April 25, 2014
Carroll has three distinguished and long-serving professors retiring this year - Dr. Ron Stottlemyer, English, Dr. Bob Swartout, History and Dr. Ron Wilde, Chemistry. Our next three QuickNotes will profile each of the professors and wish them well on this next phase of their lives.
History Has Been Made
"It has been a tremendous privilege to have had the opportunity to teach at Carroll for the past 36 years. The best part of the job has been the daily interaction with Carroll's amazing students. For five separate decades, generations of students have fueled my passion for history and have kept me young in spirit. Words alone cannot express the gratitude that I feel for their kindness, enthusiasm, and support." Bob Swartout
Photo courtesy of Eliza Wiley, Helena IR
Dr. Robert Swartout, Jr. is retiring after over 36 years of service as a professor of history at Carroll.
Dr. Swartout earned his bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and spent time in Korea with the Peace Corps, where he became fluent in Korean. He earned his M.A. from Portland State and went onto Washington State University, where he completed his PhD in U.S. history while studying with some of the most influential diplomatic historians of the postwar era. A specialist in U.S.-East Asian relations, Dr. Swartout taught numerous courses on the topic while also developing a deep knowledge of the American West and Montana history. He published several books and also co-authored anthologies with his colleagues, including Dr. Harry Fritz at the University of Montana.
His work on behalf of the department, the college, and the field as a whole is exemplary. Promoted quickly through the ranks, Dr. Swartout became a Fulbright scholar, served as the department chair from 1988-2012, worked on many campus committees, taught NEH seminars, was appointed by the Korean government as the honorary consul for the Republic of Korea in Montana, and contributed to numerous boards, including the editorial board for Montana: The Magazine of Western History. He was the founding advisor for Carroll’s Omega Eta chapter of the national history honors society, Phi Alpha Theta.
In 2009, Dr. Swartout won Carroll’s Scholar of the Year award and he was recognized in 2013 as Teacher of the Year. He was the first faculty member to hold the Greytak Chair in History and the Humanities, named for longtime Carroll faculty member and European historian, Father William Greytak.
An incredible mentor to students and faculty alike, Dr. Swartout not only left an indelible mark on the department of history at Carroll, but also on Carroll itself and generations of students.
We thank him for his service and we wish him well as he enters retirement.
Major News of a New Minor
Beginning in the fall of 2014, Carroll College will be offering a new minor in Constitutional Studies.
The Constitutional Studies minor will provide interdisciplinary training in the politics, history, and philosophy of constitutional government. As an interdisciplinary liberal arts minor, it aims to help students gain general knowledge of constitutional government in the United States and abroad and to develop effective communication, analytical and critical thinking skills.
“At Carroll we encourage educating our students across a broad spectrum of the curricula. Creating the constitutional studies minor provided the opportunity to thoughtfully combine coursework in a variety of academic disciplines to offer a minor which will provide an excellent foundation for a variety of careers,” said Carroll College President Dr. Tom Evans.
In recognition of this new minor, Governor Steve Bullock delivered the second annual Constitutional Studies lecture to Carroll College students and staff on Wednesday, April 23, speaking about campaign finance regulation.
In introducing the Governor, President Evans noted that we are very fortunate at Carroll to live in an opportune place to have ready access to the political arena and having the privilege of the Governor speak to our students is a strong testament to that fact.
Some of the careers in which a minor in constitutional studies would be beneficial include federal, state and local governments, law, business, international organizations, nonprofit organizations, campaign management and polling, journalism, electoral politics, and teaching.
Fourteen students have already signed up for the minor.
Professor Jeremy Johnson, Governor Steve Bullock, President Tom Evans
Alumni News
Penning About Pennsylvania
Joey Laythe ('87) recently published his third book, “Invisible City: Erie, Pennsylvania, 1930s-1960s.” His previous work, “Engendered Death: Pennsylvania Women Who Kill” received a positive review in the American Historical Review. Despite on-going chemotherapy, Laythe continues to teach, research and write. His newest endeavor is on memory and history.
Dr. Laythe is a professor in the Department of History, Anthropology and World Languages at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. In 2011, he was awarded Carroll’s Alumni Academic Achievement Award. You can read more about Dr. Laythe in the Spring 2012 issue of the Carroll Magazine (page 22).
Photo courtesy of Helena IR
Alumni Fun is Heating Up
Carroll's alumni events for the summer are just getting started.
Boise Alumni Gathering
Join Carroll’s head football coach Mike Van Diest at a Carroll alumni, parents and friends gathering on Friday, May 16, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. for a buffet dinner at Berryhill & Co. 121 N. 9th St., Boise
Cost is $25 per person. Please RSVP to Kathy Ramirez alumni@carroll.edu.
Spokane Alumni Gathering
The Spokane Summer Picnic will be Thursday, June 19, 6:00 p.m. at Manito Park Picnic Shelter. Bring a salad or dessert to share.
