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Imagine stepping away from being a professor and head of an academic
department at prestigious Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to help improve
living conditions for people half a world away.
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Leadership Award Winners: Mark Minster (left), chair of Rose-Hulman Institute
of Technology's Diversity Council, and President Gerald S. Jakubowski (right)
congratulate this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Student Leadership Award winners
John Robson, Institute librarian; Marsha Krisenko, director of the Best Buddies
program; and Robert and Judy Houghtalen, a couple that has done extensive
humanitarian efforts throughout the world. The awards were sponsored by the
Diversity Council and President's Office. |
That’s what Robert Houghtalen and his wife, Judy, will do at the end of
the academic year –- and a humanitarian effort that led the couple to be
recognized at the college’s second Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards,
presented at a dinner attended by campus student leaders.
Also honored by the Rose-Hulman President’s Office and Diversity
Council were student Marsha Krisenko and Institute Librarian John Robson.
Robert Houghtalen, head of the civil engineering department, and Judy
Houghtalen, former conference organizer for the Office of Institutional
Research, Planning and Assessment, spent last year doing humanitarian work in
the Sudan during an educational sabbatical. It was such an emotional experience
that the couple plans to return to the northeastern African country this summer
to continue their work on a full time basis.
In nominating the Houghtalens for the award, Diversity Council member
Carey Treager Huber proclaimed, “I believe that (the Houghtalens’) work and
their commitment to improving the conditions for the people living in their
impoverished areas of the Sudan resonate well with the criteria for this award
and with the leadership ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said ‘An
individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of
his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.’”
Krisenko, a junior from Brazil, Ind., majoring in applied biology,
molecular biology and biochemistry, is director of Rose-Hulman’s Best Buddies
project. The student group encourages friendships between college students and
youths with intellectual disabilities. Krisenko has been a Best Buddy for two
years, developing a strong friendship with a local girl, Lori, and attended the
national Best Buddies Leadership Conference last summer. The Northview High
School graduate is also vice president of Rose-Hulman’s Student Government
Association.
“Marsha promotes the respect and appreciation for diversity through
Best Buddies activities, spending time with Lori doing the things young adults
like to do,” observed Diversity Council member Ella Ingram. “Marsha serves as a
role model, improving the lives of the almost 20 buddies and their families by
facilitating friendships and providing alternate experiences for the buddies.”
Robson, a founding member of the Diversity Council, is retiring this
school year after 25 years as Rose-Hulman’s librarian and archivist. He is a
former chair of the college’s diversity efforts and has served on several campus
diversity task forces.
“John has a deep and abiding commitment to diversity. He has
contributed to diversity on both professional and personal levels,” noted Mark
Minster, current Diversity Council chair.
The Student Leadership Dinner included a keynote address on “Servant
Leadership in Action” by Jameel Ahmed, interim head of the Department of Applied
Biology and Biomedical Engineering. Students attending were leaders of campus
organizations, fraternity and sorority groups, the Student Government
Association and athletic teams.
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