Published November 19, 2018
Wittenberg Alumni & Friends,
November on campus is a time of anticipation as the fall semester begins to wind down, and winter break nears. One event that students look forward to around this time is the Midnight Breakfast on the first day of finals, when faculty and staff head to the dining room to serve students breakfast fare. Last year I signed up for the waffle-making station, while other campus colleagues assisted with hash browns, eggs, and other morning favorites.
As you can imagine, the event tends to draw a decent crowd, but the best part of this midnight hour is seeing students, faculty, and staff supporting one another and just having fun. The entire experience demonstrates the power of community at Wittenberg.
In my talks with you, our alumni, I often see this same sense of community revealed in your stories about your Wittenberg friendships, in your attendance at events, in your service efforts, and in your willingness to refer students to us. Since launching our new referral program in September, more than 350 prospective student names have been shared with our admission team. This is an impressive number, and we cannot thank you enough for wanting future students to choose Wittenberg.
As you celebrate the holiday season, may you continue to pass on the light of community in all that you do. Happy Thanksgiving.
Best Regards,
Michael Frandsen, Ph.D.
President
Wittenberg University
Unity Week
The Wittenberg community focused on unity and respect during a week of special programming, Nov. 5-9, which included the Choose a Better Word campaign and a celebration of diversity. Events were sponsored by the McClain Center for Diversity, Concerned Black Students, American International Association, the Gender and Sexual Diversity Alliance, and Shades of Pearls.
Ambassador Visit
Robert Perry ’67, former U.S. Ambassador and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, returned to campus in October to present the political science colloquium “U.S.-African Engagement 2000-2018.” In his 34-year career as a public servant, Perry served at U.S. embassies in the Central African Republic, Mexico, Ethiopia, and Chile.
National Honors
For the first time in chapter history, Wittenberg's chapter of the National Collegiate Spanish Honor Society was presented with the Ignacio and Sophie Galbis Award, an annual award given to the most outstanding chapter nationwide for its activities during the academic year.
Walking In Their Shoes
Wittenberg partnered with Springfield’s Fulton Elementary School and Shoes 4 the Shoeless, a local non-profit, to provide new, properly fitted gym shoes to children in need. Faculty, staff, and students donated socks and volunteered to help distribute and fit shoes for more than 375 children in Springfield.
HWA Update
Tremendous progress continues to be made on the Health, Wellness & Athletics facility. The following time lapse provides a glimpse of the project's exciting forward momentum.
Alumni In The News / #LifeAfterWitt
Dixie Brown ’05, co-founder of Willow Place for Women and The Seraph Fund, used her past addictions as a catalyst for finding her calling: working with other addicts and alcoholics seeking recovery.
In one of the smallest countries on the African mainland, Robin Strickler ’83 is helping to provide high-quality secondary education as founder of the Rwanda School Project.
Tiger Athletics
It's a wrap on the 2018 fall season, which featured league championships for the Tiger football and women's volleyball teams, league tournament berths for the field hockey and women's soccer teams, and the highest win total for men's soccer in more than a decade. Wittenberg women's volleyball ranked in the top five throughout the season before its NCAA Tournament run ended in five dramatic sets at No. 1 Calvin. The winter season is now underway, highlighted by tip-off tournament wins for men's basketball at Muhlenberg and women's basketball at North Park.
Teaching Excellence
The Faculty Development Board (FDB) recently announced the winners of its 2018 teaching awards.
Professor of English Cynthia Richards received the Collegium Award for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching, the only teaching award at Wittenberg that is awarded by the faculty itself.
Assistant Professor of English Sha’Dawn Battle was awarded the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, which recognizes the highest level of teaching excellence by a visiting or adjunct faculty member.
Guild Scholarships
The Wittenberg Guild, an auxiliary of local women, hosts events and a scholarship campaign each year to raise awareness and support of its Martha Rodgers Scholarship Fund, which was established in 1990 to provide financial aid to local students to attend Wittenberg.
Since then, hundreds of students have benefited from the generosity of local alumni and friends of the Springfield community. Recent Guild scholarship recipients Ravjot Singh '20 and Bo Davis '21 appreciate receiving scholarship assistance to make their dream of attending Wittenberg a reality. Consider supporting future local students.