If These Bricks Could Talk: Tales of Hendrix Past

Every Hendrix College chaplain since 1995 – the Revs. Rock Jones ’80, Wayne Clark ’84, J.J. Whitney ’96, and Ellen Alston ’82 – gathered for a conversation on relationships formed, initiatives launched, trips taken, legacies built, acts of service shared, callings recognized, and memories made.

For this episode, we welcome Dr. Richard Rolleigh, Hendrix Class of 1967, who taught in the Hendrix Department of Physics from 1974 until his retirement in 2008… and a little more than that, actually, teaching one class per year until 2015. He taught every course in the department, including “General Relativity” and “Space, Time, and Reality.” All the while, he emphasized the importance of research, so much so that the Physics Department’s undergraduate research award is now named for him. Outside of Reynolds Hall, his activities at Hendrix included starting the women’s soccer team in the mid-1980s and coaching it until 1989.

Dr. Rolleigh is joined today by Dr. Todd Tinsley, Hendrix Class of 1998, who currently serves as a professor of physics here at Hendrix and will add the role of Associate Provost to his duties beginning this summer.

For this episode, we welcome Dr. Joe Lombardi, who moved to Conway in 1980 and spent the next 34 years teaching in the Hendrix Biology Department. His courses included comparative animal behavior, animal physiology, biology of the human body, environmental biology, and ecology and evolution. Since his retirement in 2014, Joe has stayed connected with Hendrix and active in the community of central Arkansas folk musicians, and can be found playing his guitar or banjo and singing at various venues in the Conway area.

Joe’s conversation partners today are his former students Nick Jones and Lauren Fletcher Jones, Hendrix Class of 2011. Both majored in biology and chose humanities minors: Lauren in dance and Nick in studio art. They and their two dogs currently live in Little Rock, where Nick teaches Exploratory Design at Episcopal Collegiate School, helping to foster a love for engineering, programming, and 3-D modeling in his students. Lauren spent a decade performing and teaching dance, and has now turned to creating in fiber arts. During the pandemic, they began streaming on Twitch to share their love of arts and videogames with others in that community.

For this episode, we welcome Dr. Jay Barth, Hendrix Class of 1987 and M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Politics. His graduation from Hendrix led him to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, where he earned his master’s and Ph.D. in political science before returning to Hendrix to teach in Department of Politics and its predecessors. Dr. Barth taught here from 1994 until his early retirement in 2019, when his second departure from Hendrix led to more adventures. After serving for a time as the inaugural Chief Education Officer for the City of Little Rock, Jay accepted his current role: Director of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.

Jay is joined today by Phineas Chapman, Hendrix Class of 2022, who now lives in Fayetteville, where he is taking a gap year to work, travel, and apply to law schools.

This episode is a roundtable discussion to reflect upon a campus institution: The Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language– Hendrix-Murphy or Murphy, for short. Joining us are a few of the folks who have worked for Murphy over the years: Nell Meadows Doyle, Hendrix Class of 1971 and former associate director of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation; Dr. Rosemary Henenberg, professor emerita of theatre arts and former director of Hendrix-Murphy; and Sarah Engeler-Young, Hendrix Class of 1991 and current Hendrix-Murphy assistant director.

For this episode, we welcome Dr. Jim Bruce, who taught sociology at Hendrix from 1974 to 2004. Dr. Bruce introduced three decades of Hendrix students to classical social theory, psychological anthropology, the sociology of death, and countless other topics; founded the Arkansas Undergraduate Sociology and Anthropology Symposium in 1979; advocated for expanding the Hendrix Sociology department to include anthropology faculty; and conducted research on social and cultural developments in post-communist Poland.

Jim’s conversation partner today is his former student Dr. Sarah Beth Estes, Hendrix Class of 1992, who now serves as Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education

The natural spaces of the Hendrix campus, roles in teaching and administration, the beginnings of the Environmental Studies Program, Hendrix-in-London, dancing like algae... Dr. Joyce Hardin covers a lot of topics with Dr. Maureen McClung ’01 as her conversation partner.

Collegiality in the Raney Building, evolving topics in religious studies, continued growth and learning, how Hendrix has enriched her family, the arrival of the internet on campus… Dr. Jane Harris covers it all in this conversation with Lindsay Baldwin Porter ’05.

Dr. Ralph McKenna shares memories of the Hendrix Moving Crew, early days of the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, preparing students for professional experiences, the Master Works course, Wallyball, some samples from his t-shirt collection, and what he’s up to lately, in this interview with Dr. Art Gillaspy ’88.

Dr. Karen Griebling talks with Stephanie Smittle ’03 about teaching, composing, learning on the job, seeing students flourish, memories of dear colleagues, Waltz Night, and more.

