The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Oct. 7, 2005

$250 million campaign launched
By Sarah Pulliam
The college hopes to raise $250 million during the largest capital campaign in the history of Wheaton, according to Director of Development Galen Smith.
The five-year capital campaign was launched July 1, and Smith said the advancement office has raised $49 million to date. Smith could not give names of people who have already donated.
Smith said most of the funds raised thus far are undesignated. The campaign is scheduled to finish June 30, 2010, the 150th anniversary of the college.
The advancement office plans to raise $50 million a year over five years. In comparison, Smith said the office raised $25 million—a moderate amount—last year because there were no major capital projects before this campaign began.
Depending on donor contributions, Smith said there are four major sections of the college that will benefit from the current campaign: $60 million will go to the fine arts; $54 million will go to science departments; $27 million will go to need-based scholarships; and $18 million will go to a new faculty-student mentoring program.
He also said the $91 million of the campaign will fund other projects including educational programs and an expansion of the library.
Students, faculty and staff have provided input on the use of funds by participating on committees for the past three years. The money will be distributed based on donor and administrative decision, according to Smith.
President Litfin said the arts and the natural sciences represent the college’s greatest capital needs right now.
“If we can address these needs in the next five years, the entire campus will benefit greatly,” Litfin said. “No campaign can ever satisfy everyone’s desires, but this one comes as close as any I’ve seen.”
Smith emphasized that the college is in a two-year quiet phase that will determine the number of projects—and which specific projects—administrators feel are feasible to fund by 2010. He said as soon as the college receives funding for a project, it will begin to implement it.
The college’s arts initiative will build a new $30 million conservatory building and a $19 million performing arts center containing a theater and 500-seat auditorium, according to Smith. It will also raise $7 million to renovate Adams Hall and $4 million to expand Edman Chapel northward for new classrooms.
The college is still determining where the new conservatory will be located. Smith said there are three potential options for placement: the Wheaton Christian Grammar School, which would be purchased when it becomes available; Jenks Hall and McAlister Conservatory; and Pierce Memorial Chapel. Smith said he is unsure whether the buildings would be torn down or remodeled.
The college hopes to tear down Breyer Laboratory and add a $54 million addition to the north end of a renovated Armerding Hall on Kenilworth Avenue.
Included in the renovation and expansion will be a museum containing Perry Mastadon and taxidermy, greenhouses, an outdoor class area, indoor classrooms, laboratories, offices and study areas, according to blueprints provided by Smith.
Four million dollars will go to faculty lab start-up costs, funding equipment and faculty/student research. Another four million dollars will go to fine arts programs to provide for more equipment.
The third component of the campaign includes $27 million in scholarships. Smith said donors choose where to restrict their money, but the advancement office will encourage need-based scholarships. The college’s current endowment allocated to scholarships has a fair market value of $90,366,909, according to Smith.
The last major section that would benefit from the campaign is the $18 million faculty-student mentoring program, which Provost Stan Jones is advocating.
The college hopes to add 25 new faculty members to take some course loads, freeing time for existing faculty to act as mentors. Jones said the administration is still discussing which departments will get more professors.
