Beloit Fund Giving Sets Record, Pushes Campaign Past Midpoint
| Photo by Jeff Woods |
 |
| On top of Chamberlin. On an unseasonably warm day in June, Chamberlin Hall inhabitants
invited the rest of the campus to join them for ice cream on their rooftop. The vantage
point offers an unparalleled view of the Center for the Sciences construction site between
Chamberlin and the Field House. In the weeks since this photograph was taken, the structure
has already evolved substantially. Anyone with Web access may monitor the construction
of the Center for the Sciences at: http://www.beloit.edu/webcam/. |
Setting the annual goal for the Beloit Fund, which focuses on the College’s operational needs, is challenging to say the least. It requires a consideration of Beloit’s hopes and dreams and its drive for excellence, while also taking into account income from tuition, fees, and the endowment. In essence, the Beloit Fund represents the difference between where the College is now and where it wants to be in the future.
That’s why the fund’s dramatic success this year was such good news.
It helped push the five-year Classic. Daring. Life-Changing. campaign for Beloit College beyond 51 percent of its $100 million goal.
Giving to the Beloit Fund surpassed a challenging $2.6 million goal, continued with a high degree of participation, and grew in the number of individual gifts.
“Colleges and universities nationally are seeing declines in their annual efforts, while Beloit’s program is on the rise,” notes Vice President for External Affairs Francis McGovern. “This is a strong message, as these are funds that support the campaign goals—faculty development, student scholarships, research, international programs, and costs related to the enhancement of the campus under the Campus Master Plan. The Beloit Fund also provides important leverage as foundations, college guides, and, increasingly, parents look to that participation figure as a sign of a commitment to excellence.”
As the campaign moves into its second year, with more than half its goal realized, signs of success are visible on campus. The first of the new green corridors replacing former campus roadways are under construction, and steel is beginning to shape the 116,000-square-foot Center for the Sciences.
“Beloit cannot rest for a moment,” says President John Burris. “This momentum is made possible by concern and love for our institution. Support of the campaign, and especially the growth of the Beloit Fund, grows the morale and the high level of expectation on campus.”
RELATED LINKS:
Giving to Beloit
Beloit College Web Cam
"A Blueprint for a Green Campus," Beloit College Magazine, Fall 2005
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!
Beloit College will host a live taping of National Public Radio’s Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me! news quiz this fall. The popular weekly radio program is hosted by Peter Sagal and features a panel of celebrity guests. The quiz challenges callers, audience members, and a panel of the best and brightest in news and entertainment to answer questions about current events and distinguish between real and fake news. The Beloit College taping will be held on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007, at
7:30 p.m., in Eaton Chapel. Tickets are available on the Web. The show will air on radio stations the following Saturday (Oct. 13); check with your local NPR affiliate for times. This event is sponsored by the Beloit College International Performing Arts & Lecture Series.
RELATED LINK:
Web order form for the International Performing Arts & Lecture Series
Logan Receives National Recognition
| Photo by Hedrich/Blessing |
 |
| Logan Museum of Anthropology |
The Logan Museum of Anthropology has received the highest national recognition a museum can receive—accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). The honor comes after years of work by museum director Bill Green and his staff, with the support of the College’s trustees, faculty, students, and alumni.
Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, AAM’s accreditation program is the museum field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability.
Of nearly 17,500 museums in the nation, about 775 are currently accredited. The Logan is one of only two college- or university-affiliated museums in Wisconsin to be so recognized.
“Accredited museums are publicly committed to upholding and sustaining the highest standards and practices in the museum community,” said Kim Igoe, AAM’s interim president and CEO. “Beloit College’s Logan Museum is a proven leader in the museum field in providing the best possible museum services and experiences, reminding both their peers and the public exactly how much museums really matter to their communities.”
Accreditation is a rigorous but rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations, involving a year of self-study and a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation. The length of the process varies, but it can take as long as three years.
“This is an important honor for the museum, its staff, and for Beloit College,” says President John Burris. “The AAM has confirmed what the College and the community have always known: the Logan Museum is a jewel of the Beloit campus and one of the great cultural resources of this nation.”
The Logan Museum contains more than 200,000 objects, including some of the world’s oldest jewelry, Pre-Columbian ceramics, a wide range of Native American artifacts, and one of the most significant collections of Paleolithic art outside of Europe.
