Tag: history

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Stories In Focus

Sam Kocheri

By Juliana Schmidt ('25)

As the new Professor of History, Sam Kocheri Clement might be new to teaching at Houghton University, but he is familiar with the world of history. 

Kocheri grew up as the youngest of four in a small family in India. He dabbled in other avenues before he decided to pursue a career in teaching. 

“I went to join a Catholic seminary to become a priest. After I realized that was not my calling, I discontinued it,” he explained.

Kocheri graduated from Mahatma Gandhi University—located in Kottayam a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India—with a bachelor’s degree in English. He then obtained his masters in English from St. Aloysius university in Karnataka, India. In 2021, Kocheri successfully defended his PhD thesis in Postcolonial History at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He returned to India to work for ten months, and during that time he received his postdoctoral funding. 

At the time, Kocheri wanted to look for a place that aligned with his beliefs. He found HU while searching for Christian institutions.

“I wanted to go somewhere where I could profess my faith much more clearly,” Kocheri said. 

While Kocheri feels comfortable in his faith now, there was a time when he felt disconnected from God. He opened up about how he fell numerous times away from Christianity and how he was an atheist for about four years before he found his way back to God. 

Kocheri talked about how important it is for him as a teacher to show his students that he is not and has not always been perfect in his faith. By showing that side of himself, he believes it will allow him to relate to his students more in their own faith journeys. 

He was inspired by various people along his journey to becoming a history professor. He shared a quote from Carl Gustav Jung: “One looks back with appreciation to brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is a vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.”

Kocheri tries to live by Jung’s quote in his teaching. Additionally, he mentioned the professors Andrew Davis and Dr. Berny Sebe. 

“Both of them guided me like their brother,” Kocheri remembered. Dr. Sebe was, “Extremely kind to me, compassionate. I want to be someone like him.”

In 2020, he married his wife, Claire, in Birmingham, England. Three years later they welcomed their daughter, Lydia. 

Kocheri reminisced about what he used to do with his free time. A few years ago his answer might have been movies, but after his baby came almost all the movies he watches now are Disney movies. In his free time Kocheri now just wants to “chill.”

“I don’t know how long she’ll be a small kid, but I want to enjoy every second with her,” he explained. Kocheri expressed an interest in fishing with his daughter when she grows older. He also likes raising animals and would love to have some chickens or goats. 

While Kocheri has only spent a few months at HU, he described the community as sacrificial. Everyone “cares for one another,” which is not something he had experienced as much at previous jobs. 

He found the first two weeks hard, but with the help and support of Houghton’s community and students, he has settled in and feels welcomed. 

Currently, Kocheri is “Loving the peace and calm Houghton has.” ★ 

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Columns

STARchive: College Charters and Centennials

By Christian Welker

Did you know the Houghton STAR is one hundred and fourteen years old? To put that in perspective, The STAR reported through the Great Depression, World Wars, the Cold War, and nineteen U.S. presidencies. As the Resident Expert in STAR Lore™, it is my self-imposed job to study the STAR’s Archives and find exciting and funny moments from throughout the history of Houghton University and the STAR itself.

Time for another fun fact (and one that has more to do with the article). Do you know how long Houghton University was Houghton College? Ninety-nine years!

Isn’t that annoying?

In 1923, Houghton Seminary received its charter from the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSASC. Rolls right off the tongue).

The cool part is that it has been a hundred years since Houghton became a college.

The less cool part was we were impatient and jumped the gun on the whole “University” thing (How epic would it have been to be like “After 100 years of being a college, it’s time for the next chapter”? Missed opportunity, President Lewis).

Anyway, rants aside, in the April edition of the 1923 Houghton STAR (yeah, they were only a monthly publication back then, wild, right?), an article was published titled “Final Victory Won! Houghton now a Chartered College” declaring the good news to the Houghton body, and today, 100 years later, an article titled “From the STARchive: College Charters and Centennials” is doing it again. ★

Final Victory Won!

Houghton Now a Chartered College

Again, through the mercy of God, we have gained another rung in the ladder of achievement which has been elevating us to that plane on which stands the chartered college of this state

Following the action of the Board of Trustees, authorizing this Seminary to apply for a charter, the next step was to make the formal application to the Board of Regents of the State of New York. This was done a few weeks ago, President Luckey going to Albany and presenting with the application a catalog of general information regard[ing] the school, setting [forth] the plan [proposed] if the charter be granted.

