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March 2009
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Around
Campus
Austin College again was ranked
No. 1 in the nation for 2006–2007 study abroad participation rates
among baccalaureate institutions, according to the Open Doors 2008
report released November 17 by the Institute of International
Education (IIE). This is the third top ranking for the College in
the past five years, with others announced in 2004 and 2006.
Over the last decade, an average
70 percent of Austin College students have studied abroad, exploring
more than 50 countries on six continents. However, in 2006–2007
alone, Austin College was cited as one of 18 institutions in the
nation to send more than 80 percent of their students abroad. On a
percentage basis, such high participation rates also make Austin
College the top study abroad institution among all categories of
public and private colleges and universities in the state of Texas.
According to the November 17 IIE
rankings release, “While large institutions dominate I in terms of
absolute numbers of their students going abroad, many smaller
institutions send a higher proportion of their students abroad.” The
IIE data includes formal semester and year-long study abroad
programs as well as short-term study.
The IIE report also highlighted
a growing national trend in study abroad participation by American
students, which increased 8 percent nationally during 2006 –2007.
Again, Austin College outpaced the national trend, with the number
of its students studying abroad increasing 23 percent in fall 2007.
“I am pleased to see Austin
College maintain its strong national ranking as study abroad becomes
an increasingly important aspect of American higher education,” said
Austin College President Oscar C. Page. “News like this
validates our commitment to providing a quality liberal arts
education that is global in its focus.”
This sentiment was echoed by
Truett Cates, director of study abroad at Austin College and a
professor of German. “At Austin College, we see supporting and
enhancing students’ international experiences as a key part of the
broader mission of liberal education to train tomorrow’s global
citizens.” He added, “Education ultimately is about transformation,
and we consider the transformation that comes with purposeful
international study experiences one of the most meaningful ones
available to undergraduate students.”
 In
fall 2008, Austin College student participation in semester or
yearlong study abroad programs increased 8 percent over the previous
year, despite the economic downturn, Cates said. For the fall 2008
term, 44 students traveled to Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile,
China, Costa Rica, Dubai, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Madagascar, Mali, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Spain, and
Vietnam. This spring, nine students continued year-long programs and
24 additional students are participating in semester study programs,
visiting many of the above countries and adding Cameroon, the Czech
Republic, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Switzerland.
In addition to semester and
yearlong programs, study abroad takes many forms at Austin College,
including January Term and internship programs. In January 2009,
more than 230 students enrolled in travel courses that took them to
13 countries. (See photos on pages 32–33.) Another 18 students
completed international internships and individualized projects that
involved travel to Australia, Chile, England, Fiji, France, Germany,
Honduras, India, Iran, Israel, New Zealand, Russia, and Uganda.
Also, 15 students traveled to China for a Model United Nations
competition in November.
Austin College students also
travel internationally for service opportunities. Ten Austin College
students worked on service or non-profit community development
projects in summer 2008 in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Pakistan,
Peru, and Russia as the College’s first Global Outreach or “GO”
Fellows. Other students traveled internationally through a
vocational internship program funded by the Lilly Endowment.
“Global understanding is
embedded in the mission of Austin College, and our success with
study abroad complements the academic curiosity and service
orientation of our students, since many of our students combine
their academic experiences with service projects throughout the
world,” President Page said.
The Open Doors report is
published annually by the Institute of International Education, with
funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs. The IIE release and the 2008 rankings are
available on the IIE
Web site. Back
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John D. Moseley Dies at 93
 The
Austin College community and higher education lost a pioneering
leader, spirited advocate, and good friend to many in the death on
March 11 of John D. Moseley, president emeritus of
Austin College.
President of Austin College from
1953–1978, Dr. Moseley was responsible for tremendous growth at the
College in the 1950s and for the school’s innovative curriculum
initiated in the 1960s and 1970s.
