Spring 2014

Issue Archives

Also in this issue

Susquehanna has an Emmy Award winner in its family tree. Craig Housenick ’98 was awarded a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences last September.

Forward Thinking

Vacation season is just around the corner, and Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Jennifer Elick has some suggestions for your travel plans. In December, she appeared on the Travel channel as an expert on the underground coal mine fire in Centralia, Pa. It’s a must-see for geologists like Elick, but if an abandoned mining town doesn’t make your family’s destination wish list, perhaps a trip to see the geologic wonders of our national parks is in order. Here are some of Elick’s top picks:

Syllabus

Who do you turn to for advice on living a better life? Aristotle? Maybe Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi or Confucian philosopher Xunzi? How about St. Benedict of Nursia or contemporary Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaley Csikszentmihalyi?

Q&A

After nearly three decades of service to Susquehanna, Helen Nunn, the woman countless families have relied on for financial aid guidance, retired earlier this academic year. Susquehanna Currents recently talked with the longtime director of financial aid about her career at Susquehanna and what comes next for her.

Award-Winning Fall Season

Several of Susquehanna’s fall programs reeled in major awards this past season.

Crusaders Capture Two Fall Championships

Susquehanna University saw two of its fall teams bring home Landmark Conference titles in their respective sports.

Catching Up With Paul Thistle ’10

To say All-America runner Paul Thistle ’10 has been busy since graduation would be an understatement. Not only has he worked abroad (twice!), he continues to race competitively and even won the prestigious Run for the Diamonds, hosted in Berwick, Pa., in November 2013. Katie Meier, director of athletics communications, recently talked with Thistle about his whirlwind life after graduation.

History at Keystroke

Have you ever wondered what happened to that Susquehanna yearbook, what the original design of your dorm was, or even what someone in the Civil War was writing about? All of this and more is at your fingertips in the Susquehanna University Archives and its expanding digital collection.

Student Sounds Give Voice to Silent Film Clips

Stretansky Concert Hall looked more like an early-20th-century movie theater than a state-of-the-art acoustic music venue earlier this year when the Susquehanna University Orchestra presented student-composed scores to select silent film clips. Combining live music and movies was common practice throughout the silent film era, with larger theaters often hiring organists or ensembles for the job.

WQSU Hits a New High Note

Susquehanna University’s student-run radio station, WQSU-FM, has been on the cutting edge of collegiate broadcasting since it hit the airwaves in 1967. And thanks to a recent upgrade to a high-definition (HD) format, the station remains a trailblazer among its competitors. Only four other college radio stations-and 75 commercial radio stations-in Pennsylvania have switched to HD. The upgrade provides better sound quality and allows the station to reach a larger audience via sub-channels. The move to HD follows several other advancements in recent years, including the addition of an automated broadcast system, digital soundboard and online streaming.

Bidding Farewell To a Welcoming Presence on Campus

Rebecca Wilson, associate professor and associate director of the Blough-Weis Library, has witnessed dramatic changes at the library since she began working there in 1987. From a 1989 renovation to the demise of the “card catalog” and further development of the University Archives, to the game-changing popularity of the Internet, Wilson has watched as the library’s been transformed for a 21st-century world. Some things, however, have stayed the same-namely Wilson’s commitment to students.

Gospel Choir Spreads Joy and Culture on Campus

For Yasmine Chervin ’16, a psychology major from Brooklyn, N.Y., directing Susquehanna’s Gospel Choir has more meaning than other extracurricular activities might. The group makes her feel like she has a “part of home” with her here at college. She grew up with gospel music in church and even directed a gospel choir at her boarding school before coming to Susquehanna.

The Lasting Impact of a Master Teacher

Associate Professor of Psychology Barb Lewis may be retiring, but the contributions she’s made to Susquehanna and the community during her 35 year tenure will continue to have a lasting impact.

Leaving Behind an Inspiring Legacy

When they retire, the greatest legacy professors can leave behind is the impact they’ve had on their students. The career of retiring Professor of Spanish Leona “Nonie” Martin is a case in point.

Unpacking the Bookstore

For Laurence Roth, professor of English and director of the Jewish Studies Program at Susquehanna University, the bookstore has always been about more than mere commerce. Growing up in Los Angeles, Roth’s father owned the largest Jewish bookstore in the country. And it was there-while sitting behind the counter and listening to customers’ conversations, or wandering the myriad aisles that overflowed with hundreds of books-that Roth came to see the bookstore as so much more.

Making History the Old-Fashioned Way

Growing up in the small town of Northumberland, Pa., during the Great Depression, Ruth Eleanor McCorkill ’43 had no idea she’d one day be a trendsetter in a male-dominated field that required significant time in the public eye. “In some ways, I’m a loner,” says McCorkill. “I grew up alone and did a lot of things alone.”

A New Twist on an Old Subject

Exploring History at Susquehanna University

From Our Own

First Word

The Gold Standard

“What have you liked best about Susquehanna?”

End Notes

Remembering “Madiba”

Last December, the world said goodbye to Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected black president, credited with bringing an end to apartheid. Glen Retief, associate professor of English and creative writing, grew up under apartheid rule and, as a young adult, became involved in the movement to overturn the racist form of government. Retief reflected on his memories of “Madiba” in a Philadelphia Inquirer article published on Dec. 15. The following excerpt is from that article.