Wabash College - Class of 1991

...the end of Wabash's fiscal year, that is. Now, one fact will come as no surprise to any of you who by some miracle have been reading my postings and missives over the years. As one of your duly appointed Class Agents, fundraising makes me uncomfortable.

Maybe it stems from my parents' refusal to let their kids shill Stuckey's Pecan Logs or Nut Clusters for our elementary school. Maybe it's the simple fact that I, myself, really hate getting calls or solicitation letters from Northwestern or the Phi Delta Theta International Fund.

Whatever the case, I can tell you that over the years I have become more comfortable with asking you guys to pony up for Wabash. I muster the confidence to ask all of you to contribute because I see, firsthand, what Wabash is accomplishing. Not in the buildings it has put up, but in the lives of the young men it has challenged and enriched. Yeah, yeah, yeah...you guys know this stuff.

As of today, 79 of you have generously given to Wabash this year...

Thank you so much.

You can make a gift to Wabash in one of three easy ways:

• By phone: 877-743-4545

• On the web: www.wabash.edu/alumni/egift

• By mail: Wabash Annual Fund, PO Box 352, Crawfordsville, IN 47933 (Checks payable to Wabash College and must be postmarked June 30, 2007 to be included in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.)

OK, enough shilling on my part lest you start rolling your eyes like when PBS does their fund drives.

It may be the first week of summer, but it's apparently not too early to rank our Little Giant gridders 7th in the country.

Street & Smith's 2007 College Football Annual doesn't hit the newsstands until tomorrow, but that didn't stop us from heralding the good news of the national rankings. The publication also touted rising senior captain and linebacker Adrian Pynenberg as preseason First Team All-American.

Here's the upcoming football schedule for the fall. Mark your calendars...

The Official Class of '91 Tailgate Party
September 29, 2007
in a parking lot somewhere behind Hollett Little Giant Stadium

Here's the upcoming football schedule for the fall.

Home games are listed in red. All home games will be played at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium unless otherwise indicated.

Are you a DIII football junkie? Check the latest or dive into the discussion at D3football.com.

I stopped by campus this week to help interview a new swim coach. Wow. It's a big difference from the campus ghost town I experienced while finishing up the yearbook the summer before our senior year. First off, my summer quarters at that time, the old Sigma Chi house, was being demolished. That's right, what Sigs like Erik Dafforn used to call the "ski lodge" or what I often quipped as the "house designed by Mike Brady" will soon be no more. Here was all that was left this morning.

You can find more information and pix of the mahem here. The southeast corner of Wabash Ave. and Crawford St. will be the new location for the Tekes, who are living in the old FIJI house. The old Teke house is being renovated as a dorm. Confused yet? Meanwhile, the Delts are beginning Phase I of their renovation. (They're still in the Delt house by the way.)

In addition to the construction activity, the campus is bustling with various sports camps (football, soccer, wrestling, tennis) and over 70 students who are doing internships on campus. So much for summer break!

I heard an interview on the radio this afternoon with the president of Antioch College. It seems that despite some last-minute efforts, the Ohio liberal arts school will cease operations at the end of the next school year with the hopes of restarting in 2012.

Founded in 1852, Antioch lists notaries such as Coretta Scott King (late wife of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.), Stephen Jay Gould (late Harvard paleontologist and evolutionary biologist), and Rod Serling (late screenwriter, TV playwright, and host best known for The Twilight Zone) as alumni. Serling was quoted as saying this about his alma mater, "The freedom to speak, the freedom to reason, and above all, the right to question - This I think is tradition at Antioch."

Why do I go on and on about Antioch? Probably for sheer element of comparison. In the NPR interview, President Steven Lawry bluntly pointed to rising tuition costs, small endowment, and poor stewardship and cultivation of its alumni base. It makes me think about how many things Wabash does right. Record applications, strong enrollment, solid endowment, consistent giving, loyal alumni. Over the next few weeks, you may be contacted by someone from Wabash about your annual gift. Just remember Antioch College, and how the fortunes of an institution of higher learning can change dramatically.

By latest count, 70 of you have already generously donated this year. For the rest of you who have not yet given, visit www.wabash.edu/alumni/egift or call 877-743-4545 to make your Annual Fund gift today. The 2006-2007 fiscal year ends on June 30, 2007.

Behold, the power of the Class Agent Letter! An update from Brian Breedlove, who writes...

I am nearing my eigth year of living in Japan, and last year, after a few years of doing research in the area of coordination chemistry in Osaka, Sendai, and Tokyo, I became the English editor for the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan. As well, I have been doing freelance editing for nearly seven years. I wouldn't mind hearing from anyone.This information is already in the searchable online class notes system.  

Hot off the virtual presses...

It's the latest Class Agent Letter. Read it by clicking here.

If you haven't sent us an update in awhile, you have three easy options:

• Submit a class note online.
• Send an e-mail to the Alumni Office.
• Send Kip or Hugh an e-mail.

Don't forget to include any pictures of kids, vacations, anything.