Page 10 • Thursday, November 6, 2003
NEWS
The Pendulum
Sienerth to assume undergraduate research post in June
From page 1
that pretty much helped us to see
this could provide the most seam
less transition between one direc
tor and another.”
Sienerth began teaching at
Elon in 1998 and immediately
became an unofficial member of
the undergraduate research advi
sory committee, assisting the
group during the Student
Undergraduate Research Forum
(SURF), until he became an offi
cial member in 2000.
“He’s been in the trenches,
mentoring students and comes
with a great perspective, encour
aging quality work,” Levesque
said of Sienerth.
And for the last two years
Sienerth has served as co-chair of
the Student Undergraduate
Research Forum.
“I think undergraduate
research is a vital part of my
teaching and scholarship,”
Sienerth said. “It is a vital part of
teaching students. And I see it as
one of the primary Elon experi
ences.”
Sienerth’s students have pre
sented at SURF and National
Conferences on Undergraduate
Research (NCUR) and at other
regional and professional confer
ences. And he was selected as the
first Japheth E. Rawls professor,
awarded for a three year term to
support faculty-student collabo
rative, scientific research. He is
also a member of the Council on
Undergraduate Research, which
advocates for the importance of
undergraduate research.
“Clearly you want someone
who is involved in the research
process, actively engaged with
students in the research process
and has a good record as a mentor
to students,” Midgette said.
“Here, (Sienerth) was an excel
lent choice.”
In addition to making Elon’s
program a model for other insti
tutions, Sienerth said he envi
sions a lot of interaction between
fellows programs and the
Undergraduate Research
Program.
And because of the new fellows
programs and research require
ments, Levesque said it was a good
44
think undergraduate research is a vital part
of my teaching and scholarship.
— Karl Sienerth, associate professor of chemistry ^ ^
time for him to step down.
“I think it’s an exciting time
with the new fellows programs,”
Sienerth said. “There will be a lot
of interaction between them
because imbedded in those pro
grams is undergraduate research.”
Sienerth said he also wants to
find ways to work with the
administration in innovative
ways.
“I want to work with the
administration to find ways to
provide faculty with time to do
research,” he said.
And Levesque said he
believes the program will contin
ue to grow, getting more faculty
and students involved in under
graduate research.
“(Sienerth) was an obvious
and great choice to sort of spear
head the next phase of the pro
gram,” he said.
Contact Erin Cunningham at pen-
dulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Elon graduate Jack McKeon returns home after World Series win
McKeon’s humor, ‘tough love’ !\AcKeon active in Elon community throughout career
fuels Marlins’ World Series run
From page 1
Fresh off dozens of inter
views with national media,
McKeon, who’s also managed
for Kansas City, Oakland, San
Diego and Cincinnati, relished
the attention. “I think we ought
to take a collection,” he said,
upon surveying the capacity
crowd.
It was this kind of humor
that helped fuel the Marlin’s
World Series run, said
Alderman Phoebe Harrision.
“All his team’s players said he
made them
You can see
made it fun.”
McKeon also credits "a lot
of tough love" to the success of
the young team.
“They set their own goals,”
he said. "You basically just had
to set them in the right direc
tion."
Mayor Beth Schmidt also pre
sented McKeon with a certificate
of recognition and Mayor Pro
Teni Richard Keziah presented
McKeon's wife, Carol, a certifi
cate recognizing her as "the first
lady of Major League Baseball.”
“You’ve brought recognition
mrnmi
W
V I ' I ^ ' 1
! enjoy what they do. « / ' ; \ A ' ' ■ !
;ee from tonight he | \ \ ' j j ; 1
Photo courtesy of University Relations
Jack McKeon, Ebn resident and 1963
ESon alumnus, led the Florida Marlins to
their second World Series champi
onship v\/itii a 4-2 series win last month.
and honor to this small communi
ty,” Schmidt told McKeon during
the ceremony. “We want to rec
ognize in some small way the
kind of pride we have for you and
your accomplishments.”
Contact Steve Earley at pendu-
lum(a^elon.edu or 27H-7247.
jay Dome
Reporter
The Florida Marlins may be the
World Champions after their win
over the Yankees in last month’s
World Series, but their manager.
Jack McKeon, an Elon alumnus
and Alamance Country resident, is
a local hero in the community.
McKeon was given the key to
the city at a Board of Alderman
meeting in Burlington Monday.
The ceremony, which took place at
the Town Hall, was one of the first
major local ceremonies that
McKeon has attended since win
ning the championship.
According to Dan Anderson,
director of University Relations,
McKeon has made tentative plans
to visit Elon to be honored in mid-
November. despile his busy sched
ule. Plans for McKeon’s visit
include a question-and-answer
session with students and faculty
in Whitley Auditorium on Nov. 14.
There will also be a ceremony at
halftime of the Elon football game
the following day to recognize his
achievements and contributions to
the community.
McKeon first came to
Alamance County after meeting
his wife while playing baseball
with the Bur-Gray Pirates, a minor
league team for the Pittsburgh
Pirates. He enrolled at Elon the
following year, but spring baseball
prevented McKeon from being a
full-time student. Having already
forfeited his amateur status,
McKeon was not able to play
baseball for Elon, but assisted in
coaching after meeting Athletic
Director Doc Mathis.
When McKeon finished his
coursework in 1957, he was
unable to attend commencement
ceremonies because of baseball
traveling. Because of his hectic
schedule, McKeon did not receive
his actual Elon diploma until 1963.
Despite the demands of profes
sional baseball, McKeon main
tains a close connection with the
local community, according to
Anderson. Among community
events that he has attended
throughout the years, McKeon has
participated in the Hot Stove
League, a group that carries on the
Southern tradition of meeting dur
ing the olT-season to talk about the
upcoming year in baseball. In
1998, Elon hosted the group’s
meeting, which was also attended
by past Elon baseball successes,
including major league umpire
Drew Coble ’74, former major
league pitcher Greg Harris ’87 and
McKeon’s son-in-law Greg
Booker, a pitching coach for the
San Diego Padres.
McKeon and his family are
very well tied into the community,
according to Trip Durham, assis
tant director for marketing, pro
motions and home events manage
ment at Elon. McKeon had been
active in working with the Western
Alamance High School baseball
team, which his grandson plays
on.
McKeon has continued to sup
port Elon baseball and attends
many of the team’s events.
According to Durham, he is
always willing to help when there
is a favor that needs to be done.
"When he came to Elon in the
late ‘50s and early ‘60s, he saw the
sense of community and small
town pride and it really took to
him and helo it. Coming from the
Northeast, it offered him a great
new look on life and he has
embraced it for the last 30 years,”
Durham said.
“It’s fun having Jack around.
Whether it's for baseball or just
seeing him in passing, I think there
is a special place in his heart for
the school and the athletic pro
gram,’’ Durham said.
Contact Jay Dome at pendu-
lum@clon.edu or 278-7247.