Campus Connections

Issue Date: May 10, 2004

News and Notices

Tom Hochstettler to become Lewis & Clark's 23rd president

Thomas J. Hochstettler, vice president for academic affairs at International University Bremen, will become the 23rd president of Lewis & Clark College, effective Aug. 16.

The selection, announced by John E. Bates, chair-designate of the Board of Trustees, came after the board voted in favor of the appointment.

“We sought an individual who was committed to the liberal arts as the foundation for good citizenship, who could articulate a clear vision for the college, who could work with our diverse constituents to achieve a greater sense of community, and who understands this significant time in the college’s history—we’re poised to move to the next level,” says Bates. “Tom has impressed the board and the campus community as being the right person for Lewis & Clark.”

Hochstettler (pronounced HOE-stet-lur) says he is eager to begin his presidency.

“In my encounters with the faculty, students, and staff at Lewis & Clark, I have been consistently impressed with the dedication and commitment that shines through at this institution,” says Hochstettler. “The quality that one sees in all elements of the College is simply extraordinary, and I feel most privileged to have been called to serve in this stimulating environment.”

Hochstettler, 56, is a founding chief academic officer of International University Bremen, an English-language, private German research university. He is a scholar of German history.

He and his wife, Marcia Glas, have three sons: Will, 19; Taylor, 16; and Ben, 11. Hochstettler is a member of Rotary Club Bremen’s executive committee. He enjoys gardening, running and playing the piano. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Earlham College and his master’s and doctoral degrees—all in history— from the University of Michigan.

Fred Fields, board chair, acknowledges the efforts of the presidential search committee to identify and recommend Hochstettler. “I’m very grateful to the members of the search committee. Through their hard work, and through their collaboration with other members of our campus community, we’ve selected the right person to lead Lewis & Clark during the next chapter in the life of our college.”

Complete information about Tom Hochstettler is available online.

VanDeZande named new head football coach

Roger VanDeZande has been named new head football coach at Lewis & Clark.

VanDeZande has more than 20 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and high school levels. The 1982 graduate of Oregon State University comes to Lewis & Clark from North Central College in Naperville, Ill., where he has spent the last two years as a defensive coordinator. VanDeZande coached in Oregon for 12 years, including five seasons at Southern Oregon, before moving to the Midwest.

“I am thrilled to announce Roger VanDeZande as the next football coach at Lewis & Clark College,” says Steve Wallo, Lewis & Clark athletics director. “Roger is an outstanding coach who has experience on both sides of the ball. What impressed me most about Roger is that he is a quality person with outstanding ethics and character who really cares about his players. He has proven himself to be a total program-oriented football coach who is involved in the athletics department and the campus community beyond football.”

VanDeZande replaces former Pioneer head coach Mike Fanger, who resigned in March.

Johnson steps down as dean of the College, returns to faculty post

Curtis Johnson, dean of the college since 2000, is stepping down from that post in August to return to the full-time faculty in his position as Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Professor of Government.

During Johnson's deanship, the quality, diversity and distribution of the faculty improved and the College of Arts and Sciences completed 20 successful new tenure-track faculty searches. In addition, nine new tenure-track faculty will join Lewis & Clark in the coming academic year. Johnson established an Office of Sponsored Research to assist faculty to find and pursue external funding sources for research, and created a faculty sponsorship program for student grants and awards and for summer research symposia.

Johnson played a key role in the integration of a premajor advising system to complement existing advising programs, which significantly increased student-faculty contact and retention. Three new minor programs in computer science, classical studies and dance were added during Johnson’s watch. He also chaired the Commission on Academic Priorities, which began the ongoing discourse on academic planning and goals.

“Curtis’s term as dean has been marked with continued strengthening of the academic mission and programs, and faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences,” says Paul Bragdon, interim president. “The administration’s loss is the students’ gain: a highly regarded and appreciated professor, one frequently cited by alumni/ae as an influence in their undergraduate years, returns to the classroom, which is just where he wants to be!”