Through this program, students would be able to have a professor mentor them for class credit.
Jones said some schools have undergraduate research programs that omit the dimension of spiritual and personal growth and other schools have honors or leadership programs for a few elite students, but no one appears to have the kind of program Wheaton will attempt.
“For example, a business/economics professor would take four or five students and study a cutting-edge issue in management, developing the students’ professional skills while building friendships that encourage their spiritual and personal growth,” Jones said.
The campaign will also allocate $5 million to a Buswell Library renovation in which the archives will be moved from the library to the Billy Graham Center to provide more study space on the first floor. There will also be vending machines and tables placed in the reference desk area.
In a project separate from the campaign, the college hopes to add a $27 million expansion to the library as soon as they find donors to fund the project. The library would be expanded to the north and east of the building on Irving Street.
The expanded library would contain more space for studying and storage, a café in front of the reference desk and an auditorium in the basement.
In addition to the library project, the college may tear down Wyngarden Health Center and Schell Hall to expand the current quad. Smith said there are no specific plans for the buildings’ replacements because the projects are at least 10 years away.
Three million dollars of the campaign will go towards staffing Beyond The Classroom (BTC), another initiative of Jones. BTC is an initiative that promotes internships, global study programs, ministries and athletics.
Jones said the sought endowment will fund a BTC director and a standing campus BTC working group. The group will coordinate, promote, develop, expand and support specific educational opportunities for students.
Two million dollars from the campaign will fund more staff members for the evangelism initiative to be coordinated by Jerry Root, associate director for evangelism training of the Institute for Strategic Evangelism of the BGC, and Director of the BGC Lon Allison.
Smith said the advancement office hopes to secure $30 million in unrestricted planned gifts. The gifts are trusts and annuities–gifts given during life that come to the college at the donor’s death. They support both annual operations and capital needs. Smith said unrestricted gifts came to about $3 to $4 million a year in the past.
The advancement office is working to increase unrestricted giving to the Wheaton fund, which is used to help subsidize the cost of every student’s education each year.
The college hopes to raise $4.1 million of unrestricted giving to $5.2 million in 2010 to total $33 million over the campaign period.
In addition, the college hopes to raise $10 million in non-specified projects as part of the campaign. The money would fund ongoing programs such as HoneyRock, the Wade Center and the BGC.
16,000 people donated to the college last year. Smith said 50 to 55 percent of the donors are alumni and 30 percent are parents or parents of former students.
“From a human perspective, attempting to raise $250 million over the next five years is an overwhelming task,” Smith said.
Smith said the college plans to raise the money by having events for constituents. Smith also said that he, Litfin, Vice President of Advancement Mark Dillon and eight regional directors of development travel throughout the country to tell people about the campaign.
Smith does not know how much fundraising will cost, but said it will be a very small portion of the total raised. He said very little has been spent thus far to raise funds.
The last campaign, the New Century Challenge, raised $158 million with an initial goal of $140. The six-year campaign ended June 30, 2001, and funded projects such as the Sports and Recreation Complex and a technology initiative to improve campus technology.

