For most of its 160-year history, Emory has been without an official mascot. In 1960, The Wheel's sports editor, David Kross 62C, decided it was high time for the University's varsity sports teams to have some kind of identity, eventually settling on the eagle (also known as "Swoop") because "it was easy to say, and eagles can be reasonably hostile." The statue above--which does, indeed, look resonably hostile--lives between Cannon Chapel and White Hall.

Two of the newest members of Corpus Cordis Aureum, Latin for "Golden Corps of the Heart," show off their gold robes and specially-commissioned medallions in front of Candler Library just before Commencement 2009. Each May, the EAA inducts alumni who graduated 50 years ago or more into this elite group, which is formally recognized during the all-schools ceremony as symbolizing all those Emory alumni who have gone before them.

The Washington, DC chapter's alumni softball team has continued to completely dominate the Capital Alumni Network (CAN) since I interviewed team coach Tom Lombardi 00C two weeks ago. Emory's team played the last game of the regular season on Friday, July 24, defeating the University of Illinois 16-10 with big hits from Dana Alsen 06C and Beth Trentacost 07C, as well as another outstanding performance from pitcher Anne Dilger 00C (pictured above).

With a record of 13-1, Lombardi called this year's regular season "by far our strongest showing to date." Friday's victory clinched the division title for Emory -- and snagged the Eagles the no. 2 seed (out of 69 teams) in the upcoming end-of-the-year tournament! We'll be cheering Emory on during their next game in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday, Aug. 8.

-- Erin Crews 09C 09G, communications intern, EAA

Photo by Christine Ruffo 99C

Lord James W. Dooley, the irreverent spirit of Emory who was "born" in the Phoenix in 1899 and made his first on-campus appearance in 1941, is now a permanent campus fixture. This statue of the Lord of Misrule was sculpted by Matthew Gray Palmer and installed near Asbury Circle in 2008.

...take me out to the Emory crowd. The Dallas-Ft. Worth Chapter of Emory Alumni gathered this past Thursday, July 23 at the Frisco RoughRiders home game versus the San Antonio Missions. Beyond buying peanuts and Cracker Jacks (and Dippin' Dots!), the alumni chapter also sent off their incoming first-year Emory students in style.

Chapter members and incoming students alike gathered inside the ballpark for an all-you-can-eat picnic prior to the first pitch. The weather had cooled to a glorious 88 degrees, and Texas natives couldn't have been happier!

Nearly 40 Emory alumni, students, parents, and friends attended the event--ranging from a 4-year-old to Donald Waddington, who graduated from Emory in 1949, and his wife Polly.

Little brothers, parents, and best friends accompanied the incoming students. One younger brother even caught a foul ball (when you're looking at colleges in 10 years, don't forget that Emory got you that game ball!)

And in the end, the RoughRiders pulled out an exciting win over the Missions with a final score of 7-3. A win for the home team, and an even bigger win for Emory!

“People are known by the records they keep. If it isn’t in the records it will be said it didn’t happen. That is what history is: a keeping of records.”

Rudolph Byrd, the director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute and the curator of the Alice Walker exhibit at Emory, began his remarks by reminding us of this quotation from Walker—a quotation that was found scribbled on a piece of scrap paper in her basement and which inspired the exhibit’s title, “A Keeping of Records.”

Byrd, who is also a professor of African-American studies at Emory, was speaking to 27 members of “4EU” (Emory-Educated, Emory-Employed), who visited the Schatten Gallery in Woodruff Library this past Thursday, July 23, for a guided tour of the Walker exhibit (and a delicious lunch from Alon’s!). A personal friend of Walker’s, Byrd called her archive a “national treasure” and drew upon the idea of a palimpsest—evocative of layering, complexity, the passage of time—as descriptive of the gallery.

As an English major myself, I was thrilled to be spending part of a workday learning about the behind-the-scenes work that went into assembling the archive of one of the most important figures in contemporary American literature. Elizabeth Russey, manuscript processing archivist and director of the gallery, told fascinating anecdotes about her experience working on the project, which she called “probably the greatest privilege of my life thus far.”

Russey flew out to Walker’s home in Berkeley, CA to pack and ship 125 boxes of papers and other personal belongings to Emory in December 2007.

