For the eighth year in a row, Susquehanna University anticipates opening the new academic year with a record number of students. An incoming freshman class of about 500 students combined with 25 to 30 transfer students is expected to bring total full-time enrollment to approximately 1,850. That compares to 1,821 last year.

"The popularity of our in-Action Days and a strong open house in the fall brought high school students to campus earlier in the admissions cycle," said Director of Admissions Chris Markle '84. "The exceptional cooperation from faculty and staff in welcoming students to campus and spending time with them also contributed a great deal to the recruitment effort."

Stretansky Hall Set to Open

A new performance venue will be available to the Susquehanna campus beginning in the fall of 2002 with the opening of the 320-seat Stretansky Hall. The building was completed in the final phase of extensive renovations and additions to Heilman Hall to create a new Center for Music and Art at Susquehanna. The center will be formally dedicated in February of 2003.

The freshman class will include about 121 early decision applicants whose first college of choice was Susquehanna, up from 110 in the 2001-2002 academic year.

"This will likely be the strongest class in Susquehanna's history, with close to 40 percent of freshmen ranking in the top 10th of their high school class," Markle added. Nearly 90 percent were ranked in the top two-fifths of their high school class. About 20 of the students were high school valedictorians or salutatorians.

Even though Susquehanna expects a larger student body overall, the university was more selective in admissions this year. "Last year more students than anticipated accepted our offers of admission, so this year we wanted to limit freshman enrollment," said Markle. "We admitted about 14 percent fewer students and still anticipate meeting our enrollment goal of 500 freshmen in the fall. We look forward to welcoming these new students to the Susquehanna community."

The new class will arrive on campus Thursday, August 22, for a few days of orientation activities before classes begin on Monday, August 26.

Urey Memorial Scholarship Competition

Two outstanding constitutional law students argued a case before a panel of former students of the late Professor of Political Science Gene Urey in the third annual Urey Memorial Scholarship Competition in April. Tara Yutzy ’04, right, is a pre-law student from Meyersdale, Pa., with a major in sociology and with a minor in political science. Greg Wallinger ’02, left, is a political science major from Harrisonburg, Va. On hand for the arguments were: left to right, Margaret Urey, widow of Gene Urey ; judges for the competition William Lewis ’68, John Klemeyer ’71, Bruce Ficken ’70, and Charles DeBrunner ’74; and Craig Urey ’86, a son of Gene and Margaret . The case, based on an existing legal controversy concerning the University of Michigan, asked whether consideration of race as a factor in state law school admissions decisions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow
Ambassador Will be In-Residence Sept. 23-27

Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch will visit campus for five days this fall as the University's 2002 Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. An international relations expert with special interests in the areas of Asia and economic development, she has had extensive experience in civil service and the private sector.

Bloch will be visiting Susquehanna from September 23rd through 27th. She will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday, September 25th at 7:30 p.m. in the Degenstein Center Theater.

Susquehanna is one of about 55 colleges and universities participating in the Visiting Fellows Program of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation. The program promotes "greater contact, understanding and sharing of ideas and experiences between the academic community and the world of practical affairs." The Foundation invites distinguished public figures and scholars to spend a week on campus meeting formally and informally with students and members of the University community.

A native of China, Bloch who came to this country at the age of nine and grew up in San Francisco. She volunteered for the Peace Corps in 1964 in Malaysia and continued to work in civil service for the following 25 years. From 1989 to 1993, she was U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, the first Asian American to attain such rank in U.S. history.

For much of the 1990s, she headed Bank of America's Corporate Relations Department and the U.S.-Japan Foundation, a $100 million grant-making institution. Bloch presently holds positions at Peking University in Beijing and Fudan University in Shanghai and has recently been elected to the American Academy of Diplomacy, a private, non-profit, elected society that seeks to enhance American diplomacy and public awareness of its importance. Since October 2001 she has been ambassador-in-residence at the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs at the University of Maryland.

Past Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows at Susquehanna have included community activist and philanthropist Stephen G. Vetter, civil rights activist Judi Hampton and the late John Wallach, founder and president of Seeds of Peace, an internationally recognized conflict resolution program.

SU, Shanghai University To Develop Exchanges, Programs

Susquehanna University Vice President for Academic Affairs Warren H. Funk has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai University Vice President Zhou Honggang, formalizing an agreement to work toward the development of exchanges and programs between the two institutions.

Possible areas of cooperation include exchanges of faculty and students, joint planning of curriculum, and faculty visits for lectures, conferences and symposia.

As a result of this agreement, David Kaszuba, assistant professor of communications at Susquehanna, taught two courses in communications research and methods and the history of American media for five and one-half weeks this summer at Shanghai University.

"This was an incredible opportunity for me, both inside and outside the classroom," Kaszuba said. "I learned so much about their culture just through day-to-day interactions with students."

Kaszuba taught his courses at Shanghai University in English. He adjusted his teaching style since most students have studied English since 10th grade but do not have a complete mastery of the English language.

George Wei, associate professor of history at Susquehanna, who organized study tours in China the past two summers, familiarized Susquehanna faculty and administrators with several Chinese universities prior to their decision to make an agreement with Shanghai University.

"Many things can come out of this opportunity," Wei said. "We will be able to recruit Chinese students to our school, increasing diversity. Our faculty will be able to teach and do research abroad, promoting diversity of the faculty. Many internship opportunities may also arise."

University Elects New Board Members

Associate Professor of Religion Karla G. Bohmbach of Selinsgrove has been elected a member of the University's board of directors for a three-year term effective May 14, 2002. She will replace Tom Martin as one of the two faculty representatives on the board.

Bohmbach has taught at Susquehanna since 1994. During the fall 2001 term she took sabbatical leave to pursue an interdisciplinary research and writing project making use of approaches and materials from anthropology, archaeology, biblical studies and social space studies. Her project examined how the domestic architecture of ancient Israel shapes social spaces and reflects social relationships, particularly within the family. Her service to the university has included membership on the Curriculum Committee, the Advisory Committee on Religious Life, the Task Force for Diversity in the Curriculum, and the search committee for the university chaplain.

The board also ratified the Student Government Association's election of Jordan A. Bolduc of Elkton, Md., as a student member of the board.

Bolduc is a junior majoring in elementary education, and is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed service fraternity. She is one of the race directors for Dylan's Run, which raises money for spina bifida research and awareness. Bolduc is the on-duty manager for Charlie's campus coffeehouse and is a varsity athlete on the cross country and track teams. She is also a presidential fellow.