Category: Stories In Focus

Irmgard Howard, a chemistry professor at Houghton College for nearly five decades, vividly remembers the unique experience of teaching a young Deborah Birx, M.D., in the 1970s.

“I discovered that she had a photographic memory,” Howard recalls. “After a test, I was reading through her blue book, and I could tell she hadn’t used any outside materials. She had – just from memory – written down what was on the pages that had been assigned for homework, the footnotes, the individual page numbers, even the margin notes from other students that were in the textbook. 

“It was not only amazing, it was amusing,” Howard continues. “I had never had a student who had been able to do that.”  

Nearly 45 years later, Birx continues to impress, becoming a household name in her prominent role as the United States’ Coronavirus Response Coordinator in the fight against COVID-19.

Birx has attracted media attention since her teenage years, attending the Lampeter-Strasburg school district in Lancaster County, PA. At 14, her project on paleobotany earned an honorable mention in a science contest. During her sophomore year of high school, Birx won third place in the Lancaster-City County Science Fair. This was quite significant at the time because the top three spots were taken by females. Known then as Debbi Birx, she was quoted in the April 13, 1972 issue of the Lancaster New Era explaining why she thought she won: “I worked very, very hard.” Birx finished her senior year at Carlisle High School in Carlisle, PA. There, she won two awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair in San Diego. 

Majoring in chemistry and math at Houghton College, Birx finished her undergraduate degree faster than most, graduating in 1976 alongside Shirley Mullen, who is now the college president. Although Mullen didn’t interact with Birx often due to their different academic disciplines, she remembers how the future Cornavirus Response Coordinator was well known around campus for her dedication to her studies.

“She and I were both very serious students – she in the sciences and I in the humanities. Our paths, thus, did not cross too much,” Mullen explains. “I did know her and knew of her reputation as an excellent student. She was involved in research early on – doing major honors work with Dr. Larry Christensen. It was this generation of faculty and students who laid the foundation for the Summer Research Institute that is part of Houghton today.” 

With the help and support of Houghton staff, Birx changed her career path to pre-med, and went to study at Penn State Hershey School of Medicine. Birx reflected on her past while addressing Houghton College virtually in May. “It’s people that make programs, not just resources and dollars,” she told members of the Class of 2020. “If you surround yourself with good people and you’re part of a good people team, you’ll be able to achieve all of your goals and make the country a better place.”

Additionally, Birx urged graduates to “be open to opportunities, even if it seems like a deviation from your primary path.” During her career, which spans four decades, Birx says she only had to apply for a job once. She showed initial interest in the medical field and was open-minded about where it could take her. This led her to work in internal medicine, clinical immunology, and infectious diseases. These paths allowed her to best understand the relationship between virus and host, the kind of knowledge her country desperately needs today.

As a world-renowned medical expert and leader in the field of HIV/AIDS, Birx also oversees the implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The U.S. Department of State describes this as the largest commitment in history by any nation to combat a single disease. Additionally, she leads the nation’s engagement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Birx serves as the U.S Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, working to align government action with the goals of achieving an AIDS-free generation. Other aspirations include ending preventable child and maternal deaths, and preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats. Her role is increasingly important as the world reacts to COVID-19.

Through her professionalism and leadership in the medical field, Birx had the opportunity to work alongside the Department of Defense as a military-trained clinician in immunology. While serving as an assistant chief of the Hospital Immunology Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Birx went on to serve as director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research from 1996 to 2005. 

Birx, who is a U.S. ambassador, also helped to lead RV 144, also known as the Thai trial, which is one of the most influential HIV vaccine trials in history. This trial provided the first evidence of vaccine success in treating HIV. Rising to the rank of colonel in the United States Army, Birx is the recipient of two U.S. Meritorious Service Medals and the Legion of Merit Award for groundbreaking research, leadership, and management skills during her service with the Department of Defense. She also was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the African Society for Laboratory Medicine in 2011, and honored with the prestigious William C. Watson Jr. Medal of Excellence in 2014. 

During Houghton College’s recent virtual commencement, Birx encouraged the Class of 2020 to bring a “can-do attitude” into everything they do in life. “Nothing is beneath you,” she attests, explaining there is no reason to wait for someone else to take action, even if it’s a task simple as making a phone call or mailing a letter. By maintaining this attitude, one is much more likely to be able to adapt to their situations.

Howard, the long-time Houghton chemistry professor who retired in 2013, explains that what she admires most about Deborah Birx is her adaptability. She says the Response Coordinator “has been able to adapt to every environment using all the skills she’s learned along the way. She is flexible and able to adapt, and she still looks good on TV!”

On Thursday, October 25th, Dr. Peter Meilaender delivered his faculty lecture entitled “Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language: Confessions of a Homebody Traveller.” Faculty Lectures are a long standing tradition at Houghton in which Professors from all departments are invited present their current work in their field of study or simply on a topic which they are passionate about. Speakers in the past have presented on everything from Michelangelo to Antibiotics to the role of Organists in Worship. For his presentation, Dr. Meilaender gave his argument for why students ought to learn at least one or two foreign languages.

