Permanent link: http://www.rhodes.edu/insiderhodes/alumni.121906.htm
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Permanent link: http://www.rhodes.edu/insiderhodes/alumni.121906.htm
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December 2006 |
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Greeting from Rhodes College |
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Dear Alumni, We welcome several first-time readers of Inside Rhodes. This is a full issue and sectioned with headers to help you find items of greatest interest. Should you be in a scanning mode at the closing and miss the message, please know that we wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. |
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Chapter News |
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Most of our contact with alumni in regions where chapters are located is through emails. Should you be receiving this electronic newsletter but no announcements about local chapter events, please call or email the Alumni Relations Office. Mobile – No report Atlanta – Members of the Atlanta Chapter convoyed to Sewanee to watch the Lynx face the Tigers in a gridiron contest on November 11. A pregame tailgate was held on the lawn of the French House where parents and alumni gathered and enjoyed refreshments. It was a fun, foggy day on the Mountain, made better by a Lynx win. The Atlanta Chapter is hosting A Weekend of Study and Style in Atlanta for alumni and parents March 8-11, 2007. Please see the “Travel Opportunities” section of the newsletter for details. Washington , DC – The Washington, DC Chapter held a reception on Capitol Hill September 18 featuring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and President and Mrs. Bill Troutt. Approximately 100 members of the Rhodes community attended and enjoyed remarks by Senator Frist, Dr. Troutt, and Chapter President Viktoria Ziebarth ’97. Special thanks to Meredith Davis ’01 and Chuck Harper ’03 of Senator Frist’s staff for arranging this special evening. The Washington, DC Chapter hosted a Holiday Wine Tasting in Arlington, VA November 29. Alumni and parents enjoyed wines that complement holiday meals in preparation for the upcoming season. Chapter leaders are planning a career networking event for students and young alumni interested in working in DC. The event is scheduled for Monday, March 12. Please save the date, and watch for details to follow. Strong alumni and parent participation made last year’s like event a great success! Arkansas – The Arkansas Chapter held a happy hour November 16 at Ferneau’s in Little Rock. Thanks to Marynell Branch ’77 for organizing the gathering, and for cleverly penning the following invitation to the next happy hour gathering to be held January 11, 2007: Hope you don’t have a “Blue Christmas” and that you get those “Blue Suede Shoes” you’d been hoping for. However, if you’re “All Shook Up” over the King’s 72nd birthday, “Don’t Be Cruel.” Come to Ferneau’s, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, Thursday, January 11 from 5:30 pm – 7pm. “It’s Now or Never.” Appetizers and Rhodes alums – because Elvis would have wanted it that way. Nashville – Service Chairperson Colleen Grady ’86 organized a team for Hand on Nashville Day held September 30. Team Rhodes helped with one of the many projects dedicated to cleaning and repairing Nashville area schools. Nashville area alumni and parents took advantage of the opportunity to hear Vice President of College Relations Russ Wigginton ’88 at a reception held November 9 at the home of Theresa ’75 and Norm Carl. Dr. Wigginton provided attendees with an update about the College and the new Mike Curb Institute for Music. Dr. Wigginton also discussed his new book, The Strange Career of the Black Athlete and signed copies for alumni. Thank you to the Carls for hosting this event. Special appreciation is extended to the Rhodes community in Nashville. Members of the Rhodes Singers performed in Dickson, TN as part of their holiday tour, and many members of the Rhodes community in Nashville hosted students overnight. Thank you for your willingness to house the students. North Texas – North Texas alumni organized a road trip to Sherman to watch the Lynx take on the Roos of Austin College October 7. Football parents were appreciative of the alumni support for the team as were the Rhodes students who were victorious in the game. Megan Norman ’07 sang the national anthem and displayed her divided loyalties by sporting a ½ Austin College ½ Rhodes College football jersey. Megan’s father is the Assistant Director of Athletics at Austin College. Birmingham – History Professors Frank Buscher, Michael LaRosa, Charles McKinney and Gail Murray attended the Southern Historical Association’s Annual Meeting in Birmingham and were hosted by the Birmingham Chapter at a reception November 17. Nancy and Billy McDonald, parents of Maggie ’98, held the event in their home. The faculty provided an update of the History Department and a review of their conference presentations. Approximately 60 members of the Rhodes Community attended. Special thanks to the McDonalds for graciously hosting, and to Maggie McDonald ’98 and Charlotte Russ ’97 for their leadership in organizing this wonderful event. Houston – The Houston Chapter had an active fall offering a variety of programming for the local Rhodes community. Julie Javarone ’01 organized a Rhodes team to take part in the Komen Houston Race for the Cure. The team, with the support of local alumni, raised more than $600 for the fight against breast cancer. Alumni and parents were invited to attend a private docent-led tour