David Paulk is widely published in professional journals in the field and speaks nationally and internationally about the subject. He also is a visiting lecturer with several colleges and universities on the East Coast. Because of his work with child maltreatment prevention and intervention, the National Exchange Club honored him at both their national and Georgia state conferences. He is a recipient of Arcadia University’s Vitetta Professorship for his work and research in child maltreatment prevention and intervention.

“I am so pleased to welcome David, his wife, Sarah, and their children to the Mary Baldwin College community,” said Linda Seestedt-Stanford, vice president of health sciences. “We are so very lucky to have David as a part of our team. He is passionate about PA education and brings a high level of enthusiasm and many innovative ideas that complement the inter-professional health care focus we are trying to achieve in our new college.”

Paulk served as an appointed member of the board of education for Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He is ordained as an elder in the Presbyterian Church, a member of the Assessment Institute of the Physician Assistant Education Association, and a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

Paulk is co-author of the Physician Assistant Review Guide, published by Jones and Bartlett, currently undergoing second edition revision, and is one of the authors of the seventh edition of The Resident’s Guide to Primary Care.

In seeking consensus guidelines for the acute diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sought Paulk — the only PA selected — as one of its experts.

A native of Georgia, Paulk spent a number of years as a paramedic before attending PA school at Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia. In college and beyond, he worked as a whitewater guide on the Cheat and Gauley rivers in West Virginia. Paulk holds a master’s degree in health education from West Virginia University and a doctorate in education from Rutgers University. He served as a clinical coordinator in the Rutgers University/University of Medicine and Dentistry PA Program, as an academic coordinator in the Arcadia University PA Program, and as the founding director of Ohio Dominican University’s PA Program.

With Lisa Shoaf, director of physical therapy (PT), and Ben Herz, director of occupational therapy (OT), Paulk completes the program leadership team in the college of health sciences. PT and OT programs are on track to enroll students on a new satellite campus in Fishersville in June 2014, and Murphy Deming’s PA program is scheduled to open in fall 2015.

Lori Wall

Lori Wall comes to MBC from Staunton City Schools, where she is a special education teacher with the Shenandoah Valley Regional Program (SVRP) at Ware Elementary School. She has taught for the SVRP for 10 years, both in Augusta County and in Staunton, affording her numerous opportunities to build connections with teachers and administrators in multiple school divisions.

“The teacher education program is delighted that Lori will be joining our team this summer,” said Rachel Potter, director of MBC’s Graduate Teacher Education Program. “Her enthusiasm for our mission to train teachers to be reflective practitioners of inquiry-based instruction is highly evident.”

Among other duties, the field placement coordinator secures appropriate on-site supervision and troubleshoots situations that arise regarding such placements, and she provides general supervision over the entire field placement process. Additionally, she is the primary point of contact at MBC for public and private schools regarding the field placement program.

“I am looking forward to joining the Mary Baldwin community in July,” Wall said. “I have always aspired to work in higher education, as I have enjoyed working with student teachers and practicum students and being [an MBC] teacher partner. I am blessed to now have the privilege to be able to support future teachers as they accomplish their goals.”

Wall has experience conducting staff development and training, and is a clinical faculty member with the Mid-Valley Consortium for Teacher Education. She is particularly excited about building and maintaining MBC’s relationships with local school divisions that surround the regional centers throughout Virginia.

Wall earned a degree in interdisciplinary liberal studies from James Madison University (JMU), and she has a master’s degree from JMU in early childhood special education. She lives in Waynesboro with her husband, Dave, and is expecting her first child this fall.

Since VWIL’s founding in 1995, Bissell, 74, has seen the organization grow from its beginning as an audacious idea into a premiere leadership program for women, fostering military and civilian lives of global citizenship and purpose.

Bissell, framed by VWIL cadets, at Change of Command last week.

“We honor and thank General Bissell for being an enduring exemplar of leadership and service,” said MBC President Pamela Fox in a message to the campus community. “We are grateful that he is recovering from a stroke, enabling him to continue at MBC on a temporary basis. General Bissell has determined that he will begin his transition toward retirement.”

He brought to the program extensive military leadership experience. Bissell graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantryman, and later served as an aviator. He retired from the U.S. Army to become the program manager for the new Army stealth helicopter, the Comanche, for the Boeing and Sikorsky Aircraft Team. After the team won the $30 billion competition, he returned to VMI in 1990 to become its first full-time commandant of cadets.

Bissell later became the deputy superintendent, responsible for the assimilation of women into the VMI Corps of Cadets. At the same time, he was performing the duties of VWIL commandant, helping to develop and design the structure of its corps. In 1999 — four years after the first cadets matriculated — he became the first full-time commandant of cadets at VWIL.

He received a bachelor of arts from VMI and a master of arts from the University of Missouri. Bissell was selected by the chief of staff of the U.S. Army to be the senior army fellow at Harvard University in 1985. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College.

Bissell served two combat tours in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. While in Vietnam, he was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor and received the Distinguished Service Cross. Included among his other awards are the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star with V Device, the Air Medal with V Device and 26 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart. In 2002, he was awarded the Gold Order of Saint Michael by the Army Aviation Association of America and, most recently, he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame for his career contributions to army aviation.

He earned the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Ranger Tab, and Master

Aviation Wings. Bissell was awarded the Republic of Korea Master Army Aviation Wings while commander of the Combined Aviation Corps.

Bissell’s command assignments include the Commander of the 17th Aviation Group and Commander of the Joint U.S. Army and Republic of Korea Army Aviation Corps in Korea. He was the director for army aviation flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In addition, he was deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff for the 101st Air Assault Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was executive officer for the two directors for operations in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His last assignment was as executive officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Army.

Bissell and his wife, Jan, have seven children, 16 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

The college has begun the search process for the next commandant of cadets. Bissell will continue in his role as commandant, working with Deputy Commandant Melissa Patrick as the search is conducted and other positions are filled within the VWIL staff.

Upon the naming of his successor, Bissell will become founding commandant emeritus. He plans to continue supporting the work and growth of VWIL while serving as liaison with Staunton Military Academy alumni, the newly formed VWIL Board of Visitors, and as other critical external constituencies.

New in 2013 will be a series of behind-the-scenes concerts featuring the talents of Heifetz students — 74 brilliant young violinists, violists, and cellists from all over the world. At these innovative Stars in Action concerts, fans will be able to watch Heifetz students rehearse and perform informally and will have the chance to interact with and ask questions of the young musicians. The series will be held each week in MBC’s James D. Francis Auditorium, the site of both the Celebrity Series and the Stars of Tomorrow concerts, which also highlight the performances of Heifetz students.

“We have the most exciting group of young artists this summer in the history of the institute,” said acclaimed violinist Daniel Heifetz, who founded the institute in 1996.

The Heifetz Institute teaches how to communicate the emotion of music, beyond technical skills and beautiful playing. Students are given instruction in public speaking, voice, drama, movement, and freedom of expression in addition to intense private lessons and chamber music coaching. For many years, the summer program operated at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. In 2012, the institute moved its offices and the summer program to Staunton.

The Celebrity Series will be held on both Thursday and Friday evenings in Francis Auditorium — new for this summer — beginning on July 4. This will give the public every opportunity to attend what are often referred to as Carnegie Hall-level concerts. The Gala Closing Concert, in which all the institute’s students perform together, will be a one-night event held August 8 in Lyda B. Hunt Dining Hall.

“Immediately following the program last year, we evaluated how we could provide more performance opportunities for our students and more opportunities for the public to attend the Celebrity Series concerts with performances by our amazing faculty,” said Justin Reiter, Heifetz president and CEO.

Included among the 31 faculty members this season are some of the world’s greatest concert artists, such as members of the Emerson String Quartet and Midori, who will host a special master class on July 3. Faculty also represent such renowned music conservatories as the Curtis School of Music, the Conservatory of Amsterdam, the Conservatory of Berlin, the Juilliard School of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Beijing.