Dr. Meilaender opened by explaining that in the past decade, enrollment in all foreign languages at the University level has declined to its lowest level since the 1960s. This phenomenon is evidenced on our very own campus by the merging of the foreign language department with Intercultural Studies and the decline in foreign language courses offered. At this point French, German, Hebrew, and Greek are offered on rotating schedules at beginner levels, compared to even just two decades ago when Houghton offered more foreign language classes at various levels and multiple foreign language majors and minors.

This decline in enrollment might suggest that there is no longer value in studying foreign languages. Dr. Meilaender argued that this is not the case. Learning foreign languages is important for University students because, in the words of Austrian Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, “the limits of my language means the limits of my world.” When we are only fluent in our own language, our world is limited to our own country and culture. Dr. Meilaender anecdotally explained his own experience of this phenomenon, as student who originally had no interest in other countries or cultures, but who learned German upon meeting the woman who is now his wife and discovering the positives of German culture and engineering.  Today, Dr. Meilaender reaps the many benefits of being able to fully engage both American and German culture, which would be impossible if not for his fluency in German. Students can do the same because language is a prerequisite for learning about a culture.

Not only is “learning a foreign language an admission pass to another cultural universe” but it is one of the bests way to understand English grammar, is practical in jobs, and translation increases one’s facility for the use of language. With these reasons in mind, Dr. Meilaender proposes a vision in which each student is fluent in at least one language, preferably two (one modern language and one classical language.) This vision is not totally unrealistic considering the many tools at students disposal like Duolingo and Babbel, which offer quick language acquisition options or self-designed minors which provide an option for students desiring more academic fluency.

Dr. Meilaender concluded with the argument that learning a language can also be considered deeply Christian. According to the Bible there will be a day where people from every nation, tongue, and tribe will gather before the throne of God and worship him together. This means that in heaven we might all be able to understand one another “but,” to use Dr. Meilaender’s concluding words  “there is no reason that we should not get a head start now.”

The lecture was received well by students and faculty. Many students, like Junior Emily Allen, attend and “appreciated Dr. Meilaender’s lecture and his whimsical approach to the serious topic of the life-changing effects of learning a foreign language.” Similarly, Dr. Sarah Derck, a foreign language professor herself, thought “Dr. Meilaender’s lecture today was winsome and insightful” and she “particularly appreciated the connections he drew between learning a foreign language and entering that culture.” The next lecture will be by Dr. Anna Pettway on November 15th at 4:25, entitled “#Existingwhileblack: The Psychological Burden of Anti-Black Racism.”

For those who missed his introduction in chapel the first week of the semester, Dr. Jetro Silva is Houghton’s new Professor of Music Industry and Director of Technical Arts. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Dr. Silva was raised in a Southern Baptist community, and started working with his church choir at the age of 7, at the encouragement of his uncle. He attributes his connection to the “Christian family” to his love of music, which has allowed him to relate with believers across denominations. Despite being from Brazil, Dr Silva considers himself an American as he moved here in his early twenties, when he completed a B.M. from Berklee College of Music. He later did his masters at Andover Newton Theological School, to better lead his home group that had grown into its own congregation.

Dr Silva’s favorite color is purple, and coincidentally his favorite novel is The Color Purple. He spoke of his affection for African American literature, saying “There’s something about being able to see myself culturally and physically in what I’m reading, that means a lot to me.” Cape Verde holds a special place in his heart, as the place was a major stop on the Portuguese slave trade to Brazil and holds a cultural significance for him.

Dr Silva’s career consisted of working a myriad of jobs such as Sound Engineer, Sound Designer, Programmer, Keyboardist, Worship Leader, both for well-known names like Whitney Houston as well churches around the US in Mississippi, California, and Rhode Island. Senior Derek Chase noted that “I think he has a ton of knowledge and I love just listening to him talk because it’s kinda like I just learn so much from his experience and life.”

Dr Silva already speaks favorably of his experience at Houghton. “I love the students,” he said, “the students are very, very very special, they are brilliant and they are passionate.” He was drawn to Houghton because of “the potential to build something,” specifically with the Music Industry program. Derek Chase adds that “I think he has really good ideas that are going to help the program start to become great again.”

“I want to establish my style of teaching, which is a combination of foundational theory and hands on,” Dr Silva said. His ideal Music Industry program would include his classes working with other classes in the Music building as well as establishing a firm understanding of how the music business works. He hopes that a student, after completing the program, will “still be an artist, but with a wealth of information on technology, application of production techniques, and be able to be an artist of their own with the music business knowledge, and that way they can go into the music industry and successfully survive.”

His theological background provides a valuable foundation for his work. He says “it is my hope that the music we do triggers the ear of the seer to hear from God and speak to the people the world salvation.” Genre, style, instrument is not as important as the intention behind the music created. Dr Silva ended the interview with a reference to John 4:23:  “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”