Category: Campus

The new solar array, which will save the college over four million dollars over 25 years, will be dedicated will be April 17 at 1 p.m. at the Field of Dreams, followed by a tour. The event is open to the public and “is a chance to mark the significance and formally recognize the start of the solar array,” said Brian Webb, Houghton’s Sustainability Coordinator. State Senator Cathy Young, representatives from Groundwater and Environmental Services (GES), and President Shirley Mullen, will be there as well. After the dedication, there will be a guided tour of the array for those interested in seeing the solar panels up close and finding out how renewable energy works.

Over the array’s lifetime of 25 years, it will save the college approximately $4.3 million in energy costs. Not only is this structure a representation of a cost savings for the college, but it will also allow the community to “interact with God’s creation in a responsible way,” said Webb.

According to Webb, the array will take a huge chunk of energy from a renewable source, the sun, turn it into electric energy which will then power about half of the college throughout the year. The funding, provided by GES, will allow for the maintaining and owning of the solar array for the next 25 years. Webb explained in the end, “Houghton wins out because we have lower energy costs with no cost to build the structure in the first place.”

However, the solar array has raised some concerns regarding if Houghton will actually benefit from the array. Houghton senior, Katherine Tomlinson, said when she first heard of the project, she was skeptical, “I was concerned about the habits it would possibly be destroying, specifically honey bees since they are endangered than the benefits it would be bringing to campus.” However, Webb explained Houghton was the perfect spot for the solar array; there was no natural habitat such as streams or trees the college would have needed to clear. “The area was not needed for Houghton or any critical wildlife. The only environmental impact I could see would be what happens to the panels after we are done using them” said Webb.

Solar energy, along with other renewable sources of energy, help promote a healthy global climate. “It has everything to do about how our actions impact the world,” said Webb. In addition, Tomlinson explained it was not until she learned more about climate change this past and found, “the solar array is an important step for our community [Houghton] to purify our energy use and lessen our contribution to the problem [climate change].”

Twenty-five years from now, Houghton will have some different options for the array. The array can be removed from the Field of Dreams or Houghton can buy the array from GES for a low rate. Webb’s prediction for the future of the array is if it is still producing a reliable source of energy after 25 years, the college will buy it.

On April 16, there will be a forum in Java to talk about Faith and Sustainability to tie into the dedication of the solar array. This event will be in partnership with Student Government Association and have a panel of Dean Jordan, Brian Webb, and one other student. Complimentary coffee will be provided for all who attend.

On Feb. 19, 2015 President Shirley Mullen officially became a United States citizen. Her previous citizenship before this date was in Canada, where she was born and grew up.

Mullen has been living in the U.S since 1966, but chose to wait to gain citizenship partially because she has a sentimental attachment to where she grew up. She also felt there was a chance she would go back to Canada at some point in her life. She stated, “As I’ve realized that I’m probably not going to go back to work in Canada ever, it just seemed like the sensible thing to do, to make the change by becoming a citizen.”

Mullen explained that while she was waiting for her interview, which happened in Buffalo, she was surrounded by people who were seeking citizenship to gain refuge in America. She shared that it was a fascinating experience. “I was more affected by the process than I thought I would be,” said Mullen. “There were people from 16 different countries represented the day of the interview. It was moving to see the value of American citizenship through the eyes of people who in a sense needed this… We take safety and freedom for granted.”

To become a U.S citizen one must undergo a process called naturalization. Some of things that can come along with citizenship include taxation, voting rights, military service, and jury duty. According to the official website of homeland security, one must firstly fill out an application which includes questions about family, traveling, and other practical questions. The next step in the process is a background check where they take fingerprints. After this  is a test of American history, which is followed by an interview. The last step of the process is a formal swearing in.

Mullen said the experience was a great realization for her of the culture that we experience every day in the U.S and too easily take for granted. People from all over the world are blended together in the same place to find freedom. In most countries there is a sense of never giving up citizenship, but the American citizenship is seen by many as more of a man-made process. Anyone can come to find hope of a bright future.

President Mullen was also reminded that although our citizenship to a country is important, “Our citizenship to a country is always secondary to our citizenship in God’s Kingdom.”

Plans have been put in place for the outdoor recreation and physical education majors to be phased out and replaced with a sports recreation and wellness management major. The new major is a hybrid of the old majors, but adds new requirements, including some business courses.

According to Linda Mills Woolsey, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, outdoor recreation and physical education are two of the oldest majors offered at Houghton. After periodically evaluating all the majors, these two were put under consideration to be critically examined, due in part to their curriculum being outdated.

Both outdoor recreation and physical education are the only majors at Houghton that have not had developement since the major was initiated, according to Woolsey. Many students who declare this major seek to be employed in careers such as camp directors or physical education teachers. However, according to the data gathered by Woolsey and her team, the career outlook for those with degrees in outdoor recreation and physical education is slim. The job market for those interested in this industry is aligned more with sports and wellness management, an industry that includes jobs such as fitness instructor, professional team manager, nutritionist or dietician, and physical therapist.  Creating the sports recreation and wellness management major will enable students to have more options when deciding on a career.

The new major’s collaboration with the business department will give students the opportunity to enter into a wider variety of management positions, including the traditional camp director or national park specialist.  “The business department at Houghton does a very good job in setting up our students to be socially and ethically responsible,” said Woolsey. The incorporated business courses will capitalize on a student’s complete set of skills.

The decision to phase out the outdoor recreation and physical education majors was first brought to the Academic Council, which, for this particular change, included Professors Sandy Johnson, Andrea Boon, Ken Bates, and two students.  After the council approved the change, it was sent to the faculty to be discussed at the first of two monthly meetings. If the faculty approve the new major, it will then be brought to the New York State Education Department to be approved.  Woolsey plans to have the major available for the incoming fall class of 2019.

The old majors will be completely phased out by 2018.  Woolsey encouraged those who have already declared an outdoor recreation or physical education major, “We are committed to students in the major currently and want to hire the most qualified people to help and be attentive to those students’ needs.”

Due to Professor Thomas Kettlekamp’s retirement at the end of this semester, Laura Alexeichik, who has previously taught at Houghton, will be stepping in as an adjunct professor for the department. Alexeichik has a Ph.D. in recreation with interests in intercultural studies and a dissertation on an “experiential learning environment.”

According to Woolsey, students who typically go into this field, whether with the old majors or the new hybrid, are people who want to serve. These students are not just  interested in finding a job, but more so in helping and serving those in their community through things such as physical therapy or summer camp management.

Woolsey stated, “We are, at the same time, phasing out old programs and building in new ones. This is the way any thriving college should operate, practicing frequently examining all programs to meet the career needs of its students.”