Category: News

Less than three weeks into a new semester, Dean of Houghton College Buffalo and History professor Cameron Airhart has announced his retirement. This decision marks an end to a forty year career, more than thirty of which have been spent as part of the Houghton faculty. Airhart came to Alleghany County in 1987, and – until two weeks ago – was one of oldest members of staff, running only a few years behind Paul Young.

Originally a Northwestern graduate, Airhart began his studies with a BA and ended with a PhD in history from University of California Santa Barbara. He is a medieval scholar with a particular interest in St. Frances, something which influenced his teaching. “There was no topic in the arena of medieval European history,” recounts Dr. Benjamin Lipscomb, a former colleague and friend, “or in a whole lot of other areas where Cameron didn’t have something informed to say.” Students agree with this assessment, citing Airhart’s incredible knowledge of the period as a great asset. “He gave me some different ideas about what the Middle Ages were actually like,” remarked Katherine Stevick ’19, who took his Western Civ. course. Stevick is now pursuing a degree in Political Science.

Airhart’s legacy, however, extends far beyond his role as a venerated professor. He was instrumental in creating Houghton Honors and Houghton College Buffalo – programs that most students now consider established and integral parts of the college’s identity. “He put together an honors track when nothing of the kind existed anywhere at any Christian college,” said Lipscomb. “The idea of bringing together a cohort of students for an intense formative experience….that was an utterly novel idea.” From this first honors ideas came others, and under Airhart’s expertise as Director of Honors – a role he filled from 1996 to 2008 – the program expanded and multiplied. According to Lipscomb, this not only enriched student experiences but enrollment, significantly bringing up percentages. “Cameron is a force,” he commented. “His energy to make connections, to set up arrangements, to think and think and think about the creative and unexpected ways and to see the thing get done is something to behold.”

This is particularly true of the Houghton Buffalo program, which is based on helping students overcome obstacles: language constraints, citizenship issues, day jobs. Although Airhart did not found the One Symphony Campus, according to Dr. Ron Oakerson, he was integral in its current success. “The program located there evolved into one that is almost entirely dedicated to the education of refugees,” he remarked. “It is largely [due to] his [Airhart’s] vision and energy.” Before his departure, Airhart also took steps to expand the Buffalo program into other areas of the city, including a campus for ex-convicts and another for the African American community on the East side.

The same vision and energy that allowed Airhart to creatively approach program building also served him well as a teacher. “He was a very good storyteller,” recalls Stevick. “He made history seem alive… I really liked just listening to him lecture.” Lipscomb agreed, saying “it is possible… hard to say, and possibly alums from long ago would correct me…but he is the best pure lecturer I have ever heard.” Although Airhart had not taught a class on Houghton’s main campus for over four years – devoting his time to Buffalo instead – his legacy as a speaker remains intact.

Today Airhart is using those skills to pursue his own projects and spend more time with his children and grandchildren. His position in Buffalo has been temporarily filled by Rev. Steve Strand, who will serve as an interim dean until a permanent replacement can be hired.

A local beekeeper came to Houghton on September 10th, as part of a CAB event put on by Abigail Taylor. “During the semester, each CAB member plans and puts on a small event for campus, called a Pop Up,” explained Taylor. “We don’t advertise until the day of the event. When I was in the planning stages for my pop up theme, I came across the random fact that September is National Honey Month. I love honey, I love bees, and I am passionate about the ‘save the bees’ movement, so I thought this would be a cool idea.”

Taylor’s theme found a warm reception from students visiting the table. “I loved the event!” said senior Tyger Doell. “I was really happy to see that she was promoting something that’s really important. A lot of people don’t think of bees that often, so I’m really glad that they linked it to the important aspect of bees, instead of just talking about honey.”  

Helen Draper, another senior who stopped by the event, agreed with the need for more education surrounding bees. “They’re often overlooked,” she pointed out. “When people think of bees, they think of bee allergies or bee phobias. Even if you have those issues with bees, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concerned about their prevalence, because they play a key role ecologically.” Statistics agree with Draper: a study from Cornell University, reported in The Ecologist and the USDA’s AgResearch magazine, found that honey bees contribute 14 billion dollars to agriculture in the US alone. While most of that money comes from boosts to crop harvesting through pollination, all of that work on the part of the bees results in a lot of honey.

While commercially farmed honey is available to students in the dining hall, Taylor wanted to offer something special at the event. “I invited a local honey producer from Fillmore, Wagoner’s Bees and Produce, because I wanted to have local honey available to buy,” she said. “Deb, from Wagoner’s, also had a lot of educational material on bees and why they are so important to our earth, so that was really interesting.”

