US News and World Report has again ranked Anderson University among the best universities in the Midwest offering master’s level degree programs. Institutions in this category offer a full range of both undergraduate and master’s level degree programs.  The magazine’s 2008 guide to “America’s Best Colleges” marks the fifth consecutive year that Anderson University has been listed among the best in its class.

Visitors to the AU website can now get automatic news updates through RSS (really simple syndication) feeds. Users can track the latest news about their major or favorite AU sport or see upcoming calendar events by subscribing to RSS feeds.

“This technology makes it easy for anyone to keep track of what’s going on at AU according what interests them most,” said David Hynds, Web Content Specialist.

Rebecca Vanatta has only two children in school, yet her annual spending on clothes and supplies sometimes tops $15,000. [Editor's note: Rebecca is a M.Ed student and currently working on her school administration license in the School of Education].

That’s because the art teacher at Anderson High School spends money out of her own pocket to make sure the kids in Anderson’s public school system get what they need — whether it’s for books, belts or field trips.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, August 8, Anderson University alumni will have access to www.AndersonAlums.com – a new social network exclusively for Alumni. Visitors to the site will be able to view a special video message as part of the site launch and enter a promotion to win a new iPhone (device only; recipient will need to establish a monthly contract with their wireless service provider.)

For the first time, Anderson University is hosting a summer camp for teenagers considering careers in the music industry.

The camp, an offshoot of the university’s student-run recording label Orangehaus Music, offers campers early exposure to sound engineering, music marketing and other skills not usually covered outside of a recording label office or college class.

Anderson University has announced the installation of all-weather synthetic field turf and outdoor game lights at Macholtz Stadium located in the northwest corner of the university campus. The artificial field turf and lighting system at Macholtz Stadium will be ready for the fall 2008 athletic season.

“We are grateful to our football parents who have championed these improvements and provided some of the research needed to move the program ahead,” said Dr. James L. Edwards, president of Anderson University. “Our multi-sport program can benefit in many ways from a synthetic surface and lights. We have received helpful advice regarding this project from several alumni as well as our friends in the Indianapolis Colts organization who understand the usefulness of these facilities. This is but one of several improvements we hope to make to bring our outdoor facilities to a standard of excellence in the next several years.”

A Funny Thing Happened After the Ballgame
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More than 200 AU alumni reside in the greater Louisville area, making it a natural choice for the next alumni gathering. So, we headed south for this Friday evening gathering at the Louisville Bats baseball game.

Beforehand, though, the Davises met up with Paul Mumaw and his family at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, where Paul serves as one of the pastors. SECC is a megachurch unlike any I’ve ever seen before, and I marveled at their campus facilities as well as the programming that Paul described. This might make a great location for a future Louisville alumni gathering.

That evening we headed to the game at Louisville Slugger Field, which is a very nice, newer, family-friendly baseball stadium that sits right on the banks of the Ohio River. We had reserved a meeting space in the concourse where our group could gather and reconnect prior to the game. Friends started arriving around 5:30 p.m. and we spent the next hour or so sharing stories and catching up with each other.

Attendees ranged from Bernard (’59) and Annalee Mendenhall (’54) to current AU junior Caleb Cunningham and his family, and lots in between. Several kids tagged along too – some members of the AU Class of 2025 were already busy discussing roommate preferences. Overall we had almost 60 in attendance. Great turnout for this first-time event! Below is a list of who came. (see group photo)

Unlike the monsoon conditions at the Dayton alumni gathering a few days earlier, we had nothing but sunny skies in Louisville; too sunny, perhaps – as the record-tying temperatures hovered in the mid-90s. So, we all loaded up on sodas and lemon ices as we headed for our seats on the Patio Deck in right field. The ballgame became a backdrop for lots of fun conversation and family frolicking. When all was said and done, we left as a more connected group. (And the Bats won, 8-2.)

But the reunion wasn’t over! After the post-game fireworks show, my four-year-old daughter, Jillian, and I walked back to the hotel ready to crash for the night (Marlo and our baby, Lauren, had left the game in the fifth inning or so). As we waited for the lobby elevator, another family of five approached. The dad saw the logo on my shirt and hat and asked if AU stood for Anderson University. Assured that it did, he smiled and revealed that he, too, was an alum from out of town – but he wasn’t in Louisville for the ball game. It turns out that Brian Yost (BA ’86) from Sarasota, Fla. and his family were passing through Louisville earlier that day and had a run-in with another vehicle on I-65, necessitating this unplanned pit stop while the car was being repaired.

