Published July 11, 2020
Wittenberg Alumni and Friends,
Click image below for a special thank-you message from Rebecca Kocher, vice president for advancement and alumni engagement, as we conclude fiscal year 2019-20.
Fall Semester
Wittenberg will resume in-person classes on Monday, Aug. 17, a week earlier than the originally scheduled date of Aug. 24. There will be no Fall Break, and on-campus instruction for fall semester will end November 24, two days before Thanksgiving. The semester will conclude with remote instruction and assessment after the Thanksgiving holiday. Read full announcement, see new academic calendar, read community expectations, and review related planning on the new COVID-19 website, W.I.T.T: We’re In This Together.
#WhereAreTheyNow
James Huffman, professor emeritus of history and recipient of the 1991 Award for Distinguished Teaching (left), was the first to be featured in a new series, #WhereAreTheyNow? Almost 30 years after receiving Wittenberg’s highest teaching award and 13 years into retirement, he is still teaching, researching, and writing about East Asian history and culture. Learn more here.
Homecoming & Reunion Weekend
As we pause to make plans to celebrate Homecoming and Reunion Weekend in a way that will be safe for all, we invite alumni from the classes of 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010, to connect with fellow classmates for virtual reunion planning. Please email alumni@wittenberg.edu if you’re celebrating a milestone year and would like to volunteer to contact classmates.
Virtual Alumni College
Designed as a way to keep students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members engaged during this time of social distancing, the newly launched virtual Alumni College on the Road series is bringing Wittenberg’s personalized education straight to constituents’ homes. The program provides alumni with a lifelong learning opportunity, unique access to Wittenberg faculty, and the ability to engage with fellow alumni through the Zoom platform.
Three events are already in the books, and one more is scheduled for July 15. Scott Rosenberg, professor of history and African and diaspora studies program director, will present on “Race, Class, and Pandemics. The event will take place from 3:15-4:45 p.m. RSVP by July 13.
Giving From Your Donor Advised Fund
Reflecting a nationwide trend, we are seeing many donors and friends recommending gifts to Wittenberg from their Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). One of the fastest-growing vehicles for philanthropic giving, DAFs are established through the nonprofit arms of financial-services firms (like Vanguard or Schwab) or through other sponsoring organizations, such as a community foundation. They are sometimes considered “charitable savings accounts” because they provide you with an opportunity to receive a tax deduction at the time you contribute to the account, while allowing you the flexibility to recommend how much and how often money is granted to Wittenberg and other non-profit organizations. Please visit Donor Advised Funds or email Chris Nelson, senior director of development and director of planned giving, for more information on giving from your DAF and other opportunities to leave a legacy at the University.
Carry On Your Legacy
Legacy scholarships and referral awards are available through the Office of Admission. Alumni are encouraged to submit a student’s information. The student will then be eligible for a minimum of $18,450 upon acceptance with scholarship amounts varying based on academic achievement and automatically receive an Alumni Referral Award of $1,000 per year. Complete the form at this link, and the Office of Admission will make certain the student receives information about Wittenberg and, when the time is right, information about the priority application process. Submit now for a Wittenberg University gift.
Destination Witt
Incoming Tigers are connecting with Wittenberg faculty, staff, and future classmates by signing up for one of several hybrid-style New Student Orientation dates scheduled throughout July. Themed “Destination Witt,” the orientation program helps first-year students and transfer students begin to acclimate to life at Wittenberg. Learn more here.
Fulbright Recipient
Reese Harper ’20, from Columbia, South Carolina, is the latest recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant. She will work as an English Teaching Assistant in Taiwan. Read full story here.
New COVID-19 Course
To assist in understanding the full impact of this coronavirus, Wittenberg is offering a special free two-credit course for deposited students this summer. The course will examine the current health pandemic from a variety of disciplines, including biology, political science, philosophy, psychology, history, and nursing. Learn more here.
Servant of the Year
Dr. Alan Stewart ’69 was recently named 2020 Public Servant of the Year by the Knox County Chamber of Commerce in Vincennes, Indiana. A member of Wittenberg’s Board of Directors since 2016, Stewart has served as the director of medical education at Good Samaritan Hospital since 1978. He is also the physician for the Vincennes Community School Corporation, current director of the community health department, a volunteer physician for the local Life After Meth program, and has served as the Knox County Public Health Officer since 2019.
Faculty News
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor of Political Science Rob Baker found a creative way to keep students engaged in his honors seminar class, American Democracy: Problems and Prospects,” this past semester. Baker challenged students in the course to write a ‘letter to the editor’ for any newspaper. Recent graduate Lindsay Fetherolf ’20 was the first to meet his challenge, getting published in her hometown newspaper, the Union County Daily Digital. Not long after, Clara DeHart ’20 was published in the Tennessean.
In a time where the nation is in turmoil, Wittenberg's Julius Bailey, associate professor of philosophy, is providing insight and guidance on social change and having a social voice. His most recent release in February 2020, Racism, Hypocrisy and Bad Faith: A Moral Challenge to the America I Love is receiving national attention along with his award-winning book No. 4 Racial Realities and Post-Racial Dreams: The Age of Obama and Beyond.
Change Agent
The Wittenberg community has benefitted from 2019 alumnus’ Daniel L. Lofton’s passion for service. Lofton, from Bessemer, Alabama, spent his first year after college assisting Wittenberg’s Student Resource Center staff as a coordinator through AmeriCorps and Ohio Campus Compact. During his year of service, Lofton helped the University address insecurities Wittenberg students have faced with regard to food, clothing, transportation, and/or housing. Learn more here.
#LifeAfterWitt
Lance Himes ‘94 has been asked to step into the role of the interim director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) after the recent resignation of Dr. Amy Acton. Himes is no stranger to the role as this marks the third time in six years he’s been asked to lead in this capacity. A member of the department’s general counsel for more than 15 years, he holds a bachelor’s degree in business and geography from Wittenberg. He received his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati in 1997.