The approachable beekeeper also educated students on some of the surprising uses of honey, including its antimicrobial and wound-healing properties. As surprising as Wagoner’s account of curing her husband’s staph infection with honey might sound, it’s not implausible. A study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) confirms the antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of honey, as well as its merits for pain relief. “It’s a good staple to have in your cupboard, because it’s useful for so many things,” affirmed Draper.

Alongside the hard facts, Taylor kept a lighthearted spin on the event. “I designed four different button pin inserts that people could color and then wear,” she said, “and we had free honey stix for everyone that stopped by.” Doell appreciated the takeaway nature of the pins as a memento to keep the enthusiasm for honey and for bees fresh when September passes.

Overall, Taylor was pleased with the turnout. “It was a pretty easy event, very low key, but we got a lot of good feedback and people enjoyed learning more about bees!” she said. “And a lot of people walked away with yummy local honey, so that’s definitely a plus. It was a unique thing to do on campus, and I got to buy balloons shaped like bees.”

Hikers, fear no more: the Houghton trails can now be explored with the aid of a map. Although it is a longstanding feature of the college’s wild surroundings, the Houghton trail system remained in dire need of an updated map until the fall of 2017. As the semester progressed, Eco Reps and student Elijah Tangenberg ‘20 converged on the same idea: a GIS survey of the trails to provide a satellite-based map available to students and the public. While Eco Reps’ first GIS project involved mapping the domestic and wild trees around campus, they also wanted to create a visual of the seven miles of walking paths on Houghton property.  Fortunately for the organization, Tangenberg had recently developed a web app housing a satellite survey of the trails as an extracurricular project for REC 227 in the fall semester.

Tangenberg took on the project as a combination of service and learning, wanting to refine his skills with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) while simultaneously providing a resource to the campus. “I had worked with GIS before, and I’m probably going to continue working with it,” said Tangenberg. He described the technology as “a very ubiquitous tool that people use for virtually anything that has to do with where data is on a map.” His current project is helping to design ARC-GIS Hub, a data-sharing tool for a non-profit in his home state of California. “I’m interested in water management,” he explained, “and it’s one of the primary water-management tools out there – and understanding GIS is just a major asset no matter what you’re planning on doing with geography, or design, or environmental policy.” Despite this, he noted, “It’s very rare to have a lot of undergrad involvement in GIS, and most of the time it’s in the context of landscape design, or real estate – there’s not a lot of environmental focus.”

While Tangenberg notes significant improvements in GIS since the days when the trails were originally designed and mapped by a team including Coach Bob Smalley and Doris Nielsen (of Nielsen Center fame), the technology originated in the 1960’s and was used to map the original trails with reasonable accuracy. However, the old map no longer gives a very good picture of what you would find on a hike in the Houghton forest. “Over time, the trail system kind of evolved,” explains Tangenberg, “And over time we actually experienced a period of trail loss.” The T-shaped intersection between the Connector Trail and Devil’s Back used to be a four-way stop, for instance, with the Connector Trail making another loop on the opposite side. This is the version of the trails recorded in Smalley’s original map. “If you go there today,” says Tangenberg, “There’s a good chance you’ll get lost, because that trail simply doesn’t exist anymore.”

Tangenberg hopes the up-to-date map will allow students to hike the trails with confidence and responsibility. “Mabel’s trail, in my mind, is one of the trails that I would want to see more used,” he specifies, “because it’s just not on the beaten path for a lot of people. It’s usually a trail that people get lost on . . . but it’s a beautiful trail.” According to Tangenberg, Mabel’s trail was named for Doris Nielsen, “as a little signature on her role in the project”. Tangenberg also hopes to see the map used in the maintenance and stewardship of the trails and in encouraging student accountability and engagement. “The one thing I would emphasize is that the trail system is there to be used,” affirms Tangenberg, “and with the trail map, it’s now much easier for somebody to navigate it and to interact with it better. And that’s the whole reason why it exists in the first place. You can go out, learn about our area, walk around with friends, stay out overnight, use it as a retreat space and as a space to reconnect with your vocation in God.”

As of this summer, students and faculty can use the new Houghton app to stay up-to-date on campus events and access a variety of resources.