Brian revealed that he ran around in conspicuous circles during his AU days, including with now-V.P. of Student Life, Dr. Brent Baker. In a few encounters during the rest of our brief stay (at breakfast on Saturday morning, poolside with the kids, etc.) Brian and I talked about AU days and played the “degrees of separation” game. This chance meeting-turned-new-friendship was a poignant reminder of how powerful and special our alumni network really is. Good luck on the rest of your journey, Yost family!

The Davis family had plenty of drama of our own as we headed home on Saturday. After leaving Louisville around 1 p.m., we cruised north toward Anderson and covered about 40 miles until traffic on I-65 came to a standstill – for more than an hour and a half. We figured it was construction or a bad accident of some kind. It wasn’t until we finally reached the Seymour exit that we found out the interstate was closed due to flooding.

Along with the caravan in front of us, we were redirected onto back roads, and finally onto a state highway … which was also closed due to flooding. Using a road atlas and a GPS navigator, we spent the next several hours trying to find a way home, to no use. There were simply no roads from the southern Indiana heading north, that were fully passable (at least if you weren’t driving a Hummer). So, after finding out that there were also no vacancies at hotels in the area, we retraced our steps back to Louisville, then up through Cincinnati to Dayton where we arrived near midnight and spent the night at the in-laws (and where I am currently writing this blog). Maybe we’ll make it back to Anderson someday …

Ben, Marlo, Jillian and Lauren Davis
Angela (Cox), Michael and Braedon Reynolds
Paul, Jenny, Joel and Luke Mumaw
Ann Taylor
Ken Cordle
Margaret Harlow
Vanessa and Corey Giancola
Angela (Leichty), Chris and Burke Thomas
Dan Skinner
Mary and Stephanie George
Bobby Dobson
Pete and Rhonda (Dalton) Compise
Shandra (Mitchell), Jeff, Samantha and John Holbrook
April (Fair), Helier and Amelia Rodriguez
Sarah (Williams), Ben Hardman and family
Betty Baylor
Elnora Leim Kuehler
Bernard, Analee and David Mendenhall
Chelsea (Melnik), Jeremy, Maddie and Carter Graham
Dwight and Dottie Hargett
Caleb, Erin and Steve Cunningham
Chris, Leasa and Cameron Ball
Amy (Jacobus), Shawn, Julianna and Saylor Sizemore
Carl and Mary (Kagin) Kramer

The Show Must Go On! – Rain or Shine
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Despite forecasts calling for storms throughout the Miami Valley, more than 70 AU Alumni and friends turned out at The Greene center in Beavercreek for an outdoor concert in the Town Square. (We Ravens are an optimistic bunch, aren’t we? …) Rising star Jon McLaughlin (BA ’05) was the headliner, with a couple of local bands scheduled to open for him.

You know how those meteorologists often don’t seem to know what they’re talking about? Well, this time they got it right. About half an hour into the opening band’s set, the skies opened up and unleashed a 20-minute downpour along with an electrifying lightning display. Wind gusts – which the Dayton Daily News says reached nearly 50 m.p.h. – swept away blankets, umbrellas, perhaps a few small children … and also the AU Alumni Event sign that I picked up from the printer less than 24 hours ago. At least it died doing what it loved best.

Meanwhile, concert-goers dashed into nearby shops and restaurants for shelter. During the half-hour delay, Books & Co. served as the official AU Alumni hang-out. The author who was giving a book talk inside the store wasn’t pleased, but we had fun and stayed dry.

Shortly, the storms passed over and the show went on. Jon took the stage around 8:30pm and did a great, energetic set that was split between songs from his major-label release “Indiana” and new material that hopefully will be on his forthcoming album. He acknowledged the AU group in his banter in between numbers, much to the delight of the orange-glow-necklace-wearing throng.

Afterward, our contingent headed straight to the local Caribou Coffee, which stayed open after-hours just for our group, and we packed the house. Alums mingled, caught up on university news, and perused the new AU Alumni Directory to find out who was where and doing what. After signing autographs outside for his fans, Jon McL (as he is now branded) joined the AU group to meet and greet. He warmly thanked everyone for their support and signed T-shirts, album covers and Signatures magazines, among other items. We knew he had to get on the road for a show in Knoxville the next night, so we greatly appreciated the 45 minutes he spent with us.

Below is at least a partial list of the alums and friends who turned out for the event – mostly alumni and their families but also some current AU students and current/former AU parents. A few who had registered to come were M.I.A. (cowards!) but we also picked up some extra friends who we weren’t expecting. We had the pleasant surprise of being joined by AU staff members both current (Tim Johnson, Debbie Sebastian, Jill Miller, etc.) and former/prodigal (Shane Peters, Skip Trudeau) who were at nearby Cedarville University for a conference.