at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston October 19. The visiting exhibit, Best in Show! The Dog in Art Form from the Renaissance to Today, featured approximately 75 pieces of art. The group gathered for dinner after the tour. The Houston Chapter continues to hold monthly happy hour gatherings the first Thursday of each month. Fall happy hours were held at Grappino’s, but with the new year comes a new location. Mark your calendars now for January 4, February 1 and March 1. The new spot is Benjy’s in the Rice Village, 2424 Dunstan. The fun begins at 5:30 pm with drink and appetizer specials offered until 7 pm. Chicago – No report. New York City – New York City Chapter leaders organized a reception to welcome members of the Rhodes Alumni Choir and Rhodes Singers to the Big Apple. A preconcert gathering was held prior to the choir’s performance at Carnegie Hall November 24. Leslie Curry ’98 is chairing a career networking week in New York City from January 2 through 5, 2007 for current students. Leslie and other chapter leaders have been in close contact with Rhodes faculty members and staff in developing this program. Students have the opportunity to learn about living in New York and working in fields such as investment banking, finance and marketing. Young alums are invited to attend a gathering on Wednesday, January 3 to meet with students. It’s a great opportunity to share your experiences and offer advice to students. Watch your inbox for details. St. Louis – Welcome to our newest chapter! Alumni and parents in St. Louis gathered for a chapter establishment meeting in St. Louis November 27. Some great ideas were shared and the chapter is off to a good start. Thanks to Ken Mallin, father of Chip Mallin ’09, for hosting the meeting at his office. Plans to have a kickoff event early in the new year are in the works. If you are interested in providing leadership for the chapter please contact Holly Hilliard. Other Regional Program News: Boston – Professors Dan Cullen and Steve Wirls were in Boston November 18 attending an academic conference and met with alumni for an afternoon reception. Thanks to Michael Faber ’98 for providing leadership in organizing this event. New Orleans – Following Mardi Gras, Rhodes staff members will meet with area alumni and parents to establish the Rhodes Chapter of New Orleans. Selected dates for the effort are February 27 which will be the chapter establishment meeting and February 28 which will be a reception for alumni and parents of Rhodes students. Please contact Holly Hilliard to learn how you may become involved. |
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From the Online Community |
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Listed below are several recent postings in Class Notes in Lasting Lynx, our password-protected online community. Jill Baker Briscoe ’01 and Nathan Briscoe are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Rachel Renee. She was born on October 3, 2006 in Columbus, OH, St Ann's Hospital, and weighed 7 lb., 7 oz. We now have two little girls, both under 2 years old. It is a lot of fun, and also exhausting! Lane Gotten Faughnan ’96 writes, "After bumping into several fellow alums recently, I decided it was time to update my spot on the alumni pages! I just reached my 7th anniversary at St. Jude where I am the study coordinator for an exciting NIH study for infants with sickle cell disease. Brian ’95 is a partner at Adams and Reese in Memphis where he concentrates on legal ethics issues and complex litigation. During the remaining time we stay busy chasing after Sophie (5) and Whit (2)." Elizabeth Maxey ’05 recently accepted a position at Vanderbilt Medical Group located in Nashville , TN as Financial Analyst. Elizabeth recently was employed at Mitsui Steel as Supply Chain Analyst. "I am very excited about my new position with Vanderbilt. It is such a great institution and I look forward to the challenges it will bring to my life. This will also be a great stepping stone to getting my mba." Michael Robbins ’91 writes, "Last January, I started as Director of New Schools Development for The SEED Foundation in Washington, DC. The foundation operates the nation's only public urban boarding school, and we are working to establish new campuses across the country. Heather, Alexander (born October 2005) and I live just north of DC in Silver Spring, MD." Christine Ewing Rolon ’83 writes, "I have nothing super exciting to report but I'm hoping to hear more about how other people are and what they are up to. Terry and I have been living the dream life of early retirement in our log cabin on a mountain in Northern Virginia. We travel frequently ( Ireland, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Nova Scotia - just in the past year alone) and exercise frequently to stay in shape. We have 10 nieces and nephews (still counting), the oldest started college this year." The Lasting Lynx has a directory feature that allows alumni to search for friends and classmates; a “yellow pages” feature through which members may post information about services they are able to provide through their professions; a permanent email forwarding address whereby you will only need to report change of your Internet carrier to one source and will be able to receive emails at the address of yourselectedname@rhodes-alumni.net; and the Class Notes feature as illustrated above. Please join today. Should you have any difficulty in registering, please email or call Tracy Comer ( establish name as link) 901/843-3845. |
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| Books for Barrett | |
