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Lasting legacy
One of Peter S. Carmichael’s final projects as director of the Civil War Institute before his untimely passing this past July was procuring nearly 200 books from the private collection of Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tony Horwitz. The collection, donated by Horwitz’s wife, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Geraldine Brooks, and currently housed in the Civil War Institute and Gettysburg College Special Collections, will serve as an enduring legacy for two impassioned scholars dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and the understanding of how history can inform and guide the present.
Leading voice
In the fall of 2024, Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano began his term on the American Council on Education (ACE) Board of Directors. This membership organization mobilizes the higher education community to design solutions for today’s challenges. As an advocate for student access, Iuliano will take on a leadership role as higher education in America becomes even more essential for students today and tomorrow.
Guided pathways fund
Gettysburg College launched a new Guided Pathways Fund to support students’ experiential learning activities within the Guided Pathways, a defining part of the Gettysburg Approach. Contributions to this fund have been provided by generous donors who “believe in and support Gettysburg’s approach to experiential learning in general, and who are excited about the promise of the Guided Pathways to have an even more positive impact on students during and after their Gettysburg experience,” said Garthwait Leadership Center Executive Director Andy Hughes.
Thanks, Tosten
Former Vice President of Information Technology Rod Tosten ’85 retired at the end of the Fall 2024 semester after being an invaluable member of our community for the past 35 years. He launched the Computer Science Department, serving as its first chair in 1999. Before retiring, he appeared in HuffPost, explaining the importance of security, specifically how, without multifactor authentication set up, anyone with access to your device may have access to your wallet.
Gettysburg ♥️ Philadelphia
Last November, generations of Gettysburgians came together in Philadelphia for a first-of-its-kind celebration in support of Gettysburg College and its future. The three-day event featured a series of fun-filled events, including micro-classes and a night of ping-pong, and showcased new initiatives launched as part of the College’s Strategic Direction. A bus full of students, faculty, and staff joined the celebration, engaging with alumni during a special closing reception.
Impactful grant
Public Policy Prof. Dave Powell received a nearly $190,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support his workshop program for 72 K-12 educators, “On Hallowed Ground: Gettysburg in History & Memory.” This program allows teachers to stay in Gettysburg while learning about the community’s role within our nation’s history during the Civil War.
Honoring history
Expanding on a project that began when she was in high school, history major Danielle Russell ’25 identified more than 500 veterans in the Gavilan Hills Memorial Park in California, including 64 from the Civil War. She appeared on FOX News in September 2024 to discuss her work that honors their legacies, which included updating cemetery records and raising more than $11,000 to provide headstones and medallions for unmarked veterans’ gravesites.
New majors
Gettysburg College continues to meet the needs of today’s students and equip them with the knowledge and enduring skills that employers desire. In September 2024, the College announced two new majors—finance and public health policy. Both will be available to students beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year. With a Gettysburg education, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, students majoring in these disciplines will graduate as effective leaders and engaged citizens ready to contribute to economies worldwide.
New book
Environmental Studies Prof. Randall Wilson P’20 wrote a new book about Yellowstone National Park, entitled “A Place Called Yellowstone.” Spotlighted by the Los Angeles Times in October 2024, they noted “Wilson’s talent as a storyteller shines through” as he presents “the history of Yellowstone [as] the history of America.” Gettysburg College students assisted with research for the book, joining Wilson on trips to Yellowstone. Their work led to senior honors theses on the topic and co-presentations at academic conferences. In February, Wilson accompanied a Gettysburg alumni trip to the park in search of wolves.
New trustees
Gettysburg College appointed six new members to the Board of Trustees: Kyle A. Betty ’96, Elizabeth A. Burgess P’20, Ellie C. DeWitt ’19, James C. Kirkwood ’85, Dylan B. Minor P’26, and Robert L. Noddin ’83. Chaired by Lauren Wise Bright ’90, the Board of Trustees works closely with President Bob Iuliano and the institution’s senior leadership team to help fulfill the mission and vision of Gettysburg College.