Memorial bench honors student Oliver Zlonis

A new bench between Copeland and Platt-Howard halls overlooks the ravine and offers a peaceful location for reflection. The bench, donated by Jeff and Jeanne Zlonis, is a memorial to their son Oliver, who took his own life on Sept. 29, 2003.

Jeff and Jeanne, along with Edmund, Oliver’s brother, were on campus April 29 to spend time with Oliver's close friends and place flowers at the bench.

In addition to the bench, the Zlonis family made a generous gift to the College to support student groups and programs. “They asked that half of the funds be used to support activities out of the chapel,“ says Jon Eldridge, dean of students. The other half is to support student clubs and programs through the student activities office.

“The thoughtfulness and generosity of the Zlonis family is tuly remarkable,” says Eldridge. “They have sent along their best wishes and I know that they would appreciate hearing from any member of the Lewis & Clark community.”

Members of the campus community who wish to convey a message to the Zlonis family should contact Eldridge at ext. 7145 or jde@lclark.edu.

Information Technology Fair slated

Information Technology invites faculty to take part in the Faculty Technology Institute, Monday through Friday, May 17–21. “This weeklong event gives you the opportunity to learn some new skills, get a refresher on old skills, get some technical help on your projects and just have some fun,” says Kelly Wainright, director of client services.

Classes include Leveraging New Library Technologies, Blogging and the Blogosphere, GradeKeeper, Paperless Classroom, Digital Photography and Designing and Planning for the Web. Breakfast and lunch are provided for participants. More information about the spring institute is available online at www.lclark.edu/~infotech/FTI. To register, call ext. 7020.

Students continue to earn honors

Students continue to earn prestigious national honors. Among the recent award recipients:

Tristan A. Nunez ’05, a double-major in international affairs and environmental studies, and Brian Erickson ’06, a biology major, each received a 2004 Morris K. Udall scholarship. They are two of 80 students nationwide to receive the $5,000 award. Nunez is also a Truman scholar.

Political science major Maggie Sullivan ’04 has been named a Coro Fellow, one of 64 fellows from around the country. She will take part in a postgraduate public affairs program, with an emphasis on civic leadership. Upon successful completion of the fellowship, she will earn three semesters of graduate school credit from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy and a scholarship to complete graduate school at Carnegie Mellon. Coro’s center in Pittsburgh focuses on civic leadership. The Coro Fellows program is a nine-month, full-time, graduate-level program.

Angela P. Blum ’05, a chemistry major, and Elizabeth X. Kwan ’05, a biochemistry major, are among 310 students nationwide to receive 2004 Barry M. Goldwater scholarships. The award is one of the most prestigious awards available to undergraduates. Since 1995, 12 other Lewis & Clark students have been named Goldwater scholars.

Leah S. Honigman ’04 received the Rena J. Ratte award, granted annually by Lewis & Clark’s faculty to the outstanding senior or seniors in the graduation class. Honigman, from Denver, Colo., plans to pursue a medical degree.

Congratulations to these and our other outstanding students!

People News

Familiar faces, different places

In Public Affairs and Communications, Julia Duncan has been promoted to a full-time position as senior communications officer for new media. Duncan joined the College in 2002 as a half-time Web developer for the law school. The following year, she added a half-time position in PubCom as a Web communications consultant. In her new full-time post, she will serve as the primary day-to-day manager of the College’s Web site. Contact Julia at jduncan@lclark.edu or ext. 7968.

Kari Chisholm has shifted to a half-time role as senior communications officer for Web strategy in Public Affairs and Communications. Kari, formerly full-time creative director new media at the College, will focus exclusively on strategic Web issues; major projects for admissions, alumni, and development; and large-scale applications including Trillium, Inside L&C, and alumni directories. Reach him at karic@lclark.edu.

Crew coach earns kudos

Tessa Spillane, Lewis & Clark’s crew coach, has been named 2004 Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference Women's Coach of the Year. In Spillane’s third season at Lewis & Clark, she coached the women’s varsity eight team into the national ranks, rated as high as number 14 in Division III rowing this season. This year is the first time that Lewis & Clark had a top-ranked team. Spillane is president of the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference for 2004-05 and is the northwest regional representative member of the U.S. Rowing board of directors. She is also a level III-certified U.S. rowing coach.

