Torchlite
Summer 2007For a printable version, click
here.
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TLU student Debra Ledkins watches the active volcano Arenol in Costa Rica in May. She was part of the “Environmental Studies in Costa Rica” class, one of several groups of TLU students studying abroad this summer. (Photo by Dr. Mark Gustafson, associate professor and chair, department of biology.)
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TLU Today
Spring Commencement – During its recent spring commencement ceremonies, the TLU Board of Regents conferred on The Rev. Jon Lee an honorary doctor of divinity degree, the highest honor presented by the university.
An ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lee recently retired after serving 35 years as the senior pastor of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Dallas. He is well-known for his community spirit and helped found the Dallas Area Interfaith, a multi-denominational organization that focuses on the problems of the poor.
Lee served as a regent for TLU from 1979-2004. He was a leader on the board, chairing several key committees and helping shape the make-up and direction of the board.
TLU President Jon N. Moline called Lee “a calm voice of reason and thinking, a thoughtful and caring colleague, and a wise counselor to us all.” He praised Lee for his part in making the university stronger and better than it has ever been.
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| Dr. Jon N. Moline congratulates The Rev. Jon Lee as he receives TLU’s honorary doctor of divinity degree. Moline, Dr. John Masterson, provost and executive vice president, second from left, and Karen Norman, chair of the TLU board of regents conferred Lee with the university’s highest honor during spring commencement. |
The TLU campus is a busy place this summer. Along with summer school classes, the university is hosting a number of summer programs and camps that promise to bring hundreds of visitors to campus.
- A number of baseball and basketball camps are scheduled at TLU for June and July. The camps are supervised by TLU coaches and each camp is geared to specific ages and skill levels. Camps are available for both boys and girls.
- The Lone Star Scholars Academy is an exciting opportunity for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to earn college credit while experiencing college life firsthand. There is still space available to register for this two-week program, June 17-30.
- During the annual Summer Music Academy middle school and high school students combine social activities with professional instruction by certified educators and professors from premier universities and colleges.
- The AP Summer Institute in July will bring both experienced and new advanced placement and pre-AP teachers from high schools and middle schools throughout the state to the TLU campus to take intensive, subject-specific courses.
- The university will also be the home to several other programs this summer, including Texas Girls’ State, the Leadership Academy for Seguin ISD, and several Lutheran conferences and programs.
For more information and a complete list of TLU summer programs, dates, and contact information, click
here.
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Lucky's Pack
The New Graduate Happy Hour sponsored by the TLU Alumni Board congratulated the Class of 2007 and encouraged the newest alumni to remain actively involved with their alma mater. The event was held at Los Cucos in Seguin in early May.
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Growing & Giving
TLU officials are celebrating raising over $52 million for the university during the past nine years of Dr. Jon Moline’s presidency. In 1998, at the initiative of Moline and the TLU Board of Regents, a concerted effort was made to raise additional funds for the university, particularly for endowment – which helps provide financial support for scholarships, programs, faculty positions and facilities – and for capital projects.
TLU’s endowment has tripled during this period of time and is now valued at more than $60 million. Of the $52 million raised since 1998, nearly $10 million was designated for scholarship endowment.
Major capital improvement projects at TLU since 1998 include the construction of Tschoepe Hall and the Kieffer Kinesiology Laboratory, as well as the renovation of several residence halls and the historic Fritz Homestead. Construction begins this summer on the 12,500 square-foot AT&T Science Facility.
TLU received the two largest gifts in its history during this period from the estates of John H. Jackson and Annie V. Tschoepe. Other major gifts were made by alumni Lee and Barbara Mueller of LaGrange, the AT&T Foundation, and Grainger Weston of Marion.
“As Dr. Moline, who has provided great leadership and energy in our on-going fundraising efforts, prepares to retire as president of TLU, it is an appropriate time to pause and celebrate the financial successes of the university,” said Betsy Clardy, vice president for resource development and alumni relations.
She also recognized several key members of the TLU Board of Regents who have contributed their leadership to the university’s fundraising efforts in recent years. They include Roger H. Hemminghaus, past chair of the board; Karen Norman, current chair; and Glynn Bloomquist, current board member.
“Successful fundraising requires the involvement of dedicated volunteer leadership,” said Clardy. “These three individuals and many more alumni and friends of TLU caught the vision and spirit of what this university can be, now and in the future, and they responded generously with their time, energy, ideas and gifts.”
“As I conclude my presidency, I am grateful to everyone who has helped play a role in the financial success of the university,” Moline said. “We are blessed to have so many people who have contributed to Texas Lutheran and helped make possible our goals of providing a community of faith and learning for our students. I pray that these and even more friends of TLU will generously support the university in the years to come.”
Moline will retire at the end of June after serving TLU as president for the past 13 years. He will be succeeded on July 1 by The Rev. Ann Svennungsen, president and chief executive officer of The Fund for Theological Education in Atlanta.
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Scoreboard
Women’s 4x100 relay third at NCAA DIII nationals – The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs scored a third-place finish in the women’s 4x100 meter relay at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Oshkosh, Wis. The third-place result is a school-best for TLU in the 4x100. The Bulldogs were sixth in the event in 2005 and 2006.
TLU’s 4x100 lineup of junior Jessica Raglon, junior Staci Jackson, junior Ashley Williams and junior Amber Meeks crossed the finish line in 47.23 seconds.
