As we transition into a new year, Marietta College has an abundance of special moments from 2013 to add to its history book. In addition to graduating an accomplished group of seniors, the College welcomed the future Class of 2017.
Just before Winter Break began, Marietta’s Cabinet selected some of the top stories that highlighted the College’s accomplishments.
1. In late June, President Joseph W. Bruno and a group of Marietta College representatives traveled to Beijing to participate in the Marietta-University of International Relations Summer Palace Conference. The event focused on higher education and its responsibilities for benefitting society.
UIR hosted the Marietta representatives for the conference, which included several top Chinese universities, research institutes and top business firms. Dr. Bruno delivered a presentation entitled, “Liberal Arts College in the United States,” which garnered major Chinese national media attention.
2. Marietta College is still a shiny penny in the realm of higher education, according to the 2013 rankings done by U.S. News & World Reports.
In its 2014 edition of Best Colleges and Universities, Marietta ranked fourth in the Midwest. Additionally, Forbes.com also recognized the College as one of the best in the nation. Marietta ranked 391st in Forbes’ ranking of the 650 best colleges and universities in the nation. The College also ranked 19th among all Ohio four-year schools and 90th in the Midwest.
3. Alumni, family and friends of Marietta College living in near the nation’s capital celebrated the official chartering of the first Regional Association on Nov. 6. The start up of the Washington, D.C. Regional Association was the product of a group of alumni volunteers — Cory Medina ’04, Brooke Exley ’11, Laura Aldrich ’10, Sami Gorrafa ’03, Kim Chavers ’08, Rita Soworoski ’08 and Lindsay Shuba ’05— and the Office of Alumni Relations.
The group helps coordinate various events in and around the greater D.C. area for alumni, family members and friends of the College. For more information about upcoming events, visit http://longblueline.marietta.edu/node/11.
4. Marietta College joined forces with Memorial Health System and People’s Bank in 2013 to form the Hunger Solutions for the Mid-Ohio Valley, a nonprofit task force that aims to address local hunger issues.
Hunger Solutions was the benefactor of the annual Broughton Ice Cream Social, which raised more than $14,000. That money and various efforts of the task force helps ensure access to nutritional food by providing direct food assistance, education and long-term solutions to preventing hunger locally.
5. The Office of Alumni Relations and the Marietta College Alumni Association Board of Directors reached out to more than 11,000 members of The Long Blue Line this spring to gauge their thoughts on their Marietta College experience. The Alumni Attitude Study provided 26 prompts in an electronic format. Nearly 1,200 alumni responded to the study, which gave Alumni Relations and the MCAA Board plenty of insight on how to serve the alumni base better.
6. Marietta College graduated a large group of outstanding students in 2013 and added to its ranks 16 new members to Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest national academic honor society in the U.S.
Lauren Currie, Caleb Ellis, Jordan Grilliot, Melanie Hendershot, Taylor Landrie, Jared Lint, Fang Xiao Liu, Rachel Lyles, Caleb Muller, Jessica Penny, Valerie Price, Ben Reese, Chyrsten Regelski, Robert Schehl, Connor Walters and Trisha Wendel were inducted into the Gamma of Ohio chapter just before the College’s 176h Commencement ceremony in May.
7. When Dr. Daniel Monek first took the helm of the Edward E. MacTaggart Department of Music in 2001, one of his first goals as he was helping rebuild the limping program was to achieve accreditation through the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Just as 2012 came to a close, the chair of the department learned that the goal was finally reached.
News broke earlier this year that Marietta College’s Music Department was granted accreditation and full membership to NASM, joining 644 other schools, colleges, conservatories and universities. The organization, which sets national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials, is the only accrediting agency covering the entire field of music that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
8. He was a legendary coach of Marietta College’s baseball team and an invaluable asset to the development of countless student-athletes. Don Schaly ’59 compiled the best record in NCAA Division III history during his career at Marietta.
In June, Coach Schaly was posthumously inducted into the eighth class of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame during the two-day College Baseball Night of Champions celebration in Lubbock, Texas.
9. This year, Marietta College’s Cabinet had a new look as Dr. Karyn Sproles and Dr. Joseph Sandman joined the College’s Leadership group.
Dr. Sproles began serving as the Provost and Dean of the Faculty on July 1. Prior to joining the Cabinet at Marietta, she was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pa. The native Virginian also served as the Director of Faculty Development at the University of Southern Indiana, Associate Dean for University Studies at James Madison University, and Chair of the English Department and Director of Women’s Studies at Hamline University.
Dr. Sandman joined the College on June 10, serving as the Vice President for Advancement, which oversees development, alumni relations, communications and public affairs. Before joining the Leadership team, Dr. Sandman was a Vice President at Grenzeback Glier and Associates. He also was the Vice President for Advancement at Loyola University Chicago, where he secured a $10 million and a $13 million commitment, the largest in the school’s history. Prior to that, he was the Vice President for University Relations and Advancement, the Director of Career Planning and Placement, and Director of Government and Foundation Relations at Xavier University. After earning a doctorate at the University of Notre Dame, he worked for his alma mater as the Director of Foundation and Corporation Relations.
10. @PresidentBruno tested the social media waters this fall to great success. Dr. Bruno began sharing many memorable events through his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds. With hundreds of “Likes” on his Facebook page, and followers on Twitter and Instagram, Dr. Bruno has captured and shared many of the special Marietta College moments he’s been a part of since the start of the fall semester — from the excitement of Freshman Move-In Day to the fun of the Brunos’ Choice Awards.
Though there was an abundance of successes to celebrate in 2013, Marietta College also suffered great heartache with the losses of student Caitlin Yager ’16 and Emeritus Professor Jack Prince. Dr. Prince, 92, died March 14 after battling pneumonia for several months. The family held a memorial service for him during Golden Reunion Weekend.
During Winter Break, the campus community learned of Caitlin’s death on Dec. 26 after her family’s car was involved in a two-vehicle accident in Huron County, Ohio. She was 19 years old. The College is looking to conduct a special memorial service for her during spring semester.
GI SMITH
