Alumni Award Recipients 2008

The Awards Committee of the Bethel College Alumni Association has named Claudia A. Limbert, Columbus, Miss., as the winner of the 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award.

Limbert was appointed by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning as the 13th president of Mississippi University for Women July 1, 2002.

Originally from Missouri, Limbert married and had four children (three sons and a daughter) before beginning college. She received a bachelor’s degree with majors in English, history and education from Bethel College in 1978. She earned a master’s degree in creative writing in 1980 and a doctorate in English literature in 1988, both from Boston University.

In 1988, Limbert began her career as an English and women’s studies professor at Pennsylvania State University-Shenango. She was then selected as an administrative fellow, spending the next year in leadership training under the direction of a senior vice president at Penn State-University Park.

Following that experience, she became the director of academic affairs at Penn State-DuBois. After then serving as acting campus executive officer for a short time, she was selected for the permanent position in 1998, a position she held until being appointed president of Mississippi University for Women.

Limbert has received many awards, including the prestigious Athena Award for service to women and the community by the Greater DuBois Area Chamber of Commerce, the Outstanding College Administrator of Penn State’s Commonwealth College in 2001, the Rosemary Schraer Mentor Award from Penn State University’s Commission for Women in 2000, and the Teaching Award in 1994 from Penn State-Shenango students. She also was named one of the Achieving Women of Penn State. In 2004, she was selected as one of Mississippi’s 12 Leading Business Women.

Limbert’s fiction and non-fiction have appeared in such publications as Country Living and House Beautiful and her scholarly work has appeared in Restoration, Philological Quarterly and The National Women’s Studies Association Journal. Her most recent work is an essay in the book Herspace: Women, Writing, and Solitude (Haworth, 2003). Her hobbies include gardening (specifically herbs and old-fashioned flowers), reading, writing, walking and spending time with her children and friends.

In a commencement address she delivered at Bethel in 2000, in her inauguration address at Mississippi College for Women and in other settings, Limbert has openly shared about growing up in poverty in the Missouri Ozarks and about being the only one in her family to finish high school, much less go on to college and advanced degrees. She has frequently credited Bethel and its faculty for launching her career by teaching her to write, speak and teach.

She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and received a full scholarship to Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. She turned it down, she said, because she did not have the bus fare to Omaha. She married at 20 and by her own description “spent the next 28 years living on the edge of poverty.”

When her family moved to Newton in the 1970s, she gathered up her courage to apply at Bethel when she was 35 and her youngest child had entered first grade. She rode her bicycle three miles from her home to campus because she had no working car. “I knew the key to improving my own and my children’s lives was getting a college education,” she said. “Attending Bethel was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. [It] totally changed my life and the lives of my four children for the better. Years later, my daughter told me: ‘We never even considered not going to college – we knew we wanted to do [what] you did.’”

Limbert credits faculty for believing in her, challenging her and giving her good advice during her three years at Bethel. The late Anna Juhnke, professor of English, in particular was an important mentor for her, Limbert said.

“When I was ready to graduate, I had a conversation with Anna and thanked her for everything. I said, ‘How can I pay you back?’ Her wonderfully wise answer was: ‘Claudia, you don’t pay people back for helping you – you pass it along to others.’ I’ve tried to do that every day of my life since. The chance to change a life for the better gets me up in the morning and helps me persevere through the day. Life is about service, helping others to do better, making dreams happen for yourself and others.”

The Distinguished Achievement Award acknowledges character and citizenship, achievement in a chosen profession or vocation, and work of benefit to humanity.

The Awards Committee of the Bethel College Alumni Association has named Duane Goossen, Topeka, as the winner of the 2008 Outstanding Alumnus Award.

Goossen, a Republican, is current Kansas Secretary of Administration and State Budget Director in the administration of Democratic governor Kathleen Sebelius.

Goossen graduated from Bethel with a B.A. in 1978 and earned a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in public management from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, in 1998.

From 1978-96, Goossen was president and owner of Goossen Construction Inc. in Goessel. He served seven consecutive terms as a Kansas State Representative for District 70 from 1983-97. During that time, he chaired the House Education Committee and Appropriations Sub-Committee.

As State Budget Director, starting during the administration of Governor Bill Graves in 1998 and continuing to the present, Goossen has directed a 20-person office. Since 2004, Goossen has led and coordinated the Kansas Department of Administration, an 800-employee cabinet agency responsible for providing state government central services in the areas of budgeting and accounting, personnel, facilities management, purchasing and information technology.

“Kansas [today] is much better off thanks to the efforts of one humble, hard-working man from Marion County who decided to run for office 24 years ago,” wrote Governor Sebelius in a letter praising Goossen’s selection as Outstanding Alumnus. “I had the honor and privilege of serving with Duane Goossen in the legislature and have held the deepest respect for him since. When I was elected governor, there was no doubt in my mind that Duane should continue on as State Budget Director.

“His combination of institutional knowledge and flexibility made him the ideal candidate to balance the books, and the demands of elected officials, agency heads and the public,” she continued. “My first years in office, we faced inherited looming deficits, but with Duane’s leadership, we were able to find $1 billion in efficiencies throughout state government, increase revenue through economic incentives and present to the legislature a truly balanced budget.

