Todd Feil, professor emeritus of mathematics and computer science
Feil, who is often spotted pedaling his way to campus on his road bike, began his Denison career in 1982 as an assistant professor in the mathematics and computer science department. He served as chair of the department and as chair of the faculty during his Denison tenure. In addition to authoring and updating a number of books while at Denison, he also created the Denison Spring Programming Contest and has served as a judge on the ACM regional programming contest. This year’s world finals take place in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It’s one of the first trips Feil will take in retirement.
Lyn Robertson ’70, associate professor emerita of education
Robertson joined the Denison faculty in 1979, when she became the assistant dean for educational services. During her 34-year career here, she’s held a number of positions, including director of the John W. Alford Center for Service Learning, chair of the Department of Education, chair of the faculty, acting director of the women’s studies program, and a faculty member in the South African Orientation Program. She served as the mayor of Granville during her time at Denison, and she authored books on the development of literacy in children with hearing loss. She served as a Boston Posse V and VISTA mentor, as well. Just a few months before her official launch into retirement, she earned a new title: Grandma.
Lorraine Wales, director of the Vail Series
Wales has hung out with some big names during her time at Denison. Folks like Yo-Yo Ma, Yuja Wang, and Bobby McFerrin. It was her job to create the widely-acclaimed Vail Series from scratch, and boy does she have stories to tell, like Itzhak Perlman’s response when she invited him to Denison for the inaugural performance of the Vail Series in 1979: “Where the hell is Granville, Ohio?” (She told him, and he came.) Wales wasn’t the only one working with the stars, she extended that opportunity to the Vail Series interns, and she used the Vail Series to create an appreciation for the very best in fine arts performance.