“Let me tell you something,” she said, “it’s a bit of an odd experience. You are invading their space. It’s their stuff. And you start rummaging through their things.”

One of the first things Russey found in the house was a letter to Walker from Gloria Steinem, written on an airplane after Steinem read a draft of The Color Purple: “It reads, ‘I just finished reading The Color Purple. Alice, it is wonderful. I mean, full of wonder. You wrote the people straight off the page. I believe you are a medium, but only a complicated, magical medium, bringing forth complicated, magical people.’ So this—literally, I’m not making this up!—this is one of the first things that I saw.”

Items on display include everything from a wedding card from Langston Hughes to the quilt that Walker made while she was writing The Color Purple. I spent about half an hour in the gallery and saw only a fraction of the “shrouds of her life,” as Walker calls them—and the gallery is only a fraction of what’s contained in the archive up in the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Library (MARBL)! If you’re in the Atlanta area, you can still catch the exhibit through Sept. 27. If not, check out the archive’s site, where you can view some of the more interesting memorabilia from Walker’s life and literary career.



-- Erin Crews 09C 09G, communications intern, EAA

Umbrellas pop up across the Quad as members of the crowd shield themselves from the light rain that drizzled over the 2009 Commencement ceremony during President Jim Wagner's address. President Wagner soldiered on, through the wet weather and the antics of a seemingly rogue helicopter, until the clouds parted for a sun-soaked college diploma ceremony.

Shubhra and Naveen Ramineni 93C hosted an Emory alumni dinner party and cooking demonstration in their Houston home on Saturday, July 18. Shubhra currently teaches Indian and Southeast Asian cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma, Sur la Table, and Whole Foods in Houston and Los Angeles. Her cookbook, Entice with Spice: Classic Indian Recipes for Today’s Lifestyle, is scheduled to be released in fall 2010.

This past Saturday, my husband Naveen and I hosted an Indian cooking demo and dinner party—as we called it, “an intimate Emory dinner gathering with a little extra spice.” We had 20 guests at our condo for what was planned as an indoor/outdoor event.

However, it turned out to be an intimate gathering indeed, as the rains poured down just as the party began! (The guests were understanding and even welcomed the rain, since we have been in a drought this summer down in Houston.) We were treated to a beautiful double rainbow later, which lured everyone outside to enjoy the view and take pictures. My family and I were delighted to spend our evening with such a wonderful group of people. Everyone from the Houston chapter seemed to enjoy the food and, of course, the company.

This all started when Naveen, an Emory alumnus, and I went to a recent alumni event in Houston and met Laura Zimmerman, the assistant director of regional programs with the EAA. We got to talking about my upcoming Indian cookbook, and Laura asked me if I would be interested in hosting the next EAA event: a cooking demonstration with recipes from my cookbook. I thought it a wonderful idea!

All of the food and drinks, from the mango cocktails to the appetizers to the desserts, were simple and easy recipes from my book. I demonstrated how to make the mango lassi, a yogurt-based drink with fresh mangoes (see photo above), and how to use a microwave to make pappadums, which are crisp lentil wafers.

Now we are gearing up for the release of my cookbook, Entice with Spice, in the fall of 2010!

-- Shubhra Ramineni, cooking instructor and author

The Michael C. Carlos Museum (and a slice of the Quad), seen here during the King Tut exhibit, has grown to become one of the Southeast's premier art museums. Continuing with the Egyptian theme, currently on tap at the museum is Wonderful Things: The Harry Burton Photographs and the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. If you're in the Atlanta area, you still have a few days left to check out the exhibit before it closes on July 26. Plus, 20 percent off admission if you walk, bike, or ride the bus there!

Emory's beverage of choice is chilled prior to the 2008 Coke Toast, an annual tradition that accompanies fall orientation. One old Emory song tells it like this:

Emory, Emory, thy future we foretell.
We were raised on Coca-Cola,
so no wonder we raise hell.
When e’er we meet Tech’s engineers,
we drink them off their stool.
So fill your cup, here’s to the luck
of the Coca-Cola School.

In addition to housing the Manuscript and Rare Books Library (MARBL), the 10th floor of the Robert W. Woodruff Library affords visitors an impressive view of Emory's campus...and the radio towers beyond.