“It soon became clear that Duane could not only handle a $12 billion budget with aplomb, but also had the experience and capabilities that qualified him to run the entire Department of Administration as well. His patience, thoughtfulness and intelligence are ideal characteristics [for] any [cabinet] secretary. I applaud the [Alumni] Committee for its good judgment in choosing Duane Goossen to be the recipient of [this] award. He is one who should truly make your college proud and has come so far since his days as a wide-eyed 28-year-old serving in the legislature.”

Goossen was president of the National Association of State Budget Officers, 2005-06.His current board duties include being a member of the Bethel College Committee for the Future of the College (since 2006), a member of the Kansas Health Policy Authority (2006), a member of the Governor’s Council on Homeland Security (2005) and chair of the Kansas Health Care Commission (2004). He is also an active participant in the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Goossen previously served as Kansas commissioner for the Midwest Higher Education Commission (1998-2002), a member of the Bethel College Board (1983-95, vice-chair, 1993-95), a member of the boards of directors for Newton Healthcare Corporation (1987-90) and Bethesda Home for the Aged in Goessel (1980-89), a member of the Goessel City Council (1979-82) and a Goessel volunteer firefighter.

Goossen and his family are active in Southern Hills Mennonite Church in Topeka. He is married to historian Rachel Waltner Goossen, a 1982 Bethel graduate. They have two children, Ben, a junior, and Elsa, a freshman, at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka.

The Outstanding Alumnus Award is given on the basis of character and citizenship, service to church/community or college, or other outstanding achievements, honors and recognition.

The Awards Committee of the Bethel College Alumni Association has named Arthur W. Marks, New York, as the winner of the 2008 Young Alumnus Award.

Marks is a native of Kansas City, Kan., the son of Zelma L. Marks and William J. McNeal, both of Kansas City, and an honors graduate of Harmon High School there. He graduated from Bethel College in 1993 with a bachelor of arts degree and a double major in music and social work.

After graduating, Marks worked as a social worker with Hospice Inc. in Wichita. He also served as minister of music at Hillside Christian Church. While in the Wichita area, Marks ran a successful voice studio connected with the Maize School District, teaching students from Wichita and surrounding communities. He was musical director for several choral groups in Wichita, including Stage One Singers, Emerald City Chorus and Music Theatre for Young People.

Marks made his professional singing debut in 1992 with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Baltimore, Des Moines and Wichita Symphony Orchestras, the Vivaldi Travelling Virtuoso Orchestra from New York City and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He has performed on stages and classical venues in Rome, London, Berlin, Leipzig, Paris and Vienna. Last spring, Marks was the tenor soloist for the annual Masterworks concert at Bethel College, performing in Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”

In addition to performing in the classical genre, Marks can often be seen on musical theater venues and stages across the United States and abroad. His off-Broadway credits include SIDD, based on Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha and performed at New World Stages; The Screams of Kitty Genovese at Theatre at St. Clements; and Backstage at the Funky B at the Producers Club. Regionally, Marks has appeared with Barbara Walsh and Liz McCartney in the cast of Songs for a New World at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, N.J. He has also played the roles of Richie in A Chorus Line, Mary Sunshine in Chicago, Simon Zealotes in Jesus Christ Superstar, Mereb in Aïda, Mungojerrie in Cats and the Cat in the Hat in Seussical: The Musical.

One role Marks is particularly proud of was as Ugly the Duckling in HONK!, a retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale “The Ugly Duckling” that won the 2000 Olivier Award for “Best Musical.” Marks appears in the first American cast recording of HONK!, with Music Theatre of Wichita.

Marks recently performed in the world premiere of It Happened in Little Rock at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, which commissioned the play for the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1957 integration of Little Rock’s Central High School by a group of students who became known as the Little Rock Nine. Marks played the part of senior Ernest Green.

Among other things, participating in the production afforded Marks the opportunity to meet former President Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as Ernest Green himself and other members of the Little Rock Nine, at the celebration this past September.

Besides singing and acting, Marks has directed and choreographed regional productions of Eubie, Little Shop of Horrors and Sophisticated Ladies and co-choreographed two productions of the musical revue Swing! He was recently musical director for a production of A Christmas Carol at the Actors Theatre of Phoenix. He has been artist-in-residence with Broadway veteran Karen Curlee for the Delaware Dance Academy and has taught at Hesston College and Wichita State University.

Marks speaks highly of his years at Bethel. “Bethel College for me is a gift that keeps on giving,” he says. “When I began my years of study [there], little did I know that my experiences and the people surrounding me would have such a profound effect on my career path and choices. The many lessons I learned not only came from being in the arts, but also in the other disciplines offered on campus. Thank goodness for the liberal arts.”

The Young Alumnus Award recognizes character and citizenship, achievement or service rendered, honor and recognition received. The recipient must be 39 years of age or younger and present a convocation program for Bethel students, faculty and staff.

Arlene (Peters) Hett '69, Hillsboro, Kan., worked at Hillsboro Community Medical Center (formerly Salem Hospital) for approximately 34 years in a variety of roles, including director of nursing for six years. Since June 2001 she has been employed full time as a nurse in the Via Christi - St. Francis Emergency Department in Wichita, where she has been honored both as Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year. She continues to serve the Hillsboro community by assisting ophthalmologist Terria Winn with cataract surgeries. Arlene will receive the Outstanding Nursing Alumnus Award at the Bethel College Alumni Association Banquet on Saturday, May 24, and will also be honored by BDH/BCNAA on Friday, Oct. 3, as part this year's Fall Festival activities.