History chair Roger Fechner retired this year after 32 years at Adrian College.

Fechner is known as a teacher with high expectations for students. He has taught subjects as diverse as Asian, European, American, Latin American, and world history, and has team-taught courses with professors in courses ranging from religion, to sociology, to art. His scholarship, primarily in the area of eighteenth century Scottish history and philosophy, has resulted in many papers and presentations, and has taken him to national meetings and to international conferences in places such as Scotland and Japan.

He has served on a variety of committees and worked for three years as director of faculty development. He founded both the men's and women's soccer teams and was head coach of one or the other for many years. Within the community, he has worked with many organizations, notably the Adrian Symphony Orchestra and the Lenawee County Historical Society.

Fechner graduated from Hamline University (Minn.) in 1959. He earned his master's degree from Boston University in 1960, and earned his doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1974.

Adrian College awarded him the 2001 Ross Newsom Award for Outstanding Teaching last fall.

DANCING FOR THE CHILDREN
Marathon raises big money for pediatric AIDS

At the end of 20 hours, the students who danced in the third annual Adrian College Dance Marathon for Pediatric AIDS Awareness were rewarded by more than sore feet-that's when they found out they'd raised a record-setting $10,672.

The 34 dancers collected pledges to raise the majority of the funds. Then on the big day, over 100 organizers and volunteer supporters joined them in the Merillat Sport & Fitness Center to cheer them on.

"Right now, at the end, I don't feel like I've been awake for 30 hours," freshman dancer Jenny Hornok told the College World. She plans to dance again next year. "You can't say no to something like this."

Noted theologian James Hal Cone, who taught at Adrian College in the late 1960s, spoke at Adrian College in April as part of the Convocation speaker series.

Cone grew up in rural Arkansas, where racism was a part of life. By the time he started teaching at Adrian, the nation was in the middle of the civil rights movement. He found that the lack of discussion about it on campus was typical of the white community, and it agitated him so greatly that he could not be quiet.

"Martin [Luther] King said that there is a time when silence is betrayal," Cone said. "I had to speak out." The result was his monumental first book, "Black Theology and Black Power," one of two that he wrote at Adrian.

Dr. Cone has dedicated much of his work to defining an identity that is distinctly black and distinctly Christian. His work is internationally recognized as the foundation of black theology, and graduate students study his writing as the representative thought of the movement. Introductory textbooks in religion cite his voice as a turning point in American theology.

During his presentation, Cone said that the U.S. is no closer today to the equality King talked about in his "I have a dream" speech than when King died. However, Cone still hopes that racism will be rooted out.

"Let's hope that we will make this century much better than the last," he said.

SAVE THE TREES
Students start recycling program

Recycling is back at Adrian College, thanks to a new student-led program.

Throughout the spring semester, student volunteers and work-study students made weekly visits to 45 bins located in the main campus buildings to collect paper and other materials.

Things are just getting started. Next semester the students hope to replace the cardboard bins they've been using with something more durable. There should soon be a Dumpster for mixed paper and cardboard on campus, which will cut down on trips to the local drop-off. And by working with SGA hall senators, they hope to take recycling into the residence halls.

In the meantime, they already know they've made an impact. So far they've collected over four tons of paper, the equivalent of 96 mature trees.

FIGHTING CRIME, THE IRS WAY
Special agents run a simulation

Cracking crimes with accounting?

It might sound funny, but that's what the IRS taught Adrian College students in an educational exercise on campus in February. The event drew attention from news media across the state, and was even mentioned briefly in USA Today.

Special agents from the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS-the same organization that snagged Al Capone for tax evasion-assigned several of its special agents to simulate five crime scenarios. Criminal justice and accounting students then teamed up to try to solve the crimes. The simulations included interviewing special agents posing as sources, and digging for clues in a bag of trash. (Watch out for the bean dip in that diaper!)

The collaboration between the CID and Adrian is the first of its kind. It is part of an effort by the CID to find fresh recruits to replace its aging work force, and to show that the agency works in ways that people don't usually think about.

In the process, it opened up a new law enforcement option to some students. As junior accounting major Heidi Mason told The Daily Telegram, "I didn't understand why the seminar was open to accounting majors. Now I know how it all fits together."

SPEECH! SPEECH!
Convocation speaker series is evolving

"Dateline NBC" correspondent John Hockenberry, movie producer Lynda Obst ("Sleepless in Seattle," "Hope Floats"), and MIT neuroscientist Steven Pinker were just some of the speakers on campus this year, thanks to the College's flourishing convocation series.

Speakers at Adrian are nothing new. Former president John Dawson, for instance, believed speakers were such an essential part of college life that he solicited endowments to pay for them. The College's approach to scheduling speakers, however, has changed in recent years.

Academic departments still invite their own speakers, but there's now a committee that sets up the convocation series for the entire campus. In addition, it's now easier for students to attend thanks to a new "protected time" when no classes are scheduled.

RUNNING HIGH
Cross country team places nationally for academics

The Adrian men's and women's cross country teams not only qualified for the NCAA Division III All-Academic Teams, but they also were best in the league.

To qualify for the award, which is granted by the College Cross Country Coaches Association, the teams needed a minimum cumulative team grade point average of 3.1 on a 4.0 scale and to have competed at an NCAA III regional meet. With the men's cumulative team GPA of 3.41, they were ranked 16th out of the 66 qualifiers in the nation, and were first in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The women, who had a cumulative team GPA of 3.45, were ranked 34th out of 104 qualifiers, and were also first in the MIAA.

Adrian also had two runners receive Academic All-American status. To qualify, the runner needed to place in the top 25 percent of the finishers at a regional meet and maintain a cumulative 3.50 GPA. Senior Jeremy Butler-Pinkham qualified for his fourth consecutive year with a 3.96, ranking 11th out of 74 qualifiers. Sophomore Danielle Hobbs qualified for her second time with a 3.76, ranking 58th out of 115.