1 Philosophical—and Scary!
“Literate and philosophical, yet shocking and terrifically scary.”
That’s how TV Insider critic Matt Roush described AMC’s The Terror, the miniseries based on the book of the same name by Dan Simmons ’70.
/Film called the series “a triumph of mood and setting” full of “scenes that chill the blood and quicken the pulse.” The BBC named the “chilling cross-genre drama” a top-10 show to watch in March, and the Los Angeles Times praised its “deceptively gorgeous landscape and the deeply developed characters.”
But the same words fit many of the works penned by the acclaimed writer who seems to switch genres with each novel and whose awards include the Hugo (for Hyperion), the Bram Stoker (Carrion Comfort), and the World Fantasy Award (Song of Kali).
“All my working life, I’ve wanted to hand one of my books to a refined creative intelligence and see what they do,” Simmons told AMC before the series premiere in March. “I absolutely love movies and good series on TV. My wife and I met in inner-city Philadelphia during our college years, and she and I made movies together.
“For me, hearing good actors use some of my lines from the book and seeing the ships stuck in the ice is just wonderful. I think every novelist should enjoy that at one point.”
2 Ah, Hoosier Weather
Indiana, where it snows after it’s officially spring, but students in Visiting Assistant Professor of English Andrew Klein’s class were able to enjoy class on the Mall on February 28.
3 Teacher, Scholar, Mentor, Friend
Kay has been a leader in the internationalization of our curriculum, a major force behind the Asian Studies minor, and has served as chair of the economics department, interim chair of Division III, and acting dean of the College.
Her special love for music, literature, and East Asia has helped to broaden the horizons of many Wabash men.
But I believe that Kay’s greatest contribution has been the mentorship she has provided to dozens and dozens of students. I can’t count the number of times an alumnus has showed up at her office, Kay has warmly greeted him by name, and they have spent the next half hour talking about what he’s been doing during the few years since he last saw her.
I don’t know if Kay holds the attendance record at weddings of former students, but I wouldn’t bet against her.
Professor of Economics Frank Howland at a reception in November honoring Schroeder Interdisciplinary Chair in Economics Kealoha “Kay” Widdows H’07. Professor Widdows will retire from teaching at Wabash in June.
4 A Pic with the Prez
Wabash welcomed 200 prospective students and their families for Scarlet Honors Weekend at the beginning of December. To help them really “picture” themselves on campus, a scavenger hunt included taking a selfie with President Hess and ringing the Monon Bell.
I love teaching Econ 101, because that’s when you first expose people to the big questions that economics can answer. So I love 101 because I get to share this way of seeing and understanding the world with my students.
PROFESSOR KAY WIDDOWS H’07, during a Wabash On My Mind podcast
5 Wabash Personified
John Bridge ’72 is a father, a husband, an attorney, a partner at his law firm, a member of numerous boards and of the vestry at his church, has led volunteer efforts in Indianapolis, and worked with students on campus and off.
He also has a great sense of humor and doesn’t like to talk about himself.
So after Josh Tatum ’03 presented him with a plaque naming him the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men (IAWM) 2018 Man of the Year and called him “the epitome of what it means to be a Wabash man,” he quickly turned the attention back to his alma mater.
He explained why he likes the name “Wabash,” why he values the College’s mission statement. He led the 100-plus guests at the IAWM’s Leadership Breakfast in a “What’s That Spell? WABASH!” cheer.
Then he asked Wabash Glee Club alumni to join him on the stage to sing “Old Wabash.”
But if you want to hear a good story, ask him about the first time he ever rode a horse. In a play. On the Wabash theater stage!
6 Chadwick Crazy!
Thanks to the joy the Little Giants (including NCAC Newcomer of the Year Jack Davidson ’21) brought to the game and the excitement that Sphinx Club and the Crazies brought to the court, Chadwick was the place to be this winter!
7 Fashion, Wabash Style
Michael Krutz ’18 shows off his style in a fashion show put on by economics Professor Christie Byun’s freshman tutorial class Fashion, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: How to Dress Like a Gentleman in the 21st Century.
8 Revolutionizing Recycling
Geoff Coates ’89 has been on a roll.
Last May, Cornell’s Tisch University Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors.
This past February, he earned the prize for the best science paper of the year from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Coates and his colleagues received the award for a paper published in the journal Science that describes the development of a new additive that helps meld incompatible types of plastic together. The discovery could revolutionize plastics recycling.
