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Houghton Highlanders Welcome Three New Coaches to Athletic Department

This school year, Houghton will welcome three new coaches to campus. Two of the three coaches are Houghton college alumni. Corky McMullen ’07, took over as the new head coach for the men’s basketball and Andrew Lundeen ’09 was appointed as the new head men’s lacrosse coach. The women’s softball coach, Katie Sinclair, is an alumni of St. Bonaventure. “All three coaches are enthusiastic, passionate, committed to Christ, understand the ‘student-athlete’ concept, and understand what we are doing in terms of sports ministry” said Head Athletic Director Skip Lord.  

McMullen, who graduated with a degree degree in physical education, played basketball under Coach Brad Zargess, who is now the athletic director at Quincy College in Massachusetts. McMullen said, “Houghton is a special place to me because of the impact it had on my life.” He was recruited out of high school to play basketball for Houghton,  but didn’t give it a chance. After a successful athletic and academic year at Lockhaven University in Pennsylvania, he felt something was missing in his life and visited Houghton, which he said changed his life. McMullen said, “The people were so warm and welcoming, unlike any other college visit I had ever been on.”

Upon graduating, he spent a number of years as a member of the coaching staff at various institutions, such as Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Hofstra University, and Rutgers University. He worked in various roles such as player development and scouting. McMullen, whose father coached high school for 35 years and currently coaches at the college level, said his father impacted his passion for coaching. “I always knew I wanted to coach. I saw the impact that he had on the players’ lives and saw a lot of his players come back 10, 15, 20 years down the road and thank him, which was really meaningful for me” said McMullen. His coaching philosophy, which is centered on people and relationships, is part of the reason Johnathon Stowe ‘17 thinks McMullen will do well in Houghton.  “I believe he is a great fit for Houghton, his strong spiritual leadership is needed here, and I like the way he cares for his players,” Stowe said.

Women’s softball coach, Sinclair, graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a bachelor’s degree in business management and a minor in sports management. While there, she played softball and started working with players through clinics and camps to refine their skills. “I fell in love with helping people get better and reach their goals athletically,” said Sinclair. Her first year, with the help of two of her teammates, she started Bonnies Athletes for Christ. Similar to Fellowship for Christian Athletes (FCA), it started with five student athletes having weekly bible studies. It eventually grew into about 25-30 athletes, and in her senior year became a chapter of FCA. Last summer, she coached on a travel team out of Binghamton, New York, where she the focus was on-field coaching and running through game situations. Taylor Sile ‘19, believes these skills will be an asset to the team. “I believe that Coach Katie will push each and every member of the team to new levels of play and I am very excited to see our growth” said Sile.

Lastly, the men’s head lacrosse coach, Lundeen has been living in southern Maryland teaching  middle school social studies teacher for seven years, while service as the assistant men’s lacrosse coach and offensive coordinator at the College of Southern Maryland (CSMD). Although he never played lacrosse at the collegiate level, he has coached at all levels. Lundeen also has experience with lacrosse as a new program, as he worked closely with  head coach for the CSMD started the lacrosse program for the school. While Lundeen is currently at CSMD, he will become a full time coach on campus for the first week of October. Lundeen is excited to join Houghton and stated, “As the coach, I am excited about leading the members of the men’s lacrosse team as they grow physically, mentally and spiritually during their four years at Houghton.” Paul Chapman ‘17, is also excited for Lundeen to start coaching,  “I truly believe he will be successful as the new head coach. We are all beyond excited to get this new era of Houghton lacrosse underway.”

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Longtime History Professor to Retire in the Spring

Professor of history, William Doezema, who came to Houghton College in forty years ago, will be retiring in the spring of 2017.

Eliza Burdick-Risser ‘18, took Recent American History, 1920 to Present, with Doezema. Burdick-Risser recalled a semester of history made vivid through Doezema’s rich teaching. “You walk into Professor Doezema’s class at eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning,” she said. “You sit down, and he starts with discussion questions on the reading from the night before.” However, the resemblance to a predictable lecture stops there.