All in all, what a great start to this new season of taking AU Alumni Relations “On The Road.” Everyone seemed genuinely thankful and excited to have the opportunity to gather for a fun event with others who share the AU connection. Can’t wait for the next stop – on to Louisville!

Jon and Amy McLaughin
John Howard
Erin Marler
Ben and Marlo Davis
Ted and Susan Julian and family
Bruce and Keri Smith and family
William and Caitlyn Hackett
Gary and Debbie Hardman
Patrick and Marci Spearman
Christopher and Amanda Gilmore
Jerry and Julie Eddy
Tom Bruce
Brian Schermerhorn and friends
Dave and Amy Ohlinger and family
Annie and Laura Gormas
Justin Cantrell
Michael Parker
Ashley Dawkins
Sara Ramke
Amanda Wharton
Kym Wharton
Karilynn Quillen
Rachel Ramke
Cameron, Carly, Candi Marler
John Frame
Matt and Leslie Stone
Colleen Dillon
Joseph and Merry Cookston
Sylvia and Emily Kindell
Tim and Angela Woodward
Rebecca and David Stroble
Lauren Crouch
Kelley and Megan Mitchell
David and Donna Cox
Jennifer Miller
Chris Williams
Jeannine Fox
Elaine Harmon
Debbie Galvin
Ryan Deeter
Denise Palen
Shane Peters
Joy (May) and Steve Sherman

The Weinstein Company is enlisting the help of 1990 AU alumnus, Cory Edwards to write and direct a live-action musical version of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock.

The film is based of HBO’s Emmy-winning first TV series, Fraggle Rock, which premiered in 1983 and ran for five seasons. The series tells the adventures of an underground civilization’s inhabitants, portrayed by Jim Henson’s Muppets.

Kelly Packard shoehorned as much activity and as many memories as she possibly could into her four years at Anderson University.

Known by the surname of Spaulding upon arriving at AU by way of rural Tri-Valley High School near Dresden, Ohio, in the fall of 1986, Packard exited in 1990 as the women’s basketball program’s career leader in points (1,275) and rebounds (723).

While at AU, she also ran track, was sports editor of the yearbook and served on the newspaper staff. Her crowning moment, literally, came in 1989, when she was named her school’s Homecoming queen.

Busy, busy.

Now 39, Packard has never shied away from a challenge or a heavy workload.

Earlier this week, she inherited both by being named the new women’s basketball coach at Ball State University, succeeding Tracy Roller, who resigned due to personal reasons in April after seven seasons at the helm.

It’s been a week since Packard received her career-altering telephone call from BSU athletics director Tom Collins. The memory, however, is fresh.

“You’re always hesitant to take that call, but obviously you take that call,” Packard remembered. “I was thrilled, but I was calm.”

Most recently a resident of Fort Collins, Colo., with her husband, Rich, an electrical engineer and a 1988 AU graduate, and sons Derek, 13, and Evan, 9, Packard embraces a return to the Midwest.

The Ball State program, she feels, has all the components necessary to continue blossoming into something special.

“Certainly, when you evaluate the process you dig into all of that,” said Packard, who’ll inherit a program returning five of its top six scorers from the 2007-08 season.

“It was a program that had some very, very good pieces already in it. Ball State has strong fan support, and it’s located where you can recruit Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky very well.”

The past two years, Packard had worked for Triple Crown Sports, which attempted to bring a WNBA expansion franchise to Colorado. Prior to that, she coached the Colorado Chill of the National Women’s Basketball League, which on Packard’s watch won the league title in 2005 and 2006.

Two stints as a Colorado State University women’s assistant coach in the 1990s enabled Packard to learn from two of the best in the business in current Arkansas coach Tom Collen and Greg Williams, now at Rice.

The 60-year-old Williams, in particular, seems to have had the greatest influence on Packard.

“I worked for him first, and he had an amazing ability to evaluate talent and assess character,” Packard said. “Greg is still coaching and has weathered a lot of situations.”

Packard weathered one Monday when she came face-to-face with the players she’ll be coaching at Ball State in 2008-09.

Talk about pregame jitters.

“I think they were nervous and cautious, and they had every right to be,” she said. “But it was a good time. The start of something I believe will be special.”

—By Mike Beas is a reporter for the Herald Bulletin in Anderson. Story republished with permission.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology.