#37: Celebrating the Value of Liberal Arts Education: Opportunities for the Future
Release Date: 01/26/2015
#385: Dean Greg Redding ’88
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features Associate Professor of German at the end of his tenure as Dean of Students, Dr. Greg Redding, as he reflects on becoming a one-year dean for six years, expanding access to wellness and mental health resources, and the “karmic” moments of serving his alma mater from an administrator’s point of view (Episode 385).
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#384: Dr. Frank Howland
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features long-standing Professor of Economics Dr. Frank Howland on the eve of his retirement from the College, discussing his career path and tenure that lead him to revitalize the department, develop new courses of study, and foster a new major across his 37 years at Wabash (Episode 384).
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#383: Commencement Speakers 2025
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features this year’s Commencement speakers from the class of 2025, Luis Rivera and Logan Weilbaker, as they reflect on their academic achievements, progress on their speeches, and what it feels like to carry the burden of saying “goodbye” (Episode 383).
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#382: Quinn Fitzgerald ’26
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features Lacrosse attackman Quinn Fitzgerald, Wabash class of 2026, discussing the particular skills needed to serve in his position on the field, his unique entry into the sport, and leaving a legacy for future Little Giant Lacrosse players (Episode 382).
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#381: Dr. Chad Westphal
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features professor of Mathematics & Computer Science, Dr. Chad Westphal, discussing his shift from skateboarding to applied math, the usefulness of empathy in the classroom, and the department’s first year connecting Wabash students in collaboration with Purdue’s National Data Mine Network (Episode 381).
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#380: Directing 12 Angry Men
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features senior Logan Weilbaker ’25, whose senior project entailed directing Wabash Theater’s winter season mainstage production of 12 Angry Men. Alongside cast member and WOMM co-producer Adam Phipps ’11, Logan discusses running a “hard ask” in five weeks, directing his former director professor Michael Abbott ’85, and what it takes to set up an immersive theatrical experience (Episode 380).
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#379: Celebration of Student Research 2025
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features student researchers Evan Baldwin ’26, Luis Sanchez ’25, and Elijah Wetzel ’27, each of whom presented at this year’s Celebration of Student Research. Their research hails from a broad range of disciplines: seeking equity in disability, sensing patterns in constitutional religious freedom clauses, and measuring dark matter wake forces (Episode 379).
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#378: Immersion: Baseball in the D.R.
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features alumnus coach and two student athletes of the Little Giants baseball team on an immersion learning trip to the Dominican Republic, recalling the 90-mile-per-hour fastballs in neighborhood ballparks, giving an old glove to a young player, and some reflections on humility in view of how others play the game (Episode 378).
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#377: Immersion: Costa Rica
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features three student participants in Thanksgiving Break immersion learning in Costa Rica, recalling the cultural surprises of seeing research topics in-person, fresh fruit every morning, and the bonding experience inherent to travel abroad (Episode 377).
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#376: Dr. Lon Porter Redux
Wabash On My Mind
This episode features the Lloyd B. Howell Professor of Chemistry at Wabash, Dr. Lon Porter, as he discusses his role as facilitator of the annual Celebration of Student Research, as the faculty advisor to the Wabash Dork Club, and his 2016 receipt of the McClain-McTurnan-Arnold Excellence in Teaching Award (Episode 376).
info_outlineThe final panel in the Celebrating the Value of Liberal Arts Education series addresses the question: What must be changed or preserved about the liberal arts to ensure its relevance and effectiveness for the future?
Panel Chair: Robert Wedgeworth Jr. '59, fmr. Dean of Columbia University and retired CEO of ProLiteracy Worldwide
Panelists: Bob Connor, fmr. President of the Teagle Foundation; Cecilia A. Conrad, VP of the MacArthur Program; Kelly Pfledderer '96, CEO and Founder of Apparatus. (Episode 37)