Howard W. Hewitt – Academia has a committee for just about, well, everything. So two years ago I suggested ‘why not a committee on wine?’

Bon Appetit General Manager Mary Jo Arthur agreed. The occasion was selecting palatable wines for Big Bash, the College’s annual reunion weekend. We met, we chose wines, and had a great time. And, we were rewarded a few weeks later when many alums noticed extra effort went into the wine selection.

We picked an Australian Shiraz for dinner Saturday night and a nice medium-bodied Chardonnay. For Friday dinner, we selected a typical Sauvignon Blanc and something really different for the red. We picked an Argentinian Bonarda. The grape was widely grown in Argentina before the explosive growth of Malbec wines. Bonarda is similar with a little more smoke and earthiness to the flavor. But it’s a smooth, full-flavored wine.

Howard W. Hewitt – It’s hard to say any Wabash tradition stands out above all others. But it’s also hard to match the fun, camaraderie, and high spirits of Midnight Munch.

What can be more fun than bacon at 11:30 on a Tuesday night?

For a number of years Wabash faculty and staff serve a full breakfast, cooked up by Bon Appetit, to students in the midst of finals week.

See photo album here. See video below of President Patrick White and Alumni Director Tom Runge talking about the fun of Midnight Munch.

Nearly 380 students made their way through the long lines by midnight Tuesday. The laugher, good humor, and fun minimized anyone’s wait for the bacon, eggs, pancakes, and juice.

It’s a way for faculty and staff to show they care about each Wabash man and to help them through a tough final week of classes before summer recess. Frankly, it’s usually very difficult to tell just who is having more fun – the students or the servers!

Howard W. Hewitt – I’ve posted blogs from students traveling abroad for the past four years. During the immersion trips I’m always taken by students’ writing about the experience.

In that light, it was great fun Thursday night to join Cook and about 10 of those students I traveled with to Florence for dinner. Bill hosted the guys and two of the “old folk” – his words, not mine – in Rogge Lounge. The old folk turned out to be Dr. Keith Baird and the blog guy!

Howard W. Hewitt – There are many great staff people at Wabash College who are great to work with and go out of their way to do good things for the school.

It’s a little extra special when some take initative beyond that and do even more. Adam Bowen joined Wabash as our Media Services Specialist about one year ago. Adam has been one of those "above and beyond" kind of guys since his arrival.

Just a couple weeks ago he said he wanted to show me something. He was working on a video showing off the greenhouse in Hays Hall. He just thought we needed one because there was no representation on the website and he’d seen similar videos on other college sites.

That is why Wabash College can be such a great place to work.

Here is Adam’s introduction to the vid, and you can watch it at the bottom of this post. It’s also permanently anchored on the Biology page.

Adam Bowen – The Wabash College greenhouse, which is located in Hays Hall, is a not-so-hidden treasure on the Wabash campus. The greenhouse stands out, especially in the cold and dark winter months, as a source of inspiration for students and a reminder that spring is never too far away. 

Our students are always involved in study abroad, immersion learning, and other smaller and individual experiences which help them uniquely shape their Wabash education. We’ve recently had small groups of students in Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, attending conventions.

Student body president Cody Stipes was invited to attend the 2010 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in D.C. Here is his summary of the experience.

But the cool thing for me was that I had 5 or 6 students respond by saying, “Oh, you go to Wabash. You guys have that big endowment!” or “You guys have that national study that shows why our school stinks and your school rocks, right?” I tried to play down the part about how the survey was about how their school stunk and how ours rocked, but inside I was nodding my head in agreement. It was really interesting how students from all over the country knew about Wabash. It just reemphasized how notable our institution is across the country. 

Howard Hewitt – We’ve written and said a lot this school year about social networking and social media. We’ve added Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and other steps to jump into the communications revolution.

Back in early September I wrote about Wabash’s efforts in social media and included a video we’ve played for a lot of people. You can see that original post and video  here.

If you go to YouTube you can find a number of these videos about the communications revolution. There are videos tailored to a number of different audiences. There are videos making fun of the videos.

But there is no question the message is powerful. I found an updated version Friday and thought I’d share it for those interested in communications. Check it out:

Howard W. Hewitt (Bachelor Advisor)- “What’s special about this place,” asked Director of Public Affairs Jim Amidon, standing in the Bachelor office Thursday with a handful of students.

Later Thursday afternoon he met with a group of Bachelor staffers, primarily freshmen and sophomores, and critiqued recent papers, offered suggestions, and urged the students to embrace the value of the experience regardless of their future plans.

Dinner conversation was filled with laughter, stories and the liberal arts. The three senior leaders who have been such a big part of the Bachelor’s recent success reveled in the give-and-take conversation with the veteran journalist and Latin American expert.

Howard W. Hewitt – Every now and then photographers will be shooting an event – say a Monon Bell game – and find something with a photographer’s eye others might miss.

The shot above taken Saturday morning in Greencastle, captured beautifully by junior Bachelor photo editor Alex Moseman, makes  you wonder if Wabash might had even a little more going for them during Saturday’s game?

Without suggestion of any divine intervention, what a cool photo on Bell Game day!

Howard W. Hewitt – The communications revolution gives everyone a chance to create community and share in ways a cell phone or even e-mail has never allowed.

This morning (Nov. 7) Brent Harris and I are leading a session on Facebook, Twitter, and blogging for Wabash alumni leaders. We have 16 Wabash men in the room and another 7 following along through a virtual classroom online.

We’re showing some of the things you can do with today’s media and electronics. The photo at right shows Bryan Hutchens ’13 working with Jon  Pactor.

The first 45 minutes of today’s program focuses on Facebook. Here is a short video I recorded as we started on a $150 flip video recorder.

Howard W. Hewitt – One of the great things working on a college campus is how the place re-invents itself every year. Seniors graduate and 18-year-old freshmen arrive on campus.

But there is a routine to many of the events. Tuesday night is Moot Court. I’ve covered Moot Court for the College website every year since I arrived. It is a really great event. I’ll cover it again tomorrow night. But some of the others do become a bit more routine.

Something that never gets old is the fall and winter practice of taking seasonal photos. Most of us in Public Affairs enjoy photography as much as any part of our jobs. The leaves are going to be gone before long so I left the office after lunch with camera in hand and shot a photo album and a half of fall photos! Enjoy!

Photo Album No. 1 and No. 2.

By the way, the photo here is the view from outside my office window. Not a bad place to work for lots of reasons – not the least of which is the view this week!