Dec. 19, 2016
On behalf of the Office of Alumni Engagement, please accept our warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday and a new year filled with joy and peace. All the best in 2017.
Top Choice
Gates Millennium Scholarship recipient Vanessa Orduna, class of 2020, had her pick of any college in the nation. She chose Wittenberg.
Best In Class
Writing Center Director Mike Mattison鈥檚 dedication to collaborative learning and support for undergraduate student research earned him the 2016 Maxwell Leadership Award from a national organization of writing center professionals.
World Prep
Two Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants are expanding horizons as they help prepare Wittenberg students for a globalized world by promoting intercultural awareness on campus and assisting with Russian and Chinese language classes.
Internship Power
From Cleveland and Colorado to California and even overseas, Wittenberg students enhanced their resumes this summer with internships in a variety of fields, including business, healthcare, advertising and the non-profit sector.
Strategic Plan
The University Planning Commission (UPC) continues to move forward with the development of a five-year plan for Wittenberg in line with the vision statement that the Board approved and an up-to-date, holistic assessment of Wittenberg's current situation as an organization. The UPC thanks all the alumni who have shared their voice during this critical planning time.
By Candlelight
In the glow of hundreds of candles, the Wittenberg community came together for the annual Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas service to reflect on the theme 鈥淏efore the Marvel of this Night,鈥� based on a choral piece of the same name. More than 125 musicians from Wittenberg鈥檚 student ensembles performed music of the season.
Presidential Search Update
The search for Wittenberg's 15th president has now moved into its next phase. The search committee has been meeting to narrow the robust candidate pool. Airport interviews are currently scheduled for mid-January in Columbus, Ohio. Board Chair Jonathan Eilert will continue to keep our campus updated as he has throughout this process, and we, in turn, will continue to update you. Any questions can be directed to our consultant, Tom Courtice, at tom.courtice@gmail.com.
Alumni In The News / #LifeAfterWitt
Linda Steffel Olson 鈥�70, Karl Alexander and the late Doris Entwisle were recently honored with the 2016 Grawemeyer Award in Education for the book they co-authored, The Long Shadow: Family Background, Disadvantaged Urban Youth, and the Transition to Adulthood. The award includes a prize of $100,000. The sociologists鈥� decades-long research study of 800 Baltimore-area urban youths from first grade through adulthood challenges the idea that access to public education means equal opportunity.
Leaving A Legacy
A 1967 graduate and Lambda Chi Alpha brother, Robert E. Hawthorne II passed away in February 2015, but what he left behind will change lives forever. Born in 1945 in another Springfield, this one in the Land of Lincoln, Hawthorne, who majored in economics, retired in 2011 as a senior program director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This past month, Wittenberg received an unrestricted gift of more than $400,000 from Hawthorne's estate specifically for the university to use as its Board deems fit. Such planning decades ago means a transformational tomorrow for students. Consider following in Hawthorne's footsteps. Learn more about gift planning.