The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Sept. 23, 2005

2004 alumnus dies suddenly
By Sarah Pulliam
Will Landry, a 2004 summa cum laude Wheaton graduate and former captain of the men’s basketball team, died in his sleep at his condominium in Warrenville, Ill. on Sept. 15 at age 24.
Will’s father, Henry Landry, said the autopsy did not reveal the cause of Will’s death, though his family thinks Will may have experienced a seizure.
“It was total shock. We just couldn’t believe it,” Henry said. “He had been having some medical problems, but not in the least bit that we thought was life threatening.”
Will’s housemate Owen Handy ’03 said John Anderson ’02, who carpooled with Will to work at Investortools in Yorkville, became worried when Will did not pick Anderson up.
Handy and Anderson went to the house where they found Landry lying motionless in his bed.
“I keep telling people that he’s got better roommates now. He’s in a better place,” Handy said. “Our grief isn’t for Will—it’s for his family and for not having him here.”
The funeral service will be held today in Landry’s hometown of LaGrange, N.Y. Landry’s family includes Henry, his mother, Carolyn, and his sister Rachel, 21.
“It’s probably at the quiet times that we find it most difficult, but we’ve had a tremendous outpouring of support,” Henry said.
There will be a memorial for Will at Wheaton, but Henry said the date is yet to be determined. Memorial contributions can be made in Will’s name to the Wheaton College basketball program.
Henry described his son as an outgoing person who had both a serious and a goofy side.
“He loved life and being with people,” Henry said. “Even though we only had him for 24 years, he lived a fruitful and active life.”
Will’s friends and former teammates gathered at the home of the Wheaton men’s basketball coach Bill Harris on the night of Will’s death.
“I’ve never buried one of my players. It’s not how it’s supposed to be,” Harris said. “They’re supposed to be waiting on my grave.”
Harris described Will as brilliant, crazy, fun, capable and loving.
“His death has been one of tears and laughter,” Harris said. “Heaven is better off, I’ll tell you what, and we’re worse off.”
Harris said he hopes to name the MVP award at the annual Lee Pfund tournament in November after Will.
Will was a starter during three of his four seasons playing basketball at Wheaton and became a team captain during his senior year. He was a third team all-CCIW selection as a senior.
He served on Wheaton’s student athlete advisory council and was a member of the student sports information staff for four years.
Senior Jordan Kemper, co-captain of the basketball team this year, said he hopes to have an impact on this year’s basketball players like the impact Will had on him during Kemper’s sophomore year.
“He lived life to the fullest and always had a smile on his face,” Kemper said. “He loved basketball, loved to read, loved to just hang with the team, loved to lead others towards a common goal, and—above all—loved the Lord with all of his heart.”
Will graduated from Wheaton in May 2004, earning a bachelor of science in computer science and mathematics and a minor in economics. His father said Will was considering attending graduate school to receive a masters degree in economics.
Will was a student of Terry Perciante, chair of the math and computer science department. Perciante described Will as a very bright student who was always quick to participate.
“He always took up extra space because he was tall,” Perciante said. “He would rarely miss class because his absence would be noticed and he knew it.”
Perciante described Will as a very people-oriented person even though he had a considerable range of academic abilities.
“He was the most gregarious kind of person that you could know; he was infectious in his enthusiasm,” he said. “Will was as engaging in the way that he worked as he was in his interpersonal friendships.”

The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Sept. 16, 2005

First Ph.D. student to graduate
By Sarah Pulliam
Chris Beetham grinned as he hugged his wife after being announced as Dr. Beetham.
Beetham was the first student to complete Wheaton’s first Ph.D. program Sept. 9 and received his degree in biblical and theological studies.
Wheaton’s doctoral program in psychology began in 1993 as its first doctoral program. Since 1998, the program has graduated about 120 students.
Moo has been the director of the Ph.D. program since its 2002 inception. The program consists of 22 students and Moo does not plan to expand the program.
Beetham defended his dissertation in front of a group of about 20 professors and doctoral students who filled a small classroom in Armerding Hall and took detailed notes.
Director of the Ph.D. program, Doug Moo and Andrew Das, a professor at Elmhurst College, critiqued Beetham’s 362-page dissertation entitled, “Scriptures of Israel and the Letter of Paul to the Colossians,” before entering into a private executive session to decide whether Beetham should become the first recipient of Wheaton’s Ph.D. program.
When Beetham was called back into the classroom he was told that he had successfully defended his dissertation.
“It was a fantastic moment,” Beetham said. “All I wanted to do was go and hug [my wife] Mindy, who was still waiting outside to hear their decision.”
Beetham was then congratulated by his wife, peers and professors after his dissertation supervisor G.K. Beale announced him as Dr. Beetham.
Beale, a professor in the Ph.D. program, described Beetham as a competent and humble student.
“Although I was somewhat nervous, I was confident that the dissertation was a good piece of work,” Beale said. “I think it was a very good first oral examination for the program.”
Beetham and his wife Mindy have three children: Sam, 6; Kate, 3; and Erin, 1. He and his family will move to Ethiopia before the end of the year where Beetham will be a professor at Evangelical Theological College and the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. He will make some minor changes to his dissertation before his official graduation.
Beetham graduated from Wheaton in 1999 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in ancient languages and Biblical studies after spending four years in the Air Force. He spent three years at Gordon-Conwell Seminary and received his masters degrees in Old Testament and New Testament before entering the 2002 inaugural class of Wheaton’s Ph.D. program.
Provost Stan Jones said he is thrilled to have the first graduate of the Ph.D. program.
He said, “The Ph.D. program in Biblical and Theological Studies was started with the fervent hope that its graduates would build the Church and serve society as teachers and scholars who can bring the strengths of the evangelical tradition to churches and school around the world.”

