Kathryn Bloke, director of the Juniata Museum of Art (left), is making plans to better integrate Juniata's art programs and museum into the life of the Huntingdon community.

CAMPUS NEWS

Bridging Gaps: Juniata's New Art Museum Director Settles In Juniata welcomed Kathryn Make, formerly director of education at the Phoenix Art Museum, to the campus community over the summer as the new director of the Juniata College Museum of Art and professor of art history.

Blake brings decades of professional museum experience to Juniata, including administration, education, curation, management, and program development. Blake brings with her a unique vision for the direction of the museum. Beyond her duties as director and classroom instructor, Blake intends to be a connector—a builder of bridges between seemingly disconnected academic disciplines at Juniata, and between the College and the broader community.

How does your previous experience as director of education in Phoenix translate to your role as educator and director of the Juniata College Museum of Art?

"I'd been at the Phoenix Art Museum for 24 years when I left. Having that amount of time in one place allowed me to view museums as hubs, and to understand our collection and the community I was working in. I view myself as a mediator between audience and object.

"A metaphor that I've used for a long time is viewing educators as bridge builders. Within the Juniata community, those bridges should exist across disciplines, so that the museum is not perceived as only the domain of art. My administrative position here allows us to place the museum at the surface of many areas of study. Museums involve

history, sociology, politics, mass media, science, philosophy...all of these things are inherent in art objects to a greater or lesser degree. They are a crossroads for conversation and the point at which connections are created."

How do you intend to connect the Juniata College Museum of Art with the surrounding area?

"In terms of building bridges with the community, it's a tremendous benefit to have an art museum here. I'd like to build stronger connections with schools in the area. Art people go to art events, but eventually you have to get outside of that circle. Schools are a great place to do that.

"When students come to a museum again and again, they get comfortable, they have a sense that museums are places for them. Parents will support their children in whatever their endeavors are—if a student comes, their parents will, too. I've done a lot of work with schools in the past to get students involved in unique ways."

What are some of the things that attracted you to Juniata? How is the transition going?

"Part of the reason I came here is to be innovative. If somebody

wants to try a new interpretive approach, go for it! We can't keep doing things the way they've been done the last 100 years. Technology is changing our ways of understanding. I'm very happy to be in a place where there's more latitude for that kind of thinking, because that's what pushes the field forward and keeps museums relevant.

"I grew up in New Hampshire and went to college in Massachusetts, so the East Coast climate isn't out of my realm. That being said, my blood has thinned considerably in the past 24 years.

"I love walking to work. A Iot. I love looking at the mountains. I've been getting out and driving the back roads on the weekend.

"I'm enjoying teaching the museum studies course. Students wrote mission statements for the museum, and helped choose different versions of Belle Yang's current exhibition. I am used to teaching in a museum context, though. I'm going to have to get used to all the grading."

—TylerAyres '15, a senior from Huntingdon, Pa., is the Juniata Associate for Media Relations

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Grace Fala, professor of communication (Standing), helped create the College's University and other institutions. Stewards of Diversity program, based on several similar programs at Temple

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"(Steward training) doesn't sat that jou must hire people of diverse backgrounds for this position. Stewards increase the scope of the search, the fullness of the process." —Joel Pheasant '99, director of Technology Solutions Center

—Tyler Ayres '16, a senior from Huntingdon, Pa., is the Juniata Associate for. Media Relations.

Jack and Carolyn Sparks, two retired educators from Altoona, Pa., recently donated their family farm in Bedford County to Juniata. On Dec. 11, just months after making their gift, the couple, far right, visited the von Liebig Center for Science to listen to presentations by biology students who have started research projects on the site.

Farming Out Research Assignments

CAMPUS NEWS

The relatively recent program, dubbed Stewards of Diversity, is part of Juniata's effort to evolve as an institution. The goal of the program is to better represent national demographics among faculty and staff. The initiative, which started in 2011, now boasts 50 trained stewards.

Rosalie Rodriguez '01, former special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion, explains that the student body has grown much more diverse since 2002, pointing out that the number of African-American, Latino, Asian and Native American (ALANA) students has increased from 2 percent to 14 percent, while international student recruitment increased from 4 percent to 10 percent.

"Our faculty and staff has not mirrored that change," says Rodriguez, who now works at Buckneil University. The College holds training sessions for stewards at the Raystown Field Station twice a year that cover a breadth of issues that range from best hiring practices to mindfulness of subconscious biases.

One of the steward's roles is to make sure search committees are not overlooking applicants based on their own preconceptions. "There was a time when individuals would think, 'This applicant wouldn't be happy in Huntingdon,' and reject them out of hand," says Gail Leiby Ulrich '81, director of human resources.

A steward's role is proactive, rather than reactive. "(Steward training) doesn't say that you must hire people of diverse backgrounds for this position," says Joel Pheasant '99, director of the Technology Solutions Center and steward of diversity. "Stewards increase the

scope of the search, the fullness of the process."

The stewards weigh in on such issues as how Juniata announces job openings, how to reach diverse applicant pools, and which résumés are being discarded and why.

Grace Fala, professor of communication and chair of the Stewards of Diversity, helped develop the Stewards' guidelines after several consultations with diversity professionals and experts at Temple University.

"We have an obligation to offer a healthier balance to our students. We should not ask how new hires will be like us, but how they're going to change us," says Fala, who is interim director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Thanks to the generosity of Jack and Carolyn Sparks, five students cut their teeth on some hands-on field research during fall semester at the couple's family farm. The Sparks recently donated to Juniata College in memory of their two late sons (see story, page 46). The farm spans 378 unspoiled acres in Bedford County and its boundary is framed by the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River.

The students presented their findings to the public at the end of the semester in the von Liebig Science Center. The Sparks attended the presentation and were able to see the first of many research projects made possible by the gift of their homestead.

Under the direction of Regina Lamendella, assistant professor of biology, Morgan Decker '16, Max Magley '16, Taylor Miles '16, Kate Sabey '16, and Nikea Ulrich '17

wrote "Go With the Flow," a pilot study that sought to measure the effects of land use on microbial communities along the Juniata River.

The study uncovered vast differences in both pH and biodiversity between their three randomly selected sample sites on the property. "That section of the Juniata is incredibly understudied," said Lamendella. "My goal is to have students out there sampling all summer."

As Bedford County developed, Jack bore witness to radical changes in the local ecosystem. "There were major algal and aquatic plant life blooms about 15 years ago," said Jack. "There aren't frogs anymore, or water snakes or muskrats. Not one. There are hardly any crayfish, dragonflies or damselflies."

The fact that Jack can recount these changes firsthand and

correlate them with farming, mining, and other local practices unlocks countless educational opportunities for future Juniatians. "A historical timeline of local events and their effect an pH and biodiversity is something that almost never accompanies a land gift," said Decker, a pre-med student. "We're really lucky to have him."

The Sparks were thrilled with the students' presentation and look forward to future progress. "Jack and I didn't expect you all to go this far in depth with the pilot study," said Carolyn to the students. "I wish you could all stick around another semester or two, to continue this great work."

—Tyler Ayres '16, a senior from Huntingdon, Pa., is the Juniata Associate for Media Relations

Stewards Of Diversity: More than 50 Take Training Over the past decade, Juniata College has enjoyed much success in diversifying its student body. Today, approximately 25 percent of students come from backgrounds of diversity. Despite this achievement, the College's hiring practices have not been able to achieve similar results, which inspired Juniata to create a program to increase their effectiveness in the area of diverse recruitment.

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by Tyler Ayres '16 Juniata Associate for Media Relations

you'd be hard-pressed to find a student-athlete at Juniata who hasn't grumbled about Doug Smith's workout programs

at one time or another, Even professors and members of the Huntingdon community grumble about the rigor of his infamous noon conditioning clinics.

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Juniata's Doug Smith, strength and conditio ling coach, (in background in white jersey) oversees a newly expanded weight and training room that comfortably serves students and athletes. Smith was recently named the 2015 Coach of the Year by the Strength and Conditioning Association.

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Juniata goalkeeper Kerry Leonard '18, of Cockeysville, Md., leaps up to make a save. it

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In January, Smith, head strength and conditioning coach at the College, was named the 2015 Strength and Conditioning Association's coach of the Year. Smith's competition for the award included coaches across all three NCAA divisions from almost 1,100 colleges and universities.

Since his arrival at Juniata in 1990, Smith's leadership has produced 83 All-American athletes and eight national championship teams. Much of the overwhelming success of Smith's training programs is a result of his fluid and unique approach. "We're far from the norm here," he says.

The support of Juniata's benefactors has also been pivotal to the success of Smith's program. "We've always had a facility that was a step ahead," Smith continues. The Sam '54 and Martha Brumbaugh Fitness Center was expanded by approximately 600 feet over the summer, thanks to the generosity of Carol and Ed Anderson, as well as ongoing contributions from the original donors, the Brumbaughs. "We've made better use of the space we have. It's safer, has a larger capacity, better traffic patterns,"

Sarah Simeone '14, assistant strength and conditioning coach, says the expansion of the fitness center has dramatically increased its usability. "The renovation allows Coach Smith and Ito take two teams through at a time. Before, everything was dangerously tight, people

were on top of each other."

There is nothing static about Smith's methods. "We continue to evolve here—with our teams, with individual athletes' strengths and weaknesses—and every program we design here is not only sport-specific, but also position-specific, and athlete-specific," he says. "We're using all the tools of the trade to develop our program... I'm not a disciple of any one method."

While Juniata's approach to strength and conditioning is in a state of constant growth, there is a principle that Smith insists on. "We consistently demand correctness-of-form. Behind every exercise we do, there are concepts and mechanics."

Aaron O'Brien 1.7, of York, Pa, makes a catch under tremendous defensive pressure.

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Athletes lacking a basic understanding of physiology are prone to injuries, and so coaches at the college proactively train both body and mind in their programs. "There are a lot of motor patterns that can hurt you in a weight room, and once

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you develop them, they're hard to change," Smith explains. "We spend as much time learning outside the weight room as we spend training inside."

In addition to a kinetic program and thorough athlete education, there is a third element to Smith's philosophy: fortitude. "Physical toughness comes from mental toughness, and we've developed grind programs here that make our athletes tougher. Groups of individuals that grind like that become teams of leaders, teams that can communicate and work together at an advanced level."

Smith tends to emphasize the role that others have played in his achievements. "My award in January wouldn't have been possible without the support of the administration and sports coaches, who are great at getting their players on board with the strength programs. Any success we have in there is because of them."

Many other institutions partition their athletes based on program, and have entirely separate fitness centers for non-athletes. "Some say our combined facilities are a disadvantage—you have an administrator over here, students over there, a team working in back—but people bond in here and get to know each other." >j<

SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY BY: J.D. CAVRICH

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