Monmouth College's top 10 news stories of 2021

by Barry McNamara

Monmouth, Ill. (12/16/2021) —

Feel-good Commencement, Part 1: In May, the College was able to return to an in-person Commencement. A total of 208 degrees were awarded, and 189 students were present to receive their diploma from President Clarence R. Wyatt. A crowd of about 1,100 witnessed the ceremony, which was a happy day for more than just the graduating seniors. "This was much needed after a year like this," said Zach Harris '21. "It was awesome to see all my classmates walk across the stage. I couldn't help but keep smiling."

Feel-good Commencement, Part 1: There's never been a Commencement ceremony quite like it. Monmouth's Class of 2020 can say that not once, but twice. First, the class had a virtual ceremony in May 2020 due to being home for the pandemic. Then, over Homecoming weekend this fall, 59 of them gathered for their long-overdue in-person ceremony. "In the end, there is no substitute for the real thing," said President Wyatt. "The (rainy) weather outside can do nothing to dampen the joy of this day." Said Lucas Sondgeroth '20, "It felt weird and odd to leave the way we did. It's nice to come back and feel like home again."

Campaign nears its goal: Monmouth's Light This Candle capital campaign continued to flourish in 2021. Highlighting the contributions were a $1.1 million cash gift to establish an endowment to support the Center for Academic and Career Excellence and a $1 million deferred gift to support three initiatives: an endowment for junior faculty development; an endowment for student support services; and an unrestricted amount to support the College's greatest needs. As the year winds down, the campaign stands at $69,074,746 - which is 92% of its goal to raise a minimum of $75 million for Monmouth by Dec. 31, 2022.

Happy Homecoming: As was the case with several campus traditions, an in-person Homecoming celebration took a one-year hiatus, but the big weekend returned Oct. 22-24 with all its usual trappings, including fireworks at the Friday night Spirit Shout, a Saturday morning parade down Broadway and a Fighting Scots football victory, part of their 8-2 season. Several award ceremonies were held, including Illinois State Sen. Mattie Hunter '76 and Dr. Frederick Kaskel '67 being inducted into the Hall of Achievement, the highest honor that Monmouth bestows upon its graduates.

Best Scots Day ever: Scots Nation pulled together to make Monmouth College's fifth annual Scots Day of Giving the best one yet. The day of fundraising for the College saw new records established for both dollars raised and donors contributing. In all, 964 donors combined to raise $271,852. Earmarked to receive those funds were five initiatives: the Scots Care Fund for students in need; an outdoor Wi-Fi hotspot with the Parent & Family Council; the Champion Miller 1860 Fund, which promotes campus diversity; the Fighting Scots Society; and the Monmouth Fund.

Unfortunately, COVID: When recapping the year 2021, the pandemic still merits a spot among the top stories, although not as high as its place in 2020. Prior to the start of the spring semester in January, all Monmouth students, faculty and staff were tested for the virus. The first day brought back zero positive tests out of nearly 400. The final tally of the three days of testing was eight positives. The semester still featured its share of remote learning and Zoom meetings, but the fall semester was much closer to back-to-normal.

The return of sports: On a related note, COVID-19 wiped out all Fighting Scots contests for nearly a full year. The softball team had been the last Scots team to take the field, playing on March 13, 2020. The return came in the form of a women's lacrosse contest March 6, 2021. Midwest Conference schools were permitted to engage in spring competition against non-conference opponents, then needed to wait 15 days before the start of conference play in each respective sport. The biggest on-field success in the spring came in track and field, where seniors Kenzie Baker and Drew Thaxton were All-Americans.

New academic major: Responding to a growing demand for leaders in the health professions, Monmouth College will begin a major in health science and human movement. The interdisciplinary major will prepare students for careers in health professions such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic medicine and athletic training. Drawing on courses in biology, chemistry and kinesiology, the major will also appeal to students who plan to attend medical and physician assistant school.

Health Center opens: Since August, Monmouth has offered a fully staffed student health center on campus. Located on the first floor of McMichael Residence Hall, the center is staffed by OSF HealthCare medical personnel and is available to all students. Its services include treating acute symptoms, such as COVID-19, strep throat and the flu. It also has the capacity to perform the most common tests, offer behavioral health care, and provide chronic disease management for medical conditions such as ADHD, diabetes and allergies. The center also offers physicals and shots for allergies and vaccinations.

Score one for the underdogs: Monmouth's Delta Lambda chapter of the national fraternity Zeta Beta Tau won the organization's most prestigious award, the Brummer Cup. Rodolfo Garcia '21, who served as president for the 2020 calendar year, also received a national honor, earning ZBT's chapter president award. Past recipients of the Brummer Cup have been chapters from Big Ten universities and other large schools, including Vanderbilt and USC.

A link to the College's top 10 stories and photos page is here.

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