Homecoming 2016
Celebration and Ceremony
William N. Doemel H’74
Honorary Alumnus
For decades we have been learning from you what it means to be, in the most exemplary of ways, a Wabash man.
Nancy Doemel H’91
Honorary Alumna (posthumous)
Your life so well-lived and loved gave us a deeper understanding of what our alma mater could be.
Carol Runge H’71
Honorary Alumna
Your grace and charm as first lady of the Alumni Office spanning nearly two decades warmed the hearts of thousands of Wabash men and their families.
John Bryant “JB” Bachman ’61
Frank W. Misch Alumni Service Award
Your more than half-century of work as Class Agent has been a celebration of connection, an affirmation of friendship, and a shelter from life’s storms.
Christopher J. Denari ’83
Sportscaster
Clarence A. Jackson Career Service Award
As a relentless worker, respected professional, and consummate teammate, you have risen to the top of your craft.
Todd Barton ’00
Mayor of Crawfordsville
Fredrick J. Urbaska Civic Service Award
It is simply remarkable what you have accomplished for your city. Your pride in possibility and opportunity has driven you, and, quite frankly, Crawfordsville is rapidly regaining its community spirit and can-do attitude.
Joseph P. Trebley ’01
Co-founder and CEO Monon Bioventures LLC
Jeremy Robert Wright Young Alumnus Award
You once said, “We’re digging in and finding entrepreneurs where no one has found them before.” The National Association of Wabash Men is in awe of your innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.
Morgan Nolan ’07
Admissions Alumni Fellow
The work you have done to revitalize our College’s relationship with your school, Munster High School, has been so critically important.
Jason Bridges ’98
Career Services Alumni Fellow
The relationships you build with your interns endure long after the summers they spend with you. You are a mentor and role model for life.
Flagpole Dedication
The flagpole and pavilion on the College Mall were dedicated in honor of Tom Runge ’71 USAF (Retired)
President Gregory Hess joined Patsy Webberhunt and the Parents’ Advisory Council during the Leadership Summit.
“Little Ripple in the Pond”
We created this fund for just what you have been talking about—to broaden your horizons, your experiences, and your sense of self, so that you come back and look at your world through different eyes. If we can start that little ripple in the pond, your experiences, translated into new ways of doing and thinking, actually transform other people.
Laura Rudolph, mother of the late Kenneth Rhys Rudolph, speaking to beneficiaries of the fund created in her son’s memory.
Students and alumni who have benefited from the Kenneth Rhys Rudolph Memorial Fund for European Summer Study Abroad gathered with Rhys and Laura Rudolph and President Hess to celebrate the fund's 10th year. Pictured with the Rudolphs and President Hess are Peter Xu ’17, Harrison Schafer ’17, Kurt Miller ’16, Reggie Steele ’12, Bryan Hutchens ’13, and Tyler Andrews ’15.
Wabash On My Mind
The Wabash College podcast
Graduates today are looking at a world that may look very, very different when they get to midcareer; the liberal arts better prepares you to be flexible when the world around you is dynamic and changing. Don’t just lock in a job, but think about a future, a career, and a purpose.
Guggenheim Partners Assistant Chief Investment Officer Anne Walsh, on campus to deliver the keynote address—“Creative destruction is now commonplace…and why the liberal arts matter more”—for the 2016 Leadership Summit.
I grew up on a farm and on a farm there are two things you figure out: hard work and harsh outcomes.
But you also have time to daydream, and one of mine was wondering, What does the rest of the world look like? That led me to want to travel someday.
Coming to understand the economy globally has taken me to interesting places around the world. It’s been a great experience to learn as you travel.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George, the 2016 Rogge Lecturer, interviewed by President Gregory Hess.
But you know what I loved? I loved being a mother. I was sort of like the queen of my life when my children were little and I was cooking three-course meals for them, and warming up their clothes in the dryer before they went out in winter, and making a fire for them to have breakfast. Coming back to my little room and then writing, then being late for the school bus, and picking them up. I really enjoyed that.
Novelist and essayist Jamaica Kincaid, on campus for a reading from her works.