“He was really good at providing examples of what happened, because he experienced a lot of this stuff. He was able to tell us about the Cold War, and what it was truly and honestly like to grow up during that time period,”she said. Burdick-Risser stated Doezema’s teaching gave the students in the class a greater tie to history, as well as a broader perspective on major events. “At twenty years old you haven’t experienced,  a Cold War,” she said. “And most stuff that has happened, we haven’t even had a say or a vote in it.”

Doezema joined Houghton College’s history department in 1979, and has been teaching  at Houghton for almost forty years. In addition to teaching, he enjoys historical research, as well as presenting and publishing scholarly work on a variety of subjects ranging from the Salem witch trials to China’s Taiping Rebellion.

The history department’s small size allows for close working relationships between faculty. “Teaching in an area of academia I love and learning much from colleagues inside and outside my department have been incalculable privileges,” Doezema said. He added, “I’ve been struck over the years by how much we complement one another.”

Those colleagues seem to agree. Meic Pearse, a fellow professor of history, described the small, tight-knit department as a blessing, “[W]e all get along so well together; departmental meetings are mostly punctuated by funny stories and laughter.”

Professor of history, David Howard, was one of the faculty members who interviewed Doezema for his teaching position years ago and said Doezema is “a wonderful colleague; absolutely a person you can count on.” According to Howard, Doezema’s presence, in conjunction with Houghton’s other history professors, has helped to balance and strengthen the department. In addition to maintaining a warm dynamic with fellow professors, Doezema said,  “The most satisfying side of teaching … has been helping struggling students develop confidence in strengths they scarcely realized they possessed.”

Burdick-Risser said she appreciates the way Doezema drew connections between the past and the present, and navigated those topics in a way that allowed students to reach their own conclusions about politically-charged issues. “He never made it a thing of ‘Democrat versus Republican’ … I found that really nice. It was just history for what it was” stated Burdick-Risser.

Pearse affirmed this sentiment and stated the world needs “non-mythologized, non-romanticized, non-ideological history.” Otherwise, “All we do is delude ourselves and confirm our own prejudices, and fail to understand our own place in the world, or why others act as they do—and so fail to anticipate what is likely to happen next.”“[A]s one historian has put it,” says Doezema, “history is ‘an act of self-consciousness.’ History can make us all more discerning Christians.”

Howard said, if Doezema decided to leave Houghton after retiring in the spring he will be missed. He said, “There are very few people I’ll miss as much as Bill.”

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Student Workers See Fewer Work Study Hours

Due to New York’s graduated minimum wage increase, student jobs funded by the Federal work-study program are limited to a maximum of eight hours per week on average. The state minimum wage will increase to $9.40 per hour on December 31, 2016, a forty cent increase since the most recent wage hike in December 2015.

img_3294The Federal work-study program funds eligible students a yearly limit on earned wages. Students may earn less than their limit, but not more. “Due to an increase in per hour pay, a student will have to work less hours to earn the same amount,” stated Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management, Marianne Loper.  Even though the wage increase will not go into effect until the last day of the calendar year, work study wage limits cover both the fall and spring semesters. Thus, if hours were not cut in the fall semester, they would face a more dramatic cut in the spring semester.

The eight hour limit is not to be regarded as a strict limit on hours worked each week- rather, the limit is an eight hour per week average. Loper said, “if some weeks [a student] needs to work 16 hours and then later [that student] works no hours that is fine.”

While the cut in hours will not affect a student’s potential to reach her work-study quota, many students who are employed by the custodial department, the dining hall, the library, and like jobs are scheduled for less than eight hours per week. Some of these students solve this problem by covering available shifts as they come. “I’m scheduled for about six and a half hours per week between the dining hall and the library,” Sarah Vande Brake ‘19 said. “I can usually make up the remaining hours by covering shifts, but if I don’t, then I don’t.”

Another difficulty faces students who participate in the Phone-a-thon, a yearly fundraiser which garners donations and pledges from Houghton College alumni. According to Dana Kelly ‘18, she and other students who agreed to work at the Phone-a-thon for a six-week period had to choose between that and other jobs they committed to. Kelly decided to continue working her shifts at the Campus Center Welcome Desk, yet she says she would have rather done both jobs.