Photo by Cassandra Young 07C

I recently chatted with Tom Lombardi 00C (below, left) about his experience coaching the Washington, DC chapter’s alumni softball team. The team has been on fire as of late, boasting a 10-1 record and sitting on top of their division as they head into a crucial double-header this weekend.


Erin Crews 09C 09G, EAA: How did the softball team first come about? What kind of league does the team play in, and who can be involved?

Tom: The league is the Capital Alumni Network, or CAN. It’s an organization of alumni associations in the DC area. Well over 100 schools are represented. It involves everything from sports to community service, but one of the main focal points of CAN is the sports league, which consists of basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer, and football. There are about 70 teams participating in the sports league and Emory has been a member since 2005. Jeannette Harkin and Jon Levy—Jeannette graduated in 2003 and Jon in 2004—got the ball rolling and got the team started in 2005. Now we have 38 people on the team.

EAA: Tell me a little bit about how the past season has gone for the team and where things are heading for the rest of the year.

Tom: We’ve had a very successful season so far. Our current record is ten wins and one loss. We’re sitting on top of our division—in CAN there are eight divisions—and out of all the teams, we’re currently tied for first with the University of Colorado. We had some very big wins playing Texas A&M, Notre Dame, teams we had played in the past. You know, the little rivalries we’ve developed.

We have three more games in the season and a double-header this weekend. The winner of the games this weekend will determine who wins the division. And we have one final game against Illinois on July 24th, after which we have the double-elimination, end-of-the-year tournament. All 70 teams participate. It’s an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink affair. All the teams are very festive, and it’s basically one big party, but the focal point is the softball.


EAA: What do you and your team members get out of playing softball on an Emory team?

Tom: One of the best parts is that we have fun playing and getting together once a week. We develop really strong relationships. I’d say most of my friends here, I met through Emory sports. We all go to parties and weddings, we go out to lunch together—we’re a very close-knit group. It definitely expands beyond the Emory circle, but we look to each other for guidance and advice. When you move to a new city, it’s hard to make friends. You’re working, you’re trying to establish yourself. But Emory has made it very easy—for me, joining the softball team in particular—to get to know 20 to 30 people and become very good friends with some of them.

EAA: Are you involved in any other alumni activities?

Tom: Sports is the main thing that I participate in, but we do participate in other events. The Meet Emory! party, I went to that. Volunteering at the food bank for Emory Cares. We all have our schedules and competing obligations, but I think in general people are very involved in the Emory Alumni Association up here in DC.

I think our oldest alumnus graduated in 1997 and our youngest in 2008. Some went to grad school, some went to law school. So it’s a very diverse mix of people that participate. It’s made for a very enjoyable time when we get together and play. When people are looking for jobs, we can help them. Or when people need a place to live—it’s a very strong community we have. And sports have really been a kind of focal point of that. It’s a very supportive environment. When new people come into it, I think they do find that it helps them acclimate to DC, to this community.

Photos by Christine Ruffo 99C

The Atlanta Pipe Band, led by Emory alumnus Henry D. Frantz Jr. 71C 74L, march in during Commencement this past May. The bagpipers carry the colors of both Emory and the University of St. Andrews, Emory's sister university in Scotland.

The Donna & Marvin Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts has been home to Emory's growing music, dance, and theater programs since 2003.

A few members of No Strings Attached (Kevin Smith 09B, Nick Van Vliet 09B, and Alec Galambos 09C) and a fan (Chloe Russo 09C) reach the end of the Houston Mill Bridge during the 2009 Candlelight Crossover.

According to this article in yesterday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta is embracing Facebook faster than any other city. In fact, the number of Facebook users in Atlanta rose by a whopping 142 percent during the past six months, from 525,000 to nearly 1.3 million.

These fascinating little nuggets of information are coming from Emory's very own Peter Corbett 03B, who founded iStrategyLabs, a digital marketing firm in Washington, DC.

All of this got us wondering: does Emory love Facebook as much as Atlanta does? We're trying to find out: the EAA has a brand-spanking-new fan page, where we have been posting photo albums from alumni events, videos from around campus, Emory news and happenings, and information about upcoming events around the country. So, show us some Facebook love!

