On the Hill

Five Join Board of Trustees: Pfinsgraff to Take Helm

The Allegheny College Board of Trustees has welcomed five new members: Ronald R. Beegle ’85, Thomas Sung Chen ’89, Gregory G. Greenleaf, Louis P. Scibetta ’57, and M. Peter Scibetta ’54. Martin Pfinsgraff ’77, CEO of iJet Travel Intelligence, who has served on the board of trustees since 1996, succeeds John Wheeler ’61 as chairman.

Ron Beegle, who holds an M.B.A. from New York University, most recently served as chief operating officer of the Gap division of Gap Inc., a leading international specialty retailer that encompasses Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands. In April he resigned from Gap to pursue other opportunities. He and his wife, Kimberley, reside in Arcadia, Calif., with their twin daughters, born in July 2002.

In August 2002 Tom Chen was named managing director and head of diversified financial services in the financial institutions group of Banc America Securities LLC, a subsidiary of Banc of America Corporation, one of the world’s leading financial services companies. Chen, who earned an M.B.A. from Northwestern University, lives with his wife, Angela, and their young son in Short Hills, New Jersey.

Son of former Allegheny trustee Walter Greenleaf Jr. ’50, Greg Greenleaf served as president of the Walter J. Greenleaf Company, a family-owned sales organization. An alumnus of Skidmore College, he earned his master of arts from Lesley College. Greg Greenleaf is now exploring a new direction: producing videos that inspire young people to take a closer look at manufacturing. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Pittsburgh.

Retired from a career in hospital administration, Lou Scibetta most recently served as chairman, CEO, and consultant for the Center for Health Affairs in Princeton, New Jersey. Scibetta holds a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of Michigan. He and his wife, the former Rosemarie Langford ’58, live in Queechee, Vermont. They are the parents of four children.

A graduate of the Western Reserve School of Medicine, Pete Scibetta revolutionized cancer treatment in northwest Pennsylvania when he formed the Regional Cancer Center in Erie, a national model for free-standing cancer-care facilities. In addition to treating patients for thirty-five years, he served as the center’s CEO until his retirement in 2000. He and his wife, Eleanor, reside in Erie and are the parents of five children.

Student Wins Goldwater Scholarship

Allegheny College senior Matt Niederst is one of three hundred students nationwide—out of a total of almost eleven hundred nominations—to be awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. The awards, established in memory of Senator Barry Goldwater, recognize students with outstanding potential in science, math, or engineering.

A biology major with a double minor in physics and economics, Niederst was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa last May. His academic work has included three challenging research internships, one with Allegheny’s biology department and two off-campus, with the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative and also in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

In addition, Niederst is a member of the College’s cross-country and track teams and has been named an Academic All-American.

“Matt is a very inquisitive, thoughtful student—the sort of person who will listen to an explanation that I give, or a discussion in a seminar, or a presentation by one of his peers, and then come along a few hours later with a follow-up question or an idea for an experiment,” says his advisor, Assistant Professor of Biology Margaret Nelson. “He’s really made the most of his opportunities here.”

Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded fifty Rhodes Scholarships (six of the thirty-two awarded in the United States in 2003), fifty-five Marshall Awards (eight of the forty awarded in the United States in 2003), and numerous other distinguished fellowships.

According to Nelson, Niederst may have one problem as he considers graduate school. “Matt’s strong academic record, research experience, and breadth of training in both biology and physics means that he should be snatched up by any biology, biophysics, or biomedical engineering graduate program in its right mind,” she says. “Of course, given his wide-ranging interests, he may need an eighteen-sided coin when it comes time to commit to a graduate program.”

Three Alumni Make Pittsburgh “40 Under 40 List”

Three Allegheny alumni—Chris Brussalis ’87, Sean Brady ’89, and McCrae Holliday ’96—have been honored with inclusion in Pittsburgh’s “40 Under 40” list. The program recognizes forty talented individuals under the age of forty who are making a positive impact on the region’s development. Winners are chosen on the basis of their vision, passion, commitment, visibility, diversity of interests, and involvement in their communities.

Now in their fifth year, the awards are sponsored by Pittsburgh magazine and the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project.