Published, presented, honors and achievements

Faculty and staff serve as ambassadors for the College through their publications, presentations, awards, grants and other accomplishments. Recent highlights include:

Dinah Dodds, professor and department chair of German and chair of foreign languages and literatures, recently published a paper in the volume called “Critical Essays on Contemporary European Culture and Society.” Her chapter is titled “German Unification and East German Youth: Ten Years after the Wall.” A second paper by Dodds, titled “Ten Years after the Wall: East German Women in Transition,” was published in “The European Journal of Women's Studies,” Vol. 10(3): 261-276, 2003.

Eban Goodstein, professor and chair of economics, published the fourth edition of his textbook “Economics and the Environment” (John Wiley and Sons, 2004).

Susan Hubbuch, director of the Writing Center, has published the fifth edition of her textbook “Writing Research Papers from Across the Curriculum” (Wadsworth, 2004). First published in 1985, the text grew directly from her work at the Writing Center and with the society and culture program, forerunner to Inventing America.

Nancy Nagel, professor of education and associate dean of the graduate school, has coauthored a book chapter with Celeste Brody. The chapter appears in the book “Teaching Cooperative Learning: The Challenge for Teacher Education” (SUNY Press, 2004).

More listings of faculty and staff achievements can be found in our online pressroom.

L&C in the news

College faculty and staff are in the news on a regular basis. Recent mentions include:

KPAM Radio: Robert Eisinger, associate professor of political science and department chair, comments on a scheduled public apology by Diane Linn, Multnomah County Commission chair. Linn has been criticized for recent actions, including the county’s handling of same-sex marriages. May 6, 2004.

Oregon Public Broadcasting/KOPB-FM: Presidential search committee recommends Thomas J. Hochstettler to Lewis & Clark’s Board of Trustees to be the College's next president. April 29, 2004.

The Oregonian: Profile of Martha Gies, adjunct faculty with the Northwest Writing Institute. Her book titled “Up All Night” has just been published. April 26, 2004.

The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.): Stephen Dow Beckham, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Professor of History, has chronicled the Cowlitz Tribe’s history in southwest Washington. The article details opposition to an Indian reservation near La Center. April 25, 2004.

The Oregonian: Susan Mandiberg, professor of law, comments on Oregon law dealing with a defendant being declared mentally unfit to stand trial. April 23, 2004.

For a sampling of how and where Lewis & Clark is mentioned by media outlets across the nation and around the globe, visit the online pressroom.

Events

New Mexico attorney general to speak at law commencement

Patricia A. Madrid, New Mexico’s attorney general and the nation’s first Hispanic female attorney general, will address graduates at Lewis & Clark Law School’s commencement on Saturday, May 22. Her talk is titled “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities.”

“Patricia Madrid has distinguished herself as an advocate for justice and for victim’s rights,” says James L. Huffman, law school dean and Erskine Wood Sr. Professor of Law. “We are honored to welcome her as our commencement speaker for 2004.”

Approximately 220 law school students will have completed their J.D. degrees and 10 will have completed their LL.M. degrees during the 2003-04 academic year. Approximately 200 are expected to participate in commencement on May 22. Learn more.

Traveling exhibit on view at New Jersey's Westfield Memorial Library

The College’s traveling exhibition “The Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition” opened May 3 at the Westfield Memorial Library in Westfield, N.J. The exhibit remains on view there through July 16.

Stephen Dow Beckham, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Professor of History, is the curator of the exhibit. The college’s exhibition is on a national tour, returning to Oregon in 2006.

“The literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is an integral part of world travel literature,” says Beckham. “This exhibition helps us learn about the people associated with the expedition literature and sets those publications in historical context.” The exhibition features up to 60 items in 11 display cases and a number of framed wall pieces with items drawn from the College's unmatched library of expedition-related literature acquired over the past 20 years. Learn more.

Upcoming

Visit the campus Web calendar for events coming up in May.