Four alumni have submitted books they have written for placement in the Paul Barret, Jr. Library. We are grateful to Charley, Blair, Eric and Diana for their gifts. Electronic addresses of the authors are provided below along with the titles of their works. Please contact them directly to send good wishes or to secure copies of their books. Charles L. Killinger, III ’64 ckillinger@valenciacc.edu has submitted The History of Italy. Charley has published two additional scholarly books this decade. Blair Gilmer Meeks ’63 bgmeeks@aol.com has submitted copies of four recently-published works “for an intended readership of pastors and lay people concerned with the worship life of congregations. They are intended for ecumenical use and are based on the order of worship common to Presbyterian and Methodist churches.” Expecting the Unexpected: A Devotional Guide for Advent Season of Ash and Fire: Prayers and Liturgies for Lent and Easter Season of Light and Hope: Prayers and Liturgies for Advent and Christmas Standing in the Circle of Grief: Prayers and Liturgies for Death and Dying Charles Eric Mount, Jr. ’57 mounte@centre.edu has submitted copies of The Feminine Factor and Professional Ethics in Context: Institutions, Images, and Empathy. (Please note that the gift of these two works is in addition to two books Eric gave earlier this year.) Diana Warren Risher ’57 drisher@bayspringstel.net has submitted but God which “is based on the phrase ‘but God’ in the Bible and in it I show how those two little words have the power to change any situation.” We welcome books written by alumni. Please send two copies of yours to the Alumni Relations Office. One copy will go into general circulation and the other will be placed in the archives with works by other Rhodes alumni. |
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| A Way You can Help the College | |
Make a Gift – Rhodes College relies upon annual fund gifts to meet some of its operating expenses. Our alumni, parents, faculty and staff respond generously. Through your participation in the Annual Fund, the College is able to maintain quality. Rhodes has a history of incredible alumni participation rates in the Annual Fund. The gifts, even very modest ones, have a way of helping in two ways. Beyond the obvious use of the resources to meet costs, the participation of so many alumni is a tangible demonstration of loyalty that we use in seeking grants from foundations and external agencies. We need your help. I ask that you make a gift to support the work of Rhodes. Even if it is a small donation, it will help us in reaching both monetary and participation goals. Should you be one who gives to charitable and other causes late in the calendar year, I ask that you make your gift today to Rhodes College either online or by sending a check to the Office of Development at the address of the College appearing at the end of this newsletter. (Any checks postmarked before December 31 will be credited to 2006 by the IRS. However, should you plan to use a debit or credit card, these gifts are recognized by the IRS at the time when they are processed. Thus, to receive tax credit for 2006, Rhodes must receive these in the mail by December 29 or online before noon December 31.) Your gifts make a difference. We appreciate the help you provide and do not take the trust you place in us for granted. Thank you for your continued financial support. |
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| Ways to Help the College in Early 2007 | |
There are several areas in which we will be requesting your help in January through March. This posting serves to introduce those items briefly with request that you give thought and respond when asked. While we don’t expect much activity on these until after Christmas and the turn of the new year, should you be inclined to volunteer now, we certainly would be pleased to hear from you. Join the Rhodes Career Network – Alumni established in their fields have been a remarkable source of support for Rhodes students and young alumni. The contact our staff members have with alumni both volunteering to assist and those seeking assistance is increasing dramatically. Please think about participating to the extent that you can by serving as an informational resource for those following you, by creating internships for students (not limited to Memphis area), and by posting open positions in your agencies or businesses. Nominate Alumni for Awards – One of the special elements of Homecoming/Reunion Weekend each year is the presentation of alumni awards. In early 2007, we will solicit nominations for Athletic Hall of Fame, BSA Distinguished Alumnus/a, Distinguished Alumnus/a Award, and Young Alumnus/a of the Year. Nominate Alumni for the Alumni Board –The Alumni Association Executive Board will select six alumni to serve three-year terms on the board at its meeting of March 30-31. Confirmation of these selections will occur at the Homecoming Alumni Convocation. Nominations of fellow alumni or statements of self-interest will be valued. Please think about nominating others or serving yourself. Calls for nominations will be made in January and February. Call Classmates – Early in 2007, we will ask for volunteers to make calls requesting Annual Fund gifts. Volunteers will be asked to call between 10 and 15 classmates. Please think about serving in this way. Complete the Survey – Referenced in the segment “Reflections of the Fall Semester” later in this newsletter is an alumni survey that is under development by two of our students. We anticipate sending the survey to all alumni of the College in January and February. When you receive the survey, please complete and return it. |
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| Announcements | |