Though he had not been in
leadership at Austin College in nearly three decades, he remained a
vital member of the College community and strong advocate for higher
education. He and his wife, Sara Bernice, were great friends to
Austin College and active in College life until declining health
kept him at home.
Hired in 1953 to save the
College from sluggish, post-G.I. Bill enrollment, Moseley helped
increase the student body from 350 upon his arrival to more than
1,000 by fall 1959, and he doubled the number of campus buildings
during the first 10 years of his administration, adding two
residence halls, a chapel, and a library by 1960. He helped
establish Austin College as an innovative presence among
institutions of higher education and changed the way these
institutions deal with tuition, church-related entities, and
curriculum.
Moseley also was an innovative
force in higher education in general. He was instrumental in the
forming of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas (ICUT) and
active in securing legislation to create the Texas Tuition
Equalization Grant. He had served as chair of the Association of
American Colleges, served on the Board of Directors of the American
Council on Education, and served on the Commission on Standards for
Colleges and Universities of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools. He was a former president of the Association of Texas
Colleges and Universities, an officer and on the board of directors
of the National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities, and the executive director of the National Congress on
Church-Related Colleges and Universities.
The Sherman community also was a
beneficiary of Moseley’s involvement. Over the years, he served as
president of the Chamber of Commerce, chair of the United Fund of
Sherman, director of the Greater Texoma Utility Authority, and
president of the Rotary. He served as executive coordinator of Goals
for Sherman, Inc., and as executive director of the Consortium for
Community Education Development, Inc.
Moseley retired as president of
Austin College in 1978 and assumed the role of chancellor of Austin
College. As chancellor, Moseley also directed the College’s Center
for Program and Institutional Renewal, which shared with other
institutions the College’s unique curricular and organizational
innovations. Moseley officially retired from Austin College in
1981.
Moseley received numerous local,
state, and national awards for his leadership in higher education,
at Austin College, in the community, and in the Presbyterian Church.
Those honors included the Austin College Board of Trustees Founders
Medal (1977), the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal for distinguished service
from the Association of Texas College’s and Universities (1983), the
Outstanding Service to Higher Education Award from the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) (1988), Citizen of the Year by the Sherman Chamber
of Commerce (1988), the Community Builder Award from Sherman Masonic
Lodges (1991), the League of Women Voters Citizenship Award (1992),
the Sherman Daughters of the American Revolution Medal of Honor
(1992), the ICUT Founder’s Award (1996), and the highest Phi Delta
Kappa Award for outstanding contributions to education.
He is survived by his wife of 68
years; their three children, Sara Caroline Moseley of Dallas; John
Dean Moseley, Jr., and Alice Butler of Irving, Texas; Rebecca
Moseley Gafford and her husband, Ron, of Dallas; four grandchildren;
five great- grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be made to
the John D. Moseley Alumni Scholarship Fund at Austin College or to
the memorial fund at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Sherman.
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Study of Detective Fiction Calls for Alumna Input
  ames
like Alex Cross, Kay Scarpetta, and Jesse Stone may be more
familiar to readers of today’s detective fiction, but their
creators continue a long-standing genre — detective fiction —
that became the focus of an English 250 topics course taught by
Carol Daeley, professor of English, during the fall 2008
term. Amidst examination of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle,
Agatha Christie, and more recent writers from nine different
countries, the class took time for a personal visit from Deborah
Crombie, an acclaimed author in the genre of British detective
fiction, who happens to be an Austin College alumna.
“Modern detective fiction
appeared in 19th century England and France as part of
urbanization, growing interest in science, and the establishment
of professional police forces,” Daeley said. “The form, while it
does change with time and place, is still remarkably consistent
with its earliest examples, wherever it is written. This makes
it ideal for a study of cultural difference as well as
similarity. How do modern detectives in Shanghai, London,
Iceland, and Spain use the same investigative frameworks in
settings with such different histories, and what did they all
learn from Sherlock Holmes? Good detective fiction, with its
attention to detail and constant evaluation of evidence, also is
a model for critical and analytical reading. Deborah Crombie’s
detective novels are especially compelling because she slowly
creates a blended family in them, so that at the same time that
Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are solving gruesome crimes, they
are trying to solve the problems of balancing the family and
professional demands of modern life.”