Top prize
Sunderman Conservatory of Music Director of Bands Prof. Russell McCutcheon won the American Prize in Conducting, music theater division, for his collaborative and innovative work on the Gettysburg College musical “The Prom” in November 2023. This prestigious honor was his first top award from the organization after being named a finalist in the conducting-university and college bands division in 2016 and a runner-up in musical theater in 2020.
EMS program
After a pilot in the Spring 2024 semester, Gettysburg College Campus Safety launched a new EMS program that connects students who are licensed EMTs with opportunities to serve the campus and the Adams County community. Through additional training to help with special events for the College, and Career-Ready Experiences with Adams Regional Emergency Medical Services, students gain practical medical and enduring skills, such as leadership and communication, that are essential for health care careers.
Hall of fame
In January 2025, Carol Daly Cantele ’83, P’15, the College’s former women’s lacrosse and field hockey coach, was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a premier program of USA Lacrosse, the national governing body for the sport. This honor comes after being enshrined into the Gettysburg College Hall of Athletic Honor just four months prior, alongside Tedra Fazendeiro Clark ’97
(field hockey), Heather Gallagher Raley ’03 (women’s swimming), Ryan Moore ’02 (football), Garrick Robinson ’83 (men’s lacrosse), and Andy Sheely ’88 (baseball). With a 451-134 career record, Cantele, who retired in 2022 after 30 years of coaching, is the second all-time winningest coach in Division III history. She also served as an assistant coach with the 2013 world champion U.S. National Team.
Compassionate community
The 2024 Gettysburg College’s Summer Pedagogy Institute, led by the Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning (JCCTL), emphasized the importance of kindness in teaching, demonstrating our faculty’s commitment to supporting the whole student. With a new curriculum, attendees discussed building compassionate, innovative learning environments where students feel empowered.
MBA partnership
In September 2024, Gettysburg College proudly announced its partnership with Loyola University Maryland to open Loyola’s new accelerated Emerging Leaders MBA 4+1 program to students at Gettysburg College. With its cost savings, this 4+1 partnership allows students completing an undergraduate degree at Gettysburg College to pursue their master’s degree at Loyola simultaneously.
Community center
Gettysburg College received a 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to open a community learning center on campus that provides high-quality, bilingual learning opportunities after school and in the summer for underserved students and their families in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg’s 21st CCLC coordinates closely with local and campus partners, such as the Vida Charter School, the Spanish Department, and Gettysburg’s Innovation and Creativity Lab.
Election analyst
In The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization, Political Science Prof. Alauna Safarpour analyzed the numbers behind each candidate’s path to the White House and the important role the Keystone State played in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. She served as an exit polling analyst for The Washington Post.
Consequential impact
This past summer, through The Eisenhower Institute’s Washington Summer Fellowship at the Applied Science & Technology Research Organization (ASTRO) of America in Washington, D.C., Ratul Pradhan ’25 helped enhance manufacturing capabilities associated with the White House AM Forward initiative, which aims to help lower costs for American families. He used the knowledge and skills he gained at Gettysburg College to help fix software impacting work efficiency and accessibility, which are considered integral security protocols and firewalls of industry leaders like Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell, and General Electric.
Soccer success
Africana Studies and History Prof. Scott Hancock was profiled by FOX43 News for leading the Gettysburg High School varsity boys soccer team to its best season in nearly 10 years.
This father-son duo, who have coached the program since 2010, continues to inspire the players and the greater Gettysburg community.
Highest honor
Before the start of the Fall 2024 semester, Gettysburg College’s Iota of Pennsylvania Chapter was recognized as an Outstanding Small Liberal Arts College Chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, during the 2021-2024 triennium. Gettysburg’s chapter, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023, was honored for its commitment to the values of academic excellence, intellectual integrity, and freedom of inquiry—principles that have defined Phi Beta Kappa for nearly 250 years.