The new regulations have proven stressful for supervisors as well. Previously, more jobs could be assigned to fewer workers. Now, the shifts must be spread more evenly. Custodian Hillary Scharles, who manages the Campus Center and part of Gillette Hall, expressed worry that she would not be able to find enough student workers to cover all of the available jobs in her buildings.

There is a silver lining, however. Because even the most industrious of student workers can now only work an average of eight hours per week, this leaves more employment opportunities open to students. Students who would not have planned to max out their potential hours may be interested in picking up these stray shifts.

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Prominent Astronomer To Deliver Commencement Speech

On May 14, 2016, Houghton will welcome Jennifer Wiseman, an astronomer and author, as the commencement speaker for this year. During her time on campus, Wiseman will also having lunch with Houghton science students and faculty following commencement.

jenniferwisemanSince her childhood, Wiseman has enjoyed looking into the night sky. She grew up on a farm in Arkansas and often stargazed with her parents. Today, through using radio, optical, and infrared telescopes, Wiseman researches the star-forming regions of our galaxy.  She also directs the program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and is a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA). Her interest in public science policy has led her to serve as a Congressional Science Fellow of the American Physical Society. As a fellow, she has worked with the staff of the Science Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Dr. Jennifer Wiseman offers our graduates one model of what it means to live courageously ‘outside the box,’” said president of the college, Shirley Mullen.  “At a time when science and religion are still too often assumed to be antagonists, she embodies a life shaped by deep commitments to both the methods of science and the claims of the Christian faith.”

While pursuing a degree in physics at MIT, Wiseman discovered the comet Wiseman-Skiff in 1987.  She went on to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy in 1995 and continued her research as a Jansky Fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and as a Hubble Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University.

Through her written work, Wiseman has often addressed the relationship between astronomy and faith.  She also shares her excitement about scientific discoveries as she speaks to civic clubs, churches, schools and campus groups. Additionally, the two groups in which she is involved, DoSER and ASA, seek to encourage dialogue between the fields of scientific discovery and religion. The ASA specifically seeks to integrate scientific research and the Christian faith and to create a safe space for the discussion of these topics.

Thomas Eckert ‘16 said, “The majority of students graduating are not physicists, nor even scientists, but I think dialogue between those in the arts and sciences is vital to a successful society.” He continued, “There seems to be a divide between the fields which can be bridged with careful listening and understanding by both parties. We are [all] explorers of this universe that God has placed us in. It is infinitely mysterious. Each of us takes part in the discovery process whether through the lens of a painting that may explore the intricacies of a grassy marsh or a theory that engages the simplicity of spacetime.” Eckert noted that he believes everyone will be able to relate to Wiseman, “I hope everyone listening at graduation can pay attention to similarities in their journeys with Dr. Wiseman’s life.”

 

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Senior Class Gifts Apple Orchard

Saturday April 23, willing volunteers and members of the Eco Reps planted an apple orchard on campus. The orchard is located between Steese Cottage and the tennis courts. This installment was given to the college by the class of 2016 as their senior class gift.

The Class of 2016 planted their Senior Class Gift this past Saturday between Steese Cottage and the tennis courts.
The Class of 2016 planted their Senior Class Gift this past Saturday between Steese Cottage and the tennis courts.

The orchard will be maintained by Houghton’s maintenance staff and will be open for use by students, community members. Sodexo will also use them in the cafeteria. The trees will take five to ten years before they are fully-grown and ready for apple picking.

Sustainability coordinator, Brian Webb, facilitated the purchase of about 25 apple trees of different varieties and the Sodexo facilities department worked to prepare the planting area for the trees, including running a water line and digging holes.

“The Eco Reps had been working on the idea of an orchard project for two years. They did the research on the idea and sketched out an initial proposal. I took the idea to the important stakeholders and campus to get it approved,” said Webb

He continued, “Our only barrier was finance, so when the senior class showed some interested it was the perfect solution.”  The class raised over $1,200 for the project, and the sustainability office covered the remainder of the cost.