Crombie also visited a
creative writing class taught by Peter Anderson, associate
professor of English. “A particularly deadly piece of advice for
young writers goes to the grating tune of words like these:
‘Forget it. Why write? You’ll never earn a decent buck,’” he
said. “Deborah Crombie’s visit to my class last semester
effectively dispelled that drop of spiritual poison. My students
were captivated by her personality: her quick intelligence,
vitality, and conversational acumen.”
In both classes, Daeley
said, Crombie was a magnet: students did not want to let her go.
Her readers feel much the same.
Crombie and her books,
beginning with her 1993 first novel A Share in Death,
have been nominated and selected for awards and received
critical acclaim, including a Washington Post review that
attested, “Crombie has laid claim to the literary territory of
moody psychological suspense owned by P. D. James and Barbara
Vine.”
 Deborah Darden Crombie
graduated from Austin College in 1976 with a degree in biology.
A later trip to England confirmed a life-long passion for
Britain that has since produced 12 British detective novels
featuring Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and
Seargeant Gemma James. The latest novel in Crombie’s series,
Where Memories Lie, was released in summer 2008. The series
continues with Necessary as Blood, to be released in
October 2009.
Crombie spent time living in
Edinburgh, Scotland, and then in Chester, England, before
returning to Texas. Though she travels to England several times
a year, she is at home in McKinney, Texas, with her husband,
Rick Wilson, two German shepherds, and three cats. Crombie was
named an Austin College Distinguished Alumna in 2003 and serves
on the College’s Presidential Advisory Forum. Back
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See more about
Janterm 2009! |
Students Combine Coursework and
Career Investigation in January Experiences
Nearly 100 Austin College
students shifted their attention from textbooks to hands-on
learning in January through the Career Study Off-Campus (CSOC)
program. The popular program is designed to “bridge the gap
between knowledge developed through the liberal arts academic
curriculum and the application of that knowledge within the
actual workplace,” said Margie Briscoe Norman ’83,
director of Career Services.
 This
year, students’ explorations took them around the world — as
close as a campus department or as far away as Nepal, though the
majority of students worked within the United States. Students
spent the month alongside doctors, lawyers, teachers and
business leaders, and learned about everything from marketing
and archaeology to equine therapy and politics.
Lewis Musoke ’11 of
Kenya shadowed a cardiologist and a pediatrician at the New York
Heart Center and The Port City Family Medical Center in Oswego,
New York. Pictured is one of Musoke’s lessons in stress
echocardiography.
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Tim Millerick, vice
president for Student Affairs and Athletics, was the keynote
speaker and facilitator for the inaugural two-day NCAA Summit on
providing academic and other support for student-athletes to
achieve success in higher education institutions in all NCAA
divisions. The summit, offered through the NCAA Education
Services Division, included representatives from more than 20
national organizations that service students. The goals were to
share ideas, identify resources, and understand the work each
group does to support student-athletes on campuses. The summit
was designed to begin a dialogue for future work acting together
in effective ways.
For the past two years,
Millerick has served on the NCAA Nomination Committee that makes
recommendations for appointments to the numerous committees of
the NCAA membership. In February, he began a two-year term as
chair of this important committee. At the 2009 NCAA Convention
held January 14–17 in Washington, D.C., Millerick was one of two
key panelists for a luncheon discussion facilitated by the NCAA
Division III for those college administrators (other than
presidents) who have intercollegiate athletics reporting to them
directly. The goal was to lead discussion on relevant current
legislation as well as the issues associated with the future of
the NCAA Division III and to share best practices in
administration of such intercollegiate athletics programs. Back
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 o
operate in this increasingly digital and technology-driven
world, sometimes it helps to have a navigator. That is why
Austin College created a director of new media position in 2008
and hired Doug Darby to fill the job. What is new media
and how is Austin College using it? Darby will be the first to
explain that new media isn’t just about Web sites and videos.
