Author: Burton Brewster

Categories
Stories In Focus

To Choose a President

After 15 years in the role, President Mullen announced on October 20th, 2020 that she would be stepping down, kicking off the search for a replacement. Photo from the Houghton STAR archives.

By Burton Brewster (’23)

The search for a new president has been underway since mid-November, but we are still some ways away from knowing who the successor to President Mullen will be. So instead of speculating on the future, let’s look back at how previous presidents were selected.

Houghton was founded in 1883 by Willard J. Houghton. However, Willard Houghton was not the first president. In fact, Houghton lacked a president for its first 25 years. During this time, Houghton Seminary (not a college yet) was run by principals. According to “The History of Church-Controlled Colleges in the Wesleyan Methodist Church,” Houghton had six principals. The longest serving principal staying in office for twelve years, and the shortest serving one staying only a few days. Professor James S. Luckey was one of these principals.

It is well known that Professor Luckey was the first president of Houghton College, but he was not the first choice. Professor H. W. McDowell was originally elected to be principal in 1908, however, “his natural modesty and distrust of his own ability” caused him to seek a replacement. So, he reached out to Professor Luckey to take his place. 

Luckey had served as principal in the past before leaving to pursue further education. Regardless, Luckey accepted McDowell’s offer, but with a heavy heart since he was in the middle of learning at Harvard. As he explained, “One of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life was to give up that second year in Harvard.”

Luckey’s sacrifice was not in vain. He transformed Houghton Seminary into Houghton College, constructed many buildings for students, and went into history as our first president. Luckey served for the next 29 years, up until the day he died.

In 1937, with the passing of Luckey, the college ran into a dilemma with choosing a successor. As explained in “Deo Volente: A Biography of Stephen W. Paine,” two candidates stood out as ideal presidents: Prof. Claude Ries, the Greek and Bible Professor, and Prof. Stephen Paine, the Academic Dean. Paine was only 28 at the time and was receiving job offers from other colleges. So, it seemed like Prof. Ries was the clear candidate. However, in a shocking turn of events, Ries stepped down because he wanted to continue teaching and preaching. At first, the committee in charge was skeptical of Paine. But, with the support of the students and faculty, they convinced the committee to accept Paine as president. As a result, Paine became the youngest college president in United States history at the time (the current record is held by President Leon Botstein of Bard College, NY who became president at 23). 

Paine served for longer than any other president in the college’s history, 35 years in total. Then, in 1972, he was forced into retirement due to Parkinson’s disease. As such, a committee was formed to find a replacement. Within 24 hours of deciding on candidates, they offered the job to Dr. Wilbur Dayton. This made him the quickest chosen president in college history. Ironically, he was also the quickest resigning president. After 4 years, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi to teach and left the campus with the quest of finding another president. 

Little is known about how President Daniel Chamberlain was chosen after Dayton. According to past issues of The Houghton Star, he was accepted to the campus in September of 1976 and immediately made himself known as a man who loved sports and wanted the various elements of college life to compliment each other instead of compete with one another. 

In February 2005 he announced his retirement during a chapel service. Interestingly, the process of finding a replacement president had been in the works since 2000 when the The Presidential Search Committee was formed to replace the previous committee which consisted of faculty, trustees, and students. 

And that brings us to our current outgoing leader, President Mullen. “My journey to the presidency was not at all the typical one—nor an easy one,” she explained in an interview, “I viewed my primary calling in Christian higher education to be in the classroom as a professor. I never intended to become an administrator. The lesson I learned from this is that sometimes God’s calling is made more clear looking back than looking forward.”

In the months that followed, Mullen worked with Chamberlain to ensure a smooth transition. “He was always available for questions and advice and counsel after I came into the office.” she said. “I want to be that kind of support for the person who comes after me—always available, but never in the way!” 

