Class Notes—Fall 2013

Notables:

Eric Walter ’05 set a couple of joggling Guinness world records at O’Laughlin Stadium in April 2013. Joggling is running while juggling. He ran 1,000 meters on the SHU track in a record time of 2:46.63. The time to beat was 3 minutes flat. In the 400 meter he ran a 56.47 (57.32 was the old record). Walter also won the 200, 400, 800 and the 4×100 relay at the 2011 World Joggling Championships in Rochester, Minn.

Sister Donna Kustusch, OP, ’63 a long-time faculty member at SHU, passed away in July 2013. “Donna’s determination came from her deep commitments—to her students and to the mission of Siena Heights; to her sisters and to the mission of the congregation; to the call of the gospel for a preferential option for the poor; and to her prayer relationship with God,” said SHU Vice President of Academic Affairs Sister Sharon Weber, OP, a former colleague. A faculty member in the Religious Studies program from 1975-92, she had the challenge of bringing the curriculum to a new generation of students. For her enthusiasm in the classroom and her concern for the growth of each of her students, she received the award for outstanding teaching in 1991.

She also established the Spirituality and Peacemaking Institute in 1988. The institute provided such offerings as a variety of lectures in collaboration with Weber Center, prayer opportunities for students and a conference “Dominican Education in Search of Peace.” Her commitment to the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ vision of acting on behalf of the poor drew her to her work on the U.S.-Mexico border. In fact, she received the Sister Ann Joachim Award in 2002 for her work serving impoverished women and children in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.

Practical Professor

Art Faculty Member John Wittersheim Left a Lasting Legacy at SHU

An allergic reaction eventually brought John Wittersheim to Siena Heights, and cancer took him away.

The man who spent 34 years teaching metalsmithing and sculpture in his “garage-like” studio on campus passed away March 17 after a long battle with cancer. He was 59.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University and his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Wittersheim took a job as a clay modeler with the Ford Motor Co. However, he had an allergic reaction to the special clay he was forced to work with at Ford, so he pursued other career paths.

The path he eventually followed led to Siena Heights, where he began as a faculty member in 1979. He quickly established himself with students and colleagues as a versatile, prolific and talented artist. His metalworking specialties included the creation of plumb bobs, a small, pointed brass weight on the end of a string used to determine a line perpendicular to a point.

Singing in the New Year

SHU Vatican Choir Has Memorable Visit to Italy

Most people consider New York City’s Times Square to be the ultimate place to ring in the new year.

Beth Tibbs may disagree. She and a small group of Siena Heights University students, faculty, staff and alumni and friends spent New Year’s Eve in Italy as part of the Vatican Choir. The group performed before Pope Benedict XVI as well as at several other holy sites during the 11-day trip, which Tibbs called “amazing.”

In fact, she said her group was so excited they often broke into song during the trip.

“We would stop periodically and just start singing,” said Tibbs, associate professor of music and choir director at SHU. “People would jump in front of us and want to get their pictures taken with us.”

This was the second time Tibbs took a choir to perform at the Vatican. In 2010 she led a youth choir from Arizona. During that trip, she befriended the Vatican’s head of music.

“He invited us back whenever I wanted to bring a group,” Tibbs said. “When I got the job at Siena (in August 2011), I thought it would be a perfect fit for us to go to Italy and perform. I thought it would be really important for us to include all the different things that are connected to Siena Heights.”