Elizabethtown College News 
Back to top 9/9/2008 Join Us For Homecoming And Family Weekend, Oct. 17-19!
Back to top 9/4/2008 Young Center presents a lecture on Brethren service and Sino-Japanese War The Young Center at Elizabethtown College will host a free public lecture by Joe Wampler, Ph.D. on Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Wampler’s lecture is titled, “Behind the Lines: Brethren Service and the Sino-Japanese War.” Wampler will lecture on the work of Howard Sollenberger, the 21–year-old son of a Brethren missionary to China. Sollenberger responded to an urgent call for a relief worker to assist after the lines of the Japanese invading forces overtook the area of China where Brethren were working. Many farmers were burned out of their homes and in need of emergency aid. Sollenberger spent two years among these refugees and Chinese guerilla fighters in the mountains of northern China. Wampler will base his lecture on the extensive diary that Sollenberger kept at the time. The lecture will also feature many of Sollenberger’s photographic images. Wampler grew up in China, the son of Brethren missionaries. He received a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Chicago, taught at the University of California Santa Cruz, and worked at observatories around the world before retiring in 1997. Wampler and his brother Gene share an interest in gathering stories of Chinese and Americans who were affected by Brethren work in China. The lecture will coincide with the opening of an exhibit at the Young Center, “No Greater Love: Brethren Mission and Service Work in China 1908-1951.” This exhibit commemorates the centennial of the beginning of Brethren mission work in China in 1908. A collaborative effort between Young Center Director Jeff Bach and Gene and Joe Wampler, No Greater Love combines text and photos to tell the story of Brethren mission and service work in Shanxi province in northern China from 1908 to 1951. The exhibit runs through May 20. For additional information about the lecture or exhibit, call 361-1468. Back to top 9/4/2008 Amish expert named Snowden Fellow, presents a lecture Erik Wesner has been appointed as the fall 2008 Snowden Fellow at Elizabethtown College. Wesner, who has been conducting research with Young Center Senior Fellow Donald Kraybill through much of August, will continue his work at the College until Sept. 30. A dual citizen of the United States and Poland, Mr. Wesner is an active researcher of the Amish. He currently is writing two books – one regarding Amish in the business world, which is slated for publication by Jossey-Bass in spring 2010, and another general overview of the Amish, which is scheduled for publication in Poland in 2009. His blog, titled “Amish America,” offers insights and observations about Amish and other Plain Sects in the United States. Wesner has earned bachelor degrees in economics and English literature from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In Poland, he teaches English for Inter-Lang and Text Language School and Lincoln School of Foreign Languages. He joins a long list of distinguished Young Center fellows and doctoral fellows, who have joined Elizabethtown College for a short time to pursue research related to the faith, history and culture of Anabaptist and/or Pietist movements. Wesner will present a lecture, titled “Is Success a Four-letter Word? The Amish Approach to Business Achievement,” on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in Bucher Meetinghouse. The public is invited free of charge. Back to top 9/4/2008 Wohl receives NIH grant to study infant skin disease Dr. Debra Wohl, assistant professor of biology at Elizabethtown College, in collaboration with William Curry, M.D. of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, was awarded a $197,000 grant by the National Institute of Health. Their study, titled “Do Intravenous Antibiotics Administered during Delivery Affect the Development of Infantile Atopic Dermatitis,” is designed to determine whether young children have an increased risk of developing atopic dermatitis when their mothers receive antibiotics during delivery. Atopic dermatitis, commonly referred to as eczema, is increasingly becoming a major health concern. Although not well defined, atopic dermatitis is a chronic, relapsing, inflammatory skin disease. Studies of the skin disease have yielded a wealth of information, yet an underlying cause for the rise of atopic dermatitis remains unknown. Drs. Wohl and Curry propose that the administration of intravenous antibiotics given to the mother during a vaginal delivery, which consequently disrupts microbial colonization of the gut in newborns, is a contributing factor to the apparent rise of atopic dermatitis. The use of antibiotics has increased at the same time that the incidence of allergic disease has also increased. Exposure to antibiotics, even for a short time during delivery, disrupts the gut flora, which can influence the development of the immune system. The current practice of using antibiotics during the birthing period may be a contributing factor for the rise in prevalence of atopic dermatitis. The overall aim of this study is to determine if the administration of antibiotics during a vaginal delivery increases the likelihood a child under the age of 2 develops atopic dermatitis. By collecting and analyzing data on health care practices, specifically the administration of intrapartum antibiotics and the health of the child during his/her first two years of life, physicians will be equipped to reevaluate the short and long term benefits and risks associated with administering intravenous antibiotics during the birthing period. This study will also be used to generate additional questions about the role early exposure of antibiotics plays on the development of the immune system of newborns, while also providing research opportunities and training for students interested in the biomedical field. Dr. Wohl earned her B.S. degree at the University of Michigan and her masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Georgia. She has taught at Elizabethtown since 2004. Back to top 9/4/2008 Alumnus named NFL security director Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller '95 has been named director of strategic security for the National Football League, effective August 8. In his newly-created position, Miller will oversee all aspects of pregame security screening, including team signal screening and fan behavior. He has been serving as state police commissioner since his appointment by Gov. Ed. Rendell in 2003. In 2006, Miller led the investigation of the Amish school shooting in Nickel Mines, Pa., where a gunman killed five girls in a schoolhouse before taking his own life. He was praised for balancing the public's need for information and the Amish community's desire for privacy. A Harrisburg native, Miller holds a master’s degree in public administration from Penn State University and an associate’s degree from the University of South Florida. As a continuing education student, he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Elizabethtown College in 1995. A former adjunct criminal justice professor, Miller received this year’s College’s Educate for Service award, the highest recognition given to an alumni. |
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