April 7, was the date set for the meeting of the Board of Regents, and at that meeting the application from this Seminary was to be considered. President Luckey again journeyed to Albany on that date and was present at the meeting of the Board, answering one or two questions which arose. 

As requested by President Luckey, his home-coming on Monday evening, April 9, was not the hilarious demon- stration which accompanied his return from the meeting of the Church Board. The occasion at this time was of too solemn nature to allow any such program as was followed before. Instead, the students gathered at the church and a committee was delegated to meet the President and escort him to the church where a service of praise and thanksgiving was held, Prof. Whitaker taking charge.

A telegram which was received here Saturday evening, stated that a provisional charter had been granted [to] Houghton Seminary. That word “provisional” puzzled us a little at first but the enigma was solved in a short talk by President Luckey at the service Monday evening. “Provisional” only means that for five years we are on probation. During that time we must prove to the State Board of Regents that we are worthy of onr charter by keeping up the prescribed income and fulfilling the scholastic standards.

The President further stated that the honor and glory at this time of victory, all belongs to God, not to man. It was the hand of God which gave the vision at the beginning and that has led all through the long and laborious campaign, and which is still leading. He also emphasized that with added opportunity comes greater responsibility. 

After several prayers filled with true thanksgiving to God for his great goodness and wise leadership, a hymn was sung and the meeting dismissed.

From the church the students went to the college campus where a large bonfire was burning. Gathering around this an hour was spent in singing school songs and giving yells. As the fire burned low the crowd made their way homeward, their hearts being filled with praise to God for the wonders he has wrought through his servants who have kept close to Him and done His bidding.

—J. Harold Douglas

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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. ★

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Stories In Focus

The Boulder Rolls Back into Production in 2020

The Boulder is back. A lot of students and newer professors may find themselves asking, What’s the Boulder? The Boulder is Houghton’s yearbook, which came out almost every year for nearly a century. In 2019, the book simply wasn’t finished. 

This year, the Boulder is back on, and we, the yearbook staff, are very excited to announce that things are going well. Our yearbook has had a rough last few years, and it’s very odd being editor-in-chief of a yearbook that many students don’t even know exists. Often, I’ll say I’m on the yearbook staff, and I’m met with a blank look, and “We have a yearbook?” This makes sense, I suppose, given that my class (’21) is the only one left on campus that has had a yearbook while we’ve been students here. 

However, the project has many supporters. “I’m really pleased to see the Boulder being revived again!” says library staff member Michael Green (’17). “The Houghton yearbook has had such a long history, and it’s great to know that tradition will continue.  The 2020-21 book in particular will be a very valuable resource for future generations of students trying to find out what Houghton was like during this unique year. I know from creating my year’s book how monumental the task of putting everything together can be, so I’m really excited to see what this year’s staff comes up with.” Green was editor of the Boulder in 2017.

It’s worth noting that the yearbook’s name comes from the memorial boulder placed near the entrance to campus, across from Fancher and next to the Houghton sign. It stands to mark the grave of Copperhead, a Seneca man who returned to live in Houghton after his people were forced off the land. He died in 1864 after a tragic fire that burned his cabin down, and was buried in a spot of his choosing by the creek, on private land where the gazebo behind Gillette now stands. However, by the 1910’s, his grave was beginning to erode. Houghton students advocated in the Star for his remains to be moved up to campus and the new grave marked in a permanent way, so his body wouldn’t be washed away. His remains were reinterred in 1914; the boulder itself was placed the following  year. [Editor’s note: this story was covered in even more depth in a column last spring. Check that out here!]

In 1924, the yearbook was founded, and The Boulder was chosen as its name. An announcement in the STAR that year reads, “The Boulder!” Doesn’t that sound solid? That is to be the name of our annual, and we propose to make it lasting, like the boulder which is one of the dear landmarks of Houghton.” The name commemorated both Copperhead and Henry R. Smith, Jr., a deceased professor of English literature, who had headed the project to reinter Copperhead’s body. The first volume of the Boulder is dedicated to him. 

