Celebrating Achievements
An alumnus of Oberlin College (OH), Franz Wright, class of ’77, recently won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for his book Walking to Martha’s Vineyard, a collection of poems that explore life and death. It is the fifth Pulitzer award in Oberlin’s history.
     Cedarville University (OH) has laid claim to the rarest of titles: world champion. A team of recent Cedarville engineering graduates won the 2004 Solar Splash, the world championship of solar/electric boating. The competition took place over five days and included 27 teams from schools across America.
     Georgian Court University’s (NJ) Robert Smyth, an associate professor of mathematics, received national attention as one of 100 finalists in Invent Now America, an invention contest sponsored by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Smyth submitted an invention called the S03 Input Device, which allows for full rotational viewing of three-dimensional computer models. He was chosen as a finalist out of more than 2,500 entrants.
     Presidents of three CIC schools—Mary Reap of Marywood University (PA), James Doti of Chapman University (CA), and Donna Carroll of Dominican University (IL) —have been selected by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) to receive Chief Executive Officer Leadership Awards. The awards recognize leaders of CASE-member institutions that demonstrate exceptional initiative to promote and support
education.
     In addition to her CASE award, Dominican President Carroll was also named one of Chicago’s “top ten most powerful women in education” in a series published last April by the Chicago Sun-Times.

New Home for National Organization
Huntington College (IN) has become the new home for a national organization, the Conference on Faith and History (CFH). In June, the organization relocated its national office to the campus, and several Huntington faculty members have accepted joint roles on the CFH staff. The new office will be jointly supported by the CFH and Huntington College under terms of an agreement that will run through 2010.

Alumnus to Run for Iraq Presidency
An alumnus of Barry University (FL), Rasool Sharif, has been recruited as a candidate for the 2005 Iraq presidential election, the first democratic election in the country’s history. Sharif, a native of Iraq and graduate of Barry University’s School of Graduate Medical Sciences, was recruited for the upcoming elections by the National Alliance of a United Iraq, a nonpolitical group of Iraqi citizens composed mostly of doctors, ministers, lawyers, and business people. Until recently, Sharif ran a podiatry clinic in Naples, Florida. He has recently closed his surgical practice so that he can relocate to Iraq to prepare for the elections.

Announcing New Programs
Numerous CIC schools have expanded their academic offerings with new degree programs. Chowan College (NC) has added two new degrees, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Innovative Ministry Leadership and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Innovative Music Ministry; the College of Notre Dame of Maryland has announced a new Ph.D. program in Instructional Leadership for Changing Populations; Robert Morris University (PA) will offer a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science; Bethel College (IN) will offer a new Bachelor of Arts in Economics; George Fox University (OR) will begin a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; and Rockhurst University (MO) has begun its first doctoral degree program, a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
     Rivier College (NH) has announced additions to its academic curriculum. The College will offer a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice as well as a revised communications program that includes six concentrations—advertising/public relations, journalism, photojournalism, scriptwriting, video production, and web design/online publishing. Otterbein College (OH) has created a teaching exchange program with the University of Derby, England. The program allows for early childhood education students to fulfill their student teaching requirement through teaching in primary classrooms in Derby. Two institutions—Morehouse College (GA) and Clark Atlanta University (GA)—have entered into a new minority entrepreneurship program with Babson College (MA), Ford Motor Company, and other historically black colleges and universities. The program will feature case studies of successful black entrepreneurs, business education focusing on entrepreneurship, and a teaching exchange between participating black schools with Babson College. Overall, the program aims to encourage more successful business entrepreneurship by minorities.
     Shenandoah University’s (VA) School of Business has entered into a five-year financial and academic partnership with Tianjin Economic Development Agency (TEDA) and the City of Tianjin, Peoples’ Republic of China, to annually deliver several 12-week executive training sessions and an 11-month MBA degree program for selected executives of TEDA and the City of Tianjin. The program continues the efforts of Shenandoah to expand its role as a major player in educational outreach to China.
     Finally, Georgetown College (KY) has just completed a successful first year of the First Tee Scholars program. The program awards scholarships to incoming first-year students and aims to build life skills and character through allowing these students to participate in golf tournaments with PGA professionals and business executives. It is an extension of The First Tee program, which organizes similar types of golf tournaments for high school students.

Triassic research is being conducted at Cabrini College (PA) by David Dunbar, assistant professor of biology, and one of his students. The research involves the study of prehistoric microorganisms extracted from a 250 million-year-old salt crystal. By studying the metabolic pathways and genetic structures of the microorganisms, the research could help lead to breakthroughs in human treatements and cures for diseases. Photo courtesy of Cabrini College.