Photo courtesy of John B., Boise, ID
IN MEMORIAM
Theodore Thomas McElhenney, Sr., (class of 1965), went to Heaven in the arms of his one true love and his most prized possessions: his children and grandchildren, at home in Missoula on Saturday, April 19, 2014.
Teddy was born on July 6, 1939, in Butte. He grew up on Butte’s East Side and remained a proud Butte native throughout his life. He attended Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary School and Boys Central High School, graduating in 1957. After graduation, he had many sports scholarship opportunities, but enlisted in the U.S. Army for two years and played for the I Corps Army football team in Korea. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1960, and came home to marry his Jewel.
On August 26, 1961, Ted and Jewel were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Butte. Shortly afterward, they moved to Helena, where Jewel attended Carroll College in pursuit of her BS degree in nursing. Ted enrolled at Carroll and played basketball for the Saints for his old high school coach, Johnny Frankino.
Read more on his life here.
Student News
A Deserving Honor
Pictured left to right - front row: Director of Career & Testing Services Rosalie Walsh, Logan McLean. Back row: Alexandra Bold, Geena Tyler.
Carroll held it’s 30th annual Honors Convocation last week recognizing the academic accomplishments of a number of Carroll students.
The first honorees of the evening were the winners of the Raymond G. Hunthausen Outstanding Collegiate Citizenship Award. The selection committee for this award looks for students who go about quietly serving others with no thought of being singled out for recognition – seeking students who exhibit a true sense of unselfish service.The two recipients that fit that description were seniors Alexandra Bold and Logan McLean.
The multi-talented Bold has served as a volunteer tutor, Eucharistic minister and has worked all the SEARCH retreats. In addition, she is involved with the Green Honors Society, helping with the community garden and greenhouse reclamation as well as SAVE recycling drives. She assists the elderly with gardening and shoveling, sings for hospice care, coaches youth basketball camps and provides music for elementary school plays.
Passionate about social justice issues, McLean has been actively involved in a number of areas such as the Hunthausen Center for Peace and Justice, Campus Ministry and Carroll College Christian Fellowship activities. She was active in both REACT and KONY 2012 movements and encouraged others to join her in fighting for justice. In addition, she volunteered and participated in reconciliation talks in Rwanda last summer.
A Hunthausen honorable mention was given to junior Geena Tyler, who despite a heavy schedule of volunteer and service projects, is also able to maintain dean’s list status in the nursing program.
A program and photos highlighting all of the recipients can be found here.
Communicating Greatness
Nine Carroll students recently traveled to the Northwest Communication Association annual conference in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where all of their research projects were accepted for presentation at the conference.
The students did an exceptional job of presenting their research and received numerous compliments by attendees. Senior Carly Garrison and Professor Alan Hansen won an award for Top Student-Faculty Collaboration.
Upcoming Events
Night of the Talking Saints, Apr. 27, 7 p.m., Lower Campus Center, Carroll College
The Carroll College speech and debate team will perform some of their most entertaining pieces as a way of saying thank you to the college and Helena community. All of Helena and neighboring communities are invited for a night that ends with refreshments and snacks.
Surviving the Holocaust: A Story of Rescue through the Dutch Underground, Apr. 28, 7 p.m., Lower Campus Center, Carroll College
Sponsored by the Carroll College Hunthausen Center for Peace & Justice and Student Activities, Holocaust survivor Pete M. from the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center will share his experiences with the Helena community. Pete was a child survivor of the Holocaust and was saved through the Dutch Underground during the War. In his presentation, Pete will remember those who had the courage to save him, namely the family that shared their meager rations with him and his mother for two years. More on Pete's story can be found here: http://www.wsherc.org/survivor-stories/peter-m. Following his presentation, Carroll students will commemorate the child victims of the Holocaust with a poem, "Each of us has a Name" by Zelda, and prayers. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Arbor Day Celebration, May 1, 1 p.m., Outside the Carroll College Campus Center
Students from Broadwater Elementary School will be celebrating Arbor Day by planting a tree on campus. The public is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact ahunthausen@carroll.edu, 459-8833.
Carroll Choirs Spring Concert, May 4, 4-6 p.m., Saint Mary Catholic Community, 1700 Missoula Ave., Helena
The theme of the concert is “Darkness and Light.” For more information, contact Dr. Robert Psurny at 447-4807. Everyone is welcome and admission is free but an offering will be taken to support music at St. Mary.
Carroll College Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement, May 10
Carroll College graduates from the Class of 1944, 1954 and 1964 will also be honored. A schedule of commencement activities can be found on the Carroll Commencement webpage.
Boise Alumni Gathering, May 16, 6:30-9 p.m., Berryhill & Co., 121 N. 9th St., Boise
Join Carroll’s head football coach Mike Van Diest and Carroll alumni, parents and friends for a buffet dinner at Berryhill & Co. Cost is $25 per person. Please RSVP to Kathy Ramirez alumni@carroll.edu.
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