“It’s less about technology and more about attitude,” Darby
said.
New media encompasses a
variety of innovations and strategies aimed at fostering
communication and interaction between individuals and groups,
and enhancing the way people experience information and
learning. While this involves creating enhanced video, Web, and
interactive content, it also includes the use of social networks
like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, Web-based solutions for
collaboration such as Google Apps, and exploring the potential
of new online environments, such as Second Life and Wonderland.
This new initiative has
enabled the College to develop content inhouse, leveraging staff
and student workers, for some projects previously outsourced to
vendors. “The whole gist isn’t about toys, bells, and whistles,”
Darby said. “We’re trying to find solutions to some of the needs
we have using the most current tools to do the most effective
job.”
 Take
Second Life for example. At first blush, the 3-D virtual world
looks a lot like a computer game. In reality, it is an immersive
social networking environment light years beyond a chat room.
This virtual environment has been demonstrated to be a useful
tool for a number of institutions and is being tested for
academic and promotional application. These new methods and
technologies offer additional channels of communication and
information to aid in fundraising for the facility and promotion
of the College’s academic programs.
Another example of the
College’s implementation of new technologies is the Annual Fund
365 campaign social network (with Facebook-like functions),
which officially launched January 1. “Social networking in
fundraising is very cutting edge,” Darby said. “We’re
discovering limitations on the effectiveness of mailers and
emails. We want to offer something that is experiential and
engaging, and find ways to connect the College to a variety of
user bases, both traditional and nontraditional.”
Staying relevant is more
than just utilizing the tools available today; it also requires
being aware of what the future may hold. That is why Darby
represents Austin College in the New Media Consortium, an
international, non-profit consortium of more than 260
learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and
use of new media and technologies. “We’re out there looking at
things that have not been adopted broadly,
finding places where new
media is being used experimentally, or finding emerging
technologies that are not really present in education yet, but
show promise for educational use,” said Rachel Smith, vice
president of NMC Services.
Darby served on the advisory
board for the 2009 Horizon Report, an annual publication that
identifies emerging technologies for teaching, learning, and
creative expression before they become mainstream. “A lot of the
things we’re talking about, young people are using outside of
school,” Smith said. “College-age students get on campus and
suddenly all of these tools they use to keep connected with
friends, for entertainment, and for their hobbies or personal
projects are absent.”
Smith said utilizing new
media and technologies on campuses will help engage and reach
students, but that academic institutions that ignore the rapidly
changing world of Web-based technology will fall further behind.
“As society changes, we can’t rely on the same methods year
after year,” Darby said. “We can use technology to stay relevant
and still promote the same values Austin College always has
held.”
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The Austin College Service
Station hosted the College’s third annual — and most successful
— JanServe on January 21, sending more than 100 students into
the local community for an afternoon of volunteering at local
social service agencies from Boys and Girls Club to Buckner
Nature Preserve to Sherman Public Library. The Service Station
Board coordinates the event, with needs in the community matched
to college students, staff, and faculty willing to serve. The
board also coordinated the November Great Day of Service, which
involved nearly 400 students at some 40 sites in the area.
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Alternative
Spring Break 2009 took the group to Galveston to assist in
cleanup and rebuilding efforts after last year’s Hurricane Ike.
The trip, with spots for 50 volunteers, filled in less than 30
minutes, and 40 more students signed the waiting list. The
students worked with Good News Galveston and solved the
difficult housing problem with the help of Jeff Antonelli
’83 of Galveston (and father of Jessica
'09). The group
stayed in a converted elementary school for the week.