The current selection committee is not available for questioning, however, the process seems to be going smoothly. According to the Houghton College website, the new president will be announced this March or April. ★

Categories
Campus News

The Tales of New Faculty Amid The Pandemic

Left to Right, top to Bottom: Professor McHenry, Dr. Silano, Professor Bowers, Dr. Gates, Dr. Zhou and Professor McElfish. Photo credit: https://www.houghton.edu/news/houghton-welcomes-8-new-faculty-members/

Article by Burton Brewster (’23)

The new faculty on campus chose a strange time to join Houghton Campus. Everything from the way professors teach to the interviewing process has been re-imagined. It is a tough time to teach, but not all is bad. 

Dr. Jonathan Gates (’85) from the English and Writing and Vocation and Calling Departments, is unique among the new faculty for starting his teaching in the same semester that COVID-19 struck. For him, the challenge came when the campus dramatically switched to an online format. “It was immersion by fire! I’ve been teaching for many years, and I feel very comfortable teaching, but I did not feel very comfortable for a number of weeks adjusting to that so quickly. Literally having one week to turn three in-person courses into three online course. [But] in the end I think it was successful.” 

Professor Elianna McHenry (‘18), the new Assistant Professor of Accounting at Houghton, was also able to start teaching before COVID-19 hit, albeit as a grad student. When asked about difficulties she has had to face as a new professor she said, “Something that makes teaching my subject difficult is that not many people love to study accounting. I’ve made my peace with that, and it doesn’t put a damper on my excitement for the topics, but it certainly makes getting my students excited about our learning a little more difficult.

The interview process for most of the new faculty was finished by March 2020, but some were not as lucky. This was especially true for Dr. Francesca Silano, a professor that joined the History and Political Science Department this summer. She explained, “I came in the beginning of March! As you can imagine, it was not a great time to come. In fact, the campus shut down half way through my visit.” Her interviews were planned to have a live class, but due to the lack of students the department had to get creative. “Dr. Meilaender kindly brought all of his children in to listen to my job talk. Everything was so hectic it took a lot of the pressure off of the interview.” The new Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Ki Shin, did not even get a chance to interview on campus. According to him, the campus was already shut down, meaning that his interviews were entirely online.

Teaching styles have had to adjust thanks to the new measures in place. According to Dr. Jie Zhou of the Physics Department, hands on labs were difficult to demonstrate when social distancing was in place. She explained, “There is not an easy way for us to show [labs] in front of students because we’re keeping social distancing.” The solution was to create as many channels of communication as possible. “The best way of assisting student learning is increasing interaction,” she said. On the other hand, Professor Kaiden Bowers (‘13) who works in the Sports, Recreation, & Wellness Department explained how a change of scenery helped his classes overcome restrictions. “We’re not restricted to just our 20 by 20 classroom.” He said, “We can get out into the woods, go out to the field of dreams, get out to the trails, the soccer field and do different things outside which I think is a good change of pace for students.” All of the interviewed faculty expressed appreciation for students. “I was surprised by many students who have high energy and motivation to learn. This challenged me a lot,” said Professor Shin. And, as Professor Bowers puts it, “I commend the students during this. They’ve been able to adapt and go with the flow. They’ve been really forgiving of the faculty and patient with us. Everyone has played a big role in making it work thus far! ”

The Houghton STAR would like to thank Professor Paul Young for providing the groundwork for this article.

Do you have any of the new professors? How are they doing? Comment below or get in touch with us via Instagram, Twitter, or email (editor@houghtonstar.com)!

Categories
Campus News

Campus Changes Please, but Puzzle

Thanks to the pandemic restrictions that have been put in place, the Houghton campus has had to adapt physically in a number of ways. Yet, the campus isn’t the only thing that needed to adapt. Students also are being forced to confront the new changes on campus, and the response is slightly mixed.

The Dean of Students, Marc Smithers (‘08), headed the Emergency Management Team when the pandemic initially struck. Since then, the “Preparing a Residential Education Plan Team” (P.R.E.P. Team) has been made to handle the pandemic situation which Smithers is still a chair of. 

Speaking of chairs, in the words of Smithers there was a lot of thought put into the furniture around campus. As he says, “There was intentional social distancing of all furniture, we removed furniture from Java 101, [and for] the campus center we made sure that all the furniture would be conducive to social distancing.”

