Trustee Fred Wilson ’69 talks with students

It’s become quite a tradition at the winter board meetings of the Trustees and the Alumni Board. On the Friday evening, these two groups join juniors and seniors for an evening meal with absolutely no program other than to get to know each other and help the students in whatever way they can.

Our alumni leaders really model the fact that Wabash is, indeed, 4-LIFE.  They stay linked to the College, they invest in our college and her students, they find young men who have what it takes to be Wabash men, and they help us educate our guys in and out of the classroom.

Many of our students call this one dinner their favorite alumni event of their Wabash time.

A great crowd

IAWM board member Hugh Vandivier ’91, second from left, and NAWM board member Ross Dillard ’07, center, talk to students

Members of the National Association of Wabash Men (our alumni board) and the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men (our largest regional group) gathered on a cold and windy Saturday at the Great Hall to welcome all of our young men back to campus.  An easy-going meal of steak sandwiches, Chicago style hot dogs, and “Maco-cheese” matched an informal chance to catch up with our students.

NAWM president Greg Estell ’85 summed it up best: “The guys have just started back to class and this opportunity gave our boards a chance to meet, greet, and provide any assistance we could.”

NAWM board member Joe Trebley ’01

The NAWM and IAWM boards have been very good at modeling engaged alumni behavior – well done!

Jeff Perkins ’89 and Kevin Clifford ’77 talk at the Exhibition

Kevin Clifford, Wabash Trustee and CEO of The Capital Group, worked with the Capital Group Foundation and our Art Department to bring some of the most iconic photographers ever to life in the Eric Dean Gallery.  You can read the story here.

Yosemite, Half Moon, and Ansel Adams

The display features 90 black and whites – incredible in scope and quality.  You just have to get there!

Willyerd Collier, David Broecker, and Joe Turk take in the exhibit

Rear Admiral Alex Miller ’71

Alex Miller ’71 is a Wabash Trustee.  A member of Delta Tau Delta, he spent his entire Navy career in the critical areas of Intelligence and National Security.  His leadership and his expertise continued to serve him well after retirement from the Navy – he has played senior leadership roles in important defense-related organizations since that retirement.

You’ll have to watch the YouTube video of his talk –  I won’t give any secrets away here.  But Alex’s past experiences and vision gave the Wabash community a great insight into the current state of China-United States relations including what is at stake and how these two world powers see each other.

Alex also understands the different challenges these situations present for our Armed Forces and his talk helped pass those thoughts along to our guys as well.

Better check it out on YouTube!

It Means A Lot!

Took this before the game with DePauw…that’s a member of our Campus Services team.  Often times, he jogs up and down the court realizing time is vital…and it’s a big floor.

Always has a small on his face.

Proudly wears a Wabash hat.

Sometimes, we tend to lose a little focus on the folks who make things at Wabash special.  This gentleman does.  He’s a team player – a valuable member of the Wabash team.  His care makes us better.

Wabash Battles DePauw Tonight on Chadwick Court

Tonight’s game will be a big one.  At mid-season, the Little Giants are still trying to find themselves.  DPU has a much better record but Wabash Always Fights!

Can’t get to campus?  No sweat.  Click here for the live broadcast on the internet.

Go Little Giants!

The San Francisco Monon Bell

That’s my friend Bob Hobson ’57 in the front in his Wabash sweatshirt.  You can see he had a good Wabash crew at the game.  Someone took this picture last November and it made its way here yesterday.

That Bell looks pretty accurate.  A touch of paint here and there…but who cares.  It isn’t the Bell as much as it is what the Bell means, right?  The Bell symbolizes winning…in a game that matters a lot to Wabash and DePauw alumni, family, friends, students, etc.  It certainly means a great deal right here in West Central Indiana…and all the way out to San Fran as well.

Ring that baby!

Headed to that 8:00 AM Class

The guys are back…and classes started just a few minutes ago.  Caught these guys headed to an 8:00 AM.

The campus has been pretty quiet – way too quiet.  But that all changed over the weekend.  Guys back, lights on all over campus, a lot more buzz.  Just the way we like it.

Now can someone do something about the temperature?

Seniors Taking In The Pizza Dinner – Joe Klen ’97 and Mike Warren ’93 talking to the seniors

Another rite of passage at Wabash is senior comps.  That’s Comprehensive Exams over your four years in your major(s) and minor(s).  It’s sessions of written exams and then an hour of oral exams by three professors.  Yes, you have to pass comps to graduate.  No, the Grunge didn’t have to try multiple times – although he worried he might!

Last night the Offices of the Dean of Students, Alumni and Parent Relations, and Annual Giving co-hosted a pizza dinner for the seniors back for comps.  No program, no talks, just pizza, salad, and soft drinks.  They were finished with the written exams and the orals started today.

It’s an interesting time for the seniors.  A lot of pressure – to do their best usually and not to have an “opportunity” for a repeat.  Grades will be posted in february.  But it is also the signal of the beginning of the end.  All that is left after that is to finish the spring semester and get fitted for the cap and gown.  Oh, I might want to include get into grad school or get a job!

Right now they are all fired up to have this week behind them.  As winter becomes spring, it will dawn on them that their days here are numbered.  Student days including football games, theater performances, campus parties…and long breaks…will be over.  What lies ahead is more schooling or the real world of work.

Hopefully, they savor these few months left…when not shaving, flip-flops thru the snow, a winter coat and shorts, pajama bottoms in lieu of dirty jeans, are “normal.”

It isn’t easy but it is worth it.

John Henry ’10

John Henry ’10 has finished Law School and is an associate at one of Indiana’s legendary law firms – R+10, K+7, B+8, B+4, and H+7 (Air Force code for long titles/names).  Here’s their web site.

John’s profile is super impressive.  Click here.  Just the kind of talented young man you would seek out with a complex or unique legal issue.

On a lighter note, I see he belonged to a couple of fraternities here at the ‘Bash that I didn’t know anything about – The Phi Beta Kappas and the Summa Cum Laudes.

Good luck, John, and a shout out to John Dewart for the tip.