Shukan Patel and
Rachel Wortham, painting a playground area at a local church, were
among the students who volunteered during JanServe, sponsored by
the Service Station during the slower pace of January. |
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Sometimes the treasures in
one’s ‘own backyard’ can be taken for granted. Though Abell
Library can hardly be considered the College’s backyard, many
treasures housed there sometimes may get little notice.
One such treasure? Austin
College’s Book of Kells fine arts facsimile edition, purchased
in 1990, is #361 of a numbered edition of 1,480 copes worldwide.
The book was purchased for nearly $13,000, with support from
St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Catholic community in Sherman
as well as alumni gifts.
The edition is a facsimile
of Ireland’s famous Book of Kells, copied by hand and
illuminated by monks around 800 A.D. The book consists of a
Latin text of the four Gospels, presented in ornate script and
lavishly illustrated. The original has been housed since 1661 in
the Library of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Officials
there decided to make the book more accessible and in 1986,
 allowed a limited number of high quality facsimiles to be made
by a Swiss publisher specializing in reproduction of rare
illuminated manuscripts.
During two weeks in January,
librarian John West and other library professionals took
the treasure out for others to enjoy. West, LadyJane Hickey,
Shannon Fox, Carolyn Vickery,
and Justin Banks visited seven elementary schools in
Sherman, sharing the Book of Kells with nearly 200 first through
fourth grade students. Abell Library professionals have
coordinated this particular outreach with the schools in Sherman
since shortly after the facsimile was acquired.
The Austin College facsimile
regularly is on display in the Special Collections Reading Room
of Abell Library Pages are turned periodically to allow visitors
to see differing pages.
Library student assistant
Susan Le ’09, left, and Shannon Fox, share the book with first
grade students at Jefferson School. Back
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NEWS BRIEFS
Williams
Executive-in-Residence Lecture
 Dana Garmany, founder,
chair, and chief executive officer of Troon Golf, presented “An
Entrepreneur’s View: Where’s the Leisure Market Heading?” in
Austin College’s annual Williams Executive-in-Residence Speaker
Series November 11.
The Executive-in-Residence
series is designed to bring leading business executives to
campus or other venues to speak about practical life experiences
in business, personal stories regarding their paths to success,
and lessons they learned along the way. The sessions are
combined with an alumni-student gathering to enhance mentoring
and networking opportunities. An alumni panel followed Garmany’s
presentation, including Curtis Henderson ’84, Greg
Gitcho ’99, Gillian Grissom ’07, Bill Leonard
’82, and Joe Fox ’00.
The Williams
Executive-in-Residence Series is funded by Abby and Todd
Williams ’84.
Hatton Sumners Foundation
Sponsors Public Administration Forum
Austin College hosted its
first Public Administration Symposium, sponsored by the Hatton
W. Sumners Foundation of Dallas, on November 18.
Several Austin College
alumni spoke at the event including Dan Johnson ’77,
David Morgan
’96, and E. A. Hoppe ’04, who work with the City of
Richardson; Matt Yager ’03 with the City of Dallas; and
Bill Magers ’85, mayor of Sherman. Other speakers
included John Boswell, president of Sherman Economic Development
Corporation, and and Tony Kaai, president of Denison Development
Alliance. Members of the Austin College Department of Economics
also made presentations.
The symposium included a
panel discussion on “Economic Development and Public Finance in
North Texas” and a roundtable focused on public administration
as a career. Frank Rohmer, associate professor of
political science, coordinated the event.
World AIDS Day Recognized
The Austin College student
organization ACCares hosted its annual World AIDS Day service
December 1, including performances, poetry readings, and
prayers. The World Health Organization established World AIDS
Day, observed every December 1, in 1988. The day provides an
opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global
AIDS epidemic.
ACCares and InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship members participated in a number of
educational efforts on campus in advance of the event to inform
students about HIV and AIDS. Students also completed fundraising
projects in support of an orphanage in Africa, a continent in
which one in 20 children is an orphan because of AIDS, said
Amol Golwala ’09 of ACCares.