Opening New Campuses, Facilities
Franklin Pierce College (NH) announced its plan to open a new campus in Manchester, New Hampshire, for the fall 2004 term. The College will move into an 11,000-square-foot facility in early August and classes will be held at the new campus beginning in September. Franklin Pierce College currently has six satellite campuses in Concord, Keene, Lebanon, Nashua, Portsmouth, and Salem (NH).
     Calvin College (MI) will unveil the Vincent and Helen Bunker Interpretive Center, a new visitor center for the College’s Ecosystem Preserve, a property containing over 90 acres of trails, ponds, and wetlands. The Interpretive Center—featuring such environmentally friendly structures as recycled paneling and insulation, eco-friendly waste management, and a solar powering system that provides 60 percent of the Center’s power—has already earned a prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmen-tal Design (LEED) Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
     Lyon College (AR) unveiled the Derby Center for Science and Mathematics—an $11.8 million facility stretching over 60,854 square feet that serves all Lyon College students and houses the College’s programs in anthropology, biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, mathematics, physics, and psychology. And Mount Aloysius College (PA) opened its new telenursing research facility. Complete with telenursing department offices, labs, and classrooms—and combining partnerships with major science organizations such as the Office of Naval Research and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine—the facility continues a research effort by the College to define and test leading-edge telehealth methods and technologies.
     Other CIC members have announced plans for new campus facilities. Goshen College (IN) announced groundbreaking for the Merry Lea Environmental Center, an environment-friendly facility that will include a 20,000-square-foot academic building, constructed wetlands, and a wastewater treatment plant that will purify on-site water by using plants and microorganisms. Construction will take place in two phases over the next several years. Rocky Mountain College (MT) has made plans to build a new laboratory to house a 300-MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer, one of the most important spectroscopic techniques in the chemistry field today. Funded through a $300,000 grant by the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles and a $320,000 grant from the Rocky Mountain Technology Foundation, the spectrometer will be used in both advanced and introductory science courses, allowing Rocky Mountain students to gain a unique level of hands-on science experience. And Rider University (NJ) has launched a long-range, multimillion-dollar campus building project that will create various new and renovated facilities over the next several years. Initial projects include a new residence hall and a new student recreation center with a proposed completion date of August 2005.

Creating Partnerships
Many CIC campuses have enhanced their academic programs by creating new partnerships with other colleges or organizations. Five CIC institutions—Alaska Pacific University, Antioch College (OH), Green Mountain College (VT), Northland College (WI), and Prescott College (AZ)—along with the College of the Atlantic (ME), have joined forces to create the Eco-League, a study exchange consortium of small, eco-friendly liberal arts schools. The consortium allows undergraduate students at any of the six institutions to study at one or more member institutions for up to two semesters during their programs.
     Huntingdon College (AL) has initiated a partnership with Alfa Insurance Company, one of the most distinguished corporate leaders in insurance in Alabama and the Southeast region. The partnership, known as the Corporate Partnership Program, allows Alfa employees and their legal dependents to attend Huntingdon at reduced tuition, as well as provides guaranteed business internship opportunities at Alfa for Huntingdon students. Over time, Huntingdon plans to extend the Partnership Program to include other corporations.
     California Lutheran University has forged an alliance with Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology (FAST), a local magnet school, to provide extended opportunities for CLU undergraduates to fulfill course requirements. CLU students will fulfill course requirements by observing FAST classrooms and providing instructional support to FAST teachers.
      Utica College (NY) has partnered with Deltak Edu, Inc., a provider of online and “blended” education programs, to develop online courses in four undergraduate and graduate economic crime degree programs: Economic Crime Management, Fraud Management, Economic Crime Investigation, and Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. Deltak will help Utica develop these courses through a multi-leveled approach that includes investment capital and marketing, student recruitment, program development, and customer care support.
     And Rollins College (FL) has formed a partnership with PCE Indexes, LLC, to create the PCE Florida Index, a market value index of small, Florida-headquartered public companies. The index—the first index to measure the performance of small publicly held companies in the state of Florida—provides business owners, CEOs, and CFOs with a performance measurement tool for companies containing individual market values of less than $250 million and annual revenues greater than $500,000. These public companies make up 54 percent of the total number of businesses headquartered in Florida.