RELATED LINK:
Logan Museum of Anthropology home page
Putting Away the Paintbrush
| Photo by Buck Miller |
 |
| Everett Henry |
Everett Henry, the friendly gentleman who kept Beloit’s campus looking good with fresh coats of paint during 44 years of service, has retired from the College. Never one to crave the spotlight, he asked his co-workers to skip the farewell party on his last day in December. But that did not stop the Housekeeping Department from surprising him with balloons and an oversized card filled with well-wishes. Henry is shown here as he was pictured in the spring 2004 issue of Beloit College Magazine in a story about College staff who make a difference in students’ lives. In 2000, Henry received the Presidential Medal in recognition of outstanding service to Beloit College.
RELATED LINK:
"Almost Like Home," Beloit College Magazine, Spring 2004
The World's Fair and Beloit
Several consequential points in Beloit College history intersect with the famed Columbian Exposition, the 1893 World’s Fair held in Chicago. This fall, the College will explore its ties to that fair with exhibits in both museums and a visit by Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City (2003).
Larson’s national bestseller is an absorbing account of the fair’s architectural history and the parallel story of a serial killer who preyed on visitors to the fair. At Beloit, Larson will give a public talk on Monday, Nov. 5, titled “Breathing Life Into the Dead: The Art of History.”
Among the World’s Fair-Beloit College ties to be celebrated this fall are two important museum collections that came to Beloit from the fair. One was a collection of plaster casts from ancient Greek marble statues, part of an exhibit by the Greek government. Because the casts were too costly to ship back to Greece, they were put up for sale at the fair’s conclusion. With a generous gift from Lucius Fisher, Jr., Beloit purchased them for the Wright Museum of Art, even though the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago was also vying to acquire the casts.
This summer and fall, the Wright Museum will mount a student-curated exhibit titled A World in a Windy City: The Chicago Columbian Exhibition. It will feature some of the plaster casts, along with fair memorabilia, and a miniature World’s Fair. The exhibit opens Aug. 19, 2007, in the Neese Gallery and runs through December 16.
In the Logan, The Columbian Exposition and Beloit will explore the museum’s connection to the fair and the role of world’s fairs in shaping both anthropology and museums.
More than 3,000 archaeological artifacts and North American Indian materials collected by Horatio Nelson Rust and purchased by College benefactor Frank Logan were exhibited at the fair, earning an award for the best archaeological exhibit. Logan’s gift of that collection to Beloit formed the beginnings of the Logan Museum of Anthropology. The Columbian Exposition and Beloit is on display Aug. 21-Dec. 16.
RELATED LINK:
Logan Museum of Anthropology home page
Wright Museum of Art home page
Wright Museum to Feature Work of Former College President
 |
| Victor E. Ferrall, Jr., in his workshop. |
For more than five decades, Victor E. Ferrall, Jr., the ninth president of Beloit College, has been a serious cabinetmaker, but he describes himself as an amateur, not a professional. The difference, he says, is that amateurs are skilled at concealing the flaws professionals avoid making.
From Aug. 28 to Oct. 13, Ferrall’s extraordinary “amateur” works in wood will be exhibited in the Wright Museum of Art.
More than two dozen pieces ranging from the practical to the whimsical will be presented to the public, many for the first time. Wood and Me: An Exhibition of the Craft of Victor Ferrall will be accompanied by a catalog titled Writing Wood: Essays and Other Scribblings.
Ferrall’s love of wood and of craft was a constant throughout his student years at Oberlin College and Yale University, at the U.S. Department of Justice, in private law practice in Washington, D.C., and at Beloit College during his presidency from 1991 to 2000. Now in retirement, he has more time to concentrate on his designs and creations in his workshop at his Orfordville, Wis., home.
“Every piece in this exhibition was designed by me,” Ferrall says in his artist’s statement, “but the inspiration for all of them comes from without: a building, a painting, a historical style, a piece of wood itself. Designing objects requires opening one’s eyes to the world around and this, I believe, is the greatest value of the craft—and of liberal education.”
RELATED LINK:
Wright Museum of Art home page
Beloit Physicist Takes High School Students to Iran
| Photo by Bob Rashid |
 |
| Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Paul Stanley |
When it comes time to write that fall essay about “How I spent my summer vacation,” Dobson Associate Professor of Physics Paul Stanley and five U.S. high school students will have plenty to write about.
Stanley spent his summer as senior coach of the U.S. team competing in the 2007 International Physics Olympiad. This year, he traveled with America’s top high school students in physics to Isfahan, Iran, to compete against approximately 350 of the best young physics minds in the world from approximately 80 nations.
Stanley says he sees no irony in Iran hosting the competition at a time when there is a global focus on the country’s nuclear development. “The site for these meetings is selected about a decade in advance, and the country needs to raise a great deal of money to host it. We hope that people won’t play politics with the remarkable achievements of these young people.”