When asked about new classrooms Smithers explained that there are a lot of different spaces being used as classrooms which haven’t been utilized in the past, such as the Chapel and the south end of the Dinning Hall. But these classroom settings may change based on the needs of the students and professors.

The new patio seating area outside the CC. Credit: Evan Tsai

Interestingly, some of the largest changes, according to Smithers, are being done on the outside. “We specifically want to encourage people to be outside more. We created the outdoor patio space through a generous gift, and tried to put canopies up, but those quickly blew away. We’re doing all we can to encourage people to be outside.” During the planning phases of this semester Smithers explained that The P.R.E.P. Team considered adding “Ventilation” to The Big Three, but ultimately decided against it.

Some big changes also took place in regards to the fitness areas on campus. In an interview with Matthew Webb, the Director of Athletics, he said, “We have adjusted a lot, particularly relative to the use of our indoor facilities. Access to our indoor facilities is now more limited and we have a new “registration” system to allow access to our indoor facilities which is a brand new process for everyone.” Webb continued, “We were actually thinking at one point we might not be able to open at all [but] my staff did a LOT of work in putting together a plan so we can be open!”

Interestingly, one of the most controversial changes is in the way signs have been handled in the Campus Center. “We have a lot of signage around campus to point out to people what our expectations are,” Marc said, “and custodial helped us to identify where on campus those signs needed to go.”

Some student reactions have been less than enthusiastic though. “I think a lot of [the changes] are good, especially for safety of everyone,” Louis Schriver (‘22) explained, “but in the [Campus Center] doorways that come from the side from Roth Hill the first [door] is an entrance but the stairs there are UP ONLY. So if you’re actually following the traffic laws you need to walk into the building, walk to the other stairwell, and then go down, which is really annoying.” Demetri Court (‘24), a new London Honor’s student echoed these same concerns when he said, “I think most of the [measures] are making sense and are not too intrusive, but the signs on the doors – and on the stairs as well – I got big problems with.”

Overall, it seems like most changes have been met positively, as according to Smithers, “I have a lot of pride in our students and I think that that’s been affirmed most every day that I’ve seen students back on campus. I’m just very appreciative.” And, in the words of Regan DeWeese (‘23), “I’m proud of the policy they’ve put into place. I think they have a good sense of what they’re doing and I feel safe!” 

What are your thoughts on the changes around campus? Glad? Confused? Comment below or get in touch with us via Instagram, Twitter, or email (editor@houghtonstar.com)!

Categories
Columns

Ever Wonder… The Story Behind Houghton’s Boulder?

Lost in the clouded annals of history is the story of the Houghton Boulder. 

As people on campus will recall, The Boulder is the name of the currently defunct college yearbook. What many people do not know is that the name of The Boulder was inspired by a real & historical boulder located on campus.

For many new incoming students, the answer seems clear as to which boulder this is. The boulder by the Gillette Dorm of course! It’s the most iconic rock on campus. But this is not the case. The Gillette Boulder has only been on campus since the spring of 2008 and was donated by the outgoing class of that year. Furthermore, when the Gillette Boulder was initially installed on campus it was met with a wide amount of criticism.

Marc Smithers (‘08), the Dean of Students, was a part of the class that donated the Gillette boulder. He explained, “The class of 2009, which my wife graduated in, had a strong push within their class to have their class gift be the removal of the rock as they saw it as an eyesore. But, hey, people thought the Eiffel Tower was an eyesore when it was first installed.” 

Returning to the initial question, it turns out that there is another rock on campus which inspired the name for the yearbook. Located in front of Fancher Hall and emblazoned with a bronze plaque is the grave of Copperhead, “The last one of the Seneca tribe of Indians,” as the plaque reads. This is Copperhead’s story.

During the days of westward expansion, many of the original inhabitants of Allegany country were forced away from the Genesee Valley and forced onto reservation. That is, all but Copperhead, who claimed that he was never paid for his land and thus refused to leave. Over the years, Copperhead became a local icon. He lived off of charity and would often share his lunch with the local children who visited him. In March of 1864 tragedy struck, as his cabin caught on fire and badly burned him, leading to his death. Claiming to be 120 years old when he died, he was buried at the intersection of Centerville and Old River Road, facing eastward so that he could see the sunrise each day. 