Brussalis is president and CEO of the Hill Group, chairman and CEO of Collaborative Resources, and an adjunct professor of management and policy at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy and Management. He also serves on several boards and is active in economic development in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Brady works for the Western Pennsylvania Field Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting both outdoor recreation and western Pennsylvania. As program director for the WPFI, he is responsible for a diverse range of outings that allow participants to explore the natural world, including hiking, biking, sea kayaking, fishing, and camping.

As the founding director of the Regional Internship Center, McCrae Holliday is committed to attracting and retaining talent in southwestern Pennsylvania by creating a regional system for internship development. She is responsible for developing RIC’s outreach strategy, as well as oversight of RIC projects, fund-raising, and grants management.

The “40 Under 40” winners were guests of honor at a celebration in November at the PPG Wintergarden and were also featured in the November issue of Pittsburgh magazine.

Allegheny Makes “Most Interesting” List

Alumni and the rest of the college community have known it all along, but it’s nice to have it independently confirmed: Allegheny College is an interesting place. You can check it out in the 2004 edition of The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges, by Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili. The authors count Allegheny as among the schools that are “hidden treasures,” as well as among schools with the most beautiful campuses in a suburban or rural setting.

ACS Chapter Gets Commendation

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has selected the College’s student chapter to receive an award of commendation for chapter activities conducted during the 2002–03 academic year. Award-winning chapters are honored at the ACS annual meeting and in Chemical & Engineering News.

“Professors Shaun Murphree and Leonard Vuocolo, faculty advisors of the chapter, deserve special commendation,” says ACS President Elsa Reichmanis. “It takes more than exceptional effort to be an award-winning chapter; it takes the nurturing attention of dedicated advisors. Professor Murphree and Vuocolo’s efforts certainly represent the best in undergraduate science education and mentoring around the country.”

Brooks Hall Dinner Showcases Local Foods

Locally grown foods provided by a half-dozen area producers—individual farmers who have never before provided food to an institution—were the main attraction at a special dinner held in Brooks Hall on September 24.

In recent years, a number of factors including new technologies, economies of scale, and global markets have dramatically changed food distribution systems, seriously limiting the availability of local foods in local markets. In America, food travels an average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles before it is consumed, according to a report by Worldwatch Institute.

The problem is especially difficult for institutional food service providers, which must sort through a host of food safety regulations and at the same time satisfy consumer demand for variety.

Concerned about the environmental, social, political, and economic consequences of the globalization of our food distribution systems, environmental science student Deseraé Pegg ’03 studied the problem last spring in her Senior Comp, “Larry Boy vs. the California Cucumber: A Look at Local Food’s Place at Allegheny College.”

Among other things, Pegg’s report recommended that Allegheny College students, faculty, and administrators form a committee and start small—organizing just a single meal at first, to give the institution an opportunity to work through the regulatory and logistical challenges and the community an opportunity to learn more about the
issues. The September dinner did just that—and also gave students a chance to meet local farmers.

“Food tastes so much better when you can connect it to a field, a face, and a personality,” says Lindsay Herendeen ’07, one of the students who helped with the dinner. “Overall, it was a fantastic experience.”

Diversity Affairs Has New Director

Mounira Morris joined the college community in July as the director of the diversity affairs office.

Morris holds a master’s degree in college student development and counseling from Northeastern University and is finishing her doctorate in educational policy, research and administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While at UMass, she served as a residence director, where she worked as advisor to a multicultural living program. The program, known as NUANCE, gave students the opportunity for a co-curricular experience that enhanced their awareness of social justice issues and provided them with leadership opportunities.

“Mounira comes to Allegheny with a wonderful background,” says Dean of Students Joe DiChristina, “and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to our campus. Mounira will become an important mentor for our students and a director who will provide creative ideas as Allegheny develops objectives that tie into the ‘Embracing Diversity’ initiatives outlined in the College’s strategic plan.”

Morris is equally excited about the community she is joining. “Allegheny, the community, has been amazing to me,” she said in an interview with the Campus. “I do feel a sense of community here. I’m not using that as a buzzword. At a large institution, it was too difficult to find a connection. Here it’s different.”

