Alumni Insider | April 15, 2010
Upcoming Events:
April 15, 16, 17 - Greek Weekend
Earth Day
What do you get someone for Earth Day? It can be pretty hard to wrap a lake, but luckily we're celebrating in a lot of other ways! This year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of environmental issues and inspiring participants to action. The Muhlenberg community will not only celebrate Earth Day on April 22, but will also hold many events leading up to and even after Earth Day.
Kalyna Procyk, Muhlenberg College Sustainability coordinator, explains that the celebration of
Earth Day on campus has three goals: To educate the campus community about what kinds of sustainability initiatives are occurring on
campus; to inform the campus community about national and global environmental sustainability issues; and to celebrate our
relationship with the Earth while recognizing our recent sustainability accomplishments and understanding that we are part of a
greater ecosystem. Building on past successes such as the Just Tap It initiative which reduced bottled water consumption on campus
by 95%, as well as the introduction of single-stream recycling to all College buildings, Kalyna has worked with students, staff and
faculty to prepare a slate of 11 sustainability-related events over a period of three weeks, culminating on Tuesday May 4 with the
dedication of the Muhlenberg Community Garden. These events include selling EnAct (Muhlenberg's Environmental Action Team) t-shirts
and reusable bottles in Seegers Union, a presentation by Dr. Chris Borick on climate change perceptions, and campus-wide celebration,
among others. Alumni are welcome to participate in any of the events, and are particularly encouraged to attend the community garden
dedication, as well as the "green fair," which will have a wide variety of local and organic fare being served. A full list of
events can be found at the new Muhlenberg
College Sustainability Facebook page.
In the coming months, Kalyna is working on a comprehensive recycling program for students who are moving out of their College
housing, as well as providing additional "greening" in orientation for the Class of 2014. Do you have questions about sustainability
initiatives on campus? Do you have a suggestion for how to make Muhlenberg more sustainable? Contact us at bergalum@muhlenberg.edu and let us know
what you think!
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Hillel House Expansion
We'd like to make a reservation for Shabbat dinner... for 300? No problem! At least not in the new Hillel House! Ground will be broken for the long-needed expansion of one of the most popular buildings on campus on April 25, 2010 at 11:00 AM, and will be followed by a Bagel Brunch. Participation in Hillel is at an all-time high, and weekly Shabbat Dinners routinely have more than 200 participants. The renovation and expansion of the existing Hillel House incorporates a magnificent addition including a Shabbat Dinner Hall with seating for over 300, a dedicated sanctuary, an institutional kitchen, additional student and staff office space and a student-designed lounge. In a separate part of the building, new classroom and office space for sociology and anthropology will also be created.
The theme for the expanded Hillel House is L'Dor V'Dor (From Generation to Generation); appropriately, multiple generations of
the Muhlenberg family will gather for the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new facility on April 25. Speaking at the event will be
President Randy Helm; Patti Mittleman, Jewish Chaplain and Hillel Director; Susan Musicant-Shikora '81, P'12; Barbara Heffer P'96;
John Heffer P'96, Board of Trustee Member; and Quila Israelson '10, current student.
Jewish students from across the country are increasingly choosing Muhlenberg for their undergraduate education because of the strength of its Hillel. Muhlenberg College is attracting students from the best Jewish high schools in the country. In addition to the Hillel expansion, the College is in the process of adding fully-supervised kosher kitchens to its renovated student union. To learn more about the Hillel expansion, visit the Hillel page on the Talents Campaign website! To RSVP for the groundbreaking ceremony, contact hillel@muhlenberg.edu. Do you have a favorite Hillel memory? Share it with us at bergalum@muhlenberg.edu!
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An American Tragedy
Put on a happy face for this Tragedy... On March 24, Muhlenberg celebrated the world premiere of An American Tragedy, a major new work by musical theatre legend Charles Strouse. On hand for a special reception that week at Muhlenberg, Strouse was serenaded by a group of Muhlenberg students and alumni who performed some of his hits from Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. Charlie Richter and Barbara Siman directed.
Charles Strouse has
been working for more than a decade on a musical adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel, An American Tragedy (musical by
David Shaber, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse). The musical is a derivation of Theodore Dreiser's classic novel by the same name, and
is based on events surrounding an actual 1906 murder. On Friday, March 26, 75 students, alumni, staff and friends of the College
joined Strouse before the show to listen to performances of his hits by students and alumni.