The Bulldogs also scored points in championship finals in the 4x400 relay and the open 400. The 4x400 relay team of Jackson, sophomore Casey Toombs, junior Taffey Gray and Williams finished seventh with a school-record time of 3:48.25.
In the open 400, Jackson posted a school-best finish of eighth with a time of 56.50. Jackson finished the meet with three All-America citations. Williams collected two All-America awards.
Top national finishes for TLU men’s, women’s golf – The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs posted its tournament-best team score of 303 in the final round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships and collected a school-best seventh place DIII finish.
TLU juniors Jonathan Swisher and Tanner Carter each earned NCAA DIII All-American honors with Top 30 finishes. Swisher tied for 11th and was named to the Second Team All-America squad. Carter made the Third Team with a tie for 23rd.
The Bulldogs, back-to-back champions of the American Southwest Conference, played in their third consecutive NCAA Division III Championships.
The TLU women’s golf team finished 19th at the 2007 NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Championships, which concluded after four rounds at Howey-In-The-Hills, Flor.
Texas Lutheran posted a team score of 362 in the final round. The round was the Bulldogs’ second-best scoring performance of the tournament. TLU’s four-round total of 1,477 included rounds of 376, 384, 355 and 362.
Freshman Angela Aufderhaar led the Bulldogs with a tie for 68th in the individual standings.
The TLU women’s team made its first NCAA Division III Championships team appearance by winning its first American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. The Bulldogs women and men’s golf teams are coached by H.C. Tran.
Football team goes to Chihuahua, Mexico for exhibition win – Joel Waldon threw four touchdown passes and Robert Bonner intercepted three passes in the Bulldogs’ 46-14 exhibition victory over Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua in Chihuahua, Mexico on May 24. In the inaugural game of Chihuahua’s Estadio Olimpico, the Bulldogs increased a 19-14 first-quarter lead with 27 unanswered points.
Waldon completed 12 of his 20 passes and finished with 268 passing yards. Waldon also scored on a 1-yard run. Jonathan Randle hauled in two passes and both went for scores. Randle scored on a reverse flea flicker for 37 yards and on a standard 15-yard toss.
Anthony Smith put TLU up 19-7 with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Smith took a reverse handoff from Dwight Bonner and again went up the right sideline for a score.
TLU All-American drafted by Texas Rangers – TLU shortstop Jake Kaase was drafted June 8 by the Texas Rangers in the 23rd round of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft. Kaase, 21, is the first Texas Lutheran baseball player to be drafted since 1999, when Bulldog left fielder Aaron Merhoff was picked in the 21st round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kaase, a junior, was the 710th player taken overall in the first-year player draft. He was the 66th shortstop picked and the third shortstop selected by the Rangers. (Matthew West of Bellaire High School, the 80th overall pick and first shortstop selected by the Rangers, is expected to move to third base, according to MLB.com.)
Kaase has lettered for three years with Texas Lutheran and has started at shortstop the last two seasons. He has been a member of three American Southwest Conference Championships and three NCAA Division III regional tournament teams.
Kaase was named a 2007 D3baseball.com Honorable Mention All-American and a 2007 ABCA All-West Region Second Team selection for NCAA Division III. Kaase also was a 2006 ABCA All-West Region Second Team choice.
In 46 games in 2007, Kaase hit .422 with 56 RBI, 15 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He had a slugging percentage of .583 and an on-base percentage of .477. Kaase was also one of the top defensive shortstops in the country. He recorded 146 assists, 69 putouts and 15 errors in 230 defensive chances, and he was involved in turning 25 double plays.
Kaase was the ASC West Division Co-Most Valuable Player and was named to the All-Tournament teams at the ASC Championships and the NCAA West Region Championships.
More honors for TLU baseball players – Texas Lutheran’s Scott Matocha, Ryan Nokelby and Adam Enloe each picked up American Baseball Coaches Association awards.
Matocha, TLU’s senior second baseman, was named to the ABCA Rawlings All-West Region Gold Glove Team. Nokelby, a true freshman, was named to the ABCA NCAA Division III All-West Region Third Team. Enloe, a senior right-hander, was also named to the ABCA NCAA Division III All-West Region Third Team.
Texas Lutheran concluded its 2007 baseball season with a record of 37-10-1. The Bulldogs won a third consecutive ASC title and advanced to an NCAA regional championships for a third straight year.
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors for Bulldogs – Texas Lutheran tennis players Alanna Gangemi and Cody Fuller each were named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI First Teams in the college division. Gangemi and Fuller advanced to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
Gangemi was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI Women’s At-Large First Team for a second consecutive year. Fuller gained selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI Men’s At-Large First Team for a first time.
Texas Lutheran senior baseball player Scott Matocha and senior softball player Jayme Reiss were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI First Teams in the college division for their respective sports.
Matocha, the Bulldogs’ starting second baseman, was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI Baseball First Team for the first time. Reiss, the starting second baseman on the TLU softball team, earned her second consecutive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI First Team selection.
Matocha and Reiss advanced to the national ballots for consideration as Academic All-Americans.
Get current updates on all of your favorite TLU sports by visiting our
athletics homepage.
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TLU Happenings
Opening Convocation9:30 a.m., Aug. 21
Speaker - President Ann M. Svennungsen
Jackson Auditorium
For more information on these and other TLU events, to update your contact information, or to receive e-mail notification of
Torchlite, please e-mail
alumni@tlu.edu, or call 830-372-8026.
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