SMALL CLASSES, LOW DEBT

AC ranks well for both

When U.S. News and World Report recently came out with its “America’s Best Colleges 2004,” Adrian College was ranked in the top 25 percent of two noteworthy categories.

Of the 217 national liberal arts schools in its classification, Adrian was 44th in the “Highest Proportion of Classes Under 20” category. Adrian was 28th in the “Least Debt” category, for the average amount of debt of its graduates.

Adrian’s classification consists of national liberal arts colleges that emphasize bachelor’s degrees. Adrian was reclassified into this group two years ago, and now competes with some of the country’s most prestigious colleges, including Amherst, Swarthmore, and Oberlin. AC is pleased to be ranked so well for class size and debt.

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WORLD SOUNDS
Patrick Matsikenyiri returns to campus

If you went to the spring choir concert last April, then you heard the debut performance of the AC African Drumming Ensemble, when they created some very unusual sounds using international instruments. Music chair Tom Hodgman hopes this group will germinate into a new group this year, the World Music Ensemble. The timing is good, since composer and African music expert Patrick Matsikenyiri is visiting campus this semester, and is working in several ways with the music department. Matsikenyiri, a retired faculty member of African University, was awarded an honorary degree from the College in 1999. He gave the College a set of four “kalimbas” (aka thumb pianos), one of which is shown at the center of the photo. He and his wife Aves will be here until mid-October.

TRAPPED IN THE WEST BANK
Professor’s wife finally makes it home

Chemistry professor Maher Mualla will never forget Aug. 9. That’s the day that his wife Wafa finally made it back to the U.S. after being stranded in the Middle East for a month.

Wafa, a nurse at Bixby Medical Center in Adrian, left the U.S. June 19 to visit her ailing mother in her hometown of Nablus, West Bank. She was unaware of an April 17 warning by the U.S. State Department that people of Palestinian descent might have problems traveling, and although she is a U.S. citizen, Israeli officials would not allow her to leave after they processed her identification.

What followed were weeks of setbacks and feelings of desperation. She never seemed to have the right paperwork to get to either the airport near Tel Aviv, or the one across the border in Jordan. Meanwhile, Maher contacted government officials for help, but the slow process made him feel desperate, especially as their seemingly well-laid plans were thwarted. Finally, when Wafa tried a second time to get into Jordan – this time with the help of a Lenawee County man who read about her story in the paper and contacted members of the “Businessmen’s Peace Network” – she was allowed to cross, and she arrived home a full month later than planned.

The ordeal was very difficult for the Muallas and their two teenage children. However, Maher and Wafa said they appreciated the concern they received.

“The support of the community was really impressive,” Maher said.

They have heard that when one friend contacted the Israeli Embassy in Wafa’s behalf, the person who answered immediately blurted, “Is this another call for the lady from Michigan?”

TAKING SHAPE
Ridge project moving forward

Big things are happening at Ridge Student Center! Whether you knew the building as the fierce home court of the Bulldogs, as temporary home to stacks of Shipman Library books, or as a student center in its early stages, you can be sure you wouldn’t recognize it now. It has been gutted from front to back, and heavy equipment rumbles through the gaping hole at the south end and onto the bare earth floor. Sunlight streams in through whichever patch of the roof is currently being replaced, and new steel girders and concrete walls slowly give the interior new shape.

There has been only one real surprise so far. Plans called for the fly loft to be lowered and redesigned, but it was discovered that it wasn’t sturdy enough to withstand the work, and had to be torn down. When it came crashing to the ground over a few dramatic hours in late July, it marked the main turn in the project from demolition to construction.

Everything has gone according to schedule so far, and if it continues, the new Ridge Student Center will be fully functional by next summer.

See more photos (including fly loft demolition!) on the News & Info page.