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Alumni Notes
College Honors Retiring Dutton
At the annual Kent and Queen Anne's Alumni Holiday Party in December, alumni, faculty and staff gathered at Hynson-Ringgold House to bid farewell to Mackey Metcalfe Dutton '51, who retired after 17 years in the College's Alumni Office.
Hired by President Douglass Cater in 1983 to single-handedly plan and host alumni events, Dutton witnessed many changes at the college in the course of her career. Six former Alumni Association presidents-James McCurdy '52, Karen Gossard Price '73, Chuck Waesche '53, Bob Lipsitz '54, Ed Athey '67 and Glen Beebe '81-stood on the antler stairs of the Tolls' home and recited a timeline of College events that transpired during Dutton's tenure. Among them were the demolition of the water tower and the death of the College Elm; the SGA's ban on smoking in the dining hall; national championships in tennis and lacrosse; and the addition of three officers in Alumni Affairs to serve an Alumni Association whose membership has grown from 6,491 to 8,841.
"Mackey brought extraordinary gifts to a growing college," remarked College President John Toll. In addition to deep family roots in Kent County and strong ties to Washington College through various family members, "she had, and still has, an uncanny ability to recall undergraduate experiences as if they happened yesterday. And if you don't think that's scary enough, I don't mean just her college adventures-but most of yours, too."
Toll said Dutton's insights into the college community and its interests were integral to the formation and expansion of The 1782 Society as well as the stewardship of an active Alumni Association.
As one of her last official duties, Dutton took the minutes during the December Alumni Council meeting. The Council voted unanimously to present the Alumni Association's 2000 Service Award to her.
College Offers Free Online Seminar On Leadership
The next time you feel like collapsing under the weight of your workload, you might recall Jethro's advice to Moses in the Bible. At least you might after taking an online course with Michael Harvey, an assistant professor of business management at Washington College, who will teach a special online seminar exclusively for alumni this July titled "Leadership in Western Culture."
"I've always been committed to using the liberal arts model-interdisciplinary perspectives, critical thinking and discussion-to help students understand the problems of working in and managing modern organizations," says Professor Harvey. "The story of Moses, for instance, shows that even thousands of years ago managing an organization was an exhausting and harrowing job, and that even a great leader like Moses doubted his abilities. It's fascinating to see how he coped with the many crises he faced."
Professor Harvey's online seminar, scheduled for July 2-27, 2001, will be the Alumni Association's first Internet teaching initiative. WC will offer help in logging onto the College web site, registering for the course and navigating the course web site.
The seminar will study leaders ranging from Moses and Machiavelli to Henry Ford and Jack Welch. Students will use a password to enter the virtual classroom, meet with Dr. Harvey and exchange ideas with their classmates in the course's virtual conference space. Instructions for participation in the seminar and exploration of the Internet will be posted along with weekly readings and assignments. Texts for the class, available in local libraries or from bookstores, will be supplemented with online documents. The course will also use some e-mail correspondence.
The heart of the course will be online discussion. Students will be able to participate in each week's discussion according to their own schedules. Tuition for this first Alumni Online Seminar is free, compliments of the Alumni Office.
Dr. Harvey is excited about the course. "I see good online learning as a way of taking the classic liberal arts seminar into a new realm. Seminars, whether f2f (face-to-face) or online, should be marked by intensive thinking, questioning and discussion. We'll do all of that in this course. And this opportunity to teach an alumni seminar especially excites me because of the diversity of experiences and perspectives these students will bring to the class. A good seminar is a partnership in learning-I look forward to learning with alumni."
To learn more about Dr. Michael Harvey, visit www.harvey.washcoll.edu. To enroll in this first Alumni Online Seminar, go to www.washcoll.edu/wc/alumni or send an e-mail to alumni. affairs.office@washcoll.edu.
College Memorabilia Sought
Alumni donations of a material kind are now being requested to make students feel more at home at Washington College. The student activities office is asking alumni to donate photos, artwork, prints and other college memorabilia to mount on the walls of the newly renovated campus student center to help create a warmer atmosphere and convey a sense of tradition and college identity for students.