According to Gabrielle Schott ’16, the senior class gift process begins by gathering ideas from different offices on campus for possible projects. After determining the feasibility of the proposed projects the class cabinet narrows down the choices to two or three options and presents them to the senior class for voting.

“The senior class tossed around ideas for projects but landed on the apple orchard idea because of its uniqueness and the opportunity to see it planted. They also look forward to being a part of the planning before graduation, and ability to watch it grow over the years when they return as alumni,” said Emily Spateholts, Development and Reunion Specialist of the Advancement Office.

The advancement and alumni offices work together with the senior class each year to find a project that represents the class as a whole and strives to leave a lasting legacy for future students. A senior class gift must be reasonable in cost, able to be easily maintained, and able to be enjoyed all across campus rather than by a specific group of people.

Webb commented, “My hope is that the Houghton College Orchard will help connect students both to their food and to the natural environment around them.”

He continued, “Having an orchard on campus will help students see God’s creation as more than just a pretty landscape, but as something that we can actually play a role in wisely stewarding. Plus it will be awesome for students to walk over, pick an apple and eat it.”

According to Webb, the sustainability office has plans to incorporate other trees, as well, including pears, peaches, cherry trees, and maybe even grapes.

 

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New Faculty, Staff, And Coach To Join Houghton

As the academic year wanes, Houghton College has hired one new faculty member, one new residence life staff member, and is still searching for a men’s basketball coach.

Paul Martino will be joining Houghton College in the chemistry department. According to chemistry department chair professor, Karen Torraca, Martino’s expertise is in biochemistry, having received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Before Houghton, Martino taught at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee. Next year, Martino will have a full schedule teaching general chemistry lab 1 & 2, Nutrition, and Biochemistry 1. He will also teach a special topics course, as well as complete research with students.

Martino’s hiring brings the formal search for a chemistry professor to a close after almost four years. Torraca and fellow chemistry professor John Rowley, as well as the associate dean for natural sciences and mathematics, Mark Yuly, were key in the final decision. As final approval from the dean of the college has been granted, Torraca said, “We are very excited that he will be joining the department.”

Beth Phifer will join residence life staff as the new resident director of Lambein Hall. Phifer graduated from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania with a B.A. in psychology. She then went to Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pennsylvania and earned an M.A. in counseling. From there, Phifer went on to serve as lead residence director at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she worked for the last nine months before accepting a job offer from Houghton College.

Tennis
Men’s Tennis team practices in KPAC

Still ongoing is the athletic department’s search for a new men’s basketball coach. Athletic Director, Skip Lord, stated the department received over 100 applications. A search committee comprised of Lord; softball coach, Brianna Allen; National College Athletic Association (NCAA) compliance director, Jason Mucher; women’s basketball coach, Alicia Mucher; men’s soccer coach, Matthew Webb; women’s soccer coach, David Lewis; and head athletic trainer, Deanna Hand, have narrowed the pool significantly. Lord expects candidates will be selected for interviews soon. Because the athletic department aims to retain current athletes, as well as continue to recruit new ones, Lord said the department is moving quickly, but carefully. He stated current members of the men’s basketball team will be present in candidate interviews.

“We are looking for someone who exemplifies the athletic department motto: excellence for the glory of God, in all its components,” Lord said. “We also want to win some games.”.

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Spring Sports Fight for Postseason Play

Spring sports are entering their last week of regular season play. Every team faces an Empire 8 opponent, which gives them an opportunity to improve their record and a chance to squeeze into a conference playoff spot.

_DSC5742-2In the third year of their program, the men’s tennis team could ensure an Empire 8 tournament berth if they finish among the top four teams in the conference. “If we can beat Alfred and Nazareth than we have a chance of going to the conference playoffs,” said Head Coach, Charlie Ellis. Currently the team’s overall record is 9-6 and their conference record is 4-2. Last weekend, the team pulled out two stellar wins against the Hartwick Hawks and the St. John Fisher Cardinals. It was their first win over St. John Fisher since joining the Empire 8 conference three years ago. “This supporting cast daily has pushed every top player in practice and supported them in the matches,” said Ellis. “They have been sweating and fighting daily to get the entire team ready to play.” Earlier this month, Chase Rangel ’16 was named the Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Play of the Week for his victories in singles matches and double matches, with the help of his partners, ending the week of April 10. “They all get along very well and they are enjoyable to coach which is part of the reason for their success this season,” added Ellis.