The Physics Olympiad was primarily an Eastern bloc event until the Cold War thaw drew the involvement of Western nations in the early 1980s. Stanley has helped coach the team for the past five years, serving as senior coach since 2005 and taking the team previously to Spain and Singapore.
The United States usually places among the top 10 countries. Last year, it came in second, bested only by China.
The U.S. team is sponsored by the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Some 25,000 students are potentially eligible, based on completion of an honor’s level physics course. Approximately 3,000 take the exam to compete, and 24 are selected to prepare for the event at an intense training camp at the University of Maryland in May. The five students selected to represent the U.S. this year were from Oklahoma, California, Delaware, Florida, and Ohio. They were selected after 31 hours of exams, covering theory and experiments.
The team, accompanied by Stanley and Robert Shurtz, a physics teacher from The Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio, left for Washington, D.C., on July 5 and arrived in Dubai in time to rest, adjust to the summer weather, and prepare for the competition, which was scheduled to run from July 11 to July 21. At press time, the U.S. team’s place in the competition was still unknown.
EMAIL:
Paul Stanley - Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Faculty Honored for Excellence in Teaching
The high caliber of teaching at Beloit College was reaffirmed this April when two faculty members were honored at a special ceremony. Matthew Tedesco, an assistant professor of philosophy, received the Underkofler Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, while Darrah Chavey, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, was honored with the Phee Boon Kang’73 Prize for Innovation in Teaching with Technology.
| Photo By Dan Lassiter |
 |
| Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Matthew Tedesco |
In presenting the Underkofler Award, Lynn Franken, vice president for academic affairs, praised Tedesco’s energy and ability to generate enthusiasm among students across disciplines.
A faculty member since 2004, Tedesco graduated from Hofstra University and holds a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Each year, five Underkofler awards are presented to teachers at Wisconsin’s independent colleges. The award is named for James R. Underkofler, past president and chairman of Wisconsin Power & Light, now Alliant Energy.
A desire to help students see the connections between mathematics, art, and culture inspired the project that brought Darrah Chavey recognition for his innovative use of technology in the classroom.
| Photo By Dan Lassiter |
 |
| Associate Professor of Mathematics
and Computer Science Darrah
Chavey |
More than a dozen years ago, Chavey began teaching an interdisciplinary course called Cultural Approaches to Mathematics. The class introduces students to basic ideas of mathematics in several ways, including examining how people around the world use line-drawings and symmetrical design elements in culturally significant ways. Spurred by his students’ struggle to grasp different geometric aesthetics, Chavey built several interactive software programs that enable users to duplicate line-drawings and design patterns they have studied.
Franken noted that Chavey has demonstrated the software programs at professional conferences to much acclaim.
Chavey joined Beloit’s faculty in 1987. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint and two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Kang Prize is named for College Trustee Phee Boon Kang’73, the co-founder of The Allard Institute, a consulting firm.
EMAIL:
Matthew Tedesco - Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Darrah
Chavey - Associate Professor of Mathematics
and Computer Science
Vraney Named Men’s Basketball Coach
| Photo by Terry Owens |
 |
| Brian Vraney |
Brian Vraney, an assistant coach for seven seasons in the Midwest Conference, was named the tenth head coach of men’s basketball at Beloit College in April.
Vraney comes to Beloit after serving two seasons as an assistant for the Lake Forest College men’s basketball team. With the Foresters, Vraney’s responsibilities included on-court coaching, recruiting, scouting, and the development and coordination of the team’s strength and conditioning program.
“I’m very excited about the position and the opportunity I have here at Beloit College,” says Vraney. “I’m eager to work with the players and build Beloit’s program into one that competes for championships in the MWC. I’m also looking forward to connecting with the men’s basketball alumni and welcome their involvement in the program.”
Prior to Lake Forest, Vraney was an assistant for the men’s basketball team at Ripon College, where he helped guide the squad to three Midwest Conference Tournament appearances, an MWC Championship, and an NCAA Division III Tournament bid in 2002.
A 1998 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vraney earned his M.S. degree in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in exercise and sport science with an emphasis in sport administration.
A four-year letter winner for the Badgers at the University of Wisconsin, he was Academic All-Big Ten, and earned both the Big Ten Scholar-Athlete Award and the Athletic Board Scholar Award. On the floor, he earned the Red Team Award for his work ethic and efforts in practice following his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.
