Alumnus Kevin Cramer takes his playwriting success to Hollywood

Kevin Cramer got lost in the Beartooth Mountains once in Montana. There were snowdrifts higher than his truck. A drugged-out girl opened his door, jumped in and tried to get him to camp with her friends. It kind of freaked him out.

Archaeologist and adjunct professor Michael Arbuthnot shares his underwater adventures

The claustrophobia set in when Michael Arbuthnot was about 700 feet underwater, crunched into a space barely seven feet wide with Hollywood director James Cameron. At that depth, the last traces of sunlight disappear.

Their tiny submersible descended to the ocean floor with 5,600 pounds of pressure per-square-inch crushing against it. Outside, strange creatures occasionally drifted by in the sandy abyss until out of the darkness, the giant hull of an “unsinkable” ship emerged — the Titanic.

Communication professor talks about his days as a journalist in Havana, Cuba, meeting Fidel Castro and his thoughts on the future of the communist island

There’s a marker on the tip of Key West that proclaims Cuba a mere 90 miles south of American soil. As tourists stare out across the water trying to catch a glimpse of the communist nation, it seems as if the gulf between these two nations is bridgeable and small.

But distances can be misleading, as communication professor Tracey Eaton will tell you, and there is much more between the two countries than just water and miles.

Sometimes the running bug just bites: a 5-kilometer race here, a marathon there. But for Phil Lechner, ’96, the itch to run has been ultra-hard to scratch, and has meant piling on the miles.

Lechner runs what are called ultra-marathons — distances of 50 kilometers, 50 miles and even 100 miles.

“I just caught the bug and I really, really enjoy it,” he said. “It’s a sport that is exploding now because, at one time, the marathon was a challenge. But when you have 30,000 or 40,000 people running New York and Boston, people want more than that.”

Decorated military veteran creates scholarship for English, business majors

On July 16, 1944, 25-year-old Edward “Cos” Cosgrove wasn’t sure he’d make it to 26. The Air Force lieutenant, a bombardier with the 825th Bomb Squadron, had just completed his 34th aerial combat mission, with one more to go. The target was the Tarascon railroad bridge in southern France. The reward — if he could make it — would be a year of non-combat service and an honorable discharge, with all the promise of a full life and career ahead.

Student Matthew Erley volunteers with international performance group Up With People

It’s difficult to summarize what Matthew Erley did during the last six months of 2007. He sang in seven different countries. He milked cows in the Swiss Alps. He helped build houses in the Phillipines, where he also ate chicken feet and encountered the worst poverty of his life.

This past May, Flagler College graduates gathered on campus for Alumni Weekend, and more than 400 helped kick off the event on the new terrace between Markland House and the Ringhaver Student Center. The opening-night reception offered alums a chance to mingle or explore the new student center and play ping pong.

Other highlights from Alumni Weekend included a faculty/alumni reunion in the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum and the Hugh Shaw Memorial Long Board Contest. A record 48 surfers turned out for the annual surfing event and beach barbeque, which also raises money for a scholarship fund.

This fall Flagler is adding a new sport to its roster, although it’s not quite “new.” While the college sported a women’s slow-pitch softball team in the ’70s and ’80s, it is being reincarnated this year as fast-pitch.

The decision to add softball has been on the agenda since Flagler made the move to NCAA Div. II. Most teams in the region have softball teams in place, and Flagler needed to make the
addition to its roster of sports.

Society for Advancement of Management adviser and retiring faculty member Lou Preysz went out with a bang, leading Flagler’s SAM team to its eighth Management Case Competition national title.