Jared Hobson, a junior majoring in Communication, lead the creation of the app over the summer. Hobson’s initial team – including Elliot Spicer, Mallory Moore, Lauren Couturier, Olivia Flint, and Katharine Meyer (all currently juniors) – conceived the project during VOCA’s Sophomore Leadership conference in February 2018.c. “When we were creating the app we really just wanted it to be a resource for students especially to be able to be more connected on campus,” Hobson says.

The app is available on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store. Upon downloading it, users may select their role as either “Current Student”, “Faculty & Staff”, or “Visitor”. They are then prompted to create an account using their Houghton email address, set up a profile with basic information, and complete a Welcome Survey indicating their interests. Users may link their Google Calendar and contacts to the app. After completing these sections, users continue to the full contents of the app.

The app organizes information and resources that students are likely to want to pull up quickly. It includes a dashboard of upcoming events in categories users have expressed interest in, a campus map, a separate trails map, building hours, the academic calendar, a faculty and staff directory, and shortcuts to other resources like Moodle and Student Self Service.

The app works using software from Involvio. Involvio’s website allows app administrators to quickly revise the information visible to users, without users needing to update the app to see it. The team now responsible for the maintenance of the app includes Hobson, AC Taylor in Student Life, and Betsy Rutledge in the Admissions Office. Hobson spends several hours each week ensuring that the app remains “something that is always current for students.”

In the first few weeks of the app’s availability, student feedback has been largely positive.

They note the results of the app team’s work to keep information updated. “I do love the app and I like that they keep improving it. It is very helpful to have and I use it regularly,” says Sarah Evans, a first-year student. Hope Barnes, a sophomore, also comments on how “practical and user-friendly” the app is.

Despite the praise, portions of the app have yet to reach the full potential envisioned by its creators. While the app includes the ability to create groups, which can be home to dorm events, team announcements, or club discussions, Barnes says, “The one downside to the app is that I don’t think many people know about it, making the group chat function pretty pointless at the moment.” Becca Loomis, the ARD and current senior who created the Gillette Hall group, also notes the need for a larger user base to take advantage of the groups feature. “The more people who get the app and use it,” she says, “the more useful it will be.” Hobson agrees that this feature is as useful as students make it for themselves. “We especially want clubs to be signing up and creating groups,” he says. As they do, users will be able to easily scroll through a list of all the clubs meeting on campus, fulfilling the app’s major goals of accessibility, awareness, and involvement.

Going forward, the app team hopes to more seamlessly integrate students’ class schedules so that as they view events, the app can automatically warn them of conflicts. In the meantime, Hobson says, “I’m really excited because I’m hoping that it opens people’s eyes to the idea that there is so much to do on campus and there are so many ways to get involved.”

Houghton College is currently without a Vice President of Student life. New and returning students alike may be wondering what that role entails, what happened to the last VP, and what comes next.

The role of the VP of Student Life is to ensure students are recognized at the highest level of administrative affairs. While decisions are ultimately left to the President of Student Life, the VP advocates for what is best for students in everything non-academic, this includes everything from athletics and club activities, to finances and housing.

Dr. Robert Pool was Houghton’s acting VP of Student Life from 2013 to 2018. While here, Dr. Pool was a key factor in several major decisions. He was very much involved in Houghton’s transition to a NCAA III division school, as well as the construction of the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex and expanding the Athletic footprint of Houghton College. Dr. Pool strongly believed in supporting students, whether it be through the counseling centre or otherwise.

This year, Dr. Pool accepted a position at Ashland University in Ohio as VP of Student Life after receiving the offer several times. “Dr. Pool left unwillingly,” said Dr. Burrichter. “He felt a strong connection to Houghton, but had felt God calling him to Ashland U. It took a lot of consideration on his part, but Dr. Pool left on pleasant terms with Houghton. Some people didn’t like him, some did; that didn’t play a role in his decision to leave. Any administrative role will garner frustration by constituents.”

Dr.  Pool began his position at Ashland University on July 1st, 2018. Dr. Burrichter has taken his place as an Interim VP of Student Life from July 1st, until December 31st while a new Vice President is found. Due to Dr. Burrichter’s role as Director of Counseling, he will not oversee student conduct to avoid a conflict of interest. Instead, Marc Smithers will be fulfilling that role until a new Vice President is found.

On the search committee for a new Vice President of Student Life sits Dr. Michael Jordan, Shehan Rodrigo ’19 and Emily Allen ’20. Their goal is to find a new VP of Student life for the 2019 spring semester. “It’s important that the candidate who is ultimately selected is one who embodies Houghton’s mission as a Christ-centered, liberal arts institution,” Emily Allen stated, “There are also some students on the committee who will be able to voice our opinions throughout the hiring process. Especially since the person who fills the position will have such vital interaction with students.”