They will instruct a larger student body than in previous years (from 62 in 2012 to 74 in 2013) with students hailing from more countries (from nine in 2012 to 20 in 2013), a reflection of the worldwide prestige of the Heifetz Institute.

A brand-new website will also allow the institute to sell tickets to the acclaimed series online, and moving the Celebrity Series concerts to the Mary Baldwin campus further strengthens the institute’s ties to the college, which has a rich history of nurturing the arts, reaching back to 1871 when it became home to one of the first music conservatories in the south.

“I am delighted to welcome back to our campus these gifted students and faculty for another summer season of beautiful music,” said MBC President Pamela Fox. “Last year could not have been better. I can’t wait to see what this season brings.”

The Heifetz Institute plans to continue its community outreach with regular concerts at the Staunton Public Library, the YMCA’s summer camp, and its noontime Brown Bag series of performances on Mondays at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library.

Tickets for the Celebrity Series are available at www.heifetzinstitute.org, or by calling the institute offices at (410) 480-8007. All other concerts are general admission and free to the public. For a full schedule of the Festival of Concerts please visit www.heifetzinstitute.org.

Ivy Arbulu

“She was an amazingly wonderful friend,” said Hobson, associate professor of art history. “She was fearless.”

Arbulú passed away May 13 after a long and courageous battle with leukemia. She was 53 years old.

A native of Perú and scholar of Spanish-language literature, Arbulú was a valued member of the college faculty since 1995. She served, at various times, as chair of the Status of Women Committee; the Educational Policy Committee, and the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. She led May Term study abroad trips to Perú, Argentina, and Mexico. She was also instrumental in developing Mary Baldwin’s Latino Culture Gateway.

Hobson recalls a time when she and her students prepared for a recent May Term trip to El Salvador in which Arbulú could not participate because she was receiving medical treatment. Normally, Arbulú would spend several days on campus with the group, providing intensive Spanish language lessons. Hobson said Arbulú instead Skyped with the group from the hospital while receiving chemotherapy, maintaining her high standards — even for fellow faculty.

“She always gave homework, and scolded me one time for not completing it. I was terrified. It was hilarious,” Hobson recalled with laughter.

“Ivy was the first professor of my first class on my first day at MBC. She scared me!” recalled Liz Barrows ’02, who posted her thoughts on the college’s Facebook page. “But it was through the years that I realized the reason she scared me was because I had never met a woman so strong and dedicated to the success of her students. She accepted nothing less than 100 percent from me.”

Anita Blanco ’96 also shared her memories of Arbulú’s influence.

“Profesora Arbulú was my first role model of a Latina professional,” Blanco wrote. “Coming from a low-income background and being the first in my family to graduate college, I saw in her what I could someday be. She was quick to call you out if she felt you were being lazy or could do better.”

Arbulú completed her college education in literature with a minor in linguistics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. She completed her MA and PhD at the University of Virginia (UVa). She was interested in two main areas of Spanish language literature — Spanish Golden Age poetry and prose and modern Latin-American fiction.

In recent years, Professor Arbulú studied Arabic, hoping to be able to read medieval Andalusian poetry written in Arabic. She enjoyed reading, going to the movies, walking with her dogs, and traveling to her native Perú.

She is survived by her husband, Jorge Secada, a philosophy professor at UVa.

“Mary Baldwin College was fortunate to count Dr. Arbulú as one of our own,” wrote MBC President Pamela Fox in an email to the college community. “Her commitment to excellence in both teaching and scholarship, her matter-of-fact competence, quick intelligence, quiet warmth, and genuine concern for others will be very greatly missed.”

Virginia Circuit Court Judge and Mary Baldwin alumna Pamela Shell Baskervill ’75 delivered the keynote address, titled, “Hearts on Fire,” harkening back to the graduates’ freshman orientation theme, advising graduates to find their driving force, and face their fears.

“There is something deep inside each of us that allows us to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive,” Baskervill said. “Love that conquers hate, peace that triumphs over conflict, and justice that is more powerful than greed. When your heart is on fire, you leave something positive of yourself every time you meet another person.”

MBC President Pamela Fox also referenced the Class of 2013 theme in her remarks.