“What’s exciting about this,” Coates said, “is we can go to as low as one percent of our additive, and you get a plastic alloy that really has super-great properties.
“If you could make a milk jug with 30 percent less material because it’s mechanically better, think of the sustainability of that. You’re using less plastic, less oil, you have less stuff to recycle, and you have a lighter product that uses less fossil fuel to move it.”
9 Building Buddies
Employees with F.A. Wilhelm Construction Company visited Wabash’s College Mentors for Kids program to teach 40 fourth-and fifth-grade boys about careers in construction.
The hook? They also brought building kits for each mentor and his buddy to build a birdhouse.
“Wilhelm provided materials and expertise that we can’t offer,” Wabash Chapter President Braden Quackenbush said. “It was great to see the kids really get passionate about the real-world experience of construction.”
Wilhelm was the contractor on the Martindale Hall renovation and recently donated the lead gift for the College Mentors for Kids’ Brighter Futures campaign.
10 Face-to-Face with History
Soul-searching after coming face-to-face with history is sure to bring any group of students closer together. Read the reflections of our students from their bus ride through the American South as part of their Civil Rights immersion experience in “Passing the Torch,” page 32.
11 Historic Final Four
For the first time since the program’s inception in 2001, four Wabash College seniors have been awarded Orr Fellowships. Brian Parks, Joe Walters, Zackery Carl, and Jordan Hansen are guaranteed a two-year, salaried position with one of the Orr Fellowship’s host companies.
12 A Winning Club Season
The Wabash Rugby Team celebrates after picking up its first conference win of the season. The 12-1-1 Little Giants hope the successful season continues as they compete in national qualifiers in Nashville, TN, and Pittsburgh, PA. The team includes James Bovis ’20, Amadeo Rosale ’21, Chase Crowe ’18, Jonathan Montoya ’18, Kasimir Koehring ’18, Ian Songer ’19, Austin Rudicel ’20, Samuel Anderson ’21, Brian Parks ’18, Alexander Marr ’20, Koty Hall ’19, Jack Wagner ’20, Saul Villeda ’21, Bryce Looze ’20, Danny Cuevas ’21, James Kirkland ’21, Ben Elliot ’18, and Andrew Yazel ’20.
13 Students Teaching Teachers
It’s a memorable moment when students spend the afternoon teaching their professors, classmates, and even a Wabash trustee or two about their research and creative work. Here are two from this year’s 18th Annual Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work: Lora Hess and Joey Ballard ’20 were fellow pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago last spring with Professor Gilberto Gomez’s class, so the Wabash First Lady dropped by to see Ballard’s poster presentation; Emeritus Trustee Robert Wedgeworth ’59 congratulates Jared Cottingham ’18, one of the recipients of the Wedgeworth Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Awards.
14 By the numbers
98%: The percentage of the Class of 2017 who found their first destinations— jobs, graduate school, fellowships, etc.—as of December 2017.
64%: The national average of 2017 college graduates who found their preferred first destinations in that same time frame.
15 “Unlike Any Man I’d Ever Worked With”
Andie MacDowell is best known for her roles in Stephen Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape, her turn with Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
But she’s earning praise for what critics are calling a “revelatory performance” in Love After Love, directed by Russell Harbaugh ’06.
She spoke with The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager about working with the former Little Giant quarterback and how he helped her prepare emotionally for her first nude scene:
“Russell is unlike any man I’d ever worked with. He’s one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met. And I know that’s probably not something a man normally likes to have said about him in our society, but I think things are changing, and he’s already there. He’s past the need to play some kind of fake idea about what a man should be. I don’t think he feels the necessity to put on that mask. I think he’s comfortable in his skin, and he’s an evolved person, and extremely intelligent.
“We would start a scene improvising, move into the dialogue, and then keep it open so we could keep it going. Everything had this fluid feeling. It was so much fun.
“He made me feel so comfortable. I’ve never felt like this with another director. He was like, ‘I know you’re worried about this, so how do you want to do this? I want you to feel comfortable.’ I said, ‘Well, why don’t I just show you,’ and he goes, ‘Okay,’ so I just take my clothes off, and he’s just standing there. I go into the bathroom, and we’re practicing, and he kept saying, ‘You’re so beautiful.’ And I can’t tell you—it was the sweetest thing. I wish I had had that in every relationship I ever had with any man! [laughs]
“It was such a special thing, to have someone look at me and tell me I was beautiful like that. It gave me a lot of confidence and made me feel really comfortable.”