Rhodes Receives Carnegie Recognition for Community Engagement – Read more Campus Lecture on January 11 – A prominent economist, William Easterly, is speaking at Rhodes in the McCallum Ballroom January 11 at 7 pm. The lecture is titled Can Foreign Aid End World Poverty? His appearance at Rhodes is sponsored by the student group STAND and by the Department of Economics. The lecture is free and open to the public. Click here for additional information about Dr. Easterly. Department Personnel Change – Following the retirement of long-term employee Marsha Williams in the Communications Office, Stephanie Swindle ’06 has joined our staff as Coordinator for Communications, Scheduling and Events. Meeman Center Classes for Spring 2007 - Register now for noncredit spring classes in the liberal arts. Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration - On Tuesday, January 16, Rhodes will hold its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at 7 pm in the McCallum Ballroom of the Bryan Campus Life Center. Our guest speaker this year is Dr. Charles Payne, the Sally Dalton Robinson Professor of History, African American Studies and Sociology at Duke University. Dr. Payne is the author of Getting What We Ask For: The Ambiguity of Success and Failure in Urban Education, Debating the Civil Rights Movement, and the award-winning I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Movement. The program is open to the public. |
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| Rhodes Travel Opportunities | |
Rhodes-Sponsored Travel Programs - Join interesting alumni going to interesting places with Rhodes travel programs. See Rhodes to Travel. March Weekend in Atlanta – The Rhodes Chapter of Atlanta, Meeman Center and Alumni Relations Office are collaborating on a program that will be full of Rhodes activities, cultural attractions, museums and faculty lectures. The program begins Thursday evening, March 8 with a cocktail reception hosted by President and Mrs. Troutt, the Alumni Relations Staff and leaders of the Atlanta Chapter. It concludes Sunday, March 11 with an alumni and family brunch honoring parents of Rhodes students. Cost is projected to be $200 a person, inclusive of all museum passes, IMAX admission, cocktail receptions and several meals. Hotel lodging and travel to Atlanta are not included in this registration. Day or event pricing will be available for Atlanta-area alumni and families. Additional information is forthcoming, but put the dates of March 8-11 on your 2007 calendar and plan on being in Atlanta. Contact Matt Semko ’98 for more information and a schedule of activities. |
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| Reflections on the Fall Semester | |
Students have just concluded their final exams for the 2006 Fall Semester. Faculty members have submitted grades. The fall term is winding down and the campus is noticeably quieter. It has been a wonderful semester. Preparation for the fall semester by the Alumni Relations Office began last spring in orchestrating arrangements for the Summer Sendoffs to welcome entering students and their families. This year, beyond the recurring sites which include, among other cities Birmingham, Nashville, Houston, Mobile, Memphis, Dallas, and Atlanta, we added Boston, Chicago and St. Louis as we had critical masses of students from those areas. We were also pleased to again have a Summer Sendoff in New Orleans which was characterized by a fine spirit even though the city and region have been through such devastation and turmoil. We were pleased to participate in the welcome of the entering students and provided a T-shirt on behalf of the Alumni Association to each new student. Senior Socials, through which students having interest in various career fields interact with alumni in those fields, were well attended and will continue in the Spring term. The participation of alumni in these Friday afternoon socials is appreciated by students and staff alike. The work of our Rhodes Chapters, consisting of alumni and parents of students, kept us busy with good activity that has been dutifully reported by Holly Hilliard through these newsletters. To the previously existing 11 chapters, we welcomed St. Louis in late November. It is amazing to see the work that the chapters are doing. I call to your attention in this newsletter the January career exploration program (New York City), March panel discussion and networking reception focused on working in DC (Washington, DC) and March weekend travel opportunity (Atlanta) as illustrations of the worthwhile projects underway. Homecoming/Reunion Weekend was outstanding. Alumni and their spouses/families/guests returned in great number. Friday evening featured a reception for all guests and was well attended. Many of the classes held their reunion events on the campus on Saturday evening. The Paul Barret, Jr. Library inspired awe and will be prominently featured in the next several Homecomings as reunion classes return. Alumni living in both Washington, DC and New York City served on panels to provide counsel and respond to questions or concerns held by students on the Friday afternoon of Homecoming. What our students need to realize their dreams of living in new places is the courage that comes from knowing that others have gone before them and succeeded. Approximately 55 students participated in the two sessions. Beyond the helpful information, what a great example this was for our students in understanding the responsibility that alumni have to assist those who follow them. The Alumni Convocation, Athletic Hall of Fame, and BSA Reception where alumni were recognized and thanked