The narrative was not over, however. In 1910 the Houghton Star published an article revealing that the nearby creek to Copperhead’s grave was beginning to destroy the burial site. The students on campus immediately began to raise money so that in June of 1914 Copperhead’s remains were safely transported to the top of the campus. Then, in order to give Copperhead a proper memorial, Leonard Houghton (son of Willard J. Houghton) donated the historic boulder that now rests there to this very day. 

Eventually, in 1925, the student body held a contest to see what the yearbook should be called. On the suggestion of a student known as Kieth Farner (‘25), The Boulder was chosen. 

The Copperhead Bolder is still used to this day on the campus’s insignia. You can see it on the front desk in the Reinhold Campus Center and on many of the stickers placed on the glass doors around campus.

A special thank you to Professor Douglas Gaerte for helping to make the research for this article possible!

Categories
News

New Clubs Draw Participants, Older Ones Struggle

Many clubs on campus have been created since the beginning of last semester and seen success in acquiring members, yet some of the older clubs on campus are currently struggling to stay afloat. 

The Gospel Choir is a returning club that originally formed 9 years ago before being reformed last year. Contrary to what one might expect, the majority of club members are non-music majors. According to the president of the club, Jordan Simmons (‘22), the biggest challenge in starting the club came from “learning how to teach a group of people in a field I’m not familiar with.” Gospel Choir was featured in the MLK Chapel service and according to an anonymous source, “They did a superb job”.

One of the other new clubs on campus is the Disc Golf club, currently being headed by President Zachary Paris (‘20). “The club right now is just a group of people who love the game and when the weather is permitting,” Paris says, “The difficulty [we] faced was the weather and being able to get out and play.” The club has managed to acquire a passionate following of disc golfers.

Many of the clubs formed last semester have been doing quite well. The PB&J Club, for instance, has seen reasonable success since its conception. For those unaware of the premise of the club, as club President Billy McCrae (‘23) describes it as “a service club meant to help solve the hunger problem that exists in the world specifically targeting the impoverished in Buffalo.” As the name suggests, the club makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches during its meetings which are then distributed throughout the Buffalo area. As of January 18th, the club has already made a total of 2,874 sandwiches, making a record amount of 504 in a single meeting. Despite this success, the club is still in search of drivers to help transport sandwiches to Buffalo.

The American Sign Language club, which formed last semester has also seen progress in its endeavor to teach sign language to members. In an interview with the president of the club, Maria Simonin (‘23), she explained, “It’s awesome! Teaching such an important language to other people is amazing, [however,] it was hard preparing lectures and making sure people followed all the rules ASL has.” Regardless, the club has already learned the basics of the language and are now “preparing Christian signed songs [for] multiple campus events,” as Simonin says.

Another club formed last semester is Campus Advocates for Peace and Justice (CAPJ) which is being led by president Olivia Flint (‘20). Flint says CAPJ was formed “to both teach and empower students to communicate with their representatives on issues that they care about.” So far the club has sent letters and phone calls to Tom Reed about the so-called Muslim ban and plan on eventually lobbying to Reed in person.

On the other hand, The Gadfly Society (also known as the philosophy club) has been struggling with attendance. The Gadfly Society is the longest running club on campus, however meetings have only been ranging at about three to four attendees. In the words of club president Anna Judd (‘21), “From what I understand, a lot of clubs have been struggling with attendance recently. We got a few new sign-ups at the activities fair [but] the spring fair is a lot smaller than the fall one.” Judd went on to say, “The Gadfly Society is intended not just for philosophy students. Meetings are very relaxed; we sit down over tea and have a conversation, jumping off from a particular topic, but letting the discussion flow where it flows.” 

As Maria Simonin put it, “I saw a lot of interesting clubs [at the fair] that I will definitely try to find time to attend!”