-- Erin Crews 09C 09G, communications intern, EAA

The legacy of Bond Fleming 33C 36T, Oxford College Dean, Emeritus, was assured long ago. Even in his late 90s, Fleming, who passed away on June 27, remained an active part of the Emory community.

Since his death, that community has mourned his loss and celebrated his life as well as his many contributions to the University he loved.

Fleming (shown at right in 1974; it's tough to see, but on his lapel he is wearing an Emory nametag, click the photo to see it full size) was much-loved across the University, but nowhere more so than at Oxford, where he served as dean from 1966-76.

A July 2 memorial service at Glenn Auditorium gave the Emory community the opportunity to pay its final respects. Since then, the EAA collected several memories from Oxford alumni and administrators.

Joe Moon, Oxford's dean of campus life, wrote the following:

Dean Fleming left a legacy at Oxford that is truly remarkable. When I arrived at Oxford in 1988, Dr. Fleming was in retirement, but he continued to support and advocate for Oxford with the energy and passion as if he were still sitting in the dean's chair. I cannot remember an Oxford event that Bond failed to attend in all these years--often wearing a ragtag Oxford College baseball cap.

During Board of Counselor meetings or meetings with Atlanta campus administrators, I looked forward to the moment in each meeting when Bond would rise slowly and heap praise upon Oxford and admonish all in attendance to support the college's mission.

Bond Fleming was a southern gentleman of the highest order: he was courtly, intelligent, loyal, compassionate, and tenacious in the support of his friends, his college, and his church. He was one of a kind and will be deeply missed.

Oxford College Alumni Board member Warren Brook 70Ox 72B, a close friend of Fleming's, told us he had spoken with the former dean on June 18, his 99th birthday. Brook said his still-spry friend asked about Oxford's incoming first-year students and was already making plans for the upcoming year.

I spoke with my friend Tammy Camfield 89Ox 91C, director of alumni relations at Oxford, the other day about Fleming, and she also recalled the last time they spoke--Thursday, June 17. He was excited about his family coming over to celebrate his birthday and about officiating at his grandson's wedding in Athens on the 19th.

"He was always so complimentary of everyone at Oxford," she said. "And he always ended conversations by saying, 'God bless you.' It was the sweetest thing."

A memorial service at Oxford is being planned. Until then, please feel free to leave a memory of your own below.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA

I had the pleasure of joining about 75 fellow Emory alumnae for an evening of fashion, makeup, and shopping at the Tory Burch boutique in Phipps Plaza on Tuesday, June 30. Atlanta's Alumnae & Women of Emory (AWE) group hosted Chi Chi Okezie 98Ox 00C, the founder and owner of SIMPLEnetworking, who spoke about the importance of maintaining a professional image and perfecting your business etiquette.

Her advice? “Image is very important, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, or if you’re in the university system, you’re a doctor, lawyer, whatever—you always want to have that professional look,” she said. “Pick something that fits your career and industry, and go that extra step to ensure you’re conveying confidence.”

Okezie also emphasized the importance of networking and of events like this one hosted by AWE as opportunities for women from all walks of life to get together around an array of topics, including shopping, auto repair, fitness, literature...the list just keeps going. She even motivated me to go to the free fitness event on July 28. (My total number of workout sessions since April: three. You have to start somewhere, right?)

Okezie was joined by Estée Lauder’s Nancy Dozier, who offered crowd-pleasing makeup goody bags and personalized foundation matching tips. After a brief introductory presentation, Okezie and Dozier spent the rest of the evening chatting with alumnae about everything from business consulting to cultural awareness to that perfect shade of lipstick.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am not one to get excited about mascara and designer fashion. But it was hard not to be energized by Okezie's and Dozier's contagious enthusiasm.

When they weren't receiving fashion pointers, guests sipped flutes of champagne and enjoyed the boutique’s private sale with an Emory-exclusive discount.

View our photos of the event here.

“I really had a great time,” Okezie told me as the last few women made their way out, shopping bags and makeup samples in tow, a couple hours later. “A lot of the ladies were really excited to be here, and everyone just enjoyed the atmosphere…and the champagne!”

-- Erin Crews 09C 09G, communications intern, EAA