held meaning for those being recognized and for those attending. Among the most personally rewarding aspects of Homecoming Weekend is meeting alumni with whom I have in some way – letters, phone calls, or electronic mail – established relationship. It doesn’t get much better for me and this year’s Homecoming provided numerous opportunities for meeting alumni. Seeing a couple from my former Presbyterian church congregation in Baton Rouge and making the connection of her alumna status and seeing an LSU faculty member with whom I had served on that staff for a number of years were special. After being asked in each of the preceding years of my service by young alumni to go to Silky’s late night on Saturday and respectfully declining each invitation, this past Homecoming I did go. I was astonished to see the number of young alumni present! Most did not register for Homecoming and we had no idea that they were attending. I’ll “fuss” about this with the young members of our alumni community next summer and fall so that their names will show up on the registration site as being expected to attend, but what a remarkable showing of the young alums in returning to Memphis in the numbers they did. One of the signal highlights of Fall 2006 has been working with two women, Emily Deichmann ’07 and Rebecca Smith ’07, who are taking their senior seminar course in Psychology. These students have the task of assessing the institution’s effectiveness in reaching the Rhodes Vision. Emily and Rebecca are studying the alumni community to make their assessment. We met weekly this semester as they developed a survey instrument that will be administered to all alumni in the early months of 2007. They worked hard and finished this semester with a survey draft that has been pre-tested with 140 alumni. Seven alumni met with the students in an evaluation meeting and helped them modify the draft in advance of their sending it to the greater population. Rebecca and Emily will be registered for a directed inquiry course with Professor Ackerman next semester and much of their work will be in the Alumni Office. Again, at a personal level, I enjoyed the sustained contact with students on a project which I believe will have tremendous value for the College and for the Alumni Relations Office. In this year when the institution has a focus on “student engagement,” it is nice to be directly involved with students on a worthwhile initiative. |
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| In Memoriam | |
Vernon Humphries, a Rhodes Campus Safety Officer for more than 20 years, passed away on November 27. Generations of students came to know Officer Humphries as he staffed the gatehouse at Bailey Lane in afternoon and evening hours. Vernon was affectionately regarded and addressed as “Humphries” by students and alumni alike. In a recent visit I had with an alumna in St. Louis, she spoke fondly of Mr. Humphries and another member of the Campus Safety staff. In that conversation, I gathered that Vernon may have had a way of working with students in such a manner that some matters did not reach the campus judicial system. Mr. Humphries was 73. He will be missed by all of us. |
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| Closing | |
In November, two of our faculty members were in Boston for an academic conference. We asked one of our alumni living in the area to coordinate and host a gathering of alumni to see Professors Cullen and Wirls. The event was attended by about 30 alumni. An excerpt of our volunteer’s email message after the event follows: “-personal note: what an impressive collection of people - I have to admit I was really taken by what an intelligent group of alumni we have up here who are pursuing great projects (probably a good quarter were research PhDs, a good quarter were MDs, and everybody else was either in grad school or doing some interesting work for a worthwhile cause) - if this is any indication of the caliber of alumni we have in various cities I think we're in good shape. Beyond that, they were such nice people with really positive attitudes about Rhodes. … Again, it was an extremely positive experience for me personally and many of the other participants …” This email is shared for two purposes. First, I often ask alumni to do things to help in various ways. Invariably, when I hear back from someone following his or her completing a request, the follow up contact demonstrates loyalty and appreciation for Rhodes College. Such is the case above. As much as anything, perhaps, I wanted to share this as an example of the kinds of things I hear from you after you have done something that supports College initiatives. Second, the alumni community of Rhodes College is indeed a special one as is illustrated in the message. It is a great privilege for those of us on the staff to serve “an impressive collection of people … who are pursuing great projects (and) worthwhile causes … (and are) such nice people with really positive attitudes for Rhodes.” Thank you for all that you do to help your fellow members in the alumni community and the College in realizing our collective potential. I, too, think we’re in good shape. The College will be closed during the week of Christmas and on New Year’s Day. The offices in the Constituent Programs department will be closed from December 23 through January 1. All best wishes for a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a grand New Year, Bud Richey, Associate Vice President and Director of Alumni Relations Alumni Relations Office Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning Scheduling and Events Office |
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