Making College More Affordable

Responding to a national call to make higher education more affordable and more accessible to students, Allegheny has joined with more than two hundred other private colleges and universities across the country to offer an income tax–advantaged way for families to save for tuition. The new prepaid college tuition plan, Independent 529 Plan, is tailored specifically for private colleges.

“We see this new plan as part of our ongoing effort to make higher education accessible to more families,” says Vice President of Enrollment W. Scott Friedhoff. “Independent 529 Plan allows contributors to lock in tomorrow’s tuition at less than today’s price.”

Section 529 Plans, so named for the IRS code that defines them, have gained in popularity over the last decade. Families have been attracted to these plans because accounts generate no federal income tax if used as intended, benefits are transferable to other members of the family, and refunds are available if the child receives a scholarship or decides not to attend college.

For purchasers, the effectiveness of Independent 529 Plan is not dependent on the performance of the stock or bond markets. Rather, contributions are actually pre-purchasing tuition, in part or in whole, at less than today’s prices.

“Regardless of whether a student attends Allegheny College or another one of the member institutions, Independent 529 Plan represents a way for parents to contribute and pay for private college without worrying about either investment risk or tuition inflation,” says Friedhoff. “And it represents another arrow in the quiver of college savings opportunities for families.”

“ Independent 529 Plan proceeds can be used at any of the participating colleges. Think of it as buying a shopping certificate for use at any of the stores in the mall,” says Doug Brown, president and CEO of Tuition Plan Consortium, the nonprofit group that oversees the plan. “Students don’t choose their college at purchase, but after they have applied and are accepted in the regular manner.”

For example, let’s say private colleges A and B have agreed to honor certificates purchased under Independent 529 Plan. College A has a tuition cost of $30,000 for this current year; College B, $10,000. A person who makes a $10,000 contribution into Independent 529 Plan this year would receive tuition certificates that would cover 33.3 percent of a year’s tuition at College A or a whole year at College B, regardless of how high tuition may be at the time the student eventually chooses to use the certificates.

In fact, because participating institutions must offer a discount off their current tuition fees, the certificates would cover slightly more tuition at each college in this example. At a minimum, institutions must offer a half percent per year off current tuition rates.

Individuals can open Independent 529 Plan accounts at no charge as well as locate member institutions and learn about refund policies and other plan features by calling 1-888-718-7878 or by visiting www.independent529plan.org.

Allegheny Prof Voted Storyteller of the Year

Enter Josh Searle-White’s mind if you dare, a place where high-stakes poker has never been quite so dizzying, where characters named Slim Fast Jim, Wide-Eyed Molly, Derek the Red, and Danielle Latrelle Sharelle play high-stakes poker as a game of “alphabetical life and death.” Instead of cash, players ante up letters, and when they lose—say, an l or, worse yet, an s—it leaves them tongue-tied and increasingly speechless.

His tale “Letter Poker” has earned Searle-White, an associate professor of psychology at the College, the honor of being named Storyteller of the Year for 2003 by the Creative Arts Institute. The contest, in its seventh year, drew almost three hundred storytellers. Stories by the seven finalists were shown on public access TV and in classrooms throughout the United States.

Information about Searle-White’s first storytelling CD, Dad School, can be found at www.acousticdrive.com/dadschool.html. “My stories are really written for adults,” Searle-White says, “but with enough goofiness in them to entertain kids.” He’s already hard at work on another CD that will include “Letter Poker.” In the meantime, if you can’t wait to find out who wins the funniest game in town, you can listen to “Letter Poker” at http://storytelleroftheyear/org/.

 

Class of 2007

Students from 237 high schools in twenty-six states and several countries make up the class of 2007.  During his matriculation address, President Richard Cook noted that the Class of 2007 includes a student who passed up his senior year in Pittsburgh to attend school in Italy, where he played with a top soccer club; a student from TExas who spent the summer building houses in Mexico; and a leader of Ohio's Pez Club, who, President Cook noted, "appropriately hold the office of 'vice-pezident.'" Sixty-two percent of the class ranked in the top 20 percent of their high school class.  Men in the class have a slight numerical edge over women -51 percent to 49 percent - reversing last year's gender ratio.