Tuesday Afternoon With …
Series Continues
Patrick Duffey,
professor of Spanish and dean of Humanities, presented “New
Women, Hollow Men: Cinema, Gender, and Transnational
Spectatorship in Spain and Latin America, 1922–1937,” during the
 “Tuesday Afternoon with …” lecture series in November. The talk
explored manifestations of the impact of U.S. silent film on the
Hispanic world during the 1920s and 1930s.
David Griffith,
associate professor of business administration, presented
“Branding Authenticity: It’s the Real Thing” during the December
session in the series. “Does the unauthorized copying of
material goods enhance or destroy the perceived authenticity of
the originals?” Griffith asked, in summarizing his presentation.
Karla McCain,
assistant professor of chemistry, presented “Entangled
Connections: Organogelation and Undergraduate Research” in
February’s session. “Organogelators are molecules that
self-assemble in organic liquids to form three-dimensional
structures that solidify the liquid, or in other words, they
turn something like gasoline into a gel,” McCain said. “Using
infrared spectroscopy to investigate the mechanism of organogel
formation and the relationship between molecular architecture
and organogel structure, we have shown that the entanglement of
organogelator ‘tails’ is essential for forming strong
connections in this three-dimensional network. Similarly, the
undergraduate students who performed this research formed
interwoven connections with their course work, their
undergraduate peer collaborators, and their faculty mentors.”
“Tuesday Afternoon with …”
is a continuing program of the faculty and the Johnson Center
for Liberal Arts Teaching and Scholarship, directed by Robert
Cape, professor of classics. The sessions provide
opportunity for the campus community to hear about faculty
members’ teaching and research projects.
Lessons and Carols
Announce Holiday Season
Austin College’s annual
Service of Lessons and Carols on December 4 began the campus
holiday season. Following the service, Austin College President
Oscar C. Page and newly elected 2009 Student Assembly
president Dallas Key ’10 completed the celebration with
the lighting of the campus Christmas tree.
The Service of Lessons and
Carols included Hebrew and Christian scriptures, carols,
anthems, a candle-lighting ceremony, and presentations by Austin
College’s A Cappella Choir and Chorale. College Chaplain John
Williams officiated.
Quammen Offers Darwin
Perspective
 David Quammen, author of
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, spoke at Austin College February
10 as part of the “Darwin 200: Contributions/Controversies”
lecture series celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles
Darwin’s birth.
Quammen earned a bachelor’s
degree at Yale University in 1970. He has written numerous
award-winning books and papers, especially in the field of
nature writing. Quammen has been the Wallace Stegner
Distinguished Professor of Western American Studies at Montana
State University since 2007 and serves as a contributing writer
for The National Geographic.
Quammen’s book The
Reluctant Mr. Darwin was selected as Austin College’s 2008
summer read for freshmen. The summer read provides students an
intellectually stimulating project and provides all freshmen a
common experience. Faculty members use the book in varying means
in their courses.
 Multimedia Art Exhibit
Opens in Forster Art Complex
The Austin College
Department of Art hosted the multimedia exhibit “Light, Magic,
and Industry” February 2 through March 6 in the Terence Dennis
Gallery of the Betsy Dennis Forster Art Studio Complex. In the
exhibit, artist Joel Kiser shared his body of work that deals
with the mythology and cultural influence of George Lucas’
Star Wars. Curator for the exhibit was Candace Hicks
’00, artist and gallery director at The Image Warehouse in
Athens, Texas.
Art Department Hosts Photography Exhibit The Art Department hosted the
exhibit “Vestiges,” a joint photography show by Gary Cawood and
Renee West, February 9 though March 13 in Ida Green Gallery.