In late September, a copy machine caught fire in the Student Government Association office, causing severe damage to the center and leaving it closed to students for much of the fall semester. February 1 marked the reopening of the renovated Campus Center, which features a new café/bar, a gourmet sandwich menu and a new and improved stage area for bands and entertainment. The memorabilia will add much to the refurbished center in creating a more comfortable environment for students in the new area.
To contribute your piece of Washington College history, send donations to Ted Knight, Washington College, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. All donations become the property of Washington College, whether or not they are selected for display. Please contact Ted Knight with any questions at 1-800-422-1782, ext. 7409.
Alumni Directory Slated For Publication
Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company is working with the alumni office staff to produce the Washington College Alumni Directory 2001. This book is designed to provide alumni with a complete and accurate reference to more than 8,000 fellow members in the Alumni Association. The directory can be used to find old friends, to meet alumni neighbors, to consult with alumni in specific fields and to keep in touch with classmates now dispersed around the world.
To make this directory successful, the Alumni Office is asking everyone to answer Harris inquiries for this publication. In March, Association members will receive a written account of information currently stored in their alumni record and will be asked to make any corrections. This document also will include personal passwords that will allow alumni to access and update their individual records via the College's alumni Web page at www.washcoll.edu/wc/alumni. Harris will follow up with telephone inquiries in May to those who have not responded to the mail survey. The information alumni submit to Harris will be transmitted only to Washington College.
The Washington College Directory 2001 will be sold only to members of the Alumni Association for individual communications, and its content will be protected by copyright law. It is scheduled for printing and distribution in December 2001. Alumni may order books directly from Harris. The directory is $59.99 for the regular edition, and $69.99 for the CD-ROM version.
Alumni Invited To See Cuba
For the past several years, Dan Premo, professor of political science, has introduced students to a Cuba Americans rarely see. During a two-week travel seminar, students meet with educators, university students, health workers, government representatives, artists and community leaders to learn how Cuba is coping with the economic crisis brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union, its communist allies in Eastern Europe and the continuation of the U.S. embargo.
This year, the Summer Seminar in Cuba is open to alumni.
The group will travel May 22 through June 5, spending most of its time in Havana, with side trips to Pinar del Rio, Cienfuegos and Trinidad. Scheduled activities include a bicycle tour of Havana with the university cycling club ("older" alumni may choose to tour by van), walking tours of old Havana (named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982), lectures, field visits and evening cultural activities. English translation is provided for all scheduled activities.
The cost is approximately $3,000, all-inclusive, based on roundtrip airfare from BWI. Reservation deadline is impending. Space is limited to 20 persons and will be reserved as applications are received.
For more information contact the Alumni Office at 1 (800) 422-1782, ext. 7812, or Professor Premo by e-mail at dan.premo@washcoll.edu.
 Grad Offers Personal Perspective On Epilepsy
Ben Wentworth '97, a psychology major who has undergone brain surgery to alleviate epileptic seizures, returned to campus last fall to give students his personal insights into neuropsychology.
In 1987, Wentworth, then age 13, suffered a stroke and was in a coma for six weeks. The stroke left scar tissue in his right temporal lobe, which developed into temporal lobe epilepsy. His condition brought about short-term memory difficulties with which he contended throughout his undergraduate career.
Wentworth described the physical sensations and psychological consequences of having his brain anesthetized, one hemisphere at a time, to evaluate his language and memory capabilities before proceeding with his neurosurgery. In 1998, Wentworth underwent a temporal lobectomy during which his skull was detached, his hippocampus was exposed and the scar tissue was removed. Wentworth shared a color slide of the inside of his brain that was taken by his neurosurgeon, Dr. Anthony J. Caputy, during the seven-hour procedure performed by Caputy and neurologist Dr. Samuel J. Potolicchio.
Since his operation, Wentworth says that he has not had a single seizure, his short-term memory is restored and he is off all medications. As the coordinator of the epilepsy support group at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, since 1998, Wentworth works with other epileptic patients and neurosurgery candidates.
To learn more about Wentworth's epilepsy and his operation, please visit the WC Psychology department home page at http://onyourmind.psychology.washcoll.edu/.
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