The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Sept. 9, 2005

Wheaton to host, aid Katrina victims
By Sarah Pulliam
Wheaton College has joined the national effort to offer some relief to victims in the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The college will accept applications from displaced students from Louisiana, while other students are working locally to aid victims and planning a service trip in November.
Director of Admissions Shawn Leftwich said she has accepted two students and the college has a total housing space for 18 students. She said and about 10 local students who were enrolled at Tulane, Dillard and Xavier Universities in New Orleans have contacted the college for more information and may commute to Wheaton if accepted.
Controller Patrick Brooke said the college is still waiting to receive additional guidance from the federal government on how to handle federal financial aid.
If the student has already paid tuition to their home institution, Wheaton will not charge the student and whatever money the student Wheaton collects for tuition will be passed on to their home institution, according to Brooke.
“We’re going to be out something because there will be some students potentially who will come here for free,” Brooke said. “The college is following specific guidelines regarding tuition and financial aid.”
President Litfin said he decided to accept college students who were displaced by the hurricane because it was an obvious way to help victims immediately.
“There’s a painful reality that we are not a relief agency,” Litfin said. “I think we have a tremendous responsibly as Christians to come alongside people in every way we can.”
Thirty-three other colleges in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities are also accepting students, according to the CCCU’s Web site.
Wheaton College has more than 130 alumni households in the affected area and more than 25 households of current students in the four states, according to a Media Relations’ press release.
“As far as I know, no students, faculty or staff have been affected directly, but we have been impacted in our hearts by what we have seen, heard and learned about this horrific catastrophe,” said Chaplain Steve Kellough.
Vice President of Alumni Relations Merilee Melvin her office is working to create a online network for alumni to be connected.
“We have many alumni who have wonderful relief agencies and we’re trying to put people in touch with them,” Melvin said. “We’re connectors here. We want to stand with them with what we can do to help.”
Junior Aaron Kaat said he was disappointed that Wheaton was so slow in responding to the hurricane victims.
“It just seems that we have the connections down there with students, faculty and from previous Break Away trips, and so far, all that has been done is a few prayers in chapel,” Kaat said. “That’s great, but we can do a lot more.”
Kellough said he felt frustrated that the college could not respond right away.
“But the awareness of the hurricane has grown every day, so rather than just giving a knee jerk response, we have been able to give a thoughtful response in planning campus-wide efforts,” he said.
Kellough met with about 20 undergraduate students, geology professor Stephen Moshier, Director of Student Activities Steve Ivester and Office of Christian Outreach Director Brian Medaglia Wednesday for two hours to discuss what efforts the campus should pursue to aid Hurricane Katrina victims.
A Katrina relief ad hoc committee was formed with senior Lisa Macguire to lead the immediate and local efforts and sophomore Tyler Deaton to coordinate efforts to organize a Thanksgiving week trip to the Gulf Coast. Moshier is working to coordinate faculty involvement and Kellough said he plans to have an informational meeting for students who are interested and will announce details later.
While undergraduate students are currently pursuing ideas, graduate school students and faculty raised more than $1,000 Sept. 1 and 2 to purchase and send 50 cases of diapers, four cases of baby wipes and 50 new Bibles to the affected area.