Discography:

Wildfire! Vienna Modern Masters (c) 2008 VMM 2052 Songs from This Dancing Ground of Sky track 14 Evergreen

Poetry by Peggy Pond-Church, New Mexico

Music by Karen Griebling

Yvonne Love, soprano

Aura Ensemble, Houston Texas, Rob Smith, conductor

Music for the Cross Town Trio (c) 2009 Centaur CRC 3082 Petroglyph Dances, track 12 Rain in the Mountain (after a lithograph by Gustav Baumann)

Music by Karen Griebling

The Cross Town Trio:

Jackie Lamar, saxophone

Karen Griebling, viola

John Krebs, piano

Apparitions II (c) 2013 Emeritus 20132 moduli mundi, track 15 Boethius

Music by Karen Griebling, commissioned by Karen Fannin

Andy Wen, saxophone

John Krebs, piano

Richard III: A Crown of Roses, A Crown of Thorns  (c) 2015 Centaur CRC 3553, track 4 Beware the Fury of Women Scorned!

Music and libretto by Karen Griebling

Stephanie Smittle and Kara Claybrook, sopranos

the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Robson conductor

Fractal Heart (c) 2016 Centaur 3570 track 14 Vox animalae

Music and poetry by Karen Griebling

Stephanie Smittle, Soprano

Stephanie Dickinson, piano

"Songs from Eric's Book" poetry by Eric Crozier, Music by Karen Griebling, 1994/2004 from live premier at the 2022 SheScores Festival, July 23, 2022 Harkness Chapel, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio.

Gabrielle Haigh, soprano

Margi Griebling-Haigh, oboe

Karen Griebling, viola

Scott R Haigh, bass

Eric Charnofsky, piano

An hour with sociology professor Dr. Stella Čapek comes packed with topics: teaching on food, culture, and nature (and persimmons: the convergence of all three!); highlighting ‘invisible strings’ of systems and their effects in ways that prompt action; helping students learn to write well; tailor-made pizzas at late-night dining in the Caf, and more. Sunny Baker '09 served as Dr. Čapek's interviewer. 

The early days of KHDX, the influence of mentors and classmates, current projects, working with those he once taught, and having “serious fun…” Danny Grace ’77 covered a lot of ground in his talk with Ashlie Atkinson ’01.

If you took a public speaking course at Hendrix, odds are good that you took it from Mary Richardson. She and the Hon. Shawn Johnson ’98 reminisce about her years on campus, including classes, community, Model UN, Student Congress, and theatre choreography.

Yes, David Larson really did bring a handful of grade books to his recording session. (Will he read your name?) The retired history professor sat down with Paul Bowen ’78 to think back on his time teaching at Hendrix.

John Farthing looks back on his time teaching at Hendrix while also pastoring United Methodist congregations in the area. His conversation with Rev. Barkley Thompson ’95 delves into formative experiences, relationships, theology, and how it all works together.

In which Garrett McAinsh receives a thank-you for some tough love he dished out to Dr. Greg Eow ’94. The pair’s conversation touches on other members of the Hendrix community, too, plus some travel experiences and the ultimate answer to “What was your favorite course to teach?”

Tom Goodwin recalls the Chemistry Department landscape in 1978, his efforts to help usher in a focus on research, introduce green chemistry, work with elephants, and more in this conversation with Dr. Laura MacDonald ’09.

Ian King shares some background on his decision to retire early, his creative endeavors since retirement, and more in this conversation with Kristin Putchinski ’97.

Eavesdrop on Rosemary Henenberg and Werner Trieschmann ’86 as they reminisce about the people, productions, and pedagogy of Henenberg’s decades on the Hendrix faculty, plus a bit about what she’s doing now.

Teaching students, directing the Odyssey Program, directing the Hendrix College Choir, and more: Nancy Fleming reflects on her 28 years on the Hendrix faculty – including the experiences of handing off a Hendrix tradition and helping to start an entirely different new one. Bonus: a nearly 30-year-old audio recording, courtesy of the Department of Music and the Hendrix Archives.

Dr. Leslie Templeton ’91 sits down with her former professor, academic advisor, and colleague in the Department of Psychology Chris Spatz ’62 for a retrospective of his career at Hendrix, his love of subjects beyond psychology, and a look at what he’s been up to in retirement.

Hear Jay McDaniel’s thoughts on team teaching, cross-disciplinary interests, the broad umbrella of “religious studies,” and more – including the importance of curiosity, joy, relationships, connection, community, music, and his retirement pursuits. Recorded remotely in 2020, before COVID-19 vaccine availability.

Want to hear Hendrix memories from a student, an alumnus, a faculty member, and a trustee? How about all four at once? Chuck Chappell ’64 reminisces about a little bit of everything in this episode. (Please note: Technical problems associated with remote recording resulted in some overlap of the speakers’ voices.)

As a member of the Department of Biology, Mark Sutherland could have stuck with microbiology, immunology, and the like – but why? From Journeys to Master Works to singing in the Hendrix Choir, he spent his career branching out, while still having incredible influence upon scores of future physicians and other scientists. Recorded remotely in 2020, before COVID-19 vaccine availability.

Spend an hour or so with Alice Hines as she reflects on coming to Hendrix to teach English and shares experiences from the three decades that followed, including memories of her colleagues, Hendrix students, her philosophy of teaching, and thoughts on various changes over the years.