, Dies
Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy Richard B.
Hoffman, who served with distinction in a variety of roles
in the College’s administration, died Dec. 30, 2013. He
was 77.
Hoffman earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral
degrees in physics at Lehigh University before joining
F&M’s Department of Physics in 1968. After teaching for
two and a half years, he moved into the administration,
serving first as assistant to the president. He became
director of institutional research and planning in 1974,
Richard B. Hoffman
was promoted to vice president for budget and planning
(Photo by Dan Lewis)
in 1978, and to vice president and chief financial officer
in 1991. He returned to full-time teaching in 1995 and, continuing to draw on his
administrative experience, became executive director of the Higher Education Data
Sharing Consortium, where he led a series of studies addressing durable policy
issues that confront higher education.
The professor’s area of specialty was Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
He published papers on the subject in The Physical Review and The Journal of
Mathematical Physics. He retired from F&M in 2002.
He was involved with the larger arena of education as well, serving as a member of
the Manheim Central School Board from 1969 to 1982, and as the board president
from 1972 to 1981. In addition, he served on the advisory committee and task force
on mission for the Pennsylvania Council of Higher Education and as a member
of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania’s
research advisory committee.
Hoffman was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having trained as a tactical nuclear
weapons specialist. He was discharged at the rank of staff sergeant. During his
four years of active duty, he was stationed in New York, New Mexico, Mississippi,
Florida, Virginia, Texas, Germany and Okinawa.
Indicative of his many talents and wide-ranging interests, Hoffman was an
accomplished musician and a member of the Ephrata Cloister Chorus. He was a
trustee of the Lancaster Theological Seminary from 1985 to 1995. An active member
of his church, he served as deacon, elder, church council president, treasurer and
parish secretary.
Hoffman is survived by his wife, Cheryl; two brothers; three sons and their mother;
seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MAGAZINE

History Lesson

What’s OLD
is

NEW
Again

Concern with environmental issues and sustainability has long been a tradition at Franklin & Marshall College.
Working with local community groups such as the Lancaster Jaycees in the early 1970s, the College’s Environmental
Action Council (EAC) and student-run Environmental Action club initiated a recycling program on campus by
placing receptacles in campus dormitories to collect glass and paper. These materials were then collected and sorted
at a campus recycling center, to be sold to glass factories and paper mills. In 1971, the EAC and Professor John
Moss, head of the College’s environmental studies program, organized a conference on the environment that was
highlighted by an address by William Ruckelshaus, head of the newly formed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition to these initiatives, the Environmental Action club sponsored automobile emissions testing at Lancaster’s
Park City Center in 1972 to raise awareness of air pollution. This “clean air car,” which ran on liquefied petroleum
gas, was displayed on campus the same year.
—Michael Lear, Archives and Special Collections Assistant

WINTER 2014

STAR M OME NT S F OR GRADUATING SENIORS
ranklin & Marshall student Megan O’Donnell ’14 has a message
for her fellow classmates about their senior gift campaign—one
she hopes will resonate as they prepare to join the ranks of the
College’s alumni.

The campaign is working; by the end of the fall semester,
123 seniors—20 percent of the class—had already participated
by making a gift. It was one of the strongest fall semesters on
record for a senior class campaign.

“We want seniors to know this campaign is a good way to give
back,” O’Donnell says. “We’re trying to educate the whole class
that alumni give back to support them, and now it’s their turn to
support future students.”

“We want everyone to understand that it’s the total F&M
experience they are supporting,” Roberts said. “It’s important to
give because you are thanking F&M for such an amazing academic
and overall experience.”

O’Donnell, a native of Denver, joins Hannah Barry ’14 of Hudson,
Ohio, and Brady Roberts ’14 of Philadelphia as co-chairs for Senior
Campaign 2014—a grassroots effort to explain philanthropy,
and the importance of supporting Franklin & Marshall, to the
graduating seniors. The campaign is titled “Earn Your Star.”

Barry agrees. “We should thank the school, and also understand
that the act of giving is important,” she said.

Please consider following the seniors’ example by making your
own gift to F&M this year. Call the Office of College Advancement
at 717-358-3973, use the envelope included in this magazine, or
visit www.fandm.edu/giving to support the Franklin & Marshall
Fund, which benefits all students.
Follow the progress of Senior Campaign 2014 at
www.fandm.edu/senior-campaign.

MELISSA HESS

The first 100 donors to the campaign were invited to a reception
with F&M President Daniel R. Porterfield. All seniors who give
are entered into a raffle to win a “Star Moment”—an opportunity
to take part in something out of the ordinary in and around the
F&M campus, such as ringing the Old Main bell to summon the
campus community to the weekly Common Hour or enjoying
a special night at the Grundy Observatory at Baker Campus.

The Class of 2014 will present its gift to the College at the
Senior Toast on May 8, two days before Commencement.

Senior Campaign 2014 co-chairs (l-r)
Hannah Barry ’14, Megan O’Donnell ’14
and Brady Roberts ’14 encourage
other seniors to “Earn Their Star.”

P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003
www.fandm.edu

MELISSA HESS

FSC
LOGO
HERE

Into the Black Hole
Acclaimed physicist and mathematician Brian Greene, renowned for his research on string theory, pretends to throw his wallet
into a black hole during a presentation at F&M’s Common Hour Oct. 24 in Mayser Gymnasium. In addition to his campus-wide
lecture, Greene spent two days on campus as the 2013-14 Mueller Fellow, engaging in discussions with students and faculty
members in various classes. He has been working on quantum gravity and unified theories for nearly two decades, and PBS
adapted his bestselling book, “The Elegant Universe,” into a three-part television series. The Mueller Fellowship has brought
high-profile figures to campus to deliver public lectures and spend meaningful time with students for more than 30 years.

OCR | Digital Collections (2024)

References