The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Sept. 2, 2005

Sexual assault occurs two blocks away from campus
By Sarah Pulliam
A Wheaton resident was sexually assaulted Aug. 27 in her apartment near the college campus.
At approximately 2 a.m. a man broke into her apartment in the 1300 block of College Avenue, the Wheaton Police Department reported Monday. The victim’s 3-month-old child was in the apartment at the time of the assault but was not injured.
Administrative Division Commander Terry Mee declined to describe the nature of the sexual assault.
Mee, who has been working with the police department for 29 years, said the Aug. 27 incident is a rare crime in Wheaton.
“Nothing specifically like the events that took place in this incident has happened in my career,” he said.
The apartment building is located two blocks east of the college-owned Terrace Apartments. The woman is not a Wheaton College student.
The offender left after the assault and, at press time, a man fitting the suspect’s description was last seen in the area of College Avenue and Chase Street. The victim did not recognize the offender and described him to the police as an adult male with darker skin, about 5’10”, 250 lbs. with a dimple on his chin.
Police determined that the offender entered the victim’s apartment by cutting a window screen, accessing the deadbolt to the adjacent door and entering through the door. The victim told police he wore work-type gloves and a black ski mask that covered most of his face.
The victim, an adult, was sleeping before the assault. She reported the incident at 2:20 a.m. and was transported by ambulance to Central DuPage Hospital where she was treated and released the same day, according to Mee. He declined to say whether the victim was injured but did confirm that the victim experienced no serious injuries.
Chelsea Myers ’04, who lives in an apartment in the 1300 block of College Avenue, said she saw the victim move out of the apartment complex Monday to another location.
Mee said Wheaton Police do not have a firm suspect.
If caught, Mee said the offender would likely be charged with criminal sexual assault, pending the judge’s decision. He said the maximum penalty for criminal sexual assault is four to 15 years in prison.
Police think the Aug. 27 incident is related to an Aug. 24 incident, reported as disorderly conduct. An adult female resident of an apartment on the 1100 block of College Avenue said an adult male was looking into her apartment window around 6:35 a.m.
The incident occurred one-half block east of Terrace, near the College Avenue railroad crossing. The victim was not connected to the college as a student or employee.
She described the man as about 5’10”, 180-200 lbs., clean-shaven, with short brown hair and brown eyes.
She said the man left after she yelled to him, saying that she was calling the police department. The police responded but did not find the offender.
Wheaton owns 10 apartment buildings ranging from 603 College Ave. to 1057 College Ave., according to Director of Housing Paul Chelsen.
Chelsen he does not plan any changes to the housing department’s current commitment to safety.
The Carpenter Shop in the Physical Plant is conducting inspections of all ground level on-campus housing units to see if they are equipped with safety stops so that a window cannot be opened wide enough to allow a person to enter from the outside, according to Chelsen.
Britta Hayne ’05 lives on the second floor of the 1300 block of College Avenue where the Aug. 27 incident took place.
“We are now more careful about locking windows and doors, but I think there is a difference between being careful and upsetting our whole lives in order to avoid one incident,” Hayne said. “Basically, I don’t think we should be paranoid.”
There are 13 sex offenders currently registered in the City of Wheaton and all 13 are within four miles of Terrace Apartments. Five offenders are within less than a mile of the apartments.
Mee said the number of registered sex offenders has not increased in Wheaton since the police department began the registration process. The Illinois State Police was required to begin a sex offender database in 1999, according to the Illinois General Assembly Web site.
An average of about five sexual assaults have occurred in Wheaton each year since 1995, according to the Wheaton Police Department. Prior to Aug. 27, there had been four sexual assaults this year.
An average of five peeping tom incidents have occurred in Wheaton each year since 1995, according to the Wheaton Police Department. The 2005 peeping tom incidents were Aug. 24, Aug. 27 and Aug. 28.