“Your flame burns this morning as united graduates of Mary Baldwin College,” she said.

Another memorable moment occurred during the conferring of the degrees when a member of the Communication, Marketing, and Public Affairs staff facilitated a surprise video link between U.S. Army Sgt. Josh Jones, stationed in Afghanistan, who wanted to see his sister, Dana Jones, of Waynesboro, walk across Page Terrace to receive her diploma.

The college observed another time-honored tradition during the ceremony — awarding special honors to select graduates. The 2012–13 Martha Stackhouse Grafton Award was given to Katherine Susan Epifanio, the Outstanding Adult Degree Program Graduate Award went to Mary Heishman, the Outstanding Graduate Teacher Education Program Award was bestowed upon Betsy Ameen, and the Ariel Award for Outstanding Program Service and Leadership was given to Brian Maxwell. This year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award winner is Britney Diane Lambert while the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Non-Student Award was given, posthumously, to the late Brenda Bryant, longtime administrator, who passed away in August.

In memory of Associate Professor of Spanish Ivy Arbulu, who died Monday after a long and courageous battle with leukemia, faculty and administrators on the dais wore a white carnation on their robes.

Among the college’s undergraduates who earned their degrees Sunday were 105 women in the residential college and 157 members of the co-ed Adult Degree Program.

A Well-Rounded Leader  

Victoria Barrett will be the first in her family to earn a college degree. Though simply graduating wasn’t enough for this 21-year old international relations major from Chesapeake.

Victoria Barrett

For three out of four years at MBC, Barrett earned the highest grade point average in her class. She is graduating with honors and is earning minors in history, anthropology, and leadership studies. She has been tapped for Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most respected society honoring liberal arts students of genuine academic and personal accomplishment. She is well rounded — a member of both the Fighting Squirrels’ cross country and softball teams and is a top cadet in the college’s Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL).

“Most of my memories [from MBC] are centered around the VWIL program and the cadets that I have made life-long friendships with,” Barrett said. “The biggest life lesson that I learned is that even if you fall down and make a mistake, you have the ability to pick yourself back up and work toward redemption.”

While attending college on a four-year Army scholarship, Barrett earned the top Strength and Endurance Test score in her class. She is the top woman out of all the senior military colleges on the Army Order of Merit List. Barrett will commission into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. Airborne qualified, she has been selected to go to Rigger School with an assignment at Fort Bragg.

“As Commencement approaches I’ve become excited and nervous for the future,” Barrett said. “I am blessed to already have my first years after graduation planned out in the U.S. Army, but the unknown is scary. Mary Baldwin College, however, has given me the tools that I need to be successful as I move on into unfamiliar waters.”

Tenacity and Desire Help Student Beat the Odds

Tisha Blackwell-Carlesco‘s path to Commencement day looks nothing like she expected. When the 41-year-old Richmond resident crosses Barbara Kares Page Terrace on Sunday to receive her diploma, she will complete a journey she began as a “traditional” student at Mary Baldwin College in 1990.

Tisha Blackwell-Carlesco

“I am excited and feel a sense of accomplishment,” she said. “It’s something like crossing the finish line of a race and knowing that I have realized a significant goal in my life. In some ways, it almost seems surreal.”

Blackwell-Carlesco left MBC after just one semester as a teenager. She eventually married and moved to Richmond but returned to Mary Baldwin in 2009 as a student in the Adult Degree Program. Soon afterward, her husband died unexpectedly. During this difficult and challenging time, Blackwell-Carlesco said she found “support, compassion, and encouragement not only from family and friends, but from my professors and advisor here at MBC. The faculty took action, allowed me extensions to complete that semester’s course work and enabled me to continue with my program. This sense of community reinforced that I had made the right choice in my academic endeavors.”

Blackwell-Carlesco decided to pursue a business degree, which strongly appealed to her sensibilities in her work at Altria in Richmond. According to her advisor, Associate Professor of Business Catherine McPherson ’78, Blackwell-Carlesco has been a strong student and was able to access 12 semester hours prior learning credit for work experience and parlay a summer experience through the University of Virginia toward exemption for a Environmental Issues in Biology course.