The men’s baseball team’s record, unfortunately, does not reflect the hard work and small wins that they have had this season. Currently the team is 13-20 overall and 3-10 in the Empire 8 conference. However, having a fairly new team comprised of mostly freshman and transfers, incoming players have had to step up and fill big roles on the team. “We lost a lot of pitchers last year and some guys who played a big part as leaders on the team,” commented Michael Knapp ’16. Head Coach, Brian Reitnour added, “[We] are a fairly young team and my ultimate goal is to see us develop an identity that reflects our core values.” During the middle of the season, the team had a six game winning streak where they rallied from deficits to win games, but it was snapped due to a split with the Penn State-Beave Nittany Lions. On April 7, the Highlanders played for over six hours and nineteen innings against the Alfred State Pioneers. The game resulted in a split where the Pioneers won the first game 5-4 in 11 innings, and the Highlanders scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the second game 4-3. “This season has been better than we expected it to be” said Ethan Duryea ’18. “Collectively we have played more as a team this year than we did last year.”

Both teams have games this week and possibly next week, depending on how well they play.  The Highlanders will take on the the Stevens Ducks on their home field at 6 p.m. Friday, April 29, and at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. The men’s tennis team will take on the Alfred Saxons on their home  court at 4 p.m. Friday, April 29.

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New Academic Dean Addresses Student Government Association

On Monday evening the SGA hosted new Dean of the College and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Samuel J. “Jack” Connell for an open question and answer session. Several questions were submitted beforehand via an online survey created by SGA, while others were taken from students in attendance. The topics ranged from Connell’s history with Houghton, to questions concerning online education, diversity on campus, and the state of several academic programs. Connell comes from a long line of Houghton alumni and has been involved with the college in a variety of ways, including working in administration during President Mullen’s first year and serving as a youth pastor at Houghton Wesleyan Church.

Jack ConnellRegarding online education, Connell commented on Houghton’s current online presence, saying that although it is currently a small presence, he thinks Houghton needs to and will make more aggressive moves into the online market. Expanding its online presence would allow Houghton to reach previously unreachable audiences, as well as being a helpful way to generate revenue.

When asked about diversity on campus, Connell replied that he did not think Houghton had a sufficiently diverse population on campus, particularly in regard to faculty and staff. To address this, Connell said among his priorities are to ensure that class curriculums reflect diverse viewpoints as well as making an effort in the future to recruit and hire diverse faculty members.

Although Connell is only three weeks into his new position, he spoke confidently of his vision for Houghton’s future and expressed his excitement to once again be a part of the Houghton community.

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Palooza To Feature Student And Faculty Talent

Saturday April 30 will mark another consecutive year of the Houghton Palooza, the annual festival for students to celebrate the year. The event is hosted by the townhouses, but is open to all of Houghton’s students and the surrounding community as well. Townhouse resident assistant (RA) Kerianne Shaw ‘17 noted efforts to make it “family friendly” and “exciting,” encouraging Houghton’s students and families to attend. The usual planning committee of RAs and faculty adviser JL Miller have partnered with the campus activities board (CAB) this year. According to CAB representative, Kasey Cannister ‘17, this has allowed access to CAB materials and “improved the efficiency of planning it.”

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 9.38.49 PMThe Palooza offers a variety of activities, but Miller and Cannister expressed particular enthusiasm for this year’s lineup of student and faculty bands. “Last year we had a harder time booking bands,” Miller explained. “This year we started really early communications with bands across campus to get quality bands who wanted to perform.” Cannister notes that the Palooza was originally “created to be a Houghton music festival,” and looks forward to the bands being “a big presence in the whole Palooza.” The featured bands include “The Burdo and the Bee,” “The Sorrow Estate,” “Marc LeGrand and Friends,” “True Cliche,” Mitch Beattie and the Heartbreakers,” as well as talented students and faculty without official band names. “We’ve been joking at meetings about things we can call them,” Kasey Cannister noted.