The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Aug. 26, 2005

2005 graduate killed in car accident
By Sarah Pulliam
While Julia Piers waited for one of her roommates to arrive for a visit, her cell phone rang.
The voice on the other end said her roommate, Rachel Griego, had died.
“It was absolute devastation,” Piers said. “There have been a lot of tears. Tears of mourning and there are the tears of being overwhelmed, and then the tears of joy when we remember Rachel.”
Rachel, a 2005 summa cum laude Wheaton graduate, was killed in a car crash July 23 in Arkansas. She was on her way back to Wheaton to stay with Piers before moving to Naperville.
Rachel, 22, was traveling northbound on Interstate 55 in her car when she ran off to the shoulder for an unknown reason, overcorrected and lost control. She drove into oncoming traffic, hit a pickup truck and was killed instantly, according to her mother, Julie Griego.
Rachel lived off campus with Piers during her senior year with four other master’s students who also graduated in May.
“There have been so many people impacted by Rachel,” Piers said. “She had so many graduate and undergraduate friends in GUP, band and all over campus.”
Piers said she remembers Rachel as a person who was humble, intelligent, sensitive and someone who served others.
“Every time I would get up and go down to the kitchen to eat breakfast, she would come out holding her Bible in her PJs,” Piers said. “I always remember that Rachel was daily seeking the Lord. That is such a strong testimony and a legacy to her roommates.”
Although Rachel was shy, Piers said she also had a sillier side.
“It was just wonderful, those nights when we spilled into our apartment, got into our pajamas and just laughed together about anything and everything,” she said. “She was hysterical, just always making us laugh.”
Rachel’s death came after her visit to her family in La Marque, Texas, and came two days before she was to begin her job as a foster care caseworker at Evangelical Child and Family Services in Wheaton.
Rachel had just returned from six weeks of work at a day camp for disadvantaged students in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Wheaton in May with a bachelor’s in psychology.
Rachel’s death is the second in Wheaton’s class of 2005. James Pyles was killed in a car accident on June 24, 2004 in the West Bank during a missions trip.
Rachel’s mother said her immediate family members had spoken to Rachel on her cell phone during the day of the accident while she was driving to St. Louis to visit a friend.
“It was a very bad shock. It was so sudden and such a tragedy,” Julie said. “She was such a beautiful person and had so much to live for, so it was hard to understand why the Lord took her.”
Julie had breast cancer seven years ago and said she had to struggle with what would happen to her children if she were to die.
“Finally I surrendered my children to God,” she said. “I surrendered her that many years ago so how could I be angry with God for taking her when I know that he always has the best plan for us in mind.”
Julie said the Griego family is coping with Rachel’s death fairly well and the family is considering attending grief counseling. Rachel’s sister Carrie, 19, is a sophomore at Colgate University (N.Y.) and her brother Ivan is 15.
Rachel was the chaplain of Wheaton’s symphonic band her junior and senior years.
“Her prayers before rehearsals were conversations with the Lord and they had a way of making everyone focused, settled and ready to put the outside world back outside so we could be about the task of praising the Lord with our musical talents,” said former band director Jim Warrick.
Warrick described Rachel as one of the most God-loving, creative, talented and smart young people he has ever taught.
“Now on my list of things to ask the Lord when I meet him is the question why did he need her more than the world needed her,” Warrick said. “I am certain she has no regrets being with the Lord, but those of us who knew her certainly miss her dearly.”
Wheaton’s memorial service for Rachel will be at 3 p.m. on Oct. 9 in Barrows Auditorium.
Memorial contributions can be made to Wheaton College-Rachel Griego Memorial Fund, c/o David R. Lawrenz.

Sidebar:
Birth: May 29, 1983

Family: Parents Tony and Julie Griego; sister Carrie, 19; and brother Ivan, 15.

Hometown: La Marque, Texas

Future plans: Hired as a case worker in foster care for the Evangelical Child & Family Services in Wheaton, Rachel planned to return to school eventually to pursue dual master’s degrees in theology and social work.

Academic achievements:
Graduated salutatorian of her high school class in 2001 and summa cum laude from Wheaton in May 2005, earning a bachelor’s in psychology. She was a member of Wheaton College Scholastic Honor Society and PSI CHI.

Extracurricular activities: Played flute in Wheaton’s wind ensemble her first two years and the symphonic band her final two years. She served as an officer on Global Urban Perspectives (GUP) cabinet during her senior year. She was also a Discipleship Small Group leader and worked for Phonathon. Before her death, she had just returned from six weeks working at a day camp for disadvantaged students in Washington, D.C.