The two artists first considered
“Vestiges” when they met at a conference and discovered the
similarities in their work, both drawn to discarded items, although
their methods of creating images are quite different. Cawood works
with a large format view camera and arranges the object in the
landscape, while West gathers objects, photographs them with a
digital camera, and then composites the images. The artists said an
exhibition that compared and contrasted a similar idea expressed by
two different artists, working with different aesthetics and methods
of making photographic images, should be an interesting project and
offered “Vestiges” as a result of that effort.
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March 2009
Feedback? |
 Zachary Swirczynski
The Austin College community
was shocked and saddened by the sudden death February 9 of
Zachary Swirczynski, a 20-year-old sophomore from Muenster,
Texas, who collapsed while playing a game of pick-up
basketball with his football teammates at the Thomas R. Williams
Intramural Complex, an outdoor facility on the west edge of
campus.
After being rushed by
ambulance to Wilson N. Jones Hospital, Zach eventually was
pronounced dead. The cause of death is currently unknown and
under investigation by a medical examiner.
Zach was a graduate of
Muenster High School, where he was an avid athlete who excelled
in a number of sports. A recipient of several MVP awards as a
high school student, Zach also received the Fighting Heart Award
his senior year.
Austin College Head Football
Coach Ronnie Gage described Zach as well-liked, always in a good
mood, and regarded by fellow players as a wonderful teammate who
was a strong competitor with a passion for life. The Austin
College football team and staff served as honorary pallbearers
in their jerseys for the funeral services February 12 in
Muenster.
A memorial service and
celebration of Zach’s life was held on campus February 16 and
many friends have written on the online memory site available on
the Austin College Web site. One of Zach’s friends wrote, “Every
time I saw Zach, he always had the biggest grin on his face. He
truly loved life! He was by far one of the nicest guys I've ever
met, and I'm sure everyone else would say the same. He was the
type of guy that when you were around him, you were always in a
good mood. He just made you smile like no one else could. ... He
was an amazing friend.”
Zach is survived by his
parents, Dale and Jill; sisters, Hillary and Tara; paternal
grandmother, Dorothy; and maternal grandparents, George and
Leoba Mollenkopf — all of Muenster. Zach was preceded in death
by his paternal grandfather, Richard.
Memorials may be made to the
Zachary Swirczynski Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 554, Muenster, Texas
76252.
 Shellene Kelley
The Austin College community
mourns the loss of Shellene Kelley, associate professor of
computer science, who died March 2, following a courageous
battle with cancer. A memorial service held March 10 in Wynne
Chapel highlighted her optimism, love of people, and
determination.
Her spirit is perhaps best
remembered through words she had written to an Austin College
graduate: “And finally, my hair is growing back except it is
mostly GRAY AND CURLY! It started out completely white, and then
started getting some darker patches. I don’t know what it will
end up looking like, but I really don’t care. This last year has
taught me so much about what really matters. Many people say
that cancer is a ‘life changing’ event, but for me it was a
‘life affirming’ event. I really didn’t change anything in my
daily routine because there was nothing I was willing to give up
or felt was a waste of my time. It was a real battle, but I
fought to keep my life just as it is. Anything worth having is
worth fighting for."
Shellene joined the Austin
College faculty in 2001. She previously had served as vice
president of technology for Corporate Lodging Consultants, then
worked at SeaArk M Marine and at Cargill, Inc., for which she
traveled the world.
She is survived by her
husband, Don Kelley of Pottsboro; brother, Vince Jacob and his
fiancée Stacey Marshall of Santa Clara, California; cousins, Nap
Jacob and wife, Beth, and Gary Jacob. She was preceded in death
by her parents.
Friends have begun The
Shellene Kelley Memorial Scholarship Fund at Austin College.
Gifts to the fund may be mailed to Austin College, Development
Office Suite 6G, 900 N. Grand Avenue, Sherman, Texas 75090, or
made online. Questions about the fund should be directed to
David Schulz at (903) 813-2889 or
dschulz@austincollege.edu.
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