Tony award-winning composer Strouse has written the score to over 30 stage musicals, 14 scores for Broadway, four Hollywood films, two orchestral works and an opera. He has been inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Theatre Hall of Fame. He is a three-time Tony Award winner, a two-time Emmy Award winner, and his cast recordings have earned him two Grammy Awards. His song "Those Were The Days" launched over 200 episodes of "All in the Family" and continues to reach new generations of television audiences in syndication. Have a favorite Charlie Richter memory or other theatre story? Send it to us at bergalum@muhlenberg.edu!
P.S. - In addition to hosting a world-class composer, Muhlenberg is also working on a world-class rehearsal house that will serve the music and theatre & dance departments. Look for more information in next month's Alumni Insider.
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Muhlenberg Facebook Page
Muhlenberg would like to "friend" you... please confirm! Did you know Muhlenberg has an official Facebook page? Have you become a fan? More than 2,200 others have since the page launched last fall.
Over the past few
years, Facebook has become a ubiquitous part of most of our lives, and Muhlenberg College is no exception. Thousands of alumni are
registered. Hundreds of related groups and pages exist. Events are posted. Comments are made. Stories are shared. But until
recently, there has been no official Muhlenberg College Facebook page dedicated to providing the Muhlenberg community with new
photos, videos, event reminders and countless other useful pieces of up-to-the-minute information.
In October 2009, all that changed. Welcome to
Muhlenberg 2.0! With the help of Bill Keller, New Media Specialist in the Office of Public Relations, Muhlenberg has launched www.facebook.com/MuhlenbergCollege. This page, which is updated daily, contains
information provided by the College, as well as comments, stories, pictures and video posted by alumni, students and friends. It
isn't a replacement for the Muhlenberg website, which recently underwent a stunning redesign and is more valuable than ever, but
rather an additional vehicle through which users can find pertinent information. And perhaps the best part is: you don't have to be a
registered 
Facebook user
in order to view the page! Since its launch in fall 2009, the Muhlenberg College Facebook page has gained over 2,200 fans and
receives over 1,000 page views (and growing!) each week. The Office of Alumni Relations is in the process of creating its own
Facebook page that will be launched soon. There, you'll be able to find information specifically for Muhlenberg College alumni, such
as updates on Reunion and Homecoming, regional club activities, and of course links to current and past issues of the Alumni
Insider.
Do you communicate with classmates through Facebook? Have you found long-lost 'Berg friends? Send us your story: bergalum@muhlenberg.edu.
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'Berg Baseball Bonanza
What's even more fun than SAYING "'Berg Baseball Bonanza'?" Actually attending one of the events! Yes, it's baseball time again, and Muhlenberg College Regional Alumni Clubs invite you to join them for a game in your area. Mets, Phillies, Red Sox, Orioles, Iron Pigs... you choose!
Meet up with alumni from your local area or take a road trip to another
region-join Muhlenberg Regional Clubs for one (or more!) of this year's 'Berg Baseball Bonanza games. Online registration begins
Wednesday, April 28, 2010. You should have received a flyer announcing all the games-if you didn't please contact us at bergalum@muhlenberg.edu with
your correct address so we can update the database.
Register for games online (beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, April 28) here.
Point of Pride
On May 12, Muhlenberg College will be presented with the Joseph S. Daddona Dedication Award for "the many contributions you have made and many years of service to the Allentown community." The award will be accepted by President Randy Helm. Many alumni will remember Daddona, who spent four terms as mayor of Allentown. What was your connection to the City of Allentown? Were you involved in the community as a student? Send your stories to bergalum@muhlenberg.edu.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce that the summer of 2010 will see the inaugural class of Summer Service Fellows, a program whereby community partners apply to host Muhlenberg students on a full-time basis during the summer, and students apply to fill those positions. A congressionally directed grant is currently funding these partnerships, allowing deeper engagement between the Allentown community and the College. Ultimately, Muhlenberg was able to place four students with four different community partners.
The 2010 Summer Service Fellows are:
- Brendan Quinn and Casa Guadalupe's education program
- Elizabeth Fonseca and the Civic Theatre of Allentown
- Florencia Allegretti and Allentown Weed & Seed
- Danielle Novak and Community Bike Works
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