“I have been a full-time student while working a full-time job for the past three years,” Blackwell-Carlesco said. “I am excited to have my time back — the greatest gift of all. Admittedly, I will miss the course work and the educational process of learning about topics such as religion, art, and science that are not always a part of my everyday educational opportunities.”

After Commencement, she plans to take some time off — pursuing her interest in art and catching up with family, friends, and her golden retriever — and then explore graduate school opportunities.

“We are all so much more capable of doing and overcoming challenges than we will ever realize. My confidence level since enrollment with Mary Baldwin has soared. I know that I can do anything I conceive and desire, and thankfully I have received a well-rounded liberal arts education that substantiates my declaration.”

Translating Scholarship into a Career

When Christina Ramirez returns to her home state of New Jersey after graduating from Mary Baldwin College, she’ll continue the skills she has honed as a social work major into a job with the Episcopal Service Corps program.

Christina Ramirez

“I will be a part of NEWARK ACTS, a service-learning program for young adults that will emphasize social justice, community service, spiritual formation, and communal living,” said the 22-year-old. “I will be able to express and use the education I have received at Mary Baldwin.”

Ramirez’s experience over the past four years has prepared her for a job that helps others. During spring semester, Ramirez worked in Honduras for her final field placement in international social work. One of the ways she helped residents of that Central American country was by motivating her classmates in Staunton to fundraise for a school mural project at a Honduran high school.

“An important life lesson that I will take from MBC is to expect the unexpected,” Ramirez said. “I have learned to use all the resources I have and take full advantage of all opportunities that come my way.”

She has served as a campus tour guide, resident assistant, and a peer mentor to international students. She is a member of the President’s Society, Social Work Club, and the Phi Alpha honor society.

For demonstrating respect for all people and valuing diverse perspectives of others; engaging in service to the campus, community, nation, or world; effecting positive change; showing a commitment to diversity; and embracing all members of the community with compassion, Ramirez earned Mary Baldwin’s Global Citizenship Award for 2012–13.

“There have been many moments that have defined my time here, but I think the one moment that has really made a great impact was the moment I recognized my transformation while here at MBC — the change in my wishes and goals that I had as a college student,” Ramirez said. “I went from being a normal college student to feeling empowered and wanting to do everything I could and strive for my greatest and best. Mary Baldwin has really allowed me to show my true potential and thrive as a woman and as a student.”

“We wanted the gift to be something that would be used and remembered for years to come … something that would be special and had never been done before,” said Candace Klementowicz, president of the Class of 2011.

Taylor & Boody Organbuilders of Swoope — which also created the mace and baton carried by faculty marshals at Commencement — designed and crafted the ceremonial lectern. Central to the design is the superbly detailed college seal, which is framed by panels decorated with relief carvings of walnut branches, leaves, and nuts. The stand is anchored on each side by columns that echo the architecture of Mary Baldwin’s historic campus. A life-sized squirrel at the base of one column nods to the college mascot.

Margaret Churchman Moffett ’47 donated black walnut lumber from her family farm in Augusta County to construct the lectern.

Klementowicz and her classmates discussed several ideas in meetings and through email surveys. The students eventually leaned toward the idea of producing a commemorative lectern after hearing Director of Facilities Brent Douglass describe a similar gift at Dartmouth College, his alma mater.

“I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the finished lectern since we discussed the idea for the first time in January 2011,” Klementowicz said. “I just kept reminding myself that good things come to those who wait. It is beautiful piece of art that could be used for the Boldly Baldwin women that will be attending Mary Baldwin College for many years to come.”

Klementowicz plans to return to MBC for the Commencement ceremony.

“Being invited back by President Fox is a true honor,” she said. “I immediately knew I had to be there to see the completed lectern and to see it being shared with my fellow, soon-to-be alumnae. To have our gift be a part of the Commencement ceremony for many years to come is just a wonderful way to share our love and appreciation for Mary Baldwin College.”

Photos courtesy of Brent Douglass.