By The Numbers
It’s college rankings season, and once again Wabash is shining.
Some examples:
1 ranking of Wabash German program nationwide, College Factual
2nd highest paid alumni among national liberal arts colleges, Payscale.com
2 ranking of Wabash history program nationwide, College Factual
5th Top Internship Opportunities, Princeton Review
8th Best Athletics Facilities, Princeton Review
6 number of Wabash degree programs in top 1% nationwide, College Factual
10th Most Accessible Professors, Princeton Review
15th Best Theater Department, Princeton Review
16th Best Health Services, Princeton Review
17th Best Undergraduate Teaching, U.S. News and World Report
“Secret Weapon”
Asked to complete an “audio essay” as their final assignment for the English course in the College’s Liberal Arts Immersion Program last summer, incoming freshmen dug deep into the readings, their lives, and the places they grew up to produce original, surprising, and often moving narratives.
And their classmates—along with Wabash faculty and staff invited to the “listening party” in Lilly Library—got to hear it all, up close and personal.
“I think the camaraderie of other students is probably the secret weapon in this program,” said Dean of the College Scott Feller. “I already knew we had great faculty and staff who are all in, but the extent to which students enjoy and learn from one another in this program is remarkable.”
Students from the program’s first year, 2015-2016, had a retention rate of 90%, and the overall freshman-to-sophomore retention rate last year was 91.5%, the highest since the College began reliably tracking that rate.
Our class discussion was led by students, which I’d never experienced before. I was finally in a school atmosphere that gave me freedom to be creative, while still pushing me to present intelligent, meaningful work.
David Ortega ’20
Hammond, IN
91.5%
Freshman-to-sophomore retention rate last year, the highest since the College began reliably tracking that metric
“What Brings You Fulfillment and Joy”
When I sat where you are 37 years ago, I had no earthly idea what my life’s work was going to be. Don’t worry if you don’t, either. Try lots of things, see which you’re good at, and see what brings you fulfillment and joy. Don’t specialize too early—keep your options open. The skills you learn here will apply wherever you find yourself.
Rob Shook ’83, Vice President, National Association of Wabash Men, welcoming freshmen at August’s Ringing In ceremony in the Chapel.
Remembering Bill
John Van Nuys ’83 was one of seven members of the Wabash community who participated in the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay in Crawfordsville in October. Van Nuys took part in memory of his teacher and friend, Professor Bill Placher ’70.
Big Cookie—Some Little Giant
For decades, Rem Johnston ’55 was known to Wabash men as The Big Cookie, but in Northeast Indiana, he was known as father, brother, best friend, and wise counsel.
In August, alumni representing seven decades from across the country traveled to Ft. Wayne, IN, to honor Johnston at the first Big Cookie Athletics Spirit Fund Golf Outing.
He earned the nickname Big Cookie when he traveled ahead of Wabash sports teams and placed large cookies made at a Bluffton bakery on every player’s hotel-room pillow.
He was equally legendary for his clever bumper stickers, which always began with “The Big Cookie says…” Those stickers were printed at his shop and made their way to campus before big football or basketball games.
“When I think about Rem Johnston, I think of him in three ways that were important in my life,” said Kevin Clifford ’77. “I think about him as a great man, a role model and mentor, and a fan… And there have been none better than him, which is why we love him.”
In 2015, Johnston established The Big Cookie Athletics Spirit Fund at Wabash, which provides resources for fun activities for students, particularly in association with athletic events.
As a freshman back in the day, I was among the first to live in Martindale Hall. My goal is that the Class of 2020 will love the new redesigned state-of-the art Martindale when they arrive even more than I did.
Wabash Trustee Jay Williams ’66, who led the team that redesigned Martindale Hall, which was re-dedicated at Homecoming.
I am excited to play a role in making Wabash a destination campus, a place where young men in high school know they can attend to achieve their full potential as scholars and leaders.
Steven Jones ’87, who 30 years ago served as chair of the Malcolm X Institute and has returned to direct it. Jones will serve as the College’s Dean for Professional Development and director of the MXIBS.