The committee’s first meeting is Thursday, September 13, 2018.

As students have returned to campus and classes are in full swing, the Student Government Association (SGA) is getting ready for the executive and Freshman cabinet elections in mid-September. In addition to the usual Freshmen cabinet elections, two executive seats are open for election.

The first position available in the executive cabinet is the Executive Officer of Diversity and Inclusion, a relatively new addition to the SGA cabinet which was occupied last year by Shaphan Hestick. Previously the SGA executive cabinet consisted of a President, Vice president, Treasurer, and Secretary, and the SGA hopes that seeing new positions and a larger cabinet will show how the organization is growing and trying to express the voice of each member of the student body.  The Executive Officer of Diversity and Inclusion position is available because Hestick is currently running for Student Body President. He spoke fondly of the previous executive position he held, and asserts that the position “takes care of affinity groups for the sake of their affinity.”

On September 17th at 7pm there will be a campus wide Q&A with the SGA executive cabinet and the running candidates. This will be an opportunity to ask the candidates questions about what they are hoping to accomplish with their position, as well as to voice any concerns that students feel could be addressed by the SGA. On September 18th ballots will be sent out and counted, with results to follow.

Students who are interested in running for executive cabinets or the Freshman class cabinet can pick up a petition from the SGA office and begin getting signatures from their fellow classmates. For executive cabinets members they must have a GPA of 3.0 and receive 75 signatures while those running for the Freshman class cabinet only need 50 signatures. Petitions are due by September 14th at 5pm and once collected candidates will need to write and give a speech at the Q&A on September 17th. Current President Hannah Sievers is available for questions, and stresses her excitement in adding new members to an already strong and enthusiastic group of leaders. Students should reach out to the SGA or Dr. Bill Burrichter if they have any questions about the organization or what they can do to be a part of the SGA.  

As the semester winds down, the valedictory lectures will soon be coming to an end.  Professor Fisher recently addressed his audience and Professor Oakerson will give the semester’s last lecture next Thursday.

Last Thursday, Professor Carlton Fisher from the Philosophy department offered his thoughts on the implications of God’s foreknowledge—or lack thereof—in his lecture, memorably titled God’s March Madness Bracket:  Did God pick UMBC to beat Virginia?

“I will claim that God does not know much about the distant contingent future,” warned Fisher in his description. “I will argue that such knowledge is possible only if God controls all the details of the creation, which he does not. I will argue that for God’s purposes in sovereignly governing the creation such knowledge would be useless. Then I will take a step too far and suggest that there might be facts—facts about us—that God does not know.”

Following his lecture, Fisher offered a few parting words of wisdom to the Houghton community.  To faculty, he advised they “focus on mission, not on survival.”  As to students, he would tell them to “take the best courses you can.”

“Prof. Fisher is one of the outstanding teachers and thinkers we’ve had the privilege to count among the Houghton faculty,” said Morgan Smith, a junior majoring in Philosophy and Bible. “He does an excellent job of making potentially obscure philosophical ideas both accessible and valuable to students, and he demonstrates an enduringly wise and generous interest in student’s personal journeys and well-being.”

Early in his lecture, Fisher related his primary question back to an experience all people share, their first interactions with philosophical questions.  Throughout the lecture, he often made connections or comparisons to popular culture, outside the context of philosophy.  The most obvious example, of course, being in the title of the lecture.

“He’s [also] got a wonderful sense of humor,” remarked Smith.  “Prof. Fisher will be sorely missed.”

Following Fisher’s address, the only remaining valedictory lecture will be from political pcience professor Ron Oakerson.

When asked about the kind of professor attendees can expect at the faculty lecture, junior Katherine Stevick described him as“a kind, challenging professor and a great storyteller.”

Stevick went on to comment on his general approach to teaching.“I’ve been very fortunate to take a couple of classes with him before he retires—he’s put me onto all sorts of new authors and ideas that I would never have encountered otherwise,” she explained.  “He has a knack for creating these wonderful classes—the Sierra Leone Mayterm, the Buffalo-focused urban development class and in the past, the Adirondack studies program—which integrate classroom concepts and “real world” experiences or field trips.”

Those interested in attending Oakerson’s lecture should know that it will be next Thursday, April 26 at 4:25 in Library 323.