A photo from the first volume of The Boulder, of the staff who worked to put it together.

“We are dedicated to creating a yearbook that will creatively memorialize this strange year,” says Frances Mullen (’23). In her role as Design Editor, she created the new logo, and will be the primary force behind the book’s design and overall look. “I love photography and design because it is so soothing, and bad design/layout makes me crazy,” she says. Now a political science major, Mullen was part of an art and design program at her high school and so has a lot of experience in that department. 

Business Manager Mary Vandenbosch (’23) got involved because she enjoyed yearbook in high school. She’s helping out with photography, but she is also the treasurer, the contact person for the printer, and will be the person in charge of selling the book once it’s been put together. “My role is to help promote the book to the Houghton community. I’m really excited for student engagement in this; it’s such a great historical record.” 

A senior writing major with an intense interest in history, I started advocating for the yearbook’s return a year ago, when I discovered the 2019 volume was never finished. I was a volunteer in the college archives my sophomore year and a bit last fall, just before the former archivist, Laura Habecker, left for a job at the college archives of the New York State College of Ceramics, at Alfred University. She is now also the Town Historian of Caneadea. It was Laura who first told me about the yearbook’s abandonment, and encouraged me to bring it back to life. The yearbooks are a rich record of Houghton history we didn’t want to see go.

Supporting Boulder staff include Elise Koelbl (’22), and Vanessa Bray (’21). Both writing majors, Koelbl is taking pictures for the book, and Bray, who originally volunteered to help write captions and event descriptions, is currently helping schedule photography appointments with faculty and staff. Anyone who would like to support the yearbook staff, primarily in the area of photography and assisting with layout, can still reach out. Vandenbosch adds, “The Boulder is a great opportunity for students to get involved, and we would love to see you join us.”

What do you think of The Boulder’s return? Excited? Still puzzled? 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!

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Campus News

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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Stories In Focus

The Howards: A Houghton Legacy of Love and Learning

It is fascinating to watch professors David and Irmgard Howard together, and it is difficult to explain why. If you ever have the privilege to sit down with the two of them and have a conversation, this feeling will make sense to you as well.

Howards_NewFor example, if there is a question presented to them that requires both partners to answer, there will be a slight pause when the Howard’s look at each other. This is the part that is hard to explain, because you can feel the presence of the information highway that is passing between David and Irmgard, a connection that slows down time and allows the two of them to non-verbally communicate with each other before answering the question. Perhaps that’s just the power two people gain with forty-five plus years of marriage.

The Howards have been teaching here, David in History and Irmgard in Chemistry, since 1970. This effectively makes them the most experienced faculty couple here on campus. The swing set near the science building used to be the place where their home stood. There, David and Irmgard raised four children while continuing to teach at the college. “I was teaching full-time and she part-time,” said David. “This allowed us to switch off with child care, so we never really had to hire a babysitter. We always had a parent right there with the kids. We lived within walking distance to our job as well, so it was as convenient as you could possibly imagine.”

“Houghton College arranged our schedules so that we could…” Irmgard began, but then was cut off by her husband. “Well, we arranged our schedules and they agreed to it,” said David, and both professors shared a laugh. “Right, we could always switch off,” finished Irma.

Remnants of this schedule remained in the class schedule until very recently. Some science labs used to begin at 2:15pm instead of 2:00pm like it is done now. This was so one Howard could run home to take care of the kids while the other Howard ran to begin the next set of classes. One couple affected the schedule of a whole college for almost forty years.

When asked if the school has changed over the years in terms of hiring both men and women as professors over the years, the Howard’s explained that the college has employed married couples since they started back in the 1970’s and has been willing to work with couples and their complex schedules. They also agreed that working as a married couple is not any different today than it was back then.

“My conclusion is that, if you’re not in direct competition with each other, that working together is a great way to strengthen a marriage,” explained David.

After forty-four years of working as a team and teaching at the same school, retirement is on the horizon for at least one Howard, with Irmgard in semi-retirement this semester. As far as the other Howard is concerned, it may still be a while longer before he’s ready to move on.

In response to the question if he was looking forward to retirement as well, David answered with a definite “No.”