During his four seasons, the first under Stan Van Gundy and the last three under Dick Bennett, the Badgers went 60-58. They advanced to the second round of the NIT in 1996 and were defeated in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
Cecil Youngblood, formerly the men’s basketball coach and assistant director of athletics at Beloit, left the athletics program last February when he was tapped to lead and shape new programs in Beloit’s Multicultural Center. Youngblood is now the director of Multicultural Programs and assistant dean of students at Beloit.
RELATED LINK:
Athletics home page
EMAIL:
Brian Vraney - Head Men's Basketball coach
Zines Offer Tactile, Alternative Points of View
| Photo by Greg Anderson |
 |
| Kyle Lipinski’09 with part of a new zine library she helped to form at Beloit. |
Kyle Lipinski’09 likes to talk about the earliest examples of “zines”—the ones written and published by a couple of activists named Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine.
The junior from Chicago, Ill., is passionate about these independently published books written from perspectives outside the mainstream. Zines (pronounced zeens) are typically handmade—sometimes even handwritten—and circulated in small numbers.
Last year, Lipinski and nine other like-minded students founded the Beloit College Zine Library by assembling an impressive collection of some 300 zines. The copies, most of them donated, are available in the College library and also searchable on the library’s Web site. The group’s goal is to expose Beloit readers and others to the world of underground, independent publishing.
Topics in the zine collection are as diverse as the ways the books are made. One zine’s pages are held together by bolts; another is bound with string. Most are photocopied and stapled. The narratives and illustrations focus on everything from politics to feminism to underground bands. Others are humorous and celebrate the everyday, like napping or substitute teaching.
Lipinski completed an independent study project on the collection, writing synopses of the books and tracing the history of zines, which have sprung from things as disparate as the American Revolution, 1930s science fiction radio programs, the punk music scene, politics, and feminism. These grass roots publications have a long history of allowing new voices to be heard about subjects not often covered in conventional print.
In a world seemingly ruled by digital technology, the zine is also noteworthy for being intentionally low-tech. Lipinksi draws a parallel with photography. “People who put out zines are kind of like people who want to shoot photographs with film,” she says. “The zine has a permanence. It’s sort of archival.”
Natalie Eierman’09 (Eau Claire, Wis.), a co-founder of Beloit’s collection and one of several student zine authors, explains that the medium is in many ways a counterweight to the Web. “The zine is an art form,” she says. “I could see future generations getting really jaded by the Internet.”
RELATED LINK:
Beloit College Archives home page
Walking Program Translates to Good Health
| Photo by Jeff Woods |
 |
| Lesley Craig’07, left, with Christina Czuhajewski’09
at the concluding ceremony of Caminando por la
Salud, a walking program Craig designed for local
Hispanic women. |
During her final semester at Beloit, Lesley Craig’07 (Seattle, Wash.) orchestrated a successful walking program for local Hispanic women.
Combining her studies as a health and society major with experience working summers for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Chicago, Craig and a group of student volunteers launched Caminando por la Salud (Walking for Health) last April. The program inspired 82 local women to start walking in pursuit of good health.
Armed with pedometers and logbooks, they charted their steps over the course of eight weeks and received information in Spanish on a variety of health issues. More than a quarter of the women completed the program, a respectable finish, Craig says, for a pilot project of this duration.
The goals were to encourage physical activity, changes in lifestyle, and discussions about health and well-being.
Craig explains that Beloit’s growing Hispanic community is underserved in health care and often underinsured. As area agencies work to address the population’s health care needs, Craig says it’s also important to empower women to take charge of their health. The walking initiative is similar to a national program Craig has coordinated during summers at the Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health.
Craig obtained a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to fund the project. The Beloit Area Community Health Center served as sponsor, working in partnership with Even Start, a non-profit organization that serves local Latino families. Former city of Beloit Health Department Director Claudette Cummings supervised the student-run program, and Professor of Biology Marion Field Fass and Director of Even Start Cindy Laube provided the networking and know-how to help it succeed.
Craig also recruited fellow students Lenka Becvar’07 (Tigard, Ore.), Christina Czuhajewski’09 (Portage, Mich.), Kristin Monnard’09 (Davenport, Iowa), and Stacy Panozzo’07 (Libertyville, Ill.) to help run the program. Tau Kappa Epsilon, a Beloit College fraternity, provided additional financial support.
“After it ended, the women were still wearing their pedometers and recording their daily step count,” says Craig. “They were interested in doing a similar program again.”
After graduating in May, Craig returned to the Office of Health and Human Services for the summer. She remains interested in working on public health and social justice issues and is considering further studies in nursing.