In addition to the bands Miller noted that while music is a big part of the event, it’s not the only aspect of the Palooza. Shaw said the planning committee has “called on clubs to help with manning stations,” including crafts, henna, face painting, snacks, and yard games such as corn hole and spike ball. Cannister expressed particular excitement for badminton. Cotton candy and popcorn will be offered throughout the event, with hot dogs available at lunch time. “If the weather holds,” Miller mentioned a 40 foot inflatable obstacle course has been reserved. “I’m really hoping for good weather,” he sids.

In addition to good weather, Miller is hoping for “a return to the original momentum of Houghton Palooza.” Now planning his fifth Palooza, he emphasized it as a time for students to “celebrate and reflect on how the year has been.” He is excited by this year’s increased band involvement, and noted last year “we made music less central, but from my perspective we lost something.” He hopes  students will “at least stop by.”

With both students and the Houghton community attending, the planners express their appreciation of the time of fun and fellowship. “I’m excited to see everyone out and together,” Shaw said. Miller echoes this and stated, “What excites me most is just people showing up and having fun.”

 

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First Inclusive Adolescent Education Major to Graduate

In December 2016, Houghton student Justin Bullard ‘16 will graduate with a major in Inclusive Adolescence Education (IADE), the first and only Houghton student thus far to do so. The IADE major, which exists alongside the Adolescence Education major, was added in 2014. Associate Dean of Education, Cathy Freytag, said in a Houghton press release, “By intentionally infusing purposeful inclusive/special education content into our existing Adolescence Education Program and incorporating two courses that are already taken by teacher education students in the Inclusive Childhood major, we are able to offer a robust program at the adolescence level that will prepare middle and high school teachers to address the unique needs of the diverse learners that they will encounter in any classroom.”


JustinSunshineRGBLike the Adolescence Education major, IADE majors may choose a second content major. For example, a student who desires to teach math in a classroom inclusive of differently-abled students would major in IADE with a math concentration. Bullard’s major will be accompanied with a generalist concentration, enabling him to teach a broad range of subjects. Bullard said his wide range of studies gives him the tools to “help my students in all subjects.” He continued, “I can bridge gaps between subjects that a conventional single subject classroom educator may not be there to see how techniques in other classes could benefit a particular student in another setting.”  

Education Department Chair, Sunshine Sullivan said, “If someone wants to teach, they need to be prepared to teach in an inclusive setting.” To clarify the term ‘inclusive,” she added, “Today’s classrooms PK- college are full of diverse learners with incredibly powerful learning differences. These learning differences have always been present in our classrooms, but they’ve often been marginalized and labeled as ‘special,’ ‘slow,’ ‘hyper’, ‘challenged’, ‘challenging,’ and the list goes on.” Sullivan also said, unfortunately, “There is a growing shortage of teachers being qualified to teach in an inclusive setting as special education teachers at the adolescence level.”

Bullard, who “can’t remember” a time he did not want to educate young people, quickly took advantage of the IADE major after it became available. “I was conflicted when I came to Houghton,” he said. “I wanted to be a special needs educator, but I also greatly preferred teaching high school students. When I started at Houghton I was an Adolescent Education and Biology double major, but I felt the lack of contact time with special needs students was not something I was just going to get over.”

Bullard’s “prayers were answered” in his sophomore year (2014), when Professor Sullivan informed him of the new IADE major. He said, “Upon hearing her describe the major I immediately said ‘yes.’ I was so excited when they added the major. It is perfect for me and sets me up for exactly what I want to do in my career as a future educator. With my degree I can run a resource room and help a great number of students by providing them with increased individualized attention. I can also participate in a ‘push-in style’ classroom, which is where I enter a mainstream classroom to aid a student with special needs.”

Education professor, Martin Coates, said that while the number of students declaring the IADE major is currently low, “We expect them to grow and we plan to continue offering this major for the foreseeable future. It has a minimal impact on faculty load as the bulk of the major consists of existing courses, so we do not anticipate problems staffing it.” He added that while Bullard is the only student of his year to graduate with the major, there are several students in the department who are at this time considering declaring the major.