Mark (2nd for left) and Amy (2nd from right) greet guests

Amy and Mark ’83 Magura hosted the first Wabash Sendoff in Northwest Indiana yesterday…it was a fun and relaxing time.

The food was awesome and it really gave alumni, current students, new students, and families a chance to get to know each other and get answers to those questions- the ones that a new member of the Wabash family wants to ask but isn’t sure whom to ask.

Amy and Mark know Wabash well – two sons, Joe and Steve, are also Wabash alumni.  Their experiences as Wabash parents go a long way to answering a lot of questions.

The perfect summer spot

As I mentioned, there was plenty of food.  With the national pastime on the TV, people ate, mingled, and ate some more.  (The Grunge tested the cookies and declared them all A#1!)

All in all, a great send off for our new students and parents from Northwest Indiana.

Thanks Amy and Mark!

Fullbridge is a one week immersion program that offers an opportunity for our young men to fine-tune their skills for the real world.  It’s starts on Monday, August 16, 2015.

Programs such as Fullbrdge match up nicely with the liberal arts…offering a way to take our liberal arts education, top it off with real-world prep, and give our guys a heads up as they compete for opportunities “out there.”

For more information about Fullbridge at Wabash,  please contact:

Roland Morin
361-6096
morinr@wabash.edu

Mason Zurek will be back for his senior year

AXS-TV will again be televising the Monon Bell game in full HD.  The game is scheduled for 1:07 PM on Saturday, November 14, 2015.

Over the past several years, more than 60 different locations have hosted a Monon bell telecast party.  Make plans now to attend a function, if you aren’t making the trip to Greencastle.  You can also help us by setting up a new broadcast party in your neck of the woods.

The Grunge, breaking a 15 year tradition, will be watching in cold and snowy Phoenix, AZ this year…but that’s another story for another time.

Touchdown!

The D3Football Preseason Rankings are in and Wabash shows up at #10.  For those of you who are curious about some prominent opponents, Witt is in at #17 while Hampden-Sydney and DePauw are unranked.

Junior outside linebacker (#28)Ethan Buresh has been selected as a Preseason All American as well.

The entire season starts with our trip to Hamden-Sydney for the second installment of the Gentleman’s Classic on September 5, 2015.  For more details on fan events associated with that game, click here.

One of the many benes of being a fighter pilot is you get to remain “youthful” for the entire time.  So, in a number of ways, I fit right in!  Let’s just leave it at that.

Well, Grunge will morph into GaBunge tomorrow and pack up and head for Dover, England.  The Runge team is cruising the Baltic on the recently-renovated Disney Magic.

It’s a vacation we’ve been planning and saving for since last summer.  You’ll be able to help make the trip happen – I’ll be selling Wabash pencils at the corner of Grant and Wabash for at least a year!!!

So, I’m hoping to check back in with you now 10 faithful readers when I return.  Until then…here’s to flying…and sailing…safe.

Amen!

The Class of 2005 had an incredible turnout at the Big Bash – 55 class members signed in.  The Grunge thought the record set by the Class of 1996 back in 2006 – 40 alumni returning – would stand for a long time.  Not so.

Key ingredients – blindingly simple.  Strong leadership, active living unit representatives, and constant communication.  No rocket science involved but activity definitely required.

There was a little back and forth with the Class of 1985 on the bench painting but ’05 did, in fact, rule!

There’s another reunion lesson here – beautifully done by the class.  Despite the fact that they are only 32 years old, they’ve already lost classmates.  Tony Lobdell and Ken Rudolph are mentioned on the bench.  You’re never too young or too busy to spend a little time getting back together with the guys you shared Wabash with in your Golden Age.  We all have an expiration date but none of us know when that will be.  Don’t leave a reunion on the table…

Trustee Jim Davlin ’85 recently hosted some of Wabash’s senior leaders for a day at his local golf club.  In this case, it was the Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan.  Joining Jim (third for the right) were Dean of Students Mike Raters ’85 (second from left) and CFO Larry Griffith (to Mike’s left.)  Also playing that day was our newest Dean, Alan Hill.  (That’s Alan with the driver.)  Alan becomes our first dean for Professional Development on July 1.

As you can tell for the smiles, it was a fun day for all.

In the past couple of weeks, I had a chat with a gentleman whose grandson is headed to Wabash.  This gentleman is an alumnus and so is his son.  The grandson will make three in a row.

The challenge, though, was all about the cost.  “Surely Wabash can make it more affordable” was the plea.

Those conversations have a way of rolling around in my cranium…until they yield some kind of idea.  Yes, I know, it takes the Grunge awhile!

First of all, Wabash is worth it.  The education these young men get this day and age is better, yes better, than in our day.  Hard to believe since all of us were here in the golden age of Wabash…but it’s true.  Yes, we still are very generous with scholarships – we use those to attract the best and brightest.  Sure, we still work hard to find a way for a Wabash man to get here and stay here.  But, long gone are the days when we could say “Don’t worry about the cost – we’ll take care of it.”  Schools who ignore the reality of the business world, from and income and expense view, are not going to be around.  Such is the nature of higher education today.  Try to find a new Saturn automobile on any lot out there.  At one point, Saturn was the future of the automotive industry.  Gone.  Sweet Briar.  Gone.

Second of all, Wabash is worth it…from an investment viewpoint.  Wabash’s future is in our hands.  Wabash is our Alma Mater and I think deep down, we all know what a difference this place made in our lives.  Don’t ge caught up in a dislike for a play on campus or a political debate about inclusiveness.  Those are small potatoes.  If you and I do not invest in Wabash, it will go the way of the buffalo.  These hallowed halls will cease to exist.  Our world may not realize it, but without Wabash, it WILL be a lesser place.

So I simply ask you to invest in Wabash.  Just as men like Tom Hays ’55, Bob Allen ’57, Joe Barnette ’61, and many others have done, step up and invest.

To see if you’re on the Honor Roll for this fiscal year (it ends on June 30), click here.

To make a simple and secure gift to the College, click here.

Professor Kay Widdows, Tian Tian, and Richard Widdows

Economics professor Kay Widdows has been traveling in China with her husband Richard.  As it always seems to happen, she runs into a Wabash man – in this case Tian Tian ’11.  Tian is in Shanghai working as a public relations executive for Louis Vuitton.  You may recall he started out with the firm in New York after graduation.

Art major, fashion industry, public relations – of course.  It’s the liberal arts in action!

Class of 2005

The old Big Bash record for a 10th reunion was set way back in 2006…by the Class of 1996.  They returned 40 alumni – an unheard of number in those days.

Last year the Class of 2004 – led by Mark Shreve and Jacob Pactor…returned 36.  That’s as close as anyone had come to 1996.

Until this year.

The Class of 2005 – led by Jason Cantu and Michael Ruffing – blew right past the 40 number…they ended up at 55 alumni signing in at the reunion.  That’s a 37% increase over the previous record.  They won the Class of 2007 Trophy in a landslide, they won Chapel Sing by the slimmest of margins, and Jason and Michael walked off with the Dorman Hughes Award of the best performance by reunion leaders.

They brought the only limo…and a class member for Hong Kong!!!

What’s the secret?  Personal communication and letting the class know who is planning to return.  So simple…yet…well, never mind.

Congrats to Jason, Michael, and all the leaders in the class of 2005!