Announcing Grants and Gifts
Eight CIC schools—The College of Wooster (OH), Hiram College (OH), Kalamazoo College (MI), Kenyon College (OH), Mount Holyoke College (MA), Point Loma Nazarene University (CA), Spelman College (GA), and Swarthmore College (PA)—received grants totaling $9.4 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The schools were chosen from 42 institutions in 17 states and Puerto Rico. The Medical Institute awarded the grants to support improvements in undergraduate science programs.
     Rollins College (FL) has received an impressive $93.3 million bequest from the late philanthropist George Cornell, an alumnus of the College and Rollins trustee for more than 20 years. The gift is the largest in the College’s 119-year history, and will fund two $10 million commitments—one for a scholarship fund in memory of Cornell’s late wife, and one to endow the Rollins presidency—with the remaining $73.3 million earmarked for faculty chairs, academic initiatives, and other scholarships.
     John Carroll University (OH) received a $10 million gift from alumnus Frank Schilling and his wife Helen Schilling to establish a scholarship fund at the University. The Frank and Helen Schilling Scholarship Fund serves as the capstone commitment in the University’s “Choosing the Greater Good” campaign, which concluded earlier this year with more than $135 million in gifts.
     Five CIC schools—Berea College (KY), Guilford College (NC), Mars Hill College (NC), Rhodes College (TN), and Waynesburg College (PA)—were awarded a total of $20.5 million in challenge endowment grants from the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation to support each school’s Bonner Scholar Program, which provides scholarship assistance to students committed to community service. Dominican University of California has been awarded $3.25 million in foundation awards—$2.25 million from the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, and $1 million from various other foundations—to provide for a new science and technology center; Saint Michael’s College (VT) collected a $1.1 million gift from alumnus Brian Lacey to endow The Henry G. Fairbanks Endowed Chair for the Humanities; Loras College (IA) received a $1 million gift from alumnus Eldon Herrig and his wife to help fund construction of a new athletic and wellness facility; and University of the Incarnate Word (TX) earned a $1 million grant from the City of San Antonio’s Economic Development Incentive Fund for its new School of Pharmacy.
     In addition, Elizabethtown College (PA) received grants totaling $400,000 from Harrisburg’s Josiah W. and Bessie H. Kline Foundation and The George I. Alden Trust to support the creation of a new science, math, and engineering center; and University of Scranton (PA) received a $121,835 grant from the National Institutes of Health for Alzheimer’s disease research. The grant was awarded to University of Scranton Assistant Professor of Chemistry Timothy Foley, who will head a three-year study on the disease.

The first-ever underwater graduation ceremony in the nation drew hordes of local and national media to cover the event at Texas Wesleyan University. The new scuba diving degree program’s first graduate, Kyle Beck, sunk to new lows to receive his degree in the University’s self-contained scuba facility. Photo courtesy of Texas Wesleyan University.

Campaign Progress
Birmingham-Southern College (AL) completed its 21st Century Campaign, the largest fundraising effort in the institution’s 148-year history. The campaign, which began in 1995 and ended in May 2004, finished with a record-giving year to reach its $156 million goal. Contributions to the campaign have funded a variety of campus buildings—including a new science center, recreation center, softball park, and humanities center—as well as many academic programmatic needs, new scholarships, faculty professorships, and technology upgrades and additions.
     Bluffton University (OH) completed its most recent fundraising campaign, the Students First Funding Initiative. The campaign, which began in 2002 and concluded in June 2004, surpassed its $5.6 million goal by raising $5.8 million from alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends. The campaign has funded both renovations and new construction for student recreational and academic areas.

Changing Identities
Several CIC institutions have recently changed their status from college to university, including Bluffton University (OH); Central Methodist University (MO); Holy Names University (CA); Heritage University (WA); Mount St. Mary’s University (MD); and Bethel University (MN).
     Lesley University (MA) has become fully co-educational. Composed of five undergraduate colleges and graduate schools, the University’s last remaining women’s-only college officially begins admitting men next year, marking the end of nearly a century of single-sex education at the school.

Generous Donation
Manchester College (IN) donated an estimated 9,000 textbooks to help a fledgling Hispanic community college in Philadelphia build its library. The texts cover subjects ranging from science and education to computers, writing, languages, and mathematics. The donation of the collection—including cataloging the texts—is a project of the first graduating class of Manchester College’s newest degree program, Master of Arts in Contemporary Leadership.

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Last updated: August 2004
Copyright © 2004 The Council of Independent Colleges